Did You Know Any "Genuine"" Old School Anointed?

by Number 6 43 Replies latest jw experiences

  • Number 6
    Number 6

    Growing up in Scotland in the 1970s in Scotland the anointed were few and far between, but we had one old dude in our cong who claimed to be one of the anointed. In the days when it was taken seriously.

    I'd be curious how you viewed them. Thing is, he wasn't an elder, or even a Ministerial Servant, just a plain old publisher.

    But he was revered like he had a hotline to Jesus.

    The other week I was talking to a friend of similar age to me but who hung around the WT a lot longer than I did, and he just commented "oh him... he was a doddery old fool who used to just sit and piss himself. No more likely to be going to heaven than you or I"

    So...looking back, how did your cong view them? Ultra spiritual due to being members of the FDS or just the same as the rest?

  • LongHairGal
    LongHairGal

    NUMBER 6:

    I met a few of them back in the seventies. I only liked one of them.

    I didn’t like the creature worship mentality that I saw displayed towards them. I found them to be on the cantankerous side. I noticed this prickly attitude as well among some older pioneers who thought who the hell they were because they hung out with ‘anointed’. I tended to avoid these people.

    I didn’t stay in that congregation long so I can’t know if the congregation was better off because of these self-proclaimed ‘eminent’ personalities...Quite frankly, I didn’t really believe or care about this anointed thing!

  • joey jojo
    joey jojo

    Last one I personally knew passed away in the 90's.

  • slimboyfat
    slimboyfat

    Yes we had one old “real” anointed, baptised in the 1920s, he died in the early 1990s.

    One of the oldest JWs I know now, in her 90s, both her parents were anointed, but even she is too young to be anointed.

  • jws
    jws

    I don't know if she fits the definition of "real", but there was a pioneer sister that was one of the annointed. She lived on our way to the hall and I don't know that she drove, so we often gave her a ride. She was probably in her 60's in the 80's. So I assume born in the late 1910's, early 1920's. IDK when she was baptized.

    My impression of her was that she was a bit loony and pious. Think of the rich uptight people as portrayed in the 1930's and 40's. That "Well, I never" type of outrage in a pompous voice. That was ol' Caroline.

    I remember wising off to her once. Our parents let my brother and I go to a rock concert with our brother-in-law (I think an elder at the time, at least MS). So Sunday morning on the way to the Kingdom Hall, my brother and I are purposely talking about it so as to trigger her. She finally says something like "*I* wouldn't let MY children go to such a thing". And I said something like, well, it's a good thing we're not your children. For which my parents scolded me, but agreed.

    I remember her as not being taken real seriously by the elders when she had opinions either. Which confused me at the time. This woman is supposed to be one of the 144,000 joint rulers with Jesus in the new world. Shouldn't the elders be listening to her opinions? Why is she like a second-tier person around the hall? Elders being first tier and regular publishers being third or fourth. Somewhere MS's fit in. Pioneers and MSs seemed to kind of be about the same with pioneers probably regarded higher.

    But if she's annointed, shouldn't the elders be seeking her advice and wisdom? Not ruling over her?

  • Phizzy
    Phizzy

    I knew 2 or three when I was a kid, in the Fifties. One old dear, probably in her eighties, only ever came to one or two Meetings a year at the K.H, the Memorial being one. I think she must have been one of the Bible Students of Russell's or Rutherford's time. She rarely "answered up", but was treated with due respect, but certainly not awe.

    Another sweet old lady, older than the first, was a real Christian, full of love for people, always interested in even little kids like me,very spiritual in the real sense of being Christlike, lovely lady, without doubt she was from Russell's time. Her answers, and thoughts and her example were treated with the utmost respect.

    My Parents used to speak in awe of another lady, from Russell's time for sure, who single-handedly began the Congregation in our small Market Town, she passed away before I was born.

    I never met any later J.W's who claimed to be of the Anointed, but I heard of a few, one, a single Pioneer lady, started to take the Emblems in the Seventies, when she was in her Forties, I wish I could have spoken to her, knowing what I do now, to see what convinced her of the Heavenly hope, perhaps her own reading of the N.T ?

  • cofty
    cofty

    We had 4 or 5 in the Coatbridge congregation when I was a kid. The Tuesday group was held in the home of an elderly couple who took the emblems. I remember them with affection. They owned a caravan at St.Fillans in Perthshire and quite a few of us from the congregation used to go on holiday to the same site at the old railway station.

    John was prone to repeat many of bizarre ideas that Russell and Rutherford taught - God lives in the Pleiades, we will all be naked and speak Hebrew in paradise etc etc. He was a WWI veteran - neutrality wasn't a thing then. He would talk about the 'Evil Slave Class' who left the organisation when Rutherford took control.

    I remember the beautiful bronze art deco lamp in their house in the shape of a naked woman holding the glass shade. As a young lad I was mesmerised by her. Probably still would be now!

  • St George of England
    St George of England

    Yes, back in the 1950/60's when I was growing up there were four in my congregation. The oldest of them was a brother, born in the 1880's who expected to go to heaven in 1914. He worked full time to raise his family but once he retired he pioneered until his death in the 1970's.

    None of them were "whacky" in any sense of the word, just hard working and sincere people.

    I suspect the "new anointed" are somewhat different but I have never met any.

    George

  • smiddy3
    smiddy3

    I knew of two or three in the 60`s but I don`t recall anybody ever giving them any special treatment.

    And I was always puzzled by that , if they were recognised as an anointed person how come they never held a position in the congregation regardles of them being a male or female.?

    As anointed were open to males and females ,it also puzzled me why when the illustrations appeared in the publications ,the anointed were always shown as having a beard ,a male attribute ,however never was there ever an illustration of the anointed without a beard .?

  • dozy
    dozy

    There was an old anointed "sister" in my congregation when I was a kid who if there is such a thing as "genuine anointed" ( spoiler alert - there isn't ) she kind of fitted the bill. She was a hard working , honest pioneer - used to cycle everywhere on the ministry and had numerous calls - knew her bible really well - frankly , better than the elders in the congregation. Although never married & childless , she was great with us kids - they type who always had a few sweeties for after the meetings and would talk to you & have a real interest in what you were doing.

    I recall that she had an incredible memory for anything personal like exams you were taking at school - for example if you told her you had a Maths test in 3 weeks time she would remember & after the date she would come up & ask how the exam went. I think she went back to the 30's and there was some connection via her parents with the Bible Students of Russell's time.

    I wouldn't say she was venerated but she was respected. Unlike many of the "new" anointed , she would never really speak about it. She would very discreetly take the emblems.

    That generation has long died off now in the Org.

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