Terry

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Posts by Terry

• 
  18

  Beth Sarim and Beth Shan - other boondoggles

  by Terry in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  if you were a religious organization publicly identified with predictingarmageddon soon, would you be motivated to build large and expensive edifices or hideaways in foreign lands?such as:a $ 1,425,400 property in which a welsh translation center could be maintained?.

  this looks like a pleasant location for doomsday, doesn’t it?.

  maybe just a fortunate location for.

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  Terry

  What a rich history this religion has; probably - maybe - allegedly - more colorful than EVEN the Mormon church.
• 
  18

  Beth Sarim and Beth Shan - other boondoggles

  by Terry in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  if you were a religious organization publicly identified with predictingarmageddon soon, would you be motivated to build large and expensive edifices or hideaways in foreign lands?such as:a $ 1,425,400 property in which a welsh translation center could be maintained?.

  this looks like a pleasant location for doomsday, doesn’t it?.

  maybe just a fortunate location for.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Terry

  If you were a religious Organization publicly identified with predicting
  ARMAGEDDON SOON, would you be motivated to build large and expensive edifices or hideaways in foreign lands?
  
  Such as:
  a $ 1,425,400 property in which a Welsh translation center could be maintained?

  

  This looks like a pleasant location for Doomsday, doesn’t it?

  Or

  Maybe just a fortunate location for. . .um. . .translating boring religious writing into WELSH.

  

  

  The Watchtower Organization in 2014 made the purchase for $ 1,425,400.00

  Entrance Hallway Hardwood door with double glazed side panel, high pitched ceiling with double glazed Velux window, three wall light points, meter cupboard, cloaks cupboard, oak doors, Travertine flooring with underfloor heating and glazed doors leading to:

  Reception Hallway 13'9" (4.2m) x 24'7" (7.5m) max (9'2" (2.8m) min). Open spindled staircase to the first and second floors and oak glazed doors leading to lounge.

  Lounge 18'4" x 20'4" (5.59m x 6.2m). Cast iron multi fuel burner on a raised slate hearth, six wall light points, television aerial point, engineered oak flooring, radiator, vaulted ceiling, double glazed patio doors and double glazed windows to the rear and side from which there are views across the extensive rear garden and Menai Straits to the Isle of Anglesey.

  

  
  
  

  Superbly positioned above The Menai Strait with direct water access, the property comprises of entrance hallway, reception hallway, impressive open plan 'live in kitchen/family room', lounge, sitting room, games room, 2 studies, utility, cloakroom, shower room, 5 double bedrooms, four en-suites and a family bathroom. The property benefits from having gas central heating, double glazing, garage, established landscaped gardens with decked areas and pond. The property enjoys fantastic sea view of The Menai Strait, The Menai Suspension Bridge and across to Anglesey. (See Menai Suspension Bridge below)

  

  Does it represent value for the people whose contributions paid for it? Will they even be told about it? Isn’t the Watchtower supposed to be a charitable organization? Hmmmm...

  Why are they closing buildings in other (often poorer) parts of the world, evicting long-established workers and at the same time investing in luxury property like this that will 'benefit' a select few?

  Who chooses who the select few are?

  If you want to give your children a useful tool for the modern world then have them speak English, Spanish, maybe French or even Chinese. Being able to speak Welsh is a wasted opportunity better spent on other more useful things that could be taught.
  Unless. . .

  This property is for Watchtower Elite to enjoy under pretense of business going about the Lord’s work. Or maybe for the Governing Body to wait out the Great Tribulation while the rank and file are in their Bunkers eating Pork n’ Bean rations?

  
  A cynical Ex-JW (mentally diseased Apostate) might well ask if this doesn’t represent another Watchtower boondoggle from 1929, better known as the House of Princes.
  
  
  This was built in 1929 to house the newly resurrected “Ancient Worthies” such as Abraham, David, and other Old Testament men of faith which were supposed to have been already resurrected in the year 1925. (Note: it didn’t happen.)

  __________________________
  While WatchTower President, "Judge" Joseph F. Rutherford was enjoying the paradise like conditions of San Diego at Beth-Sarim, a secret property was also purchased near Beth-Sarim in 1939 with similar expectations but NEVER discussed in WatchTower literature.

  This secret 75 acre prime real estate property was also expected to house the resurrected Moses and other heroes of the faith. The added benefit was since they were expected to return shortly, just prior to Armageddon and world wide wars, they would have 2 hidden underground bomb shelters protected with 3 feet of concrete overhead and storage provisions for months.

  They would be totally self sufficient at Beth-Shan with their own 425 foot well and 10,000 gallon storage tank. Electricity would be provided by a state of the art diesel powered generator and a 4,000 gallon underground tank for diesel fuel. Water was piped to the house and 2 fire hydrants would protect them from fires. The real beauty of such a secure compound is there was plenty of room for the safety of the WatchTower leadership as well. Perhaps they could bring Abraham and his friends up to speed on the marvels of the 20th century and assist in the preparation of the Kingdom of God.

