after having slept a little over this admission of error in doctrine and procedure in the past, perhaps the "governors" of the Faithful & Discreet Slave realize that they find themselves in a terrible situation, having inherited some valuable assets, but a doctrinal house of cards, that will have to collapse, perhaps in their lifetime.
They have responded by stopping the leaks, adding overlapping features to stretch, and supporting the whole by a lot of hot air. But the fervor, the energy the sense of urgency, of mission, (misplaced as it was) of the past is gone.
To move forward in a meaningful way, they perhaps realize that there has to be a cleaner break from the past, (not just re-writing history), letting the talking snake-oil cum wt edifice collapse, deflate, one way or another, and statements like in par. 13 are an indication that the preparations to do that, the use of the demolition charges, seacocks , rip panels, are seen as an unavoidable possible future action.
May be they picked the number 13 to symbolize their bad luck. 1 too far for organisational perfection, -- to be stuck with that wt inheritance.