London Convention: 1918

 We owe our thanks to Brother S for the images.

IBSA Talk Invitation

 

Prove it or refute it ...

 

This needs verification or refutation. 

After a failed prediction general among Advent Christians that Christ would come in 1885, most pointing to January that year. “Rev. Mr. Sergisson, an Advent Preacher of Philadelphia” was interviewed by a newspaper. The interview was republished in The Beverly Banner. Sergisson reviewed Adventist history, discussing the influence of “Time-ists,” saying:

 “Many such cases have thinned our ranks; perhaps Nelson H. Barbour’s prediction of 1873 caused the loss of as many as others. Barbour was a hatter’s clerk in Rochester, N. Y. His story was that an angel appeared to him in a vision while at sea and imparted to him the hour at which the world should end. Then the angel bade him tell all men what he had seen. He declared that the end would come in a certain day in April 1883 [sic. a Typesetter’s Error for 1873.] He had many opponents among the ministry, still thousands flocked to him.”

 Can we establish or refute the claim that Barbour was for a while a ‘hatter’s clerk’? 

Can we establish or refute the claim that Barbour saw a vision? 

If we can do neither, what do you see as most probable?

Things I find while looking for something else ...

 From the Kenosha, Wisconsin, Telegraph. 1875.

A JFR Snapshot

     

Some may have seen this photograph before. It has been published in the past in glorious monochrome with permission from Tower Archives, and this is a colorized version prepared by Leroy. Again with thanks.

     The rear of the original snap has a handwritten description: ‘Monday, September 11th, 1922. Brother Rutherford took first car to go on initial "service day" house to house preaching work.’

     This more or less ties in with the official write-up of the 1922 Cedar Point (Ohio) Convention. From the report of the Service Director, Richard Johnson, in Watch Tower November 1, 1922, page 349:

      

The report states that 203 cars were involved. The handwritten caption on the back of the photograph suggests that this was a photo of the first vehicle off the blocks, whereas the Watch Tower review suggests it was the last; but either way it featured JFR looking at the auto license plate, which reads – 144,000.

     No wonder someone took a photograph.

     The whole event is written up in the 1975 Yearbook (pages 132-133) which has an eyewitness report of JFR in the first car, even if he couldn’t resist posing by the last.

All Together Now...

     

Those with long memories may remember that one of the Russell family’s business ventures was in music publishing. The full story of The Evening Prayer can be found here in the first half of this old post.

     https://truthhistory.blogspot.com/2019/06/an-evening-prayer-and-william-hickey-2.html

     The post covers W E Van Amburgh’s trial testimony from 1913 when he mentions the Russell music store and also the background to the sheet music that has survived.

     However, any readers of a musical inclination might just want to try and play the piece. Or – on checking it out - might not. In case you are the former, here is the full sheet music. If you probably cannot download the pages from here, simply enlarge and do screen grabs. If you do a close up on the title page you can see clearly the publisher to be J L Russell and Son, Pittsburgh Music House, 85 Fifth Avenue. Contemporary news reports show the performance date to be in 1872.

Translation help? PLEASE

This might help

 

World War I and Bible Prophecy

      In 1914 what came to be known as The Great War and later World War 1 started. Also, according to the Bible Students, the epoch known as the “Gentile Times” came to their end. This was a message promoted for nearly 40 years. Charles Taze Russell’s first known writing on the subject of the chronology appeared in George Storrs’ Bible Examiner magazine in October 1876.

     When 1914 ushered in the war, much publicity was given to the Bible Students’ views. A well-known example was the article in the New York World for August 30, 1914:

     

However, with the Bible speaking clearly about end times and world distress, along with the unprecedented scale of conflict that unfolded in 1914, it was not surprising that others outside the Bible Student community made a connection. This article reviews just a handful of alternative views the public could choose from.

     Typical of the genre was the work of H C Morrison who wrote The World War in Prophecy, published in 1917.

     

Heny Clay Morrison (1857-1942) carried the title Reverend and was a DD. Although from a Methodist background, he was editor of the Pentecostal Herald, and his book was published by the Penticostal Publishing Company.

