In this Issue
From the Publisher
Visit to the Seventh Day Baptist Historical Library
More 1930s Herbert W Armstrong letters!
Ambassador College materials available at Academic Institutions
Clarence Orvil Dodd
Ministerial Letters
Worldwide Church of God literature indexes
New Book: The Enlightened Law of Moses by Mark Robertson
Rare Items Sought
Church of God periodicals - latest editions online
List of our Websites and Blogs
How to Navigate the Friends of the Sabbath site
From the Publisher
Dear friends and supporters,
I had no intention of visiting the USA to attend the Feast of Tabernacles and to see family and friends.
But out of the blue a very generous and lovely Church member offered me some money to attend the Feast in America. The amount was not enough but was a good start. Two other unconnected people offered also (without solicitation) and that sealed it for me. While in the USA, another also offered assistance. Without their generosity, I could not have made the trip.
How generous! Such a blessing that I could visit the USA to visit family, attend the Feast of Tabernacles and to undertake important research. Given what was able to be accomplished and the people I met, it was definitely meant to be.
The Feast at Cedar City
I decided to fly to Las Vegas and then drive to Cedar City to attend the Feast of Tabernacles. A most enjoyable experience in terms of the sermons, elders' attitudes, the sight-seeing and overall friendliness & positiveness of Americans (I always wanted to migrate there since a kid). Honestly, you can strike up a chat with anyone at any time here - no dourness, bitchiness and negativity.
I liked how some of the sermons included their personal experiences and humanness - their vulnerabilities. It is such a pity that none of the messages were recorded :(
The fellowship with both UCG and LCG members was terrific (LCG had a feast site close by in St George).
One highlight was the snow that fell on the Friday which added a further delight to the Feast period.
During the last few days of the trip, I spent some time in Los Angeles where I watched the election results live and the next day spent time walking around the Ambassador Auditorium and going to pay my respects at the Herbert Armstrong and Herman Hoeh gravesites at Altadena (once again I took photographs of all these and uploaded them to the website).
On the Thursday I continued my research with the aid of a very wonderful friend who has done so much in helping with this important Church of God historical and archive project. And enjoying dinner with friends in the evening including meeting people for the first time (including Rolfe Jones, son of the deceased elder Robin Jones) was terrific.
More time was spent looking around on Friday and once again enjoying a Sabbath meal with old and new friends.
The Sabbath service and post service fellowship was great and I even met Ralph Helge who is now 95 I believe, but he certainly has his wits about him.
Then it was the trip to the airport and departing 10.20pm on Saturday night arriving 8.15am on Monday (yes, I lost a day flying westwards across the international date line).
New book
Check out the information below on Mark Robertson’s new book The Enlightened Law of Moses. I am always supportive of members publishing solid works that support our body of beliefs. You can find a list of books published by members and former members at the Friends of the Sabbath website here.
Writers wanted
Over the years I have written around 40 articles and associated charts & tables on Church of God history - my plan is to update and merge them into at least two books. But I am hoping others are also undertaking serious research into our history and seeking contributors to the newsletter. Please contact me at hrp11@iprimus.com.au if you are interested in contributing and the subject you will be addressing with an outline.
Finally, we have now reached 859 subscribers and growing continually. Do encourage others to subscribe so that we can reach 1,000 soon!
Sincerely,
Craig M White
Publisher
PS: Check ‘What’s New’ regularly for updates and new uploads. Remember, you can view past editions of this newsletter (vol. 1 no. 1 to vol. 2 no. 2) here and vol. 2 no. 3 onward here.
Visit to the Seventh Day Baptist Historical Library
On my bucket list over the decades was to visit the Seventh Day Baptist Library (SDB) at Janesville. What a blessing that this was able to be accomplished, and I met with Dr Nicholas Kersten, Director of Education & History. He was indeed a friendly fellow (both of us follow the English football I soon found out) and gave me some free literature.
Above: Dr Kersten standing outside the vault that contains many precious SDB items of literature.
This visit has been on my bucket list for decades!
