Watchtower: 1951 Convention Report - London

7/24/2019 Watchtower: 1951 Convention Report - London

1/35

R PORl\

OF THE

CLE N WORSHIP

SSEMBL

Y

OF

J E H O V A H S WITNESSES

WEM LEY

S T A D I U M L O N D O N

U G UST 1 5

9 51


2/35

REPORT

OF INTERNATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF

JEHOVAH S WITNESSES

ST DIUM

LONDON

UGUST

1

Clean

Worship

ssembly Opens Under Ideal

Surroundings

T was a great joy to all Jehovah's witnesses in the British Isles

when we first

learned

that

there

was to be a convention here

1951. This announcement was made by the

president

of the

at the Yankee

Stadium

t

the

close of

the

International

in August, 1950

an

invitation to those pres

to attend.

Very

soon

efforts were

made

to

a

place that

would accommo

the

large numbers that

would

be present. As

the

rolled

by the

news was con

but

the location of the audi

was not disclosed. Conjecture

high.

Then came

The Watchtower

Wembley

Stadium,

of the largest sports

arenas

in

British

Isles and the centre

for

and

international

events held in

this

country.

was to

be a

great

occasion

and

must

be

put forth to

all to an appreciation of

the

this great international

Wheels of organization commence

turn: thousands of accommodations

feed the

crowds from the British Isles

other lands; advance advertising

for

the greatest

of all conventions in

Britain. The

nformant

from

early

February carries enthusing news and

information.

Months

melt to weeks.

Then comes July, pre-convention

month

when

as

always

excitement

mounts.

The

convention

spirit is

in

the

air,

service

meetings country-wide

trumpet the

stirring

call "Come to

Wembley "

They

came.

At

the

same

time arrangements were being

made

in other lands so that

by

convention

time 40 different nations were repre

sented in the crowds that gathered

at the stadium. Delegates from far

Australia, twelve thousand miles away

mingled

with

those from. Wembley

itself,

within the

shadow

of

the

stadium. Vondon welcomed its

Christian visitors

and

Jehovah

will

bless all those

who

gave

hospitality

ungrudgingly.

The night of July 31 saw the weary

travellers

from

other lands arrive and

these sought their

beds

early. The

faithful

band of pre-convention work

ers showed their neighbour love by

making ready the

great arena

for

Clean

Worship.

The customar

vities

of the stadium would c

and

it was

necessary

for

the

tion installation

crew to

str

arena of all stalls, banners,

etc. after the

afternoon

sess

Thursday and

Saturday

and

everything by first thing the

ing morning

s

that no one

detect

any

change.

This

di

was

successfully

overcome.

August 1 the opening day,

warm sun beamed down on

of

New

World peace. The be

setting of the platform w

thousands of :flowers caused a

g

delight. Then

at

last the

long-

for

opening

session with

Ki

songs heralding praises to Jeh

name

from

thousands of jo

hearts. The theme of

clean w

was manifest on every hand.

ing the arena were two

140-fo

ners proclaiming

the

yeartext

w

the invitation is

extended

heaven itself

to

peoples of go

in all nations to "Praise J a

people" for Jehovah's gloriou

is holy sanctified. Those on

who bear that

name

must likew

clean

and

must

worship

Jeho

spirit

and

in truth.


3/35

2

REPORT

OF

INTERN T ION L SSEMBLY

OF JEHOVAH'S

WITNE

W RM WELCOME BY CH IRM N

OFFICI LLY OPENS SSEMB

Nearly 19.000 in Attendance

''LIFE-GIVING KNOWLEDGE DAY

Promptly at 9:

15 on

the

morning of

August

1

the

conventioners

assembled

for

the opening session which commenced with the sing

ing

of song

59 in

praise td Jehovah. This was followed by the

opening

prayer and

a

talk by

S.

E.

Reynolds of the London Sounding Jehovah s Praise

Bethel

on

Ministers

of Life- Then followed J. Nathan, of Can-

giving Knowledge . Service. in- ada, who launched into his theme of

Praise to the New

World's

Founder

structions followed

and

imme- by stating

that

it is time

this

genera-

diately the convention crowds tion

woke

up to

realize how near they

dispersed to

take

up

their

place

are

to salvation or destruction. The

out in the

field to

extend

life-

old world kingdoms, powers and na-

tions

right

from

Babylon

had no

giving

knowledge to all who

rightful birth; they were born

in

would receive it.

defiance

of Jehovah, they

are not

Official Opening

At

2:

15 p.m., under sunny skies,

the convention

chairman,

E.

C Chitty,

.of the London office, welcomed the

18,886 attenders at the official open

ing

of this

assembly

for clean

wor

ship.

Jehovah

invited us

to

this

assembly. t is His assembly

and

the

call was

well expressed

at Psalm

95, verses 1-7. Treat Wembley

Stadium as our Kingdom Hall coun

selled

the chairman,

and attend

all

meetings

with

good behaviour,

for

not without good reason

is

this called

'Clean Worship'

Assembly .

true sons. He showed how the New

World

Government, God's kingdom,

was

born

in 1914,

and

God's Word

directs that we should praise the

New

World's Founder.

Revelation,

chapter

12, shows

that

in 1914

Satan

was cast down, not exalted,

and

the

proof of this is that Jehovah's wit

nesses are no longer in

captivity, but

are

free,

happy, and praising

Jah,

because Jehovah our

God, the Al

mighty, has

begun

to rule as king .

Proper Conduct

The next item on the program was

a

timely symposium: Met

together

J. Nathan

Grant Suiter

'

Chapman

E C. Chitty

in

my name . D. M.

Bradb

the

London Bethel,

under the

A t the

Same .

Place

s_tres

importance

of uniting

togethe

Kingdom

Halls and the neces

keeping our place of worship

T.

H.

Gibson, . also

of

the

Bethel, under Conduct

in

Household exhorted to

con

the Kingdom Hall that wou

credit to the One

in

whose n

meet. A. N. Bower, a circuit

in Britain,

pointedly rounded

symposium with Kindness

to

gers

in which he

reminded

the

.need for extending a w

vitation to the strangers an

coming them

into the

family

Said speaker : Kindness

having

the feelings natural t

of the same family;

to

show c

ation to others .

King

t

the emple

The afternoon

session clos

a discourse

by

P. Chapma

Canadian branch

servant,

New

World's

King

at

the T

The

speaker

brought forth un

dictable

arguments

proving


4/35

discernible by

the

signs of

the

and through the

eye

of faith.

esus said,

Blessed are

your eyes

they see. f you cannot see the

World's King

at

the Temple, it

not because he is not there,

but

there is something . wrong

you. The only remedy is that

cleanse

yourself

and

you

the

King. The speaker

drew

the

fact that Isaiah

says in

six, I see the

Lord.

Those

the New World's King at the

continue

in

the

cleansed

singing the glorious song

turning the people's eyes away

old world rule and aiding

to

see

the New World's King

in his

glory.

This Life-giving Knowledge

was

continued

during

the

even

session when

it

was shown how

knowledge s received

through

'servant' organization. We wit

demonstration of a meeting

f the servants with the circuit ser

during

the 'latter's

visit to

the

Herein was stressed the

of

a

positive

outlook,

accepting

Society's

call

for

34 per cent in

as

a God-directed certainty if

at with vision and

enthusiasm.

R. Gough and H. C

Fairfax

de

need for personal

in

helping the newly

field service

and

at

a _t

all

meetings ; also the

for \mthusiastic example by

publishers.

'Sign People

The

Guiding

Sign . Under this

a

talk

was delivered

by

G E.

of

the Brooklyn Bethel, who

been a full-time servant

in

the

and book

production

fa,.ctory

years. The speaker asked,

Would you

like

to

travel at high

a dark highway that is not

lights

or

signs,

or

a

well

lighted

highway

equipped

of s i g n s ~ The answer

obvious.

