Charles Taze Russell Archives

Meeting Cancellation

March 3, 2017 By Sean

Hello!

I am writing this as I'm on the mend from a temperature spike to 102.5 degrees. I'm back down to my normal low 97 degree range. That being said, I proactively cancelled the meeting with the elder and the custodian's husband. Although I'm on the mend, there are those in the house who are now getting what I had after it was passed to me. Out of sheer respect for them and their health (I wouldn't wish this on anyone), I sent them a message that tomorrow (March 4) must be postponed. With that being said, I'd like to give you an update as to what I've been doing even though I kind of teased things out a few weeks back.

For the past few months, I've been working on a compilation focused on one word that is frequently used by the organization, "Armageddon." If you are a Witness you may be aware of the numerous prophetic statements made by the organization throughout its history. I took a look at it with this post. With this post in mind, I wanted to do something that to my knowledge has NEVER been done before, compile every single quote dealing with the word Armageddon, looking at things from the days of Pastor Charles Taze Russell to the present day Governing Body.

My progress as it stands is I'm currently in The Watchtower Announcing Jehovah's Kingdom June 1, 1940. I'm currently sitting at just over 300 pages. Once I get through the Watchtower, I will progress to The Golden Age, Consolation, Awake!, and take care of all books, booklets, and brochures. My guess is there will be in excess of well over 1,000 pages. One of the great aids that I will have is this page on avoidjw.org. This is a great "go to" place for the "light" which the organization either considers old or has made the effort to extinguish yet lives on thanks to the internet.

The goal, once this is completely done will releasing every quote by year on a weekly basis. This will allow the organization's fascination with this word to live "again" thanks to the internet. So the question is why "Armageddon?" My personal feeling is by having the end "just around the corner" the average rank and file Witness will be spurred on to knock on one more door. As such this image is what comes to mind:

The Society is obviously the holding the carrot and the average Jehovah's Witness is the horse in this case. This is done to spur on productivity since Armageddon is "soon." This keeps productivity high yet the results are low. To demonstrate this, go to the organization's website and download the 2017 Yearbook. Go to page 177 for the "2016 Grand Totals." Let's look at some math for baptisms:

1,983,763,754=Total Hours Spent in Field

264,535=Total Number Baptized

7,499 Hours per baptism or 312 days of preaching per baptism

Take a few moments and compare the hours timeframe to that under "Christian Baptism" with Nave's Topical Bible. The organization which claims to teach the "truth" about the Bible needs to significantly cut down the time to match the hours or mere days as described in various Biblical accounts.

Here's another way of looking at it:

264,535=Total Number Baptized

119,485=Total Congregations

2.2 people baptized per congregation

If you look through the following pages, the top five countries baptismally speaking are:

Brazil=32,978

United States=28,588

Mexico=17,190

Democratic Republic of Congo=15,295

Nigeria=12,904

I personally believe the trends are a sign of future trouble. The first indication is the United States where the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society is headquartered is in second place. This is where's Jehovah's blessing should be raining down abundantly. However, due primarily to internet usage, the Society isn't gaining traction like it once has. Insulating present Witnesses against going outside the organization's approved resources works for the most part as the elder and custodian's husband will only bring up the official JW Library app when they meet with me. However, those who are outside and free to investigate quickly see the "truth behind the 'truth.'" Due to the relationship I've developed with these guys and to a lesser extent the Witness who stands in for the elder, I'm able to bring in non-Witness sources occasionally.

The second sign is economics:

Brazil is not doing good economically.

Mexico and the United States are holding but the last two countries are really struggling economically. Couple this with:

Other countries currencies below the U.S. dollar in the third world where the majority growth is. Without a specific number, it could take four Witness contributions to equal one person in the United States.
The child abuse settlements with six/seven figure payouts.
No expense spared building the new headquarters which is yet another failed prophecy: "Altogether we concluded, after seeking Divine guidance, that Brooklyn, N.Y., with a large population of the middle class, and known as "The City of Churches," would, for these reasons, be our most suitable center for the harvest work during the few remaining years." Zion's Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence. December 15, 1908 Reprints page 4294

Focusing back on Armageddon and the numbers, I've used Excel to perform statistical analysis on a few occasions. I'm going to try and do the same when it comes to Armageddon. My intent is to break the numbers down pretty concisely so you can see the quantitive (numerical) information:

The total number of times the organization has used the word
The number of times the organization has used the word within a particular publication.
Total times per year it's been done.

