Does anyone remember when the Watchtower website first opened, it wasn't mentioned in the magazines or at the meetings for a while?

by slimboyfat 16 Replies latest jw friends

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  slimboyfat

  I seem to remember that from the mid-ninties onwards there were articles in the KM and Watchtower warning about the dangers of the Internet. As a result it seemed to come as a bit of a surprise to some Witnesses I knew when the society opened up their own website. But as I recall, when the society first opened the website, they never mentioned it in the literature or at the meetings. In fact there were some Witnesses locally who doubted it was genuine, saying the society would not open a website and it must be aspostates. I remember talking to one elder about it and he said yes it was a genuine site set up by the society, but that it was probably best not to mention it to others who have not heard about it because "some might be stumbled". I am not sure but I think this was around about 1998.

  Do I remember correctly that the society tried to keep the website under wraps for while? How long was it after the website was created that it was first mentioned in the literature, does anyone know?

  Did anyone else have experiences and convesations similar to what I had about the society's website in the early days? Or was our local reaction just a bit odd?
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  daniel-p

  Yes, I remember that. It was almost as if they opened it just so they could tell a bunch of JWs to take down their own "JW" pages.
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  hotspur

  I do remember the time I discovered their site. I felt cheated by them.

  I guess, inwardly, that started my questioning but it still took ages before I got out.
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  slimboyfat

  Why did you feel cheated?

  It did seem at the time as if it was a bit of a dirty secret that the society had a website, after all they had said against the Internet. Is that what you mean?

  I was just wondering if the reaction I recall was unusual or not.
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  rockmehardplace

  i am not sure when i found the website, but i remember someone told me about it and i was certain they were wrong. then a very reliable family member with close connections to the upper levels of the society said that he loved the website and that this was a great opportunity to combat the "myths and lies" about JWs.
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  aSphereisnotaCircle

  Yes, I remember that some dubs refused to believe that the society had their own site, they insisted that it was a bogus one made by apostates.
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  Quandry

  Yes, I remember finding out. I do not remember ever reading in any of the WT literature about the website. I too was surprised.

  Isn't it funny, that if anyone would mention anything that sounded a bit strange being in the WT, some would say, "Well, some apostates got into the WT society and wrote that" perhaps referring to F Franz's relative.

  They question their own literature sometimes, but the person that points it out is then viewed with suspicion.

  Not, "What the.....! They changed generation again? To the complete opposite? That makes no sense!" But--- "Wasn't that third update article on generation timely?" or "New light on generation? They aren't people who take no heed to Jesus but the annointed? Now that's food at the proper time," or "Wasn't that an interesting point the slave has shown us about the generation. Overlapping generations since 1914-the WTS helps us to understand completely. No wonder we don't have to do our own research."

  Any other statements will bring a look of panic your way.
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  Quirky1

  The whole time they are preaching the evils of the internet, the devils eyeball, stay away..blah, blah, blah..
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  Titus

  1997
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  blondie

  The www.watchtower.org site was mentioned in the KM. If you look at the back of the WT it is listed there (probably other places in the pubs).

  "Our Kingdom Ministry" November 1997, page 3, stated: "There is no need for any individual to prepare Internet pages about Jehovah's Witnesses, our activities, or our beliefs. Our official site (www.watchtower.org) presents accurate information for any who want it"