NO. 199: RETROSPECT AND PROSPECT

by Epiphany Bible Students


No. 199

My dear Brethren: Grace and peace through our Beloved Master!

During 1971 the outstanding scientific achievement was the walk on the moon for several days by the three US astronauts. Although the event had great popular appeal, it is possible that the performance will have little intrinsic worth. However, it did reveal the great skill that had been developed by the men involved – through the use of computers. Twenty years ago the feat could not have been accomplished at all. When the men returned to earth’s atmosphere – about 100 miles up from the earth’s sur­face, that contact had to be made at exactly the right angle. Had they hit that cush­ion at too much of a slant, they would have glanced off into outer space again, and on to destruction. On the other hand, had they hit it too sharply, they would have imme­diately plunged into the earth itself, and sudden death. All things considered, the whole feat did emphasize the prophecy, “In the time of the end knowledge shall be in­creased”; and certainly it did require both knowledge and courage in this instance. In this same talk about computers, it is now being predicted that it won’t be too many years ahead until we see them paying the house bills, vacuuming the house, itself – thus relieving the housewife of practically all drudgery.

A second noteworthy item is the fact that it is now possible for any one living in Paris, France, to telephone any one in the United States by direct dialing – at a cost of only $6.95 for three minutes. The man who told us about this said his son-in-law has a business in Paris, so he asked him to try it out. He said he could hear him as clearly as if he had been making the call right in Detroit where the man lives. Again another prophecy, “My determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms”; and such performances as this telephone call certainly do bring the nations closer to­gether, and tend to make the world so very much smaller.

And in agriculture the same tremendous advancement is apparent in many sectors. A potato-harvesting machine is now available, which claims to work much faster than pre­vious methods, and produces a better quality of potato. And one skilled farm worker now feeds and clothes 47 other people, as against 26 a few years ago. Another prophecy also comes to view here: “The earth shall yield her increase.” The first hybrid corn was de­veloped in 1935. Up to that time the average corn yield per acre in the United States was 26 bushels. Since 1950 the increase has grown phenomenally; and between 1960 and 1970 the average yield almost doubled. The average yield per acre was 82 bushels in 1970; and the prediction prevails that that figure will be bettered for 1971.

In reverse ratio, however, the morale of the human race itself is deteriorating in­stead of improving. In 1971 cigarette smoking is on the increase by about two per cent despite the rigorous campaign against it; the increase in violent crimes in the larger cities is showing staggering and discouraging increase; and this promises to become even worse in the months ahead – with some of the crimes revealing an appalling brutal­ity and disregard for all moral codes and ethics. In addition, at January 1, 1972, all eighteen-year-olds in the United States will receive all adult privileges. This will allow them to purchase liquor by the drink in the bars; and, if we think the turmoil has been bad in our colleges, etc., our prediction is that we may be sure to see much worse with this new license prevailing. In fact, a Detroit lawyer whom we have known very well for the past twenty years told us just recently that in one of the large Mich­igan universities, it is now common practice – with consent of the management – that unwed boys and girls are now permitted to live together, that if conception occurs, the Management Committee arranges to send the girl to some state where abortion operations are legal; which simply brings to mind Sodom and Gomorrah: “Pride, fullness of bread, and abundance of idleness was found in her.” “As it was in the days of Noah (when the earth was filled with violence), so shall it be in the days of the presence of the Son of Man.” The signs of the times themselves presage great changes just ahead. “As for My people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. They which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths.” (Isa. 3:12)

In much of this license there is intermingled, going hand in hand, spiritism, sex orgies and narcotics. Here are a few comments from an article by one writer on the whole matter:

“We know what is happening. Nudity is happening. Nature and Be-ins and acid philosophy and communes are all happening... Significantly in a world where some say God is dead or dying, something even bigger is happening. YOUTH is happening. The young live mystically and in depth. Today, witch covens are being formed across the land. Secret magic societies are flourishing. All sorts of people are experimenting with magic or putting themselves in touch with those who claim magical powers. Books on the history and practice of magic and witchcraft have joined Rosemary’s Baby and the Lord of the Rings as popular sellers. In apparent seriousness they embrace supernatural concepts that have been generally considered pure fantasy since science replaced Black Magic back in the Middle Ages... The rites are conducted by a sorcerer, and the liturgy is always weird, col­orful, often erotically grotesque (the search for complete sexual freedom seems to form a basic part of most far-out occult practices)... The fact that most of them are opting for religions from the Far East (especially Buddhism) and from our own native American In­dian beliefs, has become a matter of serious concern to Western Christianity official­dom.”

