by Alleymom 22 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
Drew Sagan said,
As a side note I believe that the center of the pyramid contains a sealed box with all of Russells books and sermons in it, as well as a number of other things.
It is true that the pyramid is hollow and that it was originally intended to hold a collection of Russellite memorabilia, but it is also true that the pyramid was vandalized at some point in the past and those items were taken. As a result the pyramid is now empty, according to my trusted sources.
Then Drew asked,
Just hit me but isn't it also strange that nobody knows where Rutherford is buried?Joseph Franklin Rutherford has the distinction of being "buried" in two places with reservations at a third! Rutherford was supposed to have a plot in the Rosemont United Cemetery with the rest of the Bible Students, but he apparently changed his mind about that. When he died in 1942, he wanted to be buried in San Diego on one of the two properties the WTB&TS owned there - Beth Shan and Beth Sarim - but the City of San Diego refused to issue a permit. This of course was "persecution." So a coffin was sent back to the east coast and that coffin was laid to rest in the WTB&TS burial plot on Staten Island, not too far from the old Watchtower Farm and the studios of WBBR. The cemetery is Woodrow United Methodist Cemetery*, and the Methodist Church continues to maintain the featureless - no markers or headstones of any kind - plot, which the WTB&TS has not used for more than a quarter century now. The church used to have records of who was in the Watchtower Staten Island plot, but those records were lost in a church fire back in the 1960's, if memory serves. I have been told that the WTB&TS has in their library some documentation relating to who is buried on Staten Island, but their records are wrong in at least one instance: JFR was not in the coffin that was buried! In defiance of the San Diego authorities, young Nathan Knorr and Fred Franz dug a hole and buried JFR on the property. Some say the site was beneath a garage floor, others say it is on a slope near the mansion. Apparently the present owners are content to let sleeping dogs lie. *The inexpensive reprint of "The Way to Paradise" from LULU.com contains a biography of W. E. Van Amburgh and a discussion of the Woodrow Unieted Methodist Cemetery. Van Amburg and his wife are also buried there.
I can't remember where I read it, but the Society once made the statement that it was BIble Students who built the pyramid monument and not the WTBTS. I can't where I read that quote. Anyone else remember that?
Technically they could claim that because they were all Bible Students before the new name came from Rutherfords ass.
W.Once
RR made an investigative trip to one of Rutherford's possible resting places back in 2003. His report is contained in the thread,
Where's Da Judge?!!!
http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/6/57473/1.ashx
Satellite imagery has been added recently to the thread showing the two of the possible resting places for Rutherford.
--VM44
Wow! My sincere thanks to VM44, Atlantis, and Fokyc!
VM44, thank you for going through the book page by page until you found the picture. I agree with you, that the memorial pyramid is something you would expect to see mentioned in a history of the organization.
I purchased a set of the photos from Randy Watters years ago before they were all over the internet, and I keep them handy to show to JW's at the door. I've had some interesting reactions ... one man actually interrupted his partner, who was talking to my husband about world conditions, and said, "Look at these!" And he took the whole stack of photos out of my hand and started showing them to the other JW.
I'd like to keep a copy of the page from the Proclaimers book on hand, to show along with the photos from Randy.
Also, I've posted the pyramid photos on a religion forum in the past, and I'd like to add the Proclaimers book page.
Since yesterday was the 90th anniversary of Russell's death, it seems like a particularly apt time to bring this up.
Once again, many thanks!
Marjorie
The exact coordinates of the Bible Student's Pyramid Monument located in the Rosemont United Cemetery are:40 degrees 30 minutes 35.42 seconds North, 80 degrees 0 minutes 56.55 seconds West.
One can see the pyramid in the satellite imagery provided by Google Earth.
VM44 --- I'd like to see that. I'll check out Google Earth.
How did you know the coordinates for the pyramid?
Marjorie
THE MUTE WITNESS OF PITTSBURGH
Charles Taze RUSSELL, first president of the Watchtower Society, died on Halloween, 1916.
