Exposing the underbelly of Armstrongism in all of its wacky glory! Nothing you read here is made up. What you read here is the up to date face of Herbert W Armstrong's legacy. It's the gritty and dirty behind the scenes look at Armstrongism as you have never seen it before!
With all the new crazy self-appointed Chief Overseers, Apostles, Prophets, Pharisees, legalists, and outright liars leading various Churches of God today, it is important to hold these agents of deception accountable.
Herbert Armstrong's Tangled Web of Corrupt Leaders
These pictures are from an auction held in New York City, April 11, 1995 at Christie's. This was just one of many auctions held in New York and Los Angeles concerning the sale of Herbert Armstrong's collection of gold, silver and fine art. Much of the fine art and metalwork were purchased during the time HWA was mailing out letters to the membership demanding that they cut back and send in more money. The "Work" was always in a state of distress. Many members did indeed sacrifice and mailed in more money. The result - HWA was on treasure hunting trips to Harrod's in London and other UK locations buying treasures for his three homes and college campuses (St Alban's, England, Big Sandy, TX and Pasadena, CA).
While Mrs. Armstrong was alive and in the early years of the church they lived in a modest house on Hill Ave (now owned by Cal Tech). When Loma Armstrong died Herb began shedding his 'simple' life style for the extravagant one. This was also the time Gerald Waterhouse and Dean Blackwell started blabbering that HWA was an Apostle. And as you all know from the Bible, Apostles were meant to travel around the world speaking to world leaders, give them gifts of Steuben crustal, and play host to them at extravagant dinner parties at the various campus homes. Apostles were ordained by God to live lives with the finest the earth and humankind has to offer. This easy justification lead to multiple millions of dollars in extravagance by HWA, evangelists, faculty, certain department heads and many ministers.
Somewhere I have the actual auction sale prices. the ones listed here are the estimates printed in the catalog.
Click on picture to view larger size
Elizabeth II Gold Table Service 14 karat
Used at all dinners in HWA's dining room
Auction estimate $50,00-80,000
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Regency Silver-gilt Four Light Candelabra, Benjamin Smith, 1812
These sat on the buffet in the dining room. They were also used on the dining table.
Auction estimate $80,000-120,000
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George III Silver-gilt Candelabra and matching candlesticks, Paul Storr, 1802
Auction estimate $60,000-90,000
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The Duke of Norfolk's Coronation Cup
William IV Silver-gilt Paul Storr, 1831
Auction estimate $20,000-30,000
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Regency Silver-gilt Centerpiece, Paul Storr, 1818
The Three Graces occupied the place of distinction on HWA's dining room table.
Auction estimate $30,000-50,000
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Regency Silver-gilt Wine Coolers, Paul Storr 1813
Used to keep the hundred dollar wine bottles cool
Auction estimate $60,000-90,000
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A pair of George IV Silver-gilt Wine Coolers 1826
Imagine chilling your wine and champagne at home in these!
Auction estimate $50,000-80,000
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The sterling silver pictured here is an Elizabeth II Table service. Service for 12.
This video is of Tyler Clementi (playing violin), the 18 year old who jumped off a bridge last week because of his 'friends' secretly video taping him and then broadcasting it to the world.
It is quit obvious that Tyler had a love for God in his heart that came through in his music. What kind of message did he receive from his church that would fill him with such hopelessness?
Tyler was one of five kids this past week that killed themselves because of anti-gay bullying.
Yet, America's most perfect Christian organization (Focus on the Family) feels they are God's only representatives left on earth today had this to say:
Just further proof that fundamentalism is rotten to the core!
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Seth Walsh, a California teen who spent the last 10 days on life support after attempting suicide over relentless bullying because he was gay, died today. He was 13 years old.
Seth’s family took him off life support this afternoon, reports KGET-TV.
[...]
Seth was found Sunday, September 19, unconscious and not breathing, and it appeared he had tried to hang himself from a tree branch, according to police reports. He was rushed by helicopter to Kern Medical Center in Bakersfield.
According to reports, Seth was openly gay and was taunted by bullies for years, at school and at a local park.
He attended Jacobsen Middle School last year and for only two weeks this year, before being transferred to independent study — reportedly because he had been bullied relentlessly. But school officials at Tehachapi Union School District claim there have been no reports of bullying.
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Asher Brown’s worn-out tennis shoes still sit in the living room of his Cypress-area home while his student progress report — filled with straight A’s — rests on the coffee table.
The eighth-grader killed himself last week. He shot himself in the head after enduring what his mother and stepfather say was constant harassment from four other students at Hamilton Middle School in the Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District.
Brown, his family said, was “bullied to death” — picked on for his small size, his religion and because he did not wear designer clothes and shoes. Kids also accused him of being gay, some of them performing mock gay acts on him in his physical education class, his mother and stepfather said.
The 13-year-old’s parents said they had complained about the bullying to Hamilton Middle School officials during the past 18 months, but claimed their concerns fell on deaf ears.
[...]
