by Witness 007 7 Replies latest watchtower bible
Yearbook 1995 P.214 "Congregations in the 1940's...a custom had developed where a young man would "steal" a woman to live with her without being married...couples generally did not get married....many Company Servants were not legallly married..."
Immorality was the norm until 1952 when disfellowshiping started....the only way till then to be disfellowshiped was apostasy!
interesting find!
In Africa polygamy was common among jws until 1947.
*** w95 9/1 p. 25 "Love Never Fails"***
I married Olabisi Fashugba in February 1941 and knew enough not to take any additional wives. But until 1947 when the missionaries came, polygamy was common in the congregations. Polygamous brothers were told that they had married more than one wife in ignorance. So if they had two or three or four or five wives, they could keep them, but they should not take any more. That was the policy we had.
"Congregations in the 1940's...a custom had developed where a young man would "steal" a woman to live with her without being married...couples generally did not get married....many Company Servants were not legally married..."
A bit of an over exaggeration, most likely to posture the notion on how pure, righteous and wholesome the organization is now
in comparison to those days and those witnesses..
There might be some people around that time to confirm those statements or not.
Some zealous idiot bullshitting trying to make a point, northing else.
I think in part the situation was that in the Rutherfordian days when Jehovah and Jesus alone were regarded as the "superior authorities" and when the secular authorities were nothing more than part of Satan's Organization, many couples did not seek recognition of their unions by the civil government. (This was not an official stance, as can be seen in the fact that Bonnie Boyd and William Heath applied for a marriage license) There was also a strong push against marriage with Armageddon being so close. Finally, Rutherford taught that some sins, such as adultery and fornication, were forgiveable and would not cost a person one's standing before God when he takes judgment on the earth, as long as the person is advancing Kingdom interests.
*** w35 3/1 pp. 76-77 Questions ***
Looseness of morals is also quite noticeable. The thought has been prevalent amongst some that it is unnecessary for Jehovah's witnesses to go through the form of marriage prescribed by the State, and some have lived as man and wife without subscribing to the legal requirements, claiming their authority for so doing to be the article on marriage in the Home and Happiness booklet.
"Trueone" I doubt this was an "exaggeration" about Mexico, other articles show this happened around the world...getting married was not important to the Witnesses back then.
If it is true it would have to be the weirdest thing I ever heard about the JWS.
Its known that the WTS back in the 1940's discouraged their missionaries in getting married
but to turn a blind eye to fornicating outside of marriage is really bizarre.
