I just rediescovered this letter from last October. "Me think she doth protest too much."
My original email to my siblings:
Can anyone verify if this is true? Has the Society attained status and recognition in the eyes of their arch nemesis, the UN?The response I got from my sister, emphasis added by me:Seems hard to believe, but stranger things have happened. Has anyone heard? Is this internet garbage, or has the London Guardian picked up a legitimate story here? Any insight would be appreciated.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,565005,00.html
[copy of article was included here]
Oh my goodness {Quotes}! You know better than to actually believe that trash don't you (I hope). Even though you're no longer a Witness, you darn well know that the UN claims to be God's Kingdom on earth, which is a very "wrong" thing to say!!! The whole story is a load of bull. The UN is, and always will be a device of Satan to try to get mankind to stop seeking the real meaning of the Kingdom!Interesting reaction -- remember this when when they later try to say the whole affair was "no big deal".Please tell me you knew better than that!
You should have been suspicious as to the credulity of such a report when they called Witnesses a "sect". And use abbreviations for the Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society (WTBTS) that the society just does not do.
If it puts your mind at ease, Witnesses are in no way united with the UN. Although the society does send relief efforts of their own (yes, plains [sic] with food, clothing, and medical supllies for all, not just witnesses), this is about the only in common.
The UN is a very prejudicial organization and only gets off its butt to actually DO something when so-called white civilized nations are involved.
... just my petty observation.Lots of love, R_____. PS, give C____ a hug for me.
Here was my response to her:
Thanks R_____!I recieved no reply to this letter. I also did not recieve an invitation to her recent wedding reception. Hhhhhmmmmmm.... "Corelation is not causation" but I wonder....That's what exactly what I thought, at first. I couldn't imagine the Society getting in bed with the UN, the "arch-nemesis." Sounded like so much BULL-you-know-what. And I can't stand people telling lies. But since the story was in a legitimate online newspaper, it seemed to have some weight to it.
So, I did some digging on my own, after I sent that email, to see if I could debunk or verify based on publicly available information. (The UN is, after all, a public institution.)
Turns out, the story *IS* correct. Actually, the story *WAS* correct. Things have changed just this month.
Long story short:
1991: The Watchtower Bible & Tract Society (WTBTS) applied to the UN's DPI (Dept of Public Information) for status
1992: WTBTS was granted official status with the UN as a Non-Government Organization (NGO). This status required, among other things, that the NGO would "support and respect the Charter of the United Nations." (for a complete list of NGO requirements, see http://www.globalpolicy.org/ngos/ngo-un/info/res-1296.htm)
Proof of the official NGO status of the WTBTS was available on the UN website (www.un.org) listing NGOs( http://www.un.org/MoreInfo/ngolink/ngodir/NGODirAlph/alphabet.htm). However, if you check there now, you won't find WTBTS listed, because....
Oct 9, 2001: UN removes NGO status from WTBTS, at the request of the Society.
Now, just in case you don't believe me (I know, it sound impossible, but some people don’t believe me) please call/write/fax the UN directly for "official confirmation":
Paul Hoeffel
Chief, NGO Section
Department of Public Information
Room S-1070L
United Nations, New York, N.Y. 10017
fax (212)963-[xxxx]
phone - (212) 963-[xxxx] or (212)963-[xxxx]
Email: [removed]@un.orgYou will get a response from the UN similar to the attached fax.
Better yet, get a second opinion: call the Bethel in Brooklyn. Here is their 411:
Office of Public Information
25 Columbia Heights
Brooklyn, New York 11201-2483
Fax: (718) 560-5619General requests for information can be directed to:
(718) 560-5000
Questions from the media or researchers:
(718) 560-5600Well, at least now we have the facts.
Lots of love from your "investigative field reporter/verifier" (a.k.a. Kermit the Frog),
{Quotes}.
P.S. Just because a newspaper says uses the words "sect" or "WTBTS" doesn't automatically mean the entire article is untrue, anymore than if they incorrectly called a Muslim person a "Islam" person would make an entire article bogus. There's one thing I've learned, is that newspapers are not perfect and often get details wrong. That's why I checked this one out. Poor terminology aside, the story is factually accurate.
P.P.S. C___ sends you a big hug. I do too :)
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For interesting Watchtower Society literature quotes, complete with references but without any editorial, check out: http://Quotes.JehovahsWitnesses.com