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Zion’s Advocate“And blessed are they who shall seek to bring forth my Zion at that day,

for they shall have the gift and the power of the Holy Ghost….”1 Nephi 3:187

VOLUME 92 INDEPENDENCE, MISSOURI—September-October 2015 NUMBER 5

~In This Issue~

ARTICLE—Do Not Despair -Elder Chris Moran . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

REPORT—Yucatan, Mexico, Youth Camp -Apostle Placido K. Matu . . . . . . . . . . . 99

REPORT—Yucatan Marriage Retreat -Apostle Placido K. Matu . . . . . . . . . . 100

FROM the ARCHIVES—25th Anniversary

of God’s Blessings inRebuilding after the Fire . . . . . . . . . . 101

GSSA—Love Thy Neighbor . . . . . . . . . 103REPORT—2015 Missouri Reunion Report -

Sr. Deb Haines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105NEWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109NOTICES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

“And thou, Capernaum, which art

exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought

down to hell: for if the mighty works,

which have been done in thee, had been

done in Sodom, it would have remained

until this day.” — Matthew 11:23

Smith N. Brickhouse, 5713 Logan Road, Kansas City, Missouri 64136; 816-356-9214; e-mail: [email protected] Ely, 18814 N. 30th Street, Phoenix, Arizona 85050; 602-569-1516; e-mail [email protected] Koyoc Matu, 99h Calle 24 x 17y 19, Yobain, Yucatan, Mexico; #011-52-991-911-3125; e-mail: [email protected] McGhee, 18907 E. 6th Street N., Independence, Missouri 64056; 816-796-6255; e-mail: [email protected] McIndoo, 18824 N. 30th Street, Phoenix, Arizona 85050; 602-569-1900; e-mail: [email protected] E. McIndoo, 18830 N. 30th Street, Phoenix, Arizona 85050Alvin J. Moser, 18829 N. 29th Place, Phoenix, Arizona 85050; 602-569-2414; e-mail: [email protected] Oldham, 2609 SW Wintervalley Circle, Lee’s Summit, MO 64081; 515-339-6226; [email protected] L. Sarratt, 15910 E. 36th Terrace, Independence, Missouri 64055; 816-373-6605; e-mail: [email protected] A. Sheldon, 1011 S. Cottage, Independence, Missouri 64050; 816-833-3995; e-mail: [email protected] Yates, 2924 E. Rockwood Drive, Phoenix, Arizona 85050; 602-569-9296; e-mail: [email protected]

GENERAL CHURCH OFFICERS

SECRETARY, COUNCIL OF APOSTLESApostle Duane Ely18814 N. 30th Street, Phoenix, Arizona 85050

SECRETARY, GENERAL BISHOPRICElder Leslie P. Case8312 Lee’s Summit Road; Kansas City, Missouri 64139

GENERAL CHURCH SECRETARYHarvey E. Seibel9800 E. 32nd Street S.; Independence, Missouri 64052

GENERAL CHURCH RECORDERElder Gordon McCann18808 N. 30th Street; Phoenix, AZ 85050

BUSINESS MANAGERElder Alvin L. HarrisChurch of ChristP.O. Box 472; Independence, Missouri 64051-0472

STATUS of PUBLISHED ARTICLES

Articles published in this paper do not neces-

sarily reflect the teachings of the Church, nor the

opinions of the editorial staff. Declarations and no-

tices authorized by the General Conference reflect

the practices and beliefs of the General Church.

ZION’S ADVOCATE IS…

To promote Jesus Christ as our only Saviour;

To promote His Teachings and His Church, the

Church of Christ;

To be a voice of warning to His people; to be

Zion’s advocate.

ZION’S ADVOCATE STAFF

EDITORElder Gordon McCann18808 N. 30th StreetPhoenix, Arizona 85050E-mail:[email protected]

ASSOCIATE EDITORSApostle Placido K. MatuCalle 24 #99H x 17 y 19Yobain, Yucatan, Mexico

Priest Bruce Haines3904 Christopher CircleIndependence, MO 64055

PRODUCTION STAFFHarvey L. Seibel

THE APOSTLES of the CHURCH OF CHRIST

Ancient Ruins of Capernium Photo Courtesy of Pat McCann

Zion’s Advocate

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER-91-

Do Not DespairBy Elder Chris Moran

Iwould like to share some

thoughts I have and what Ibelieve the Lord placed on

my heart with regard to theday we are living in. I firstshared these thoughts as partof a recent sermon.

To start, first considerthese titles from some recentnews articles:

“White House shines rainbowcolors to hail same-sex marriageruling”

“Oklahoma Supreme Courtorders removal of Ten Com-mandments”

“Three Attacks in ThreeHours”

“ISIS Bigger Threat thanAl-Qaeda”

“If You Think the Water CrisisCan’t Get Worse, Wait Until theAquifers Are Drained”

“Blood Moons: 2015 End ofthe World Prophecy”

“The Shemitah Unraveled:What 2015-2016 Could Bring”

It’s likely that manymore articles like these willbe published between thetime this article is writtenand when you read this.There may also be other sig-

nificant events that tran-spire.

With regards to the Su-preme Court decision regard-ing gay marriage that hap-pened this year, there wasalso a recent picture of a babyin the womb that had beenshared with my wife. Thispicture was striped with rain-bow colors and it had thewords “Celebrating equalrights? I’m still waiting formine.” In other words, ho-mosexuals are given the rightto marry in our country, butyet the baby in the wombdoes not have a right to life.

My intent is not to dis-cuss each one of these articlesand topics in any detail what-soever, but articles andevents such as these are fed tous on a daily basis and at afaster and faster rate. If onewere to spend all of their timethinking about these thingsand worrying about them,surely a person would findthemselves in a great state ofdespair. I myself have had tofree myself of these things onmultiple occasions.

I have recently beenworking with old issues of the

Zion’s Advocate. In doing so,I came across the followingquote in the very first issue ofZion’s Advocate, dated May15, 1922 (almost one hundredyears ago):

“True it is that the anger ofthe Lord is being poured outupon the inhabitants of theearth in these last days, forwe see wars and rumors ofwars among all nations, wehave famine and pestilence indivers places, and because ofiniquity the love of menwaxes cold. … We only haveto casually observe the eventsof the day in order to see themany perplexing things thatare confronting the world to-day; thievery and outlawerythat the officers of the law arehardly able to suppress, thegreat array of capital and la-bor against each other in thecoal mines, on the railroads,and throughout the indus-trial world warns us that theday is at hand when everyman who will not take up hissword against his neighbormust flee to Zion for safety,and also the crumbling of thesocial order of life by whichthe morals and spiritual sideof life is being subverted bythe present craze of society to

ARTICLE

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out-dress, out-paint andout-do everyone else, fromwhich we see immorality in-creasing, free love, laxity inenforcement of the divorcelaws and many other thingswarn us that the day is not fardistant when God shall pourout his wrath upon thewicked.”

Also consider the follow-ing quote from the second is-sue of Zion’s Advocate, datedJune 6, 1922:

“The world has never be-fore known of a conditionwhere wickedness, lust, mur-der, thievery, fiendishnessand anarchy have been soworldwide in its scope….”

As I read and consideredthese things in these Zion’sAdvocates from so manyyears ago, it reinforced to methe fact that we have been liv-ing in the ‘last days’ for quitesome time and that we in theChurch of Christ have beencommenting on these type ofevents for many, many years.What we are seeing now isnot entirely new, yet it is ap-parent that the return of theLord is even more near thanever before and I believe thatis being expressed to usthrough the Spirit.

If a person back in 1922contemplated the events oftheir day and lost all hope, anentire lifetime may have beenspent worrying about thingsthat they perceived as beingsignificant and troublesome,

as so much time has tran-spired between 1922 and ourday. Have you found yourselfin a state of despair for manyof your years, but alwayslooking back to see that Godtook care of you? Are we sodistraught about the condi-tion of the world that we arenot able to produce fruit inour lives and have wasted thetime God has given us? Con-sider this familiar verse fromscripture:

“Adam fell, that menmight be; and men are, thatthey might have joy” (2Nephi 1:115).

