The First Council of The
Latter Day Church of Jesus Christ would like to express our deep sorrow and
heartfelt sadness with much of the world in the wake of the evil terror attacks
that have taken place in Belgium today, and condemn all those that have brought
this evil upon the land, the news is heart breaking and hard to
understand. We extend our prayers to the families of the deceased and injured.
We also pray for the people of Belgium
and all of Europe as they continue to deal
with the devastation that has been caused by these evil acts of terror. We call
upon the Lord to heal the broken hearts of all effected and ask him to be with
and comfort them at the terrible time.
If you have any questions or are interested in finding out more about the Restored Branch of Jesus Christ please email us: info@restoredbranch.com
Tuesday, 22 March 2016
Official Church Statement: Terror Attacks Condemned
Sunday, 13 March 2016
How Did Noah Build The Ark
It is the most seminal moment in the history of the
world. The building of the Ark
by Noah is a moment that has and will live with civilisation until the end of
days. It is a moment in human history that is still being debated and talked
about across the religious world from Christians to Muslims and on to Mormons and beyond. It is a
moment that almost every culture in the world have a legend about and it is a
moment that we as Bible believing Latter Day Mormons see as divinely appointed and
divinely inspired. As the world stood on the brink of destruction God command
that an Ark
be built to save the righteous and the pure.
However even after all that is written and spoken about
the building of this great spectacle it still amazes me and I shake my head when
I read or hear some of the comments people make concerning the building of the Ark.
Some of the arguments given are amazing and and I want to address a few here in my
sermon to try and explain our position on how Noah and what Noah was able to
use in building his Ark, because to many people are still stuck in the mind set
that we are the greatest civilisation that has ever lived upon the earth and they ask with this in mind how such a thing was possible. Some of the arguments people
make are, how could Noah have built the ark without using modern tools, it's impossible.
Noah wouldn’t have had the adequate tools he needed to do the job! Didn't ancient man use stone on stone to build. Besides the
fact that we don’t know what tools Noah had, we point out that many people
wittingly or unwittingly have an evolutionary view or evolutionary influenced
view of the history of mankind. Many think Noah must have been some primitive
person using primitive stone tools. When God made man, man was made highly
intelligent in the image of God. Genesis 5:31-33 tell us that within a few generations people were
making musical instruments and working in brass and iron. By the time of Noah,
and with people living for hundreds of years before the Flood, who knows what
sort of knowledge was accumulated and the kinds of sophisticated technology that
might have been developed? We stand by the conviction that the civilisation of Noah was a
type two civilisation that it was very advanced and would have had tools and other
impressive technology that we would be jealous of even today! It is important
for us to remember that we don’t know how ancient people built many of the stone
structures in Great Britain ,
Europe, South America or even the remarkably
constructed Egyptian pyramids. The ancients obviously had technology at a level
that we just aren’t aware of, as it seems no record was kept or the records
were destroyed. In this area of ancient technologies, we need to think in terms
of a Christian Latter Day Mormon worldview based on the history in the scriptures and when the
scriptures give us an insight in to advanced technologies we should embrace
that idea and not be jealous but rather praise them and embrace the idea that
we are not the highest that the children of God have ever been.
But still again and again we hear their problems and
their evolutionary based history shouting above the evidence and the recorded history. What about cranes
and metals, Noah didn’t use metals because it would have been too early, man didn't
use metals back then. Well the Bible does not tell us whether Noah did or did
not use cranes made of metal. From a Christian Latter day Mormon worldview, ancient people, including those
living before the Flood, would have been highly intelligent, and no doubt would
have understood about remedial things such as leverage. Noah may have had
ingeniously designed cranes and levers that would make us stand in awe today! Yet again we know what the Bible says about
metal it did exist and man did work it in fact, in Genesis 5:31-32, just a few
generations after Adam, we read, “And as for Zillah, she also bore Tubal-Cain,
an instructor of every craftsman in bronze and iron.” So if they were using
bronze and iron then, by the time of Noah people may have developed all sorts
of sophisticated uses of metals. Noah may have used more metal than we do
today. However we know why these question keep being asked, because mans mind
has left the road that God put them on and has gone down a road of corrupt
science. Our answer is simple. Where are we ever told what tools Noah used?
There is no mention in the Bible or even any hint as to what tools Noah used.
So the answer to this argument is, we don’t know what the tools were, and no
one knows! So why do you keep making that argument? Well we know!
