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 87 INDEPENDENCE, MISSOURI—November-December 2010 NUMBER 6

~In This Issue~

FROM the ARCHIVES—A Short Sermon -

Hiram E. Moler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

MANIFESTATION—God is so Powerful and

Mysterious - Omega Mae Alameda . . . . . . . . 101

SERIES-Part 3—Isaiah Eleven: The Gathering -

The Conclusion - Apostle Don McIndoo . . . . . 104

FROM the ARCHIVES—The History of the Church . . 108

REPORT—2010 Missouri Reunion Report -

Deb Haines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

NEWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

NOTICES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114

2010 INDEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115

“It pleased

God by the

foolishness of

preaching

to save them

that believe.”

—1 Corinthians 1:21

Smith N. Brickhouse, 5713 Logan Road, Kansas City, Missouri 64136; 816-356-9214; e-mail: smithbrickhouse@yahoo.comDuane Ely, 18814 N. 30th Street, Phoenix, Arizona 85050; (6020 569-1516; e-mail duanekathyely@aol.com

Frank Fann, 3808 Queen Ridge, Independence, Missouri 64055; 816-373-4346; e-mail: fann212@juno.com

Placido Koyoc Matu, 99h Calle 24 x 17y 19, Yobain, Yucatan, Mexico; #011-52-991-911-3125; e-mail: p_matu@hotmail.comPlacido Koyoc Yam, 99h Calle 24 x 17y 19, Yobain, Yucatan, Mexico; #011-52-991-911-3047

Mike McGhee, 18907 E. 6th Street N., Independence, Missouri 64056; 816-796-6255; e-mail: mcgheeme@msn.comBrian McIndoo, 18824 N. 30th Street, Phoenix, Arizona 85050; 602-569-1900; e-mail: mcindoo@cox.netDonald E. McIndoo, 18830 N. 30th Street, Phoenix, Arizona 85050

Alvin J. Moser, 18829 N. 29th Place, Phoenix, Arizona 85050; 602-569-2414; e-mail: ajmoser3@cox.netRoland L. Sarratt, 15910 E. 36th Terrace, Independence, Missouri 64055; 816-373-6605; e-mail: r.sarratt@comcast.net

William A. Sheldon, 1011 S. Cottage, Independence, Missouri 64050; 816-833-3914; e-mail: cofctl@sbglobal.netJoel Yates, 2924 E. Rockwood Drive, Phoenix, Arizona 85050; 602-569-9296; e-mail: jyates2@yahoo.com

GENERAL CHURCH OFFICERS

SECRETARY, COUNCIL OF APOSTLESApostle Smith N. Brickhouse5713 Logan Road; Kansas City, Missouri 64136

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 Jim Yates, Jr.2919 E. Siesta Lane; 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 notices authorized by the General Confer-

ence 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: gpjmccann@cox.net

ASSOCIATE EDITORSDan Lawrence8420 Lee’s Summit RoadKansas City, MO 64139

Bruce Haines3904 Christopher CircleIndependence, MO 64055

PRODUCTION STAFFHarvey L. Seibel

THE APOSTLES of the CHURCH OF CHRIST

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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER-99-

A Short SermonThe following is a reprint of an

article published in the ZION’S

ADVOCATE, Volume 3, Number 10,

November, 1926, page 6. Hiram

E. Moler was ordained as an

Apostle in the Church of Christ on

April 10, 1926, and was a member

of the Board of Publications.

By Hiram E. Moler

Text: “Gather my saintstogether unto me; thosethat have made a cove-

nant with me by sacrifice”Psalms 50:5.

Every child of God becomesso by covenant. A covenant is asolemn contract or agreementbetween two or more persons.This covenant with God in-volves obedience to the gospel ofJesus Christ. It is attested onour part by baptism in water,when we are solemnly buried inthe likeness of death, and issealed upon God’s part whenHe sends upon us the HolySpirit, the “Comforter,” givingus a divine witness of our accep-tance with Him.

A covenant thus madeshould never be regardedlightly, but should be held invio-late as long as we live, and all ofour powers should be employedin the effort to keep it, encour-aged as we are by the promise ofthe assisting grace of our Heav-enly Father.

In the making and thekeeping of this covenant, sacri-fice is required. Sacrifice is thegiving up of something of es-teemed worth or value—some-thing we may prize highly andcherish fondly. It requires thepractice of the principle ofself-denial according to the pat-tern given us by our Saviour, Je-sus Christ. The sacrifice Godrequires of His saints now is notburnt offerings according to thepractice prior to Christ makingHimself the supreme sacrificefor us, but it includes the sur-render of everything sinful, nomatter how dear it may havebeen to us. Worldly and sinfulpleasure, worldly friends, ourformer good name, and a por-tion of our temporal substanceare some of the things we mustpart with. All this is required ofHis saints when they enter Hisservice by covenant, and mustbe continued as long as weremain in that service.

“The sacrifices of God are a

broken spirit; a broken and acontrite heart, O God, thou wiltnot despise” Psalm 51:17.

This is the kind of sacrificethat God is pleased with. Hu-mility and contrition of heartbring us to that condition wherewe can partake of God’s favors,and where He can use us in Hisgreat work.

But the fullness of the sac-rifice required of us is beauti-fully described by the ApostlePaul in his Roman epistle:

“I beseech you therefore,brethren, by the mercies of God,that ye present your bodies a liv-ing sacrifice, holy, acceptableunto God, which is your rea-sonable service” Rom. 12:1.

The time of dead sacrificeshas passed, and is past forever.It is the living sacrifice that Godrequires, and our bodies can bepresented as such a sacrifice.We belong to God, both bodyand spirit, “bought with aprice,” and while we have ouragency to do as we choose, it isproper that we give to God that

FROM the ARCHIVES

The sacrifice God requires of his saints

now…includes the surrender of

everything sinful, no matter how dear it

may have been to us.

