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FatFreek 2005

Dear Mother,

I don’t think you’ll mind being addressed as Mother since many like to look at the Governing Bodyi of Jehovah’s Witnesses as their motherii. I’ll get right to the point,

Mother, I took a fresh look at your character and now believe that you crossed the line between telling the truth and stretching it. How’s that?

O h, I know you’d always told me that you were imperfect and made mistakes – and I accepted that. But the more I studied your writings the more I found that you went beyond the honest mistakes. You see, my real mom taught me something that I never really applied in my relationship with you – until recently. I trust you’ll agree that what she said makes sense:

“There are honest mistakes – but never honest lies.”

Oh, you can’t believe the times I defended you over the silly things you said – I mean the absurd teachings you wanted us to believe. There were the miracle wheatiii; pyramidologyiv; that evil aluminum cookwarev; those teaching flip-flops on subjects like the resurrection of ancient Sodomitesvi, the Superior Authorities, medicinal vaccinationsvii, along with others too numerous to mention here. Oh, and let’s not forget your date predictions -- perhaps the source of more contention among folks who have ever been associated with Jehovah’s Witnesses than any other topic. Date predictions – those pre-announced future events.

But I defended you, naively standing up to your enemies and countering that those were merely honest mistakes. However, as I started to re-examine your writings I decided to look with the same critical eye as you taught me to look at those from other organizations – Catholics, Baptists, and Mormons – actually all other religions. And, Mother, I would no longer be cutting you more slack than you allow others.

I digress. I really wanted to let you know something about that more serious matter – honesty!

Take just one of those embarrassing teachings of yours – the predicted dates. Yes, you wrongly predicted them – and I defended you for that, calling each of those instances mistakes, honest mistakes. But the more I explored the aftermath of those predictions – your follow-up denials and blame-shifting -- the more I came to the conclusion that you weren’t truly apologetic for the misery you put us through. Worse, I realized that you had crossed the line from mistakes to downright dishonestyviii. And you did it again and again -- no different than one of those casino junkies thinking that the next spin would be a winner! I imagine they helped keep your membership numbers on the rise.

Let me give you a few examples.

Case 1

In the late teens and early 1920’s you told us that the exact year 1925 was to be viewed as the date when Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the faithful prophets of old would return. You were brimming with confidence about this year, using words like “definitely” and “clearly”. We became excited. Remember how you put it in the pages of your premier journal, the Watch Tower and that popular Millions booklet?

Before 1925

"There will be no slip-up...Abraham should enter upon the actual possession of his promised inheritance in the year 1925 A.D." The Watch Tower 10/15/1917, p. 6157.

"Therefore we may confidently expect that 1925 will mark the return of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the faithful prophets of old...". Millions Now Living Will Never Die, 1920, PP. 89-90.

"...1925 shall mark the resurrection of the faithful worthies of old...". Millions, p. 97.

"1925 is definitely settled by the Scriptures...the Christian has much more upon which to base his faith than Noah had (so far as the scriptures reveal) upon which to base his faith in a coming deluge." The Watch Tower 4/1/1923, p. 106.

"The year 1925 is a date definitely and clearly marked in the Scriptures, even more clearly than that of 1914." The Watch Tower 7/15/1924, p. 211.

After 1925

It’s a foregone conclusion that the resurrection didn’t happen as “definitely” as you said it would. In fact, it didn’t happen the next year -- or the next. What you had said was an obvious error, a mistake. But that’s not my point. It’s what you then said the following year which speaks volumes of your character. Was it an apology, an admission of error, a retraction? None of the above. Let me jog your memory. Your spokesman, Joseph F. Rutherford, the Society’s president, was asked a question in reference to those earlier Watch Tower predictions, while attending a convention in Basel, Switzerland.

Question: Have the ancient worthies returned?

Answer: “Certainly they have not returned. No one has seen them, and it would be foolish to make such an announcement. It was stated in the ‘Millions’ book that we might reasonably expect them to return shortly after 1925, but this was merely an expressed opinion; besides it is still shortly after 1925. There is no good reason why we should expect the ancient worthies to return until the church is complete and the work of the church on earth is done.” The Watch Tower 1926, p. 196.ix

Merely an expressed opinion? Stop right there! You just turned some very precise date forecasts into elusive disclaimers – turning a flagrant mistake into an out-and-out lie. I know, you were probably bitter at that reporter for asking what seemed like a barbed question, but what did you expect – a rave review? That, Mother, was not honest – and need I remind you what my mother told me about lies?

