The Bible Student Movement founded by Charles Taze Russell in 1872 is now known by which name?
"decisions. ""Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania"" is a non-stock, not-for-profit organization headquartered in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, United States. It is the main legal entity used worldwide by Jehovah's Witnesses, often referred to as ""The Society"". It holds the copyrights of most literature published by Jehovah's Witnesses. The society was founded in 1881 with William Henry Conley, a Pittsburgh businessman, as the first president and Charles Taze Russell as secretary-treasurer. The society was incorporated as ""Zion's Watch Tower Tract Society"" in Pennsylvania on December 15, 1884, with Russell as president. The corporation was officially"
"Bible Student movement The Bible Student movement is the name adopted by a Millennialist Restorationist Christian movement that emerged from the teachings and ministry of Charles Taze Russell, also known as Pastor Russell. Members of the movement have variously referred to themselves as ""Bible Students"", ""International Bible Students"", ""Associated Bible Students"", or ""Independent Bible Students"". The origins of the movement are associated with the formation of Zion's Watch Tower Tract Society in 1881. A number of schisms developed within the congregations of Bible Students associated with the Watch Tower Society between 1909 and 1932. The most significant split began in"
"Free Bible Students The Free Bible Students is a branch of the Bible Student movement. The Free Bible Students form independent, autonomous assemblies and the name, ""Free"", is given to them to distinguish them from Bible Students, with whom they share historical roots. The group discarded many of the teachings of Bible Student founder Charles Taze Russell. In 1905 Paul S. L. Johnson, one of Russell's pilgrims and a former Lutheran minister, pointed out to Russell that his doctrines on the New Covenant had undergone a complete reversal: until 1880 he had taught that the New Covenant would be inaugurated"
"Dawn Bible Students Association The Dawn Bible Students Association is a Christian organization and movement, and a legal entity used by a branch of the Bible Student Movement. It was founded with the intention of becoming a publishing house to begin printing and distributing the first six volumes of the Studies in the Scriptures series that were written directly by Charles Taze Russell which the Watchtower Society had officially ceased publishing in 1927. In 1966, the Dawn published 'Oh, the Blessedness', a small booklet which rejected most of Russell's views of Bible prophecy and end time predictions resulting in numerous"
"the Restitution of all things, the Restoration of Paradise and the General Resurrection under the Millennial Reign of Christ. Dawn Bible Students Association The Dawn Bible Students Association is a Christian organization and movement, and a legal entity used by a branch of the Bible Student Movement. It was founded with the intention of becoming a publishing house to begin printing and distributing the first six volumes of the Studies in the Scriptures series that were written directly by Charles Taze Russell which the Watchtower Society had officially ceased publishing in 1927. In 1966, the Dawn published 'Oh, the Blessedness',"
"major changes since it was formulated in 1881 by Charles Taze Russell, founder of the Bible Student movement. Russell initially applied it to the ""church""—the ""little flock"" of 144,000 who would go to heaven—but five years later explained that it was an individual who would act as a sole channel or agent for Christ, dispensing ""food"", or new truths, for God's ""household"". Bible Students consequently regarded Russell as the ""faithful and wise servant"" of the parable. In 1927 the Watch Tower Society announced that the ""servant"" was not in fact an individual, but was made up of the entire body"
"work was popular with contemporary evangelical Christians. In 1891 pyramidology reached a global audience when it was integrated into the works of Charles Taze Russell, founder of the Bible Student movement. Russell however denounced the British-Israelite variant of pyramidology in an article called ""The Anglo-Israelitish Question"" . Adopting Joseph Seiss's designation that the Great Pyramid of Giza was ""the Bible in stone"" Russell taught that it played a special part in God's plan during the ""last days"" basing his interpretation on Isaiah 19:19-20 which says - ""In that day shall there be an altar (pile of stones) to the Lord"
"a form of ""soul sleep"". Advent Christians such as George Storrs and Jonas Wendell influenced the Bible Student movement. In the 1870s, a Bible study group led by Charles Taze Russell formed into what was eventually called the Bible Student movement. Russell's congregations did not consider him to be the founder of a new religion, but that he helped in restoring true Christianity from the apostasy that Jesus and the Apostle Paul foretold. They believed that other Churches departed in a Great Apostasy from the original faith on major points, and that the original faith could be restored through a"
