September 15th. Garner Ted Armstrong died 15 years ago today

Where has the time gone?

15 years ago all the forums and blogs were busy talking about armstrongism with people venting their disdain for the once upon time organization known as the Worldwide church of God.

In those days we had some hardy discussions about Herbert and his son with many telling their stories about doing time in the cult. On the other hand we had a host of those who choose to remain in the grips of the cult(s) also explaining why they choose to stay the course.

All in all, those were the days when the height of contempt for anything “herbal” reigned. So many people ragged exclusively on anything Herbert or Garner Ted with good cause. We all came to realize that we were manipulated by wicked sleazeballs, that were easy enough to hate any day of the week on general principles.

Now days Herbert is heralded by dishonest opportunists of one sort or another as their Lord and Savior. If Herbie said it, it must be true mentality. With these people, bitterness seeps out of them like blood from an underdone ribeye steak. They have nothing but contempt for the membership.

Herbert and his son GTA were financial predators who preyed on the elderly, the gullible, and the vulnerable. They sought out assets in order to support a accustomed lavish lifestyle. Keep that in mind while I state the following: Both of these Armstrong’s were addicted to the feeling of power, to the idea of controlling people and their finances. Sadly, they had no real concern for the welfare or the destiny of the people they desired to lead.

Fifteen years later we see that the cults that promote armstrongism are pretty much decimated as attendance has shrunk dramatically. But keep in mind that there are few certainties in life. I have counted only three: death, taxes, and reading about some acog’er saying or doing some pathological thing to the membership every few weeks.  We can only hope that everyone who leaves the cult(s) pursue every avenue possible to restore their world back to its original balance.

GTA died on September 15, 2003, due to complications from pneumonia. He was buried in Gladewater Memorial Park, approximately two miles east of the former Big Sandy, Texas, campus of Ambassador University.

He is buried with his wife’s family: his father-in-law Roy Hammer, his mother-in-law Pearl Hammer, and several other members of the Hammer family. His parents, paternal grandmother, and brother are buried in Altadena, California. The Hammers were the donors of the original property on which the Ambassador campus was located. His widow, Shirley, died in 2014.