![]() While my father survived the 1975 disappointment spiritually unscathed and committed to the movement-including its doctrines on the afterlife -my mother’s interest in Jehovah’s Witnesses teachings wavered, along with the faith and commitment of many others whose expectations for 1975 went unfulfilled. Indeed, my father saved my grandfather’s personal copy of the Bible with the intent of returning it to him on that glorious day. My father shared this same hope, fully expecting that he would see his father resurrected and dwelling in Jehovah’s paradise-restored earth. I had every expectation that he would be resurrected in Jehovah God’s restored earthly paradise. I remember seeing him for the final time, lying in an open casket, and hoping for that day when I would be reunited with him. I had watched my paternal grandfather, who was also a faithful Witness of Jehovah, unexpectedly die when I was six years old. Nevertheless, my interest in God’s plan for salvation did not waver, nor did my father’s, during this turbulent time. Armageddon was not fought, and the resurrection of the dead to a paradise-restored earth did not happen. However, the expectations-held by some of Jehovah’s Witnesses-regarding what would take place in 1975 were not met. Thus, many Witnesses alive in 1975 expected that they would survive the pending war of Armageddon and then inherit a paradise-restored earth-having never tasted of death. Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that there is a provision in God’s plan of salvation whereby one can forgo the wages of sin through the ransom sacrifice of Jesus Christ and thereby never experience death. Many others during this period held this same expectation of the potentiality of Christ’s return-and the end of mortal death as we know it. In 1975, I was nine years old and remember thinking that I could be a member of a generation that would never see death. The official history of Jehovah’s Witnesses states: “During the years from 1935 through 1944, a review of the overall framework of Bible chronology…, along with certain other factors,…led to the idea-sometimes stated as a possibility, sometimes more firmly-that since the seventh millennium of human history would begin in 1975, events associated with the beginning of Christ’s Millennial Reign might start to take place then.” At that time in organization’s history, many of Jehovah’s Witnesses speculated that the beginning of the seventh millennium of human existence would signify the end of the old-world system and beginning of Christ’s rule. In 1975, the pressure on my father became even greater. Dad was confident that his effort in serving zealously and tirelessly in the ministry would help facilitate his salvation as well those whom he led. ![]() Yet Dad felt it was what Jehovah God required of him in the last days of Satan’s wicked system leading to the war of Armageddon as foretold in the bible book of Revelation 16:16. It was difficult balance to undertake and as a young boy, I could see the toll it took on him. Dad also juggled a full-time job working construction (during weekdays) and overseeing our family’s needs in the evenings and weekends while at the same time fulfilling his ministerial duties. Still a relatively young man in his early thirties, my father managed a full plate of congregation duties (including administration of local field ministry activities, shepherding of congregation members, preparing and delivering weekly meeting presentations, and working on several additional organization-related special projects), all performed without compensation. ![]() ![]() By 1975, my father was serving as the local presiding overseer, which at that time was viewed by some as the weightiest of leadership roles in a local Witness congregation. My father held leadership and ministerial duties within the local Kingdom Hall congregation, which our family attended several times each week. I was born into a Jehovah’s Witness family and reared to have faith in the beliefs and traditions of Jehovah God’s organization. Cary Valentine, a lifelong Jehovah’s Witness, is a PhD candidate at Andrews University and adjunct faculty member at Baker University, where he teaches several topics related to organizational behavior and leadership.
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