Proclaim to the World the GOOD NEWS OF THE WORLD TOMORROW
Box 111, Pasadena, Calif. 91109
Publishing: The PLAIN TRUTH a Magazine of UNDERSTANDING
September 17. 1962
Dear Co-Workers with Christ:
GREETINGS from the Headquarters office in Pasadena. Mrs. Armstrong and I returned from England nearly three weeks ago, and this letter was due then—but I have been literally snowed under, even in the very warm Southern California September weather.
But there is BIG NEWS!
Since returning, I have had several conferences with top ministers and executives of this great and fast-growing Work of God. Many plans are being laid for expansion during the coming year.
Ambassador College has opened its 16th year, with more than 400 undergraduate students, beside the Graduate School. This year we are starting a new Graduate School of Education, in addition to the Graduate School of Theology. The new school offers the Doctor of Philosophy degree, as well as Master of Arts. The Graduate School or Theology continues to offer the M.A. in Theology, and the Doctor of Theology degree. We conferred our first doctorate last June—the Th.D.—on Dr. Herman L. Hoeh, Managing Editor of The Plain Truth and Director of the German Department. Through that department we now broadcast to Germany and Austria in the German language, publish a German language Plain Truth, and publish a two-page article in the German language Reader's Digest, covering Germany and Austria.
Here is BIG NEWS of future plans!
Beginning with the January, 1963 number, The Plain Truth will be once again enlarged—now to its ultimate size—with a new heavier cover with fine, coated finish, going to 52 pages. Additional improvements are being worked out. Only one final last improvement will then remain, to make it the equal, in appearance, of the world's finest large-circulation news magazines, such as TIME, News Week, and U.S. News—and that will be the use of more color, especially on the front page.
We hope to introduce one new department with the January number, and, if possible, I would like to begin the long-awaited series of articles, later to be published in book form, on God's TRUTH regarding sex and marriage. This nation is being literally destroyed for lack of SEX knowledge! Divorce court judges and lawyers know that lack of this knowledge is responsible for nine out of ten divorces. It is also the cause of nine out of ten UNHAPPY marriages.
The world has been in tragic IGNORANCE on this hush-hush subject. For many centuries the western world has suffered under the false concept of "dualism" which came from ancient Egypt into Greece, then to Rome, and throughout the western world. This prudish concept slapped God in the face with the assumption that sex is evil and nasty—that God made a grievous mistake when He created us male and female. Today there has been a toboggan-slide of morals, going to the opposite extreme of permissiveness and promiscuity—fornication and adultery—because a world thinking itself to be "wise" is ignorant of GOD'S PURPOSES!
This forthcoming book is going to dare to TELL THE TRUTH! It will make PLAIN God's righteous PURPOSES. It will inform readers, in full frankness, of the full biological and physical FACTS about sex that even most married people do not know! It will tell you what no other book has ever revealed on this delicate subject.
NEW COLLEGE PLANNED! Here is BIG NEWS for all whose hearts are in this great final Work of GOD. Plans are rapidly formulating for the opening of the third AMBASSADOR COLLEGE next September—at our beautiful thousand-acre grounds near Big Sandy, Texas—100 miles east of Dallas.
We already have, there, most of the buildings and facilities we shall need. Garner Ted Armstrong, myself and other officials in this Work are planning to meet there in October to start final plans into action. This new college will probably be, at least the first two years, a Junior College, and it is not definitely determined as yet whether it will be co-ed, like the present two colleges, or for men only. But the Pasadena campus already is as large in enrollment as it can go, without sacrificing all the advantages we have had in comparative small enrollment. Yet we cannot stop growth in God's work. The harvest is still much greater than the laborers.
We have, as I believe you know, recently opened new branch offices in Duesseldorf, Germany, and in Manila, Philippines. Another branch office is soon to be opened at Johannesburg, South Africa. These offices are becoming necessary to handle the avalanche of mail from all parts of the world, from people hungry for GOD'S TRUTH, requesting booklets, The Plain Truth, or asking questions to be answered by personal letter, or requesting personal interviews with ministers or Ambassador-trained men for counselling about personal problems.
This past summer many hundreds of people, converted through this work, were baptized in all parts of the world. There have been baptizing teams out on tour all over the United States and Canada, Great Britain, Germany, Austria, France, Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand, and the Philippines.
Negotiations are under way for a MAJOR expansion in world-wide broadcasting, covering all Europe, Africa, and South America—greatly reinforcing the already powerful broadcasting in these areas.
Coincident with our new Duesseldorf office, giving us a local German mailing address, we are purchasing TWO PAGES every issue in both the German and Austrian editions of Reader's Digest, in the German language, with a circulation of over ONE MILLION copies—reaching perhaps 3 to 4 million people. Plans are under way for using the same amount of space in the French Language editions, adding another million-plus copies in France and Belgium. In this space we publish two-page articles carrying the true original Gospel Message of Jesus Christ. I'm sure you are aware that we publish a German-language edition of The Plain Truth, which now has a circulation in Germany, and other European countries where German is spoken, of many thousand copies.
Right now we are planning to begin putting these two-page articles, carrying Christ's TRUTH to the public in an interesting, forceful new manner, in the great mass-circulation UNITED STATES editions. These editions have a total circulation of 13,765,000 copies—by far the largest circulation of any publication on earth.
This great WORK OF GOD is growing in power and scope as probably no other activity on earth is growing. It is empowered by THE HOLY SPIRIT OF GOD! It is guided by the living CHRIST! It is the very WORK OF GOD! Many have tried, in their carnal, human reasoning, to figure out what makes this great Work tick! But they can't, because they fail to see the invisible HAND OF GOD, and HIS POWER in it!
Yet the mighty GOD does work through human instruments who are yielded to HIS WILL, and whose hearts are in HIS WORK. God does lay the serious NEED—the mounting financial need—on us, His servants! As He prospers and enlarges and expands His work, opening constantly new and powerful doors for thundering Christ's powerful Gospel and last solemn WARNING to a dying world—preparing the way for Christ's glorious return to SAVE the world—He also lays on us expanding financial needs, which HE supplies, through us! It is HE who has made us able to give for His Work!
The need for real sacrifice on YOUR part and mine is not less, but greater than ever!
NEVER, dear Co-Workers, have I needed your earnest and heart-touched and believing and persistent PRAYERS as I do right now! NEVER has this WORK needed your fervent and prevailing PRAYERS as right now! Perhaps most of us, by the sacrifice of other material things that would soon perish anyway, can stretch to contribute a little more generously than we have been doing.
Some, who have larger sums they do not feel free to give outright for God's Work right now, are still putting that money TO WORK for God by loaning it for a year, or several years—or until they feel they can make it an outright gift. If you possibly can make a contribution to this Work, where the living CHRIST is working, of one to several thousand dollars, it was never more needed. If you have it, but cannot give it at this time, put it to work on the loan basis. It helps greatly. But remember, no amount is too large or too small—the widow's mites are always NEEDED!
GOD'S GREAT BLESSING goes to all who have a part in HIS WORK! And, remember too, your tithes and offerings to this work are deductible on your income tax.
What a privilege to give, that the Work may GIVE Christ's precious Gospel, without begging for money over the air—without ever charging for or requesting money in any of our literature, or making our great needs known to any, except just you whom God has made willing Co-Workers with CHRIST! Truly God is blessing us richly!
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