Patiently waiting for Truth

I don't think anyone is saying that disfellowshipping or shunning is totally wrong.
I think the argument / debate, is about when those things should be used. 
I also think it has been proved that JW Elders have disfellowshipped people for unjust reasons. And that people are shunned for unjust reasons. 
As you will know scriptures can be misused by anyone. So I think what some of us here are looking for is justice, mercy and love. I'm sure there must have been many times that Jesus could have turned some of his disciples away, but Jesus showed love and patience and mercy. 
I quite often think about Matthew 12 v 9 through 12.  ...' so it is lawful to do a fine thing on the Sabbath'.
 
 

So wow, you found one person to fit your purpose, congratulations. 
If ex JW's can prove how wrong the GB and JW Org are, then they are serving God's purpose to either clean up that Org or to get rid of it, so that God through Christ can use it or replace it with true worshippers. 
If your GB tell Anointed brothers and sisters not to contact each other, then that is obviously wrong, as those brothers and sisters are of the same BODY OF CHRIST. 
Did God use the Romans to destroy Jerusalem ? Or did God just remove His protection from Jerusalem ? 
Is God using ex JW's or just allowing them to do HIS work ? 

Mr Harley it  looks like you are laying a road not writing a comment and IMO it is to hide half of what you have actually written, because you know yourself it is complete tosh.  So you have made it difficult for anyone to comment on it by writing for five miles long. 
However, quote . 
' It used to be announced from time to time that “so and so has been disfellowshipped.” For several years now—what is it? maybe 10? it is “so and so is no longer one of Jehovah’s Witnesses.”
It gets the job done, and it avoids the problem of being attacked over the fact that “disfellowship” is not a word that appears in the Bible.. '
Oh dear, how sad you are. Was it ever announced that 'so and so has left the JW's ?  Because the obvious reason for this 'newish' way of telling it, is purely to hide the FACT that many JW's are actually LEAVING the JW Org. The GB wishes to hide the numbers of those disassociating themselves from JW Org. 
Add to this that may Victims of CSA  have said they were d'fed for either complaining to the Elders or to outside authorities. So now the GB can, through it's 'police dept' (elders), d'fed someone who has suffered CSA but does not have enough proof, but that still complains to the elders. The elders can still threaten d'fed action with or without  the new 'rule book'. 
Quote " They think of “treat him as a tax collector and man of the nations,” that Jews had “no dealings” with. "
Are but we are not Jews, we are NOT under Mosaic Law. JESUS would eat meals in the homes of Tax Collectors. Wasn't Matthew a Tax Collector ?  And the disciples / apostles went out to the people of the nations to gather them to God. 
Quote " They think of “not even eating with such a man, "  BUT you have forgotten the whole scripture here. 
New International Version
But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people.
So tell me o worshipper of the GB, what is the case if a person leaves the JW Org, and no longer calls himself / herself a brother or sister ? That scripture cannot applyote "
Quote " it is indisputably the Bible that directs congregation members. It is the Bible that tells them what to do, "
You are having a laugh Mr Harley. Congregants know who are pulling the strings, but congregants love being puppets. It means they do not have to think or have a conscience. If they go wrong they can blame the Org for it's misdirection. They, like you, worship the GB.
Quote "The only “sin” that the “corporation” has committed is educating members as to what the Bible says on all aspects of life. "
Oh if only it was the only sin. You are so blinkered. GB / Org sins include, CSA, disfellowshipping for false reasons,  Telling the Anointed not to contact each other,  pretending to be the F&DS, telling lies to congregants and to the world by false teachings, Telling lies in Courts and probably many more. 
But i won't be so selfish as to take up as much space as you did My Harley............. 
 
 

Quote "Their time for ruling and being together  is not now  " 
Says who ? (  @Arauna we can all play your silly game) 
Your GB are ruling right now, 8 mainly American men, with American thoughts and personalities. 
Whereas God through Christ has anointed people from ALL the Earth. 
But your GB domineer them. Will God and Christ allow that to continue ? I think not. 
Why anoint them if they are not allowed to make full use of it ?  Why not just chose faithful people from amongst the dead. 
Can you imagine the disciples receiving Holy Spirit then being told to go home and keep quiet about it. Being told not to teach others. Being told not to gather together. 
 
