Thanks for reviving this thread. I'd like to cast a different light on it: the implicit racism behind the WTS no-beards policy. When I associated with the mostly black Graymont Congregation in Birmingham, Alabama, this was a topic we'd talk about from time to time. Shaving is a great irritant to the facial skin of black men if it is done daily. Many of us would shave as little as possible. I know I would do so only when I had to attend a congregation meeting and other black Witness men did likewise. Those who shaved daily used to complain about the rash that appeared on their faces or the pain or burning they would feel.
I asked some if headquarters was aware of the problems shaving caused us. They told me that Bethel was well aware because they had written letters explaining the problem and asking for the rule to be eliminated. The answer they received was always a flat refusal with no good reason or scriptural citation given. The Governing Body was completely insensitive to our concerns, choosing instead to ignore the effects their unreasonableness had on some men of color. The policy is racist and reflects the real feelings of the Governing Body toward non-white Witnesses.
I think the WTS did grant one concession to us, however. There was no ban on moustaches, hair many black men wear as a badge of honor. If the WTS had ever gone so far as to insist on their removal, that might have provoked the kind of uproar among us that would have been both embarrassing and costly. Maybe the WTS decided that price would have been too high to pay.
Quendi