1925​​—One Hundred Years Ago

DEY HAD FO KEEP WAITING

In 1925, plenny of da Bible Students wen expeck da eart fo come one Paradise. How come? Braddah Albert Schroeder, wen explain how come, “We wen tink dat in 1925 da anointed wuz goin go heaven an da faitful guys like Abraham, David, an oddas would come back alive on da eart fo rule az princes fo God’s Govament ova da eart.” Az da year had go on an dat neva happen, some of da guys wen get all bummed out cuz of dat.​—Smart Guys 13:12.

Even tho plenny of dem wuz bummed, da Bible Students wen stay busy preaching. Dey wen come fo see dat preaching about Jehovah wuz da mos importan ting fo dem do. We go check out how dey had use da radio fo preach to plenny peopo.

DA WITNESSES WEN BUILD MOA RADIO STATIONS

In 1924, plenny peopo wen lissen to da radio station WBBR. Dass how come in 1925 da Bible Students wen make anodda powaful radio station by Chicago, Illinois. Da name of da station wuz WORD. Ralph Leffler, one braddah who wen help build da station had say, “On cold nights, plenny peopo from far away places would lissen to da station.” Fo exampo, one family living moa den 3,000 miles away in one town called Pilot Station, Alaska had lissen in to one of da firs broadcast. Afta lissening to um, da family wen write one letta fo tank da guys working at da station fo helping dem learn moa about God an da Bible.

The Watch Tower Decemba 1, 1925 wen say how come so much peopo could hea da program so far away. It wen say, “WORD iz one of da mos powaful radio stations in da United States. Peopo can hea um on both da east an west coasts of da US, Cuba an da mos nort paht of Alaska. Plenny peopo who neva hea da trut befoa wen like learn about um cuz of dis radio station.”

Da Bible Students wanted fo use da radio fo preach in Canada too. In 1924, da Bible Students wen build one of da firs religious radio stations in Canada called CHUC in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. In 1925, da station had fo move. So Jehovah’s hui wen buy da Regent Building, one ol theater in Saskatoon, an dey wen fix um up an move CHUC Broadcast Studios ova dea.

Cuz of dis station, plenny peopo in da small towns an da boonies in Saskatchewan wen hea da trut fo da firs time. Like in one town out in da boonies, one lady name Mrs. Graham had write in fo ask fo literature afta she wen hea one broadcast. Braddah George Naish had say, “Wat she wen write in da letta show dat she really wanted fo learn da trut. So we wen sen her da whole set of Studies in the Scriptures.” Pretty soon Mrs. Graham wuz sharing wat she learn in even moa far places.

ONE IMPORTAN TRUT

The Watch Tower March 1, 1925, had one importan article inside um, “Birth of the Nation.” How come dis article wuz so importan? Fo awhile, da Bible Students had kno dat Satan get one one hui dat stay made up of da demons, fake religions, govaments an binznesses on da eart. Inside dat article, “da akamai worka guy” wen help da braddahs an sistahs see dat Jehovah get one hui too dat go agains Satan’s hui. (Mat 24:45, NWT) Anodda ting da article wen explain iz dat God’s Govament had start in 1914 an same time, cuz of da war in heaven, Satan an his demons wuz thrown out of heaven an now stay stuck on da eart.​—Jesus Show 12:7-9, NWT.

Some guys neva agree wit dis importan trut. Knowing dat some guys would have hahd time wit dis, da article wen say, “If get any guys who reading The Watch Tower who no agree wit dis, would be good if dey keep serving Jehovah, be patient, an trus in him.”

Tom Eyre, one pionea braddah in Britain, wen tell how mos of da Bible Students had feel about dis article. “Da braddahs wuz stoked wit dis new Bible trut about Jesus Show chapta 12. Once we wen kno dat God’s Govament wuz set up in heaven, it had pump us up fo share da trut wit erybody an it wen help us fo see all da unreal tings Jehovah wuz goin do in da future.”

WITNESSING FO JEHOVAH

Today, Witnesses Fo Jehovah talk about Isaiah 43:10 all da time wea it tell, “Jehovah wen say, “You my witnesses. Dass right, you da one I wen choose fo serve me.”” But befoa 1925, da publications hardly wen talk dat scripcha. But dat wuz goin change. In 1925, eleven of The Watch Tower magazines wen talk about Isaiah 43:10 an 12!

At da end of August 1925, da Bible Students wen get togedda at one big kine meeting in Indianapolis, Indiana. On top da program, had one message from Braddah Joseph F. Rutherford. It wen say, “We come to dis big kine meeting fo . . . be built up by Jehovah fo go back out in da field an witness about him.” Da whole eight days of da big kine meeting, erybody who wen go wuz encouraged fo witness about Jehovah ery chance dey wen get.

On Saturday, August 29, Braddah Rutherford wen give one talk fo show how importan it iz fo witness about Jehovah. Da talk title wuz “A Call to Action.” He wen say,“Jehovah tell his peopo “You my witnesses . . . I da true God.” Den Jehovah give dem da command, “Hold up one flag so da diffren peopos know wea fo go!” Da ony peopo dat can hold up dis flag iz da peopo who witness fo Jehovah an have his spirit.”​—Isa 43:12; 62:10, NWT.

Afta Braddah Rutherford’s talk, he wen read one piece paypah dat wuz called “Message of Hope.” Erybody had agree wit wat da paypah wen say dat God’s Govament wuz da ony hope fo get one moa betta future. Afta dat paypah wuz translated to diffren languages, dey wen print um az one tract an had give out about 40 million copies.

Da Bible Students neva change dea name to Witnesses Fo Jehovah yet. Dat wuz goin happen a few years down da line. But dey had start fo undastan how importan it wuz fo dem witness about Jehovah.

STARTING FO GO BACK AGAIN

Cuz had moa Bible Students all ova da world, Jehovah’s hui started fo tell erybody fo go back to da guys who wen show interes in da trut. Afta da campaign fo give da tract Message of Hope, da Bulletina wen tell, “Try go back talk to da guys you wen give da tract to.”

Da January 1925 Bulletin had dis report from one braddah in Plano, Texas, “We surprise dat da territories we wen work iz betta den da new ones dat we had work. Like get one small town in oua territory dat we wen work five times in ten years. . . . Sistah Hendrix an my maddah had work um again an place moa books ova dea den eva befoa.”

One braddah in Panama wen write, “Plenny of da guys dat wen chase me away befoa, had change dea attitude wen I had go back two or three times. Dis year I been mosly goin back to da guys again I wen talk to befoa, an good tings had come outa dat.”

LOOKING AHEAD

At da end of 1925, Braddah Rutherford had write to all da pioneas an wen let dem kno wat erybody wen do in da preaching work in da pas year. An den he had tell dem wat fo do nex. He wen tell, “Dis year you had da spesho chance fo help da guys who wuz sad fo feel betta. An dis wen make you supa happy . . . Dis coming year you goin get plenny chances fo witness fo God an his Govament, an show erybody who his real followas stay . . . . Togedda we go keep telling how awesome our God an oua King.”

At da end of 1925, da braddahs wuz awready planning fo make Brooklyn Bethel moa big. In 1926, Jehovah’s hui would start da bigges construcktion projeck dey wen eva do.