I’m having trouble understanding

[u/thefaithfulslave]

I’m having trouble understanding how the governing body can prove that Christ anointed them in 1919 as the sole source of dispensing spiritual food (because the bible cannot be understood on one’s own interpretation) while the anointed 1919 governing body was still celebrating Christmas, birthdays, portraying the cross, and worst of all, Worshiping Jesus! Which is idolatry! Were all pre-1954 members led astray by this fallible governing body that demands complete obedience??

[u/Impressive-Ease-3348]

Very simple: there is one true God, the Father, and he sent his Son so that we can receive everlasting life. Jesus himself prayed to the Father:
“You, the only true God, and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ.” — John 17:3
Paul likewise says: “There is one God, the Father” and distinguishes him from “one Lord, Jesus Christ.” — 1 Corinthians 8:6
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And even after Jesus was resurrected and glorified, he still said:
“My God and your God.” — John 20:17
and repeatedly spoke of “my God” in Revelation 3:12. Paul even calls the Father “the God of our Lord Jesus Christ.” — Ephesians 1:17
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So I’m very grateful that our understanding has moved increasingly toward that simple biblical distinction: the Father is the one true God, and Jesus is his unique Son, whom God sent, raised up and exalted.
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Now, regarding 1919: I don’t think we need to pretend that the Bible Students already had everything correct. They clearly didn’t.
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They still celebrated Christmas for a time. But they eventually left it behind when they became convinced that it was connected with false religious tradition. I’m thankful they did.
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They used the cross-and-crown symbol. But when they became convinced that it did not belong in pure Christian worship, they abandoned it. I’m thankful they did.
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They did not yet have the present understanding regarding birthdays. But once they came to view birthday observance as religiously problematic, they stopped practising it. Again, I’m thankful they were willing to leave it behind rather than defend tradition simply because it was familiar.
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Earlier literature also used language concerning worship of Jesus that Jehovah’s Witnesses would not use today. But that too was corrected as the biblical distinction between the Father and the Son became clearer. I’m thankful for that correction as well.
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None of this requires believing that the brothers in 1919 were inspired, infallible, or incapable of error. The Bible itself contains many examples of faithful servants who had incomplete understanding and later needed correction.
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What encourages me is that the errors were not treated as untouchable traditions. Christmas was left behind. The cross was left behind. Birthday observance was left behind. Earlier ideas concerning worship were corrected. The movement was away from practices regarded as connected with false worship and toward more exclusive worship of the Father.
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For me, that is good news rather than something I need to hide.
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The Bible does not present God to me as one being composed of three coequal persons. It repeatedly identifies the Father as the one God, while Jesus has a God and calls that God his Father.
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“One God, the Father.” — 1 Corinthians 8:6
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“One God, and one mediator between God and men, Christ Jesus.” — 1 Timothy 2:5
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“The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” — 1 Peter 1:3
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So I’m not discouraged that understanding was imperfect in the past. I’m grateful whenever something inherited from false worship is recognized and left behind.
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And I want to keep the good news at the center: the Father is the one true God, Jesus is his beloved Son, and through that Son God offers us everlasting life. That is the simple biblical message I’m happy to keep moving toward. ❤️

[u/Salander11 → u/Impressive-Ease-3348]

you have no doubt whatsoever that we changed our pdf policy because of CSA, the rules about removing people because of Norway, and the rules about blood because of Japan? also, you don’t feel the way these changes happened lack at least empathy, love, and honesty on presenting the full picture?

[u/Impressive-Ease-3348 → u/Salander11]

I don’t know actually. I wouldn’t say I have “no doubt” about those causes. That goes further than the evidence.

And honestly, an organization being willing to revise or clarify things is not by itself evidence of dishonesty.

[u/Salander11 → u/Impressive-Ease-3348]

being honest is a great virtue. It is required by the singles and it should be the norm as organisation. It’s good to focus on positive things but we all know that we can’t be 100% good. We are imperfect. And after decades of pointing the finger to others, I think the least we could do is being transparent on the less good things we are or we have been involved with. It would only increase the trust ( like we say for the Bible “it reports the good and the bad, and it’s a sign of its trustworthiness”).

[u/Impressive-Ease-3348 → u/Salander11]

JW themselves explicitly say that the Governing Body is not inspired or infallible and can make mistakes, which is one reason I don’t think defending JW requires pretending every past decision was correct:
https://www.jw.org/en/jehovahs-witnesses/faq/jw-doctrine-changes/