a saying emerged from Watergate that went something like this- it’s not the crime, it’s the cover up. A few brothers being open about 1975 wasn’t or doesn’t impact me one way or another- i do admire their ability to “keep at it”. For some or perhaps many, what choice did they have?
For me it amounted to institutional coverup by those at the top. I would have had much more respect had Watchtower been open about its failed predictions, and yes perhaps i would have held back from baptism, but i was not given the chance to consider it. It wasn’t the missed prophecies per se that caused me to lose whatever remaining respect i had for the org. it was the cover up and the blame shifting. But again, i understand people have their own perspective on 1975. I was recruited into Watchtower in 1994 - perhaps long enough from the event for it to have faded from memory. In the early days of my baptism, there was no way for me to search these things out, reallly- i mean i had a few bound volumes but no leads and speaking to those who left was verboten. Perhaps there was a passing reference to “some brothers” being “over eager” about “some things” in the Proclaimers book, that i missed. But this event in Watchtower history left me reeling, to be perfectly honest.
Asadour…. The circumstances surrounding 1975 were obviously profound to you. I’m won’t diminish your feelings about that at all. Those are deeply personal. All I can do is tell you about what I’v heard from the people I spoke to, who were there. As well as maybe sharing a few thoughts - for whatever those might be worth.
Of the reactions that I’ve seen and heard - shared by hundreds of people I’ve known who lived through it….. Was there disappointment? Of course. But for the people I’ve met, their choice was to continue serving Jehovah.
Now, to be fair, I wouldn’t have come across anyone who had left the organization because of 1975 - as they would have already been gone before I arrived. But I don’t recall any mention from the people I know/knew, of people leaving. That doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. It means that I don’t recall it, or they never shared it with me.
The year books show that in 1975 there were about 2,000,000 publishers. In 1977 and 1978 there was a decrease of about 52,000 publishers total. We can definitely conclude that some people were stumbled and left.
Now, if we view the F&DS as fallible men, whose every thought and word does not come directly from Jehovah…. But rather, they pray to Jehovah for guidance asking for help in making sound decisions, while applying Bible principles…. That does leave the door open for mistakes to be made. If this is the case, then the 1975 debacle isn’t as unexpected as we might have thought. Imperfect, eager men, getting out ahead of themselves.
On the other hand, if we view the F&DS as being directly guided by Jehovah - in every possible way - and they still went forward with declaring 1975 being the end…. Then they did it on purpose.
Those are the only two possibilities that I see as the cause of declaring the end in 1975. I guess it comes down to what you believe. Of those two possibilities back in 1975, the first description is the most plausible to me. Although, If this happened today, I might not answer that way, given what we’re seeing from the GB at this moment.
Today, there are nearly 8.7 million publishers - quite the increase over 1975 numbers of just over 2 million. Selfishly, I for one am glad that 1975 wasn’t the end, as I would have never come to know Jehovah.
As for cover up and blame shifting, I can see how you’d see it that way. It certainly wasn’t handled with “fall on your sword” aplomb that it probably should have been handled. Here is what was written n the March 15, 1980 Watchtower:
5 In modern times such eagerness, commendable in itself, has led to attempts at setting dates for the desired liberation from the suffering and troubles that are the lot of persons throughout the earth. With the appearance of the book Life Everlasting – In the Freedom of the Sons of God, and its comments as to how appropriate it would be for the millennial reign of Christ to parallel the seventh millennium of man’s existence, considerable expectation was aroused regarding the year 1975. There were statements made then, and thereafter, stressing that this was only a possibility. Unfortunately, however, along with such cautionary information, there were other statements published that implied that such realization of hopes by that year was more of a probability than a mere possibility. It is to be regretted that these latter statements apparently overshadowed the cautionary ones and contributed to a buildup of the expectation already initiated.
6 In its issue of July 15, 1976, The Watchtower, commenting on the inadvisability of setting our sights on a certain date, stated: “If anyone has been disappointed through not following this line of thought, he should now concentrate on adjusting his viewpoint, seeing that it was not the word of God that failed or deceived him and brought disappointment, but that his own understanding was based on wrong premises.” In saying “anyone,” The Watchtower included all disappointed ones of Jehovah’s Witnesses, hence including persons having to do with the publication of the information that contributed to the buildup of hopes centered on that date.
We can put this under a microscope and nit-pick and look for hidden meaning, of course. But the last sentence summed it up for me.
If we viewed the F&DS as fallible human men, then how many of us want to admit or relive our own mistakes? We’re embarrassed by them. Sometimes ashamed. We acknowledge them and move on. It’s human nature not to keep bringing up our failures. The documented arguments behind the scenes back then, as to what should be said or written, clearly demonstrates this.
Many people choose to leave the organization on their own. Those decisions are personal. There are many reasons as to why people leave. You came into the organization - determined through all your study, gaining knowledge of who God is, what he has done for us, what his purpose is, what is required of us, and more. You progressed to baptism, you pioneered, you served year in and year out for many years. I’m can tell that you’re very smart, and have a great deal of knowledge. But yet, were stumbled to leave the organization by something that happened many years before you’d ever come to know who Jehovah’s Witnesses were.
As I said, people leave for their own reasons. However, I don’t need to know what your reason is. That’s personal. But for some reason, I can’t help but sensing that there’s more to your leaving than 1975. I certainly could be wrong though. As always, it’s great speaking with you here.
CORRECTION: Our sister Asadour had said previously that she found out about 1975 AFTER she left. Therefore, my last paragraphs mentioning that she left due to 1975 was incorrect. I’d rather leave it as posted and correct it, than erasing it. BR
Being sentient beings, more is expected of us. This is worse than simply taking advantage of someone financially. It's taking advantage of someone and then smacking them in the face for the heck of it.
