Witness

That's all we need. 

“Who is it he is trying to teach?
    To whom is he explaining his message?
To children weaned from their milk,
    to those just taken from the breast?
For it is:
    Do this, do that,
    a rule for this, a rule for that;
    a little here, a little there.”  Isa 28:9,10
Wearing a beard should not change how people hear truth from the scriptures.  The organization is more concerned about "image", the pretense called "truth".  

That's all we need. 

If you don't mind my open comment, but i think how it is very pathetic that so called Revalidation or Official Approval, Confirmation from GB must be released, given as first step, as Doctrinal teaching to allow JW men who want to have beard to have it.
I would not called this News as some sort of "new light", or "organizational progress", or "Org. is changing". Because if this news make you "happy", or make you "glad to see new Instruction comes on brotherhood" .... than i can say how you, dear people, don't see another thing: 
- That the clergy aka GB determined the things they should not have to determine.
- That there are more/many things in JW life run by rules that should not have to exist, but existing because GB policy, management, ruling.
- This example proves how JW people are Subjected, expose to, Submissive to HUMAN RULES. And how some/many of you feels some sort of release and happiness now, when this Burden was put away from you.
Think, please, what other GB Rules administrates, governs (governing body) your life and you continuing to obey it/them.  

Judas and Ray Franz
Judas betrayed Jesus. That was his sin. 
Raymond Franz found that WT betrayed Jesus. That was his sin.
Simple and clear.

I'll go back to your original comment:
Will you explain to me why you believe the two, both Judas and Ray Franz,  are an "excellent comparison"?  How are they similar?  You really are beating around the bush. 

You might want to do some research to see just how many organizations offer free Bibles all around the world.  

Which things?  It's not the question of who's life I change, but who are changed by truth in scripture.  

"The organization is highly devoted to what they perceive as the correct understanding of the Bible." 
Jehovah’s Witnesses is a Christian church, and we have some clear biblical guidelines on how to behave in order to enjoy and be part of the life in the congregation. If someone commits serious sins against the moral code of the Bible, a judicial committee must address whether this person can continue to be part of the congregation. The book which you have, explains how a judicial committee works and the biblical principles they must follow.
Here is the moral code:
 Jesus answered, “The most important is Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. 31 The second is, Love your neighbor as yourself.There is no other command greater than these.”  Mark 12:29-31
No other, JWs. 
In court the boy also reveals how he had witnessed his mother knealing in front of his stepfather, begging for mercy.
And how he, the 15 year old, tried to go between them to stop the violence. But nothing worked. It’s then he, out of sheer desperation, together with his older brother, approached the Elders in their congregation. The brothers tell the Elders what is going on at home.
"I can’t witness this any more, how my mother and baby brothers are treated". That’s what he told the Elders. But they did nothing," says the woman.
WHO HAS BROKEN THE MORAL CODE OF THE BIBLE, BUT THE MEN WHO MAKE A PRETENSE OF FOLLOWING IT?
THIS IS WHY THE TWO-WITNESS RULE CONCERNING CHILD ABUSE DOESN'T WORK.  THE ORGANIZATION PERCEIVES IT AS COLD AND CALCULATING. 
If there was true love among the entire army of leaders in the organization, the elders would have acted upon it and responded to the boy's plea for help.
"Because lawlessness will multiply, the love of many will grow cold."  Matt 24:12 

