The
Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society
The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania is a non-stock, not-for-profit organization headquartered in Warwick, New York. It is the main legal entity used worldwide by Jehovah's Witnesses to direct, administer and disseminate do ...
produces a significant amount of printed and electronic literature, primarily for use by
Jehovah's Witnesses. Their best known publications are the magazines, ''
The Watchtower
''The Watchtower Announcing Jehovah's Kingdom'' is an illustrated religious magazine, published by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. Jehovah's Witnesses distribute ''The Watchtower—Public Edition'', along with its compa ...
'' and ''
Awake!
''Awake!'' is an illustrated religious magazine published by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. It is considered to be a companion magazine of '' The Watchtower'', and is distributed by Jehovah's Witnesses. The Watch Tower S ...
''
''The Watchtower'' was first published by
Charles Taze Russell
Charles Taze Russell (February 16, 1852 – October 31, 1916), or Pastor Russell, was an American Christian restorationist minister from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and founder of what is now known as the Bible Student movement. He was an ...
, founder of the
Bible Student movement
The Bible Student movement is a Millennialist Restorationist Christian movement. It emerged from the teachings and ministry of Charles Taze Russell (1852–1916), also known as Pastor Russell, and his founding of the Zion's Watch Tower Tract ...
, in 1879, followed by the inception of the Watch Tower Society in 1881. Supporters adopted the name ''Jehovah's witnesses'' in 1931. Particularly since 2001, when referring to other Watch Tower Society publications their literature has typically stated that it is "published by Jehovah's Witnesses", though the
edition notice identifies the publisher as the Watch Tower Society.
Along with books and brochures, other media are also produced, including
CDs
The compact disc (CD) is a digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. In August 1982, the first compact disc was manufactured. It was then released in Octo ...
,
MP3
MP3 (formally MPEG-1 Audio Layer III or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III) is a coding format for digital audio developed largely by the Fraunhofer Society in Germany, with support from other digital scientists in the United States and elsewhere. Origin ...
s and
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
s, and Internet downloads and
video streaming
Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of o ...
. New publications are usually released at Jehovah's Witnesses' annual
conventions.
Literature for preaching
![Jehovah's Witnesses outside the British Museum 01](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/32/Jehovah%27s_Witnesses_outside_the_British_Museum_01.jpg)
Most literature produced by Jehovah's Witnesses is intended for use in their evangelizing work. Publications for preaching are also routinely studied by members, both privately and at their meetings for worship. Their most widely distributed publications are:
* ''
New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures
The New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (NWT) is a translation of the Bible published by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society; it is used and distributed by Jehovah's Witnesses. The New Testament portion was released first, in 1950, ...
'' (NWT), a translation of the Bible published in whole or part in over 130 languages. This is the Bible translation primarily used by Jehovah's Witnesses.
* ''
Awake!
''Awake!'' is an illustrated religious magazine published by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. It is considered to be a companion magazine of '' The Watchtower'', and is distributed by Jehovah's Witnesses. The Watch Tower S ...
'', published in over 100 languages three times per year, a general-interest monthly magazine covering many topics from a religious perspective.
* ''
The Watchtower Announcing Jehovah's Kingdom'', published in 240 languages monthly, focuses mainly on
doctrine
Doctrine (from la, doctrina, meaning "teaching, instruction") is a codification of beliefs or a body of teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the essence of teachings in a given branch of knowledge or in a belief syste ...
.
When interested individuals are encountered, Witnesses offer a home Bible study course, using a current publication, such as ''What Does the Bible ''Really'' Teach?'', which outlines their primary beliefs and interpretations of the Bible. The Witness then visits the student on a regular basis, generally considering a chapter on each visit. Students are requested to examine the material prior to the arrival of the Bible study conductor, using the questions at the bottom of each page, to "help prepare the student for the Bible study".
Jehovah's Witnesses customarily read each paragraph aloud together with the student, and then ask the question(s) provided for that paragraph. Students are encouraged to read the scriptures cited in the material. Bible students are expected to be making progress to become baptized as a Jehovah's Witness by the time the course is completed, and may be asked to study a second publication, such as ''"Keep Yourselves in God's Love"''.
