Topic: W. H. CONLEY: First Society President
Ruth Monroe
(Moderator) posted 5/30/01 4:18 PM
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According to the PROCLAIMERS Book, page 576, Charles Taze Russell was NOT the first President of the Watch Tower Society!
"... Zion's Watch Tower Tract Society was formed on February 16, 1881, with W. H. Conley as president and C. T. Russell as secretary and treasurer.
"... In 1884, Zion's Watch Tower Tract Society was legally incorporated, with C. T. Russell as president..."
When the ZWTTS was legally incorporated in 1884, not only was W. H. Conley NO LONGER the President, but he was not even included as another Officer, nor even a Director.
Very little additional material is available on Conley, but the following ZWT Excerpts do tell us more:
The following Excerpt is taken from the April 1880 Zion's Watch Tower. With respect to W. H. Conley, it says that the Allegheny group met at Conley's home to celebrate the 1880 "Passover", because his home was the most "commodious". To have the largest home of anyone in the group would seem to indicate that Conley was someone of financial means.
CHRIST OUR PASSOVER.
Christ, our Passover, is sacrificed for us; therefore, let us keep the feast." (1 Cor. 5:7). The passover was one of the most important of the types given to the Children of Israel, and was ever observed by them as one of their most solemn feasts. They kept it in remembrance of the passing over of their first-born when the tenth plague was visited upon the first-born of Egypt. They commemorated it every year on the anniversary of the event, slaying a lamb each year on the fourteenth day of the first month. They saw only the type: We, instructed by the Holy Ghost through the apostles, are able to recognize the antitype as "Christ our Passover Lamb slain for us"--"the Lamb of God." Death would pass upon us, were it not that our Lamb's blood is sprinkled upon us, but in Him we have life.
As the typical lamb was put to death on the fourteenth of the first month, so our Passover Lamb was put to death on the same day. No other day would fulfill the type, and so it was, as we read, Luke 22:7. As they feasted on the typical lamb, we feast on our Lamb. It was on this same day that Jesus gave to the apostles the symbols of His broken body and shed blood, saying: "THIS do in remembrance of me;" i.e., keep this feast hereafter, thinking of me as your Lamb.
It has for several years been the custom of many of us here in Pittsburgh to do this; i.e., remember the Passover, and eat the emblems of our Lord's body and blood, and it has ever been an occasion of solemn pleasure and communion, and was particularly so this year. We met on the night of March 24th, as usual, at the house of Brother and Sister Conley (it being the most commodious); and ate together the unleavened bread--eating, meantime "the truth" which it symbolized, viz: That Jesus was unleavened (without sin), holy, harmless, undefiled, and therefore food "of which, if a man eat, he shall never die." We said, with Paul, "Christ, our Passover is slain; therefore, let us keep the feast." We saw clearly that because we had Christ within, therefore (soon, we believe), all the church of the first-born will be passed over, and spared, as it is written: "I will spare them, as a man spareth his only son that serveth him," and we said one to another, "Watch that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things coming upon the world, and stand before the Son of Man." We read, also, how that if we are Christ's, we are part of the same loaf; to be broken as He was; to die, as He did to the flesh --crucifying the flesh. "The loaf, which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we, being many, are one loaf and one body." (1 Cor. 10:17.) We saw, also, that if we would count ourselves parts of that loaf, and be broken, we must first "purge out therefrom the old leaven" of sin, that we may be like our Master, "who knew no sin."
After supper, we took the cup--the wine. As we took it, we remembered that it was not represented by the type, the passover supper, but that it was the symbol of joy and life. After supper, He took the cup,... saying, "Drink ye all of it," and we realized that, when the present night of eating the Lamb with bitter herbs (afflictions) has passed, our Lord will give us the new life and new joys, saying, "Enter thou into the joys of thy Lord," And we realized, even now and here, a foretaste of those joys of Paradise.
Thus, the wine of our feast was but typical of the joys of the kingdom, when we shall drink it new with Him, in our Father's kingdom--"after supper."
The following Excerpt is taken from the April 1881 Zion's Watch Tower. It says that the 1881 observance of "The Lord's Supper" would again be held at the home of W. H. Conley, and this article gives Conley's address. I wonder whether the house still exists?
