Dear Brethren and Friends,
Greetings, again, from Charlotte! Thank you so much for the outpouring of love and concern that you have shown regarding the death of Morgan Montgomery and the deep hurt that this has brought--—not only to her family, but to so many campers at our summer camp in Ohio. We do appreciate this and hope that this will “stir” all of us to draw closer to God than ever before. As most of you know we had the sad duty of releasing the following post on our LYC Web site and on Facebook right after the accident:
“There was a tragic water skiing accident this afternoon at the Ohio LYC Camp. Morgan Montgomery from Australia was down in the water and was run over by another boat that was traveling at a high rate of speed. The boat and driver were not connected with the LYC camp.
Morgan was a much loved counsellor and an inspiration to be around, and this has been a very difficult experience for the campers and staff. Mr. Monson and Dr. Winnail spoke with the campers and staff this evening at a general camp meeting, and the ministers counselled with all of the campers in their dorms. Please join us in heartfelt and fervent prayer for everyone who has been impacted by this tragedy. We have been able to speak with Morgan’s parents in Australia. They will certainly appreciate everyone’s prayers, and they have asked for prayers on behalf of the driver of the boat involved in the accident.
Many of you may have met Morgan, as she has visited Charlotte several times over the past few years. Please remember the Montgomerys, the campers and staff in your prayers in this very difficult time.”
Brethren, right after the accident, our entire team at the camp went into action. It certainly seemed that God guided things for good, and the campers and staff shared many helpful talks with Camp Director Mr. Sheldon Monson, visiting evangelist Dr. Douglas Winnail and many other ministers and visitors. From every report I have heard, they all did an excellent job in handling the entire situation. I especially appreciate Mr. Sheldon Monson’s constant effort over many days in facing a multitude of challenges, inquiries and situations which must have caused him a great deal of concern even while coping with his recent cancer diagnosis. So, I ask all of you—in addition to your prayers for Morgan Montgomery’s family—not to forget Mr. Monson, who continues to need our fervent prayers as he recovers!
During my visit over the last three and a half days at the camp, I was able to have four or five personal talks with Mr. and Mrs. Montgomery—especially Mr. Montgomery. I was able to give talks at three different meetings—the Evening Reflections when I first arrived, the Christian Living class the next morning and then the final sermon on the Sabbath at the end of the camp. In addition, I tried to talk to dozens of students all over the camp as I went to the various activities. As each day progressed, I could see—as could we all—that the mood of the camp had improved wonderfully. Christ showed the young people that He allowed this for some good purpose and that, indeed, “we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).
Brethren, it may not seem to be “good” at the time we experience life’s many tragedies. But in the end, I have found over my 65-plus years in Christ’s Church that it does indeed work for good in the lessons that thousands of people learn and in the overall effect on those involved. For God is good. He has never promised us eternal life in this flesh. He does want each of us to be sure that we have “run our course” and that we are, in fact, ready for eternal life once He has called us and begun to work with us. So we must truly believe that He will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5).
Back in 1958, many of us had to learn the above lesson. For that was the year in which Mr. Armstrong’s elder son, Richard David Armstrong, was crushed to death in a horrible automobile accident in central California. I was sitting directly across from Mr. Armstrong in his little office at the time the call came in from the other minister involved. I will always remember him saying, “Did this really happen, is Dick in danger of dying? What can we do?” He immediately began to move into action—trying to find a way to lease a plane and fly to San Luis Obispo immediately. But he was unable to do this quickly so he decided to go up there himself—taking Norman Smith, his technician in the radio studio, along with him, as he was an excellent driver. He asked me to “take over,” temporarily, while he was gone—as Garner Ted Armstrong was back in Springfield on an Evangelistic Campaign at the time. So I had to take over for a week or two during this crisis and, later, Mr. Armstrong named me Second Vice President after Dick died. He was afraid that he and Ted might be in the same car and that both of them could perish at the same time.
Brethren, Mr. Armstrong trusted God. But he had to realize that God allows a number of things to happen to test us in this life. After Dick’s body was brought back down to the UCLA Medical Center from Central California, he died as they were transferring him from the ambulance to the hospital. Soon, Mr. Armstrong asked me to join him in going to the funeral home in Pasadena to see about necessary arrangements. Even there, I talked Mr. Armstrong into anointing Dick’s dead body in hopes that God would resurrect him then! We did pray fervently, together. But it was not God’s will at that time. God does not always take care of everything in this life. Again, we are promised a magnificent reward in the resurrection.
In the years immediately following Dick’s death, however, the Work grew more than ever, having ever greater impact on the nation and gradually on the world as a whole. The college at Bricket Wood was established in 1960. Then the college in Big Sandy was established in 1964. The number of television stations, the power of the programs, the increasing millions of people on the mailing list of The Plain Truth magazine—all these began to increase. For God had shaken us at Dick’s death. Many of us, as a result, drew even closer to God and cried out for His intervention and His help. So, things will work “for good” over the long run. We must understand that and grasp the reality of the soon-coming resurrection from the dead. I tried to explain this to our young people at camp, and I fervently hope many of them are focusing on those types of lessons.
