Thoughts on the current Governing Body

by JRK 66 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  JRK

  Here is a list of the current governing body members:

  Gerrit Lösch: Born 1942, appointed July 1, 1994 Guy H. Pierce: Born 1935, appointed Oct. 1, 1999
  
  Samuel F. Herd: Born 1935, appointed Oct. 1, 1999
  
  David H. Splane: Born 1944, appointed Oct. 1, 1999
  
  M. Stephen Lett: Born 1949, appointed Oct. 1, 1999
  
  Anthony Morris III: Born 1950, appointed Sept. 1, 2005
  
  Geoffrey W. Jackson: Born 1955, appointed Sept. 1, 2005

  Since all of the old boys have hit the Launching Pad, I have reflected on the state of the GB, and would like others, especially those with inside information to confirm or deny my thoughts.

  Item #1: The current GB members were only appointed because they sucked up to Ted Jaracz. Ted was the de facto ruler of the group for decades, and drove the appointment of the younger crew. Being a yes man was the main criteria for their appointment.

  Item #2: The new crew are pretty dumb. This was one of the things that I got an epiphany about after talking with Barbara Anderson last summer. We all know that most of the new publications are "cut and paste" of old books, with the latest "noolight" updates. Freddy might have been crazy, but he had ideas, weird as they were. They were a little easier for the average JW to go with than the present tripe being dished out, like overlapping generations! I knew Lett, and he was dumber than a box of rocks. This is one of the reasons that they have become more hard-lined about education.

  Item #3: Being made in Teddy's image, the new guys are harsh and aloof. There is no lightening of the burden on the rank & file JW's. If anything, more guilt is heaped upon them for not doing enough.

  Item #4: The new boys are suffering from group think. If you get 7 dumb people discussing dumb topics, it is rather easy to get a 75% vote. Especially since they made it to the holy grail of becoming GB members by sucking up to Jaracz. (See item 1) A good example is "overlapping generations."

  Item #5: They are paranoid! Instead of thinking that their stupidity and harshness are driving away ever-increasing members, they know it is a huge conspiracy of an organization of apostates. This concept is much easier to digest for dumb people than that they are the ones screwing up! Therefore, make the shunning more harsh, and enforce it in the congregations. An organization of apostates; how ridiculous! We are like herding cats.

  Item #6: Their paranoia is keeping them from appointing new GB members. They are afraid they might add somebody smart, or with ideas. This could screw up their majority in GB votes. Either that or someone with leadership skills. They certainly don't want that, because it would erode their power. Or maybe someone with compassion for the brothers and sisters, like a Ray Franz, that would really screw up the status quo.

  So, what do you think?

  JK
• 

  Joliette

  I think there a bunch of old out of touch geezer. I think of grandpa from 'The Simpsons' when I think of them.

  Governing Body 1.0 seemed like they had a lot more drama then the current one: Franz (s), Gangas, Sydlik, etc.

  Seriously, I took a trip to bethel back in August, and the whole thing seems boring. Like a 24 hour meeting.

  A dead movement with zombies running the whole thing....and zombies following the beat and the horn of the GB!

  Like snowbird said: a bunch of legalistic, stuck in the 1950's buffoons!
• 

  james_woods

  I notice that the oldest ones were born in 1935, so technically all of them would be questionable "annointed" - all having started partaking years after the door was supposedly closed on new annointed. None of them could have been "de-facto" annointed like the generation of Russell or Rutherford (pre-great crowd).

  So you have to add that factor - in the current JW religion, it takes a lot of self-pride or chutzpah to suddenly decide YOU are annointed when everybody else is told not to partake.
• 

  DT

  I think the annointed factor is important. The fact that they have to be annointed means that there is a very small pool of potential candidates. It could be argued that these annointed are either lying to themselves, lying to others, or experiencing mental delusions. They aren't the kind of people who would usually be put in charge of a large corporation.
• 

  Joliette

  ^DT, very true. Supposedly there is not that many annointed left, and they only have a small pool of contenders to choose from. I always thought that the end was gonna come during at least the last decade 2000-2009, and it looks mighty suspious that they keep appointing annointed men when the gates closed a long time ago.

  The 144,000 doctrine is wearing thin. And its about to break.
• 

  james_woods

  It could be argued that these annointed are either lying to themselves, lying to others, or experiencing mental delusions. They aren't the kind of people who would usually be put in charge of a large corporation.

  Thank you, DT. That restates my point exactly - there is a definately "phony" aspect to this, given the present day teaching of the witnesses on being of the annointed.

  They have even suggested to the rank & file that if they want to partake, they may be suffering from a mental disorder.

  And yet, that is precisely the way they are picking their leadership.
• 

  JRK

  The 1935 sealing of the annointed was dropped a few years ago. They are going to get a whole new crop of anointed to choose from. Eventually, they may try to encourage certain key people in the organization to start partaking so they can be appointed. The "replacement" doctrine that they had before was ludicrous.

  JK
• 

  breakfast of champions

  With my closest friends, I have openly stated that the new GB are not "real" Annointed, as there couldn't possible be any real Annointed left at this point. They just laughed, couldn't really debate or disagree.
• 

  sabastious

  They were all Witness missionaries (I include the traveling overseer work in that category, btw) for long stretches of time, correct? That's a hard life I imagine. Could it be said that becoming a Governing Body member is the ultimate "missionary retirement?" I mean, it's gotta be the bees knees from a Witnesses perspective. Sure they work a lot, but it's the most satisfying work that a Witness missionary could do. They never have to earn a living or make a meal all the while creating "Biblical" policies regarding what is "spiritually acceptable" or not. Could it be that the GB positions are quite covetted as an "end of the rainbow" for "explemplary missionaries"?

  -Sab
• 

  james_woods

  The 1935 sealing of the annointed was dropped a few years ago. They are going to get a whole new crop of anointed to choose from. Eventually, they may try to encourage certain key people in the organization to start partaking so they can be appointed. The "replacement" doctrine that they had before was ludicrous.

  That may be true in the strictest technical sense of JW teaching, but they can never just openly encourage people to start partaking or the whole literal 144,000 teaching logically goes out the window.

  So, there will always be the mark of "eliteism" to being "annointed" as long as the 144,000 is taught to be the literal number of all christians who have the heavenly hope.

  And, for that reason - "new" self-appointed annointed such as the GB are just as phony as the Catholic Cardinals.