In 1941 the Society released the book "Children" written by J.F. Rutherford. The release of this book at the St. Louis, Missouri Convention is described in the Proclaimers book on page 86:
A touching scene at the convention came on Sunday, August 10, which was "Children's Day." When the morning session opened, 15,000 children -between 5 and 18 years of age- were assembled in the main arena directly in front of the platform and in a place similarly set aside at a trailer city where an overflow crowd listened. As Brother Rutherford, then in his early 70's, stepped onto the platform, the children cheered and applauded. He waved his handkerchief, and the children waved back. Then, in a clear, kind voice, he addressed the entire audience on the theme "Children of the King." After talking for over an hour to the audience in general, he directed his remarks to the children seated in the reserved sections.
"All of you ...children," he said, fixing his attention on the young beaming faces before him, "who have agreed to do the will of God and have taken your stand on the side of his Theocratic Government by Christ Jesus and who have agreed to obey God and his King, please stand up." The children rose as one body. "Behold," exclaimed the enthusiastic speaker, "more that 15,000 new witnesses to the Kingdom!" There was a burst of applause. "All of you who will do what you can to tell others about God's kingdom and its attending blessings, please say Aye." A thunderous cry, "Aye!"
To climax it all, Brother Rutherford announced the release of the new book Children, which was received with shouts of joy and tremendous applause. Afterward, the speaker, a tall man, shared in distributing free copies of the book as a long line of children walked up on the platform and filed past him. Many wept at the sight.
"Many wept at the sight", and many I am sure continued weeping for some years afterward because this Children book had a time bomb contained in the last few pages.
The book starts by introducing two fictional families the Aldens and the Rogers, neighbors. The principal characters in the book are young John Alden, 20 years old, and Eunice Rogers, 18. Early in the book while sitting under a "great oak" they get engaged and also agree to study the Bible using some Bible study aids, you know the ones! lol
The rest of the book could be entitled, "The Bible According to Rutherford." But the end is the kicker.
Several months have passed, John and Eunice have finished their Bible study and are again sitting beneath that "great oak" where they had agreed to marry. Eunice expresses appreciation for their studies and the knowledge they have gained about the "prospect of life everlasting upon the earth....The earth is now beautiful, but that beauty is nothing to compare with the glory and beauty that shall be upon the whole earth during the reign of Christ the King."
John answers, "How true are your words, Eunice. We have walked through these broad fields many times, during our childhood days. But today these fields mean much more to us than ever before. They belong to the Lord, and He will beautify them for his children. Armageddon is surely near, and during that time the Lord will clean off the earth everything that offends and is disagreeable. Then, by His grace, we shall begin our life with a greater vision and prolonged joy. Now we see by faith the great THEOCRACY, and we are wholly and unreservedly committed to that righteous government. From now on we shall have our heart devotion fixed on THE THEOCRACY, knowing that soon we shall journey for ever together in the earth. Our hope is that within a few years our marriage may be consummated and, by the Lord's grace, we shall have sweet children that will be an honor to the Lord. We can well defer our marriage until lasting peace comes to the earth. Now we must add nothing to our burdens, but be free and equipped to serve the Lord. When THE THEOCRACY is in full sway it will not be burdensome to have a family.....
"We shall, by God's grace, be forever the children of the great King, and our children shall be forever with us, subjects of the Kingdom. We have found refuge in Christ, and we shall abide here until the blessed time when we may have part in fulfilling the divine mandate. We shall not see each other very often for a time, but we can have like thoughts every day of the glorious prospect that is set before us. I suggest that our first thought on awakening each morning be expressed by repeating these words of the psalmist: 'Bless the Lord, O my soul:and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.
(book's last paragragh)
"To this young man and young woman all the environments now appeared more beautiful. The birds in the trees seemed to be singing the praises of Jehovah and His King. So, hand in hand, they joined their voices with them in song and gave thanks to God for His manifold blessings bestowed upon them."
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IW's 2003 addendum to Rutherford's CHILDREN book.
"So John and Eunice departed from each other knowing they soon would be united as man and wife. John applied to serve at the world headquarters of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society in Brooklyn, New York. Eunice stayed at home and served full time witnessing to others about the coming end.
"A couple of years went by, many letters were exchanged and from time to time John and Eunice visited each other when finances permitted. The war ended, John tried to get Eunice into Bethel so they could marry but he was told married couples are not allowed in Bethel, John stayed believing that a change in the marriage policy would soon come. But two years later Eunice was killed in a train accident and in his grief John knew that their hopes of marriage were forever dashed because the resurrected do not marry.
"John remains at Bethel to this day. He is now 82 years old and sometimes wonders what his life would have been like if he and Eunice had not read the Watchtower's Bible study aids all those long years ago"
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Though John and Eunice are fictional their plight was very real. Many young brothers and sisters remained single, trusting in the Watchtower and its false hopes until they found themselves too old to marry or to leave Bethel. Some of them are still at the Brooklyn headquarters, others in congregations scattered around the globe.
The Watchtower continues to publish it's propaganda, though not discouraging marriage as much as they did in the days of "John and Eunice", full time dedication to the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society is still a living mandate.
First scripture on the Title page of the CHILDREN book:
"Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord."
IW