William K. Jackson was a member of the GB for 10 years. I didn't find much information about him. Do you have some information to share? All kinds of anecdotes are welcomed.
Background of William K. Jackson
by alex2 5 Replies latest jw friends
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00DAD
It's almost impossible to find out anything substantial about these guys, which according to cult expert, Steven Hassan, is one of the signs of a cult.
Check out these threads I started on the subject and notice the dearth of meaningful data available:
- GB Backgrounder Information
- Guy H. Pierce - 2nd Marriage: Divorced, Widowed???
- Do the Governing Body members ever go Door-to-Door?
Makes you wonder what they're trying to hide ...
00DAD
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Dogpatch
Check thisa out.
Firpo Carr thinks he was really a black man. He was as white as a ghost in the 70s at Bethel and had no Black features whatsoever.
http://www.seanet.com/~raines/discrimination.html
This is my story from:
reprinted from the Mar/Apr 1993 Free Minds Journal
Reviewing of A History of Jehovah's Witnesses: From A Black American Perspective
Here is one book that is written from a unique perspective. It is entitled, A History of Jehovah's Witnesses: From a Black American Perspective by Firpo Carr, Ph.D. (Scholar Technological Institute of Research, Inc., 1992). The author is a black Jehovah's Witness from South Central Los Angeles who claims to have a Ph.D. and is a full-time pioneer. His parents say he was a child prodigy. Carr says he is completing his doctoral work in theology, but does not say where (the Watchtower forbids a Witness to study at formal theological schools. It also unofficially forbids the writing of a book like this!).
Carr attempts to document similarities between the Black Muslim movement and the Watchtower movement. He argues that Wallace D. Fard, founder of the Black Muslims, was influenced by the teachings of J.F. Rutherford, second president of the Watchtower Society. He quotes the book Elijah Muhammad: Religious Leader by Malu Halasa: "Though Fard may have embellished or exaggerated the details of his life, the origins of his teachings were not quite so mysterious. The Nation [of Islam] drew its principles not only from the Koran but also from the Bible, books about Freemasonry, and the philosophy of Joseph F. ('Judge') Rutherford, leader of Jehovah 's Witnesses." (Emphasis added by Carr)
Yet Carr remains unconvincing in drawing parallels between the Watchtower and the Nation of Islam. Aside from the strict monotheism of both religions as well as their revolt against the churches of Christendom, there appear to be few similarities. So what's the point? Carr begs the question. Interestingly, Carr does quote a few of the passages from The Watch Tower in C.T. Russell's time regarding the ridiculous views of the black man they held, such as how the black man would slowly turn white (sound like the Mormons, anyone?) After quoting a number of these and attempting to excuse Russell's ignorance, he says:
- Shamefully, critics have misquoted this passage from the Society's literature in an attempt to misinform people, particularly blacks, who are interested in the teachings of the Bible as understood by the Witnesses. (See "Blacks and the Watchtower," Bethel Ministries Newsletter, July/August 1988, page 1, column 3, pp. 1 & 2.)
The only shame belongs on the organization who would print such racist nonsense in the first place! The claim of "misquoting" by Carr does not stand up, nor does he demonstrate how my article is a misquote. Carr attempts to answer why there have been no blacks on the Watchtower's prestigious Governing Body, yet does not answer the question. His most astounding claim is that there WAS a black man on the Governing Body-William K. Jackson! Picking myself up off the floor, I wondered how he came to this conclusion, having known Bill Jackson from my six years at Bethel (1974-1980) and he was as white as a sheet with no black features whatsoever. Carr's only defense was that Bill Jackson "openly stated that he was black." That is news to all of us who worked at Bethel. Perhaps Carr needs a second book to correct the incredible fantasies in his first one, if the Watchtower doesn't disfellowship him first.
Randy Waters
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metatron
One of the more 'human' Governing Body members. He sometimes had a private dismissive attitude about the Society's Chronology/Timeline Prophecies. He also discreetly remarked at one time that the Society's attitude towards marriage in Bethel 'grieved the holy spirit'.
Damn liberal ! And you thought they all were Nazis like Jaracz.
metatron
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alex2
00DAD:Thank you for the links. The topic on GB members not going door-to-door is quite revealing.
Dogpatch: You seem having known William Jackson. What kind of man was he? Was he easy-going or rather strict? Do you know if he was married? Was he a good speaker? Did the Bethelites like him? Did He have a deep knowledge of the Bible?
metatron: Maybe WJ belonged to the liberal wing of the GB.