• New Zealand
    1981 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses

    • The first Maori gathering was held in 1928 at Tuiri Tareha’s home in Taradale on the east coast of the North Island. Tuiri had obtained the Society’s literature from relatives, and soon became convinced he had found the truth. So he resigned from the church. His son Charles describes what happened:

      “This caused a commotion in the Anglican hierarchy, due to dad’s prominence in Maori society. They immediately requested a special meeting for the purpose of getting him to withdraw his resignation. Dad agreed to the meeting​—not in the church—​but on our property where a huge platform was erected for the occasion. A number of clergymen, including F. Bennett, the Anglican bishop of New Zealand, along with a large crowd of about 400 others, both whites and Maoris, were on hand.

      “The Maori spokesman for the Church seemed purposely to avoid using the Bible. Rather, he appealed to the emotions. ‘Our ancestors believed that the soul continued on after death,’ he reminded, ‘and yet you have chosen to adopt a religion that denies the existence of the soul.’ Then dad proceeded to show from the Bible that the person himself is a soul, and, therefore, when the person dies, the soul dies. Dad also explained that God can resurrect the person as a living soul once more.

      “When it became apparent that the Anglican clergyman was not presenting a convincing case, he made an impatient gesture toward the nearby church that my great-grandfather had built, and in an emotion-packed voice exclaimed: ‘I make one last appeal to you not to abandon this sacred heritage handed down to you by your illustrious ancestors.’

      “After that dad stood up, thanked all for coming, and explained that he was more convinced than ever that he now had the truth. He informed everyone of the day and time of our regular Bible study, inviting them all to attend. Many did.”