Chapter Eleven

There were many things that we learned through
our investigation of the Watchtower Society that
assured us that the organization had been deceiving
us. First and foremost were all the false prophecies
made by the Watchtower Society. We knew that the
Witnesses had mistakenly prophesied the end of the
world in 1975, because we were part of the
organization at the time. However, what we didn't
know was that Charles Taze Russell and the Watch-
tower Society he later founded had made that same
false prophecy on at least six previous occasions:
first in 1874, then in 1878, again in 1910, 1914,
1918 and 1925.

According to the books we read, many of their
followers were badly hurt because of these false
prophecies made by the organization's leaders. Some
sold their homes and farms, depleted their savings
and liquidated other assets to enable them to go on
the road pioneering for the organization. These poor
souls had erroneously concluded that the New
System would soon be established, ending all of their
problems. Linnie and I had observed, first hand,
some of the same reactions to the false prophecy of
1975.

These false prophecies of the Watchtower were not
only physically harmful to their adherents; they were
spiritually harmful as well. I had experienced the
resulting spiritual abuse of the Society myself when
their 1975 prophecy failed and it caused me to lose
my faith in God. I was convinced, at the time, that
the Watchtower spoke for God, and when their
prediction for the end of the world failed in 1975, it
was basically the same as God lying or committing
an error. Either way, I concluded that God could no
longer be trusted. Because of the mass exodus from
the Society in 1976, I am sure there were many
others who had arrived at the same conclusion I had.
Naturally, the Watchtower Society attempted to
explain away their failures with a number of flimsy
excuses and arguments. However, the indisputable
fact remained, that the organization was guilty of
making numerous false prophecies, condemning
them in the eyes of God. Deuteronomy 18:20-22
states, "But a prophet who presumes to speak in my
name anything I have not commanded him to say, or
a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods,
must be put to death. You may say to yourselves,
ÔHow can we know when a message has not been
spoken by the LORD?' If what a prophet proclaims in
the name of the LORD does not take place or come
true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken.
That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not
be afraid of him."

The next shocking revelation our investigation
revealed was the Watchtower's counterfeit Bible, the
New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures. The
Society translated its own version of the Holy
Scriptures in the 1950's, making additions, deletions
and changes as necessary to support their
unorthodox doctrines and beliefs. Further, the
Watchtower Society refuses to identify the members
of the Translating Committee for their Bible, stating
that they wish the credit for their great literary work
to go to God, rather than men. However, the obvious
reason they wish the members of the Translating
Committee to remain anonymous is that they do not
have the linguistic credentials for such an
undertaking.

We found out from a book entitled Crisis of
Conscience, written by former Jehovah's Witness
Governing Body member Raymond Franz, that the
Translating Committee consisted of Nathan Knorr,
Frederick Franz, Albert Schroeder, and George
Gangas. According to Franz, none of the
aforementioned members of the Watchtower Society
had any formal educational background in the
original ancient Bible languages. The only exception
being Frederick Franz, who is reported to have
studied modern Greek for two years in college and
claimed to be self-taught in Hebrew. In addition, we
viewed a video tape entitled "Witnesses of Jehovah,"
produced by Jeremiah Films, that contained the
testimony of Dr. J. R. Mantey, an eminent Greek
scholar. Some of Dr. Mantey's statements
concerning the New World Translation were "A
shocking mistranslation," "Is biased and deceptive,"
"Deliberately changed words, to support their
doctrines," "Obsolete," "Can't get the truth from it,"
etc.

According to other Bible scholars there are over
three hundred translating errors in the New World
Translation Bible that appear to have been done
deliberately, in an effort to support Watchtower
doctrines and teachings. Also of interest is the fact
that the Society has often quoted a former Catholic
priest by the name of Johannes Greber in support of
their erroneous translation of the Bible. In a book
entitled What You Need To Know About Jehovah's
Witnesses by Lorri MacGregor, we found that
Johannes Greber was a person who dealt in the
occult and his wife was a spirit medium. As all
Jehovah's Witnesses are aware, dabbling in the
occult and spiritism is in direct violation of God's
law. Leviticus 19:31 states, "Do not turn to mediums
or seek out spiritists; for you will be defiled by them."
Another startling disclosure our investigation
revealed, from several different sources, was that the
founder and first President of the Watchtower Bible
and Tract Society, Charles Taze Russell, used
measurements from the Great Pyramid of Egypt to
arrive at some of his erroneous prophetic dates. A
book entitled Jehovah's Witness Literature written by
David A. Reed and the video entitled Witnesses of
Jehovah produced by Jeremiah Films both detail
how Russell arrived at specific dates for the end of
the world and the Battle of Armageddon through
some of the internal measurements of the Great
Pyramid of Jeezeh. Each inch, according to Russell,
represented a year in mankind's history, and he
regarded the Pyramid as the second greatest witness
of God, the first being the Bible. According to our
information, Russell died in 1916 and was buried
with his tombstone adjacent to a replica of the
Pyramid, which served to identify a section of the
graveyard set aside for Watchtower headquarters
staff.

