The Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses - Explained

by cedars 67 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

• 

  00DAD

  Great work as always Cedars.

  It is amazingly difficult to get any real solid information about these men that are supposedly to be followed without question. Virtually every other organization on earth puts out at least a "for public consumption" bio or resume sketch. But it's curiously lacking concerning these men that ostensibly lead God's Visible Organization on Earth!

  I started this thread awhile back on the subject:

  GB Backgrounder Information

  Although I did learn a few things, the collective knowledge of those here on JWN was not able to shed much light on this very dark subject.

  A few things you may wish to consider adding:

  • Guy Pierce divorced and remarried.
  • Anthony Morris - from what I can determine, he is the ONLY current GB to have children.
  • How is it that all but two of the current GB guys were born after the Heavenly Calling closed in 1935? Even those two were infants then and could not have been "anointed" until much later!!!
  • Which GB members are NOT U.S. citizens?

  Here are some other links you may find useful:

  • http://www2.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/experiences/220619/1/do-any-of-the-governing-body-have-children
  • http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/friends/206074/1/What-sort-of-person-is-GB-member-Guy-Pierce

  Guy Pierce Accused of Wife Abuse?

  • http://www2.jehovahs-witness.net/watchtower/bible/218965/1/GB-Backgrounder-Information
  • http://www2.jehovahs-witness.net/watchtower/bible/218861/2/UK-charity-Refuge-gives-response-to-WT-article-on-domestic-abuse

  *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***

  Re: What sort of person is GB member Guy Pierce?

  The following statement is misleading: "Guy Pierce raised a family and then with his wife started pioneering in April 1982. He served as a circuit overseer from 1986 until 1997, when he and his wife, Penny ..."

  I was told that Penny, an Asian woman, is Pierce's second wife and that's the wife he started to pioneer with in April 1982. His first marriage ended in a bitter divorce. Pierce had to appear before a judicial committee because of accusations made by his wife which the committee counseled him for, but no action was taken against him. I know some of the details but prefer not to air them because there are two sides to every story. I don't know how many children Pierce has and don't know if any of his first family are, any longer, JWs. If what I write is monitored by anybody in Bethel it is my hope that someone will remind Guy that nothing in this group remains secret forever, especially since so many elders are leaving the organization that know what went on in committee hearings and are beginning to share the secrets.

  In my article, "Discoveries of Barbara Anderson," http://www.freeminds.org/organization/barbara-anderson/the-discoveries-of-barbara-anderson.html, I said the following:

  "Within the inner sanctums of congregations and circuits, dirty little secrets continued, and, for some unknown reason, protection of abusers was business as usual. One particularly nasty secret concerned personal instructions sent out in 1992 from one of the Governing Body members, who Harry was certain was Ted Jaracz, to a few very well-known circuit and district overseers to meet with and compel abuse victims to remain silent about their abuse or be disfellowshipped. In Harry Peloyan’s office in 1994, I, along with my husband, Joe, thumbed through a file folder full of complaining letters, which came to headquarters from across the country about the situation. Interestingly, the name of one intimidating circuit representative mentioned frequently in those letters is now a member of the Governing Body."

  I've identified that circuit overseer in other articles or blogs as Guy Pierce, who was called into Bethel by Jaracz when too many complaints came into Bethel about his participation in the persecution of child abuse victims. Pierce was assigned to the Service Department where he was scrutinized to see if he was 100% a company man and remained there until being appointed one of the GB.

  http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/friends/206074/1/What-sort-of-person-is-GB-member-Guy-Pierce

  *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***
• 

  00DAD

  While you do say, "So the term “governing body” does not come from the scriptures at all. Rather it is a secular term that was first employed casually to describe the Board of Directors of the Watch Tower Society."

  You might consider leading this section with something like, "Is the term 'Governing Body' scriptural?" or "What is the scriptural basis for the term 'GB'?"

  Remember, as JWs we would argue against the Trinity by saying, "The word 'Trinity' does not even appear in the Bible." I realize that by itself that is not proof of anything. Nevertheless, it is a line of reasoning with which JWs would be familiar.
• 

  cedars

  Hi 00DAD, thanks for that input! I've found your input on my other thread about the GB useful in compiling this article too. I like your line of reasoning that JWs argue against the trinity by saying that the actual word "trinity" is not found in the bible, so why not object to the absence of the term "governing body" in the scriptures? I may try and make this point (that it isn't a scriptural term) more obvious in the article.