Five miles north of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania he rests, in Rosemont United Cemeteries, on a burial plot that was intended for the use of members of the Watchtower Society's Headquarters staff - the "Bethel family." The plot is not small; it is spacious enough to allow for about 275 adult graves, and in the exact center of this space we can find today a very curious thing: a pyramid.
We are told in the "Souvenir Report of the Bible Students Convention, Pittsburgh, PA.(1919)," that the pyramid was "accepted by Brother Russell as the most fitting emblem for an enduring monument on the Society’s burial space." It weighs several tons, is nine feet at the base and seven feet high, and rests on a reinforced concrete pad five feet thick.On each face of the pyramid we find the same design: near the apex a laurel wreath encircles a crown which itself encircles a cross. Beneath this is a text box which bears a different message on each of the four sides - "WATCHTOWER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY," "DEAD WITH CHRIST," "I. B. S. A.," AND "RISEN WITH CHRIST". "IBSA" stands for International Bible Students Association. Beneath the text box we find the largest feature of each face, "cut in four-inch embossment a Teacher’s Bible, on the pages of which will appear the names of the ones buried there. The burial space for Brother Rutherford was indicated and his name, like that of Brother Russell, will be at the top of opposite Bible pages. A Bible space is being set apart for the Pilgrims — all in one lot of forty eight grave space[s], so all their names will appear on the same Bible." - "Souvenir Report..."
The pyramid is partially hollow, and when set in place it contained a sealed metal box in which, according to the "Souvenir Report..." "is a complete set of Karatol Scripture Studies, the Memorial Tower, and one of every tract, photographs of Pastor Russell, a copy of the Society’s charter, and many other things to interest the people who at some future date may open the pyramid and find them." It is rumored that the pyramid was opened in 1994 or 1995 and was found to be empty.
Some have mistakenly claimed that Charles Taze Russell lies beneath this pyramid, but they are wrong: the pyramid is only an emblem and a monument.
Russell's headstone is nearby, bearing the inscription, "PASTOR RUSSELL Charles T. Russell February 16, 1852 October 31, 1916 THE LAODICIAN MINISTER." The "Laodician Minister" is a reference to Revelation 3:14
and is a reminder that Russell viewed himself to be the seventh of God's messengers to the Church, the previus six being the apostle Paul, John (who wrote Reveleations), Arius of Alexandria, Waldo (of the Waldensian movement), John Wycliffe, and Martin Luther.
It is interesting that NONE of the "teachings" embodied in these two "stone witnesses" are currently held to be true by the followers of The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society - Jehovah's Witnesses. Also interesting is that, although in 1919, Rutherford had evidently planned to be buried near this enduring monument in Pennsylvania, his actual resting place is either an unmarked grave in San Diego, California or a WTS burial plot on Staten Island in New York City. But that's another story...
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"AT THE GRAVE On Monday, a party of about 150 was conducted by Brother Bohnet to the grave of Brother Russell. Upon a hillside, sloping towards the south, we joined hands around the grave and sang: ‘Blest be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love; the fellowship of kindred minds is like to that above.’
Our last lingering look upon the scene recalled the peaceful manner of our Pastor’s ‘passing beyond the vail.’ Brother Rutherford’s words came to mind: ‘I am glad this prison experience was reserved for us, rather than for our dear Brother Russell.’
We visited the marble works and there watched the workmen slowly but surely chisel out the monument to be erected as a memorial to the Society. The Watchtower Society burial lots in Rosemont United Cemeteries, five miles due north of Pittsburgh City, contain ample grave space for all the members of the Bethel family, and the pilgrims and their wives — in all more than 275 adult graves. In the exact center of the Bethel lot will be erected diagonally the Pyramid Shape Monument as designed by Brother Bohnet, and accepted by Brother Russell as the most fitting emblem for an enduring monument on the Society’s burial space. The size of this structure is nine feet across the base, and its apex stone is exactly seven feet above the ground surface level.
It rests upon a concrete foundation five feet deep and heavily reinforced with barbed wire, the work of Brother Bohnet, who would not entrust this important task to anyone else, so we are assured that the job was well done. The brother gave a full description of the securing of the rock material at the time he piloted the conventionists to the cemetery and urged us to help ourselves to souvenir chips in the shop of the granite worker nearby ...
