Herbert W. Armstrong
Library and Archives
April 8, 2000
Dear Supporters and Co-Workers of Mr. Armstrong,
This letter is an update on the CD project to distribute the HWA-era literature
of the Church, and will answer numerous questions that have been asked over the
past several months. There are many very positive things which have occurred in
recent months. This letter is my first opportunity to inform everyone about them.
Before covering the new developments, some have asked how this project began.
Some Background
This project, to collect and preserve the entire collection of HWA-era literature,
really began back in the early 1980's. At that time I started my collection of
Plain Truth, Good News, Worldwide News and other Church
literature mainly for my personal use. I felt I had 50 years of the Truth of God
to catch up on--material that I felt was important to my personal salvation.
At this same time, I began working for the Bank of America in its Chicago office.
In my first year of employment, they sent me to a series of training classes in
West Covina, California, near Pasadena. On the weekends I would spend the Sabbath
attending services in Pasadena, then spend Sunday visiting the Ambassador College
library. It was during these trips I began copying the literature of the
Church--literature that contained the accumulated knowledge that God had used
Mr. Armstrong and others to produce for our spiritual education. Currently, this
collection contains every Good News, every Worldwide News (until
1992), and almost every Plain Truth from 1934 until it went on a subscription
basis. The only Plain Truth magazines that are missing are three issues
from the 1930's! I also have many, many other HWA-era materials, including about
1,500 cassette tapes of sermons, bible studies, and radio/TV broadcasts.
When I learned of the doctrinal changes being made by the successors to Mr. Armstrong,
I could no longer support the mission of the Worldwide Church of God. I felt I needed
to leave so I could remain faithful to the Truth. That was January 1992. At that time
I attended the Philadelphia Church of God (PCG) because they claimed to preserve, teach,
and live by the full Truth as we were taught through Mr. Armstrong. This was the only
'splinter' group at the time. The next one would not come on the scene until early-1993.
About this time it became apparent to others, and then myself, that my collection of
HWA-era literature might be the only existing set outside of WCG control. Many of us
felt that it was our responsibility to preserve and re-print the HWA-era literature so
it would not be destroyed forever. Up until this time, the laws of economics simply
prevented any group, including the WCG, from re-printing everything ever written during
the HWA years! The cost of using paper technology to preserve the literature of the
Church was simply too great.
During the early 1990's, many technological revolutions were taking place and the
personal computer was becoming a tool that many people could use. At the same time
other developments were also taking place in the world of computer technology (scanners
and CD-ROMs). So in mid-1993 I began transferring the HWA-era literature from paper
to the PC, with the eventual goal of publishing HWA-era literature on CDs.
But a strange thing occurred during this period. The more work I did to preserve the
HWA literature while being employed by and attending the PCG, the more events outside
my control led to my dismissal from employment, and then my eventual banishment altogether.
This, in itself, is a very long story. I would be glad to repeat it to anyone who is
interested, but the conclusion is that the more work I did on the HWA literature, the
worse my status with this group became. After being fired from their employment in
November 1994, I still attended services until being disfellowshipped in May 1997. And
during this 2 1/2-year interim period, I was still permitted to function as a deacon,
give sermonettes both in Chicago and at the Feast, and serve in many other ways, including
continuing to work on the CDs with their full knowledge and approval.
I learned later that the sole reason stated for my disfellowshipment was for mailing
out the Plain Truth magazine CD that many of you now have! In fact, they told
everyone to destroy or return the HWA CDs that they had received! This seemed to be a
repeat of the same order we all heard after Mr. Armstrong died--get rid of all the old
literature--"we don't need that stuff anymore." Unfortunately, those who followed
that order once again allowed a man to come between themselves and God. Some may wonder
if the treatment my wife and I have received would cause us to become bitter. We were
both hurt by their treatment, yes. But we were more bewildered (until recently) by
it--especially because they claimed to be the remnant of the True Church. But, we
have forgiven them all of their actions, and are now actually thankful--because these
trials have strengthened our faith in God and our love of the Truth of God, and for that
we are very, very thankful. Let me explain.
