My Church – What It Is and Isn't

“There is this interesting statement by the Lord found in D&C 10:67-68: “Behold, this is my doctrine - whosoever repenteth and cometh unto me, the same is my church. Whosoever declareth more or less than this, the same is not of me, but is against me; therefore he is not of my church.”

The statement requires us to

1. Repent, and then

2. Come unto Christ.

Repentance is a lifelong process.  As we get further light and knowledge we have to incorporate it into our lives and change behavior.  Over a lifetime, this should be dynamic, not static.

The more difficult explanation is to “Come unto Him.”  It is my view that this includes fully receiving Him into your life as did the brother of Jared, Nephi, Enos, Enoch, Abraham, Moses, Joseph Smith, Daniel, Isaiah, Jacob, Mormon, Moroni, Alma the Younger, Paul, and so many others who have testified of Him.  That is a subject so great that the entire body of scriptures exist to help us accomplish it.

Significant, too, is that whatever is “more or less” than this is not “of my church” according to the Lord.  So we have to take great care to not overstate or understate this doctrine of His.  Adding endless requirements by the commandments of men is “against Him.”  Similarly, any failure to declare the essential nature of coming to Him is also “against Him.”  I think the first verse of D&C 93 is a formula for coming to Him.  That formula declares that, when it is followed, you will see His face and know that He is." (DS 3-3-10)

So ... Is there any other way or possibility for an individual to be of His church without first repenting, coming unto Him, receiving redemption from Him, conversing with Him face to face, and knowing Him? According to the words of Christ, do you consider yourself to be of His Church? Do you qualify ? Why or why not? If not, are you willing to fully receive Him into your life and meet the requirements He has set to become of His Church?

Old Paradise Church – Building Ransacked

On Monday, April 9, 2012, at noon, members of the community came in and salvaged materials from the Old Paradise Church. The DI was responsible for the sale.  I wasn’t there, but heard about what happened.  There were tags on the different items. People took the tags, paid for their purchases, and then went home to get tools and trailers so they could remove the things they had paid for. 

  

A couple different friends reported that there were a few tense moments as people scrambled to secure items they were determined to claim.  There were those who made it known to their neighbors that they would be fined if they didn’t remove their purchases according to code.  I wasn’t there. I heard it all secondhand.

Some people stayed away.  They didn’t want to go back and see their beautiful church torn apart. There are a lot of good memories made in this beautiful old church.  Memories are held in the heart.  To some, it brings too much heartache to see the building rummaged through and ransacked.  They want to remember it the way it used to be.   

Still others were clueless as to what was happening in the Old Paradise Church.  As the demolition process has progressed, everyone in the community has been made aware that it’s coming down.

I didn’t walk through the condemned church until Friday, April 13, 2012.  The doors were open for those who were still salvaging their purchases.  If I didn’t know better, I would have thought a bunch of vandals had been through the building.  I guess it really doesn’t matter since the church is going to be torn down anyway. 

We were at the church removing bushes and taking pictures of the plants that were being transplanted to our yard. I hadn’t planned on taking pictures of the inside of the church.  I didn’t even know I would be able to get into the building, but the doors were wide open, so I went in to see the aftermath. I had a camera in my hand and took pictures.  This is what I saw.

Resource materials were left in a heap.

The hardwood flooring on the gym floor was gone along with basketball hoop. The wood panels that covered the walls were not there.

They took everything but the kitchen sink. Maybe someone is coming back for that.

Fixtures, doors, cabinets, and drinking fountains were gone. Rubble was left behind.

 

 

It looks like someone tried to take the carpet, but that probably didn’t turn out too well.

The safety railing going up the stairs was removed.

Furniture, pictures, and benches were gone.  The only thing that remained in the chapel was the podium and some wooden walls that surrounded the area.  I guess ordinary people don’t have much use for a podium.

 

After walking through the church, I walked around the outside of the church and took pictures from many different angles. These two pictures are taken exactly 45 minutes apart (April 13 at 5:50 p.m. and 6:35 p.m.).  The sky was blue when I started taking pictures on the south side of the church.  By the time I moved to the north end of the church, the sky had turned dark and gray. Storm clouds appeared, and it threatened to rain. 

 

On our second trip back to the church, Crystalynne came with us.  She asked if she could walk through the church and see what had become of it.  I kept her close by my side because it was no longer a safe place to be.  As we were walking out of the building, we saw a bunch of butter knives scattered in the hallway.  I told her it was okay to pick them up and take them with her.  It didn’t look like anyone was going to claim them.  On the way home she counted her knives.  She counted sixteen.

As I walked out of the Old Paradise Church for the last time, a man was locking up.  I jested, “You better lock the doors; someone might take something:)” He responded with all seriousness that he needed to lock up for liability reasons.  I guess that’s a concern.

All Saints – My Christian Friends

While going to school at Utah State, my daughter met some Christian missionaries on campus. She noticed that many people just passed them by, some even made snide remarks, but she wanted to talk with them. She liked what she found. She said, “They have light in their eyes.”