  Beth-Shan is mentioned only ONCE by name in the Watch Tower publication, Consolation, predecessor to the "Awake!" magazine. The context is an article concerning the requested 1 man cemetery plot for Judge Rutherford since the original burial request at Beth-Sarim was denied.

  "The judge decided to continue the case so that the new site could be brought before the Planning Commission... the second plot was a proper place for burial.... The Planning Commission, who deliberated for more than two weeks, investigating the site, was haled before the court, and denied the second application for a cemetery.... New location for interment was almost in the center of the property known as Beth-Shan, which is roughly 75 acres of canyon and mesa land, adjoining Beth-Sarim but separated by a half-mile width of canyon."(May 27, 1942 Consolation, p. 9)

  The immediate personal use of this home and facilities in mild weather San Diego would be immediately available to Rutherford. However, the deed to the property makes it appear this was for the noble reason of providing a haven for the arrival of faithful men and women of old as Abraham, Moses, Rahab, and Sarah. A portion of the deed of trust reads as follows:

  NOW THEREFORE this trust is created and the said trustee shall hold the title to said property in trust for the use and benefit of the following named persons, whose names appear in the Bible at the Book of Hebrews, chapter eleven, verses one to forty, to wit: Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Sarah, Joseph, Moses, Rahab, Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthae, David, Samuel. Until such time as the aforementioned persons return and identify themselves to the legal representatives of the said WATCH TOWER BIBLE & TRACT SOCIETY and by the consent of said Society take possession and control of said premises, the President of the WATCH TOWER BIBLE & TRACT SOCIETY shall have the right and be duty bound to direct the management and use of said premises…"

  Unlike Beth-Sarim, this facility would be far more secure from the predicted coming of Armageddon. 2 bomb shelters, a diesel powered generator with a 4,000 gallon underground tank for diesel fuel, and 10,000 gallons of water storage with 2 fire hydrants.

  It wasn't long before rumors among witnesses began to be spread about this haven of security, which apparently prompted a rather vague response from the WatchTower leadership:

  "Some unreliable person is responsible for the circulation of a report that Beth-Sarim is being enlarged as a place of security and that this is being built by the Society.

  There is absolutely not one word of truth in the report. Those who are interested in the Theocracy would better be circulating the kingdom message rather than false imaginations of others."(The Watchtower, June 1, 1940, p. 162)

  Perhaps the leadership felt justified in stating "Beth-Sarim" was not being enlarged as a place of security, but the fact is the nearby Watch Tower property Beth-Shan certainly was.

  No doubt Rutherford believed his wild speculation about the nearness of Armageddon and was preparing this haven of safety from the soon to be experienced explosions and poison he predicted years earlier:

  … the next war will be…an annihilation! There will be poison and explosion everywhere, beneath the whole canopy of the heavens…(Golden Age, June 2, 1926, p. 55)

  Author and researcher, Edward Gruss, interviewed Fred Eason, a eye witness to the goat barn bomb shelter. Fred Eason said he saw the underground shelter shortly after it's sale in 1945. He described the underground shelter with its secret entrance as a:

  "...building that was called the 'goat barn' which was used to stable their goats. To enter the shelter one would go to the small bathroom area at the rear of the building, open the medicine cabinet, and pull a concealed lever inside.

  A section of the wall would swing open, revealing a stairway down into what can only be identified as a bomb shelter--a room about 30 feet x 15 feet, with a 10 foot high ceiling. The walls were lined with storage shelves.

  The cement ceiling of the room was 3 feet thick!" (interview with Fred Eason as documented in "Jehovah's Witnesses Their Monuments to False Prophecy, Edmond Gruss, p. 75)

  

  The building at upper right is the main Beth-Shan residence. The arrow points to the “goat barn” which had the secret bomb shelter (as did the main residence). Photo taken after the sale of Beth-Shan 1945.

  (photo courtesy of Edmund Gruss)

  

  1963 Aerial photo of Beth-Shan. Extensive grading on the property

  revealed the hidden “goat barn” bomb shelter (arrow).

  (photo courtesy of Edmond Gruss)

  Not only did the princes NOT return to claim the estate at Beth Sarim as prophesied by Rutherford, but the Society simply ignored the promised trust to the princes and quietly sold the property soon after Rutherford's death.

  
  

  1945 black and white photo of Beth-Shan (now hand colored):

  

  Beth-Shan house built in 1939, ten years after Beth-Sarim on adjacent property. Beth-Shan, which means "House of Security" in Hebrew, was literally a house of security -(cult compound)*-

  it was accessed by a single dirt road that was guarded and gated. It also had two secret bomb shelters to protect the Beth-Shan/Beth-Sarim residents (such as the Society's second president, J.F. Rutherford).

  The Society apparently wanted to keep the residence secret and covered up its very existence. The Society only mentioned Beth-Shan once in its literature: May 27, 1942 Consolation magazine (now called Awake!)

  The Society began building a burial crypt for Rutherford just below Beth-Sarim shortly before his death. After this site was denied by local authorities, the Society proposed a second site which was located on the Beth-Shan property which was adjacent to Beth-Sarim. This second burial spot was also denied.

