By
Chris G.
In
my studies of religion, my interest became laser focused on the faith of my
mother and grandmother, Jehovah’s Witnesses.
I began my Bible study in 1989 with an old family acquaintance and
friend who was very well informed of not only current beliefs and doctrine, but
of the basic history of the movement which included some information on the
founder of the group, “Charles Taze Russell”.
I was intrigued, but not enough to begin any research on Russell, and
besides, where would I even look for information on him in the days before the
internet and any substantial writing on Russell was at least 30 years old*. (*see Jehovah’s
Witnesses in the Divine Purpose c.1959 published by the Watchtower Bible
& Tract Society).
A
short time into my studies I decided to peruse the library at my local
University for books by or about Jehovah’s Witnesses. On reviewing the small amount of books
available I ran across a handbook of denominations, as far as I can recall,
that had a very objective write up on the Witnesses, but also included a
section on other groups in existence that claimed Russell as their founder*
(the book may have been Leo Rosten’s Religions
of America). One such group, I was
surprised to learn, was one “Epiphany Bible Students” faith based in Mt. Dora,
Florida of all places. I was actually
shocked to learn this since I had lived an easy 15 to 20 minutes from Mt. Dora
and had become acquainted with the Witnesses in that area since becoming a
Witness in 1990. In subsequent
conversations with my Mt. Dora brothers and sisters, and in line with my
interest in history, I would ask if any of them had ever run across any
followers of Russell while in their door to door ministry. Over the years to follow the answer was
always in the negative with rumors or whispers of some third hand information
of running across a house with a large portrait of Russell visible from the
door step area. These rumors were always
followed with a statement like, “But, I can’t recall who told me that story or
where or when that may have happened etc…”
Out of dozens of queries I only received the response noted above once,
and since there were no other details available, I gave the story no
credibility or real attention at that time.
Fast forward 10 years to the year 2000.
I
had begun to collect the works of Jehovah’s Witnesses on a level that few in
the faith would desire to. I started to
fill in the gaps in my collection of bound volumes of The Watchtower and Awake magazine
which led to a desire to collect every book produced by the Witnesses no matter
the year or age. I would research a
subject and invariably find that I would be missing this or that source which
would be very frustrating in those early days of my researching the history of
the faith. So, I began a mission to fill
the gaps by systematically collecting everything I could find. Within a short time, I learned that this
desire was just too ambitious as many of the older books and works,
specifically from the Russell era, were just too rare to find in my local
area. Few of my friends, not only had
never had the older books, but very few had even heard of the Millennial Dawn or Studies in the Scriptures publications from before 1930. I was directed by one of more astute friends
to use the internet auction sites or book selling sites to assist me, which was
just what I needed to fill the gaps and within about 5-10 years my library was
very close to complete. It was at this
time I began to buy books from abebooks (which is a very nice resource to
locate rare works) in the early days of my collecting, that I encountered the
book entitled Jehovah’s Witnesses, A Comprehensive
and Selectively Annotated Bibliography c. 1999. Looking at my notes in the book, I purchased
it in 2003. It became a valuable
resource to locate, in even more detail, the works on Jehovah’s Witnesses that
would assist me in my research of the movement and one, Charles Taze Russell.
One
very interesting side point to the book was it’s short write up on the
“Epiphany Bible Students” of Mt. Dora, Florida.
Some 13 years after first running across the brief few sentences in that
University library, I was finally able to get some more detail on this elusive
group that nobody in the actual town of Mt. Dora seemed to know even
existed. The one page write up by the
author Jerry Bergman indicated on page 300, that this group was began by one
“John Hoefle”. Finally a name to research,
however the history continued to inform of John Hoefle’s death in 1989 (his
actual death was April 16th, 1984), and that his widow was evidently
carrying on his work (presumably as of 1999 when Bergman’s book was published)
with Bergman stating, “…his work is now
carried on by his wife, Emily Hoefle, and other co-workers.”