THE LORD'S SUPPER.
Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us, therefore let us keep the feast. 1 Cor. 5:7.
The Passover was a Jewish feast kept annually (and is still observed by them) as a commemoration of their remarkable deliverance under the tenth plague upon Egypt--the Passing-over or sparing from death of their first-born.
The circumstances as narrated in Ex. 12 --the slaying of the Lamb, the roasting of the flesh with fire, and the eating of it with bitter herbs and unleavened bread while the eaters stood, girded and shod, and with staff in hand ready to depart out of Egypt for the Land of Promise-- Canaan--are doubtless familiar to most of our readers. Also, the meaning of these things which were but types: How that Jesus came-- "The Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world," and "Christ our Passover was sacrificed for us"--how the door posts and lintels of the household of faith are sprinkled (typically) with the blood of our Lamb which speaketh better things, and saves in a higher sense all that are in that house--how that we are to be pilgrims and strangers, not making Egypt (the world) our home nor resting there, but with staff in hand--how that the "bitter herbs" represent the bitter experiences and trials of this life, which are needful to us and tend to sharpen our appetite for the unleavened bread, (truth in its purity; leaven being a type of corruption or error,) and for the eating of our Lamb, who said unless you eat my flesh...you have no life in you: Thus we partake of our Lamb and have Christ formed within, the hope of Glory. Thus during this night of more than 1800 years, since our Lamb was slain, the one true household has been eating--waiting for the morning of deliverance--the early dawn of which we believe has already come.
When Jesus died on the very same day, and in fulfillment of that part of the type- the Lamb- how fitting it seems that all Christians should commemorate the day on which our Lamb died. We certainly have much more interest in the day than has "Israel after the flesh," who recognize only the type. Then, while we keep the feast daily -partaking of Christ and His word of truth, would it not be a great pleasure and a beautiful way, to commemorate our Lord's death on its anniversary?
We understand that it was our Lord's wish that this day be observed annually as a remembrance of Him, and that he instituted what is termed, The Lord's Supper, of bread and wine--emblems of His body and blood, our Passover supper --as a substitute for the Jewish observance of the type.
Everything connected with it seems to show that this was His intention. He kept the Passover regularly every year, and at the last one, the night in which he was betrayed, he said:
"With desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer." What Jesus commemorated was the killing of the Passover (Lamb;) and not the "Feast of Passover," which followed it for seven days. The Jews at that time kept both, but particularly the latter, (the feast). They do not now, and have not for a long time commemorated the killing of the Passover, but the feast only.
Jesus commemorated (the last time) the killing only and then gave Himself as the real sacrifice. When he had instituted the new supper--remembrancers, (the bread and wine) instead of the old type (the lamb) he gave to his disciples and said: "This do in remembrance of me." (Keep no longer the type or shadow but use these new emblems to commemorate me--the anti-type.) "As often as ye eat this bread and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord's death, (not the typical lamb's) till He come," the kingdom be established and the type completed by the passing over, or sparing of the first-born (overcomers) and the ultimate deliverance of the entire "household of faith."
The Passover killing--Christ's death, can be remembered at no time so appropriately as on the regular anniversary, the fourteenth day of the first month. Jewish time which this year falls on April 14th (commencing at 6 o'clock P.M.) The feast of seven days eating unleavened bread, which followed representing in type the continuous, perfect and everlasting feast which we enjoy after and because of our ransom; (seven being typical of perfection).
We are aware that some christians observe the Lord's supper every Sunday, and claim that their custom is based upon the oft repeated mention in Acts of the "breaking of bread," and "upon the first day of the week when the disciples were come together to break bread." (Acts 20:7) etc. They evidently overlook the fact that bread-breaking, was of necessity a frequent occurrence but that there is no mention of wine in any of these instances which constitute as important a feature in the ordinance as the bread, nor are any of these meetings on the first day of the week ever called the "Lord's Supper" or by any name that should lead us to such a conclusion.
