Have You Ever Heard of "Withdrawal Letters"? (page 2)

minimus

When the GB dies off, you'll see what happens!

Scully

*** w65 7/15 pp. 441-444 Serving Jehovah Brings Happy Contentment ***

Serving

Jehovah Brings Happy Contentment

As told by Richard H. Barber

EFFECT OF THE SOCIETY?S LITERATURE
I was superintendent of the Methodist Sunday School, and my wife was a teacher in that school. After I had seen that the ten different Sunday-school classes were functioning properly, I would drop in at the adult men?s class. Here I noticed a radically different method of conducting the study. Many scriptures were cited and given to different students to read, and I had sense enough to see that questions were being properly answered. This pleased me. That night after the evening service, I walked down Main Street with the class leader and asked him where he got all those scriptures and the information.
He told me that a man on a bicycle had come to Greenwich, offering books on the Bible (the first three volumes of the Studies in the Scriptures, by Pastor Russell). This man was a colporteur, now known as a pioneer, and he called at the home of the Methodist preacher to explain the books. The preacher gave him several names, including the name of the leader of the adult men?s class and the name of my wife?s sister May. After telling me this, the class leader and I stood on the street until midnight discussing the Bible truths in this literature.
The next morning at breakfast my wife asked me, "Why were you so late last night?" After my explanation, May, my sister-in-law, spoke up, saying, "Pshaw, I bought a set of those books at that same time, and there they are, right in your library." I went to the library, but only volume three was there. May said: "Oh! I loaned the other two books to my brother in Salem." I brought the volume three to the table and, as I ate, turned its pages, examining it. I slipped it into my pocket and took it down to the store. During the day I spent every spare moment reading that book. After two days I had read every word of it, and had learned many things that I had never heard of before. Meditating on it, I asked myself, Who is the author and where is it printed? Examining it, I got this information, and for the first time in my life I heard the name of Pastor Russell. The class leader had never mentioned that name to me.
At once I addressed a card to Pastor Russell, asking him to send me a catalogue of all his publications. A few days later I received a letter from him and on the back of that letter was a list of publications. I ordered everything on the list, including The Watchtower, three volumes of Studies in the Scriptures, various Bible translations, several concordances, booklets and tracts. The order came to over $22 and I wrote out a check for $30. Though I was superintendent of a Sunday school, I had no idea of what a concordance was nor what a Bible with marginal references meant; but my study of volume three led me to have confidence in the fact that all those books, booklets and tracts were necessary for a proper study of the Bible. I ordered 500 each of all three free tracts. Then I wrote this: "Pack all these in one case and send them express collect."
On receiving the literature, I immediately began to use it. In every package I wrapped up in the store I placed a tract. Later I subscribed to twenty different papers that published Pastor Russell?s sermons; I placed these printed sermons in packages too. A Bible study was started on Tuesday evenings. Eventually there were seventeen persons interested in the truth and studying together. It was known all over the village that we had this study.WITHDRAWAL FROM THE CHURCHOur activities in spreading Bible truths drew criticism from prominent Methodists. The Methodist pastor attended the Methodist Conference and refused to accept an appointment to Greenwich for another term. He told the Conference that a number of his best members were studying and believing a lot of things that were contrary to the Methodist and other orthodox religions and that there was bound to be trouble in the Greenwich church soon. So the Conference sent their so-called strongest preacher to the church. After about a month, he announced that he was going to preach a special sermon on a certain Sunday evening and that he desired every Methodist to be present.
The church was packed for that meeting. The preacher held the Methodist Discipline in his hand and slowly and emphatically read from it the Methodist teachings, emphasizing the fact that when one joined the Church he pledged himself to believe and teach those doctrines. Arriving at this climax, he roared: "There is a little handful of persons in this church who are teaching doctrines long rejected by the Methodist Church and all other orthodox churches." He said: "Those persons are mites on the rim of a cheese, with seven-by-nine brains." Then, holding the Discipline aloft, he thundered, "If you don?t believe the doctrines of the Methodist Church, then in the name of God, get out!" Listening to this were all those "mites" sitting right in front of the preacher. They were the Sunday-school superintendent, the assistant superintendent, the leader of the choir, who was also the church treasurer, and six of the ten Sunday-school teachers and others. This show was put on for the purpose of scaring those "mites" back into the Methodist fold, but it had the very opposite effect. It helped them to see the inconsistency of remaining with the church. Eventually eleven members resigned. These had been regarded as the very best members, and the effect on church finances was that for a couple of years money had to be borrowed to pay the preacher?s salary.
The leader of the adult men?s class resigned the next day; but I did not resign immediately, reasoning that, if I resigned at once, they would claim I did so because the class leader had resigned. After about a year I saw that it was useless to wait any longer, and also displeasing to Jehovah. So I withdrew. I wrote a sixteen-page letter, citing scriptures on the subjects of hell, soul, trinity, God?s kingdom and others. Then I made several copies of that letter and mailed them to the pastor and all the church officials. The pastor completely ignored all my Scripture texts and wrote me a letter, saying: "I must commend your frank and manly position and conduct. No other course would have been consistent to one holding and feeling it their duty to disseminate the views you entertain."
A few weeks later he preached a sermon that he thought should be broadcast; so he went to the editor of the local weekly newspaper and had it printed. It contained several glaring unscriptural statements; so I took occasion to reply through the same paper, and my reply was also printed. At this the pastor hastened down to the office and took the editor to task for printing my reply. The editor reminded the preacher that they decided themselves what should be printed and that my reply was written in a kindly manner and any time I wished to write an article it would always be acceptable if written in the same kindly manner.

