Proclaim to the World the GOOD NEWS OF THE WORLD TOMORROW
Box 111, Pasadena, Calif. 91109
Publishing: The PLAIN TRUTH a Magazine of UNDERSTANDING
Written from Ambassador College in England
June 17, 1964
Dear Co-Workers with Christ:
GREETINGS again from England! As Mrs. Armstrong and I were on board ship crossing the Atlantic, late in April, I was devoting every spare moment to writing the book I have promised, on The Plain Truth About Sex and Marriage. A letter to all our Co-Workers was then overdue. So from the ship I telephoned my son, Garner Ted Armstrong, and asked him to write the letter for me.
The College in Britain is now completing its fourth year. The fourth Graduation Exercises will be held on Friday of next week. Naturally I have been kept very busy since our arrival in England. Mrs. Armstrong and I took one quick trip in our car over on the continent, to visit our offices in Dusseldorf and in Geneva. God's Work is beginning to bear rich fruit in Germany and among German-speaking people in other countries; and also in France, Switzerland, Belgium and the French-speaking areas.
I'm sure you know that The WORLD TOMORROW program is broadcast in the German language, twice weekly over the world's most powerful radio station, Radio Luxembourg; and in the French language four times a week — Sundays over Radio Luxembourg, and Sunday, Wednesday and Saturday over the super-power Radio Europe Number One.
We found our offices in both Dusseldorf and Geneva bristling with activity, both receiving a heavy mail response, and promptly mailing requested booklets to German and French-language listeners all over Europe. I'm sure you know, too, that The PLAIN TRUTH is now published in both the German and French languages. Right now two baptizing teams are touring Europe — one a German speaking team visiting those in Germany who have requested baptism; the other a French-speaking team baptizing candidates in France and Switzerland and other countries. Both teams are headed by our own ordained ministers.
Here in Britain, we have three ministers constantly out in the field, visiting those who request counsel, or baptism — beside seven ministers based here at the College, and advanced students also doing considerable contact work with listeners who request visits, usually as second men teaming with a minister. Immediately after graduation, baptizing teams will tour the British Isles.
Out of our fourth graduating class at the college here, we are sending seven men out into the full-time ministry — six to the United States, and one to South Africa to serve under experienced ordained ministers. We feel that these men, after a year of this actual ministerial experience, will be ready for ordination — in fact we have the matter under serious consideration as to whether two or three are not fully qualified for ordination before leaving here.
In the United States, the usual three or four baptizing teams are now on their annual summer tours throughout the United States and Canada. Several graduates were ordained as ministers at Pasadena Headquarters, after graduation there on June 1st. One, recently married, is being sent to become pastor of a church in Brisbane, Australia. Others will be used in full time service in the ministry in the United States.
In every way, God's Work is growing — growing — GROWING! And meanwhile TIME is whipping past. The time we have left as God's instruments before the end of this age is growing constantly shorter and shorter. A very few more years remain!
The College building programs are proceeding right on schedule! We broke ground for the first of the large new buildings in the Pasadena expansion program last February. Already all the walls are up, and roofs on, on this new Physical Education plant. The large new Ambassador College press building, housing our giant new presses — our new million-dollar printing plant, now one of the major printing plants on the West Coast, is now completely remodeled and in operation. An additional 2 story unit is to be added later. The August issue (U.S.A.-Canada edition) of The PLAIN TRUTH will be printed on our own big new magazine press — for the first time.
One of the important purposes of my present trip to England was to have a meeting with the Hertsfordshire County Council officials relative to obtaining building permission for our big new auditorium-physical education building here. Architect's preliminary plans and request for the building permit had been filed with them almost a year ago. It is a large new building — and we are in the Green Belt surrounding London. It is almost impossible to obtain a permit for the construction of any new buildings in this beautiful green area.
Finally the top officials, headed by the Chairman of the County Council (this office would compare to that of Governor of any of our middle-or-smaller-size states in America) asked for a conference with me, our top ranking College officials here, and our Los Angeles architect. The architect flew over for this meeting, which was attended also by the London architect of our architectural firm. Upon our agreement to sink the big main part of the building ten feet down in the ground, and to lower the roof level of a second portion of the building by six feet, we came to a very happy meeting of minds. It is now our understanding that official permission will be forthcoming at the Council's next meeting, in August.
