The Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses is the supreme ruling council of Jehovah's Witnesses[1] based in Brooklyn, New York that assumes responsibility for formulating policy and doctrines, producing material for publications and conventions, administering its worldwide branch office staff and directing the activities of all members of the religion.[2] The Governing Body is described as the representative and "spokesman" for God's "faithful and discreet slave class" (the approximately 10,000 remaining "anointed" Jehovah's Witnesses), although in practice it seeks neither advice nor approval from any "anointed" Witnesses other than high-ranking members at Brooklyn Bethel when formulating policy and doctrines or when producing material for publications and conventions.[3][4][5][6]
Its size has varied, with as many as eighteen members from 1974 to 1980,[7] but since 2007 it has comprised nine members[8], all of whom claim to be of the "anointed" class with a hope of heavenly life.[9][10] Its membership is unelected; existing members invite new members to join the body.[11] Once appointed to the Governing Body, members have in almost all cases remained until their death, although two – Ewart Chitty and Leo Greenlees – resigned[12] or were dismissed, reportedly for improper sexual conduct[13] while Raymond Franz was forced to resign in 1980 over accusations that he had been promoting "wrong teachings" as "new understandings" in private conversations with other Witnesses.[14][15]
Governing Body meetings are held weekly in closed session,[16] and Watch Tower Society publications provide no details of the agenda or decisions of meetings.[17] Decisions from 1971 were required to be unanimous; since 1975 a two-thirds majority of the total active membership (regardless of the number present at any meeting) has been sufficient to allow proposals to be carried.[18][19]
Contents |
History
The origins of the Governing Body are unclear.[20] Watch Tower Society publications began informally referring to a governing body for the religion in 1944,[21] and in 1970 it was identified as the board of directors of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania.[22] After a doctrinal change in 1971, The Watchtower began making explicit reference to it as a defined group leading the religion, with a series of articles explaining its role and its relationship with the Society.[2][23] It was also suggested in 1971 that the Governing Body had "made its appearance" some time after the formation of Zion's Watch Tower Society in 1884, though it had never been referred to as such at the time.[24] Organizational changes at the highest levels of the Watch Tower Society in 1976 significantly increased the powers and authority of the Governing Body.[25] The body has never had a legal corporate existence and operates through the Watch Tower Society and its board of directors.[26]
From its establishment in 1884 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania has been headed by a president and board of directors. Until January 1976, the president maintained complete control of doctrines, publications and activity of the Society and the religious denominations with which it was connected – the Bible Students and Jehovah's Witnesses.[24][27] When the Society's second president, J.F. Rutherford, encountered opposition from directors in 1917, he responded by dismissing them; in 1925 he eliminated the Society's Editorial Committee – selected by Charles Taze Russell to have entire editorial control of The Watch Tower after his death – when it opposed publication of an article that altered doctrines on Bible chronology related to 1914.[28]
In 1943, The Watchtower described the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society as the "legal governing body" of anointed Jehovah's Witnesses,[29] and a year later, in an article condemning those who supported the democratic election of congregation elders, the magazine said the appointment of congregation servants was the duty of "a visible governing body under Jehovah God and his Christ".[30] The role and specific identity of the governing body remained otherwise undefined; a 1955 organizational handbook states that "the visible governing body has been closely identified with the board of directors of this corporation".[31] Only in 1970 was a specific definition of the Governing Body given, when the annual yearbook, after noting that that the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania was the organization used to plan the activity of Jehovah's Witnesses and provide them with "spiritual food", declared: "So really the governing body of Jehovah's Witnesses is the board of directors of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania."[22]
