Crisis of Conscience
Crisis of Conscience is a 1983 memoir by Raymond Victor Franz (1922–2010), recounting his experiences as a member of the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses from 1971 to 1980, during which he observed tensions between organizational directives and personal convictions derived from scriptural study.[1][2] The book details specific instances of doctrinal adjustments, including unfulfilled expectations tied to dates like 1925 and 1975, and critiques the Watch Tower Society's hierarchical structure for prioritizing institutional interpretations over direct biblical authority.[3] Franz resigned from the Governing Body in May 1980 amid these conflicts and was subsequently disfellowshipped in 1981 after refusing to recant his views.[1] Published by Commentary Press, the work argues that loyalty to God supersedes allegiance to religious leadership when the latter deviates from evident scriptural principles, drawing on Franz's decades of service in various capacities within the organization, including missionary work in the Dominican Republic.[2] It provides rare documentation of internal deliberations at the society's New York headquarters, exposing what Franz perceived as a lack of transparency in policy formation and the suppression of dissenting research among members.[3] While Jehovah's Witnesses authorities have condemned the book as promoting apostasy, it has influenced critical examinations of high-control religious groups by illustrating the personal costs of challenging authoritative dogma.[1] Subsequent editions, including a 2004 update, incorporate additional context from later organizational developments.[3]Author and Background
Raymond Franz's Early Life and Involvement
Raymond Victor Franz was born on May 8, 1922, in the United States. Raised as a third-generation Jehovah's Witness, he received early exposure to the faith through family-led Bible studies, with numerous relatives actively participating in the organization's activities. This familial immersion shaped his initial commitment, leading him to associate formally with the Witnesses at age sixteen in 1938.[4][5] Franz was baptized in 1939 and promptly entered full-time pioneer service, a role involving dedicated itinerant preaching and literature distribution across various locales. By 1940, he had committed to this vocation post-high school, forgoing secular education to focus on proselytizing efforts amid the organization's emphasis on end-times urgency. In 1944, he completed training at the Gilead Missionary School in South Lansing, New York, equipping him for international outreach.[4][6][7] Following his missionary preparation, Franz received assignment to Puerto Rico in 1946, where he engaged in evangelism under challenging conditions, including language adaptation and local opposition. His service expanded in the 1950s and early 1960s to encompass the Dominican Republic and other Caribbean territories, such as the British Virgin Islands. In the Dominican Republic, he acted as a representative, notably delivering a petition to dictator Rafael Trujillo in the late 1950s to seek relief from a government ban on Witness assemblies and publications. These efforts underscored his deepening immersion in the organization's global expansion initiatives during a period of doctrinal focus on imminent Armageddon.[8][9][10] During his missionary tenure, Franz contributed to translation endeavors, aiding in the adaptation of Watch Tower literature into Spanish to support preaching in Hispanic regions. This work aligned with the development of the New World Translation, though his primary role emphasized practical field application over committee leadership in its initial phases.[9][1]Rise to Governing Body Membership
In 1965, Raymond Franz relocated to the Watch Tower Society's headquarters at Brooklyn Bethel, where he joined the writing staff under the direction of President Nathan H. Knorr. His primary assignment involved collaborative research and authorship for Aid to Bible Understanding, a 1,600-page biblical reference work published in 1971 that synthesized doctrinal interpretations on topics such as prophecy, theology, and biblical geography. This project required five years of intensive study, during which Franz and his team consulted external scholarly commentaries—a departure from prior insular practices—and produced content that influenced subsequent Jehovah's Witnesses publications, including refinements to understandings of eschatological timelines and organizational authority.[4][9] Franz's contributions during this period elevated his standing within the organization, demonstrating his expertise in scriptural analysis amid the doctrinal adjustments of the late 1960s, such as clarifications on the timing of Armageddon and the role of the "faithful and discreet slave." By 1971, as the Governing Body underwent expansion due to the advanced age and recent deaths of veteran members like George H. Griswold and Grant Suiter, Franz was appointed to the body on October 20, becoming one of the younger members tasked with sustaining continuity in leadership.[11][10] As a Governing Body member, Franz was assigned to committees focused on doctrinal oversight, where he participated in deliberations shaping publications and policies throughout the 1970s, including evaluations of prophetic interpretations and administrative procedures. This role afforded him direct access to internal decision-making, underscoring his progression from field missionary to central authority figure within the Jehovah's Witnesses hierarchy.[12][11]Events Leading to Departure
