Frequently Asked Questions
Can you sell to me, or from where can I buy a copy of <insert Watchtower book title here>?
The only Watchtower books we have available for sale are the books from the 1940s and 1950s. Our Watchtower Bookshelf CD-ROM is available only in high quality PDF file format. We do not sell original "hard copy" books. If our Watchtower Bookshelf CD-ROM does not meet your needs, we recommend eBay, the online auction site. The following Watchtower items are available, right now, at eBay:
In addition to eBay, we have used and can recommend the following:
- Freeminds Watchtower Antiquarian Store
- Abebooks.com
— a network of used books sellers. We highly recommend this service.
Why do you now advertise for eBay and Abebooks?
This web site costs money, and have been looking for a way to defray the operating expenses. Although our Watchtower Book Shelf CD has produced a small trickle of funds (typically one or two CDs are sold per month), it also requires a great deal of work, and the low volume "one off" production is very inefficient. Essentially, these CDs are a labour of love, to assist fellow Watchtower collectors.
After much thoughtful consideration, we decided that both eBay's Watchtower Literature auctions, and Abebooks' network of used books dealers both provide a very valuable and appropriate service. There is no shortage of Watchtower literature available if you know where to look, and our links to eBay and Abebooks should prove very useful to Watchtower literature collectors.
Please do not be offended by the eBay auction and Abebooks listings. And don't feel like we are now "getting rich" from this web site. We get NOTHING for displaying these listings. Abebooks pays 3% commission, and eBay pays $0.10 commision. Oh, and if you've never used eBay, I get an additional $10 finders fee for introducing you as a new customer -- and that comes out of eBay's pocket, not yours.
Is the stuff listed in the eBay/Abebooks window YOUR stuff? Are you selling Watchtower literature? I thought Watchtower literature was available without charge, on a donation basis.
No, we are NOT the vendor for the items listed. No, we are not selling Watchtower literature. The Watchtower Society does now have a "zero cost, donation optional" policy when distributing their literature, however these eBay and Abebooks listings are provided by private collectors and used book shops, and therefore the Watchtower Society's "donation basis" does not apply.
Are you the "real" Jehovah's Witnesses?
This web site is neither affiliated with nor endorsed by Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania (the corporate and legal arm of Jehovah's Witnesses). However, it is important to note that the contents of this site are entirely quotes from the publications of the Watchtower Society.
Who has authorized this site?
This site is a collection of quotes published by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. The source material is from publications of the Watchtower Society, which were distributed in wide numbers to the general public. No "authorization" is necessary for this sort of reference-style web site.
Are you a copyright violator? Are you breaking the law?
No. Please view our Copyright Notice for more information regarding copyright law and how it relates to this site.
Who are you?
Our collectors and researchers prefer to humbly remain anonymous. Jehovah's Witnesses will find this familiar, since all books, magazines, and bible translations published by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society are published anonymously. (See Watchtower October 1 1959 below).
*** Watchtower 1959 October 1 pp.607-8 Questions from Readers ***
Questions from Readers
• Who are the writers of the publications of the Watch Tower Society, and what are their educational qualifications?-M.D., U.S.A.
The literature published by the Watch Tower Society is published in the name of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society. Regardless of who may write certain articles, they are checked carefully by members of the governing body before they are published; so they are properly viewed as coming from the Society. Our publishing work is not done to glorify any men or to give them a name of prominence before this world, depending upon the name of men in order to induce a study of God's Word with the aid of the Watch Tower Society's publications. We avoid all kinds of creature worship and anything that would stimulate to creature worship. In harmony with this endeavor the Society does not identify the writers of the various books, booklets, magazines, or articles that it publishes. They prefer to remain anonymous, not because of their educational background but in order that the students of the literature may concentrate on the truths and the facts presented instead of upon the identity of the writer and being influenced by who he is. They prefer that the Society and not the individual contributor to its publications should be the thing to recommend the Watch Tower publications to all readers and that the attention of readers should be directed to the organization that is being used by Jehovah God as his instrument rather than to any individual.-Matt. 24:45-47.
So we let the literature speak for itself.
[Emphasis Added]
Are you apostate? Is this an apostate site?
No. This web site contains only quotes from the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society. These quotes can be found in the libraries of most Jehovah's Witnesses and in most Kingdom Halls. Since no opinion is expressed, and no conclusion is drawn for the reader, this site is not, and can not be apostate. In other words, these are the words from God's Channel, not some mere imperfect man or group of men.
What is the purpose of this site?
