Post by ResLight on Jun 18, 2021 19:14:47 GMT -5
Below is the text of the article "At the Grave" that appeared in the Bible Students Conventions Report of 1919:
On Monday, a party of about 150 was conducted by Brother Bohnet to the grave of Brother Russell. Upon a hillside, sloping towards the south, we joined hands around the grave and sang:
One last lingering look upon the scene recalled the peaceful manner of our Pastor's "passing beyond the vail." Brother Rutherford's words came to mind: "I am glad this prison experience was reserved for us, rather than for our dear Brother Russell."
We visited the marble works and there watched the workmen slowly but surely chisel out the monument to be erected as a memorial to the Society.
The Watch Tower Society burial lots in Rosemont United Cemeteries, five miles due north of Pittsburgh City, contain ample grave space for all the members of the Bethel family, and the Pilgrims and their wives — in all more than 275 adult graves. In the exact center of the Bethel lot will be erected diagonally the Pyramid Shape Monument as designed by Brother Bohnet, and accepted by Brother Russell as the most fitting emblem for an enduring monument on the Society's burial space. The size of this structure is nine feet across the base, and its apex stone is exactly seven feet above the ground surface level. It rests upon a concrete foundation five feet deep and heavily reinforced with barbed wire, the work of Brother Bohnet, who would not entrust this important task to anyone else, so we are assured the job was well done. The brother gave a full description of the securing of the rock material (after fruitless attempts extending over a period of about five years) at the time he piloted the conventionists to the cemetery and urged us to help ourselves to souvenir chips in the shop of the granite worker near by.
These monster blocks of pink (Brother Russell's favorite tint) granite were brought all the way from Granite Mountain Quarries, near Marble Falls City in Texas, upon a special flat car, and are said to be about 95 per cent flint rock.
Each slope of the pyramid will face one of the large lots and on each of these slopes is cut in four-inch embossment a Teacher's Bible, on the pages of which will appear the names of the ones buried there. The burial space for Brother Rutherford was indicated and his name, like that of Brother Russell, will be at the top of opposite Bible pages. A Bible space being set apart for the Pilgrims — all in one lot of forty-eight grave space, so all their names will appear on the same Bible.
Above the Bibles are spaces for inscriptions in full, W. T. B. & T. S., I. B. S. A., "Dead with Christ," "Risen with Christ," etc. And above these the Cross and Crown and Wreath, and the whole capped with the apex stone, highly polished — its shape of course being pyramidal.
Within the structure, incased in a block of granite, will be a sealed metal box in which is a complete set of Karatol Scripture Studies, the Memorial Tower, and one of every tract, photographs of Pastor Russell, a copy of the Society's charter, and many other things to interest the people who at some future date may open the pyramid and find them.
Brother Wm. B. Hurst, of Pittsburgh, who was assistant superintendent of the United Cemeteries under Brother Bohnet's general charge, will have the care of Brother Russell's grave in the pilgrimage absence of Brother Bohnet. It is expected the monument will be in place before the next Decoration Day. Any truth people desiring a chip of the stone may send postage enough to carry a piece about the size of an egg, with enough additional to pay the Society for the trouble of having it wrapped for the mail. Best for class members to order collectively.
Comments:
Some of the JWs claim that this monument was not placed in the Rosemont Cemetery by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, but the above proves that it was indeed constructed under the authorization of the WTB&TS.
The report states that the monument was designed by John Adam Bohnet. It is claimed that this monument was approved by Brother Russell, but we find no verification of such in anything that Russell wrote. Indeed, such extravagance would appear to be out of character for Russell, so it is very questionable as to whether Russell actually approved of the construction of such an expensive monument.
Some claim that the Biblical cross and crown displayed on the monument is a "Masonic" or a "Knights Templar" symbol, and offer this as proof that that Russell was a member of the Knights Templar. The reality is that, although the Knights Templar have made use of similar Biblical symbolism, it has to imagined and assumed that their usage of such Biblical symbolism makes any similar usage of such symbolism to be a "Knights Templar" symbol. As to Russell's being a member of the Knights Templar, he would need to believe in the trinity dogma of man's traditional creeds. Since much of Russell's work exposes the trinity doctrine as non-scriptural, and not in harmony with the Biblical atonement through Jesus, one should be able to see that Russell did not spend nearly his entire life preaching a message that would, in effect, sabotage what he was supposed to actually believe in.
www.theknightstemplar.org/creeds/
AT THE GRAVE
On Monday, a party of about 150 was conducted by Brother Bohnet to the grave of Brother Russell. Upon a hillside, sloping towards the south, we joined hands around the grave and sang:
"Blest be the tie that binds
Our hearts in Christian love;
The fellowship of kindred minds
Is like to that above.
