Pirates
of Privilege by Walter Rea
CHAPTER II
DAVENPORT AND
THE DIVINES
It was very clear to me by the time of Emmerson's letter in 1979 to my President, Elder Harold Calkins, that neither he nor Wilson nor the General Conference committees would do anything effective to stop events in the Davenport matter. The reason was that I had discovered direct evidence of corruption in the church. It was on such a large scale that it was hard for me to comprehend it.
At the first of the year of 1976 I had been appointed pastor of the Long Beach church, although it would be more accurate to say I had been exiled by Elder Calkins to that position. My name had been put in nomination in the constituency of 1975 for three positions, President, Treasurer and Secretary of the Conference. The nominating [publicly to accept it. 1 After talking with the Union President, Cree Sandefur, and his treasurer, Robert Cone, I came to the conclusion that they did not want me to accept the position and were not willing to give me their support. It wasn't until the following year and after the move to Long Beach that I learned the reason why.
After the nomination, and public refusal by me, of the position of treasurer of the Conference, Harold Calkins decided that I needed a move. As was his custom he tried to shift me from the center of political activity in the metropolitan area, but I kept refusing the calls he offered. Calkins, a very insecure leader, had managed to rid himself of most of the strong men in the conference he felt threatened by. He was trying to make sure I was the last to go. My name had appeared along with his in almost every election, and this he felt should be changed. Long Beach was open, a church that had once been a strong center but was on the decline and had been for many years. So I was exiled to the border of the conference where he felt I would have less influence in Conference affairs. What he did not anticipate was that Long Beach, the former home of Dr. Davenport and Elder Cree Sandefur, was to be the beginning of the end for me and also the opening of Pandora's Box of fraud, deceit cover-up, corruption and crime for the church.
I had only been pastor a few months when there came to my attention a copy of the divorce proceedings of one of Long Beach's most illustrious members, Donald Davenport. It was the property settlement between Donald Davenport and his former wife, a lady I had met, admired and worked with in youth work in the Conference. The agreement, dated May, 1972, was a petition for dissolution of their marriage in the Superior Court of the County of Los Angeles, case number D795614.2
What became clear to me after reading the evidence contained in the settlement was the way Dr. Davenport had understated his assets and liabilities, especially his liabilities. As a member of the Conference committee, I knew that Dr. Davenport had a great many dealings with the Conference, but the evidence of some of his many participations with the church was lacking in the divorce settlement. Yet in the agreement it was stated:
Each of us warrants to the other that neither of us owns any property
of any kind, other than the property referred to in the preceding paragraph,
and that listed in the schedules attached hereto and made a part of this
agreement. If it later appears that either warrantor now owns any other
property and that the warrantee has an interest in this other property, the
warrantor agrees to transfer or pay to the warrantee, at the warrantee's
election (i) an amount of the other property equal to the warrantee's interest
therein, if it is reasonably susceptible of division; (ii) the full market
value of the warrantee’s interest on the effective day of this agreement; or
(iii) the full market value of the warrantee's interest at the time the
warrantee discovers the warrantor's ownership of the property. 3
After seeking expert legal counsel I informed Betty Davenport that I felt she and her children had additional benefits coming their way and that, if she wanted, legal counsel could be obtained that would help her redress the inequity. She felt she could not do this because her name was contained on some of Dr. Davenport's properties and he might create problems for her in the future in that direction if she re-filed for redress. However, the divorce record and settlement of the Davenports was not the important item that shocked me. It was the long list of names of people and conferences of the church that were involved with the Doctor that blew my mind. It showed a web of conspirators from one end of the country to the other who were consistently and systematically emptying the coffers of the church into their own pockets through the Davenport program. It showed men in groups of small committees in select places and positions who were not only voting the church's money out, but were sometimes in those same committees voting themselves in financially by their connection with that church. This, any school boy or girl would know, was a conflict of interest, and thus a crime.
The list also made it clear why Cree Sandefur, the Union President, did not want me as a reformer in the business of the church. He was really in business with Dr. Davenport. In fact, the list was a virtual list of who's who in Adventism. But revealing enough, it did not include any blacks, Hispanics or downtrodden whites. It catered to the upper financial group of the church, the elite, the group that already enjoyed more of the privileges of the church than most. Here is the list.
Allborg, Don L. |
11,110.83 |
|
Dittberner, Jess L. |
6,798.25 |
Adams, Clinton E. |
5,415.88 |
|
Dombrosky, Stanley |
10,800.83 |
Adams, W. Melvin |
23,515.55 |
|
Duffield, C. L. |
113,631.39 |
Ash, Connie M. |
634.18 |
|
Dunham, Phillip W. |
10.981.67 |
Ashlock, Thomas M. |
16,357.96 |
|
Eden, Nettie |
15,527.59 |
Ayers, Leoard |
7,028.56 |
|
Ellstrom, Gordon L. |
13,892.99 |
Baker, Frank |
6,189.88 |
|
Erickson, Melvin E. |
16,833.16 |
Baldwin, Dalton D. |
5,643.68 |
|
Fagal, Anna |
26,828.67 |
Baldwin, Lela |
13,418.25 |
|
Fagal, William A. |
32,622.46 |
Baldwin, O. C. |
33,569.98 |
|
Hackett, Arlind E. |
4,255.54 |
Baldwin, Ruth |
40,581.86 |
|
Hackett, Willis J. |
11,775.40 |
Becker, V.W. |
16,892.29 |
|
Hagele, Emil M. |
31,990.94 |
Bennett, John G. |
5,919.76 |
|
Hardy, Gerald R. |
28,248.97 |
Berry, Vernon E. |
32,655.63 |
|
Hardy, H. G. |
18,480.00 |
Bethel Sanitarium |
67,716.03 |
|
Harlin, Martha E. |
7,617.87 |
Bigger, Forest W. |
54,025.69 |
|
Hartzell, John M. |
3,761.12 |
Berry, Vernon E. |
32,655.63 |
|
Hardy, H. G. |
18,480.00 |
Bethel Sanitarium |
67,716.03 |
|
Harlin, Martha E. |
7,617.87 |
Bigger, Forest W. |
54,025.69 |
|
Hartzell, John M. |
3,761.12 |
Brockett, Miller |
34,532.09 |
|
Hartzell, Judith V. |
2,965.02 |
Burke, W. J. |
3,641.65 |
|
Heppenstall, Edward |
104,951.90 |
Burkett, Elden E. |
186,943.52 |
|
Hoffman, J. Reynolds |
17,988.27 |
Carey, Wells C. |
16,756.31 |
|
Huey, D. P. |
4,993.90 |
Carle, Gordon H. |
12,186.53 |
|
Iversen, J. O. and Mrs. P. M. |
23,082.67 |
Caslow, Daniel |
51,975.00 |
|
Jesske, W. S. |
15,381.24 |
Caslow, Irene |
4,375.71 |
|
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX |
XXXXXXXX |
Caslow, Louise |
3,094.94 |
|
Johnson, Norman |
47,106.51 |
Clements, William V. |
7,114.80 |
|
Johnson, Lila V. |
8,919.67 |
Comrie, Lillian M. |
12,525.32 |
|
Jones, William E. |
3,257.04 |
Cronk, Ramon R. |
64,822.88 |
|
Karmy, Robert J. |
17,325.00 |
Crooker, Luther W. |
7,686.76 |
|
Karmy, S. D. |
969,562.41 |
Cumbo, Everett E. |
16,813.50 |
|
Krause, Marvin J. |
22,189.84 |
