Linedancer again with his Witness arrogance.
No one has the truth but the JW's so why look at anything else.
I too, was born and raised into Jehovah's Witness, 3rd generation. My Grandmother and her sister were baptised in the 30's, my mother was a pioneer during WW2.
My extended family, (who all shun me, by the way) are mostly Witnesses.
As a Witness, I have never heard of the freemason connection. I have seen Russell's grave and there is definitly a pyramid on it with a Knights Templar emblem. I don't know the significance. I need to research that point.
But as with a lot of things that happened in the early days, like Beth Sarim, etc. the Witnesses supress. I was shocked to learn of the Beth Sarim loonacy. It's so frustrating because the Watchtower Society's programming works so well, when I have tried to get any of my relatives to look at some of this, they shreik and run away. Now I just chuckle to myself.
I can't believe what I used to believe. Actually, most of its probably changed by now, with new light and all.
As far as all the "Apostate sights" (listen up, linedancer), I have done a great deal of research into Beth Sarim, etc. I happen to have an extensive library of original society publications, many from the early 1900's before 1914. I inherited them from my Grandmother in the late 70's.
When an "apostate website", for example, makes a claim like Jehovah's Witnesses believe in consulting the spirits and quotes the following:
"This verse (Revelation 8:3) shows that, though Pastor Russell has passed beyond the veil, he is still managing every feature of the harvest work…We hold that he supervises, by the Lord's arrangement, the work yet to be done."
"The Finished Mystery 1917 pp. 144, 256"
....I have this original volume and can look it up and read the context. In the case of the above quote it is accurate and the context does not change its meaning. Some "apostates" distort things and deliberatly omit things, but I find most do not.
The Witnesses distort, omit and misquote. Try to find anything in the literature about the 1925 prediction.
Concerning "Beth Sarim" the book "Advertise the King and the Kingdom says on page 76, in chap 7
"Concerning Beth-Sarim, the book “Salvation,” published in 1939, explains: “The Hebrew words ‘Beth Sarim’ mean ‘House of the Princes’; and the purpose of acquiring that property and building the house was that there might be some tangible proof that there are those on earth today who fully believe God and Christ Jesus and in His kingdom, and who believe that the faithful men of old will soon be resurrected by the Lord, be back on earth, and take charge of the visible affairs of earth.”
A few years after Brother Rutherford’s death, the board of directors of the Watch Tower Society decided to sell Beth-Sarim. Why? “The Watchtower” of December 15, 1947, explained: “It had fully served its purpose and was now only serving as a monument quite expensive to keep; our faith in the return of the men of old time whom the King Christ Jesus will make princes in ALL the earth (not merely in California) is based, not upon that house Beth-Sarim, but upon God’s Word of promise.”
No mention of the 1925 prophesy which was why Beth Sarim was purchased in the first place.
UPDATE: CL_freemason, Ok we have an answer by an actual Freemason. I know some Freemasons and to me, it's like a fraternity, like the Elks. I know there is some interesting history about the founding of the Freemasons, the secret society blah blah. My view is that they are like the Elks, ect. A society of guys who have a club and do whatever.
I don't think the freemasons have a "world conquest" agenda.
.....unless, it was those freemasons on the grassy knoll!!
2Q and Learn: You know so much would you care to debunk my above quote from the "Finished Mystery"?