Len, perhaps we are getting side-tracked from the point. The purpose of the photo of these 16 elderly people was to show readers (hopefully, interested people in the Witness message), that these old folks may not die from old age but were a "marked generation" who would see a new order. As far as the Writing Dept. was concerned, it was not important for anybody to know who in the photo had the heavenly hope or the earthly hope or even if they were JWs, or maybe even Bethelites. The important thing was that they were born before or during 1914 and were of that generation. So for the WT Writing Dept. of 1984 to be on the safe side, each one in the photo had to be around their mid-70s or older at the time the photo was made.
The end of the last paragraph in the article puts it this way: "Yes, you may live to see this promised New Order, along with survivors of the generation of 1914--the generation that will not pass away." And the words by an illustration on page 7 of the article showing a young couple along with four children says it all: "You along with survivors of the generation of 1914, may live to see a New Order." The point was that the New Order was going to happen very, very soon and those presently living of the 1914 generation were not going to die.
Oh, by the way, any one of the people in the photo could have had an earthly hope, but knowing most of them, I think the majority, other than maybe two, claimed to be anointed. Anyway, I don't think that WT was parading the participants as poster-children of anything other than what I stated above.
Some have asked how were the 16 people picked for the photo? Well, they had to fit the requirements of the Writing Dept. specifically that the Photography Dept. had to use 16 elderly Bethelites, probably in their mid-70s and older, with good reputations who were willing to pose for a Watchtower cover photo. Why do I use the words, "good reputations?" Because some very old Bethelites did not have very good reputations. For example, a very old guy by the name of Peterson, who Arthur Worsley said was a drunk, lived alone, had a job assignment (I think in the Hanger Dept.) and hated everybody. No one even cared if he showed up for work or not. Why did they let him stay at Bethel? I have no concrete idea, but he probably came into Bethel in Rutherford's day, knew where all the skeletons were buried, and didn't have anywhere to go, so they left him alone.
Oh, by the way, the May 15, 1984 Watchtower featuring the cover with the words, “1914 Generation That Will Not Pass Away” was the last in a series of four Watchtowers that made a big deal about 1914.
The April 1, 1984 Watchtower cover was titled: “1914 A Marked Year-Why?”; The April 15, 1984 Watchtower cover was titled: “1914 A Focal Point of Bible Prophecy”; The May 1, 1984 Watchtower cover was titled: “1914 and YOU”; and, of course, the May 15, 1984 Watchtower, titled “1914 The Generation That Will Not Pass Away.”
Watch Tower prophets before and after 1914 were so sure about the year 1914, weren’t they? It was the date that their most important exegesis hung upon, but they were so wrong! We know, without a doubt, they were and still are false prophets. So I say to JWs who are reading this discussion board, “When in doubt, throw it out and join the land of the living.”
