Why are the Governing Body Members always in-house New York Bethel members?

by RULES & REGULATIONS 13 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

  • RULES & REGULATIONS
    RULES & REGULATIONS
    NO. Not always USA Bethelites. Chitty and other Branch appointees were major embarrassments.

    https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/5466/greenlees-chitty-some-sources

    Ewart C. Chitty

    Governing Body member Ewart Chitty (born ca. 1898) resigned his position in 1979. He entered the London Bethel in 1921, began to work in "the office", and by 1938 held some sort of official position, as two 1938 Watchtowers have him reporting to J. F. Rutherford on the attendance of Bethel family members at the "family" study. By 1942 Chitty was the secretary of the International Bible Students Association (IBSA; the Society's British equivalent of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc.). Somewhere along the line he was appointed as secretary-treasurer of the IBSA, which position he held until his appointment to the Governing Body in November 1974. After his 1979 resignation from the GB, Chitty remained in Brooklyn working in Writing Correspondence, so he was certainly in good standing. A 1981 Awake! article has Chitty making comments about people having lost their love of neighbor and God. Apparently by this time Chitty was drinking heavily, according to close acquaintances. Likely this contributed to his being dismissed from Brooklyn and reassigned to the London Bethel a few years later. There he worked at an assignment of little responsibility, but was appointed an elder in a local congregation. Chitty died about 1993.

    As to Chitty's alleged homosexuality, the information I have is mixed. He certainly made some remarks in his 1963 life story in The Watchtower that leaned in this direction. By then he had roomed with the same man for 30 years and just about gushed when speaking about him. See the email comments below for one Brit's take on this. When in Brooklyn, Chitty seems to have preferred younger men as roommates. The actual charge brought to the GB against Chitty was made by a former roommate and involved some sort of inappropriate conduct. The GB concluded that Chitty had homosexual tendencies, whatever that means, and asked him to resign. Chitty could hardly do anything but comply with the rest of the GB's wishes, since his only alternative would have been to leave Bethel at age 81 and after being there for 58 years. It may well be that the GB didn't view Chitty as guilty of homosexual activity, since he remained a Bethel member in Brooklyn or London, but it may also be that they made a deal: Chitty would remain quiet about where "the dead bodies" were buried as long as the Society cared for him in his old age. Sounds like a good deal to me.

  • Rattigan350
    Rattigan350

    That's what I wonder. What about getting fishermen (regular workers) or tax collectors or people of many occupations.

  • NotFormer
    NotFormer

    Some people with real world experience would certainly help. Well, maybe. Perhaps it couldn't do more than the present day harm?

    One of the main problems with the GB is that they live within a cloistered bubble.

  • Diogenesister
    Diogenesister

    Dude with glasses.....is that his wife or his sister ?😭

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