The Librarian

You should use the Gallery area for sharing many photos like this..... You can even make albums etc... I made a category called Nature for you. https://www.theworldnewsmedia.org/gallery/category/14-nature/

A look back from the Knoxville paper: http://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/crime/2017/04/02/lillelid-murders-haunt-east-tennessee-20-years-later/99876020/

mentioned here:

@Maron This could very well be the last letter ever sent out to the Russian congregations from the Russia Branch Office using official letterhead.

Master Chronological List > 1914 Pastor Charles Taze Russell pointed to 1914 as the end of the "Gentile Times" or "The Appointed Times of the Nations."Subsequent President of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society Judge Joseph F. Rutherford established 1914 as the date of "Christ's Invisible Return" and crowning as King of God's Kingdom in 1920 which had been previously believed to be 1878. Hence, Jehovah's heavenly Kingdom is established.Jehovah's Witnesses teach that Satan and his demons were cast down to earth from heaven after October 1, 1914 at which point the end times began.From 1914 C.E. to the early part of 1918 C.E. or 1,260 days Jehovah's people preached a "sackcloth" message concerning Christendom and the world, in fulfillment of Revelation 11:3, 4. See re pgs. 164-7 pars. 10-18, also see yw pgs. 264-307, also bf pg. 592.[KING OF THE NORTH is now Germany, the KING OF THE SOUTH is the alliance between Great Britian and the United States of America, see Daniel 11:27-29], Archduke Francis Ferdinand and his wife, Countess Sophie Chotek, duchess of Hohenberg were assassinated on June 28th in Sarajevo, Bosnia, (now in Bosnia and Herzegovina), by a Serb nationalist. This action precipitated World War I. On October 2, 1914, Jesus took the throne. Shortly thereafter, a war in heaven broke out wherein Satan and his demons were cast from the heavens. Satan then became so enraged that he began to wreak havoc upon the earth. One of the first things he did was to start the Great War (WWI). So WWI must have started a few days after October 2, 1914. “World War I set the violent twentieth century in motion. It was the first use of chemical weapons; the first mass bombardment of civilians from the sky; the century’s first genocide.” So begins the 1996 PBS series The Great War and the Shaping of the Twentieth Century.The war’s horrendous prosecution and unsatisfactory end were made even worse by the Versailles Peace Conference, a conclave which created the false peace that only allowed the combatants to rearm and proceed to a second conflict which was even more destructive than the first one. World War II merely took up the Great War’s unfinished business. Indeed many historians call both conflicts Europe’s “Second Thirty Years’ War.”The First World War led to the birth of the first communist dictatorship. The world flirted with nuclear destruction as that dictatorship engaged in a murderous rivalry with its erstwhile allies. When the USSR finally imploded, some of the splinter states which emerged from its ruins fell to either fighting among themselves or suffering internecine bloodletting. And the problems elsewhere in southwest Asia as well as the Middle East can be traced to hatreds fostered by European colonialism which the Great War only intensified.The world we have today had its birth pangs in World War I. It was Austria-Hungary’s invasion of Serbia on 28 July 1914 that caused a myriad of dominoes to fall—and they are continuing to tumble even now.The war shattered an entire world order. In 1914, sixty percent of the world's population lived under the rule of kingdoms or empires. Today less than ten percent do so. The only important royal dynasty to survive the war was the House of Windsor and that was not without challenge. The fragmentation of these empires led to the rise of independent states which continues down to this day as the doctrine of "self-determination", promulgated by Wilson at Versailles, continues to govern many movements in our time.But what makes the Great War different from its predecessors is that it was the first fought in all four quarters of the globe and by blocs of nations as opposed to just a few. Its carnage also was unmatched in previous world history. Nobody knows how many actually died although estamates range from fourteen to twenty million. Among its aftershocks were the Spanish Flu, the pandemic that killed more people than the war itself, and widespread famine. So to say that the Great War was not much different from earlier ones entirely misses the point, Post by Jehovah's Witnesses News, Library, History, Videos, Talks, Illustrations. July 28, 1914. Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia. August 1, 1914. Germany Declares War on Russia. August 3, 1914. Germany declares war on France. August 4, 1914. Britain declares war on Germany. August 6, 1914. Austria declares war on Russia. April 6, 1917 - The United States declares war on Germany. Depiction from the Nov 1, 2014 Watchtower: Older depiction from the 1982 book "You Can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth": Related Links and Questions Jehovah’s Witnesses gather for convention - 1914 and 2014 - USA-Texas-Arlington - USA-Texas Fort Worth1914-2014 - One Hundred Years of Kingdom Rule!Where did you find the theme text for 1914?Jesus said that "This generation will not pass away until all these things occur." Did he mean the generation that saw saw World War 1 in 1914?What shows that Christ became King in 1914?When Jesus began ruling as King in 1914, was that the start of the Millennial reign of the Messianic Kingdom?IBSA Historical Video from that year Watchtower Publications from 1914 YearText: “Be strong and courageous.” Joshua 1:9w-E * The Watch Tower Countdown Card Berean Studies on The New Creation - C.T. Russell The Photo-Drama of Creation What Say the Scriptures About Our Lord's Return (his Parousia, Apokalupsis and Epiphania)Return to the Master List of Watchtower Publications listed by Year Watchtower_May_15_1984_pages_1_to_7.pdf Previous Watchtower Publications quotations concerning 1914 “Some persons living A.D. 1914 when the series of foretold events began will also be living when the series ends with Armageddon.” - The Watchtower, September 1, 1952, p. 543 THE TRAIN ILLUSTRATION - Awake!, October 8, 1968, p. 5“The fact that fifty-four years of the period called the ‘last days’ have already gone by is highly significant. It means that only a few years, at most, remain before the corrupt system of things dominating the earth is destroyed by God...Jesus was obviously speaking about those who were old enough to witness with understanding what took place when the ‘last days’ began. Jesus was saying that some of those persons who were alive at the appearance of the ‘sign of the last days’ would still be alive when God brought this system to its end.” - Awake!, October 8, 1968, p. 13“But there are people still living who were alive in 1914 and saw what was happening then and who were old enough that they still remember those events. This generation is getting up in years now. A great number of them have already passed away in death. Yet Jesus very pointedly said: ‘This generation will by no means pass away until all these things occur.’ Some of them will still be alive to see the end of this wicked system. This means that only a short time is left before the end comes!” - The Truth That Leads To Eternal Life, 1968 ed., p. 95“However, there are people still living who were alive in 1914 and saw what was happening then and who were old enough that they still remember those events. This generation is getting up in years now. A great number of them have already passed away in death. Yet Jesus very pointedly said: ‘This generation will by no means pass away until all these things occur.’ Some of them will still be alive to see the end of this wicked system. This means that only a short time is left before the end comes!” - The Watchtower, February 15, 1969, p. 101“Men of this world offer you nothing stable, nothing sure. Their promises and predictions of better things have failed time and again. Why let yourself be carried along with them in a steadily downward course to ultimate disaster due to rejecting God’s will? God’s prophetic Word has not failed. Time has confirmed its truthfulness, its unerring accuracy. The generation that saw the start of the time of distress that began in 1914 is now dwindling in numbers. Before it passes off the scene the prophesied ‘great tribulation’ will come. You can be among the joyful survivors, experience deliverance from a world system that has proved oppressive, unworkable and death dealing.” - The Watchtower, February 1, 1971, p. 69“And the remaining ones of that generation of 1914 are still talking about it. Some of them will be talking about it right down to the time when the ‘great tribulation’ wipes Satan’s wicked system of things off the face of our globe. For Jesus Christ himself assures us: ‘Truly I say to you that this generation [the generation that saw the ‘beginning of pangs of distress’ in 1914] will by no means pass away [completely] until all these things occur. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will by no means pass away.’--Matthew 24:3,8,34,35.” - The Watchtower, May 1, 1982, p. 15 “After drawing attention to the many things that have marked the period from 1914 onward, Jesus said: ‘This generation will by no means pass away until all these things [including the end of this system] occur.’ (Matthew 24:34,14) Which generation did Jesus mean? He meant the generation of people who were living in 1914. Those persons yet remaining of that generation are now very old. However, some of them will still be alive to see the end of this wicked system. So of this we can be certain: Shortly now there will be a sudden end to all wickedness and wicked people at Armageddon. Some of the generation living in 1914 will see the end of the system of things and survive it.” - You Can Live Forever In Paradise On Earth, 1982 ed. p. 154ILLUSTRATION: “1914 The Generation That Will Not Pass Away” - The Watchtower, May 15, 1984, title page“If Jesus used ‘generation’ in that sense and we apply it to 1914, then the babies of that generation are now 70 years old or older. And others alive in 1914 are in their 80’s or 90’s, a few even having reached a hundred. There are still many millions of that generation alive. Some of them ‘will by no means pass away until all things occur.’ --Luke 21:32” - The Watchtower, May 15, 1984, p. 5“From a purely human viewpoint, it could appear that these developments could hardly take place before the generation of 1914 disappears from the scene. But fulfillment of all the foretold events affecting the generation of 1914 does not depend on comparatively slow human action. Jehovah’s prophetic word through Christ Jesus is: ‘This generation [of 1914] will by no means pass away until all things occur.’ (Luke 21:32) And Jehovah, who is the source of inspired and unfailing prophecy, will bring about the fulfillment of his Son’s words in a relatively short time.--Isaiah 46:9,10; 55:10,11.”- The Watchtower, May 15, 1984, pp. 6-7“Today, a small percentage of mankind can still recall the dramatic events of 1914. Will that elderly generation pass away before God saves the earth from ruin? Not according to Bible prophecy. ‘When you see all these things,’ Jesus promised, ‘know that he is near at the doors. Truly I say to you that this generation will by no means pass away until all these things occur.’--Matthew 24:33,34” - The Watchtower, May 1, 1992, p. 3“Most important, this magazine builds confidence in the Creator’s promise of a peaceful and secure new world before the generation that saw the events of 1914 passes away.” - Awake!, October 22, 1995, p. 4“Eager to see the end of this evil system, Jehovah’s people have at times speculated about the time when the ‘great tribulation’ would break out, even tying this to calculations of what is the lifetime of a generation since 1914. However, we ‘bring a heart of wisdom in,’ not by speculating about how many years or days make up a generation, but by thinking about how we ‘count our days’ in bringing joyful praise to Jehovah. (Psalm 90:12) Rather than provide a rule for measuring time, the term ‘generation’ as used by Jesus refers principally to contemporary people of a certain historical period, with their identifying characteristics.” - The Watchtower, November 1, 1995, p. 17“Therefore, in the final fulfillment of Jesus’ prophecy today, ‘this generation’ apparently refers to the peoples of earth who see the sign of Christ’s presence but fail to mend their ways...Does our more precise viewpoint on ‘this generation’ mean that Armageddon is further away than we had thought? Not at all! Though we at no time have known the ‘day and hour,’ Jehovah God has always known it, and he does not change.” - The Watchtower, November 1, 1995, pp. 19-20“Most important, this magazine builds confidence in the Creator’s promise of a peaceful and secure new world that is about to replace the present wicked, lawless system of things.” - Awake!, November 8, 1995, p. 4 One hundred years on from the Great War