     Writing in 1917, Morrison believed a dispensation was ending and saw “the signs of the times” in current events, He states on page 94 that “the times of the Gentiles are almost ended.” A literal Millennium will follow with (page 93) “the inauguration of the Kingdom of God on earth.” But apart from blaming Germany and the Kaiser for nearly all current woes he is rather short on detail and there are few scriptural references. However, I would imagine this position would characterize many books published in America and Britain at this time.

     Several writers would access the prophecy of “seven times” and calculate them as totalling 2520 years. One example was that of Jessie M Collis. Her small book The Great War as Foretold in the Bible was published in London in 1915.

     

In it she quotes from a book published the previous year: The War and Prophecy by W.S. Collis M.A. (probably a relative). This states “that ‘the Times of the Gentiles’ have run their course, and that the full period of 2520 years vassalage…to the world powers expires this year (1914).” Great things are expected for 1933 regarding the literal establishment of the Kingdom of Judah in Jerusalem.

     The 2520 year time period also features in a book by George Harold Lancaster (1882-1950). Lancaster was a Church of England clergyman, whose work has subsequently been referenced in works on Anglo-Israelism (the belief that the ten lost tribes can be traced down to Britain and perhaps America). He published Prophecy, the War, and the Near East (fourth edition in 1918).

    

Lancaster spends some time discussing the Gentile Times and the 2520 year period, but has a variety of possible starting dates. For example, on page 171 he makes vague prediction for 1923 and 1934 yet ahead.

     Returning to the belief that the Gentile Times ended in 1914, we have the book World War and Bible Prophecy (1918) written by Harry F. Howard (1873-1948).

     Howard was born in New Haven, Connecticut. He was a building contractor who spent his career constructing roads. But his obituary in the Portsmouth Herald for 27 October 1948 mentions that he also wrote “numerous works on religion and Bible prophecy.” The cover of World War and Bible Prophecy explained what he believed God had revealed on both the course of the war and its aftermath.

     

According to Howard the World War fulfilled prophecy and 1914 marked the end of the Gentile Times. In support of this, he quoted from various sources which included A E Hatch’s Handbook of Prophecy (1913) and issues of The World’s Crisis from 1915 (both publications of the Advent Christian Church), and also material from newspapers like the Boston Globe and the Christian Herald.

     Of perhaps greater interest, his supporting references included Charles Taze Russell. From page 5 of his book:

    

Several other books on prophecy and the Great War were also to mention CTR directly or indirectly. One of these was by Marr Murray. In 1915 he published Bible Prophecies and the Plain Man, with Special Reference to the Present War.

    

Murray was quite a prolific author at the time. Other works included The Christians’s War Book, The Russian Advance, and Drink and the War from the Patriotic Point of View. In this era, someone of this name translated books into English from Russian, and was also a prolific short story writer. Whether this is the same person it has not been possible to establish.

     His book on prophecy discusses the seven times computation of 2520 years  (see pages 19-20) and, depending on where you start the calculations, gives various possible concluding dates for the Times of the Gentiles, the last being 1923.

     And then he mentions the work of Pastor Russell, unfavorably. In listing apostasy in the last days, top of his list is Watch Tower theology – from page 31 – “Millennial Dawnism, which denies the deity of Christ.”

     According to Murray, God is on the Allies side in the conflict, and he presents a whole chapter on whether the Kaiser is the foretold Antichrist.

     His reasoning includes the following (transcript from page 302):

“The Kaiser also possesses the number of the Beast. He was born on January 27^th, `859. On January 27^th, 1914 he was just 660 months old and 6 months later the war broke out. From the date of his birth to the opening of the great war in which he has flung down his challenge to fate was within a few days of 666 months. Moreover, in the words “Der Kaiser Wilhelm II” there are eighteen letter or 6 + 6 + 6.”

     

Having set this all up, he then decides that the real Antichrist is still to come, because the real Antichrist is a military genius, and on current performance, the Kaiser isn’t…

     Another writer to mention CTR in a negative light is Theodore Graebner.

     Dr. Theodore Conrad Graebner (1876-1950) was a prominent Lutheran minister (Rev. and DD) and author. He was a professor of theology and editor of papers like the Lutheran Herald and Lutheran Witness for over 40 years. His father, grandfather, four siblings and one son, all became Lutheran clergy.

     In 1918 he published Prophecy and the War.

