The idea back in 1922 was that Pastor Russell was the F&WS:
*** w22 3/1 pp. 72-73 Who Is Wise? ***The indisputable facts, therefore, show that the "time of the end" began in 1799; that the Lord’s second presence began in 1874; that the harvest followed thereafter and greater light has come upon the Word of God. In this connection, then, let us note the words of Jesus: "Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing." (Matthew 24: 45, 46) It must be conceded, then, that at the end ot the world, at the "time of the end", during the presence of the Lord, during the harvest, he would have in the earth a servant who would be faithful and wise. The physical facts show that Brother Russell met every one of these requirements. This prophetic utterance, then, has been fulfilled. Therefore fulfilled prophecy, or physical facts, and the circumstantial evidence are conclusive proofs that Brother Russell filled the office of that faithful and wise servant.
Then in the following year, Rutherford began to generalize the F&WS to the Society, arguing that since Russell himself was the Society when he was alive, the Society should continue to be the F&WS after his death:
*** w23 3/1 p. 68 Loyalty the Test ***In connection with his presence and the harvest work, the office of that "faithful and wise servant" is important, and is made so by the Lord himself... We believe that all who are now rejoicing in present truth will concede that Brother Russell faithfully tilled the office of special servant of tile Lord; and that he was made ruler over all the Lord’s goods. In modest phrase Brother Russell here clearly indicated that it was his thought that the Society, as organized in an orderly manner, would carry on the work begun by him and finish that which had been committed to him personally. Often when asked by others, Who is that faithful and wise servant? -- Brother Russell would reply: "Some say I am; while others say the Society is." Both statements were true; for Brother Russell was in fact the Society in a most absolute sense, in this, that he directed the policy and course of the Society without regard to any other person on earth.
This was plainly an attempt to foster loyalty in the Watchtower Society (led by Rutherford) rather than the dissidents who hold fast to Russell's teachings. The article continues: "Since Brother Russell's 'change' some who believe that he filled the office of 'that servant' have said that the Lord has cast off the Society," an obvious allusion to the views of those who left Rutherford's group. There was also a slipperiness of the term "Society," as it referred both to the business corporation (the Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, of which Rutherford was the president) and the "Church" (which, according to Russell, did not have a human head). This was already made clear in an article in the 15 May 1922 issue of the Watchtower: "While technically speaking the Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society is a corporation, yet as a society it is an association of Christians, and all truly consecrated spirit-begotten ones throughout the world who are acting harmoniously in the proclamation of the kingdom message are properly considered the Society" (p. 158).
By blurring the distinction between the two, Rutherford was able to claim for himself a status of religious authority within the "Church". Never did he apply the term F&WS to himself, however; rather, as the president of the "Society," he was a chief representative of the F&WS. As the article stated: "This organization has its officers, elected in an orderly manner. The officers are not the Society, but are servants of the Society" (p. 69). Thus Rutherford could claim the authority of the F&WS without claiming to even be the F&WS. At the same time, this move distributed the status of the F&WS to the Church as a whole, since the Church was also identified as the "Society".
Then in 1927, Rutherford redefined the F&WS further as the "class" of consecrated Christians who are doing the Lord's will, to contrast them to the "evil servant" who Rutherford identified with dissidents who broke from the Society to remain faithful to Russell's teachings. This development even more clearly identified the F&WS with all anointed Christians:
*** w27 2/15 pp. 53-55 Servant -- Good and Evil ***The "elect of God" means the chosen one or selected one to carry out God’s purposes. The Christ therefore is his elect; it is the chosen seed of promise through whom the blessings of God shall come to the people. That elect or chosen one is thus composed of Christ Jesus the Head and those members of his body who shall prove faithful. This elect or chosen one, the composite body, is The Servant of the Most High God... These scriptures further identify the Lord Jesus Christ and his body members as God’s elect Servant. Then the prophet says to this Servant: ’You are commissioned as my witnesses to declare my name that I am Jehovah God.’ (Isaiah 43:10, 12) This applies likewise to the Head of the faithful members of the body.... The Christ collectively is The Servant of Jehovah God, and the body members are a part of that Servant; they are also the servants of Christ himself, who is their Head.... The time must come when the Lord would return to take account with his servants to whom he had committed the kingdom interests, represented by all his goods. The parable then shows that when the Lord does come and take account with his servants he finds two classes. One of these classes he calls "good and faithful" and the other class he calls "wicked"...