That view changed in 1971 following a series of organizational and doctrinal adjustments. In what became known among headquarters staff as the "tail wagging the dog talk",[32] Watch Tower Society vice-president Frederick Franz presented a speech to the annual meeting of the Pennsylvania corporation in Buckingham, Pennsylvania on October 1, arguing forcefully that the legal corporation of the Watch Tower Society was simply an "agency" or "temporary instrument" used by the Governing Body on behalf of the "faithful and discreet slave".[33] Three weeks later, on October 20, four additional men joined the seven members of the Society's Board of Directors on what became known as a separate, expanded Governing Body.[34] The Board of Directors had until then met only sporadically, usually only to discuss the purchase of property or new equipment, leaving decisions concerning material to be published in Watch Tower Society publications to the Society's President and Vice-President, Nathan Knorr and Fred Franz.[33][35]
Articles in The Watchtower in 1971 and 1972 further highlighted and reinforced the concept of the "Governing Body". In a Question From Readers article asking about the use of the term, the magazine said that it referred to an agency that administers policy and provides organizational direction, guidance and regulation and was therefore "appropriate, fitting and Scriptural".[23][36] The focus on the new concept of "theocratic" leadership was accompanied by statements that the structure was not actually new: Watch Tower Society publications declared that the Governing Body had "made its appearance" some time after the formation of Zion's Watch Tower Society in 1884,[37] had established the Theocratic Ministry School in the Brooklyn headquarters in 1942, and that it had published millions of books and Bibles in the previous 30 years.[38] Raymond Franz has disputed that claim, saying the actions of presidents Russell, Rutherford and Knorr in overriding and failing to consult with directors proved the Witnesses and Bible Students had been under a monarchical rule until 1976, leaving no decisions to any so-called "governing body".[39]
1976 reorganization
From the point of its formal establishment in 1971, the Governing Body met regularly but only briefly, meetings sometimes lasting as short as seven minutes,[40] to make decisions on branch appointments and what conduct should be considered disfellowshipping offences.[41][42] In 1971 and again in 1975, the Governing Body debated the extent of the authority it should be given. Despite strenuous opposition by both Knorr and Fred Franz, the Body voted in December 1975 to elevate its role in decision-making, bringing all activities of the Watch Tower Society and of the congregations of Jehovah's Witnesses worldwide under its supervision, and simultaneously reduce the power of the president.[43] The change, which took effect from January 1, 1976, was described in the Watch Tower Society's 1993 history book, Jehovah's Witnesses – Proclaimers of God's Kingdom, as "one of the most significant organizational readjustments in the modern-day history of Jehovah's Witnesses".[44]
Six committees were formed in 1975 to oversee the various administrative requirements of the organization's worldwide activities that had formerly been the domain of the president.
1980 headquarters purge
In 1980, unease with doctrines surrounding the significance of 1914 surfaced within the Governing Body. In February of that year, three Governing Body members – aware that those who had been alive in 1914 were rapidly dwindling in number despite the teaching that their generation would be alive to see Armageddon – had proposed radical doctrinal changes, to determine that the "generation" that would see the arrival of Armageddon counted from 1957, referencing the launch of the Russian space satellite Sputnik in that year as a 'sign in heaven'. The proposal, which would have extended the deadline for Armageddon by 43 years, failed to gain a majority vote.[19][45] Internal dissatisfaction with official doctrines continued to grow, leading to a series of secret investigations and judicial hearings. As a result, the Governing Body led a purge of dissenting Brooklyn headquarters staff in April and May 1980.[46][47] Raymond Franz was forced to resign from the Governing Body, and he was later disfellowshipped from the religion. Many of those expelled were labeled by Governing Body members as "spiritual fornicators", "mentally diseased" and "insane".[46][48] The purge resulted in a number of schisms in the religion in Canada, Britain, and northern Europe, and prompted the formation of loose groups of disaffected former Witnesses. The Watch Tower Society responded to the crisis with a new, hardened attitude towards the treatment of expelled Witnesses.[46][47][49]
2000 and beyond
The membership of the Governing Body continued to include the directors of the Watch Tower Society until 2000. Since that time, the Governing Body has delegated the responsibility for the various corporations used by Jehovah's Witnesses to directors outside the Body. Hence, the current president of the Watch Tower Society, Don A. Adams, is not a member of the Governing Body.