Brown was found dead on the floor of his stepfather’s closet at the family’s home in the 11700 block of Cypresswood about 4:30 p.m. Thursday. He used his stepfather’s 9 mm Beretta, stored on one of the closet’s shelves, to kill himself. He left no note. David Truong found the teen’s body when he arrived home from work.
On the morning of his death, the teen told his stepfather he was gay, but Truong said he was fine with the disclosure. “We didn’t condemn,” he said.
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A 15-year-old Indiana teen took his own life last week in what is thought to be another suicide at least partially connected to school bullying, a result of the teen’s perceived sexual orientation.
Billy (William) Lucas, a student at Greensburg Community High School in Greensburg, IN, was was found dead in a barn at his grandmother’s home Thursday evening — he had hanged himself.
Friends of Lucas say that he had been tormented for years. [WTHR-TV]
“He was threatened to get beat up every day,” friend and classmate Nick Hughes said. “Sometimes in classes, kids would act like they were going to punch him and stuff and push him.”
“Some people at school called him names,” Hughes said, saying most of those names questioned Lucas’ sexual orientation, and that Lucas, for the most part, did little to defend himself.
“He would try to but people would just try to break him down with words and stuff and just pick on him,” Hughes said.
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Raymond Chase who reportedly hung himself in his residence hall room this past Wednesday, September 29, 2010 on the campus of Johnson & Wales in Providence, Rhode Island.
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Cody J. Barker, 17, of Shiocton, Wis., took his life on Sept. 13. Barker attended Shiocton High School, where he was active in choir. In August he attended a seminar and planned to start a gay/straight alliance at his school. He held a job at Fleet Farm in Appleton.
Maria Peeples, Barker’s peer mentor through GSA for Safe Schools, said he was a passionate activist for all students, especially those, “targeted or ostracized for their sexual orientation or their gender identity and expression... He really cared about making schools a safe place for students. That wasn’t always his own experience with school.”
According to a Web posting, Baker loved history, James Bond movies and Lady Gaga. He was described as an “extremely selfless” young man who enjoyed spending time with his friends, tending his rose plants, biking and reading.
You may ask what this has to do with Armstrongism.
Armstrongism has always had gay people in it. When you look on the Painful Truth web site (see links in side listing) at the suicide statistics you will see a lot of young single people. Many of these wonderful folk were gay.
What choice did they have? After listening month and after month to deviate morons like Rod Meredith, Flurry, GTA, and others rail on and on about homosexuals what choice was left to them?
They prayed, they fasted, they were anointed and some even went so far as have idiot ministers attempt exorcisms to get rid of their gay demons. It never has worked!
There have been several gay folk in the Los Angeles area that were part of WCG. Some got married in the hope of being cured. Some stayed married and admitted constantly that they were still attracted to men/women.
Others lived lives of honesty and integrity being true to themselves. Many left religion all together, others are deeply involved in their churches (non COG).
Some still remain in various COGlet splinter groups listening to the constant haranguing week after week. They hold on for a cure, or think that if they can only hold on till the Kingdom arrives they will be cured.
,Art Gilmore, the theatrical voice of Armstrongism died September 25th. For decades his calming, soothing, yet dramatic voice helped declare "the good news of the world tomorrow" to ears across the globe. Who can forget those cold late nights driving across the country and you hear his voice beaming from some megawatt Mexican radio station. While he was never a apart of Armstrongism, his name is a permanent fixture in the Armstrongite dictionary. He was yet one more unique thing of Armstrongism that the myriad of splinter cults cannot recapture. None of their tv or radio programs has the same kick as the old World Tomorrow did. And, as Martha says, "That's a good thing!"
Give the recent turn of events with Kevin Dean's arrest for child abuse, it just brings to light the fact that Armstrongism had lots of child molesters in its midst. The sad part was that the ministry and various church leaders found ways to cover it all up.
One of Meathooks MerryDeath's right-hand men was well know in Pasadena for sexual advances on boys at Camp River Glenn.
Imperial Schools had its molester/sadists on staff who loved to beat kids after making them lower their pants or raise their dresses. The sad part was that parents let them do it!
Another Pasadena member was jailed for molesting his infant daughter.
From the Yahoo Group LCG:
THIS IS PERMITTED?????
In 2002, a member of LCG was imprisoned for "sexual conduct with a minor" (he was in his 40's) His DAUGHTER was the victim!!!!!!!!!!!.
He was recently married to a member from the Minneapolis area, they never counseled for marriage, they were married by an LCG minister.
He actually broke PAROLE to come to Wisconsin. I am sure she knew about this situation and believed that he was framed, BUT does a person spend almost 3 years 6 months (indicted by a GRAND JURY) in prison if there is NO solid evidence???? He had 17 (SEVENTEEN) counts against him. He was plead guilty to FOUR. The ministers in his area (SOUTHWESTERN USA) were aware of this situation, I am certain DW knew about it and OKAYED the marriage, because the offender bragged how he knew DWinnail personally (I met the man months ago at a service in Wisconsin, before any of this came out) Very charming and sweet...(typical)
This all came to light ONE DAY before we left for the FEAST. How do I know all this?? Because the x husband of the lady the offender married...was sent AN ANOYONOUS letter with the offender's picture and REGISTRATION SHEET with 17 (SEVENTEEN) offenses listed!!!
