JW Broadcasting — 2023 Governing Body Update #8, “2023 Governing Body Update #8 (official English subtitles)”
“The Governing Body does not have an issue with brothers wearing beards. Why not? Because the Scriptures do not condemn the wearing of beards. … Thus, whether a brother wears a beard is a personal decision. A brother's qualifications to serve as an elder or ministerial servant are based on his spirituality, not on whether he chooses to wear a beard. … In harmony with Romans 14:4, neither the elders nor any other Christian should feel compelled to judge a brother who chooses to wear a beard.”
Read as an announcement from the Governing Body. The programme also says: 'For some years, based on the conclusions of certain archaeologists, our publications most often portrayed Jesus as clean-shaven. But in 1968, The Watchtower considered more reliable evidence'.
Official source (opens in new tab) Scan of original (opens in new tab)
Provenance and verification note for JW Broadcasting — 2023 Governing Body Update #8, 2023 Governing Body Update #8 (official English subtitles)
Confidence note. jw.org news page opened (dated 15 Dec 2023; description: dress and grooming choices) and official subtitle text read.
Scan provenance. Official subtitle file (naturalKey docid-702023024_E_1_VIDEO) listed by the jw.org mediator API.
Corroborated by. src-w-2016-0900-dress-beards, src-gbu-2024-0503-update3-dress-standards
Notes. Grooming guidance, not doctrine. Third-party reports say the video was shown in congregations the week of 1 Jan 2024 (not verified).
Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID. src-gbu-2023-1215-update8-beards