"some were led to believe that the end would come in 1975"

by Sour Grapes 69 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

• 

  Glander

  They hyped the date 1975 for 9 years! (1966 Truth Book, etc)

  Any JW with a pulse knew what they were saying. Then in early '76 Fred F'ing Franz released a taped talk with the quibble about Eve's creation time that had not been mentioned before. They milked it to the last drop and then said "never mind"!

  OK, so why do they have amnesia today? Did the date 1975 mean nothing? Apparently the whole thing was just a bad dream we all had.

  To mention the date 1975 in almost any context today is a red flag that you might be a mentally deseased apostate.

  Does anyone happen to know - when was the most recent mention of the year 1975 referred to in any official publication of the Watchtower?
• 

  steve2

  The Watchtower deliberately fudged any attempt at an apology by seeming to acknowledge the 1975 doctrine originated within the organization and at the same time tried to come across as humbly admitting mistakes were made.

  Clever. Extremely clever - but not the expected fruitage of a genuinely humble and god-fearing leadership.
• 

  blondie

  *** yb03 pp. 162-163 Philippines ***

  As the work moved ahead rapidly, the number of publishers continued to increase, surpassing 77,000 by 1975. Overall, Jehovah’s servants maintained their spirituality and kept on serving God loyally. However, there were many who stopped serving Jehovah when the present system of things did not end in 1975. By 1979, the number of publishers had fallen below 59,000. Cornelio Cañete, who was serving as a circuit overseer in the mid-1970’s, said: “Some got baptized because of 1975 and stayed for a few years. After 1975, they left the truth.”

  The vast majority, though, just needed encouragement to continue having the proper view of Christian service. So the branch office took steps to organize special talks. As a result, not only were the active ones encouraged but some of the inactive ones were helped to be active praisers of Jehovah again. The brothers came to understand that they served God, not with a date in mind, but forever. Since that time of temporary decrease, the number of Kingdom publishers has increased dramatically. Those who did not let disappointment cause them to forget all of Jehovah’s goodness have truly been blessed!
• 

  double07

  jwfacts - What circular reasoning. If we are greatful the end the not come then, won't a whole new group of JW's be equally happy the end did not come in 2050 etc etc. There will always be the newly baptised grateful the end did not come before they got their chance of salvation.

  I completely agree, jwfacts. The perpetual idea is given that "we should be thankful that armageddon hasn't arrived yet." Why? "Because it has allowed more people, including ourselves, to be drawn to be truth." How fantastic!! But...

  • If armageddon had come in 1975, I wouldn't even have existed.
  • The world's population is ever increasing, so the good lord is kindly allowing ever more people to die when armageddon does come, and is giving us an ever increasing workload. How thoughtful!!

  ...but hang on? Don't we have to witness to everybody? It which case we'll have to wait until the world's population starts decreasing again, which won't happen for at least another few decades? So we can stop going on the ministry for the time being, then? Hooray!!

  It is a circular, completely pathetic, argument.
• 

  Band on the Run

  I left in 1968 when my father died. When I heard the first Yankee Stadium lecture, Franz did go on a bit about Eve. He was all over the place. His arguments seemed such bs to me. I have a memory of menstrual cycles. People did not mention menstruation publlically then. Perhaps it is a false memory. I never believed rationally b/c it was so far-fetched and, unlike most Witnesses, I knew the past dates. My rational mind could not stop the terror.

  Imagine all those who stayed! It shows that it is a cult. Cult bothers me-the pc terms for a cult. If the powerful leaders at Bethel told me to jump off the Geo. Washington Bridge, they would do it! The loss was not that striking considering the circumstances. Of course, most of the people from the other failed dates remained Witnesses. William Miller, however, lost almost all followers. I wonder what was the difference.
• 

  Black Man

  Great thread!
• 

  FatFreek 2005

  The 1975 fiasco was eerily preceded by a similar one precisely 50 years earlier, the 1925 fiasco. Recall that 1925 was the crux of the "Millions will never die" campaign with accompanying booklet and speeches. That hype had begun in the teens (see any similarity to the late 60's?)

  When 1975 approached, it's understandable that the governing body must've been a bit nervous. It appears that they instructed their writers to launch a pre-emptive strike within the pages of the 1975 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses -- ... er, just in case 1975 didn't bear out what they had strongly implied.

  It's clear from those 1975 yearbook pages that the Society hadn't changed. Again, instead of making an apology over what Watchtower publications had said about that failed 1925 prediction -- and more important, those sleight-of-hand phrases -- they made a conscious decision to publish a blurry recollection -- an obviously inaccurate one -- by a devoted, yet elderly, member.

  ". . .So, as Anna MacDonald recalls: '1925 was a sad year for many brothers. Some of them were stumbled; their hopes were dashed ... Instead of it being considered a 'probability', they read into it that it was a 'certainty', and some prepared for their own loved ones with expectancy of their resurrection." 1975 Yearbook, p. 146.