Part of a series on Christian Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses, Inc. was established to organize and administer the congregational affairs of Jehovah's Witnesses in the United States.[11][12] It filed for incorporation on August 21, 2000 in New York State as a “domestic non-profit corporation” in Putnam County, New York.[13] An incorporation record was also filed with the State of Florida on March 3, 2006, as a "foreign non profit corporation" with agency in Collier County, Florida.[14] As announced to congregations in January 2001, the Christian Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses is a corporation used by their United States Branch Committee, which oversees the preaching work of Jehovah's Witnesses in the United States, Bermuda, and the Turks and Caicos Islands.[15] All Branch Committee members are appointed by and report to the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses.[16][17] As with other agencies of Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Christian Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses may correspond directly with any district overseer, circuit overseer, local body of elders, or individual, or it may assign someone else to communicate on its behalf. Any of these persons or groups may function as an agency acting at the explicit direction of the Governing Body.[18][19]Reader has a question about this corporation in 2014 2000_NY_Certif_of_Incorporation-Christian_Congregation_of_JWs.pdf 11^ Letter from Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc., to All Bodies of Elders in the United States, dated February 27, 2001.12^ Our Kingdom Ministry, Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc., 2002 January p713^ NYS Dept of State, Division of Corporations, site retrieved March 23, 200914^ "Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations, site retrieved March 23, 2009". Sunbiz.org. Retrieved 2012-12-31.15^ Our Kingdom Ministry, September 2005, page 116^ The Watchtower, January 15, 2001, page 14-1517^ The Watchtower, July 15, 2006, page 2018^ Awake!, June 2006, page 1919^ The Watchtower, April 1, 2007, page 25

Preceded by Charles Taze Russell......... President of Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society............. January 6, 1917 – January 8, 1942 Succeeded by Nathan H. Knorr

A dispute developed in 1917 within the leadership of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society following the death of society president Charles Taze Russell and election of legal counsel Joseph Franklin Rutherford as his successor. An acrimonious battle ensued between Rutherford and four of the society's seven directors, who accused him of autocratic behavior and sought to reduce his powers. Rutherford claimed the dissident directors had formed a conspiracy to seize control of the society and overcame the challenge by gaining a legal opinion that his four opposers had not been legally appointed. He subsequently replaced them with four new sympathetic directors.[1][2] The four ousted directors later gained 12 legal opinions that Rutherford's actions were "wholly unlawful". The leadership crisis divided the Bible Student community and helped contribute to the loss of one-seventh of the Watch Tower adherents by 1919. Origins of the dispute Watch Tower Society president Charles Taze Russell died on October 31, 1916, in Pampa, Texas during a cross-country preaching trip. On January 6, 1917, Joseph Rutherford, aged 47, was elected president of the Watch Tower Society, unopposed, at a convention in Pittsburgh. Controversy soon followed. Author Tony Wills claims that nominations were suspended once Rutherford had been nominated, preventing votes for other candidates,[3][4] and within months Rutherford felt the need to defend himself against rumors within the Brooklyn Bethel that he had used "political methods" to secure his election. In the first of a series of pamphlets from opposing sides, Rutherford told Bible Students: "There is no person on earth who can truthfully say that I ever asked them directly or indirectly to vote for me."[5] By June, the dispute surrounding Rutherford's election as president was turning into what he called a "storm"[6] that ruptured the Watch Tower Society for the remainder of 1917.In January 1917,[7] Bethel pilgrim Paul S. L. Johnson had been sent to England with orders to inspect the management and finances of the Watch Tower Society's London corporation.[8] He dismissed two managers of the corporation, seized its funds and attempted to reorganize the body. Rutherford—who was convinced Johnson was insane and suffering religious delusions—ordered his recall to New York in late February, but Johnson refused and claimed he was answerable only to the full board of directors.[9] When he finally returned to New York and apologized to the Bethel family for his excesses in London,[10] Johnson became caught up in a move against Rutherford by four of the seven Watch Tower Society directors.At issue were new by-laws that had been passed in January by both the Pittsburgh convention and the board of directors, stating that the president would be the executive officer and general manager of the Watch Tower Society, giving him full charge of its affairs worldwide.[11] Opinions on the need for the by-laws were sharply divided. Rutherford maintained that Russell, as president, had always acted as the society's manager, and that the January 6 vote by shareholders to approve the by-laws proved they wanted this process to continue under his successor.[12] He claimed it was a matter of efficiency and said the work of the Watch Tower Society "peculiarly requires the direction of one mind".[13] Bible Student Francis McGee, a lawyer and an assistant to the New Jersey Attorney-General, responded: "This is then the crux of the matter. He says he is that one mind."[14] By June, four board members—Robert H. Hirsh, Alfred I. Ritchie, Isaac F. Hoskins and James D. Wright—had decided they had erred in endorsing Rutherford's powers of management.[15] They claimed Rutherford had become autocratic, refusing to open the Watch Tower Society's books for scrutiny and denying Johnson a fair hearing over his actions in London.[15]At a board meeting on June 20, Hirsh presented a resolution to rescind the new by-laws and reclaim the powers of management from the president,[16] but a vote was deferred for a month after strenuous objections by Rutherford.[17] A week later, four of the directors requested an immediate board meeting to seek information on the society's finances. Rutherford refused the meeting, later claiming he had by then detected a conspiracy between Johnson and the four directors with the aim of seizing control of the society, as he believed Johnson had attempted in Britain.[18]Within weeks, Rutherford gained a legal opinion from a Philadelphia corporation lawyer that a clause of the Watch Tower Society charter stipulating that its directors were elected for life was contrary to Pennsylvania law, and that all directors were required by law to be re-elected annually. The legal opinion stated that because the January 6 shareholders' meeting had elected only three men to office—Rutherford, Secretary-Treasurer Van Amburgh and Vice-President Andrew N. Pierson—the remaining four board members, who had joined as early as 1904 and had not faced re-election, had no legal status as directors of the society. Even Hirsh, who had been appointed by the board on March 29, 1917 following the resignation of Henry C. Rockwell, was said to have no legal standing because his appointment had taken place in New York rather than Allegheny, as required by law. Rutherford claimed to have known these facts since 1909 and to have conveyed them to Russell on more than one occasion.[19]On July 12, Rutherford traveled to Pittsburgh and exercised his right under the society's charter to fill what he claimed were four vacancies on the board, appointing A. H. Macmillan and Pennsylvania Bible Students W. E. Spill, J. A. Bohnet and George H. Fisher as directors.[20] Rutherford called a meeting of the new board on July 17, where the directors passed a resolution expressing "hearty approval" of the actions of their president and affirming him as "the man the Lord has chosen to carry on the work that yet remains to be done."[21] On July 31 he called a meeting of the People's Pulpit Association, a Watch Tower Society subsidiary incorporated in New York, to expel Hirsh and Hoskins as directors on the grounds that they were opposing the work of the Association. When the resolution failed to gain a majority, Rutherford exercised shareholder proxies provided for the annual meeting in New York the previous January to secure their expulsion.[22][23] On August 1 the Watch Tower Society published a 24-page journal, Harvest Siftings, subtitled "The evil one again attempts to disrupt the Society", in which Rutherford stated his version of the events and explained why he had appointed the new board members.A month later the four ousted directors responded with a self-funded rebuttal of Rutherford's statement. The publication, Light After Darkness, contained a letter by Pierson, dated July 26, in which the vice-president declared he was now siding with the old board. Although he believed both sides of the conflict had displayed "a measure of wrongs", Pierson had decided Rutherford had been wrong to appoint new directors.[24] The ousted directors' publication disputed the legality of their expulsion, stating that the clause in the Pennsylvania law prohibiting life memberships on boards had been only recently introduced and was not retroactive, exempting existing corporations from the statute.[25][26] They also claimed that the Watch Tower Society's charter allowed only directors to be elected as officers, and that therefore the election of Rutherford, Van Amburgh and Pierson as officers was void because none had been directors in January. Their advice from several lawyers, they said, was that Rutherford's course was "wholly unlawful".[25][27]The ex-directors' publication claimed Rutherford had required all Bethel workers to sign a petition supporting him and condemning the former directors, with the threat of dismissal for any who refused to sign.[28] Some workers complained that they had signed under duress; it was claimed that as many as 35 members of the Bethel family were forced to leave for failing to support Rutherford during his "reign of terror".[10][29][30] Rutherford denied anyone had been forced out for refusing to sign the letter.[31] Despite attempts by Pierson to reconcile the two groups,[31] the former directors left the Brooklyn headquarters on August 8.[32] Rutherford's re-election and aftermath Publications continued through late 1917, with Rutherford on one side and Johnson and the four expelled directors on the other, each accusing their opponents of gross misrepresentation and trying to usurp authority.[33][34][35] The controversy fractured the harmony of the Bible Student movement and many congregations split into opposing groups loyal to either Rutherford or those he had expelled.[32][36]The four expelled board members made a final attempt to unseat Rutherford, claiming that although he had the backing of the most powerful shareholders, he lacked the support of the Bible Student movement in general. They therefore called for a democratic vote from all the Bible Students.[37] Rutherford wrote in October, "I did not seek election to the office of President, and I am not seeking re-election. The Lord is able to attend to his own business."[38] Then in December 1918, he outmaneuvered his opponents, organizing a referendum of all Bible Students and Watch Tower subscribers, a month before the annual Pittsburgh convention. Although not binding, votes were counted in more than 800 U.S. congregations, giving Rutherford 95 percent of the vote for president. His opposers ranked 10th, 11th, 12th and 13th on the list of prospective directors, with the highest support given to Rutherford's existing six co-directors.[37] On January 5, 1918, Rutherford was returned to office, receiving 194,106 shareholders' votes. Hirsh received 23,198 votes—the highest among the ex-directors—putting him in 10th place. A resolution was promptly passed to request that Hirsh resign from the editorial committee.[39]Rutherford stated at the convention that he was aware he had made many mistakes.[39] By mid-1919, about one in seven Bible Students had left rather than accept his leadership,[40] and as many as seventy-five percent by 1928, resulting in the formation of various Bible Student groups such as the Standfast Movement, the Layman's Home Missionary Movement, the Dawn Bible Students Association, the Pastoral Bible Institute, the Elijah Voice Movement, and the Eagle Society.[41]A later Watchtower described the outcome of the 1917 leadership dispute as the removal of "a class of insubordinate ones who rebelled against the ways of the Lord" before Christ's inspection and approval of the "faithful and discreet slave class" in 1918.[42][43] A simplified chart of historical developments of major groups within Bible Students References Penton 1997, pp. 50 Rogerson 1969, pp. 37 Wills 2007, pp. 115 An essay at the Pastoral Bible Institute website claims Macmillan chaired the meeting; Rutherford in Harvest Siftings II (pg 26) refers to Ritchie as the chairman. Rutherford August 1917, pp. 10. Rutherford October 1917, pp. 28 Rutherford October 1917, pp. 31 Johnson 1917, pp. 2,3 Rogerson 1969, pp. 35,36 Pierson et al 1917, pp. 15 Pierson et al 1917, pp. 5,6 Rutherford October 1917, pp. 31 Rutherford August 1917, pp. 10 Pierson et al 1917, pp. 19 Pierson et al 1917, pp. 4 Rutherford August 1917, pp. 12 Pierson et al 1917, pp. 6 Rutherford August 1917, pp. 22–23 Rutherford August 1917, pp. 15 Rutherford August 1917, pp. 14,15 Rutherford August 1917, pp. 1, 17 Pierson et al 1917, pp. 10 Rutherford October 1917, pp. 27,28 Pierson et al 1917, pp. 8,9 Pierson et al 1917, pp. 7 Wills & 2007 95 Legal opinion, Davies, Auerbach & Cornell, New York, July 23, 1917. Pierson et al 1917, pp. 9 Rogerson 1969, pp. 37 Johnson 1917, pp. 17, 18 Rutherford October 1917, pp. 29 Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society 1993, pp. 68 Pierson et al 1917, pp. 1 Rutherford October 1917, pp. 1 Johnson 1917, pp. 9 Watch Tower publications since 1917 have continued to denounce those who opposed Rutherford. In its account of the events of 1917, the Society's 1993 history book Jehovah's Witnesses—Proclaimers of God's Kingdom refers to the opposing camps as "those loyal to the Society and those who were easy prey to the smooth talk of the opposers", describing Rutherford's opponents as "disturbers" (pg. 68); The Watchtower of April 1, 1955 described the ousted directors as "ambitious opponents", "rebellious ones" and "anti-society sick ones" and describes those who supported them as "deceived ones"; 1975 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses dismissed the four ousted directors as "rebellious individuals who claimed to be board members" (pg. 87) and men who "ambitiously sought to gain administrative control of the Society" (pg. 92). The 1959 history book Jehovah's Witnesses in the Divine Purpose also claims the legal advice given to the ousted directors confirmed that given to Rutherford. Rogerson 1969, pp. 38 Rutherford October 1917, pp. 32 Rogerson 1969, pp. 39 Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society 1975, pp. 93–94 Rogerson 1969, pp. 39 "Esther and Mordecai," The Watchtower, June 1, 1931, page 169, "Christ Jesus was placed upon his throne in the autumn season of 1914, and in the third year thereafter, to wit, at the end of 1917, among those consecrated to the Lord there was a class of insubordinate ones who rebelled against the ways of the Lord. Being in line for the kingdom, and becoming offended, insubordinate and rebellious, these were gathered out at the time the judgment of the Lord began at his temple in 1918." "The Faithful Slave Passes the Test!", The Watchtower, March 1, 2004, pages 13-18.

