The Watchtower Memory Hole

The ruling elite in George Orwell’s 1984 carefully manage facts about their history to insure compliance with current statements about itself.  The protagonist, Winston Smith, makes his living destroying inconvenient documents by dumping them down the “memory hole.”  Somebody at Watchtower headquarters now has Winston’s job, altering the past to comply with the Governing Body’s current version of its history. 

I first uncovered proof of this while doing the research that led to my break with the religion.  Here I will present two examples from the 1975 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses (Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, 1974). 

In September 1922 J. F. Rutherford, President of the Watchtower Society deliver a stirring speech to a convention in Cedar Point, Ohio.  During the time I was a Witness, we heard the rousing conclusion, “Advertise, advertise, advertise, the King and his kingdom” many times.  The Yearbook contained this quote (page 131) from the speech:

“… Since 1914 the King of glory has taken his power and reigns.  He has cleansed the lips of the temple class and sends them forth with the message.  The importance of the message of the kingdom cannot be overstated.  It is the message of all messages.  It is the message of the hour.  It is incumbent upon those who are the Lord’s to declare it.  The Kingdom of heaven is at hand; the King reigns; Satan’s empire is falling; millions now living will never die.

“Do you believe it?...”

The book quotes another paragraph that leads to the ending statement noted above.  I never gave much thought to the ellipsis until I began researching in 1988.  I then discovered a more complete text of the speech in “Crisis of Conscience” by Ray Franz (Commentary Press, Atlanta, GA 1983).  Franz notes (pages 189-190) the speech included references to the time of the end beginning in 1799 and Jesus second presence dating from 1874.  Immediately after asking, “Do you believe it?” Rutherford said “Do you believe that the King of glory has been present since 1874?”

A Witness reading this today, or as I did in 1988, would answer “no, I do not believe that.”  For obvious reasons, the Watchtower did not want to include the full quote.

The yearbook noted J. F. Rutherford’s (the second President of the Watch Tower Society) failing health in the 1940’s.  According to this account, Rutherford needed to transfer from New York to a warmer climate.  Witnesses had contributed to the purchase of a house for his benefit.  The Yearbook quotes the 1939 book Salvation:

“At San Diego, California there is a small piece of land, on which, in the year 1929 was a built a house, which is called and known as Beth-Sarim.” (p194)

Seventy pages before this, the Yearbook discussed the campaign centered on a message that “millions now living will never die.”  The “millions” campaign centered on the expected resurrection of Old Testament luminaries such as Moses, Abraham, Isaac, Noah, David and others in the year 1925.  Here is the complete quote from Salvation:

“At San Diego, California, there is a small piece of land, on which, in the year 1929, there was built a house, which is called and known as Beth-Sarim. The Hebrew words Beth Sarim meaning "House of the Princes"; and the purpose of acquiring that property and building the house was that there might be some tangible proof that there are those on earth today who fully believe God and Christ Jesus and in His kingdom, and who believe that the faithful men of old will soon be resurrected by the Lord, be back on earth, and take charge of the visible affairs of earth. The title to Beth-Sarim is vested in the WATCH TOWER BIBLE & TRACT SOCIETY in trust, to be used by the president of the Society and his assistants for the present, and thereafter be forever at the disposal of the aforementioned princes on the earth. To be sure, everything then on the earth will belong to the Lord, and neither the Lord nor the princes need others to build houses for them; but it was thought well and pleasing to God that the afore mentioned house be built as a testimony to the name of Jehovah and showing faith in his announced purposes. The house has served as a testimony to many persons throughout the earth, and while the unbelievers have mocked concerning it and spoken contemptuously of it, yet it stands there as a testimony to Jehovah's name; and if and when the princes do return and some of them occupy the property, such will be a confirmation of the faith and hope that induced the building of Beth-Sarim.”  (p311)

 When I discovered the difference between the quotes and the original material, I decided I had caught the Watchtower in an outright lie.  The society does not admit to prior errors in teaching.  The writers of the Yearbook clearly understood the problems the full quotes create. So the information went down the memory hole.  I am firmly convinced those writers knew exactly what they were doing.

The book “Jehovah’s Witness, Proclaimers of God’s Kingdom” (Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, 1993) mentions the controversy briefly on page 76.  However, it downplays the central role Beth-Sarim played in Watchtower prophecy during the 1920’s and 1930’s.  This account emphasizes Beth-Sarim as Rutherford’s residence, which may be closer to the truth of the matter.

I intend to continue my research with regard to how the Watchtower quotes itself. These two examples, I believe, are sufficient to demonstrate that upper management of the Watchtower organization knows that it has major problems with its claim to be the mouthpiece of Jehovah.