Yet another argument that is made is that it took Noah
took 120 years to build the Ark, First of all, we don’t know how long Noah took
to build the Ark. The 120 years reference in Scripture (Genesis 8:5) is not in
the context of Noah building the Ark.
The best explanation of the 120 years seems to be that it was the length of
God’s patience, and then He sent the Flood. Shem was 99 when the Flood ended
and he came out of the Ark, this indicates that
when God spoke to Noah about building the Ark , he already had sons and they were
married. So it seems logical to say that the Ark took fewer than 99 years to build. Second,
Noah may have taken quite a number of years to build the Ark. Perhaps Noah took several years to build
the Ark to
give plenty of time to warn the population that they needed to believe God’s
Word, that he would indeed flood the earth. Noah Built his Ark because God said
there was a flood coming he didn't say when he just said it was coming and we
don't know how long he took to build it, but the important thing is he did
build it. Yet they still say again and again there’s no way Noah could have
built a wooden ship that size, especially not by himself. Actually, there are
records going back over 2,000 years of ancient wooden ships as big as and even
bigger than the Ark.
It’s just that we are not used to seeing such massive wooden ships today, and,
therefore, many people think it couldn’t be done! Also why do they think he did
it alone, Noah had his three sons to help him, and there’s no reason to doubt
he would have hired people as well has having help from God in the form of Angelic helpers. We don’t know what materials Noah
did or didn’t have, as we are not told and we don't know how he built it or how long it took. According to material experts, the
ancient Egyptians who are the descendants of Noah’s grandson Mizraim/Aegyptus
used a highly advanced form of concrete while constructing the Great Pyramid. We
do know that Noah used timber to build an Ark , and we are given the dimensions in
Scripture. We know it was built to float because a massive Flood was coming and that all we need to know.
However time
and time again these arguments are made and more than ever even more absurd arguments are made,
like how did he fit all the animals of the world in that one boat, how did he
get the whales in. I could go one. Much of what is said about the Ark and its
construction by these so called men of knowledge is utter rubbish and they do
all they can not to look at the text of the scriptures to find answer but
continue to look at other texts like the epic of Gilgamesh which is nothing
like the story of Noah. It
is our duty to educate the world and bring them to an understanding of the
Gospel of Jesus Christ through the scriptures and through fact not fiction. We
believe in our church that our past pre-history is littered with great
achievements and technologies, that we have been high beyond the starts and
brought low again to learn from our mistakes many times in human history. We
are told that the world will be as it was in Noah's day before Christ comes again
and I believe that means more than just sin and evil but that it also refers to
our achievements in technology as well.
Let
us not be out done by these naysayers, but rather let us cling to the sure word that
is God and try him and see if he will indeed bless us with the knowledge and answers we
need to understand these wondrous things.
In The Name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Matthew
P Gill
First
Elder & Prophet
Sunday, 6 March 2016
Differences That Define Us
Can two walk together, except they be agreed? Amos 3:3.
There is no question that our relations with the LDS Mormon Church and its
membership along with other Mormon groups is less amicable than we would like
them to be. Without a doubt This church believes that as religious neighbours
we should endeavour to promote mutual good will and eliminate the hostile
feelings between our faiths. It is the goal of The Latter Day Church of Jesus
Christ and its leadership to explain that although we wish there to be no ill
feelings we are very different and we view the restored Gospel in a very
different light, however we should not let these differences stand in the way
of mutual good will and cooperation.
The Latter Day Church of Jesus Christ like the LDS
Mormons and other Mormon groups believe in the restoration of the church of Christ through the Prophet Joseph Smith.
So in considering this we have at least this in common as distinguished from
all other so-called Christian denominations, a belief in “the Restoration” of
the church of Jesus Christ . This is an important point that
is so often overlooked when we discuss our faith with others, there are many
things we agree upon but lots that we do not and these things can seem to us
any way as massive insurmountable hurdles that can not be overlooked. However let
us for a moment remember that we hold in common the restoration of the church of Jesus Christ
as given through the prophet Joseph Smith.
Let us therefore look at the revelations contained within
the seminal works of the Prophet and the early church. We all believe in the authenticity of the
Book of Mormon, although we differ radically in our understanding of some of
its teachings. We all accept and publish many of the revelations given through
the Prophet Joseph Smith in our respective versions and editions of the
Doctrine and Covenants. However differences come in here at two points. First, the LDS Mormons
include in their book some sections, most notably a purported revelation on
celestial or plural marriage (Section 132) that we challenge deeply, indeed that we proclaim it to
be fraudulent and not written by the prophet at all. Secondly, our Doctrine and
Covenants continues as an open canon of Scripture and we have added and
continue to add revelations as they come to us from time to time from the Lord through the
prophet of the church. Many other Mormon and restored braches do not even hold
the Doctrine and Covenants as scripture and many do not use it and many believe it
is a dead book meant for another age. Many Mormons in many restored churches
have added nothing to their book of revelations that has been received by them
including the LDS Mormons who have done little to add to it at all with
the noted exception of the declarations which are published as revelations.
