HomeARC ML 0877
DAD'S BIRTHDAY MESSAGE!--By Father David DO877 18 February 1980
--Events of the Past Year!--Recounted at Our Anniversary Birthday-Eve Dinner!
1. WELL, WHAT DID WE ACCOMPLISH IN THIS PAST YEAR? I think the first great event was the NRS: Nationalise, Reorganise, Security-wise! There was no "Revolution" in it, but it was a revolution! And how many Letters did we get out this past year?--135!--Or an average of nearly 3 Letters a week, which is not bad! In order to remember what we accomplished I have to go by the Letters!
2. WE PERSONALLY MOVED SIX TIMES THIS YEAR! That's an average of about once every couple of months, & although we didn't always move quite that often, sometimes we moved oftener! Maria can even add one to that!--That trip to the clinic--so she did move seven times, & that was the best one of all!--For Techi!
3. WE HAD THE "NATIONALISE, REORGANISE, SECURITY" REVOLUTION & we had all those moves, & then we had the Techi Revolution! That was quite a Revolution! And what would you say was the next big news of the year? (Maria: We had Peter start to work with us.) Yes! Yes! Good news for sure! (Maria: We had a few other people that didn't turn out so well.) The bitter with the sweet! (Sara: That "Truth Revolution" was really a tremendous lesson!) Hey, whatever happened to those Letters we had of that?--All those tapes & ... (Maria: Coming soon!)
4. ANOTHER BIT OF REVOLUTION THIS YEAR: WE STARTED THE WN! (Everybody: And the Mags!) Well, of course, I'm getting to that! That was certainly ... I'm getting to that ... that's the grand finale!--I hope it's not the finale. (Maria: And we got a new staff member to help with them, which is nice!) (And Gene & Jack!) Yes, we got rid of Jack & we got Jack back! We got rid of some others & I hope we don't get them back! Well, God bless'm! But they just didn't quite fit. (Maria: Too many encumbrances.)
5. I MEAN, THERE AREN'T TOO MANY PEOPLE WHO FIT THIS QUEER MOB! You've got to really be able to take it!--And love it! (Everybody: We love it!)--Not go around criticizing everybody & the way we do things. Boy, that really tees me off when I hear somebody start complaining about leadership. I'll never forget what I told them in Huntington Beach & TSC both. I said,
6. "MY GOD! IF YOU DON'T LIKE THE LEADERSHIP, WHY THE HELL DO YOU STAY HERE? Get the hell out of here if you don't like the leadership & the way they do things!" Some people just like to stay around & be a problem child & cause trouble! It's a free country: They don't have to stay, they can go!--And as good as we were to them, um!
7. WELL, I KNOW THE WHOLE PROBLEM--from the beginning you know what it was. It wasn't just liquor. How could I blame anybody with a problem with liquor? I have a little problem with it myself once in awhile if I get mad or sad or upset. No, you know what his problem started over? You know, all those excuses, people just use excuses:
8. WHEN THEY START COMPLAINING ABOUT THE FAMILY OR THE LEADERSHIP OR FFING or this, that or the other, just remember they are never complaining about the thing they really don't like, because it's usually something they are ashamed of & don't like to admit. And you know what his major problem was, don't you? (Jealousy!) Exactly!--And selfishness!
9. IF LOVE IS THE MAJOR VIRTUE, THEN HATEFULNESS & SELFISHNESS & JEALOUSY MUST CERTAINLY BE THE MAJOR CRIMES!--He was all the time worried sick he was going to have to share his wife! He saw that coming. That's where his first problem was. Let me tell you, if you're not willing to share everything & anything you've got or anybody here in this Family, you don't belong, right? Everybody here as far as I know has shared everything. PTL! We even share our children & our mates & our lovers & our clothes, money, radios, everything!
10. I'D SAY THAT WAS THE BIGGEST MISTAKE WE MADE ALL YEAR--trying some folks on our staff we didn't know well. But having Peter come was a big event! Having Timothy leave--that was a big event which was almost within the year. What other major events can you remember that transpired this year, good or bad?
11. MAKING OUR UNIT A COMPLETE CREATIONS UNIT, FROM START TO FINISH!--And Mordy's move of course was a big event of this year for the Family. And I would say losing one house in Tenerife to the backsliders & getting rid of the other one, well that's a pretty big event! And some other units moving, that's a good event.
12. THE DENTIST, THAT WAS A PRETTY BIG EVENT, TOO!--33 fillings & 5 refillings! Five of them fell out & we had to go to another dentist! We all have to go, & if your teeth last as long as mine you'll be doing pretty well, after going years with almost no fillings.--Only three or four in London. I hadn't been to a dentist for 35 years! He got done filling those three or four teeth & he said, "Well, now you are good for another 35 years!" So he was wrong, & I'll have to go back & tell him someday.--Ha!
13. ANYHOW, WE GOT TO WITNESS TO THE DENTIST. Boy, these Jews are sure tough nuts to crack! It's a good thing they got my great-grandfather before they got me. I mean the worst was over by the time the fourth generation came along!--What else happened?
14. WELL DORA, OF COURSE, JOINED US. I would say that was a major event when she took over Techi. You were a major event, kid-o! You sure were!--And we had quite a few distinguished visitors.
15. WE LOST RACHEL & EMANUELE THIS YEAR. That was some of the sad news. I never see a tennis court but I think about them, & it saddens me, but you have to take the bitter with the sweet. Well, Emanuele always was a bit crazy, & that was Rachel's fault. If she had been the kind of wife & Christian & a spiritual mother to him which she should have been, well, then he could have made it. But after what she did, you can't much expect him, an aristocrat, to do much better. He did pretty well, considering, as long as he put up with her & hung on.
16. DID I TELL YOU GUYS? I think I told you what I got when I was wondering why in the world would Rachel have gone almost like she went crazy!--Berserk! What would she have given all this up for?--Her husband, her children, her Family, her position, her home & God's work!--I mean, everything! She had had plenty of men before, so that didn't do it.
17. AND IT CAME TO ME JUST AS CLEAR AS ANYTHING: DRUGS! That devil Daniele I think, & the guy she's with, I think they got her into drugs! You see, she was really quite innocent when we got her, a pretty big dumb child. She was only 14, & they had never done anything but smoke a little grass at High School, you know.
