Who is nathan knorr

Within a month of his taking office, arrangements were made for an Advanced Course in Theocratic Ministry , a school that featured Bible research and public speaking.

On September 24, , Knorr suggested that the Society establish another school to train missionaries for service in foreign countries where there was a great need for Kingdom proclaimers. The suggestion was unanimously approved by the board. Knorr was an excellent organizer who understood that good branch organization was needed to keep pace with the forward movement of the preaching work.

In , when he became president, there were 25 branch offices. By , despite the bans and hindrances of World War II, there were branches in 57 lands. Over the next 30 years, the number of branches increased to Bethel was his whole life.

He never even took his vacations. He did not know where to go, he never had any one to receive him, but for him, at the time, anything was better than Bethel. I met him later, he slept at a flophouse for fifty cents a night. When he was short of money, he begged from Bethel workers and other Witnesses to give him some money to provide him with food. I gave him some for his needs. The Bethel workers were instructed to not give him money, and a letter was sent saying the same from the Bethel headquarters directed to the congregations in the area.

I heard later, that eventually Charles de Wilda died on a park bench in a public park. This was an example that revealed to me how little the love that exists at headquarters for the personnel who worked there. I read on the Freeminds website that Knorr was a confirmed bachelor for some time, and some people were surprised when he eventually married.

I also remember reading that Knorr was obsessive and uptight in his attitudes to sex and the like, even giving each new set of bethel recruits instructions on how to use the bathroom.

I don't know if this is true or not, and no, I don't have any links. Nathan Knorr was a pompous ass. He showed respect for few but expected all to be agog at his stature in the org while feigning a false humility in his speeches. He expected the thousands to swoon at his boring overtime convention prattle. A pock on him. I heard a story from a missionary who has since passed away about a Gilead student who was suffering from a mental disorder back in Knorr's day. She would become disoriented at night and was known to strip naked and do other strange things.

Knorr apparently wanted her back in her home country - and as cheap as possible. He sent her back alone on some sort of cargo ship. She had one of her episodes and jumped overboard, lost at sea. Among other things, it pointed out that the 2,year- long Gentile Times began with the desolation of earthly Jerusalem in B. It is the good news of that kingdom that they preach world wide.

Winds of religious and social change then were blowing throughout the United States. Also, to them its moral code was out of date. Northern cities were affected too. Some were rocked by riots. He, in turn, saw that they were properly directed. Later that year such vital information was published in The Watchtower. See the issues of November 1 through December 1. We might have found ourselves stuck with the same reasoning that the clergy have who have involved themselves in marches, protests and social issues of the day.

Why, just look at a shelf containing books that have been published by the Watch Tower Society in relatively recent years! And the fulfillment of restoration prophecies of Haggai and Zechariah is viewed from the twentieth-century vantage point in Paradise Restored to Mankind—by Theocracy!

Rich spiritual provisions have been made for old and young alike. Back in , the book From Paradise Lost to Paradise Regained was published in simple language and profusely illustrated. Here is a publication designed for parents to read with their children. It was an aid dealing with basic Bible doctrines.

As a basic Bible study aid, it has proved to be a helpful instrument in the hands of Kingdom proclaimers. Thinking back to the district assemblies, C. Right from its introduction, it was apparent that it would have tremendous appeal to all thinking people. During May special efforts were made to get it into the hands of educators, with excellent results. Another noteworthy innovation came in What could this new development be?

The new publication would involve the student at every turn. But there was something more to the surprise that was in store for assembly delegates. The new Truth book was to be used in a six-month Bible study program. Because of the way this publication involved the student, generally by the time he completed it he would. In , however, the number of those immersed was down to 58, Under the circumstances one might well have asked, Is the work slowing down?

Time proved that it was not. During the service year 74, persons were baptized. This was an upswing and it gave renewed reason for optimism. Then came , along with the Truth book and the six-month Bible study program. The number of publishers started to climb again all over the earth. The listeners began to become doers of the work. Truly Jehovah directed the bringing forth of this small but powerful disciple-making instrument.

Did you know that it is now being published in ninety-one languages? Furthermore, in the six years since it was first released, 74,, copies of it have come off the press.