The question is propounded: "Who then is a faithful and wise servant?" And then the statement is made: "Blessed is that servant, whom his Lord when he cometh, shall find so doing." The proof is quite clear and convincing that the second presence of our Lord dates from 1874, and that from that time forward the Lord Jesus has been gathering together those who have made a covenant with the Lord God by sacrifice... The important question now under consideration is, Who is the faithful and wise servant here mentioned? The wise servant is that servant who uses the knowledge he has derived from the Lord according to God’s will... The scriptures heretofore cited prove beyond a question of a doubt that God’s chosen Servant whom he approves and in whom he delights is The Christ; that The Christ consists of Jesus and the faithful members of his body; and that the Scriptures often speak of the body members as the Lord, because they are a part of the Lord. (Acts 9: 4, 5) The inference must now drawn that when the Lord comes to his temple he finds a faithful and wise Servant class.... Since Jesus speaks of his body members as himself, and since the Scriptures definitely locate The Servant as The Christ, then the irresistible conclusion is that "the faithful and wise servant" mentioned by the Lord is a class, made up of those whom he finds faithful at the time he comes to his temple.
So the notion of a "faithful and discreet slave class" was entirely the product of Rutherford's brain and was in place before 1930. The article went on to specifically deny that the title F&WS personally applied to Pastor Russell. The "evil slave class," meanwhile, referred to those who since 1918 "have refused to participate in announcing the kingdom, and who engage in smiting their fellow servants" (p. 57). At the same time, Rutherford continued to blur the difference between the "Watchtower Bible & Tract Society" and the class of anointed Christians called the "Society":
*** w28 6/15 p. 187 Questions on Witnessing ***We believe that the Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society is the visible organization of the Lord on earth. That would mean then that there could be but one policy to be followed. Since Jehovah has declared that his anointed are his witnesses, then the obligation rests upon the Society as a whole to give the witness. The Society is made up of all those who are anointed of the Lord and who are in harmony with his work; and since by the action of the Society its officers have been clothed with certain power and authority, the duty devolves upon such to define a policy of action.
*** w28 11/1 p. 233 To the Elders ***As a part of his organization he has his anointed ones on earth to carry out a part of his work according to his commandments. We believe that his anointed, as a company, constitute really the Society, as we use that term. Somebody in that visible organization must formulate plans of operation. It seems to have pleased the Lord to have this done at the Society’s headquarters and that from there regulations are sent out to the various ecclesias... We will not set aside our personality by getting in line and doing what headquarters has asked us to do, especially when that direction comes through a service director. We can not maintain our self-respect and so do.’ Now where such an attitude is manifested one of two things is absolutely certain: Either the Society is no part of God’s organization, and therefore has no right to issue instructions for action, or else the elders who take a position opposing are wrong in that opposition. If the Society is a part of God’s organization and it issues improper instructions, the Lord will correct these in due time.
In 1930, Rutherford overtly identified the Watchtower Bible & Tract Society with the F&WS:
*** w30 12/15 pp. 373-374 His Campaign ***The corporation bearing the name "Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society" was created and organized under the laws of the land to carry on the work therein designated. This, however, is merely a matter of legal organization, The real Society herein mentioned and called the Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society is made up of a company of men and women who are wholly, unselfishly and completely devoted to God and his cause of righteousness, and who refuse to have any sympathy or cooperation with any part of Satan's organization. Such have been taken into the covenant with Christ Jesus for his kingdom, and have therefore devoted themselves to the service of the Lord. Therefore, when mention is made herein of the "Society", the purpose is to include only those who are entirely devoted to God and to his cause of righteousness... Speaking of the faithful ones whom he would find on coming to his temple, he collectively calls them by the name and title of "servant", or "faithful and wise servant".... In this test, when he speaks of his goods, he means the interests of his kingdom, which interests are on the earth. These faithful ones thus mentioned are therefore appointed by him and charged with the duty of doing God's will on earth. Such is the work in which the Society is now engaged...