The number of members of the Governing Body has varied. Since April 2007, there have been nine members. Only two current members, John E. Barr and Theodore Jaracz, were serving on the Body before 1994.
In his study of the religion, James Penton has noted that members of the Governing Body are old men (some aged in their 80s and 90s) who have had little experience outside the Witness community in years, who mostly lack formal education or business experience, and who have insulated themselves from intellectual stimuli for so long that "they often have rather naive and jaundiced views of the rest of the world".[50] Penton notes that since Raymond Franz's expulsion in 1980, the Governing Body has displayed an increasing level of conservatism, sturdy resistance to any change to the policies and doctrines of the religion, and an increasing tendency to isolate dissidents within the organisation by means of disfellowshipping.[51]
Committees
The Governing Body functions by means of six committees, each composed of members of the Body, which carry out various administrative functions.[52] They are:
The Personnel Committee arranges for volunteers to serve in the organization's headquarters and branch offices. It oversees arrangements made for the personal and spiritual assistance of members of the Bethel families, as well as the selection and invitation of new members of the Bethel families around the world.
The Publishing Committee supervises the printing, publishing and shipping of literature throughout the world, as well as legal matters involved in printing, such as obtaining property for printing facilities. It is responsible for overseeing factories, properties, and financial operations of corporations used by Jehovah’s Witnesses throughout the world.
The Service Committee supervises the evangelical activity of Jehovah's Witnesses, which includes traveling overseers, pioneers, and the activities of congregation publishers. It oversees communication between the international headquarters, branch offices, and the congregations. It examines annual reports from the branches dealing with the field activity worldwide. It is responsible for inviting members to attend the Gilead school, the Ministerial Training School, and the Traveling Overseers’ School, and for assigning postgraduate students of these schools to their places of service.
The Teaching Committee arranges congregation meetings, special assembly days, circuit assemblies, and district and international conventions as well as various schools for elders, ministerial servants, pioneers, missionaries, such as Gilead school. It supervises preparation of material to be used in teaching, and oversees the development of new audio and video programs.
The Writing Committee supervises the writing and translation of all material that the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society publishes, including scripts for dramas and talk outlines. It responds to questions about scriptural, doctrinal, and moral issues, specific problems in the congregations, and the standing of members in congregations.
The Coordinator's Committee deals with emergencies, disaster relief and other matters, such as investigations. It is made up of the coordinator, or a representative, from each of the other Governing Body committees and a secretary who is also a member of the Governing Body. It is responsible for the smooth and efficient operation of the other committees.
Relationship with "Faithful and discreet slave"
The Governing Body describes itself as the representative[52][53] and "spokesman" for God's "faithful and discreet slave class" (the approximately 10,000 remaining anointed Jehovah's Witnesses) who are said to be God's "prophet"[54] and "channel for new spiritual light".[55][56] The Governing Body is said to provide "spiritual food" for Witnesses worldwide on behalf of the "slave class",[57][58] though in practice, it seeks neither advice nor approval from any anointed Witnesses other than high-ranking members at Brooklyn Bethel when it formulates policy and doctrines or when it approves material for publications and conventions.[3][6] The vast majority of anointed Witnesses have no authority to contribute to the development or change of doctrines.[59][60][61] Anointed Witnesses are instructed to remain modest and avoid "wildly speculating about things that are still unclear", instead waiting for God to reveal his purposes[61] in The Watchtower.[62]