What I was impressed by was how they treasured their history and have:
a one room museum;
a library;
a vault containing their most treasured works.
Honestly, there is no excuse for the Churches of God not having similar facilities given the size of their head offices.
I spent some time there and took over 200 photographs including covers of a number of Dugger, Dodd and other Church of God (Seventh Day) etc literature which I don't have on my site with the exception of around 4.
In addition, I photographed completely the following items which have been uploaded to the site:
Our Passover by Clarence O. Dodd (1930s)
The Lord's Supper - Andrew N. Dugger (c1920s)
Rachel Oakes and the Verona Seventh Day Baptists
Samuel Davison information
Given what was discovered, I asked if these items could be scanned and he agreed to this and added that he had a couple of students who could be engaged for this purpose - recent communications are that this task may take some weeks to be undertaken. Your prayers for the success of this exercise is appreciated.
I asked if duplicate SDB historical materials could be provided to the UCG library and he was happy to do so.
He also showed me the new book on Baptists in Early North America (Vol 3) - when a friend sent me something on it, I thought it was an update to the 2 volume series Seventh Day Baptists in Europe and America (available on my website), but it isn't and should include some important new information.
Photographs taken at the Seventh Day Baptist Library room.
Photographs taken at the Seventh Day Baptist heritage room.
Herbert W Armstrong letters 1920s & 30s and much more!
I have now inserted into several articles quotes or references from the Herbert W Armstrong Papers Collection. Many of these shine a light into the Church of God during over the decades and especially the 1930s; the struggles; and doctrinal issues.
You will find these quotes in the attached articles:
These can also be found online here. The various letters and other rare items are here with over 50 from the 1930s currently being uploaded (a tedious process).
And plenty more scattered in this and other sections of the website.
Many documents you may not have seen are here. And you can find these items scattered also in other places such as in the Ministerial Resources or History of WCG documents sections.
The letters from the 1930s, which have yet to be published, reveal several prominent themes: Instances of heavy-handedness and abuse by certain ministers; the requests for the Church of God (Seventh Day) group based in Salem, West Virginia, to acknowledge the Holy Days; the importance of doctrinal unity surrounding the 40 points established by Andrew Dugger; the call for a significant outreach effort, specifically the Third Angel’s Warning, directed at the world.
As previously written about many years ago, this Third Angels message evolved into the Ezekiel Warning Message to the House of Israel by 1941. Additionally, various other matters and updates may be present within these letters.
Ambassador College materials available at Academic Institutions
Huge number of audios archived and catalogued kept at Stanford Library. Another link.
Materials stored at the Mary Couts Burnett Library. Box 89, Folder 59
Avondale College (SDA)
I donated box loads (comprising 100s of items) of old WCG and other Church of God, Bible Sabbath Association etc literature dating from around 1960 onward to this SDA library located north of Sydney (near Newcastle).
Clarence Orvil Dodd
I have now added information on Clarence Dodd who co-authored the book History of the True Religion with Andrew Dugger. It is of interest that he commenced observing the Holy Days in the late 1920s. You can find the information here. Slowly but surely the gaps in our history are being filled.
I am still seeking a photograph of him and various tracts/booklets. If anyone can assist with this task, please do so.
Ministerial Letters
I picked up some more items to add to my website during my time in the USA which have been uploaded. One item that I have been seeking for many years is the 1960s Ministerial Letter (precursor to the 1970s Pastor's Report etc).
I only had one copy and some extracts, now I have several more and hope to obtain even more to help in filling in gaps in our history - there is much to locate and preserve to fill in those gaps. So, if you are in contact with oldies, please ask them if they have any of these please.
You can find these Ministerial Letters here.
Worldwide Church of God literature indexes
Many who use the website for research or just to browse do not know that it contains many old indexes to assist with this research. Check them out here.
New Book: The Enlightened Law of Moses: A Christian Review of the Remarkable System of Old Testament Law by Mark Robertson
The Enlightened Law of Moses challenges the negative reputation of the Old Testament system of law and aims to restore it to its rightful place as a positive revelation from God.
