Governing Body member Stephen Lett has slammed criticism of the organization’s child abuse record as “apostate-driven lies and dishonesties” in a video released on Watchtower’s new “JW Broadcasting” website.
Lett, who recently raised eyebrows by saying there is more evidence that Jesus’ kingdom began ruling in 1914 than there is for “gravity, electricity, wind,” insisted that “Jehovah’s organization” takes action against those who would threaten its young ones, whom he says it protects.
The comments came in the final part of a 10-minute Orwellian speech in which Lett reminded bethelites to pursue “oneness” even if it meant foregoing personal rights, such as one’s right to decide on one’s own dress and grooming.
A video of Lett’s comments on child abuse can be seen below. To watch the full 10-minute talk, please click here.
In case you didn’t catch it (or couldn’t bear to watch the video) this is what Lett said…
“Another way we can contribute to the oneness: rejecting false stories that are designed to separate us from Jehovah’s organization. As an example, think about the apostate-driven lies and dishonesties that Jehovah’s organization is permissive toward pedophiles. I mean, that is ridiculous, isn’t it! If anybody takes action against someone who would threaten our young ones, and takes action to protect our young ones, it is Jehovah’s organization. We reject outright such lies.”
Aside from the fact that the above words represent a flagrant, bare-faced lie as respects the organization protecting children from pedophiles, it is noteworthy that Lett begins his rant with a straw man argument.
“Apostates” do not necessarily say that Watchtower (“Jehovah’s organization”) is permissive toward pedophiles. Though technically speaking Watchtower’s policies are permissive to some extent, saying the organization is permissive toward pedophiles implies that the organization endorses those who engage in pedophilia and/or doesn’t object to child molestation in its printed material.
Activists like myself have never denied that Watchtower publications strenuously condemn child molestation and those who engage in it. What we are horrified about is the fact that, despite outwardly condemning pedophilia, Watchtower effectively shelters pedophiles by allowing allegations against them to go unreported to the authorities if there is no witness to their heinous crimes.
Rather than this being an “apostate-driven lie” this is a sad truth, as borne out by (1) Watchtower’s own instructions to elders (which urge them to “leave matters in Jehovah’s hands” if an accused pedophile denies the accusation – see below) and (2) the numerous legal battles Watchtower finds itself embroiled in due to this very policy.
And as I point out in my video rebuttal to Lett’s remarks, investigative journalists like Trey Bundy (who has blown wide open the story of Watchtower’s mishandling of child abuse in recent weeks) are not “apostates” at all, and would not be foolish enough to put their careers on the line by reporting stories that cannot be substantiated.
What we have in this frantic rant is a seemingly desperate attempt at stemming the flow of bad publicity by flat-out lying about Watchtower’s involvement in protecting pedophiles. The fact that “Jehovah’s organization” would rather default on a $13.5 million judgment than release its pedophile database in response to a subpoena, as Trey revealed in a Huffington Post interview, says everything about their priorities. Secrecy comes first, safety of children – a poor second.
It will be interesting to see whether floundering tirades and flat-out denials by Governing Body members regarding child abuse become more of a feature of Watchtower propaganda over the coming months as the media begins to really turn the screws.
After all, when you make yourself so visible to your adoring followers, only for your dirty secrets to be exposed on the evening news, sooner or later they will expect answers.
Further reading…
- Is the media finally grasping just how bad Watchtower’s child abuse problem is?
- PBS airs trey Bundy’s must-see documentary on child sex abuse among Jehovah’s Witnesses
- Stephen Lett: More evidence for 1914 than for “gravity, electricity, wind!”
- AAWA.co article “Watchtower Caught in a Lie”
- Jehovah’s Witness Report article
- JWsurvey articles on child abuse
Related video…
@JBob. When anybody got disfellowshipped, I never knew why, if it was unchristian conduct or disassociated themselves or what. The only “apostates” that I was familiar with, were the ones outside of assemblies. I really was not aware of “apostates” at all until I “woke” up last year. To me, they were some obscure people that to me must have become demonized in some way but I obeyed the orders and didn’t talk to anybody who was disfellowshipped. There was only one person that I knew that I was really glad that he got disfellowshipped and that is a man that whenever I ran into him, I could be guaranteed that I’d have stand there and listen to him talk for hours and hours about all his problems.