Cummings, Desmond |
75,664.04 |
|
Kuiken, Louise et al |
178,696.00 |
Daniels, Gertrude |
11,550.00 |
|
Ladd, W. M. |
8,085.00 |
DeBooy, Paul M. |
6,906.21 |
|
Lampson, C. P. |
33,429.13 |
Lanham, Helen E. |
2,223.89 |
|
Sandefur, Charles C. |
$24,255.00 |
Lauda, C. H. |
30,554.57 |
|
Sauder, Harvey |
5,884.41 |
Lew, John M. |
23,830.00 |
|
Schleenbaker, S. E. |
21.506.94 |
Libby, John E. |
40,268.68 |
|
Schoepflin, W. L. |
30,030.00 |
Lindgren, Clarence R. |
112,529.15 |
|
Schwartz, Rhonda G. |
11,550.00 |
Liscombe, George W. |
8,958.75 |
|
Simonsen, J. A. |
26,399.88 |
Lowe, Darlene |
31,433.74 |
|
Smith, Grover C |
56,796.21 |
Martin, Gudrum |
9,284.81 |
|
Spangler, J. R. |
18,817.49 |
Martin, Myrtle or So. May Jr. Acad. |
2,310.00 |
|
Steck, Margaret E. |
95,114.22 |
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX |
XXXXXXXXX |
|
Stewart, Alvin J |
3,637.13 |
Massengill, Otis |
19,831.35 |
|
Streifling, Walter |
29,371.75 |
Massengill, Robert |
35,228.77 |
|
Suhrie, Frank |
27,788.76 |
Massengil, Thomas |
3,133.10 |
|
Thurmon, James E. |
21,670.55 |
Miller, Amy Ann |
12,272.72 |
|
Thurson, Rachael D. |
11,550.00 |
Mogis, Ruby |
10,930.00 |
|
Tribby, Albert et al |
114,843.85 |
Mote, Frederick |
14,897.19 |
|
Trimble, Vada |
14,729.36 |
Murrill, W. L. |
8,694.05 |
|
Turpel, W. P. |
28,875.00 |
Nelson, John |
33,273.31 |
|
Unruh, T. E. |
17,733.11 |
Nettleburg, L. H. |
12.317.41 |
|
Wagner, William J. |
61,258.12 |
Neufeld, David A. |
11,944.02 |
|
Walde, E. R. |
11,072.08 |
Oakes, Lois B. |
13,452.61 |
|
Walters, T. W. |
26,205.86 |
Olsen, Dolores E. |
14,584.19 |
|
Watts, Emmett |
21,384.73 |
Olsen, V. Norskov |
14,854.10 |
|
Webb, Ed H. |
15,284.09 |
Parks, R. E. |
7,737.35 |
|
Wheeler, R. A. |
6,930.00 |
Pearson, Ralph W. |
45,783.08 |
|
Whitaker, Anne |
26,959.00 |
Pease, Norval E. |
3,164.57 |
|
Whitaker, Susan & Deborah |
21.506.94 |
Pierson, Robert H. |
7,539.48 |
|
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX |
XXXXXXXX |
Porter, J. T. |
20,181.04 |
|
Whitaker and Smith |
10,753.47 |
Porter, Thomas |
4,083.83 |
|
Wottlin, Beatrice L |
10,061.75 |
Preston, B. M. |
7,785.17 |
|
Young, H. A. |
16,032.56 |
Price, Jack L. |
54,435.57 |
|
Rasmussen, Lowell |
56,994.81 |
Purdey, Lorie |
3,267.27 |
|
Frank, Albert J. |
20,594.17 |
Purdey, Esther |
2,980.03 |
|
Callicott, O. H. |
90.000.00 |
Radke, Elford D |
86,076.55 |
|
Cowles, S. D. |
80,256.99 |
Reed, A. C. |
3,121.42 |
|
Hansen, Eula |
147,836.15 |
Reed, H. V. |
23,100.00 |
|
Jankovsky, Mrs. F. O. |
40,000.00 |
Reile, Ellsworth |
10,456.19 |
|
Little Creek Sanitarium |
25,000.00 |
Retzer, Darold J. |
3,085.13 |
|
Lutz, Mary J |
10,000.00 |
Retzer, Helmuth C. |
6,103.57 |
|
Ross, Rosalie |
10,000.00 |
Robertson, Mrs. James |
15,474.69 |
|
Thompson, Gary |
17,000.00 |
Robertson, John J
|
20,683.25 |
|
Tufte, Chester |
25,000.00 |
Rue, George H. |
23,100.00 |
|
Wood, Verna |
35,000.00 |
Name of Joint Venture Assets Encumbrances
Davenport \ Donaldson |
1,311,634.37 |
940,021.91 |
Davenport \ Eyer |
555,054.85 |
421,395.97 |
Davenport \ Gibson |
91.130.34 |
69.598.91 |
Davenport \ Harris |
122.836.00 |
74,589.84 |
Davenport \ Harris \ Boucher |
187.473.84 |
137,897.52 |
Dav./ Harris/Morehead (Mary Lou) |
426,410.83 |
327,765.18 |
Davenport \ Ludders |
35,896.16 |
NONE |
Davenport/Ludders/Garver/Potts/Eyer |
9,014.40 |
NONE |
Davenport \ Moorhead (Jay) |
122,200.00 |
88,897.55 |
Davenport \endash Potts |
153,501.33 |
33,454.41 |
Davenport \endash Potts
\ Eyer |
956,999.96 |
690,809.45 |
Davenport/Potts/Potts/Eyer |
44,460.25 |
NONE |
Davenport \ Ramer |
2,351,614.64 |
2,192,672.38 |
Davenport \ Sandefur |
176.64 |
NONE |
Dav./Sheppard (1 Hr. Martinizing) |
16,492.14 |
3,309.51 |
Davenport \ Taylor |
506,378.50 |
372,730.87 |
Davenport / Taylor |
210,641,97 |
135,978.78 |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bryant, Albert C and Anne S. |
120,327.35 |
Bukhdud, Joseph & Jean Yvonne |
42.520.71 |
Buss, William C. (MD) |
500.00 |
Buss, William C. (MD) |
6,914.33 |
Courdy Lighting Fixtures |
59,225.37 |
Cummings, Desmond and Lois |
11,214.31 |
Donaldson, Earl D. |
37,507.29 |
Eyer, R. Wayne and Arlene |
25,517.89 |
Freeman, Rhoda |
2,618.03 |
Gershman, Harold & Julia |
37,850.00 |
Gershman, Harold & Julia |
137,500.00 |
Gershman, Harold & Julia |
250,000.00 |
Goldsmith, Dr. Stephen R. |
30,000.00 |
Gregory, Allison |
1,018.37 |
Harris, Dr. John & Nina |
32,836.00 |
Ikerd, Lloyd R. and Darlene G. |
3,360.62 |
Johnson, David R. & Odette |
101,690.01 |
Mehler, Mrs. Ruth |
128,238.11 |
Meier, Rudy H. |
11,915.57 |
Murchison, Donald |
217,971.00 |
Nikas |
353.27 |
Ryan, R. I. and Dorothy |
6,098.46 |
Sheppard, Thomas and Gloria |
23,853.81 |
Sheppard, Thomas and Gloria |
22,641.76 |
Sparks, Clarence and Jane |
473.75 |
4
Of course the list changed. Some got in at the first and then were able to exit. Others were encouraged to come along with greater accounts of money and interestingly enough received greater rewards, always, it seemed at the expense of the church. When the list is compared with a later list of people and institutions it makes a better picture, but not necessarily a healthier one.
Coral Aalborg or Don L. Aalborg |
Able Plumbing |
P. O. Box 804 |
325 Cherry Ave |
Calhoun, GA 30701 |
Long Beach, CA 90805 |
|
|
W. Melvin and/or Olive Adams |
Adventist Retirement Community |
7810 Carroll Ave |
6015 Kratzville Road |
Takoma Park, MD 20012 |
Evansville, Indiana 47710 |
|
|
American City Bank |
American United Life Ins |
9601 Wilshire Blvd. |
One W. 26th St. |
Beverly Hills, CA 90210 |
Indianapolis, IND. 46206 |
|
|
Andrew Drain Service |
Bender L and Frances V. Archbold |
2983 Bautista |
6540 S.W. 28th Street |
Riverside, CA 92506 |
Miami, FL. 33155 |
|
|
Arrowhead |
Thomas M. and Betty C. Ashlock |
1000 West Temple |
2400 Mistletoe Place |
Los Angeles, CA 90074 |
Philadelphia, MD 20783 |
|
|
Associated Surgeons Medical Group, |
Orvin Atkins, Trust Account A |
8337 Telegraph Road, #315 |
8530 Wilshire Blvd., #500 |
Pico Rivera, CA 90660 |
Beverly Hills, CA 90211 |
|
|
Robert H. or Ota S. Babcock |
Robert H. or Ota S. Babcock |
719 Claret South |
719 Claret South |
Calistoga, CA 94515 |
Calistoga, CA 94515 |
|
|
Boena Mar, SA c/o Mr. Phillip November |
Johnie Bailey |
10520 Magnolia Blvd. |
516 Bellehaven Ave., N.E. |
N. Hollywood, CA 91601 |
Albuquerque, NM 87112 |
|
|
Franklin or Wylodine Baker |
Dalton D. and Barbara Baldwin |
3014 N.E. 160th |
11581 Richardson |
Portland, OR 97230 |
Loma Linda, CA 92354 |
|
|
Bank of America |
Bank of Beverly Hills |
PO O. Box 490 |
250 North Canon Drive |
W. Covina, CA 91793 |
Beverly Hills, CA 90210 |
|
|
Bank of Palm Springs |
Bankers Life Company |
789 E. Tahquitz-Mccallum Way |
711 High Street |
Palm Springs, CA 92263 |
Des Moines, Iowa 50307 |
|
|
Leon Beck |
Vernon W. and Evelyn P. Becker |
P. O. Box 2225 |
4139 Indian Lakes Circle |
Palm Springs, CA 92263 |
Stone Mountain, GA 30083 |
|
|
Bell Associates (Hanaco) |
Alan L. Belinkoff, |
433 N. Camden Dr., #1099 |
Trustee to Burdman |
Beverly Hills, CA 90210 |
4672 Ariba Dr. |
|
Tarzana, CA 91356 |
|
|
Vernon E. and Lois Berry |
Bethel Sanitarium |
567 Linda Falls Terrace |
6015 Kratzville Road |
Angwin, CA 94508 |
Evansville, IN 47710 |
|
|
Leo Bialis |
Sol Bilgrei c/o Rabbi E. F. Fisher |
2902 Alta Loma Drive |
12758 Lakeland Road |
Palm Springs, CA 92262 |
Santa Fe Springs, CA 90670 |
|
|
Helen H. Black |
Tobi Blaustien |
or the North Pacific Union Conf. Assn. of SDA |
415 Buena Vista Avenue |
8711 N. Hill'n Dale |
Mill Valley, CA 94941 |
Spokane, WA 99218 |
|
|
|
C. E and/or Arline J. Bracebridge |
