1976_Letter_From_PO_to_JWs.pdf

A PERSONAL LETTER FROM A PRESIDING

OVERSEER, TO ALL JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES IN

GOOD STANDING

- Jehovah's 'JVitnesses in good standing-some of us presently or In the past have

been eiders, minlsterial servants, assembly speakers and ploneen-and we are

equally distressed.

Legal 3uits are being brought against committees wlth lncreaslng frequency

and the governing body is in iitlgatlon for their alleged responsbiiity in the

disfeilowshipplng, calumny and defamation of a brother in Canada. This case, anc

its Increasing publicity, has the potential for embarrassing us even more than wher

Brother Ol'n Moyle, former legal counsel for the Society, sued the president anc

Board of Directors of the Society for llbel against hlm In thelr unjust disfellowshlpp

ing of him, and won in 1944 receiving a judgement of $15,000. There are increasing

numbers of people, concerned wlth our secret commlttee trlals and eschewing o

disfellowshipped ones, who are putting lncreaslng pressure on the American Civi

Liberties Union and the Senate Subcommittee on Un-American Activities, to in

vestigate alleged violation of individual brother's Constitutional rights. The 1.R.S

has even been alerted to the seeming discrepency between the huge income of the

Society from contributions and literature profits, and their relatively small expenses

In some cases the news media has picked up on these activities and the grow

Ing concern and discontent of many alert brothers, and aired these matters ove

radio, TV and printed page. On the other hand, there have only been subtit

references in Soclety publications to the vast problems and questions sweepln(

through the congregations.

We're sure you have many questions at this point:

"Who are !he writers?"

"Why are they writing to me?"

"is this letter from Satan?"

"Do I dare read it?"

First let us assure you that we comrnunlcate with you out of a motlve of deel

love and a consuming feeling of responsibility for the brothers. Some of us havr

spent alm~stour entlre lives in service to Jehovah and in close and exclusive

associatioi with you. However, our intent is to remain anonymous for we have nc

desire to gather a following or promote a sect. In so doing, we are following the

philosophy of the brothers at the Society who do not reveal authors' names bu

nevertheless expect open-minded and honest-hearted people to accept or rejec

their printea materiai on the basis of its merit.

We trust in the ability of ALL brothers and sisters to discern truth and be led b

Jehovah's spirit. Nevertheless, we do understand the hesitancy to read materiz

from sources other than the Society. Outside material might be from the "evil slave,

or from Satan, or might shake our faith. Certainly all of us should not guilibl

Many tkr~ugh~ut

our organization have become deeply concerned over the

disturbing Issues that have surfaced in recent months. We, the writers, are

;wallow whatever Is In prlnt. The brothers at the Soclety are heavily Involved in

,esearch readlngs in all sorts of "outslde" wrltlngs, they too must be cautious.

Vevertheless, without being open, wlthout really trustlng In Jehovah's ablllty to lead

4s to Hlm and Hls truths, we could become credulous and 'just follow what others

-eachand thus become spiritually blinded. Actually, many of us would stlll be In

2hrlstendom if we had not opened our hearts and mlnds to Jehovah's Witnesses.

Now we In no way wlsh to portray ourselves as "prophets," we are merely

students of God's Word. We wlsh only to discuss God's Word and not put ourselves

above any other brother. We see genulne danger Inthe prevalllng attltude that since

'we are God's people," and thls Is "Hls organlzatlon," that we have nothing to fear.

3ur studies have brought sharply Into our view the fact that since we are God's peo-

we have to be doubly careful and not presumptuously clalm peace and securlty

for ourselves. Consider that even though the Jews could consider themselves God's

people, hls organization, the sheep of that organlzatlon were expected to open

themselves up to the truths spoken by Jesus, and later his disciples. However,

Jesus, for example, would "appear" to be a renegade in the eyes of Jehovah's

anolnted leaders In His organlzatlon, they wanting the sheep to keep thelr devotion

trained only on them. However, the true sheep of ,Jehovah were expected to thwart

thelr leaders and listen to Jesus, one who was belng labeled by the leaders InGod's

organlzatlon as a sectarian, a demon possessed insane one. Acts 24:5,14; Mark

3:21,22. Simllarly, the prophets of old, like Jeremlah and Amos, "appeared" to be

renegades to Jehovah's anointed leaders and their blind followers in Jehovah's

organlzatlon. Nonetheless, Hls people should not have shackled themselves to

religious leaders but rather kept thelr minds and hearts open to the messages of

truth from the prophets.