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which belongs to Him. How en-couraging is the qualifyingstatement of the Apostle:“Which is your reasonable ser-vice.” Nothing impossible norunreasonable is required of us.It is just the things we can do,that are right to do, and that weought to do, which are requiredof us in this work of sacrifice.

Sacrifice does not mean un-compensated loss to those whomake it. It is a good investmentif we consider the spiritual andeternal results. God gives to usmanifold and abundantly in re-turn. Upon one occasion thequestion arose in the minds ofsome of the apostles as to whatthey should receive as a result ofthe sacrifice they had made, andthe answer of Jesus is signifi-cant and comforting:

“Then began Peter to sayunto him, Lo, we have left alland have followed thee. AndJesus answered and said, Ver-ily I say unto you, There is noman that hath left house, orbrethren, or sisters, or father, ormother, or wife, or children, orlands, for my sake and the gos-pel’s, But he shall receive anhundred-fold now in this time,houses and brethren, and sis-ters, and mothers, and childrenand lands, with persecutions;and in the world to come eter-nal life” Mark 10:28-30.

It will be noted that we cannot hope to escape persecutions.Paul said, “Yea all that will liveGodly in Christ Jesus shall suf-fer persecutions.” But notwith-standing this, God has prom-ised that those who sacrifice forHis sake and for the sake of thegospel, shall receive again in

this life abundantly all that weneed, and in the world to comereceive the greatest blessingGod can give—eternal life. Howthese words must have com-forted the sacrificing disciplesof Jesus when they began to beconcerned about the outcome ofthe work they were engaged in.True sacrificing will alwaysbring its compensation.

It is just that class of indi-viduals, proving their sincerityby their sacrifice in covenantingwith God, whom He designsshall be gathered together to“Zion, the perfection of beauty,”out of which “God hath shined”(Psalm 50:2). None others arequalified for the Master’s use.

Jesus is our great example.He sacrificed the glory of thisworld which He might havehad, physical comforts that ap-peal to all who are in the flesh,personal ease, and finally Hisbody and His physical life. Andwhile He did not do these thingsfor the sake of glory, yet therecomes to Him, as the result ofthe great sacrifice He made,glory and honor forevermore.Finally, every knee shall bow,and every tongue shall confess“that Jesus Christ is Lord, to theglory of God the Father.” ReadPhilippians 2:10, 11.

The sacrifice that God hasasked of us is not compulsory.We still have our agency aftermaking covenant with God. Itmust always be a matter ofchoice and the exercise of ourown free will. God never com-pels us against our wills. It is to“The willing and obedient” thatthe promises of good things aremade. Effort on our part must

be made continually.The gathering is a part of

the great work of God in bring-ing fallen man back to the planefrom which he, by transgres-sion, fell. Wherever, and when-ever, two or three are united inthe one purpose of serving Godand obtaining salvation, theyare divinely drawn together.The keeping of the covenantmade with God, on the part ofHis saints, will finally ultimatein the gathering together in oneall His people of all ages, as de-clared by Paul: “That in the dis-pensation of the fullness of timeshe might gather together in oneall things in Christ, both whichare in heaven, and which are onearth even in him” Eph. 1:10.

On the contrary, we maynote, unfaithfulness to our cov-enant, and a failure to make therequired sacrifice, will separateand scatter the people ofGod—just the opposite of thegathering together as God de-signed. In their scattered anddisintegrated condition the peo-ple have not the strength andpower they should have, andmore readily fall a prey to evilinfluences.

Surely the words of ourtext, used by David, were givenby inspiration from the Al-mighty. That men and womeneverywhere may be convincedof the necessity of covenantingwith God by sacrifice, and main-taining that covenant by con-tinued sacrifice, is my prayer inthe name of Jesus. Amen.

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God is so Powerful and Mysterious

By Omega Mae Alameda

It’s been 50 years since thelast calling to the office ofan evangelist. The work of

the Church of Christ here inthe Philippines is now only 9years old, but last September30, 2009, in one of the gather-ings made by the ministers herein Panabo Local, one personwas revealed by the Holy Spiritand was witnessed and declaredthat the calling was from God;it was His will that he was calledto be an evangelist. This callingwas in response to a lot of

MANIFESTATION

Ordination of Camilo Devege Samson

Ordination—standing: Apostle Michael McGhee, Elder Demetrio Indangano, ApostleFrank Fann. Seated: Camilo Devege Samson

prayers by the members of theChurch of Christ (Temple Lot),here in the Philippines, and Iam sure throughout the world.This calling was considered atthe April 2010 General Con-

ference in the United States ofAmerica by the assembledApostles and Elders who deter-mined the calling was of Godand recommended Conferenceapproval.

Everybody might be think-ing who that person is, and I,too, do not know him that well!This is just one way God tells usthat no matter who you are,where you are from and what

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Frank Fann and Demetrio Indanganpreaching at Katipunan

Sunday School at Katipunan Mission, Sisters Leah Alameda, Remy Indangan teaching

Children at Katipunan Mission (most parents are working rice fields)

you do, you are one of His chil-dren and He knows you.

The Brother’s name isCAMILO DEREJE SAM-SON, a leader in Katipunan,Kapalong, Davao del Norte,one of the missions here in thePhilippines. He was born Au-gust 9, 1946, and was marriedto Esther Samson, who alreadyhas passed away. He has fivegirls and eight boys, seven ofthem are already married.While being the leader of thechurch mission in Katipunan,he is also a barangay or towncoordinator for the non-gov-ernment organization calledMoral Recovery Program inKapalong barangay. Because of

this, he is given the chance topreach the gospel of the LordJesus Christ and teach Chris-tian ethics to police and com-munity leaders who aremembers of this organization.His motto in life is, “I let Goddirect my life, commit every-thing to God and will serveHim for the rest of my life.” Hedid not expect to be an ordainedminister or an evangelist, buthe is more than willing to re-ceive it, for it is God’s plan inhis life.

