Church of God IndustriesHerbert W. Armstrong. The Man, The Mission, The Results

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Herbert Armstrong had a profound impact upon people in the Twentieth Century. He affected millions with his vision. He was personally known throughout the world by prominent leaders such as Indira Gandhi, Eisaku Sato, Anwar el-Sadat, Mrs. Golda Meir, Ferdinand Marcos, and Haile Selassie. He founded a Church which broadcast on Radio and later Television, founded The Plain Truth Magazine, established Ambassador College, and promulgated a unique doctrine of prophesies and the afterlife.

Born July 31, 1892 and died January 16, 1986, Herbert Armstrong married July 31, 1917 to Loma Dillon and remained married until her death April 15, 1967. They had two sons and two daughters: Richard David, Garner Ted, Beverly, and Dorothy. He remarried in the mid 1970s and divorced after five years or so. Richard David died in an automobile accident in the latter part of the 1950s.

Herbert Armstrong managed to finish eight years of school before leaving his parent's home in Iowa. After a number of false starts, he began a mediocre career in advertising. One of the most significant things about Herbert Armstrong was his moods. He recounts:

"In those days I worked sporadically in streaks. I seemed to have my 'off' days and my 'on' days. When I was 'on,' I was 'red hot,' and, as I fancied, at least, very brilliant. But on the 'off' days it seemed I couldn't sell anything. I became very uncomfortably aware of this great fault, and I tried to fight it.... Actually, during these next few years, I did not work more than four or five days a month.... I did not need to have too many of the brilliant days to make a good year's income."

It is clear from these statements and other events which occurred later that Herbert Armstrong had a severe case of bipolar disease--better known as manic depressive illness.
Statement Source:http://www.hwarmstrong.com/herbert-armstrong-brief-history.htm
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It has taken me nearly 25 years to get to the point where I can sort out the unique and baffling elements of the Worldwide Church of God (hereinafter referred to as Worldwide Church of God) as founded by Herbert W. Armstrong, and as now led by Joseph W. Tkach. To summarize these elements I will use a metaphor of a "stained glass window."

If the Worldwide Church of God is looked upon as a stained glass window, then Herbert Armstrong's self-portrait as God's only end-time apostle must dominate the picture. The church grew and was nurtured on the unorthodox teachings and prophetic speculations of this man. Armstrong taught that his church was the only true church; that it was raised up by God through him to preach the gospel of the Kingdom of God to the world as a witness; that he was specially commissioned by God to restore Bible truths lost to the world for 1900 years; that world tribulation would come by 1972; that his commission would be fulfilled by then; that the church would flee to a place of safety (many thought this place would be Petra in Jordan); that Christ would return; that we would rule with Him for 1000 years in the Kingdom of God. There is no doubt that these prophecies electrified the air of our Sabbath services for many years. But then a problem arose!

The problem was this. Herbert Armstrong died in 1986, and none of this had come to pass. The portrait of him began to shatter and crumble down piece by piece. At this point I realized I had been so caught up in the movement, trying so hard to make it work and to make it rational, that I didn't care anymore whether our "truths" were valid or not. I simply wanted to be part of the group.
Statement Source:http://www.hwarmstrong.com/daughter-of-bablylon-01a.htm

This item is part of the collection: Open Source Movies

Producer: Church of God Industries
Production Company: Church of God Industries
Audio/Visual: sound, color
Keywords: Herbert W Armstrong; Worldwide Church of God; Church of God Industries; Religion; Cults

Creative Commons license: Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States

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Reviewer: Herbert Armstrong - - May 28, 2008
Subject: Herbert W. Armstrong. The Man, The Mission, The Results

Brilliant! And too the point!