The Watchtower Society claims that Jehovah's Witnesses are NOT DEDICATED to the Watchtower Organization!
This claim is made in the quotes below.
However, how can this be true, while at the same time, ALL Jehovah's Witnesses are baptized in the name of the "spirit-directed Organization"?
The Watchtower, July 1st, 1970, Page 404:
Christians must appreciate these facts. Their dedication is not to an organization nor to a work. Neither is it to a human or a government; it is only to the Creator himself, to Jehovah God, through Jesus Christ.
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The Watchtower, March 15th, 1992, Page 17:
18 Dedication to God in prayer must precede baptism. (Compare Luke 3:21, 22.) Dedication means a setting apart for a sacred purpose. So important is this step that we should express to God in prayer our decision to give him exclusive devotion and serve him forever. (Deuteronomy 5:8, 9; 1 Chronicles 29:10-13) Of course, our dedication is not to a work but to God himself. That point was made clear at the funeral of the Watch Tower Society’s first president, Charles Taze Russell. On that occasion in 1916, the Society’s secretary-treasurer, W. E. Van Amburgh, said: “This great worldwide work is not the work of one person. It is far too great for that. It is God’s work and it changes not. God has used many servants in the past and He will doubtless use many in the future. Our consecration [dedication] is not to a man, or to a man’s work, but to do the will of God, as He shall reveal it unto us through His Word and providential leadings. God is still at the helm.”
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The Watchtower, January 15th, 1989, Page 19:
So why do some baptized Christians experience a spiritual relapse? Though various factors may be involved, there seems to be one fundamental cause—a failure to understand all that is meant by dedication. It is not a matter of dedicating ourselves to a work. That would keep us busy but would not make us spiritual persons. We need to remember that we are dedicated not to a work but to a Person—Jehovah God. This helps us to avoid the mistake of viewing our dedication as a perfunctory step we had to take before getting on with the work. Making a dedication should be viewed as entering into a vital relationship that must always be guarded and maintained. In this respect, we have the example of Jesus Christ. Expressing his heartfelt attitude when presenting himself to Jehovah are the prophetic words: “I have come . . . To do your will, O my God, I have delighted, and your law is within my inward parts.”—Psalm 40:6-8; Hebrews 10:5-10.
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Insight Book, Volume 2 (1988), Page 276:
since love is the most important quality, dedication to God is to the person of Jehovah himself (in whom love is the dominant quality) and is not to a work or a cause. Then, love must be carried out with the soul, every fiber of one’s organism; and all one’s strength must be put behind that effort.
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The Watchtower, August 1st, 1959, Pages 465-466:
8 The evidence of this growth in Christian maturity is in the discernment one shows of each step to be taken, of each decision to be made. It begins right with dedication. The one considering dedication must understand first that his dedication is being made, not to some man, nor to please some person, be it husband or wife, mother or father. It is not a dedication to an organization, not even to the New World society. It is a dedication to the Supreme Personage in the universe, Jehovah God, with the determination to do his will and please him, just as Jesus expressed it: “I am come . . . to do your will, O God.” The dedicated one appreciates, then, that the most cherished association or relationship is that which he now enters into with Jehovah. That is a holy, precious and “intimate” relationship into which Jehovah invites his creatures by means of his undeserved kindness through Jesus Christ, a relationship not to be lightly broken.—Heb. 10:7; Ps. 25:14.
9 One who dedicates himself just to do a certain work, such as preaching, makes a mistake. When the going gets rough he easily becomes discouraged. If he sees only the physical association with the organization and its members as the most important thing to be guarded he is lacking in spiritual discernment. Work in preaching the good news, and physical association with the New World society, are not enough in themselves and do not guarantee salvation. There is no salvation on the basis of works alone. To have this view of things would place one in the same danger as those under the Mosaic law who sought to “establish their own [righteousness].” It can lead to becoming “egotistical, stirring up competition with one another, envying one another” over having a good record of preaching service.—Rom. 10:1-3; Gal. 5:26.