Part of a series on: Beth Sarim was built in San Diego, California in 1929. Rutherford died at the property in 1942. Rutherford married Mary Malcolm Fetzer of Boonville, Missouri on December 31, 1891. Their only child, Malcolm Cleveland, was born on November 10, 1892.[203] The couple separated after Joseph Rutherford became president of the Watch Tower Society.[157] Mary remained an active member of the Jehovah's Witnesses until becoming confined to her home in the years before her death in 1962 at age 93.[204] Brother Rutherford was survived by his wife, Mary, and their son, Malcolm. Because Sister Rutherford had poor health and found the winters in New York (where the Watch Tower Society’s headquarters were located) difficult to endure, she and Malcolm had been residing in southern California, where the climate was better for her health. Sister Rutherford died December 17, 1962, at the age of 93. Notice of her death, appearing in the Monrovia, California, Daily News-Post, stated: "Until poor health confined her to her home, she took an active part in the ministerial work of Jehovah’s Witnesses." - jv chap. 7 p. 89 Advertise the King and the Kingdom! (1919-1941) Rutherford's wife Mary was born on 17 August 1869 in Missouri. She married at age 22 in 1891. A longtime bethelite commented that they "couldn't stand each other"Their living arrangements in California were the following:"Judge" Rutherford's Beth Sarim residence:4440 Braeburn Rd., San Diego, CA 92116toMary Rutherford's residence159 Stedman Pl., Monrovia, CA 91016Distance/Travel Time:127 mi – about 2 hours 10 mins (up to 3 hours 10 mins in traffic)Sadly, neither Mary nor his son Malcolm attended his funeral.Malcolm C. Rutherford was born on Nov. 10, 1892, and died on June 22, 1989, and lived in Arcadia, California-(Los Angeles).Malcolm did not go on to become one of Jehovah's Witnesses and even spent time in the US Military. Rutherford had reportedly lost the use of one lung from pneumonia suffered during his imprisonment in 1918 and 1919; finding New York's winter weather "impossible", Rutherford was encouraged by a doctor to "spend as much time as possible" in a more favorable climate.[205] In 1929, a residence named Beth Sarim (literally,House of Princes) was constructed at San Diego, California for Rutherford's use,[206][207] initially as winter accommodation and later as a full-time residence.[204][208] He died at the property in 1942. The villa was sold in 1948, with The Watchtower declaring, "It had fully served its purpose and was now only serving as a monument quite expensive to keep."[209] The standard of Rutherford's accommodation and his personal conduct attracted criticism from some Bible Students and Jehovah's Witnesses in the 1930s. Walter F. Salter, the Society's former branch manager in Canada, wrote a public letter to Rutherford in 1937, the month he was expelled from the religion, claiming that Rutherford had exclusive use of "luxurious" and "expensive" residences (in Brooklyn, Staten Island, Germany, and San Diego), as well as two Cadillacs[210][211][212] and alleged that on more than one occasion he had purchased for Rutherford cases of whiskey, brandy, beer and other liquors, and 'go from "drink to drink"'.[213]In July 1939 Olin R. Moyle, legal counsel for the Society, wrote an open letter of resignation to the president, in which he complained about behavior of some members of the Watch Tower Society, including Rutherford himself, that he considered excessive and inappropriate. Moyle mentioned California when discussing "the difference between the accommodations furnished to you, and your personal attendants, compared with those furnished to some of your brethren." Moyle also accused Rutherford of "unkind treatment of the staff, outbursts of anger, discrimination and vulgar language" and condemned his allowing the "glorification of alcohol" at Bethel.[214][215][216] Penton notes that Moyle was a "teetotaller" and "puritanical", but claims Rutherford's drinking habits were "notorious" and cites unnamed former Brooklyn Bethel workers who told of occasional difficulties in getting Rutherford to the podium to give public talks due to inebriation.[217] Death and burial About age 70, Rutherford underwent several medical treatments for cancer of the colon.[218] This included an operation on November 5, 1941 some two months before his death which found "carcinoma of the rectal sigmoid" and was given less than six months to live.[20] Rutherford died at Beth Sarim on January 8, 1942 at the age of 72.[219] Cause of death was "uraemia due to carcinoma of the rectum due to pelvic metastasis."[20]A Watch Tower Society staff member said of the announcement of Rutherford's death, "It was at noontime when the family was assembled for lunch. ... The announcement was brief. There were no speeches. No one took the day off to mourn. Rather, we went back to the factory and worked harder than ever."[218]Rutherford's burial was delayed for three-and-a-half months due to legal proceedings arising from his desire to be buried at Beth Sarim, which he had previously expressed to three close advisers from Brooklyn headquarters.[220][221] According to Consolation, "Judge Rutherford looked for the early triumph of 'the King of the East', Christ Jesus, now leading the host of heaven, and he desired to be buried at dawn facing the rising sun, in an isolated part of the ground which would be administered by the princes, who should return from their graves."[222] Based on his claims that resurrected biblical characters would live at Beth Sarim, Rutherford concluded that it was appropriate that his bones be buried on the property.[223]The legal problem arose because Beth Sarim was not a legally zoned cemetery.[224] Witnesses collected more than 14,000 signatures for two petitions—one supporting his burial at Beth Sarim, another for a second preferred site on a nearby Watch Tower Society property named Beth-Shan—that Rutherford's dying wish might be granted.[225] Consolation condemned San Diego County officials for their refusal to grant a permit for Rutherford's burial at either property, stating "It was not the fate of the bones which they decided, but their own destiny. Nor is their blood on anyone else's head, because they were told three times that to fight against God, or to tamper with His servant's bones even, would bring upon them the condemnation of the Lord. ... So their responsibility is fixed, and they followed the course of Satan."[226][227][228]Speculation that Rutherford was secretly buried at Beth Sarim has been called "private rumor", 'frequently disproven', and "myth".[229][230][231] The May 4, 1942 issue of Time magazine noted Rutherford's burial at Rossville, New York, on Staten Island;[232] a private burial plot for Watch Tower branch volunteers is on Woodrow Road.[233][234] In 2002, a caretaker at the immediately adjoining graveyard answered an inquiry about Watch Tower's graveyard by noting, "I couldn't tell you who is buried on it because it has absolutely no markers or headstones".[235]Rutherford was succeeded by Nathan Homer Knorr as president of the Watch Tower Society. Only FOUR people attended his funeral. Brothers Nathan Knorr and Frederick W. Franz also declined to attend. Census Data Info relating to the Rutherfords I also checked the 1880 census for Missouri and found the entry on the Fetzers. Mary's father is listed as John Fetzer, aged 55 (thus born in 1825). John Fetzer's occupation is listed as "physician," and his place of birth is stated as Westerberg, Germany. This neatly confirms what the later California census data stated, that Mary Rutherford's father was a native of Germany. John Fetzer's wife was listed as Mary Fetzer, aged 44, with her occupation stated as "keeping house". Mary's birthplace is given as Hannover, Germany. Interestingly, Mary declared in later censuses that her mother was from France. I'm not sure if this is accounted for by a post-WWI change in borders and if Hanover at one point was part of Belgium. The single child of the Fetzers was named as "Mary Fetzer," who was born in Missouri and whose age was given as 11. The Fetzers also had a live-in servant named Hannah Prigg, aged 18, and they all lived in Rolla, Phelps, Missouri . Meanwhile, I found a listing for "Joseph Rutherford," aged 11, resident of Haw Creek, Morgan, Missouri. Looks like he grew up in a big family. His father is listed as James Rutherford, aged 43, whose occupation was listed as "farmer". James Rutherford was born in Michner, Tennessee. Joseph's mother was named "Lanora Rutherford," aged 37, who was born in Senneku, Tennessee. Her occupation was "keeping house". They had 7 children (!). The oldest child was Virginia (sp.?), aged 20, who was employed as a school teacher. The next two oldest children were also girls, Anna (aged 19) and Salena (aged 17). Hmmm, does it sound like the Rutherfords were trying hard to have a son? The next oldest children were William, aged 15, and Florence, aged 13. Then, finally, do we come to Joseph, aged 11. But he wasn't the youngest child. Well, for much of his young life he was, but the Rutherfords had one last son, Berkie (sp?), who was aged 4 at the time of the census. No other occupation was given for the other children, except for William who was stated as "works on farm". On edit: The 1870 census lists a "Mary Fetzer" from Hannover, Germany living in Boonville, Cooper, Missouri. Cooper is the county that BeelzeDub gave as where little Mary was raised. It looks like it might be more accurate to say that Mary was born in Cooper county and then moved before the age of 11 to Rolla in Phelps County. The 1870 census also states that mother Mary was married to a physician named John Fetzer who was born in Wirtemberg, Germany. John Fetzer appears to have been somewhat wealthy; the value of his real estate was $15,000 and the value of his personal estate was $300. Mary Rutherford also appears to have had several siblings, such as Anna (aged 16), a brother F. (aged 15), a sister M. (aged 10/12), and a brother R. (aged 4). Little Mary would've been an infant at the time of this census so she wasn't counted.

