Joseph Franklin Rutherford

Joseph Franklin Rutherford 8 November 1869?8 January 1942, is best known as the second president of the Watch Tower Society, the legal organization used by Jehovah's Witnesses. He was preceded by Charles Taze Russell, and followed by Nathan H. Knorr.

Related Topics:
8 November - 1869 - 8 January - 1942 - Watch Tower Society - Jehovah's Witnesses - Charles Taze Russell - Nathan H. Knorr

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Rutherford was born to a farm family in Morgan County, Missouri, his parents being Baptists. His father opposed his interests in law studies, but allowed him in the end to go to college. After completing his education, he worked as a court reporter and was admitted to the bar at Boonville, Missouri. Still later he became a special?or substitute?judge in the same Fourteenth Judicial District of Missouri. Because of this background in law, he was often referred to as "Judge Rutherford".

Related Topics:
Morgan County, Missouri - Baptists - Boonville, Missouri

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He became interested in the teachings of The Bible Students in 1894, after he and his wife had seen three of the books of Russell's work Millennial Dawn. He was baptized as a Bible Student in 1906, and in 1907 he became their juridical counselor. He served as a travelling overseer in the following years. He was elected President of the Watch Tower Society in 1916, after Russell's death.

Related Topics:
1894 - 1906 - 1907 - 1916

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The seventh volume of the Millenial Dawn series included strong criticism of Christendom's clergy which prompted clergy pressure for government censure and eventually a wave of persecution in North America and Europe. Finally, in 1918 he served an imprisonment together with seven associates in Atlanta, Georgia, for allegedly opposing Selective Draft Act and the Espionage Law. They were freed within a year, and these charges were later dismissed.

Related Topics:
1918 - Atlanta - Georgia

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He became ill while in prison and never fully recovered, due to poor circulation of the air in his cell. Due to his weakened condition he had contracted pneumonia. Thereafter, he went to California. He spent much time at that place in the following years.

Related Topics:
Pneumonia - California

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The period that followed 1919 brought changes in the thinking and activity of the Bible Students. The period was a time of constant change and development. During the upcoming decades they quit celebrating Christmas and birthdays and using the cross as a symbol.

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In San Diego, California in the 1920's, the organization built a house in California called Beth Sarim. The Hebrew words Beth Sarim mean 'House of the Princes'. It was bought for the claimed "purpose of housing the prophets and godly men of old", who were expected to be physically resurrected before Armageddon to help with Christ's Millennial reign over the earth. A local paper published a humorous interview with Rutherford about the beliefs in March 1930. Rutherford used the villa himself for many years until his death in 1942, and in 1948 the villa was sold. These teachings were soon after dismissed.

Related Topics:
San Diego, California - 1920's - Armageddon

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Rutherford's presidency is noteworthy for increasing the drive to "advertise the King and His Kingdom" found in Jesus's model prayer. The advertising work has become the prime hallmark for which Jehovah's Witnesses are recognized today. At the same time, Jehovah's Witnesses also made a conscious effort to avoid following any human leader as some had tended to do with Pastor Russell. In 1931 at a convention in Columbus, Ohio, Rutherford delivered a talk proposing the adoption of a new name for the group, up till then only known as International Bible Students or Bible Students. The new name of "Jehovah's Witnesses" was adopted there.

Related Topics:
1931 - Columbus, Ohio

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J.F. Rutherford served as President of the Watch Tower Society and was known as a strong preacher until his death in 1942 in San Diego.

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