"Now I, Jeraneck, say that I have been to the valley of this great battle and I have beheld the remains of the battle and it filled my heart with sadness for I know that this valley has been sanctified ... and it filled my heart with great sadness..." Book of Jeraneck, 13:106
Each of us has a solemn obligation to, first, understand by the Spirit what has said about the mission of the Church; second, to catch the prophetic vision of missionary work and third, to implement completely in our own lives the words of the Lord and of His living Prophet pertaining to missionary work.
The most important counsel and direction on missionary work comes to us through the Lord to his Prophets, for the Prophet is literally the mouthpiece of the Lord. So stated the Lord: “For his word ye shall receive, as if from mine own mouth. In all patience and faith” (D&C 46:2/1835; D&C 21:5 Utah Version)
I testify to you by the Spirit that we should stand as living testimonies of what the Lord would have us do today. I fear that unless we fully understand the words of Prophets past and Prophets present and catch the vision of missionary work, and implement the words of the Lord, we will be held accountable before God. I also fear that we have not yet done what the Lord would have us do as directed to us in his revelations concerning missionary work.
The Lord has asked that we place great emphasis on the sacredness of bringing souls unto our Father in Heaven and the importance of greatly increasing convert baptisms. The Lord has given us much direction on this matter in fact he spoke to o John and Peter Whitmer on this very issue he said, “And now, behold, I say unto you, that the thing which will be of the most worth unto you will be to declare repentance unto this people, that you may bring souls unto me, that you may rest with them in the kingdom of my Father.’” (D&C 40:3/1835)
As a Church, we have not yet caught that vision. Members are not bringing people and ultimately members into the Church year on year. We have not yet met the challenge and charge laid out by the Lord. As far as convert baptisms are concerned, we have only been converting a few people a year for the last six years. I say to you and to all our members wherever they may be, that we must have more converts. They must be well converted. No gimmicks to get baptisms. They must be real converts, but we do want more converts. It is imperative that we do as the Lord commands and bring souls unto Christ and bring them unto his church.
I call upon the members of this Church to actively go out into the world - not merely to make friends for the Church, though that is important - but to properly convert and baptize.“He that believeth and is baptized must be saved.” (Mark 16:16.) Note that the scripture says not he that heareth, but he that believeth and is baptized, and that is the important part.
For if we sit back in complacency and do nothing, then the Lord's Church will not grow, tithing will remain stagnant, and so the Church will remain stagnant and wither on the vine. And what will we say when we stand before the Lord as he calls us forward at judgment?
Shall we stand and say, ‘Lord I tried, but it was too hard, I had other priorities,’ or shall we stand and say, ‘I did as you commanded. I ploughed the field that was white and ready for the harvest; I spoke and I went out; I laboured hard in your name.’
Let me put it this way, and please take the time to think about this before answering to yourself. Do we really believe in revelation? If so, then why can we not accept the revealed Word of God? He has revealed to us that we should look on the fields; for they are white and ready to harvest (John 4:35.) It has be ready since the inception of the Church under our dear Prophet, Brother Joseph, who was commanded to restore Christ’s Church in these Latter Days. He has asked us again in modern day scripture to go out and harvest the field. (D&C 39:2/1835)
We have been given revelation in the form of great new scripture. Who are we to withhold that blessing from the world? Who are we to deny them a chance at salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ and his Church?
I ask each and every one of you, and I will include myself, to set for our church a goal that we shall get up and go out in to the world to the marketplaces and to the streets to endeavour to bring souls unto the Lord and to impart what has been given us as a gift by Almighty God.
Let us act in obedience so faithfully, that the Lord, in the final day, shall say to each one of us, “Well done, good and faithful servant… you have served me well.” (Matt. 25:21; Book of Jeraneck 9:12)
Bear testimony. Amen
- Jacob 3 (2-4)
“I cry unto you as your servant, and as thy servant and thy Prophet, I bless this land in thy name, for we have been faithful and we have erected many stone monuments unto thee, just as you have commanded us to do. And we have done this not for our own edification but for yours, Oh, Lord, and we have done this so that those that follow after us will know that we were the People of Light and that we followed thy teachings and thy principles and I ask, Oh, Lord and Saviour, that you will guide us on our journey, that you will guide us across the seas to our new land, that you have promised us. “
- Book of Jeraneck 6:6
"Pillaging and violence are before us, and strife and contention arise.
The violence, destruction of property and disregard for civil society we have witnessed in recent days is truly shocking to all men and women of conscience throughout the land.
I call on all who cherish and labour for peace should pray for those effected by this outburst of violence, including those who have lost their livelihoods, their businesses and their homes.
I share the vision of the Prophet Isaiah, who prayed that, "violence shall no more be heard in the land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders." (Is. 60:18)
Those who riot should turn towards God with peace, humility and repentance, for “from violence he redeems their life.” (Ps. 72:14)
But also, those who commit violence against others should know that the Lord shall repay them “according to the works of their own hands.” (Jer. 25:14) and shall "punish the wicked for their iniquity" and "cause the arrogance of the proud to cease." (Is. 13:11.)
"We believe that all men are bound to sustain and uphold the respective governments in which they reside while protected in their inherent and inalienable rights by the laws of such governments," wrote the Prophet Joseph Smith, "and that sedition and rebellion are unbecoming every citizen thus protected, and should be punished accordingly." (Doctrine & Covenants, section 102, 1835 edition.)
It is the hope and prayer of myself and of the members of the Latter Day Church of Jesus Christ that peace shall reign in the land, and that all will love one another, as the Lord loves us. And that all peoples shall, in the words of the Apostle Paul, "be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you."
Peace be to you all,
Matthew Gill
Prophet, Seer and Revelator,
Latter Day Church of Jesus Christ
Hilton, England
The Prophet Matthew Gill has released the following statement on the tragedy in Norway:"We were saddened to hear the news of the mass shooting and bomb explosion in Norway, it is unthinkable to have to deal with events such as these. The church would like to send its condolences to all those people that have lost loved ones in the tragic events that have transpired in Norway over the last few days.
The church has friends in Norway and we hope that we are able to offer any assistance that we can to you at this time.
As the Prophet of the church, I pray that those have experienced loss at this time may find comfort on the arms of the saviour that they might be able to feel of his spirit at this time although difficult it may seem I want you all to know that the Lord is with you in this our of need and that he will send the Holy Ghost to comfort those that stand in need of comfort.
Once again our thoughts are with all the people of Norway at this time. Peace be with you."
The Latter Day Church of Jesus Christ would like to take this opportunity to publicly express its thanks to all those individuals and business involved in helping the charitable arm of the church The Latter Day Charity Relief it is thanks to you and your willingness to help that our charity relief efforts have been such a great success. It has been a long road getting this far and reaching out to all the people that we have done, however with your help it has been worth it. The church has been able to offer help to families and individuals all over the world especially those in need on the African continent. You will all be aware of the most recent news coming out of Africa, and it is with your help that we have been able to offer both monetary and clothing relief to the people who now find themselves in much need of both.
In these last days the Lord has seen fit to call a people forth to set right what has for so long been in error. He has seen fit to enlighten humanity with more revealed scripture and has enabled us to read the words of others who also worshipped at the feet of Christ. As so today h e has chosen to do away with the errors of the Easter season.