Did this scripture onlyapply for a very short timefollowing creation? Did thisverse only apply to Lehi’s daywhen it was written? Did thisverse only apply to that timejust prior to the May 1922publication of Zion’s Advo-cate when troublesome timeswere also noted? Did thisverse only apply to a certaintime period prior to the rise ofterrorism in our day or theevents of 9/11/2001? Ofcourse, the answer is no. Nomatter the situation orevents of the day, God alwayswants us to have joy and notto fear. There has alwaysbeen distress in this world.

There are two responseswe can have to the eventsthat are unfolding in our dayand I want to talk about eachone.

RESPONSE #1 –Despair and FailingHearts

Consider the followingscripture:

“And there shall be signsin the sun, and in the moon,and in the stars; and uponthe earth distress of nations,with perplexity; the sea andthe waves roaring; Men’shearts failing them for fear,and for looking after thosethings which are coming onthe earth: for the powers ofheaven shall be shaken”(Luke 21:25-26).

There is indeed distressamong the nations, perplex-ity, and turmoil in the seas.There are also various celes-tial events that are occurring(lunar eclipses, solar eclipses,etc.) that some believe fulfillthis prophecy. I cannot sayfor sure.

I know of people at workthat have had heart attackswhile still young. I have won-dered if these were in any wayrelated to fear of “thosethings which are coming onthe earth,” or perhaps stressdue to the times we are livingin. Perhaps not in thesecases, but it will affect thehearts of some men to a de-gree as this scripture tells us.These are those that respondwith great fear and despair tothe point that their bodiescannot hold up under thestress.

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Here’s another scripturethat I believe is related:

“Wherefore, there must befaith; and if there must befaith, there must also behope; and if there must behope, there must also becharity; and except ye havecharity, ye can in no wise besaved in the kingdom of God;Neither can ye be saved in thekingdom of God, if ye havenot faith; neither can ye if yehave no hope; and if ye haveno hope, ye must needs be indespair; and despair comethbecause of iniquity” (Moroni10:15-16).

As I considered thisverse, I asked myself howfaith and despair are related.The conclusions and logic Iused are as follows:

� There is hope for you if you havefaith

� You have something to look for-ward to if you have faith

� If you have faith in God, and asomething to look forward to,you must have love which is thegreatest commandment

� When love is put into practice,it’s because of the faith we havein the things of God and the be-lief we have in Christ’s com-mandments

� It’s this love that’s put into prac-tice that brings salvation

� Faith and hope should producelove within an individual

� If you don’t have faith, then youhave nothing to look forward toand you will be in despair

Therefore, despair is as-

sociated with a lack of faith.If you are in despair, and liveyour life with constant worryand anxiety, your spirituallife is not in order. If you areanxious about the times youare living in, do you have thefaith that God wants you tohave? In the following scrip-ture passage is a question foreach one of us to consider:

“Nevertheless when theSon of man cometh, shall hefind faith on the earth”(Luke 18:8)?

RESPONSE #2 –Have Peace and Rest

“Peace I leave with you,my peace I give unto you: notas the world giveth, give Iunto you. Let not your heartbe troubled, neither let it beafraid” (John 14:27).

The world cannot offertrue peace. We need to becareful not to put too muchconfidence in the arm offlesh. If we do, God may per-haps take away anything thatresulted from our own effortbecause we put too much ofour hope in it. If we have putour faith and hope in theLord, we will have peace. TheLord promises it. The hardpart is believing this promise.

The Lord wants to giveour souls rest. We can havethis rest by putting on theLord’s “yoke” which is “easy”and provides a “light” bur-den. It is no more than the

commandments of Christ.The teaching of Christ shouldbring rest to our souls.

“Come unto me, all ye thatlabour and are heavy laden,and I will give you rest. Takemy yoke upon you, and learnof me; for I am meek andlowly in heart: and ye shallfind rest unto your souls.For my yoke is easy, and myburden is light” (Matthew11:28-30).

Have you let the newsand the events in our worldweigh you down? We knowthese things are going to oc-cur and it should not be a sur-prise. Do not labor day andnight with the thoughts andfears of this world. Learnfrom these scriptures andfind rest. Believe your scrip-tures, because they are true.

So what other things canwe do to have peace and restand live the second response?I have provided 10 differentthings below that will formthe remainder of this article.

#1 – Remember thatGod is in control

“And what is the exceedinggreatness of his power tous-ward who believe, accord-ing to the working of hismighty power, Which hewrought in Christ, when heraised him from the dead,and set him at his own righthand in the heavenly places,Far above all principality,and power, and might, and

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dominion, and every namethat is named, not only inthis world, but also in thatwhich is to come: And hathput all things under his feet,and gave him to be the headover all things to the church,Which is his body, thefulness of him that filleth allin all” (Ephesians 1:19-23).

“Then saith Pilate untohim, Speakest thou not untome? knowest thou not that Ihave power to crucify thee,and have power to releasethee? Jesus answered, Thoucouldest have no power at allagainst me, except it weregiven thee from above: there-fore he that delivered meunto thee hath the greatersin” (John 19:10-11).

We have a mighty powerthrough our Lord. Christ isabove all powers in thisworld. Our Lord is in charge,not the President of theUnited States or any other.This Lord we have is the headof our organization, thechurch. OUR boss is over alland we can even go to Him di-rectly, yet I think we tend toforget this. The head of thisChurch of Christ is over theentire world.

We should also remem-ber that life and the events inour world continue on be-cause God allows it and wantsmore to come to repentance.

“The Lord is not slack con-cerning his promise, as somemen count slackness; but islongsuffering to us-ward,

not willing that any shouldperish, but that all shouldcome to repentance” (2 Peter3:9).

We should pray that theevents of our day will leadpeople to repentance and Godcan use us as a tool to sharethe fullness of the gospel withthem.

There was a particularadmonition given through abrother in the church back in2003 regarding a time of up-coming conflict within theUnited States. This admoni-tion has brought me comfortin the past. One particularthought from that admoni-tion was as follows:

“The Lord has made clear tome that we should not look atthe conflict that is coming asmany do. The Lord is going todo a great work, and we shouldturn the coin over and look at itfrom another angle. We are tolook at the good that will takeplace after this conflict. It is af-ter this conflict that the Houseof Israel will begin to come intotheir rightful place, and theChurch of Christ will have muchof the hindering evil force re-moved from this land” (admoni-tion from M. Carroll, 2003).

Unbelief in this land willbe wiped away. Great andmagnificent events will fol-low. Positive things will re-sult from the negative. Forthe righteous, the destruc-tion of the wicked will be tothe benefit of the gospel. Weshould not look at the thingsto come as the world does.

#2 – Keep Faith NoMatter What

“And now, O my sonHelaman, behold thou art inthy youth, and therefore I be-seech of thee that thou wilthear my words, and learn ofme; for I do know that who-soever shall put their trust inGod, shall be supported intheir trials, and their trou-bles, and their afflictions,and shall be lifted up at thelast day” (Alma 17:3).

This passage is quotedquite often and we should nottake it for granted. These arethe wise words of a Father toa son. To find deliverance,there is a requirement: wemust put our trust in God.Don’t forget that this is therequirement the Lord hasgiven us and ask yourself ifyou believe it. Do you reallybelieve this passage? Again,do you really believe this pas-sage? It’s one thing to knowthe scripture, but another toactually believe it and put itinto practice, even if you’veread or heard it hundreds oftimes before.

There’s another scrip-ture that the Lord brought tomy attention this year thathas brought me additionalcomfort. It’s another scrip-ture that I had to pondersomewhat before I gained apersonal understandingabout it for myself.

“Let your conversation be

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without covetousness; and becontent with such things asye have: for he hath said, Iwill never leave thee, nor for-sake thee. So that we mayboldly say, The Lord is myhelper, and I will not fearwhat man shall do unto me”(Hebrews 13:5-6).

So how is covetousnessrelated to a lack of faith?Again, here’s the logic I usedand conclusions that I cameup with when trying to un-derstand this passage:

� When we covet something, itbecomes an idol and a substi-tute God

� When we covet the life thatsomeone else has it also can be-come an idol

� When we put our hope and ourfaith in the things of the world,we are not relying on God

� We don’t have faith that whatGod has given us is sufficient

� We have lost faith in the Lord asour “helper”

If God has not forsakenus, why do we covet? Youneed to ask yourself the ques-tion whether God is directingyou to obtain something ornot. If you seek something,seek it for the intent of doinggood for yourself, your family,and others around you, butdon’t covet it. Don’t thinkthat it is the answer to all ofyour problems either. TheLord has promised never toforsake us, so why do wecovet?