Part of a series on: In July 1917, Rutherford had The Finished Mystery published as a seventh volume of the Studies in the Scriptures series. The volume, though written by Fisher and Woodworth, was advertised as Russell's "posthumous work" and "last legacy"[113][114] but contained several interpretations and viewpoints not espoused by Russell,[115][116] including an urging of all Bible Students to cast judgment upon Christendom and its clergy, the adoption of new dates for the fulfillment of particular prophecies, a claim that salvation is tied to membership within the Watch Tower Society, as well as shunning and censuring any who reject the interpretations given in the volume or related articles in The Watch Tower magazine. In the February 1918 discourse "Millions Now Living Will Never Die" (printed in booklet form in May 1920) a revision of Russell's calculation of a "Jubilee type" was presented, changing it from 1875 to 1925,[117][118]despite Russell's rejection of such a change a few months prior to his death.[119] In October 1920 the Society published a new edition of Russell's 1881 Tabernacle Shadows of the Better Sacrifices. It included an appendix introducing many alterations or reinterpretations of Russell's original views on the death of Jesus and the role of Christ's followers in heaven as typified in the ceremonies of the Jewish tabernacle.[120]At the 1922 Cedar Point convention Rutherford began teaching that Christ's reign had begun in 1914,[121] and not 1878 as Russell had taught.[122] Rutherford expanded on this view in the March 1, 1925 issue of The Watch Tower in the article "Birth of The Nation", which he later acknowledged "caused a real stir or shake-up within the ranks."[88] In 1927 he moved the date of the resurrection of the "sleeping saints" (all Christians who had died since Jesus' time) from 1878 to 1918[123][124] and as early as 1930 began to dismiss the year 1874 as the date for the invisible presence of Christ in favor of the year 1914.[125][126] From 1925 he developed the view of the battle of Armageddon as a universal war waged by God rather than Russell's belief that it was the decline of human society into social, political and religious anarchy. Rutherford based his interpretations on the books of Exodus, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Psalms as well as additional material from the books of Samuel, Kings and Chronicles.[127][128][129] An article in the January 1, 1926 Watch Tower introduced new emphasis on the importance of the name "Jehovah";[130] from 1929 Rutherford taught that the vindication of God's name—which would ultimately occur when millions of unbelievers were destroyed at Armageddon—was the primary doctrine of Christianity and more important than God's display of goodness or grace toward humankind.[131][132][133][134] In 1932 he published an interpretation of a passage in Ezekiel describing the attack on Jerusalem by Gog of Magog, in which he predicted an intensification of persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses that would culminate in God intervening on their behalf to begin the battle of Armageddon, which would destroy all opposers of God's organization.[111]In 1926 he discredited Russell's teaching on the importance of Christian "character development" or personal "sanctification"[81][135][136] and a year later discarded the teaching that Russell had been the "faithful and wise servant" of Matthew 24:45–47, warning that the desire to revere men was a snare set by the Devil.[81][137]In May 1926 Rutherford released his book Deliverance at the Bible Student's convention inKensington, England later interpreting the event as the fulfillment of the 1335 days of Daniel 12:12.[138]In 1927, Christmas was declared to be of pagan origin, and the following year its celebration by Bible Students was condemned as supporting "Satan's organization".[139][140] Mother's Day was condemned in 1931,[141] with other holidays as well as birthdays officially renounced in subsequent years.[142][143]In 1928 Rutherford discarded Russell's teaching that the natural Jews would be restored to Palestine and return to God's favor, despite having declared ten years earlier that prophecies of their restoration were already being fulfilled with the British takeover of Palestine from Turkey during World War I.[144] He denied there was a role for Jews in God's Kingdom arrangement and by 1933 he had reversed Russell's earlier teaching, claiming that prominent Jewish business leaders were "arrogant, self-important and extremely selfish," and would gain no favored standing with God.[145] The teaching that God would restore the Jews to Palestine was discontinued around the same time.[146]Russell's teaching that the Great Pyramid of Giza was built under God's direction[147] was overturned in 1928, when Rutherford asserted that it had been built under the direction of Satan for the purpose of deceiving God's people in the last days.[148][149] The announcement prompted further defections among long-time Bible Students.[150][151]In 1930, Rutherford published a systematic reinterpretation of the book of Revelation.[152] Many of the symbols recorded in the book were applied to events following 1918, specifically to Watch Tower conventions held in the years 1922 through 1928.[153] These reinterpretations reflected both a wholesale rejection of his own earlier views as well as the historicist interpretations of Pastor Russell.[154][155][156]At a Washington, D.C. convention in 1935, Rutherford rejected Russell's teaching that the "great company" of Revelation 7:9 was a "secondary spiritual class" composed of millions of Christians who would be resurrected to heaven apart from the 144,000 "elect", and instead argued that the "great multitude", the "sheep" of Matthew 25 and the "Jonadabs" of 2 Kings chapter 10 all picture the people who could potentially survive Armageddon and receive everlasting human life on earth if they became Jehovah's Witnesses before it began.[157][158]In 1935, Rutherford objected to U.S. state laws requiring school students to salute the flag as a means of instilling patriotism; in the 1936 Yearbook he declared that baptized Jehovah's Witnesses who did salute theflag were breaking their covenant with God and were thus "guilty of death".[159] 1938- Face The Facts! - Talk at Royal Albert Hall in LondonIn 1940, children in 43 states were expelled for refusing to salute the flag and the Watch Tower Society took most cases to court, with Rutherford personally leading the unsuccessful case of Minersville School District v. Gobitis. Controversy over the flag salute issue escalated and mob attacks became prevalent in many U.S. states until 1943 when the court overruled its previous decision in the case of West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette.[160] A U.S. law magazine noted how Jehovah's Witnesses had helped shape the course of constitutional law, remarking: "Through almost constant litigation this organization had made possible an ever-increasing list of precedents concerning the application of the 14th amendment to freedom of speech and religion".[161]In 1936, Rutherford rejected the belief that Jesus had been executed on a Roman cross, in favor of an upright stake or "tree."[162]1939 - Government & Peace talk at Madison Square Garden

The story behind this book:

Part of a series on In late 1916 Fisher and another prominent Bible Student at the Brooklyn headquarters, Clayton J. Woodworth, sought the Executive Committee's approval to produce a book about the prophecies of the books of Revelation and Ezekiel based primarily on Russell's writings.[56] Work on the book, The Finished Mystery, proceeded without the knowledge of the full Board of Directors and Editorial Committee[57][58] and was released by Rutherford to headquarters staff on July 17, 1917, the day he announced the appointment of the four replacement directors. The book, which was misleadingly labeled as the posthumous seventh volume of Russell's Studies in the Scriptures,[59][60] was denounced by Rutherford's opponents, but became a best-seller and was translated into six languages and serialized in The Watch Tower.[61] Expecting God's Kingdom to establish rule on earth and for the saints to be raised to heaven in 1918,[61] Rutherford wrote in January of that year: "The Christian looks for the year to bring the full consummation of the church's hopes."[62] He embarked on a vast advertising campaign to expose the "unrighteousness" of religions and their alliances with "beastly" governments, expanding on claims in The Finished Mystery that patriotism was a delusion and murder.[63][64] The campaign attracted the attention of governments and on February 12, 1918 the book was banned by the Canadian government for what a Winnipeg newspaper described as "seditious and antiwar statements"[65] On February 24 in Los Angeles Rutherford gave a talk entitled "The World Has Ended—Millions Now Living May Never Die" (subsequent talks in the series were renamed, "Millions Now Living Will Never Die")[66][67] in which he attacked the clergy, declaring: "As a class, according to the Scriptures, the clergymen are the most reprehensible men on earth for the great war that is now afflicting mankind."[65] Three days later the Army Intelligence Bureau seized the Society's Los Angeles offices and confiscated literature. In early May 1918 US Attorney General Thomas Watt Gregory condemned The Finished Mystery as "one of the most dangerous examples of ... propaganda ... a work written in extremely religious language and distributed in enormous numbers".[68] Warrants were issued for the arrest of Rutherford and seven other Watch Tower directors, who were charged under the 1917 Espionage Act of attempting to cause insubordination, disloyalty, refusal of duty in the armed forces and obstructing the recruitment and enlistment service of the U.S. while it was at war.[69] On June 21 seven of them, including Rutherford, were sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment. Rutherford feared his opponents would gain control of the Society in his absence. On January 2, 1919 he learned he had been re-elected president at the Pittsburgh convention the day before, convincing him that God wanted him in the position.[70][71] 1918 - An Unspoken Sermon1918 Judge Rutherford Writes a Letter from Prison1919 - 'The Facts' - Petition to US President for Executive Clemency 1918_Rutherford_Trial_Part_One.pdf 1918_Prisoner_Intake_Record_for_Joseph_Rutherford.pdf In March 1919 the directors were released on bail after an appeals court ruled they had been wrongly convicted; in May 1920 the government announced that all charges had been dropped.[72] The actual book:

You have a way with words @TrueTomHarley ;-)