I'll also attempt to do a qualitative analysis (commentary) at times regarding:

Actions that Jehovah's Witnesses were to not perform as a result of Armageddon coming.
Actions that Jehovah's Witnesses were to perform as a result of Armageddon coming.
Liberal use of equating Bible verses to Armageddon.

I gave further thought and if you read the post from last time, you will remember that the Nave's Topical Bible has over 20,000 topics within. I am guessing that the organization has not covered some things during its existence in favor partly due to the Armageddon focus along with topics that it feels is what sets it apart from "Christendom."

What I am not going to focus on at this time is the term such as "battle of the great day" or any other synonym that pertains to Armageddon. This is going to be a strict word search as of right now. So with that, I trust you are looking forward to this bit more. I may possibly expand to include other things that are used by the organization where it is something synonymous with Armageddon. Additionally, I am looking at possibly including Armageddon artwork that has been used as well at some point.

On the other front regarding the Watchtower, there was a recent case that "hits home" due to my proximity (45 minutes away) is the Stephanie Fessler case. If you're not aware, she was a Jehovah's Witness who was a victim of child sexual abuse. If you frequent www.jwsurvey.org at all, there is an EXCELLENT account of actions that happened in the court of law. Here's the links you can look at:

Part One

Part Two

I will let you read to draw your own conclusions but I still find it highly odd that this organization that has been disfellowshipping people for smoking since the 1970s for self-harm allows an adult to harm children, whether they be extremely young to those who are older and an "adult" in terms of physiology yet still impressionable psychologically. I covered the Watchtower and Children previously that you may wish to take a look at.

With that being said, I will hopefully be able to meet with my JW friends next week to continue our "study."

Seeing Jehovah

May 8, 2016 By Sean

Today, I would like to cover what should be a simple topic and that is seeing Jehovah. However, as you know, nothing is ever easy when we add in Watchtower Bible and Tract Society. Let’s dig right in.

Let’s look at things from Charles Taze Russell’s perspective:

Thus also it will be in the Millennial day, when the complete Christ--the Priest --is revealed; he will be revealed only to those that look for him, and only those shall see him. They will see him, not by physical sight, but as we now see all spiritual things--Jesus, the Father, the prize, etc.--by the eye of faith. Men will not see the Christ by physical sight, for the same reason that they will never see Jehovah; because on a different plane of being-- one spirit, the other flesh. But we (the little flock) shall see him as he is, for we shall be like him.--`1 John 3:2`.

Zion’s Watch Tower and Herald of Christ’s Presence. September 1890 Reprints p. 1237

However, twenty years later in 1910 we have the proverbial “new light”:

From that same moment he was the Lamb of God slain --his life given up to the doing of the Father's will. We looked at the picture of this given in the book of Revelation. There we saw Jehovah upon his throne with a scroll in his hand, written in the inside and on the outside, and sealed with seven seals. No one had yet been found worthy to execute or even to be made acquainted with the Divine Purposes.

The Watch Tower and Herald of Christ’s Presence. July 1, 1910 Reprints p. 4641

So here, the fascination with the book of Revelation comes into play as it often does with this organization that doesn’t have a correct foundational understanding of the first 65 books of the bible, how can they properly understand the last one? Regardless, we have one instance of seeing Jehovah.

Let’s bring it much closer to present day and set conditions as to who won’t be able to see with the following:

Consequently, when those nations will have destroyed Babylon the Great and then threateningly turn against these called, chosen and faithful anointed ones, they will be taking ungodly action against “ambassadors for Christ,” against citizens of God’s city, “the heavenly Jerusalem.” In fighting against these whom they can see in their midst, they will be fighting against the Lamb Jesus Christ, the King of kings, even though they cannot see him nor see Jehovah God.