"preachers. Russell engaged in significant global publishing efforts during his ministry, and by 1912, he was the most distributed Christian author in the United States. Russell moved the Watch Tower Society's headquarters to Brooklyn, New York, in 1909, combining printing and corporate offices with a house of worship; volunteers were housed in a nearby residence he named ""Bethel"". He identified the religious movement as ""Bible Students,"" and more formally as the International Bible Students Association. By 1910, about 50,000 people worldwide were associated with the movement and congregations re-elected him annually as their ""pastor."" Russell died October 31, 1916, at"
"young men on campus and in urban YMCAs, as well as such denominational youth groups such as the Epworth League for Methodists and the Walther League for Lutherans. Mary Baker Eddy introduced Christian Science, which gained a national following. The Society for Ethical Culture was established in New York in 1876 by Felix Adler and attracted a Reform Jewish clientele. Charles Taze Russell founded the Bible Students movement. In July 1879, Russell began publishing a monthly religious journal, Zion's Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence. He and his group of fellow students first identifying themselves as The People's Pulpit"
"Faith"" and the ""Church of God General Conference (Morrow, GA)"". Creation Seventh Day Adventist Church The United Seventh-Day Brethren is a small Sabbatarian Adventist body. In 1947, several individuals and two independent congregations within the Church of God Adventist movement formed the ""United Seventh-Day Brethren"", seeking to increase fellowship and to combine their efforts in evangelism, publications, and other . The Bible Students movement founded by Charles Taze Russell had in its early development close connections with the Millerite movement and stalwarts of the Adventist faith, including George Storrs and Joseph Seiss. The various groupings of independent Bible Students has"
"Tower Society president Charles Taze Russell, which led to his joining the Bible Student movement, and he was baptized in 1906. He was appointed the legal counsel for the Watch Tower Society in 1907, as well as a traveling representative prior to his election as president in 1917. His early presidency was marked by a dispute with the Society's board of directors, in which four of its seven members accused him of autocratic behavior and sought to reduce his powers. The resulting leadership crisis divided the Bible Student community and contributed to the loss of one-seventh of adherents by 1919"
"Pastoral Bible Institute The Pastoral Bible Institute was started in 1918 when a number of prominent leaders and members withdrew their support from the Watch Tower Society after Joseph Rutherford became the president of the Society, following the death of pastor Charles Taze Russell. The Watchtower society was the publishing arm of the Bible Student movement, a Christian denomination following Millerite Adventist notions guided by principles expounded by Pastor Russell who founded and led the movement. The first Bible Student Convention held independent of the Watch Tower Society took place on July 26-29, 1918, in Asbury Park, New Jersey. In"
"wrote Russell an open letter of protest trying to persuade him to abandon the teaching, and calling on Bible Students to examine its legitimacy. When Russell refused, Henninges and most of the Melbourne congregation left Russell's movement to form the New Covenant Fellowship. Hundreds of the estimated 10,000 U.S. Bible Students also left, including pilgrim Matthew L. McPhail, a member of the Chicago Bible Students, and A. E. Williamson of Brooklyn, forming the New Covenant Believers. The group, which informally referred to members as Free Bible Students, published ""The Kingdom Scribe"" magazine until 1975. The group is currently known as"
"Society between 1917 and 1928, sponsoring the ""First Annual Reunion Convention of Bible Students"" in 1929. As a result, new congregations of Bible Students were formed in various countries worldwide and publishing their literature in various languages. In 1966 the Dawn published ""Oh, the Blessedness""; a small booklet which rejected many of Russell's views on Bible prophecy and end times. This rejection polarized those Bible Students who still accepted Russell's views, and an independent movement was formed in 1974. Russell's ""Studies in the Scriptures"" as well as all other writings never before reproduced since his death were now being republished"
"October 24, 1909 former Society secretary-treasurer E.C. Henninges, who was by then the Australian branch manager of the International Bible Students Association, based in Melbourne, wrote Russell an open letter of protest trying to persuade him to abandon the teaching and calling on Bible Students to examine its legitimacy. When Russell refused, Henninges and most of the Melbourne congregation left Russell's movement to form the New Covenant Fellowship Hundreds out of the estimated 10,000 US Bible Students also left, including pilgrim M.L. McPhail, a member of the Chicago Bible Students and A. E. Williamson of Brooklyn. The dissidents formed the"
"Lake Valley in what is today Utah. In 1870, Charles Taze Russell began to study the Bible with a group of Millerist Adventists, including George Storrs and George Stetson, and beginning in 1877 Russell jointly edited a religious journal, ""Herald of the Morning"", with Nelson H. Barbour. In July 1879, after separating from Barbour, Russell began publishing the magazine ""Zion's Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence"", highlighting his interpretations of biblical chronology, with particular attention to his belief that the world was in ""the last days"". In 1881, Zion's Watch Tower Tract Society was formed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to"
