Herbert W Armstrong

   In the past few weeks JESUS CHRIST, LIVING HEAD of God's Church, has moved dynamically to set God's Church and Work BACK ON THE TRACK—restoring God's BIBLE form of organization and administration of the Work—restoring HARMONY and PEACE in the administration of the Work—powerfully calling on all of us to rededicate our lives. Even with the FASTING AND PRAYER—to stir up again within us the SPIRIT of the living GOD.

   All this is GOOD NEWS—wonderfully good news, but I have to remind you that Satan is ALERT to move instantly, powerfully, and with all his cunning to DECEIVE the people of God. He is moving with lightning speed to THWART God's move toward PEACE and HARMONY and in getting the Work back on multiple radio and television stations, with the TRUE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST thundering out in greater POWER than ever!

   Brethren, I have said many times that all you who have God's Holy Spirit are directly or indirectly my spiritual children in the Lord.

   Jesus Christ, the living HEAD of God's Church, started and built the present era of the Church.

   HE DID IT!

   But He used me as His human instrument and ONLY APOSTLE OF OUR TIME in this powerful WORLDWIDE Work. We are in the very LAST DAYS of this present evil world of Satan's. Satan knows he now has but a SHORT TIME.

   It is desperately important that we know that too! Christ, through me—with you BACK OF ME 100% (as so many of you have written me)—is now proclaiming IN POWER and IN ALL THE WORLD the fact that Christ and the KINGDOM OF GOD—and the abolishment of Satan—is SOON to happen—IN OUR PRESENT LIVING GENERATION!

   But now I must come to what is the most difficult and painful letter I have ever had to write. My second son, Garner Ted, was not yet even born when God called and started His Work through me. He was only three years old when God raised up our parent Church for this time in 1933. The living Christ BLESSED IT—caused it to GROW at approximately 30% per year for 35 years—a record UNMATCHED!

   Ambassador College was started October 8, 1947. It was started for the SOLE PURPOSE as GOD'S OWN COLLEGE of training ministers and other needed administrative personnel for the Work.

   The first three years of Ambassador College I had an almost devastating and nerve-wracking battle to SAVE THE COLLEGE as GOD'S COLLEGE against the onslaughts of Satan. He used the secular and worldly faculty members—the ONLY KIND then obtainable—to turn Ambassador into a rubber stamp of the schools of higher education in Satan's world. There was every subtle effort to THROW CHRIST OUT OF THE COLLEGE.

   But Christ was on His Father's throne. I looked solely to HIM—trusted solely in HIM. And Ambassador became truly God's college.

   AND IT GREW! It produced abundant fruits.

   As I said, a loving GOD brought me to complete repentance and faith in Him—believing (as VERY FEW ever have) WHAT HE SAYS—and into His service before either of my sons were born. As a little boy growing up, Garner Ted was one of the most lovable boys—with a most lovable spirit—I ever knew. However, what Christ was preaching through his father, even then, (as he himself has said publicly many times) was merely "Dad's religion" held naturally in some degree of boyish contempt. At age 18, as the college was getting started, he "ran off"—so to speak—and without our parental knowledge joined the navy.

   His four year "hitch" ended in, I believe, late spring or early summer of 1952. The first three years in the navy he had become assistant manager of the Naval Office at San Diego—his last year, in the war in North Korea on the carrier "Antietan."

   On his return to civilian life, I made him manager of our general office. He entered Ambassador College that fall in order to hold his job—for all such jobs had to be available for students working their way through.

   During his freshman year a series of articles was running in LOOK magazine on the religions of the world. Ted became enamored with the article on "What Is Christianity?" written by a famous New York minister. What grabbed his interest was the statement that first the writer would tell readers what Christianity IS NOT. It is NOT, the article said, "a way of life."

   Then it so happened that in freshman Bible studies Ted noticed on an open two pages in the book of Acts in his Bible that Christianity was some four or five times referred to as "THIS WAY." Ted has related publicly many times how shocked he was to see that—IN HIS OWN BIBLE. He underscored these four or five references to "THIS WAY." That, he has said publicly, led to his conversion.

   And I certainly BELIEVED he had become a thoroughly converted young man.

   As the years went by, Ted had become president of the Student Body of the College, and had begun preaching sermons in the Church. In June 1955, I went on television. I think Ted had participated in at least one radio broadcast by that time. His brother, Richard David, had spoken on a few radio programs—once from Paris.