All Nations Collide. 1971 p. 25

Will all who truly have pure hearts literally see God face to face? No, only those will to whom these ‘beatitudes’ or happinesses have primary application. These are Jesus’ anointed footstep followers, to whom it is written: “Beloved ones, now we are children of God, but as yet it has not been made manifest what we shall be. We do know that whenever he is made manifest we shall be like him, because we shall see him [God] just as he is.” (1 John 3:2) How will this be possible? Because they will possess incorruptible, immortal spirit bodies, being sharers of the divine nature. Concerning them it is written: “For this which is corruptible must put on incorruption, and this which is mortal must put on immortality.” And again, “He has freely given us the precious and very grand promises, that through these you may become sharers in divine nature.”—1 Cor. 15:53; 2 Pet. 1:4.

Awake! August 22, 1971 p. 28

Do you really believe in Jehovah God?— Is he a real Person to you?—

It is true that we cannot see Jehovah. This is because he is a Spirit. He has a body that is invisible to our eyes. But he is a real Person, and he can see us.

Greatest Teacher. 1971. p. 116-117

So who will see Jehovah?

So here is what we have. The two class system has again shown itself. Only those 144,000 anointed footstep followers are the only ones able to see Jehovah. What happens to the great crowd here? They are completely left out. Also, we have more validation that the Greek Scriptures do not completely apply to you since you are not part of the new covenant. Moving along we will see the following:

NO ONE living now or who has lived on earth in the past has ever seen God with his literal eyes. Jehovah is too glorious for frail humans to endure the sight of him. However, his invisibility should not cause us to cast doubt on his existence, nor does it make it impossible for us to “see” him as a Person with the eyes of faith.

The Watchtower Announcing Jehovah’s Kingdom. February 1, 1976 p. 80

Notice how no one has seen God with “literal eyes.” We are going to come back to it later.

A heavenly assembly took place in the latter part of the tenth century before our Common Era. The Israelite prophet Micaiah had a vision of it. Describing it, Micaiah said to two allied kings, Ahab and Jehoshaphat: “Hear the word of Jehovah: I certainly see Jehovah sitting upon his throne and all the army of the heavens standing by him, to his right and to his left. And Jehovah proceeded to say, ‘Who will fool Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’ And this one began to say something like this, while that one was saying something like that. Finally a spirit came out and stood before Jehovah and said, ‘I myself shall fool him.’”—1 Kings 22:19-21.

Holy Spirit-The Force Behind the Coming New World Order. 1976. p. 23

The pure in heart who accepted Jesus as Messiah and listened to him gained deep insight into God’s personality. By exercising faith in Jesus’ sin-atoning sacrifice they gained forgiveness of sins and a relationship with God and were able to render acceptable worship before his throne. (Eph. 1:7) Seeing God in this sense will reach its pinnacle for spirit-anointed Christians when they get to heaven, for there they will actually see God and Christ.—1 John 3:2; 2 Cor. 1:21, 22.

The Watchtower Announcing Jehovah’s Kingdom. March 1, 1978 p. 4, 5

With this quote we have further reinforcement that only the anointed are allowed to see Jehovah. Further, we have to ask yet another question, is there a difference in exercising faith to gain forgiveness between the great crowd and the anointed? If so, what is the scriptural difference in this? However, what we have are those who are in spiritual bodies and perhaps with the Watchtower’s methodology, this is how they can see Jehovah-on the spiritual plane only.

So, too, those called to be joint heirs with Christ in the heavens, in due time, see Jehovah God.—1Jo 3:1-3.

Insight on the Scriptures-Volume I. 1988. p. 801

Yet another case of further reinforcement that seeing Jehovah is reserved for a select group.

So can Jehovah be or not be seen? We get this answer below in the form of a question:

16, 17. (a) Why can we not see Jehovah, and why should that not surprise us? (b) In what sense is Jehovah more real than anything we can see or touch?

