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Charles Taze Russell’s Will vs. Rutherford’s Actions in 1917
After Charles Taze Russell died on October 31, 1916, the Watch Tower Society faced the most significant leadership transition in its history. Russell had anticipated this moment years earlier and carefully outlined, in his Last Will and Testament, how the Society's publications and affairs should continue after his death. Rather than appointing a single successor, he established a system of shared oversight involving an Editorial Committee, a Board of Directors, and trustees who would safeguard the Society's voting interests.
Read moreA Humorous Antecdote
Because I had been sharing my newly found faith with my brother and my nephew's son (I'm sure there's a proper family term for that, but I have no idea what it is), I received a shepherding call from two elders who still consider me one of Jehovah's Witnesses. In a way, that was rather nice.
Read moreWhen Did the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses Come Into Existence? A Historical Timeline
Most Jehovah's Witnesses assume that the modern Governing Body has existed continuously since the days of Charles Taze Russell, or even that it is a direct continuation of the apostles and elders in first-century Jerusalem. Current publications present that picture of continuity.
A careful reading of the organization's own literature, however, reveals a more gradual development. Over more than a century, Jehovah's Witnesses changed not only the structure of their leadership but also its identity and authority. The Governing Body familiar today is the product of several significant organizational and doctrinal developments.
This article traces those developments using Jehovah's Witnesses' own published history.
Read moreJehovah’s Witnesses, 1914, and the Overlapping Generation
In 2014, David Splane of the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses released a video attempting to explain why Jehovah’s Witnesses still claim we are living in “the last days.”
Read morePromises You Can’t Trust: The Watchtower’s Record of Failed Expectations
In the January 15, 2004 Watchtower, an article appeared with the reassuring title "Promises That You Can Trust." Its argument is simple and compelling: human promises often prove unreliable, but Jehovah's promises are different. Jehovah has demonstrated through his record that when he says something will happen, it happens.
Read moreWhat Does “This Generation” Mean to Jehovah’s Witnesses?
One of the most recognizable teachings of Jehovah’s Witnesses is the belief that we are living in “the last days.” Closely connected with this belief is Jesus’ statement recorded at Matthew 24:34:
“This generation will by no means pass away until all these things occur.”
For much of the twentieth century, Jehovah’s Witnesses understood this verse to refer to the generation of people who were alive in 1914, the year they believe Jesus Christ began ruling invisibly in heaven.
Read moreAre you a Friend or Just Friendly?
One expression I heard thousands of times as one of Jehovah's Witnesses was simply this:
"Friends..."
Read moreThe Dichotomy of Belief: When Trust in Jehovah Becomes Trust in Men
One sentence in this week's Treasures From God's Word workbook caught my attention because it Is a contradiction. Although in saying that I know not many Jehovah's Witnesses will know it is a contradiction.
Read moreWhen Principles Become Laws
There is nothing wrong with Bible principles. In fact, principles are one of God's greatest gifts to mature Christians.
A principle teaches us how to think, not merely what to do.
Read moreTen Major Changes to the Watchtower Blood Doctrine Since 1945
"Keep abstaining from things sacrificed to idols, from blood, from what is strangled, and from sexual immorality." — Acts 15:29
For Jehovah's Witnesses, these words form the foundation of one of the organization's most distinctive teachings: the refusal of blood transfusions.
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