   During this TV series, I let my two sons participate with me on a television program. Ted seemed to take to television, as I often expressed it, "like a duck to water."

   This TV series was consuming my entire time. It was leaving no time for my other duties of heading the day-to-day executive leadership in God's Work. In January 1956, I went off TV. Experience up to that time had shown me that it was daily radio broadcasting that was building the Work.

   I personally traveled to all parts of the United States with our advertising agent, selling our radio program to station managers— especially the nation's leading 50,000 watt stations.

   Ted had shown aptitude on the TV series—in fact, I had let him do one program by himself. Naturally, I had encouraged him to begin doing occasional radio programs.

   At times his voice sounded so much like mine that people could hardly tell which of us was speaking. Meanwhile, Rod Meredith had been making strides towards becoming one of our top ministers. Dr. Meredith began urging me to make Garner Ted vice-president. The Work was GROWING, the organization was expanding. So I did make Garner Ted vice-president and later Dr. Meredith second vice-president.

   As we were passing through the sixties, Ted began gradually doing more and more of the radio programs—by the early sixties I believe most of the weekday programs. I continued to do the Sunday programs.

   By about 1969 or 1970, I had started Ted on television. We had built a fully equipped television studio on campus. Ted's natural inclination led him into making a good number of secular documentary programs. As vice-president, he had gradually assumed more and more of the executive administrative duties, giving me time to begin getting into other parts of the world, carrying Christ's GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD into other parts of the world.

   But by September 1971, his personal emotional problems forced me to quietly and privately disfellowship him. He went to El Paso, Texas.

   But above all, on my mind, was the urgency to keep it confidential—known to only about two of our other top ranking ministers at Headquarters. Above all, I wanted to shield Ted from criticism and protect his name and reputation—so that, on repentance (which I fully expected), he could come back with his name unstained.

   Some few days before the Feast of Tabernacles in 1971, Ted called me on the telephone. By that time he and I had been speaking, for some years previous, each of us at every feast site in the United States and one in Canada.

   "Dad," Ted said over the telephone, "I simply can't bear the thought of having to miss this Feast of Tabernacles. PLEASE can't I come back?" He professed repentance. I took him at his word. I said, "Come on back, Ted." The Church did not know I had put him out. But I was determined not to be guilty of what condemned Eli—allowing his sons to depart from God and still remain in high offices in the Kingdom of Israel.

   During the 1971 Feast, word reluctantly was given to me of totally improper behavior and excessive drinking at the Feast sites he had attended. This improper behavior occurred in restaurants and places where most members attending were unaware of it.

   One or two days later, I received a telephone call from the minister in charge of the Squaw Valley site. I was then at the Lake of the Ozarks site where Mr. McCullough was site leader. It was late evening. Ted's conduct was totally unbecoming a minister of Jesus Christ. He was drinking and gambling late at night at a casino on the Nevada shore of Lake Tahoe. I was informed that it was URGENT that I remove him from further participating in festival site speaking. He was to arrive next afternoon after speaking at Squaw Valley in the morning, at the Penticton, Canada site.

   I had Mr. McCullough participate in the telephone conversation with Squaw Valley. We agreed I had to stop Ted from further participation in that festival. I arranged for my plane to fly to Scranton, Pennsylvania through the night, pick up Mr. David Antion, who was in charge of the Mt. Pocono festival site, and return for Mr. McCullough and me. We had only a few hours for sleep while the plane flew through the night for Mr. Antion. They arrived back at the Lake of the Ozarks airport about 4:00 a.m. Mr. McCullough and I joined Mr. Antion and flew on to the Penticton site.

   There we intercepted Ted as he landed early in the afternoon in his Falcon plane. We had a tearful conference in the privacy of my plane (the crew had left the plane to give us privacy). Ted was there cut off from further participation in the 1971 festival. He flew to a Church-owned house or cabin near the south shore of Lake Tahoe, and then on into seclusion in a small town in Colorado.

   At that time I made Mr. Albert Portune executive vice-president, taking over the day-to-day administrative duties of the Work in Pasadena. At that time Mr. Antion was occupying the second position in rank, and Mr. McCullough was deputy chancellor of the college in Big Sandy, Texas.

   BUT ONCE AGAIN WE TRIED TO PROTECT MY SON'S NAME AND REPUTATION— to keep the matter quiet. Always I was hoping for a change of mind and repentance from my son. I wanted to keep the door open for his return to the Work.

