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Authority and accountability · Claim record

From 1985 the second public baptism question asked candidates whether they understood that their baptism identified them 'as one of Jehovah's Witnesses in association with God's spirit-directed organization'; the same wording was still in use in 1997 and 2017.

Claim ID claim-authority-1985-baptism-vow-names-the-organisationConcerns 1 June 1985Explicit statement
Explicit statement · 1 June 1985 Verified

From 1985 the second public baptism question asked candidates whether they understood that their baptism identified them 'as one of Jehovah's Witnesses in association with God's spirit-directed organization'; the same wording was still in use in 1997 and 2017. The Watchtower, 1 June 1985Our Kingdom Ministry, April 1997

Show the evidence (2 sources)
Primary JW publication Verified

The Watchtower, “Subjecting Ourselves to Jehovah by Dedication”

1 June 1985 · pp.29-31 · p. 30 · Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania

“Do you understand that your dedication and baptism identify you as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses in association with God’s spirit-directed organization?”

The second of the two questions put to baptism candidates from 1985; the first concerns repentance and dedication to Jehovah.

Official source

Provenance and verification note

Confidence note. Opened the WOL document; page marker confirms p. 30.

Corroborated by. src-km-1997-0400-directing-students-organization

Notes. The same wording was still cited in w06 4/1 and w17 April ('What You Vow, Pay'). The questions were reworded in 2019 (not researched here).

Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID. src-w-1985-0601-dedication-baptism-questions

Primary JW publication Verified

Our Kingdom Ministry, “Directing Students to the Organization Behind Our Name”

April 1997 · pp.3-4 · par. 5 · Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania

“Do you understand that your dedication and baptism identify you as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses in association with God’s spirit-directed organization?”

Instruction to teachers that Bible students must understand before baptism that they cannot serve God without associating with the organisation.

Official source

Provenance and verification note

Confidence note. Opened the WOL document.

Corroborated by. src-w-1985-0601-dedication-baptism-questions

Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID. src-km-1997-0400-directing-students-organization

Claim page

A direct link to this claim is https://jwtruth.org/evidence/claim-authority-1985-baptism-vow-names-the-organisation/. Every source above opens the original document or the best available copy. If you believe the wording, date or context is wrong, report an error.