"by Charles Taze Russell) over Russell's arrangements for the Editorial Committee outlined in his Last Will and Testament and the Society's official charter. This caused the Society to splinter into many factions with over 25% of the original Bible students leaving the WTBTS by 1928 with many forming other independent groups and fellowships which included the Elijah Voice Society, The Pastoral Bible Institute (PBI) and others. The Laymen's Home Missionary Movement (LHMM) was formed by three former members of the Pastoral Bible Institute Committee which was formed by a large group of dissenting brethren in 1917 at the Fort Pitt"
"God, resulting in a slaughter of the unfaithful. With that doctrinal change, the focus of the movement's chiliasm changed from awaiting its collective escape from earth to waiting for the impending destruction of the present world order in the Battle of Armageddon. To clarify its identity, the group, which came to form the Bible Student movement, formulated a body of historical doctrine, including a mythical self-history, which provided a comprehensive symbolic linkage with the past but also fortified the movement's expectations for the future. In 1876 Russell adopted the belief promulgated by some Adventist preachers that Jesus' ""parousia"", or presence,"
"known as simply as ""Bible Students""), though Wilson never had any association with the founder of the Bible Students group Charles Taze Russell. Further, Wilson's own views on the allegorical nature of the devil, non-preexistence of Christ, literal return of Christ – increasing in conflict with the Watchtower Society after 1914 – are occasionally reflected in the side column of the ""Diaglot"", giving Wilson's own English translation. The church Wilson was a leading figure in founding still exists today. In 1921 the Church of God of the Abrahamic Faith split into two, primarily over the issue of whether the devil"
"Russell and his associates formed a Bible study group in the 1870s in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, developing teachings that they considered to be a revival of ""the great truths taught by Jesus and the Apostles"". Watch Tower publications claim both the Great Apostasy and Russell's subsequent ""restoration"" of original Christianity were a fulfilment of Jesus' parable of the wheat and the weeds at Matthew 13:24-30,36-43. Although many of their eschatological teachings have changed over the years, Jehovah's Witnesses have consistently claimed to be the only true religion. Based on their interpretation of Revelation 18:2-24, Jehovah's Witnesses believe all other religions are"
"death in 2004; he also served as Executive Trustee and Director of the Laymen’s Home Missionary Movement, further expanding the work and republishing some of their existing publications. Ralph M. Herzig (2004–2014) was elected as Executive Trustee and Director of the Laymen’s Home Missionary Movement in 2004, and assumed the office of General Editor of ""The Bible Standard"" and ""Present Truth"" magazines as well as overseeing the pilgrim service, which functions as a speakers bureau. Leon J. Snyder (2014–) Currently, the LHMM publishes the six-volume series ""Studies in the Scriptures"", written by Charles Taze Russell in the 1880s (""see External"
"its name was changed to Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society. In 1908, Russell transferred the headquarters of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society to Brooklyn, New York where it remained until 2016. With the formation of the Watch Tower Society, Russell intensified his ministry. His Bible study group had grown to hundreds of local members, with followers throughout New England, the Virginias, Ohio, and elsewhere. They annually re-elected him ""Pastor"", and commonly referred to him as ""Pastor Russell"". Congregations that eventually formed in other nations also followed this tradition. In 1881, Russell published his first work to gain"
"late 1906, as the Adventists were unwilling to send him back to Africa and the Church of Christ turned him down as a missionary because he was too political. While in Scotland in 1906, Booth became familiar with the writings of Charles Taze Russell, a prominent Christian restorationist columnist and founder of the Bible Student movement, later known as the Watch Tower Society. In late 1906, journeyed to the United States and met Russell in New York. Russell's Watch Tower Society appointed Booth as a missionary As Booth was banned from returning to Nyasaland, he went in 1907 to Cape"
"of the apocalypse advocated by Charles Taze Russell, the founder of the Bible Student movement. A second biography of Parsons was published in 2005 through Weidenfeld & Nicolson with the title ""Strange Angel: The Otherworldly Life of Rocket Scientist John Whiteside Parsons""; it was written by George Pendle, who described Parsons as ""the Che Guevara of occultism"" and said that although Parsons ""would not live to see his dream of space travel come true, he was essential to making it a reality."" Pendle considered that the cultural stigma attached to Parsons' occultism was the primary cause of his low public"