     

Unlike our other examples, the whole point of Graebner’s book was to attack those who believed the war had prophetic significance. Graebner emphatically did not. He attacked the concept of the Gentile Times ending in 1914, and he attacked calculations like the “seven times” and “a day for a year.” He also reserved his special ire what he called “the soul destroying heresy of Pastor Russell.” According to Graebner its believers were destined for hell.

     For our final example, we return to one who did believe in prophecy being fulfilled, but who had an interesting slant on this. And yet another one who felt the need to single out Pastor Russell for dishonorable mention, this time in personally fulfilling Bible prophecy.

     Deitrich William Langelett (1871-1965) was born in Illinois, USA, but his parents came from Hanover. His book The World-War in the Light of Prophecy (by the Rev. D W Langelett but copyrighted by Pastor Langelett), was first published in German, but translated and published in English in America in early 1915.

     His special take on the Great War is expressed on the title page.

    

It is interesting that Langelett felt the need to take a swipe at Watch Tower theology in some detail. Starting on page 83 Langelett’s explanation of Revelation 16 v.13 is that unclean spirits come out of the mouth of the dragon – which is the Devil – and out of the mouth of the beast – which is England – and finally out of the mouth of the false prophet – which is Charles Taze Russell. The unclean spirits include hostile attacks made by Russell “against every holy institution of Church and State.” Most of the space is then taken up with Langelett’s detailed explanation of the Gog of Magog prophecy of Ezekiel. According to the title page the villain Gog has to be England, and he further explains that Magog is India. In his version of replacement theology the land of Israel that Gog unsucessfully comes up against is none other than Germany and Austria.

     It was an interesting viewpoint, especially as expressed in America. One wonders how Langelett fared when America entered the war in 1917 on the side of the Allies. After the war he no longer called himself either Reverend or Pastor. By the 1930 census he is a tallyman in a lumber yard, by 1940 a farm laborer, and by 1950 he is listed as unable to work, although he was 79 at the time. He never married, appears to have had no family, and received a Lutheran funeral when he died in his mid-90s in 1965.

     So summing up, these are just a selection of books that came out while the Great War was raging. Anyone reading their Bible about signs and then observing world events would at least have to consider making a connection. And the work of Pastor Russell in heralding the end of the Gentile Times in 1914 would be well-known at that time. The spread of the Bible Student message through mass meetings, the Photodrama of Creation and the printed page made sure of that. It provoked a negative reaction from several writers, but even that may have sent some readers in search of Watch Tower publications to check for themselves.

Eaton - Russell debate

 I need all the newspaper references to the debate you can uncover. Please. This will help immensely. 

Improve this image? [click image to see it whole]

 

Freed from Prison - New York Times, June 2, 1919

 

The Vertical Phonograph

While outside of the regular time frame for this blog, the information below might be of interest to some.

In the 1930s and early 1940s Jehovah’s witnesses were well known for taking portable phonographs on their house to house calls and playing recordings of J F Rutherford. A whole series of door step introductions were prepared, and longer recordings of convention talks were used for follow-up visits. These recordings were covered in an old article republished on this blog.

https://truthhistory.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-watchtower-ibsa-recordings.html

To assist with “quick off the draw” doorstep presentations, a special phonograph was invented, which could be played closed and upright. Here are a couple of scans from the patent document. The original runs to six pages.

The inventor was John G Kurzen JUNIOR and the patent was filed in 1940, and the model was released at conventions in 1940.

The Kurzen family had a long history with the Watch Tower Society. John G Kurzen SENIOR was John Gottleib Kurzen (1868-1963). He and his wife Ida were full time volunteer workers for the Watch Tower Society for decades. When they died, within months of each other in 1963, their grave marker had both their names and the words JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES in large full capitals on it. It also contained an extract of Revelation 20 v.6, crediting the New World translation.

The grave marker can be viewed here:

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/84157906/john_gottleib_kurzen

This site also contains a very positive obituary for John and Ida as Pioneer ministers from a local newspaper.

John Senior and Ida had three children, a girl and two boys. The two boys, John G Junior (John Godfrey Kurzen) and Russell Kurzen both worked at the Society’s Brooklyn headquarters for decades.

When John G Jr. (the inventor of this special phonograph) died in 1980 he was buried at the Watchtower Farms Cemetery at Wallkill.