All mankind

are on

the

destination. Jeho

has

provided a proper guide

and

people of good will

disaster to New World salva

The great

guide

of all

is God's

Building a boat on

dry

land

the

sign provided by Jehovah

the

flood. The rainbow a

sign

after the flood. The ten

were a sign . o

Pharaoh.

The

'lirgin

birth

of

Jesus

was

a

great

sign

given through Isaiah. Jesus

healed

the

sick, perforpied miracles

and preached, this was sufficient sign

for the

meek who

wanted to

be guided

in right worship. Not so

the

religious

clergy. Jesus told

them they

observed

the weather

but

not the times. Who is

to guide the people t o d a y ~ Jehovah's

sign people. Should we

expect

some

thing

spectacular to

convince

us

of

the importance

of

the

times'

All

who

are

not satisfied

with the

sign

of Christ's coming as manifest in

the

earth

today will be sadly

mistaken

if they do not act upon

what

they

can see now. Look to

Jehovah and

his Word,

the

Bible,

to

his Great

Shepherd, Christ Jesus, and to his

Theocratic organization.

Join

the

sign

people in proclaiming the mes

sage

from

door

to

door.

Don't wait

for something more spectacular

but

carry on clean worship.

Will the tones Cry Out ?

Under this interest-catching title,

M. G

Henschel

then came

to

the

microphone. Summarising his re

marks, we were reminded

that

God

has purposed that a mighty witness

must

be given world-wide at

this

end

of the world. He

has

purposed

it and

none

can

stop it. Jesus said that

if

the disciples did

not preach, the

stones

would cry out. The increase

of

the

testimony now

brings increased

oppo

sition. Efforts are

now

being made in

some countries

to

stop the Kingdom

work but it will go on. Psalm 91 shows

the protection that

Jehovah

has over

his organization and over his people.

M

G. Henschel

Take

strength from this and be

ful

now. t

is

not necessary f

stones to cry out because God's

shows that he will

have

his

se

on

earth

right now. We will

faithfully as a

body of

God's

se

throughout

the

earth

and

pra

name of Jehovah evermore.

FOREIGN L NGU

MEETINGS

For the benefit of

the

man

gates from

other

countries f

language sessions were held b

the stadium

and at

two of

the n

Kingdom

Halls.

On the morni

two of the days when the E

speaking publishers were

out

field witnessing, at

least

four di

meetings

were

in progress

at

di

locations inside

the

stadium.

meetings were addressed, by

and

circuit servants

from

the

tive countries and judging fro

applause that punctuated the m

there

was much enthusiasm a

preciation. The highlights o

talks

given at

the

stadium

w

lated to the delegates in the

language. Then, too,

many h

teresting experiences to relate

their own countries

as

well as

journeying

to the

convention

these contributed to the lively i

that was manifest. The atten

at these foreign-speaking m

were: Danish, 475;

Finnish

French, 105; German, 310; H

dish, 103; Norwegian, 100,

an

dish, 360. There can be no

about

the keen

appreciation th

felt by those who were able to

together

and

hear

the

latest

mation about the assembly.

One interesting experienc

given

by the brothers

who ca

boat from Helsinki,

Finland.

applied

to use the ship's pub

dress

system

but were told

t

religious services could be held

captain told them, however,

th

could make announcements, bu

there

must be no music.

As

a

the 60 brothers on board were

hold a public meeting on th

which was followed by an inte

atchtower study-and

all

th

the ship's address

system A

good witness was given to

al

on

board.


5/35

REPORT OF INTERNATIONAL ASSEMBLY

OF

JEHOVAH S WITNE

Ministers Working -with a Purpose

MINISTERS OF ~ O DAY

Due

to

the

stadium being closed to

s

for the

evening,

Thursday's

pro

began at

9:

00 a.m. with songs

experiences. Interesting experi

were related from Denmark,

Philippines and

Switzerland, as

as from the

British

field.

Theocratic Ministry

School

Right

on time the Theocratic

School was staged, setting

pattern for early and

punctual

A model meeting followed

greatly-appreciated instruction

student talks, and finally

the

counsel

given

by

M.

G.

Friend,

Gilead

instructor.

Two phrases

the counsel given by this schooJ

will help all. Counselling one

he said, H e counted

his

and

made

his words count ,

H e

said

what

he

meant and

what he said .

Purposeful

Service

The next speaker

was K.

M. Jensen

Brooklyn :Bethel, who discoursed

n Working with a Purpose . We

told that

Jehovah

had a purpose

always

had

a

reason

for

his pur

Christ Jesus had a mind similar

o J'ehovah's.

He

studied the Bible

order

to

be

aware of Jehovah's

as shown at Hebrews

10:

7.

e remembered that his Father's

must

be

made

known

and he

to that

end. The apostles had

purpose,

too,

and

so must we.

is

now given

us for the

witness.

Don't be

mechanical

your

work , he urged.

Then

stres

the

importance

of

Bible

educa

he reminded

us

that the Society

011e Bible study per

pub

imd

although very

few achieve

goal, it .still

stands.

He illus

. he

achieving

of our

purpose

y well-conducted

Bible

studies,

the

teaching of

people

of

.will so

that

they too become

publishers .

Glorify the Ministry

Three B r i t ~ s h circuit servants,

W. Adams, L. A. Hunt and J.

presented a helpful

sympo

The question. was asked, '\Vho

u s ~ and

we

were referred

to

THEOCRATIC MINISTRY SCHOOL IN SESSION

Luke 4: 18 for

the

answer. Proof of

our

ordination

is seen in the results

of our

ministry. The

ministry is

accomplished

not by might

or

by

power, but

by

the spirit of Jehovah.

The need

was

shown for advancing

to maturity. t is both possible and

necessary

and is accomplished by a

study of God's Word, by

feeding at the

one tab.le spread for us, and by stay

ing with

the New

World organization.

Voices from Other Lands

The afternoon session opened with

four brothers giving account of the

ministry of the

Word

in

their respec

tive countries.

First to

the micro

phone

was M.

F.

Anderson,

of

NOR

WAY, with a message of love from

the

Norwegian brothers.

He

told us

that

there were

8 present

at the

assembly and those

not

able

to

come

were with us

in spirit.

The country of

Norway is

mountainous and

rough.

The

work

there

entails hardship

but

all

are

glad of the privilege of service.

SWEDEN

was

represented by 0. F.

Hakanson, who told of the self

satisfied condition of the people of

Sweden.

Not

having suffered

by

recent wars

they

are satisfied with

their way of life and put off Bible

study until

a

later

time.

Des

obstacles good progress is bein

and the Kingdom publishers

i

den

are

working

hard to

ass

other sheep in that land.

From DENMARK camt#th

of J. Poulsgaard telling of 'the

opposition to the Kingdom w

that land. The propaganda

combined religious opposers h

deterred the

work

in

Denma

three

peaks of publishers ha

reached

in the last three

mont

reported that

of the

3,063

pub

in the country,

400

were pre

the convention.

Speaking

on

the

work

in

F. Metcalfe said that Eire m

described as

lying behind

the

curtain which

the

Vatican had

out of something with which

ers

are

familiar-blackout m

To

the delight

of his audience

how large holes are being pie

this curtain through which th

of truth

is

beaming. In this

controlled yountry

Theocratic

the prime requirement, and

years of

patient

service the

t

being

established in

Eire.

Continued

on page 10)


6/35

STADIUM LONDON AUGUST 1-5 1951

FOUR

NEW TRACTS

onfidently

Facing the End

At 3: 15

the conventioners wel

to the microphone the Society's

N.