If we have put our faith

in the Lord, why should we“fear what man shall do untome”? When it comes to con-templating on one’s life, andthe lives of one’s children andfamily, it can be very hard tolook to the Lord as our ulti-mate source of deliverance.But consider how Lot andsome of his family were deliv-ered from the destruction ofSodom and Gomorrah. Con-sider Lehi and his family.Those that listened to theLord and could hear His voicewere delivered. Pray that youwill be able to hear the Lord’svoice through the HolySpirit.

One day this year I sat inmy office at work and wasconsidering some of the frus-trations I was facing. Therewere things that were hap-pening in my life and the livesof others around me that didnot make sense to me. To meit had seemed that myprayers were not being an-swered in the ways that Ithought they needed to be. Itseemed to be opposite of whatI had prayed for. That sameday I tore off the next page ofmy daily scripture calendarand this verse appeared:

“Call unto me, and I willanswer thee, and shew theegreat and mighty things,which thou knowest not”(Jeremiah 33:3).

This verse was just whatI needed that day. I hung it up

in my office so I would alwaysbe reminded of this promise.If I had to pick just one versefrom this article to share withyou, it might be this one.

#3 – Remember ThatYou Have anIntercessor

“Likewise the Spirit alsohelpeth our infirmities: forwe know not what we shouldpray for as we ought: but theSpirit itself maketh interces-sion for us with groaningswhich cannot be uttered.And he that searcheth thehearts knoweth what is themind of the Spirit, becausehe maketh intercession forthe saints according to thewill of God. And we knowthat all things work togetherfor good to them that loveGod, to them who are thecalled according to his pur-pose” (Romans 8:26-28).

God is aware of our con-cerns and groanings. Even ifwe do not know specificallywhat to pray for the HolySpirit intercedes for us.What an amazing thing thisis. It is also something thatwe should take great comfortin. God knows your needseven when we don’t know ex-actly what to ask for. Godtranslates our groanings intothings that are just what weneed. We should thank ourGod for this blessing.

#4 – Remember That

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God Offers TrueLiberty and There WillBe Justice

The Pledge of Allegianceis as follows:

I pledge allegiance to the Flagof the United States of America,and to the Republic for which itstands, one Nation under God,indivisible, with liberty and jus-tice for all.

Do the people in Americatruly still believe in thepledge of allegiance? It seemsthat many do not with theirthoughts, ideas, and laws.They continue to take awayour liberties. Our leaders andour nation may turn fromGod, deny our liberties, andno longer implement Godlyjustice, but even so, we knowthat God offers true libertyand final justice will be exe-cuted by Him.

“Stand fast therefore inthe liberty wherewith Christhath made us free, and be notentangled again with theyoke of bondage” (Galatians5:1).

God wants you to freeyourself from the bondage ofdespair that Satan wants youto have. God set you free byproviding a way out from thecares of this world. There istrue liberty in God and free-dom from the burdens of theworld. We have great thingsto look forward to if we holdon until the end.

God will also be the final

deliverer of justice. No mat-ter what laws are passed, Godwill have the final say. Giveyour burdens to Him. Recog-nize that He will set thingsstraight one day.

#5 – Press Forwardand Labor

There is a general hard-ness of the heart of the peoplein the world. Consider thewords of the following scrip-ture:

“And now my beloved son,notwithstanding their hard-ness, let us labor diligently;for if we should cease to la-bor, we should be broughtunder condemnation; for wehave a labor to performwhilst in this tabernacle ofclay, that we may conquer theenemy of all righteousness,and rest our souls in thekingdom of God” (Moroni9:6).

You hear it time and timeagain, but we do indeed needto “endure to the end.” Fin-ish the race set before you nomatter how hard the heartsare of those in our world.Don’t be discouraged. If weare pressing forward, we canhave peace knowing that wewill be saved at the last dayand we have a reward waitingfor us. You will be “broughtunder condemnation” if you“cease to labor.”

Christ suffered becauseof what the world did to Him,but yet He moved forward

with what the Father gaveHim to do. We should do thesame. Christ didn’t give up.Christ said “Not my will, butthine, be done.” Christ waslong-suffering and patientand we should be also. Therewould’ve been great and dev-astating consequences for ushad Christ not fulfilled Hismission. What if we don’t ful-fill our mission? How wouldwhat we didn’t do have an im-pact on those around us?

I have also consideredthe great desire of those threeNephites that are still tarry-ing on this earth (3 Nephi13:12-23). These discipleshad such a great love for thegospel that they wanted tostick around until the veryend. They were willing tostay here and see the worldfall apart before their eyesand would still sorrow for thesins of the world. They havebeen living this for two thou-sand years. Would any of usbe willing to do this if wecould escape these things?What a great love these threeNephites have for the worldand for the gospel of JesusChrist. Consider theirexample often.

#6 – Rejoice in YourPersecutions

“Blessed are ye, when menshall revile you, and perse-cute you, and shall say allmanner of evil against youfalsely, for my sake. Rejoice,

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and be exceeding glad: forgreat is your reward inheaven: for so persecutedthey the prophets which werebefore you. Ye are the salt ofthe earth: but if the salt havelost his savour, wherewithshall it be salted? it is thence-forth good for nothing, but tobe cast out, and to be troddenunder foot of men” (Matthew5:11-13).

What do people say aboutyou when they find out thatyou are a member in theChurch of Christ and believein the Book of Mormon? Doesit matter? We cannot let per-secution and the attitude ofthe world regarding our be-liefs get us down. Christ saidthat “great is your reward inheaven.” If you fall into de-spair now, what reward willyou have? Remember, thislife is not forever. Remainstrong and fight the goodfight so Christ may one daysay “well done, thou good andfaithful servant.”

Another aspect of contin-uing to share your testimonyis the need to eliminate pridefrom your life. If you do this,you will be able to retain joyin your life no matter whatpeople think of your beliefs.Be different. Be a peculiarpeople. Find joy in your lifewhen the world cannot findjoy in theirs.

#7 – Continue To Bea Witness

On July 3, I attended aconcert given by the localphilharmonic at our down-town baseball stadium. Pa-triotic music was played andfireworks were lit. One songthat was performed was the“Battle Hymn of the Repub-lic.” As you know, this song isin our church hymnal. It wasthe one song that was playedthat was also associated withGod. At the end of the song,people stood up and clapped.It was the only song wherepeople arose from their seat.I considered why this wasdone. I came to the conclu-sion that these people rose totheir feet because they wereacknowledging their God andthat He still holds the an-swers we need, no matterwhat we see from our leadersand our nation. I took hope inthis when it occurred and itwas a blessing to me. I wasn’tthe first to stand, but thesepeople to me were a witnessfor the Lord. We need to dothe same.

#8 – Be Among theRighteous

Another scripture pas-sage that I took great comfortin this year is the following:

“Wherefore, I , Lehi,prophesy according to theworkings of the Spirit whichis in me, that there shall benone come into this land,save they should be broughtby the hand of the Lord.

Wherefore, this land is con-secrated unto him whom heshall bring. And if it so bethat they shall serve him ac-cording to the command-ments which he hath given,it shall be a land of libertyunto them; Wherefore, theyshall never be brought downinto captivity: if so, it shall bebecause of iniquity: For if in-iquity shall abound, cursedshall be the land for theirsakes; But unto the righ-teous, it shall be blessed for-ever” (2 Nephi 1:10-15).

It’s hard to maintain thebelief that this is a blessedland when there is so muchsin present. But note that forthe righteous, this land“shall be blessed forever.”No matter how those aroundus stray from God, this landwill always be blessed forthose that are righteous,even if it is cursed for the un-righteous. When God re-moves the iniquity from thisland he will raise up a newgroup of people to inherit it, arighteous people. You couldpotentially be a part of that.God is not going to let thisland be permanently inher-ited by the unrighteous, orthe wicked that God allows tocome against this land.