Aurora 1917

 

The Aurora Convention was held over August 8-13, 1917 at Fox River Park, Aurora, Illinois. This candid snapshot of a car with the cross and crown pennant at the front features (from left to right), Daniel Toole (1875-1938), John Adam Bohnet (1858-1932), Richard Harvey Barber (1869-1967), Allen Middleton Saphore (1882-1951) and Louie F Zinc (1857-1943). Bohnet is driving; his distinctive bald head covered with a hat.

The tentative program for Aurora as listed in the St Paul Enterprise had Toole, Bohnet and Barker as speakers alongside J F Rutherford and W E Van Amburgh. The program had talks during the daytime and showed the Photodrama in the evenings.

Toole and Zinc were from Canada. Bohnet and Barber both served as Society directors at one point. Saphore and Zinc both later ceased fellowship with the IBSA. Some dates taken from Who’s Who.

For a detailed history of J A Bohnet, see:

https://truthhistory.blogspot.com/2021/02/john-adam-bohnet.html

 

1927 Toronto Convention

My thanks to Tom S. for sharing. You may need to click on the image to see it in its entirety. 

The Korean Mission Field, August 1913.

Sent by Liam C.

AN EXPLANATION.

            Mr. Hollister of the Millenial Dawn Society states that we published “a slanderous statement ” relative to their association, "over Mr. Bonwick's signature without his permission." The article signed by Mr. Bonwick was a printed circular which he prepared at the request of the Tract Society committee, published over his name, and sent to every missionary. We with others received it, and as such printed circulars are considered public property, we reproduced it on the pages of the Field. Mr. Bonwick states to us that the only thing he would wish to change, was the expression “masquerading.” which he would not have used had he expected the letter to appear in the Field. He also states that he did not feel aggrieved at our publishing this paper or he would have notified us of the fact.

            Although Mr. Russell and his followers may not intend to “masquerade,” in the use of the various names under which they propagate their belief, they certainly are likely to mislead, as these names do not indicate in any way the wide difference in teaching. What we consider grave error, goes under names appropriate to accepted truth, and this is the pity of it and probably the reason for Mr. Bonwick expression.

            Mr. Bonwick’s statements we understand, were made on good authority, but Mr. Hollister sends a periodical in which it is asserted that Mr. Russell does not ignore the Holy Spirit in his teaching, and does acknowledge the existence of a kind of Hell. It is not easy to formulate a creed for these teachers, but what they plainly acknowledge and every where proclaim, as their belief about the nature and work of Christ, is enough to put us all on our guard. We are sorry Mr. Hollister feels aggrieved, and would be sorry to misrepresent him, but we are in duty bound to do all that we can to protect our sheep, as good under shepherds, hoping and praying meanwhile, that Mr. Hollister himself may come into clearer light.

The Korean Mission Field - May 1913

 Sent by Liam C. to whom we owe our thanks.

“Millennial Dawn” 

            I have been requested to say a little to you concerning the heresy that is now being pr9omulgated throughout Korea by means of a newspaper entitled “Man Il Po” which is being distributed broadasct, free of charge, by highly paid colporteurs, under the direction of Mr. R. R. Hollister, with offices in Seoul.

            “Millennial Dawnism” was invented by Pastor C. T. Russell of Brooklyn N. Y., in 1874, and masquerades under various titles, such as “People’s Pulpit of Brooklyn,” “Watch Tower and Tract Society,” “Bible House and Tract Society” and “International Bible Students’ Association.” The latter is the name now in use in Korea, the Korean name being 

            These people profess to have a very large circulation of their publications in America and England, and it is evident they mean to attempt the same thing by free distribution in Korea. The first issues are very plausible, but erroneous doctrines can be detected and they already attack, among other matters, the teaching of eternal punishment. That you may be on your guard against this enterprise the following is a summary of the leading false doctrines of Millennial Dawnism, and you can obtain particulars of these in “The Fundamentals” Vol. VII. 106-127. Our Society is now preparing a Tract in Korean on the subject which will be offered for free distribution to those who apply, but of this we will inform you in due course. 

SUMMARY OF THE FALSE DOCTRINES OF MILLENNIAL DAWN. 

