1975—Were You Affected By What 1975 Was Supposed to Bring?

by minimus 73 Replies latest jw friends

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  My Name is of No Consequence

  Typical jdub:

  "What is this 1975 that you speak of?"
  
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  sparky1

  1975 was the worst year of my life. I was a Bethelite at Watchtower Farms. I didn't believe in the religion that I was raised in. I was raised in a large family by a single, fanatical, god deluded, mentally and emotionally unbalanced mother. I was filled with guilt, shame, confusion and self loathing because I thought that I was a complete fraud. (Quite a paradox. I didn't believe in Jehovah, yet I thought he would destroy me for my hypocrisy!) At any rate, I had my first 'nervous breakdown' as a Bethelite in 1975.
  
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  Vanderhoven7

  How ya doing now Sparky? Hope those self-loathing days are a thing of the past.
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  sparky1

  Wow, thank you Van for your concern! After two more 'guilt induced' breakdowns, I finally sought professional help from a Ph.D. clinical psychologist. Since 2008 I have a completely different inner life. Life has thrown me quite a few curve balls but I can't complain. I have worked very hard and been successful in spite of it all. Every day is a blessing! Your brotherly compassion warms my heart.
  
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  truth_b_known

  I was in diapers back in 1975. I have a close friend who turned 5 in 1975. His father was an elder and held the position that is now referred to as Coordinator of the Body of Elders. My friend says he remember going on in the ministry with his dad. He remembers his dad would place every book and magazine in his service bag every time they went out.

  Then 1976 passed. He recalls the very next December his dad putting up a Christmas tree in the house. His dad leaving the organization led to his father being disfellowshipped and the divorce of his parents.

  Over the years he losely associated with the Witnesses as he was raised by his mother and grandmother after the divorce. He never got baptized. He tried. He had married a Witness and they moved back to his home congregation. The body of elders told him they would never let him get baptized.

  That was the end of Witness life for him.
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  Ding

  For a lot of JWs, the straw that broke the camel's back wasn't that 1975 came to nothing.

  It was that the organization blamed the rank and file for thinking 1975 would usher in Armageddon and the new system... as if the GB and WT writers had nothing to do with creating and fanning those expectations.
  
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  stan livedeath

  i had resigned in 1971. in 1974 an effort was made to get me back in before it was too late. the brother assigned to this task offered to come once a week to try to get me interested. about the 3rd week he mentioned he had bought a car on hire purchase because he would never have to pay it off---seriously, the guy was totally convinced 1975 would mean armageddon. that was our last meeting. ( i heard a few years back he became a circuit servant . perfect fit for the job )

  in the summer of 1975 i had my wicked way with my born-in wife--and in april 76 she had our first boy. he is 42 now--long gone from the cult--and his loving born-in mother totally shuns him.
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  Vanderhoven7

  @Sparky.

  Thanks for sharing. Glad to know you are in a much better place now my friend.
• 

  StoneWall

  Stay Alive till '75
  I remember it well. I was born in late 1960's so in 1975 I was in second grade of Elementary School and can remember looking around at all my classmates and thinking how sad that their parents won't allow them to hear the "truth" and become a J.W. to save their lives since the End was so imminent. I would get all teary eyed as a kid just thinking about it.
  I knew Matthew chapter 24 like the back of my hand even at that early age, even though it stated that no one knew the day nor the hour, in the preceding verses it did state that you would know the season and even gave the example of the fig tree in verse 32.
  So even then I figured they (the J.W. Org) may be off by a bit but that they knew it had to be close. I recall so many sleepless nights worried about my classmates and neighbors because they either couldn't see the "truth" or refused to follow it. Either way was going to have the same ending with their destruction. It really pains me to this day how much needless anxiety and suffering I experienced all because of listening to and following those jerks and being to young to know better.
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  Nevuela

  Why did three people dislike I believe in overlapping ?