The PCG's selective interest in the legacy of Mr. Armstrong became visible in early
1997. As most of you know, they reprinted Mystery of the Ages and were then
sued by the WCG. The legal filings reveal that the PCG only desired to retain
A PORTION of what Mr. Armstrong taught. The details are in the letter about
copyright laws dated September 1998, and in the actual legal filings. If you want your
own copy of this letter and the legal documents, you may get them on the Internet at
http://www.HerbertWArmstrong.org, or write to the address at the end of this
letter. This will reveal more about why the PCG has not been sincere with their
membership, nor with the Body of Christ at large, about their mission. They told all
of us they were dedicated to preserving ALL of the Truth, not just the portion they
agreed with. But, as mentioned before, their true attitude toward Mr. Armstrong
came out of the closet the closer all of the HWA-era literature came to being available
to anyone who wanted it. It could be said that Mr. Armstrong himself, through his
literature, was exposing their motives. This could also be said of many other splinter
groups today.
In fact, as you will find in the copyright letter, the PCG actually threatened to
sue me for making the HWA CDs available to anyone, not just their membership.
This is really peculiar since I began working on the CDs while employed by them.
I used their computers and scanners, and did this with the full knowledge of everyone
at headquarters. The membership at large was also aware of my efforts! It is doubly
peculiar because these CDs contained their literature, with their permission,
as well as the HWA literature.
Why was PCG literature on some of the CDs?
Many have written and asked why I put PCG materials on two of the CDs? They originally
told us their teachings were in line with Mr. Armstrong's, and for awhile I believed
this. That is the only reason why I included their materials in the first CDs made.
One of the updates I promised to cover in this letter is that the CDs have since been
re-mastered to remove the PCG materials. Therefore, any future CDs produced by this
project will only have HWA-era literature. This re-mastering is very costly, and
we simply could not afford to bear this expense any sooner than now. I now regret
having included the PCG materials in the original CDs, but the first masters were made
while I was still attending there and I was under the impression their teachings were
on track with Mr. Armstrong's. I did have their permission at the time the first CDs
were mastered to include their literature.
What is the status of the copyright lawsuit?
Many have written and asked about an update on the copyright lawsuit--the WCG vs.
the PCG. Some have heard that the PCG won. While this is partially correct, it is
not the full story!
At first glance, it would appear that the PCG won this lawsuit. When you look deeper,
you can see that the PCG did not fully win. God won the lawsuit for the entire
Body of Christ! The PCG sought to be the sole organization to reprint Mr.
Armstrong's literature. They filed their legal documents trying to "get permission"
from the Court to reprint the HWA literature, implying that no one else would have
"permission" if they won. But I have talked to several attorneys about this matter,
especially since I was the target of a PCG threatened lawsuit. These attorneys are
the best in the copyright field. God led me to EXACTLY the correct law firm, EXACTLY
to the right attorneys, EXACTLY to the ones who have successfully taken lawsuits to
the Supreme Court of the United States! These attorneys generally charge hundreds of
dollars per hour, yet they provided me with their legal advice FREE! I thank the
PCG for threatening me with a lawsuit because I would never have spent the time to
study the copyright laws myself, and never would have been motivated to seek out the
attorneys I contacted, had they not threatened me. They have my sincere gratitude!
The result of the meetings with these attorneys is that I learned the Court never
grants "permission" to anyone to reprint anything! Even these secular
attorneys were aghast at the position of the PCG in attempting to portray this! If
another party wants to re-print something on which they do not have a copyright, they
are free to do so. But they run the risk of being sued for theft. Because that is
what it would be--theft.
In the case of the WCG-PCG lawsuit, the WCG felt their property had been stolen.
[I have received several letters from the WCG, in addition to the letter I received
from the PCG; more about these letters later]. The WCG then filed a lawsuit against
the PCG for theft -that is what copyright laws are about. Copyright laws are not
about "asking permission to print", or in some fashion "asking permission to STEAL."