The ordination was wit-nessed by the members of thePanabo Local, together withthe Elders and Ministers of theChurch of Christ in the Philip-

pines. Apostle Frank Fann andApostle Mike McGhee, asspokesperson, ordained Hisservant Evangelist CamiloSamson from the Philippines.

May this be a challenge toeveryone. God is so powerfuland mysterious that He has alot of surprises for you and I.Maybe one of you will be calledto serve Him as an ordainedminister, and that might beyou. When it would happen,will you be ready for it?

Omega Mae AlamedaReporting for the Panabo

Local, Philippines

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Children of Katipunan posing as we leave: “Look at me!”

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By Apostle Don McIndoo

In our study we havelearned that the Scripturescontain a definite timetable

established by the Lord for thefulfillment of this prophecy con-cerning the second gathering ofIsrael. In the previous lessonwe found that this great workshall be introduced by the res-toration of the fullness of theGospel and the establishment

of the “restored” Church ofChrist. We also discovered thatthe prelude to the gathering ofIsrael into the lands of their firstinheritance will be their accep-tance of Jesus Christ as theirLord and Messiah. Accordingto the Prophet Zenos (see Ja-cob 3) this great latter-day workwas to begin with the accep-tance of the Gospel by thedescendents of Lehi who hadbeen led to this promised land.That took place in the year1953 with the baptism of thefirst converts among the Mayanpeople. In the last decade theLord has opened many newmissions for us to carry theGospel in Latin America, Africaand Asia. We are now ready toconclude this ancient prophecyof the Lord to the Prophet Isa-iah with the study of verses 13through 16.

(13) The envy also ofEphraim shall depart, and the ad-versaries of Judah shall be cutoff: Ephraim shall not envy Ju-dah, and Judah shall not vexEphraim. (14) But they shall flyupon the shoulders of thePhilistines toward the west; theyshall spoil them of the east to-gether: they shall lay their handupon Edom and Moab; and thechildren of Ammon shall obeythem. (15) And the Lord shall ut-terly destroy the tongue of theEgyptian sea; and with hismighty wind shall he shake hishand over the river, and shallsmite it in the seven streams, andmake men go over dryshod. (16)And there shall be an highway forthe remnant of his people, whichshall be left, from Assyria; like asit was to Israel in the day that hecame up out of the land of Egypt.

Verse 13. - “The envy alsoof Ephraim shall depart, …”The more numerous peoples ofEphraim (the ten northern tribes)had always been envious of Ju-

SERIES—Part 3

PART 3The Conclusion

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dah, beginning in the days ofJoshua. As the ark and the taber-nacle were among them theyconsidered themselves to be the“head” of the nation. But whenDavid was named King over allIsrael their envy reached a ze-nith. After Solomon’s reign theychose their own king and be-came a separate nation, often atwar with their brethren of Judahand Benjamin.

“… And the adversaries ofJudah shall be cut off:” Judah(and Ephraim as well) shall besafe when they come to theknowledge of their Messiah. TheProphet Jeremiah wrote of God’spromise to them: “In those daysthe house of Judah shall walkwith the house of Israel, and theyshall come together out of theland of the north to the land that Ihave given for an inheritanceunto your fathers.”

“Ephraim shall not envyJudah, and Judah shall notvex Ephraim.” It might be well toremember that many well-knownand respected commentators atthis point equate Ephraim withthe Gentiles. They believe thisassembling of the outcasts of Is-rael and the dispersed of Judahrefers to the peaceful melding ofJews and Gentiles as the Gospelof Christ went out to the Gentilesin the first century. And then theanimosity of Judah and Jacob(supposedly the Gentile nations)would end in peace. Now it isquite likely that many of thenorthern tribes were dispersedamong the Gentile peoples andhave lost their identity, and thisprophecy would, therefore, re-late to them as they are gatheredto Christ. But always keep in

mind that the name, Ephraim,does refer to the ten lost tribes ofIsrael.

This prophecy was to befulfilled in the “latter day” whenthe Gospel would be restoredagain within this gentile nation,that it might be carried to all theworld. We are well aware of thebeautiful prophecy of Revelation14:6 concerning the restorationof the Gospel. And it would bewell for us who live in this day toalso remember the verse that fol-lows: “…the hour of his judg-ment is come:” Verses six andseven in the fourteenth chapterof Revelation identify the day inwhich we live. So we need to beaware of some of the ancientprophecies that pertain to thisday. I shall briefly identify a few ofthem:

Ezekiel 30:3 – “For the dayis near, even the day of the Lordis near, a cloudy day; it shall bethe time of the heathen.”

Joel 3:14 – “Multitudes, mul-titudes in the valley of decision:for the day of the Lord is near inthe valley of decision.”

Zephaniah 3:8 – “Thereforewait ye upon me, saith the Lord,

until the day that I rise up to theprey: for my determination is togather the nations, that I may as-semble the kingdoms, to pourupon them mine indignation,even all my fierce anger: for allthe earth shall be devoured withthe fire of my jealousy.”

Zechariah 12:2, 3 - “Behold,I will make Jerusalem a cup oftrembling unto all the peopleround about, when they shall bein the siege both against Judahand against Jerusalem. And inthat day will I make Jerusalem aburdensome stone for all people:all that burden themselves with itshall be cut in pieces, though allthe people of the earth be gath-ered together against it.”

1 Nephi 3: 220, 221 - “Andhe said unto me, Behold, thereare save two churches only:

The one is the church of theLamb of God, and the other is thechurch of the devil; Wherefore,whoso belongeth not to thechurch of the Lamb of Godbelongeth to that great church,which is the mother of abomina-tions;”

1 Nephi 3:229 - “And it cameto pass that I beheld that the

I present these thoughts to the purposethat we might consider these propheciescarefully, pray to the Lord forunderstanding, guidance, direction andhelp in preparing ourselves spiritually forthe things the Lord would have us to bedoing in this important time in which welive.

