End of the Loving Time

The Spirit World Guided Rutherford

Ken Raines

J. F. Rutherford became the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society’s second president in 1916 upon the death of it’s founder and first president, C. T. Russell. Rutherford held this position until his death at the San Diego mansion, Beth-Sarim, on January 8, 1942. Under the leadership of “Judge” Rutherford, as he was called, the Jehovah’s Witnesses received most of the doctrine and chronology that they have today and which is unique to their sect. [1]

How did Rutherford arrive at these doctrines and chronological beliefs? Why have other professed Christians for the most part not come to believe these teachings during the past two thousand years? Why are they unique to JWs if they are the teachings of Scripture? Did Rutherford use different methods or principles of interpreting Scripture than other Christians? Did he believe that only the remnant [The leadership class of JWs] were enlightened by the Holy Spirit? (Jn. 14:26, 16:7-15; 1 Jn. 2:20, 27; 1Cor. 2:10-15; 12:3) Or were these doctrines the result of some esoteric or unusual method of interpreting Scripture?

Rutherford and Exegesis

No man can interpret God’s Word, Jehovah God reserves that to Himself.

J. F. Rutherford (The Golden Age, May 24, 1933, p. 534.)

Rutherford did not believe that an individual could understand Scripture by simply reading the Bible and using accepted methods of exegesis. [2] Rutherford believed that no one could interpret or understand a passage of Scripture until God revealed its meaning:

FOR MANY centuries the Bible has been a mystery and very few understand much thereof…. Even to the man of God most of the Bible has been shrouded in mystery until quite recently. [3]

JEHOVAH keeps his purposes secret until due time to reveal them… The purposes of Jehovah are stated in his Word by his prophets, but no one can understand them until God by his power opens the seals. [4]

This applied to himself. He said that he couldn’t interpret or understand a passage of Scripture until God revealed it to him:

It is sometimes suggested that I attempt to interpret the Scriptures. I do not attempt to interpret the Scriptures. Any man who attempts to interpret the Bible gets into trouble, whether he be a clergyman or a layman. The Bible is not of private interpretation. [5]

Men do not interpret Scripture; the church does not interpret Scripture; Christ Jesus himself does not interpret Scripture, except as that interpretation is given to Him by His Father. (Rev. 1:1) The only One who interprets Scripture, in the last analysis, is the One who gave it in the first place. Obviously, until He furnishes the key to a passage it can never be unlocked. [6]

He claimed God furnished the “key” to a passage in His own “due time.” When this due time arrived God revealed the interpretation to the remnant alone. He referred to this interpretation from God as “new light” or “meat in due season.”

Jehovah’s interpretation

Rutherford’s belief that no one could interpret the Scriptures until God revealed the meaning was based on ‘God’s interpretation’ of 2 Peter 1:20 and Genesis 40:8. [7] Thus, Rutherford taught that men cannot interpret Scripture, but Jehovah God and Jesus Christ were the ones who were the Interpreters. When the “due time” came, God revealed the correct interpretation to the remnant:

Now God reveals to his people an understanding of the prophecies long ago written.[8]

God has revealed the meaning of the prophecies to his people… [9]

New light

These revelations from God as to the proper understanding of Scripture are called meat in due season:

God… furnishes them with meat in due season by revealing the meaning of his prophecies written long ago. [10]

Thus:

… the meat in due season is a proper explanation of the Scriptures. [11]

He also frequently referred to these revelations as “light” or “flashes of lightning” from God that was shed on the Bible:

Jehovah has caused greater light to shine upon his Word…. He has given meat to the household through the Head of the house of sons, Jesus…. the Scriptures are not of private interpretation.[12]

Since the Lord came to his temple there have been flashes of lightning; that is to say, intermittent illuminations of the Word of God,… these flashes of light do not emanate from any member of the temple class, but from the Lord. It is Jehovah that is sending out his light and his truth,… [13]

These revelations of the “proper” understanding or interpretation of Scripture Rutherford received from God were published in the Watchtower Society’s publications:

To feed or teach his people the Lord has used the Watch Tower publications…. No man is given credit for the wonderful truths which the Lord has revealed to his people through the Watch Tower publications…. the Lord is feeding his people through these publications…. Jehovah has revealed the meaning of many of his prophecies…. the Lord is the Teacher and he will reveal the true meaning of prophecy in his own appointed way… [14]

The Lord Jesus at the temple is the dispenser of food for his own…. The Lord has proved to his people that he is feeding his people the truth through the Watch Tower publications. No human ingenuity or ability could set forth the meaning of the prophecies which God’s people have received within the last few years. Prophecy is not of private interpretation. He who attempts to place a private interpretation upon a prophecy shows himself to be a fool… [15]

There have come down from heaven great downpours of truth in that God has unfolded to his people his prophecies and given them such a marvelous supply that they sing with joy. He has given them many separate pieces of literature and books containing his message to carry to the people. [17]

Rutherford in these quotes said that no man could interpret Scripture and if he tried to he would show himself to be a fool. He said the Lord Jehovah through Christ has “revealed” to the remnant “the truth” and thus “the true meaning” of scripture. All of this was published in Watch Tower Society publications alone. Thus he said, God had “given them many separate pieces of literature and books.”

The Watchtower

The Watchtower magazine was the main publication by the Society that was used by God to transmit to the remnant the new “light” on the Bible. Jehovah was viewed as being the One who was responsible for the contents of the magazine. They merely published these revelations after Jehovah through Christ revealed it to them:

It is announced with confidence that the Lord uses the columns of The Watchtower to transmit to his consecrated people things that he reveals to them and provides for them to know. It is the privilege of The Watchtower to publish explanation of the prophecies… There is no attempt on the part of The Watchtower to interpret prophecy, for the reason that no human creature can interpret prophecy. [17]

Rutherford was listed as the author of all JW books from 1926 until his death in 1942 and “supervised everything that went into” The Watchtower magazine. 19 Putting all this together, the upshot of this would seem to be that no one could understand a Scripture text or a book of the Bible until Rutherford published one of his books that explained it!

for example, the Society said that the book of Ezekiel could not be understood by anyone until Rutherford wrote his three volumes entitled Vindication in 1931 and 1932. In advertisements for the first volume, The Golden Age magazine said:

JEHOVAH caused to be written, more than 2500 years ago, what in the Bible is called Ezekiel’s prophecy. During the centuries that prophecy has been a mystery sealed to all who have sought to unlock it. God’s due time has now come for the prophecy to be understood. [20]

In another Golden Age they said the following about all three volumes of Vindication by Rutherford:

Ezekiel’s prophecy, sealed until the publication of these books, announces the judgments of God… [21]

They said similar things about the book of Revelation and the publication of Rutherford’s books Light I and Light II that explained it:

For nearly 2000 years the Book of Revelation, written in highly symbolical language, has been a sealed book. Now, because the time is ripe, LIGHT unlocks the seals. [22]

The book of Revelation was a “sealed” book until Rutherford’s Light I and II were published in 1930. The book of Ezekiel was a “mystery” to all until 1931 and 1932 when Rutherford published his three volumes entitled Vindication. Only then could the prophecy of Ezekiel be understood for the first time during the past two and a half millenniums! It is therefore easy to see why The Golden Age stated:

Every reader of The Golden Age knows that we consider Judge Rutherford’s books the most important ones in the world. [23]

They were considered the most important books in the world because without them you could not understand the Bible. Since Rutherford claimed what he wrote explained portions of the Bible for the first time in centuries or millennia and that these interpretations came from God, he was consistent in also claiming that what he wrote was not his opinion or interpretation of Scripture.

God’s Explanation of the Bible

Judge Rutherford voices, not his own, nor anyone’s opinion.

The Golden Age, March 28, 1934, p. 396.

Rutherford said repeatedly that what he wrote was not his opinion or interpretation of Scripture. For example, he said this in the Foreword of his book, Government:

What is set forth in the following pages is not the opinion of man. The facts are plainly stated as they exist. [24]

And this in the Foreword of his book Reconciliation:

The writer does not give his opinion. No human interpretation of Scripture is advanced. [25]

In an advertisement for his book, Riches, The Golden Age magazine said:

… this book does not contain the opinion of a man, but sets forth the truth taken from the Word of God. [26]

In fact, he claimed that all of his books were not his opinions or interpretations even though he wrote them. [27] The material to be found in The Watchtower magazine was also said to be devoid of human opinions:

Those who are convinced that The Watchtower is publishing the opinion or expression of a man should not waste time looking at it at all, because a man’s opinion proves nothing except when that opinion is based wholly upon the Word of God. Those who believe that God uses The Watchtower as a means of communicating to his people, or of calling their attention to his prophecies, should study The Watchtower with thankfulness of heart and give Jehovah God and Christ Jesus all the honor and credit and give neither honor nor credit to any man. [28]

Rutherford merely published God’s “explanation” of Scripture after He revealed it to him. That readers of The Watchtower took his statements to mean just that, can be seen by this resolution adopted by a “company” of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Wisconsin in 1940 that Rutherford published in The Watchtower:

RESOLUTION…. We are in full accord with Jehovah’s Word, the Bible, and his explanation of the Bible which he is now revealing to us through his earthly channel, the WATCH TOWER,… [29]

Since his writings were not only God’s interpretation of Scripture and thus not his opinion, they were the word of God and not the word of man. For example, in 1932 he said:

… the text says: “The Sovereign Lord giveth the word”…”The word,” or “speech”, is a comprehensive form applied, not to only one specific message that the Lord gave or is giving or has given at any one time, but to the whole series of messages of truth which he gave and which he continues to give ever since the lightnings have been flashing from the temple and upon the record of his Word. The expression “the word”, therefore, includes every revelation of truth down to and including the book Vindication and whatsoever shall be revealed and published, by the Lord’s grace, as long as the remnant is on earth. [30]

Thus Rutherford, together with the rest of the remnant, were God’s prophet or mouthpiece and Jehovah Himself placed His “word” into the remnant’s mouths to speak:

Jehovah has said or designated the remnant on earth as his visible mouthpiece. [31]

Jehovah’s mighty hand of protection is over his remnant while they utter the words he has placed in their mouths. [32]

This brings up the question of what kind of revelations these were and how Rutherford received them from God. Today the Society says the remnant receive new light through the “holy spirit” force. However, Rutherford claimed that he was not enlightened by the Holy Spirit.