  The '75 yearbook couldn't have solicited a better testimony about that disgraceful episode of times past. Here, the blurred reminiscence of this innocent elderly person would serve Watchtower's purpose far better than taking a few steps into the vast Bethel library to copy an exact -- yet more important -- honest reference from issues of Zion's Watch Tower.

  Pre-1925 Watchtower issues had never stated the word probability in its writings -- that lone woman did it for them. By quoting this person, Watchtower skillfully and willfully endorsed her error, knowing it would serve its purpose -- that of perpetuating Rutherford’s cover-up. Oh yes -- blaming the flock for "reading into it" was Rutherford's invention. The 1975 Watchtower followed suit, preparing the modern flock into accepting blame for "reading into" what had been said about 1975.

  Rutherford’s cover-up now became a Knorr/Franz cover-up. Clearly, this 1975 rehash turned into a well-orchestrated and pre-meditated lie.

  New York Yankee's catcher Yogi Berra said it quite nicely, "It's déjà vu all over again".

  Len Miller
• 

  sir82

  OK, so why do they have amnesia today? Did the date 1975 mean nothing? Apparently the whole thing was just a bad dream we all had.

  1) 1975 was nearly 40 years ago. Most JWs today weren't around to experience it firsthand

  2) Was watching a documentary on the 1929 Stock Market Crash. Was struck by parallels between that time and the recent real estate bubble-burst. Towards the end one of the interviewees mentioned that people don't learn from the past, that there is a 20 or 30 year lifespan for the memory of such an event. After a generation, people think "it won't happen this time" or "but this time it's different" and then do the exact same things that led to disaster before.

  I imagine it's much the same with JWs & failed prophecy. 1975 has come and gone, and for most it is "ancient history" or "we won't be wrong this time" or "this time it's different".

  At some point, especially if the numbers begin to slip, the WTS may allude to another fixed date. And we'll see a repeat of 1914 / 1918 / 1925 / 1975 all over again.
• 

  Leolaia

  Len...What is funny is that in the lead-up to 1975, the Society even referred to the disappointment of 1914 as a positive thing:

  *** w67 2/15 pp. 118-119 par. 26 “From a Weak State . . . Made Powerful” ***
  
  There is a pioneer brother, still serving in the south of New Zealand at eighty-seven years of age, and his faithful pioneer wife is even a few years older. He sold his business in 1914, so that he could enjoy at least a few months of “colporteur” pioneer service before the expected big crash came in the autumn of that year. He is fond of quoting Jeremiah 20:7: “You have fooled me, O Jehovah, so that I was fooled.” For though he had expected his pioneer service on earth to be for a brief season only, it has stretched out through more than fifty rewarding years, together with trials and reproaches. And at last reports, he is still going “strong,” like Samson. Would he have had it any different? No! Moreover, he encourages young people to have the same viewpoint that he had back there in 1914. Make the most of the golden opportunity of pioneering the good news NOW!
• 

  SweetBabyCheezits

  See if you can spot the double standard:

  Awake!, October 8, 1968, p. 23
  
  "True, there have been those in times past who predicted an 'end of the world,' even announcing a specific date. Some have gathered groups of people with them and fled to the hills or withdrawn into their houses waiting for the end. Yet, nothing happened. The 'end' did not come. They were guilty of false prophesying. Why? What was missing? Missing was the full measure of evidence required in fulfillment of Bible prophecy. Missing from such people were God's truths and the evidence that he was guiding and using them. But what about today? Today we have the evidence required, all of it. And it is overwhelming! All the many, many parts of the great sign of the 'last days' are here, together with verifying Bible chronology."

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  *** w84 12/1 18 Keep Ready! ***Alertness or Sluggishness?

  13 It is easy for the established churches of Christendom and other people to criticize Jehovah’s Witnesses because their publications have, at times, stated that certain things could take place on certain dates. But is not such line of action in harmony with Christ’s injunction to “keep on the watch”? (Mark 13:37) On the other hand, have Christendom’s churches encouraged Christian watchfulness by teaching that the Kingdom is “the ruling of God in our hearts”? Have they not, rather, encouraged spiritual sluggishness by considering expectation of “the end” to be “meaningless” or “an insignificant myth”? Have apostates who claim that “the last days” began at Pentecost and cover the entire Christian Era promoted Christian alertness? Have they not, rather, induced spiritual sleepiness?

  14 True, some expectations that appeared to be backed up by Bible chronology did not materialize at the anticipated time. But is it not far preferable to make some mistakes because of overeagerness to see God’s purposes accomplished than to be spiritually asleep as to the fulfillment of Bible prophecy? Did not Moses make a 40-year miscalculation in trying to act ahead of time to remove Israel’s affliction? (Genesis 15:13; Acts 7:6, 17, 23, 25, 30, 34) Were not Christ’s apostles overanxious to see the Kingdom established, not to speak of their complete misunderstanding as to what the Kingdom really is? (Acts 1:6; compare Luke 19:11; 24:21.) Were not the anointed Christians in Thessalonica impatient to see “the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ” and “the day of Jehovah”?—2 Thessalonians 2:1, 2.