First Tracts and Convention

Right from the start, Brother Harteva realized the value of the printed word. Saarnoja kansalle (People’s Pulpit) was the name of the first tract edited. The next year its name was changed to Puheita kansalle (Talks to the People). Those tracts contained articles from the English Watch Tower, as well as transcripts of talks by Brother Russell translated into Finnish. Advertisements for meetings and for the publications that were available were also included.

In January 1912 Puheita kansalle reported: “When The Divine Plan of the Ages was published in Finnish, it first reached a very great distribution through the colporteurs, through newspaper articles, and by booksellers. But soon after Christmas 1910, a great change took place, as the initial enthusiasm was followed by opposition so strong that it almost choked everything. Fortunately this situation did not last more than some six months. When the help by the press and booksellers seemed to cease completely, God started to invite more workers to the harvest.” The report continued, relating that in Helsinki about 30 Finnish-speaking and 10 Swedish-speaking brothers regularly met together two or three times a week to study the Word of God.

[Pictures on page 147]

The first branch office, Helsinki. “Saarnoja kansalle,” one of the first publications in Finnish