Yearbook—1973

Title Page/​Publishers’ Page

1973 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses

Containing Report for the Service Year of 1972

Also Daily Text and Comments

WATCH TOWER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY OF PENNSYLVANIA

OFFICERS

N. H. KNORR, President

F. W. FRANZ, Vice-President

GRANT SUITER, Secretary-Treasurer

WATCHTOWER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY OF NEW YORK, INC.

OFFICERS

N. H. KNORR, President

F. W. FRANZ, Vice-President

GRANT SUITER, Secretary-Treasurer

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE STUDENTS ASSOCIATION

OFFICERS

N. H. KNORR, President

A. PRYCE HUGHES, Vice-President

E. C. CHITTY, Sec.-Treas.

GRANT SUITER, Asst. Sec.-Treas.

Index of Countries

Page

24 1972 Service Year Report, 208 Countries

Acts of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Modern Times in:

33 Brazil

88 British Isles

141 Ghana

189 Guatemala

209 Japan

260 Yeartext for 1973

261 Daily Text and Comments

1973 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses

Life is something marvelous! It is precious, for without life we have nothing at all. So, how grateful we should be that we are alive! Daily our prayerful thanks can well ascend to “the God that made the world and all the things in it.” He is the One who “gives to all persons life and breath and all things.” Indeed, “by him we have life and move and exist.”​—Acts 17:24, 25, 28; Ps. 36:9.

True, Job once declared: “Man, born of woman, is short-lived and glutted with agitation.” (Job 14:1) Similarly, concerning “the days of our years” the psalmist said that “their insistence is on trouble and hurtful things.” (Ps. 90:10) But, despite the pain and trouble, the many causes of agitation, who wants to die? Man desires to live. He clings to life!

Often we hear people boast about what they will do tomorrow​—in the near or distant future. Yet, James wisely wrote: “You do not know what your life will be tomorrow. For you are a mist appearing for a little while and then disappearing.” (Jas. 4:14) A sobering thought, is it not? Yes, but this we know: We are alive today. We have breath. Most of us can see, we can hear, we can speak. We all can do something worth while at this moment. Especially should we be doing worthwhile things if we are Christians who have dedicated our lives to the One who made all things. Whatever we do should be “for God’s glory.”​—1 Cor. 10:31; Col. 3:23, 24.

From the dawn of human history​—the days of Adam and Eve—​the vast majority of mankind have used their lives in a worthless way. They have enjoyed no proper relationship with their perfect Maker, Jehovah God. (Deut. 32:4, 5) They have not worshiped him in the way he desires, “with spirit and truth.” (John 4:23, 24) In fact, to this very day the words of the Hebrew prophet Micah prove true: “All the peoples, for their part, will walk each one in the name of its god.” But that is not true of Jehovah’s Christian witnesses. “We, for our part, shall walk in the name of Jehovah our God to time indefinite, even forever.” Those are their heartfelt sentiments.​—Mic. 4:5.

But if Jehovah’s witnesses are going to walk in the name of their God, they must do worthwhile things. For instance, they must believe and follow God’s Word, the Bible, and must teach it to others. Adherence to it is the way of life, for ‘man does not live on bread alone, but on every expression from Jehovah’s mouth.’ (Matt. 4:4; Deut. 8:3) Fittingly, the apostle Paul urged the Philippians to keep “a tight grip on the word of life.” (Phil. 2:16) Is that what Jehovah’s witnesses are doing?

Then, too, if Jehovah’s witnesses are going to walk in the name of their God, they will have to talk about him. They will have to tell the world of mankind about the love he showed in providing his only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, as a ransom so that those exercising faith in him might gain everlasting life. (John 3:16; 1 Tim. 2:5, 6) They will have to engage in worthwhile works like those of Jesus, who “went journeying from city to city and from village to village, preaching and declaring the good news of the kingdom of God.” (Luke 8:1) Are Jehovah’s witnesses doing that?

Additionally, if Jehovah’s witnesses truly are walking in the name of their God, they must be carrying out the commission Jesus gave his followers: “Go therefore and make disciples of people of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy spirit, teaching them to observe all the things I have commanded you.” (Matt. 28:19, 20) Are Jehovah’s witnesses carrying out that commission?

Furthermore, if Jehovah’s witnesses really are walking in the name of their God, they must be busy, having “plenty to do in the work of the Lord.” (1 Cor. 15:58) Theirs, then, would be a life in which they “see good” because of its being filled with rewarding work. (Eccl. 5:18-20) They would be heeding Paul’s counsel: “Give orders to those who are rich in the present system of things not to be high-minded, and to rest their hope, not on uncertain riches, but on God, who furnishes us all things richly for our enjoyment; to work at good, to be rich in fine works, to be liberal, ready to share, safely treasuring up for themselves a fine foundation for the future, in order that they may get a firm hold on the real life.” (1 Tim. 6:17-19) The “real life” depends, not upon having material possessions, but upon seeking Kingdom interests first, fearing the true God and keeping his commandments. (Matt. 6:25-33; Luke 12:15; Eccl. 12:13, 14) Are Jehovah’s witnesses enjoying the prospect of the “real life”?

So, again we ask: Are Jehovah’s witnesses doing worthwhile things and keeping “a tight grip on the word of life”? Have they been telling mankind about Jehovah’s love and his kingdom? Are they fulfilling the commission to ‘make disciples and baptize them’? And are they truly enjoying the hope of the “real life”? We can judge for ourselves as we review their activities of the past year. To do so, we now embark on a brief armchair tour of the world.

ALASKA, ARGENTINA, AUSTRALIA, AUSTRIA

In the cold reaches of the north lies Alaska. There 892 Christian witnesses of Jehovah joyfully declare the good news. They are trying to reach a population of over 320,000. But this is not easy. Alaska is a big land and the people are scattered. The only way to reach many of them is by plane, and from time to time this is being done, with excellent prospects. Brother Ronco, the branch overseer, writes: “The great challenge for witnessing remains in trying to witness to the 178 villages that cannot be reached by roads. Our brothers are constantly making plans to contact these individuals with the message of life. We pray for Jehovah’s spirit and direction to reach the 43,424 individuals in those villages. Being busy in the Kingdom work brings results. It is a happy work.”

Now let us travel far to the south, to Argentina. This country’s 21,643 Christian ministers enjoy a more favorable climate. However, theirs, too, is a large territory, with a population numbering over twenty-three million. Jehovah’s witnesses there have “a tight grip on the word of life” and earnestly teach it to others. They are helping people to “get a firm hold on the real life.” (Phil. 2:16; 1 Tim. 6:19) The results? Just last year 1,132 persons were baptized at ten fine district assemblies. These individuals have dedicated their lives to Jehovah God. They have started walking on the way of life and can now enjoy the assurance of the “real life.”

The work of making disciples in Argentina is advancing rapidly, and the rich blessing of Jehovah is evident. (Prov. 10:22) Brother Charles Eisenhower, the branch overseer, reports that during the past year their staff moved into a new large addition to the present branch office. Now they have ample storage space, a fine shipping department, more bedrooms for the Bethel family and an excellent office. During a short visit in January 1972, the Watch Tower Society’s president, N. H. Knorr, gave instructions to buy adjacent property, and Brother Eisenhower is pleased to report that the purchase has been made. This paves the way for further expansion of the Kingdom-preaching work in Argentina.

As elsewhere, Jehovah’s witnesses in Argentina enjoy their life of praise to God, and they are eager to introduce others to that kind of life. But not everyone looks at life in the same way. Centuries ago in Antioch, Pisidia, the Jews stirred up some women and the city’s principal men, “and they raised up a persecution against Paul and Barnabas and threw them outside their boundaries.” (Acts 13:14, 50) Similarly, there has been some opposition to the Kingdom message in Argentina. Brother Eisenhower says: “In one state two of our Kingdom Halls have been closed by the border police. But this has not discouraged the brothers. They have just organized their activity and meetings in small groups and continue to work. Instructions have been given to these brothers to keep the meetings going, to give all the spiritual attention possible to the brothers and the new ones and to continue preaching the good news of the Kingdom.”

Now let us travel on to the “Land Down Under,” the island continent of Australia. Brother John Wilson, the branch overseer, writes: “The story of the year centers around our factory construction, with final approval being granted by the City Council in December 1971. Our location is in the best of two worlds, as it were, with the quietness of a residential area and the convenience of being hard up against the busiest railway hub in Australia. We even have shunting lines up to the door of our new factory. Strathfield is located in the geographical center of Sydney, Australia’s largest city.”

Digging of the foundations began during the worst rainy season Sydney had experienced in years. But brothers from that city and other parts of the land gladly rallied to the work. They offered themselves willingly, and their voluntary labor already has saved tens of thousands of dollars in construction costs. Part of the building was being used at the time that Brother Wilson made his report. Eventually this fine three-story structure will be in full use. The brothers are thrilled with the prospect of printing the English editions of The Watchtower and Awake! here and thus giving the nearly thirteen million inhabitants of this vast country a greater opportunity to get a grip on the “word of life.”

“The service year here in Austria began with much hard work and ended with it,” remarks Brother Turner, the branch overseer of that European country. “In between, Jehovah’s blessing was very evident.” Indeed, Austrian witnesses of Jehovah have had “plenty to do in the work of the Lord.” (1 Cor. 15:58) After much hard work, they completed a new addition to their old branch building. The new structure houses a very fine Kingdom Hall and a large shipping department. Furthermore, the entire old building was renovated. Great joy prevailed at the dedication of these excellent facilities on October 23 and 24, 1971.

The branch overseer reports: “Five years ago, we shipped out approximately 40,000 books a year and had about that many in stock here. Now we ship out between 100,000 and 200,000 books and Bibles annually and have 200,000 books and Bibles in stock. How glad we have been to have this additional room in our building for literature supplies!”

The brothers in Austria also renovated a building that had been given to the Society in Salzburg. It serves as a fine depot from which to ship to western Austria magazines and other literature regularly coming in from Germany.

Long had Austrian Witnesses looked forward to receiving the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures in German. Their first shipments of it were received during the year, and Brother Turner says: “The joy of the publishers at having it is hard to describe.” One brother showed a copy to a bookbinder, who estimated its value at 300 schillings. When told that he could cancel one zero, as the contribution suggested for this Bible was only 30 schillings, “the bookbinder exclaimed that one would have to have an edition of one billion to get down to such a price, or that millionaires must be supporting our work. Then the brother was able to explain how the literature is produced by persons working on a voluntary basis.”

Austria’s big event of the year was the “Divine Rulership” District Assembly in Vienna. Thousands of delegates, including the Society’s vice-president, F. W. Franz, came from other countries, and the excellent program was presented not only in German, but also in Greek, Turkish and Serbo-Croatian. Though there are only about 10,000 Kingdom proclaimers in Austria, 31,363 was the assembly’s peak attendance. So Jehovah’s servants in that land had to work hard to prepare for their convention guests. But in this, as in other ways, they are glad to have plenty to do in the Lord’s work. They feel just like their fellow believers earth wide, who can say as did Paul: “We are working hard and exerting ourselves, because we have rested our hope on a living God, who is a Savior of all sorts of men, especially of faithful ones.”​—1 Tim. 4:10.

CANADA, DENMARK, FRANCE, GERMANY

Two milestones were reached in Canada during this year of joyful Kingdom service. The first was passing the 100,000 mark in the number of persons attending the celebration of the Lord’s evening meal. (1 Cor. 11:20-26) The exact figure was 100,755. Another milestone was reached in April 1972, when more than 50,000 Kingdom publishers engaged in the field ministry for the first time in Canada. By May the number had risen to 50,166.

In Canada many young persons are accepting Bible truth quickly, according to Brother Little, the branch overseer. Citing a typical example, he tells of a brother in Joliette, Quebec. His first contact with the truth was in November 1970. He began to preach in February 1971 and was baptized in May of that year. This former member of the Playboy Club operates a hairdressing salon for men. Once he had pornographic magazines and pictures there. Now, however, these are gone and the Society’s publications are prominently displayed. By the door is a rack with Bible tracts and this sign: “Take one​—It’s free.” This brother witnesses to all his customers, and in one year he has placed with them well over 200 books, as well as many magazines and tracts. He recorded the district overseer’s public talk at a circuit assembly and over seventy times he has played this tape recording to his customers while working on their hair. “As a result of his witnessing,” writes Brother Little, “one young man has been baptized, even though he was disowned, more or less, by his very rich father.”

In Denmark, as elsewhere, concern exists over such things as rising prices and taxes and the increase of lawlessness. The lifting of the prohibition against pornography has resulted in a flood of pornographic books, pictures, movies and “live shows that would make a dweller of Sodom blush,” according to the branch overseer, Brother R. E. Abrahamson. “Regardless of what the problems are,” says Brother Abrahamson, “the National Church avoids confrontation, limping along between many opinions, itself a dying issue.”

Amid such circumstances, the “word of life” is being taught by Danish witnesses of Jehovah, and a number of those accepting Bible truth come from among disillusioned youth. For instance, at a recent district assembly a young man related how he had been drawn to the “hippie” movement because of their talk of love, equal rights and freedom. He said: “It all sounded fine. I smoked all the ‘hash’ I could get hold of and tried LSD several times, but I was still disappointed. Once some of my fellow hippies went through a well-known street in Copenhagen to declare their love for everyone they met. But they got into a fight. That was not my idea of love. Neither did their idea of sexual freedom appeal to me. So I began seeking something better.” He obtained a Bible and began reading Acts of Apostles, but was downhearted because he thought there were no people around like the first Christians. Then he recalled having had some contact with Jehovah’s witnesses as a child and so started attending their meetings. A Bible study was started with him in January 1971. He was baptized and now serves as a zealous pioneer, a full-time preacher of the good news, and is happily married to a theocratic Christian sister.

The Society’s branch office in Denmark also looks after the work in Greenland. Several pioneer couples now are preaching in a few isolated towns along the coast, and families are being encouraged to move to Greenland and serve where the need is greater. A district assembly held during August at Godthåb, the island’s main town, having over 8,000 inhabitants, brought delight to some seventy Witnesses preaching the good news in Greenland. They were joined by ninety-seven delegates who flew from Denmark by chartered plane. References to the assembly by press and radio, as well as an interview with the assembly chairman, made Jehovah’s witnesses the topic of conversation throughout Greenland. Climaxing the fine assembly was the public talk in Greenlandic, attended by 278. The Witnesses rejoiced when they learned that The Watchtower would be published in Greenlandic from January 1973 onward. “Everyone felt that the time is ripe for the ingathering of Jehovah’s sheep on this largest island in the world,” remarks Brother Abrahamson.

The work of preaching the Kingdom message certainly is on the move in France. During the past service year a new peak of 45,012 publishers was attained and during April 1972 Jehovah’s witnesses in that land were conducting 36,199 home Bible studies. There are marvelous prospects for increase and the Paris branch office is much too small now. With a view to expansion, the Society has purchased land in Louviers, sixty-five miles west of Paris. Work already is under way there on a new building.

Brother Jontès, the branch overseer, tells about a young native of Mali who left the Moslem religion because of the corruption he saw among those claiming to worship God, particularly leaders in the Islamic faith. He embraced Catholicism, only to find hypocrisy among fellow Catholics. Disillusioned, he began living just for himself. He came to France as a student and had to work part time to provide for his needs. At his place of employment, a young Witness spoke to him about God. He showed strong opposition, but something he said caused her to write to the Society to arrange for a brother to visit him. At first, this former Moslem argued against Bible truth, but after a while he began to see that Jehovah’s witnesses had something different. A Bible study was started on the second call. In less than three months this man had read The Truth That Leads to Eternal Life and two other books, and, after just three months of study (two studies a week), he began to engage in the preaching work. He was baptized in July 1972 at the district assembly in Marseilles. There he met a young woman, a former Moslem from his own country. He had known her from childhood. “She, too, unknown to him, had been baptized,” writes Brother Jontès, adding: “With tears of joy they blessed Jehovah for this reunion!”

Germany has had a fast-moving year, filled with activity. Noteworthy, indeed, was receipt of the first shipment from Brooklyn of 30,000 copies of the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures in German. Cameras were flashing as the cartons were unloaded. The brothers wanted souvenir photographs of this big event!

The New World Translation got fine newspaper and magazine publicity throughout Germany, and, as a result, the branch office in Wiesbaden received orders from persons who had read these articles about the new Bible. One well-educated gentleman called the branch office to obtain a copy for comparative study with other translations. Later, he called again, asking if he could have some other publications. As he was told the names of some books, he would say he wanted each one. Finally, he said that perhaps it would be best to send him all the books in stock in German. This was done, and now he can make a careful study of the fourteen bound books he received.

A special meeting was held in Wiesbaden on May 23-25, 1972. Brothers Knorr and Henschel then met with all the branch overseers in Europe. At this very profitable meeting these brothers discussed many matters pertaining to the various branches and the coordinating of their work. Especially was this important now that the branch office in Germany does much printing for Scandinavian lands and other countries of Europe. During the past year they produced 2,891,150 bound books and also 32,019,000 Watchtower and Awake! magazines in three languages. While in Germany, Brother Knorr arranged for the purchase of some new machinery, with a view to increased production of bound books for use in the work of disciple-making.​—Matt. 28:19, 20.

West Berlin is one of the most frequently worked territories in Germany, and many fine experiences are being enjoyed by Kingdom proclaimers there. For instance, five times one brother called with the good news but found no one at home at a certain fourth-floor apartment. The fifth time he left a sample copy of The Watchtower and a Bible study folder. Then one day while driving through that area the thought came to him, “Perhaps today I should climb the steps.” Up he went to that apartment for the sixth time. The results? A lady responded to the ring of the doorbell. She had read the magazine, and a Truth book changed hands. A return visit was arranged and this led to a regular Bible study. Such persistence is worth while. In well-worked West Berlin 275 persons were baptized as Christians last year.

ISLANDS OF THE PACIFIC

Suppose we now do some island-hopping. The 1972 service year found Christians in Hawaii working “whole-souled as to Jehovah.” (Col. 3:23) For instance, in one Honolulu congregation having fifteen pioneers the eighty-two publishers each averaged 19.7 hours a month in the field ministry this past year. Also, during the year baptisms in Hawaii totaled 368, giving clear evidence of successful disciple-making.

Brother Kawasaki, the branch overseer, cites a bit of history and states: “In 1935 Brother Rutherford [then president of the Watch Tower Society] visited the Hawaiian Islands. A new branch was established in Honolulu and arrangements were made for the construction of an assembly hall in connection with the new branch building that was being erected. This meeting hall was called ‘Kingdom Hall,’ and this was the beginning of the practice of Jehovah’s witnesses the world over of calling their congregational meeting centers Kingdom Halls. Appropriately, this year a fine expansion and remodeling of this Kingdom Hall took place, and Brother Knorr was on hand to give the dedication talk. An overflow crowd immensely enjoyed his talk, in which he emphasized that it was not the building that would praise Jehovah or that was important, but the people coming to the building to worship and learn how to praise God. Three congregations [one of them Japanese] are now making full use of the ‘first’ Kingdom Hall in the world.”

The branch office in Honolulu also looks after the preaching work on various Pacific isles, among them the Marshall Islands. Highlighting the service year there was the expanding of the witness work to the outer islands. Traveling aboard copra ships, missionaries and publishers visited tiny isles with populations of a hundred or less. These advocates of the “word of life” distributed many copies of the booklet “This Good News of the Kingdom” in Marshallese. The missionaries report: “Almost at every stop the people were friendly, thanked us for coming and gave us coconuts, breadfruit and chickens. Once we brought home a live pig, given to us by an interested person.”

Bible truth transforms lives, as people put on the “new personality.” (Eph. 4:20-24) In Palau lived a drunkard notorious for violence and phenomenal strength. Due to fear of this man, barrooms emptied quickly upon his entry. Once he fought seven men and threw them all in the ocean. Despite his opposition, his wife studied the Scriptures. She began applying Bible principles and this so impressed him that he also began to study. After her baptism, he requested a study more than once a week and began making real changes in his life. He joined the Theocratic Ministry School. After conforming his life to righteous principles, he started sharing in the house-to-house ministry. Looking back, he comments: “In my thirty-eight years of life, more than half of them were spent inside false religion. For nearly twenty years I was a Lutheran, and for six years a Seventh-day Adventist. During these years, I got drunk every day, got into fights and spent more time in jail than in the village, experiencing much pain and sorrow. Now I am very happy to know the truth. I don’t drink anymore, and though materially poor, I am very happy in life. I hope to get baptized this year.”

INDIA, ITALY, SAN MARINO

What a contrast there is between tiny islands with populations of a hundred or less and the vast subcontinent of India, inhabited by about 560,000,000! Outstanding there this past year were the seven “Divine Rulership” District Assemblies attended by a total of 5,008, with 176 being baptized. The largest assembly of Jehovah’s witnesses ever held in India was the one this year at Kottayam, far to the south in the state of Kerala. More than 2,000 persons were present there. In addition to the fine spiritual feast enjoyed at that assembly, mountains of rice with accompanying curries were served in the cafeteria. Uniquely, rather than squatting on the ground and being served food on banana leaves, as usual, the delegates took their food on plates from a serving line.

Evidence that God’s Word is alive and exerts power to transform lives (Heb. 4:12) was furnished at an Indian assembly where this experience was related by one brother: “I was a rascal. Smuggling was my business. To cheat the government was a pleasure. I loved liquor and gambling. My gang thought we were kings of the village. What a change! The knowledge I gained from the Bible transformed me. I am no longer a drunkard, have no interest in gambling and I hate the smuggling business. I was a Roman Catholic. Now I have seen the light of truth and want to praise Jehovah for his undeserved kindness. . . . Jehovah, his Word and his organization have helped me to become a new person.”

The past year was one of great blessing for Jehovah’s people in Italy. A new Bethel home, built on the outskirts of Rome almost exclusively by Witnesses, was dedicated on May 27, 1972, during a visit by Brother Knorr. All who had shared in the construction work were invited to attend, along with the Bethel family, and 273 packed out the building’s Kingdom Hall. The next day Brother Knorr spoke to 15,700 at the Flaminio Stadium in Rome.

Beginning with the June 1 Watchtower and the June 8 Awake!, the Society began having these journals printed in Italy by a commercial firm. The magazines are mailed by brothers in the new branch home. Jehovah’s witnesses in Italy are delighted that they thus can receive the magazines sooner, and it is believed that now magazine distribution will increase greatly.

The past year’s new peak of 25,810 publishers in Italy is a 23-percent increase over the preceding year. Jehovah’s servants in that land are enjoying the prospects of the “real life.” (1 Tim. 6:19) They are preaching and people are hearing, putting faith in God and calling upon the name of Jehovah. (Rom. 10:13, 14) Just during this past year 3,738 persons in Italy were baptized as Christians, joining the ranks of those who are walking in the name of Jehovah.​—Mic. 4:5.

Surrounded by the territory of Italy on all sides is San Marino, called “the ancient land of freedom.” The local congregation of some twenty publishers wondered how to aid the tiny republic’s 18,000 inhabitants to see that only God’s kingdom will bring mankind true freedom. Why not hold a circuit assembly in the recently built Convention Palace? This was done on November 5-7, 1971. There was advance advertising by posters and radio, and a fine witness was given from house to house during the assembly weekend. Though only 929 publishers are associated with that circuit, 1,749 persons attended the public meeting. Nine months later, the brother presiding over the local congregation wrote: “The assembly impressed the whole local population and even now in the house-to-house work we meet people who attended the assembly and were amazed.”

IVORY COAST, NIGERIA AND CAMEROON

For years, the Society’s branch office in Ghana directed the disciple-making work in Ivory Coast. But the establishment of a new branch office in that land during the year did much to advance Kingdom interests, and a peak of 582 publishers was reached.

“No, I have an appointment.” With those words a Catholic priest in Ivory Coast refused to accompany the remains of an unbaptized four-and-a-half-year-old boy to the cemetery. The priest also said: “The child, not having been baptized, does not have the right to the honors reserved to the faithful servants of God.” Disgusted, the parent wondered why God was partial, for divorcées and suicides had been buried by the church with great ceremony. Wishing to hear no more about such a religion, this person prayed for knowledge of the true God. Shortly thereafter, the individual and a fleshly sister began to study the Bible with Jehovah’s witnesses. Both of them were baptized in June 1972, just ten months after the child’s death.

Jehovah’s blessing has been very evident on the work of his servants in Nigeria. On December 28, 1971, approval was granted by Lagos city authorities for the construction of a new extension to the branch and Bethel home. It will enlarge the Society’s property threefold, adding thirty-one bedrooms and including space for an enlarged printery. Brothers N. H. Knorr and M. H. Larson were in Nigeria on January 22-25, 1972, when digging of the foundation started. Brother Ward has been appointed as the branch overseer and is looking after the construction and the work in general. All the construction work is being done by Witnesses, some of whom are working at it full time. As one brother expressed it: “It is a pleasure to be working with brothers in the construction of this building which will advance the Kingdom-preaching work throughout the country.”

The attendance at the seventeen “Divine Name” District Assemblies held in Nigeria between November 1971 and February 1972 reached a new peak of 191,627, and 6,077 were baptized. A new peak also was reached in the number attending the Lord’s evening meal. For the first time more than 200,000 were present, the total attendance being 200,193.

The interests of Jehovah’s people in Cameroon are cared for by the Society’s branch office in Lagos, Nigeria. Since a ban was imposed on the work on May 13, 1970, there has been very little letup in the persecution of Jehovah’s witnesses in Cameroon. Threats, intimidation, harassment, beatings and imprisonment were all used against the Witnesses in an effort to force them to vote in a political referendum held on May 20, 1972. The governments of the former East and West states were merged into a “United Republic of Cameroon.”

Jehovah’s witnesses in Cameroon have had to live with the constant threat of being denounced by neighbors, relatives, acquaintances and party members. Often their homes are broken into without warrant and their personal property seized or damaged. They constantly are dragged before local officials to face such charges as “failing to vote,” “reconstituting a banned religion” and “holding illegal meetings.” But Christians expect to be persecuted, and faithful servants of Jehovah in Cameroon are finding many ways to carry on the God-given assignment to preach the good news of the Kingdom.​—Matt. 5:11, 12.

PARAGUAY AND THE PHILIPPINES

A report comes from Paraguay via the branch overseer, Brother Pysh, concerning a missionary sister who was preaching in a very humble territory, in a literal “torrent valley” on the outskirts of Asunción. Running out from this wide gorge where many people of humble means have built their homes, there was a path. Where did it lead? The sister followed it just to be sure that she did not miss a home. Rounding a bend, she came upon a small house. Seven people lived there and they had a Bible. One of the younger children in the home had found it in a garbage dump and, thinking it was a dictionary, had brought it home. The father started reading this Bible and wanted to learn more. A Bible study was started immediately by this missionary. Two months later all seven in the family were attending Christian meetings regularly, though having to walk a long distance both to the Kingdom Hall and to the congregation book study in their area. Four months passed and two members of this family were engaging in the preaching work. Now the man is helping two other families to get a firm grip on the “word of life.”

The 1972 service year was outstanding for Jehovah’s witnesses in the Philippines. Construction began on a large printing plant on the branch office property in Quezon City. There, by Jehovah’s undeserved kindness, eventually The Watchtower and Awake! will be printed in nine languages. It all began on July 25-28, 1971, when Brother Knorr visited the Philippine branch and laid out the preliminary plans for a new Bethel home and factory. When he announced the prospective expansion to an audience of 17,076 persons gathered in Marikina, Rizal, they were thrilled. Enthusiastically the Filipino brothers have volunteered and shared in the work, and it was arranged that almost all the construction work would be done by dedicated persons, with the exception of the steelwork. On February 9-12, 1972, Brothers Knorr and Larson visited the Philippines “to give much valuable assistance just as the construction work got under way,” reports Denton Hopkinson, the branch overseer.

Tremendous floods​—the worst in recent history—​ravaged a large area of Central Luzon in July and August 1972. At least 5,000 witnesses of Jehovah were affected. Though none of them lost their lives, some did lose their homes to the raging rivers. However, it was heartwarming to see how the brothers not so badly affected organized to aid their needy fellow believers. Witnesses in Manila, and even some in other lands, made generous contributions of food and clothing.

One presiding overseer reports: “For fifteen days the water was so deep I could not leave the house. However, meetings were held to the extent possible, with brothers using bancas (small boats) to get to the meetings.” Another overseer says that during July the water was knee deep in most parts of the congregation’s territory, and in some parts neck deep. “It was not practical to do house-to-house work,” he states, “so we concentrated on return visits and Bible studies. Some publishers had to walk five to six kilometers to attend meetings. All were soaked, but they brought dry clothes to use in the Kingdom Hall.” These Christians did not forsake the gathering of themselves together, to their great spiritual benefit in a time of hardship. (Heb. 10:24, 25) Also, the aid given to needy ones by fellow Witnesses certainly proved that they all have the identifying mark of love as true followers of Jesus Christ.​—John 13:34, 35.

SOUTH AFRICA, SPAIN AND MALAWI

“Your people will offer themselves willingly on the day of your military force,” declared the psalmist David. (Ps. 110:3) Such willingness was evident among Jehovah’s people in South Africa during the 1972 service year. This took place in connection with the extending of their double-story factory and Bethel home by 15,411 square feet. A number of well-qualified Witnesses who are builders, carpenters, electricians, and so forth, made themselves available for the whole construction period. Others came for several months, and hundreds from nearby congregations helped on weekends. Building operations began on May 6, 1971, and by January 30, 1972, the job was completed and many members of the Bethel family had already moved into some of the seventeen beautiful new bedrooms in the new wing of the Bethel home. Brothers Knorr and Larson arrived the next day and expressed their delight with the new building. Brother Knorr was privileged to speak to 577 Witnesses who attended the new building’s dedication on February 2, 1972.

Legal recognition as a religious association was granted to Jehovah’s witnesses in Spain on July 10, 1970. From that day onward they have made full use of their liberty. In just twenty-one months (December 1970 to August 1972) 144 Kingdom Halls have been legalized and inaugurated. How happy this has made Jehovah’s people in Spain! Jehovah’s witnesses are now the second-largest religious group in the country, with over 16,000 active ministers and 40,000 attending their meetings.

A big problem that still persists in Spain has to do with men who maintain their Christian neutrality. (Isa. 2:2-4; John 15:19) While Catholic priests and divinity students are exempt from military conscription according to Spain’s concordat with the Vatican, the Religious Liberty Law clearly declares that such exemption will not be extended to non-Catholic ministers. Hence, Jehovah’s witnesses who constantly declare their conscientious objection to military service find themselves subject to a never-ending series of prison sentences. This year two witnesses of Jehovah were granted pardon by General Franco after completing eleven years of such imprisonment, but 240 still are serving time, many of them already having been in prison more than five years. Yet, the imprisoned brothers are well treated. They have regular meetings for Bible study and keep their minds on spiritual things. (Col. 3:2) Their determination is to remain faithful to Jehovah and, upon release, to join their fellow ministers in preaching the good news of the Kingdom throughout Spain “for a witness.”​—Matt. 24:14.

Jehovah’s witnesses in Malawi have increased in spite of the wicked persecution during 1972. May and June are part of the harvest season. People have money because of the sale of their crops. At this time young members of the Malawi Congress Party roamed the country in “strong-arm gangs” trying to intimidate everyone into buying President Banda’s political party identification card. They go so far as to use rubber thongs to tie around a person’s limbs, stopping the flow of blood for a long time, if one does not buy a card. One young brother lost the use of his hands because of such treatment. One morning when the children entered the schoolroom the teacher asked everyone: “Who is the greater, President Banda or God?” Three children of Jehovah’s witnesses answered “God.” They were punished. From the youngest to the oldest the brothers in Malawi have had to take their stand firmly on Jehovah’s side. The persecution has become so severe that by October of 1972 more than 18,000 witnesses of Jehovah had to flee the country. Others have been killed. Jehovah’s witnesses in Malawi have magnified Jehovah’s name.

What now are we to conclude? Have Jehovah’s witnesses been keeping “a tight grip on the word of life” by telling others about Jehovah’s kingdom? And have they been fulfilling their commission to ‘make and baptize disciples’ of Christ? Certainly this is true as far as the countries we have visited on this brief armchair tour. But is it also true of Jehovah’s Christian witnesses world wide? (See chart pages 24-31.) For an answer let us look at a summary of their activity during the 1972 service year as reported by the 95 branches directing the work in 208 countries and islands of the sea in which the Witnesses have been busy preaching, including 11 countries where their good work is made difficult by anti-God rulers.

These reports show that Jehovah’s people have had “plenty to do in the work of the Lord,” and it certainly has not been in vain. (1 Cor. 15:58) They had a new peak in Kingdom publishers, a total of 1,658,990. So, Jehovah’s witnesses have been helping thousands to see the need of taking their stand for God’s kingdom and their privilege of preaching the good news about that established heavenly government to still others. During the past twelve months lovers of righteousness who have dedicated their lives to do Jehovah’s will were baptized to the number of 163,123. This truly is remarkable, to have so many people baptized as true Christians in a single year!

Now look at what all those getting a firm hold on the “real life” as Christian ministers were able to do with Jehovah’s help during the past service year. (1 Tim. 6:19) Indeed, they have been very busy spreading knowledge of the “word of life.” (Phil. 2:16) They spent 291,894,945 hours in that joyful work​—going from house to house, making return visits, conducting home Bible studies, and so forth, while distributing Bibles, books, magazines and other literature. Upon finding interested persons, these witnesses of Jehovah made 135,898,447 return visits and conducted 1,269,277 home Bible studies. Generally, these are conducted weekly with the same people for about six months and then new studies are started. So this figure is merely an average. Probably the number of persons in the homes in which such Bible studies were conducted by Jehovah’s witnesses is well over two and a half million. The Christian witnesses of Jehovah are not an idle people. They feel the urgency of the times and diligently have gone forth to “make disciples of people of all the nations.”​—Matt. 28:19, 20.

At their one annual celebration, the Memorial of Jesus Christ’s death, Jehovah’s witnesses had a total attendance of 3,662,407 persons world wide on the evening of March 29, 1972. Of this great number, only 10,350 professed to be anointed followers of Jesus Christ who hope to be associated with him in heavenly glory. (Luke 12:32; 22:19, 20; Rom. 8:16, 17; Rev. 14:1-4; 20:6) Undoubtedly, therefore, the vast majority of those in attendance at the Lord’s evening meal this past year look forward with delight to joyous eternal life on earth in God’s promised new order after the end of this wicked system of things in the “great tribulation” just ahead.​—Matt. 24:3, 20-25; 2 Pet. 3:13.

The publishers of God’s kingdom had a very fine year in placing literature in the hands of the people, making it possible for them to read and study God’s Word, the Bible, at their leisure. During the past twelve months Jehovah’s witnesses placed 18,360,561 bound books and 9,747,270 booklets. They obtained 1,696,260 new subscriptions for The Watchtower and Awake! and distributed 217,109,764 copies of these journals in their ministry.

Many Kingdom proclaimers are in the full-time preaching work. During the past year, 13,995 were in the special pioneer work and missionary service throughout the world, and 78,031 served as regular pioneers with the congregations world wide. This is not as many as the previous year, but it is hoped that during the 1973 service year many will prayerfully consider their circumstances and will find it possible to enter the regular or temporary pioneer service. If they do, we will surpass the many hours devoted to the preaching work in 1971, when a peak was reached. Though we were down 57,430 hours this year, as compared with 1971, we certainly had many more people in the preaching work and a higher number of persons baptized.

Jehovah’s witnesses earth wide are certainly enjoying the rich blessing of the God in whose name they have chosen to walk. (Mic. 4:5) Without a question he is prospering the happy work in which they are engaged to his praise. Just think of it! In the last five years 680,871 have dedicated their lives to do his supreme will!

[Chart on pages 24-31]

1973 SERVICE YEAR REPORT OF JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES WORLDWIDE

(See publication)

Acts of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Modern Times

You have just read a few experiences from different parts of the world, which Jehovah’s witnesses have enjoyed during the past twelve months. Now let us look at some countries, and get back to the very beginning of the work of Jehovah’s witnesses in modern times in these countries. Sometimes the present generation just thinks of what it is accomplishing. Really, the present generation of Jehovah’s witnesses is building on what faithful evangelizers did years ago, and it is marvelous in our eyes to see how Jehovah God is directing his people, and has done so over many decades, in order to get the good news of the Kingdom preached to the extent that it is being done at the present time. We feel that you will enjoy to the full the accounts of the struggles that many of Jehovah’s witnesses have had in preaching the good news of God’s kingdom. Particularly will you enjoy the evidence of Jehovah’s rich blessing upon the efforts of his people.

Brazil

JEHOVAH GOD is searching out those who will worship him “with spirit and truth.” In Brazil he has already gathered a large number of them​—some 72,900 up to April 1972. The search for true worshipers has already been going on for more than fifty years in this immense territory, and it has had wonderful results.​—John 4:24.

But what kind of country is Brazil? What are its people like? What languages do they speak? What are its prominent religions and religious practices? Let us try first to get a general idea of the country with its geographical and historical background. Europeans first discovered this land in the spring of the year 1500. It was then called Vera Cruz Island; later, Land of the Holy Cross, and, finally, Brazil, by reason of the brazilwood, which came to be highly valued for its dye used in the textile industry.

A giant among countries, Brazil has an area of 3,288,050 square miles and extends some 2,676 miles from north to south. Its territory borders on all South American countries except Chile and Ecuador. Naturally, in a country that stretches so far from north to south, it can be expected that there will be variations in climate and temperature.

The population in 1970 was 92,391,521, made up of 54 percent whites, 34 percent caboclos (a mixture of whites and Amerindians), mulatos (white and Negroes) and cafusos (Negroes and Amerindians), 10 percent Negroes and 2 percent Orientals, mainly of Japanese extraction. There is considerable intermarriage among the different races.

Brazilians are a kind, openhearted people who are religiously inclined and are fond of music and sports. Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion, though there are quite a number of Protestants, Jews and Mohammedans. Spiritualism, in its supposedly higher as well as lower forms (macumba, black magic), also superstition and astrology, are widely practiced even by Catholics.

The main language spoken is Portuguese. Also spoken are German, English and Japanese, as well as Italian and other languages of first-generation immigrants who have come mostly from Europe.

The country as a whole is enjoying great material prosperity. The middle class enjoys most of the comforts of life as well as modern conveniences, while the working class still struggles along on a minimum monthly wage of about $45. Roads and communications systems have spread out across the country, east and west, north and south, so that the country can exploit its resources and get its products to the markets in the big cities. There are now seventy-five cities with over 100,000 inhabitants. Rio de Janeiro has some seven million people and Greater São Paulo fast approaches the eight-million mark. With this background of material and worldly progress in mind, it will be of interest to note how it has come about that the search for truth-hungry people in this vast territory got under way.

HOW THE KINGDOM MESSAGE REACHED BRAZIL

Not from evangelizers of another nationality that had been sent here, but through the lips of eight humble Brazilian sailors, people in Brazil first heard about the Kingdom message around the year 1920. These young sailors, all in their twenties, on leave from their ship as it lay docked in New York, spent some time looking at a window display labeled “The Chart of the Ages.” This window display was at a meeting place of a small group of Bible Students, as Jehovah’s witnesses were then known, close to the offices of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society in New York. The sailors knew that the chart had to do with the Bible, for one of their members could read a little English. However, the hall was closed, so they could not pursue the matter any further at that time. But their desire was to learn more about God and his Word, so they planned to return. While their ship, the “São Paulo,” was undergoing repairs, Sundays would offer other opportunities for them to investigate the matter.

Next time, the hall was open and they entered and listened to the helpful explanations offered by a Spanish-speaking Bible Student and began to grasp appreciatively the deep meaning of the chart. They obtained the only literature that the Watch Tower Society then had available in Portuguese, namely, a Bible. But at the same time they were able to obtain some copies of The Watch Tower and of the Divine Plan of the Ages in Spanish, which they could understand to some extent.

These sailors continued studying the publications, largely in secret, since they were a bit reluctant to face ridicule and reproach by fellow sailors. Also, they attended meetings whenever they could, always in their navy-blue uniforms. Meanwhile, on the ship itself a godless, Communistic element began to influence the crew, and the officers drew up a list of Communist-inclined sailors who were to be sent back to Brazil. Because these eight students of the Bible were always together and studied secretly they also were reported as being inclined to be subversive. However, when it was disclosed that their meetings were just to study the Bible, their names were removed from the list. Evidently Jehovah had in mind something else for them!

Moved by zeal and enthusiasm for the things they were learning, they began to speak to others about the good news of the Kingdom to the point where, at times, they would have forty sailors meeting with them. Portuguese-speaking brothers in the United States were of assistance to them too. One of these was Frank Silva, who came down from New Bedford, Massachusetts, to visit them from time to time. Later, John Perry also helped them.

When the repairs were finished the battleship returned to Brazil, carrying at least eight sincere Bible students eager to spread the good news to others. The ship docked at Rio de Janeiro on March 10, 1920, and they decided to find adequate quarters where they could live together, all in the same house. Their Portuguese landlord, at first suspicious of them, later joined them. His family also began to study. They all sent subscription orders to Brooklyn for the Spanish Watch Tower and were further assisted by the fact that Frank Silva and John Perry continued to correspond with them, encouraging them to keep on with their studies.

They had a keen desire to spread the Kingdom message and so they translated what they could into Portuguese and printed some tracts, one of them entitled “Millennium.” The material was taken from the literature they had been able to obtain, and one of their number, Brother Pinho, recalls distributing these tracts at church doors after religious services. Others, like his companion Brother Diniz, would go to certain public parks and would try to preach sermons.

HELP FROM HEADQUARTERS

The interest stirred up by the original group of eight sailors resulted in many subscriptions for the Spanish magazine being sent to the Society’s headquarters in Brooklyn. This no doubt drew the attention of Brother Rutherford, then president of the Society, and his associates. Thus it was that one morning in March 1922 George Young, tall, strong, physically fit, arrived in Rio de Janeiro as a special representative of Brother Rutherford, with the object of helping to consolidate the interest in Brazil and spreading the message to its far-flung regions. Brother Young certainly endeared himself to those who became acquainted with him. Though not able to speak Portuguese, he would hire interpreters and speak to large audiences.

A special public meeting was arranged in the auditorium of the Automobile Club in Rio de Janeiro in March 1922, and the subject of the talk presented was “Millions Now Living Will Never Die!” This aroused so much interest that it became advisable to engage a good hall to serve as a regular meeting place for the International Bible Students, as those early Witnesses were known. This was the Auditorium of the Portuguese Literature Institute. Meetings were held there every Sunday. These included discussions about the “Divine Plan of the Ages,” studies in the Spanish Watch Tower and showings of the Photo-Drama of Creation.

It was at this hall that the group’s first baptism took place on October 10, 1922. A small canvas tank, shaped like a bathtub, served as an immersion pool. At least two of those baptized on that occasion are still living​—Aristides Corrêa Pinho and Januário da Silva Diniz.

It soon became evident to Brother Young that a good supply of Portuguese publications was necessary in order to carry on the search for those who sincerely wanted to worship Jehovah in spirit and in truth. A good translator was located and put to work, and soon publications in Portuguese started to come off the press, namely, Can the Living Talk with the Dead?, Hell, Where Are the Dead?, The Harp of God, Millions Now Living Will Never Die, Our Lord’s Return and The Standard for the People.

Despite the difficulties of travel on a primitive railroad, Brother Young managed to get around to visit interested persons. For example, he visited the Green family in the beautiful farming country near Ipojuca, northwest of São Paulo. Catarina Green had first heard the message through a friend who subscribed for The Watch Tower. After staying some fifteen days with the family and teaching them basic Bible doctrines, Brother Young baptized at least seven persons in that family relationship.

BRANCH ESTABLISHED

Meantime Brother Young was interested in establishing a firm foothold for the work in Brazil. He therefore rented a small office at 76 Rosario Street, second floor, Rio de Janeiro. Later, when literature became available and larger quarters were necessary, the depot and offices were moved to 90 Ubaldino do Amaral Street. The Watch Tower Society was organizing its first branch office in South America.

Up to this point interested persons had to make do with the Spanish edition of The Watch Tower for use at their meetings. Now arrangements were made with a commercial printer, and the first Portuguese issue of A Tôrre de Vigia came off the press, an issue covering the months of October​—December 1923. On its second page it announced: “With full approval of Judge J. F. Rutherford, president of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Brooklyn, New York, a branch office of the said Society was established in Brazil, with offices located at 76 Rosario Street, Rio de Janeiro.” An invitation was extended to all who wished to become subscribers to send their orders to that address. This note was signed by “George Young, Manager.”

Fittingly, the first discussion in the Portuguese Watch Tower was based on Zephaniah 3:16, “May Your Hands Not Drop Down.” Other articles were on such subjects as “Love, the Main Thing,” and “Are You Using Your Mina?” this latter based on Luke 19:13. These articles had prepared questions for use in class studies. In one of those early issues of A Tôrre de Vigia the main article dealt with “The Baptism of the New Creation.” This was truly appropriate. Clarification of the subject moved various ones to offer themselves for baptism. For example, on March 11, 1924, in a creek near the city of São Paulo, several members of the Ferguson family were baptized. Brother Virgil Ferguson, who was later to have a part in translating many of the Society’s publications into Portuguese, was a great help to Brother Young. For a time he also served as branch overseer in Portugal. He opened up much new territory in the state of Goiás, and a number of new congregations were organized there. Today, though over ninety years old, he still continues faithful in Jehovah’s service.

REACHING OUT FROM RIO DE JANEIRO

While the work at first centered on Rio, there was considerable interest aroused in São Paulo also. On one of his visits there in 1923, Brother Young gave the talk “The Bible and Spiritualism,” at the Musical Conservatory. One of his attentive listeners was Jacintho Pimentel Cabral. Pimentel eventually took his stand and readily offered his home as a meeting place for Bible Students in São Paulo. Later he became a member of the Bethel family in Brazil.

About this same time, Brother Felino Bonfim d’Almeida, an employee of the Rio de Janeiro sanitation department, was moved to undertake a countrywide preaching tour. Success crowned his efforts, for a great amount of literature was placed. People still recall that humble, soft-spoken Colored man who first brought them the message.

Years later, too, he was privileged to work in exclusive apartment buildings in the famous Copacabana beach district of Rio. He knew that they needed the Bible’s message, even though obstacles had to be overcome to reach them with it. A white Portuguese sister, Maria Piedade, would pretend that she was a lady returning from the street market with a bag full of vegetables. Of course, the bag was carried by her “house servant,” none other than Brother Felino. When a number of ladies from those apartments would similarly return home from the market, the two would mix with them and thus were able to enter the apartment buildings. But, instead of groceries and vegetables in their bag, they would carry books and booklets explaining the Bible to be placed by the dozens in those exclusive apartment buildings. Brother Felino continued faithful until death, he ending his earthly ministry on August 24, 1955.

Close to the city of Rio de Janeiro is the state of Minas Gerais, rich in iron ore, gold, hydroelectric resources and cattle. It is also peopled by staunch Catholics, many of whom would consider it unthinkable to change their religion. However, Jehovah saw to it that the message reached that part of Brazil. How?

One day in February 1924, Isaías Lourenço Ferreira, ill in bed at the Navy’s Central Hospital at Ilhas das Cobras in Rio, was reading a booklet containing the Gospel of John when one of those first eight sailors met him and asked: “Do you like to read these things?” Isaías answered: “I like to read everything. What is good I keep, but the rest I leave.” After a brief conversation, Isaías asked for and received a Bible. When he later left the hospital he began to attend meetings and was baptized on August 10, 1924, jotting the date of his baptism down in that first Bible, which is still in his possession. Soon afterward he moved to Guarani, Minas Gerais, and began to preach there, while working in a small coffee-cleaning establishment. Many and joyous were his experiences.

One day, as he preached to a lady, the town priest stopped and told her: “Do not pay attention to this man. This is Protestantism.” Isaías opened his Bible to 2 Timothy 3:8 and read: “Now in the way that Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so these also go on resisting the truth, men completely corrupted in mind, disapproved as regards the faith.” The priest left hurriedly.

In 1938, in a larger city, Juiz de Fora, Isaías was walking through the street market one day when he met Antônio Pereira Junior, a fruit vendor who showed considerable interest in the Scriptures. After some visits to his home, Brother Ferreira made an arrangement to go to the street market to help Antônio sell his fruits and then afterward they would go out together in the preaching work. Since Antônio had to go regularly to Rio de Janeiro for his supplies of fruit, he would also stop at the branch office and obtain supplies of literature.

As time went on, Brother Antônio arranged his business so as to be able to travel to other cities. In this way other strongholds of Catholicism like Santos Dumont, Barbacena, Conselherio Lafaiete, Belo Horizonte, Sabará, Nova Lima and Sete Lagoas were visited, and many seeds of truth were sown. On occasion, at Nova Lima, studies were even conducted in the mines, at 6,500 feet underground. In all these cities and many others, flourishing congregations eventually came into existence.

Meantime, Jehovah was gathering his “sheep” by many other means also. For example, in 1922 there was a group of former Baptists who organized a dissident class since they did not believe in the Trinity. One day the leader of the group found out about the Bible Students’ meeting place, attended one meeting and became convinced that he had found the truth. It did not take long before the entire group of eleven people joined the Bible Students at their regular meetings. Among these was a widow, Julieta Silva e Souza, a Colored woman who had lost her husband in the Spanish influenza epidemic. She became an earnest student of the Bible. Working as a housekeeper to maintain herself, she would find time to distribute the Kingdom message in printed form.

On one occasion she took 1,000 booklets to Resende, then quite a long train ride from Rio de Janeiro, and distributed them. She even went to the local Baptist church to convince some of its members, until she was thrown out. This sister later became one of the first special pioneers to be appointed in Brazil. She is still an active publisher in her old age.​—Ps. 37:28.

CHANGES IN BRANCH PERSONNEL

In 1924 George Young left Brazil to carry on his work in Argentina and later in Europe. Left to care for the work was Manley Dienst. He was an employee of the Canadian Light and Power Company in Rio. Although he was a fine student of the Scriptures, he evidently did not have much experience in dealing with Christendom’s “wolves.” (Acts 20:29) During this period the meetings suffered and the work in general went into a period of decline. Then in 1925 Brother Rutherford sent John C. Rainbow to be branch overseer for Brazil. There was also a change at this time in the matter of printing the Society’s publications in Portuguese. Up till now it had been done by a commercial concern, but the headquarters of the Society now provided a small printing press, and Brother Rainbow invited Brother José Rufino da Silva to come to the Brazil Bethel and operate it. Brother Rufino had been a sailor and learned the truth through his fellow sailor, Januário S. Diniz, and was baptized in December 1925 by Brother Felino. He made Bethel service his life’s work.

The first issue of the Portuguese A Tôrre de Vigia to come off the Society’s own press was the issue of January 1926. From its small beginning with 300 copies, that flow of spiritual food has kept growing, to its present total of over 220,000 magazines each issue, these now being printed at Brooklyn.

The vigor of that small early organization of Jehovah’s people could not escape the attention of the seminary-educated clergy, who began to fear the results of such a Bible campaign. They tried to ridicule it in the public eye. A Presbyterian clergyman spoke abusively against the Bible Students, scorned their book Millions Now Living Will Never Die, threw it to the floor and stamped on it. It was quite a show before his church audience, but it only served to open the eyes of sincere ones present.

Early in 1926 Brother Rainbow found it necessary to return to the United States, and in his place Domingos Denovais Neves was assigned as branch overseer. During the ten and a half years of his administration of the Brazilian branch, difficulties arose among the Bible Students themselves, and consequently the work experienced very slight growth. It later developed that Brother Denovais lost the spirit of wholehearted cooperation with the Brooklyn headquarters of the Watch Tower Society. In 1932 he started publication of another monthly journal on his own, this known as A Luz da Verdade (In the Light of Truth). This was mainly a publication to carry on sterile debates with the Protestant clergy. Even though it carried articles from The Golden Age from time to time, the truth is that Denovais was promoting his own publication. It was not long until the publication of A Tôrre de Vigia was completely stopped, while this other publication, A Luz da Verdade, kept on coming off the press.

CLOSER TIES WITH INTERNATIONAL HEADQUARTERS

Evidently many obstacles had yet to be overcome in order for the work in Brazil to make the same progress as in other lands. A report about the work in Brazil appeared in The Messenger of July 26, 1931, published at an international assembly of Jehovah’s people at Columbus, Ohio. It told of groups of Bible Students, Hungarian, German and Portuguese, and gave some indication that they were busily engaged in the spreading of the good news. However, that report did not give the complete picture. During September there were only twenty-one field workers in the entire country. In the next month the number went down to fourteen, eight of them in São Paulo and four in Rio. Certainly there was urgent need for help if the Kingdom work in Brazil was to move forward prosperously.

Jehovah faithfully saw to it that his organization in Brazil received help at the right time. Before publication of A Tôrre de Vigia was stopped, it carried two articles about Jehovah’s organization, showing clearly that elective elders had no place in it. Service was to be the key word. A few years later, President Rutherford of the Watch Tower Society sent another brother, Nathaniel A. Yuille, to administer the Kingdom work as branch representative for the Society. He was an engineer by profession, but, due to a leaky heart valve, he had retired in 1929. Soon thereafter he entered the full-time service as a proclaimer of the Kingdom. For many years he had been in charge of the witness work in San Francisco, California. Though sixty-three years old when he received notice of his new appointment, he willingly accepted the assignment and took with him his wife and a fellow pioneer, Antonio Pires de Andrade. Sister Yuille joined her husband in the work at the branch office and continued to serve faithfully with him. Brother Andrade also proved to be a fine help to Brother Yuille, particularly as an interpreter.

Brother Yuille soon saw that the branch quarters would be too small for the now-enlarged family and the new literature, phonographs and records, which were on their way from Brooklyn to the nearby port of Santos. A suitable place was eventually found, a spacious two-story building with a basement, in the Vila Mariana district.

Having enjoyed the blessings of large conventions in the United States, Brother Yuille could appreciate the unifying features of such gatherings. Thus one of the first steps he took was to arrange for a convention in São Paulo in July 1936, to be held in the Vasco de Gama Hall in the Bras district. One hundred and ten persons attended this assembly. Brother Yuille assigned various brothers to speak, including José Rufino da Silva and Leoncio R. Turano, faithful men who had already become endeared to the brothers in Brazil. True to expectations, this assembly proved to be a great stimulus to the brothers.

MESSAGE SPREADS TO VARIOUS REGIONS

Over a decade before this, in the northeastern region, the Kingdom work got its start through the efforts of Brother Aristides Corrêa Pinho, then in the Merchant Marines, and who, in 1925, traveled to various ports, taking with him large quantities of the Society’s books and booklets. He would go to a church and introduce himself as a Bible Student. Hardly anyone knew what that involved, so they would allow him to speak to the congregation. In João Pessoa, Paraíba, though he had spoken at one small church about his hope of life, when he tried to do so again he was denied the opportunity, the local clergyman fearing to lose all his “sheep.”

In 1938 this same brother traveled to the state of Alagoas, forming in its capital city, Maceió, the nucleus of a future congregation. In 1940 Brother Pinho was sent as a pioneer to the state of Pernambuco. In its capital city, Recife, known as the “Brazilian Venice” because of its port and many rivers, he helped to organize a congregation, one of the fifteen in the entire country at that time. One year later the first baptism took place there, and two of the seven persons baptized entered the pioneer service right away. Brother Pinho recalls that at that time there was considerable hunger and thirst for the truth in Pernambuco. His placements were around 175 bound books and 500 booklets a month, besides as many magazines as he could obtain. When literature happened to be in short supply, he would simply ask those obtaining it to pass it on to somebody else after reading it. He recalls even collecting some of the magazines, pressing them with a charcoal iron and using them again, in this way spreading the Kingdom message wider during that period when literature was lacking.

In the south of the country, too, seeds were being sown. Sometime around 1927, Alexandre Gauze was talking with one of his neighbors close to the city of Erechim and saw in his hand a booklet about the Bible. It appears that the neighbor had received the booklet from a relative in New York. Alexandre asked if he might read the booklet, and later he wrote the Society for more information. After reading the other available publications he loaned them to his brother-in-law, Bronislau Komka (born in Kraczewice, Lubin, Poland). Komka, who had been a sabbath-keeping Adventist, read these precious truths in the Watch Tower publications and tried to convey the information to his in-laws, but with little success.

Meantime, Alexandre Gauze was visited by a “pilgrim” or traveling representative of the Society, namely, Paulo Sadove. Sadove also visited Santa Rosa, where Brother Komka was now living, and stayed with him for some ten days. During that time he was able to review some basic Bible teachings and disclosed the falsity of the teachings of immortality of the soul, hellfire torment, the Trinity, and so forth. He also stressed the need to preach in order to aid others.

Eventually Brother Gauze moved to Santa Rosa, and together he and Brother Komka went out preaching. It was a shock for the Adventist preacher to hear of this, since they were still considered members of his church. He became furious and expelled them from the Adventist sect. This was quite agreeable to them. Now they felt free to preach, and they met with excellent success.

Preaching in those days was no easy matter. There were many Germans who were decidedly pro-Hitler and pro-Nazi, and several times the lives of Brother Komka and his associates were threatened. Once they accepted the hospitality of a kind man, and after talking to him for hours about the truth they prepared to go to bed. Suddenly loud voices were heard outside the house. Several people who had obtained literature during that day had by then read part of the booklet Escape to the Kingdom in the Polish language. They did not like the accurate representation of their clergy that was given in that booklet, and so tried to convince the host to expel the brothers from his house. However, he showed himself fearless, rejecting their demands and refusing to allow anyone to enter his home to harm his guests.

Through the perseverance of these brothers the message spread to many different places. In 1940 Brother Komka was appointed as overseer of the Erechim congregation. In August of 1943 another congregation was formed in Getúlio Vargas, having as its overseer Manoel Skrzek, also of Polish origin.

In the state of Santa Catarina there was the largest German colony in Brazil. Indeed, if a person did not speak German he would experience difficulty in getting around in that part of the country. Even Colored people on some farms in the interior spoke only German. Eventually, however, the government decided that foreign-language schools were instilling a nationalistic spirit that would prove to be divisive in Brazil. So it was decreed that all school courses be taught in Portuguese. In due time this proved to be beneficial to the preaching work.

The uncertain conditions in Europe drove many to immigrate to Brazil, and, for the most part, they settled in Santa Catarina. For example, in 1935 Theodor and Alexander Mertin, both pioneers from Germany, settled in Blumenau. They continued their pioneer service and visited people in the cities and villages in the Itajaí River valley. Later they invited another couple, Leopoldo Koenig and his wife Ida, to work with them in this beautiful region, so reminiscent of Switzerland. Brother Koenig, born in Austria, as well as his wife, had been pioneers in Europe since the 1920’s. In Brazil they continued their pioneer service. He was an enthusiastic Witness who used to go to the doors, saying: “I am preaching the good news of God’s kingdom.”

