Jehovah's Witnesses - Part II

Joseph F. Rutherford joined the movement in 1906 and became the society’s legal counselor in 1907. Following the death of founder Charles Taze Russell, Rutherford assumed the presidency of the group. He moved the headquarters of the group from Pennsylvania to Brooklyn, New York. Under his leadership the name Jehovah Witnesses was adopted based on Isaiah 43:10. Under Rutherford’s Presidency the organization changed from essentially a democratic structure under Russell to a "theocratic" (God ruled) control. This change positioned Rutherford with control over all policy measures. This "theocratic" structure involved four levels in a pyramid shape. The President is at the top, under him is the Governing Body, followed by the Congregational Elders, and Ministerial Servants on the bottom. Both the Congregational Elders and the Ministerial Servants are answerable to the Governing Body.

Prior to Rutherford’s Presidency the emphasis was on Bible study and character building, but he changed that to door to door witnessing and distribution of literature. In 1919 the Society began publishing The Golden Age, which late came to be known as Awake. Rutherford himself authored 20 different books for the Society.

Following Rutherford’s death in 1942 Nathan H. Knorr was appointed President. Knorr had become a member at age 16 and by 18 was a full-time minister and became part of the staff, in Brooklyn. He, like his predecessor, initiated many changes. Schools were established to teach their doctrines, all books published by the Society were anonymous, the result of a committee rather than a single author, and their own Bible, the New World Translation was completed in 1961. Another area of emphasis was overseas expansion. Prior to his Presidency in 1942 the Society was established in fifty-four counties. By 1961 the number of countries rose to 185. A major change occurred in the middle seventies. Brad Bromling offers the following from Leonard Chretien:

Several members of the Governing Body sought to assume active control of the organization. Six committees were set up to oversee various aspects of Society operation. The result was a dramatic reorganization in which the Governing Body took over much of the authority exercised by the president. President Knorr reluctantly accepted the change. He died 18 months later and was succeeded by Fred Franz, who at the time was in his eighties. While he still carried influence in his position, no longer could he or any one man determine the direction of the Society (p 58).1

This completes the brief look at the Societies history. Beginning with next week’s bulletin, we will begin to examine the doctrines of the Watch Tower Society.

(1) Brad Bromling, Confronting The Watch Tower, 1991 Christian Evidences Seminar, Apologetics Press