Paul Samuel Leo (formerly Levitsky) Johnson (October 4, 1873 – October 22, 1950) was an American

scholar A scholar is a person who pursues academic and intellectual activities, particularly academics who apply their intellectualism into expertise in an area of study. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researche ...

and

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

, the founder of the Laymen's Home Missionary Movement. He authored 17 volumes of religious writings entitled ''Epiphany Studies in the Scriptures'', and published two magazines from about 1918 until his death in 1950. The movement he created continues his work and publishes his writings, operating from

Chester Springs, Pennsylvania Chester Springs is an unincorporated community in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is centered on West Pikeland Township, and extends into Charlestown Township, Upper Uwchlan Township, Wallace Township, East Nantmeal Township, ...

. He was born in Titusville,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

on October 4, 1873, to

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...

ish parents who had recently immigrated from

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

. His father was a prominent

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

scholar, and eventually became president of the Titusville

synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...

. His mother died when he was 12, and his father remarried, both of which caused him distress; he ran away from home several times. He eventually converted to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

and joined the

Methodist Church Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related Christian denomination, denominations of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John W ...

. In 1890, he entered the Capital University of

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

, and graduated in 1895 with high honors. Records in that University's Library show him enrolled as Paul Levitsky; he then went to the Theological Seminary of the

Evangelical Lutheran Joint Synod of Ohio The Evangelical Lutheran Joint Synod of Ohio and Other States, commonly known as the Joint Synod of Ohio or the Ohio Synod, was a German-language Lutheran denomination whose congregations were originally located primarily in the U.S. state of Ohio ...

and graduated in 1898. He pastored a Lutheran church for a short time in

Mars, Pennsylvania Mars is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in southern Butler County, Pennsylvania, Butler County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,458 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. It is part of the Greater Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh ...

, and was then transferred back to Columbus, Ohio, at St. Matthew's Lutheran Church, which was later razed to make way for highway infrastructure. He soon built a new church building and was noted (by the Capitol University Synod) to have baptized more people and collected less money than any other pastor in the synod. In May 1903 he left the Lutheran Church as a consequence of changes in his beliefs, and began fellowship with the Columbus Ecclesia of the Watch Tower Society. The Lutheran Church later claimed they had disfellowshipped him for heresy, but he had already left them of his own free will. A year later, Pastor

Charles Taze Russell Charles Taze Russell (February 16, 1852 – October 31, 1916), or Pastor Russell, was an American Christian restorationist minister from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and founder of what is now known as the Bible Student movement. He was an ...

appointed him as a Pilgrim of the

Bible Student movement The Bible Student movement is a Millennialist Restorationist Christian movement. It emerged from the teachings and ministry of Charles Taze Russell (1852–1916), also known as Pastor Russell, and his founding of the Zion's Watch Tower Tract S ...

. He eventually served as Russell's personal secretary. In time, he became Russell's most trusted friend and advisor. Johnson suffered a

nervous breakdown A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitti ...

in 1910 a result of withstanding dissidents from within who were challenging the teachings of Pastor C.T. Russell on questions around his understanding of the new covenant and the ransom for all. Johnson left the

Watch Tower Society The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania is a non-stock, not-for-profit organization headquartered in Warwick, New York. It is the main legal entity used worldwide by Jehovah's Witnesses to direct, administer and disseminate doc ...

when

Joseph F. Rutherford Joseph Franklin Rutherford (November 8, 1869 – January 8, 1942), also known as Judge Rutherford, was the second president of the incorporated Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. He played a primary role in the organization ...

took over its direction after Russell's death. He founded the Laymen's Home Missionary Movement in 1920, and served on its board of directors from 1920 until his death on October 22, 1950.

External links

History of various Bible Students groups
with a few notes on Pastor Johnson

Bible Standard Ministries
the group founded by Johnson {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Paul S. L. 20th-century American Lutheran clergy Bible Student movement American Christian writers Converts to Jehovah's Witnesses Jewish American writers American people of Polish-Jewish descent People from Titusville, Pennsylvania 1873 births 1950 deaths