At a sacrament serviceearlier this year, I requestedthat we sing the song “Amer-ica the Beautiful.” I wasn’tsure how I would feel when Isang it due to what has hap-pened in our land. After sing-

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ing it and thinking about it, Ifound that I could still bethankful for the land ofAmerica that I live in. To us itwill always remain a blessedland as the scripture states.

Another scripture to con-sider:

“The righteous cry, andthe LORD heareth, anddelivereth them out of alltheir troubles. The LORD isnigh unto them that are of abroken heart; and savethsuch as be of a contrite spirit.Many are the afflictions ofthe righteous: but the LORDdelivereth him out of themall” (Psalm 34:17-19).

We will go through peri-ods of affliction because theworld will not accept us orour message. God will an-swer our prayers according toHis will in the end. We needto come to the conclusionthat His will is sufficient.

#9 – Remember, theWicked Will BeDestroyed

This is another item thatis perhaps redundant withsome of my previousthoughts, but I thought it de-served its own category. I be-lieve we should continue andpray for those that are livingtheir lives in iniquity, but ingeneral, we should be thank-ful that wickedness will oneday be eliminated.

There was a particularpassage that was shared in a

recent Zion’s Advocate that Ithought deserved anothermention. I spent some timeone night thinking about it asI read this Zion’s Advocatebefore going to bed. Thescripture is as follows:

“Come, my people, enterthou into thy chambers, andshut thy doors about thee:hide thyself as it were for alittle moment, until the in-dignation be overpast. For,behold, the LORD comethout of his place to punish theinhabitants of the earth fortheir iniquity: the earth alsoshall disclose her blood, andshall no more cover herslain” (Isaiah 26:20-21).

God in the past has de-stroyed the wicked. Itshouldn’t be a surprise to usif it happens again. It is partof the cycle of God, life, andman that is part of our exis-tence in this world. It is theprocess that God has put inplace. Remember that and bepatient for “a little moment.”

#10 – Always SmileA sister in the Church of

Christ shared her testimonyregarding an encounter witha messenger in 2008 (perhapsone the three Nephites, orother). There was somethingthat was mentioned multipletimes by this messenger dur-ing those encounters. It wasto “always smile.”

No matter what happensin our life, or in the future, we

must always trust in God. Hewill always be with you andwill never abandon you.Each one of us faces differentburdens in life, but youshould always smile simplybecause you have a Lord thatone day you will meet face toface. I pray that one day I willmeet Him with joy and notwith shame.

Closing ThoughtsIf you’re tempted to de-

spair or perhaps are alreadyin despair because of the situ-ation of this world or the situ-ation you find yourself in, ap-ply these scriptures to yourlife and find peace in them.Pray to God and ask Him toremind you of these things.Pray for the people that at-tend our locals. Pour outyour souls to God. We are allin this together at this sameperiod of time in the greattimeline of the world and weneed to help one another.Also ask the Lord to bringother scriptures to your at-tention that were not beenmentioned here. I continueto try and do that within mylife and it has alleviated bur-dens that I myself have had inthe past, especially this yearwhich has been quiteeventful within our world.

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Dear brothers and sisters,I am happy to inform you about our youth

camp. The theme was in Ephesians 6:12:

“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood,but against principalities, against powers, againstthe rulers of the darkness of this world, againstspiritual wickedness in high places.”

We spent four beautiful days enjoying thefellowship of our youth and many adults thatwere present. This year we had 55 young peo-ple in attendance. They enjoyed the classes andthe various activities. On Saturday we had aspecial night celebrating the 5th anniversary ofthis new administration. We had a special din-ner with all the young people. The classes werecentered on how to overcome the giants in life.All the young people showed interest and tooknotes about all the classes. We also had a spe-cial presentation about the Book of Mormon.

We appreciate the work of all the teachersand the staff for all their efforts in this marvel-ous work. More than 30 people were involvedin all the arrangements, including the staff,counselors and teachers who made this dreampossible. As well, we are thankful for the sup-port of the two locals in Dzan, with their pastorsand all the ministry and parents. Most of all wethank God for giving us the opportunity to workin His vineyard and to be a help to our youth.

We already are receiving the fruit of thisbeautiful camp. Two of our young people aregoing to be baptized August 9th. They said thatduring camp God touched their hearts. What amarvelous blessing!

In gospel bonds,Apostle Placido K. MatuYucatan, Mexico

REPORT

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Dear brothers and sisters,I am happy to greet each one of you. It is

always a pleasure to be part of this great workin these last days.

Last week we had a marriage retreat inthe Hacienda Uayalceh Local in the YucatanPeninsula. Elders Dan Lawrence, Darin Crulland Ronnie Gill with their respective wives vis-ited us to organize this retreat. This is our sec-ond marriage retreat in this local.

They started on Friday with a presentationand a discussion panel about the importance ofthe family and marriage. The young peoplehad their class with Ronnie and his wife, whileDan, Darin, and their wives had the adult class.We are happy to see the interest and the partici-pation of the brothers and sisters. After eachservice we had a delicious meal served by ourdear brothers from the local church.

Saturday, we followed the same scheduleand did an evaluation as a husband and alsofor the wives. All the brothers, the sisters, andthe young people enjoyed these activities.

Sunday, the men had a review of the pre-sentation and a discussion about it. After allthese activities we gathered in the sanctuary toconclude this important event. We enjoyed see-ing the participation of the brothers from thedifferent locals who attended this retreat.

In gospel bonds,Apostle Placido K. MatuYucatan, Mexico

“Pray in your families unto the Father, alwaysin my name, that your wives and your childrenmay be blessed” III Nephi 8:52.

REPORT

FROM THE ARCHIVES

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER

-101-

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER

-102-

25th Anniversary of God’s Blessings inRebuilding after the Fire

January 1, 1990: Fire

January 1990: Church Gone

January 1, 1990: Church Burnt

Rebuilding

November 26, 1990: Pouring the Concrete

November 26, 1990: Forms for Walls

January 18, 1991: Lumber Arrives

1991: From the SW Corner of Lot 1991: Sign out Front

1992: New Building from Far Corner of the Temple Lot

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Sunday School Lessons: Love Thy Neighbor

The General Sunday School Association (GSSA) is be providing portions of lessons (teasers!) for several age groups on

a common topic. To see the complete le ssons, please visit the Church of Christ’s Audio Visual Aid (AVA) committee

website at www.cocsermons.net and click on the “Resources” tab to view all of the lessons and studies for children

and adults. More information regarding Sunday School lessons can be found on www.edmodo.com. Contact Susan

Porter: [email protected] ; home address: 9 Market Street; Middleville, MI 49333 for more information.

Preschool level by Joyce Lee, Bradley local, MI

Objective: To learn that we need to show our love to our friends and family by being good to them.

Pray: Lead the children in a prayer that the Lord is with us today as we learn more about loving each other.

Talk about who we love and why we love them? (They take care of me, do things with me.) Teach them that God created

families so that we could love each other, and take care of each other and that children are a gift from God.

Sing the Song: “Jesus Loves the Little Children of the World”, “Jesus Loves Me”, “Where is Love?”

Where is Love? Where is Love? Here I am. Here I am. (Point to Bible) The Bible tells of Love. The Bible tells of Love.

God’s love for you. God’s love for me.

Activity: Use cut out hearts, foam or construction paper about 4 inches wide, and markers to write “I love you” and give to someone

they said they love.

For more preschool lessons on this theme, go to http://www.cocsermons.net/children_g-l.php

Elementary level by Darl Temple, Independence, MO

Purpose: To learn the first and greatest of the two commandments- Love the Lord with all our heart, and love our

neighbor (all people), like ourselves. (Include the purpose in opening prayer.)

Supplies needed: Pictures of church people, gift box,“Thinking of You” card

Discussion: The Bible and Book of Mormon tell us 10 commandments which the Lord gave us. Two of them are the

most important because if we keep those it will help us keep the others- Love the Lord thy God with all your heart and

Love your neighbor as yourself. The most important thing we should do is to obey the Lord. First we must find out what

He wants us to do. How do we find out? (Reading His Word in the Bible and the Book of Mormon and hearing His

servants.) To show that we obey we must love others just as much as we love ourselves. We want good things to

happen to us. We don’t want to hurt ourselves. So we should be good to other people and not hurt them in any way.

