Dear Members and Co-Workers,
Mr. Gerald Weston has been in Texas over the last week, directing our annual summer camp for teenagers—serving alongside many other ministers and volunteers from the Living Church of God from around the world—so he has asked me to write this month’s letter to you. And what a month it is shaping up to be!
As I sit down to write this, the frontrunner in the next U.S. presidential election, former president Donald Trump, has just survived an assassination attempt at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. By the time you read this letter, many more details will have emerged, and more consequences will have unfolded. But some things will not have changed: The images and video from the terrible event continue to be shared worldwide as reminders that we are living in the most serious of times. But before we discuss that, I must share another sobering announcement with you.
It is with great sadness that I inform you that Mr. Richard F. Ames died in hospice care on the evening of July 4. In our last letter to you, we mentioned that he was recovering from an illness, but regrettably things took a turn for the worse. Many of you feel you know Mr. Ames well, from his nearly 40 years in front of the camera delivering the Gospel of the Kingdom and the truth of God, his countless articles in the Tomorrow’s World magazine, and his uplifting and convicting sermons from the pulpit of the Living Church of God. And I know this event saddens you as it saddens the rest of us.
Mr. Ames lived a long and full life, turning 88 years old the month before he died. His post-secondary education and employment focused on engineering, but that is not where his ultimate calling would lie. In 1962, he enrolled as a student at Ambassador College, and he was ordained as a minister of Jesus Christ in 1965. He served God’s people in many ways in the years that followed, both pastoring local congregations and working as an instructor and administrator at Ambassador College. And in 1984, he was ordained as an evangelist by Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong, eventually being chosen by Mr. Armstrong as one of the television presenters for The World Tomorrow.
Mr. Ames continued his mission to preach Christ’s Gospel even after the Worldwide Church of God apostatized, not only preaching to the entire world on the Tomorrow’s World television program and writing numerous booklets and articles for the Tomorrow’s World magazine, but also serving behind the scenes as Director of Media Operations for the Living Church of God’s global efforts.
His example of profound passion for God’s Work and deep compassion for God’s people will not be forgotten. It has left an indelible mark on all those who knew him, served with him, and were inspired by him. Now the task is for us to live up to that example by building on it with our own. And the condition of the United States today, well-illustrated by the horrific attempt on former president Donald Trump’s life, emphasizes just how much this world desperately needs the very message Mr. Ames devoted his life to preaching.
The day of Mr. Trump’s rally, and only hours before the assassination attempt, I was in Norcross, Georgia, conducting one of our Tomorrow’s World Presentations for a group of magazine subscribers who had come to hear our message live and have their questions answered. In that presentation, I showed an image of the two major presidential candidates, Mr. Trump and Mr. Biden, and—remarking on the level of hate that exists now in the U.S.—rhetorically asked the crowd if anyone would be surprised if someone “took a shot” at either of them. Little did I know that someone was planning to do just that shortly after I uttered those words.
That doesn’t make us prophets. Indeed, many have noted the trend of increasingly vitriolic language in the U.S., with many on each side of the political divide depicting opponents not simply as unwise or even foolish, but as almost subhuman enemies to be despised. Only the willfully blind could fail to see the dramatic level of discord and division in American society today. As I write this, the talk in the news is that Mr. Trump will focus his coming convention speech on words of unity instead of vilifying his opponent. On his social network, Mr. Trump acknowledged that “God alone” prevented the assassin’s bullet from killing him, and he told the Washington Examiner on July 14 that the attempt on his life “is a chance to bring the country together. I was given that chance.” He elaborated, “This is a chance to bring the whole country, even the whole world, together.”
Whether you believe him or not, it’s true that moments like this really can be powerful opportunities to change directions. To change priorities. To make a difference.
But what, dear members and co-workers, is the difference that needs to be made?
As my colleague and fellow Tomorrow’s World writer Dexter Wakefield likes to note, the causes of the world’s problems are spiritual, the effects are social and political, and the solutions are biblical. The only true, lasting way to stop human civilization’s accelerating self-destruction is to repent of our sins, begin obeying the laws of God, and yield our lives—every one of us—to the loving reign of Jesus Christ!
It would be wonderful if the dastardly and reprehensible attack on President Trump produced a real seeking after Christ in America, let alone the world. Not the “Jesus Christ” that is often taught from the pulpits or lecterns of the nation’s churches, but the real Jesus Christ—the One who loves His Father’s laws and commands that we obey them, the One who not only died for our sins but will also live His life of obedience within us if we allow Him to (Galatians 2:20), and the One who will return in power and glory to reign over this world and make of it all that it truly should be.
For if we are not seeking that Christ, our seeking is futile! As His beloved disciple John wrote, “He who says, ‘I know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him” (1 John 2:4). The Son of God condemns those who call Him “Lord, Lord” and even do good works and wonders in His name, yet who disobey the laws of God—warning that one day they will hear Him say, “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!” (Matthew 7:21–23).
Jesus’ teaching is crystal clear: Without Him—without that Jesus Christ, the true Jesus of our Bibles—we can accomplish nothing of lasting value (John 15:5). There will be no altering the fate of the U.S., or the world, without a wholehearted return to our Creator—without a willingness to embrace His laws and without submitting humbly and utterly to the authority and rule of His Son.
Of course, we might doubt our nation will ever do this—whatever our nation might be. To be frank, full-scale national repentance may truly be unlikely. But two things remain clear. First, while our nation may fail to fully embrace its Creator or may continue following “another Jesus” or a “different gospel” (2 Corinthians 11:4), we can, as individuals, choose to do differently. Each of us can make up our own mind to reach out to God and ask Him for the courage to obey Him and follow Christ in every way. Our nations may not repent, but you and I can!
And second, our mission remains unchanged. We must preach the Gospel of the Kingdom of God to all nations as a witness (Matthew 24:14), and we must feed and nourish those whose minds God opens to receive and respond to that message (John 21:15–17), helping them to seek that Kingdom first in their lives (Matthew 6:33).
Mr. Richard F. Ames believed in that mission with all of his being and devoted the whole of his life to that great Work. And, dear members and co-workers, through your willingness to allow God to work through you to support that Work, you have helped ensure that Mr. Ames’ voice was heard around the world and that, through the blessings of technology, it will continue to be heard. Thank you. Mr. Ames’ race is over, but the Work continues—in fact, it is needed now more than ever. And with your help, we will continue to fulfill this divine mission he believed in so thoroughly—the mission Jesus Christ Himself gave him, and all of us, to accomplish before His return.
Thank you, again, for your support. And please pray for us, as we pray for you.
Sincerely, in Christ’s service,
Wallace G. Smith