A 2009 Watchtower made clear that the dissemination of "new spiritual light" is a responsibility of only "a limited number" (currently nine) of the "slave class", asking: "Are all these anointed ones throughout the earth part of a global network that is somehow involved in revealing new spiritual truths? No."[3] According to former Governing Body member Raymond Franz, now a critic of Jehovah's Witnesses, there is a widespread perception among the Witnesses that the anointed somehow transmit their thinking, scriptural research, and conclusions to Brooklyn, and gain the attention of the Governing Body. He has claimed that some Witnesses also mistakenly believe that periodic surveys are taken, by which the Governing Body discover the views of the anointed worldwide.[6] In reality, he says, there is no mechanism in place to seek the views of anointed Witnesses, including those at Brooklyn Bethel. Letters from anointed Witnesses are given no more attention than those from anyone else, and Governing Body members make no attempt to contact other anointed Witnesses to discuss their views. Franz indicates that "other sheep" (non-anointed Witnesses) write most Witness publications. He describes the Governing Body's self-description as spokesman for the "faithful and discreet slave class" as a fiction that exists to cloak with anonymity the specific men who establish doctrines and to divert attention from this small group's absolute monopolisation of power and authority within the religion.[6]
Members
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Current (year born, year appointed)
As of April 2007, the current members of the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses are[9]:
- John E. Barr (1913, 1977), age 96
- Samuel F. Herd (1935, 1999), age 74
- Geoffrey Jackson (1955, 2005), age 54
- Theodore Jaracz (1925, 1974), age 84
- M. Stephen Lett (1949, 1999), age 60
- Gerrit Lösch (1941, 1994), age 68
- Anthony Morris (1950, 2005), age 59
- Guy H. Pierce (1934, 1999), age 75
- David H. Splane (1944, 1999), age 65
Deceased (years active)
Individuals who were members of the Governing Body until their death were:
- Carey W. Barber (1977-2007)
- William Lloyd Barry (1974-1999)
- John C. Booth (1974-1996)
- Charles J. Fekel (1974-1977)
- Frederick William Franz (1971-1992) — 4th President of Watch Tower Society
- George D. Gangas (1971-1994)
- John O. Groh (1965-1975)
- Milton George Henschel (1947-2003) — 5th President of Watch Tower Society
- William K. Jackson (1971-1981)
- Karl F. Klein (1974-2001)
- Nathan Homer Knorr (1934-1977) — 3rd President of Watch Tower Society
- A. H. Macmillan (1918-1966)
- Martin Pötzinger (1977-1988)
- Hugo Riemer (1943-1965)
- Albert D. Schroeder (1974-2006)
- Grant Suiter (1943-1983, died 1984)
- Thomas J. Sullivan (1932-1973, died 1974)
- Lyman Alexander Swingle (1945-2001)
- Daniel Sydlik (1974-2006)
Resigned / Removed (years active)
- Ewart Chitty (1974-1979)
- Hayden Cooper Covington (1940-1945) — Vice President of Watch Tower Society
- Raymond Franz (1971-1980)
- Leo K. Greenlees (1971-1984)
References
- ^ Penton, M. James (1997). Apocalypse Delayed: The Story of Jehovah's Witnesses. University of Toronto Press. pp. 216. ISBN 0-8020-7973-3.
- ^ a b "Questions From Readers". The Watchtower: 703. November 15, 1972.
- ^ a b c "The faithful slave and its governing body", The Watchtower, June 15, 2009, pages 23-24.
- ^ You Can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth. Watchtower Society. 1989. p. 195.
- ^ Franz, Raymond (2007). In Search of Christian Freedom. Commentary Press. pp. 153. ISBN 0-914675-17-6.
- ^ a b c d Franz, Raymond (2007). In Search of Christian Freedom. Commentary Press. pp. 152–164. ISBN 0-914675-17-6.
- ^ Penton, M. James (1997). Apocalypse Delayed: The Story of Jehovah's Witnesses. University of Toronto Press. pp. 217. ISBN 0-8020-7973-3.
- ^ As of September 2005, twelve members listed (See The Watchtower, March 15, 2006, page 26)
Schroeder died March 8, 2006 (See The Watchtower, September 15, 2006, page 31)
Sydlik died April 18, 2006 (See The Watchtower, January 1, 2007, page 8)
Barber died April 8, 2007 (See The Watchtower, October 15, 2007, page 31) - ^ a b Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania (2007). Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses. pp. 4, 6.