Many
questions flooded into my mind, “Where is this group!?”, “How many members are
there?”, “Where is this Mt. Dora Bible House that is mentioned in one of my two
references?”, “What does this group do as a ministry work?” and “Why hasn’t the
local congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Mt. Dora ever run across any of
these so called followers of Charles Taze Russell?”, I had other questions too
but was frustrated that none of these questions would have answers for some
years to follow.
2006
Charles
F. Redeker would publish, Pastor C.T.
Russell: Messenger of Millennial Hope in 2006. This was the first detailed work I had ever
encountered on Russell and many different facets of his life and influence of
the groups that would claim him as their founder. One of the groups discussed in Redekers book
(see page 365) was the subject “Epiphany Bible Students Association” and it
included an address, well sort of, a Post Office box in Mt. Dora. In the write up Redeker noted that this group
“…had always been headquartered in Mount Dora, Florida.” He mentions an “Epiphany newsletter”
consisting of reprinted articles from Russell, among others. And then as soon as the write up begins, it suddenly
ended, abruptly, with no real new information on this group and its mysterious
existence with supposed headquarters still in Mount Dora, at least at the time
of this books being published in 2006.
But, I now had a post office box.
2009
I
struggled for 3 years. Would I write the
address in Mt. Dora, Florida? I
struggled with my reasons for wanting to know, to get some closure to my
interest in this supposed group claiming to still follow Russell and presumably
study his works, now over 100 years old (Studies in the Scriptures last volume
was published in 1904 as written by Russell).
I still had all the questions and more noted above and wanted to know
why this group is still active. Why is
it barely in the public eye if no real ministry work is being done? I still hadn’t located any Mt. Dora Bible
House and really questioned whether or not it even existed. Why wouldn’t the address for this “Bible
House” been listed in Redeker's work?.
Was the existence of this group somehow tied in with simply getting a
tax break of some kind from the government?
Was there some current “Minister” using this group as a kind of business
only? My mind went over the details, or
as many as I had swept together in the last 20 years, over and over to try to put
the pieces together to make some sense of it all. I decided to do as much internet research as
I could at this time to get a clearer picture, which didn’t reveal much at
all. In fact, nothing more than I
already knew.
I
continued to be, as Jehovah’s Witnesses typically are, very busy, staying
focused on my faith and family. It’s
been a journey that I have loved since joining the faith in late 1980s. So why was I so interested in this group in Mt.
Dora? Could this desire to know more
damage my faith at all? I struggled with
the counsel found in the Bible at Romans 16:17 “Now I urge you, brothers, to
keep your eye on those who create divisions and causes for stumbling contrary
to the teaching that you have learned, and avoid them.” Basically the Apostle Paul was dealing with a
lot of apostasy in his day and he gave sound counsel to simply leave these ones
alone. Don’t engage them. If you do, you’re playing with fire! Was this group, made up essentially of ones
who admire Charles T. Russell, simply lost to decades old thinking and beliefs? Could they be compared with modern day
dissidents who are truly vitriolic in their disdain for present understanding
and truth? I personally felt that the answer
to this question was no, others may feel strongly different and I can
understand that, however, I came to feel that the Bible Student group was lost
to time, and in some ways impotent in today’s society where the daily struggles
of mankind are very different than the difficulties of 1916 and before.
I
had done a plethora of research on the break that occurred in the 1916-1919
time frame. This was the time Charles
Taze Russell died and those who were simply caught up in following the
character of Russell vs. the message he taught about the Bible were
sifted. I’m sure that is an
oversimplification of the huge drama that happened at that time surrounding his
death but it’s not far from the facts as I’ve learned them to be. Yes there was a lot going on at that time and
much was written about the challenges of the Truth staying on the tracks and
keeping its forward momentum in spite of many influential men and leaders
leaving the official Watchtower Bible & Tract Society due to disagreements
with leadership at that time. The Proclaimers book has a fantastic chapter
that touches on this (see Chapter 28 entitled, “Testing and Sifting From
Within”). This chapter was invaluable to
me in crystallizing my views on the issues that came up at that time, which included
the birth of the group that ended up in Mt. Dora.
