We Remember...

By Ronald Kelly, WCG Comptroller

The importance and impact of Mr. Herbert Armstrong (Loma) cannot be underestimated. In the mid- to late-1920s, it was Mrs. Armstrong who began to study the Bible with a neighbor lady. When she became convinced that the Sabbath was on the 7th day of the week, or Saturday, she excitedly told her husband.

Mr. Armstrong, as he stated in his Autobiography, was not the least bit excited. In fact, he was so sure that "all these churches could not be wrong" about Sunday being the day of worship, that he entered a lengthy study to convince Mrs. Armstrong, that she had accepted something that was in error.

Mr. Armstrong's study is now well documented, that rather than convince Mrs. Armstrong she was wrong, he became convinced that Saturday was indeed the biblical day of worship.

Further study led Mr. & Mrs. Armstrong to embrace the annual festivals of the Old Testament.

By the late 1920s and early 1930s, Mr. & Mrs. Armstrong were observing the festivals alone. The Sabbath-keeping church they attended did not feel the annual Holy Days were mandated in the same way the weekly Sabbath was.

As Mr. Armstrong took on speaking roles, by late in 1934, he began to speak on a local radio station in Eugene, Oregon. Mrs. Armstrong was constantly at his side during these radio broadcasts. The radio program led to the publication of a fledgling magazine, The Plain Truth. Although Mrs. Armstrong took no active role as a writer, her review of materials, comments and judgement were always solicited by her husband.

In 1947, the headquarters operation of the small Radio Church of God were moved to Pasadena, California, where Mrs. Armstrong continued to encourage and assist her husband in the establishment of Ambassador College.

Both Mr. & Mrs. Armstrong were highly interactive with the small student body and faculty. Mrs. Armstrong was often sought by both men and women students for advice and counsel. For years, she volunteered her services as an office assistant and as a mentor to scores of students. Only later in life did she accept any pay for services rendered.

Loma Armstrong was Mr. Armstrong's chief counselor and advisor. Her input, care and concern were part of almost every decision made in the growing work of the Worldwide Church of God. This continued until her death in 1967 at age 75.

Those who knew the Armstrongs would never underestimate the impact and influence of this publicly shy lady who truly was loved and respected by all who knew her.

August 15, 2001