Money and the Watchtower Society

Doug Checketts (aka Farkel)

"Stop storing up for yourselves treasures upon the earth, where moth and rust consume, and where thieves break in and steal. Rather, store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Matt. 6:19-21, NWT)

But Jesus said to them, "foxes have dens and birds of heaven have roosts but the Son of man has nowhere to lay down his head." (Matt. 8:20)

And Jesus entered into the temple and threw out all those selling and buying in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. And he said to them, "It is written, 'My house will be called a house of prayer', but you are making it a cave of robbers." (Matt. 21:12, 13)

The Watchtower Society has admonished its followers many times to "sacrifice" for the sake of the Kingdom, and to not take on a pursuit of material things. But does it follow its own advice?

"Yet another prominent part of Satan's world is the greedy and oppressive commercial system... This commercial system promotes a selfish desire in people to obtain the things it produces, even though they may not need them and may be better off without them." (You Can Live Forever In Paradise On Earth, p. 210)

It is a well-known fact that the WTBS donates zero money to helping society in general. They have no shelters for the homeless and abused, they do not offer food or clothing or any kind of assistance to people of the "world".

But does the Society directly help its "own" brothers with financial or other assistance in their time of need? I know of no such evidence that they do.

I'm not talking about the "loans" (with interest, of course) to help build kingdom halls, which after the loans are re-paid, the Society ends up getting the property in trust anyway. And I'm not talking about the local congregations pooling resources to help. And I'm not talking about donations coming in from other parts of the world specifically to help out brothers in a disaster area. I'm talking about the Society cutting a check for relief, without begging the brothers to provide it first.

I am aware of no such evidence where the Society used any of its own billions of dollars to send financial aid to its very own brothers in disaster areas, war-torn areas, and areas of famine; to send money to rebuild homes and businesses; to send money for medical care.

Suppose a congregation was very poor and an old and sick anointed person in the congregation was in dire financial straits and needed relief. Suppose this person wrote to the Society and asked if the Society could send some relief money. Would the Society do this for one of its very own "faithful and discreet slaves?" I would be willing to bet money the answer is 'no'. If someone can show proof otherwise, I'm all ears.

"They bind up heavy loads and put them upon the shoulders of men, but they themselves are not willing to budge them with their finger." (Matt. 23:4)

"Today, there are more than 50 congregations in and around Maputo city. However, there is not a single Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses to be found. Why is that so? Because of poor economic conditions, the congregations have not been able to build even though some have owned land for a number of years." (The Watchtower, August 15, 1992, p. 24)

There are 50 congregations in this one city in Mozambique, Africa, each one without a Kingdom Hall. Did the Society donate the money to help their OWN very poor brothers build even one hall? Why did not the Society sell its $1,000,000 chandelier in the Stanley Theater to help these unfortunate brothers and sisters have a decent, clean place to worship? Jesus had no place to lay his head, yet the WTBS has a $1,000,000 chandelier and refuses to use it for the good of even its very own members. Why does the Society need to own a $1,000,000 chandelier? How does owning a $1,000,000 chandelier further the commands of the Christ?

In view of this, note what the Bible says:

"But whoever has this world's means for supporting life and beholds his brother having need and yet shuts the door of his tender compassions upon him, in what way does the love of God remain in him? Little children, let us love, neither in word nor with the tongue, but in deed and truth." (1 John 3:17, 18)

"For I do not mean for it to be easy for others, but hard on you; but that by means of an equalizing your surplus just now might offset their deficiency, in order that their surplus might also come to offset your deficiency, that an equalizing might take place. Just as it is written: 'The person with much did not have too much, and the person with little did not have too little.'" (2 Cor. 8:13-15)

Although the Society already owns enough property to provide housing for its high officials, it undertook a mammoth luxury construction project in Patterson, New Jersey. The Patterson Project sits on 684 acres, and cost $50,000,000 dollars in materials alone. All labor was "donated", of course. Factoring in the labor, this project, when completed will be worth over $100,000,000 dollars.

This property is touted by the WTBS to be a "teaching" and "office" facility, where the Gilead School will be conducted. It also is said to be used to provide temporary housing for the Branch servants and other instructors.

Office facility? The WTBS just completed another $35,000,000 office tower a few years ago.

684 acres? Why 684 acres? That is a huge parcel of land and is not needed to facilitate any "teaching".

Gilead classes are quite small. There are only 90 or so Branch Servants, and it seems unlikely that all of them would stay on the property at once for any extended length of time. There are only 12 members of the Governing Body and maybe a dozen or two members of the Service and Writing departments at Bethel. The Society already adequately provides for the needs of these persons at Bethel.

So, why invest the equivalent of $100,000,000+ for the benefit of so very few people? Why invest this kind of money when all the "needs" this property is supposed to provide are ALREADY provided through existing WTBS property?

The rank and file Jehovah's Witnesses are breaking their backs and giving up their lives for the benefit of these greedy, selfish and out-of-touch people. Yet, the WTBS itself won't lift a finger to help their own brothers in their time of need, even their own anointed ones not headquartered in Bethel, much less anyone else in society-in-general.

If you are a JW reading this, please re-read the scriptures at the top of this article, and explain to me and others how the Watchtower Society is following the examples set out in the scriptures. Explain why the WTBS is always "encouraging" the brothers to "give" to the Society, but gives nothing back. Oh, it SELLS something back, and pockets the profits from its literature. But what is SELLS is false doctrine, lies, revised history, slander, hate, death, destruction and fear.

• Fact: the WTBS does not give aid to society-in-general.
• Fact: the WTBS does not give aid to its very own brothers in their time of need.
• Fact: the WTBS is only interested in giving aid to itself.

What a bargain. For the WTBS, that is.