What is the purpose of such a list? I am seriously asking. Wouldn't just serve as a stumbling block? It must be MILES long by now.
Does the GB keep a list of all members of 144 000, alive and dead?
by african GB Member 15 Replies latest jw friends
-
-
JWoods
What is the purpose of such a list? I am seriously asking. Wouldn't just serve as a stumbling block? It must be MILES long by now.
It WOULD have to be miles long - which is a good reason for the WTS to NOT keep one. Already the maximum 144,000 number is not credible.
-
Mad Sweeney
The point of the list is probably multipurpose.
One, it is a list of potential risers within the organization.
Two, it is also a list of potential dissenters within the organization.
Three, it gives the CO's yet another duty to puff up their importance, since they get to determine who is and who isn't "genuine" anointed.
Etc...
-
Nathan Natas
If such a list did exist, it would have about 8,000 some odd names on it.
Compare and contrast to the list of - what is it - 23,000 pedophiles. The magic spirit is indeed moving within the congregations, Brothers!
-
AllTimeJeff
No, it would NOT have thousands of names on that list.
I am probably taking the question and the title of this thread too literally, but you have to understand that from the GB's point of view, a partaker is NOT of the 144,000, even if they are baptized JW's.
We all know that there is no way to verify dead "annointed" ones, esp after the 1930's, when JW's started to develop their own laity class.
There is no list of every partaker. There is a list of "annointed" partakers that the GB keeps track of that they consider to be "genuine annointed."
This was not done throughout the history of JW's. I doubt they would claim that the list is all encompasing. (i.e. plausible deniability) But make no mistake that genuine annointed Christians are kept track of. The rest are ignored, other then to count them once a year.
Why else have it as an option to check off if the publisher claims to be annointed or other sheep? It is still on every publishers record card.
Particularly are brothers paid attention to. It isn't a list that they refer to to keep track of all who claim to be part of the 144,000. It is a list to keep track of those who claim to be annointed. Big difference there. It accomplishes two things: 1) Keeps track of potential trouble makers. 2) Keeps track of potential company men as future leaders.
-
Gayle
Ray Franz's book, "In Search of Christian Freedom" pages 151-158 (especially page 158), speaks of the relationship with the anointed ones connection to the Governing Body and any list of "names" of such. I hope if any can do a cut & paste here. But I will try to just type the portions on page 158.
"Instead, the only lists of names they do have are of those who are members of the organization's corporations (such as the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania), or members of branch office staffs, or of men in traveling overseer positions. Not one's being of the "annointed," but organizational position is the factor determining what names are listed, with any happening to be of the "anointed" being placed in among the name of the non-anointed persons serving in the same capacity."
"When, on a few occasions, the Governing Body decided to select additional members for the Body, these lists were the only ones we had from which to extract names of "anointed" men who might be candidates for Governing Body membership. Yet the names of probably nine-five percent of the "anointed" are not found on these lists."
He goes on about any letters from non-anointed or from "anointed" are not treated any differently according to purpose.