This is a letter off the internet. Are the things he says about Spirtualism true where they wanted to bury brother Rutherford at sunrise?
(This letter was written in June 1994 to fellow JWs to explain why I was leaving their organization.) 
I went from house-to-house for the Watchtower Society for 50 years. As I did, I became acquainted with many good and sincere people who were not Jehovah's Witnesses but who showed a love for God and neighbour. They claimed to be and I now view them as Christians to the best of their knowledge and ability. I believe they will be rewarded for their faith in God and Jesus, though they never have read or never will read The Watchtower. In other words, I no longer believe that a person must be one of Jehovah's Witnesses in order to receive salvation to everlasting life. Jesus said, "EVERYONE believing in him may have everlasting life." He said nothing about membership in or faithful service within any organization. -- John 3:15, 16. I do not believe that God's holy spirit is operating upon the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses. Instead, my study of the Society's publications has revealed that there is a spiritistic foundation to the teachings of Charles Taze Russell, and his writings continue to this day to influence the direction in which the Governing Body is taking the organization. I believe the Society's basic message about a kingdom government born in heaven in 1914 is completely out of harmony with the simple teaching of the Bible that when Jesus returns "every eye will see him." (Revelation 1:7) I do not want to be classed by God as accursed for accepting or teaching a so-called "good news" that is different from what the apostles taught. -- Galatians 1:8. I am convinced that many other teachings of the Society are contrary to the teachings of the Bible. For example: Matthew 28:19 says baptism is to be in the name of the Father, Son and holy spirit, but the June 1, 1985 Watchtower magazine substitutes "spirit-directed organization" for "holy spirit." Luke 21:34-36 and other scriptures show that we each INDIVIDUALLY must be faithful and discreet in caring for what the Master has entrusted to us, but the Society says only "the remnant" AS A GROUP are the "slave" of Matthew 24:45-51. See Matthew 25:13-30; Luke 12:48; 16:10-13; 1 Corinthians 4:2; Hebrews 3:12; 1 Peter 4:10,11; and Revelation 16:15. Acts 3:20-23 shows Jesus alone is the Greater Moses and God's prophet, but the June 1 and September 1, 1982 issues of The Watchtower urge an attitude that views the WATCHTOWER ORGANIZATION as such. This, even though the organization has rarely, if ever, guessed right about future events! Acts 10:38 makes it noteworthy that Jesus "went through all the land doing good and healing" the oppressed people, and other religions build hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, etc., for their own if not also for others. But the Watchtower Society chooses to use its millions upon millions of dollars to build more and more comfortable Bethel homes instead of helping even its own sick, handicapped, and elderly. Acts 15:20,29 tells Gentile Christians to "abstain" from blood, and the Watch Tower Society applies this to blood transfusions. But the scriptural context clearly shows that the purpose of the recommendation was to avoid creating great offense for Jews. C. T. Russell understood this, saying in the April 15, 1909 Watch Tower on page 117: "The things here recommended were necessary to a preservation of the fellowship of the 'body' composed of Jews and Gentiles with their different education and sentiments." Think of the awesome bloodguilt resting upon the Governing Body if Russell was correct! Romans 12:3 warns against thinking too highly of oneself, but with no credentials at all, the Watchtower Society assigns itself the role of God's spokesman and the administrator of all Christ's interests on earth. We belong to Christ, according to 2 Corinthians 1:21, 24, and not even the apostles were 'masters over our faith,' but the Watchtower Society constantly attempts to impose on our minds what it describes as "the great body of truths" that it has produced. Thus the Society has its own organizational creed, something it condemns in other churches. 1 Timothy 2:5 says there is "one mediator between God and men, a man, Christ Jesus," but the Society says Jesus is not the mediator for those with an earthly hope. Hebrews 4:16 says we can "approach with freeness of speech to the throne of undeserved kindness," not because the Watchtower Society died for us, but because Jesus did. Hebrews 10:19-22 shows Jesus eliminated the division between a priestly class and a non-priestly class, but The Watchtower describes the "anointed remnant" as "the priestly class" and "the great crowd" as "spiritual Gentiles." See page 80, paragraph 15, of the book, Paradise Restored to Mankind -- By Theocracy. The greatest testimony against the Watchtower Society is its own literature. The above instances simply skim the surface. The Society seems incapable of letting the Scriptures speak for themselves. It must nearly always give a symbolic or "spiritual" meaning to a text. The Society's history given in the book Jehovah's Witnesses Proclaimers of God's Kingdoms, released in 1993, often hides what is related in the older history Jehovah's Witnesses in the Divine Purpose and other publications. Whenever there is something good to report about the organization, the book is quick to tell us. But what about all the bad things that have gone on? The older book makes a reference to C. T. Russell's account of his troubles with his wife, Maria. I read the account in The Watch Tower of 1906 and could not help but feel that Russell was an arrogant and overbearing male who showed no consideration for his wife even when she was very ill and even though he acknowledged that no woman on earth was as devoted to and supportive of her husband as Maria. His defence in his own words of his relationship with other