Enter
one Paul Samuel Leo Johnson. He was a
regular speaker at the Conventions of the International Bible Students
Association from the early 20th century on, or at least until the
drama referenced above took place. These
conventions were typically under the oversight of Charles Taze Russell, or partly
such. Russell appears to have had an
opinion of Johnson in a positive way.
I’ve yet to read any historical accounts stating otherwise, but Johnson
had an arrogant charisma and was incredibly stubborn when it came to his
personal point of view. What little that
is known of Johnson was that he evidently had a tyrannical, although possibly
well meaning, father who treated him very sternly, probably overly much (see The Present Truth, Dec 1, 1950 pgs 181-182). This may have contributed to Johnson having
an iron will when dealing with other strong personalities such as Joseph F.
Rutherford who would eventually become the next President of the Watchtower
Bible & Tract Society in this troublesome time. To say that the two men did not see eye to
eye on just about everything is probably not far from the truth. Long story short, a clash ensued and Johnson
was escorted from the Bethel home and grounds never to be welcome back again
during this trial period of 1916-1919* (Epiphany
Studies in the Scriptures, series 6 page 82, see also Proclaimers Ch. 28 noted above).
Johnson appears to have never forgiven this episode and wrote
voluminously for the remaining 30 years of his life, looking for types and
antitypes in almost every aspect of his personal spiritual journey. This brief history of Johnson is noted here
to give some background and understanding of the Bible Students who supposedly ended
up in Mt. Dora, Florida. Johnsons
influence would have a profound effect within a few years on a young, John
Hoefle. Hoefle, who reportedly, was
either a Watch Tower adherent or simply interested in their message, is not
clearly known.
My
information on Johnson was limited, He is referenced in a few places from the
official sources of the WTB&TS, and an insightful mention of him and the
period above 1916-1919 is discussed in the book Faith on the March written by longtime friend of Charles Taze
Russell, Alexander Hugh Macmillan. But
how did Hoefle spring from Johnson’s group and end up in a small town in
Florida of all places?
After
giving it a lot of careful thought. I
decided I would write the address I attained from Redeker’s book. I would be careful to make sure my questions
were from a journalist type approach, simple inquiries with no real discussion
of my background at all. I would be
honest but very discreet and cautious as I really did not know what to expect. I would send the letters (carefully typed and
worded) from my work address at the time, hoping this would help contribute to
my keeping my background as elusive as possible. I would avoid doctrine and keep my interest
focused on history only. I was hoping
for some answer or contact that could shed the smallest bit of light as I
feared we were approaching a time when all the history would be lost. I had recently learned of the passing of John
Hoefle’s wife Emily who died on January 1, 2008 at the age of 101. I had gone to a Witness funeral for a
faithful brother in Mount Dora when I was surprised to notice the headstone of
John and Emily Hoefle buried side by side soon after her passing just twenty
feet away from where I was observing the funeral talk of my old friend. So I wrote my first letter and put it in the
mail with a few basic questions… “Is there a newsletter? Are back issues
available?” and that was about it. There
was of course no internet presence at all at this time in mid 2009 so I
waited. Within 2 weeks I received my
first response from Marjorie Williams, who in our correspondence would identify
herself as the niece of John and Emily.
I would learn that John and Emily had no children and Marjorie, now in
her 70s, had really been like a daughter to them. She offered to assist me with any questions I
may have and so more questions were posed that might shed some light on things
further, “Do they publish any books for study?”, “How large is there study
group and How many are on their mailing list?”, “Did John Hoefle author any
books?”, “Are there any photos of the Mount Dora Bible class?”, “When did the
group begin in Mount Dora and why? Is
there a previous newsletter discussing the history of this group at all?” Two weeks later Marjorie wrote in an attempt
to answer my many questions. It was
confirmed that John Hoefle never wrote any books but only in a limited way
would reference the writing of Charles Taze Russell, who, she stated, was a
very able writer of the Truth. She
confirmed there were about a thousand on their mailing list. She also enclosed a picture of John and Emily
Hoefle from likely the 1960s for me.
