Faithful and Discreet?The following article is based on a letter sent to us by [*]Stephan Wolf. It illustrates a complaint expressed by many Witnesses who have raised questions about doctrine: they are treated disrepectfully, and with suspicion. Stephan’s case is by no means unique; we hear such tales frequently. Stephan’s StoryI once wrote a letter to the Governing Body in Brooklyn concerning the “higher education” issue. The Society had reversed its long-standing position, and my letter was rather critical of the sudden change. The letter did not state which congregation I belonged to, because I was hoping for a personal, brother-to-brother reply. They never wrote back to me. Several months later, one of the elders in my congregation told me they had a letter from the Society asking them to “talk to me”. I said that I had written directly to the Society because I wanted an authorative answer; if I’d wanted the elders’ help, I could have asked them at any meeting. The elder explained that the Society had imparted some “special information” about the subject. This sounded like good news, but when I asked to see their letter, he responded, “Oh, no, you can’t have this. It is especially directed to the elders and contains confidential information.” I was not satisfied with that answer, so that ended the discussion. I still don’t know what “special information” the Society had shared with the elders. I did, however, wonder how the Society knew which congregation I was in, since I hadn’t mentioned it in my letter. I eventually found out that the Society’s letter, along with a copy of my own letter, had been passed around several congregations in the area before it finally got to mine. Many other people got to see my private letter, plus the “confidential information”, yet I was not permitted to see it! The Society calls itself “the faithful and discreet slave” (Matthew 24:45). In this case, it certainly wasn’t discreet. |