women is weak and suspicious. No wonder the judge and jury wasted no time in granting Mrs. Russell the divorce she was seeking and that he opposed. On page 201, the Proclaimers book acknowledges that "For some 35 years, Pastor Russell thought that the Great Pyramid of Gizeh was God's stone witness, corroborating Biblical time periods." What is not stated is that Russell was one of the world's greatest advocates of pyramidology, a spiritistic religion. His writings, diagrams and charts about pyramids are virtually the same as those that appear in any book on pyramidology. These books are usually located in the "Occult" section of any library or bookstore. Even J. F. Rutherford acknowledged that it was Satan who put it into Russell's mind to figure out God's purposes by studying the Pyramid of Gizeh, that the pyramid is "Satan's Bible, and not God's stone witness." (The Watch Tower of November 15, 1928, page 344) Russell was under this influence of the Devil at least from 1881 (2 years after the birth of The Watch Tower) until he died in 1916. He was buried in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. But first he was embalmed, and then he was placed in a grave that is now marked with a huge tombstone in the form of a pyramid which, curiously, has emblems of the Masonic Lodge engraved upon it. And, as shown in his articles on the zodiac, Russell also believed in astrology and the horoscope. And for nearly half of his presidency, Rutherford believed the same. Pyramid worship led Rutherford to believe that millions living in 1920 would never die and that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob would return in 1925 and live at "Beth-Sarim" in San Diego, California. Not the Bible, but Russell's belief in pyramidology is the basis for his date setting. He said the last days began in 1799, Christ's presence began in 1874, the heavenly resurrection began in 1878, the heavenly calling ended in 1881, and the end of the world and the resurrection of "the anointed on earth" would take place in 1914. All his prophecies failed, yet the Society still holds to the 1914 date, but with a different application. The Society claims this date is established by Bible chronology that starts with the destruction of Jerusalem in 607 BC. However, not even one reputable scholar agrees with the Society that Jerusalem was destroyed that year. So, in the face of all this scholarly opposition, the Society unashamedly claims its own scholarship is superior. Due to Russell's and Rutherford's practices of spiritism, millions of Jehovah's Witnesses are banking on Armageddon to come within the next few years. Just as Russell and Rutherford deceived the "International Bible Students" in their day, the teachings of the Governing Body are deceiving Jehovah's Witnesses today. Nathan H. Knorr was also addicted to spiritualism. As shown in the May 27, 1942 issue of Consolation, Knorr and the Society went to court over a silly matter having to do with their fanciful belief in "the King of the East, and the Chief King of the Sunrising," calling for Rutherford to be buried at "Beth-Sarim" at sunrise! Knorr lost the case, but his action postponed Rutherford's burial for three and a half months after he died! And since Fred Franz was a prominent member of the Society during the presidencies of Rutherford and Knorr, I have to conclude that he too was a spiritualist. No wonder his prophecies on the world's end for the 1940's and for 1975 did not come true. Nor will his prediction regarding the "generation" of Matthew 24:34. Incidentally, though we have often thought of Fred Franz as some sort of amazing Bible and language scholar, in the door-to-door work I have met rural church pastors and Sunday school teachers who I believe know just as much Bible Hebrew and Greek as he did. -- Matthew 24:23-26, 44. The Society claims to be an advancing into more and greater light, but over the decades it has bounced back and forth on doctrine. The true God speaks and teaches eternal truths, but not the Watchtower Society..With Him there is never a variation or a shadow of a turning. -- James 1:17. I personally resent the Society's campaign of whitewashing the record of its presidents. Those who know the true story are being treated as fools. The Proclaimers book on page 693 says Rutherford wrote a letter to Hitler. This is in the context of 'facing Nazi oppression.' But Rutherford's letter, published in The Yearbook of 1934, PRAISES Hitler for his anti-Anglo/America campaign and his plan to get rid of the Jews! As another example, in The Watchtower of August 1, 1994, page 23, Robert Hatzfeld is quoted as saying regarding Rutherford, "Many of the younger brothers at Bethel were somewhat intimidated by him until they got to know him." Yet, when I was at Brooklyn Bethel, and even before, I saw old-timers wince as they spoke of Rutherford's bad language, drinking, and tyrannical ways. He was even sued by ex-Bethelite Olin Moyle on these matters, and Moyle won the case! I was also told that thousands of JWs in Germany died before Hitler's firing squads because Rutherford told them Jehovah would not allow them to be executed since they were among the 'millions now living' who would never die. Knorr was not much better. All the days at Bethel that I knew him, he was like an aloof businessman who had little regard for others. He ruled Bethel like a stern boss, and nearly everyone feared the man. I remember days when he ridiculed and ranted for as much as an hour against those who displeased him and whom he had lined against the dining room wall before the entire "Bethel family." At Bethel in Brooklyn and Canada there is little regard for other people's spiritual or emotional problems. Rarely if ever is Matthew 18 applied. If you approach someone with authority, he does little if anything to assist you. Rather, you can expect to be patronized and told simply to "wait on Jehovah." If you return with your problem days or weeks later, you stand a likely chance of being