February 14, 1941

SPECIAL— AND VERY URGENT!

TO MY CO-WORKERS: Again I find it necessary to acquaint you with the problems that now confront us in this great and fast-growing work. Since the November-December PLAIN TRUTH was issued, a number of NEW readers, listeners to the SEATTLE broadcast, have sent in offerings, thus becoming part of our Co-worker family— just as I knew by faith, they would. However, we still are in the “in-between” period, when our special fund for the Seattle broad- cast is exhausted, and the number of new Co-workers from the Seattle broadcast, and the amount being received, is still far short of making the new station self-supporting. As our new listeners get to know us better, learn more of the glorious TRUTH God has called us to proclaim, they will make the Seattle broadcast more than self-sustaining, helping us add other stations. But this will take another six weeks or two months.

I want to start the LOS ANGELES broadcast within two or three months—did want to start it by this time. But FIRST I find another preparation must be made. In order to handle the increasing correspondence, the growing circulation of The PLAIN TRUTH (now 4,000 copies), issue tracts and booklets on needed subjects, publish Bible-study Quarterlies, etc., we must immediately increase our facilities here in the office. We are very seriously handicapped by lack of office equipment. We even had to get along with card-board filing cabinets. I have no secretary or stenographer. Mrs. Armstrong and I have been working almost night and day trying to keep up this whole vast job ourselves without needed help or equipment. It has now grown beyond our capacity to handle it. Correspondence is having to be sadly neglected. Radio listeners are becoming offended because letters are not answered. We are doing our very best, but now, before adding another station and increasing the office work still more, we must add office equipment and hire at least one stenographer. We have no money on hand for this purpose.

People already are writing in asking why they are not receiving the next PLAIN TRUTH. There is no money on hand to print it. I never turn a line of copy over to the printers until making an advance payment to apply on the printing cost, and the printing bill is always paid in full before we accept the printed copies. WE RUN NO BILLS.

So we need IMMEDIATELY $50 for office equipment, $135 to publish and mail the next PLAIN TRUTH, besides enough added weekly income to hire a stenographer in addition to the present week-to- week expenses. And, besides this, we need now to begin raising a special fund of at least $750 to start and establish the LOS ANGELES broadcast.

This seems like a large need. But our God knows the need. It is for HIS work, and He has promised to supply every need. Dear Co-Workers, He is able to supply every cent of this need—and He WILL, if you join me in BELIEVING EARNEST PRAYER, and each does his VERY UTMOST, sending the largest offering you possibly can, even at great sacrifice. Our work is God’s work. We must not slacken or let down. We must press forward harder now than ever! TIME IS SHORT! We are near the END! Soon the true Gospel will be BARRED from the air. Millions are offering to sacrifice their very lives for Hitler, or a worldly government that is DOOMED, and shall soon be replaced by THE KINGDOM OF GOD at Christ’s coming. Are WE sacrificing, striving as hard in GOD’s cause, as they for a doomed worldly cause? Let us press on with MORE zeal than worldly politicians and soldiers. Let us throw ourselves at this task as INSPIRED people—inspired of the Spirit and Power of the living God!

There have been very few of the larger offerings of $25, $50, $100 lately. While the larger number of smaller offerings are the backbone of this work, and even the smallest offering helps more than the giver may realize, yet it is these larger offerings which really meet these emergencies and give the work the impetus to push it over every obstacle. The need now is serious and URGENT. The work must not stop or let down—it must leap ahead! With your HELP, and your PRAYERS, under God’s power IT WILL! Won’t you send the largest amount you possibly can, even by giving up something you had planned, by return mail? God bless you, I know you will!

Herbert W. Armstrong LINK

December 18, 1953

Read carefully! I must make PLAIN the situation. Based on the 1950 census, there were in the whole United States 150 million people (it is about 160 million today). But 84 MILLION OF THESE PEOPLE—56%—more than HALF OF ALL THE PEOPLE IN THE UNITED STATES, are living in states and sections of the country that COULD NOT HEAR the broadcast of God’s Message, except the scattered few that heard it on station XERF.

By that I mean that there was no listener reception from XEG and XELO in these states and sections in which more than HALF of all the people live. The greatest density of population, where people are more crowded, exists in the north Atlantic states, New England, and across the great middle-west to and including Illinois and Wisconsin. And THIS is the portion of the United States WE WERE NOT REACHING!

Then suddenly GOD OPENED THE DOOR for us to go on one of the great major net-works—ABC, transcontinental. If we have to stop on ABC, WE CANNOT GET BACK ON!

WE ORDERED THEIR BEST AND STRONGEST STATIONS IN THOSE DENSELY-POPULATED STATES WE WERE NOT REACHING. We ordered but few or NO stations in those states where we already have heavy listening audiences over XEG and XELO. For example, we are not using any net-work stations in Texas, Louisiana, or Mississippi, and, so far, only one in Arkansas, one in Alabama—none as yet in Oklahoma, altho Oklahoma’s super-power 50,000-watt station KRMG in Tulsa will begin broadcasting the program, I have been notified, in two or three weeks. Last Sunday the powerful KCMO, Kansas City, began airing the program at 11:30 A.M. Sundays, and WIL, St. Louis, at 9:30 A.M.