Miller and Lauretta Mae Brockett |
160 Normandy Road |
35043 Persimmon Ave |
Columbia, SC 29210 |
Yuciapa, CA 92399 |
|
|
Mrs. Mabel A. Brody |
Kenneth or Marion Brown |
Rte. 1, Box 38B |
10225 E. Burnside |
Milton-Freewater, Or 97862 |
Portland, OR 97216 |
|
|
Budget Financial Corp. |
Cheryl E. Burkett |
Mr. Ickes |
Elder E. Burkett, Trustee |
6420 Wilsire Blvd., S1500 |
U/Cheryl E. Burkett Trust |
Los Angeles, CA 90048 |
1815 Petaluma Ave |
|
Long Beach, CA 90815 |
|
|
Widen E and Irene A. Burkett |
Benjamin G. and Elsie B. Butherus |
1815 Petaluma Ave |
1510 Moccasia Trail |
Long Beach, CA 90815 |
Berrien Springs, MI 49103 |
|
|
Dan E. Butherus |
Oakley H. Callicott |
4712 E. CreSent Ave |
P. O. Box 613 |
Mesa, AZ 85206 |
Keene, TX 76059 |
|
|
Max Candiotty |
Louis Canosa |
10100 Santa Monica Blvd. |
1040 Brasburn Blvd. |
Los Angeles, CA 90067 |
Charlotte, NC 28211 |
|
|
Carolina Conf. Assoc. of SDA, Inc. |
Daniel and Olive Caslow |
Box 25848 |
14343 N.E. Siskiyou Ct. |
Charlotte, NC 28212 |
Portland, Oregon 97230 |
|
|
Central Union Conf. Assoc. of SDA |
Century Bank |
P. O. Box 6127 |
6420 Wilshire Blvd. |
Lincoln, Nebraska 68506 |
Los Angels, CA 90048 |
|
|
Chevron USA, Inc. |
Chicago Title Insurance COO |
P.O. Box 2001 |
17671 Irvine, Blvd. |
Concord, CA 94529 |
Tustin, CA 92680 |
|
|
Christian Record Braille Foundation |
City National Bank |
4444 S. 52nd St. |
400 N. Roxbury Drive |
Lincoln, Nebraska 68506 |
Beverly Hills, CA 90210 |
|
|
Eliza E. Lewis or Pearl Z. Cleveland |
Clyde C. and Pearl Z. Cleveland |
or Clyde C. Cleveland |
15910 SW Century Oak Circle |
15910 SW Century Oak Circle |
Tigard, OR 97223 |
Tigard, OR 97223 |
|
|
|
Coachella Valley Savings and Loan Assn. |
Coast Federal S&L Assoc. |
P. O. Box 807 |
Box 44522 |
Rancho Mirage, CA 92270 |
San Francisco, CA 94144 |
Millie Miller, Asst. Mgr. |
|
|
|
Coldwell Banker |
The Collegedale Credit Union |
950 W. 190th St. #100 |
P. O. Box 296 |
Torrance, CA 90502 |
Collegedale, TN 37315 |
|
|
Columbia Union Conf. Assoc. of SDA |
Commonwealth Bank |
771Q Carroll Ave |
3900 W. El Segundo Blvd. |
Takoma Park, MD 20012 |
Hawthorne, CA 90250 |
|
|
Continental Service Corp. |
Continental Assurance Co |
P.O. Box 500 |
Mort. Loan Dept |
Phoenix, AZ 85001 |
310 SO Michigan Ave |
|
Chicago, Ill 80804 |
|
|
Jack Cooper |
Daniel Cole, M.D., Bennett E. Roth, M.D., |
L30 Vista del Campo |
and Michael J. Albertson, M.D. |
Los Gatos, CA 95030 |
2625 w. Alameda Avenue |
|
Burbank, CA 91505 |
|
|
Everett F. Coleman, M.D. |
Cheryl Crane c/o Violet Crane |
208 S. 35th Avenue |
212 N. Maple Grove |
Yakima, WA 98902 |
Hudson, MI 49247 |
|
|
Violet Crane |
Creative Art Images, Inc. c/o Herbert A. Reznikoff |
212 N. Maple Grove |
3620 Sepulveda Blvd. |
Hudson, MI 49247 |
Sherman Oaks, CA 91403 |
|
|
Crocker National Bank |
Ramon R. or Lela Cronk |
190 Broadway |
1007 N.W. Scenic Drive |
San Diego, CA 92101 |
Albany, OR 97321 |
|
|
Luther or Rose Crooker |
Desmond D. and Lois I Cummings |
PO O. Box 505 |
Rte. 2 |
South Lancaster, MA 01561 |
Calhoun, GA 30701 |
|
|
Gertrude A. Daniels |
Gertrude A. Daniels |
P. O. Box 16677 |
Rte 2, Box 458 |
Portland, OR 97216 |
Yamhill, OR 97148 |
|
|
Esther Naomi Darst or Lori Purday |
Clarence C. Davis |
10225 E. Burnside |
10261 Sterling Avenue |
Portland, OR 93221 |
Villa Park, CA 92665 |
|
|
James M. or Marjorie I Davis |
L. G. Diamond or Helen M Diamond |
South 815 Montavilla Dr. |
3908 N.E. Couch |
Spokane, WA 99204 |
Portland, OR 97232 |
|
|
Zelma Dickerson |
Dictaphone |
837 Murphy Rd. |
P. O. Box 9100 |
Medford, OR 97501 |
Bridgeport, Conn. 06602 |
|
|
Blanche Dixon |
Stanley Dombrosky |
18008 N. 20th Place |
112 Wilkinson Stree. |
Phoenix, AZ 85022 |
Orlando, FLA 32803 |
|
|
John F. and Mildred E. Duge |
Roy Eckerman |
1325 Ink Grade Road |
Box 381 |
Pope Valley, CA 94567 |
Bryn Mawr, CA 92318 |
|
|
George Elkins Co. |
William A and Virginia M Fagal |
499 N. Canon Dr. |
199 W. Didlee |
Beverly Hills, CA 90210 |
Thousand Oaks, CA 91360 |
|
|
Farmers New World Life Insurance |
Clarita M. Fazzari |
Box 76896 Sanford Station |
750 Powell St. |
Los Angeles, CA 90010 |
San Francisco, CA 94108 |
|
|
Federal Express |
Mae Ferraro or Mary Ferraro |
P. O. Box 727, Dept. A |
Rte. 5, Box 64-F |
Memphis, Tenn 38194 |
Hendersonville, NC 28739 |
|
|
Dave Finkle |
First Evangelical Church |
125 Montana St. |
2067 S. Hobart Blvd. |
Santa Monica, CA 90403 |
Los Angeles, CA 90018 |
|
|
First Los Angeles Bank |
First Women's Bank of California |
2029 Century Park East "B" Level |
12301 Wilshire Blvd. |
Los Angeles, CA 90067 |
Los Angeles, CA 90025 |
|
|
Florida Conf. Assoc. of SDA |
F.M.E. Leasing |
Box 1313 |
P.O. Box 7777-R0910 |
Orlando, FLA. 32803 |
Philadelphia, PA 19175 |
|
|
B. D. Fortner |
Albert J. (Evelyn) Frank |
Route 2, Box 75 |
Box 118, Rte 1 |
Happy, Texas 79042 |
Floodgate Road |
|
Swedesboro, N.J. 08085 |
|
|
Albert J. (Evelyn) Frank |
James P. Garity |
Box 118, Rte 1 |
9601 Wilshire Blvd., #340 |
Floodgate Road |
Beverly Hills, CA 90210 |
Swedesboro, N.J. 08085 |
|
|
|
General Conf. of Seventh Day |
Georgia Conf. Assoc of SDA |
Adventist, Inter-American Division |
Box 12000 |
P. O. Box 340760 |
Calhoun, GA. 3Q701 |
Coral Gables, FLA 33134 |
|
|
|
Harold Gershman |
Steven Glazer |
215 S. LaCzenga Blvd 4202 |
1253 W. Mendoza |
Beverly Hills, CA 90211 |
Mesa, AZ 85202 |
|
|
Golden State Sanwa Bank |
Grant G or Erma Graham |
626 Wilshire Blvd. |
35218 Fir Ave. #153 |
Los Angeles, CA 90017 |
Yucaipa, CA 92399 |
|
|
Dewain Grattan |
Alice B. Gregory |
2220 Lynn Road |
245 Coast Blvd., C-1 |
Thousand Oaks, CA 91360 |
La Jolla, CA 92037 |
|
|
NT. Trust #2 |
Emil M. Hagele |
Maurice Gross, Trustee |
3 Baldwin Drive |
4481 S. Durango Ave |
Staunton, VA 24401 |
Los Angeles, CA 90035 |
|
|
|
C.H. Hamel |
Gary A and Karla J. Hann |
Box 62 |
3212 Orlando Rd. |
Grand Ronda, OR 97347 |
Los Alamitos, CA 90720 |
|
|
W. Wayne or Ethel M. Hanson |
Eula Hanson |
11233 5. E. 325th Ct. |
7540 Hollywood Blvd., |
Auburn, WA 98002 |
Hollywood, CA 90046 |
|
|
G. Hardy, M.D.P.A., Pension Trust |
Sybil Hardy |
3304 Sellman Road |
1815 Orchard Ave |
Adelphi, MD 20783 |
Glendale, CA 91206 |
|
|
Donald E. Gray, MD |
Walter J. & Doris L. Hard, c/o "Jasper" |
And Paul Goldgerg, MD, Inc. |
5 Elm Close |
1330 West Covina Blvd. - Suite 205 |
Wells, Somerset, England
BA5ILZ |
San Dimas, CA 91773 |
|
|
|
Great American Bank |
Greater New York Corporation SDA |
1801 Century Park East |
85 Long Island Expressway North Hills |
Century City, CA 90067 |
New Hyde Park, N. !.,N.Y. |
|
|
John A. Harris |
Nina C. Harris |
633 Pine Ave |
320 WO Bixby |
Long Beach, CA 90812 |
Long Beach, CA 90007 |
|
|
Milton K & Kathleen L. Hartzell |
R.E. &/or Minnie L. Hendershot &/or |
Valley River Center, Suite 2 |
Ralph M. Hendershot (son) |
Eugene, OR 97401 |
P.O. Box 466 |
|
Collegedale, TN 37315 |
|
|
Edward and/or Margit Heppenstall |
Hertz System, Inc |
Box 142, San Remo Road |
P. O. Box 25485 |
Carmel, CA 93921 |
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73125 |
|
|
Robert J. Holmes, MAI |
Harold Hopple or Dorothy Hopple |
41311 East Florida Ave |
4909 O/nthega Road |
Hemet, CA 92343 |
Evansville, IN 47712 |
|
|
James K. Hopps, Attorney |
Joseph N. or Bonnie L. Hunt |
10225 E. Burnside |
3916 Pitcairn Place |
Portland, OR 97216 |
Laurel, MD 20810 |
|
|
Idaho First Nat'1 Bank Trust Dept |
Imperial Bank |
Box 7928 |
9920 La Cieneqa Blvd |
Boise, ID 83707 |
Inglewood, CA 90301 |
|
|
Indianapolis Life Ins. Co. |
Mary Opal Ingram |
Box 1230-B |
9740 Dollyshore Place |
Indianapolis, IN 46206 |
Charlotte, N.C. 28215 |
|
|
Internnational Union of Op. Engr., Local 302 |