In the state of Bahia, in the northeast, could be seen the evidences of the period when slaves were brought from Africa to serve the Portuguese colonists. One can find here undeniable proof that false religion is truly a snare and a racket. While ornate churches abound, the majority of the people, largely Colored, suffered under great duress, without schools and the basic amenities of life. In due time many recognized who were responsible for this condition and soon the churches became empty. To avoid the shame of decaying religious buildings, the government decided to do something, using a special department, the Historical Patrimony Service. It restored some of these churches as show places and museums, where people can still go and visualize “the dainty things and the gorgeous things” that once were part of Babylon the Great.​—Rev. 18:14-17.

In the year 1934 Professor George Shakhashiri, a Witness, arrived by boat in Salvador, capital of the state of Bahia, on his way to visit his fleshly brother in São Paulo. At this port of call he used his time visiting Lebanese friends and relatives and placing much Arabic Bible literature. Someone told him about a certain Amim Jorge Jacob Darzé who was also one of Jehovah’s witnesses. After a search, he finally located him on the day before his boat was due to sail.

Darzé had been born close to the cedars of Lebanon, on May 20, 1914. His family had migrated to Brazil in 1925. Since they were quite poor he set out to sell everything he could get his hands on, becoming what is known in Brazil as a mascate or itinerant salesman. He married a Baptist girl and became actively associated with that religion, but its hypocrisy and its practices increased his thirst for the truth. During the brief contact with Shakhashiri all of Darzé’s questions about the soul, heaven, hell and the Trinity were satisfactorily answered, and he was overjoyed at having at last found what he was looking for. That selfsame day he took his stand for the truth. Shakhashiri left him much Arabic literature and promised to send more literature in Portuguese from São Paulo.

When Darzé severed his connections with the Baptist Church, the Baptist clergyman came to visit him, trying to find out what had happened to his favorite Sunday-school teacher. But, this time, he was preached to, instead of preaching. He excused himself as not having time, and promised to come back and discuss the Bible on another occasion. To this day that promise has not been kept. Brother Darzé was baptized in 1935. His home became a center for Bible study. In June of 1945 a congregation was eventually organized in Salvador, with Brother Darzé as overseer.

The state of Amazonas, with its vast jungles, is also included in “all the inhabited earth” in which the good news of the Kingdom must be preached. (Matt. 24:14) It is one of the few immense sections of the earth that have, to a large degree, missed being polluted through civilization. Its population is widely scattered, and here the Indian can still be found in his native habitat. In 1931 someone sent Bible tracts to several Baptist churches in this region. On the occasion of a visit to his sister, Zeno de Oliveira Simões, who headed one of these churches in the Pesqueira district, noticed one of the tracts about hell and another about the resurrection hope tacked to the wall of her living room. Several times Zeno had discussed these subjects with his fleshly brother, Guilherme, who did not believe in hellfire because, as he said, “a God of love could not create such a place.” Zeno decided to take the tracts to his brother and show him that there was a religion that believed as he did. At that time Guilherme was living in Manaquiri, a small settlement close to the lake of the same name. Guilherme lost no time. He wrote immediately to the branch office in São Paulo asking for literature. Without any other help these two men learned the truth and convinced their families also. In that year, 1931, the first congregation was organized in the Amazon jungle at Manaquiri. It soon grew to have seventy associates, including many children, and for some time was the largest congregation of Jehovah’s people in Brazil. To share in preaching the good news, this enthusiastic group would travel by rowboat to different settlements bordering the Solimões River and its tributaries.

BOLDLY BROADCASTING THE GOOD NEWS

In the effort to reach more of Brazil’s huge population, in 1937 the brothers in the branch at São Paulo arranged for the radio station in that city to broadcast Judge Rutherford’s five-minute lectures three times a week in Spanish, English and German. The contract was for one year. For almost four months the program went on, but then, in April, the station succumbed to the direct pressure of the Catholic Hierarchy and refused to carry any more programs. Other programs were broadcast in Rio Claro, in the state of São Paulo, but on one occasion the “Purgatory” record was played, and that was too much for the town’s priest. The record was played to its end, but the station refused to carry any more of the Society’s programs.

Nevertheless, another powerful instrument in the advancement of the preaching work in São Paulo was the sound car, put into operation first in March of 1937. This sound car was a 1936 Chevrolet with an amplifier mounted on its top. For some eight and a half months this means of sounding out the Kingdom message was used every week in public parks, such as the Jardim da Luz and the Praça República, right in the center of the city. The recordings would be played in several languages. The sound car was also effectively used on holidays, and in cemeteries on “All Souls’ Day.” The clergy, of course, became incensed at this bold public proclamation and brought pressure to bear on the local authorities. One of the city officials, Mr. Carlos Lopes, forcibly stopped a talk. He demanded that a city license for the sound car be obtained before it could be used for this special purpose.

When the Society made the proper request to the city mayor, no answer was forthcoming. Then another petition was presented on December 31, with the same result. Nevertheless, the car continued to sound out the good news. In January 1938 the license plates were bought and attached to the car and the due tax was paid, but the transit authorities refused to seal the plates. The result was that the police would continually stop the car to ask why the plates were not sealed. This gave opportunity for a good witness on each occasion, and often literature was placed. Finally, Brother Yuille asked Dr. Pio Alvin, the subdirector of the transit department, the reason for this refusal. A gentleman who happened to be present suggested: “Mr. Yuille, why do you not take off the loudspeaker, seal the plates, and then put the loudspeaker back on?” Dr. Alvin interrupted, saying: “No. Mr. Yuille is too honest to do such a thing. I am ordering that the license plates be sealed today!”

At this time too the phonograph, as a means of declaring the good news of the Kingdom, had been introduced, and by 1937 some twenty of them were already being carried in the field service by the publishers. Though records were not at the time available in Portuguese, Spanish ones were used to good effect. Records were also available in English, Italian, German, Dutch, Polish and French. In October of 1938 the first Portuguese record became available, one side having the talk entitled “Jehovah” and the other side the talk “Riches.” These records were indeed a delight to the brothers and were effectively used to make known the good news.

A SOURCE OF SPIRITUAL STRENGTH

As the field ministry kept on gaining momentum there was felt an urgent need to begin the republishing of A Tôrre de Vigia, that is, the Portuguese Watchtower. Thus in March 1937 the first issue came out with Isaiah 43:10-12 on the front cover. It was to be a monthly journal following as closely as possible the English magazine.

While the publication of A Tôrre de Vigia was being resumed, the country was undergoing great changes. The drift was toward a dictatorial form of government. Efforts were made to register the Society with the government, and these efforts finally succeeded in November 1937. The Society registered by the English name, Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, as a branch office of the American Society. At the time this was considered to be a wise move, protecting the Society’s property to some extent against expropriation.

Just a few days before registration was complete, a victory was won in the Third Chamber of the Tax and Revenue Court in São Paulo when the Society was declared exempt from payment of any tax on its literature. Under the law, publishers, as ministers of the gospel, would not have to pay any sales tax, and also the literature could freely cross state borders without any interference.

In the years 1937, 1938 and 1939 some fine assemblies were featured in such cities as São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Curitiba, happy assemblies at which the brothers were able to enjoy fellowship and rejoice at the baptism of many new ones who were thronging into the organization of Jehovah’s people. It was at these assemblies that the brothers came to appreciate how Jehovah directs his earthly organization in a strictly theocratic arrangement.

In the earlier years meetings were considered to be mainly for brothers. Attendance of women and children was not stressed. However, articles on the subject “Children” were published in the winter issues of A Tôrre de Vigia in 1938. Soon several young ones began to be taken to the meetings and to accompany their parents in the field ministry. This was but the beginning of their swiftly growing share in the work as “Children of the King.”

THE “MASTER OF THE HARVEST” SENDS MORE WORKERS

By 1939 the situation in Europe had deteriorated rapidly. Many pioneers, unable to continue their service there, volunteered to be used by the Society in foreign fields. The transfer was arranged through the Society’s Central European office. Some of these brothers had served for many years as pioneers. Others had worked in branches now closed by the Nazi regime, while still others had had experience as circuit overseers (then known as zone servants).

Among the newcomers to Brazil were many who showed outstanding zeal for Jehovah. Otto Estelmann, of German birth, had been a “zone servant” in Czechoslovakia. A baptized Witness since December 26, 1920, he knew what it meant to fall into the hands of the Nazi secret police, and he was almost caught by the Gestapo when transferring the records of the closed Czechoslovakian branch office to Switzerland. When he arrived in Brazil in 1939 he was forty-four years of age. He worked in Curitiba, in the state of Paraná, and in several other cities, such as Santa Maria, Ijuí and Santa Cruz in Rio Grande do Sul. He suffered much persecution in Brazil​—the country where he had hoped that he could freely follow his sacred mission in life. He served several prison terms, the longest being twenty-two months. Why? He was suspected of being a German spy! Nonetheless, Brother Estelmann was a faithful servant of Jehovah.

Another European Witness who came to Brazil was Erich Kattner, who had served in the Bethel home in Prague. His first assignment in Brazil was the rural area of northwest Rio Grande do Sul. Preaching in those rural areas was not an easy matter. To get to his territory he had to spend four days and nights traveling in a jerky train, and then make the last thirty-one miles by truck. After days or a week of hard work on the farm with the brothers, he and others would go from farm to farm witnessing to Poles, Germans, Russians and Italians. Often they would sleep in the open, using their literature bag as a pillow. Since most people worked in the fields, the brothers would wake up early in the morning and witness until 7 a.m., adjusting their schedule to that of the farmers. The witnessing work would frequently continue until the late hours of the evening.

Brother Kattner soon acquired a good command of the Portuguese language and was invited to work at the Brazilian Bethel in 1944. Then he attended the sixteenth class of Gilead and was assigned back to Brazil, where he served for a time as both circuit and district overseer before returning to Bethel in 1953. There he is still serving faithfully in the translation department.

Herman Bruder and Horst Wild, with their wives, also came to Brazil from Europe. En route their ship changed course and went to French Morocco, where the brothers suffered imprisonment and mistreatment as suspected Nazis. When they finally reached Brazil in February 1940, they were imprisoned again for the same reason, suspected of being German spies. However, they endured their trials and have shown their willingness to be used in any way possible in the advancement of the Kingdom work. Brother Wild has served for many years as city overseer in São Paulo, and, until June 1971, as a director of the Society in Brazil.

Thus, while all these brothers left a Europe threatened by Nazi military dictatorship, they found in Brazil a country caught between two extremes. On the one hand were the Italian Catholics influenced by Fascism and the German Catholics who wanted to get on the Nazi bandwagon, while, on the other hand, there were many who thought highly of democracy. It was only after the Nazi-Fascist adepts, then called “integralistas,” tried to kill the president of Brazil, Getulio Vargas, on May 11, 1938, that the eyes of the Brazilian government began to be opened to the real source of danger.

ANTI-KINGDOM PRESSURES MOUNT

In 1939 the powerful message contained in the booklets Face the Facts and Fascism or Freedom was boldly publicized in Brazil. Information marches by Witnesses bearing large placards were used to advertise the special meetings in connection with these booklets and their distribution. This provoked a powerful reaction from the clergy. The city police and other officials began to harass the brothers at the branch office and to set up all kinds of obstacles against the free progress of our work. On August 26, 1939, some thirty Witnesses put on their sandwich signs and stationed themselves at many of the busiest locations in the city. A few managed to complete their work and return home safely. But the majority, including the branch overseer, was arrested and imprisoned for about twenty-two hours under trying conditions.

Two weeks later a police officer was sent to the branch office to arrest the branch overseer again, and, later on, other officers were sent to confiscate all booklets. Some two thousand of the offending booklets had already been seized, and the police ordered that the remaining fifty cartons be held until a superior decision was handed down. People in Brazil, meantime, were beginning to notice that this work was not a small thing done in a corner; it was a worldwide preaching work, ordained by Jehovah himself. For example, the newspaper Fôlha do Brasil, of São Paulo, on July 23, 1939, published a picture of a brother who was assaulted by Catholic Action rioters who unsuccessfully tried to break up an assembly of Jehovah’s witnesses at Madison Square Garden in New York. Readers were informed that 18,000 people were at that convention, most of them interested in the special Bible message delivered by J. F. Rutherford.

Pressure against the work kept mounting until, on May 31, 1940, the Society was notified that the Minister of Justice had ordered the banning of the Society in Brazil. On June 30 the Society’s official representative went to the office of the Minister of Justice accompanied by the Society’s lawyer and delivered to him a letter explaining the Society’s work in detail. However, the decision to ban the Society was maintained. Then, in December, the authorities again arrested the branch overseer, Brother Yuille, detaining him for a few hours, while seizure was made of some 20,000 of the booklet Fascism or Freedom.

That was truly a time of test for all the brothers. At first they kept meeting at the Kingdom Hall on Riachuelo Street, São Paulo, but always with someone on guard in case the police should come. Since the hall had two entrances, the one on guard would stay at the main entrance and so, by the time the police arrived, the brothers had already left by the other door. Later, the authorities closed the hall, but the brothers kept on meeting in private homes. The branch too was laboring under great difficulties, but the brothers had faith in Jehovah’s protection, and not a single issue of the magazines was missed. More than that, the field service went on despite imprisonments and confiscations. The 20,000 booklets that had been seized were later returned and put to good use.

In a move to divert attention from the name A Tôrre de Vigia, then under investigation by the authorities, it was decided in 1940 to change the name of our principal publication to A Atalaia, Anunciando o Reino de Jeová. However, the Adventists, who had a magazine with a similar name, brought pressure upon the government Department of the Press and Propaganda, which, in turn, ordered the Society not to use the name. Thus, in January 1943, the name was changed to A Sentinela, which means Sentinel or Watchman. The word ‘sentinela’ appears at Isaiah 21:6 in the Brasileira Version of the Bible. Under this new name the magazine has continued to provide spiritual food for the brothers right down to the present.

The enthusiasm with which the brothers carried on the work under difficulties moved the clergy to increase the pressure against them. Some of the brothers who had gone from Rio de Janeiro to help with the work in the state of Amazonas were severely persecuted. Under clergy influence the people stoned them, their literature was confiscated and some of them were imprisoned. Not until 1945 did the pressure diminish after a legal suit had been undertaken and won.

Brothers Estelmann and Kattner, in Rio Grande do Sul, were arrested on August 29, 1940, and a few days later were taken to Livramento on the Uruguayan border, threatened with physical mistreatment and death, and told to leave the country, as if they had entered it illegally. It was not until two years later, on appeal to the higher authorities in Rio de Janeiro, that their situation improved.

BRANCH OFFICE MOVED

Back in 1939, the Society’s president, Brother Rutherford, recommended that the branch office be moved to Rio de Janeiro, the capital of the country. This, it was believed, would allow the work to be carried on with less interference and the branch would be more in the center of things. After some two years of searching, suitable quarters were finally located at 330 Licínio Cardoso Street.

In preparing to make the move to Rio, the printing of the magazines was speeded up in advance so as to guarantee the supply during the transfer. This was providential, since, on December 31, 1940, the Department of Hygiene of São Paulo, not being able to find any other fault, decided that the printing press was in an unsuitable location and could not be operated anymore until a better place was found. The press needed overhauling and cleaning anyway before the move to Rio, so the Society used an outside printing establishment until the Society’s own press began to hum again in its new home in Rio de Janeiro. Brothers gladly contributed or loaned money to assist in the purchase of this new location. The house was surrounded by beautiful flowering trees that later provided soothing shade and delicious fruits for the family, while a small vegetable garden in the back provided wholesome food. This change also brought new life to the Rio de Janeiro congregation, then almost at a standstill.

Once settled in the new location, the branch organization quickly organized assemblies for that year 1941, one in Rio de Janeiro and the other in São Paulo, at which there was a total attendance of 230, and 24 were baptized. In this same year arrangements were made for a number of brothers to move to different regions and work territory in a systematic way. The results were indeed splendid.

PIONEER FAMILY ON THE MOVE

In the state of Minas Gerais, for example, an area where seeds of truth had long before been planted despite the domination of the Catholic clergy, an intensive watering work was now undertaken. Early in 1941 Brother Basilio Korolkovas with his two sons and a daughter-in-law were assigned to work all the cities and areas along the “Central” railroad line, from Afonso Arinos to Belo Horizonte, the state capital.

Beginning at Juiz de Fora as their base of operations, they called on the chief of police and were assured full freedom to carry on their work. However, the bishop protested, and from the loudspeaker of the main church he kept on shouting his accusations against the brothers and against Brother Rutherford. Many people there did not agree with him, however, and they obtained over 300 books and 2,000 booklets.

When they moved on to Santos Dumont, they found that conditions were not favorable there. The town priest had them arrested and thrown into a prison cell. The policeman in charge, under strong Catholic influence, said that the literature was pro-Communist and that the brothers were subversives. Finally, when nothing could be done against them, all their documents as aliens being in order, they were set free. Quite undiscouraged they traveled on to Barbacena, the next city on their prearranged route, a place high in the cool mountain air. Their fichas, or police records, were already there ahead of them, and the chief of police gave them a free hand to work all the towns in that vicinity.

The Korolkovas family had also worked in the São Paulo area and in such cities as Baurú, Lins, Marília, Cafelândia, Pompéia, Araraquara and Jaboticabal. They found that following the suggestion of the organization to visit the chief of police first resulted in their being able to work quite peacefully in most of these places. In all this area they distributed many copies of the book Enemies and the booklet Judge Rutherford Uncovers Fifth Column.

Included in their territory was the great Japanese colony of this region, especially around Marília, Garça, Gália and Tupã, where a thorough witness was given, and some took their stand for Jehovah. Through the branch office Brother Korolkovas was able to obtain books in Japanese, some of them quite old. These Brother Korolkovas placed for whatever contribution was offered. There were some days when he personally would place as many as 30 books, and in one month he placed 403 books and 501 booklets.

This truly pioneer family had full trust in Jehovah. They had left the comforts of São Paulo, turning over their home for the use of other pioneers who could not travel, and moved into areas where there was real need for the Kingdom witness to be given. When they would arrive in a city they would get accommodations in a reasonably cheap pensão (a middle-class boardinghouse). They would work from door to door first in the commercial area and then on the farms and in little villages nearby. One can easily imagine how difficult this was in the rainy season when mud was everywhere. After working eight to ten hours in the field they would return, often walking ten miles, to the pensão for a bath and a good night’s rest. Their literature bags would be full of oranges, bananas and the fruits of the season, which they had received in exchange for literature.

The two younger girls of the family, Zina and Zenaide, were fearless and bold despite their tender years. In Garça, a Japanese colonization center, these young girls were working in the town while their father and brother went to work in the rural area. After working for four hours in the morning, they sat down in the shade to eat their lunch. A police investigator came and asked to see what they had in their bags. When he saw the Japanese Riches books, he took the girls to the police station. All the literature was taken from them, and they were told to quit preaching. The police thought their threats would be enough for these young girls. However, when they left the station they just went back to their pensão, filled their bags with literature, and went on to work in another part of town. Next morning they went to the police station to recover their literature. The chief of police, who had already examined it, returned all except for one copy, which he insisted on keeping for himself.

The service of this family was truly blessed, for in this area a number of groups flourished in the following years. Results of these zealous activities can be measured by the number of persons who accepted the good news. The first baptism held in São José do Rio Prêto, where the Korolkovas family had been working, included ten persons, three of whom later served as pioneers in Curitiba. Also baptized on that occasion was João Batista Siqueira, who had been a Presbyterian minister. At the age of seventy-three he had learned the truth and had become the first publisher in São José do Rio Prêto. A Japanese family also took their stand, the head of the family being Suzo Sakiama. In two years’ time the congregation there grew to twenty-eight publishers besides the pioneers.

Besides inducing the police to interfere continually with the Kingdom publishers, the clergy also used tax officials to harass the pioneers. These officials would stop the pioneers and request payment of the sales tax for “selling” books. In Itápolis, book stores and printing establishments, under urging by the priests, complained about unauthorized selling of books. However, Jehovah’s people had gained a victory in this regard in the United States, and the article about this Supreme Court victory was published in the Consolação for February 1944. When this article was shown to the tax officials it helped them to understand that this was not a book-selling campaign but, rather, a good Christian work. As a result, in Itápolis and neighboring cities, 678 books and 1,511 booklets were placed as well as hundreds of magazines. The victory in the United States, besides gladdening the hearts of Jehovah’s people there, also contributed to the advancement of the work in Brazil.

A FARMER AND HIS FAMILY SHARE IN THE INGATHERING

In the southern part of the state of São Paulo, Adolphe Messmer, one of the European brothers who came to Brazil in 1939, was busy preaching the good news and placing thousands of pieces of literature. Close to Cândido Mota he came across Antônio Pestana Junior, a farmer, and, after playing a record in Spanish, offered him the book Riches. Antônio gave him his address and asked Messmer to write to him. Imagine his surprise the following year when he received an invitation from Brother Messmer to attend an assembly in São Paulo!

Antônio had little money, because farmers were then undergoing a serious financial crisis. But he got his bag ready to travel, and on his way to the train station borrowed money from a friend for the trip. His faith was rewarded. After attending and enjoying the assembly Antônio returned home, having decided to become a Witness and to help his large family to learn the truth. All his grain had been bought by a government buyer who was waiting for him on his return, so enabling him to pay off his debts. As time went on, he and others of his family progressed in the truth and started to spread the message in neighboring towns. The first congregation to be organized in the area in 1943 at a place called Água do Almôço was one of the immediate results.

In Antônio’s neighborhood lived a barber, Manoel Luiz de Oliveira, who was very pugnacious and usually carried a big knife or a sickle. He had sworn in public that he would not allow any of those “Protestants” to preach in his vicinity and had promised Antônio such a beating that he would be glad to give up his preaching. One Sunday he appeared at Antônio’s home, but instead of carrying a sickle he had a booklet entitled “The Crisis.” His visit was a peaceful one. He had come to ask Antônio to explain the message contained in the booklet and to check it with the Bible. At that time Antônio was one of the very few in the district who possessed a Bible. Manoel also borrowed the book Riches from Antônio and agreed to have a study. Later he became Antônio’s fellow preacher, and they were baptized on the same day in October 1939 in a hole they had dug near a river for that purpose.

Antônio Pestana was also richly blessed in his own family, for three of his sons, Édison, Steffenson and Emerson, became pioneers and served in Bethel and in the circuit work. His two daughters married faithful brothers who served in the circuit and district work, one of them, Sister Enides Dias, being now a member of the Bethel family. Antônio’s son, Édison, who commenced pioneering in his teens, had the privilege of opening many new territories in Campinas, Assis and other places. Later he served in Bethel and then, after his marriage, served in the circuit work until their first child was born. Now a father of several children, he still serves as an overseer in the city of São Vicente in the state of São Paulo.

MOVING TO AREAS OF GREATER NEED

The message of the Kingdom reached out into the remoter regions of the country by means of persons who gained a knowledge of the truth in the city and later moved to where there was greater need. One such instance was that of Sister Maria Bérgamo de Souza and her family. As early as 1941 she had obtained the books Riches and Religion. However, when she started reading the book Riches she found out that it did not contain any secret formula for material wealth. She read the book Religion and learned that all false religion is demon-inspired. But for some reason she put the books aside for a time. It was only after one of her daughters had died and a Witness called on her to comfort her that her interest really sparked into a flame. She then had a study conducted in her home and began to cultivate a deep interest in spiritual things. She realized that in order to progress in knowledge of the Bible she would have to learn something of the order of the Bible books. So she arranged sixty-six sheets of paper, each one with the name of a Bible book on it. She would mix them up and then try to put them in the proper order again. She was soon able to handle the Bible with ease.

When the family moved to Assis in early 1943 five of its members were already Witnesses. Her mother could not read, so she patiently taught her to read the Bible. Later, when the Cândido Mota congregation was organized, the whole family attended there, even though this meant considerable travel for them. Finally, in September 1947, a congregation was formed at Assis, and Brother and Sister Souza were blessed by seeing their oldest son, Sílvio, assigned to aid in oversight of the congregation, with Brother Édison Pestana Borges as congregation overseer. Later, when Brother Édison went to work in Campinas, Sílvio became an overseer at the age of seventeen. Sister Souza’s blessings were to increase still more, for Sílvio was invited into the circuit work in the northeastern region of Brazil, and her other son, Valdemar, entered special pioneer service and was assigned to work in Franca. Then, to top off the blessings of this family, Sister Souza’s brother David, who had been a Mariano (a member of a Catholic order that honors Mary), accepted the truth and shared in spreading the Kingdom message.

Meantime, the eastern part of the state of São Paulo was also receiving a witness. In 1940, João Stein and Henrique Raif received their first assignment to work the towns from Mogí das Cruzes to Aparecida do Norte, a strong center of Catholicism. Brother Stein was born in Germany in 1899 and had tasted the horrors of World War I. He first heard the truth from a fellow coalminer in Germany in 1920. Eventually he moved to Brazil and around 1936, while working in the metal workshop of his fleshly brother, he was visited by Leopold Koenig, who also had come from Europe. Koenig invited Stein to go out with him in the field service, and the invitation was accepted. He had already made his dedication but did not fully appreciate the importance of preaching. After symbolizing his dedication by water baptism in June 1940, however, Brother Stein volunteered for pioneer service, ready to go wherever needed.

The first city where Brother Stein worked was Taubaté, an important textile center located amid coffee plantations. The presence of two foreigners caused quite a sensation in the town, as Brother Stein recalls, and few placements were made. The bishop published a strong article in the parochial journal mentioning the dangers of the literature distributed by “these foreigners.” Brother Stein’s partner became fearful and decided to leave. Brother Stein continued on alone in the district. While working in a small town called São Luiz do Paraitinga, he was arrested and ordered by the chief of police not to do any more preaching. The chief was fearful for Stein’s life, since previously some Protestants had had their musical instruments smashed and some of them had been hospitalized. Brother Stein told the police officer that he was not afraid of men, so the chief sent him to his superior in the seaport of Ubatuba. The journey was made at night in a truck carrying tiles, and Stein bore with him a letter to the chief of police there.

Brother Stein was pleasantly surprised not to find any opposition in Ubatuba. When he completed work there he decided to travel northward to a city called Sapé. While waiting for a truck going in that direction he found a priest also waiting at the truck terminal. The priest, who was also a German citizen, began to ask Stein where he was going. After talking for a while he revealed to Stein that the chief of police in Ubatuba had asked him about what to do with Stein. The priest had observed the kind way Stein acted while in Ubatuba and advised the chief he should leave Stein alone. When the truck finally arrived the driver said he was not allowed to carry anyone without a police permit, which Stein did not have. However, the priest used his influence to obtain the permit for Stein so that he could travel to his next preaching destination.

Brother Stein, years later, returned to São Paulo due to health problems and was privileged to serve there as a pioneer and overseer of a congregation that divided time after time to form new congregations. Even in his old age, in 1958 he accepted the Society’s invitation to work where the need was greater and moved to São Carlos in the state of São Paulo, where he is still serving faithfully as a pioneer and overseer of a congregation he helped to organize. In his more than thirty years of continuous service as a pioneer Brother Stein always had in mind Jehovah’s promise: “I will by no means leave you nor by any means forsake you.”​—Heb. 13:5.

The beautiful city of Santos, principal port of Brazil and only thirty-five miles from São Paulo, also received its opportunity to hear the truth. It was in 1940 that Alfred Antunes Isidoro began to work the city systematically. He also preached in the beach resorts of Guarujá, São Sebastião Island and Caraguatatuba, using a boat. Then in 1941 Antônio Pires de Andrade, who had come to Brazil with Brother and Sister Yuille, went to work in Santos. By 1945 a congregation was formed there and it acted as the springboard from which the good news was carried to all cities in the vicinity.

About the same time a Swiss immigrant, Anna Ott, received a witness while visiting in the home of a friend in Salvador. Anna had been a member of an evangelical church in Switzerland. As far back as 1922 her father and mother had had some contact with the Witnesses or had heard about their activities. But no one in the family really understood what it was all about at the time. However, when the message again reached Anna Ott in Brazil many years later she became deeply interested in knowing about the “millions now living” who would survive the end of this system of things.

Anna had married a Swiss cattle raiser and cocoa farmer and was living in a little village called Itapebi in the southern part of the state of Bahia. When her first child was expected she traveled to Salvador for better medical attention, and it was there that the message reached her. Her host was not interested in the message presented by the Witness at his door and asked Anna if she would be interested in this new religion. Anna listened, and a few days later the Witness returned to bring her, not just one, but eight books and several booklets in German, English, French, Italian and Portuguese. Two months later, when she had returned to her home in the interior, these books filled her empty hours with activity that gave her a basic knowledge of the Scriptures as well as strong faith.

When she returned to Salvador one year later she was visited again by the same Witness who had brought the message to her on the previous occasion. She asked the Witness how she knew that she was again in Salvador. The Witness replied: “Well, I just remembered I had not worked this street for quite some time and decided to do so today. Now, about our study​—let’s get on with it!” Invited to the Kingdom Hall, Anna accepted, but on their way there the streetcar ran off the tracks. “This is a bad sign,” said Anna, expressing her desire to return to the house. “No, let’s go on,” said the Witness. “I know it is the Devil who wants to stop us.” Well, Anna attended the meeting, and in February 1942 she was baptized. Years later her untiring efforts resulted in, not just one congregation in the interior, but several of them, with hundreds of persons sharing her unshakable faith.

BEGINNING OF THE ELISHA PERIOD

Just as the work of Elijah the prophet came to its close and was succeeded by the zealous activity of Elisha his successor, so also, following a period of witnessing comparable to that of Elijah, a new push seemed to be given to the activities of the brothers here in Brazil. Though the death of Brother Rutherford, the second president of the Society, came as a shock to the brothers, their heavy hearts were lightened when they learned that Nathan H. Knorr had been appointed as the new president of the Society. They were confident that the work would push ahead victoriously under Jehovah’s direction through Christ.

In September 1942 Brazil was included in the chain of eighty assemblies to be linked with that held in Cleveland, Ohio, the “New World Theocratic Assembly.” For the public talk the Hotel Terminus, an exclusive place in the center of São Paulo, was engaged. A total of 721 persons were present on Sunday when Brother Adelino dos Anjos Gomes delivered the special discourse “Peace​—Can It Last?”

With the growth of the organization it became apparent that, due to the large distances involved, one assembly could no longer care for all brothers and interested persons in Brazil. So in 1943 six assemblies were organized, in São Paulo, Salvador, Porto Alegre, Manaus, Rio de Janeiro and in Curitiba. The result was that many brothers in Brazil were able to attend an assembly for the first time, accompanied by many newly interested ones. Placards and thousands of handbills were used to advertise the public lecture at these assemblies. It is true that clergy action managed to silence the public lecture in Salvador, but not before a great deal of fine advertising of the Kingdom had taken place. For the assembly in Manaus, right in the Amazon jungle, the brothers did not have the assistance of anyone from the branch office. Nevertheless, they set aside the days for the assembly and held meetings and engaged in the field ministry, with the result that 16 publishers spent 249 hours in the field, made 28 return visits and placed 153 pieces of literature. They demonstrated their full trust in Jehovah’s organization. Jehovah was surely preparing his people here in Brazil for greater expansion still to come.

Meantime the brothers in Brazil were receiving training in the matter of public speaking, for beginning in August 1942, a series of articles began to be published in the Consolação on the subject “Presenting This Gospel of the Kingdom.” It explained how to study, how to make an outline, how to use the Society’s publications, how to present the message, the reason for different Bible translations, composition, argumentation, and so on. And certainly this training could well be considered one of the reasons why the 1944 assemblies proved more enthusiastic than any prior to them. Around Memorial time the Society arranged assemblies in Pôrto Alegre, Curitiba, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador and Manaus. On this occasion, the assembly in São Paulo enjoyed an attendance of 436 persons. At Salvador, where the police had interfered with the assembly in the previous year, the same facilities were rented, and Brother Darzé made a written application to the police for permission to hold the assembly. When no reply was received, he went personally to see the chief of police, who proved to be a very fair and unbiased man. He had not granted the permission because, apparently, one of his subordinates had held up the application owing to prejudice. However, just two days before the assembly approval was granted, to the great joy of the publishers, and 108 persons came to hear the public talk.

FACING THE OPPOSITION WITH BOLDNESS

It will be recalled that when the nations were plunged into the second world war, Brazil at first had expressed sympathy for the Axis powers, to which it was closely linked by its large number of German and Italian immigrants, as well as strong Catholic influence. However, after the rightist attack against the presidential palace in 1938, President Getulio Vargas, already empowered with dictatorial authority, had a change of view. Later, when the United States was attacked in Pearl Harbor in December 1941, President Vargas sent Roosevelt a telegram of solidarity.

Brazil had already signed the Havana Declaration of 1940, according to which an attack against any nation of the Americas would be considered an attack against them all. Furthermore, Brazil took the initiative to call a special conference of all American chancellors to meet at its capital, Rio de Janeiro, in January 1942. At its conclusion, Oswaldo Aranha announced that the Brazilian government had cut off diplomatic relations with the Axis powers.

Naturally the tensions of those times affected the preaching of the good news in the country. Every assembly suffered restrictions and interference. The branch office had to move from São Paulo to Rio de Janeiro because of continued harassment. Literature was seized, some of it completely lost. Legal battles also required funds and energy on the part of zealous servants who wanted to keep the door open to search for and feed the Lord’s “sheep” in Brazil.

The Society in Brazil did everything possible to bring the persecution against Jehovah’s people to the attention of the ruling authorities, and, particularly while the American Chancellors’ Conference was going on in Rio in 1942, information was supplied to Dr. Oswaldo Aranha, the Secretary of Foreign Affairs of Brazil, to Sumner Welles, Secretary of State for the United States, and to John Caffery, American Ambassador in Brazil. These letters were delivered personally on the evening of January 14, 1942, by Brothers Yuille and Januário Diniz.

By 1942 a legal case involving Jehovah’s witnesses in the state of Amazonas was before the National Security Court. How did it start? In 1940 the Society had invited a group of pioneers to go to Amazonas to help the enthusiastic local Witnesses in the ingathering work. As soon as they reached Manaus, one of the pioneers, a former Naval Air Force pilot, contacted the Naval commander of the port to explain the work he had come to carry on there and to request his cooperation. This was a wise move. Keep in mind that in Manaus the clergy still exercised considerable influence. To the consternation of the clergy a small congregation was soon organized and began to work the area systematically.

Finally, one territory remained to be covered, the São Raimundo district across the river. The brothers crossed by boat, and one group began to work the main street and the remainder the side streets. After an hour and a half of service, one of the pioneers, Brother Kambach, was playing his phonograph in a restaurant when three young men entered, and one said, “That’s he!” pointing to the pioneer. With that he was taken to the local police station, where he found his wife and others of the group who had already been arrested. When Kambach entered, the door was closed and a brief hearing was held. The police commissioner was very nervous, fearful that he might not be able to control the mob.

A Franciscan friar was present at the hearing and when the phonograph record was played and announced the book Enemies, the friar opened Kambach’s bag and produced the book, opening it directly to the page where false religion is illustrated as riding a wild beast. Showing the illustration to the crowd, he said: “See! They say that our holy mother church is a prostitute!” After an hour, during which the brothers were subjected to threats and jeers, an order came from police headquarters to transfer the prisoners to there. As they left the station they could see that the jeering crowd had torn the literature into pieces and thrown it on the ground. At headquarters they were soon released, but a legal charge was preferred against them.

Since the Watch Tower Society had been dissolved in Brazil in 1940, efforts had been made to clarify the matter before the authorities, but to no avail. In 1943 it was decided to form another society. However, instead of forming another civil society, legal counsel formed a commercial society with headquarters in São Paulo and with its charter registered in the São Paulo Commercial Association. This charter was approved in the General Assembly of the commercial society in May 1943. However, even though the intentions were good, the form in which this society was organized would bring it under commercial legislation involving business taxes, and so forth, which, of course, did not apply to the philanthropic and free educational work of Jehovah’s people. Thus the fight to obtain legal recognition was a long and arduous one.

A TURNING POINT IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORK

In 1945 the work of Jehovah’s Christian witnesses in Brazil was marked by new organizational improvements at the branch and in the congregations.

There is no doubt that the outstanding event of the year was Brother Knorr’s visit to Brazil in his capacity as president of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society. An assembly was held on this occasion in São Paulo in the well-known and respected Pacaembu Gymnasium, located in an impressive valley covered with beautiful flowering trees.

A few days before Brother Knorr arrived, the brothers were informed that the Ministry of Justice had rejected a new application to register the Society and had also prohibited the circulation of our magazines. However, despite this unwelcome news, Brother Knorr, in his talks to the brothers at the branch and later to the local congregation, gave very encouraging words as to the future of their educational work. When Brother Knorr and Brother Franz arrived at the convention site on Saturday there were 250 persons present. At the evening session both brothers spoke to 292 persons about “Jehovah’s Universal Sovereignty Vindicated.” The brothers were thrilled to hear the Society’s president and vice-president, and they loudly applauded the news that the Society soon hoped to send Gilead graduates to assist them in the expansion of the Kingdom interests.

Another feature of this assembly was a meeting of forty-seven pioneers with Brother Knorr, at which meeting he set out the purposes and requirements of the special pioneer service, which was soon to begin in Brazil. Eighteen of the forty-seven pioneers volunteered for this special service, and, of these, ten were later appointed to be the first special pioneers in this country.

Seeing the prospects for future growth, Brother Knorr took steps to improve the operation of the branch. By this time Charles D. Leathco, a missionary of the first class of Gilead, was waiting for his visa in order to proceed to Brazil. In the interim he was assigned for training in the Society’s printing plant in Brooklyn, New York, so that he would be able to take on responsibility in connection with printing in Brazil.

Later Brother Knorr also arranged for branch overseers and their wives from various parts of the world to receive six months’ training at the Society’s headquarters. This training would greatly assist Brother Yuille, then seventy-three years old and in poor health, in his duties as branch overseer. As a further step in improving the work, Brother Knorr chose Benedito Maximo da Silva, one of the members of the Bethel family in Rio de Janeiro, to attend Gilead School. Brother da Silva undertook a crash course in English so as to better his opportunities of benefiting from the Gilead course. After the daily routine of work at Bethel the brothers who understood English and Portuguese took turns teaching him the new language. In his own words, he thought he would never make it. But he kept on and was there to answer “Present” when the sixth class of Gilead began its term on August 27, 1945. When Brother da Silva returned to Brazil he was assigned as a servant to the brethren, as the circuit overseers were then known, in the northern part of Brazil where he could use his training to help the brothers to advance the Kingdom interests.

The year 1945 was also to be a year of resolute action on the part of the brothers to fight for freedom of worship. Though the government was putting pressure on the Society, having prohibited distribution of the magazines and dissolved the Society itself, Jehovah’s people were not going to give up. Thus, on October 13, 1945, they instituted a campaign to obtain signatures to a petition directed to the President of the Republic. It read as follows:

“To the Honorable President of the Republic of the United States of Brazil:

“The undersigned citizens of Brazil, all living in the territory of the republic, ask your kind permission respectfully to present the facts and request of Your Excellency the following:

“As Brazilians, having well in mind the lasting traditions that are characteristic of Brazil, we firmly believe in the need to assure all persons freedom of belief, of worship and of religion, as guaranteed by the present Constitution. Furthermore, we are convinced that the operation of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society is in harmony with the provisions made by the Constitution and with the people’s spirit of liberty, since it represents a valuable contribution to a better understanding and spreading of the Bible, thus contributing to the welfare of the Brazilian people, and for this reason should not be restrained by the Brazilian authorities in prejudice against freedom, but its publications should again be allowed to circulate freely. And so we believe that the study of the Bible should be encouraged and stimulated.

“In harmony with this, the present petition is made to Your Excellency, that you may deem fit, together with the Ministry of Justice, to order a ceasing of all obstacles to the educational work of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, which, with respect for the Brazilian laws, has always sought to create public interest in the simple way the Bible texts are written, and that you may deem fit to take the necessary steps to renew the activities of the Society in behalf of the good order of the Brazilian society and of justice. And, especially, that Your Excellency may deem fit to instruct His Excellency, the Minister of Justice, to proceed with the due registration of said Society, registration already requested, granting it the permission to distribute such publications.

“On these terms we await your favorable decision.”

Space below this petition was provided on each sheet for twenty signatures. Meantime all subscribers for the Society’s magazines were invited to write to the Minister of Justice requesting that the Society be given legal recognition and that permission be forthwith granted to the Society to continue printing A Sentinela and Consolação. Sacks upon sacks of these petitions were delivered to the Presidential Palace on April 1, 1946, by Brother Yuille and Brother Harry Black, one of the first two Gilead graduates assigned in this country. The petition carried the signature of 44,411 persons. By the time the petition activity was completed, General Eurico Gaspar Dutra had become President, and it was to him that the petition was presented in April 1946. There was no immediate response on the part of the Brazilian government.

About a year later, acting in accordance with legal advice, another society was formed in harmony with the laws then in effect. It was a Brazilian civil society, registered under No. 1,216 on June 23, 1947, in Book A, Number 1, in the Third Registry Office of Legal Corporations in São Paulo. Its purposes were essentially religious, and it was to act on behalf of Jehovah’s witnesses. Now at last the work could be carried on with a legally registered society to back the Witnesses against any further unjust interferences by the clergy.

KINGDOM-PREACHING EXPANDS

In 1945 the Consolação began publishing a series of helpful articles taken from the new book Theocratic Aid to Kingdom Publishers, the English edition of which had been released in August. This series of articles provided the basis for another meeting for theocratic education for the brothers around the world. The Theocratic Ministry School had begun to operate in congregations throughout the United States in the spring of 1943, and in January 1946 it began in congregations in Brazil where there were brothers qualified to serve as instructors. Thereafter the publishers were able to improve the quality of their field ministry and so obtain better results.

A special campaign was planned for the month of May 1946. With this in view a shipment of the booklet One World, One Government in Portuguese had arrived in Brazil. Every effort was made to distribute this message in all parts of the country. Up to that time the peak number of booklets placed in any one month had been 48,000, in December 1940. Now, with the cooperation of all the brothers, 116,000 booklets were placed, this constituting a fine witness for the Kingdom.

The Watchtower Bible School of Gilead also contributed generously toward the speeding up and growth of the Kingdom work in Brazil. Two graduates of the first class arrived in Brazil by plane in November 1945, and were heartily welcomed by the publishers and members of the Bethel family. Both of those graduates were assigned to work at the branch. Brother Harry Black was to serve temporarily as branch overseer during Brother Yuille’s term of training at the Society’s headquarters, while Brother Leathco would be taking care of the printing.

For a number of years after that Brother Black served as a circuit overseer and became well known throughout his territory. Here in Brazil he had to face a new way of life. He slept sometimes in fine homes, sometimes in poor ones. He recalls once getting big ulcers on his legs from flea bites, then on another occasion being awakened in the middle of the night when he felt something biting him all over the scalp. It turned out to be a swarm of big ants going through the house. The entire household had to vacate the premises until the ants left.

On one occasion when he visited an interested police sergeant in Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, he accepted the only sleeping quarters available, the city jail. While there, Brother Black noticed many German Bibles among the confiscated literature and obtained permission to return them to the brothers. It also happened while he was at this place that the sergeant had to travel to a nearby town, but insisted that Harry stay in his home anyway. Harry agreed but was surprised to be awakened at five o’clock the next morning by the sergeant, who had returned home. He told Harry: “We will have to hurry because everybody is waiting at the church.” “What church is that?” Harry asked. The sergeant told him it was his Presbyterian church, and that he had gathered all the members there to hear Harry give a talk. The talk was delivered as planned, using the Bible in the pulpit, and some were so impressed that when he left early on the next morning, they were on hand to ask him more Bible questions.

On another occasion Brother Black visited a leper colony with a brother who had been interned there for a couple of years when his arthritic condition was wrongly diagnosed. Though eventually released, he had made good use of his time. He had started a small congregation while there, and it progressed quite well after he left. However, for some time no reports were received from this little congregation, so it was decided to pay them a visit. A pass was obtained for Brother Black and the former internee to enter the colony. What did they find? Why, the only brother who knew how to write was so seriously afflicted in his fingers that it was impossible for him to prepare and send the reports. To the great delight of the brothers in this colony, the two visitors spent many hours with them.

In due time other Gilead graduates came to Brazil, both male and female, and it was a delight to see how they used their Gilead training to assist in firmly establishing the work in this country on a theocratic basis.

Assemblies too continued to contribute wonderfully to the expansion of the Kingdom interests here, and, of course, the Gilead graduates with their larger experience in such matters were able to help to improve the organization of assemblies. It is amazing how successful the assemblies of those early days were, for example, the one in 1946, the “Glad Nations” Theocratic Assembly in São Paulo. Though some of the brothers had very little experience, their enthusiasm and zeal more than made up for such a lack. One brother, Oswaldo Monezi, was assigned to take care of the field service department, the purchasing, the construction work and also to direct the news service department. But he had never served in any of these departments before and had little idea about their operation! Another zealous brother, Arlindo Barreto, was in charge of the cafeteria. Though both of them were completely new to operations on such a large scale, the Lord’s blessing was manifest on their efforts, and the experience proved to be a very good teacher. At this assembly meetings were held in several languages, including Polish, Hungarian, Russian, German and English. Here, too, for the first time, the new magazine Despertai! was released, a magazine that would take the place of Consolação, and prove to be more attuned to the educational program carried on at this time by the Society world wide. That assembly, which started with 500 persons in attendance on the first day, ended with 1,700 persons enthusiastically applauding the talk presented by Brother Edmundo M. Moreira.

In 1949 two memorable assemblies were organized in connection with the visit of Brothers Knorr and Henschel. The first was held at the Clube Ginástico Paulista in São Paulo, and enjoyed a fine attendance of 843 persons on its first day. The public lecture, “It Is Later than You Think,” was listened to with rapt attention by an audience of 1,500.

At this assembly the excellent work being done by missionaries proved to be an encouragement to all in attendance. One outstanding experience was related in connection with a trip made by missionaries Orville Claus, Clifford Anderson and Albert Magno da Rocha. They traveled approximately one thousand miles by boat, train, bus, car and truck to attend the assembly. Along the way, from Salvador, Bahia, to Rio de Janeiro, they took advantage of the opportunities to spread the Kingdom message. They started out with 600 books and a thousand booklets, planning to visit some places along the way where the Kingdom message had never yet been published. When they arrived in a town, traveling ended for the day. One of them would stay by the literature while the others went looking for a boarding house. After getting settled they would work the entire town, sometimes placing an entire carton of books. In some places their visit was so greatly appreciated that the local people would insist that they come back the following day to explain more about the Bible, or even to give a talk. Some of the persons they met were so hungry spiritually that they would not even allow the brothers time for sleep.

At the assembly in Rio de Janeiro, which was their destination, the Sunday afternoon lecture was attended by 1,064 people, a crowd that proved to be rather large for the air-conditioned auditorium of the Brazilian Press Association. Many had to stand in the lobby and listen as best they could. Brother Knorr’s talks, including “The More Excellent Way of Love,” were much enjoyed by all, also Brother Henschel’s talks and personal contact with the nineteen missionaries and others at the assembly were long remembered. Pioneer Edmundo Moreira delivered the public talk “It Is Later than You Think.”

CHANGE IN BRANCH ORGANIZATION

When Brother Yuille returned from his trip to the United States in 1946 his health was visibly failing. In fact, while he was in the United States attending the Cleveland assembly, some had tried to dissuade him from returning. On one occasion Sister Yuille asked him what he thought of such suggestions, and Brother Yuille merely answered: “My assignment is Brazil.” He was faithful until his death on March 21, 1948. Before finishing his earthly course, however, he was happy to be able to sign the monthly report of field service for December 1947, in which, for the first time, Brazil had passed the one-thousand mark in number of publishers of God’s kingdom.

Brother Charles Leathco was chosen by Brother Knorr to carry on as branch overseer at this time. He had begun pioneering in April 1938, later serving as a special pioneer in California and eventually receiving his invitation to attend the first class of Gilead School. On his arrival in Brazil in 1945 he had taken up service in Bethel.

It was a source of real joy to Brother Leathco and his associates to see the continued growth of the work in Brazil and especially to observe the progress to maturity on the part of many Brazilian Witnesses. Some idea of the growth of the work in the 1940’s may be seen from the following brief chart:

1946 1948 1950

Average Publishers 442 1,077 2,858

No. of Congregations 36 57 99

Individual Magazines Distributed 20,513 48,300 88,122

Bible Studies (av.) 309 833 1,924

There is no doubt that much of this splendid growth may be attributed to the abundance of spiritual food, for example, “The Truth Shall Make You Free,” released in 1947, together with its study question booklet. Also, the public meeting campaign initiated in Brazil in April 1947 had a great deal to do with the gathering in of the “sheep.” Prior to that time only four to six public meetings were reported each month, mainly those being given by circuit overseers. However, with the new campaign the number jumped to fifty public meetings in April 1947, and to 5,154 in May 1971.

Another important factor in the progress of the Kingdom work was the close following of theocratic instructions. (Rom. 6:16, 17) It was in 1947 that the brothers in Brazil received for the first time the new booklet Organization Instructions in Portuguese. Then, in March 1949, the Counsel on Theocratic Organization was released, and by the end of that year the Portuguese translation was being applied in the congregations. Thus Jehovah was truly equipping his people to serve unitedly and wholeheartedly for the advancement of the Kingdom interests.

All this increase of activity in the field, in turn, brought a necessary increase in the Bethel family, with the result that living quarters at the Brazil Bethel began to be quite crowded. Cartons of literature were stored in rooms that otherwise could have been used as bedrooms; even the dining room had to be utilized for sleeping purposes. How timely, therefore, the provision for the building of a new two-story factory behind the old home in 1952! Printing too had to keep up with the needs of the vastly expanding organization of Jehovah’s people in Brazil. Thus, in 1951, the Society sent a Miehle vertical press from the Brooklyn factory. Other necessary printing machinery such as a linotype, a flatbed press from the German branch, and another Miehle vertical were added to the equipment, as well as a Victory-Front flatbed press, two stitching machines, a folder and a modern cutter. These all made it possible to step up the production of literature in Portuguese so urgently needed throughout the country. Here are some figures that show the use to which this equipment was put and the consequent need to enlarge the Bethel family:

Printing 1951 1953 1955

“A Sentinela” 180,800 234,000 536,482

“Despertai!” 91,400 90,400 271,814

Other Printing 2,922,595 3,329,695 3,586,630

Bethel Family Members 17 27 28

Though changes came in the branch office personnel from time to time, the work of Jehovah’s people in Brazil continued to prosper. For a few years Brother Richard C. Mucha, graduate of the seventeenth class of Gilead, served as branch overseer when Brother Leathco decided to leave Bethel for marriage in 1954. Then when Brother Mucha too decided to marry and enter the regular pioneer service for a time, Brother John Kushnir replaced him as branch overseer.

Brother Kushnir was born in Saskatchewan, Canada. He commenced as a publisher of the good news in 1934, and got immersed in 1939. When only fifteen years of age he had to learn to manage the family farm because of his father’s death. He gained much experience when the Kingdom work in Canada was placed under ban by the government. He and his wife, Frieda, were invited to attend Gilead School, where they graduated in February 1956. Soon after arrival in Brazil they were invited to serve in Bethel, where Brother Kushnir proved to be of great assistance to Brother Mucha in organizing the work at the branch. Now Brother Kushnir had even greater responsibility as branch overseer.

SAFEGUARDING MORAL PURITY

A matter to which considerable attention had to be given during these years, due to the multitude of interested persons coming into the theocratic organization in Brazil, was that of proper Christian morals. Many coming into the organization were not living in harmony with the Christian requirements. (Matt. 19:4-9; Heb. 13:4) There was a considerable number whose marital status was not up to the standard called for by God’s Word, the Bible. Since there is no divorce law in Brazil, it was the worldly practice for married persons merely to separate from their legal mate and take up a consensual relationship with someone else. Hundreds of such persons came to a knowledge of the truth while living in such a condition.

In due time the Portuguese Watchtower, in its issues of December 1952 and January 1953, carried the article “Keeping the Organization Clean.” From then on, ample information was published in the Society’s magazines to aid people to get an insight into their true standing before Jehovah God and to help them to clean up in order to remain in the theocratic organization and have Jehovah’s favor. Those who did not truly love Jehovah’s ways, of course, had to be disfellowshiped from the organization, but many thousands were helped to straighten up their lives and live in a clean manner in the sight of Jehovah. Such were blessed by attaining great freeness of speech in connection with the proclamation of the good news.

LEARNING TO READ GOD’S WORD

As a move toward equipping the Witnesses for further effective service in Brazil, the Society’s president, Brother Knorr, arranged for classes in reading and writing to be organized in the various congregations throughout Brazil. The Brazilian government was anxious to teach its many millions of citizens to read and write, and had provided some excellent textbooks. The Society obtained supplies of these direct from the Ministry of Education and shipped them to the congregations. At the same time, capable brothers and sisters were appointed as instructors in the congregations, and specific instructions were supplied so that even inexperienced teachers could follow the course without any difficulty.

After the students had learned the basic principles of reading, other textbooks were used, such as the book From Paradise Lost to Paradise Regained. In order to publicize what was being done by the government in this matter, the Ministry of Education invited the Society to send a representative to a special meeting of some 350 people in 1959. These people represented various institutions and religions who were to report what their groups were achieving in the field of education. The Society’s representative, Brother Sergio Antão, was allowed to speak for fifteen minutes. Using a Catholic Bible, he explained the educational work of Jehovah’s witnesses and pointed out that all true followers of Christ ought to be able to read the precious Word of God. Either taken by complete surprise by this extemporaneous discourse, or because of the presentation of the Biblical reasons as to why one should know how to read, the audience heartily applauded, and the professor presiding over the meeting came to shake hands with the Society’s representative.

Imagine how thrilled the brothers were when, at the “Men of Goodwill” district assemblies for 1970-1971 in Brazil, the Society’s own reading aid, Learn to Read and Write, was released! Following this release, more incentive was added to the work of spreading knowledge of reading and writing. The ability to read the Word of God certainly has brought great happiness to multitudes.

In Canoas a sister eighty-two years of age had been inactive as to preaching the good news for fifteen years, but contact was made again and she began to study. When the reading aid was released, she immediately undertook a study of the booklet, and great was her joy to find that she could read the Scriptures for herself in her own Bible. Interestingly, the fifty-six-year-old sister who taught her had herself learned to read only two years ago in the reading school held in the Kingdom Hall.

Another publisher happily wrote his experience, saying: “It is with pleasure that I write you to thank you in the name of Jehovah for the wonderful provision of the Society to help persons like me to read and write. When I first began to learn the truth I could not go from house to house alone because I was not able to read. Now I am very happy because I am able to give my sermons alone at the doors and can conduct my own Bible studies.”

In 1958 an elderly sister immigrated from Germany to Brazil. Since she could speak only German she was unable to preach at places where this language was not understood. She saw the need to improve her ability and decided to learn Portuguese. She attended the reading and writing school regularly and persevered so that, within several months, and with tremendous effort on her part, she could give her sermons in Portuguese. Age is no barrier when one really wants to learn.

Another experience indicates how the reading school can and did help indirectly to improve family relations. A husband was creating serious difficulties because his wife attended meetings of Jehovah’s witnesses. However, one day he realized that his wife, now forty-five years old, had learned to read and write as a direct result of the school. From then on she was permitted to attend without any opposition.

To what extent has this reading and writing course helped the brothers and sisters? Well, by 1971 reports had been received of 6,218 persons having taken advantage of this valuable provision​—about 9 percent of the then-total number of Witnesses in Brazil. The peak year was 1959, when 735 persons were helped to become readers and writers.

Another factor contributing to the forward movement of the Lord’s work in Brazil has been the promptness in translating new publications from English into the Portuguese language, and in making them available for distribution. Since 1965 particularly, almost all publications of the Society have been released in Portuguese some six months or so after their release in English.

Certainly these and the many other provisions of Jehovah through his theocratic organization have made for real prosperity among Jehovah’s people in Brazil. The following table will briefly reveal the results:

1955 1965 1972

(through May)

Av. Publishers 7,931 33,267 70,661

No. Congregations 163 745 1,239

Ind. Magazines Distributed 414,892 3,499,521 4,477,722

Bible Studies (av.) 4,146 24,699 62,975

Memorial Attendance 14,946 80,710 180,866

KINGDOM MINISTRY SCHOOL

The Society’s advanced educational program has, since March 1959, also called for the operation of the Kingdom Ministry School, designed to train overseers. Many interesting experiences have been reported as to the efforts made by the brothers to attend this school. It should be kept in mind that Brazilian labor legislation is constructed in such a way as to discourage absenteeism. Thus, it is difficult for some, especially Witnesses with large families, to risk losing their employment or fringe benefits in order to attend the school.

Were our brothers willing to show outstanding love for Jehovah in this regard? Consider the following experience related by Raimundo S. Carvalho of Jandaia do Sul, Paraná: “I work in a federal public service department and when I first received my invitation and requested permission to go, my immediate superior raised many objections. To discourage me, he said that I would lose many of my benefits such as special leave, seniority, vacation rights, and so forth. However, when he realized that I was determined, he suggested that I pretend sickness and get a medical certificate. I explained that such a course would be contrary to Bible principles and I could not conscientiously follow it. Eventually he gave his permission, and, of course, I was delighted to be able to attend the two weeks of schooling. When I returned to my job, I found that the days I was absent had been credited to me with no loss of benefits. In fact, I even received financial benefits during that time besides the uncountable spiritual benefits.”

In this large country it became necessary for the school to travel to its students, rather than for all the students to travel to the school. This was arranged by having two school instructors spend some time at different large centers within easy reach of numerous congregations. Since August 1961 the school has held its sessions in ten different cities in this widely scattered country. In the cities where the school was conducted, local brothers lovingly cooperated by providing accommodations and help with the meals for the students. Many of the brothers enjoying the benefits of the school themselves made generous contributions to help cover the expense. By 1971, upward of 2,400 responsible brothers in congregations, as well as pioneers, had taken this valuable course.

INSTRUCTIVE CHRISTIAN ASSEMBLIES

During the years assemblies continued to play their part in preaching the good news of the Kingdom and upbuilding the Witnesses throughout Brazil. District assemblies grew in numbers and in quality. It became something to be fully expected that large assemblies conducted in the United States would later on be duplicated in many large centers in Brazil. The tremendous publicity given in Brazil to the New York “Divine Will” International Assembly of 1958 was used to draw attention to the eight assemblies planned for Brazil that same year. More than 400 column inches of publicity was received at the branch from 20 states and 70 different cities. Radio announcements were made by 39 stations in 27 cities in 11 states. In Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo special television programs and interviews were arranged, and two short newsreels programmed for two-year exhibition were also filmed. The results were outstanding. In São Paulo, 10,487 attended, while in Rio de Janeiro there were 6,105. The total baptized at all eight assemblies that year was 1,041. Jehovah was certainly giving the increase.