We show them how to love the Lord too, and we help them when they need help. Jesus told us a story to show us how

to love others.

Read Story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) directly from the Bible, explaining unfamiliar words and terms

(even a child can get the gist of the story if read in this way.) Ask if any would like to tell the story again in their own

words. Have the students hold the Bible as they read or say, “Let us do good unto all”, Galatians 6:10. This is our

memory verse.

Song to sing: “Loving Each Other”, #378, Zion’s Hymnal

GENERAL SUNDAY SCHOOL ASSOCIATION

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Activity: Using pictures of members of the church. Say, “We are happy when others do something nice for us (give

examples), but we are happiest when we do something nice for other people. Jesus wants all people to be happy.

That’s why He wants us to do good things to others. Let’s say our memory verse again, ‘Let us do good unto all.’ We

are friends of Jesus if we do what He asks. Jesus’ friends like to be together- to worship by singing and praying. They

like to eat, work and play together. They are the people of the Church of Christ. Maybe you will know some of these

people.” (Show the pictures and discuss who they are.)

“We are going to do something special for someone who needs to be cheered up.” Talk about someone you have

chosen and why they would like for us to think of them. Show the gift box. Ask the children to suggest things that could

go into the box for that person. Make a list. Send a copy of the list home with each child with a note about your plans,

and ask that each child bring one item. Inside the card ask each child to sign their name and color a small picture.

Make plans for delivery of the gift and card.

Middle School by Susan Porter, Bradley local

Purpose: To learn that if we follow the second of the two Great Commandments. “…thou shalt love they neighbor as thyself” we will also be

following the first of the Great Commandments, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.”

(Matthew 37-39).

Supplies needed: Scriptures, index cards

Read: Matthew 37-40, Galatians 6:10, Leviticus 19:18, Mosiah 11:16, Moroni 7:11

Memory verse: “As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith,” Galatians

6:10.

Discussion: As we read the five scriptures, think about how they tie together. The Lord expects us to love each other as we love ourselves. What

does ‘loving ourselves’ look like? What does ‘loving our neighbor’ look like?

Activity: Make a list of ideas that are brainstormed during the discussion.

Write examples in each of the circles. Things that overlap go in the overlap section of this model. We take care of ourselves by reading our

scriptures, eating nutritious foods, exercising daily, personal hygiene, modest apparel, righteous activities, doing our chores, school work, etc. We

show love to our neighbor (friends, family, brothers and sisters in Christ, and people we live near) by including them in our activities, helping them

with chores, tutoring them with school work if necessary, kindly make suggestions when clothing is questionable, speaking kindly of them. When our

feelings are hurt by someone, we talk to them about it to avoid holding any grudges or having any contention among ourselves.

Index Cards: Write “I caught __(name)__being nice to__(name)__ by _(action)____.

Put the cards on a bulletin board to show others examples of how we are love our neighbors.

High School: Expand on the above lesson by reading from 3 Nephi 5: 89-96.

GENERAL SUNDAY SCHOOL ASSOCIATION

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2015 Missouri Reunion ReportOn Friday, July 31st, the Missouri Reunion began

with a prayer service with Elder Randy Sheldonin charge. Two administrations took place. Br.Randy told us we have a hope in the Lord and for ourreunion. The Lord is our director—He is preparingus to work right so we can move in the way He di-rects. God wants to perfect us. He read I Nephi 2:41.We want to hear the Lord, we are in a dreary waste,and we need His mercies upon us. When we havelong services it is because God is there. God fills uswith peace, love and joy. We must be diligent.Nephi wanted to see what Lehi did—God gave himmore. He read I Nephi 3:30. There was a season ofprayer, but time for only a few testimonies:

� A sister testified that she was reminded by Br.Randy’s comment this morning—how do weprepare? She was given a verse: at Alma’s conversion“…This is MY church….” We need all of ourspiritual armor and weapons (Ephesians 6:10-18-djh).

A preaching service followed, with the sermongiven by Elder Rodger Bruner. Br. Rodger greeted usand spoke of John 1:1. Br. Rodger explained thatthis is the beginning…that’s why God is God, andHe gave us scriptures to teach us. We are all cre-ations of God, and we’re all different. Scriptures canteach us to work right—Satan doesn’t want any-thing to work right. God doesn’t destroy evil—togive us a choice. April 6, 1830, this church was offi-cially restored. Not an innovation, but restored…tothe original. Christ often referenced the Old Testa-ment. He taught us how to restore. Joseph Smithwas caused to bring forth the Book of Mormon, to re-store. People then knew it was right, as he taughtwhat Christ taught. Religion of the day was hypocrit-ical. Br. Rodger said at one time he was real cynicalabout churches, but coming here he knew it was real.Why haven’t you been led away? Maybe it is be-cause you are stronger by the laying on of hands forthe Holy Spirit. They don’t speak of the Holy Ghost inchurches today. People change; God doesn’t. Everyday, ask yourself—am I doing it right? There are

principles to guide. We’re in a constant inner war allthe time. We hunger and thirst after righteousness,because it is right, it is correct. The first song askedfor today was, “Trust and Obey.” We should trusteach other, and trust and rely on Him. Trust is abasic Christian principle. Ask yourself what makesthis religion attractive to you? Do you teach yourkids? James is a story of religion, how it works, andjust one week of not wavering made a difference.Many of us fail because we don’t know how to be un-wavering. Do you know the difference between rightand wrong? Many people don’t these days. A lot ofpeople don’t know anything about the restoredchurch. God has established our laws, but peopledon’t know that. Teach the difference between rightand wrong. He read Alma 15:51-56. Teach rightand wrong and how not to waver. Then at the age ofaccountability they will hunger and thirst for righ-teousness and they won’t let go of it! 1 Cor. 13 sayswithout charity we’re nothing. Our marriage toChrist is like our marriage to our spouse; kids see andyour example teaches them. In closing he read Alma21:131-139.

After lunch and a song service we enjoyed an-other sermon, given by Priest Martin Addie. Br. Mar-tin read Gen. 1:26. Satan dresses up sin to make itappeal to us. He read Judges 2:1-3. Satan willnever tell you the truth. He used Gal. 5:7-9; II Nephi3:29-34, 42-54. Sin afflicts and takes away yourpeace. It’s our choice to partake of sin. He readRomans 7:15-20, 1 Cor. 10:5, Psalms 37:1-10.Consider the end of the evildoers…hell. If you’rejealous of what another has you’re opening yourselfup to sin out of discontent. He read 1 Cor.10:13-14. God’s plan was for people to repent andobey and for other people to try to destroy. This is theplan of redemption. God created a new plan formore chances and forgiveness. He read II Nephi6:45-50, 56-61; Romans 8:5-11. To be carnallyminded leads to death; spiritually minded can leadto peace—if the Spirit dwells in you. He read Luke23:33-43; 2 Cor. 2:1-11. Accept their repentance.

Keep berating them and you’ll drive them away. Belike Him…love without limits. He read 1 Cor.13:4-7, Matt. 18:21-22, I Nephi 5:117-131.There is a ripple effect of how one life affects others.In closing, Br. Martin read Hebrews 12:1-2; Alma3:83-89, 98-100, 107-108.

Following the evening meal and another songservice we enjoyed a sermon given by Elder MarvinCase. Br. Marvin began by reading Matthew10:32-42. Jesus Christ is the Rock of our Salvation.Br. Marvin asked, “Do you believe everything Christsaid? Do you believe He did everything to make itpossible for you to repent and come unto Him?” Br.Marvin then read of the vision of Lehi from I Nephi3:184-192. He explained that the Book of Mormonwas to restore those things which had been removed.Moroni 10:3-7 shows us why it would be difficult fora Muslim to receive witness of the Book of Mormon.We must ask with a sincere heart and with true intentand He will give us witness of its truthfulness. Weare a remnant of the church Christ himself built. NOother church fits that description. He read 11 Nephi12:14; Moroni 6:4. Our courts judge on civillaw—but that’s NOT us. Our law is Christ’s law andyou don’t pass things by the voice of the people. Br.Marvin read Helaman 2:66-75. Peter denied Christthree times, yet after Pentecost he stood firm, eventhough he was flogged. In closing we were told thatin Acts 4 or 5 we learn that Paul and Peter couldn’ttravel together, as they had a personality conflict.The Apostles weren’t perfect, they were still human.