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great mother of abominations didgather together in multitudesupon the face of all the earth,among all the nations of the Gen-tiles, to fight against the Lamb ofGod.”

1 Nephi 3:236, 237 – “Andwhen the day cometh that thewrath of God is poured out uponthe mother of harlots, which isthe great and abominable churchof all the earth, whose foundationis the devil, Then at that day, thework of the Father shall com-mence, in preparing the way forthe fulfilling of his covenantswhich he hath made to his peo-ple, who are of the house of Is-rael.”

I mention these propheciesbecause these are all events as-sociated with the time frame re-lating to Isaiah Eleven and forwhich we need to be prepared.That is not to say we should bepreoccupied with them or anx-ious because of them, for wehave received a marvelouspromise from the Lord: “For thetime speedily cometh, that theLord God shall cause a great di-vision among the people; and thewicked will he destroy; and hewill spare his people, yea, even ifit so be that he must destroy thewicked by fire.” (2 Nephi 12:90)Let us now return to our study ofIsaiah Eleven with VerseFourteen.

Verse 14 – “But they shall

fly upon the shoulders of thePhilistines toward the west;”

Let’s relate this to our day. “fly” -to overshadow them quickly, likean eagle. “upon the shoul-ders” – The commentator,Barnes, writes, “Here it seems to

mean, not that the Jews wouldbe borne ‘upon’ the shoulder ofthe Philistines, but that theywould make a sudden and rapiddescent ‘upon their borders:’they would invade their territory,and carry their conquest towardthe west.” The capital of thePhilistines was Gaza. It is still thesafe harbor of the enemies of Is-rael. The Jews take this proph-ecy literally to indicate a con-quest of their enemies. However,many commentators consider itto be symbolic, a symbol of aspiritual conquest of these an-cient enemies of Christ once thetribes of Israel become con-verted and carry the message ofJesus Christ to them.

“…They shall spoil them ofthe east together:” In otherwords, they shall plunder andvanquish those to the east.“…They shall lay their handupon Edom and Moab;” Thisrefers to the land of Jordon.“…And the children of Ammonshall obey them.” This descrip-tion takes us into Arabia. Allthese nations mentioned were,and still are, long-standing ene-mies of Israel and of JesusChrist.

Although many commenta-tors of the past two centurieswere looking for a miraculousconversion to Jesus Christ by theMuslim peoples by a believing Is-rael, I am anticipating, rather, aday of judgment upon those per-petual enemies of Israel andupon the great and abominablechurch. As the Prophet Zecha-riah prophesied, “Behold, I willmake Jerusalem a cup of trem-bling unto all the people roundabout,…” (Zechariah 12:2) That

seems exceedingly close to adescription of conditions in theMiddle East today.

With the attack upon NewYork City and Washington D. C.by al-Qaida in 2001, I believe theLord made known to me that wenow live in the era described byJesus Christ in Revelation,Chapter Sixteen, beginning withVerse Twelve. As we read thisprophecy we find the River Eu-phrates being dried up. The Eu-phrates was long considered theboundary between the nations ofIslam and the Western World,and now “…the way of the kingsof the east might be prepared.”(Revelation 16:12) And in verse13 John saw unclean spirits ofdeception coming from themouths of the dragon, the beastand the false prophet. This de-ception was to gather the nationsof the world “…to the battle ofthat great day of God Almighty.”(Revelation 16:14)

“And he gathered them to-gether into a place called in theHebrew tongue Armageddon.”(Revelation 16:16) I presentthese thoughts to the purposethat we might consider theseprophecies carefully, pray to theLord for understanding, guid-ance, direction and help in pre-paring ourselves spiritually forthe things the Lord would haveus to be doing in this importanttime in which we live.

Verse 15 - “And the Lordshall utterly destroy the tongue ofthe Egyptian sea; and with hismighty wind shall he shake hishand over the river, and shallsmite it in the seven streams, andmake men go over dryshod.” The

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language of the prophet seemsto be figurative, going back to theprime image of the Jewish peo-ple; namely, the deliverance oftheir fathers from the bondage ofEgypt and their crossing of the

Red Sea to reach the promisedland. Now they are to be gath-ered once again to their ancientpromised land and this verseseems to indicate that every bar-rier will be removed. In this greatmigration they will be travelingfrom many places in the world,yet the Lord promises that all ob-structions will be taken out of theway.

Verse 16 - “And thereshall be an highway…” In Isa-iah 35:8 we read, “And an high-way shall be there, and a way,and it shall be called the way ofholiness; the unclean shall notpass over it;…” A clearly definedway shall be opened up by theLord for the recovery of His peo-ple, those who have taken Hisname upon them. There are somany preachers and commenta-tors today who relate theseprophecies only to the Jews thatmany are confused. Even worse,many preachers today teach thatthese promises relate only to theChristian church of our day. But

Isaiah goes on to say, “… for theremnant of his people, whichshall be left, from Assyria; …”Those carried away by Assyriawere the ten northern branchesof Israel.

Jesus Christ made this clearwhen He spoke of this promise tothe remnant of Israel that hadbeen led here to America. Hetold them of the time these thingswould begin to happen; “… atthat day even when this gospelshall be preached among theremnant of this people.” (3 Nephi10:4) That sets the stage. NowHe stated, “Yea, the work shallcommence among all the dis-persed of my people, with the Fa-ther, to prepare the way wherebythey may come unto me, thatthey may call on the Father in myname;” (10:6) I believe this to bethe great challenge and calling ofthe Church of Christ today, tobring Jesus Christ to those scat-tered people of Israel whereverthey might be found. “… like asit was to Israel in the day thathe came up out of the land ofEgypt.” Again, in 3 Nephi 10:8Jesus states, “And they shall goout from all nations; and theyshall not go out in haste, nor goby flight; for I will go before them,saith the Father, and I will be their

rearward. And then shall thatwhich is written come to pass.”(10:8)

Brothers and Sisters, let usbe actively engaged in this greatwork of the latter-day, the carry-ing of the banner of Jesus Christto the nations of the world thatthe remnant of Israel might hearand believe. This beautifulprophecy of the Lord through Hisservant, Isaiah, does indeed per-sonally relate to each one of us. Itcalls out for our prayers, our tith-ing, for a growing righteousnesswithin the body of Christ and ourearnest effort. May the Lord leadand bless us in this momentousday in world history.

