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Doctrine changes · Claim record

The organisation’s present position is that the Bible does not prohibit toasting or clinking glasses, and a 2026 study article illustrates a Witness joining a toast at a work dinner with a clear conscience.

Claim ID claim-doctrine-toasting-2026-current-positionConcerns November 2026Explicit statement
Explicit statement · November 2026 Verified

The organisation’s present position is that the Bible does not prohibit toasting or clinking glasses, and a 2026 study article illustrates a Witness joining a toast at a work dinner with a clear conscience. Frequently Asked Questions About Jehovah’s WitnessesThe Watchtower (Study Edition), November 2026

Show the evidence (2 sources)
Primary JW publication Verified

Frequently Asked Questions About Jehovah’s Witnesses, “What Happens at a Wedding of Jehovah’s Witnesses?”

· section ‘Will there be a toast?’ · Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society

“The Bible does not prohibit toasting or clinking glasses, but some couples may ask guests not to offer toasts in order to avoid stumbling others.”

The organisation’s current answer about weddings, read on the Watchtower Online Library. It gives the position after the July 2025 announcement and makes no reference to the earlier counsel. The sentence is followed in the original by a reference to Romans 14:21.

Official source

Provenance and verification note

Confidence note. Opened on 19 September 2026 and re-opened for audit the same day; the sentence was read in full. This entry carries no publication date, so the date field is null. The Watchtower Online Library cites it as “ijwfq article 62”: the 62 in this record’s id is the article number, not a page number, even though the library marks it with a page marker.

Notes. Compare the 2007 answer, which said Witnesses ‘do not share in toasting’.

Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID. src-chg-p-ijwfq-62-wedding-toast

Primary JW publication Verified

The Watchtower (Study Edition), “To Please Jehovah, Keep Training Your Conscience”

November 2026 · pp.4-5 · par. 9 and the picture description · Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society

“In the first picture, a brother feels comfortable with toasting in a social setting. In the second picture, a brother chooses not to take part in a toast that might appear to be nationalistic.”

The study article sets out two Witnesses at work dinners who reach opposite decisions about joining a toast, and says ‘the goal of both brothers is to please Jehovah by acting in harmony with his will’. The words quoted here are the article’s own picture description, printed as a footnote to the illustration.

Official source

Provenance and verification note

Confidence note. Article opened on the Watchtower Online Library and re-opened for audit on 19 September 2026. Paragraph 9 begins on page 4 and straddles the page 5 marker; the article runs pp. 2-7 and the table of contents of the issue confirms that the next article begins on page 8. The picture description is printed after the last page marker in the document, so its page was not taken from the nearest preceding marker: its reference marker sits on the illustration line between the page 5 and page 6 markers, which puts it on page 5.

Notes. Shows the practical effect of the 2025 decision in a study article: a Witness joining a toast is now illustrated approvingly.

Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID. src-chg-p-w-2026-1100-conscience-toasting

Claim page

A direct link to this claim is https://jwtruth.org/evidence/claim-doctrine-toasting-2026-current-position/. Every source above opens the original document or the best available copy. If you believe the wording, date or context is wrong, report an error.