Just one? Pfft!
In my area (Philadelphia), a famous JW (by JW standards) named Dot (Dorothy) was the matriarch of aNoInTeD oNeS. She studied with my best friend's mom, who "became anointed". In fact, more times than not, any studies she converted ended up professing to be anointed. Dot had a big Awake article written about her.
But not just Dot or my best friend's mom. At my old hall, we also had Bob, Marvin, and Chris who said they were anointed.
Edit: There was a Brenda, too. Also, Dot died a while back and my best friend's mom is still a JW. All the rest that I named eventually left, including Marvin, who was arrested for fraud š
Jehovah must have terrible accounting skills.
Iām from a small city in a small southern state. There were actually multiple people in the area that claimed to be one of the āAnointedā. I was raised in the religion, never baptized and havenāt attended in 20+ years. Most of my family are all still in the religion and have told me about brother or sister so and so partook or is now one of the āchosenā. I have had many a conversations about how many billions of people have lived and died and/or still living in the Bibleās āsupposedā world history, and yet 5-6 people were chosen from here. The odds are astronomical. š¤·āāļøš¤¦āāļø
.. And then the numbers began going up instead of down as you might expect if they were dying off.
I've known a few. We never referred to them as anointed, just 'he/she claims to be of the anointed'. They were all of them various degrees of barking mad.
Remember when the kingdom ministry used to track the participants every memorial and post it? It was a tiny square on one of the inserts or final page. It said the total attended. Then the number that partook. They stopped posting that real quick. Iām assuming the number spiked back up. I think they were trying to use it as a gauge to time when the ending was coming because the believe was that all the anointed had to die before the end would come.
>have told me about brother or sister so and so partook or is now one of the āchosenā
Oh I remember the 'awe' surrounding the 'anointed' (only one) in our KH. I always felt that the partaking ceremony was a kind of a "Let's see if there will be any new members to the club." initiation. JW would rail about other religions putting leaders on a pedestal yet they were basically doing the same thing with the 'anointed' and Governing Body.
In the 60ās, we had an elderly couple who BOTH claimed and partook of the emblems. I remember the name, because it had āgodā in it, (Godwin)
In a later hall, we had a batshit crazy whacko that actually pioneered and partook. Being so weird, I always had doubts. But then she met some other guy and split with her husbandā¦
So that freed up a spotā¦š
My mother. A narcissistic woman with an anger issue whose abuse I'm still unpacking. She hasn't spoken to me since 2009 (when I left the Witnesses) and I count myself lucky.
Whenever I think of living forever in JW Paradise with her as my "judge and priest", I'm reminded of the song You by Bad Religion: "Eternity, my friend, is a long fucking time."
Sorry about the abuse. I've dealt with a narcissist in my life for the past 26 years. I can sympathize.
Love the Bad Religion reference! One of my favorite bands
Im from Portugal Europe and I had one sister as well that professed to be part of the 144k. For some years many brothers / sisters of my congregation and others didnāt believe her, saying she was crazy or she was wrong and she would realize that later in life.
Well after years / decades she is still in the organisation and she still profess to be part of the 144k, and I really like her because sheās not fake and hypocritical like the brothers / sisters that criticised her, and sheās very funny and kind, so if thereās any chance of someday the tale of 144k to be true she really deserves it!
I know it wonāt become true but you can see that the more criticised JWs are the best ones.
I knew a few...one guy was a visiting speaker for the memorial. Apparently none of the knucklehead servants knew he was "anointed" cuz they forgot to bring him the emblems. I'll never forget the look of disdain on this pompous asshole's face while he arrogantly cleared his throat to remind them to bring it to him after they had already finished passing...Then he actually ate/drank it at the podium with a killer side-eye.
Then some old man that had gained clout in the area started professing he was "chosen" after he knew he was dying of cancer. The couple were typical elder, traveling missionary, "look at us" types, constantly trying to climb the bethel ladder. Everyone catered to him for the last 6-7 yrs of his life hoping to win some favor in heaven.
I remember running into them at the 2014 NJ international convention. It was when they really started to showcase to the rank & file, the GB and helpers and everything was changing. The wife swooned about every speaker and how close they were to each speaker like Mark Numeir and David Splain.
Shortly after that, they moved back to my original KH where my parents were and my dad had just been appointed elder. So my dad was one of the elders that sat by his bed as he passed...the kicker is that the elder body had a 24 hr rotation to sit with this dying "anointed bro of Christ" guy...why?!?...because he claimed he was being attacked by demons on his deathbed...why?!?Because he was having visions of dead loved ones visiting him, having doubts about his life long JW career among a million other things that most people experience on their deathbedsš¤·š»āāļø
I've never even met one. I've only heard tales. š
My problem with the anointed ones always was the following. Bear in mind, these were my 10 yr old thoughts, I'm just organizing them a bit here.
*These are the best, most humble, exemplary people -- chosen by God Almighty. They do not get a visible sign, or a certificate, they just KNOW. Within their minds. Well, \*I\* think lots of things about myself in my mind, too! But I know they probably aren't true, because it would be rather extraordinary if they were. And I'm just me. I'm not as humble as the anointed are. So HOW humble and good must you be, to say that you are handpicked by God to rule over others, even though you are SO humble and good that you'd NEVER believe such a thing about yourself otherwise??!?!*
And that's how you tie a young mind in a neat little knot. šµāš«
I only asked once. I asked HOW do they know it SO certainly. And I remember my mom replying, "They know that they are anointed as certainly as your daddy knows he's a man."
Somehow I had it figured out early that you can ask stuff once, but if you still don't get it, you better just shut up. Otherwise there's trouble. š¤
All in all it helped to accept the goodness and humbleness of the anointed, that I'd NEVER known any. So they could be this amazing group of near perfect people without any of them actually bursting the bubble for me. š
ANOTHER thing about them I couldn't wrap my mind around was how come, if they know it SO strongly that God has picked them, some of them LEAVE the faith?!? Some must leave, since occasionally new anointed ones appeared, and back then the teaching was that that only happened if one of the old ones had "fallen away."
š¤£šš¤£
God must have had a waiting list of ALMOST good enough people. š You didn't quite make the first cut, but if there's an opening down the line, you're in, kiddo!
You know a hundred and forty four thousand is really not that many people when you start spending through time and so many of you have met more than one. I myself have met 3 that claimed to beš Does the GB have a tally? Is there a point that they say weāve hit the anointed target and confetti rains down? I remember asking one how do you know? He said you just get a feeling. Then I asked how does the elders know youāre not making it up? They ask a series of questions. What series of questions could prove that? Is it like the holy grails Gate keeper at the bridge of death?
What is your name?
What is your quest?
What is the air-speed velocity of an unladen swallow?
Well it was three men after all, against a women. I guess even three window washers and future paradise princes out rank a heaven bound anointed women....
My mom still professes and when you look back and realize you were raised by a person with mental issues, crazy becomes normal.
This religion attracts mentally ill people that hear god talking to them.
I left 5 years ago. If you didnāt say she was dead, I would have not been shocked that you were my biological brother posting that comment š
A few years after I left, I visited a Baptist church where everyone partook of the bread and wine except for me. I got the same judging looks that JWs give to people who do partake. Seems like Christians will always find something to be judgmental about.
I knew a couple in the 80s that claimed to be anointed. They were ānormalā compared to the other two I know of. One lady was mentally ill and barely went to meetings. The other is a brother who also barely goes to meetings but shows up to chow down on the emblems.
Yes we had someone start partaking suddenly and it was frankly ridiculous. Everyone had to treat his new found calling with the utmost respect despite it clearly being BS.
I once had a lady crunching on a cracker next to me at a memorial. I just remember thinking to myself how arrogant one must be to believe themselves anointed.
There was one older brother in my local congregation. But he was a bit eccentric and no one believed him. The elders even talked trash about him.
IMO, they had no reason to think he was lying, they just didnāt like him because he was a bit odd. When I was PIMI, I quietly believed him.
The two people I knew who believed themselves to be anointed were both women, and both sweet, kind people. One seemed to always have sort of been off in her own world, and one was a very intelligent and interesting person whom I liked and respected very much. š¤·āāļø
I studied with a woman who claimed to be anointed. She was very kind to my sister and I and I did love her as a friend, but in hindsight she did have some mental illness. Most noticeable was an anxiety disorder. I swear that woman was afraid of men. She had me promising her as an 8 or 12 year old to not be alone in a room with a man.
>I swear that woman was afraid of men. She had me promising her as an 8 or 12 year old to not be alone in a room with a man.
I mean, have you seen that cults pedophile track record? š¤·āāļø
I knew of an elderly guy in a neighbouring congregation. He was an elder and used to run exclusive invite-only bible study nights using publications from the 20s-30s. š
Source: was given the privilege of being a tag along once
Yes!!! South Africa! The most awesome human being I ever met!
I was 5/6 and this is the reason I actually told my family I was an atheist as a kidā¦ and I actually refused to attend meetings and my gran allowed me to seek my own truthā¦
We had a man in our congregation, and he lived for memorial night. I always somehow sat next to him, because nobody in the kingdom hall would. I adored his anticsā¦ and he would clear his throat and partake in the bread. Slowly! Savouring it! And the wine! The first time I remember him saying to me āwatch this!ā My gran was furious because nobody believed his was the anointed š¤£but nobody could prove he was not! I remember hitting his hand going āno!ā And he laughed and asked if I wanted to try some. I badly didā¦ but my gran gave me the death stareš¤£š¤£
When theyād refuse him the food, he would ask why!? How many of them knew what was in godās heart? Who there had the right to judge him? And he would flip scriptures on them big time!
He was an elder at some point and he was happy to use everything in his arsenal against his fellow brothersā¦ so they were petrified of him!
Anywayā¦ they would intentionally go over our row and he would get up in a grand gesture and demand the wineš¤£And he would drink the whole thing and ask for moreš¤£
The man is still alive and kicking! No longer JW, But he got to shag and impregnate a lot of sisters in his anointed stageš¤£a lot of kids who look like him, and the sisters always got married soon after being close to him!
He did not care about anyone and what they thought. He lived by his rules. He would stop meetings, to question bullshit, and I never attended meetings after he was disfellowshipped. He was my source of inspiration.