  
  
  
  
  
  

  Here is an aerial photo taken in 1945:

  

  (Note: the airstrip at the left was built shortly after the sale of this property in 1945)

  The long building to the left of the cul-de-sac is the "goat barn" which had a secret bomb shelter (as did the main residence).

  The remote inaccessibility is better seen from the following angle:

  

  The deed to the Beth-Shan house and property were, like Beth-Sarim, made out to Abraham, David, and the other Old Testament "princes." In reading the deed to Beth-Shan, one could get the impression that it is simply Beth-Sarim, part II --the two deeds are very similar. Both of the residences and property were held in "trust" by the Watchtower Society's leaders for the Old Testament "princes" awaiting their return.

  According to Fred Eason, who was later to purchase some of the Beth-Shan property and residence (discussed below), the dirt road which was accessible through a gate, was also guarded by JWs, so unauthorized individuals couldn't enter. He first stumbled onto the Society's building of the Beth-Shan residence while he was looking for "Young's Cave," a series of manmade caves or tunnels in the area. He was "rebuffed" by "several men on horseback" and watched the building of Beth-Shan from a different side of the mesa canyon.

  Telephone interviews between Edmond Gruss and Fred Eason, Dec. 3, 1996 and letter dated Dec. 12, 1996 from Eason to Gruss. Gruss, p. 70.Monuments, p. 70.

  Another building, a "goat barn" had a secret bomb shelter as well. It was a long building apparently used to house goats. At the rear of the building was a bathroom. Fred Eason bought 30 acres of the Beth-Shan property including the goat barn. In a letter to Ed Gruss he wrote of its bomb shelter:

  To enter the shelter one would go to the small bathroom area at the rear of the building, open the medicine cabinet, and pull a concealed lever inside. A section of the wall would spring open, revealing a stairway down into what can only be identified as a bomb shelter--a room about about 30 feet x 15 feet, with a ten foot high ceiling. The walls were lined with storage shelves. The cement ceiling of the room was 3 feet thick!"

  Gruss noted in his Monuments book:

  “A person could go into the bathroom and would never know that the shelter was there. When a house was built on the property in 1967 it was placed on the lot so as to keep the shelter intact, and it still exists today.”

  Doomsday PREPPERS?

  
  

  Watchtower Society in the 1920's and 1930's believed that the "next war"would lead to Armageddon and result in the Theocracy or Kingdom of God on Earth. They believed it would be a war fought primarily or exclusively in the air with poison gas and bacterial (germ) bombs which would obliterate most life on earth. For example, they said:

  *... the next war will be a completion [of the First World War] and therewith an annihilation! There will be poison and explosion everywhere, beneath the whole canopy of the heavens.... Poison will be mechanically wafted forward and backward by unmanned airplanes, going up into the atmosphere and descending to the earth.”

  The compact, thickly-populated, highly -industrialized centers of civilization will be drenched with gases, bathed in a liquid-fire and sown with bacteria. Unquenchable conflagrations will overspread the sky with a blanket of smoke.... Perhaps some previous preparation will have been made of elaborate subterranean tunnels and chambers in anticipation of this awful time.

  When the totalitarian Catholic combine gains control of the British Isles, which it is certain to do, then all the liberties of the people will be at an end.... What will be the condition when all nations become totalitarian?.... The totalitarian combine is going to get control of England and America. You cannot prevent it. Do not try.

  Rutherford, J.F., Face the Facts, 1938, pp. 20, 21, p. 27.

  Apparently, the Watchtower Society did its own preparing for this future calamity in building Beth-Shan (House of Security) with two bomb shelters. Perhaps "Young's Cave" with its series of underground tunnels on the property was an appealing feature in their decision to buy the property!

  The reason for the storage shelves in the bomb shelters is they believed that great famines would soon occur world-wide, including the United States. This was also brought out in the "Demon Rule Ending" articles:

  A great famine is certain to afflict the many nations of the earth in the very near future. The United States is also in line for much suffering.... the United States is faced with world disaster now impending and about to fall...

  ________________________________
  
  One thing for certain. Boondoggles never end in this religion!

  Apparently the fear mongering of old is alive and well as reflected in the Bunker videos

  Released for download at the J-Dub Org website. You have to admit, it’s slightly more comforting to know the leaders themselves believe their own baloney and are just as afraid of the Great Tribulation as the rank and file. So afraid, they sacrifice all this money for doom and luxury!
  
  READ ABOUT BETH SARIM HERE:
  https://www.equip.org/article/beth-sarim/
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  12

  Anointed Grandmother wakes up

  by Terry in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  anointed great grandmother who woke upi arrived at the coffee shop on my bicycle and took up a seat at the outdoor table in the fresh air.

  (this was way before the pandemic).. a lady with permed white hair walked over to my table and spoke directly to me.. i was wearing earbuds at that moment and didn’t hear.

  i popped them out and asked her to repeat herself.. “that’s a beautiful bicycle you have there.

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  Terry

  In my 20 years of Jehovah's Witness life, it was the oldest generation which proved to be the most interesting to talk to.
  One old fella was telling me how he was one of Rutherford's "cane boys".
  When Rutherford presented large auditorium sermons, a group of a dozen men armed with hickory walking canes would tear into any trouble-makers and wail on them or yank them up out of there seats and give em the bum's rush.
  
