Found a larger image of the aforementioned illustration. It is from the February 15, 1990 WT. 
Distracted
JoinedPosts by Distracted
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105
Subliminal images - why and who are the individuals behind it?
by UnshackleTheChains ini remember about 5 years ago reading on another site about subliminal images in wt literature.
i honestly thought it a load of bs until i checked out one glaringly obvious image of a creepy skull in clouds within the knowledge book.
i was shocked and even showed my wife at the time who thought it was creepy.. so my question is why?
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Distracted
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105
Subliminal images - why and who are the individuals behind it?
by UnshackleTheChains ini remember about 5 years ago reading on another site about subliminal images in wt literature.
i honestly thought it a load of bs until i checked out one glaringly obvious image of a creepy skull in clouds within the knowledge book.
i was shocked and even showed my wife at the time who thought it was creepy.. so my question is why?
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Distracted
The first time I saw this image on a website I checked my bound WT volumes and it really was there -- wasn't altered in any way. I don't see how anyone who looks at this image closely could not see the subliminal skull/monster face with the name JAH in its teeth. (There is something amuck with the character's physiology too, especially the neck and forearm facing the viewer, not sure what that is about.) I realized then that a lot of the artwork is meant to keep Witnesses in a state of fear and unease. I remember when I was child and having to study the Paradise book. I don't know if it had any subliminals in it, but some of the pictures did scare me and they are stuck in my psyche.
Note the ugly jarring colors in this illustration too. Very hot and intense blaring light effects.This color combination has been used in other WT illustrations. Colors are chosen to set a mood and do have psychological effects on people. Pattern and design are also chosen to have certain effects on the viewer by professional artists. I have a BA in fine art and I paint. I know sometimes you can do unintentional things that are suggestive but they wouldn't be this calculated and blatant.
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"50 Years a Watchtower Slave" Chapter 5 Part B
by new boy inone thing they never talked about at the assemblies was how many predictions they made in the pass about the so called end of the world.
predictions that never came to be.
i didn’t know it at the time and most jehovah’s witnesses didn’t know that charles russell (1852-1916), the founder, believed that christ had secretly arrived in the year 1874 and that he would establish the kingdom of god on earth in october 1914 russell based this prophecy on his studies of the bible and the great pyramid.
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Distracted
When 1975 came around, the witnesses I knew had heard enough that they thought "no one knows the day or the hour." It is true, however, that 1975 was talked about and speculated on frequently. including the idea that Adam was created on a certain year and the sabbath resting of God would enter into it's last millenium of the 7th 7,000 year long day. (Witnesses used to believe that the creative days in Genesis were 7K years long). But then we were cautioned to realize there could have been several years before Eve was created (and Adam/Eve sinned) so things were still extremely urgent but not necessarily immediate. And this was a loving thing from Jehovah to allow us more time to engage in our lifesaving preaching work.
Only a few that I knew personally in the area actually did highly irrational things. My congregation was made up of a lot of stable older people though, probably already inured to the date setting and disappointments. I was a teen so I was actually relieved when it didn't come then. 'Fraid I would be destroyed for having a few impure thoughts. LOL. I remember telling my non-witness Dad that he needn't bother saving for us to go to college because we wouldn't need it. My first huge mistake.
Even so, we were thinking that Armageddon could come at anytime after that year. This whole thing does quite a number on a person's head. I still have relatives buying this garbled nonsense hook, line and sinker. It's so much easier than facing up to the very real problems humans need to acknowledge and to do something about them. Or facing up to their own mortality.
ETA There are sources that say the year 1975 specifically appeared in 1966 WT and Kingdom Ministries, in talks, etc... http://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/1975.php but mostly it was alluded to by other phrasing. Maybe the society realizes now that a hint can go a long way when it comes to Witnesses speculating.
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"50 Years a Watchtower Slave" Chapter 5 Part B
by new boy inone thing they never talked about at the assemblies was how many predictions they made in the pass about the so called end of the world.
predictions that never came to be.
i didn’t know it at the time and most jehovah’s witnesses didn’t know that charles russell (1852-1916), the founder, believed that christ had secretly arrived in the year 1874 and that he would establish the kingdom of god on earth in october 1914 russell based this prophecy on his studies of the bible and the great pyramid.