She
also explained in brief the challenges that occurred when PSL Johnson died in
1950. A struggle ensued between Hoefle
and the newly appointed executive trustee of Johnson’s surviving group, R.G.
Jolly. The two men had such a challenge
over those first few years that Hoefle left off associating with Jolly and
Jolly left off any association with Hoefle, to put it nicely. The men rarely spoke after 1956 but this was
the beginning of a newsletter wherein Hoefle could air his grievances over
Jolly’s misuse of his newly appointed position, from Hoefle’s perspective.
I’m
sure Marjorie Williams struggled with how much to tell me and how much should
she not, not knowing herself if I even knew what she was talking about as I
hadn’t revealed much to her other than I was interested in learning some facts
about her Bible group. So I likely
received the very abbreviated version of what she actually knew.
I
wrote her back and expressed my desire to see an actual photo of the group
currently in existence and supposedly having regular meetings at a “Bible
House” in Mount Dora. I was really
hoping that this would confirm whether or not a group actually existed
currently, although I suspected not.
“How did Hoefle end up in the small town of Mt. Dora?”, “How did she
(Marjorie) know them?”, “Did Hoefle and Jolly ever speak again?”, “What other
books does she offer?”. She had also
included in her correspondence to me a recent printing of The Divine Plan of the Ages.
Two
weeks later my response arrived. She
stated that there was no picture of the Bible Group as “we are a small family
of like minded brethren who are interested in learning in the School of
Christ”. Which confirmed for me that
there were no regular meetings at any “Bible House”. That to me was confirmation that any thought
of a Russell group in Mt. Dora was a simple mirage. It didn’t currently exist and I strongly
suspect it never did, at least in the way I had imagined it.
She
explained John and Emily met at a Bible Student Convention related to the LHMM
and were married in the 1950s but they never had children, Emily was her
(Marjorie’s) father’s sister and that since they had no children, Marjorie and
her husband Leonard were the closest thing to family that they had. Marjorie went on to state that over the years
Emily Hoefle served as the matriarch of their family and provided spiritual
guidance her entire life. I responded to
all this information above by writing an immediate response the next day. I wanted more specifics on the relationship
that Johnson had with Hoefle all those years ago, and did Jolly ever speak to
Hoefle again. Three weeks later, on June
22, 2009, came the kind and patient response.
She confirmed that “we are not a publishing house and have to order
books from others.” She had some other
general statements but this answer caught my attention, “John and Emily did
speak with Jolly again and Jolly addressed them warmly as Brother and Sister.”
At
this time I had a medical issue that was fairly serious and was unable to write
or correspond with Marjorie as I recuperated.
A month passed and Marjorie actually wrote me to check on me. Which I thought was kind of her and showed
she really didn’t mind my many unusual historical questions. I decided I should give a little background
on my interest, which I did. I focused
on my interest on C.T. Russell and in my limited way, had done research that
uncovered her group in Mt. Dora. I
explained although I looked for more information, none was available, so I
wrote her my initial letter. I stated it
was curious to me why there would be so much division after his death so was
simply looking for some answers on that.
In one of her correspondences mentioned above she did provide the obituary
newsletter for John Hoefle. This
specific issue gave some details into Hoefle found nowhere else (now easily
found online), but in this newsletter it did mention, “Each year Brother
Johnson gave Brother Hoefle a special binding of the… Parousia and Epiphany
books specially bound for him.” I asked,
“Were these books inherited by your family?
Or, whatever became of them? How
extensive was John’s library? Is his
reference library in your possession today?
