Another of those “classic” WT articles from the golden 70s:
Wt December 15, 1971: “A Governing Body as Different from a Legal Corporation”
QUOTE ..”ON Friday morning, October 1, 1971, the legal corporation known as Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania held its annual corporation meeting,… All seven members of the Board of Directors of said Society attended and had a part in the program presented. At this meeting a question came up and was discussed from the platform. It was as to what the relationship is between the Board of Directors of the Society as a legal corporation and the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Christian witnesses. Are they the same, identical, or are they different? Such questions were due to the fact that it has been published in print that the Governing Body of Jehovah’s witnesses at headquarters is associated with the Board of Directors of the said Society. How did this come about, and does this make the Board of Directors the same as the Governing Body of Jehovah’s witnesses all the earth around?”…
What a predicament!! The WT has been publishing and talking about a ‘governing body’ but they have to have a corporation meeting cause they aren’t sure who actually comprises it!
QUOTE…”According to the apostolic example of the first century C.E., these dedicated, baptized Christians known today as Jehovah’s witnesses have a governing body, as specifically noted from the year 1944 onward. This governing body has through the years been associated with the publishers of the Watch Tower magazine and the Board of Directors of the legal religious corporation now known as Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania.”…
‘Since 1944 onward’ eh? In Watchtower speak that means that before 1944 noone ever HEARD of any ‘governing body’ . Sheesh. Still, theyve been talking and Publishing about their having a “governing body” since 1944, but noone decided to actually nut out who COMPRISED the “governing Body” till 1971.
QUOTE…”In view of what was presented from the platform by speakers to the “Divine Name” District Assemblies of Jehovah’s witnesses around the earth during the summer of 1971, the question was being asked, Are the directors of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania the same as the governing body of Jehovah’s witnesses”…
So the speakers up there on the platform talking about the “governing body” that the society doesn’t actually have. So after that they figured they’d better create a “governing body” so their ’practice’ matched their published ‘theory’. A lot of talk takes place in the article about Pastor Russell, Corporations, and Pennsylvania law. The ‘governing body’, which noone even mentioned until 1944 is deemed to have been present, though unrecognized, in the form of Corporate directors who didn’t even know they were on the ‘governing body’. But now theres a problem, cause, in the old days, everyone in the church practically was a member of the remnant, but by 1971 that’s no longer the case:
QUOTE..”Let us keep in mind that the governing body must be made up of dedicated, baptized Christians who are anointed with God’s spirit and begotten by Him to be his spiritual children, and who are to be united with the glorified Jesus Christ in the heavenly kingdom… At this writing there are just 450 members of the Society, but less than half (or 200) of them are of the anointed remnant of the “slave” class. So the major number are disciples of Christ who have no heavenly hope. They are of Christ’s “other sheep” whose hope is to gain everlasting life in a Paradise earth under his heavenly kingdom.”…
So the (unknown to themselves) members of the officially nonexisting ‘governing body’ (corporate directors) are elected to their positions by members of the other sheep class at corporation voting sessions! Joe Rutherford would be horrified. It simply isn’t THEOCRATIC.
QUOTE…”Each year also the terms of the three officers of the Society expire, namely, those of the president, vice-president and secretary-treasurer (and now also of his assistant). But is this the case with the members of the governing body of the “faithful and discreet slave” class? No! The members of the governing body are not elected annually, but are in their positions of responsibility permanently as long as they live and continue faithful as disciples of Jesus Christ.”…
So a formally recognized ‘governing body’, separate from any of the ‘legal corporations’ n ow has to be CREATED because Jesus wouldn’t want His “faithful slave” at the whim and voting behest of the other sheep. And we cant have that can we?
Lovely isn’t it.