I believe this to be the great challenge andcalling of the Church of Christ today, tobring Jesus Christ to those scatteredpeople of Israel wherever they might befound.

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-108-

The History of the ChurchThe following is a reprint of an

ar t ic le publ ished in ZION’S

ADVOCATE Volume 3, Number 10,

November, 1926, page 1.

After the death of Joseph theSeer, among those who re-mained true to the gospel as es-

tablished in 1830, was a little band ofsaints in Bloomington, Illinois, some ofwhom had united with the church in theyear it was organized. They met to-gether in prayer and fasting from time totime, and continued their local organiza-tion until they were directed in 1863 tocome to the land of Zion. The follow-ing, a reprint from the Searchlight forMarch 2nd, 1896, will be appreciatedby those who desire to know concerningthe authority of the Church of Christ.

David Judy, joined the church in1831; Jedidiah Owen, who joinedabout the same time. Owen and Judyhaving been elders in the church sinceabout 1832, and were both among theLatter Day Saints driven from Mis-souri at the time of the expulsion;Zebulon Adams, who had been a highpriest since about 1833; Dennis Burns,had been a member of the church forthirty years; John E. Page had been anactive worker in the church for abouttwenty-five years; C. E. Reynolds hadbeen in the church about three years,Jas. Bradley, J. W. Frazee, aboutfour years; Wm. Eaton about twentyyears, his wife about seven years; JohnHedrick and wife had been in thechurch about eight years, Ann M.Hess had been in the church for overtwenty years; Nancy Bradley had beena member for about twenty-seven years,

and God had so blessed her that seven ofher children were members of the king-dom at that time. There was one highpriest and one of the quorum of thetwelve and four elders that I can call tomind now. There were a great manymore than those who held the priest-hood, yes, there was Brother A. C.Haldeman, who was an elder also.

So you can see we trace our au-thority in a straight line back to 1830platform through the hands of HighPriests, and Elders, and did not formany new organization nor re-organiza-tion, but simply united the scatteringmembers of the old Church into a work-ing organization and pledged ourselves tocontinue to stand upon the platform of1830, and we have endeavored not to wa-ver from that position of the old originalChurch, clinging to the pure principlesand discarding all ungodly impositionsand doctrines that have been introducedamong Latter Day Saints.

After the Church was got in run-ning order the blessings of God weremanifest among the Church in a markeddegree.

Meetings were held and a paperwas started in which to lay our claims be-fore the world. Granville Hedrick waschosen to preside over the Church andGod so blessed him that He on severaloccasions revealed His will unto him.In 1864, the Lord told the Churchthrough Granville Hedrick that theway would be opened up whereby theLatter Day Saints might come back toJackson County, and said that the year1867 was the time to start.

At the time of the giving of this rev-

elation the civil war had not yet closed,and Jackson county was peopled by citi-zens who were rabidly antagonistic, notonly to Mormons, but to Eastern peo-ple in general, and it seemed like court-ing certain death for a Mormon to dareto come back to their former possessions,but the little band of the Church was notto be daunted. They fully believed thatthe Lord could and would open up theway for their return, although at thattime it seemed impossible.

And they remembered that Godhad said in former commandments thatZion should not be moved out of herplace, tho’ her children were scattered,and also that a Temple was to be reared“on a spot lying westward from theCourt House.”

Accordingly, when 1867 rolledaround it found members of the Churchon their way to the land of Missouri.Sure enough, the word of the Lord hadbeen verified. The way was opened up,not only for the return of the scatteredchildren of Zion! But happy thought!Not only might they dwell upon thisland, but before long the Temple Lothad been redeemed from the hands of theworld and was bought and paid for byour members and once more was in thehands of the Church. Thus were thefirst steps taken by any part of theChurch for the redemption of Zion, ac-cording to the plan God provided inSec. 98 i.e., BY PURCHASE.

FROM the ARCHIVES

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2010 Missouri Reunion ReportJuly 30-August 1

We entered into the House of theLord at the Temple Lot in In-

dependence, Missouri, on Fridaymorning for the opening prayer ser-vice of the 2010 Church of Christ Mis-souri Reunion. Elders Leslie andMarvin Case were in charge. Br.Marvin read Alma 16:215-222. Aftera season of prayer in which manyvoices were lifted in prayer, many tes-timonies followed. Here are just afew:

� A brother testified that the church wasbrought forth by the Lord and Hebrought it here; there was no one’smotive except for His. We are veryunique; He is in control. We mustresign ourselves to doing His will, andgive all honor and glory to Him.

� Another brother told us a few yearsago he was in great need, so he prayedmightily and the Lord helped him. Yetwhen things go well, he depends uponhimself, and struggles with the littlethings of life until he becomes irritatedand frustrated, and then he finallyturns to the Lord. His desire is to turnto the Lord first, which will bring morepeace. We need to turn everything overto Him and depend on Him. Let Himbe in charge of our lives.

� Another brother told us he didn’t haveenough patience the other day. He wastold, “It’s not acceptable.” We need tohave more patience, more fruits of thespirit, so love, joy and peace come outof us. Anything less is unacceptable.The Lord is calling us to be the kind ofpeople He wants us to be. All thingscommon one day will be a great joy.