 

A couple of points here :-
1. In times past the whole of the anointed here on earth were classed as the F&DS 
Then the GB in their selfish 'wisdom' decided that ONLY THEY are the F&DS.
So who is exalting themselves above others here? Who is separating themselves from the Body of Christ ?  Who are the ones that are trying to domineer ?  
2. For the Anointed to contact each other does not mean literally gathering in one place. Or do you live so much in the past.  We have internet, we have mobile / cell phones. Even prior to this we had fax machines and landline phones. So using the excuse that the Anointed would have to gather in one place is rather pathetic. 
I do honestly hope that members of the Anointed DO CONTACT EACH OTHER.  Those of the Anointed will have more spirituality and guidance from God. Otherwise why would God even have an Anointed here on Earth. God could just as easily use Christ to chose a person after they have died, and then resurrect them in the spirit. Why would God anoint someone and then tell them (through the GB) to be inactive as an Anointed ? 
Of course you GB worshippers don't like the scripture of 'Ten men clinging to the skirt of a Jew' because you know the Jew represents the whole of the Anointed. 
The Org needs Anointed people from around the Earth, to be the leaders of the Organisation. They need not be permanently in one location together. Internet is quite fast you know . But the GB would lose their power to dominate 8.5 million people, and to also dominate and lie to another possible 8 million so called Bible studies.   

On the surface, this might seem a valid objection to the GB today. I could be wrong, but I think 3 of the 8 are not American—Losch, Jackson (Australian), and Splane (Canadian)—still I understand the supposed imbalance. It is based on a questionable assumption, though, that Eskimos (to take an example) cannot possibly be adequately governed unless there are Eskimos on the Governing Body. Is it really that way?
First of all, I submit that the “imbalance” is not so dire as 4Jah suggests. If we were speaking of 8 mainly American businessmen, all educated in American universities, all wealthy as large corporate businessmen usually are, all “insulated” socially from the working-class people, then I would say that he raises a good point. But it is not that way with the GB.
Why don’t you ask the military generals or the national politicians just how “American” their thoughts and personalities are? The fact is that nobody has been able to overcome nationalism—or racism, classism, or social and educational differences, like Jehovah’s Witnesses, and everyone knows it.
Sam Herd is the son of a mule-driver. Think that puts him out of touch with the regular people? Both Sanderson and Jackson have served as missionaries in developing countries, doing work not as lowly, but more lowly, than those of most of those that they will later lead. Call that being out of touch? Didn’t Losch operate behind the iron curtain? Call that typical? As for the others, I am not sure of their backgrounds, but I know that all of them have worked full-time service, probably for a lifetime, where the emphasis is on working with the lowly people and even taking direction from them. I mean, these are not blue bloods by any stretch. Previous GB members have spent years as missionaries—humble door to door calling and interacting with the common people—in varied foreign assignments; Lloyd Barry in Japan comes to mind, but there are many others. So they are hardly so “white” and “American” as you suppose. 
I am in the US. A few decades ago, the question was asked: ‘how come there’s not more black brothers in positions of authority?’ The answer was that, due to social injustices, most black brothers were disadvantaged in various ways—plus the number of JWs themselves was quite small—they only hit 2 million in ....what ....1980 or so? and it was not too many years from when it was Brother Rutherford and Brother Russell and “pilgrims” and an organization of a few hundred thousand, and that, with time and growth and societal rebalancing of some grievances, we could expect to see more black brothers in “higher” positions. 
That has proved to be he case. Black brothers have “risen the ranks” and, to my mind, bring unique gifts to the table that whites lack. It is a black brother that gave the streamed Memorial talk one year (streaming is quite new) and the streamed special talk the next. I have spent most of my life working in congregations with about a 50/50 mix of white/black in the rank and file and the servant body. It is with congregation things as it is with music—things are more interesting and have more “life” once blacks are involved. Jazz, rock n roll, the interesting developments of American music, all come only from the contribution of blacks. (And I’d wager that Alan barely knows any black people—even as he huffs at the GB for not being more diversified)
A friend in Myanmar tells me this inbalance of resources that once held American blacks back is duplicated where he lives with native brothers. Those in the positions of highest oversight are often “needgreaters” of various nationalities, and locals are not heavily represented. The reason? Poverty is so extreme that most locals cannot afford the nominal transportation costs to travel to any destination that isn’t absolutely essential. It is not the GB’s fault that the world is all screwed up. It is enough for them to spearhead the message of how it will be fixed.
Will there be a Japanese GB member someday, or a Brazilian GB member, or a Mexican one? It could be, as those countries catch up (and even outstrip) US and European lands where the organization first took root. It is unlikely to be an Indian member, a Middle Eastern member, a Myanmmarese member, because the preaching is yet thinly represented there. But it could be one of the former, though I wouldn’t hold my breath. The end is “right around the corner.” It has proven to be one heck of a corner—but still, the end is right around it. I wouldn’t mind seeing it, but it is hardly a big deal.
No, even as is, international interests are well-represented by the GB, given their unique backgrounds, worldwide unity, and lowly origins. Besides, this insistence that only Brazilians can represent Brazilians is largely a contrived political concern. President Obama is black and yet his background is not at all like those of all but a tiny minority of black Americans. He is mostly a product of large universities run by white blue bloods and infused with their philosophies for building a better world. Poor urban blacks will complain that he didn’t do a thing for them. Nothing changed for them with him eight years at the helm.
You have permission to skip it, in that case, though it will be to your detriment. (Nobody else does.)