  He said it with a big grin, too.
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  16

  The evolution of the INVISIBLE JESUS doctrine: a TIMELINE

  by Terry in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  william miller (1782-1849), preached that the second coming of jesus christ would occur some time between march 21, 1843 and march 21, 1844. .

  miller was invited to preach his "proofs" to churches in many locations.

  many heard and became convinced.. millers followers may have numbered as many as 100,000. .

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  Terry

  
  
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  16

  The evolution of the INVISIBLE JESUS doctrine: a TIMELINE

  by Terry in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  william miller (1782-1849), preached that the second coming of jesus christ would occur some time between march 21, 1843 and march 21, 1844. .

  miller was invited to preach his "proofs" to churches in many locations.

  many heard and became convinced.. millers followers may have numbered as many as 100,000. .

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  Terry

  Phizzy
  

  Interesting and illuminating to read how Russell was really an arch plagiarist of other's ideas.

  _________________
  When it comes to "stealing" the religious ideas of others or plagiarizing them,
  this thought comes to mind. It is in the form of a question:
  "Wouldn't a "true" understanding (inasmuch as it comes from Jehovah/Christ) be the product of the Divine?
  It would not BELONG to the religious writer expounding or publishing it, surely.
  And yet - claiming somebody plagiarized your work seems to me to be an ADMISSION it ISN'T divine in origin.
  I see this in the fact that the Organization demands YouTube videos be taken down when the WT publications are cited. The GB seems to be admitting: "This shit comes out of our ass - not Jehovah's - or it would belong to every lover of Truth."
  
  
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  1

  Don't Sweat the Petty things (and Don't Pet the Sweaty things)!

  by Terry in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  changing a diaper is a lot like getting a present from your grandmother - you're not sure what you've got but you're pretty sure you're not going to like it.____egotists have one really great trait.

  they don't talk about other people._____it is impossible to know what a truly deserted area looks like.____words to live by: don't sweat the petty things and don't pet the sweaty things.____strange but true: most people work just hard enough not to get fired and get paid just enough money not to quit.____what does 'subjective' mean?

  have you ever noticed that anybody driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac?____you have to stay in shape.

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  Terry

  Changing a diaper is a lot like getting a present from your grandmother - you're not sure what you've got but you're pretty sure you're not going to like it.
  ____
  Egotists have one really great trait. They don't talk about other people.
  _____
  It is impossible to know what a truly deserted area looks like.
  ____
  Words to live by: Don't sweat the petty things and don't pet the sweaty things.
  ____
  Strange but true: Most people work just hard enough not to get fired and get paid just enough money not to quit.
  ____
  What does 'subjective' mean? Have you ever noticed that anybody driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac?
  ____
  You have to stay in shape. My grandmother, she started walking five miles a day when she was 60. She's 97 today and we don't know where the hell she is.
  ____
  Wanting to be 'somebody' makes you realize you really need to be more specific.
  ____
  Why is it that when we talk to God we're said to be praying, but when God talks to us we're schizophrenic?
  _____
  
  Never pick a fight with an ugly person, they've got nothing to lose
  ___
  There really is only one foolproof way to look thin;
  hang out with fat people!
  
  _____
  In honor of "Don't get no respect" Rodney Dangerfield.
  
• 
  12

  Anointed Grandmother wakes up

  by Terry in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  anointed great grandmother who woke upi arrived at the coffee shop on my bicycle and took up a seat at the outdoor table in the fresh air.

  (this was way before the pandemic).. a lady with permed white hair walked over to my table and spoke directly to me.. i was wearing earbuds at that moment and didn’t hear.

  i popped them out and asked her to repeat herself.. “that’s a beautiful bicycle you have there.

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  Terry

  Haven't seen Edgar the crime boss Crow lately - staying away from Starbucks.
  It reopened a while back and now I think shut down again.
  I do wonder how many wild scavenger beasties are impacted by the shutdown of restaurants inasmuch as the trash bins provide a feast of fun for all.

  _____
  
  
  
• 
  12

  Anointed Grandmother wakes up

  by Terry in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  anointed great grandmother who woke upi arrived at the coffee shop on my bicycle and took up a seat at the outdoor table in the fresh air.

  (this was way before the pandemic).. a lady with permed white hair walked over to my table and spoke directly to me.. i was wearing earbuds at that moment and didn’t hear.

  i popped them out and asked her to repeat herself.. “that’s a beautiful bicycle you have there.

