Marge was the mother of the JW man who brought me into the JWs. She had been a JW since the early 1950s, and attended the famous 1958 International Convention at Yankee Stadium/Polo Grounds in New York. Marge was a very lovely person, hospitable, kind, generous, non-judgmental, and always a faithful JW. She was what some might call the perfect JW woman. I think her nature as a Christian and as the unique person she is anyway made her the good person she is.
I started associating and studying in 1968 and was baptized in 1970, but did not partake right away. After I started partaking, it was rather an uneventful experience with respect to my relationship to fellow JWs in the congregation, and certainly nothing special with respect to the Watchtower Society. My being an MS and then Elder likely had some validating effect on my 'profession' to be Anointed, even though I was young in years, newer in the religion, and clearly baptized long after the famous cut-off date of 1935.
Marge asks the BIG question: One Sunday, after the meeting, I was walking out to my car and marge followed me out talking. As I was about to get into my car she said she had something to ask me. She asked is I had yet received any special insight from Jehovah, and if so, was I sharing this in correspondence with the Society?
I was stunned at the question: Here is good, kind JW woman, 25 - 30 years my senior, much more experienced in the JW religion than me, and she was wondering if I was sharing in the FDS work of directing the organization through the Governing Body - thus, in effect - helping to make rules, and refined teachings that would impact her life as a JW.
I had never before that even considered the connection that local 'Anointed' JWs were somehow supposed to be in contact with the FDS - providing insight, understanding, wisdom, and helping to direct the teaching and preaching work through the Governing Body. But her quesation made sense in light of official JW teaching that the whole body of 'Anointed', the FDS were collectively using the Governing Body as its 'mouthpiece.' WOW ... I started feeling overwhelmed.
My response to Marge: I said that I had not really received anything special from Jehovah, and had not volunteered anything to the Society, nor had they asked anything of me. I specualted that I was likely still too young and new as an 'Anointed' to be involved in such a serious responsibility. She agreed that my remarks made sense.
Then, she went on to ask that if I ever do receive any special insight from Jehovah that I share with the Society, she would like an advance 'bootleg' copy. She noted that in all her years as a JW she only personally sisters who were of the 'Anointed' and that I was the first male she personally knew ... so she figured that it would be fun to know something in advance from me so she culd eventually read it in the Watchtower ... then tell her friends that she knew me.
WOW ... this was a bittersweet experience: At the time, I felt more than honored that she would think to say such things ... but also it created in me the curiosity if I would ever get special insight, and then get to share that with the Society. Deep inside, though, I suspected that this would never be the case ... but her questions did make a milestone with me.
Marge would be very old by now, and may have already passed away. But, this sad feeling is still there for me, more so now as an ex-JW ... because once I read Ray Franz's books, and fully understood that the Society never seeks the advice of the collective 'Anointed (FDS) and that the whole concept is a fiction ... then here she was looking to me, an equally ignorant person for an answer to a fiction, whoi myself did not fully understand the fiction and could not give a better answer. What a sad religion, what a waste of time and talent to perpetuate a fantasy fiction thinking it was true and real.
It is moments like these, small innocent events, that stuck with me most in my experiences as a JW or in this case, my status as an 'Anointed' JW Elder.
Experience #3 will be funny and likewise somewhat sad.