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grew 30% -- and its income increased by the usual 30%.
A couple of years later we were on the air in Eugene,
Portland, Seattle, and just beginning in Los Angeles. A church had
been raised up in Everett, Washington. Its members were more
prosperous, financially, than others. An ex-Adventist minister had
wormed his way in. I had invited him to cooperate with us in the
beginning. He had seemed sincere. He managed to get to Everett as
pastor of that little church. Then he changed from the BIBLE
doctrines to some of his own. He taught that tithing was done
away. That church was then contributing HALF of the entire income
for the Work. Later this man claimed to find a scripture that he
said made tithing obligatory after all -- but it had to be paid to
him -- not to God's Work.
About that time a certain advertising agent in Los Angeles
asked me to have lunch with him. I believe it was at the Jonathan
Club. He was the advertising agent for a religious broadcast that
was then spending two million dollars a year buying radio time.
This agent urged me to give up the ministry.
"Listen, Mr. Armstrong," he said. "All you'll have ahead
in your religious ministry is problems, troubles, and headaches.
I know. That's all Dr. Blank (not his real name) has. He is
terribly harassed getting in that $2 million a year to pay radio
bills. He gets practically nothing out of it but headaches.
I'm the one who gets the money out of it. As his Agency, the radio
stations pay me 15% of that $2 million a year -- I make $300,000 a
year. You have ability as a news analyst. With World War II going
full blast right now, I can get you a sponsor for a 15-minute news
analysis 5 days a week -- Mondays through Fridays -- at a fee of at
least $100,000 a year to start. I think in a year I can have you
making $200,000 a year -- and NO HEADACHES! You can even bring in
a small amount of Biblical prophecy once in a while -- though of
course not like you do now -- for it must not sound religious, of
course."
Was I tempted? Not at all, though I think Satan thought
I would be.
That "temptation" came at a time when the income for the
Work had been cut in HALF! The income for the whole Work was
probably about $35,000 a year by then. And Satan tried to tempt me
with an offer between $100,000 and $200,000! And ALL FOR MYSELF!
Most of that $35,000 had to go for radio bills -- and I was
beginning to have a small number of secretaries on the payroll.
In all this, Mrs. Armstrong was my faithful partner and
helper. She even "scolded" me (she wasn't really serious) for
telling her of that offer. SO -- we continued that year, as
before, RELYING ON GOD -- and that year, despite HALF our income
being withdrawn, the income for God's Work increased 30% as usual!
Mrs. Armstrong suffered through 28 long years of poverty
with me, getting God's Work going -- and GROWING! We learned what
REAL joyous HAPPINESS is, in poverty. We had God's Holy Spirit to
lead us. We were constantly learning NEW TRUTHS in God's Word --