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  Terry

  I know of a young man raised a JW who is now out completely. He is highly intelligent, well-mannered, and ambitious. On the surface, it looks like he made it out of the lifelong cult without too many scars - but - I've gotten to know him at a deeper level and I know he is in anguish.
  He recently walked off his job where he was making seventy thousand dollars over an issue of conscience about Black Lives Matter.
  It is my considered opinion, he has transitioned from one rigid mindset to another (regardless of merit) because he craves solidarity, community, and a righteous cause.
  That hunger is ravening and this is an outlet.
  I'm not a psychologist, but he calls me and he's crying and hurting and he's confused.
  When I was disfellowshipped, I had no idea I was suffering some kind of PTSD. I really didn't. But my live went off the rails and I thought I was just a rotten fellow.
  I bring all this up for a reason. The DAMAGE is done and it doesn't repair itself.
  The alternative to the frying is NOT the fire.
  Where is a former cult member groomed for only one rigid mindset to go and still remain sane?
  That conditioning is profound.
  I was an angry person when I first came here in around 2003 and got into one debate after another. I'm not really like that. My temperament is easy going and silly most of the time - but - that old anger at all things religion took hold of me. I see it in others more easily now.
  We're broken people who can help each other heal with kindness and understanding.
  I told the (above) fellow to remember one thing when he tries to wake is mother and sister up about JW's.
  "You are taking away something and you don't have the ability to replace what's gone. There's an empty space the size of Jehovah and a Kingdom Hall they have to cope with. Do you understand what sort of wound that is to inflict under the auspices of "setting things straight"?
  Remember that scene in the Matrix after Neo takes the red pill and wakes up?
  SCARY AS HELL.
  That's what happens when you wake JW's up.
  It's good to remember that we who do the waking need to have a plan for how to deal with the wreckage.
  
  
• 
  12

  Anointed Grandmother wakes up

  by Terry in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  anointed great grandmother who woke upi arrived at the coffee shop on my bicycle and took up a seat at the outdoor table in the fresh air.

  (this was way before the pandemic).. a lady with permed white hair walked over to my table and spoke directly to me.. i was wearing earbuds at that moment and didn’t hear.

  i popped them out and asked her to repeat herself.. “that’s a beautiful bicycle you have there.

  1. 
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• 

  Terry

  When the Furuli letter came to light along with his book, I immediately
  remember sister "Boots", as we all called her.
  Can you imagine?
  You can demonstrate your loyalty and try to make a correction for the sake of reality and sanity and truth - but - they kick you to the ground no matter what.
  
  I wonder how may of these letters decrying false teachings the Watchtower has in their files?
  
  
  
• 
  12

  Anointed Grandmother wakes up

  by Terry in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  anointed great grandmother who woke upi arrived at the coffee shop on my bicycle and took up a seat at the outdoor table in the fresh air.

  (this was way before the pandemic).. a lady with permed white hair walked over to my table and spoke directly to me.. i was wearing earbuds at that moment and didn’t hear.

  i popped them out and asked her to repeat herself.. “that’s a beautiful bicycle you have there.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Terry

  ANOINTED Great Grandmother who woke up
  
  I arrived at the coffee shop on my bicycle and took up a seat at the outdoor table in the fresh air. (This was way before the pandemic).

  A lady with permed white hair walked over to my table and spoke directly to me.

  I was wearing earbuds at that moment and didn’t hear. I popped them out and asked her to repeat herself.

  “That’s a beautiful bicycle you have there. What a great way to stay healthy!”

  I tossed off a few uninteresting statistics about how many days I’ve ridden my bicycle without relying on an automobile.

  As I spoke, I could see she was scrutinizing my face like a private investigator rummaging for clues. The analytical part of my brain went on alert at that instant. What was she doing?

  “I think I know you. It’s been a long, long time ago when last I saw you. I don’t expect you’d remember me but I remember you because my great grandmother use to tell me how much you reminded her of her favorite movie star, Randolph Scott.”

  Straightaway, I put 2+2 together! I knew exactly who she was talking about--after all, nobody else in the whole world had ever said I looked like Randolph Scott but one lady!

  “You’re talking about **Mildred Pettifog, aren’t you?”
  This lady about fell over when I pulled that rabbit out of the hat!

  
  “How in the world--I mean--that’s impossible you should say that. How--how do you know that?”

  I explained the instant connection and invited her to sit. I could see she wanted to talk.

  She was jovial, keen-eyed and pleasant. All the while I was waiting for the other shoe to drop.

  I'm an EX Jehovah’s Witness and that is a ticking time bomb in one of these conversations.
  Until they find out you’re not one of them--they’re friendly.

  The second you tell them - they’ll flee in terror at the prospect an “Apostate” might be talking to them!
  
  

  It came as a huge relief when she took the initiative to tell me she had escaped from the clutches of the Organization.

  We swapped horror stories and gossipy tidbits for awhile until she was just about ready to leave. Then she stopped and gazed out into the middle distance and dredged up a memory to relate to me. After I heard it, I sort of sat dumb with my jaw hanging open.
  ______

  This "woke"JW told me a little story about her great grandmother.
  
  ___________________
  First - a bit of background about how I knew this Anointed great grandmother .

  The first time I encountered Mildred Pettifog she was a full time Pioneer knocking on stranger’s doors. (“Pioneer” door to door neighborhood ministry @ one hundred hours each month as a required ministerial quota.)

  Yes, she was one of Jehovah’s Witnesses and had been brought up as one of the old Bible Students connected to Pastor Russell's group since the late 19th century.
  
  In case that means nothing to you, think of it this way, the Civil War was fought 15 years before Mildred was born.

