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INTERNATIONAL ASSEMBLY 




YOU ARE INVITED! 

COME TO THE 

NTERNATIONAL ASSEMBLY 
OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES 

Dodger Stadium 
1000 Elysian Park Ave. 

Los Angeles, Calif. 

Datesi My 14-20 

Admission Free. No Collections. 



Rooms for assembly delegates may be listed with: 

Watehtower Convention, 5921 Echo St., Los Angeles, Calif. 90042 

Phone: (Area code 213) 254-3044 



For details about the assembly and the organization that is sponsoring it, read: 

PAGE 

Assemblies That Are Delightfully Different 3 

Special Features of This Assembly 8 

Largest Rooming Hunt in History! 9 

People Who Really Believe the Bible 12 

The World Headquarters ,15 

Here Are the Assembly Cities 19 

The Program 32 

Published byj Watehtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc. Printed in U.S.A. 



Thai 



ASSEMBLIES 



Are Delightfully Diffe 



*cnt 




"Peace on earth !" Who would not like to see that ? Ton 
yourself can see a foregleam of that very thing during a week 
immediately ahead. How so? Because you are invited to the 
"Peace on Earth" Christian 



assembly that is coming to 
your city. The delegates to it 
not only practice peace them- 
selves but foresee from Bible 
prophecy peace on earth world 
wide in the near future. 

Where will these assemblies 
be held? They will be held in 
twenty-five principal cities 
around the world. They are all 
international assemblies. And 
you are invited to attend. But 
what will you see and hear 
that will make them delightful- 
ly different ? 

Expressions from Outsiders 

Consider some comments by 
outsiders, public officials, news 
reporters and others who have 
found these assemblies to be de- 
lightfully different. 

When city officials toured the 
convention facilities used by Je- 
hovah's witnesses in. Pasadena, 
California,- in 1963, their expres- 
sions were: "Amazing!" "Mar- 
velous!" "Never saw anything 
like it in my life !" A person at 
City Hall said: "It is amazing 
to have more than 100,000 visi- 
tors in a city for more than a 
week and not one incident from 
the group to be reported to the 
police." 

In Oxford, England, a stadium 
official said: "I'm amazed to see 
a happy spirit and willing co- 
operation between all your work- 
ers and especially when they are 
not being paid for what they 
are doing." In Zambia, Africa, 
a secretary of a local political 



party attended an assembly of 
Jehovah's witnesses in that coun- 
try to write down anything that 
might be said against his party. 
He heard nothing of that na- 
ture. In fact, he was so aston- 
ished at what he heard and at 
finding that there was no bad 
language and no stealing that he 
began studying the Bible with 
the Witnesses. 

. A businessman who was shown 
around the convention grounds 
at Allentown, Pennsylvania, in 
1967, was so impressed that he 
promptly phoned , a friend in a 
nearby TV station and said : "In- 
stead of the newspapers and TV 
spending their time showing news 
of wars, robberies, rape, and so 
forth, they should come here to 
Allentown and see Jehovah's 



Witnesses. ,Thoy have the right 
way and make"' sense." 

A news reporter who walked 
about the grounds of this as- 
sembly wrote in his paper : 
"There are no parades, no ban- 
ners. There were only*,;, persons, 
young and old, quietly 'trying to 
better themselves in the eyes of 
God. To one walking around the 
Fairgrounds during the evening 
program it was a cross-section 
of America. There were teen- 
agers with neat haircuts, matrons 
with three or four children in 
tow, men in working clothes and 
others in well tailored suits. . . . 
One of the most striking fea- 
tures was the good behavior of 
the children." 

Thus these persons were im- 
pressed with what ,they saw at 
an assembly of Jehovah's wit- 
nesses. If you attend one this 
year you also will find it to be 
refreshingly different from the 
usual run of conventions. 




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Live dramas of Bible events are part of the program 



•PEACE ON EARTH" INTERNATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES 



In fact, many persons who at- 
tend an assembly of Jehovah's 
witnesses for the first time find 
it so delightful that they decide 
to take in more than one session. 
A man in Columbus, Georgia, had 
this experience with an assem- 
bly held in that city. The as- 
sembly made such an impact on 
him that he came back for every 
session. Another man who at- 
tended the Allentawn assembly 
was so amazed at what he saw 
and heard that he arranged to 
attend another assembly of Je- 
hovah's witnesses held two weeks 
later in Trenton, New Jersey. 
He said : "This has to be Jeho- 
vah's organization ; I've been in 
the world, and from what I see 
Jehovah's witnesses are a mir- 
acle." 

The Program 

At all assemblies of Jehovah's 
witnesses, the program is dif- 
ferent every day. There is vari- 
ety in the program, Bible talks 
being interspersed with person- 
al experiences and thrilling Bi- 
ble dramas. A live, costumed Bi- 
ble drama will make any inter- 
national assembly of Jehovah's 
witnesses that you attend this 
year a delightfully different ex- 
perience for you if you have 
never attended one before. 



The fine Bible talks at the as- 
sembly build up respect for the 
Bible as being God's Word. They 
help delegates to expand their 
knowledge and understanding of 
it. Oftentimes new aids to Bi- 
ble study are released. 

The program always has some- 
thing in it for" everyone — young 
people, adults, single persons 
and married persons. It strength- 
ens their faith, helps tliero to 
cope with personal problems and 
temptations. In 1968, there was 
a two-hour drama entitled "What 
Young Folks Are Doing in the 
Ministry." With a cast of about 
thirty characters it frankly and 
dramatically portrayed the prob- 
lems facing modern-day Chris- 
tian youths and gave sound 
counsel for them. 

The assembly program usually 
begins each day in the afternoon 
at 1 : 40 and continues until 
4 : 35 p.m. After a two-hour break 
for something to eat in the cafe- 
teria or at a refreshment stand, 
the program continues until 
9 : 05 p.m. Music from an orches- 
tra of volunteer players and 
songs from the audience begin 
each session. 

The People 

You will be impressed by the 
delegates even as many news 
reporters were. You will not find 
them to be wide-eyed fanatics, 



shouting and screaming in reli- 
gious excitement. But you will 
see an audience that is calm and 
attentive, quietly following in 
their Bibles the scriptures quoted 
from the platform. 

The speakers will not ho shout- 
ing and screaming. They will 
not be worked iip to a high emo- 
tional level. Instead, they speak 
in a conversational style with 
warmth and feeling. Rather than 
work on the emotions of the 
audience, they reason with them, 
encourage them to follow along 
in their Bibles and thus give 
wholesome, upbuilding spiritual 
food. 

You will see at the assembly 
an intermingling of the races 
without any of the racial ten- 
sions so evident in the big cities 
of the United States. The ra- 
cial attitude of Jehovah's wit- 
nesses was well expressed by a 
Nigerian Witness when attend- 
ing an assembly in Germany. He 
remarked about the European 
Witnesses : "They do not look up- 
on us as being black, but wel- 
come us as real brothers and 
members of one big family." 

Observing their interracial har- 
mony at an assembly in Florida, 
the St. Petersburg Times of July 
14, 1968, had the following head- 
line : "Witnesses Practice Racial 
Harmony." The paper then com- 
mented : " 'Black and white to- 



■*. 



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253,922 convened at Yankee Stadium and Polo Grounds . 



IN ALL PARTS OF THE WORLD IN 1969 



gether.' The Jehovah's Witnesses 
don't sing about it, they just 
practice it. Not only has the con- 
vention been a massive example 
of racial harmony with black 
and white worshiping together, 
but it has tucked some 700 
Spanish-speaking Witnesses into 
its programs without a murmur." 

At international assemblies of 
Jehovah's witnesses there are 
usually delegates present In the 
native costumes of their coun- 
tries. In the series of around- 
the-world assemblies in 1963 such 
delegates were a most interest- 
ing sight to all who attended 
these assemblies, In Stockholm, 
Sweden, many of the local peo- 
ple went out to the assembly 
grounds just to have a good look 
at these unusual costumes. 

You will be impressed by the 
great many young people in at- 
tendance and at how ^ell be- 
haved they are. This in itself 
makes the assemblies of Jeho- 
vah's witnesses different in these 
days when so many young people 
are rebellious, noisy, violent and 
, not the least bit interested in 
religion. 

Regarding the young people 
present at an assembly in Den- 
mark a local newspaper ob- 
served : "This is not an old peo- 
ple's affair^ — there are many 
younger married couples and sin- 
gle young people, youths, teen- 



agers and children. All listen 
attentively and confidently to the 
talks and Biblical explanations 
given by their elders. There ig 
no youth rebellion among Je- 
hovah's witnesses." 

You will aljsa see whole fam- 
ilies at the assembly because Je- 
hovah's witnesses do things to- 
gether as families. Commenting 
on the presence of families at 
an assembly in Rochester, New 
York, the newspaper Democrat 
and Chronicle of July 13, 1968, 
said : "The Witnesses give the 
impression of living their reli- 
gion daily. Walking among them 
and watching them at work 
makes it impossible not to be 
aware that these are warm, ani- 
mated, clean-living people. At a 
time in our society when so 
many parents and children seem 
to go their own ways, the prom- 
inence at the assembly of family 
groups is noticeable. It's a plea- 
Sure to have them in town." 

Baptism 

At every assembly arrange- 
ments are made for the baptism 
of persons who have studied 
with the Witnesses for a while 
and want to demonstrate their 
dedication to God and their will- 
ingness to do his will. They do 
this by being completely im- 
mersed in water as Jesus was. 
His baptism set the example. 



In the series of around-the- 
world assemblies held by Jeho- 
vah's witnesses in 1963 there 
were 16,653 persons baptized and 
acknowledged by the Witnesses as 
fellow ministers of Jehovah God. 

Before candidates for baptism 
are accepted they are required 
to meet certain qualifications. 
One of these is that they have 
an accurate understanding of the 
truths of God's Word. 

In the big New York assembly 
of 1958, there were 7,136 per- 
sons baptized at a nearby beach. 
Reporting on this, the New York 
Times of July 31, 1958, said: 
"With a precision that would do 
justice to the military, 7,136 Je- 
hovah's witnesses were baptized 
by total immersion yesterday in 
a two-and-a-half-hour ceremony, 
. . . There were no emotional 
outbursts, no horseplay in the 
water. Bach Witness gave the 
impression of a person bent on 
a serious mission. The only voices 
raised were those required to 
direct the baptism traffic." 

Honesty 

If you lose something of value 
while at the assembly you will 
most likely find it at the Lost 
and Found Department. The 
honesty of Jehovah's witnesses 
is another factor that makes 
their assemblies different and 
that impresses outsiders. 






I'jMihee Jjiatii 



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for international assembly of Jehovah's Witnesses in" 1958 



"PEACE ON EARTH" INTERNATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES 












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'< "crates enjoy warm association in assembly cafeteria 



During an assembly at Broek- 
ville, Ontario, Canada, a dele- 
gate went to make a purchase 
in a local store but found that 
her wallet was missing from her 
purse. She explained to the clerk 
that perhaps she had accidental- 
ly dropped it at the assembly 
place, and she hurried back to 
see if it had been turned in to 
the Lost and Found Department. 
Sure enough, it was there. She 
returned to the same store and 
to the same clerk to complete 
her purchase. The clerk was as- 
tonished that the wallet had been 
found and turner) in. 

In Pomona, California, a dele- 
gate to an assembly of Jeho- 
vah's witnesses there lost $1,000 
worth of camera equipment. 
After notifying the police he dis- 
covered that the equipment had 
been found at the assembly and 
turned in to the Lost and Found 
Department. He promptly noti- 
fied the police that it had been 
found, and a police officer came 
to the assembly grounds to veri- 
fy this. The officer said: "If I 
hadn't seen this, I wouldn't be- 
lieve it." At that very moment 
a young child turned in some 
money he had found. The officer 
remarked : "If people everywhere 
were like this, I wouldn't have 
a .job very long." 

Cafeteria 
For the convenience of the 
thousands of delegates in atten- 



dance at an assembly of Jeho- 
vah's witnesses, volunteer work- 
ers prepare three meals a day. 
These are served in a temporary 
cafeteria that they set up under 
tents or in some other suitable 
location on the grounds. The 
cafeteria is so well organized 
that thousands of people can be 
served a hot meal in a very 
short time. During a week-long 
convention in London in 1963, 
there were 2,000 volunteers who 
served regular meals to 50.000 
delegates. The whole serving ar- 
rangement maintained an aver- 
age of almost 500 meals a minute 
at the busiest moments. 

During their big New York as- 
sembly in 1958, two cafeterias 
were prepared to feed the 150.- 
000 persons present for the daily 
sessions. They were capable of 
handling as many as 67,000 per- 
sons an hour. The ability of the 
Witnesses to feed huge crowds 
at a phenomenal speed has 
aroused the interest of officials 
of the Civil Defease and Bed 
Cross. At an assembly in Costa 
Mesa, California, the cafeteria 
operation was observed by offi- 
cials of these organizations. They 
fired Question after question as 
they viewed the mass-feeding 
operation, the kitchen, food prep- 
aration, tray washing and bak- 
ery. They were deeply impressed 
by what they saw. 

Although many tons of food 
are processed during the course 



of an assembly so as to provide 
meals in the cafeteria, the Wit- 
nesses have no problems with 
food poisoning or other sickness 
from the food served. A high 
degree of cleanliness is main- 
tained in connection with the 
preparing and serving of food. 
When a 5,000-pound shipment of 
turkey was found to be slightly 
soured at one assembly, the whole 
shipment was set aside and not 
used. The menu was promptly 
changed to safeguard the health 
of the delegates. 

During the 1063 assembly in 
New York representatives of the 
Health Department endorsed the 
cleanliness of the Witnesses. They 
said that they could grant priv- 
ileges to the convention organi- 
zation far beyond what they 
would to others, because, as they 
stated, "you have such Interest 
in your people that you would 
do nothing that would jeopardize 
their health." 

When visiting the cafeteria 
you will see many serving lines 
with food being served on trays 
in an assembly-line manner. 
From the serving lines each del- 
egate carries his tray to waist- 
high tables where he eats the 
food while standing. 

Volunteer Workers 
No matter how large an as- 
sembly might be, all the work 
necessary for making it a suc- 
cess is done by volunteer work- 
ers. Witnesses with skills volun- 
teer their help to install the 
sound system, to erect an attrac- 
tive platform for the speakers, 
to install steam kettles, to lay 
piping, to cook for the cafeteria, 
and so forth. Others operate the 
cafeteria and refreshment stands, 
direct traffic, help people find 
seats, sweep the floors, clean the 
rest rooms, assign rooms for the 
delegates, and do any number of 
other tasks that are necessary 
for the successful operation of 
an assembly. 

Much work is necessary before 
an assembly even begins. The 
stadium or auditorium has to be 
thoroughly cleaned, and all the 
equipment set up for operating 
the various departments of the 
assembly. Cleaning the audito- 
rium or stadium is a standard 
practice with the Witnesses. Re- 
garding the huge assembly held 
in Yankee Stadium in New York 
in 195S at which 250,000 people 
were in attendance on the last 



IN ALL PARTS OF THE WORLD IN 1969 



day, the 1959 Arena, Auditorium 
& Stadium Guide stated: 

"Not so much as a match stick 
or discarded candy wrapper could 
be found in the stadiums and 
other areas they had rented. 
Thousands of their members, 
men, women and children, made 
up a committee to leave every 
square foot of area as clean or 
cleaner, than they had found it." 

Every night during the 1963 
assembly at Yankee Stadium 
four hundred volunteer workers 
pitched in to sweep the entire 
stadium. Within an hour and a 
half the job was done. Regard- 
ing an assembly held in Winston- 
Salem, North Carolina, the news- 
paper Twin-City Sentinel of July 
16, 1968, quoted the coliseum 
manager as saying : "Without 
reservation, that's the cleanest, 
most orderly bunch of people 
that has been in the coliseum in 
the nearly 10 years I have been 
there." 

In connection with another as- 
sembly, at Lewiston, Maine, the 
Lewiston Daily Sun of July 9, 
1968, reported: "And when the 
three day convention had ended, 
the lawns and grounds of the 
two public buildings were as 
clear of litter as could be, in 
sharp contrast to their condition 
after far-smaller gatherings and 
events are held there. . . . Re- 
gardless of one's religious belief, 
and whether it agrees with the 
feelings of the Witnesses, this 
was an unusual demonstration 
of faith which was in itself up- 
lifting." 




Financial Support 

No collections are taken at as- 
semblies of Jehovah's witnesses. 
Perhaps you wonder, then, how 
the assemblies are financed. It 
is expensive business to rent : a 
big auditorium or a huge sta- 
dium such as Yankee Stadium 
for a week. But it is not just a 
matter of only one stadium. In 
1968, a total of 120 district as- 
semblies were held in the North- 
ern Hemisphere alone, encom- 
passing twenty-five countries. 

Despite the expense, you will 
never hear a single plea for 
money at any assembly you may 
attend. All expenses are covered 
by unsolicited voluntary contri- 
butions. 

Other Features 

Oftentimes the assembly pro- 
gram is multilingual. In the 
"United States there is frequently 
a simultaneous Spanish program 
for the Spanish-speaking Wit- 
nesses. This is put on in an ad- 
jacent building or tent. At the 
1958 assembly in New York there 
were separate language meetings 
for parts of the program pre- 
sented in Arabic, Dutch, Fin- 
nish, French, German, Italian, 
Portuguese, Spanish, Albanian, 
Danish, Greek, Hungarian, Po- 
lish, Slovak and Ukrainian. Del- 
egates from 123 lands attended 
that assembly. 

At the Stockholm assembly in 
1963, a special platform was built 
in the shape of a four-leaf clo- 
ver. From each of the four leaves 









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AU work at the assemblies is done free by volunteers 



of the platform the program was 
translated simultaneously into 
the languages of the four Nordic 
countries. Each language was 
broadcast to a specific section of 
the stadium that was set aside 
for that languaga Several of 
the 1969 assemblies will have 
Spanish sessions. 

Provisions are even made for 
deaf-njutes to benefit from the 
fine program. At Yankee Stadium 
in 1958 there were sjx Witnesses 
who were deaf-mute: interpreters. 
They took half -hour turns to re- 
lay the convention talks to those 
persons unable to hear or speak. 
They did this by means of sign 
language, translating what was 
said from the platform almost 
as rapidly as it was said. 

Accept the Invitation 

In many ways you will find 
the "Peace on Earth" Interna- 
tional Assembly of Jehovah's 
Witnesses delightfully different 
from any assembly you ever at- 
tended. A man who went to an 
assembly of the Witnesses' for 
the first time in Sedalia, Mis- 
souri, remarked : "It warms my 
heart to see you people. It is so 
different fr^m what I have 
read." A local businessman in 
Shreveport, Louisiana, who went 
to an assembly there observed : 
"It's so different from any other 
time I have been to the fair- 
grounds, it just doesn't seem like 
the same place. . . . You people 
have something I certainly wish 
I had." 

Their assembling together reg- 
ularly is in accord with the 
Scriptural admonition at He- 
brews 10 : 24, 25, which says : 
"Let us consider one another to 
incite to love and fine works, not 
forsaking the gathering of our- 
selves together, as some have the 
custom, but encouraging one an- 
other, and all the more so as you 
behold the day drawing near." 
The fact that the program of 
each assembly does indeed incite 
those present to "love and fine 
works" makes the assemblies of 
Jehovah's witnesses delightfully 
different. 

Accept the invitation to at- 
tend an assembly of Jehovah's 
witnesses. It will cost you noth- 
ing, but you will gain much in 
a spiritual way from the ex- 
perience. 




"THE APPROACHING PEACE OF A THOUSAND YEARS" 
— this is the title of a thrilling one-hour talk to be given on 
the last day of this international assembly ! Do you long for en- 
during peace ? Then don't miss 



this program. It will bring you 
comfort, encouragement and 
great hope in these critical 
days. 

For weeks prior to the assem- 
bly, and during the assembly 
week itself, you will see this 
discourse advertised everywhere. 
Posters around the city will draw 
attention to it. Lapel cards worn 
by assembly delegates will fea- 
ture it. Tens of thousands of 
handbills will be distributed to 
invite all interested persons to 
attend. In addition to the out- 
of-town delegates, thousands from 
the assembly city are expected 
to be on hand to hear this prin- 
cipal talk of the program. Will 
you be among them? We sincere- 
ly urge you to plan now to be 
present. 

Not only this important part 
of the program, but all sessions 
of the assembly are open to the 
public, and no collections are 
ever taken. 

When to Come 

Every session of the assembly 
features a different program, 
alive with practical value, and 
you are invited to attend them 
all. 

On most days the program will 
begin in the afternoon at 1 : 40 
and close at 4 : 35. Evening ses- 
sions begin at 6 : 30 and end at 
9 : 05. On some days, as shown 
on page 32, there is a program 
in the morning too. If you want 
to come for the entire day, you 
are welcome to have your meals 
with us in the assembly cafe- 
teria. 



If possible, why not be on hand 
the very first day of the assem- 
bly when the keynote address is 
delivered. The subject: "Ac- 
quaint Yourself with God and 
Keep Peace." 

Bible Dramas 

Almost every day of this in- 
ternational assembly will in- 
clude, not only lively discourses, 
but also a Bible drama. Some 
of these will have modern-day 
settings ; others will be put on 
in the dress of Bible times. For 
example, you will be able to see 
a drama featuring King Saul 
and his son Jonathan, David the 
son of Jesse, and lovely Abigail. 
And as you watch, you will come 
to realize what it all means to 
us today. ' 

In a different kind of drama, 
by means of audio presentation, 
you will be able to live the un- 
usual experiences of the prophet 
Jonah ; also those of Daniel at 
King Belshazzar's court just be- 
fore the collapse of the Babylo- 
nian Empire. And, remember, 
there is no charge to attend any 
of these dramas. 

The Bible Is God's Word 

Living as we do in an age when 
the Bible has been subjected to 
constant attack to undermine 
faith, it is most appropriate that 
a full afternoon of the assembly 
be devoted to a discussion of the 
evidence that the Bible really 
is the Word of God. When you 
hear others say that parts of the 
Bible are just "myth," or are 
unscientific, can you produce 
facts to prove that they are 

8 



wrong? How many solid argu- 
ments do you know that prove 
that the Bible is not merely the 
writings of men but that it real- 
ly is the Word of God? This 
program will fortify your faith. 

The Book of Revelation 

When did you last try to read 
the Bible book of Revelation? 
Did you wish you could under- 
stand it? You can. The talk 
"Final Woes to Enemies of Peace 
with God," which focuses at- 
tention on Revelation, can help 
you. Be on hand to hear it. 

Problems of Family Life 

By means of talks and dramas 
with modern-day settings, this 
"Peace on Earth" assembly will 
come to grips with the problems 
of family life. Is your homelife 
really happy? Do the members 
of your household truly commu- 
nicate with one another the way 
they should? Do problems that 
arise in connection with your 
children cause you anxiety? We 
believe that you will appreciate 
the portions of the program 
that discuss these matters in a 
straightforward way. 

Attitude Toward Authority 

Another problem that has 
pressed itself on the attention 
of people everywhere is the mat- 
ter of respect for authority. 
Youths are in rebellion against 
parents and teachers. Adults 
openly defy government officials. 
You are affected by these things, 
but do you know what the Bible 
says about the course to pursue 
in the midst of them? Regard- 
less of your position in life, you 
will benefit greatly from the dis- 
cussion of this subject on the 
assembly program. 

International Reports 

Another colorful portion of the 
assembly will be firsthand re- 
ports from all parts of the earth. 
Today there are fast-moving 
developments in the field of reli- 
gion. The lives of tens of thou- 
sands are being dramatically 
changed each year as a result 
of Bible education. Eyewitness 
reports are part of the program. 

Yes, there is much at this 
assembly that is of intense inter- 
est to you. The program is prac- 
tical, enlightening and encour- 
aging. 

You are invited ! Why not 
mark the assembly dates on your 
calendar right now. Details as 
to the day and time of each 
program are on page 32. 



Largest BflOlfliJlfi iWi'Ht in History! 



The largest rooming hunt in the history of the world is under 
way. Your city is no doubt involved. Good;, clean Christian 
people will be looking for rooms. 

Can you offer a room? If 
so, please contact the Watch- 
tower Convention Booming 
Department. 

Eooms are needed for the del- 
egates to the "Peace on Earth" 
International Assembly of Jeho- 
vah's Witnesses. For how long 
will they need a room? About a 
week, and in some cases less 
than a. week. The delegates will 
be at the assembly most of the 
day, and they will have their 
meals at the assembly grounds, 
but they do need a place to sleep. 

Hotels and motels in your area 
will not be able to accommo- 
date all the convention delegates, 
so rooms are needed in private 
homes. In the city of Milwaukee, 
Wisconsin, where some 34,217 
delegates came to a convention 
of Jehovah's witnesses in 1963, 
13,010 were accommodated by 
hotels and motels, but a total 
of 21,207 delegates had to be 
housed in private homes. Pro- 
portionately the same generally 
holds true for other cities where 
conventions are planned. Some 
rooms are offered free, others at 
nominal cost. 

What kind of people are the 
delegates to these Christian as- 
semblies? Perhaps the best way 
to answer that is by expressions 
of people with whom they have 
stayed. 



Expressions by Others 

One householder wrote the 
Watchtower Convention Room- 
ing Department, saying : "We had 
the pleasure a few years ago 
of having a family of your or- 
ganization living with us. The 
party left good memories for us. 
All your members are good and 
gentle people. I now can offer 
you again my two bedrooms with 
four beds." 

Another , householder said : 
"Your representative made such 
a wonderful impression that -we 
rearranged our plans to try to 



have sleeping quarters for you. 
I've, had members of your group 
in my home during three con- 
ventions and ' would be pleased 
to have them this year. I've al- 
ways found your group, those 
I've met, very sincere, and a 
credit to any place they go to. 
I've been more than pleased to 
have them." 

A business couple at Americus, 
Georgia, was approached by one 
of Jehovah's witnesses. The man 
spoke up and said, "My wife and 
I were talking about you people 
the other day." After telling 
about another religious group 
that left his motel in a mess, he 
said : "My wife and I said, Why 
couldn't they have been like Je- 
hovah's witnesses? When they 
were here they left their rooms 
so neat and clean that we didn't 
have to do much after their as- 
sembly. Even the maids men- 
tioned the difference in Jeho- 
vah's witnesses. We're so glad 
to have you folks back I" 

At another place, the lady in 
charge of a motel said : "I would 
like to ask one favor of you. 
I would like you to send the 
same people in here as I had 
at your last assembly. They were 
the nicest and neatest people 
I ever met." Of course, that 
could not be promised, but she 
was assured that others of Je- 
hovah's witnesses would be just 
as nice and neat. She replied : 
"I'm sure that they will be just 
the same, but I just thought so 
much of the others that I want- 
ed to have them back." 

The Daily Pilot of Costa Me- 
sa, California, editorially stated : 
"The hospitality (of Costa Me- 
sans) is warranted. In their 
previous convention here, the Je- 
hovah's witnesses have proved 
to be welcome guests . . . We're 
happy to have them back." In 
Costa Mesa, 47 percent of the 
rooms listed in private homes by 

9 



the Rooming Department were 
given free by the hospitable peo- 
ple of that city. 

Why Rent Your Boom ? 

Of course, your reaction to in- 
viting strangers into your home 
may be a negative one. This is 
understandable in this era of 
crime and violence. You have a 
right to be concerned for your 
life and property; in fact, you 
should be. But, at the same time, 
does this mean that one should 
lock up all the fountains of good- 
ness within himself to survive 
these fearful times? No, it does 
not mean that at all. 

To live in such a fearful way 
not only would be ignoring the 
commandment of God to be hos- 
pitable but would be doing in- 
jury to oneself. The Bible, there- 
fore, wisely advises: "Follow 
the course of hospitality." "Do 
not forget hospitality, for through 
it some, unknown to themselves, 
entertained angels." (Rom. 12: 
13; Heb. 13:2) Yes, the course 
of hospitality is a wise one, a 
godly one, when judiciously ex- 
tended. 

The people coming to this con- 
vention are Christians who sin- 
cerely endeavor to live in harmo- 
ny with the wholesome principles 
of the Bible. And, as you have 
already noted in the expressions 
from those who provided rooms 
for them in the past, this makes 
them pleasant guests to have in 
one's home. 

Having some of the delegates 
in your home can also bring a 
special blessing to you. How so? 
Well, if you are a person who 
would like to get a better under- 
standing of the Bible, they will 
be glad to take time during their 
stay in the city to assist you. 
They do not press their religion 
on those with whom they stay. 
But they are glad to go out of 
their way to answer the ques- 
tions of those who want to know 
what the Bible says. 

Also, there will be delegates 
from other lands at this assem- 
bly, as well as from all parts 
of your country. It can be en- 



10 



"PEACE ON EARTH" INTERNATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES 



joyable to get acquainted with 
people from other places. 

We hope that yon will be able 
to rent a spare bedroom to one 
or more of the convention dele- 
gates. Such generous gestures 
are not overlooked either on 
earth or in heaven. Jesus Christ 
declared : "Whoever gives one of 
these little ones only a cup of 
cold water to drink because he 
is a disciple, I tell you truly, he 
will by no means lose his re- 
ward." (Matt. 10:42) If a cup 
of cold water warrants a re- 
ward from the heavenly Father, 
how much more so will your 
offering of a bed ! 

Volunteer Workers 

The job of finding rooms for 
thousands of convention dele- 
gates is all done by volunteer 
workers. This means that thou- 
sands of Jehovah's witnesses 
spend many thousands of hours 
hunting for rooms. City block 
after city block is carefully 
searched. Some blocks are worked 
three to six times ! 

The people, as a rule, are quite 
sympathetic. They seem to un- 
derstand the need for the many 
calls. Often they respond by urg- 
ing their own relatives and 
friends to open their homes. In 
fact, these later calls yield more 
accommodations than the first 
calls primarily for this reason. 
Also the assemblies usually re- 
ceive additional publicity by 
means of radio, newspapers and 
television. And, too, people know 
by the second, third or fourth 
time around whether they will 
be going on a vacation or not, 
if they will be having visitors 
during the week of the assem- 
bly, and so forth. 

One of the greatest boons to 
the rooming search is the land- 
ladies themselves who remember 
Jehovah's witnesses from pre- 
vious assemblies. A Witness In 
charge of the rooming work in 
New York said : "A very large 
number of our accommodations 
were called in to us by land- 
ladies. Our phones were kept so 
busy that some of them waited 
till after midnight to get a call 
through, or sent us a wire. Many 
others just came to the Rooming 
Department in person to offer 
us accommodations." What is it 
like to engage in this rooming 
hunt? 

Those who engage in this 
rooming hunt have many inter- 



esting experiences. For example, 
one girl was rudely turned away 
from the door by a man who 
did not even give her an oppor- 
tunity to explain why she had 
called. The next clay he stopped 
her on the street and apologized 
by saying that he thought she 
was one of Jehovah's witnesses 
but later had learned that she 
was looking for rooms. He had 
a room, he said, and if she want- 
ed it, she could have it. The 
girl thanked him, disclosed that 
she was one of Jehovah's wit- 
nesses, explained about the con- 
vention and said she would still 
be glad to list his room. Shocked, 
he reconsidered for a moment. 
Then he said he did not wish to 
make another blunder and hap- 
pily let her have the room. 

When a rabbi's wife asked her 
husband about listing some rooms 







with Jehovah's witnesses, he 
told her : "By all means list 
them, and with no charge." He 
said that Jehovah's witnesses 
are the only people that he would 
trust in his home. 

One kind landlady offered her 
rooms free, as well as free meals, 
happy over the prospect of hav- 
ing real Christians in her home. 
"It is a small thing to do for 
God who has been good to me," 
she said. 

At Medicine Hat, Alberta, Can- 
ada, one lady told a young wit- 
ness of Jehovah that, though 
unable to offer a room for the 
use of our visiting delegates, she 
wished she could. The house- 
holder continued, "You see, the 
minister of our Dutch Reformed 
Church told the congregation 
that they should give rooms to 
Jehovah's witnesses as they were 





1 
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Witnesses arriving' at home where accommodations have been 
provided for assembly delegates 



IN ALL PARTS OF THE WORLD IN 1969 



11 



teaching about God's kingdom." 
In this same city another land- 
lady unable to list rooms gave 
the Witness who called $5 as a 
donation to cover the cost of a 
room elsewhere. 

A householder in Trenton, New 
Jersey, asked if the delegates 
would pay for the rooms. She 
was assured that they would. 
She thought she might get her 
children to double up, but was 
not certain. Then she gained 
courage and listed three rooms. 
She also gave an address of an- 
other woman, who had her son 
sleep on a mattress on the floor 
so that the room could be avail- 
able for Jehovah's witnesses. 
This was amazing because her 
own Baptist church was having 
an "association meeting" at the 
same time and they were in need 
of rooms too. But she said that 
she would rather list her rooms 
with Jehovah's witnesses. 

When a householder was ap- 
proached in Salina, Kansas, she 
said that out-of-town guests were 
arriving and that she could not 
possibly list any rooms. After 
the Witness left, the householder 
decided to write to her guests 
and explain to them that she 
would be having her house filled 
at the time with other guests, 
Jehovah's witnesses. She told 
them that they could arrange to 
stay somewhere else, because 
there was always a possibility 
of having them but she could not 
always have Jehovah's witnesses 
in her home. Eight delegates 
were housed. 

Booming Headquarters 
a "Beehive" 

At the Booming headquarters 
there is a hum and efficiency 
like those of a beehive as 
volunteers take care of the cleri- 
cal details. The volunteer work- 
ers carefully match accommoda- 
tions and requests, as to price, 
location, arrangement of rooms, 
and so forth. Family groups have 
to be kept together. Convention- 
ers from countries with currency 
restrictions may have to be 
housed in free rooms. 

The landlady's interests are 
also looked after. A cross-refer- 
ence card is typed out and filed 
under the landlady's name. Two 
notification cards are made out. 
One card goes to the convention 
delegate, and the other is sent 
to the landlady, giving her the 
name and address of the con- 



ventioner who will be staying 
at her home. The date of the 
delegate's arrival is also given. 
The delegate is thus able to 
communicate with the landlady. 

Also special attention must be 
given to the requests of the del- 
egates who might be blind or 
deaf or have some other handi- 
cap. 

The last few weeks prior to 
the convention the Rooming De- 
partment is about the busiest 
place in the whole city. Before 
one recent assembly, from eight 
in the morning till nearly mid- 
night it was difficult to reach 
the Rooming headquarters on 
any of its telephones. 

One woman, after trying for 
three days to call on the tele- 
phone, finally took a subway from 
her home and spent an hour 
traveling across town, just to see 
if the telephone could actually 
be that busy. She was absolutely 
astounded at the whirl of ac- 
tivity that she saw. 

Rooms Needed 
Throughout the Earth 

Since international assemblies 
of Jehovah's witnesses will be 
held in twenty-five principal cit- 
ies around the world this year, 
the great rooming hunt will be 
carried on in each of them. Some 
of the excitement can be recap- 
tured by reflecting on what has 
happened at past conventions. In 
Stockholm, Sweden, it was ex- 
pected that the job of finding 
rooms for delegates would take 
at least four months. But the 
response on the part of the Swe- 
dish people was so generous that 
the rooming work was brought 
to a close four weeks ahead of 
schedule. And there were 3,000 
extra beds available in case of 
need. 

To overcome a shortage of ac- 
commodations in the cities of 
Korea where assemblies were 
held, dormitories were set up in 
Kingdom Halls, school classrooms 
and judo halls. Patiently Jeho- 
vah's witnesses put up with the 
inconveniences of having families 
split up so that men and women 
could be in separate dormitories. 
In so doing, they reflected the 
fruitage of God's spirit, namely, 
love, kindness and mildness. 

In Munich, West Germany, the 
city officials allowed Jehovah's 
witnesses to use ninety-one of 
the Munich schools as dormi- 



tories. In this way the Witnesses 
Were able to make room for 41,- 
286 persons. Tne German people 
showed their appreciation of the 
privilege of being hosts to a 
Christian assembly In many 
ways; some of them sheltered 
in their homes from twenty to 
thirty persons. 

The job of obtaining enough 
rooms was no small problem 
in Milan, Italy. House-to-house 
rooming work had never been 
done in Milan before. This is 
because the law of the land for- 
bids private families to receive 
guests or roomers in their homes 
on payment, even for just one 
night. So in order to surmount 
this legal barrier it was neces- 
sary for Jehovah's witnesses 
there to obtain special permis- 
sion from the government in 
Rome. The government authori- 
ties readily appreciated our prob- 
lem and granted special permis- 
sion for a house-to-house search 
for rooms in private homes. The 
response was very gratifying. 
Accommodations were offered for 
10,027 conventioners ! 

In 1963 Jehovah's witnesses in 
the Republic of the Philippines 
sent out some 600 volunteers 
from many congregations in 
search for rooms. They located 
enough accommodations for 9,000 
delegates, and the majority of 
these were offered free of charge. 
Some Witnesses even built ad- 
ditions to their houses at great 
cost to themselves so that they 
could accommodate more dele- 
gates. The chief of police of 
Manila, as well as the wife of 
the mayor of the city, both made 
arrangements to house dele- 
gates. A businessman in Oaloo- 
can Oity offered accommodations 
for eighty delegates ! 

The largest rooming hunt in 
history is now on. The call is 
for rooms ! Will you express your 
hospitality by offering your spare 
room, not free necessarily, but 
at a reasonable rate? 

If you have not already availed 
yourself of the opportunity to 
accommodate some of Jehovah's 
witnesses in your home during 
this assembly, why not do so 
the next time they call at your 
door to ask if you have a spare 
room to rent to their delegates? 
Better still, seek them out by 
telephone. You will have assisted 
in the largest rooming hunt in 
history. 




What distinguishes the delegates that you may meet at the 
"Peace on Earth" International Assembly of Jehovah's Wit- 
nesses ? You will find that it basically lies in the fact that they 
really believe the Bible to be 
the Word of God. They are 
unlike great numbers of pro- 
fessed Christians today, in- 
cluding many clergymen, who 
consider the Bible to be old- 
fashioned or fiction. They be- 
lieve that what Jesus Christ 
spoke is indeed 'the truth that 
he heard from God.' — John 
8:40. 

The Christian -witnesses of Je- 
hovah thus believe the sixty-six 
books comprising the Bible to 
be the inspired Word of God. 
Not only that, but they believe 
in following the Bible as their 
guide in life. Yes, far from con- 
sidering the Bible to be old- 
fashioned, the Witnesses are con- 
vinced that it is as up-to-date 
as today's newspaper. They be- 
lieve that Jesus Christ knew 
what he was talking about when 
he stated of his Father's Word : 
"Your word Is truth." — John 
17 : 17. 

To the Witnesses the most 
conclusive testimony that the Bi- 
ble deserves to be believed is the 
accuracy of its prophecies. No 
human can accurately foretell 
the future, but the Bible has 
done this ever so- many times. 
Thus numerous prophecies fore- 
told outstanding events in the 
history of God's ancient people 
Israel. Ever so many prophecies 
give details regarding the life of 
Jesus Christ. And other prophe- 
cies describe in detail the events 
of our own day. 



No Uncertainty About God 
Great is the uncertainty about 
God today. Many noted theolo- 
gians teach a . death-of-God the- 
ology. But the Witnesses believe 



the Bible when it tells them that 
the Creator is "the living God," 
that He is "from everlasting to 
everlasting" and "the King of 
eternity."— Heb. 10:31; Ps. 90: 
2, RS; 1 Tim. 1 : 17. 

God's Name 
Additionally, Jehovah's wit- 
nesses believe that God has a 
personal name, just as the Bible 
shows. Perhaps you have seen 
this name in your Bible. Many 
churches and cathedrals, espe- 
cially those dating back to the 
sixteenth and seventeenth cen- 
turies, feature the divine name 
in Tetragrammaton form (pn!"P). 
The Tetragrammaton is defined 
as "the four Hebrew letters 
usually transliterated YHWH or 
JHVH that form a biblical prop- 
er name of God." Many churches 
in Europe have this name of 
God in frescoes and murals that 
embellish walls and ceilings. 

Some churches even have God's 
name spelled out in Roman char- 
acters on a part of their build- 
ing. For example, the name JE- 
HOVAH is on the ceiling of St. 
Martin's Church, Olten, Switzer- 
land. 

The personal name for God 
appears in the Bible some 7,000 
times. God's name is found, for 
example, in the King James Ver- 
sion Bible at Psalm 83 : 18, which 
reads : "That men may know 
that thou, whose name alone is 
JEHOVAH, art the most high 
over all the earth." The latest 
and most scholarly Roman Cath- 
olic translation of the Bible, The 
Jerusalem Bible, while preferring 
the pronunciation "Yahweh," like- 
wise recognizes that God has a 
personal name that cannot be 
rendered simply as "Lord." 

12 



Jehovah's witnesses believe in 
using God's name, especially 
since Jesus Christ said : "I have 
made your name known . . . and 
will make it known." (John 17: 
26) In fact, Jehovah's witnesses 
get their own name from the 
Bible, as at Isaiah 43 : 12, where 
it says : " 'You are my wit- 
nesses,' is the utterance of Je- 
hovah, 'and I am God.' " 

They See 
a Paradise for the Future 

Today many scientists fear for 
the future of the earth and hu- 
mankind. Among the grounds for 
such fears are nuclear weapons, 
contamination of the earth, sea 
and air, and the population ex- 
plosion. Recently Professor Rich- 
ard A. Falk of Princeton Uni- 
versity said : 

"Man may be skeptical about 
following the flight of the dodo 
into extinction, but the evidence 
points increasingly to just such 
a pursuit. The planet and man- 
kind are in grave danger of ir- 
reversible catastrophe if the po- 
litical structure that now prevails 
is not drastically changed dur- 
ing the next few decades. . . . 
There are four interconnected 
threads to the planet — wars of 
mass destruction, overpopulation, 
pollution, and the depletion of 
resources. . . . The basis of all 
four problems is the inadequacy 
of the sovereign states to man- 
age the affairs of mankind in 
the 20th century-"—- New York 
Times, April 7, 1969. 

But the witnesses of Jehovah 
do not share such fears, real 
though such dangers are. Why 
not? Because they really believe 
what the Bible says about a 
change in government for the 
whole earth and that this change 
by means of God's kingdom will 
make it a Paradise. 

What reason do they have for 
entertaining such a hope? Well, 



"PEACE ON EARTH" INTERNATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES 



13 



did not Jesus tell his followers 
to pray for God's will to be done 
on earth as in heaven? He cer- 
tainly did. (Matt. 6:10) Can 
you imagine what that will mean, 
God's will done on earth as in 
heaven? What is God's will for 
men? That they love Jehovah 
God with all their heart, mind, 
soul and strength and that they 
love their neighbor as them- 
selves. When that is done world 
wide there will be no violence, 
no crimes, no injustices, no war. 
— Isa. 2:4; Mark 12 : 29-31. 

But that is not all, Jehovah's 
witnesses believe that it never 
was God's will for man that he 
should suffer from many kinds 
of diseases, grow old and then 
die. It is only because of the 
sin of the first man, Adam, that 
we do. (Eom. 5:12) Jehovah's 
witnesses thus teach that God's 
original purpose was that man 
should live forever in perfect 
health in a Paradise earth. That 
was the prospect held out to 
Adam and Eve while in Eden. 
And so God's Word assures us 
that as a result of God's King- 
dom rule, "he will wipe out ev- 
ery tear from their eyes, and 
death will be no more, neither 
will mourning nor outcry nor 
pain by any more." — Rev. 21 : 4. 

The Christian witnesses also 
believe what else is implied by 
such promises. And what is that? 
That this earth will abide for- 
ever. In their ministry the Wit- 
nesses often quote the inspired 
psalmist who said of God : "He 
has founded the earth upon its 
established places; it will not be 
made to totter to time indefi- 
nite, or forever. "— Ps. 104 : 5. 

But do Jehovah's witnesses be- 
lieve that the blessings of that 
Paradise are limited only to those 
who happen to be living when it 
begins to hold sway over the 
earth? No, they believe that the 
Bible holds out hope for untold 
millions that have died and are 
sleeping in the grave. And what 
is that hope? That they will 
come back to life through a res- 
urrection, just as Jesus Christ 
promised : "Do not marvel at 
this, because the hour is coming 
in which all those in the memo- 
rial tombs will hear his voice 
and come out."— John 5:28, 29. 

But perhaps you wonder why 
Jehovah's witnesses believe this, 
since you may have been taught 



that man has an immortal soul 
that at death goes either to heav- 
en or to a fiery hell. However, 
Jehovah's witnesses really be- 
lieve the Bible when it plainly 
tells us that at the time of man's 
creation he became a living soul. 
(Gen. 2:7) They really believe 
it when the Bible says that "the 
soul that is sinning — it itself 
will die." (Ezek. 18:4) They 
believe that the first man Adam 
really died and went back to the 
dust from which he Came. — Gen. 
3:19. 

Jesus Christ Is Their King 

Unlike many persons today 
who believe that Jesus Christ 
was simply an ordinary human, 
a fine humanitarian, Jehovah's 
witnesses believe that he is real- 
ly the Son of God. And they 
believe that Jehovah God will 
use Jesus Christ to bring about 
Paradise on earth. (Luke 23: 
43) So Jehovah's witnesses teach 
from the Bible that Jesus Christ 
had a prehuman existence, and 
that he came to earth to bear 
witness to his Father and die 
for the sins of humankind. — John 
8:58; Phil. 2:5-8. 

Jehovah's witnesses really be- 
lieve in Jesus Christ, but not 
that he was God incarnate, or 
clothed with flesh, or that he is 
a member of a Trinity, coequal 
and coeternal with his heavenly 
Father. Why do the Witnesses 
not teach that Jesus is part of 






a Trinity? Because the Bible 
tells us that Jesus is God's only- 
begotten Son, "the first-born," 
and the beginning of God's cre- 
ation. So he could not be co- 
eternal with his Father. And 
further, Jesus referred to his 
Father as "my God" and said 
"the Father is greater than I 
am." So by no means could he 
be coequal with his Father as 
the Trinity doctrine teaches. 
—Col. 1 : 15 ; John 1 : 14'; 20 : 17 ; 
14:28; Heb. 5:7, 8; Rev. 3:14. 
These people who really be- 
lieve the Bible also teach that 
Jesus Christ is now ruling as 
God's appointed king in heaven 
and that 144,000 others will be 
associated with him in the heav- 
enly kingdom. — Rev. 3 : 21 ; 14 : 
1, 3; 20:4-6. 

Striking Changes Coming Soon 

All these blessings of Christ's 
Kingdom rule are not far off, Je- 
hovah's witnesses strongly stress. 
How can they be so certain of 
that? Because Bible prophecies 
show that we are at the end of 
this system of things. Jesus him- 
self foretold how we could tell 
that the end of this old system 
of things is at hand. He said 
there would come upon one gen- 
eration great wars, famines, 
earthquakes, increased lawless- 
ness; and this same generation 
would also have the good news 
of God's kingdom preached to 
it— Matt. 24:3-14. 




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14 



"PEACE ON EARTH" INTERNATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES 



So Jehovah's witnesses believe 
that Jesus' prophecy is having 
fulfillment in our day and has 
been since 1914. We therefore 
have strong assurance that we 
are Indeed in the last days of 
this wicked system of things. 
This wicked system will end in 
violence in what God's Word 
calls Armageddon, God's king- 
dom destroying all governments 
in opposition to it. — Rev. 16 : 14, 
16 ; 19 : 11-21 ; Dan. 2 : 44. 

They live by the Bible 

Jehovah's witnesses prove they 
really believe the Bible, not only 
by what they teach, but also by 
how they live. With the psalmist 
they say : "Your word is a lamp 
to my foot, and a light to my 
roadway." (Ps. 119:105) The 
Bible serves as a lamp and a 
light by reason of its divine prin- 
ciples, laws and commandments. 
It makes known to them what 
is right and what is wrong; 
what is wise and what is foolish ; 
what is loving and kind and 
what is hateful and selfish. As 
a result they enjoy improved 
conditions in every kind of hu- 
man relationship. 

Because of Bible principles 
and commandments, the Wit- 
nesses refuse to share in foment- 
ing civil strife and disorder. 
(Rom. 13: 1-7) Not that the Wit- 
nesses do not feel for those suf- 
fering injustices. They do. But 
they know that these conditions 
are primarily due to the fact 
that Satan the Devil is the "god 
of this system of things" and 
that he has misled mankind. On- 
ly when he and all his demon 
angels are out of the way will 
it be possible to straighten out 
mankind's problems. That will 
be accomplished by God's king- 
dom. Then nothing will harm 
or destroy. — 2 Cor. 4:4; Rev. 
12:9; Isa. 11:9. 