If so, did John keep any letters of interest between him and
Johnson? Do these letters still
exist?” I thanked her graciously for
being so patient with my persistent questions.
Her answers to the above questions stunned me. Her response confirmed she presently (as of
Sept 2009) owned all of John Hoefle’s books and library. She stated the library was very
extensive. The letters did exist at one
time but they had been lost. She has no
idea what had ever happened to their extensive correspondence to each
other. She gave me no other details at
this time. But I wanted to know more.
Three
months later I wrote back. I had been
healing from my medical issue and was on heavy pain killers for some time, so
my lapse in time was unavoidable but did allow me time to ponder my follow up
questions somewhat. In January of 2010 I
asked, “Was Hoefle ever an official member of the IBSA?”, “What year, if known,
would this have been?”, “What year did he become aware of the Johnson group
specifically?”. I also asked about the
library, what did she mean that a special binding had been done for
Hoefle? What kind of special
binding? Would she mind sending me a
picture of the special bindings? As mentioned
above I am a collector of historical works related to the WTB&TS so I felt
it was a natural question, but probably not to the average reader.
She
wrote back what would be our final correspondence. January 19, 2010 she stated what she could
about Hoefle’s connection with the IBSA which actually wasn’t much at all. She believed he actually was a member of the
Lutheran Church. John left the church
when it became evident to him by his local minister that the church did not
share John’s pacifist views of the war that was raging at the time. She supposed he became “acquainted” with the
writings of Russell and also the “congregation” (presumably of the IBSA in his
area). She guessed it was likely 1916 or
1917. She believed he became interested
in Johnson’s LHMM in the early 1920s but she wasn’t certain. That was much of all she shared on that
subject. Turning her attention to my
question on the books, “The books that were given to John by Brother Johnson
are the same as the others except the binding is black. Apparently Johnson had extra ones bound in
black. The books are not inscribed
however.” She sent no picture as I had
requested and I was left to wonder just what did she mean they were the same
but printed in black?, Were they pocket size possibly? Did they actually have the same title’s
printed on them as the red versions, and which “versions” would they have been? I had seen so many book descriptions
mis-stated I had my suspicions she quite possibly didn’t know how to explain it
to my satisfaction. But I would never
find out, or would I?
2020
It
had been 30 years now, that my attention to this subject had lingered. As all of us know, in March of 2020 the
worldwide pandemic forced many of us to stay home for some time. During this time, I was able to go through
some parts of my historical library which included a re-read of my
correspondences with Marjorie. This
naturally lead to an internet search which fairly quickly confirmed the death
of Marjorie in 2015. She passed away
from a battle with cancer and I was surprised to learn 5 years had passed and I
hadn’t known. I’m not clear on exactly
why I felt that way, but in her obituary, I was reminded of her husband’s name
who survived her, Leonard Williams. Her
obituary page also was accompanied by a well put together video slide with
music presentation of her life in pictures.
I watched the 20 minute presentation that likely included approximately
100 photos from various points in her life.
Her children, her grandchildren, her life in central Florida! I was able to see they were a very wealthy
family, well connected politically and very family oriented. It appeared religion was not the focus of the
family as far as the children and grandchildren were concerned, but where the
wealth came from was somewhat of a mystery at the time. Whatever happened to the Mount Dora group I
wondered? What about the large reference
library? I concluded that it was lost to
time. Likely boxed away and placed in a
garage until spring cleaning would demand the books be discarded. What a shame I thought.
2021
With
the pandemic still raging, and more time for personal study presenting itself,
I focused on trying to find out more of the surviving family members in the
Central Florida area. I had discovered
the Marjorie and Leonard did not live or reside in Mt. Dora, but in a very nice
area of Orlando, Florida. The Post office
box in Mt. Dora was likely kept over the years and as far as I could learn,
likely checked on once or twice a month for correspondence type letters only. Marjorie had been gone for some 6 years and
her surviving husband was still alive or so I thought. As I researched his name I was surprised to
learn he had passed away early in 2021.