Angelic Channeling artwork: Ken Raines

Is The Watchtower a means or channel employed by God to transmit information to his people?… he could and would transmit information to his people… No man can properly interpret prophecy, and the Lord sends his angels to transmit correct information to his people,…

The Watchtower, Feb. 15, 1936 p. 52.

Since the late 1940s the Watchtower Society has taught that only the Holy Spirit can bring about the proper understanding of Scripture. For example they have said:

Since the Bible was written under God’s spirit, only his spirit can bring about understanding… [33]

Until 1930 Rutherford also taught that the remnant were enlightened by the Holy Spirit in understanding the Scriptures. In the 1929 Yearbook he said:

It has been since the Lord came to his temple that God by his spirit has revealed to the church many of the deep things that the members thereof could not understand prior to that time. [34]

However, in 1930 Rutherford began to teach that in 1918, when Jesus came to the “temple”, the “holy spirit” was taken away from the remnant and was no longer their Teacher, Comforter or Advocate:

By his spirit, the holy spirit, Jehovah God guides or leads his people up to a certain time, and thus he did until the time when “the comforter” was taken away … in 1918. [35]

…1918… in that year the Lord Jesus came to the temple of Jehovah God. The holy spirit that had been the guide of God’s people, having performed its functions, was taken away… [36]

When Jesus was on earth he had no advocate, because God dealt directly with him…. It would seem that there would be no necessity for the “servant” to have an advocate such as the holy spirit, because the “servant” is in direct communication with Jehovah… [37]

Rutherford taught that since the remnant were in direct communication with Jehovah, it was Jehovah and Jesus Christ who were teaching the remnant, not the Holy Spirit:

In times past the holy spirit was the comforter and helper of God’s people, and those brethren supposed to have the spirit of the Lord acted as teachers of the consecrated; but now, since the coming of Christ Jesus to the temple, Jehovah God and his great prophet, Christ Jesus, are the teachers… the faithful ones receive knowledge and understanding from the Word of God revealed to them through the Head of the temple organization. [38]

Starting in 1918, angels were used to help teach the remnant the Truth. These, to a large extent, replaced the Holy Spirit as the medium or channel through which Jehovah and Christ taught the remnant:

After the holy spirit as an advocate or paraclete ceased to function in behalf of the consecrated, then the angels are employed in behalf of those who are being made ready for the kingdom. [39]

Instead of the servant’s being moved into action by the operation of the holy spirit as a helper, the Scriptures seem to teach clearly that the Lord directs his angels what to do and that they act under the supervision of the Lord in directing the remnant on earth concerning the course of action to take. [40]

Since 1918 the angels of the Lord have had to do with showing the Ezekiel class the truth… [41]

Angelic information

Being under the direction of angels meant the remnant received information and organization instructions from angels. In Rutherford’s words:

Certain duties and kingdom interests have been committed by the Lord to his angels, which include the transmission of information to God’s anointed people on the earth for their aid and comfort. Even though we cannot understand how the angels transmit this information, we know that they do it. [42]

These angels are invisible to human eyes and are there to carry out the orders of the Lord. No doubt they first hear the instruction which the Lord issues to his remnant and then these invisible messengers pass such instruction on to the remnant. [43]

… angels are delegated by the Lord to convey his instructions to the members of his organization on earth. Just how this is done is not necessary for us to understand. [44]

Angelic interpretations

The information from angels that was given to Rutherford and the rest of the remnant included the interpretation of Scripture that was printed in Watchtower literature:

This question is propounded for the benefit of those faithful ones of the remnant now on earth, and the angel of the Lord brings to them the needed information in answer to their questions. (Rev. 1:1) This is proof that the interpretation of prophecy does not proceed from man, but that the Lord Jesus, the chief one in Jehovah’s organization, sends the necessary information to his people by and through his holy angels. [45]

Jehovah’s anointed, pictured by Zechariah, inquire: “WHAT ARE THESE [THINGS] MY LORD?” showing that they seek the divine interpretation of God’s Word and do not seek the conclusion of men… the angels of the Lord at the temple are used to enlighten and comfort the anointed ones and to bring them refreshing truths. Those of the remnant, being honest and true, must say, We do not know; and the Lord enlightens them, sending his angels for that very purpose.[46]

In Vindication I Rutherford said about “cherubim, seraphim and angels” that:

These invisible ones the Lord uses to put in the hands of his “faithful servant” class, that is, the man clothed with linen, the fiery message from his Word, or judgments written, and which is to be used as directed. The resolutions adopted by conventions of God’s anointed people, booklets, magazines, and books published by them, contain the message of God’s truth and are from the Lord Jehovah, and provided by him through Christ Jesus and his underofficers… The interpretation of prophecy, therefore, is not from man but is from Jehovah… [47]

I think it should be clear now why Rutherford said that what he wrote was not his opinion or interpretation of Scripture, but was the divine interpretation. Most JWs or ex-JWs would, I believe, be surprised that Rutherford made these claims for his literature. He claimed that the “booklets, magazines and books” by the Society, most, if not all of which were written by him, were from “the Almighty God, Jehovah, and provided by him through Jesus Christ and his underofficers”, the “cherubim, seraphim and angels”. Yet Rutherford claimed that this did not mean that this literature was inspired. [48]

Angelic revelations

The Society in their recent history book, Jehovah’s Witnesses–Proclaimers of God’s Kingdom said:

Those who make up the one true Christian organization today do not have angelic revelations or divine inspiration. [49]

What they do not mention at all in this book reviewing their history is that Rutherford did claim to receive angelic revelations and thus a form of “divine inspiration”. These angelic revelations were published in the Society’s literature, particularly The Watchtower magazine:

Without a doubt the Lord uses his angels to cause the truth to be published in The Watchtower… Certainly God guides his covenant people by using the holy angels to convey his message to them. [50]

Angelic mind control

How did God by angels transmit the interpretations of Scripture and prophecy to the remnant and specifically to Rutherford? He said that he did not know exactly how the angels transmitted the information to him. He said that he did not visually see these angels because they were “invisible to human eyes”. [51] Nor was the information given in an audible voice:

These angels doubtless perform in connection with and toward the people of God many things that they cannot see with their natural eyes or hear with their natural ears. [52]

Rutherford said that these angels transmitted information inaudibly as thoughts into the remnant’s minds. Rutherford said:

… the remnant are instructed by the angels of the Lord. The remnant do not hear audible sounds, because such is not necessary. Jehovah has provided his own good way to convey thoughts to the minds of his anointed ones. [53]

Surely the holy angels of the Jehovah God, who are under the command of Christ Jesus and accompany him at his temple as his deputies, are clothed with power to put questions in the minds of those on earth who are devoted to God. It is not necessary for us to know just how this is done, but there can be no doubt about the power of the deputies of the Lord. [54]

Rutherford believed that the Holy Spirit was the force that, in the early church, God used to enlighten Christians. He believed that the Holy Spirit was replaced by angels in 1918 and these took over controlling the minds of the remnant:

… the Lord Jesus Christ, the Head of “the servant”, acting by and through his holy angels, has directed and is directing that work. It was the holy spirit that operated upon the minds of men in the early church to take certain action; but now the Lord Jesus himself has returned, is in his temple, and, acting by and through his holy angels, puts into the mind and heart of the remnant class to take positive action and to do a certain work… [55]

Angelic prophecies

God also revealed to Rutherford (through angels) what was to happen or come to pass in the future:

The temple in heaven is open, and those who have been so marvelously favored by being brought into the temple now receive a vision of the prophecies that have come to pass. Jehovah graciously permits those in the temple to see other things that shall shortly come to pass. [56]

God reveals to his people the information of things that must shortly come to pass…. [57]

Rutherford believed that Jehovah God would not even start the battle of Armageddon until He first sent angels to inform the remnant that it was about to start, thus giving them the time to notify mankind of its approach. He said:

No man can properly interpret prophecy, and the Lord sends his angels to transmit correct information to his people,…. The Greater Gideon [Jesus] does not begin the Armageddon battle until the message of truth from Jehovah God concerning the same is transmitted by his angels to the faithful remnant on the earth.[58]

Good or evil spirits?

Was Rutherford receiving his interpretations of Scriptures from angels or from demons? As the Society has more recently pointed out:

Yes, the Bible shows that there are not only good angels but also wicked ones. [59]

If Rutherford was receiving information into his mind from angels, which kind were they? Good or evil? Did God really send angels to enlighten Rutherford with the “divine interpretation” of Scripture in answer to his inquiries? If so, we should believe the doctrine and chronology he received from these angels. We should certainly respect and read Rutherford’s books more than the Society today says we should!

On the other hand, what if these angels were lying spirits? Wouldn’t this mean, despite his claims, that he was involved in spiritism? Wouldn’t this make him a spirit medium?

References and Notes:

1. This includes the belief that only the 144,000 mentioned in Revelation chapter seven will go to heaven and the “great multitude”(the majority of JWs) will live on the earth forever; the “Kingdom gospel” they preach that Jesus returned in 1914, Satan was cast out of heaven down to earth in 1914; the doctrine of “God’s organization” and “Satan’s organization”, etc. - even the name “Jehovah’s Witnesses” came during the Rutherford period. This will be documented in a later journal.

2. Historically, exegesis has been viewed as a part of hermaneutics (The science of interpreting Scripture). While hermaneutics is more the philosophy of the principles one needs to use in interpreting a historical text, exegesis is more the actual application of these principles to understand a text. An excellent work on exegesis of the New Testament is, New Testament Exegesis A HANDBOOK FOR STUDENTS AND PASTORS, by Gordon Fee; Westminster Press, 1983, 1993.

3. J. F., Rutherford, His Vengeance, 1934, pp. 53, 57.

4. J. F. Rutherford, Light, book 1, 1930, p. 98. See also J.F. Rutherford, Prophecy, 1929, p. 61; J. F.Rutherford, War or Peace, Which?, 1930, p. 22.

5. The Golden Age, November 27, 1929, p. 152.

6. The Golden Age, August 17, 1932, p. 727.

7. J. F. Rutherford, Vindication I, 1931, p. 14; The Watchtower, April 15, 1937 p. 124; The Watchtower, Feb. 15, 1937, p. 52, ¶4; 1938 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses, Daily Texts and Comments, January 9.