The person who succeeded Russell as the second
president of the Watchtower Society was Joseph F.
Rutherford. He was an attorney who embellished his
credibility by giving himself the title of "Judge."
Rutherford reportedly usurped the presidency of the
Watchtower organization through legal maneuvering
and seized power after forcibly removing four
opposing members of the Board of Directors. They
were replaced by Rutherford's own loyal supporters.
President Rutherford, who apparently had expensive
tastes, had a mansion built in San Diego, California
in 1930 and christened it "Beth Sarim." In Hebrew
"Beth Sarim" means "House of the Princes."

According to our information Rutherford very
deceptively informed his followers that this mansion
was being constructed to house Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob, as well as "other worthies of old" upon their
resurrection from the dead. This resurrection,
according to Rutherford, was to take place at any
time. Rutherford even went so far as to place the
deed to the mansion in the name of Abraham, Isaac
and Jacob. However, in the meantime, guess who
resided at the palatial estate during the winter
months, no doubt to avoid the sub-zero weather in
Brooklyn, New York, with two sixteen cylinder
Cadillac automobiles at his disposal? If you guessed
President Rutherford, you guessed correctly.
Rutherford died at "Beth Sarim" in 1941.

In our continuing investigation, not only did we
find numerous false prophecies and other deceptions
perpetrated by the Watchtower Bible and Tract
Society, but we also found they pave the way for their
followers to tell lies, camouflaged as "theocratic war
strategy." For example, the Watchtower magazine of
May 1, 1957, page 285, states: "Did she tell a lie?
No, she did not. She was not a liar. Rather, she was
using theocratic war strategy, hiding the truth by
action and word for the sake of the ministry." In the
Watchtower magazine of June 1, 1960, page 352, it
states that "for the purpose of protecting the
interests of God's cause, it is proper to hide the truth
from God's enemies." And again in a Watchtower
publication entitled Aid to Bible Understanding, page
1061, it states in part, "While malicious lying is
definitely condemned in the Bible, this does not
mean that a person is under obligation to divulge
truthful information to people who are not entitled to
it."

Even though the majority of the average rank and
file Jehovah's Witnesses are scrupulously truthful,
the Watchtower's teaching concerning "theocratic
war strategy" is sometimes abused, perhaps mis
interpreted by some individuals purposely, to enable
them to further their own objectives or those they
perceive to be the Society's. For example, one of the
Witnesses that I have talked with recently in
confidence informed me that he knows the truth
concerning the majority of erroneous Watchtower
doctrines, but he and his wife are afraid to leave the
organization or speak out because he knows they
would be disfellowshipped for apostasy. This would
place them outside the organization and hence
among God's enemies. If that were to happen, his
children, who are prominent in the congregation and
zealously dedicated to the Society, not only would
shun him and his wife, but they would also not allow
them any contact with their beloved grandchildren.
For that reason, they were remaining in the organi-
zation. I informed this former brother that in the
State of Kentucky there are now laws that protect
grandparents' rights, and that he could take his
children to court, if necessary, to secure visitation
privileges with his grandchildren. The former
brother shocked me by informing me, that wouldn't
work because his children were so "brainwashed"
and loyal to the organization that they would use
"theocratic strategy" to keep him and his wife from
seeing their grandchildren. The former brother
further elaborated that his children wouldn't hesitate
to lie, under oath in a court of law, perhaps
fabricating charges of neglect or abuse by the
grandparents to keep them from ever seeing their
grandchildren again.

During our study of the history of the Watchtower
and its ever-changing doctrines and sometimes
bizarre interpretations of the Bible, it became
abundantly clear to Linnie and me that the Watch
tower's teachings can be very hazardous to your
health, and for some they have been deadly. For
example, between the years of 1931 and 1952,
Jehovah's Witnesses were forbidden to be vaccinated.
It was the Watchtower's interpretation at the time,
that the Bible forbade persons or their children to be
vaccinated against the prevailing diseases of the era,
equating it with the eating of blood. However, in
1952 according to the Watchtower organization "new
truth" or "new light" -- as they call their ever-changing
doctrines -- surfaced, and it became acceptable for
Witnesses to be immunized.

Then between 1967 and 1980, the Watchtower
decreed that organ transplants were akin to canni
balism and they, too, were forbidden. Then, once
again, "new light" flashed up and in 1980 it became
"a matter of conscience," meaning that Witnesses
might decide the matter for themselves. Discovering
this incredible information made us wonder just how
much misery, pain and death was inflicted on
Watchtower followers because of these faulty inter
pretations of the Bible. Jehovah's Witnesses' con
stant shifting and changing of doctrines also makes
one wonder how soon the Watchtower will change its
stand on blood transfusions. Perhaps never. One
book we read put forth the idea that so many
Witnesses have died as a result of refusing blood,
that the Society may never have the courage to
reverse its erroneous ruling on this issue.