- ^ Botting, Heather & Gary (1984). The Orwellian World of Jehovah's Witnesses. University of Toronto Press. pp. 178. ISBN 0-8020-6545-7.
- ^ Franz, Raymond (2007). In Search of Christian Freedom. Commentary Press. pp. 123. ISBN 0-914675-17-6.
- ^ Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses. 1980. p. 257-258.
- ^ Penton, M. James (1997). Apocalypse Delayed: The Story of Jehovah's Witnesses. University of Toronto Press. pp. 322. ISBN 0-8020-7973-3.
- ^ Franz, Raymond (2007). Crisis of Conscience. Commentary Press. pp. 273-336. ISBN 0-914675-23-0.
- ^ Penton, M. James (1997). Apocalypse Delayed: The Story of Jehovah's Witnesses. University of Toronto Press. pp. 120. ISBN 0-8020-7973-3.
- ^ "How the Governing Body is organised", The Watchtower, May 15, 2008, psge 29.
- ^ Franz, Raymond (2007). Crisis of Conscience. Commentary Press. pp. 32. ISBN 0-914675-23-0.
- ^ Franz, Raymond (2007). Crisis of Conscience. Commentary Press. pp. 85, 115. ISBN 0-914675-23-0.
- ^ a b Penton, M. James (1997). Apocalypse Delayed: The Story of Jehovah's Witnesses. University of Toronto Press. pp. 218. ISBN 0-8020-7973-3.
- ^ Penton, M. James (1997). Apocalypse Delayed: The Story of Jehovah's Witnesses. University of Toronto Press. pp. 214. ISBN 0-8020-7973-3.
- ^ The Watchtower. November 1, 1944. cited by Raymond Franz, Crisis of Conscience, p.74
- ^ a b Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses. Watch Tower Society. 1970. p. 65.
- ^ a b "Theocratic Organization with Which to Move Forward Now; A Governing Body as Different from a Legal Corporation". The Watchtower. December 15, 1971.
- ^ a b Franz, Raymond (2007). Crisis of Conscience. Commentary Press. pp. 58. ISBN 0-914675-23-0.
- ^ Franz, Raymond (2007). Crisis of Conscience. Commentary Press. pp. 44-110. ISBN 0-914675-23-0.
- ^ Penton, M. James (1997). Apocalypse Delayed: The Story of Jehovah's Witnesses. University of Toronto Press. pp. 228. ISBN 0-8020-7973-3.
- ^ Franz, Raymond (2007). In Search of Christian Freedom. Commentary Press. pp. 186, footnote. ISBN 0-914675-17-6.
- ^ Franz, Raymond (2007). Crisis of Conscience. Commentary Press. pp. 61-62. ISBN 0-914675-23-0.
- ^ The Watchtower. July 15, 1943.
- ^ The Watchtower. November 1, 1944.
- ^ Qualified to be Ministers. Watch Tower Society. 1955. pp. 381. cited by Raymond Franz, Crisis of Conscience, page 74
- ^ Franz, Raymond (2007). Crisis of Conscience. Commentary Press. pp. 57, 75. ISBN 0-914675-23-0.
- ^ a b Franz, Raymond (2007). Crisis of Conscience. Commentary Press. pp. 57. ISBN 0-914675-23-0.
- ^ Franz, Raymond. Crisis of Conscience. p. 44. The seven directors at October 20 were Nathan Knorr, Fred Franz, Grant Suiter, Thomas Sullivan, Milton Henschel, Lyman Swingle and John Groh. The additional four to form the Governing Body were William Jackson, Leo Greenlees, George Gangas and Raymond Franz.
- ^ Testimony by Fred Franz, Lord Strachan vs. Douglas Walsh Transcript, Lord Strachan vs. Douglas Walsh, 1954, as cited by Raymond Franz, Crisis of Conscience, 2007, page 75-76.