8. Vindication I, 1931, p. 214; 1932 Yearbook of the International Bible Students Association, Daily Texts and Comments, Nov. 20. Emphasis mine.

9. 1938 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses, Daily Texts and Comments, Nov. 18; The Watchtower, Nov. 15, 1937, p. 349 ¶47. Emphasis mine. See further, The Watchtower, Aug. 1, 1938, p. 232, ¶28; 1936 Yearbook of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, Daily Texts and Comments, January 30; 1942 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses, Daily Texts and Comments, December 18; The Watchtower, February 15, 1934, p. 54, ¶14.

10. The Watchtower, Nov. 15, 1937, p. 349, ¶47.

11. J. F. Rutherford, The Harp of God, 1921, p. 237, 1921, 1924, 1925, 1926, 1927 editions. This comment could not be found in the 1928, 1937 and 1940 editions of this book.

12. 1928 Yearbook of the International Bible Students Association, Daily Texts and Comments, Dec. 22.

13. IBID., May 14 . Emphasis in original. See further, The Watchtower, April 15, 1931, p. 116, ¶8, 9; Vindication III, 1932, p. 314.

14. The Watchtower, December 1, 1933 p. 363.

15. 1937 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses, Daily Texts and Comments, Sept. 10; The Watchtower, March 1, 1936, p. 70, ¶17.

16. 1937 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses, Daily Texts and Comments, July 5; The Watchtower, November 15, 1936, pp. 342-3, ¶19. See also The Watchtower, January 15, 1935, p. 26, ¶34.

17. 1935 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses, p. 52. See also, 1936 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses, p. 63; 1934 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses, p. 69.

19. Olin Moyle trial, 1943, court transcript p. 795.

20. The Golden Age, October 28, 1931, p. 64. See also The Golden Age, August 19, 1931, p. 768.

21. The Golden Age, April 10, 1935 p. 445.

22. The Golden Age, October 1, 1930, p. 32. See also: J.F. Rutherford, Light, book I, 1930, pp. 5, 6, 52; Light, book II, 1930, pp. 264, 267.

23. The Golden Age, September 2, 1931, p. 793.

24. J.F. Rutherford, Government, 1928, p. 5.

25.J.F. Rutherford, Reconciliation, 1928, p. 6.

26. The Golden Age, March 1, 1936, p. 384.

27. J.F. Rutherford, Riches, 1936, pp. 353, 354.

28. The Watchtower, January 1, 1942, p. 5. See also The Watchtower, April 1, 1936, p. 106; Consolation, May 18, 1938, p. 31; The Watchtower, August 1, 1940, p. 230, ¶27; 1941 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses, Daily Texts and Comments, August 15.

29. The Watchtower, July 1, 1940, p. 207, LETTERS section. (first letter)

30. Watchtower, April 1, 1932, p. 101; 1933 Yearbook, Daily Texts and Comments, October 3.

31. 1941 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses, Daily Texts and Comments, April 24.

32. The Watchtower, May 15, 1932, p. 148, ¶9; 1933 Yearbook, Daily Texts and Comments, July 12. See further, The Watchtower, September 1, 1930, p. 263, ¶23. The Watchtower, January 1, 1938 p. 6, ¶15.

33. The Watchtower, June 1, 1957, p. 328.

34. 1929 Yearbook of the International Bible Students Association, Daily Texts and Comments, April 4.

35. Preservation, 1932, pp. 193, 194.

36. J.F. Rutherford, Salvation, 1939, pp. 216, 217.

37. The Watchtower, Sept. 1, 1930, p. 263, ¶23. See further, Preservation, pp. 202, 203, 257; The Watchtower, Oct. 1, 1932, p. 294, ¶17, 18.

38. J.F. Rutherford, Jehovah, 1934, p. 311. See further, The Watchtower, March 15, 1938, p. 89, ¶37: 1939 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses, Daily Texts and Comments, October 6.

39. Preservation, p. 51; The Watchtower, June 1, 1931, p. 167, ¶35.

40. 1931 Yearbook of the International Bible Students Association, Daily Texts and Comments, October 21; The Watchtower, September 1, 1930, p. 263, ¶ 26.

41. Vindication III, 1932, p. 316. See further, Light, book II, 1930, p. 20; Preservation, 1932, p. 152.

42. Preparation, 1933, pp. 36, 37; The Watchtower, August 15, 1933, p. 243 ¶3; The Watchtower, March 1, 1938 p. 79, ¶4.

43. Vindication III, 1932, p. 250; The Watchtower, September 15, 1938, p. 285 (Last paragraph).

44. The Watchtower, December 1, 1933, p. 364.

45. Preparation, p. 28; The Watchtower, August 1, 1933, p. 231, ¶23.

46. Preparation, pp. 66, 67; The Watchtower, August 15, 1933, p. 248, ¶ 20; The Watchtower, September 15, 1938, p. 287.

47. Vindication I, 1931, p. 120; The Watchtower, May 1, 1938 p. 143. [The 1938 Watchtower's printing of these comments are slightly different from the original ones in Vindication I .]

48. Riches, p. 316.

49. Jehovah’s Witnesses&endash;Proclaimers of God’s Kingdom, 1993, p. 708.

50. The Watchtower, February 1, 1935, p. 41.

51. Vindication III, 1932, p. 250; The Watchtower, September 15, 1938, p. 285.

52. The Watchtower, August 1, 1936, p. 232, ¶30; 1937 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses, Daily Texts and Comments, December 8.

53. Preparation, p. 64; The Watchtower, August 15, 1933, pp. 247, 248, ¶17; The Watchtower, Sept. 15, 1938, p. 286.

54. The Watchtower, May 15, 1938, p. 157; Light 1, pp. 61, 62. See also: The Watchtower, November 1, 1937, p. 326, ¶14; 1938 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses, Daily Texts and Comments, February 15; 1935 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses, Daily Texts and Comments, Nov. 22; The Watchtower, February 15, 1935, p. 54, ¶1.

55. The Watchtower, September 1, 1930, p. 263 ¶ 27; 1931 Yearbook of the International Bible Students Association, Daily Texts and Comments, February 17.

56. Vindication 1, p. 340.

57. Light 1, p. 120; 1931 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses, Daily Texts and Comments, October 4. See further, The Watch Tower, January 1, 1930, p. 7, ¶24; The Watch Tower, January 1, 1931, p. 5, ¶21.

58. The Watchtower, February 15, 1935, p. 52, ¶7, 8; 1935 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses, Daily Texts and Comments, November 13. See further, The Watchtower, July 1, 1938, pp. 199, 200, ¶24, 25; 1939 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses, Daily Texts and Comments, June 22; J.F. Rutherford, His Vengeance, 1934, p. 6.

59. Awake!, May 22, 1971, p. 28.

DEAR BROTHER RUSSELL:–

The debates are past history now–ending last evening. Every night the auditorium was packed, with probably more turned away than got in. The total attendance was approximately 12,000 persons. Except for the great amount of enthusiasm manifested by the audience everything was very orderly, and a good spirit prevailed throughout. Certainly the Lord’s favor was with us, and the prayers of the many friends were answered. Many messages of encouragement came from different parts of the country, among them two cablegrams from Europe. The friends are all happy. This morning (Sunday) I spoke to the friends for 30 minutes at The Temple, and this was followed by a testimony meeting for one hour. It would have done your dear heart good to see the joy manifested by the friends, and to hear the many expressions of love for all. If the debates have accomplished no other good, I feel sure they have greatly strengthened the saints here, many testifying that the striking contrast between Truth and error has given them new zeal for service.

I must tell you how the Adversary did not succeed for once. My opponent was well prepared to assault you personally. I judged so from the interviews he had given the press two days before the debate. I said nothing then, but waited my time. About three minutes before we went on the platform for the first night’s discussion I called Brother Troy, my opponent, and two of his friends and two of our friends into a side room. You will recall that we had entered into a thousand-dollar obligation, with securities, that we would refrain from personalities. I then said: “Brother Troy, I desire to be absolutely frank with you and therefore I say this to you before we go on the platform. From your interviews with the press I judge that you intend to assault Pastor Russell from the platform. Of course, you can pursue that course if you wish, but the first time you attempt it I am going to have your bond forfeited.”

His reply was, “May I not mention his name?” “No,” I said, “not one time. I signed this agreement with you to discuss the Bible, and by that contract I am going to abide, and I shall expect you to do the same.” He said, “All right; I am ready.” We went on the platform. Not once did he mention your name throughout the four nights, but it was an awfully bitter pill for him to refrain therefrom. Having prepared along that line and being taken down so suddenly he was much disturbed and labored under much stress, as I could observe, during his first argument. I am confident the Lord directed this matter, and thus saved the debate from being an occasion for personal assault upon you.

When the debate closed last night many persons came to me, quite a number saying, “I have been a Baptist for years, but I have had my eyes opened here. You have brought me the light”; and similar expressions.

Quite a large number of cards were turned in on each night. I have not the total here just now. I received a real blessing in the whole matter and am indeed grateful to the Lord that He has been pleased to give me this opportunity to bear witness to His great Plan.

This (Sunday) afternoon at the Shrine Auditorium we had a very good public meeting. The friends say there were about 3500 in attendance, 992 of whom turned in their addresses. This afternoon my subject was, “Babylon Before the Great Court”; and I took occasion to tell the people about the assaults the ministers were making against you personally. Several preachers were in the audience, and I stated that I would be glad to furnish a printed reply to each one of such charges. Sorry we did not have the booklet ready, but we will get it to many here when it does arrive. I hope that by the time you come the people will be more anxious to hear you than ever before. I think there are still some of the Lord’s people in this place.