� Another brother testified of God’sgreat goodness years ago; bringing himhere in 1953, he felt such love. TheLord saved his life when he was shot,miraculously reattaching his femurartery, and is still blessing him. Hestated, “This is indeed the Centerplace; the work goes out from here.”He desires to serve many more years.

� Another brother told of being outlooking at the sunset two days ago;God said, “I’m in control.” He read arevelation given by Apostle James E.Yates, where God spoke of a people onthe Temple Lot, a remnant, who werepreserved by Him in the hollow of Hishand…preserved for the carryingabout of His word until its time ofcompleteness.

The first sermon of the 2010 Mis-souri Reunion was by Elder CharlesBrantner. Br. Charles greeted us andread from Hebrews 11. He told uspeople have changed much over theyears, and our services can varygreatly from one location to another,but one thing that does not change isthe love we have for one another. Mostchurches of the world are different;people don’t get to know each other.They do not band together as the peo-ple in the early church did. Br.Charles read Hebrews 10:23-26. Weare to strengthen each other and our-selves, comfort, lift and admonisheach other. If we are worshipping allalone we can’t do that. He read 1 Pe-ter 4:10 and 1 Kings 8:60. Br. Charlestold us how Abraham was told, “Bethou perfect.” This means to be good,upright, and sincere in heart. He read1 Cor. 12:13-14, where we are told thebody is many members, and manymembers make one body. Yes, it is thesifting time; God’s purpose in testingHis people under pressure is to in-crease their faith. He read Exodus16:3;19:5-6; and 1 Cor. 3:11 where welearn our faith will be tried by fire. Ifwe follow Him we will be abundantlyblessed. He read from Matthew 5,where we are commanded to be thesalt of the earth. We know salt with-out its savor has no use. Salt does havemany uses, and is a valuable commod-ity. We have the full gospel, the fullstory. Our salt is like our testimony;we must state it in sincerity and intruth. Our daily lives bear the truthof our testimony. The second comingof Christ is close, as we know by the

daily events. The Lord superintendsall things, and all is for His purpose.Br. Charles read Ether 5:2-8, Alma17:1-4, 23. We come here to be nour-ished and encouraged.

After lunch and a song service, ourafternoon sermon was given by ElderDennis Trudgen. Br. Dennis asked,“How can we prepare ourselves betterfor the work to go forth?” He re-minded us there are some exceptionalprophecies as to how the Lord sees ourday, the first being 2 Tim. 3:1-5; 2Nephi 12:5-8. Br. Dennis cited a 2009Gallop Poll which showed 50% of thepeople had had a spiritual revelation.In 1962 it was only 25%. This showsthe fulfillment of prophecy. Back in1830 the Church of Christ was theonly church that believed the USAwould someday be a mighty nation;that Israel would be restored; a mil-lennial reign; and gifts of the Spirit.Reading James 1:5-6, Br. Dennis de-clared there was one young boy whobelieved what he read and exercisedhis faith. Br. Dennis read Moroni7:37-44. Miracles began again. If youdon’t believe—they aren’t going tohappen. He read Mormon 1:14-15and Mormon 4:66-69, 79-84. If achurch does not have His gifts itceases to be His. We could have agreater portion of miracles with morebelief. He read Alma 16:150-155 and164-169. Do not resist the Spirit; ourdesire is most important to obtainmore faith. The swelling in your heartis the good seed, which will increaseyour faith. Moroni 6:4-6 tells us tonourish your faith, with study and go-ing to church oft, encourage andstrengthen each other in our dailywalk, strengthen the word within usand bring forth good fruit. Alma16:170-171: With all diligence and pa-tience ye shall pluck the fruit mostprecious. Br. Dennis read Alma12:4-5. Then he referred to thebrother of Jared, who moved a moun-tain because of his exceeding faith.

REPORT

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He read Jacob 3:125-126, where weare commanded to labor with ourmights in the Lord’s vineyard. Wemust be in tune with what the Lordwants. Br. Dennis also read verses136-144 and Jacob 4:4. We must putthe church first, exercise our faith andbe diligent.

Following dinner and a song ser-vice, our evening sermon was given byElder Darin Crull. Br. Darin wel-comed us and said God has a messagefor us; this is evident when we hearthemes being repeated. Br. Darinread 3 Nephi 8:49. Christ said He isthe Light, He is our example just aswe are to lead by example for others.Br. Darin read 2 Nephi 13:1-17, wherewe are told of the coming of Christand His baptism, for an example forus. In doing so He fulfilled all righ-teousness, humbling himself unto theFather. Christ set the example for us,that we also must be willing to keep allof the commandments of the Father.Br. Darin read Jacob 2:40-47 and ex-plained that a bad example is also setby those who don’t follow God. Anysexual relationship outside of mar-riage is sin. He read 3 Nephi 5:61-63,to show us that people see the choiceswe make. We are an example ofChrist. Reading Mormon 4:79-94, wewere told that we see miracles whenwe believe in Christ. We dwindle inunbelief when we are not strong inHis word. Then we cease to see mira-cles. All despisers of His word willperish. Be believing, work out yourown salvation, serve the true and liv-ing God, and strip yourselves of pride.When we do our own will and notGod’s…that is pride. Using Matthew4:1-11, Br Darin exhorted us to useprayer and fasting to withstand temp-tation. He advised us to use the wordto explain to others what we believe.Br. Darin used 2 Nephi 14:1-6 to tellus we should feast upon the words ofChrist daily, and understanding willcome through the Holy Ghost, if weask in humility. Br. Darin read Alma16:152-157 to explain how the goodseed which is planted will swell withinus, and this wil l increase andstrengthen our faith. He used James1:1-6 to show us our faith will be

tested and to allow that testing for itwill teach us to rely on God. If youlack wisdom ask of God in faith, forfaith is a gift of God, so ask Him for it!Using Ephesians 2:8-10, Br. Darintold us if we are obedient, have beenbaptized, trusted and endured, thenHis works will be made manifest in usand we will bear fruit. Br. Darin reada portion of our Church of Christtract entitled “The Last Mayan Kingand the Liberation of Jerusalem,”written by Apostle Don McIndoo,which tells the story of Apostle Clar-ence and Sr. Angela Wheaton andtheir travels to Yucatan looking forwhite Indians which fulfilled proph-ecy of the church being brought backto that land. The banner of Christ isnow being carried all over the world,so let your light shine, be an exampleand live your life in belief of Christ.

