J.F. Rutherford had been the personal attorney of his predecessor, Watchtower founder Charles Taze Russell. He also served as the corporation's attorney, and finally as Vice President, before ascending to the presidency following Russell's death in 1916. When a majority of the 7-member board of directors opposed him, Rutherford used legal trickery and hard-nosed organizational politics to replace them with his own hand-picked men. (See Jehovah's Witnesses in the Divine Purpose, page 71. So, when this Watchtower leader claimed that God was directing the organization, he meant that God was directing HIM, because he was the organization in terms of leadership. For example, he expressed his belief that "...the Lord through his angel directed the proceedings at that convention" over which Rutherford himself presided. (Light Vol. I, page 223) How did the Watchtower president go about receiving such communications? His published explanation was that "invisible messengers pass such instruction on to the remnant." (The Watchtower, September 15, 1938, page 285) But, "Just how this is done is not necessary for us to understand." The Watchtower, December 1, 1933, page 364)