Oh really? You mean because they would protest outside HQ? Or they would write articles on the internet, like Pearl? Please, get real. Obviously, the GB are not afraid that some united body of anointed would pose a threat to them. The most they could do is form their own religion. If they were to act in an un-Christ like way, they would pose a threat to the peace and unity of the congregation, that is true. And if any anointed acted that way, then most Witnesses would very much doubt their anointing. I knew a few anointed in my life. A beautiful elderly couple in England, long passed now. They were our good friends. I do not remember them ever making extra effort to meet other anointed from other cities, (or even speaking about other anointed). In fact, the brother was our book study conductor for years, and he took good care of the group. That’s where his concentration was. To take care of the sheep assigned to him. He also had responsibilities as an elder, and he and his sweet wife, Gladys, had a number of Bible studies. They were far too busy caring for the spiritual needs of others to be concerned about meeting up with other anointed, who were probably just as busy doing the same. I do not understand your concern about the necessity of a physical unity. Isn’t a spiritual unity what Jesus had in mind? The anointed do not have to be physically together for them to be bonded. They are bonded in their mutual destiny. Besides, it would be rather impractical for them to get together, since most of them live far apart. I suppose you would like to see them get together at some kind of conventions only for the anointed? Keep the other sheep, the earthly class out? How segregatory and un-Biblical.
There you go judging for others again. I read it. Oh wait, I get it, it was just tit for tat. Are you a very young person? (Or am I just lacking humour?)

You use the word domineer so easily..... I call it "facilitation".
Soon you will see what domineering really is. Africa is full of these kind of domineering rulers.  China is now domineering everything in the lives of their subjects by means of 24 hours of surveillance - big brother style....
Americans like to call anyone giving them an instruction, domineering or a dictator. Talk about socialism and americans call them a communist.....total overreaction.....    40 years of indoctrination by movies wants the US youth to have freedom to do everything they want but with no responsibility/accountability.  These secular -style ideas/philosophies are infiltrating us everywhere!..... even the congregation! 
Sin "dominates" us all and is a terrible burden....  the wish to dominate is never ever a benevolent quality...... and so is rebellion against jehovah. This is why elders are always warned not to dominate others but to show them the relevant scriptures because obedience to scripture is a personal choice. When individuals choose to overstep Jehovahs rules, then they can face the consequences for their actions  themselves. They cannot say like Adam "so and so told me to do it".
No- not true.  Prophets like Elisha were anointed for a specific job.  Kings were also anointed for a specific job as was the high priest.
Jesus was anointed with holy spirit to be the messiah (future king and high priest) and the kingdom covenant was for the anointed as kings and priests-  like Jesus.
They were anointed for a specific job. At end of thousand years they may get a new assignment or remain in their positions..... but they will hand over the kingdom back to jehovah when their assignment is completed.

What do you care? The only people who know that there are anointed are Jehovah’s Witnesses, and you’ve put yourself outside that group. And here is Alan appending his “like”—Alan, the atheist—Alan, the evolutionist. Oh, yeah! Alan is real concerned about the doings of the anointed! Maybe they will consult him as their science advisor.
But...but....isn’t Witness an anointed—Witness, who complains of being outmaneuvered by the 8 and deprived of her rightful recognition? Witness, who by her own word, does communicate with those she considers anointed—by the social media and internet methods that you mention. She communicates with as many of them as she likes, probably all that will speak to her—perhaps all of them except for the eight. So what does she care? Any meeting of any type will have at least eight absentees. Carry on without them! She’s made it clear innumerable times that she is not the slightest bit impressed with the preaching infrastructure that they have built and oversee, so what’s it to her if they don’t show up?
I don’t know everything that Witness believes and I am afraid to ask for fear that she will tell me—at a length even longer than Alan. I did ask her a few things, and she immediately assumed that I was coming in from the cold. From that exchange I discovered, however, that her notion of anointed is not at all as JWs believe—she does not think they are all to be “kings and priests to our God” and she blows off the number of them in Revelation 7 as nothing. For all I know, she has reverted to that old time religion that believes “all good people go to heaven”—and Alan will approve that too if it means undermining Jehovah’s Witnesses, despite his atheism, and then lecture everyone else about being hypocrites.
 
