In this latest video, Anthony Morris III is not really talking about obedience to Jehovah, but rather, obedience to the Governing Body. He claims that if we obey the Governing Body, Jehovah will bless us. That means that Jehovah approves of the decisions coming down from the Governing Body, because Jehovah would never bless wrongdoing.
Is this truly the case?
The theme text is John 21:17 which doesn’t mention “obedience” nor “Jehovah”, and which is never referenced in the talk. It reads:
“He said to him a third time: “Simon son of John, do you have affection for me?” Peter became grieved that he asked him the third time: “Do you have affection for me?” So he said to him: “Lord, you are aware of all things; you know that I have affection for you.” Jesus said to him: “Feed my little sheep.” (Joh 21:17)
What does this have to do with the theme? Some might suggest that the allusion is to the Faithful and Discreet slave, AKA the Governing Body. This seems to be the tack that Anthony Morris III is taking. However, there are two problems with this. First, Jesus told Simon Peter to feed his little sheep, not command them, not govern them, not rule over them. The sheep were expected to eat the food provided, but there is nothing that extends the authority of the feeding program to require those being fed to also obey their feeders. Only one is our leader, the Christ. We no longer listen to prophets, but to the Christ. (Mt 23:10; He 1:1, 2)
Second, this command was only given to Peter. At one time, we believed that there was a first-century faithful and discreet slave, so an argument used to be made for a succession of the authority-to-feed from the first-century faithful slave extending down to the present day. However, we no longer believe that. We’ve recently received “new light” that there was no first century faithful and discreet slave, so Jesus’ words to Peter cannot relate to the Governing Body if we stick with JW doctrine. The feeding Jesus commanded Simon Peter to perform had nothing to do with being the faithful and discreet slave—again, if we are to accept the new light from the Governing Body as truth.
Before we get into the talk, we should be mindful that often a speaker reveals much about his intentions by what he doesn’t say, or by what he omits. In this talk dealing with obedience, repeated reference is made to Jehovah and even more reference is made to the Governing Body; but there is no reference made to the Lord and Master and King to whom all obedience is due, Jesus Christ. No mention at all! (Heb 1:6; 5:8; Ro 16:18, 19, 26, 27; 2 Co 10:5) Jesus is the Greater Moses. (Acts 3:19-23) By repeatedly excluding the Greater Moses from discussions where he belongs, is someone fulfilling the role of the Greater Korah?
A Faulty Premise
Morris starts off from a faulty premise by referring to Acts 16:4, 5 because he believes there was a first-century governing body directing the work. If he can establish there was a governing body in the first century, it helps him support the idea of a modern-day one. However, this verse refers to the resolution of a specific dispute that originated in Jerusalem and therefore had to be resolved by Jerusalem. In other words, hardliners from the Judeo-Christian congregation caused the problem and only the Jewish congregation in Jerusalem could resolve it. This single incident does not prove the existence of a centralized governing body in the first century. If there was such a governing body, what happened to it after Jerusalem was destroyed? Why is there no evidence for it in the latter part of the first century nor throughout the second and third century? (See A First Century Governing Body – Examining the Scriptural Basis)
The directive coming from the apostles and older men of Jerusalem was arrived at by holy spirit. (Acts 15:28) Thus, it was from God. However, our Governing Body admits that they are fallible and that they can (and have) made mistakes.[i] History proves that they have erred on numerous occasions in their direction. Can we honestly say that these mistakes came about because Jehovah was guiding them? If not, then why should we obey them unconditionally expecting Jehovah to bless us for it, unless there were some way to know that we were obeying God and not men?
We’re not guilty of dogma!
Morris then refers to the word for “decrees” in Acts 16:4 which in Greek is dogmata. He states that we don’t want to say that the faithful slave is guilty of dogma. He then quotes from some unnamed dictionaries saying:
“If you refer to a belief or a system of beliefs as a dogma, you disapprove of it because people are expected to accept that it is true without questioning it. A dogmatic view is obviously undesirable, and one other dictionary says, ‘If you say someone is dogmatic, you are critical of them because they are convinced they are right and refuse to consider that other opinions might also be justified.’ Well, I don’t think we would want to apply this to decisions that come out from the faithful slave in our time.
