4. Bible House Aftermath

After Bible House was finally sold it was used for a variety of purposes and the old chapel was hired out for various groups. But in 1929 it featured in what came to be called the first reunion convention.

This was organised by Bible Students who had separated from the Society. It was dated to coincide with anniversary memorial services at CTR’s grave. There was a convention report produced by Dr Leslie Jones, who had produced the majority of convention reports for 1904-1916 during CTR’s lifetime. As noted in a previous article, this was when Dr Jones left us a detailed description of Bible House and how it had functioned as Watch Tower headquarters.

The aim of the 1929 reunion convention was to bring together various groups that had separated from the Watchtower Society. (For a list of some of these different groups see the full resolution presented by J F Rutherford for the new name Jehovah’s Witnesses in 1931 - Rutherford names some of them.) Their 1929 convention report stated that they had used the chapel of The Order of Independent Americans. A check in newspaper archives shows that this was the old Bible House, which. like a standard Masonic Hall, could be hired out.

The 1929 meeting brought these people together, but it could be argued that, rather than bringing about unity, it resulted in the formation of yet one more Bible Student group. Annual reunion conventions continued to be held at the old Bible House chapel for several years thereafter.

It must be remembered that in 1928 The Harp of God was revised and removed direct reference to CTR. In the late 1920s the Society ceased publishing new editions of CTR’s Studies, although they remained on their inventory while stocks lasted. Key beliefs from the CTR era like the Great Pyramid would be changed, followed by removing any focus on natural Israel in the early 1930s. Those who continuued to believe all of CTR’s theology would no longer find a home in the movement that became Jehovah’s Witnesses.