My, you give Jesus little credit.
I know I’ve posted these scriptures; but here I will quote it from the International Children’s Bible 😊
Then the angel who was talking with me came back. He woke me up as if I had been asleep. 2 He asked me, “What do you see?”
I said, “I see a solid gold lampstand. There is a bowl at the top. And there are seven lamps. There are also seven places for wicks. 3 There are two olive trees by it. One is on the right of the bowl. And one is on the left.”
4 I asked the angel who talked with me, “Sir, what are these?”
5 The angel said, “Don’t you know what they are?”
“No, sir,” I said.
6 Then he told me, “This is the message from the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘You will not succeed by your own strength or by your own power. The power will come from my Spirit,’ says the Lord of heaven’s armies.
7 “No mountain (the “mountainlike organization”) can stand in Zerubbabel’s way. It will be flattened. Then he will bring out the topmost stone. There will be shouts of ‘It’s beautiful! It’s beautiful!’”
(Definitely we are not talking about a corrupt organization that calls itself "Zion".)  
8 Then the Lord spoke his word to me again. He said: 9 “Zerubbabel has laid the foundation of this Temple. (Not the Watchtower “temple”, but that which is built upon faithful anointed “living stones” 1 Cor 3:16,17; 1 Pet 2:5,9)  He will also complete it. Then you will know that the Lord of heaven’s armies has sent me to you.
10 “The people should not think that small beginnings are unimportant. They will be happy when they see Zerubbabel with tools, building the Temple.
“(These seven lamps stand for the eyes of the Lord. They look back and forth across the earth.)”
11 Then I asked the angel, “What are the two olive trees on the right and left of the lampstand?”
12 I also asked him, “What are the two branches full of olives? The olive oil flows through the two gold pipes to the lamps.”
13 He answered, “Don’t you know what they are?”
“No, sir,” I said.
14 So he said, “They stand for two men. They have been appointed to serve the Lord of all the earth.”
 
A symbolic “two” will complete the work God has outlined for them. Rev 11:1-6  Do you know how many that is?  Do you think it is 8 million people?  Doubtfully.
 
“Also, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about something, then you can pray for it. And the thing you ask for will be done for you by my Father in heaven. 20 This is true because if two or three people come together in my name, I am there with them.”  Matt 28:19,20
 
 
 
 
 

To quote TTH " I do not ever say that the slave is wrong. It is not my place, even were I to think it. "
This is so sad as I presume he is talking about the Governing Body. 
Psalm 146
 3  Do not put your trust in princes Nor in a son of man, who cannot bring salvation.
Remember that Tom. Those 8 men are only men. They are not God nor Jesus Christ. 
And ''if' they form part of the Anointed, they are only a tiny part of it. 

To quote the pussycat CA 
26  If any man thinks he is a worshipper of God but does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he is deceiving his own heart, and his worship is futile.
Ah but if you then look at the next verse 
27  The form of worship that is clean and undefiled from the standpoint of our God and Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their tribulation, and to keep oneself without spot from the world.
Um, GB and JW Org complete FAILURE  

"The organization is highly devoted to what they perceive as the correct understanding of the Bible." 
Jehovah’s Witnesses is a Christian church, and we have some clear biblical guidelines on how to behave in order to enjoy and be part of the life in the congregation. If someone commits serious sins against the moral code of the Bible, a judicial committee must address whether this person can continue to be part of the congregation. The book which you have, explains how a judicial committee works and the biblical principles they must follow.
Here is the moral code:
 Jesus answered, “The most important is Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. 31 The second is, Love your neighbor as yourself.There is no other command greater than these.”  Mark 12:29-31
No other, JWs. 
In court the boy also reveals how he had witnessed his mother knealing in front of his stepfather, begging for mercy.
And how he, the 15 year old, tried to go between them to stop the violence. But nothing worked. It’s then he, out of sheer desperation, together with his older brother, approached the Elders in their congregation. The brothers tell the Elders what is going on at home.
"I can’t witness this any more, how my mother and baby brothers are treated". That’s what he told the Elders. But they did nothing," says the woman.
WHO HAS BROKEN THE MORAL CODE OF THE BIBLE, BUT THE MEN WHO MAKE A PRETENSE OF FOLLOWING IT?
THIS IS WHY THE TWO-WITNESS RULE CONCERNING CHILD ABUSE DOESN'T WORK.  THE ORGANIZATION PERCEIVES IT AS COLD AND CALCULATING. 
If there was true love among the entire army of leaders in the organization, the elders would have acted upon it and responded to the boy's plea for help.
"Because lawlessness will multiply, the love of many will grow cold."  Matt 24:12 

I am very sure how this "duty" for elders are viewed as burden in their eyes.
"Flock" are often confused about purpose for such meetings, perhaps they are "guilty" for something :)))))) and that is why some or many of them feels it how such "shepherding" is mainly for "spiritually weak" members ,or just "must be done duty/visit". 
Visiting brothers at least once a year, or twice....before CO visit congregation is hard and forced task for elders and i do not think how they are very happy with this WT "arrangement". 
I can not recall they have visiting me in that way. Maybe once in a life time. :)))

