by VM44 41 Replies latest watchtower scandals
Not that this helps at all but:
The Messenger, a JW newspaper, stated:
Dr. A.G. Eckols [a follower of Rutherford], of San Diego, urged him to make the city his permanent home; and in the latter part of 1929 some brethren, out of their own personal funds, arranged for the erection of Beth-Sarim… from http://www.adam.com.au/bstett/JwBethSarim95.htm
~Merry
Interesting.......
Estephan Leuese
Picture of Beth Sarim taken in September of 2003
vm44 - What I found REALLY interesting in your post was the section under the Beth Sarim deeds.
It's an article on Boy Scouts. It asks where the money goes that is contributed to that evil cult, know as 'The Boy Scouts' and is it being used to prop up the fringes of Satan's organization!
Are any other mansions owned by the anointed or the WTS? Do they live in apartments or houses?
Not only did Rutherford have Beth Sarim but he also had Beth Shan which if I remember correctly was a place where he could hide and have lots of food and other things once the end of the world hit.
In addition, Rutherford drove around in a very nice 6 cylinder cadillac if I am not mistaken. Having one of those during the middle of the Great Depression had to cost a pretty penny even in those days.
Rutherford is the prototypical cult leader in my opinion.
Jeff S.
Was this the house purchased by the JW's for the Elijah like one that was fortold is to come?
I'm probably wrong, but the way I always understood it was that Beth Sarim was meant for the faithful men of old to reside in upon their return to earth. Then, when they didn't return when the GB thought they would, Rutherford lived in it, rather than to have it sit empty. Again, I might be wrong, but this has always been my understanding of Beth Sarim.
In the book The Four Presidents... Gruss says a few interesting things;
p 28
Rutherford leased apartments separate from the Watch Tower Society's properties in New York, London and Magdeburg, Germany although excellent apartments were held in his name in the Society's buildings in those cities. Rumor abounded about the activities going on in his residences, including the mansion (Beth Sarim) built for him in San Diego.
p 32
...The author asked a New York Realtor about the luxury apartment during the Depression, leased by Rutherford for $10,000 annually. What would such an apartment be worth today? The Realtor said to forget it. He jokingly said his calculator didn't register that high. To put it in perspective, grown men in the northern industrial states were making $25.00 per week. In the south, $12.00 per week, or $624.00 annually.
There is another bit in here about the Mansion and the plot to get Rutherford away from New York but I am still looking for it.
Regarding the car:
p 31
While Rutherford often went cross-country by train, he also traveled by car, in one of this two chauffer-driven, sixteen cylinder Cadillacs, stocked with his favorite liquor from Canada. He motored across country in luxury and style. (bold is mine)
found it
p 31
After his failed prophesy of 1925 ("Millions Now Living will Never Die," highlighting expectations for that year), the Judge was never the same.(45) With Rutherford drinking to excess, the headquarters staff felt the wrath of his cursing tongue. Knorr and Fred Franz showed a brilliance for manipulation, by encouraging Rutherford to build a mansion (Beth Sarim) in San Diego, California in 1929 to get him out of Brooklyn, where they could, during his absence, begin forming alliances of support to take over.
Society attorney, Hayden Covington, who would certainly be in a position to know, told the author that Fred Franz concocted the cover story to justify the considerable outlay of money, saying the house was for the ancient Bible prophets due back "any day" in the pre-armageddon resurrection. (46)
The footnote states:
46
This information came from a conversation near the end of Covington's "service" at headquarters. Disillusioned, and perhaps drinking too much (although the author never saw him have more than two drinks), the big man quoted Franz as saying they "built the judge a mansion out in California just to get him out of Bethel." The deed was made out to Joseph F. Rutherford and was to be held in trust for the soon to return pre-Christain "princes."
It appears from the quote above that the society itself put up considerable money for the mansion.
I'm discovering a whole new side to Franz and Knorr!!!