1. Christ before His advent was not Divine.

2. When He was in the world He was still not Divine.

3. His atonement was exclusively human, a mere man’s only.

4. Since His resurrection Fie is Divine only, no longer human.

5. His body was not raised from the dead.

6. His Second Advent took place in 1874.

7. The Saints were raised up in 1878.

8. Both Christ and the Saints are now on the earth and have been for 39 and 35 years respectively,

9. The professing Church was rejected by God in 1878.

10. The final consummation and end will take place in 1914.

11. Silence as to the person and work of the Holy Spirit.

12. The destiny of the wicked, annihilation. 

Gerald Bonwick.

1940s

 On ebay. Not mine, but I wish they were.

Korea, 1915

 

The Christian Movement in the Japanese Empire Including Korea and Formosa. A Year Book for 1916.

Korea

            The Government General promulgated a set of regulations concerning religious propagation which went into effect in October 1915. These regulations pertain to the organization of the churches and to the granting of permission to individual as propagandists.

            While the Constitution of Japan guarantees religious freedom yet the propagation of religions of all kinds is conducted under certain laws which are known as “propagation regulations.” These laws have been on the statute books of Japan Proper for a number of years. During the past year the same laws, somewhat amended, were promulgated in Korea. The laws apply equally to Buddhism, Christianity or any other recognized religion. All propagandists must secure “permission” from the Government General before they can propagate religion. This has reference to preachers, missionaries, priests, Bible Women, etc. whose life work is that of propagating religion. It has no intention of putting a limitation upon lay preaching, or personal work of any kind. Full liberty is guaranteed in this respect. At first through misunderstandings some were apprehensive “of an infringement upon the right of the Christian churches to appoint their own officers and decide upon their qualifications,” but after full and free conferences, which were willingly given by the Government officials, to persons officially reprinting the Federal Council of Missions, these apprehensions were allayed. It was recognized that it is “not the intention or aim of this ordinance to infringe upon the rights and privileges hereto enjoyed by the Christian Churches in Chosen, either officer or in their work of evangelization.”

            These regulations will curb the formation of societies which may be organized in the name of religion, but whose real object may be political or otherwise. These regulations also may be of value in keeping out of the country such “isms’ as Mormonism, Russellism, Mohammedanism and the like.

1919 and AI

 

With thanks to Leroy and AI (artificial intelligence), here are the 1919 convention speakers as you may not have seen them before. Click on the picture to see.

If you want to identify all those in the picture, check back here:

https://truthhistory.blogspot.com/2024/03/speakers-at-1919-convention.html

Morning Resolve Postcard

Currently on ebay for more money than I can spare. Enjoy:

Old Guy's Memories

 We traveled to the 1953 Convention via auto, an old 1939 Packard that got us there and back, but died the day we returned home. We stayed in the "Tent City" for two days. One of the sisters who traveled with us had an allergic reaction to the farm environment. (Several others did too. One young girl and her brothers crawled into a forested area on the fringe of the trailer park and  discovered she had crawled through a mass of poison ivy. To her embarrassment, her mother treated her with calamine and some medication in a rather public place.)

We let an unprepared family use our tent, finding a hotel room through the rooming department. We stayed one night. During that night a sister was raped in a hallway. Other badness happened too. So off to rooming again. A new hotel, rather old but clean and well kept. The owner was very welcoming, and I placed booklets with him, leaving enough for all the hotel's staff. The only problem was an adventure in the elevator. Understand that this was not driven by buttons, but required an elevator operator. He pushed the control level forward but the elevator went down. Eventually, he forced the door open and a chair was lowered into the car so we could climb out. This adventure was caused by a loose connection.

The program was recorded on tape; still worth listening to. I won't elaborate, but you can find youtube videos from that convention. We met several of the Bethel brothers: Knorr, Franz, Covington, Macmillan, and some of the new missionaries whose names escape me now.

Below is a newspaper cutting showing the Trailer City. This is courtesy of Tom S.

A Thin Seventh Volume

     

One edition of Studies in the Scriptures that is particularly collectable is the 7^th volume The Finished Mystery in its printings from 1927 onward. This was much thinner than previous editions, because half of the original contents were now omitted.

     The forward in this printing is particularly interesting because it only mentions the work of Pastor Russell and C J Woodworth.