accused of having an obsession of some sort. At Brooklyn headquarters we were at times advised from the table head to exercise care due to theft going on within the Bethel family. Not just a few cases of marital infidelity, drunkenness and alcoholism, wild parties, and even homosexual practices are among the reasons some are dismissed from Bethel. We smile at the failure of the Catholic Church when we hear about a priest molesting little children. We certainly would not smile if we were told truthfully about all the cases of child abuse, wife abuse, divorce and youth delinquency that can be found in many of our congregations. And we ALL claim that we are CHRISTIAN MINISTERS! The Society has stated that about one percent are disfellowshiped each year and that the majority of cases have to do with immorality. One gets disfellowshiped for not showing repentance, and lack of repentance is indicated by not taking the initiative to come forth and confess. What this means is that one percent of JWs get caught as fornicators, adulterers and homosexuals. How many others are secretly doing these things who do NOT get caught? It often takes a lot of effort and investigation to discover that someone is engaging in such secret practices. Still, about 40,000 are found out and thrown out each year! How many other tens of thousands or more have not yet been exposed as the immoral persons that they are? Many other religions place strong emphasis on Christian conduct. I think we stand above all of them as having the worst record when it comes to blatant dishonesty and immorality. You don't have to be an elder involved for some time with judicial matters to understand what I'm saying. Still, we boast about what a "clean organization" we are because we disfellowship wrongdoers, seemingly being incapable of noting that those wrongdoers did their wrong while they were INSIDE the organization. By falsely claiming, even bragging, that we are a clean organization, we are imitating, not Jesus, but the Pharisee in his parable who felt very assured of his righteousness. He appeared exemplary on the surface due to his regularity in the service of fasting and tithing and by his abstaining from certain condemned acts. In reality he was outstanding only by his self-praise. -- LuKE 18:9-14. I believe these problems exist because the Watchtower Society tries to take the place of Jesus as Head of the congregation. It stands in the way of our having a personal relationship with God because it wants to be the only "channel," "spokesman" and "watchman" for Jehovah's Witnesses. No human authority can motivate our minds and hearts as well as He who is King of Kings and Lord of Lords, no matter how much that human governing authority tries to get its people to ACKNOWLEDGE AND ADORE ITSELF RATHER THAN HIM. In its efforts to hold high the name of Jehovah, the Society has overlooked the scripture that says, "He that does not honour the Son [including his office as Mediator and Head of the congregation] does not honour the Father who sent him." -- John 5:23. We hear over and over again that we have "the truth," that we are God's ONLY organization, and that we are the ONLY people practising true love. Our experience is so limited because ALL WE KNOW is what we are taught by the Watchtower Society. We are urged to read only the publications of the Society and to use only its Bible. If one keeps hearing something often enough, he will believe it. Because the Society says the good news is being preached "in all the inhabited earth," we believe it, even though the Society's message is reaching only a very small fraction of earth's population and very few of THEM actually know what we stand for. Because the Society says we should preach from house-to-house, we do it, even though such activity is a nuisance to most householders and turns many against God and the Bible as well as against Jehovah's Witnesses. Our children are told not to go to college because it will corrupt them, but those who have done the most good for mankind have generally been those who have not been content with a mere surface education. God bestowed beautiful talents within each of us to be developed and used to his glory and praise. But we stay under-educated because the Society keeps us so busy with its constant activities and demands upon our limited time. As individuals and as congregations we should be administered according to the rule of the Word of God, not according to man-made rules such as are contained in the Watchtower Society's Organization book. The Society has over the years liberally plagiarized from Christendom's commentaries. Still, it would like us to think there is nowhere else to go. Peter said, not to the Watchtower Society, but to Jesus, "YOU have sayings of everlasting life!" While preaching and in other ways, I have met members of churches and groups who also believe that they are teaching "the glorious good news about the Christ." And they won't disfellowship you if your Bible-trained conscience can't accept everything they say! They are learning and growing too. The triumphant Christian congregation has Jesus Christ as its Head and not any human governor or governing body of men. I love you all very much and will miss your association and friendship. I have no illusions about being exempted from the Society's wrathful view of those who reject its teachings. Rather than warm my heart so as to want to return someday, its self-centered and misguided manner of attempting to keep its organization clean has cooled me toward the Watchtower Society forever. I am sure an announcement will be made against me. I am not promoting a sect when I say you should read and study the Bible and let it speak to you for itself. It is God's love letter to you personally, and its message is not intended to be slanted for you by an organization that thinks it loves you more than He does. Sincerely, Frank J. Toth 4465 Idlewilde Crescent Mississauga, Ontario L5M 4E8 Canada Email: [email protected]