H. Knorr. This was

iirst

appearance

and

all settled

anticipation to

receive the

refreshm_ent that w?uld _come

his discuss10n of this timely

Jehovah

is the

biggest

optimist

the universe .

With

this

arresting

Knorr

launched

his

theme,

and continued by

that although the world may

upon Jehovah's witnesses

as

for

the

past sev_en-

y

years they have

been preachmg

end

of the

world, they

are the

optimists on

earth

today,

expecting this old world to end

looking

for

a New Vvorld to

with

most

wonderful

opportu

for

living.

Comparing the situation today with

of

the pre-flood period,

Brother

challenged our critics: Where,

ask, would

this

race of humanity

today

if

this one

man

Noah

and

family had not

withdrawn

their

from

this antediluvian world

prepared

for its end

by

building

EFFECTIVE INSTRUMENTS FOR SERVICE

a great

chest-an

ark for man and

beast to

be

preserved i n ~ Noah

was

not to build an interplanatory rocket

ship

to get

away

from

the earth.

No,

he was to

stay right

there and

build

an ark.

Persons

today,

who

are

in

formed of the world's

end

would be

wise to imitate their ancient fore

father and withdraw their support

from

this

doomed

world

and

walk

with God.

vVe

were urged not to

feel

ashamed

or embarrassed

because

the

world

thinks us queer

and

unscientific.

t

is

something over which to feel

grateful

to

God, because we

have preferred

to

suffer

reproach with him

and

his

Son.

The evil spoken

of

Noah did

not

prove him wrong

for

he survived

the deluge, whereas the evil speakers

were flooded

out of existence.

Then

we were

reminded

of

the early

Christians who recognized that the

world

was condemned and did not

wish

to

remain

a part

of it. Thus

they set

an

example foR. us, and like

them we must be wise aiid recognize

that we are

making

a

record

now

for

our

judgment before

God.

We

must

live

according

to

the

New

World

standards

and withdraw our

l

support from

this world

if

w

to escape

destruction

with

it.

After

speaking

of

the

urgen

which the apostles wrote

coming world's end, the

quest

put, How

can you be

sure

t

plete end is not

another

n

centuries a w a y ~

Peter's

let

cause

it was written

about

seve

before the destruction of

Je

A.D. 70 may have induced

write the way he

did,

but

Christendom, the modern cou

of unfaithful

Jerusalem, is i

anguish, and we

see

fulfille

1914

all

the

signs

of the

c

end which

Jesus

described

prophecy.

The

complete

end

things of

this world

has

draw

and

the time remaining

is

m

cious now. f this is our co

we must prove

it by the

way

and act. Finally, Brother

Kn

horted: As a Theocratic or

tion

we must

push on throug

and

the remaining time

of

Go

bearance towards this worl

must

hold together by love, u

fighting,

unitedly serving

Go

edly

enduring and

praying

t

out all the

earth

Onwa

the preaching of this good n

God's

kingdom in all the eart

witness, not

stopping

until the

plished end

comes

and Jehov

arises for

his witnesses, and

h

World follows into which w

survive

to his

everlasting

pr

Christ

Jesus

l

PRESIDENT RELEASES THE TRACTS

Then

came a

surprise--th

duction of four

tracts with

th

What Do

Jehovah's

Witnes

l i e v e ~ , Hell Fire.

Bible T

Pagan

S c a r e ~ Jehovah's

W

es,

Communists

or Christians

Awake from Sleep . Brothe

expressed

the

hope

that b

would

carry them

in

their

and sisters

in

their hand bags

they

could be

used at

every

turiity.

When

supplies are

a

the tracts will be

obtainable

for

1,000 copies, 3/- for 500

f or 250. The news

was

greet

loud

applause and soon excited

tioners

were collecting

their

copies

from attendants

at

the


7/35

6

REPORT OF

INTERNATIONAL

ASSEMBLY OF JEHOVAH S WITN

WEM LEY

STADIUM

ND ITS

SURROUNDS

The

stadium at Wembley made

an

impressive

setting for

the greatest

international convention Britain had

ever

seen. Situated on a hill and

in

spacious

grounds,

it

is visible

from

a

considerable distance, a

fact

which

enabled conventioners

to readily

locate

this centre

for the CLEAN WORSHIP

ASSEMBLY

of

Jehovah's

witnesses.

Those who approached

along

Olym

pic Way were

greeted

by

a

banner,

Welcome

Jehovah's

Witnesses

hung

high above the

roadway;

and beyond,

stretched across the front of the sta

dium,

another

huge

banner

displaying

the title of the

public

talk, captured

the

eye.

The

thousands who

trekked

along Olympic Way on the opening

day took note of the

cafeteria

tents

on

the

left

as

one

reached

the stadium

itself.

The

cafeteria

remained a hive

of industry during

the five days of

the

convention,

and catered

well for

our material needs.

Attendants, on duty from the start,

were

able to direct the

crowds

to the

entrances and stands. The sense

of

space outside continued when one

reached the

interior.

The wide corri

dor beneath

the stands

and

encom

passing

the

stadium, made a very

suitable place for the various depart

ments, which were easily identified

by

well-displayed signs.

The Platform

Seated in the stands it was refresh

ing to

the eyes to look

down

on

to

the beautifully-kept green carpet

of

grass,

with the platform of lighter

green,

situated at the. east

end

of the

playing

pitch, and flanked on either

side

by

38 conifers.

In

front

of the

platform and stretching

across

the

lawn were five artistically-arranged

lower beds composed

of

3,000

vivid

red

geraniums, together with mari

golds,

and

edged with blue lobelia.

t added

to

one's pleasure in this

lovely display to know

that the

flowers

had

been grown

by

the brothers es

pecially for

this

auspicious occasion.

In

white letters,

standing

out.

of

the.

grass, were the words JEHOVAH'S

WITNESSES . So

striking

was the

platform

lay-out that press comments

were frequent, and the

crowd

at the

Thursday evening sporting

event

ap

plauded

the decision

of the stadium

officials to allow

the

flowers to remain

in

place. The

day

before the opening

of

the convention busy hands had been

setting the beds

in

peat, resting upon

tarpaulin

sheets to protect the grass.

As the sun shone on the scene it

brought into relief this beautiful

scheme

centred

around

the

speaker's

stand.

A

red

carpet

was

placed along

the

approach

to

the

platform

used

by

the

speakers.

Signs

On the

north

and south sides

of

the

arena the words of the yeartext stood

out in bold red

letters

on a black

background: Praise J ah,

you

people,

because Jehovah

our God,

the

Al

mighty,

HAS BEGUN TO RULE AS

KING ,

Rev. 19: 6, NW.

the last

six words

being

high-lighted in bright red lumi

nous paint.

Lifting one's gaze from

the

arena

and above the stands the eye

lingered

on

the two artistic

banners,

one at

each

end of the

stadium,

exhibiting

the

title C L E A ~

WORSHIP.ASSEMBLY .

The

tote,

which might accord i l l

with

a clean worship assembly, was covered

effectively with khaki canvas, relieved

with a huge white

circle

bearing

the

initials J

\V

in

red.

Orchestra

Along

the north

side

of the sta

dium, over

the

Royal Box, runs

a

spacious

glass

fronted

gallery,

beautifully fur

nished,

and

com

manding

a

full

view

of the arena.

A

part of this

gal

lery

was.

devoted

to the orchestra,

a well-balanced

ensemble

of 54 pieces at the be

of the

convention.

and augme

90 pieces

by

Sunday. The vo

personnel of

the

orchestra

wa

national,

and among

their

were professional musicia:Q.s. O

day the

augmented orchestra

r

a

symphonic

arrangement

of

Kingdom

songs.

