joey jojo

Theres a couple of threads RE: 1914 on the board right now and it got me thinking.

The JW doctrine of the 1914 generation is a key doctrine , yet it is probably the number one reason most have left over the decades.

1975- within one generation.

1995 - new understanding of the word generation.

2010- overlapping generation first mentioned- some anointed survive armageddon.

2015- infamous overlapping generations chart featuring David Splane.

Its obvious the org is changing the goalposts and constantly trying to squeeze as much time as they can before they have to abandon this altogether. Or will they come up with something new?

Does anyone else think this ever changing doctrine is responsible for the biggest loss of members?

joao

It wasn't my number one reason, but it was a very strong one for me!

LongHairGal

JOEY JOJO:

I think you are right. That 1995 teaching on Generation was what did it for me.

At the meeting the article was studied, I instantaneously knew in my mind that my time in the Witness religion was over and I planned my ‘Fade’.. I believe the religion lost a lot of people in the several years after that teaching came out. Just because people didn’t walk out right then and there doesn’t mean it didn’t profoundly affect them.

Hopefully many JWs considered 1995 a wake-up call and realized they needed a serious job with benefits (which I’m grateful I already had). Maybe even types who criticized me realized they HAD to prepare for retirement.. Here we are twenty seven years later and I’m sure many are glad they did.

A hypocritical elder let it slip in conversation that he was working a little extra here and there to prepare. Of course, he wouldn’t give me the satisfaction of saying he was building up more money for retirement or was influenced by the 1995 teaching. 😉 God forbid he should say that I was doing the right thing all along because that would be contrary to the party line of going out in the ministry and pretending money grows on trees!

Biahi

I’ve heard various family members dismiss 1914, just saying that it was a “marked year”, which indicates their teachings are correct. 🤮💩😂

smiddy3

1914- responsible for the biggest decrease in JW's?

1975- within one generation.

1995 - new understanding of the word generation.

2010- overlapping generation first mentioned- some anointed survive armageddon.

2015- infamous overlapping generations chart featuring David Splane.

Correct me if I am wrong but has there been a big decrease in membership ?

The last I heard was something like 8.5 million JW`s worldwide a few years ago ,what is the number now in 2022 ?

A big decrease or not ?

How many are you saying is now the number of active JW` s worldwide ?

Significantly less than 8 .5 million Jehovah`s witnesses ?

And can you verify it ?

joey jojo

hey Smiddy,

Maybe the title is accidently misleading.

The decrease I was referring to was the amount of JW's that have left exclusively because of the failures tied to the 1914 generation prophecy. Not the recent, total amount of active dubs, which has increased over the years. It would be interesting to know how many have left because of disappointment over constantly evolving armageddon timeframes.

It seems ironic that the expectation of imminent salvation, based on a set of dates keeps some in the org, while the same prophecy drives others away.

waton

2010- overlapping generation first mentioned- some anointed survive armageddon.

joey jojo can you provide a link from wt publications to that idea?

The only support for that wt doctrine I can remember, was an illustration of a well muscled wanderer with knotty walking stick striding by gardens of the New World settlements. Current wt doctrine has the anointed dying at the onset of the Great Tribulation.

At the meeting the article was studied, I instantaneously knew in my mind that my time in the Witness religion was over

LHG, I remember the instant feeling too, but not which study. By the time David S delivered his PHD, it had become a joke to me. .

JW membership numbers have not declined, but progress, increase has. Nobody is coming "into the truth" excited about the doctrines.

Hotpepper

I say they have 4 million jws

joey jojo

Waton, this is from 2014, I couldn't find anything specifically from 2010. It only mentions some anointed seeing the start of the great tribulation.

In reality, the start of the great tribulation could stretch over decades, depending on how the gb sells it.

“We understand that in mentioning “this generation,” Jesus was referring to two groups of annointed Christians. … They were anointed with holy spirit during the time that those of the first group were still on earth. ... Today, those in this second group are themselves advancing in years. Yet, Jesus’ words at Matthew 24:34 give us confidence that at least some of “this generation will by no means pass away” before seeing the start of the great tribulation.” Watchtower 2014 Jan 15 p.31

TonusOH

I don't have a clue about the actual numbers, but I do think it was a mistake to return to the "generation" teaching after they effectively let it go in 1995. It was a way of admitting that the teaching was wrong, and they could still cling to 1914 as the year Christ quietly returned and began the last days. It would hurt them in terms of recruiting if they could not create the old sense of urgency, but the "generation" teaching was dead at that point.

Going back and redefining it was a way to imply that there is a deadline that can be counted, in the hopes of creating that old sense of urgency. But it's a complicated and messy concept, and you can no longer just say "the generation that saw these things is getting older" because (A)you already abandoned that idea and (B)everyone knows you can just extend it again. So you cannot create the urgency this way, but you also set off a lot of people's BS meters. There is only so much most people can take before the doubts become a real problem.

1914- responsible for the biggest decrease in JW's?

1914- responsible for the biggest decrease in JW's?

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