However there remain some that have added to this book, but I would argue that
many do not have a living prophet at the head of their churches and so no
medium is in place for the Lord to send revelations unto them for their
churches.
Let us now look at the subject of the Gospel. On the surface, all Mormon faiths or churches
believe in and affirm the fundamental principles of the gospel, all of them
make these the basis of their missionary work and the basis of their statements
of faith and doctrinal belief. However many differences develop soon when these
Mormons deviate from the doctrines laid down in the Doctrine & Covenants
and do things contrary to the will of God. For example one of the biggest principles that we disagree with is
set forth in the LDS Mormon church and embraced by many other Mormon faiths. It is
the doctrine of celestial marriage, including polygamy, and this is indeed
added revelation of their doctrine, as a
new and everlasting covenant, through which salvation and exaltation are
assured, whereas we hold that the principles of the gospel referred in the standard works are
themselves quite adequate to assure salvation and any degree of exaltation
possible and this can be achieved through righteous living in obedience to the will of
God contained within the standard works of the church and those written in the life time of the
prophet Joseph Smith. It must be remembered that any new revelations would not contradict
those already given but rather testify of them and support them in their
doctrinal basis.
What then of Zion ? Well all of the Mormon faiths and
churches that I have come across have a major objective in mind when they say
the word Zion . However many have opposite views on
what this means and what this stands for. Many of us have come to differ over
the question of location, meaning and purpose, at least temporarily it would
seem so. For the LDS Mormons, since their settlement in Utah ,
they have designated it as Zion , indeed any
place that a stake is established is called Zion
hence the doctrine that Zion
is any place that the saints can be found. This is of course contrary to what
was said and written by the prophet. Other restored churches or restoration
churches hold that Zion
has passed that it was and is for another age, that the church found itself
unworthy to fulfil that promise and it is now over. We on the other hand hold
to the position that Missouri in the United States was and still is
designated as Zion , with Independence as the central gathering place
for the saints and the people of the church, and that the revelation is
specific on this and as God spoke it can not be wished or washed away to suite
our present circumstances. For we read “Zion
shall not be moved out of her place, notwithstanding her children are
scattered. They that remain, and are pure in heart shall return, and come to
their inheritances, they and their children, with songs of everlasting joy”
(Doctrine and Covenants 101:4). It is
only fair to add that we look beyond the immediate horizon to a time when Zion shall be established in Missouri . It would seem that at the present
time many are content to be left alone doing what they see fit, either writing
of the concept of Zion our as the LDS have done have found themselves content
to entrench themselves in Utah as far as their spiritual headquarters and
commercial interests are concerned and have talked of it and thought of it as
their Zion, while we and many others of the Mormon faith have given immediate
attention to gathering in the place designated as Zion and are this very day endeavouring
to develop the conditions that will lead to a Zionic life and settlement now, not in a distant far off time but now. My point is it would seem that there is a
starting point of common belief for many Mormon faiths and groups, however on
the whole we have many developing differences that instead of bringing us
together keep us apart.
One of the biggest differences and one that is
fundamental to our lives as Latter Day Mormons is our understanding of the
character and nature of God. I don't know of any Mormon faith that does not
join with us in the initial statement of the Epitome of Faith drafted by
Prophet Joseph in which it says “ We believe in God the Eternal Father.”
However as we endeavour to interpret and understand the character of God there
comes the widest imaginable divergence in views between many of us and one that
can seem like a hurdle that is to high to over come. As Latter Day Mormons we
take the view and the opinion of God as given to us in the scriptures as
eternally unchangeable, and we assume that there can be no other view taken,
but we know this is not true. Many of our Mormon friends in many other
churches take a very different view. There has been a saying among many Mormons for many years
that has polluted and distorted the very nature of God, this saying is “As man is, God once
was, as God is, man may become.” This very statement given by LDS Mormon
representatives has been official
doctrine since its inception not just for them but for other Mormon faiths and churches as well and has continued to be carried down to current generations to this very
time. It accounts for more problems amongst Mormon sects than any others
doctrine I believe. It is a point that in many respects keeps us from uniting
and will do for as long as it is accepted by those that teach it. In his book entitled The Articles of Faith
James E. Talmage, author makes the following statement, “We believe in a God who is
himself progressive. In spite of the opposition of all other sects, in the face
of direct charges of blasphemy, the church proclaims the eternal truth, ‘As man
is, God once was; as God is, man may become’” (pages 442,443). Another LDS Mormon church authority John A.
