Sorry I wrote a novel.
I'm trying to clean up. Of course, once you find a pile of pictures or papers, you start looking through them.
I found a small pile of magazines, mostly from 1987. Some kingdom ministries, written reviews and a few 1985 -'86 awakes. I guess 1986 was the last year the magazines were printed in that pastel range of orange, pink etc. The '87's are the start of the color mags.
But there were some interesting things I forgot about in them. One was the amount charged for cassettes, bound volumes.($6)
Want a drama on cassette "Losing Faith by Away from Jehovah" you pay $2. Unless you are a pioneer and then it's $1.75. Chronicles set of 2 = $3 (pioneers $2.50) Album of Hebrew scriptures - vol 1 Genesis to Ruth = 18 cassettes $30 (p $20.50) This was in the december 1987 KM. It also had an article on encouraging children to red the Bible book of Stories - and place them with their schoolmates. Literature (didn't realize till now, that the word literature is LITER - just add another T) for the public is now a "contribution" All small pocket books are 50 cents. sorry for the large type, I tried something and this happened and I don't want to retype it.
November 1987 Km - Helping inactive ones. They weren't shunning em then.
June 1987 - Include meetings in your vacation plans. Yes, don't go and have uninterrupted fun on your vacation... My sister and I were just talking about this. "Vacation time gives us an opportunity to be away from our secular activity (why not just say job?) and enjoy a few days of relaxation. However, we do not want to take time off from serving Jehovah. When attending meetings and sharing in the field ministry with the congregation where we are spending our vacation, we may find special refreshment for ourselves as well as be a source of encouragement to the local brothers." (really? why bother going anywhere at all)
May 1987 - The convention reminders. After commending everyone for having "conduct beyond reproach" (an unknown bank manager said this "...They are really divine peace makers...." , then they start in the usual tirade in all caps SEATS MAY BE SAVED ONLY FOR YOUR IMMEDIATE FAMILY MEMBERS... you know the useless drill. I've seen many a stampede for seats and hogging whole rows since I was a kid. Then there was the warning about leaving early, having fun at the motel and wearing faddish clothes. Pool manners were poor. It made me laugh because I thought of what would make the WT happy. Imagine a pool with witnesses in it, wearing their meeting clothes and badges as they swam around. They also had an article on how they needed money for KHs.
Sept. 1987 -They started building at 97 columbia heights. Apparently, it isn't a new thing for the society to ask for money "on condition" promising that when you need it back it will be returned....
March 1988 - If the mags and books were now on a contribution basis, and they were important for everlasting life, aren't they for "free" now? After all the bible says, you received free, give free. Take life's water free..... But in the question box, someone is asking "when is it proper to leave free literature, and how should it be done? Basically it says if a person can't afford to contribute, give them old stuff or little stuff. (can you imagine offering a bible or book and then finding out they can't "contribute" - taking it back and giving them a tract? How tracky. But it gets even funnier. After saying leaving them occasionally is ok, (where is the concern for their everlasting life since the mags are so important?) they say "However, if we were to leave magazines indiscriminately ( every house without any money coming back to us) at not-at-homes each time the territory is worked, people might reason that the magazines are free." Oh my FREE
October 1987 - the start of subscription cassettes of the watchtower. A year is $36 for regs. Pioneer $30. For the blind $12 but you have to prove it.
Also on the written review -To understand God's Word, people need more than the church literature they may have in their homes. true or false?