“Beware of ‘organisation’. It is wholly unnecessary.” — Watchtower September 15, 1895 p.1866
“If he… goes to the Bible alone… within two years he goes into darkness. On the other hand… if he had merely read the [Watch Tower publications]… and had not read a page of the Bible… he would have the light of the Scriptures.” — Watchtower September 15, 1910 p. 298
“We would have no quarrel with anyone who wants to seek truth through other channels. We would not refuse to treat one as a brother because he did not believe the society is the Lord’s channel.” — Watchtower April 1, 1920 p.100
“We should eat and digest and assimilate what is set before us, without shying away from parts of the food because it may not suit the fancy of our mental taste… We should meekly go along with the Lord’s theocratic organization and wait for further clarification, rather than balk at the first mention of a thought unpalatable to us and proceed to quibble and mouth our criticisms and opinions as though they were worth more than the slave’s provision of spiritual food. Theocratic ones will appreciate the Lord’s visible organization and not be so foolish as to put against Jehovah’s channel their own human reasoning and sentiment and personal feelings.” — Watchtower February 1, 1952 p. 79
“After being nourished to our present spiritual strength and maturity, do we suddenly become smarter than our former provider and forsake the enlightening guidance of the organization that mothers us?” — Watchtower February 1, 1952 p. 80
“The world is full of Bibles, which Book contains the commandments of God. Why, then, do the people not know which way to go? Because they do not also have the teaching or law of the mother, which is light. If we are to walk in the light of truth we must recognize not only Jehovah God as our Father but his organization as our mother.” — Watchtower May 1, 1957 p. 274
“Fear has a great hold on the people [of Ireland]. People are afraid of what their neighbors, their friends, relatives and clergy might think if they were even so much as to read the Bible on their own.” — Watchtower August 1, 1958 p. 460
“For centuries the clergy have dominated their lives, told them what they can read, what they should believe and do. To ask a sound religious question is a demonstration of lack of faith in God and the church, according to the clergy.” — Watchtower August 1, 1958 p. 460
“The Irish people do very little independent thinking. They are victims of the clergy and fear.” — Watchtower August 1, 1958 p. 460
“Thus the Bible is an organizational book and belongs to the Christian congregation as an organization, not to individuals, regardless of how sincerely they may believe that they can interpret the Bible.” — Watchtower October 1, 1967 p. 587
“In submitting to… [the] organization, we must be in full and complete agreement with every feature of its apostolic procedure and requirements.” — Watchtower October 1, 1967 p. 592
“We all need help to understand the Bible, and we cannot find the Scriptural guidance we need outside the ‘faithful and discreet slave’ organization.” — Watchtower February 15, 1981 p. 19
“From time to time, there have arisen from among the ranks of Jehovah’s people those, who, like the original Satan, have adopted an independent, faultfinding attitude… They say that it is sufficient to read the Bible exclusively, either alone or in small groups at home. But, strangely, through such ‘Bible reading,’ they have reverted right back to the apostate doctrines that commentaries by Christendom’s clergy were teaching 100 years ago.” — Watchtower August 15, 1981 p. 29
“As we study the Bible we learn that Jehovah has always guided his servants in an organized way. And just as in the first century there was only one true Christian organization, so today Jehovah is using only one organization.” — Watchtower January 15, 1983 p. 27
“All who want to understand the Bible should appreciate that the “greatly diversified wisdom of God” can become known only through Jehovah’s channel of communication, the faithful and discreet slave.” — Watchtower October 1, 1994 p. 8