The essence of the copyright lawsuit was really to ask the Court's opinion if a theft
had occurred. Did the PCG steal Mystery of the Ages? The PCG counter-claimed
that the first amendment (right to freedom of religion) gave them the right to reprint
Mystery of the Ages. The WCG claimed a theft had occurred, when in fact they
voluntarily discontinued all of HWA's books and even destroyed the surplus stocks. So
it would appear that both parties approach to this case was wrong. An amazing thing
happened when this lawsuit finally got to the United States District Court in Los Angeles.
The Court actually saw directly through the positions of both parties and said that
both the WCG and the PCG asked the wrong questions! Its ruling was that the PCG did
not steal anything from the WCG. To this limited degree the PCG did win. The
Court also stated that the first amendment does not give anyone the right to steal
anything in the name of religious freedom. But the Court's deeper conclusion was that
no one had the exclusive right to anything authored by Mr. Armstrong. The Court's
comment was that ANYONE could reprint ANYTHING published by the WCG during this period.
[Copyright laws would only apply to the Plain Truth after it went to a
paid subscription basis.] So the Court stated that both parties asked the wrong
questions and sought the wrong relief.
This was wonderful to behold! It was wonderful to me personally because I finally
received closure on the entire PCG episode in my life. While this was a painful
experience, it did show me that the PCG was not where God was working. God's True
Church will be known to those with the Holy Spirit because the Holy Spirit in us will
recognize others with the Holy Spirit. We will all be practicing and believing the
exact same and full Truth. This is what was troubling me all through these trials.
It appeared that the PCG taught the right doctrines, but I did not see much
evidence of the Holy Spirit in their actions while working or serving there. The
legal matter revealed this to me even more--really confirmed experiences that I had
seen first-hand, but did not fully comprehend as I was living through them. It is
not enough to have doctrines correct, while lacking the fruit of the God's Spirit.
Christ condemned the Pharisees for this exact problem. A church cannot be God's True
Church unless it is using God's Holy Spirit in its operations!
Another wonderful benefit of this case is that it does resolve, at least for now,
the truth about the copyright laws as they pertain to the writings of Mr. Armstrong's
years of leading the Church! This benefits the entire Body of Christ. This makes
it possible for anyone to print what God gave us through Mr. Armstrong. From a secular
perspective it also gives me some encouragement to see that our American justice system
can come to see the truth of this issue, no matter how hard both parties try
to confuse it. So what is the current status of this case? The story continues...
The WCG has filed an appeal with the Ninth District Court of Appeals in San Francisco--case
numbers 99-55850 and 99-56005. The WCG refuses to accept the District Court's ruling
of law. Under the laws of the United States, this is their right. However, they are
simply using the laws of the land. They are not using God's laws. What's happening
in this case? As of this writing, the matter is still open. We simply don't know.
Little is available about the status of the appeal because both the PCG and the WCG
have "sealed" their documents. By sealing their documents, they want to make sure
no one learns what their positions are. This is very strange, until you c
onsider the history of this lawsuit. If you recall, both parties promised their
membership they would give them full disclosure of what was happening, yet both parties
have failed to keep their promise. I learned from those who deal with the Appellate
Court every day that "sealing" of documents is EXTREMELY UNUSUAL. One clerk told me
that she has NEVER seen a case like this being sealed! She said that generally the
only cases where documents are "sealed" are those involving child custody battles to
avoid revealing the address where the children are being held while the case is in
progress. This prevents either parent from taking the child. What does a copyright
case contain that needs to be so secret? Both parties still have something
to hide--and the sealing of the papers proves it!
On average, the Appellate Court only overturns ("remands") about 10 percent of the
cases that come to it, so this average seems to be against the WCG. We have also
learned that the PCG sued the WCG for its legal expenses, and won. This is
remarkable. It is actually another strike against the WCG because legal expenses are
generally awarded to the winning party only when it can be proven that the lawsuit
was next to baseless to begin with! It appears that the District Court felt that the
WCG literally harassed the PCG in its original lawsuit. The exact legal term is
malicious prosecution. However, the true status of this case is still being
hidden from us.
What happened to you after the PCG?