To do this work it was necessary to manufacture many books and booklets. To hire all of the printing work would mean a high cost of the product to the people, and therefore make it impossible for the pcople to have the very message that God purposed they should have. The Society then set about to build printing plants for the manufacture of books and other literature required. The factory was built at Brooklyn and fully equipped with the latest improved machinery for printing and manufacturing books.... To be sure, the work must be done orderly, and to this end the organization has been made as nearly perfect as imperfect men can make it, and by the Lord’s grace it is working to his glory. For this reason it is confidently stated that the Society forms a part of God’s organization to carry on his work, and that it is the only visible part of his organization now on the earth.
Notice that again there is a blurring of the business corporation with the anointed class thoroughout; the two are essentially the same thing. Then when Rutherford identified the Jonadabs with the "great multitude", he made clear that the latter did not belong to the F&WS class, i.e. the remnant:
*** w35 9/1 p. 261 Prisoners ***
This prophecy does not apply to the "great multitude", and it was not the prayer prayed by the great multitude, for the reason that the great multitude was not then in sight. The prayer is by those faithfully devoted to Jehovah and who are the ones that were found faithful upon the coming of the Lord Jesus to the temple and whom he made the faithful and wise servant, and to whom he committed all of his goods, to wit, the kingdom interests on earth. (Matt. 24: 46, 47)
*** w36 2/15 p. 57 Our Responsibility ***The Lord Jesus speaks of the faithful servant class as "his sheep". Jonadab seems to more particularly picture the beginning of a class which Jesus referred to as his "other sheep", saying: "I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knometh me, even so know I the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold; these also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd." (John 10:14-16) The "other sheep" here mentioned clearly are those persons of good will who are made manifest after the coming of the Lord Jesus to the temple and the assembling of the temple company. In God’s due time this latter-named class are made a part of God’s organization; and since Jesus is the good shepherd and chief servant of Jehovah God, all of these sheep become a part of one fold under the Lord Jesus as Ruler.
The next big step was taken in 1938 when Rutherford announced the existence of the "Theocracy", wherein he identified administrative structures in the Watchtower Bible & Tract Society with God's "earthly organization". As noted in the Proclaimers book, the theocratic arrangement was announced in the 15 June 1938 Watchtower, which claimed that "all servants in the various positions of the organization of the remnant or anointed ones of God's people on the earth are properly named by the Society as the visible representatives of the Lord" (p. 182, quoted in the 1 December 1951 Watchtower, p. 725, available on the WT-Library CD ROM). On p. 219 of the Proclaimers book, we learn of a resolution suggested in that issue of the Watchtower that was adopted by congregations worldwide: "We ... recognize that God’s government is a pure theocracy and that Christ Jesus is at the temple and in full charge and control of the visible organization of Jehovah, as well as the invisible, and that ‘THE SOCIETY’ is the visible representative of the Lord on earth, and we therefore request ‘The Society’ to organize this company for service and to appoint the various servants thereof".
The Society was not a mere printing company to be used by Jehovah's Witnesses; it was claimed to be an entity used by God to govern and rule them. The word "Society" is not used in a broader sense, as these are explicitly "appointments by the Watch Tower Society" (15 June 1938 Watchtower, p. 181). As noted in the 15 October 1959 Watchtower, "this theocratic resolution was adopted and acted upon by the congregations of Jehovah’s witnesses wherever found; and the visible governing body at the Society’s headquarters in Brooklyn, New York, proceeded with theocratically organizing all willing congregations. All new congregations established since then have been organized theocratically in this manner from their very start" (p. 632). At the time, the "governing body" of the Society consisted precisely of the "board of directors" of the business corporation.