Joseph Franklin Rutherford (November 8, 1869 – January 8, 1942), also known as "Judge" Rutherford, was the second president of the incorporated Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, and played a primary role in the organization and doctrinal development of Jehovah's Witnesses,[1][2][3] which emerged from the Bible Student movement established by Charles Taze Russell.Rutherford began a career in law, working as a court stenographer, trial lawyer and prosecutor. He developed an interest in the doctrines of Watch Tower Society president Charles Taze Russell, which led to his joining the Bible Student movement and was baptized in 1906. He was appointed the legal counsel for the Watch Tower Society in 1907, as well as a traveling representative prior to his election as president in 1917. His early presidency was marked by a dispute with the Society's board of directors, in which four of its seven members accused him of autocratic behavior and sought to reduce his powers. The resulting leadership crisis divided the Bible Student community and contributed to the loss of one-seventh of adherents by 1919 and thousands more by 1931.[4][5][6] Rutherford and seven other Watch Tower executives were imprisoned in 1918 after charges were laid over the publication of The Finished Mystery, a book deemed "seditious" for its opposition to World War I.[7][8] Rutherford introduced many organizational and doctrinal changes that helped shape the beliefs and practices of Jehovah's Witnesses.[9][10] He imposed a centralized administrative structure on the worldwide Bible Student movement, which he later called a theocracy, requiring all adherents to distribute literature via door to door preaching and to provide regular reports of their activity.[11][12] He also instituted training programs for public speaking as part of their weekly meetings for worship. He established 1914 as the date of Christ's invisible return, asserted that Christ died on a tree rather than a cross,[13][14] formulated the current Witness concept of Armageddon as God's war on the wicked, and reinforced the belief that the start of Christ's millennial reign was imminent. He condemned the observance of traditional celebrations such as Christmas and birthdays, the saluting of national flags and the singing of national anthems. He introduced the name "Jehovah's witnesses" in 1931 and the term "Kingdom Hall" for houses of worship in 1935.[15]He wrote twenty-one books and was credited by the Society in 1942 with the distribution of almost 400 million books and booklets.[16] Despite significant decreases during the 1920s, overall membership increased more than sixfold by the end of Rutherford's 25 years as president.[17][18] Talks by JF Rutherford (in the wiki)Talks by JF Rutherford (on jw-archive.org)Religion is a Snare and a Racket - Phonograph recording - 1939Jehovah - Phonograph recording for the Ministry - 1933Rare video of JF Rutherford at Beth Sarim Early life Rutherford was born on November 8, 1869 to James Calvin Rutherford and Leonora Strickland and raised in near-poverty in a Baptist farm family. Some sources list his place of birth as Boonville, Missouri, but according to his death certificate he was born in Versailles, Missouri.[19][20] Rutherford developed an interest in law from the age of 16.[21] Although his father discouraged this interest, he allowed Rutherford to go to college under the condition that he pay for a laborer to take his place on the family farm. Rutherford took out a loan[22] and helped to pay for his law studies by working as a door-to-door encyclopedia salesman and court stenographer.[23] Law career Rutherford spent two years as a judge's intern, became an official court reporter at age 20, and was admitted to the Missouri bar in May 1892 at age 22.[23] He became a trial lawyer for a law firm[24] and later served for four years in Boonville as a public prosecutor. He campaigned briefly for Democratic presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan.[25] He was appointed as a Special Judge in the Eighth Judicial Circuit Court of Missouri,[23][26][27][28] sitting as a substitute judge at least once when a regular judge was unable to hold court.[22] As a result of this appointment he became known by the sobriquet "Judge" Rutherford. He was admitted to the New York bar in 1909 and admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States the same year.[29]Rutherford filled in for a judge total of four (4) days. Some days he filled in there weren't even any cases.Cases involving RutherfordDavid Nicholson v. Charles Merstetter and NCR Watch Tower Society In 1894 Rutherford purchased the first three volumes of Charles Taze Russell's Millennial Dawn series of Bible study textbooks from two colporteurs who visited his office. Rutherford, who then viewed all religions as insincere, shallow and hypocritical, was struck by Russell's sincerity and his sentiments towards religion, which mirrored his own view.[30][31] Rutherford immediately wrote to the Watch Tower Society to express appreciation for the books.[32] He was baptized twelve years later and he and his wife began holding Bible classes in their home.[25] In 1907, he became legal counsel for the Watch Tower Society at its Pittsburgh headquarters, and from around that time began to give public talks as a "pilgrim" representative of the Society.[24] As Russell's health deteriorated, Rutherford represented him on trips to Europe[33] and in April 1915 he was deputized to speak at a major debate with Baptist preacher J. H. Troy over four nights in Los Angeles before an audience of 12,000,[34] debating various subjects, including the state of the dead, hellfire and Christ's Second Coming.[35] Rutherford wrote a pamphlet, A Great Battle in the Ecclesiastical Heavens, in defense of Russell[36] and served as chairman of the Bible Students' Los Angeles convention in September 1916. Around this time he produced his first work while Charles Taze Russell was still alive called "Militarism". Board of directors By 1916 Rutherford had become one of the seven directors of the Watch Tower Society; when Russell died on October 31, 1916 he joined vice-President Alfred I. Ritchie and Secretary-Treasurer William E. Van Amburgh on a three-man executive committee that ran the Pennsylvania corporation until a new president was elected at the annual general meeting the following January.[37] He also joined a five-person editorial committee to run The Watch Tower from the December 15, 1916 issue. Russell's will, drawn up in 1907, had named the five people he wished to run the magazine after his death;[38] Rutherford appeared only on a second list of five alternative members to fill any vacancies that arose.[39] Bible Student Alexander H. Macmillan, who served as an aide to the executive committee, later wrote that tensions at the Watch Tower Society headquarters mounted as the day for election of the Society's officers approached. He wrote: "A few ambitious ones at headquarters were holding caucuses here and there, doing a little electioneering to get their men in. However, Van Amburgh and I held a large number of votes. Many shareholders, knowing of our long association with Russell, sent their proxies to us to be cast for the one whom we thought best fitted for office."[40] Macmillan, who claimed he had declined an offer from an ailing Russell months earlier to accept the position of president after his death,[41] agreed with Van Amburgh that Rutherford was the best candidate. According to Macmillan, "Rutherford did not know what was going on. He certainly didn't do any electioneering or canvassing for votes, but I guess he was doing some worrying, knowing if he was elected he would have a big job on his hands ... There is no doubt in our minds that the Lord's will was done in this choice. It is certain that Rutherford himself had nothing to do with it."[42] Presidency dispute Main article: Watch Tower Society presidency dispute (1917)On January 6, 1917, Rutherford, aged 47, was elected president of the Watch Tower Society, unopposed, at the Pittsburgh convention. By-laws passed by both the Pittsburgh convention and the board of directors stated that the president would be the executive officer and general manager of the Society, giving him full charge of its affairs worldwide.[43]By June, four of the seven Watch Tower Society directors—Robert H. Hirsh, Alfred I. Ritchie, Isaac F. Hoskins and James D. Wright— had decided they had erred in endorsing Rutherford's expanded powers of management, claiming Rutherford had become autocratic.[44] In June, Hirsch attempted to rescind the new by-laws and reclaim the board's authority from the president.[45] Rutherford later claimed he had by then detected a conspiracy among the directors to seize control of the society.[46] In July, Rutherford gained a legal opinion from a Philadelphia corporation lawyer that none of his opposers were legally directors of the society. The Watch Tower Society's official 1959 account of its history claimed the legal advice given to the ousted directors confirmed that given to Rutherford;[47] however, the pamphlets produced by the expelled board members at the time indicated that their legal advice, acquired from several attorneys, disagreed with Rutherford's.[48][49] On July 12, Rutherford filled what he claimed were four vacancies on the board, appointing Macmillan and Pennsylvania Bible Students W. E. Spill, J. A. Bohnet and George H. Fisher as directors.[50] Between August and November the society and the four ousted directors published a series of pamphlets, with each side accusing the other of ambitious and reckless behavior. The former directors also claimed Rutherford had required all headquarters workers to sign a petition supporting him and threatened dismissal for any who refused to sign.[51] The former directors left the Brooklyn headquarters on August 8.[52] On January 5, 1918, shareholders returned Rutherford to office.The controversy fractured the Bible Student movement and some congregations split into opposing groups loyal either to Rutherford or those he had expelled.[52][53] By mid-1919 about one in seven Bible Students had chosen to leave rather than accept his leadership,[54] and over the following decade they helped formed other groups including the Standfast Movement, the Layman's Home Missionary Movement, the Dawn Bible Students Association, the Pastoral Bible Institute, the Elijah Voice Movement, the Concordat Publishing Concern, and the Eagle Society.[55] Reorganization Administrative changes Following his release from prison, Rutherford began a major reorganization of Bible Student activities. At a May, 1919 convention in Ohio he announced the publication of a new magazine, The Golden Age (later renamed Awake!). Because Russell's will had decreed the Society should publish no other periodicals[73] the new magazine was at first published by "Woodworth, Hudgings & Martin", with a Manhattan (rather than Brooklyn) address.[74] Within months Bible Students were organized to distribute it door-to-door.[73] He expanded the Society's printing facilities, revived the colporteur work and in 1920 introduced the requirement for weekly reports of Bible Students' preaching activity.[75][76] He expanded and reorganized overseas branch offices[77] in what he regarded as a "cleansing" and "sifting" work.[78]Beginning with an eight-day convention at Cedar Point, Ohio, in September 1922 Rutherford, launched a series of major international conventions under the theme "Advertise the King and Kingdom", attracting crowds of up to 20,000.[79] Audiences were urged to "herald the message far and wide".[80] He stressed that the primary duty of all Bible Students was to become "publicity agents" in fulfillment of Matthew 24:14, especially in the form of door-to-door evangelism with the Society's publications.[81][82] In 1928 Rutherford began to teach that the Cedar Point convention and the events resulting from it fulfilled the prophecy of the 1290 days at Daniel 12:11.[83][84]In 1920, Rutherford published a booklet, Millions Now Living Will Never Die, and a year later published his first hardcover book, The Harp of God. This was followed by a further nineteen hardcover books, each with one-word titles, such as Creation (1927), Jehovah (1934) and Children (1941). His publications reached a total printing of 36 million copies.[85] In 1925 he gained full control over what doctrines would be taught in Watch Tower Society publications, overruling the refusal by the five-man Editorial Committee to publish his article, "Birth of the Nation",[86] which contained significant doctrinal changes.[87] Rutherford later claimed Satan had "tried to prevent the publication of that article ... but failed in that effort";[88] In 1927 the Watch Tower Society ceased printing of Russell's Studies in the Scriptures.[89] The Editorial Committee was dissolved in 1931, after which Rutherford wrote every leading article in The Watch Tower until his death.[90] The 1933 Watch Tower Society Yearbook observed that the demise of the Editorial Committee indicated "that the Lord himself is running his organization".[91]Rutherford expanded his means of spreading the Watch Tower message in 1924 with the start of 15-minute radio broadcasts, initially from WBBR, based on Staten Island, and eventually via a network of as many as 480 radio stations.[92] A 1931 talk was broadcast throughout North America, Australia and France, but his attacks on the clergy resulted in both the NBCand BBC radio networks banning his broadcasts.[93]In 1928 Rutherford began to abolish the system of electing elders by congregational voting, dismissing them as "haughty" and "lazy", and finally asserting in 1932 that electing elders was unscriptural.[94][95] He impressed on elders the need to obey the Society's "regulations", "instructions" and "directions" without complaint.[96] Service directors, who reported back to Brooklyn, were appointed in each congregation and a weekly "service meeting" introduced to meeting programs.[97] In 1933 Rutherford claimed that abolishing elective elders was a fulfillment of the prophecy of 2300 days at Daniel 8:13–14, and that God's sanctuary (the Watch Tower Society) was thereby cleansed.[98]At a 1931 Bible Student assembly in Columbus, Ohio Rutherford proposed a new name for the organization, Jehovah's witnesses, to differentiate them from the proliferation of other groups that followed Russell's teachings.[92] Bible Students who opposed or abandoned Rutherford to form new groups were increasingly described as the "evil servant class" by The Watchtower, which said it was wrong to pray for those who were "unfaithful".[99][100] Four years later the term "Kingdom Hall" was introduced for the local meeting place of congregations.[101]In 1937, the door-to-door preaching program was extended to formally include "back calls" on interested people and Witnesses were urged to start one-hour Bible studies in the homes of householders.[102][103] In the late 1930s, he advocated the use of "sound cars" and portable phonographs with which talks by Rutherford were played to passersby and householders.[102]In 1938 he introduced the term "theocracy" to describe the religion's system of government, with Consolation explaining: "The Theocracy is at present administered by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, of which Judge Rutherford is the president and general manager."[104] "Zone servants" (now known as circuit overseers) were appointed to supervise congregations. In a Watchtower article Rutherford declared the need for congregations to "get in line" with the changed structure.[105][106]By 1942, the year of his death, worldwide attendance at the annual Memorial of Christ's death was 140,450 though his restructuring of the Bible Student community coincided with a dramatic loss of followers during the 1920s and 1930s. Worldwide attendance of the annual Memorial of Christ's death fell from 90,434 in 1925[107] to 17,380 in 1928.[108] Memorial attendance figures did not surpass 90,000 again until 1940.[108]Author Tony Wills, who analyzed attendance and "field worker" statistics, suggests it was the "more dedicated" Bible Students who quit through the 1920s, to be replaced by newcomers in larger numbers, although Rutherford dismissed the loss of the original Bible Students as the Lord "shaking out" the unfaithful.[109][110] In the 1942 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, Rutherford wrote that the year's achievements "would, on the face of it, show that the Theocratic witness work on earth is about done".[111][112] Character and attitudes Biographers describe Rutherford as tall and solidly built with a senatorial demeanor,[163] and a strong booming voice that helped make him a powerful orator.[164][165] In 1917, The New York Times stated that Rutherford "has a reputation asan eloquent, forceful speaker".[26] Watch Tower Society literature states that his personality contrasted strongly with that of his predecessor. One Witness history book says that while Russell was kind, warm and tactful, Rutherford "was warm and generous toward his associates but he was also a brusque and direct type of person, and his legal background and experiences in early life gave him a directness in his approach to problems in dealing with his brothers that caused some to take offense."[166] Another Watch Tower Society account says he did not hide his feelings, adding, "His bluntness, even when spoken in kindness, was sometimes misunderstood."[167] Fellow Watch Tower Society director A. H. Macmillan says Rutherford "spoke as simply and directly to the people as he knew how, and he was an extremely forthright man. He was thoroughly convinced that what he had to say was the truth and that it was a matter of life and death."[168] Macmillan added, "He would never tolerate anything that would be contrary to what he clearly understood the Bible to teach. He was so strict about that, he would permit nothing that would seem to show a compromise when it came to an issue of the truth."[169] Author Tony Wills describes him as charitable and generous, and says his sympathy for the poor and oppressed was exceeded only by his hatred for the rich, the oppressors.[165] He also notes that he was a dynamic, impatient extrovert.