Several friends have written to ask what happened after our disfellowshipment. While
I was still attending PCG, I sent God's tithes to them. I did not have any other
funds available for the CD project. During this time I personally financed the majority
of the expenses related to the CDs. I did receive some donations, but the percentage
was not large. I sent the CDs to anyone who wanted them, regardless of their church
affiliation, at no cost. But I am not a wealthy person, so somehow the bills had to
be paid. Most of the time I simply charged the expenses on my credit cards and when
funds were available, I tried to repay the credit cards.
During this period I always included a note with the CDs. Some have criticized it,
so I decided to include the original language of the note:
"Enclosed are _______ CDs of various WCG and PCG literature. If you
decide to keep them for your personal use, I would appreciate being
reimbursed for the cost of production, if possible. However, if you
cannot afford this, please accept them as a gift.
Each disk cost about $20 in materials, postage, shipping, labels,
and for the wastage involved in the CD-Rom making process. Of course,
you are welcome to copy the contents of these disks to your hard drive
and then return them without any cost--like borrowing a library book."
Some have tried to portray this as selling the CDs for $20 each. Does anyone in a
commercial business GIVE you their product, mail it to you in advance, offer to loan
it to you without charge, and then suggest that you only reimburse them if you
want to? While the actual cost of each CD was less than $20 each, only about
25% of the people who received the CDs actually sent any money at all. So the
average cost was $20. During this period of time, the actual money received
was about sufficient to keep up with the day-to-day expenses. I never received any
funds for my labor, and did not receive any funds to pay back all the initial costs
of the computers, software, and other upfront expenses. After I was put out of the
PCG in May 1997, I continued with the CDs and continued with the same financing method.
It always seemed to work out.
Starting about December 1997, several others left or were disfellowshipped from the
PCG. About February 1998 we started fellowshipping together. This loose affiliation
of ex-PCG members (known simply as TCOG--The Church of God) decided that they wanted
to use their tithes and offerings, as well as donations received from others, to make
the CDs available as a free public service to anyone who wanted them. Since I am not
a minister, and since a minister was collecting the tithes and offerings, I turned
over the responsibility of financing the CD project to him. It was also their
suggestion to remove the note from the mailings because they wanted it to be their
gift to the public.
In hindsight, the biggest error I made was permitting that particular minister to
handle these finances; I should have remained involved personally. I came to learn
much later, after incurring thousands of dollars of expenses personally for the CD
project, that this minister does not agree with everything Mr. Armstrong taught and
that he was using his position of controlling the money for the CD project to try to
kill it so that the Truth would not be available to anyone again. I do not blame the
other ministers for this man's actions because it appears he was doing this on his
own--without their knowledge.
When I was removed from that association, I was personally due about $59,000 of accumulated
unreimbursed expenses related to the CD project. I was asked to leave because I knew
they had been accumulating funds, and I asked to have some plan to reimburse me for the
expenses due me since I could no longer afford to finance the CD project personally.
The other ministers acknowledged the expenses due me. They wanted to find some way to
begin repayment of the expenses, and to continue the CDs. I even offered to settle the
entire $59,000 debt for $10,000! I really could not afford such a loss, but I was trying
to follow the biblical examples on the subject. To date one of the other ministers
has paid $2,000 toward the debt, but the remainder is still due. So I was sent
away from this group simply because I asked to be paid for my expenses, and because I
wanted to see the CDs continue, and they did not. But in spite of these efforts to kill
the project, God was already working in the background to keep it alive.
Where are you now?
Many have written to ask what happened after I was no longer associated with TCOG. During
the summer of 1999 I first learned of the Restored Church of God. They appeared to be a
group of people wanting to remain completely faithful to all the teachings of the WCG in
1986--without the addition of false doctrine, false prophecies, or amendment of doctrine,
etc. While driving our family back to Chicago from a visit in Missouri, I received a phone
call on my cell phone. We were actually crossing the Mississippi River into Illinois at
the time. The caller introduced himself as David Pack of Akron, Ohio. We spoke for about
an hour as we drove across the plains of southern and central Illinois.
Mr. Pack mentioned that he had read the letter about the WCG-PCG copyright battle and
wanted to discuss the entire matter of copyright law more fully. He mentioned that it
seemed we shared the same dream--to see all of Mr. Armstrong's literature in circulation
again. He was primarily focused on re-printing them on paper, while the process of
reprinting them on CD had already begun.
