In its issue of July 15, 1976, The Watchtower, commenting
on the inadvisability of setting our sights on a certain date, stated: "If
anyone has been disappointed through not following this line of thought, he
should now concentrate on adjusting his viewpoint, seeing that it
was not the word of God that failed or deceived him and brought disappointment,
but that his own understanding was based on wrong premises." In
saying "anyone," The Watchtower included all disappointed ones of
Jehovah's Witnesses, hence including
persons having to do with the publication of the information that contributed
to the buildup of hopes centered on that date.
Nevertheless, there is no reason for us to be shaken in faith in God's
promises. Rather, as a consequence, we are all moved to make a closer
examination of the Scriptures regarding this matter of a day of judgment. In
doing so, we find that the important thing is not the date. What is
important is our keeping ever in mind that there is such a day - and it is
getting closer and it will require an accounting on the part of all of us.
Peter said that Christians should rightly be "awaiting and keeping close
in mind the presence of the day of Jehovah." (2 Pet. 3:12) It is not a
certain date ahead; it is day-to-day living on the part of the Christian that
is important. He must not live a
single day without having in mind that he is under Jehovah's loving care and direction and must submit himself
thereto, keeping also in mind that he must account for his acts."
(So how set the date, the rank and file jws or those who picked the date? Who say that God speaks only through them, the GB? Who prints the publications and chooses the content, the GB. I wonder how many jws pointed out Matthew 24:44 and suggested all be cautious in using a date only to be labeled as disobedient to the GB?)
The Watchtower 1980 March 15 p.17 stated:
"In modern times such eagerness, commendable in itself, has led to attempts at setting dates for the desired liberation from the suffering and troubles that are the lot of persons throughout the earth. With the appearance of the book Life Everlasting-in Freedom of the Sons of God, and its comments as to how appropriate it would be for the millennial reign of Christ to parallel the seventh millennium of man's existence, considerable expectation was aroused regarding the year 1975. There were statements made then, and thereafter, stressing that this was only a possibility. Unfortunately, however, along with such cautionary information, there were other statements published that implied that such realization of hopes by that year was more of a probability than a mere possibility . It is to be regretted that these latter statements apparently overshadowed the cautionary ones and contributed to a buildup of the expectation already initiated.
(Notice here how the WTS uses the passive voice not naming any individuals or groups as responsible. It is as if the words jumped onto the page of the publications and out of the mouths of the WTS representatives without the GB having a hand in it as a group/organization. Has led, as if the book wrote itself, who roused considerable expectation, Fred Franz, and other GB and Dos and Cos. One older sister who questioned was told that she was not being obedient and would be removed as a regular pioneer if she did not stop talking about not using a date. Why would jws not accept the latter statements in the publications and WT representatives since new light replaces old.)