The Last Days (July 31 - August 6, 2023)
Issue No. 16
Welcome to the sixteenth edition of The Last Days newsletter.
The Last Days delivers a collection of curated JW-related news articles from around the world, and other entertaining information, straight into your inbox every weekend. You choose what you want to read, believe, download, listen to, watch, or subscribe to.
You can find the last edition of TLD covering July 24-30, 2023, here if you missed it. If you prefer to read The Last Days on our webpage click here.
This edition of The Last Days, covering the week of July 31 - August 6, 2023, contains our leading Feature of the Week: What is happening within the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Britain; JW News from the United Kingdom; a JW Quote of the Week; a JW News Fact Check on the Awake! magazine; and more!
Enjoy the Last Days! . . .
“The events unfolding around us, are making clearer than ever, that we’re living in the final part of the Last Days, undoubtedly the final part of the final part of the Last Days, shortly before the Last Day of the Last Days.” - Stephen Lett, member of the governing body of Jehovah’s Witnesses
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Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Britain
In the following four part series, The Last Days shines a spotlight on the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Britain.
Part 1. - Is Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Britain facing an existential crisis?
On 23 May 2023, Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Britain (Watch Tower Britain) filed its ‘Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31st August 2022’.
In reporting on its financial position Watch Tower Britain stated:
[Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Britain] showed a deficit of £11 million on the Statement of Financial Activities (SOFA) at the 31st August 2022.
This came about due to a combination of lower donations received from other entities with similar objectives, and an increase in activity of the entities with similar aims and objectives assisted by the Society.
[The deficit of £11 million] was further increased due to an £18 million net loss on investments. This was caused due to the increase in interest rates, which decreased the value of investments, principally bonds, held by the Society.
Despite the above deficit / losses, Watch Tower Britain, under instruction from the governing body of Jehovah’s Witnesses, donated:
£74 million in aid “to promote missionary activity, assist with disaster relief, and support [associated] entities”; and
Direct funding of £59 million was “sent to legal entities with similar objectives, the majority of which were based in Africa” with an additional £15 million “spent on goods and services for these entities.”
The above figures represent £148 million in overseas aid and donations to entities under the control and direction of the governing body of Jehovah’s Witnesses.
In relation to the £74 million, “the majority of which [was sent to] Africa”, the 2022 financial statement of Watch Tower Britain provided the following example of what the monies were used for:
In Malawi, many . . . places of worship were damaged due to Cyclone Ana. Funding was used to help individuals . . . as well as rebuilding and renovating properties . . . Similar activities took place in many other countries which the Society assists.
However, the above statement by Watch Tower Britain does not fully accord with a governing body of Jehovah’s Witnesses approved global press release dated February 9, 2022 and published on JW.ORG:
From January 24 to 25, 2022, flooding and high winds from deadly Tropical Storm Ana left widespread destruction in Malawi . . . 2 Kingdom Halls sustained minor damage. - JW.ORG
DRC*
The governing body of Jehovah’s Witnesses have approved the creation of Disaster Relief Committees (DRC) to co-ordinate disaster relief and rebuild damaged Kingdom Halls. In recent times the number of DRCs worldwide had passed 950.
Investigations by The Last Days newsletter have uncovered that no money was spent by any DRC on repairing the two Kingdom Halls that sustained ‘minor damage’ in Malawi. This is despite the fact that these two buildings were singled out by Watch Tower Britain as an example of where it utilized some of the £74 million donated, “the majority of which were [sent to] Africa”, during the 2022 financial year.
Download Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Britain’s Financial Statement for 2022 via: JWLEAKS.ORG | Download link
* DRC. Not to be confused with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in Africa and financial transactions through the DRC, as authorized by the governing body of Jehovah’s Witnesses.
Part 2. - Four Watch Tower Britain directors / trustees resign or were removed on 31 July 2023
On July 31, 2023, the following directors / trustees of Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Britain resigned or were removed:
Stephen Morice
Andrew Llewellyn
Robert Li
Peter Bell
Download all Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Britain, Director Cessation Notices dated July 31, 2023 via JWLEAKS.ORG | Download link
Following the cessation of the above individuals, on August 1, 2023, the British company regulator, Companies House, received a ‘Notification of Person with Significant Control (PSC) statement’ from Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Britain which stated:
The company knows or has reasonable cause to believe that there is no registrable person or registrable relevant legal entity in relation to the company.
