It's been quite sometime since I posted here. I'm 69 years old and yes this video portrays the spirit of the times back when the hope of a new world was strong . Baptized in 1968, I was just in time for the Special AWAKE: " Is It Later Than You Think", the issue that showed the train going off the trestle at 1975. I now know that this religion is not about the people or the hope of a new world. It is about the Watchtower Corporations.
I left in 1997. What a ride. Not always smooth because I was a "thinking' person. Not rebellious , just a "thinker". The ride was not all bad. Apparently I needed to see the way authoritarian religion is immovable and uncompromising in its aims to control its "destiny ". (Not unlike any large Corporation in the modern world. ) My involvment was a life changing experience. a mistake I will not make, can not make, again.
Oh yes, there are the trappings of religion in the Watchtower "Religion" but these are yours. They are the members personal creation and they become secondary to Watchtower business aims and survival. Your hope, faith and integrity these are yours , not the Watchtower's. The dependency the Corporation creates is artificial and necessary FOR THECORPORATIONS SURVIVAL SO DO NOT EXPECT THE WATCHTOWER TO SET YOU FREE . In fact look carefully and you will see how carefully things are done to keep you believing that your spirituality depends on the Watchtower. Your spirituality goes with you no matter where you go. YOUR KNOWLEDGE OF THIS FACT IS A THREAT TO THEIR DESTINY. When you know this you are a threat and you will need to be careful lest your freedom ( even if loving) becomes known.
Here is an example of the delema faced by this anomaly calling itself "Christian"( they like the distinction of being different because , to the simple mind, "early Christianity was different" . Likewise to the simple mind, child molesting proves they are the true religion because gross sin existed in the first century congregations. Those deluded on these points may be truly lost. )
The example:
A congregatin in NYC ( I was there) determined that the best way to deal with the homeless that were sleeping on the front step was to build a $6000 iron gate across the entrance to the Kingdom Hall. Their will was done, problem solved. "The Good News Must Be Preached In All The Inhabited Earth" with out hindrance. AMEN!
Let the sincere seeker be forwarned. The experience with the Watchtower , as with all experience , is not without its benefits but with the Watchtower it comes at a very high cost ,perhaps the loss of your family.
The video of the1950's convention is wonderfull and shows how propaganda supported by testimony can drive large populations to acts of goodness . The personal cost for such and the actual result of the means used can only be assesed after a period of time( Mao Zedong, Adolf Hitler). This fact underscores the importance of knowing the Watchtower's history.