Saturday morning we gathered in for anotherprayer service, Elder Steve McGhee in charge. Br.

Steve told us we receive strength when we go to re-unions; they bring us up to a higher level and renewus. We have a responsibility to share that. Br. Steveread Isaiah 42:5-10. Praise God to the islands of theworld, share our hope. He read Matthew 25:14-15,24- 29, and we entered into a season of prayer. Themeeting was then opened for testimonies, songs orprayers as the Spirit would lead.

REPORT

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� A brother testified—Yesterday Lehi’s vision and themist of darkness was mentioned. We’re hanging onto the word of God. He has a personal testimony.Before baptism he had a dream, and still carries itwith him. He was out in a field—it was wintertime—everything was dead and dreary. He wassitting on a horse, not going anywhere. He had alittle boy that was sitting in front of him on the horse.He felt danger. He saw a bull. He got down off thehorse and he and the boy climbed over a fence. Theboy disappeared, but he walked to a barn. He slid thedoor open and on the other side of the barn he couldsee light shining through the barn boards. He openedthe door to that area and he saw even more lightcoming in from the next room. Then there wasanother door and with even more light shiningthrough from the next room. Finally he was able togo out into the light. The light was so bright, andeverything was so beautiful! It was very different. Hesaw a bus and got on it. That was the end of thedream. He felt it was his experience in coming intothe church. A dismal mist keeps people in darkness.Testimonies all go back to their reaching for the light.We’re trying to gather those in who are in that mist ofdarkness.

� A brother testified— Twenty-two years ago he sanghere and at the last phrase he fell apart. The Spirithad fallen on him—he was baptized right after that.The last phrase, “I climbed the hill on Calvary…” hecouldn’t get the words out because he hadn’t donethat. He had procrastinated his baptism for ten years.He told us that when you come into the fold you getrest. He was there at the fence but had not enteredthrough the gate. So he wasn’t part of it. It was arevelation to him; you can’t be HIS until you do.Become HIS.

� A brother testified—He had a contact from a man innorthern Arizona. He was able to share the gospelwith him and his wife. He traveled several times tovisit. They believe; they’ve read everything about thechurch. They said they felt the Lord, even thoughtheir family thought they were crazy. They werebaptized June 1st. Their daughter was present. Atthe end of the confirmation the daughter was in tears.When he saw them in July at their home the daughterwas there again. She spoke of her parent’s baptismand said she had felt the Spirit so strong like neverbefore. Another time he got a contact in California.In a telephone conversation the woman told him shehad had a vision of a small white church building andshe had also been reading the Book of Mormon. Shesaid the words came right off the page, and she saw

the words “Church of Christ.” When she went to theAVA website (that they’d told her about) she saw thesame little white church building as in her vision andthe name of it, the Church of Christ. She was baptizeda short time later. We have new Golden Valleymembers. God also led a scattered member to join intheir group. We have a need to come together; God isworking so far ahead of us! This week in camp wasmarvelous; he gained so much hope with what hesaw in our young people. Parents nurture…somekids are challenged…pray for them, all of our youth.

� A sister testified that for 25 years she has been on thehighway and had no accidents. A year ago while shewas driving the semi, she saw something in the roadand went off into the median. Her husband told herhow to steer and they safely got back on the shoulder.They looked and looked and there was no damage,even though they had much dirt on the underside.They hadn’t hit anything. The Lord was with them.They drive a million miles a year, but this is the firsttime there was an incident…how could there NOTbe damage? They both realized it was the Lord’shand. God told her: “Wake up! Stop strugglingwith day-to-day stuff—it’s not important. Get yourlife back where it should be. It’s coming—wakeup!”

� A brother testified that when he and his wife wereexpecting their daughter the ultrasound confirmedtheir daughter wasn’t growing correctly. He fastedand took it to the Lord. Mother/unborn baby wereadministered to and were blessed. The baby grewnormally after that. After she was born tests showedthe baby was deaf. Again he took it to the Lord. Therewas another test, and the baby’s hearing wasnormal. Their son has been diagnosed withAsperger’s, a type of autism which resulted indifficulty with many things when he was young. TheLord has blessed him and he has adjusted so well.God is faithful and He wants us to share theseblessings with others.

� A sister testified that twenty years ago she had a verybad dream that her sister had died. She prayed. Shelearned her sister had had an aneurism and wasbleeding to death. She was administered to. Godanswered prayers and she survived. Then, manyyears later she fell and hurt her back, but as a resulther lung cancer was discovered. God’s blessings havemade them all stronger. The real miracle is how hersister’s spirit has grown. Spiritual blessings areincredible and took decades.

Following lunch we gathered in for a baptism.Angel Stevens, from the Ava local, was baptized Sat-

urday, August 1st, by Elder Brandon Tarbell. Br.Brandon was assisted by Elder Jim Case. The confir-mation was done by Apostle Joel Yates with Br.Brandon Tarbell assisting. Our new little sister saidshe was very thankful for her friends and family thathelped her get to where she is now. Following theconfirmation we went on into a song service andthen a sermon.

The afternoon sermon was given by Elder GordonMcCann. Br. Gordon told us to “Reconcile Yourself toGod” and read Jacob 3:16 and 2 Nephi 11:43-44.Reconcile means, “to cause to be friendly or harmo-nious again; adjust; settle (differences); to bring tosubmission or acceptance or a change of relationshipbetween God and man based on the changed statusof man through the redemptive work of Christ,” INephi 11:44. Sin will separate you from God, Isaiah59:2. Pathway to reconciliation, Isaiah 55:7. Be-lieve in Jesus Christ, 2 Nephi 11:39; Acts 4:12.Make yourself clean, Isaiah 1:16-17. Reconcileyourself to God, Isaiah 1:17-19. Repent of your sinsand forgive others, Mosiah 11:139-140. Reconcilewith others, 3 Nephi 5:71-72. Our new life in Christ,2 Corinthians 5:17-18 and Philippians 4:13. Ex-amples, Alma 3:46-48. Have ye walked keepingyourselves blameless before God? Could ye say, if yewere called to die at this time, within yourselves,that ye have been sufficiently humble? Are yestripped of pride? Alma 3:49-51 and Proverbs16:18. Are you conceited? Proverbs 26:12; 1 Nephi3:126; and Isaiah 14:12-14. Who is not stripped ofenvy? Alma 3:52-53; Proverbs 14:30; 1 Timothy6:5-7; Proverbs 27:4; James 3:13-16. Do youmock a brother? Alma 3:54-56; Jude 1:17-19; 1Nephi 2:71, 73-75. Do you persecute? Psalm 10:2;1 Nephi 2:82-83; 1 Corinthians 2:12-14; Mormon4:46-48. Work out your own salvation; Mormon4:93-94. Finally, we must press forward feasting onthe words of Christ and endure to the end; 2 Nephi13:29-30.

After dinner there was another song service,which was followed by a sermon given by ElderDavid Keeney. Br. David told us it was the Holy Spiritthat prompted him in this warning; “To be fore-warned is to be forearmed.” Br. David read Ephe-sians 6:11-13, in exhorting us that our battles arespiritual, and to take upon us the whole armor ofGod. He read Genesis 11:1-8, speaking of times

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both past and now. He told us man has developedtechnology that is way beyond our imagination. Heexplained that we need to know technology is tryingto change what we think of as “human.” Scientistswant to redesign us to enhance our intelligence andbody; they desire the ability to make humans “im-mortal,” despite negative consequences. They don’tknow what will happen but they want to do it any-way. Br. David told us there is a “Trans-Humanism”movement supporting these ideas. He read Mormon4:71-73 and Genesis 1:24-27 to explain to us thatwe shouldn’t tamper with what God has created, asafter all God created us in His image. Br. Davidasked, “When they tamper with our DNA, at whatpoint do we stop being human?” He read 1 Corinthi-ans 3:16-17; Matthew 24:15, 21-22, Revelation13:14. He also spoke of the great deception whichhas been going on for years; a narrative that God did

not create man, but that we were “seeded” by aliensfrom another planet. This is an effort to omit anddeny God. Br. David encouraged us to look at thesethings through the lens of the Bible and the Book ofMormon. He gave us words of encouragement from INephi 7:30 and reminded us God is in control andHe will deliver His people.