  By the time I was introduced to her (1960), this interesting little bundle of dynamite was already 80 years old and going strong.

  In today’s world, older women chase after eternal youth cosmetically in ways which hide or disguise the aging process. Hardly anyone actually knows what an old person would look like without this lavish attention to diet, exercise, Botox, face-lifts, and youthful stylishness.
  However, back in 1960, when I first attended the Fort Worth Polytechnic Kingdom Hall as a guest, old ladies still looked like old ladies.

  For example . . .

  Sister Pettifog sported a funny little purple hat riveted to the back of her head by a long hat pin with an improbably large pearl on its end about the size of a Robin’s egg. Her hair was mostly silver-white tinged with an incomprehensible blue tint.

  What a face!
  Hers was a crinkled smile - and large brown eyes with fierce determination - but kindness.
  Her cheeks radiated a pinkish orange circle of (rouge) a proper style back in the olden days. Once seen, Sister Pettifog was not soon forgotten!

  Her dresses appeared to be handmade on her old Singer sewing machine. Her prudently selected fabric at the local fabric shop was demure.
  The steel rimmed bifocals framed her wide-set eyes perfectly and bestowed an impression of quiet intelligence and wisdom.
  
  

  Sister Mildred always liked a perfume you named Jungle Gardenia. I was told all this on the spot, of course, by the lady herself within 5 minutes of meeting her. (Yes - random:)

  The most remarkable aspect of Mildred Pettifog’s persona was the fact she was one of the elite anointed members at our Kingdom Hall.

  (At the time, it was special - very special. A hallowed celebrity status.
  Decades later the ruling Governing Body has taken all that special cachet for themselves alone.)
  
  What did it actually mean to be “anointed” by holy spirit as a JW?
  
  Sister Pettifog had what was known as “a heavenly calling.”
  Rank and file Jehovah’s Witnesses don’t set their hopes on going to heaven when they die.

  No, not at all!
  The vast majority aim for an “Earthly hope.” Life everlasting in a new Eden.
  
  Scant few possess the interior tingle of a self-aware frisson. (A special self-awareness)
  
  If you’ve never been a Jehovah’s Witness, you’ll be scratching your head about now wondering aloud just how cuckoo this denomination really is.

  Don’t worry about that right now, suffice it to say Mildred Pettifog was a rare individual viewed with almost “magical” special-ness (although no JW would ever employ the word “magic.”)
  
  

  Until fairly recently, the millions of Jehovah’s Witnesses all over the world were under the impression the “anointed” got direct messages from the heavenly realm tipping them off about sacred secrets and advance prophetic divination. These whisperings were better than stock market tips! (Although none has ever paid off).

  
  
  The person introducing me spoke in a sudden and respectful hushed tone of awe in their voice as Mildred’s name was intoned. This created a funny feeling inside of me too.
  
  The psychology of awe is quite contagious! Sort of like, “Ya wanna meet Elvis?”

  Now you may be wondering why I’m telling you all this about one little old lady, right?
  In the grand scheme of things, it means nothing to you, of course.
  
  Well, don’t be so sure.
  Give me a couple of more minutes to relate my story and you might just change your mind.
  Fair enough?
  
  ________________
  Another layer of Background
  
  

  Before I met him, my future best friend Johnny had gone through a sudden ‘conversion experience’ after a conversation with Mildred Pettifog.
  He was only 9 years old at that time.

  Sister Pettifog had knocked on his door and his mother Jenny had answered. Much to his surprise and horror, Jenny started cussing out the old lady and slammed the door in her face after only a few moments of discussion of the Bible.

  Johnny felt his world crash about him.
  After all, his mom Jenny was NOT that kind of person. She was a charming, affable, and a genuinely kind woman. Why had she been so vulgar and rude to the old lady?

  (Johnny told me the whole story about 5 years before he died.)
  
  Johnny’s parents moved to Fort Worth from South Texas and had dressed up special to go to the nearby Baptist Church for the first time taking all their kids with them (Johnny, Judy, JoAnn, Vicki).

  Upon arrival, the Pastor of the all white church pulled them aside and not-too-politely instructed them to go to the “Mexican” Baptist Church three miles distant.
  Why?
  “You folks will feel more comfortable there.”

  Johnny’s father was from a Spanish family and his skin was deep hued in an era in which race relations in the South were testy, judgmental, and volatile.

  Following this stinging and hurtful embarrassing rejection, Jenny and Steve disavowed church in a fit of righteous indignation, nursing their tender feelings self-isolated from fellowship of any sort.
  
  The arrival of Sister Pettifog at the door that day was ill-timed at the “worst possible” moment for raw emotions triggering an unfortunate outburst from Jenny Santa Cruz.

  9-year-old Johnny ran after the old lady and apologized to her for his mother’s tantrum and insults.
  Unexpectedly (from Johnny's point-of-view, Sister Pettifog was jovial and forgiving.
  
  She invited Johnny to sit with her once a week for a private Bible study.
  He leapt at the offer being of an especially open and intelligent frame of mind given to a natural curiosity about the Divine.