Investors Guaranty Life Ins. Co. |
Western and Clay Streets |
Sunset Highway |
Seattle, WA 98121 |
Mercer Island, Washington 98040 |
|
|
Investors Realty Funds, c/o Ted Bolduc |
Investors Thrift |
P. O. Box 9546 |
1 City Blvd., West Suite #1617 |
Marina Del Rey, CA 90291 |
Orange, CA 92668 |
|
|
William and Ada Jarvis |
W.S. and Dorris F. Jesske |
25015 Tulip |
11964 Midcake Drive |
Loma Linda, CA 92354 |
Dallas, TX 75818 |
|
|
Lester C. and Mildred T. Johns |
Norman and/or Alvina Johnson |
Greentree Road |
810 Jackson Ave. |
Glassboro, N.J. 08028 |
Takoma Pk, MD 20012 |
|
|
Lila V. Johnston |
William F. Jones |
15017 S.E. Phone |
P. O. Box 22 |
Portland, OR 972 36 |
Berrien Springs, MI 49103 |
|
|
E. N. Judson |
Morton and Rosylyn Rale |
8717 Venice Blvd. |
5838 Ranchito Ave |
Los Angeles, CA 90034 |
Van Nuys, CA 91401 |
|
|
Kansas-Nebraska Assoc. of SDA, Inc. |
Shokry D. Karmy or Anna B. Kasmy |
3440 Urish Road |
2156 Scheuber Road |
Topeka, Kansas 66604 |
Chehalis, WA 98532 |
|
|
Lloyd B or Elizabeth L. Kidder |
Peter Kompaniez c/0 Loeb & Loeb |
12413 Ellen Court |
10100 Santa Monica Blvd. |
Silver Springs, MD 20904 |
Los Angeles, CA 90067 |
|
|
Marvin J. or Marjorie C. Krause |
Kreedman Mgmt. & Rlty Corp. |
Box 1065 |
9601 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 812 |
Sitka, Alaska 99835 |
Beverly Hills, CA 90210 |
|
|
Louise Kuiken (or Wayne Massengill, Trustee) |
Ky-Tenn. Conf. Assoc. of SDA |
6015 Kratzville Road |
Box 459 |
Evansville, IN 47710 |
Madison TN 37115 |
|
|
C.P. and/or Lorena Lampson |
Dr Landgarten |
24412 University Ave #104 |
(no address available) |
Loma Linda, CA 92354 |
|
|
|
Eda Lang, Yale Diversified Rlty. |
Lois E. Laybourn & Norma J. Reile |
17133 Ventura Blvd. |
Peniel Road, Rt. 1, Box 63 |
Encino, CA 91316 |
Tryon, N.C. 28782 |
|
|
Layman Foundation |
Levine |
Box 1272, Madison College |
Desert Lake Drive |
Madison, TN 37115 |
Palm Springs, CA 92264 |
|
|
L. H. T. Properties |
John E. and Phyliss L. Libby |
2450 W. 3rd Street |
Box 212 |
Craig, CO 81625 |
Dillingham, AK 99576 |
|
|
Life and Casualty Co of TN.
c/o Jenkins and Perry |
Lincoln Nat'1 Life Ins. Co. |
1900 Central Federal Tower |
1300 S. Clinton Street |
225 Broadway, San Diego, CA 92101 |
Fort Wayne, IN 46801 |
|
|
Clarence R & Rubie F. Lindgren |
George W & Eunice Ruth Liscombe |
1800 Lakewood Ct. 131 |
612 N. Poplar Street |
Eugene OR 97402 |
Pierre, South Dakota 57501 |
|
|
Loeb & Loeb |
Long & Levit/ Barry D. Brown |
1 Wilshire Blvd. |
1900 Ave. of the Stars #1800 |
Los Angeles, CA 90017 |
Los Angeles, CA 90067 |
|
|
Mildred W. Ludders |
Paul & Nora MacGlashan |
1160 Central Ave., Apt. 12 |
35630 Rancho Road |
Riverside, CA 92507 |
Yucaipa, CA 92399 |
|
|
Ruth Maier or Margret Maier |
Wayne A. Martin |
115 W. Columbia Street |
4116 Gwinn Drive |
Evansville, IN 47710 |
Norcross, GA 30071 |
|
|
Lacy Massengill |
Robert and Kathryn Massengill |
2806 14th Street |
2804 14th Street |
Palmetto, FLA 33561 |
Palmetto, FL 33561 |
|
|
Wayne L. and Margaret A. Massengill |
MasterCharge, B of A, NT & SA |
16020 N.E. Stanton |
Card Center |
Portland, Or. 97230 |
Pasadena, CA 91127 |
|
|
Sherman Mazur |
Kenneth M or Agnes M. McComas |
9601 Wilshire Blvd. |
308 Ronald Ave |
Beverly Hills, CA 90212 |
Glassboro, N.J. 08028 |
|
|
Donald M & Ellen G. McIvor |
Margaret McVeigh &/or Margaret L. |
1004 Victoria Ave |
Story &/or Patricia Simpson |
Saskatoon, Sas. Canada 57N 028 |
3139 Noriega Street |
|
San Francisco, CA 94122 |
|
|
Joseph or Anne Melashenko |
Amy Ann Miller |
1354 Eucalyptus Street |
10300 Kings River Road Sp. #80 |
Rial to, CA 92376 |
Reedley, CA 93654 |
|
|
Millie's Place |
Earl L. or Helen E. Mills |
9601 Wilshire Blvd., |
70 N. Meridith Ave. |
Beverly Hills, CA 90210 |
Pasadena, CA 91106 |
|
|
Mitsui Bank |
Montana Conference Assoc SDA |
333 S. Flower Street |
1425 W. Main Street |
Los Angeles, CA 90071 |
Bozeman, MT 59715 |
|
|
Betty J. Moskowitz |
R.V. and Evelyn J. Mundall |
2752 Casiano Road |
Box 17 |
Los Angeles, CA 90024 |
San Ignacio Cayo |
|
British Honduras, C.A. |
|
|
Murchison Construction Co |
Milton JO or Virginia Murray |
4777 Auburn Blvd. |
13032 Ingleside Drive |
Sacramento, CA 95841 |
Bettsville, MD 20705 |
|
|
Steven Edward Mussen c/o H. Reznikoff |
National Bank of Long Beach |
3620 Sepulveda |
4150 Long Beach Blvd. |
Sherman Oaks, CA91403 |
Long Beach, CA 90807 |
|
|
Bill Nelson Enterprises |
John and Helen Nelson or |
P. O. Box 527 |
Frank and Wylodine Baker |
Mira Loma, CA 91752 |
3004 N.E. 160th Drive |
|
Portland OR 97230 |
|
|
L. H O Netteberg |
LaVerne F. Nightingale |
2217 Stroden Circle |
22733-A Palm Ave |
Minneapolis, MINN. 55427 |
Colton CA 92324 |
|
|
Alice M. Nilsen |
Noon & Pratt |
482 Califo Street N.W. |
1930 Wilshire Blvd. Suite 400 |
Salem OR 97304 |
Los Angeles, CA 90057 |
|
|
Northern Union Conf. of SDA |
North Pacific Union Conf. Assn. SDA |
P.0. Box 27067 |
P. O. Box 16677 |
Minneapolis, MN 55427 |
Portland , OR 97216 |
|
|
Oklahoma Conference of
SDA |
TI / Olivetti Corp. |
P. O, Box 32098 |
P. O. Box 925 |
Oklahoma City, Okla. 73132 |
Tarrytown, N.Y. 10591 |
|
|
Dolores E. Olsen |
Anita N. Olsen |
6406 Highland Drive |
24958 Huron |
Everett, WA 98203 |
Loma Linda, CA 92354 |
|
|
One Hour Delivery |
On-Time Messengers SVC |
P. O. Box 45167 |
433 N. Camden Drive S899 |
Los Angeles, CA 90045 |
Beverly Hills, CA 90210 |
|
|
Opportunity with Legacy Foundation |
Ronald S. Orr |
P. O. Box 381 |
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher |
Bryn Mawr, CA 92318 |
515 S. Flower Street |
|
Los Angeles, CA 90071 |
|
|
Pacific Union Assoc. SDA |
Pacific Union Income Fund |
2686 Towngate Road |
2686 Towngate Road |
Westlake Village, CA 91361 |
Westlake Village, CA 91361 |
|
|
Pacific Union Investment Fund |
J. Padelford & Son |
2686 Towngate Road |
S. Pioneer Blvd |
Westlake Village, CA 91361 |
Artesia, CA 90701 |
|
|
Ralph W or Vaneta E. Pearson |
Jonathan G. and Olive May Penner |
18-131 Langlois Healing Waters IB12 |
74 Fourth Street |
Desert Hot Springs, CA 92241 |
Berrien Springs, MI 49103 |
|
|
Phillips Instant Printing |
Rex Pickell/ Pickell Construction |
9601 Wilshire Blvd. #119 |
5325 Cherry Avenue |
Beverly Hills, CA 90210 |
Long Beach CA 90805 |
|
|
Grace Plahn |
Forest C. Port |
1840 S. E. River Road |
Rte. 4 |
Hillsboro, OR 97123 |
Calhoun, GA 30701 |
|
|
J.T. and Edith Porter |
Postal Management Services |
Rte 1, Box 295X |
10520 Magnolia Blvd |
Silverton, Oregon 97381 |
N. Hollywood, CA 91601 |
|
|
Potomac Conf. Corp of SDA |
Jack L. and Lucille Price |
P. O. Box 1208 |
4462 Ceder Park Drive |
Staunton, VA 24401 |
Stone Mountain, GA 30083 |
|
|
Anna Wlld Progler |
Elford D. and Norabel Radke |
4675 Treat Hwy. |
10505 NE 187th Street |
Adrian, MI 49221 |
Battle Ground, WA 98604 |
|
|
Russell A or Mary Radke |
Damon Raike |
1100 Highland Ave |
1801 Century Park East |
Clarkston, WA 99403 |
Los Angeles, CA 90067 |
|
|
|
|
Sylvia Ramer |
Lowell R. Rasmussen |
334 E. 45th Street |
Rte 8, Box 175-A |
Long Beach, CA 90807 |
Hendersonville, N.C. 28739 |
|
|
Terri I. Rath |
H. V. Reed |
18412 Maria Place |
415 Cole Court |
Cerritos, CA 90701 |
Lee's Summit, MD 64063 |
|
|
E.S. and Norma Jean Reile |
Joel Reims, D.D.S. Profit Sharing P1. |
6L12 S. 25th Street |
7080 Hollywood Blvd #90fi |
Lincoln, NB. 68512 |
Los Angeles, CA Snn28 |
|
|
Helmuth C. and Erma I. Retzer |
Allan Richard Reznikoff |
18700 No. Cherry Road |
3237-D West Denton Avenue |
Lodi, CA 95240 |
Phoenix, AZ 85017 |
|
|
Herbert Reznikoff |
Frank E or Evelyn G Rice |
3620 Sepulveda |
2530 Hill Drive |
Sherman Oaks, CA 91403 |
National City, CA 92050 |
