@SimonSays, How old are you? If you are less than 60 you are not old enough to have experienced the climate of the time between 1968 and 1975.
I AM old enough to remember vividly. If what you say is true, that it was overzealous individuals reading between the lines, who wrote the lines? Who fostered the attitude? Who appointed the elders, COs, DOs who whipped up the frenzy? Who commended (in writing) those who sold all their possessions to pioneer for the "remaining months"? Who selected the speakers and wrote the outlines and manuscripts for the assemblies and conventions where it was repeatedly stated that the millennium reign of Christ HAD to be included in the 7th day of Jah's rest "day" that they stated as fact is 7,000 years long?
They stated as fact that 6,000 years of mankind's existence ended in 1975, therefore the "Great Tribulation" would occur on or BEFORE 1975 to make the entire time period EXACTLY 7,000 years long.
Late in 1973 my contractor husband built a modest 2 bedroom house for us. The elders took him in the back room and disqualified him from being a MS solely on that basis. Although it took only 4 months to build "he was not living with a view to the END".