The Saturday morning prayer ser-vice began with Elders Jim Case

and Isaac “Bick” Brockman, Jr., incharge. Br. Bick read Psalm 33 and100. After a season of prayer, manywonderful testimonies were heard ofGod’s workings amongst His children;these are some of the highlights:

� A sister testified of God’s blessingswith her family no matter where theywent in the world. She gave severalexamples of how God directed events,and protected them in all theirsituations.

� Another sister told of an experienceshe had years ago. She accidentallyleft her coin purse on a bench in a busylocation. Throughout the day when itcame to her mind, she would pray thatGod would protect it. In the eveningwhen they returned, her coin purse wasright where she had leftit…untouched.

� A brother test i f ied of hisprocrast ination concer ningrepentance and baptism. Even as avery young man, he knew this churchwas the true church and none other.He recalled a passage from thetestimony of Joseph Smith aboutbeing told to join none of them, fortheir creeds were an abominationbefore Him. He also read a portion ofthe Preface to the Book of

Commandments.

� A sister told of a test of faith she hadrecently. In preparing for their reunionthis year she felt herselfprocrastinating. They anticipated agoodly number to attend, but it didn’thappen. She wondered what she wouldget out of it since so few wereattending. She didn’t consider whatHe would have for them. God showedthem He was in charge; His spirit wasabundant, and it was just what theyneeded.

After lunch and a song service, wewere blessed with another sermon.Elder Don Case greeted us and said hefelt the theme so far in our sermons isa warning; something is coming, wemust take stock of where we are onour spiritual path; we can’t just goblindly forward. Using Gen. 3, he ex-plained that man sinned and then hidhimself. God put distance betweenhimself and man. In Acts 3:19, welearn God told man to repent, be con-verted to Christ so his sins could beblotted out and come back into thepresence of Jesus Christ. As a child weplayed a game of “Peek-a-Boo.” As ayoung believer in the gospel we ask,what’s my purpose and where am I go-ing…God gives us a trial of some sortand we begin to think about our lives.We look for God, but He is out ofsight. We cry out, telling Him we willchange our lives and ask for His bless-ings. Our faith increases, and thisdraws us closer to God. Br. Don used 2Chronicles 7:14 to tell us of Solomon’svision. As adults we play a game of“Hide-n-Seek,” which is l ike“Peek-a-Boo,” except God refuses tobe seen until we have adequately re-pented and humbled ourselves. Br.Don read Mosiah 7:34-37 and 2 Nephi11:76-77. Where do we hide? Br. Donused 1 Samuel 10:20-22 to explainthat Samuel hid amongst his stuff,just as we hide. Our “stuff ” is wherewe are comfortable. Stuff is not evil,except for when it takes a priorityover Christ, over the word of God,over God, over helping others—that’swhen it becomes sin. Stuff can be ourwork, it can be civil organizations, itcan be recreation, it can be entertain-ment, it can be communications.

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What does God want from us? Br.Don read Matthew 13:22 and Mat-thew 5:13 to show us we must pro-claim Christ, unashamed. We must besalt. We need to be bold, be a good ex-ample, let our light shine, reflectingthe light of Christ so others can seethat we have something desirable;something that bonds us to God thatanswers those big questions, a founda-tion that will stand through trials,tribulation and troubles. When theysee our joy and our peace we are a wit-ness. Using Luke 9:23, we were toldwe must stand in the will of the Fa-ther or be cast away. That is our call-ing. Pray that God will lead each of usas to how to reach out to someone else.Pray and then step out in faith.Whatever door God opens for you, gothrough it—whatever door God closesfor you, don’t knock again. Visit withfamily and friends who do not attendchurch. Tell them of your relation-ship with God. Show your light, andhelp someone in need. Br. Don readJames 1:27, where we are told to visitthe fatherless and the widows, peoplethat are hurting. They are hungry forhope. Share your source of hope, Je-sus Christ and the plan of salvation,with them. It’s free. We are called totake the gospel to the world. Don’t beafraid to do what God asks you to do.Don’t live in fear, for fear is not ofGod. Unashamedly proclaim JesusChrist. Shine that light, that love thatwe are so blessed with. Br. Don read 1Corinthians 13:11. Put away yourtoys—get out of your stuff—be in Hiswill and proclaim Jesus Christ.

Following dinner and another songservice we gathered back in for theevening sermon. Elder Dan Lawrenceexplained that he had just returnedfrom the young people’s camp inYucatan. The camp theme this yearwas, “I walk with Jesus,” with theverse Alma 17:69. He gave us a de-scription of his travels, his experi-ences and the activities held there. Br.Dan admonished us all that we musthave Godly and righteous thoughts,and in all we do we must do to honorGod, glorifying His name. We are am-bassadors of Christ, His representa-tives, His body on earth. At camp