Fascinating! He provides us with an accurate definition of what it means to be dogmatic, yet claims that this definition does not describe the actions of the Governing Body as dogmatic. If this is true, then we are safe to conclude that the Governing Body does not expect us to accept its beliefs without question. Moreover, the Governing Body is not convinced it is right and does not refuse to consider that other opinions might be justified.
Is this the Governing Body you’ve come to know? Here is the official position stated in the publications as well as from the convention and assembly platform:
To “think in agreement,” we cannot harbor ideas contrary to God’s Word or our publications (CA-tk13-E No. 8 1/12)
We could still be testing Jehovah in our heart by secretly doubting the organization’s position on higher education. (Avoid Testing God in Your Heart, 2012 District Convention part, Friday afternoon sessions)
“Persons who make themselves ‘not of our sort’ by deliberately rejecting the faith and beliefs of Jehovah’s Witnesses should appropriately be viewed and treated as are those who have been disfellowshipped for wrongdoing.” (w81 9/15 p. 23)
If you believe that Anthony Morris III is telling the truth, if you believe he is not lying in this video, why not put it to the test. Go to your next meeting and tell the elders that you don’t believe in 1914, or that you don’t want to report your time anymore. A person who is not dogmatic will allow you to have your own opinions. A person who is not dogmatic will not punish you for having your own opinions or for doing things your own way. A person who is not dogmatic will not threaten you with a life-altering punishment like shunning if you choose to disagree with him. Go ahead. Try it. Make my day.
Morris continues:
Now we have apostates and opposers who would like God’s people to think that the faithful slave is dogmatic and they expect you to accept everything that comes out from headquarters as if it’s dogma, arbitrarily decided. Well, this does not apply and that’s why it’s properly translated decrees, and in our day, like brother Komers prayed and often the brothers do…about decisions that are being made not just by the Governing Body but branch committees…ah…this is a theocratic arrangement…Jehovah is blessing the faithful slave.
At this point, he is starting to lose his way. He has no valid defense other then to make a pile of unfounded assertions and then try to discredit the opposition. The organization sure is talking about apostates a lot these days, isn’t it? It seems a talk hardly goes by where the epithet isn’t bandied about. And it’s such a convenient label. It’s like calling somebody a Nazi.
“You don’t need to listen to them. They’re all apostates. We hate apostates, don’t we? They’re like Nazis. Nasty little people; mentally diseased; full of hate and venom.”
(You many notice that Morris mentions branch committees several times in his talk. One wonders if there is discontent at the upper echelons of the Organization.)
Having dogmatically stated his baseless claim that the Governing Body is not dogmatic, Morris says:
“And the thing to keep in mind, we’ve made this point, but keep your place here in Acts 16, but look again in Matthew 24—and we’ve made this point in the past—on verse 45—when the question was raised and now it’s been answered in our day—Acts 24:45: [he meant Matthew] ‘Who really is the faithful and discreet slave—singular, see—whom his master appointed over his domestics to give them their food at the proper time?’ So it’s obvious that this slave is a composite slave.”
Hold on! He’s just stated that “slave” is in the singular and now he jumps to the conclusion that this obviously refers to a composite slave. No proof offered, but we are obviously expected to accept this as truth. Hmm, but the Governing Body is not dogmatic. He continues:
“The decisions that are made by the faithful slave today are made collectively. No one is a making these decisions. These decisions—if you want to call them a decree—are made collectively. So when that direction comes out to branch committee members or when it comes out to the congregations, if you want Jehovah’s blessing on you as an individual or a family, certainly as an elder or a congregation, it’d be best to ask Jehovah to help you understand it, but obey the decision.”
If you don’t get it, ask Jehovah to help you understand? And how exactly does Jehovah “help you understand”? He doesn’t talk to you, does he? No voices in the night? No, Jehovah helps us by giving us his holy spirit and opening up Scripture to us. (John 16:12, 13) So if he does that and we see that some direction is wrong, then what? According to Morris, we’re supposed to obey the men of the Governing Body in any case. But make no mistake: They are not dogmatic!
He ends his talk with these words:
“See, that’s the same thing’s going to happen today happened in the first century. Notice in verse 4 and 5 of Acts 16—I asked you to keep your place there—so when circuit overseers visit and they’ve brought information from the faithful slave, or when branch committee members meet to discuss things and go by the guidelines, well, what’s the result? According to verse five, “Then”…see, when these are obeyed…‘then indeed you’re going to be made firm in the faith.’ Congregations will increase. Branch territories will increase day by day. Why? Because as we mentioned at the beginning, Jehovah blesses obedience. This is a theocracy, ruled by God; not a collection of man-made decisions. This is governed from heaven.”
