In Their Own Words

Quotes from Workers

In the past, notes from Conventions, funerals and various meeting sermons were taken and passed around among the friends. Some workers have compiled and maintained reams of notes taken from their own sermons. When added to the notes taken by members, published statements to the press, court testimony, letters, etc., these represent a considerable written source for the precepts and practices within the Two-by-Two sect. A few of the more interesting statements follow. RIS would appreciate receiving additional, verified notes which can be added to our archive.

For more quotations, see the printable .pdf in our Downloads section

CLARENCE ANDERSON:

"There are things that accompany salvation and if they are not there, we will never stand. There must be a true revelation first of all, a revelation of Truth. That this is God’s Way. And then there must be gratitude that is welling up in our hearts and humility of spirit and obedience of all that God asks. If these things are lacking, we will never make it, and God wants to help us so that we can have the first fruit." [Pukekohe New Zealand, 1986]
"Self denial is the part of our service that brings eternal life." [Glen Valley British Columbia Convention, August 4, 1988]

DALE BORS:

"It depends who we are talking to whether we believe in the Trinity or not." [Sacramento California, 1979]

PAUL BOYD:

"Jesus prayed harder for His own soul than He did for anyone else for He knew that if He sinned it would spoil His example. Do you think Jesus had faith? He prayed so desperately that it brought great drops of blood." [Boring Oregon, 1988]

HARRY BROWNLEE:

"If it could be proven to me in black and white that this church was started by a man I would never preach another word." [Gospel Meeting]

WALTER BURKENSHAW:

"God’s servants are interpreters, interpreting God’s word into things they can understand." [Glen Valley, August 15, 1988]

JACK CARROLL:

"For the spirit and attitude you assume toward those that have made themselves poor, homeless, and strangers for the gospel’s sake will ultimately determine where you will be in eternity." [Manhattan Convention, October 4, 1945]
"We make no secret of the fact that we are deliberately and purposefully teaching men and women the world over how to do without the hireling ministry and the public building, to worship God in spirit and in truth as those early Christians did in homes consecrated to God as recorded in the New Testament." [San Diego California Convention, October 6, 1951]
"You can tell whether a church is a false church or not if it was started by a man or woman. We are the only church on earth that was started by Christ." [notes]
"God’s word must be lived. It can’t be captured on paper. The letter killeth." [notes]
"The harvest is plenteous but the laborers are few. The best and most noble place in this life is the harvest field." [Spokane Washington Special Meeting, December 11, 1949]

The following paragraphs are taken from Jack Carroll’s written instructional sheet "Notes for Workers":

"Don’t argue with the people unnecessarily. You are safer to let them have their point. We can afford to wait. It is a mistake to argue with people needlessly. It only advertises what you don’t want advertised."
"It is a dangerous thing to commit yourself too far to anybody. Safer to keep them a little in the dark, and tell them it little by little, line upon line and precept upon precept."
"Don’t let them know too much about your past life. It is a mark of weakness when a person wants to give the history of their life to strangers. A man who knows how to hold himself, and not tell his whole story at once will have more weight. You lose influence with people when you talk too much about yourself."
"Don’t let the people become too familiar with you. Familiarity breeds contempt. Keep people at arms length. Have some respect for yourself and encourage others to respect you too."
"I believe a lot can be done through faithful visiting. You can talk stronger in the home than in a public meeting. To talk too freely to people before you start your meeting is a weakness."
"The best subjects to start with. I tell them what kind of men were in the Bible; what saints are; tell them about Jesus as a child, saint and servant. Tell them Jesus was a saint before He was a servant. Ask them who was the pattern for preachers, and they say Jesus. I sometimes talk to the children when I mean it for the older people. I believe you can give people an awful lot of truth without giving the enemy any occasion to talk. When we are anxious to get people to profess; I don’t think it very bad to hammer along the same line for several nights. There is a lot of power in reiteration. When people are ready to make the choice keep after them. People I want to deliver from their old professions I leave to the last. I preach one night on the Ethiopian Eunuch, and ask them why Philip did not speak to him on his way up to Jerusalem. He was going up there for more light. He would not have listened to Philip if he had not been purely disgusted with the [sic]"
"Is it wise to help in the home where you are stopping? It is alright to help some, but don’t become a slave. Good to keep on the right side of the Lady of the house. I don’t think it is wise for brothers to help inside too much. When the people see your life is engaged, they don’t expect it. We can fill in every hour of the day. No worker need give the impression that they are idlers or loafers. We earn our living just as honestly as any farmer. Make them feel that you have something to live for, and that you are determined to use your time to the very best advantage, and you won’t be very much bothered about their chores."