However, I have noticed that the extra special offerings for the building fund has been slacking off a bit. THIS PROGRAM MUST NOT LAG. I have explained before how all the personnel for this fast-growing Work is trained in the Ambassador Colleges. If these Colleges are not allowed to grow, THEN THE WHOLE WORK MUST STOP GROWING. This is the very life-line of the whole Work around the world. So this is a reminder to do all you can to keep up these extra SPECIAL offerings for the Building Fund.
Now let me tell you why this letter is late.
I have been continuing to devote every available minute to writing this book. But I have so many other duties and responsibilities — heading the three colleges, and this whole Work, world-wide, that I am not able to just sit down and do nothing but write. Constantly I am interrupted. The telephone just now rang — another interruption.
As the writing of this book has progressed, new facts and information on MORAL CONDITIONS — this new moral degeneracy popularly called "the New Morality" — now gripping the world have been constantly coming to light.
It is not a "New Morality" — but diabolical IMMORALITY! It is gripping the world. THE WORLD NEEDS THIS BOOK! No other book — no other teaching — (at least so far as I have been able to discover) is TELLING THE PEOPLE THE STARK TRUTH about this situation, and about sex.
For many centuries the world was kept in ignorance about SEX. The subject was hush-hush. Sex was regarded as something evil — not nice — degrading — shameful. Until after World War I it was illegal to publish a book, a magazine article, or disseminate any instruction about sex. Young people entered married life IGNORANT of the biological details they needed to know.
Today the world swings to the opposite extreme. The world is accepting sex — and it is accepting it DIRTY — LUSTFULLY — PROMISCUOUSLY.
The FACTS of conditions in the world will SHOCK the readers of this book. The FACTS of God's designed and intended purposes and uses of sex will OPEN READERS' EYES! The plain- speaking, frank physical details, still unknown and unrealized by perhaps a majority, will be a revelation!
The farther I go in writing this book, the more I realize it's VITAL NEED! This MORAL degeneracy now sweeping over the world like one vast world-covering tidal wave, will DROWN civilization unless people AWAKE to the PLAIN TRUTH ABOUT SEX!
I am now on Chapter IX, and I think it may run to 12 full length chapters — the length of 12 full-sized PLAIN TRUTH articles. I have had to postpone this book and make excuse TOO LONG. I feel I cannot do it again. Thousands have written in requesting it. Hundreds of thousands are looking forward to it.
So I have decided to STAY RIGHT WITH IT, until it is completed. I wanted it to come out in June. It will have to be July — or even August. I will simply do the best I can. But I am not willing to half-way do it. It is one of the most important books and important subjects of our time — AND NO OTHER BOOK IS TELLING THE PEOPLE THE FRANK PLAIN TRUTH! It is GOD who created sex. Two of the ten GREAT LAWS regulate sex. TWO of the TEN MAJOR SINS have to do with sex. God commands me to CRY ALOUD, and show His people their SINS! I propose to do it, WITHOUT PULLING PUNCHES!
This is going to be a straight-from-the-shoulder, hard- hitting, frank treatment of the most delicate subject. There has never been a book even remotely like it!
I know you'll forgive me for putting other things aside and sticking to it! I'm going to have to omit the Autobiography installment from the July PLAIN TRUTH — also the Editorial. I must devote every available moment to this book.
It has delayed this letter, which should have been written some three weeks or more ago. I have received an urgent telegram from Headquarters in Pasadena saying that receipt of tithes and offerings to carry on GOD'S WORK is dropping off fast.
So CO-WORKERS! Please rush to the rescue. Rush to Pasadena, by air-mail, whatever of tithes and regular offerings you have on hand. And try to follow it up with more as soon as possible. For those who have larger sums you cannot give at this time, but could let it be working for a year or more in God's work on a loan basis, such loans are still seriously needed.
Our austere year has put God's Work on a good and sound financial footing — but we must guard it vigilantly to KEEP IT THAT WAY.
GOD IS BLESSING HIS WORK MORE THAN EVER BEFORE! He is granting us a RICH HARVEST. Let us HASTEN, and BE DILIGENT to do OUR UTMOST!
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