18. HER FOLKS WERE REAL CHURCHY CHURCH PEOPLE & her Dad was a real tough disciplinarian & used to beat her up & everything if she misbehaved or lied, which she was doing all the time. She was just practically an inveterate liar! In fact, I don't think she ever stopped lying! Poor girl! Well, the Lord showed us what happened to her in the "Nebuchadnezzar Revelation"--it all went to her head. (No.763.)
19. AND APPARENTLY HE TRIPPED HER ONTO DRUGS. My God!--Oh!! That's funny!--Nebuchadnezzar had to eat grass!!--He didn't just smoke it but ate it! (Dan.4:33.) Well thank the Lord, someday, God willing, she'll come back, probably crawl on her hands & knees like Neb did! It said that his hair became like bird's feathers. Must have been long hair huh? She's got pretty long hair. (Maria: But did you know she got it cut real short?)
20. SHE'S GONE SO CRAZY IT COULD BE NOTHING BUT JUST ABSOLUTE GOING INSANE, like Nebuchadnezzar did! He went insane, lost his mind. Well, that was one of the tragedies of this year.--One of the biggest tragedies of all our years. But thank God it didn't kill us. We survived, we survived some of the losses of some of our top leaders. I guess those are probably the biggest ones--five!
21. WHAT FIVE TOP LEADERS WOULD YOU SAY WERE THE GREATEST LOSSES? Well, I don't know that Deb & Jeth were any great loss. They were getting to be more of a liability than a loss. And with Timothy's divided heart & mind he would have only been a problem even if he'd stayed. And Emanuele always was a bit crazy & hard for anybody to get along with. And Rachel was getting to be more of a problem all the time with her love of money & her unmerciful treatment of the poor.
22. SO I CAN'T SAY THEY WERE TOO GREAT A LOSS, because I think that if we had tried to keep them they would have been more of a problem & hindrance than a help. I mean, I've felt better since they are gone than I did when I was worried about them: Weeping & crying & getting sick & nearly losing my life! Boy oh boy! Well, we had some pretty big losses. We lost them & we lost Casa Trebol--they took it!
23. BUT I THINK WE GAINED QUITE A BIT MORE THAN WE LOST, thank the Lord. I mean Casa Trebol was just a liability now, because we can't go back there anyhow. Poor Emanuele & poor Rachel stole that one, & the other one we sold for only enough to keep some of our units going for a few months. I want to tell you something, it costs something to run this outfit!
24. IT'S AMAZED ME THE WAY THE LORD TAKES CARE OF OUR EXPENSES! I mean, nobody has to move as often as we do! I don't think hardly anybody in the Family has to move as often as we do. And every time we move, we lose money. It costs money to move, & then we have an overlap of rents.
25. ANOTHER BIG REVOLUTION was the Camping Series, going mobile! That was a big revolution, a big event! WIM is another huge revolution! Did you know that now WIM, our mail ministry, is our largest source of income of any single source of income, bigger than any CRO or anything?
26. IN FACT, IF IT HADN'T BEEN FOR WIM, WE WOULD HAVE JUST ABOUT SUNK! I mean the Lord gave that inspiration just in time to save the situation, just when things were taking a nosedive! That was another major event of this year. This year was the financial crash, almost crashed. Our finances dropped off about 25% twice!
27. OTHER EVENTS: A MAJOR CHANGE OF TACTICS & METHODS & operations & an awful lot of Homegoings, of course, or furloughers. A lot of those people have gone home & come back to the field. ...
...
29. ... This isn't the year I nearly died, is it? It was last year. (Maria: You almost died quite a few times this year too!) Well, I've been at that all my life. I almost died so many times in my life, it's nothing new. When it finally happens, I'll be quite used to it!
30. IT'S LIKE MY MOTHER: She would always faint & she thought it was her last--about every week or so. In some ways she could outwork us all--in other ways she was weak. It's just the miracle-working power of the Lord that kept her going! But she couldn't stand altitudes & a lot of other things that were always happening.
31. THE DEVIL TRIED TO KILL HER OFF SO MANY TIMES, YET SHE LIVED TO BE 83! I might even make it a few more years myself! I was trying to figure out what the "70 Years Prophecy" meant & I haven't figured it out yet, neither do I understand the "Birthday Warning" about the time. I never could figure out what "half the time" was--half of what time? (See Letters No.156 & 215.)
32. WELL, THESE ARE QUITE A FEW MAJOR ACHIEVEMENTS, major accomplishments, major failures and some major revolutions. Thank the Lord, I think we seem to be making progress all the time. We're getting a little better organised & we're learning more how to live on the road & how to run things from afar.
33. I DON'T KNOW IF THERE IS ANY OUTFIT IN THE WORLD THAT HAS EVER BEEN AS DIVERSIFIED & as scattered & as decentralised as we are. We have our editorial offices one place & we've got a creations unit in another place--several other places--& we do our printing some place else & our major correspondence office is someplace else & our finance office is someplace else.--And all our scattered LIMs are all over the place! I don't see how we could get much more decentralised than we are.
34. ALMOST THE WHOLE FAMILY HAS GONE MOBILE! And I even started driving again for the first time in ten years!--Ten years! It's something you never forget really, like dancing or brushing your teeth. Did you see I'm all decked out tonight in my Birthday-eve best? We didn't even sing Happy Birthday yet! (All the Family sings:
("Happy Birthday to you!
"Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday, Dear Family,
Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday to you!
Only one will not do!
Born again means salvation,
How many have you?!")
35. "MANY HAPPY RETURNS OF THE DAY OF THY BIRTH,
Let sunshine & gladness be given!
And may the Dear Father prepare us on Earth
For a Happy Birthday in Heaven!"
--Hallelujah! Thank You Lord! That'll be a great day, huh? The Family won't have to worry about their caravans any more. There'll be plenty of room.
36. THERE WAS AN OLD MISSIONARY FROM CHINA WHO USED TO SING WITH THE GUITAR a funny old cowboy song about Heaven: "50 miles of elbow room! 50 miles of elbow room!"--Something like, "I won't live in this small room when I get 50 miles of elbow room!" PTL! Well, if you live in a caravan you live in a small room, but actually you live in the great outdoors & wide open spaces, so you have more room than you ever had. PTL! TYL! What else?
