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I am attempting to location an English translation of the Book "Crusade Against Christianity". If you are aware of one, please use the About page and let me know, thanks. 
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What was serving at Bethel like in 1925, follow along in this '"day-in-the-life" on page 116 in the "Divine Purpose" book.
"Of necessity the Bethel Home must be conducted in an orderly way. No other way would be pleasing to the Lord. To this end, rules are had for the government of the home. A printed copy of the rules is placed in the hands of each one who enters the home for service. He is requested to study these rules and abide by them. At 6 :30 o'clock in the morning the rising signal is sounded. Every one is expected to arise immediately, take a bath and prepare for the day. At 7 a.m. the breakfast signal is sounded and the entire family assembles in the dining-room. The morning devotion is led by the president when present. When he is absent, some one else is designated to fill this place. Morning devotion consists of singing a song previously selected for the day. Then prayer is offered by the one leading or by some one whom he requests. After this the blessing upon the food is asked by some member of the family. Following that, the breakfast meal is served; and during the service the Bible text for the day is read and is freely discussed by the members of the family, particularly those who are elders in the ecclesia. At the conclusion of the discussion and the reading of the comment contained in the Year Book, the president sums up in a brief statement especially appropriate to the daily text.' The family then stands while being dismissed with prayer. At eight o'clock in the morning all members of the family are expected to be diligently performing their respective duties. Some operate the laundry, others mend shoes or press clothes, others prepare the food, others cook it, others wash the dishes, and give attention to the dining-room, while still another company cares for the house. Each one performs his service faithfully as assigned, doing it always as unto the Lord because he is doing service that is necessary to carry on the Lord's work. All who are admitted to the home and assigned to service first file a questionnaire declaring that they are fully consecrated to the Lord and in full harmony with the work that the Society is doing. The purpose is to have the members of the family in full harmony and working with one object in view, namely, that of proclaiming the gospel of God's kingdom. It is readily to be seen that no one is expected to remain at the home unless he performs service. At noon an hour is given for the serving of the food and the discussion of Bible questions. Any one of the family or any one visiting the family may propound a Bible question. The one presiding calls upon various brethren to give their expression on the question and then there is a free and open discussion of the question by any one who may desire to participate therein. At the conclusion the one leading sums up the question by covering the points that have been previously brought forth. A similar course is followed at the evening meal. In fact, at the time of serving each meal in the diningroom there is also a time and occasion for the study of the Bible and the time is so occupied . . .. On Monday evening there is a study of some leading article in The Watch Tower. The attendance at this meeting is limited to members of the family. This meeting is usually led by the president of the Society." Have you ever wondered how much it cost to produce the Photodrama of Creation? Wonder no more. From the "Divine Purpose" book page 57.
"At least twenty complete sets in four parts were prepared, making it possible to serve eighty cities each day. And it was shown at a cost to the congregations of between $150,000 to $200,000 for 1914 alone." How much would that cost today. be ready. $6,134,920, over 6 million dollars. What did Brother Russell say after the project was done and the bills had to be paid. Again, on page 57. "God kindly veiled our eyes as respects the amount of labor connected with the DRAMA. Had we foreknown the cost of time and money and patience necessary for the start we would never have begun it. But neither did we know in advance the great success that would attend the DRAMA." It was in The Watchtower, then online, then an announcement with the information to the Watchtower history and archives department. The call for older publications. No doubt many thought the old "Rainbow" books by Rutherford qualified as "older" and wanted. Na...a lot were printed. There were also a lot of "Dawn" books and "Studies in the Scriptures" by the way, same book, just a name change. Oh but that "Riches" book. Nope, lots of them as well. So what gives? In the early days of conventions there were pennants and lapel buttons. These were very cheaply made, and few survive. Also, the "Studies in the Scriptures" accordion. It was just the covers of the books all attached together to unfold along the arm of the presenter to show interested ones. If the person agreed to a set a set was ordered and the IBSA returned with a set