PART TWO |
SEGUNDA PARTE |
|
"Birth of a Nation" |
"El nacimiento de una nación" |
|
Chapter 5. GOD'S JUDGMENT BEGINS AT HIS HOUSE |
Capítulo 5. EL JUICIO DE DIOS COMIENZA POR SU CASA |
|
C. T. RUSSELL WAS DEAD. But the work for which he had given so much was not yet completed. We did not fully realize that then. Some were sure that his death would bring an end to the "harvest" work, even though he had told us plainly that there was much work yet to be done. Jesus warned the apostles frequently that he would be put to death at Jerusalem; still, when he died, they were all perplexed. We knew that Christ Jesus was Lord of the harvest, but our relationship with Russell had led us to believe that Russell himself had some special assignment that could never be filled by another. Yet Russell was dead and the work still lay open before us. We had to do something. We were perplexed for a time. |
C. T. RUSSELL ESTABA MUERTO. Pero la obra por la que tanto había trabajado estaba aún inconclusa. En aquel momento no lo comprendíamos todo. Algunos estaban seguros de que su muerte pondría fin a la obra de la “siega”, a pesar de que nos había expresado claramente que aún quedaba mucho por hacer. Jesús advirtió a los apóstoles con frecuencia que lo matarían en Jerusalén; y sin embargo, cuando finalmente ocurrió, todos quedaron perplejos. Sabíamos que Cristo Jesús era el Señor de la siega, pero nuestra relación con Russell nos había llevado a creer que éste desempeñaba una asignación especial que no podría realizar ningún otro. Pero Russell estaba muerto, y la obra seguía delante de nosotros. Teníamos que hacer algo. Estuvimos turbados durante un tiempo. |
|
It was to our advantage that the date to elect officers for the Society was two months away. We had time to think things over, and get our minds settled, and make arrangements for the coming election. No one, at that time, wanted to take over the responsibility of control; I certainly wasn't seeking it. I felt I was just a preacher. Executive responsibility had never been my desire. We got together and formed a committee composed of J. F. Rutherford, the Society's legal counsel, who was not then an officer of the Society; W. E. Van Amburgh, who was secretary-treasurer; and A. I. Ritchie, vice-president. I was to serve as aide or assistant to this executive committee. Then we started to operate, to see what could be done to keep the work going. |
Fue una ventaja para nosotros que aún faltaran dos meses para elegir a los directores de la Sociedad. Tuvimos tiempo para meditar, poner en orden nuestra mente y hacer preparativos para las elecciones ya cercanas. En aquel momento nadie quería hacerse cargo de la responsabilidad del control; desde luego yo no. Sentía que no era más que un predicador. Nunca he deseado la responsabilidad ejecutiva. Nos reunimos y constituimos un comité formado por J. F. Rutherford, el asesor legal de la Sociedad, que entonces aún no era director; W. E. Van Amburgh, secretario-tesorero; y A. L. Ritchie, vicepresidente. Yo fui nombrado auxiliar de este comité ejecutivo. A continuación nos pusimos a trabajar, para ver qué se podía hacer para continuar con la obra. |
|
At first we tried merely to hold things together, to encourage those associated with the Society to continue active and not lose their courage or their confidence. The Watch Tower continued to appear regularly with material that Russell had completed before his death. |
Al principio, nos limitamos a intentar mantener todo en marcha, animando a los que se asociaban con la Sociedad a continuar activos sin perder el entusiasmo ni la confianza. La Atalaya continuó apareciendo regularmente con artículos que Russell había escrito antes de su muerte. |
|
As the day for election of the Society's officers approached tension began to mount. A few ambitious ones at headquarters were holding caucuses here and there, doing a little electioneering to get their men in. However, Van Amburgh and I held a large number of votes. Many shareholders, knowing of our long association with Russell, sent their proxies to us to be cast for the one whom we thought best fitted for office. |
A medida que se aproximaba el día de la votación de los directores de la Sociedad, comenzó a aumentar la tensión. Había algunas personas ambiciosas en la central que estaban celebrando juntas electorales aquí y allá, haciendo campaña para que se votara a sus favoritos. Sin embargo, Van Amburgh y yo disponíamos de un gran número de votos. Muchos accionistas, conocedores de nuestra prolongada asociación con Russell, nos dieron poderes para votar por ellos a quien pensáramos que calificaba mejor para el puesto. |
|
