Jehovah's Witnesses: Could it be shown beyond reasonable doubt in a court of law that the Watchtower is who they say they are?

The Watchtower Bible & Tract Society is a legal entity in the business of publishing. The role of the Governing Body is to oversee the activities of God's people around the world and to serve their spiritual interests. Whatever claims the Governing Body makes about its spiritual status, or that of the Faithful and Discrete Slave, is of neither interest nor consequence in a legal sense.

‘Jehovah’s Witnesses’ means that body of Christians who recognise the spiritual authority of the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses situated at 25 Columbia Heights Brooklyn New York, United States.” – Defined under section 9.1 of the Articles of Association (30th October 2000), for the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Britain.

As for the claims made about the Faithful and Discrete Slave, this is what the 15 July 2013 Watchtower article “Who Really Is the Faithful and Discreet Slave?” said. The article begins by sweeping aside the previous understanding that the faithful slave was appointed in 33 CE, and goes on to explain how the words of the “prophecy” began to be fulfilled only after 1914. The faithful slave is identified specifically as being “a small group of anointed brothers” currently comprising the Governing Body as a “composite slave.” The article concludes by boldly insisting that Christ WILL appoint the Governing Body, along with other anointed Christians, “over all his belongings” when he comes in judgment during the Great Tribulation.

I don't think that any of that is remotely relevant in a court of law, unless there is a need to prove that the Governing Body is responsible for the instructions it gives to the elders on how to deal with allegations of child abuse within the congregation.

It's not a legal issue, but yes it can be proven to be what it claims to be, but it cannot of course, prove that it's claims are true.

What is "the Watchtower"? We are Jehovah's Witnesses.

Here is what we teach. If you are with it then that could be shown beyond a reasonable doubt.

Bible. We recognize the Bible as God’s inspired message to humans. (John 17:17; 2 Timothy 3:16) We base our beliefs on all 66 of its books, which include both the “Old Testament” and the “New Testament.” Professor Jason D. BeDuhn aptly described it when he wrote that Jehovah’s Witnesses built “their system of belief and practice from the raw material of the Bible without predetermining what was to be found there.” *

While we accept the entire Bible, we are not fundamentalists. We recognize that parts of the Bible are written in figurative or symbolic language and are not to be understood literally.—Revelation 1:1.

Jesus. We follow the teachings and example of Jesus Christ and honor him as our Savior and as the Son of God. (Matthew 20:28; Acts 5:31) Thus, we are Christians. (Acts 11:26) However, we have learned from the Bible that Jesus is not Almighty God and that there is no Scriptural basis for the Trinity doctrine.—John 14:28.

The Kingdom of God. This is a real government in heaven, not a condition in the hearts of Christians. It will replace human governments and accomplish God’s purpose for the earth. (Daniel 2:44; Matthew 6:9, 10) It will take these actions soon, for Bible prophecy indicates that we are living in “the last days.”—2 Timothy 3:1-5; Matthew 24:3-14.

Jesus is the King of God’s Kingdom in heaven. He began ruling in 1914.—Revelation 11:15.

Salvation. Deliverance from sin and death is possible through the ransom sacrifice of Jesus. (Matthew 20:28; Acts 4:12) To benefit from that sacrifice, people must not only exercise faith in Jesus but also change their course of life and get baptized. (Matthew 28:19, 20; John 3:16; Acts 3:19, 20) A person’s works prove that his faith is alive. (James 2:24, 26) However, salvation cannot be earned—it comes through “the undeserved kindness of God.”—Galatians 2:16, 21.

Heaven. Jehovah God, Jesus Christ, and the faithful angels reside in the spirit realm. * (Psalm 103:19-21; Acts 7:55) A relatively small number of people—144,000—will be resurrected to life in heaven to rule with Jesus in the Kingdom.—Daniel 7:27; 2 Timothy 2:12; Revelation 5:9, 10; 14:1, 3.

Earth. God created the earth to be mankind’s eternal home. (Psalm 104:5; 115:16; Ecclesiastes 1:4) God will bless obedient people with perfect health and everlasting life in an earthly paradise.—Psalm 37:11, 34.