Oops! Morris has actually given us the proof we need to know that Jehovah isn’t blessing the obedience of the flock to the direction of the Governing Body. According to Acts 16:4, 5, the Organization should be increasing, but it is declining. Congregations are not increasing. Numbers are shrinking. Halls are being sold. Branch territories are reporting negative numbers across the developed world. Morris has unwittingly proven that obedience to men rather than God does not result in His blessing. (Ps 146:3)
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[i] w17 February p. 26 par. 12 Who Is Leading God’s People Today? “The Governing Body is neither inspired nor infallible. Therefore, it can err in doctrinal matters or in organizational direction.”
Hi Meliti, this video from Anthony Morris III is really simple to see they do not know the scriptures. At the 2 mintute mark he says : “The Governing Body did not enlarge beyond the apostles there in the first century.”
Well in the very verse being used in Acts 16:4 shows if there was a Governing Body it was made up of more than the Apostles, as the decrees that were decided upon by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem.
Picture Jesus gathering his disciples around him everyday and asking them: “You guys still believe I’m the son of God right?” Or being concerned at all with what the Pharisees were saying about him.
Precisely. The GB constantly hounds their adherents for loyalty and obedience because they themselves have no faith in their own validity. If they had confidence in themselves and their position, Geoffrey Jackson would not have told the ARC that it would be presumptuous to assume they were the sole channel from God. Funny thing is, he was right – it IS presumptuous. Too bad he later backtracked and denied this. But then, what choice does the GB have? If you are an accomplice to institutionalized lying, you have to keep telling the same lies consistently, otherwise it’s game over.
Hi Robert , just love the way you put it. Isn’t it funny how it’s ok to tell “institutionalised” lies but not personal ones ? Strange what these men think . It’s as if the institution can do no wrong , even if it is doing wrong? How did I ever accept this ?
I always wondered to about Tony Morris the 3rd, does that mean there was 3 of them? The world can only cope with one !
Hi Robert, hope you pick this up. When did GJ backtrack on the statement so clearly recorded and included on the transcript ?
Hi Meliti. Watched the Video through your link, but have yet to find it on the official sites. Wonder where it is ?
Great conclusion. Jehovah blesses obedience. So if we are not obedient, what happens ? Where are all these fruits of obedience, then ?
Great list of scriptures from Olive, also.
Leonardo, go to tv . jw. org ( take out the spaces)
Look for video on demand , then programs and events, and you’ll see it as a featured video.
My small minor prediction from Joel Dellengers video coming true already,requests for unity and obedience will become demands ,that will be more manipulative , more insistant,and more bizarre. That’s what happens in a totalitarian arrangement . Amazes me that Jesus knew it Mat 7:15 , Paul knew it Acts 20:30 , Peter knew it 2 Pe 2:1-3 and so did Jude , Jude 1:4,11, 12
Wow, WO, those verses gave me goosebumps.
?
Thanks, Wild Olive! Jude directly connecting denying of Christ with Korah’s rebellion is particularly interesting. Compare also Gal 2:4 with the above. A key WT article that made me understand how a veil is being placed over Christ is the March 2016 study version. https://www.jw.org/en/publications/magazines/watchtower-study-march-2016/jehovah-guides-his-people/ See sections 10, 15 and 18.
According to the study article, the law of Christ is something of the past. Now, it’s “directions” and obedience to the GB that leads to salvation. Compare also Meleti’s dissection of the same article.
Thanks for the link JofA. That article is disturbing, it’s when you just stop and think how easily the 1st century activity and counsel is just brushed aside, this been based on the false premise that ” things are different now” . No they are not , did Satan become ” nicer ” since the days of the apostles?. I think not. Have people really changed ? No they haven’t. Maybe they do things a bit differently with modern gadgets and accessories, but as the Germans say , ” mensch is mensch” people are people , no matter which time… Read more »
So, AMIII, this is what you’re saying.
We’re not to use that nasty word ‘dogmatic’ because it’s not a nice word when we look it up in the dictionary; it’s negative, and only apostates would be negative and say the GB is dogmatic.
But when you give us decrees we’re to hop to it and obey. If we don’t agree, we should pray about it and accept that we’re wrong, and obey.
