Sounds crazy, doesn’t it? In 1931, at a Columbus Ohio Convention, with great fanfare, J. F. Rutherford introduced a name change from “Bible Students” to “Jehovah’s Witnesses.” The real reason, we think was to differentiate themselves to the public and brethren from the Bible Students who were very active in the witness work. Ever since then, an emphasis on the importance of honoring “Jehovah’s” name has been a cornerstone of the organizations teachings. To imagine that the Watchtower organization would change its name back to “Bible Students” seems unthinkable. That was my reaction at first when Sister Jacqueline shared her opinion about the name change with me. However, now I am beginning to wonder.

At a recent state fair in Indiana, Bible Students had a booth and we provided free literature to the public. One day when sister Jaqueline was serving at the booth, some JWs walked by and she was able to engage them in conversation. When Sister Jacqueline told the told them that we are the Bible Students, a JW elder’s wife sternly retorted back, “No! We are the Bible Students!”

Having been a JW for 60 years, Sister Jacqueline has experience observing the process of how the organization subtly begins to introduce a change in belief – new light. By the time the new light is officially announced, most of the JWs already have accepted the change.

This year, the JW Organization published a new book which will be studied by JWs around the world beginning early in 2015. The new book is called, “God’s Kingdom Rules!” Notice, it is “God’s Kingdom,” not “Jehovah’s Kingdom!” For their personal study material, are JWs now starting to use “God” instead of Jehovah?”

I have read through this new book and hope to soon post an article discussing it on our site. There is a lot to say about the book. It seems that the book is doing damage control. JWs are becoming more and more aware now of the existence of Bible Students and the real history of the early Watchtower. The organization would have benefited by coming out with this book years ago before so much of the Internet history information damage had been done. Now, they appear to be implementing damage control by introducing all the JWs to the history that is already out on the Internet, but now with the Organizations perspective. This may be a smart move by the Governing Body. As JWs hear the organizations revised and expanded view on history, they will quickly adopt that view as their own. Therefore, when they find a different perspective on the Internet, it will come across as lies and deceptions.

As I read through the book, I could see what sister Jacqueline was telling me. Throughout the book the early Watchtower brethren are frequently referred to and always called Bible Students. So more and more, JWs are being conditioned to view themselves as the original Bible Students who simply made a name change.

But why go back to the old name, “Bible Students?” In business marketing, this is called “rebranding.” There is a stigma in the minds of the general public against the name “Jehovah’s Witnesses.” Now, imagine going out on service, knocking on a door and saying, “Hi. We are Bible Students visiting in your area.” If the person at the door asks, “Are you Jehovah’s Witnesses?” You simply respond, “We are Bible Students.” The door is not slammed in your face.

There is another advantage of rebranding – attempting to eliminate the Bible Student threat. Jehovah’s Witness members can easily find the original Bible Students on the Internet with a Google search. This has caused great problems as now it appears JWs have an alternative. The JW point of view has been that these old Bible Students left the organization, lost Jehovah’s blessing and went out of existence. Yet that was never true. We Bible Students have existed and actively witnessed to the public continuously since the days of the early Watchtower.

Now imagine if JWs changed their name to “Bible Students.” There would be so much on the Internet about Bible Students (the JW Organization), that people might never come accross the original Bible Students with a Google search. So a name change would help to hide our existence and hopefully, from their point of view, diminish questions and doubts. These efforts look like a smart strategy to counteract and diminish the existence of the original Bible Students as a threat to the organizations stability! So perhaps they want to eliminate both the alternative and room for doubt.

So what do you think? Are the JWs changing their name to “Bible Students?” Or is this a stupid/crazy suggestion? Personally, I don’t know, but Sister Jacqueline is starting to win me over. Also, if you have any relevant factual information you can contribute? Please do.