In the late 1970s, Raymond Franz experienced mounting personal doubts regarding the Jehovah's Witnesses organization's treatment of internal dissent and its interpretation of unfulfilled prophetic expectations, particularly the emphasis on 1975 as a potential pivotal year for Armageddon that did not materialize as anticipated.[3] These concerns intensified through Franz's interactions with individuals questioning core doctrines, including discussions on scriptural interpretations and organizational policies that Franz viewed as overly rigid in suppressing independent examination.[3] A specific catalyst emerged in early 1980 when Franz associated with a former district overseer from Puerto Rico who had been disfellowshipped for raising doctrinal objections, including skepticism toward failed end-time predictions; their conversations, which Franz described as non-sinful exchanges on biblical topics, underscored for him the punitive handling of such inquiries within the organization.[3] This association, particularly sharing a meal, drew scrutiny from Governing Body members, who perceived it as endorsing disloyalty.[7] Amid these pressures, Franz submitted his resignation from the Governing Body on May 22, 1980, following direct confrontations over his expressed reservations about authoritative decision-making processes.[5] The move reflected a deepening conflict between his longstanding loyalty and an emerging conviction that conscience demanded reevaluation of institutional directives.[3] Subsequently, in November 1980, a judicial committee convened and disfellowshipped Franz on charges of apostasy, citing his promotion of independent thinking and association with the disfellowshipped individual as evidence of doctrinal disloyalty.[9] This action formalized his departure from active participation in the organization, driven by what Franz later characterized as irreconcilable tensions between personal biblical convictions and enforced uniformity.[3]Publication and Context
Writing and Initial Release
Raymond Franz self-published Crisis of Conscience in 1983 through Commentary Press after relocating to Alabama in March 1980 on a leave of absence from the Jehovah's Witnesses' Brooklyn headquarters for health reasons, followed by his disfellowshipping effective December 31, 1981.[6][4] The 384-page book emerged without backing from commercial publishers, limiting the initial print run to a small scale typical of independent efforts.[2][1] Franz composed the work primarily from his Alabama residence, driven by an intent to chronicle internal Governing Body proceedings from the 1970s and share these details with active Jehovah's Witnesses to illuminate issues of conscience amid organizational pressures, as he later described the aim as assisting rather than harming readers.[3][13] Early dissemination proved challenging due to Jehovah's Witnesses' directives against engaging with materials labeled apostate, which effectively barred members from acquiring or discussing the book under threat of disciplinary action akin to that for associating with disfellowshipped individuals.[6] This internal prohibition restricted access among Franz's targeted readership of current adherents despite the self-published format allowing niche availability through direct orders.[1]Subsequent Editions and Availability
The second edition of Crisis of Conscience, copyrighted in 1992, featured three printings between 1992 and 1997.[3] A third edition followed, with the fourth edition released in 2002 and revised and updated in May 2004 as a second printing in November of that year.[14][15] The 2004 updates included expanded evidence demonstrating the persistence of events described in earlier editions into the 21st century, along with responses to counterarguments in Jehovah's Witnesses publications such as the 1993 Jehovah’s Witnesses—Proclaimers of God’s Kingdom and adjustments to doctrines like the "1914 generation."[3] Commentary Press, an independent publisher located at P.O. Box 43532 in Atlanta, Georgia, handled all editions.[3] Physical copies remain available via independent booksellers and online platforms including Amazon and AbeBooks.[16][17] Digital formats, such as PDFs of the 2004 fourth edition, are freely accessible online through archival sites like Friends of Raymond Franz, facilitating broader availability independent of commercial sales channels.[3][15] Lacking any endorsement from Jehovah's Witnesses authorities, the book is classified by the organization as apostate literature, with members directed to shun such works from disfellowshipped individuals, resulting in its unofficial distribution primarily among former adherents and researchers via digital and secondary markets.[18][19]Book Content and Structure
Autobiographical Elements
Raymond Franz's Crisis of Conscience opens with a first-person narrative of his appointment to the Jehovah's Witnesses' Governing Body on October 20, 1971, after 15 years at the organization's Brooklyn headquarters, providing an insider's view of the body's daily operations during his tenure until May 1980.[3] He recounts weekly Wednesday meetings, typically brief and chaired rotationally—such as by Fred Franz in 1971—which prioritized reviewing personnel appointments, policy enforcement like disfellowshipping cases, and administrative decisions over extended scriptural study, creating an emotionally taxing, legalistic atmosphere amid growing authoritarian pressures from 1976 onward.[3] These sessions excluded outsiders except in rare instances and maintained secrecy on critical details, including financial disclosures, such as the organization's $332 million in assets reported for 1978.[3] Franz details the interpersonal dynamics among the 17 Governing Body members, marked by factional divides between traditionalists like Ted Jaracz and Milton Henschel and perceived reformers, evident in predictable voting blocs during debates over policies such as elder arrangements and alternative civilian service, where splits like a 9-5-1 vote in 1979 highlighted underlying tensions.[3] Clashes included Nathan Knorr's emotional outbursts resisting structural changes, such as declaring opposition to expanded Governing Body authority "over my dead body," and Grant Suiter's 1975 verbal outburst during discussions, fostering an environment of distrust and silence rather than collaborative warmth.[3] This internal factionalism in the 1970s contrasted sharply with the organization's public portrayal of unified leadership, as promoted in Watchtower publications like the December 15, 1971, issue emphasizing harmonious direction, masking a "siege mentality" and monarchical realities post-1975 restructuring.[3] Central to Franz's moral struggles was the Governing Body's handling of the anticipated 1975 end-times milestone, which he opposed adjusting in 1974 despite internal forecasts, leading to post-failure disillusionment and a humbling acknowledgment of unfulfilled expectations without public accountability.[3] He describes suppressing contradictory evidence, such as Carl Olof Jonsson's 1977 research challenging the 607 B.C.E. chronology underpinning 1914 doctrines, prioritizing organizational conformity over transparency, which intensified his ethical conflicts and contributed to his crisis of conscience.[3] A 1979 vote (15-3) eventually allowed limited admission of the 1975 prediction's error in a March 15, 1980, publication, but Franz portrays this as emblematic of broader dilemmas in reconciling personal integrity with loyalty to institutional directives.[3]