Brothers committed suicide over 1914

by stev 11 Replies latest watchtower scandals

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  stev

  This excerpt gives the information that brothers committed suicide over the disappointment of 1914. I have never heard this before.

  http://towerwatch.com/articles/caputo_appeal_committee_meeting.htm

  I met a woman in Florida, she was ninety-three years old...a sister. She called me up and said, "I want to go to the opera and I want to take you to the Kingdom Hall." I wasn’t really going to meetings. I was really struggling. I said, "ok I’ll go with you." I drove with this sister to the Kingdom Hall. I said, (to her) "how long have you been a witness?" She said, "I was born into the organization." I said, "my god you were born into the organization? Your father must have been a witness?" She said, "he was but he didn’t die as a witness." And I said "why is that?" And she answered, "well, when 1914 fell through he had sold everything, and many of the brothers around the world had committed suicide because of the failure of 1914."

  I had always gone door to door and told people that we knew 1914 was the end of the gentile times but we weren’t sure exactly what would happen. That’s what I preached...because colleagues that were Christians in various opera houses where I would work would say to me, "Witness are false prophets." I would vehemently and vigorously debate that that was not the case. I asked the sister, "you’re telling me that we predicted the end of the world?" "Absolutely!" She said, "you know what? The society doesn’t want anyone to know how severe it was. That’s why my husband ended up leaving the organization. He left with almost no faith in God whatsoever."

  So I came home and at this point I was completely a mess... and I went to my father who was good friends with a man named Steve Suraci... in West Haven. (To Brother "M2") Do you know Steven? He’s a nice man, a nice gentleman. He’s a Bible Student straight from 1916...Russellite. He looks at Russell like he’s God. I met with him.

  I said "Steve I want you to level with me. I know you love Russell, but I’m at a crossroads in my life and I want to know, did Russell predict the end of the world for 1914." (Responding) "Yes he did." "Did brothers commit suicide around the world?" (Responding) "Yes they did." And when that happened to me…(Getting emotional) I hope I’m communicating my sincerity to you brothers. When that happened to me, my world collapsed.
• 

  Satanus

  I never heard this before, either. Interesting.

  S
• 

  in a new york bethel minute

  wow that's an interesting 1st person telling of events... funny how the WTS depicted those who lost faith as the "evil slave" for not sticking with idiots who made idiotic predictions...

  bethel
• 

  Leolaia

  *** w67 2/15 pp. 118-119 "From a Weak State . . . Made Powerful" ***

  There is a pioneer brother, still serving in the south of New Zealand at eighty-seven years of age, and his faithful pioneer wife is even a few years older. He sold his business in 1914, so that he could enjoy at least a few months of "colporteur" pioneer service before the expected big crash came in the autumn of that year. He is fond of quoting Jeremiah 20:7: "You have fooled me, O Jehovah, so that I was fooled." For though he had expected his pioneer service on earth to be for a brief season only, it has stretched out through more than fifty rewarding years, together with trials and reproaches. And at last reports, he is still going "strong," like Samson. Would he have had it any different? No! Moreover, he encourages young people to have the same viewpoint that he had back there in 1914. Make the most of the golden opportunity of pioneering the good news NOW!
• 

  Darth Yhwh

  Of course you’ve never heard of this before. Do you thing the WBTS want’s the R&F to know that its false prophecies are responsible for causing death. I have never heard of these stories either but I’m not surprised in the least.
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  Leolaia

  A similar claim:

  "In 1914 my great grandfather's brother (my great-great grand uncle?) who had been a follower of Rev Russel committed suicide, mistaking the outbreak of WWI for Armageddon and believing that he was going to Russel's paradise. He was still a young man and my great grandfather never got over it......."

  http://www.dannyhaszard.com/guestlog.htm
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  Satanus

  'Course, back then russel and his hand full of followers were nobodies, just a small band of wackos among other groups of wackos. It is no wonder that noone paid attention if a few of them drank the koolaide.

  S
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  Bangalore

  Bttt.

  Bangalore
• 

  Lore

  There is of course the possibility that the reason you've never heard of this before is simply that it's not true.

  I would require more evidence before I spread this story around.

  I can imagine you telling a witness about this, they say: "That never happened."
  Then what? You are left with: "Yuh huh! This guy on the internet says he talked to someone who said it happened!"

  They already think apostates are liars and sent by Satan to trick them.
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  Gayle

  Suicide and pedophile abuses would both be issues silenced because of the WTS "image." JWs in the know don't want to talk about it and those that do, are reprimanded to keep talking about such things.