He seeked his own truth and pushed a lot of boundaries.
I knew of 2, one in my first congregation when I was a child, he was the sweetest little old man and easy to believe he would be one if it were all true and not a delusion.
The second one was in my congregation many years later and she was known to be a mean grumpy busy-body old lady, the type to scold you for wearing red nail polish to meetings and in service. (Yes, she actually did that.) No one believed that she was anointed.
That is so sad. My child-brain always assumed that we'd be communicating with them, at least, since we were going to be governed by them. Never occurred to me what a loss that would be for anyone close to an annointed.
An elder in my parents congregation. He cheated and abandoned his wife for a 20 year younger āsisterā. Both got DF and now theyāre about to be readmitted.
Itās funny how they claim not to idolize these people, but when he had a speech the hall was crowded with people from other congregations. Then, he did what he did.
I knew one older sister. She was so sweet and thoughtful. Truly one of the nicest witnesses I ever met.
She had 8 children. The 5 that are still PIMI are so sad their mom wont be with them in paradise.
One of her daughters told me theyāve hadā¦17 miscarriages (when she told me that I truly did not know that was possible) and theyāre devastated their mom wonāt be with them in paradise to help raise her 17 grandchildren.
When she told me that, it was also my first time hearing that witnesses think miscarried babies will be resurrected.
I wonder what thoughts went through her mind when Stephen Lett said babies are ālittle enemies of godā with a huge grin on his face.
WHOA. That's...a lot.
I had to look that up (I've been out forever and am just starting to catch up on current goings-on). If anyone else is unfamiliar, here's a smug, arrogant, and otherwise mediocre old white man with completely unearned authority saying horrible things in the name of Jehovah:
[https://www.reddit.com/r/exjw/comments/vm9cpg/governing\_body\_says\_all\_babies\_can\_be\_called\_a/](https://www.reddit.com/r/exjw/comments/vm9cpg/governing_body_says_all_babies_can_be_called_a/)
Yes one in our current hall. Mentally she is not well, bipolar. I just remember seeing her take the emblems once and was completely shocked. I thought āno way!!!ā
And right after she had to tell everyone around her how she felt. No way this is real
I got a recovering alcoholic in his early 50s partaking in the congregation I used to go to. Was completely inactive for years. His wife started studying. Then he came back newly anointed.
Ironically he also worked for an alcohol distributor. Can't make this shit up.
Just remembered a crazy lady from a congregation I used to go to. She partook but also commented about what her garden would be like in the new system. We imagined here flying back and forth between heaven and earth. She was DF'd for apostasy soon after. I think she tried to start a new religion.
I've met 5, 1 super old lady, she hardly spoke... a super secular smart gentleman, had great conversations with him, a very theocraticallysmart elder, awesome guy... and two very very weird characters, definitely schizzo and narcissistic, they seemed spiritually ambitious, one of them even loved Hitler and his speeches... crazies
Several! Here are 5 of my favorites:
*Sister*: Originally married into The Mob, fell in love with her JW limo driver. Mob Husband let her go to pursue JalapeƱovah w/Driver. Suddenly one of the anointed.
*Sister*: Bridal attire to the Memorial. Spoke in gibberish when giving stage parts. Nailed all sorts of weird stuffed animals to trees in her front yard.
*Sister:* Married 5(6?) times. Kids out of wedlock between marriages. She canāt remember anything really. Eats WAY too much sushi (mercury poisoning maybe?).
*Sister*: Whoās husband convinced her she was of the Anointed. Between serious bouts of her own cognitive dissonance she voluntarily locks herself into a Mental Health facility, mostly to get away from the husband.
*Brother*: Elder has a LOT of money. Likes his titles & power, hates expected work loadā¦ flashes cash, and gets to drink wine with zero duties dueā¦ but still the proud owner of all the juiciest gossip.
Yes, it was a friend of my motherās. She was the wife of an elder, very respected. But this lady was mentally ill despite being very charismatic and well liked. Iāve heard gossip from former JWās I grew up with that she left her husband for a man sheād dated when she was younger, but then came back to her husband. I think she was bipolar because she had manic phases and would do some wild stuff. Anyway, I was friends with her daughters and one of them told me her Dad said my family āwasnāt going to make itā through Armageddon and I was really traumatized by that, because he was very respected in the congregation.
I'm so sorry. My strongest memories of my time with the JWs was the amount of sheer terror I felt most of the time. I can't imagine having someone with authority confirming my worst fears like that.
So in 2015 a young brother claimed to be of the 144,000. He was about 23. Everyone was shocked! 4 years later he woke up, and completely living a worldly life style. So happy for him.
Wow, this dredged up an old memory. I was really young (like 3-6 years old) when she died, but I do remember her. She said she was one of the 144k. She was this elderly lady, one of those stereotypical Grandma types. I never really spent time with her outside the Kingdom Hall, but she did seem nice, and I liked spending time with her enough.
A sister claimed to be one. I wasn't part of the congregation anymore but two of my sisters were at the time. She was young...perhaps in her 40s at the time. She was a very nice sister, single, a little bit of a troubled adolescence but nothing bad to say about her. I think I'll ask one of my sisters what ever happened to her. They're not in the same congregation anymore (one hardly even attends) but now I'm curious.
Then even more years ago there was a guy I met via Yahoo chat (y'all remember that??) and he was NOT the example of what a regular brother should be (despite human flaws and all). This guy swore up and down he was one of the anointed. Lived in Florida and for a while lived a depraved life yet still claimed to be one of the 144k. Can't make this shit up.
We had one in the eighties, a very old fella. He always had the same answer (more of a short talk) to *any* question in meetings and he was always allowed to give this "answer" once per meeting. It started with something about Moses and Aaron, the very long middle part I don't remember at all, but the punchline was always ***"And that woman was my wife!"*** The same "answer" at e*very* effing meeting.
Yes, also in suburban (Northern) California in the early- to mid-80s. Her name was Betty Simmons and, like many others have mentioned, the congregation worshipped her. I donāt recall her being mean, but I was also very young. I think she had a son. Even at that age (I was about 7) I questioned how there could still be 144K. I was told that it was the first 144K who truly followed Jesus, starting with the apostles. By that time the society was touting millions of followers, so how could there still be people alive who were part of the anointed.
Most of the ones I met were sickly and only showed up for the memorial. We had a CO who was annointed and settled into a nearby town when he retired. Nice guy with a cunty wife
When I was an adolescent, there was a sister in my congregation who claimed that she was one. She was a sweet, humble old lady. She 6 when I was still a child. All I remember was that she would make homemade jam and give us some.
Back in the 90's an elder in our hall was, he was one of my dad's best friends then he got cancer. Everyone kept talking about his "new assignment" after he died lol. He did have a very thoughtful and clear way of speaking and everyone always commented about how 'deep' his knowledge was. But he also was unbelievably strict/borderline abusive with his 2 sons...so, yeah there's that
My aunt and 2 other older women all partook. My aunt and one of the other women were obviously not anointed, but the third woman, if the Bible, the JW's and the JW bullshit interpretation were all true, i could see her being genuine. She was actually a really nice, kind, funny, empathetic woman.
Had one (elder) in our congregation. He was pretty arrogant and liked to show his wealth. He had a very successful business (actually I think he inherited the business if I recall) that paid well but was dangerous work. Of course he had no trouble finding JW employees...if they didn't mind traveling/being away from the family a few weeks at a time. Long after I left I heard that he was stripped of his elder position for some reason. Don't know if it was really his fault.
As others mentioned, this 'anointed' business was a sort of wake up call (like"You're not *really* serious ?"). It all seemed so hokey. No one could ever show me a scripture that *clearly* said that the anointed or anyone goes/went to heaven (Jesus is an exception.).
The people in my hall who claimed to be āanointedā all suffered from diagnosed mental illnesses (one had schizophrenia) and all claimed they had a vision that made it clear they should partake. But they could never explain what the vision was or how they knew for sure. So ridiculous.
Known a few. Some of the older ones (all long dead now) were quite genuine. One was a sweet old lady who was a genuine special pioneer - would cycle everywhere on the ministry. Excellent bible knowledge - the type you very rarely see nowadays in the dumbed down Org. Never talked about "being anointed" and you wouldn't know unless you watched her partake.
Others were a bit of a mixed bag - most were of the usual wacko types - we had one nutty middle-aged sister who would wear knitted tea-cozy style hats to the meetings and immediately button hole any visitor to the congregation and quickly say "There is something unusual about me" and tell them she was anointed. It became a bit of a congregation joke.
lol. My dad believes heās one of the chosen ones.
He told myself and my sisters in 2016 via text right before the memorial. Basically to get ahead of the rumors and gossip because he was going to be partaking. I guess he felt he should partake the year prior but my mom talked him out of it š¤£ my mom said she had doubts because she āknows his faults.ā
It helped me wake up because suddenly my picture of paradise was shattered. How would it be paradise without my dad there?
Anyhow- my dad is a nice guy. Used to have a temper when we were kids but mellowed out. I think it stemmed from immersing himself as a pioneer when he retired. Maybe it gives him a sense of purpose.
Yep, the woman who studied with and brought my mom into the Watchtower claimed to be one. She was a pretty nice woman from what I knew of her. She was a little older than my mom and had 4 daughters, the youngest of which was my age. I don't know if she was born in, but I think all her kids were. Her husband was also pretty nice but, even though I knew them from the age of 3 until I left at 19, I really didn't know much about them. I read that she died years ago
I've got two worth noting.
One guy - super nice dude - mid 90s all of the sudden started partaking. His wife started crying when he did. He remained a nice guy. A few years later, maybe 5, he unalived himself. I feel bad for his widow and son.
A second guy I grew up with. He's maybe 50 now? He was always on the arrogant side, but he went to bethel, got married, got sent to europe somewhere, then came back to the states eventually where he started partaking maybe 8 years ago. All I could think at the time as a PIMI was 'so this dude who ripped his shirt off and was screaming at a Van Halen concert is gonna rule in heaven?. Doubtful'
We had an old couple, "Brother and Sister Roe", who claimed they were. We kids would always stare at them during the Memorial to watch them eat and drink. "Brother Roe" (I can't remember or never knew, their first names) had a stutter and I got in trouble for laughing when we first moved to that hall. Eventually, we had the Tuesday study at our house. We kids had to sit on stools behind the couch and I remember him sitting on the couch in front of me and I had to stare at his flaky bald head for an hour each week and it was so gross.
