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car I have ordered. At present, it is uncertain, but begins to
look as if we may not be able to get delivery before August or
September. This may cancel out the summer trip. We will just have
to leave it in God's hands. But if I cannot manage to come and see
personally the many who want to be baptised, I will try to arrange
to have another man who is qualified do it in my place. God will
work it out HIS way. His will be done!
THE PLAIN TRUTH SOON MONTHLY, LARGER
Now I want to take all our Co-workers into my confidence and
tell you of a personal ambition--it seems like a life-long dream--
now about to be fulfilled.
It was 17 or 18 years ago--not more than a year after I was
really converted, and began to realize God was calling me to His
work. I had been in the newspaper and magazine field since I was
18. In my early twenties I had charge of the make-up of the
country's largest trade magazine. In the business field I had
learned the value and added effectiveness of well-designed and
attractive literature. When my interest was first turned to
religious subjects, I remember I was quite disgusted with the slip-
shod, careless, untrained manner in which literature purporting to
carry GOD'S MESSAGE was prepared and printed. I knew that such
unattractive, cheap-looking, carelessly-designed literature never
would sell goods, if used to carry the message of a selfish-
motivated BUSINESS.
Should GOD's Message be less effectively presented than the
world's? Was it right for GOD's literature to have an
unprofessional, CHEAP look that carried the connotation of
ignorance, and only cheapened the whole message by the
psychological effect I knew, as a trained advertising man, it
inevitably had on the minds of those who saw it? I knew that such
inexpertly-prepared literature did not win a reading from a very
high percentage of those who saw it--was less convincing, actually
often a REPROACH upon God's work.
The desire, and ambition--the DREAM,if you please--of some day
producing a magazine containing GOD'S TRUTH that would be as
attractive, as interesting, as expertly and professionally-done in
every respect as commercial and worldly magazines, took firm root
in my mind. That dream became a fixed PURPOSE.
Well, Mrs. Armstrong and I have had to WORK HARD, and over
LONG YEARS in order to be able to realize that dream. It hasn't
come easy! But now, at last, the way appears open so it may be
realized this present year!
Way back when I first was given the vision of The PLAIN TRUTH
--and it seemed the NAME of the magazine was given me, almost as in
a vision by God, it came to my mind so forcibly and distinctly--I
began immediately to design the front cover, the mast-head, and, in
fact, an entire "dummy" magazine. A little later--and this was
about 1928 or 29--I had a professional letter-artist design a front
cover for The PLAIN TRUTH. But it had to remain just a dream for
years.
It was in January 1934, the month the radio broadcasting
started, that at long last Mrs. Armstrong and I began to actually
write and print the first copy of The PLAIN TRUTH--Volume I, Number
1, dated February, 1934. That first issue was printed on a
borrowed mimeograph, and the stencils cut with a borrowed