what was the jw`s high water mark? (page 2)

NewYork44M

I was young, but I remember a high level of excitement in the late 60s and early 70s. There was the attitude that we were on a "mission from God."

thanks for the comments, its good to fill in the blank spaces. some of you are really able to give a good overview i think that can really help people who have recently left the "truth" as they call it.

to be able to put this cult into context, that they have a some what mixed history as regards what they tell you, and what actually occured.

what a great site, what a great bunch of people, we may not always agree but if we can make it easier for people to find away out to a new life then that must mean something.

willyloman

I think the "peak" was reached at different times in different places, so it's hard to put a date on it. But as others have done here you can certainly pinpoint a time period.

I agree that 1995 was a watershed year for JWs. Twenty years from now, dub historians will mark that as the year things started to unravel for the Watchtower. My personal experience places the perceptible shift in momentum to the '90s. Prior to that, it was up, up, up. More growth, more congos, more bible studies, a lot of excitement in the air at the KH. By about 1993-94, it was clear growth was slowing. The euphoria over the opening up of Eastern Europe had subsided, too. And in the background, the "generation" was winding down - according to the "70 or 80 years" since 1914 interpretation that was never voiced by dub leadership but was on everyone's mind.

Of course, at the time, we didn't recognize it as a slowdown, it was just another one of those down cycles on a chart that had trended ever-upward. But looking back, clearly a lot of people had traded in 1975 for 1994 as the ultimate pull date. When that didn't happen, as acknowledged by the Society's disingenuous doctrinal shell game concerning the "generation" in 1995, the fat lady's song began.

OUTLAW

Pre-1975..

The WBT$ made some comebacks after..But..Never like that time period......Watchtower World was Rock`n the House,back in those days..

...............OUTLAW

TMS

The 1958 Yankee Stadium/Polo Grounds assembly was notable but provided no great surge as I recall. We bragged about the attendance of 253,922 every chance we got. That attendance and the number of times the name Jehovah appears in the American Standard Version Bible, 6823, are indelibly scored in my brain.

A case can be made for 1966-1975 as the Golden Era of JWs:

1. The summer of 1966 saw the release of the book Life Everlasting in Freedom of the Sons of God detailing the chronology supporting the '75 speculation. That speculation sparked the rash of meeting parts, traveling overseer service talks that seriously implied that this "system" would end in 1975.

2. The release of the book The Truth That Leads to Eternal Life in 1968 and the subsequent 6 month study limitation.

3. Nightly news reports featuring casualties of the Vietnam War, U.S. cities burning do to civil unrest, the civil rights movement in the mid to late 60's, the violent '68 Democratic Convention in Chicago. JW's were clearly feeling the "Last Days."

4. Radical social change brought on by Haight Ashbury, The Beatles, Timothy Leary, the Weather Underground, Students for a Democratic Society, the Black Panthers, the Chicago 7, etc. Exciting times to be a JW!

5. Radical organizational changes mentioned at the 1971 district conventions: The elder arrangement implemented in 1972. Few seem to remember this, but there was even a talk at that assembly strongly hinting that field service time would no longer be counted. That was never implemented, of course.

tms

jaguarbass

I think the high water mark was 1974 By January 1, 76 the cat was out of the bag and

it was all over.

WTWizard

Between 1985 and 1993, things seemed relatively active in getting people in. After about 1993, I have noticed the numbers of incoming witlesses dropping off sharply, and field circus started getting duller and duller. That was also about the time the congregation picnics and outings were discontinued.

KAYTEE

"what was the jw`s high water mark"

As an organization, it’s a pity the high water mark wasn’t over their heads.

It would have saved a lot of heartache.

KT

designs

1969 Peace on Earth Assemblies. That was our Woodstock. It was all Disco after that..

reniaa

aside from the bible predicting that People aka the 'rivers will dry up' aren't you asking opinions of people that are no longer in the loop? if a new book came out and got a lot of new membership would they know?

Reniaa

what was the jw`s high water mark?