|
|
John J. and Katherine M. Robertson |
Sarah Ellen Robertson |
5430 College Avenue |
125 E. 10th Street |
Riverside, CA 92506 |
Coquille, OR 97423 |
|
|
Kurt Rodan c/o Tita James |
San Gabriel Valley Surgical Med. Grp. Inc |
11340 W. Olympic Blvd. #222 |
c/o Leon Beck |
Los Angeles, CA 90064 |
P. O. Box 2225 |
|
Palm Springs, CA 92262 |
|
|
Harvey L and Dorothy Sauder |
Savin Corporation |
4979 Dalton Drive |
17000 Marquardt |
Columbia, MD 21045 |
Cerritos, CA 90701 |
|
|
W. L. Schoepflin |
Gerald L. Schulman |
805 S. E. 69th |
10520 Magnolia Blvd |
Portland, OR 97215 |
N. Hollywood, CA 91601 |
|
|
Schwartz, Kales, Accountancy |
Seafirst Mortgage Corp |
8530 Wilshire Blvd. #506 |
C #34005 |
Beverly Hills, CA 90211 |
Seattle, Wash. 98140 |
|
|
Mary Karen Sigbornsen |
J.A. and Viola Simonsen |
Richmont Street |
1375 Vereda Barrance |
Loma Linda, CA 92354 |
Vista, CA 92083 |
|
|
Calvin L. and Virginia L. Smith |
Grover C. and Francis Smith |
c/o Southeast Asia Union Mission |
9 Colesville Manor Drive |
251 Upper Serangood Road - Singapore 13 |
Silver Springs, MD 20904 |
REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE |
|
|
|
Paul G. and James A Smith |
Paul G. and Jeanne A Smith |
1101 Kingwood Drive |
1101 Kingwood Drive |
Takoma Park, MD 20012 |
Takoma Park, MD 20012 |
|
|
Anne Snyder |
Serun Soghomonian c/o Gene Lang |
1442 S. Wooster #5 |
17133 Ventura 81Blvd/Yale Diversified Realty |
Los Angeles, CA 90035 |
Encino, CA 91316 |
|
|
Ann Louise Solari, Virginia Lynn |
Larry D. and Sherrie D. South |
Mazry & Elaine Maryse Solari |
Box 596 |
431 Pebble Beach Drive |
LaPorte, Colorado 80535 |
Aptos, CA 95003 |
|
|
|
South Dakota Conf. Assoc of SDA |
Southern Calif. Assoc of SDA |
217 N. Grand |
1535 East Chevy Chase Drive |
Pierre, SD 565Q1 |
Glendale CA 91206 |
|
|
Southern California Gas Company |
Southwest Estate Service, Inc. |
P. O. Box C |
Box 999 |
Monterey, CA 91756 |
Burleson, TX 76028 |
|
|
Alberta Brown |
Springs Community Assoc. |
Sparkletts/ForeMost-McKesson |
P. O. Box 764 |
P.0. Box 41049 |
Rancho Mirage, CA 92270 |
Los Angeles, CA 90041 |
|
|
|
Standard Insurance Co |
Standard and Poors Corp. |
P. O. Box 711 |
25 Broadway |
Portland, Or 97207 |
New York, N.Y. 10004 |
|
|
State of California Public Emplys Rtrmnt |
State Savings and Loan |
107 S. Broadway System |
Box 62213 |
Los Angeles, CA |
San Francisco, CA 94162 |
|
|
State Savings and Loan Assoc |
Sterling Bank of N.Y. |
222 N. Eldorado |
540 Madison Ave at 55th Street |
Stockton, CA 95202 |
N.Y., N.Y. 10022 |
|
|
Mildred Stokes |
Paul and Edith Stone |
5700 Kratzville Road |
401 S. 8urnside #11K |
Evansville, IN 47710 |
Los Angeles, CA 90036 |
|
|
Elmer Strum |
Sulmeyer, Kupetz, Baumann & |
Route 2 |
615 S. Flower Street |
Chuckey, TN 37641 |
Los Angeles, CA 90017 |
Hazelle Suhrie |
Sutro Mortgage Service |
Rte #5, Box 64A |
4900 Wilshire Blvd |
Hendersonville, N.C. 28739 |
Los Angeles, CA 90010 |
|
|
Lee Stagg or Dorothy
Stagg |
Gladys K. Taintor |
North Pacific Union Conf
Assn |
11961 Tree Top Circle |
|
Nevada City, CA 95959 |
|
|
Sr. Jerome Tamkin, or Robert M. Tamkin, or Joel P. Tamkin |
Gene B and Cidy Reile Tarr |
9007 Melrose Ave |
8 Alton Drive |
Hollywood, CA 90069 |
Elizabeth City, N.C. 27090 |
|
|
Tax Collector, L.A. County |
Tenzer and Shane Trust Account |
P. O. Box 3202, Terminal Annex |
2900 Townsgate Road |
Los Angeles, CA 90051 |
Westlake Village, CA 91361 |
|
|
Title Ins. & Trust c/o Doris Hughes |
Michael D. Tomlin/Colorado East Ltd. |
700 Wilshire Blvd TRUST ACCT. |
3000 Pearl Street, Suite 209 |
Los Angeles, CA 90054 |
Boulder, Colorado 80301 |
|
|
John D. or Thelma Trude |
Raymond Dale and/or Ellen Tunnell |
1115 NE 179th |
Route 36 Lindsey Lane |
Portland, OR 97320 |
Knoxville, TN 37922 |
|
|
Union Home Loans |
United Calif. Bank |
17772 Irvine Blvd., #209 |
707 Wilshire Blvd, |
Tustin, CA 92680 |
Los Angeles, CA 90051 |
|
|
United California Mortgage Company |
Upper Columbia Mission Soc. SDA |
Bin 74 |
West 1025 Indiana Ave |
Pasadena, CA 91109 |
Spokane, WA 99205 |
|
|
Leasing Corporation |
Valley ENT Medical
Group, Inc. Pension Plan |
P. O. Box 38133 Rincon Annex |
297 West Artesia Suite A |
San Francisco, CA 94138 |
Pomona, CA 91768 |
|
|
Alfred Vanacore |
Isidorius Veisas Trust |
c/o Gene Lang Yale Diversified Realty |
c/o Leon Beck |
17133 Ventura Blvd. |
P.O.Box 2225 Palm Springs, CA 92262 |
Encino, CA 91316 |
|
|
|
Jessica Vicknair |
Bruck Van Vranken, M.D.,
|
c/o Gene Lang Yale Diversified Realty |
& Charles Kramer, MD, Inc.,
a Med. Corp. |
17133 Ventura Blvd Encino, CA 91316 |
440 West Foothill Blvd. |
|
Glendora, CA 91740 |
|
|
Wlliam J. Wagner M.D. |
Arthur or Gertrude C. Wallach |
6504 Beverly Blvd. |
1722 Benedict Canyon Drive |
Everett, Wash. 98203 |
Beverly Hills, CA 90210 |
|
|
E. R. and Ester Lo Walde |
T.W. and Lois Walters |
14021 N.E. Fremont Street |
14330 S.E. 268 Court |
Portland, OR 97230 |
Boring, OR 97009 |
|
|
Isabel Ward |
J.A.Wasemiller and/or WoEo Wasenmiller |
4001 Anderson Road |
82 Fourth Street |
Nashville, TN 37217 |
Berrien Springs, MI 49103 |
|
|
James E or Kristie Wasenmiller |
Wilbur E. 6/or Mrs J.A. Wasenmiller |
3363 Huckleberry Court |
P. O. Box 849 |
South Salem, OR 97302 |
Decatur, GA 30031 |
|
|
Ali Wassil |
Ralph or Jeanne Weidman |
5158 Highland Ave |
North Pacific Union Conf. Assn. |
Los Angeles, CA 90041 |
335 N.E.Jefferson |
|
Hillsboro, OR 97123 |
|
|
Weijohn Farm |
Wells Fargo Bank Auto Lease Ctr. |
Rte. 3 Box 3285 |
P. O. Box 816 |
Wapato, WA 98951 |
Anaheim, CA 92805 |
|
|
Western Oregon Conference
Association of SDA |
Robert L & LaVonne R. Wheatley and Bonnie L. Bailey |
605 SE 39th Ave |
5471 Peacock Lane |
Portland, OR 97214 |
Riverside, CA 92505 |
|
|
Glenn A. and Beth Whitaker |
Ray L. White |
3031 E. Chevy Chase Drive |
1325 Ink Grade Road |
Glendale, CA 91206 |
Pope Valley CA 94567 |
|
|
Eugene Winter |
Anne M Witaker |
415 S.E. Date |
14093 Davana Terrace |
College Place, WA 99324 |
Sherman Oaks, CA 91423 |
|
|
Patricia Wood |
Woodbury and Co. |
15 Lincoln Ave. N. |
Chadwick Square |
Lehigh Acres, FL 33936 |
Worcester, Mass 01605 |
|
|
Xerox Corporation |
Robert Zucherman |
2029 Century Pk. East #700 |
225 E1 Camino Drive |
Los Angeles, CA 90067 |
Beverly Hills, CA 90212 |
5
There are those in the Adventist church that will always feel that the next moves I took were both unwise and unnecessary, but they make much of the text in Matthew 18 under other circumstances when it does not involve them or their church. The words are these:
Moreover, if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him
his fault between thee and him alone; if he shall hear thee, thou hast sinned
against thy brother. But if he will not hear thee; then take with thee one or
two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be
established. And if he shall neglect to hear them tell it unto the church; but
if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as a heathen man and a
publican. 6
I felt that I personally, as well as the whole church, had been wronged greatly in both deed and fact by the head elder of the church, whose name stood at the top of the list as a priest, because of his great conflict of interest in the Davenport matter. His influence was not on the side of right and he should be instructed as such. So I wrote on June 14, 1977 the following letter to him and to him alone:
The other day I came across a list of names with yours on it, so
thought you might like to have a copy to remind you of the Clan and the big
time. It is a list of ministers and leaders who have or had invested personal
money with Dr Donald Davenport.