JOHN COOK:

"What is salvation? To begin with, it is God’s deliverance in our lives. It is God giving us victory in our own hearts over ourselves. Again salvation is the continuation of the destruction of sin in yourself. Maybe when a person first heard the gospel he made a great attempt to destroy sin within himself. He may not be doing just as much at it now. If we destroy sin in ourselves, nothing around us can destroy us. Nothing can master a person, who, by the grace of God is mastering himself. This is salvation - being able to master ourselves. That means being the master of yourself in all things. Do not be discouraged by the fact that not many people are willing to go in for this salvation." [Boston, Massachusetts, 1957]

CARSON COWAN:

"We get saved by getting in; we keep saved by fitting in." [Saginaw Oregon, 1969]

BOB DYE:

"To be born again means to receive Christ which means receiving the messenger, the message, and receiving the Spirit of God equals obedience to the will of God." [August 2, 1966]

KATHLEEN HOLLAND:

"If anyone ever asks about Eddie you tell them that no such man ever lived!" [California, March 1982, from a conversation regarding Edward Cooney.]

SYDNEY HOLT:

"The Trinity is one in purpose, but not in essence." [1980]
"The Holy Spirit is not God." [1980]
"Jesus may be God but the Holy Spirit is not God." [California, 1980]

MERLIN HOWLETT:

"We are the only people in the world that believe in the resurrection or will be resurrected." [Milltown Washington Convention, August 28, 1988]
"There are more Workers preaching the gospel to more places and more people than at any time." [Milltown Convention, August 28, 1988]
"In just the past 88 years we have had the privilege of convention. 88 years ago there wasn’t one convention on this earth. Now there are 126 conventions." [Milltown Convention, August 28, 1988]

WILLIAM IRVINE:

"God made me the first head of the family. He did the calling by me and now these past seven years He is doing the choosing, for many are called, few chosen." [August 17, 1921]

WILLIE JAMEISON:

"We aren’t believing a religion. We are believing in a life. The life of God and His Son. Satan is trying to fill them full of religious ideas and actions. Everything that is false has a definite origin. A man who started it. Wesley started the Methodists, Joseph Smith started the Mormons, Mary Baker Eddy started the Christian Scientists. This is the only Way that was started by Christ." [Post Falls Idaho Convention, 1957]

ALMA JOHNSON:

"We are never safe until we have finished our journey with Christ." [notes]

NEILS JORGENSEN:

"These days are like the days of Jeremiah and the other prophets. They listened to the servants but would not do what they advised." [1960]

CYNTHIA MATSON:

"As the gospel is preached by those that line up with Christ; that is how people get saved. It was the plan of God to use His servants who are in line with the Prophets and Apostles, by those who are sent. The conditions are to forsake all and preach the gospel freely according to Matthew 10." [Atwater California, 1987]

HOWARD MOONEY:

"Sometimes the question arises, ‘Will The Truth ever change?’ It could never happen because God has placed it in the hands of angels who never change! Jesus spoke of His church as something the gates of hell would never prevail against. Mat. 16:13 Peter remembered this. Later on he passed on that same assurance to the Christians, reminding them that our inheritance in The Truth cannot be defiled, cannot be corrupted, cannot fade, and cannot be taken from us." [Tacoma Washington, December 6, 1950]
"The Lord’s servants have always ruled by feeding. The feeders of God’s people have always been the leaders of God’s people just as the shepherd who feeds his flock is able to control and lead the flock." [funeral for Joe Brown, Medford Oregon, March 6 1978]
"The great satisfaction she got out of life was in knowing that she stood between God and man and had shared with them the things God had shared with her." [funeral service for Nellie Williams, August 13, 1983]

WALTER NELSON:

"No new birth without the human agency of the ministry. The ministry has a Master Key." [Boring Oregon, 1967]

ROSETHA NEWMAN:

"The seed is only possessed by the True ministry. It is not sown by anyone else. The seed sown by false prophets is tares." [notes]
"The only ministry recognized in eternity is the ministry prepared to go out into the world as Jesus did; poor, a stranger in the world. And we can never thank God sufficiently enough for this." [Olympia, Washington, 1977]

VIRGIL PATTON:

"We are God’s only light that can shine for others in this world." [Oklahoma, 1976]

WALTER POLLOCK:

"Jesus, God and Holy Spirit are one Being but not one God." [notes]
"Trusting in the Blood is the wrong thing. It will only bring disillusionment." [Spokane Washington, 1983]
"Burn anything that is not signed. Get rid of it, notes that do not have signatures, the FBI article in particular." [1983]
"The Word made flesh is the saints and workers in the Way who truly live and walk in it." [Spokane Washington, 1985]
"We know that it began with a group of men in the British Isles around the turn of the century. That’s as far as we have been able to trace it." [interview, Spokane Washington, 1982]

WILLIE POLLOCK:

"I don’t want to drop a bombshell. But there has not been continuity from Jesus’ time until now but we feel there was a stump left somewhere but today there is a tree. Job 14: 7." [Glen Valley, August 4, 1988]

JOHN PORTERFIELD:

"But Christ was the express image of God. He was the express image of God. He wasn’t God. He didn’t claim to be Him. He was in this sense the same as what you and I. The Scripture tells us that 'ye are god’s.'" [Audio tape from funeral of Nelson G. Printz, 1993]