 

Quote "Their time for ruling and being together  is not now  " 
Says who ? (  @Arauna we can all play your silly game) 
Your GB are ruling right now, 8 mainly American men, with American thoughts and personalities. 
Whereas God through Christ has anointed people from ALL the Earth. 
But your GB domineer them. Will God and Christ allow that to continue ? I think not. 
Why anoint them if they are not allowed to make full use of it ?  Why not just chose faithful people from amongst the dead. 
Can you imagine the disciples receiving Holy Spirit then being told to go home and keep quiet about it. Being told not to teach others. Being told not to gather together. 
 
 

Quote "Their time for ruling and being together  is not now  " 
Says who ? (  @Arauna we can all play your silly game) 
Your GB are ruling right now, 8 mainly American men, with American thoughts and personalities. 
Whereas God through Christ has anointed people from ALL the Earth. 
But your GB domineer them. Will God and Christ allow that to continue ? I think not. 
Why anoint them if they are not allowed to make full use of it ?  Why not just chose faithful people from amongst the dead. 
Can you imagine the disciples receiving Holy Spirit then being told to go home and keep quiet about it. Being told not to teach others. Being told not to gather together. 
 
 

A couple of points here :-
1. In times past the whole of the anointed here on earth were classed as the F&DS 
Then the GB in their selfish 'wisdom' decided that ONLY THEY are the F&DS.
So who is exalting themselves above others here? Who is separating themselves from the Body of Christ ?  Who are the ones that are trying to domineer ?  
2. For the Anointed to contact each other does not mean literally gathering in one place. Or do you live so much in the past.  We have internet, we have mobile / cell phones. Even prior to this we had fax machines and landline phones. So using the excuse that the Anointed would have to gather in one place is rather pathetic. 
I do honestly hope that members of the Anointed DO CONTACT EACH OTHER.  Those of the Anointed will have more spirituality and guidance from God. Otherwise why would God even have an Anointed here on Earth. God could just as easily use Christ to chose a person after they have died, and then resurrect them in the spirit. Why would God anoint someone and then tell them (through the GB) to be inactive as an Anointed ? 
Of course you GB worshippers don't like the scripture of 'Ten men clinging to the skirt of a Jew' because you know the Jew represents the whole of the Anointed. 
The Org needs Anointed people from around the Earth, to be the leaders of the Organisation. They need not be permanently in one location together. Internet is quite fast you know . But the GB would lose their power to dominate 8.5 million people, and to also dominate and lie to another possible 8 million so called Bible studies.   

Says who? 
The ones who are now spearheading the organization are training others all the time - elders, servants etc.  Their time for ruling and being together  is not now ... but in future.... then they will all be together under christ and their administration will bring mankind back to the original purpose of God.  The promises of being together under christ lies in future. 
The original congregations were mostly anointed but the great crowd now makes up the largest part of the congregations.... and the obligation to meet together and encourage each other is as much the great crowd's obligation as the anointed.
So we must read in it hidden messages?   Sounds more like mysticism to me...... or evolution.  Seeing something where it does not exist. 
You expect answers when you have no intention or capability to answer my challenges.

