Thanks for the excellent explanation ATJ.
I'm still wondering who the 500 voting members are and how they got to become one?
Who are the 500 anonymous members of the Watchtower Society?
by yadda yadda 2 21 Replies latest watchtower scandals
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TheOldHippie
Watchtower 1990, pages 17-18, paragraphs 10-11:
10 The Society’s seven directors were faithful Christians. But their role in a legal corporation might have suggested that they owed their positions on the Governing Body to their being elected by legal members of the Watch Tower Society. Furthermore, by law such membership and its voting privileges were originally granted only to certain ones who made contributions to the Society. This arrangement needed to be changed. This was done at the annual meeting of the Pennsylvania corporation of the Watch Tower Society held on October 2, 1944. The statutes of the Society were amended so that membership would no longer be on a financial basis. Members would be chosen from among faithful servants of Jehovah, and these have come to include many serving full-time at the Society’s headquarters in Brooklyn, New York, and in its branches throughout the world.
11 Reporting on this improvement, The Watchtower of November 1, 1944, stated: “Money, as represented in financial contributions, should have no determining voice, should in fact have nothing to do with the filling of the governing body of Jehovah’s witnesses on earth. . . . The holy spirit, the active force which comes down from Jehovah God through Christ Jesus, is that which should determine and guide in the matter.” -
TJ - iAmCleared2Land
11 Reporting on this improvement, The Watchtower of November 1, 1944, stated: “Money, as represented in financial contributions, should have no determining voice, should in fact have nothing to do with the filling of the governing body of Jehovah’s witnesses on earth. . . . The holy spirit, the active force which comes down from Jehovah God through Christ Jesus, is that which should determine and guide in the matter.”
There's a legal difference between "should" and "shall". Interesting that they used the word "should". I agree, money "should have nothing to do with filling the governing body"... but maybe it does!!!
One of these sets of statements is limiting / binding; the other is not:
1) You shall receive $1 MILLION dollars. / We shall not consider your contributions of $1 million dollars when selecting new GB appointments.
Or,
2) You should receive $1 MILLION dollars. / We should not consider your contributions of $1 million dollars when selecting new GB appointments.
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rebel8
calm down yada...even oompa has connections..and has been offered tickets for years........ barf..........oompa....
That is one of those posts where you're sitting there going...mmmhmmm, yeah, uh huh......Wait, WHAT?!!!!!!!!1!!
Tickets?! They really need to get over themselves. They're not rock stars! jeez
oompa........please consider accepting those tickets and giving them to someone who would attend, be quiet and appropriate, and report back on everything....tape it or whatever......srsly
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AllTimeJeff
Just because you get tickets doesn't mean you sit in the main auditorium. Most are tied in through the TV, and the invited ones often sit in the 3 bethel cafeteria's.
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PEC
please consider accepting those tickets and giving them to someone who would attend, be quiet and appropriate, and report back on everything....tape it or whatever
Rebel, are you volunteering?
Philip
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BluesBrother
One year some while back, the Annual Gen Meeting was held in the UK...
The meeting business was completed fairly quickly, I understand. After that they had a meeting with talks and experiences from the Gov Body and old timers..Just like a special assembly.
Publishers with over 25 years service were invited to go along and make an audience, We just missed out at the time.
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yadda yadda 2
"10 The Society’s seven directors were faithful Christians. But their role in a legal corporation might have suggested that they owed their positions on the Governing Body to their being elected by legal members of the Watch Tower Society. Furthermore, by law such membership and its voting privileges were originally granted only to certain ones who made contributions to the Society. This arrangement needed to be changed. This was done at the annual meeting of the Pennsylvania corporation of the Watch Tower Society held on October 2, 1944. The statutes of the Society were amended so that membership would no longer be on a financial basis. Members would be chosen from among faithful servants of Jehovah, and these have come to include many serving full-time at the Society’s headquarters in Brooklyn, New York, and in its branches throughout the world.
Thank you for this quote.
So basically the 500 voting members are mostly Headquarters and other Branch cronies, all with thoroughly vested interests in perpetuating the status quo and their positions. You can imagine the nepotism going on.
"Statutes of the Society" - what are these? Who has the power to amend them?
And I repeat my earlier question, slightly rephrased: who grants the right to be a voting member? What is the process?
Does anyone on this forum actually know?
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AllTimeJeff
The Governing Body grants the right to be a voting member.
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rebel8
please consider accepting those tickets and giving them to someone who would attend, be quiet and appropriate, and report back on everything....tape it or whatever
Rebel, are you volunteering?
Philip
If you remember my 768,567 posts here, you know I'm a doer, not just a talker! But in this case, I am hundreds of miles away from hdqts....and I'm not a Penis Power Ranger*, so I'm sure they wouldn't let me in. Willing to bet there is someone on the board who would, though!
*Ha! I just coined a new term for the Apostate Dictionary!