We discussed the costs involved and I mentioned that I had recently calculated it would
have taken about $4 million to reprint on paper everything that had been printed on
CD so far! So the economics really prevented this. But we also discussed the fact that
not every person in the Church owned or could operate a computer, so the CDs, while being
the most cost-effective method to publish, left many people in the Church without access to
the literature. I mentioned to him that I had realized the exact same problem and that
it had troubled me, but finances just did not seem to permit the paper versions to be
available for now.
Mr. Pack also gave me some of his background. He said he had been serving in the ministry
since 1970 in the Worldwide Church of God. During the doctrinal changes occurring after
Mr. Armstrong died, he had left to support the Global Church of God. Just as I had been
promised by the PCG that they would remain faithful to the doctrines we were taught by
Mr. Armstrong (both in word and in deed), he was also promised the same thing by the Global
leadership. Just as the PCG leadership had failed to hold fast, so did Global. If you
would like to hear of his background, please request the booklet "Why the Restored Church
of God?" at the address at the end of this letter. Or you can download the booklet
from the Restored Church of God's web site at http://www.RestoredCOG.org. He
explained that as he saw Global drifting from the Truth, he fought from within
the ranks of Global to correct the doctrinal problems (fighting alone most of the time),
almost from the beginning of Global. Finally, they fired him simply for wanting to hold
fast to the same full Truth we learned from Mr. Armstrong.
At first it appeared as though we shared much more in common than any of us did with our
former groups. We seemed to share the desire to UNLEARN the nonsense we each learned in
our former groups, and it seemed we desired to return to the purity of what we learned
from Mr. Armstrong. It is exciting to see that the RCG now has ex-Global members, ex-PCG
members, ex-UCG members, ex-LCG, ex-COG-AIA, ex-WCG members, and new people who have never
attended any Church of God group before!
There is another recent event which I promised this letter would update you. The Restored
Church of God is now publishing the CDs. However, there is much more. In addition to
the five original CDs, we could easily have over a dozen more ready to publish! We have
also begun the process of reprinting the booklets authored by Mr. Armstrong! Here is the
listing of the current HWA booklets that are available (with five more going to press later
this month):
- WHERE Is the True Church?
- Does God Exist?
- Did God Create A Devil?
- Why were you BORN?
- What is the TRUE GOSPEL?
- Ending your FINANCIAL WORRIES
- The Key to the Book of Revelation
- The Resurrection Was Not on Sunday!
- Your Awesome Future -How Religion Deceives You
- Just What Do You Mean -Kingdom of God?
- Life After Death?
These booklets are in limited supply, so please do not request them if you already have
the originals written by Mr. Armstrong. Each is exactly like the original. We have
only omitted references that suggest the reader contact the Worldwide Church of God for
more information. Of course, we did this because the Worldwide Church of God no longer
teaches these doctrines, and no longer desires to remember its' association with Mr.
Armstrong. The only other way these booklets may appear different is that we have
cosmetically changed the covers on some of them to reduce reprinting expenses.
For those covers which had photographs (these are very expensive to reproduce), we have
substituted the standard solid color covers. This way we can rush more titles to print
faster. It is the stated intent of the Restored Church of God to re-print every book,
booklet and reprint article written by Mr. Armstrong that was available when he died.
It may take some time to accomplish this. The RCG is less than one year old, but already
has these eleven HWA books in print, five more on the way, and five other books and
booklets written by Mr. Pack.
Mr. Pack has recently completed a new booklet entitled "Is 'That Prophet' Alive
Today?" This subject is on the mind of thousands of God's people. Mr. Armstrong had
much to say about who this prophet would be. He also had much to say about the nature
of FALSE prophets in the end-time! This carefully documented and scripturally-sound
booklet will make absolutely clear the biblical truth and Mr. Armstrong's explanation of
this subject. Anyone who is confused about this topic will have their eyes opened!
