What was it like being a JW in the 1960's and 1970's (page 6)

greendawn

I suppose the atmosphere varied from congregation to congregation and region to region.

My recollection from the seventies regarding the two congregations I attended they lacked a spirit of care and warmth and had zero brotherly solidarity but there were some exceptions. Another one nearby was clearly very materialistic, their discussions were always about material goods, cars, fashion etc

A disappointed sister once told me the JWs in the past had a lot of love for each other that eventually disappeared.

I think their problem goes back to Rutherford who changed Russell's policies and put the emphasis on preaching and increasing numbers rather than on character development in other words on quantity rather than on quality and the JWs are paying the cost of this policy until now. The JWs as I remember them were like one dimensional spiritual caricatures focusing on the ever imminent end in a context of fear and otherwise had no real spiritual depth or substance as if love was not the central theme of Christianity. Their talks were always focused on preaching in the manner of Rutherford. There was no real effort to develop christian personality.

sir82

I was just a kid, but the comments on this thread pretty much summarize my experience.

A much more close-knit community. There were far fewer JWs in the world, and as a much smaller "tribe", there was a definite sense of "us against the world".

People really, truly believed the hokum coming from the WT, and were eager to debate atheists, trinitarians, anybody - they never backed down from a "battle", ever.

The writing level was miles beyond what is produced today - it was (and still is) pure bunkum, but it was a much more elaborate bunkum in those days. There was an attempt at reasoning and persuasion, and the beliefs were internally consistent, so once someone was "hooked", it was relatively easy to "land them".

In the first world, "normal" people were often attracted to the message, unlike today when pretty much only the desperately lonely and mentally ill respond. Society in general was going through a massive social & political upheaval, and a message of "the world is ending soon" resonated with a large chunk of the population. And as noted above, due to the pseudo-intellectual style of the literature content and its internal harmony, once hooked, people jumped in with both feet.

BluesBrother

Compared to today , it was great!

My young childhood in a small KH , not so- we were ruled by a conservative old Cong. Servant ...I did not enjoy it , although looking back he was a devout sincere knowledgeable man that is missed today.

Time I was a young man in the '70s, I was in a big swinging Congo in a larger town and we really rocked! There were lots my own age and a great social life. The point was though that we really believed the end was HEAR and were fired up and ready to go.

The W/T used to rail against music and fashions but the elders used to apply a lot of common sense interpretation and no one took all that too seriously.

Maybe I was lucky to be where I was but back then the religion was fun.....

(Edit..just read Sir 82's post above, and agree 100%...)

Bungi Bill

Up until the early 1970s, the WTS used to set specific goals for "Regular Publishers" , which included 10 hours per month, 12 magazines , so many "back calls" (now "return visits"), and at least one bible study. Those failing to meet these goals were classed as "Irregular Publishers", and would have received some "encouragement" in the form of a cattle prod!

UnshackleTheChains

think their problem goes back to Rutherford who changed Russell's policies and put the emphasis on preaching and increasing numbers rather than on character development in other words on quantity rather than on quality and the JWs are paying the cost of this policy until now.

I recall reading coc by Raymond Franz back in 2002 where he mentioned how Nathan Knorr appeared to be fixated on numbers also. I think they were traveling in a car and listening to the radio about how many had attended some famous preachers convention locally( think it might have been Jimmy swaggart); and Nathan Knorr made a comment about the numbers and gloating that the Society drew bigger crowds to their conventions.

It is interesting that Ray Franz felt uneasy about this attitude too ie 'quantity over quality'

dozy

I agree with what other posts have said , even though I was just "growing up in the truth (yuk ) " in the late 60's . 70's.

There was much more of a sense of community and hospitality in the congregations & JWs generally were 1st generation who had studied before becoming JWs so there was a lot more knowledge - back then , unlike today , many JWs really knew their bible well. It was a time of great upheaval socially and JWs were often seen as another group ( such as hippies etc ) that people were turning to to find answers. My parents became JWs in the 60's - my father was an engineer and my mother was a schoolteacher - you couldn't even imagine such people becoming JWs today. There was much more of an prevailing attitude that Armageddon was imminent , doubtless encouraged by the Society hyping up 1975 and the big recession of the early 70's.

I noticed a huge difference in the ministry from the 70's to now. Back then you could easily place 20 or 30 magazines on a Saturday morning and almost everyone would be friendly and listened and conversed ( other than the occasional "born again" christian type who were very aggressive ). My parents had numerous RVs and route calls , many with professional people such as doctors and college professors , and every meeting there were several "interested people" in attendance.

In my last days as a JW , about 7 years ago , you could spend all Saturday morning not even being able to give away a magazine and people either refused to answer the door or were either totally apathetic or exhibited various degrees of hostility. Nobody ( other than "born-ins" ) got baptised in the last five years in my congregation and there were very few visitors , other than the occasional crank.

The last "shepherding call" I ever made was on an old long standing JW in his 80's - a genuinely studious and nice guy. I'd known him for 40 years and we reminisced a bit about " the olden days" and the real characters there used to be and he mentioned that there used to be real love in the "truth" back then but all had changed and " there isn't really any love nowadays". The Circuit Overseer had just visited the congregation and hadn't even bothered to say hello to him at the meetings. These weren't just the laments of a nostalgic old man. I knew exactly what he meant and sadly had to agree with him.

stan livedeath

i grew up in the cult in the 60's---in Birmingham UK. dipped at 14. left school at 15..pioneering at 16. lots of parties with no parental interference--especially after circuit assemblies on sunday nights. really great fun . lots of drunkeness and smoking ! it wasnt a d/f offence back then.

like most of my jw mates--i just wanted a regular girlfriend. startied courting at 17---a born in with very strict jw parents. most of the guys i knew were having sex in one form or another. a few got d/f if the girl got pregnant.

married at 20.---1968. soon stopped pioneering.

by the time i was 23--i just knew 1975 was utter twaddle---and my wife was now carrying our first of 3...so i had to think long and hard about the blood issue. but it didnt take too long. i threw away all the jehovah myth--and all the shackles that went with it.

i resigned in 1971.. and it made no difference to most of the bros--i attended memorials and the occassional meeting to keep the wife happy. i was never shunned. till '81--then all things changed. ive never looked back or been to a meeting since.

Tallon

My parents started studying with the witnesses around 1972. I was 9 years old - too young to really understand what was going on. My siblings and I studied the book 'From Paradise Lost To Paradise Regained'. Can't say that I remember much about it however, some of the pictures in that book were disturbing.

My life as a JW began in 1980 / 1981.

nonjwspouse

Though I was completely ignorant of all of it, my Dad commented to me after nicely turning away a couple of JW girls that came to the door in 1976, that he felt so sorry for them, that they never expected to see 1976 because they believe the world was to end last year. Dad read a BUNCH and likely read COC when it came out. He read every book our small town library had within a few years, so Mom would go to the university library for him. He had a stack of books, usually about 10, beside his chair at all times.

My husband was in his mid teens in 1975, but he, like other mentally "in" people, denies there was ever a big deal about 1975 in their congregation.

snugglebunny

Up until the early 1970s, the WTS used to set specific goals for "Regular Publishers" , which included 10 hours per month, 12 magazines , so many "back calls" (now "return visits"), and at least one bible study. Those failing to meet these goals were classed as "Irregular Publishers", and would have received some "encouragement" in the form of a cattle prod!

I'd up my hours by putting leaflets through doors as I walked to work.

What was it like being a JW in the 1960's and 1970's

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