"Our glorious hope revives
Our courage every day,
While each with expectation strives
To run the Heavenly way."
Our hearts in Christian love;
The fellowship of kindred minds
Is like to that above.
"Our glorious hope revives
Our courage every day,
While each with expectation strives
To run the Heavenly way."
One last lingering look upon the scene recalled the peaceful manner of our Pastor's "passing beyond the vail." Brother Rutherford's words came to mind: "I am glad this prison experience was reserved for us, rather than for our dear Brother Russell."
We visited the marble works and there watched the workmen slowly but surely chisel out the monument to be erected as a memorial to the Society.
The Watch Tower Society burial lots in Rosemont United Cemeteries, five miles due north of Pittsburgh City, contain ample grave space for all the members of the Bethel family, and the Pilgrims and their wives — in all more than 275 adult graves. In the exact center of the Bethel lot will be erected diagonally the Pyramid Shape Monument as designed by Brother Bohnet, and accepted by Brother Russell as the most fitting emblem for an enduring monument on the Society's burial space. The size of this structure is nine feet across the base, and its apex stone is exactly seven feet above the ground surface level. It rests upon a concrete foundation five feet deep and heavily reinforced with barbed wire, the work of Brother Bohnet, who would not entrust this important task to anyone else, so we are assured the job was well done. The brother gave a full description of the securing of the rock material (after fruitless attempts extending over a period of about five years) at the time he piloted the conventionists to the cemetery and urged us to help ourselves to souvenir chips in the shop of the granite worker near by.
These monster blocks of pink (Brother Russell's favorite tint) granite were brought all the way from Granite Mountain Quarries, near Marble Falls City in Texas, upon a special flat car, and are said to be about 95 per cent flint rock.
Each slope of the pyramid will face one of the large lots and on each of these slopes is cut in four-inch embossment a Teacher's Bible, on the pages of which will appear the names of the ones buried there. The burial space for Brother Rutherford was indicated and his name, like that of Brother Russell, will be at the top of opposite Bible pages. A Bible space being set apart for the Pilgrims — all in one lot of forty-eight grave space, so all their names will appear on the same Bible.
Above the Bibles are spaces for inscriptions in full, W. T. B. & T. S., I. B. S. A., "Dead with Christ," "Risen with Christ," etc. And above these the Cross and Crown and Wreath, and the whole capped with the apex stone, highly polished — its shape of course being pyramidal.
Within the structure, incased in a block of granite, will be a sealed metal box in which is a complete set of Karatol Scripture Studies, the Memorial Tower, and one of every tract, photographs of Pastor Russell, a copy of the Society's charter, and many other things to interest the people who at some future date may open the pyramid and find them.
Brother Wm. B. Hurst, of Pittsburgh, who was assistant superintendent of the United Cemeteries under Brother Bohnet's general charge, will have the care of Brother Russell's grave in the pilgrimage absence of Brother Bohnet. It is expected the monument will be in place before the next Decoration Day. Any truth people desiring a chip of the stone may send postage enough to carry a piece about the size of an egg, with enough additional to pay the Society for the trouble of having it wrapped for the mail. Best for class members to order collectively.
"Long, long be my heart
With such memories filled,
Like the vase in which roses
Have once been distilled.
"You may break, you may shatter
The vase if you will,
But the scent of the roses
Will cling to it still."
Comments:
Some of the JWs claim that this monument was not placed in the Rosemont Cemetery by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, but the above proves that it was indeed constructed under the authorization of the WTB&TS.
The report states that the monument was designed by John Adam Bohnet. It is claimed that this monument was approved by Brother Russell, but we find no verification of such in anything that Russell wrote. Indeed, such extravagance would appear to be out of character for Russell, so it is very questionable as to whether Russell actually approved of the construction of such an expensive monument.
Some claim that the Biblical cross and crown displayed on the monument is a "Masonic" or a "Knights Templar" symbol, and offer this as proof that that Russell was a member of the Knights Templar. The reality is that, although the Knights Templar have made use of similar Biblical symbolism, it has to imagined and assumed that their usage of such Biblical symbolism makes any similar usage of such symbolism to be a "Knights Templar" symbol. As to Russell's being a member of the Knights Templar, he would need to believe in the trinity dogma of man's traditional creeds. Since much of Russell's work exposes the trinity doctrine as non-scriptural, and not in harmony with the Biblical atonement through Jesus, one should be able to see that Russell did not spend nearly his entire life preaching a message that would, in effect, sabotage what he was supposed to actually believe in.
www.theknightstemplar.org/creeds/
