Eppie,
I'm with Nathan on this one. For a few years, I was good friends with a couple of the GB members, and I spoke often with a couple of others. I don't think you could necessarily point to any one of them and say they were in it knowing they were out to create a deception. They were in it for the same reasons that you and I were in it, or more accurately, the same reasons that district and branch overseers were in it. If they were sincere they bought into the heaven and paradise earth idea and they were saving lives. Protecting the organization's reputation through rough times was merely a way to make sure that people weren't stumbled at the mistakes of men and therefore more lives could be saved. Protection of one's position and the power, honor, and glory that went with it, was wrapped up in the rationale behind the entire "Theocratic" arrangement that Jehovah wanted them to serve and protect. It was OK for them to think of minor things that might be wrong and need changing, but it was impossibe for a singe individual, even if a GB member, to think of major sweeping changes that would prove the entire organization had been wrong.
Most of us were the same way when we were sincere JWs. We could think of one or two things being wrong, but rarely gave ourselves the opportunity to think the whole structure was wrong. We had bound this religion up with our survival and our basic needs. Our survival instincts would not have allowed our mind to play out those scenarios any more than we would contemplate eating poison or burning down our house.
Most people here are aware that most any male who played loyal organization man for long enough could become an elder. It's probably a given that circuit, district and branch overseers showed an extra level of loyalty to the organization (and political savvy) to get recognized. The abiltity to organize and lead and the desire to hear their own voice from a platform attracted a few of the personalities that were naturally "powerful" and maybe a few "power-hungry." (Not that they all were, of course.) Add to this idea the fact that most of the Governing Body became JWs in the Rutherford or early Knorr era, where the "Theocratic Rule" was more with an iron hand and fist. The only way their skills could be recognized by the mother organization is if they were already displaying some of the organization coldness that it took to make organizationally correct decisions behind the scenes, while able to smile and laugh with the rank and file. It creates a kind of unnatural dual personality so that a cold, secretive personality can handle the organizational stuff. Regular elders have the same responsibility, but often haven't learned to create the two personalities yet. Many elders still tell their wives and others about judicial hearings, for example.
I have an uncle who was in the circuit work, and he's about the most sincere JW I've ever met. He is not even judgmental about my own situation, even though I've been out for 25 years. (he told me last year at my grandmother's funeral that for all he knows, my brother and sister and I might be closer to Jehovah than he is but that he'd love to see us try to get back into the organization. We could do so much good, etc., etc, and Jehovah would surely bless us with more opportunities to good for everyone, etc, etc. But he was offered the appointment because he had opened up several congregations while serving where the "need was greater" and showed himself to be a skilled organizer. But, he didn't have the necessary coldness however and soon dropped out of the circuit work. I think Ray Franz must have had a similar experience moving from a missionary assignment in the Caribbean to the GB.
Gamaliel