I was following orders then because I really believed the Organization was being run by Jehovah God. Now of course, I know if there was a God in heaven, that there is no way that that God could be running the Jehovah’s Witness religion because of all their deliberate lies.
I didn’t fully “wake” up for quite a few months of research before I came to realize that it wasn’t the “truth” after all and I think it’s very possible that even the Governing Body could be misled by their own lies, even now. After all, are they free to peruse “apostate” websites like we did? I don’t think so and I do think it’s possible that they too are living in self-made bubbles of ignorance.
What I can’t understand is how could the any member of the Governing Body get up there in front of the cameras and tell outright lies like Stephen Lett did? Is he still in the “dark” or is he awake and deliberately lying?
If he is actually in the “dark”, maybe he is angry because he really believes he is in the “truth” and Satan is after them or maybe he is mad because he actually does have a conscience and he’s first finding out about all the abuse allegations now and he’s mad that nobody has kept him abreast of the situation and he was only reading what he was told to read.
Maybe he is “waking” up or else he is awake and just plain evil. I’d like to think that he isn’t evil. If Stephen Lett has a conscience, maybe he will defect, like Ray Franz did although I find it hard to believe that these men could be that astoundingly ignorant.
If he did defect, there definitely is a pecking order in that if one of the Governing Body members developed a conscience and came out like Ray Franz did, the Organization would fall flat and he’s got to know it.
Putting that heavy of a burden on one man’s shoulders has to be a horrible situation to be in.
I am hoping that at least one of those men actually looks into these allegations of covering up child abuse within the Organization (if they don’t know about it) and “wakes” up, like the rest of us did and so many elders and even circuit overseers have done.
In the days of Ray Franz, there were a lot more Governing Body members and they were in the background and we didn’t even know what they looked like but today, they are in our face all the time and if one of them defected, it would be like an earthquake to the Organization.
So, that is why I am hoping at least one of them has a conscience. If not, then I will know for sure that they are all just plain evil.
There is no way that Stephen Lett can deny what PBS said on that show. He can’t blame it on apostates so it has to be big scandal at Bethel to make up a story like he did and it must be causing a lot of backlash for him to talk like he did in that video with his eyes blazing mad like he was.
As far as your comment about how we need to embrace everyone who got disfellowshipped for misconduct, I don’t know why they got disfellowshipped, but if it was for abusing a child or raping a child or stealing from somebody or something like that, I don’t see why I should have to embrace them. I think there is good reason for disfellowshipping some people if they are a danger to the congregation but like I said, most of us will never know why anybody got disfellowshipped because the announcement was always so and so “is no longer one of Jehovah’s Witnesses”.
The Society likes to define what is a danger as somebody who defected and that is not the same at all as somebody who raped somebody, if you know what I am getting at. The Society will not disfellowship child abusers by the thousands, but if somebody doesn’t want his name associated with a lying organization like the Watchtower, then they make sure that that person is disfellowshipped and shunned even by their own family without that person even being able to tell the family why they left.
The people who support that type of punishment are complacent because they are trusting that the Society would never lie to them. It is so easy to prove that Stephen Lett was lying in that speech by going back to that part in the PBS show, where the man from the Society said it’s not their responsibility to protect it’s children. Maybe it will wake some people up, if they can realize that the Society is capable of lying to them.
@JBob. I don’t blame anybody because I understand being misled. I was misled and shunned because I was being obedient and believed it was the “truth” too. Now I know better but no, I don’t hold it against them if they were and are following orders. Maybe even the Governing Body members aren’t awake. All I know is that an organization that is actually run by a God (if there is one) wouldn’t lie to it’s people, no matter what. That is why I know it’s not run by a God and Stephen Lett was lying through his teeth.
I don’t believe that I have to “embrace” everybody who got disfellowshipped. If somebody got disfellowshipped for molesting my child or stole from me or my friends, I would never feel I had to embrace him. So, I do see a difference between one who has disassociated himself for conscience reasons and somebody who got disfellowshipped for doing something clearly despicable.
There is a smell of something burning in this hypocrite JW’s cult. And much more than just a smell : a very bad odor, impossible to cover with million of US dollars. Children are innocent but the JW’s cult is not really respecting their innocence. True justice will be done in due time. If you have a daughter who has been abused by JWs during many years like mine, you will understand easily what I am talking about. Luckily both my daughter and myself are 100 % dissociated from this cult now, but be sure that we will care that justice will be done in due time trough competent authorities. No need for us to ask a GB member or one of their henchman what we should do. Hypocirsy is one, but justice is one, too.