Also in our investigation I found some interesting
figures relating to the Watchtower's finances. Some
time ago, I had asked one of the elders in our
congregation if the Society published a financial
statement for its members. The response I received
was one of suspicious indignation. However, in a
publication entitled Comments from the Friends
written by David A. Reed, I found information
indicating that the Watchtower Bible and Tract
Society is wealthier than I could ever have imagined.
The figures I found are far from being a complete
financial statement, but they are revealing nonethe
less. The publication stated, "The Watchtower head
quarters complex in the Brooklyn Heights section of
New York City consists of more than thirty buildings
with a current real estate value of $186 million."

This is only the Watchtower holdings in Brooklyn,
New York. Keeping in mind that the Society is an
international organization, I am sure they have
property and other holdings all over the world.
Also from the same publication I found figures
taken from a credit reporting service that states the
annual sales for the Watchtower Bible and Tract
Society of New York, Inc. for 1991 was
$1,248,000,000.00. According to the report, this
was up $1/4 billion from just over $1 billion in 1990.
The article went on to relate, "The figures, not
published for the sect's members, are evidently
provided to credit reporting services, so that the
firms doing business with the Society will extend
credit."

After finding this information, naturally my
original question resurfaced in my mind. Inasmuch
as the Watchtower Society doesn't provide medical
care for the indigent, shelter for the homeless or help
to feed the starving millions of the world, what are
they doing with the vast fortune they have obviously
accumulated through the efforts of their followers?.

In all of our revealing research and investigation
concerning the Watchtower Society, what really
angered me the most, was when I came to the
realization of the diabolically clever way in which the
Society causes the majority of its follower's to
actually reject Jesus Christ's sacrifice made for
them. The Watchtower Society taught us that there
are two classes of Christians: the "144,000" or
"anointed" class, and the "other sheep" class that
makes up the majority of their followers. Only the
"144,000" or "anointed" class, who will go to heaven
to reign with Christ, are deemed worthy to celebrate
the annual "Lord's Evening Meal" and partake of the
bread and wine that Jesus used to symbolize his
body and blood.

Every year, for many years, when the bread and
wine cup were passed to me, because of what the
Watchtower had taught us I refused to partake and
simply passed it on to the person sitting next to me.
After studying the Bible without the Society's faulty
interpretation, I determined that there are no
distinctions among Christ's followers and the
ordinance that Jesus gave to "keep doing this in
remembrance of me," was directed to all Christians.

I was devastated when I realized that the Watchtower
had in effect, caused me to symbolically reject Jesus'
wonderful and loving sacrifice for me. I felt as
though I had been pushing Christ away from me all
those years, and I was conscience stricken.
Linnie and I had been home from Florida for
several weeks, and because of the many derogatory
things we had learned concerning the Watchtower
organization, we both decided that we wouldn't
return to the Kingdom Hall. I advised my wife that if
any of the elders should inquire as to why we weren't
attending the meetings, we would simply inform
them that we didn't want to discuss the matter.

After all, I reasoned, this is still a free country and
the Watchtower Society doesn't own us. The fact of
the matter was, even with all the faultfinding
information that our investigation had revealed about
the Watchtower, proving to our satisfaction that they
were not God's organization, we still felt intimidated
by them. My wife especially felt apprehensive
concerning any confrontation with the elders, due to
her life long association with the organization. Until
just recently, Linnie believed with all her heart that
the Watchtower spoke for Jehovah and any confron
tation with the elders, would be comparable to
defying God.

It wasn't very long until one afternoon, one of the
elders pulled into our driveway. My wife was busily
engaged in sweeping the front porch, as the elder
walked up the steps and very unceremoniously
demanded to know why we hadn't been attending the
meetings. The elder accusingly informed my wife,
that he had observed our car in our driveway on
several occasions, revealing that we had returned
from Florida several weeks earlier. Linnie very
timidly advised the elder, that I was in the house and
that he should discuss the matter with me. I had
noticed the elder walk up to the porch and I was now
waiting for him in the living room.
As the elder entered the house, I greeted him and
invited him to sit on the couch opposite me. In a
very stern and unfriendly tone of voice, the elder
once again demanded to know why we hadn't been
attending the meetings. I politely informed him that
I would rather not discuss it with him. Refusing to
accept my unwillingness to discuss the matter, the
elder continued pressing the issue, until I finally
informed him that we had some questions about the
organization that we just couldn't resolve. The elder
smugly replied, "If you think you know something
that's wrong about the Society, don't you think that
sharing it with the rest of us would be the kind and
loving thing to do." Feeling myself becoming more
and more annoyed by the elder's insistence, I finally
blurted out that, "One of the problems is that the
Watchtower organization takes the place of Jesus
Christ in its followers' lives, amounting to worship of
the Watchtower." At this blatant accusation of
idolatry, the elder was obviously outraged. His face
turned red and twisted with anger, as he slowly and
deliberately replied, "I don't worship the Watchtower.

