The Beginning of Brother and Sister So and So

Gary1914

Do any of you remember when they used to call the brothers and sisters by their first name from the platform? The organization was much smaller then and much more intimate than it is today and since we were all "friends" we called each other by our first names even from the platform.

Well all that changed one day. The way I heard it was that some sister whose husband was not in the truth persuaded him to attend the meeting with her one day. When she raised her hand during the meeting to answer a question, the brother conducting the meeting called on her by her first name. Hubby went ballistic and said that since his wife was a married woman he did not want other men to be so familiar with her and he wanted her addressed as Mrs. So and So or Sister So and So and not by her first name. Ever since then it became a rule to call each other Brother and Sister So ad So from the platform.

I am not really sure that this is all true. Does anyone else know anything about this?

NeonMadman

Never heard of such a thing. I came into the borg in the late 1960's, and the custom then was to call everybody "brother" and "sister" from the platform (not always at the Book Study, though - that changed later).

I do remember a couple of unusually anal elders who insisted on calling on unbaptized persons as "Mister So-and-So" instead of "brother". This was particularly directed at men who attended meetings regularly, whose wives were JW's, but who had never themselves gotten baptized. The intent was clearly to embarass them.

Mulan

I started going to meetings when I was 4, and as long as I can remember, it has been formal. Everyone addressed as Brother or Sister and then their last name. That was 1950.

wednesday

ditto with what mulan said, always bro or sis,

Shutterbug

The fellow who objected to his wife being called by her first name sounds like an insecure person who needed mental help.

RunningMan

I have never heard of that particular story. It sounds doubtful that the entire organization would change its habits based on the reaction of one person.

However, there is a custom that is followed (at least in our area) with regard to the "brother" and "sister" titles: If you are baptized, they call you "brother" or "sister" when you are called upon to comment. If you are not baptized, they call you by your first name. This sounds fairly normal for unbaptized children (just a little less formal), but for unbaptized adults, it really sticks out.