This was my third year visiting our camp in Ohio. It is truly a wonderful camp and adds a great deal of spiritual zest and growth and broadening opportunities to many of our young people, who often come from very small congregations or even live in an area where there is no local church and no genuine opportunity for fellowship with young people their own age. So I hope all of us will pray fervently for this camp and for all the other Living Youth Camps. As I attended the various activities of the camp—the Christian Living classes, softball, volleyball, flag football, swimming, archery, etc.—I noticed how enthusiastic the young people were in learning to work together as a team, in bonding with one another and truly feeling part of the Church of God and the Work of God in a way they probably never would otherwise. So we are very grateful for the thousands of hours of work done by Mr. Monson, Mr. Jason Fritts and all the others who have contributed so much to this important function of the Living Church of God.
Also, I want to publically thank the dozens of Church members who help out in so many ways. I had better not mention names, since I would certainly forget someone out of the many who so generously gave of their time and their effort. But I will mention that we have had some really big donations of money and property to help support the camp. We have also had hundreds of hours of time volunteered by wonderful people from our local churches all over—helping out in the kitchen, in the activities at camp and in so many other ways. These people often have to use their vacation time from work in order to serve the camp and serve these young people. They added so much! So, I want to thank you—all of you—in the name of Jesus Christ!
Also, since so many brethren began to phone us or e-mail us about helping the Montgomery family and the Living Youth Camp because of the tragedy, we have established the Morgan Montgomery Memorial Fund to provide scholarships and transportation for Church youth around the world to participate in the Church’s youth camps, in addition to providing other important services to Church youth. As I mentioned in my special member letter, which most of you received a few weeks ago, Miss Montgomery stated herself that Living Youth Camp was indeed a “turning point” in her entire life. She deeply appreciated the camp and the help it was to her and so many others. So we are grateful for the opportunity God gave her to be baptized a few weeks before her death, and to have the opportunity of being there with loving young people even though this tragedy was allowed to occur. As I told the campers, all of this should make us realize our need to “redeem the time” as we are told in the book of Ephesians: “See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:15–16).
As God’s Word tells us: “The days of our lives are seventy years; and if by reason of strength they are eighty years, yet their boast is only labor and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away. Who knows the power of Your anger? For as the fear of You, so is Your wrath. So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:10–12).
Brethren, as you know, in the last (September-October 2015) issue of the Living Church News I wrote an article titled, “The Danger of Laodiceanism.” Many of our ministers have noticed, as I have, that although most of our brethren are involved in the Work and the Church in many ways, there is often a general sense of “relaxation” and a “take it easy” spirit among the brethren unlike what should be. Yet, if you watch the world news at all, you can see that end-time events are crashing down upon us with increasing rapidity! We do truly need to be “on fire” to proclaim Christ’s message to this world with more power than we have ever done before. So I hope, as we realize the fragility of our human lives and how short our lives really are, we all will devote even more time and energy to seeking God in profound study, deep meditation and fervent prayer—with occasional fasting—than ever before! I hope all of you can begin to understand that this is not just a “nicey-nice” saying. Rather, it truly is becoming imperative, as we can definitely see before our eyes the beginnings of those events God Almighty said would occur.
What will we do when uncontrollable disease epidemics begin to ravage our own neighborhoods, and when increasing drought and famine begin to stalk our lands—along with raging fires as are right now occurring across much of the western United States? What will we do when massive earthquakes begin to strike, here and there, even in unexpected places? How will we react when race riots, class riots and anti-government riots begin to pop up all over the U.S. and the British-descended nations? Will we do as God commands? Will we cry out to Him as never before? Brethren, we are God’s people! If our whole being is involved, and we are “walking with God”—and actually doing His Work of proclaiming the full Truth of the Kingdom of God and the true name of Jesus Christ—then we will be rewarded forever.
Let us understand the reality of Almighty God, the power of His increasing intervention in human affairs and the wonderful outcome that will be ours if we walk by faith—even through the valley of the shadow of death—and persevere through all these terrible tragedies that have occurred and the many more that will occur before Christ returns!
As Mr. Herbert Armstrong said so many times, “True faith is learning to absolutely believe that God will do the things which He has promised to do!” We must have that kind of faith to make it through the years ahead. While each of us still has life and breath, each of us should try with all our hearts to truly make our lives count for something! We must show God that we seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness above all else (Matthew 6:33). Near the end of the book of Daniel, God’s inspired Word describes both the opportunity and challenge for those of us who live at the very end of this present age: “And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt. Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever” (Daniel 12:2–3).
May God stir all of us as never before to prepare ourselves fully to be on His team and truly be part of His ruling Kingdom in tomorrow’s world. That is why we were born! That is why we are called right now instead of later on! May God move you to go all out—not with Laodicean laziness, but with Philadelphian zeal to fulfill this challenge.
With Christian love,