This site was created to collect interesting or significant quotes from the publications of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, and to make them available to any interested person, via the world wide web. Prior to the creation of this site, there appeared to be few online references which included this material.
Of course, there are many Web sites, which contain widely varying opinions, some positive, others negative, regarding Jehovah's Witnesses and the Watchtower Society. However, we feel our site is unique because it is the only Web site (other than watchtower.org) which lets the Watchtower Society speak for itself, and present it's own record and history, in it's own words, without any non-Watchtower editorial or commentary. In short, Watchtower quotes is our raison d'etre. Editorial opinion is not included, and conclusions are not drawn for the reader. Just Watchtower Society quotes, nothing else.
How do I know this site is accurate?
In all cases, references are provided to the original work. All quotes can be verified by any interested person. We encourage you to verify these quotes. We are confident you will find them both accurate, and contextually correct.
Have you taken these quotes out of context?
No. The context of the quotes have been preserved by including a reasonable amount of surrounding text.
A-HA! I found some quotes that didn't contain much surrounding text. Surely you have taken something out of context in those cases?
We are a tiny group, with limited time and limited manpower. In some cases, we have not yet been able to "flesh out" the surrounding information, strictly due to lack of time/resources. We warmly encourage you to research the quote for yourself. Furthermore, if you would like to submit the surrounding material to us, preferably in a text format which can be easily copied into the relevant section, please contact us.
What about "New Light"? Aren't we supposed to expect "New Light"? Why don't you include "New Light"?
The doctrine of "New Light" is inconsequential for the purposes of this site. Whether one accepts the "New Light" doctrine, or rejects it, is unimportant as far as this site is concerned. This site is a catalog of interesting or significant Watchtower Society quotes, not a treatise of current Jehovah's Witnesses beliefs.
Having said that, however, it is important to note that we do include quotes which are very recent and "new," as long as they are interesting and/or significant. See, for example, the 1998 explanation of the 1934 comments on Nazism, or the Blood in Bulgaria section, which is also from 1998.
Can you provide information about some particular belief of the Jehovah's Witnesses which is not currently on your web site?
Can you provide a list of Witness/Watchtower quotes regarding <insert topic here>?
Can you give me advice on <insert topic here>?
I think I am in trouble and may need to approach the elders because <I/my husband/my wife/my child/my father/my mother/my dog> has a serious problem with <insert topic here>, but I am afraid to go to the elders because <insert rationale here>. What should I do?
Although we would like to help the many people that write us, it is simply not possible — we don't have the resources. We are not an advice site, and our site has no delusions of becoming the last word in Jehovah's Witnesses studies and research (although we would like to be considered one important tool available to those researching Jehovah's Witnesses). We simply have a large number of interesting or significant quotes from Watchtower publications, some almost non-existent in most other locations (including the Watchtower's own official "Watchtower Library" CD-ROM).
Haven't you commercialized Jehovah's name with "JehovahsWitnesses.com"? Isn't the "dot com" disrespectful?
This is no longer an issue after March 2004. See next question for more details.
The JehovahsWitnesses.com domain is owned by NetIdentity.com. Quotes.JehovahsWitnesses.com is neither related to nor controlled by NetIdentity.com. NetIdentity.com is a company in the business of renting internet sub-domains. According to their Web site, they have registered over 15,000 internet domains, including family names, and various sports, hobbies, professions, and religions. They "own" the JehovahsWitnesses.com domain, and we rent the "Quotes" sub-domain from them. No disrespect is intended by our site name; it was simply "conveniently available" when we created this site.
What happened to Quotes.JehovahsWitnesses.com? Why have you moved to Quotes.Watchtower.ca?
During March 2004 we moved the site from it's former home to Watchtower.ca. There were many reasons for this, but mostly it was because (a) we had outgrown the provisions of Netidentity.com; (b) Some people were offended that we used the name Jehovah in our Web site (see previous point). Since we are the registrants of Watchtower.ca, we felt it was time to make use of it. After an extensive search for a new web hosting company, we finally found one which provided powerful features at a reasonable price. After some minor modifications, we moved the site March 5, 2004.
What does the top level domain ".CA" mean? I've heard of ".COM" and ".ORG", but I don't recognize ".CA"
".CA" is the two-digit ISO abbreviation for CANADA. The Watchtower.ca domain is registered in Canada.
Is there a new management/research team at the new Web site?
No. The same dedicated individuals who brought you Quotes.JehovahsWitnesses.com for six years are here at Quotes.Watchtower.ca. There has been no change in personnel.