Changes vs. Additions to Truth

The current Executive Trustee’s “present view” of the dates for the existence of the Youthful Worthies was first expressed in print with his modification of the first paragraph of the quasi-elect article (we compare Bro. Jolly’s 1978 PT version to the ET’s 2004 version).

The First Sentence
In the first sentence, he replaces “additional light” with “considerable light” and thereby loses the meaning of adding to or building upon existing truth. This subtle alteration of meaning is confirmed with the replacement of “with a number of important additions” to “with few changes to reflect our present view” at the end of the sentence.

A, Then B, Then C
In the 1978 article, the rest of the first paragraph is a single sentence listing a sequence of events (A, B, C). The 2004 article keeps items A and B, but completely replaces Bro. Jolly’s item C with something new.

• 1978—“(c) the last two classes of the elect—the Great Company (Rev. 7: 14) and the Youthful Worthies, who constitute the antitypical Court of the Epiphany Tabernacle or Temple in the finished picture—have as classes been in the process of development (see E 4, The Epiphany's Elect; PT No. 519).”
• 2004—“(c) the antitypical Court of the Epiphany Tabernacle and Temple has been occupied by the Great Company and Youthful Worthies while in the flesh and is now inhabited solely by the Youthful Worthies.”

Notice how the 1978 version shows BOTH the Great Company and the Youthful Worthies developing AS CLASSES (not individuals) in the Epiphany. The 2004 version loses this parallel meaning completely. Even if one of the two classes is no longer in the flesh today, the 1978 item C is still grammatically accurate. Why the change?

The Error Introduced
The 2004 article then introduces two new sentences not found in the 1978 version. The first sentence completes the condition of the Great Company, while the second brings in the “present view” of the Youthful Worthies: “The Great Company has finished its course and has now received the spirit nature (Rev. 7: 1-14). The Youthful Worthies, as the last elect class, has been in the process of development since their inception in 1878 (see E 4, The Epiphany's Elect, pp. 372-376; PT No. 519).”

Notice how the development of the Youthful Worthies has been disassociated with the Great Company in item C and given its own focus in the second sentence. The parallel has been removed, the E 4 reference modified, and a date not previously used is brought into play. The 2004 version does, in fact, change the truth instead of adding to it.