I worship Jehovah!" The elder jumped to his feet and
as he walked toward the front door, he mumbled, "I
guess this conversation is over," and out the door he
went. Well, so much for "sharing information," I
thought to myself. It then became abundantly clear
to me that we were not going to be able to simply
walk away from the Watchtower organization. They
weren't going to let us.

Sure enough, the very next evening, two other
elders from the congregation showed up at the front
door wanting to talk with us. After inviting them in, I
informed the elders that because of a great deal of
derogatory information that my wife and I had
uncovered, concerning the Society, we could no
longer believe that it was God's organization. In fact,
we had no intention of ever returning to the Kingdom
Hall. I then confronted the elders with all of the
Society's past false prophecies. The only response
they had was to laugh off my accusation and remark,
"We don't call ourselves prophets." I didn't argue the
point, even though I knew that the Witnesses had
referred to themselves as "Prophets" many times in
their publications. The organization also claimed to
speak for God. However, when their utterances were
proven false, they would expect their followers to
simply overlook it by claiming that, after all, they
were just human and therefore weak and imperfect.
One of the elders then asked me if I remembered
what the Apostle Peter said to Jesus when all of
Jesus' disciples were deserting him. Jesus asked
Peter if he was going to leave him too. Peter's reply
was, "Where would I go Lord; you have sayings of
everlasting life". I thought it was ludicrous that the
elder would make such a flimsy attempt to convince
me that I shouldn't leave the organization because
there was nowhere to go, by quoting a Scripture so
obviously out of context. I informed the elder that
the Apostle Peter was talking to the Lord Jesus
Christ, not to the Watchtower Bible and Tract
Society. I also advised the elders that was another
problem we had with the Society: the fact that the
Witnesses were required to give to the Watchtower
organization their loyalty and obedience that right
fully belonged to Jesus Christ.

The elders made no reply to my verbal assault and,
after looking at the floor for several seconds, asked
me if I would be willing to give them a letter detailing
for them why I was leaving the organization. I
informed them that I didn't know if I would or not. I
would discuss the matter with my wife and get back
with them. The elders then informed me that if we
refused to give them a letter of disassociation, they
would need to have a hearing before a judicial
committee and we would be disfellowshipped for
apostasy. I replied, that if they had a hearing we
wouldn't brother to attend, as it sounded as though
they had already judged us guilty and sentenced us.
I then asked the elders if my wife and I were to give
them letters disassociating ourselves from the
organization, would we then be disfellowshipped
also? The elders replied that we would. I countered
with, "So it doesn't really matter if we give you a
letter or not; we will be disfellowshipped in any event.

The elders looked at each other momentarily, then
one of them smugly replied, "That is correct."
As soon as the elders had left, my wife went to the
kitchen and pulled several large garbage bags from
the cupboard and proceeded to our bedroom. When I
walked after her in an attempt to discuss what had
just taken place with the elders, I found Linnie
throwing all of the many years of accumulated
Watchtower books and magazines into the garbage
bags. When I inquired about what she was doing,
Linnie replied that "it's time to get rid of all this junk.

They've been taking up valuable space long enough."
I couldn't believe my eyes. My wife had always
regarded all of the old books and back issues of the
Watchtower and Awake! magazines with an almost
"reverence," refusing to discard any of them. In the
past, when I had suggested we throw out some of the
older Watchtower publications, to allow us more
space on our bulging bookshelves, Linnie had always
protested that we might need to refer back to them
sometime. I began helping my wife, and within a
short time, we had piled all of the hundreds of
Watchtower books and magazines into our garbage
bags and removed them to the trash dumpster at the
back of the house. The removal of all the Watch
tower's false religious publications from our home
was a very therapeutic experience, and afterward
Linnie and I both felt "cleansed".

After appropriately disposing of all our Watchtower
publications, my wife and I talked matters over and
decided that even though we were "fed up" with being
bullied by the Watchtower Society, we would rather
quit than be kicked out. So we decided to give them
the letters they had requested. Linnie and I both sat
down and composed letters advising the the Watch
tower Bible and Tract Society that we no longer
wished to be associated with their organization, and
some of the reasons for our decision. I put the
letters in the mail that evening, to the home address
of one of the elders, thereby terminating our almost
three decades of affiliation with the Watchtower Bible
and Tract Society of Jehovah's Witnesses. The big
question now was, Where do we go from here?