I must take this occasion to say that the success of the publicity for the debates and meetings following here is due to the untiring and faithful work of our dear Brother Page Noll. He made himself very agreeable to the reporters “covering” the debates, and they were favorable to us in every way they could be. A full report of each day’s debate was published by the Express and the Tribune, and I am advised that about 75,000 extra copies were mailed out each day by the newspaper company to various parts of the world. The paper printed cards and distributed them all over the city, calling the attention of the people to the fact that verbatim copies of the debate would be in certain issues of the paper; and doubtless this sold many papers. Brother Noll had gone after the matter in a systematic manner, and the Lord surely blessed his efforts and his faithfulness. If a copy of the debates comes to your notice you will see that more space is given to my argument than to my opponent’s. That is due to the fact that I spoke with much more rapidity than did my opponent. Profiting by your experience at Cincinnati, I crowded in all that I could.

I enclose a clipping from one of the morning papers, wherein you will see that at yesterday’s meeting I spoke of the booklet I am getting out answering the slanderous charges against you. Quite a number are anxious to have these pamphlets, and I hope they may be ready soon.

Never before have I realized so fully the blessed privilege the Lord’s dear children have of praying for each other. I am sure that the prayers of the dear friends throughout the [R5685 : page 143] world had much to do with the success of these debates. I wish I might express to every one of our brethren my great appreciation of their fervent prayers on my behalf. Hourly I felt that these were a strength to me. I shall never be able to thank you as I would like for the letter which was signed by yourself and all the Bethel family, assuring me of your united and continued prayers in my behalf. The Lord reward all of you. This is but a reminder of the unity of the body and the sweet relationship we are privileged to enjoy here. How much sweeter it will be in the Kingdom! Brother Woodworth suggested that there must be great interest in Heaven in this debate. The Lord be praised for it all. I am thankful indeed that He was pleased to use me to glorify His dear name in any manner. Brothers Woodworth and MacMillan sat with me on the platform as counsel, and my son was by my side to take anything quickly that I desired and to prepare the copy for me without delay. All rendered valuable service. The Lord arranged it all. There was never a moment after the debate began that we did not have the sympathy of a majority of the great audience; and when the debate concluded, there could be no doubt about the fact that a large majority of the audience was with us.

My room in this hotel looks out facing the main entrance to Trinity Auditorium, and each evening I could see the crowds gather. For more than two hours before the debate began the people were standing at the door waiting to get in. Each evening the gates were closed and locked by 7 o’clock, and after that hundreds were turned away. It is estimated that from 10,000 to 15,000 persons were turned away during the four nights, unable to gain entrance. Over the entrance to the Trinity Auditorium appear these words cut in the stone: “The Gates Shall Never Be Closed”; but they had to close for the four sessions of the debate.

Please express my love to all the dear Bethel family, reserving a large portion for yourself. Please continue to remember me at the Throne of Heavenly Grace.

Yours in the service of the dear Redeemer,
J. F. RUTHERFORD.

* * *

[We rejoice greatly that the blessing of the Lord was so richly with our dear Brother Rutherford on the occasion of the debates referred to above. Apparently the Lord guided these debates and blessed the outcome. However, we still feel a prejudice against public debates of religious questions, and have elsewhere expressed our reasons.]

This TIMELINEis another distillation of all that has gone before, with some supplementation to help give context. Hope the formatting and the links work, hope you enjoy, hope the mistakes are minor, and sorry for anything I left out….Thanks to Leo for the extra information and the corrections!1869 ….. 08 November–Joseph Franklin Rutherford (JFR) is born to James Calvin Rutherford and Lenora Strickland in Versailles, Missouri.

17 August–Mary Fetzer is born to Dr. John Fetzer and Mary ? in Hornville, Cooper County, Missouri. Dr. John Fetzer, “a German,” was the Post Surgeon in Waynesville, Missouri during the Civil War (5th Regiment, Missouri State Militia, Union Army, according to one source).

1875 ….. William Pratt Heath, Sr. is born to Capt. Alfred Taylor Heath and Catherine Quinland Pratt.

1884 ….. 17 June–Dr. John Fetzer dies, Cooper County, Missouri.

Zion ’s Watch Tower Tract Society is legally chartered in Pennsylvania. *

1887 ….. 21 December–August Henry Balko, Jr. is born to August Henry Balko, Sr. and Bertha ? in La Grange, Fayette, Texas. His father emigrated from Germany in 1873.

1890 ….. ?? December–JFR marries Mary Fetzer.

1892 ….. 05 May–JFR is admitted to the Boonville bar, Missouri.

10 November–JFR’s only (known) child is born–Malcolm Cameron Rutherford.

1894 ….. February–two female colporteurs sell to JFR 3 copies of the Millenial Dawn. He writes to the Society expressing his appreciation, subscribes to the Watchtower for 1 year, and orders more copies of Millennial Dawn to distribute to others. His letter is printed in the 15 April 1894 Zion’s Watchtower.

08 August–JFR cited for contempt of court (Morgan County Book 13, p.251).

1895 ….. 15 May–JFR cited for contempt of court (Cooper County Book 2, p.376).

1896 ….. 04 February–JFR again cited for contempt of court (Cooper County Circuit Court Permanent File #5113).

17 July–Probable date when Bonnie Boyd was born to John R. Boyd and Victoria Pauling in Waterloo, Iowa.  Bonnie’s original name appears to have been Marjorie Boyd.

1897 ….. Charles Taze Russell and his wife, Maria Ackley, seperate.

1900 ….. First Branch office opens in London, England. *

1901 ….. 30 October–Berta L. Teel is born to William Teel and Mary R., in Pitt County, North Carolina.

1903 ….. 17 November–William Pratt Heath, Jr. is born to William Pratt Heath, Sr. and Susan Taylor in Atlanta, Georgia.

1905 ….. Blanch Poleson Harbolt is born to Clark Polison Harbolt and CarrieLouise Harbolt in Missouri.

1906 ….. JFR is baptized as a Bible Student.

CT and Maria Ackley Russell’strial for legal separation begins.*

1907 …..11 October issue of Zion’s Watchtower JFR is listed as a speaker at the Niagara Falls Convention, Aug. 29-Sept. 5. He is also invited to Bethel as legal counsel for the Watch Tower Society.

1908 ….. 15 June issue Zion’s Watchtower lists JFR as one of the Pilgrims who made a vow to the Lord.

1 July issue Zion’s Watchtower W. E. Page mentions Sister Rutherford summering in Madison, Wisconsin, and receiving a letter from Sister Hanson of Kansas City, Missouri.

20 August (3 August in some sources)–Susette Heath is born to William Pratt Heath, Sr. and Susan Taylor Heath in Atlanta, Georgia.

1909 ….. 15 January Zion’s Watchtower has JFR scheduled to speak on 1 March 1909 at the Brooklyn Tabernacle on the Divine Plan of the Ages from a Lawyer’s Standpoint. Other issues throughout the year also list speaking engagements at other conventions.

May–JFR is admitted to the U.S. Supreme Court Bar.

April–The WTS HQs is moved to Brooklyn, New York .*1910 ….. 1 June Zion’s Watchtower talks about “Brother Russell’s Foreign Tour.”  Rutherford accompanies Russell as stenographer on the Mediterranean tour.  Sister Rutherford accompanies them as far as Paris.

15 November Zion’s Watchtower–Brother J.F. Rutherford’s (of Missouri) letter to Russell entitled “Value of Berean Scripture Studies” appears.

August Balko, Jr. is in Houston, Harris , Texas working as a clerk for Producers Oil Company.

1911….. 1 October Zion’s Watchtower reports that when the Bible Students had a ten-day session in the Allegheny Mountains, Hon.  J. F. Rutherford was chairman of the first half of the convention (Sept. 1-6).  He also addressed the meeting.

1912 ….. 15 January Zion’s Watchtower has an article by JFR entitled “In Defense of the Truth.”  Someone had written to the Society wondering if Russell shouldn’t have endured persecution rather than resort to the law.  This is Rutherford ’s justification of Russell’s suit against the Brooklyn Eagle.

11 July–James Calvin Rutherford dies, Versailles, Missouri.

1913 ….. 2-11 November. JFR and his wife Mary, after travelling to Zurich, Switzerland, return to New York on the Prinz Friedrich Wilhelm.

Maria Ackley Russell sues CTR for divorce on 4 grounds.*

1914….. JFR kicks up a fuss over the 1913 Convention Report which reports a discourse he made at the Springfield Convention.

WWI. And it’s the end of the world as we know it. A 1908 version of Thy Kingdom Come stated “That the deliverance of the saints must take place some time before 1914…” A 1937 edition of the same book stated “That the deliverance of the saints will take place some time after 1914…”

25 September–JFR, Mary Rutherford, and Malcolm Rutherford return from a European trip on the S. S. Mauretania.  They are living together at 10 Orange Street, Brooklyn, NY.

The 1st showing of Photo Drama of Creation in New York .*

I.B.S.A. incorporated in England. *1915 …..Susan Taylor Heath is baptized as a Bible Student.

“According to testimony at the Olin Moyle trial (p. 1567 of the transcripts), in 1915 Russell gave Rutherford $1,000 so he could leave New York and set up a law practice in California.  David Horowitz also mentions this in his biography of Russell, PASTOR CHARLES TAZE RUSSELL, AN EARLY AMERICAN CHRISTIAN ZIONIST, page 61.  According to Horowitz, who is neither a Jehovah’s Witness or a Bible Student, Russell considered Rutherford a dangerous man and wanted him as far away as possible.” (Athanasius) “Apparently dismissed from Bethel in early 1915, living in Monrovia near Los Angeles, working as a lawyer for a department store in Los Angeles.” (James Parkinson, heraldmag.org)

21-24 April–JFR debated Rev. John H. Troy at First Baptist Church in Glendale, California, assisted by his son Malcolm (age 22).

The May 1, 1915 Z.W.T. contains “Judge Rutherford’s Spicy Defense” of C. T. Russell; also “A Great Battle in the Ecclesiatical Heavens,” a pamphlet written by Rutherford in defense of Russell. The journal also contains an article entitled “The Rutherford-Troy Debate.” (Kenneson) The Nov. 1, 1915 Z.W.T. contains an advertisement for “Judge Rutherford’s defense of Pastor Russell.” According to a post by Athanasius, Russell responds: “So far as the Editor is concerned, he has no desire for further debates.  He does not favor debating, believing that it rarely accomplishes good and often arouses anger, malice, bitterness, etc., in both speakers and hearers.”