It certainly makes interesting reading. It also explains a lot of
questions some have had about the workings of the church in the past and how
and why some men get where they are. It surely lays to rest the promoted idea
of a self-sacrificing, self-denying leadership in this movement. In any other
field of human endeavor it also might raise special questions of conflict of
interest, influence peddling, and even bribery, when the list is compared with
another equally interesting list of all the Conferences and Associations that
hold notes that amount to millions with the same man, often encouraged and
helped by some of the same leaders and clergy.
We have often written about revival and how it is to be brought about
by change, and that that change will come from reform. It is easy to see why we
are and will have a difficult time in our circumstances in the church expecting
or hoping for such a change to take place.
I have often wondered since seeing the list, what the lay members of
the church would think of the message and the Clergy, if the list were
published in the Review or some other paper. If, as one leader has said, it was
just a good business deal on a personal level, then most of the laymen would be
equally interested in making such a sure investment.
You may keep the list, if you wish. It seems to me to be a sad
commentary on our times and our leadership in the Church. 7
At the same time I sent Elder Cree Sandefur, who at the time was Union President of the Pacific Union, where Davenport seemed to have gotten his start, a short note.
Dear Elder Sandefur,
There came to my attention some time ago a list of names which
contained your name along with that of many of your friends. It makes very
interesting reading. It also explains a lot of questions that have come to mind
in the last few years concerning the church and the work. Some of these names
have an interesting history in the field of money and finance. I thought that
you might like to keep a copy to remind you of the club and the big time.8
I did not choose the words to either man lightly. The Davenport list showed that men in high office in the church helped to put others of their friends in high office. It was true, as Elder Rasmussen had told me in the Academy, that you ride to success on the shoulders of your superiors. It came to me clearer then ever before that it was not God running the church, as I had been told over and over again, but the Piersons and the Sandefurs that put men where they were so they could be helped to do what they wished. It was the Piersons and Sandefurs that got away, free from the slander and shame. Sandefur was Pastor in Long Beach where Davenport was a member and got his start in the church with Cree's help. Sandefur went to Hawaii and Davenport was there. Sandefur went to the east and Davenport was never far away. Sandefur opened doors by his involvement thus encouraging others to enter those open doors. Yet when the house of cards came down, Cree was out with his money as well as out with his "fast" retirement. Davenport himself made it very clear in one of his letters how much help Cree had been to him:
Elder Sandefur took out his money three or three and one half years ago
when he became President of the Pacific Union Conference and he and his wife
Mildred told me together when I was on the Loma Linda Campus and they were out
there that this was one of the hardest decisions that he had ever made because
he had done very well with me financially, but since his Union Conference would
probably be voting on some of my transactions that he felt best that he should
take his money out and I said well that was up to him but that after he had
retired if he wanted to he could put his money back in and he said he would
most certainly do so.9
I wonder since seeing Davenport's letter if Cree did invest again with his friend and if so why he is not listed among those that were left holding the bag. After all, Davenport owed him a lot, at least enough to give him inside information as to when to get out. It was Cree Sandefur that helped to move all the investments that were in the local conferences, where the local laymen and preachers could see them and ask questions, to the Union where they could not see or complain. It was perhaps one of the best moves Cree made for Davenport while President of the Pacific Union, but it did leave the Union holding the bag for that $1,528,094 of loans plus the accrued interest of $120,449.
Editor’s note: In the original typewritten manuscript, there is no footnote for
the number 10.
The Davenport list had also shown that most if not all of the Unions in North America were involved with him in some way and that the committees of these institutions of the church, often with their presidents and officers, were personally members of Davenport's financial club. In its article Spectrum said:
Almost everyone interviewed for this article said that individual
leaders received higher rates of return on their funds then did church
organizations, and several stated that influential and powerful people in the
church received better returns than ordinary mortals. And in his last, difficult
days, Davenport had apparently paid off some favored creditors. His trustee,
Irving Schulmeyer, reported in an application to the judge that
"preferences have been made in substantial sums” by Davenport in the 90
days prior to his filing for bankruptcy.11
President Pierson's letter back to me was typically ministerial. It said nothing and did not even say it well, but it did reveal a great deal about the man and his thinking:
It is understandable that you would be surprised to receive a list giving
the personal amounts that various individuals have deposited with Dr. Donald
Davenport there in California. In the first place, this is strictly
confidential information and the fact that it has become somewhat public
property is in itself shocking. (I have asked myself many times why he thought
it was shocking if it was proper.) I may tell you, however, that this list was
compiled August 31, 1971, and with deposits, withdrawals, etc., the list is no
longer valid. (This was a straw man tactic; he knew there was a new and current
list.) I appreciated very much that you sent the list to me personally instead
of passing it along to others. (He did not know this but only hoped so.)
Brother Rea, I would prefer to sit down and talk with you rather than
reply by letter, but since it is not likely that there will be opportunity for
this, I wish to make a few observations that I hope will be helpful. (He was
paid by the church to fly the world and could have come if he had wished and as
time has shown, it would have been better if he had not written as he did.)
I cannot speak for any of the other investors on the list, but I wish
to speak for myself. As I go through the names there are a number that I, of
course, know well, and I also know that they are generous supporters of the
Lord's work, (Again a straw man. If
most had received the high interest the list reveals, they should have been
more generous in supporting the church that they were robbing to make it all
possible.) and personally I would not wish to judge their giving by the amount
they may have invested with Dr. Davenport. I know some of the persons on the
list who have invested money for members of their families in their names.
In the first place, I want to say that as far as I have known, Dr. Davenport's
operations for the past many years have always been open and above board, and
in every way legitimate. (This is an incredible statement in the light of what
his own General Conference Treasurer was saying and writing about.) He has
helped many workers and members and some church organizations. To my knowledge
no board or committee of which I am a member has any money invested with Dr.
Davenport. (This is another incredible statement as the policy of the church
matches the General Conference President virtually a member of any and every
committee, especially the Unions that were involved.) There can be no conflict
of interest here. In fact, I know of only one or two organizations which have
money infested with him. (Yet the list I had sent him showed a dozen or more of
which at least technically, he was a member.) If they have, according to my
information, they have been receiving good interest on their investment and
have never lost a penny. (This was also an untrue statement as Davenport was
often behind in his interest payments to the churches and Conferences, which
the bankruptcy records show.)
Is there something immoral about putting aside money for retirement or
toward a home? According to my information, Ellen White owned several
properties. (Pierson had always given lip service to the Adventist Prophet even
if he did not follow her advice about honest dealing in finance.)
Some of us, Brother Rea, have spent a good share of our ministry in
foreign fields. We were separated from our families for years. Our salaries
were much less than in the homeland. We
lived in mission or rental property. There was no opportunity to build up an
equity such as workers here in the homeland are able to do. (What a litany of
false reasons for his unethical and illegal actions!) Was it wrong for us to
invest our savings where we would receive good interest until we needed it for
retirement? I do not believe it is fair to criticize anyone for doing this.
I make no apologies for having a modest sum invested with Dr. Davenport.
I do not have time to invest in stocks and bonds, etc., and spend time watching
and worrying about the market. We placed our money where we felt impressed and
have gone about our business without worrying about it.
As far as sacrificial giving is concerned, Brother Rea, I don't imagine
that any of us gives nearly as much as we should when we consider what the Lord
has given for us. But I can write in the Review
with clear conscience urging our people to give sacrificially. Mrs. Pieron (sic) and I have given from 20 to 35%
of our salaries for years in addition to thousands of dollars given to the
world field program through my books from which I have foregone royalties that
I might have claimed. I also drive a 1972 Chevrolet.
Brother Rea, (And here comes the sermon not the answer to my letter) I
was both surprised and disappointed that a pastor in my church (note that he
does not say ours or God's but his church) would jump to conclusions as you
have (Before it was over most of Adventism as well as those of the world that
knew about it jumped to the same conclusions) and write a letter in a
questionable spirit (The secretary must have had trouble with the word, questionable, for it is corrected and
typed over and over several times. I have wondered if the word he used and
erased was questioning.) without checking some facts with me before judging.
But this I shall have to leave between you and the Lord.