Perhaps one of the most outstanding assemblies was that international gathering of delegates in January 1967, in São Paulo. Six of the directors of the Society’s corporations were present on this occasion, namely, Brothers Knorr, Franz, Henschel, Suiter, Couch and Larson. The Brazilian brothers were delighted to have them as their guests and to hear them speak on the program. The assembly place was the large Pacaembu Stadium together with the gymnasium behind it. What a contrast with the 1945 assembly held in the gymnasium when there were just 765 persons present! Now, for the public talk delivered by Brother Knorr through an interpreter, there were 46,151 enthralled listeners. His subject, “Mankind’s Millennium Under God’s Kingdom,” was interrupted by repeated bursts of applause. The vice-president of the Watch Tower Society, Brother Franz, took everyone by surprise when he came to the microphone and delivered his talk in Portuguese. The enthusiastic delivery of this prominent older man was greeted by round after round of applause. Here too Bible dramas were enacted for the first time in Brazil. How joyful the brothers were on this occasion to learn from Brother Knorr of the Society’s plans for the construction of a new branch office building in São Paulo! As Brother Knorr concluded his closing remarks and was leaving the platform the brothers and sisters took out their handkerchiefs and waved them. Many cried with joy and happiness for the blessings received at this spiritual feast. It was unforgettable.

In the years that followed, more assemblies and better assemblies were planned in order to care for the expanding flock of Jehovah’s “sheep” in Brazil. The following table gives some idea of the success of these assemblies measured by the vast number of persons who heard the program and the number of those who offered themselves in dedication to do Jehovah’s will:

Theme of Assembly Year No. of Locations Attendance Baptized

“Disciple Making” 1968 12 86,007 1,627

“Good News for All

Nations” 1969 11 95,780 2,370

“Peace on Earth” 1969-70 16 93,826 3,120

“Men of Good Will” 1970-71 18 120,950 3,036

“Divine Name” 1971-72 18 138,343 3,610

Although the increases in Kingdom publishers continued, the increases were not quite so spectacular as in previous years. Nevertheless, during the sixties the brothers have rejoiced to know that each year there was at least the hoped-for 10-percent increase over the previous year’s average of active Witnesses.

OVERSIGHT OF THE WORK

In October 1959, Grant D. Miller was transferred from the Uruguay branch to serve as branch overseer in Brazil. He had come to a knowledge of the truth while still in his teens and began to share in the preaching work in 1937. He was baptized in July 1940 at the Detroit assembly. He and his wife Eleanor graduated from the seventeenth class of Gilead and were assigned to Uruguay, where Brother Miller served as branch overseer until his departure for Brazil. In 1963 he again came to Brooklyn headquarters for a ten-month training course provided at the school of Gilead, and, on completion of the course, was reassigned to the Uruguay branch. During Brother Miller’s absence at Gilead, John Kushnir acted as temporary branch overseer until December 1963, when Brother William A. Bivens, who also attended the ten-month course in Gilead School in 1963, arrived in Brazil, and was assigned as branch overseer. Brother Bivens was born in 1911 in Kentucky. He began pioneering with his wife Bertha in 1942, and they were invited to the fifth class of Gilead, which graduated in July 1945. Soon he and his wife were on their way to Guatemala to serve as missionaries. In 1954 they were assigned to Costa Rica, where he was appointed branch overseer. Thereafter he had the privilege of serving as zone overseer for the Caribbean and Central America zone, where he gained considerable experience in theocratic organization.

Soon after Brother Bivens commenced his service with the Brazil branch another very fine provision was made for the advancement of the work in Brazil. This was the construction of many neat, practical Kingdom Halls, which were built in many towns and cities throughout the country all the way from Manaus in the jungle region of the Amazon to Pôrto Alegre in the south. The new branch building in São Paulo also took form at this time, and during its construction it became necessary for Brother Bivens to make several trips to São Paulo personally to oversee much of the details of the work on the building. However, it became evident that Brother Bivens was seriously ill and was experiencing increasing difficulty in carrying out his duties. Finally, it was decided that he should return to the United States for treatment, which he did in February 1969. A few weeks later, he died after many years of faithful, full-time service. His presence was greatly missed by the Brazil Bethel family, now housed in their beautiful new quarters that he had helped to build in São Paulo.

When Brother Bivens returned to the United States, Brother Knorr arranged for the transfer of Fred Wilson and his wife from Chile to Brazil, where Brother Wilson could carry on as branch overseer. He brought with him experience gained from several years of varied Kingdom activity. In 1944, after his release from prison, where he had been because of the neutrality issue, he was invited to the Canada Bethel, where his wife had been assigned and where the work was being initiated again after the ban. In December 1945 the Society opened up a depot in western Canada and assigned Brother Wilson to take care of it. Two years later he was assigned to the circuit work in the Fraser Valley, where he and his wife continued until they were invited to Gilead in 1949. After graduating they were among the twenty happy missionaries assigned to Chile. Some years later they were invited to work in the branch, and from 1959 on, Brother Wilson served as branch overseer in Chile. On a number of occasions he was privileged to serve his brothers in other South American countries as zone overseer. So on April 3, 1969, he and his wife arrived in São Paulo to undertake their new privileges of service.

GREATER FREEDOM TO WORSHIP JEHOVAH

The fight to obtain legal recognition for the Society in Brazil was a long and arduous one. It was not until April 1957 that the newly elected liberal-minded president of Brazil, Dr. Jucelino Kubitschek de Oliveira, approved the legal opinion of the Attorney General, Dr. A. Gonçalves de Oliveira, recommending the filing or dropping of proceedings against the Sociedade Tôrre de Vigia. His decision was published in the Diário Oficial on Monday, April 8, 1957. When Brothers Kushnir and Antão received the news of the decision from the Society’s lawyer, their joy could hardly be contained. The legal proceedings had cost the Society a large sum of money, but money could not compare with the privilege of working freely at their God-given preaching work.

Of course, there were other great problems for our brothers in Brazil. For example, during the years as the organization grew, many young men had to face up to the issue of ‘giving Caesar’s things to Caesar, but God’s things to God.’ (Matt. 22:21) Conscription had been in effect in the country since about 1906. Particularly after World War II, all young men in a certain age bracket were obligated to present themselves for induction and for military training, with no apparent provision for exemption for reasons of conscience. As more and more young Witnesses took up the Christian ministry in Brazil, the number of cases of refusal to take military training for conscientious reasons grew correspondingly. Finally, in 1950 certain critical cases came up for consideration.

Maximiano Wenyk and Paulino Maciel refused military training because of their conscience. This led to several weeks of trials. On the first day Brother Wenyk was punched in the face by an army captain, breaking his glasses. They were sentenced to some time in solitary confinement, kept in damp, fetid cells and treated to special war films in an effort to indoctrinate them. However, the brothers stood firm, and after about four months they were dismissed from the army as individuals “without a moral capacity” for serving in the armed forces. However, the record showed that their refusal to bear arms was based on their Christian beliefs as Jehovah’s witnesses.

Another outstanding case at that time was that of Brother W. B. Machado, who approached the problem of induction from a different standpoint. He made an effort to contact higher army authorities, even the Army Minister, though without success. Some officers rebuked him sternly, threatening punishment, while others, more liberal, advised him to try legal means to gain exemption. Legal counsel was therefore provided for Brother Machado, and arguments in his favor were based on a provision for exemption from military service in the liberal 1946 Constitution. According to the Constitution’s provision, any individual with conscientious objection could be exempted from military service provided he would lose certain political rights, such as the right to vote and to hold political office.

After a long legal fight, in 1953 the government allowed that this constitutional provision cover Jehovah’s witnesses as well as other conscientious objectors. However, despite this precedent, there was still considerable prejudice against the stand of Jehovah’s witnesses, with the result that some young Witnesses were refused exemption and others suffered at the hands of ill-advised officials. Finally, in order to clarify the procedure and to eliminate irregularities, the government of Marshal Arthur da Costa e Silva published Decree No. 56 on June 8, 1967, setting forth detailed and complete instructions for the processing of all cases of exemption from military service on the basis of religious convictions.

Of course, each individual had to be able to verify the truthfulness of his alleged conscientious objections. The overseer of the congregation to which the applicant for exemption belonged would be interviewed personally by an investigator sent by the Army. On the basis of the information supplied from the congregation’s records, the investigator would then recommend whether the request for exemption be granted or refused. If granted, the applicant is cassado, with the consequent loss of certain political rights.

It is a recognized fact that among Jehovah’s witnesses in Brazil each individual makes his own decision in this matter of whether to apply for exemption as a conscientious objector or not. Hundreds of young men have taken advantage of this legal provision and they appreciate very much the consideration shown by the government in this respect whereby they are enabled to carry out their Christian ministry without obstacles. Many of these young men are using their freedom wisely by serving as full-time preachers of the good news, teaching the high moral values set forth in God’s Word for the benefit of multitudes of other persons.

THE PUBLIC SCHOOL PROBLEM

Our younger brothers also have had to stand up to severe tests of their integrity in the schools. One of the first cases on record occurred in 1950 when a sister sixteen years of age refused to participate in a civic ceremony that would violate her Christian conscience. Efforts were made to explain the motive of her refusal to the teachers and the director, but to no avail. Religious enemies used their influence to have this case included in the legal process formed by the Ministry of Justice that led to the decree suspending the activity of the legal Society (Tôrre de Vigia) for six months, preliminary to the possible banning of the Society. When this legal process was finally dropped in 1957 after a number of interviews with the authorities, the situation in the schools returned to normal and continued so for a number of years.

In 1969 a decree was issued instituting the teaching in the schools of material on “Moral and Civic Education.” Soon thereafter isolated cases of expulsion from schools began when young brothers refused to sing the national anthem or to participate in flag-salute ceremonies as required in these classes. In Rio Claro, in the state of São Paulo, the case of twelve students was turned over to the police, who, after obtaining declarations from the parents and school director, sent the case higher up for consideration by DEOPS (a department of the Secretary of Public Security). Brothers Oswaldo Monezi and Augusto Machado, the then president and secretary respectively of the local Society, were called in to give information on the position of the Society on the matter. A written declaration was made showing the Scriptural basis for the position of Jehovah’s witnesses and showing also that it was a matter of each individual acting according to his Christian conscience. After due consideration, DEOPS issued a certificate of good conduct as far as the Society was concerned.

Meanwhile, thirty other children were being expelled from school in the city of São Paulo. In one instance, in Santo André, the father appealed to the Secretary of Education of the state of São Paulo, setting forth in detail the conscientious stand of his child. The matter was turned over to the State Commission of Morals and Civism, composed of ten members, among whom were three members of each of the armed forces, lawyers, teachers and a nun. A favorable opinion was written by this commission, but the Secretary of Education chose to ignore it and sent the case to the National Commission of Morals and Civism. Efforts were made in both instances by the brothers to contact individually each member of the Commission so as to present our Scriptural stand and to answer any questions raised by the members of the Commissions. Since the Opinion of this Federal Commission would be presented to the Minister of Education, interviews were arranged with his legal advisers by directors of the Society, and one of the directors was also able to consider the matter personally with the Minister of Education.

The Opinion of the Commission as published in the Diário Oficial, the government organ, although not exempting the children of Jehovah’s witnesses from the civic ceremonies, did recognize the constitutional right of religious freedom and of freedom of conscience. The Opinion quoted directly from the Constitution, saying: “There is full freedom of conscience, and the believers have assured to them the exercise of religious worship which is not contrary to public order or good customs. Nobody shall be deprived of any of his rights because of religious belief or of philosophical or political persuasion, except if these are used to exempt oneself from the legal obligations which are incumbent upon all, in which case the law may stipulate the loss of rights inconsistent with the conscientious objection.”

The same Opinion gave due consideration to God’s person, saying: “While the Fatherlands are perishable, as even the Earth itself, even scientifically speaking, God is immortal and eternal, transcendent, by spirit, to everything temporal and transitory.”

The Opinion also quoted the Declaration Dignitatis Humanae of 1965, commenting that everyone should be immune from coercion so that in religious matters no one is to be forced to act against his conscience nor to be prevented from acting.

The writer of the Opinion admitted as extremely rigorous the punishment meted out by some school directors. The report continued, “Extreme caution is necessary in this case, so as not to violate the child’s conscience and not to isolate him, since he is juridically incapable and cannot be held responsible for his acts.”

In conclusion the writer of the Opinion recommended, “The suspension and expelling, if they are contained in the Regulations as disciplinary penalties, should only be applied in serious cases of repetition and disrespect, as an exceptional and extreme measure.”

It was a calm, well-considered Opinion and, although it was not as much as the children’s parents had hoped for, it did indicate that the government was not desirous of harming the children or their future education. The Opinion has had a very sobering effect on most school authorities so that since its publication on October 6, 1971, very few cases of expulsion have been reported. Certainly the period of October 1970 to October 1971 contributed greatly to the witness given in the dozens of interviews of parents and other brothers with the authorities in the schools, as well as with the State and Federal authorities.

Beginning at least by January 1972, another type of investigation had gotten under way. Reports began to come into the Society’s office in São Paulo showing that congregation overseers in different parts of the country were being contacted and questioned. The reports indicated that the interviews all followed a certain pattern, with questions as to the basis for our neutral stand, why Jehovah’s witnesses do not sing the national anthem or salute the flag, and so forth. Indicative, too, of the authorities’ fears were the questions about the type of organization existing among the Witnesses and the possibilities of infiltration into our ranks by undesirable and subversive elements. One question was: Who are these 144,000 who are going to be ruling soon? The evidence is that our brothers were able to use these opportunities to give a fine witness concerning our preaching work and the reasons for our neutral position. Since the reports indicated that the investigations were being conducted by the SNI (National Information Service, whose duty is to keep the president of the republic informed on all branches of activity in the country), arrangements were made in July for Brothers Augusto Machado and Arlindo Barreto, president and director respectively of the local Society, to have an interview with higher authorities of the SNI, both in Rio de Janeiro and in Brasília. Both of these interviews proved to be informative and were conducted in a friendly atmosphere. Although it was denied that the investigations were instigated by the SNI, nevertheless it was possible to present calmly the position of Jehovah’s witnesses. At the request of the authorities, we are preparing for filing with them for possible future reference a written declaration of this Scriptural position.

It is felt that the authorities on all levels are better acquainted with Jehovah’s witnesses and our work and our Scriptural stand. Indicative of the government’s attitude is the fact that during the months of June and July 1972, seven different lists have been published in the government Diário Oficial of young ministers being exempted from military service because of their Christian conscience, and this after several months passed during which no lists had been published.

EXPANDING BRANCH FACILITIES

Meantime, the vast expansion of the Kingdom-preaching work throughout the country was taxing the facilities of the Bethel office and factory in São Paulo even though it had been recently built. The move of the Bethel home and office from Rio de Janeiro to São Paulo in 1968 had certainly proved advantageous. Besides having a cooler climate, the state of São Paulo has the greatest concentration of Witnesses in Brazil, with a ratio of one publisher for every 566 persons.

The dedication program for the new São Paulo Bethel home took place on Friday, December 20, 1968, with Brother and Sister Knorr as special guests. There was an audience of 333 persons packing out the Kingdom Hall, including 145 congregation overseers, 10 district and circuit overseers with their wives, and the 42 members of the Bethel family. The program included a history of the work in Brazil, and the meeting was climaxed with Brother Knorr’s talk dedicating the building to Jehovah. It is recalled by members of the Bethel family how Brother Bivens’ joy and satisfaction knew no bounds at seeing this beautiful new branch home and office completed. It seemed to give him renewed energy so as to enable him to take on again some of his branch duties. Even though he had to be helped to get down to the Kingdom Hall for the dedication meeting, it was certainly a special occasion for him.

The new three-story, L-shaped Bethel building is by far the most impressive building in its immediate area, being built along Greek-Roman lines with marble entrance and columns. On the roof, camouflaging the huge water tank, is the familiar Watchtower structure, which, when illuminated at night, becomes a silent witness to the growth and progress of the work of Jehovah’s Christian witnesses. But, think! In just two and a half years after its completion, this fine large building was already found to be too small to care for the unusual expansion of the witness work in Brazil. All the rooms were occupied by members of the Bethel family, even though the Kingdom Ministry School was moved from the branch building to other cities. Literature storage space was all filled up so that it was impossible to store literature for more than a few months at a time. So, how great was the joy on the part of the brothers when Brother Knorr announced that the present facilities were to be more than doubled by the addition of a new structure adjoining the present property! These plans were announced to the congregations in the April 1971 Kingdom Ministry. Two adjacent lots of land had been purchased, one being vacant and the other occupied by a factory with 432 square meters of floor space. On the vacant lot, two new separate structures would be built in the form of an “L,” each with five floors. The one structure would provide facilities for shipping of magazines and literature, as well as housing all the present printing presses. The other would have two floors with a total of twenty-eight bedrooms and three floors for storage of paper and literature. In the already built factory on the other lot would be installed a new M.A.N. rotary press and other facilities for the printing of the Watchtower and Awake! magazines in Portuguese for the country. Expansion was really the key word!

Related to this building program was a surprise visit by Brothers Nathan Knorr and Max Larson. Brother Knorr, serving as zone overseer, was able to streamline the activity in the branch office and home and at the same time consider with Brother Larson and the brothers in the branch many of the details related to the actual construction and installation of the equipment necessary for printing the magazines in Brazil.

Construction on the building was already under way when Brothers Knorr and Larson arrived in January 1972, the final approval having been granted on October 4, 1971. The three-day visit was full of activity and passed all too quickly. Long to be remembered by the Bethel family and Gilead graduates serving in and near São Paulo was the happy time we had together with the traveling brothers on Thursday evening, January 13. To the delight of the family, slides were shown of the new buildings being constructed at different places by the Society. Brother Knorr talked for a time, too, about the expansion in Brooklyn, and this was enjoyed immensely by the brothers. Then in the middle of the talk Brother Larson stood up and announced that this was a very exceptional day for all of us, yes, today, January 13, 1972, Brother Knorr completed thirty years as the Society’s president! After several minutes of prolonged applause and choked-up emotion on the part of all present, Brother Knorr continued his talk, now including many reminiscences of previous trips to South America. The happy evening finally had to come to a close after a wonderful period of upbuilding association. The next day the visiting brothers continued their trip to Africa.

A WONDERFUL TIME IN WHICH TO BE LIVING

As we review the wonderful work that has already been done over the past years, Jehovah’s Christian witnesses in Brazil rejoice over it and thank Jehovah for having given them the marvelous opportunity to show their love for him. They take an optimistic view of the future, knowing that we are living now in the most wonderful of all times when the Kingdom is already established in the heavens and when the new order of Divine Rulership here on earth is near at hand. To our delight the Memorial celebration in 1972 produced a total of 180,866 persons in attendance. This indicates that there are over 100,000 persons associating with the congregations who are not yet Kingdom publishers. But we are going to do everything we can to help them. During the 1972 service year 7,864 recently dedicated persons were baptized and a total of 72,972 publishers were in the field in April.

There is evidently much more work to be done, and this work is willingly shared by the 73 brothers now serving as circuit overseers, 5 others as district overseers, these regularly visiting more than 1,500 congregations for the purpose of aiding all Witnesses and others to improve and expand their share in the Kingdom ministry. It is wonderful to see how Jehovah’s spirit has moved so many Witnesses to offer themselves willingly to go to distant parts of the earth to serve as evangelizers.

Now you know how the growth of the work in Brazil was spurred on by the faithful efforts of those early evangelizers from Brazil and Europe and now by the missionaries who graduated from the Watchtower School of Gilead. They have reached into all quarters of the country. For example, deep in the immense Amazon jungle, in the state of Amazonas, there are 36 congregations with a total of 890 publishers, many of whom travel in their motorboats and rowboats to visit the peaceful inhabitants of that state. In the entire region known legally as Amazonia, which includes also the states of Pará, Acre and territories of Rondônia, Roraima and Amapá, 73 congregations with 1,895 publishers carry forward the divine commission to preach the good news, and in this area too there are 42 special pioneers busy opening up new territory.

In the state of Bahia, where we remember that George Shakhashiri was met by Amim J. J. Darzé, the work continues to grow so that now in its capital city, Salvador, there are 51 congregations, with 4,909 publishers and 57 pioneers. In the entire state there are now 170 congregations, with 9,444 publishers, 123 regular pioneers and 65 special pioneers.

In the great metropolitan areas such as São Paulo, where early difficulties threatened the work, there has been every indication of Jehovah’s prospering hand upon it. At this time in Greater São Paulo there are 237 congregations, with 20,033 publishers, including 217 pioneers. In fact, in the whole state of São Paulo, there are 489 congregations, with 30,953 publishers, or almost half the entire number in Brazil, busily engaged in seeking persons who want to worship God with spirit and truth.

Thus we see that the message of the Kingdom has blanketed the whole country and now it remains as a challenge to the publishers throughout Brazil to reach into even the most remote areas and carry the good news of the Kingdom, seeking out those who are worthy. It can be seen that many were the ones whom Jehovah was pleased to use to carry on this great preaching work in this vast country, some of them from other lands, others native born, but all enthused by the same spirit of devotion and appreciation to Jehovah for all his marvelous kindnesses. All have recognized that, on their own, they could have accomplished little. But they attribute to Jehovah himself all the glory and honor for the grand expansion of the Kingdom work in Brazil. They realize it was “God who kept making it grow.”​—1 Cor. 3:6.

In view of the wonderful Kingdom fruitage produced over the past five decades, faithful Witnesses in Brazil look to the future with joy and expectation. They know that Jehovah will complete his grand work of searching for those who will worship him with spirit and truth. They are confident that, even with the vast influx of honest-hearted persons thus far into the theocratic organization, there are still more to follow, and so with real assurance they move forward with their preaching work, and as they do so they unitedly proclaim: “You are worthy, Jehovah, even our God, to receive the glory and the honor and the power, because you created all things, and because of your will they existed and were created.”​—Rev. 4:11.

[Map on page 36]

(For fully formatted text, see publication)

BRAZIL

Amazon River

Manaus

João Pessoa

Recife

Maceió

Salvador

Belo Horizonte

Rio de Janeiro

São Paulo

Curitiba

Erechim

Santa Maria

Atlantic Ocean

URUGUAY

ARGENTINA

CHILE

PARAGUAY

BOLIVIA

PERU

COLOMBIA

VENEZUELA

GUYANA

SURINAM

FR. GUIANA

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Present Bethel home

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. . . and new addition in São Paulo, Brazil

The British Isles

WHEN two transatlantic voyagers stepped off the ship in Liverpool, England, sometime in September 1881, little did they think that they were being privileged to start something that was to grow tremendously and bring a great deal of joy to God-fearing Britishers. J. C. Sunderlin and J. J. Bender were two associates of the well-known “Pastor” Charles T. Russell of Allegheny, Pennsylvania, and they had come to arrange for the distribution of a 162-page publication entitled “Food for Thinking Christians.”

Each had his plan of action mapped out, and soon Sunderlin was on his way to London, while Bender traveled north to Glasgow. The plan was to select sizable cities, employ a suitable man to recruit helpers, including boys, to give the books out free to people as they came out of church. This was to be a fast work, carried to its conclusion on two successive Sundays. Sunderlin recruited nearly five hundred messenger boys to give out the publications in London. In Glasgow, Bender placed a newspaper ad and caught a train to Edinburgh, where he sought a man to handle the work there. As soon as he had accomplished this he traveled farther afield, arranging distribution in towns such as Dundee and Aberdeen. Back in Glasgow he made a contract with one of eighteen who answered his ad, for distributing thirty thousand of the publications.

Then, zigzagging south, Bender arranged for the work in Carlisle, Newcastle-on-Tyne, Liverpool, Manchester, Hull, Leeds and other towns in the industrial cotton belt of Catholic Lancashire and in the woolen towns of Protestant Yorkshire. All together, 300,000 of these fine Bible publications were set aside for distribution in Britain.

Though Britain was at the zenith of its commercial power, yet in London and other large cities hordes of urchins, pale, ragged and without shoes or stockings, roamed the streets searching in gutters and rubbish heaps for scraps of food. Girls slaved in sweltering rooms with sewing machines clattering and pressing irons heating on a smelly stove, working nearly the clock around for a mere pittance. There were multitudes of people badly in need of the Bible’s message of comfort. The publication Food for Thinking Christians was to prove to be a real comfort to many, and especially to the poverty-stricken class of people dwelling, for the most part, in slums and finding great difficulty in getting enough to eat.

Hope came to many of these people, and groups of Bible Students soon began to spring up as a result of this widely extended activity. Tom Hart of Islington, London, wrote for and received three pamphlets. He also received Zion’s Watch Tower regularly for nine months, all without charge​—a new experience in the religious field. From then on he became a regular subscriber. He was struck by the theme that ran through each issue, namely, “Get out of her, my people”​—a Scriptural call to leave Christendom’s religious groups and follow Bible teaching. He and a fellow railwayman, Johnathan Ling, began studying together. This led to Hart’s formally resigning from the chapel in 1884, soon to be followed by Ling and a dozen others who began to meet together. This appears to be the first record of regular meetings of this sort in Britain. Many who shared in such meetings also showed a willingness to engage in the work of spreading enlightenment to others. A Bristol cabdriver wrote: “I feel a great desire to tell it out.”

On July 1, 1891, Charles T. Russell first arrived in the British Isles, landing at Queenstown, Ireland, and made a two-month missionary tour, embracing Britain, Europe and Russia. He concluded that Britain offered the best potential and decided to concentrate activities there. He visited and talked to small groups of Watch Tower subscribers and addressed public meetings of up to two hundred interested persons specially invited in Liverpool and London. He also arranged with a London firm to supply Millennial Dawn books, Bible study aids, at special rates to colporteurs.

In those early days the work of spreading the good news was carried on in a variety of ways. Some part-time workers chose to offer the books in parks and other places where people were relaxing. A party of three covered the London parks in this way. Long conversations on the Bible were common. Others concentrated on business houses. The more usual way, however, was to make house-to-house visits. One brother working every house in small towns in Scotland averaged placements of thirty volumes a day.

TRACT WORK IN SCOTLAND

The distribution of Food for Thinking Christians was but the beginning. The activity with tracts also prospered. Sarah Ferrie, who had a bedding shop in Glasgow, was a subscriber to Zion’s Watch Tower. She wrote to Pastor Russell saying that she and a few of her friends would like to volunteer to share in the work. Later a huge truck drew up at the door of her business premises. On it were thirty thousand pamphlets. They were well made and all of them were to be distributed free. Aunt Sarah, as she came to be called, and her friends moved into action. Usually three would stand at an unobtrusive distance from a church, each at a different approach to the building, so that churchgoers and others might receive a free publication.

Another active worker, Brother Phillips, was a businessman who visited in rotation a number of towns around Glasgow. He traveled in a different railway compartment each day and distributed tracts to his fellow travelers. Having covered all trains he regularly used, he caught earlier ones each day and repeated the process. At least four persons accepted the truth as a result of this tract distribution on trains. George, son of Brother Phillips, later served in South Africa as branch overseer for many years.

Minnie Greenlees, a relative of Sarah Ferrie, traveled all over the countryside in her “pony and trap” with her son Alfred and his two small brothers. She sent them to isolated farms and cottages with tracts while she herself placed hundreds of copies of the book The Divine Plan of the Ages.

By 1901 the Glasgow group, which first met at Sister Ferrie’s home, had outgrown the accommodations and transferred to the Masonic Halls. In the four years since the congregation was formed, the first one north of the border, it had expanded to some thirty-five persons. There was a great sense of urgency moving the brothers. They distributed hundreds of thousands of tracts throughout Scotland. Many were four-page tracts, rather like small newspapers, containing pointed messages such as, “Many Clergymen Preaching Without Divine Authority Should Stop Preaching,” “The Fall of Babylon,” and others.

In Glasgow alone, a brother reported the distribution of 10,093 copies of the booklet The Bible vs. The Evolution Theory, a booklet that was given away free. This liberal distribution of literature was done, to a considerable extent, outside churches. Seventy-three churches in Glasgow had been visited.

Meantime the rural districts were receiving attention. Alfred Greenlees and Alexander MacGillivray went over much of Scotland on bicycles. They also worked the island of Orkney and the northern part of Britain. MacGillivray later became the branch overseer in Australia.

The spread of Bible knowledge in Scotland may be measured by the fact that in 1903 there were seventy persons present to celebrate the Memorial of Christ’s death. Groups of Bible Students were meeting regularly in no less than six locations in Glasgow. The distribution of tracts, originally done by paid labor, was later organized so that it was done almost exclusively by volunteers. Colporteurs, on the other hand, distributed the bound books published by the Watch Tower Society and maintained themselves on the small margin the Society allowed them on the placement of these publications.

ORGANIZING FOR GREATER ACTIVITY

By December 1898 there were nine established congregations in Britain. Help in organization became the pressing need. C. T. Russell had previously sent “pilgrims” from America to work with colporteurs in the field and to address congregations. Pilgrims were spiritually older men who visited congregations giving Scriptural counsel and encouragement. They were really the forerunners of the traveling ministers now known as circuit overseers. Russell then decided to appoint Jesse Hemery, a railway signalman from Manchester, to pilgrim service. For ten years Hemery had responded actively to the tract work organized by Bender, and now he commenced his new service on January 3, 1899.

The year 1900 was but a few days old when Hemery received from Russell a letter that said, among other things: “I am planning something further in . . . the interest of the cause in Great Britain, and I trust that the year 1900 will see it realized to some extent.” Russell’s plan began to go into effect a month later when E. C. Henninges and his wife stepped onto the quay at Liverpool and made their way to London.

Henninges called on a number of booksellers to assess the situation regarding prices, commissions or discounts for wholesalers and the sort of bindings most likely to appeal. He also appointed additional colporteurs. He prepared a circular to go to all the booksellers and newsagents, offering Zion’s Watch Tower, a sixteen-page magazine, at a commission of 50 percent on a year’s subscription of twenty-four issues. The Society undertook to provide the magazines and to pay the postage, in addition to supplying free as many sample copies as the newsagent would guarantee to put in the hands of people likely to become subscribers. The circular pointed out that these extra inducements would operate until a goodly list was established, when the terms would be brought to a par with that of English magazines.

Soon several tons of books and magazines arrived in England to meet the demands of the expanding work. In order to relieve the pressure on American printers, Henninges made arrangements for magazines to be printed in London.

Henninges also sought and found suitable premises at 131 Gipsy Lane (now known as Green Street), Forest Gate, East London, to accommodate an office for the British branch of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society. On Monday, April 23, 1900, E. C. Henninges opened the first branch of the Society outside the United States.

Late in 1901 Henninges was recalled to America for a new assignment. In the meantime, Jesse Hemery had arranged his affairs so that he could devote all his time to the ministry, and he was willing to take up an assignment in London. Hence, on Thursday, November 1, 1901, Hemery was appointed branch overseer of the British Isles branch. One of the first things done was to set new prices on the books written by Russell. The decision meant a loss on some volumes, but in the interest of fast distribution the lower figure was suggested by Russell. About this time the Society also published Hints to Colporteurs, indicative of the fact that the ranks of these full-time ministers were expanding.

In April 1903, Russell landed in England for a convention tour. He addressed a number of meetings, including one at Shoreditch Town Hall, London, with a peak attendance of some eight hundred. Conventions on the Continent were followed by visits to Scotland. The last time that Russell had visited Glasgow, in 1891, he had sought out six subscribers for Zion’s Watch Tower. This time attendances rose to a thousand to hear his address on the subject “Millennial Hopes and Prospects.” Other audiences numbering five to six hundred heard Russell in midland and northern towns before he departed for Dublin, where he had an undemonstrative but attentive audience.

On this trip Brother Russell spent time arranging for larger quarters in London. A likely building was located in north London, and so in the autumn of 1903 the branch office was moved from Forest Gate to 24 Eversholt Street, Euston.

ACTIVITY DRAWS OPPOSITION

Trials were in store for that early organization of Jehovah’s people in the British Isles. Zealous activity on the part of many Bible Students was sure to draw the fire of the enemy. At the same time efforts to bring the organization more into line with Scriptural requirements were due to produce sharp differences within the ranks of the Bible Students themselves. For example, women had played quite a prominent part in the early days in Glasgow and other congregations, conducting Sunday schools for children. This arrangement now came under review and it was soon evident that Brother Russell did not favor it. Some were rather put out by the modified view on woman’s place in the Christian congregation.​—1 Tim. 2:11, 12.

On Monday, April 13, 1908, Charles Russell once again visited Britain with a view to making a grand tour with many large public meetings. In Belfast he encountered some opposition from hecklers, which he easily quelled. In Dublin opposition came during a requested question period, the opposition being led by a Y.M.C.A. secretary. Russell showed himself to be equally a master of debate as of exposition, for the encounter left both the secretary and his chief assistant thoroughly discomfited. Throughout Scotland and England halls were crammed, many people not getting in.

The president of the Watch Tower Society made repeated visits to Britain over the years. In May of 1910, he had another three-week itinerary in the British Isles. At Otley, Yorkshire, a town of eight thousand population, six Methodist ministers had caused quite a stir on his previous visit by embracing the truth, for which they were denounced in pulpit and press. On this occasion, one of these six acted as chairman for Brother Russell. This meeting was advertised by the town crier, a burly, pigtailed, costumed man who, ringing a handbell, roared, “Oyez! Oyez! Oyez!” before bawling out his announcement. On this tour the Y.M.C.A. secretary in Dublin prepared reinforcements of preachers to disrupt the meeting, but, according to an eyewitness, Russell ‘virtually plastered the group with scriptures’ and again left the opposers discomfited, to the delight of the audience.

The next year Brother Russell began another British and European tour. He gave an address in a hall packed beyond normal capacity with some two thousand persons in Cardiff, Wales. The Plymouth Brethren had put out a little leaflet that set forth ten points in which it was claimed that quotations from The Divine Plan of the Ages contradicted the Bible. The effect of this was that it helped to advertise the meeting, and at the close of his two-hour talk Russell spent half an hour answering the questions, as well as other questions put orally.

Back in Dublin again for a meeting, Russell was once again confronted by the Y.M.C.A. secretary, who tried to break up the meeting with the help of about a hundred young men of his association. On occasion they yelled and hooted. The questions raised were of the usual order, some being in the form of an attack on Russell. Russell answered them fully and to the apparent satisfaction of all the audience except the rowdies. By the close of this tour Brother Russell had addressed fifty-five meetings in twenty-four cities throughout Europe, with attendances aggregating some forty-four thousand persons. In the same period more than a million pamphlets and papers had been distributed free. Certainly the people of the British Isles, as well as the European continent, were getting to know about Jehovah’s organization.

By the end of 1911 more than three hundred newspapers in Britain were carrying Russell’s sermons. The syndicate handling this work was known as The Pastor Russell Lecture Bureau. It published a descriptive pamphlet about the world tour of which Russell’s visit to Britain in 1912 would form a part. This publication was about the size of Zion’s Watch Tower and outlined the activities of the Society as well as its teachings. It included facsimiles of newspaper cuttings, including many from British papers, giving accounts of Russell’s meetings. It proved to be an effective tool in the spread of Bible truth.

“Class extension” work also began to make good progress. The method was for an appointed elder to select a location and give a series of three “chart talks” on the chronological chart of Biblical dates. These would be followed by three other lectures. After the lecture series those in the audience were invited to meet for regular study. The sense of urgency among the brothers in those days moved them to undertake a distribution of free literature to every farm and isolated homestead in both Scotland and England.

FINANCIAL AND LEGAL MATTERS

The Society’s view of financial matters during these years manifested reliance on the Lord. Brother Russell, commenting on the world financial account of the Society for 1911, declared: “We doubt not that this indebtedness will soon be cancelled; nevertheless the fact that it is nearly double the shortage of last year cautions us that we must to some extent put on the ‘brakes’; for it is our judgment of the Lord’s will that we spend money only as it is supplied under his providence.”

An incident in Oldham, Lancashire, throws a sidelight on the handling of money. It was the year of the great cotton strike. Oldham, being a cotton town, suffered much distress. The Oldham ecclesia (congregation) decided to provide relief measures. This is how they went about it: In a side room they placed a table and on it three pots or basins. One was for gold, one for silver and one for copper. An elder stood outside the door, and only one person was allowed in at a time. Each one who entered ‘stood alone before the Lord.’ No one else knew whether he or she put money in or took money out. Some who gave in the early weeks said that they had to take money out before the strike ended. However, like the widow’s small jar of oil, referred to at 1 Kings 17:14-16, the three basins never ran dry until all had returned to work again.

Notwithstanding the mounting financial burden on the Society, in March 1911 it was deemed necessary to move into larger branch quarters in London, so the Society took over a property at 36 Craven Terrace, Lancaster Gate, London W. This had a meeting hall large enough to accommodate the growing number of believers in the London area. Formerly known as the Craven Hill Congregational Chapel, the premises were renamed London Tabernacle. It had a large gallery seating almost as many as the ground floor​—in all, nearly twelve hundred.

In time the growing activity of the Bible Students in Britain called for changes in the legal structure of the group. On June 30, 1914, the International Bible Students Association was registered under the Companies Acts as an unlimited company. The liability for the mortgage on the London Tabernacle was transferred to the new legal corporation, which became the lessee also of 34 Craven Terrace, then occupied by the Hemerys and ten other members of the Bethel family. The parent legal body was the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. Thus the Society in this land became geared to meet not only an expanding volume of work but also the pressures of a shattering kind that were now imminent.

PHOTO-DRAMA OF CREATION

As the keenly anticipated year 1914 drew near, the preaching work did not slow down. A tour by Charles T. Russell in the late summer of 1913 embraced conventions in London and Glasgow. Speaking in London on August 4, 1913, he declared: “. . . the Gentile times will close with October, 1914​—not a great while in the distance.” He expressed the belief that the ‘burning up’ to which the Bible refers would be “not a literal burning, but a time of trouble​—that is the ‘fire’ spoken of by the apostles and prophets as being the feature which will close this present age, and the feature with which the new dispensation will be introduced.”

When the year 1914 broke, it found the Society intensely active and looking far forward. An entirely new project was launched. To drive home in a striking way truths the Bible Students had been proclaiming for forty years, “The Photo-Drama of Creation” entered the field. The first showing in Britain came in July 1914. The Society produced twenty complete outfits, each consisting of projectors, films, slides, screens, gramophones, records and scenarios. The complete program consisted of four two-hour exhibitions followed by a finale consisting of a lecture. Eighty shows could therefore run concurrently. The aim was to show the “Drama” in the best and largest theaters in the leading cities throughout the country. Advance superintendents made contracts with theater managers. A publicity superintendent followed up and made arrangements for an extensive advertising campaign. Then came the opening superintendent. His task was to check arrangements and make sure all operating details were satisfactory. Finally came the operators to carry out the meeting routine, arrange for the distribution of scenarios and free booklets and to plan for follow-up on all turning in their names as being interested.

The usual plan was for Part 1 of the “Drama” to be run for a full week in any given location. Then Part 2 was shown for the second week, and so on for the four. A fifth session was given over to a final lecture. Of course, the time available had much to do with how long each session of the “Photo-Drama” showing would be. Brother Russell was himself present for the start of the showings in London, where packed houses enjoyed the presentation very much. Then Russell and his party traveled to Glasgow and other Scottish cities to start this new work there also.

The London Opera House, Kingsway, was thought to be an ideal place for the series, but it was taken for granted that the cost would place it out of bounds. However, in October 1914 came an offer from the management for a period, October 12-27, for a fee of £100. The Society seized this opportunity. The brothers in London rose to the occasion and, with only a week to go, managed to distribute some four hundred thousand “Drama” tracts before the opening day. These tracts were really small newspapers copiously illustrated with scenes from the particular part of the “Drama” advertised, and they contained a great deal of descriptive and other reading matter. Also used for advertising the occasion were a large number of window cards and circulars. Brothers called on business houses, stores, hotels, hospitals and all places likely to engage a large staff and supplied them with a quantity of show cards and admission tickets.

There were a great number of box seats available at the Opera House. So special invitation cards were sent out to the aristocracy and people of good address in London. As a result, the boxes were nearly always filled by a class of people, including titled people, that the “Drama” had not hitherto reached. Two bishops were known to have attended. Interest continued to mount as the series at the Opera House progressed. The finale came on Tuesday, October 27, when more than one thousand attended in the afternoon. In the evening the Opera House was again packed and hundreds were turned away, unable to gain admission. Later, the Royal Albert Hall in London was also used for “Drama” presentations. The first seven days’ attendance ran up to 24,192. The report of the showing of the “Photo-Drama” in Scotland at this time indicated that forty-five towns were visited, including Glasgow, with an aggregate attendance of three hundred thousand. The number of names of interested persons handed in at final lectures totaled 4,919.

Following tours of England and Scotland, the “Photo-Drama of Creation” was presented to large appreciative audiences in Belfast, Portadown, Ballymena and other centers in Ireland. The Society also provided a shortened version of the “Drama” with no films or moving pictures, but with slides only. That exhibition was known as the Eureka Drama. These showings too drew substantial crowds of interested persons.

By the end of 1914, after six months of showing the “Drama” in the British Isles, 1,226,650 had seen the exhibition in ninety-seven cities besides London. The spread of the Kingdom message by this and by the regular house-to-house visitation by the Bible Students had resulted in a great expansion of the organization in the British Isles. When the first world war broke out, there were 182 congregations, and the attendance at the Memorial that year amounted to 4,100. But drastic developments were imminent, not only in the world situation, but also within the Society.

BIBLE STUDENTS UNDER ATTACK

With the end of “the times of the nations” in 1914, came the beginning of the end of the British Empire, then at the apex of its power. Rapacious traders began to skin the populace. Shops became bare of food. The bank rate shot to a panic 10 percent. During the opening stages of the war that was to become the first world war, the army that supplemented Britain’s regular army was a volunteer one. Notwithstanding the fact that the church lent its vigorous support to the recruiting campaign, there was still a vast shortage of volunteers. Conscription was therefore introduced. This brought a new group into prominence, the much despised conscientious objectors.

Tribunals were set up to consider each case of conscientious objection individually, and it was the duty of the tribunal to assess the sincerity of the one concerned. Before long more than forty Bible Students were imprisoned because their objection to military service was supposed by the tribunals not to be conscientious. The International Bible Students Association therefore circulated a petition that was eventually signed by 5,500 persons. It protested against the imprisonments and was sent with a covering letter to the prime minister of Great Britain.

On Monday, July 17, 1916, proceedings in the nature of a test case came on at the Edinburgh Sheriff Court. James Frederick Scott, in 1971 still in full-time ministerial service in Scotland, was at that time charged with having “been deemed to have enlisted and to have been transferred to the Army Reserve” but having “failed to appear” when called. He was acquitted, and on the basis of this judgment the London office set out to get exemption for regular office workers and elders.

Meantime eight of the conscientious objectors among the Bible Students had been sent to France, and the news came through that they were sentenced to be shot. When they were lined up to face the firing squad, the sentence was commuted by General Sir Douglas Haig to ten years of penal servitude. The eight were returned to England to serve their time in Dartmoor prison. The military powers at that time were very much a law to themselves. By September 1916, 264 of the brothers had applied for exemption. Of these, five were granted their petition, 154 were assigned to work of national importance, 23 to a noncombatant corps and 82 were handed over to the military.

Some of the brothers were subjected to military savagery. For example, Frank Platt was a victim of the sadism of military officers. He was subjected to solitary confinement. He was given “shot drill” that required him, after three months on a diet of bread and water, to carry a thirty-pound weight at arm’s length and repeatedly at the sound of a whistle place it on the ground, lift it again and repeat till he dropped to the ground exhausted. For dropping exhausted and being unable to rise he was sentenced to another eighteen days of shot drill. When this was over, being still alive, he was banged in the face several times and then tied day after day by the shoulders, hands and feet to a beam in a tiny storeroom from eight in the morning until eight at night with an hour’s break at noon when he was given some cold rice and water. The sergeant major came to see him each day and asked: “Had enough yet?” Several times the prison governor called and inquired: “Are you comfortable?” Then Platt was transferred to the “Black Hole of Le Havre,” where prisoners were bound and beaten, sometimes to death. A London newspaper got hold of the “Black Hole” story and, as a result, the governor, the sergeant major and the noncommissioned officers under him were moved from the prison.

Some who were grounded in the truth before the war broke out were “absolutists,” that is, they refused to have any part at all in the war or any work related to it. They were simply jailed. Pryce Hughes, who later became branch overseer in Britain, was among these. In common with other prisoners, he was sent out to work on building a dam in Wales. It was there that he met a fellow prisoner, Edgar Clay. They pioneered together and later worked in Bethel together with Frank Platt, the three still being happily busy there in 1972.

ORGANIZATIONAL CRISIS

The need for retrenchment, the worsening conditions in Britain and the effects of conscription combined to restrict the advance of the Kingdom work. Problems at once personal and organizational had their effect too. In the earliest issues of Zion’s Watch Tower Russell had pointed out from the Scriptures that a prime source of trouble would come from those who were anointed, who had embraced and furthered the spread of the truth and who then defected. The congregations were now approaching the time when this dissension would be crystalized and directed with telling but not successful effect.​—Acts 20:29, 30; Matt. 13:36-41.

In those days congregations were run by elders assisted by deacons, all of whom were locally nominated and elected annually. It usually took several meetings to complete this election process. Feelings often ran high, and the discord engendered did not end when the election was over. In October 1916, the elders of the London Tabernacle signed and sent to Russell a letter outlining problems affecting the constitution of the congregation and the study methods employed. They invited Russell to express his views on these problems and differences. They undertook to make no changes until Russell’s views were known. At the same time they expressed loyalty to the president and to the Society.

Russell did not, however, have the opportunity to express his views on these problems. On Tuesday, October 31, 1916, Charles Taze Russell died on a train while on a lecture tour in the United States. To a situation already fraught with tensions and difficulties, his death added one more problem for the brothers in the British Isles. Brother Russell’s death cast a gloom over all the brothers. He had been held in the highest esteem by all. Approachable and much loved, he had taken a lively and kindly interest in people. To many his loss also meant the loss of coordinating direction of the organization of God’s people. To others, however, that very loss furnished the opportunity to further their own designs.

On November 7, 1916, a cable from Brooklyn headquarters advised the London office that Brother Paul S. L. Johnson was about to leave for Britain. The purpose of his visit was to look into the difficulties involving the managers of the Society and the London Tabernacle. His real power in Britain would be no greater than that of any of the other pilgrim brothers who had come to these shores, and of this he was made perfectly acquainted before leaving the Brooklyn office. He made a tour of Britain, addressing public meetings on the subject “Britain’s Fallen Heroes​—Comfort for Their Bereaved.” He recommended that congregations set up “Schools of the Prophets” to train brothers in public speaking. Backed by papers that appeared to give him plenipotentiary powers, he made a considerable impression in the congregations. With this newly acquired background he returned to London, and there his real aims soon became apparent.

On Sunday, February 4, 1917, the secretary of the London congregation read a letter from Paul Johnson that announced that Brothers Shearn and Crawford were no longer managers of the Society. Johnson as a “Special Representative of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society” took it upon himself to instruct the bank to reject the signatures of Shearn and Crawford and honor checks countersigned by Ebenezer Housden and Alexander Kirkwood. Then Johnson cabled J. F. Rutherford, who had recently become president of the Watch Tower Society: “Situation intolerable. Shearn, Crawford dismissed.”

As soon as President Rutherford heard of Johnson’s dismissal of the two managers, he sent a cable calling for their reinstatement. They, however, refused to be reinstated. At the same time Brother Rutherford appointed a commission to look into the trouble. Unknown to Rutherford, one of the members of that commission, Housden, was involved in the whole situation, being one of the new check signatories. Meantime, Johnson was quite undisturbed about Rutherford’s reaction. He was satisfied that Rutherford was “undoubtedly the victim of a cablegram campaign engineered by Shearn and Crawford.” Johnson therefore began one himself. His first cable ran to eighty-five words, later eclipsed by others, including a one-hundred-and-fifteen-word effort. The first cablegram identified himself and others with characters in Esther, Nehemiah and other Bible books. He himself was likened to Ezra, Nehemiah and Mordecai. He invited the president of the Society to be his “right-hand man.”

In the meantime Johnson instructed Hemery urgently to lay in stocks of food and store them in a place safe from men and from rats. He suggested a false ceiling lined with tin. Wheat and peanuts, he said, were specially needed. He based his demands, he said, on Elisha’s predictions of famine. The six elders who signed the October letter and were later reelected, Johnson said, were in fact “sons of Haman” whom Johnson “slew” the previous Sunday and who would be “hanged up” by him on March 4, 1917, by his dismissing them. About this time Hemery cabled Rutherford: “Johnson claims full control everything.” Next day, Rutherford cabled Johnson: “Your work finished London; return America, important.” And to Hemery, Rutherford cabled: “Johnson demented. Has no powers. Credentials issued to procure passport. Return him America.” On March 7, Johnson, in an eighty-seven-word cable to Vice-President A. I. Ritchie and W. E. Van Amburgh, repudiated Rutherford’s authority to recall him to America, claimed full support of the London congregation as against Shearn and Crawford, and appealed to the Society against Rutherford, who, he said, was not elected to the presidential position.

Johnson launched a campaign against the bank, threatening proceedings if they honored checks legally drawn and demanding recognition of his own nominees. He underlined his own plenipotentiary powers, withdrew authority from Alexander Kirkwood, suspended Hemery in a document formally witnessed by Ebenezer Housden, and made it known generally that he, Johnson, should have been the Society’s president but had declined to accept.

Johnson, resisted by Hemery, the remaining manager in the London office, co-opted Housden as his accomplice, obtained the keys of the London office and forcibly took possession. He confiscated the mail, opened the safe and took money belonging to the Society, and then instituted a lawsuit in the High Court of Chancery in London, in the name of the Society by himself as special representative, against the manager of the London office and against the bank where the Society’s funds were deposited. Acting through solicitors, Johnson obtained an injunction restraining the defendants from drawing on the funds of the Society. At this point Hemery wired Rutherford: “Johnson rampaging. He and Housden seizing mails and cash. Hasten sealed cancellation authority. Solicitor recommends Johnson’s forcible ejection.” In reply Rutherford cabled: “Resist Johnson’s injunction. Does not represent Society. Restrain him.” Written cancellation of Johnson’s appointment came over the signature of the president, the stamp and seal of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society and attested by W. E. Van Amburgh. Formal annulment of all Johnson’s acts and deeds accompanied the revocation of his authority.

Johnson’s lawsuit, for which he employed counsel, failed. His rebellion and attempt to seize the funds of the Society failed also. On March 10 Rutherford cabled Hemery to take full control. Hemery went immediately to the bank to safeguard £800 on deposit there. He was none too soon. Johnson arrived immediately after to use his letters from the head office to gain control of the money. A verbal and legal fight ensued. Frustrated, Johnson pursued his legal action. When the case came before the judge, Johnson’s counsel decided, after reading Hemery’s affidavit, not to proceed with his action. These developments, of course, deflated Johnson, and he was quiet for a time, but not for long. His illusions of grandeur revived. It soon became evident that his purpose was more than that of taking control of the office. He aimed to take control of the whole British field and its resources, and of the running of a separate edition of the Watch Tower magazine.

Johnson, balked and furious, conferred long with his fellow conspirator, Housden. On Wednesday, both went early to bed in their separate rooms. Hemery recruited Brother Cronk and four others. Two crept to Johnson’s room and silently but firmly secured the door. Hemery, Cronk and the other two tiptoed to Housden’s room and with some difficulty obtained the keys. Quickly, Hemery and Cronk went to the safe, unlocked it and swung the door. The money was gone. Johnson and Housden had scooped a deposit of £50 in gold, £190 in currency and the receipts from the mail during the days they held it. Besides this sum, a check for £350 was missing.

Hemery and Cronk made another trip to Housden’s room, but this time not on tiptoe. “Where is the money?” demanded Hemery. Housden refused to divulge any information, even under close interrogation. But he did promise he would help Johnson no more. In the course of the questioning Hemery pointed out the possibility of bringing in the police. At 11:30 p.m. the doorbell rang. There on the step was a police officer. He wanted an explanation of a violation of the very stringent London lighting regulations. An upstairs window was brightly lighted and had no blackout. The officer insisted on seeing those responsible and Hemery took him to the offending room and knocked. The door opened and there, framed in the doorway, was a man whose urge to meet policemen had never been at a lower ebb. “This,” said Hemery to the officer, “is Mr. Housden.”

Next morning at six o’clock the Bethel family awoke to sounds of violence. A banging and pounding and a final thud gave evidence that Johnson was not a man to be restricted by a door wedged with a sizable chunk of wood. Cronk warned Johnson that, though he could go to the bathroom if he wanted, he could not have things his own way. Cronk mentioned that a police officer had been up to see Housden the previous night, though no mention was made of the reason for the visit. So Johnson paid a visit to Housden’s room. But Housden, shaken by the events of the night, would not come out or even converse with him through the door. Johnson began then to share the worry that was clearly afflicting Housden. Desirable as he once regarded these premises, it now appeared to him to be time to leave, and that without delay. He returned to his room, one flight up, and dressed. Leaving his baggage open, he went out on the balcony overlooking Craven Terrace, climbed the balustrade and hung suspended for a moment before working his way down the face of the building.

As the front door of the Bethel was open, some might have thought there were easier ways of reaching the street than the way Johnson chose, and they would have been right. But had Johnson chosen the easy way, the milkman that morning would have missed a sight that made his day, that of a silk-hatted, frock-coated city gent, feet shod with rubber overshoes, shinning down a drainpipe.

During that day Housden delivered to Brother Gentle a package containing about £220 in gold, treasury notes and other paper. Gentle phoned Hemery to say that he, Gentle, would have to hold the money until a note from Johnson’s solicitors sanctioned its surrender. Hemery shocked Gentle by pointing out that he was handling stolen property. By evening Hemery received the cash. But the needed statement of finances was still missing.

Though President Rutherford all along took a strong and emphatic line with Johnson, he advocated with equal emphasis the need to deal with him in a kindly way. In seeking to find some reason for the tremendous disruption that had come upon the London branch and on the work generally in Britain, he advanced the view that the years of discord between the three managers was itself an inducing factor, Jehovah having “permitted the adversary to enter.” On March 16, 1917, Rutherford sent copies of new rules for the London branch and invited the three managers to go over them together and then, if agreeable, sign and return a copy to Brooklyn headquarters. The rules vested due authority in Hemery as the president’s representative.

The findings of the commission appointed to look into the troubles in London reached this country together with the president’s conclusions. Rutherford’s covering letter, however, gave the text of a cable from Housden to Brother Van Amburgh, which read: “JOHNSON UNEARTHED COLOSSAL EFFORT BY HEMERY SHEARN CRAWFORD DEFRAUD WATCH TOWER OF FINANCIAL CONTROL. RUTHERFORD’S CABLEGRAMS ENCOURAGING THEM. HAVE BOARD SILENCE HIM. Signed HOUSDEN.” This cable was dated March 18, 1917. As soon as it came to hand Van Amburgh turned it over to Rutherford. When the report of the commission reached Rutherford, he searched it in vain for information about this fresh conspiracy. Housden, a member of the commission and a signatory of the report, for reasons then not clear, had kept silent. Meantime the mystery of Johnson’s whereabouts following his unorthodox exit of the British branch office, was not cleared up until April 1917, by which time he was halfway to America. It is true that following his hasty departure there were one or two strange telephoned messages received at the Bethel home, and it was concluded that Johnson was standing beside the mystery caller on each occasion trying to get some information about his friend Housden.

Later, after two long sessions, Rutherford established that Johnson was perfectly sane on every point save one, namely, himself. Johnson contended strongly that he must return to Great Britain. President Rutherford’s reaction: “We will see to it that he does not return there.” Instead it was recommended that Hemery arrange a tour to explain matters to the congregations. The idea was for Brother Kirkwood to assist with this tour, Hemery himself visiting the larger congregations.

Quite apart from the reports on the recent and current frictions, Rutherford knew from his visits to Britain during the last seven years that, despite the phenomenal expansion of the work in this land, there was a spirit of pride among many whose knowledge of the Scriptures was seriously undermined by a poor condition of heart. It was therefore arranged for the brothers to be built up with the help of the pilgrim service, which had largely been disrupted by the world war. As to the eleven elders who signed the October letter to Russell, Brother Rutherford concluded that they had no ulterior motive; though at fault, their action did not imply any disloyalty to the Society. Indeed, Rutherford found good reasons for nearly everything that gave rise to complaint. In his report as well as in covering letters he made it most easy for everyone concerned to carry on or reassume his duties in the service of God in a happy way. The entire matter was handled through correspondence, since travel between Britain and America was still difficult. It followed that by June, Hemery had the pilgrim service going again, enlisting a number of able men in this activity. He himself made pilgrim visits too, and, on the whole, found the congregations in good shape despite the buffeting they had experienced.

Johnson did not give up his ambitious scheme easily. Back in Brooklyn he launched a campaign to get himself back to Britain. Rutherford reported that Johnson was really working to turn the Society’s directors against its president. He suggested that Hemery find out from the congregations what they would think about Johnson’s coming back and then let them write to Brooklyn setting out their views. In the meantime Housden, pressed by a committee of three for evidence to support his charge of conspiracy and being unable to furnish any, had written a letter of apology to Rutherford withdrawing his unsupported charge.

By this time America’s expeditionary force was already in France and a new military law, the Selective Draft Act, piled extra work on President Rutherford’s desk. In view of these increasing pressures, Rutherford informed the loyal ones in Britain: “I think I had better wait a while before coming to Britain and sit on the safety valve here in case they blow me clear out, which, by the Lord’s grace, I hope they will not be able to do.” This turned out to be exactly what Rutherford’s enemies were marshaling their forces to accomplish.

LIES VERSUS BITING TRUTH

It was easy in those troublous times to detect the enemies of truth no matter whether they had the thin veneer of Christendom’s representatives or the sheeplike clothing of disloyal ones among the Bible Students of those days. A special target that had the effect of drawing the fire of all these enemies and resulting in their exposure as enemies of the truth was the publication The Finished Mystery. Johnson’s faction attacked it in a four-page printed “Letter to International Bible Students.” Other opposition journals began to follow suit. One of them, entitled “The Herald of Christ’s Kingdom,” copied the format of The Watch Tower and some of its recurring features, even to the point of having the same subtitles word for word. Surely only frauds would descend to such deceitful methods.

“The Fall of Babylon” issue of The Bible Students Monthly advertised The Finished Mystery and included biting truths that had the effect of stripping Christendom’s religion of its covering of pretense. Not only did the clergy howl, but they induced the political powers to take action on both warring sides, clergymen in Germany being just as antagonistic to the Bible Students as their counterparts in Britain and America. Britain’s ally, Canada, led by fining and imprisoning people who possessed copies of either The Finished Mystery or “The Fall of Babylon” tract.

Lying, garbled news reports were circulated around this country. For example, the Northern Echo reported: “The Federal authorities today raided Bethel Home, the headquarters of the International Bible Students Association, situated on Columbia Heights, Brooklyn, and there seized a powerful wireless outfit. The premises overlook New York Harbour.” Another report added: “The outfit was presumably to be used for communication with the enemy.” With great glee the enemy saw to it that this misleading report was widely circulated.

But what was the truth of the matter? Here is how it was factually reported in the March 8 issue of the Electrical Review: “ILLICIT WIRELESS.​—Reuter reports that the Federal authorities in New York have seized the Tower Office Building on Lower Broadway, where a wireless apparatus was discovered sufficiently powerful to communicate with Germany. This wireless plant was in the possession of a certain Richard Pfund, who was at one time manager of the Telefunken plants at Tuckerton and Sayville. Although the apparatus was disconnected, experts declared that it could be put into operation again within the space of half an hour. Pfund, when questioned on the subject, asserted that he was doing experimental work for the American Navy. This statement was subsequently verified, but the authorities are now making further investigations.”