Jehovah's witnesses follow the 
example of Jesus Christ, who 
did not mix in politics or agitate 
for social reform. He said of 
his followers : "They are no part 
of the world, just as I am no 
part of the world." — John 17 : 16. 

Following Bible principles, they 
show no prejudice or discrim- 
ination. Regardless of race or 
skin color, nationality or lan- 
guage, they treat all others as 
they themselves want to be 
treated. (Luke 6: 31) They know 



that God made out of one man 
all that live on this earth. They 
welcome to their Kingdom Halls 
all who would worship God in 
spirit and in truth. — Acts 17 : 26. 

In the matter of sexual morals 
they also follow God's Word the 
Bible. They know they must 
cleanse themselves from "every 
defilement of flesh" and "let mar- 
riage be honorable among all, 
and the marriage bed be with- 
out defilement," since "God will 
judge fornicators and adulter- 
ers." They cannot agree with 
certain clergymen of Christen- 
dom who state that there are 
"advantages of adultery," and 
that homosexual relations can 
be "quite virtuous." Rather, they 
agree with God's Word, which 
severely condemns all such prac- 
tices.— 2 Cor. 7:1; Heb. 13:4; 
Rom. 1 : 24-32. 

In the family relationship the 
Witnesses, recognize the Bibli- 
cal principle that the husband 
is the head of the family. He 
has the obligation to love his 
wife as his own body and to 
rear his children according to 
Bible principles. The wife, for 
her part, is to show deep re- 
spect to her husband and as- 
sist him in rearing their chil- 
dren. In turn, children are to 
honor their parents and obey 
them in everything. This is 
spelled out for them time and 
again in the Scriptures, as at 
Ephesians 5:22-6:i 

That this type of training 
brings good results was noted 
last year by La Presse, Canada's 
largest French daily, August 7, 
1068. Among other things it stat- 
ed : "Another useful contribution 
of Jehovah's witnesses is the 
accent this group places on fam- 
ily unity, respect for the au- 
thority of the family head and 
participation by adolescents in 
common endeavors. In these 
three spheres we get the im- 
pression that certain of their 
methods might be studied and 
profitably used by other religious 
denominations." 

Interested in Their Fellowman 

Today many clergymen are 
working for social reform and 
economic betterment of the mass- 
es. But Jesus and his apostles 
concentrated their energies on 
preaching the kingdom of God. 
—Matt. 9:35. 



So Jehovah's witnesses put 
first the doing of what Jesus 
prophesied for these "last days." 
And what is that? He foretold: 
"This good news of the king- 
dom will be preached in all the 
inhabited earth for a witness to 
all the nations ; and then the 
end will come." (Matt. 24 : 14) 
This prophecy means preaching 
good news. But it also implies 
a warning, for it says that when 
the Kingdom preaching is fin- 
ished then "the end will come," 
the end of this wicked system 
of things. The Witnesses are 
working hard to obey this pro- 
phetic command to preach the 
Kingdom good news before the 
end comes. Thus their Kingdom 
preaching is really a lifesaving 
work. 

During 1968 more than a mil- 
lion Witnesses were active in 
some 200 lands and islands. They 
devoted more than 200 million 
hours to preaching and teach- 
ing God's Kingdom truths, re- 
sulting in more than 82,000 new 
baptized disciples. 

Jehovah's witnesses are not 
trying to convert the world. Nor 
do they pressure persons to ac- 
cept their beliefs, but permit 
each one to make up his own 
mind freely. In carrying out 
these activities they are show- 
ing that they love God with all 
their heart and their neighbors 
as themselves. (Mark 12:29-31) 
And since, as Jesus once said, 
"there is more happiness in giv- 
ing than there is in receiving," 
these Witnesses are a very happy 
people. Proof of this you can 
see by visiting the assembly to 
be held in your area. — Acts 
20 : 35. 

Because of their really believ- 
ing the Bible and putting it to 
work in their lives the Witnesses 
have earned themselves a fine 
reputation. Thus the TwinrCity 
Sentinel, July 16, 1968, told of 
stadium manager Neil Bolton 
being so impressed with their 
behavior that he asked one of 
the Witnesses what accounted 
for it. The reply he received 
was: "It's just, the Bible. We 
live according to the command- 
ments." According to that paper, 
"that caused Bolton to think : 
'If the rest of us could get a 
little bit of this rubbed off on 
us, we'd be a better world, 
wouldn't we?' " 



iilJiMORi^HiKiiiiiiffs 



Qixty Years in Brooklyn} 



Think of 1,155,826 ministers — far outnumbering the world- 
wide army of Roman Catholic priests and all the Protestant 
ministers in the United States combined! This is, in fact, the 
largest single body of preachers 
in the world ! They devote up- 
ward of 200,000,000 hours 
yearly in Bible education, and 
they do this work voluntarily 
and free of charge. 

Think of their making 89,- 
903,578 return calls on people 
seeking spiritual guidance and 
holding home Bible studies with 
977,50" liw^iiiix and r.iinilii"- : 
And all nf 1 1 1 1 — i^ mrlmiil i-li.n^"' 

Tff\k hi' iln'ir pl.ii in.: 
157,511 V.tL' in i_'i 
zines- ami 



their worldwide Christian activ- 
ity is the Watch Tower Bible 
and Tract Society. 

The Headquarters in Brooklyn 

At the end of the East River 
of New York's bustling harbor, 
just across from the famed Wall 
Street financial district, is the 



Bethel home, the headquarters 
of the Watchtower Bible and 
Tract Society. (Bethel is a He- 
brew word meaning "House of 
God.") 

The Watchtower Society is a 
longtime resident in the -Brook- 
lyn Heights neighborhood. It 
was in 1908 that they first pur- 
chased property here, and on 
January 31, 1909, they dedicated 
their new headquarters. This 
was some twenty years before 
the well-known Towers Hotel 
was built a short distance away. 
0\..i Um- io.ir~ lilt- W.ili-lilm'fi 
iMiilili li.l>> —• - - 1 1 m:ill\ iillii-l III 

■ li\n ii, il- anil hi j,iiii/.irinii«. iiium* 

inrn rln' Moi-rlir-* -i nl ilicn 

lafi'i Ii-. \ ■ liin i In- WaiHi 

lout r ^ni'ii'i.i iia- -l.ij- 

iil .iimI i'\|i,iin|i'il 

* . "\v*ffe»w K " l 'l' V " 




21,671. I7!f 

Bibles-. 1'iiiMnl . 

books .mil ImiiiK 

lets ili. U i'\pliiiii 

the I'.ilili- min ilii' 

hands- ni" lln 1 hmiIiii 

public 

The^i' lijiiii — in a mtj 
limited \\ .i.\ • 1 • -— « i i I ■■ - lln ox- 
tent nf ilin I\iii_'i1iuii pic.ii li i t ■ — r 
activiii iMiiii'il mi Ni .li'lini.ili - 
wltnei-j'i in -"" liiiiiK in ihi' M'.'ii 

1968 filmic - 

'nrffliuMi niii'^iiiin «*m Ii *i f\ > in- 
tic undertaking indeed takes 
precision organization. And the 
organization used by Jehovah's 
witnesses to produce literature 
in 165 languages and to direct 



*P* 



Bethel Home and administrative 

offices of Watchtower Society; 

1,150 ministers live here 

15 



» I i ll I II i 
»* _'KHi 111 n" '.lie 

_'.iiii/,iriini. 

In l'Hi'.i ihi-.i h.nl ,i 
fniM" -liilj lii'iiiliii_' on I'oiinn- 
ln:i lloulil^ Noil lho\ li.iio tun 
attractive twelve-story red-brick 
buildings, also a brand-new ultra- 
modern brick structure of seven 
stories, with other adjoining 
buildings. Here more than 1,150 



16 



"PEACE ON EARTH" INTERNATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES 





^ 98 



* * US- T*j& ,^3«£ ! J:f ! J8 



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Watchtower Society's factory in Brooklyn covers four city blocks. 
Bible literature in 146 languages is produced here 



men and women, including all the 
officers of the Watch Tower Bible 
and Tract Society, live and work. 
Nearly a hundred of them have 
personally lived here for more 
than twenty years. Here also is 
located the Watchtower Bible 
School of Gilead. 

From here the preaching of 
God's kingdom, as commanded 
by Jesus Christ at Matthew 24: 
14 and Matthew 28 : 19, 20, is 
directed through 98 branch of- 
fices earth wide. Two-thirds of 
Jehovah's witnesses live outside 
the United States. Into the 
headquarters office flows a flood 
of some 950,000 pieces of mail 
each year, and 470,000 pieces 
are sent out to all parts of the 
earth in a single year. 

Bethel, in fact, is a small city 
within the borough of Brook- 
lyn. It has its own barber shop, 
laundry, dry-cleaning plant, kitch- 
en, shoe-repair shop, dentist's 
office, infirmary and libraries. 

The first two aboveground 
floors of one of the twelve-story 
buildings are encased in marble 
and glass and house the offices 
of Gilead School, with its class- 
rooms, a large lecture hall, and 
other offices. The purpose of this 
school is to give special ad- 
vanced training for missionary 



service in all parts of the world. 
By 1965, graduates had been 
assigned to 141 lands. 

The remaining floors accom- 
modate the 100 Gilead students 
who enroll for the five-month 
course and, of course, the reg- 
ular Bethel residents. Others live 
in the older twelve-story build- 
ing across the street, including 
the president of the Society, Na- 
than H. Knorr. When filled to 
capacity with two Witnesses to 
a room, the buildings shelter 
1,150 members. No racial dis- 
tinctions are made in living 
quarters. Here Chinese, Japa- 
nese, Negroes, Spanish, Ger- 
mans, Italians, Arabs and Jews 
— people representing more than 
thirty nationalities — live side by 
side in harmony. Truly an in- 
ternational family and a happy 
one! Guided tours of the prem- 
ises are regularly provided for 
visitors. Recently a newsman 
after visiting the headquarters 
reported : "In three hours of 
sight-seeing, I didn't meet a sin- 
gle bored-looking worker. Every- 
body, devoutly convinced he is 
doing Jehovah's work, is happy, 
enthusiastic, and efficient." That 
is the way it should be in the 
house of God. 

The new seven-story structure 



is the first build- 
ing of its kind ever 
to be constructed 
in a historical 
area anywhere in 
the United States. 
The plans for the 
building were ap- 
proved by the 
Landmarks Com- 
mission. This 
home will accom- 
modate a hundred 
persons, two to a 
room. 

A happy spirit 
pervades the 
home. A bell 
rouses residents 
at 8 : 30 a.m. They 
bathe, dress and 
assemble in four 
dining rooms for 
morning worship, 
which begins 
sharply at 7. Mem- 
bers sit around 
tables that seat 
ten. The meals are 
presided over by 
the president, if 
he is in town. The 
day's Bible text 
from the Year- 
book of Jehovah's Witnesses is 
read and discussed. Various ones 
who have been asked to prepare 
comments are called upon to 
speak. The discussion lasts about 
twenty minutes. There is prayer 
and then breakfast. The meal 
lasts about fifteen minutes. The 
dining rooms are tied in by 
closed-circuit television, so that 
all can see and hear the pro- 
grams originating in the main 
dining room. 

Smoking is not permitted, nei- 
ther is profanity. All residents of 
Bethel, from President Knorr to 
the newest member, get the same 
allowance : room, board and $14 
a month allowance for clothing 
and incidental expenses. 

The Watchtower Society's 
Farms 

As you can well imagine, feed- 
ing the staff of hard workers 
and the Gilead students three 
times a day is no small task. 
The Bethel family on a single 
day may consume 500 pounds of 
bulk hamburger or 900 pounds 
of turkey or, for breakfast, 150 
dozen eggs! One meal can rep- 
resent a large steer or three 
hogs or 350 chickens. In a week's 
time the family may eat 12,600 
eggs, 400 pounds of butter and 



IN ALL PARTS OF THE WORLD IN 1969 



17 



drink 1,300 gallons of milk ! This 
food is largely provided by the 
Watchtower Society's farms in 
New York and New Jersey. 
These farms presently total 2,- 
229 acres. 

About a two-hour drive north 
of New York city is where the 
1,500-acre Watchtower Farm is 
located. Several hundred feet 
back off the road stands a new 
four-story colonial-style house. 
This can house a hundred peo- 
ple — the farm family, construc- 
tion workers, mechanics, and so 
forth. In the house there is also 
a cannery, a 20,000-cubic-foot 
deepfreeze, a dining room that 
can seat 120 persons, a kitchen, 
laundry, Kingdom Hall, and 
other facilities. The farm is 
equipped with a large root cellar, 
a modern slaughterhouse and a 
hog house that uses the latest 
pig-raising techniques. The poul- 
try houses and the cattle feed- 
ing methods are also ultra- 
modern. 

On the Society's three farms 
on a recent date, there were 
368 milking cows, 539 beef cat- 
tle, 464 hogs, 8,812 poultry. A 
cheese factory produces 15 tons 
of cheese a year. And 8 
tons of butter are made 
yearly for the family. A 
canning factory prepared 
37,924 quarts of canned 
goods and 26,369 quarts of 
frozen foods last year! 
There are vineyards, vege- 
table gardens, and orchards 
with 435 apple trees, 169 
pear trees and 400 grape- 
vines. Some 8,158 quarts of 
strawberries were picked 
last year ! 

This fantastically large 
operation is managed solely 
by ministers of Jehovah's 
witnesses and is operated, 
not for commercial profit, 
but to keep the headquar- 
ters' staff in Brooklyn well 
fed. By raising much of its 
own food and employing 
various economies, the So- 
ciety maintains a healthy 
family at low cost. It en- 
ables ministers to devote 
their life and energies to 
publishing Bibles, books, 
booklets and magazines at 
very small expense to the 
public so that they can 
learn of God's kingdom, 
the only hope of mankind. 
—Matt. 6 : 9, 10. 



The Watchtower Society's 
Publishing Plant 

Sprawled over four city blocks 
between the Brooklyn end of 
the Brooklyn and Manhattan 
Bridges are printing plants of 
Jehovah's witnesses. The huge 
Brooklyn industrial operation 
employs 819 persons, ranging 
from skilled printers to office 
clerks. 

Here are located 22 rotary 
presses and 23 flatbed and job 
presses. The largest presses each 
print 25,000 Bible magazines an 
hour. They each weigh over fifty 
tons. They use a five-mile-long, 
1,600-pound roll of paper in 
about forty minutes. Eight freight 
carloads of paper are used a 
week; over 10,000 tons per year. 
Literature is here printed in 146 
languages. Some twenty other 
languages are printed in for- 
eign lands. 

Here also are folders and. 
stitchers that can stitch 100,000 
thirty-two-page booklets per day. 
One sees thirty-three linotype 
machines setting type in haste ; 
a composing, matting and plate 
department working with the 
efficiency of a beehive. There 
are storage areas holding over 




s* . sV' : £^ 



Modern new addition to Bethel Home 
recently erected in Brooklyn 



5,000 tons of paper, or more than 
200 train carloads of 25 tons 
each ! 

The bindery is a fascination 
in itself. It is spread out on 
three floors, with the latest book- 
binding equipment. Here are 
casemakers, embossers, cutters, 
trimmers, folding and gluing ma- 
chines. From one of thirty-three 
book-sewing machines (each ma- 
chine averages 2,500 hardbound 
books a day) the assembling of 
a book races along at an amaz- 
ing speed to assemblers, gluers, 
cutterS, rounders, casing-in ma- 
chines, pressing, drying and pack- 
ing. On the five production lines 
100,000 books a day, with two 
shifts, can be bound on the av- 
erage, with a peak of 144,000! 
The circulation of the Soci- 
ety's publications eclipses all 
other religious periodicals. In 
the religious publishing circles 
a book that sells more than 
25,000 copies breaks into the 
best-seller ranks. The Watch 
Tower Society's book "Let Qod 
Be True" was issued in a first 
edition of 10,000,000 copies in 30 
languages ! More than 17,000,000 
copies of the 320-page book have 
been distributed. The So- 
ciety's recently released 
book The Truth That Leads 
to Eternal Life in one 
year's time is in its 15,000,- 
000 edition! 

In this Brooklyn plant 
nearly 15,000,000 copies of 
the Bible in seven lan- 
guages have been printed in 
the last twenty-five years ! 
A complete, hard-cover Bi- 
ble is printed for only $1. 
Other hardbound books-are 
placed with the public for 
as little as 25 cents. Last 
year more than 12,130,990 
Bibles and books were sent 
to 98 branches to serve the 
more than 25,000 congrega- 
tions of. Jehovah's witness- 
es throughout the earth. 
But in the first eight 
months of the 1969 fiscal 
year, more than 17,700,000 
Bibles and books have al- 
ready been printed. This, 
of course, would not be 
possible without dedicated, 
volunteer workers. It be- 
comes obvious that no other 
people are more interested 
in printing, distributing 
and teaching the Word of 
God than are Jehovah's 
witnesses. 



"PEACE ON EARTH" INTERNATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES 



The Shipping Department is 
the very epitome of efficiency. 
Bible literature totaling 115 lan- 
guages is stocked, ready to be 
shipped. On April 7 of this year 
37,582 pounds of literature, rep- 
resenting 83,000 books, was 
shipped to London, England ; 
43,339 pounds to Rome, Italy, 
representing 67,000 books ; 75,401 
pounds went to Manila, Philip- 
pine Islands, representing 145,- 
000 books and 310,000 tracts ; 24,- 
256 pounds was shipped to 
Auckland, New Zealand, repre- 
senting 59,000 books and 10,000 
tracts — all of this was shipped 
out of the Brooklyn plant in 
one day ! And it does not repre- 
sent all the shipping either. 
About 54 percent of the litera- 
ture produced is exported. 

The Magazine Department 
Of the four large buildings 
of the Watch Tower Society's 
Brooklyn publishing plant, Build- 
ing Number 2 is the home of 
the Watchtower and Awake! 
magazines. From here the mag- 
azines are processed and mailed. 
The Watohtower and Awake! 
are printed here in thirty lan- 
guages, sixty-four different mag- 
azines being produced every 
month, or at the rate of two to 
three each day. Some days over 
a million copies of these Chris- 
tian magazines are produced 
and mailed out. 

If that sounds amazing, then 
consider the other figures of this 
department : New subscription 
slips come in at a rate of 8,000 
to 10,000 a day. They are checked 
for legibility, typed on metal 
stencils and proofread. During 
the first six months of fiscal 
year 1969, 96,043,629 magazines 



were mailed out of the Brooklyn 
plant ! It takes three trailer 
trucks per day to move this 
mail, and it weighs over 60,- 
000 pounds. The magazines are 
mailed to over 200 countries, 
islands and territories. Direct 
sacks of mail are prepared for 
363 destinations in 44 countries. 

Thirty-five different language 
magazines are mailed in 82 dif- 
ferent issues per month. This 
makes the magazines published 
and mailed in Brooklyn alone 
available to over 60 percent of 
the world's population. Proof- 
reading and translating are done 
in over 20 countries for maga- 
zines mailed from the Brooklyn 
office. Magazines explaining the 
Word of God can here be set 
in any language using Roman 
characters, also Greek, Hebrew, 
Russian, Arabic and Armenian. 
Circulation ranges from 1,200 
Armenian magazines per month 
to English with a circulation of 
2,900,000 copies per issue. Howev- 
er, The Watohtower and Awake! 
have a combined monthly cir- 
culation of 22,700,000 copies! 

Some issues that received spe- 
cial distribution, such as the 
October 8, 1968, Awake! and 
The Watchtower of October 15, 
1968, in English had a total cir- 
culation of 12,180,000. If stacked 
one atop another they would 
make a pile 55,000 feet high or 
over 10 miles ! The Watohtower 
is printed in 72 languages and 
Awake! in 26 languages. 

There are 2,000,000 zinc ad- 
dress stencils on file. If laid end 
to end, they would encircle New 
York city, or some 82 miles ! In 
this department over 300,000 ad- 
dress changes are processed per 
year. This whole fantastic oper- 






•'V 






■<! . 









*""** «.*■ 

WC 



Main building at Watchtower Farm, where food for Bethel 
family is produced 



ation too difficult to describe in 
words is managed by 135 persons. 

The Other Departments 

Comparatively speaking, very 
few people have any idea of the 
scope of the work that is done 
at the Brooklyn headquarters. In 
addition to the operations men- 
tioned, here is a modem car- 
penter shop where all the work- 
tables, benches, bookcases, and 
furniture for the Bethel home 
are made at a great saving. Here 
is a machine shop that has de- 
signed and built wrapping ma- 
chines and endsheeters. Parts 
and gears and repairs are made 
with a saving of tens of thou- 
sands of dollars every year in 
operational expenses, which mon- 
ey can be used directly to facil- 
itate the preaching work. Here 
also is an electrical shop, a 
plumbing shop, a sheet-metal 
shop, a cleaning department in- 
volving a large crew. Here 
Braille is printed for the blind, 
international conventions are 
planned and the Word of life 
is made available to millions. 

Here at Bethel every week, 
eight hours and forty minutes a 
day, five and a half days a week, 
work linotypists, pressmen, bind- 
ery men, writers, translators, 
typists, artists, secretaries, mail 
clerks, men of various national- 
ities — all of whom are ordained 
ministers — so that the Kingdom 
message might reach the public 
at minimum cost. Said a news- 
man visiting the plant for the 
first time: "All this modern, 
technology and wonderful effi- 
ciency really jolted me." Per- 
haps you feel the same way. 
Many do. A Catholic writer, 
William J. Whalen, said: "I 
have never seen young men work 
harder or more cheerfully at 
their jobs than the compositors, 
linotypists, pressmen, bindery, 
shipping and mailing workers 
at the Watchtower factory. You 
find no malingering, no pin-up 
pictures on the walls, no scraps 
of paper on the floor." 

But as one views this modern 
printing plant and the dedicat- 
ed ministers who man it, one 
cannot help but appreciate that 
here is an organization that is 
serious about fulfilling Jesus' 
prophecy concerning the preach- 
ing of the Kingdom message in 
all the inhabited earth. The 
Brooklyn Bethel headquarters 
serves this purpose well. 



ASSEMBLY CITIES 



Twenty-five principal cities around the world will host the 
"Peace on Earth" International Assembly of Jehovah's Wit- 
nesses. Early in July the assembly opens in ISiorth America, 
and in August it visits five 
European cities. After several 
weeks, the assembly resumes 
in October in cities of the 
Ear East. 

Then the assembly moves to 
Australia, New Zealand, and 
other islands of the Pacific. 
Finally it concludes in Mexico 
City, December 24-28. 

Here are the assembly cities, 
with news and interesting re- 
ports from these many parts 
of the world. 



New York City 

From July 7 to 13 New Yorkers 
will be host to tens of thou- 
sands of Jehovah's witnesses at- 
tending the "Peace on Earth" 
International Assembly in Yan- 
kee Stadium. However, this is 
no new experience for New York- 
ers, since this will be the eighth 
convention the Witnesses have 
held in this world-famous sports 
stadium. 

The largest of these was in 
1958, when the nearby Polo 
Grounds was used simulta- 
neously with Yankee Stadium. 
On that occasion more than a 
quarter of a million persons 
heard the feature Bible lecture ! 

In 1950 there were only 22 
congregations of Jehovah's wit- 
nesses in all New York city. But 
now there are 33 Spanish-speak- 
ing congregations alone, and 188 
congregations all together. For 
just one special meeting this 
spring, the annual memorial of 
Christ's death, well over 40,000 
persons crowded into the meeting 
places of Jehovah's witnesses in 
New York city. 

Atlanta 

In 1958 and prior thereto New 
York city had sufficient facilities 
to handle an international as- 



sembly of Jehovah's witnesses. 
But no longer is this the case. 
Thus, simultaneous with the as- 
sembly in New York, another one 
will be held in Atlanta, Georgia, 
July 6 to 13. Here the new 52,000- 
seat Atlanta Stadium will accom- 
modate an . anticipated 47,000 
delegates. 

Buffalo 

The third city to host the open- 
ing of the "Peace on Earth" 
International Assembly is Buf- 
falo, New York. From July 6 
to 13 it is expected that about 
40,000 delegates will be enjoying 
exactly the same program of 
Bible instruction at the War 
Memorial Stadium in Buffalo as 
is being heard in New York city 
and Atlanta. 

Buffalo's eight congregations 
of Jehovah's witnesses are look- 
ing forward this summer to host- 
ing by far the largest assembly 
of Christian people ever held in 
that city. 

Pomona 

From July 13 to 20 the "Peace 
on Earth" International Assem- 
bly moves to three cities in the 
western United States and Can- 
ada. The one in Pomona, Califor- 
nia, will be held in the Spanish 
language. 

For Spanish-speaking persons 
in other parts of the country, 
there will be Spanish programs 
in conjunction with the assem- 
blies in New York city, Atlanta 
and Chicago. 

Los Angeles 

While the Pomona Spanish As- 
sembly is in progress, more than 
60,000 English-speaking delegates 
are expected to gather in Los 
Angeles for a seven-day "Peace 
on Earth" International Assem- 
bly (July 14-20). Although this 
will be the first time for the 

19 



Witnesses to meet in beauti- 
ful Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles 
has frequently been the host to 
assemblies of Jehovah's wit- 
nesses. In 1963, over 118,000 per- 
sons attended the international 
assembly in the famous Rose 
Bowl in nearby Pasadena. 

The work of Jehovah's wit- 
nesses has expanded rapidly in 
this area. In 1955 there were 33 
congregations and 4,037 Wit- 
nesses in the city of Los Angeles, 
but now there are 89 congrega- 
tions and 8,862 Witnesses! 

Vancouver 

Jehovah's witnesses in Van- 
couver, Canada, look forward to 
welcoming upward of 40,000 dele- 
gates for the international as- 
sembly in their city July 13 to 20. 

What a contrast this assembly 
will be to the one held there by 
Jehovah's witnesses back in 1912, 
when only about sixty persons 
attended. Today there are forty 
congregations of Jehovah's wit- 
nesses in the city — a total of 
3,600 active ministers ! 

Kansas City 

Delegates coming to the inter- 
national assembly in Kansas 
City, Missouri, July 18 to 25, 
will have the spacious facilities 
of the 45,500-seat Municipal Sta- 
dium. Jehovah's witnesses used 
this stadium back in 1960 before 
it was enlarged — 19,300 then at- 
tended. 

Chicago 

The final "Peace on Earth" 
International Assembly in the 
United States opens in Chicago's 
White Sox Park July 21, and 
concludes the following Sunday, 
July 27. 

In the mid-1930' s there was 
only one congregation of Jeho- 
vah's witnesses for all Chicago 
and much of the suburbs. But 
by 1955 the number of congre- 
gations in the city alone had 
grown to 23. And now there are 
63 congregations and 5,525 Wit- 
nesses in Chicago ! 



LONDON 



Britain for centuries stood as 
a stronghold for Bible lovers. 
Names like William Tyndale and 
Miles Coverdale spring to mind 
as devoted men who pioneered 
the printing and distribution of 
the Bible in earlier years; But 
this reverence for God's Word 
has of late seen a sharp decline. 

The man in the street in Lon- 
don today gives little evidence of 
concern for God or the Bible. He 
is much more interested in the 
nation's balance of payments and 
in how much money he takes 
home than he is in worshiping 
God. But what is, so remarkable 
is that concurrent with this 
religious decadence, the Christian 
ministry of Jehovah's witnesses 
in Britain has raced ahead by 
leaps and bounds, till now they 
have 55,278 active ministers. 
That is a '46-percent increase 
over ten years ago, and ten 
times as many Witnesses as there 
were thirty years ago ! 

The Watch Tower Society's 
branch in Britain is located at 
Mill Hill in northwest London. 
It is called Watch Tower House. 
This spacious, modern-looking 
building is located on a quiet, 
tree-studded nineteen acres of 
land. Expansion has come so 
rapidly that, though in 1965 an 
extension of the facilities was 
built, now provisions are being 
made for further expansion. 

The Society's printing factory 
in England prints the Watch- 
tower and Awake! magazines in 



*t 







EUROPEAN 



English, Croatian, Italian, Mala- 
gasy and Swahili, while other 
literature is printed in Yoruba, 
Erik and Twi. 

But the British branch sends 
out more than just literature. 
It has also sent out a great num- 
ber of Christian missionaries. 
Many Witnesses from Britain 
have, over the years, had the 
privilege and joy of going to 
every corner of the globe, spread- 
ing the good news of God's now- 
established kingdom. Upward of 
300 have gone through the Gilead 
missionary school in New York 
and then on to their assignments 
in more than fifty lands. What 
blessings this has brought them I 
And what a joy many of these 
will have when returning to the 
grand assembly at Wembley Sta- 
dium ! 

Yes, the "Peace on Earth" In- 
ternational Assembly in London 
opens in the famous Wembley 
Stadium, Tuesday, July 29, and 
closes Sunday, August 3. In 1951 
Jehovah's witnesses from forty 
nations met here, and it was a 



joy to see a peak of 36,315 
present at the principal lecture. 
However, twice that number are 
expected for this year's assembly. 



? :HAiH;IS: 



In France the Catholic church 
is facing the worst crisis of 
her existence. Although France 
has been called "the oldest 
daughter of the Church," and 
80 percent of the population are 
still professed Catholics, few at- 
tend church with any regularity 
anymore. The average French- 
man criticizes the church be- 
cause of its riches and its shar- 
ing in worldly conflicts. 

Nevertheless, at the same time, 
Jehovah's witnesses have been 
enjoying phenomenal growth. In 
1939 there were a thousand Wit- 
nesses, in 1957 over 10,000, but 
now there are nearly 30,000 King- 
dom preachers! The work of 
Jehovah's witnesses is directed 
from a five-story building sit- 
uated in Boulogne-Billancourt, 
which is on the fringe of Paris. 

The "Peace on Earth" Inter- 
national Assembly opens in Paris, 
France, August 5, and runs for 
sis days. 'Colombes Stadium, 
situated in the suburbs about 
nine miles northwest of Paris, 
will be the assembly site. It is 
the largest stadium in France, 
accommodating about 60,000 per- 
sons. From August 5 to 10 Jeho- 
vah's witnesses expect to assem- 
ble here to worship God and 
enjoy Christian association with 
friends from many lands. 



British office of th* Wa-faiit f ewe* Society 
1 20 



COPENHAGEN 



The general attitude in Den- 
mark is one of a lack of interest 
in religion. People are generally 
unwilling to discuss religion with 
a stranger. They often say, "I am 
not interested in religion." "I 
don't believe in discussing reli- 



"PEACE ON EARTH" INTERNATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES 



21 



gion at the door." "I have my 
own ideas and I keep thein to my- 
self." "I don't believe in the 
Bible." The religion in Denmark 
is officially the Lutheran Evan- 
gelical Church, but only about 
2 to 3 percent attend church. 

But attendance at Copen- 
hagen's six-day "Peace on Earth" 
International Assemblv is ex- 
pected to be about 40,000 ! It will 
run concurrently with the one 
in Paris (August 5-10). It will 
be held at Idraetspark (Sports 
Park) and the adjacent Osterbro 
Stadium, which are located not 
far from the center of the city. 
Besides coming from all over 
Denmark, many thousands of 
delegates will be traveling to 
Copenhagen from Finland, Swe- 
den, Norway, and other countries. 
Sessions will be presented in 
Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish, 
Danish and English. 

The work of Jehovah's witness- 
es has been established in Den- 
mark for a long time. The first 
president of the Watch Tower 
Society, Charles Taze Russell, 
visited Denmark in 1891, and 
soon afterward Witnesses began 
to spread Bible literature in the 
country. In 1903 the Danish edi- 
tion of The Watchtower began to 
be published regularly. Then in 
1928 the magazine now called 
Awake! began to be published in 
Danish. Presently both magazines 
have a printing of 70,000 of each 
issue, twice a month. 

By 1939, when the country was 
occupied by the Nazis, Denmark 
had 1,000 Witnesses. The German 
decision to win Denmark as a 
"model" occupied country re- 
sulted in their allowing Danes 
considerable freedom. Thus the 
work of Jehovah's witnesses was 
not banned and, with a certain 
amount of discretion, it was pos- 
sible to continue with meetings 
and preaching all during the war. 

By the first year following- 
World War II there were 3,000 
Witnesses in Denmark. Within 
ten years the number had grown 
to 9,000. The growth to a little 
over 11,300 has been slower since 
then. But now, one out of every 
428 persons in the country is a 
Christian witness of Jehovah. 

By 1955 it was deemed ad- 
visable to build a branch office 
with a printery, so that maga- 
zines and other preaching mate- 
rial could be produced in Den- 
mark. Land was purchased in 
Virum, at the northern outskirts 



V 



Where a congregation of Witnesses meets in England; 
there are 25,409 congregations world -wide 



*j$. -»■ 



* 



r ' 



Millions of pieces of Bible literature are printed in 

eight languages in Watch Tower's London plant 



The assembly program in Copenhagen in 1961 was presented simul- 
taneously from live speakers' platforms in five languages 



22 



•PEACE ON EARTH" INTERNATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES 




*^ 



****.. ^„. 



«V-»v„ 







Watch Tower Society's branch oMce and prlntery in Germany 



of Copenhagen, and in 1957 the 
building was finished. Since then 
there have been printed and dis- 
tributed from this factory many 
millions of magazines, tracts and 
booklets. 

Legal action to hinder the 
preaching work has resulted in 
several cases being taken before 
the Danish Supreme Court. As a 
result of one decision, it is now 
illegal to accept contributions for 
literature at the time of presen- 
tation. This means that orders 
must be taken for later delivery 
of literature. To counteract this 
decision, the Witnesses decided to 
support economically the work of 
magazine distribution, and this 
has resulted in a greater public 
witness in Denmark than ever 
before. 



NUREMBERG 



When Hitler came to power in 
Germany, Jehovah's witnesses 
were hunted down like wild ani- 
mals, until there were more than 
10,000 of them in concentration 
camps. To get Jehovah's wit- 
nesses to renounce their faith, 
some Witnesses were bound and 
hung for hours on a stake or 
beaten with steel rods. In winter 
weather cold water was splashed 



over them. Often they were 
denied food and warm clothing. 

In one instance more than 
40,000 prisoners in the infamous 
Sachsenhausen concentration 
camp had to gather at the parade 
ground to witness the execution 
of one of Jehovah's witnesses 
who had refused to take weapons 
and light against his fellowman. 
Also the witnesses of Jehovah 
who were confined In this camp 
had to take their place directly 
in front of the executional area 
and from close range see their 
Christian brother shot down. 
Among them was the fleshly 
brother of the one executed. 

Afterward the remaining pris- 
oners were allowed to leave the 
grounds, whereas Jehovah's wit- 
nesses had to remain. The offi- 
cials were convinced that the 
Witnesses' determination to con- 
tinue serving Jehovah would be 
broken. In answer to the question 
if they wanted to continue being 
witnesses for Jehovah, all of 
them answered "Yes!" to the 
consternation of their Nazi task- 
masters. This resulted in inde- 
scribable tortures that lasted for 
hours. Finally, their enemies 
gave up. 

Shortly after Jehovah's wit- 
nesses came out of the concen- 



tration camps following World 
War II, they looked for a place 
to have an assembly. To their 
surprise they were directed to 
Nuremberg's Parteigelaende 
(party grounds), also called Zep- 
pelinwiese. This is the parade 
grounds where Hitler would call 
his faithful annually for a tre- 
mendous display of propaganda. 
This is where the so-called "Nu- 
remberg laws" were enacted that 
meant execution for millions of 
Jews. 

The assembly was planned for 
September 28 and 29, 1946. Run- 
ning parallel with the assembly 
preparations was the famous 
trial that went down in history 
as the Krieffsverbreoher-Prozess 
(Nuremberg Trial). The court 
decision was to be announced on 
September 23. 

Later it was decided to extend 
the assembly one more day, so all 
congregations of Jehovah's wit- 
nesses were informed that Mon- 
day, September 30, would be the 
last day of the assembly. Shortly 
after this announcement was 
made to Jehovah's witnesses, it 
was announced to the entire 
world that pronouncement of 
judgment at the Nuremberg 
Trials was postponed until Sep- 
tember 30. 

Thus, the peculiar situation 
arose that at the very hour when 
the death sentences were being 
pronounced upon those who 
wanted to silence Jehovah's wit- 
nesses, the public lecture of Jeho- 
vah's witnesses was being given 
here at Hitler's former parade 
grounds ! There were 6,300 in at- 
tendance. 

Since that time Jehovah's wit- 
nesses have held much larger as- 
semblies on these very same 
grounds. But the largest may be 
this summer, August 10 to IT. 
About 120,000 delegates are ex- 
pected to be in attendance. 
Among these will be many from 
other countries. Therefore, ses- 
sions in various languages will be 
arranged, including German, 
Dutch, Greek, Croatian, Serbian 
and Turkish. 




107,164 persons from 35 lands attended 1963 assembly of Jehovah's witnesses in Munich 



IN ALL PARTS OF THE WORLD IN 1969 



23 



Especially significant is the 
fact that some of those who were 
present at the first assembly held 
in Nuremberg, September 28 to 
30, 1946, will be present this 
summer. 

Now there are over 81,000 Wit- 
nesses in West Germany alone, 
and 1,097 congregations. 

The large printing plant and 
bindery of Jehovah's witnesses 
in Wiesbaden, Germany, supplies 
the zealous German Witnesses 
with millions of boots and maga- 
zines each month for use in the 
ministry. The book bindery has a 
capacity of more than 10,000 
books a day. And for just one 
special issue of Awake I, the April 
8, 1969, issue, well over seven 
million copies were printed and 
mailed out! 



ROME 



From only about 100 active 
ministers in 1946, Jehovah's wit- 



nesses in Italy have grown to 
over 14,000 preachers of God's 
kingdom in 1969. Back in 1946, 
when they began in an organized 
way the house-to-house ministry 
in Italy, Jehovah's witnesses 
were not welcomed in many 
places. They were, stoned and 
assaulted by violent mobs stirred 
up by the local clergy. Often 
they were reported to the au- 
thorities, and falsely accused 
and misrepresented. However, 
upper courts, in hundreds of 
court proceedings, legally' con- 
firmed the right of Jehovah's 
witnesses to declare ,publicly 
their religious faith both by word 
of mouth and by printed matter. 
So now the preaching work of 
Jehovah's witnesses is carried on 
for the most part without inter- 
ference. 

The predominant religion in 
Italy, of course, is Roman Catho- 
lic. It is also the State religion. 
During the past sixteen centuries 
it has permeated every aspect of 



the life of the people. But, as 
admitted by Catholics themselves, 
the Catholic people have re- 
mained in religious ignorance. 

Now there is obviously a big 
change near. Many of the. Catho- 
lic clergy in Italy, as elsewhere 
in the world, are in open rebel- 
lion against their church. As a 
result, Italians are asking where 
religion is heading. This has 
opened many fine opportunities 
for Jehovah's witnesses to an- 
swer this question from the Bible 
and to point people to God's 
kingdom. 

The "Peace on Earth" Inter- 
national Assembly in Rome will 
be held at the same time as the 
One in Nuremberg — August 10 to 
17. The assembly site is the Pa- 
lazzo dello Sport and Palazzo dei 
Congressi, two huge buildings 
that lie about a half mile from 
each other. Sessions in the Span- 
ish language will be held at the 
Palazzo dei Congressi, August 
13 to 17. 



AROUND THE PACIFIC 



SEOUL 



After an intermission of eight 
weeks, the "Peace on Earth" 
International Assembly resumes 




Korean Witness 
offers Bible literature 



in Seoul, Korea, October 12 to 16. 
Here several hundred foreign 
delegates are expected to join 
some 10,000 Korean Witnesses 
and their friends in assembly at 
Chahgchoong Gymnasium. This 
is the largest covered stadium 
in the city. 

In the twenty years since the 
first missionary graduates of the 
Watchtower Bible School of 
Gilead arrived in Korea, the 
ministry of Jehovah's witnesses 
has expanded tremendously. In 
1949 there was just one congre- 
gation, with sixteen Witnesses 
preaching. In 1952, while the 
Korean War was still raging, 
this number had grown to 192. 
By 1959 there were nearly 3,500. 
But now there are well over 
9,400 Witnesses and 220 congre- 
gations ! In Seoul itself there are 
forty-four congregations and 
about 3,000 Witnesses. 

A factor in the rapid growth 
of Jehovah's witnesses is the lack 
of a national religion that is 
peculiar to Korea. There is a 
Buddhist community in Korea, 
but it is largely dormant. The 
churches of Christendom make 




up the second- 
largest religious 
group, if all the 
sects are listed 
together. How- 
ever, at least 80 
percent of Korea's 
30 million people 
do not profess any 
organized religion. Instead, they 
follow certain customs that cen- 
ter around ancestor worship, 
which is not considered a religion 
in an organized sense. Koreans 
have a respect for things reli- 
gious and, even though professed 
Christians are a small minority, 
the Bible has enjoyed a very wide 
distribution in Korea. Thus, Je- 
hovah's witnesses find many lis- 
tening ears when they Visit the 
people's homes. 



iixo ? Kxird' :: 



The present mood in Japan is 
reflected by recent activity in 
front of the Watch Tower So- 
ciety's modern, six-story branch- 
building. Shortly before the 1964 



24 



"PEACE ON EARTH" INTERNATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES 



Olympics in Tokyo, the city put 
down a fine paved sidewalk there. 
But this spring workmen dug it 
all up again. They carted away 
the paving stones, replacing them 
with an asphalt sidewalk. Why? 

It is because Japan's oldest 
university, Keio, is on a neigh- 
boring block, Japan's universities 
are now in tumult, and this 
year's riots have shown that 
paving stones are among tha 
most destructive weapons in the 
students' arsenal. The city is 
now moving to double the size of 
Tokyo's police force by 1970. 
People in Japan are beginning to 
worry seriously about what is 
in store in 1970 and thereafter. 

Where do the traditional reli- 
gions stand as the situation 
grows more tense? Buddhism is 
about as lifeless as Buddha's 
image. Both Buddhism and Shin- 
toism failed the people in World 
War II, and they have never 
made any real comeback. Many 
young people describe themselves 
as atheists. 

The deadness of traditional 
religion has no doubt contributed 
to the rise of the aggressive new 
religion, Soka Gakkai, whose 
political arm, the Komeito, is 
now the third-largest party in 
the Japanese Diet. Soka Gakkai, 
contemptuous of all other reli- 
gions and ideologies, aims to 
become the dominant political 
power during the 1970's. Then, 




Vw 1 



YH» 



predict many, woe betide any 
who believe differently! 

It is now twenty years since 
the first missionaries from the 
Watchtower Bible School of 
Gilead arrived in Japan. The 
first two congregations of Jeho- 
vah's witnesses established were 
in Tokyo and in Kobe. Now there 
are 25 congregations in Tokyo, 
eight in Kobe and 189 in all of 
Japan. The number of Witnesses 
in Japan has increased now for 



twenty months in a row, reaching 
a new peak of 6,849 in Blarch. 
At a series of eighteen small 
assemblies held recently in Japan 
and Okinawa, there was a com- 
bined peak attendance of 9,133. 
Thus, more than 10,000 persons, 
including several hundred vis- 
itors from overseas, are expected 
for the international gathering 
this fall. This "Peace on Earth" 
assembly will be held in Tokyo, 
October 14 to 19. The assembly 
location will be the Tokyo Kora- 
kuen Cycling Stadium. This is 
alongside the lovely Japanese 
garden called "Korakuen." 
Though damaged by bombs dur- 
ing World War II, the garden 
retains much of its 300-year-old 
beauty. 



:1lS*f*l» ; El: 



Taiwan is a 240-mile-long, 90- 
mile-wide island about 100 miles 
from the Chinese mainland. Its 
population is an interesting mix- 
ture of aboriginal tribes, Taiwan- 
ese and mainlanders. Mainland- 
ers are persons who came here 
from China -in 1949 when the Na- 
tionalist government evacuated 
from the mainland. Taiwan is 
"home" to the Taiwanese, who, 
although of mainland Chinese an- 
cestry, have lived here for gener- 
ations. But it is not "home" to 
the wai slieng jen ("people from 
outside the province") as the 
true mainlanders are called. 

Although many mainlanders 



IN ALU PARTS OF THE WORLD.. IN 1969 



25 



have been living in Taiwan for 
twenty years, they view their 
stay as only temporary, awaiting 
the day to retake the main- 
land. Taiwan to them is impor- 
tant as the seat of the National- 
ist government and base of 
operations for recapturing the 
mainland. This strong feeling 
and desire permeates the atmo- 
sphere of Taiwan. One does not 
talk long on world conditions 
without realizing that to the 
Chinese here the most important 
thing in the world is to drive out 
the Communists and reoccupy 
their homeland. 

Among Taiwan's some 13 mil- 
lion inhabitants there are a little 
more than 1,000 of Jehovah's 
witnesses. About 85 percent of 
the Witnesses work among the 
aboriginal tribes, principally the 
Amis. These people live on the 
beautiful agricultural valley 
plain on the east coast. The re- 
maining 15 percent of the Wit- 
nesses preach among the Chinese 
and Taiwanese population on the 
more industrialized west coast. 

Various factors affect the re- 
sponse to the Bible message. The 
major ones are Confucius' philos- 
ophy, the political philosophy of 
Dr. Sun Yat-sen, founder of the 
Republic, and Buddhism, the pre- 
dominant religion here. The peo- 
ple study these philosophies in 
school and more or less pattern 
their own lives and thinking ac- 
cordingly. 

For instance, Confucius taught 
the system called "filial piety." 
This means giving absolute obe- 
dience and respect to older ones 
and those in all positions of au- 
thority. Thus a word from the 
senior one in the family or from 
one in authority is the law and 
must be given absolute obedience. 
This, to be sure, has produced 
a refreshing circumstance, for 
Taiwan is not troubled with 
violent student demonstrations 
and crippling strikes as are many 
other nations. On the other hand, 
some hesitate to accept the Bible 
message because of "filial piety." 

Over fifty-eight years ago Dr. 
Sun Yat-sen set forth the "Three 
Principles of the People," and 
thus the Republic of China was 
born. The three principles are na- 
tionalism, national livelihood, 
and democracy. These are taught 
throughout the school system. 
Thus patriotism and love for 
country are strong among the 
Nationalist Chinese. 












'**?*, 



4™V- 



^ .'^ 



■" Idol maker to leara what the I". '»■_• ' ■iches 



Buddhism and ancestor wor- 
ship are widely practiced among 
the older generation. However, 
many of the younger ones openly 
say they do not believe the 
mysticism, superstition and rit- 
uals associated with it. Never- 
theless, they often follow along 
out of respect for their parents. 
Commonly older ones object to 



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younger ones' studying the Bible, 
saying : "When I die you will not 
worship me ; you will forget me." 

To care for expansion of the 
preaching work in this area, the 
Watch Tower Society has begun 
construction of a new branch 
office and missionary home in 
Taipei, a city of some one and a 
half million persons. It is sched- 
uled for completion in September. 
1969, some weeks before the in- 
ternational assembly in Taipei, 

On Saturday, October 18, while 
the assembly is still in progress 
in Tokyo, the "Peace on Earth" 
International Assembly begins in 
Taiwan. The assembly here is 
four days, concluding Tuesday, 
October 21. 



:;H$iHjGfiii&Jt0 



A strip of Chinese mainland 
some twenty miles wide and 
Hong Kong Island make up the 
tiny British colony of Hong 
Kong. There is no shortage here 
of people to whom to preach. 
Most of Hong Kong's four million 
inhabitants are crammed into an 
area of twenty-five square miles. 
This makes it the most densely 
populated of all the world's big 
cities. According to a town-plan- 
ning expert, Hong Kong is now 
building to densities twenty times 
as high as those allowed in Lon- 
don! 

Today Hong Kong is a very- 
prosperous place. As one walks 
down Kowloon's Nathan Road 
one sees it teeming with people. 
They are well dressed and most 



26 



"PEACE ON EARTH" INTERNATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES 



of them in Western -style cloth- 
ing. The shops are full of every 
household convenience, which 
can be purchased at reasonable 
prices and on the time-payment 
plan. The restaurants and tea- 
houses are full. People, whether 
rich or poor, are seeking to ac- 
quire more. 