   Some time later—perhaps in November—while I was at the Big Sandy campus, I received a heartbreaking, tearful letter from Ted professing repentance. In it he stated he could hardly believe what had happened. He acknowledged he had sinned against God, against the Church, and against God's apostle. That letter deeply touched his father's heart. I immediately telephoned Ted to come on back into the Work.

   But early in January 1972, an event happened more serious than any before. It was in the evening. I got together all the evangelist rank ministers then at Pasadena. This time I knew I had to publicly mark Ted and disfellowship him from the Work and the Church. We all met Ted at his own home when he returned from a basketball game where apparently he had been continually drinking beer throughout the game. By this time, Ted had come to have a very special aversion against Dr. Roderick Meredith, who had urged me to put Ted in an executive vice-presidency in the first place—years before. Ted had exceedingly hot and angry words against all ten or twelve of us in general and Dr. Meredith in particular. I handed Ted the official letter disfellowshipping him from God's Church.

   This time I was unable to keep it private—and the news media picked it up. But I still tried to protect Ted by refusing to reveal the real reason for his disfellowship. News media hounded me, but all they could get out of me was that he had been sent away because of "personal emotional problems."

   Brethren, let me interject at this point to remind you of GOD'S TEACHING so contrary to this world's in regard to publicizing the wrongs or sins of another. God teaches us that "LOVE COVERS." In the worldwide notoriety about "Watergate" President Nixon was accused, condemned and forced to resign because of what Satan's world called the sin of "COVER-UP." In other words, the world regarded it a sin because Mr. Nixon did not come right out in public and before the whole world defaming the United States by reporting the whole affair. If Jesus Christ had been in office (of course He could not take such political office in this world), He would have properly CORRECTED those guilty—in whatever punishment was in His sight fitting to CORRECT AND ABOLISH such evil and, IN LOVE for both the guilty and for this nation, He would have COVERED IT UP!

   I have only followed the WAY OF CHRIST, trying desperately through the years to COVER UP my son's sins and mistakes—while at the same time NOT condoning his sins, but trying to give God's kind of punishment which CORRECTS AND RESTORES to the grace of God, rather than to act in hostility and revenge.

   Time magazine came out with the story with the headline, "WHERE ARE YOU, GARNER TED?" I would not reveal WHERE Ted was- though I KNEW and was in constant touch with him.

   At this time it is IMPORTANT that I now reveal to you that I STOOD ALONE among the higher rank ministers of the Church in trying to bring my son to the real repentance and restore him IN THE WORK. The ONLY man who stood with me—working for Ted's repentance and restoration—was the man he now HATES apparently above all men and without cause—Mr. Stanley R. Rader! It was Mr. Rader who was constantly helping me to restore Ted into God's grace and forgiveness and to his place in the Work! Because of the slanderous innuendos of character assassination my son has cast out of his mouth against Mr. Rader, there are some—even ministers—in the Church who would GO OUT of the Church rather than show any of the milk of Christian kindness towards Mr. Rader. And yet NONE of these has seen or had one iota of PROOF of any wrongdoing by Mr. Rader. He is my assistant and I regard him BY HIS FRUITS—which are of VERY GREAT VALUE TO GOD'S WORK—rather than unfounded emotional prejudices and hatred.

   After I had worked tirelessly with Ted by continuous letters trying to restore him to grace, right conduct and his position in the Work (always with Mr. Rader's invaluable help), by June 1972 I felt that PROBABLY my son—my ONLY living son—had made the necessary CHANGE OF MIND and attitude.

   To try to be SURE of this, I took with me Mr. Rader, Mr. Portune and Mr. Antion, and we flew to Colorado for a meeting with Garner Ted. Whether or not it was merely "putting his best foot forward," we were all convinced that he had been restored to God's grace and told him to come back.

   He now started DAILY TV campaigns, really preaching Christ's Gospel this time, instead of secular and worldly documentaries.

   But I had determined that THIS TIME he must be kept on ONE YEAR'S PROBATION before restoring him to the executive vice-presidency of God's great worldwide Work.

   However, the executive load was proving too much for Mr. Portune and Mr. Antion, who was then second in the administration under Mr. Portune. They came to my office about six or seven months after receiving Ted back.

   "Mr. Armstrong," said Mr. Portune, "I simply cannot carry this work any longer. You will simply have to put Garner Ted back to executive vice-president NOW!"