- ^ "Questions From Readers". The Watchtower: 703. November 15, 1972.
- ^ The Watchtower. December 15, 1971.
- ^ Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses. 1972. pp. 254-257.
- ^ Franz, Raymond (2007). Crisis of Conscience. Commentary Press. pp. 78. ISBN 0-914675-23-0.
- ^ Franz, Raymond (2007). Crisis of Conscience. Commentary Press. pp. 45. ISBN 0-914675-23-0.
- ^ Franz, Raymond (2007). Crisis of Conscience. Commentary Press. pp. 46. ISBN 0-914675-23-0.
- ^ Penton, M. James (1997). Apocalypse Delayed: The Story of Jehovah's Witnesses. University of Toronto Press. pp. 215. ISBN 0-8020-7973-3.
- ^ Franz, Raymond (2007). Crisis of Conscience. Commentary Press. pp. 80-107. ISBN 0-914675-23-0.
- ^ Jehovah's Witnesses–Proclaimers of God's Kingdom. Watch Tower Society. 1993. pp. 108-109.
- ^ Franz, Raymond (1997). Crisis of Conscience. pp. 262.
- ^ a b c Penton, M. James (1997). Apocalypse Delayed: The Story of Jehovah's Witnesses. University of Toronto Press. pp. 117-123. ISBN 0-8020-7973-3.
- ^ a b Botting, Heather & Gary (1984). The Orwellian World of Jehovah's Witnesses. University of Toronto Press. pp. 158-165. ISBN 0-8020-6545-7.
- ^ What Happened at the World Headquarters of Jehovah's Witnesses in the Spring of 1980, Randall Watters; pamphlet privately printed and published. Penton notes that Watters served at the Brooklyn Bethel for six years before leaving "in good standing" in 1980.
- ^ Franz, Raymond (2007). "11-12". Crisis of Conscience. Commentary Press.
- ^ Penton, M. James (1997). Apocalypse Delayed: The Story of Jehovah's Witnesses. University of Toronto Press. pp. 217, 312. ISBN 0-8020-7973-3.
- ^ Penton, M. James (1997). Apocalypse Delayed: The Story of Jehovah's Witnesses. University of Toronto Press. pp. 219, 297-302, 319. ISBN 0-8020-7973-3.
- ^ a b The Watchtower, May 15, 2008, page 29
- ^ "Seek God's guidance in all things", The Watchtower, April 15, 2008, page 11.
- ^ All Scripture is Inspired and Beneficial, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, page 9, paragraph 16.
- ^ "The Things Revealed Belong to Us", The Watchtower, May 15, 1986, page 13.
- ^ Franz, Raymond (2007). In Search of Christian Freedom. Commentary Press. pp. 153. ISBN 0-914675-17-6.
- ^ "The Watchtower and Awake!—Timely Journals of Truth". The Watchtower: 21. January 1, 1994.
- ^ "Building for an Eternal Future". The Watchtower: 25. January 1, 1986.
- ^ Penton, M. James (1997). Apocalypse Delayed: The Story of Jehovah's Witnesses. University of Toronto Press. pp. 211. ISBN 0-8020-7973-3.
- ^ "The faithful slave and its governing body", The Watchtower, June 15, 2009, pages 23-24, "They do not believe that their being of the anointed gives them special insights beyond what even some experienced members of the "great crowd" may have. They do not believe that they necessarily have more holy spirit than their companions of the 'other sheep' have. They do not expect special treatment; nor do they claim that their partaking of the emblems places them above the appointed elders in the congregation."
- ^ a b "A Secret Christians Dare Not Keep!", The Watchtower, June 1, 1997, page 14.
- ^ "Insight That Jehovah Has Given", The Watchtower, March 15, 1989, page 22, "It is through the columns of The Watchtower that explanations of vital Scriptural truths have been provided for us by Jehovah’s 'faithful and discreet slave.' The Watchtower is the principal instrument used by the 'slave' class for dispensing spiritual food."
External links
See also
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