     The original full-size 7^th volume not only covered the book of Revelation, as compiled by Clayton J Woodworth, but also the book of Ezekiel as compiled by George H Fisher. Fisher and Woodworth had been long time friends and worked on the project in the first half of 1917. Both were imprisoned as part of the Brooklyn Eight in 1918-1919. However, things changed in the 1920s and Fisher became distanced from the IBSA. (See the letter J F Rutherford wrote him as reproduced in full in the Golden Age for March 25, 1925, page 409.)

     Fisher died in July 1926 and The New Era Enterprise carried a brief obituary in its issue for August 1926. His work on Ezekiel was now omitted from the 7^th volume. However, the whole volume was soon to be replaced by five new books - two on Revelation (Light volumes 1 and 2 in 1930) and three on Ezekiel (Vindication, volumes 1-3 in 1931-1932).

1914 Convention

 Another amazing image from Tom S.'s amazing archive. 

J. F. Rutherford in Philadelphia [1917] ... And others

 Our thanks to Tom S. and Raymond S. for these images. The first is a rare handbill from 1917.

The following is from July 20, 1913. A newspaper report is found in

Photo Drama Ticket - Stockton, California

Russell's Round-the-World Tour

Guest post by Liam C.

Part 1 of 2

     Many readers of this blog who are interested in Bible Student History and who like me spend too much time on the internet, may have come across a series of photos related to the I.B.S.A. Foreign Mission Investigation and World Tour. What is the story behind these photos? Below is my best attempt at answering this question.

     The photos are held at the Library of Congress in the George Grantham Bain Collection. George Grantham Bain was a New York photographer who also founded the first news photography service, Bain News, in 1898. He was:

     “A visionary who saw the potential of coupling photographs with words in newspapers and magazines, his news photo service focused on people and events, from politics to sports, disasters to celebrations. The Bain News Service accumulated photographs of worldwide coverage, which were distributed to various newspapers and were enhanced by receiving local pictures from its subscribers as part of their reimbursement” (i).

     The Library of Congress purchased the Bain collection in 1948 from D.J. Culver and thankfully made them available with no known restrictions on publication. Included in the Bain photographs are 39,744 glass negatives three of which are below:

     Although exactly how the Russell photographs came to be acquired by Bain is unknown, the fact that they are included in such a prestigious collection is perhaps a testament to Russell's popularity at the time and the widespread appeal of the Bible Student message.

     Photos in the Bain collection do not include much background information. However a bit of detective work actually reveals when and where the Russell photos were taken. In the margins of two of the above photos is the date (shown as 9/25/11 in reverse). The significance of this date can be found in the below extract from the January 1, 1912 Watch Tower, an issue entirely dedicated to publicising the world tour. Speaking of events in the year 1911 it says:

     By further comparing details from these photos with pictures of the original Waldorf Astoria's famed rooftop garden, it is almost certain that this is where these photos were taken. I have written to the Waldorf Astoria archives and can update this post if any additional information turns up.

     It’s kinda cool to envision that meeting, surrounded by the elegance of the Waldorf Astoria’s rooftop, with Russell and company laying out the blueprint for what would become an unforgettable four-month global expedition.

     What else can be known about the background of this legendary Round-the-World Tour? Read part 2.

 

Part 2 of 2

     A deeper dive into Russell’s Round-the-World Tour should probably start with a brief discussion of the Layman’s Missionary Movement and the Protestant missionary fields in the last few decades of the nineteenth century which at the time were filled with confidence and optimism.

     The Evangelization of the World in this Generation by John R. Mott, page 1 & 2 describes how in 1886 a movement arose among students primarily in the United States, Canada, Great Britain and Ireland that would eventually be attributed with adding 20,000 volunteers to the foreign missionary endeavour, therefore accelerating missionary work around the world. This movement called the Student Volunteer Movement (SVM) inspired Protestant leaders to create institutions to offer financial support.

