Last time I tried to give some historical context about my area, but I
messed a few things up, so this time I will give a more accurate
accounting.
When the church released the first manifesto, renouncing the practice
of polygamy, a man named Lorin Woolley began to see an opportunity to
lead away a number of the saints. Lorin Woolley made a claim that
before John Taylor had died, he had set him and seven others apart to
continue polygamy and he was the last living person that had been at
that meeting. A few followed his deception and they named the group
the Apostolic United Brethren, we call them AUB for short, Because of
a charismatic leader many years later named Rulon Allred, it became
known as the Allred group. So the AUB broke off of the LDS church and the
FLDS broke off of the AUB. For many years the leaders of the AUB were
decided by process of seniority, just like the LDS church. However,
just before the late leader, LaMoine Jensen died, he appointed someone
to be the leader rather than allow the process of seniority to pick
the leader. The current leader's name is Lynn Thompson. Lynn Thompson
has been convicted of child molestation and was caught stealing
tithing funds. Because of this, many are leaving the AUB group. Some
are staying away from religion, some are forming another break off
group, and many are coming over to the LDS church. We are SO busy.
We have had a lesson almost every night this week, usually two. It has been
insanely busy, here are a few of the highlights.
This week we taught a young man named Garrett Weidow. Garrett is 20
years old and he has SO MUCH faith! He wants to be baptized but he
knows he needs a testimony of the prophet and the Book of Mormon
first. He knows this will give him direction and purpose in his life
and he has said that he wants that. We are so impressed with him, many
20 year olds would rather party than investigate which church is the
true church. In the last lesson we had with him, we focused on the
Book of Mormon and setting a goal on how fast he's going to read it.
Our member present, Brother Jackson, was so perfect. His testimony was
so needed and added a great perspective.
We also taught a young couple named Andy & Michelle, and their
children. Andy and Michelle live up in Pinesdale and they have been
getting sick of all the confusion that is going on up there so they
asked the missionaries to come and give the lessons to their kids so
the kids can realize that it's all about Christ, not who is right and
who is wrong. Up in Pinesdale, much of the teaching is about why they
are right and the church is wrong, not about Christ and his gospel,
yet another reason many are leaving the AUB group and coming to the
church. We prepared for this lesson with much study and prayer. One
cool part of this was that we wrote down a bunch of members we thought
would be good to bring with us for the lesson, then we prayed. After
the prayer we each pondered separately on who we should bring and we
both felt the spirit prompt us to bring the Chapman's. When we called,
they answered right away and said they could come. That NEVER happens.
Andy and Michelle have already had the first two lessons, The
Restoration and The Plan of Salvation. This time we were teaching the
Gospel of Jesus Christ. The lesson started out and went really well,
we focused on Christ and the similarities in belief between the two
religions (which are many). The lesson went really well, the Chapman's
were great, and the spirit was very strong. At the end of the lesson
Elder Angle felt prompted to ask if they had any questions, Michelle
admitted that she did have one. She asked, "Does Andy have the
priesthood?" This issue is huge up here. So many of these amazing
people have been healed after a blessing which only confirms their
belief that they hold the priesthood. I felt impressed to share the
story of the woman with an issue of blood who was healed by touching
the hem of Christ's garment and shared Christ's words, that it was by
her faith that she was healed. The Chapman's were truly very necessary
during this portion of the lesson. Their personal experiences were
perfect for the situation and they really helped Andy and Michelle
understand. More questions about priesthood power, authority and keys
came up. We all brought our knowledge to the table and shared it in an
effort to resolve all questions. Scriptures, experiences, quotes. It
was not easy, but we eventually resolved all concerns. Right at the
end we felt prompted to give them a quote that would help even more.
Joseph Smith said, "I will give you a key that will never rust, if you
will stay with the majority of the Twelve Apostles, and the records of
the Church, you will never be led astray." They loved this quote, and
it was obvious that it helped quite a bit. It was a powerful,
spiritual lesson and an incredible opportunity to be a part of this
wonderful families growth.
The last lesson I think I'll have time to talk about this week was our lesson
with Joel and Marilyn Jessop. This family is amazing and we love them so
much. Like many other families I've talked about, they're ready for truth,
and a lot more ready than most. We took Brother Adam Allred with us, a
convert from Pinesdale that just got sealed to his wife and three daughters
in the Salt Lake temple. Adam is such a good man and he is so excited
for all the change that is going on in Pinesdale. Joel and Marilyn had
invited another woman in the community, Cary, to come hear the first
lesson. Cary is currently someone's second wife, but she is feeling like
she needs to get out. It only took about 5 minutes for Cary's greatest
concern to come out, "How have all these amazing miracles happened in
Pinesdale if not by the priesthood?" I was amazed to hear this question
because it was apparent that she already knew the Pinesdale group didn't
have priesthood, all she was trying to figure out was how these amazing
events had happened after prayer. We shared many scriptures including
James 5:14-15, which discusses the order of giving a healing blessing.
Even Joel Jessop helped us teach her, and he's not even a member yet! At
the end of the discussion, everyone understood that priesthood power,
authority and keys were not the same thing as faith. By our faith we are
healed, but the priesthood gives us the power and authority when under
direction of someone who holds the keys. This week I made a list of
about 15 scriptures about the priesthood for each of them to read and
will be giving that to them next lesson. Joel and Marilyn have shown so
much faith. They are just so ready to be baptized into the church that
holds all the priesthood keys of this dispensation, and is led by someone
who was "ordained by some one who has authority" (D&C 42:11).
I know that the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is God's church
on the earth. I know that the prophet Thomas S. Monson holds all those
keys and unde rnone other can God's true church operate. I know these
things by the Holy Ghost who has made them known to me after much
prayer and pondering. In the name of He who presides over this church,
Jesus Christ, amen.
I love you all!
Love,
Elder Thomas
The Zone
We thought these pictures were cool
Only in Montana
No comments:
Post a Comment