Draw Close to Jehovah. 2014. p. 15

Now let’s look at scripture since the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society has nothing but Bible based: For this let’s first look back to an account in Genesis.

Afterward, Jehovah appeared to him among the big trees of Mamʹre while he was sitting at the entrance of the tent during the hottest part of the day. He looked up and saw three men standing some distance from him. When he saw them, he ran from the entrance of the tent to meet them, and he bowed down to the ground. Then he said: “Jehovah, if I have found favor in your eyes, please do not pass by your servant. Please, let a little water be brought and have your feet washed; then recline under the tree. Seeing that you have come here to your servant, let me bring a piece of bread so that you may refresh yourselves. Then you may go on your way.” At this they said: “All right. You may do as you have spoken.”

Genesis 18:1-5 New World Translation

The person whom Jehovah appeared to is Abraham. What we have here is very interesting. Jehovah appeared as three men. Remember Deuteronomy 6:4 which says, “Listen, O Israel: Jehovah our God is one Jehovah” (New World Translation). Abraham bowed to all three and collectively addressed them all at the same time. Let’s contrast this with the earlier statement:

NO ONE living now or who has lived on earth in the past has ever seen God with his literal eyes.

The Watchtower Announcing Jehovah’s Kingdom. February 1, 1976

So which is correct, the statement within the Watchtower magazine or the New World Translation? Let’s read on a bit and let’s reiterate from Isaiah 6:1:

In the year that King Uz·ziʹah died, I saw Jehovah sitting on a lofty and elevated throne, and the skirts of his robe filled the temple.

New World Translation

We have here is a vision that Isaiah had. Regardless, let’s look at what the words of Jesus are found in John 1:18:

No man has seen God at any time; the only-begotten god who is at the Father’s side is the one who has explained Him.

New World Translation

So now we are left in a conundrum. The Watchtower under Russell said you couldn’t, yet in Knorr’s era it was reported you could. Biblically speaking, Jehovah appeared, was seen, and yet Abraham lived. Then Jesus himself said no one has seen the Father at any time.

So we are left with this, who was seen? If one could not have seen the Father, the next logical person would be Jesus. Being one who fully believes that Jesus is fully God yet also fully man who did these people see? It was called a Christophany-a visible manifestation of a pre-incarnate Jesus Christ. This is part of what is considered to be a theophany as defined here. That is the most logical conclusion. If you want to know more, feel free to contact me at watchtowerofjehovahswitness@mail.com on this website.

Wrapping everything up, what will you go with? The Watchtower has said various things at various points within its history. Ultimately, according to the Watchtower Society quotes above, you have the best chance of seeing Jehovah if and only if you are of the anointed even though there have been times where you haven’t been able to. Or you can listen to the bible. What will you decide?

Schisms in the Watchtower Society

April 24, 2016 By Sean

The Watchtower has a claim that they are the restoration of biblical Christianity with the following quote:

From 1879, they have continuously published the Watchtower magazine as a champion of Bible truth.

Good News. 1976. p. 153

I believe that if you have read through the posts that are on this website, you will see this is not the case. The organization that brands itself as being unique and basing everything on the bible is dependent upon other groups both inside and outside Christendom for many things. The organization is dependent upon Christendom for just some of the following items:

Bible Translations: Kingdom Interlinear Translation (Westcott and Hort), Emphatic Diaglott (Christadelphian) King James Version (Church of England) and the American Standard Version (30 Different Denominations), and quoting from various other translations such as: New International Version, Today’s English Version, and other translations through its history.

Selectively using mainstream Christian quotes from various resources throughout Watchtower Literature.

Non-Christendom:

Paganism: Disfellowshipping

Freemasonry: Dependent for terms and items such as the cross and the crown

Occult: Necromancy

I will contend that when one has various ideas taken from various groups and mixing everything together, splits will ensue. Why? There are many different ideas and attempting to integrate them all, it is a recipe in many ways for disaster. That is what I would like to discuss today. To start, I’d like to call attention to a chart from Grace Communion International:

Picture taken from: https://www.gci.org/aboutus/roots

As you can see the Watchtower Society is rooted with William Miller.