"The Photo-Drama of Creation The Photo-Drama of Creation, or ""Creation-Drama"", is a four-part Christian film (eight hours in total) produced by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania under the direction of Charles Taze Russell, the founder of the Bible Student movement. The film presents their beliefs about God's plan from the creation of the earth through to the end of the 1,000 year reign of Christ. Production began in 1912, and the presentation was introduced to audiences in 1914. It was the first major screenplay to incorporate synchronized sound, moving film, and color slides. Russell also published"
"Bible Student organizations independent of the Watch Tower Society, most of which still exist. By mid-1919, as many as one in seven of Russell-era Bible Students had ceased their association with the Society, and as many as three-quarters by the end of the 1920s. On July 26, 1931, at a convention in Columbus, Ohio, Rutherford introduced the new name – ""Jehovah's witnesses"" – based on Isaiah 43:10: ""'You are my witnesses,' declares Jehovah, 'Yes, my servant whom I have chosen, So that you may know and have faith in me And understand that I am the same One. Before me"
"Laymen's Home Missionary Movement The Laymen's Home Missionary Movement, founded by Paul S. L. Johnson in 1918, is a non-sectarian, interdenominational religious organisation that arose as an independent offshoot of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society after the death of its founder, Charles Taze Russell. It is active in many countries, including the United States, Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, India, Africa (Nigeria, Kenya) and the Caribbean (Jamaica, Barbados, Trinidad). In early 1917, a disagreement arose between the members of the Editorial Committee of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society (the Bible Student movement founded"
"fellowship, but was viewed as a ""stand for the truth"" by ceasing sponsorship of elders associated with the Dawn Bible Students, and avoiding attendance at their conventions. In recent years, attempts have been made to reintegrate the groups. The Independent Bible Students publishes a non-doctrinal magazine, ""The Bible Students Newsletter"". The Free Bible Students separated very early from the Watchtower Society, as Russell began to change some teachings. In 1909, Matthew L. McPhail, a traveling elder (""Pilgrim"") and member of the Chicago Bible Students, disassociated from Russell's movement when controversy arose over Russell's expanded view of the application and timing"
"Tower Society publications could consider themselves identified with the Association and were authorized to use the name ""International Bible Students Association"" in connection with their meetings. The name was also used when advertising and conducting Bible Students conventions. In addition to Russell other early influences include: In 1905 Paul S. L. Johnson, one of the traveling ""Pilgrim"" speakers and a former Lutheran minister, pointed out to Russell that his doctrines on the New Covenant had undergone a complete reversal: until 1880 he had taught that the New Covenant would be inaugurated only after the last of the 144,000 anointed Christians"
"years later, on December 15, 1884, Russell became president of the society when it was legally incorporated in Pennsylvania. (The society was renamed Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society in September 1896). Russell wrote many articles, books, pamphlets and sermons, which by his death totaled 50,000 printed pages, with almost 20 million copies of his books printed and distributed around the world. In 1886, he wrote the first of what would become a six-volume Bible textbook series called ""Millennial Dawn"", later renamed ""Studies in the Scriptures"", which presented his fundamental doctrines. As a consequence, the Bible Students were sometimes called"
"independently of the Dawn, alongside radio and television programs, journals, newsletters, books and booklets produced by various Bible Student individuals and congregations independent of the Dawn. As of 1992 all of Russell's writings, including printed sermons, speeches, newspaper and journal articles, tracts, letters and brochures have been reprinted and digitized. Today the Dawn continue publication of Russell's Studies in the Scriptures, as well as booklets written by various Bible Students. They also produce radio and television programs. Current membership in America is difficult to estimate from the number of conventions. In the late 1980s they had a membership of about"
"his magazine, ""The Watch Tower"", and his legal and publishing corporation, the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. Under Rutherford's direction, the International Bible Students Association introduced significant doctrinal changes that resulted in many long-term members leaving the organization. The group regrew rapidly, particularly in the mid-1930s with the introduction of new preaching methods. In 1931, the name ""Jehovah's witnesses"" was adopted, further cutting ties with Russell's earlier followers. Substantial organizational changes continued as congregations and teaching programs worldwide came under centralized control. Further refinements of its doctrines led to the prohibition of blood transfusions by members, abandonment"