Many manuscripts have been discovered in the desert where, after thousands of years, they are still perfectly preserved. Reflecting upon this, I decided to go down to the desert myself and give it a shot. Sure enough, after a bit of poking I found a manuscript. 
I brushed off the sand, flicked away the gecko turds, and sent it off to the scholars at the Whitepebble Biblical Research Institute. They went gaga over it. The manuscript sheds new light on events long thought to be beyond dispute, and most scholars find it a tough sell. Nonetheless, they are hard-up there for manuscripts at the moment, and the obnoxicus superiorticus is now housed in the AlanF wing of that venerable institution, where the foundation has been jacked up to accommodate the extra weight:
And at about the sixth hour, he looked down upon his tormentors and said, “You people are so stupid! It amazes me that your tiny brains can generate the power to move your feet. I’m bored with you pitiful attempts to cause me pain. The hypocrisy and doublethink on display are just breathtaking!” And many other things like these he said.
At about the ninth hour, soldiers approached to break his legs in order to hasten death. They did so. He said to them: “As I predicted, no reasonable answer here. As usual you've ignored at least 90% of my arguments and comments. I ask again: What are the names of the scriptural accounts you've read? Lack of an answer will tell me either that you don't read such, or you're embarrassed to name them. You have once again punted on most everything with which I challenged. Such transparent hypocrites! You demand an answer from me that, with a little online research, you can find the answer to yourself. Yet you refuse to answer my unique challenges and questions to you. You are a bunch of liars. I posed my challenge to disprove my logic that the one that is to come you posted your Intelligent Jewish claptrap. I posed my challenge this past Tuesday, but you posted your silly question only yesterday. You yourself are quite selective in your worship of Mommy Torah. Obviously you can't answer any of my challenges. You're dishonest to the core and too incompetent to say anything about science. Since you're too lazy to do your own research, I've done some for you. For example.....”
At about the 20th hour, one of the centurions said to his companion, “Oh, for crying out loud!”
Unfortunately, the complete text of the remarks runs quite long, and I had to leave some of the manuscript there in the desert because I couldn’t afford the freight. Possibly on another expedition I will fetch it, or ask @Arauna, who knows the African desert like the back of her hand, to fetch it for me.
 
 
 

A couple of points here :-
1. In times past the whole of the anointed here on earth were classed as the F&DS 
Then the GB in their selfish 'wisdom' decided that ONLY THEY are the F&DS.
So who is exalting themselves above others here? Who is separating themselves from the Body of Christ ?  Who are the ones that are trying to domineer ?  
2. For the Anointed to contact each other does not mean literally gathering in one place. Or do you live so much in the past.  We have internet, we have mobile / cell phones. Even prior to this we had fax machines and landline phones. So using the excuse that the Anointed would have to gather in one place is rather pathetic. 
I do honestly hope that members of the Anointed DO CONTACT EACH OTHER.  Those of the Anointed will have more spirituality and guidance from God. Otherwise why would God even have an Anointed here on Earth. God could just as easily use Christ to chose a person after they have died, and then resurrect them in the spirit. Why would God anoint someone and then tell them (through the GB) to be inactive as an Anointed ? 
Of course you GB worshippers don't like the scripture of 'Ten men clinging to the skirt of a Jew' because you know the Jew represents the whole of the Anointed. 
The Org needs Anointed people from around the Earth, to be the leaders of the Organisation. They need not be permanently in one location together. Internet is quite fast you know . But the GB would lose their power to dominate 8.5 million people, and to also dominate and lie to another possible 8 million so called Bible studies.   

In addition, anointed Christians do not view themselves as being part of an elite club. They do not seek out others who claim to have the same calling, hoping to bond with them or endeavoring to form private groups for Bible study. (Gal. 1:15-17) Such efforts would cause divisions within the congregation and work against the holy spirit, which promotes peace and unity.   wt 1/2016, "We Want to Go With You".
It would be important and interesting to see what are examples that WT Society GB and elders saw as danger for Corporation and as braking Bible Principles. 
We all are aware how people doing this sort of "separation" inside same structure. "Birds of feather flock together". It is visible to many how JW people contribute in various measures to this same. Bethel workers are one "social class", also pioneers understanding each other more than some other level of brotherhood can do that. Brothers who are wealthier or have more education find more friends inside such people and making that sort of "social group". Poor brothers understand each other more, much better than someone who has plenty of money can have that compassion to them. All such gathering can be seen as gathering based on some reasons that is not "Biblical", but it is not so simple or good  to make automatic conclusion or judgement.
If anointed individuals understand each other more better and in special way, it is normal to see them want to spend more time been together. Do you want to spend more of your time with people who understand you and your inner life or you want to be with those people who can't do that??
We all can be seen as "elite" in own eyes, or in eyes of other.
Warning about private groups for study Bible is based on need to control everyone, not just appointed. 
 