Case 2

You didn’t give up with that sleight-of-hand. Instead of accepting responsibility, you quickly followed with blame shifting, another dishonest tactic.

“Some anticipated that the work would end in 1925, but the Lord did not state so. The difficulty was that the friends inflated their imaginations beyond reason; and that when their imaginations burst asunder, they were inclined to throw away everything.” The Watch Tower 1926, p. 232.

Oh, now it’s our fault? We inflated our imaginations, did we? You mean we simply conjured up those “definitely settled” and “definitely and clearly marked” statements on our own, visualizing out of the clear blue that the resurrection was going to happen in a certain year? Why did you think we anticipated those 1925 happenings in the first place? It was because you, the spirit-directedx leadership, persuaded us to draw that conclusion. You did it, Mother, so how could you stoop so low as to transfer the blame to us? Shame on you.

Case 3 — Long After 1925

Some fifty years later in your 1975 yearbook you must’ve felt the need to re-address that issue. But you hadn’t changed. Again, instead of making an apology over what you had said about that failed 1925 prediction – and more important, those sleight-of-hand phrases -- you published some past recollection – an obvious inaccuracy – by one of your devoted members.

“…So, as Anna MacDonald recalls: '1925 was a sad year for many brothers. Some of them were stumbled; their hopes were dashed...Instead of its being considered a 'probability', they read into it that it was a 'certainty', and some prepared for their own loved ones with expectancy of their resurrection.” 1975 Yearbook, p. 146.

You couldn’t have solicited a better testimony. Here, the blurred reminiscence of some innocent elderly person would serve your purpose far better than taking a few steps into your vast Bethel libraryxi to write down an exact – yet most important – honest reference.

You had never stated the word probability in those pre-1925 writings – that lone woman did it for you. Nonetheless, Mother, by quoting this person, you willfully endorsed her error, knowing it would serve your purpose – that of perpetuating Rutherford’s cover-up. Rutherford’s cover-up now became your cover-up. Clearly, this 1975 rehash turned into a well-planned and pre-meditated lie.

You might say, “Why are you bringing up events that happened so long ago?” I say, thanks for asking since it was your own 1975 yearbook (50 years after the fact) with the Anna MacDonald quotation which motivated me to study your true character.

Case 4

Finally, I would be remiss at omitting another of your more recent prophetic statements, one which didn’t fail till only a few years ago. In this instance, rather than a specific year, you predicted a century.xii “…Shortly, within our twentieth century, the "battle in the day of Jehovah" will begin against the modern antitype of Jerusalem, Christendom.” The Nations Shall Know That I Am Jehovah - How? 1971, Chap. 12 pp. 216-217

I t surprised me that you hadn’t tampered with that sentence before its entry into the Watchtower Library 2005 CD [an eBay purchase]. Remember how you did that with the 1989 Watchtower? You know the one -- January 1, page 12 where you said in its original printing, “… a work that would be completed in our 20th century.”xiii Recall how you replaced the phrase “our 20th century” with “our day” inside the Bound Volume? To check this out, honest-hearted persons need only find originals or scans of originals.

Conclusion

It’s now clear to me, Mother, that you made some serious mistakes. The problem I have with them, however, is that you dishonestly tried to lessen their gravity in the eyes of your flock. Fact is, I’ve examined follow-up statements you’ve made on other topics of change. Your two-step plan is no different.

Lie.
Blame the flock.

I don’t require four examples of your lies to convince myself that you are just another group of religious leaders that tells a lie for its own advantage – one is enough. I no longer submit to leadership of some group that must goes so far as to redefine the very meaning of a Liexiv -- where

If people aren't entitled to truth we need not divulge it.
A lie is condemned only if it’s done with malice.

You see, honesty is a trait so fundamental -- an element so universally recognized by people of good will -- once you abuse it there is no way that you as a professed spirit-directed representative of God can convincingly earn it back. You, Mother, asked it quite well not long ago, "...really, would you want to be even associated with a religion that had not been honest with you?" Is This Life All There Is?, 1974, page 46.

