Did he really say MOTHER? In what tone of voice? Was he serioius or half-kidding?
Abbagail: Yes, those were his exact words. I take extremely good notes. This was at a meeting of elders and their wives, so perhaps he was being more familiar than he might at a district convention. As you probably know, "Mother" is a term of endearment for the governing body among JW insiders.
As for the recommendation on reading the old lit, that too is word for word. He was talking to elders only, in the school they conduct every two or three years, and this was part of his concluding remarks. I was shocked to hear him say it, and others around me seemed... well, the word "puzzled" comes to mind. Most elders know the old lit is "dangerous" and have had to dissuade publishers from relying too heavily on it.