1916….. 31 October–Charles Taze Russell dies on a train.  He leaves a will dated 1907, setting forth how he wants things to be run after his demise. JFR is informed …

1917 ….. 6 January JFR is elected President of the WTBTS. It is not a smooth transition.

1916-1919….. The Teels move to Ohio from North Carolina. Berta is in her teens.

1917 …..4 June–August Balko, Jr. registers for the draft in Houston, Texas.  He is employed as a clerk at Producers Oil Co.  His draft card states that he is a Millenium Dawnist.

15 June–Malcolm Rutherford registers for the draft, giving his home address as 11 East Lake, Los Angeles, California.  Malcolm states that he is a “Member Bible Students Assn.”

17 July–The WTS releases The Finished Mystery.

The U.S. government investigates charges that members of the WTS are corresponding with armed services personnel and encouraging them to desert.

1918….. It’s the end…again.

24 February–Discourse “The World Has Ended–Millions Now Living May Never Die” is first delivered in Los Angeles, California.*

April–the Grand Jury issues an indictment against 9 WTS officers, naming 4 major charges, including sedition, treason, and interfering with the draft. The 9 are Rutherford, William E. Van Amburgh, Robert J. Martin, Frederick H.Robison, George H. Fisher, Clayton P. Woodworth, Giovanni DeCecca, Robert H. Hirsh, and A. Hugh MacMillan.

May–the WTS officers are arrested, arraigned, and released on $2500 bail (except Hirsh–$1000).

June–JFR requests that the government review the book and delete the offending passages. The Government makes a motion to drop all charges against Hirsh. The defense objects, stating that they feared he would become a witness against them. The judge ruled in favor of the government. Hirsh is dismissed. The trial lasted from 6 June to 20 June.

21 June–the WTS officers are convicted of all charges. All are sentenced to 20 years in prison in Atlanta, GA except one, DeCecca, given 10 years on 10 July.

August–Brooklyn HQ is closed. Operations are transferred back to Pittsburgh for over a year.*

Arthur Goux becomes JFR’s personal secretary/stenographer.

1919 ….. December–the WTS officers are released after 18 months in prison.  Rutherford developed a severe lung ailment while in Atlanta. They had appealed, petitioned the Justice Department and the U.S. President, and finally were able to show that there were errors made in the trial, so the Government issued a Writ of Error. The war was over and they felt it would not be worth it to re-try the case.

The Golden Age magazing is started.*1920 ….. August Balko, Jr. is back in LaGrange, Fayette, Texas, living in a boarding house and working as an agent for a railroad company (probably the MKT).

William Pratt Heath, Sr. is Vice President of a Coca-Cola bottling company in Atlanta, Georgia.

Mary Rutherford is living alone in Los Angeles, California.

Millions Now Living Will Never Die by JFR is published. Look for 1925 to be a BIG year!!!

WTS starts its own printing operations in Brooklyn.*1921 ….. Blanch Poleson Harbolt marries August Balko, Jr. in ?, Texas, changing her name to Blanch Poleson Balko.

1922 ….. Radio is first used by JFR in California.*

1923 ….. Mary Rutherford takes up residence in Monrovia, California.  The residence at 160 N. Primrose Avenue is located less than a mile from the Pottenger Sanatorium, established in 1903, which specialized in treating pulmonary diseases.  Since JFR had a damaged lung, he possibly wintered here at the time.

Bonnie Boyd and her mother take up residence in Bethel at the invitation of W. E. Van Amburgh, who had met them earlier at a convention. Bonnie works as a second stenogrpaher for JFR and Victoria works as housekeeper. They lived in Room 121 on the first floor of 124 Columbia Heights, Brooklyn, New York (an old brownstone building formerly owned by Henry Ward Beecher).

Berta Teel marries Alfred Peale, a machinist from Akron, Ohio.

1924 ….. 24 February–WTS begins broadcasting over WBBR (scroll down).*

April–A party, composed of Brothers JFR, [William] Van Amburgh, [Walter] Salter, Hughes, Johnson, Hoeveler, and Sisters [Luie] Van Amburgh, [Bonnie] Boyd, Blades, and Johnson went to the European conventions (Watchtower, 1 July 1924, p.1).  They return to New York on 7 June aboard the S. S. Paris.

1925….. Arthur Goux, JFR’s personal secretary, is transferred to radio broadcasting and replaced by Donald Haslett.

15 June 1925 issue of the Watchtower publishes a letter written by Mrs. Susan T. Heath of Atlanta, Georgia.

1926 ….. 9 October–Lenora Strickland Rutherford dies, Versailles, Missouri.

1926-1929 ….. JFR winters in San Diego, California under the care of Dr. Alta G. Eckols, chiropractor, father of Albert E.

1927 ….. 1 February–The New York Times reports that the WTS razes the former home of Henry Ward Beecher at 124 Columbia Heights in Brooklyn, New York, to build a larger headquarters on the same site.  The 30 November 1927 issue of the Golden Age publishes an article that described the Beechers as demon-influenced spiritualists, whose marriage was effected by Satan in order to cause the Civil War.  Factory operations had already been moved to a newly constructed 8-story building at 117 Adams Street in Brooklyn.  The new building was completed later in the same year, and Bonnie and her mother moved to the 7th floor.  This floor was exclusively JFR’s office/bedroom, where Donald Haslett and his wife lived as well.

27 September–JFR returns from Europe aboard the S. S. Ile de France, accompanied with Bonnie Boyd, Robert J. Martin, Watch Tower factory manager, and Dr. Alta G. Eckols. Boyd, Martin, and Eckols travel again with JFR two years later.

1929 ….. Robert J. Martin goes to San Diego and transfers into his own name the title for 2 lots purchased by Dr. Albert E. Eckols, chiropractor, then contracts the construction of the mansion that will be known as Beth Sarim–House of Princes (4440 Braeburn Rd., San Diego, CA, Kensington Heights). But only one prince will ever live there–Prince Joseph Barak Balko. Richard S. Requa is the architect.

18 November–Princess Bonnie Caroline Balko is born to August Balko, Jr. and Blanch P. in Harris County, Texas.

Susette Heath, sister of William Pratt Heath, Jr., marries Eugene Robert Black II, among stepmother to his two children, Eugene Robert Black III and his older sister Elizabeth B.  His father,  Eugene Robert Black I was chairman of the Federal Reserve 1933-1934 and president of the Federal Reserve Bank for 2 terms: 13 January-19 December 1933 and 16 August 1934-19 December 1934 (when he died).  Eugene Robert Black III himself will be president of the World Bank from 1949-1962.  The Black family lives at 1614 Peachtree Street, Atlanta, Georgia.

1930 …..JFR purchases Beth Sarim from Robert J. Martin for $10. JFR, Bonnie Boyd, Donald Haslett, and the Balkos take up residence in Beth Sarim, San Diego, California. Haslett leaves at some point this year or the next and is replaced by Ed Keller.  Bonnie is promoted to the position of secretary.

Berta T. Peale and Alfred Peale live together in Akron, Ohio.  They have no children.

William P. Heath, Jr. is manager of a Coca-Cola bottling plant in South Carolina and is married to Dorothy Smith, daughter of Mendel Smith, South Carolina legislator, lawyer and orator, and Anna Dixon. His cousin, William S. Heath was president and co-owner of Carolina Coca-Cola Bottling Company, and son of Alfred Taylor Heath, II, “president of Coca-Cola” (also the Carolina Bottling Company?), and Anne Darling Howell. I can’t help but wonder if door-to-door Coca-Cola sales techniques influenced WTS sales techniques.

1931 ….. Prince Joseph Barak Balko is born to August Balko, Jr. and Blanch P. in San Diego, California.” Beth-Sarim being “the house of the princes,” and, as we confidently expect, to be occupied and used by some of the princes in the earth, it seemed quite appropriate that these children who are growing up there should be named in harmony with these scriptures. Hence the little girl is named Princess Bonnie Balko, and the little boy Prince Joseph Barak Balko….It is hoped that these two little ones may grow up at Beth-Sarim to be with the rulers of the earth and live forever to the glory of Jehovah’s name. They have been told, in so far as they can understand, that they may expect these noble men and, when they do appear, to meet them and put themselves completely under their direction (emphasis added).” –The Messenger, 25 July 1931

23 June–JFR and Bonnie Boyd leave Southampton, England, aboard the S. S. Breman, accompanied with Robert J. Martin and Robert S. Emery.               26 July–The name “Jehovah’s Witnesses” is adopted at an Ohio convention.*1932 …..  William P. Heath, Jr. is baptized.

23 April–JFR and Bonnie Boyd return to New York aboard the S. S. President Coolidge after wintering at Beth Sarim.

23 September–Robert J. Martin dies.

Elective elders arrangement is terminated (15 August and 1 September Watchtower).*

1933 ….. JWs banned in Germany.*

Around this time, Berta Peale meets Bonnie Boyd and becomes friends with her (Moyle transcript, p. 1382).  However, it is possible that they first met at the 1931 convention in Columbus, Ohio.

19 July–JFR, Bonnie Boyd, Nathan Knorr, and Walter Salter return to New York aboard the S. S. Statendam after a convention tour of Europe.

1934 ….. W. P. Heath, Jr. meets JFR for the first time.

15 June–Mendel Smith dies.

Elective elders arrangement is terminated. Designation of “pioneer” is introduced.*

1935 ….. Olin Moyle comes to Bethel to help the WTS in its freedom-of-worship cases.  The room on the seventh floor of 124 Columbia Heights formerly occupied by Mr. Haslett and Mr. Keller is vacated and turned into a treatment room.  From 1935 to 1939, the only people living on the seventh floor are JFR, Bonnie Boyd, and her mother Victoria.

The designation “Kingdom Hall” begins to be used.*

International convention held in Washington, D.C.*1936 ….. JFR, Bonnie Boyd, and Matthew Howlett take a convention trip to Britain.  JFR and Boyd return to New York abord the S. S. Statendam on 27 September.

1937 ….. 18 May–Returning from a winter at Beth Sarim, JFR and Bonnie Boyd take a three-week trip to Mexico, Panama, and Havana, Cuba before arriving in New York.

June–W. P. Heath, Jr. is invited to Bethel to serve as JFR’s personal secretary.  Bonnie Boyd, in turn, becomes Heath’s personal secretary. He also serves as chauffeur, his parents having given a couple of nice new rides to his boss. He joins the Bethel family shortly before departing with JFR on a European convention trip.