37. THE ADDITION OF AT LEAST SEVEN NEW TOP STAFF MEMBERS! That's quite a revolution--a staff revolution! What else? (The KQLs.) Yes! We've made a lot of reorganisational changes. Our gold reserves have multiplied! And that, in case some of you don't know it, is simply the reserves we keep to keep us going maybe a couple of months maybe at the most, even if the whole world crashes, God willing, just so that we'll have something to make it. But look what the Lord's done with it since we got it!
38. GOD BLESS DEAR PETER! He's been around a long time now. I never even met him, never saw him, didn't know who he was, nothing, until a little over a year ago. We were just trusting the Lord & I knew we've got to trust people in this business--mostly the Lord!--And very few people have made off with any of our money to amount to anything.
39. THE LORD TOLD US TO GO TO GOLD A LONG TIME AGO & we did & obeyed, & now He has increased the price since we first started over 700-fold! Think of that! So the Lord's increased our finances just by His manipulation of the money markets!--Ha! They don't know why! They give more theories of why gold goes up & why the dollar goes down, all kinds of crazy theories & guesses, & nobody can figure it out. All the time maybe the Lord's doing it for us! PTL!
40. WELL, GOLD HAS ALWAYS BEEN HIS STANDARD. Money men are finally admitting they are going to have to consider gold in the money markets. They just cannot totally abandon gold from the monetary standard. So they are going to have to consider it, they say, after all. They finally wake up after it's gone up about 1000%! "Well, we'll have to consider gold after all. There must be something good about gold." Thank You, Lord!
41. WELL, I WOULDN'T SAY WE HAVE TOO MUCH. We give it away as fast as we get it. We want to make all of our units as strong as possible so that we can stand any kind of a shock the best we can, at least. We've had a number of redistributions time & again, & the Lord keeps blessing us whenever we obey, whenever we are willing to sacrifice, even knowing it is going to maybe cause a loss every time we've done it. We've lost 25%, but we went up 38%! So Praise God!
42. YOU CAN'T OUTGIVE GOD! When we were willing to make sacrifices, take losses to obey the Lord & do His will no matter what, even though I knew it was going to cost us something, He amply repaid! We always come out better in the end, right? Right now you'd better pray, since we don't know what this LIM thing is going to do to us. I think everybody's in a state of confusion, they don't know what's happening yet, they don't know where to send their money, the LIMs hardly know where to send their Magazines, but we're finally gradually getting it all straightened out.
43. WELL, WE DID WHAT WE THOUGHT WAS RIGHT TO TRY TO ENCOURAGE THE LIMs TO GET A HEAD START, & we still don't know how much of a loss it's going to mean to WS. So that was a major event of this past year, from February to February. Tremendous! We had probably one of our biggest losses financially twice, & then we had some of our biggest gains! So you can't outgive the Lord, thank the Lord! What else? (Late News!: The LIM Rev's a gain! TTL!)
44. (SARA: STARTING AT THE END OF JANUARY WAS THE KK REVOLUTION & THE TKs. All the TK artists started doing KKs! ...) Wow! We've got at least 200 Komix already in production, plus more than 350 pages of Family Care stuff! And we have a lot more that haven't even been approved yet, so that's been a major event of this year. It's been quite a fruitful year! The Komix I think were a major step.
45. THAT'S ANOTHER THING: WE TOOK A BIG STEP FINANCIALLY TO CREATE A NEW ARTIST COLONY to give it a head start & give it a real push, & we really got it off the ground, thank the Lord! We started out at 16 pages & then we went down to four & now we're up to 160!--Another major accomplishment is Volume IV!--And
46. NOW WAIT TILL YOU SEE WHAT MARIA HAS IN MIND NEXT!--A nice big juicy Volume of all the Komix for our kids!--Put'm all in one firmly bound Volume! I mean that'll be an education!--In fact they're almost all the Letters that can be illustrated! But they're still producing Komix! They find Komix out of the funniest subjects you could possibly imagine! It's just unbelievable, those artists!--Imaginations! And we've had some good artists too.
47. I GUESS WE'LL HAVE TO SAY THIS YEAR WE LOST ONE OF OUR FIRST & BEST ARTISTS. You could hardly believe that a man like that who could draw such gorgeous pictures & be such a marvelous inspired artist could let himself go like that with such a horrible temper & beat up every woman we ever gave him or ever tried to live with him, & threw his children across the room & all kinds of horrible things!--We just couldn't take it any longer, that's all!
48. SO ANYWAY WE'RE HOPING HIS PARENTS WILL HELP HIM CONTINUE HIS ART. I wouldn't be surprised if his Papa was violent & knocked him around.--They say violent children almost always come from violent homes. They set him up in his own studio once before & they can do it again, & we invited him to continue to contribute as a contributing artist. But let them support his violence, not us! That was one of our losses in a way, but let's hope it's not a complete loss & that he'll continue to contribute.--We stood it as long as we could.--Please pray for him! We love him.
49. WE'VE GOT A LOT OF GOOD NON-RESIDENT ARTISTS WHO ARE SENDING IN EXCELLENT MATERIALS & we don't have to support them full time. We give them what we can & what we think it's worth, so PTL! It's still pouring in faster than I can even approve it! I mean, we've got some good ones! Jacob Sailor is one of the best, Philippe la Plume, Michael Christian & some of the other boys do really professional work! And boy, it's unbelievable almost how much Jacob Sailor's work has improved compared to some of his first Komix, which look like amateur stuff! He really has learned!
50. HAVING THAT ARTIST COLONY EVEN FOR THAT YEAR WAS WORTH IT, because they all got under good teaching & artists. One thing Eman knew, he really did know his art! And they learned from each other & they helped each other, & it really improved their work. So that was a major accomplishment: The Komix! Maybe when he gets back home & sees how bad the System is, he'll appreciate the Family more, & at least maybe contribute. So PTL!
51. EMAN CAN DRAW THE MOST GORGEOUS WOMEN I THINK I EVER SAW, although Jacob's getting pretty good at it. Some of the others, too. That guy Sojourn's a bit weird!--But some of these kids like weird stuff, so we gotta have a few weirdos! The world's got its weird Komix! We've even got our horror stories!--Sam Warner was the expert at the horror stories!--Drew the most gruesome pictures of anything I ever saw! My Lord help us! But a lot of people like that. We've got a variety! I tell you we've got a variety. So you're right, Honey:
52. I THINK THE KOMIX WERE REALLY A GREAT MAJOR STEP!--AND ALONG THE LINE OF PUBLICATIONS, OF COURSE THE MAGAZINE HAS BEEN A MAJOR STEP! But believe it or not, that was always our dream from the very beginning back in TSC when we tried to get out a little Magazine called the "New Nation News"! Anybody ever hear of that one? And that was Ho's vision, he really had a vision! He's a Capricorn, they're very idea people--if you can just keep them under control! They're like the goats that they are, they're hard to control.