Choir

Immediately

below the en

and in front

of

the

orchestra

th

of

150 choristers of various

led

the

singing. Microphones

ded

from

the

roof

gave the

volume

for

the vast arena,

that the problem of co-ord

orchestra, choir and assembly

very real one. This, howeve

overcome

in

a

most ingeniou

The music

was

'canned',

tha

was confined

and

set

apart

fr

assembly

and sent to

the pr

conductor, who,

standing

in

the

of

the vast green pitch, picked

orchestra immediately

by w

earphones during conducting

the choir conductor

and

or

conductor watched the

princip

ductor

and

in this

way

perfe

chronisation was achieved.

Sound Equipment

The stadium's public

address

amplified

by the Society's syste

exceptionally clear reception th

out

the

stadium and grounds.

A

reporter, enquiring

as

to

the

for

this

said that

never befo

he heard

such clear

and ad

reception.

Moving about the stadium

grounds

the throng of conven

completed the colourful

scen

bright

summer dresses

of

the

and

holiday attire

of

the b

interspersed here

.and

there w

turesque national

costumes

from

lands.

Between sessions one

see happy

conventioners

picnic

the warm

sunshine,

and enjoy

cream

and. refreshments

whic

obtainable,,in

abundance. Old.a

tances

'vere

rene\ved and new

made,

and

everywhere was

s e

joy

in

worship and fellowship

causes

the bystander. to

rema

a .spirit pervades among Je

witnesses

that

is

not to

be

else\vhere.


8/35


9/35

8

Immersion Candidates

at

Meeting

REPORT OF

INTERNATIONAL

ASSEMBLY OF JEHOVAH S WITNE

I

23 B PTIZED

at L

Weather onditions Ide

SONS AND DAUGHTERS

Of

very special importance

day

chosen

for

the

baptism

of

presenting themselves before Je

as his

prospective

children for

immersion

symbolizing

their lif

secration

to

him.

t

was

thrilling to see so

gathered

in the section of the st

where they were addressed

o

subject of baptism

by

E. A.

C

the

London Bethel.

They

wer

by

the

speaker, Baptism

to yo

be

a great blessing from

the

High and you

will

be able to

back on

it

with

great

joy and

tude to

the

great Giver of aJ

things. Baptism is not a time fe

it is a feature of the heart, the

there should

be no delay.

Th

didates

for

immersion

were tol

it is

the

action

of the

heart

determines

whether

one shou

immersed.

There

will

be

diffi

to meet, but a Christian's l

never weakened

by

difficultie

strengthened.

Many of

those

were immersed on

this

occasio

remember the words Never le

one take

you

from the Lord's ac

Remember that this is your par

day. Be filled

with

lovingkindne

to

another and to

the

Lord. Je

will bless your way and at the

your course

grant

you multitu

Leaving for Immersion

t

the Lido witne ing the lmmersioa


10/35

STADIUM LONDON AUGUST 1-5 95

in

. t.he New

World of

.

To

the

ido

for aptism

The 1,123 that were

later

immersed,

many of their friends,

made their way to

Ruislip Lido,

distance from the stadium. t

thrilling sight

as we watched

many

newly

interested make

their

determinedly to

the

place

of

im

Galilee Comes to the Lido

the headi:g to one newspaper

scenes at the pool.

Here

is

what

one

reporter

of a

newspaper

said con

the immersion: Shortly af

was

chatting with a young

and he said : 'This is remi

the

days of

John the

Bap

and

the river Jordon'.

Those

give a clue to the almost

earnestness

of

.Jehovah s

were at

the

Lido

for

a

t was a grand setting.

water,

a cool breeze. A

man

n

bathing trunks waded in

and stood

t middle depth, smiling and waving

He

was

the

first minister

immerser.

At

once scores

of men

towards him.

Then

came the

middle-aged and

many

young.

some of

the

swim-suits were

as

as their wearers. But

don't

sincerity of these people,

them

as you may.

The oldest

candidate

was 85 years

age, one of

the

673

sisters to

be

445

brothers made up the

total.

t

was

a scene long to

remembered.

Sunny Weather

in

eautiful Setting


11/35

REPORT OF INTERN T ION L

ASSEMBLY

OF JEHOVAH S WITNE

CONVENTION

REJOICES AT

THEOCRACY S

INCREASE .

MISSIONARY REPORTS FROM AFAR

Reports from six

different

countries

20 850

assembled for

afternoon

sessions.

CYPRUS:

The_

publishers, said

the

servant, have

to carry on their

under difficult circumstances.

fanatics

have tried

hard

to

up their meetings, but the work

making good progress, so

much

so

whereas in

1946

there

were only

publishers preaching

the

word,

are

today 311.

GREECE: In this country

although

is

much

persecution, yet

persons

good

will

are manifesting

them

One brother was .sent to

prison

witnessed to an

official

there and

official is.

now

in

the

truth.

De

the fact

that

there are

no con

or company meetings allowed

Greece since 1945

1

there

has

been

increase. In

June,

1950

there

2 800 publishers reporting,

but

March,

1951

the

number

had

in

4 160 publishers

of the

message.

Two

years ago there

70 publishers

reporting in

Leb

but this

year there

has been a

of

401

publishers. t

is

usual

in the villages to ring the church bell

when anything .outstandingly impor

tant

has occurred. A villager came

into the truth and was

so filled

with

zeal that he iJ:nmediately went and

rang the

church bell

until

all

the

villagers were gathered around

him,

when he

told

them the

message

of

the

Kingdom and

also

stated

that he

had

not the

time to

come

round

and tell

them

individually

so

he

thought he

would tell

them

collectively.

GOLD COAST: The

branch

serv

ant told of the

difficulties

with the

importation of the literature.

The

publishers

are very

zealous

as

is wit

nessed by the fact

that

they

average

15

hours

per month

and

walk

15

to

2

miles

to

do

their

public witnessing.

There are now

3 500

publishers in the

Gold Coast.

NIGERIA: This country has ex

perienced

10 new

peaks of publisher

in

12

months with a peak

of

10 300

publishers. As

many. cannot

read

or

write,

lessons

are

now

being given in

the Kingdom

Hall.s

to

those who

want

to learn.

SOUTH AFRICA:

Twenty-six

years

ago there

was

only

a

small

com-

pany of publishers

in

South

but today they have reached

In 1951

there

have

been

sev

peaks in

publishers.

Continued rom page

4

F. W. Franz, the

Society

president,

had

just

returned

visit

to

the brothers upholdi

Theocratic banner in the AZ

PORTUGAL and SPAIN.

We l

for fifty minutes

with

keen inte

we accompanied

him

through

Hierarchy-controlled domains

heard of the tactful handling

gerous situations,

the

joyful m

with our brothers, and a ta

discussion

with

a group

of Adv

We were

told of

meetings

an

tisms

in isolated

spots, and

necessity

for

wisdom

and cau

Spain

where

all ears are . i

and all

eyes

are watching.

N

less the house-to-house work

ried on and

we

rejoice to

lea

there

are

60

Kingdom

publis

and

around

Barcelona. They

Douay Bible in

their approach

cry

from Spain is

for more

graduates.


12/35

STADIUM LONDON AUGUST 1 5, 1951

Youthful

Witnesses

Proc aim

,

he Good. News

Out

of

the outh

of

Babes

Young Witnesses

Experiences

related by

these

young

platform brought

warm

response

from

the

audience.

One lively boy said he had been

a

since he was

seven

old.

while vacation pioneering

a

lady and witnessed to her

an hour, arranged for his mother

back-call her and she

is

now

a reg

publisher.