It appears that the cessation of the four directors / trustees of Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Britain was not structurally or theocratically planned as no succession had been approved by the governing body of Jehovah’s Witnesses for replacement.
Our next section deals with key events that happened immediately after the resignation / removal of the above four directors / trustees of Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Britain.
Part 3. - Charity Inquiry: Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of Britain
On August 4, 2023, the Charity Commission of England and Wales released the results of a long-running investigation into Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Britain.
A copy of the Commission’s press release appears below.
The Charity Commission of England and Wales | Press Release
Published August 4, 2023
Reprinted with permission
Watchdog reports on investigation into Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Britain
The Charity Commission has today published a report of its inquiry into Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Britain.
The inquiry opened in May 2014 to investigate the charity’s handling and oversight of safeguarding matters, including child protection advice provided to individual Jehovah’s Witness (JW) congregations.
This followed significant interaction between the Commission and the charity since October 2007, concerning the way in which safeguarding incidents or failures were handled within JW organisations and, specifically, the adequacy of the guidance that the charity provided to various JW congregations. JW organisations reported to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (‘IICSA’) that a total of 67 allegations of child abuse were made between 2009 and 2019 against 67 individuals involved in JW congregations, whether as Elders, ministerial servants or otherwise.
During the course of the Commission’s interaction with the charity from 2007 onwards, including during the period of the inquiry, JW congregations have revised and updated their safeguarding policies on several occasions, and the Commission remains engaged with JW congregations on safeguarding matters through its ongoing interaction with the Kingdom Hall Trust (see below).
One key issue which emerged during the inquiry was the extent to which the charity itself remained responsible for ensuring children and vulnerable people are safe from harm within JW congregations.
Notwithstanding the charity having had an historic role in interacting with the Commission over JW safeguarding, the Commission’s report concludes that Watch Tower is no longer the body responsible for safeguarding within JW congregations, and therefore the inquiry can be closed. It is the Commission’s view that following the merger of Kingdom Hall congregation charities with the Kingdom Hall Trust in March 2022 (‘KHT’) that KHT is now the body responsible for safeguarding congregation members. The Commission has opened a compliance case to work with KHT’s trustees to ensure that the safeguarding policies, guidance, and procedures of KHT provide a safe environment for beneficiaries within all JW congregations.
The Commission’s report is critical of the charity’s trustees’ conduct during the inquiry, expressing the view that on occasions the trustees were “not as straightforward or transparent as they should have been” in relation to JW child safeguarding responsibilities, and that during certain phases of the investigation, “the trustees’ communications were protracted, with the charity’s responses often failing to provide the information requested or sufficient clarity to satisfy the inquiry, giving rise to further questions.”
The inquiry noted that there was insufficient evidence to conclude that these behaviours were deliberate attempts to obstruct the inquiry.
The report also details that legal challenges brought by the charity, which sought to challenge some of the regulator’s decisions and orders, which partly explain the significant delays to the inquiry.
Helen Stephenson, chief executive of the Charity Commission said:
“We are clear that a charity must be a safe, trusted environment and that protecting people and safeguarding should be a governance priority for all charities, regardless of size, type or income. I am pleased that this long-running inquiry, which demonstrates the Commission’s resolve and determination to ensure that safeguarding policy issues are addressed comprehensively by charities, has now concluded.”
“Our continuing regulatory compliance case involving the Kingdom Hall Trust aims to ensure that the KHT’s safeguarding policies and procedures protect congregation members and those that come into contact with KHT.”
Timeline of significant developments prior to, and during inquiry
2007
Commission opens statutory inquiry into the London Mill Hill Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses after an Elder was convicted for historic sexual offences. The Commission’s inquiry into the London Mill Hill Congregation finds that it did not have a child protection policy.
One of the outcomes from the Commission’s inquiry into the London Mill Hill Congregation is that the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Britain agrees to develop a child protection policy which would be disseminated to all JW congregations.
2010
In May 2010, the Commission seeks advice on the draft policy from the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (‘NSPCC’).
A summary of the NSPCC’s findings is supplied to the charity. The charity also seeks its own advice from a safeguarding consultancy.
In finalising the policy, the charity chooses not to adopt all of the NSPCC’s recommendations.
2011
Watch Tower distributes child protection policy which all Elders of JW congregations are expected to adhere to.
2013
Following the conviction of a former ministerial servant of a JW congregation charity, Charity Commission writes to Watch Tower to raise concerns about the policy and its implementation.