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Distracted
I found the 120 yr prediction quoted here: http://www.quotes-watchtower.co.uk/2034.html Somewhere, I have read that they have backed off of this date of 2034 because it's too far away to create urgency in the minds of believers and recruits, and also, it gives them plausible deniability.
Here is a pretty good article about the quandary that the WT is currently in: https://jwsrefined.com/2012/12/16/generation/
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That One Defining Moment That Changed Your Life.
by new boy init seems that many times in life there is a moment or an action that changes your whole world.
it could be just a look that someone gives you.. many times it can be something rather small.
something hardly noticeable by anyone but you.
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Distracted
A gradual awakening:
My husband was disfellowshiped after a period of craziness that was probably due to a serious health condition. He died shortly thereafter. Even though he had helped build numerous kingdom halls and did many other good works, no brothers would or could give a funeral service. Even though he left behind several small children and me.
Being taken advantage of by brothers, who were M.S.s or Elders, who wanted to buy my mate's tools and equipment on time. Eventually they didn't want to keep paying the monthly amounts agreed upon. Being told by pompous P.O. to just forget it, probably because I was a mere sister. Can you imagine him telling a brother that? I couldn't. When I got smart and sold a large item through a want ad for full cash payment and no haggling or other craziness, the P.O. said, why didn't you tell me you were selling it?...I would have bought it. Yeah, right.
When my child and some elder's children got in trouble together, mine was scapegoated as the instigator. Then having to watch my child be excluded while the cohorts just got a finger wag, at a time when the thirteen year old needed emotional and social support the most.
Going back to school and learning some helpful facts and opening my mind to various points of view that I never heard before.
Being in a library and coming across a slim volume on Apocalyptic movements. Sitting down and reading the whole thing. It told of the Millerites and how they looked to Christ's coming. When it didn't come, they sat another date. When that didn't come, they said Jesus's coming or parousia was evidently invisible. Feeling something inside me explode like a mushroom cloud. You see, as a third generation witness, I had always believed in the "gradually revealed light" explanations of the Bible Students/JW group. That when Jesus didn't come in 1914 or thereabouts, the leaders were inspired to know that his coming was invisible and was indicative of future events. Amazed to realize they ripped this off from an earlier group. (If anyone knows of a specific WT article that spells this out, I would be glad to hear of it. I know references probably do exist that say God gave them this specific new light as evidence of his support.)
It's funny what things impress us. I know a lot of other former witnesses say it was the blood doctrine or the scandal about the U.N. or the child abuse scandal. All those things are important, but the thing that really helped me personally see the light(!) was that little fifth-grade level book on religion.
I have had other epiphanies over the years that freed me up and helped shape me into an agnostic. I do believe in divine love and light that guides us if we allow it to. I used to wonder why I was put in the family I was and indoctrinated into such a religion, then guided to leave it. Very strange life I've had.
I know this post has several negative aspects, but I am grateful for some things that came about by being raised a witness. I did know some kindly witnesses who gave me a lot of support in my youth and throughout my life when I needed it. Being a witness helped me to avoid getting addicted to smoking or drugs.... I feel somewhat appreciative of the discipline and bible knowledge I acquired that helped me in other studies.
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What is the Latest JW Teaching on the Last Days and 1914
by Distracted ini was just wondering what the witnesses are saying now about the last days and how they know armageddon is real close, etc.
what is the latest teaching about 1914?
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Distracted
When I was wavering, I ran across a slim volume at the library on apocalyptic or adventist sects. It was an informative book and I don't think the writers had any particular agenda. It told the story of the Millerites and how the Witnesses and the Seventh Day Adventists sprung from them. I couldn't put it down. Very informative.