All told, we ordered about 115 stations. But only about 76 stations accepted the program the first two weeks. Since then more and more have been accepting it, until now more than 90 stations are broadcasting our program. We still do not have enough stations in Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan, but as time goes along stations will be added in this territory. So, with the addition of this great net-work, WE ARE REACHING THREE TIME AS MANY PEOPLE AS BEFORE—now for the first time, actually covering, with GOOD listener reception, nearly every section of the United States.

Naturally, very few of these new listeners to the net- work have become co-workers as yet—but already a few are beginning to join our loyal co-worker family. But week by week the requests for literature and The PLAIN TRUTH magazine are increasing. And from 20 years’ experience we know that in three to six months these NEW LISTENERS will be sending in enough money voluntarily to pay for half or more of the COST of this great net- work—and inside a year, there will be enough NEW co-workers with us to pay for all of it.

OUR PROBLEM, right now, is to HOLD ON to this net-work broadcast UNTIL these new co-workers have joined us! Then they will help us make it possible to carry the Gospel JESUS PREACHED to ALL PARTS OF THE WORLD! GOD OPENED THE DOOR of this great net- work. I have been DESPERATELY hanging on. I have to tell you, dear Co-Workers, it has been a struggle. It has taken FAITH! I have had to fight off temptation to weaken and quit. I NEED YOUR ENCOURAGEMENT AND YOUR EARNEST PREVAILING PRAYERS! There have been moments when it seemed we just couldn’t go on another week. So far we are just barely squeezing through—but it is such a TIGHT SQUEEZE that it is almost more than I can carry. If ever I needed your support, your prayers, your encouragement and your financial help, it is NOW!

We just have to keep enough money coming in EVERY WEEK— especially the last two weeks of every month which are so hard to get through! This need is SO DESPERATE that now for the first time in four or five years, I have to ask all who could LOAN to God’s work amounts of $500 on up to $5,000, to do so at once. I had felt we would never borrow money again—it is so hard to pay back. But to save this net-work broadcast, and to tide it over another two or three months until it brings us NEW Co-Workers to join you and me in this work, the situation is so DESPERATE, I have to ask even for loans, if you cannot feel free to GIVE such sums for God’s work. Brethren and Co-Workers, you can’t know how it hurts me to have to ask this—and STILL I pray, and ask you to JOIN me in praying, that God will somehow provide enough money week by week thru those whose hearts He has made willing, so that we shall not have to borrow.

LINK

Herbert W Armstrong Asks Public for Money on the Air, Turns Down $100,000 Secular News Job working 15 minutes per day.

Oregon December 28, 1945

SERIOUS and URGENT !

Dear Friends and Co-Workers: A most UNEXPECTED emergency has arisen. It forced me to do something DRASTIC–something I’ve never done before–something I hated to do more than you can realize–It forced me to put out an urgent emergency appeal over the air last night on the two great super-power stations that cover the entire nation and continent. Never before in twelve years of broadcasting God’s Gospel Message have I asked for money over the air.

I did it for the sake of A MILLION PRECIOUS SOULS now listening to the Message EVERY NIGHT–and the many THOUSANDS now interested and writing in for spiritual help, and our free literature carrying to them the BIBLE TRUTH. Here is what I was forced to say, at the close of the broad- cast last night–it is self-explanatory:

….and now, may I have just a word with our CO-WORKERS who are listening tonight. What I’m going to have to say for the next two or three minutes isn’t intended for most of our great vast radio audience—this is just for our regular co-workers ONLY. But I have to report to you dear Co-Workers who are financing this great work of God that we may be forced off the air SUDDENLY, in less than a week! Co-Workers, LISTEN! I can hardly bear to say it, but most of our regular co-workers who have so loyally supported Christ’s work and kept it going–yes, and GROWING until it’s become an international POWER for GOD–have simply been letting the work down, since the beginning of the Christmas shopping season!

Only about a fourth of our usual co-workers are remembering CHRIST and His glorious work at this time! Almost none of the usual larger offerings–or tithes–in amounts of thirty, fifty, a hundred dollars or more, are coming in now,–and just as we are STARTING this nation-wide INTENSIVE campaign of EVERY-NIGHT BROADCASTING! It seems about the only Co-Workers who are remembering CHRIST at this season are those of meagre circumstances –many, old people living on old-age pensions, who STILL are faithful and loyal with their widow’s mites, given at real sacrifice! –GOD BLESS THEM! Now just at this time God opened the opportunity, and I’ve launched out–ON SHEER FAITH–with the biggest, most powerful campaign BY FAR we ever were privileged to conduct.

This program is going out every night except Saturday over the two MOST POWERFUL radio stations in North America–at the VERY BEST HOUR–8 o’clock in the middle-west, 8 o’clock in the Mountain States and beginning next week it is scheduled to go out, unless we are stopped, also at 8 o’clock on the COAST! Now this has multiplied expenses THREE TIMES OVER! Unless our family of co-workers comes to the rescue, we’ll be forced off the air in less that a week! I can’t keep this valuable radio time another week unless a LARGE NUMBER of our co-workers all over the country hear, and HEED this appeal, and come to the rescue not only with a veritable DOWNPOUR of widow’s mites, but also with a real shower of the larger sums of fifty, a hundred dollars, and more,–and by RETURN AIR-MAIL! Please DO NOT send it special delivery–but use AIR-MAIL, or even better yet TELEGRAPH THE MONEY BY WESTERN UNION!

LINK

Western Union is still used by scammers and con men even today. You can read one example that I had going with “Joesph” from Kenya HERE. The entertainment value was priceless! Enjoy!