I have been reading of the personal histories of both these "men", to say the least, my eyes just about fell out of their sockets.
Knowing what is going on in the org today, I can see how the apple does not fall far from the tree -- Russell and Rutherford BOTH were involved in pyramid schemes, fraudulent activity & using people, their names, their money to obscure businesses, which all are on public record, mostly in USA..... just to build the empire from the Peoples Pulpit to the WTBTS - Russell did not just scam just about everyone he came into contact with, he tried to defraud his x out of her legal home, which the courts clearly recognized and put the words right in their court report - FRAUD!! The glossed over "spiritual , gave his life for the truth" crap that the org says Russell did and was, is such a pile of BS.... Russell even had the "colporters" hawking for businesses other than spiritual and using the names of Peoples Pulpit and later WTBTS while they did it... He was fully engaged in the late 1800's and early 1900's in up to 6 businesses, gold, leather, real estate.... etc. Yet the society says since 1874 his life consisted of bible study and new light!! Wrong! He used the Bible but used the congregations more as his Amway workers - get more people in, they work for him and pay for the products they could then resell and make a small profit....
What has changed??? Nothing! Get the congregations to obtain land, use their money and bodies to volunteer to build halls and assemblies halls, BUY LOW, get the deeds and SELL HIGH -- they see this as their RIGHT but remember the contemporaries since that time (1800-1900) - they all learned and passed it on well - much like the lesson in the WT this week....as they see fit ---all monies go back to "headquarters" -- NOTHING HAS CHANGED!
Now with the child abuse court cases - note lurkers -- not media reports - court reports on line to see along with videos and court papers.......It's there for all to read.... Don't feel your conscience won't let you... it's your right to know everything - remember the Boereans-- they looked daily to learn truths.
Rutherford worked with him and later adopted the same style but going further, in 20's when people were starving, he buys houses, cars, trips ( with a female secretary-he was separated from wife and son).. Nice guy! Berating everyone in his path.
Remember "Types and antitypes" -- you can see it clearly in the organization now.
GOTO http://jwdivorces.bravehost.com/russell.html -- it's on Russell and his host of businesses, contacts, frauds, courts, etc.