53. THAT WAS A MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENT!--BUT HE ALSO GOT US ONE OF THE BIGGEST DEBTS WE EVER GOT INTO! We've still got hundreds of thousands of his pubs over there that Mark's got desperate enough to even suggest maybe we should just take it out & burn it! I said, "Before I'll do that, we'll pay the postage & send it to them! I think before I do that I'll pay'm to take it, to get the Word out!" Well, they are good little books & all that, but it just hit us at the wrong time.--That was just before the RNR, when our finances took another tremendous nosedive!
54. THANK GOD, WE'VE NEVER HAD ANOTHER NOSEDIVE LIKE THAT ONE, WHEN WE LOST ABOUT 300 LEADERS! Well, we didn't lose them all, thank the Lord, we just fired them all! It was a Revolution--it was a tremendous blow for awhile, but I think it did us good in the long run. It divided the men from the boys & the sheep from the goats, & I don't believe we lost those who were really called & chosen. They either carried on or came back or they are still going on or whatever. So regarding publications: Those are two major steps: The Komix & the Magazine!--PTL!
55. WHEN WE STARTED SELLING MO LETTERS ON THE STREETS WE JUST PRACTICALLY FORGOT ALL ABOUT THE MAGAZINE then, because who needed a Magazine when the MO Letters were going like hotcakes on the streets! But God had His time, see?--It just wasn't quite time yet. Who was it first suggested this past year stapling the Letters together?--Was it Mordecai?--He said, "I can handle them a lot easier to stuff envelopes & everything; it would be so much easier if I could just staple all these Letters together."--And he sent us a sample & it looked great!
56. I SAID, "OUR FIRST MAGAZINE!" I've still got one. Hallelujah!--'Dito!--Do you know what's black & white & read all over?--How can something be black & white & read all over?? ('Dito: Well, our cat is black & white, but it's not red!) This is black & white & Daddy reads it all over everyday! Ha! (David: A newspaper!) You're right!--Any other major accomplishments this year?
57. WE HAD TWO VERY SERIOUS CRISES, BUT BOUNCED BACK EVEN BETTER THAN BEFORE! Thanks to the Lord & the Family & gold & Magazine & WIM & a few other things, TTL! You have to take steps of faith. Faith is really being willing to be a pioneer & to have the faith to believe the vision God gives you & to have the courage to take the initiative & try it, even if you think, "Well, for all I know it's going to sink the whole ship!"--Which it almost did a few times!
58. BUT THAT'S AT LEAST ONE THING THAT EVEN OUR ENEMIES SAY ABOUT US: Most of the other outfits have gone down with the Jesus People & the rest, but we're one of the few still around. And believe it or not, I think--God helping us & helping us to obey & follow--we will be around till He comes! We don't have time to last hundreds of years like some of these denominations, or thousands like the Catholic Church, or 5,000 like the Jews, or 1,300 like the Muslims, but
59. I THINK WE HAVE ACCOMPLISHED QUITE A BIT IN THE LITTLE TIME WE'VE HAD for the few people we've had. I mean, Mohammed only started with a handful of followers. But even when they drove him out of Mecca to Medina he only had 200 when he was 40. He had a ten-year start on me, he got started when he was 40!--I didn't get started until I was 50! And I'm almost worn out already!--All these women wearing me out every night! God bless'm! I told Maria tonight after I'd finished my bath, "This is my Birthday evening. I'm going into the living room to play!" I said, "Not what you're thinking!--I'm just going to go watch TV!"--How could you have such a leader, huh? (Well, we did play while watching TV!)
60. ALL OUR MOVES & MOBILITY & OUR DIFFERENCE IN OUR ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE & CHANGES IN METHODS & MINISTRY--these have all been tremendous revolutions this past year! And our monetary revolution & our Magazine revolution & our personnel revolution! We've lost some of our top leaders, but we've gained new young leaders that are already here at the top, God bless'm, so why worry about the old bottles, amen?--These are not half as hard to live with!
61. IT LOOKS TO ME LIKE WE CAN LOSE ALMOST ANYTHING OR ANYBODY AS LONG AS WE'VE GOT THE LORD!--And we'll still keep going on! Amen!--Including me!--PTL! You're going to lose me one of these days, but boy, I expect that Magazine to be going great guns by that time, & the Family & everybody! (Maria: You'll have to be dropping it down from Heaven!) Well, the Lord's going to be dropping it down! The Lord promised to give you inspiration, Honey; when you get the mantle, it will flow! It's all the Lord, & it will flow just like it does now, so PTL! Hallelujah!
62. AND IN PEOPLE & PUBLICATIONS & FINANCES & MOBILITY & ALL THESE THINGS WE HAVE BEEN DISCUSSING, reorganisation, diversification, & in our security-wise reorganising, we, I think, have made tremendous progress! In fact, I think it has probably been one of the greatest years we've had! There have been years when we distributed more literature, had more converts, had a little larger population (our population runs now usually around 7000), but we've never had as many Homes before!
63. WE'VE GOT NEARLY 2000 HOMES! Which means we're far more spread out & less concentrated in big blobs, & therefore witnessing more places, reaching really I think more effectively more people. It's strange that we have almost stabilised at about 7000! Perhaps that's about all the Lord knows we can really take care of & really feed & pastor properly, at least under the present circumstances, with all our enemies & persecution & all the other problems we have.
64. YEARS AGO IN THE EARLY DAYS THE LORD PROPHESIED THAT WE WERE GOING TO BE 7000! One time the police or reporters or somebody asked, "How many of you are there?"--when we were travelling with a big convoy. And I believe it was Josh who just popped out with, "There's 7000 of us that haven't bowed the knees to Baal!" (1Kg.19:18 & Ro.11:4.)--And we've stayed around 7000 now for about a couple of years.