Grace Communication International is an organization that was a cult that rejected the teaching of Herbert Armstrong and became an evangelical group in the late 1980s/early 1990s. The Watchtower mentioned Herbert Armstrong with this quote:

Garner Ted Armstrong, well-known television spokesman for the Worldwide Church of God, was recently taken off the air and then excommunicated by his father, Herbert W. Armstrong. The younger Armstrong, who had reportedly been earning $85,000 a year, claimed earlier that the “whole empire is crumbling” due to lavish spending by the leadership, as well as by divisions and fear among the membership.

Awake! September 8, 1979 p. 29

That is an interesting quote and we’ll revisit that later.

Regardless, the chart that I previously mentioned and previously stated speaks of William Miller and when you look at it, you can see how much the Millerite movement broke and went into different directions. The Jehovah’s Witnesses, formerly known as Bible Students have had their splits as well.

When one is going to have a split, there are three major reasons behind it:

Doctrine-a number of individuals no longer believe in one or more of the major teachings

Practice-some sort of “new light”

Personality-There is a conflict with leadership or an individual/group of individuals that leads to a new group forming where the majority of the core doctrines remain with a few changes.

With this in mind, let’s look at some of the various groups that formed from the days of Russell. Some of these groups will still be in existence, others are no longer. The present day Watchtower Bible and Tract Society stresses numbers, some of these organizations do not at all, some are tough to track down if they do not have a presence on the internet. However, if they are not “advertising the king and the kingdom” as Judge Rutherford would say, they are most likely multigenerational families with a very low if not negative growth rate.

Russellite Splinter Groups:

Free Bible Students (1907-1908)—This break started with Paul Johnson “calling out” Charles Taze Russell on the New Covenant and how Russell had changed it. After looking at their beliefs, I saw the following were interesting breaks from things Charles Taze Russell believed (from the What We Believe page):

19. That the parable of the "Faithful and Wise Servant" is not representative of any particular individual but teaches faithful watchfulness of all who are fully devoted to the Lord and awaiting His return.

They still retain the cross and crown logo. One of the sister organizations in Africa is adamant against verse by verse bible study and encourages topical study. The songbook section uses mainstream Christendom songwriters.

No mention of Millennial Dawn/Studies in the Scriptures

http://www.kronline.at/bibelstudien/

Rutherford Splits:

Dawn Bible Students-This is probably the largest group that had the biggest impact. This group had a radio broadcast into the 1980s, produces The Dawn Magazine, still produces radio broadcasts, has a television broadcast in Kenya, resurrected Studies in the Scriptures (except for Volume 7 which they and other groups reject) since the Society stopped printing it in 1927 with the following quote:

Later in the year 1927 any remaining stocks of the six volumes of Studies in the Scriptures by Russell and of The Finished Mystery were disposed of among the public.

God’s Kingdom of A Thousand Years Has Approached. 1973 p. 347

Chicago Bible Students-This is possibly one of the larger groups that actually has a bit of a digital presence. There is a mobile app and they produce material from Charles Taze Russell today. They are just outside of Chicago.

Laymen's Home Missionary Movement-Comes up under www.biblestandard.com

They state in the page (Our Work): The LHMM is a worldwide interdenominational, non-sectarian, non-profit-making, unincorporated religious movement, in which many Christian people, especially laymen, of all walks of life, from and apart from various denominations, co-operate voluntarily. There are many chapters in the U.S.A. and abroad. This group says it’s free of any influence but still produces Studies in The Scriptures, the Emphatic Diaglott, and other Charles Taze Russell publications on the Resources page.