Tower Office Building on Lower Broadway, Manhattan, was a big step from Bethel, Columbia Heights, Brooklyn, geographically, phonetically and in every other way. Since the report originated in New York and was furnished by an experienced correspondent of the Central News Agency, Rutherford’s reaction described the matter accurately, for he cabled Hemery at London: “RAID WIRELESS REPORTS MALICIOUSLY FALSE.”

Nonetheless, the damage had been done, and this led to investigation by Britain’s director of the Press Bureau. Prior to printing The Finished Mystery in England, Hemery had underlined passages in the book that exposed the hypocritical course of the clergy in encouraging men in all nations to slaughter one another and that, while German soldiers wore belts inscribed ‘God with us,’ British clergymen threw halos of glory upon soldiers the Germans killed. Some of the passages described the clergy as decoys to get others to kill and be killed while themselves avoiding any direct participation. Hemery undertook to delete such passages and was granted permission to go ahead with the printing and distribution. But meantime the congregations were deluging their territories with the pamphlet “The Fall of Babylon,” and had tremendous success in their work. One congregation in Lancashire reported: “We completed the work in four hours.” In Liverpool more than 80,000 copies were distributed. The Press Bureau director immediately wrote and called for an interview with Hemery and told him that The Finished Mystery was an offense against Regulation 18 of the Defence of the Realm Act. Hemery arranged to stop the printing of any further copies.

There is no doubt that the war’s effects were bringing about radical changes and often lack of clear direction, with the result that some compromised, as in the case of deleting material from The Finished Mystery. Meantime officers of the organization and the congregations were being imprisoned on one pretext or another. Despite all, a band of faithful men and women in Britain battled on, not for the defense of Christendom’s preserves nor for those of her political pals, but for the maintenance of pure worship of the great God, Jehovah. The general spiritual condition among the brothers indeed called for encouragement and an awakening to the real meaning of developing world events, as they proved Jehovah’s eye was upon them for their good.

ANNOUNCING HOPE FOR MILLIONS

The Watch Tower magazine published a full report of the convention in Cedar Point, Ohio, in 1919, and this gave a fillip to the activity in Britain. On August 25, 1920, President Rutherford and others from Brooklyn began a lecture tour of Britain. The public address was entitled “Millions Now Living Will Never Die.” Up and down the land, packed halls, overflow meetings and thousands not getting in, marked the public response. This lecture was the high point of a four-day convention in London, where the brothers distributed more than 400,000 leaflets for a meeting that overflowed the Royal Albert Hall.

Toward the close of 1920 the Society published Golden Age No. 27, a twenty-page outsize issue of a new magazine. It gave authentic reports on persecutions of God’s people in England, Canada, America, Germany and other lands. It exposed the part Christendom’s religion and its leaders had played. It pointed out the reason for these attacks and declared that Christendom as well as the entire system was doomed. It exposed the League of Nations. It predicted extensive Communism and anarchy. But, above all, it pointed to the remedy for all humankind’s trouble. The campaign with this magazine, planned to start on December 1, 1920, called for a copy to be left at each home. Two weeks later, at a second visit, the caller would invite the householder to contribute for the magazine. Some made a contribution, but some made a fuss because of their distaste for its message.

In 1922 came another tour of Britain by Brother Rutherford again to present the “Millions Now Living Will Never Die” lecture, and again to capacity audiences. In 1925, at conventions during April and May, the same halls were used and again were rapidly packed, and, in many cases, crowds had to be turned away. By the end of that year 1925, there were 355 congregations in Britain and 167 full-time colporteurs besides 96 part-time workers, then known as “auxiliaries.”

Following the lead given by Brother Rutherford, speakers traveled throughout the land giving the same address, “Millions Now Living Will Never Die,” in cinemas, halls, any kind of meeting place that could be rented. Large-scale advertising in newspapers and with tracts and posters drew the attention of the public. The brothers would hire a hall, sometimes in an outlying district, advertise the meeting intensively, give the address, and then cover the territory with the book Millions Now Living Will Never Die. For the first year’s campaign, a quarter of a million books were printed and lectures were given to hundreds of thousands of people. There have been very few statements at any time that have made a greater impact on the public mind than that confident declaration “Millions Now Living Will Never Die.”

GIRDING FOR GREATER RESPONSIBILITIES

Brother Rutherford was well aware that the spiritual battle of the future would be waged with increasing vigor and with weapons on both sides modified to meet the developing situations. It was evident to him that opposition was building up in covert as well as in overt ways. So consideration began to be given to the organization of Jehovah’s people. Up to this time organization had been loose and somewhat complicated. Direction for activities in Britain virtually came from the appointees of the London congregation. They formed an executive committee of seven chosen from seventy annually elected elders, and they were responsible for decisions, meetings and organization of the congregation. Quarterly business meetings and monthly service meetings often overlapped in their different functions. Meetings of elders decided how to give effect to decisions of the executive committee. Again functions overlapped. It was time for a change, and a change was on the way.

Although the form of government in the congregations remained basically democratic, there was a clear pulling away from this form. The appointing of elders by election was being hedged about with qualifications of a Scriptural kind. One resolution contained these provisos: “That this congregation will not appoint anyone who does not accept the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society as the Lord’s channel for the expression of his will at this time; and further, that it will appoint to office only those who declare that they will do all that is reasonably possible to further the interests of the Kingdom according to the lead given from time to time by the Society through its publications, and as expressed by its president.”

Plans for the biggest convention in Britain to date were near completion when the entire nation was brought to a standstill by the general strike in 1926, a strike called by the whole trade union movement. However, the government took strong measures, enlisted volunteer labor with military backing, even to the point of operating the railways; and the strike ended just in time to prevent serious interference with the convention. The seven-day assembly began on Tuesday, May 25, 1926, at the Alexandra Palace, London. In his lecture Rutherford predicted the disintegration of the British Empire, and this produced howls of protest later both from British sources and from some outside. Thirteen thousand people filled the Royal Albert Hall to hear “Why World Powers Are Tottering​—the Remedy,” which contained the resolution “A Testimony to the Rulers of the World.” In this public lecture Rutherford denounced the clergy-sponsored League of Nations and predicted its continued impotence and ultimate end. His remarks were widely published in the London Daily News.

This was the first convention in Britain to enjoy a book release. The second bound book from the pen of J. F. Rutherford, Deliverance, was made available to the conventioners. Referring to this new publication at its release, Rutherford said: “Some objections have been raised regarding the Harp of God in that it had not one word of criticism of this present world under Satan’s control. You will find that this book fully atones for any such omission.” And it did. Another publication released at this convention was the booklet Standard for the People. Delegates to the convention took fifty or more of these booklets each, traveled to outlying districts and managed to distribute 120,000 copies besides six million copies of the tract “Testimony to the Rulers.” That week there was a newspaper strike on, and many had nothing to read. One delegate, offering the booklet on a contribution said: “People practically snatched them from us.”

An overseas territory, though never under the British branch, received help from Britain about this time. Edwin Skinner and George Wright, pioneers in Britain, moved out to Bombay in July 1926 and set up a branch there. By 1972 there were well over three thousand publishers in India.

In 1927 preparations for a convention in Glasgow, Scotland, were undertaken. The dates arranged for were September 10 to 14. In preparation therefor the Society arranged to approach wireless license holders for signatures to a petition to broadcast the public lecture “Highway to Life.” This was to be presented in St. Andrews Grand Hall. Twenty-six thousand license holders signed the petition, representing about 100,000 people. Three brothers presented the petition to the British Broadcasting Corporation, which, however, turned it down, and not very graciously at that. Nonetheless, some ten thousand heard the address, about half that number in three halls connected by direct wire and a similar number in the streets who heard through loudspeakers.

For forty-odd years the spiritual war with Satan’s old system of things had been waged very much in the sphere of religious doctrine, but now it became evident that the war was entering a new phase​—a phase that would bring the fire of groups other than religionists. It would bring against the proclaimers of Bible truth the fury of Satan’s entire organization, religious and political. It was a time for the issue to be squarely drawn and for supporters of true worship to align themselves firmly with the organization upon which Jehovah’s blessing was so evident.

JEHOVAH’S NAME TO THE FORE

The outstanding event of 1931 was the recognition that true Christians are and should be witnesses of the Almighty God, whose name alone is Jehovah. (Ps. 83:18) From that time forward God’s people throughout the world began to demonstrate that they were Jehovah’s witnesses, and by that name they wished to be known. The Resolution to this effect, adopted at Columbus, Ohio, on Sunday, July 26, of that momentous year, was also adopted at the extensions of that convention, a number of which were located in Britain. For example, the London convention held at the Alexandra Palace produced an overflowing crowd in that ten-thousand-capacity great hall. At this convention too came the explanation of the ninth chapter of Ezekiel, and the release of the first of the three-volume work Vindication.

During this period the Society provided for two-day service assemblies, in every instance featuring service in the field. Congregations that could provide facilities for meeting and catering were free to apply to the Society for such an assembly, the Society supplying the program and speakers. At this time too the witnesses of Jehovah in this land were not to be balked by the dog-in-the-manger tactics of the British Broadcasting Corporation. Arrangements were made by Brother Rutherford in Britain for the regular broadcast of the Kingdom message from Continental stations. The Society supplied leaflets advertising the lectures and encouraging people in Britain to tune in. Fecamp, Radio Normandy and Lyons were among the stations advertised to let people hear Jehovah’s name and purpose.

Enthusiasm engendered by the recognition of their responsibility as witnesses of Jehovah God moved many to enroll in the full-time service as pioneers. Soon there were 212 enrolled in Britain as well as 130 “auxiliaries.” Pioneers were required to put in twenty-five hours a week in house-to-house service; auxiliaries, half that amount. To quote the branch overseer’s report for 1933: “We have more applications for the pioneer service than we can accommodate with territory.” So Britain began to supply pioneers to France, Belgium and other European countries. Pioneers were appropriately named, for they did indeed break new ground, taking the Divine Name into isolated areas. Generally they worked in pairs, the Society issuing to them a territory map with congregation territories clearly marked, but they did not touch congregation territory.

Still more effective means were called into action for the purpose of spreading Jehovah’s name. “Impossible,” said cable engineers when the Society asked them to carry by direct wire a one-hour speech to auditoriums in five continents. On June 2, 1935, the speech “Government” was to be the high point of the five-day convention at Washington, D.C. Post-office engineers were to tie in six cities in Britain. As the hands moved up to eight o’clock, staccato, disjointed words and sounds came from the loudspeakers mounted in front of stage curtains as technicians, separated by ocean and continent, established lines, cemented circuits, checked connections. With ten seconds to go came the measured countdown “. . . two . . . one . . . ZERO.” After the chairman’s introduction came the familiar voice of Brother Rutherford and his talk focusing attention on the government of Jehovah God. The speech “Government” was on the air to run its electrifying sixty minutes, punctuated with applause, carrying its two-hemisphere audience to its climactic resolution, deafeningly supported. Interrupting the applause came the chairman’s voice. Interrupting the chairman’s voice came a cutoff in the circuit after an hour’s perfect reception. The “impossible” had been fully accomplished.

In due course, recordings of the speech arrived in London, and September 29, 1935, was set aside for a special all-day campaign. More than a thousand lectures were given that day. Witnesses used cars and trucks to carry electrical transcription machines for the broadcast of this striking lecture. This was but the start of considerable activity with these transcription machines. In Glasgow personable sisters were chosen to call at clubs and other institutions to offer a free presentation of music, a recorded address, questions and discussion. The morning of the agreed meeting a card arrived at the institution reminding the secretary of the evening’s presentation. It was called “The Watch Tower Programme,” the lecture “World Control” being specially featured. The name Jehovah and his kingdom became well known. Questions asked at these meetings were generally of a high order. One sister fixed up more than a hundred such meetings. The congregation sometimes held fifty to sixty such meetings a month, with individual attendances as high as four hundred. And, of course, the brothers placed thousands of books and booklets in conjunction with this activity.

In 1934 the Society introduced the portable phonograph (gramophone) for use in house-to-house ministry. Within about four years some 5,000 of these were in use in the field. Some Witnesses used a testimony card to introduce the recording. More often, the Witness simply asked the householder to listen to the record. Having prepared the machine in advance, he would then put it on the step or hold it on his arm and play the recording. Some records encouraged the listener to read one of the Society’s publications.

In 1936, when Brother Rutherford addressed overflow audiences in Glasgow and London on the subject “Armageddon,” the Society employed a new advertising device, namely, parades of up to seventy-five Witnesses wearing sandwich boards. This made a striking impact on the public. Many Roman Catholics came to the Glasgow meeting despite having been warned by their priests not to attend.

TIME FOR VIGOROUS ACTION

Toward the end of the year 1937, the president appointed twenty-six-year-old Albert Schroeder to take the oversight of the British field, and on November 23 he commenced service as branch overseer.

“Wake Up Britain!” was the stirring call for 1938. In a letter the Society’s president outlined changes in organization in London, whereby the one large congregation would be divided into nine “units,” meeting in seven Kingdom Halls, each “unit” with its overseer. The same plan was applied all over Britain, the country being divided into thirty zones, each with its “zone servant.” About one thousand publishers were present in the Craven Terrace Hall to receive the news and they showed enthusiastic support for the new arrangement.

Also brothers and sisters were encouraged to enter the pioneer service, and by the year’s end 325 had been enrolled. Pioneers now were to be no longer working apart from congregations. Instead, where they were working in towns or cities having congregations they would collaborate with the congregations and obtain their territory through the congregation arrangement. Pioneer brothers would be called upon to fill positions of responsibility in the congregations. The Society also laid plans for the establishment of pioneer homes in London and other large cities so that anywhere from six to sixteen pioneers could live communally and thus cut down on living costs.

Work in the office was reorganized, with the result that some of the Bethel members could be transferred to the field service. Brothers and sisters were encouraged to spend more time in the field ministry, the work of making return visits was systematically built up, and information marches were used to advertise specific events, such as special lectures. Every means was used to put the Kingdom message to the fore and make the population aware of it.

In April a new booklet made its appearance; printed in red and black, the 32-page publication Cure made a slashing attack on the duplicity of worldly religion and pointed to the sure cure for mankind’s ills. Ten million copies rolled off the presses for its first edition. In a three-month campaign in Britain a peak of 6,021 publishers distributed 2,300,000 copies.

Conventions in Birmingham and Manchester that year were eclipsed by the September convention radiating world wide from the Royal Albert Hall, London. Fifty assemblies, ten of which were in Britain, were tied in by direct wire for the presentation of the lectures “Fill the Earth” and “Face the Facts,” the first being given on Saturday, September 10, and the second on Sunday, September 11. Total attendance topped 150,000. Halls throughout Britain were packed out, thousands not being able to gain entry. A vast advertising campaign employed millions of handbills, thousands of placards carried by information marchers and posters exhibited on trucks, shop windows and private homes, banners on public vehicles, cinema slides and loudspeakers.

Meanwhile, fears of war were rising in Britain. Hitler’s take-over of Czechoslovakia brought Great Britain to the brink of war. Prime Minister Chamberlain, in pursuit of his appeasement policy, visited Hitler in Munich, Germany, and returned with a signed piece of paper. Stepping from the plane, Chamberlain waved the paper exulting, “Peace in our time.” “Armageddon,” reported the press, “has been averted.” Nevertheless, preparations for war increased. Activity in the Kingdom ministry surpassed by far that of any previous year. There was a feeling among the brothers that days of testing lay ahead​—a need for the firmest marshaling of resources.

EFFECT OF THE COMING OF THEOCRATIC ORDER

For twenty years a gradual move away from democratic rule and toward theocratic administration had been evident. Even before the ending of the election of elders by the congregations, Scriptural requirements for nomination began to be imposed. The first positive indication of the trend came with the appointment by the Brooklyn Office of a service director in each congregation in connection with the distribution of the new magazine, The Golden Age. This was in 1919. Over the years, directions from Brooklyn tended to be more definitive, and in congregations there was less disposition to decide whether the directions should be applied or not.

By 1938 Britain had the advantage of a branch overseer who was setting a good lead in applying the policy of the Society. The Society, guided by recommendations from individual congregations, had appointed service directors, later to become known as congregation servants. The service committee in each congregation, however, was appointed by the congregation. The stage was now set for the next step in the restoration of theocratic order.

The May 15 and June 1, 1938, issues of The Watchtower, dealing with the subject “Organization,” contained a formal resolution calling on the Society to organize and direct operations and appoint all “servants.” The Watchtower invited each congregation to adopt the resolution, notify the Society and attach a list of names of those whose maturity would qualify them for “servant” positions, with the request that the Society make appointments of those they chose. Practically all congregations readily agreed to do so. The effect was amazing. A general sense of invigoration prevailed. As world tension increased, joy over theocratic rule abounded.

The weeks and months that followed were thrilling ones indeed. While war preparations proceeded apace, air-raid shelters were being set up in gardens, gas masks were supplied free to every man, woman and child, and instructions were issued for rendering a room impervious to poison gas so that each household might be able to survive an intensive gas raid. Meantime, the zeal and activity of the brothers stepped up. The pioneer ranks increased during the year to 429. Those were truly momentous times.

VIOLENT REACTION OF RELIGIOUS OPPOSERS

As might be expected, the upsurge of zealous activity on the part of the brothers and sisters was met by organized and concerted action on the part of Christendom’s religions. There began to be numerous press attacks. Sixty-six cases of violent assault are recorded, and there were a dozen attempts to break up meetings and injure those attempting to assemble for the purpose of hearing the Kingdom message.

The London Catholic Herald published a libelous attack on J. F. Rutherford in reaction to the fearless, forthright message contained in the “Face the Facts” lecture. Under threat of a libel action, the newspaper settled out of court, publishing a retraction. A month later, November 18, 1938, publishers distributed to members of Parliament and to other officials a copy of the booklet Face the Facts with a covering letter. In December a gigantic leaflet campaign commenced, advertising six thousand meetings all over Britain. At these meetings more than a quarter of a million heard recordings of Rutherford’s powerful addresses. Almost three thousand information marches added their impact to the searing attack on false religion.

On January 11, 1939, Witnesses, armed with Face the Facts, Consolation No. 504 and a copy of the leaflet entitled “‘Catholic Herald’ Anxious to Gag Judge Rutherford,” visited all officials, Catholic leaders and press representatives in Britain and served them with copies of each. Fifty thousand Consolation magazines and two million of the leaflets went out. Religionists were goaded into rash reactions. A nationwide campaign of violence against Jehovah’s witnesses began. Press attacks, particularly in the Catholic Herald and the Universe, subtly encouraged further acts of violence. The first assault occurred at Clydebank, Scotland, on February 7, 1939, and other incidents quickly followed in other parts of Scotland, Wales, England and Northern Ireland. Instigated by local priests and carried out by Catholic Action groups, ten of the cases were prosecuted and the offenders sentenced.

In April 1939, the booklet Fascism or Freedom was released, and the brothers swiftly distributed two million of them. A quarter of a million of the Society’s leaflet “Nazi Tactics in Clydebank” were put out in Scotland alone. When the lecture “Fascism or Freedom” was given in Oldham, England, the Catholic Action group tried to wreck the meeting and demonstrated what was intended by Pope Pius XI when he originally brought this group into existence “for the diffusion and exercise of Catholic principles.”

In Clydebank, Scotland, two priests supported by their congregations ordered Witnesses operating a sound car to get out of town. Departing in the sound car, George Saltmarsh came on a crowd of about a hundred in the main road kicking a ball all over the tramway tracks. As he got nearer, Saltmarsh saw a phonograph lying on the road, and then suddenly realized that the “ball” was the owner of the phonograph. The sound car drove into the mob, scattering them. The brother, bleeding and muddy, was dragged into the car and taken to the police station for attention and to report this lawlessness. The Society laid charges against the mob leader, Patrick McGrory. The priests, for their part, laid charges against four of the sound-car operators. The prosecutor wished to lay off one charge against the other and forget them. If the Society would not press the charge of inciting a mob to near-murder, then the other side would not press the charge of playing a speech record. The bargain was rejected, but the matter dragged.

The Society then printed a leaflet setting out all the facts, and two hundred volunteers offered to distribute them. The operation, led by Saltmarsh, proceeded according to plan. There were ten assaults that morning, but only one was serious enough to call for the doctor’s attention. This action speeded things up and both cases were heard in June 1939. The charge made by the priests, Thomas McEwan and Charles Duffan, came first, but Duffan had disappeared and could not be found. The other priest called witnesses who contradicted themselves and one another, and the four accused, George Saltmarsh, Thomas Brown, Albert Bacon and George Whitford, were discharged. Next came the case against McGrory. The Society had no independent witnesses​—a weakness, but when the judge called out, “Are there any witnesses in court?” up jumped two Clydebank women who offered to testify. Their evidence proved sufficient to convict McGrory.

For the weekend of June 23-25, 1939, the Society employed post office engineers to tie in ten British auditoriums with Madison Square Garden, New York city, to relay the speech “Government and Peace” by J. F. Rutherford. On Saturday, June 24, the I.R.A. (Irish Republican Army, a Catholic terrorist movement, which had been carrying out a campaign of bombing in Britain for some months) phoned an official threat to the London office saying they would take action if the London-Belfast circuit was not canceled for Rutherford’s overseas lectures. Police and detectives guarded halls in both places. Just after the Saturday evening session of the convention five bombs exploded in the center of London near the Kingsway Hall, where the convention was being held. This was the I.R.A.’s worst bomb outrage, causing property damage and injury to a number of people. It was the third threat from the I.R.A. in four months.

On July 7 the second personal witness to members of Parliament, to the press and to public officials was given. This time each received a copy of the booklet Fascism or Freedom, Consolation No. 516, containing the article “Fascism in Britain,” and a copy of the leaflet entitled “Catholic-Fascist Menace in Britain.” A covering letter accompanied these publications. After the publishers had served the officials, they distributed a hundred thousand copies of this issue of Consolation and two million of the leaflets, all of this amid a rapidly deteriorating world situation.

WITNESSING IN WARTIME

It was on Sunday morning, September 3, 1939, that the solemn radio announcement came​—Britain was at war. The population at large accepted the situation resignedly. The book Salvation was the literature being offered that day and for that month, and the comfort offered by this Bible study aid was a balm, the more pronounced because of the melancholy fears that the war declaration imposed. Many people received the message kindly. In fact, soon the supply of the new and comforting book was exhausted. Stocks of the booklet Government and Peace ran out also, and new import restrictions soon virtually cut off additional supplies from Brooklyn headquarters.

Air-raid blackout restrictions hindered evening work, it being impossible to make house-to-house calls after darkness fell. Nevertheless, the volume of work increased, and this despite the fact that in order to obtain any literature from Brooklyn it became a major operation involving interviews, correspondence and filing of many forms. Financial restrictions, too, meant that literature had to be sent as a gift. Another difficulty was lack of shipping space, particularly in the earlier part of the war when shipping losses added to the difficulties.

In spite of the increasing obstacles the Society undertook a nationwide campaign of Bible studies. This work, called “Theocracy Extension Work,” involved the use of the booklet Model Study, containing questions and answers on recorded speeches by Brother Rutherford. A congregation would hire a hall for four consecutive weeks and advertise the series. Then a short section of the selected speech would be run on the transcription machine followed by the chairman’s asking of questions from the appropriate part of the booklet. The audience was free to offer answers and draw attention to Bible proof where needed. Then another section would be run on the transcription machine, and so on for about an hour. The result was that many private Bible studies were arranged for people who showed interest. The campaign proved to be most successful, for the number of publishers rose to 9,860, practically a 50-percent increase.

In the opening stages of the war, Jehovah’s witnesses were advised to register as conscientious objectors. However, this did not prove to be good advice for reasons that later became obvious. The situation, of course, was new, and to appreciate fully all the factors in advance was difficult if not impossible. In October, Jehovah’s witnesses received an aid that was outstanding in its simplicity, logic and weight of Biblical authority. This was the leading article in The Watchtower of November 1, 1939, bearing the title “Neutrality.” With compelling force and reasoning, it set out the Scriptural stand of a Christian among the warring nations. The article soon appeared in a booklet, and the Society had a copy sent to every judge, member of government and other officials. It became a common thing to see a copy of Neutrality on the judge’s table in tribunals and courts. Every member of the British government received as well a copy of the booklet Government and Peace and quotations from the government’s own white paper on “The treatment of German Nationals in Germany.” Thus all were put on notice that Jehovah’s witnesses in Germany also were identified as the group that suffered the severest persecutions because they would not support Hitler.

Up and down the country tribunals and courts made it evident that they had received directions from higher up. Decisions were not being rendered according to the evidence. At the earliest stages, all applicants providing logical evidence of the validity of their conscientious objection were placed on the list whether they were Jehovah’s witnesses or not. Gradually, however, this benefit became limited to those who were not Witnesses. As an indication of the rabid hostility that was being spread against the Witnesses, Judge Frankland, chairman of the Leeds tribunal, made these remarks in his privileged capacity:

“You have fallen for this very obvious money-making concern, Jehovah’s witnesses. You, a schoolmaster. I want you and your friend to leave the room. I don’t want other people to be contaminated by your presence.”​—News Chronicle, August 10, 1940.

“America has the biggest gold reserve in the world. I should think quite a lot of that belongs to Jehovah’s witnesses and to poor English dupes they have got hold of like you.”​—Manchester Guardian, August 10, 1940.

“I want to say publicly that there is a grave doubt in my mind about the bona fides of this organization and the people it employs.”​—Empire News, August 11, 1940.

“I have been trying for a fortnight to draw your headquarters and to get them to send a balance sheet or a solicitor. They prefer to shelter; they prefer to lurk behind the privacy of Craven Terrace, London. It is another dodge for making money, most of which goes to America.”​—Daily Despatch, August 16, 1940.

The first counterattack came when Manchester’s Free Trade Hall was engaged and judges, officials and members of the press were specially invited to the Sunday session when Brother Schroeder explained that the Society was not involved in the stand any one of its associates might take in the matter of conscientious objection; its accounts were filed annually at Somerset House as required by law; as for ownership of most of the gold reserves, Schroeder read from the last published accounts and showed that over the year’s activities the Society showed a deficit of $92,671.76. The press published this answer to Frankland’s attacks. Copies of the entire statement were sent to the judges and all concerned. But sufficient lies and deceiving statements had been published so as to influence the narrow-minded, bigoted section of the population, and, as might have been expected, violence was sure to follow.

Two pioneer sisters working a Catholic section in Liverpool were attacked by about thirty women. The mob beat them to the ground and dragged them, bleeding and bruised, by the hair along the road, kicked them and stole their literature and cash. Two policemen came on the scene. They calmed the crowd but made no arrests. Said they: “If we had arrested anyone, we would have been torn to pieces.”

Meantime in view of the very unfair position in which young men of Jehovah’s witnesses were placed, the Society moved to claim exemption from military service for forty brothers in Bethel and in zone service. This was early in 1940. The issue was: (1) Is the International Bible Students Association, or are Jehovah’s witnesses, a religious denomination? (2) Are the accused (the forty) regular ministers thereof? George Saltmarsh was chosen for the test case, which was heard in Glasgow. The court upheld the claim of the Ministry of Labour, namely, that the provisions of the National Service (Armed Forces) Act, 1939, “are not applicable to all or any members of the Society of Jehovah’s witnesses.” This was the first of several cases fought on this and related issues.

The advice originally given by the Ministry and which led to the brothers registering as conscientious objectors brought this opinion from the solicitors: “Instructing solicitors are informed that the reason why Jehovah’s witnesses registered under the Act was that after discussion, in the early days of the war, with the Ministry of Labour as to the whole position, the Ministry promised to give a decision in due course and it was arranged with the Ministry that in the meantime all the Witnesses should register. There is no doubt that the British Branch was badly advised by the Ministry.”

In the summer of 1940, the Empire News entered the lists against Jehovah’s people by publishing a libelous article defaming Judge Rutherford. Rutherford, in turn, filed an affidavit proving all charges and implications to be false. The Empire News published a shortened version of the affidavit, omitting all references in the affidavit to the Roman Catholic Hierarchy. They did not publish an apology or their own retraction of their libelous statements. In view of the war conditions, further action was rendered impracticable. Indeed, in the meantime Rutherford had fallen ill. Solicitors claimed that heavy damages, exemplary and punitive, would be certain, and Rutherford could take proceedings anytime within six years. The Society printed a folder entitled “Judge Rutherford & Empire News.” It set out the facts and the affidavit and the copy of the solicitor’s letter. The Witnesses gave the folder a wide distribution throughout Britain. Before the war’s end when legal action would have been possible, Judge Rutherford died. So, also, has the Empire News.

Meantime, in spite of all the enmity and the worsening conditions, were Jehovah’s witnesses discouraged? Not at all. By the end of 1940 the volume of activity had increased by about 50 percent. There were 449 congregations, 29 zones (now known as circuits), one being lost by the invasion of the Channel Islands by the Nazis, and four regions (now known as districts). The pioneer enrollment had exceeded 1,100. Jehovah’s witnesses were busy preaching the Kingdom message amid a war-torn world.

CONCERTED MOVE TO SILENCE TRUTH

The various outlying countries of the British Commonwealth of nations were banning the work of the Watch Tower Society and Jehovah’s witnesses at this time. What was Britain doing? Britain was not imposing a ban. It was strangling the flow of literature supplies with official red tape. All Watch Tower literature was placed under censorship. Notice arrived from the Import Licensing Department that no licenses would be issued after December 31, 1940. With grinding pressures from every angle, the British branch was about to be cut off from headquarters.

Not only from inside the country but from outside came crippling blows. Air attacks became common. Sometimes a city would be subjected to continuous bombardment for twelve to fourteen hours. Some towns were bombed systematically, the raids starting at the same time every evening. As a result, many of the homes of the Witnesses were wrecked. In Manchester the devastation stopped just short of the pioneer home. Three pioneer homes elsewhere, as well as Kingdom Halls and much literature, were destroyed and damaged. A fire bomb penetrated the roof of the Kingdom Hall at Bethel and came through into the balcony, where fire-watching brothers handled it. By the war’s end, twelve Witnesses had lost their lives in bombing raids.

Amid fierce opposition an assembly was held in Leicester on September 3-7, 1940. Despite war conditions, De Montfort Hall, with seating for 3,500, held less than a third of the number who attended. Most of the 12,000 were seated in marquees in the parklike grounds. On Saturday, the last day of the assembly, the battle was at its hottest, for there were 6,177 Witnesses in the field facing attacks on their persons and reputations.

Meantime, subscribers complained they were not receiving Consolation magazine. Eventually the fact emerged that the quaintly named Ministry of Information had “found [it] necessary to retain the issues [of Consolation].” So the same magazine that was banned by Hitler in 1933, a few weeks after Goebbels’ Ministry of Enlightenment and Propaganda was created, was now disapproved by the British Ministry of Information. It was well known that Consolation attacked totalitarianism long before this war started. An American brother made a gift of 150,000 books to Britain. A letter confirming the gift and attested by an American notary public accompanied the application for the license. Later a trade sample of the new-type phonograph for our engineers to copy actually arrived in this country. The sample was seized and the license for importation of the gift of books was refused.

Even copies of The Watchtower ceased to arrive in the mails from the United States. The problem of keeping the brothers supplied with spiritual food became a pressing one. Since publication of a new magazine would not be permitted, the Society began printing what was known as the Watchtower Bible Study Series. This publication was very much like the Watchtower in appearance and contained at least the main article with questions. Thus not a single issue of Watchtower material was lost to the brothers in Britain.

The brothers in Ireland too were not left wanting for spiritual food. Many of them began receiving newsy letters from overseas. Each letter contained an anonymous Watchtower article easily recognized by the brothers. Stencils were made and each article duplicated for all the 120 Witnesses in Ireland.

Despite renewed efforts by the brothers in Britain to obtain justice from government officials, it became impossible for the Society to import even Bibles and Testaments, while other Bible houses could frequently do so. On November 2, 1942, both The Watchtower and Consolation as well as the Kingdom News were officially banned and all in the mails seized. Eventually the Society published a folder outlining the 1933 Nazi model that was being followed by the British authorities. The folder was entitled “The Facts About Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Censorship Ban.”

Side by side with the attack on the supplies came an attack on personnel. Treatment of Jehovah’s witnesses before tribunals was most unfair. In efforts to justify their attitude, judges and press began to claim that people became Jehovah’s witnesses to avoid joining the armed forces. That this was just false propaganda to justify their rulings against Jehovah’s witnesses may be noted from the fact that these same tribunals were quite sympathetic in their dealings with the nearly 60,000 provisionally registered conscientious objectors who were not Jehovah’s witnesses. The number of conscientious objectors imprisoned for refusing to comply with tribunal direction was 5,800, of whom 4,300 were Jehovah’s witnesses. Indeed, for the first few months of the war, a sure way to jail was to claim exemption on the grounds of being one of Jehovah’s witnesses. It was also a likely way of getting the maximum sentence, twelve months.

Finally, in 1942, the enemies’ attack moved toward the staff at the branch. The “assistant branch servant,” Pryce Hughes, with a prison record from World War I, was imprisoned together with Ewart Chitty, secretary of the International Bible Students Association, and Frank Platt, who had suffered most sadistic prison treatment in the 1914-1918 war. Still not satisfied that Platt was sincere in his Christian course, they sentenced him to another term of imprisonment later on in the war as they did with Hughes. In fact, two hundred keymen up and down the land were gathered into jail.

This left Bert Schroeder, in charge of the British branch, hard pressed with a greatly depleted staff. Then came the government’s coup de grace. The branch overseer himself, an American citizen, was commanded: “Accept direction to work of national importance, in support of the war effort, or be deported.” Both British and American government officials were appealed to, but to no avail. One member of Parliament not only favored the imprisonment of Hughes, Platt and Chitty, but said that as Schroeder “stirs up trouble and being an ally cannot be interned he should be deported.” It seemed that all the influential officials were ganged up on the Society and its representatives, all agreeing that “Schroeder must go.” An official car pulled up at Craven Terrace and the branch overseer was escorted to the deck of an ocean liner and repatriated.

Meanwhile the pressures against the publishers throughout the field continued. The press played its part with numerous inflammatory incitements. One account covered the entire front page of a newspaper besides having a few inside articles and an editorial exulting in the maximum sentence of a pioneer congregation overseer in Middleton, England. The prosecutor, no doubt to remind the bench to fix the maximum sentence, repeatedly stated that the defendant had been sent to organize the work and described him as a member of a “small band of canting, hypocritical humbugs.”

Many men who presided over the courts and tribunals proved themselves unfit to exercise such offices. While one would declare that there was “something sinister behind this movement,” another declared, “You are a lot of cranks.” Courts and tribunals were supposed to work together, but on occasion there would be a distinct cleavage. For example, in Stockport just before a young pioneer, a mother, was sentenced, the chairman of the bench, Alderman Royle, walked out of court. “I will not be a party,” said he, “to sentencing this Christian woman.”

On July 21, 1942, the Society published a folder setting out facts as to the Scriptural stand of Jehovah’s witnesses and documenting examples of ill-treatment of imprisoned Witnesses, such as being knocked unconscious and being manacled to a table leg. Details of tribunal onslaughts and courtroom improprieties pointed conclusively to a directed, coordinated campaign with official backing. Men and women, chiefly full-time workers in the field, were being imprisoned in increasing numbers. The chance of annihilating Jehovah’s witnesses seemed, in the popular and official view, to be good. With the help of the war, the British government accomplished nearly as much as the German government had accomplished in 1933 without the help of the war. But whether in Germany or in Britain or anywhere else, it was quite evident that the moving power behind all this official international conspiracy was that mentioned at Revelation 13:2, namely, “the dragon,” Satan the Devil.

Imagine the situation confronting Pryce Hughes, still in Wormwood Scrubbs Prison with Brothers Platt and Chitty, when he received news of his appointment as branch overseer to replace the deported Schroeder. Shortly after his release he was faced with another difficult situation. The Home Secretary had issued orders banning conventions of Jehovah’s witnesses. This move came suddenly. Many of the conventioners had already arrived at their convention towns, tied in by wire with the New World Theocratic Assembly in Cleveland, Ohio, when they learned about the ban. It turned out that only the assemblies in Nottingham and Manchester were banned. No reason was ever given for the discrimination whereby people in Nottingham and Manchester could not enjoy the conventions while those in eight other cities could. The Home Office was determined to refuse permission for meetings in any other halls in these two towns, neither would they allow private meetings in either town. About one thousand conventioners in Nottingham met and carried through the convention program in a nearby town. In Manchester, some of the thousands gathered on the streets unable to get into the key assembly point were transported to nearby Kingdom Halls. The other conventions sent strong protests to the Home Secretary, and the Society also joined in the protest, besides making appeal to the members of Parliament. The Home Secretary in a written reply to one member said he banned the two meetings because he feared public disorder at those particular places. He also stated that the Witnesses were treated very harshly in Axis countries because of their noncooperation in the war. “They,” he continued, “take no part in worldly conflicts. This . . . is far from being a helpful attitude.”

Jehovah’s witnesses in Britain, of course, knew that their situation was fundamentally no different from that of their brothers in other lands. (2 Tim. 3:12) In Germany, confiscation, suppression, concentration camps and gas chambers; in America, legal battles in highest courts and burnings and mobbings in forty-four of the then forty-eight states; in Australasia, Canada and the African continent, bans and violence; in Communist lands, proscription and labor camps. When World War II broke out, Jehovah’s witnesses were 71,509 strong world wide. Would they be overthrown or would they come out more numerous and effective?

PERSECUTED, BUT NOT LEFT IN THE LURCH

Early in the war when paper allocations were unexpectedly high, the Society placed substantial orders for books and booklets with different printers. When the Society placed a big contract for The New World in paperback edition, the printer refused to print the book unless references to the Roman Catholic Hierarchy were deleted. This the Society refused to do. Prospects of getting the book printed seemed remote.

Then it was that Harry Briggs came into the office. He was a partner in a printing business that had just sold out to another firm. He had capital from the sale. He wanted to know whether the Society could use it and use him. Briggs knew of a printing business that might be for sale. He negotiated and bought it, a going concern with a staff and a manager who knew all about printing. Soon the unexpurgated edition of The New World began rolling off the presses. Though named The Southern Press, this printing plant operated as though it belonged to the Society.

About this time local councils began taking legal issue on the matter of taxing Kingdom Halls. Court cases arose over the issue, and exemption for Kingdom Halls was challenged. Some judgments were favorable, some unfavorable. Those unfavorable were appealed, but even then, though some were upheld, others were not. One of the officials of the Ministry of Information publicly charged that Jehovah’s witnesses had Nazi sympathies and that they had served as agents for Nazi propaganda. Mail within Britain, in the meantime, suffered interference, letters being opened, packages containing small supplies of magazines sent to pioneers mutilated. The time had come really to fight back against all these injustices and call upon honest persons everywhere to support the cause of genuine freedom.

In August 1943, the Society booked the Royal Albert Hall and fourteen other halls throughout Britain for the “Free Nation” Theocratic Assembly. The public address was to be “Freedom in the New World,” and was advertised widely. However, the manuscript for this talk, as well as others for the assemblies, was confiscated by the censor. As it happened, the new booklet, Fighting for Liberty on the Home Front, had not been issued to the British field owing to printing difficulties. This was made available for the conventions and the material read at the time set for the public talk. The title as well as the material was certainly appropriate. The chairman explained to the audience that “Freedom in the New World” could not be given because the censor had withheld the manuscript. At the end of the lecture, the speaker read a statement setting out the facts of the government’s unwarranted ban “which gives neither reason nor cause for its existence.” The audience, the immediate victims, were invited to fight for liberty on the home front and signify their intention to do so by saying “Aye!” In fifteen assemblies 17,500 people responded enthusiastically. Each assembly sent a telegraphic appeal to the king. The Society also furnished a copy of the public lecture to each member of Parliament and to all connected with the government, together with a covering letter giving the facts of the oppressive censorship.

The Society well knew the importance of assembling together so that the brothers might be able to gain strength and courage, not only to meet the pressing difficulties, but to push them back. Thus it was that in the spring of 1944, fifty-five small assemblies were organized for the British Isles. The public talk for all of these was “Freedom in the New World,” the speech the censor did not wish the people in Britain to hear the previous year. It was no light thing to organize these assemblies, for by this time the aerial bombardment of Britain had intensified with the introduction of a new weapon, the flying bomb. Nevertheless, 12,300 attended and each one received a copy of the speech “Freedom in the New World” in booklet form. No public advertising was done for this particular assembly. The idea was to invite personally all who showed signs of desiring the goodwill of Jehovah. It is very notable that many who did accept the invitation began to share in the field ministry, preaching for the first time.

By reason of a well-planned campaign at this time, members of Parliament were interviewed personally, made aware of all the facts about the ban, as well as the evasions and the obstructive techniques that were employed in maintaining it. In the House of Commons members subjected the Ministry of Information to a barrage that put them in a very difficult position. Subscribers to The Watchtower wrote letters of protest to their respective members of Parliament. Eventually the Ministry capitulated and undertook to remove the ban on February 28, 1945. However, not until there was a change in the Ministry were Bibles and other literature released for circulation.

The Ministry of Information had destroyed the vast number of magazines it had confiscated, magazines already paid for by subscribers. Though the Society had already discharged its obligation by dispatching the journals, nonetheless, it now extended by six months the subscription of every subscriber in Britain.

The next step taken by the British branch was to begin making strong representations to the Colonial Office about bans in Nyasaland, Bahamas, Nigeria and the Gold Coast. Appeals and legal proceedings had already brought relief in Canada, India, New Zealand, South Africa and Australia. Later the Society published for wide distribution a fact sheet exposing the duplicity and double-dealing employed to maintain those bans throughout the British Commonwealth.

The continuing pressure from the enemy only stirred up the faithful Witnesses to greater efforts in their ministry. By the end of 1942, a hundred new congregations had been organized and a total of 12,318 publishers had now been reached. Special pioneer service was instituted. Under this new arrangement pioneers were called upon to work 175 hours a month in the field and make 50 return calls. These special pioneers were sent into areas needing special attention or where there were insufficient congregation publishers to care for the population.

Still another help toward greater increase in Kingdom activity came with the introduction of “servants to the brethren,” now known as circuit overseers. In January 1943 the British branch appointed seven of these brothers to visit the 586 congregations during the period of six months. They did much to stir up the brothers and bring them fine information as to how to increase and improve their service of Jehovah in the field.

In 1944 the “United Announcers” Theocratic Assembly in August was shared by ten assembly points in Britain. In Stockport the one ideal hall, which had never been available to Jehovah’s witnesses, was the Centenary Hall. That year the one to make the decision in the matter was Alderman Royle, Justice of the Peace, the man who publicly withdrew from the bench rather than share in sentencing a pioneer sister. He immediately agreed to letting Jehovah’s witnesses have the use of the hall and all its facilities. Incidentally, he was astounded at being paid the full rent at the time of booking. “This,” he said, “has never before happened in all my public life.” Before and during the assembly he was under constant fire from other members of his committee for letting the hall to Jehovah’s witnesses. Royle fought back: “Which one of you being officials of the Stockport Sunday School (the body owning the Centenary Hall) could hold a big audience for half an hour or more with an exposition of the Bible?” he demanded. “Well, that’s what Jehovah’s witnesses are doing every day. I’m attending their sessions and I’ve seen it.”

Jehovah’s witnesses in Britain had not been left in the lurch. (2 Cor. 4:8-10) Persecution had failed to force them to break integrity with the Supreme Sovereign, Jehovah. At the war’s end Jehovah’s people in this land were spiritually and numerically stronger. In the course of the war years, the number of publishers had practically doubled, something that was also true of Jehovah’s witnesses world wide. The end of German occupation of the Channel Isles brought freedom to many publishers there, and communication with Ireland’s Witnesses was opened once again. Twelve “servants to the brethren” were now visiting the 610 congregations in Britain. All Britain was girding for expansion.

POSTWAR ACTIVITY

On Sunday, November 4, 1945, Nathan Homer Knorr, for the first time as president of the International Bible Students Association, set foot on English soil. With his secretary, Milton G. Henschel, he made his way from Hurn airport to London Bethel. Brothers on cycles spread word that the president would address a meeting at Craven Terrace. Sixteen hundred jammed the hall, the anterooms and the basement to hear his speech. Then, before leaving for the Continent, he addressed a meeting in Birmingham as well as attending a service meeting at Ilford.

Arriving back in England on the last day of 1945, the two brothers from headquarters began a series of seven one-day assemblies, the largest being in Stockport, where Brother Knorr addressed 2,800 on the subject “Jehovah’s Witnesses in the Crucible.” A two-day assembly in London preceded the president’s return to America at the conclusion of his European tour. Three auditoriums were on this occasion tied together by direct wire. Six-deep queues began forming at six o’clock around the Royal Albert Hall for the Sunday evening talk on “Be Glad, Ye Nations.” For the first time since prewar days, advertising on a big scale had formed part of the preparations for this assembly. At each of the short assemblies Brother Knorr invited applications for Gilead School, the Society’s provision for training missionaries for foreign assignment. Until the end of the war, pioneers outside America could not be enrolled. However, the eighth class, commencing immediately after the Cleveland, Ohio, convention of 1946, included twenty-four pioneers from Britain.

As literature supplies began to flow in from Brooklyn, it became possible to extend the preaching activities into far-flung parts of the British Isles. Pioneers were moved into areas formerly impossible to handle.

The brothers in Britain during the succeeding years enjoyed the same fine blessings resulting from circuit assemblies and district conventions as enjoyed by the brothers in the United States and elsewhere. These thrilling gatherings, obviously directed by Jehovah’s spirit, had a wonderful effect on the brothers, building them up and equipping them for more effective ministry in the field.

THE FIGHT AGAINST DISCRIMINATION

In 1947 the Inspector of Taxes made a move toward imposing a tax on the Watch Tower Society, the parent organization of the International Bible Students Association. This latter Association had been registered as a nonprofit and charitable organization on June 30, 1914. It was consequently free of tax. The chief inspector took the view that in order to be exempt from tax a body had to be established in this land. He held that the Watch Tower Society was not so established.

In due course the Society received a tax assessment. A statement of its charitable work as laid down by its charter was duly prepared by the Brooklyn headquarters​—a statement that mentioned the hundreds of tons of clothing and food to the value of £250,000 ($1,031,357.14) already being supplied free to twenty-four needy countries including Britain. The statement also made it clear that none received salaries or dividends from the Society and asked that the assessment be canceled. Copies of accounts were furnished to the Inspector of Taxes.

Commenting on these developments, President Knorr felt too soft a view was being taken of the matter. He wrote: “It is rather difficult to understand why the British government will not recognize the Society as a religious organization, the same as it is recognized in the United States. I am sure the British government is not so narrow-minded as to say that a person who is married in the United States is not married when the man and wife come to Britain. The marriage status remains the same. The same is true regarding the status of the Society.” “We ought to fight for exemption,” he added.

In preparation for the hearing before the tax commissioners, legal counsel for Jehovah’s witnesses knew that the other side would attempt to segregate the Society from Jehovah’s witnesses. However, Jehovah’s witnesses are mentioned in the Society’s charter, and the activity of Jehovah’s witnesses is inseparable from the Society. The two are one. Since Jehovah’s witnesses are admittedly a religious organization and engaged in preaching work that is charitable, then by force of the same reason it should be concluded that the legal corporation is also entitled to classification as a charitable organization. The possibility of having to appeal the commission’s decision in the courts of law recommended the compilation of a very extensive brief. Terence Donovan, King’s Counsel, a leading barrister in tax cases, was duly briefed.

The Society’s solicitors endeavored to point out to the commissioners that the whole matter might be reduced to the civil issue of “establishment,” thus saving time and expense in court. The commissioners agreed and thus the issue to be decided at the hearing could be expressed in the following terms: (1) That the Society is a body of persons; (2) That it was established, and established in the United Kingdom; (3) That it was so established for charitable purposes only. The hearing came up on March 16, 1950, in London. The commissioners ruled that the Society had headquarters established and owned property at Craven Terrace. It had more than 600 congregations, many with their own property in which worship was conducted. So far as its being permanently established, the Society had been here for fifty years. They had property and they had the whole of their organization set up and prepared to be here for another fifty years or possibly longer. “In our view,” concluded Mr. Coke, “on the evidence, this is a clear case, and it is on the evidence that we must come to a conclusion of fact. We find that this corporation, or rather a branch of it, was established here, and it has been admitted that it is a charity. Therefore, the claim must succeed.”

MORE ACTION ON THE LEGAL FRONT

In 1953 it was determined that a test case should be prepared to establish whether the Society was a religious organization and whether it had regular ministers. The purpose was to meet the unfair situation whereby the conscription laws providing exemption for regular ministers of religion were being construed in such a manner as to deny Jehovah’s witnesses the benefit of such laws. The man selected had to meet many different qualifications, personal, ministerial, official, narrow age limit, and, of course, he had to be one who had been called upon to register for national service. Douglas Walsh of Dumbarton, Scotland, was eventually chosen, he being both a pioneer and a congregation overseer. By the close of 1953 plans were completed and strategy laid for the test case in Scotland. The aim was to determine legally whether Jehovah’s witnesses were a religious organization and whether pioneer and congregation overseer Douglas Walsh was a regular minister. In January 1954, a preliminary hearing in Edinburgh determined that Walsh had a relevant case and Lord Strachan ordered it to go to proof. The case was set down for November 23, 1954.

The Watch Tower Society’s vice-president, F. W. Franz, from the Brooklyn headquarters was first to go into the witness box. He outlined from the Bible the beliefs of Jehovah’s witnesses, especially those that differed from orthodox religions. Then Hayden Covington dealt with the organization, ceremonies and practices. Grant Suiter, secretary-treasurer of the Society, covered the finances of the Society and showed that contributions from literature distribution did not meet the cost of the worldwide missionary work and that voluntary contributions of Jehovah’s witnesses themselves made up the difference. Four other British witnesses gave evidence. Pryce Hughes, the branch overseer and presiding minister for the British Isles, explained the structure of the organization in Britain, while Douglas Walsh described his work as a pioneer and congregation overseer. The whole of the evidence took seven days to present and covered 762 pages of manuscript. On January 7, 1955, Lord Strachan gave his judgment. He ruled that a body was a religious denomination if it met the following requirements: (a) if it existed for religious purposes, (b) if it professed religious beliefs that were distinctive in the sense that they distinguish it from other religious bodies, (c) if it was organized as a separate body under its own system of worship, government and discipline, and (d) if its membership was reasonably substantial. Lord Strachan was satisfied that Jehovah’s witnesses met each of these conditions and were therefore a religious denomination.

Sir John Cameron, the Dean of Faculty of Advocates in Scotland, who led the Society’s case, argued strongly that if it were decided that Jehovah’s witnesses were a religious denomination then it was for the denomination to decide who were its regular ministers. No one outside could tell a denomination who its ministers were to be. He maintained that “regular” meant “according to rule,” and, since Walsh was appointed according to the rule of Jehovah’s witnesses, the court must hold that he was a regular minister.

Dealing with the term “minister,” the judge said: “In order to be a minister a person must first be invested with the office of a minister of religion and second be in use to or at least entitled to administer the religious ordinances of his communion. I am also of the opinion that these two essential elements necessarily imply that a minister is in some way set apart in spiritual things from the ordinary members of his communion.” He objected to the form of appointment of Walsh and concluded that “the emphasis is definitely on administration rather than on spiritual leadership.” He found fault with the scholastic requirements of the congregation overseer. Of the Ministry School, he said: “What is taught is such as can be understood by children of . . . tender years.”

The Dean of Faculty’s argument pointed out that the founders of Christianity were not selected because of any scholastic attainments, but in reply the judge declared: “That argument is, in my opinion, beside the point, for it is quite obvious that in exempting a regular minister of a religious denomination from national service in 1948 Parliament was not thinking of a minister such as those who preached in the early church, but of a minister of religion as known in modern times.” The judge, in fact, found that Walsh was not a “regular minister” because of his pioneer status, even though the ministry was his vocation.

The case was appealed therefore to the High Court of Justiciary in Scotland, where three judges upheld Lord Strachan’s judgment. The case was then taken to the House of Lords, the court of last appeal. On July 21, 1955, Lord Goddard, Lord Chief Justice of England, rejected the appeal. Jehovah’s witnesses were therefore judged to be a religious denomination that does not have any regular ministers.

PREPARING TO CARE FOR MORE “SHEEP”

In 1955 the influx of greater numbers of sheeplike ones to the organization of Jehovah’s people in Britain continued. Britain’s biggest convention to date came in July of that year, when Witnesses from fifty-six lands gathered at Twickenham for the five-day “Triumphant Kingdom” Assembly. “World Conquest Soon​—by God’s Kingdom” was the title of the public address heard by 41,970 persons. In his closing address to the assembly, President Knorr announced the Society’s intention to build a new Bethel home and printing plant for Britain. With land at a premium in the metropolitan area the job of obtaining a suitable site certainly presented great odds. “Go to the councils,” said Knorr, “tell them what we want to do and ask them for sites where we could do it.” Middlesex Council suggested Bittancy House out at Mill Hill. “Speculators are offering big money for the site,” said they, “but we are not having that spot in the green belt covered with rows of houses. You want to put up only one and that’s different. It’s a long way out, though.”

When it came time to take a look at this site just up the hill from Mill Hill East railroad station, it was found to provide a wonderful view of north London. Just along the road the village pond and its few surrounding houses completed the rural setting. Eight miles from the city center, the site seemed to be ideal. Brother Knorr agreed to the purchase, and so negotiations began in 1955. However, the owner died and the Society then had to deal with the executors, from whom they eventually acquired the tract for just about half what land speculators had offered.

When a government department restricts a sale, as the planning officer had done with speculators on this occasion, they do so on the understanding that the vendor will not lose by the restrictions. The government compensates the vendor with the difference between the restricted offer and the lower one the vendor accepted, in this instance $44,000. Then the government recovers the amount from the buyer. Thus the Society was faced with a possible bill for an extra $44,000. Papers were prepared for the hearing in the hope that this amount might be considerably reduced in view of the charitable character of the work of Jehovah’s witnesses. Happily, when the hearing did come up, the decision was that, because of the purpose for which the land had been bought, the cost of compensation made to the estate would not be passed on to the Society.

On February 18, 1957, construction of the new Bethel began. Plans called for a building roughly T-shaped, consisting of a home with facilities for 120 persons, a lounge, a library, an office and a factory of a design appropriate to the attractive surroundings. Work on this new Bethel home and factory went on apace during 1959. Occupation of the premises began gradually, for, at the beginning of 1959, some of the living accommodations were complete and occupied even though most of the building was in an unfinished state. The Witnesses themselves, many of them skilled tradesmen, performed much of the work. One, for example, designed and made much of the furniture.

Dedication day was set for April 26, 1959. By then most of the building stood finished in its wooded, landscaped setting. The ground-floor pressroom in the factory block housed the new M.A.N. rotary press, which would be turning out 12,500 magazines an hour from printing plates for which typesetting would be done in Brooklyn. The Society’s office, literature storage, shipping department and more printing equipment occupied the top floor. There was also a Kingdom Hall for the use of the Mill Hill congregation and the Bethel family. The two-story factory block was connected by the lounge to the residential wing of three stories, including a dining room that looked out through full-length windows on lawn and parkland.

President Knorr had been expected for the dedication, but his 25,000-mile tour of Africa and Europe prevented his arrival in this country until June, when he was able to inspect the finished product of the many, many months of planning. On that occasion he made arrangements for a notable development in the field of schooling, a field in which the Society’s administration had taken a keen interest ever since 1943, when the Watchtower Bible School of Gilead was organized. This new development was the provision of the Kingdom Ministry School for special instruction of appointed men in the theocratic organization at district, circuit and congregation levels. Since there were at the time some 900 congregations in Britain, with occasional changes in presiding overseers, more than three years would elapse before all would have taken the necessary course.

That the brothers viewed attendance at this course as a great privilege may be learned from the fact that they were prepared to jeopardize their secular employment in order to be present at the school at the time they were invited. To obtain four weeks’ leave from secular employment was not an easy thing. Some chose to show the Society’s invitation letter to their employers, and in some cases employers were so impressed with this provision of four weeks’ instruction and board without financial cost that they were quite happy to make their contribution to a religious organization whose aims were so evidently laudable. Some even paid their employees full wages while they were attending the school. Other brothers ran into difficulties. A few lost their jobs because of attending the school against the wishes of their employers. One Sheffield brother ended the course with no assured income for the future. Later, however, he got a job much better than the one from which he was discharged. A number who did not lose their jobs necessarily made material sacrifices to receive the spiritual benefits of this schooling, and many congregations were alive to the need in this respect and were glad to offer material help to families whose breadwinners were away receiving instruction from which all in the congregations would benefit. Later, the situation was eased somewhat when the school course was shortened in a number of ways so that it could be completed in two weeks, and its facilities were extended to provide instruction, not alone for presiding overseers, but also for other older men in the congregations.

Another provision that was made to care for sheeplike people in remoter sections of the country and in other lands was the encouragement given by the Society for families to move to places where the need was great. In one year, 1960, 245 families made such moves, and a dozen families moved to other countries. Meantime the work in Britain itself was still being pushed. During 1963, for example, more than seven million hours were spent in preaching the good news. That year 3,079 were baptized.

It is true that at this time there seemed to be a tendency for the gains made in the preaching ministry to be offset by numbers becoming inactive, so it was certainly high time for shepherds of God’s flock to examine themselves and their ministry. President Knorr suggested that a day be set aside to hear from overseers in the field their opinions on the causes of loss of publishers and what might be done to correct matters. “Call in for a day as many circuit and district servants as you conveniently can,” said he, “and listen to their views.” Such men within reasonable distance of London numbered over thirty. Each one, having been advised of what was required of him, came prepared to give his views. In turn they were called in alphabetical order to the platform in the Kingdom Hall at Mill Hill and invited to give a twelve-minute talk.

The results were very encouraging. Suggestions on the ministry were offered such as on the manner of carrying it out, the kind of attention that could be given to presiding overseers, the desirability or otherwise of stressing goals. The weight of opinion was in favor of more attention being given to the spiritual needs of the brothers. So on the basis of this discussion, the Society worked out a plan whereby older men in the congregation would devote more of their time to shepherding. Publishers who had become inactive in the previous ten years were to be visited, and visits were to be made also on all current publishers, strong as well as weak. The idea was to give all help and encouragement according to the needs of the individual. The arrangement was crowned with success. Many were restored to activity, and many already active were strengthened. Numbers falling into inactivity were greatly reduced. From that time forward shepherding has become an important part of the duties of every older man in the organization.

The branch office in Britain itself was prepared for greater expansion. As the Bethel family had increased in number and was now augmented by two dozen or more Kingdom Ministry School students, supervision of the home, farm, factory and field service became more demanding. In 1963 the Society made changes to meet the situation. Pryce Hughes, then approaching seventy years of age, was placed in charge of the home, including gardens, farm and catering. Philip Rees, when he had finished the ten-month course in Brooklyn, became factory servant. Wilfred Gooch, formerly branch overseer in Nigeria, took up his appointed service as branch overseer for the British Isles on November 27, 1963.