He also

conducts

a

boy on

Another young

girl publisher

said

had been

going

to the

a ors

on

own for

three years and

she also

them. She obtained

four

sub

during

the

Wat

h tower

a

sister

started a Bible

vvith one subscriber

as

a

result.

Two young children

whose

parents

pioneers

then

related their

ex

The boy

said he had been

publisher

since

he

was quite

young

once

he placed

a

booklet

which

tl ,e

means of bringing

a whole

into the truth. They study

he Watchtower

with

their

mother

day.

One young publisher aged nine

was

out handbills

in

Piccadilly

Children itnesses

Sons

and daughters

as

a

theme

was

emphasized

with

the

item,

"Out

of

the mouth of babes".

A.

B.

Cross

showed that

the course

of a

child was

marked

by

his

godly upbringing

when

examining

the

record of

children

of

Bible-mention

such as

David,

Samuel,

Jeremiah and

others. Jehovah

re-

quired young and

old

alike

to

honour

him as effective publishers of the

good

news.

Only by acknowledging

him can they hope

to

live

under the

incoming new

system

of things. There

followed a series

of interviews with

young

publishers

proving to

the de

lighted

assembly

that

these publishers

of tender years are fully qualified

to

take the good

news

of the established

Kingdom to those ~ r s meek enough

to

accept the voice

of the Rrght

Shepherd

in a child-

like manner. One

youngster told

of

his having placed

literature

which resulted

in several

persons becoming publishers.

Circus advertising the wembley talk

when

a

man

selling

newspapers came

over to him and asked

if

he

could

have

a

leaflet. On

handing

him the

handbill

the

man

said,

"No

give me

a bunch of them". Rather puzzled,

the

boy

watched

him put

one in

each

newspaper and

then proceeded to

sell

them in

the

normal way.

From the

smile he gave the boy

he

evidently

admired his courage and wanted

to

help him out.

Rearing Children in Divine Favour

A.

D.

Schroeder,

Gilead

Registrar,

showed how

important is the

respon

sibility

of

Christian

parents to teach

their

children in the

right

way.

Theocratic

children in

Bible times

were

subject to

four

distinct

fields of

training: 1) at home, 2)

on the

work,

3)

congregationally, and

4)

nationally

at Jerusalem. At home

the father took

the

lead in

training

his children. From an early

age the

children were

taught

to read and

write. They were instructed in

cor

rect manners and behaviour.

Singing

psalms enabled children to

express

themselves from

the

heart in their

loving devotion to

Jehovah. The

evening meal

was

an

occasion when

Relating Experiences

thrilling experiences and happe

from afar

were

discussed,

.bu

children only listened and le

Home

in

Biblical

times was the

centre

for

training

the

ch

Three

times

a

year parents took

children

to

the temple at

Jerus

Parents

must make every eff

rear their

children

in

the

ho

getting life in the

New World.

that

hope of everlasting life i

New

World. to

your children.

them the New

World

culture

is wholesome,

practical and lea

everlasting life.

Let

us

all

sta

one big international

family

praising

Jehovah's name.

A.

D

Schroeder

at

Microph


13/35

12

REPORT OF INTERNATIONAL ASSEMBLY

OF

JEHOVAH S

WITN

Thrilling Discourse

y

F ~ Franz

Baptism of Salvation and Fire Baptism

The voice of. F.

W.

Franz, the

Society's

vice-president, was again

heard on

Friday

afteinoon in a con

vincing

discourse

on

Baptism for

Salvation and

Fire

Baptism .

Many

F W Franz

f the

assembly speakers emphasized

parallel between Noah's days

and

presence

of

the Son

of

man, and

Franz brought

to our

atten-

parallel by

revealing

how

Jesus was foreshadowed by

The

ark

built

by

Noah

pictures

system

of things

created

by

Greater Noah.

The

seven who

the ark with

Noah

had to

confidence in him

as

Jehovah's

had to be attached to

and walk with him as he walked

God.

In

this way they were

into Noah

the

ark builder.

t was pointed out how

this

symbol

the baptism into the Greater

of those

who come

into

the

ark

f safety,

the

new system

of things.

This led on to a discussion of the

of the ark, and for the first

in dealing with this prophetic

special

mention was made

.

of

we

heard

how she pictured

the

bride

of Christ,

the

144,000,

represented

on

the earth today by the

remnant

company.

This

'bride' began

forming

19

centuries

ago, well prefigured

by

the fact that Noah's wife was with

him long

before

the

end

of the un

godly world

of his day.

Noah's three

children. and their wives correspond

to

the

great crowd of men

and

women

boys and girls flocking, to Jehovah's

Theocratic

.organization.

Brother Franz continued

to

show

how after the order 'to construct the

ark was issued, God patiently waited

for several decades. Corresponding

ly today, in the presence of Christ,

we have

already

lived three decades

since 1914. God

has

set

the

day

and

the hour and he will hold to

his

time

schedule. Nothing that

Satan

the

Devil has

already

done

and can

yet

do will cause God tQ move the day and

hour

back and delay the

fiery

baptism

of destruction

upon the

world. The

apostle

Peter makes a

strong

plea for

a good conscience wholly baptized

into the

Greater

Noah

in

this time

of the end. We cannot be baptized

into

the ark

unless we go

after

a

clean conscience

like

Christ Jesus al

ways had,

and always kept

through-

out all his suffering. Amid applause

Brother Franz

encouraged

: So then

by

all means let every one

of

us

here

request and

keep a good conscience

before God, for

in

that way we shall

be happy

in

that day of Jehovah's

anger when it is expressed

in

ridding

the

earth

of the

wicked

with

fiery

destruction.

We, on the other hand,

will look to the Greater Noah for our

everlasting salvation.

Let Us Go With You

After listening

to

some

very inter-

esting experiences from Kingdom

publishers, the British branch

servant,

A. P. Hughes,

in

dealing

with

Zech

ariah 8: 23, showed

the

similarity

of

God's organization today to that of

Jerusalem of old. Jehovah decreed

increase

and

provision was

made

for

those who came.

Jerusalem is an

un

walled

city free to

all. Clean worship

exists there. Jehovah's

splendour

is

within

this growing

city, God's or

g n i z t i o n ~ All within

her

must be

to come

to

God's organizati

must h 3lp .them to make their

The

question to

settle is, Do

in

this old world system or

with the

Ne,w W o r l d ~ Jehov

n e s ~ e s alone are qualified to

people. Thousands will be hel

will say, Let us go with you

Enter Into

the Joys

of Your

Under

this

title, Brother

Riemer

of the Brooklyn Bet

who has been

in

the

Lord's

for

many

years,

joyfully ente

his subject. Joy , he said,

at the

very

apex and climax

Christian

attainment. We mi

that

the vindication

of

Je

name is higher, but if that d

give us joy it means nothing

We must keep the

joy of

th

glowing in our

hearts

by

the s

his Word. We must get mo

more acquainted with Jehov

especially

in

our

day.

The

joy

old world is misnamed

and

like

meteor rushing across the heav

which suddenly

burns

out

and

into darkness. The joy of the

your

strength.

Draw

nigh t

Have

him ever

before

you. H

never

fail

you

and

your

joy

wi

you through

until

you enter i

everlasting

joy of

the

Lord

that be your happy

lot .

Overcoming Our Problem

Once more

Brother

Hensche

to the microphone. The title

talk

is specially attractive sinc

lems beset

those

who are cons

to the Lord and serve him.

Jesus

set

the pattern

and

Christians how

to

live and

overcome problems of Christ

ing.

The

wise

thing to

do is

our career in

the

new system of

first.

Think

only of

things

and not of the things behind

principle to be observed. The

of

God should come first at al

Divided families. are a problem

can best be overcome by stic

our godly service. Be mature.

make

mistakes, admit them

not

try to save face. Som

gossip causes problems. Avoid

not become busybodies in oth

ple's

matters.