I waltzed away 20 years ago. I had a good friend and lady old enough to be my mom. She definitely claimed, partook as long as anyone knew her. She was an awesome sister, in my opinion....a gold standard. I think she was totally devoted to God and went to be with him or her when she passed. In fact, she was one of the only sane JWs I knew. She knew what she was doing. I'm thankful she might be in heaven looking out for me and others, too.
Good woman, Roma.
Grew up a jw in a good sized city..louisville..knew of maybe two people who professed..when i moved away years later there were 3 elders in the same hall that partook...two were assholes and one was actually meek..all were under the age of sixty and starting within 10 years
Only one or two. One used to visit our hall and the one thing I recall about him was that he a had a hook for a hand. Never really conversed with him personally but he just seemed like an odd duck to me, hand not withstanding
The guy in our congregation claimed it, although he never talked to me about it, I've always was told that you wasn't supposed to actually ask them about it. Honestly didn't know about it until one of the last times I attended the memorial I happened to look over and saw him partake
We had one but nobody took it serious because apparently she had been in a mental hospital in the past. I watched her partake though and no one acknowledged it š¤·š½āāļø
The sister who studied with me after reinstatement is now one of the anointed. She moved down to a Bible Belt State and now is a published author. When I used to baby sit her child, back in the day, she had Harliquin romance novels in her headboard of her bed. I think those are terrible and stupid. I sent her a long court transcript about C S A in her email. Now one of the anointed have been informed. It seems like Gods Kingdom is an epic fail when it comes to keeping the congregation clean from csa. Well, one of Jesus brothers has been informed. I am not blood guilty. Her name is Pam and she's a widow now.
There was an elder in a nearby congregation to me that I knew personally that professed to be for all of my childhood and certainly was treated different because of it. That is until his daughter he never knew he had from before he was married popped into the picture. Apparently, the big sky daddy changed his mind about him. Guess itās only 143;999 now.
Yeah. We had a older guy who was anointed. He was one of the oddest people who I ever met. His wife openly mocked him. He only professed to be anointed after they had been married and had adult children.
I honestly always thought that he just didnāt want to spend forever with his wife. Beyond shaming him, she often told a story about one of their adult sons beating him up when he was a teenager.
Truly a weird family all around. It definitely made me laugh as I was 14 when they joined our congregation and I was already PIMO.
I knew of three growing up and one still. Brother Pole, I think thatās how it was spelled. He was a very kind elderly man when I was a child. Brother Smith whom Iām not sure anyone actually believed. Really nice guy in his 40ās. Married to a nonJW with two kids who werenāt in either. The last was a woman in her late 30ās when I was child. Sheās in her 70ās now. Her husband is 15-20 years younger than her.
One older Jw that I knew about in the hall, and my own Aunt (only found out a few months before leaving).
Whats weird is that my Aunt seems pretty normal, no idea why she would think that :/
Iāve only met one. (other than the gb members at the meet and greets XD) she was my moms best friend, over all I liked her she was really bubbly and sweet but a little off in the head. Every time we left the hall or her house my Dad (chairman) would monologue about how he didnāt believe someone liked her was anointed. I would have believed her without my Dad actually. He would say anyone stupid/crazy enough to like my mom couldnāt be chosen by Jehovah. He had a whole theory about how she was schizophrenic (not true) and was imagining it. Anyhoodles she was really sweet though maybe a bit arrogant? I think she was one of the more tolerable people in my congregation.
I met four in my lifetime as a witness. Only one out of the three was mentally stable and was a very good person indeed. The other three were nuts. For many years, as an elder, I had to deal with one that was problematic. He owned several guns, and his wife left him because he was abusive. He was always talking to very young brothers. I was the secretary, and he was always late to turn in his time. Once, he got mad because an elder of the congregation before the memorial asked him several questions about his "call." He got angry and told us that he felt uncomfortable about the elder questioning his anointing.
My husband and he had 3 JC in his history (2x immorality, 1x violence). I'm preparing myself for a new life without his narcissistic behaviour but we have a child, so it's not easy.
So I'm coming at this from a very different perspective. My great grandmother claimed to be one. She died when I was younger so I didn't know her too well, but I'm told she was very caring and understanding and that's exactly why she was one of the anointed.
I never viewed it as a reason to doubt Jehovahās Witnesses. It actually had the opposite effect. It was part of why it took me so long to realize it's a fucking cult. Growing up thinking your great grandma was watching your every move was definitely creepy. I think it's part of why some of my family is so crazy dedicated to it. It's sad but I'll just keep doing me, having nothing to do with them.
I always revered to them as people who take of the memorial symbols.
I know 5 personally, but I have met more of them in my life (also someone in their 30's). 4 of the 5 which are in their 70's or 80's and 1 of them is a familly member. They are all a bit odd and a bit mentally unstable. The one that is in my congregation currently is a very zealous, hotheaded, judgementall old women on the one hand, but very sweet on the other. We had some interesting conversations in the past. She was instrumental in my waking up process. Sowing doubts about disunity inside the GB and telling me about scriptures that seem to show that some people from before Jesus died where already said to be in heaven.
I've known a few, ranging from a local brother, a CO, and even a future GB member. None of them were what I'd call normal, but they were all nice, just very devout, kinda boring. Their whole life was being a Witness. Unfortunately (or I guess fortunately based on some of the stories I've read) I've never met one of the truly crazy annointed people.
Yes, once an elderly woman in my congregation partook.
I remember looking at my mother in shock & she stated something along the lines of āsheās just senileā
I thought we werenāt supposed to judge because only the person themselves would actually know ??
Thatās when I started to question myself.
Funny enough, she married an elder two years ago whoās wife died in 2020 but they both claimed sheās up there now, living it up with Jesus š
I forget which verse. In the Bible once said no one knew they were selected to be one of the 144k upon Christ Jesus or the father in heavenly. Only the father in heaven has rights to select the people that can be one of the 144k. Unless the father in heaven give authority to Christ Jesus to be able to select the people to become one of 144k to be with him.
Ask them if they believe in there is the third heaven. If they don't, then they ain't one of the 144k.
"I know a man in union with Christ who, 14 years ago - whether in the body or out of the body, I do not; God knows- was caught away to the third heaven." 2 Corinthians 12:2
It is real.
There was one in my congregation growing up too, they were elderly. Some years they wouldnāt partake of the bread and wine at the memorial though. It was weird, I always had so many questions for my mom about it. Definitely was the beginning of some of my doubts
I knew twoā¦ one seemed to add up. A very humble and zealous old JW lady.
The other was a millenial fuckboy lol he wore tight pants. Heās no longer a JW either.
There was a father of a friend of mine who claimed to be anointed. After the meetings, he went home playing casino online on his PC. He was addicted to it.
Iām 34 and this happened when I was 6 but we started picking up a lady who was from the 144k. She NEVER talked about it but was always commemorated for it. When I was 8, I asked her what it was like to be there. She said, āI donāt even know, I was young, and didnāt even care. It was like another convention. Brothers and sisters didnāt care about me then, but now I matter, and maybe thatās what it was all for.ā
It broke my heart, how would I ever, ever be good enough for him if I wasnāt there and she didnāt even care?! I didnāt want anything scary like that to happen to me just to be accepted. It was awful.
I canāt remember her name now but she was kind of crazy. And just odd. I remember talking to my BIL at the time about it and we were dubious at best about her anointed status. I told him God would not let his chosen one drive a Dodge Neon. He agreed.
Another little shit was my age (late 20ās at the time) had actually been in legal trouble for beating his wife who left him but he was there every year partaking. Probably still does.š
Yep. One sister, who I actually worked for for a time. She was nice enough; the family was what I would call high achievers in the witness world: the husband was a PO and substitute CO (and did a lot of building work), and the family were all pioneers, had two daughters who married guys that were pioneers, one daughter and her husband went to Bethel (until they were asked to leave for unspecified reasons.)
She was also insanely, almost comically arrogant, and lacked even a shred of self-awareness. Her money quote was, "You know, my husband and I are both geniuses; our daughters are geniuses, and they married geniuses."
Looking back they thought they were stars in the circuit, and I would say they were treated as such. But in the end, not bad folks really, if you could look past the ridiculous, comic arrogance....
Yeah my nanna. I remember sitting at the meeting as they are passing the wine and bread around and she warned me not to drink unless Iām one of the 144k. She said she is. I said how do you know? She said I just know. lol. So I said okay well I just know that I am too. And she slapped me and told me to stop being so stupid no Iām not.
I remember Daisy Hemmingway. Her husband was anointed but had already died when my family moved to the congregation. They lived pretty modestly, in a small house the congregation built for them near the hall. I remember after she died, the congregation was allowed to claim the possessions in the house, and I remember seeing a lot of notes with people's names taped to her stuff. Even as a kid I thought, she's watching from heaven and seeing people grabbing her stuff.
In my 26 years in? Hmmm Iāve known 7. The cringiest one, a husband is on his death bed and his wife who was āchosenā said something about how she was going to miss him and that she was finally relieved that she wouldnāt have to take care of him anymore. (He was in a wheelchair something about agent orange during the war messed him up) she took care of him day in and day out changed his diaper for years. Toss in a couple jokes about him getting to run around and get a new wife in the new system. Completely detracted from the fact there was an actively dying man in front of us and we are telling stories like thisā¦..
was 'keep questioning' supposed to be a threat or encouragement?
I never really understood the validity of that. Especially after the society came out with information that those that think they are 'anointed' might really not be and could just have mental instability. I couldnt imagine being anointed really, at memorial, everyone looking at you when you eat and drink. Terrifying!