What a load of narcissistic double speak.
1 Timothy 3:8
“Ministers should be dignified, not double tongued”
Hi Martha , you may have identified a since now unknown disease, NDS ( narcissistic double speak ) Can it be cured if you only take blood fractions ? ?
Hi Meleti, Appreciate you bringing out some of the unexamined assumptions made in this talk. Unfortunately, toward the end of the clip these same assumptions have led Anthony Morris III to become dogmatic about not being dogmatic! He must not realise that a call to just obey based on the sole assertion of divine guidance is essentially a “mea culpa” about the very thing the Governing Body denies doing. What does this mean? It means that this talk inadvertently disproves that which it attempts to prove – namely, that the Governing Body is not authoritarian. Really, this is a self-refuting… Read more »
Vox, your assessment is well put. It’s concise and elegant, and nicely gets to the point. Calling the talk “a self-refuting piece of spherical nonsense” is an interesting wording for a “circular argument” that I would not have considered. It occurs to me that the very title of the talk, “Jehovah blesses obedience”, is itself dogmatic. That is, it implies that God himself literally intervenes in the affairs of mankind when they follow his rules. Is that really so? Does the Bible actually make such a claim? While it’s certainly not impossible for such intervention to occur, it does seem… Read more »
Robert, I would present Ezekiel Chapter 28 for starters why to blame Satan for everything that goes wrong with heavy emphasis on Eze 28:13. As for the religious people you mention, they believe what they’ve been taught even though it may be just a careless assumption of what they have heard and been taught to be true without proof, it has become the practice and the custom to read an already false teaching into each particular scripture, taken out of it’s context. In other words to interpret the scriptures to say what they have already been taught and come to… Read more »
Hi Robert, You’ve made some good points. The idea that God is involved in actualising every event throughout history is known as theological Occasionalism. Of course, this is not the same notion that you presented, but I mention it to show that this position isn’t anything new, and sometimes old views will flow into public consciousness before they ebb away again. As far as I can tell, James highlights that it is right to be thankful to God for the good we receive in general – irrespective of whether he was directly involved in any particular good received (cf. Jam.… Read more »
While Jesus was on Earth some 1,986-1,985 years ago only 120 people believed what he said (Acts 1:15). Although he preached his message from God to multiple thousands it is no wonder then that not one of these religions, sects and denominations, except the small and persecuted Church founded by Jesus Christ (A.D.31) believed God’s message. It wasn’t until a little later when the Congregation started to grow. Compare (Acts 2:41).
The continuous drumming for obedience (towards GB and its hierarchy, and not Christ) and unwillingness to change doctrines on “two witness rule” and shunning of DAs etc. could speed up authorities’ crack-down on JW, as we have seen in Russia.
Can any of you verify the news link below that Russian authorities are preparing for taking away custody of JW children? Paradoxally, such crack-downs (if true, and if it escalates) would make JWs feel that they truly are prosecuted for their belief, and increase staunch support for the org.
http://www.thetablet.co.uk/news/8145/0/russia-court-authorises-seizure-of-outlawed-sect-children-
Story above verified from another source:
http://www.forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=2344
TPT rocks! Here’s why you should obey: Because I said so….
TPT?
A perfect example of distorting the meaning of the scriptures to their own benefit. The reason these congregations could grow was that the new joiners (Gentiles) could now become followers because the rules the Jews wanted to impose on them were removed. Acts 16:4,5 make no mention of any blessing. Yes, their faith were strengthened but this was the result of removing the rules the Jews wanted to impose on them. It was the first time I decided to listen to such a video and was surprised to see (or hear) how demotivating the voice of the speaker was. To… Read more »
Interestingly, in Acts 6, it was the full congregation that selected the men who were going to distribute the food. The apostles then approved the selection. Almost a democracy 🙂 cf. 3 and 5 below. “2 And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. 3 Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. 4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer… Read more »
Gidday Meleti,
Wanted to watch the vid myself before reading this. Excellent analysis. Anthony the 3rd looks like he is under some sort of heavy medication.
Sometimes that is needed.
After watching it (took some time to find it) on tv.jwdot.organization. ..
I felt sad. Sorry for him. It was like he was kind of trying to reassure himself.
Typo or link error. . When I click on the last scripture in par 4 (Heb 1) it takes me to Acts 1
David.