There was an evening event for our young peo-ple; an Ice Cream Social also took place in the dininghall where we celebrated the 25th Anniversary ofGod’s Blessing in the Rebuilding of the Church, withphotos of the fire and rebuilding. The evening wasgreatly enjoyed, with much reminiscing among ourbrothers and sisters.

On Sunday morning we gathered in to the houseof the Lord for our Sacrament Service. Elder Rick

Olson and Elder Don Case were in charge of the ser-

vice. Br. Don greeted us and told us we witness tothe world we’ve taken upon us the Lord’s name. Heis a perfect God. He spoke of a comparison of us rais-ing our children as similar to our God raising us. Ourlove isn’t perfect—God’s is. There were ten plagueson Egypt in Moses’ time. Pharaoh stood in defianceof God. The fact that it took ten plagues was for all ofus to understand what God did for us. So we couldunderstand—the Feast of Passover is to rememberthis great blessing of our Redeemer…the perfectfirstborn of our perfect God. Humans have a ten-dency to forget—in the prayer we say “we remem-ber”—yet we know we do forget. Sacrament is sowe will remember what He did for us. Our intellectdoesn’t trump what God did for us. Don’t let any-thing separate you from partaking of the Sacrament.Hebrews 12:1-3.

The emblems were then blessed and served. We

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entered into a season of prayer in which manynames and needs were raised to our Heavenly Fa-ther. Eleven administrations were conducted. Manyvoices were then lifted in testimony; here are just afew:

� A brother testified that God watches over kids with nosense…Him. While at school one day he saw snowup on the mountaintop. He was 14 and his brotherwas 9. They decided to ride their bikes up themountain to feel the snow. It was real bad going up.His brother was so exhausted that he could see hisheart beat right through his shirt. They got to the topright at dusk. There was only a small patch of snowleft. It wasn’t worth the effort. They started down themountain…their brakes wouldn’t work. In the darkthey ran over rough road…but never fell as they toredown the slopes. God was with them and they neverrealized it until years later…He had saved themfrom serious injury or even death. It was a miracle.

� A young brother told us at camp a young brother hadbeen told by the Spirit that the youth were going tohave a tough time in the next year…they are notmaking good decisions. Our brother gathered agroup of young men together to pray. He was given ascripture, Alma 17:3; and read it to us. Tough timesare coming; this scripture strengthened all of them.

� A sister told us it has been 27 years since her secondbout with cancer. She survived her little sister. Shehas Parkinson’s. There is no cure. She wants to bemore joyful. Pray for her. She is thankful for us.

� A brother told us that back in college—a girlchallenged him— “If God answers your prayers, askHim who you are to marry.” Several weeks wentby—but he had a dream given. The person youmarry is very important. God showed him whom hewas to marry. He saw a young woman on a path,walking ahead of him. He heard, “The woman infront of you is to be your wife.” Our brother asked,who? The Lord told him the same thing again. Hebroke up with his girlfriend, as it wasn’t her. He methis future wife six times, not knowing she was thewoman in his dream…until one day they walkeddown to the lake, and on the walk he viewed her fromthe back while on the path. It was the same view asin his dream. He thought, “Now what will I do?”Three weeks later he asked her to marry him, but hehad to ask five more times before she finally said yes.They’ve had 33 years together so far. He told us ourspouse is the one who knows us the best and has thestrongest desire for us to have eternal happiness—to encourage or discourage. Do God’s will—ask

Him whom He desires for your spouse.

� A sister told us she doesn’t know why she needs toshare this. She’s worked hard to make God first in herlife. The last three years there have been many thingscoming at her : work, home, hear tbreak,disappointment, etc. She’s had trouble dealing withthem—but pressed on. You need every piece ofarmor—you can’t deal with it with just one piece.She talked with God and asked him to fix herproblems. She realized she was angry with God. Sheprayed and read songs of thankfulness, and sherealized she had SO MUCH to be thankful for. Shefeels blessed to once again feel grateful.

� A brother told us his testimony is about Joyce’s “LittleSister.” It’s because of Janice that he is here today.She introduced him to this expanded view of God.He’d already heard of the white God who came toCentral America. Then he got to know Janice. He wasbaptized. He learned God is merciful and canheal—if it’s His desire. God, through people heretoday, healed him well enough that he could be heretoday. God can heal your spirit too. God found allsorts of ways to touch him and heal him—ofwhatever problem; He can. Remember and pray toGod.

� A brother told us that Titus 2 came to him afterBraden testified and he read it for us.

� A brother told us as a young man called to theministry he was told to be concerned about the youth.Ask the Lord to send those who are serious. Young br.had a vision; as another brother prayed, he saw somewearing armor. We are in a battle now more thanever before. He was impressed last Saturday that theLord is stepping up in our needs. In every battle thereis blood, sweat, and tears. This is our day. For God’sreason and purpose. We’ll be given strength if we’llget to the work.

� A brother told us many years ago on a canoe trip thatas they reached their destination, hot and tired, theywent to load up the bus to return to cars. There thechurch folks got on the bus right along with the crudeand drunken. Some put on their armor. They couldhave been silent cowards; instead they were led tosing hymns. They got stronger and united and theyshut the other’s mouths. We’ll serve the Lord, not besilent. Don’t be afraid.

� A sister testified that when our young brother stoodshe was given a thought: Helaman’s young2000—be those and be brave.

� A young brother told us he didn’t get to go to campthis year, mainly because his sister was having

problems. Last year he had been taken out. He haddone some wrong things, and he’d beenover-thinking things. He felt anguished. He went toa mental hospital and felt really bad. He felt likethere was a demon that wouldn’t stop bothering him.He was thankful that ministry came to see him.

Following lunch and a special music service, wegathered in for the final sermon of the reunion.

The last sermon of the reunion was given byApostle Mike McGhee. Br. Mike greeted us and toldus there have been times when he has been down inthe depths of depression. This sermon he receivedduring a sermon at the East Local. He began receiv-ing thoughts for it one right after another. He“Hopes to Encourage and Refresh.” He wants to talkabout our “Perspective, Relationship with Earth, Youand God;” Ether 5:4, II Nephi 1:120. Our home isshrinking—depression is increasing. There are newnormal, morals, economy, government, laws, popu-list not constitutional, truth, marriage, terrorist, divi-sion and falling away into apostasy. II Nephi3:46-50 speaks of the valley of depression. Weneed to be confident in Jesus; Proverbs 4:18. Choicein perspective is ours to make: II Nephi 3:42, Jere-miah 6:16, even though the world says, “We willnot walk therein.” God’s word lifted the depressionor the valley, Isaiah 55:8-9. I know in part/Hisknowledge higher/step out of this valley, 1 Cor.13:11-12; Mosiah 3:4; Romans 8:35, 38-39; Eccl.12:13. The mind of Christ makes us free of the val-ley, 1 Cor. 2:14. And as many as would hear Hisword he did teach. Was this Alma’s only duty? Letyour light so shine. As Nephi witnessed so must you,and we must stay out of the valley with our new per-spective. Helaman 3:12. We should stand out asChrist’s, not blend in with the world. Our “sphere ofinfluence, each of us has it…is like a ripple in thepond.” As we look beyond this earth…when you’reweary with your toil…still have your hope.

We thank and praise our Lord for all His bless-ings, and may He bless you is our prayer.

Your reporter, Sr. Deb Haines

Zion’s Advocate


Greetings from a very warm Phoenix. Letme rephrase that – a very hot Phoenix!

It has been a very busy summer here in theValley of the Sun. June gave us a local churchbusiness meeting, a special presentation onSunday, the 21st for all fathers, and a babyblessing for Zane Yates. And of course, therewas Vacation Bible School, with a program forthat on July 5th.

Our Sister Niki Herd was given a babyshower on July 11th and baby Ethan came intothe world just a few short weeks later on August2nd. The whole family is doing really well.