     One of these institutions was the Layman’s Missionary Movement (LMM). Between the years 1909-1910 The LMM arranged a series of three to four day conventions held in more then 50 cities averaging well over 1,000 in attendance. While the students of the SVM had adopted the slogan “The Evangelization of the World in this Generation”, The LMM took this further and advertised their conventions with the slogan “$30,000,000 to Convert the World” (ii) & (iii)

     This slogan caught Russell’s attention. Russell was somewhat sympathetic to the missionary cause and even once recalled how as a boy of seven years of age he told his mother that he wanted to be a missionary (iv). As he developed the unique interpretation of scripture known to readers of this blog, his missionary aspirations were adjusted to fit his overall understanding of God’s plan as revealed in scripture. Part of this understanding was that the mainstream Christianity of his day was not a model of Christ’s kingdom but had been judged unworthy of it. Therefore converting people of non-Christian lands to this form of Christianity would be counterproductive. He pointed out that doctrines such as the “conviction that there is no hope for any who die in ignorance of the only name whereby we must be saved” (v). when thought through, were abhorrent to people of non-Christian backgrounds, as they offered no hope for their ancestors or family members that had not accepted Christ. He further saw in the Scriptures a future age following Christ’s Advent, where all who died in ignorance of Christ would be given another chance, without question a more hopeful view. Russell’s criticism of mission work included the observation that missionary successes were often overstated and that behavior of people in “Christian” lands was anything but Christian while non-Christian peoples were more moral than supposed.

     Russell’s response to the Layman’s Missionary Movement came in July 1911 with the article “$30,000,000 to Convert the World is the Proposition a Joke?” (vi). In this article Russell references the LMM and lays out his criticism of mission work, contrasting it with the early successes of his own missionaries in India and Africa. But he didn't stop there. Several months later at the annual Bible Students convention at Mountain Lake Park, Maryland, September 1-11, 1911 a committee was formed to “supply an unvarnished report of the true condition of affairs in Oriental lands amongst the peoples usually termed “heathens”.(vii). This was followed on September 25 by the committees first meeting at the Waldorf Astoria as discussed in Part 1. This committee was named the I.B.S.A. Foreign Mission Investigation Committee.

     To be sure, one goal of this tour and subsequent report was to assess the feasibility of the claim made by the LMM. Russell had other reasons for travelling to foreign mission fields at this time though. One of the conclusions drawn from the framework by which he saw the Bible’s message was that during the unique time period him and like minded Bible students were living through, they were tasked with gathering from the churches of nominal Christianity any remaining saints, a responsibility which they worked diligently to accomplish. But what of the growing number of Christians living in traditionally non-Christian lands that due to distance or language barriers had not heard the Bible Student message? Seeing conditions first hand would help him decide whether directing further resources there was warranted.

     The  I.B.S.A. Foreign Mission Investigation Committee would come to include chairman Charles Taze Russell, secretary Fredrick Homer Robison/Robinson (called Professor). Doctor Leslie Whitney Jones (1872-1946), Adjutant General of the United States Army, William Preble Hall (1848-1927), Washington D.C., grocery store chain owner John Donaldson Pyles (1857-1943) and two well known Ohio businessmen Robert Bowie Maxwell (1840-1912) of Mansfield and Ernest W.V. Kuehn (1863-1925) of Toledo, whose business dealings earned him the moniker “great clover-seed merchant”. Also added were unofficial members Ingram I. Margeson (1871-1935) who acted as director, George F. Wilson (1857-1945) and wife Olivia E. Wilson (1864-1957) of Oklahoma City and George Chester Driscoll, who for the first half of the trip traveled several weeks ahead of the group to assist with press and any other arrangements that needed to be made.

Foreign Mission Investigation Committee (minus G C Driscoll) pictured with a group of Japanese gentlemen associated with the Japan Y.M.C.A. including Kuninosuke Yamamoto (back row far right). Picture from 1912 Bible Students' Convention Souvenir Notes, page 22. 

     Further details about the tour can be found in the 1912 Bible Students’ Conventions Souvenir Notes and the Committee Report published in the Watch Tower April 15, 1912.

End notes

ⁱ "George Grantham Bain," Legends of America, accessed January 28, 2025, https://www.legendsofamerica.com/george-grantham-bain/

^[ii] A more detailed discussion of the SVM and LMM can be found in Dawson, David. “Mission and Money in the Early Twentieth Century.” The Journal of Presbyterian History (1997-) 80, no. 1 (2002): 29–42. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23336304.

^[iii] An example can be found in the New York Times December, 13, 1909

^[iv] Zions Watch Tower, June 15, 1899 page 2489

^[v] Zions Watch Tower August 15, 1901, page 264

^[vi] The Watch Tower, July 1, 1911, page 202-204

^[vii] Report on Foreign Mission Work, International Bible Students Association, April 15, 1912, page 123