A Brief Beginning: How the Jehovah’s Witness Movement Began

To understand how Jehovah’s Witnesses came to their present day position on cremation, it is helpful to first look briefly at the origins of the movement itself. The movement that eventually became known as Jehovah’s Witnesses began in the 1870’s in the United States, emerging from a Bible study movement in which Charles Taze Russell was a prominent figure and the “prime mover” of the early group, he and several associates. Russell began publishing Zion’s Watch Tower in 1879, and the organization that developed around the movement became known as the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society in the 1880’s. The Jehovah’s Witnesses today do not describe Russell as the founder of a new religion (jw.org).

1880s- The Watch Tower Organization Develops

The movement expanded during the 1880s. According to the organizations own historical account, the Zion’s Watch Tower Tract Society was formed in 1881 and incorporated in Pennsylvania in 1884, with Russell serving as president. At this point, it is important to remember that the organization had not yet adopted the name Jehovah’s Witnesses.

1916-1917- Leadership Changes

Charles Taze Russell died in 1916. The following year, Joseph F. Rutherford succeeded him as president of the Watch Tower Society. The organization underwent significant changes during Rutherford’s leadership.

This period is particularly important when examining historical changes in doctrine and practice because the movement’s organization, preaching methods, publications, and terminology continued to develop.

1931- The Name “Jehovah’s Witnesses”

In 1931, during Rutherford’s presidency, the Bible Students associated with the Watch Tower movement adopted the name Jehovah’s Witnesses. The organization says the name was based on Isaiah 43:10-12 (jw.org). This date provides an important dividing line for historical research. Earlier publications should not automatically be described as publications of the “Jehovah’s Witnesses,” because the movement was then known primarily as the Bible Students and the Watch Tower movement.

The Cremation Question

This brings us to the central question of this article:

What did the early Bible Students and Watch Tower publication teach about cremation? And more importantly: Did their position remain the same throughout the movement’s history, or did it develop over time?

The Watch Towers own publication index contains references to cremation dating back to 1935, as well as later discussions in 1947, 1956, 1965, 1976, and subsequent years. That makes it possible to examine the subject chronologically rather than relying solely on the position expressed by Jehovah’s Witnesses today.