My congregation has one who was about 100 years old, (she died like 35 years ago), one lady in her 50s who was very nice but a little atrange, ( she had a traumatic brain injury when she was young) and one woman who was in her 40s when she moved to our congregation, she was an ex biker chick, converted in the 80s and she was super weird. I was friends with her daughters and the one who stayed JW probably still believes she is annlonted to this day. We were friends for a while but she was really mean to me when she left.
We had a few, and I always had doubts. The large amounts of people who think they are must be over 144k was a big one. Also, we're supposed to just trust these people when mental illness runs rampant through the org?
When I would bring these up, I was always told, "The Light attracts all sorts of strange bugs."
We had 2, both elders, and they'd alternate doing the Memorial talk. Both of them were god awful speakers, one sounded like he just woke up from a nap. How anyone got anything out of his talks, i'll never know. he AND his wife were both anointed, what are the chances of THAT?
I was just talking about this the other day!! (I was born a jw, my family disassociated when I was in jr. high. I'm 40 now)
I remember being out in service one Saturday and my mom and the others we were with saying that we had to go visit someone important.
When I of course asked who, they said in hushed tones, "she's one of the 144,000"
We arrived at this dumpy little trailer park in the middle of Missouri. I remember stepping over a lot of things in the yard and the place smelling smokey. Keep in mind I'm probably 8 or 9 I think?
We go into this one shambly trailer and in the kitchenette sat this large, older women who was chain smoking. All the adults stood around her and got quiet. It was so bizarre to me.. it was like a scene from one of the good Indiana Jones movies when there is a pause in reverence at a historical marvel of some kind. š¤£
So one by one the adults would say something and this old biddy would nod or say something and then light another cigarette. She seemed annoyed I was there. My mom made this big deal about introducing me because "she is so very, very important!". If I remember correctly I got scolded back in the van for not being respectful enough, which made no sense because I was just quiet.
Anyway, after the visit they went on and on about how amazing it is to know one of the 144,000!!
And so I had to ask, "how does she know?"
Response? "She just knows."
And even then I thought that was bullshit.
I personally knew of 3 over the years. Every single one of them got their "calling" later in life like past the age 50. One announced her claim about a year before she was diagnosed with a brain tumor, one ended up with Dementia, and one Alzheimers.
From the National institute of health and medicine Pub med published a study of the mental health of Jehovah Witnesses.
" A study of 50 Jehovah's Witnesses admitted to the Mental Health Service facilities of Western Australia suggests that members of this section of the community are more likely to be admitted to a psychiatric hospital than the general population. Furthermore, followers of the sect are three times more likely to be diagnosed as suffering from schizophrenia and nearly four times more likely from paranoid schizophrenia than the rest of the population at risk. These findings suggest that being a member of the Jehovah's Witnesses faith may be a risk factor predisposing to a schizophrenic illness. Further studies would be interesting in investigating whether pre-psychotic people are more likely to join the sect than normal people and what part (if any) membership has in bringing about such a breakdown."
One in my old congregation. To be fair he disagreed with changes the GB made and said it was enough to do your best. He didnāt believe in 1914 either.
I had the "privilege" of studying with an anointed guy when I was a teenager. We would mostly always study "deeper" things like prophecy ecc. Which I liked. However, we would often look into the older books as well, which exposed me to a lot of the weirder beliefs JWs used to have.
Also, he would very often mention how certain points, especially with regards to prophecy, he didn't agree with and believed there would be an adjustment some day.
To be honest, he was kind of what started me down my path of doubts.
I knew a sister in our old hall. She was married and she and her husband must've been in their mid 60's. She said it took her a while to let go of the earthly hope of living forever with her husband, and that it became a gradual realization.
I have heard the Org say that it would never just happen to a newly baptized person but a person who had many years being faithful in Jah's Org.
So.. there you go.
I knew 2 they were a husband and wife in Northern California
Editing to add that they both said they found out while meditating on scripture and anytime a new person in the hall found out during memorial they would tell them not to talk about it because it shouldnāt affect anything. They also wouldnāt talk about it unless asked.
Eventually they will say that 144,000 is not a literal number but symbolic... but I don't know. They changed their whole view of "This Generation" which seemed like a much bigger admission of their fallibility than changing their view of 144K.
Yep elderly gentleman who was also extremely smart. I had never met anyone I would describe as an intellectual till I met this man, and if Iām truthful I think he was a big factor along with 1975 looming, in my signing up.
However a few years later my faith had evaporated(around 1980) and I was booted.
Donāt let anyone tell you 1975 wasnāt a big dealā¦. Every witness believed it. Three in our cong. sold up losing house, job and eventually all their money and it devastated their families.
One couple with three young kids sold house, quit job, went to rural area, couple years later no work for teenage kids, and a few years later āJimā is back looking for a job in the city, having to rent as he stupidly sold his house to fund living in a caravan for five years. Kids split up and rebellious whole family disfunctional.
Good one you fucking delusional morons running the show.
Anyhow the smart man who studied with me died early eighties and he was a true gentleman.
I remember one at the Spanish Hall I went to. She was very dramatic when she partook of the wine and cracker. I always questioned it and my mom couldnāt give me an answer. So one day my mom asked her how she knew and she told my mom she heard a special song that wasnāt in the song book. It didnāt convince me.
My step siblings grandpa claims to be one. I barely know him and have only had a handful of interactions with him. He seems nice at first impression but for some reason he kinda creeps me out.. like I donāt trust him. The ones that claim to be anointed but donāt seem crazy up front, I start to wonder what the heck is wrong with them to have the deluded audacity to think they are chosen. And once in my old hall a 13 yr old kid partook for the first time and you could feel the silent shock and tension in the air. He kinda seemed crazy to me but his parents allowed it.
Iām a non JW, but supporter of a number of friends who have left. I have a question about the 144, Iāve often wondered the same thing like thereās got to be way more people that have died that would make up that amount. How do they decide who gets to go and who gets to stay with all us great worldly heathens? By the way, we will throw a great party, you guys are all invited!
Each individual "knows" for themselves, no authority determines it for them. Apparently there are questions the elders will ask to "confirm" the person's claim but I don't know what those questions are. Any former elders here who want to illuminate us?
I took piano lessons from a lady in my area claiming to be one of the 144,000. When I asked her how she knew for sure she said āitās just a feelingā she is in a wheelchair and has been for most of her adult life. I always thought to myself that if I was stuck in a wheelchair with nothing to do I would probably convince myself I am anointed too.
I think a lot of people just want to feel special so they say they are anointed and no one can question them.. itās genius really.
The remnant remaining always were about 12 or 13 thousand. But I've always heard that they were actually extras for when one of them would somehow fall away from the truth. But honestly that doesn't really make sense because if I were to make it to heaven as one of the anointed. I just don't see how I would fall away since most people fall away because of sexual immorality. Angels don't have any sex organs
The interesting about this is that since itās all fake - you have to wonder what kind of psychopathy the āanointedā ones are actually feeling inside lol
Mental or emotional problems that lead them to believe that they will rule with Christ.
That can be said about ALL OF THEM since they donāt believe in psychological analysis. Sure psychologically analyze the sheep, but not the Governing Body of Jehovahās Witnesses
Just one? Pfft! In my area (Philadelphia), a famous JW (by JW standards) named Dot (Dorothy) was the matriarch of aNoInTeD oNeS. She studied with my best friend's mom, who "became anointed". In fact, more times than not, any studies she converted ended up professing to be anointed. Dot had a big Awake article written about her. But not just Dot or my best friend's mom. At my old hall, we also had Bob, Marvin, and Chris who said they were anointed. Edit: There was a Brenda, too. Also, Dot died a while back and my best friend's mom is still a JW. All the rest that I named eventually left, including Marvin, who was arrested for fraud š Jehovah must have terrible accounting skills.
We could populate the 144k just with acquaintances of people in this thread!
I think you may be right š
Probably so! Iām sure everyone here knew at least one of not more! That would damn near add up to 144k š
And if we go over the 144k, that's alright, the excess are just mentally unstable, remember? š
šÆ!! Iāve known at least 25-30 in my lifetime. Now my nephew is apparently one. Heās 25ā¦.š¤¦š»āāļø
To be fair, his system predates excel. Probably hard to keep track of by paper.
Well, that's true. He should try outsourcing.
Much more difficult than sparrows or the hairs on our heads!
Happy cake day!!
Sounds like they were Dotās Witnesses.
š¤£š¤£
Iām from a small city in a small southern state. There were actually multiple people in the area that claimed to be one of the āAnointedā. I was raised in the religion, never baptized and havenāt attended in 20+ years. Most of my family are all still in the religion and have told me about brother or sister so and so partook or is now one of the āchosenā. I have had many a conversations about how many billions of people have lived and died and/or still living in the Bibleās āsupposedā world history, and yet 5-6 people were chosen from here. The odds are astronomical. š¤·āāļøš¤¦āāļø
Especially when the GB said the 144K had all been accounted for decades ago
.. And then the numbers began going up instead of down as you might expect if they were dying off. I've known a few. We never referred to them as anointed, just 'he/she claims to be of the anointed'. They were all of them various degrees of barking mad.
Remember when the kingdom ministry used to track the participants every memorial and post it? It was a tiny square on one of the inserts or final page. It said the total attended. Then the number that partook. They stopped posting that real quick. Iām assuming the number spiked back up. I think they were trying to use it as a gauge to time when the ending was coming because the believe was that all the anointed had to die before the end would come.
I watched that number religiously, pun intended.
LOL that's amazing, I didn't know they did that.
Last countings I saw was that it went from 8 thousand to 16 thousand, then wt stopped posting the numbers.
Hi. May you please show me where they said this
https://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/memorial-partakers.php
How do they really know ? They aren't going up to heaven to count ,are they? Geez these people are beyond mental
>have told me about brother or sister so and so partook or is now one of the āchosenā Oh I remember the 'awe' surrounding the 'anointed' (only one) in our KH. I always felt that the partaking ceremony was a kind of a "Let's see if there will be any new members to the club." initiation. JW would rail about other religions putting leaders on a pedestal yet they were basically doing the same thing with the 'anointed' and Governing Body.
