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1)
DEPTH . made me realize how
WRONG
1
had been - in how
1
lived
- in what
r
believed - in almost
every way.
It
brought me to a state
of literally GTVING UP everything
1
had believed - starting all over
again
from scrarch,
realizing the
Bible was God REVEALING true ba–
sic knowledge. It brought about a
complete conversion by the spring
of 1927.
1
came to feel everyth ing
about me had been WRONG - NO
GOOD - I compared myself to a
worthless hunk ofburned-out junk.
1
think FEW have ever had pre–
conceived beliefs, ideas. opinions,
so
thoroughly
ERASED
from their minds
- able to look at the BIBLE as God
literally speaking to me (in print) -
giving me KNOWLEDGE that was
true!
But God was cal li ng meto a VERY
SPECIAL COMMISSION. In many
W:l :VS
He had prepared me in certain
.:x–
periences - most UNUSUAL experi–
ences - in early life from age 16 for
my future calling.
In olher words, God brought me
lO a WILLINGNESS
lO
completely
OPEN MY MINO to His revelation of
TRUTH - even though it was often
truth I did not like to receive.
1
know of NO OTHER who has ever
become founder of a religion, or a
religious leader of ANY KIND, who
ever carne INTO THE TRUTH in the
way God BROUGHTME INTO IT.
Always. it seems. men start out in
rel igious or Bible study with so
MANY PREVIOUS FALSE BELIEFS that
what new knowledge they do learn
is a ll mixed up y¡ith so much pre–
viously believed ERRONEOUS teach–
ings, they never do come to. receive
Goo's TRUTH pure and simple. just
AS IT IS!
Al a luncheon today.
1
was saying
that lhe MOST IGNORANT people in
the world loday are the HJGHEST
EDUCATED! That is true BECAUSEthis
world's education - especially ils
higher education in the great uni–
versi lies - is almosl altogether
BASED On lhe FALSE PREMISE Of lhe
EVOLUTIONARY THEORY. They have
The
PLAIN TRUTH February 1977
been "educaled" by being TAUGHT
things that are UNTRUE - opposite
to. or antithesis of. TRUTH. Children
are started out, aside from lhe three
"R's," being TAUGHT things thal are
either direcl líes. theories, or false
propaganda. They are graded on
how closely they recite or write in
tests what has been given them.
One example: A grandson of
mine was once asked by his teacher
(he was in grade school). "Who dis–
covered America?" "The lndians,"
he answered . "You are WRONG ,
Larry," said the teacher. "Don'l you
know that COLUMBUS discovered
America?" "Bul lhe lndians were al–
ready here long before Columbus
carne," answered my grandson. He
was given a failing grade for that
correct answer.
Our system of educalion is one of
memorizing. Children and older slu–
dents are expected 10 MEMORIZE
what is taught, whether true or fa lse.
German children a re 1augh1 one
thing about World Wars I and
Il.
but Brilish and American children
have altogether DJFFERENT history
books from which they are taught.
I commented at lunch today th al
the hardest ones to educate in lhe
millennium when the KINGDOM OF
Goo rules lhe earth wi ll be the col–
lege professors and the vain schol–
arly minds ofthe "highly educated."
lt
is FAR more difficult lo UNiearn
error lhan to LEARN a truth never
heard before.
But God brought me through a
process that ERASED former mis–
knowledge - and. as it were, gave
me a clear start from "scratch."
I wonder if you realize that every
TRUTH of Goo, accepted as true
DOCTRINE and BELIEF in the World–
wide Church of God. carne from
Christ through me, or was finally
approved and made officia l through
me.
Forty-three years ago, God com–
mitted to me His GREAT COMMIS–
SION - to carry Christ's Gospel
MESSAGE of the imminent coming
KINGDOM OF Goo inlo a ll the
world.
.
Again 1 say that is a STAGGERING
RESPONSIBILITY!
Alone, I would be utterly helpless
lo carry out lhat commission. There–
fore, God used me first in raising up
HIS CHURCH of this era,
to stand
loyally back of me, making ir pos–
sib/e.
T he parent church was 19 mem–
bers. That was in August 1933. 1 had
really been given the GREAT coM–
MISSION in mid-July of that year
when
1
was
40.
1
was not elected;
1
was appoi nted by Jesus Christ, the
HEAD of the Church. How may that
be known? BY THE FRUITS- BY THE
FACTS. which cannot be con–
tradicted!
My wife and
1
were then mem–
bers of NO church. We were attend–
ing, fellowshipping in love, and
trying to cooperate with the people
then known as Church of God, Sev–
enth Day. with headquarters at
Stanberry, Missouri. Their minis–
ters, compa ra tively uneducated
(only one had a year of college),
jealous of the fruit God was bearing
through me, opposed and per–
secuted me from the beginning,
though the brethren all seemed to
love my wife and me warmly. But
we had never become members of
their church.
Soon we learned of the dis–
tinction, in the 2nd and 3rd chapters
of Revelation. God revealed to me.
plainly. in 1926-27. that in these two
chapters Christ was speaking of
the
various condilions m His Church all
through this age up until His return
as
King of kings in His KtNGDOM.
But the conditions mentioned in the
message to the angel of the Church
at Ephesus predominated during
that first era of the Church . They
had among them sorne of the Laodi–
cean lukewarmness. They also had
the apostles and their immediate
successors proclaiming the AN–
NOUNCEMENT of the KINGDOM OF
Go o . But because of rapidly grow–
ing persecut ion, and the rise of what
later became the Roman Catholic
Church, their people rapidly were
turning tO "ANOTHER GOSPEL" (Gal.
1
:6-8;
11
Cor. 11 :3-4; Rom.
1:
18, 25;
etc.). But the predominating condi–
tion in that era was that they had
los t lheir first love.
But we in this Philadelphia era
have too much of that fault, also.
When firsl TRULY converted, it is
like a ROMANCE. but we too soon
cool down in our LOVE for Christ
and HISWORK.
Those brethren
1
carne among
were humble, sincere, strict Sabbath
17