In the interim between being summoned by the elders and officially disassociating myself from the Watchtower organization, I wrote a paper that was initially going to be my disassociation letter. As I feverishly labored on the paper, it got longer and longer, and I decided it probably wouldn’t be very effective in my meeting, so instead I wrote a much shorter single page disassociation letter in addition to my “thesis”.
Again, although the above is not a direct quote, Russell is simply relating what others have claimed concerning the âMiracle Wheatâ. The only part that actually originates from him is the application of the blessings of restitution what is yet to come upon the world of mankind.
We now present the next article from:
The Watch Tower, June 15, 1910, page 203
âTHAT YE BEAR MUCH FRUITâ
âHerein is my Father glorified that ye bear much fruit,â said our Master. In this parable the good ground varies in its productiveness â thirty, sixty and an hundred fold. The larger the returns, the greater will be the Fatherâs pleasure and the Saviorâs glory. Nor is the statement an extreme one, as some might suppose. The new âmiracle wheatâ sometimes produces more than two hundred grains from one. This parable seems to imply that the responsibility for the fruitfulness of the heart and life and character depends very greatly upon the individual and how he receives the message of the Kingdom.
Those in whom the fruits will be the most abundant will be such as grasp the invitation most intelligently and earnestly. âHe that heareth the word and understandeth itâ and whose heart is in a condition of loyalty to God and who frees himself from hindrances and worldly ambitions and aspirations and, like the Apostle Paul, can say, âThis one thing I do,â will surely gain the Kingdom.
It is not sufficient that we hear the message of the Kingdom; it is not sufficient that we have good hearts or good intentions in respect to it; it is additionally necessary, as the Master says, that we should understand the Kingdom message; hence the need of Bible study. Intelligent people consider it very wise and proper that several years of study be devoted to preparation for the few years of earthly life. How much study, then, should be considered proper for our preparation for the eternal life and Kingdom blessings? The time and effort thus consumed in character development for the Kingdom are wisely spent, and the harvest of thirty, sixty or a hundred-fold illustrates the degree and intensity of our earnestness. The rewards in the Kingdom will also be proportionate.
âAs star differeth from star in glory, so shall it be in the resurrection of the dead.â Varying degrees of glory in the Kingdom will be manifested, yet none will be acceptable to the Father who shall not have brought forth fruitage in good measure; the âwell doneâ will never be pronounced if not merited.
Russell only mentions âMiracle Wheatâ briefly, noting that âThe new âmiracle wheatâ sometimes produces more than two hundred grains from one.â In this he was not making any new claim concerning Miracle Wheat that had not already been stated by others, as reported in news media.
This next article is from:
The Watch Tower, September 1, 1910, page 279
RESTITUTION WORK BEGUN
âThe Divine purpose will not be thwarted by the permission of sin to mar the original. The sacrificial death of Jesus is the complete offset to the penalty pronounced on Adam and his race. Restitution to perfection and Divine favor will result in Godâs âdue time.â And we believe that time near at hand.
âDo we not see the promised blessing coming? What are our vast irrigation schemes by artesian wells and by aqueducts but fulfillments of the prophecies pertaining to the reign of Messiah and the blessing of the earth? Hark to the message: Streams shall break forth in the desert; and the wilderness shall bloom as the rose. â Isaiah 35.
âBurbank and others are under Divine guidance working miracles in horticulture, just as Edison and others have been the instruments of Providence to give us electrical devices. What beautiful fruits and flowers are the result! It is difficult to imagine greater perfection either in Eden of old or in the world-wide Eden to be restored!
âReferring to the âtimes of restitutionâ of Messiahâs reign the Prophet declares, âThe earth shall yield her increase.â (Ezekiel 34:27.) Behold preparations for the fulfillment of this promise: About three years ago a Virginia farmer found one abnormal bunch of 120 stalks of wheat from one rootâthe offspring of one grain of wheat. Under the name of âmiracle wheatâ it is now being developed slowly in various partsâthe average yield appears to be about 1,200 grains from one kernel. And this very year the same peculiarity in oats has been foundâa bunch growing wild by the roadside.
âAdditionally the same Divine providence is guiding our chemists to economical methods of extracting nitrogen from the atmosphere for the feeding of the soil and thus to the âincreaseâ of earthâs blessings and in fulfillment of Godâs promise that he will make the earth (his footstool) glorious.
Again, Russell is not making any original claims for the Miracle Wheat, except in his thoughts that such may be in preparation for the restitution blessings of the age to come.