Commission seeks advice from NSPCC, which finds the policy to be at odds with UK legislation and guidance.
The charity updates and recirculates the policy.
2014
March: Commission meets with the charity, to raise its concerns about the revised policy, which does not address concerns raised by NSPCC. The trustees do not clearly set out that Watch Tower is no longer responsible for drafting and disseminating the policy, nor do they state which organisation is now responsible for this.
May: Charity Commission opens statutory inquiry.
August: Watch Tower challenges decision to open inquiry and legal orders requiring the charity to submit information to the Commission, beginning a period of several years during which the work of the inquiry is constrained.
2016
December: Supreme Court refuses the Watch Tower permission to appeal a decision of the Court of Appeal dismissing the appeal against the Commission’s investigation.
2019
September: Charity Commission informs Watch Tower that it had commissioned the Ineqe Safeguarding Group to undertake independent review of JW’s child safeguarding policies and procedures.
December: Ineqe’s report is provided to Watch Tower, ahead of planned meeting to discuss the findings. The charity cancels the meeting asking to provide a formal response to the independent report.
2020
January: Charity provides inquiry with written opinion from its safeguarding expert, which states that the Ineqe report was out of date. Watch Tower demands the inquiry is terminated, claiming the grounds for the inquiry no longer exist.
June: After careful consideration, the Commission refuses the request to close the inquiry.
July: Charity instigates Judicial Review procedures against the Commission’s refusal to conclude the inquiry and in respect of disclosure.
2021
Trustees’ cooperation with inquiry improves following permission from the High Court for Watch Tower to bring Judicial Review procedures against the Commission.
2023
Commission concludes that Watch Tower is not the organisation that is currently directly responsible for the safety of JW beneficiaries.
Download the Charity Commission’s Report
Part 4. - Unjust criticism of the Charity Commission’s inquiry as raised by the Jehovah’s Witnesses during the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA)
The Independent Inquiry Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), in its report “Child Protection in religious organisations and settings - Investigation Report - September 2021” stated:
Only a very small minority of statutory inquiries undertaken by the Charity Commission concerned matters relating to child protection in religious organisations and settings. Between 1 April 2014 and 6 November 2019, it opened 622 statutory inquiries, of which 137 (22 percent) involved charities in which the keyword ‘religious activities’ featured in their names or objectives. Of these 137 cases, 13 had a safeguarding component.
An inquiry into the Manchester New Moston Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses. This investigated, among other things, the charity’s handling of safeguarding matters, including its safeguarding policy, procedure and practice, and how the charity dealt with risks to it and its beneficiaries – particularly as regards the conviction and release of a former trustee. As set out in its report published in July 2017, the Charity Commission identified significant flaws in safeguarding procedures, including not reporting abuse and having a ‘confrontation’ between the complainant and her accuser.
An inquiry into the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Britain (another charity operated by the Jehovah’s Witnesses), which is ongoing. It is examining, among other things, the charity’s handling of safeguarding matters, including the creation, development, substance and implementation of its safeguarding policy. In announcing the opening of the inquiry in 2014, the Charity Commission noted that its:
“concerns have been amplified by recent criminal cases concerning historic incidents of abuse involving individuals who appear to have been connected to Jehovah’s Witnesses congregations and/or the charity. In addition, there has been growing public interest in how the charity and congregations of Jehovah’s Witnesses deal with safeguarding matters”.
There has been considerable criticism from the Jehovah’s Witnesses of the Charity Commission’s handling of this investigation. Mr Paul Gillies, the Director of the Office of Public Information for the Jehovah’s Witnesses, told us that an ongoing inquiry in relation to the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Britain is “manifestly unfair” and “allegedly premised on unidentified complaints, which have never been disclosed”. He also said that the five-year inquiry had been “spasmodic” but that Watch Tower Britain had “taken all reasonable steps to engage with the Charity Commission”. Mr Harvey Grenville, Senior Technical Advisor for the Charity Commission, did not recognise “the characterisation or implication that somehow The Watchtower charity and the Branch Committee are fully co-operative with us”, and noted that the level of legal challenge undertaken by the Jehovah’s Witnesses in the context of the two inquiries was “simply unprecedented”. In 2020, the Jehovah’s Witnesses initiated a judicial review of the Charity Commission’s statutory inquiry, which had not concluded at the time of the finalisation of this report.
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United Kingdom - published on August 6, 2023
“[T]his corrupt system is due to end in a few years.”