  So powerful was the teaching and personality of Sister Pettifog, in no time at all she was studying with the rest of Johnny’s family, overcoming all objections, answering questions and amazing them with her uncanny grasp of all the spiritual secrets of the Almighty Jehovah!

  The upshot of this incident will now make more sense to you with this background in place.
  
  For, you see, Johnny became my best friend some 3 years after that incident and he began bombarding me with religious conversation from day one.
  Johnny learned from an Anointed - and I learned from Johnny. It was like being taught piano by a student of Beethoven himself! (I don't exaggerate).
  
  

  When I attended the local Kingdom Hall with him my first time, it was fated to be my first meeting with Johnny’s favorite person in all the world of Jehovah and anointing: Sister Pettifog!
  
  

  It was Johnny’s tone of hushed awe which made my spine tingle when Sister Pettifog took my hand and told me,
  
  “You remind me of my favorite movie actor, Randolph Scott!”
  
  And So It Began!

  We’ve now squared the circle on all the background, haven’t we?
  Yes, I think so.
  
  I became a Jehovah’s Witness 3 years later.
  Within 20 years I’d be an Ex-JW while Johnny remained entrenched and immovable for the rest of his life.
  (He died at age 69. We had not spoken for years because of JW religious shunning practices when a member stops being a member.)
  ___________

  Back to the great granddaughter’s story related to me!

  _________

  (NOTE: It is impossible for me to be exactly quoting word-for-word a conversation. I have an excellent memory - but - this is ME quoting HER as I remember. This is my best shot.)
  ________
  Great Granddaughter speaks:

  “The first time my great grandmother said one bad thing about the WatchTower organization I thought I was going to have a heart attack! It was like a bomb went off in my head! Granny Mildred is the one person most able to turn a Bible study into a Baptism.
  She had a way about her.
  She was not just the best; she was the best of the best.
  But, as you well know, the Truth, so-called, of the WatchTower organization has a way of changing infrequently with a strange anonymity to the process. Mildred noticed it and used the word, “Sneaky.”

  "This shocked me. I didn’t believe my ears. I asked her to explain.
  When I heard what she had to say, I wished I hadn’t!
  She stood there in the kitchen helping me wash dishes like she always insisted on doing and at the same time started ticking off a long list of horrible things she claimed the Organization had done over the years to prove they were NOT the true religion! I kept telling her not to continue.
  I was panicking!
  I immediately thought of rushing her to the hospital. It was obvious to me--or so I thought--she had suffered a stroke and wasn’t responsible for her words!”
  
  

  “It took her almost a year to deprogram me!
  We moved to Oklahoma and started going to a new Kingdom Hall.
  All the while, she kept going to all the meetings and out in Field Service, (door to door,) like nothing inside her had changed.
  I asked her how she could stand it. How could she pretend this was still “The Truth”?
  
  “Mildred smiled and explained she could do a whole lot more good ‘undercover’ than as an Apostate, because nobody was allowed to listen to an ex-member. But everybody would listen to her as one of the anointed remnant!”
  ______

  At this point in her story, I was stunned. This was amazing me! I begged for details. The great granddaughter glanced at her watch. She had to go shortly but she said she’d tell me this one thing Mildred always did when she was around young Witnesses.
  _____

  "My Great Grandmother would wait until she was in the car with a trapped audience who couldn’t flee. Then she’d start talking about her life as a Jehovah’s Witness. . . .
  
  Pettifog's voice:

  “I was born the year after the WatchTower was first published.
  My parents were among the first Bible Students to subscribe.
  Pastor Russell taught the Time of the End started in 1799 when Napoleon took the Pope hostage. I bet you never hear THAT before -well - It's embarrassing to say that out loud."
  
  "Pastor Russell explained to us that Jesus returned in 1874 invisibly.
  You don’t know that either, of course. It's embarrassing to say that out loud, too."
  
  "Pastor Russell came up with some very exact measurements of the Great Pyramid in Egypt to predict 1914. Yes - that's what I said. The Pastor assured all of us, 1914 was definitely scheduled by the pyramid to be Armageddon! He explained that the Children of Israel had built the Great Pyramid and Jehovah put secret messages - so to speak - into those measurements!
  Does that sound crazy? Well, shame on you for being smarter than Pastor Russell!
  It was all "true" and Truth for awhile. And then - it wasn't any more!
  Pastor Russell died and another WatchTower president took his place - and - CHANGED the meaning of the Great Pyramid. He told us - Satan placed those measurement inside to fool us!"
  
  Yes - everything we had been teaching our friends and neighbors was suddenly changed overnight--and no longer the Truth anymore!"
  WatchTower is always moving dates forward just like it was nothing--game pieces on a board! Lots of Brothers and Sisters fell away over the years. Isn't that sad?"
  
  "Just because the Truth stopped making sense - they went Apostate!
  Here is a lesson for you girls.
  How I felt as a young girl, as a teenager, as a grown woman - again and again I would have to erase everything I was told as though it never happened! You'll learn to do it too!"
  