Over 200 of Jehovah's wit- 
nesses are now preaching the 
good news of God's kingdom in 
this crowded colony. They are 
all looking forward with keen 
anticipation to the four-day 
"Peace on Earth" International 
Assembly in Hong Kong's City 
Hall Theater October 18 to 21. 
Especially are they happy about 
the prospects of welcoming sev- 
eral hundred visitors from other 
lands to this assembly. 

The house-to-house ministry of 
the Witnesses affords opportunity 
to meet the people here and learn 
something of their thinking and 
way of life. On a typical call 
an elderly Chinese woman ap- 
pears. She is minding the house 
and caring for the young chil- 
dren, whose parents have both 
gone out to work. No, she does 
not want to listen to the minister, 
because she worships her own 
family gods and she is not going 
to make any changes. She will 
not even accept a Bible tract 
because she cannot read. There 
are so many persons like her. 

At another door a housewife 
greets the minister in a very 
friendly manner. But on learning 
the purpose of his visit she 
quickly replies, "Mo see gam." 
She has no time to listen. Why 
is she so busy? It does not take 
her much time to tidy up her 
small home, consisting of just 
one room approximately four- 
teen feet by fourteen feet. Her 
most time-consuming activity is 
purchasing food and preparing 
the meal. 

The average Chinese housewife 
goes to market twice a day to 
get fresh meat, fish and vege- 
tables. It takes the entire morn- 
ing to buy and prepare the food. 
Then when the noon meal is 
over, it is time to think about 
the evening meal. This way of 
life is typical of the Chinese 
housewife. 

Seldom are men met in the 
house-to-house ministry, for they 
are at work, frequently working- 
seven days a week. It is cus- 
tomary to meet some men on 









... *> 



^ t % *.** 



Aiding an ancestor-worshiping Buddhist to learn Bible truth 



Sunday, but most of them are 
home only on special holidays 
such as Chinese New Year. That 
is why Jehovah's witnesses here 
arrange for special activity on 
these holidays so they can meet 
more men and introduce the 
Kingdom message to them. 

Basically people in Hong Kong 
are materialistically inclined. 
They place highest values on 
money and material possessions. 
Nevertheless, there are some who 
have come to appreciate that the 
true worship of Jehovah God is 
also vital. Many of these are now 
associating with one of the eight 
congregations of Jehovah's wit- 
nesses in Hong Kong. — Matt. 
4:4. 

The Watch Tower Society oper- 
ates three missionary homes in 
Hong Kong. One of these homes 



also serves as the branch office 
that has oversight of the preach- 
ing work in Hong Kong and 
Macao, and the branch takes care 
of the translation and proof- 
reading of the Chinese publica- 
tions. This branch now occupies 
the entire top floor of a large 
building and has comfortable ac- 
commodations for twelve mis- 
sionaries. 



A tisitoi to Manila following 
World War II reported: "All 
about us we could see the de- 
struction that had been caused by 
shells and bombs. . . . Blocks 
and blocks of the city that had 
been homes of the people were 




Overseers of Witness congregations are given special training 



IN ALL PARTS OF THE WORLD |N 1969 



27 



now cleared-off open country; 
it was truly much worse than 
anything we had seen in Europe." 

As the rebuilding to erase Ma- 
nila's war damage got under way, 
another marvelous transforma- 
tion also was beginning. By the 
time the war struck the Philip- 
pines in 1941, there were 373 of 
Jehovah's witnesses here. Since 
the war disrupted communica- 
tions, much contact was lost 
among these Christians. So imag- 
ine their surprise and joy when 
they grouped together again after 
the war and found that their 
numbers had swelled to 2,000! 
In 1947, while the city was still 
reeling from the effects of the 
war, the reorganization of these 
Witnesses was put into high gear 
by the visit of the Watch Tower 
Society's president. 

There were just two congre- 
gations of Jehovah's witnesses in 
Manila at that time. Now these 
two have multiplied to forty-one, 
and more than 3,000 Witnesses 
are associated with these congre- 
gations. Throughout the entire 
archipelago (the Philippines has 
7,103 islands, but eleven of them 
comprise 90 percent of the total 
land area) there are now 1,253 
congregations. These help over 
46,000 Witnesses preach the 
"good news of the kingdom" in 
Manila as well as in every one 
of the Republic's sixty-five prov- 
inces. What a contrast to con- 
ditions twenty-two years ago ! 
—Matt. 24 : 14. 

Visiting people here with the 
Kingdom message is a pleasure, 
since Filipinos invariably show 
hospitality to visitors. They love 
to talk, especially to strangers, 
and so they quickly learn new 
things and broaden their out- 
look. Also, most of them fear 
the Creator and have a respect 
for God's Word. 

There are eighty-seven known 
tongues used in the Philippines, 
although only nine of these are 
generally referred to as lan- 
guages, the l-est being dialects. 
The Watch Tower Society has 
published bound books in all nine 
languages, publishes the Watch- 
tower magazine regularly in 
eight (Tagalog, Iloko, Cetuano, 
Hiligaynon, Bicol, Pangasinan, 
Pampango and Samar-Leyte) 
and the Awake! magazine in 
four. While language does pose 
a problem, the fact that English 
is spoken by 15 million out of 



37 million Filipinos eases the 
situation considerably. 

The big thing on the minds of 
the Witnesses here in the Philip- 
pines is the "Peace on Earth" 
International Assembly, October. 
22 to 26, and how many will at- 
tend. At a series of smaller con- 
ventions ending early in 1969 a 
total of over 57,000 were in at- 
tendance. Arrangements are be- 
ing made for three distinct pro- 
grams at the assembly, in the 
three main languages of the 
Philippines — Tagalog, Iloko and 
Cebuano. In addition, it is hoped 
to have summaries of the main 
assembly parts in other lan- 
guages during the mornings so 
that all will get the benefit of the 
spiritual food. The assembly Will 
be held at the Rizal Memorial 
Stadium. 



Solomon Islands and Manus Is- 
land. This makes up a territory 
of almost a million and a half 
square miles. Since the preach- 
ing work began here in 1951 good 
progress has been made. By 1961 
the number of Witnesses had 
risen from two to 762, and now, 
in 1969, a new peak of 1,309 has 
been reached ! 

The people here present a tre- 
mendous challenge to those 
preaching the Kingdom message. 
They are divided into different 
groups having more than 700 lan- 
guages ! In addition, nearly 75 
percent of the population of two 
and a half million are illiterate. 
Already more than 325 of the 
Witnesses have been taught to 
read and write through a special 
congregational instruction pro- 
gram. 






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Respected elders of Papuan village show 
interest in "The Watchtower" 



-P^omsmiMt : smM 



To the south and east of the 
Philippine Islands, and just 
above Australia, is a large island 
that is divided into three coun- 
tries — New Irian (also called 
Netherlands New Guinea), New 
Guinea and Papua. Here in 
Papua, in its largest town, Port 
Moresby, the "Peace, on Earth" 
International Assembly will be 
held October 24 to 27. 

The Watch Tower Society's 
branch in Port Moresby cares for 
the preaching work in a string of 
islands, including New Britain, 



A further challenge is found 
in the rugged nature of the coun- 
try. In one portion of the island, 
mountain ranges average about 
10,000 feet, with other peaks 
reaching 15,000 feet. The many 
small valleys in these mountains 
have kept hidden small pockets 
of population that are just now 
being brought into contact with 
the outside world. In one area 
the Witnesses regularly paddle 
their canoes for three hours and 
then walk for two hours to reach 
territory assigned to them for 
preaching. 

One interested person from the 
wild Kukukuku country paddles 



28 



"PEACE ON EARTH" INTERNATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES 




Branch office of Watch Tower Society in Australia 



his canoe for six hours down- 
river and then walks for an hour 
and a half in order to attend 
congregational meetings. He ar- 
rives in time for the service 



meeting and ministry school lation pockets are along the coast, 



Saturday night, stays for the 
Watchtower study Sunday, and 
then makes the long trip back 
home on Monday. Nothing is 
too much trouble for those who 
truly love Jehovah God and his 
Word and desire to meet with 
fellow Christians. 

Most of the people here live 
in fear of demon gods. But now, 
under the influence of Bible 
truth, many are breaking free. 
One who has done so is a former 
witch doctor. He brought all his 
equipment of witchcraft and had 
a mature Witness dump it into 
the sea. (Acts 19:19) He is 
looking forward to meeting many 
of the delegates from other coun- 
tries who will be attending the 
Port Moresby assembly. The as- 
sembly site is set in the Papuan 
bush, with all buildings made 
from local materials. What grand 
rejoicing there will be when the 
hundreds of Witnesses in this 
area gather for their first inter- 
national assembly ! 



MELBOURNE 



Australia has been called a 
country of "miles and miles of 
nothing but miles and miles." 
Indeed, it is nearly the size of 
the 'United States, but its meager 
12 million population is less than 



that of New York city and sur- 
rounding communities. Austra- 
lia's five largest cities have 
nearly 60 percent of the coun- 
try's people! The major popu- 



while the interior of the con- 
tinent is mostly uninhabited. 
From October 26 to 31 Australia's 
second-largest city, Melbourne, 
will host the "Peace on Earth" 
International Assembly. 

Back in 1904 the Watch Tower 
Society's first president, Charles 
Taze .Russell, sent a representa- 
tive who opened a branch ofBce 
in Melbourne. In 1929 the branch 
was moved to a location in Syd- 
ney, where it continues until 
today. 



In 1930 there were thirty 
congregations of Jehovah's wit- 
nesses in Australia, with 340 
Kingdom preachers. However, 
the close of the 1930's saw 1,800 
Witnesses proclaiming the King- 
dom message. In those days the 
Australian branch had oversight 
of the preaching work in China, 
Indonesia, Burma, Thailand, Ma- 
laya, Singapore, the South Pacif- 
ic islands and New Zealand. 
Now most of these places have 
their own branches. 

During World War II opposers 
falsely alleged that the Society's 
five radio stations were broad- 
casting messages to the enemy. 
Thus, the preaching work was 
banned and the branch office 
placed under guard. However, on 
June 14, 1943, Jehovah's wit- 
nesses were exonerated, the 
Australian High Court ruling 
that they were not "engaged in 
any seditious enterprise." By 
1943, instead of only 1,800 Wit- 
nesses, there were 3,817, a 112- 
percent increase during those 
difficult times ! By 1955 the num- 
ber had doubled to over 7,600 
Witnesses, and now there are 
nearly 20,000 active Kingdom 
preachers in Australia. 

For the international assembly 
October 26 to 31 at the Mel- 
bourne Showgrounds more than 
21,000 persons are expected. One 
congregation some 2,300 miles 
from Melbourne has seventy-six 
Witnesses, but 138 from there 
are coming to the assembly. 
Another congregation of twenty- 
three Witnesses has fifty com- 
ing. The zeal of the Witnesses is 



S*fK#«r* * "* 




Traveling minister of Jehovah's witnesses stops for water 
before crossing Nullarbor Plain to Western Australia 



(N ALL PARTS OF THE Vtftfe-D IN 1969 



29 









■ ~i*T-* * 



».* 



.'/ 



** 






seen by the fact that some 
congregations, such as Darwin 
and Alice Springs, travel 3,000 
miles twice a year to attend local 
circuit assemblies. For some of 
these Witnesses it will be over 
a 3,000-mile trip one way to 
Melbourne. 

Preaching in the isolated re- 
gions of Australia takes a real 
pioneer spirit. It involves driv- 
ing fifty to eighty miles between 
stations (ranches) in blistering 
heat over inland seas of red dust. 
Each station is a community in 
itself, some of which have their 
own school. The station owner 
Is first contacted and the mes- 
sage presented. Approval is usu- 
ally given to speak to residents 
and aboriginal natives. At times 
upward of 100 or more gather 
together to listen. In this way the 
Kingdom message is reaching 
into the remote regions of the 
vast Australian continent. 



-flCllCKIiAMDH 



Due east from Melbourne, 
across more than a thousand 
miles of the Pacific Ocean, is 
Auckland, New Zealand. Here at 
the Auckland Trotting Club's 
racecourse, with its closed-in 
Stands and comfortable, uphol- 
stered seating, the "Peace on 
Earth" International Assembly 
will resume November 4 to 9. 

At the close of World War II 
there was only one congregation 
of less than a hundred of Jeho- 
vah's witnesses in Auckland. But 
today there are thirteen congre- 
gations and some 1,200 Witness- 
es! Sis modern Kingdom Halls 
have been built in the city, and 



five more are now under con- 
struction. When Jehovah's wit- 
nesses and interested persons 
came together to observe the 
memorial of Christ's death on 
April 1, 1969, the Kingdom Halls 
in Auckland were crowded with 
a total of 2,432 persons. 

Among those who have ac- 
cepted the Kingdom message here 
are hundreds from the native 
Maori population. Of the new 
Bible-study aid The Truth That 
Leads to Eternal Life an elderly 
Maori lady recently said : "I 
can't go to bed without it, for I 
read it before going to sleep and 
when I open my eyes in the 
morning and during the day. . . . 
It has taught me how to pray to 
God and be heard by him. Yes, 
my God is Jehovah now." 

A number of Maoris even serve 
as presiding ministers in New 
Zealand and others have left 
the country to receive missionary 
training at the Watchtower 
Society's Bible School of Gilead. 
It is a joy to anticipate the re- 
turn of such ones to this inter- 
national assembly. Hearing re- 
ports of their experiences in 
other lands will be a highlight 
of the assembly program. 



SUVA 



Scattered like tiny stepping- 
stones across the vast sweep of 
the Pacific Ocean lie the en- 
chanting isles of the South Pacif- 
ic. Tiny dots, almost lost in the 
twenty million square miles of 
restless ocean, they seem like 
beautiful offspring of the surg- 
ing sea. And, indeed, this is just 
what many of them are, for 



they have been built of the coral 
of sea creatures. 

It is here that the Watch 
Tower Society has its Fiji 
branch. It administers the 
preaching work in ten separate 
territories, including the islands 
of Fiji, Niue, New Caledonia, 
Tonga, Samoa, and others. Had 
you come here a hundred years 
ago you would have heard these 
islands called by the names Can- 
nibal, Savage, Loyalty, Friendly 
and Navigator. 

The different governments in 
this area use nine different cur- 
rencies. And the people speak 
thirteen .different major Ian-/ 
guages. Thus at assemblies of 
Jehovah's witnesses there may 
be sessions in English, French, 
Fijian, Samoan, Tahitian and 
Tongan, even though there may 
be only 300 in attendance. Here 
in the small town of Suva, Fiji, 
the "Peace on Earth" Inter- 
national Assembly will be held 
November 9 to 12. 

Although there were a few 
Witnesses in Fiji prior to 
World War II, the war inter- 
rupted communications, and or- 
ganized preaching activities 
ceased. In 1947 the Watch Tower 
Society sent the first two mis- 
sionaries here. Then a few years 
later Jehovah's witnesses from 
Australia and other countries 
moved to these islands to assist 
with the preaching work. Thus, 
the number of Witnesses has in- 
creased from nine in 1947 to 
nearly 800 today! 

This year a new branch build- 
ing and missionary home has 
been built in Suva. It is a three- 
story structure that is set at- 
tractively among trees and gar- 
dens, and has a fine view of the 
beautiful harbor. 

The ministry is carried on 
somewhat differently in these 
islands than it is in other places. 
In Samoa, for example, a minis- 
ter may not find any doors at 
which to knock. In fact, he would 
not even see any walls to the vil- 
lage houses. The beehive-domed 
huts have plaited coconut-leaf 
blinds instead of walls and these 
are generally raised throughout 
the day. Thus it is easy to see if 
anyone is home. 

As the minister approaches the 
home he pauses respectfully and 
waits for a sign of welcome. 
There it Is. A girl js spreading 
a sitting mat insideFIn he goes 



30 



'PEACE ON EARTH" INTERNATIONAL ASSEMBLY. .OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES 



— *F 

changes to conform their lives to 
Bible principles. For example, 
one person was notorious in his 
town as a street brawler and was 
sometimes jailed for the week- 
end. But then he and some of his 
friends became Jehovah's wit- 
nesses. Later a local businessman 
was moved to comment : "The 
whole atmosphere of this town 
has changed. Now it feels safe 
at night." 

There was another person who 
had been part of a ring that 
systematically stole government 
property. But after starting to 
study the Bible with Jehovah's 
witnesses he came to realize the 
seriousness of his wrong and 
voluntarily confessed. After serv- 
ing his jail sentence, he got bap- 
tized. Now he is the overseer of 
a local congregation of Jehovah's 
witnesses. 

If you should attend the Suva 
assembly you may also meet a 
Witness who once was a fire 
walker. Or you may meet the 
full-time minister whose great- 
grandfather was a cannibal, and 
who ate ninety-nine men. The as- 
sembly site is the Suva Town 
Hall, a brand-new million-dollar 
structure. 



;im«E*T:fc: 



An assembly also will be held 
at Papeete, Tahiti, simultaneous- 
ly with the one in Suva. Tahiti is 
a tiny Pacific island of some 85,- 
000 inhabitants lying many miles 
west of Fiji. The Tahitians, with 
their happy mixture of easy Poly- 
nesian frankness and expressive 
French uninhibitedness, are truly 
an effervescent and vibrant 
people. 

This will be the first inter- 
national assembly on Tahiti and 
the first time an assembly has 
been held other than at their 
Kingdom Hall. This time the 
Kingdom Hall will be used as 
the cafeteria, and the assembly 
will be held at the Fautaua 
Basketball Stadium. This is a 
large indoor arena, completely 
covered, but very cool and airy. 
Tahiti's 134 Witnesses are look- 
ing forward to welcoming many 
visitors to this assembly. 



HONOLULU 



The last stop for the "Peace on 
Earth" International Assembly in 
the Pacific is Honolulu, Hawaii, 
November 11 to 16. This assembly 




Free home Bible studies are condiirtwl hj Jehovah's 
witnesses in all parts of the earth 



without a word, removing his 
shoes before entering. Taking her 
time, the householder will now 
look up from what she is doing 
and say, "You have indeed come, 
honored sir." Then she will pro- 
ceed in an eloquent vein, thank- 
ing him for calling at her home. 
His reply should also be at 
length, thanking her for her 
kindness in inviting him in, ask- 
ing about her health and that of 
her family, and so on. After this, 
he can go ahead with his sermon. 
In Fiji, as in most of the 



islands, most houses do not have 
walls. So here the minister ap- 
pears at the entrance, and, after 
removing his shoes, he steps 
right in and sits down on the flax 
mat on the floor. It is bad eti- 
quette to remain standing in the 
presence of someone seated. That 
is why if someone comes to the 
house to deliver a message he 
usually squats at the doorway. 
These island people are truly 
hospitable, and many are re- 
sponding to the Kingdom mes- 
sage. Some have made marvelous 






* 



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V ; Witness minister calling at hut in Fiji 



IN ALL PARTS OF THE V^ORLD IN 1969 




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* ' ' ' 

Main auditorium where 1969 assembly is to be held in Hawaii 



will be held at the Honolulu In- 
ternational Center. Its main 
auditorium, where the assembly 
program will be put on, can ac- 
commodate 8,731 persons in up- 
holstered chairs. 

Actually the entire Honolulu 
International Center is a modern 
complex containing a concert 
hall, exhibition hall and main 
auditorium. Each section con- 
tains superb lighting, an excel- 
lent sound system and is com- 
pletely air-conditioned. 

The exhibition hall will be 
used primarily for the cafeteria. 
Its large size and convenient 
facilities will make dining to- 
gether an additional treat of the 
assembly. This will be a fine op- 
portunity for the thousands of ex- 
pected visitors from other lands 
to sample some of the local foods. 

The preaching work of Jeho- 
vah's witnesses in Hawaii was 
organized in 1935 with the con- 
struction of the first building in 
the world called a Kingdom Hall. 
By 1938 the little group of Wit- 
nesses had grown to a congre- 
gation of thirteen. But now there 
are over 2,800 Witnesses ' and 
thirty-seven congregations in Ha- 
waii ! Particularly outstanding is 
the fact that 9 percent of Jeho- 
vah's witnesses here are in the 
regular full-time ministry as 
pioneers. And most of these per- 
sons are In their early twenties. 

It was six years ago that the 
only other international assembly 
was held In Hawaii. On that oc- 



casion over 6,000 persons from 
many countries assembled near 
the foot of world-famous Dia- 
mond Head At the Waikiki Shell. 



MCXIC©|CITY 



The "Peace on Earth" Inter- 
national Assembly concludes in 
Mexico City, December 24 to 28. 
It will be held at the Mexico 
Arena. For the . convenience of 
those throughout Mexico, there 
will also be nine smaller assem- 
blies in various parts of the 
country. These will be in the cit- 
ies of Ciudad Obregon, Ciudad 




Young Witnesses in Hawaii 

snare in spreading 

Bible message 



Juarez, Monterrey, Tampico, Ve- 
racruz, Merida, Tuxtla Gutierrez, 
Acapulco and Guadalajara. 

There are three cultures in 
Mexico — the ancient Indian, the 
Spanish and the modern. So here 
the old meets the new. You see 
the slow, hardworking burro 
alongside the sleek modern au- 
tomobile, and overhead the jet 
airliners. 

Scattered throughout the coun- 
try are descendants of the orig- 
inal inhabitants — the Toltecs, 
the Zapotecs, the Mexicanos, the 
Yaquis, the Aztecs, the Mayas, 
and many others. Although the 
brown color predominates, there 
are Negroes of African descent 
as well as descendants of'white 
Europeans and people of Asiatic- 
descent. However, there is no 
segregation. 

In this atmosphere of ancient 
and modern and great variety, 
the teaching work of Jehovah's 
witnesses is finding acceptance 
among the people. Although 
some work was done here in 
earlier years, it was in 1931 that 
a beginning was noted in an or- 
ganized way with eighty-two ac- 
tive Witnesses. This number has 
grown to nearly 40,000! In 1946 
a four-story branch office was 
completed in Mexico City. When 
these quarters became too small, 
a new five-story building was 
put up in 1962 and integrated 
with the four-story structure. 

Although Spanish is the prin- 
cipal language of the country, 
it is not spoken by everyone. As 
one traveling minister observed : 
"I had to learn a few words in 
Zapoteco in order to eat. I also 
learned how to present the King- 
dom message in Zapoteco." In 
these rural areas many are re- 
sponding to Bible truths. 

Illiteracy is .-■ high in Mexico, 
and to help people progress in 
their knowledge of God and his 
purposes Jehovah's witnesses 
have provided literacy classes. 
In 1968 alone they taught 1,491 
persons to read and write ! 
Government officials have ex- 
pressed appreciation for this ser- 
vice. Recently a mayor called 
the instructor of one such class 
and told him : "I want to express 
our gratitude for the good you 
are doing for our people and I 
have also called you to provide 
whatever you may need." 



Monday, July 14 

9 a.m. — 12 : 05 p.m. : Beports 

from Africa. 
Welcome to the "Peace on 

Earth" Assembly. 
"Come Before Jehovah with 

Thanksgiving." 
Our Brothers in Malawi and 

Zambia Beport They Are 

Pursuing Peace. 
Acquaint Yourself with God 

and Keep Peace. 
1 : 40-4 : 35 p.m. : Reports from 

lands in the north. 
Is the Bible Really the Word 

of God? 
Loyal Advocates of the Word 

of God. 
6 : 30-9 : 05 p.m. : Reports from 

Europe and Asia. 
Never Too Busy to Pray. 
Ministering in a Fine Manner. 
Thorns and Traps Are in the 

Way of the Independent One. 

Tuesday, July 15 

9 a.m. — 12:10 p.m.: How Do 

You "View Authority? 

Using the Gift of Music to 
Praise Jehovah. 

Show Respect for Jehovah's 
Appointments. 
1 : 40-4 : 35 p.m. : Reports from 
the Caribbean. 

What Are You Living For? — 
Worldly Associations? The 
Pleasures of Drink? Oppor- 
tunities to 'Toy with Sexual 
Immorality? Illicit Satisfac- 
tion of Fornication and Adul- 
tery? or Life in God's New 
Order? 

Overseers, Carry On as Men. 
6 : 30-9 : 05 p.m. : Reports from 
the islands and Central 
America. 



Making My Home a House of 
God. — Is My Home Whole- 
some? As Husband and Wife, 
Do We Communicate? Do 
Our Children Confide in TJs? 
A Faithful Course in a 
Divided Household. 

Wednesday, July 16 

1 : 40-4 : 35 p.m. : Reports from 
Europe. 

Loving Oversight of the Con- 
gregation of God — Through 
District and Circuit Ser- 
vants. Through Congrega- 
tion Servants. Through Min- 
isterial Servants. 

"With All That You Acquire, 
Acquire Understanding." 
6 : 30-9 : 05 p.m. : Reports from 
Northern Europe and Central 
America. 

Aid to Bible Understanding. 

Your Bible Questions An- 
swered. 

Thursday, July IT 

1 : 40-4 : 35 p.m. : Reports from 
U.S.A. and the Orient. 

Should There Be a Generation 
Gap in the Christian Home? 

Eights or Duties — Which? 

Peace with God amid the 
"Great Tribulation." 
6 : 30-9 p.m. : Reports from Afri- 
ca, the Middle East, and the 
Americas. 

"Let No Man Ever Look Down 
on Your Youth." 

Friday, July 18 

8:45-9:30 a.m.: Seeking the 
Goodwill of God (Baptismal 
talk). 

1 : 40-4 : 35 p.m. : Reports from 
the Indian Ocean. 



The Call to Pioneer — a Grand 
Personal Opportunity. 

How to Stay in Full-Time 
Service. 

Enlarging Our Privileges of 
Service in the Time Remain- 
ing. 

"The Writing of Correct Words 
of Truth." 
6 : 30-9 : 05 p.m. : Reports from 
South America. 

What Is Your Security? — Your 
Home? Your Bank Account? 
Your Job? 

Are You a Modern-Day Jonah? 

Saturday, July 19 

1 •: 40-4 : 35 p.m. : Reports from 
Behind the Iron Curtain. 

Whom Do You Serve? 

You Are No Part of the World. 

Appreciating the Organization 
That Is Educating Us for 
Life. 

Final .Woes to Enemies of 
Peace with God. 
6 : 30-9 : 05 p.m. : Reports from 
the Pacific. 

How to Stand Firm in This 
Time of the End. 

Happy Are You When People 
Persecute You. 

Fortify Yourself so as to Main- 
tain Integrity. 

Sunday, July 30 

;9- a.m. — 12 : 05 p.m. : "Among the 
Congregated Throngs I Shall 
Bless Jehovah." 
There Is Work Yet to Be Done. 
Do Not Miss the Purpose of 
Jehovah's Deliverance. 
3 p.m.: Public Address: THE 
APPROACHING PEACE OF 
A THOUSAND YEARS. 
4 : 45-6 p.m. : Continue to Live 
Peaceably. 



m"^ ^ * i^^.»'rf * . ^ ^.^'^ ^ , »^" ^ * ^ .uff '* » ^ *» a * tm * f ^**^ *n& ^- ^ 4* ^ ^ < ^ &- **c ^^^^ l &* ' ^ ^^^^ ^^ m 



THETRUTH 

that teaiSv to 



^il% 



Would you like a brief, easy-to-understand presentation of what the 
Bible really teaches? It is available in the pocket-sized book The Truth 
That Leads to Eternal Life. Its 22 chapters take you in logical order through 
the basic teachings of the Bible. A copy will be sent for only 25c. You 
may also hove upon request a free, six-month home Bible-study course. 

Also available are: The documented 192-page book Did Man Get 
Here by Evolution or by Creation? for 25c a copy. The excellent modern- 
English translation of the Bible, the New World Translation of the Holy 
Scriptures, for only $1 a copy. 

To order any of the above, send your request and remittance to.- 

WATCHTQWER 117 ADAMS ST. BROOKLYN, N.Y. 11201 



32 



I*' 



»^-a - 



REPORT 




W r.»>- INTERNATIONAL ASSEMBLY 
OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES 



TWENTY-FIVE ASSEMBLY CITSES 



ALL PARTS OF THE WORLD 



5732- 






Swarming to the assembly cities in North America in July 
are thousands upon thousands of delegates from no less than 
114 lands. Over 11,790 of them planned to come from places 
other than the United States 
and Canada. At least 45 char- 
ter nights were scheduled, 38 
of them originating in Europe 
and carrying a total of some 
6,346 delegates! 

Delegates have come from 
such places as Austria, Bel- 
gium, Denmark, Norway, the 
Netherlands, Luxembourg, 
Sweden, Finland, West Ger- 
many, Switzerland, Italy, 
France and Spain. They also 
have come from Central and 
South America, as well as the 
Pacific area and from as far 
away as India, Australia and 
South Africa. 

Meet Some of the Delegates 

The assembly delegates from 
these many lands are of all ages 
and from all walks of life. Here 
from Barbados Is a sister eighty- 
nine years of age and of the 
anointed; another sister present 
from Barbados is eighty-two 
years of age. 

From Quezaltenango, Guate- 
mala, has come a sixteen-year-old 



pioneer. He is of the Maya Qui- 
che Indian people. 

From Korea there is a sister 
who is the wife of a former 
prime minister of Korea. She 
came into the truth when her 
husband was prime minister. 

From Israel we have among 
us a sister fluent in some ten 
languages, and able to converse 
in another ten or more. She uses 
her flair for languages to ad- 
vance Kingdom interests. 

From Canada has come an 
Eskimo who was witnessed to 
at the Hudson Bay Company 
Trading Post. He now has a good 



knowledge of the truth and plans 
to attend the Vancouver assem- 
bly. He hopes to remain in 
Edmonton for a year to grow 
spiritually, then return to the 
Arctic to witness to his fellow 
Eskimos. 

From Brazil is a twenty-one- 
year-old brother, completely para- 
lyzed. A number of brothers 
wanted to help him get to New 
York, but he would need someone 
to help him get around and to 
care for his needs. So the 
brothers got together and pur- 
chased tickets for both of them. 

Here with us is a brother from 
Surinam who came into the truth 
despite tremendous opposition 
from his wife. His background? 
He held a prominent position on 
a rice plantation, was chairman 



Published by Watehtower Bible and 
Tract Society of New York, Inc. 

Printed in U.S.A. 




AiiiKit J tlurJ ol the (iei'iitan IS.-UicI f.imilv, ready to aUi-nd 
New York assembly and visit Society's headquarters 



"PEACE ON EARTH" INTERNATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES 




Over a thousand happy British delegates have come 
to the assemblies in North America 



of a local union, chairman of 
a political party, leader of the 
boy scouts, and member of a 
Freemason society. 

Here is a sister from Liberia 
who stood firm during three days 
of persecution at Gbarnga, Li- 
beria, in 1963. She has supported 
herself by operating a cook shop. 
From the profits over the years, 
she has managed to save enough 
to come. 

A brother and sister in Jamai- 
ca had to overcome problems to 
get to the assembly. They worked 
hard to save enough money. 
Then it was stolen. They saved 
again, but next their passports 
were stolen. They worked hard 
to get replacements — and suc- 
ceeded. 

From Santiago, Chile, has 



come a seventeen-year-old pio- 
neer. To maintain himself in the 
pioneer work he learned how to 
work with copper. Now he em- 
ploys two other youths, and they 
operate his business while he 
pioneers. To come to New York 
he needed to be in company with 
an adult who would be respon- 
sible for him. When he found 
this out, he determined to make 
enough money to bring another 
brother with him. Thus he in- 
vited a circuit servant to accom- 
pany him on the trip, and has 
paid the fare for himself and 
the circuit servant. 

Delegates Arriving 
on Chartered Planes 

What a show of love the early 
arrivals experienced, on June 6, 







*.AAh. * *uCv 












Delegates from Nigeria and Ghana being welcomed 
to New York by the convention chairman 



at Kennedy International Airport 
in New York ! About 60 brothers 
from Brooklyn Bethel went out 
to meet and greet the 58 incom- 
ing branch servants and their 
assistants, as well as mission- 
aries. 

Brother Knorr, the Watch 
Tower Society's president, and 
Milton G. Henschel, a director 
of the Society and Convention 
Chairman at Yankee Stadium, 
were among the reception com- 
mittee. So large a welcome was 
totally unexpected by the incom- 
ing delegates, especially since it 
was near midnight. The enthu- 
siasm ran high. Warm Christian 
love and tender brotherly affec- 
tion was evident as brothers 
greeted one another heartily. This 
made those present feel as if the 
"Peace on Earth" International 
Assembly had already begun. 

Cars were lined up to trans- 
port the branch servants to the 
Bethel home, and the mission- 
aries to their rooming assign- 
ment locations. It was about 
2 a.m. before a brother from 
England had a chance to prepare 
for bed. He remarked : "In En- 
gland I would be getting up 
about this time. Now, here I am 
going to bed." 

Other charter flight arrange- 
ments show that large groups 
of delegates planned to flock in 
from the Caribbean area. Ap- 
proximately 1,000 delegates have 
planned to be at Yankee Stadium 
from Puerto Rico alone! 

Another 220 conventioners 
made arrangements to come 
from Guadeloupe ; 185 from Mar- 
tinique, and 25 from French 
Guiana. Jamaica said she was 
sending over 800 delegates. And 
beautiful Barbados and sur- 
rounding islands were sending 
145 delegates, while Trinidad 
would be represented by about 
160. 

South and Central America 
had plans to send representa- 
tives numbering well over 1,300 
to the "Peace on Earth" assem- 
bly. Sixty are expected from 
Japan. 

Foreign-Language Programs 

The "Peace on Earth" assem- 
bly represents a multilingual con- 
vention. In New York city even 
before the English sessions at 
Yankee Stadium got under way, 
the brothers coming from other 
countries were scheduled to hold 
meetings in Kingdom Halls 
throughout the city. 



IN ALL PARTS OF THE WORLD IN 1969 



The large Jehovah's Witnesses 
Assembly Hall, where the Gilead 
graduations and the circuit as- 
semblies are ordinarily held in 
New York, was set aside for the 
use of our German and Swedish 
brothers in assembly. Upward 
of 2,500 brothers from Germany 
and 668 from Sweden were 
scheduled to meet there July 5 
and 6. 

At the same time, the Dutch, 
Danish, Finnish, Italian, Japa- 
nese and Norwegian brothers 
were all scheduled to have meet- 
ings in their own languages in 
Kingdom Halls. For these for- 
eign-speaking brothers the "Peace 
on Earth" assembly had an early 
beginning. 

For the benefit of visiting 
brothers from other countries 
certain special language sessions 
have been arranged at Yankee 
Stadium on the mornings of 
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday 
and Saturday, July 9-12, from 
9 :45 to approximately 11 :45. The 
meetings are to be in Ara- 
bic, Armenian, Chinese, Danish, 
Dutch, Finnish, German, Greek, 
Italian, Japanese, Norwegian, 



.-"<«&*'* 






-* 



BUFFALO 






w 



.Oe ' fS'WSP' ^i WK4 



(« 



Polish, Portuguese and Swedish. 

In addition, during the entire 
New York convention, from July 
7 to 13, complete convention ses- 
sions in French and Spanish are 
scheduled to be held in tents 
near Yankee Stadium. The 
French and Spanish programs 
are to run simultaneously with 
the English program inside the 
Stadium. Thousands of French 
delegates expect to be present. 
They are pouring down from 
Quebec, Canada, and from other 
places. A large number of dele- 
gates are due to come from the 
Caribbean Islands and from as 
far away as France and Africa. 

Some 10,000 Spanish-speaking 
brothers are expected to be on 
hand early in the assembly week ! 
From Central and South America 
and from as far away as Spain 
they are here ! 

First Week — An Assembly 
in Three Cities 

Atlanta, Georgia, is 713 air 
miles from Buffalo, New York, 
and 760 air miles from New 
York city. Buffalo itself is 301 
air miles from Yankee Stadium. 
Imagine uniting these three cities 
with a single program and con- 
ducting the arrangement as if 
it were one assembly! How is 
this possible? 

The three principal Watch 
Tower Society assembly speakers, 
President N. H. Knorr, Vice-pres- 
ident F. W. Franz and Secretary 
Grant Suiter, are the ones whose 
work it is to tie together the 

Stadiums being used in nine 

of the convention cities; 

seating capacity, 

450,000 



program by means of a tight 
schedule of discourses and travel. 
To meet their schedule they have 
to be airborne a number of 
times between the assembly 
points during the week, and 
thereafter. 

On Sunday, July 6, Brother 
Knorr's schedule called for him 
to deliver the keynote address, 
"Acquaint Yourself with God 
and Keep Peace," in Atlanta, 
Georgia, while Brother Franz 
was to open the assembly that 
day in Buffalo, New York. A 
baseball game planned at Yan- 
kee Stadium for Sunday pre- 
vented all three assemblies from 
beginning at the same time. 

The printed program, however, 
shows Brother Knorr at Yankee 
Stadium the next day, July 7, 
delivering the keynote speech. 
That afternoon he was to give 
the talk "Loyal Advocates of 
the Word of God," while the 
same talk in Atlanta was to be 
delivered by Brother Suiter and 
in Buffalo by Brother Franz. 

On Wednesday, the program 
showed Brother Knorr in Buffalo 
and Brother Franz at Yankee 
Stadium. The closing days, Sat- 



v. 









LOS. 

MNGELES' V * *' 



-v<-- 



KANSAS 
CSTY 




*4^ 



Si-*^*^rC rA ' 



ATLANTA 
VANCOUVER 




POMONA 



CHICAGO 



"PEACE ON EARTH" INTERNATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES 



urday and Sunday, July 12 and 
13, Brother Suiter is scheduled 
to be in Buffalo, Brother Franz 
in Atlanta and Brother Knorr 
in New York. 

Other North American 
Assemblies 

On July 13, while the first 
three assemblies are still in 
progress, the all-Spanish assem- 
bly in Pomona, California, gets 
under way. 

Also on July 13, the assembly 
opens in Vancouver, Canada, at 
Empire Stadium. Imagine, on 
July 13, five assemblies will be 
in progress ! Brothers Knorr and 
Franz are scheduled to be at 
Los Angeles and Vancouver, re- 
spectively, on Monday, July 14. 

It was originally felt that the 
Empire Stadium would be large 
enough to handle the expected 
35,000 delegates. But a flood of 
requests for accommodations 
poured in,, and it appeared wise 
to plan for 45,000 conventioners. 
So the new Pacific Coliseum was 
rented. This is just a ten-minute 
walk from the Stadium. Every 
one of the coliseum's 15,015 seats 
provides a fine view of the plat- 
form. As at New York's Yankee 
Stadium and. Polo Grounds in 
1958, the assembly program will 
be put on at both of Vancouver's 
assembly sites. 

On July 14 the assembly opens 
at Dodger Stadium in Los Ange- 
les, California, and the program 
calls for Brother Knorr to de- 
liver the keynote address. The 
flight plan shows Brother Knorr 
shuttling between Vancouver and 
Los Angeles, California, between 
July 16 and 19. 

Meantime, on Friday, July 18, 
Brother Suiter is scheduled to 
fly to Kansas City, located in the 
heart of America's farm area, 
to speak at the city's 35,500-seat 
Municipal Stadium. 

After the Los Angeles assembly 
concludes on July 20, Brothers 
Knorr and Franz are to be in 
Chicago, Illinois, and Kansas 
City on Monday morning. 

The assembly in Chicago will 
evidently be the largest religious 
convention in Chicago's long his- 
tory of conventions, going back 
to 1833. The site chosen f or- the 
assembly, the White Sox Ball 
Park, is unusual, because it is 
one of the few ball parks that 
has a double deck all the way 
around. Tt has a seating capac- 
ity of 46,500. 



The Spanish assembly in Chi- 
cago will meet in two tents, be- 
hind the center-field bleachers of 
White Sox Park. A picnic area 
is available within White Sox 
Park, and this will be well uti- 
lized during the assembly. 

Off to Europe! 

No sooner is the assembly 
program over in Chicago, on 
July 27, than the schedule calls 
for Brother Knorr, along with a 
host of other delegates, to board 
planes for London, England, 
where the European "Peace on 
Earth" International Assemblies 
are due to begin on July 29. No 
fewer than seven charter flights 
from New York are heading in 
that direction, along with groups 
of delegates on many other 
planes. 

It is expected that Wembley 
Stadium will seat about 70,000 
conventioners, with room for a 
10,000 overflow in the nearby 
Empire Pool, an indoor arena 
next to the stadium. 

The assembly at Wembley Sta- 
dium promises to be vibrant with 
international color. Missionaries 
from forty-four lands are sched- 
uled to be present. If Christian 
brothers from these countries 
wear their native costumes, 
imagine, what a sight that will 
make! 

From London the assembly 
moves to Paris and Copenhagen, 
then off to Nuremberg and Rome, 



with similar thrills in the mak- 
ing for those who will be privi- 
leged to be in attendance. A 
great crowd of brothers from 
Spain will doubtless make their 
way to the assembly in Italy. 
Provision has been made in 
Paris for the Portuguese, and 
in Nuremberg for the Dutch and 
Greeks. 

By late June there had been 
room requests for about 115,000 
persons sent to Nuremberg! 
Since there are about 10,000 Wit- 
nesses living in the Nuremberg 
area, this means that the assem- 
bly attendance will be well over 
120,000 persons ! 

The Netherlands is sending five 
trains filled with Witnesses to 
Nuremberg, with each train as 
long as the law allows (15 cars). 
And from Germany itself there 
will be 40 special trains going 
to the assembly, with about 
1,000 Witnesses on each train. 
Three special trains from Austria 
and two from Switzerland will 
bring more delegates. And about 
1,000 buses from Germany and 
other countries will be bringing 
more. 

Said a Watch Tower conven- 
tion representative in New York : 
"Everything is getting bigger, 
much bigger than we thought !" 
This seems to be true with 1969's 
twenty-five-city "Peace on Earth" 
International Assembly ! The im- 
mensity of the undertaking stag- 
gers the imagination ! 




Some of the 615 Danish delegates en route from Copenhagen 
to "Peace on Earth" assembly in New York 



What a delight to have the 
new book Is the Bible Really 
the Word of God?! Released 
simultaneously in English and 
Spanish, the beautiful 192- 
page book was a grand surprise 
for so early in the convention ! 

How timely is such a hook 
for use in these "last days" 
when the Bible is being subject- 
ed to increasing attacks ! 

You will want to offer this 
book to friends, relatives, in- 
deed, everyone with whom you 
come in contact. It contains in- 
formation that they all need to 
build faith in the Word of God. 
High school and college students 
are frequently exposed to anti- 
Biblical theories ; the Word of 
God book will help them to 
evaluate the evidence and real- 
ize what is the truth. In the 
churches, too, confidence in the 
Bible as the inspired Word of 
God has been undermined. Even 
among those who profess to be- 
lieve the Bible, how many can 
give sound reasons for accept- 
ing it as the Word of God? So 
churchgoers, too, can benefit 
from the book, and as they read 
it they will be helped to realize 
that the churches do not rep- 
resent God's Word and that per- 
sons who want to serve God 
need to get out of those organi- 
zations and serve Jehovah now 
while there is yet time. The 
book will be placed for just 25 
cents. 

A Different Approach 

Unlike other books printed on 
this subject, the Word of God 
book takes the position that the 
Bible's truthfulness is not de- 
pendent upon support from the 
theories of modern scientists. Ac- 
tually scientific theories are a 
treacherous foundation, for what 
is popular and accepted today 
may be discredited tomorrow. 

The book produces admissions 
from scientists, however, that 
things related in the Bible, such 



New pocket-sized book 
fills pressing need! 



as the creation of earth, the 
occurrence of a global flood, and 
other unusual events, cannot be 
called either impossible, un- 
scientific or unhistorical. It 
shows the reader why the known 
and established facts, as well- 
as logic and reason, are on the- 
side of the Bible and against 
its critics and opposers. 

The new book also notes that 
the Bible's truthfulness is not 
dependent upon confirmative evi- 
dence uncovered by archaeolo- 
gists. It shows, however, that 
what one would expect to find 
in the form of archaeological 
evidence has often been discov- 
ered. 



Thus, the material in the book 
is not presented as though the 
Bible were in a weak position 
needing help in the form of testi- 
mony from worldly "authorities." 
Kather, the points are argued 
from strength — from the strength 
of the Bible's own powerful testi- 
mony, its reasonableness, and 
the fact that it answers ques- 
tions that would otherwise re- 
main unanswerable. 

loyal Advocates 

What a thrill it was for con- 
ventioners to get this marvelous 
new book into their hands ! How 
appropriately its release followed 
the fine material presented in 
the hour-long manuscript speech 
"Loyal Advocates of the Word 
of God"! 

Eight at the outset the speaker 
declared: "The Holy Bible has 
characteristics that put it in a 
class apart from all others." He 
then proceeded to cite evidence 
of its historical accuracy, the 
reliability of its prophecies, its 
honesty, high ideals and the 
pure motive of its writers. He 




also noted that the Bible an- 
swers the important questions we 
all have — where the earth and 
humans came from, why man 
dies, and what hope there is for 
the future. "For all these rea- 
sons," the speaker observed, "the 
Bible recommends itself to us 
as a book that deserves our 
earnest attention." 

The speaker then posed chal- 
lenging questions to the audi- 
ence : "But what about you as 
an individual? Have you read 
the Bible — not just portions of 
it, but the entire Bible, from 
cover to cover? Have you studied 
it carefully to determine how 
it affects your life? Certainly 
this- is the course of practical 
wisdom." 

Loyalty Toward God 
and Hi8 Word 

Striking at his theme, "Loyal 
Advocates of the Word of God," 
the speaker asked: "How can 
a person be loyal to Jehovah if 
he is filled with doubts about 
His Word?" He noted that this 
is the problem among many pro- 
fessed Christians — they do not 
have confidence that the Bible 
really is the Word of God. "Their 
attitude," he said, "does not re- 
flect loyalty." 

The burden of responsibility 
for this situation was laid right 
at the door of the religious or- 
ganizations that have claimed 
to represent the Bible. "Outright 
disloyalty toward God and his 
Word prevails in the ranks of 



"PEACE ON EARTH" INTERNATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES 



the clergy," the speaker ex- 
claimed. The example was cited 
of the Church of England clergy- 
man who said : 

"Could any intelligent twen- 
tieth-century man believe . . . 
that Jesus was born of a Virgin 
without the agency of a human 
father? If everyone who didn't 
believe in the Virgin Birth were 
asked to leave the Church of 
England there would be an acute 
shortage of clergy and hardly 
any professors left in our theo- 
logical colleges." — The Sunday 
Express, August 6, 1967. 

What complete lack of faith 
in God's Word ! What is wrong 
with Christendom's religious lead- 
ers? "Do these clergymen believe 
only in those events that they 
have personally witnessed?" the 
speaker asked. "Do they refuse 
to believe that the earth itself 
had a beginning, simply because 
they were not on hand to see it 
happen?" 

He then went on to reason: 
"Really, which would be more 
difficult : for God to cause a 
child to be conceived in the womb 
of a living virgin, or for him 
to create the first living human 
from lifeless matter? It is only 
reasonable that the Almighty 
Creator, who designed woman 
and gave her the ability to pro- 
duce children, could also cause 
a woman to become pregnant by 
means of his invisible active 
force, his holy spirit." 

What a contrast there is be- 
tween religionists of Christen- 
dom and loyal servants of God ! 

Especially have the clergy 
shown their disloyalty to God 
by their rejection of what his 
Word teaches about sexual mo- 
rality. 

The speaker called attention 
to the assertion of Joseph Fletch- 
er of an Episcopal theological 
school : "There is nothing against 
extra-marital sex as such . . . 
and in some cases it is good." 
(Commonweal, January 14, 1966) 
"Not content with that," the 
speaker added, Presbyterian min- 
ister Gordon Clanton said : " 'Now 
we must go further and pro- 
claim that, properly understood 
and lovingly practiced, sex out- 
side of marriage is indeed a 
positive good.' " — The Christian 
Century, January 8, 1969. 

Furthermore, "in 1967 ninety 
Episcopalian priests meeting in 
New York declared that the 
church should recognize that 
homosexuality 'may even be a 




Examining "Word of God" book in Watchtower factory; 1,500,000 
copies were produced before the first was released 



good thing.' And in the Nether- 
lands two male homosexuals 
were 'married' by a Roman 
Catholic priest." 