I have no problem.  But, apparently you cannot decipher what the WT is telling you.
WT, 1/2016:  "They DO NOT SEEK OUT OTHERS who claim to have the same calling, HOPING TO BOND WITH THEM or endeavoring to form private groups for Bible study" =  the Body is to remain APART AND DIVIDED.
1 Cor 12:25:  "That there should be NO SCHISM ("DIVISION, SPLIT, RENT, DISSENSION") in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another." = The Body is to BOND TOGETHER 
Who have the authority to judge the faith of another, including the anointed ones?  Who has the authority to judge one as spiritually "dead", including the anointed ones?  Who disfellowships individuals for answering only to Christ and not the GB?  WHO MAKES THE JUDGMENT CALL CONCERNING ANOTHER'S STANDING BEFORE GOD?
Wouldn't you say that the elders, as a majority, feel privileged to possess the power given them to judge another in place of Christ?  After all, the WT calls it a "privilege" to serve "God" in this way.  Dan 8:24,25
Again Anna, what will you believe, men's doctrine or God's word?
"Who are you to judge another’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand."  Rom 14:4
 
 
 

Anna said:
Yes, Ms. too-naive-for-her-own-good.
     
Some are, some are not. Watchtower writers are past masters at manipulating the JW community with smooth words that are deliberately ambiguous, or say one thing but mean another. Again you're far too naive.
At the time I had not been an active JW for at least 15 years. One loses the bad mental conditioning after awhile.
He was quite good at deciphering the ambiguities of WTS instructions. He and his wife were very well respected, and entertained GB members. At the time he had been a JW for 60 years, so he knew what he was talking about.
Oftentimes the Society designs its instructions with a subtly hidden message that astute JWs are supposed to pick up on.
You forget the most important thing: since out of one side of its mouth the GB claims to admit that it is fallible, then its Bible interpretations are open to questioning. If a dissenting JW has figured out the truth of some Bible teaching, finds it at odds with Watchtower teaching, and lets it be known to others, then who is "causing division"? The one teaching the Bible, or the one teaching the commands of men? Remember that God is not directing these fallible men of the GB.
 
They're right there in black and white. Go back and read what you posted from the Watchtower.
Still missing the point. You're approaching Orwellian crimestop here.

I repeat again, you are reading into things that aren't there.
Of course.
Those of anointed who consider themselves the faithful and discreet slave, as I am sure you are referring to them,  do not wield authority over their fellow anointed, nor are they masters over anyone's faith for that matter. We are all fully cognizant that all the anointed are to answer to Jesus. And we are all cognizant of the fact that no one is better than anyone else. So what is your problem?

Don't you see that scripture contradicts this ordinance made by men?  If the anointed were to "gather" as the elder body and helpers "gather", what do you think might happen?  Another point of view that would threaten the GB's teachings?  
Wouldn't you say the helpers and GB gather "exclusively?"   And, if they can do it, why not God's anointed ones?  
The point is the GB are afraid their leadership will be challenged by a united body of anointed ones.  So, they are not to BOND TOGETHER, as the 1/2016 WT stated.   The GB have separated from their Head, Christ, "puffed up" in their "fleshy minds" that they must have total control over the anointed.  Col 2:18,19
No anointed one is to wield authority over another. 1 Cor 12 expresses that clearly.  You may just want to read it.    There is only one Master that the anointed are to answer to, Jesus Christ.

You're welcome!
It seems that John Butler  4jah2me is keeping up with the spiritual food faster than you!
Oh really, Mr. know it all
Why don't you just take what is written at face value? That's how they are meant. I find it curious how you need things explained by a prominent elder. Pity he didn't take things at face value either. Reading more into things is never a good idea. Working against the holy spirit in this case is not rocket science. If the Bible's admonition is not to cause divisions, and promote unity, then if one does things contrary to that, then one would be working against the holy spirit. Obviously. You guys get too hung up about what the GB says, and forget what the Bible says.
 
Again, you are reading into things that aren't there. Everyone and anyone can get together and discuss spiritual things. This is talking about exclusivity. That is the point.

"Elite club" comes from the sarcastic mouths of an "elite" leadership.  

But you continue to miss the crucial point: the anointed are not supposed to get together and discuss spiritual things.

There is to be no division in the anointed Body of Christ.  1 Cor 12:25  I posted 1 Cor 12:13-25 in my comment; just now added the scripture link it came from.

I get the point: "anointed Christians do not view themselves as being part of an elite club". They do not see themselves in exclusive terms, as if the other sheep didn't belong among them. Therefor they mingle, and encourage the other sheep, not segregate themselves into special anointed camps. Jesus said the two flocks would become one. That is the point.
There is no division in the body, where do you get that idea?