Stand Fast Movement (1918)-Rutherford alienated many Bible Students in the Pacific Northwest in the United States/western Canada by promoting the purchase of war bonds in World War I. These groups were going to “stand fast” against this. Their publication was called Old Corn Gems. They disbanded in the 1920s: http://www.biblestudentarchives.com/documents/StandFastHistory.pdf

Berean Bible Institute (Australia 1918): They admit that they formed in 19118. They cooperate with other Bible Student groups throughout the world. On their history page, they state the following: The principal publication, titled "Peoples Paper and Herald of Christ's Kingdom,” was initially a monthly publication but is now published quarterly. It was first published in 1918 and is now published in January, April, July and October each year. The current format comprises 12 pages of A4 size.

Like the Watchtower, it is reducing printing frequency as well. They don’t produce Studies in the Scriptures but do have a DVD available with booklets.

Pastoral Bible Institute https://herald-magazine.com/

Uses the term “epochs” which is associated with Russell. Picture from the About Page shows Russell surrounded by people at a train station. Unlike the Society, they have all material available from the beginning on the website. They still have a radio presence as well in Connecticut, Indiana, and Missouri on Sunday mornings.

Here are some other Bible Student groups:

Associated Bible Students Of Central Ohio http://www.biblestudents.com/

Chinese Bible Students http://www.dawnbible.com/zh/content-zh.htm

Baltimore Bible Students http://www.baltimorebiblestudents.org/

Lithuanian Bible Students http://biblijos-veliava.lt/

Oakland County Bible Students http://www.bibletoday.com/

Nathan Knorr splinter:

Epiphany Bible Students Association (1956)-Openly says they expand on what Russell said. They too have everything present from their beginning. http://epiphanybiblestudents.com/

Present Day:

The True Faith Jehovah's Witnesses Association (1992 in Romania and Ukraine): This is a group that broke away during the Cold War since over Romans 13:1-the “higher powers.” As a result, they only utilize material prior to the 1970s.

Today, the schisms continue. The advent of the internet still shows groups are forming. If you have never heard of Greg Stafford, he was a prominent Jehovah’s Witness back in the 1990s. The difference with him is he was not discouraged from being a Watchtower defender/apologist. Jehovah’s Witnesses Defended: An Answer To Scholars and Critics. Here is one debate with Dr. James White.

However, the problem is that Stafford formally left in 2007. He formed a new group called, “Christian Witnesses of Jah.” The origin of this group is seen on the “About” page with the following: The history of Elihu Books took a sharp turn in 1998-1999, when the Second Edition of Jehovah’s Witnesses Defended was being prepared. It was during this time that Stafford came to realize that some of the Watchtower Society’s teachings were not defensible. Foremost among these for Stafford was the Society’s teaching regarding the use of blood.

Gordon Ritchie jointed the organization in 1993. and immediately started disagreeing with the organization. He feels that the Society is incomplete with the information because there are mathematical codes in the pages of scripture itself.

http://www.truebiblecode.com/

One interesting article response is found on the left hand side, third link down. It is titled: “The Disaster of the July 15th 2013 Watchtower New Understanding of the Parable of the Faithful and Discreet Slave.”

Here’s another group:

www.anointedjw.org

From the FAQ page you will see the following excerpts:

2. Are you active Jehovah’s Witnesses?

None of the 5 partners to this ministry are currently active Jehovah’s Witnesses.

3. Are you apostates?

No. Although we do not agree with certain Watchtower doctrines, we have never apostatized from the Father or the Christ.

7. Are you starting a new religion?

No, we are not forming a new religion. We believe there are enough Christian sects, but not enough spirit-oriented Christians.

10. What is your relation to The Urantia Book?

We are well read in matters concerning the Bible, God, and Jesus. Among the many books in our library is The Urantia Book.

If you are not sure with this publication, here is a summary:

http://www.letusreason.org/Cults17.htm

You can verify this material by going to this page and downloading the Urantia book for yourself. http://www.urantia.org/urantia-book

There are schisms and I’ve covered those that are external. However, looking internally, there are fractures and schisms as well. This is taking place in the age of the internet since it is giving everybody a voice for free or just a few dollars each month. Here is a quote that is not being heeded:

There is no need for any individual, committee, or congregation to prepare a Web page about Jehovah’s Witnesses. Some have posted the contents of our publications with all scriptures and references given in full and have even offered copies of convention material on a donation basis. Whether profit is involved or not, the practice of reproducing and distributing publications of Jehovah’s Witnesses in an electronic document is a violation of copyright laws.