This doctrine on the "theocracy" has been stated as such ever since, with the same equivocation between "God's earthly organization" as equivalent to the Watchtower Society, the "faithful and discreet slave", or Jehovah's Witnesses. In the 1 October 1950 issue of the Watchtower, we read:
*** w50 10/1 p. 347 The Way of Success ***The Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society is not the great mother organization of Jehovah’s witnesses who have received the Kingdom truth through it and who cooperate with it world-wide, using it as their legal and business servant and advisory governing body .... However, what we see exemplified in God’s woman, his heavenly universal organization, we should look to see in his visible organization. Why? Because his higher, greater universal organization uses it as her earthly instrument. That is why we do see those motherly traits, those traits and acts of a virtuous woman, in the Watchtower Bible School of Gilead and in the Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, because these profess to represent and serve God’s woman. We thank God for providing and using them.
Here the Watchtower Bible & Tract Society is the "earthly instrument" that "represents" God's heavenly organization and "we" (= Jehovah's Witnesses) look to it as its "visible" counterpart (i.e. Jehovah's Witnesses are NOT the "visible organization" per se but cooperate with the "earthly instrument"). Similarly, the 1 April 1953 Watchtower claimed that "the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society," namely the "legal servant and governing agency" of Jehovah's Witnesses, is "inseparably associated with this widely known organization". The 1 June 1955 Watchtower more explicitly says that the theocratic organization "functions from Jehovah down, the earthly part of it from the board of directors of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society through the branches to the districts, circuits, congregations and then the individuals" (p. 330). Also the 1 October 1957 Watchtower warns against grumbling about those "appointed to take the lead by Jehovah’s visible organization, the Society". The 15 January 1962 Watchtower discusses the "organizational training" received by Gilead graduates "at the headquarters of Jehovah's visible organization" (p. 63), i.e. the headquarters of the Watchtower Bible & Tract Society. Note that the earthly organization has a "headquarters". In similar terms "the central headquarters in Brooklyn, New York" is called "the very summit of Jehovah's consecrated visible organization" in the 15 April 1960 Watchtower (p. 249). The 15 October 1962 Watchtower states that "the Society also appoints ministers to a variety of service privileges" in "Jehovah's organization," including vacation, regular and special pioneer ministers, circuit, district, and zone servants, missionaries "and branch office staff members who live as Bethel families". This is the same authority of appointment mentioned in the 1938 article. As for the identity of the F&DS, this remains the anointed class on earth via its representative, the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society:
*** w64 5/15 p. 305 Maintaining Unity in Difficult Times ***Jehovah’s witnesses in all the world receive their teaching based upon the Bible. The Bible explanations are given out by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, representing the "faithful and discreet slave" as mentioned in Matthew 24:45. This centralized and uniform teaching has very much contributed toward the unity among Jehovah’s witnesses throughout the earth.
