Now that we have covered the reformed bylaws of the Big Sandy Church of God in some detail (see
By Law! below), perhaps a closer look a the bylaws of the Worldwide Church of God California corporation might be in order. If Worldwide has an inspired set of "God's auditing procedures" to uncover tithe theft and fraud, would there not also be a set of
divinely inspired bylaws, let us say, bylaws handed down on Mount Sinai - in a manner similar to when Charleton Heston received the stone tablets under thunder and lighting in the movie
The Ten Commandments?
A brief aside: I was fortunate enough to meet actor Charleton Heston several years ago in a reception line at a meeting in Alexandria, Virginia. He was one of the most gracious, personable, and friendly persons I have ever met. It was almost as moving as his dramatic portrayal of Moses at Mount Sinai in
The Ten Commandments, but in an entirely different way, of course.
Back to the
Plain Truth about the bylaws. A couple of questions that demand an answer:
1. Did Herbert W. Armstrong break the bylaws of his own California religious corporation in falsifying a required quorum vote of 5,051* by RCG members for renaming to WCG and then lie about it?2. Did Pastor General Armstrong, by filing a falsely sworn corporate document with the state, in fact commit criminal perjury? Over at
Ekklesia you'll find a number of most interesting organizational and historical documents related to the Worldwide Church of God, including a copy of the
1946 Articles of Incorporation Armstrong filed with the California secretary of state to create a California religious corporation. When the Tkach family took over, the Tkachs made major changes to their church corporation's organizing documents to their liking; legally portraying the 1987 changes made as just a mere "restatement" of the corporate articles, to avoid what would likely be a vexatious vote by the members, who might not support them for life.
You will also find a link entitled "
1968 HWA Commits Perjury with Church Name Change" which states, in part:
"2. That at a meeting of the BOARD OF DIRECTORS of said corporation, duly held at 363 Grove Street, Pasadena, California, on January 5, 1968, the following resolution was accepted:
ARTICLE
RESOLVED: That ARTICLE I of the Articles of Incorporation of this corporation be amended to read as follows :
"The name of this corporation shall be WORLDWIDE CHURCH OF GOD."
3. That at a meeting of the MEMBERS of said corporation, duly held at 363 Grove Street, Pasadena, California, on January 5, 1968, a Resolution was adopted, which resolution is identical in form to the directors' resolution set forth in Paragraph 2 above.
4. That the number of members who voted affirmatively for the adoption of said resolution is 5,051*, and that the number of members constituting a quorum is 2,500.
(Signed) HERBERT W. ARMSTRONG, President"
* No meeting was ever held for members to vote on this change. Best evidence available indicates the officers commited perjury with this document."
In this case, it is unimportant what the name of the church is from a purely legal (meaning not religious) standpoint - it could be anything imaginable. What is crucial that the church corporate officers properly followed the required church voting procedures to change the name of the corporation from Radio Church of God to another, following proper notice, and other due process voting procedures found in the corporate bylaws. One due process protection would be having enough members present to form a quorum to cast a vote. Without that, the vote would not stand. Corporate officers and directors have certain minimum statutory, fiduciary duties to uphold the bylaws of the corporation, such as following required notice and balloting procedures to cast a vote. The problem is, the entire member vote mentioned in the board of directors resolution of the church corporation filed may have been completely falsified by Herbert W. Armstrong!
Can anyone out there please explain how this Church of God member vote might have in fact occurred, at about that time, according to the official bylaws regulating votes within the church corporation?
Are we to believe that more than five thousand members voted for the name change from Radio, and today no one remembers voting for Worldwide, or any member quorum meeting about the subject?
Where was Roderick Meredith that day - what was his role in approving this corporate vote - and what does Meredith know - about this corporate board meeting at 363 Grove Street, Pasadena, California, on January 5, 1968, when the perjured resolution in question was accepted?
Ambassador Reports would be interested in finding out if anyone has a legally sufficient, sound explanation as to why Herbert Armstrong did not criminally perjure himself in filing these false corporate documents with the State of California.
Questions to Bob Thiel: As you are an apologist for Armstrong, Ambassador Reports would be interested in hearing if you have any facts on how the 5,051 members noted allegedly voted for this 1968 resolution. Where did this vote occur? How were the votes counted? Prove Armstrong didn't lie, falsify and perjure himself about this church member vote.
Questions for Roderick Meredith: Were you sitting as a director on the Radio corporate board at this meeting Jan. 5, 1968?
Can you then explain how the mysterious 5,051 thousand member vote is in fact legitimate and proper, in supporting your own director's vote, in favor of the board resolution your own boss may have falsified?
If anyone has memory of the voting procedures - on the name change resolution Armstrong filed with the state (or any member votes for that matter), or how Armstrong did not commit criminal perjury by signing and filing this corporate document with California. please comment if there actually was such a vote. Get get Herbert W. Armstrong off the hook - otherwise, with no vote, Herb's proven to be a lying, perjured crook!
