Has the Governing Body always been this way?

My question is this, at Matthew 24:45-51, in the discussion about who the faithful and discrete slave will be ... and not be, was there a point in time prior to now when the Governing Body would "entertain" thoughts and ideas from other members of the "little flock" who were not on the GB or at Bethel that went contrary to the accepted "dogma" without them going berserk and disfellowshipping some and labeling them with the apostate tag? Is this a relatively new phenomenon?, or have they always shown this attitude, because it appears in the scripture mentioned above that there would be a line of delineation when they would no longer accept anything from outside their ranks and would treat other members of the "little flock" who dared question them with the severest of measures. Is the line of delineation 1975, or their adulterous relationship with the U.N. or some combination?

As individuals I am sure most members of the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses are of the finest sort of men. On a personal note: About 25 years ago I had the privilege of working in the field service on two different occasions with visiting members of the Governing Body. I was deeply impressed with their lowliness of mind and unpretentiousness. Also, in my experience more recently, I used to write to various members of the GB with numerous research papers. Although my research may not have been well received I did not experience any sort of reprimand or reprisals. (The more recent open letters accusing the GB of apostasy are another matter.)

We need to keep in mind that Jesus will judge everyone as individuals – including Governing Body brothers. After all, that’s the point of Jesus’ illustration concerning the faithful and evil slave. Both slaves have an appointment from the master of the house and both slaves will be judged as to their faithfulness in the discharge of their duties. Upon the master’s coming the faithful slave is appointed over all his masters’ belongings while the evil slave is put out of the house entirely.

On the other hand, the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Watchtower Society Corporation are not individuals. They are institutions. And as such, organizations have a character and an accountability of their own that supersedes the individuals that comprise it. Perhaps there are individuals on the Governing Body who are inclined toward a more reasonable stance on some issues or they may favor discarding certain teachings, but if so, they would probably find themselves more or less powerless to affect the body as a whole.

In many respects the institutions of the GB and the WT are comparable to the Pharisees and the religious institutions of Judah during the time of Christ. But even though Jesus condemned the institutions and organization as a whole many individuals of the Pharisees and the temple priests actually became followers of Jesus.

So, we have to be careful not to condemn or judge individuals. We wisely leave all judging to Jehovah’s appointed Judge – Jesus. But, we know from the prophecies that the organization that presently bears the name of Jehovah will be destroyed. Afterwards a new organization comes into existence comprised of individuals who will have been judged faithful to God.