65. THERE ARE A LOT OF PASTORS WHO WOULD BE TICKLED PINK IF THEY HAD 7000 PEOPLE IN THEIR CHURCH EVERY SUNDAY, huh? So PG! We don't have to worry about building a multi-million-dollar church building where they can just meet once a week! We are just getting out our little Letters & Magazine & reaching the whole world, thank the Lord! I think it's pretty good!
66. (MARIA: I THINK WE'VE REACHED PEOPLE EVEN MORE EFFECTIVELY THIS YEAR because we've been more understanding & tolerant of everybody & willing to take everybody where they're at, really enlarge our borders & open our doors to everyone no matter at what stage they were. Not make it so rigid...) Right!
67. WE HAD TO BE TOUGH IN THE BEGINNING. We were an army & we were really in a tough stage. But though a lot of our kids have gone home & back into the System with System jobs, etc., as Fred used to say of the people he trained in his Soul Clinics: "You're ruined forever! You'll never be the same! You'll never be satisfied just going to church again."
68. YOU'LL ALWAYS BE THINKING ABOUT WITNESSING, & if you don't witness, you'll always be convicted about it, & you'll just never be the same. He'd say, "I've ruined you for church!"--And that's true! You will never be satisfied just working for the Devil or the System! Lots of our kids have gone home & they got sick & fed up in short order, & they're back on the field again!
69. I WOULD SAY MOST OF OUR KIDS THAT WE STILL HAVE WITH US HAVE BEEN ON THE FIELD IN FULL TIME SERVICE four, five, six, seven years, some of them almost the full ten!--And they'll never get over that. I mean they'll never be satisfied doing anything else. Even if they did go back to System jobs, they would never be the same. Even if worse came to worst & they never served the Lord again--which I doubt--I don't believe they could not serve Him again, but what if they didn't?
70. AT LEAST WE HAVE PERSUADED THEM TO SERVE THE LORD FOR A FEW YEARS, & at least they did serve Him for a few years of their lives full-time & on foreign fields & witnessing to thousands, millions, & that's more than most church people have done!--Right? We can be happy to think that at least we got those young people to serve the Lord for a few years, even if they never serve Him any more. But I think a lot of them are going to serve Him again, & most of us are going to keep right on serving Him till the End, Praise the Lord!
71. AND ONE OF THE LAST, BUT NOT THE LEAST: --2500 CHILDREN!--or close to it! That is quite an accomplishment! We have exploded via the birth canal, & have turned into a bunch of little families! We used to read the "Knew Disciples" list & each was having their first ones; now they are having their third, their fourth, their fifth! We're getting a bunch of good-sized families, thank the Lord, & I tell you, you look at those pictures of those kids!: There's just no kids like them in the world except missionaries' families!
72. AND I THINK OURS ARE EVEN BETTER, BECAUSE THOSE MISSIONARIES HAVE TOO MUCH OF THAT CHURCHIANITY still in them! You look at our little kids & you think, "My God! Even if all the rest of us fail, those are time bombs ticking away, that are going to explode one of these days & blow this world together! PTL? Hallelujah!
73. THEY WILL NEVER GET OVER THE TRAINING THEY HAVE HAD & the experience they have had on the field, the languages they have learned. I know I never got over the experience I had with my folks in evangelistic work, & really, you are the fruit of it! So my Lord, if church evangelism can do that to somebody, I mean that experience I had as a child in those years that made me really want to do something, think what these kids are going to do!
74. I THINK THEY'RE GOING TO LEAD AN ARMY THAT'S GOING TO RISE UP & RESIST THE WHOLE SYSTEM, the anti-Christ System! So that's one of the biggest accomplishments of course that we've had: The tremendous families we have developed! That guarantees that it's never going to end! It's going to go on forever until the Lord comes! Of course we don't have too long, if what I got out of the "70 Years Prophecy" are correct interpretations.--Was it 1993? Something like that. I don't know.
75. DO PEOPLE GO AROUND QUOTING ME AS SAYING THAT I PREDICT THE LORD'S COMING IN 1993? I never said such a thing! I just said that if my interpretation, the way I feel about it, if that's correct, if I got the right meaning out of it, that's what I think it may mean & what may be possible, that's all I've said. I haven't said definitely that all those things are going to happen specifically. Maybe! Maybe!--If what I gathered is the interpretation of those various prophecies and those various experiences.
76. BUT I DIDN'T GET ANY OF THOSE DATES in direct inspired prophecy. Well ..., thank You Lord! Amen. I did get one prophecy that my mother had prophesied over me in which He said I've the spirit of Daniel & Jeremiah. "I have given unto thee to know the times & the seasons & the days & the years." And so maybe it's right! But I'm not going to be dogmatic about it.
77. BUT ANYHOW WE KNOW AT BEST, THE WAY THE LORD'S GOING RIGHT NOW, WE DON'T HAVE TOO MUCH LONGER! If the world, the way it's going, can hold out till 1993, that will be a miracle! Someone said we are the first generation that has ever lived that has had to live with the knowledge that we could destroy ourselves completely! He said, "Even if we don't think about it all the time, or go crazy about it, it's there all the time, that knowledge that we could blow the world up any minute!"
78. OF COURSE, THANK GOD, YOU & I HAVE A BETTER KNOWLEDGE: WE KNOW BY THE SCRIPTURE THAT GOD IS NOT GOING TO LET THEM BLOW IT ALL UP! In the Tribulation, one-third of all these things is destroyed. Then in the Judgments of God after the Rapture, two-thirds of everything gets destroyed. So man only destroys one-third, but God can double it & do better!--He's going to destroy two-thirds!
79. BUT SOMETHING IS GOING TO BE LEFT & SOME PEOPLE ARE GOING TO LIVE THROUGH IT. Think of that! Otherwise there couldn't be any Millennium! There couldn't be anybody for us to rule over. There wouldn't be any World left to rule, because the Millennium has to happen on this Earth, this very Earth, restored & reconstituted & purged & purified for the Kingdom of God!--Not the New Heaven & the New Earth which comes after the Millennium, but this present Earth as is! Well, it won't be exactly as is, of course, thank God!
80. IT'LL BE LIKE HEAVEN ON EARTH, BECAUSE THE CURSE WILL BE REMOVED & man will be governed righteously with angels & we who will have the power to run the world the way it ought to be run! And the horrible pollution will be purged & purified & things are going to be a lot better with the curse removed. It's going to be like Adam & Eve in the Garden again! Beautiful! HALLELUJAH!