of the books. Also, if you happen to have an Angel-O-Phone in your attic or one of the Watch Tower produced stand up portable record players. But there are two items that are really in need by Watchtower. The first is the July 1879 Watch Tower. There were only 6,000 printed and logically most were destroyed over time. However, the first editions of The Watch Tower were not magazines but 4-fold out page newspapers. On eBay you will find a Brother that does excellent reprints, and these are needed. However, be aware of these reprints out there, from the "Divine Purpose" book page 100. "It was in 1919 that the Society decided to make reprints of all the Watch Towers printed during the forty-year period from July, 1879, to June 15, 1919 . These were bound in seven volumes and enabled those new in the truth to receive this valuable reference material at one third the original subscription rate." Now it is possible that if one of these reprints were found (they are still desirable.) someone may remove the July 1879 and attempt to pass it off as an original first edition print.  The second item is a book entitled "Three Worlds" by Russell and Barbour. Notice the comment in the "Divine Purpose" book page 19 "That same year, 1877, together with Barbour, Russell produced a book called "Three Worlds or Plan of Redemption." Nothing like it had ever been published before. It combined for the first time the explanations of time prophecies with the work of Restitution. At this early date they recognized that the end of Satan's period of uninterrupted rule of the earth, called "Gentile times," would come in 1914."  Suppose you found one, or both, your first inclination is to look up what they are selling for. I'll save you some time, some have listed an original first edition in mint condition of the 1879 Watch Tower for $11,000. Since an original copy of the "Three Worlds" has never been listed, I have never seen one, there is no set price for it, but it could be in the 6 figures. Currently there are several reprints produced by Brothers on eBay, those are listed for several hundreds. Why list what these might be worth? People who have them will look it up regardless. However, consider, if you have a copy or two or three, what greater reward can there be then to donate them to Watchtower. Okay so you can get some money for them, but the money is spent and gone. But, if you donated them to Watchtower, and as is hoped and expected, our history survives Armageddon, that publication you donated will be there forever. Consider, you can share with those resurrected "I was able to donate (this item) to Watchtower in the old world and there it is today."
So, keep an eye out and if you discover one, an open heart to donate it to Watchtower. In our videos we learn a lot about Charles Russell. But much of his youth is quickly passed over.
From the "Divine Purpose" book page 17. "Charles Taze Russell, known the world over as Pastor Russell, author, lecturer and minister of the Gospel, was born at Pittsburgh, Pa ., February 16, 1852. He was the son of Joseph L. and Eliza Birney Russell, a both of Scotch-Irish lineage . He was educated in the common schools and under private tutors." "Pastor Russell was married in 1879 to Maria Frances Ackley. No children blessed this union." As I read all the history books this post will be updated. But notice this from the "Divine Purpose" book page 17. "He was. His mother died when he was nine years old, so he spent much time with his father after school hours. When he was only twelve years old, his father found him in the store one time at 2 a.m ., poring over a concordance, unconscious of the lapse of time. At the age of fifteen Russell was in partnership with his father, assisting him with his business activity in a men's furnishing store. When he was in his early twenties he had helped his father expand their business to several stores and was well on the way to establishing a national chain of stores when he abandoned it all to devote his entire time to the ministry. When he closed out his interests they netted him more than a quarter of a million dollars." Did you notice he was 12 years old when he was in deep study of God's word. There is a great deal more about Russell that as I post, it will bring him down to Earth, and you can see him as a person. Also from page 17. "J . L. Russell died in 1897 at 84, having continued a close associate of his son in the Society's activities." Russell would have been 45 years old when his father died. A Sister can be a Lieutenant? Absolutely, within the congregation. In 1917 some Brothers felt their greatest place was giving talks and doing door-to-door but just leaving literature and if the interested person loved the Lord, they'll attend a class meeting. But Russell wanted to do more. He wanted to start "pastoral work" or return visits and class studies or Bible Studies. Since he was having a challenge getting Brothers he was going to use Sisters, why the Bible says Jehovah will use the stones if need be. One Sister would be put in charge of the "pastoral work" and class studies, and she would be called a Lieutenant, today we call the Brother a Service Overseer. Let's let the "Divine Purpose" book tell the story on page 66.