Problems can b

come

if

we live

according

to


14/35

STADIUM LONDON

AUGUST 1-5 1951

/

OF MIND

l\tECESSARY

TO ENDLESS LIFE IN NEW WORLD

Making Your Mind Over for New World

~ i v i n

Word with

the

President

Continuing to

show

how

the

t.rans-

forining

of a

Christian

takes place:

Brother

Knorr

stressed that being

made

a

new personality which

stands

out from this world results from

knowledge, accurate knowledge, of

the

Creator.

His Word reveals him,

what

he

thinks and what

his

rules of

action are.

We

can be made

new,

becoming like h im in his image-by

conducting

ourselves, thinking

and

expressing

ourselves like him, and

meeting

his

requirements for

us.

This

new

mind

dictates

a

new rule

of

ac-

tion

but

since

w i

have

a

new

life

an old body and brain,

conflict

arises.

Our mind's desire

finds

it easy to

gravitate to sin and

selfishness. To

supplant this

we

need

to have our

minds made

over with knowledge.

With

our

superior

knowledge from

God's

Word

we

must

train

our minds

in right

ways

of thinking.

What we

think on habitually greatly

affects

and

influences

us

and

induces us to

As

a

climax

to the day's program Brother Knorr came

to deliver

this thought-provoking

discourse.

After

his

subject

by declaring that

Jehovah was

of

all

modern thought

and

science,

he

showed how

thought

of

this

old world is

fashioned according

wrong thinking. Credit for this system of things is

according to God's

mind,

that

is why this system of

must

go. t

is now on its way out. These facts

the

statement,

"Today we

appreciate more

than

the

goodness of Paul's advice to the Christians at

He

said, 'Quit being fashioned

after

this system

f things,

but

be transformed by making your mind over

you may prove to yourselves what is the good,accept

will

of

God'."

The

low

mental, moral and

in

Paul's day

was

shown to be what

apostle's statement

and

since

then

it has

over eighteen centuries

to grow

worse. 'l'he

people

of

system of things have

a

blinding

veil over their eyes

are

being led

by

the Devil

into destruction. \Ve

want

be

transformed

with the hope of endless life

and

hap

in

the New world.

'l'o

this end

we

need the

that

is contained

in

God's \Vord.

\Vo

were

of

how

Jesus prayed for his followers, "Sanctify

through the

truth. Your

word is

truth". The

reason

it does this is

because

it

is

different

from what

this

thinks, says, writes or teaches

A

burst of applause

the

audience's

appreciation of this statement.

Counsels Presid

take

a

certain way.

We

must

lovingly toward

Jehovah

God

that

means

thinking

to please

h

obeying him

and

taking a fa

course

that

honours

his nam

furthers

his

Kingdom.

\Ve

were further counselled to

our

thoughts on the

obligations

and how we

are

going

to meet

This includes the preparation of

demonstrations

for

service me

and many other

things

which

.G

in

reservation

for

his servants.

ing

acquired

a

new

mind,

B

Knorr

exhorted,

"Let

us keep

mind renewed by

faithfully

doi

will, and live now

as blessed pro

ers of

God's

kingdom, as inhab

of that

glorious

New

World.

after

surviving the battle

of

geddon

and

we

enter into tha

World alive

we

shall

have

new b

and we shall

have

new

minds

in

tune

with the righteous

World."

Between Sessions


15/35

REPORT

OF INTERNATIONAL

ASSEMBLY OF

JEHOVAH S

WITN

Reports of Expansion Thrill Converitione

. . PUBLISHERS INCREASE DAY.

Saturday morning was devoted to

and the advertising of

public

talk: Will Religion Meet

World

C r i s i s ~

This

was widely

on

the

hoardings,

the buses, as well

as

in many of

local newspapers. In all the pub

smiling publishers

to be seen holding the placards

talk that

was

to be

by the president of the Society

the Sunday afternoon. Many in

experiences were related

as

people of

London saw the

publish

other lands, who in many

were

unable

to speak in the

language,

but

by their pres

and

the board they

carried,

they

able to take an

active

share

in

At

the

stadium there

were

four

foreign language meetings

during

the

morning. Reference

o these

is made elsewhere.

Messages

from

Many Lands

Reports

from

ten countries height

the appreciation of the

22,250

for the

afternoon sessions.

each country

came

the

same

news of increase in pub

despite

opposition

and obsta

whether from worldly

authorities,

economic

or

the

mounting power of

communism. The rising up

of Theocracy's increase

is as

as the rising,

each day's sun. From places as

separated as

Australia, Fin

Central Africa

comes the

of

those

joyful hearts swelling

anthem of Praise

J

ah,

you

AUSTRALIA

was

represented

at

microphone by R.

L. Moyle, who

conventioners that

their

in

Austrnlia were

for the

success

f

the convention. Progress

of

the

in Australia is manifest.

From

first month of the service year

on there has

been fruitful

in

a

peak of 5,464 publishers

f the Kingdom message.

W.

E.

Voigt, the branch servant

s ~ d that in 194

7

were

700

publishers

in all

Aus

now

there are

2,700.

94

per

Addressing

Swedish

Meeting

cent

of the

population is

Roman

Catholic but most

of

these are

catho

lic

in

name only.

The

report for

BELGIUM was

given

by

C

H. Holmes,

the branch servant

from

that

country,

who

said: Bel

gium is a

land

of many churches. In

Belgium

in

1950 there were

2,289

publishers but

in

1951 that had

in

creased to 790 more .

From

FINLAND

the

voice of W. H.

Endres was

heard telling

of the

in

-

crease there;

V

ith a total population

of four million inhabitants there are

5,076 publishers-one

to every

780

persons.

I

'Jenson from

ICELAND

gave

a

description of this land of ice

and

snow. Difficulties

and

hardships

have

to

be met

in reaching

the

outlying

places, but the work goes on

and

the

people are

hearing the

Kingdom mes

sage.

J. Forhan, a

pioneer

from INDIA

told of

the hundreds

of different

re

ligions that exist in that

land

which

have led

the

nation into great confu

sion

and

darkness.

Despite the few

publishers by

comparison

with the

teeming millions of India, the King

dom work

is

making increase.

The branch servant from IT ALY,

J,

A. Romano,

spoke

of the

domina-

tion

of

that

country

by

the

Catholic

Hierarchy

for 1,500

The

man in the street attribu

cause of

the present

conditions

Hierarchy. They

call

it The

Bu

and

that

it

what

it

really

is

years ago there were a

littl

than 100 publishers, but

toda

are

more than

1,

700 preachi

Word in Italy.

LUXEMBOURG was repr

by V. G Nelson, who told

inauguration of street witnes

recent times

and the good

wo

is now being done. The K

publishers in that land

send th

and

assurances that they are

with you in clean worship.

E.

R.

Cooke

from

SOUT

RHODESIA spoke .concernin

tropical British c0lony in the

of the

vast

continent

of

Africa

there are

two

million

inhabita

8,800

publishers

of the Kingdo

sage-one publisher for every

the inhabitants.

Many compa

lishers work 100

hours

every m

SWITZERLAND report wa

by J. B.

Robb

,who told

of

the

increase in publishers

and the p

of three different languages

Despite

the strong

religious

tion the

work

makes good inc


16/35

STADIUM LONDON AUGUST 1-5

95

NEW BOOK RELEASED

WH T

HAS RELIGION DONE .