*** w90 4/1 p. 27 ?I Mounted Up With Wings Like Eagles? ***

When Alfred came home that evening, I told him with great enthusiasm what I had read. I told him that if what the booklet said was true, then the church was not the house of God, and we ought to resign and leave it right away. Alfred thought that this would be somewhat rash, and he said so. But we agreed to write a letter to the branch office of the Watch Tower Society in Copenhagen and ask for more literature.
In answer to our request, a traveling overseer, Christian Rømer, was sent to visit us. We gave him the children?s room and put their beds in the attic. In the morning and in the afternoon, Brother Rømer went out preaching from door to door, and each evening he studied with us. He stayed for four days, and we really had a wonderful time. When he left, I again asked Alfred about resigning from the church. This time he enthusiastically agreed.So Alfred went to the minister with our resignation. The minister thought that Alfred had come because there was another baby to be baptized. However, when he understood why Alfred had come, he could not believe it. "What is wrong with the church?" he wanted to know. Alfred mentioned the doctrines of the Trinity, immortality of the soul, and eternal torment. "The Bible does not teach these things," Alfred said. When the minister lamely answered that he would never speak of these matters to people who could think for themselves, Alfred firmly said: "We want to get out of the church!"

*** w94 9/15 p. 26 The Source of Unfailing Courage ***

Even newly interested persons who want to become followers of Jesus Christ can experience such strengthening aid. Consider a South African man named Henry, who was the treasurer of his church and lived next door to his pastor. Henry was searching for the truth. Despite his attachment to the church, one day he accepted the offer of a free home Bible study with Jehovah?s Witnesses. In time, he expressed the desire to become a Witness and asked what steps he had to take to reach that goal. It was explained that he would first have to resign from his church. (Revelation 18:4) Since the pastor was his neighbor and friend, Henry felt that he could not just write a letter of resignation but would need to explain the matter face-to-face. This he courageously did.
The pastor was shocked and later took the moderator and other members of the church to visit Henry. They wanted to know why he had left their church to become a member of a religion that, according to them, does not have God?s holy spirit. "At first, I was afraid to answer them," explained Henry, "because they had always had great influence over me. But I prayed to Jehovah for help, and he enabled me to make this defense: ?Of all international religions, which is the only one that uses God?s name, Jehovah? Is it not Jehovah?s Witnesses? Do you think God would allow them to bear his name and not also give them his holy spirit??" The church officials were unable to refute such reasoning. Thankful for the knowledge and strength that God provides, Henry now courageously shares with Jehovah?s Witnesses in the door-to-door ministry.

minimus

I have heard it said that a resignation in writing was NOT necessary. But, from what I've read, it was mandatory.

Country Girl

I was doing a little reading in Zion's WatchTower of Feb. 15, 1900 and saw an article called, "Withdrawal Letters". This is what it said:"These are not samples to be copied by pen, but regular letter already to date and sign and can be posted unsealed for one cent each...

Funny how even back then, your own handwritten letter wasn't good enough to send, so you had to send one cent each for their printed version. The humble beginnings of a guilt-making, money-taking corporate publishing whore.

Country Girl

lawrence

Country Girl-

I noticed that too! The seeds of a formalized methodology, sold and bought. In addition, the Brethren didn't have the capabilities to correctly introduce samples "to be copied by pen." Their way, or the Babylonian Highway.

minimus

If you wrote your own thing in your letter, you weren't following, Brother Russell, the Faithful Slave.

willyloman

So I withdrew. I wrote a sixteen-page letter, citing scriptures on the subjects of hell, soul, trinity, God?s kingdom and others. Then I made several copies of that letter and mailed them to the pastor and all the church officials. The pastor ... wrote me a letter, saying: "I must commend your frank and manly position and conduct. No other course would have been consistent to one holding and feeling it their duty to disseminate the views you entertain."

Contrast this with the expected response from such a letter addressed to "the faithful and discreet slave." That pastor sounds like wonderful human being..

Preston

Wow....Postage went up!

minimus

The more I read the older publications, the more I see the asking of a contribution---even if it's a friggin' penny!

Have You Ever Heard of "Withdrawal Letters"?

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