Not wantlng to fall into the same trap as the idolatrous Israelites, let's notice

thelr clalms: "And upon us no calamity will come, and no sword or famlne shall we

see.. . Do not put your trust in fallacious words, saylng, 'the temple of Jehovah, the

temple of Jehovah they are'. .. We are wise and the law of Jehovah Is wlth us.. . say-

ing no sword or famlne wlll occur Inthis land. . . They are saying . . . 'Peace is what

you people wlll have' .. . 'No calamity wlll come upon you people' . . . Woe to those

who are at ease In Zlon . . . But at Bethel you (Amos) must no longer do any further

prophesying, for It Is the sanctuary of a klng and It Isthe houseof a klngdom .. . By

the sword they wlll die-all the sinners of my people those who are saying: 'The

calamity will not come near or reachas far as us'. .. 'Is not Jerusalem Inthe midst of

us? There wlll come upon us no calamity." Jeremiah 5:12; 7:4; 83; 14:15; 2317; Amos

6:1; 7:13; 9310; Mlcah 3311.

Dozens of scriptures telllng us clearly that we are not to follow any man or

group of men, but to rely on Jehovah and HlsWord, take on particular meanlng when

we realize that the blindness and stlff-necked attltude spoken agalnst In the Bible

was on the part of God's people, those In Hisorganization. God's people Inthe past -

have always been told by their leaders to listen only to them, and more often than

not, the sheep have deferred and acqulesced to thelr own detrlment. We as God's

people are obviously not exempt from the bllndness and errors of Hls people In the

past, If we don't learn from Blble hlstory, we may be condemned to repeat It. Why not

take the same attitude that Peter and the apostles took when confronted by the

leaders of the first century Jewlsh organlzatlon: "We must obey God as ruler rather

than men"? Acts 529.

Notlce the counsel expressed In varlous Watchtower publlcatlons: "We should

learn to love and value the truth for its own sake; to respect and honor It by ownlng

and acknowledging It wherever we find It and by whomsoever presented. A truth

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presented by Satan hlmself is Justas true as a truth stated by God. Perhaps no class

of people are more likely to overlook thls fact than Christians . . . Accept truth

wherever you find It, no matter what It contradicts . . ." (Watchtower, July, 1879,

pp.8,9). "To arrive at truth we must dismiss rellgious prejudices from heart and

mind. We must let God speak for hlmself." (Let God be True, p.8) "We need to ex-

amine not only what we personally believe but also what Is taught by any religious

organization with whlch we may be associated ... If we are lovers of truth there is

nothing to fear from such an examination .. ." (Truth Book, pp.13, 14). If we are free

from hypocrisy we will apply this counsel to ourselves. Certainly the writers of these

quotes would not object.

Yes, we have communicated thls material to the Society but they have been

unresponsive to our questions and pleas for scriptural answers. Consequently, we

have decided to seek your help. In proceeding this way, let us sap that we have no

vendetta and even though some of what we say may seem quite strong, we do so not

out of vlndlctlveness but out of love for the truth and the brothers. We have no desire

to be dogmatic on the questlons and issues we raise. Perhaps many of you will have

information whlch wlll clarify matters for us. If there can be "iron sharpening iron"

we would be most grateful to you. Inessence, we hope to tap the huge pool of Bible

knowledge existing In the world-wide association and perhaps resolve these

important matters.

We sincerely feel that the questions we raise are not merely "foollsh question-

ing~,"or fuel furnishing the fire to cause "fights over the law," or "questions for

(senseless) research." Titus 3:9, 10; 1 Timothy 2:23. We feel confident that you

brothers can decide the Importance of the material upon open-mindedly reading it.

But let us say that related to these Issues are divorces, loss of faith, splrltual dejec-

tion, family dlsruptlons, persecutions, death and even suicides. Certainly It is much

better to have an open forum now rather than be caught unprepared later in the field

or when we come under attack by publicity. If we are wrong Inour approach or Inany

of our statements or lnformatlon,we Invite, even plead, for your help brothers.