Jehovah's Witnesses previously offered their literature for a price determined by the branch office in each country, to cover printing costs. Since 2000, Jehovah's Witnesses have offered their publications free of charge globally. Printing is funded by voluntary donations from Witnesses and members of the public. Jehovah's Witnesses accept donations if offered by householders, and are instructed to invite donations in countries where soliciting funds is permitted.
Literature for members
Some publications, such as the hymnal ''Sing to Jehovah'', ''The Watchtower'' Study Edition, and the textbook ''Benefit From Theocratic Ministry School Education'' are for use by those who attend congregation meetings. Others, such as the organizational manual ''Organized to Do Jehovah's Will'' and ''Watchtower Library'' (containing the ''Watch Tower Publications Index'' from 1930, issues of ''The Watchtower'' since 1950, and most other Watch Tower Society literature published since 1970), are intended for members. Certain publications are limited to members in appointed positions, such as the manual for congregation
elders, ''"Shepherd the Flock of God"''.
Some publications are typically distributed only to members, but may be supplied to other interested individuals on request or made available in public libraries. These include the Bible encyclopedia ''Insight on the Scriptures'' and Jehovah's Witnesses' official history book ''Jehovah's Witnesses—Proclaimers of God's Kingdom''. Many of these publications are also available from their website in the ''Watchtower Online Library''.
Notable publications
In addition to Jehovah's Witnesses' widely distributed magazines, various publications have received attention from the media and other commentators.
Aid to Bible Understanding
''Aid to Bible Understanding'' was the first doctrinal and biblical
encyclopedia of Jehovah's Witnesses, published in full in 1971.
Raymond Franz
Raymond Victor Franz (May 8, 1922 – June 2, 2010) was a member of the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses from October 20, 1971, until his removal on May 22, 1980, and served at the organization's world headquarters for fifteen years, ...
, a former member of the
Governing Body
A governing body is a group of people that has the authority to exercise governance over an organization or political entity. The most formal is a government, a body whose sole responsibility and authority is to make binding decisions in a taken ...
who left the organization claimed to have been one of the researchers. Research for the book led to new interpretations of some concepts, providing a catalyst for changes in
doctrine
Doctrine (from la, doctrina, meaning "teaching, instruction") is a codification of beliefs or a body of teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the essence of teachings in a given branch of knowledge or in a belief syste ...
. It was replaced in 1988 by ''Insight on the Scriptures'', which contains much of the original content from ''Aid to Bible Understanding''.
Life—How Did It Get Here? By Evolution or by Creation?
''Life—How Did It Get Here? By Evolution or by Creation?'', first published in 1985, presents the
Old Earth (
Gap and
Day-Age)
creationism of
Jehovah's Witnesses, and their criticism of
evolution
Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...
. Biologist
Richard Dawkins criticized the book for repeatedly presenting a choice between intelligent design and
chance
Chance may refer to:
Mathematics and Science
* In mathematics, likelihood of something (by way of the Likelihood function and/or Probability density function).
* ''Chance'' (statistics magazine)
Places
* Chance, Kentucky, US
* Chance, Mary ...
, rather than
natural selection
Natural selection is the differential survival and reproduction of individuals due to differences in phenotype. It is a key mechanism of evolution, the change in the heritable traits characteristic of a population over generations. Cha ...
. The book was supplemented by the 1998 book, ''Is There a Creator Who Cares About You?'', and the 2010 brochures ''The Origin of Life—5 Questions Worth Asking'' and ''Was Life Created?''
The Truth That Leads to Eternal Life
''The Truth That Leads to Eternal Life'' was a Bible study textbook published in 1968 and revised in 1981 (now
out of print). The ''1975
Guinness Book of Records'' included this book in its list of highest printings. According to the Watch Tower Society, by May 1987 publication had reached 106,486,735 copies in 116 languages.
References
External links
{{Commons category, Jehovah's Witnesses literature
jw.org - Download of publications of Jehovah's Witnesses and official websiteWatch Tower publications listedin Online library