Widtsoe, stated in a book for the Melchizedeck priesthood, given by the General
Priesthood Committee, “As man is, God once was” (page 25). In this same vain
they have taught but no longer believe that Adam was God that he came here with
eve ,one of his many wives and that he made the world and came in to being as a man,
the Adam-God theory as it is called is still taught by many Mormon groups and held as a true doctrine by many
Mormon faiths and does a lot to stop our union one with another. In deed we
read in Brigham Young’s theology the particular man who progressed to the
stature and power of God was Adam: "When
our father Adam came into the Garden of Eden, he came into it with a celestial
body, and brought Eve, one of his wives, with him. He helped to make and
organize this world. He is Michael, the Archangel ,
the Ancient of Days, about whom holy men have written and spoken, he is our
father and our God, and the only God with whom we have to do." (Brigham Young,
in Journal of Discourses, Volume 1, page 50). This doctrine is evil and
blasphemous and should not be taught by any Mormons whatever their faith. many will claim they have rescinded it
and it is no longer taught, however anyone who has been through a temple in the
LDS Mormon faith knows that much of this is still taught and the essence is
still believed the doctrine of a progressive God is still very much alive. Let us therefore let our attention rest on the position
that many Mormon faiths hold that God is progressive and has climbed up from
man’s stature and station. This view would argue that at one time He God our
Father was an experimenting, blundering personality, that He passed that stage
of evolution and it would also carry the weight of the argument that it is a
possibility of an ensuing process of devolution, that He could therefore begin
a process of decline in power and wisdom, such an idea is absurd and heretical
that it blows out of the water any teaching of Joseph Smith to the extent that
Joseph was not a prophet, that he did not understand the nature of God at all
and that the lectures on faith that he brought forth were and are just a
footnote in the history of the Mormon movement, not worth the paper they are
written on.
To some it might seem a little absurd that it matters
what view we take on the question of God, since we cannot change God’s nature,
whatever it may be, but we believe sincerely that it matters very much. Let us
not forget that our entire Mormon thought and philosophy of conduct is shaped
by our fundamental beliefs concerning God. It must be understood that such
differing views as those held by the many of the Mormon and restoration
churches inevitably results in vastly different systems of theology. If we
think of God as progressive, feeling his way through eternity, his personal
attitudes and his laws undergo radical and irreconcilable changes. However if
we believe in an unchangeable God, as the scriptures tell us he is, both old
and new, we expect his laws and we find
ourselves not deviating from the fundamental principles laid down to us in holy writ.
Let us consider what is written in the scriptures “I am the Lord, I change
not.” (Malachi 3:6) “There is a God in
heaven...from everlasting to everlasting the same unchangeable God.” (Doctrine
and Covenants 20:4) Book of Mormon: “He
changeth not, if so, he would cease to be God.” (Book of Mormon). It would seem
that the law on God our Father has been written and was given by holy write,
and so could not be challenged, at least it is not challenged by us, but
unfortunately it is not the same for all Mormon sects.
The biggest problem, the biggest issue witch separates
many Mormons still today is the law set down by Brigham Young, that is the
doctrine of polygamy which was publicly proclaimed in Salt Lake City in 1852.