I left Watchtower’s membership in 1977 and wish I could’ve sent this recently composed letter at that time. Mom passed away in 1981 and I can only wish she learned more history of an organization to which she had dedicated her life. You may contact me at my email address follows: [email protected]. Last edited, 3/13/17

i The Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses as of 2015.

ii Watchtower, 1998, 6/1 p. 23: “Jehovah’s motherlike organization diligently fulfills its responsibility to prepare delightful spiritual meals served through its publications and at the meetings of the more than 85,000 Christian congregations worldwide.”

iii The Watch Tower, June 15, 1911, page 178: “Brother Bohnet writes us that he has gradually accumulated a crop of miracle wheat from the few grains he obtained as a start. He prefers that the first opportunity for obtaining this wheat shall go to THE WATCH TOWER readers. He will sell it for $1 per pound, including postage, and give the entire proceeds to our Society. ... WATCH TOWER readers will have the preference up to August 15, after which orders will be attended to indiscriminately, so long as the supply holds out. This wheat should be sown in the fall.”

iv Jehovah’s Witnesses in the Divine Purpose, p. 200:

“For some 35 years, Pastor Russell thought that the Great Pyramid of Gizeh was God’s stone witness, corroborating Biblical time periods.”

v The Golden Age 1930 p.650: “As a result of the publication of wholesome truth on the subject, there are fewer people now purchasing aluminum cooking utensils than heretofore. There is also a pronounced drop in the cancer death rate. Much aluminum used: many cancers. Less aluminum used: fewer cancers.”

See also The Golden Age 1932 October 26 p.35: “[Aluminum cooking utensils are] a curse to humanity and their manufacture and use should be forbidden by law.”

See also The Golden Age 1936 Sept. 23 p. 803: “The unseen guests at the aluminum-dinner table”

vi The Great Watchtower Contradiction.

vii The Golden Age, 1923, January 3rd, p.214: “The public is not generally aware of how large an industry is the manufacture of serums, anti-toxins and vaccines, or that big business controls the whole industry......the boards of health endeavor to start an epidemic of smallpox, diphtheria, or typhoid that they may reap a golden harvest by inoculating an unthinking community for the very purpose of disposing of this manufactured filth...Vaccination summed up is the most unnatural, unhygienic, barbaric, filthy, abhorrent, and most dangerous system of infection known. Its vile poison taints, corrupts, and pollutes the blood of the healthy, resulting in ulcers, syphilis, scrofula, erysipelas, tuberculosis, cancer, tetanus, insanity, and death.”

See also Watchtower, 1952, p. 764: “The matter of vaccination is one for the individual that has to face it to decide for himself. Each individual has to take the consequences for whatever position and action he takes toward a case of compulsory vaccination, doing so according to his own conscience and his appreciation of what is for good health and the interests of advancing God’s work.”

viii The Watchtower, 1971, 7/15 p. 436: “A liar is not one who, by mistake, utters a falsehood unintentionally. A liar is one who knowingly utters an untruth, designed to deceive and mislead.”

ix The Society’s modern transcription [Yearbook, 1980, p. 62, France] of that single sentence when compared with the original (see contextual page scan of the 1926 Watch Tower below) is different. Note the modern recollection concludes the sentence with “… expressed opinion.”, omitting the final phrase -- “; besides it is still shortly after 1925.”

I leave it to the reader to decide whether the omission was a mistake or an editorially dishonest act.

x Watchtower, 1985, 6/1 p. 30: "Do you understand that your dedication and baptism identify you as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses in association with God’s spirit-directed organization?"

xi Watchtower, 1962, p. 636: "...10,000-volume library are found at Bethel in Brooklyn."

xii See also Let Your Kingdom Come, 1981, chap. 11 p. 102: 'But now in our 20th century, we have come to the time for harvest . . . "a conclusion of a system of things, and the reapers are angels"!'

xiii “The twentieth century of the Common Era began on January 1, 1901 and ended on December 31, 2000, according to the Gregorian calendar.”

xiv Insight on the Scriptures, p. 245, Lie: “While malicious lying is definitely condemned in the Bible, this does not mean that a person is under obligation to divulge truthful information to people who are not entitled to it.”

FatFreek 2005

Note to self. That post is the result of taking an entire multi-page doc in LibreOffice writer, then copying it into another document comprised of a single cell table. It all seemed to work until I added a footer with page number -- which didn't even show.

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