First, I would like to mention that the purpose of my website is not to prove the Society or anyone else wrong, but rather to explain the present situation that exists in many congregations. As you may already be aware, we have lost approximately one third of our brothers in the past thirty years (since 1975), brothers and sisters that used to go to the meetings and share in the preaching work with us. This is a huge number when we consider that a single lost sheep is precious to Jehovah. (Luke 15:3-7) A few of them have been disfellowshipped simply for questioning some teachings of the "faithful and discreet slave." An elder in my congregation was disfellowshipped for doubting that the slave was judged in 1918-19 and at that time found "faithful and discreet" and appointed over all God's household. This phobia of "apostates" among us, who dare to question the authority of the "faithful and discreet slave," as they like to refer to themselves, has resulted in "witch hunts" in many of the congregations.

I was among the many who had put faith in their promise that the generation that saw 1914 would also see the end of this system. There was a time when I believed everything we were taught by the "faithful and discreet slave," without question, even the things not found in the Scriptures, thinking that if it was not in the Bible then they must have received the information directly from Jehovah. But I have become painfully aware that the prophecies that Jehovah addresses to "my people" apply to us, including me, for we are his people, and not the churches of Christendom. That means that, according to Jehovah's pronouncements, we are not as wonderful in his eyes as we have been led to believe. (Prov. 30:12) And the prophecies where Jehovah denounces the shepherds of his people for having led his sheep astray and scattering them, applies to our shepherds, our leaders, and not the clergy of Christendom. (Ezek. 34:1-31) The problems that God's people are facing in these last days, including the many that have stumbled or simply strayed from God's household, are a result of our having "gone beyond the things that are written." If we add or take away from God's Word, even in seemingly small matters, the consequences will eventually be severe. (Deut. 4:2; 12:32; Prov. 30:6; 1 Cor. 4:6)

Take for example the matter of dedication that you refer to. It seemingly is a good thing. How can it not be! After all, as you note, what can be wrong with dedicating ourselves to Jehovah "where you never plan to leave him regardless of what happens or what people view you as dedication doesn't mean just going to meetings and doing things for outward appearances but it means your dedicated to Jehovah him and him alone above all else and that should be reflected in how we do things in our daily lives and how we treat people our ethics morals ect." But nowhere in the Bible has Jehovah commanded us to dedicate ourselves to him. The Watchtower back in 1952 said in this regard, "Searching through the Christian Greek Scriptures we do not find either the word dedication or the word consecration used to designate this step of giving oneself exclusively to God through Jesus Christ." (The Watchtower, May 15, 1952, page 315, under the study article "Dedication for Life in the New World") Brother Russell taught that without dedication (or consecration as it was known before 1952), we cannot gain salvation. That is a hold-over of Christendom's teaching. Look up "consecration" or "dedication" on Google, and read what the Catholic Encyclopedia says about this. The Catholics (besides many other churches) teach that we cannot gain salvation without being dedicated (consecrated) to God. That is why they baptize babies, for if a baby were to die in an unconsecrated state then it could not go to heaven. We argue over the age of when a person should be baptized in symbol of such dedication, although nowhere in the Scriptures is baptism and dedication spoken of together.

Whenever we go "beyond the things that are written" in God's Word there will be consequences. For one thing, our teaching of dedication robs Jehovah and his Son of the love, respect and appreciation that they rightly deserve; for by it we direct the attention away from them and focus on ourselves, our own love and what we do for Jehovah, rather than on Jehovah and his love for us and what he has done for us in sending his Son on our behalf. We are commanded to love Jehovah, and if we love him then we observe his commandments. (1 John 5:3) Yes, loving Jehovah with our whole heart, mind, soul and strength, includes everything you have mentioned in your letter about dedication. (Luke 10:27) But this teaching of ours on dedication, though seemingly noble, has made God's Word invalid in certain respects. We have come to judge our brothers' spirituality by how well they live up to their dedication, whether they are spiritually strong or weak (by how many meetings they attend or how many hours they spend in the preaching work), even deciding by these things whether someone is or is not good spiritual association, or worthy to be used in the congregation to enjoy such privileges as handling the microphone. Indeed, the first thing a visiting Circuit Overseer does is inspect the publishers' record cards, and he judges the individuals' and congregation's spirituality accordingly. Yet, Jesus commanded us not to judge our brothers, we are not to "look down" on our brothers, our work is not to be judged "in comparison with the other person," and the Scriptures tell us that we are not "declared righteous as a result of works." (Matt. 7:1,2; Rom. 4:2-8; 14:4, 10-14; Gal. 6:4) By our teaching of dedication we have made God's Word invalid, for we preach as acceptable the very opposite of what the Scriptures tell us. And since the requirement of dedication is nowhere discussed in the Scriptures, those who are teaching it are free to define what it means and what it involves in any way they choose.