In addition, a 152-page book of carefully selected HWA quotes titled "Except the Lord
Build the House" is available upon request. It is a very useful condensed compendium
of specific HWA quotes on 22 fundamental topics. Another collection of HWA quotes will be
done shortly: "There Came A Falling Away." This 400-plus page book will again show
Mr. Armstrong's specific words against all of the changes seen in the various groups today.
And, condensed in one booklet for the first time are God's teaching and Mr. Armstrong's
policies about responding to accusations. The title is "Should Accusers Be Answered?"
If you would like a copy of any of these books, please write to the address at the end of
this letter or visit the RCG website.
When will my CDs be coming?
Many have written requesting the HWA CDs. Just before the Feast of 1999, every request
for CDs was sent. This exhausted my remaining supplies. With my personal funds heavily
depleted, I simply could not have more made at that time. Immediately after the Feast
our family moved from Chicago to the Akron, Ohio, area. I was hired to assist Mr. Pack
and the RCG full-time in the HWA publication effort--both via the CD and the booklets.
I also serve as the Business and Media Manager.
During the move I could not fulfill any requests. This was due to financial realities,
and having to box everything up, move it, and unload it (TWICE!). We still have about
half of our furnishings in storage, so it is taking time to get settled. When I started
working for the Restored Church, there were a number of very critical office matters that
needed my urgent attention. I was forced to let requests accumulate. We have saved every
request and, just this week (as I am writing this letter), we received the first shipment
of CDs. Since the Feast we have accumulated over 600 new requests, and each of these will
be mailed out soon. I apologize to everyone who sent emails asking about when they would
be receiving their CDs. I was not able to respond to all the email and letters received
because I was unsure exactly when they would be available again.
What is the HWA Library Trust Fund?
When I first began the CDs I estimated that there would be no more than 500 households
requesting them. I budgeted my time and finances around this figure. My plan was to
release new CDs every few months, and I expected to have the entire set of HWA CDs done
by now. But instead of only 500 households requesting the CDs, there have been about
10,000 households! The demand for these CDs has vastly exceeded my vision of 1993.
I am still floored! All the extra time and funds that I had planned to complete the
series (when I expected to make 500 of each), went into fulfilling the extra 9,500 sets.
We also estimate that it will take about 35 more to complete the entire HWA Library.
Multiply 35 times 10,000 households (and more write each day!), and that's
350,000 or more CDs! Financing the remainder of this project is so far beyond my personal
means, and in fact so far beyond the ability of the RCG (being less than a year old), that
we needed to find a way to keep them coming to you and others who are learning about them
for the first time.
Instead of assuming people would donate to the RCG, Mr. Pack, myself and others thought
it would be better to establish a Trust Fund to accept donations and process the CDs and
booklets. This Fund will keep the donations completely independent of RCG funds. People
who feel uncomfortable sending money to a church they are not a part of should feel no
conflict in donating to a Trust Fund dedicated to preserve, without comment, the literature
we all remember from the past. No monies received by the Trust Fund will be used for
printing RCG materials. Your donations would also be tax-deductible both in the USA and
in Canada. To make sure Trust Fund donations are not accidentally mixed with RCG donations,
this Fund will also have its own mailing address.
One major item to consider in whether you wish to help make the completion of this project
a reality is that once this project is done, the financial considerations are done. We
are not attempting to build a professional ministry who will make their livelihood from
this project. Consider that most of the churches today appeal for funds to broadcast a
TV show or radio show. Once the broadcast is over, there is little to show for the funds
spent. Many have seen this since the death of Mr. Armstrong. I personally did statistical
evaluations of the results of a major TV broadcast of one of the splinter churches. The
result was an astronomical cost of $125 per inquiry letter received. Few individuals came
into that Church as a result. It is also reported that other groups (who have spent
heavily on TV) had similar results. With the conclusion of the HWA-era literature on CD
project, the entire Body of Christ will have a permanent record of the teachings of the
Church. This will be a timeless set. It can be used thousands of times without wearing out.
In addition to converting the paper literature to CD, we may consider converting our
entire collection of HWA radio, television, sermon, and Bible Study tapes to CD. We have
about 1,500 tapes that need to be organized and converted. This is a massive project! We
currently have volunteers cataloging each tape by its text. Once the cataloging process is
complete, we tentatively plan to compile a listing of these tapes, and if time and funds
permit, would mail it to those wanting it.
