THE GENERATION OF 1914

by Mary 54 Replies latest jw friends

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  Unfettered

  Namasti,

  I acknowledge your experiences as being obviously negative and causing those feelings in you. However, your experiences are not my experiences and visa versa. My experience does not minimize the reality of yours. There are a lot of people who are "damaged" by the religion and/or persons within the religion, and yet at the same time there are many people like myself who are not damaged by it because we happened to be spared contact with some of the worst individuals in it and/or decided to depart long before any serious damage could be done. So, I feel for you, and recognize your feelings and acknowledge them as being very real and based on very real experiences... but at the same time my own experiences are very real as well. I cannot form a hateful opinion of the religion based on my experience... but I do in fact realize it's fallacies... if I didn't I wouldn't be out of the religion and here talking with you. I'm attempting to keep a balanced point of view so as not to be extreme in one way or another. It's difficult to see what really is true during extremes.
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  Axelspeed

  What blows my mind is that it doesn't seem as though the rank and file witness has much noticed this. Isn't this a big deal??!!

  A lot of individuals have already seen and acted on this change. But I believe that many more are not aware or have not grasped the significance of this change. There are many (especially old timers) who know of the change in an academic way, but still hope in their heart-of-hearts in the old generation understanding. They are too emotionally attached to the generation of 1914 not dying off and the hope of seeing a paradise. As 2014 approaches I think reality will begin to set in for a lot more.

  As usual, when the time comes the WT will self-reference 1he 95 article as if this was the understanding all along.

  Axelspeed
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  JustTickledPink

  I do think some of the masses DO know in their own hearts, but they have devout parents or grandparents and they can't let go of everything they know and their families.

  I think as time continues, with the older generation dying off, things will change... the younger generation can't possible buy into this 1914 = Armeggedon crap anymore. It's PROVEN to be untrue.
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  garybuss

  News from the Watchtower Society circa 1995: "Millions now living will die. Hope that's not an inconvenience."
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  AlanF

  At the summer district conventions of 1993, the Society changed some fundamental understandings of key passages in Matthew, Mark and Luke. It was obvious to me that this was just the start of much more sweeping changes. This was confirmed when, in late 1993, I mentioned this to GB member Albert Schroeder, and he confirmed that, indeed, lots more changes were forthcoming. He wouldn't be specific. It surprised me that it took another two years for the changes to be made. I have no doubt that a great deal of wrangling and wringing of the hands went on between Writing and the GB back then, since it was obvious that a change had to be made but it would result in a lot of JWs leaving the cult.

  AlanF
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  Neo

  Alan,

  in late 1993, I mentioned this to GB member Albert Schroeder, and he confirmed that, indeed, lots more changes were forthcoming.

  Indeed, if it were dependent upon him, the generation change would have come much sooner. As we know, he wanted to change the doctrine long before it became such an embarrassment to the WT, as we learn from Ray's account on CoC. He, alongside with Grant Suiter and Karl Klein, came up with that weird new light about "this generation' starting in 1957, an idea that never got published and that would have bought them a lot more time.

  This episode illustrates perfectly the extremely conservative spirit that's prevalent within the GB. They made the change only when Fred Franz was out of the way (the Mat 24/Mrk 13/Luk 21 talk came up about five or six months after he died) and when the expiring time for the "generation's" duration pushed them that way. The latter is the real reason why they made the change.

  I have no doubt that a great deal of wrangling and wringing of the hands went on between Writing and the GB back then

  Yes, and certainly Ted Jaracz and Lloyd Barry were among the last ones to relinquish their positions. They only did so because doing otherwise would be supremely ridiculous for them.

  BTW, I wonder how much editing and reviewing the 1995 article went through...

  The above is a lesson for those of us who may expect a softening of GB's current stance on blood, shunning and other polemic issues anytime soon. The changes will come sooner or later, but only when it is their last resort, and they feel pressured to do so. An invisible power struggle in Brooklyn will take place before each of these changes come about.

  Neo
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  one

  I mentioned this to GB member Albert Schroeder, and he confirmed that, indeed, lots more changes were forthcoming. He wouldn't be specific

  As we know, he wanted to change the doctrine long before it became such an embarrassment to the WT, as we learn from Ray's account on CoC.

  Around 1980 at a large convention Albert Schroeder admitted or implied that the wt made mistakes fixing dates, he mentioned some specific dates such as 1925 and 1975 and then concluded saying well "we have no more dates"... it was the closest to an apology i ever heard..

  BTW

  Albert Schroeder was allowed to raise a boy while at Brooklyn, dont know if the child lived within WT facilites, but the boy later worked there, became officially part of the family in brooklyn.

  The gossip was the the GB needed a member with experience raising a family.
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  Axelspeed

  The above is a lesson for those of us who may expect a softening of GB's current stance on blood, shunning and other polemic issues anytime soon.

  I agree, that we should not expect quick changes. I do believe, however, that the elements are in place for a perfect storm.

  The combination/convergence of a quickly aging GB (i dont think the newer members have the same level of loyalty/clout instilled in the underlings yet), the increasingly vulnerable/exposed stance on blood (it is becoming harder to sit on the current stance), the time/date expiration of 1914 (2014 is only 9 yrs. away), the internet, etc., etc. If things fall right the next few years will be very interesting.
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  Mary

  At the summer district conventions of 1993, the Society changed some fundamental understandings of key passages in Matthew, Mark and Luke. It was obvious to me that this was just the start of much more sweeping changes. This was confirmed when, in late 1993, I mentioned this to GB member Albert Schroeder, and he confirmed that, indeed, lots more changes were forthcoming

  This is what infuriates me. As I said at the beginning of this thread, they were still promoting "the generation of 1914 will not pass away" in 1993. According to the Alan's message above, a member of the GB knew then that this doctrine would be dropped, yet any Witness who would have said "I don't believe Jesus was talking about the generation of 1914" would have been disfellowshipped for apostasy. How the Governing Body members sleep at night I don't know. They seem to have about as many morals as a sleezy lawyer. I hope there's a special place in hell for these guys.
• 

  shotgun

  Mary

  I have only ever sent one letter to Bethel and it was concerning when they decided to make the generation change. Specifically because the Knowledge study publication which was released in the summer of 1995 had no mention of 1914 or the generation idea they had always tied to it. This was odd considering it was always a crucial part of all other study articles.

  It was not until the new book had been all but released worldwide that they then quietly made the change in Nov 1995. They must have started preparing the publication in 1994 which meant they knowingly taught something false to millions for at least a year. They can make a switch to donation arrangement in weeks when they might get taxed but teach lies for years until all thier ducks are in a row.

  They replied with the usual the FDS provide proper food at the proper time...I asked the elders what exactly was the proper time to feed people false teachings...they said it was merely an understanding change and not a major change in teaching.