Worshipping Jehovah has become burdensome for many, for they cannot perform all the things that we are told is involved in living up to our dedication. Thus all too many have given up on themselves, feeling that if Armageddon were to come tomorrow they would not be worthy to survive. Many of these no longer attend meetings or share in the preaching work because in this way they feel they get the elders "off their backs," so to speak, for they will not be visited as a consequence of their few hours spent in the field service, missing too many meetings or failing to prepare for them, etc., etc. By going "beyond the things written" we have become guilty of the same thing that Jesus condemned the religious leaders of in his day. The scribes and the Pharisees added to God's laws many of their own laws and regulations, making the keeping of these just as important as obeying God's own laws. In fact, they insisted that obeying them was the same as obeying God, just as Jehovah had required the people to obey Moses. But Jesus condemned them for having "seated themselves in the seat of Moses." (Matt. 23:2-4) Moses, as the mediator of the Law covenant, had foreshadowed Jesus who is the mediator of the new covenant. Yes, just as the people had to obey Moses, Jehovah requires his people today to obey Jesus. Neither Moses nor Jesus ever went beyond the things Jehovah commanded. (compare John 7:16-18)

Moses did not picture the religious leaders in Jesus' day, nor the twelve apostles individually or as a group, nor any other of the anointed, whether in the first century or today. No one of the twelve apostles ever insisted that obeying him was the same as obeying Jehovah. And no one today has the right to teach that obeying him, or them as a group, is the same as obeying God. There is good reason why Jehovah would not equate listening to any man or group of men the same as listening to him. Even the apostle Peter was at one time in danger of standing "condemned" for "not walking straight according to the truth of the good news." In the position of one of the twelve apostles he was in real danger of influencing others to follow his deviation from the “truth of the good news.” Continuing on that course would have led to his eventual rejection and destruction, but Peter allowed himself to be humbly corrected, even by someone who previously had been a persecutor of his. It should therefore not surprise us that some leaders among us may find themselves in the same situation as Peter's. For that reason the apostle Paul wrote, "let God be found true, though every man be found a liar." (Gal. 1:22,23; 2:11-14; Romans 3:4; 1 John 1:10) It is a very serious matter to deviate from God's Word, to add to it or take away from it. (Rev. 22:18,19) Will anyone argue that what was condemned by Jesus in the first century has become acceptable in our day? (Matt. 15:3-9)

I hope what you read on my website does not stumble you from worshipping Jehovah in connection with his household. It would be better to stay away from it if it does. Like I said in the beginning, my objective is not to prove the Society wrong, but rather my purpose is to explain why the situation within God's household exists as it does, that we can expect matters to get worse, much worse in connection with the authoritarian rule of our leaders, and how some of our teachings have contributed to this. Many have come to the conclusion that we cannot be God's people because of all the problems and errors in our teaching, particularly prophecies, and they have left or been stumbled. But we must realize that Jehovah had foretold these developments and the reasons for the present situation. (Dan. 11:35) He has also prophesied about further developments and how it all is going to end. Regrettably, our brothers and sisters have not been informed of these things, for we have been taught that we have nothing to fear, for all the prophecies declaring Jehovah’s judgments and addressed to "my people," really apply to the people in Christendom. But Jehovah has nothing to do with Christendom, as I provide evidence on my website. We are God's people, his household! We are the ones that Jehovah addresses as "my people." Christendom is made up of the weeds that the Devil sowed in Jesus' illustration. (Matt. 13:37-43) Just because the weeds resemble the wheat does not mean that Jehovah gets confused and addresses the weeds as belonging to him. (Jer. 5:26-31; 12:10; 17:5-8; 23:16-22; 25:34-36; Ezek. 13:8-16)
 
Please do not direct any of your friends or relatives to my website. I do not advertise nor promote my site. I trust that Jehovah will direct anyone who is in need of encouragement to it. (Matt. 9:12,13) There is ample evidence that he is doing this, for I have received many letters of appreciation from brothers and sisters all over the world who have had their faith shaken by present developments within the organization or their own congregations, and have somehow found my site. They thank me for the Scriptural answers and the encouragement I provide to help them endure, by helping them understand their true relationship with Jehovah, even apart from our man-made tradition of dedication. They give the praise and thanks for my site to Jehovah, where it belongs. You can read portions of their letters of appreciation on my site under "Comments from Visitors."

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