May the Lord bless and guide you as you feed and lead the flock of God
there in Long Beach. (which is exactly what I felt He was doing when I wrote
Pierson the letter asking for an explanation). 12
Pierson's letter sounded like some ancient pagan love song. He had been taken from the sheep fold of Adventism and exalted to the crown, yet he was poor-mouthing the very system he enjoyed. Some preachers whine a lot. They often rule like some ancient Mongolian Prince. They roam the world always at the people's expense. When they touch the ground from their flight they are wined, dined, and pampered by lesser functionaries, all who are hoping some promotion or crumb of favor will fall their way as a reward. From the beginning to the end the structure favors the executive, the administrator, the divine that has made it to the top. Even the retirement plan he spoke of gives him a leg up on his colleagues. One of the great lies of Adventism is that all men are treated equal in the work of the church. The special privileges of houses, gifts, interest free loans, trips and perks are a way of life with Adventist administrators. It is one of the reasons so many want to be one; and for Pierson to poor-mouth the very system he was defending by his action on the Davenport matter was laughable, if not terribly sad.
What was even sadder was the morality that he showed about the whole affair. Much of his reply did not admit anything or explain anything or apologize for any of his actions or those of his colleagues. He either was unable to understand how he and his friends looked to others or did not care. He didn't even leave the matter between "me and the Lord" as he said. I found out later through the bankruptcy court that even before the ink was dry on my letter to him he had sent it to Dr. Davenport and was playing both sides of the street. His letter to me was dated June 23, and Davenport's letter to him was dated June 28. He wrote to Davenport on the same day he sent me my letter:
Dear Elder Pierson,
I have your letter dated June 23, 1977 and the copy that you wrote to
the individual that had written to you.
Without any effort on my part, I believe I have identified this
individual as Elder Walter Rea and I did not set out to identify him but that
same day there came into my office an Elder and I am going to use all the names
that I have access to so you'll know what I'm talking about. This Elder's name
was Elder David Neufeld and he told me, "What is this stuff that Walter
Rea is peddling around?" and I said, "I don't know what he's peddling
around, but I have an idea so would you tell me?" He said that he is telling
everybody that you are in serious financial trouble and that specifically he
has made three allegations:
1. That the Georgia Cumberland Conference has no money with you and I
told him at the present time that Georgia Cumberland Conference has 52,600,000
with me.
2. He stated that all the conferences are calling for their money back
and this is in error. Occasionally one wants some of their money for some
building project and I send it back to them.
3. He stated that there was a member of the Long Beach Church that had
asked for $200,000 and I told him I couldn't pay it. I immediately called up
this individual whose name is Widen Burkett and Widen said I did not ask for
$200,000 back and I didn't want it back and the party who is stating all this is
Walter Rea who is Pastor of the Long Beach Church.
The fourth allegation that Walter Rea made was that recently Elder C.
Sandefur pulled out his money because he was worried about my investments and
also that it was a conflict of interests.
Elder Sandefur took out his money three or three and one half years ago
when he became President of the Pacific Union Conference and he and his wife
Mildred told me together when I was on the Loma Linda campus and they were out
there that this was one of the hardest decisions that he had ever made because
he had done very well with me financially, but since his Union Conference would
probably be voting on some of my transactions that he felt best that he should
take his money out and I said well that was up to him but that after he had
retired if he wanted to he could put his money back in and he said he would
most certainly do so.
Elder Pierson, those are four blatant lies and I'm not going to call
the Lord's annointed (sic) a liar, but I think I can call truth, truth and
falsehood, falsehood. I documented all four of these instances. I documented
Walter Rea, Pastor of the Long Beach Church for saying that. I debated whether
I should call Elder Rea and I thought by calling him if he's going to tell lies
now he would perpetuate his lying program and I'm just going to leave it alone.
Now, to be more specific: I told everybody that vested with me that I
would treat their money just like a bank that I would not discuss with or
disclose to other people what they had or anything about it. If they wanted to
disclose it, that was their personal business and I have never violated that
confidence.
I started this investment program about 17 or 18 years ago and nobody
has lost a cent of interest or a cent of principal during that time and nobody
ever will unless some catastrophe happens that I do not foresee.
For your own information, my
financial picture and program has never been better than it is right now and I
have no reason to believe that it won't continue to be better.
I'm very disappointed that
Elder Walter Rea should take it upon himself to try to do whatever he's doing.
I hear, indirectly, and I'm not in a position to document it, that he
is not pleased with the way the Church runs their finances and he is going to
help straighten it out any way he can. My former wife, Elizabeth Davenport,
worships at the Long Beach Church where he is a Pastor and it is very easy to
believe and to think that he got this list of investors from her or through her
office.
In the dissolution of marriage settlement I listed my assets and my
liabilities and I had to list all of the people that had invested with me, but
I made it very clear to my former wife's attorney, William Cree, that this was
a confidential matter - that I wanted him to know that I owed - that I would
take all the responsibility for the bills and obligations, but that it would serve no useful purpose
and it would violate a trust if this became public. Apparently, either my
former wife or this attorney saw fit to make it a matter of public record and
Elder Walter Rea does not have the best interest of the Church at heart, but
perhaps only his own selfish interests to take the matter still further.
As an interesting note, which you may well know, every time there is a
vacancy in the President's office of the Southern California Conference, he
gets a little group behind him and makes some trouble and runs for the office.
I've known him many, many years and this is his program.
Again, Elder Pierson, I'm sorry for this item happening, but for
somebody to have to dig into something six years back to make their point is
really quite ridiculous.
I thought that you handled his letter in a masterful way and it is not
beyond the realm of possibility that within the next year or two everybody
within that investor's group will have been paid off because I'm getting into
larger and larger buildings and I'm paying off investors as I do that.
I find it quite interesting that he made four allegations in front of
Elder Dave Neufeld. I disproved every one of them.
I would like to ask you a question which I don't think you have the
answer for, but I think I'm entitled to ask - and that is, "When does a
minister of the Seventh-day Adventist Church get a license to lie?"
Please accept my apologies for this unfortunate situation and do
whatever you can to protect the good interests of the Church because that's
what we all should do. 13
Poor Don, still doing his best to come across as "a hell of a guy." The letter not only shows up the deceit in Davenport's makeup but Pierson's as well. It also helps to show how the system had gone wrong with stooges and lies and intimidation. One of those stooges that got away was David Neufeld. He was a left over General Conference man that was put to work in the Pacific Union by Cree Sandefur at half price. He was long overdue for retirement but made up for it by singing the praises of Davenport to all that questioned him. He had his own money invested and encouraged other to do so. He was one of the boys that got out with profit, and long after the debacle he still stood four-square for his friends in the mess and said he felt no guilt for what he did as a double agent for Davenport.
Another name mentioned was also an agent for Davenport. He was my head elder, Widen Burkett. We had discussed Dr. Davenport together; and I had assured him that as a committee member of the Conference he was in a slippery position when it came to the voting of 'funds from the conference to Davenport when he himself was singing his praises as an investor. Another item had come up between us that perhaps chaffed him a bit. It so happened on his retirement as a public school teacher that he received a call to go into the ministry in Nevada. The President of that Conference, Elder Striefling, was a Davenport investor, Burkett was a Davenport investor, and Cree Sandefur, who would have to approve the appointment in the Union, was a Davenport supporter. With so many young men coming out of school without calls into the work I felt that is was wrong for Burkett to receive that call the way it was coming and looking and told him so, and asked him how it would seem if all the circumstances should become known. The call did not materialize but I received the impression Widen was not happy with me for my lack of support for his friend, Davenport. With his $185,000, plus interest, I could understand why.
Two other names should be mentioned as those that got away without much embarrassment or shame. One was John Robertson, a former Lonq Beach Pastor and friend of Dr. Davenport. While pastoring in Glendale, he was unable to convince his board at the Vallejo Drive Church that they should invest with him in Davenport. It caused some problems and some of the elders who talked with me felt strongly that John was putting on too much pressure considering his connections. John later worked in Southeastern California and I guess felt no moral problem with encouraging others to follow Davenport. He later wrote a high sounding moral book called THE WHITE TRUTH seeking to refute my book, THE WHITE LIE, even before I had published it. Another former pastor of Long Beach and friend of Davenport and retiree who was re-hired by Sandefur was Elder Duffield. He had taken trips overseas with the Doctor and had encouraged others to invest with him. In a letter to me he said:
Many of my friends keep inquiring of me about his financial picture. I
would like to be able to speak with some degree of certainty about his
soundness. I have gotten all my money from him. Confidentially I had $100,000
with him. I must say that he doled me out a bundle of interest over the years.
For this I'm deeply grateful. However, I am happy to have my money (principle).
The reports I get from various sources, including his first wife, are very dim.
14
So it wasn't just me that was hearing and speaking the things we were hearing. It was getting late for Davenport and he was thrashing around more and more. What did and does come across over and over again is that one could talk to lawyers, doctors, truck drivers, school children, atheists or infidels, and most if not all could tell you that what was going on was wrong, evil and wicked. But neither then nor since has Pierson, Sandefur, Neufeld, Robertson, Burkett, Duffield, Union Presidents or the church as a whole expressed or admitted the gravity of its sins of involvement. Little or no embarrassment has been shown, much less shame. And perhaps even more amazing, the church as a whole still preaches against those terrible Catholics, those dirty Protestants, and the evil world, not seeming to notice that by their lack of concern over their own amoral or immoral conduct or the condoning of it, they have forfeited any right to condemn or preach reform to others.
Evidently Pierson had not given Davenport enough assurance that he would either stop me or fire me for he wrote again a few weeks later:
Dear Elder Pierson,
I have your letter dated July 19, 1977 and I do not wish to take your
valuable time with reading a lot of correspondence.
I will abide by your wishes and
let the matter drop unless Elder Walter Rea decides to keep stirring it up. If
he decides to do this, I have no alternative but to take care of him in the
best way that I see fit.
I would like to close my remarks in this letter with some thoughts that
I think are very important.
I consider my word of honor absolute and when these different ministers
over the period of seventeen years invested sums with me, they asked me, almost
without exception, not to mention the amounts they had with me because they
felt it would serve no useful purpose and besides it was their own business.
I have kept that trust all these years and I refuse to even give the
General Conference a balance sheet because even though Elder Emmerson and Elder
Osborne indicated, via the grapevine, that they wished to have it-- this could
reveal the names of the different people and I felt that I would not violate a
trust.
