"Some have wisely invested time in studying some of our Christian publications that were printed prior to their learning the truth."
Hmm...I think I'll take them up on that! They weren't very specific in which ones we should study, so that leaves us with some very interesting material to consider. The Finished Mystery, for example. Or how about The Harp of God? Millions Now Living Will Never Die? The March 1, 1925 Watchtower article "Birth of a Nation", which I just read yesterday, was very interesting. The Society's officers and their release from prison, up until a Cedar Point convention talk on September 8, 1922, were interpreted for the first time as the meaning of Revelation 12:6, the 1,260 days where the woman is protected after giving birth to a child.
The latter point was presented as a "theory". One can only imagine what the consequences would be for one of Jehovah's Witnesses if he or she openly stated that such an interpretation was "theory" and that therefore they chose not to believe it.
One thing I also noted were some surprisingly cautionary statements made about the whole 1925 thing. I'm assuming that's because it was already 1925 and nothing had happened. It makes me want to continue to search for data on this era, simply to make sure I've got all my facts right. They did make many statements that were, as Ray Franz called them, "admittedly asinine", in the "Millions" book. And in "The Finished Mystery". And in "The Harp of God". Ooh. Kind of hard to overcome that many false statements.
Whatever the case, after reading a statement like the aforementioned--which was just considered at the Service Meeting this week--I think perhaps I shouldn't be so nervous about telling my wife about my reading older publications. It's got the Society's approval, or else they would have been more specific in warning us not to read anything before 19XX. Fascinating. Well, I've said enough. Despite the appearance of Kool-Aid Man II, SD-7 is still active. If you're reading this, you are the resistance.
SD-7