We were floored to say the least. Our friend (Dave) stayed with us during the FEAST so this is NOT some RUMOR>>> I saw the paperwork with my own eyes.
LCG KNEW of this situation for MONTHS and never alerted the congregations and PERMITTED that marriage!!!
CHILD MOLESTERS (historically speaking) CANNOT be reformed!It is a perverted SICKNESS. Well, it is all on the heads of the ministry, that's about all I can say...BUT SHAME ON THEM! Are the shepherds PROTECTING their FLOCKS?????
Dave has a child who is a minor who was living with his mother after she was remarried to the offender. He's very upset and wonders HOW this could have happened...
There's something wrong with this picture..can you ALL SEE THIS???
They allowed that man to mingle with our children(in various
congregations) for MONTHS. This is SHAMEFUL.
The Painful Truth has a post up from a step daughter of Kevin Dean referring to his arrest on September 27th for 10 counts of child molestation and five counts for sexual battery.
Kevin Dean was one of HWA's highly favored confidants as was his brother Aaron Dean (UCG hierarchy). When these two spoke the people in Pasadena jumped. They first got their start with HWA as stewards on the church jet planes. The female stewardess had been dumped because of GTA's sexually offenses against them. They figured men serving as stewards would solve the problem.
Controversy has always swirled around Pasadena about Kevin. When he was part of Imperial schools rumors were rampant about his dalliance's with students. He ungraciously dumped his first wife for a girl from Imperial Schools.
Then we had heard he moved to Santa Barbara to get away from the rumors and accusations.
Booking photo
Otagosh blog also has a link about this story with some details on the arrests.
Myra McQueen has info on her blog about the Dean Brother's shenanigans during the receivership.
It was very obvious now that Rader was calling the shots and that he had put the fear in HWA. He would continue to do so until the Dean bros (according to the AR) managed to tape a conversation between Rader and Ramona in which they were discussing placing HWA in a nursing home and taking over the church. Statements in the AR (Jan '83) read-"Those close to Ted, however, feel his distrust of Ramona was quite justified. Many observers are convinced she was more loyal to Stan Rader than to HWA. And as we reported in a previous issue, it was a secret tape recording of a Stan Rader-Ramona conversation taped by the Dean brothers [former stewards on the GII] that was responsible for the sacking of Stan Rader. Insiders claim that it was also that tape recording that was responsible for the Herbert-Ramona marriage going sour." This tape recording of the conversation between Rader & Ramona was first mentioned in AR #15 http://hwarmstrong.com/ar/AR15.html & later in AR #16 http://hwarmstrong.com/ar/AR16.html
Aaron Dean went on to become HWA's assistant, replacing Bob Fahey.
Actually, the recording would not have worked if the blackmail had still been in Rader's possession at the time the tape was played. To interject here-Rader had carefully placed college maintenance men in the highest ministerial positions after Ted's disfellowshippment AR 10-'79 http://hwarmstrong.com/ar/AR10.html) which included Tkach and Ellis LaRavia. Were they the only control over the ministry he could get? Most were not very well educated. Tkach did not even have a high school diploma and had been unable to pass any of his college academics at AC.
The Armstrong leadership was no longer in control of the Armstrongite ministry that had been trained by HWA. The regular evangelists, such as Rod Meredith, Herman Hoeh, etc. lost their high position in authority when Tkach was put in charge of the ministry in '79. Many were disfellowshipped (ie, Dave Antion, C. Wayne Cole, etc.).
This would not have happened if Ted had been under Rader's influence, because Rader did not seek the top religious position. He just wanted to be in control of the money. But with Ted gone, he knew that he had to place his myrmidons in positions of control, in order to maintain control of the money when HWA died. He obviously knew where every dime was in all those corporate soles that were scattered out to other states, as well as in the thirteen bank accounts listed under HWA's name.
According to Ted's booklet, HWA had been afraid of being "placed in a mental institution" ("Origin" pg. 67)"He was becoming paranoid about plots against him" (same pg). This accusation is also repeated in DLA's tape "'79 Disfellowshippments and Firings." along with the fact that C. Wayne Cole (the then head of the ministerial dept.) was consulted by HWA about how to go about firing Rader. Of course the loyal Cole tried to help HWA and was stabbed in the back as a result. This information is available on David Antion's taped message, "79 Firings and Disfellowshippments"
After the Dean bros. tape, HWA was able to fire Rader himself (with pay of course, because he knew too much to just get rid of him). But by this time Tkach (whom Ted refers to in his booklet as "one of our former gardeners, who had risen, for some unknown reason, to be in my father's circle of trusted confidants." Origin pg 56) apparently took charge of HWA's ministry and his empire. Did he steal the blackmail? Did the Dean bros?
One of Kevin's smear campaigns also led to the famous Kessler letter.