The next article we present is from:
The Watch Tower, October 1, 1910, page 307
MIRACLE WHEAT AND MIRACLE RYE
Some years ago we made mention of the miracle wheat discovered in Virginia, which originated with the fruitage of one grain found growing by itself. Two grains of this wheat were given to the Editor, who, in turn, handed them to a brother in the Truth, who reported that the two grains produced 1,312, which, planted, produced five pounds â one grain having fifty stools of well-developed stalks or straws. The brother planted the miracle wheat alongside of some ordinary wheat, and reports that the miracle wheat heads are from three to five inches long and from three to five grains to the mesh, whereas with the common wheat the heads are from two to three inches in length.
Another brother obtained some of the miracle wheat and, out of the first crop, presented the Editor a peck of the same. This was entrusted to another brother, a farmer, who has just handed the Editor $100 proceeds therefrom, with the following report: â
As you remember, I secured also a peck of the miracle wheat from a brother in the Truth as a donation to yourself (because he first heard of the miracle wheat through THE WATCH TOWER). This was sowed on half an acre of run-out land. On the adjoining half-acre was sowed a bushel of common wheat for comparison. The sowing was done in the midst of a seven weeksâ drouth. During the late fall and the early spring the miracle wheat looked very thin compared with the common wheat. However, in the month of May both plots appeared to be about the same, except that the miracle wheat laid flatter on the ground. Late in June the miracle wheat was much the heavier, and stood nearly a foot higher than the common wheat, and about a week later in point of ripening. Not having threshed, I cannot at this writing report the respective yield, but am satisfied that the miracle wheat will be more than double that of the common.
The grains are in appearance similar to ordinary red wheat. I can with difficulty distinguish a difference. The color of the miracle wheat is a trifle richer. I will send you a photograph of a dozen heads and the largest stool I can find of both the miracle and the common wheat. Brother Kuesthardt advertised the wheat in his paper, and the money sent you is the result of the sales at $1 per pound.
Your brother in Christ,
J. A. BOHNET.
Again, although Russell repeats the claims of others concerning Miracle Wheat, and he presents the statements of J. A. Bohnet concerning Miracle Wheat, Russell does not present any claims apart from reporting what others have claimed.
The next article appeared in:
The Watch Tower, June 15, 1911, page 178
A DONATION OF MIRACLE WHEAT
Brother Bohnet writes us that he has gradually accumulated a crop of miracle wheat from the few grains he obtained as a start. He prefers that the first opportunity for obtaining this wheat shall go to THE WATCH TOWER readers. He will sell it for $1 per pound, including postage, and give the entire proceeds to our Society. All orders for this wheat should be addressed, Miracle Wheat Bohnet, 17 Hicks street, Brooklyn, N. Y. This will keep mail on this subject separate from his personal mail and from ours.
Brother Bohnet promises to be ready to ship this wheat by August 1. He says miracle wheat should be sowed one-fourth as thick as common wheat. Ordinarily it should produce from ten to fifteen times as much proportionately to the amount sown. To save keeping account, money should accompany the order. WATCH TOWER readers will have the preference up to August 15, after which orders will be attended to indiscriminately, so long as the supply holds out. This wheat should be sown in the fall.
Above is the offer that is alleged by many to this day to be Russellâs fraudulent sale of bogus Miracle Wheat, by which it is alleged that Russell made himself rich by defrauding âhis flockâ with a deception, allegedly giving a name âMiracle Wheatâ to ordinary wheat, allegedly making false claims for that wheat and selling that wheat an exorbitant price. In reality, the validity of the Miracle Wheat had been long established in the news media. In reality, it was not Russell who named the wheat âMiracle Wheatâ. In reality, it was not Russell who made the claims for Miracle Wheat. In reality, it was not Russell who offered the wheat for sale. In reality, it was not Russell who set the price for the wheat. In reality, Mr. Bohnet offered the wheat seeds for sale at a price lower than he had purchased such wheat from Mr. Stoner, as we shall see later on in this report. And the donation was not made to Russell, but to the Watch Tower Society.
Here is the next article from:
The Watch Tower, August 1, 1911, page 226
MIRACLE WHEAT IN DEMAND
The notice in THE WATCH TOWER of June 15 that Brother Bohnet has âmiracle wheatâ in abundance now, and that he will sell it at $1 per pound and donate the entire proceeds to our Tract Fund, has brought in many orders. These will be filled between August 15 and September 1. No limit as to supply has been noted. Sent by Express, prepaid, the price will be twenty-two pounds for $20; fifty-five pounds for $50; larger quantities at the latter rate. The merits of this wheat over the common variety have been mentioned in previous issues of THE WATCH TOWER.