  That's interesting stuff on Guy Pierce. I'm not sure how much of it I can use given that it's unverified. I realise that there's other stuff in my article that isn't strictly in the publications either, but most of it is based on verifiable fact unless expressly stated otherwise. I'll give it some thought.

  The thing about 1935 is interesting, but it could be easily refuted as irrelevant after a quick glance at the Q from R that unceremoniously abandoned the 1935 teaching (which is what triggered the explosion in memorial partaker numbers). Still interesting though, I suppose...

  You've definitely given me food for thought, as always!

  Cedars
• 

  slimboyfat

  I think you have a talent for putting the page together with good formatting and good use of pictures. In terms of content, I just compared it with the wiki page, and I think the wiki page is slightly better in its information and has a more neutral presentation.

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Governing_Body_of_Jehovah's_Witnesses

  I am not intending to be critical, but I am slightly curious what the purpose of the page is when there is already an arguably better wiki page on the same subject? That is not intended to provoke, I am genuinely curious about the rationale. Many of the other pages you have written have presented brand new information and opinion on neglected subjects and breaking stories. I only pose the question because I think that asking it may help you to clarify what your own goals are in producing content.
• 

  00DAD

  Cedars, glad to be of service. I realize that a lot of the dirt on Pierce is unverifiable, but it is interesting. It is also interesting that it is SO UNVERIFIABLE! Guy Pierce is divorced and remarried. Why do they cover that up?

  Maybe there's some way you could put in the lead of your article the fact that it is really difficult to find out anything substantial about these guys except what the WTBTS wants us to know. Even THAT is notable for it's brevity and lack of scope.

  I realize that the 1935 end for the "Heavenly Calling" was abandoned and I think we all know why. Maybe that could be pointed out or at least alluded to in your article.

  00DAD
• 

  cedars

  Thanks slimboyfat. The wiki page is excellent, but not written in such a way as to appeal specifically to Witnesses (which is how I have been writing all my articles recently). Watchtower publications are referenced (and even occasionally quoted) in the wiki article, but not quoted nearly as extensively as in my article. I believe that, when it comes to reasoning with Witnesses, the best way to do this is using their own literature rather than by making sweeping statements. There are also certain elements (such as the part about Guy Pierce's comments on the GB being uncertain of Jehovah's direction) that are more up-to-date than the wiki article. The wiki article also doesn't mention that, according to the 1971 article, Christ ostensibly chose the Governing Body. You will also notice that I give a far more thorough rundown of the current GB members. In any case, the more the internet is flooded with this type of information on various websites, the better.

  00DAD - yes, I agree that the amount of secrecy surrounding these men is notewworthy in and of itself.

  Cedars
• 

  00DAD

  In response to SBF's excellent observation there is one area where your article differs from the WP page: you have some specifics about each GB member. However even that is exceedingly brief and so obviously one-sided since it's based on info published by the WTBTS publicity department.
• 

  cedars

  00DAD -

  However even that is exceedingly brief and so obviously one-sided since it's based on info published by the WTBTS publicity department.

  You will notice that my comments on Anthony Morris III differ markedly in that regard!

  Cedars
• 

  cedars

  Further to my comment above, here is an example of some of my comments about Anthony Morris III that are definitely NOT to be found on Wiki...

  Anthony is known for his forthright and eyebrow-raising comments during assembly talks. Anthony, who is said to have been born in 1950, is also a veteran of the Vietnam War, having served during the conflict in a medical capacity. Anthony has regaled assembly audiences with stories of how he refused to go down to the bomb shelter with his fellow soldiers, which once almost resulted in his death when his barracks were hit by enemy fire. Some have raised questions as to why Anthony insists on having a “monarchical ordinal” (or roman numeral) after his name in the style of a ruling monarch, arguing that this hardly befits a man professing Christian humility. (Matthew 19:30) Recently, Anthony made some introductory remarks on behalf of the Governing Body as a feature of the controversial Become Jehovah’s Friend DVD, which was released at the 2012 Safeguard Your Heart District Convention.

  Cedars
• 

  00DAD

  Cedars, yes I did notice that the info on AM III was different and wondered why.

  "Anthony is known for his forthright and eyebrow-raising comments during assembly talks."

  My guess would be your first hand experience.

  00DAD