We encourage you to write to the Society about these issus. If you wlsh to com-

municate with us, you may write one of the addresses below nearest you-corres-

pondence wlll be kept confidential. This is a private effort on our part. We have

pooled what little resources we have for printing and malling, but If you wlsh to give

us addresses for malllng the "Questions," feel free to write and we wlll help to the

degree we are able. Also, feel free to duplicate and distribute as you Individually see

fit.

Write "Questions," c/o one of the following: 4 Grlndon Ct.; Grindon, Sunderland; County

Durham; England-Box 864; Vancouver, Washington 98660-Box 581; Dandonong, 3175; Vlc-

toria, Australia-Box 3; Davison, Michigan 48423-Marknadsvagen289; 5-18334; Taby, Sweden.

*HOW TO COUNT TO SEVEN

The Bible states that the seven trumpet blasts of Revelation, chapters 8-11, oc-

cur In succession. The last three trumpets, 5,6, 7 seem to be,the same as the three

woes whlch are also spoken of as successive. Revelation 8:13; 9:12; 11:14. Why then

do we teach that the first six trumpets were sounded in succession between 1922

and 1927, but that the seventh trumpet sounded at the approximate time of

1914-1918?Why does the Bible say the trumpets sound: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7, and the three

woes occur: 1,2,3, but we teach trumpets sounding: 7,1,2,3,4,5,6, and woes: 3,1,2? To

attempt to evade this difficulty, i.e., that our teaching says the seventh trumpet is

sounded before the first trumpet, the "Finished Mystery" book, p. 292, says: "In the

year 1928 C.E. the beglnnlng was made not of the marvelous thlngs announced, but

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of the worldwlde announcement of such things. . . the seventhof a series of annual

Bibie student conventlons." Are we therefore teaching that the seventh trumpet was

sequential because It was "announced" following the blowing of the slxth, even

though we argue the seventh actually blew In the 1914-1918era? What do the scrlp-

tures teach? Do the seven trumpets blow: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7; Do they blow: 7,1,2,3,4,5,6; Or,

do they blow: 7,1,2,3,4,6,7 (announced)?

*CHRIST-HEAR OR NEAR?

Why do we teach that the Kingdom of God is here, when Jesus sald that the oc-

currence of the sign of Matthew 24 would mean that the Kindgom and Christ were

"near?" "Now learn from the fig tree as an iiiustration this point: Just as soon as its

young branch grows tender and itputs forth leaves, you know that summer is near.

Likewise eiso you, when you SEE ALL THESE THINGS, know thet he is NEAR at the

door.",Matthew 24:32, 33. Why was the preaching commission given to Christians

that of preaching that the Kingdom of God has drawn "near," not here? Matthew

10:7; Luke 10:9.

believe those who say: "Look! Here is the Christ, or there . . . For false Christs

(Greek-khristos= anointed ones) and false prophets wlll arise and wlll give great

signs.. .Therefore If people say to you, 'Look! He is in the wilderness,' do not go

out; 'Looki He is in the inner chambers,' do not believe It. For just as the lightning

comes out of eastern parts and shines over to western parts, so the presence of the

Son of man will be"? Matthew 24:23-27; compare Revelation 1:7, 11; Matthew

24:30-39; 26:M; 1Thessalonians 4:1517; Hebrews 9:28; 1 John 3:2. Why did Jesus in-

terject, in speaking to his followers: "Look! Ihave forewarnedyou?" Matthew 24:25.

*COMING VS PRESENCE

Why does Jesus seem to make no distinction between comlng and presence

when referring to his return? Compare Matthew 24:3, 27, 30, 39, 42, 44, 50;

25:6,19,31. The disciples asked Jesus for the sign of his presence AND the conclu-

sion of the system of things. Does it not seem as though Jesus speaks of both

events as occurring essentially simultaneously? Does he not answer his disciples

by drawing parallels to the sudden destruction of the world of Noah's day and the

cities of Sodom and Gomorrah? Luke 17:26-30. Does Jesus not say of this .

event-his presence and the end-that we will not know the day or the hour? Mat-

thew 24:42. Why do Greek scholars generally prefer to render parouslaas "coming"

rather than "presence?" If Christ came in 1914, why do we still celebratethe evening

meal, since Paul said to do soonly "until he arrives?" 1Corinthians 11:26. Also, If we

are to "observe the commandment in a spotless and lrreprehensible way until the

manifestation of our Lord Jesus," and Jesus "manifested" hlmself in 1914, why do

we continue to "observe the commandment?" 1 Timothy 6:14.