The following article appeared in:
The Watch Tower, July 1, 1912, pages 214, 215
EARTHâS IMPERFECTION IS FALLEN MANâS BLESSING
God could have made the entire earth perfect as easily as He âplantedâ the little garden in Eden. But He foresaw that if the earth were perfected the death-struggle would be longer, and the degradation of man greater. The poverty of the world has assisted in keeping mankind back from greater depths of iniquity. The sentence, âIn the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread,â was evidently intended as a blessing, that man might learn lessons of experience by battling with the earth for his living. As the Creator said to the man regarding the curse of the earth, it was âfor thy [man’s] sake.â So man has learned that âThe wages of sin is death.â The Heavenly Father has not, however, changed His Plan. When the Kingdom is set up, the earth shall yield her increase; and God assures us, âI will make the place of My feet glorious.â â Isaiah 60:13.
Edison has been the instrument of Providence in giving us wonderful electrical devices. Burbank and others have, under Divine guidance, worked miracles in horticulture. What beautiful fruits and flowers have followed as results! It is difficult to imagine anything nearer perfection either in Eden of old or the world-wide Eden to be established! In referring to the âTimes of Restitutionâ the Prophet declares that âthe earth shall yield her increase.â (Psalm 67:6) We behold preparations for the fulfilment of this promise.
A few years ago a Virginia farmer found an abnormal stool of wheat â one hundred and forty-two stalks, each bearing a well-developed head â the offspring of a single grain of wheat! Under the name of âMiracle Wheatâ it is now being developed slowly in various parts of the country. The average yield appears to be about twelve hundred grains from one kernel. This very year the same peculiarity in oats has been found, a stool growing wild by the roadside. The same Divine Providence is, additionally, guiding our chemists in economical methods of extracting nitrogen from the atmosphere for feeding the soil, and thus to increase earthâs blessings, in fulfillment of Godâs promise that He will make His footstool glorious.
Why has not the earth been already made glorious? The answer is that God is allowing the race to propagate first. Had mankind been perfect, they might have learned the lesson of the sinfulness of sin in the same way that the angels have learned. But hastening to commit sin, they have learned evil first and have been subject to all the vicissitudes of sin and death. The angels have learned the other lesson â what righteousness is, what good is â not merely in the abstract, but in an appreciative sense.
Below is the article from:
The Watch Tower, February, 15, 1913, page 62
âAS DECEIVERS AND YET TRUEâ
MY SUIT against The Eagle for slanderous defamation of reputation has been decided in its favor. A Jury of twelve men have decided that The Eagle was justified in making its vicious onslaughts upon me, notwithstanding the Judgeâs Charge that, according to the law, the cartoon, at least, was a slanderous, vicious libel in fact. I am urged by my attorneys and petitioned by friends to take the case to the Court of Appeals.
I quite agree with Justice Kelby, who said, âThe case was presented fairly and squarely to the Jury.â The rulings of His Honor seem to me equitable. I very highly appreciate the ability and energy of my attorneys, Mr. Sparks and Mr. Rutherford. I have no complaint, nor murmuring against the Divine providences which permitted what I consider to be a very unjust verdict. In appealing our Case to the Court we have followed the example of the Master, who inquired why He was smitten contrary to Law. (John 18:23) Likewise St. Paul appealed for such justice as the Law provided. (Acts 25:10) So I have done; and I, like them, have been refused the Lawâs protection. I murmur not. I am in good company.
I remember, on the other hand, that it has been a part of the Divine will throughout this Gospel Age to allow His faithful servants to suffer reproaches and losses. This was so in the Masterâs case: âBeing reviled, He reviled not again.â When it pleased the Father to bruise Him and put Him to shame, He declared, âThe cup which My Father hath poured for Me, shall I not drink it?â â âNot My will, but Thine be done.â â I Peter 2:23; John 18:11; Luke 22:42
It was so with the Apostles, who wrote, âAs He was, so are we in this worldâ â âAs deceivers and yet true; as poor, yet making many richâ; âI bear about in my body the marks of the Lord Jesusâ â evidences that I am His servant and His follower. As St. Paul said, so we see fulfilled all through the Age, âWhosoever will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.â The Master said, âMarvel not if the world hate you. Ye know that it hated Me before it hated you; if ye were of the world, the world would love its own.â â I John 4:17; 2 Corinthians 6:8-10; Galatians 6:17; 2 Timothy 3:12; John 15:18,19.