So in conclusion the speaker 
told the audience: "Now is the 
time to make one's position in 
relation to Jehovah God and his 
Word unmistakably clear." If 
you do not agree with the posi- 



tion of the clergy, he said, "it 
is vital to show it." Hundreds 
of thousands of persons are do- 
ing so. "They have quit the 
churches," the speaker empha- 
sized, and "they regularly gather 
for worship in the more than 
25,000 congregations of Jehovah's 
witnesses earth wide. They be- 
lieve what the Bible says. They 




200,000 pounds of convention releases being shipped 
from New York to Los Angeles assembly 



IN ALL PARTS OF THE WORLD IN 1959 



uphold its moral standards. . . . 
What a marvelous future such 
loyal servants of Jehovah have!" 

Highlights of New Book 

- Just prior to this feature talk 
of the assembly, convention dele- 
gates were treated to an hour- 
and-a-half program of delightful 
information upholding the Bible 
as the Word of God. Little did 
they realize at the time that 
the material for the entire after- 
noon program was being tak- 
en directly from the yet-to-be- 
released book, Is the Bible Really 
the Word of God? 

The early part of the after- 
noon program revolved around 
a family discussion in the home, 
including father, mother, son and 
daughter.' At the outset the fa- 
ther remarked about the growing 
skepticism toward the Bible. The 
family then proceeded to discuss 
how to help persons who have 
doubts about the Bible. 

As part of this discussion, the 
daughter mentioned that in school 
the Bible account regarding the 
origin of the universe was be- 
littled as unscientific. The father 
responded that a brother from 
another congregation recently 
told him about a talk he heard 
at the Kingdom Hall that con- 
tained some fine information on 
this very matter. 

Immediately the attention of 
the' audience was diverted to 
the other side of the stage. There 
the aforementioned brother was 
heard giving his talk. He used 
material from the new book to 
show that there is no reliable 
scientific evidence that discredits 
the Bible account of creation. 
In fact, the speaker showed that 
Kahn and Palmer in the 1967 
book Quasars admit: "We are 
almost completely ignorant about 
the early history of the uni- 
verse." 

The son then demonstrated a 
call he made in which the house- 
holder asserted that the Genesis 
account of creation was based 
on pagan myths. The youth, how- 
ever, was able to show the stark 
contrast between the absurd 
Babylonian myths and the sim- 
ple, factual statements of God's 
Word regarding creation. 

Next the daughter told how 
she was able to use information 
in support of the global Mood, 
showing that there is, even now, 
enough water in the oceans to 
cover the earth to a depth of 



one and a half miles if the 
land surface were smooth. She 
explained that she had an inter- 
esting discussion with two school- 
mates, which was then demon- 
strated. 

At this point another publisher 
stopped in to visit the family. 
He told about just making a 
call upon two college students. 
The family asked what happened, 
and the call was reenacted. The 
students objected that the Bible 
does not harmonize with ancient 
history. However, the publisher 
showed that ancient histories 



Then a visit of the mother to 
the doctor's office for her son's 
reguiar checkup was enacted. 
During the visit she showed ,the 
skeptical doctor the reasonable- 
ness of the Bible's miracles. For 
example, she mentioned that re- 
cently many saw astronauts float 
weightlessly while on trips 
through outer space. So, she 
asked, should it seem incredible 
that the One who created water 
and the law of gravity could 
control what he created and 
make it possible for Jesus to 
walk on water? 




Spanish edition of "Word of God" book being proofread 



were at times exaggerated and 
twisted to 'suit the whims of 
ruling monarchs. For example, 
King Sennacherib's prism re- 
cords Assyria's invasion of Ju- 
dah and that King Hezekiah 
paid tribute, but, as one might 
expect, it includes no record of 
Sennacherib's defeat and the 
slaughter of 185,000 of his war- 
riors. So merely because the Bi- 
ble records certain information 
that secular histories do not in- 
clude does not mean the Bible 
is inaccurate. 

In another scene the group 
discussed the real practicalness 
of the Bible for our day. Bible 
believers are better off, for as 
a result of applying Bible prin- 
ciples they are more reliable 
workers, enjoy better health and 
have a superior homelife. 



Finally, the father observed 
that, while all the evidence thus 
far considered is consistent with 
the Bible's being God's Word, 
prophecy is the strongest proof 
of this fact. In a scene in which 
the visiting publisher portrayed 
an agnostic, the father presented 
fine information showing the 
amazing reliability of Bible 
prophecy. He showed how it 
would have been impossible for 
Bible prophecies to have orig- 
inated with humans. 

How impressively the entire 
program demonstrated that the 
Bible truly is the Word of God! 
And how fine it is that all the 
things on this program are in- 
cluded in the new book, Is the 
Bible Really the Word of God?! 



Xome Before Jehovah with Thanksgiving" 



ence when the chairman conduct- 
ed interviews with persons who 
were, until recently knocked 
about and bruised amid the self- 
ish, warring factions of a wick- 
ed system of things, bereft of 
peace, hope and real joy. Now 
they are rejoicing in the peace 
and unity to be found only in 
the ranks of Jehovah's thank- 
ful worshipers. 

Yes, thankful persons from all 
walks of life are gathered at 



On the opening day of the "Peace on Earth" International 
Assembly of Jehovah's Witnesses the convention chairman called 
on the conventioners to "Come Before Jehovah with Thanks- 
giving." Eight away the re- 
marks of the chairman began 
to open up what was in store, 
readying the audience for what 
was to follow. 

Keminding them of the reason 
for their coming to this season 
of united worship, he Invited 
all present to open their Bibles 
to Psalm 95. Then as with one 
voice they read aloud the thrill- 
ing introductory words of that 
psalm. 

Here in the peaceful atmo- 
sphere of the assembly all could 
reflect on Jehovah's loving deal- 
ings with his people of ancient 
times. As the speaker brought 
out. Jehovah has often called 
his people together for special 
outpourings of his blessings and 
spirit. And those gatherings 
were times of peace, peace 
among themselves, peace from 
enemies roundabout, and peace 
with their God, Jehovah. 

Assembly for 
Thanksgiving Today 

At all of those assemblies, the 
chairman continued, there was 
thankfulness on the part of 
those present as they recounted, 
not only the past evidences of 
Jehovah's favor on his people, 
but also the blessings they were 
currently enjoying. So today, at 
this "Peace on Earth" Interna- 
tional Assembly there is much 
over which to rejoice, much for 
which to offer thanksgiving to 
the Great Provider of good 
things. We are in the time when 
God's king has assumed his 
Kingdom power, the time when 
the very criticalness of earthly 
conditions gives powerful evi- 
dence that the end of a wicked 
system is near. We are in a 
time of grand revelations about 
God's purposes and of unparal- 
leled unity in action among Je- 
hovah's people on earth. 

Still another prime reason for 
thanksgiving today was graphi- 
cally brought home to the audi- 




New York convention chairman, 
M. G. Henschel 

this assembly to express grati- 
tude, and at the same time they 
receive additional cause for 
thankfulness. And, as the chair- 
man pointed out, all can ex- 
press thankfulness for this peace- 
ful assembly. We can do so by 
attending each session here and 
attentively listening to all that 
is said from the platform. 

"With a program like this," 
said the chairman, after refer- 
ring to some of its coming high- 
lights, "who can afford to miss 
anything?" Again the whole au- 
dience was invited to open the 
Bible to Psalm 95 and in unison 
read verse 6 and the first half 



of verse 7. Yes, all present had 
reason to join in saying: WE 
THANK YOU, JEHOVAH. 
WITH ALL OUR HEART. 

Conventioners Welcomed 

Just prior to the chairman's 
opening address, a brief word of 
welcome was offered. The speak- 
er expressed the thought that 
peace, when associated with 
God, usually suggests to our 
minds some isolated spot amid 
the grandeur of creation, while 
peace, linked with man, usually 
had to do with the rest of sleep 
in death, with cemeteries, with 
battlefields after the dead have 
been buried out of sight. But in 
these days a new and very real 
peace can be offered, one linked 
with living humans — the peace 
of a Christian assembly. 

In fact, it is the pursuit of 
peace that has brought all these 
thousands together at this "Peace 
on Earth" assembly. All are 
keen to learn how to use that 
marvelous peacemaking instru- 
ment, the Bible, to greater advan- 
tage. And many others, attracted 
by the peace and harmony of 
true Christians, come to sat- 
isfy curiosity and stay to drink 
deeply of the refreshing, peace- 
imparting Bible knowledge that 
is available here. 

It was not easy, continued the 
speaker, for everyone present to 
get here for this assembly. It 
took planning, sacrifices, radi- 
cal departure from normal sched- 
ule. But it will prove to be well 
worth it all, for here we are 
at Jehovah's invitation, his spir- 
it is present to bless and direct, 
and he has prepared a sump- 
tuous feast of good spiritual 
things for us. With Bible and 
note pad at hand, are we all 
ready to make the most of the 
occasion? the speaker asked. 

His concluding words consti- 
tuted an earnest invitation to 
do just that, for he urged his 
listeners : "Let's enjoy to the 
full the keenly anticipated oc- 
casion, the "Peace on Earth" 
International Assembly, as an- 
other timely provision of Jeho- 
vah God, our Host." 




with 
GOD 



/Glorious is Jehovah as he rides along on his celestial chariot 
to the execution of his judgments ! It behooves men to acquaint 
themselves with this God and make peace and keep peace 
with him.' How fittingly those 
words, taken from the assem- 
bly's keynote speech, "Ac- 
quaint Yourself with God and 
Keep Peace," underscored the 
theme of the "Peace on Earth" 
International Assembly ! 

This discourse was designed 
to give all who heard it a better 
appreciation of the awesome 
majesty of Jehovah God. More 
so than other talks about God, 
it built up a tremendous sense 
of awe for the Sovereign of the 
Universe. The keynote speaker 
also stressed the blessing of be- 
ing acquainted with Him and 
the need for increasing that ac- 
quaintanceship. He showed that 
"by getting acquainted with the 
Holy Bible a person can get ac- 
quainted with God, its Author." 
Why? Because the Bible gives 
instances where God's servants 
were favored with miraculous 
visions of Jehovah God. Among 
such favored ones were Moses, 
the prophets Isaiah, Ezekiel and 
Daniel, and the apostle John. 

Yes, from the time of Moses 
on to the closing years of the 
apostle John, it was brought out, 
certain servants of Jehovah God 
were favored with glimpses of 
His supernatural splendor. While 
Enoch and Noah walked with 
the true God, the very first of 
these specially favored ones were 
Moses, Aaron and two of his 
sons, and seventy of the older 



men of Israel. Right after the 
making of a covenant between 
Jehovah and Israel these were 
taken up into Mount Sinai and, 
as the Bible tells it, "got to see 
the God of Israel," yes, "got a 
vision of the true God and ate 
and drank."— Ex. 24:9-11. 

Moses Uniquely Favored 

Moses, however, the audience 
next learned, was favored with 
an even more direct and inti- 
mate acquaintanceship with Je- 
hovah. This is apparent from 
Jehovah's own words when re- 
buking Aaron and Miriam for 
complaining against Moses: "He 
is being entrusted with all my 
house. Mouth to _ mouth I speak 
to him, thus showing him . . . 
and the appearance of Jehovah 
is what he beholds." — Num. 12 : 
7, 8. 

On one occasion Moses wit- 
nessed a special appearance of 
Jehovah. And although he saw 
but an afterglow of Jehovah's 
glory while hidden in a hole in 
a rock and covered by the palm 
of Jehovah, it was so powerful 
that afterward Moses' face emit- 
ted light rays, making it nec- 
essary for him to cover his face 
when speaking to his people. At 
the same time Moses heard a 
wondrous declaration of the per- 
sonality of God, showing that 
he is a God of love, yet also of 
justice. As the speaker went on 
to note: 

9 



"He keeps his loving treatment 
of [his creatures] in perfect 
balance with a just treatment 
[of them]." Yes, all could agree 
with the speaker when he ex- 
claimed: 'What a matchless God! 
A God of perfect love, perfect 
justice, perfect power and per- 
fect wisdom. Such an adorable 
personality deserved to be as- 
sociated, with a brilliance of glo- 
ry that was too bright for weak 
human eyes to behold or a frail 
human body to encounter. . . . 
Today, by believing and accept- 
ing Moses' vision of divine glory, 
we acquaint ourselves better 
with this marvelous God Jeho- 
vah !' 

Isaiah's Temple Vision 

Moses, however, did not re- 
main alone among men in hav- 
ing a miraculous vision of Je- 
hovah God. As the speaker 
pointed out, 736 years later the 
prophet Isaiah was somewhat 
similarly favored. He saw Je- 
hovah "sitting on a throne lofty 
and lifted up, and his skirts 
were filling the temple. Seraphs 
were standing above him." — Isa. 
6:1-4. 

To emphasize the supreme 
holiness of Jehovah, these ser- 
aphs made a threefold declara- 
tion of Jehovah's holiness back 
and forth to one another. Ex- 
plained the keynote speaker : 
"Already we can see the glory 
of Jehovah God in all his mas- 
terly works of creation, both 
living things and lifeless things. 
But the time approaches when 
all the inhabitants of earth will 
join us in discerning Jehovah's 
glory in the things that he has 
created," for "not in vain has 
it been predicted: 'The earth 
will be filled with the knowing 
of the glory of Jehovah as the 
waters themselves cover over the 
sea.' "— Hab. 2 :14. 

How did Isaiah respond? The 
conventioners learned that the 
sights and sounds associated 
with this vision of Jehovah en- 
throned in his temple frightened 
Isaiah. He even feared for his 
life because of his unclean con- 
ditioa But after being cleansed 
by a glowing coal from the altar 
by which one of the seraphs 
touched his tongue, Isaiah felt 
clean in the divine presence and 
volunteered to go on a prophetic 
errand. Then the speaker asked 



10 



"PEACE ON EARTH" INTERNATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES 



of his listeners truly searching 
questions : "But what about us? 
Do we, on becoming better ac- 
quainted with Jehovah God, 
readily offer ourselves for His 
service, as Isaiah did?" — Isa. 
6 :1-13. 

Ezekiel Sees Jehovah 
as Charioteer 

The next one to be given a 
miraculous vision of Jehovah 
God, it was explained, was the 
prophet Ezekiel. He had his first 
awe-inspiring vision while an 
exile in Babylonia. He saw Je- 
hovah as a glorious charioteer, 
seated on a throne high above 
a colossal chariot that was ac- 
companied by four cherubs or 
living creatures. The size of this 
chariot was so great that it made 
Ezekiel feel very small. It was 
at the time when Jehovah God 
was on the march, as it were, 
toward executing his judicial de- 
cisions against his unfaithful 
people. This chariot had no en- 
gine or motor, needed neither 
steering gear nor brakes. What 
made it go? The speaker em- 
phasized : It was the active 
force, the spirit of the One who 
rode on it, Jehovah God. 

Basing his remarks on Eze- 
kiel, chapter 1, the speaker noted 
that each of the four living crea- 
tures accompanying the chariot 
had the face of a man in front, 
that of a lion to the right, that 
of a bull to the left, and the 
face of an eagle. Not that such 
creatures described actually ex- 
ist in heaven, but the features 
of their appearance are symbolic 
of the good qualities outstand- 
ingly possessed by man, lion, bull 
and eagle. The chariot rider was 
pictured as moving ahead on 
an expanse or platform of trans- 
lucent ice or congealed water. 
Above this chariot was a throne 
with Jehovah sitting upon it. 
There was the appearance of 
fire, of a rainbow and the 
splendor of electrum, that is, of 
gold and silver mixed. 

Ezekiel found this vision of 
Jehovah so awesome, explained 
the keynote speaker, that he fell 
upon his face, prostrating him- 
self. Yes, such a miraculous vi- 
sion of God's glory was awe- 
some enough to make man quail 
and feel impelled to worship. 
The following year Ezekiel had 
a quite similar vision of Jeho- 
vah's glory. And twenty years 
later he had still another mirac- 



ulous vision of "the glory of the 
God of Israel."— Ezek. 10:1-5; 
8:1; 40:1-4; 43:1-4. 

Daniel Sees Universal Sovereign 

Pursuing his theme of the part 
miraculous visions played in get- 
ting servants of God better ac- 
quainted with Him, the speaker 
next told how the prophet Daniel 
was blessed in this way. After 
seeing four huge beasts, pictur- 
ing world powers, Daniel saw 
thrones placed, one for Jehovah 
and the other, most likely, for 
his Son, Jesus Christ. Then he 
beheld in vision Jehovah as the 
Ancient of Days: "His clothing 
was white just like snow, and 
the hair of his head was like 
clean wool. His throne was 
flames of fire ; its wheels were 
a burning fire. There was a 
stream of fire flowing and going 
out from before him. There were 
a thousand thousands that kept 
ministering to him, and ten thou- 
sand times ten thousand that 
kept standing right before him." 
—Dan. 7:9, 10. 

Explaining this vision, the 
speaker showed that the wisdom 
of the Supreme Court Judge and 
Sovereign of the universe is 
highlighted by the hair of his 
head in being like clean wool. 
His clothing being white just ■ 
like snow pictured the brilliance 
of his righteousness in handing 
down decisions. The fire asso- 
ciated with this vision suggests 
that fiery judgment is approach- 
ing, even as at Psalm 97:1-3 
we read that before Jehovah's 
throne "a very fire goes, and it 
consumes his adversaries all 
around." 

All listening felt like the speak- 
er when he exclaimed : "What 
an acquaintanceship with God, 
'the Supreme One,' this vision 
to Daniel gives us! The One 
Most High over all creation in 
heaven and earth is He! Pre- 
siding Judge of the Court of 
Last Instance is He!" The new 
rulership of the earth he gives 
to his Messiah. 

More than any others, it was 
stressed, the Son of God when 
on earth was able to enlarge our 
acquaintanceship with Jehovah. 
For he was able to say : "He 
that has seen me has seen the 
Father also." (John 14:9) Jesus 
could say this because he per- 
fectly reflected his Heavenly Fa- 
ther. By his teachings, his works, 
his way of life as a perfect 



man on earth, the Messiah truly 
enlarged our acquaintanceship 
with Jehovah God. 

John Enters Heaven in Vision 

And finally, the keynote ad- 
dress brought out, there was the 
apostle John who received a rev- 
elation that portrayed Jehovah 
God as no previous men of God 
had seen him in vision. As it 
were, John entered right into 
heaven itself to get this divine 
vision. There he saw seated on 
a throne One whose appearance 
was like jewels. Out of the 
throne proceeded lightnings and 
voices and thunders, and before 
it was a glassy sea like crystal. 
(Rev. 4:1-8) Here also were 
four winged creatures of sym- 
bolic appearance who ascribed 
threefold holiness to Jehovah. To 
John's eyes Jehovah sparkled 
like a gem; truly he is light, 
and there is no darkness in union 
with him. — 1 John 1 :5. 

Peace by Acquainting Ourselves 
with God 

'Surely,' the speaker continued, 
'now of all times is the op- 
portune time to acquaint our- 
selves with the ever-living God 
who bears the name Jehovah, 
the Almighty One. We may al- 
ready be acquainted with him, 
to some degree, as Job was, but 
just as Job was brought into 
a more intimate relationship 
with Jehovah, so likewise we 
can now increase our acquaint- 
anceship with Him.' — Job 42 :5, 6. 

And how encouraging were the 
closing words of this keynote 
speech : 'Today as never before 
God's written Word has been 
opened to our understanding. As 
a result, we can grow in appre- 
ciation of him. We can pray 
to him with more accurate knowl- 
edge. We can rely upon him 
with more confidence as if seeing 
him who is invisible. Thus we 
can make this only adorable 
God a part of our daily expe- 
rience. It indeed means peace 
for us to acquaint ourselves with 
this God, a true peace. We want 
the peace of friendship with him. 
We want to be people toward 
whom God has goodwill. Then 
it will be certain that good 
things will come to us from Him, 
both now and in God's promised 
new order where we shall ex- 
perience God's goodness forever.' 
—Luke 2:14. 



PRAISING 
JEHOVAH with 



Scheduled early on the assem- 
bly program was the rather 
novel talk, "Using the Gift of 
Music to Praise Jehovah." This 
subject tied in well with the 
theme of the assembly, for cer- 
tainly good music is conducive 
to peace, and when there is 
"peace on earth" mankind will 
be using the gift of music to 
praise Jehovah. 

This talk gave to all a hither- 
to little appreciated view of the 
prominence of music in the Bible. 
It gave encouragement to all, 
regardless of how poor their 
voices might be, to share in sing- 
ing praise to Jehovah God and 
to enjoy listening to such songs 
of praise. 

Music Uniquely a Gift 

The speaker showed how music 
uniquely is a gift. For one thing, 
it was given only to man. Ani- 
mals do not have this gift. The 
few notes that birds sing by 
instinct in no way compare to 
the capacity for music given to 
mankind. Nor does music depend 
upon "civilization." Some of the 
most primitive peoples show 
great musical talent, and we are 
told that Negro plantation melo- 
dies conform to all the rules of 
musical composition. This, inci- 
dentally, disproves any theory 
of the evolution of music. 

'What great variety there is 
in music !'. the speaker exclaimed. 
There are the various kinds of 
male and female voices, as well 
as the many kinds of musical 
instruments. Also a great variety 
of moods can be expressed and 
forms of composition used. No 
wonder that Martin Luther once 
stated : "Next to the Word of 
God, the noble art of music is 
the greatest treasure in the 
world." 

Gift of Music Misused 

Even as with God's other gifts, 
the gift of music has often been 
misused. It has been used to 
idolize creatures, composers and 
performers. How unwise this has 
been can be seen from the fact 
that some of the foremost com- 
posers and musicians, in both 
the classical and popular fields, 




have been greatly depraved, one 
even being described in a book 
review as a "moral monster." 

The gift of music is also mis- 
used, the speaker went on to 
note, when it is employed to 
encourage rebellion and exag- 
gerate the "generation gap," as 
many popular songs do, as well 
as when these extol the use of 
narcotics and promiscuous sex. 
Music is also misused when it 
serves to make false religion 
appealing. 

Bight Use of Music 

The audience, however, also 
learned of the many fine uses 
to which music can be and is 
being put. The playing of good 
music brings comfort and joy 
into the lives of ever so many 
people. Good background music 
makes mealtime more enjoyable 
and lightens household chores. 
This is especially true of the 
recorded Kingdom songs, dis- 
tributed by the Watch Tower 
Society. 

Just recently great strides 
have been made in the use of 
music to help mentally retarded 
and brain-damaged children, and 
that when nothing else was able 
to help them. However, the best 
and most noble use to which 
music can be put, the speaker 
stressed, is to praise Jehovah, 
even as the Bible repeatedly 
shows. Thus at Psalm 47:6, 7, 
we read : "Make melody to God, 
make melody. Make melody to 
our King, make melody. For God 
is King of all the earth; make 
melody, acting with discretion." 

The speaker then noted that, 
while the audience's paying close 
attention contributed to the suc- 
cess of any program, this par- 
ticular program 'feature was 
unigue: It had the largest cast 
of any in that all the audience 
could contribute to its success 
not only by paying attention but 
also by actively cooperating. 

11 



How? By them themselves sing- 
ing songs illustrating certain as- 
pects of musical worship. 

Music and the Bible 

' How highly musical historians 
rate the Bible was indeed news 
to most in the audience. Kurt 
Sachs, a leading modern musi- 
cal historian, once wrote that 
"among the world's books- few 
can lay claim to greater im- 
portance for the history of music 
than the Bible." Among other 
authorities quoted was the one 
that stated : "Throughout the 
history of the Jewish people we 
find music mentioned with a fre- 
quency that perhaps exceeds its 
mention in the history of any 
other people." 

Bearing out the truth of these 
statements, said the speaker, 
were the many references to 
music in the Bible. As early as 
Genesis 4 :21 we find music men- 
tioned, and seemingly put on a 
par with agriculture and manu- 
facturing, the basic occupations 
of mankind. More than 3,000 
years ago the servants of King 
Saul appreciated the psychoso- 
matic value of music, they hav- 
ing a fine harpist, David, play 
for Saul when he had spells of 
melancholia. Also, at 2 Kings 
3 :15 there is recorded a unique 
use o* music, for the gift of 
inspiration settled on the proph- 
et Elisha upon his hearing the 
playing of a stringed instrument 
— at his request. 

Praising' Jehovah with Music 

The conventioners were told 
that the first use of music to 
praise Jehovah, as mentioned in 
the Bible, is by Moses and the 
rest of the sons of Israel upon 
their deliverance from Pharaoh's 
pursuing army at the Red Sea. 
In the time of King David the 
use of music to praise Jeho- 
vah, which previously had been 
a spontaneous, impromptu affair, 



12 



'PEACE ON EARTH" INTERNATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES 



became highly organized. In fact, 
according to one authority, King 
David organized the earliest 
body of official musicians. He 
had a large band or orchestra 
playing at the time that he 
brought the ark of the covenant 
to Jerusalem. ,And especially 
did King Solomon employ a 
mammoth orchestra and choir at 
the dedication of the temple of 
Jehovah. 

In particular is singing of 
praise to Jehovah made promi- 
nent in the Bible, the speaker 
noted. In fact, some 10 percent 
of the Bible Is in the form of 
poetry that was sung. The Chris- 
tian Greek Scriptures tell of Je- 
sus' singing with his apostles 
and of the apostle Paul's sing- 
ing. Paul in particular commands 
Christians to sing, in fact, to 
teach and admonish one another 
with songs, as at Bphesians 5: 
18-20; Colosslans 3:16. 

In Modern Times 
The speaker next traced the 
prominent role that music played 
in the history of the modern 
witnesses of Jehovah. Their very 
first songbook was published the 
same year The Watohtower be- 
gan to be published, namely, 
back in 1879. Since then a num- 
ber of songbooks have been pub- 
lished from time to time, the 
last to appear, in English, being 
published in 1986, entitled "Sing- 
ing and, Accompanying Your- 
selves with Music in Tour 
Hearts." Each of these song- 
books represented an improve- 
ment over previous ones. Among 
the progressive steps made by 
these was the dropping of all 
names of composers and authors 



so that all credit goes to Jeho- 
vah ; the dropping of all archaic 
expressions; the dropping of all 
melodies found in other religious 
songbooks, and so forth. At pres- 
ent this songbook is also pub- 
lished in Danish, Dutch, French, 
German, Italian, Japanese, Por- 
tuguese, Spanish and Swedish. 

The Word Content- 
In particular lias there been 
progress in the word content of 
these songs, said the speaker, 
in keeping with the promise at 
Proverbs 4 :18 that the path of 
the righteous would shine ever 
brighter until the perfect day. 
These songs direct attention away 
from creatures, whether oneself 
or Jesus Christ, and to the Cre- 
ator, Jehovah" God. Each one of 
the nine fruits of the spirit men- 
tioned at Galatians 5 :22, 23 is 
the theme of one or more song's. 
And one, song No. 94, has some- 
thing to say about all nine of 
these fruits. 

Further, ever so many greatly 
beloved Bible texts are the 
themes of songs, such as, "Come 
to me, all you who are toiling 
and loaded down." (Matt. 11:28) 
"As for me and my household, 
we shall serve Jehovah." (Josh. 
24:15) "Your people will be my 
people, and your God my God." 
— Ruth 1:16. 

The speaker underscored the 
great blessing of having record- 
ings "of these songs, to serve as 
background music in Christian 
homes and for singing at social 
occasions. How much better to 
have such a. songfest, than to be 
dancing to or singing songs with 
degrading words ' The interna- 
tional aspect of all music was 






. "X. 



V 



*\ 






, - "VfT I 



Singing is part of our worship 



then noted as well as the fact 
that all continents of the globe 
are represented in this songbook, 
examples being given from, songs 
in the Hawaiian, Oriental and 
modern American idiom. 

Music Principles 

So that all could better under- 
stand what music was about, 
the speaker next briefly touched 
on the basic essentials of all 
music — melody, harmony and 
rhythm. The various aspects of 
music, octaves, scales, harmony 
and basic rhythms were illus- 
trated by recorded piano music. 

The audience also learned 
about the range of the human 
ear, hearing from about 16 to 
16,000 vibrations per second, and 
that the average human voice 
had a range of one and a half 
octaves. This is also the range 
of the songs in. the Witness song- 
book. 

Properly Kendering Songs 
Most practical were the speak- 
er's remarks relative to inter-, 
preting or properly rendering- 
songs sung to Jehovah's praise. 
He noted that the elements that 
make for good public speaking, 
as far as delivery is concerned, 
also apply to singing. There is 
need to give thought to sufficient 
volume, enthusiasm, warmth and 
feeling, variety in pitch, pace 
and power, and so forth. 

The audience was then called 
upon to share in the singing of 
four songs- (it had previously 
assisted by singing two other 
songs), which illustrated the 
basic moods found in these 
songs: No. 4.4 (martial) ; No. 37 
(heartfelt) ; No. 81 (joyous) ; 
No. 110 (grand, majestic). 

In conclusion the speaker urged 
that, even as Jehovah's servants 
in ancient times were outstand- 
ing in the use of the gift of 
music to praise Jehovah, so 
should His modern servants be. 
It is a part of the formal wor- 
ship of Christians, and since it 
is done to Jehovah's praise, we 
may rest assured that he is lis- 
tening. It should be an expres- 
sion of joy and appreciation. If 
all thus enter into the musical 
part of their worship, they will 
bring joy to the heart of Je- 
hovah, honor to his name and 
much joy and benefit to them- 
selves, as they use the gift of 
music to praise Jehovah. 



HOW 

DO YOU 

view 









None need fear rebellion from Jehovah's witnesses. Police 
officials, teachers, employers, legislators and parents can all be 
confident that Jehovah's witnesses will respect their authority. 
What a contrast this is with 



the rest of the world ! 

For continued peace and har- 
mony Jehovah's witnesses, at 
their "Peace on Earth" Inter- 
national Assembly, seriously dis- 
cussed the need for proper obe- 
dience to authority. 

The audience Was jolted to 
an awareness that they were 
very much involved. "How do 
you, personally, view author- 
ity?" the speaker asked. 'Have 
you allowed the world's disre- 
spect for authority to affect you?' 

Authority Properly Viewed 

"All in the universe, except 
Jehovah, are subject to some- 
one," said the speaker. Jehovah 
is a God of order, and, if we 
are to please him, we must con- 
tribute to good order by proper 
respect for authority. How en- 
couraging and needful such en- 
couragement in our day ! 

The audience was helped to 
see that God's magnificent order 
of spirit creatures all work har- 
moniously together with their 
Creator. After that the conven- 
tioners were given. a verbal view 
of the physical universe in per- 
fect operation, all functioning 
according to God's laws. 

But what about man? On 
earth God gave man His per- 
fect law. Blan, however, chose 
to rebel against the laws of God 
and the consequence has been 
the chaotic world of today. 
— Deut. 32 :4, 5. 

' But what authority is there 
now worthy of man's respect? 
the speaker queried. We are in- 
terested in nolo! With assuring 
tones came the answer: A heav- 
enly Kingdom government was 
established in 1914, and it is now 



ruling in the midst of its ene- 
mies. 

This government, said the 
speaker; is composed of immor- 
tal creatures, namely, the resur- 
rected Jesus Christ and his 
faithful anointed followers. The 
remnant of Christ's joint heirs 
who are still on earth have 
been given authority over all 
Christ's belongings. (Matt. 24: 
45-47) Through this earthly au- 
thority, servants are appointed 
to positions of responsibility on 
earth to care for the needs of 
the people who have a love of 
righteousness. The arrangement 
is a loving one. It is evidence 
of God's care. 

But how does God's arrange- 
ment work out in a practical 
way in the everyday life of a 
Christian today? What view, for 
example, should a Christian have 
of secular authority today? 

God takes into consideration 
present secular authorities, the 
conventioners heard. Christians 
are to obey all laws, national and 
local, that do not conflict with 
God's law. The early Christian 
position was cited as precedent. 
(Acts 5:29) True, said the 
speaker, these worldly authorities 
will be destroyed at Armageddon, 
but the Christian is under obli- 
gation to show proper subjection 
to them now. Why? Because they 
provide valuable services of 
which Christians are beneficiar- 
ies. Therefore, taxes should be 
paid and laws obeyed. 

Not Anarchists^, 

Jehovah's witnesses are not 
anarchists, it was stressed. Never 
by word or deed will they lend 

13 



support to those showing dis- 
respect for authority. They stay 
out of the trouble areas, do not 
participate in "marches" or riots, 
in fact, rather than rebel against 
the authorities, they are com- 
manded by God to pray con- 
cerning them, which they do. 
(1 Tim. 2:1-3) How timely such 
advice to Christians ! How reas- 
suring to world rulers in this 
hour of world rebellion! 

Teachers, too, have the respect 
and appreciation of Christian 
parents and students. Other 
school authorities and educa- 
tional arrangements are also 
to be respected, the convention- 
ers heard. Christians need not 
join school-sponsored organiza- 
tions, but can show appreciation 
for their problems. They can co- 
operate by getting their children 
to obey and make the best use of 
their time while in school. A 
brief demonstration illustrated 
how children can show respect 
to their teachers. How distinctly 
different the Christian is from 
the world at N large ! 

Employers, too, should find Je- 
hovah's witnesses the best of 
workers, not only because they 
are conscientious, do not steal or 
"loaf," but also because they as 
workers find joy in accomplish- 
ment and do all things as to 
their God Jehovah. The speaker 
encouraged the audience to mas- 
ter their secular jobs, become 
efficient and thereby maintain 
their own self-respect in a world 
that has little or none. God is 
magnified and glorified by such 
honest effort, they heard. 

Right Viewpoint 
of Spiritual Authority 

But before secular authority 
can be fully respected, one must 
first have the right viewpoint of 
spiritual authority, the conven- 
tioners were told. This begins in 
the home. All in the Christian 
family circle, for example, should 
recognize the principle of head- 
ship. The husband is head of his 
house, his wife, his family. Par- 
ents closely supervise the chil- 
dren. Bible verses, such as Ephe- 
sians 5:22-24; 6:1-4 and 1 Peter 
3 :l-6 were quoted in support. 
Wives were encouraged to co- 
operate fully with their husbands, 
for this makes for a happy family 
relationship. 

This respect is carried over 
and refined in the Christian con- 
gregation where the servants are 



14 



'PEACE ON EARTH" INTERNATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES 



shown proper respect. Appoint- 
ments are viewed as coming by 
holy spirit. (Acts 20:28) The 
congregation recognizes this and 
fully cooperates, even as wives 
cooperate with husbands, hus- 
bands with Christ and Christ 
with God. Such an arrangement, 
when carried out, works for the 
good of all. 

The speaker appealed to the 
audience to give evidence of their 
proper view of authority in these 
trying times. Jehovah God re- 
quires it. Disrespectful persons 
will not inherit the earth, 
but the respectful will. 
Those who embrace the 
Christian view of au- 
thority now are training 
themselves for life in the 
new system of things, 
where all authority will 
be exercised perfectly to * 
the praise of God forever- 
more ! • 

"Show Respect for 
Jehovah's Appointments" 

Not entertainment, but 
instruction, was the pur- 
pose of the drama bearing 
the above title. David and 
King Saul, Abigail and 
Nabal, Jonathan, Abishai 
and Abiathar all sprang 
to life in the drama. And 
the entire program under- 
scored the need for Jeho- 
vah's people to respect His 
appointments. 

The convention atmo- 
sphere echoed with the 
voice of King Saul raging 
as if possessed of a demon, 
"I will yet pin David . . . 
yes, I will yet pin David 
even to the wall and rid my soul 
forever of this agony that is 
within me." 

David, though hunted by Saul 
like an animal, did not strike 
back, even when opportunity af- 
forded itself. "I shall not thrust 
out my hand against my lord, 
for he is the anointed of Je- 
hovah," said David of Saul. 
—1 Sam. 24:10. 

The Bible book of First Samuel 
came alive, and the lesson of 
respect for Jehovah's appoint- 
ments was driven home in a tell- 
ing way time and time again. 
One learns that, despite any per- 
sonal feelings that one might 
have, no matter what the cir- 
cumstance, Jehovah's appoint- 
ments must be respected. How 



faith-strengthening, unifying and 
upbuilding such a call for oneness 
and support in these critical 
times ! 

An overseer or someone else 
in a position of responsibility in 
God's organization may commit a 
wrong, as King Saul did. But not 
to recognize the office that such 
one fills or the authority that he 
possesses by refusing to show re- 
spect or by opposing such one 
is to compound the wrong, not 
right it. Of course, under these 
circumstances, a Christian should 
not violate righteous principles 




Ihongh hor iir<3l>iinil ^corned David, Abigail 
wisely respected Jehovah's anointed one 



nor join the wrongdoer in his re- 
bellion. AVait on God to remove 
the rebellious one in his own way 
and time. 

Women also were greatly ben- 
efited by the drama. They were 
shown how they, too, can show 
respect for Jehovah's appoint- 
ments by imitating the wise 
course of Abigail, wife of Nabal. 
Abigail viewed the anointed 
David as an appointed servant of 
Jehovah, whom her husband dis- 
respected. Even though Nabal 
was her husband, she could not 
condone his disrespectful ac- 
tions, because he was opposing 
David, Jehovah's anointed. Abi- 
gail did not violate the principle 
of headship in this matter, be- 
cause Nabal had come between 



her and her worship of God. 
One's duty is first to God. 

Abigail showed her apprecia- 
tion of Jehovah's appointments 
by giving David due respect and 
thus firmly established her re- 
lationship with Jehovah. By her 
wise course she saved her hus- 
band's life and her household as 
well. She also proved a blessing 
to David, because her generous 
and kind behavior had a calm- 
ing effect on David and his 
warriors, preventing them from 
becoming bloodguilty before God. 
The position Jehovah took was 
also clearly seen in that 
he punished Nabal and re- 
warded Abigail. Nabal died 
suddenly. Abigail then be- 
came David's wife. Da- 
vid's warm appreciation 
for her can be seen in that 
he considered her to be 
a gift from Jehovah. 

The assembled audience 
could see how the prin- 
ciples of that drama of 
ancient times could be ap- 
plied today in the Chris- 
tian congregation. There 
are times in our daily 
worship, the participants 
related, when decisions are 
not easy to make. How- 
ever, if we allow our- 
selves to be guided by Bi- 
ble principles, primarily 
the principle that Jeho- 
vah makes the appoint- 
ments and removes un- 
worthy ones, then we can 
learn much in the way of 
long-suffering, putting up 
with one another in love 
and appreciation of Jeho- 
vah's way of doing things. 
We will not be prone to 
run ahead of God. 

In the modern setting those 
in the audience were shown that 
wrong conclusions are reached 
when one does not have all the 
facts. Where true love exists 
and where there is trust in Je- 
hovah's appointments, there is 
also no cause for opposition to 
any appointment originating with 
God. 

Conventioners may remember 
and forget many details about 
the drama, but one point un- 
doubtedly will outlive them all, 
namely, that respect for Jeho- 
vah's appointments must be 
shown regardless of the trying 
circumstance, as was exempli- 
fied in the lives of David and 
Abigail. 




ISSIOJUARIES 



Among the congregated throngs 
attending the "Peace on Earth" 
International Assembly are the 
missionaries who have graduated 
from Gilead School. From far- 
flung sections of the earth over 
1,500 of them will be present 
at the various assembly cities. 
What has made this possible? 
Why, the generous contributions 
of their brothers around the 
world for the very purpose of 
paying the travel expenses of 
these full-time preachers. 

At the New York assembly 
alone, 488 missionaries from 
seventy-seven lands plan to be 
on hand. Another 122 are plan- 
ning to go to Vancouver, British 
Columbia, and 107 more to Los 
Angeles. Many others are at- 
tending at Atlanta, Buffalo, Po- 
mona, Kansas City and Chicago. 
For just these assemblies in 
North America, over 980 will be 
present ! 

In addition, hundreds more 
have been assisted financially to 
attend the "Peace on Earth" 
assemblies in Europe — in London, 
Paris, Copenhagen, Nuremberg 
and Rome. Here they will see 
and be able again to fellowship 
briefly with dear relatives and 
friends until they return to their 
missionary assignments. To Lon- 
don alone, 182 missionaries from 
forty-four lands have planned to 
return for the assembly. 

Many of these missionaries of 
Gilead School have spent fifteen, 
twenty or more years in their 
assignments. They have expended 
themselves fully in doing the 
will of God, spearheading the 
preaching work in many parts of 
the earth. Frequently they have 
seen just a small handful of in- 
terested persons in these places 
grow into a mighty throng of 
thousands of praisers of Jeho- 
vah. What a blessing to have 
them here in assembly with us! 

A Missionary Grandmother 

One of the 488 missionaries at- 
tending the New York city as- 
sembly is Gertrude Steele. When 
she learned the truth in the 
early 1920's she had three infant 
sons to rear. But as they grew 
older and entered school, she 
arranged to pioneer nine months 
of the year. Finally, when they 




were grown, she offered to be 
sent wherever she was needed. 

After pioneering for some years 
in various places in the United 
States she was invited to attend 
Gilead School, and later was as- 
signed to Puerto Rico. At the 
time there were but thirty-five 
Kingdom publishers and two 
congregations on the whole is- 
land. 

"We often wondered," she ob- 
served recently, "how long it 
would take to get the first 1,000 
publishers. Well, it took ten 
years. Then six years more for 
the second thousand, and four 
years for the third. But in the 
past four years we have grown 
to a peak of 5,247 publishers 
and eighty-eight congregations I" 
What a marvelous increase! 




G. Steele, serving in 
Puerto Rico since 1948 

15 



But what about the future? 
Sister Steele notes : "With so 
much interest in God's Word we 
are not worrying about what 
1975 will bring. Rather, we are 
concerned with how to help all 
these 5,000 see the urgency of 
helping yet additional thousands 
come over to Jehovah's side." 

Such fervent missionary zeal, 
and her example in implanting 
this same zeal in her children 
(one of her sons has spent many 
years in the missionary field and 
is now branch servant in Korea), 
are certainly marvelous to be- 
hold. Just what is it that assists 
one to develop this zeal and 
keep it afire for so many years? 

Sister Steele made this re- 
vealing comment: "One thing 
that has done this has been the 
habit during all these forty-seven 
years of making a quick reading 
of The Watchtower as soon as 
it arrives. There is nothing like 
it to keep one qualified to preach 
and teach and build up apprecia- 
tion." 

Making a Wise Choice 

Returning from Brazil to at- 
tend the Atlanta assembly is 
Doris Thompson. Her nearly 
twenty years in that missionary 
assignment have been happy and 
richly rewarding. However, 
making a wise choice was neces- 
sary in order to realize these 
blessings. 

At the age of seven Doris 
began working by herself in the 
ministry. She continued to pro- 
gress, and a few years later was 
conducting Bible studies. But, at 
the same time, she was excelling 
in her schoolwork. Thus, she was 
faced with a choice on finishing 
high school — either of accepting 
a college scholarship or of pur- 
suing as a career the full-time 
preaching work. 

"The choice I made," she ex- 
plains, "was a disappointment 
for my teachers (worldly ad- 
visers), but has been a happy 
one for me and my parents. I 
received my regular pioneer ap- 
pointment in September 1944, 
almost a quarter of a century 
ago, and started out working in 
Chattanooga, my hometown. 
Later I went to Louisville, Ken- 
tucky, from where I was called 
to Gilead." 



16 



"PEACE ON EARTH" INTERNATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES 



Sister Thompson's first assign- 
ment in Brazil in 1949 was in 
Eio de Janeiro. Later, in 1958, 
she was assigned to the city of 
Belem. At the time there were 
only sixty Kingdom publishers in 
the local congregation. 

"Now we have five units," 
Sister Thompson observes, "and 
in April we had a report of 357 
publishers ! Also, congregations 
have been formed in areas out-' 
side the city as a result of the 
work by pioneers and publishers. 
One of these special pioneers is 
a young sister who was one of 
my first Bible students in Belem." 

The Joy of Seeing It Grow 

A special joy that missionaries 
have is in seeing persons with 
whom they have studied become 
publishers and, some, full-time 
pioneer ministers. 

Consider the preaching work 
in Japan. When twenty-six Gilead 
graduates arrived in Japan in 
1949 and 1950 there were less 
than 100 Kingdom publishers in 
the entire country. But now there 
is a peak of 7,284 publishers, 
with 1,632 of these sharing in the 
pioneer work this April ! Many 
of the first missionaries to ar- 
rive are still busy, experiencing 
joy day by day as they see the 
number of Jehovah's praisers 
rapidly grow. 

One of these missionaries, 
Gladys Gregory, related recently 
the type of experience that brings 
so much joy: "I started a Bible 
study with a young housewife 
whose husband, while doing part- 
time work, was continuing col- 
lege postgraduate study in prep- 
aration for teaching. One day he 
was home and I happened to 
meet him. He said that one rea- 
son for his desire to continue 
his education was that there 
must be some social or political 
ideology which would be the 
answer to mankind's problems. 
Now, however, - he was not so 
sure. 

"I asked him if he had thought 
about a theocratic government, 
and then pointed out why only 
such a government with the 
needed power, yet incorruptible, 
could bring about a peaceful 
world. He was amazed and 
agreed that such a government 
would fill the bill, but, of course, 
he had never even considered 
such a thing. How about investi- 
gating the Bible to see whether 



that might be what you're 
looking for? It was! His plans 
to become a teacher were real- 
ized. He and his wife both be- 
came pioneer ministers and are 
joyfully teaching- others about 
that theocratic government." 

In West Africa, too, the in- 
crease in the number of praisers 
of Jehovah, has been marvelous. 
Asuqrio Abot Akpabio, a native 
Nigerian who received Gilead 
training in 1952, has been an 




T. H. Sanderson, 
serving in India 

eyewitness to this increase. While 
in New York city to attend the 
international assembly he ob- 
served : 

"In September of 1947 the 
Society invited me to take up 
the Servant to the Brethren 
work (now called circuit work). 
I felt unqualified as did young 
Jeremiah, and so prayed to Je- 
hovah for strength and direction. 
He has not failed me, for Je- 
hovah has blessed the preaching 
work. 

"I have had the pleasure of 
seeing the circuit grow from ten 
congregations to ten circuits. 
Back in 1947 at Calabar, there 
were 400 that turned up for the 
first assembly in my assignment. 



Early this year there was a dis- 
trict assembly at the same city 
and 10,709 listened to the public 
address. My heart was filled with 
joy and satisfaction to see Je- 
hovah's blessing so manifest on 
the work done in this territory." 

Overcoming Difficulties 

There are frequently difficult 
problems and tests connected 
with missionary work. There is 
generally a new language to 
learn, a different climate, health 
problems, and so forth. What 
would be your reaction if you 
received a missionary assign- 
ment to India? 

T. H. Sanderson, who has spent 
many years in that country, rem- 
inisces about his first thoughts. 
"I wondered if I could even sur- 
vive three years in the assign- 
ment," he observed. "I thought 
what a blessing it would be to 
get a serious illness and thereby 
have a legitimate reason to leave 
the country. But time has 
changed my views. 

"Not that I can say I have 
grown to like the continuous tor- 
rid heat, the hunger of the people, 
the depressing poverty that can 
be seen everywhere . day after 
day. But what joy there is in 
seeing the spreading of God's 
Word in this land ! It is like a 
bright light shining in a very, 
very dark place, releasing lovely 
people from the grasp of this 
stronghold of Babylon the Great ! 

"While it is true that most 
of our increase has come from 
nominal Christians, many sincere 
Hindus are accepting the truth. 
One of our most enthusiastic 
congregations is made up of pub- 
lishers that have nearly all been 
Hindus. This April we had a 21- 
percent increase. Truly, who 
could be niore happy right now 
than those in the missionary 
service? 

"Persons sometimes ask me: 
'Do you think that your health 
will continue to stand -Up?' 
Naturally we missionaries exer- 
cise proper care with our health, 
but beyond that we are not con- 
cerned with what may or may 
not happen as regards sickness. 
Now my health is good in India, 
but could I say that if I had rer 
mained in Australia? On a recent 
visit there I saw many sick 
people, so maybe I am better Off 
where I am." 




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Mu WM'/lW/iH" 



Perhaps you have had guests over for an afternoon and eve- 
ning. There was quite a bit involved in preparing for them, wasn't 
there? Just imagine, then, what is involved in preparing for 
the arrival of as many as 



lOCkOOO or more guests ! And 
what if you had only one night 
to move into the facilities 
where you were going to enter- 
tain them ? 

This gives you some idea of 
the situation frequently faced by 
Jehovah's witnesses in setting up 
their large assemblies. The mag- 
nitude of the operation is dim- 
cult to conceive. 

The Short Time Available 

Consider, for example, the as- 
sembly in New York city, where 
as many as 100,000 persons may 
attend. 