There are several reasons why "The Lord's Day" would not be at all appropriate for the commemoration of His death, the principal one being, that "the first day," or "Lord's day" was instituted and used to commemorate an event the very opposite in its character, viz: The resurrection of our Lord. The one was in the "night" and called a supper, the other was observed in the day. The one was a night of weeping and sorrow, the other a morning of joy and rejoicing, saying--"The Lord is risen indeed." The one was a type of the present night of suffering--the Gospel Age-- the other a type of our gathering together and communion in the bright Millennial day--after the resurrection of the body "very early in the morning."
When Jesus had risen from death He appeared to the disciples frequently, if not invariably on the "first day" of the week, and on several occasions made himself known to them in the breaking of bread at their ordinary meal. Upon the organization of the church what would be more reasonable, than to suppose that they would set apart that first day, as especially a day for meeting with each other and with Him, and that coming from distances as well as because He thus revealed Himself first, they would arrange for the having of their food in common on that day? But this was always a day of joy as the other was properly a night of sympathizing grief. The proper observance of this ordinance like that of baptism, seems to have been lost sight of during Papacy's reign: This one doubtless, was made void, to allow for the deathbed administration of the "Sacrament" to keep the dying from purgatory, etc. Protestants have not generally given the subject much attention, using the words--"As often as ye do this--"as authority for any convenient time, and not seeing that "this" referred to the Passover, as oft as ye do commemorate this event do it in remembrance--not of the type but of the anti-type--Me.
We do not say that a sin is committed by an untimely observance, nor that the non-observance, is sinful; but we do say that the observance of it as instituted is much more suggestive, appropriate and commemorative than any other.
We have so observed it here in Pittsburgh for some years and it has ever been a blessed occasion. We will celebrate it this year at the residence of Bro. W. H. Conley, No. 50, Fremont street, Allegheny City, Pa. April 14th, at 8 o'clock P.M., and cordially invite all who can do so, to be present and join with us. Brethren and sisters from a distance will be entertained by the friends here. If possible please send a postal card to "WATCH TOWER" office, No. 101 Fifth avenue, Pittsburgh, and call there on your arrival.
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The only remaining reference to W. H. Conley, which I have been able to locate, is again in Zion's Watch Tower, but not until 13 years later, in the June 15, 1894 issue. The Excerpt below is a "Letter From Reader", written by Conley to C T Russell.
It is somewhat strange that Russell must introduce Conley to his 1894 ZWT readers, as well the fact that CTR refers to Conley as merely "another brother who was a member of the early Allegheny Bible Class", without any mention that Conley had served for almost 4 years as Society President.
What was Conley doing during this 13 year gap? What were the rumors to which he refers? The tone seems to indicate that he and Russell remained on good terms, but that communication between the two may have been infrequent at this point in time.
EXCERPT
Pennsylvania.
[Another brother who was a member of the early Allegheny Bible Class writes as follows:]
MY DEAR BRO. IN CHRIST:--I have read carefully pages 92 to 119 of A Conspiracy Exposed and Harvest Siftings with special interest, and must say my recollection of events named by you are very much like your own; and while there are details, in some cases, of which I know nothing, and hence cannot speak as to them, yet I do know there were such transactions as you name, and at the dates given. I am quite conversant with some of the dealings, and am surprised at the very merciful manner in which you speak of those with whom you were associated. "The servant is not greater than his Lord." "If they have done these things in a green tree, what will they do in the dry?"--"Perils among false brethren," etc., etc.
As to myself, you can rely on one thing; viz., All reports stating that I deny the ransom are absolutely false. The no-ransom people may talk, but they "have nothing in me." As ever,
Yours in Him,
W. H. CONLEY.
X.martin-Dupont posted 2/9/02 11:09 PM
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take a look here : http://minilien.com/?QmAdJY6t44
Conley was one's of the board of director of the 3rd national bank in Pittburg. he was also invloved in various charity organisation.
http://www.multimania.com/xmd/
Ruth Monroe
(Moderator) posted 2/18/02 6:57 PM
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Thanks for posting the above.
This confirms that W. H. Conley was a prominent, wealthy gentleman in the Allegheny-Pittsburg community.
He was a member of the Board of Directors at the Third National Bank of Allegheny, as well as a member of the Board of Directors of The Home For Colored Children and St. John's General Hospital.
Bruce posted 2/1/03 7:22 AM
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W. H. Conley was a long time friend of George Stetson and met Russell through Stetson. Conley died in 1897.