IN FINANCE

Finance seems to be eroding even more rapidly than ideals and morals. It is vari­ously estimated that the United States deficit for 1971 will be somewhere between twenty and thirty billions of dollars. Of course, this means the printing of more paper – paper with nothing back of it but the mere promise to pay. Often before we have expressed this thought; but it was not until 1971 that certain actions by the United States Government corroborated our opinion. On August 30 the dollar was devaluated by giving notice to all nations that we would no longer pay gold in exchange for our currency – the dollar is now afloat in a mirage. At the same time a IO% surcharge was put upon almost all foreign imports in an attempt to stifle the influx of foreign goods into the United States. This caused the Japanese Stock Exchange to drop 200 points in one day – the greatest single drop in history.

As things stand now, the currencies of all countries are in open competition with the American dollar; and it is a matter of individual choice which country’s currency is the more desirable. However, in a desperate attempt to avoid flight from the dollar by American citizens, any export of funds of $1,000 or more must be recorded by the bank making the transaction; and all citizens are now required to state in their annual tax return what foreign holdings of securities or monies they own in foreign countries. This is financial dictatorship – although this should not be said loud enough so that offi­cials can hear it.

The 10% ‘surcharge’ is simply another way of saying it is a tariff; but in recent years the word tariff has become an unclean word – it is no longer polite to say it that way. Those of us who can remember back far enough know that, before 1914, the main difference between the Republican and Democratic parties was their stand on the tariff question. And about every twenty years, when the tariff bars were lowered, the United States experienced a panic, a bad business depression, as the cheap goods from foreign countries closed the factories here, and threw vast numbers out of work. Already in 1914 there were free soup lines in many major cities across the United States; and it was only the outbreak of the World War then that dissipated that. Since that time other wars have provided a measure of prosperity; but that influence is now pretty well overcome. Cheap foreign goods is once more afflicting American industry. As instance, a steel worker in Germany hardly earns as much in one week as does an Ameri­can steel worker in one day. The disparity with Japan is even greater than that; and we are told that in both those countries their equipment for producing steel is more modern and efficient than is that in the United States. Thus, it requires no great math­ematical skill to recognize that such competition will very soon submerge our own. There­fore, the 10% surcharge, which is actually a 10% tariff on imports; but the latter is now a bad word, so we shouldn’t use it in polite company.

As one monetary expert has stated it – We are now in the 57th year of monetary dis­order – since 1914, when the World War began. As we reflect upon this financial erosion, we are once more forcefully reminded of St. Paul’s prediction concerning present insti­tutions: “They shall all wax old as doth a garment; and as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed.” No one should doubt – who has received Harvest Truth – that we are in the Epiphany, the “Time of Trouble” foretold by That Servant, since 1914.

One financier had this to say about money: Allow me to control the money of a country, and I care not who makes the laws. There is a volume that deals directly with this situation, and we now offer some quotations from it:

“There actually exists a relatively small but powerful group which has succeeded in acquiring a choke-hold on the affairs of practically the entire human race... In time they brought into their financial network the provincial banking centers, organized as commercial banks and savings banks, as well as insurance companies, to form all of these into a single financial system on an international scale which manipulated the quantity and flow of money so that they were able to influence, if not control governments on one side and industries on the other. The men who did this aspired to establish dynasties of international bankers and were at least as successful at this as were many of the dy­nastic political rulers...

“The greatest of these dynasties, of course, were the descendants of Amschel Roth­schild... His five sons, established at branches in Vienna, London, Naples and Paris as well as Frankfort, cooperated together in ways which other international banking dynas­ties copied but rarely excelled ... However, in studying the global conspiracy it is im­portant to keep in mind that it was not any particular race or religion but the passion for money and power which has drawn the tycoons of world finance into a tightly-knit mutual aid society, described as international bankers...

“The influence of financial capitalism and of the international bankers who created it was exercised both on business and on governments, but could have done neither if it had not been able to persuade both of these to accept two axioms of its own ideology. Both of these were based on the assumption that politicians were too weak and too sub­ject to temporary popular pressures to be trusted with control of the money system..... To do this it was necessary to conceal, or even to mislead, both governments and people about the nature of money and its methods of operation.