The law of Moses, as outlined in the early books of the Bible, has been widely criticized by believers and nonbelievers alike. Many hold the opinion that the overall system was impossible to keep—harsh, oppressive, even irrational in parts. Atheists and agnostics often highlight specific aspects of the law as “proof” of its lack of inspiration. For many Christians this creates a disconnect between the God of the Old Testament and Jesus.
Robertson demonstrates that the law of Moses was an enlightened system—one in complete harmony with the teachings of Jesus. It was far ahead of its time, not just a brilliant system of moral, civil, and ceremonial law, but a teaching framework that opens our eyes to understanding God and his purpose for humanity.
In a world where an increasing number of believers are questioning and deconstructing their faith, this in-depth work, written for lay readers, reinforces the integrity, rationality, and inspiration of all of Scripture. What is revealed is both surprising and encouraging.
The Enlightened Law of Moses logically categorizes the law by topic and thoroughly explores the system for real-world practicality, relevance, and alignment to the unchanging character of God. The book is written for the modern-day general reader with the aim of educating, encouraging, and strengthening a person’s faith.
You can purchase the book at Amazon.com and view the inside pages and Contents, Bibliography and Index of Subjects sections by clicking on ‘Read Sample.’ The book comes to 532 pages.
Rare Items Sought
I ask you to join me in praying for the following to be found and made available to us:
Late 1800s/early 1900s Church of God (seventh day) booklets and tracts.
Ministerial conference materials (handouts, notes, agendas) 1950s-1990s.
The Portfolio (first editions).
Ernest Martin’s paper on Pentecost (1961).
Videos of evangelists’ sermons, AC lectures, Bible studies (especially Herman Hoeh).
Ministerial Letter from the 1960s (precursor to The Bulletin, Pastor’s Report and Pastor-General’s Report).
A long list of what is sought can be found here.
Church of God periodicals - latest editions online
Below are links to a number (but not all) Church of God periodicals:
Beyond Today - United Church of God.
21st Century Watch - Intercontinental Church of God.
Tomorrow’s World - Living Church of God.
Advocate of Truth - Church of God (Seventh Day), based at Salem, WV.
Bible Advocate - Church of God (Seventh Day), based at Denver, CO.
International News - Church of God, International.
List of our Websites and Blogs
History Research Projects Foundation (a tax exempt foundation)
Friends of the Sabbath
Friends of the Sabbath (Facebook group)
Friends of the Sabbath Telegram channel
Origin of Nations
Origin of Nations news and information (Facebook group)
Lost Tribes (Facebook group)
Origin of Nations & World News Discussion Forum (e-mail group) [NB: click on the link and search for the forum]
HWA Library & Archives
HWA Library & WCG Archives (Facebook group)
HWA Library & WCG Archives (YouTube)
WCG & HWA News, Library, Archives Discussion Forum (e-mail group) [NB: click on the link and search for the forum]
My Articles & Papers
Globalresearchera1 (Academia site with select articles only)
World News
Global Newsa1 (X page - formerly Twitter)
GlobalNewsa1 Telegram channel (world news)
Bible Study, Church History and Other
Work of God through the Ages (Facebook page. Note: this page will be closed after the almost 700 members transfer to the new group referred to below)
Work of God through the Ages (Facebook group)
Global Bible News, Studies and Information Telegram channel (Bible history, archaeology news etc)
Sharing and Giving (currently inactive)
How to navigate the Friends of the Sabbath website
The website is vast with over 350 gigs of information, periodicals, articles, papers, photographs, audios and videos. The information has taken years to build (since the 1990s) and decades to collect the information (since the 1970s).
Due to its size, the huge number of categories and sub-categories, pages and sections it can be daunting to navigate or to find the relevant information the browser or researcher may be seeking.
So, what I recommend to everyone is to simply go to the Explore by Alphabetical Order section. In that you will find the most important areas to explore. Try it and see how you go - you never know what fascinating and helpful information you will come across!