Some who have been in the Truth for decades will tell you she was the person who attacked Brother Russell, trying to destroy his life and character and bring the Watchtower Organization to an end. While that does in fact prove true, it was not always the case.
In the beginning Maria and her sister both may have been women who sought out rich men and married them. Maria married Charles and her sister married Charles' father. An odd arrangement yes, and at the time they married, there was no Watchtower. And when you study their early life together, yes Maria was very much a deva, she loved wealth. However, as Charles started his study of the Bible, Maria, her sister and Charles' father were some of those early Bible Students attempting to find those hidden gems of Truth. Maria was right there with Charles from the beginning. Between 1882-1897 Maria had written 88 Watch Tower articles and she helped with the Millennial Dawn series 1-3 and writing the first 7 chapters of vol 4. Notice this quote... "This now required a lot of humility, and yet history shows that Maria, at the very same time, was wanting more and more prominence and recognition as a writer and as a leader, especially among all the sisters, and she did not like the idea of her husband insisting that he always edit what she wrote. She had written at least 88 articles for the Watch Tower magazine between the years 1882 and 1897, and her name appeared at the end of the columns crediting her as the Writer. Also, it was never disputed by Charles during testimonies of the court trial, that she helped with outlining the chapters for the Millennial Dawn volumes I, II, and III as well as actually writing the first seven chapters of Volume IV (*3i). Maybe this explains why afterward, not too long after the divorce when Maria left her husband and began her “day of vengeance”, so to speak, that the title of Volume IV, which originally was called “The Day of Vengeance”, was then changed to “The Battle of Armageddon”. But, maybe there is another reason for the change in title of just that one book, Volume IV. We may never know. Holmes, James S.. WatchTower Of Allegheny Historical Tour . WAHT Publishing Company." (Brother Holmes has studied the Watchtower history in depth and conducts the Russell Tour for those who visit New York.) What happened? What changed so drastically in Maria that she turned on her husband and the Organization? Two things. The first was the money. When Brother Russell decided to sell everything and put all his money into the Lord's word, Maria knew her socialite life was over. She would not be invited to all the finer places and go about with the best of the best people. The second, Brother Russell was the editor and he proofread everything she wrote. She felt she was an equal contributor to all things Watchtower and she felt she should have the same standing as Brother Russell. She wanted equal billing so to speak. With these two factors, she attempted to discredit Brother Russell and when that failed attack the Organization. In the end she failed, but amazingly Brother Russell never lost hope for her.
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AuthorI enjoy history, research and study. Archives
December 2024
CategoriesBook written by me
Books Written by Friends
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