OR

. MANKIND?

rhe

Triumph of

Clean, Undefiled Wo.rship

Here,

from the publisher's standpoint, was the

thrill of the whole assembly, and by this time

more

had

found

their

way to

the

stadium. The

focus of the world is always upon the public talk

on Sunday

afternoon,

but

this day is the time

when intimate,

warm

family relationship is at

its height and we can expect to hear that which

is

for

Jehovah's

assembled children. We were

not disappointed.

We were 'on our toes' when the president

admitted

Satan's

victory

over

Christendom,

and then

in

sharper

tones said:

"Now at this

late

day

everything

shows that

Christendom

is beyond

all

hope

of

recovery and her

fate

is

locked

up with the fate

of

the pagan

world.

Satan's

victory over Christendom seems to seal him as tl;te

winner

in

the

centuries-old contest over the question

of

whose

worship will triumph, Jehovah's or S a t a n s ~ But has

Satan totally

triumphed in the. field

of

worship or re

l i g i o n ~ Has he succeede


17/35

16

REPORT

OF INTERNATIONAL ASSEMBLY

OF JEHOVAH S WITNESS

36 315 ttenQ

Public

Lecture by r e s i d ~ n t . K

VIEW OF TH STADIUM W

FACIN


18/35

WEMBLEY

STADIUM

LONDON AUGUST 1-5

95

Religion eet the World Crisis

IN FOREGROUND


19/35

REPORT

OF

INTERNATIONAL ASSEMBLY

OF

JEHOVAH S WITNESSES

WEMBLEY STADIUM, LONDON, AUGUST

1-5, 95

AttenQ Public Lecture by r e s i d ~ n t .Knorr entitled Will Religion Meet the World C

VIEW OF THE STADIUM WITH THE PLATFORM IN FOREGROUND

FACING THE PLATFORM


20/35

REPORT OF

INTERN TION L

SSEMBLX OF

_JEHOV WS WITNE

FINAL DAY

OF

ASSEMBLY BRINGS MANY

BLESSING

PRAISE .JEHOVAH AS KING DAY

Expectancy Runs High

Conflicting feelings of pleasure mixed

with

a

tinge of

sadness

always be expected on

the last

day

of

a

happy

asse;mbly.

This

the

day when

the result

of our labours will be seen in the

attend

at

the

public talk. Expec-

runs high. What will be

figure

for the

public

talk?

been much hard work

months of

preparation-.

a blessing to know that

results

can

be

left in the

care

Jehovah

W e

know also

that

the close of

this

day

another

ends.

Refreshed,

stimulated

and strength

we

shall

go

back

to

our

assign

tomorrow taking up

with

vigour

the

treasure

of

service

is ours. Certainly we shall wield

"sword of'

the spirit"

with a

keener

to break

the

shackles

ignorance from those still

held

to

false

religion. vVho knows

will have hap

before

we

meet

again in

such

convention Yes, all these t h o u h t ~

through our minds as

we start

new day and make our way to

stadium.

Songs

and

experiences open the

at 9:

30 a.m.

I t

cer

is good to hear

the

orchestra

up

and

the voices mingled

in

of praise

to Jehovah,

together

the

expressions

of gratitude

as

in the

experiences given.

'A

Vessel

for an

Honourable

Purpose

A. Hopley, who addressed

the

con

at 9:

45, tElls

us that the

referred to

at 2

Timothy 2:

20-

is one filled

with

zeal

to pour

out

truth

to

others: not only

a con

of the t r u t h ~

but a dispenser

the truth.

The most honourable

for the

vessel

of

honour is the

Many

more will un

take up the golden privilege

being a pioneer.

This stadium has

the greatest

athletes com

for

fame

and

honour. Now

it

witnesses

thousands

of

men and

women,

and

children, who

have cast

aside many

hindrances-not

for

their

own

fame but as an honour to Jehovah

and in

vindication

of

his name. This

assembly will be

the

means

of

many

more

stripping as runners to the

barest

necessities

in

order

to

take full

advantage of their privileges as

ves

sels

of

honour.

An

appeal was then

made to those assembled, "Register

as a pioneer

and

become a vessel

for

the greatest ministry of all,

for

Jehovah's

praise

and

glory".

Praising

Jehovah in Canada

Germany and United

States

Many for whom this was

their

first

assembly

were

having impressed on

their

minds the world-wide scope of

Jehovah's

visible

organization,

and

for all, news of our

brothers in

other

lands is

a

matter of keen interest.

P.

Chapman, speaking

of

the work

in

CANADA showed how

that "Que

bec's burning hate", of

which we

have

heard

much in recent

years,

had

failed

to quench

Jehovah's

praise.

In

that

province, where mob violence

has

been

rife, there are

now

over

1,000 pub

lishers as compared with

250

in

1946.

E. Frost, branch servant in GER

MANY,

told of the

bitter persecution

in the

Eastern

Zone,

but the praise of

Jehovah as King

.continues.

This is

exemplified in

the ever-increasing

number

of

Kingdom

witnesses.

R. E.

Morgan,

reporting

on

the

UNITED ST

ATES

branch,

told of

splendid

progress

in true

worship. The

number

of publishers had increased

from

66,000

in

1946

to

135,000

in

1951.

We

were

told that New

York

City

is

big

enough to keep two circuit

servants busy.

In January,

1951,

there

were 111,000

Kingdom publishers,

by

March it had reached

123,000

and

April

135,000,

this

being

an

increase

H. C. Covington

of

25

percent

for the whole co

After

telling

of

the work

accomp

at

the

Brooklyn

factory

the s

said:

"We

shall push

ahead wi

work,

by

the

Lord's

grace,

th

for the privilege

we have

in se

not only in the United State

serving our brothers

every

throughout the

world" .

These grand reports prepare

minds

for the

rousing discou

H.

C. Covington,

the Society's

Co

Put

Up

a

Hard

Fight

for

Faith

Ever since Christ came t

temple in

;I 918

there

has

been a

cleaning work going on in the

organization

on

earth.

One

o

great moves for cleaning up was

light

was thrown

on

the

true m

of the

Higher Powers.

In

1914

Jesus declared war on the

Dev

his

organization

and s i n ~ tha

we have been

thrown into

a figh

great warriors

who put

up

a

fight

for

the

faith

have helped

put up a

hard

fight in

this

day.

are

also

modern-day

examples

encourage

us. Stj

rrjng

was

the

of the

fight for

true true

wors

En.stern

Germany,

Quebec, G

U.S.A.

and other countries. I

stirring

too

to hear

of

the

trium

clean worship and the confound

the

enemies. Brother Covingto

cluded his discourse

with

an ex

tion to "keep

on

putting up

a

fight for the faith

right up to

not

up to your death

but the

of

your

enemies .


21/35

W E M L E Y

STADIUM

LONDON AUGUST 1-5 95

Serving 1n Justice ancl Faithfulness

PRINCES SHALL RULE

IN JUSTICE

' Praising

Jehovah

as

King

logically

opened the way

for

the discussion

by

F. W. Franz

of

Isaiah 32: 1

identify-

ing

the

princes

who would

rule

in

justice

when the King reigns

in

righteousness. In the

past this

verse

has been used in conjunction with

Psalm

45: 16

and

applied

to

the

thousand

year

reign

of

paradise after

the battle of Armageddon. However,

the prophecy indicates that these

princes become as a hiding place

from the wind and a covert from

the storm . This protection will not

be necessary in the Messianic mil

lenium

and it was explained how the

prophecy is in effect now.

The

Hebrew word

'Sar'

was shown

to

have

great breadth

of meaning and

was

applied

to a leader or captain of

even a small group.

Then

came

the

question, Since

Christ

Jesus

began

reigning

in

1914, are we

to

under

stand then that his 'princes' have been

visible rulers in righteousness on

e a r t h ~

All

ears were

alert

for the

answer: Yes, but from the year 1919

onwards .

