Highdose....Our parents must have forgotten about what it says in Luke 12:11,12 "When they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not worry about how or what you are to speak in your defense, or what you are to say; for the holy spirit will teach you in that very hour , what you are to say. We had to have an answer for every occasion in case we were called on to make a defense for the "Truth" ...This was no way for children to live...especially when it turned out to have been completely unnecessary.
In the years 1968-75 we Witness kids were prepared for the worst eventuality by parents who were truly frightened for us. "Because they did these things to the least of you my brothers they did it to me" We were taught that this scripture meant that if they went so far as to torture and kill the Son of God...we, his lowly followers should expect the same or worse.
The Witnesses in Malawi were being tortured and killed...we children sat through deathly quiet meetings listening to frightened adults discussing it all in full detail ( bicycle spokes driven through their legs, women raped, babies heads smashed against trees) and they warned us that we would be next, there was no way around it...it had to happen...it was fortold, and Jehovah's will must be done with out fail.
Sisters used to bring different scarfs and coats with them in service so they could disguise themselves if they got thrown out of a neighborhood or Apt. building where preaching wasn't allowed. At one meeting a sister demonstrated how you could use plastic detergent bottles to hide rolled up Magazines in and bury them in your yard or garden for use during the tribulation. One sister, who colored her hair, bought a case of hair dye. Having gray roots during the Tribulation must have been her idea of pure torture. My parents sold our nice house and moved us all into a small mobile home across the street from the Hall where dozens of other JW's also lived while waiting for deliverance. I went through school in a fog...my graduating year was 1975 and they had us thoroughly convinced that we would never graduate or get old in this system. It didn't make sense to look forward to growing up, to plan for anything or even do your homework if the world was going to end any day. Instead we were busy disributing Tracts 1, 2, and then the 3rd one which was to be the final one and likened to when they blew the horns at Jerico for the third time, causing the walls to tumble down.
There was a recession going on, just like there is now. Lots of the Brothers were out of work. The Watergate hearings were going on...Nixon was being impeached, gas rationing was in full swing people were lining up for hours at gas stations to fill their gas tanks. It was a "perfect storm" of events for anyone wanting to convince themselves(and thier kids)the end of the world was comming. For a short time even the book studies were held at rotating locations so that "they" wouldn't see a pattern to our practices and know where to get us when it all hit the fan.
Bible period movies like "The 10 Commandments, The Robe, The Greatest Story Ever Told" were always being played on TV and they used to scare the hell out of me (tribulation nightmares for days) Although they were full of information that was contrary to our accurate knowledge, we had to watch them to remind us of what the early Christians went through and what was in store for us.
It has taken me many years to somewhat get over my growing up years. To this day, 36 years later, I can't watch these Bible Movies . Just from remebering these things, I feel like I need a glass of wine right now.
