Herbert W Armstrong

• More than 750 million publications have been distributed since 1934 (U.S. only).

• 57 million letters have been received from 1934 to 1984 (U.S. only). If all these letters were delivered by postmen carrying typical mail bags with 500 pieces, 114,000 men would be lined up to deliver the mail.

• 13 million names have been added to our subscription files from 1934 to 1984 (U.S. only).

• 5 million calls have been received since our WATS lines were installed in 1973. If each call were two minutes long, it would take one operator 80 years working 40 hours a week to answer all these calls.

• The PLAIN TRUTH goes to virtually every nation on earth and is received by one in every 633 people worldwide.

• 3.1 million PLAIN TRUTHs are distributed worldwide each month through the newsstand program.

• Over 600 different pieces of literature are presently available (books, booklets, reprints, Correspondence Course lessons, Youth Bible Lessons, form letters, etc.).

• Each day, the amount of postage used just to mail our literature from Pasadena is the equivalent of 50 thousand first class stamps. (This does not include The PLAIN TRUTH and GOOD NEWS, which are mailed directly from Donnelley's.)

• 10,000 Worldwide Church of God members voluntarily stock 24,300 PLAIN TRUTH newsstands. Another 3,000 have helped to answer WATS calls in the U.S. since 1981.

• Baptized members of the Worldwide Church of God live in 116 of the 201 commonly defined countries/territories.

Waiting Room Renewal Program Highly Successful

On behalf of Publishing Services, several of our WATS operators have been calling business and professional organizations which receive The PLAIN TRUTH for their waiting rooms to ask if they would like to renew their subscriptions.

The response has been excellent! Eighty-three percent of the businesses called thus far (820 out of 988) have renewed their waiting room subscriptions. Some have even asked for additional copies.

Calls are currently being made in the greater Los Angeles area. As time and budget permit, the program may be expanded to other cities in California and possibly other states as well.

Some of the comments we've received were quite interesting, as this sampling shows:

A doctor said the magazine was arriving "regular as clockwork. Keep it coming. We put it right out for the patients to read as soon as it comes and they love it."

A secretary from an auto body shop said, "How on earth can you print a magazine of that quality and afford to give it away free of charge?" She asked for a second subscription for their office.

When a tire company was called, the woman who answered yelled to those in the office, "Hey, it's the PLAIN TRUTH lady!" Two people asked for subscriptions to come to their homes.

Tornado Alert Affects Big Sandy WATS Operation

Our WATS operators and staff experienced a few tense moments on Sunday, April 28, when a tornado alert was in effect. After one was sighted within ten miles of the campus, employees had to seek shelter in a safer area.

The tornado did not reach the campus and no damage was sustained. Ironically, the evacuation occurred during a major "ring-through," when many people were trying to call in. However, most got through later. We estimate that about 100 calls were lost.

PLAIN TRUTH Child Rearing Series Praised

"The Plain Truth About Child Rearing" series has brought a number of interesting comments. Parents and others found the articles instructive, practical and filled with wisdom — especially in an age when many true values have been lost. Some social workers and other professionals wrote that they have found the information useful. Following are a few of their comments:

I have enjoyed and cherished each issue of The PLAIN TRUTH received during the past year. Please continue my subscription. Articles that I find helpful to my friends I pass along. I do this with both of your magazines, whether the article subject be politics, morals, caring for the aged, educating our young, etc. Especially helpful now is the series of articles on infant and child care, since about ten girls in my department are either expecting or have recently delivered.

Since this child care series is full of interest for so many, is it possible to obtain a second copy of these magazines that I may lend out? I am sure that it would occur to some to subscribe as well. I certainly wish I had had someone giving me advice when I had my young ones.
D.C. (Miami, FL)

Thank you so much for The PLAIN TRUTH. I'm a mother of four children with many problems raising them. I know we aren't alone. The articles in your magazine have been very helpful. At least I feel so much better knowing we aren't the only parents with so many problems. I hope you will continue to print these types of articles — we need all the help we can get.
C.M. (Madison Heights, MI)

I have been reading The GOOD NEWS and The PLAIN TRUTH for the past four years. I have found them helpful in developing spiritually and professionally. I currently work for the Harris County Children's Protective Services to stop child neglect and abuse. I have noticed several of your articles pertaining to family roles, parenting, and child development. I believe the articles can be effective tools for the families who are my clients. Will you please provide me with one copy of every available article in your files which you think may be useful to me as a social worker?
J.M. (Houston, TX)

I was introduced to The PLAIN TRUTH in October when you featured "Building Strong Family Ties" and began the articles on child rearing. Though my children are grown, I am excited about these articles and have shared them with all the young parents I know. I look forward to coming magazines.
B.S. (Los Angeles, CA)

All of the articles in The PLAIN TRUTH and GOOD NEWS magazines have been very good. The articles on the family and child rearing have been very informative. I hope many more people around the world will be able to come in contact with the Church. Thank you for giving me the privilege to be a part of giving to others.
R.F. (Smithton, PA)

Thank you very much for providing the finest magazine in the world free of charge to millions every month. I especially appreciate the articles on the changing years and child rearing because they will be so valuable to readers who can follow this practical information and improve their lives, even if they don't really grasp the spiritual truth of other articles.
A.O. (Kalamazoo, MI)

The PLAIN TRUTH family relations and child rearing series is an inspired message for many who have never even known the rudiments of right family relations. They have been perplexed by the effects caused by living the wrong way. None but God's "voice crying in the wilderness" dared to feed the sheep rather than fleece the flock. The intellectuals and other leaders in modern society have neither known nor shown the way.
S.D. (Address Unavailable)

— Richard Rice, Mail Processing Center