A MILESTONE VISIT

The momentous time was here​—the first official visitor from world headquarters since Brother Hollister’s day. Brother Nathan H. Knorr, then the president of the Watch Tower Society, set foot on Korean soil April 27, 1956, at Yoido Airport, where 500 of the 1,500 publishers welcomed him. Accompanying Brother Knorr were Don Adams from the Brooklyn office and Lloyd Barry (now of the Governing Body), who was being trained for zone work in the Orient.

Brother Knorr’s six-day visit set a milestone in Korean theocratic history. His first talk to the 1,330 assembled for the national convention reassured them that they were truly part of Jehovah’s worldwide organization. At this convention 303 were baptized in the chilly spring waters of the Han River. Indicating prospects for the future, a crowd of 3,473 gathered in Seoul Stadium for the public talk “Making All Mankind One Under Their Creator.”

Brother Knorr saw that now the important work in Korea was to help these new ones to advance spiritually. He laid the main responsibility for this on the shoulders of the branch members and missionaries. He also recognized that some were getting baptized too soon, without sufficient knowledge of the Scriptures. As a result, some had fallen by the wayside. So he instructed the branch members that baptisms were to be held only at circuit assemblies or larger conventions. This helped. Interested persons now studied and associated longer before baptism, which prepared them to fulfill their future responsibilities as Witnesses.

[Pictures on page 175]

Brothers and sisters welcome Nathan H. Knorr, then president of the Watch Tower Society, after his plane touched down on April 27, 1956, at Yoido Airport, Korea. Accompanying him were Don Adams and Lloyd Barry