A New York Yankee baseball 
game was scheduled for the 
afternoon of Sunday, July 6. Not 
until this was over, and the fans, 
ball players and park personnel 
left, could Jehovah's witnesses 
move into Yankee Stadium to 
set up their convention depart- 
ments. This would allow only 
twelve to fourteen hours before 
assembly delegates were to begin 
arriving for their breakfast and 
the sessions that begin early in 
the morning. 

In Chicago there will be even 
less time to move in, for Chicago 
and Kansas City are playing a 
doubleheader ball game on Sun- 
day, July 20. And the first session 
of the assembly begins early the 
following morning. 

Of course, if the ball games 
were rained out, this would allow 
more time to move in. When this 
possibility was mentioned to the 
General Manager of the Chicago 
White Sox, Ed Short, he un- 
hesitatingly replied: "If anyone 
can arrange that, it would be 
you people, because you have the 
proper connections." 

In London, too, only a short 
time will be available to move 
assembly departments into Wem- 



bley Stadium and get them op- 
erating. The Horse Show of the 
Year will be held in the Stadium 
immediately preceding the assem- 
bly. Not many hours later, tens 
of thousands of assembly dele- 
gates will arrive for the opening 
sessions early Tuesday morning, 
July 29. 

The story is similar in Kansas 
City. It will be the morning of 
July 17 before the brothers have 
access to Municipal Stadium, and 
they must have everything ready 
for the opening of the assembly 
program the following day. 

Occupancy of the 15,000-seat 
brand-new Coliseum at Vancou- 
ver, Canada, cannot be obtained 
until 6 o'clock Sunday morning, 
July 13, and the program begins 
at 9:45 that same morning! 
There will be a little more time, 
however, to move into the other 
facilities being used for the as- 
sembly in that city. 

To get some idea of what is 
involved in setting up an assem- 
bly at all of these convention 
sites, try to view it from the 
standpoint of the convention or- 
ganization before the assembly 
opens. As an example, consider 
the operation of moving into 
Yankee Stadium the night of 
July 6. 

A Busy Night 

It is planned that some thirty- 
five trucks will be poised for de- 
livery of equipment as soon as 
the baseball crowd clears out on 
Sunday night. 

First, huge tents must be 
brought in and set up on the 
parking lots. This involves un- 
loading 65,000 pounds of tenting, 
sinking holes through the asphalt, 
driving by hand some 950 large 
stakes two feet into the hard 
earth, and finally raising these 
huge tents. No easy task indeed ! 

The erected tents are to cover 

17 



145,000 square feet of area, which 
amounts to 31 acres. Here the 
Spanish and French delegates are 
to meet to listen to the program 
in their own languages and see 
Bible dramas enacted. Tents pro- 
vide covering, too, for the cafe- 
teria, dishwashing equipment and 
several refreshment stands. 

During the night some 17,000 
chairs must be trucked in and 
set up for use by the Spanish and 
French delegates. Also, trucks 
carrying some 1,200 plywood 
tabletops need to be unloaded. 
Most of these tops are eight feet 
by two feet in size and, all to- 
gether, weigh some 34,000 pounds ! 
Legs must then be attached to 
these tabletops, and about 700 
tables are to be set up in the 
cafeteria. The rest go to refresh- 
ment stands and other assembly 
departments. 

Perhaps one of the most diffi- 
cult jobs is equipping and stock- 
ing the refreshment stands. There 
eventually are to be about sev- 
enty-nine of these serving food 
to delegates. What a rush against 
time to have most of them 
equipped and operating by morn- 
ing! Wholesalers are to start 
bringing in foodstuffs around 
midnight. Included among items 
to be served at the various stands 
are hamburgers, hot dogs, hot 
pastrami sandwiches, soda, coffee, 
ice cream, fruit, fruit juices, and 
so forth. 

Another crew will be busy 
setting up the loudspeakers — 
some 255. in all! Not only will 
there be English, French and 
Spanish programs, but individual 
sound systems must be hooked 
up for the fourteen other lan- 
guage programs as well. These 
are to be held in the stadium 
when the English program is not 
in session. All together, 48 loud- 
speakers will be used for those 
programs held in languages 
other than English. 

Inside the stadium 70 loud- 
speakers are to carry the English 
program. But scores of others 



18 



'PEACE ON EARTH" INTERNATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES 



are to be set up in the corridors, 
kitchen, cafeteria and in the 
various departments so all will 
be able to hear. 

In addition, there are to be 
some forty closed-circuit tele- 
vision sets scattered among the 
different departments so that 
workers can both hear and see 
the program. Also, an intercom 
system is to be installed to pro- 
vide communications between 
various departments. This means 
that, in all, more than three miles 
of wire is to be strung through- 
out the stadium to facilitate 
communications of one kind or 
another. 

Still another big job that night 
is moving in and setting up the 
huge sixty-by-thirty-foot stage. 
It has been prefabricated, so that 
it can be loaded on trucks in 
sections, carried into the park, 
and assembled on the playing 
field around second base. The 
platform features a watchtower, 
some 30,000 artificial flowers — ■ 
carnations, lilies, peonies, roses, 
magnolias, asters, and so forth — ■ 
and a kidney-shaped pool about 
ten by fifteen feet in size. 

There is to be much other con- 
struction going on throughout 
the night as well. A large canopy 
to cover the orchestra must be 
installed. In addition, many par- 
titions need to be set up in 
various departments, extra toilet 
facilities installed, and even 
dressing areas constructed for 
use by actors in the Bible dra- 
mas. Also, a huge one-hundred- 



by-eleven-foot banner must be 
put up on the stadium's facing 
to advertise the public talk, "The 
Approaching Peace of a Thou- 
sand Years." Two other banners 
four feet by sixty feet will be 
located for observation by city 
bus riders and elevated train 
crowds. 

Since Jehovah's witnesses last 
used the stadium it has received 
a new paint job inside and out. 
So it has a fine, clean appearance. 
Nevertheless, after the ball game 
it will no doubt be covered with 
litter left by the ball crowds. 
Therefore, a large crew of volun- 
teer workers will be needed to 
clean the stadium to have it pre- 
sentable for the assembly's open- 
ing. 

Another busy place this night 
will be the Watchtower building 
at 77 Sands Street, the conven- 
tion headquarters in New York. 
Equipment from forty-two cir- 
cuits of Jehovah's witnesses is 
being brought here. It is checked 
in, labeled and inventoried. From 
here the trucks pick up the equip- 
ment for delivery to Yankee 
Stadium. All , night long before 
the assembly they will shuttle 
back and forth to the stadium 
carrying supplies. 

In the Chicago area, too, the 
convention trucking department 
has been busy collecting equip- 
ment from the various circuits 
of Jehovah's witnesses. But how 
can they possibly, on that final 
night, get everything moved into 
White Sox Park after the double- 







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fr- 



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J. Groh at Yankee Stadium to arrange for assembly operations 



header ball game and before the 
sessions begin just a few hours 
later? 

True, the task normally would 
be impossible. Yet, it will be 
done ! A warehouse containing 
7,000 square feet of space has 
been rented at a location only 
two blocks away from White 
Sox Park. The kitchen equipment 
and the platform will be set up 
in sections at this warehouse the 
way it will be at White Sox Ball 
Park. Then, when the double- 
header ends on Sunday night, the 
areas at the ball park will be 
marked and the kitchen equip- 
ment and the platform will be 
transported there in sections and 
merely set in their places. It 
will be much like moving pre- 
fabricated homes, which are made 
in one location, then transported 
to another and set in place. 

Other problems are connected 
with moving into the Canadian 
assembly in Vancouver. How- 
ever, customs officials at the 
border have shown cooperation 
about the transporting of equip- 
ment from the United States into 
Canada. In fact, one official even 
provided the convention manager 
with his private telephone number 
in the event that any trouble 
arises when the tractor trailers 
loaded with equipment arrive at 
the border. He said that he will 
be glad to come down, no matter 
what time of the day or night 
it is, to assist in making sure 
that the equipment arrives at 
the Stadium with the least 
amount of difficulty. 

More than 250 volunteers with 
fifty trucks, besides tractors and 
forklifts, are readying them- 
selves to receive and distribute 
the tons of equipment arriving 
at Vancouver from as far away 
as Winnipeg, Manitoba. 

There can be no question about 
it ! Setting up an assembly in- 
volves much planning, organiza- 
tion and effort. Yes, and it re- 
quires Jehovah's spirit and help 
to accomplish so much in such 
a short period of time. This spirit 
of God is what motivates the 
many, many thousands of volun- 
teer workers who labor so zeal- 
ously to prepare for the arrival 
of the convention delegates, their 
guests. Many of them will keep 
right on the job all night long 
to see that all the details in con- 
nection with setting up the as- 
semblies are cared for. 



WHAT 




Have you ever asked yourself, "What am I living for?" 
On introducing a symposium of discourses on this thought- 
provoking theme, the chairman observed: "It is an especially 
timely question in this; day 
and age when men are 'lovers 
of themselves, lovers of money, 
. . . lovers of pleasures rather 
than lovers of God.' "—2 Tim. 
3 :2-4. 

"The world of mankind of 
today in general," he said, 
seeks "self-gratification and 
self-satisfaction. It has as its 
theme, 'Be good to yourself/ " 
This prevailing attitude re- 
quires that a Christian put up 
a hard fight for the faith. He 
needs continually to watch 
himself and examine his mo- 
tives. This part of the program 
was designed to help persons 
make this self-appraisal. 



Worldly Associations 

In the first talk, "What Are 
You Living For? — Worldly As- 
sociations?" the speaker observed 
that there are godly associates 
and worldly ones. So he asked: 
"Which association will benefit 
you most as a Christian? Which 
one can be encouraging, upbuild- 
ing and faith-strengthening?" 

It is true that worldly asso- 
ciations cannot be entirely avoid- 
ed, since we are generally sur- 
rounded by workmates* business 
associates and classmates who 
are not Christians. The trouble 
is, however, situations arise 
where brothers feel that worldly 
associations are desirable. 

For example, the speaker not- 
ed, a brother may have a secu- 
lar business, and he may feel 
that it is necessary to entertain 
worldly persons and attend so- 
cial functions with them. Or, 
dedicated Christians at times seek 
marriage mates in the world. 
Also, Christian youths sometimes 
share in sports at school and 



become involved with worldly as- 
sociates. In addition, reading im- 
moral literature, watching TV 
programs that feature violence 
and attending sexy movies can 
involve one in worldly associa- 
tions. 

What, about all these worldly 
associations? They are danger- 
ous, the speaker emphasized. In 
time they can cause spiritual 
values to be replaced by mate- 
rial ones. 

The examples were cited of 
a person who sought to climb 
the ladder of material success, 
of a Christian youth who be- 
came involved In sports and of 
a sister who married a non- 
believer. No longer are these per- 
sons Christians, the speaker 
said. Their good habits were 
spoiled by worldly associations. 
— 1 Cor. 15:33. 

So be on guard, he urged. Rec- 
ognize such association for what 
it is — worldly. And remember, 
'Whoever wants to be a friend 
of the world is making himself 
an enemy of God.' (.las. 4:4) 
Therefore, fellowship with mem- 
bers of the Christian ,congrega- 
tion. Counteract loneliness by 
getting absorbed in spiritual ac- 
tivities. "Why live for worldly 
association that could alienate 
you from friendship with God?" 
the speaker asked. "Keep com- 
pany with Jehovah God and be 
his companion for eternity." 

Pleasures of Drink 

The second speaker, handling 
the subject, "What Are You Liv- 
ing For?— The Pleasures of 
Drink?" acknowledged that the 
matter of drinking intoxicating 
beverages is a personal one. It 
is not condemned in the Bible, 
though overindulgence is. So the 
question is: "Are we living for 
this pleasure and longing day 
by day for the pleasure we get 

19 



as a result of drinking alcoholic 
beverages?" 

Alcoholic beverages can be very 
dangerous, the speaker stressed. 
Therefore, caution should be ex- 
ercised in using them,. The prob- 
lem can arise, he said, that 
drinking becomes a crutch upon 
which a person leans, some- 
thing that he cannot do without. 

The speaker went on to re- 
late truly shocking statistics 
that drove home to the audience 
the dangers of alcoholic bever- 
ages. In Sweden 5,000 persons 
die yearly of illnesses caused by 
alcohol. Also, 24 of 25 prostitutes 
in that land interviewed by a 
researcher admitted that they 
were under the influence of al- 
cohol when they started as pros- 
titutes. 

In France some 22,500 persons 
die each year from cirrhosis of 
the liver and delirium tremens. 
Alcoholism in France ranks as 
the number three killer, after 
heart disease and cancer. 

In the United States there are 
approximately three million al- 
coholics who spend some $7,500,- 
000,000 annually on alcohol ! And 
in Chile, 70 percent of all traffic 
accidents occur as a result of 
alcoholic intoxication. 

No wonder, the speaker con- 
tinued, that the Bible condemns 
drunkenness. ( 1 Cor. 5 :11 ; 6 :9, 
10) It shows the stupidity of 
one who overindulges in alco- 
holic drink.— Prov. 23:29-35. 

So we should examine our- 
selves. "Do you find that you 
desire a drink the first thing in 
the morning?" the speaker asked. 
"Do you find your pleasure in 
living is always to have intoxi- 
cating liquor available, whether 
alone or with others? ... Do 
you find that your only friends 
are those who share your at- 
titude about drinking and that 
your, social gatherings include 
only those who will drink with 
you? . . . Do you view your 
Christian brothers who abstain 
as somewhat stuffy, or overly 
righteous?" 



20 



'PEACE ON EARTH" INTERNATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES 



If this is the case, the speaker 
said, you are either getting into 
difficulty or you are already in 
difficulty. You are rinding that 
your pleasure in life is in drink- 
ing intoxicating beverages. "It is 
time for a change in your think- 
ing and in your habits," he said. 

In conclusion, he pointed his 
audience to the Bible's directive, 
urging them to follow the in- 
spired advice : "Therefore, wheth- 
er you are eating or drinking 
or doing anything else, do all 
things for God's glory."— 1 Cor. 
10 :31. 

Toying with Sexual Immorality 

The third part of the sympo- 
sium was entitled: "What Are 
You Living For? — Opportunities 
to Toy with Sexual Immorality?" 
What is toying with sexual im- 
morality ? 

'To toy,' the speaker explained, 
'means to amuse oneself, as with 
a plaything. So toying with sex- 
ual immorality is playing with 
it without actually committing 
fornication or adultery. It is 
loose conduct.' 

In the. Bible loose conduct is 
condemned, the speaker stressed. 
It is wicked. He read the scrip- 
ture at Galatians 5:19. Here, 
he noted, a distinction is made 
between loose conduct and for- 
nication. But both are shown to 
be activities that bar one from 
everlasting life. Therefore, if 
habitually practiced, loose con- 
duct is a ground for disfellow- 
sfuping from the Christian con- 
gregation. 

How does toying with sexual 
immorality start? The speaker 
observed that there are many 
factors that can lead to it. For 
example, he explained, watching 
immoral movies, reading sexy 
books, looking at pornographic 
literature or listening to obscene 
jokes. 

Also, he said, dating or "going 
steady" when too young to marry 
can lead to loose conduct. So 
can certain types of dancing, es- 
pecially when there is close body 
contact. Another thing that can 
lead to loose conduct is flirting 
or putting one's arms around a 
person of the opposite sex other 
than one's marriage mate. 

Toying with sexual immoral- 
ity, the speaker emphasized, can 
bring upon one tremendous trou- 
ble and grief. He cited the ex- 
ample of a couple, both dedicated 
Christians, who started dating. 



In time they began petting, and 
eventually they started toying 
with each other naked. They re- 
frained from fornication, but she 
became distressed, nervous and 
irritable. She confessed their 
wrongdoing, and both of them 
were put on probation. 

He cited another example of 
a dedicated youth who slept in 
a bed with a worldly boy, a rel- 
ative. They began toying with 
each other, and this led to 
sodomy. He became a habitual 
sodomite and had to be disfel- 
lowshiped from the Christian 
congregation. 

How vital it is therefore, the 
speaker stressed, that circum- 
stances be avoided that might 
lead one into . loose conduct ! 

From offstage the voice of a 
youth was heard : "But Dad, I'm 
16, and she is in the truth. Why 
can't I borrow the car and take 
her to the drive-in theater Sat- 
urday night? I'm not getting se- 
rious about her. And besides, all 
the other kids in school have 
been dating for a couple of years 
already. What's wrong with one 
date?" 

"What about this teen-ager's 
question?" the speaker asked. 
He went on to show that dating 
is not recreation, like playing 
ball. It properly should be done 
with marriage in view. There- 
fore, if one is too young to mar- 
ry, or is not planning to marry, 
why date? 

The speaker concluded by ex- 
horting the audience to avoid 
living for opportunities to toy 
with sexual immorality. Rather, 
keep busy in Jehovah's service, 
he said, and receive his reward. 

Fornication and Adultery 

The next part of the sympo- 
sium, "What Are You Living 
For?— Illicit Satisfaction of For- 
nication and Adultery?" drove 
home to the audience the dan- 
gers in these "last days" of fall- 
ing into immorality. 

'The present system ignores 
Jehovah's standards and does 
not view fornication or adultery 
as illicit, or unlawful,' the speak- 
er said. 'Conditions are just like 
they were prior to the Noachian 
flood.' (Gen. 6:5-8, 11, 12) And, 
lie added, they will continue to 
become worse as we get closer 
to Armageddon. 

So there is a vital need for 
us all to be on guard. To em- 
phasize this he pointed to the 



fact that in the United States 
alone 16,199 persons had been dis- 
fellowshiped for fornication and 
adultery between 1952 and 1968. 
This does not mean that the 
organization is immoral. Not at 
all. Rather, the organization ad- 
vocates morality and expels the 
comparatively few unrepentant 
wrongdoers. 

How does immorality occur? 
Frequently, the speaker observed, 
a. couple meet alone to watch 
a suggestive TV" show, or sit in 
a parked car. They hold hands, 
one thing leads to another, and 
soon they are engaged in heavy 
petting. Passions are aroused, 
control is lost, and fornication 
results. (Prov. 7:6-27) What 
heartache this can lead to ! The 
speaker urged persons not to 
continue in such activity until 
caught, but to confess wrong- 
doing and seek help from Jeho- 
vah's organization. 

A remarkable fact was then 
drawn to the audience's atten- 
tion : More persons were disfel- 
lowshiped for adultery over the 
years than for fornication — 8,861 
compared to 7,338. The speaker 
then pointedly asked: 'Are you 
giving the marital dues to your 
mate?' He explained that, ac- 
cording to some letters received 
by the Society, persons have 
withheld these sexual dues be- 
cause they wanted their mate to 
commit adultery. Such persons 
are not guiltless before Jehovah 
God. 

If anyone makes improper ad- 
vances toward you, the speake?- 
advised, tell that one pointedly 
that you want Jehovah's ap- 
proval, not illicit satisfaction. 

Living for God's New Order 

In the fifth and final portion 
of the symposium, "What Are 
You Living For? — Life in God's 
New Order?" the speaker noted 
that it is clear what we should 
not live for. 

Some may feel, however, that 
by living clean, upright lives 
they are missing out on some- 
thing. This is not so, the speaker 
stressed. 'Christian living brings 
true joy and happiness in living,' 
he said. What is more, one is 
spared the awful pain and sor- 
row that come to those who 
disregard God's Word and re- 
quirements for life. 

The speaker then described the 
blessings that God holds out to 
those who serve him. Think of 



IN ALL PARTS OF THE WORLD IN 1969 



21 



it ! Eternal life in perfect health 
and happiness ! No more sin to 
war in one's body . against the 
mind and heart. Perfect control 
of one's faculties. Yes, provisions 
to satisfy every normal and 
proper desire. 

However, to enjoy all of this 
and much more, the speaker not- 
ed, we must live upright, moral 
lives. We cannot be led astray. 
Are not eternal life and end- 
less blessings from God worth 
making every effort to do His 
will? Are they not worth even 
cutting out of our life what may 
be as dear to us as an eye or 
hand if this interferes with our 
obeying God's requirements? the 
speaker asked. Most certainly ! 
—Matt. 5:29, 30; 1 Cor. 9:24-27. 

To obtain the prize of life 



by a forty-minute program that 
was designed to encourage and 
strengthen overseers to care for 
problems that at times may arise. 

In a brief opening talk the 
chairman noted the organiza- 
tion's progress in purity of doc- 
trine and practice. In 1938, he 
said, theocratic procedure was 
fully established. Then, in the 
early 1950's, The Watchtower 
for the first time dealt exten- 
sively with the matter of a clean 
organization. It set forth the 
principles and the methods by 
which to keep the organization 
clean. 

Since that time, the chairman 
observed, the increase has been 
phenomenal. And many, many 
more thousands are leaving false 
religion and flocking into .Jeho- 




Unity was restored to congregation in Corinth when 
needed counsel was given by the apostle Paul 



in God's new order, the speaker 
urged, prove your sincerity by 
learning the divine law now and 
living by it. Choose upright, 
moral associates, those who will 
be in the New Order. Whole- 
heartedly share in the ministry, 
really making God's service fill 
your life. 

Remember, he concluded, each 
one will reap as he has sown. If 
you sow to the flesh, you will 
reap death. If you sow to the 
spirit, eternal life in God's new 
order will be your reward ! 

Overseers, Garry On as Men 

' The hour-and-three-quarters, 
five-part symposium was followed 



vah's organization. This places 
a heavy responsibility upon ap- 
pointed overseers and their as- 
sistants to keep the congrega- 
tions morally and spiritually 
clean and in God's favor. 
■ As a result, it was noted, an 
overseer sometimes becomes dis- 
couraged and downhearted, when 
confronted by a number of prob- 
lems. "But, brothers, this should 
not be our attitude," the chair- 
man said. To illustrate the mat- 
ter, he invited the audience to 
look in on a meeting of the 
congregation servants with the 
circuit servant and district ser- 
vant at a circuit assembly. 
During this meeting, portrayed 



on stage, the attention of the 
congregation overseer, Brother 
Downhearted, was directed by 
the district servant to the Chris- 
tian congregation at Corinth. It 
was shown that the apostle Paul 
had many problems to deal with 
in that congregation, including 
dissensions, sexual immorality, 
brothers having lawsuits against 
one another, failure to recognize 
Christian headship, eating meats 
sacrificed to idols, improper par- 
taking of the Lord's evening 
meal, disputes about the resur- 
rection, and so forth. 

The district servant then sug- 
gested looking in. on a first-cen- 
tury setting. So, as the modern- 
day overseers watched, persons 
portraying members of the early 
Corinthian congregation were ob- 
served discussing some of these 
matters causing trouble in the 
congregation. 

For example, one Corinthian 
brother was heard to say : "Well, 
this case of Clopas here in our 
congregation. It's disgusting! To 
think, he's taken his own father's 
wife and he's living with her." 

However, another brother in 
the congregation, reasoning im- 
properly, responded: "It just 
shows how great our Christian 
freedom is." 

Sharply differing opinions al- 
so were expressed over other 
matters, such as the propriety 
of buying meat from a market 
that obtained its meat from a 
pagan temple. 

The apostle Paul many miles 
away heard about these prob- 
lems, and he wrote the congre- 
gation the letter of First Co- 
rinthians. The next scene showed 
the fine response among these 
Corinthian brothers to this let- 
ter. They accepted the divine 
counsel and responded to it. 

After seeing this portrayal of 
the problems existing in the 
first-century Corinthian congre- 
gation and how they were han- 
dled, Brother Downhearted was 
strengthened. He could see that 
they had many more problems 
than he did in his own congre- 
gation. Yet Paul did not become 
discouraged by them. He handled 
them with trust in Jehovah God. 

Really, what practical, up- 
building information this was for 
the benefit of modern-day over- 
seers ! It truly was encourage- 
ment for them to carry on as 
men. 



Branch Servants Assemble 



During the first week In June 
branch servants and their assis- 
tants began arriving at Brooklyn 
Bethel from the far-flung parts 
of the earth. On June 6 alone 
over fifty of them landed at 
Kennedy International Airport, 
In time, 133 representatives were 
on hand from over 90 branches 
for the beginning of a special 
four -week course of instruction 
on June 9. 

They had come from all con- 
tinents and many islands of the 
seas. Those from such places 
as India, Thailand, Pakistan, 
Ceylon, Indonesia and Singapore 
traveled halfway around the 
globe to be present. Others had 
come from the distant reaches 
of the Southern Hemisphere — 
Australia, New Zealand, Argen- 
tina, Chile and South Africa. 
In all, they had traveled a com- 
bined total of nearly three- 
quarters of a million miles ' 

What a happy reunion it was 
for these brothers to assemble 
again at headquarters ! Many of 
them had been present for a 
similar instruction program prior 
to the 1958 Divine Will Inter- 
national Assembly. Also, the 
majority had attended one of 
the ten-month Gilead courses at 
headquarters in the early 1960's. 
So there were many acquaint- 
ances to renew, as well as ex- 
panded facilities of the factory 
and home to examine. 

The school opened on Mon- 
day morning, June 9, with Broth- 
er Knorr's talk on the subject 
"Qualifications and Responsibil- 
ities of Branch Servants." In 
it he explained that the purpose 



| of the course was to equip those 

I present to care for the spiritual 

I needs of the "sheep" in their 

countries. This was followed by 

the discussion "Older Men Who 

Preside in a Eight Way." 

In the course of the four weeks 
practically every aspect of work 
in connection with operating a 
branch and facilitating the 
preaching work was considered. 
For example, on the first day 
George Couch, the Brooklyn 
Bethel Home Servant, discussed 
housekeeping, laundry, purchas- 
ing, maintenance, cost of meals, 
and so forth. This was followed 
by a tour of the Bethel homes. 
During the remainder of the 
first week, headquarters person- 
nel gave helpful suggestions on 
handling mail, checking sub- 
scriptions, corresponding with 
circuit and district servants, 
keeping magazine accounts, ear- 
ing for regular and vacation pio- 
neer applications, and so forth. 
Members of the writing depart- 
ment gave suggestions on an- 
swering branch correspondence. 
And Brother Knorr talked on 
where to print magazines, mail- 
ing costs and the cost of sub- 
scriptions. 

The second week was a dupli- 
cation of the week-long course 
provided in May for all circuit 
and district servants in the 
United States. The branch ser- 
vants were asked to take careful 
notes on this Instructive pro- 
gram, especially if they wished 
to institute this program in their 
own country when they return. 
During the third week an en- 



tire day was devoted to con- 
sidering zone servants' visits. 
Another day was spent discuss- 
ing missionary service and spe- 
cial pioneer work. And on still 
another day suggestions were 
considered on developing good 
programs for congregation meet- 
ings and for circuit and district 
assemblies. 

Early in the final week con- 
centration was placed on cov- 
erage of territory, and especially 
preaching the good news under 
difficult conditions. Finally, on 
July 4, Brother Knorr spoke on 
the subject "What Lies Ahead" 
and offered concluding com- 
ments. He urged the servants 
to put into operation the sug- 
gestions given at these meetings, 
and encouraged all to build up 
the brothers spiritually to ac- 
complish the work yet to be done. 

The program was greatly ap- 
preciated by the branch servants 
and their assistants. "What I 
liked about the course," observed 
Charles Eisenhower, branch ser- 
vant of Argentina, "was the em- 
phasis placed upon getting the 
Kingdom message preached. It 
was repeatedly stressed that the 
work in the branch offices simply 
contributes to this objective." 

Various ones also commented 
on the note of urgency sounded. 
The branch servant of Curacao, 
Russell Yeatts, pointed to Broth- 
er Knorr's comment, that 1975 
simply marks what may be 6,000 
years since Adam's creation. But 
it does not necessarily mean the 
end of this system will come 
by then, he said. Therefore, we 
should not and will not slow 
down or stop planning for fur- 
ther expansion of the preaching 
work. 



sr, 



.* 



Branch servants and missionaries leaving Belgium 

99 



J Belgium on chartered flight to New York 

22 



Pursuing Peace 



m 



MAUIi^ZfliyiBl 



Early on the first day of the 
assembly It was a pleasure to 
hear about the faithfulness of 
our brothers In Malawi and 
Zambia. 

In Malawi the government 
banned the work of Jehovah's 
witnesses in October 1967. A 
wave of terrorism followed. 

It was claimed by the Minister 
of Transport that Jehovah's wit- 
nesses would not pay taxes. And 
the Attorney General and Sec- 
retary to the President said 
that Jehovah's witnesses, showed 
antipathy toward self-help proj- 
ects in the country. But what 
are the facts ? 

The speaker explained : "Je- 
hovah's witnesses have always 
paid their taxes in Malawi. 
When the government was asked 
to give Instances of those who 
had not paid their taxes they 
were unable to do so. Also, a 
report received from the brothers 
in Malawi listed over 500 exam- 
ples of various self-help schemes 
that Jehovah's witnesses have 
assisted on over the past five or 
six years, building schools, post 
offices, roads, helping on new dis- 
pensaries, and even building 
bridges. So none of these accu- 
sations were true." 

"The real truth of the matter," 
the speaker continued, "was that 
Jehovah's witnesses were being 
persecuted for refusing to buy 
political party cards," In one 
instance when two brothers re- 
fused to buy these cards, he 
said, "they were both literally 
chopped to death with an ax." 

Describing recent opposition, 
the speaker said: "In November 
1968, at the villages of Garnett 
and Mambala, some sisters were 
tied, stripped and raped because 
they had no party cards." 

Political elements in Malawi 
certainly are not pursuing peace 
toward Jehovah's witnesses. But 
what about the response of Je- 
hovah's witnesses? The assembly 
delegate reported : 

"Despite all this maltreatment 
Jehovah's witnesses in Malawi 



are pursuing peace with their 
brothers and with their neigh- 
bors in Malawi. Not one has 
been arrested for retaliating or 
taking the law into his own 
hands. The brothers in Malawi 
are standing firm for the good 
news." 

It was explained that the 
Society has kept the congrega- 
tions, supplied with copies of 
The Watchtoioer, and visits by 
the circuit servants are continu- 
ing. Also, material provisions 
were contributed by brothers 
around the world to the amount 
of $98,400, and this was used 
to purchase hundreds of thou- 
sands of pounds of foodstuffs 
and clothing for the Malawian 
brothers. 

What about conditions in Zam- 
bia? "Opposition began to build," 
the speaker explained, "due to 
the firm stand by young Chris- 
tians in school who refused to 



sing the national anthem and 
salute the national flag. As many 
as 5,700 were expelled from 
school for this reason." Further 
persecution was sparked by the 
refusal of Jehovah's witnesses 
to take part in political elections 
or buy political party cards. Re- 
cent reports indicate that as 
many as 100 Kingdom Halls have 
been burned and close to 1,000 
houses of the brothers destroyed. 

Have the brothers in Zambia 
pursued peace under these cir- 
cumstances? The speaker report- 
ed : "Jehovah's witnesses have 
not retaliated under these at- 
tacks nor have any of them been 
arrested for taking the law into 
their own hands. This has been 
so outstanding that the com- 
manding officer in one of the 
troubled areas made the state- 
ment : 'As far as peacefulness 
is concerned, Jehovah's witnesses 
are outstanding.' " 

What a fine example our 
brothers in Zambia are setting ! 
And how Jehovah's blessing has 
been upon them ! "In spite of 
the opposition and pressures," 
observed the speaker, "a new 
peak of 44,658 publishers was 
reached in April, a 20-percent 
increase over last year's average. 
This means there is now one 
witness to every 92 of the popu- 
lation of Zambia." 



Growth in Face of Obstacles 



In a number of countries there 
are obstacles of one kind or 
another to carrying on the 
preaching work. Yet it is mar- 
velous how, with the help of 
Jehovah's spirit, these are over- 
come, and the growth in King- 
dom publishers moves ahead 
unchecked. 

"What would your personal 
reaction be if the Christian 
society of Jehovah's witnesses 
were denied legal recognition by 
your government, and if King- 
dom Halls-— for publicly praising 
God by word and song — were not 
permitted?" This is the situation 
in Spain, noted an assembly 
delegate. Nevertheless, the num- 
ber of Kingdom publishers has 
grown from less than a dozen 
following the second world war 
to 8,255 fearless Kingdom preach- 
ers now praising Jehovah in 
Spain! 

What a close parallel to the 
rapid growth of the early Chris- 

23 



tian congregation in the face of 
obstacles ! The assembly delegate 
drew attention to this, saying: 
"Just like Jesus' apostles when 
the authorities tried to impede 
their ministry, Spain's publish- 
ers have replied : 'As for us, we 
cannot stop speaking about the 
things we have seen and heard.' 

"For this reason, 13,620 studies 
are presently being conducted 
with persons interested in the 
Bible's message. Packed meetings 
held on a small scale in private 
homes average an attendance of 
140 percent in relation to the 
number of publishers. And at- 
tendance at the Memorial of the 
Lord's death reached 21,249." 

The obstacles faced in Portugal 
are similar, yet the growth en- 
joyed has been as marvelous as 
in neighboring Spain. "In Por- 
tugal there are no Kingdom 
Halls," the delegate representing 
that country explained. "There 
are no large gatherings for cir- 



24 



'PEACE ON EARTH" INTERNATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES 



cuit assemblies and association. 
But the work goes on unhindered. 
Jehovah's spirit is equal to any 
situation." 

Giving an idea of the mar- 
velous growth in Kingdom pub- 
lishers, the delegate said: "Por- 
tugal has been thrilled to report 
a new publisher peak every 
month of this service year. In 
April we had an extraordinary 
report of 40-percent increase over 
last year. Now there are 6,037 
Kingdom publishers in Portugal. 
But that's not all. There was 
a new peak of 8,369 Bible studies 
this year. What a wonderful har- 
vest lies before us!" 

To illustrate the changing atti- 
tudes of persons in Portugal, 
the experience was related of a 
very opposed lady who told two 
of our sisters : "I'm a Boman 
Catholic and your visit is an 
insult. I'm telling you right now 
that I'm going to phone the police 
station across the road and ask 
them to come and pick you up." 
The door was slammed, and be- 
fore the sisters could leave the 
apartment, the police were there 
to arrest them. 

Later, however, this Catholic 
lady was deeply shaken by things 
occurring within the church. 
Finally, she decided to invite into 
the home the next Witness that 
called. Shortly after, two dif- 
ferent sisters called on her. A 
home Bible study was started. In 
a matter of several months, the 
lady symbolized her dedication 
to Jehovah by water baptism. 
How thrilled she was to have 
present on this occasion the two 
sisters whom she previously had 
caused to be arrested! ' 

When we hear of Yugoslavia 
we perhaps think of Communist 
control arid the Iron Curtain. 
However, explained an assembly 
delegate, "Yugoslavia does in- 
deed make an exception in the 
Communist world. Our brothers 
there enjoy a considerable free- 
dom." 

"It is true," the speaker con- 
tinued, 'we cannot work from 
house to house, but nonetheless 
the brothers are very active. 
They put in just as many hours 
in the service as do the brothers 
In Western countries. They have 
their own Kingdom Halls in 
many places where they can meet 
freely. They also give public lec- 
tures the same as In other coun- 
tries. And for some time we 
have been showing two films of 



the Society in dozens of places 
throughout Yugoslavia.* 

A high point of the past ser- 
vice year was when 1,800 broth- 
ers from Yugoslavia attended a 
district assembly in Austria. 
However, even more of them will 
attend the assembly In Nurem- 
berg in August 1969. There 
sessions will be held in both 
Croatian and Slovenian for their 
benefit. 

What about the preaching of 
the good news in Greece? 'It 
Is carried out with great zeal 
and with endurance,' the as- 
sembly delegate reported. Is it 
an easy task? "Hardly!" was the 
response. Are there obstacles? 
"Many !" was the answer. Espe- 
cially is there opposition by the 
clergy. Can assemblies be held? 
"No !" What about congregation 
meetings? "Oh, yes," the dele- 
gate answered again, "but in 



small groups and In limited 
numbers !" 

Yet, despite the obstacles faced 
in doing the preaching work in 
Greece, the "sheep" are being 
gathered. "Here is what the 
figures show," the delegate ex- 
plained, "1950, total publishers 
2,676; 1960, total publishers 
7,337; 1969, April peak of pub- 
lishers 13,194!" 

In Turkey, too, there are ob- 
stacles. Perhaps the greatest one 
is the fact that 99 percent of the 
population is Moslem. "Preach- 
ing to a Moslem is not easy," it 
was explained, "because he con- 
siders the Koran as the last 
revelation of God, and therefore 
superior to the Bible. So the big 
question has always been : Would 
a Moslem ever accept the truth?" 

Happily, the answer is, Yes! 
For today in Turkey there are 
more than 100 publishers who 
were formerly Moslems. 




There are now 87,919 of Je- 
hovah's witnesses in just ten 
countries of West Africa. An in- 
dication of the impact of the 
Kingdom message on the people 
is seen in this year's Memorial 
attendance for these countries 
— 201,155. So there are fine pros- 
pects for even further expansion 
in West Africa. 

In Sierra Leone Jehovah's wit- 
nesses are well known. During 
a group discussion of the growth 
in West Africa, it was reported: 
'It's not unusual as you walk 
down the street in Freetown, the 
country's capital, to be stopped 
and asked if you have any new 
books. The New World Transla- 
tion is found in practically every 
home and frequently we even 
find worldly people reading and 
discussing the day's text from 
the Yearbook.' 

When the question was raised 
as to whether persons are really 
absorbing the spiritual food 
found in the literature, the 
speaker answered : 

"Well, when you find hun- 
dreds of people walking through 
the African bush ten to fifteen 



miles to attend a congregational 
meeting, isn't that an indication 
that folks are really appreciat- 
ing the Society's publications? 
That's what is happening in 
many parts of the country. In 
fact, our attendance at the 
Watohtower study in relation to 
the total publishers in Sierra 
Leone is now 155 percent." 

The eagerness of new ones to 
learn is illustrated by the ex- 
perience of the householder who 
desired a personal copy of a 
Truth book to study. Since sup- 
plies of these were exhausted, 
explained the speaker, the pub- 
lisher suggested that if she 
really, desired a copy she might 
go from house to house and lo- 
cate one. This is exactly what 
the householder did, finally find- 
ing a person who was willing to 
part with a copy, which she pur- 
chased for herself. 



IN ALL PARTS OF THE WORLD IN 1969 



25 



In Ghana, an assembly dele- 
gate reported, a large Protestant 
agency asked thousands of per- 
sons throughout the country : 
"What religious magazines have 
you read in the last four 
weeks?" It came as quite a 
shock to them to find that more 
people in Ghana read The 
Watchtower and Awake I than 
those who read any other reli- 
gious magazine. In fact, it was 
discovered that over 40 percent 
of all religious magazines dis- 
tributed in the country are The 
Watchtower and Awake! 

This moved the agency to write 
in its official two- volume report : 
'This represents a challenge. It 
is a pity our church members 
Cannot exhibit the same zeal as 
Jehovah's witnesses in distribut- 
ing religious literature.' 

Thus, it was reported: "Every- 
where one turns in Ghana the 
impact of Jehovah's witnesses 
can be felt and thousands have 
been flooding into our Kingdom 
Halls. In April we had a 22- 
percent ; increase. We are now 
12,678 strong and still moving 
vigorously forward." 

Near Ghana is Dahomey-, 
where the number of publishers 
has doubled in the past sis 
years. Fetish priests have op- 
posed the preaching of Jehovah's 
witnesses. They caused so much 
disturbance, even threatening 
bloodshed, that the Government 
found it necessary to arrange a 
meeting at which both fetish 
priests and representatives of 
Jehovah's witnesses appeared be- 
fore them. The district governor 
asked the priests: "Why are you 
so much against Jehovah's wit- 
nesses but you are not against 
the other religions here?" 

The priests answered : "Be- 
cause when people become Jeho- 
vah's witnesses they throw away 
their fetish gods and refuse to 
practice our religion with us. 
They separate from us. None of 
the other religions do this." 

Later, even the governor said 
to one of the representatives of 
Jehovah's witnesses : "We hope 
you will convert all these people. 
Then we will have peace!" 

How thrilling the report was 
concerning the expansion in the 
next country, Nigeria ! Practical- 
ly everyone in the world is ac- 
quainted with the civil war rag- 
ing there between Nigerian and 
Biafran forces. Yet, during all 
this trouble, the number of 



Kingdom publishers has in- 
creased in Nigeria by about 
20,000 since the trouble started. 
A delegate reported how the war 
has affected our brothers in Ni- 
geria : 

"Naturally, some have been 
killed and thousands have lost 
their homes and possessions, but 
in general Jehovah has marvel- 
ously protected the brothers. Our 
brothers remain loyal, united, and 
maintain strict neutrality re- 
gardless of their tribe or where 
they happen to live. Our neutral 
stand is known by the highest 
officials on both sides. As a re- 
sult people can see the difference 
between the neutrality of Jeho- 
vah's witnesses, compared with 
the meddling and political in- 
volvement of Christendom's cler- 
gy. Multitudes are turning to us 
because they see that we alone 
have the message of peace and 
hope." 

It was also noted that in 
April a peak of 50,590 publishers 
was reached, and that 109,370 
attended the Memorial. And this 
does not include the report from 
Biafra. Actually only limited in- 
formation is received from the 
publishers there. The assembly 
delegate made these interesting 
comments about them : 

"There are thousands of Wit- 
nesses living in refugee camps 
and hiding in the 'forests, but 
they are preaching. Somehow 
they manage to hold the meet- 
ings, even circuit assemblies at 
which they baptize many new 
ones. They greatly appreciate the 
food you sent to them to relieve 



their sufferings. More than seven 
thousand report field service 
regularly. They were so thrilled 
to have 12,798 attend the Memo- 
rial over there. Here is a mes- 
sage from them : 'We are united 
with you in worship. Pray for 
us as we do for you. We are 
longing for the time when we 
shall be able to meet together 
again.' " 

Farther down the Atlantic 
coast of West Africa is Came- 
roun. Here the expansion of the 
Kingdom work is truly marvel- 
ous. In.Douala, the largest city, 
which has a population of 150,- 
000, there are 2,500 brothers 
grouped into 32 congregations. 
One out of every 60 persons is 
a Witness for Jehovah in the 
city of Douala ! Can you imag- 
ine the effect of having so many 
brothers so closely packed to- 
gether? 

The assembly delegate reported 
about this : "Being in such close 
contact with the Witnesses, we 
find that the daily vocabulary 
of worldly people is beginning 
to include theocratic expressions. 
We are having an impact on 
their language. For example, a 
bank teller, who is not a Wit- 
ness, addresses me as 'Brother,' 
and asks how the 'brothers' are 
at the branch office. . . . 

"Just recently, while buying 
food at the market from a Wit- 
ness that sells there, a man 
next to him said to me : 'Do 
you only buy from your brother? 
Couldn't, you also buy from us 
Babylonians sometimes?' " 




Branch servants discuss reports to be given at assembly 





^^m^MiM 



Revelation, a part of the in- 
spired good news, was written 
on an island called Patmos. And 
the early Christians preached the 
good news on many islands, such 
as Cyprus, Sicily and Malta. To- 
day, too, the people on ever so 
many islands are hearing the 
good news. 

A speaker representing Puerto 
Rico told that the past April saw 
a 22-percent increase, with 5,247 
publishers in the field. Among 
those hearing the good news is 
a man who came to the branch 
office and said : "I have come to 
a crisis in my life and can see 
that there is nothing in the 
Church. 1 am an ^Episcopalian 
priest and have already sent in 
my resignation to the Bishop. 
The only thing that makes sense 
to me and that gives me hope 
is the Watchtower magazine." 
He subscribed for the Watch- 
tower and Awake ! magazines and 
obtained the Truth book. In a 
few days he returned and said 
he had read the book and wanted 
the 'Impossible to Lie' and the 
Life Everlasting books. 

A report from Guadeloupe told 
of the fine impression Jehovah's 
people are making on outsiders. 
When needing some large con- 
struction equipment for building 
their Kingdom Hall the brothers 
went to a contractor. He not only 
loaned the equipment free of 
charge but added: "I tell you, if 
everybody in Guadeloupe could 
be one of Jehovah's witnesses, 
we would not know all the 
troubles we have now." 

The brother speaking for Bar- 
bados also called attention to the 
good name Jehovah's witnesses 
have there. When arranging a 
charter aircraft to bring 108 of 
the 1,200 publishers to the New 
York assembly, there was the 
problem of getting visitors' visas 



for all the brothers. These can 
be difficult to obtain because so 
many do not return when their 
visa expires, but illegally remain 
in the States. However, the 
American "Embassy freely issued 
visas to all the brothers attending 
the assembly — the first time this 
was ever done. 

The report from Trinidad told 
that as far back as 1919 there 
were 214 attending the Memorial 
in the capital, Port of Spain. 
Now there are more than 2,000 
causing the truth to be heard 
there, a ratio of one to every 
450 of the population. 

The good news is also being 
heard in Jamaica. There was 
such a demand for the Evolution 
and Truth books on this island 
that publishers were loaning out 
their own copies and parents 
were placing their own children's 
copies with interested persons. 
Jamaica has one publisher to 
every 350 persons, for a total of 
5,743 publishers, and more than 
10,000 heard the good news at 
the Memorial. 

"A spiritual paradise" is the 
way the speaker representing the 
Netherlands Antilles described 
the condition of the Witnesses in 
Hie A, B, C islands, Aruba, Bon- 
aire and Curagao, located off 
the coast of Venezuela.' These 
islands have been in the news 
lately because of the rioting, 
looting and burning on the is- 
land of Curacao, even the bishop's 
house being burned down. In one 
town so few people at times 
come for mass that the priest 
sends word that he is too tired 
to say mass. But while the 
churches are getting empty the 
Kingdom Halls are overflowing 
with people. 

An island from a far different 
part of the world, Okinawa, was 
also heard from. To what extent 

26 



this island is hearing the geod 
news can be seen from the fact 
that, while in 1951 there were 
but 5 publishers on the island, 
this April they had a peak of 
372, a 29-percent increase over 
last year's average. And there 
were 827 present at the Memorial, 
two and a half times their 
total publishers. 

In spite of certain obstacles 
the good news is being heard 
in Cuba by ever more persons. 
True, many of the Kingdom 
Halls have been closed, and in 
one province only ten halls are 
open for 200 congregations. But 
in Havana there are 40 Kingdom 
Halls where meetings are freely 
held, and the branch office con- 
tinues to operate there. In one 
month as many as 2,000 shared 
in the vacation pioneer work. 

Obtaining literature, it was re- 
ported, is the real problem, as 
it cannot be sent into Cuba by 
mail in quantity. Some receive in- 
dividual copies, which they gladly 
share with others. On one oc- 
casion, w T ith the help of a friend- 
ly official, it was even possible 
to print chapters of the Truth 
book on Communist presses. But 
now, for the most part, brothers 
have to copy the material by 
hand or by typewriter. 

The good news is also being 
heard by increasing numbers in 
the Dominican Republic, where 
for so long the work was under 
ban. But because of maintaining 
their neutrality the brothers are 
enjoying great freedom today and 
the work is moving ahead rapid- 
ly. In 1964 there was a peak of 
1,450 publishers, and now, just 
five years later, a peak of 3,052. 

From the report given about 
the preaching work in Haiti, it 
is obvious that the good news 
is being heard there too. This 
is especially apparent from the 
meeting attendance, which is 
usually from three to four times 
the number of publishers. In one 
congregation with 10 publishers, 
it was reported, the average 
public meeting attendance is 
more than 100, and for the cir- 
cuit servant's public talk 400 
were present! One Catholic 
priest, from Limonade, said to 
his flock : "Do you want to know 
what genuine Christianity is? I 
am sincere enough to tell you. 
Exactly as Jehovah's witnesses 
are doing, yes, this is really true 
Christianity." He too, had heard 
the good news! 



THE INDEPENDENT ONE HAS GRIEF 



Well has Jesus' parable of the prodigal son been termed the 
finest short story ever told. This heartwarming parable came to 
life- in the drama "Thorns and ..Traps Are in the Way of the 
Independent One." On the one 
hand, this drama underscored 
the folly of those who pursue 
an independent course and, 
on the other hand, it showed 
how mature Christians can 
help recover those yho take 
such an independent course. 

The first scene opened show- 
ing Mr. and Mrs. Waywardson, 
the independent ones who had 
started studying with Jehovah's 
witnesses some twenty years ago, 
but only for a short period of 
time. Though now prosperous, 
they were very unhappy. There 
was complaining about taxes, 
about the demands of union em- 
ployees and about other busi- 
ness problems. "I feel like I'm 
caught in a trap," Mr. Way- 
wardson said. The course of ma- 
terialism had not brought them 
joy. 