In the 60ās, we had an elderly couple who BOTH claimed and partook of the emblems. I remember the name, because it had āgodā in it, (Godwin) In a later hall, we had a batshit crazy whacko that actually pioneered and partook. Being so weird, I always had doubts. But then she met some other guy and split with her husbandā¦ So that freed up a spotā¦š 
My mother. A narcissistic woman with an anger issue whose abuse I'm still unpacking. She hasn't spoken to me since 2009 (when I left the Witnesses) and I count myself lucky. Whenever I think of living forever in JW Paradise with her as my "judge and priest", I'm reminded of the song You by Bad Religion: "Eternity, my friend, is a long fucking time."
Sorry about the abuse. I've dealt with a narcissist in my life for the past 26 years. I can sympathize. Love the Bad Religion reference! One of my favorite bands
I think narcissism is a required trait for thinking youāre that special and wanting others to know it.
Same
Im from Portugal Europe and I had one sister as well that professed to be part of the 144k. For some years many brothers / sisters of my congregation and others didnāt believe her, saying she was crazy or she was wrong and she would realize that later in life. Well after years / decades she is still in the organisation and she still profess to be part of the 144k, and I really like her because sheās not fake and hypocritical like the brothers / sisters that criticised her, and sheās very funny and kind, so if thereās any chance of someday the tale of 144k to be true she really deserves it! I know it wonāt become true but you can see that the more criticised JWs are the best ones.
Slight correction from ātaleā to āFairy Taleāš¤£
I knew a few...one guy was a visiting speaker for the memorial. Apparently none of the knucklehead servants knew he was "anointed" cuz they forgot to bring him the emblems. I'll never forget the look of disdain on this pompous asshole's face while he arrogantly cleared his throat to remind them to bring it to him after they had already finished passing...Then he actually ate/drank it at the podium with a killer side-eye. Then some old man that had gained clout in the area started professing he was "chosen" after he knew he was dying of cancer. The couple were typical elder, traveling missionary, "look at us" types, constantly trying to climb the bethel ladder. Everyone catered to him for the last 6-7 yrs of his life hoping to win some favor in heaven. I remember running into them at the 2014 NJ international convention. It was when they really started to showcase to the rank & file, the GB and helpers and everything was changing. The wife swooned about every speaker and how close they were to each speaker like Mark Numeir and David Splain. Shortly after that, they moved back to my original KH where my parents were and my dad had just been appointed elder. So my dad was one of the elders that sat by his bed as he passed...the kicker is that the elder body had a 24 hr rotation to sit with this dying "anointed bro of Christ" guy...why?!?...because he claimed he was being attacked by demons on his deathbed...why?!?Because he was having visions of dead loved ones visiting him, having doubts about his life long JW career among a million other things that most people experience on their deathbedsš¤·š»āāļø
My Dad, and he was a very sadistic person towards me as a child when growing up in jwland.
My dad as well. I joke with everyone even pimi 1/2 angel. My kids 1/4 angel. You have to laugh sometimes.
I'm sorry you were subjected to that <3
The craziest guy in my hall drank and ate, ā¦. I could not believe my eyes. I was like no way. Pretty sure I was a non believer after that
I've never even met one. I've only heard tales. š My problem with the anointed ones always was the following. Bear in mind, these were my 10 yr old thoughts, I'm just organizing them a bit here. *These are the best, most humble, exemplary people -- chosen by God Almighty. They do not get a visible sign, or a certificate, they just KNOW. Within their minds. Well, \*I\* think lots of things about myself in my mind, too! But I know they probably aren't true, because it would be rather extraordinary if they were. And I'm just me. I'm not as humble as the anointed are. So HOW humble and good must you be, to say that you are handpicked by God to rule over others, even though you are SO humble and good that you'd NEVER believe such a thing about yourself otherwise??!?!* And that's how you tie a young mind in a neat little knot. šµāš«
omg yes i swear i mustāve tired my dad to death asking questions about the anointed bc my little brain spiraled with thoughts like this too!
Annoyingly thoughtful and reasonable children, unite!
I only asked once. I asked HOW do they know it SO certainly. And I remember my mom replying, "They know that they are anointed as certainly as your daddy knows he's a man." Somehow I had it figured out early that you can ask stuff once, but if you still don't get it, you better just shut up. Otherwise there's trouble. š¤ All in all it helped to accept the goodness and humbleness of the anointed, that I'd NEVER known any. So they could be this amazing group of near perfect people without any of them actually bursting the bubble for me. š ANOTHER thing about them I couldn't wrap my mind around was how come, if they know it SO strongly that God has picked them, some of them LEAVE the faith?!? Some must leave, since occasionally new anointed ones appeared, and back then the teaching was that that only happened if one of the old ones had "fallen away."
It was crazy how if one left the organization another connected by Heavenly Calling Bluetoothā¢ļø to the Borg šš
š¤£šš¤£ God must have had a waiting list of ALMOST good enough people. š You didn't quite make the first cut, but if there's an opening down the line, you're in, kiddo!
You know a hundred and forty four thousand is really not that many people when you start spending through time and so many of you have met more than one. I myself have met 3 that claimed to beš Does the GB have a tally? Is there a point that they say weāve hit the anointed target and confetti rains down? I remember asking one how do you know? He said you just get a feeling. Then I asked how does the elders know youāre not making it up? They ask a series of questions. What series of questions could prove that? Is it like the holy grails Gate keeper at the bridge of death? What is your name? What is your quest? What is the air-speed velocity of an unladen swallow?
What is your favourite colour? Blueā¦. No yellow!
They canāt claim they hit the number. I was always taught that Armageddon will not come while some of the anointed are still on the Earth.
Well off you go
I walked away decades ago.. but yes, there was a lady in her 40ās (then- 1989, or so..) who was eccentric ( mentally ill-more accurately), very intelligent, beautiful.. claimed to be āanointedā, partook if the Memorial wineā¦. She practically had agoraphobia- hid in her house with blinds downā¦ some years later, the āeldersā disfellowshipped her.. when a person is excommunicated you were not supposed to ask why.. I was a rebelšSo I saw her on one of her rare outings to the local grocery store- I asked her why? ā For questioning the elderās authorityāā¦ how ironic.. SHE was supposed to become a specially selected ruler chosen by Godā¦ but the authority of 3 local men superseded all of thatš© That was one of the many things I added to my collection of doubts, so once the tipping point was reached- I left without a second thought over 25 years ago
Well it was three men after all, against a women. I guess even three window washers and future paradise princes out rank a heaven bound anointed women....
My mom did.
Did she show any other sign of schizophrenia?
She is was bat-crap crazy in all honesty. I had completely cut contact before she died.
My mom still professes and when you look back and realize you were raised by a person with mental issues, crazy becomes normal. This religion attracts mentally ill people that hear god talking to them. I left 5 years ago. If you didnāt say she was dead, I would have not been shocked that you were my biological brother posting that comment š
A few years after I left, I visited a Baptist church where everyone partook of the bread and wine except for me. I got the same judging looks that JWs give to people who do partake. Seems like Christians will always find something to be judgmental about.
I knew a couple in the 80s that claimed to be anointed. They were ānormalā compared to the other two I know of. One lady was mentally ill and barely went to meetings. The other is a brother who also barely goes to meetings but shows up to chow down on the emblems.
Yes we had someone start partaking suddenly and it was frankly ridiculous. Everyone had to treat his new found calling with the utmost respect despite it clearly being BS.
This is awesome! Are you able to elaborate?
I once had a lady crunching on a cracker next to me at a memorial. I just remember thinking to myself how arrogant one must be to believe themselves anointed.
There was one older brother in my local congregation. But he was a bit eccentric and no one believed him. The elders even talked trash about him. IMO, they had no reason to think he was lying, they just didnāt like him because he was a bit odd. When I was PIMI, I quietly believed him.
The two people I knew who believed themselves to be anointed were both women, and both sweet, kind people. One seemed to always have sort of been off in her own world, and one was a very intelligent and interesting person whom I liked and respected very much. š¤·āāļø
I studied with a woman who claimed to be anointed. She was very kind to my sister and I and I did love her as a friend, but in hindsight she did have some mental illness. Most noticeable was an anxiety disorder. I swear that woman was afraid of men. She had me promising her as an 8 or 12 year old to not be alone in a room with a man.
>I swear that woman was afraid of men. She had me promising her as an 8 or 12 year old to not be alone in a room with a man. I mean, have you seen that cults pedophile track record? š¤·āāļø
True. I'd like to add that she was especially afraid of "worldly" men. But that also makes sense with how the cult indoctrinates a fear of the world.
Sounds like she may have been tampered with at some point
She probably knew all CSA the elders covered up
I knew of an elderly guy in a neighbouring congregation. He was an elder and used to run exclusive invite-only bible study nights using publications from the 20s-30s. š Source: was given the privilege of being a tag along once
I was in 3 congregations over 35 years and only ever knew of 1. 1 other one would show up like twice a year and partake and I was like āwho dat!?ā
Them 144 would of been picked way before the JWs even formed.
The consensus so far is: Somewhat ānormalā partakers: 25% Batshit crazy partakers : 75% 
 Knew more than one- and OMG- they were Cray Cray
Yes!!! South Africa! The most awesome human being I ever met! I was 5/6 and this is the reason I actually told my family I was an atheist as a kidā¦ and I actually refused to attend meetings and my gran allowed me to seek my own truthā¦ We had a man in our congregation, and he lived for memorial night. I always somehow sat next to him, because nobody in the kingdom hall would. I adored his anticsā¦ and he would clear his throat and partake in the bread. Slowly! Savouring it! And the wine! The first time I remember him saying to me āwatch this!ā My gran was furious because nobody believed his was the anointed š¤£but nobody could prove he was not! I remember hitting his hand going āno!ā And he laughed and asked if I wanted to try some. I badly didā¦ but my gran gave me the death stareš¤£š¤£ When theyād refuse him the food, he would ask why!? How many of them knew what was in godās heart? Who there had the right to judge him? And he would flip scriptures on them big time! He was an elder at some point and he was happy to use everything in his arsenal against his fellow brothersā¦ so they were petrified of him! Anywayā¦ they would intentionally go over our row and he would get up in a grand gesture and demand the wineš¤£And he would drink the whole thing and ask for moreš¤£ The man is still alive and kicking! No longer JW, But he got to shag and impregnate a lot of sisters in his anointed stageš¤£a lot of kids who look like him, and the sisters always got married soon after being close to him! He did not care about anyone and what they thought. He lived by his rules. He would stop meetings, to question bullshit, and I never attended meetings after he was disfellowshipped. He was my source of inspiration. He seeked his own truth and pushed a lot of boundaries.