Will CDs be available in Spanish or French?
So far I have just discussed the English language material. We are working with people
on converting both the Spanish and French literature of the HWA years onto CD. We are in
need of more literature in these languages, and as soon as the first CD of each language
is complete, we will make these available to anyone who wants them. In addition to Spanish
and French, we need German, Italian, Dutch and Norwegian literature because it is our desire
to see that this material is again available to anyone who desires it.
When will paper versions of the literature be available?
Several have asked what it would take to print everything on paper? Well, here is where
you can see the CDs are a real bargain! If all the literature on the current CDs and the
remaining CDs were printed on paper, it would take over 900 million pages of paper, printed
on both sides, to hold all this literature for the 10,000 households who are interested in
them! If you would stack these pages, it would be almost 400 miles tall (650 km). Consider
that the Space Shuttle orbits the earth at about 180 miles above the surface. This single
stack of paper would tower above the orbit of the Space Shuttle by 220 miles! If you laid
all the pages end-to-end, the length would be over 150,000 miles long, or about 6 times
around the circumference of the earth! The cost of this amount of paper would be even more
staggering. It is estimated that it would take about $40 million (US) to print this material
on paper again! So, due to the economics involved, we plan (at the moment) to print only
the writings of Mr. Armstrong on paper as funds permit. Anything beyond this will be very
carefully considered before we go ahead.
CONCLUSION
We will be mailing out the CDs to those who have requested them since the 1999 Feast.
After that mailing, our current funds and supplies will be exhausted. We will continue
to accept requests for the CDs and booklets, but realize there may be delays in fulfilling
requests according to the funds we have available. If you wish to become a co-worker
of the Herbert W. Armstrong Library project, then we welcome your assistance. You will
not receive any unsolicited RCG literature! We do plan to send out quarterly contribution
receipts of your contributions to the Trust Fund, and may send a letter from time to time
explaining the progress of the project, or any special needs. We want to give back to the
Body of Christ what was once freely available, but there are expenses. Mr. Armstrong did
occasionally appeal for funds for special projects--the Auditorium Fund, the YES camps, and
for the State of California lawsuit.
This raises another purpose of the Trust Fund--and therefore another possible expense.
We must be able to assist in any legal defense expenses, should they arise, to maintain
the right for anyone to reprint this material. While the facts of the copyright case by
the WCG have been shown to be clearly in our behalf, we have already received threatening
letters from the WCG demanding that we stop producing these CDs and booklets. I
personally received a letter in December 1998, and then Mr. Pack and I have both received
similar letters in February 2000, and again in March of 2000. We will vigorously defend
the right for anyone to print this literature, but we need your prayers and faithful
assistance as coworkers as well. If a lawsuit occurs, we will defend the printing of the
literature as being public domain, meaning anyone can reprint it--not just ourselves. It
is incredible that the WCG attempts to convince us to stop printing the CDs and the booklets
by using the same arguments they used before a Federal Court, arguments that the Court ruled
against. Since this case is under appeal, only time will tell what the future holds.
If you want to write to the Herbert W. Armstrong Library , the mailing address is
PO Box 23283, Wadsworth OH 44282. Any donations Should be made payable to the Herbert W.
Armstrong Library Trust Fund. We ask that all donations be payable in US dollars, if
possible. If you would like to write the Restored Church of God, the mailing address is
PO Box 23295, Wadsworth, OH 44282. The phone number for both the HWA Library and the RCG
is 330-334-2266 and fax number is 330-334-6513. The email address for the HWA Library is
request@HerbertWArmstrong.org, and the email address for the Restored Church of God
is info@RestoredCOG.org.
This is the time for all those wanting to see the literature that God used to restore His
Truth to the Church of God to be available again for our children, grandchildren, friends,
neighbors, or anyone else God may call before the end of the age. Any assistance you can
provide will be greatly appreciated. If you have questions about matters discussed in this
letter, please feel free to contact us. We are here to serve you in any way we can.
In Christ's service,
Don Tiger
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