Jehova

by J.F. Rutherford

360 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 1934

About the author

Joseph Franklin Rutherford, also known as Judge Rutherford, was the second president of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society (Jehovah's Witnesses) from 1917 until his death in 1942. His appointment was disputed by the Society's board of directors, 4 of which accused him of an autocratic leadership style. This controversy lead to a schism in the Bible Students movement. In 1918 Rutherford and seven other Watch Tower executives were imprisoned briefly on charges of sedition. Following his release from prison, Rutherford began a major reorganization of Bible Student activities.

At a May, 1919 convention in Ohio he announced the publication of a new magazine, The Golden Age (later renamed Awake!). In 1920, Rutherford published a booklet, Millions Now Living Will Never Die, and a year later published his first hardcover book, The Harp of God. This was followed by a further nineteen hardcover books, each with one-word titles, such as Creation (1927), Jehovah (1934) and Children (1941). His publications reached a total printing of 36 million copies.

In 1925 he gained full control over what doctrines would be taught in Watch Tower Society publications, overruling the refusal by the five-man Editorial Committee to publish his article, "Birth of the Nation", which contained significant doctrinal changes. At a 1931 Bible Student assembly in Columbus, Ohio Rutherford proposed a new name for the organization, Jehovah's witnesses, to differentiate them from the proliferation of other groups that followed Russell's teachings.

Rutherford died at Beth Sarim on January 8, 1942 at the age of 72. Cause of death was "uraemia due to carcinoma of the rectum due to pelvic metastasis."