“Eventually the private bankers decided to set up the Bank of England as a means of creating credit out of nothing... The founding of the Bank of England by William Patterson and his friends in 1694 is one of the great dates in world history. For generations men had sought to avoid the one draw-back of gold, its heaviness, by using pieces of paper to represent specific pieces of gold. Today we call such pieces of paper gold certificates. Such a certificate entitles its bearer to exchange it for its piece of gold on demand, but in view of the convenience of paper, only a small frac­tion of certificate holders ever did make such demands. It early became clear that gold need be held on hand ONLY to the amount needed to cover the FRACTION of certificates likely to be presented for payment; accordingly, the rest of the gold could be used for business purposes, or, what amounts to the same thing, a volume of certificates could be issued GREATER than the volume of gold reserved for payment. Such an excess volume of paper claims we now call bank notes.

“In effect, this creation of paper claims greater than the reserves available means that bankers were creating money out of nothing. The same thing could be done in another way – Deposit bankers discovered that orders and checks drawn against DEPOSITS by depositors and given to a third person were often not cashed by the latter but were deposited to their own accounts. Thus there were no actual movements of funds, and pay­ments were made simply by bookkeeping transactions on the accounts... William Patterson, however, on obtaining the charter of the Bank of England in 1694, to use the moneys he had won in privateering, said, ‘The bank hath benefit of interest on all moneys which it creates out of nothing.’

“The hinge of the whole situation was this: The government itself was not to be a substantive power in matters of Finance, but was to leave the Money Power supreme and unquestioned.... The ordinary citizen will not like to be told that the banks can, and do, create money. And they who control the credit of the nation direct the policy of Govern­ments and hold in the hollow of their hands THE DESTINY OF THE PEOPLE.

“In the United States the number of billion-dollar corporations rose from ONE in 1909 (United States Steel controlled by Morgan) to fifteen in 1930. The share of all corporation assets held by the 200 largest corporations rose from 32 per cent in 1909 to 49 percent in 1930, and reached 57 percent in 1939. By 1930 these 200 largest cor­porations held 49.2 percent of the assets of all 40,000 corporations in the country ($81 billion out of $165 billion). In fact, in 1930, one corporation (American Telephone and Telegraph, controlled by Morgan) had greater assets than the total wealth in twenty-­one states of the Union.

“The dynastic ‘banker families’ in England had established their monopoly control over finance by setting up the Bank of England as a privately controlled institution. Similar centers of financial control had been set up in France, Germany, Italy and Swit­zerland. Many of these European banking families had inter-married or bought their way into the American banking dynasties so it was inevitable that eventually the same device for centralized control would be set up in the United States as that which had worked so well in various European countries. The formula called for a scheme which would look like the Government was taking over when in reality, the control would be solidified in the same secret group which had always held it....

“The motivation for such a scheme can be better appreciated when it is realized that loaning money to governments can be a very lucrative business, especially loans to the United States Government. The U.S. presently owes more money (most of it to the international banking institutions) than all the money owed by the rest of the nations in the world combined. The U.S. national debt is presently 372 billion dollars. EVERY YEAR American taxpayers are required to contribute 20 billion dollars to pay the interest on this indebtedness. It is the third largest item in the Federal budget. It can be readily seen why those who are appointed to the key positions in the U.S. Federal Re­serve System (where loans are negotiated and interest rates fixed) occupy possibly the most critically influential spot in the entire world... These secret centers of control are seldom in dictatorial positions where they can actually take direct, decisive poli­tical action; but their financial stranglehold on the world allows them to INFLUENCE and MANIPULATE the affairs of various nations to an amazing degree and to suit their own purposes. Therefore, whatever the purposes and goals of this group happen to be are of monumental importance to the rest of the world....

“There is a growing volume of evidence that the highest centers of political and economic power have been forcing the entire human race toward a global, socialist, dicta­torial-oriented society. And what has been most baffling about it has been the fact that this drift toward dictatorship with its inevitable obliteration of a thousand years of struggle toward human freedom, is being plotted, promoted and implemented by the leaders of free nations and the super-rich of those nations whose positions of affluence would seem to make them the foremost beneficiaries of the free-enterprise, property-oriented, open society in which so much progress has been made. Certainly they, above all men, should know that in order for this system to survive, freedom of action and the integrity of property rights must be preserved. Then why are the super-capitalists trying to destroy them?... The answer is that the world hierarchy of the dynastic super-rich is out to take over the entire planet, doing it with Socialistic legislation where possible, but having no reluctance to use Communist revolution where necessary... Ramifications were established in politics, high finance, Oxford and London universities, periodicals, the civil service, and tax-exempt foundations.