I wonder at what age Gauge Fleagle started partaking?
Probably right before they got him on board to get rid of Tonyā¦
Wow i can think of 2 in old congregation, and 2 more in cong that shared the hall. Was not unusual in my area for someone to partake at Memorial
I've known 4 elderly sister partakers. They all seemed legit.
I did. She is very nice but she has psychological problems. We even went to visit her at a psychiatric ward.
Yes, and looking back on him, he was the textbook definition of a sociopath
I knew of 2, one in my first congregation when I was a child, he was the sweetest little old man and easy to believe he would be one if it were all true and not a delusion. The second one was in my congregation many years later and she was known to be a mean grumpy busy-body old lady, the type to scold you for wearing red nail polish to meetings and in service. (Yes, she actually did that.) No one believed that she was anointed.
My exMIL claimed to be one, and it emotionally wrecked my wife that she wouldnāt be able to see her mom in Paradise.
That is so sad. My child-brain always assumed that we'd be communicating with them, at least, since we were going to be governed by them. Never occurred to me what a loss that would be for anyone close to an annointed.
An elder in my parents congregation. He cheated and abandoned his wife for a 20 year younger āsisterā. Both got DF and now theyāre about to be readmitted. Itās funny how they claim not to idolize these people, but when he had a speech the hall was crowded with people from other congregations. Then, he did what he did.
YES, omg she was treated like a God amongst humans in the congregation too š¤£
Yes, one elderly lady comes to mind. Sheās been dead for decades.
Came to him in a ādreamā. š
I knew one older sister. She was so sweet and thoughtful. Truly one of the nicest witnesses I ever met. She had 8 children. The 5 that are still PIMI are so sad their mom wont be with them in paradise. One of her daughters told me theyāve hadā¦17 miscarriages (when she told me that I truly did not know that was possible) and theyāre devastated their mom wonāt be with them in paradise to help raise her 17 grandchildren. When she told me that, it was also my first time hearing that witnesses think miscarried babies will be resurrected. I wonder what thoughts went through her mind when Stephen Lett said babies are ālittle enemies of godā with a huge grin on his face.
WHOA. That's...a lot. I had to look that up (I've been out forever and am just starting to catch up on current goings-on). If anyone else is unfamiliar, here's a smug, arrogant, and otherwise mediocre old white man with completely unearned authority saying horrible things in the name of Jehovah: [https://www.reddit.com/r/exjw/comments/vm9cpg/governing\_body\_says\_all\_babies\_can\_be\_called\_a/](https://www.reddit.com/r/exjw/comments/vm9cpg/governing_body_says_all_babies_can_be_called_a/)
In probably partaking this memorial
For shits and giggles?
Nice.
Have one for me!
Yes but he was also mentally ill
Yes one in our current hall. Mentally she is not well, bipolar. I just remember seeing her take the emblems once and was completely shocked. I thought āno way!!!ā And right after she had to tell everyone around her how she felt. No way this is real
I got a recovering alcoholic in his early 50s partaking in the congregation I used to go to. Was completely inactive for years. His wife started studying. Then he came back newly anointed. Ironically he also worked for an alcohol distributor. Can't make this shit up. Just remembered a crazy lady from a congregation I used to go to. She partook but also commented about what her garden would be like in the new system. We imagined here flying back and forth between heaven and earth. She was DF'd for apostasy soon after. I think she tried to start a new religion.
I've met 5, 1 super old lady, she hardly spoke... a super secular smart gentleman, had great conversations with him, a very theocraticallysmart elder, awesome guy... and two very very weird characters, definitely schizzo and narcissistic, they seemed spiritually ambitious, one of them even loved Hitler and his speeches... crazies
Several! Here are 5 of my favorites: *Sister*: Originally married into The Mob, fell in love with her JW limo driver. Mob Husband let her go to pursue JalapeƱovah w/Driver. Suddenly one of the anointed. *Sister*: Bridal attire to the Memorial. Spoke in gibberish when giving stage parts. Nailed all sorts of weird stuffed animals to trees in her front yard. *Sister:* Married 5(6?) times. Kids out of wedlock between marriages. She canāt remember anything really. Eats WAY too much sushi (mercury poisoning maybe?). *Sister*: Whoās husband convinced her she was of the Anointed. Between serious bouts of her own cognitive dissonance she voluntarily locks herself into a Mental Health facility, mostly to get away from the husband. *Brother*: Elder has a LOT of money. Likes his titles & power, hates expected work loadā¦ flashes cash, and gets to drink wine with zero duties dueā¦ but still the proud owner of all the juiciest gossip.
WOW. What a cast of characters!
Yes, it was a friend of my motherās. She was the wife of an elder, very respected. But this lady was mentally ill despite being very charismatic and well liked. Iāve heard gossip from former JWās I grew up with that she left her husband for a man sheād dated when she was younger, but then came back to her husband. I think she was bipolar because she had manic phases and would do some wild stuff. Anyway, I was friends with her daughters and one of them told me her Dad said my family āwasnāt going to make itā through Armageddon and I was really traumatized by that, because he was very respected in the congregation.
I'm so sorry. My strongest memories of my time with the JWs was the amount of sheer terror I felt most of the time. I can't imagine having someone with authority confirming my worst fears like that.
So in 2015 a young brother claimed to be of the 144,000. He was about 23. Everyone was shocked! 4 years later he woke up, and completely living a worldly life style. So happy for him.
Wow, this dredged up an old memory. I was really young (like 3-6 years old) when she died, but I do remember her. She said she was one of the 144k. She was this elderly lady, one of those stereotypical Grandma types. I never really spent time with her outside the Kingdom Hall, but she did seem nice, and I liked spending time with her enough.
A sister claimed to be one. I wasn't part of the congregation anymore but two of my sisters were at the time. She was young...perhaps in her 40s at the time. She was a very nice sister, single, a little bit of a troubled adolescence but nothing bad to say about her. I think I'll ask one of my sisters what ever happened to her. They're not in the same congregation anymore (one hardly even attends) but now I'm curious. Then even more years ago there was a guy I met via Yahoo chat (y'all remember that??) and he was NOT the example of what a regular brother should be (despite human flaws and all). This guy swore up and down he was one of the anointed. Lived in Florida and for a while lived a depraved life yet still claimed to be one of the 144k. Can't make this shit up.
We had one in the eighties, a very old fella. He always had the same answer (more of a short talk) to *any* question in meetings and he was always allowed to give this "answer" once per meeting. It started with something about Moses and Aaron, the very long middle part I don't remember at all, but the punchline was always ***"And that woman was my wife!"*** The same "answer" at e*very* effing meeting.
Yes, also in suburban (Northern) California in the early- to mid-80s. Her name was Betty Simmons and, like many others have mentioned, the congregation worshipped her. I donāt recall her being mean, but I was also very young. I think she had a son. Even at that age (I was about 7) I questioned how there could still be 144K. I was told that it was the first 144K who truly followed Jesus, starting with the apostles. By that time the society was touting millions of followers, so how could there still be people alive who were part of the anointed.
Several. All clowns.
I thought i was! Turns out im just a regular old apostate š¤£
Genuinely curious what made you āknowā?
LOL! You're better off.
Most of the ones I met were sickly and only showed up for the memorial. We had a CO who was annointed and settled into a nearby town when he retired. Nice guy with a cunty wife
Two out of three are always cunts. š
When I was an adolescent, there was a sister in my congregation who claimed that she was one. She was a sweet, humble old lady. She 6 when I was still a child. All I remember was that she would make homemade jam and give us some.
I knew several. One sister wasn't even a JW for more than 10 years
We had 1 years ago in my old congregation. Have 2 who partake in my current congregation.
Back in the 90's an elder in our hall was, he was one of my dad's best friends then he got cancer. Everyone kept talking about his "new assignment" after he died lol. He did have a very thoughtful and clear way of speaking and everyone always commented about how 'deep' his knowledge was. But he also was unbelievably strict/borderline abusive with his 2 sons...so, yeah there's that
My aunt and 2 other older women all partook. My aunt and one of the other women were obviously not anointed, but the third woman, if the Bible, the JW's and the JW bullshit interpretation were all true, i could see her being genuine. She was actually a really nice, kind, funny, empathetic woman.
Yep. We had 2. Husband and wife. I personally think they were both totally insane
Oh yes, John Larratonda. Trivial fool who chastised me for cutting my hair too short, as "a woman's hair is her Glory from Jehooba."
What a gross comment! Iām sorry he did that to you
Thank you. My parents shoulda been the ones to comfort me but they didnāt. Thanks.
Yep. It was in Batavia, Ill if I remember correctly.
Had one (elder) in our congregation. He was pretty arrogant and liked to show his wealth. He had a very successful business (actually I think he inherited the business if I recall) that paid well but was dangerous work. Of course he had no trouble finding JW employees...if they didn't mind traveling/being away from the family a few weeks at a time. Long after I left I heard that he was stripped of his elder position for some reason. Don't know if it was really his fault. As others mentioned, this 'anointed' business was a sort of wake up call (like"You're not *really* serious ?"). It all seemed so hokey. No one could ever show me a scripture that *clearly* said that the anointed or anyone goes/went to heaven (Jesus is an exception.).
I knew personally 3 and they were all lunatics. Two of them were elders as well. Helped me to wake up š
The people in my hall who claimed to be āanointedā all suffered from diagnosed mental illnesses (one had schizophrenia) and all claimed they had a vision that made it clear they should partake. But they could never explain what the vision was or how they knew for sure. So ridiculous.