Although some references to the Society referred to it only as a publishing agency, others clearly attributed to it broader scope. For instance, the worldwide preaching work is "being done under the direction of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society" (1 May 1964 Watchtower, p. 283), and pioneering is described as "full-time preaching under the direction of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society" (1 November 1970 Watchtower, p. 666). But there was then a significant change in 1971 when the focus shifted from the corporation (and from its president, in particular) to the Governing Body, which disentangled the Governing Body from the legal corporation, while at the same time making it the representative of the (ideological/fictional) religious entity called the F&DS:
*** w71 12/15 p. 750 Theocratic Organization with Which to Move Forward Now *** The facts of modern history show that in the year 1919 he revived these much afflicted disciples and gathered them together in a united body. Then he appointed them as his "slave" class "over all his belongings," that is, over all his royal interests at the earth. (Rev. 11:7-12) It was this active body of dedicated, anointed Christians who, in the summer of 1931, embraced a name to distinguish them from Christendom’s sects, namely, Jehovah’s witnesses.—Isa. 43:10-12; 44:8. This "faithful and discreet slave" class of today has a visible governing body, just as the same class had a governing body back in the first century, from Pentecost of 33 C.E. forward. *** w71 12/15 p. 758 A Governing Body as Different from a Legal Corporation ***Let us keep in mind that the governing body must be made up of dedicated, baptized Christians who are anointed with God’s spirit and begotten by Him to be his spiritual children, and who are to be united with the glorified Jesus Christ in the heavenly kingdom. This must be so because, as in the case of the twelve apostles of Christ, the governing body is part of the "faithful and discreet slave" class and presides over it as spiritual shepherds and overseers. This "slave" class is made up of the spirit-begotten, spirit-anointed followers of Jesus Christ, and these followers make up his congregation on earth and unitedly serve as a composite "slave" of God under the Head of the Christian congregation, Jesus Christ.... The members of the governing body are not elected annually, but are in their positions of responsibility permanently as long as they live and continue faithful as disciples of Jesus Christ. That was the case with the twelve apostles and with the fellow elders of the Jerusalem congregation.
From that time onward, the GB and the Society were both distinguished from the F&DS as its representatives, with neither identified per se as the spiritual F&DS class. Thus, the GB is "the administrative part of a 'faithful and discreet slave' or 'steward' class" (15 December 1972 Watchtower, p. 755). The literature used in the ministry is thus "published by the 'faithful and discreet slave,' God's anointed Christians on earth, through their legal agency, the Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society" (1 March 1972 Watchtower, p. 154). At times, however, the Society has blundered into characterizing itself in Rutherfordian terms as being the F&DS:
*** w82 3/15 p. 21 Loyally Advocating the Word of God ***However, about a hundred years ago the "faithful and discreet slave" class again began to come forward as a loyal advocate of God’s Word. With the years it has become ever more visible and noticed by the world. The facts show that today this "slave" is identified with the Watch Tower Society.
This reflects the fact that the ideological entity called the F&DS is really a cover for the "visible" organization that directs Jehovah's Witnesses, i.e. the pluriform corporate entities of the Watchtower Society. The BOE letters giving instruction to local congregations were all signed as "Watchtower B. & T. Society of New York" until the recent reorganization, and since then bear the names of its associated corporations (particularly, the "Christian Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses").
Similarly, the Watchtower Society gives "official" teachings, views, counsel, etc. in its publications. In the 1 July 1952 Watchtower "Questions From Readers" (p. 414), "the Watchtower Society says to take the children to meetings". In the 1 November 1961 Watchtower "Questions From Readers" (p. 670), the reader asked concerning vaccinations: "Has the Society changed its viewpoint on this?", and was given the response: "That is still the Society's viewpoint on the matter". The 15 February 1963 Watchtower notes that "at times it may be necessary to write to the Society about a matter if it is important in one's ministry" (p. 125). In the 15 November 1964 Watchtower, the Society speaks of itself as giving the official Jehovah's Witness position on blood: "The Society does not endorse any of the modern medical uses of blood". Another article refers to "the truths of God's Word, as taught by the Watch Tower Society" (15 July 1965 Watchtower, p. 442). The 1 April 1967 Watchtower emphasizes "how necessary it is to apply all instructions from the Society" (p. 203). And "the Society in recent years has recommended greater flexibility in our congregational service schedules" (15 July 1969 Watchtower, p. 430). There is a reference to "the Watch Tower Society's teachings" in the 15 February 1984 Watchtower (p. 22). Such expressions are a matter of habit, though in recent years the Society has discouraged saying such things as "the Society teaches" (15 March 1998 Watchtower, p. 19), as it puts the focus on the corporate entity and not the ideoological entity that the corporation is supposed to derive its authority from.
Anyway, that's the long story of how the current F&DS doctrine developed....