"Brother Jodie jenelle began his bethel service in in 1990....." (page 3)

LV101

Perhaps GB hiring (haha/GB appointment) knowledgeable in-house real estate individuals as agents for representation re/WT corp's real estate matters great move. Maybe even save them a nickel here or there. Financial advisors, property management, legal firms/accountants/marketing, etc., etc., -- the bus operations in mgmnt. control all exorbitant figures but critical. Hard to imagine the other GB members capable of representing multi-billion dollar real estate co. to professional, knowledgeable, experts.

dropoffyourkeylee

The org has had upper echelon people like Jenelle for years, but not on the GB. What this appointment does is marks a notable departure from the practice of having spiritual leaders on the GB. This guy is a business man.

It also raises questions, and ultimately undermines, the belief that the GB leadership is anointed, which is a doctrine surely to change in the future.

blondie

If I remember, the new idea of the governing body in 1971, separating the business end of the WT corporation from the "governing body" was to allow the GB to concentrate on spiritual matters (GB has to be of anointed class) and having non-anointed jws to do the business of the WTS. Is this a change back?

St George of England

I don't think they have ever really let go of the reins. From their declaration of this in October 1971 it wasn't until 2000, that's 29 years before Milton Henschel resigned and gave up the Presidency. He died in 2003 IIRC.

The President and directors are merely legal requirements, the GB will hang on to their power at all costs.

George

DisgruntledFool

Blondie, I asked myself that exact question. "The history of Jehovah's organized people today shows that, particularly since 1879, the organization's visible governing body has been connected with or identified with the legal corporation, the Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, incorporated in the State of Pennsylvania in the year 1884. This legal corporation has its principle publishing house and Branch office in Brooklyn, New York, now. It is merely a legal servant and a publishing agency for the earth-wide society of Jehovah's anointed remnant." - The WATCHTOWER December 1, 1947 pg 363. So the BUSINESS end of the religion was run by the governing body of its day. (Anyone with any long history with this organization knows that the theological interpretations promoted by Jehovah's Witnesses have been limited to a few individuals such as Russell, Rutherford and Franz and that any so-called governing body members had little input into Bible interpretation and the creation of doctrine and dogma.) And then, as you point out, in 1971 things changed organizationally with the separation of the legal corporation from the newly minted Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses. The Governing Body since 1971 has been focused on 'spiritual things' while the day to day business operations were handed over to others. Now with the appointment of Jody Jenelle to the Governing Body it seems possible that they will be comingling the theological and business aspects of the religion so they can have complete control of the 'spiritual' and secular arms of the religion.

Anony Mous

There really wasn’t any separation when it came to the power structure. The separation was similar to how they separate the structure of local KH with some poor sap holding the bag when shit hits the fan but the rules come from the same place. It is just more obvious to us over the years, to the average JW they still believe their popes are pure and have no financial gain or motivation. The courts by and large have poked through this corporate veil.

"Brother Jodie jenelle began his bethel service in in 1990....."