“The international bankers who had set out to remake the world were perfectly con­fident that they could use their money to acquire the cooperation and eventual control of the Communist-Socialist conspiratorial groups. In fact, the Rhodes-Milner Round Table Groups of Oxford had been persuaded that the way to federate the world was along socialistic lines, i.e., by having all property, industry, agriculture, communications, transportation, education and political affairs in the hands of a small cadre of finan­cially-controlled political leaders who would organize the world and its peoples in a way which would compel everyone to do what was good for the new, world-society. It may seem somewhat contradictory that the very people whom Marx identified as the epitome of ‘Capitalism’ should be conspiring with the followers of Marx to overthrow traditional Capitalism and replace it with Socialism. But that is precisely what has been happen­ing. The reason is rather simple.

“Power from any source tends to create an appetite for additional power. Power coming from wealth tends to create an appetite for political power and visa versa. It was almost inevitable that the super-rich would one day aspire to control not only their own wealth, but the wealth of the whole world. To achieve this, they were per­fectly willing to feed the ambitions of the power-hungry political conspirators who were committed to the overthrow of all existing governments and the establishment of a central world-wide dictatorship along Socialist lines.

“It was this group of people, whose wealth and influence so exceeded their experience and understanding, who provided much of the framework of influence which the Com­munist sympathizers and fellow travelers took over in the United States in the 1930’s. IT MUST BE RECOGNIZED THAT THE POWER THAT THESE ENERGETIC LEFT-WINGERS EXERCISED WAS NEVER THEIR OWN POWER OR COMMUNIST POWER BUT WAS ULTIMATELY THE POWER OF THE INTERNAT­IONAL FINANCIAL COTERIE... Already, wherever they have taken over the educational sys­tem, we see the worst of their products – intellectual guerrillas emerging from the uni­versities trained in ‘participatory mobocracy.’

“Official Ford Foundation reports show that millions upon millions are being poured into revolutionary, Communist-dominated or global collectivist organizations under the direction of McGeorge Bundy. Here are a few samples from recent reports. Anyone familiar with the Congressional reports on un-American activities will appre­ciate the significance of these organizations:

“Council on Foreign Relations - $1,000,000

Adlai E. Stevenson Institute of International Affairs - $1,000,000

Institute of International Education - $1,625,000

World Affairs Council - $102,000

The National Committee on US-China (Red China) relations - $250,000

The United Nations Association - $150,000

Foreign Policy Research - $275,000

American Friends Service Committee (pro-Vietcong) - $100,000

Southern Regional Council (Communist staffed) - $648,000

National Student Association - $315,000

Southwest Council of La Raza (headed by identified Communist

Maclevie R. Barraza) - $630,000

National Educational Television & Radio Center (N.E.T.) - $6,000,000

Public Broadcasting Laboratory - $7,900,000”

We have gone into more than usual detail on the financial situation in order that our readers may have at least a brief concept of what goes on behind the scenes – facts which never appear in our daily newspapers. Much of the foregoing is a strong reminder of what Senator Long was thinking when he resorted to the fantastic and radical capers that he did. We were told by a substantial New Orleans business man, shortly after Mr. Long had been assassinated, that the Senator had become convinced that the United States would follow the way of Communist Russia, so he was going to be the ‘Kingfish’ in the new order. It is possible, of course, that he may have read something from the Jehovah’s Witnesses concerning the approaching Armageddon; and the same may be true of these deluded financiers who seem to have leanings similar to what the Senator had. How­ever, it seems to us to be a sound conclusion that it will be the collapse of the finan­cial order that will precipitate Armageddon, so it is well that we watch closely the financial gyrations as they appear before us. All of us are familiar with the potent advertising that is given to United States Savings Bonds; and many workmen allow a cer­tain amount of their pay to be deducted each month for purchase of such bonds as their ‘umbrella’ for a rainy day. Should they wake up some morning to find that they need that umbrella, but that it is not there, we may well imagine what their reactions would be.

