Is the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses trustworthy?

How can you tell if an organization is trustworthy? One big way is how they act when they've made a mistake. Here are some questions we can ask to see if the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses qualifies as trustworthy.

Do they admit when they've made a mistake?

The Governing Body never calls any change in their doctrine or policy a "mistake." It's labeled as an "adjustment" or "new light." For example, the July 1, 1945, issue of The Watchtower prohibited blood transfusions entirely:

All worshipers of Jehovah who seek eternal life in his new world of righteousness to respect the sanctity of blood and to conform themselves to God’s righteous rulings concerning this vital matter.

Later, however, this stance was changed so that re-circulation of one's own blood became a conscience decision, and then blood fractions also became a matter of conscience. This was never called a "mistake" in understanding, even though many people likely died due to rejecting these alternatives prior to the 'adjustment.'

Do they apologize when they make a mistake?

The Governing Body never apologizes when they make mistakes. Even though the zero-tolerance policy on blood transfusions likely caused the deaths of many people, they did not apologize for the harm they inflicted on their members or their families for abiding by that prohibition.

When the Watchtower all but said that Armageddon would break out in 1975 and it failed to happen, the Governing Body initially blamed the rank and file members for 'living for a date.'

It may be that some who have been serving God have planned their lives according to a mistaken view of just what was to happen on a certain date or in a certain year. They may have, for this reason, put off or neglected things that they otherwise would have cared for. But they have missed the point of the Bible’s warnings concerning the end of this system of things, thinking that Bible chronology reveals the specific date. -- Watchtower 1976 Jul 15 pp.440-441

Although the Watchtower later acknowledged some responsibility for the expectations surrounding 1975, no apology was ever made.

Do they try to make amends when they make a mistake?

Another sign of a trustworthy organization is that it tries to make amends when a mistake is made. The Governing Body has never done this. Even though their changes in blood transfusion policies likely caused the death of many individuals and laid a heavy burden on their families, no restitution has yet been made except when ordered by a court of law (which is always vigorously fought by the Watchtower organization).

Even though many people sold their belongings to enter the full time ministry prior to 1975, and many others have chosen not to go to college or get married and have children because of the Watchtower's continued pronouncements that 'the end is near', no restitution has ever been made for their losses.

Even when the elders of many congregations have been shown to be complicit in the sexual abuse of children by encouraging the parents not to report the crime, damages have always had to be awarded by a court of law before the Watchtower organization will pay a dime to those they have hurt. These cases have often been settled out of court, which prevented the Watchtower from having to publicly acknowledge guilt.

 

Do they listen to those who bring their mistake to light?

Despite all of the activists, lawsuits, settlements, judgements and even governments censuring the Watchtower for their gross mishandling of child sexual abuse cases, the Watchtower continues to persist in its failures to abide by the law (see this case in Monanta) and continues to enforce its 'two witnesses' rule.

The Australian Royal Commission censured the Watchtower organization for the two witnesses rule, saying that it "is a danger to children in the Jehovah’s Witness organisation because its consequence is that very often nothing is done about an abuser in the organisation." (see jwsurvey.org)

After all of this, what was the response of the Governing Body? In the November, 2017 JW Broadcast episode, Gary Breaux (a senior Jehovah's Witness official and helper to the Governing Body) affirmed that the Governing Body will never change their "two witnesses" rule.

So does the Watchtower organization or the Governing Body listen to those who present facts and evidence demonstrating the danger of their policies and doctrines? Absolutely not.

So is the Governing Body trustworthy?

If you knew somebody who never admitted when they were wrong, tried to blame the person they had wronged for any mistake that was made, failed to ever make amends for the wrong and ignored the warnings and advice of others who urged the person to change, would you trust that person? It's a laughable question because the answer is so obvious.

Yet that is precisely the behavior that the Watchtower organization and the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses have perpetrated throughout its more than one hundred years of existence.

So, decide for yourself: Is the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses trustworthy?