Take The Watchtower as an example. Now, by , the average printing of each issue is some 8,, copies in 79 languages. During the years since The Watchtower has undergone some changes in name and format. For years, Watchtower covers were printed in black and white. Then, with the issue of January 1, , a new colored cover was introduced. The journal then had larger, but fewer pages than it now contains. Indeed it has! Since its first issue—that of August 22, —Awake!

This journal, too, is part of that great flood tide of literature announcing the Kingdom. Why, from the through the service years 2,,, copies of Awake!

It may surprise you to know that from through the service year the Watchtower Society has printed ,, bound books at its headquarters and by means of other printeries throughout the earth. It was back in that the Society moved into its modern fireproof structure of reinforced concrete at Adams Street in Brooklyn, New York. Thus property adjacent to the original plant was purchased, evacuated and then demolished.

Excavation for the new factory began on December 6, , and construction commenced in January When completed, this nine-story concrete addition almost doubled the factory floor space. One the Kingdom Ministry Schools was also conducted there for a number of years, up till May 4, Some years earlier, in , the Society had printed 17,, copies of The Watchtower and Consolation now Awake! During , however, the total was 57,, copies.

By spring of , therefore, excavation for a new factory began and in this thirteen-story plant was completed. In the Society purchased a nine-story factory on an adjoining city block, and this has been used almost exclusively for storage.

So in , on a block adjoining its other plants, construction began on another large factory. That eleven-story structure, dedicated on January 31, , added , square feet of floor space to the Watchtower factory complex. Late in the rate of expansion increased dramatically. Barber recalls watching some of the construction of the Squibb complex years ago. So, lo and behold, it had come to pass! Hence, in a twelve-story addition to the home was completed. But the headquarters staff continued to increase.

So, on December 8, , there began the demolition of the old buildings on the site of a proposed Bethel annex, a building on Columbia Heights in Brooklyn. Construction on it began in , and before long the twelve-story Bethel addition was completed. On hand were members of the Bethel family and brothers who had worked on the structure, making a total of persons. The headquarters staff itself had grown from in to in The fronts of three old structures were allowed to remain and a seven-story home was wrapped around behind these and tied into them.

This new building at Columbia Heights was dedicated on May 2, Additionally, seventy students of Gilead School then lived at headquarters, bringing the total to 1, To help to accommodate so many people, the Society leased three floors of the nearby Towers Hotel.

So the size of the farm was reduced. The original farm of acres was acquired there in , becoming known as Watchtower Farm. A fine residence building was completed there in , and other construction followed. In time another farm was acquired nearby. Today the two Watchtower Farms cover 1, acres. Moreover, among the numerous structures on farm No.

Factory No. In factory No. Six rotary presses are already in operation there, making a total of ten presses in the two factories. When completed, these plants will provide about , square feet of floor space. By October , over regular and temporary workers were serving at the Watchtower Farms. Expansion has been the watchword throughout the earth. And, from until now they have increased the number of their large rotary presses earth wide from nine to sixty-four.

Certainly, printing facilities are available to meet the growing demand for Bible literature. Why has all this expansion around the globe been undertaken? It is because those. Is that your objective too? Members of the headquarters staff share such desires. That is why they have been working diligently to produce Bible literature. Their combined efforts during the service year made it possible to produce, in the United States alone, ,, copies of The Watchtower and Awake!

To whom must the credit go for all this theocratic expansion? This is not the result of mere human planning and earnest effort. The credit must go to Jehovah God, who makes things grow.

He is the One who has prospered the efforts of his people in preaching the good news of the Kingdom. Octogenarian Edith R. That was truly a mere handful. Incidentally, that is where I first met Brother Macmillan.

I cannot describe my feelings as I sat there, in Boston, sixty-eight years later and gazed upon that great crowd of Witnesses surrounding me. As in the earlier days, when so few in number, the same holy spirit, zeal and love for Jehovah filled our hearts.

These exalted the name Jehovah and provided education regarding obedience to the divine principles for which that name stands. Among other things, information was presented concerning further theocratic alignment of the modern-day Christian congregation. But before we consider the organizational developments brought to the fore at the district assemblies, we do well to take a look at the past. First, let us go back some three decades.

