proclaimers book question.

moomanchu

Under 1918 in the back of the book, It says Rutherford gave a lecture on "millions now living may never die".

In the same paragraph it says the name of the lecture was "millions now living will never die".

What's up with that??

SickofLies

Simple, the name of the talk is also the subject of the talk. Don't think about it to hard, its very simple.

Gopher

New light. "May" became "will" to make it more urgent.

Legolas

Here's some more... http://www.quad-central.com/mini_tru.htm

Elsewhere

Click Here to read the original book.

Millions Now Living Will Never Die

The first talk in Los Angeles in February 1918 used the word "May" but the talk in Boston in March used the more definite "Will." There isn't any specific explanation for the change but we can suppose that the change from "may" to "will" was viewed as conveying more certainty about their conviction.

This was followed incidently with the first Watchtower article in the April 1 issue: "The World Has Ended--Millions Now Living Will Never Die"

Both the talks and the article posited that the end could occur any time between 1918 and 1925. The publication of the booklet in 1920, using the same title, kicked off a massive 5 year build-up to 1925. The resulting fall-out after 1925 and after the publication of the Birth of a Nation article the same year, (over the objections of the Editorial Committee) kicked off the largest wave of defections from the Organization during the Rutherford Era.

-Eduardo

blondie

Proclaimers book p. 719 Noteworthy Events in the Modern-day History of Jehovah’s Witnesses ***

1918 The discourse "The World Has Ended—Millions Now Living May Never Die" is first delivered, on February 24, in Los Angeles, California. On March 31, in Boston, Massachusetts, the talk is entitled "The World Has Ended—Millions Now Living Will Never Die"

yb75 p. 127 United States of America (Part Two) ***

The book was used in conjunction with a public-speaking program that began on September 25, 1920, and that centered around a lecture (originally entitled "The World Has Ended—Millions Now Living May Never Die") given by J. F. Rutherford in Los Angeles on February 24, 1918, and published in the new book in 1920.

I'm sure it was a marketing change.

Blondie

greendawn

But all those millions of adults then living have died almost to the last and even the one that wrote all that non sense died long ago, but meanwhile many JWs had their lives greatly harmed by not having children or spouses or by not saving for the future. They are still waiting.

VM44

Rutherford made the change from "May" to "Will" as an apt change in advertising the message, "Millions Now Living Will Never Die!"

This "Millions Campaign" went on well into the 1920s, with even "The Harp of God" book having the slogan printed on its cover. ("Proof Conclusive that Millions Now Living Will Never Die")

As is typical with all of the Watchtower's claims, as time moves on, they are proven to be false.

Eventually no one will care at all what The Watchtower once said was true.

--VM44

Honesty