I should have added, to the one who doesn't recognize it.   You appear to be very hopeful that these "clearly stated instructions" will be followed.  How many such instructions have been changed or completely ignored by elders?  My husband was an elder in a congregation where instructions were generally ignored until a "circuit brother" would be ready to call. They would scramble to "prepare" as a good elder body should.  There was no real concern for the sheep.  Shepherding calls infringed on the personal time of elders.  My husband took the bulk of them and was serious at visiting every person in need that he could.   But, not only did he realize that the instructions outlined in the Shepherd the Flock book were hypocritical, but also were the brothers who were suppose to carry them out.  He eventually dropped the Shepherd the Flock book on the table and walked out on the very night that elders were up until all hours making themselves look good for circuit overseer.   He left the organization on account of its hypocrisy.
A false priesthood of men not anointed who do not carry God's laws written on their heart as an anointed Body has been given, cannot and will not be equipped to shepherd the flock in righteousness.  Mal 2:7; Heb 8:10-11
Therefore, whatever you want others to do for you, do also the same for them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.  Matt 7:12
How long has the organization been up and running?  What avenue has been used to force the changes that you now see concerning the major problem of child abuse and the safety of the victim?  It wasn't the teachings of Christ that caused the revision, but the law enforcement of men.  

Thank you; yet the outcome is still relevant today.
 Hypocrisy is the contrivance of a false appearance of virtue or goodness, while concealing real character or inclinations, especially with respect to religious and moral beliefs; hence, in a general sense, hypocrisy may involve dissimulation, pretense, or a sham. Hypocrisy is the practice of engaging in the same behavior or activity for which one criticizes another. In moral psychology, it is the failure to follow one's own expressed moral rules and principles.
Hypocrisy is never clear.  

I should have added, to the one who doesn't recognize it.   You appear to be very hopeful that these "clearly stated instructions" will be followed.  How many such instructions have been changed or completely ignored by elders?  My husband was an elder in a congregation where instructions were generally ignored until a "circuit brother" would be ready to call. They would scramble to "prepare" as a good elder body should.  There was no real concern for the sheep.  Shepherding calls infringed on the personal time of elders.  My husband took the bulk of them and was serious at visiting every person in need that he could.   But, not only did he realize that the instructions outlined in the Shepherd the Flock book were hypocritical, but also were the brothers who were suppose to carry them out.  He eventually dropped the Shepherd the Flock book on the table and walked out on the very night that elders were up until all hours making themselves look good for circuit overseer.   He left the organization on account of its hypocrisy.
A false priesthood of men not anointed who do not carry God's laws written on their heart as an anointed Body has been given, cannot and will not be equipped to shepherd the flock in righteousness.  Mal 2:7; Heb 8:10-11
Therefore, whatever you want others to do for you, do also the same for them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.  Matt 7:12
How long has the organization been up and running?  What avenue has been used to force the changes that you now see concerning the major problem of child abuse and the safety of the victim?  It wasn't the teachings of Christ that caused the revision, but the law enforcement of men.  

I should have added, to the one who doesn't recognize it.   You appear to be very hopeful that these "clearly stated instructions" will be followed.  How many such instructions have been changed or completely ignored by elders?  My husband was an elder in a congregation where instructions were generally ignored until a "circuit brother" would be ready to call. They would scramble to "prepare" as a good elder body should.  There was no real concern for the sheep.  Shepherding calls infringed on the personal time of elders.  My husband took the bulk of them and was serious at visiting every person in need that he could.   But, not only did he realize that the instructions outlined in the Shepherd the Flock book were hypocritical, but also were the brothers who were suppose to carry them out.  He eventually dropped the Shepherd the Flock book on the table and walked out on the very night that elders were up until all hours making themselves look good for circuit overseer.   He left the organization on account of its hypocrisy.
A false priesthood of men not anointed who do not carry God's laws written on their heart as an anointed Body has been given, cannot and will not be equipped to shepherd the flock in righteousness.  Mal 2:7; Heb 8:10-11
Therefore, whatever you want others to do for you, do also the same for them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.  Matt 7:12
How long has the organization been up and running?  What avenue has been used to force the changes that you now see concerning the major problem of child abuse and the safety of the victim?  It wasn't the teachings of Christ that caused the revision, but the law enforcement of men.  

