Did You Ever Think The "End" Was Going To Happen In Your Lifetime"? (page 4)

hopelesslystained

You bet! I believed with all my heart it would happen in 1975. I was soooo worried I'd be way too old at 25 to enjoy the paradise. I put all my trust in it during high school as I refused all worldly friends and school activities while being sure it all had to be worth it. I even got baptized that summer just to make sure I made it! Was my youth wasted??? You tell me!

mama

Yes, I used to worry all the time about A day and how i wouldn't make it, I was far too imperfect you know. I used to have really bad nightmares about it. Then when they changed the whole 1914 I felt myself flinch but I still stuck in there. Now, being out of the cult for several years, I look back and laugh, as I told my JW mom, if arrmageddon does come and if Jehovah is as picky and hard on us as you proclaim then there might be 10 people left on the earth, good luck with those odds.

Meanwhile I work with alzeheimers residents now, and I have one lady who was born in 1914, she is 91, no wonder they had to change that theory, but still, where the hell are they getting their figures for the so called "anointed", sorry, got off topic there.

minimus

I NEVER believed in 1975 being the beginning of "the end".

Poztate

1941?Im Not familiar with that one?

Here are a few choice quotes from that era. As you can see not much has changed in WT land.

1941 "Armageddon is surely near, and during that time the Lord will clean off the earth everything that offends and is disagreeable. ... From now on we shall have our heart devotion fixed on The Theocracy, knowing that soon we shall journey forever together in the earth. Our hope is that within a few years our marriage may be consummated and, by the Lord's grace, we shall have sweet children that will be an honor to the Lord. We can well defer our marriage until lasting peace comes to the earth." (J. F. Rutherford, Children, 1941, p.366)

1941 "Receiving the gift, [Rutherford's book, Children] the marching children clasped it to them, not a toy or plaything for idle pleasure, but the Lord's provided instrument for most effective work in the remaining months before Armageddon." (Watchtower Sept. 15, 1941, p. 288)

eljefe

I remember when I decided to leave JW's, before I realized the truth about JW and the Bible. I thought "If Armageddon really comes, I will just commit suicide right then." That is always a nice thought in the back of your head.

Mary

Minimus said: I NEVER believed in 1975 being the beginning of "the end".

Huh? When did they say that '75 was the "beginning of the end"?? That's a new one for me!!

trevor

I sat transfixed in the London assembly at Twickenham Stadium, as the speaker explained the reason for the book?s release.( The Truth that Leads to Eternal Life) This small book had been designed so that a weekly study of just one hour covering one chapter a week would complete the book in six months. All other Society books used in Bible studies with interested people were to be put aside.

This was now the book to use. If those we studied with did not show definite signs of getting baptised after six months we were to forget them and move on. Why? Because time was running out - so many people to save and so little time! We were told that the end was now so close that there was no time to waste.

The atmosphere was electrified. The inspired talks that followed brought the stadium to its feet in unanimous applause. Men fought to hold back tears. We were on the brink of entering ?The New World.? These wonderful men who, we believed, had direct communication with Jehovah God himself, were standing there before us and assuring us that all we had hoped and prayed for was almost here. I can honestly say that I have never experienced such euphoria before and I doubt I ever will again.

I was thirteen years old at the time and longed to leave school and save as many lives as I could by entering the pioneer service. The Watchtowers that followed kept up the excitement. The speakers in the Kingdom Halls were less cautious with their words than those the Society set to print.

Elders announced that they were selling their homes to go pioneering. Many gave up their jobs to join the crusade. Such heroism was actively encouraged by the Society and such men and women were held up as fine examples. Those who were less brave felt guilty - they were too fond of the things of this world.

In the few years that followed there was a certain magic in the air. The brothers and sisters could sense the nearness of all they had hoped for. We did not worry about trivial matters such as how much money we were making, how our careers were progressing, or what type of house we lived in. All that mattered was studying with new people and sharing our joy while there was still time ? Time ? Time! So much time passed and 1975 came and went, along with many disillusioned Witnesses.

Taken from the book Opening the Door to Jehovahs Witnesses. For a free download click on My Profile.

Liberty

Sorry Minimus, but any JW back in the late 1960's or early 70's who claimed they didn't believe the big "A" would in fact be all over by 1975 was not a "true believer" and to be considered "spiritually sick" or "weak" or even worse... an Apostate. I remember that at an Assembly in 1973 the buzz was that this would be the last Assembly in this "Old System" since the "Thousand Year Reign of Christ" had to commence in '75 in order to fit the WT Society's own time tables so in those next few years it would all be over. When nothing clearly was happening the dates kept getting modified until it was right down to 1975. The concept that '75 would be a "Marked Date" was then floated as a last hope by the Watch Tower that something could happen to keep them from looking like complete asses. This happened for them in 1914 when WWI started but no such luck in '75. There was absolutely nothing to point to as even a "Marked Date" and 1975 was a complete bust for all us JWs and we and the WT Society ended up looking like the complete asses we were. I think that is why many JWs have conned themselves into thinking they never believed in '75 because of the immense shame involved in being so stupid and in admitting that the Society could have been SO wrong.. It is obvious that most JWs did in fact believe it since this was the period of the most rapid growth and intense field service fueled by fear coupled with enthusiasm over the big "A" created this growth, a Fact, plain and simple.

Crumpet made some great points. When you think everything will be destroyed and you will never have a future you make different choices in your life than "Worldly" folks who plan for their futures. I hope Crumpet will have time to recover and live her life to its fullest now. She is a beautiful young woman who deserves her true love and children. I have made great strides in overcoming the mess the Watch Tower cult made of my early life. I am way behind my "Worldly" peers but now have a Universty education, a job, a retirement plan, a house, a partner who can put up with my JW past, and my first child but I had to wait until my mid 40's to get here. So much wasted time. So many wasted lives all for a few old men's fevered pipe dreams. All that the Watch Tower has taught is complete nonsense fact proven by time itself ! We may have believed it once but you can get your life back.

Hondo

I was never a JW so I always planned for the future, and still do (I've planned out the next 20 years; where I want to be at the 5, 10, 15 year mark, etc. How I want to be financially, and so forth and so on...). I have wished on occasion, upon waking up late on a Saturday morning, after a night on the town, that the end would come. Of course it never did, and I lived with my headache, and continued looking forward towards, and planning for, the future.

I cannot, and I suppose never will, understand how a person, my ex-wife in this case, after 20 years of marriage together, and supposedly knowing and understanding each other, fall under the "spell" of the WTS. I rarely see her now-a-days, but when I do happen to run into to her she always tells me that I will be sorry, the end is near...and she is dead serious! She is college educated, level headed, and was, and probably still is, a good woman. How does the WTS/JW's do this to someone? Why do some fall for all this crap, and most others, I suspect, don't? It baffles me.

Hope everyone has a wonderful day.

heatherg

When I was little my Dad told me that I would'nt reach the age of 21 in the "old system". I'm 28 and the world is still spinning. Never really gave it too much thought. The whole idea of living forever with all those JW's kinda scared me. hg

Did You Ever Think The "End" Was Going To Happen In Your Lifetime"?

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