Milton George Henschel

Milton George Henschel (August 9, 1920 - March 22, 2003) was a longtime member of the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses, who succeeded Frederick W. Franz as the president of Watch Tower Society.

Milton Henschel was born in New Jersey. He relocated to Brooklyn, New York as a teenager in 1934 when his father, Herman George Henschel, moved to the area to work on construction projects in the printeries and residence building for Jehovah's Witnesses. The young Milton was baptized during his adolescence. He married Lucille Bennett in 1956. Over the years he filled various administrative capacities for the international organization headquarters. According to his friends, he was known for being practical, flexible, reasonable and kind.

In 1939, Henschel was appointed secretary to Nathan H. Knorr, who was overseeing work at the Watchtower printery. Knorr continued to keep Henschel as his assistant after becoming president of the Watchtower Society in 1942. Henschel was often with Knorr in his travels, visiting at least 150 countries during this time. In 1963 Henschel was detained and physically assaulted together with a large group of Jehovah's Witnesses in Liberia during a religious conference. He returned just a few months later to meet with Liberia's president for the purpose of gaining freedom of worship for Jehovah's Witnesses.

In a July, 1968 interview with the Detroit Free Press, Henschel was asked about the Watch Tower Society's recently stated opposition to tissue transplants. He responded by saying that "Transplanting organs is really cannibalism." Scriptural support was drawn from the Bible book of Acts 15:29, from which he quoted the divine edict, "Abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood." Significant amounts of donor blood accompany the typical organ transplant, even without transfusion. He continued by saying that "In transplants, you are taking something from another body to sustain your life." Speaking for Jehovah's Witnesses as a whole, he said "We are confident of the resurrection, and don’t fear death," ending with the rhetorical question, "If a person gains another five years, because of a transplant, what has he gained, if he loses the future?", thus suggesting that such an act would result in condemnation by God. It is noteworthy that this position actually was abandoned thirteen years later in 1981. During this same 1968 interview, Henschel spoke to the Watch Tower view of the immediate future, making reference to the impending battle of Armageddon, during which God would defeat the Devil and restore peace to the Earth. He conceded that there was no specific date for the outbreak of Armageddon, but, said Mr. Henschel, "1975 is a year to watch," alluding to the teaching that 6000 years of mankind's existence would be reached that year, marking the probable beginning of Christ's millennial reign.

He also contributed to the book Religions of America (1975), edited by Leo Rosten, with the chapter "Who are Jehovah's Witnesses?"

He became the president of the Watch Tower Society December 30 1992 and was in this office until 2000. In that year organizational changes took place, as the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses was separated from the society's board of directors. As a result, the members of the Governing Body stepped down from their capacities in the Watchtower society. Henschel thus left his office to Don A. Adams, a non-member of the Governing Body. Henschel remained a member of the Governing Body until his death.

References

• Watchtower, August 15, 2003
• Heart Transplants Held Cannibalism, The Detroit Free Press, July, 1968, by Hiley H. Ward

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