Thank you; yet the outcome is still relevant today.
 Hypocrisy is the contrivance of a false appearance of virtue or goodness, while concealing real character or inclinations, especially with respect to religious and moral beliefs; hence, in a general sense, hypocrisy may involve dissimulation, pretense, or a sham. Hypocrisy is the practice of engaging in the same behavior or activity for which one criticizes another. In moral psychology, it is the failure to follow one's own expressed moral rules and principles.
Hypocrisy is never clear.  

What are you saying, historical because of it being a possible rarity, which I don't agree with; or, historical according to time?  The court case happened just this last fall; which in my book is "today".  
If the same pressure by these "rogue" individuals is put upon a victim, threatening them not to go to the police saying they will handle it in house, how will the authorities know to convict the perpetrator?   What you are saying sounds like the perfect plan, but it is a plan that will not work throughout the organization, and it's individual congregations.  

It all sounds well and good, except in many "rogue" halls, it has been and will continue, to be done according to the will of the elder body.  It think this has been proven more than once.   If elders fail to follow the new guidelines, will they be disfellowshipped?  Just asking.  Will they suffer at the hands of the Watchtower as the victim did?
A jury in northwestern Montana handed down a $35 million award Wednesday in a lawsuit filed by two women against the local Jehovah’s Witnesses congregation and its worldwide headquarters.
The decision came down after a three-day trial. The Thompson Falls congregation and Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, the church’s institutional center in New York and Pennsylvania, will pay $4 million in compensation and $31 million in punitive damages. The monetary award applies to only one of the women who sued the church in 2016.
The women said Max Reyes, a member of the Thompson Falls congregation, sexually assaulted, molested and raped them over a 13-year period in the 1990s and 2000s, both before he was severed from the congregation and after leadership reinstated him 14 months later.
Watchtower, the church’s worldwide center, is the headquarters for the religious leadership and the church's institutional operations, such as policy making and financing. Each congregation is legally connected to Watchtower as one entity.
Earlier in the case, Judge James Manley ruled that Reyes’ criminal acts were foreseeable to the church leadership when they allowed him to return and that the congregation’s elders were not exempt from Montana’s mandatory reporting law when they learned of the allegations against him and didn’t turn him over to law enforcement.  From the "Missoulian"
 
Jesus simply said, "love your neighbor as yourself".  Is this so hard to understand?   Even those few words are incomprehensible to the leaders in the organization.  They are not obedient to Jesus' teachings, nor the law, but only to their selfish desires to do things their way. 

What are you saying, historical because of it being a possible rarity, which I don't agree with; or, historical according to time?  The court case happened just this last fall; which in my book is "today".  
If the same pressure by these "rogue" individuals is put upon a victim, threatening them not to go to the police saying they will handle it in house, how will the authorities know to convict the perpetrator?   What you are saying sounds like the perfect plan, but it is a plan that will not work throughout the organization, and it's individual congregations.  

It all sounds well and good, except in many "rogue" halls, it has been and will continue, to be done according to the will of the elder body.  It think this has been proven more than once.   If elders fail to follow the new guidelines, will they be disfellowshipped?  Just asking.  Will they suffer at the hands of the Watchtower as the victim did?
A jury in northwestern Montana handed down a $35 million award Wednesday in a lawsuit filed by two women against the local Jehovah’s Witnesses congregation and its worldwide headquarters.
The decision came down after a three-day trial. The Thompson Falls congregation and Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, the church’s institutional center in New York and Pennsylvania, will pay $4 million in compensation and $31 million in punitive damages. The monetary award applies to only one of the women who sued the church in 2016.
The women said Max Reyes, a member of the Thompson Falls congregation, sexually assaulted, molested and raped them over a 13-year period in the 1990s and 2000s, both before he was severed from the congregation and after leadership reinstated him 14 months later.
Watchtower, the church’s worldwide center, is the headquarters for the religious leadership and the church's institutional operations, such as policy making and financing. Each congregation is legally connected to Watchtower as one entity.
Earlier in the case, Judge James Manley ruled that Reyes’ criminal acts were foreseeable to the church leadership when they allowed him to return and that the congregation’s elders were not exempt from Montana’s mandatory reporting law when they learned of the allegations against him and didn’t turn him over to law enforcement.  From the "Missoulian"
 
Jesus simply said, "love your neighbor as yourself".  Is this so hard to understand?   Even those few words are incomprehensible to the leaders in the organization.  They are not obedient to Jesus' teachings, nor the law, but only to their selfish desires to do things their way. 