Then the doorbell rang, and 
who Should be calling but Mr. 
and Mrs. Strongheart, whom 
they had not seen in years! 
They also had started to study 
with the Witnesses twenty years 
ago but had continued on to 
dedication and spiritual matu- 
rity. Now active in the circuit 
work, they were very happy. In 
the course of their conversation 
Mr. Strongheart endeavored to 
revive the interest of the Way- 
wardsons in a study of God's 
Word. He noted that there was 
an analogy between their course 
and that of the prodigal son of 
Jesus' parable. 



Prodigal Son Parable 

Scenes two to four presented 
the parable of the prodigal son 
in Biblical costumes. Scene Two 
strikingly portrayed the differ- 
ence between two sons of a cer- 
tain man: The older was happy 
and contented to work for his 
father, but the independent 
younger son chafed at - his fa- 
ther's supervision. Selfish and 
self-willed, he wanted to leave 
home. Remonstrances by his old- 
er brother, his father and by 
a faithful hired servant were 
all in vain^ -Since he was deter- 
mined to go his independent way, 



his father counseled him and 
then granted him his request for 
his share of the family inheri- 
tance. 

Scene Three forcefully yet 
sympathetically presented the 
miserable and wretched condi- 
tion into which the independent 
younger son had come. Having 
spent all his money in loose 
living and there being a famine 
in the land, he was driven to 
caring for pigs and subsisting 
on the carob pods that the pigs 
ate. Greatly bemoaning his lot, 
he came to his, senses, decided 
to return to his father, beg his 
forgiveness and offer to work 
for him as a hired laborer. 

Scene Four showed the loving 
father first receiving bad news 
regarding his son and then see- 
ing him in the distance return- 
ing. Upon the son's arrival the 
father welcomed him with open 
arms and ordered a feast to be 
prepared to celebrate his return. 
The older son heard about this 
and resented all this welcoming 
of his wayward independent 
brother. The scene ended with 
the father pleading with the old- 
er son to join in the festivities. 

Benefiting from the Parable 

Scene Five reverted to the 
modern setting, with Will Strong- 
heart explaining the parable. He 
showed that the two sons pic- 
tured two groups of people : the 
older son, those of the anointed 
with heavenly hopes; the youn- 
ger son, those who did not appre- 
ciate spiritual things but inde- 
pendently wanted to have their 
own way. This way of indepen- 
dence was bound to come -to 
grief, even as Proverbs 22 :5 
puts it : "Thorns and traps are 
in the way of the crooked one." 
There just is no escaping the 
outworking of Bible principles ! 

But now, Will Strongheart 
pointed out, God, as indicated 
at Revelation 8:17 and Malachi 
3 :7, is calling on these to be- 
come aware of their spiritually 
wretched condition and to re- 
turn to Him. All this was shown 
to apply to the situation in which 

27 



the Waywardsons found them- 
selves. This counsel proved to 
be clear and convincing and 
struck a responsive chord in the 
Waywardsons, who decided to 
return to God's organization and 
never again "doubt Jehovah's 
love and mercy," as Mr. Way- 
wardson put it. 

The fact that the father of 
the prodigal went out to meet 
the repentant one with open 
arms has a significance for us 
who rejoice to be slaves of the 
Most High. We, too, can go out 
to those of this class, even search 
them out, and extend to them 
an offer of warm fellowship 
within the congregation of God. 

Never Too Busy to Pray 

Previous to this drama's pre- 
sentation the audience heard the 
Bible talk, "Never Too Busy to 
Pray." It was a most timely 
discussion in view of the im- 
portance of prayer and the ten- 
dency to neglect it because of 
the modern rush of things. The 
speaker stressed its importance 
in keeping ' spiritually alive and 
avoiding temptations. He also 
told of the need to teach others 
to pray and how to go about it, 
the necessity of finding time each 
day for prayer and that prayer 
aids Christians. 

The speaker emphasized that 
there are great tests of faith 
that each one must face. Some 
of those tests are part of our 
daily lives now; others are yet 
to come. Prayer can help us 
to be pvercomers. Jehovah hears 
the prayers of his servants. 

"Ministering in a Fine Manner" 

This talk immediately fol- 
lowed. In it the speaker pointed 
out that ministering in a fine 
manner includes proper conduct, 
neat personal appearance, pre- 
sentable literature and keeping 
an accurate record. He especially 
stressed the need of being men- 
tally and spiritually prepared; 
for example, being well prepared 
to refer to Bible texts and spe- 
cific paragraphs in literature that 
will arrest attention. In conclu- 
sion he noted the importance of 
right motives if one hopes to 
have a fruitful ministry. 



<vs 



Tf* Q- *P",W! 



?13 i r 






4 ; . 



■if. 



"You know, I wouldn't have 
anybody but Jehovah's witnesses 
in my home," exclaimed an 
eighty-one-year-old nurse in Buf- 
falo, N.Y. Then she recalled the 
times when Witnesses stayed 
with her in the past : "Why, 
when they left, it felt like the 
angels had left !" 

Similar rewarding experiences 
were had by thousands of 
brothers as they shared in the 
mammoth search for rooms in 
the various convention cities. 
Real sacrifices were made in 
order to perform this service of 
love. Why, in many locations 
five to ten or more hours of 
searching were needed, on the 
average, to secure, each accom- 
modation ! 

One New York sister spent 
fifty hours persistently searching 
for rooms before she finally lo- 
cated some. Another sister did 
not cease her search even though 
she had to go to the hospital. 
From there she telephoned 
friends and neighbors and ex- 
plained the urgent need for 
rooms. She obtained four ac- 
commodations — from her hospi- 
tal bed! And one member in the 
Brooklyn Bethel family took half 
of her annual vacation so as to 
have a greater part in the vital 
search. 

In London, the eighty-one con- 
gregations and five hundred 
pioneers were putting forth a 
notable effort, but it was evident 
that more workers were needed. 
So another two hundred pioneers 
from all parts of the country 
were invited to share in rooming 
work for three months prior to 
the assembly. They gave up 
their part-time jobs and spent 
150 hours a" month looking for 
rooms, knowing that the target 
figure was 50,000 accommoda : 
tions. 

The requests that came in to 
Atlanta were so much beyond 
expectations — skyrocketing to a 
thousand a day — that more than 
9,000 had to be returned. Since 
there were not facilities to seat 
all who wanted to come, those 
north of the Ohio River and 
west of the Mississippi were 
asked to try to attend other 
assemblies. Still, eighty congre- 
gations in a hundred-square-mile 



area around Atlanta searched 
and re-searched for rooms to ac- 
commodate their spiritual broth- 
ers. 

Large-Scale Success 

The results of persistent ef- 
forts in many cities often soared 
above expectations. A publisher 
in New York spoke with one 
young woman who said she did 
not have any rooms to list. When 
the urgency of the need was 
stressed, the woman mentioned 
that the sister might contact the 
superintendent at her university, 
since there were some dormitories 
vacant during the summer 
months. The sister followed up 
the lead and eventually the room- 
ing department was able to ar- 
range for 200 accommodations 
at the university! 

A Witness who was graduated 
from West Georgia College was 
able to aid the Atlanta rooming 
department to secure the use of 
five dormitories, involving 795 
accommodations. For the same 
assembly, officials at the Uni- 
versity of Georgia arranged for 
four buildings that would provide 
for over five hundred conven- 
tioners. But things did not stop 
there ! They also offered one floor 
of a new air-conditioned dormi- 
tory and worked to complete 
renovations on others that would 
bring the total to over 1,200 ac- 
commodations.- Next, on his own, 
one of the officials contacted a 
private housing authority and 
secured space for 450 more. 
Similar cooperation in Canada 
by officials at the University of 
British Columbia resulted in pro- 
visions for more than a thousand 
delegates. 

In many places the question 
arose as to how far outside the 
.convention city delegates would 
need to room. But at Vancouver 
the question might well have 
been, 'How high?' Many brothers 
delighted in the answer, for they 
had rooms in a ski club chalet 
situated at the 4,000-foot level 
of beautiful Mount Seymour. 
From this vantage point, just a 
25-minute drive from the sta- 
dium, the conventioners could de- 
rive pleasure from a panoramic 
view and yet have easy access to 
the assembly. 

28 



As had been hoped, large num- 
bers of accommodations were 
found in hotels and motels, but 
this too involved a great deal 
of work and organization. For 
instance, away back in August' 
1968 workers in London began 
to visit all hotels in the conven- 
tion area to make block reserva- 
tions for thousands of delegates. 

The rooming committee re- 
served a block of 1,200 rooms in 
one New York hotel and 1,000 
in another. Especially satisfying, 
too, was the fact that these were 
at unusually low rates. When 
brothers wrote directly to these 
hotels, their requests were re- 
ferred to the rooming committee. 
However, in some convention 
cities delegates who wrote per- 
sonally to hotels and motels had 
to pay higher rates than those 
arranged for by the brothers. 

A motel manager in Georgia 
listed 90 percent of his rooms for 
the brothers, and on top of that 
he moved out of his own apart- 
ment to make it available. One 
sales manager from a large motel 
near convention headquarters in 
Buffalo stopped by and was 
amazed at the work done in the 
rooming office in arranging for 
accommodations. 

Hospitable People 

Many, many hospitable people 
kindly opened their homes to the 
delegates. A Catholic man did 
not want to hear about the 
teachings of the Witnesses, yet 
he said that even his priest had 
commented on their good con- 
duct. Then the pioneer who was 
speaking with him explained : 
"I did not come to preach to you. 
We are appealing to the hospi- 
table spirit of the people of Po- 
mona. We need accommodations 
for delegates to our Bible con- 
vention." The householder re- 
plied : "That's different. You can 
have my whole house. My wife 
and I will be on vacation during 
that week." - 

A New York doctor was happy 
to have Jehovah's witnesses stay 
in his home while he was on 
vacation, feeling that, in addition 
to assisting them, he would have 
protection against burglars. A 
sister in England was too young 



"PEACE ON EARTH" INTERNATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES 



29 



to share in the house-to-house 
search, so she talked to com- 
panions at school. As a result, 
the parents of one of them of- 
fered their spacious home, since 
they would be away on a holiday. 
Thus thirteen were accommo- 
dated. 

A Spanish brother who is a 
carpenter in California told the 
owner of the apartment house 
t where he was working about the 
need for rooms. The landlady 
said that she would be on vaca- 
tion but that if the delegates 
were his "brothers" and as honest 
as he was, he could have the 
keys to the eight units in the 
building and bring in as many 
Witnesses as possible — complete- 
ly free! 

As a stimulus to share in the 
rooming work, a congregation 
in Brooklyn discussed the work 
at the service meeting. The 
program drew on the experience 
of Paul when shipwrecked on 
the island of Malta, highlighting 
how the people showed benevo- 
lence and hospitality. The next 
day one of the brothers who 
heard that part was in the room- 
ing work. A young woman said 
no rooms were available, but as 
he left her mother rushed out 
saying she had overheard and 
could accommodate four. While 
writing up the nice accommoda- 
tion, the brother commented on 
the unusual last name. "I'm from 
the island of Malta," she replied. 
When he read to her from the 
Bible what happened to Paul, 



she lowered the price per person 
by 50 cents a day ! 

Rooming Department 

While thousands of Witnesses 
were putting forth a magnificent 
effort to find rooms, others 
worked diligently at the rooming 
department. They received phone 
calls from persons offering rooms, 
opened mail containing requests 
for rooms and matched the re- 
quests with the accommodation 
slips turned in by the publishers 
in the field. When a request 
matched an accommodation, a 
card was mailed to the delegate 
to inform him of the name and 
address of the householder. Also, 
the householder was notified as 
to who would be staying at his 
home. 

When a man in New York 
was informed by phone that four 
Witnesses from Sweden were go- 
ing to stay with him and the 
time of their arrival, he offered 
to pick them up at the airport. 
In fact, lie also said that they 
could stay as long as they want- 
ed. In another instance a 
German-speaking family was so 
delighted with, the prospect of 
having delegates from Germany 
staying with them that they 
offered six free accommodations. 

As an example of what oc- 
curred in city after city, in the 
New York rooming department 
over one hundred brothers and 
sisters worked hard to process 
the thousands of requests and 
to care for all the other work 
associated with rooming opera- 




Volunteers worked hard to process room requests 



tions. It was an immense task, 
but they were happy to do it. 

Other acts of love were per- 
formed in order to aid the dele- 
gates to get to their accommoda- 
tions. Chartered buses brought 
to the Society's factory in Brook- 
lyn thousands of brothers ar- 
riving by plane from foreign 
lands. If they arrived late at 
night they were made comfort- 
able in the factory until the 
morning. Many were helped to 
get to their rooms by subway. 
In other cases, local brothers who 
owned cars delivered the dele- 
gates right to their doorsteps, 
especially when it would have 
been difficult to get there by 
subway or bus. 

Some of the brothers who ar- 
rived from foreign countries 
would have had problems under- 
standing directions and informa- 
tion in English. So local brothers 
from the Spanish and French 
congregations served as inter- 
preters. Others interpreted for 
those coming from the Scandi- 
navian lands as well as Ger- 
many, Portugal and the Nether- 
lands. 

These many brothers and sis- 
ters who worked in the rooming 
department, as well as the other 
preconvention workers, needed to 
be fed. In New York this was 
lovingly cared for by the local 
congregations. One by one many 
of the 189 congregations in the 
city took a turn at preparing 
meals. In some instances two 
would collaborate on one meal 
so the financial burden and the 
work would be less. The sisters 
especially appreciated the oppor- 
tunity to use their talents in be- 
half of the workers, and went 
at it with gusto, even to the 
point of having to be asked to 
fix less food. Of course, with such 
delicious home-cooked meals 
available, the hardworking mem- 
bers of the rooming department 
did their part with gusto too ! 

Similar love was shown by a 
congregation in England, for they 
provided 420 meals a week for 
twenty pioneers specially called 
in to do rooming work. 

But whether the brothers 
worked at rooming headquarters 
or out in the field ringing door- 
bells in search for rooms, the ef- 
forts were out of love. The 
mammoth search was carried 
out so that the visiting delegates 
would have clean, comfortable 
places to sleep. 




47; Luke 12:42-44; John 10:16; 
Rev. 7:9-15; 12:17. 

Not that there are not also 
other Bethel homes. There are 
over ninety branch offices of the 
Society throughout the earth. If 
the branch is large enough to 
require a full- time office force, 
if not also a printing force, they 
live in a Bethel home. Other- 
wise theirs is a missionary home. 

Brooklyn Bethel Home 

At present the Brooklyn Bethel 
home consists of three buildings 
that are connected by spacious 
underground tunnels. Two of 
these buildings are twelve stories 



The activities of Jehovah's witnesses throughout the earth 
are directed from their headquarters known as Brooklyn Bethel. 
Indicative of the interest that the Witnesses have in their 
headquarters are the large 
numbers that visit it. On a 
Saturday or legal holiday as 
many as twenty-one busloads 
and close to 2,000 persons have 
come to tour the Bethel home 
and factories. During this past 
May a group of ninety-nine 
Witnesses from Milwaukee 
chartered a plane just for the 
purpose of visiting head- 
quarters. 

Because of this great in- 
terest, the Watch Tower So- 
ciety arranged for such tours 
before, and during the time of 
the "Peace on Earth" assem- 
bly at Yankee Stadium. Visit- 
ing hours included all day 
Saturday and Sunday just 
before the assembly as well 
as forenoons on Wednesday, 
Thursday and Saturday of the 
assembly week. 



The Governing Body 

The Brooklyn Bethel is "head- 
quarters" for Jehovah's witnesses 
because it is the location of 
the governing body of Jehovah's 
witnesses. This governing body 
consists primarily of the board 
of directors of the Pennsylvania 
corporation of the Watch Tower 
Bible & Tract Society. From here 
the spiritual food and directions 
fl6w for both the "remnant" and 
the "other sheep."— Matt. 24:45- 




Eidi Hjy ut Bethel begins with 
comments on day's text 

30 



high, including basements, and 
the most recently built one, sev- 
en stories. In the latter building 
there are provisions for sauna 
baths and a pool for baptisms. 

In these three buildings there 
is room for about 1,200 persons. 

Of the 1,052 members of the 
Bethel family 79 profess to be 
of the anointed remnant. About 
100 persons have been members 
of the Bethel family upward of 
20 years, 36 of these more than 
40 years. More than 200 others 
have been serving from five to 
twenty years. 

As to their various duties: 
About one-fifth are busy in the 
home, one-fifth work in offices, 
and three-fifths work in the 
factory producing and shipping 
out the literature. 

Printing Plants 

The printing plants cover four 
city blocks. They are situated 
at the foot of the Brooklyn 
Bridge, about a ten-minute walk 
from Bethel. Here the produc- 
tion of literature is carried out. 
Copy for the literature is checked, 
translated and proofread. On 33 
linotype machines the copy is 
set, in as many as 120 different 
languages. The type is put in 
forms and mats are made. These, 
in turn, are used to "make curved 
plates for the rotary presses. 
By giving these plates a coat 
of nickel they will stand up to 
more than a million impressions. 

Twenty-two rotary presses (an- 
other is just about ready to op- 
erate and six more are on order) 
and 23 other kinds of presses 
are used to do the printing. The 
rotary presses use $10,000 worth 
of roll paper a day — 12,000 tons 
lust year. The three largest ro- 
tary presses, which cost $400,000 
apiece, can each produce 25,000 
magazines per hour. These re- 
quire four men, but all the other 
rotary presses are handled by 
only two men each. After be- 
ing printed the magazines are 
trimmed, wrapped and addressed, 
and shipped out, at the rate of 
as many as a million a day. 
Several large post office truck 
trailers are needed each day to 
move them out. 

After the book sections have 
been printed they are gathered 
by three automatic collating ma- 
chines. Then they are sewed* 41 
sewing machines being needed, 
and bound on six production 
lines. In two shifts these lines 
can produce upward of 100,000 



"PEACE ON EARTH" INTERNATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES 



31 



books a day. After books are 
bound they are boxed and shipped 
throughout the world, from a 
shipping department equipped 
with the latest laborsaving de- 
vices, some of which have been 
invented on the premises. In an 
average day 15 tons of literature 
is shipped out, in addition to 
the magazines. 

Located in these printing plants 
are also the departments for 
making ink, for the production 
of home and office furniture, 
and a machine shop where re- 
pairs are made and new ma- 
chinery is built. There are also 
complete plumbing, electrical and 
sheet-metal departments. 

Zealous and Joyful Workers 

That Bethel members serve 
for the love of the work is ap- 
parent even to outsiders who 
take tours. The joy and satis- 
faction they get from their work 
they show by their smiling faces, 
their zeal, and in other ways. 
Thus they are ever inventing 
machines and gadgets to expe- 
dite the work. At present they 
are building three more wrap- 
ping machines and one more end- 
sheeter in their machine shop. 
Typical is their solving in 20 
minutes a ventilating problem in 
connection with their'; new laun- 
dry after outside technicians had 
tried in vain for three weeks 
to solve it. Their zeal is also 
seen in their once erecting a 
rotary printing press in twelve 
working days ; outside it usually 
takes twelve weeks. 

They also take delight in hav- 
ing peak productions. Whereas 
100,000 books was considered a 
good day's production for two 
shifts, one day these two shifts, 







Monday evening is time for family study at Bethel; 
TV enables those in other halls to see and hear program 



by working as hard as they 
could, even cutting short lunch- 
time and working overtime — for 
the love of it — produced 144,000 
books, a number full of mean- 
ing for all Witnesses ! (Rev. 14 : 
1, 3) Similarly those cutting 
magazine-subscription stencils on 
one day produced 24,762, an av- 
erage per person of 149 stencils 
per hour, whereas a good hour's 
work is from 100 to 125 stencils. 
And two of these once set a 
goal of 3,000 for a day and man- 
aged to reach it by working 
sixteen out of the twenty-four 
hours, three g<aod days' work 
in one! Thus also one worker 
one day sewed 13,000 books, 
whereas from 8- to 9,000 is a 
good day's work. 

Nor does their zeal slacken 
with age. They keep on doing 



all they can, like the widow 
whom Jesus commended. Not a 
few keep putting in full days 
although between seventy-five 
and eighty years old. One who 
is ninety years old spends two 
hours every morning and every 
afternoon helping out in the of- 
fice. Another, who is in his 
ninety-fifth year, on many days 
works for an hour in the morn- 
ing and an hour in the after- 
noon doing clerical work. 

Daily Table Discussions 

Making possible such a fine 
spirit is the spiritual food that 
the members of the Bethel fam- 
ily get regularly. Each day be- 
gins with a discussion of the 
day's Bible text, which usually 
lasts twenty minutes and is con- 
cluded with prayer. It is pre- 




Increased pace of activity in field ministry 
has required enlargements in bindery 






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Shipping department handles 15 tons 
of literature a day 



32 



'PEACE ON EARTH" INTERNATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES 



sided over by the president of 
the Society, N. H.Knorr, except 
when he is away from Bethel. 
This takes place before break- 
fast is served. During breakfast 
there is a reading from three 
to five minutes from the Year- 
book or some similar publica- 
tion. During the noon meal re- 
ports are given or experiences 
are related, so that at these two 
meals the Bethel family is fed 
well, both spiritually and physi- 
cally. While all discussions take 
place in the main dining room, 
by means of closed-circuit tele- 
vision those in the other three 
dining rooms can see as well 
as hear those speaking. 

The Family's Own Meetings 

The Bethel family is further 
provided with spiritual food by 
their own weekly study of The 
Watchtower and their own Theo- 
cratic Ministry School. Each 
Monday night these meetings 
overflow from their main as- 
sembly hall, which seats 462, 
to a number of other assembly 
halls, classrooms and dining 
rooms. Additionally, there is an 
intensive six-month course called 
the "Primary School," in which 
all new members of the Brook- 
lyn Bethel are enrolled and 
which covers the entire Bible 
In those six months. It requires 
considerable homework and is 



designed to give each new-mem- 
ber of the Bethel family a good 
foundation of Bible "knowledge. 
The Bethel family is also fa- 
vored with having access to two 
large libraries. One is Connected 
with the writing department of 
the Watch Tower Society, and 
the other is part of the Gilead 
missionary school facilities. To- 
gether these have close to 15,- 
000 volumes. 

Serving with Congregations 

All the members of the Bethel 
family are also members of one 
of the 189 units of the New 
York Congregation of Jehovah's 
witnesses. Of the 1,052 mem- 
bers of the Bethel family, 421 
serve in some servant capacity 
in one of these units ; sixty of 
them are overseers. They have 
the same opportunity to take in 
spiritual food that the Witnesses 
throughout the earth do at their 
five weekly congregation meet- 
ings. They also have opportu- 
nities for the field ministry dur- 
ing evenings and weekends, 
preaching the good news of 
God's kingdom and making dis- 
ciples. . 

How They Feel About It 

How Bethel members feel 
about their privileges has been 
stated time and again in their 
life stories, of which more than 



twenty have been published in 
The Watchtower. Thus one 
wrote: "I am sure the greatest 
bank account in the world can- 
not bring the satisfaction that 
we have enjoyed and still enjoy 
in the glorious treasure of ser- 
vice that God has granted us." 

And a young man in his twen- 
ties who has been serving at 
Bethel for six years put it this 
way : "If you came to give rath- 
er than to get, you'll have Je- 
hovah's blessing and be happy 
whatever you are given to do. 
It is the richest life I have 
had." Another who came as a 
teen-ager and is now in his 
sixties stated : "I've enjoyed 
many privileges at Bethel, hav- 
ing done just about everything 
from cleaning toilets to writing 
and have found satisfaction in 
whatever it happened to be my 
lot to be doing at any one time," 

And one of the board of direc- 
tors who has been serving at 
Bethel for thirty-nine years not- 
ed : "Over the years if there is 
one thing that has been im- 
pressed upon me it is the fact 
that this is Jehovah's organi- 
zation and not man's. He places 
the ones in his organization as 
it pleases him, and as a result 
his organization has prospered 
in spite of all the opposition 
that the Devil's crowd could 
bring against it." 



KJ- . _ .... 



Already we have had a grand 
spiritual feast, but there is more 
to come — much more! Be sure 
to check your convention pro- 
gram so that you . do. not miss 
any of it. 

To whet your spiritual appe- 
tite, here are just a few exam- 
ples: A full day that features 
the theme "Call Out for Under- 
standing Itself." Understanding 
is something that we all want, 
isn't it? Special features in both 
the afternoon and the evening 
highlight this. 

The program for the next day 
is directed to youths, consider- 
ing the problems facing them. 
"Let No Man EVer Look Down 
on Your Youth" is the title of 
a vivid arid helpful drama on 
that day. And what about that 
talk "Peace with God amid the 
'Great Tribulation' "? You may 






> 



find that it influences what you 
say about the sign of the "last 
days" and the "great tribula- 
tion" when witnessing to others. ' 
.Don't miss it. 

Personal admonition for every 
one of us will be heard on the 
day featuring the theme "May 
'the Word of Jehovah Keep 
Moving Speedily.' " If you want 
to have just as full a share in 
Jehovah's service as possible 
during the years remaining be- 
fore Armageddon, this program 
may mark a turning point for 
you. You will also be helped to 
gain a deeper understanding of 
the Christian Greek Scriptures 
when you hear the talk "The 
Writing of Correct Words of 
Truth." 

The next day's program has 
been arranged to help us re- 



main "solid in the faith." Each 
talk, each demonstration con- 
tains information that is vital 
to us in these closing years of 
the old system. And the im- 
portant afternoon discourse "Fi- 
nal Woes ' to Enemies of Peace 
with God" involves a vivid por- 
trayal of the outworking of Je- 
hovah's purposes in our day. 

On the final day of the as- 
sembly, of course, there will be 
the widely advertised public ad- 
dress "The Approaching Peace 
of a Thousand Years," and, in 
addition, talks and a drama have 
been prepared to help us ap- 
preciate the work yet to be done. 

This is only a sampling of 
the good things yet to be en- 
joyed. Every portion of the pro- 
gram has been prepared for our 
blessing. Let's benefit from it 
all! 




THE APPROACHING PEACE 

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publish Bible literature 
in over 160 languages, to 
acquaint persons with the 
good news of peace by means 
of God's kingdom. Shown 
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When the three astronauts in their man- 
made spacecraft orbited around the moon 
ten times at Christmastime of the year 
1968, they observed that things were very 
peaceful at the moon just seventy miles 
away. When they returned safely to our 
earth, they reentered a world in 
which wars raged and 
where great fears were be- 
ing expressed of the break- 
ing out of a third world 
war, a nuclear war. Yet 
they were most happy to 
get back to our troubled 
earth. And why not? Who 
is it that wants to go to the 
moon in order to enjoy 
planetary peace? The thing 
that ordinary people want 
is world peace right here 
on earth, where we belong. 
This desire of their hearts 
is not misplaced, for right 
here on earth is where they 
will enjoy a peace of a thou- 
sand years, and this begin- 
ning right soon. What if 
you should live to see it be- 
gin? You would consider 
yourself to be most highly 
favored indeed. 

World conditions today 
will no doubt prompt you 
to ask, "Who 'will usher in 
and maintain this peace of 
a thousand years?" After 
all the display that men of 
world affairs have made of 
themselves as peacemakers 
and peace-keepers, you have 
properly lost confidence in 
the ability of men to do 
such a colossal thing. To 
you the obstacles in the way 
of establishing, a lasting 
world peace seem insur- 
mountable for men. You are 
aware of the explosive increase in 
the earth's human population, and 
you read the full-page advertisement in 
the newspaper, with the headline: "The 
Population Bomb Threatens the Peace of 
the World," ads of this sort being repeat- 
edly published by the "Campaign to Check 
the Population Explosion." (New York 
Times, February 9, 1969) Also, under the 




shocking headline "Briton Foresees a Hell 
on Earth" you read the statement made 
at London, England, November 23, 1968, 
by Lord Ritchie-Calder, president of the 
Conservation Society, in which he said, 
in part: 

"I am always appalled when I hear 
people complacently talk- 
ing about the population 
explosion as though it be- 
longed to the future, or 
world hunger as though it 
were threatening, when 
hundreds of millions can 
testify that it is already 
here — swear it with panting 
breath. . . .My concern is 
to conserve the human spir- 
it not from the hell here- 
after but from hell upon 
earth." — New York Times, 
as of November 24, 1968. 

This only serves to con- 
firm what Julian Huxley, 
former director general of 
the United Nations Educa- 
tional, Scientific and Cul- 
tural Organization, said in 
the same city fourteen 
years earlier (September 
7, 1954) to the conference 
of Parliamentarians for 
World Government, name- 
ly, that "the world's most 
pressing, problem was the 
growth of population, which 
is threatening to outstrip 
food supplies." (New York 
Times, September 8, 1954) 
A thoughtful person, there- 
fore, asks, What will the 
population and food situa- 
tion be fourteen years from 
now? What we are reason- 
ably led to expect does not 
give us any peace of mind. 
The settling of minor 
as in Vietnam and in the 
Middle East, cannot change the over- 
all picture. The hostility of the two 
great political groups still remains. In dis- 
cussing the "Nation's Business," the New 
York Times of December 6, 1968 (page 
96, paragraphs 4, 5), said: "... the cold 
war, though vastly changed, is far from 
over. Its perils are not diminishing. If any- 



wars, 



'PEACE ON EARTH" INTERNATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSED 




N. H. Knorr, president of 

Watch Tower Society, 

to deliver this public 

address throughout 

North America 

and Europe 



thing they're 
on the in- 
crease." It ex- 
pressed the 
fear that con- 
tinued disinte- 
gration of the 
Soviet bloc of 
nations may 
tempt the Rus- 
sians into new 
and desperate 
measures. This 
reminds us 
that the Soviet 
Union's next- 
door neigh- 
bor, Commu- 
nist China, is 
a big problem 
for her, yes, 
and for much 
of the rest of 
the world. Add- 
ed to the awesomeness of her tremendous 
population is the disquieting fact that Com- 
munist China is now a nuclear power with 
the capacity of launching long-range mis- 
siles. By continued success in the missile 
field and by beginning to stockpile her 
weapons in the year 1972, and then keep- 
ing this up, the Communist Chinese 
"should be in a position to deploy 15 or 
20 Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles by 
about 1975." — New York Times, February 
3, 1969. 

Truly the problems that need to be 
solved for world peace by human means 
are formidable, and yet there are men who 
offer themselves to tackle such problems. 
One such appears to be the thirty-seventh 
president of the United States of America. 
In his address following his inauguration 
on January 20, 1969, he said: 

"I have taken an oath today in the 
presence of God and my countrymen, to 
uphold and to defend the Constitution of 
the United States. To that oath, I now add 
this sacred commitment: I shall conse- 
crate my office, my energies and all the 
wisdom I can summon to the cause of 
peace. . . . The greatest honor history can 
bestow is the title of peacemaker. This 
honor now beckons America — the chance 



to help lead the world at last out of the 
valley of turmoil and on to that high 
ground of peace that man has dreamed 
of since the dawn of civilization. If we 
succeed generations to come will say of 
us now living that we mastered our mo- 
ment, that we helped make the world safe 
for mankind. . . . Our destiny offers not 
the cup of despair, but the chalice of op- 
portunity. So let us seize it, not in fear, 
but in gladness — and 'riders on the earth 
together,' let us go forward, firm in our 
faith, steadfast in our purpose, cautious 
of the dangers, but sustained by our con- 
fidence in the will of God and the promise 
of man." — New York Times, January 21, 
1969. 

Possibly the president had in mind the 
famous words of the Man of whom he 
claims to be a follower, as recorded by 
Jesus' biographer Matthew Levi: "Blessed 
are the peacemakers: for they shall be 
called the children of God." (Matthew 5: 
9, AV) But at least the president had in 
mind an ancient prophecy of the eighth 
century before our Common Era. How 
can we be sure of this? Because, when 
being sworn in with upraised right hand, 
he had his left hand resting upon two 
family Bibles, held one on top of the other 
by his wife and opened at the prophecy 
of Isaiah, chapter two, verse four, which 
reads: "And he shall judge among the na- 
tions, and shall rebuke many people: and 
they shall beat their swords into plow- 
shares, and their 
spears into prun- to—v-- 
inghooks: nation ^ 
shall not lift up 
sword against na- 
tion, neither shall 
they learn war 
any more." (AV) 
(New York 
Times, January 
20, 1969, front 
page, last col- 
umn) Having his 
left hand at that 
Bible verse was, 
not accidental, 
but of design. In 
that Bible verse 
was expressed 




G. Suiter, secretary- 
treasurer, speaker 
in Buffalo 



IN ALL PARTS OF THE WORLD IN 1969 



"the will of God" of more than two mil- 
lenniums ago, and now the president was 
adding "the promise of man." 

DEPENDENT UPON POLITICAL RULERS? 

Certainly if the prophetic words of 
Isaiah, chapter two, verse four, bespeak 
the will of Almighty God, they will with- 
out fail come to reality and there will one 
day be universal peace. But does the ulti- 
mate realization of those prophetic words 
require a condition? Is their realization 
conditional upon the "promise of man"? 
Does their realization depend upon the 
"promise" of the political rulers of the 
nations and people? If it were, well, then, 
would a warless world ever come to earth? 

Prominent, influential men of the world 
may see the final state of the world that 
God has willed. Moved with religious emo- 
tion, they may in all sincerity promise to 
use their political office, their energies 
and all the wisdom that they can summon 
to work for realizing that world state as 
willed by God. But what if such men, 
when making their promise, have in mind 
working for it in their own way according 
to the wisdom of this world, and not in 
God's way according to his wisdom as set 
forth in his written Word, the Holy Bi- 
ble? Have we reason to believe that God 
will prosper their efforts to fulfill their 
"promise" in their own self-determined 
way? Or, may it be true that such men 
of "promise" will really be working against 
the "will of God"? Has man's way up till 
now for bringing in a lasting universal 
peace been God's way? The apparent lack 
of God's blessing upon man's way of doing 
it till now would answer No! But through 
the same prophet Isaiah God himself an- 
swers this vital question, saying: 

"My thoughts are not your thoughts, 
neither are your ways my ways, saith the 
Lord. For as the heavens are higher than 
the earth, so are my ways higher than 
your ways, and my thoughts than your 
thoughts. For ... so shall my word be 
that goeth forth out of my mouth : it shall 
not return unto me void, but it shall ac- 
complish that which I please, and it shall 
prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." 
—Isaiah 55:8-11, AV. 

God's spoken and written word will nev- 



er fail. But what about the word of "prom- 
ise" made by men in political power? At 
the close of World War I in 1918 such 
men were bent on preventing the occur- 
rence of another world conflict. What was 
the way that the political men who had 
to do with the peace treaty decided upon 
to prevent it? By embodying in the peace 
treaty the so-called Covenant of the League 
of Nations. When the peace treaty went 
into force, so did the League of Nations. 
Through that League of Nations the 

men support- 
ing it promised 
much. Seem- 
ingly the 
League of Na- 
tions was ac- 
cording to the 
will of God, be-, 
cause the reli- 
gious clergy 
of Christen- 
dom backed up 
the League. 
The Federal 
Council of the 
Churches of 
Christ in Amer- 
ica said as if it 
were a spokes- 
man for God: 
"Such a 
League is not a mere political expedient; 
it is rather the political expression of 
the Kingdom of God on earth. . . . The 
Church can give a spirit of good-will, with- 
out which no League of Nations can en- 
dure. . . . The League of Nations is root- 
ed in the Gospel. Like the Gospel, its 
objective is 'peace on earth, good-will to- 
ward men.' " — Federal Council Bulletin, 
Vol. H, No. 1, as of January 1919, pages 
12-14. 

Evidently those churches of Christen- 
dom were wrong about this, for that 
League of Nations did not endure. The 
very thing that it was designed by man's 
wisdom to prevent was the thing that put 
it out of action, namely, World War II. 
The League turned over its effects to the 
United Nations, the world peace organiza- 
tion that came into existence on October 
24, 1945. Once again this international or- 
ganization for world peace and security 




F. W. Franz, vice-president, 
speaker in Atlanta 



'PEACE ON EARTH" INTERNATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES 



would seem to be according to the "will 
of God," inasmuch as the clergy of Chris- 
tendom piously support it. Even the popes 
of Vatican City have come out in support 
of it, Pope Paul VI personally addressing 
it on one occasion at its New York head- 
quarters. Today one hundred and twenty- 
six nations are members of it, including 
the nation that recently inaugurated its 
thirty-seventh president. The new presi- 
dent has indicated how he will fulfill the 
"promise of man," and that is by working 
with the United Nations, together with 
other but smaller international alliances. 
But the blessing of the clergy of Christen- 
dom gives no more guarantee that this 
United Nations will endure than it did for 
the League of Nations. 

History cannot bestow upon the League 
of Nations the honor of bearing the title 
of Peacemaker. There is no basis for his- 
tory to honor the United Nations with the 
title of Peacemaker. While the United Na- 
tions mouths great words of peace and 
carries on negotiations to restore or keep 
the peace in different areas of the earth, 
its member nations are preparing for war. 
The strongest members of its Security 
Council are the most mightily armed na- 
tions in all human history. World peace 
today, such as it is, is a peace of terror, 
a peace maintained only because of the 
terrorizing fear of nuclear, bacteriological 
and radiological war that spells the doom 
of modern civilization. Where, then, is the 
fulfillment of the words that are carved 
prominently on a wall at 42nd Street fac- 
ing the plaza of the United Nations amidst 




Happy yrs'jp of missionaries in Vietnam, shown before 

depart '.'.ri; "t "'Peace on Earth" International Assembly 



New York city? What words? These: 
"They shall beat their swords into plow- 
shares, and their spears into pruning 
hooks; nation shall not lift up sword 
against nation, neither shall they learn 
war any more." 

NOT CONDITIONED ON "PROMISE OF MAN" 
Regardless of what human history as 
written by uninspired men may do as to 
honoring men and nations with titles, God 
himself does not purpose to bestow the 
"greatest honor" of the title of Peace- 
maker upon any politician of this last half 
of the twentieth century. This honor at 
His hand is not now beckoning to any 
member of the United Nations or to any 
nation outside it. Not a single one of the 
nations and peoples of the world is accept- 
ing from God's mouth what the prophecy 
of Isaiah 2:4 says would precede the beat- 
ing of swords into plowshares and spears 
into pruning hooks and the learning of 
war no more by the nations. Those open- 
ing words of this prophetic verse read: 
"And he shall judge among the nations, 
and shall rebuke many people." 

A prophecy of that same ancient time 
that corresponds with that of Isaiah 2:4, 
the prophecy in Micah 4:3, reads: "And 
he shall judge among many people, and 
rebuke strong nations afar off; and they 
shall beat their swords into plowshares, 
and their spears into pruninghooks : na- 
tion shall not lift up a sword against na- 
tion, neither shall they learn war any 
more." — AV. 

The nations are not letting themselves 
be judged by the Lord God. They 
submit their problems to the Gen- 
eral Assembly or the Security 
Council of the United Nations or 
to its International Court of Jus- 
tice at The Hague in the Nether- 
lands. They do not go by the judg- 
ments that are set down in God's 
written Word, the Holy Bible. The 
nations, even the "strong nations" 
that are "afar off" from where the 
prophets Isaiah and Micah lived, 
do not take any rebuke from the 
Lord God as set out in his written 
Word or as quoted by his mouth- 
pieces from that written Word. If 
they did accept and heed his judg- 



IN ALU PARTS OF THE WORLD IN 1969 





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ment and his rebuke, they would beat 
their swords Into plowshares and their 
spears into pruning hooks and not lift up Widely . Ad Vei"tESe 

the sword of war against one another or * 

even learn war anymore. But everybody y *-- ' \% -> 
knows that they are not doing so. Hence, 
regardless of the "promise of man," no 
lasting world peace can be hoped for from 
the nations, either in a united organiza- 
tion or singly. No political ruler or nation 
will yet step forward and be the one that 
divine history will greatly honor with the 
title of Peacemaker. 

Nothing in the way of a disarmed, peace- 
learning world can be expected from the 
"promise of man" that pursues the way 
and wisdom of man, not God's way and 
wisdom, which are heaven-high above 
man's. The Almighty God, Creator of "' ■ 

heaven and earth, is not dependent upon * "", 

the "promise of man." His prediction of .•* & , : 

the future is not conditioned upon it. His •' -- „;'■ ■ ■ ' 

word at Isaiah 2:4 is an unconditional , - ■, ,.,',«* » ;'$■ 

prophecy. Even though the people and . • >\ iK''- ' '^ •' ' ■'" > 

strong nations of today are planning and ,, -*j ; .. **"**,. ; , A > ,_>,,. /} 

acting against it, that glorious prophecy '• ' v , ' ^ t ',.•,'■ " 
will come true. God will see to that, for ' ', * •>- * 

what man, what people, what strong na- v, 

tion can succeed against Him? From this ' - " $ • . 

sure fact let all persons who yearn for =*' ' , 

everlasting universal peace as foretold in , . - ' 

God's Word take comfort. 

God does not change with regard to his 
stated purpose. For almost two millen- , '■* **-, 

niums now he has had the one whom he * "*"l* ■ - '" 

has anointed or consecrated to serve as , , ; 
Peacemaker for all mankind. By the proph- 
et Isaiah God foretold the disarming of * * 
earth's inhabitants and the learning of 
war no more. By the same prophet God 
foretold this Peacemaker. We have already 
considered Isaiah, chapter two, verse four. 
Turn now to chapter nine, verses six and , 
seven, and read of the birth and work of 
this Peacemaker: \ . 

"For unto us a child is bom, unto us a 
son is given: and the government shall be , .%*;£.* 

upon his shoulder: and his name shall be /.- - -^js*" *' -fv*-- 

called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty *' >J \ ■ *■ .^.js- : 

God, The everlasting Father, The Prince _ " ^^■'•^'*^jSS£ 

of Peace. Of the increase of his govern- ' "* ■* ■ . "3s&<'"-* < " / * s 7 



,V; 



.o~ 



<*>z.* 



ment and peace there shall be no end, upon ,' *■ - -".' & 



SH -. S - - i-ift; . 



the throne of David, and upon his king- * ■ "- * / *~-f»f^ >;-><■•■ ^ i^-sr»* - "•*,. 
dom, to order it, and to establish it with - ', '-JW^^^sSf^L > 1", "*' ~^ s *" 

judgment and with justice from hence- "_,-■£ - '*?$?"/ - ' ; T0 S '"* "*'-• ^Mg**- * 



"PEACE ON EARTH" INTERNATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES 



forth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord 
of hosts will perform this." — AV. 

Hear again those prophetic words: "Of 
the increase of his government and peace 
there shall be no end." In those words is 
given God's unbreakable promise of an un- 
ending government of endless peace. It is 
the government of a child born into the 
family line of King David, the son whose 
name was to be called "The Prince of 
Peace." His life will have to be as long as 
his peaceful government — endless, immor- 
tal. The fact that his name was also to be 
called "The everlasting Fa- 
ther" bears this out. This 
would result in his being the ^ $ 

Permanent Heir of King Da- ■>' 

vid, inasmuch as the divine 
prophecy says that this peace- 
ful endless government would > . _ . 
be "upon the throne of Da- 
vid, and upon his kingdom, 
to order it, and to establish 
it with judgment and with 
justice from henceforth even 
for ever." It is to the reign 
of this Permanent Heir of 
King David as The Prince 
of Peace that we must look 
for the approaching peace 
of a thousand years. Pie is 
the one whom the Lord God 
honors with the title of 
Peacemaker, and not some 
politician or some nation of 
this twentieth century. 

It is true that more than 
two and a half millenniums have passed 
since that prophecy was uttered and writ- 
ten down by God's prophet Isaiah, and 
here we are in a time when nations are 
trying to stave off the world war that 
would be the greatest and worst of all 
human history. But we must not lose 
faith in the coming true of Isaiah's 
prophecy of the Peacemaker and of eter- 
nal peace on earth. The zeal of the Lord 
of hosts is behind this prophecy, which 
He himself inspired by his holy spirit. The 
prophecy closes by saying: "The zeal of 
the Lord of hosts will perform this." His 






•$& 



In New York 
to hear this talk 
was Hildegard Seliger, 
imprisoned 9 years by the 
Nazis and 10 years by the 
Communists because she 
told others that only God 
coold bring lasting peace 



not prove to be a liar as regards this 
prophecy either. He is the "God, that can- 
not lie."— Titus 1:2: Hebrews 6:18, AV. 

SOMEONE GEEATEE THAN KING SOLOMON 

God's mouthpiece, the prophet Isaiah, 
continued to prophesy on into the reign 
of King Hezekiah of Jerusalem, but Heze- 
kiah did not prove to be the promised 
"child" or "son" who was to be honored 
with the title of Peacemaker, The Prince 
of Peace. Neither did the seven kings who 
followed Hezekiah upon the "throne of 
David" at Jerusalem, down 
to the last king, Zedekiah, 
prove to be the promised 
Prince of Peace. In fact, in 
the eleventh year of the reign 
of King Zedekiah the holy 
city of Jerusalem and its 
temple as built by the ear- 
lier King Solomon were de- 
stroyed by the armies of 
pagan Babylon, and the con- 
quered people were deported 
as exiles to far-off Babylon. 
Only seventy years later did 
the city of Jerusalem and a 
temple for God's worship be- 
gin to be built by released 
exiles. 

Well, then, was the "zeal 
of the Lord of hosts" frus- 
trated and cooled down? Not 
at all! Despite this apparent 
failure of Isaiah's prophecy, 
God's zeal was as hot as 
ever for the performing of the proph- 
ecy. The "throne of David" was never 
again set up at Jerusalem, but that did 
not matter. The line of the royal family 
of King David was not blotted out but 
continued on. Then five hundred and thirty- 
five years after Jerusalem began to be 
rebuilt Isaiah's prophecy began to be ful- 
filled by the birth of the promised "child," 
the "son" who was to be the Permanent 
Heir of King David. This occurred in the 
second year before the start of our Com- 
mon Era; in other words, in the year 
2 B.C.E. It occurred at the birthplace of 



zeal has not cooled off by now regarding King David, namely, Bethlehem-Judah, in 

the prophecy, for his own name and repu- fulfillment of Micah's prophecy (5:2). 

tation are at stake in connection with it. In order to prove that his ancient proph- 

He has never lied in anything else; he will ecy had come true, the zealous Lord of 



IN ALL PARTS OF THE WORLD IN 1969 



hosts would certainly have witnesses to 
the birth of the promised Prince of Peace. 
First of all he made angels witnesses to 
the child's birth. Then he made shepherds 
of Bethlehem witnesses of the event. By 
night in the early autumn of the year 
2 B.C.E. the angel of the Lord God ap- 
peared to those shepherds watching over 
their sheep in the field near Bethlehem. 
An investigator of the facts of the birth, 
a medical doctor by the name of Luke, 
though not himself delivering the child, 
reports: "An angel of the Lord flashed 
upon them, the glory of the Lord shone all 
round them. They were terribly afraid, 
but the angel said to them, 'Have no fear. 
This is good news I am bringing you, news 
of a great joy that is meant for all the 
People. To-day you have a saviour born 
in the town of David, the Lord messiah. 
And here is a proof for you: you will find 
a baby wrapped up and lying in a stall 
for cattle.' Then a host of heaven's army 
suddenly appeared beside the angel, extol- 
ling God and saying, 'Glory to God in high 
heaven, and peace on earth for men whom 
he favours!' "—Luke 2:8-14, Moffatt. 

Doctor Luke tells us that the shepherds 
went and found the newborn baby, and 
thus they became eyewitnesses of the birth 
of "the Lord messiah," along with the 
heavenly angels. Doctor Luke closes, say- 
ing: "Then the shepherds went away back, 
glorifying and extolling God for all that 
they had heard and seen — as they had 
been told they would."— Luke 2:15-20, Mo. 

Forty days later the God-fearing man 
Simeon and then the prophetess Anna saw 
and identified the child when he was 
brought to the temple at Jerusalem. In 
this way they also became witnesses to 
the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy con- 
cerning the Prince of Peace. — Luke 2: 
22-38. 

The angel spoke of the child as "the 
Lord messiah." Greek-speaking Jews of 
that day would say "the Lord Christ," for 
"messiah" and "Christ" mean the same 
thing, "anointed one." That is to say, God's 
anointed one. According to God's instruc- 
tion to his virgin mother he was given the 
personal name Jeshua; but the Greek- 
speaking Jews like Doctor Luke called him 
Jesus. So with his title he was called 
Jeshua Messiah or Jesus Christ. (Luke 



1:26-33; Matthew 1:1, 20-25) Because he 
was a descendant of King David he was 
also called "the Son of David." Why was 
he given the personal name Jesus? The 
Dictionary of the Bible, by Dr. William 
Smith (page 1346), edition of 1894, says 
that the name Jeshua or Jesus means 
"Help of Jehovah," or "Saviour." This 
corresponds with what God's angel told 
his foster father, carpenter Joseph at Naz- 
areth: "You must call his name Jesus, for 
he will save his people from their sins." 
—Matthew 1:18-25. 