And on his obituary page was another video slide presentation with more
photos showing his family and life similar to that found on Marjorie’s obituary
web page. I learned that Leonard had
been a very successful business man. One
of the leaders of the Anheuser-Busch Company.
This explained the very wealthy environment shown in the photos provided
by the family in the slide shows. They
had a son who tragically died before the age of 40 and their other children
seemed to be well adjusted members of the community but I sensed no real
interest in their Great Uncle’s (John Hoefle) faith nor that of their own
father and mother, as respects the beliefs likely founded in the teachings of
Charles Taze Russell from over 100 years ago.
As I perused the obituary page of Leonard I was left with many questions
still, but pondered about those imagined boxes in an attic somewhere
haphazardly filled with memories from many years ago and unappreciated by
ignorant family members simply cleaning house.
June 2021, The Estate Sale
I
was absolutely shocked, when a good friend of the family contacted me with
photos from just another estate sale in Central Florida with framed pictures of
what was confirmed to be one Charles Taze Russell. A large remarkable painting with a beautiful
gold frame, a smaller, professionally framed, 8 by 10 stunning pencil sketch
portrait of Russell (I would confirm it was the original artwork that was
included in the front of the later reprints of the bound volumes printed in the
80s and 90s out of Chicago), and what would be identified by me as an 8 by 10 color
portrait from 1984 of one John J. Hoefle nicely framed and apparently proudly
hung for some years, likely in the study of the Leonard and Marjorie home. In fact this was their home in central
Florida where the estate sale was happening.
I immediately left work and arrived to find the painting and 2 framed
pictures still for sale, I placed them on a table for purchase. As I scrutinized the very large, lakeside
home, for more theocratic related items, I stumbled across John Hoefle’s
personal “Bible Students Edition” Bible from before 1920 filled with references
and personal notes to Russell and Johnsons voluminous writings. I found Marjorie Horn’s (Williams) personal
study Bible from the 1950/60s filled with her personal notations
throughout. I could see she was a very
devoted student of the Bible in her own way.
I found a reprint of Poems of Dawn
filled with subscription rolodex type cards in it filled with some familiar
interesting names, hand typed and then hand noted if “deceased” or taken of the
list for some reason (address no longer valid etc…) I located a pristine editions of Hymns of the Millennial Dawn from the
1930s. But that was it. No special black editions of the Studies in
the Scriptures mentioned over 10 years ago to me in my correspondence. As I was checking out and paying for whatever
I could find, I inquired, had anyone purchased a lot of books earlier in the
day? I was informed that yes, an antique
dealer had left 2 hours ago with approximately 800 books. He presumably bought them at $1-2 each. Did they possibly have any information on who
he was? A business card? A traceable credit card? Anything?
No, no information was available.
The books were gone!
July 2021, I found him!
I
believed it would be a matter of time before the person who purchased the book
collection would likely attempt to sell the books, and hopefully this would be
online. And it was, a few books at
first, unique and in the central Florida area.
They were unique enough to alert me that this was the man I was looking
for. I reached out and yes, he had boxes of books from the estate sale! I asked if I could visit his home and review
what he had for possible purchase? He
said yes, of course and I headed over that day to see just what he was able to
attain. A younger man, in his late
twenties or early thirties, I discovered he makes a pretty good living simply
going to estate sales on a regular basis and buying artwork typically and
reselling these pieces. He’s supported
his family for approximately a decade doing this. I explained my interest and he had, upon my
arrival, about 5 boxes filled with about 100 books and other items relating to
the study library. This was far less
than the 800 I was informed about at the estate sale but he assured me that was
an exaggeration and that this was all he had.
He
did have the black set I had been looking for!
He also had an interesting photograph that was related to all the books
that he purchased he thought. He had a
few memorial ribbons of one PSL Johnson!