Outrageous word to use ‘lies’. They are being justifiably criticized, and it shows just how little they listen and or prepared to listen. We, the abused and those who are parents of abused children such as myself, are not liars.
Outraged, simply disgusting, simply disgusting.
Are you saying to me Lett, that myself and my four year old child lied about the sexual abuse she suffered at the hands of a Jehovah’s witness paedophile? You unsympathetic bunch of self serving PRATS.
Perhaps you could elaborate and explain the nature of these lies. Perhaps, I think, you don’t have any balls. Prove who’s the liar Lett and your other old cronies do so too. Absolute cowards.
That is right Gary. They are liars and cowards. They attack and then run and hide behind their ivory watchtower. There is not one of them will stand up and answer questions, face to face with answers to the accusations. Just attack and hide.
So true, they do attack & hide!!
I hope Trey Bundy, Irwin Zalkin & others can take advantage of this little speech & use it against them so that someone outside of the apostate label can speak up for the those that have been silenced for too long.
They are gutless bullies.
Ok…this needs to reach Bill Maher. Like him or not, this is right down his alley!! He’ll take this and run with it. It fits right in with his ‘observations’ on religious extremism, which has long been one of his soapbox issues. The brainwashing mentality of JWs is little different than that of ISIS, and I’m sure he’d be quick to make that connection. Anyone remember his rants against the Catholics?? Search YouTube and you’ll get an earful! Maher would take the PBS story and amplify it 10-fold. He’d do it well before CNN or the major networks, because he has the guts. It would reach a larger audience, and hopefully get the attention of some of the younger ‘J-dubs.’ And like the tail wagging the dog, it would probably motivate the CNNs/FOXs/major networks to report more, on the issue of JW abuse.
Imagine if the Watchtower’s recent appeal in the Conti case were to be rejected (we’ll know soon), followed by Bill Maher calling out the WB&TS with millions tuned in. It’d be the media equivalent of a one-two knockout punch to the JW leadership. Knowing him, he’d air video snippets of Steve Lett, and ‘Tight Pants’ Tony, to make his point. If his guest panel included some well known ex-JWs, then ALL THE BETTER. Sherri Sheperd would be my pick. Here’s a list of celeb ex-jws, including her: http://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/famous-jehovahs-witnesses.php
And HERE is the official link to Bill Maher’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Maher
Let’s ROLL!! All on board reply with “aye,” on your posts. Then let’s get the word out. Feel free to cut and paste this message to other JW ‘apostate’ sites too.
Ok , let’s discuss lies, “who will conquer the world in the 1970s(assembly badge)”, that you were appointed over all the master’s belongings in 1919, that it was not permissible for a hemophiliac to receive more that one treatment of the blood fraction as it would constitute a “feeding on blood”, that a scriptual divorce was permissible for an act of oral sex, that 1935 was the cut off point of the heavenly hope, Lets discuss your lies with FACTS.
And before anyone answers and says they weren’t lies, ask yourself this. . .was it truthful?
Never once has the Watchtower recognized the pain and the hurt they’ve caused, never once.
By its own set of standards, regardless of their excuses, the Watchtower is an unrepentant wrong doer.
I was a child during the time when the SRA pandemic was sweeping through the US, and a few JWs got assimilated into it:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satanic_ritual_abuse
I’ve heard my ear-full of child abuse, for sure! Sacrifices, etc.
When my mother was in the hospital for multiple personality disorder (Demon possession, I now know, like “Legion” in Luke) I had to stay at the house of a CHILD MOLESTER! Irony, to say the least.
The elders were “helping” him, knowing the accusations he had against him. His son and daughter were badly, badly scarred already. His son turned out sexually confused…I’m not sure about the daughter. The oldest daughter at the time was taking him to court.
This was known by my parents and they still had me sleep over at his house for quite a long time (week, month? I don’t remember) while my mother was in the psychiatric hospital recovering from what psychiatrists were doing to her!
Can you say “Nightmare?”
Yet I was not mollested, but it shows what Jesus said, calling religious leaders “Worthless physicians”. If they had any insight at all not only would my mother have been cured by them, and obviously I would not have spent a long time in the lion’s den. They actually made her condition worse while an elder played ‘psychiatrist’.
