by TMS 74 Replies latest jw friends
"I was lucky the fluctuating lightbulb known as "new light" shone in my favor in the mid-70s.
Receiving medicines derived from blood were considered a matter of conscience then, and I was able to receive a medication that helped ensure the healthy birth of my son.
By the time the bulb dimmed again in the 80s, I was long gone."
Good for you, return of the parakeet.
tms
I do not think they will ever loosen the grip they exercise on the R&F.
They have decided to go down the route of more control, and in this day of the Internet etc they know that a relaxing of control will result in a mass exodus.
The one thing they cannot have, no two things (I sound like Solomon there), are people feeling they are individuals, and using their critical thinking skills to build a conscience.
The R&F conscience must be moulded and dictated by the WT or that is the end for the WT, and the end of a Rock Star lifestyle for those at the top.
And best of all, the Watchtower briefly said oral and anal sex weren't unscriptural provided there was no abusive aspect to it.
TMS - thanks for "reminiscing" and bringing this back to the top. I missed this whole conversation that took place 3 years ago even though I popped in on occasion.
Most of this conversation relates to what happened from the late 1960s to the early 1980s - which I was close to but not directly involved. I recognized very early (even as a teenage JW) that the Watchtower seemed to evolve every ten years. I was active during the decades of the 1950s and 60s, but was also closely connected during the rest of the 20th century.
The personality and mood of Jehovah's Witnesses came out of the somber 1940s into the amazing growth and expansion of the 1950s. Life was actually pretty good for young JWs in the 1950s and early 1960s. But the clamps began to tighten in late 1960s.
I remember that early on there were about three dozen public talks that were rotated a couple of times each year at the Kingdom Halls. We had printed handbills that we handed out when we went door-to-door that had the speaker's name printed on them. We often used them at the door to start our conversation - before we introduced the newest magazines (Saturday mornings) or books and bibles (Sunday mornings). The public talks were often interesting and enjoyable becaue each speaker was able to flesh out the Society's outline and inject some occasional moments that could bring you to tears of either sadness or laughter. The talks were about 55 minutes long and were all different to hear in their own way.
The "elders" were not called "elders" in those days. They were called "servants." They were chosen mostly because of their maturity and skills as speakers, but many were truly saint-like and wanted only to serve the congregation (called "companies" in those early days). My father was a "servant" in those days and he was trained to never criticize, but only to show love and offer counsel to those who asked for or needed help.
Yes, we all lived with restrictions compared to non-JWs. But there was also a lot of consideration for those who served well but did not tow the line 100%. Occasionally when we were teens we would have dance parties - doing the "Twist" and the "Pony" and the "Stroll" - while sharing soda pop and fun food (and even doing a little necking out in the backyard).
Sports were discouraged, but my father (a "servant") was insistent that my brother and I were going to play Little League baseball and other school sports as long as they did not interfere with our meeting nights. While I only played parts of two years due to bad knees, my younger brother played for four years with and against Bobby Bonds and Dusty Baker when he was in Little League - both later becoming superior players in the major leagues. The biggest thrills my father ever had was watching my 10-year old brother hit "homers." He'd even brag about it to the other "servants" at the next KH meeting and never worried about being disfellowshipped or reproved for allowing us to play sports. That was just considered his "personal decision" and he would have to answer to Jehovah for his decisions. Dad was not afraid that Jehovah would judge him too harshly.
The mood changed dramatically in the 1970s. Everything seemed to have more restrictions. That's when I first saw small children and babies brought to the Kingdom Hall and not allowed to have a doll or a coloring book to keep their attention while the adults listened to the talks. Who in Watchtower Hell came up with that idea? My own wife was actually encouraged to divorce me (which she eventually did) because "Armageddon was coming in 1975 and she should not be married to a DF'd non-believer." They didn't call us apostates in those days - they called us "evil ones," those "who rejected Jehovah and his coming kingdom." They had her terrified that sleeping and living with me would cause Jehovah to look upon her as someone not fully dedicated to his service.