[170] Other authors also address Rutherford's abrasiveness: James Penton describes him as blunt and moody with an explosive temper,[171] with "a streak of self-righteousness which caused him to regard anyone who opposed him as of the Devil",[172] while Alan Rogerson notes that he was a "dogmatic and insensitive person, obsessed with his own self-importance."[173]Rutherford's confrontation with four Watch Tower Society directors who opposed him in 1917 highlighted both the forcefulness of his personality and his determination to fight for what he believed was right. Penton claims Rutherford played "hard-fisted church politics"[174] and Rogerson accuses Rutherford of using The Watchtower as a propaganda medium to attack his opposers in what was effectively a battle for his position as president.[6] At the heart of his opponents' complaints was his "autocratic" behavior as he strove to "exercise complete management of the Society and its affairs."[175] Penton similarly describes Rutherford's actions in his first year of presidency—including his appointment of new directors, refusal to allow the Society's accounts to be examined, and his unilateral decision to publish The Finished Mystery—as high-handed and secretive.[176] In contrast, Rutherford claimed, "It was my duty to use the power the Lord had put into my hands to support the interests of the shareholders and all others interested in the Truth throughout the world ... to be unfaithful to them would be unfaithful to the Lord."[177] Macmillan, who supported Rutherford throughout the crisis, claimed the president was extremely patient and "did everything that he could to help his opposers see their mistake, holding a number of meetings with them, trying to reason with them and show them how contrary their course was to the Society's charter".[169] Rutherford with Cadillac V-16 from the Watchtower publication The Messenger (1931) According to Wills, Rutherford emerged from prison in 1919 bitter against the world and the collusion he saw between the clergy and military that had secured his imprisonment. Soon after his release he coined the term "Satan's organization" to refer to this supposed conspiracy.[178] In Watchtower articles Rutherford was similarly scathing towards big business, politics and the League of Nations.[179] Rogerson describes Rutherford's attitude towards the clergy—his avowed enemies—as "unadulterated hatred".[72] His attacks on clergymen, particularly those of the Catholic Church, from the late 1920s were strong enough to attract a ban on his broadcasts by the NBC radio network, which condemned his "rabid attack upon organized religion and the clergy".[180] He also applied criticizing terms to those who had deserted Watch Tower ranks, calling them the "evil servant".[181] He urged readers to view with contempt anyone who had "openly rebelled against God's order or commandments"[182] and also described elective elders of the 1930s who refused to submit to Watch Tower Society administrative changes as "despicable".[183]Wills states that Rutherford seemed to relish his descriptions of how completely the wicked would be destroyed at Armageddon, dwelling at great length on prophecies of destruction. He claims that towards the close of his ministry Rutherford spent about half of each year's Watchtowers writing about Armageddon.[184]According to Penton, Rutherford's austerity—evidenced by his distaste for Christmas, birthday parties and other popular customs[185] that were described as of pagan origin or that encouraged creature worshipand were not to be observed[186]—led in turn to austerity becoming a part of Witness life. In 1938, he directed that singing be dispensed with at congregation meetings;[187][188][189][190] singing was reinstated soon after his death.[191]Rutherford's books and magazine articles reveal his strong views on "the proper place of women" in the church and society. In a 1931 book he linked the post-1919 rise of women's movements that encouraged equality of the sexes with satanic influence,[192] and claimed the custom of mentipping their hats to women or standing when a woman approached was a scheme of the devil to turn men from God and indicated an effeminate streak in men who practiced the custom.[187] Mother's Day was similarly described as part of a plan to turn people away from God.[193] In 1938 he urged adherents to delay marriage and child-bearing until after Armageddon,[194] which Wills claims prompted a strong community bias among Witnesses against marriage. Those who did marry, says Wills, were considered to be weak in faith.[195] At a 1941 convention in Missouri he quoted Rudyard Kipling's description of women as "a rag and a bone and a hank of hair".[187][196] A 1940 Rutherford booklet "exposing" a Catholic campaign of mob violence against Jehovah's Witnesses According to Wills, Rutherford emerged from prison in 1919 bitter against the world and the collusion he saw between the clergy and military that had secured his imprisonment. Soon after his release he coined the term "Satan's organization" to refer to this supposed conspiracy.[178] In Watchtower articles Rutherford was similarly scathing towards big business, politics and the League of Nations.[179] Rogerson describes Rutherford's attitude towards the clergy—his avowed enemies—as "unadulterated hatred".[72] His attacks on clergymen, particularly those of the Catholic Church, from the late 1920s were strong enough to attract a ban on his broadcasts by the NBC radio network, which condemned his "rabid attack upon organized religion and the clergy".[180] He also applied criticizing terms to those who had deserted Watch Tower ranks, calling them the "evil servant".[181] He urged readers to view with contempt anyone who had "openly rebelled against God's order or commandments"[182] and also described elective elders of the 1930s who refused to submit to Watch Tower Society administrative changes as "despicable".[183]Wills states that Rutherford seemed to relish his descriptions of how completely the wicked would be destroyed at Armageddon, dwelling at great length on prophecies of destruction. He claims that towards the close of his ministry Rutherford spent about half of each year's Watchtowers writing about Armageddon.[184]According to Penton, Rutherford's austerity—evidenced by his distaste for Christmas, birthday parties and other popular customs[185] that were described as of pagan origin or that encouraged creature worshipand were not to be observed[186]—led in turn to austerity becoming a part of Witness life. In 1938, he directed that singing be dispensed with at congregation meetings;[187][188][189][190] singing was reinstated soon after his death.[191]Rutherford's books and magazine articles reveal his strong views on "the proper place of women" in the church and society. In a 1931 book he linked the post-1919 rise of women's movements that encouraged equality of the sexes with satanic influence,[192] and claimed the custom of mentipping their hats to women or standing when a woman approached was a scheme of the devil to turn men from God and indicated an effeminate streak in men who practiced the custom.[187] Mother's Day was similarly described as part of a plan to turn people away from God.[193] In 1938 he urged adherents to delay marriage and child-bearing until after Armageddon,[194] which Wills claims prompted a strong community bias among Witnesses against marriage. Those who did marry, says Wills, were considered to be weak in faith.[195] At a 1941 convention in Missouri he quoted Rudyard Kipling's description of women as "a rag and a bone and a hank of hair".[187][196] Former Jehovah's Witness and former Governing Body member Raymond Franz claimed there was no evidence Rutherford engaged in door-to-door ministry despite his assertion that it was a requirement and sacred duty of all Witnesses. Franz claimed to have heard Rutherford's associates say his responsibilities as president "do not permit his engaging in this activity".[197] Macmillan, however, related details of Rutherford's home preaching in 1905 or 1906 when he was baptized,[198] and a 1975 article quoted several Witnesses relating their experiences with Rutherford in the house-to-house ministry in the 1920s.[199] The official history of Jehovah's Witnesses also notes, "Rutherford personally shared with other conventioners as they engaged in the work of Kingdom proclamation from house to house."[200] On August 2, 1928 in a meeting with the Bible Student elders who had attended a general convention in Detroit, Michigan Rutherford listed his responsibilities and concluded "when I have attended to many other details, I have not had very much time to go from door to door."[201]Authors William Whalen and James Penton have claimed that Rutherford was to Russell what Brigham Young was to Mormon prophet Joseph Smith. Penton contends that both Russell and Smith were capable religious leaders but naive visionaries, while Rutherford and Young were "hard-bitten pragmatists who gave a degree of permanency to the movements they dominated".[202] 1991_List_Watch_Tower_publications_written_by_Rutherford.pdf 2012_Rutherford_Supports_Hitler_Yad_L'Achim_article.docx News_Clippings_Judge_Rutherford.pdf Watchtower and Herald of Christ's Presence - November 1, 1924 References Leo P. Chall, Sociological Abstracts, vol 26 issues 1–3, "Sociology of Religion", 1978, p. 193 col 2: "Rutherford, through the Watch Tower Society, succeeded in changing all aspects of the sect from 1919 to 1932 and created Jehovah's Witnesses—a charismatic offshoot of the Bible student community." "The Embryonic State of a Religious Sect's Development: The Jehovah's Witnesses" Sociological Yearbook of Religion in Britain, ed. Michael Hill, 1972, issue 5 pp 11–12: "Joseph Franklin Rutherford succeeded to Russell's position as President of Zion's Watch Tower Tract Society, but only at the expense of antagonizing a large proportion of the Watch Towers subscribers. Nevertheless, he persisted in moulding the Society to suit his own programme of activist evangelism under systematic central control, and he succeeded in creating the administrative structure of the present-day sect of Jehovah's Witnesses." The Twentieth century, vol 153, 1953 p. 14: "This latter phenomenon, perhaps the most widely spread politico-religious movement at the present time, is linked, as are so many, with a source in America, in this case Judge Rutherford, the New York founder of Jehovah's Witnesses." P.S.L. Johnson, The Present Truth and Herald of Christ's Epiphany, April 1927, p. 66: "Since the Fall of 1923 ... from 20,000 to 30,000 Truth people the world over have left the Society." Penton 1997, p. 50 Rogerson 1969, p. 37 "Postwar Enlargement of the Theocratic Organization", The Watchtower, July 15, 1950, p. 217 Beckford 1975, p. 24 Penton 1997, p. 75 Rogerson 1969, p. 64 "Testing and Sifting in Modern Times", The Watchtower, June 15, 1987, p. 17 Rogerson 1969, p. 53 Riches, by J.F. Rutherford, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1936, p. 27, "Jesus was crucified, not on a cross... Jesus was crucified by nailing his body to a tree. ...(Deuteronomy 21:22,23) ... (Galatians 3:13) ... Acts 5:30." "Flashes of Light—Great and Small", The Watchtower, May 15, 1995, p. 20. Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society 1993, p. 319 Consolation, May 27, 1942, p. 6. It is not clear from this publication whether this included the distribution of Russell's earlier writings. "Part 1—United States of America", 1975 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, p. 94, "...earthwide report shows that the Memorial of Jesus Christ’s death on April 5, 1917, was attended by 21,274. Jehovah's Witnesses in the Divine Purpose, pp. 312–313: Memorial attendance figures in Rutherford's final years were 98,076 (1941) and 140,450 (1942) Penton 1997, p. 47. Dept. of Public Health, San Diego California, Joseph Franklin Rutherford, Certificate of Death issued February 6, 1942 Rogerson 1969, p. 34. Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society 1975, p. 81 Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society 1993, p. 67 "Modern History of Jehovah’s Witnesses", Watchtower, March 15, 1955, p. 175. Barbara Grizzuti Harrison, Visions of Glory – A History and Memory of Jehovah's Witnesses, Simon & Schuster, 1978, chapter 6. The New York Times, January 17, 1919, Section I, p. 9, As Retrieved 2010-03-02 "Religion: Jehovah's Witness", Time magazine, June 10, 1935,Online Biographies of Rutherford in the March 15, 1955 Watchtowerand 1975 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses state that his appointment as Special Judge was in the Fourteenth Judicial Circuit. Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society 1975, p. 83 Wills 2007, p. 131 Wills (p. 131) claims Rutherford had never doubted God's existence, but Wills does not cite a source for that claim. The Watchtower (October 1, 1997, p. 6) cites a 1913 newspaper interview wherein Rutherford describes becoming an atheist after a Baptist minister claimed Rutherford's wife Mary would go to Hell because she had not been baptized. Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society 1993, p. 67 "British Branch report", Watch Tower, January 15, 1915, p. 26, Reprints 5616. Rogerson 1969, p. 30 Yearbook, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1991, p. 73. "Judge Rutherford's Spicy Defense", Watch Tower, May 1, 1915, p. 130. R5685. Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society 1993, p. 647 Russell's Last Will and Testament, The Watch Tower, December 15, 1916. Penton 1997, p. 48 Macmillan 1957, p. 68 Macmillan 1957, p. 70 Macmillan 1957, p. 71 Pierson et al 1917, pp. 5,6 Pierson et al 1917, p. 4 Rutherford August 1917, p. 12 Rutherford August 1917, pp. 22–23 Jehovah's Witnesses in the Divine Purpose (1959) p. 71, col. 2 Light After Darkness (September 1, 1917) p. 11 Facts for Shareholders (November 15, 1917) p. 14 Rutherford August 1917, pp. 14,15 Pierson et al 1917, p. 9 Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society 1993, p. 68 Proclaimers of God's Kingdom (1993) identifies opposing sides as "those loyal to the Society and those who were easy prey to the smooth talk of the opposers" (p. 68). Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses (1975) dismisses the four ousted directors as "rebellious individuals who claimed to be board members" (p. 87) and men who "ambitiously sought to gain administrative control of the Society" (p. 92). Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society 1975, pp. 93–94 Rogerson 1969, p. 39 Wills 2007, p. 97 Pierson et al 1917, p. 11 Jehovah's Witnesses in the Divine Purpose. Watchtower. 1959. Lawson, John D., American State Trials, vol 13, Thomas Law Book Company, 1921, p. viii: "After his death and after we were in the war they issued a seventh volume of this series, entitled "The Finished Mystery," which, under the guise of being a posthumous work of Pastor Russell, included an attack on the war and an attack on patriotism, which were not written by Pastor Russell and could not have possibly been written by him." Crompton, Robert. Counting the Days to Armageddon. Cambridge: James Clarke & Co. 1996. pp 84–85: "One of Rutherford's first actions as president ... was, without reference either to his fellow directors or to the editorial committee which Russell had nominated in his will, to commission a seventh volume of Studies in the Scriptures. Responsibility for preparing this volume was given to two of Russell's close associates, George H. Fisher and Clayton J. Woodworth. On the face of it, their brief was to edit for publication the notes left by Russell ... and to draw upon his published writings ... It is obvious ... that it was not in any straightforward sense the result of editing Russell's papers, rather it was in large measure the original work of Woodworth and Fisher at the behest of the new president." Rogerson 1969, p. 40 Watch Tower, October 1, 1917, January 1, 1918. Wills 2007, p. 100 Rogerson 1969, p. 41 Macmillan 1957, p. 85 The initial delivery was entitled "The World Has Ended—Millions Now Living May Never Die". See: "Noteworthy Events in the Modern-day History of Jehovah’s Witnesses", Jehovah's Witnesses – Proclaimers of God's Kingdom", 1993 Watch Tower, p. 719, "1918 The discourse “The World Has Ended—Millions Now Living May Never Die” is first delivered, on February 24, in Los Angeles, California. On March 31, in Boston, Massachusetts, the talk is entitled “The World Has Ended—Millions Now Living Will Never Die” [emphasis added] Los Angeles Morning Tribune, February 25, 1918, as recorded in Faith on the March by A. H. Macmillan, 1957, p. 86 Macmillan 1957, p. 89 Rogerson 1969, p. 41 Macmillan 1957, p. 106 Macmillan 1957, pp. 105,106 Rogerson 1969, p. 44 Penton 1997, p. 56 The Golden Age, volume 1, number 1, October 1, 1919, cover,As Retrieved 2010-02-16 Rogerson 1969, pp. 53,54 "Annual report for 1920", The Watchtower, December 15, 1920, "At the beginning of the fiscal year there were only 225 active colporteurs in the field. The number has now increased to 350, all of whom are devoting their entire time to the service ... In addition to the colporteurs there are reported to this office 8,052 class workers." Penton 1997, p. 57 Rogerson 1969, pp. 52,53 Rogerson 1969, p. 54 Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society 1975, p. 131 Penton 1997, p. 60 Watchtower March 1, 1925 p. 72 col 2 Watchtower December 15, 1929 pp 371–77: "Briefly, then, these prophecies and the dates of their fulfilment [sic] are as follows, to wit: The fixed "time of the end" is October 1, 1914 A.D. The 1260-day period ended in April, 1918. The 1290-day period ended September, 1922. The 1335-day period of blessedness began May, 1926, and goes on for ever." The Harp of God, 1928 edition Penton 1997, p. 58 Watchtower, March 1, 1925 pp 67–74. In the content list on the cover the article is entitled Birth of a Nation, but the article itself on page 67 is entitled Birth of the Nation Penton 1997, p. 59 Watchtower, July 1, 1938, p. 201. WTB&TS, "God's Kingdom of a Thousand Years Has Approached" (1973) p. 347 Wills 2006, p. 121 Yearbook, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1933, p. 11. Rogerson 1969, p. 55 Wills, pp. 149–151 Penton, p. 64 Wills 2006, pp. 177–179 Wills 2006, p. 176 Wills 2006, p. 175 Watchtower July 15, 1933 pp. 214-15: "Beginning to count from the transgression resulting by reason of the League of Nations, and the giving of notice, which must begin May 25, 1926, the twenty-three hundred days, or six years, four months, and twenty days, would end October 15, 1932...What, then, took place at the end of the twenty-three-hundred-day period? The Watchtower, issues of August 15 and September 1, 1932, brought before God's people the Scriptural proof that the office of "elective elder", chosen or selected by vote of creatures, does not Scripturally exist, and that therefore the selection of elders by such means should end." In 1971 the Watchtower Society changed the interpretation ending the 2300 days in 1944 rather than 1932. Wills 2006, pp. 167–172 Watchtower, February 15, 1933. Jehovah's Witnesses – Proclaimers of God's Kingdom chap. 20 p. 319, 721 Rogerson 1969, p. 57 "Testing and Sifting in Modern Times", The Watchtower, June 15, 1987, p. 18. Consolation, September 4, 1940, p. 25, as cited by Penton, p. 61. Wills 2006, p. 201 Watchtower, June 15, 1938. Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society 1959, p. 110 Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society 1959, pp. 312–313 Wills 2007, pp. 142, 146, 157–159 1931 Yearbook, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, p. 57. Wills 2007, p. 223 Yearbook, 1942, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, p. 29. The Finished Mystery, 1917, p. 2: "POSTHUMOUS WORK OF PASTOR RUSSELL His Last Legacy to the Dear Israel of God (Matt. 20:9)" The Bible Students Monthly, December 1917, vol. 9 no. 9, p. 1: "The following article is extracted mainly from Pastor Russell's posthumous volume entitled "THE FINISHED MYSTERY," the 7th in the series of his STUDIES IN THE SCRIPTURES and published subsequent to his death... In this posthumous volume, which is called his "last legacy to the Christians of earth" is found a thorough exposition of every verse in the entire Book of Revelation." Tony Mills, A People for His Name, 2007, pp 97–8: "While he keeps faithfully to Russell's comments in most cases, there are a few times when he goes beyond Russell's plainly stated interpretation. In some of the chapters of Revelation on which Russell left no comments his imagination wandered free. He ridicules John Wesley, whom Russell admired, and his Methodist movement. He calls Europeans "the most cruel, bloodthirsty, quarrelsome, rapacious people on earth," a thought Russell denied. He ridicules Calvinists by saying that they have "lost their manhood, reason and common sense." He ridicules politics, patriotism, religion and almost everything the world holds holy, without (as Russell was careful to do) presenting the good along with the bad." Bible Students Tract Society, Notes and Comments on the Finished Mystery, Feb. 1919, pp 6–7: "Thus we have Bro. Woodworth's distinct statement that none of these interpretations of Revelation are Pastor Russell's, but another's [sic] (presumably his own)... Have Pastor Russell's interpretations been followed? To this we reply that in many cases they have not. On the contrary, entirely contradictory ones are frequently given." The Time is at Hand, 1889, p. 183: "Reckoned from the beginning of the seventy years desolation under Babylon, the great cycle [50x50] ends with the year A.D. 1875." Millions Now Living Will Never Die!, 1920, p.88 : "A simple calculation of these jubilees brings us to this important fact: Seventy jubilees of fifty years each would be a total of 3500 years. That period of time beginning 1575 before A.D. 1 of necessity would end in the fall of the year 1925." The Watch Tower April 15, 1916 p. 127: "We cannot help it that many of the dear friends continue to tell what THE WATCH TOWER believes, and to misrepresent its teachings. Our kindest thought must be that they are not giving much heed to its teachings. Otherwise they would know from its columns that we are not looking forward to 1925, nor to any other date. As expressly stated in THE WATCH TOWER, we are simply going on, our last date or appointment having been passed more than a year ago...we have no different time in mind from the Scriptures on the subject and do not expect to have any." Tabernacle Shadows of the Better Sacrifices, 1920, Appendix of Notes pp 133–155: "Thirty-nine years have passed since the publication of this little booklet; and during that time some of the teachings herein contained have come to be seen in clearer light – even as the details of a mountain become more discernible the closer one draws to it. In harmony with these clearer understandings we suggest the following alterations in appendix form, leaving the text intact out of deference to the honored and beloved writer of the booklet." Watchtower, December 15, 1922, p. 394. "How Long, O Lord?", //Zion's Watch Tower//, January 1881. Watchtower June 1, 1927 p. 166. Light by J. F. Rutherford, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1930, p 226. The Golden Age May 7, 1930 p. 503 The Golden Age March 14, 1934 p 380 "Prior to 1914 and years thereafter we thought that our Lord's return dated from 1874; and we took it for granted that the parousia or presence of our Lord dated from that time. An examination of the scriptures containing the word parousia shows that the presence of the Lord could not date prior to 1914." Wills 2007, pp. 154,155 Rogerson 1969, p. 47 "Can This World’s Armageddon Be Avoided?", Watchtower, December 1, 1966, p. 730. Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society 1993, p. 124 Wills 2007, pp. 181, 182 Penton 1997, p. 69 J.F. Rutherford, Prophecy, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1929, pp. 319, 328–333 J.F. Rutherford, Vindication, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1931, pp. 9–14, 65–68, 135. Wills 2007, p. 143 "Character or Covenant – Which?", The Watchtower, May 1, 1926 Watchtower, January 1, 1927, p. 7. Watchtower July 15, 1933 p. 214 col 2 The Golden Age, December 14, 1927, "The Origin of Christmas", pp 178–79 1975 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, 1974, p. 147 Vindication book 1, 1931, pp 158–60: "On the face of it the arrangement of "Mother's Day" seems harmless and calculated to do good. But the people are in ignorance of Satan's subtle hand in the matter, and that he is back of the movement, to turn the people away from God... Neither the man nor the woman should be worshiped for doing right, because such doing of right is their duty. Creature worship of any kind is wrong and an abomination in the sight of God." George Chryssides, Historical Dictionary of Jehovah's Witnesses, 2008, p. 21 Jehovah's Witnesses: Proclaimers of God's Kingdom, 1993, p. 199 Wills 2007, p. 38 J. F. Rutherford, Favored People, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, as cited by Wills, 2007, p. 129. Rogerson 1969, p. 46 Thy Kingdom Come The Messenger, August 5, 1928 p. 1: "When the Lord spoke of hiding his people in his secret place he was not talking about any chambers in the pyramid, built by the Devil himself." The Watch Tower, November 15, 1928 Great Pyramid Passages, 1924, reprint by Portland Area Bible Students, 1988, pp i–xxxviii The Messenger, August 5, 1928 p. 2: "It sure did set the tongues wagging at the Fair Grounds and resulted in another overhauling of the old trunk wherein are kept a few choice relics of what, until recently, we honestly believed the Bible teaches." Light book 1 and 2, 1930 Light book 1, 1930, p. 106 The Finished Mystery, 1917 Gruss, p. 172 The Watch Tower, Nov 15, 1916, p. 343 Penton 1997, p. 72 Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society 1959, p. 140 Yearbook, 1936, p. 22, "The saluting of or salutation to a flag means this: 'I depend on what the flag represents for my salvation. Those who know and serve God in spirit and in truth look to Jehovah God for salvation, and not to any man or any man-made organization. It therefore follows that the saluting of any flag by those who are in covenant with Jehovah God to do his will constitutes the breaking of that covenant with God, and such covenant breakers are guilty of death." Wills 2007, pp. 214–224 American Bar Association's Bill of Rights Review, Vol 2, No.4, Summer 1942, p. 262. Riches, 1936, p. 27: "Jesus was crucified, not on a cross of wood, such as is exhibited in many images and pictures, and which images are made and exhibited by men; Jesus was crucified by nailing his body to a tree." Herbert H. Stroup, The Jehovah's Witnesses, Columbia University Press, 1945, p. 16. Penton 1997, p. 47 Wills 2007, p. 131 Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society 1959, pp. 68, 69 Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society 1975, p. 83 Macmillan 1957, pp. 150,151 Macmillan 1957, p. 77 Wills 2007, p. 107 P.S.L. Johnson's Harvest Siftings Reviewed (1917, p.17) relates an incident in which an enraged Rutherford rushed at him in a confrontation in Brooklyn Bethel, grabbed at his arm and "almost jerked me off my feet". Johnson complains that in an earlier hearing of complaints against him, Rutherford treated him to "sneers, sarcasm and ridicule. His face expressed more contempt than that of any other face upon which I have ever looked."(p.14) Penton 1997, pp. 47–48 Rogerson 1969, p. 35 Penton 1997, p. 51 Pierson et al 1917, pp. 3,4 Penton 1997, pp. 51, 53 Rutherford August 1917, p. 17 Wills 2007, p. 132 Wills 2007, pp. 131–138 Yearbook, 1930, p. 38 The term was drawn from the account of the "faithful servant" and "evil servant" of Matthew 24:45–51. Watchtower, February 15, 1933, p. 55. Watchtower, March 15, 1938, p.87 Wills 2007, p. 154 J.F.Rutherford, Vindication, Vol I, pp. 188, 189, as cited by Wills, p. 139. Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society 1975, p. 147 Penton 1997, p. 66 Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society 1959, p. 215 Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society 1993, p. 241, "singing in local congregations was largely dispensed with in about 1938" The Watchtower, May 1, 1938, p 139, "At all study meetings...the one presiding at the study might well, as a prelude to the meeting, briefly state God’s purpose which is now being performed... two minutes might well be devoted to such at the beginning of all meetings for study [by] the one presiding... A few words like the above pronounced at the beginning of the study would be far more beneficial than to occupy the same time in singing songs, which often express much that is out of harmony with the truth" "Music’s Place in Modern Worship", The Watchtower, February 1, 1997, pp 26–27, "In 1938 singing at congregation meetings was largely dispensed with. However, the wisdom of following apostolic example and direction soon prevailed. At the 1944 district convention, F. W. Franz...announced the release of theKingdom Service Song Book for use at the weekly service meetings." J.F.Rutherford, Vindication, Vol I, pp. 155–159, as cited by Wills, p. 139. J.F.Rutherford, Vindication, Vol I, pp. 155–157, as cited by Wills, p. 139. Watchtower, November 15, 1938, p. 346. Wills 2007, p. 138 Barbara Grizzuti Harrison, Visions of Glory – A History and Memory of Jehovah's Witnesses, Simon & Schuster, 1978, chapter 3. Raymond Franz, In Search of Christian Freedom, Commentary Press, 2007, pp. 191–192 "Part 1—United States of America", 1975 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, 1975 Watch Tower, p 83 "Part 2—United States of America", 1975 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, 1975 Watch Tower, p 133 "Conventions Proof of Our Brotherhood", Jehovah's Witnesses – Proclaimers of God's Kingdom, 1993 Watch Tower, p 260 The Messenger, August 3, 1928 p. 5: "Frequently some elder says: "The president of the Society does not go from house to house selling books. Why should I?" ... When I have looked after the management of the work at headquarters with its many departments; when I have given attention to a voluminous mail; when I have managed thirty odd branch offices in different parts of the earth and kept in close touch with them by correspondence and examination of their reports, and given advice and counsel as to what shall be done; when I have given attention to may [sic] legal matters that have arisen against members of the Society by reason of the opposition of the enemy; when I have given counsel to the various parts of the radio work; when I have prepared copy for The Watch Tower and other publications; and occasionally written a book or booklet and followed its progress through the manufacturing thereof; and when I have attended to many other details, I have not had very much time to go from door to door." Prof. William J. Whalen, Armageddon Around the Corner: A report on Jehovah's Witnesses, John Day, New York, 1962, as cited by Penton, pp. 75–76. St. Paul Enterprise January 16, 1917 p. 1 "Advertise the King and the Kingdom! (1919–1941)",Jehovah's Witnesses – Proclaimers of God's Kingdom, 1993 Watch Tower, p 89 "Advertise the King and the Kingdom! (1919–1941)", Jehovah's Witnesses – Proclaimers of God's Kingdom, 1993 Watch Tower, p 75 "Beth-Sarim – Much Talked About House", The Messenger(Watchtower): 6, 8, July 25, 1931. (17MB) 1975 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, 1974 Watch Tower, p 194, "In time, a direct contribution was made for the purpose of constructing a house in San Diego for Brother Rutherford’s use." New York Times Deeds San Diego Home To Kings of Israel; Judge Rutherford in the Interim Occupies the House and Drives the Cars March 19, 1930 p. 31 Watchtower, December 15, 1947, as cited by Proclaimers, 1993, p. 76. Penton 1997, pp. 72,73 The Watchtower, May 15. 1937, p 159 Jehovah's Witnesses and the Third Reich by M. James Penton, University of Toronto Press, 2004, p 368; though Salter's letter was dated "April 1, 1937", Penton writes, "Salter had broken with the Watch Tower Society and had been excommunicated from the Witness community at the time he wrote the letter." Letter to Rutherford by Walter Salter, reproduced in //Jehovah's Witnesses and the Third Reich: sectarian politics under persecution// by M. James Penton, University of Toronto Press, 2004, pp. 365-7., "I, at your orders would purchase cases of whiskey at $60.00 a case, and cases of brandy and other liquors, to say nothing of untold cases of beer. A bottle or two of liquor would not do... [Rutherford] sends us out from door to door to face the enemy while he goes from 'drink to drink,' and tells us if we don't we are going to be destroyed." Moyle letter to Rutherford, July 21, 1939. Tony Wills (2007), A People For His Name: A History of Jehovah's Witnesses and an Evaluation, Lulu.com, pp. 202–204, ISBN 978-1-4303-0100-4 Society directors defended Rutherford in an October 1939 Watchtower article, accusing Moyle of lies and "wicked slander" and claimed he was a "Judas" trying to cause division. Moyle successfully sued the board of directors for libel, collecting $15,000 plus court costs. See Penton, pp. 80–83 and Wills, pp. 202–205. Penton 1997, pp. 72,73: "Although Jehovah's Witnesses have done everything possible to hide accounts of the judge's drinking habits, they are simply too notorious to be denied. Former workers at the Watch Tower's New York headquarters recount tales of his inebriation and drunken stupors. Others tell stories of how difficult it sometimes was to get him to the podium to give talks at conventions because of his drunkenness. In San Diego, California, where he spent his winters from 1930 until his death, an elderly lady still speaks of how she sold him great quantities of liquor when he came to purchase medicines in her husband's drugstore." Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society 1993, p. 89 Rogerson, Alan (1969). Millions Now Living Will Never Die: A Study of Jehovah's Witnesses. Constable & Co, London. pp. 64.ISBN 094559406. Jehovah's Witnesses – Proclaimers of God's Kingdom, p. 90 "Witnesses Ask Right To Bury Leader", The Evening Independent (St Petersburg, Florida): 18, January 26, 1942 Consolation, May 27, 1942. Consolation, May 27, 1942 Penton 1997, p. 74 "San Diego officials line up against New Earth's princes",Consolation, May 27, 1942, pp. 6,9 "No Will Left By Rutherford, Says Secretary", San Diego Union, February 18, 1942 Beth Shan—The Watchtower's "House of Security" Beth Shan and the Return of the Princes Leonard & Marjorie Chretien (1988), Witnesses of Jehovah, Harvest House, pp. 49, ISBN 0-89081-587-9 San Diego Reader, June 28, 2008 Mallios et al. (2007), Cemeteries of San Diego, Arcadia Publishing, pp. 112, ISBN 978-0-7385-4714-5 "Buried", Time, May 4, 1942 "Announcements", The Watchtower, October 1, 1966, p 608 "San Diego's Officials Line Up Against Earth's New Princes",Consolation (Watchtower): 9, 14–16, May 27, 1942 Van Amburgh, W. E. (2005), The way to paradise, An enlarged replica of the International Bible Students Association's original 1924 book, Lulu.com, pp. 45, 46, ISBN 1-4116-5971-6, retrieved July 12, 2009 Bibliography Beckford, James A. (1975). The Trumpet of Prophecy: A Sociological Study of Jehovah's Witnesses. Oxford: Basil Blackwell. ISBN 0-631-16310-7. Johnson, Paul S.L. (November 1, 1917), Harvest Siftings Reviewed, retrieved July 21, 2009 Macmillan, A.H. (1957), Faith on the March, Prentice-Hall Penton, James M. (1997), Apocalypse Delayed: The Story of Jehovah's Witnesses (2nd ed.), University of Toronto Press, ISBN 0-8020-7973-3 Pierson et al, A.N. (September 1, 1917), Light After Darkness, retrieved July 21, 2009 Rogerson, Alan (1969), Millions Now Living Will Never Die, Constable, London, ISBN 0-09-455940-6 Rutherford, J.F. (August 1, 1917), Harvest Siftings, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, retrieved July 19, 2009 Rutherford, J.F. (October 1, 1917), Harvest Siftings, Part II, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, retrieved July 19, 2009 Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society (1975), 1975 Yearbook, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society (1959), Jehovah's Witnesses in the Divine Purpose, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society (1993), Jehovah's Witnesses – Proclaimers of God's Kingdom, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society Wills, Tony (2006), A People For His Name, Lulu Enterprises, ISBN 978-1-4303-0100-4 External links Rutherford and associates 1919 Application for Executive Clemency Original schism documents 1917 to 1929 Online collection of Rutherford's writings Works by Joseph Franklin Rutherford at Project Gutenberg News clippings relating to Judge Rutherford News clippings from Rutherford's "Millions Now Living Will Never Die" campaign