The theme of those discourses emphasized the importance of the business to be transacted at the annual meeting that year. Because of the developments on that occasion. Upon its becoming effective, membership would be limited to not more than men, all chosen on the basis of their active service to God. Jehovah is supreme, and his government or organization is strictly theocratic. If counted from June 1, , the 2, days extended to October 8, Or, if reckoned from June 15, , they ended on October 22, Especially important were portions of the program that dealt with the governing arrangement of the early Christian congregation.

Brought to light was the need for some modern-day adjustments. Acts ; 1 Tim. It was therefore deemed fitting to have a different chairman of the body of elders serve each year where there is more than one elder in a congregation. According to that letter of December 1, , all baptized men of the congregation twenty years old and upward were considered.

See Ezra When members of the congregation committee and other qualified brothers met together, prayer was said. A few had to disqualify themselves. This arrangement has brought out an honesty and humility that would have been impossible except for this forward step in understanding of Bible principles of organization. Finally, after an analysis of qualifications possessed by brothers in the congregations, recommendations were submitted to the governing body.

After August 1, , the congregations began to receive letters appointing overseers and ministerial servants. At these gatherings divine rulership commanded paramount attention. One of the significant assembly releases was the new page book Organization for Kingdom-preaching and Disciple-making. Among other things, it outlined the improvements being made in the structure of the Christian congregation.

The Organization book and the assembly program combined well to point out the practical aspects of such reorganization and to demonstrate how these would work out. However, the new Organization book and various assembly program features highlighted the importance of congregational recognition of divine rulership. Today Brother Knorr is home at Bethel, but he is not at the head of the table. Instead, F.

But the arrangement went farther than this. So it was that F. Franz became the chairman of the governing body for one year as of October 1, Appropriately, the governing body set the example in putting into effect the new organizational arrangement. The first shifting of responsibilities began in September , and by October 1 the arrangement of things in most congregations had been adjusted.

In many cases, the former assistant congregation servant became the presiding overseer, the previous congregation servant became the Theocratic Ministry School overseer, and so forth. Each year the elders in a congregation would rotate to various positions, and they would work together as a body, having in mind the spiritual welfare of the congregation and the need to cooperate with one another in shepherding the flock of God allotted to them.

Many are the benefits of the new congregational arrangement. For instance, Edgar C. From late June to January they held a globe- encircling international convention that plainly showed that they anxiously await divine victory.

Usually, only daytime sessions were held, enabling delegates to return to their lodging places early and eliminating travel after dark in areas where this might be inadvisable. Evening hours were often spent reviewing assembly highlights. Only those siding with Jesus Christ, the King of kings, will be spared. They alone will be witnesses of the divine victory and will join in the celebration that follows it. In all, at these gatherings , met to enjoy the rich spiritual blessings provided by Jehovah for his people.

World wide, conventions were held, at which 81, persons were baptized and there was a total attendance of 2,, What a cause to express gratitude to the Divine Victor! Months in advance The Watchtower had said that the program would focus considerable attention on the Kingdom-preaching and disciple-making work.

Ten days— September 21 through 30—would be set aside for distribution of these tracts, the speaker pointed out. They would be handed to the people personally in house-to-house work, copies being left under the doors if no one was at home. The Watch Tower Society would send tracts to every congregation on the basis of for each publisher.

It was desired that every dwelling receive a copy; so free distribution of millions was certain. On December 22 through 31, , they again engaged in mass distribution of Kingdom News. Now, a couple of thousand years ago, when even the simplest cut or nasty cold could kill you, it probably made good sense to avoid drinking the blood of animals, especially when, as alluded to in that Acts verse, you were talking about animals sacrificed on some pagan altar somewhere. But in , Nathan Knorr, with no background in medicine, decided that these ancient texts were a clear message from God to avoid blood transfusions during modern medical procedures.

And here he is, in his own words, explaining the reasoning behind this policy that leads children — children! Because the Bible says that you should not take blood or eat blood, the blood must be spilled upon the ground. The life is in the blood. Are those words convincing?

We post behind-the-scenes updates at our Facebook author page. After every new story we send out an alert to our e-mail list and our FB page. Tony Ortega is a journalist who was formerly the editor of The Village Voice.

You can reach him by sending him a message at tonyo94 AT gmail.