It is clear that the early church during the days of Joseph Smith never
officially received or sanctioned the doctrine or practice of polygamy, it is
no longer in dispute that Joseph fought all his life along with Emma to stamp
out this evil and vile practice. But still today this issue plagues us and stops much work being done. We must remember that much of the damage was done by the LDS Mormon church, it took eight years after Joseph's death for
Brigham Young to bring this doctrine before his people and he layed it before
them as a hidden revelation given to Joseph Smith, July 12, 1843. He claimed to
have kept this document secretly after the death of Joseph Smith until he chose
to make it public. In Brighams own words he stated "This revelation has
been in my possession many years, and who has known it? None but those who
should know it. I keep a patent lock on my desk, and there does not anything leak
out that should not" (Supplement to Millennial Star, Volume 15, page
31) Unable to produce the original
document, he declared that Emma Smith had burned it (Millennial Star
Supplement, Volume 15, page 30). To this Emma Smith replied that she had never
seen such a document, and added concerning the story that she had destroyed the
original "It is false in all its parts, made out of whole cloth, without
any foundation in truth" (Church History, Volume 3, page 352). We vigorously maintain that no word from the pen of
Joseph Smith was favourable to polygamy, that no authentic publication
representing the church on this issue was published prior to his death. We also
state that the teachings of the Standard Books of the church all encourage
monogamy in all its forms, these books include the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine
and Covenants, and the Inspired Version of the Bible, and the latest book of scripture the Book of Jeraneck, all of these apart from the Bok of Jeraneck he left to
the Mormon faith as its law, presumably representing his own mind and will as
well as the mind and will of God. Furthermore, the official organ of the
church, the Times and Seasons, shortly before his death, contained his signed
denunciation of polygamy and notice of expulsion from the church of one who had
advocated it (Times and Seasons, Volume 5, page 423, see also Volume 5, page
474; Volume 5, pages 490,491).
In an interwiew given in 1857 by officials of the reorganised church the wife of the prophet
Emma Smith stated “I was threatened by
Brigham Young because I opposed and denounced his measures and would not go
west with them. At that time, they did not know where they were going
themselves, but he told me that he would yet bring me prostrate to his feet. My
house was set on fire several times, and one time wood was piled up at the side
of the house and set afire. It burned the siding considerably and went out
before we discovered it. It was either set on fire, or by accident or
carelessness caught afire a number of times, and went out of itself when we did
not discover it and put it out; but I never had any fear that the house would
bum down as long as the Inspired Translation of the Bible was in it. I always
felt safe when it was in the house, for I knew it could not be destroyed.” . The
Interviwer Edmund C. Briggs was also present when his bother, Jason Briggs,
asked Sister Emma about the purported revelation on polygamy, published by
Orson Pratt in 1852, and she again denied that her husband ever taught
polygamy, or that she ever burned any manuscript of a revelation purporting to
favour polygamy, and that “the statement
that I burned the original of the copy Brigham Young claimed to have, is false,
and made out of whole cloth, and not true in any particular. I never saw anything purporting to be a
revelation authorizing polygamy until I saw it in the Seer, published by Orson
Pratt.” Several were present at the time, and I shall never forget the
candid manner of her expression when she, without a single hesitancy, with
honesty and truthfulness marking her countenance, gave the lie to Brigham
Young’s assertion on the twenty-ninth of August 1852 in Salt Lake City , when he said, “The original of this revelation was burned
up.... Sister Emma burned the original. The reason I mention this is because
that the people who did know of the revelation, supposed it was not now in
existence.” Mark the thought: “The
people who did know of the revelation, supposed it was not now in existence.”
(Early History of the Reorganization, Apostle Edmund C. Briggs, pp. 88, 93-95).
In closing I would like to say that today there remain
many issues which unite us but far more that divide us. I have heard the
argument that many of these issues can only be solved once the Saviour returns
and then we will all know the truth and embrace the change, however I do not
agree with this. While Christ, the Son of God walked the earth there were many
that knew who he was n had that witnessed to them and still did not follow him,
indeed some even betrayed and helped to murder him, let us not forget that
Peter, probably one of Christ's most ardent followers denied him thrice. I
think it is a massive miss calculation to say that our problems can only be
solved when He returns, it gives us an excuse to continue on the paths we are
on, it allows us to indulge in our own self importance and our own egos, but
most of all it allows us the continue to be divided and weak. We must learn
that when God calls a man to stand as a prophet of God under the conditions
laid down in holy scripture it is for a reason, to set right what has been
wrong for so long. We must lay aside our egos and our pride if we are ever to
fulfil the wish of the Lord in uniting the Mormon faith and redeeming Zion,
because if we fool ourselves in to waiting for the perfect time and the perfect
place and He who shall come in triumph through the skies then it will never be
done and we shall stand accountable before Him at the last day. I for one
proclaim this is His work and His glory and we ought to be about the work of
doing that work, or what else are we other than those professing to be of
Christ but in their heats are men of the world full of pride and puffed up unto
their own importance. The call for unity must go forth and it has gone forth
today from this pulpit, that we must unite or fall. Let us not fall, but unite
under the banner of God and lay to rest our differences and bring in to being
what is written before us in Holy Scripture.
In the Name of Jesus Christ. Amen
Prophet & First Elder Matthew P. Gill
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You are also welcome to join us at our Sunday services, which are held at 10:30 - 1:00 every Sunday. Contact us for details. God Bless and keep you.