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Emma L Runcorn (1864-1945) 

NB: note Herbert & Loma Armstrong's relationship with the Runcorns:

“The Runcorns - our "spiritual parents" - were members of the Church of God, Seventh Day, with headquarters at Stanberry, Mo." (“The History of the Beginning and Growth of the Worldwide Church of God” by Herbert W. Armstrong, Good News, May 1980, p. 2)

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Background to her relationship to the Armstrongs

“Some little time prior to this, we had been visiting my parents in Salem. My wife had become acquainted with an elderly neighbor lady, Mrs. Ora Runcorn. Mrs. Runcorn was an avid student of the Bible.

Before our marriage my wife had been quite interested in Bible study. She had been for years an active Methodist.

After marriage, although she had not lost her interest in the Christian life and the Eible, she had not had the same opportunity to express it, or participate in religious fellowship with others. While we lived in Maywood, suburb of Chicago, we had joined the River Forest Methodist Church, but the fellowship there had been more social than spiritual or Biblical.

But all Mrs. Armstrong's active interest in things Biblical was reawakened when she became acquainted with Mrs. Runcorn. One day Mrs. Runcorn gave her a "Bible study." She asked my wife to turn to a certain passage and read it. Then a second, then a third, and so on for about an hour. Mrs. Runcorn made no comment-gave no explanation or argument-just asked my wife to read aloud a series of Biblical passages.

"Why!" exclaimed Mrs. Armstrong in amazement, "do all these Scriptures say that I've been keeping the wrong day as the Sabbath all my life?"

"Well, do they?" asked Mrs. Runcorn. "Don't ask me whether you have been wrong-you shouldn't believe what any person tells you, but only what GOD tells you thru the Bible. What does He tell you, there? What do you see there with your own eyes?"

"Why, it's as plain as anything could be!" exclaimed Mrs. Armstrong. "Why, this is a wonderful discovery. I must rush back to tell my husband the good news. I know he'll be overjoyed!" A minute or so later, Mrs. Armstrong came bursting into my parents' home, shouting the "good news" to me.

My jaw dropped!

This was the worst news I had ever heard! My wife gone into religious fanaticism!

"Are you CRAZY?" I asked, incredulously.

"No, I was never more sure uf tht: TRUTH in my life," she responded with enthusiasm. Indeed I thought she had lost her mind. She certainly 'was CRAZY! Deciding to keep "Saturday for Sunday!" "Now look, Loma!" I said sternly. "I simply am not going to tolerate any such religious fanaticism in our home. You have to give that up, right here and now!" But she wouldn't. Week after week, month after month, we argued. I reminded her the Bible said a wife must be obedient to her husband! 

… "I will give you just one more chance, before we separate and get a divorce," I said. "I don't know just where it is, but I KNOW all these Churches can't be wrong! I KNOW it's in the Bible that we are to keep SUNDAY! I'll give you this one more chance, before you break up our home. I won't tolerate fanaticism!” ("The Autobiography of Herbert W Armstrong," Plain Truth, pp. 17-18)

After intense study Herbert Armstrong was convinced about the Sabbath and the rest is history ...

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A letter from Herbert Armstrong to the Runcorns

There is a surviving letter from Herbert Armstrong to the Runcorn's about British-Israelism (28 February 1928) wherein he mentioned that he and his wife were nearly convinced of Anglo-Israelism’s truthfulness, but they had yet to make a final decision. Here is an extract:

"Now as my mind works on this subject, it appears thus: The theory is that England and the U.S. are descendants of Joseph. The Jews are the descendants of Judah, and possibly also of Benjamin and Levi. If we have them located, then where are the other eight tribes? Why, why not right here in the U.S., mixed, thru immigration and inter-marriage between different races? They would all be of the white race. We have married and intermarried with other white races ...

Now if my theory is worth anything, it is this: Salvation is for all the world who will come to Jesus and accept it, regardless of race. But the special blessings, many of which I believe are to pertain to the next world, promised Israel, are for that one blood race alone.” HWAP Catalogue No 807 (pp. 4-5)