When did Cook, the new GB member, start claiming to be anointed, and what are the implications?

by jwfacts 53 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  compound complex

  Yet each individual who claims such "a personal experience with Christ" (to use their terminology) is utterly convinced [bold added] that he or she has been personally touched by Christ. Emotion trumps reason. -- steve2

  When I was of the anointed -- briefly -- it was a conviction borne of both an emotional connection to "Abba" and his children (my older anointed friends) and an intellectual realization that "THE TRUTH" was the only means by which the highest level of spirituality might be achieved. This conviction had its conception while I was at Bethel and was summarily quashed. After the death of my dream of life in heaven, I was all right with being a spiritually minded Jonadab.

  Youthful idealism, coupled with the absolute certainty that God is personally guiding one towards a glorious and supernal destination, trumps all commonplace goals, those entertained by mere mortals.

  Now, I'm awake, realistic, and very happy without the fantasies that once occupied my vulnerable heart and mind.
  
  
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  stan livedeath

  how does it work--becoming one of the annointed ?

  what i mean is--supposing someone has the flash of enlightenment--or whatever----on say--the first of june ? does he /she have to wait till the next memorial before they are regarded as a sky pilot ?
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  FedUpJW

  Also means he is not of 'this generation'' since he was anointed after the 1914 ones had died off.

  He actually is part of the overlapping-overlappers. The oh so great oracle FWF was alive when the oldest of the GB lappers came along, and they are still here to welcome the new good-ol'-boy making him part of the overlapping generation of overlappers, which will welcome the fourth bunch of overlapping-overlapping-overlappers prior to the fifth bunch and so on.
  
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  Diogenesister

  Therefore it has been decided to invite several helpers, mainly from among the great crowd, to share in the meetings of each of the Governing Body Committees, that is, the Personnel, Publishing, Service, Teaching, and Writing Committees.

  Yes, a lot of people are confused on this point. It didn't state that helpers could only be from the GC, just that they may be.

  I think it's very easy for people to delude themselves. If you think about it, we know no one is really anointed, so why isn't it just as easy for a New helper to delude themselves as an elderly person around before 1935 or so.
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  Finkelstein

  Let be clearly understood that the WTS is a business with a formulation of a power structure by men supporting that structure.

  how does it work--becoming one of the anointed ?

  Its done so by the individual to show to others and themselves their steadfast devotion to the Jehovah god, its also done so by individuals within the organization to show their present spiritual righteousness among the other body of JWS.
  
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  Magnum

  • Watchtower 15/10/15 p.3 states that helpers are of the Great Crowd. "Since 1992, the Governing Body has appointed experienced, mature Christian elders to help its committees carry out their work.* These helpers, from among the "other sheep," provide valuable support to the Governing Body."

    The wording in the Watchtower quote above indicates that the helpers are exclusively of the great crowd. I don't care what was intended, what's written elsewhere in JW publications, and what the actual case is; I'm just saying what the quote above indicates.

    It doesn't say "these helpers, primarily from among the "other sheep"..." or "these helpers, some from among the "other sheep"..."; it says "these helpers, from among the "other sheep"...". Again, that wording, whether intended or not, indicates that the helpers are only from other sheep.

    If I say "my relatives, from Alaska, are coming to see me", I'm indicating that they're all from Alaska, whether they all actually are, whether that's what I meant to indicate, or whatever. Wording matters.
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  careful

  FUJW:

  "overlapping-overlapping-overlappers"—so funny! Keep on overlappin! It could go on for generations, oops, I mean decades, centuries, millennia.

  I wouldn't be surprised some day if they officially apply their overlapping notion to the entire period from Pentecost of 33 to Russell and down until now. I remember how when I was in, I used to hear heavies say things like "God has never been without his anointed witnesses on earth" with "since Pentecost" understood. So there this overlapping notion was all along... I think Freddie Franz got the idea from the wheat and weeds parable, "let them [both the wheat and the weeds] grow together until the harvest," Matt. 13:30. Apparently FF saw this as overlapping presences of anointed ones on the earth from Pentecost until the harvest, or modern times. I guess Splane just jumped on the notion and applied it to the generation of Matt. 24:34 when the old view of that verse was obviously no longer tenable.
  

  These current GB guys are all originally from the great crowd, and at some time they came to believe they have been called to heaven. Since they had all been full-timers for years with some degree of prestige and rank in the org (CO, missionary, Bethelite administrator), as soon as they first partake, word quickly spreads, so they are then expected to rise in the org even more quickly. Doubtless that includes whoever is on the GB at the time, and they keep their eyes on such men to see if they're good GB material (Are they unquestionably loyal? Do they have any tendencies that might rock the boat?).
  

  After Sanderson had started partaking for a few years and was called to Brooklyn (if that chronology is right), one normal Bethelite said that everyone expected him to be appointed to the GB after a while. It's just the way the system works. You know "holy" they are all viewed.
  

  As to how one announces it, yes, it's that first time a person partakes of the emblems at the memorial. I know one long time elder who felt he'd been of the great crowd for years and then felt Jehovah had called him to the "little flock." He didn't tell anyone about it. He just partook at the next memorial. His wife about crapped her pants, err, I mean undies and dress. He never spoke about it with her prior to his first partaking.
  

  Telling people about it ahead of time would be a real no-no in Witness-think. It would cast serious doubt on its validity in they eyes of those in charge of the org. As for how one knows, that's part of the mystery of it all. Posing such a question here or elsewhere will yield no definitive answers.

  I guess you or we can keep on wondering as they keep on overlapping!
  
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  sparky1

  compound complex.........you must have been caught in 'the donut hole' part of the 'overlapping generations' of anointed. I believe that this was roughly a 10 year period in the late 60's through the middle 70's when some people were newly claiming to be of the anointed. However, since the 'overlapping generations' dogma had not yet been invented, your class was rejected and left in limbo. Knorr and Franz continually hammered home: 'There are NO new remnant! The door was closed in 1935 and there are only a few replacements here and there!'. I knew of a young brother in our old hall that claimed anointed status until the Congregation Servant and his Assistant finally convinced him otherwise. Had you 'stayed the course'....................you might have been part of 'this generations' Governing Body.
  
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  ttdtt

  Hey, Spalin opened up a big can of worms + revisionist history opportunities when he said 2 times that you could be Anointed but not part of the Generation.

  I guess this is why he said it.
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  steve2

  The 1992 Watchtower quote about helpers stated they are "mainly from among the Great Crowd" whereas the 2015 Watchtower stated they were "from among the other sheep" - no adverb ("mainly") in the second quote.