IN POLITICS

In politics the battle between the radicals (the liberals) and the conservatives goes vehemently on, with the radicals winning most of the battles, although the avalanche is often stayed somewhat by a sober mind here and there. It is our opinion that our President is honestly trying to produce some stability out of the accumulated financial and moral bedlam that is rapidly gripping the United States; and, while he may slow it up a bit, that is all we need expect. The accumulated rubbish is already beyond any human remedy. However, among the commendable things he has said, and put into practice, is the one concerning his Supreme Court appointments. He is trying to give the abused persons at least equal opportunity with their abusers (the criminals). Generally speak­ing, by far more of the sympathy today is with the ‘poor misguided criminal’ than with those they wrong. “Jordan overfloweth all his banks in time of harvest”; and this is pointedly displayed by setting aside so much of the Law as given to Moses at Sinai. That Law was very definite that all heinous crimes should be punished with death; and it was not necessary to bring in six psychiatrists to determine if the culprit were capable of committing the crime he did. All they needed was to be sure he had done it “by the mouth of two or three witnesses” – that was enough. Were this law followed to­day. we would not see the devastating prison riots so prevalent in our country; those who now foster such disorders would have been executed if the Law of Moses had been followed. Much of this is due to the low caliber of men in public office – men who advance any sort of idiocy that they think will win them the office they seek. When one pedes­trian was asked by the sidewalk interviewer what he thought of the two men who were run­ning for office in his town, he replied, “I’m just thankful that both of them can’t be elected.”

One writer offers some sage observations on the situation: “Many fine, well ­meaning people support the broad ramifications of social legislation because they think they are supporting ‘a good cause.’ On first view, and at close range, they seem to be right, but as time has gone by year after year it has gradually become alarmingly apparent what all this social legislation is doing to us. Americans are losing control of their destiny. Furthermore, many of the people whom we have been calling our nation­al problem-solvers have been secretly engaged in problem making. As this reviewer has watched the deterioration of the American political structure during the past several decades, it has been absolutely amazing to see how many of our so-called ‘problems’ have been literally manufactured by Washington meddling and manipulating.

“For example, we had the problem of racial minorities and the need to expose these minorities to greater opportunities to share in the good things of life. That problem needed to be solved. But what happened? Washington meddling practically promoted it into the explosive tinder for another civil war.

“We had the problem of rising crime rates. These needed to be stopped. Establish­ment mentalities flooded the country with elaborate social schemes and grossly permis­sive judicial decisions which multiplied the crime rate and set the stage for the great­est wave of violence and lawlessness this country has ever known.

“We had the problem of providing an adequate educational opportunity for all our children. Washington came up with a conglomerate of money and policies which have seriously discredited the public schools in many parts of the country and caused pri­vate schools to spring up like mushrooms.

“We had the problem of moral decay and something needed to be done about it. The Establishment brain-busters came up with a combination of sex education and so-called sensitivity training which is exploding the problem into a contagion of totally permis­sive decadence and moral degeneracy.”

The foregoing writer has much more of the same, but we believe we have offered enough to alert our readers to an acute appreciation of St. Paul’s words, quoted earlier in this paper, “They shall wax old as doth a garment; and as a vesture shalt thou fold up .”

IN RELIGION

The religious fiber and the high ideals of the early Christian Church have also skidded downhill with the financial and political structure. As one writer has stated it, Nations, like trees, die in the top first. “Where no counsel is the people fall.” And with this comes the effort to combine the various bodies of churches. Here is one news item to the point:

“Dr. Donald Coggan, Anglican archbishop of York, has urged the Anglican and Methodist Churches of Britain to unite ‘as quickly as possible.’ ‘It would be a matter of the greatest gravity if anything were done to delay further the consum­mation of that union to which we have come so close,’ he said.”

Prior to 1914 most Christian religious bodies held firmly to the words of St. Paul, “There is one faith”; and they usually contended that their creed was that one faith; but very little is heard of “contending for the faith” at this time. We are indeed liv­ing in that “evil day” (the “Time of Trouble” – Dan. 12:1) when so very few will “endure sound doctrine” (2 Tim. 4:3). However, the command is still in order: “Preach the word, “ reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine.”