.THE ARK, PETER'S VIEW

Why do we teach that the antityplcal ark that we must be on in order to be saved

is the "spiritual paradise" of Jehovah's Witnesses-the congregational and organi-

zational arrangements set up by our brothers in Brooklyn-when Peter, under in-

splratlon, said that that which corresponds to the ark and is saving us is "baptism"

-set up by Christ Jesus? 1 Peter 3:20, 21.

*LOOK! I HAVE FORWARNED YOU

We are presently taught that the second presence of Jesus Christ began in

1914, and that this invisible, secret type return, was discerned only by thespiritually

alert remnant of anointed ones. Why did Jesus warn, respecting his return, not to

*AN INTERESTING QUOTE

"Jehovah, the God of true prophets, will put all false prophets to shame either

by not fulfilling the false prediction of such self-assuming prophets or by having His

own prophecies fuifllled In a way opposite to that predicted by the false prophets.

False prophets will try to hide their reason for feeling shame by denying who they

really are."- Paradise Restored, pp. 353, 354.

*WHO WERE PHILETUS AND HYMENAEUS?

If the resurrection of the dead ones began in the early part of this century, why

does Paul state: 'I.. . . those who are dead in union with Christ will rise first..After-

ward, we who are survlving will, TOGETHER WITH THEM, be caught away in the

clouds to meet the Lord in the air?" 1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17. If both the faithful liv-

ing, and the resurrected dead ones in union with Christ meet the Lord in the clouds

together, how could the dead meet the Lord several decades before the living? Does

the "together" mean a unity not intime but in purpose, a harmony, a consonance, an

accord and agreement much like the togetherness and unity of Christ with Jehovah

and his disciples described in John 17:21-23, which verses we use In rebuttal to the

trinitarian argument of John- 10:30? If so, why does the "Kingdom Interlinear"

display the Greek word in 1 Thessalonians 4:17, "hama," which translates-to"at the

same tlrne?" Also, why does the large print edition of the "New World Translation,"

p. 1231, footnote the "together" of 1 Thessalonians 4:17 as'fdlows: "Or, at the same

time?"

If we compare the sequence of events in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 and 1 Corin-

thians 1552, where Jesus is descrlbed as descending from the heavens with God's

trumpet (the 1st trumpet-Rev. 11:15) signaling the resurrection, with the events

Jesus described In Matthew 24:29-31, an interesting question becomes apparent. In

Matthew 24:30, 31, Jesus is again described as coming with God's trumpet and

gathering the chosen ones from the four corners of the heavens. If thls account pic-

tures the same events as 1 Thessalonians 4:16,17 and 1 Corinthians 1552, wherein a

resurrection and gathering of the chosen ones to Jesus is described, why does verse

29 say that thls occurs AFTER the tribulation-apparently the "great tribulation" of

Matthew 24:21? Since we do not know the day or the hour of "Jehovah's Day,"

(1 Thessalonians 5:2; Titus 2:2) how can we know the "day and hour" of the resurrec-

tion? Why are Phiietus and Hymenaeus spoken of as "deviating from the truth," hav-

ing experienced "shipwreck of their faith . . . subverting the faith of some," by believ-

ing and spreading the "gangrenous" teaching that the resurrection has already

occurred? 2 Timothy 2:16-18.

*"GENTILE TIMES," FOR WHAT?

If the "appointed times of the nations" (Luke 21:24) is a period of time during

which the gentlle nations domlnate God's Kingdom, and this period of time ended in

1914, why do the gentile nations still domlnate? If the trampllng ended In 1914 at the

time of WWI, why does Jesus say the trampling continues on through the sign of

Luke 21? In other words, why does Luke 21:24 about the trampllng FOLLOW the

sign? If Jesus says the trampling occurs following the war, famine, pestilence, etc.,

why do we say the trampling ended when these signs began? Luke 21:lO-24.

Does the "Jerusalem" Jesus speaks of in Luke 21:20 as being surrounded by en-

camped armies change four verses later in Luke 21:24 to a symbolic, spiritual, cryp-

tic, representative Jerusalem in the heavens?

Is it proper to expand upon the inspired interpretation of the tree dream

described in Daniel 4, when Daniel himself said the "word itself was FULFILLED

upon Nebuchandneuar?" Daniel 433; 1 Corinthians 4:6. If Daniel said the vision of

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