Kingdom Ministry. September 2002 p. 8

Here are one website:

Associated Jehovah’s Witnesses on Reform of Blood www.ajwrb.org. From the “FAQ” page:

Q: Why are you anonymous?

A: Questioning the Watchtower Society (WTS) makes us targets. Any WTS member who seriously questions the organization’s policies is considered apostate and will be expelled from our religion and shunned by our community and Jehovah’s Witness (JW) family members.

Q: Are you trying to draw people away from the Jehovah’s Witnesses?

A: No. We are re-affirming their right to remain as members of Jehovah’s Witnesses, and to make their own conscientious decisions about the medical use of blood, without control or sanctions from the Watchtower Organization.

Q: Are you trying to destroy the Watchtower Society or depose of its leaders?

A: No. AJWRB has no agenda to overthrow the WTS or to remove the members of the current Governing Body. Our fight is not against men, but against the policy that prohibits free choice of medical treatment for members of the JW community.

Q: Why are you going against the Watchtower organization?

A: We cannot maintain a morally sitting posture. We are convinced the doctrine is erroneous, and feel a moral responsibility to speak out, and do what we can to prevent unnecessary deaths, especially among minor children.

Q: Why didn’t you just write to the society?

A: We have made many attempts to correspond with Watchtower officials. We have never been offered answers to the baffling questions surrounding this policy. Some HLC members have been told to drop the issue and question no further. A few members were disfellowshiped after asking questions about the blood issue.

Two things that occur more than once with these groups:

Accepting some sources and rejecting others whether it be Watchtower, Christian, occult.

Instances where the new group is the “true” group. The Watchtower “lost” its way.

Will the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society make any attempt to crackdown on this? My personal thought is that they won’t do this because the Society is having enough trouble and is losing the battle against so called apostates very badly. Websites are created on a regular basis about the Society whether it be focused on some aspect of the Society itself or perhaps a personal struggle. There are a number of Youtube channels that are created exposing them. There are informational websites. There are a number of personal experiences whether it be judicial committees or a personal struggle with a doctrine. To combat this, there are a number of social media sites where Witnesses are using it “to build up each other” and to “combat the apostates.” I reiterate it’s a losing effort based on this quote:

Jehovah’s Witnesses have the lowest retention rate of any religious tradition. Only 37% of all those who say they were raised as Jehovah’s Witnesses still identify themselves as Jehovah’s Witnesses.

http://www.pewforum.org/files/2013/05/report-religious-landscape-study-full.pdf

What is possibly resulting is a growing number of people who are there physically yet not “in it” mentally, spiritually, or emotionally. They are compelled to stay possible to keep family and relationships with other people since they are discouraged to not have any association with the world.

Remember I said we would revisit the Herbert Armstrong quote? Here is is again:

Awake! September 8, 1979 p. 29

Would you consider lavish spending to be building in Walkill, New York considering the organization is supposed to be growing yet is downsizing? Is the empire crumbling due to the spending with court settlements, information coming out, and divisions? Is there fear amongst the Jehovah's Witnesses for a variety of things?

Folks, overall, if you're reading this, you have been contributing to the schism as well. However, I suggest you break free from this organization yet join the body of Christ. If you’ve been curious in any way, this is all that you need to do and it’s called the sinner’s prayer:

Pray: this or something similar:

“Thank you Father for sending your son Jesus, to die for my sins. I ask that I would receive him into my heart.” You pray this, mean it and it will be life changing. When you do pray this prayer, you have broken free spiritually from this organization and Jesus now in dwells your heart. From here, I would suggest you break physically and find yourself a good bible believing church. Feel free to contact me and I will be more than happy to help: watchtowerofjehovahswitness@mail.com