   Reluctantly I did, for by this time I was devoting most of the time to CARRYING CHRIST'S GOSPEL to Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, South America and Europe—INTO ALL THE WORLD AS JESUS CHRIST COMMISSIONED ME!

   I told Garner Ted I would turn "more of the reins" of the Work over to him—making it very plain to him that as board chairman and President, as well as God's only Apostle, I was giving him ONLY authority to administer MY policies as Christ led me, and Christ's doctrines as He led through me—and that all MAJOR decisions in the operation of this great Work remained mine—although Ted could make the minor necessary day-to-day administrative decisions. I emphasized the IMPORTANCE of our keeping in CLOSE COMMUNICATION. For awhile, Ted did send me long and lengthy telexes while I was in some other part of the world.

   BUT HE BEGAN KEEPING FROM ME MAJOR DECISIONS HE WAS UNAUTHORIZED TO MAKE. He demoted the men highest and older in service—such as Dr. Roderick C. Meredith, Dr. Herman L. Hoeh, Mr. Raymond McNair who had headed the college in England as deputy chancellor for fourteen years; Dibar Apartian, director of the French work; Mr. Dennis Luker, who had been in charge of the large operations in Australia; Dr. Charles Dorothy, director of the Spanish work; Mr. Norman Smith, director of television and radio production; and others.

   Meanwhile, in the spring of 1974, there was a major rebellion among some 35 ministers brought on primarily because of their opposition to Garner Ted being brought back into a limited top executive authority (WHICH AUTHORITY, AS I WILL LATER SHOW, HE ABUSED AND FAR EXCEEDED). When this major rebellion broke, Garner Ted telephoned me an SOS—to race back full speed to pull the Church out of this eruption. I was just starting a major public campaign in Manila, Philippines. I had to cancel the campaign and race in between 550 and 600 miles per hour—an all night flight. That whole night in flight I was at my typewriter writing the letter that quelled the rebellion. It had been intended as a "coup" to wrest entire control of the Church from Garner Ted, and of course from myself.

   But we with God's guidance "broke the back" of that rebellion, though we lost 35 ministers.

   But now Garner Ted began tightening his grip on the helm while I was trying to carry out the GREAT COMMISSION committed to me to get the GOSPEL INTO ALL THE WORLD. Ted never did agree about this commission—he regarded obedience to Christ's command to "go into all the world" with the Gospel as "extravagant and lavish spending of the people's tithes."

   I began to realize there was a NEW conspiracy actuated by Satan in an effort to destroy God's Church subtly going on behind my back. As I stated, my son had demoted and removed to minor positions the top ranking ministers, senior in years of service— THOSE MEN HE KNEW WOULD BE LOYAL TO THE CHURCH under God's Apostle— which active removal HE HAD NO AUTHORITY TO DO. In their minor positions of demotion, THESE MEN WERE THREATENED WITH BEING FIRED ENTIRELY IF THEY COMMUNICATED AT ALL WITH ME! Garner Ted moved to surround himself with men he thought would be loyal to him personally above being loyal to the CHURCH and to GOD. In this, I am happy to say, as nearly as I now know, he was mistaken.

   But knowledge of MAJOR decisions Ted was UNAUTHORIZED to make was carefully under threat kept from me in the years 1975 and 1976 while I was away from Pasadena approximately 300 or 365 days.

   But I did begin to sense there was a CONSPIRACY to "retire" me as being now too old, and for Garner Ted to "TAKE OVER" as the supreme HEAD of the Work. HE SEEMED NOT TO KNOW THAT JESUS CHRIST IS THE HEAD OF GOD'S CHURCH AND WORK!

   Finally a year ago the men next in authority under Ted came to me begging me to TAKE ACTION. "Your son, Mr. Armstrong," they said, "has been trying to DESTROY everything Christ has built through you and build something for Garner Ted Armstrong."

   Meanwhile, the Ambassador College I had "fought and bled and died" to found as GOD'S College was becoming completely secular. Christ was being put out. The leaven of intellectualism was flooding in leavening not only into the college, but beginning to spread into the Church.

