legal instruments of Jehovah's Witnesses
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A number of corporations are in use by Jehovah's
Witnesses. They deal with legal issues and represent the interests of the religious organization. The sale of the
magazines, and all Jehovah's Witnesses' literature, continued around the world until the early 1990s. The Watchtower is now
distributed in exchange of donations. The Watchtower Bible & Tract Society of NY, Inc., a not-for-profit corporation, was as of 2001 one of the 40 largest revenue-generating companies
in New York City, reporting an annual revenue of about US$951 million. [1] The corporation is now legally headquartered in Patterson, New York.[2] Their
yearly report is different from a Wall Street company as the company's employees are volunteers who live and work in the Brooklyn
complex.
The term "Watchtower Society" is often used as the collective name for the legal instruments of Jehovah's Witnesses. "Watchtower Society" has also been used synonymously with the organization of Jehovah's Witnesses, even in their own literature, such as in the book Worldwide Security Under the Prince of Peace (1986) (OCLC 15485620). Recently, Jehovah's Witnesses want to be clear about making a difference between the Watchtower Society and the organization. The legal instruments are not identical with the organization, they are rather corporations used by the organization.
Main corporations
The Watch Tower in Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania is two words, while Watchtower in Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York is one word.
Watchtower Bible and Tract Societies
The "Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, Allegheny, Pennsylvania" was founded in 1884, the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania remains the main legal entity used by Jehovah’s Witnesses and holds copyrights to most literature published by Jehovah's Witnesses. It was previously known as:
- Zion's Watch Tower Tract Society (1884-1896)
- Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society (1896-1955)
The "Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Incoporated, Brooklyn, New York" was founded in 1909 when the headquarters of Jehovah's Witnesses moved to Brooklyn, the New York incorporation is a not-for-profit that publishes most of the literature distributed by Jehovah's Witnesses, including The Watchtower in 161 languages and Awake! in 84 languages including English, German, Swedish, Spanish, Russian, Chinese, Arabic, Indonesian, Hindi, and Zulu. It also acts as a legal representative and agent for Jehovah's Witnesses. It is also known as:
- People's Pulpit Association (1909-1939)
- Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, Inc. (1939-1956)
- Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc (WTB&TS) (since 1956).
Other "Watchtower Bible and Tract Societies" were formed at later dates
- New Jersey incorporated in 1955.
- Florida incorporated in 1986.
International Bible Students Associations
The International Bible Students Association London was founded in 1914 in England and was the first legal corporation representing Jehovah's Witnesses in Europe. The IBSA incorporation is a not-for-profit that publishes most of the literature distributed by Jehovah's Witnesses, including The Watchtower.
The International Bible Students Association, Brooklyn, New York was founded in 1914 after the International Bible Students Association, London was founded.
Valley Farms Corporation
Incorporated in 1987
Other corporations
In addition to the Pennsylvania and New York corporations, other corporations sanctioned by the Governing Body exist some with specific tasks and others to farther the Witness's interests outside the United States.[3]
- Christian Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses, New York. Incorporated in 2000 to specialize in matters dealing with the appointment of elders and ministerial servants, and other congregational matters.
- Religious Order of Jehovah's Witnesses, New York. Incorporated in 2000 to give particular attention to those in special full-time service: Bethel volunteers, missionaries, traveling overseers, special pioneers; and assembly halls.
- Kingdom Support Services, Incorporated, New York. Incorporated in 2000 to deal with construction of Kingdom Halls and Assembly Halls, other engineering needs, and vehicles.
Corporations outside the USA
Since the formation of the ISBA in 1914 some 20 other corporations have been created throughout the world .
Aside from all of these, many other legal entities are used throughout the world to further the interests of Jehovah's Witnesses. For example, Wachtturm-Gesellschaft, Selters/Taunus to produce literature using the German branch office (which supplies a large portion of the world) or Jehovas vittnen - Bibelsällskapet Vakttornet to promote the activities of Jehovah's Witnesses in Sweden.
Revenue
Watchtower magazines, and all Jehovah's Witnesses' literature, were sold at cost around the world until the early 1990s. The Watchtower is now distributed for free, though donations may be encouraged. The Watchtower Bible & Tract Society of NY, Inc., not-for-profit publisher of The Watchtower, was as of 2001 one of the 40 largest revenue-generating companies in New York City, reporting an annual revenue of about $951 million US dollars. [4] The corporation is now legally headquartered in Patterson, New York.[5] Its yearly report is different from a Wall Street company as the company's employees are volunteers who live and work in the Brooklyn complex.
References
- ^ Newsday.com article
- ^ Department of State Division of Corporations Entity Information
- ^ Our Kingdom Ministry brochure distributed by Watchtower only to active Jehovah's Witnesses of January 2002, page 7.
- ^ Newsday.com article
- ^ NY State document library
See also
- Organizational Structure of Jehovah's Witnesses
- Beliefs and practices of Jehovah's Witnesses
- List of Watchtower publications
External links
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