JEHOVAH’S
WITNESSES
More than 10 years revealing secrets because there is no excuse for secrecy in religion – w1997 June 1; Dan 2:47; Matt 10:26; Mark 4:22; Luke 12:2; Acts 4:19, 20.
JEHOVAH’S
WITNESSES
More than 10 years revealing secrets because there is no excuse for secrecy in religion – w1997 June 1; Dan 2:47; Matt 10:26; Mark 4:22; Luke 12:2; Acts 4:19, 20.
Kåre Sæterhaug is a member of the board of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Norway. He was questioned on the last day of his religious group’s appeal against their loss of state funding because of their harmful practices, particularly towards children. When asked by the court if some persons may have experiences very detailed and unpleasant lines of questioning in their judicial committee meetings, he claimed he was not aware.
Written by Mr. Naija. Published February 15th, 2025
It has never been in line with the guidance the elders have received.
– Kåre Sæterhaug
Oslo, Norway—Despite being one of the highest ranking elders in Scandinavia, and having many years experience of the judicial process, Kåre Sæterhaug made the shocking claim that he was not aware that members of Jehovah’s Witnesses have faced very detailed and unpleasant lines of questioning relating to their sexual behaviour by a group of three or more elders in a judicial committee meeting. He claimed that elders only ask if a person had sex. He knows this is not true but he said it under oath all the same.
Let’s look at the evidence to ensure we know that Kåre is most definitely awåre that elders ask invasive question.
“Pay Attention to Yourselves and to All the Flock” is the first elders’ textbook that put elders’ activities into a book. Prior to this it was provided as training material in various units. These units have been collated and placed into this single publication for elders. This publication was in use by bodies of elders from 1991 until it was replaced in 2010. Kåre Sæterhaug has been at the Norwegian headquarters since 1991 and became an elder well before 2010 and so would be very familiar with this publication. He would also be aware that Jehovah’s Witness elders need to ask probing questions when determining if porneia has been committed. This is made explicitly clear in this publication on page 112:
Probing questions should not go into needless details, especially in regard to sexual misconduct, unless this is absolutely necessary, such as in determining whether por-nei’a had been committed. (emphasis ours)
Therefore, as an elder, Kåre lied. He is aware that elders do ask detailed and unpleasant questions of Jehovah’s Witnesses, particularly if they are trying to determine whether porneia was committed. What he might not be aware of is how this has had a detrimental effect on the victims of this form of questioning. Why? Because he and his colleagues ensure that those who are expelled are not spoken to. It would never occur to him to ask disfellowshipped members how they felt after the judicial process, how their line of questioning might have affected them, or why they might never want to return after going through such a horrendous experience.
Jehovah’s Witnesses define Pornei as sexual activities forbidden by God. It includes adultery, prostitution, sexual relations between unmarried individuals, homosexuality, and bestiality.
In 2010, the publishers of Jehovah’s Witnesses’ secret manual for elders developed a revised version entitled, “Shepherd the Flock of God”. Kåre was awåre of this revision. He would have been very familiar with its contents. It says on page 90, paragraph 5:
The [judicial] committee should first seek to establish the facts and ascertain the attitude of the accused. This requires skillful and discreet questions. The judicial committee should be thorough but not inquire about needless details, especially in regard to sexual misconduct. However, in some instances, when Scriptural freedom to divorce and remarry may be an issue, details may need to be clarified. When the elders on the judicial committee feel that they have a clear picture, they may excuse the accused from the room and discuss the case and the individual’s repentance or lack thereof. (emphasis ours)
This is further evidence that Kåre lied. He would have been well aware that there are instances when details matter in cases that involve divorce and remarriage. Additionally, the very fact that the book says, “the judicial committee should be thorough but not inquire about needless details” indicates that elders were doing exactly that: inquiring about needless details. Such details were described in open court where Kåre was in attendance. If he was not awåre before, he is awåre now. But, unfortunately for those victims, he sees them through the lens of a high control group and cannot accept that they are telling the truth. The irony of this fact would be lost on him.
Starting in January 2019, Jehovah’s Witnesses replaced the 2010 “Shepherding” elder manual and letters to Bodies of Elders with a new “Shepherd” elder manual. Confusingly, it has the same title as the second revision, “Shepherd the Flock of God”. Curiously, the copyright of the publication is not owned by Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. Instead, Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of the Republic of Korea owns that privilege. This indicates three things: Jehovah’s Witnesses can assign the copyright of any of their publications to any of their legal entities as they see fit; the World Headquarters of Jehovah’s Witnesses in New York can deny any responsibility for the content contained therein; and unwitting members of the organization who may not be aware of its existence and come across it online may deem it a false publication.