 WHAT I HAVE NOT TOLD YOU BEFORE

   Now I come to something I have felt I had to withhold from you brethren. During these past few years when I sensed a CONSPIRACY to bring about a complete "takeover" of the entire Church's Work— virtually to PUT JESUS CHRIST OUT as well as myself—I went to Garner Ted about it. He flatly denied everything of the kind and assured me he did not want to be head of the Church—our talks would end up in an embrace—and I would then appear on the platform telling you brethren that Ted and I were solidly together—standing back to back. I WROTE FOR YOU THE SAME THING—BECAUSE I BELIEVED IT! I still believe there simply HAD TO BE a conspiracy, but I attributed it entirely to Satan; I was willing to believe that Ted and those close to him were not themselves conscious of the adroit subtle cunning Satan was using in his conspiracy.

   To protect my son's name and reputation, I HAVE covered up for him—because I have said to him that I love him above all people on earth.

   But I know now that in my eagerness to show "LOVE" and to protect my son's name, I have without realizing it been a "respecter of persons;" that I have protected my son to the detriment and harm it has brought to God's Church and Ambassador College! Of that I now have to repent!

   When Garner Ted maneuvered to shut off communication of what REALLY was going on,—when he SHUT OFF ALL AUTHORITY ABOVE HIM— he not only shut me off, but also HE SHUT OFF CHRIST AND GOD ALMIGHTY WHO STAND ABOVE ME! Brethren, THIS WORK WAS BUILT BY THE LIVING JESUS CHRIST! I was merely His instrument! But Christ has all but been PUT OUT of Ambassador College in the effort to gain this world's "accreditation" and the leaven has STARTED in the Church to get the living CHRIST out of the CHURCH!

   Garner Ted was maneuvering so that NO ONE DARED GO ABOVE HIM— under threat of being fired! Many top ranking men of senior years of service would give solemn AFFIDAVITS to that truth. Shutting off all above him, my son, lusting for POWER, shut off also THOSE ABOVE ME—Jesus Christ and Almighty GOD.

   For a year those now in top administrative positions have implored me to STEP IN and once again TAKE OVER COMPLETE CONTROL UNDER CHRIST as it was until some ten years ago.

   I say THIS CHURCH AND ITS WORK WAS BUILT BY THE LIVING CHRIST! It was HIS SPIRIT that inspired, motivated this entire Work, but He was being PUT OUT.

   My son says he upheld me, even extolled me, before large audiences of brethren. He even said to many of you, "my father is a great man." That, of course, is not true—the GREATNESS is in Christ. But at the same time—whether you realized it or not— Satan was craftily leading my son to say—or imply—that his father was now old and senile—my mind was in a fog—I did not know what was going on—I was being manipulated by those in top administrative positions, and Mr. Rader.

   He has spread the POINT BLANK LIE that Mr. Rader is now actually heading the Church and Work. Brethren, I brand that as a Satan LIE! Mr. Rader does not even have any administrative position—except in the AICF—AND LET ME INTERRUPT HERE TO SAY THAT I HAVE GIVEN THE DIRECT ORDER TO MR. RADER TO SELL OR DISPOSE OF THE MAGAZINE QUEST 78 as soon as possible. I was never enthusiastic about this magazine, but I went along with it under the understanding that I was to write the LEADING ARTICLE in every issue. I said emphatically at the beginning that the magazine could not succeed otherwise. But men of SECULAR EXPERTISE hired to run it deceived Mr. Rader. The magazine now is showing a slight profit through advertising sales and subscription price, but I have given a firm order which Mr. Rader will at once follow: "SELL IT OR GET RID OF IT!"

   On May 8 last month, I learned that my son had appointed a man I do not even know as President of Ambassador College. I then wrote him that this was the last straw—of his assuming authority never given to him to make major decisions. I then told Garner Ted to take a temporary compulsory leave of absence, which he did not do. He came to me and in a four hour talk was full of hostility and angry emotion on his part. His wife was present and in anger twice left my office. My wife also was present. This nerve-shattering session, wrestling with a defiant spirit seeking only to HAVE HIS WAY, finally ended in a tearful hug.

   After that, we had one more private talk in which he rose and said to his father, "I could DESTROY you, Dad!" He wrote some three or four letters and we had two or three telephone calls—all hostile, nerve-shattering ordeals I do not feel I should have to submit to. This side of things I have kept from you in my desire to protect my son's name and reputation.

   But while he has professed to uphold me and extol me, he has subtly been destroying me—his father's credibility, dishonoring his father and his God.

   Finally, about ten days ago, I sent him another letter telling him that UNLESS he did go into the compulsory leave of absence and if he did anything more to CAUSE DIVISION among brethren in God's Church, or if he "went to the world's newspapers" as he had threatened, I would have no alternative but to MARK HIM, according to Romans 17, for causing division, and DISFELLOWSHIP him from the WORLDWIDE CHURCH OF GOD.