WILLIS PROPP:

"Irish feet have touched the soil of every continent, bringing the gospel." [Silverdale Convention 1981]
"God’s servants are the understanding Authority of the word of God." [Olympia Washington Convention, August 26, 1979]

PAUL SHARP:

"I don’t like to see trends of some things amongst God’s people; such as make up, jewelry and games. We don’t want to see law have to be used. We need clean homes, not videos. You folks will have to decide whether we have to use the rod." [Glen Valley Convention August 4, 1988]

RALPH SINES:

"Professing doesn’t mean you are saved and ready for Heaven, it means you are learning of Christ or from Him, being willing to do His will." [Wednesday p.m. Study meeting, January 12, 1966]

LEO STANCLIFF:

"My hope of salvation is the blood of Christ. But I would like to explain to you what it means. The blood of Christ is the ministry and the church in the home. Without the New Testament ministry you don’t have the blood of Christ which includes the church in the home. The forgiveness of sins is a fringe benefit." [1981]
"There are two things upon which the Truth of God rests, Jesus gave us the ministry and a way of fellowship. Now the ministry is the foundation of Christianity." [Sacramento California, 1980]

RICHARD SULLIVAN:

"We believe we have existed since Jesus sent forth the 70 disciples two by two." [1943]
"It is more important for me to understand my companion than for me to understand the word of God. God will give us understanding as we need it." [Saginaw Oregon, August 1977]

EVERETT SWANSON:

"I would rather that you did not record what is said in meeting. If you need to remember what is said in this meeting the Holy Spirit will bring it to your remembrance. There are people who are trying to collect information about what we believe." [Olympia Washington Convention]
"#6. Heb 5:7 He prayed for himself that he would be saved from the 2nd death and was heard because he feared. When he took the human nature, he could have lost his salvation, so he wept and prayed. #9. Matt 4:1; The spirit wanted Jesus to be tempted. Satan tried for 40 days. Both God and satan knew Jesus could be defeated, but he conquered." [From letter to his field “Facts of Christ’s Human Nature (nine points given), Bozeman Montana. October 10, 1991 - complete letter available.]
"Scripture is not the Word of God until it is spoken by a Worker." [1969]
"We can always judge the state of a person’s salvation by his attitude towards the Workers." [1985]
"There comes a time when you must believe in a man. If there is a disagreement between us, one of us is not saved. We are to have faith in the faith of Jesus." [Redmond Oregon Special Meeting, 1990]

THAROLD SYLVESTER:

"We do not believe in original sin." [notes]
"Grace is the ability God gives us to do His will." [notes]
"An apostle stands between God and sinful men." [1957]
"We don’t deny it when asked if the historical account of our founding was true." [interview Skagit (Washington) Herald, August 18, 1983]
"We are not following some way founded in the early 1900s but it goes clear back to Christ." [November 16, 1983]

ELDON TENNISWOOD:

"Until people are willing to lay aside all former teaching, become as a little child, they never will understand the Truth as taught by Jesus in word and deed." [January 17, 1971]

FROM NOTES:

"We shun all publicity for any written material could get into the wrong hands. We must protect ourselves." [worker, Boston Massachusetts Special Meeting, April 21, 1985]
"You can only profess through our group. You cannot know our Heavenly Father through the traditional church." [Senior brother worker, Los Angeles California Special Meetings, March 10, 1985]
"You must receive the Lord and you do this through the power of one of us." [Senior brother worker, Los Angeles California Special Meetings, March 10, 1985]
"Frankly, I don’t know what the doctrine is." [brother worker, Kelso Washington, 1978]
"We should not associate with anyone outside our group for they are influenced by evil power. That may even include your natural family. We are your real family." [Elder brother worker, Los Angeles California, March 10, 1985]
"We are God’s chosen people. Our main objectives are to serve the workers, attend gospel meetings and conventions and honor The Truth." [Los Angeles Special Meeting, March 10 1985]
"Most of our converts come from the traditional church. That clearly shows us how lacking the Church is and it is up to us to show them the true Narrow Way. Our gospel is a way of life." [Senior worker, Los Angeles California Special Meeting, March 10, 1985]

BRUCE WADDELL:

"Faith cometh by hearing, not reading. No one can receive salvation simply by reading the Bible." [Glen Valley Convention, August 4, 1988]

WARREN WAINWRIGHT:

"We do believe in the blood of Christ. It has not been talked about enough in the past. The blood is part of the gospel but reconciliation is through this ministry. The workers are the mediators." [Boring Oregon, 1988]

EVERETT WILCOX:

"There would be many saved people if the written word could give life, but it takes the Living Word (the scripture being lived by a worker) to produce Life that is eternal." [letter, 1984]

CINDI WOODS:

"How did Jesus’ companion feel?" [Saginaw Oregon, Aug 13, 1986]

See also the printable .pdf with more quotes on our Downloads page