July–Bonnie Boyd invites Berta Peale to accompany her on her upcoming trip to Europe.  Berta leaves Ohio and travels to Brooklyn, New York.

21 August–JFR, Bonnie Boyd, W. P. Heath, Jr., and Berta Peale attend a convention in Paris, France.  It was on this trip that Heath first became acquainted with Boyd and JFR became acquainted with Peale. Then they leave Le Havre, France aboard the S. S. Normandie on 25 August.

15-20 September–JFR attends a convention in Columbus, Ohio.  Around this time, Victoria Boyd leaves Bethel to retire in Texas.  JFR, Bonnie Boyd, W. P. Heath, and Berta Peale arrive at Beth Sarim, San Diego, by November.

1938 ….. Early January–W.P. Heath, Jr. divorces his wife of 8 years, Dorothy Smith. One week later he marries Bonnie Boyd in Las Vegas, Nevada (25 January).

April–JFR, Berta Peale, Bonnie Heath, and W. P. Heath leave Beth Sarim and visit Los Angeles.  There, they board a ship headed to Honolulu, Hawaii, accompanied with Malcolm Rutherford and his wife Pauline.  Malcolm, Pauline, and Berta disembark in Honolulu, while JFR, Bonnie Heath, and W. P. Heath (after briefly attending an assembly) continue aboard the ship to Sydney, Australia.  While en route to Sydney, public officials forbid the convention to use the Sydney Town Hall and radio facilities.  JFR is forced to delivery his convention address at the Sydney Sports Grounds.  Then on his return trip, he delivered another address in a one-day convention in Auckland, New Zealand.  JFR was scheduled to address a convention in Suva, Fiji, but the governor refused to permit Rutherford to give an address.

11 May–After delivering the public talk “Warning” in Honolulu, JFR returned to Los Angeles aboard the S. S. Mariposa with Berta Peale and his son and daughter-in-law.  Bonnie and W. P. Heath stayed behind a few days, where they apparently arranged another public address on one of the other Hawaiian islands.  They returned to Los Angeles aboard the S. S. Matsonia, departing on 14 May.

June–JFR and his entourage returns to Bethel in New York.  Berta Peale, having abandoned her husband of 15 years, officially joins Bethel’s staff and takes over Victoria’s job as the seventh floor housekeeper (and dietician of JFR).

9-11 September–JFR, Bonnie and W. P. Heath, Berta Peale, and Nathan Knorr attend an international convention in London, England.  On 11 September, JFR gave the address “Face the Facts” at the Royal Albert Hall where he predicted that Nazi Germany and the other Axis Powers will gain possession of America and the United Kingdom.  On 14 September, the entourage returned on the S. S. Queen Mary.

Theocratic arrangements replace democratic ones in Jehovah’s Witness congregations.*

1939 ….. March–The Watchtower and Herald of Christ’s Kingdom becomes The Watchtower Announcing Jehovah’s Kingdom.

                   Alfred Peale files for divorce from Berta Teel on grounds of abandonment.

Matthew Howlett returns to Bethel to nurse JFR.  He moves into the room on the seventh floor formerly occupied by Mr. Keller.              W. P. Heath, Jr. bought property (75 acres), for a 2nd San Diego mansion, Beth Shan–House of Security,” that his mother had given him money to build,” according to Hayden Covington.

25 June–In charge of the ushers at the Madison Square Garden Convention, W. P. Heath is arrested for hitting a “mobster” over the head with a cane during the riot that broke out.  In the trial, Olin R. Moyle, the general counsel for Heath, calls him first to the stand rather than last and he shares a private letter with the prosecutor.  Bonnie Heath calls JFR, telling him that something is wrong, and JFR is incensed at Moyle’s handling of the case.  Heath is found not guilty.

21 July– Olin Moyle quits his job as counselor for the Society and announces his intent to leave Bethel (Hayden Covington thereafter takes over this job).  In his letter of resignation, he mentions, among other things, JFR’s ill-treatment of Bethelites, the rule-bending that allowed Bonnie Boyd to marry W. P. Heath, filthy and vulgar language frequently heard at Bethel, and the immoderate use of alcohol at Bethel.

8 August–W. P. Heath, having joined the Board of Directors of the WTS, attends a meeting of the directors where they discuss Moyle’s letter.  They all unanimously condemn it and demand Moyle to leave Bethel immediately.

Olin Moyle sues for libel in response to a scathing Rutherford write-up in the 15 October Watchtower.

A seperate residence on the Beth Sarim property is built for Beth Sarim’s groundskeepers–Robert Astel and Joe Lubeck. (Scroll down.)

Zion ’s Watch Tower Society becomes Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society and is incorporated in the U.S.*

1940 ….. The deed to Beth Shan is conveyed to the WTBTS, and W. P. Heath, Jr. and Bonnie Boyd take up residence there (now or after the Judge dies, I am not sure).

JFR is said to have taken up full-time redidence at Beth Sarim, “leaving the actual work of the organization to Mr. N. H. Knorr, the then vice-president.*

Alfred Peale is granted a divorce from Berta Teel.

Victoria Boyd is “home in Texas” on account of her health. She is about 67 years of age.

1941 ….. Hazel Burford is called from the zone assembly at Cape Girardeau, Missouri, to go help nurse JFR who was very ill in a hospital in Elkhart, Indiana. One week later she accompanies him and his party to Beth Sarim, where she helps care for him for 8 weeks until his death.

1942 …..8 January–JFR dies at Beth Sarim, age 72. His body remains unburied for 3 weeks. He wanted to be buried on the grounds at Beth Sarim, and his second wish was to buried at Beth Shan, but this was not allowed so he was eventually taken by train to Staten Island and buried at Woodrow United Methodist Church Cemetary where W.E. Van Amburgh was also interred. The place of his burial is still disputed and so not completely certain, however. Only 4 people attend his funeral. W.P. Heath, Jr. and Bonnie Boyd Heath, who accompanied his body on the train are 2 of them. His wife and son are not present.

1942-1948 ….. Berta Peale continues to live at Beth Sarim until it was sells according to her great-nephew “larc.” I wonder who, if anyone else, lived there as well?

1943 ….. Olin Moyle wins his lawsuit and collects $15,000 plus court costs from the WTS.

1950 …. 19 July–On her birthday, Bonnie Heath left the Bermudas on the Q.T.E.V. Queen of the Bermuda with her husband W. P. Heath. At the time, both were residents of Julian, California.

1953 ….. Beth Sarim passes from “Francis S. Hankins, a married woman” to “G. Aubrey Davidson,” retired auditor for the Santa Fe Railway Company, who established the Kensington Park Land Company in 1909.

1963 ….. 15 February–Mary Fetzer Rutherford dies.

1973 ….. 15 April–August Balko, Jr. dies in Harris County, Texas.

1979 ….. August–Bonnie Boyd Heath dies in De Kalb County, Georgia.

1989 ….. 22 June–Malcolm Rutherford dies, Arcadia, California.

We here at Cfm had access to this PDF file and printed it as is. At the time of posting, we did not know who to attribute authorship to apart from the name farkel. After being contacted by him, we researched a little more and found the compilation had been done by the lady below.We acknowledge her work and apologize sincerely for the lack of mention for the work.
var postNo=11801;Post 11801 of 11803 since 01-Sep-02 Supreme One	Just a brief note that I was the one who made the PDF and the blog copied and pasted my post without acknowledgement (in case there is any confusion, it would be nice if a comment could be posted to the blog to make this clear). The thread the post was taken from is here:http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/11/154191/1.ashx See the new massive compilation of biographical data on p. 4 of the thread.

In September 2004, Farkel posted an article on this forum called “Rutherford Exposed: The Story of Berta and Bonnie.” His essay, which subsequently was translated into several languages and which received over 10,000 views after the first month, spawned a thread that ran 28 pages and contained the collaborative research efforts of many in JWD. This thread was thought by some moderators to be the best in the forum — not necessarily because of the claims in the original essay but because it inspired a staggering amount of research aimed at assessing the credibility of the claims made in the essay, as well as adding to our knowledge of this fascinating yet obscure chapter of Watchtower history.And then, it was all gone. Through some software quirk, the thread became corrupted and would no longer load. But a number of participants in the thread had the foresight to download the thread and save copies of it — though in varying degrees of completeness. Fortunately, it was enough to recover virtually all the content from the original thread. Last fall, I spent a week reconstructing the thread by creating tables in Microsoft Word that simulated the formatting of JWD, and by cutting and pasting content into the appropriate cells. After this painstaking work, I produced a PDF that has both the look and feel of the original thread. This PDF (13.7 MB in size) can be downloaded here:

http://www.mediafire.com/?gjslw10zzmw

I have also included an appendix containing similar material from earlier threads in JWD. Please use the bookmarks panel in your PDF program to easily navigate from page to page in the thread.