Soon these administrative changes were augmented by other beneficial developments at Mill Hill. More printing equipment was acquired. Also, a new extension was built to increase storage to about four months’ stock of paper, in view of the fact that the magazine presses were consuming two tons of paper an hour. The magazine subscription department too was expanded so as to care for an average of 200,000 subscriptions for the Watchtower and Awake! magazines. A special delivery service began to be operated by the Society whereby most of the 895 congregations were served. For this purpose the Society maintains four trucks and keeps them on the go continually, delivering shipments of literature, magazines and handbills part way to their destinations. Sometimes the shipments are then transferred to some local transport to take them to their final destinations. In many other instances the congregations arrange to collect their supplies at a neighboring Kingdom Hall, thus relieving the Society of the obligation to deliver to every single congregation. Shipments are made every two weeks so as to include one issue of The Watchtower and one issue of Awake!

Though 1965 and 1966 showed a leveling off in the matter of results from the ministry in the field, yet during these years Jehovah’s people were being strengthened and refreshed for more vigorous efforts yet ahead. The round-the-world “Everlasting Good News” Assembly of 1963 had poured out wonderful spiritual blessings in an unusual eight-day convention. In June 1965 came the “Word of Truth” Assembly in the Scottish Rugby Union ground in Edinburgh, the first international assembly in Scotland for thirty years. In this city, one twentieth the size of London, the impact was tremendous. A total of 31,501 attended. This was followed by smaller assemblies at Cardiff, Leicester and Wembley for those unable to attend in Edinburgh. Next came the district assemblies in 1964, “Fruitage of the Spirit” assemblies, and in 1966 “God’s Sons of Liberty” District Assembly. Stirring talks, vital information, exciting releases​—all contributed to greater spiritual vigor.

REACHING FORWARD TO THE THINGS AHEAD

Thus, by the fine effects from spirit-filled assemblies and from the shepherding work of conscientious overseers, a great deal of work was accomplished in the way of building up the brothers spiritually. There was a gradual leaning toward more simple presentations in the house-to-house ministry. Then, too, the conditions in the world continued to point to the impending end of a whole, corrupt system of things. These and other factors appeared to contribute to an improved state in the Kingdom work in Great Britain. At any rate, the year 1967 brought an upward trend.

The “Good News for All Nations” District Assemblies of 1968 were specially remarkable because of the release of the book The Truth That Leads to Eternal Life. This small, pocket-sized book turned out to be the most effective home Bible study instrument yet. A folder featuring this publication and containing a series of pointed questions was printed by the Society. That year brought a peak of more than 50,000 studies, an average pioneer enrollment of 3,881 (6 percent of all publishers) and an increase of publishers, the peak being 52,805.

The year 1969 was another record year. At the “Peace on Earth” International Assembly at Wembley the stadium was packed on Sunday with an audience of 82,416 eagerly listening to President Knorr’s public address, “The Approaching Peace of a Thousand Years.” The mass baptism on that occasion added 2,215 to the ranks of the dedicated, the total for that year in Britain being 5,563. The publisher peak rose to 58,096.

True to his promise, Jehovah was indeed pouring out a rich blessing. Jehovah’s witnesses in Britain learned that one of the largest stadiums in the country, Wembley Stadium, was scarcely large enough for their six-day convention. Indeed, the following ‘round figure’ convention attendances over the years give some idea of this trend:

1914 Manchester 200

1941 Leicester 12,000

1947 Earls Court 18,000

1951 Wembley 36,000

1955 Twickenham 42,000

1963 Twickenham 50,000

1969 Wembley 82,000

By 1970, pressures were being felt in the field of production, for the increasing light on the Word of Truth called for more and more Bible study aids for the help of people wanting to know​—wanting to find the way to salvation. Facilities at the Mill Hill headquarters were being strained. No further extension of the premises appeared to be possible because of town planning restrictions, and yet nothing less than four months’ paper supply was safe in view of industrial instability and the enormous appetite of the presses, running sometimes day and night. The British suppliers of the Scandinavian newsprint the Society had used for a long time were very helpful and undertook to keep additional supplies in their warehouse as a further precaution.

Early in 1971 a new M.A.N. rotary press was installed in the new branch building in Switzerland. The printing of the Italian and Malagasy issues of the magazines, hitherto handled in London, was transferred to Switzerland, thus reducing the need for night shifts at the British branch. Magazines in Croatian and Swahili, besides the Kingdom Ministry in seven languages, continued to be printed in London. From the subscription department, magazines were going to fifty branches covering more than twice that number of countries and islands of the sea. Bulk supplies of magazines were being shipped out at the rate of 360,000 a week to congregations in Britain and 300,000 to congregations overseas.

The “Divine Rulership” District Assemblies, held at nine locations in July 1972, were attended by 91,226 persons, the highest ever assembly attendance for one year, giving further proof that “the desirable things of all the nations” continue to come in.​—Hag. 2:7.

Over the years the Bethel family has grown from five to sixty-nine. Congregations have multiplied ninety times from the small beginning at the turn of the century when there were but ten. The 1972 field service report showed a publisher peak of 65,693. Pioneers numbered 3,870, and 5,228 were baptized during the year. The ratio of publishers to population stood at 1 to 822. In the one remaining overseas territory under the British Isles branch, Malta, the congregation in 1972 was seven times the size that it was when it began, for it reported 54 publishers.

Jehovah’s people in Britain are very joyous because Jehovah has fulfilled so wonderfully his promises toward them. No weapon​—whether treachery from within, mischievous laws, national hatred—​had prospered. All had been turned back by the strong arm of Jehovah. He is blessing the activity of his people. It is surely a source of great happiness to be identified as Jehovah’s own witnesses.

Ghana

THE country of Ghana is located in the huge, westward bulge of the continent of Africa. It lies just above the Equator, sharing its borders with Ivory Coast on the west and Togo on the east. With an area of 91,843 square miles, it is about as big as Great Britain. The present population is eight and a half million, of which 16,093 are Jehovah’s witnesses. This is the country that, until March 6, 1957, was known as the Gold Coast.

It is worth noting that the indigenous religion of the people of Ghana is based on animism. Because of this the question of the soul and what happens after death is of such importance here as to dwarf any other religious teaching.

Belief that inanimate objects have souls or are inhabited by spirits worthy of reverence has led to the worship of rivers, lakes and lagoons, notorious among them being the Prah, Tano and Densu Rivers, Lake Bosomtwi and the Korle and Sakumo lagoons. Certain animals are thought to be the sacred embodiment of the soul of certain clans and are given appropriate reverence. Mountains, rocks, valleys, trees and vines have all been worshiped or held in superstitious awe.

When the Portuguese were forced out of the Gold Coast in 1642, the Catholic priests left with them. Before they left, however, they had introduced the people to the cult of Saint Anthony.

Today the pagan people of Elmina have built a shrine for the statue of Saint Anthony. They have named it Nana Ntuna (Grandfather Anthony). In recent times the old Bible that they claim came with the statue has disappeared from the hut, but the rosary and crucifix are still there. They have also created an attendant god, Brafu Kweku, for Saint Anthony. Isa (Jesus) is represented in the Ntuna Bum (Anthony’s Hut) in “what appears to be the powdered residue of very ancient wafers or communion bread left in a receptacle.”

Thus “Nana Ntuna, Isa and Brafu Kweku constitute the trinity of the Antoni-Bum worship, during the celebration of which lighted tapers or candles are placed round the statue and incense is burnt.” The Ntuna cult of Elmina is associated with the fruit of Christendom’s first attempt to Christianize a people who worshiped the animistic way.

Two centuries elapsed from the time of the Portuguese eviction before Christendom made another attempt to evangelize the Gold Coast, this time through the Protestant missions. As soon as the missionaries overcame the problem of acclimatization, which claimed quite a few lives, they committed themselves to a study of the native languages. Within a short time the Basel and Bremen missionaries had reduced the three main ones, Twi, Ewe and Ga, to writing. They followed this with translations of parts of the Bible into the vernacular languages, and by 1871 the entire Bible was available in print in Twi, Ewe and Ga.

These translations were so accurate, as far as the languages were concerned, that the Ewe and Ga ones are still the only translations in use, with very little revision.

One more commendable feature of their translations is the use of the Divine Name. This, rendered Iehowa and Yehowa, appears in the Hebrew Scriptures in almost all its proper places in all three translations. The Ewe and Ga translators did even better than that. They used the Divine Name in the Greek Scriptures, in Ga at 2 Corinthians 6:17 and 18 and in Ewe at Hebrews 7:21; 13:6; 1 Peter 3:12 and in the book of Revelation wherever the expression “Hallelujah” occurs.

The early missionaries thus taught the people that the name of the God-in-Chief is Iehowa or Yehowa. They established schools and taught the people how to read. They also produced books and booklets setting forth simplified historical narratives of the Bible and encouraged their reading. All this helped to give the natives some basic information about the Bible and to acquaint them with the Divine Name.

After World War I education was given greater momentum in the Gold Coast. By this time the influence of the churches had grown countrywide, the few exceptions being the Moslem areas in the North. They had established more schools and even branched out into the commercial and other fields. Education and the churches were so linked up together in the minds of the natives that the churches were called Sukuu or School.

For this reason it was considered a mark of prestige to be formally baptized into one of the churches of Christendom. The educated ones identified themselves with this or that church, calling those whose names were not written in any church register backward, bush, uneducated and heathen.

However, despite this outward show of piety, the native churchgoer was the same inwardly. Baptism was cheap, available to anyone who made a verbal request, even on his deathbed. Changes that needed to be made to bring a person’s life in harmony with God’s will were of no consequence.

Many “enlightened” churchgoers continued to pay homage to ancestral gods. In many ways they participated in pagan festivals honoring the dead. Chiefs, who made food and drink offerings to ancestral gods, were accepted in the churches with a sense of prestige. To round off pagan festivities, these chieftains, accompanied by a large retinue, attended church services with drums and a lot of pagan paraphernalia to “thank God” with huge monetary donations, which were always welcomed by the churches.

Polygamy was no barrier to church membership, although polygamists and some chieftains were said to be barred from partaking of the Communion bread and wine. One’s standing with the church was really determined by one’s ability to contribute to the church fund, even as church burial and other services were decided largely by whether one’s membership dues were paid up or not.

In the face of all this, it was no wonder that a few of the Africans in the 1920’s felt that the churches had been a big fraud. There were men in the Gold Coast at the time who were horrified at these things, who looked at the confused setup of Christendom and her teachings and wondered whether God was not capable of something better.

There was, for example, Eddy Addo, slender, copper-colored, aggressive and outspoken. He was active in the church, yes, but did not hesitate to confront the clergy about what he termed “an agitating thought in me over the frequent solicitation for funds.” There was J. B. Commey, demure and meditative, in search of truth. He had his shock when the Anglican priest told him that the church was a society and had its rules that did not have to conform to the Bible.

Consider also C. T. Asare, a rather meek and apologetic student, sincerely and honestly seeking to worship God. See him across the table as he faces the priest in a pre-Communion interview. Hear the priest demand the payment of his church dues as a condition to being served the Communion. Bashful Asare shifts his gaze. With difficulty he explains that he is a student and hence covered by the special dispensation absolving students from the payment of church taxes. Now hear the priest order him out, at the top of his voice, adding: “You don’t think I eat as I work?”

There were other men in the Gold Coast who earnestly sought after the truths of God’s Word, like I. K. Norman. He was young, witty, with good education and a fine material future in the civil service. But young Norman was far from pleased with the religion he was brought up to accept. Despite his natural sense of humor, he took religion seriously, so much so that at the risk of his job he wrote to the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of Liverpool, challenging the Trinity doctrine in plain terms. Imagine his disappointment when a chaplain wrote to him to say that the archbishop was too busy to attend to his letter. Imagine his disgust as the letter goes on to urge him to get baptized immediately and says that after that everything would open up to him!

These were men who wanted to know the right way to worship God. They had found animistic paganism unsatisfactory, and Christendom had failed them.

JEHOVAH SENDS FORTH THE LIGHT

“For a certainty . . . God is not partial, but in every nation the man that fears him and works righteousness is acceptable to him.”​—Acts 10:34, 35.

That, exactly, is how the small group of truth-hungry people of the Gold Coast felt in the year 1924. They had been groping in darkness, sighing and groaning over all the detestable things that they knew were being done in Christendom and in heathendom.

At that time one of Jehovah’s anointed servants arrived to help them learn the truth of God’s Word. He was Claude Brown, a West Indian who had migrated to Canada. He was an International Bible Student during the first world war and spent some time in jail in Canada rather than violate his neutrality. Toward the end of 1923 he left the city of Winnipeg in Canada and sailed to Sierra Leone. There he teamed up with W. R. Brown, who had arrived from the West Indies six months earlier to declare the good news of God’s kingdom to the people of West Africa.

Claude Brown spent about three months in Sierra Leone giving Bible lectures and getting acclimatized to West Africa. It was in early 1924 that W. R. Brown dispatched him on a lecture tour of the Gold Coast and Nigeria.

Before leaving Sierra Leone Claude Brown obtained information about a Sierra Leonian family living in the Gold Coast. Although Accra, capital of the Gold Coast, was at that time a city bustling with 43,000 people, Claude Brown was able to locate the family. The Coles, as they were called, proved to be very hospitable and accommodated this ambassador of God’s kingdom in their home.

They owned a complex entertainment palace called the Merry Villas. The main theater was built like a cinema hall and had a seating capacity of about 400. It was mainly used for a manually operated merry-go-round, which could be dismantled and removed to make room for other functions in the hall. Already Merry Villas was famous for being the city’s ideal spot for public lectures and gatherings. Claude Brown obtained the use of the hall for his Bible lectures, the first to be given in the country by a representative of Jehovah’s anointed servants.

He had brought with him large posters advertizing the lectures. By hand he filled in the details of place and time and kept busy sticking them on public buildings, private houses and on public notice boards.

Reading public notices in those days, a sign of literacy, boosted one’s prestige. So very soon Claude Brown’s posters began to attract the attention of a large section of the population of Accra. The literate and the semiliterate flocked around them everywhere. What the posters said startled them. Soon a number of the people who read his posters were echoing the question: “Where are the dead?” “If the good ones are in heaven and the bad ones are in hellfire for a fact, why do we live in fear of the dead?”

It is worth recording here that some of the men who had pondered over the points raised by Claude Brown’s posters, like J. B. Commey and Eddy Addo, refused to go to church that day, to be sure that nothing interfered with their going to the Merry Villas on time to hear the strange international Bible expositor.

By 2:30 p.m. the hall was more than half full, and when the talk started, there were no less than 500 people present. It was a distinguished audience, made up of prominent clergymen, among whom was J. T. Roberts, founder of Accra High School. Present also were Mr. E. Ayeh, headmaster of Bishop Boys School, Lawyer T. Hutton Mills, who later became a minister of state and Mr. John Buckman, later secretary to the Provincial Council of Chiefs.

There was no elaborate speaker’s platform or pulpit, as these folks were used to seeing in the chapels of Christendom. There was just a writing table, on which was spread a clean white tablecloth. On this lay the speaker’s Bible and reference books.

Claude Brown made a brief survey of his audience and then introduced his talk. He pointed out the fact that death is a universal problem and hence the propriety of the question “Where Are the Dead?” He emphasized the fact that death is not a blessing but a curse, the result of disobedience, and hence its disagreeableness to human nature. The audience could not but nod in agreement.

The speaker then pointed out the heathen concept of where the dead are. He also stated the Protestant view of heaven and hell, and the Catholic addition of purgatory. Now, appealing to the reasoning rather than the emotional faculties of his audience, he showed how these views were all inconsistent with one another and, worse yet, in direct conflict with the Scriptural doctrine of a resurrection. Since they were thus opposed to teachings of the Bible and inconsistent with the love of God, they must be in opposition to the Author of the Bible, Jehovah God. If they were in opposition to Jehovah, the God of truth, then they were false.

Now the speaker proceeded to stress the need to go to God’s Word of truth for a reliable answer. An eyewitness writes: “I could vividly remember the ‘hum’ of approval from the four corners of the hall when the lecturer quoted Acts 2:29-34 to refute the teaching that the ‘ancient worthies’ went straight to heaven at death.”

Step by step the speaker explained from the Scriptures the condition of the dead. After using many scriptures to prove his points, he concluded his talk.

One eyewitness reports: “Happily, all his questions and questions from others were skillfully and Scripturally answered.” Another eyewitness said: “If ever first impressions were indications of coming events, then from that first forceful lecture, it was evident that the truth had popped up for a permanent stay in the Gold Coast.”

After a second lecture, on the subject “Can the Living Talk with the Dead?” young Eddy Addo took great interest in what had been said. From then on he worked closely with Claude Brown, helping him to complete and put up advertizing posters for other lectures in the series. In the days between lectures Claude Brown busied himself distributing books on the streets. Crowds of people surrounded him at the Post Office Square, on Bannerman Road, near the Merry Villas, where he lived, and everywhere he went, taking literature and asking Bible questions.

Some of the people who attended his lectures in Accra formed themselves into a discussion group. They entreated him to remain in Accra and help them with Bible classes. Much as Claude Brown would have liked to do that, he had a mission to visit Nigeria with the same series of lectures. So in a few days’ time he left, assuring them that he would request Brother W. R. Brown in Sierra Leone to send someone who could settle permanently in the Gold Coast to help them.

That is how it was that 1924, the year that saw the installation of electric lights in Accra, also saw the installation of a different kind of light, spiritual light, in the Gold Coast.

THE TRUTH TRAVELS COUNTRYWIDE

Claude Brown’s lectures and literature distribution set in motion a chain reaction that propelled the truth across the country at a terrific speed. A few experiences of the old-timers will serve to illustrate this.

J. O. Blankson, a pharmacy student, had first said that Claude Brown must be a fool to challenge the doctrine of the soul’s immortality. He attended a lecture by Brown and found that the ones uninformed were on his own side of the argument. Of course, he changed sides. At a subsequent lecture he obtained the book The Battle of Armageddon and devoured its contents with real gusto. On the endsheet he wrote: “I thank God for this great message that I have been able to receive. May he encourage me to understand. John Ottoe Blankson, 5th November, 1924.”

“The truth made me buoyant,” he writes, “and I talked it freely at our pharmacy school.” One day he decided to accompany a student friend to the Anglican Trinity Cathedral, where confirmation lessons were being given. At the end of the lessons he asked a question on the Trinity. The instructor had no answer for him. He went there a second time and asked another question, with the same result. On the third occasion he met the priest himself, who later became the Anglican Bishop of Accra. Again buoyant Blankson raised his question on the Trinity. This time there was an answer, and it came with fumes of rage. “Get out of here!” the priest demanded. “You are not a Christian; you belong to the Devil. Get out of here at once!”

Back home he wrote to the priest and invited him to a lecture at the Palladium Cinema Hall and there, if he was sure that the Trinity doctrine was correct, to propound it. He did not have to wait long to find out the reaction of the clergyman. One morning he was called to the office of the principal lecturer of the pharmacy school. The man looked disturbed, and Blankson sensed trouble.

“Blankson,” he called out, “did you write a letter to the Reverend Martinson?”

Blankson’s heart thumped. With hands clasped behind him he managed to reply, “I did, Sir,” and then felt strengthened to stand his ground.

“All right,” the instructor said. “I don’t want you to talk. Sit down there. Here you are​—paper, pen and ink. Write an apology now, and give it to me. I will see to it that the Reverend Martinson gets it and that the matter ends there.”

Blankson sat down, took the paper and pen and wrote: “Sir, My instructor has asked me to write an apology to you and I am prepared to write the apology provided you will admit that you teach false doctrines.”

Upon reading it the instructor said: “Look here, Blankson, is this what you want to write?”

“Yes, Sir. That is all I can write.”

“All right. In that case you are going to be dismissed. How can you speak against the priest of the government’s church and hope to remain in the government’s employ?”

“But, Sir,” Blankson spoke up, “you are our instructor. When you give us lessons and there are points we do not understand, do we not ask you questions?”

“Of course you do.”

“Well, Sir, that is all that took place. The gentleman was teaching us the Bible and I asked him a question. If he is unable to answer the question, why should I be made to write an apology to him?”

Blankson was not dismissed. The apology was not sent. He continued to enjoy the respect of the instructors and, of course, to preach the truth in the school with all freeness of speech. He graduated in 1926 and was sent to Salaga in the Northern Territories, where Islam and animism ruled. And, of course, the truth went with him, clear to Navrongo, near the northern border.

Such was the zeal and enthusiasm with which those who embraced the word in those days went about preaching and distributing literature. The result was that by 1935 I.B.S.A. literature had penetrated into many towns and even invaded remote peasant villages in the country.

ORGANIZING FOR EFFECTIVE SERVICE

True to his promise Claude Brown sent word to W. R. Brown in Sierra Leone about the wonderful results of his lectures in the Gold Coast. He also told of the desire of a number of interested persons to start classes for Bible study in Accra and Koforidua. Immediately Brother W. R. Brown arranged for Brother Obadiah Jamieson Benjamin to proceed to Accra. He arrived in May of 1925.

Brother Benjamin was a young man of twenty-six years, a native of Sierra Leone. He was tall and thin, with a slight forward incline and a swanky gait. He was an eloquent orator, educated in Greek, Latin, French and English. He was one of the first ones to come into the truth in Sierra Leone as a result of Brother W. R. Brown’s lectures in 1923, and had made good progress by 1925 so that when the call was made, he was willing to give up his job as customs officer and come to the aid of the interested persons in the Gold Coast.

In Accra, Brother Benjamin was directed to Mr. E. Ayeh, whose home had become the center for the people who were waiting for the promised help. Immediately Mr. Ayeh sent word to them. The classes were then started in the flat of Mr. Ayeh on Kofi Oku Road.

Sometime in August of 1925 Claude Brown stopped in the Gold Coast on his return journey to Sierra Leone. How happy he was to see the interested people doing so well in Bible studies! He spent a few weeks with them, giving lectures in both Merry Villas and Palladium Cinema Hall. At one of these lectures he invited the willing ones to take a supply of the tract Ecclesiastics Indicted and distribute them free to anyone who was willing to have a copy. Almost all in the audience rushed to get copies. Beginning from the gates of the hall, they distributed them all over the city, some actually going from house to house with the tracts. Thus in 1925, for the first time, the natives of the Gold Coast were aided to have a share in the house-to-house distribution of the message in printed form. It is worthy of note that this was the tract containing the resolution connected with the third trumpet blast of judgment messages against false religion, released at the Columbus, Ohio, U.S.A., convention July 20-27, 1924.

During a visit of W. R. Brown to the Gold Coast in 1927, he spent some time in Accra building up the friends. Then he continued to Koforidua for the same purpose. There he celebrated the Memorial with the friends, interviewed those who desired baptism and took the qualified ones to a nearby stream and immersed them. That was on April 27, 1927. These were the first to be baptized in the Gold Coast.

In 1932 Brother W. R. Brown toured the country again, visiting Kumasi in Ashanti and the coastal twin cities of Sekondi​—Takoradi. He came back in 1935 with the transcription machine and equipment for showing the slides of the “Photo-Drama of Creation.” The Gold Coast press gave this visit excellent coverage so that halls were always packed full. At one time 2,000 turned up to listen to him. By the end of this tour, firm congregations had been established at four centers of the country.

SOME WRONG DEVELOPMENT

The zealous distribution of literature throughout the country meant that many individuals would receive literature who would not be able to associate with any congregation of Jehovah’s people. The result was that a number of persons who read the books and recognized the message to be the truth tried to practice a religion based on what they had read. This became particularly so in the early 1930’s. Hitherto the message had gone only to people who had had some schooling and were able to read English. Now the humble rural folk who had been chafing like beasts of burden under the yoke of Christendom embraced this message with wholehearted appreciation.

Many of these people had become so frustrated in Christendom that they had stopped going to church. Their church dues had accumulated to amounts that they knew they would not be able to pay in their lifetime. They were poor and lived simple lives that involved very little handling of money. But now they were in debt, and they knew that, if they died, their relatives would be made to pay every penny of it before they were accorded church burial. One can imagine, then, the readiness, the eagerness, with which these folks accepted and wanted to worship according to the way of the truth.

Sampson Nyame and his friends organized these people into some kind of church, with headquarters at Osino in Akim Abuakwa, near Sampson Nyame’s home. They believed that they were working with the I.B.S.A. and so called themselves “Bible Students” and “Bible Expositors.” Interested persons who were amazed at the adroitness with which they handled Scripture texts gave them the Twi name “Bible Nkyerasefo,” literally “Bible Interpreters.” The name sounded good to the leaders, since it more or less translated the English “Bible Expositors.” Later on, the organization came to be called “Gyidi” or “Faith.”

Without any knowledge of the organizational structure of Jehovah’s witnesses, Sampson Nyame, M. K. Twum and W. Otchere incorporated into their church a lot of unscriptural Adventist and Pentecostal traits. During group prayers some claimed to have received the holy spirit and spoke in tongues. At Nkwatia the members became suspicious of that spirit and prayed to Jehovah that, if indeed it was his holy spirit, then they would like it to come upon every member of the group and not just a few. After that none of them received that kind of spirit.

This sort of “weed” did spread rapidly and gained large followings in Akim, Krobo, Kwahu and Ashanti areas. The curious thing, though, was that the leaders of this organization were in constant contact with the Bible study group and literature depot at Koforidua. Brother A. W. Osei, a colporteur in charge of both the group and literature depot at Koforidua, regularly visited a number of these groups with Sampson Nyame and placed with them I.B.S.A. publications for their congregational use. However, no attempt was made to organize them into proper Bible study classes or congregations along I.B.S.A. organizational lines until the close of the 1930’s.

CHRISTENDOM FEELS THE PINCH

It was not to be expected that the clergy of Christendom would take the assault on false religion without scheming some kind of foul reprisal. Most of the people coming into the truth back there were from the flock of Christendom and were doing so because the truth exposed the clergy to be workers of fraud. These men felt that they had been duped all their lives and regretted having paid monies to support the clergy. In this circumstance, it was only natural that they would take the hard-hitting truths and hurl them at the clergy with vindictiveness, and in a manner that people coming into the truth now may term rather tactless.

In December of 1930 a Brother Norman sent a Golden Age article on Christmas to the editor of the Gold Coast Weekly Spectator. The man reproduced the article in full in his paper. In January of 1931 Brother Norman followed this with another article, entitled “Holidays and Their Origins.” That was also reproduced. A few weeks later a reader from Peki wrote in the paper challenging the clergy to come out to either refute or support the statements made in the articles. Of course, there was no answer, while the anger of the priests brewed against the brothers.

In June of 1931, a lawyer-publisher of a paper called Vox Populi urged Eddy Addo to write an article on witchcraft. It happened that Christendom was divided on the subject and had set up a committee of clergymen to look into it and advise as to whether or not witches exist. The article was entitled “To the Witchcraft Committee.” It contained quite a few exposés that the clergy must have found enraging. Nevertheless, from faraway Sekyedomase in Northern Ashanti, Eddy Addo received a letter dated July 27, 1931. It said: “Sir, I have read with the keenest interest your article of 27th June under the subject ‘To the Witchcraft Committee’ and from the bottom of my heart I say I congratulate you, Mr. Addo. . . . I have the same sentiments in opposing witchcraft and have oftentimes cited the very same topics you refer to in your article to those saintest of saints who deny the existence of witches and their doings.”

It was not just the stinging blows of the truths that angered the priests. They were losing members. For this reason they came to hate the brothers and did all they could to oppose them. At Jamase, about twenty-five miles north of Jumasi, a white Catholic priest violently assaulted Brother Noah Adjei in an uncontrolled fit of anger. In other places they instigated mob action or sought the aid of the local authorities to chase the brothers out of town. At Obuasi in 1932 one Catholic priest tried that with very interesting results.

Obuasi was a flourishing gold mining town in Ashanti. Michael Firempong, a police constable helped into the truth by I. D. Anaman, had been promoted to the rank of corporal and transferred there to be in charge of the railway station. He was not long in Obuasi when the town became saturated with literature, some of which found its way into the mission homes of Christendom’s churches.

One morning Firempong was witnessing to the railway station master, a member of the Catholic Church, when a Roman Catholic priest showed up. “Are you the one distributing these Communist publications?” he asked. “The other day some of these books found their way into the Mission House, and I had the pleasure of making a bonfire out of them. You are spreading Communist propaganda in this town. I shall see the mines manager about your activities.”

True to his word, the priest wrote a lengthy report warning of Communism at work in the town, saying that there was need to “nip it in the bud” and that the tall police corporal in charge of the railway station was the agent. The mines manager immediately forwarded the report to the chief commissioner of police in charge of Ashanti. He, in turn, sent it to the commissioner of police in charge of the district of Obuasi.

One morning Firempong was called to the office of the commissioner of police. The commissioner demanded copies of the books he had been reading and distributing in the town. The corporal obliged with a parcel containing Deliverance, The Harp of God, Light, Government and several booklets. He prayed and continued in the ministry.

Three months later, when he had been transferred to Tarkwa, the books were parceled back to him with a note from the commissioner saying that nothing communistic was found in any of them. Pages of the publications had been marked, ticked and underlined in many places. Apparently the commissioner circulated them among high government officials for their reading and observations. Of course, Corporal Firempong was overjoyed to see that the schemings of the Catholic priest had resulted in the reading of the publications in high government circles.

There were many such incidents throughout the country in which the clergy’s efforts to stifle the truth failed. Telling their flock not to listen to the brothers did not avail them anything; it only generated curiosity and questions. One frustrated Anglican priest went to Brother J. B. Commey in Accra, protesting: “Why don’t you stop this nonsense? You make the women ask me foolish questions.”

After a while the clergy saw that they could not match the symbolic locusts who were wreaking havoc to their religious pasture. (Joel 1:4) Nor could they keep the symbolic horses in check who were stinging them left, right, back and front. (Rev. 9:7-10) Therefore, in one desperate move the Protestant organization called the Christian Council sought the aid of the colonial government to pronounce Brother W. R. Brown, who was directing the work from Nigeria, a “persona non grata.”

Following that, an undeclared ban was placed on further importation and distribution of the Society’s publications. This they did by invoking Section 27(1) (a) (ii) of the Customs Ordinance of 1923, which empowered the Customs authorities to seize and detain any “books, newspapers and printed matter, which in the opinion of the Comptroller (subject to any direction of the Governor) are seditious, defamatory, scandalous or demoralising.” All Watch Tower Society and I.B.S.A. publications were put under this category. That was in 1936. Christendom’s clergy rejoiced. They believed that they had killed the work of Jehovah’s witnesses.

BAN AND RESTRICTIONS

The ban on W. R. Brown’s further entry into the Gold Coast was not communicated to the brothers at the time the decision was made. How did they get to know about it? Brother Brown himself explains:

“We remarked in last year’s report [1936 service year] that we had determined to put in more hours this year and, if possible, to triple last year’s output of books and booklets. We therefore planned to make a record drive on the Gold Coast with the sound car, beginning with the ‘Battle Shout’ period, October 3-11, 1936.

“An order was sent to Brooklyn for 20,000 Who Shall Rule the World? booklets and 20,000 Government booklets, to be landed on the Gold Coast. On the first of October we left Lagos by boat with sound car and 40 cartons of books and booklets to arrive at Accra a day before the period. On the steamer’s arrival at Accra the sound car and 40 cartons went ashore before the immigration officer arrived on board. When the officer did arrive all foreign passengers appeared before him with their passports. I handed in mine, was told to wait until he was through with the passengers, after which I was called and informed that I would not be permitted to land on the Gold Coast. When the brethren ashore, who were expecting me, heard of it, they called on the immigration officer with sixty pounds cash as a deposit toward my landing, but that was refused. On the following day I was placed aboard another boat with car and baggage and sent back to Lagos and was compelled to pay the return trip.

“Later on we were informed that the so-called ‘Christian Council’ there had decided that the Society’s representative be debarred from further activities on the Gold Coast because of the response given to him a year ago by the people and the daily papers when Judge Rutherford’s lectures were delivered to a crowded house of approximately 2,000 souls.”

On February 17, 1937, the brothers petitioned the governor, Sir Arnold Hodson, asking for the release of the shipment of books that were sent to the Gold Coast a month after Brother Brown was denied entrance, but which were banned by the customs authorities. They were in the custody of the comptroller of customs. The governor’s reply came, dated March 18, and said that the publications were seized under the laws of the Gold Coast and that he had no intention of reversing the decision of the comptroller of customs in that matter. Later, in June of 1937, the 69 cartons containing 22,245 pieces of literature were burned.

The branch office in Lagos immediately directed the brothers in the Gold Coast to contact a lawyer to see what could be done to get redress in law.

What was wrong was not the Customs Ordinance as such but, rather, the prejudice and malice with which it was being applied. By the look of things the comptroller of customs and his officials were well insulated against prosecution in the application of the ordinance, and that was by the discretion of the governor.

On August 24, 1937, the lawyer wrote to Brother Brown in Lagos enclosing copies of the correspondence between him and the government. He said:

“It is clear that owing to certain consequences likely to follow, the gist of the matter submitted for the Governor’s consideration was not squarely faced in the Colonial Secretary’s letter. It is therefore open to us to take such steps as may induce the Government to give us a satisfactory reply. Further, although I have not given up the idea of addressing a formal petition to the Governor on the whole subject, it is most unlikely that, unless outside pressure were brought to bear upon the Gold Coast Government, any voluntary step will be taken in Accra to satisfy and compensate the Gold Coast branch of your Society.”

He then talked of a survey he was undertaking to assess public opinion in connection with the publications and the activities of the brothers in the country. This he hoped to incorporate in the petition. He drafted the petition and had the brothers check it. When approved, it was put in final form and presented to the governor. The reply came on January 26, 1938, saying: “His Excellency has carefully considered the petition of your clients, the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, Gold Coast Branch, and is not prepared to make any such general declaration as requested in paragraph 18 of the petition.”

SOUND CAR UPSETS THE ENEMY

Later W. R. Brown sent S. Ogunde to the Gold Coast with a sound car to use in spreading the Kingdom message. The very novelty of the sound car in the country, coupled with the traditional African curiosity, immediately ensured the success of the campaign. People lived simple lives in those days and had much time on their hands, while recreational facilities were very limited, particularly in the rural areas. The African rushed onto the street at the sound of anything unusual. Among such relaxed people the sound car, with its strange music and sermons featuring “the voice of the European,” just drew the crowds. Although many among them were only curious rather than really interested, their numbers well advertised the activity of the sound car. How did the clergy react to this? Brother Ogunde reports:

“The inscription ‘Kingdom Message’ on the loudspeakers, which was the first of its kind to be seen on the Gold Coast, angered the clergy, and they became terrified when they heard the broadcasting of Judge Rutherford’s lectures. They moved the authorities to persecute us in that we were several times called on the police superintendents in both the Central and Western Provinces and cautioned not to operate the sound car. Seeing there was no law to prevent us from operating it, we went on witnessing in other places, leaving the capital towns. In one instance the licensing officer at Takoradi, Western Province, threatened to cancel our car license if he again saw the loudspeaker on our car, and we did all we could to prevent his seeing it.”

In discussing the overall results Brother Ogunde’s report goes on to say: “Those of goodwill showed great interest and appreciation of the Kingdom message by the sound car, and in three months we placed over 100 bound books and over 20,000 booklets. At the bidding of Satan through his visible religious agents, the Gold Coast government has now framed mischief by making a law under which no motor vehicle on the Gold Coast must be fitted with any loudspeaker without first getting a permit from the authority.” That ended the campaign with the sound car.

TRANSCRIPTION MACHINES AND SPEAKING TRUMPETS

Before Brother Brown was put out of the country at the time of his brief visit in 1938, he was able to leave three transcription machines and sets of phonograph sermons with Brothers A. W. Osei and J. B. Commey. With this new equipment the brothers could reach many towns and talk to great multitudes at a time.

At Konongo, in 1944, Police Inspector Doe rounded up a number of brothers and detained them at the charge office without any charge being brought against them. This became almost a weekly affair, just when the brothers were getting ready to go out in field service. One day the brothers confronted the inspector in his home. The man brought from his library the book Government and the booklet Universal War Is Near. He spoke of how he enjoyed reading them, how he would never like to part with them because they were very good, spoke the truth, and so on. The brothers told him it was the same message in those books that they preached.

“I know,” he said.

“Why do you make trouble for us, then?”

“The Catholic priest is the one making trouble for you.”

“Why?”

“He says two of his members have joined you and unless you are harassed out of town, his church will collapse.”

“Do you agree with him?”

“What he says is true, but I know I shouldn’t cooperate with him. In fact, I am no more going to.”

Brother Eric Adu Kumi reports that from that day on, Inspector Doe gave them no more trouble. As a matter of fact, he allowed the brothers to receive their mail through the police letter box at the post office so that the enemy might not destroy any publications coming to them.

At the close of the 1930’s there were only three transcription machines in the country. So the brothers devised something for themselves. They cut and soldered sheets of tin or any metal of that sort into large funnels, which served them as speaking trumpets. These the brothers called “horns” or megaphones and used them in addressing large crowds in the villages and towns. About the device, Brother K. Gyasi, who had a lot of experience in its use, says: “It was very effective in reaching for distance and happened to be the most powerful loudspeaker for us in those days.”

Wherever the speaking trumpets went, people rushed out of their homes, even leaving their meals half eaten, to hear the Word of God from the “curious horn.” With it the brothers were able to open up the work and start congregations and groups in much of the then unassigned territory. It helped the brothers, too, in that the many interesting and sometimes violent experiences strengthened their zeal and faith. Brother Anaman remembers the following:

Sometime in 1943, when his father had retired from the service of the Presbyterian Church and was at Kwanyaku, his hometown, he decided to pay him a visit. He sent messages to J. O. Blankson and E. K. Paning to join him there to work that territory.

One morning at about 5 a.m. these three brothers took the megaphone and went to the border dividing the so-called Christian quarters or “Salem” from the rest of the town and started shooting a lecture into the air. “Salem” became agitated. Opanin Birikuran, presbyter of the Presbyterian Church, and the Presbyterian schoolmaster came out of their homes. The presbyter pounced on Brother Anaman and seized the megaphone.

“You are not allowed to preach here,” he said.

“Why?” Anaman demanded.

“This territory belongs to me. You go to the heathens.”

Anaman turned to the schoolmaster and asked, in English: “What was wrong with what I was saying?”

“It was indeed an intelligent exposition of the Bible,” the man replied.

“Why, then, should you prevent us from preaching?”

The presbyter, who did not know any English, cut in and said: “I say you get out of here! You have no right to speak here. This territory is mine!”

“Do you own the people in it as well?”

“Yes, they are my sheep. You move away!”

Brother Blankson came in and explained that in such circumstances Jesus’ instruction to “shake off the dust” of their feet was appropriate. “Here we are, then, shaking off the dust of our feet. We go to the heathens. But, know you today that on the judgment day it will be worse for you than for Sodom and Gomorrah!” With that they went to the heathen side of town.

The experience left the presbyter in the grip of a morbid sort of fear. At sunrise he went to Brother Anaman’s father and protested to him, saying that Anaman’s son and his companions had cursed him and that they ought to be made to remove the curse. The retired clergyman rebuked the presbyter for hindering the preaching of God’s Word. By some strange coincidence, the presbyter died, suddenly, the next morning. Brother Anaman reports that “great fear fell on the people and doors began to be freely open to us.”

On the whole, the heathens in the villages were favorably disposed to hear the message. Nevertheless, they occasionally made trouble for the brothers. At Akoti, a village near Asesewa in Krobo territory, Brother E. T. Quaye and others were beaten up and thrown into a dirty cell in the chief’s palace for preaching God’s judgment against heathen gods.

BIBLE INTERPRETERS CHANGE TO PURE WORSHIP

One activity that brought the blessing of Jehovah on the organization was the correcting of the so-called Bible Interpreters. This took place beginning with the last three or four years of the 1930’s. There had been isolated efforts previously, but now it was made an organizational policy to help the Interpreters to add knowledge to their zeal and direct their preaching to the right end. A concerted campaign was therefore mounted to that end.

It was not easy, but through love and patience the truth won. As a group they made the changeover, with the exception of a few individuals who fell by the wayside. None of the few who refused to make the changeover could perpetuate the organization. The “church” of the Bible Interpreters, therefore, ceased to exist as of 1940 onward.

Their leaders, Sampson Nyame, W. Otchere and M. K. Twum, all took up the pioneer service. With this blessing came additional shepherding responsibility. It meant that all of a sudden the organization had become flooded with illiterate rural folks. They needed to study God’s Word in order to attain maturity. But how, unless they could read for themselves?

There were many of the educated brothers who had genuine love for these rural folks. They organized literacy classes in the congregations and in private homes, beginning, notably, with the year 1937. The progress was just marvelous. Some did progress within two months to the point of being able to read the Bible. Some even went on to learn to speak, read and write English, and with distinction.

Such ones became very useful in the organization, serving in various positions in the congregations as well as looking after congregational meetings, which were, in those days, based mainly on English publications.

Another problem arose, now that the friends were told to do away with the Christendom practice of tolling bells to signify times to assemble for congregational worship. How were these village folks, most of whom were illiterate, going to know when it was meeting time?

Well, the simplest answer was to ask one of those few who owned a watch in such rural society to be at the Kingdom Hall on time, so others could tell the time by his arrival. Another way was to go back to the rudimentary sundial. The folks were to listen for the tolling of the village school bell, which chimed the hours between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. They would then mark the points of the shadow of their house, a tree in front of the house or some such stationary object at the various hours and thus gain some knowledge of the “progress” of shadows in relation to the passage of time.

Similar arrangements were made to help them know how to keep record of their field service activities and report them to the congregation. Of course, as more and more of the friends became literate and bought watches, the problem began to fade away.

The whole arrangement received Jehovah’s blessing so that by 1946 the number reporting field service had increased from less than 50 in 1936 to 500 who were working in 33 congregations.

WORLD WAR II INCREASES DIFFICULTIES

When war broke out in 1939 the authorities made the already stringent measures taken against the brothers even more unbearable. In this circumstance, some of the brothers, notably those in Kumasi who were already branded “stirrers of the hornets,” decided to carry the battle to the foe rather than wait and fight with their backs to the wall.

Thus in 1939 when the Consolation magazine started a series of articles entitled “The Pope and the War,” Brothers Anaman, Blankson and Quansah decided to mail all forty distributor’s copies they were receiving to prominent clergymen and government officials in the country, including the governor. This they did beginning with the issue carrying Part One of the series.

A few weeks after this special distribution a policeman called at the office of Brother Anaman. The commissioner of police, a member of the Roman Catholic Church, wanted to see him, he was told.

Shortly after this, J. G. Quansah also called at the office of Brother Anaman. When he was told of what had happened he raced to the police station, reaching there before Anaman and the constable. He followed them into the commissioner’s office, where they met the hostile, grim-faced police boss seated behind his desk.

“Did you send me this?” he asked, holding forth the Consolation magazine. His countenance was indeed threatening. The question was directed to Anaman, and Quansah stood impatiently as he uttered the words: “I am one of those who sent it.” With the last word still on Anaman’s lips, Quansah shouted from behind:

“I am one of them, too, and here is Part Two of it!” As he spoke he let the new magazine flop on the commissioner’s desk.

The chief of police was taken aback, completely flabbergasted. Obviously he had planned to bully his way with threats in hope of cowing the brother into submission. He never anticipated such audacity on the part of Jehovah’s witnesses. He fumbled through his speech as if he had missed his cue in the drama. He only took down the addresses of the brothers and let them go, much to the astonishment of the junior officers.

The Gold Coast press at the time was very liberal and favorably disposed toward the cause of the brothers. In his report on the 1939 service year the branch overseer for the area had this to say:

“Another way in which the witnessing is being done here, a way which the Lord himself has undoubtedly opened, is through the press. A regular column is reserved daily for our articles headed ‘Face the Facts.’ Reproductions of Brother Rutherford’s writings are made, and these, not only made the Hierarchy become mad, but also howling, as the Scriptures say they would do. Many through the press have learnt the truth.”

Opposers used the Catholic Voice to parrot the lie that the brothers were Communists propagating disrespect for the British government. This brought plainclothes policemen to the Kingdom Hall at Kumasi during one meeting. The brothers recognized the strangers for who they were and put on an extemporaneous program for their benefit. In question-and-answer form the meeting went like this:

Q. “There is report that you people disrespect and disregard the British government and are trying to set up your own kingdom. Is this true?”

A. “No! The British government is a man-made government, like any other government on earth today. What we want is God’s own kingdom from heaven.”

Q. “Does not advocating God’s kingdom constitute a seditious act?”

A. “How can it be? The kings and queens of England themselves pray for God’s kingdom to come, do they not? ‘Thy kingdom come,’ they recite in the Lord’s Prayer. Can they be chaged with sedition?”

(The policemen nodded discerningly. The program continued.)

Q. “But why should you attack the Catholic Church in particular?”

A. “Look at the introduction to the King’s own Bible, the Authorised King James Version. There we read: ‘So that if, on the one side, we shall be traduced by Popish Persons at home or abroad, who therefore will malign us, because we are poor instruments to make God’s holy Truth to be yet more and more known unto the people, whom they desire still to keep in ignorance and darkness. . . .’ So, you see, the king of England himself and his scholars agree with what we say, that the ‘Popish Persons’ of the Catholic Church desire to keep people away from ‘God’s holy Truth’ and in mental darkness. And then to malign us because we dare undo the damage they have done and continue to do, is unjust. Surely this is the only reason why the Hierarchy sends policemen after us.”

Again the policemen nodded in assent. After an hour of such lively discussion, the policemen became like the officers sent to arrest Jesus​—they returned without making an arrest.​—John 7:32, 45, 46.

The next day Brother Quansah met the corporal on the street. He said: “We have put in a good report for you. Only your enemy is the Catholic Church.” No more plainclothes policemen were seen at the meetings.

THE WAR EFFORT

On June 16 of 1941 the governor of the Gold Coast, Sir Arnold Hodson, caused to be published in the Gazette an ordinance known as “The Compulsory Service Ordinance, 1941.” Under it “every male British subject and British protected person and person treated as if he were a British protected person who has attained the age of eighteen years and has not attained the age of forty-five years and who is ordinarily resident in the Gold Coast,” was liable to be conscripted for compulsory military service.

In 1940, the brothers in Kumasi translated the November 1, 1939, Watchtower article on “Neutrality” in Twi. Mimeographed copies went to many of the Twi-speaking congregations in the country. They followed this in 1941 with a translation of a Consolation article entitled “Whom Do You Fear?” which was also distributed to the Twi-speaking congregations.

In 1941, the Kumasi brothers arranged to spend several weekends studying these articles with the brothers at Safo and Asonomaso. Thus fortified with knowledge, they were able to decide for themselves what should be done in harmony with their stand of neutrality with regard to the war and the governor’s declaration. They refused to contribute to the fund being collected to buy Spitfire airplanes for use in the war. This caused resentment against them to burst forth in the form of persecution.

The enemy sought to incite the chiefs of Kwahu to bring persecution on the Witnesses. Clergymen, prominent church members and other influential men in the area misrepresented the brothers before the paramount chief. They were said to be persons who had rebelled against the king of Ashanti and had had to flee from his wrath. Such people, it was said, had been welcomed by Jehovah’s witnesses into their midst in order to subvert authority in that area.

The paramount chief sat in council with his subchiefs to discuss the matter. They had almost decided to expel the refugees and ban the activities of the native Witnesses when the chief of Obo stood up and said, in substance: “These people are preachers of God’s Word. They do not force anybody to listen to them, nor to join their church. They are different from all the churches we know and it may well be that they are the true worshipers of God and that God is backing them up. You should watch out, therefore, what you do to them. As for me, I shall not join in anything that may amount to fighting against the will of God.”

That frightened the chiefs and brought the meeting to an end. Nevertheless, seeing that they were collectively defeated, some of them began to plot against the brothers in their own towns. The chief of Nkwatia was particularly active in this. He got two brothers thrown into jail for two months and on his instigation Brother Anaman was picked up and interrogated by the police a number of times.

Here too the brothers were misrepresented before the district commissioner. He summoned them to his office at Mpraeso and questioned them. When they explained their neutrality to him he greatly disappointed the persecutors. He said to the brothers:

“I know that is the stand of Jehovah’s witnesses in England. Go home, but be sure not to discourage others from supporting the war efforts.”

The enemies continued to agitate until they got the paramount chief to summon the brothers before him again. This time the brothers were accused of failing to pay tax. Imagine the situation when right there all the brothers produced their receipts for the current basic rate (community development tax). That silenced a number of the opposers, since they themselves had not paid this basic tax.

It was here that the captain of the chief’s army, traditionally called Osafohene, stood up and said to the assembly:

“You well know that we also have gods and fetishes who impose certain taboos and restrictions on us. As the saying goes, ‘No one forces another to set aside the taboos of his fetish.’ If, therefore, these worshipers of Jehovah say that war is a taboo by the decree of their God, I say that we should leave them alone. We should be careful not to force them to violate the laws of their God.”

THE OUTCOME OF PERSECUTION

Now, what was the outcome of persecution? In many ways the persecutions proved to be a blessing to the work in the country. For one, it sent many of the displaced brothers into isolated territory to open up the work. This resulted in the starting of many new congregations, besides the strengthening of old ones.

For another, it once and for all put down the opposition from the twin villages of Safo and Asonomaso. Many of the townsfolk had expected that when the brothers came back from prison they would make a lot of noise in the town and go about returning evil for evil. When they did not do that but, instead, went from house to house greeting and chatting with all, the villagers became astonished. Many ears began to be opened to the good news. That was not all.

Following the persecutions serious adversities began to overtake some of the leading ones of the persecutors, adversities that the superstitious minds of the animists readily connected with the persecution of the true Christians. One of the main engineers of the beatings at Asonomaso, Opanin Kwabena Saara, fell off a tall Funtumia (rubber) tree and died. Two of the court officials who tried and mocked the brothers died mysteriously. Police Sergeant Fodwoo, who said that he himself would throw J. F. Rutherford into jail if he were in the Gold Coast, was dismissed three days after he made that statement.

These and many other things the heathen opposers put together and said, ‘Indeed, God is with those people!’ Some came into the truth as a result, as the following shows.

Two messengers from the Asantehene had gone to see the chief of Asonomaso. After their official business they stopped by a middle-aged man and his wife who were enjoying the evening breeze outside their home. The messengers said: “Please, Older One, we want to ask about something but, first, are you, please excuse us, a native of this town?”

When the man answered that he was, they went on to say:

“Some months ago, Nana, the king of Ashanti, arrested a number of the Jehovah’s witnesses who refused to pay the war tax. Nana himself slapped some of them, but, as you well know, no man lives at whom ‘He Who Sits On Gold’ [the king] so much as points a finger. So, please tell us. How long was it after those men got home did they die?”

They were assured that none of the men died. They replied: “Well, we do not believe that you know what we are talking about.”

The man explained that he knew, that he was the son of the chief of Asonomaso and that one of the men so treated by the Asantehene, Kwadwo Owusu, was his brother-in-law. Pointing to his wife, he said: “Look, his sister!”

The men were astonished. “We now know that those men are, indeed, servants of the true God. We shall have to report this to the Mighty One and warn him to watch out in case he ever again has to deal with Jehovah’s witnesses.”

The man’s wife, Akua Kwatema, was then a superstitious pagan. She had never thought of the matter from that angle. Now she considered the situation very seriously. “If there is a God who can rescue his servants from the wrath of the gods of Ashanti, then He is the God to worship,” she concluded. She immediately associated with Jehovah’s witnesses and has served faithfully until this day.

Shifting to another subject, we would like to relate a convention experience. Brother B. A. Quaye, a blind brother from Koforidua, tells of how he managed to be at the 1944 convention at Swedru. He had no money on him to pay the fares but had enough food to last him the journey one way on foot. He decided to be there, even though the distance was some seventy miles.

He was able to convince another brother who had decided not to go because of the “no money” excuse to agree to walk there with him. They started a week ahead of the convention. Before they got to Swedru the number going on foot to the convention had increased to about twenty. How did it come about?

Well, as they spent the nights with brothers on the way, the endeavor of this blind brother astonished and encouraged many of the able-bodied brothers and sisters who had decided to stay behind for the lack of money to join them on foot. This they did and they were richly blessed at the convention. The hospitality of the brothers who heard of the experience at the assembly enabled these brothers to return by train or lorry after the convention.

A YEAR OF VICTORIES AND SURPRISES

Early in 1947 the brothers in the Gold Coast decided to hold a convention in Accra. They would leave no stone unturned to get the ban on Brother Brown’s entry into the country removed, to allow him to attend the convention. They appointed Brother J. G. Quansah their secretary and assigned him to petition the governor on their behalf.

On March 6, Brother Quansah submitted the petition. Although he had never had any formal legal education, his petition was acclaimed a masterpiece. What a joy it was to all of them when on March 25, 1947, Mr. G. Sinclair, acting for the colonial secretary, wrote to Brother Quansah, saying:

“I am directed by the Governor to inform you that the Immigration authorities are prepared to allow Mr. Brown to enter this country.”

This was communicated to Brother Brown in Lagos and within two weeks he was in Accra. He says: “Imagine how happy I was to see my children in the Lord and to attend the convention!”

Instead of the small group of Witnesses that he had seen in the country in 1935, there were 800 publishers and interested persons assembled in the Palladium Cinema Hall.

UPHOLDING THE CHRISTIAN STANDARD OF MARRIAGE

An important point discussed at this convention was the Christian standard of monogamous marriage. Prior to 1947 a number of the brothers (not the majority by any means) were living in polygamy. The standard of Christian morality as laid down at Galatians 5:19-21 and elsewhere in the Bible was respected and they endeavored to adhere to it. However, polygamy was not clearly associated with adultery. This was largely due to the fact that in African society polygamy is just as honorable as monogamy.

Finally, the January 15, 1947, issue of The Watchtower appeared with an excellent article on marriage. The magazine plainly stated that “plurality of wives” is not for Christians.

Friday, April 4, 1947, at the assembly in Accra, Brother W. R. Brown gave a ninety-minute talk on marriage, based on the material in the January 15 Watchtower. Immediately that became the talking point of the assembly. For the first time polygamists were refused baptism and those already baptized in that condition were told to clean up in order to be acceptable in Jehovah’s organization.

Accepting the Christian standard of marriage meant great changes and adjustments in the lives of the polygamous ones. Nevertheless, the willingness was there, along with the desire to please God. In harmony with Jehovah’s mercy the Society dealt very patiently and kindly with them. Under normal circumstances they were given six months to straighten out their affairs. The majority of them showed appreciation for this, as is evident in the following comment of the then branch overseer:

“It was very encouraging when everything was straightened out, to find that the number of persons who refused to adjust their lives according to the Christian way could be counted on one hand. So now as Jehovah prospered the brothers in making new disciples, these were coming into Jehovah’s organization with a clear understanding of all the Scriptural requirements.”

GILEAD GRADUATES ARRIVE

Good news came at the conclusion of the assembly when Brother Brown announced that two graduates of the eighth class of Gilead were assigned to the Gold Coast and would arrive in the middle of June. The applause that greeted the announcement was simply deafening. Then when Brother Brown added that “the next time I visit you, your number will be, not 800 but 8,000,” the brothers could not contain their joy.

The ship carrying the Gilead graduates, George Baker and Sidney Wilkinson, arrived exactly on schedule, docking in Takoradi harbor on June 17, 1947. They had their first taste of what awaited them in the country when, on disembarking, Brother Baker had his personal library of the Society’s publications seized from him under the Customs Ordinance. The brothers who had gone to the harbor to meet them soon brought them up-to-date on what had been going on in the country, which made the incident over Brother Baker’s books seem quite insignificant. At any rate, the warm welcome accorded them by the brothers helped them to overcome that initial shock.

APPEALS FOR GREATER FREEDOM

It was on September 11, 1947, that the Society was informed in Lagos that the Gold Coast Legislative Council was due to meet on Tuesday, September 16. This meant that the brothers had only five days to get before the governor and also before all the elected members of the council the first petition on which they had been working.

They worked hard and, by telegram, airmail and other means of fast communication, succeeded in placing copies of the petition as was planned. Meanwhile, copies of the petition and covering letters had been mailed to the king of England, the British prime minister and the secretary of state for the Colonies. At this same time the branch in London had arranged for each of the congregations in the British Isles to send one letter of appeal as a congregation to the Gold Coast government. In addition to that, individuals were urged to write as private, freedom-loving citizens, expressing disgust over the Gold Coast government’s attitude toward Jehovah’s witnesses. The brothers in England took this up and flooded Government House in Accra with some 1,500 pieces of mail protesting the refusal to allow the Society’s literature to enter the country.

By the middle of November, 10,496 persons had signed their names to a third petition, saying: “We have no cause to complain of the activities of Jehovah’s witnesses, or the contents of their publications, which are not subversive but directed to the highest welfare of the people.” The signers included many prominent educators, chiefs, lawyers, clergymen, journalists, businessmen, and so forth. The formal presentation took place on November 17, 1947.

But now the month of December was here, and on Friday the 19th Brothers Knorr and Henschel landed at the Accra airport. These visiting officers of the Society were interested in the problems arising from the colonial government’s attitude toward our work. So, besides attending the convention, they spent time calling on government officials such as the comptroller of customs, members of the Legislative Council and the director of education, who reviewed the books prior to prohibition. However, no one would point out specifically what was in our publications that was objectionable.

During the visit of Brothers Knorr and Henschel a convention was held at a theater called the Palladium. The assembly was well organized and the two graduates of Gilead now stationed at Accra did much to help in this regard.

On Sunday morning Brother Henschel delivered the discourse on baptism. Following that the candidates were taken in hired buses to the beach. In the little privacy provided by the coastal coconut groves they changed clothes and were immersed in the rough Atlantic breakers. By actual count, 171 were thus baptized.

There were 950 brothers in attendance at the assembly and well over 800 of them engaged in the field service, advertising the public meeting and also going from house to house with the book Children, which was admitted into the Gold Coast. Information walkers were well organized and handbill distribution continued right up to the time of the public meeting. The throngs of people that daily traverse the streets of Accra knew that “Permanent Governor of All Nations” was the title of the public talk to be delivered by Brother Knorr.

The lecture was attended by a record crowd of 1,353, with hundreds listening from outside the hall. Brother Knorr spoke in English and the talk was translated into Twi and Ga.

In his closing remarks the president of the Society gave the brothers good counsel on how to carry on the work despite the handicap of censorship. He encouraged them with God’s Word and then surprised everybody by saying: ‘Beginning January 1, 1948, just a few days hence, the Gold Coast field will operate as a branch.’ Brother A. G. Baker was to be branch overseer, assisted by Brother S. Wilkinson.

What good news! The brothers kept up the applause throughout the rest of the session. Thus ended the convention, with everyone keenly looking forward to the blessings of a branch organization.