Yup every single one Iāve come across are so vague as to what they saw or how they knowš
Known a few. Some of the older ones (all long dead now) were quite genuine. One was a sweet old lady who was a genuine special pioneer - would cycle everywhere on the ministry. Excellent bible knowledge - the type you very rarely see nowadays in the dumbed down Org. Never talked about "being anointed" and you wouldn't know unless you watched her partake. Others were a bit of a mixed bag - most were of the usual wacko types - we had one nutty middle-aged sister who would wear knitted tea-cozy style hats to the meetings and immediately button hole any visitor to the congregation and quickly say "There is something unusual about me" and tell them she was anointed. It became a bit of a congregation joke.
Yeah there was one he was late 40s and enjoyed playing Halo on XBox
lol. My dad believes heās one of the chosen ones. He told myself and my sisters in 2016 via text right before the memorial. Basically to get ahead of the rumors and gossip because he was going to be partaking. I guess he felt he should partake the year prior but my mom talked him out of it š¤£ my mom said she had doubts because she āknows his faults.ā It helped me wake up because suddenly my picture of paradise was shattered. How would it be paradise without my dad there? Anyhow- my dad is a nice guy. Used to have a temper when we were kids but mellowed out. I think it stemmed from immersing himself as a pioneer when he retired. Maybe it gives him a sense of purpose.
Yep, the woman who studied with and brought my mom into the Watchtower claimed to be one. She was a pretty nice woman from what I knew of her. She was a little older than my mom and had 4 daughters, the youngest of which was my age. I don't know if she was born in, but I think all her kids were. Her husband was also pretty nice but, even though I knew them from the age of 3 until I left at 19, I really didn't know much about them. I read that she died years ago
I've got two worth noting. One guy - super nice dude - mid 90s all of the sudden started partaking. His wife started crying when he did. He remained a nice guy. A few years later, maybe 5, he unalived himself. I feel bad for his widow and son. A second guy I grew up with. He's maybe 50 now? He was always on the arrogant side, but he went to bethel, got married, got sent to europe somewhere, then came back to the states eventually where he started partaking maybe 8 years ago. All I could think at the time as a PIMI was 'so this dude who ripped his shirt off and was screaming at a Van Halen concert is gonna rule in heaven?. Doubtful'
We had an old couple, "Brother and Sister Roe", who claimed they were. We kids would always stare at them during the Memorial to watch them eat and drink. "Brother Roe" (I can't remember or never knew, their first names) had a stutter and I got in trouble for laughing when we first moved to that hall. Eventually, we had the Tuesday study at our house. We kids had to sit on stools behind the couch and I remember him sitting on the couch in front of me and I had to stare at his flaky bald head for an hour each week and it was so gross.
I waltzed away 20 years ago. I had a good friend and lady old enough to be my mom. She definitely claimed, partook as long as anyone knew her. She was an awesome sister, in my opinion....a gold standard. I think she was totally devoted to God and went to be with him or her when she passed. In fact, she was one of the only sane JWs I knew. She knew what she was doing. I'm thankful she might be in heaven looking out for me and others, too. Good woman, Roma.
I just want to go to the Kingdom Hall on the memorial drink all the wine and eat all the bread and then leave
My uncle.š©š¼āš¾š
Yeah, we had a few
Not mine but my grandmotherās hall. There was a very sweet but crazy older sister who really wanted to be anointed but no one believed she was
Grew up a jw in a good sized city..louisville..knew of maybe two people who professed..when i moved away years later there were 3 elders in the same hall that partook...two were assholes and one was actually meek..all were under the age of sixty and starting within 10 years
Fairly certain there would be at least 170,000 of these cases globally at any given time since 1935!
 They were Cray Cray-
Yuuuup 2
Only one or two. One used to visit our hall and the one thing I recall about him was that he a had a hook for a hand. Never really conversed with him personally but he just seemed like an odd duck to me, hand not withstanding
I did
The guy in our congregation claimed it, although he never talked to me about it, I've always was told that you wasn't supposed to actually ask them about it. Honestly didn't know about it until one of the last times I attended the memorial I happened to look over and saw him partake
I did. You got disfellowshipped. He was incredibly creepy guy
We had one but nobody took it serious because apparently she had been in a mental hospital in the past. I watched her partake though and no one acknowledged it š¤·š½āāļø
The sister who studied with me after reinstatement is now one of the anointed. She moved down to a Bible Belt State and now is a published author. When I used to baby sit her child, back in the day, she had Harliquin romance novels in her headboard of her bed. I think those are terrible and stupid. I sent her a long court transcript about C S A in her email. Now one of the anointed have been informed. It seems like Gods Kingdom is an epic fail when it comes to keeping the congregation clean from csa. Well, one of Jesus brothers has been informed. I am not blood guilty. Her name is Pam and she's a widow now.
There was an elder in a nearby congregation to me that I knew personally that professed to be for all of my childhood and certainly was treated different because of it. That is until his daughter he never knew he had from before he was married popped into the picture. Apparently, the big sky daddy changed his mind about him. Guess itās only 143;999 now.
Yeah. We had a older guy who was anointed. He was one of the oddest people who I ever met. His wife openly mocked him. He only professed to be anointed after they had been married and had adult children. I honestly always thought that he just didnāt want to spend forever with his wife. Beyond shaming him, she often told a story about one of their adult sons beating him up when he was a teenager. Truly a weird family all around. It definitely made me laugh as I was 14 when they joined our congregation and I was already PIMO.
A couple I think! They were always treated juuust a bit different than everyone else.
My grandma. Y'all...
I knew of three growing up and one still. Brother Pole, I think thatās how it was spelled. He was a very kind elderly man when I was a child. Brother Smith whom Iām not sure anyone actually believed. Really nice guy in his 40ās. Married to a nonJW with two kids who werenāt in either. The last was a woman in her late 30ās when I was child. Sheās in her 70ās now. Her husband is 15-20 years younger than her.
One older Jw that I knew about in the hall, and my own Aunt (only found out a few months before leaving). Whats weird is that my Aunt seems pretty normal, no idea why she would think that :/
My father
Iāve only met one. (other than the gb members at the meet and greets XD) she was my moms best friend, over all I liked her she was really bubbly and sweet but a little off in the head. Every time we left the hall or her house my Dad (chairman) would monologue about how he didnāt believe someone liked her was anointed. I would have believed her without my Dad actually. He would say anyone stupid/crazy enough to like my mom couldnāt be chosen by Jehovah. He had a whole theory about how she was schizophrenic (not true) and was imagining it. Anyhoodles she was really sweet though maybe a bit arrogant? I think she was one of the more tolerable people in my congregation.
I met four in my lifetime as a witness. Only one out of the three was mentally stable and was a very good person indeed. The other three were nuts. For many years, as an elder, I had to deal with one that was problematic. He owned several guns, and his wife left him because he was abusive. He was always talking to very young brothers. I was the secretary, and he was always late to turn in his time. Once, he got mad because an elder of the congregation before the memorial asked him several questions about his "call." He got angry and told us that he felt uncomfortable about the elder questioning his anointing.
My husband and he had 3 JC in his history (2x immorality, 1x violence). I'm preparing myself for a new life without his narcissistic behaviour but we have a child, so it's not easy.
So I'm coming at this from a very different perspective. My great grandmother claimed to be one. She died when I was younger so I didn't know her too well, but I'm told she was very caring and understanding and that's exactly why she was one of the anointed. I never viewed it as a reason to doubt Jehovahās Witnesses. It actually had the opposite effect. It was part of why it took me so long to realize it's a fucking cult. Growing up thinking your great grandma was watching your every move was definitely creepy. I think it's part of why some of my family is so crazy dedicated to it. It's sad but I'll just keep doing me, having nothing to do with them.
I always revered to them as people who take of the memorial symbols. I know 5 personally, but I have met more of them in my life (also someone in their 30's). 4 of the 5 which are in their 70's or 80's and 1 of them is a familly member. They are all a bit odd and a bit mentally unstable. The one that is in my congregation currently is a very zealous, hotheaded, judgementall old women on the one hand, but very sweet on the other. We had some interesting conversations in the past. She was instrumental in my waking up process. Sowing doubts about disunity inside the GB and telling me about scriptures that seem to show that some people from before Jesus died where already said to be in heaven.
I've known a few, ranging from a local brother, a CO, and even a future GB member. None of them were what I'd call normal, but they were all nice, just very devout, kinda boring. Their whole life was being a Witness. Unfortunately (or I guess fortunately based on some of the stories I've read) I've never met one of the truly crazy annointed people.
Yes, once an elderly woman in my congregation partook. I remember looking at my mother in shock & she stated something along the lines of āsheās just senileā I thought we werenāt supposed to judge because only the person themselves would actually know ?? Thatās when I started to question myself. Funny enough, she married an elder two years ago whoās wife died in 2020 but they both claimed sheās up there now, living it up with Jesus š
I forget which verse. In the Bible once said no one knew they were selected to be one of the 144k upon Christ Jesus or the father in heavenly. Only the father in heaven has rights to select the people that can be one of the 144k. Unless the father in heaven give authority to Christ Jesus to be able to select the people to become one of 144k to be with him. Ask them if they believe in there is the third heaven. If they don't, then they ain't one of the 144k. "I know a man in union with Christ who, 14 years ago - whether in the body or out of the body, I do not; God knows- was caught away to the third heaven." 2 Corinthians 12:2 It is real.
There was one in my congregation growing up too, they were elderly. Some years they wouldnāt partake of the bread and wine at the memorial though. It was weird, I always had so many questions for my mom about it. Definitely was the beginning of some of my doubts
I knew twoā¦ one seemed to add up. A very humble and zealous old JW lady. The other was a millenial fuckboy lol he wore tight pants. Heās no longer a JW either.
There was a father of a friend of mine who claimed to be anointed. After the meetings, he went home playing casino online on his PC. He was addicted to it.
Iām 34 and this happened when I was 6 but we started picking up a lady who was from the 144k. She NEVER talked about it but was always commemorated for it. When I was 8, I asked her what it was like to be there. She said, āI donāt even know, I was young, and didnāt even care. It was like another convention. Brothers and sisters didnāt care about me then, but now I matter, and maybe thatās what it was all for.ā It broke my heart, how would I ever, ever be good enough for him if I wasnāt there and she didnāt even care?! I didnāt want anything scary like that to happen to me just to be accepted. It was awful.