From a recent Watchtower article

Wow! Smart move on their part. Will it sway the court at this late stage? For all the latest news regarding Russia and Jehovah's Witnesses see this category: https://www.theworldnewsmedia.org/forum/633-russia/ For those that don't know our terminology: And one of these years I will get around to posting the missing chapters in these projects... https://www.theworldnewsmedia.org/forum/38-the-holy-bible/

CO, Steve Elumbaugh (Georgia Circuit 15) mentioned this in one of his talks. Jehovah and the Spider During World War II, the persecution had been intense. Alone in the jungle, a brother could hear the soldierscoming in his direction. Scrambling for cover, he found his way up a high ridge to several small caves in the rock.Quickly he crawled inside one of the caves. Although safefor the moment, he realized that once the soldiers lookingfor him swept up the ridge, they would quickly search allthe caves and he would be killed. As he waited, he prayed, asking Jehovah, if it be your will, please protect me.Whatever your will though, I love you and trust you. Afterpraying, he lay quietly listening to the enemy begin to draw close. He saw a spider begin to build a web over the front ofhis cave. As he watched, listening to the enemy searching for him all the while, the spider layered strand after strand of web across the opening of the cave.‘Hah,’ he thought. 'What I need is a brick wall and what Jehovah has sent me is a spider web.’ As the enemy drew closer he watched from the darkness of his hideout and could see them searching one cave after another. As they came to his, he prepared himself for death. To his amazement, however, after glancing in the direction of his cave, they moved on. Suddenly, he realized that with the spider web over the entrance, his cave looked as if no one had entered for quite a while. 'Jehovah, forgive me,’ prayed the young man. 'I had forgotten that in you a spider’s web is stronger than a brick wall.’ We all face times of great trouble. When we do, it is so easy to forget what Jehovah can work in our lives, sometimes in the most surprising ways. And remember with Jehovah, a mere spider’s web can become a brick wall of protection.Via

April 2017: Sample Awake! Presentation Via

Sample Kingdom Tract Return Visit—Isa 65:21-23 Via

Sample Teach the Truth Presentation—Mt 6:10 Via

Steve Gerdes: We Will Never Forget the Greeting Via

Hard to believe that was 3 years ago: http://www.jw-archive.org/tagged/whitney-heichel Many of those files we had are lost as you will see using the link above..... if you find them please post the links again below.... @ARchiv@L found the links in our old wiki.... enjoy! https://jw-archive.wikispaces.com/space/content?tag=Whitney+Heichel