- Jehovah’s Witnesses statement appearing over 50 years ago in the Awake! magazine of May 22, 1969.
Jehovah’s Witnesses . . . Proclaimers that ‘the end is near’ since 1879.
Did you know that the official Jehovah’s Witnesses online library WOL.JW.ORG only contains copies of articles appearing in the Awake! magazine going back to January 8, 1970?
Fact Check the above claim here using the search term “Jehovah”.
Further, the JW.ORG magazine library only contains downloadable copies of the Awake! magazine going back to January 8, 1981.
Fact Check the above claim here.
In this issue of The Last Days newsletter, we fact check an article published by the Jehovah’s Witnesses in the Awake! magazine of May 22, 1969.
This 1969 article makes a bold claim that “this corrupt system is due to end in a few years” even going so far as citing ‘evidence’.
[Awake! magazine, May 22, 1969, pages 14, 15]
What Future for the Young?
If you are a young person, you also need to face the fact that you will never grow old in this present system of things. Why not? Because all the evidence in fulfillment of Bible prophecy indicates that this corrupt system is due to end in a few years. Of the generation that observed the beginning of the "last days" in 1914, Jesus foretold: "This generation will by no means pass away until all these things occur."-Matt. 24:34.
Therefore, as a young person, you will never fulfill any career that this system offers. If you are in high school and thinking about a college education, it means at least four, perhaps even six or eight more years to graduate into a specialized career. But where will this system of things be by that time? It will be well on the way toward its finish, if not actually gone!"
Download PDF extract of Awake! article
Verdict
False Prediction, Dishonesty, Misinformation and Misleading.
Protect Yourself from Misinformation and Misleading news
To stay safe and healthy, JW News Fact Check searched on JW.ORG for any warnings about protecting oneself from ‘misinformation’ or from accessing ‘misleading news’.
Our in depth research found the following ironic warning from the governing body of Jehovah’s Witnesses:
Protect Yourself From Misinformation
- Do not believe everything you see or hear
What the Bible says: “The naive person believes every word, but the shrewd one ponders each step.”—Proverbs 14:15.
Чи є правда у Свідків Єгови?
Історія Товариства Вартової Башти та література, що ним випускалась, переконливо показує, що Організація Свідків Єгови не може бути керованою Богом, як про це самонадіяно заявляє їх Керівний Орган.
In this week’s newsletter, The Last Days is proud to feature a Ukrainian website JWFACTS.ORG.UA that translates the Australian website JWFACTS.COM.
[Translation of below website home page]
What do you need to know about Jehovah's Witnesses?
Jehovah's Witnesses are a small Christian group that lives according to strict rules based on their organization's particular interpretation of the Bible. They willingly talk about their religion, but at the same time they carefully choose only positive facts. For example, when talking about a wonderful earthly paradise, the Witnesses do not mention that before its arrival, Jehovah will kill billions of people along with their children.
This article briefly reviews the most unusual teachings of Jehovah's Witnesses and little-known facts from the history of the Watchtower Society.
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In this YouTube video Watchtower History further develops the series Rutherford’s Roadmap to Enduring Persecution in Part 8: Who was the man that influenced Rutherford and Hitler?
Who Was the Man That Influenced Rutherford and Hitler?
One of the main influences on Rutherford and Watch Tower's thinking beginning in the early 1920s was one of the most famous people in the history of the United States. Who that was, and how he influenced both Watchtower and Hitler will be explained as our Roadmap series progresses. In the episodes to come we will show other direct influences on Rutherford's thinking and how it influenced Watchtower's doctrine to the present time.
How did Rutherford come up with these ideas and how did those doctrines shape the development of the Jehovah's Witnesses' beliefs and practices? Who were the people who influenced Joseph Franklin Rutherford's ideas? What were the influences on this thinking and doctrine? Why were the influences on Joseph Franklin Rutherford's thinking and doctrine significant for the development of the Jehovah's Witnesses? Where did it all come from?
In this discussion series, Rutherford's Roadmap to Enduring Persecution, we are unveiling our extensive findings on Rutherford. After years of diligent investigation into where the Watchtower ideas originated from, we have compiled a vast collection of documentation and compelling evidence to be able to state emphatically, without question, as to the origin of many of Rutherford's doctrines. To ensure complete transparency, we will showcase all of these materials on screen, leaving no doubt about their origin and credibility.