The second reason that I am interested in shutting up Elder Walter Rea
is that I am aware of a group of laymen that wish to cause embarrassment to the
Seventh Day Adventist Church by getting every single bit of financial
information that they can and distort and twist and use it to their best
advantage to embarrass the Church and I, for one, would like to do everything
in my power to protect the Church. I always have and I always will.
I have told you before that I have not lost a single cent of interest
or principal for the Church these many years in which I handled millions of
dollars for them. I have pride in that relationship. I thank God that I have
been successful in difficult times to always provide the Church with a gain and
not a loss.
It disturbs me very much that
somebody on the Church payroll such as Walter Rea would become involved in a
situation where it could become very embarrassing to the Church.
With these facts, I now rest my case I hope that you are effective
enough in having Elder Walter Rea realize the folly of his ways and, because he
got this list by some devious means, and dug into a domestic situation that has
been settled for over rive years only to furnish ammunition for the discontents
and malcontents in the Church that he should be advised that this will not help
him, but in the long run will hurt his cause.
Elder Pierson, please remember that I am 100% behind the organized
Church. There may be people in the Church, such as Elder Walter Rea, that do
not do things as I feel they should be done, but that is their problem, not
mine.
I promise you that I will not pursue this matter further unless Elder
Walter Rea and his ilk (sic) do not take your advice and keep the list
confidential. If they don't then I am absolved from my promise to you and I
will take the matter in my own hands.
If I understand the Bible
correctly, it says that if you have something against your brother, you go to
him first. If that doesn't settle it, you take a witness and go to him. If that
doesn't settle it, you take the whole Church and go to him and if that doesn't
settle it, then you take it to court or some other higher authority.
Elder Pierson, Walter Rea has not done any of those things and I just
feel very protective of the Church. I think sometimes some of us laymen must
take a strong arm position to defend the Church and to shut UD all of this
maliciousness that is going around.
Well, you have heard my story.
I have made a promise and I will keep my promise, but my promise has one
"out" in it. If Walter Rea is not smart enough to keep his mouth
shut, then I am going to move in on him. 15
Someone has suggested to me since seeing the letter that they sound more like the Mafia than Christians, and I agreed. To believe that the head of a church would be in business with such a man and yet not come to me and talk of what was transpiring is hard to understand. Another interesting thought is that if Pierson was sharing his correspondence from me with Davenport he must have been sharing it with another, Neal Wilson. Why not? It had been done before.
In the early 1960's I was
contacted by the then President of the General Conference, R. R. Figuhr. The
church had been having a lot of troubles with their head divines in the
south,and because I had worked there, been on committees and knew the men, he
wondered in his letter if I would be willing to write what I felt were some of
the problems. My letter would be confidential of course, he assured me, and I
would be doing a good service for the church. I wrote him my convictions,
naming names, stating places and specifics, how the leaders were, in my opinion,
corrupt, greedy men, how they bought and sold property through our hospitals to
protect themselves and to save money through the institutions and then would
profit by their methods, how they sold cars to the workers and extracted a
personal fee for doing so. I was liberal with my information and the names of
men who were participating. 16
Sometime later I met Elder Neal Wilson at the General Conference session, and he informed me that he had read the letter I had been told was confidential by R. R. Figuhr. I knew from my knowledge of the system I was in trouble. Sure enough, sometime later, one of my friends called and told me that my name had been black listed in the south for all time and I could and would not ever get a call to anything, "not even dog catcher." Knowing how the system operates I was not surprised. I have often been accused of seeking higher office. Knowing some of the men in those offices, I have never known if I should take the rumor as praise or insult. If by the time of the Davenport situation I carried any thought of advancement in the church, it surely would have been an empty basket that carried those thoughts; and I have often said that I may be dumb but I was not entirely stupid.
It was clear to me after Pierson's letter, even without having access until later to the Davenport correspondence that the church and its leaders would do nothing to stop their rush to greed and destruction. If anything was to be done, something or someone other than those involved for personal gain would have to do it. It was clear from my background of years in the service of the church that no reform would come even though I had written Pierson. No change would be made and no clean up would take place. Had I known what I know now, that most of the votes and voices that counted were arrayed against me. I doubt that it would have effected my action. I knew without that information that my time was short and that what I did, I would have to do quickly, or even more millions would be funneled into the pockets of Davenport and his helpers. It has never been clear to me whether Davenport corrupted the clergy, or the other way around, but for me it had to stop.
After much soul searching and a great deal of counsel from those I respected and trusted, I decided on several steps. One of those steps was to release the list I had found to John Adam in Tennessee and to Sydney Allen in Riverside, California. These men had been fighting as laymen at least as long as I had and were doing their best to alert the church of what was going on. I knew that they had access to sources of publication that I did not have and that they had the courage to take the project as far as necessary, though none of us knew how far that would be. It didn't take long for us to find out.
The pressure was building, and Davenport could not ignore it much longer. On April 19, 1979, Davenport sued John Adam and his employer, A. G. Edwards & Sons, Inc., charging that Adam had interfered with his business and defamed his character. He asked for $1 million actual damages and $3 million punitive damages. He followed that up on May 15 with a similar suit against Syndey Allen for $2,550,000. 17
The lawsuit laid it out better than we had dared believe it would, for it said;
Dr.
Davenport borrows funds from various individuals and large institutions
including, among others various Divisions and Conferences of the Seventh-day
Adventist Church of the United States (Church). That the Church, and various
individual members of the Church, for investment purposes, have loaned
substantial sums of money to Davenport which loans are reflected by promissory
notes, many of which are demand in nature, secured by first mortgages or trust
deeds in favor of the lenders, totaling many millions of dollars in secured
deeds. . . .and in conjunction with his borrowing activities, has formed close
personal relationships with numerous leaders of the Church and other
individuals in the Church. Based upon the quality of the secured debt offered
the Church, and upon the relationship of friendship and trust between financial
representative of the Church . . . .That although Plaintiff has attempted to
counteract the conduct of Defendant Adam, Plaintiff fears and truly believes
that unless injunctive relief is provided after a hearing of this cause,
Plaintiff will be destroyed by the Defendants and that the Plaintiff will
suffer irreparable harm since the Defendants' actions will result in a total
loss of the trust and confidence of individuals and conferences of the Church,
thereby destroying a source of lending which cannot be replaced through other
conventional lending sources and requiring Plaintiff to liquidate vast holdings
in order to pay off sums of principal and interest which normally and customary
would not yet come due (Emphasis supplied) 18
What Dr. Davenport had done in the lawsuit was to reveal all the information necessary to follow his activity from beginning to end and find that the loose ends had always ended in the church with his friends he had cultivated. He also made it clear that without the friendships he would and could not continue his operation. So in essence he was saying that his empire depended on the payoffs he was giving to Adventist preachers in order to milk the church and other institutions to keep going. The suit did one other thing. It produced his own blueprint on how to bring him down and stop his operation. If one could stop him from bleeding the church and its members, he was through.
With that information the rest was fairly easy. The Government agencies would and could do what the church had failed to do: clean up the act and thus destroy it. I approached the Attorney General's office of the State of California with what information John and others had provided, including fraud, breaking of usury laws, breaking of S.E.C. regulations, and bending of other laws. The I.R.S. office appointed a special agent, Sandra M. Armstrong, to investigate the matter, gave me her card and told me to keep in touch. Those who were aware of these moves guessed correctly that it was only a matter of time before the end could come, and we encouraged all the investors we were able to contact to leave the sinking vessel as soon as they could. I personally talked with many, including such leaders as Elder Heppenstall, Dave Neufeld, Duffield, Burkett and others, including some personal friends of mine as well as Davenports, such as Dr. Wayne Eyer and others. Some did not heed the warning and hence their names appeared on the creditors list when the end came. Those that did get out have ever been grateful.
It was a difficult decision to come to. It was hard to take action that we all knew would embarrass the church. Yet we all knew also that the church was going to be embarrassed anyway and it was harder to stand aside and watch Davenport and the preachers continue to bleed the church and its little people, for it was they that suffered the most. Nothing will erase the conviction that many millions more would have been lost if we had not taken drastic action to stop what was clearly a "scheme," as Emmerson said, to use the church’s money to enrich a few at the expense of the many. None of the people that took our advice and got their money out have had anything but praise for what we did for them, and even some of the ones that turned against us after the bankruptcy said they wished they had followed our advice.
CHAPTER II FOOTNOTES
1. 1975 Constituency Meeting record, Southern California Conference, Pacific Union Conference.
2. Petition for dissolution of marriage in Superior Court, County of Los Angeles, Case No. D795614, Property .
Settlement Agreement. May 1972
3. Ibid., p. 93.
4. Ibid., List of creditors under Property Settlement
5. United States Bankruptcy Court, Central District of California, Filed March 2, 1982. (2nd amended mailing list)
6. Matthew 18: 15-17.
7. Walter Rea to Robert Pierson, June 14, 1977.
8. Walter Rea to Cree Sandefur, June 3, 1977.
9. Donald Davenport to Robert Pierson, June 28, 1977.
10. L. L. Butler, "Update on Davenport Loans", back page of Adventist Review, subtitle, "Summary of Davenport Loans, June 30, 1981".
11. Tom Dybdahl, "Bad Business: The Davenport Fiasco," Spectrum 12, No. 1, (September, 1981) p. 58.
12. Robert Pierson to Walter Rea, June 23, 1977.
13. Donald Davenport to Robert Pierson, June 28, 1977.
14. C. L. Duffield to Walter Rea, February 9, 1978.
15. Donald Davenport TO Robert Pierson, July 25, 1977.
16. Walla Walla Tapes (2) Lecture by Walter Rea, November, 1981.
17. Tom Dybdahl, "Bad Business: The Davenport Fiasco,” Specturm 12, No. 1, (September, 1981) p. 53.
18. Donald J. Davenport vs. John Adam and A. G. Edwards & Sons, Inc., No. 79-229107. United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, Western Division.