JW teens and "scouting" for prom dates? 70's & 80's

by sir82 5 Replies latest jw friends

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  sir82

  Posted this on the "School and JWs" brochure, which got buried pretty quickly, but I wanted to see if anyone else remembers this, from the 70's & 80's, so I'll start a new topic on it.

  That ("School and JWs") brochure put the kibosh on high school proms in the USA.

  In our area at least, going to prom was perfectly fine - as long as you went with a fellow JW. Children of elders, pioneers, etc. - if they were somewhat popluar, they went.

  Obviously, within the same high school, the JW "pickings" would most likely be pretty slim.

  But every year, like clockwork, beginning around March or so, gaggles of teenage boys (and sometimes girls) would travel to a different congregation each Sunday, "scouting" for potential prom dates.

  Does anybody else remember that?

  Anyways, in 1983 that brochure came out, saying "Jehovah's Witnesses do not go to proms", and zappo! Another JW tradition was slammed to the concrete.
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  wasblind

  The sister who conducted the Bible study at my house

  did her level best to talk me outta the prom and extracurricular activites

  for my daughter. Not to mention goin' to college

  As a parent , I always participated in the things that concerned school

  Like the PTSA and so forth. would use vacation days from my job

  to help chapparone school trips and such. Loved it

  I know for a fact that children left idle wit' no interests of their own

  to participate in , will be more likely to get into trouble

  Many of the youth that no longer attend the Hall fell into the wrong crowd

  The crowd they had the most in common wit'

  Which were more likely to be worldly kids like them, who had no constructive outlet

  .
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  mrsjones5

  I went to my senior prom in '83. I don't recall seeing that leaflet. If it had come out before prom season I'm amazed no one said anything about it to me. I was living with my jw granda, my jw cousin suggested my asking a jw guy to my prom (he said yes). My jw aunt (mother of my cousin) took me shopping for fabric for my prom dress. And my jw parents came down to see me off to my prom.

  But a year or so later some kids at my hall decided they wanted their own prom since it was now understood that proms were no-nos. I attended. It was fun and, as I look back on it now, kinda sad.
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  Magwitch

  Prom was absolutely forbidden - it did not matter if I was going with a JW. It was a worldy event run by Satan and anyone that went to prom would get drunk, take drugs, engage in an orgy and ultimately become pregnant, disfellowshipped and lose out on everlasting life.
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  mrsjones5

  Damn I must have been a slow burn cuz I didn't get pregnant til 10 years later by a different guy.
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  troubled mind

  Oh I remember this very well ! In our area my husband went to his prom with a witness group in 1977 ,and it was just fine . Then two yrs later they were already starting to say negative things about it so I didn't get to go to mine (I am still not over it LOL) Then the brochure came out in 83 and it was forbidden officially .