Before Brother Knorr left West Africa he outlined in writing the procedure the brothers were to follow in the battle to get the unjust restrictions on the Society’s publications removed. Among other things, he mentioned that during his interview with Dr. Danquah, a lawyer, the suggestion was made that the Society arrange to have the matter raised in the British House of Commons. Dr. Danquah cited the example of a book called How Russia Transformed Her Colonial Empire, written by Socialist George Padmore. His Majesty’s Customs seized a consignment of this publication addressed to lawyer Ako Adjei of Accra under the same Customs Ordinance. The raising of the matter in the House of Commons in July of 1947 was all it took to cause the secretary of state, Mr. Creech Jones, to inquire into the matter. The result was that the book was in free circulation in the Gold Coast.

Accordingly, Brother Knorr wrote to the British Isles and instructed the Society’s branch office to do everything possible to get the matter before Parliament.

On January 14, 1948, Brother Atwood of the Nigeria branch wrote to Sir Gerald Creasy, who had then assumed duties as governor of the Gold Coast, and raised the point of the petition that was meant for him but which was presented before his assumption of office. The governor sent a kind reply to say that the request was receiving his careful consideration.

With the same date, January 14, 1948, Brother Atwood also sent a letter and a copy of the book “Let God Be True” to each of the elected members of the Gold Coast Legislative Council. After discussing the history of the battle at some length the letter said:

“It is hard to understand how any reasonable person could proclaim this publication to be ‘seditious, defamatory, scandalous or demoralizing.’ Yet that is apparently the opinion of the Comptroller, and despite the plea of more than 10,000 citizens, the book is banned. I take the opportunity of presenting you with a copy of this book for your careful consideration.”

It was not until December 7, 1948, after many months of hard work, that Brother Baker wrote: “Seventeen different publications are now granted entry.”

This was bound to produce results in the field, and it did. By the end of the 1949 service year, literature placements had increased from 23,724 the previous year to 124,462. Bible studies had increased from 168 to 569 and there were 2,053 publishers as against 1,134. Now there were sixty-five congregations and four circuits instead of forty-two and two respectively. Truly the victory was Jehovah’s.

THE NORTHERN TERRITORIES OF THE GOLD COAST

In many respects the North differs greatly from the South, so much so that it might well have been an entirely different country. This territory takes in a little more than a third of the total land area of the country, but it is very much less populated. The colonial administrators took very little interest in this part of the country, partly because of its more inhospitable climate and also because the territory is practically devoid of any mineral resources or timber. The result is that the North still remains the region where customs are, to a great degree, affected by superstitions of pagan and Islamic religions.

Some preaching had been done in this territory in the late 1920’s and in the early 1930’s by Brothers J. O. Blankson and C. S. T. Caesar, in such places as Navrongo, Wa, Gambaga, Tamale and Salaga​—a famous slave market in Portuguese times. But this was mainly to educated government officials from the South.

In August of 1949, following the Kumasi assembly, Brothers Baker and Wilkinson toured the region to survey the territory, but it was not until the 1951 service year that the Society succeeded in getting one regular pioneer, E. K. Konu, to move to Tamale, the administrative capital on the North. Brother Konu was appointed a special pioneer. Two months later E. A. S. Anson was assigned as a special pioneer at Yendi, sixty-three miles east of Tamale.

At the “Press On to Maturity” assembly in 1952, the brothers were thrilled with experiences related by the special pioneers working in the North. Very few of the people of the South have visited the North and the vast differences in culture and landscape make the North a fascinating, even intriguing country to most southerners. From the reports good progress was being made there, but the need was yet great. So the Society arranged to send more special pioneers into the territory.

These worked hard despite the less favorable conditions in the North. Some of them bought themselves bicycles in order to be able to cover the vast territory assigned to them. Sometimes they had to cycle fifty miles and more to visit and strengthen isolated publishers. They learned the native languages and taught some of the interested persons they found how to read and write, some also learning English.

One of such zealous natives who embraced the truth and became very useful in the local congregation is S. K. Adama of Lawra. We meet him in his small tailoring shop dressed in a loose outer garment over a pair of European trousers, with a fezlike, handwoven cap on his head. There is a glow in his round, handsome face as he welcomes us with vigorous handshakes. His smiles reveal a perfect set of teeth delicately filed. And now he tells his story on the theme “Bible Truth Sets Me Free from Satan’s Prison.”

It was in 1953, when he was only nineteen, that he heard one of the special pioneers preaching the Kingdom good news in Lawra. What was said sounded too strange to his ears to register anything on his mind, but he was struck by the frequent recurrence of the name Jehovah throughout the sermon.

When it was over he asked the pioneer who that Jehovah might be. A further witness was given him about the true God. When Adama went home he told his relatives: “Today I met a man who told me that there is a God whose name is Jehovah.” What was the pagan old-timers’ reaction?

“To them this was no news,” Brother Adama says, “because the Dagartis have many that are called gods and so Jehovah could be the god of some other people.”

In a few days’ time the pioneer called back on him. He was moved by the sermon on the qualities of the true God and what Jehovah has purposed to do for mankind on earth through his kingdom. He recognized the message to be the truth. But he took no stand for it. He left Lawra for Accra, where he had another opportunity to investigate the message of Jehovah’s witnesses.

When he became even more convinced that Jehovah’s witnesses have the true religion as a result of what he heard and saw of them in Accra, he went back to Lawra. To his disappointment, the pioneer had left Lawra for Tumu, sixty-nine miles away. He was able to convince his brother of the truthfulness of the message. The two of them decided to travel the sixty-nine miles to Tumu to look for the pioneer.

Just at that time someone gave them the address of the circuit overseer. They communicated with him, and almost immediately he wrote back to assure them of a visit. Within a few weeks he arrived, accompanied by two special pioneers assigned to Lawra. In a short time a small group of the natives were baptized.

The old men of the town did not look on this with favor. “They took away our wives,” Brother Adama relates, “and told us to stop serving Jehovah because they could not tolerate their daughters being married to worshipers of a ‘foreign god.’ But that did not deter us. So they went to the paramount chief of Lawra and said to him: ‘These boys are bringing other people’s tradition and customs to our town. You should see to stop them.’”

Chief Karbo investigated the matter and told the old men: “I am chief but I have no authority to stop people from worshiping which god they choose.”

“The old men were disappointed,” recalls Brother Adama. “They cursed us and said we would be dead in a few days because we had forsaken the tradition and customs of our ancestors.”

“Well, three days passed and none of us had died,” Adama observed. “Instead, we had obtained a plot of land to build a Kingdom Hall in the name of Jehovah.”

“What?” the opposers said in amazement. “Are you boys still alive to build a house for your God Jehovah? Indeed, he must be the Almighty God.”

“The older men therefore came to acknowledge Jehovah to be the true God and, although they did not come to worship him with us, they refrained from persecuting us. Our wives eventually dedicated their lives to Jehovah, and Jehovah continued to prosper our congregation.”

Many such experiences strengthened the special pioneers working in the North. Also encouraging them were the occasional visits of busloads of brothers from the South, usually at circuit assembly time. At one time Accra congregations bought bicycles and sent them up North through the Society to be used by the special pioneers. Others sent used clothing to be distributed among the needy ones there. All this was very much appreciated.

EXPANSION

There was no question about it, the need for vernacular literature was great. Arrangement was therefore made to translate “Let God Be True” into Twi.

At this time T. A. Darko had been baptized. He had been in contact with the truth since 1938 but had remained a devout Presbyterian until he read “Let God Be True” in 1948. This person knew Twi, English and Ga very well and was interested in translation. Before his baptism he had begun, on his own initiative, to translate “Let God Be True” into Twi. He intended to move to the Presbyterian stronghold of Akropong in the Akwapim hills and use the book to teach the churchgoers the truth.

After his baptism word reached the branch overseer about his interest in translation and so the Society invited him to Bethel to do full-time translation. That was February 1, 1949.

Into the busy year of 1949 were crammed two district assemblies, one at Kumasi and the other in Accra, at the King George V Memorial Hall, now Parliament House. Brother Atwood of Nigeria visited the country as zone overseer in connection with the second assembly.

The combined attendance at these two assemblies showed 2,719 more persons than the number of publishers in the country. A total of 404 persons were baptized at the two assemblies, bringing the figure for the year to 806.

The work was growing so rapidly that by August 1949, 71 percent of the 2,053 publishers were new, that is, persons who had accepted the truth since the establishment of the branch. This, needless to say, brought an additional load of shepherding. The Society therefore arranged for more Gilead-trained missionaries to come in.

First, W. C. Walden and G. L. Covert arrived in February 1949. In September of the same year, three more missionaries arrived. Brother G. F. Burt of the tenth class had been unsuccessful in gaining entry into Kenya, his original assignment, so he was reassigned to the Gold Coast. The next two missionaries were John Charuk and his brother Michael, Canadian graduates of the eleventh class.

ANOTHER BLOW TURNED INTO VICTORY

Brothers Knorr and Henschel scheduled themselves to visit the Gold Coast for the second time, in 1952.

With eagerness Jehovah’s witnesses throughout the country looked forward to the visit. This time the number of publishers had grown to 4,446, compared to the mere 575 of the year 1947. Every one of them would love to benefit by the counsel and talks of the Society’s president and his secretary, so, as in 1947, a national convention was arranged to be held in Accra, from November 21 to 23.

To the surprise of everybody, the Old Polo Grounds, British Crown land, was released for the convention! This was a spacious seaside plot just opposite the Supreme Court and the King George V Memorial Hall. No finer spot in all the Gold Coast could there be!

Twenty-eight miles away nearly 2,000 pieces of bamboo were cut and these were hauled to the Old Polo Grounds. A mammoth-sized kitchen with room for twenty cookstoves was the first completed frame. Grass mats set off the departments and walled in the offices, while palm branches provided shelter overhead.

The speaker’s platform was beautifully constructed and decorated. A canopy was built on it to provide shade. From this hung cut-out letters spelling the theme of the assembly, “Press On to Maturity.”

As time drew near, food and other supplies started to pour in from up country. Three five-ton truckloads of yam and one of plantain came from 185 miles north, along with ever so many other provisions to keep the 150 cafeteria volunteers busy. Added to this was the work of finding rooms for the 6,000 delegates expected from outside Accra.

Advertising was handled with zeal. Three hundred posters were pasted all over Accra and its suburbs. Large billboards were placed at prominent intersections. Two fifty-foot signs gave full particulars of the public talk entitled “It Is Time to Consider God’s Way,” to be delivered by N. H. Knorr, president of the Watch Tower Society.

Now came the news that the visas for Brother Knorr and Brother Henschel had been canceled!

“An interview was granted by the prime minister, Dr. Nkrumah. The matter was explained to him, and he said that about two weeks previously our missionary work was discussed at a cabinet meeting. The decision reached was that our missionary activities would be allowed to continue as they were but no more missionaries would be allowed into the country. He was told that Brother Knorr and Brother Henschel were not coming here as missionaries but only to visit us for a few days. At the conclusion of the interview the prime minister stated that he would take the matter up with the minister of defense and external affairs. Later a secretary in government said that the matter had been considered and the final decision was that visas were refused and a cable to that effect had been sent to New York.”

Since it was final that Brothers Knorr and Henschel would not be permitted to attend the convention, the next important highlight of the convention was the release of the book “Let God Be True” in Twi. Oh, how the Twi-speaking brothers had looked forward to this publication in their own language! What progress it would help them to make in gaining accurate knowledge! And how it would help them conduct better home Bible studies!

But, even here, the possibility of making the release a reality was seriously threatened. How? The ship bringing the books had arrived too late for them to reach the assembly!

Accra has never really been a harbor and, in those days before the building of the Tema harbor, ships had to line up about a mile offshore and wait their turn to discharge their cargo by means of the very slow canoes that ferried to and from the shore. This resulted in ships waiting off shore for days, and each captain was careful not to lose his place in the queue. The shipment of literature, it was learned, had arrived two days before the convention and was not due to be unloaded for at least seven days! What could the brothers do?

The branch decided to contact the comptroller of customs and ask for his assistance. Considering the battle that had raged between the customs department and Jehovah’s witnesses in the past, it took real faith to approach with any optimism the very head of this department for help. But the branch overseer did.

Brother Baker explained to this European official that over the past three years translation had been going on on this important publication for release at the assembly. And now there it was, held up a mile offshore while the assembly was going on. Could he help?

Immediately His Majesty’s Comptroller took Brother Baker to his assistant at the beach and explained the situation. He instructed the junior officer to take two canoes from the fleet doing the unloading and row Mr. Baker to the captain of the ship. We let Brother Baker tell the rest.

“Due to the sea swells it took us a while to reach the ship. Once alongside it, I realized that I had to get to grips with a rope ladder while the canoe popped up and down on the swell. I could not remember receiving training in Gilead School for this!

“With some palpitation I eventually clambered over onto the deck to find the captain waiting to know what all this was about. After my explanation, he replied: ‘That quantity of cargo would not be listed on our sheet. I have no idea where it could be.’

“I asked if we could have a search of the place. He agreed, and several of the crew set off in different directions. Ten minutes went by and nothing had been found. Then the captain called out: ‘Is this it?’

“Over I hurried and, true enough, he had found the cartons. The hatches were opened and the crane lifted them over the side. Within an hour we were rowing back to shore. Imagine the joy of everyone when the book was released as scheduled at the assembly!

“We were all very much disappointed in not having Brother Knorr and Brother Henschel with us for the assembly, but it all worked for a greater witness in the end. The newspapers for the next few days had much to say about the government’s action.”

The press comment was voluminous, a great witness indeed, but what was even more gratifying about it was that there was not a single adverse comment about Jehovah’s witnesses.

Under such headings as “Give Reasons,” “Watch Tower Protests,” “Sad Blunder,” “Premier Nkrumah Not Pleased with Knorr Ban, Matter May Go to U.N.O.,” “Knorr’s Talk Knocked Out,” “U.S.A. May Query Knorr’s Case,” “No Freedom Here? Knorr’s Case Cited, Only Reds Do It,” “Face Facts About Mr. Knorr,” “Trial by Supposition,” and many others​—much was written that the British Crown must have found very embarrassing.

One editorial warned: “There is much more involved in the measures taken against Jehovah’s Witnesses. Freedom of the individual is at stake​—freedom of worship and of speech or thought is in danger.”

Another said: “There will be resounding repercussions, for the Watch Tower people are very loud and bold. . . . In itself the Knorr ban is a mockery of the claims of the United Nations on world citizenship. It is tragic. And that is saying the least.”

Many of the educated people suspected Christendom of complicity in the affair, as is brought out in the following newspaper editorial:

“It will not be unfair to suggest that soft influence may have been exerted from outside to keep Knorr out of the country. That source may even be Christian, for the Church seems to have fallen upon vicious days of mercurial competition; and the Watch Tower people seem to be winning.”

In the early morning hours of November 26, 1952, a plane touched down at the Accra airport with Brother Knorr on board. He knew that he would not be allowed entry into the country, so he had arranged for some of the brothers to meet him at the airport. He reports:

“While the brothers had expected me four days earlier, when I arrived at 3 a.m. the branch servant and several others from the office were there. For forty-five minutes I keenly enjoyed discussing the situation in Accra with them.

“The thing that gave me so much joy was to learn that they had a wonderful convention just the same. Eight thousand brothers had come from all parts of the country to Accra and a tremendous witness was given.”

Earlier, Brother Knorr had written a letter that was intended to be read to the conventioners. Since it was received too late to be read at the assembly, the branch circulated the contents to all the congregations, with the date of November 25.

Although Brother Knorr began his letter by saying, “It is with deep regret that I write this letter,” he was full of encouragement and Christian admonition to the brothers. He said:

“Do not let this matter disturb you, neither let it cause anger to well up in your hearts. These men in government have the authority . . . to refuse visas to those whom they do not wish to have in the country. It is part of their work and, of course, their responsibility. . . . Our being with you would have brought great joy, and we could have . . . aided you in the service you are doing. But if this Christian service is refused to you by the government, please do not let it disturb you at all.

“Your dedication of your life is to Jehovah God, and you are not one of Jehovah’s witnesses because of any man in the organization or any group of men. You are slaves of the Most High. You are interested in just one thing whether Brother Henschel and I are there to tell you about it or whether you read it yourself in the Lord’s Word, and that is to glorify your Father who is in heaven. . . .

“Please go ahead in your preaching of the good news peacefully, calmly and in the spirit of Jehovah. . . . I hope the effect of this restriction upon Brother Henschel and myself as to coming into the Gold Coast will be most wholesome to all of you. I sincerely hope the effect will be to make every one of you more zealous and more determined to reach more people with this good news of the Kingdom, arranging more Bible studies, house-to-house witnessing and increased activity in every field of service. . . .

“May your zeal be expressed during the coming year of 1953 by worshiping Jehovah in holy array. . . .

“Show your love to all people in the Gold Coast by bringing to them the ‘good news’ of God’s Kingdom, which is the only hope for the world. May Jehovah’s rich blessing be with all of you as you do this, and may you maintain your integrity and share in the vindication of Jehovah’s name and Word. Brother Henschel and I send our love to the whole congregation.”

Quite an inspiring letter. We came through the 1953 service year with a 21-percent increase in publishers and a new peak of 5,181 publishers.

FILM ACTIVITY

We move on to October of 1954 when the Society started a countrywide film activity with the picture “The New World Society in Action.” Since electricity, even till now, is available only in the main towns, the Society had to purchase, not only a projector, but also a generator and other electrical fittings plus a Land-Rover to transport it all to the remote parts of the country.

By the close of the 1955 service year, 109,496 persons had seen the film at fifty-nine showings. It did help to break down opposition and prejudice, as is evident from the comment of a Methodist Church leader who said:

“I never thought much of your church until I saw the film. I have ever since been telling my members to listen to what Jehovah’s witnesses teach.”

The mention of the year 1955 brings us to the Triumphant Kingdom assemblies of that year. It was certainly encouraging to see over twenty delegates leave the Gold Coast to attend several of the ones held in Europe. A few of these delegates knew no English nor any European language at all. All the same, they were greatly built up by what they saw and what they experienced by way of the European brothers’ hospitality and the love and unity of Jehovah’s organization. They returned with a deeper appreciation for the truth and for their obligations to their fellow Christians.

Following the European assemblies the Gold Coast branch scheduled a national assembly with the same theme at Accra, November 17 to 20, 1955. Again the government favored us with permission to use the Old Polo Grounds.

Brother Henschel was to attend this assembly and a visa had to be obtained for him. Would there be a repeat of the 1952 episode when visas were denied Brothers Knorr and Henschel? There was a long delay after the application was made and this caused a bit of anxiety. However, after persistent follow-ups, the visa was issued, just in time for it to be cabled to Brother Henschel to enable him to include the Gold Coast in his itinerary.

The very first session of the assembly saw 7,000 in attendance. This increased steadily to a peak of 14,331 at the public talk. The number baptized was 926.

ADJUSTMENTS IN THE OVERSIGHT

When Brother Baker left as a result of ill health, Brother Knorr assigned Brother G. F. Burt to look after the administration of the branch until other arrangements were made. Brother Burt did so up until June 27, 1956, when Herbert Jennings arrived and was appointed branch overseer.

Brother Jennings, a Canadian national, was baptized on October 22, 1950, and started regular pioneer service in March 1952. He was appointed circuit overseer in January 1955 and, seven months later, was called to attend the twenty-sixth class of Gilead, from where he was assigned to the Gold Coast. Brother Jennings was only twenty-five years of age when he arrived here, but even at that time he was balding. Since baldness, like gray hair, is associated with advanced age in African society, this proved to be an asset in his work.

It was in 1956 that the Society was placing emphasis on maturity here and, of course, that required capable oversight. Prior to 1956 the concern seemed to have been for numerical growth, and we did grow this way. Now there was need to train the publishers to reach out for greater responsibility in the organization. That meant, for instance, coming to grips with the problem of illiteracy by teaching the publishers how to read and write instead of assigning two or three illiterate folks with one literate publisher to go from house to house, or telling them to record field service activity by keeping pebbles and sticks in different sacks to represent reports of the various features of the field ministry.

Another problem that needed attention was keeping all the publishers active. For a few years back it had been noted that the pace of increase in publishers had slowed down, even though many new ones were being baptized. The increase in publishers in the 1953 service year was 21 percent. In 1954 it dropped to 16 percent, then to 7 percent the following year and 4 percent in the first eight months of the 1956 service year. This was cause for concern.

A study of the problem revealed that a number of individuals were rushing into baptism without a real appreciation of the responsibilities that go with dedication and baptism. Such ones had not gained sufficient knowledge of Jehovah and his purposes upon which to base a sound, rocklike faith. As a result, they would publish for a while after baptism and then drop out of service.

The remedy offered was expressed in the May 1956 issue of the Informant Supplement in an article headed “Examination to Be Required for All Immersion Candidates.” The article placed responsibility on congregation overseers to examine personally each immersion candidate sponsored by their congregations to make sure that the individual was not hindered by an improper marriage or some other unchristian conduct. Each candidate was expected to have a basic knowledge of the truth, acquired through a thorough study of “Let God Be True,” and a clear understanding and appreciation of what dedication and baptism means and one’s obligations before Jehovah on becoming baptized. When a candidate was approved, the presiding overseer filled out and signed a Qualified for Baptism form. With few exceptions baptism was restricted to assembly time, and no one was baptized at such assemblies without first presenting at the immersion department a Qualified for Baptism form duly completed and signed by his congregation overseer. While it cut down on the number being baptized, it ensured that those who were being recognized as Jehovah’s witnesses were truly qualified.

GOLD COAST BECOMES GHANA

On March 6, 1957, the British government granted full independence to the Gold Coast. Now the country was free from colonial domination, an event that brought great jubilation to all who had cried for “Self-Government Now!”

As might be expected, a lot of things of colonial origin, such as Bonds and Charters and Dispatches, including the “list of approved Missionary Societies,” were consigned to the archives and museums. Why, even the name Gold Coast was considered to be of colonial origin and was thrown overboard. From then on, the country was to be Ghana. With independence came a constitution that provided that “No law shall deprive any person of his freedom of conscience or of the right, freely to profess, practice or propagate any religion, subject to public order, morality and health.”

Perhaps the greatest problem that needed to be overcome was that of illiteracy. In 1957, 61 percent of the 6,727 publishers could not read nor write. Up until that year learning to read and write was largely left to individuals, and some of the zealous ones did well in learning on their own. Perhaps this accounted for the fact that literacy was nearly 40 percent in the organization, while for the country as a whole it was less than 30 percent.

Arrangements were made for establishing literacy classes. Visiting literacy classes is always a thrilling experience. At a humble village Kingdom Hall you meet earnest folks, some old and some not so old, grouped around a pressure lantern and poring intently over the pictorial lessons. Some have failing eyesight and a few are wearing glasses. Now see the old sister there trying to recall by a chain of associations the meaning of what the instructor is pointing at on the chart. And now see the glow on her face as she is able to interpret the printed page into spoken language. The instructor feels so warm about it that he spontaneously applauds and the whole class joins in. As the months go by, she makes progress with the group. On our next visit we meet her adjusting and readjusting her glasses as she grapples with the more advanced textbooks. On another occasion we meet her trying to steady the point of a pencil with fingers that are gnarled with years of hard work on the farm with the hoe. See her as she struggles to make simple strokes and dashes and circles. They don’t look very good, but she must be commended. She has made progress. Imagine her joy as within a year she is able to read God’s Word for herself and write her own field service reports and personal letters.

It was with such diligence that Jehovah’s witnesses tackled the problem of illiteracy in the organization. The classes were closely supervised and conducted in an atmosphere of Christian love. This won the praise of a number of governmental officials, as in the case of one mass education supervisor in the Western Region who visited the classes of a congregation that had been able to teach twenty to read and write in less than a year. He was moved to say: “Indeed you are a different people. . . . If your spirit was manifested in other organizations, this country would soon have very few illiterates.”

MARRIAGE REGISTRATION

The next major project was helping the brothers to put their marriages on a sound basis. Ever since the country became a colony of Great Britain civil marriage laws of England have applied in the country alongside the unwritten laws of customary marriage. Both civil and customary marriages are recognized to be perfectly legal, although in law civil marriage is given precedence over customary marriage. By far the majority of our brothers up until 1957 had been married under the customary law. This meant that, although the marriages were legal, they were not recorded, except in a few cases where individuals had registered them with local councils.

On July 4, 1957, the branch wrote to all the congregations explaining the need for marriages to be registered among Jehovah’s witnesses. The information was based on the material in the 1956 issues of The Watchtower dealing with marriage. At the time that meant that couples who had been married under the unwritten customary laws needed to have a civil marriage.

Now the majority of the local councils in the country are empowered by the government to register customary marriages. This is not the same as civil marriage, but it is just as binding, legal and properly recorded. So now it is left up to couples as to which way they want to get married, whether by the civil marriage arrangement or by the local council way of registering customary marriages.

KUMASI ASSEMBLY

Everything was ready for the convention in Kumasi to begin on March 5, 1959, as if no emergency had come up. But what about Brother Knorr?

By the divine will, there was no immigration trouble this time. Brother Jennings tells us:

“Brother Knorr arrived in Accra and passed through customs the evening before the assembly was due to begin. After spending Thursday and Friday going over things at the branch office, he and my wife and I flew to Kumasi to attend the assembly.

“Immediately upon arrival Brother Knorr was scheduled to give a talk at the foreign-language session attended by French-speaking delegates from Ivory Coast and Togo and Frafra-speaking delegates from Northern Ghana. The brothers were waiting when he arrived and listened attentively throughout the entire talk.

“That afternoon overseers were seated in the reserved section for a special program. Two half-hour discourses began the meeting and then it was Brother Jennings’ turn to give the brothers counsel on ‘Overseers, Keep Your Congregations Alive.’ Brother Knorr then spoke to the overseers on ‘Shepherding the Flock of God with Skillfulness.’ Citing King David and Christ Jesus as examples of faithful and skillful shepherds, he charged the overseers with the responsibility of assisting the new and weak publishers before ever any of them became inactive. After showing concern over the fact that many who went through baptism failed to continue in active service, he made clear the obligation of the overseers in reviving such inactive ones.

“Sunday, the final day of the assembly, dawned bright and hot. During the morning various speakers from Bethel and congregation servants gave counsel and information on Scriptural subjects. Tape-recorded experiences and songs from brothers behind the Iron Curtain were also played, to the delight of the conventioners. All the talks on this day, as on all days of the assembly, were simultaneously translated into Twi, Ga, Ewe and Adangbe.

“At 12 noon circuit and district servants gathered for a special meeting, with Brother Knorr handling an enlightening and serious discussion on being teachers of the flock​—not just telling them what to do but setting the example by doing it with them. The afternoon program included a letter read to all for approval and adoption, expressing appreciation to the Society for the assembly, the visit of Brother Knorr and the new book, From Paradise Lost to Paradise Regained.

“The final talk of the day was the public discourse, ‘A Paradise Earth Through God’s Kingdom,’ by the Society’s president. N. H. Knorr. How pleased and thrilled all were when the count revealed that 13,754, almost double the number of Witnesses in Ghana, were there listening to this interesting and important subject. The attentiveness and frequent applause revealed that the talk was thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated by all.

“Baptism was on Saturday morning and 460 persons were immersed.”

Brother Jennings recounts some rather comical experiences in connection with their trip back to Accra. Brother Kofi Kye had volunteered to take them in his car Sunday evening following the public talk. So, after saying the last good-byes and taking leave of the assembly, they got into the car and took off.

It was dark already and Brother Knorr showed by his questions that he was a little apprehensive about the driver’s finding the right way back to Accra. Brother Jennings reassured him, but the next thing they knew they were at the dead end of a street. What a way to reassure a stranger traveling after dark!

Anyway, the driver turned and managed to pick up the jungle road, but how could Brother Knorr be sure that that would take him to Accra? How relieved he was when, after four hours of motoring through the woods, a sign appeared that said “You Are Now Entering Accra”!

“Because we were traveling through the jungle.” Brother Jennings recalls, “Brother Knorr had everyone of us watching for wild animals en route, such as lions, panthers, and so forth. After 160 miles of forest the total score of ‘game’ reported seen was a field mouse and a green frog which jumped three feet in the air for every foot forward.”

BROTHER BROWN RETURNS

In closing this part of the history let us flash back to the Palladium Cinema Hall at Accra, where a convention of 800 brothers is ending on April 6, 1947. There is Brother W. R. Brown giving his closing remarks to the audience and, in the midst of deafening applause, he says: “The next time I visit you, your number will be, not 800 but 8,000.”

In 1950, when there were enough Gilead-trained missionaries in West Africa to continue what he had started by Jehovah’s undeserved kindness, aging Brother Brown and his wife left Nigeria for home in the Caribbean Islands.

Ten years later, he was remembered by a prominent Nigerian statesman, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, whom he had known during his stay in Nigeria. Dr. Azikiwe had been appointed governor general of newly independent Nigeria and he invited Brother Brown and his wife to visit Nigeria in October 1960.

Brother Brown and his wife took the opportunity also to pay a visit to Ghana, and what an occasion for great joy it was for him to see that a number of the old-timers who fought alongside him in the early days were still going strong in the truth. And how many publishers were there in Ghana at that time? There were 8,172, according to the field service report for April 1960.

By the close of the 1950’s the Society had trained a number of Ghanaian brothers to qualify for various positions of responsibility in the organization. In that decade alone nine brothers and two sisters from Ghana went through Gilead and were assigned to four different countries.

KNORR AND HENSCHEL VISIT AGAIN

December 1970 brought with it another event of unprecedented blessing. Brother Knorr, eleven years after his last trip over here, decided to visit us again. He was coming with his wife and Brother Henschel. That was not all. They were traveling in company with 182 other visiting brothers and sisters from the United States, Canada and other overseas countries. The group was taking a tour of West Africa, arranged to conclude with a series of conventions along the West Coast.

A few months prior to the assemblies, there had been an outbreak of Asiatic cholera along the West Coast of Africa. Health officials fighting to prevent the spread of the pestilence into areas under their jurisdiction had come to view all large gatherings with suspicion. For this reason city officials of Kumasi did everything short of outright cancellation to prevent the convention from occurring. Five different assembly sites were canceled, one after the other, on grounds of inadequate sanitation facilities. Then, just four weeks before the convention, permission was received to use the Sports Stadium, exclusive of Sunday. Hundreds of volunteers put their shoulders to the task and, following much of the setup of the 1967 assembly at the same location, even five days in advance everything was completed for the assembly to begin.

The Society, of course, was concerned about the health of the conventioners and counseled strictness on sanitation. This was scrupulously followed throughout, to the admiration of health inspectors. At Kumasi, where we had the greatest difficulty with the city’s medical officer of health, one of the health officials confessed that our attention to details in sanitation and health matters surpassed even what they themselves were able to achieve.

In Accra the difficulties started just a few hours before the program was to begin. As the crowds came pouring in, a health official, whose office overlooked the convention grounds, rushed up to the convention servant, Brother Danley, with a look of grave concern on his face. After some deliberations the authorities decided to cancel the convention, in view of the cholera threat.

After further discussion, reason prevailed. As it was pointed out, dispersing the growing crowd was not the solution to the problem. The convention was therefore allowed to go on as scheduled and many of the delegates visited nearby inoculation centers to be immunized against cholera. No cases of cholera were detected or reported at either assembly and only a few minor cases of illness were treated at the first aid departments.

Everyone was keyed up for what was the unusual about the “Men of Good Will” conventions, the presence of over 180 delegates from overseas. As two busloads of them filed into the Kumasi stadium, shouts of joy and a roar of applause broke out from the eighteen thousand then assembled. Hundreds lined up in the ramps personally to welcome and shake hands with the visitors. And in Accra the excitement was no less. “An experience we will never forget,” said one visitor. Another added: “We’ve never had such a welcome anywhere we have been. I think I must have shaken eighteen thousand hands.”

Local Witnesses, on the other hand, were impressed by the humility and cooperation displayed by the visitors. Their willingness to wait their turn in queues and show consideration for others was amazing to many observers. Having lived under colonial domination until just “yesterday,” so to speak, the Ghanaian’s impression of the “white man” is just the opposite of readiness to serve. This is what was evident in the comment of Brother K. A. Odoom when he said at one of the special program sessions: “White people first came to this country as our masters. But ‘the truth has made us free’ and now we look on you as our brothers.” Surely Jehovah’s spirit is a uniting force.

One Twi-speaking sister said: “I have been in the truth for thirty-years. I have read about our foreign brothers. Now at last I have seen you.” And this is how one missionary put it: “Usually we go home on leave for rest and recuperation. This time, you came to us and we feel greatly refreshed and upbuilt by your presence.”

It would take pages to record all such expressions of appreciation and love. Without doubt, Brother Knorr spoke for all of us, visitors and visited, when he said: “Words cannot express my feelings at the wonderful expression of your love.”

It was during his closing remarks at the 1970 Accra assembly that Brother Knorr announced that the Ghana branch office, which had been built in 1962, would be expanded to double its present size, to provide adequately for literature storage and new printing facilities.

By January, following the Accra assembly, sketch plans for the extension were ready. Final drawings were submitted to the Accra city officials in May. Meanwhile, preliminary work, including the receiving of building supplies sent down from the Kumasi congregations, got under way. Permission to build was issued on July 29, 1971, and actual construction got under way immediately. Congregations of Jehovah’s witnesses in the Accra and Tema areas were invited to take turns in sending volunteers for weekend construction. There was a tremendous response from the thousands of willing-hearted ones, and from fifty to one hundred and fifty would turn up, working hard to push the project along.

We are grateful for the excellent spirit shown. As a result of all this fine volunteer effort and skill the extension was ready for occupancy by May 1972. We were able to construct the new portion of the building for just half the cost of contracting with a local building company. This saving​—a generous contribution from our willing brothers and sisters—​is greatly appreciated!

The extension provides for our new printery and additional literature storage on the ground floor. The upper floor of this two-story building provides accommodations and other living facilities for an additional fourteen members of the Bethel family.

Between April and June printing machinery and supplies were shipped in from the Society’s factory in Brooklyn, New York, and a new printing press from the Heidelberg company in Germany. In the ensuing weeks our printery took shape. Complete equipment to produce The Watchtower in Ewe, Ga and Twi was installed. Preliminary printing began in July. By August, Kingdom Ministry was being produced and typesetting of the December 1972 Watchtower in three languages began.

The expansion and extension of activities of the Society’s Ghana branch will be of real benefit to the association of Christian witnesses of Jehovah throughout Ghana.

As we close our narrative of the history of Jehovah’s witnesses in Ghana from 1924 to 1972, it is certainly proper to acknowledge the part played by missionaries sent from Gilead School and others who came from overseas to help us. Not all of them came into the limelight of the history. Nevertheless, they all put up with various problems to make their contribution to the advancement of the work in Ghana.

Jehovah’s witnesses in this country are truly grateful to Jehovah and to his organization for investing so much in this country, not just in money and property but in human resources, to help honest-hearted people of this land to learn how to gain the goodwill of Jehovah while there is yet opportunity.

Looking back on it all, we cannot but marvel at the way Jehovah has magnified his own name in this part of Africa. If we recall the year 1924, when the lone witness of Jehovah, Claude Brown, went through the city of Accra pasting posters on walls and distributing handbills inviting people to a Bible lecture at the Merry Villas, to the year 1927, when W. R. Brown baptized the first handful of believers at Koforidua and Accra, through the fight legally to establish the good news under colonial autocracy and indigenous tyranny, to the year 1972, when we still possess our liberty as witnesses of Jehovah God, we cannot but say: “Surely it is no man’s doing; it is the work of Jehovah.”

And so the 16,093 witnesses of Jehovah in Ghana, 16 of whom profess to be of the anointed remnant class, and the many thousands who, we hope, will yet join them as dedicated servants of the Most High before the outbreak of the “great tribulation,” will forever resound the words of the Bible book of Psalms, saying:

“O magnify Jehovah with me, you people, and let us exalt his name together.” “I will praise the name of God with song, and I will magnify him with thanksgiving.” “O give thanks to Jehovah, you people, for he is good; for his loving-kindness is to time indefinite.”​—Ps. 34:3; 69:30; 107:1.

Guatemala

GUATEMALA is a beautiful Central American land of eternal spring, lofty mountains, active volcanoes, blue lakes and many varieties of plants and animals. Most of its more than 5,169,000 inhabitants reside in the central mountainous region, where the nation’s capital, Guatemala City, lies on a 5,000-foot-high plateau. Nearly half the populace are descendants of the Mayas and live in farm communities. Almost all other Guatemalans are Ladinos, persons of mixed Spanish and Indian ancestry. Spanish is the official language of this rugged land, but a large proportion of the population understand only an Indian dialect.

The towering mountains, mile-high lakes, tropical greenery and the lovely climate of Guatemala bear silent testimony to Jehovah’s Godship. But here, as elsewhere, he has raised up living, intelligent witnesses for himself. They have had to contend with formidable problems in spreading the good news of the Kingdom. Among these has been a high rate of illiteracy. Also, the extremely low wage-earning power of the laborer has put travel, good means of communication and common luxuries beyond the reach of the majority. Political instability has done little to foster progress. Furthermore, the mountainous terrain itself presents handicaps.

The many Indian dialects, unrelated to Spanish, have also impeded progress of the Kingdom-preaching work. Pointing up the difficulty of translating the Bible into these dialects, The Book of a Thousand Tongues, by the American Bible Society, states: “In Cakchiquel (Guatemala) any verb may have some 100,000 possible forms by the variety of particles which may be added to its root.” Consequently, those of one Indian tribe often do not understand the language of their neighbors living just across a ridge.

So there have been many obstacles. Nevertheless, years ago ‘a large door leading to activity’ swung open for declaring the Kingdom good news in Guatemala. We can now enter it in retrospect.​—1 Cor. 16:8, 9.

THE PREACHING WORK BEGINS

Looking back, we can distinguish several separate groups that were learning God’s truth by reading the Watch Tower Society’s publications. This literature first came from Spain in the form of the Spanish Watch Tower. Associated with the first of these groups was an Englishman named Fred Cutforth, living in the isolated village of El Rancho, about fifty miles east of Guatemala City. During 1910 he visited his brother, Charles Cutforth, at Gilbert Plains, Manitoba, Canada. Charles was reading The Divine Plan of the Ages, written by Charles Taze Russell, the Watch Tower Society’s first president. This was Fred Cutforth’s initial contact with true Christianity. Once again, in 1919, with his family, he journeyed to Canada, where he attended meetings held at the home of his eldest brother, Herbert. Later, while he and his family resided briefly in San Antonio, Texas, Fred attended meetings and was baptized.

About this same time, another individual in Guatemala apparently was reading the Society’s publications. We know this because the Spanish Watch Tower of April 1, 1919, gives this name and address: G. A. Tavel, Apartado 44, Quezaltenango, Guatemala. This address disappeared from the Spanish Watch Tower with its issue of September 1, 1920.

Late in 1920, Fred Cutforth and his family returned to El Rancho, Guatemala. Using the Society’s publications, he began to spread the truth. He traveled by means of the narrow-gauge railroad, then the best form of transportation, as roads were almost nonexistent. Brother Cutforth distributed the tract “The Fall of Babylon.” He even mailed out literature, inviting interested persons to contact him. Brother Cutforth also continued to study with his family, and his son Robert still recalls how his father played Bible Student hymns on his accordion while the rest of the family sang.

In 1930 Fred Cutforth and his family returned to Canada. However, some seeds of truth that he had sowed in Guatemala produced fruitage.

During the same decade that Fred Cutforth lived and preached east of Guatemala City, another man far to the west was also drinking in the waters of truth. He was Servando Flores of Nuevo San Carlos on the lush Pacific coastal plain. In 1923 he obtained a copy of the Spanish Watch Tower from a mule driver employed on a coffee plantation. Recognizing the ring of truth, he wrote to Spain for more literature. Servando Flores was then a pillar of the Presbyterian Church, serving as treasurer and elder. But he, too, began talking to others about the truth. Soon a small group within the church was reading the Society’s literature and having Bible discussions.

Fellow Presbyterians soon accused them of having political discussions. The clergy, especially foreign missionary Pablo Burgess, head of the Western Presbyterian Church, began to stir up opposition. After enduring much mocking and jeering, Servando Flores got out of Babylon the Great, attending his last Presbyterian religious service on June 12, 1925. Pablo Burgess and other church elders visited him with the hope of persuading him to return. But these Presbyterian leaders were totally unable to defend their pagan beliefs before humble laborers who upheld the Bible. In fact, these churchmen were quick to deny the inspiration of certain parts of the Bible that contradicted their false doctrines. Infuriated when their intentions were frustrated, Pablo Burgess circulated a tract against the Bible Students entitled “An Open Letter to Russellism.”

In rebuttal, Servando Flores and Samuel Mazariegos, a principal early associate, wrote a booklet entitled “In Defense of the Truth.” It was distributed by the brothers, and, though printed in 1929, it was in harmony with present-day understanding of the Scriptures. Interestingly, it opens with this quotation from the tract of Pablo Burgess: “There still lives in my memory the encounter that I had with Pastor Russell in a hotel in Switzerland in 1912. Even before I knew who he was, his venerable aspect, the sweetness of his voice, and pleasant manners, made a living impression upon me. And now when I have just reread his Divine Plan of the Ages I feel overwhelmed again by the power of his personality. When he speaks in defense of the Bible, when he rejects the arguments of unbelievers, his conviction is carried to my heart and I say, ‘This could not be a bad man.’ With one sweep of the pen he resolves the doctrinal difficulties and Bible interpretation that has sapped the energies of the best Christian thinkers of the twentieth century.” Of course, Burgess went on to recant his first opinions.

The Spanish Watch Tower of January 1927 contains a letter reporting the establishment of a “new class” in Guatemala. It is signed “S. F. G.” (Servando Flores Gramajo). Hence, pure worship had by then been established in Nuevo San Carlos. Jehovah’s people have continued active there to the present, and today this town has a congregation of fifty Kingdom publishers, among whom are the widow of Servando Flores, his children and grandchildren. One of his sons has been serving as an overseer in the congregation.

Between 1923 and 1930 Brother Flores, in western Guatemala, was corresponding with Fred Cutforth at El Rancho. It appears, however, that the two men never met.

During this same general period, a person in Guatemala City was receiving The Watch Tower from Spain and distributing it to others. This man became interested in the Bible as early as 1913, but we do not know exactly when he first obtained the Society’s publications. By 1928, however, he was receiving from the Society supplies of magazines for distribution. How do we know this? Well, on December 25, 1928, Trinidad Paniagua first received a copy of The Watch Tower through this distributor. Paniagua went to the address stamped on the magazine to locate this person. That very day he obtained the Society’s address in Spain, and he thereafter continued to receive and study the publications.

Something very interesting now took place. An American sister named Johnson came through Central America, witnessing in Guatemala and elsewhere. We do not know whether she also had some other reason for traveling in Central America, but she must have been in contact with the Watch Tower Society, for she had addresses of those reading its literature and sought to locate and encourage them. Sister Johnson found the home of Trinidad Paniagua and talked to him about spreading the Word. She spoke limited Spanish, but she did much house-to-house work in Guatemala City and outlying villages.

While witnessing in the capital, Sister Johnson contacted Eduardo Maldonado, a poor shoemaker. Not being satisfied with the teachings of his Catholic religion, sometime before this he had obtained a Bible. Though he was interested in acquiring the literature Sister Johnson offered (such as the books Creation and Reconciliation), he could take only a few booklets because of his economic condition. When she returned, he still was unable to contribute for the publications, but offered to trade a pair of shoes for a set of books. To this she agreed immediately. Eduardo Maldonado will ever be grateful to this itinerant sister and expresses his sentiments in these words: “Had she not been willing to accept barter, it would have been impossible for me to obtain the literature that has meant for me gaining life-giving knowledge.”

Sister Johnson gave Eduardo Maldonado the address of Trinidad Paniagua, and he began corresponding with Brother Paniagua. How long Sister Johnson stayed in this country we do not know. But we wonder if she was the one pioneer Witness that the January 1933 Bulletin listed as working in Guatemala during the special testimony period of October 1-9, 1932.

The work in Guatemala was then under the supervision of the Society’s Mexico branch. So in 1933 Roberto Montero, the branch overseer, visited the groups in Guatemala. He saw Brother Flores at Nuevo San Carlos. In Guatemala City he brought together Brothers Paniagua and Maldonado and other interested ones. Taking Brother Paniagua with him, he visited Carmen de Mayorga, who sometimes resided in the capital, but was studying the Society’s publications with two women at Zacapa, far to the northeast.

Brother Montero tried unsuccessfully to obtain government permission for some Bible lectures to be given on the radio. So he arranged to have El Imparcial, the principal newspaper, print 15,000 copies apiece of two tracts, Peace, Prosperity and Happiness and The Hope of the World. Brother Maldonado was left in charge of distributing these. Besides Guatemala City, he worked in Zacapa and nearby Chiquimula. Brother Paniagua went by train to Port San José on the Pacific coast. A group worked the village of Fraijanes and there a talk was given to about twenty persons. Tracts were also sent to Servando Flores for his use in Nuevo San Carlos.

In Guatemala City there were some police interruptions. Once the brothers were taken to police headquarters, but the chief of police released them after explaining to the officers who brought them in that the literature was against the Devil, the enemy of God and man. He even suggested that each accept a tract to read personally.

Not until September 1937 was there another visit to Guatemala by a representative from Mexico​—this time Daniel Ortiz. For three months he stayed with Brother Paniagua, working diligently in the house-to-house ministry from early morning until late afternoon. On weekends he was joined by Brothers Maldonado and Paniagua, who now got firsthand training in the ministry. Formerly they had only distributed tracts on the streets and in parks.

During 1938 Fred Cutforth’s sons Robert and Samuel moved to El Rancho. Later, they settled in San Antonio, not far from Brother Flores’ home. Their uncle in Canada asked the Mexico branch office to keep in touch with them, and so they were sent a letter encouraging them to receive literature for use personally and in spreading the truth.

In 1940 Brother Montero again visited Guatemala. During his stay, Brothers Maldonado and Paniagua symbolized their dedication to God by water baptism. Brother Montero took Brother Maldonado with him to visit the group at Nuevo San Carlos, and on this occasion two or three were immersed there. Brother Fred Cutforth had been the first baptized Christian living in the country, but not since he left for Canada in 1930 had there been baptized servants of Jehovah in Guatemala.

Brother Montero arranged for a public lecture to be given at a hall in the capital city. Furthermore, Brother Maldonado’s humble home there was made the center for the preaching organization. The arrival of a literature shipment from Mexico City made this vivid impression on the mind of Brother Maldonado’s eleven-year-old son Francisco: “A truck, full of boxes which contained phonographs, records, books and magazines, had arrived at our house. Being poor, we shared the house with many families, all living in small apartments. Our house was just full of these cartons, stacked in the hallway and every other available space. What excitement!” He recalls that now each Sunday his father and several other brothers would leave early in the morning and spend a full day in the field ministry.

Also, about 1940 Sister Johnson returned to Guatemala. While in San Salvador she had run short of funds, but a doctor friendly to the truth helped so that she could continue her journey. When the Guatemalan brothers visited her at a small hotel, though she had aged and was rather feeble, she always tried to upbuild them spiritually.

The death of the Society’s second president, J. F. Rutherford, early in 1942 touched Brother Maldonado deeply. Francisco Maldonado still recalls the seriousness and sadness manifested by his father when telling him that a great man and fighter for truth and righteousness had died.

Later that year, Amy Campbell of Tiquisate, on the Pacific coastal plain, contacted Brother Paniagua. When this colored woman and her husband first read the Society’s literature, we do not know. But before Amy’s husband died, he, too, was grounded in the truth. At Amy Campbell’s request, Brother Paniagua delivered the Memorial talk in Tiquisate. During this visit he also baptized Sister Campbell in a nearby river.

In May 1943 Brothers Paniagua and Maldonado visited Sister Campbell and interested persons she had contacted in her pioneer ministry. Brother Maldonado also decided to visit the Cutforth and Flores groups, since he already was at Tiquisate, more than halfway there. Although financially he did not feel able to journey farther, he did so and was rewarded spiritually and materially. There was an interchange of encouragement, and the brothers gave him fruit and a small monetary contribution that helped make up for his lost time in the shoe trade.

During 1943 Servando Flores died at Nuevo San Carlos, leaving a widow and minor children. Certainly they felt the loss, especially of the spiritual head of the family. This was the death of the first dedicated, continuously active witness of Jehovah in Guatemala.

MISSIONARIES ARRIVE

Something special happened in late 1943 or early 1944. The Society’s president, N. H. Knorr, together with Milton Henschel, visited Guatemala to see what could be done to expand true worship here. The brothers who then met with them at the Maldonado home still recall Brother Knorr’s promise to do everything possible to send missionaries to help organize the work in this land.

How this stirred the hearts of Brothers Maldonado and Paniagua! Brother Paniagua recalls that people would ask, “Where do you meet?” He comments: “We would be very sad because we had no place where we could bring together interested ones and no organization to introduce to them. We would say to them, ‘Very soon we will have a place to meet together.’ We were confident that by some means in the future Jehovah would bless us and his organization would provide what we needed.” Now the prospect of missionary aid brought hope of better organization for the advancement of Kingdom interests.

The government denied the Society permission to send missionaries into Guatemala. But in 1944 the country found itself in the throes of great political upheaval. The revolution removed the Ubico regime from power and the succeeding government granted the requested permission. During March 1945, Brother N. H. Knorr, with F. W. Franz, visited Guatemala to complete arrangements for the entry of missionaries.

Then came the momentous day​—May 21, 1945. John and Adda Parker, graduates of the first class of Gilead School, arrived in Guatemala. What joy this brought to the brothers here! Says Brother Paniagua: “This was exactly what we needed, teachers in the Word of God that would help us understand how to go about doing the work.” Brother Maldonado states: “These brothers became active immediately, taking the necessary step to obtain a house that would be suitable for the establishment, really, of the first congregation in Guatemala.” His son Francisco, then fifteen years old, remarks: “What a difference there was now! In just a few days the first Kingdom Hall actually began to function at 16 Calle and 5 Avenida, right in the center of town, and I had the privilege of being among the ten persons who attended the first meeting. Now we were studying The Watchtower each Sunday and in just a few weeks the Theocratic Minsitry School was started.” Though isolated at Nuevo San Carlos with seven minor children, Sister Flores was also thrilled. She said: “Oh, what happiness to know that for the first time missionaries are here! What a provision of Jehovah God!”

How did the missionaries themselves feel about this assignment? Sister Parker tells us: “On the day of our arrival we visited Brother Maldonado, and the following Sunday we were in the service with his family. The city was small, and even the main streets were cobblestone. Ending the hunt for a missionary home, we moved in the second week. It was a happy month, as I had the privilege, in my broken Spanish, to start seventeen studies.” The Parkers are still serving here as missionaries.

August of that same year marked the arrival of the second missionary couple, Charles Taze Russell Peterson and his wife Freida. The present-day missionary home arrangement did not then exist, but these four worked as special pioneers on a very limited allowance. There was furniture to buy and things to get in order, but they immediately got busy in the preaching work. Describing the first street witnessing done, Brother Peterson says: “The second Saturday after arrival, I decided to do street magazine work that evening. I took my briefcase loaded with literature and in one and a half hours I emptied it, having placed thirty-two magazines, thirty-four booklets, four books and a Bible.”

On March 1, 1946, six more missionaries, all single sisters, arrived. One of them, Marjorie Munsterman, says this: “We were aware that we were embarking on a new way of life and that a strange language and different culture awaited us. We often wondered: Will we live in a house with a dirt floor? Will we cook on a charcoal stove? Will the house be lighted by candles? Our apprehension soon disappeared when we arrived at the missionary home, a new, roomy second-story apartment with pretty, shiny tile floor, electric lighting in all the rooms and even an electric stove for cooking.” Ann Munsterman chimes in: “What a blessing to have a home already provided! We got busy and what a sensation not to understand anything around you! We could not be separated from our Spanish dictionary. But the people were very patient and our witnessing prospered.”

How happy were the seventy-seven present for the Lord’s evening meal that year! Ten missionaries were now in the country and there was a Kingdom Hall. “How I admired the work that these missionaries were doing so that more persons were coming to know about the truth and were attending the meetings,” remarks Brother Paniagua.

PROGRESS BECOMES MORE EVIDENT

With another visit by Brothers Knorr and Franz on May 10, 1946, came the establishment of the Society’s Guatemala branch office and the missionary home arrangement. For the widely advertized public lecture, 187 filled the Kingdom Hall and some other rooms. After the talk lunch was served to the sixty-five who stayed and then participated in the Watchtower study. According to Brother Maldonado, Brother Knorr said that if a certain number attended he would treat them to ice cream. Though the number fell slightly short, he says, “We ate ice cream anyhow.”

Theocratic progress now became quite marked. The book The New World was released in Spanish. On June 9, during the first baptism since the missionaries’ arrival, twelve were immersed, among them Brother and Sister Antonio Molina, Brother Alberto Mariles and Sister Eudalda Peralta, all still active in God’s service. In July, Brother Parker, then the branch overseer, visited the group in San Antonio, where a congregation of ten publishers was formed. During that visit, five were baptized, including Brother Lucilo Tello, still serving as a special pioneer. After little more than a year’s work by the missionaries, some fifty publishers were busy declaring the Kingdom message in Guatemala.

The missionaries certainly were stirring up a lot of interest. Marjorie Munsterman reports: “Street work was something quite novel. It was unusual in Latin America for decent, respected women to stand on the street corner offering anything. Although the people were somewhat dubious about us at the beginning, our constancy, and the people becoming acquainted with the contents of the magazines, soon dispelled any wrong ideas that they could have had. To this day the magazines hold a fine reputation for their edifying information.” Noting the zeal of Jehovah’s witnesses in the magazine street work, a news columnist later commented: “If the Catholics were like this maybe there would not be the alarming spiritual breakdown which we see in the Church today.”

Store-to-store work with the magazines was also inaugurated and business people soon were well acquainted with the “Atalaya girls” (“Watchtower girls”). “Bench-to-bench” witnessing with magazines in parks was also begun and continues as a successful feature of our activity to this day.

The ten missionaries missed the first postwar international assembly of Jehovah’s witnesses at Cleveland, Ohio, in 1946. However, the Society thoughtfully had Ted Siebenlist, branch overseer of Costa Rica, bring us a direct report of assembly events. At that time the first real Guatemalan assembly of God’s people was held, with a peak attendance of 188.

Missionaries continued to arrive​—eight more, including Brother and Sister Aubrey Bivens and Brother and Sister David Hibshman, on October 21, 1946, and Don Munsterman and Charles Beedle in November. Rapidly the Kingdom Hall grew ever more crowded. But this is how Brother Paniagua felt about that: “Even though I could not express it at that time, it brought me great happiness to see that there was no longer room for all to sit down at the hall. My heart overflowed that we had brothers now who could help us and supply the necessary spiritual food.”

REACHING INTO THE INTERIOR

Early in 1946, German-speaking Martin Lisse, his wife and daughter came from Canada and settled at Coban, in the rugged mountains north of the capital. There on muleback Brother Lisse preached earnestly for about a year, until his wife’s health required moving to a drier climate. The family then settled in Antigua, ancient capital of Guatemala that was destroyed by an earthquake in 1773 at the zenith of its glory as the Roman Catholic religious center of Central America. Left to future generations were the ruins of religious structures and a tradition of past religious dominance. In this atmosphere, amid intolerance, Brother Lisse spread the truth of God’s Word. Concerning his activities, American writer Albert E. Idell wrote a chapter in his book Doorway in Antigua, in which he said: “I admire the little man’s faith and his courage. I desire intensely to understand the power that moves him and has kept him here under conditions that would discourage men of less faith.” Of those in the Antigua congregation today, the Solorzano family and Pedro Gonzales first heard of the truth through the efforts of Brother Lisse.

The first circuit assembly was held in conjunction with the Lord’s Evening Meal in 1947. Even brothers from outside the capital were present and could observe the correct way to commemorate Jesus Christ’s death. Seventy attended the Memorial, and 178 the public meeting. By Memorial time in 1948, 118 publishers were sharing in the ministry. In May a “servant to the brethren,” Joshua Steelman, served the two congregations then in the capital, and 252 attended an assembly there.

By the year 1949 the Society had purchased a large modern house in Guatemala City. The branch office was set up there, the inside patio was roofed for a Kingdom Hall, and the missionaries moved in from their two former homes. But there was not enough room for all of them. So six, including the Bivenses and Hibshmans, were assigned to 8,000-foot-high Quezaltenango, the country’s second-largest city. Concerning this assignment, Helen Hibshman says: “We packed our things, hired a truck and set out on our journey at two o’clock in the morning. In those days the trip took twelve hours. It isn’t exactly easy to get started in a new territory, and in this one the population was over 50-percent native Indian. We placed many books. In fact, the group of six placed around 2,000 books in the first six weeks in this virgin territory, where we were not building on anyone else’s foundation. We soon rented a small room below the missionary home and meetings were started.”

The group in Quezaltenango also worked the smaller highland towns. Reaching down to the Pacific coastal plain, they preached in Coatepeque, Retalhuleu and Mazatenango. Furthermore, they visited the groups at San Antonio, Nuevo San Carlos and Tiquisate to give public talks and strengthen fellow believers there.

During 1949 a peak of 218 publishers was reached and the Memorial attendance rose to 301. In December Brothers Knorr and Robert Morgan visited the branch, and 425 attended the public talk at an assembly held at that time. Greater effort was put forth to give public lectures in the capital and towns throughout the country during 1950. Often, in rented theaters, 250 or more at a time heard the talks delivered by the missionary brothers. During the same year all seventeen missionaries then assigned to Guatemala went to the international assembly in New York city. Present there, too, were six native Guatemalans, who thus got their first taste of the organization’s international aspect. In the meantime, Oscar Custodio cared for the work and missionary home in Quezaltenango and Manuel Monterroso looked after the branch office and congregational matters in Guatemala City.

Manuel Monterroso was one of the first persons with whom missionary Taze Peterson studied the Bible in Guatemala. “I was born a Catholic and expected to die a Catholic,” said Monterroso. “My reason for wanting to study was to improve my English and if I learned something about the Bible incidentally, that was all right too.” Needless to say, he did “learn something about the Bible.” In fact, he became the first Guatemalan to attend Gilead School, returning after his graduation at Yankee Stadium in 1953 to become the first Guatemalan circuit overseer, from 1953 to 1958.

During the absence of the missionaries in 1950, Jorge Alfaro, whose brother had once studied the truth, decided to look into the work of Jehovah’s witnesses. He came to the Kingdom Hall where the branch office was located, and, to his surprise, a former schoolmate, Manuel Monterroso, was conducting the Watchtower study. After the meeting they had a long talk that led to a Bible study. Jorge Alfaro made fine progress. In 1951 he was baptized and joined the regular pioneer ranks. A year later, in October 1952, he and Oscar Custodio became the first Guatemalan special pioneers.

Brother Alfaro feels privileged to have been associated with such fine missionaries as Robert DeYoung and Brother Bivens. He says: “There were many problems we had to face. I had to walk a great deal, fording rivers, sometimes on horseback, resisting the fury of unfriendly religious leaders in isolated areas. Sometimes we ate our meals under the trees and even slept wherever we could find a place to lie down. However, despite all these things, the spirit of Jehovah always resulted in strength to me, together with many blessings.” Today Brother Alfaro is overjoyed that his oldest son has joined him in the full-time service.

