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to Mrs. Armstrong and me 'way back in 1927. Until 1934---seven
years---do you know how big the attendance was? It was exactly
TWO. NoT two hundred, or two thousand---just TWO people---Mrs.
Armstrong and me.
During those years I usually attended on the Sabbath with a
little group of twelve to fifteen brethren at Oregon City, Oregon.
Even before I was ordained in 1931, I was called on to lead in the
service, and bring the message---or sermon. I preached this new
truth to those brethren. But, like the people described in Ezekiel
33:30-33, they sat there AS God's people, and my words were like
music---they ENJOYED the messages---BUT THEY WOULD NOT DO WHAT I
REVEALED GOD COMMANDED. They simply listened, then did nothing
about it!
Later, I preached this truth to the brethren down in the
valley, in the neighborhood of Jefferson. They were the people we
now find identified aa the remnant of the Sardis Church (Rev. 3:1-
6). They, too, sat before me AS God's people, they heard my words,
read right out of the Bible---BUT THEY WOULD NOT DO THEM. They
merely laughed at me!
Then, after God raised up the Mother Church of the
"Philadelphia" era at Eugene, our new brethren there did begin to
keep God's Holydays with us. However, until 1943, we did not
clearly see that we were to keep the Feast of Tabernacles AS AN
EIGHT-DAY FESTIVAL. During those years, until 1943, we merely kept
the seven annual Sabbaths, in addition to the Passover.
In the autumn of 1943, we tried to keep an eight-day Festival,
at our little church house in Eugene. A number of new converts
from Everett and Seattle, Washington, came down. But most of the
Eugene brethren, by force of habit, went about their regular work
except on the Sabbath and the annual Sabbaths, though several would
attend night services at the church week nights.
In the fall of 1944, we did the same. But by fall, 1945, we
came to see that we should get out by ourselves, AWAY from the rest
of the world, getting a foretaste of the Millennium---which the
Feast of Tabernacles pictures to us. That fall we went out to
Belknap Hot Springs. However, not more than 25 or 35 of us
remained there for the entire eight days. The rest of the brethren
came out on the Sabbaths, when we had, perhaps about 65 present.
It was a struggle and a trying ordeal to induce the Eugene
members to leave their work and attend for the entire eight days.
The fall of 1948 we were in the second year of the college, and the
students (only seven of them then), went with us to Belknap
Springs. By 1950, full-time attendance was around 100, and in 1951
we were uncomfortably overcrowded at Belknap Springs, with about
150.
In 1952, the Festival was held at Seigler Springs in
California. We outgrew that springs resort that first year, with
450 in attendance---many from Texas and states east of the
mountains.
In 1953, the Festival was held in the first tabernacle---now