The
photo was a rare image of PSL Johnson the year before he died, along with his
wife and who I believe to very likely be John Hoefle next to him. Johnson looks visibly ill and is seen in a
wheelchair with a very Russell-like beard present. The look on his face is very poignant in my
opinion as he gazes at his ill wife who would die shortly after Johnson who
passed away in 1950. (The Present Truth,
Mar 1, 1951 pg. 48).
I
negotiated a purchase of the Black set, and all the memorabilia I could
see. I discovered that the antique art
dealer had found a few treasures (1912 mint convention report, 1914 convention
report) but most of the books were reprints from the 40s and later and no older
watchtower items were present. No
correspondence, no personal letters stuck in the books anywhere of any
significance. I was relieved to see I
hadn’t missed out on a massive historical find of some kind like I had imagined. However the black set of Studies did have an inscription, see below, that confirmed the set
was gifted to Hoefle from Johnson himself.
Very interesting I thought.
Conclusions
What
did it all mean? I reflected on a quote
of the Proclaimers of God’s Kingdom
book, Chapter 28, page 630 stated, “They (the
Russell type groups-italics mine) may have been right in some of the
details that they taught… but did the Lord bless what they were doing? For a time, some of them held meetings, but
then their groups died out essentially.”
And on page 628, “…they were like a branch cut from a tree—green for a
while, than withered and lifeless.” Yes,
thirty years later my observations agreed with what is quoted here. Yes, there was a newsletter, Yes, there was
some correspondence here and there. But
none of that truly mattered because it didn’t have any lasting nature to the
message. As has proved true in other
Bible Student groups, as the members grow older and die, so does their chosen
faith in many observable ways. This certainly
proved true of this Mt. Dora “group” if you can call it that. In the end, the library and memories so
cherished by John Hoefle and his devoted wife Emily would pass away shortly
after their deaths, only to have the small flame fanned by a loving niece who
likely out of respect for their memories kept things somewhat moving forward,
or as much as she could.
Why
hadn’t any current members asked the family for the books, pictures or
memorabilia items after Leonard died this year?, I can’t know for sure. But I believe that’s because they really didn’t
exist. These treasured items to John and
Emily were basically given away at the estate sale by their extended
family. If any still existed from the
supposed Bible Study “Group”, what is their reason for letting all these items
be boxed and sold, and likely much of it thrown away?
There
still is an internet presence of this Epiphany newsletter (as of Aug 2021),
however when researching some of the articles for historical facts such as
referencing the biography edition of John J. Hoefle on the site (No. 349B, from
Aug 1, 1984), there is a counting tab at the bottom where the reader can simply
select to “like” the article. On most of
the references I checked many had no “likes” and some of the more recent ones
might have 1 or 2 at the most. This is a
testament to just how inactive this information is today in my opinion. It has very little effect on the world and
certainly, speaking as someone who grew up in this area since the early 1970s
onward, this group was so difficult to locate it took me years just to get the
P.O. Box address to consider discovering more about them. And when I did, there was no invitation to
join their study session or visit a meeting to hear a public discourse of any
kind. I should have known it would be
this way based on what I studied way back in 1993 with my first reading of the Proclaimers publication and its
observations noted above. Yes, this
group had died out with the passing of time.
It was an elusion that existed based somewhat on Leo Rosten’s Religions of America, Bergman’s writing
referenced above, and Redeker’s work which seemed to agree with this
observation that a Bible House or group somehow existed in Mt. Dora, Florida.
The
“Missing Bible Students of Mount Dora”
were never really “missing”, because for all practical purposes, they never
truly “existed” at all! It was a faith
born and fostered by one John J. Hoefle, his wife, and when they passed away,
his niece. It was a faith for family,
their family, with few on the outside ever being invited truly in. No organized meetings, no public talks, no
organized systematic bible study that one might reflect on from even the early
days of Charles T. Russell. The newsletter
appears to have been at the center of their “worship”. And in the newsletter grievances were aired
over complex doctrinal differences that few could hope to grasp.