By the end of the 1950 service year there were six congregations in Guatemala. A memorable event of 1951 was the circuit assembly at Quezaltenango, to which two buses carried Witnesses from the capital. With two years of work by the missionaries, a congregation was flourishing in Quezaltenango. Regarding work done among the Indians living in and around this town, Sister Hibshman says: “We were getting a few native Indians interested in the work. They are hard to reach, steeped in their customs and religion, being very sincere, but also clannish. One family of two brothers and two sisters took their stand. Another man and his wife were baptized. The wife was taught to read and the brother would accompany us on preaching trips to the villages. On one occasion we were stoned by a drunk Indian. Many could not understand Spanish, only their Indian dialects. In all, about fifty Indian villages were witnessed to in the highlands.”

In the capital a woman with whom missionary Ruby Campbell studied was able to obtain permission for a radio program on a newly established station in 1951. For many years three times weekly we broadcast the fifteen-minute program “Things People Are Thinking About.” Many householders told us that they heard and enjoyed these discussions. This was true, not only in the capital, but in the interior.

In 1952 the missionaries at Zacapa began working the nearby town of Gualan. There a public talk was arranged in a building in front of the Catholic church. The priest first tried to stop the lecture by ringing the church bells. But the talk went on. Next the lights went out in the hall. Yet, there was no confusion, even with 300 present, and no interruption of the discourse, because a man in the front row mounted the platform and trained his flashlight on the speaker’s notes.

Also in 1952 the truth found its way into the jungles of Petén, far to the north. How? An elderly Korean man living at Uaxactun, a chicle camp accessible only by air, became ill and was brought to the capital for treatment. While in a hospital there he received the book “The Truth Shall Make You Free.” Upon returning to the jungle, he began to preach, even walking great distances to other isolated chicle camps to do so. Soon a congregation was formed at Uaxactun, with this man, Brother Kim, appointed as overseer. Later the brothers there built a Kingdom Hall, the finest building in a village of about sixty thatched-roofed, dirt-floored huts.

THE ORGANIZATION GROWS IN STRENGTH

It was during this same year, 1952, that an intensive effort was made to establish high moral standards by insisting on legal marriages for Jehovah’s witnesses here. This is very different from the majority who live together without legal marriage and yet have a good standing with their religions. At Nuevo San Carlos, for example, some were put aside by Jehovah’s organization because they would not clean up their lives. This showed the entire congregation the seriousness of our ministry and the need to keep Jehovah’s name free from reproach. On March 16, 1952, those of the group who were morally clean were baptized. These included Manuela Flores, her son Aureliano and Samuel Mazariegos. Such insistence upon Biblical morality laid the groundwork for an organization of greater spiritual strength that also would grow in numbers under divine approval and direction. Indeed, succeeding years were to bring evidence of Jehovah’s blessing upon the Kingdom work in this country.

Following the 1953 international assembly at New York city, the Society poured more missionaries into Guatemala. Among them were Arlene Kulp, Mabel White, Alma Parson, Ruth Dollin and Vivian Martin. Brother Reast, and Paul and Dolores Hibshman were assigned to a new missionary home at Mazatenango. In November 1954 Brother and Sister Sindrey took up the work in the Antigua home.

The year 1954 also was one of revolution and political change here. An invasionary force crossed the border not far from Zacapa and there were daily air raids in the capital. Describing those difficult weeks, Sister Parker states: “The branch servant arranged a room that had a concrete roof as a shelter, the window being blocked with cartons of books. We had ten chairs and drinking water in the room. From the radio announcements each morning, the branch servant would decide if it was advisable to go out of the house and at what time all should be home.”

Late in 1954 Brother Knorr visited once again, giving lectures in theaters at Mazatenango, Quezaltenango and the capital. During the lecture at Mazatenango a power drain in late afternoon rendered the sound system ineffective, but Brother Knorr finished his talk without it. In Quezaltenango the Municipal Theater, given free, was crowded with over 400 persons. In the audience was the wife of Presbyterian leader Pablo Burgess, who had once opposed Brother Flores and who had distributed the tract against “Russellism.”

Though Brother Knorr flew to Mazatenango, the trip from there was not an easy one. Continuing with the missionaries by car over narrow, dusty, winding mountain roads, the Society’s president once again showed his desire to be “on the scene” of the missionary expansion, even getting into the interior. He was persuaded to put aside his suit in favor of more suitable attire borrowed from the missionaries. Incidentally, during this journey a brother traveling with Brother Knorr photographed some scenes later used in the Society’s motion picture “Happiness of the New World Society.” Among these was one of David Hibshman conducting a Bible study amid surroundings of corn drying on a roof and on the ground. Another captured the beauty of the waterfalls high above Lake Atitlan.

In 1955, for the first time the Memorial attendance went over the 1,000 mark. By 1957 many Guatemalan brothers were serving as special pioneers. Consequently, more departmentos (states) were being reached with the Kingdom message, eight new ones in that year alone. With additional isolated groups springing up, a new circuit was formed, and for the first time there were two in the country. At the end of 1957 a missionary home was established at Jutiapa, where Brother Reast was joined by Brian Forbes, new arrival from Gilead. So still another departmento received the witness.

The year 1957 also brought to a happy climax an experience of Sister Marjorie Munsterman. Among the first Bible studies she started in 1946 was one with a woman living with a military man. It was interrupted many times, as his career often took them out of the capital for extended periods. However, due to the tragic accidental death of her son, this woman took a stand for the truth. Her marital status was legalized and she was baptized. Since 1959 a Kingdom Hall (now used by two large congregations) has occupied the front part of the house of this woman, Sister Victoria de León, and for years she has served as a pioneer.

We were all looking forward to Brother Henschel’s visit in February 1958, but our request to use the racetrack grandstand near the capital’s airport met with stalling and finally denial for evasive reasons. The truth was revealed when the minister of agriculture remarked that ‘the state religion is Catholic.’ However, we applied again, permission was granted and a fine assembly was held, with 952 present for Brother Henschel’s public talk.

Special travel arrangements enabled more than ninety brothers from Guatemala to attend the 1958 “Divine Will” International Assembly in New York city. They will never forget the hospitality shown them by their brothers in the United States. At this convention the second Guatemalan student graduated from Gilead School. In December we had our own “Divine Will” national assembly.

With the opening of a missionary home at Panajachel in 1959, there were Jehovah’s witnesses preaching in all twenty-two departmentos of Guatemala. That year a circuit assembly was held at Quezaltenango, and present for the first time were two brothers from the group at remote Gracias a Dios, near the Mexican border. To attend they had traveled two days on foot and twelve hours by bus. In November the “Awake Ministers” District Assembly in the capital had a public talk attendance of 1,478. Incidentally, there were provisions at the assembly site for Witnesses from outside the capital to put down their straw mats for sleeping, thus saving families hotel or pension expenses. Such arrangements are part of all national assemblies here.

While confined in a tuberculosis sanitarium, Brother Jeronimo Morales preached regularly despite the protests of nuns working there as nurses. He interested a man named Margarito Figueroa, and conducted a study with him. Brother Figueroa was baptized in 1959, and later, upon his release, was appointed a special pioneer, a privilege he still enjoys. Brother Morales himself gained release from the sanitarium and returned to the ranks of special pioneers. Today, with his wife, he serves as a circuit overseer in the Guatemalan highlands.

During December 1960, for the first time over one thousand publishers preached throughout Guatemala. In March 1961 Brother Knorr again visited the capital. By now there were ten congregations in the city.

Through the years the need for more presentable meeting places has moved many congregations to construct their own Kingdom Halls. Doubtless you will recall that first to have its own hall was the small congregation at Uaxactun in the Petén jungles. Mazatenango built the second congregation-owned Kingdom Hall in 1960. Today, among many others, the congregation at El Rancho has its own hall.

The year 1961 was marked by special Kingdom Ministry School training for overseers, special pioneers and missionaries. Memorial attendance was 2,663, and 2,000 were present for the district assembly in November. The year’s report also showed the versatility of our special pioneers. For instance, one brother placed literature with the poor by trading magazines for eggs, corn, a bottle of tomato sauce, or a few boxes of matches. Once he exchanged five books for enough wood to build a table and benches for the Kingdom Hall. Other things he accepted in exchange for literature included a ladder, a machete, a chicken, flower pots, a blackboard for the Kingdom Hall, a watch strap and a blouse for his wife. Such bartering not only permits the special pioneers to continue in their assignments, but, of far greater import, aids others spiritually.

During November 1962 a national assembly was held. But on the final day there was a military uprising directed against the air force, with headquarters directly across the field from the hall we were using. On Sunday morning the military authorities told the brothers that the assembly could not continue. They said there was too much danger and that the conventioners should go home. A circuit overseer asked tactfully whether it would not be better for all to remain inside the hall, since shells and bullets were flying outside. The official agreed and the peaceful assembly continued, while outside, not far away, some bystanders were killed. By noon the rebellion had been squelched. So, when the assembly ended, the brothers left in safety.

Fifty Guatemalans attended the 1963 assembly at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. During November, 2,824 were on hand for this country’s district assembly. The year 1964 also was memorable for its assemblies, as each of the three circuits held their own gatherings, with over 3,340 persons present to see the Society’s new film.

Flag saluting became an issue at least once here. In 1964 Samuel Cutforth of San Antonio was arrested and jailed when his children (grandchildren of Fred Cutforth) refused to salute the flag. Seeking to aid, the branch overseer and another brother soon arrived in Quezaltenango, where military authorities had taken Brother Cutforth. There they found the military judge to be favorable to the truth, for he had studied “Let God Be True” with one of Jehovah’s witnesses. A telephone call effected the immediate release of Brother Cutforth, bringing great joy to all.

Brother Milton Henschel visited Guatemala once again in March 1965, and also served the national assembly held at the new industrial fairgrounds known as Parque Centroamerica.

INTERNATIONAL ASSEMBLY GIVES IMPETUS TO THE WORK

Climaxing the year 1966 was the international convention on December 7-11. From fourteen different lands came more than 500 foreign delegates. Surely they will not forget their warm welcome at the airport as missionary and Guatemalan sisters pinned corsages on the shoulders of the visiting sisters, with native marimba music in the background. Nor will the visitors forget the warm smiles and hearty handshakes of their Guatemalan fellow believers, who had come to the assembly site from the mountains, hills, valleys and seashore. One delegate from the United States expressed his sentiments this way: “The love and humility of these brothers of meager means has made a lasting impression upon me. Their zeal for Jehovah in their humble station has put me to shame. I will be a better servant when I return home.” Another delegate said: “I have enjoyed talking to the native brothers.” When asked how that could be, since he spoke no Spanish, he replied: “No, but our hearts speak the same language.”

Memorable, too, was the assembly program featuring talks by directors of the Watch Tower Society, Bible dramas and much fine spiritual instruction. Present at the assembly were Wesley and Martha Hampton and their eleven-year-old daughter. Brother and Sister Hampton had graduated from Gilead School in 1955, but because of Sister Hampton’s pregnancy they could not accept an assignment to Guatemala, though they served faithfully as special pioneers until the birth of a second child. But upon hearing the announcement of a forthcoming Guatemalan assembly, they determined to come and see this land and the brothers with whom they never had the opportunity to work. Their oldest child, now eleven years of age, came with them and was baptized at this notable assembly.

For assembly delegates the Society arranged tours of such sites as beautiful Lake Atitlan and the Mayan ruins at Tikal, with its ancient temples as high as twenty-story buildings of today. At Tikal the Witnesses were heard making comparisons of these Mayan temples with the religious buildings of Egypt and Babylon. In the museum of Antigua, eighteenth-century center of Roman Catholicism in Central America, they could reflect on the spiritual poverty that prevailed during the Inquisition as they viewed remains of instruments of torture. Delegates who visited Chichicastenango saw still another aspect of false religion, the present-day Mayan-Quiche Indians mixing the worship of ancient pagan deities with “saints” of Catholicism. Both inside and on the steps of the church the visitors saw strange rites performed. Just a short stroll from town, on a hilltop, a smoke-blackened idol of centuries past still is honored with candles, pine needles, prayers and even animal-blood sacrifices.

That international assembly has given real impetus to the work, for increases were forthcoming in many ways. More isolated groups were established and additional special pioneers were assigned to cover previously unattended villages. Three more classes of the Kingdom Ministry School were held in 1967. Brother Peterson was one of those students and expresses his feelings in these words: “I thank Jehovah for the privilege of being associated with these brothers from small congregations and isolated groups, persons of very limited secular education that perhaps could not explain the more difficult Scriptural points. However, I learned a lesson in humility that I can never forget, being with these brothers that have been used by Jehovah to bring many persons to the truth and Jehovah’s organization because of their deep sincerity and firm conviction of what they believe.”

Memorial attendance for 1968 was over 5,000, more than 300 percent of the peak of publishers in the country. Five more missionaries arrived and a new missionary home was opened in the Tikal Gardens section of the capital. Also, at the end of the 1968 service year a district assembly was held for the first time outside the capital, at Quezaltenango. Many buses loaded with brothers made the trip from Guatemala City. At this assembly the book The Truth That Leads to Eternal Life was released in Spanish.

During 1968 Brother and Sister DeYoung returned to Guatemala after serving for several years in British Honduras. For some months Brother DeYoung showed the Society’s newest motion picture “God Cannot Lie” in many isolated places throughout Guatemala. Attendances at showings proved that not only the brothers but many interested persons appreciated the film’s clear message. In one town a Protestant minister who was studying with the Witnesses brought fifty members of his congregation to see it, despite the protest of some church elders. High in the mountains at San Marcos and its sister city San Pedro, with a combined population of about 15,000, a total of 2,157 persons attended the two film showings.

EFFECTIVE CIRCUIT WORK

Guatemala’s circuit overseers often serve with a minimum of comforts and conveniences, making their rounds in rainy seasons and through hot tropical zones. For instance, Miguel Saenz (appointed in 1968) and his wife once traveled four hours on a rickety bus, then walked in ankle-deep mud for several miles during a heavy downpour. Of course, there were no toilet facilities and clouds of mosquitoes kept one awake at night. The next day called for another walk ten miles each direction to visit more brothers. But Brother Saenz comments: “I am thankful for this privilege of serving our Almighty God in these places because the brothers need encouragement to work hard in spite of the inconveniences.”

Another circuit overseer, Brother Reast, endured hardships to reach a small isolated group deep in the interior but felt that his presence with them resulted in an interchange of encouragement. He also remarked: “One would have to see with his own eyes how poor people can be. Being with them a few days opens the gates of one’s heart. They will really enjoy all that Jehovah our God will do for them in the thousand-year reign.”

Now the increases are coming from the interior as well as the capital. Because mountain roads once traversed with difficulty have been replaced by modern highways, the greater portion of Guatemala has become part of “the field” that is reached with the good news. The east-west railroad artery and fleet of two-engine DC 3’s no longer are essential as they were in the early days of expansion. Asphalt ribbons crisscrossing the republic now reach twenty of the twenty-two departmental capitals, where more than one hundred special pioneer ministers are serving growing congregations or opening up the work in towns long isolated.

SERVING WHERE THE NEED IS GREATER

The Society’s call in 1968 to “let down your nets” in more productive ‘waters’ resulted in over 400 letters of inquiry being received by the branch office from brothers in the United States, Canada and other countries who were interested in serving where the need was greater. Within the next two years many arranged their affairs and sold homes, businesses and possessions, freeing themselves to accept the call to preach in foreign lands.

It has meant a great deal to both the Guatemalan brothers and the missionaries to see these willing ones who have given up much to serve where the need is greater. While some have come and gone quickly, others have done good work for a year or a year and a half before having to return to former homes. Of course, the ones who remain are quickly becoming an integral part of Jehovah’s people here. Some have come here with past experience in missionary fields, but many more who never attended Gilead School or served as missionaries display the missionary spirit. And it has not always been those having the financial means or the health to do so who have pushed into isolated areas where small groups need help and entire sections of territory have not been worked regularly. Places like Quezaltenango, Chimaltenango, Huehuetenango, El Rancho, Puerto Barrios, and Livingston, which once were just dots on the map, have become home to these brothers and sisters from other lands.

BLESSINGS CONTINUE

Especially have the last few years been rich with blessings from Jehovah. (Prov. 10:22) Imagine almost a thousand being baptized during the last three years. The united efforts of native Guatemalan Christians and those who have come from other countries have resulted in a good witness throughout this land. For example, over 130,000 books were placed in three years, and at the same time the congregation publishers are averaging well over eleven hours each in the field ministry every month. In August 1972 the new peak in praisers of Jehovah, that is, 3,004, represented a 24-percent increase over the previous year’s average. Thrilling to us, too, was the attendance of over 8,700 at the Memorial on March 29, 1972.

Not only do peace and unity continue with the new organizational arrangement for oversight of the congregations by appointed “older men,” but we are confident that Jehovah will continue to cause the ‘desirable things to come in’ while he goes on ‘rocking the nations.’​—Hag. 2:7.

Japan

JAPAN is a land of variety. Comprising four main islands and many smaller ones, its mountainous terrain stretches in a long crescent from Hokkaido’s snow country in the north to subtropical Kyushu in the west. Only 15 percent of the land is flat enough for cultivation. For the most part, the people are packed into coastal cities and towns. Terraced paddy fields provide rice. There is also a variety of fruit in season and the ocean yields an abundance of fish, seaweeds and other delicacies for the table. To a large extent, Japan is self-supporting as to food, even though the population now exceeds 105 million.

The people are generally small of stature, industrious, hardworking and proud of their Japanese tradition. One language, with very little dialectic variation, is spoken throughout Japan. The writing, for which 1,850 Chinese characters are commonly used, is quite complicated. But 99 percent of the population is literate. They love to read. Japanese inventiveness, and the ability to improve on others’ inventions, has also helped the nation to develop into one of the major industrial powers of the twentieth century.

In Japan today, Western-style clothes are much more in evidence than the Oriental. Bread is replacing rice at many meals. Ferroconcrete apartment houses, called “mansions,” rise up twelve to twenty stories where wood and paper homes once stood. But with this industrial development the pollution problem has become a big one.

RELIGION IN JAPAN

The Encyclopædia Britannica has stated: “The ancient history of Japan, as recorded in the native annals, is so completely shrouded in mythological legend as to be absolutely untrustworthy.” In this mythology, the first emperor, Jimmu, is supposed to have come to the throne in 660 B.C.E. He and the dynasty of 124 emperors down to Hirohito are said to be descendants of Amaterasu Omikami, the sun-goddess​—the one who brought light into the world when she was enticed to leave her cavern through the artifice of letting her glimpse her beauty in a mirror. Over the centuries Shinto (“The Way of the Gods”) was developed, primarily as a system of worshiping the ancestors and the forces of nature. To this day, each local community holds its annual Shinto festival, when half-naked men and boys march around noisily, carrying on their shoulders a portable shrine. In this the mirror, the jewel and the sword hold the places of honor as Shinto symbols. Until the end of World War II, Shinto was the state religion, focusing very much on emperor worship.

But in Japan many people belong to more than one religion. They feel that they can thus take the best out of a number of religions. Starting from the sixth century C.E., when Buddhism entered Japan from China and Korea, many Buddhist practices were grafted onto the lives of the people. The Shinto and Buddhist religions became coexistent. It is not uncommon to find the local Shinto shrine and Buddhist temple standing side by side. Many Japanese homes display the Shinto god shelf in the entrance porch, while the family Buddhist altar is prominent in an inner room. At either place, fruit, flowers, and so forth, are set out for the pleasure of the ancestral spirits.

Traditionally, couples are married​—and their infants are blessed—​in a Shinto ceremony, but funerals and the memorial services that follow are conducted by the Buddhist priest. Shinto is mainly concerned with purification from ceremonial defilement, but Buddhism with rites for the dead. There are literally hundreds of different Shinto and Buddhist sects.

During the era that state Shinto held sway, people’s minds were very much bent toward emperor worship. Many were imbued with the strong militaristic, nationalistic fervor that reached its peak in the heat of World War II. Lives were freely sacrificed on the altar of emperor worship, and those who surrendered rather than die for the honor of the emperor were often regarded as outcasts. As Japan went down in defeat, whole armies chose annihilation rather than surrender. In the heyday of militarism, and prior thereto, the Japanese scene did not present bright prospects for success in preaching the good news concerning the “Prince of Peace.”

Indeed, the entire history of Japan has been marked by internal warfare, assassination and harakiri, revolution and swordsmanship. Few countries have had so violent a history, and much of this is still glorified in stage plays and movies featuring samurai knights and the cult of bushido (“the way of the warrior”). During bitter feuds between rival Buddhist sects, the streets of Kyoto, Japan’s ancient capital, literally ran red with the blood of these priestly fighters and their henchmen.

THE COMING OF CHRISTENDOM’S MISSIONARIES

Could Christianity get a foothold among the conglomeration of Buddhist and Shinto sects, and especially with the state Shinto so prominent a factor in their lives?

The religions of Christendom started to send missionaries to Japan in the mid-sixteenth century. In the Nagasaki area, some 150,000 are said to have been converted to Catholicism. However, after stating that the Roman Catholic religion became to the Japanese more of “a symbol of European civilization,” the Encyclopædia Britannica comments: “While some of the oppressed peasantry welcomed the gospel of salvation, the merchants and trade-conscious warrior lords regarded Catholicism as an important link between themselves and the expanding European continent.” The Catholic religion became the pawn of traders and gunrunners, and shortly the Japanese shogun, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, ordered its suppression by cruel persecution. In desperation, the Catholics of western Japan rose in armed insurrection, only to be virtually annihilated by 1637. Survivors either renounced their faith or were driven underground as the “hidden Christians,” who camouflaged their Catholic images under Buddhist symbolisms.

Until Japan’s “great re-awakening,” which started with the Meiji era in 1868, most foreign influences, including religion, were forbidden entry into Japan. However, when the doors to the outer world were again thrown open, the sects of Christendom sent their missionaries by the score. How did these fare? There was no mass conversion of the Japanese. These felt that their Shinto and Buddhist beliefs were good enough for them, as they had been good enough for their ancestors. Did not Buddhism have a good moral code? What did Christendom have to show, with its long record of wars and colonial oppression, that recommended its religion as superior? So the Japanese took from Christendom’s religions whatever they considered to be beneficial, adding this to their own traditional beliefs, much in the same way that they had grafted on something of Confucianism and Buddhism in earlier centuries.

Finding that they could make little progress with a “gospel of salvation,” the missionaries of Christendom sought to make their mark by establishing hospitals, schools and universities, thus giving indirect encouragement to adopt the religion of Christendom’s sects. Did they succeed in this? Many of the Japanese have been grateful for medical and educational benefits received, and they have made good use thereof, but very few have seen a reason for adopting Christendom’s religion. Today, in a population of more than 100 million, only half a million profess to be Christians.

Many of the Japanese today have a Bible, and they will tell you that they attended Bible instruction at one of Christendom’s schools. But now, if they have a religion, they are content to go along with that of their ancestors, senzo dai-dai (“from generation to generation”). The biggest impression that Christendom’s sects have made on the Japanese appears to be in the celebration of Christmas, with its glitter and tinsel, merrymaking and throwing off of restraints. A Japanese storekeeper once told a Watch Tower missionary: “I am a good Christian and a good Shintoist. I sell Christmas trees for Christmas, and Shinto trees for New Year.” Christmas has not succeeded in making the Japanese Christians.

KINGDOM MESSAGE ENTERS JAPAN

At its convention held September 1-10, 1911, the International Bible Students Association appointed a committee “to tour the world and supply an unvarnished report of the true condition of affairs in Oriental lands amongst the peoples usually termed ‘heathens.’” This was a follow-up to the proposition of a certain Laymen’s Missionary Movement that $30,000,000 be collected for the immediate conversion of the world. The committee appointed, comprising Pastor Russell, R. B. Maxwell, Dr. L. W. Jones, Gen. W. P. Hall, J. T. D. Pyles, Prof. F. W. Robison and E. W. V. Kuehn, promptly set forth and, after a stop in the Hawaiian Islands, continued on to Japan.

Brother Russell and his companions made a 700-mile trip through Japan, visiting Yokohama, Tokyo and other cities on to Nagasaki in the west. In Tokyo, where Brother Russell gave two addresses, he noted that the missionaries of Christendom were considerably discouraged. Brother Russell reported the trend of religious sentiment as being “toward infidelity, doubt and atheism,” and cited a recent survey of three departments in the University of Tokyo, that had resulted in the following religious census among students: Christians, 4; Buddhists, Confucianists and Shintoists, 17; noncommittal, 46; atheists, 60; agnostics, 282; total, 409. Brother Russell summed up the situation, saying:

“Christianity in Japan is in much the same condition as in America and Europe, in two respects. (1) A certain number are true worshipers, devout believers, but they are few. (2) A larger number associate for the advantages they gain in one way or another​—as, for instance, the privilege of night schools, Y.M.C.A. gymnasiums, etc., etc.”

Pastor Russell’s sermons gave the Japanese more food for thought than they had ever before enjoyed. His report said: “What the Japanese need is ‘the Gospel of the Kingdom,’ announcing the second coming of Jesus as the Messiah of Glory, to rule, heal and instruct all the families of the earth.”

A further fine witness was given in the area of China, Korea and Japan in 1915, by Sister F. L. Mackenzie, a colporteur of British nationality. Sister Mackenzie placed or loaned many copies of the Studies in the Scriptures, and made a second series of visits through the Orient in 1918. A letter she wrote to interested persons in the area called attention to chapter 15 of The Divine Plan of the Ages, as dealing “with the great trouble that has already begun in the world, which was pointed out nearly 40 years ago from the Bible.”

THE ERA OF THE “TODAISHA”

On September 6, 1926, an American-Japanese, Junzo Akashi, arrived in Japan as the Society’s missionary to Japan, Korea and China. He established a branch in Kobe, but this was later moved to Ginza, Tokyo, and finally to Ogikubo, then on the outskirts of Tokyo, where a printing plant was set up. Until the outbreak of World War II, Japan, Korea and Taiwan were covered by full-time Watch Tower colporteurs from Japan. The number of these in Japan reached a peak of 110 in 1938. It seems that there were no congregational meetings, such as the Watchtower study, but emphasis was placed on street meetings and distribution of the Japanese edition of The Golden Age (later, Consolation). In 1938 alone, 1,125,817 magazines were distributed. Akashi gave the organization the name “Todaisha,” meaning “The Lighthouse.”

From the time of the “Manchurian Incident” of September 18, 1931, militarism was very much on the ascendancy in Japan. Accordingly, on May 16, 1933, Akashi and a number of others were arrested and examined by the public procurators on suspicion of having violated the 1925 Peace Preservation law of Japan’s police state. However, they were soon released because of lack of evidence. But further difficulties loomed on the horizon!

After Japan joined Germany in an anti-Communist pact in 1936, all religious bodies came under heavy pressure from the government. As a result, the Roman Catholic Church changed its position with regard to doing obeisance to Shinto shrines, permitting this as a “nonreligious” ceremony! The government asked all religious bodies to send their representatives to the front to pray for Japan’s victory, and most complied. Under the Religious Bodies law of 1939, Buddhist sects and Christendom’s sects respectively were compelled to unite their denominations. In 1944, both the Protestant alliance (Kyodan) and the Roman Catholic Church joined the Japan Wartime Patriotic Religious Association, along with the Shinto and Buddhist sects. How were Jehovah’s witnesses treated during the oppressive rule of the Shinto warlords, supported by their pantheon of “eight million gods”?

A summary report prepared by the Japanese Ministry of Home Affairs in 1947 describes those turbulent days: “In May 1933, Akashi and several of his associates . . . were arrested on lese majesty charges in Chiba Prefecture and the Todai-sha was dissolved. It was reorganized and many members . . . (some 200 in all, including 50 residents of Tokyo) were dispatched throughout Japan, Manchuria, Korea, Taiwan, etc., making speeches and distributing literature [translated] by Akashi. They asserted that the doctrine of the Trinity was false and advocated a ‘Jehovah’ monotheism; that all religions other than that of the Todai-sha were inventions of Satan, and that the political organization of the world was also an invention of Satan causing oppressive war, poverty and disease; that Christ would rise and destroy these satanic inventions in Armageddon and construct the Kingdom of God. Finally, and this was the crux of the case as far as the Japanese courts were concerned, because otherwise they would have had no interest in the doctrines of this or any other religious body, ‘the Todai-sha was assisting in the establishment of Jehovah’s organization and system.’ Since this assertion was considered as a plan to overthrow the Japanese state structure (Kokutai), the members of the Todai-sha were arrested on June 21, 1939, and some were found guilty.”

Volume I of Study of Resistance in War Time, edited by the Institute for Study of Cultural Science, Doshisha University, Kyoto, and published in 1968, gives an extensive report on the activity and persecution of Jehovah’s witnesses in Japan prior to and during World War II. This report is based largely on actual court records. Some of Jehovah’s witnesses, as well as some who have left the truth, were also interviewed. The report mentions the earlier court order of 1933, prohibiting the distribution of The Watchtower and most of the other Society publications, but says that, by 1938, more than 105,000 publications were being produced each month. (These were mostly The Golden Age, later known as Consolation magazine.) Then a description of imprisonments and court trials is given, as detailed in the following paragraphs:

In January 1939, three members of the Todaisha were brought before the draft board. These stated, “We will not worship any creature above Jehovah, nor will we bow toward the Emperor’s palace or his photograph.” They also said: “Since the Emperor is a creature of the original Creator of the universe, Jehovah God, and since today the Emperor is no more than an instrument of the Devil’s wicked rule, we have no desire to worship the Emperor or to swear allegiance to him.” They were sentenced to from two to three years in prison.

On June 21, 1939, in one swoop, 130 others of the Todaisha were arrested​—ninety-one (including Junzo Akashi) in Tokyo and eighteen other prefectures in Japan, thirty in Korea and nine in Taiwan. The Todaisha headquarters in Tokyo were surrounded by more than one hundred armed police, and a thorough search was made. Here, twenty adults and six children were arrested. Akashi, his wife, and second and third sons were put in the lockup at Ogikubo police station.

In August 1939, Junzo Akashi alone was transferred to the Ogu police station. For seven months he was investigated there by special police of the religious department. They used violence in order to extract “confessions” from him. He was tortured day and night, and had as his cell mates poisonous insects, mosquitoes, lice and bugs. He was kicked and thrown repeatedly to the floor, and his face beaten until it was unrecognizable. His whole body was covered with wounds. Finally, according to this Doshisha University report, he gave up and put his seal to anything the police asked of him. After increasingly violent cross-examinations, the police completed their report on Junzo Akashi on April 1, 1940.

On April 27, 1940, Akashi and fifty-two others were charged formally with violating the Peace Preservation law. Akashi himself was also charged with sedition against the government and disrespect for the emperor. On August 27 of the same year, the Todaisha was banned as an illegal organization that incited public disorder. The trial of Junzo Akashi and the fifty-two others continued through 1941 and 1942, during which time one died of illness. Finally, all but one, who responded to the military call-up, were convicted and sentenced. Junzo Akashi received a sentence of twelve years and the others from two to five years of imprisonment.

Police investigations were accompanied by all kinds of violence and torture. Less severe treatment came in the form of cursing and beating, but often sadistic handling resulted in crippling and maiming. Due to the long period of living in unsanitary cells, many became ill or incapacitated. Some died in prison. Families were scattered or disappeared, and many fell into pitiable circumstances.

One of the Todaisha was first confined in Tokyo Yoyogi Military Prison in June 1939, and later released on December 16, 1940. Rearrested in Kumamoto on December 1, 1941, he was held in a small, dark cell for two months with his arms tied up behind his back. He was repeatedly beaten. In August 1942, two military policemen beat and kicked him for an hour and a half before the eyes of his father, and left him half-dead. This was on account of his refusal to bow in the direction of the emperor’s palace. While in the same prison, in midwinter, December 1944, he was stripped of his clothes, his arms were tied behind his back and he was laid out on a wet concrete floor. Bucketsful of water were poured over his face and nose until he was unconscious, and then he was left for several hours until he revived. The same process was repeated again and again. When finally released from Fukuoka Prison in October 1945, he was more dead than alive.

The book Study of Resistance in War Time concludes its report: “But even through persecution of this kind, many of the Todaisha continued to keep their faith, awaiting their release that came in 1945.”

Yes, many kept their faith, and a number of these are serving loyally as Jehovah’s witnesses to this day. However, it appears that the majority of the Todaisha were following a man, Junzo Akashi. For example, the person that underwent the hard prison experiences just described above was interviewed on May 18, 1971, on the Tokyo Channel 12 TV program. After he had described the activities and persecutions of the Todaisha, the interviewer asked him: “What about the activity of the Todaisha today?” To which he answered: “It has achieved its purpose, and so it no longer exists.”

And how about Junzo Akashi himself? Within two years of his release from prison, Akashi wrote the president of the Watch Tower Society a letter, dated August 25, 1947, in which he indicates that he did not agree with what the Society published as far back as 1926. This was actually before he accepted his assignment as branch overseer to Japan. Thus Junzo Akashi, by his own confession, had been playing the part of the hypocrite for more than twenty years.

STERLING EXAMPLES OF INTEGRITY

The faithful survivors of those difficult times included Brother and Sister Jizo Ishii. In 1928, while operating a tailor shop in Joto-Ku, Osaka, young Ishii obtained a copy of the book The Harp of God. Very soon he was convinced that he had found the real truth of the Bible. He and his wife were baptized March 23, 1929, and in September they were appointed as colporteurs. In their preaching they used The Harp of God, Deliverance, Creation, The Watchtower (which was banned in 1933) and The Golden Age, as well as five kinds of booklets, in Japanese. They covered a territory that extended over three quarters of Japan, including Osaka, Okayama, Tokushima, Kyoto, Nagoya, Yokohama, Tokyo and the Kanto district, Sendai and Sapporo.

In the summer of 1930, Brother and Sister Ishii were appointed to work at the Tokyo branch of the Todaisha. Here they took care of tailoring, mending and pressing for the workers in the field. At times, those at the branch set out in teams of four to work nearby territories, even traveling by bicycle over the Hakone Pass as far as Numazu. One of Brother Ishii’s early memories is the announcement of the “new name” Jehovah’s witnesses in 1931. A brother at the Tokyo branch built a shortwave radio, so that they could listen in to the assembly at Columbus, Ohio, while Junzo Akashi explained. They heard Brother Rutherford call for the adoption of the “new name,” and the great shout of acceptance by all the brothers. Those in Tokyo joined in that shout at the same time!

The Tokyo brothers heard that mobile sound cars were being used extensively in the United States. So, a brother who was a carpenter built a big box with windows and a double door at the back, and mounted it on an axle and car wheels. There were shelves inside for storing sleeping hammocks, literature, pots and pans and food. One brother pushed the vehicle by a handle behind, and others pulled it by a rope tied to the shaft. It was called the “Great Jehu.” By means of “Great Jehu,” they preached along the 700 miles from Tokyo to Shimonoseki. There were also small wagons pulled by bicycle, and named “Little Jehu,” numbers 1 to 5. Two young brothers witnessed as far as Hokkaido with a “Little Jehu.”

In time, Brother and Sister Ishii were reassigned to colporteur work. On June 21, 1939, they were arrested along with all others of the Todaisha. At that time they were in Kure. They were taken first to Hiroshima, and then sent north to Sendai. Here they were subjected to repeated cross-examinations. The investigating inspector of police told them: “Todaisha has the name of Christian, but actually it is a Jewish secret organization, the KKK.” In their concrete cells the summer heat was unbearable, and in winter they were frozen through and through. Conditions were most unsanitary, with plenty of fleas and lice, and they were permitted to go to the toilet only at set times. They wasted away and had spells of dizziness. They could hear the crazed cries from a nearby cell of a soldier who had been driven out of his mind on the battlefield. For a whole year, they were forbidden to read anything.

It was a pleasure for them to breathe fresh air whenever they were taken out to be examined. On one such occasion, Brother Ishii tried to use the Bible, but the officer said: “Do not answer from the Bible. Answer in your own words. You are demonized, because you always want to use the Bible.” As he tried to explain in his own words what the Bible said, the officer’s face grew angry. He said: “Then we will stop the examination, and you will have no supper tonight. Think it over in your cell.” They were returned to their dark cells. Next day, they were taken out for further investigation. The assistant inspector came in to hear the testimony. “Why don’t you get free from this demonism?” he shouted, at the same time striking Brother Ishii on his head and face with a rope. They heard the noise of other brothers’ being beaten with bamboo fencing swords and being thrown on the ground.

One day the inspector got angry, threw Brother Ishii’s Bible on the floor, stamped on it and, looking him in the face, said: “Aren’t you angry?” “I don’t feel good about it, but I’m not angry,” Brother Ishii replied. The inspector could not understand that, so Brother Ishii explained: “The Bible is a book. We are not saved by that book. But our salvation is promised from our following the things written in the Word of God, having faith in them and carrying them out.” The inspector picked up the Bible, took a handkerchief from the pocket of his uniform, politely wiped the dirt from the Bible and put it back on the desk.

As Brother Ishii’s investigation proceeded, the police showed him a report on testimony given by Junzo Akashi, and which astonished him in that it was a clear departure from the truth. They asked him: “Do you believe Akashi?” He said: “No. Akashi is an imperfect man. So long as Akashi follows the principles of the Bible faithfully, he may be used as God’s vessel. But because his testimony is now entirely different, he is no longer my brother. Therefore, I do not have any relation with him.” Akashi had stated in this testimony that he himself was Christ.

In cross-examining Brother Ishii, the officer tried to make him say that Japan would be defeated by September 15, 1945. Brother Ishii said: “I am not such a prophet, that I can prophesy anything about the year, the month and the day. But victory will not come through the alliance of the Axis Powers.” This police inspector was later purged, but Brother Ishii was released. He returned to Kure. After the war, he made contact with Jehovah’s organization again when, along with his six-year-old son, adopted after his release, he attended the first postwar assembly at Tarumi, Kobe, in December 1949.

In recent years, Sister Ishii has been a very active regular pioneer, and Brother Ishii has served as a temporary pioneer. In true colporteur style, he placed 147 bound books in one month. Brother Ishii wrote: “We have rejoiced to continue receiving the spiritual food at the proper time. When young special pioneers came here to Kure, a congregation was established. The congregation is progressing and expanding. Now there are two special pioneers, seventeen regular pioneers and thirty-six publishers​—a total of fifty-five Witnesses in all. On Sunday, 133 attended the public talk of the circuit servant’s visit.” That was in 1971, and in June 1972 Brother Ishii died, after giving a splendid witness in the hospital on the blood issue. His son has grown up to serve as special pioneer and overseer in the Kobe Tarumi, and, more recently, in the Hiroshima West Congregation.

One of the families contacted by Sister Ishii during her early colporteur work also has a splendid record as regards the truth. This is the Miura family, who lived in the small town of Ishinomori, about twenty-five miles north of Sendai. When Katsuo Miura married in the spring of 1931 he was twenty-four years old, and his bride, Hagino, seventeen years. From Sister Ishii, Katsuo Miura obtained The Harp of God, Deliverance and other books, and readily recognized that these contained the truth. He paid a visit to the Todaisha headquarters in Tokyo, and, in turn, Junzo Akashi visited the Miuras in Ishinomori. There, in October 1931, Akashi “baptized” them by sprinkling water on them in their private bathtub. (Thus, like many others, they had later to be rebaptized.) In November, Katsuo and Hagino Miura became colporteurs.

The Miuras sold all their belongings by public auction, and went down to the Todaisha headquarters in Tokyo. They rented a room nearby in Suginami-Ku. The next day they started in door-to-door work, without anyone to train them, but keen and anxious to distribute the message of the Kingdom as contained in The Watchtower and The Golden Age. There were no meetings to attend, and they worked on their own. They went from door to door each day from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., except on rainy days, when they stayed home and did personal study together.

Brother and Sister Miura thus covered large sections of Tokyo, and then in 1933 they moved to Kobe. It was here, in 1934, that Sister Miura gave birth to her son, Tsutomu. Very zealous for the work, she kept pioneering right through the nine months of her pregnancy. From the spring of 1935, the Miuras moved to Western Honshu, where they pioneered in Kure, Yamaguchi and Tokuyama cities, and settled finally in Hiroshima, where they shared a rented house with two other families.

The Miuras were among those arrested by the police on June 21, 1939. They were put in jail in Hiroshima, and their young boy was sent back to his grandmother in Ishinomori. After eight months, Sister Miura was released, so that she, too, could return north to care for her son. Brother Miura was detained for more than two years before he was brought to trial. His first and second trials were in camera, and his appeal to the higher court was rejected. Since the courtroom now provided his best opportunity for giving a witness, he did his best to testify concerning God’s kingdom. The investigating officer was very angry with him, regarding him as unpatriotic. He had to submit to hair pulling and other mistreatment. After three years in prison, he was found guilty of violating the Peace Preservation law, and was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment. The judge told him that, unless he gave up his faith, he would be in prison all the days of his life. However, the Bible continued to give him strength and comfort.

Finally Katsuo Miura was released from Hiroshima prison. How? Let him tell the story in his own words. “It was the morning of August 6, 1945, seven years after I was arrested. . . . All of a sudden, a weird light flashed and sparkled on the ceiling of my cell. It was like lightning or magnesia flashlight. Then I heard such a terribly loud roar as if all the mountains had collapsed at one time. Instantly the cell was shrouded with a thick darkness. I shoved my head under my nearby mattress, to escape what appeared to be a dark gas. After seven or eight minutes had passed I pushed my head out from under the mattress and . . . looked through the back window. I was thunderstruck! The jail workshops and the wooden buildings had all been crushed flat. . . . On the morning of the third day after the explosion, forty-five of us prisoners were tied together with ropes, and we were led in our prison garb two miles to the railway station for transfer to another city. It was then that I saw the terrible plight of the community. The whole city was a ruined field as far as the eye could see. . . . Everybody looked depressed and without hope. Two months after the atom bomb I was finally released from jail.” Brother Miura then rejoined his wife and son in the north of Japan.

When, in March 1951, a group of five missionary sisters started to work in Osaka, the nationwide Asahi newspaper published a story and picture, showing them living Japanese-style. Through this newspaper article, Brother Miura again made contact with Jehovah’s organization, after twelve years of isolation. For several years until his death, he served again as a regular pioneer, and his wife later as a special pioneer. Their son, Tsutomu, grew up to become a regular pioneer, special pioneer, circuit overseer, district overseer, and, since graduating from the Watchtower Bible School of Gilead, in New York, he has been serving as a translator at the Society’s Tokyo branch office.

A NEW START AFTER WORLD WAR II

There were revolutionary changes in Japan in the post-World War II period. With a new peacetime Constitution, Japan set itself to find a destiny by peaceful, rather than warlike, means. Shintoism, Buddhism, Catholicism and the Protestant Christian Alliance (Kyodan) had all lost face with the people because of going along with Japan’s lost cause in the war. Many people were looking for something to fill the religious vacuum. In the space of a few years, literally hundreds of new Buddhist and Shinto sects were brought forth, each following some human leader. One of these sects, Soka Gakkai, a militant politically minded offshoot of Nichiren Buddhism, now claims ten million adherents, many of them obtained through forced conversions. But there are also many people who yearn to know the truth.

Emperor Hirohito had been taken off his “god” pedestal on January 1, 1946, when he himself renounced his divinity by proclamation. It has been reported that the emperor himself suggested to General MacArthur that Christianity be made the state religion in Japan. The general wisely rejected this proposal, but made the suggestion, instead, that the American people send 10,000 missionaries. Thus the way was opened for Watch Tower missionaries to enter Japan. Conditions were now far different from those described by Pastor Russell before 1914, when “missionaries were considerably discouraged.” Fanatical Shinto worship had been downgraded and people were permitted to think for themselves. They could now feed upon Bible truths, and gain a heart appreciation of Jehovah and his kingdom. Moreover, they themselves had actually shared in many of the bitter events that Bible prophecy foretold for these “last days.” They were in a favorable position to understand the Bible’s powerful message for our day.

Late in 1947, the branch overseer in Hawaii, Donald Haslett, received a letter from the Watch Tower Society’s president, Brother Knorr, asking: “Who in Hawaii is willing to go to Japan​—after graduating from Gilead School?” When Shinichi and Masako Tohara (who had three small children), Jerry and Yoshi Toma and Elsie Tanigawa volunteered, Brother Haslett asked Brother Knorr, “And how about the Hasletts?” So Donald and Mabel Haslett joined the eight Japanese-Hawaiians on the long trip from tropical Hawaii to New York in midwinter, arriving at South Lansing in January 1948. In that eleventh class of Gilead, Brother Tohara taught Japanese to a group of twenty-two students, who were selected from more than seventy who volunteered to go to Japan. He was assisted by Elsie Tanigawa.

The Society provided Brother Haslett with a red jeep, and he and Mabel drove across the United States in the fall of 1948. Then they took ship to Hawaii, where Mabel had to stay behind for awhile as Don sailed on to Japan. He arrived in Tokyo in early January 1949. Hotel accommodations were not to be found, but the United States Army kindly permitted Brother Haslett to stay for a month at General MacArthur’s headquarters at the Dai-Ichi Hotel. He toured Tokyo daily in the jeep, searching among the ruins for a suitable branch property. Army men told him he would never find a place. However, after a month’s search, he was able to purchase a substantial Japanese-style home near Keio University, in Minato-Ku, Tokyo.

During the cold month of February, Brother Haslett camped out in the new home, with only a charcoal brazier for heating and cooking. There was strict food rationing. He would stand in line with the neighborhood people to receive his allotment of rice and a long carrot or some cabbage leaves. During this time he arranged to meet with some of Junzo Akashi’s followers. The first meeting was cordial, but the second meeting ended with this group showing angry, bitter opposition to the Society. In order to secure their release from prison, most of these had signed a paper renouncing Jehovah and his service. It was apparent that they had lost Jehovah’s spirit completely.

Now Mabel Haslett received her permit to enter Japan. She arrived by plane on March 7, 1949. In the big, empty house, Brother and Sister Haslett became adjusted to sleeping on futon mattresses, under a mosquito net, and they had the company of some rats. Later in March, Jerry and Yoshi Toma arrived by ship. The Tohara family and Elsie Tanigawa arrived in August.

From March onward, Kingdom witnessing was carried out in the immediate neighborhood of the Tokyo branch. However, there was practically no literature with which to work, and even the Hawaiians had to adjust to the type of Japanese spoken in Tokyo. A mimeographed paper, entitled “The Bible Clearly Teaches,” was distributed, with the simple verbal invitation, “Please read.” Sister Haslett clearly remembers her first return visit. An old lady had requested extra copies of the mimeographed paper. “Ah, she’s interested,” thought Sister Haslett. But, on calling again, she found the precious papers propped up over some plants in the yard. The lady had thought that these “holy papers” would help the plants grow!

One day, two Japanese men, schoolteachers, stopped at the branch and asked Brother Haslett if he would teach the Bible to the children at school. So every Saturday morning the Hasletts made the trip by jeep to the Toride Second High School. Here Don taught the older students and Mabel the younger ones. As textbooks, they had one copy each of the Japanese Harp of God, together with the English book. The lessons were later discontinued, but more than twenty years later, Sister Haslett had a pleasant surprise. A mother with a child approached her at the Tokyo branch Kingdom Hall. She had a picture, and Mabel has the same picture in her own album, of those children at the Toride school. This mother was one of them, and now, many years after, she is a Kingdom publisher. The seed sown away back there had borne fruit!

By the end of the 1949 service year, seven missionaries and eight local publishers were reporting service in Tokyo. But this was only a beginning. Today, in that part of Tokyo that was first worked from the Japan branch there are twelve congregations of Jehovah’s witnesses, and in July 1972 these congregations reported a total of 613 Kingdom ministers, of whom 123 were in pioneer service.

Six more missionaries, Percy and Ilma Iszlaub, Adrian Thompson, Lloyd and Melba Barry and Lyn Robbins, arrived at Yokohama October 31, 1949, bringing the total of missionaries, including the three Tohara children, to sixteen. Of these “49ers,” thirteen are still in full-time missionary service in Japan and Okinawa. They would not want to be anywhere else.

MISSIONARY WORK EXPANDS TO KOBE

Five of the October arrivals were assigned to open up a new missionary home in Kobe, some 250 miles southwest of Tokyo. The SCAP war properties custodian rented to the Society the spacious home of a former German Nazi, and the Society later bought this fine property. Here, at Tarumi, on the edge of Japan’s Inland Sea, the missionaries set to work to clean up the property, the Hasletts and Toharas contributing their vacation time to this. Quaint ships chugged their way along the coast below the home, and glorious sunsets were to be seen over Awaji Island. It was a lovely setting for a missionary home.

However, for several weeks there were only bare wooden floors on which to sleep. This problem was partly overcome by cutting the tall grass from the garden for use in place of mattresses, while the missionaries slept fully clothed. There was an open fireplace in the dining room, but the smoke would go any place except up the chimney. For a time, cooking and heating were accomplished by Japanese brazier, but this proved to be dangerous, several of the missionaries being overcome by carbon monoxide fumes. Happily they survived these and other problems.

In those days there was no “crash” course for learning the language. Textbooks were few and inadequate. There was hardly any literature for use in the field service, so that mimeographed copies of “Let God Be True” chapters in Japanese were loaned around. Some prewar Japanese publications were available for a time, including Light, Book II, but it was a problem to convince people that they did not need to read Book I first. Witnessing from door to door was hard for the missionaries​—and hard on the householders.

Missionaries had learned at Gilead School that yoroshii means “good” but had not learned the regional application of yoroshii-wa, which means a very definite “no thank you!” So at first they persevered with those who said “yoroshii-wa” until some of these took literature in desperation. So soon after World War II the people were very interested in knowing about things Western, and Bible studies could be started in many homes, including those of persons who really were not interested in the Bible. Some missionaries were soon conducting over thirty studies a week.

A number of those early studies bore fine fruit. Melba Barry relates that on her first morning of witnessing in Japan, at one of the very first houses, the lady, Miyo Takagi, received her kindly. She was impressed because the missionaries had walked over a muddy field to reach her home. On return calls they struggled with the help of Japanese-English dictionaries to understand each other, until a fine study developed. To this day Miyo Takagi and her neighbor who joined the study are serving as Kingdom ministers, one of them having spent more than ten years in regular pioneer work.

Witnessing in Japan had its unusual problems. The missionary has to become accustomed​—if possible—​to sitting cross-legged on the floor before a low table at Bible studies. Since shoes have to be taken off at the porch when entering a house, he has to watch that his socks are in good shape​—without holes. And one missionary, Lloyd Barry, on making his departure at the porch after a study, found that a thief had made off with his shoes.

Soon after the arrival of the Kobe missionaries, the first theocratic assembly was arranged for Japan. The location? The Tarumi, Kobe, missionary home, with its spacious rooms and more than an acre of ground. Over forty persons stayed in the home on this occasion. The grounds and porch served for cooking and cafeteria, and the large living room as assembly hall. Three new publishers were baptized, Don Haslett doing the immersing at a nearby bathhouse. The Japanese take their baths piping hot, and when Brother Haslett entered the water it was so hot that he jumped straight out again, his legs as red as lobsters. Only after many buckets of cold water had been added was he able to enter the bath again to baptize the new brothers.

Though the assembly was arranged from December 30 to January 1, the busiest period of the year for the Japanese, the support given was outstanding. On Sunday, January 1, 1950, 101 persons turned out to hear the assembly public talk, which was given in the auditorium of the Tarumi, Kobe, primary school. Some who attended this first assembly continued to advance right along from that time. These included a young Tokyo schoolgirl, who now serves at the Japan branch as Mrs. Yasuko Miura, wife of Tsutomu Miura, mentioned earlier.

In February 1950, the five Australian missionaries in Kobe were joined by five more New Zealand and Australian sisters, Lois Dyer, Molly Heron, Moira Wesley Smith, Grace Bagnall, and Nora Stratton. If all the experiences of this group could be written down, they would occupy many volumes. Lois Dyer, from Western Australia, made a shaky start when she thought she was telling the people, “I am preaching from house to house.” But her faulty pronunciation made it, “I am coughing from house to house.” She did have a cold at the time.

Due to the language problem, meetings in Kobe were held for several months in English only. But for the Memorial meeting, April 1, 1950, an interested person was available as interpreter. So everyone was invited. The unexpected attendance of 180 persons packed out three rooms and the hallway of the missionary home. Some had to listen through the windows. Field service arrangements were announced after the talk, and to the missionaries’ surprise thirty-five new persons turned up the next morning to share in field service. Each missionary took along three or four companions, but this all helped to make an impression on the people met.

Because of the fine progress of the work in Kobe, it was possible to organize a congregation there in April 1950. By the end of the service year this congregation was reporting sixty publishers, some of whom are in special pioneer and circuit work until this day. As meetings soon outgrew the living room in the missionary home, these were held for several months on the spacious lawn in front of the home, with the dome of heaven as roof and fresh breezes from the Inland Sea as ventilation. Service meeting attendances grew to 120, and more than twenty local men enrolled in the Theocratic Ministry School.

The first overseer of the Kobe Congregation, Percy Iszlaub, struggled valiantly with the language. One of his talks that no one who was present will ever forget was based on John 21:15-17. Not being a grammarian, Brother Iszlaub gave the language a slight twist and built up to a powerful climax in telling his audience three times that Jesus said to Peter​—no, not, “Please feed my sheep”—​but, “Please eat my sheep.” Everyone got the point!

In June 1950, with the outbreak of the Korean War, eight missionaries who had been airlifted from Korea suddenly appeared on the doorstep of the Kobe home. Yes, there was room to accommodate a missionary family of eighteen, and what a fine coverage was given to the Kobe territory! Though vast stretches of the city were just stones and rubble, due to the bombing raids of World War II, the Lord’s “sheep” were hunted out from caves, shanties and rebuilt homes. In August 1950, the sixteen missionaries who were still in Kobe reported 359 home Bible studies.

The first typhoon of the 1950 season is remembered by those missionaries as the worst they have ever experienced. Sunday morning all were out in the door-to-door preaching work. But as the wind began to moan louder and louder, all set out for home from their respective territories. Some of them made it, but other bedraggled missionaries did not arrive home till after midnight. One sister was marooned in a train for seven hours, and others took shelter in strong windproof railway stations. At the missionary home, more than forty tiles were blown off the roof, and sheets of corrugated iron roofing were seen flying past outside on the wings of the storm. The windows on the stairway were blown in, and makeshift boards were nailed in their place to try to hold out the cascading waters. It was indeed a relief when the storm was over and the last missionary arrived home safe.

Ilma Iszlaub studied with a doctor and his family, who were neighbors. When Nora Stratton, one of the missionary sisters, took ill, the doctor cared for her for more than a year until she died, and then donated the payment of medical fees to the Society. He it was who pointed to the lighthouse that twinkled day and night in the sea opposite the missionary home and said: “This missionary home will become just like that lighthouse, as a source of spiritual light to the people in this vicinity.” How true that has been! Breaking through Buddhist superstitions, the truth has experienced a remarkable expansion in the Kobe area. And this has continued since the missionary home was moved to a more central location in April 1954. In the territories that have been witnesses to from the Kobe missionary homes there are now eleven congregations, and in July 1972 these reported 730 publishers, of whom 76 were in full-time pioneer service.

MISSIONARIES OPEN UP NAGOYA

From October 1950, Don and Earlene Steele, Scott and Alice Counts, Gladys and Grace Gregory, Norrine Miller and Flo Manso, the eight missionaries who had come from Korea, were assigned to a newly purchased home in Nagoya, about a hundred miles from Kobe. This spacious home was typically Japanese, with strawmatting floors, paper doors, and so forth. In paper-walled Japanese rooms, privacy is achieved by a kind of philosophy of ignoring those nearby or pretending that they are not there. This took a while to adjust to, and the missionaries used to speak jokingly of “the semiprivacy of our room.” Like the other early missionaries, those in Nagoya had to learn the language mostly by trial and error in the field.

The Nagoya missionaries found the family feudal system still very strong. A man (or woman) over fifty years old would say that mother or father did not permit him to study the Bible. The elderly person might be eighty or ninety years old and completely helpless, but still ruling the family. A girl who married into a family became virtually her mother-in-law’s slave. One elderly sister has made practical but kindly use of this custom by having her daughter-in-law do the household chores while she does regular pioneer service, extending now over fifteen years. In time her husband, son and daughter-in-law all accepted the truth, which really united the family.

Gladys Gregory tells of her study with a family that lived very close to the missionary home. During the war, the husband was in the army and the mother grew vegetables in little garden patches near her home. Also, with her baby strapped to her back and leading two other children by the hand, she used to walk miles into the countryside to get rice. Brown-faced, kimono-clad and with hair piled up Japanese-style, she looked much older than her thirty-odd years. When the missionaries called, the entire family was found waiting, and as a family they started to study. They were among the first publishers in Nagoya, and Sister Gregory and the mother in this family became inseparable. She learned the truth from Sister Gregory, and Sister Gregory learned Japanese from her. At first, it was said that Sister Gregory’s Japanese sounded like hers, but later that her Japanese sounded like Sister Gregory’s, with a foreign twang. This family had been Buddhist, but when the nearby temple was bombed out and the images proved to be of no protection, they had started to look for the truth elsewhere. When the Watch Tower missionaries came, they found it!

One young man arrived at a public meeting just as it was ending, but a missionary arranged to study with him. Today Eiji Usami is the city overseer in Nagoya and prints large quantities of handbills for the Society. Another missionary started a study with a young man, Isamu Sugiura, who had learned English by radio lessons. He was one of the early publishers in Nagoya. Since then, he has been trained at Gilead School, has served as circuit and district overseer and instructor in the Kingdom Ministry School, and now he is a member of the Tokyo Bethel family.

The second theocratic assembly for Japan was held in Nagoya, in October 1950. Again, most of the accommodations were arranged at the missionary home, and to be assured of some comfort a number of Japanese publishers even brought their bedding with them, from as far away as Kobe. It became known as the “sweet potato” assembly. And why? The rice ration was all used up for the first meal, so that for two days thereafter the main course at the cafeteria was sweet potatoes.

After doing splendid service for just on ten years, the Nagoya home was sold in August 1960, and the missionaries moved to other homes. As testimony to the fine witness given through this home, there are now, in the territories that the missionaries first served from this home, the congregations with a total of 608 Kingdom publishers reporting in July 1972, of whom 71 were pioneer ministers.

INTO THE INDUSTRIAL CITY OF OSAKA

Osaka, to the east of Kobe, has had a long history of contact with Bible truth. It was here, in 1928, that Jizo Ishii and his wife first learned the truth, as reported previously. However, the first Watch Tower missionaries that came into this area met up with a problem. A group from Osaka that professed to have the truth attended the first assembly at Tarumi, Kobe, over the 1950 New Year period, but their noisy celebrating of the New Year and general way of life showed that they were far removed from Bible standards. Their “leader” baptized by sprinkling and for a handsome fee. When it became necessary to disfellowship him, most others of the group went their own way. It was arranged for Adrian Thompson, one of the missionaries in Kobe, to go to Osaka several days each week to oversee and strengthen the small congregation there.