   My irate, red-hot, angry, hostile son went to the Los Angeles Times with distorted, twisted facts and non-truths. He sent me by special personal messenger the day before yesterday a seven-page single-spaced typed letter literally breathing out "threatenings and slaughter," as Saul was before God struck him down and converted him—the most hostile embittered father-dishonoring letter I could imagine—except under Satan's inspiration. His letter was full of dire THREATS.

   In all these unhappy irate encounters the past six weeks, NOT ONCE has any vestige of the Spirit of God been evident—only ANGRY wrathful contentions FOR HIS OWN PERSONAL DESIRES.

   Yesterday I sent to him the official letter, heartbreaking as it was to me, disfellowshipping him from the WORLDWIDE CHURCH OF GOD!

   That means, brethren, that on pain of being themselves disfellowshipped and PUT OUT of God's Church, you are all, according to CHRIST'S COMMAND, restrained from contact with, or conversation with, Garner Ted Armstrong—no longer a member of this Church!

   I would have given my right arm rather than having to do this. But I have been TOO LONG tolerant, forgiving and covering up with LOVE toward an ungrateful, hostile, threatening son. I have let the CHURCH OF GOD suffer in order to protect my son's name and knowledge of his wrongdoings. BECAUSE I have—in fact we all, at or near the top of the administration of the Work—have done our best to SHIELD HIM, and in some manner neglected the CHURCH and all the flock in so doing.

   Many times behind my back, my son in meetings called of those at Headquarters, so top ministers told me only yesterday, made many overt or even sarcastic remarks tending to discredit his father.

   My son spread the rumor that my mind had gone senile. He is guilty of what he accuses—his mind has become filled with HATE, ANTAGONISM—and has become UNSTABLE.

   This is NOT "my empire" nor my son's—it is the Church and the WORK OF THE LIVING GOD!

   All of us at Headquarters are now standing ONE HUNDRED PERCENT TOGETHER! For the first time in some ten years THERE IS HARMONY— COMPLETE UNITY AND TRUST at Headquarters.

   I know some of you will say in great sorrow "let's PRAY for Garner Ted that he will come back." Brethren, I have been DOING JUST THAT EVER SINCE 1971. He professed to come back, but it proved a subterfuge.

   GOD SAYS: "For it is IMPOSSIBLE for those who were once enlightened and tasted of the heavenly gift and were made partakers of the Holy Spirit, IF they shall fall away to renew them again unto repentance." GOD would gladly grant repentance and receive him back— I would and so would we all, but his entire attitude the past weeks and months has certainly indicated the impossibility of leading him again to repentance.

   God gave Moses his brother Aaron to help him while Moses was gone on a mission to be with God on Mt. Sinai. Aaron and the people said, "...as for this Moses...we wot not what has become of him." Then Aaron led them to make golden calves as IDOLS TO WORSHIP, departing from the LIVING GOD!

   Later Aaron set himself, with his sister Miriam, up as being even with Moses in leadership over God's people. GOD PUNISHED THEM!

   Jesus said we CANNOT SERVE TWO MASTERS. He did not allow Aaron to be a SECOND master with Moses. For some years now God's CHURCH has been in great CONFUSION—especially in and near Pasadena. "WHO'S IN CHARGE?" they have wanted to know. Some have been for GTA, some for HWA, and I hope some for CHRIST.

   "A house divided CANNOT STAND," says Jesus. My son has made God's Church DIVIDED! Up until ten years ago, WE WERE NOT DIVIDED! CHRIST was at the helm using me as His Apostle.

   Again God says to us, "Except GOD build the house, they labor in vain that build it." GOD through the living JESUS CHRIST built God's Church of OUR time, as surely as the time of the first original Apostle. The Work GREW AND GREW with God's blessing for the thirty-five years up to 1969—SINCE THEN GOD'S BLESSING HAS BEEN WITHDRAWN. We had been tending to forget GOD, letting Laodicean lukewarmness leaven us. CHRIST SAYS NOW, A W A K E ! Rise up from this stupor that has drugged us! RALLY BEHIND CHRIST AND HIS APOSTLE! LET'S GET ON WITH GETTING THE JOB DONE.

   Brethren, THANK YOU for your loyalty!