Open Letter #4 – The Governing Body's Change of Course During the Pandemic

This article is also available as a YouTube video.

It refers to pages 48-55 of the Open Letter to the Governing Body.

February, 2025

Have you noticed that during the pandemic the Governing Body has deviated from an important Biblical position? —Take a closer look!

Dear friends of the truth!

Part 4 of the series on the Open Letter to the Governing Body is about something that many Jehovah's Witnesses have barely noticed, while others have realised so clearly that they got derailed by it: The Governing Body's change of course during the Corona pandemic. Let's see if you can spot it.

The change of course is already foreshadowed in Update 4-2021, where Mark Sanderson poses the question:

„What is our view on vaccination? — Jehovah‘s Witnesses are NOT AGAINST VACCINATION.“

Is that a balanced view? Should he not have said for the sake of Christian neutrality:

‘Jehovah's Witnesses as a community are NEITHER FOR NOR AGAINST vaccination’?

He does add that it is a personal decision (which sounds like a neutral stance). But in the very next sentence he mentions that ‘already many in our Bethel families have chosen to be vaccinated’. What does that mean?

Let's turn it around:
That means, conversely, that at that time many of the Bethelites did decide NOT to be vaccinated. But he doesn't mention that.

‘Jehovah's Witnesses are not against vaccination.’ What does this sentence mean?

Turn it around to get the full meaning. In reverse conclusion, it means:

Anyone who is against vaccination is not a Jehovah's Witness?!

What about the brothers and sisters who conscientiously decide against vaccination? Are they no longer (good) Witnesses?

The zigzag course of the Governing Body in terms of Christian neutrality continues in Update 6-2021. Here Brother Herd says:

„In other parts of the world, vaccinations have slowed the spread of the virus.“

This is an extremely reckless phrase said in a very controversial context. Even at that time (namely 2021), there were medical experts who had well-founded doubts as to whether the vaccine could prevent infection – not to mention side effects. Vaccine providers and the media claimed the opposite.

In 2023, a Pfizer executive confessed to the EU Parliament that the vaccines had NEVER been tested to see if they prevented infections before they came on the market!

So Brother Herd's statement is based only on an assumption, a hope, an understandable wish that is attached to an experimental vaccine - but it sounds like a fact:

‘Vaccinations prevent infection’.

Time has proven otherwise - but we'll get to that later.

Now let's test how good your sense of Christian neutrality is.

Brother Herd: „We're happy to report that about 50% of the worldwide Bethel family have been vaccinated so far.“

Have you noticed? Not yet?

To see more clearly, just imagine the opposite:

A brother stands in front of the congregation and says, ‘We are happy to inform you that 50% of our congregation is unvaccinated. And in other assemblies too, a large percentage have already opted for vaccine-free treatment.’

Would this brother be neutral? NO. He only focuses on the non-vaccinated and accompanies this with positive statements: ‘we are happy’ and ‘already’, as if an increase in his preferred direction is still possible and desirable.

Telling only PART of the truth and concealing information is a form of subliminal manipulation!

The effect on the brothers?

• The UNvaccinated would feel vindicated,
• the vaccinated would feel uncomfortable,
• not respected in their decision,
• hurt in their feelings.

And not only that: this brother would have left the biblically correct position of neutrality and violated it (see our video 2).

Back to Update 6.

Brother Herd takes a non-neutral stance, which he expands on in the next sentence:

„Here in the United States, more than 98% of our Bethel family have chosen to get vaccinated.“

He goes on to report that these 98% were ‘delighted and glad to be all together again’.

‘ALL’? And how did the 2 % of the brothers and sisters feel who were detained in their room because of their sincere decision of conscience? Why are they not praised for their faithfulness? That would be a neutral Christian attitude!

Then Brother Herd ignites a bomb:

„What factors might a Christian consider in making the decision?

Number 1, as Jehovah's Witnesses, we do not have a religious objection to vaccination.“

This is a slap in the face for all those brothers and sisters whose conscience is clearly against vaccination! We looked at the five most common reasons of conscience in Part 3 of this video series; there are many more.

Is a reason of conscience NOT a ‘religious objection’?

• If it concerns blood transfusions,
• the salute to the flag or
• participation in public holidays, THEN IT IS!

... but HERE it is suddenly NOT a religious objection?

This contradicts the biblical viewpoint that the Watchtower Society has held up to this point.

Here Brother Herd devalues the individual conscience of the believer, he simply declares it invalid, non-existent. And in doing so, he interferes with the individual's connection with Jehovah God.

Brother Herd: „Number 2, we're in the midst of a pandemic. As of July 9, over 19,000 of our dear brothers and sisters have died from the virus.“

In what way should this influence our decision? Since Brother Herd previously falsely claimed that vaccination would ‘slow the spread’ of the infection, this argument is intended to urge vaccination—in favour of the survival of our dear brothers and sisters.

Incidentally, this coincides with the popular media catchphrase ‘The Pandemic Of The Unvaccinated’.

But the BASIS of this claim does not exist, because the Covid vaccination cannot prevent infection, that has been proven. If it did, the vaccinated wouldn't have to be afraid of the unvaccinated, would they?

Brother Herd: "Number 3. In some lands, the superior authorities have made laws requiring all of their citizens to be vaccinated.“

Here the biblical position is absolutely clear: The will of God is always ABOVE the authority of the ‘Caesar’, the government.

And until April 2021, this was the official position. The Watchtower of 1 November 1990 says on the subject of ‘Relative Subjection’:

„If the authority DEMANDS something that offends a trained Christian conscience, it is GOING BEYOND its God-given limit. … When Caesar demands what belongs to GOD, God has the PRIOR claim.“ (Highlights added by us)

The Watchtower cites further biblical examples of Godly disobedience:

The Governing Body is starting to deviate from this biblical viewpoint here.

And this is only the beginning.

Part 5 of this series covers the subject:

"The Governing Body Stigmatize the Unvaccinated" (coming soon)