It all sounds well and good, except in many "rogue" halls, it has been and will continue, to be done according to the will of the elder body.  It think this has been proven more than once.   If elders fail to follow the new guidelines, will they be disfellowshipped?  Just asking.  Will they suffer at the hands of the Watchtower as the victim did?
A jury in northwestern Montana handed down a $35 million award Wednesday in a lawsuit filed by two women against the local Jehovah’s Witnesses congregation and its worldwide headquarters.
The decision came down after a three-day trial. The Thompson Falls congregation and Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, the church’s institutional center in New York and Pennsylvania, will pay $4 million in compensation and $31 million in punitive damages. The monetary award applies to only one of the women who sued the church in 2016.
The women said Max Reyes, a member of the Thompson Falls congregation, sexually assaulted, molested and raped them over a 13-year period in the 1990s and 2000s, both before he was severed from the congregation and after leadership reinstated him 14 months later.
Watchtower, the church’s worldwide center, is the headquarters for the religious leadership and the church's institutional operations, such as policy making and financing. Each congregation is legally connected to Watchtower as one entity.
Earlier in the case, Judge James Manley ruled that Reyes’ criminal acts were foreseeable to the church leadership when they allowed him to return and that the congregation’s elders were not exempt from Montana’s mandatory reporting law when they learned of the allegations against him and didn’t turn him over to law enforcement.  From the "Missoulian"
 
Jesus simply said, "love your neighbor as yourself".  Is this so hard to understand?   Even those few words are incomprehensible to the leaders in the organization.  They are not obedient to Jesus' teachings, nor the law, but only to their selfish desires to do things their way. 

( WELL you are the one now using my name so i will respond to 'others' in case it is not clear. )
And if an Elder should want to hide or destroy evidence in the form of written notes he will. And i think that a video was put up on this forum to show a brother in some position of authority telling elders to destroy evidence. That brother used the excuse that 'satan was coming after the organisation'.  Of course what he really meant was 'this is going to cost the Org lots of money and give it a really bad name' ... '
Also I believe that in the Netherlands, Police invaded the HQ and some Kingdom Halls and a couple of homes, searching for such evidence / documents, as proof of Child Abuse happenings. 
At the headquarters of Jehova's Witnesses in Emmen, an invasion took place on 19 November due to a large-scale investigation into sexual abuse.
Two church buildings, also known as kingdom halls, have also been investigated. One of them is in Dordrecht, the location of the other is still unknown. Four houses were also examined. The police were looking for documents from internal lawsuits, that reportsRTL News .    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- My son watched the film 1984, and he said those in charge would say there was 'a variation' in different things, but it actually meant there was a lesser amount being offered for the same cost... When our rent goes up the Council use that same word 'variation' instead of rise in cost. Do you understand where I'm coming from ?  The GB of JW Org is just doing the same thing as the world does, playing with words to serve their own purpose..
There are 'whistleblowers' in the world to show us how bad the ruling classes treat the lower classes. 
I am very pleased that there are 'Whistleblowers' within the JW Org too, to prove how bad the GB and the Org really is.
TTH pretends all is well and Anna backs up his every comment like a parrot. But in truth we know, nothing has changed. It's just playing with words. Something which TTH loves to do. 
So i will repeat. IF AN ELDER COMMITS CHILD ABUSE AND THERE ARE NOT TWO WITNESSES TO PROVE HE DID IT, THEN HE WILL GET AWAY WITH IT BECAUSE HIS FELLOW ELDERS WILL RALLY ROUND HIM TO 'PROTEST' HIM.  THERE WILL NOT BE A PROPER ENQUIRY / INQUIRY TO THE SITUATION AS THE ELDERS WILL SAY THERE IS NO INTERNAL CASE TO ANSWER. THEREFORE THE ABUSER ELDER WILL STILL KEEP HIS 'STATION' AND HIS STATUS. THE VICTIM WILL BE SEEN AS A LIAR AND / OR SLANDERER AND WILL BE SHUNNED BY OTHERS IN THE CONGREGATION. IF THE VICTIM CONTINUES TO COMPLAIN THEY WILL BE DISFELLOWSHIPPED. 
Simple enough for you all to understand I hope. I thought some of you needed capitals as you seem to find it difficult to read and understand things.