Great stress is placed on ‘good works,’ with very little regard for the faith (the Truth) which was once delivered unto the saints. “Do all the good you can, and be mor­ally upright – it doesn’t matter what you believe,” is the motto of many. We would em­phasize, however, that good works are essential to good faith (sound doctrine), if we would “follow in His steps.” But our primary consideration should be to gain and re­tain the proper faith (the Truth): “Study to show thyself approved unto God,.... rightly dividing the word of truth.” (2 Tim. 2:15) Good works will naturally follow a proper faith, if one is rightly exercised (developed). So in all our efforts to “preach the ward,” let us do what we can to assist those in distress that come within our scope and ability.

However, it should be emphasized that our Lord was not crucified for healing the sick, and feeding the multitudes – for doing “good works.” He was crucified because of His chief mission – to “bear witness to the truth.” That Truth was what proved to be violently distasteful to the religious leaders of His day. The same has been true of all His faithful followers: they, too, are not persecuted for the good works they do in relieving the oppressed, the sick and unfortunate; they are persecuted and ‘cast out’ of the synagogues because of the truth they uphold and defend. Thus, we attempt to ad­here closely to Him in this respect. Note His words on the subject: “To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the Truth. And every one that is of the Truth heareth My voice.” So our main objective also is to teach the Truth to any and all who are “of the Truth”; all other activities are secondary to that purpose.

Of the groups that emanated from the Parousia Truth Movement it seems that the Jeho­vah’s Witnesses and the Laymen’s Home Missionary Movement are now energetically engaged in good works in Africa. Nor do we wish to disparage their efforts along that line to help those unfortunate people – especially where the war has created such havoc. From the reports, it seems that the Roman Catholics and other groups in Christendom are also engaged in the good work of relieving the distress there. And quite a few letters have come to us from Nigeria, asking that we aid them with our literature and our finances. To this we have responded in both respects; and, in return, many let­ters have come to us in appreciation – to the effect that our literature has reached thousands who have heard the Word gladly; and we have had many letters urging us or our representative to visit them. This we may undertake in accordance with the Lord’s will and providence. It is our belief that some of them are earnestly seeking to “know the Truth”; but it is also our conviction that any effort on our part to relieve the physical distress of the world in general will be inadequate now – as the only real and permanent help will come to them during the Kingdom, when the Great Physician and Prince of Peace assumes His great power to “heal the nations.” (Rev. 22:2) However, this does not deter us from doing what we can to relieve their present difficulties. It is of record that Jesus healed the sick, fed the hungry and sympathized with the poor; and we ourselves entertain the same sentiments. But we also adhere closely to Him in that this was not the primary purpose of His ministry here on earth.

Said our Lord, “The poor you have with you always”; and we well realize that with many their chief concern is to do ‘good works’ – which offers a token of present relief, although none of us are able to do now what is properly scheduled for the Kingdom. How­ever, we would not discount altogether the present efforts of Christendom. As That Ser­vant has so well stated, it is much better to be devoted to a good work, than to do noth­ing at all other than the sating of selfish desires. Nevertheless, for those who wish to do God’s will now – during “this present evil world” under the ‘curse’ – in its fullness, their chief mission is to “bear witness to the Truth.” Jesus stated the matter very clearly: “Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name?       and in Thy name cast out devils? and in Thy name done many wonderful works? – And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you” (never approved of you)—Matthew 7:21-23. Our main objective is to teach the Truth to any and all who are “of the Truth” with all other activities secondary to that chief purpose –in order to avoid the con­demnation of this text. Our Lord has said, “Every one that is of the truth heareth My voice.”

It gives us much pleasure to report that in 1971 we distributed a larger number of tracts and more monthly papers than in any previous year; and we have had very encour­aging response therefrom. These results were accomplished by a relatively small group of zealous and faithful co-laborers; and we wish to express our warm gratitude for these dear brethren who continue in faithfulness and zeal to send us names, etc., and who have contributed much to our growing success over the years. Thus, we note with thankful heart and mind St. Paul’s words: “Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.. beloved brethren, steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, for as much as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.”

With this paper comes our cordial good wishes to all our readers for the year 1972, as we gratefully reciprocate the many expressions of good will that have come to us over the Holidays. And it is our fervent hope that the words of Jesus may apply to all ­“Ye shall know the Truth, and the Truth shall make you free indeed.”

Sincerely your brother,

John J. Hoefle, Pilgrim