The It Is Written program hit southern California as the "light of the noonday sun" in June, 1962, during the Lynwood camp meeting. At the close of the first meeting all professional men—businessmen, medical doctors, dentists, lawyers, veterinarians, et cetera—were invited for a preview of plans. We became part of the inner circle. Our valuable patient and client lists were to form the nucleus of the great mailing list.
Invitations and announcements were printed on our professional stationery, conveying the personal touch to each of our clientele. Our offices became centers of activity. Television schedules were placed at strategic points in each office, and personal, individualized invitations to view It Is Written were extended to each patient or client. TV announcements accompanied our monthly statements, and telephoning before broadcasts was carried out by many in our group. Some purchased color TV sets, and small groups were invited to view the splendor of this unique attempt to make God's love and plan for salvation more appealing.
Then, after months of sowing the seed, came the reaping meetings. The giant Sports Arena, seating more than 15,000, was selected. The greatest thrill came to me when I was able not only to attend most of the meetings, but to furnish transportation so that our friends might share our hope and faith. On several occasions our Falcon, Corvair, and Volkswagen were all pressed into service. One three-hundredpound self-styled agnostic burst forth with,
"This is fantastic! I never heard anything like it! I could really believe in something like this. And the organization!"Financial support was given for newspaper and television ads and for billboards. And they were effective.
One Nevada businessman noticed the announcement, invited the wife of a movie producer to join him, and arrived on the night of the sermon "When No Man Can Buy or Sell." As he left the meeting that night, stunned by what he had heard, he stood for a moment to light a cigarette. Like magic, the first cigarette sailed ten feet away. A second attempt, and the match went out. A third attempt, and the whole matchbook exploded!
"Well, Lord," he said, "You must not want me to smoke." The balance of what would have been his third pack for the day was discarded, and this man has not smoked since. On September 7, 1963, he was baptized.
The It Is Written program is the greatest opportunity for participation in soul-winning endeavor that has come to us as professional men. And I personally thank God for the privilege of having a part in it.
The word of truth, 'It is written,' is the gospel we are to preach. No flaming sword is placed before this tree of life. All who will may partake of it. There is no power that can prohibit any soul from taking of its fruit. All may eat and live forever.—Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 19.