So what did the original essay claim? In short, here are several of its main revelations:

• A JWD poster named larc (Carl Thornton) is the nephew of a woman named Berta Peale who was a close associate of JF Rutherford from 1937 to his death in 1942. (Verified by public records that show that the Berta who was an associate of Rutherford was indeed larc’s aunt)
• Berta told larc’s relatives regarding Rutherford: “He was like a husband to me in every way”. (Unverified, but larc’s wife also testifies to this)
• Rutherford was married and had a son, but he was separated from his wife. (Verified by public records, which show that Rutherford and his wife lived separately from the mid-1920s onward)
• larc reveals that Berta herself abandoned her husband of 15 years to go to Bethel in 1938. Her husband Alfred Peale, a resident of Ohio, filed for divorce on the grounds of abandonment, which was granted in 1940 (Berta’s marriage to Alfred is verified with public records, larc had a copy of the paperwork from Alfred’s filing)
• Berta was a friend of Rutherford’s personal secretary Bonnie Boyd who travelled with Bonnie and Rutherford to Europe the summer before 1938. (Verified with actual ship records) Unlike nearly everyone else who came to Bethel, Berta started at the top.
• Berta lived thereafter with Rutherford as his personal dietician, despite not having any training in nutrition. Rutherford already had a qualified dietician at Bethel, yet Berta assumed this job quickly after arriving to Bethel in 1938 (Verified with data from the Moyle trial transcript and public records)
• A few months before Berta came to Bethel, Bonnie Boyd married William Heath, a Coca-Cola heir from Atlanta, GA. This was very controversial at Bethel at the time, as it broke rules on marriage with non-Bethelites (Verified with public records and the Moyle trial transcript)
• Prior to Berta’s arrival to Bethel, Bonnie had been one of Rutherford’s closest associates, working for many years as his private secretary. Bonnie publically claimed to have been Rutherford’s adopted daughter, even though she was not. (Verified with public records)
• Farkel points out the following similarities between Berta and Bonnie: (1) Both women were among to “closest” people to Rutherford while he was president, (2) Both women were constant traveling and living companions, (3) Both women broke the organization’s rules on marriage but were in Rutherford’s good graces, and among other things, (4) Both were quickly propelled to the top of the organization.
• Finally, there are a few other unverified stories that add to the suspicion of Rutherford’s infidelity. Farkel reported an account, previously posted by AlanF, that once when Rutherford was staying at a hotel, the person who straightened up his room found a lady’s hairpin in his bed. According to AlanF, this occurred in 1928 and the incident led to the stumbling of a number of Bible Students in the Buffalo, New York, area. Both claim that M. James Penton has been doing research on this incident. Moreover another poster, cyberguy, was friends with an elder from Long Beach, CA who knew Berta. He related that Berta had a bedroom adjoining Rutherford’s in the train car they used in their travels, with a directly connecting door between the two rooms. He learned this when Berta met with the elders before she died and gave them a full confession, showing them home movies of the two of them together.

None of this proves beyond doubt that Rutherford had “improper” relationships with other women, but when taken together the evidence is especially suggestive. Various posters in the previous thread held different opinions on the matter, but larc effectively presents the case along these lines:

Jim Penton also presented much of this evidence in his recent book Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Third Reich: Sectarian Politics Under Persecution (the foreword of which was written by larc). On pp. 102-103, Penton wrote:

“There is also strong circumstantial evidence that he [Rutherford] was somewhat of a womanizer and may have had a mistress in the last years of his life. Regarding Rutherford’s possible womanizing, Peter Moyle has written: ‘It has also been known, albeit ‘carefully covered,’ that Rutherford liked his women and his whiskey.’ In support of this allegation, family members of Rutherford’s female dietician and nurse are convinced she was his mistress. The woman in question, a Mrs Berta Peale, was a close friend of Bonnie Boyd, Rutherford’s stenographer. She accompanied Boyd to a Watch Tower convention in Europe at some point in the mid or late 1930s. At that convention she evidently met Rutherford. Thereafter, in June 1938, she abandond her non-Jehovah’s Witness husband of fifteen years and moved to the Brooklyn Bethel where at least outwardly she became Rutherford’s dietician and nurse. In November 1939 her husband, Albert Peale, filed for a divorce from her. It was granted in March 1940. Naturally, these facts raise serious questions. Why did Rutherford accept her at Bethel when she had openly deserted her husband? Such behaviour was in clear violation of biblical teachings as understood by Jehovah’s Witnesses. Why did the judge make her his nurse and dietician when he already had a male nurse and when she had no formal training as either a dietician or a nurse? And why, finally, did he take Mrs Peale, an attractice southern belle, with him wherever he went? That was something he did not do with his male nurse, Matthew Howlett.”Another strong indication that Rutherford may have been sexually adventurous is that his wife obviously felt quite bitter toward him. She had not lived with him for many years. His excuse was that she was an invalid and could not give him his ‘marital dues’; however, there was more to the matter than that. He seldom if ever bothered to visit her. So when he was dying of cancer, both she and their son Malcolm practically ignored him even though both were living nearby in southern California.

“Despite Peter Moyle’s assertion, the facts surrounding Rutherford’s highly questionable relationship with Mrs Peale, his alienation from his wife and son, and various rumours that circulated among disillusioned Bible Student-Witnesses that raise questions about his conduct, there is no direct proof that he was sexually immoral. Still, with so much evidence to suggest he was, it is difficult to believe he was not.”

However, Farkel’s thread gave us all an opportunity to check out the claims and dig up new evidence. The field of inquiry widened beyond simply the question of Rutherford’s likely infidelity, but towards understanding who these people were in this era of Watchtower history….what do we know about the families and lives of Bonnie Boyd, Berta Peale, the Balkos (the caretakers of Rutherford’s mansion, Beth Sarim), Malcolm and Mary Rutherford, William P. Heath, etc. In the course of this research, we uncovered a number of new revelations. Among other things:

• The caretakers of Beth Sarim, August and Blanch Balko, had two children born around the time Beth Sarim was built: Princess Bonnie Balko and Prince Joseph Balko. It is striking that they named their two children after the two other major residents of Beth Sarim: Bonnie Boyd and Joseph Rutherford. But here is the weird thing: Bonnie Balko was born and named “Bonnie” in 1929, before the Balkos moved out to California to live with Rutherford and Boyd. So what connection did the Balkos have with Bonnie Boyd and Rutherford BEFORE they took their jobs at Beth Sarim? There may have been a link with Bonnie’s mother Victoria, who lived part of her life in Texas — the same state the Balkos came from.
• William Pratt Heath, himself wealthy from his family’s interests in Coca Cola, had a sister Susette (also a converted JW) who married Eugene R. Black. Black was the president of the World Bank from 1949 to 1962. Prior to this he was a very successful New York investment banker. Such a close family connection with Bonnie Boyd is striking in light of Rutherford’s constant vitriol against “Big Business” and international bankers.
• We also discovered that William P. Heath himself had been married to another woman, Dorothy Smith Heath, whom he divorced just one week before he got a “quickie” wedding with Bonnie Boyd in Las Vegas. Divorce was still quite scandalous in the 1930s, yet we see that two divorces occurred around the same time with two of Rutherford’s closest associates, William divorcing his wife to marry Bonnie and Alfred divorcing his wife Berta because she abandoned him to become Rutherford’s dietician. Because of the timing of the divorce, William would have courted Bonnie while he was still married.
• A big unexpected surprise was the finding that Malcolm Rutherford and his wife Pauline accompanied his father Joseph Rutherford, Bonnie Boyd, William Heath, and Berta Peale on the S. S. Mariposa, headed to Honolulu, HI. This calls into doubt the assumption that Rutherford had no contact whatsoever with his son. It is unknown however what happened between them and on what terms they left things when they parted.
• The most significant discovery is that Bonnie Boyd’s age varied widely (and maddingly) in the different records she was mentioned, especially immigration-customs records. This suggests that she falsified her age in government documents such as her passport. There was also a pattern in her age discrepency. In 1924, a year after she came to Bethel, she claimed she was 27 years old and born on 7/17/1896. This birthdate gradually drifted upward through the years, to 7/17/1898, then to 7/17/1899, then 7/17/1900, 7/17/1901, 7/17/1902, 7/17/1903, until finally she claimed an age of 34 and a birthdate of 7/17/1904 in 1938. This made her 19 years old when she came to Bethel in 1923. Finally, in the interview with a San Diego newspaper in 1942, she claimed that she was 16 years old when she first became a companion of Rutherford, as his “adopted daughter”. This duplicity has made it almost impossible to determine when Bonnie was actually born, although I suspect that 7/17/1896 is probably the original birthdate, not the later more recent ones. What makes this intriguing is that a similar pattern of age misrepresentation surrounded Rose Ball, with whom Charles T. Russell was accused (by his wife Maria Russell) of having an improper relationship. In defending Russell from criticism in the press, Rutherford argued that Russell could not have acted untoward with her because Rose was only a little girl when she came to the household and, being an orphan, was treated like an adopted daughter. This claim turns out to have been false, as Rose was neither an orphan or a juvenile at that time (as public records demonstrate). Since Rutherford used this age deception as a means of defending the president of the WTB&TS from rumors of sexual immorality, the question is raised if the situation was similar with Bonnie Boyd’s claims about her age and relationship with Rutherford.
• http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/11/154191/2820752/post.ashx#2820752

AN OPEN LETTER TO THE PEOPLE OF THE LORD THROUGHOUT THE WORLD

DEAR BRETHREN IN THE LORD:

Loving greetings in the Master’s Name!

Following we present a copy of a petition which we have sent to Bro. Rutherford and the four deposed Directors of the Society. This petition has been prepared after prayerful and careful consideration and with an earnest desire to see the distressing controversy which has shocked and grieved us, and no doubt all of you, settled in a just and equitable manner.

Most of the undersigned reside in Brooklyn and the immediate vicinity and have had abundant opportunity to view the injurious influence of these unsettled questions here in our midst. We have seen this controversy grow until it now seriously threatens the harmony of the New York City Ecclesia; we have seen a growing coldness and lack of sympathetic understanding developing amongst brethren we feel sure possess the spirit of the Lord, and we have heard of similar conditions elsewhere. Our hearts are grieved beyond measure by these conditions. What shall we do?

The issues are not so clear that we can quickly judge as to the right and put these matters out of our minds. It is impossible for its who know the character of the brethren who differ with the present management of the Society to accept the suggestions made by some who superficially view the matter, namely, that “they have gone out of the Truth”; that they are “opposed to the Channel,” etc. We know to the contrary, that they love the Lord and are endeavoring to serve Him and His people daily.

What then can be clone to decide the important principles involved and to bring this great controversy to an end? How can we assist our brethren to right what is wrong and become able to again dwell together in purity and unity and so to become reconciled to one another? How can we take our stand as the Lord’s people in an effort to thwart the evident intention of our Adversary to distract our minds from “the better things” — the Lord’s Word and the service of the Truth? Will this lie accomplished by closing our eyes and ears to the trouble and permitting prejudice or ignorance to sway us to one side or the other, and thus “judge the matter before we hear it”‘ We are convinced, dear brethren, that the course which will have the Lord’s approval and accomplish His Will is to follow His Word and “hear” these questions which have arisen between our brethren and render an impartial decision.