On March 21, 1951, five missionary sisters from Gilead’s fifteenth class arrived in Japan and went to Osaka to open a missionary home. In welcoming them, an article in the Japanese Asahi newspaper described them as “angels come down from heaven in the midst of the cherry blossoms.” In the wake of this newspaper article, the missionaries were swamped with letters, and by visiting students, businessmen and others, all requesting Bible studies. Of an evening, studies were in progress in practically every room of the missionary home. Though the people were very poor in those days, their generosity and willingness to share were heartwarming. They brought flowers and the vases to go with them, and arranged these to delight the missionaries’ eyes and hearts. According to custom, they also brought a present if for some reason they wished to discontinue their Bible study. One day a man came to cancel his study because, as he put it, his wife “was multiplying herself,” and he had to attend to her. Out from a large urnlike vase he drew forth his farewell present​—a live octopus, lashing out wildly with its tentacles!

Right at the outset in Osaka, the missionaries were joined by a new Japanese sister, Natsue Katsuda, who was encouraged by them to share in pioneer service. To this end Sister Katsuda sold her business and now she has completed twenty years of pioneering. Other early ones are likewise pioneering down to this day. About ten brothers who had survived the shake-up in Osaka were rebaptized (this time by total immersion and free of charge), and these really set their hearts on conforming to the right principles of Jehovah’s Word. One of these, Otokichi Shiga, is still city overseer in Osaka and several others are congregation overseers.

From June 1951, Shinichi Tohara and his family moved from Tokyo to the Osaka missionary home, Brother Tohara taking oversight also of the congregation. Much good work was accomplished by the missionaries up until the time of their departure from Osaka in February 1953, and the work in Osaka has continued to grow. In the area originally served by the missionary home, there are now eighteen congregations, from which 746 publishers reported in July 1972, 132 of them as pioneers.

IN THE PORT CITY OF YOKOHAMA

In the spring of 1951, fifteen English and Australian missionaries from Gilead’s sixteenth class arrived in Japan. Four single brothers were assigned to the Tokyo branch home. Three married couples and five single sisters moved into a large Japanese-style home that the Society purchased in Myorenji, Yokohama, on May 1. Here they met up with some problems. For seven weeks the home’s previous owner continued to occupy three of the eleven rooms. So when he returned from work each night the missionaries would ask him questions. For example: “Where can we buy rice?” That seemed like a very simple question. Yet he had to call his wife. His wife conferred with her mother. The mother went off to inquire of a neighbor. Then, two nights later, back came the answer: “It’s rationed.” Indeed, much of the food was rationed. The missionaries had to go to various offices, with photos in triplicate, to make applications, and so they could get ration books for items such as rice, sugar and tea.

At the outset, all the interested people would come to the missionary home to study. One sister had as many as eleven studies in one day! Later, the missionaries concentrated on house-to-house work in the mornings, but, even so, the eleven missionaries reported as many as 300 home Bible studies in some months. There was very little printed literature. For studies, each missionary had three or four mimeographed sheets of chapters of “Let God Be True” in Japanese. These they exchanged among themselves as they needed to take up further subjects at studies. Since these sheets were so much in demand, interested persons could not have copies for preparing the studies.

The original home servant in Yokohama, Gordon Dearn, has vivid memories of his first study in Japan. The man knew very little English, and Brother Dearn, very little Japanese. It seemed they were studying the dictionary more than the mimeographed sheets.

The Yokohama Congregation was formed on March 1, 1952, and it met at the missionary home. Very soon a call went out for pioneers. A young student, Keijiro Eto, came to Brother Dearn saying he wanted to quit college and become a pioneer. However, he was a cripple, with one leg braced. Brother Dearn asked him if his leg hurt. “A little,” he replied. Brother Dearn did not think he could do it, but the young man “gave it a go,” and soon he was even appointed as a special pioneer along with his widowed mother and his sister, Yuriko and Hiroko Eto. This family group did a marvelous work in helping to establish new congregations in the cities of Kawasaki, Yokosuka, Shizuoka, Mito and Odawara. Later, the crippled brother was able to serve as a circuit overseer for seven years. In the congregations that he served, no one could ever make the excuse that ill health was a reason for staying out of service.

The missionary home in Yokohama was sold in September 1957, and the missionaries moved to other places. However, in the territories originally served by the missionaries from this home, there are now four Kingdom Halls and eleven congregations, from which 646 persons reported service during July 1972, including 135 pioneers.

WATCH TOWER PRESIDENT VISITS JAPAN

This took place from April 24 to May 8, 1951, and proved to be a milestone in the organizing and developing of the work in Japan. When Brother Knorr arrived at Haneda Air Base that Tuesday evening, he was greeted by an enthusiastic group of forty-five missionaries, and other well-wishers. Though it was late, he went to the Kingdom Hall at the Tokyo branch and regaled those present with an account of his trip through the Orient. From Thursday, April 26, Japan’s third theocratic assembly was in session at the Nihonishikai Kaikan, in Kanda, Tokyo, and for four days missionaries and local brothers presented a most instructive program through talks and demonstrations. A highlight of the assembly was the release of the Japanese edition of The Watchtower on the first evening. The entire 1,000 copies of this May 1, 1951, issue of The Watchtower were quickly taken by those in attendance for use in field service during the assembly. It was announced that 2,000 copies of each issue would be printed henceforth. Twenty-one years later, the printing of the May 1, 1972, issue of the Japanese Watchtower was 230,000 copies.

On the Sunday morning of the assembly, fourteen new brothers and sisters were baptized. Then, for the public talk at the Kyoritsu Kaikan, in Kanda, the crowd kept rolling in until 700 people were present, fully 500 being newly interested ones that had been drawn to the meeting by the extensive advertising. Brother Knorr’s public talk was ably interpreted, as were all his talks during this visit, by Kameichi Hanaoka, a Hawaiian brother who had come to Japan late in life to help open up the work. Brother Hanaoka continued thereafter in the Japan field, serving at the branch office and then for many years in the special and regular pioneer work, assisting in forming many new congregations, until his death on April 22, 1971, at the age of eighty-two years.

After the assembly, Brother Knorr followed up his visit to the Tokyo branch missionary home by a whirlwind tour of the other four missionary homes in Japan. This also gave him an opportunity to see just how the people in postwar Japan lived and worked. By this time, his secretary, Milton Henschel, had also arrived in Japan, after an extended visit to Taiwan, and he accompanied Brother Knorr on the trip.

During Brother Knorr’s two-week visit much was accomplished in organizing the missionary field in Japan. The forty-seven missionaries were now ready to push ahead with the work as never before. At four public meetings, 1,730 persons had attended, and already a peak of 260 publishers had reported in April, including the missionaries. But the fields were ripe for an even grander harvest!

CIRCUIT WORK ORGANIZED

At the time of his Japan visit in 1951, Brother Knorr arranged for one of the Kobe missionaries, Adrian Thompson, to start work as the first circuit overseer for Japan. Brother Thompson had excellent ability in the language, and was well qualified, also, to teach it to the new missionaries.

Shall we travel with Brother Thompson in his circuit, stretching 1,870 miles from top to bottom of Japan? First, there is the visit to the small Tokyo congregation, comprising thirty publishers as well as nine missionaries. Some in the congregation travel great distances to the central Kingdom Hall, at the branch, including a retired American sea captain, Joe Kopec, who lives an hour-and-a-half train ride away in Chiba Prefecture.

From Tokyo, Brother Thompson travels north to the small town of Ishinomaki, near Sendai, where happy association is had with the Miura family that had served so faithfully even before World War II. Then, on up to Wakkanai, at the northernmost tip of Hokkaido, for a visit with the one interested person on all of that large island. Standing on the beach at Wakkanai, Brother Thompson can look across the ocean to the faint outline of the Soviet territory of Sakhalin. Will the good news yet be preached in Siberia? Of more immediate concern, will the Kingdom message be preached fully in this land of Japan? At that time in 1951, with just one or two exceptions, Jehovah’s purposes were being proclaimed only in Japanese cities with a population of a million or more inhabitants.

The 970-mile return journey, made by train from Wakkanai to Yokohama, takes Brother Thompson one hour less than two days. In Yokohama, he conducts an intensive study of the language with the missionaries, for an hour each morning and again in the evening, as well s sharing with them in field service each day of his two-week visit. Then, on for a visit to the Nagoya missionary group, where a similar program is carried out. Next to be visited are the congregations and missionary homes in Osaka and Kobe.

In Kobe, the first postwar native pioneer, Keisuke Sato, has been in full-time service since August 1950. Later, others join the pioneer ranks, including Asano Asayama, who learned the truth from Pastor Russell’s books during World War II while serving as a maid in the home of an elderly American sister, Maud Koda. Brother Sato and Sister Asayama, as well as others from Kobe, later attended Gilead School.

A day’s train journey carries Brother Thompson west from Kobe to Kure, near Hiroshima, where several days are spent studying and preaching with Jizo Ishii and family​—faithful servants from prewar days. From Kure it is several hours’ journey by ship to Beppu, where an American sister, wife of an officer in the American occupation forces, is making a fine effort to witness to other American personnel, as well as to the Japanese​—by using her maid as an interpreter. Brother Thompson’s final visit is to Japan’s southernmost city of Kagoshima. Here, Brother Higashi has been in contact with the truth since before World War II and he, his wife and young family of five children drink in further information, also opening their home for meetings.

Though there were only eleven visits to make, Brother Thompson’s circuit ranged over this vast area from Wakkanai to Kagoshima. Today there are thriving congregations in both these terminal cities, as well as hundreds of congregations in between. The rapid increase in new congregations has made it necessary to expand to twenty-five circuits and two districts for the 1973 service year.

CIRCUIT ASSEMBLIES IN JAPAN

In between each series of circuit visits, circuit assemblies were arranged. The first of these was held in October 1951, in Osaka. The second was held in April 1952, in Kobe. After this, two assemblies were held for the circuit, one to serve the north, and the other the south and west. These early assemblies were never-to-be-forgotten events. Though missionaries were far from proficient in the language, all programs were handled entirely in Japanese, and this was much appreciated by the new brothers and interested persons present at each assembly. In 1951, practically all foodstuffs were either rationed or in short supply, and the Japanese brothers were not well off financially. But for the equivalent of twenty cents or less, wholesome meals were provided. There were no free meal tickets for pioneers or missionaries in those days. Missionaries learned to break a raw egg over their morning bowl of rice, became accustomed to soup for breakfast and ate their fish and rice with chopsticks. They learned, too, to sleep on matting floors among the native conventioners in crowded dormitories.

All who shared in those early assemblies look with amazement and joy at the attendances today. Whereas just 410 persons attended the all-Japan circuit assembly in Kobe in the spring of 1952, with eleven being baptized, the public meeting attendance at the assemblies for all of Japan’s twenty-five circuits during March to June, 1972, totaled 22,286, with 921 being baptized. Jehovah has truly blessed the circuit visits and assemblies, and those who pioneered this activity in Japan have great happiness in seeing the prosperity that has resulted.

KINGDOM WORK DEVELOPS IN OKINAWA

After World War II, the Okinawans came to hear the truth from a group of Filipino brothers who went there to work for the American administration. This was in 1950. The first Okinawan to accept the truth was Yoshiko Higa, who now serves as a special pioneer in Kyushu, Japan. Though she knew practically no English, and the Filipino brothers practically no Japanese, they instructed her by having her read a series of scriptures from the Bible treating on a particular theme. During the war, Sister Higa, along with many other Okinawans, had sheltered in the large burial caves that are so common on the hillsides. Here, contemplating the human bones, she could not help but conclude that the dead return to the earth and that man is not immortal. So she readily accepted the Bible teaching on the dead, along with the hope of the Kingdom and the resurrection. When she received the one Japanese booklet available at that time, The Joy of All the People, its cover and contents further aroused her hope. Very soon she was preaching from door to door as the first native Okinawan Witness.

Since the local clergy were slow in offering their services, the “Voice of the Ryukyus” radio station invited Sister Higa to give regular broadcasts on the Bible in Japanese. For these programs she read appropriate material from the newly published Watchtower in Japanese, including the article “God’s Way Is Love.” These broadcasts continued from November 1952 to the spring of 1953.

From April 1953, Lloyd Barry, the branch overseer from Japan, was able to make annual visits to Okinawa. At his first visit, it was possible to go in the field service with the publishers and train them on each of the two days of the visit. Meetings were held, including a public talk in Japanese, and two new publishers were baptized. Also, two visits were paid on three young soldiers who had been imprisoned in the American Army stockade, due to taking a stand on the issue of neutrality. The visits were also welcomed by the Army chaplain at the stockade. The young men had gotten the idea that taking a stand for the truth meant that they should refuse to cooperate in any way with their superiors, and also they were singing Kingdom songs at the top of their voices day and night. When the meaning of neutrality and of proper Christian behavior were explained to them from the Scriptures, they quickly adjusted accordingly, to the great relief of the authorities. Soon afterward they were shipped back to the United States.

Entering the pioneer work in May 1954, Sister Higa soon found that she “could do it”​—in her first month she reported 174 hours, 260 return visits and fifteen studies. Many of her early studies were in Shuri, the ancient capital of Okinawa, and her activity made inroads into the Shuri Church. Many quit the church to become Jehovah’s witnesses. Some of these were baptized at the time of the first circuit assembly held in Okinawa, in January 1955, and some became pioneers.

In 1963, the native circuit overseer for Okinawa, Chukichi Une, attended Gilead School. On his return, in 1964, he took the lead in arranging to build Okinawa’s first Kingdom Hall, in Naha City. The work continued to expand, so that 234 publishers reported in the 1965 service year, including an average of thirty-seven pioneers. Okinawa was too far distant for all of this activity to be fully cared for from Japan, and so from January 1, 1966, a separate Okinawa branch was formed. The Tohara family moved there from Japan, Shinichi Tohara being appointed as the branch overseer.

MISSIONARY HOMES EXPAND IN JAPAN​—KYOTO

With the arrival of seven more missionaries in April 1952, a new missionary home was opened in Kyoto, near the “Christian” Doshisha University, and this home served the Kingdom interests well for five and a half years. At the outset there were just four local publishers. Since this missionary group had not studied Japanese at Gilead, they had to study together very hard as a family before and after field service each day.

Kyoto being very much a part of the traditional Japan, with hundreds of temples, Buddhas and Goddesses of Mercy, some of the older folk showed considerable animosity toward the “foreigners.” It was quite a test to maintain a calm spirit when a grandmother or grandfather appeared during a witness to an attentive young person, and without a word just waved the missionary away.

However, people with whom they studied showed much hospitality in putting out local delicacies for the missionaries. One of the new missionary brothers found that when he courteously thanked his host for the fine food, it continued coming and, since he did not yet know how to refuse politely in Japanese, he had to continue eating. So, the next subject in missionary Japanese study covered the handling of this problem.

At first, it seemed very strange to the missionaries to sit on the floor at Bible studies and meetings, but they found that in this way they could keep their feet warm in winter. Meetings were held from the very beginning at the missionary home, in Japanese, even though the missionary conductor knew practically nothing of the language. One of his early problems was to get the Watchtower study reader to stop reading at the end of each paragraph. As attendances grew, the meetings were moved from the home to an upstairs room over the local market, and later to a better building. One of the original missionaries in Kyoto, and who still serves in this capacity in Tokyo, Elizabeth Taylor, recalls studying with a churchgoer who came to a meeting to see what it was like and never missed after that. It was Sister Taylor’s joy to see her become a publisher and later a pioneer, and she helped her entire family​—husband and three children—​to become Witnesses, two of her daughters going on to become special pioneers.

Shortly before the missionaries left Kyoto for other assignments, one of them, Shozo Mima, studied with a former soldier of the Imperial Army. He was bedridden at the time and had not previously known the Bible. However, he is now in the best of physical and spiritual health and has been a regular pioneer for more than twelve years. His wife is also a regular pioneer, and he serves as city overseer in Kyoto. In this area that was first served by the missionary home when there were only four local publishers (and three of these are now regular pioneers), there are today eight congregations, for which the July 1972 report showed a total of 452 publishers, of whom eighty were in pioneer service.

EXPANSION INTO THE NORTH​—SENDAI

In October 1952, Don and Mabel Haslett moved to Sendai, to open the first missionary home outside the cities of a million and more population. Even so, Sendai has a population of more than 500,000. When the Osaka missionary home was closed, Shinichi Tohara and family also moved to Sendai, and these former Hawaiians soon got acclimatized to the colder winters in the north. Later, missionary sisters from Hawaii and Canada joined them there. For six and a half years the Sendai home performed a splendid service.

One of the Canadian missionaries, Margaret Pastor, recalls arriving in Sendai just in time for an assembly there. They did not know five words of Japanese, but someone had printed up assembly badges for them. Though they could not read these themselves, the local Sendai publishers could, and these came up and with gestures showed the missionaries that what was written on their badges was the same. So, they quickly got acquainted with their new congregation.

When the missionaries left, there were many local publishers to take over their study interest. Today, in the territory originally served by the Sendai missionaries, there are three congregations.

WATCH TOWER PRESIDENT VISITS JAPAN AGAIN

Accompanied by Don Adams, Brother Knorr paid his second visit to Japan, April 21-27, 1956. Although arrival time was 1:10 a.m., some twenty missionaries were at the airport to meet them. The assembly arranged to coincide with the visit was held April 21 to 23, at the beautiful new Nakano-Ku Kokaido, in western Tokyo. As yet, this part of Tokyo had scarcely been witnessed to, but now 200,000 handbills, 2,500 window cards, 20,000 copies of a special issue of the Japanese Awake! (which magazine had proved to be very popular since first released in January 1956), plus an intensive house-to-house rooming work, resulted in a fine testimony to the people of that neighborhood. Newspapers also gave good publicity, announcing the assembly and Brother Knorr’s arrival.

On Saturday afternoon, April 21, an audience of 425 thrilled to hear Brother Knorr’s talk on “Christians Must Be Happy.” Though this was a majority of the 567 publishers reporting service in Japan at the time, the audience looked lost in the spacious hall. How delighted the brothers were, then, when 974 eager listeners practically filled the hall for the public talk on “Making All Mankind One Under Their Creator”! Eleven years later, in April 1967, when just one of fourteen circuits in Japan used this hall for its assembly, 814 attended the public talk. How the work in Japan has grown through the years!

A highlight of this visit by Brother Knorr was a call that he made as the result of a witness previously given by him 12,000 miles away, while crossing the Atlantic by plane. On that occasion Brother Knorr was seated beside President Ohama of Waseda University, Tokyo, which has an enrollment of 25,000 students. Hearing of the work of Jehovah’s witnesses, President Ohama invited President Knorr to address the faculty and students of Waseda University when he came to Tokyo. This was arranged for the university auditorium, Wednesday afternoon, April 25, and here Brother Knorr spoke through an interpreter to an appreciative audience of 386 professors and students. Later, the professors entertained Brother Knorr and his party at tea, and they asked many questions, indicating that they had indeed been impressed by Brother Knorr’s talk.

Tokyo, as the world’s largest city, with a population in excess of 11,475,000, requires a multitude of Kingdom publishers to give an effective coverage with the truth. At the time of Brother Knorr’s visit in 1956, Tokyo had just 111 publishers, together with sixteen missionaries and pioneers, organized in three congregations. How could this vast territory ever receive a thorough witness?

FURTHER EXPANSION IN TOKYO

In May 1954, Don Haslett had helped to establish a new missionary home near Iidabashi railway station, in the Chiyoda-Ku area of Tokyo. The group of new missionaries that first served there had the usual problems with the language. There was no one to teach them, and there were no Japanese publishers in that area. It was only by the help of Jehovah’s spirit that they were able to start studies with their halting use of the Japanese language, and some of these people started to attend meetings in the missionary home. In due course, these missionaries formed the seventeenth congregation in Japan. Now there are thirty-three congregations in Tokyo city alone!

Don and Mabel Haslett served faithfully from this home from 1954 until Brother Haslett’s death on February 20, 1966. He spearheaded the building of Japan’s first Kingdom Hall to be erected outside the branch and the missionary homes. This is the Shinjuku, Tokyo, Kingdom Hall, which serves also the Ichigaya Congregation in Tokyo, and which has recently been enlarged to accommodate the crowds that attend there. Other congregations have followed suit, and fine Kingdom Halls in the Tokyo area have now been built at Shibuya, Kugahara, Mitaka, Kamata, Okusawa, Omori, Katsushika and Asagaya.

One of the original missionaries in the Chiyoda home, Adeline Nako, relates that ancestor worship was one of the big problems with which the missionaries had to contend. A woman that she met thought that she could appease the ancestor gods by torturing her body, and so she would get up at four or five o’clock each morning and, even in the cold of winter, pour buckets of cold water over herself. When her husband’s father died, she would offer up rice and tea before his altar each morning before serving her husband and children, and this led to a division in the family. However, a home Bible study with Sister Nako showed her that she should be serving the living, and not the dead. She destroyed the altar, and the family was united around the Bible. The husband became presiding overseer, and he and his wife have often pioneered for short periods. The daughter served as a special pioneer for ten years, and now accompanies her husband in the circuit work.

Adeline’s partner, Lillian Samson, tells of a Bible study that she conducted at a store where Takashi Abe, a lad of twenty years, made deliveries. He noticed the study in progress, and asked about it. Very soon he himself was studying and making remarkable progress. He changed his job to one with less pay, in order to attend meetings, and because of this his family disowned him. But a brother who had taken note of his integrity now offered him a part-time job so that he could be a pioneer. He never looked back, and today after twelve years of rich experiences, he and his wife serve is the district work.

Many who learned the truth from Don and Mabel Haslett and the other missionaries in the Chiyoda home have entered pioneer work. Some later served at the Tokyo Bethel. The original congregation in this area has divided, and divided again, so that today in the area originally served by the Chiyoda missionaries there are nine congregations.

Following Brother Knorr’s visit and the very successful assembly in Nakano, Tokyo, the president arranged for buying a new home in that area. Missionary stalwarts Jerry and Yoshi Toma moved into the Nakano home on October 1, 1956, and six days later, eight new missionaries arrived to live on bare boards and mattresses until their furnishings came. But the missionaries were soon very busy in field service, greatly encouraged by the Tomas. It seems that wherever that outgoing couple, the Tomas, are assigned, it is the signal for a big expansion. And this was so in Nakano. When the home was established, the missionaries had to travel almost an hour to meetings in the Shibuya, Tokyo, Congregation, while only a small group met in Nakano, at the missionary home. But less than sixteen years later, it is observed that fifteen congregations have grown out of that small group, and they report more than 890 publishers.

Four years after Brother Knorr’s visit, Milton Henschel served the Japan branch as zone overseer, and a most successful assembly was held April 7-10, 1960, at the Setagaya Kuminkaikan, in another little-witnessed-to area of Tokyo. Attendance at the public talk was 1,717, and that same Sunday evening Brother Henschel gave the Memorial talk with 1,397 in attendance. For the first time, a tremendous witness had been given in the Setagaya area, and there was a big follow-up work waiting to be done. The Society now bought a new missionary home in Setagaya, and six missionaries continue to work out of this home to the present day.

EXPANSION INTO NEW AREAS OF JAPAN

From 1949 until 1957, the main endeavor had been to establish the Kingdom work in the large cities of Japan’s main island of Honshu. But other places were waiting! In 1957, the Society’s large missionary homes in Yokohama and Kyoto were sold, and the missionaries were dispersed to smaller homes in other cities. During 1957, the Society rented new homes in Hiroshima (in western Honshu), in Sapporo (capital of the northern island of Hokkaido) and in Fukuoka, Kumamoto, Kagoshima and Sasebo (all on the southern island of Kyushu). By this time, there were sixty-two missionaries serving in Japan​—in twelve missionary homes, in district and circuit work and at the Tokyo branch.

How would the Kingdom truth be accepted in Hiroshima, the famed city of the first atom bomb? When the missionaries started work there in January 1957, there was already a small group of six publishers, the fruit of six months’ work by special pioneers who had preceded the missionaries in that territory. All six are zealous and active to this day. One of these can relate very vividly the story of the devastation caused by the atom bomb.

But would not the bombed-out people show prejudice against the message brought to them by foreign missionaries? One of these missionaries, Audrey Hyde, who served with others in Hiroshima for six years and ten months, states that in all that time she can remember only a few people waving the hand back and forth in front of the face​—the Japanese way of saying, “Go away!” The missionary home itself was a typical prewar middle-class Japanese house, and though it had been far enough from the bomb’s hypercenter to escape catching fire, yet the impact of the bomb had caused it to lean out and away from the center of the blast.

In those days, modern conveniences, such as flush toilets, were practically unknown in Hiroshima. Sewage disposal vans toured the streets, accompanied by their distinctive aroma, and men conveyed “the goods” from house to van in large wooden pails, suspended at either end of a bamboo pole carried over the shoulder. These are known as the “honey-bucket” men. One of the missionaries’ very early studies was with a “honey-bucket” man. He had a fiery personality, and was well known in the city for his drinking, fighting and gambling. He got interested in the truth through violently opposing his wife’s studying. It was not long before big changes took place in his life, and he amazed his associates by quitting his former ways. In time he put on the Christian personality, and now he shares in oversight of a congregation of Jehovah’s witnesses.

It is not difficult to find hearing ears when one talks in Hiroshima about the peaceful New Order. The word “Peace” is written all over the city. The new 330-foot-wide road that runs the length of the city is called Peace Road, the Atom Bomb Museum is located in Peace Park and nearby there is the new Peace Bridge. Every year on August 6, the anniversary of the “bomb,” agitators for “peace” come to Hiroshima from all over the world, but they accomplish nothing, due to their arguments and lack of unity. The missionaries often used this point to show how useless are man’s efforts in bringing peace. The missionaries have moved from Hiroshima to other fertile fields, but they left behind three thriving congregations.

When the Yokohama missionary home was sold, the Society purchased a new home in Sapporo, in the frigid northern island of Hokkaido, and this home proved to be a center of fruitful missionary activityy from September 1957 until it was sold in March 1971. The first missionaries in this home were three married couples. One of this group, Douglas Beavor, relates that preaching in wintertime was a new experience for them. Snow piled up in many of the narrow lanes, and people added to this by shoveling snow off their flimsy roofs, so they would not collapse. Walking along these lanes, the missionary would often find that his path was level with the roofs of the one-story houses. Entrance to the houses was made by descending icy steps cut into frozen snow. Until they found their “snow legs” they had many bruises from falls. But people were friendly and readily asked them into their warm homes. They can look back on many studies conducted around a roaring coal stove.

Brother Beavor remembers calling at a little one-room house on a snowy day. A small elderly man opened the door. He was a widower living on his own, and his work was giving treatment by acupuncture and moxa. Business was slow and he spent most of his time waiting for patients. A study was started with him, and from the start, no matter how snowy or cold it was, he came to every meeting. Though timid and shy, he made fine progress. Brother Beavor can remember him giving his first talk as a student in the Theocratic Ministry School, with his notes shaking like leaves in the wind, and the audience fascinated by the perspiration rolling down his face and dropping off the end of his nose. However, he “made it,” and later he became a regular pioneer and the Bible study overseer. Even though he was away much of his time in field service, he found that his customers who came for hari (needle) treatment increased.

In September 1959, a separate circuit assembly was held for the first time in Hokkaido. The assembly meetings were held in a nearby home of one of the sisters, and the missionary home was used as the cafeteria. A hall was rented for the public meeting, and all were delighted to see seventy-five in attendance. At the May 1971 circuit assembly, held in the isolated city of Obihiro in central Hokkaido, 761 attended the public talk. Two circuits have recently been formed in Hokkaido. The Sapporo Congregation, where the missionary home operated, now has grown to four congregations.

South into the island of Kyushu! Though this area is very strictly Buddhist and the feudal family tradition runs strong, the four missionaries who started work in Fukuoka City found that the only opposition they received was from the so-called “Christian” churches.

A condemned murderer in the Fukuoka prison contacted the Society, and it was arranged for the missionaries to visit him. Brother Iszlaub conducted a study with him, and so great was the change in the prisoner’s behavior that the prison superintendent soon permitted the study to be held in a room next to his office, with no wire netting in between. In due course, this man was baptized in the prison. He learned braille so that he could prepare Japanese booklets for the blind, and also assisted in the Kingdom work by writing letters out to interested persons and publishers that needed encouragement. Brother Nakata studied hard and strengthened himself spiritually against the day when he would have to pay “life for life” for his crime.

That day came on June 10, 1959. At the condemned man’s request, the jail superintendent called Brother Iszlaub to the place of execution. Brother Nakata greeted him cheerfully and said: “Today I feel strongly confident in Jehovah, and in the ransom sacrifice and the resurrection hope. Never have I felt stronger in my life than I do today.” In fact, the visiting brother felt he was very much the weaker of the two that day. They sang a Kingdom song together, read from the Bible and had a final prayer, all of which was a fine witness to the twelve officials present. After asking that his love be conveyed to Jehovah’s organization and the brothers throughout the earth, the condemned brother was led to the gallows, his face shining with appreciation of his hope of sharing in Jehovah’s new order through the resurrection.

In 1957, missionaries went to Japan’s southernmost city, Kagoshima. One of these, Tom Dick, relates that when they arrived they not only received a warm welcome from the handful of local publishers, but were also treated to an eruption of Sakurajima volcano, as it belched out its own welcome. Since shopping in Japan is invariably done by the womenfolk, and the missionary brothers were all very tall, the brothers looked very conspicuous when they took their turn at marketing, and the more so as shopkeepers found it difficult to understand their limited Japanese.

Foreigners were few in these parts, so crowds of children followed the missionaries from door to door. One day, our missionary sister, who was blond and tall, counted over one hundred children in her train, and some of these would run ahead and tell the next householder that if they did not want to take the subscription they could get just two magazines. After more than three years of solid work in building up the congregation from five to twenty publishers, the missionaries left Kagoshima, and that day the volcano erupted again, as though in farewell salute.

NOTEWORTHY ASSEMBLIES IN KYOTO

The colorful city of Kyoto, so typical of the old Japan, has been the scene of many joyful assemblies of Jehovah’s people. One of the first of these was held at the Minsei Kaikan, July 29-August 1, 1954, and this district assembly for all of Japan drew 536 persons to the public talk.

Early in 1957, the vice-president of the Society, Fred W. Franz, paid the first of his several visits to Japan. In the cold of winter, January 22-24, the brothers from throughout Japan assembled at the Okazaki Kokaido, Kyoto, and attendances mounted at each session until 605 persons were present to hear the vice-president’s public talk on Sunday evening. Later, on the evening of January 30, Brother Franz gave a further talk to the Japanese brothers at the Shibuya-Ku Kokaido, Tokyo, with 446 in attendance. Did the Japanese publishers appreciate this special visit? From January through to August, publishers in the field increased from 645 to 843, and this brought up a record 54-percent publisher increase for the 1957 service year!

Another milestone in the Kingdom expansion in Japan was the “Everlasting Good News” Assembly, held in Kyoto, August 21-25, 1963. With a population of more than 1,400,000, and with 1,500 temples and 3,500 shrines, Kyoto is renowned as one of the cultural centers of Japan, and for this reason it was spared bombings during World War II. Though Kyoto is a modern city with wide streets and boulevards, it also retains much of the old-time atmosphere of Japan in its quaint homes and beautifully landscaped gardens. It was an ideal convention center for visitors from all around the world. During their various tours, the visitors were intrigued to see that many of the beliefs and ceremonies of Christendom have their counterpart in Buddhism​—such as the belief in a fiery hell of torture, the chanting of repetitious prayers in an unknown language, the use of the rosary and of holy water and of candles, and the worship of nimbus-crowned “saints.” Truly all sectarian religion stems from the one source​—ancient Babylon!

By the time of this assembly, Japan was reporting a peak of 2,884 publishers in the field. However, from the opening day of the assembly, 2,221 were in attendance at the beautiful, modern city hall, the Kyoto Kaikan. During the first two days of the assembly, Brothers Knorr and Ronald Bible thrilled the audience with their talks, given in English with interpretation into Japanese. On Saturday morning 292 persons, the largest number at any baptism to date, were immersed in the Hozu River, against the lovely backdrop of wooded Arashiyama (“Storm Mountain”). As the climax to the assembly, 3,534 persons attended the public talk, delivered by the branch overseer. This attendance was more than double the previous peak assembly attendance, which was at the time of Brother Henschel’s visit, just forty months previous. But more increase was to come!

SPREADING OUT INTO MORE CITIES

The period from 1963 to 1969 was one of ‘building and planting,’ bringing the many new ones on to maturity, and sending special pioneers forth to open up new territories. From the time of the Kyoto International Assembly to that of the next big assembly six years later, the publisher peak increased from 2,884 to 7,889, and the pioneers in the field from 379 to 1,573. It could be seen that if all Japan were to receive a thorough witness before the “great tribulation” broke, many more pioneers would be needed, and the privilege of sharing in this service has been stressed to the brothers by every possible means. What a grand response there has been! But while the pioneer ranks have mushroomed, the force of seventy to eighty missionaries, many of whom have been in Japan for about twenty years, has remained as a foundation and anchor of the work. What a wonderfully zealous and theocratically minded organization has built up around the original missionary groups! While missionary activity has been limited to about then different locations at one time, native regular and special pioneers have moved out into many new territories. Thus, in these six years until 1969, the number of congregations increased from 105 to 206. Today, most large cities of over a million population have around eight congregations, while Tokyo alone has thirty-three.

In Matsuyama, it is unheard of for two people to meet, fall in love and then marry. Arranged marriages are the order of the day, with professional “go betweens” making a good living. The whole neighborhood where the missionaries lived became most concerned that the two young sisters in the missionary group there had reached the age of twenty-five and were not yet married. This concern was not limited to words. They racked their brains on the missionaries’ behalf in order to make suitable introductions, even offering their relatives. When the missionaries told them that they would prefer to find their own partners someday, this was duly considered, and they were told they had better go to some big city, best of all Tokyo, if they wanted to go about marriage in that way.

The presence of the four missionaries became a witness to the entire island of Shikoku. About a year after arriving there, they attended a circuit assembly on the other side of the island. A storekeeper, from whom they bought some fruit, there asked them: “Are you the four foreigners from Matsuyama, the ones that ride bikes?” The bikes seemed to be known all over the island, and later the missionaries found out why.

At the close of World War II, when the local people returned to Matsuyama after hiding in the mountains, they had nothing. Their clothes were in rags. Their food had been grass and the birds that they could kill. At the same time Christendom’s foreign missionaries came back, too, driving around in big cars, living in luxury and still demanding money from the people to build churches. So it was a sharp contrast that the Watch Tower missionaries rode around on old “boneshakers.” As a result they overcame local prejudice and were accepted. The entire island of Shikoku, where the missionaries were so favorably talked of, now has 310 publishers reporting and eleven congregations; at least 25 percent of these publishers report as pioneers each month.

From the forty-seventh class of Gilead, in which a native Japanese brother taught Japanese, ten more missionaries came to Japan in July 1969, and they, along with veteran missionaries, have helped in opening up other new cities. One of these cities is Okayama, a gateway to the Inland Sea, where it had taken several groups of special pioneers fifteen years’ work finally to get a congregation started. When the missionaries arrived, they found this congregation of twenty-three publishers and six special pioneers well established in a spacious, central Kingdom Hall that one of the new sisters’ husbands had built for the congregation.

Okayama people are renowned for being good business people, but they have few friends. They are self-satisfied and curt. They are suspicious of outsiders, especially of foreigners, of whom there are very few in the city. So the missionaries decided to greet everyone they met in their territory, and to smile at them until they smiled back. Over the period of a few weeks they were able to become really friendly with their neighbors. The “smile” campaign broke down the prejudice and forced the people to get to know them. As a result, even the next-door neighbor and his wife are now studying.

Apart from the language, these missionaries found that one of their basic problems was to overcome the fact that the Japanese have no concept of an almighty God. They have first to be convinced that there is a personal God. Also, since they are good students, they can easily fool the missionary into thinking that they believe what they are learning, when really they do not. This presents a formidable task for the new missionary, but there have been fine helps, such as the arguments in articles prepared for children in The Watchtower and other magazine articles explaining God’s personality and his relationship with man. The splendid increase in Okayama testifies to the zealous work of the missionaries and the other pioneers there.

In 1967, in June, the Society opened up a new missionary home in Nagasaki, in the west of Kyushu. This city is known world wide as the target of the second atom bomb, and in Japan as a Catholic stronghold. It is built around beautiful mountains surrounding a natural harbor.

The rivalry between the Catholics and the Buddhists make witnessing in Nagasaki a little different from other parts of Japan. The missionaries hear such objections as: ‘I’m a Catholic . . . We have our church and literature . . . Go to the Buddhists who don’t know anything yet.’ They are indifferent, and do not seem to know about the upheaval that is going on in the churches elsewhere in the world. The Buddhists, on the other hand, sometimes view the Witnesses as Catholics or some other church group looking for converts, and so they do not want to get involved.

Though special pioneers had done excellently in establishing congregations in the two sections of Nagasaki, as the result of work that they started in 1957, there had now been many years without further increase. When the missionaries arrived, there were fifty-eight publishers and five regular pioneers working here. But with the missionary stimulus, three missionaries being located in one congregation and two in the other, meeting attendances began to climb rapidly and as many as 130 have been attending the meetings in recent months. In addition to sending out several special pioneers, the Nagasaki congregations have increased during the past three years to the point where they now have ninety-seven publishers, including twenty pioneers, reporting in July 1972. The missionaries and their companions surely rejoice over this increase.

When the circuit overseer paid his first visit to the island of Kyushu in 1951, he called only on an isolated American sister in Beppu and an interested family in Kagoshima. But spearheaded by the missionary effort in five of Kyushu’s cities, the Kingdom work in that island has grown to the point where two circuits in 1971 could report a total attendance of 1,529 at their circuit assemblies. And with many more isolated cities being opened up by pioneers, Kyushu has become three circuits in the 1972 service year.

“PEACE ON EARTH” ASSEMBLY, 1969​—AND AFTERWARD

The second round-the-world assembly, held October 14-19, 1969, found us assembled at the Tokyo Korakuen Cycling Stadium for our first large open-air assembly. On the green lawn of the stadium, a thatched-roof Japanese cottage served as platform, while thousands of flowers spelled out the name of the assembly against a Mount Fuji backdrop. A huge cafeteria stretched along behind the shelter of the stands. Kingdom songs were played on the koto (Japanese harp) by sisters clad in kimonos seated on the edge of the grass, and this added to the delight of the occasion.

Including the brothers from Okinawa, approximately one thousand were in attendance from other lands. The conventioners were thrilled to hear talks by brothers representing the Society’s governing body. Brother Suiter gave the address of welcome, Brother Franz presented three of the principal talks, and Brother Knorr also gave three talks, including the public talk. On this occasion Brother Knorr spoke to a crowd of 12,614, many more than the 2,479 that he had addressed at the last assembly he had attended in Japan, at Kyoto, just six years previous. The number baptized at this assembly was also a record​—798—​and the total baptized during the 1969-1970 service year came to a new peak of 2,245.

Less than two years later, at the same stadium, and without the presence of great numbers of overseas visitors, there was an attendance of 16,508 at the “Divine Name” District Assembly, with 879 being baptized. This brought the total baptized for the year to 2,088. In July and August of 1972, four “Divine Rulership” District Assemblies served the brothers throughout Japan, and this time attendance was 21,921, with 931 being baptized. This brought the total baptized for 1972 to 2,569, the highest to date, and the third successive year with over 2,000 baptized. The total of 6,902 baptized during the past three years in Japan is more than 48 percent of all publishers here!

What will the future hold? In the summer of 1973, an international assembly of Jehovah’s witnesses will again visit Japan. Though it is too early to make definite announcement, a very fine assembly site is under review in the Osaka area, and it is hoped that we may have an open-air location that will comfortably accommodate 30,000 persons. Whatever Jehovah wills in the matter, we look forward to an outstanding assembly, with many overseas brothers as our guests.

BRANCH EXPANSION

For fourteen years, from January 1949 until September 1962, the wooden Japanese-style house at 5-5-8 Mita, Minato-Ku, Tokyo, did good service as the Japan branch headquarters. However, the rapid growth of the organization brought increased placements of literature, magazines and subscriptions. The following table indicates how tremendous this increase has been:

Placements: Bound Books Magazines New Subscriptions

Service year of 1950 2,026 2,626 51

Service year of 1955 4,050 105,671 3,399

Service year of 1960 15,605 538,088 7,444

Service year of 1965 53,937 1,575,597 32,193

Service year of 1972 797,423 5,907,404 123,567

In September 1971, an all-time peak of 114,133 bound books was placed by the publishers in the field in just one month.

During the course of the years, the flimsy two-story Japanese house became entirely inadequate for the work. So Brother Knorr gave permission for replacing the old branch with a new, modern building. Construction took just six months, and by October 1963 the new six-story ferroconcrete structure was ready for moving in the family of ten branch workers and six missionaries. How things continued to grow! When the Kingdom Ministry School was held, with the visiting brothers being accommodated in the Japanese-style tatami mat rooms, as many as fifty persons have lived in this home at one time.

Brother Haslett had had a big part in planning the new Tokyo branch building. Indeed, the service of Japan’s two original missionaries has been an inspiration to all who have known them. Baptized together on December 2, 1916, at Brooklyn, New York, Don and Mabel Haslett truly devoted their lives to the expansion of Kingdom interests. In 1947, when well into their fifties, they volunteered to pull up roots in Hawaii’s tropical “paradise,” go through Gilead School, and set out to open up the work in a country devastated by war, poverty and hunger. But they found a grander “paradise” in Japan, a spiritual paradise. They were the pioneers who got things started. When Don Haslett died of a stroke on February 20, 1966, the six brothers who carried the casket at his funeral were all young men with whom he had personally studied, and who had entered pioneer service to go later to Bethel. Mabel Haslett continues to work as a missionary out of the Tokyo branch home, and at seventy-seven years of age she still put in close to a hundred hours of service each month, bringing new ones to a knowledge of the truth.

But further expansion is afoot. What the foreign missionaries started has now been taken up by a great army of native pioneer ministers. Almost every month sees a new peak of regular pioneers, and in some months more than a hundred new pioneers have been enrolled. Some idea of the growth in branches of the pioneer service may be gathered from the following table, which shows the peak number serving in April of the years listed:

Missionaries Circuit Tem-

(in full-time Special Overseers Regular porary Total

Year field service) Pioneers and Wives Pioneers Pioneers Pioneers

1952 51 - 1 4 - 56

1957 59 43 2 25 - 129

1962 42 157 15 39 71 324

1967 43 362 29 157 377 968

1972 53 453 47 1,896 1,009 3,458

A peak of 3,515 pioneers was reached in May 1972, when more than one out of every four publishers was in this service. Many of these pioneers are now responding to the call to go out into as yet unworked cities in the 30,000 to 50,000 population range. Moreover, the congregation publishers are working with a real pioneer spirit, as shown by their field averages for July 1972: 16.7 hours, 8.4 return visits, more than 1.1 Bible studies and 14.7 magazines placed in the field. This was a month when they were attending or preparing to attend district assemblies. Jehovah is blessing this zeal. Whereas there were 106 congregations when the present Tokyo branch started to operate in October 1963, Jehovah’s witnesses are now working in 538 locations in Japan, and almost all of these will be congregations under the new organizational arrangements. So the branch work is about five times as big as it was nine years ago. And in kindly arranging to help handle this growth, the Society’s president, Brother Knorr, is arranging to make the Japan branch operation far bigger than we had ever imagined!

NEW PROJECT AT NUMAZU

During the “Peace on Earth” International Assembly, in October 1969, Brother Knorr announced that the Society was purchasing a new property at Numazu, seventy-five miles southwest of Tokyo. From April 1970, a group of four missionaries, the Society’s shipping department and the Kingdom Ministry School moved into the nine Japanese-style houses on this acre of ground. Another 400 brothers were trained here in the school. This area, lying between Mount Fuji and a beautiful shoreline, is a real paradise for preaching the good news of the Kingdom. When they took up their missionary service in the nearby Fuji Congregation, all the servants’ duties were being handled by sisters. At that time they were averaging seven publishers in the field each month, but now they have thirty-seven publishers, including eight baptized brothers.

On a visit to Japan in July 1971, Brother Knorr laid the foundation for a great new project at Numazu. He drew up plans for a three-story factory and a five-story Bethel home. In the latter part of 1971, all buildings except the two-story “missionary home” in one corner of the property were demolished. Construction began in earnest from January 1972. The Japanese brothers contributed most generously by loans and direct donations, so that it was possible to finance this huge undertaking without calling for funds from overseas. By arrangement with the construction company, the brothers also undertook all the electrical work for the new buildings, all the painting, and all the tiling and carpeting. A Canadian missionary, Eustace Kite, has very capably supervised all this work.

At the same time, manufacturers in Kawasaki City and in Osaka commenced the construction of three forty-ton rotary printing presses and auxiliary printing equipment. One press is for the Numazu branch, and the others for the Australian and Philippines branches. By early June construction had proceeded to the point that the rotary press and other equipment could be installed on the first and second floors of the Numazu factory. Brother Milan Miller came from the Society’s Brooklyn factory to supervise this installation. When Brother Miller walked into the Numazu factory for the first time, he described it in one word: “Stupendous!” Measuring it out, he said eight rotary presses could be installed on the first floor of the factory, if it were ever required. However, we are very happy for the present to have just the one rotary press turning out the magazines in one small corner of the factory. And already it is operating beautifully, printing up to 21,000 magazines an hour. Its first product was a sixteen-page color brochure containing principally the 1972 district assembly public talk. How delighted the brothers were to receive this surprise release at the conclusion of the assembly!

On August 15, 1972, the completed factory and Bethel home were handed over to the Society by the construction company. Painting and other finishing work will keep the brothers busy for another month or two, but already they are occupying the sixteen completed bedrooms on the third floor of the home. The fourth and fifth floors provide for another thirty-two bedrooms, and the second floor is occupied mainly by a spacious library, dining room and kitchen. Office, laundry and boiler room, as well as a lovely Kingdom Hall, are on the first floor. Three container shipments of literature have already arrived from Brooklyn, to vanish into the spacious storage space of the factory. A large freight elevator and battery forklift make it easy to move large items round the factory building. The carpenter shop is working to capacity in turning out furnishings for the home and factory.

The elevator motor and windlass are housed in a watchtower that rises above the two buildings. From this watchtower there is a magnificent view, not only of the buildings, but also of the pine-fringed shoreline and of a luxuriant countryside dominated by the towering Mount Fuji. The works of Jehovah are indeed beautiful to behold. Greatly appreciated, too, is the work of the “faithful and discreet slave” class and the splendid lead that the governing body is giving from the headquarters of Jehovah’s organization on earth. The supply of spiritual food, for use at the congregation meetings and in the field, keeps coming in ever greater quality and abundance, and all rejoice to have a part in this grand organization that is so loyally upholding the matchless name of our God Jehovah. As the number of publishers multiplies everywhere, and as more and more persons throng the meetings and assemblies, we recall Brother Knorr’s comment at the Tokyo assembly in April 1951, that he looked forward to the day when there would be so many native Japanese ministers that it would be hard to find a missionary among them. Truly, ‘a little one himself has indeed become a thousand.’​—Isa. 60:22.

WHERE THE MISSIONARIES WORKED

Of whom

Kingdom Pioneers

Period of Peak Ministers Number

Operation Number of Now in Area (July

City Population of Home Missionaries (July 1972) 1972)

Tokyo 11,476,860 Mita Branch 12 613 123

from 1/49

Chiyoda 8 550 104

from 5/54

Nakano 10 899 157

from 10/56

Setagaya 6 174 28

from 7/60

Kobe 1,304,405 from 11/49 18 730 76

Nagoya 2,050,412 10/50-8/60 12 608 71

Osaka 2,908,507 3/51-2/53 8 746 132

Yokohama 2,325,848 4/51-9/57 14 646 135

Kyoto 1,438,634 4/52-11/57 7 452 80

Sendai 556,475 10/52-9/59 6 131 27

Hiroshima 575,539 1/57-10/63 4 247 50

Sapporo 1,026,706 9/57-3/71 6 277 41

Fukuoka 1,049,942 from 9/57 6 246 37

Kumamoto 453,627 12/57-9/63 4 66 12

Kagoshima 418,621 12/57-5/61 4 80 20

Sasebo 261,567 12/57-3/59 5 41 7

Hakodate 239,291 9/59-8/61 4 58 13

Matsuyama 329,683 11/66-11/69 4 53 13

Okayama 473,480 from 5/69 6 64 14

Nagasaki 423,019 from 6/69 5 97 20

Numazu 195,484 from 4/70 6 76 18

Niigata 389,019 from 9/71 6 64 12

Kochi 245,428 from 5/72 6 33 14

TOTAL 28,142,547 6,951 1,204

Publishers in other parts of Japan 7,210 1,771

Thus the missionary work has been represented among more than one quarter of Japan’s population of 105,281,070.

[Picture on page 254]

Numazu printing plant and Bethel home

Preach the Good News!

The declaring of the good news is not yet over. Everyone becoming a disciple of Christ Jesus must make public declaration. This Jehovah’s witnesses have done and are still doing. In fact, 163,123 dedicated persons were baptized in 1972. They must have time to prove that they are disciples and show they feel like Paul, who said: “Really, woe is me if I did not declare the good news!” (1 Cor. 9:16) In just five years 680,871 persons have dedicated their lives and have been baptized, and these constitute 41 percent of the total publishers throughout the world, which number 1,658,990. All of these still have the opportunity to preach the good news. Let us take advantage of the time yet remaining.

The annual report shows that 92,026 have been in the pioneer work, either as missionaries, special pioneers, regular pioneers or temporary pioneers. Compared with the previous year, 1971, when there were 95,501 pioneers on the average, that is a drop of 3,475. Why? Can you be a regular pioneer or a temporary pioneer sometime during 1973? Think about it. The more time that we preach the more persons will hear the good news. Will all these new and older associates of Jehovah’s witnesses show their zeal and determination to give a greater witness? We believe they will.

The Society, with the help of 2,590 members of the Bethel family in 95 branches, is well prepared to see that everyone has plenty of Bible literature. As was pointed out earlier in the Yearbook, many new printing plants have been built, and how wonderful that last year 33,965,941 bound books and Bibles were printed, 13,581,872 booklets and 385,072,784 Watchtower and Awake! magazines! This is just about three million fewer magazines than during the previous year. What will we do this coming year with magazines? The message they contain is very important in the preaching of the good news. It is hoped that every one of the 1,658,990 publishers will be very diligent during 1973 in preaching and using the instruments that Jehovah God has provided for declaring the good news.

The Society spent $7,564,268.84 in 1972 assisting missionaries, special pioneers, circuit and district overseers all around the world in their labors of love. Of course, the congregation publishers spent much more than that throughout the year in getting themselves out into the field service, spending it on transportation alone. So Jehovah’s witnesses are spending millions upon millions of dollars each year just so they can preach the good news! What a joy has been ours!

The reports received from 208 lands where the brothers have gathered together in 28,407 congregations under 95 branches are a cause for rejoicing. Each branch has expressed its desire to have warm love and best wishes sent around the earth to all their faithful fellow workers. What a bond of love this is! “This is what love means, that we go on walking according to [Jehovah’s] commandments.” And, furthermore, “We, for our part, shall walk in the name of Jehovah our God to time indefinite, even forever.”​—2 John 6; Mic. 4:5.

Your brother and fellow servant,

N. H. Knorr, President

Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania

The Governing Body

The Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses consists of eleven brothers, all anointed of God. They are as follows: Frederick W. Franz, Raymond V. Franz, George D. Gangas, Leo K. Greenlees, John O. Groh, Milton G. Henschel, William K. Jackson, Nathan H. Knorr, Grant Suiter, Thomas J. Sullivan and Lyman A. Swingle. It was determined on September 6, 1971, that the chairmanship for the Governing Body should rotate according to alphabetical arrangement. So for the past year Frederick W. Franz served as the presiding overseer at the meetings of the Governing Body. Each member of the Governing Body also takes a turn at the head of the Bethel table, acting as chairman for a week at a time. This has proved to be a very fine arrangement, and there is a rotation of elders at the head of the table in each of the Society’s branch offices.

The group of eleven members have been meeting regularly each week during the past year to discuss spiritual matters and to make appointments of elders, and they gave very careful consideration to the book Organization for Kingdom-preaching and Disciple-making before it was published.

It has been an extremely busy year for the Governing Body, but a very joyful one, and all appreciate their privileges of service and offer prayers in behalf of God’s people everywhere at each meeting.

Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania

The annual meeting of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania was held on October 1, 1972, at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The program this year was unique. It began at 8:30 a.m. and Brother T. J. Sullivan was called on for prayer. This was followed by Brother Lyman Swingle, who considered the morning text and comments with a very fine discussion. Then a number of members of the corporation who are branch overseers gave reports on the work in the lands where they are serving. Brother Kelsey from Germany gave a report on the work there. He was followed by Brothers Diehl from Switzerland, Little from Canada, Shalkoski from Jamaica and Simpkins from Mexico. These reports were most enjoyable. Brother Milton Henschel then read a number of telegrams and messages that came from far and wide greeting those in attendance at the annual meeting. Then Brother F. W. Franz gave a very interesting discourse concerning some of the problems of the day.

A little after ten o’clock the annual business meeting was called to order and, by proxy and persons present, there were 423 members of the Pennsylvania corporation in attendance. They reelected as members of the board of directors for three years M. G. Henschel, N. H. Knorr and L. A. Swingle.

Following the business meeting the graduation of the fifty-third class of Gilead got under way. Brothers Glass and Dunlap, instructor and registrar for the school respectively, gave their last words of counsel to the forty-eight graduates. Brother Knorr then gave a talk on the subject “The Name in Which All Nations Are Choosing to Walk.” His remarks were based on the text found in Micah 4:5, where it says: “All the peoples, for their part, will walk each one in the name of its god; but we, for our part, shall walk in the name of Jehovah our God to time indefinite, even forever.” There certainly was food for thought presented in this discourse. Immediately following that the diplomas were distributed to the graduating members of the fifty-third class as they came up on the platform and received them from the president of the Society. Brother R. Capriotti read a very interesting letter that the students wrote. This brought us to about 12:15 p.m., at which time the morning session was adjourned.

The Pittsburgh congregation had arranged box lunches and these were passed out to the brothers in the Civic Arena. The brothers enjoyed fellowship together for about an hour and fifteen minutes, and at 1:30 the program began again with a song. Then twenty-seven students gave comments on the Watchtower study for the day. Following that there was a musical program by the students, which was most entertaining. It was very much international. The students sang songs in eleven different languages. This was followed by a very unique drama entitled “Keep Your Minds Fixed on the Things Above.”

At the end of the drama the president of the Society gave some concluding remarks and the meeting was closed with prayer. Then the brothers continued to fellowship and speak with one another, as people were there from all across the United States, Canada and parts of Europe, as well as from islands of the sea. It was a very delightful occasion.

On Monday morning, October 9, 1972, the board of directors met in the Office of the President. There were present seven members, namely, F. W. Franz, J. O. Groh, M. G. Henschel, N. H. Knorr, G. Suiter, T. J. Sullivan, L. A. Swingle. Nomination was made to reelect N. H. Knorr for president, F. W. Franz for vice-president, G. Suiter as secretary and treasurer and J. O. Groh as assistant secretary and treasurer. By unanimous vote the above-named members of the board of directors were elected to the various offices mentioned.

The financial statement of the Pennsylvania corporation was also read. Expression of appreciation was made on the part of the directors on how Jehovah God has blessed the expansion work during the year and what joy they have in serving the theocratic organization in their various capacities.

Discussions were also had concerning the 1973 international conventions, if these be Jehovah’s will, and all look forward to having a share in them. The meeting was adjourned with prayer by the president of the Society.

Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc.

In accordance with the requirements of law, charter and notice to the membership, on Saturday, January 1, 1972, the annual meeting of the members of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc., was held at the offices of the Society located at 124 Columbia Heights, Brooklyn, New York 11201.

The president, N. H. Knorr, presided and A. B. Tedesco opened with prayer. The membership of the corporation stood at fifty-one, and all were present in person or by proxy. Several reports were made on the progress of the work of the Society, and the election of directors took place. The expiring terms were those of L. K. Greenlees, N. H. Knorr and M. H. Larson. All fifty-one members unanimously reelected these directors to succeed themselves for a term of two years.

The meeting was closed with prayer by N. H. Knorr.

Immediately after the annual meeting of the members, the entire membership of the board of directors assembled, and they unanimously reelected the present officers of the Society to carry on in their respective positions for the next year. They were: N. H. Knorr, president; F. W. Franz, vice-president; Grant Suiter, secretary and treasurer; J. O. Groh, assistant secretary and treasurer. The other members of the board of directors are G. M. Couch, L. K. Greenlees and M. H. Larson.

It has indeed been a pleasure for all these brothers to serve in the interests of God’s kingdom and to do so in their various capacities.

Yeartext for 1973

“But we, for our part, shall walk in the name of Jehovah our God to time indefinite, even forever.”​—Mic. 4:5.

The first part of this verse is to the effect, “For all the peoples, for their part, will walk each one in the name of its god.” The peoples of the nations feel that they are turning farther and farther away from any worship of a particular god, but despite this they have made their own gods. The governments of the earth have promoted nationalism so strongly that all the peoples, for their part, idolize their own government, and when one idolizes something he makes it his god. How strange it is​—twenty years ago when the British Empire and the French empire and other great nations of the world had their colonies, the colonies idolized the mother country, but as soon as the people could get rid of the mother country and establish their own little government, as scores of nations have done in the last two decades, they begin to make for themselves a new idol, a new government. The affections of people for idols can change quickly. This we see on the part of many people who have sports as their idol, theater actors and actresses as their idols, musicians as their idols. Within just a few years their idols change and they begin to worship and copy someone else. All these people have their idolizers among those who are lovers of pleasures rather than lovers of God.

Jehovah’s witnesses, on the other hand, speak out boldly in regard to the last half of Micah 4:5: “But we, for our part, shall walk in the name of Jehovah our God to time indefinite, even forever.” There is no room for compromise, no room for sharing devotion. Jehovah God requires exclusive devotion, and this Jehovah’s witnesses are delighted to give to their God, Jehovah, for he is the Great Creator and the Giver of life, and he is the Perpetuator of life. Jehovah, our God, has made provisions so that we may gain everlasting life. This he did by sending his beloved Son, Jesus Christ, into the world, who made arrangements for the purchase of all mankind by the laying down of his own life. How wonderful it is that we have come to know Jehovah, and what a great privilege is ours to be able to declare this news in all the world for a witness unto all nations, so that others too may come to know Jehovah God and say, ‘For our part, we will walk in the name of Jehovah also’! Today we see great crowds of people coming from all nations, tribes and tongues, and together they are saying, “‘Come, you people, and let us go up to the mountain of Jehovah, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will instruct us about his ways, and we will walk in his paths.’ For out of Zion law will go forth, and the word of Jehovah out of Jerusalem. And he will certainly render judgment among the nations and set matters straight respecting many peoples. And they will have to beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning shears. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, neither will they learn war anymore.” (Isa. 2:3, 4) And so, we who have dedicated our lives to do the will of God, for our part, will continue to walk in the name of Jehovah to time indefinite, even forever.