Evil and suffering. These began when one of God’s angels rebelled. (John 8:44) This angel, who after his rebellion was called “Satan” and “Devil,” persuaded the first human couple to join him, and the consequences have been disastrous for their descendants. (Genesis 3:1-6; Romans 5:12) In order to settle the moral issues raised by Satan, God has allowed evil and suffering, but He will not permit them to continue forever.

Death. People who die pass out of existence. (Psalm 146:4; Ecclesiastes 9:5, 10) They do not suffer in a fiery hell of torment.

God will bring billions back from death by means of a resurrection. (Acts 24:15) However, those who refuse to learn God’s ways after being raised to life will be destroyed forever with no hope of a resurrection.—Revelation 20:14, 15.

Family. We adhere to God’s original standard of marriage as the union of one man and one woman, with sexual immorality being the only valid basis for divorce. (Matthew 19:4-9) We are convinced that the wisdom found in the Bible helps families to succeed.—Ephesians 5:22–6:1.

Our worship. We do not venerate the cross or any other images. (Deuteronomy 4:15-19; 1 John 5:21) Key aspects of our worship include the following:

Praying to God.—Philippians 4:6.

Reading and studying the Bible.—Psalm 1:1-3.

Meditating on what we learn from the Bible.—Psalm 77:12.

Meeting together to pray, study the Bible, sing, express our faith, and encourage fellow Witnesses and others.—Colossians 3:16; Hebrews 10:23-25.

Preaching the “good news of the Kingdom.”—Matthew 24:14.

Helping those in need.—James 2:14-17.

Constructing and maintaining Kingdom Halls and other facilities used to further our worldwide Bible educational work.—Psalm 127:1.

Sharing in disaster relief.—Acts 11:27-30.

Our organization. We are organized into congregations, each of which is overseen by a body of elders. However, the elders do not form a clergy class, and they are unsalaried. (Matthew 10:8; 23:8) We do not practice tithing, and no collections are ever taken at our meetings. (2 Corinthians 9:7) All our activities are supported by anonymous donations.

The Governing Body, a small group of mature Christians who serve at our world headquarters, provides direction for Jehovah’s Witnesses worldwide.—Matthew 24:45.

Our unity. We are globally united in our beliefs. (1 Corinthians 1:10) We also work hard to have no social, ethnic, racial, or class divisions. (Acts 10:34, 35; James 2:4) Our unity allows for personal choice, though. Each Witness makes decisions in harmony with his or her own Bible-trained conscience.—Romans 14:1-4; Hebrews 5:14.

Our conduct. We strive to show unselfish love in all our actions. (John 13:34, 35) We avoid practices that displease God, including the misuse of blood by taking blood transfusions. (Acts 15:28, 29; Galatians 5:19-21) We are peaceful and do not participate in warfare. (Matthew 5:9; Isaiah 2:4) We respect the government where we live and obey its laws as long as these do not call on us to disobey God’s laws.—Matthew 22:21; Acts 5:29.

Our relationships with others. Jesus commanded: “You must love your neighbor as yourself.” He also said that Christians “are no part of the world.” (Matthew 22:39; John 17:16) So we try to “work what is good toward all,” yet we remain strictly neutral in political affairs and avoid affiliation with other religions. (Galatians 6:10; 2 Corinthians 6:14) However, we respect the choices that others make in such matters.—Romans 14:12.

Galatians 1:6-9 is all you will need. 1John 2:18-23 is supportive. John 5:22-23 affirms the previous references.

Our first amendment right is "freedom of religion" so whether you understand or not doesn't matter. Every religion should be allowed to do it's own thing. when you limit this freedom to certain ones we all suffer for it.

No, not even close. The JWs just believe what they're told. No independent thinking allowed.

Apparently you have never researched court cases before the Supreme Court of the United States, Canada, the UK and more. Your question has been covered many times. Also the IRS and revenue departments of many nations have also researched your question. In court beyond reasonable doubt Jehovah's Witnesses are exactly who they claim to be.

Absolutely! Despite recent and unjust rulings in Russia. Like Jesus Christ, Jehovah's Witnesses are being persecuted for sharing Bible Truths and displaying love to all mankind. That my friend is who Jehavah's Witnesses are.

Yeah. It's still being shown today.

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