The thing that really got me was that when Miller's dates didn't go like he thought, he or one of his followers came up with the doctrine of Christ's presence or parousia and they also called this "new light." This shocked me because this was always taught in the Watchtower as a divine insight the Bible Students leadership come up with and was a proof that God was leading the organization. It turns out they just stole these ideas from the Millerites.
Thank you all for your answers and comments. Very helpful.
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Why is my Uncle (JW PO-COBE) and Aunt Cruella suing my parents and grandparents?
by ReligionOfHatred ini heard this is a website where you can ask fellow jehovah's witnesses questions that websites like jw friends will not allow you to post because they don't allow you to speak ill of any elder.
my aunt cruella de ville and uncle jaundice sent my grandpa (he's got dementia and grandma has cancer) a letter saying their going to force grandma and gramps in to selling the land my grandmother located back in the late 1970s, grandma is very smart and saw the potential for their land, she was very gifted seeing things others did not see.
in the 1980s my grandparents went to oregon to check on their daughter who was pregnant, they were appalled by the living conditions cruella was living and she was having to work even though she was heavy with child.. all of this started when my dad ran in to a elder at the grocery store and this elder told my dad that "the reason cruella and jaundice are shunning your inlaws is because their apostates and therefore have the right to shun them.
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Distracted
Your letter was quite lengthy and being the distracted person I am, I just skimmed through it. There are a couple of books you might want to read to understand the laws involved. I think many of the commenters are right -- focus on the legal aspects. People gonna be people. Some have such enormous amounts of denial and entitlement issues that you would just frustrate yourself needlessly trying to reason it out. Protect the people you love if you can.
I have been reading Property Law for Dummies that explains things well. Your library probably has a host of NOLO books and one or two of them might prove useful. Since you are going to school you might benefit from Nolo's guide to doing Legal Research. It will help you to research in a law library or online.
Most people don't realize that most Law libraries are open to the public.They contain volumes on case law, plus state and federal statutes. Your public library may have some of these things as well. You'd be surprised on what you can do yourself now adays. The more you do yourself, the less hours you would need a lawyer's help.
Sometimes just going for a thirty minute consultation with a lawyer can give you enough information to know what you must do. It would be worth the money, but sometimes a lawyer will give you this consultation for free.
Here are some helpful websites
http://real-estate-law.freeadvice.com/real-estate-law/
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I just found out that my youngest brother committed suicide
by SnakesInTheTower inmy middle brother called me a couple of hours ago.
our youngest brother, josh, who was 38, was found by his friends in his apartment.
he hung himself.
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Distracted
I lost someone very close to me due to suicide. I didn't think I could handle it, and I was going through a very atheistic period in my life, so I didn't feel there was hope of ever seeing them again. The whole thing was devastating to me and I didn't see how I could go on.
However, that person started leaving little unmistakable signs that they still exist, for me and other family members. It helped us all to get through it. I went from being an atheist to agnostic. I don't have many answers but I know there is more than this life.
It is my hope that you get whatever comfort you and your family needs.
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What is the Latest JW Teaching on the Last Days and 1914
by Distracted ini was just wondering what the witnesses are saying now about the last days and how they know armageddon is real close, etc.
what is the latest teaching about 1914?
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Distracted
I was just wondering what the Witnesses are saying now about the Last Days and how they know Armageddon is real close, etc. What is the latest teaching about 1914? -
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Creepy things jw's have said to you
by purrpurr inhere's mine: i'm 14 years old, just baptised and a old boy married elder of about 60 odd comes up to me and says " ooooooooooh!
"purrpurr"!
your getting such a lovely figure on you!
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Distracted
A few years ago I brought up to my Mom that the Watchtower owned stock in the Rand corporation and you could find them listed on the Web as stockholders. She just said the stock must have been donated and changed the conversation.
I thought to myself, I could see them accepting it, but holding on to it is a different matter. If my Mom had inherited stock in the Rand corporation, she would worry herself to death about it, not wanting to offend God or anyone in the org --but she can just excuse the org. just like that.
ETA:
At the time I said that, there was some information on the web about it and a link to shareholders where the WTBS was listed. I know it is controversial.