Each slope of the pyramid will face one of the large lots, and on each of these slopes is cut in four-inch embossment a Teacher’s Bible, on the pages of which will appear the names of the ones buried there. The burial space for Brother Rutherford was indicated and his name, like that of Brother Russell, will be at the top of opposite Bible pages. A Bible space is being set apart for the Pilgrims — all in one lot of forty eight grave space[s], so all their names will appear on the same Bible.
Above the Bibles are spaces for inscriptions in full, W.T.B & T.S., I.B.S.A., ‘Dead with Christ’, ‘Risen with Christ’, etc. And above these the Cross and Crown and Wreath, and the whole capped with the apex stone, highly polished — its shape of course being pyramidal.
Within the structure, incased [sic] in a block of granite, will be a sealed metal box in which is a complete set of Karatol Scripture Studies, the Memorial Tower, and one of every tract, photographs of Pastor Russell, a copy of the Society’s charter, and many other things to interest the people who at some future date may open the pyramid and find them.
It is expected the monument will be in place before the next Decoration Day. Any truth people desiring a chip of the stone may send postage enough to carry a piece about the size of an egg, with enough additional to pay the Society for the trouble of having it wrapped for the mail.”
-- Souvenir Report of the Bible Students Convention, Pittsburgh, PA. 1/2-5/1919, p7.
by the way, Brother J.A. bohnet was a director of the WTB&TS and President of the United Cemeteries Corporation. he ramained affiliated with the WTB&TS until at least 1931.
Note that one of the inscriptions on the Pittsburgh pyramid is "Watchtower Bible & Tract Society."
It's pretty hard for them to claim they had nothing to do with it when their name is on it.
Hi Alleymom,
Freeminds has a webpage about the Rosemont United Cemetery with the address and directions as to how to get there.
http://www.freeminds.org/history/cemetary.htm
The simplest way using Google Earth to see the pyramid is to put the following address in the search box:
226 Cemetery Ln., Pittsburgh, PA 15237-2722
When the satellite photo of the pyramid came up, I zoomed in, placed the cursor right at the apex of the pyramid, and then read off the latitude and longitude that Google Earth displayed.
Here is an image of the Bible Student's Pyramid Monument as seen using Google Earth.
Here is a image showing the blue roofed 32nd Degree Masonic Children's Learning Center north of the pyramid. The pyramid itself is located in the cemetery itself and can be seen as the small square centered at the bottom of the image.
--VM44
VM44 ---
The satellite pictures of the pyramid are awesome. Thanks so much for posting them! My son told me last night that my dialup connection would be too slow for accessing Google Earth.
I've used the photos from Russell's gravesite for several years. I bought a set from Randy Watters (freeminds) quite some time ago. (These are the same pictures that are now on his website and all over the internet.)
I've used the information on Rosemont United Cemetery in the past on Compuserve's Religion Forum. I had a discussion with a JW there awhile back who had never heard that the early Bible Students displayed the cross and crown symbol and even offered cross jewelry for sale. I scanned photos of the pyramid to show him the cross and crown displayed over the words "Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society."
He could not believe the pyramid pictures were real. He had never heard about Russell's interest in pyramidology.
So I gave him the address and phone number of Rosemont United Cemetery (I called first, to make sure the telephone number was still correct), but he would not call the number and check it for himself.
I gave him quotes from old literature, WT accounts of Russell's funeral (with a description of the cross-shaped floral display) as well as the 1919 Souvenir Report of the Bible Students Convention. He got angry and left the board, but I doubt if he will forget the pictures of the pyramid.
As I said earlier, I'd had strong reactions from JWs at my door when I've shown the photos.
While there are many other issues which resonate with JW's who start investigating the past history of the organization, the pictures of the pyramid and tombstone really seem to pack a punch.
That's why I wanted the scan from the Proclaimers book. I think that showing the tombstone picture from the Proclamers book next to Randy's photos of the tombstone and the pyramid may have even more of an impact.
Thanks again!
Marjorie