She inquired if they have a place where they meet for church, and they invited her to come. She asked me to go with her. I was excited to meet her new friends.

We really enjoyed their meeting. I came home feeling so happy inside. My spirit had been nourished, and I felt good. I just couldn’t wipe the smile off my face. I felt the Spirit of the Lord in the meeting. There are many things that contributed to the wonderful spirit. Here are a few of the things I noticed:

No one was put above another. I could feel the equality. There wasn’t any status associated with being the leader or the teacher. In fact, during the prayer, someone prayed that the teacher wouldn’t get in the way of the message he had to deliver. I felt his genuine humility as he taught us from the Bible. The majority of the lesson came from the Gospel of Saint Matthew, but he used the entire Bible to teach different principles.

My children noticed that he didn’t use a manual. The lesson came straight from the Bible. They liked that part. Children love to be taught the word of God, pure and undiluted. They were interested in what was being taught and no one was bored. I took notes just as fast as I could write. Scripture references were given for almost every point that was made. I wanted to have it all in writing so I could come home and reread and ponder the quoted scriptures. I also wanted to share what I learned with the rest of my family.

There are so many new things to discover about the scriptures. For example: I didn’t know that Jesus was quoting scripture when he was confronted by the Devil in the wilderness. Matthew 4:7 is an extract of what is given in Deuteronomy 6:16. The Jews would have been expected to know the rest of the selection when Jesus quoted part of the scripture. Even though Jesus was the one who gave us the Old Testament, he used scripture to teach the people.

I love the music. All of the songs praise Jesus. We stand up to sing, and everyone sings with all their heart. My children said, “We’re not embarrassed to sing because everyone is singing loud.” The songs aren’t about us; they’re about Jesus. On my first Sunday, I started to sit down after singing one song. Then I realized we weren’t done. We kept singing and singing. I don’t think anyone can praise Jesus song after song and not feel an abundance of joy.

I like the way they pray. We’ve incorporated the things we’ve learned into our family prayers. We wrote a post on this: A New Pattern of Prayer.

I’ve attended several churches and still have many more to visit. One characteristic that that is unique to this group of saints is their ability to keep focused on the word of God without condemning others. I don’t see the arrogance that is often present when some people try to prove that their belief in Christ is superior to another’s belief in Christ.

Thank you again for your kindness to our family. We’ve enjoyed your friendship.

A New Pattern of Prayer

Recently, our family attended Sabbath worship with some friends. I had not previously attended that particular denomination. While there, I observed a new pattern of prayer that caught my attention and touched my heart. This manner of prayer may be somewhat common to many who are reading this blog, but it was new to me.

An individual started the prayer by addressing our Heavenly Father. He gave gratitude for the atonement of Jesus Christ. He expressed a sincere heart felt thank you to God for many specific things. He then petitioned God for help and pleaded for blessings upon others, locally, nationally, and worldwide. He verbally explained to God certain situations and how heavenly assistance, mercy, and grace were desperately needed.

After conversing with God a few minutes, he paused, and someone else in the congregation (about 30 in number) began praying. Their prayers were sincere and heart felt. They did not multiply words, 3 Nephi 19:24 but spoke by the spirit with real intent Moroni 7:6-9, Moroni 10:4-5. About five to seven people prayed following this pattern of expressing their desires and gratitude to God. They spent the majority of their time praying for others. The prayer was closed in the name of Jesus Christ.

Perhaps what I enjoyed the most was the feeling I had inside. I felt that the words spoken were real and had meaning. They came from the heart. It was a touching experience for me and left an impression on my mind and soul.

Having experienced this “new” pattern of prayer, we were prompted to implement it in family. A couple months ago, we began using this approach to pray together at mealtime and during morning devotional. At first it seemed very novel and out of the ordinary, but now it feels accepted, established, and inspiring.

At family prayer, dad assigns someone the responsibility to begin and close the family prayer. Each family member has the opportunity to freely speak to God as the spirit guides. Sometimes just three or four people pray verbally while the others are silent. Other times nearly everyone feels to participate and speak to God. Everyone has the opportunity to express his or her heart to God and commune with heaven.

Since we have implemented this practice, it has proved to be a very positive experience for our entire family. We tend to perceive and identify more circumstances and needs around us. We now pray a lot more for each other and our neighbors (friends and enemies alike). The words actually have more meaning and purpose. The children enjoy hearing their individual needs and desires expressed to God by their parents and siblings. Everyone seems to take great joy in hearing specific prayers in their behalf.

We, as parents, have been astounded by the power of a sincere and simple prayer coming from a child. Adults can pray like children too, but it takes humility, meekness, and faith, accompanied by sincere desire. We feel very blessed to have become aware of this way of praying. We are amazed at the improvement we have witnessed in our family life. Our connection with heaven is more solid and each member feels more empowered and happy.

As we petition God for specific help, sacrifice our own will to conform to the will of God, and reach out to others, then miracles happen, blessings appear, and help from heaven comes. We are all much more excited to communicate with God through prayer than ever before because He really does hear and answer prayers.