Yes DJ, he is in pain. The Laundry Dept. shrunk his pants again…..
Thanks Dajo. I use a wordpress plugin that looks up the scriptures. I guess it doesn’t like some of the two-letter abbreviations. I fixed it.
By the way, no need to look for the video. I provided a link to it right at the start of the article. See “latest video”.
Yes medication , one of the 3 Js . Johnny Walker, Jack Daniels or Jim Beam?
Personally, I like Jim Beam Red Stag. It’s a whiskey with black cherry liqueur. Great on the rocks, real smooth with a nice flavor.
Now that’s what I call “spiritual” advice. 🙂
Yeah, I like it so much, I’d clink glasses. (Don’t tell the elders.)
Thanks, Meleti. Your comment on TM3’s “growth statement” is very apt. Wonder how the GB will spin it when the decline becomes obvious to all. Do some of you feel like this: “A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” – John 10:5
I think that is already starting to happen, John.
They might spin it the way this web site does: http://dismythed.blogspot.com/2017/02/not-in-decline.html The article there tries to deny a decline is happening by saying the overall membership is still going up, while ignoring that on a country by country basis, it is going down in many of them, and many more have only tiny increases. They also ignore that if you look at cumulative baptism rates vs. membership rates, very large fractions of those baptized each year are offset by losses. Seen from year 2000 until now, they lost about 2 million of the number baptized, and from 1980 it’s about… Read more »
Thanks, Robert. Add to this, one also should factor in population. Growth beneath pop growth is actually a decline. This analysis is quite interesting: https://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/statistics.php
Furthermore, interesting to note that growth rates have stayed subdued (sub 2%, and just slightly above population growth) after JW.org was launched in 2012, which is touted as a great development in preaching work. The hours field service put in per babtism is skyrocketting, and worst of all, over 60% of JW children vanish from the truth (according to Pew research)…. spin that!
(1999-2001) Since the “lower class” GB took the helm over from the “elite remnant class” so called Anointed Ones and changed the whole power structure of the Society. (Hostile Corporate Takeover in my view!) And born out of that divorce was the three main new corporations. 1) Christian Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses 2) Religious Order of Jehovah’s Witnesses (What? A term some of us mature ones would have been dis-fellowshiped for in our day.) 3) Kingdom Support Services. The uninformed would assume they are part of the Christian Communities of Churches. With over a century of skillfully crafted indoctrination being… Read more »
I’m quite sure the person he referred to as giving a prayer is Don Komers who has been at Bethel for many years. He was a CO in the 70’s.
Thanks Maxwell. I was hoping someone could help me out with that. I’ve adjusted the article to reveal this “new light”. 🙂
Komers is (or was) in charge of purchasing. He was responsible for buying the large globe that was in the Bethel lobby.
WOW.Meliti what an expose!Stunningly-plain to see the lack of Holy Spirit,there:his weak Scriptural Base of knowledge;poor-lacking of insights;faulty dogmatic applications(and all in his longtime way of hard, chronically’choppy’& disorganized ramblings,rants and crafty-veerings)..Enough said? He,along with the other “G.O.D.’s”(“Guardians of Doctrine”,fellow gb member Geoffrey Jackson,in-role, explained to the ARC)fufill:2nd Thessalonians 2:4;Revelation 18:5;Rev.17:4-6;right now I believe we here and faithful others are involved in Rev.18:verses 6,7;and soon… Rev.18:20.The G.O.D. have plainly seated themselves in Christ our Savior’s position=blocking Him. Result?John 5:23,as you Meliti,and precious others here,have so clearly expounded on..Thank You!
Just a note on AM3 comment on increase. I saw a YouTube video of a German brother who declares that over the last 3 years 250 congs have been closed in Germany ,which of course would make AM3 comment an outright lie, he wasn’t sure himself , yet his figures seem correct, can anyone confirm that ?
There was an article on the German site http://www.bruderinfo-aktuell.de/index.php/die-mehrung-des-volkes-gottes-hinterfragt/ based partly on figures of the official German JW website jehovaszeugen.de.
Hope this helps.
Thanks Mowani, problem is I can’t read German .
You can copy most of the article into the Windows clipboard, bring up Google translate, and paste the text into the left panel. Select German as the source language and English for the right panel. Worked for me. You can’t do the ‘tables’ that way but you will get the point of most of it.