Among the royal forefathers was the 
wisest man of ancient times, King Solo- 
mon the son of David. His name means 
"Peaceful," or "Peace." Quite appropriate- 
ly, he reigned at Jerusalem, the name 
of which means "Possession of Twofold 
Peace." Despite this combination of names 
Solomon's reign did not usher in a millen- 
nium of peace. At most it brought in a 
peace of forty years. Despite his wise start 
as king of Jerusalem, he turned out bad 
in his old age. He became oppressive to 
the people of Israel. He yielded to the 
pressure of his many foreign wives and 
joined them in worshiping other gods than 
Jehovah God. He thus lost his peace with 
the one living and true God, who ex- 
pressed his indignation by ripping ten of 
the twelve tribes of Israel away from the 
kingdom of Solomon's successors. (1 Kings 
11:7-12:24; Nehemiah 13:26, 27) But dur- 
ing the more than half of his forty-year 
reign that Solomon was faithful to Jeho- 
vah as God and wrote three books of the 
Holy Bible, Solomon was used as a pro- 
phetic figure of the true Messiah or Christ. 

Unlike Solomon, Jesus Christ as a per- 
fect man on earth never proved unfaithful 
to God. He worthily bore the name Jeshua 
or Jesus, which means "Help of Jehovah," 
or "Salvation of Jehovah." Solomon his 
ancestor had been anointed with holy oil 
to be king over all Israel, but Jesus was 
anointed with holy spirit from heaven at 
the time of his water baptism in the Jor- 
dan River, God's voice being heard by 
John the Baptist, saying: "This is my be- 
loved Son, in whom I am well pleased." 
(Matthew 3:13-17, AV) Jesus thereby be- 
came God's Anointed One or Christ in a 
sense superior to Solomon. Without ego- 
tism or exaggeration Jesus could speak of 



10 



"PEACE ON EARTH" INTERNATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES 



himself as being "something more than 
Solomon." (Matthew 12:42) By his faith- 
fulness he maintained his right to the 
"throne of David" or the kingly rulership 
over all Israel that such throne symbol- 
ized. But God never gave 
the anointed Jesus that 
"throne of David" on earth. 
(Luke 1:32, 33) First, God 
tested Jesus' faithfulness to 
the limit, letting him die 
as a perfect human sacri- 
fice on an execution stake, 
that thus Jesus might "save 
his people from their sins." 
—Matthew 1:21. 

The anointed Jesus kept 
his peace with Jehovah 
God clear to the end of his 
earthly life. Shortly before 
he was betrayed and turned 
over to the executioners 
he said to the eleven faith- 
ful ones of his twelve apos- 
tles: "I leave you peace, I 
give you my peace. I do 
not give it to you the way 
that the world gives it." 
(John 14:27) Hours after- 
ward, when standing be- 
fore the trial judge, the 
Roman governor Pontius 
Pilate, the peaceful Jesus 
said to him: "My kingdom is no part of 
this world. . . . my kingdom is not from 
this source." It was not at Jesus' request 
that Pontius Pilate put over the head of 
Jesus on the execution stake the notice 
reading: "Jesus the Nazarene the King of 
the Jews." (John 18:36; 19:16-22) Jesus 
refused to accept kingship at the hand of 
Devil or man. He died on the execution 
stake, waiting on his God Jehovah to give 
him the "throne of David his father" to 
which he was the Permanent Heir. (Mat- 
thew 4:8-11; Luke 1:32, 33; John 6:14, 
15) He died true and loyal to what he had 
preached, namely, "The kingdom of God 
has drawn near." — Mark 1:14, 15; Mat- 
thew 4:12-17. 

Today, after almost three millenniums, 
unfaithful Solomon still sleeps in death 
with his forefathers. (1 Kings 11:41-43, 
AV) Today, after more than nineteen hun- 
dred years from his sacrificial death on 




/"* 



the execution stake outside the walls of 
Jerusalem, Jesus Christ lives! On the third 
day of his death the Almighty God Je- 
hovah raised him from the dead to life as 
his spiritual Son in heaven, clothing him 
with immortality and in- 
corruption. As Jesus Christ 
manifested himself to his 
disciples after his resurrec- 
tion from the dead, during 
forty days before his as- 
cension to heaven, there 
came to be upward of five 
hundred eyewitnesses to the 
resurrected Jesus Christ. 
(Acts 1:1-5; 2:22-36; 1 Co- 
rinthians 15:3-9) He now 
being alive forevermore, he 
can indeed become "The 
everlasting Father" to the 
dying world of mankind. Al- 
so, of his peaceful govern- 
ment over mankind there 
does not need to be any 
end and there "shall be no 
end." (Isaiah 9:6, 7, AV) 
He is the heavenly Ruler 
able to usher in upon war- 
torn mankind the peace of 
a thousand years*. The Unit- 
ed Nations cannot do so! 



. _"l_ilj, item Nigfi-i-J, for 30 
years a teacher of God's 
Word, present to liear 
this discourse 



THE MILLENNIAL PEACE APPROACHING 
When, though, does the Prince of Peace 
start his government of an endless peace? 
Righteously disposed people today are cry- 
ing out for such a government. Does not 
the very world situation mark this as the 
epoch in which it would be most fitting 
for Jehovah God to bring in such a gov- 
ernment according to his unbreakable 
promise of Isaiah 9:6, 7? Apparently so. 
But first the obstructors of peace must be 
cleared out of the way. The greatest ob- 
structor is one over whom neither the 
United Nations nor any single nation or 
people have any control, for he is super- 
human. He is the one who offered Jesus 
Christ all the kingdoms of this world if 
he would turn away from worshiping Je- 
hovah as God, worshiping the great Tempt- 
er instead. This greatest peace obstructor 
is named Satan the Devil. He is the prince 
of legions of devils or demons. (Matthew 



IN ALL PARTS OF THE WORLD IN 1969 









4:8-11; 12:24-28, AV) Jesus Christ called 
him also "the ruler of this world," where- 
as the Christian apostle Paul called him 
"the god of this system of things." The 
apostle John says: "The whole world is 
lying in the power of the wicked one." 
—John 12:31; 14:30; 2 Corinthians 4:4; 
1 John 5:19. 

It will take more than all men together 
to put that greatest obstructor of peace out 
of power over mankind. This the heavenly 
Jesus Christ will do, for, according to the 
several names by which he was, to be 
called, he is "The mighty God." This he 
will do after first doing away with the 
visible peace obstructors here on earth. 
(Revelation 19:11 to 20:3) This requires 
him to be first a Warrior King, reigning 
in the midst of his earthly enemies, finally 
subduing them completely, just as foretold 
by King David in Psalm 110:1-6. He has 
had to do this because, since the end of 
the "times of the Gentiles" in the year 
1914, the nations and em- 
pires of this world have re- 
fused to yield over peace- 
ably their earthly kingship 
to him, even Christendom 
refusing to do so. (Luke 
21:24; Psalm 2:1-6) Till 
this year, after more than 
half a century, the nations 
have refused to do so. What 
will this mean shortly for 
all mankind? This: the out- 
break of the "war of the 
great day of God the Al- 
mighty" at the world sit- 
uation called Har-Magedon 
or Armageddon. (Revela- 
tion 16:14, 16) That war 
will remove all human ob- 
structors to peace. 

After this taking away 
of all human and demon ob- 
structors of world peace 
there will come the reign 
of the Prince of Peace over 
all the earth. God's fixed 
time for this is approaching, and along 
with it the peace of a thousand years. 
A thousand years equals a millennium. 
This reminds us of something said in the 
aforementioned inaugural speech of the 
American president on January 20, 1969. 






■£^*", 



.«? 




M. Oda, from Japan, to hear 
this message about world peace 



He remarked upon the approach of things 
of interest to Americans and to all Chris- 
tendom. In the eighth paragraph of his 
speech the newly sworn-in president said: 
"Eight years from now America will cele- 
brate its 200th anniversary as a nation. 
And within the lifetime of most people 
now living, mankind will celebrate that 
great new year which comes only once in 
a thousand years — the beginning of the 
third millennium." The president was re- 
ferring to A.D. 2001. 

The next remarks of the president 
showed that he expected there to be an 
America in the first year of that third 
millennium. But for God-fearing students 
of the Holy Bible containing both the an- 
cient Hebrew Scriptures and the Christian 
Greek Scriptures, there is a more impor- 
tant millennium that compels their atten- 
tion. That is the seventh millennium! No, 
not the seventh millennium measured from 
A.D. 1, but the seventh mil- 
lennium of man's existence 
here on earth, the seventh 
millennium measured from 
God's creation of perfect 
man and woman in the gar- 
den of Eden. This is usually 
measured according to the 
Anno Mundi rule or "In 
the Year of the World" cal- 
endar, the world of man- 
kind being here meant. 

Does this fact have any 
bearing on the approach 
of the peace of a thousand 
years or of a millennium? 
Very apparently Yes! Ac- 
cording to the calendar of 
the Orthodox Jews, the new 
American president deliv- 
ered his inaugural speech 
at the beginning of the fifth 
lunar month of the year 
5729 A.M., this date being 
based on the ancient He- 
brew Scriptures alone. But 
according to chronologers or time check- 
ers who take into account also the in- 
spired Christian Greek Scriptures, the 
Jewish calendar is more than two hun- 
dred years behind time. In certain edi- 
tions of the Holy Bible, Catholic and 



IT 






12 



'PEACE ON EARTH" INTERNATIONAL, ASSEMBLY OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES 



Protestant, there have appeared dates ac- 
cording to the chronology of the noted 
Irish Anglican prelate, Archbishop James 
Ussher (1581-1656 C.E.). Ussher's date 
for man's creation is 4004 B.C.E. By this 
reckoning six thousand years or six mil- 
lenniums of man's existence would end 
in the autumn of the coming year of 
1996 C.E. after which the seventh millen- 
nium of man's existence would start. 

More recently earnest researchers of the 
Holy Bible have made a recheck of its 
chronology. According to their calculations 
the six millenniums of mankind's life on 
earth would end in the mid-seventies. Thus 
the seventh millennium from man's cre- 
ation by Jehovah God would begin within 
less than ten years. 

Apart from the global change that 
present-day world conditions indicate is 
fast getting near, the arrival of the sev- 
enth millennium of man's existence on 
earth suggests a gladsome change for war- 
stricken humankind. According to the first 
two chapters of the Holy Bible man and 
woman were created toward the close of 
the sixth creative day. We are now living 
in the seventh creative day, and on this 
seventh day Jehovah God has been rest- 
ing from earthly creation. To run parallel 
with this resting of God on his seventh 
creative day, he gave the Ten Command- 
ments to his prophet Moses, in the fourth 
one of which God commanded that his 
chosen people should rest on the seventh 
day of the week, (Exodus 20:8-11) That 
day was therefore the weekly sabbath day, 
the day of desistance from human toil. 

The Lord Jesus Christ, the prospective 
Prince of Peace, pointed forward to a 
greater Sabbath Day. Pointing forward to 
this, he said on a certain weekly sabbath 
day when he came under criticism: "Lord 
of the sabbath is what the Son of man is," 
(Matthew 12:1-8) He was referring to his 
peaceful reign of a thousand years. Jeho- 
vah God measures human affairs accord- 
ing to a thousand-year-length rule. He in- 
spired the prophet Moses to write, in 
Psalm 90:4: "A thousand years are in 
your eyes but as yesterday when it is 
past." He also inspired the Christian apos- 
tle Peter to write: "One day is with the 
Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand 
years as one day," (2 Peter 3:8, AV) In 



prophetic vision the apostle John saw Sa- 
tan the Devil and his demons bound and 
abyssed for a thousand years, during which 
thousand years Jesus Christ reigned with 
his victorious disciples over all mankind. 
(Revelation 5:9, 10; 20:1-7) So, accord- 
ing to God's viewpoint of time, that thou- 
sand years of his Son Jesus Christ would 
correspond with merely "one day." 

In order for the Lord Jesus Christ to be 
"Lord even of the sabbath day," his 
thousand-year reign would have to be the 
seventh in a series of thousand-year pe- 
riods or millenniums. (Matthew 12:8, AV) 
Thus it would be a sabbatic reign. Since 
early in the existence of mankind Satan 
the Devil has been on the loose s making 
the human family to toil in hard bondage, 
causing the earth to be filled with violence 
before the global flood of Noah's day and 
inducing the same old earth to be filled 
with even greater violence today. Soon 
now six millenniums of his wicked exploit- 
ing of mankind as his slaves will end, with- 
in the lifetime of the generation that has 
witnessed world events since the close of 
the Gentile Times in 1914 till now, accord- 
ing to the prophetic words of Jesus in 
Matthew 24:34. Would not, then, the end 
of six millenniums of mankind's laborious 
enslavement under Satan the Devil be the 
fitting time for Jehovah God to usher in 
a Sabbath millennium for all his human- 
creatures? Yes, indeed! And his King Je- 
sus Christ will be Lord of that Sabbath. 

In ancient times, when God's chosen 
people were under the Ten Commandments 
given through his prophet Moses, the 
weekly sabbath was a peaceful day. To 
agree with God's own desistance from 
earthly work on his seventh creative day, 
his people were under divine command to 
desist from the hard work of the preced- 
ing six days, likewise their domestic ani- 
mals. (Exodus 20:1-11) In like manner 
Christ's sabbatic reign for a thousand 
years will be a peaceful time for this earth 
and its inhabitants. It will be a time of 
rest from all the warfare and violence of 
the previous six millenniums. Swords, sym- 
bolic of murderous warfare, will have been 
beaten into plowshares, and spears into 
pruning hooks for the grapevines. Life 



IN ALL PARTS OF THE WORLD IN 1969 



13 




Group arriving on chartered plane from Netherlands to 

attend the New York assembly; at least 45 chartered 

planes brought delegates from abroad 



will not be dull in that restful millennial 
sabbath. It will not be a time of idleness. 
The Sabbath Lord, Jesus Christ the King, 
will not be idle, neither will he let his 
earthly subjects be idle. 

Why was it that Jesus Christ, when on 
earth as a Jew under the Ten Command- 
ments, did so many of his miraculous 
works on the weekly sabbath day, healing 
the sick and the crippled? Not only to 
show that it was right to do good on the 
sabbath. It was also to foreshadow how, 
during his sabbatic reign, he will deliver 
humankind from bondage to Satan the 
Devil and his demons and relieve them 
of the deadly effects of the sin and imper- 
fection inherited from our first human 
parents, Adam and Eve. War and violence 
during the past six millenniums have 
brought millions of humans to untimely 
death and the grave; but the Lord of the 
Sabbath, Jesus Christ, will bring up the 
thousands of millions of dead humankind 
from the graves, exactly as he prophesied 
that he would do. (John 5 : 28, 29) It was no 
mere idle phrase when his truthful apostle 
Paul wrote that God's sabbath law had a 
"shadow of the good things to come." 
— Hebrews 10:1; Colossians 2:16, 17. 

PLOWSHARES, PRUNING HOOKS FOR PARADISE 

Already, even during this war-endan- 
gered time, Jehovah's Christian witnesses 
have conformed to the prophecy of Isaiah 
2:4 and beaten swords into plowshares 
and spears into pruning hooks. After the 
universal war of Har-Magedon and the 
binding and abyssing of Satan and his 
demons, this prophecy will continue to 



apply. Why? In order that the hu- 
man survivors of the "war of the 
great day of God the Almighty" 
may use their plowshares and prun- 
ing hooks in transforming this war- 
scarred earth into the glorious 
Paradise that Jehovah God told 
man originally to make it. (Gen- 
esis 1:26-28; 2:8-14) God's word 
will not return to him void, unful- 
filled. No, but under the thousand- 
year reign of his Son Jesus Christ 
this entire earth will be cultivated 
into an everlasting Paradise filled 
with liberated, perfected human 
creatures. Within that seventh 
sabbatic millennium the King and Lord of 
the sabbath day will undo all the work of 
that greatest of all peace disturbers, Sa- 
tan the Devil.— Luke 23:43. 

As under the operation of the Ten Com- 
mandments among God's ancient chosen 
people all violators of the sabbath day 
were killed, so those not rendering obe- 
dience to the Lord of the coming sabbath 
millennium and disturbing the peace will 
be destroyed. (Numbers 15:32-36; Exodus 
31:13-17) After Satan the Devil and his 
demons are let loose from the abyss and 
once again try to disturb the peace of our 
earth, they will be destroyed, and with 
them all those who try again to make this 
earth a battlefield, a war arena. (Reve- 
lation 20:7-10, 15) Those who keep peace 
with God will remain in the Paradise earth 
as its eternal caretakers. 

Then it will not be necessary to take 
a rocket to the moon to find a peaceful 
planet, for then the prayer in behalf of 
the Greater Solomon, Jesus Christ the 
King, will be fulfilled, as recorded in Psalm 
72:7: "In his days the righteous one will 
sprout, and the abundance of peace until 
the moon is no more." That peace will 
never end, any more than the moon. The 
earthly peace thus established and main- 
tained during the Messiah's sabbath of a 
thousand years will continue on forever. 
Jehovah's Christian witnesses of today 
are joyfully preparing for that approach- 
ing peace of a thousand years. All who 
yearn to enjoy that foretold "peace on 
earth for men whom [God] favours" are 
heartily invited to join them in getting 
ready for that blessed millennium of peace. 




"On this happy occasion it becomes very appropriate to intro- 
duce to you the new publication of the Watch Tower Bible 
& Tract Society of Pennsylvania, this 384-page bound book with 
the title 'Then Is Finished the 
Mystery of God.' " 

This thrilling announcement 
came after the adoption by the 
vast audience of a strongly word- 
ed. Declaration against Christen- 
dom and in favor of the king- 
dom of God. 



The Book's Arresting Title 
What is the "mystery of God" 
mentioned in the book's title? 
And what is the point in time 
signified by "then"?— Rev. 10: 
7, AS. 

Without mincing matters the 
new book supplies the answers, 
offering in evidence the Scrip- 
tures themselves and the facts 
fulfilling Bible prophecy. It ex- 
plains : " 'The mystery of God' 
proves to be the Messianic king- 
dom of God in which the mys- 
terious 'seed' of 'the woman' 
spoken of in Genesis 3:15 must 
reign." 

With the arrival of the year 
1914 C.E. and God's time for 
Christ Jesus to assume office 
as king, the mystery was brought 
to a finish by the installation of 
the Messianic kingdom of God. 

Its Stimulating' Contents 

The "Mystery of God" book 
is a gripping verse-by-verse dis- 
cussion of the first thirteen chap- 
ters of Revelation. It opens ap- 
propriately with the vision of 
God recorded in Revelation chap- 
ter four. Then it moves on to 
chapters five and six, which 
speak of a mysterious scroll 
sealed with seven seals. It is 
shown that the scroll contains 
the things that have long been 
secret in connection with God's 
foreknowledge. Thus, with the 
opening of each of its seals, 
there is a revealing of these 
things that God has foreknown. 

After discussing the 144,000 
sealed ones, the book goes back 
to a coverage of the first three 
chapters of Revelation, which 



contain messages to the "angels" 
responsible for the congregations 
of these sealed ones. 

Next, the significance of the 
sounding of the series of seven 
symbolic trumpets is taken up. 
These trumpet blasts are shown 
to be a calling attention to the 
secret things of God, things 
which have now been revealed 
to God's servants, and which 
things are now occurring or will 
yet occur in the future. 

In proceeding to its conclu- 
sion, the book describes the 
birth of God's Messianic king- 
dom, and clearly identifies the 
earthly foes of this heavenly 
government. 

"Final Woes to Enemies 
of Peace with God" 
The above is the title of the 
stirring discourse that was giv- 



en before the release of the new 
"Mystery of God" book. Who 
are the enemies of man's gain- 
ing peace with God? 

The speaker wasted no time 
in answering this question. "The 
most strenuous enemies of peace 
with God today," he said, "are 
hypocritical followers of Jesus 
Christ, so-called Christians, par- 
ticularly their religious clergy, 
Catholic, Orthodox and Protes- 
tant." But also included among 
those enemies of man's gaining 
peace with God are the godless 
radical elements of earth. 

What are the final woes upon 
these enemies? These final woes 
come upon them in connection 
with the proclamation concern- 
ing God's kingdom and the ac- 
tion that It takes in crushing 
all of its opposers out of exis- 
tence. "Both to Christendom and 
to radical elements," the speaker 
exclaimed, "the preaching of 
God's vengeance has been dev- 
astating and painful like the 
effects produced by heavenly 
angels sounding loud trumpets, 
as described in Revelation, chap- 
ters eight through eleven." 

What proves to be the final 
woe upon God's enemies? the 
speaker asked. "It is the 'king- 
dom of our Lord and of his 
Christ,' " he answered. By means 
of His kingdom Almighty God 
will clean all wicked opposers 
from the earth. 



r- r- 








Endsheets for "Mystery" book fresh from the printing press 



14 



DECLARATION 



At each of the "Peace on Earth" assem- 
blies around the earth in 1969, Jehovah's 
witnesses are taking the occasion to set 
forth the following Declaration of their 
position and attitude in this most tur- 
bulent period of human history: 

PEACE with the Creator of heaven 
and earth, by means of his long-promised 
kingdom of his Messiah — this is what we 
hold to be the key to an enduring peace for 
all the world of mankind. When we keep 
our peace with God, we can never be at war 
with our neighbors who are fellow crea- 
tures of God; peace with God and peace 
with our f ellowman go together. In order to 
be children of God and loyal subjects of his 
Messianic kingdom we are obliged to be 
peacemakers. (Matt. 5:9) We therefore 
disclaim all connection with the professed 
Christian realm known as Christendom, for 
her history proves her to be a fomenter of 
carnal warfare between even fellow reli- 
gionists, staining her skirts with their 
blood. She has persecuted with torture and 
violent death those 1 who have differed from 
her in religious conscience. She has not 
promoted the interests of God's Messianic 
kingdom, notoriously failing in this regard 
since the outbreak of World War I in 1914. 
We can have no part with her, for it is now 
clearly manifest that the judgments of God 
as expressed in the Holy Bible are against 
Christendom and will shortly be executed 
upon her. 

The types of political government that 
obtained previously down till the world 
conflict of 1914-1918 have failed to main- 
tain the stability of the world of mankind. 
Since then world revolution in favor of 
radical forms of government has been at- 
tempted and is still being pursued. Much of 
eartil's population has been brought under 
Communist domination, to a large extent 
unwillingly and not by free popular vote. 
The issue of whether to have a revolution 
and establish a radical government has 
been hurled in among the restless people. 
We, however, still maintain as heretofore 
our strict Christian neutrality toward the 



political controversies of this world. From 
the start we have pointed to the written 
Word of God to show that long life with 
peace and prosperity will never be brought 
by radical political governments of men 
who are not at peace with God. According 
to the unerring prophecies of God's Word, 
political radicalism must fail as a world 
remedy. 

We will continue to disapprove of the 
dividing up of the religious people into cler- 
gy and laity. We have the Bible behind us 
in this position. The clergy and exalted re- 
ligious leaders of Christendom have fallen 
short of their obligations toward people 
who look to them' to guide them into peace- 
ful relationship with God. Once holding a 
heaven-high position in which they could 
have shone like stars with spiritual enlight- 
enment for their parishioners, they have 
fallen to earthly, materialistic levels, lack- 
ing real spiritual uplift. They have brought 
no life-sustaining refreshment to Christen- 
dom, not to say the rest of mankind. They 
have made bitter the potion t that they have 
caused their people to drink, both by their 
sectarian doctrines and by the course in 
life into which they have directed the peo- 
ple. Because of this embitterment spiritual 
death has resulted to untold numbers. 

We hold fast to the declaration that 
Christianity, not Christendom, is "the light 
of the world." As dedicated, baptized Chris- 
tians we recognize our united obligation to 
serve as "the light of the world." (Matt. 5: 
14-16) This obligation we, as Jehovah's 
witnesses, will continue to discharge by 
preaching and teaching His written Word. 
In this Scriptural manner we shall keep on 
trying to brighten the darkness for as 
many persons as possible in Christendom, 
which the clergy and high religious leaders 
have failed to enlighten spiritually or to 
bring into the light of God's favor. 

We recognize Jesus Christ as our God- 
given religious Liberator. He has released 
us from religious subjection and deadness 
under Babylon the Great, the world empire 
of false religion, including Christendom. In 



15 



16 



'PEACE ON EARTH" INTERNATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES 



his own days on earth Jesus Christ spared 
not the religious feelings of the men who 
claimed to be God's ordained teachers and 
guides of the people. In imitation of him, 
we cannot hold back from pointing out to 
the trusting people of Christendom the de- 
linquency of their clergy and other reli- 
gious leaders before God. Even though this 
hurts the religious sensibilities of those re- 
ligious leaders and is a woe to them, we 
shall continue to do this as long as we live 
and they are around in influential positions 
over Christendom. We will not join them in 
putting our hope and trust in any man- 
made international organization for world 
peace and security, but will continue to 
declare the doom of such organization. 

We hold ourselves at God's disposal for 
his service at any time according to his ap- 
pointment. He has untied us, loosed us 
from captivity to Babylon the Great, the 
figurative mistress of the Euphrates River. 
Our religious liberty being due to Jehovah 
God through Jesus Christ, we must use it 
in harmony with his will at this most cru- 
cial time in human history. In obedience to 
his Holy Bible we confess ourselves to be 
under orders to reveal to the people that 
there is no possibility for spiritual life now 
and everlasting life in the future in or by 
means of Christendom. She spells spiritual 
death for her tremendous church member- 
ship now and literal death for them in the 
fast-approaching "day of vengeance on' the 
part of our God." We Christian witnesses 
of Jehovah are few in comparison with the 
977,383,000 members of Christendom. But 
God has increased our capabilities as pub- 
lishers of his present-day message a hun- 
dredfold, yes, double that. Through his own 
earthly organization he has supplied us 



hundreds of millions of printed pieces of 
literature, Bibles, books, booklets, maga- 
zines, tracts, as vehicles for us to ride in 
spiritual warfare against the strongholds 
of error in spiritually dead Christendom. 
By means of these myriads of publicity ve- 
hicles we shall carry out to the end our du- 
ty to declare the "day of vengeance on the 
part of our God," as a "woe" to Christen- 
dom. 

Mankind's only hope for peace, happi- 
ness, prosperity, life, yes, resurrection of 
the dead, is God's Messianic kingdom. Hap- 
py is our privilege to announce to all na- 
tions the establishment of that kingdom in 
the heavens at the end of the Gentile Times 
in 1914. We join our voices with those in 
heaven in saying that the kingship of the 
world of mankind has become the kingship 
of our Lord God Jehovah and of his Mes- 
siah or Christ. We publicly thank Him that 
he has taken his great power and begun his 
everlasting reign by his Messiah, his Son 
Jesus. 

We know that this kingdom means final- 
ly a disastrous woe to the political nations 
at the climax of the day of God's ven- 
geance, but we will not fear their wrath 
because of this. Loyally we will, to the end, 
give our unqualified allegiance to God's 
Messianic kingdom. We will obey our reign- 
ing King Jesus Christ and carry out fur- 
ther his command to preach "this good 
news of the kingdom" everywhere for a 
witness to all the nations until their end 
comes. We will without letup turn teach- 
able people to God's Messianic kingdom for 
realization of the hope of 'glory to God in 
the highest with peace on earth forever for 
his men of good will.' 





: I. * ! ) | U 

f * * «* < L- *F 



Regular family Bible discussion and meeting attendance unite Witness families 



n *: I c.._- *■ .._.... 



rid(.nv.di juyyc3i.iuii3 

for Family Living 

In a world in which many families are plagued with disunity, 
problems and even tragedies, Jehovah's organization consid- 
erately set aside a portion of the assembly program to present 
timely information to parents 

of parents to face the problems 
of their children realistically. Do 
all Christian parents have the 
courage and take the time to 
provide a firm and loving guide 
that is needed so desperately by 
their children in these critical 
times? — this" was the question. 

Demonstrations were presented 
that enabled the audience to see 
how a child's confidence could be 
gained by taking time to discuss 
problems in an understanding 
way. The speaker emphasized 
that permissiveness will not en- 
courage confidence and that dis- 
cipline is vital. 



on family living. 

A Wholesome Home 

"Is My Home "Wholesome?" 
was the subject of the first talk, 
discussed from the standpoint of 
the parents. The speaker stressed 
that a wholesome home is one in 
which the members of the family 
have a genuine interest in one 
another as persons. True, they 
have different likes, dislikes, 
problems, feelings and desires, 
yet they enjoy being together. To 
have such a wholesome home, the 
father must take the lead in a 
loving way and exercise empathy. 

By doing things together a 
family is drawn more closely to- 
gether and loyalty develops. 

Communication Between Mates 

The second part of the sym- 
posium dealt with the subject 
"As Husband and Wife, Do We 
Communicate?" In this talk, the 
need was highlighted of married 
persons' communicating with 
each other so as to deal under- 
standing^ with each other. 

The speaker underscored the 
fact that communication is made 
easier when there is love, because 
it means that there is genuine 
concern for each other. To com- 
municate effectively one needs to 
speak, hear and observe. Yes, 
it means talking things over so 
that one can know what is on 
the mind of one's mate. 

The speaker warned against 
barriers to communication such 
as stubbornness, pride, anger 
and depression. He also warned 
against taking one's mate for 
granted. Communication enables 
a husband and a wife to enjoy 
living together. It builds and 
maintains warmth. 

Getting Children 
tp Confide in Parents 

The third speaker, discussing 
the theme "Do Our Children Con- 
fide in 13s?", highlighted the need 



Divided Households 

The final part of the sympo- 
sium drew the audience's atten- 
tion to the subject "A Faithful 
Course in a Divided Household." 
The key point stressed by the 
speaker was that Witnesses who 
live in divided households should 
manifest godly qualities and ad- 
here to Bible principles. By doing 
this, Jehovah's influence is in- 
creased in such homes. It 
promotes household peace and 
mutual understanding. 

A believer's respectful loyalty 
to Jehovah's principles is a fine 
recommendation of Bible truth 
to an unbeliever. Yet the believer 
should understand the feelings of 
his unbelieving mate and that 
the changes the truth brings may 
disturb him. He might feel a 
loss and may resist in fear of 
losing what he has. Always keep 
the lines of communication open, 
said the speaker to believing 
marriage mates, and discuss your 
feelings and the reasons for your 
actions. 

Should There Be 
a Generation Gap ? 

What accounts for the genera- 
tion gap ? today? That was the 
question posed by the one who 
gave this timely talk. Directing 
his remarks to the young folks 

17 



in attendance, he pointed out that 
television, radio and the faster 
modes of travel have played a 
part in it. Years ago parents and 
their young ones did things to- 
gether. Today in the world they 
go their separate ways. 

What can young Christians do 
to avoid this generation gap ? The 
speaker explained that Bible 
principles form an excellent bul- 
wark against this danger. Use 
them to decide on recreation and 
associations. The speaker also 
highlighted the need to show 
respect for mature persons be- 
cause of their experience. They 
can benefit young folks. 'Make 
friends with older persons,' he 
told them, 'and do not stick just 
with young folks.' 

Rights or Duties — Which ? 

This hour part of the program 
was truly delightful and so rele- 
vant to the times in which we 
live. The speaker informed the 
audience that the Bible does not 
stress rights but duties. Hence, 
Christians should not think that 
because something is common 
they may insist on such "rights." 

A highly interesting demon- 
stration was presented that en- 
abled the audience to grasp the 
point of rights and duties. It 
dealt with a father handling the 
matter of his son's growing long 
hair and a beard. It was inter- 
esting to hear the youth's at- 
tempts to justify his course of 
action, especially his argument 
that beards were worn in Bible 
times. His father explained why 
the Israelites wore beards. It 
was because cutting their hair 
would have made them look like 
their pagan neighbors who cut 
their hair for their false gods. 

The father helped his son to 
realize how his appearance was 
affecting the congregation. It was 
also affecting his opportunity 
for privileges of service in the 
congregation. His long hair and 
beard classified him with rebel- 
lious groups. 

This program strengthened us 
all to seek to please our neigh- 
bors in what is upbuilding. 




The thousands of servants present at the assembly benefited 
from this three-part symposium the theme of which was help- 
ing others in the congregation by exercising loving oversight. 
These were urged not just to 
tell others what to do but to 
give help as it is needed. How 
this can be done was demon- 
strated repeatedly. 

The conventioners learned that 
in the United States there are 
31 district servants, 336 circuit 
servants, 5,365 overseers and 
tens of thousands of ministerial 
servants. The three talks im- 
pressed upon these servants their 
responsibility to provide "loving 
oversight" for the flock of God. 
In carrying out that responsi- 
bility much is required of them. 



Show Empathy 

Addressing the district and cir- 
cuit servants, the first speaker 
in the symposium urged them to 
understand the circumstances in 
the congregations they serve so 
they can manifest real empathy. 
For them to get the best results, 
he said, there are several things 
they need to recognize. One of 
these is that they must be ap- 
proachable and available to the 
brothers and sisters. How else 
can they exercise loving over- 
sight? 

District and circuit servants 
also need to have genuine appre- 
ciation for what the servants 
are doing in the congregations 
in addition to discharging their 
responsibilities to their families 
and secular employers. Such ap- 
preciation is encouraging to the 
servants and helps to cultivate a 
wholesome attitude. 

When counseling or working 
with the servants, publishers and 
pioneers, the district and circuit 
servants need to be loving, the 
speaker said, not demanding and 
harsh. Every effort ought to be 



made to build up, not tear down. 
When this is done the visit of 
these brothers to a congregation 
can help to strengthen it. 

A further requirement for good 
results is to give practical coun- 
sel along with a personal demon- 
stration of zeal in the field 
ministry. 

The speaker reminded the 
audience that district and circuit 
servants are humans just as they 
are and should not be feared. 
Fear prevents some publishers 
from cooperating with them in 
the ministry. So the speaker 
said: "We can make their work 
more gratifying and joyful if 
we cooperate with them" as the 
Scriptures admonish at Hebrews 
13 :17. They would then be able 
to make their visit more bene- 
ficial to individual publishers. 

Overseers Counseled 
Following this fine talk the 
nest speaker in the symposium 
discussed the congregation ser- 
vant. He pointed out that Jesus 
was the perfect model for the 
Christian overseer. Like him the 
overseer must be first a servant 
of Jehovah and second a servant 
of his brothers. 

The overseer, it was stressed, 
needs to show loving consider- 
ation at all times. In dealing with 
matters he should ask himself: 
"What would be the loving way 
to handle this?" 

Good counsel was directed to 
the overseer on how he can exer- 
cise loving oversight of the ser- 
vants in the congregation. He 
cannot accomplish this by just 
telling them what to do but 
rather by giving them help as 

18 



it is needed. This can create a 
good spirit among the servants 
because it shows that the over- 
seer is not unreasonable in what 
he expects of them. 

It was acknowledged that an 
overseer cannot do everything. 
For that reason the overseers 
were urged to train other ser- 
vants so they can help them. 

To Work as a Team 

Splendid counsel was given to 
the ministerial servants by the 
third speaker in the symposium. 
He urged them to work as a 
team, each one giving "what is 
needed" just as is the case with 
the members of Christ's body. 
Teamwork among the servants 
helps a congregation to be pro- 
ficient in the ministry. (Eph. 
4:16) He went on to emphasize 
that, although the ministerial ser- 
vants may be of widely varying 
ages, different backgrounds and 
either married or single, all 
should have the same goal of 
caring for the spiritual welfare 
of the "sheep." 

It was pointed out by the 
speaker that, since the assistant 
congregation servant and Bible 
study servant, along with the 
overseer, form the congregation 
committee, they have to make 
decisions that affect the lives of 
others. They, therefore, need to 
be understanding men. They must 
use discernment. In their efforts 
to keep the congregation clean 
they need to temper justice with 
mercy. In support of this the 
speaker quoted James 2 :13. 

Each ministerial servant was 
admonished to be a slave to his 
brothers, diligently caring for his 
duties, not in a mechanical way 
but with genuine love for the 
"sheep." They were encouraged 
to visit the publishers in their 
homes, work with them in the 
field, help them attend meetings 
and visit them when they are 
sick. The servants need to un- 
derstand the personal problems 
of the brothers without intruding 
into personal lives. 

In conclusion the speaker called 
upon each servant and publisher 
to see his part in loving over- 
sight and obedient submission. 
To these servants he expressed 
the feelings of those under their 
care by saying: "We deeply 
appreciate the servants for their 
love and understanding. Are we 
not happy that ' we have such 
men?" 



What a fine instrument to aid us all 
to grow in understanding ! This provi- 
sion is the 544-page first volume of the 
publication, Aid to Bible Understanding. 
When completed, the work will contain 
thousands of articles arranged alphabeti- 
cally, beginning with "Aaron" and con- 
tinuing on through "Zuzim." 

Just think of the benefits of this pub- 
lication ! In the complete work, the So- 
ciety will endeavor to consider every 
person, place, plant and creature men- 
tioned in the Bible. Thus, whenever- you 



headquarters of the Society. A special 
staff then began the checking of this 
material and doing much additional re- 
search. Now, Ave years later, there is 
still much work to do. 

One may wonder why such a time- 
consuming project was undertaken. Are 
there not many reference works avail- 
able today in the form of Bible com- 
mentaries and dictionaries and other en- 
cyclopedic publications? This is true, the 
speaker acknowledged. But while these 
works contain much that is helpful, they 





come across a Bible term that is un- 
familiar, or about which you are not 
fully informed, you will find it very prof- 
itable to look it up in this publication. 

For example, say that you were read- 
ing the Acts of the Apostles. Did you 
realize that in this Bible book alone 
there are at least 109 different geograph- 
ical regions and places mentioned? Think 
how much greater your appreciation of 
the ministry of Peter, Paul and other 
faithful witnesses of that time can be if 
you learn something about each of these 
places and understand their relationship 
to one another. 

The new Aid volume was released at 
the conclusion of the hour talk "With 
All That You Acquire, Acquire Under- 
standing." At the outset the speaker not- 
ed the tremendous explosion in man's 
scientific knowledge in recent times, and 
asked: "Has it led people to healthier, 
happier, more secure, peaceful and pro- 
ductive lives? Has it helped man to get 
along better with his neighbor?" Really, 
it has not. ■ 

Thus, an increasing number of persons 
are looking elsewhere for answers. They 
seek a guide to help solve the everyday 
problems of life. Such a guide, the speak- 
er observed, can be found in the Bible. 
But people need to understand what they 
read. 

To assist in filling this need, prep- 
aration of Aid to Bible Understanding 
was undertaken. Five years ago, the 
speaker explained, the Watch Tower So- 
ciety began its preparation. Some 250 
brothers in more than 90 countries were 
invited to contribute to the research in- 
volved. Within the course of a year the 
material they gathered was sent to the 



also include much that is unreliable, 
inaccurate or even false. 

It was pointed out that although older 
reference works generally support the 
Bible's authority, they often proceed on 
the assumption of the reliability of reli- 
gious traditions and doctrines not men- 
tioned in or supported by the Bible. So 
a good portion of the material in these 
publications is colored by sectarian doc- 
trines and religious creeds. And in more 
recent Bible dictionaries, the speaker 
said, there is usually a trend toward 
higher criticism. In fact, in many of 
these the accuracy of the Bible is openly 
denied. 

The speaker drew attention to an ex- 
ample of this in The Interpreter's Bible, 
Volume 1, page 501. Commenting on chap- 
ter 3 of Genesis, it states: 

"Man was forbidden on pain of death 
to eat of [the tree of life and the 
tree of the knowledge of good and evil], 
the reason for the prohibition being God's 
fear that man, acquiring knowledge of 
good and evil, might become like him 
and, approaching too near his throne, 
might endanger his supremacy. But the 
serpent, a demon hostile to God, told 
the truth. He was thus no subtle tempter 
but, in intention, at least, a benefactor 
of the human race." 

What a contrast this is to what the 
Bible teaches ! The apostle Paul wrote 
early Christians : "I am afraid that some,- 
how, as the serpent seduced Eve by its 
cunning, your minds might be corrupted 
away from the sincerity and the chas- 
tity that are due the Christ." (2 Cor. 
11:3) Also, Jesus Christ called the orig- 
inal serpent, Satan the Devil, a "liar 
and the father of the lie," as well as a 



19 



20 



"PEACE ON EARTH" INTERNATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES 



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Hot only in title, but in actuality, new book 
proves itself "Aid to Bible Understanding" 



"manslayer." (John 8:44) He did not call him 
a "benefactor of the human race." 

The tendency in modern reference works is 
to discredit any intervention or direction of 
matters by God. The opinions and assertions of 
worldly "authorities" frequently are held forth 
in them as of greater reliability than what God 
says in his Word. In this regard, Aid to Bible 
Understanding differs from all other publications 
of a similar nature. For it consistently accepts 
the Bible as the principal authority and is guided 
by it. 

The new Aid publication also is careful to 
avoid the error that many reference works make 
in giving exaggerated importance to archaeolog- 
ical finds. It recognizes that many of the ar- 
chaeologists* conclusions are based on conjecture, 
even imagination. How unwise, therefore, to try 
to build understanding, conviction and faith on 
an archaeological foundation ' 

To illustrate this, the example can be cited of 
Ezion-geber down by the Gulf of Aqabah. A 
prominent archaeologist some years ago claimed 
to have uncovered here ruins of a huge copper- 
smelting industry of King Solomon's time. This 
interpretation of the evidence was accepted for 
many years. But with the accumulation of more 
evidence the archaeologist acknowledged that his 



interpretation was incorrect. The Bible itself 
makes no mention of a copper industry at Ezion- 
geber. 

The editing staff of Aid to Bible Understanding 
has endeavored to stay true to Bible facts, yet, 
at the same time, it has taken into account other 
sources of information. We can be happy indeed 
to have an aid that holds closely to God's Word 
and builds up our faith and confidence in it. 

Demonstrating Its Use 

During the evening 'session following the re- 
lease of the Aid book an hour program demon- 
strated various ways in which this new publica- 
tion can be used. Of course, the Society plans 
for us to cover at least its major subjects in the 
Theocratic Ministry School next year. But we 
need not wait until then to become acquainted 
with this new instrument. 

Rather, we do well to familiarize ourselves 
with its contents as soon as possible. This can 
be done simply by going through it, looking at 
each page, noting subject headings, pictures, 
charts and maps. In this way we will obtain a 
comprehensive view, and thus be alerted to use 
it when needed. Next we might begin reading 
articles that attract our attention. 

The program employed two families to illus- 
trate how material in the Aid volume can be 
covered and profitably used. The father of one 
family explained that during his lunch hour he 
picks out major articles to read, such as the 
ones on Architecture ; Bank, Banker ; Bread ; 
Cheese and Copper. He is able to use information 
from such articles in incidental witnessing to 
fellow workers. 

It was also noted that when reading the daily 
text a word may be mentioned concerning which 
one desires more information. For example, the 
comments on the text for July 9 speak of An- 
tioch as the city to which Paul returned after 
his second missionary tour and from which he 
began his third tour. One may wonder what kind 
of city this was that Paul chose as his "home 
base." 

The Aid book explains that it was the third- 
largest city in the Roman Empire ! It was a 
commercial center located on a major trade route. 
Certainly Paul exercised wisdom in choosing this 
city. It reminds one of the present-day use by 
the Watch Tower Society of the commercial 
center New York city from which to direct the 
worldwide Kingdom preaching. 

By means of demonstration it was illustrated 
how the Aid book can assist youths in preparing 
school reports. For example, should an assign- 
ment be given to prepare a report on trees, there 
are interesting Aid articles on Acacia, Almond, 
Apple, Balsam, Cassia, X>ate and Ebony trees 
that might be utilized. And when false ideas are 
presented in school, these can be corrected by 
Aid articles such as Alphabet ; Assyria ; Creation ; 
Earth; Egypt, Egyptian and Chronology. 

Eeally, there is no end to the profitable infor- 
mation in this scholarly new publication.- If we 
just remember to use it when we desire addi- 
tional or background information on any Bible 
subject that arises on any occasion, we will in- 
deed be greatly enlightened and benefited. 



Conventioners, as they lis- 
tened to the talk entitled 
"Peace with. God amid the 
'Great Tribulation/" had the 
privilege of taking a fresh look 
at the vital, prophetic words 
of Jesus recorded at Matthew 
24 :3-2S. 

As the speaker developed his 
theme it became apparent that 
all the events there mentioned 
by Jesus had a literal applica- 
tion upon the Jewish nation. 
And this led up to the "great 
tribulation" experienced by Judea 
and Jerusalem in the year 70 
C.E. That "tribulation" did not 
begin with General Cestius Gal- 
lus' abortive attack on the city. 
It started when the legions un- 
der General Titus closed in on 
the city, completely cutting it 
off from outside help and lead- 
ing on to its destruction. 

But what of the duration of 
the tribulation! It was "cut 
short" (Matt. 24:22) It was 
very brief. In fact, history tells 
us it lasted somewhat less than 
six months. For the sake of his 
"chosen ones," Jesus' followers, 
Jehovah did not permit Jeru- 
salem's "great tribulation" even 
to begin until his genuine wor- 
shipers had fled beyond Judea's 
borders. Once that had taken 
place, God permitted the execu- 
tion of his purpose against 
faithless Jewry to go forward 
swiftly. Not a long-drawn-out 
carnage that would snuff out all 
of the besieged. No, because some 
Jewish "flesh" was to survive. 
And survive it did, for some 
97,000 Jews were carried off into 
slavery. Not all Jewish "flesh" 
perished in Jerusalem's tribu- 
lation. 

Another striking point made by 
the speaker was that there was 
no real dividing point between 
Jesus' words at verse 6 and 
those at verse 7. History tells 
us that Judeans of that time 
not only heard reports of dis- 
tant wars, but also were directly 
involved in wars and revolts. 

But was Matthew 24 :14 an 
exception, something to be ful- 
filled only in a later age? No, 
because the preaching of the 



JipiAiiiii: 



"good news" by those zealous 
first-century Christians spread 
throughout all the then known 
world. (Col. 1:23) That preach- 
ing, the signal for flight from 
Jerusalem, and the actual flight 
beyond the Jordan, were all 
events that must take place be- 
fore the city would be enveloped 
in her greatest of all tribula- 
tions. And they all did take place. 

A Modern Application? 
In view of this, are we wrong 
in applying this entire prophecy 
by Jesus to the period from 1914 
C.E. to the battle of the great 
day of God the Almighty? The 
answer of the speaker was, No I 
Why? 

First, because, in answer to 
the three-part question, Jesus 
was also referring to the time 
of his second "presence." (Matt. 
24:3) Further, the Gentile times 
were to continue after Jerusa- 
lem's destruction in 70 C.E. down 
to 1914 C.E. (Luke 21:24) Also, 
it is to be noted that there were 
other features of Jesus' proph- 
ecy, running through to Mat- 
thew 25 :46, that were not ful- 
filled at Jerusalem's destruction 
in 70 C.E. Thus it becomes 
clear that Jesus, in giving his 
prophetic discourse, also had in 
mind something immensely bigger 
than the destruction of literal 
Jerusalem. He employed unfaith- 
ful Jerusalem of his day as a 
type of the antitypical unfaith- 
ful Jerusalem, namely, Christen- 
dom. So what took place as re- 
gards Jerusalem and all Judea 
nineteen hundred years ago tells 
us about a modern application 
now swiftly nearing its climax. 

Notice how both periods have 
been marked by the same fea- 
tures, though the modern paral- 
lel by more far-reaching events 
on a scale unprecedented in hu- 
man history. 

Now, though engulfed in the 
ever-worsening anguish and dis- 
tress that Jesus foretold, Chris- 

21 



tendom still faces the "great 
tribulation." Hers will be a trib- 
ulation that is bound to affect 
her political associates and pa- 
trons world wide. 

So, what, then, is the "great 
tribulation"? It has not yet be- 
gun. As the speaker declared: 
"The 'great tribulation' such as 
will not occur again is yet 
ahead, for it means the destruc- 
tion of the world empire of false 
religion (including Christendom) 
followed by the 'war of the great 
day of God the Almighty' at 
Armageddon against the political 
allies of Babylonish false reli- 
gion." 

