Strong recommendations of the ENVSEC

Hospital Information Service Letter

The Hospital Information Service of the Regional Organization of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia sent a letter to all councils of elders [1] with a request:

"With this letter, we would like to ask all congregations to order an additional batch of inserts from Our Kingdom Ministry for the month of February 1996, entitled 'Are You Ready for a Test of Faith in the Event of Medical Intervention?'"

Precise instructions are immediately given on how to use this insert:

"The secretary of the congregation must see to it that a sufficient quantity of this supplement is always available in the congregation so that one copy can always be given to each newly baptized. This should be done immediately after baptism. At the same time, introduce the newly baptized person to the Medical Order/Release of Responsibility. If he wishes, he can take one copy for himself. If a newly baptized publisher has unbaptized children, you may also want to introduce him to the "ID card" that many Witness parents use for their children. If a brother or sister lives in a religiously divided home, then when drawing up such a document for a minor child, it is necessary to discuss this issue with the marriage partner, because both parents are responsible for the well-being of the child. Be sure to take the time to explain to new brothers and sisters the importance and significance of this material in Our Kingdom Ministry and these medical documents. Make sure they have a clear understanding of how these materials will help them during their treatment."

Why should acquaintance with the material of the insert take place immediately after baptism? Why not acquaint everyone who comes to Jehovah's Witnesses with this information immediately? Probably, the OSB has a fear that the influx of people will immediately decrease. Apparently, it realizes that a full acquaintance with this material should be carried out already with a "trained" (read "processed") member of the Society.

The organization is relieved of responsibility for the fact that the top and lower leaders of the OSB "explained" and "convinced":

"In doing so, however, always remember that each publisher has a personal responsibility and makes personal decisions about how to prepare for medical emergencies and what steps to take to do so."

This is followed by a warning:

"Neither elders nor other brothers should in any way compel publishers to fill out these forms, for they are simply services provided to anyone who wishes to express their personal opinion on the matter."

However, it is well known how ordinary Jehovah's Witnesses feel about the personal example of their comrades who are more advanced in the teachings of the OSB and about the strong recommendations of the Society's literature. This is perceived as a guide to "wise and useful" imitation and as a direct instruction to act on the issue to which the recommendation is devoted. Can anything bad be recommended in the Society's literature, the "channel of truth"?