10 Does this mean that God’s work is unimportant? Not at all! To the contrary, the mature Christian spiritually discerns that his dedication to Jehovah calls for him to love Jehovah with his whole heart, soul, mind and strength. He remembers the words of James that “faith, if it does not have works, is dead in itself.” By always being conscious of his dedicated relationship to Jehovah he is able to take the right view of his work and engage in it with the right motive; because of love for his heavenly Father, out of a desire to exalt His name, out of love for his neighbor and sharing with him the same privileges and blessings. A mature understanding of the initial step of dedication paves the way for mature worship “with spirit and truth.”—Mark 12:30; Jas. 2:17; John 4:23.
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At the SAME TIME, the Watchtower Society also teaches that when you are baptized, you are baptized into the name of the spirit-directed Organization, and that you then identify yourself with this Organization:
The Watchtower, January 15th, 1989, Page 13:
Only if the individual answers in the affirmative and also understands that his dedication and baptism identify him as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses in association with God’s spirit-directed organization can he acceptably undergo water immersion.
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Knowledge Book (1995), Page 176:
Baptism ‘in the name of the holy spirit’ signifies that the baptismal candidate recognizes Jehovah’s holy spirit, or active force, as God’s instrument for carrying out His purposes and for empowering His servants to do His righteous will in association with His spirit-directed organization.
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The Watchtower, July 1st, 1950, Pages 205-206:
Baptism, therefore, symbolically and outwardly testifies to an agreement to do God’s will. In the picture concerning the cities of refuge (Num. 35:10-32) the “other sheep” of the Lord are shown as fleeing to the Lord’s organization, thereby agreeing to do his will. They are thus hidden or immersed under and unto the organization of the Lord.
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The Watchtower Society also teaches that the Organization is the ARK that you must be inside of in order to be saved through Armageddon, and anyone outside of this ARK will be destroyed:
The Watchtower, November 15th, 1951, Pages 680-681:
20 That which corresponds with the ark is Jehovah God’s theocratic system over which he has placed the antitypical Noah, Christ Jesus. This Son of God is also a builder like Noah, and he tells us that he builds his church or congregation upon himself as the Rock. (Matt. 16:18) Moreover, at Hebrews 1:1, 2, 8, 9, we read that he is a “preacher of righteousness” by whom God has spoken to us and “whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the systems of things”. (NW) The ark which this Greater Noah constructs consists of a new system of things, a new divine arrangement which affords us protection and preserves us for eternal salvation. The congregation, the theocratic organization which he builds, must live within this new system of things and must think, speak and work in harmony with it. This ark or theocratic structure is the laughingstock of the world, because it is built according to God’s instructions and for his purpose. It is different! The world has seen nothing like it and does not understand it.
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Live Forever Book (1989), Pages 196-202:
Did Jehovah ever use more than one organization during any period of time? In Noah’s day only Noah and those with him inside the ark had God’s protection and survived the floodwaters. (1 Peter 3:20) Also, in the first century there were not two or more Christian organizations. God dealt with just the one. There was just the “one Lord, one faith, one baptism.” (Ephesians 4:5) Likewise in our day Jesus Christ foretold that there would be only one source of spiritual instruction for God’s people. [...]
SERVING GOD WITH HIS ORGANIZATION
31 How clear it is that, as in times past, Jehovah God has a visible organization today! He is now using it to train people for life in his righteous new system. However, we cannot be part of God’s organization and, at the same time, be part of false religion. God’s Word says: “Do not become unevenly yoked with unbelievers. For what fellowship do righteousness and lawlessness have? Or what sharing does light have with darkness? . . . Or what portion does a faithful person have with an unbeliever?” So God commands: “Therefore get out from among them, and separate yourselves.”—2 Corinthians 6:14-17.
32 What does it mean to “get out from among them”? Well, we could not be obeying that command by remaining a part of, or giving support to, a religious organization other than the one Jehovah God is using. So if any of us still belong to such a religious organization, we need to serve notice that we are withdrawing from it. If we now get out from among those who practice false religion and take positive action to serve God with his visible theocratic organization, we will be among those of whom God says: “I shall reside among them and walk among them, and I shall be their God, and they will be my people.”—2 Corinthians 6:16.