In
Marjorie Williams personal Bible (The
Holy Bible, self pronouncing, Authorized King James Version) found at the
estate sale, were found many detailed notes and included cut outs of articles
she may have found interesting and relevant to her personal bible study. I rarely have seen a personal bible so
thoroughly studied as this one. As I
scanned the contents one cut out article caught my attention. It was a snippet of a chart found in the
October 1, 2005 Watchtower pg. 6
entitled, “Identifying Marks of the Last Days”.
Marjorie
was raised in and around the faith of her Aunt and Uncle, which must have been
somewhat confusing to her. A very small
family study group about incredibly deep material including types and antitype
prophecies fulfilled in characters, according to Hoefle’s mentor, that she
never likely met. And yet, she would run
across the Witness material, in the form of The
Watchtower above, likely from time to time.
Her home, where the estate sale took place, is in a well covered area of
the public ministry of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Orlando. She would have had some contact at the very
least in the door to door message presented by them. Her opinions remain largely unknown in this area,
but she thought enough of this specific article to cut it out and keep it for
some 10 years until her death. She knew
of the ministry of Jehovah’s Witnesses but I ponder if she ever attempted to
speak to them about her family history leading back to the early 20th
century and one Charles Taze Russell’s influence on them. On the 2nd floor of this small
mansion was the exquisite library where the ornate painting of Russell hung, a
large painting with a gold frame mentioned previously. Surrounding the painting were approximately
100 or more study books directly related to those early days of the Watchtower
Bible & Tract Society but I’m quite sure none of the Jehovah’s Witnesses in
the area had any idea of this. I
certainly didn’t have any idea and I’ve lived 20 minutes from her residence
most of my life.
No,
the “group” didn’t engage in any real ministry work. Certainly nothing like Charles Russell
himself would have encouraged. Unlike
Jehovah’s modern day Witnesses, the group did very little to preach and teach the
word. They really didn’t exist in any
substantial or effective way in respects to any real ministry effort. Perhaps they were just “students of the Bible” as their official name suggests. And while Marjorie may have written letters
or corresponded, and while there may have been a 3-4 page newsletter of
basically reprinting of much older material already available to the public,
the actual ministry of this group remained ineffective and dead…
I
purchased about 25-30 books from the estate sale and the dealer that I
mentioned above, they helped me put the pieces together. The picture is clear to me now, 30 years
later, after all this attention to one Charles Taze Russell and his early
message of hope for mankind. His message
would have evolved with the current needs of mankind in line with the Bible’s
infallible direction and counsel. His
message would have remained relevant and meaningful for people. Easy to understand and apply. Russell’s message as found in The Watch Tower magazine would have
continued, with the help of Jehovah’s spirit, to be of benefit as it aligned
with the Bible so that Jehovah’s modern servants would continue to be
“completely equipped for every good work”.
This work, in line with Russell’s own desire, would be found all over
the world in as many languages as possible (over 1000 currently) and be easily
accessible to all.
And
I’m happy to report, that it is! With millions
observing the memorial of Christ’s death this year and the website “JW.ORG”
being accessible to most of the world currently (as of 2021 it has been
outlawed in communist Russia) much of the world’s population has at their
fingertips instant guidance and scriptural direction on many different challenges
facing mankind today, no matter their age, gender, race or nationality. This is what Jehovah would have wanted. And if Luke 7:35 applies, and I believe it
does, “wisdom is proved righteous by all its children”. In other words, by their “fruits you will
recognize them”. What organization has
shown incredible growth of the Christian message free from the hypocrisy
plaguing much of the worlds religions today?
The answer to that is the answer to who has the lasting truth of God’s
word. Truth that not only sets us free,
but offers the hope of everlasting life.
This truth would not be “missing” but would be easily found, easily
accessible.
And
it is!
