1975 selling of houses

Paul Bonanno

As 1975 was approaching, many witnesses sold their property. Do you know about specific cases that are willing to share their experience of doing so?

waton

The 1975 paradise dogma was published by wt writers , studied in ~1969, 6 years to Armageddon.

we figured that would be longer than the 15 minute warning that would precede a nuclear missile strike, reminding the deity of the Rev 11:18 promise.

Since it would be cheaper than renting, therefore build a house in our former foreign language assignment, and were joined by 2 others, a wealthy contractor, who handed the company over to management , and an IBM technician who was put on remote work by the company. In their case hundreds of miles into an end of the road 'assignment". wt must have been involved in that choice of location, not on your Michelin guide.

A great start into the real estate market. Some of the locals were not so lucky, those that sold their houses, never recovered, never lived down the reputation of being false prophets.

peacefulpete

I remember it being discussed . Fortunately my dad who was PO just didn't get drawn into it. We were in fact building a small house, cutting every corner we could because we were poor. Dad made sure we had a place to live. Funny thing is the house burned to the ground in 1976 before we completely finished it. We lived in school bus briefly till mom insisted we do something else. Lived in basement of another family till insurance money built a new place. Memories.

Vanderhoven7

Nothing to do with selling houses, but everything to do with ruining one's future.

I graduated from high school in 1968. A fellow graduate Manfred Groulx, told there was no time to get a university education and that if I did not become a JW by 1975 I would be destroyed at Armageddon. I told him he would wake up in 1976 with egg all over his face.

Manfred gave my name to a couple of elders who paid me a visit. My dad came upstairs and asked if he could join the conversation. He turned both of these men upside down doctrinally and I was so thankful for his Bible knowledge as well as his 5 year experience with the cult.

Foolednomore

I know of one family that owned a house and had a business and sold everything to jump onto the 75 bandwagon. 75 came and went and I think they were so disappointed that they quit out right the Jw stuff. I have seen countless Jw's buy into this. Give up career, money and health for what? Bullshit! Just Benefits Watchtower!

LongHairGal

The problem with the religion’s 1975 fiasco is they try to hide this from newer people that come into the JW religion. I certainly would have had second thoughts if I knew about this.

When I came in several years after that - not a word was said about it. I only heard about it in a car group when a derogatory remark was made about someone who no longer came.

With regard to selling houses, quitting jobs prematurely and other stupidity, this has been repeated in the recent decade+ by clueless Witnesses who may not have been aware of what happened pre-1975.. Now you have yet MORE people in congregations who are looking for handouts.

JeffT

I became a JW in 1973, everybody was caught up in the frenzy. There was a really nice family in the congregation that had inherited the family farm from his Dad. They sold it sometime around 1973-1974 and moved to "where the need was greater." (Southern Idaho, about three hundred miles from where we lived outside Pulllman, WA) He had calculated how much money he thought it would take to get to the New System and figured they'd come out just right.

A couple of years later they spent the last of the money and he had a nervous breakdown. I don't know what the family lived on.

Foolednomore

During that time my Dad was with Shell Oil Co. We never got into the 75 crap like everyone else did, we were considered spiritually weak. I can recall a brother selling his business then regretting it and hitting my father up for money to open a new business. Which my father told him to pound sand.

Beth Sarim

No matter what,,,,the 1975 debacle,,,,some long time JW's always claim that some rank and file members put too ""much stock"" in the 1075 thing.. You still hear that.

LongHairGal

FOOLEDNOMORE:

I may not have been in pre-1975 to hear the ‘spiritually weak’ remarks that I’m sure everybody who didn’t jump on the bandwagon heard. (If you ask me, those remarks are really about ‘misery loves company’.) But, I heard those idiot remarks years later when I came in and refused to quit my full-time job!.. That’s precisely why I’d tell people there asking for money NOW to ‘pound sand’ as your father so nicely put it.

BETH SARIM:

I also heard the remark about ‘putting too much stock in 1975’ over the years by some older JWs. Very much denial.

1975 selling of houses

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