And how is the "great tribu- 
lation" cut short? Not by being 
cut in the middle, as we once 
thought, but by God's concen- 
trating it within a cut-short time 
period. It will not be a long- 
drawn-out period of time, but 
God can make it 'a swift work,' 
as the speaker said. He can bring 
an end to this wicked system 
"in a speedy way, in no pro- 
longed order." This will permit 
the saving of 'some flesh,' since 
ordinarily frail human 'flesh' 
would, without divine protection, 
be unable to endure the length- 
ening too long of this "great 
tribulation." 

With this more accurate un- 
derstanding of Jesus' prophetic 
words at Matthew chapter 24, 
ministers of God's Word will be 
better equipped to enlighten 
honest-hearted persons. Knowing 
that Jesus' words had a literal 
application upon Jerusalem and 
Judea, they will be able to meet 
the objection often expressed 
that these conditions also existed 
prior to the year 1914. They can 
also encourage listeners with the 
knowledge that 'not all flesh will 
perish' in that "great tribulation." 
Jehovah has in view those lovers 
of truth and righteousness who 
may be hid in the day of his 
burning anger— people who may 
survive and populate the earth, 
which he made to be a paradise 
home for obedient humans. 



A live two-hour 
drama entitled "Let 
No Man Ever Look 
Down on Your 
Youth" vividly fo- 
cused attention on the 
problems confronting 
youths and parents and 
their struggle to lead moral 
and upright lives in today's 
world. 

The drama was the climax of 
an entire day devoted to young 
people at the "Peace on Earth" 
International Assembly of Je- 
hovah's Witnesses. It was a day 
filled with frank talks, engross- 
ing discussions and demonstra- 
tions, topped off by the drama, 
in modern setting. 

The Drama and Its Characters 

The story centers principally 
around five young persons. The 
principal character, Tim, dem- 
onstrates by his own course of 
action and the counsel that he 
gives to other young people 
that there are those in God's 
organization who are good ex- 
amples and who can be mature 
even though young in years. And 
what a blessing it is to have 
such youths among us today ! 

By way of contrast, parents 
of two of the other youths in 
the drama are shown to have 
failed in. their responsibility. The 
result is that their youngsters 
become involved in the world 
and are disfellowshiped. These 
parents demonstrated extremes 
in parental care. 

In one instance, Molly, the 
mother of the girl Diana, was 
too permissive. On the other 
hand, Buzz' parents were overly 
restrictive and tried to protect 
him from the reality of life 
itself. Both of these youngsters 
had the fine association of youths 
in the New World society, but 
they did not appreciate it. Their 
dress and language showed them 
to be still worldly. They scoffed 
at making over their personal- 
ities. Buzz was told that his 
language was disrespectful. But 
he laughs at the counsel and 
thinks himself smart, superior. 
Diana, on the other hand, was 
told that her short skirts and 
familiarity with worldly boys 
would lead to no good. But she 




pooh-poohs the fine advice. Her 
parents fail to help her. They 
think they know better. Even- 
tually both children reap the 
fruit of their own sowing : Diana 
becomes involved in fornication, 
and Buzz turns to drugs and 
crime — their lives ruined for 
failing to heed the sound counsel 
of God's Word! 

Benny, in the drama, portrays 
another group of youngsters to- 
day who more or less are forced 
to stand alone. His parents are 
not Christians. But young Ben- 
ny loves the truth of God's Word. 
Though weak in willpower, he 
does have the right attitude. 
When tempted into a course of 
wrongdoing, he goes to the over- 
seer, confesses his wrong and 
seeks help. He offers informa- 
tion that helps to uncover a 
serious wrong in. the congrega- 
tion. He also associates with 
Tim, who proves to be a source 
of encouragement in his mo- 
ments of trial. Tim shows his 
mature attitude by continuing 
to make progress, not only on 
his own part, but also in assist- 
ing other young people, such as 
Benny. 

The Problems Confronted 
The drama faced the issues 
of youthful life boldly and ex- 
pressed the struggle of youth in 
the language and style of today 
among young people. It did not 
uphold or recommend the slang 
and the bad speech used. The 
desirable language was expressed 
by Tim and Cathy and their 
overseer Myron. 

The point of the drama was 
to spotlight the problems facing 
youth, and this it did. The dan- 
gers of drug addiction in schools 
flashed frighteningly before the 
parents' eyes. The smoking of 
marijuana by teen-agers, steal- 
ing, homosexuality, fornication, 

22 



masturbation and re- 
bellion were all 
treated with frank- 
ness. 
The parents were 
made to feel deeply 
their responsibility as 
Christians, that theirs is 
the obligation to train and 
guide their young in pathways 
of righteousness, that this is to 
be done first by example, then 
by counsel and guidance. 

The congregation, too, through 
its- servant body should stand 
ever ready to help the youths in 
the New World society. All of 
this direction and concern should 
be reinforced by means of a 
regular study of the Holy Scrip- 
tures and the Society's publica- 
tions. Those who take advantage 
of these provisions are helped 
to walk uprightly, serving as 
fine Christian examples during 
these trying times. 

Young people whose actions 
resemble those of Buzz or Diana 
were warned that unless they 
set out promptly to make se- 
rious changes in their lives, they, 
too, will be headed for certain 
and serious trouble and ruina- 
tion of their lives. "We cannot 
toy with immorality in any form 
and not eventually fall into sin," 
they were told. "The pressures 
of this system's corrupt stan- 
dard are too great to resist if 
we incline at all in that direc- 
tion," was the clear warning. 

An appeal was made to par- 
ents not to wait for their child 
to make a serious mistake be- 
fore they realized that he needed 
their help and love. "Your chil- 
dren are your responsibility. 
Jehovah himself has placed that 
responsibility directly upon your 
shoulders," they were told. You 
cannot give that responsibility 
away, nor can it be taken away 
from you. So see that your chil- 
dren are marked with a Chris- 
tian personality before Armaged- 
don strikes. — Ezek. 9:5, 6. 

A Close Relationship Needed 

Cultivate a warm and confi- 
dential relationship with your 
children. Teach them to take yon 
into their confidence. If you have 
this loving understanding, you 



'PEACE ON EARTH" INTERNATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES 



23 



have gained a great treasure. 
Cherish it. Use it to their last- 
ing good. 

The work of parents and ser- 
vants in the Christian congre- 
gation is not to take children 
out of this world by over- 
shielding them. Their job is to 
keep children from becoming a 
part of the world's system. This 
can be done, not only by teach- 
ing them the principles of God's 
Word and how to make right 
decisions, but also by setting 
before them a true Christian 
example. It is important that 
their lives be filled with whole- 
some activity and their minds 
occupied with matters that are 
morally strengthening. Also, show 
them the dangers of toying with 
any kind of immorality. 

Parents were counseled to in- 
form their children about the 
dangers of masturbation or self- 
abuse. "In almost 100 percent 
of those cases of homosexuality 
uncovered in the congregations, 
those involved had first fallen 
victims of the practice of habit- 
ual self-abuse, many from early 
childhood," it was pointed out 




to the audience. "This 
can be prevented or 
cured," they were told. 
When you return home 
from this assembly, why 
not sit down with your 
children and study the 
"Questions from Read- 
ers" in the September 
1, 1959, Watchtower, 
which deals with self- 
abuse? Also study the 
articles on self-control 
in the July 1, 1967, is- 
sue of The Watchtower. 
Look up all the scrip- 
tures and talk about 
their application to the 
problems at hand. 

'If what you have 
seen in the last couple 
of hours appears some- 
what overplayed or ex- 
aggerated,' said the nar- 
rator of the drama, 
'well, it wasn't.' In fact, 
it barely suggests the 
extent of the problems 
encompassing youth to- 
day. The raw 
details are too 
shocking to 
portray on stage. There- 
fore, parents were cau- 
tioned not to minimize 
the reality of youth's 
problems at hand and 
the depth , of the cor- 
ruption of this wicked 
system of things. What 
the apostle Paul wrote 
to the Romans (1:26- 
32) applies in every 
detail today, and the 
young are involved. 




Young folks reporting for work; they 
. devote energy to Jehovah's service 
at Watchtower printing plant 



Count on God's Care 

Never stop growing 
spiritually. Never stop 
recognizing the need to 
use your minds wisely, 
the youth at the assem- 
bly were told, because 
the mind and heart are 
the sources of your 
conduct (Matt. 15:18; 
Prov. 5:1, 2) And re- 
member, God cares. He 
is interested in every 
one of the youth who 
turns to him, the audi- 



Young publisher of Kingdom 
makes good use of Bible 

ence heard as the narrator sum- 
marized the drama in a fourteen- 
mlnute conclusion. "Don't ever 
make the mistake of thinking he 
[God] has lost sight of you or 
has forgotten you. Not unless you 
have forgotten him or have tried 
to get away from his sight." 
Youths were encouraged to es- 
tablish a close, personal rela- 
tionship with Jehovah, to go to 
him regularly in prayer, to seek 
God's mind on everything and 
always ask themselves before 
becoming involved, "Would Jesus 
do this?" 

In closing, the speaker de- 
clared : "So, all you fine young 
men and women in Jehovah's 
organization, listen to the apos- 
tle Paul, who was like a father 
to Timothy, and to you too. Lis- 
ten carefully to what he said: 
'Let no man ever look down on 
your youth. On the contrary, be- 
come an example to the faithful 
ones in speaking, in conduct, in 
love, in faith, in chasteness.' And 
Jehovah will certainly bless you 
richly as you do." 



This "Peace on Earth" Inter- 
national Assembly was a splen- 
did time for newly dedicated per- 
sons to be baptized. Since an 
international assembly is an ex- 
ceptional event for Jehovah's 
witnesses, it is fine to have it 
associated with one's baptism. 

To the baptism candidates 
gathered in a roped-on: section 
of seats at this "Peace on Earth" 
assembly a speaker directed com- 
ments about what they had done 
so as to be there and of the re- 
sponsibilities resting upon them. 
He observed that some there may 
have had to alter their way of 
life to bring it into harmony 
with God's high moral require- 
ments. 

Having recognized that Chris- 
tians follow the pattern set by 
Jesus with regard to baptism, 
these lovers of righteousness had 
proceeded to take the steps that 
lead to baptism. After complet- 
ing the required course of study, 
they approached the congregation 
overseer aod expressed their de- 
sire to be baptized. He began 
to review them on the basic 
teachings of the Bible as out- 
lined, in the "Lamp" book to see 
if they were qualified. This was 
•a beneficial procedure as it as- 
sured that they knew what they 
were doing and were qualified 
to be acknowledged as ministers 
of Jehovah God. 

A brief demonstration showed 
how the overseer had done this. 
Those in the audience who had 
not as yet been baptized were 
thus able to see what the review 
involves. 



A Serious Step 

The speaker reminded the can- 
didates that baptism is a serious 
step because of its meaning. It 
signifies the ordination of those 
baptized. It marks them as min- 
isters of Jehovah God. This does 
not mean, the speaker observed, 
that their ordination comes from 
the one doing the baptizing or 
from the Watch Tower Society. 
It comes from Jehovah God. That 
he has ordained them is indicated 
by the fact that his organization 
has accepted them as being quali- 
fied and has baptized them. 

He emphasized the fact that 
Jehovah expects those who prom- 
ise to serve him faithfully as 
his ministers to fulfill that prom- 
ise. This is a reasonable ex- 
pectation in view of all the 
benefits that come from him. 
(Ps. 116:12) Kegularly engaging 
in the ministry is a very im- 
portant way to show they are 
keeping their promise. The speak- 
er also remarked that once they 
are baptized all of Jehovah's 
witnesses can in a full sense call 
them "brothers" and "sisters" 
because they become God's "men 
of good will." 

After answering Yes to the two 
questions put to all candidates 
for baptism, they and the audi- 
ence bowed their heads in prayer. 
Then they proceeded to the place 
for their baptism. The closing 
words of the speaker expressed 
the feelings of the thousands 
who watched and listened : "We 
are very happy for you and 
wish Jehovah's blessing on you 
throughout eternity." 




■4: . , 

Congregation servant reviews basic Bible teachings 
with baptismal candidates 

24 



* ■> 



n 






BIBLE QUESTIONS 
AMSWiRED 

A get-together in the home of 
an overseer was the setting for 
a discussion of Bible questions. 

The question of whether a 
Christian would attend a church 
funeral came up. It was shown 
that various factors must be 
weighed. For instance, a wife in 
a divided household would have 
to consider her husband's head- 
ship, just as Naaman considered 
his orders from the Syrian king. 
(2 Ki. 5 :18) But the dangers of 
attending were emphasized, in- 
cluding the pressure to share in 
idolatry and the possibility of 
stumbling others. (Phil. 1:10) 
As an alternative to attending, 
visiting the bereaved at, the 
funeral parlor or at their home 
was mentioned. 

The next question dealt with 
the meaning of the prayer : "Do 
not bring us into temptation." 
(Matt. 6:13) James 1:13 was 
cited as evidence that Jehovah 
does not try anyone with evil. 
It was concluded that God does 
"not bring us into temptation" 
in that he alerts us to tempta- 
tion and he strengthens us so 
we can avoid or endure it. 

When discussing the proper 
attitude toward a member of 
one's family who is disfellow- 
shiped, stress was laid on the 
counsel at 2 John 0-11. It 
was explained that even if the 
dlsfellowshiped person was in 
the same household, such as one's 
wife, spiritual fellowship would 
cease. And if the disfellowshiped 
relative was outside the house- 
hold, then the faithful Christian 
would not want to talk to that 
one at all. There might be some 
rare and absolutely necessary 
family business, but the Chris- 
tian would bear in mind the re- 
quirement to 'quit mixing in 
company with such a one.' 

The final question dealt with 
the exciting prophecy about the 
"king of the north" and the 
"king of the south." All were 
reminded that the Bible does not 
allow for a nuclear World War 
III that would destroy humanity. 
Bather, Daniel shows that these 
two "kings" will exist down till 
Armageddon. (Dan. 11:45: 8:25) 
But for Christians there yet re- 
mains the vicious attack of Gog 
of Magog. They will need to en- 
dure that attack with God's help. 



SHARING MORE FULLY 



This is the day for the final 
harvest. By the tens of thou- 
sands honest-hearted persons 
are being collected into God's 
organization. Can you share 
more fully in this final in- 
gathering work? Can you en- 
large your privileges of ser- 
vice? These were . questions 
set squarely before the assem- 
bly delegates during a very 
thought-provoking program. 

The Call to Pioneer 

In the half-hour talk "The 
Call to Pioneer — A Grand Per- 
sonal Opportunity," the speaker 
explained that the number of 
publishers in Jehovah's organi- 
zation had swelled to a peak 
of 1,221,504 in 200 lands. Just 
last year nearly 83,000 persons 
were baptized, he said. How 
different from the churches of 
Christendom where clergymen 
by the hundreds are leaving the 
ministry ! Yet there is still an 
urgent need for full-time work- 
ers in Jehovah's organization. 

There are many counties with 
populations of over 10,000 that 
are unassigned, he said. And ac- 
cording to the Society's service 
office : "There are congregations 
that are urgently in need of 
help. . . . There is still much 
work to be done in this country" 
for those who can make room 
for the pioneer service. 

So there is a grand personal 
opportunity to share more fully 
in God's service. The call to 
pioneer is still being extended. 
Jehovah God himself is issuing 
the invitation. Appreciate the 
grand opportunity, the speaker 
urged, and act now. If it is at 
all possible, enter the pioneer 
work. 

Staying in Full-Time Service 

Responding to the call of the 
full-time service, however, is on- 
ly the first step. In the following 
talk, "How to Stay in Full-Time 
Service," the speaker explained 
that it takes real determination, 
personal organization and plan- 
ning to stay in it. 

Full-time service is not for 



GOD'S SERVICE 



lazy persons, it was stressed. It 
requires initiative. One must 
plan a schedule of activity and 
stick to it. The speaker sug- 
gested getting an early start in 
the day ; also putting in 30 hours 
a week early in the month. This 
will assure exceeding the 100- 
hour-a-month goal. By doing 
this, he said, a pioneer will be 
able to meet his goals should 
sickness or other circumstances 
interfere with his service later 
in the year. 
The speaker pointed to the 








Will and Editha PoM, when 
teen-agers, were in concen- 
tration camp for their 
faith; have persevered 
in full-time service 
since 1947 



wise counsel of the pioneer Je- 
sus, who said 'not to be anxious 
over material needs but to seek 
the Kingdom first' (Matt. 6: 
31-33) True, he observed, ob- 
taining suitable part-time work 
to provide needed income is often 
a big hurdle. Yet there are many 
possibilities for employment — 
sewing, cleaning, painting, wash- 
ing windows, and so forth. 

The apostle Paul, he noted, 
did not consider sewing tents 
beneath his dignity in order to 
support himself in the ministry, 
despite his legal abilities. Nei- 

25 



ther should we look down on 
common labor if it can support 
us in the full-time service. 

Enlarging Our Privileges 

Regardless of whether our cir- 
cumstances allow us to pioneer, 
we can all have an increased 
share in the ministry. This was 
the point stressed in the next 
half-hour discourse, "Enlarging 
Our Privileges of Service in the 
Time Remaining." 

It was pointed out that per- 
haps we can put full days in the 
ministry on a regular basis. May- 
be, too, we can vacation pioneer 
at times during the year. Or 
we might find that we can move 
to a place where the need for 
ministers is greater. 

Also, we can increase our ef- 
fectiveness in the ministry. Es- 
pecially can we improve in our 
teaching ability, the speaker 
said. Perhaps we can take on 
another Bible study by conduct- 
ing two in an evening. 

The time remaining is very 
short, the speaker emphasized. 
We should want to do all we 
can to assist sheeplike ones to 
God's place of safety before it 
is too late. 

What Is Your Security? 

The course of life one pur- 
sues reveals to what he looks 
for security. Is it money and 
the things money can buy, or 
is it God's promise of everlast- 
ing life? The half -hour talk 
"What Is Your Security — Your 
Home? Your Bank Account? 
Your Job?" raised direct ques- 
tions for each one in the au- 
dience to answer personally. 

How much time and interest 
are you giving toward a home? 
the speaker asked. Are you con- 
tinually concerned with improv- 
ing it, wanting the latest fur- 
nishings, and so forth? Are you 
discontented and trying to keep 
up with the Joneses? 

Maybe, he added, you plan to 
buy a home, thus burdening 



26 



"PEACE ON EARTH" INTERNATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES 






} 



«r 




'» 










Benno Burczyk has stayed with Ms service 
assignment at Brooklyn Bethel for over 45 years 



yourself with monthly payments. 
Will you still be able to put 
Kingdom interests first? Can you 
forgo a new home and perhaps 
serve where the need is greater? 
he asked. Which would really 
provide the .most lasting secu- 
rity? 

Advertisements of the world 
say real security is a financial 
"nest egg," a substantial bank 
account. But is it really? The 
speaker pointed to the instabil- 
ity of the economy, and how 
fast the value of money can 
disappear. He asked : What sit- 
uation do you want to be in at 
the time of Jehovah's anger — to 
have little or no money in the 
bank and an acceptable record 
in God's service, or a large bank 
account and a poor record of 
service? 

How about your job? Do you 
consider it to be real security? 
Or are you willing to change 
your job for a better service 
schedule? the speaker asked. 
What comes first, your job or 
congregation meetings and ser- 
vice? 

Sometimes the circumstances 
arise where one is offered over- 
time work with more pay. Ac- 
cepting this may mean that 
more material things can be pur- 
chased. 

So the question is : Which will 
you place first — attendance at 
congregation meetings and a full 
share in the field ministry, or 



money and the things that it 
can buy? There is only one wise 
course to take, the speaker con- 
cluded, and that is to listen to 
God's Word and trust in Him 
for security. 

Are You a Modern-Day Jonah ? 

To sum up these points and 
drive them home to the audience, 
a penetrating hour-and-thirty- 
five minute drama was presented 
that assisted each one to ex- 
amine his own attitude toward 
Jehovah's service.- The experi-t 
ences of Jonah, in the Bible, 
laid the basis for the drama. 

The modern-day setting was 
at a congregation just before 
a talk by the circuit servant. 

All proceeded to their seats as 
the program began. The circuit 
servant's subject was "Are You 
a Modern-Day Jonah?" He point- 
ed out that, although Jonah was 
God's prophet, he was human 
and had imperfections. Jonah 
describes his own shortcomings 
in the Bible. So, the circuit ser- 
vant continued : "We will dis- 
cuss the lesson the account itself 
has for each one of us here at 
this very time and in the con- 
ditions that surround us." 

The drama was not acted out, 
but only the voices of the vari- 
ous characters were heard. First, 
there was the voice of God's 
angel commissioning Jonah to 
go to Nineveh to preach to the 
Ninevites. 



But Jonah reasoned : "Why, 
that's a 500-mile journey across 
the desert! . . . What benefit 
could possibly come from going 
up there to that city filled with 
bloodshed? ... I know what 
I'll do! I'll get as far from 
Nineveh as I can get. I'll go first 
to the port of Joppa. . . . There 
I can find a ship going to Tar- 
shish." 

At this point the circuit ser- 
vant interrupted to ask: "Par- 
ents, are you overprotective and 
actually putting your son or 
daughter on the road to Joppa? 
Are you . . . instilling in them 
a Jonah-like attitude, that an as- 
signment outside of your sphere 
of influence might be too bur- 
densome for them? . . . 

"Or perhaps you're an inter- 
ested [but undedicated] person 
who has been studying for quite 
some time, already speaking 
about the truth of God's king- 
dom . . . You, too, could be 
following a Jonah-like course. . . . 

"Will you [who have recently 
graduated from school] seriously 
and fully travel on the road to 
Nineveh, as commanded? Or will 
you get on the road to Joppa, in 
order to become less involved in 
the service of the Kingdom? . . . 

"Think, those of you who are 
planning to enter into the mari- 
tal arrangement. . . . Where will 
your marriage be leading you? 
To a settled foundation anchored 
into a modern home and its 
comforts that you really cannot 
afford? . . . Are you choosing the 
road to Nineveh, to responsi- 
bility, spirituality and availabil- 
ity to the service, or the road 
to Joppa?" 

The following scenes of the 
drama (only the voices being 
heard) showed Jonah purchas- 
ing his ticket for the 2,000-mile 
trip to Tarshish, and the storm 
and Jonah being cast overboard.- 
Finally, additional scenes por- 
trayed Jonah in Nineveh preach- 
ing, the repentance of the Nine- 
vites and Jonah's experiences 
with the bottle-gourd plant. After 
each scene the circuit servant 
made brief points of application 
to the Jonah-like course persons 
in the modern Christian con- 
gregation could be taking. 

The conclusion of the drama 
contained scenes portraying the 
effect that this material had up- 
on the publishers who heard the 
talk. 




^ 



"KINGDOM 

INTERLINEAR 

TRANSLATION 



through personal study of the 
Scriptures. They had the ad- 
vantage of a Greek test, pub- 
lished by Westcott and Hort, 
that was published at least a 
hundred years later than that 
used in that other well-known 
interlinear translation, The Em- 
phatic Diaglott. They could thus 
avail themselves of the consid- 
erable strides made in Greek 
scholarship. 

Right away, of course, we are 
interested in knowing how this 
new work compares with the 



What a pleasure to have released to us at this "Peace on 
Earth" International Assembly of Jehovah's Witnesses The 
Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures! This 
1,184-page elothbound volume 
will " greatly add to our ef- 
fectiveness as ministers of the 
Word of God. Now one can 
check on the basic meaning of 
the original Greek words, with- 
out necessarily having a knowl- 
edge of the Greek language. 

This is possible because this 
new publication presents the 
literal English translation below 
each Greek word in the left 
column of the page, while in the 
right column is provided a re- 
vision of the New World Trans- 
lation. Thus, at a glance the 
reader can compare the basic 
idea of the Greek word with its 
counterpart in the finished En- 
glish translation. 

The speaker who announced 
release of this new interlinear 
translation during the talk "The 
Writing of Correct Words of 
Truth" pointed out from the 
Holy Scriptures themselves that 
"words of truth" are necessary 
in explaining or translating the 
life-giving message of the Bible. 
Truthful translation must be 
free of preconceived ideas on the 
part of the translator. He also 
reminded his listeners that in- 
terlinear translation has had a 
long history, some notable works 
having been published in the 
seventeenth century. However, 
The Kingdom Interlinear Trans- 
lation has distinct advantages. 

During their five years of labor 
on this translation the New 
World Bible Translation Com- 
mittee had ready access to sev- 
eral of those older works. Though 
claiming no direct inspiration 
for their production, they do give 
credit to Jehovah" God for his 
guidance of their thinking 



Diaglott. Well, it should be noted 
that the Diaglott retains archaic 
expressions. It does not always 
give the basic, literal meaning 
of the Greek words, and so fluite 
often the English of its inter- 
linear rendering and that of its 
finished translation is identical. 
This, at times, can produce dif- 
ficulties. 

It is good to know, too, that 
one does not have to defer to 
the pretensions of clergymen who, 
as the speaker at the convention 
stated, "come along and try to 
overawe sincere Bible students 
by claiming to know the original 
Bible language." It will be a 
simple matter for users of this 
Kingdom Interlinear Transla- 
tion to compare the claims of 
such men with the basic thought 
presented by the Greek words. 

Even to those familiar with 
the Watch Tower Society's reg- 
ular policy of making Bible-study 
aids available at nominal cost 
to all interested persons, it was 
a pleasant surprise to receive 
this valuable volume on a con- 
tribution of only $2. 

As the speaker indicated, to 
Jehovah must go the credit for 
directing men's minds toward 
a clearer understanding of His 
Word of truth. 




N. H. Knorr and F. W. Franz making plans for 
release of "Kingdom Interlinear Translation" 



27 




o^aintam^Mt^rit^ 



The hour -long feature "Fortify Yourselves so as to Maintain 
Integrity" truly gave all who heard it a powerful impetus to 
fortify themselves now so that they will be able to stand in times 
of stress and trial that are 



certain to come. 

This feature began with an 
audio presentation of the encoun- 
ter of the youth David with 
the giant Goliath. The speaker 
handling this feature then asked 
a number of searching questions : 
'Do we realize that superhuman 
forces are trying to break our 
integrity? that the time to pre- 
pare is NOW? But how are we 
going to do it?' 

'The apostle Paul tells us how 
to come off winners,' the speaker 
continued. Attention was direct- 
ed to the forceful and timely 
counsel of Paul concerning the 
need to 'put on the complete suit 
of armor from God and to stand 
firm.' (Eph. 6:11-18) In order to 
impress the vital importance of 
being clad with each part of the 
Christian armor a series of grip- 
ping experiences were enacted. 

Keeping Integrity Under Trials 

The first scene showed a young 
woman in a concentration camp, 
cold and alone. She has already 
spent two years in that rat- and 
bug-infested place, bat she con- 
tinues going over scriptures in 
her mind. Thus, she holds firm 
in spite of the urgings of one 
who has compromised and who 
tells of the comforts she now 
enjoys. Nevertheless, instead of 
being set free as she had ex- 
pected, the compromising one is 
executed. 

This scene certainly under- 
scored the wisdom of pursuing an 
uncompromising course. At its 
conclusion the speaker noted that, 
true to his promise, God does 
not permit us to be tried beyond 
the limits we can bear. — 1 Cor. 
10 :13. 

Next, the importance of keep- 
ing on the "breastplate of righ- 
Teousness" was emphasized by the 
speaker. Just how some have 
done tiis and others have failed 



to do so was illustrated by four 
striking scenes. 

One of these showed a student 
in Greece who refused to com- 
promise by making the sign of 
the cross and attending church 
mass. "Tour education is at 
stake," pleaded his professor. 
"Just kind of shake your It and 
at the time of prayer, pretending 



■4 xt:4 ~ 



M 






Enrique Glass, imprisoned as a, 

Witness 8 years by TrujIHo, 

still zealous in full-time 

service, now as district 

servant in Dominican 

Kepublic 

to make the sign of the cross, 
and attend church service with 
us, and believe none of it." Fi- 
nally, the youth's firm stand for 
Christian principles won the re- 
spect of his professor, and he 
arranged matters so that the boy 
could complete his schooling with- 
out compromising. 

To illustrate the further coun- 
sel to have 'feet shod with the 
good news of peace,' a scene 
showed two sisters gossiping 

28 



about servants in the congrega- 
tion, thus raising unwarranted 
suspicions about their conduct. 
'This certainly is no way to keep 
one's feet shod with the good 
news of peace,' the speaker said. 

The importance of wearing 
the "helmet of salvation" was 
nest shown by a report from 
Liberia. It told of a number of 
Christians who, by keeping their 
minds fixed on the prize of eter- 
nal life, endured nineteen days 
of cruel persecution. One of the 
prisoners, a fifty-six-year-old sis- 
ter, was even congratulated by 
the prison commissioner because 
of her endurance. 

How to fortify ourselves by 
means of "the large shield of 
faith" was portrayed by Brother 
Harold King's description of his 
solitary confinement in a Chinese 
Communist prison. A tape record- 
ing was played that explained 
how he kept his faith strong by 
doing preaching and teaching to 
imaginary persons. 

And finally a dramatic true- 
life episode of a thirteen-year-old 
girl suffering from leukemia was 
reenaeted. It showed vividly how 
"the sword of the spirit," the 
Word of God, enables Christians 
to come off victorious. 

The doctor claimed that only 
blood transfusions could save 
little Renate. She answered him 
kindly, but courageously : "Thank 
you for offering to help me, but 
I would rather, die faithful to 
Jehovah God than to violate bis 
command in order to live a 
little while longer." 

In conclusion the speaker ex- 
horted : "Therefore, brothers, put 
on the whole suit of armor; we 
need all of it. Fortify yourselves 
so as to maintain integrity." 

Standing Firm 
Though Persecuted 

Very appropriately, this stir- 
ring program was immediately 
preceded by two half-hour dis- 
courses that also were designed 
to fortify Christians to main- 
tain integrity. 

The first was entitled "How 
to Stand Firm in This Time of 
the End." The speaker urged all 
to prepare now for the coming 
of persecution. This can be done, 
he said, by regular personal study 
of God's Word, by participating 
in meetings and carefully follow- 
ing what is said. Also, by con- 
tinually praying to Jehovah for 
help in caring for theocratic 



'PEACE ON EARTH" INTERNATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES 



29 



assignments, and by learning to 
fix our mind on the hope of 
eternal life in his new system. 

Then should severe persecu- 
tion actually come, what is the 
key to standing firm? Even 
though we may be restrained 
from possessing a Bible, we can 
meditate on the Scriptures, going 
over in our mind the things 
we have previously studied. Also, 
we can draw close to Jehovah, 
praying to him as did Paul, Silas 
and Daniel. (Acts 16:25; Dan. 
6 :10) And we can dwell on the 
hope of life ahead. This will 
take our mind off the suffering 
and dispel fear. 

If our work is banned, the 
speaker observed, then meetings 
can be arranged in small groups, 
with persons arriving at the place 
singly or in twos. To avoid at- 
tracting attention, the singing 
can be dispensed with. 'In carry- 
ing on the preaching,' the speaker 
explained, 'call on one house in 
a block, and then call on another 
somewhere else.' 

The second, talk, "Happy Are 
You When People Persecute 
You," showed the need of having 
the right attitude toward per- 
secution. The speaker made clear 
that, although suffering itself 
does not make a Christian happy, 
suffering because of doing God's 
will does, for it glorifies God 
and assures one of His approval 
and everlasting life. It was also 
stressed that the persecuted 
Christian should not have a 
vengeful attitude, but one of for- 
giveness, desiring sincerely that 
persecutors will change and be- 
come believers. 

Three-Part Symposium 

Earlier the same day a sym- 
posium of three twenty-minute 
talks made clear just what course 
of life is pleasing to God and 
is in harmony with his Word. 
The first, "Whom Do You Serve?", 
stressed that we actually have 
a need to serve God and that 
service means obedience, which 
is better than a sacrifice. 

The second talk, "You Are No 
Part of the World," emphasized 
the need of Christians to keep 
separate from the world. 

And the third talk, "Appre- 
ciating the Organization That Is 
Educating Us for Life," showed 
Why we should appreciate God's 
organization, as it is the only 
one that can direct us to eternal 
life. Such appreciation does much 
to help us maintain integrity. 



Zeal for the Work Yet to Be Done 

On the last day of the "Peace on Earth" assembly it was force- 
fully impressed on all present that the Kingdom preaching is not 
yet completed. There is still much work to be done. 
This point was particularly 



was 
stressed in the half -hour dis- 
course "There Is Work Yet to 
Be Done." The speaker asked: 
'Why has not Armageddon come 
before now? Is it because the 
world is not yet bad enough?' 
No, this is not the reason, the 
speaker explained. Bather, it is 
because that part of the "sign" 
about giving the "witness to all 
the nations" has not been ful- 
filled sufficiently. Only when this 
is accomplished will the end 
come.— Matt. 24:14. 

The speaker then urged all to 
be zealous for Jehovah's service 
in the time yet remaining. "Work 
hard at what God gives us to 
do," he said. "Preach and teach. 
Why not join the more than 
50,000 now in full-time service?" 
Then, directly addressing the 
younger ones, he asked : "How 
many of you school-age ones will 
vacation pioneer this summer?" 
He reminded them that there is 
still time to sign up. 

In the session's other half -hour : 
talk, entitled "Among the Con- 
gregated Throngs I Shall Bless 
Jehovah," the speaker stressed. 
the need to demonstrate zeal by 
attending the five weekly meet- 
ings of the Christian congrega- 
tion. 'And while there,' he urged, 
actively listen and participate by 
commenting at the meetings.' 

Zealously Benefiting 
from Deliverance 

The need to demonstrate zeal 
for Jehovah's service was also 
driven home in the thought- 
provoking hour-and-a-half Bible 
drama "Do Not Miss the Purpose 
of Jehovah's Deliverance." 

The drama opened up with a 
modern setting, at the home of 
Stan and Rita Firm, who had as 
guests the Steadfast couple. The 
Steadfast couple have zeal for 
Jehovah's work, and so are go- 
ing to serve where the need is 
greater, whereas Brother Firm 
is wondering about accepting a 
large pay raise that might cut 
into his theocratic activities. He 
has an enthusiastic daughter, 



and a grown son who is ir- 
regular at meetings and in pub- 
lishing but who could be a 
pioneer. 

To stimulate zeal in the Firm 
family, Brother Steadfast points 
to something in the "Babylon" 
book. It has to do with the fall 
of Babylon the Great and what 
it means for Christians. Brother 
Steadfast then draws attention to 
the parallel between ancient Bab- 
ylon's fall and that of modern 
Babylon, and suggests : "Let's 
try to picture it like this. Sup- 
pose Daniel were sitting in his 
home, talking to some of the 
Jews in Babylon." 

The scene that immediately 
follows shows a group with 
Daniel in Babylon. The discus- 
sion drives home the point that 
the reason why Jehovah spared 
the Jews in Babylon from de- 
struction and had Cyrus proclaim 
their release was that they could 
return to Jerusalem to restore 
true worship there. This point is 
made primarily for the benefit 
of a prosperous Jew who does 
not intend to return to Jeru- 
salem because of selfish reasons. 
By failing to leave Babylon he 
surely would miss the purpose of 
God's deliverance and would risk 
losing his faith in God. 

The final scene returns to 
modern times and applies the 
lesson. Brother Steadfast points 
out that all Christians who do 
not zealously serve Jehovah are 
missing the purpose for which 
God set them free by the fall of 
Babylon the Great. That pur- 
pose is to heed Matthew 24:14 
by preaching God's kingdom. 

He also stressed that fleeing 
from Babylon the Great now is 
more urgent than it was to flee 
from ancient Babylon. Why? Be- 
cause one's .eternal destiny is 
involved. All destroyed with her 
or at Armageddon will not have 
a resurrection. No question about 
it, this drama also drove home 
to all who heard it that there is 
work yet to be done, and that we 
should all now zealously share 
in doing it. 




from 



Kcports 




Keports from the lands of 
Central and South America were 
a source of great joy at the 
"Peace on Earth" assembly. In 
South America, all together, 
there are now 103,166 publishers, 
and at the Memorial last April 
there was the outstanding com- 
bined attendance of 231,000. 
Meeting attendance in almost 
all countries is excellent. In Ar- 
gentina very few Kingdom Halls 
are large enough to hold all 
the people who come ! 

So great is the increase in 
Venezuela that congregations are 
being divided simply to pre- 
vent overcrowding at the King- 
dom Halls. The capital, Caracas, 
' has 29 congregations now, and 
throughout the country last- 
April 6,026 Witnesses were busy 
preaching — an increase of 19 
percent over the previous year. 

The congregations in the 
northern desert area of Chile 
form a circuit made up of 800 
Witnesses. At a recent assem- 
bly in the area, over 1,000 per- 
sons attended on the opening 
day. Growing dissatisfaction with 
the Catholic Church and hunger 
for spiritual sustenance have 
produced a big demand for the 
Truth book, and many are the 
entire family groups that are 
delighted to have a study, using 
that Bible-study aid. 

Witnesses in Uruguay are eon- 
ducting, on an average, 4,000 
Bible studies each month. This 
contributes toward a fine in- 
crease of active ministers. One 
interesting experience told of a 
Catholic woman who agreed to 
assist her husband to prepare 
for his weekly study with one 
of Jehovah's witnesses. After 
accepting the invitation to sit 
in and share, she declared: 'I 
never thought that such great 



changes would be brought about 
in our home, changes benefiting 
the whole family.' Soon she had 
burned all false religious pic- 
tures and broken off all asso- 
ciation with Babylon the Great. 
A total of fifteen from this fam- 
ily now attend meetings. 

In Brazil, it was reported, 
much attention has been given 
to preaching in unassigned ter- 
ritories, so that a witness has 



now been given In more than 
380 towns and cities never be- 
fore reached. Doubtless this 
made it possible for the new 
peak of Witnesses to be reached, 
namely, 57,641 — a 22-percent in- 
crease over the previous year. 

In Peru the Bibles and Bible 
literature are also going out. 
With 3,523 Witnesses in this 
land, the attendance of 11,500 
at the Memorial celebration in 
April points to a wonderful po- 
tential for the future. 

There is rejoicing in Bolivia, 
too, over the fact that Indians 
who speak the Ayniara and 
Quechua languages have now 
progressed sufficiently to be or- 
ganized into congregations, and 
be in position to preach the good 
news of the Kingdom to many 
more of their own tribes. 

Yes, throughout Central and 
South America the Kingdom wit- 
ness goes forward with happi- 
fying success. In Spanish, in 
Portuguese and in tribal dia- 
lects the song of joyous praise 
to Jehovah gains in volume. 



F&rsw&f Phm fell of Bksskgs 



On the large island of Mada- 
gascar, off the east coast of 
Africa, there are over 6,000,000 
persons scattered along its thou- 
sand miles of length. Mission- 
aries and special pioneer Wit- 
nesses have been able to establish 
congregations and study groups 
all over the island. 'When one 
interested man learned he could 
not share in the Kingdom- 
preaching work until he cleared 
up his marital status,' conven- 
tioners were told, 'he hastened 
to the proper authorities, legal- 
ized his marriage, and the very 
next Sunday turned up for a 
share in the field service.' 

Hegardless of the difficulties 
in communication between the 
islands of Indonesia, Bible truth 
is reaching those who live there 
too. In ten years' time congre- 
gations have increased from 16 
to T3. Now 1,878 Witnesses are 
busy In the area. Among them 
is a man who briefly read one 
of the Society's books many 
years ago when traveling. There- 
after he searched many book- 
shops to find a copy of the book 
for himself. Fourteen years later 
a special pioneer, opening up 
new territory in Borneo, called 

30 



at his home. "He not only got 
the book," assembly delegates 
were told, "but he got the truth 
of God's Word from it. Now he 
and his wife are dedicated and 
zealously help others do like- 
wise." 

The island known as Mauri- 
tius now has 199 active Wit- 
nesses, some of whom renounced 
uemonLstic practices. The speak- 
er said: "One brother who is 
now a congregation overseer and 
special pioneer, in his younger 
days was so under the influence 
of the demons that -he, on three 
different occasions, took part in 
worshiping the family gods by 
walking on fire." But Bible truth 
makes big changes. 

The representative speaking 
for Hawaii told that those is- 
lands now have one publisher 
for every 266 of the population. 
Territory is covered often, and 
results are good. He said: "One 
of the outstanding features in 
Hawaii is the good pioneer spir- 
it. There are pioneers in every 
congregation. . . . Many have 
made the pioneer service their 
career right after graduation 
from high school." 

In the territory under the 



"PEACE ON EARTH" INTERNATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES 



31 



Fiji branch newly interested 
ones show a definite readiness 
to attend meetings after just 
a few studies, the convention 
audience heard. As a result, the 
862 publishers, in the ten fas- 
cinating island countries under 
the Fiji branch, rejoice to ob- 
serve 1,460 at their weekly 
WatcMower studies. The pub- 
lishers set a fine example in 
appreciation for the meetings. 
Some walk for many hours, 
crossing hills and rivers, to get 
to the Kingdom Hall. One broth- 
er and his wife walk 16 miles 
to and from meetings, often ar- 
riving home at 2 a.m. In a delta 
area one brother sets out early 
with his boat to gather together 
the brothers so all can be at 
the Sunday-morning meetings, 
and once they get together they 
spend the entire day in happy 
association. 

New Zealanders, too, are ex- 
periencing blessings, as their 
report at the assembly showed. 
During 1968 they averaged 4,- 
700 publishers, but over ten 
thousand showed up for the 
Memorial. "One congregation of 
130 publishers had 317 come 
along," the speaker said. "There 
was no room in the Kingdom 
Hall for many of them so the 
overflow crowded around the 
opened windows and listened 
from outside." 

"Thailand or Siam is a friend- 
ly and peaceful country and the 
work of preaching the good news 
has been carried on freely for 
the past thirty years," the rep- 
resentative of that land said. 
"But this is the situation: 
Ninety-four percent of the pop- 
ulation is Buddhist, with a few 
Islam, Oonfucianist and Hindu. 
Less than one percent is nominal 
Christian. So the majority of 
the people we preach to are to- 
tally unfamiliar with the Bible 
and even with the idea of a 
personal God. The Thai language 
does not even have a word that 
would be the exact equivalent 
of the word 'god' and Babylon- 
ish traditions are deeply in- 
grained in the minds of the 
people. It takes much endurance 
on the part of the publishers 
to persevere in preaching and 
teaching Bible truths. But the 
sheep are found." In April 350 
publishers reported, and 62 of 
them were in the pioneer ser- 
vice. Indeed, Jehovah is blessing 
the work of his people in all 
parts of the earth. 



PREACHING CONTINUES 
BEHIND THE IRON CURTAIN 



Reports on the progress of 
the Kingdom-preaching work be- 
hind the Iron Curtain are of 
keen interest to Jehovah's wit- 
nesses. In brief interviews at 
the assembly, the situation in 
eastern Europe was revealed. 

From East Germany, for ex- 
ample, where authorities have 
long been trying to promote /a 
Communist-controlled organiza- 
tion of Witnesses, it was report- 
ed that this enemy strategy is 
not succeeding. Loyal brothers 
still meet together, but in small 
groups, because of strict sur- 
veillance of their movements. 
On April 1 they assembled to 
commemorate the memorial of 
Christ's death. Gradually there- 
after reports trickled in, even- 
tually showing that the total 
attendance was 84 percent over 
last year's average number of 
publishers in Bast Germany. 

The continued activity of Je- 
hovah's people underground in 
Hungary has resulted in a fine 
witness of itself, for the Wit- 
nesses have become widely 
known. They were even high- 
lighted in a play that was broad- 
cast over the national radio. 
Based on real-life experience, 
the play depicted a young teach- 
er who had not been well taken 
care of by the Communist party. 
Only when, through some Wit- 
ness children in her class, she 
obtained the assistance of their 
parents, did she manage to get 
a suitable place in which to 
lodge. The atmosphere of the 
Witness home broke down all 
her prejudice, and she became 
a Witness herself. Of course, the 
purpose of the play was to bring 
home to Communists the need 
to take good care of their people. 

In Poland, it was reported, af- 
ter several years of an easing up 
in the government's attitude to- 
ward their work, Witnesses were 
now noting indications of a re- 
turn to sterner measures. One 
public prosecutor complained that 
the Witnesses would flood the 
country with their literature. But 
the brothers in Poland say: "We 
hear everywhere about much in- 
terest. ... The number of Bible 
studies is still on the increase." 

How did Czechoslovakia's re- 
cent critical situation affect the 
Witnesses and their work? A 



spokesman reported that the 
Witnesses showed themselves 
completely neutral, and this 
drew attention to them and their 
work. Typical of the reactions 
to the peaceful stance of the 
Witnesses were these words of 
a high official to one of the 
Witnesses: "It is you, Jehovah's 
witnesses alone, who have proved 
to take a wise course. We have 
a high opinion of you." Mean- 
time, under stress of local con- 
ditions many are the honest- 
hearted ones who are turning 
to the Bible's message of hope. 

In Communism's own home- 
land, the TJ.S.S.R., how are Je- 
hovah's witnesses faring? It was 
learned that they too have their 
conventions in a suitable fash- 
ion, in such places and circum- 
stances that they do not draw 
undue attention to themselves. 
Last year, one convention group 
of about seventy Witnesses was 
surprised by police, who imme- 
diately demanded to know who 
was in charge of the meeting. 
Tactfully the Witnesses replied 
that Jehovah God - and Christ 
Jesus are in charge of all such 
matters. The officers jotted down 
the names of some brothers and 
left quickly. There was no fol- 
low-up on their part. 

At the end of 1968 arrests and 
resulting prison terms were re- 
sumed, apparently ending a cer- 
tain period of "peaceful coexis- 
tence." Nevertheless, the month 
of March brought with it a peak 
of publishers surpassing last 
year's average by- 21 percent. 

Romania and Bulgaria were 
other lands from which the con- 
ventioners listened to reports. 
Very little literature is available, 
and the secret police watch every 
step of those known to be Wit- 
nesses. Yet they faithfully carry 
on, exercising caution, and giving 
forth the Kingdom's message of 
hope whenever opportunity pre- 
sents. Witnesses in those lands 
ask their spiritual brothers else- 
where, "Pray for us !" Their faith 
in Jehovah is strong. 

In a message to this "Peace 
on Earth" International Assem- 
bly, the Witnesses behind the 
Iron Curtain joined in declaring 
of Jehovah : "An arm with 
mightiness is yours, your hand 
is strong, your right hand is 
exalted" !— Ps. 89:13. 



DO YOU HAVE THESE CONVENTION RELEASES? 






IS THE BIBLE REALLY THE WORD OF GOD? 
Can you effectively prove to others that the Bible is reaiiy the 
Word of God? Would you like to have persuasive arguments to help 
those who have lost faith in the Bible? The book Is the Bifoi© fteai!y 
the Word of God? offers solid evidence that the Bible is what it claims 
to be—the Word of God. Pocket-sized, 192 pages, available in English 
or Spanish, only 25c each. 



KINGDOM INTERLINEAR TRANSLATION OF THE GREEK SCRIPTURES 
With this volume you can delve directly into the basic meaning of 
the original written text of the Christian Greek Scriptures. The left- 
hand column contains the original Greek text. Under each Greek word 
is placed its basic meaning. In the right-hand parallel column one 
finds the modern-language New World Translation. With it you can de- 
termine the accuracy of any Bible translation. 1,184 pages, clothbound, 
$2 a copy. 





AID TO BIBLE ■ UNDERSTANDING 

An alphabetically arranged reference work containing informative 
articles that contribute toward greater understanding of the many fea- 
tures that make up the Bible account. These include discussions of 
people, places, plant and animal life, notable events and the record 
of God's dealings with men. This volume has 544 large pages, cover- 
ing more than 1,200 Bible subjects under the letters A to E ("Aaron" 
to "Exodus"). Hardbound cover, with charts and illustrations, §2.50 
a copy. 



"THIN IS FINISHED THE MYSTERY OF GOO" 
Here is a volume that gives a thrilling explanation of the first 
thirteen chapters of the challenging and highly symbolic Bible book 
of Revelation. From it you will acquire understanding of the long- 
concealed "mystery of God." (Rev. 10:7, AS) Now you can look for- 
ward to gaining deeper insight into God's grand purposes by reading 
this new book. 384 pages, only 50c a copy. 




WATCHTOWER 



117 ADAMS ST. 



BROOKLYN, N.Y. 1.1 201 



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