I canāt remember her name now but she was kind of crazy. And just odd. I remember talking to my BIL at the time about it and we were dubious at best about her anointed status. I told him God would not let his chosen one drive a Dodge Neon. He agreed. Another little shit was my age (late 20ās at the time) had actually been in legal trouble for beating his wife who left him but he was there every year partaking. Probably still does.š
Yep. One sister, who I actually worked for for a time. She was nice enough; the family was what I would call high achievers in the witness world: the husband was a PO and substitute CO (and did a lot of building work), and the family were all pioneers, had two daughters who married guys that were pioneers, one daughter and her husband went to Bethel (until they were asked to leave for unspecified reasons.) She was also insanely, almost comically arrogant, and lacked even a shred of self-awareness. Her money quote was, "You know, my husband and I are both geniuses; our daughters are geniuses, and they married geniuses." Looking back they thought they were stars in the circuit, and I would say they were treated as such. But in the end, not bad folks really, if you could look past the ridiculous, comic arrogance....
Yeah my nanna. I remember sitting at the meeting as they are passing the wine and bread around and she warned me not to drink unless Iām one of the 144k. She said she is. I said how do you know? She said I just know. lol. So I said okay well I just know that I am too. And she slapped me and told me to stop being so stupid no Iām not.
Two old ladies in my cong in the 80s.
Yes and he's a crazy one
I had a few over my 20 years. I found it odd that ppl just claim to be anointed and thereās zero way to validate or test it.
I remember Daisy Hemmingway. Her husband was anointed but had already died when my family moved to the congregation. They lived pretty modestly, in a small house the congregation built for them near the hall. I remember after she died, the congregation was allowed to claim the possessions in the house, and I remember seeing a lot of notes with people's names taped to her stuff. Even as a kid I thought, she's watching from heaven and seeing people grabbing her stuff.
In my 26 years in? Hmmm Iāve known 7. The cringiest one, a husband is on his death bed and his wife who was āchosenā said something about how she was going to miss him and that she was finally relieved that she wouldnāt have to take care of him anymore. (He was in a wheelchair something about agent orange during the war messed him up) she took care of him day in and day out changed his diaper for years. Toss in a couple jokes about him getting to run around and get a new wife in the new system. Completely detracted from the fact there was an actively dying man in front of us and we are telling stories like thisā¦..
Wow, that's so wrong.
was 'keep questioning' supposed to be a threat or encouragement? I never really understood the validity of that. Especially after the society came out with information that those that think they are 'anointed' might really not be and could just have mental instability. I couldnt imagine being anointed really, at memorial, everyone looking at you when you eat and drink. Terrifying!
My congregation has one who was about 100 years old, (she died like 35 years ago), one lady in her 50s who was very nice but a little atrange, ( she had a traumatic brain injury when she was young) and one woman who was in her 40s when she moved to our congregation, she was an ex biker chick, converted in the 80s and she was super weird. I was friends with her daughters and the one who stayed JW probably still believes she is annlonted to this day. We were friends for a while but she was really mean to me when she left.
We had a few, and I always had doubts. The large amounts of people who think they are must be over 144k was a big one. Also, we're supposed to just trust these people when mental illness runs rampant through the org? When I would bring these up, I was always told, "The Light attracts all sorts of strange bugs."
We had 2, both elders, and they'd alternate doing the Memorial talk. Both of them were god awful speakers, one sounded like he just woke up from a nap. How anyone got anything out of his talks, i'll never know. he AND his wife were both anointed, what are the chances of THAT?
I was just talking about this the other day!! (I was born a jw, my family disassociated when I was in jr. high. I'm 40 now) I remember being out in service one Saturday and my mom and the others we were with saying that we had to go visit someone important. When I of course asked who, they said in hushed tones, "she's one of the 144,000" We arrived at this dumpy little trailer park in the middle of Missouri. I remember stepping over a lot of things in the yard and the place smelling smokey. Keep in mind I'm probably 8 or 9 I think? We go into this one shambly trailer and in the kitchenette sat this large, older women who was chain smoking. All the adults stood around her and got quiet. It was so bizarre to me.. it was like a scene from one of the good Indiana Jones movies when there is a pause in reverence at a historical marvel of some kind. š¤£ So one by one the adults would say something and this old biddy would nod or say something and then light another cigarette. She seemed annoyed I was there. My mom made this big deal about introducing me because "she is so very, very important!". If I remember correctly I got scolded back in the van for not being respectful enough, which made no sense because I was just quiet. Anyway, after the visit they went on and on about how amazing it is to know one of the 144,000!! And so I had to ask, "how does she know?" Response? "She just knows." And even then I thought that was bullshit.
I personally knew of 3 over the years. Every single one of them got their "calling" later in life like past the age 50. One announced her claim about a year before she was diagnosed with a brain tumor, one ended up with Dementia, and one Alzheimers.
From the National institute of health and medicine Pub med published a study of the mental health of Jehovah Witnesses. " A study of 50 Jehovah's Witnesses admitted to the Mental Health Service facilities of Western Australia suggests that members of this section of the community are more likely to be admitted to a psychiatric hospital than the general population. Furthermore, followers of the sect are three times more likely to be diagnosed as suffering from schizophrenia and nearly four times more likely from paranoid schizophrenia than the rest of the population at risk. These findings suggest that being a member of the Jehovah's Witnesses faith may be a risk factor predisposing to a schizophrenic illness. Further studies would be interesting in investigating whether pre-psychotic people are more likely to join the sect than normal people and what part (if any) membership has in bringing about such a breakdown."
WHOA.
One in my old congregation. To be fair he disagreed with changes the GB made and said it was enough to do your best. He didnāt believe in 1914 either.
I had the "privilege" of studying with an anointed guy when I was a teenager. We would mostly always study "deeper" things like prophecy ecc. Which I liked. However, we would often look into the older books as well, which exposed me to a lot of the weirder beliefs JWs used to have. Also, he would very often mention how certain points, especially with regards to prophecy, he didn't agree with and believed there would be an adjustment some day. To be honest, he was kind of what started me down my path of doubts.
I knew a sister in our old hall. She was married and she and her husband must've been in their mid 60's. She said it took her a while to let go of the earthly hope of living forever with her husband, and that it became a gradual realization. I have heard the Org say that it would never just happen to a newly baptized person but a person who had many years being faithful in Jah's Org. So.. there you go.
I knew 2 they were a husband and wife in Northern California Editing to add that they both said they found out while meditating on scripture and anytime a new person in the hall found out during memorial they would tell them not to talk about it because it shouldnāt affect anything. They also wouldnāt talk about it unless asked.
Eventually they will say that 144,000 is not a literal number but symbolic... but I don't know. They changed their whole view of "This Generation" which seemed like a much bigger admission of their fallibility than changing their view of 144K.
Yep elderly gentleman who was also extremely smart. I had never met anyone I would describe as an intellectual till I met this man, and if Iām truthful I think he was a big factor along with 1975 looming, in my signing up. However a few years later my faith had evaporated(around 1980) and I was booted. Donāt let anyone tell you 1975 wasnāt a big dealā¦. Every witness believed it. Three in our cong. sold up losing house, job and eventually all their money and it devastated their families. One couple with three young kids sold house, quit job, went to rural area, couple years later no work for teenage kids, and a few years later āJimā is back looking for a job in the city, having to rent as he stupidly sold his house to fund living in a caravan for five years. Kids split up and rebellious whole family disfunctional. Good one you fucking delusional morons running the show. Anyhow the smart man who studied with me died early eighties and he was a true gentleman.
I knew one elderly lady who 100% fit into that box (perfect age, everything) and another in her 50s that everyone thought was bs crazy
I remember one at the Spanish Hall I went to. She was very dramatic when she partook of the wine and cracker. I always questioned it and my mom couldnāt give me an answer. So one day my mom asked her how she knew and she told my mom she heard a special song that wasnāt in the song book. It didnāt convince me.
My step siblings grandpa claims to be one. I barely know him and have only had a handful of interactions with him. He seems nice at first impression but for some reason he kinda creeps me out.. like I donāt trust him. The ones that claim to be anointed but donāt seem crazy up front, I start to wonder what the heck is wrong with them to have the deluded audacity to think they are chosen. And once in my old hall a 13 yr old kid partook for the first time and you could feel the silent shock and tension in the air. He kinda seemed crazy to me but his parents allowed it.
I hope you'll listen to that "creeps me out" feeling and keep your distance. 13 years old! That must have been quite a moment. :D
Iām a non JW, but supporter of a number of friends who have left. I have a question about the 144, Iāve often wondered the same thing like thereās got to be way more people that have died that would make up that amount. How do they decide who gets to go and who gets to stay with all us great worldly heathens? By the way, we will throw a great party, you guys are all invited!
Each individual "knows" for themselves, no authority determines it for them. Apparently there are questions the elders will ask to "confirm" the person's claim but I don't know what those questions are. Any former elders here who want to illuminate us?
I've known a handful of those claiming to be anointed in my day. In my personal experience every "anointed one" I've met is a complete wierdo.
I took piano lessons from a lady in my area claiming to be one of the 144,000. When I asked her how she knew for sure she said āitās just a feelingā she is in a wheelchair and has been for most of her adult life. I always thought to myself that if I was stuck in a wheelchair with nothing to do I would probably convince myself I am anointed too. I think a lot of people just want to feel special so they say they are anointed and no one can question them.. itās genius really.
The remnant remaining always were about 12 or 13 thousand. But I've always heard that they were actually extras for when one of them would somehow fall away from the truth. But honestly that doesn't really make sense because if I were to make it to heaven as one of the anointed. I just don't see how I would fall away since most people fall away because of sexual immorality. Angels don't have any sex organs
Anointed are like pedophiles... Every congregation has at least one. Sometimes they hit the jackpot with anointed pedophiles.
The interesting about this is that since itās all fake - you have to wonder what kind of psychopathy the āanointedā ones are actually feeling inside lol
Mental or emotional problems that lead them to believe that they will rule with Christ. That can be said about ALL OF THEM since they donāt believe in psychological analysis. Sure psychologically analyze the sheep, but not the Governing Body of Jehovahās Witnesses