THE CASE BRIEFLY REVIEWED
I am interested in everything progressive and tending to prove that we are entering the great Thousand Years of earthâs blessings under Messiah. In the columns of THE WATCH TOWER I have noted the coming of Divine blessings in fulfilment of the prediction that âThe wilderness shall blossom as the rose,â âThe earth shall yield her increase,â etc. Five years ago we quoted in THE WATCHTOWER columns reports respecting âMiracle Wheat.â We gave the name and address (Mr. Stoner) of the farmer who discovered this new wheat and his reports of its remarkable qualities. We published also the report of Mr. Miller, the Government expert, who thoroughly investigated it and pronounced upon its superior qualities.
Some of our readers purchased seed from Mr. Stoner at $1.25 per pound and approved it. In 1910 one of the friends of our Society, who had raised some of this wheat, sold it for seed at $1.00 per pound, and donated the proceeds to our Society. In 1911 the same friend, having raised more seed, asked that THE WATCH TOWER give the benefit of this to its readers at $1.00 a pound post-paid, and appropriate the net results to the furtherance of its work. Another friend, who had some of the same seed, also donated similarly, the total amount being twenty bushels.
For the accommodation of our readers, we allowed this seed-wheat to be put up in pound packages and mailed from THE WATCH TOWER Office, just as the U.S. Government handles such seeds at Washington. We did the business at the request of others and in their interest, and credited them on our books with the results, setting aside to them proportionately voting shares in our Society. We made no claim for the wheat on our own knowledge. We merely gave the report of the Government expert, of the originator, and of our friends who had tried the wheat. We merely acted as intermediary.
Nevertheless, everything that was said respecting the wheat was fully proven at this trial by expert witnesses, interested and disinterested, and their testimony was not shaken. It was also shown that farmer Stoner and his business partner, Mr. Knight, made no sales of this wheat under $1.25 per pound until September, 1911; and that they had a written contract between them that none of the wheat was to be sold at any price until the following year â 1912. Suddenly in September, 1911, they changed their plans, considering that they had wheat enough accumulated, put the price down to $5.00 per bushel, about the time that THE WATCH TOWER wheat was all sold at a dollar a pound. This The Eagleâs attorney claimed was proof of fraud on the part of THE WATCH TOWER â sufficient excuse for the slanderous assaults of The Eagle upon me.
It was in vain that my attorney sought to show the Jury The Eagleâs malice â that it really was attacking me along religious grounds; that it had set itself as the champion of certain clerical enemies of mine, and was seeking to destroy my influence and, if possible, to drive me from Brooklyn. In the court-room sat about twenty-five of my friends, who had come long distances at their own expense to have an opportunity to speak a word in my behalf. Through some intricacies of the Law respecting evidence, these were unable to be heard in my behalf.
Instead, the Law gave The Eagleâs attorney the privilege of saying all manner of evil against me falsely â for the sake of the Doctrines of Christ, which I hold and teach. He was allowed to picture me, as The Eagle had done in its cartoon â as a thief and robber, masquerading in the garb of a minister of Christ. He was allowed to ridicule the âMiracle Wheat,â although I had nothing whatever to do with it, nor with the naming of it; and notwithstanding the fact that its superiority was proven.
He was allowed to inveigh against the fact as criminal, that I hold the office of President of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, and to claim that I hold the office in some corrupt or unlawful manner, and that I misuse the Societyâs income in some unexplained way to my own advantage. Meantime, scores present in the courtroom and thousands all over the land, would have been glad to testify that their donations have come to the Society because they have the utmost confidence in my integrity and management of its affairs as its Executive Officer, and that had anybody else been President their donations would have been smaller or none at all.
Presumably because there were seven Catholics on the Jury, The Eagleâs attorney was prompted to refer to the Sisters of Charity and their noble work as nurses in the hospitals, without referring to the fact that those nurses are well paid, and that the hospitals in large measure are supported by State taxation.
The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society was held up to scorn because it did not have any hospital work nor draw any revenue from taxation, and because the female members of the Society do not visit the workshops of the land weekly or monthly on pay-day, and exact donations to its work. Our society was held up to scorn also because we do not send a wagon around the city collecting groceries and provisions for the up-keep of our work; because we do not take up collections even on Sunday; because we have never solicited a penny or a dollar from anybody; and because we never have fairs, grab-bags, âchancesâ or âraffles.â Our Society was held up to scorn and ridicule because it offers its literature free to the poor, while other similar Societies charge both rich and poor for their tracts and other publications. The Eagle was pictured by its attorney as a dove, a bird of Paradise. For defending it the Protestants on the Jury were led to hope for escape from eternal torment through âthe pearly gatesâ of heaven, welcomed with the words, âWell done!â for giving The Eagle the verdict. Neither I nor my attorneys could offer such inducements conscientiously.
