presumed to be analogous to that of the older men of Jerusalem in cases such as the first-century circumcision issue. The majority of Witnesses who profess to be anointed have no authority to contribute to the development or change of doctrines. Anointed Witnesses are instructed to remain modest and avoid "wildly speculating about things that are still unclear", instead waiting for God to reveal his purposes in The Watchtower. In 2009, The Watchtower indicated that the dissemination of "new spiritual light" is the responsibility of only "a limited number" of the "slave class", asking: "Are all these anointed ones throughout the earth part of a global network that is somehow involved in revealing new spiritual truths? No." In 2010 the society said that "deep truths" were discerned by "responsible representatives" of the "faithful and discreet slave class" at the group's headquarters, and then considered by the entire Governing Body before making doctrinal decisions. In August 2011, the Governing Body stated that "we have no way of knowing the exact number of anointed ones on earth; nor do we need to know", and that it "does not maintain a global network of anointed ones". At the 2012 Annual Meeting of the Watch Tower Society, the "faithful and discreet slave" was redefined as referring to the Governing Body only and the terms are now synonymous. Governing Body members Current The following people are members of the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses (year appointed in parentheses): Kenneth E. Cook, Jr. (2018) Gage Fleegle (2023) Samuel Frederick Herd (1999) Geoffrey William Jackson (2005) Mark Stephen Lett (1999) Gerrit Lösch (1994) D. Mark Sanderson (2012) David H. Splane (1999) Jeffrey Winder (2023) List of members Prior to 1971, various Watch Tower Society directors were informally identified as members of the "governing body". Jehovah's Witnesses publications began capitalizing Governing Body as a proper noun in 1971; The Watchtower that year announced "The present Governing Body comprises eleven anointed witnesses of Jehovah." These eleven members are indicated in italics in the list below. All members served until their deaths unless specified. See also Organizational structure of Jehovah's Witnesses References Organizational structure of Jehovah's Witnesses Governing assemblies of religious organizations