Vol. I · Friday, July 10, 2026 RSS  ·  Search  ·  About

News and primary-source research on the Watchtower organization

Leadership

A rare announced departure from Jehovah's Witnesses' highest council, followed by a documented content scrubConfirmed

Removed and Deleted: What Happened to Anthony Morris III in 2023

Illustration: a vacant seat at a table and an empty picture frame

On February 22, 2023, the organization behind Jehovah's Witnesses announced in one sentence that Governing Body member Anthony Morris III 'no longer serves' — gave no reason — and then scrubbed his recorded talks from jw.org over the following weeks.

Leaked documentsConfirmed

The Jehovah's Witnesses' secret elders' manual leaked online in 2019

Illustration: a manual with a broken seal and loose pages

The confidential 274-page "Shepherd the Flock of God" — which governs the Witnesses' judicial committees, the two-witness rule, and disfellowshipping — was leaked and published, exposing the internal disciplinary system to public view.

Superseded by an August 1, 2016 letterConfirmed

A 2012 letter told elders to call lawyers first, and left out the police

Illustration: a sealed confidential letter beside a telephone handset

A confidential October 1, 2012 letter to U.S. bodies of elders routed child-abuse allegations through Watch Tower's Legal and Service Departments, kept the two-witness rule, and let the branch decide who counts as a "predator" — while saying nothing about reporting to secular authorities.