They didn't call us "apostates" in those days - they called us "evil ones" or those "who rejected Jehovah and his coming kingdom." They had mny wife terrified that sleeping and living with me would cause Jehovah to look upon her as someone not fully dedicated to his service and would destroy our children to eventually punish me.
The 1970s were quite different from the 1980s - and some JWs actually believed that "1984" (a year pulled out of George Orwell's ass) was in fact, even more significant than 1975, being 70 years from 1914. Some JWs that I knew changed personalities completely during those years. Servants were now "elders" and started to throw their weight around - looking for any reason to "counsel" and "correct" other JWs in their Kingdom Hall. My father resigned as an elder several times because he was under pressure from the other elders to try to find fault with other JWs, especially the younger ones.
So while I had many good memories and some fun times growing up a JW, when I left I was done with them completely - even though I had no idea (or even cared) then how bad their doctrines were or how political the upper echelons of the society had become. I never heard of Ray Franz until 20 years later - only that my father told me that "some apostates inside Bethel tried to take over the organization." It was about 1985 when my hate for the organization really began to boil - but I just went on with my life and didn't give a shit about what was going on inside the organization. I was just glad that I was able to get my three daughters completely out and away from the JWs while they were still young teens. They all grew up happy and normal thanks to my decision.
I was just glad that I was able to get my three daughters completely out and away from the JWs while they were still young teens. That alone was my greatest achievement. My grandkids don't have a clue about how close they came to being third generation JW clones. Even my JW parents recognized that my girls were light years ahead of their JW cousins in almost every way - and mentioned it to me several times before they passed. The JW cousins were mostly an embarrassment to them.
I am sure that JWs from the 1950s would not recognize or enjoy the JW.org version of today's cult as they did. The JWs of 2016 would think that the JWs of that era were far too liberal and perhaps deserving of reproof or DFing compared to current standards. (We teens would hold hands, neck, and even kiss each other in those days - but nothing else!)
The JWs of that long past era would most certainly ask why the Society would sell off and rebuild a completely comfortable and serviceable Kingdom Hall located right in the middle of a good neighborhood or refuse to rent low-cost commercial spaces close to where JWs live - rather than packing 3-5 congregations into one remote building out at the edge of town or in another city.
End of my ramble...
JV
Man. Most of my years in the borg that I remember are 1970-1982. It didn't feel that liberal to ME, but I guess I do remember the cracking down when our youth bible study was summarily canceled after some earnest conversation with an elder about 1975 and other stuff.
I don't remember there ever NOT being elders. I don't remember short skirts, pantsuits or much more than cheesy sideburns and bro dent's neon green suits and purple shirts. He was s slight, short, balding white guy in his 30's and I can't even describe his style as I think he was completely unique in this world. Mostly I liked the elders until I was called in the back to testify that I was indeed abused and wasn't a willing victim(??) and then when I asked questions no one thought worth answering i just said I didn't want to be a JW and poof, I was DA'd. Not sure how/why as I was a kid and never baptised. I had no idea it was anything more than not ID'ing myself as one anymore and not going to meetings. It was I think a whole new category of getting busted in the congregation.
It is funny, now they would say I DA'd myself, but back then, (maybe they were confused) I was disassociated from the congrgation, I didn't DA myself. And frankly, I wasn't trying to cut off my life and piss off my mom, I just didn't want to be a JW or ID myself as one. I still liked them (though the shunning soon took the bloom off of that partiicular rose!)
I remember the kind of people who joined during that period – in the congregations in my area we welcomed a couple of medical doctors, a couple of pharmacists, quite a few artists – painters, singer/songwriters – many educated people, a couple of lawyers – one of them well-known – one scientist, political interested people, some from the hippie movement.
Now the majority seems to come from among the poorer and vulnerable layers of society.