Oddly enough, this very same congregation has also been on the news for pedophilia.
Nightmare, nightmare, nightmare. Jesus spoke regarding these people “If the light that is in you is darkness, then now great that darkness is…” I personally hope this unveiling of hidden truths is the new light which will cause people to wake up.
On a funny note, has anyone ever seen Robinhood, Men in Tights?
There is that cute scene with the blind man on top of the Watchtower, keeping watch. Apparently Satan’s sense of irony and humor is much depthier than ours.
@ Big D
Aye! Aye! Count me in! Let’s get Bill Maher into this thing! How about Jesse Ventura, and The Young Turks? Advertise! Advertise! Advertise!
Is it just me, or does Lett look like some kind of creepy Animatronic device?
P.S.: Absolutely right on with all those descriptions of jw’s tactics: attack-and-hide, hit-and-run.
@ gary
Right on! The WT needs to disfellowship itself! :)
“My name is Legion, for we are many.” How many? Could it be 23,000? The Watchtower Society is harboring the modern-day Legion.
Would have been a more powerful message coming from Gerit Loesch wouldn’t it?
Because it was an apostate driven subpoena that he defied
right?
It begs the question, who are this GB really trying to protect?
If they came out and admitted that there was a problem with abuse within the organisation, as indeed the Catholic church have done, at least steps could be taken to rectify the situation. To keep pushing the issue under the carpet and hiding it from the r and f is safeguarding the GBs own butts.
To admit to any wrong on their part would be unthinkable – after all they are supposed to have the ‘holy spirit’ to guide them.
Jesus words to the Pharisees fits them well, ‘Hypocrites! because you resemble whitewashed graves, which outwardly indeed appear beautiful but inside are full of dead men’s bones and of every sort of uncleanness. In that way you also, outwardly indeed, appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.’
Thank goodness the dirty secrets of the Watchtower are now being discovered. The writing is on the wall. They are on the defensive!
Patience my friends, it could all soon be over for them. What will we talk about then I wonder??
You’re right, Bad Penny. They don’t want to acknowledge there’s a problem because doing that would be to say that they’re just like any other organization, not one directed by the Holy Spirit. I’m so looking forward to the time when we’ll all be able to shout, “How the mighty have fallen!”.
In my mind all this is a deliberate smoke screen, a game of mirrors. A cause for christians to stumble over. A delusional spirit hangs over Watchtower. Once you see through the delusion of, which runs from the top down, we are always right, it becomes obvious that these people have been duped.
I’m not saying that the Watchtower hasn’t done any good works or that Jehovah’s witnesses are bad people, it’s the arrogance that comes with believing your always right which pervades their thingking and the unwillingness to admit and correct past mistakes that produces that sickening arrogance.
The scriptures predicte a mass stumbling for Jehovahs witnesses. They know the appointment of all things is future. Having considered that future situation in light of Luke 12 46-48 its obvious that 1914 is the root problem of the entire issue. No doubt, and without preaching, when the genuine presence begins “many will be stumbled”. Regardless of what a person chooses to believe, that’s interesting scenario. If indeed that is the way of things it will be the ultimate shock and humiliation for Jehovah’s witnesses, the very ones who say they are spiritually awake will in fact be fast asleep at the genuine return and temple inspection. Either way, secularly or otherwise their arrogance will be their undoing.
I apologize for the multiple posts, it is something very close to my heart, and I will do my best not to do it in future.
Some Jehovah’s witnesses desperately need a scriptural reason before they can consider their own indoctrination and that’s all I’m trying to do. Thank you for your open mindedness Lloyd and the freedom of speech that you allow.
@ Big D
Aye! I think that is a wonderful idea! I wonder if Cedars could organize this? I will definitely contribute money to help out.
@ Neal
I was just thinking something similar!!! I thought that Stephen Lett looks like one of Jim Hanson’s Muppetts. He has the huge hands, the wired face and the expressions that are overdone and always a few moments too late.
(The Muppetts were very entertaining and popular. Maybe the brain-dead JW’s are finding Lett mesmerizing because of the subliminal associations?!?)