Two couples here in Phoenix have an-nounced engagements—our Sr. Mary Galvanand Br. Jeremiah Case, and Sr. Sasha Gill andBr. Zach Yates. The future Mr. and Mrs. Yateshave set their wedding date for December19th. I’m sure we all wish them well and knowthey will continue to walk the rest of their liveswith our Holy Father.

There is always work to be done at thechurch. Even on a very hot Saturday afternoonin August you can find the hardiest of folkworking on the sprinkler system. Thank you toall involved in that project!

As always, I want to remind us all to re-member the ministry of the church in ourprayers. The world is becoming more andmore dangerous, but yet these brave men con-tinue to travel to more and more countries tospread the word of the Gospel. We need to

thank them, and God for always watching overthem.

So many of our members are in need ofyour prayers, and I know I won’t remember tomention them all. Sr. Marlene Oar continuesto battle her cancer, Sr. Amy Moser, well, sheand her broken body won’t give up. I know theLord is with her because no matter what isthrown at her, her faith has always stood firm

and strong. The Saracino family could reallyuse your prayers as Br. Glenn continues tohave problems with his surgery. We don’t wantto forget our Sr. Wanda Yates and Br. and Evan-gelist Hubert Yates.

Please pray for all those members who arelooking for new jobs, trying to decide a careerpath while in school or just graduating, thosewho are having marital trials and especiallythose who are wrestling with their faith.

My thoughts and prayers are with you all.

God bless,Sr. DiAnn Hedrick

NEWS

PHOENIXLocal News

Mary & Jeremiah Engagement

The Herd Family

Sasha & Zach

Working on Sprinklers

Zion’s Advocate


Greetings from the Treasure Valley Lo-cal! With your generous donations,

prayers, a few minor injuries and more workthan we care to remember, we got the chapelfinished just in time for the Idaho Reunion.This project has been in our dreams for manyyears, and finally we decided to reach out infaith and go for it and, after many (seeminglyendless) challenges we have a beautiful andcomfortable place to meet in. We really thankGod for answered prayers, as well as to all thelocals and individuals who made generousdonations and the hard work that was done

that made this possible.Just in time, we had our first reunion here

and everything turned out beautifully. Therewere many visitors from Phoenix, Colorado,Missouri, and other places, and we had justenough room to accommodate everyonecomfortably. We had fine fellowship with ourbrothers and sisters and look forward to thenext reunion.

Our little local has finally had time to restand enjoy a few well-earned vacations, re-cover from injuries and just catch our breath.Please keep Roy and Mary Coon in your

prayers; Roy isstill recoveringfrom knee inju-ries and falling,and they reallyneed to sell theirlarge home outin the country sothey can becloser to familyand the doctorsthat they oftenhave to visit. Ev-eryone else is do-

ing very well and we keep each of those inneed in our prayers. By the way, if you’relooking for a nice small local that has plentyof room for growth and an area with a low costof living…we would welcome you with openarms!

God Bless,

Karen Bove

NEWS

TREASURE VALLEY

Local News

Zion’s Advocate


NOTICES

CCEG

The Church of Christ Email Groupis a church member-only (andspouses, even if not a member) emailcommunication group existing tokeep the general church member-ship informed about prayer needs,blessings, and more. It does not haveofficially elected management (mem-ber volunteer only), although it regu-larly functions for the Church ofChrist for missionary news and vari-ous announcements, like state ralliesand reunions.

If you have email capability and arenot a member of the CCEG, you mayjoin by first visiting the Web site atwww.cceg.net and after readingabout us on the home page, click thelink in the left sidebar, “Join theCCEG” and follow the simple instruc-tions.

If any existing members feel youare not getting CCEG emails as ex-pected, contact the CCEG manager(below) so you can be verified.

RHEA HOUSKNECHTCCEG [email protected]

THE HOPE of ZION

The Board of Publications hasmade available a copy of the reportfrom the Committee to Study Zion en-titled, The Hope of Zion. Contact El-der Rober t O ldham [email protected], or anymember of the Board.

AVA WEBSITE

On the Church of Christ AVA website you will be able to access mediasuch as archived sermons in videoand audio formats, past issues ofZion’s Advocate, searchable Bible

and Book of Mormon studies andSunday School lessons. Real timelive streamed sermons are broad-cast every Sunday at 11:00 a.m. and6:30 p.m. central time, which canalso be accessed from the site. Weinvite you to take a look and discoverwhat a useful tool this site can be inexpanding your knowledge and faith.The address iswww.cocsermons.net.

CORRESPONDENCE

COMMITTEE

The General Church Correspon-dence Committee would like to ex-tend the opportunity for any who wishto communicate through written cor-respondence to contact one of thefollowing three committee members:

MARLENE COBB (Chairman)725 S. PickwickSpringfield, MO 65802

SUE PORTER9 Market St.Middleville, MI 49333

PAT MCCANN18808 N. 30th St.

Phoenix, AZ 85050

PRIESTHOOD

VISITATION

If you or someone you know (mem-ber or non-member) would like to bevisited by a member of the Priest-hood of the Church of Christ, pleasecall or write to the Council of Apostlesat Church Headquarters in Inde-pendence. The phone numbers andaddresses are listed on the insidefront cover.

ANNOUNCEMENT

The Church of Christ Library is nowoffering digital materials! We have“Church of Christ” materials in the Li-brary that we would like to share digi-tally; check often, as we are adding toour file as we see things you mayhave an interest in!

Examples of those things down-loaded are:

� Book of Commandments (Churchof Christ 1833 edition)

� Church of Christ—A Few of theDifferences, by Priest Bill Malone

� Revelation given to James E.Yates May 1, 1927

� Revelation given to GranvilleHedrick April 1864

� Revelation given to GranvilleHedrick April 1865

� Points of the True Church (Study)—Author unknown

� Points of Uniqueness to theChurch of Christ (Study) by ElderAndy Brantner

� The Hope of Zion (study) done bythe Zion Committee

� Vision given to A. M. Smith9-7-1964

� Vision of the temple given toApostle T. J. Jordan 1931

Please go to the AVA Website athttp://www.cocsermons.net. Go tothe “Resources” tab, then the “Li-brary Resources” button. There youwill find a button labeled “Book andDocument Library.” Click on it. Go tothe “Online Library Documents,” andit will take you to an alphabetical list-ing of materials.

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Ancient Prophecies Fulfilled in 1830Apostasy from the New Testament ChurchArticles of Faith & Practice of the Church of ChristArticle of Faith, #1 (concerning God; earliest Restora-

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of the RestorationBrief Commentary: Book of Commandments & Doc-

trine and CovenantsA Brief History of the Church of ChristA Call to National Repentance - Hearken to the Words

of Jesus ChristThe Christian Sabbath is the Lord’s Day - SundayColored Tracts to Native Americans: 1) Book in the

Stone Box 2) Did You Know? 3) Epistle to AmericanIndians 4) Promises of God and Straight Talk

Concerning Marriage and PolygamyThe Cost of SalvationDoes it Make a Difference to Which Church You

Belong?El Libro De Mondamientos - Su Funcion En La Historia

De La Restauracion DeLa Iglesia De Cristo(Spanish Book of Commandments Commentary)

Evidences of the Book of MormonFirst Presidency or First Apostles?

God’s Promises to IsraelGod’s Purpose in AmericaThe Great Plan of RedemptionIs Marriage for Time and Eternity?—A FallacyThe Last Maya King and the Liberation of JerusalemA Latter Day ApostasyThe Latter Day RestorationThe Position of the Council of the Apostles Regard-

ing Some Issues of TodayPriesthood—Divine AuthorityPrinciples of the Gospel—BaptismPrinciples of the Gospel—Faith & RepentancePrinciples of the Gospel—Laying on of HandsResurrection and Eternal JudgementSermonettes on the Teachings of JesusSome Misconceptions about the Book of MormonA Synopsis (Compares beliefs of three Restoration

churches)That Sacred Spot is Definitely LocatedThe Teachings of the Gospel - As verified in the Bible

and Book of MormonWhat about the Book of Mormon?Why? (Amplifies absence of a First Presidency in

Scripture)Zion and the Temple of the Lord

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