81. BUT STILL, JUST THINK OF IT, IN SPITE OF HEAVEN ON EARTH, SOME UNREGENERATE WICKED PEOPLE ARE EVENTUALLY AGAIN GOING TO REBEL AGAINST THE LORD & His Kingdom! So in the end He'll have to wipe them all out--including the Earth! He'll purge the whole surface of the ball! That's the only way we're ever going to get rid of all that nuclear waste & pollution & all. It's all going to be exploded & burned up, & the whole surface of the ball is going to be completely burned up & recreated! So thank the Lord!--Amen?
82. AND IF THOSE ESTIMATES ARE ANYWHERE NEAR THE TRUTH (I know I never got any date so clear in my life as I got that thing in "The Green Shirt", & we were already in the Millennium!) It couldn't be very long! So that was 2125, wasn't it? Isn't that something? Just as clear as anything!
83. THAT WAS ONE OF THE FUNNIEST DREAMS I EVER HAD! I just couldn't believe it! I said, "That can't be!" But that angel said as clear as anything, "Well, it is!" Ha ha! So it reminds me of that cute answer Faithy gave to one [EDITED: "Muslim government official"] who didn't like us. He said, "You ought to change your name! You shouldn't call yourselves 'Children of God'! God didn't have any children!" Of course, they didn't consider Jesus the son of God, but He's just a prophet. "God didn't have any children!" Faithy said, "Well, He has now!" Ha ha ha! I thought that was pretty good!
84. THAT WAS LIKE THAT TIME WHEN THAT LITTLE JEWISH BOY CALLED HER FROM MIAMI BEACH & she got him all witnessed-to & Bible-read & accepting the Lord, & his Jewish parents were furious! They had him phone up & say, "My mama wants to know what Bible that is you're quoting to me all the time?" Faithy said, "Why, the Holy Bible!" I tell you, some of the simplest answers are the best ones! Ha ha! She was really inspired! Well, PTL! That's quite a few accomplishments! Maybe you'll think of a few more to add.
85. (MARIA: IT'S ALSO NOT ONLY THE BIRTHS OF SO MANY CHILDREN, BUT THE EMPHASIS THAT HAS BEEN PLACED ON THEIR CARE & DEVELOPMENT.) Child training & care & education. We've got whole units now publishing childcare & child education materials that you didn't have before. As I told Roy Wallis, I said, "We're no longer wild-eyed & wild & wooley hippies! We're grown mature married families, good citizens, with children, & we've grown up!" So he's writing something on the maturity of the Children of God. "Where are the Children?"--They've grown up! Hallelujah!
86. HE'S SORT OF EXPLAINED US TO THE SYSTEMITES, WHICH ISN'T A BAD IDEA. They need a lot of explaining, & maybe we need it! So PTL! TYL! Well, I think we've had a good year, & I think we've had a good night too, & it's pretty late. Any other thing you want to add before we close? (With the "Timothy Revelation" & all that & the Rachel thing, people have become much more loyal. There's a stronger loyalty & unity...)
87. WHENEVER THERE'S A SIFTING & TRIAL & TESTING, IT SIFTS OUT THE WHEAT FROM THE CHAFF & the sheep from the goats & divides the men from the boys & the girls from the women, etc., & we've always found that out to be true in every sifting we ever had. Sometimes you need those siftings & those testings & those trials & those divisions to get rid of people who otherwise are just a burden & a problem & slow you down. We've had to dump quite a few on the way.
88. EVERY TIME WE HAVE, WE HAVE LIGHTENED THE LOAD & WE'VE SPED UP & GOTTEN THERE FASTER WITHOUT THEM! So! Everybody is expendable--even me!--if I get in the way. So PTL! One of these days I'll be old enough & I will have done my best & my share, & the Lord will have something better for me, & He'll know you're ready to carry on, PTL!--And you'll do it because He'll do it!--Because without Him we're nothing! I'm nothing, you're nothing--nobody's anything! (John 15:5.)
89. WITH HIM, WHY WE'RE EVERYTHING & YOU CAN DO ANYTHING, so PTL! Don't worry about it. It hasn't happened yet! Ha, ha! I mean with me out of the way, you'll probably go faster yet! I'll get to be an old bottle. By the time I get to be an old bottle & start slowing you down, why the Lord will have to get me out of the way. PTL! TYL!
90. (MARIA: WE HAD A SURVIVAL REVOLUTION!) Yes, that's another major thing that has happened, the Survival Revolution to try to put more emphasis on surviving the coming Crash, emergency & war! At the rate dear Jimmy Carter is going, it looks like he just can't stand to wait for the Crash or the emergency, either one!--He wants the war right now!
91. IT WOULD BE JUST LIKE A DEAR BAPTIST TO GET US INTO THE NEXT WAR, Crusade for Christ against the heathen! "So let's destroy the world so we can at least destroy all the communists!--And we'll die as martyrs with them with the bombs! And if they kill us all, we'll kill them all too!" It's insanity! Anybody that could even order those bombs made is insane! And it's horror! Holocaust! ...
92. SO WE'VE HAD A GREAT YEAR, WONDERFUL YEAR, BEAUTIFUL YEAR! We've had some sad events & some trials, but we've always come out on top, better off than before! Amen? Anybody think of anything else where we've made any progress? (Maria: Most every Letter's been some kind of revolution!)--Or revelation! (Maria: Brought about some new change...)
93. WELL, THE LORD ANOINTS ACCORDING TO WHAT THE NEED IS. There were days & months & years there, where there were marvellous revelations, poetry, prophecies, all kinds of inspirational things to encourage & keep us going & feed us. But then came times when we needed teaching & times when we needed reorganising revolutions & knowledge of administration or changing of methods, all kinds of things.
94. THE LORD WORKS IN ALL OF THEM. As Paul says, "Whatever it is the Church needs to edify it." (1Cor.14:12.)--And it's not always just tongues & interpretation. It's not even all just prophecy. I like those the best of all! Those are the most beautiful & the easiest to do! I don't have to change a word or anything! I just read'm! But these reorganisational things & organisational things, teaching things, of course I have to kind of work on them & make them simple enough for even Maria to understand. I know if she understands, you'll all understand them.--Ha!
