Hi JustMe2. There are many, many, many quotes in the 10 year build up to '75; it would take you your entire weekend to chew through them all. However, the "classics" are bite-size. For your own research I'll list a few classic 1975 quotes for you to look up:
First off, if any PIMI JWs regurgitate last year's convention propaganda - "it was just a few rogue JWs" - then, I would ask: If Watchtower did not fan the flames, then why did Watchtower apologise for doing so?
Yes, due to dwindling number - people leaving after 1975 - they eventually printed this reluctant apology:
Admission of responsibility:
w80 3/15 17 par.5 "With the appearance of
the book Life Everlasting—in Freedom of the
Sons of God, and its comments as to how appropriate it would be for the
millennial reign of Christ to parallel the seventh millennium of man’s
existence, considerable expectation was aroused
regarding the year 1975. There were
statements made then, and thereafter, stressing that this was only a
possibility. Unfortunately, however, along with such cautionary information,
there were other statements published that
implied that such realization of hopes by that year was more of a probability than a mere possibility.
It is to be regretted that these latter
statements apparently overshadowed the cautionary ones and contributed to a buildup of the expectation
already initiated."
So, here's some of those "statements published" that the above apology is referring to...
The book
that planted the seed for 1975:
"The published
timetable resulting from this independent study gives the date of man's
creation as 4026 B.C.E. According to this trustworthy
Bible chronology six thousand years from man's creation will end in
1975, and the seventh period of a
thousand years of human history will begin in
the fall of 1975 C.E. So six thousand years of man's existence on earth
will soon be up, yes, within this generation. So in not many years within our own generation we are reaching what
Jehovah God could view as the seventh day of man's existence. How appropriate
it would be for Jehovah God to make of this coming seventh period of a thousand
years a sabbath period of rest and release, a great Jubilee sabbath for the
proclaiming of liberty throughout the earth to all its inhabitants! This would
be most timely for mankind. It would also be most fitting on God's part, for,
remember, mankind has yet ahead of it what the last book of the Holy Bible
speaks of as the reign of Jesus Christ over earth for a thousand years, the
millennial reign of Christ. It would not be by
mere chance or accident but would be
according to the loving purpose of Jehovah God for the reign of Jesus
Christ, the 'Lord of the Sabbath,' to run parallel with the seventh millennium
of man's existence." Life Everlasting in
Freedom of the Sons of God (1966) pp.26-30
Here's the infamous chart on page 35 of that book:
km 3/68 4 (insert) "Just think, brothers, there are only about ninety months left before
6,000 years of man's existence on earth is completed. Do you remember what we
learned at the assemblies last summer? The majority
of people living today will probably be alive when Armageddon breaks out,
and there are no resurrection hopes for those that are destroyed then."
w68 5/1 272 par.7 "Within a few years at most the final parts of Bible
prophecy relative to these “last days” will undergo fulfillment, resulting in
the liberation of surviving mankind into Christ’s glorious 1,000-year
reign."
Words of caution? If Jesus' words of
"nobody knows" sprang to mind, how should we reason?
w68 8/15 500 par. 35 Why Are You Looking Forward to
1975? "This is not the time to be toying
with the words of Jesus that “concerning that day and hour nobody knows, neither the angels of the
heavens nor the Son, but only the Father.” (Matt. 24:36) "
Same article, par.30, admitted that Autumn 1975 was not an
exact calculation. But regarding possible adjustments it stated "It may
involve only a difference of weeks or months, not years"
g69 5/22 15 “If you are a young person, you
also need to face the fact that you will never grow old in this present system
of things.”
w70 5/1 273 par. 5 "Bible chronology which
indicates that Adam was created in the fall of the year 4026 B.C.E. would
bring us down to the year 1975 C.E.
as the date marking 6,000 years of human history with yet 1,000 years to come
for Christ’s Kingdom rule. So whatever the date for the end of this system, it
is clear that the time left is reduced, with only
approximately six years left until the end of 6,000 years of human
history. (1 Cor. 7:29) This corroborates
the understanding of Jesus’ words that the generation
alive in 1914 with the outbreak of World War I would not pass away until the end comes."
g71 8/10 27 - diagram showing Christ's
Millennial Reign to BEGIN in 1975 (after 6000 years of man)
km 5/74 3 (insert) "Yes, since the summer
of 1973 there have been new peaks in pioneers every month. Now there are 20,394
regular and special pioneers in the United States, an all-time peak. That is
5,190 more than there were in February 1973! A 34-percent increase! Does that
not warm our hearts? Reports are heard of
brothers selling their homes and property and planning to finish out the
rest of their days in this old system in the pioneer service. Certainly this is a fine way to spend the short time remaining before the wicked
world’s end."
Now some homework for you: see if you can find a record album cover with a woman reading this 1975-hype magazine...
I hope that you don't waste too much of your weekend looking those up, but maybe it will help you to avoid being taken in by the Watchtower propaganda that "1975 was just a few hippies making too much of things"...