Isaiah's

prophecy relates

to a time of restoration and it was

in 1919 that Jehovah released

and

restored his

people after the

period

of 'captivity' during

World

War L

The 'princes'. were then shown

to

be.

the

servants

properly appointed to

carry on the work. These theocrat-

ically

made

servants

in the organiza-

tion must exercise justice and

impar-

tiality

with

heavenly

wisdom ,

said

Brother

Franz,

and will serve as a

protection

to God's Theocratic peo

ple . Serve on, then, everyone of

you came the

exhortation,

ev

in_.his

position

of responsibi

justice and faithfulness .

Dismissal from the

morning

found us taking advantage

smoothly-working cafeteria a

ments.

Then many hurried

off

for persons

of

good will and sh

them to

the stadium

for the

talk

in

the

afternoon.

Front

Place

for the

Invalids

View

of Platform and

North Stand


22/35

REPORT OF INTERNATIONAL

ASSEMBLY

OF

JEHOVAH S WITNE

36 315

Hear

Public

Talk:

WILL RELIGION

MEET

THE WORLD CRISIS?

Britain_

---t:rt:r-t:r--

Vast

Audience Thril

At

2: 30

the

strains of a hidden

orchestra could be heard

a selection of the new songs

Jehovah's

praise,

much to

the de

of the listening thousarn:I.s.

As

minute hand

took its

direct

up

position denoting

3:

00 p.m.,

convention

chairrrian came for

to

announce

N; .H. Knorr's de

widely-advertised public

"WILL

RELIGION MEET

WORLD C R I S I S ~ The 36,315

present

in

the

audience

lis

attentively while conclusive

was

presented of

the

utter fail

worldly religion to bring sal

to

the people. The hypocritical

of false religious

leaders

\Yas

exposed. Finally the tri

of clean and undefiled

religion

heralded and

acclaimed by

thf

of

those delighted

thousands.

The

release

of the

booklet containing

the full text of the talk enabled

all

to reassimilate the evidence

given

and

check the scriptural proof so

amply

proffered.

Time

and .again the audience ap

plauded the

statements

made

regard

ing the failure. of the clergy of this

world. They had no real outstanding

message, because

they had

forsaken

God s

Word.

Instead

they looked. for

the .political rulers and economic

planners,

backed

by

military. might,

material wealth and industrial

organi

zation, to

point out

the

way. "They

depend on

bullets

more

than

Bibles;

on bombing missions more

than

on

gospel-preaching

missions". Thun

derous applause greeted this and the

following

statement, "The

pope

is

now

advertised

widely as

the

world's

greatest

bulwark

against

the

Com-

mu p_ist

onrush. Outside Russia

munism

has its largest parties

Roman Catholic lands

of Ita

France. f the

pope

could no

Communism out of his own ba

how can he

be relied upon

to h

onrush of anti-Christian Comm

throughout the

rest

of the wo

"Have no

part

with

the re

clergy a ~ d the Communists and

worldly people in persecuting

vah's

witnesses

who

preach the

dom of

God

and

that

alone"

the

speaker.

The

unstinted applause whi

lowed Brother Knorr's closing r

showed the deep appreciatio

their release

from stupifying

bondage that many

had

exper

A note of sanity had been soun

a mad wor Id of

confused

thi

Praise J ah

yet again

Happy

Conve111tioners

with

the Booklet Will eligion

Meet the World

Crisis


23/35

STADIUM

LONDON AUGUST 1-5

95

Final

Remarks

by Assistant Convention

Servant Chairman

and

Convention Servant

The Convention Report

A brief interval allowing all to

copies

of the

booklet,

free of

and

then contentedly back

again into

the

auditorium

for

final

and pleasing chats

which

conclude our blessed assem

vloodburn;the assistant con

conven

report. From the facts

and

presented we learned that

for

13,300 visitors

been

found

by

the

London

pub

Twenty

homes were offered

the public

free

of charge,

complete

key, showing how the owners

Jehovah's

witnesses 750 volun

workers

in

the cafeteria had

90,000 meals, 188,000 sand

. 90,000 cakes, and 200,000

of tea. 6,500 lbs. of tomatoes

used, 8,700 lettuces and 10,000

of fruit. One brother, a chef,

baked 2,000 lbs.

of

cake.

t

was also reported that 2,200 pio

were present from 30 different

800

being

from overseas.

We

were

told that in

advertising

public talk

10,000

posters

were

large 16-sheet

posters

the route from London to Wem

Banners up to 145 feet were

in prominent

positions,

but

most effective

of

all were the

badges worn by the conven

throughout.

the five days of

assembly.

Convention High Notes

and com

came

from the

chairman,

E.

C.

who referred to the theme of

worship.

This

theme he likened

a musical rendering composed

of

notes

and undertones. To him

of the 'high notes'

was

the state

is

the

greatest

opti

. . .

Jehovah's

witnesses are the

optimists on earth . Our

is based on a sure founda

our clean worship, accurate

creates

it

in

us.

There

also be determination to live

up

what we have

learned

and a sense

responsibility

which makes

us

appreciation was stressed as a neces

sary

quality, and

a final

injunction

to

help ourselves and our neighbours to

maintain and live up to what is really

meant

by

clean worship.

Love and nity

Convention servant, A.

P.

Hughes,

expressed the sentiments of us all

when he referred to

the

joy of

being

present at the assembly and of seeing

so

many

in attendance.

The brothers

in

Britain

were

happy

to have

had

Brother Knorr with them and all

who

had come from

other

shores

to

rejoice

with

them

jn

all the

evidence

of

Jehovah's

favour.

This

had been

an

i,nternational assembly with 40 nations

represented. The love and unity of

the Lord's family was further shown

when

Brother Hughes announced

that

greeting cables had been received

from far

away

places including Bom

bay, Jerusalem, Germany, Azores,

Tokio, Cyprus, Switzerland, Denmark,

Mauritius,

Australia,

Panama, New

Zealand, Yugoslavia, Peru, Brazil,

Bahamas, Portugal, Rhodesia, Swe

den,

Puerto

Rico,

Fiji,

Gold Coast,

Chile, Belgium,

Eastern

Germany,

Mexico, Greece,

Bermuda,

Turkey,

Surinam,

Canada

and U.S.A.

Convention Servant

and Platform Photograph

The

conventioners

applaud

expression of

gratitude

to

th

dium officials

for their

co-op

throughout

all the, conventi

rangements. We have never

enced officials so ready and so

to

help

us ,

he said.

We were finally encouraged t

our

thanks

to

Jehovah

for

goodness

by

making his prai

sound

throughout

the

land s

his name

might

be magnified

and more.


24/35

REPORT OF

INTERNATIONAL

ASSEM 3LY OF JEHOVAH'S. WITNES

Presid.ent s

Cle>sing

TQlk

Jehovah s witnesses

~

take whole load of responsibility

Relaxed

and just talking

to

the

'an

earnest,

conversational

Brother Knorr brought

the

to a grand conclusion. He

that

four

years

ago

at

Earls

was

18,000, and

this

afternoon

it was just double

figure. One hundred percent in-

four years

is not

bad

any-

in

the

world

A

lot

of people

come to this meeting. Jehovah's

must not

forget

them. We

interested in them; not

to have

join Jehovah's

witnesses, because

is

nothing to join.

But we

are

in people,. in bringing

them

and

happiness in

living.

engaged

in clean

of

the

Most

High

God,

have

pleasure in

living. \Ve do not

the

same problems, or

connec-

old

world to

keep us

truth has made

us free.

8 are a

free

people because we are

of

this

world.

We are

in the

New

society. t is not

just

a

matter

f a

few years.

\Ve

are

going to live

Documents

Watchtower: 1951 Convention Report - London