To its it seems clear that both sides of this controversy have appealed the case for settlement to the Lord’s people in general. We have a responsibility, therefore, to render such assistance as we can in harmony with Matthew 18:15-17, and Bro. Russell’s comments thereon in Volume 6. We cannot all meet and give these questions our united attention; but we caps urge that an impartial committee hear the matter and present their findings, decision and recommendations to the Shareholders’ meeting in Pittsburgh, which is as near a full assembly of the Church in the flesh as it is possible to have.

The suggestion may be made that such a committee could be appointed and a hearing had at the Pittsburgh meeting in January. A little reflection, however, will convince that this would be impossible. Sufficient time could not be devoted there for an orderly and thorough hearing. Unless this committee is appointed before the January meeting and has time to thoroughly investigate these questions, which are of such importance to us as the Lord’s people, we will not have the information we steed to intelligently express the Lord’s choice for Directors and Officers, and His mind on other matters which may come before the Convention.

Do you wish to help in securing a fair hearing and settlement of this controversy? You can do so if you will.

The proposed “straw vote” to be taken on Nov. 21, 1917, will require us, unless we refuse to vote for any of those who are concerned in this controversy, to cast our votes for brethren as Directors and Officers of the Society (who if elected, will occupy positions as general overseers of the Church throughout the world), who are lying under serious charges, which should prevent their being elected as Elders in any local congregation, until these are heard and disposed of. This would not be in harmony with good order according to the Lord’s Word.

The real election cones in January; the “straw vote” on Nov. 21 is not necessary; nor, under the circumstances, does it seem wise. Instead of taking part in this vote at that time we suggest to the friends that they present in their local meeting a resolution embodying a petition to Brother Rutherford and the deposed Directors for the appointment of an Investigation Committee, as is proposed below. If this resolution is passed, see that a copy is forwarded to Brooklyn. If you wish to further show your approval of this action, scud a personal’ request to Bro. Rutherford and the other brethren.

The Lord may use this means to enable all concerned to come to an amicable understanding and agreement, by clearing away all evil, in fact as well as in thought, and, by righting all wrong, so make it possible for love to operate effectively in us all. This will, we think, tend to clear the reputations of the brethren on both sides, whom we dearly love in the Lord and whose welfare we seek, and to the great relief, comfort and blessing of His people everywhere.

With much love and praying for you and us all the Lord’s guidance and blessing and an ever-increasing measure of His Spirit, we are

Your brethren in the Lord,

(For signatures see following petition)

A PETITION TO BRO. RUTHERFORD AND THE FOUR DEPOSED DIRECTORS OF THE W. T. B. & T. SOCIETY

DEAR BRETHREN: -

The undersigned, together with many others throughout the world, have been greatly distressed by the controversy which has arisen among the Directors and Officers of the Society as constituted at the time our dear Brother Russell left us about a year ago and since, and which has involved the good reputation of all of you and a number of other brethren whose standing among the Lord’s people has been good heretofore. It seems to us the great need at this time is to seek the Lord’s instructions and, acting in harmony therewith, use your best and united efforts to secure a just, impartial hearing and settlement of the matters which have troubled, and which continue to distress, the Lord’s people throughout the world, and even threaten the unity of the congregations in some places.

The necessity for prompt action looking toward such a hearing of the persons and matters under criticism is especially apparent in view of the near approach of the annual election of Directors and Officers of the Society; and that owing to the several publications which have been sent out by the parties to this controversy, the reputations of all have been impaired and at present it is impossible for many, including the undersigned, to harmonize the statements of these opposing papers, as they are quite contradictory. This very fact puts all of you at a disadvantage as respects the coming election. Some of the friends are disposed to place the greater confidence in the publications of Brother Rutherford, and are thus prejudiced against the other brethren; while the reverse is true of other friends, who have greater confidence in the statements of the deposed Directors and others.

Such a condition, and especially that we and the other friends throughout the world should nominate and elect as Directors and Officers of the Society brethren now lying under such serious charges, as all of you are, seems to us the reverse of good order in the Church, as outlined in the Lord’s Word and Brother Russell’s expositions in Volume Six. The Directors and Officers of the Society surely occupy as responsible a position in the Church as an Elder in a local congregation, -practically the only difference being that the Elders’ sphere is local, while the representatives of the Society have a general charge as respects the oversight of the Church throughout the world. The character requirements of these officers of the Society should, then, be quite as stringent as if they were being elected as Elders in a local congregational election. Brother Russell points out in Volume Six, page 418, that slander against an Elder of a congregation is a slander against the congregation electing him. It is apparent to all that serious charges have been brought against all of you and other representatives of the Society; and thus the entire Church has become involved and has a responsibility regarding the hearing and judging of these,

We are aware that the claim of all of you, no doubt, is that your circulation of uncomplimentary statements about the other side was not slander and evil-speaking, as it would have been, had you taken this course as elders of some local congregation. We presume that your thought in publishing these statements which have so shocked the Church, was that you had used every effort to settle matters amicably among yourselves without avail, and that you were in these papers appealing the case to the Church in general, whose officers, in a sense, you were. However, instead of clearing the question, these papers have made it more confusing to the friends, including ourselves. They contain numerous contradictions one of the other. A question which comes with great force to us is, How are we under these circumstances to judge righteously in this matter and express the Lord’s choice in our votes for Directors and Officers of the Society? We would not wish to have any serving in that capacity who do not possess a large degree of the Lord’s Spirit, or who are guilty of misrepresentation and falsehood. Consider the matter from our standpoint, laying all personal feelings aside. Carl you not see our dilemma? And will you not help us out of it and to take part in the election in an intelligent manner and thus express, as nearly as we are able to do, the mind of the Lord?

How can we arrive at the truth as respects the questions and persons involved in this controversy, and how call We be informed as to how best to carry forward the work which was so ably started and supervised for many years by the Lord’s special servant, our dear Brother Russell? We believe this could be accomplished by the appointment of a representative committee of brethren, Shareholders of the Society, to hear the evidence regarding the matters under controversy, including the activities of the Society and its Officers during the past year; that to this committee (chosen as hereafter outlined) should be given full information as to the Society’s financial condition, organization, legal status, relation to the People’s Pulpit Association, the foreign Branches in fact, as to all matters necessary to a thorough understanding of the Society’s work and its sphere of activity as a channel of Truth organized by Brother Russell for the carrying forward of the work which he, in the Lord’s providence, initiated and was made responsible for; and that this committee, after hearing all matters and ascertaining the truth as respects the contradictory statements which have been published, should make a full report to the assembled Shareholders at Pittsburgh on January 4, the day before the election of Directors and Officers is to take place.

Our desire in suggesting this course is that we and all of the Lord’s people may have our minds set at rest respecting the difficulties which have arisen in the last few months, that the breach between the brethren concerned may be healed, and that the Shareholders shall have such information, both as to the activities of the past year, the present state of the Society, and the possibilities of the future, as will enable them to wisely plan for the continuance of the work, and elect as Directors and Officers, brethren whose reputations are clear of such stains as are now upon the reputation of many of those who have been prominent and efficient in the work of the Society in the past.

In harmony with the above, we respectfully request that you arrange for an Investigation Committee to be composed as follows

Brother Rutherford to choose three (3) members.

The four deposed Directors to choose three (3) members.

These six (6) brethren to elect another.

The seven (7) thus constituted to choose by election the remaining members of the committee, which we suggest number in all, 15. (This is suggested as a reasonably large committee to hear and report on such important matters, and seems in harmony with Brother Russell’s views on a similar question, namely, the committee constituted to hear and judge charges against any member of the Editorial Committee of the Watch Tower, which would approximate that number.)

That these brethren be chosen because of their known soundness in the Truth, faithfulness to the Lord’s work and possession of a good measure of His Spirit; that they be charged both by’ the principals in the controversy and those whore they would represent namely, the Church in general and especially the Shareholders, to hear the matter without prejudice, and in the fear of the Lord to render their derision, and to report the same, together with their recommendations, to the Shareholders’ meeting in Pittsburgh on January 4.

That this committee be called together as quickly as possible, so that ample time may be had for the hearing and careful weighing of all evidence presented, and the formulating of their report and recommendations.

With Christian love and praying for you and us all the Lord’s guidance and blessing,

Your brethren in the Lord,

E.O. KUEHN

GENEVIEVE SANFORD

H. F. ROCKWELL

H. CLAY ROCKWELL

LILLIAN CURTIS

VIOLA CURTIS

EMILY M. SINNOCK

LAURA I. MAITLAND

FRANCES L. MAITLAND

ISABEL M. PAINS

MINNIE M. EIBEL

GRACE ALEXANDER

J. M. BERRY

FRED L. MASON

M. ALICE BANKS

SAMUEL LEVINE

CORA A. KUEHN

IDA MILLS

ANNIE H. ESTWICK

HATTIE HENDERSON

RUTH HENDERSON

J. L. COOKE

W, J. HOLLISTER

GRACE A. HOLLISTER

J. SHAW

M. J. MORRISON

F. RAFTERY

PRUDENCE RAFTERY

C. C. HARRISON

E. V. DYER

M. DAHL

EDITH HOSKINS

COREY MITCHELL

NORMA G. MITCHELL

MRS. C. C. BEALE

MRS. W. GREGORY

HARRY EHLERS

V. S. COBB

G. M. BRAND

DOROTHY N. COOKS

MABEL COOKS

C. W. M. HARRISON

H. M. COMER

EMMA COMER

BENJ. BOULTER

W. REDWOOD

F. H. WEST

G. L, WILEY

LUELLA RAMBO

BENJ. McCLELLAN

THEO. WALLACE

W. S. BARCUS

E. NICHOLS

C. R. N NICHOLS

M. A. THOMSON

H. W. NEWMAN

MRS. H. W. NEWMAN

W. A. RENGELLY

A. E. BURGESS

LAURA W. BURGESS

GEORGE AVERY

J. S. AVERY

PERCY READ

F. CLARK

EDITH M. READ

F. CHRISTIE

HANNAH A. PATTEN

NIEL McNAUGHTON

E. McNAUGHTON

S. W. MONAHAN

K, BELL

E. McKAY

A. LANGILLE

M. S. PERROW

F. S. BARRET

EMILY J. MASON

MARIA C. LUNDQUIST

J. YAMASOCKEY

S. M. HAWN

MARIA ROBERTS

GEORGE ROBERTS

LOISE GAFFELNIN

M. CARLSON

M.