"Another activity begun before Pastor Russell's death, called "pastoral work, was also stepped up. In Russell's day this work had been limited to about 500 congregations that had voluntarily elected him as their pastor. He had written a letter to these groups describing the work as an "important follow-up work possible in connection with addresses received at public meetings, Drama exhibitions, from colporteur lists, etc ." This is the way this work was to be carried on: All the sisters in the congregation who were interested in engaging in this work were to elect democratically one of their group to serve as a lieutenant and another to serve as a secretary-treasurer. The city was to be divided into territorial districts assigned to individual sisters engaged in the work to call on all those whose names had been supplied as being interested. The purpose of these calls was to loan books, which could be read and studied by the person of good will, and to stimulate progress in a knowledge of the truth in other ways as well. Careful reports were made as to where interest was manifested, whether the person would attend one of the chart talks, etc . To assist the sisters, suggested approaches in calling at the homes were given, as well as suggestions in regard to overcoming prejudice and obtaining the names of others who might be interested in the message. At the conclusion of the call, the householder was advised that a chart talk on the "Divine Plan" would be given soon in that district. Persons manifesting interest were encouraged to attend these talks and, afterward, follow-up calls were made upon all those attending, with an effort to begin a study in the first volume of Studies in the Scriptures." When Brother Rutherford took the lead in the work, he continued this arrangement for a time. It has been thought that building up to 1914 there must have been a lot of anointed. But in reality, there was not. Russell tended to count readers and sitters together with Bible Students. Also prior to 1914 there are account of many who knew they were not going to heaven; some even prepared their basement or attic for hiding in. So that is far from new today. So here are some figures from the "Diving Purpose" book page 50.
"By 1914 there were 1,200 in various parts of the world. As to other figures regarding growth, reports of those attending the Memorial were incomplete; however, in 1915, the partial number reported was 15,430, while the records revealed the Watch Tower circulation had risen to 55,000." In 1914 1,200 persons were baptized IBSA 1915, 15,430 attended the memorial, and we know even today memorial attendance is not all baptized persons. Then in 1915 there were 55,000 subscribers to the Watch Tower. So, the actual number to count....1,200. Granted as today, some came and went at that time. But the numbers were not as what some think. Did the totals climb much or quickly after 1914? Let's see what the "Divine Purpose" book says on page 121. "in 1924 there were, on an average, only 1,064 Witnesses doing weekly preaching with books and booklets from house to house throughout the United States. Of course, the Memorial attendance report showed there were 65,105 persons world-wide" To some extent Brother Rutherford was still doing what Brother Russell was doing, counting every person that attended a meeting or convention. If we use the same measure we do today, actively preaching, in 1924 there were only 1,064. It is easy to see the attendance at a convention or the memorial attendance and think that is how many there were at that time, but as I said if we did that today there would 20 million plus counted and we know that is not the case. If we look back and use the same measuring that we do today, those having a share in the preaching the counts go way down. It is important to note about that count of those having a share in the preaching in 1924, this was 2 years after the 1922 "The Kingdom" convention and when it was stressed that all who are to be considered a servant of the Lord must have an active share in the preaching. In 1936 the Organization started a new method to bring the attention of world conditions to the notice of the people, placards and marches. Hold on, you say "I would never do that." I know I would have. I think it would have been a neat adventure. Notice this from the "Divine Purpose" book page 145. "A new service begun in 1936 in Newark, New Jersey, was further developed in London. In advertising the lecture "Face the Facts" not only were placards suspended from the shoulders of the individual Witnesses fore and aft but, additionally, between those wearing the placards, other Witnesses carried signs fastened to poles. These signs read alternately "Religion Is a Snare and a Racket" and "Serve God and Christ the King." The brothers then formed a parade line that was six miles long and walked through the busy sections of the city passing out handbills as they went advertising the talk. This spectacular feature came to be known as "information marching" and was used extensively for some time to advertise the recorded public lecture, though later the Witnesses would walk singly or in pairs instead of forming a parade line."  You may have heard that at one time Jehovah's Witnesses used the portable phonograph in the door-to-door ministry. So, when did it start?
From the "Divine Purpose" book page 138. "I'm glad you remembered that, because the work the Society had begun with transcription records proved even more effective than the radio work had been. In fact, the results in 1933 had been so promising that the Society began to produce another service the following year. That was the use of the portable phonograph and short recorded Bible lectures. These were 78-rpm discs with 41-minute talks." So, 1933 it was tested in the field and put to full use in 1934. Simple question. Brother Russell did in fact publish the first "The Watch Tower" in 1879, but it was not until 1884 that the Organization was created.
From the "Divine Purpose" book page 27. "1884 this Society was organized into a corporation, Russell himself writing the charter. Its original name was "Zion's Watch Tower Tract Society" but now it is "Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania.", Its purpose is stated in article two of its charter." |
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