It seems almost unthinkable that Tony Morris should be forced to stand down from the Governing Body, but stranger things have happened.

Ewart Chitty and Leo Greenlees were removed from the Governing Body in 1979 and 1984 respectively, albeit under very different circumstances. Raymond Franz resigned in 1980 amid Watchtower’s frenzied purge of “apostates.”

If Anthony Morris III ends up becoming the fourth Governing Body member to be stripped of his lofty position, it would likely be for a very different reason than his ignominious predecessors – because his outspokenness is making him a liability to the organization.

Those who follow his exploits closely enough on YouTube are only too familiar with his arrogant, eccentric streak on the platform. Until recently, his outrageous musings on such topics as scorched Armageddon victims, child baptism, “thinkingest” people, tight pants, and the nature of eternity were known only to select audiences of Witnesses, such as those attending a particular convention or zone visit.

But the organization is changing, and pushing Governing Body members increasingly to the fore. JW Broadcasting promises to do this on a scale never before seen. And Tony’s embarrassing performance on Saturday at the “special meeting” for the U.S. branch visit demonstrated perfectly why introducing Witnesses to their dear leaders “warts and all” is a monumental error that could seriously backfire.

At Saturday’s special meeting, an audience of well over a million Jehovah’s Witnesses in the branch territory of United States were subjected to an avalanche of stupidity from Tony’s lips.

Sisters were told that they cannot marry a man older than 23 if he is not by that age a ministerial servant. They were also instructed that they cannot go jogging wearing “spanx” – which one assumes is any tight-fitting spandex or lycra. Families were informed that it is inexcusable for them to visit an amusement park rather than visit bethel if it is within their means to do so.

And once again, “Tight Pants Tony” shared his bizarre clothing obsession – reiterating his belief that tight pants are part of a conspiracy by homosexual fashion designers whose sole aim in life is to drool over the contours of the male figure.

Speaking for myself, the only real surprise in all of the above was the brazen and unguarded manner with which Tony aired his clearly ridiculous views. I have known for some time that he is more than capable of unleashing such madness on an audience. I just had no idea he was brave enough to indulge himself to this extent in front of every single congregation in the United States branch territory.

The whole thing was made only more awkward by Tony’s promise at the start of his talk that he would support all “things that could ignite a controversy” with references from the publications. Unless there is a Watchtower somewhere that prescribes what jogging apparel Witnesses may or may not wear, or whether non-Ministerial Servants over 23 are eligible as marriage partners, Tony utterly failed to do this.

But it was precisely Tony’s arrogance that led him to insist that everything he said was backed up by God himself, even if so many of his absurd views are notable in the publications only by their absence.

Consider the following video clip, taken from the recording of the 2014 Annual Meeting Program on JW Broadcasting, where Tony speaks of how Witnesses in a certain branch territory where he “wasn’t treated too well” ought to be in fear of his “big brother.”

It’s easy to imagine how a religious leader with this level of narcissism could believe his expressions are automatically rubber-stamped by the Almighty.

Though it would be almost unthinkable for the Governing Body to go so far as to eject Tony from their circle of power, the fact remains that the more he is allowed to spout forth such silly, arrogant ramblings to bewildered audiences, the more the veil of awe and respect surrounding the Governing Body will evaporate.

I certainly hope the Governing Body doesn’t do the smart thing by dispensing with Tony’s services now before it is too late. It is in my interests for the organization to implode sooner rather than later to prevent more lives being ruined, and few things would better facilitate this than for Tony Morris to continue his eyebrow-raising performances until he departs to meet his “big brother.”

But in the unlikely event that the Governing Body spoils my fun and orders a taxi for Mr Morris, I can at least celebrate the fact that a million or so Witnesses in the U.S. now have the awkward but indelible realization that one of the members of their revered “faithful slave” is a monstrous prude who is fixated with tight clothing, and sees his opinions and God’s as more-or-less the same thing.

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