The official response from our opposers to the above letter: VIEW LETTER

January 15, 2004

Dear Brother

Greetings to you in the Name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, whose servants we are, by His grace.

How thankful we are for the Word, through which He counsels us in all our times of distress.

In the Book of Proverbs, we read: When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul; Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee: Proverbs 2:10-11

The subjects of discretion and understanding are the reasons for today’s letter. If there ever was a need for “good sense” and “sound judgment,” it is now, as we face a situation that will reflect either for us or against us in Eternity. God forbid that we should, through our own arrogance, bring disgrace upon the Message that He has preserved and provided for us, His children.

As you read the remainder of this letter, I ask that you allow the wisdom of the Holy Spirit to speak to your heart.

In numerous telephone conversations which I have had with Brother Rod Bergen, who represents the interests of Bible Believers in both the United States and Canada, I was informed that they – Bible Believers and Brother Eddie Byskal – were unwilling to re-assign the trademark which they had procured on the name William Branham. Furthermore, Brother Bergen also conveyed to me that rather than assign their control of the name William Branham to Voice Of God Recordings, they would institute legal proceedings, necessitating a legal battle that could last for many years and cost us hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Today, as the reality of this uncalled-for and wasteful conflict now stands at our door, I am writing to you, Brother, and to the other brethren who have joined with Bible Believers in this legal action against Voice Of God Recordings, to ask that you reconsider your actions, and the potential consequences to this Message.

Speaking on behalf of Voice Of God Recordings, my family, and myself, we believe that what you are doing is unscriptural. Also, we feel that we have been and are continuing to be falsely accused before the saints of God around the world regarding this and other issues.

You have initiated a firestorm of fear among the people by telling them that if Voice Of God Recordings is the holder of the trademark on William Branham’s name, we would then stop anyone from ever speaking his name from the pulpit, or using his name to witness of this Message. (What a preposterous suggestion! We use every occasion to encourage pastors to quote from Brother Branham’s sermons.) We have received hundreds of questions from the people who are being told that we are bringing suit against you, our brothers in Christ!

I cannot imagine what you are producing as evidence to support these lies, but I do know – and you know – that neither Voice Of God Recordings or myself have ever done such a thing. Instead, we have asked, begged, and yes, even insisted, hoping that this would succeed in bringing your actions back into line with the Word, and with the indisputable instructions that have been left to us by God’s servant and prophet, Brother William Branham.

Although we have been aware of your intentions for six months or more, we have not made public mention of any of the facts regarding these legal proceedings. However, with the filing of these latest papers, signifying the onset of litigation, we feel that we can no longer refrain from informing the people regarding the accusations that are being made against us. We have written a letter to all our supporters, but have not yet named any of the plaintiffs that are listed on the court documents that have been filed, relevant to these proceedings.

In closing, I would like to say that we do not believe that it is out of line for us to request an apology from you, as evidence of the fact that the course you have pursued has led you into the realm of unscriptural, and unethical actions.

Brother, I do not believe that it was your intention to carry through on a process that may have originated in a moment of frustration. It breaks my heart (and I honestly believe that you feel the same way) to think of the separation and polarization among Message believers that will be generated by your taking us before the tribunal of the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, which is litigation in every sense of the word!

Please understand that if we have not heard from you in writing by January 26, 2004, confirming that this legal action will be terminated, we will no longer refrain from using your name in our correspondence or on our web site. The saints around the world deserve to know what you are attempting to do.

In naming us as defendants, you are forcing us to defend ourselves and the name of our prophet, William Branham. Please reconsider.

Your brother in Christ,

Joseph M. Branham