2+2=5
The child molestation consider a crime by the law of gods, the civics laws, and by ethical human conscience. If any of the Jehovah witnesses defending the watchtower, or supporting this organization, by money promoting their products, their theology, and ignoring the crimes on child molestation in the watchtower This person with his action proof hi is equal criminal like the watchtower. So Jehovah witnesses please don’t go door to door to tell the world about the unjustness in the human governments, and how God will destroy these unjustness world. Look the unjustness is among you. A john 3:10-12 Mathew 15:6-9 23:1-7
@ J
That’s right! Doesn’t make sense, does it? Like my sister-in-law. She likes to whine, “We need the New System.” Her life must suck. But I don’t get it. Materially, her and her family are doing great. And spiritually, don’t jehovah witnesses live in this amazing “spiritual paradise”??? So what the problem is? The tragic irony is that these folks hurl themselves headlong into a miserable situation, then complain how “intolerable” life in this System is. Reminds me of a hamster going round and round in that little wheel. Makes me want to grab them by the collar and scream, “Wake up you dumbass!!!” Unfortunately, in most cases, it wouldn’t work.
I hear ISIS is patterning their command structure on the Watchtower Society’s model. LOL :) :) :)
Has any member of the gb ever held down an actual JOB? These guys seem to be completely out of touch with reality. Did someone call it “Cognitive Dissociation”? How much more disconnected from the real world could anyone be??? I mean, we’ve got an Armageddon that never arrived, a guy running around the world screaming about the evils of tight pants, and now these dudes are sitting on a database of 23,000+ known pedophiles and claiming it’s all ‘apostate propaganda’. NOT lol
I hear Bozo the Clown is applying for a position in the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses.
Unfortunately, the majority of Jehovah’s Witnesses (myself included in the past) can’t have a serious conversation about tough issues or mistakes that have been committed by the (cult) organization. This includes their practices, doctrines and traditions. It runs through the organization from top to bottom. They always try to dodge the issues by name-calling and attacking people’s character. There will be no discussion of when, why, where – they just focus on who and even the who is very distorted in their minds. Whether it’s Stephen Lett or an average publisher, the argument is the same. Fortunately, even though most JWs won’t see through this baseless accusation or straw man argument, the media will. I hope they get wind of these comments and expose the ostracism and hate that is heaped upon most abuse victims.
Have mercy on the poor man! Stephen Lett’s wild comments are probably due to the evil effects of the tight trousers he’s wearing behind the podium. Yuk Yuk
This is an excellent tongue in cheek video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=jQWiYUg-ddc
This is just one scripture that tells how God feels about liars at Proverbs 6:16-19: “There are six things that Jehovah does hate, yes, seven are things detestable to his soul; lofty eyes, a false tongue, and hands that are shedding innocent blood, a heart fabricating hurtful schemes, feet that are in a hurry to run to badness, a false witness that launches forth lies, and anyone sending forth contentions among brothers.”
Either Stephen Lett is completely out of touch with what is going on in the Organization as far as all of the men in the congregations all over the world, who have been thrown in jail for abusing children in the Organization or he is a liar. It’s one or the other.
How could he claim to be anointed with God’s Holy Spirit and not be aware of what is going on in the Organization that he says he is taking the lead in?
Either he is being led by God’s Holy spirit or he isn’t. If he is aware of the abuse allegations and all the men who have been thrown in jail in the Organization for abusing children, then it behooves him to answer the accusations publicly and not hide behind the Watchtower’s doors instead of making up lies to cover his rear end.
Only a despicable slimy little snake would resort to coming up with the sneaky way of inserting that lie into a morning talk about unity, like he did that day. That is how I feel about people who protect pedophiles.
@Neal Krouni. BOZO the CLOWN applying for a position on the GB!! Oh Please Neal ,how could you suggest such a thing ,Bozo is far Too Intelligent to be on the GB. !!!
Anyone who doubts WTS, lack of concern for the young,
should get a copy of the Awake, May,22, 1994.
The cover pictures 26 Children who needlessly died
because of the misconstrued, killer doctrine on blood
transfusion. It carries the heading, “Youths who put
God First”.
The sole purpose of that immoral article, was to reinforce
their dangerous creed in the minds of others. This would
have the effect of persuading, intimidating others, adults
and children alike, to throw away precious lives.
Their promise, or prediction of eternal life for obedience,
is worthless. As all their other predictions have resulted in
100% failure.
Ted, I agree that was a disgusting magazine & as you rightly put it their concern for young children deadly. They brag about how these children sacrificed their lives. They remind me of the story of the Israelites that sacrificed their children to the fire.
@Grace, The example you give, fits perfectly.