Our home, âBethel,â where some of our Societyâs workers reside, was held up to scornâlikened to a harem, etc. This surely did cut me deeply to the heart. I am quite willing to suffer, if need be, for my faithfulness to the Lord and His Word; but it gave me great pain that the arrows intended for me did not all center upon myself â that the more than a hundred saintly, earnest men, women and children, co-laborers with me in the Lordâs work, should thus be made to unjustly suffer. I can only urge them to apply to themselves the words of the Apostle, âCast not away, therefore, your confidence, which hath great recompense of rewardâ; âFor ye have need of patience that, after ye have done the will of God, ye shall receive the promiseâ; âYe endured a great fight of afflictions; partly, whilst ye were made a gazingstock, and partly whilst ye became companions of them that were so used.â â Hebrews 10:35,36,32,33
NO COMPLAINT AGAINST THE LAW
I have no complaint to make against the Laws of our land, nor against the Jury System, not against the particular twelve men who, in my judgment, gave an unjust verdict. I esteem our Laws to be most wonderfully just. I have often marveled that imperfect, fallen men have succeeded in the erection of such excellent barriers against sin and injustice. I cannot see that a more fair method than our Jury System of trying a case could be arranged by imperfect men. Neither do I believe that the average jury desires to pervert justice. The miscarriage of justice I attribute rather to the imperfection of human knowledge. Suspicion and evil-surmising are weeds which seem to grow prolifically in every mind. They spring spontaneously in the degraded heart. There is such a disposition to judge others by oneâs self, and such a realization of sinful impulses that the average man naturally enough imputes evil, on every occasion when it is suggested to him.
St. Paul enunciated this principle, saying, âThe natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God;⌠neither can he know [understand] them; for they are spiritually discerned.â (1 Corinthians 2:14) Our Society and its work, our Lordâs work and the work of the Apostles and the regenerate since, are so far beyond the concept of the unregenerate as to be âFoolishness unto themâ â hypocrisies, frauds, impositions. If Jesus and the Apostles and the faithful saints of eighteen centuries have all belonged to this class, I will be of good courage and not be ashamed to belong to the same.
I am the more encouraged because I realize that the great Day of Blessing, the great Thousand-Year Day of Messiahâs Kingdom, is near at handâis dawning now. Soon Satan, the âPrince of Darkness,â will be bound for a thousand years, to deceive the nations no more. (Revelation 20:2,3,6) No longer will Darkness be permitted to masquerade as Light, and the Light be slandered as Darkness. All the blind eyes will be opened; all the deaf ears will be unstopped. That glorious period, as the Prophet has declared, shall be âthe desire of all nations.â (Haggai 2:7) Then not only the Church will see eye to eye, and understand Godâs providences at the present time, but the whole world will see in the light of that happy time for which we pray, âThy Kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as in Heaven.â
Sincerely, and undismayed, I remain a servant of God.
CHARLES T. RUSSELL.
Brooklyn, January 29, 1913.
Thank you for all the information, jjrbg; I’m sure my readers here will find it of interest. That being said, I must still stand by my statements, specifically…
“Through the pages of Zion’s Watch Tower, C. T. Russell advertised wheat seed for sale at $1.00 a pound (quite expensive for the day). He called it âMiracle Wheatâ and it was claimed, among other things, that the wheat would grow five times as much as any other wheat on the market. The proceeds were to go to the âWatch Towerâ and be used for publishing Russell’s sermons. When the Brooklyn Daily Eagle published a cartoon mocking the venture, Russell sued for libel, asking $100,000 damages. When Government tests determined that there was, in fact, nothing special about the wheat at all, the Eagle won the suit.”
While the claims about said wheat may not have originated with Russell, they were nonetheless passed along and advertised in the pages of the Watch Tower, and same said publishing house accepted donations for it. All of this you yourself have confirmed.
Whoa, tnghis just got a whole lot easier.
Thanks for sharing. What a pealsure to read!
The genius store called, they’re rnunnig out of you.
The illegibility store called, they don’t seem to be running out of dyslexics
And I was just wnodering about that too!
You cloudn’t pay me to ignore these posts!
You are so cool! I do not believe I have read anything like this before. So nice to discover another person with genuine thoughts on this subject matter. Really.. thank you for starting this up. This site is something that is required on the internet, someone with a bit of originality!
Thank you, I have just been looking for information about this subject for a long time and yours is the best I have discovered so far. But, what about the conclusion? Are you positive in regards to the supply?|What i don’t realize is in truth how you’re now not really much more well-liked than you may be now. You’re very intelligent.
Very, very nice page! :)