95. SO WE GO THROUGH DIFFERENT PHASES & STAGES & NEEDS, JUST LIKE CHILDREN IN SCHOOL, & God just gives us whatever we need for the time. We haven't had quite as many revelatory things lately, or maybe inspirational or maybe direct prophecies, although some of those dreams just shock & amaze me as much as the others! It's amazing how clear some of them are! I had some funny ones lately.
96. I ALSO HAD SOME AWFUL ONES I DON'T EVEN WANT TO TELL YOU!--About how bad things are going to be in the future! One of these days you're going to be thankful you can die, because it would be better to die than to live! PTL! When the time comes, He'll see to it that you do. You don't necessarily have to help yourself. I think it was a rather sad thing about Jonestown.--It was a tragedy! But I think I can sympathise or understand how people could be driven to desperation like that, as hounded as they were by their enemies!
97. THEY FINALLY BURIED THEMSELVES IN THE JUNGLES OF SOUTH AMERICA, but they still didn't leave them alone!--Hounded them right out into the jungles! A Congressman chasing'm out there! ... Those newsmen were helping him hound those poor people to death!
98. THEY WERE SIMPLE CHILD-LIKE PEOPLE THAT JUST KIND OF WENT CRAZY! They had this idea for a long time I guess, a persecution complex & genuine persecution, so they just figured they didn't want to & couldn't run any further, & they didn't want to face it anymore, so if they loved the Lord I think we'll see some of them in Heaven. The Lord loves them I'm sure, & He's merciful! That guy Jones was really a weirdo, though!--But for us,
99. I THINK IT'S BEEN A GOOD YEAR, PTL! We made a lot of progress. I think we're getting closer & closer all the time to really being well-knit & well-prepared, like an army constantly being trained for the final real test. I think we've had a good year. In fact, I think it's one of the best! PTL! Amen?--Want to join us for prayer, children? Sorry I kept you so long at the table, but I was just trying to have you help me recount what happened, what we had done this year, what progress we have made.
100. OF COURSE WE DIDN'T RECOUNT ALL THE SOULS THAT HAVE BEEN WON & SAVED & all those that have been witnessed to & FFed & all the rest, but they'll be in the Stats. I may give a little rundown of the year's accomplishments along that line. And of course that fruit is some of the most important of all! I didn't say is the most important, because our own children I think are going to outdo any other kind of disciples we may possibly have! Because how could they beat such a start?
101. OUR KID'S HAVE GOT A HEADSTART ON ANY OF THEM! So PTL! TYJ! Amen!--Are you happy? Are you having a Happy Birthday? (Everyone: Amen!) Well, actually I wasn't born until 2 o'clock in the afternoon & not on Monday but Tuesday. But it was this day that is about to come. Amen, TYL, PYJ! (Prays:)
102. THANK YOU FOR A WONDERFUL YEAR, LORD, WITH SO MUCH PROGRESS & so many accomplishments, the best we believe ever! A few of the numbers are not quite as high, Lord. The lit was low, but we believe, Lord, it's probably been more effective than ever before, & not a lot of stuffed stats from those who were padding the reports like in previous years. We believe, Lord, that You're really making each shot count & that our literature is even becoming more effective than ever before!
103. WE'RE GETTING GOOD SOLID CONVERTS, Lord, & kings & queens, those FFed & friends who are really backing us & supporting & helping & following! So we thank Thee, Lord, that the literature distribution, since these recent Letters along that line, has more than doubled, & they're getting back on the streets again & going back to work getting out the Word & preaching the Gospel, Lord, which is our biggest job!
104. THAT'S OUR MAIN JOB!--NOT JUST WINNING SOULS, although we'll get some, Lord, but You're the one that has to win them by Thy Spirit. We can't really win anybody. We just preach the Word, Lord, & Thy Spirit does the winning, & only if they are willing. So nobody can make them, Lord. Only You, Your Love, Your Spirit & Your Word can influence them, along with us as Thy instruments & the literature, but they have to make the final decision, Lord.
105. WE THANK THEE FOR THE THOUSANDS, TENS OF THOUSANDS OF DECISIONS which have been made this year & the many souls we'll see in Thy Kingdom as a result, the fruit of our labours of this year in Thy vineyard & Thy fields! We know the Family is going to be thrilled! We're all going to be thrilled when we someday see all the results!
106. WE BELIEVE LORD, THE FRUITS, THE SUCCESSFUL HARVEST WE HAVE REAPED & the seeds that we have sown, the results & numbers, are going to astonish us when we see the millions who are going to be there because we have been faithful & we have done the job You gave us to do! We have preached the Word, Lord, we've published it, we've spread it around the world, we've sowed the seed & we've reaped many harvests &
107. THERE ARE MANY HARVESTS YET TO COME, LORD, IN WHICH SOME HAVE SOWN.--Some plowed, some sowed, some watered & others will reap that upon which they themselves bestowed no labour. We did the work ahead of time. But the time is coming when others will reap for Thy glory. But Lord, only Thou dost give the increase. You're the One responsible for it all. You're the One Who makes it grow & bear fruit. We thank you for it, in Jesus' name!
108. THANK YOU FOR A GOOD YEAR, LORD! We just don't know how to thank You enough for keeping us safe, for the miracles of Thy protection! How marvellously You have protected us through many dangers & many trials & tribulations in many ways! And we're still here safely in Thy care & in this lovely place, Lord.
109. YOU'VE CAST OUR LINES IN PLEASANT PLACES, LORD, & given us exceeding abundantly above all that we could ask or think! We didn't ask for a place like this, Lord, but You gave it to us & made it possible, & really the only one that was practical for the purpose, & better even yet each time! Each time, Lord, You give us even something better.
110. THANK YOU FOR THE GOOD FINE MEN, LORD, TO STAND BY US. Thank You Jesus for all the wonderful women You've given us to carry their part of the load too Lord, everyone here so vital & important to accomplish Thy work, everyone with a vital job that's necessary to keep Thy Army going. Thank You Jesus! Praise You Lord! Hallelujah! Amen!--For a wonderful year, thank You Jesus!
111. WE ASK THEE TO GIVE US A NEW YEAR now even better than this one, Lord, in whatever way You know is best. You know what's better & what is best Lord. Some of the things that happened this past year we didn't understand at the time. They looked bad, Lord, but they turned out for good!