  "Here is how you do it, how I did it -- I was not faithful to the Bible--no sir!
  I stayed faithful to the Organization!
  Why?
  I knew I was going to heaven no matter what the Governing Body decided was true! "
  Here is what happened:
  I didn’t graduate from High School or go to college.
  You know why? Because Armageddon was coming in 1914--what good would a worldly education do for me?
  Of course - it never happened!
  Then, when I was 45 years old, Armageddon came again. By that I mean this--it did NOT. It was ‘supposed to’.
  But, once again, we remained loyal to Jehovah’s Organization--never mind the Bible.
  The Bible says “No man knows the day and hour.”
  Our best Bible explainer all those years was a man named Fred Franz. Of course he was like an Oracle. An Anointed soothsayer.
  Franz was like an Old Testament prophet. If he said it--it was considered true.
  No point in ready your Bible if Fred said something - you learned to go along.
  Brother Franz came up with 1975 as the End of six-thousand years of human existence .
  He taught that it was The Truth and he got it wrong TWICE."
  
  "I just learned to hang on and hang in there. I knew I'm gong to heaven!
  There was for all of us anointed on sure fire way to know when the End was near.
  Fewer and fewer Anointed were alive on Earth. As the numbers of us grew smaller - the time was getting closer - you see? Easy Peasy."
  
  The anointed Generation of 1914, had to still be alive to SEE the end.
  Our Anointed lives were the Countdown Clock.
  Each year, more of us anointed would die and that proved Armageddon was getting closer and closer.
  I’m 98 years old. I was 95 the last time Armageddon didn’t come.
  You understand?
  That was 3 years ago we were taught the world was ending because of Earthquakes, famine, wars--except IT DIDN’T HAPPEN.
  So many have died.
  So many lost faith in Jehovah’s Organization. But, not me! I’m faithful and loyal to the bitter end.”
  ______
  
  

  The geat granddaughter shook her head in wonderment at the words she related to me and added,
  
  “How she got away with that--I just don’t know. You could see the young kids’ faces. They didn’t know if she had lost her mind or what! If a young person were of college age, she went out of her way to talk to them. She’d get them off by themselves and say:
  "I never got a proper education because the world was ending. It seemed to be ending over and over and over. "
  (With a wink.)
  “I have friends who never married - and why? Like I said - the End was coming again!
  They have no kids or grand kids because we were assured we’d all be in heaven or Paradise."
  
  "Many people now are old, bitter and unhealthy... they never lived a real life just waiting around for Armageddon. Not me - I went ahead and married and I had beautiful kids and grand kids. Do you suppose I’m sorry? Well, I am sorry I didn’t go to college. I could have earned enough money to give my children and grandchildren a start in life. But don’t listen to me. I’m just a grumpy old lady and my mind isn’t as clear as it used to be.”
  Then Mildred would walk away leaving those young JW’s with a dazzled expression of pure horror and puzzlement behind.

  I asked if any Elders ever gave her a good stern talking to.

  “Oh for heaven’s sakes! Are you serious? Mildred was too slick for that!
  She knew her scriptures and she’d start quoting them one after another until the busybody would shrug and give up. You see, she knew they had too much respect for her to get mean--like they do with most members who have loose tongues.”
  _____

  What happened to Sister Pettifog?

  “Mildred died peacefully in her sleep. She had written a long letter to be read to the congregation at her funeral. She mailed it to the Presiding Elder and a copy to WatchTower headquarters before she died. Do I need to tell you, that letter was never read or mentioned by anybody?
  I was asked if I knew anything I needed to tell--about Sister Pettifog’s state of mind. I told them she had only grown more loving, kind, cheerful and open-hearted the older she got. I told them what she had said about loyalty to Jehovah’s Organization, too. They didn’t catch the telltale irony.”
  
  She stopped...gave a little shrug. Eyes moist with remembrance. (Me too.)

  Then, granddaughter had to leave. I thanked her for stopping to talk to me.
  “How long after your great grandmother died did you start to fade?”

  She turned to go and stopped.
  
  Her tongue flicked out to lick her lower lip reflectively.
  
  “It was probably the day after her funeral.”

  _________________
  
  I sat and shook my head for awhile.
  Stunning encounter it was.
  
  1. Her great grandmother was directly responsible for my best friend Johnny’s captivation with Jehovah’s Witnesses.
  2. Johnny, in turn, was responsible for my indoctrination leading to eventual imprisonment later on during the Vietnam War.
  3. I, in turn, was a Pioneer who held many Bible studies which led to baptism.
  The chain-of-abuse was finally broken when I woke up.
  
  I became an active anti-JW writing books, whistle-blowing about WatchTower deceit.
  We all do - don't we? We try to tell people any way we can.
  
  Yet--the lady who thought I looked like Randolph Scott impacted so many lives!!
  She brought em in - and she got em out again.
  
  She takes the cake! (As old folks used to say.)
  
  She was a secret activist for the last years of her life and she got away with it.
  I’d love to know how many young people she spoke to whose minds were changed or jarred or awakened by her cunning testimony?

  She really and truly was Remarkable!

  _________________

  I have changed the lady's name at the request of her great granddaughter. I've honored her request.