The organization sure knows what it is doing: it wants all of the control but none of the responsibility. Is Kåre awåre of these facts? Whatever the case, he is aware that this is an authentic publication produced by Watch Tower for elders of Jehovah’s Witnesses around the world.
This publication has two interesting chapters. Chapter 14 entitled, Child Abuse, and Chapter 16 entitled, Procedure for Judicial Hearings. Unlike every other Witness publication where male terms (he, him, his) are used, the chapter on child abuse uses female terms (she, her, hers). On paragraph 15 of the Child Abuse chapter – and Kåre would be awåre of this – it states:
Though it may be necessary for the elders to ask a few tactful questions to help an afflicted one express herself, they should avoid probing unnecessarily or repeatedly into the details of the abuse. (emphasis ours)
There is no direction provided to elders on what “unnecessarily” means. The vast majority of elders have little or no training in handling cases of child abuse. It’s no secret that many elders have only basic education and have menial jobs, such as window cleaning. What would “repeatedly” mean to such men?
The direction provided by the organization is open to interpretation. It’s not clear.
Leaving the questioning to elders’ discretion can only lead to victims of abuse being retraumatized by questions that seek details from men who have no idea what to do with those details! Is Kåre awåre of how dangerous this book can become in the hands of the wrong elder? I’m sure if he was in court facing the testimony of a child abuse victim who reveals the inappropriate questions asked of her by ill-educated elders, he’d respond, “I was unaware”. That’s the response of a coward.
Paragraph 5 of Chapter 16, Procedure for Judicial Hearings, has wording very similar to paragraph 5 of page 90 of the previous edition of the elders’ textbook. Therefore, I will not repeat my argument here. Instead, I will ask what “needless details” are? Again, the publication does not define what details are appropriate and what are needless.
What questions need to be asked if the penitent confessed to porneia? Would one elder need to know exactly what went on to determine that the penitent actually did commit porneia, or would another elder be happy to take the penitent at their word? Can the body of elders discover the answer without asking probing questions? With unclear direction, how can bodies of elders be consistent in how they question penitents? It’s impossible. Kåre has to be awåre of this. If he is not, he is either naive or not fit to sit on a judicial committee that involves matters of a sexual nature. Indeed, what elders are fit to sit on a judicial committee to judge others when they are so ill-equipped to deal with such complex matters?
Looking at exhibits A, B, and C, it is clear that elders are given discretion as to how they are to question penitents. They are not told, “Do not look for details of a sexual nature from penitents”. That’s clear direction. Instead, they are given ambiguous direction: do “not inquire about needless details”. Those needless details are left to the discretion of the elders. Unfortunately for the victims, some use less discretion than others. And Kåre wouldn’t be one to admit that the process defined and implemented by his beloved governing body is an inherently flawed one. Instead, he is willing to stand in front of a court and lie.
Like the very book that he gets his direction from, his responses were vague and ambiguous. Instead of saying, “Elders do not ask and have never asked invasive questions”, which he couldn’t say because it would be demonstrably false, he says – and I’m paraphrasing – “I am not aware of elders asking invasive questions. We simply ask if the person had sex, that is how deep the elders dig.” If that was as far as the elders dig, then the rest of us have had a perverse elder body conducting our judicial committee meetings.
What safeguards are in place to prevent elders from going rogue? There are none. Victims of the Jehovah’s Witnesses judicial process have no means to have incorrect judgments reversed. It has never been done. Once the announcement is made that you are no longer one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, there will never ever be an investigation into how the body of elders handled a judicial meeting. There will never be a body of elders coming to ask you how you thought about how they handled your case. There will never be an elder asking if you thought their line of questioning was invasive or detrimental to your emotional health. Either they don’t care, or they don’t care enough to consider anything beyond the pages of their secret manual.
The only truth is that Kåre has no care to seek out and make himself awåre of the harms caused to Jehovah’s Witnesses in their inherently flawed judicial process. He most definitely doesn’t lose sleep over the harm he and his colleagues cause. If he did, he’d have handled matters very differently in court.
Shepherd the Flock of God (2019 – present): Download a Copy in your language
Shepherd the Flock of God (2010 – 2019): Download a Copy in your Language
Pay Attention to Yourselves and to All the Flock (1991-2010): Download a Copy in limited languages