112. SO WE THANK YOU LORD THAT OFTENTIMES YOU TURN THINGS THAT SEEM TO BE EVIL INTO GOOD & it works out: Amen, Lord, that will be a good verse for the coming year for the Family: "All things work together for good to them that love Thee!" No matter what happens, Lord, it's going to be for our good & Thy good & good for Thy children around the world!
113. AND IF YOU LET WAR INTO THIS WORLD LORD, IF IT HAPPENS THIS YEAR LORD, THEN IT NEEDS IT, & you'll take care of Your own. Thank You Jesus! Praise You Lord! Bless & keep us here safely Lord in this newest community, that we may be protected by Thee & Thine officers, & protected here in the community by Thy angels, & live here in peace & accomplish Thy work as long as we're here.
114. AND WE ASK THEE THAT THOU SHALT LEAD US IN THY TIME TO THE NEXT PLACE. Thy will be done. Help these searchers Lord who are going out seeking what You're going to provide for us. Help them to constantly be in prayer & seek Thy face & Thy leadings & praying that Thou shalt guide them. You promised, Lord. You said, "I will guide thee with Mine Eye." Thy will be done. Amen. Thank You Lord.
115. GIVE US ALL A GOOD NIGHT'S REST TO NIGHT. Thank You for the good one we had last night & that the furnace is working properly. Bless & keep it & its system, Lord. Keep us warm & the children, Lord, keep them warm & safe & healthy, & all of us. Thank You for how You've marvellously protected us, Lord, from disease & accidents! It's so wonderful! TYJ!
116. BLESS THE DRIVERS, LORD, & THE VEHICLES. Help them to drive with great prayerfulness & caution, Lord, & safety, & we know that Thou shalt do Thy best to protect them if they cooperate with Thee. Thank You for the sweet evening of fellowship together that we have had tonight. TYJ! PYL! Amen Lord, TYJ! PYL!
117. AMEN LORD.--IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU HAVE FOR US, anything else we need to know or anything else we need to do?--Please let us know. Amen Jesus, thank you Lord! Thank You Lord for this Thy Family, Thy children so wonderful, Lord, such a blessing, & such a blessing to the whole world! Thank You Jesus!
118. HELP MARIA WITH THIS NEW EDITION OF THE MAGAZINE, Lord, as she puts it together. Help us as we edit these things & Letters, etc. Help the organiser of the business, the shoppers, Lord & the searchers, the workers, all of them, Lord--all have important jobs, taking care of the children, cooking & housekeeping, the buying.--So many things, Lord, that are important to carry on this Thy work.
119. BLESS OUR LOVED ONES AT THE OLD HOUSE & THOSE IN ALL THY IMPORTANT UNITS & all our loved ones around the world! Keep them all safe in thy care & in health & strength for Thy work. Lead & guide them through a glorious & a wonderful & an even better New Year Lord! We don't know what's in store for us. We thank Thee in some ways for not letting us know Lord.--We might be worried or fearful or too concerned about it ahead of time when we don't need to worry about tomorrow.
120. YOU SAID, "SUFFICIENT UNTO THE DAY IS THE EVIL THEREOF." "Fret not thyself for tomorrow, for tomorrow shall take care of the things of itself." (Mt.6:34.) So we know that when tomorrow comes, Lord, You will take care of it, & Thy angels will take care of it, & You'll take care of us.
121. BUT DO HELP US TO PREPARE FOR IT, LORD, to do what we can, in Jesus' name. Thank You Lord! As we pray together the prayer You taught us to pray: (Prays the Lord's Prayer, then:)
Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray Thee, Lord, Thy child to keep.
Thy Love guard me through the night,
And wake me with the morning light. Amen.
We thought the old version is a little bit gruesome & gory, having to talk about dying every night, especially sometimes when I feel like it anyhow. Amen! PTL! Hallelujah!--And give us a good day tomorrow!
122. I DON'T THINK THERE COULD EVER BE ANOTHER YEAR LIKE THIS ONE! We've had so many, many, many changes in strides & improvement, & I think we've really grown! I mean in some ways we've grown more in this past year than ever before, really grown & matured.--I think it's been a great year! May the Lord give us another good year, however great He wants to make it. We'll just follow Him.
123. MAYBE IT WILL BE IMPOSSIBLE TO HAVE A GREATER YEAR than we've had already, I don't know. Who knows about the world conditions or what's going to happen? Maybe we'll think it's great if we even survive! Ha, ha! Who knows?--The Lord does! He knows, He loves, He cares, nothing His truth can dim! He gives His very best to those who leave the choice with Him! Thank You Lord! Maybe we'll just be thankful if we even make it!
124. I THINK THE LORD HAS REALLY SHOWN US THAT THERE ARE TROUBLESOME TIMES AHEAD. How soon we don't know, but we don't have to worry about them. The Lord knows & He will see us through--or out--one or the other. Sometimes the only way out is up! But PTL! Thank God for dear little Techi & her dear little nurse who works so hard & sacrifices to make her the little girl she's going to be! Someday she's going to be very happy to see the fruit of her labours.
125. I THINK SHE'S ALREADY HAPPY WHEN SHE SEES HER HANDIWORK. That's quite an accomplishment, I'll tell you!--To take care of a child like that all the time is a full-time job, whether you've one or ten! And she keeps her busy all the time! And I know Techi's going to make it, thank the Lord, because I saw her when she was five, PTL! She got that far anyway. Of course, that may have been in the spirit, I don't know, but anyhow she's here forever! Isn't that wonderful!
126. THAT'S THE WONDERFUL THING ABOUT OUR CHILDREN--WE'RE GOING TO HAVE THEM FOREVER! Isn't that wonderful! Little new created souls, they are going to be with us always! TYJ! So is it worth it? Think it's worth it, Sara? Sometimes you wonder! But it's been a blessing to the whole Family too! We've had to learn from these. We've been able to pass on lessons to teach the whole world, & it's been good for us & good for them. And we couldn't have done it without them really!
127. HOW COULD WE TEACH OTHER PARENTS IF WE DON'T KNOW ANYTHING OURSELVES or haven't been through it ourselves? Well, PTL! There's nothing the Lord will do but He'll reveal it when it's time & you need to know, so don't worry about it. Just do what you've got to do today & what you have to do tonight, & that is to get up & go to bed, & if I don't, you won't, so there you are! God bless you all! We've prayed, we're done, amen!--Don't forget to tell everybody Happy Birthday!--Amen?
Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family