they learned about the various spiri-tual gifts we are all given; when thesegifts are all put together we have afunctional church. We must develop,use, and nourish our gifts like awell-oiled machine, ready to go out.Therefore, what manner of men shallwe be? “Even as I am,” Christ ex-plained. They developed a list atcamp which asked questions of thecampers to get them thinking…theywere asked: Are all your actions untothe Lord? Are you walking with Je-sus? Do you let your light shine? Areyour actions virtuous? Are they re-sponsible? Are they generous? Areyour actions showing obedience toGod’s will? Are they respectful?Chaste? Loving? Wherever you gocan you take Jesus with you? (If not,you shouldn’t be doing it). Are yourwords respectful, truthful, and hon-est? Or do you use street language?Are they foul, ugly words or putdowns? Or is your language loving,truthful and encouraging to thosearound you? This is how we can letour light shine. Our appearance andwhat comes out of the mouth are thetwo things people notice immediately.They need to be shining the light ofChrist. “Every idle word that menshall speak, they shall give accountthereof…in the Day of Judgment.”The things we think become thethings we do. The things we think be-come the things we say. Sin starts be-tween the ears. “A good tree bringsforth good fruit, a corrupt tree bringsforth evil fruit….” This speaks ofbaptism, and Br. Dan was blessed tobe able to perform his first two bap-tisms while in Yucatan. It was a hum-bling experience, yet joyous. Hisheart was filled. “Come unto me, allye that labor and are heavy laden.”Problems, sadness, worries, confu-sions; He is waiting to take thesethings from you…“Come and I willgive you rest.” This is a rest unlikeany other we can have. “Take myyoke upon you, and learn of me…for Iam meek and lowly in heart: and yeshall find rest unto your souls. For myyoke is easy, and my burden is light.”When we are bound with Christ it’s aneasy thing; it’s not a burden, it’s a joy.

Walking with Jesus, my yoke is easyand my burden is light. We meet to-gether to learn more about walking inthat path. It all comes from the loveof Jesus Christ, understanding Hislove and sharing His love. That’s thebeauty of being the body ofChrist…sharing our joys, sorrows andencouraging each other…being thetrue Church of Christ is walking withJesus.

The Sunday morning sacramentservice began with Apostles Mi-

chael McGhee and Roland Sarratt incharge. Br. Mike welcomed us andused Ether 1:69-85 in telling us thestory of the Brother of Jared and hisgreat pure faith. In Ether 3 the storycontinues through a great trial wherethe people leaned upon God. After theblessing and serving of the emblemswe were led into a season of prayer byBr. Roland, followed with manyvoices in thanksgiving and lifting con-cerns unto God. There were many ad-ministrations that took place, andthen the service was opened to us forthe leading of the Spirit; in song,prayers or testimonies of God’s bless-ings. These are just a few:

� A brother confessed that he, too, is aprocrastinator. He bore witness thatGod’s last minute will be the lastminute…there’ll be no more. Whentime is gone, it’s gone. He read Alma16:219-222, where we are instructed tocry out over our fields, crops…andadmonished us to pray. Pray everyday, this is the last minute.

� Another brother spoke of a thought hehad as he entered into the sanctuarythis morning…the parable of the tenvirgins came to his mind and that thisis the last minute. He read the parableto us.

� Another brother testified of God’sgoodness to him and his family duringhis recent surgery and recovery. Heasked, “How can we express ourgratitude to God? We live for Him.”Given a dim outlook by one doctorafter surgery, he told the doctor thatGod and his spiritual family could turnthings around. He is getting muchbetter now. He feels this world is apressure cooker and the heat is being

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turned up, and admonished us to serveGod.

� Another brother bore testimony thatwhen we read the word and find thetruth, we exercise our faith. He alsotold us if the preacher doesn’t step onour toes, then he isn’t doing his job.Truth, when applied, is no longersharp, but beautiful to embrace and tohold, and then it penetrates one’sheart. Truth is like a beautiful flower;when held out like an open hand it canbring people into it. Seek to help oneanother and give of your best to theMaster.

� A sister told of wonderful memoriesshe has of knowing years ago that aloved one was praying for her andmany others every morning. Shedesires to follow that example. Shemade a vow to pray each morning forher girls that were in her cabin atcamp. She chooses to love enough topray for them every day.

� A brother read from Psalm 37 andexplained that God led him to adifferent job…one he’d never thoughtof having. He knows God puts uswhere He wants us.

� A sister declared that she feels ourtheme today is prayer. She remembersloved ones gone before her were peopleof prayer. Youth camp in Yucatan wasabout prayer and self examination. Inpreparing for Youth camp she askedherself, “What does God want us towork on?” She was given 1 Tim. 1. Shewants to be that person.

� Another sister gave a testimony of hermother’s. She was always constant inprayer. Her mother had a dream yearsago where she saw herself above theclouds. There above the clouds werestrands of lights. She was given toknow that they were the prayers goingup to God. The small strands were theindividual prayers, and the largerstrands were the groups of prayers.She knew without a doubt that Godhears and answers our prayers.

After lunch we entered in for a spe-cial music service and the last sermonof the 2010 Missouri Reunion. Apos-tle Frank Fann told us he’s enjoyedthe three days of reunion so much. Hetold us, like the title of his sermon, it’sa commandment to meet together oft.

He had noticed that each sermon be-fore his had touched on thistopic…it’s very important that wemeet together oft. In our first sermonwe heard that some say we can wor-ship alone just as well as we can here.This is true, but there are many rea-sons why it’s important that meet to-gether…our salvation is at stake. Wepray for each other’s salvation. Firstwe must become part of His Kingdomon ear th, His church here onearth—WE ARE His church onearth. Br. Frank told us many storiesabout his experiences in the Philip-pines. On the first trip, in 2001, theysaw that God had prepared the peoplefor the gospel to come to them. Godhad already convinced them this wasthe true church. God took the lead.Without that we would fail. It’s thepower of God. They meet together oftin the Philippines…every chancethey get. They are not late, they areall early for services…ready and sing-ing in anticipation, welcoming theministry when they arrive. Meet to-gether oft…it’s a commandment. Heread Hebrews 5:8-9: We must learnobedience. Do we have to learnthrough our suffering? We should de-sire to obey because of our love ofGod, and our wanting to be His.Romans 6:16 says, if we are servants,to whom do we obey? We are obeyingthe call of the world when we don’t goto services. Satan wants to lead usaway. We should desire fellowshipwith one another. We desire to sup-port each other. He had personal ex-perience in 2007 when he was ill, thatthe saints coming to meet in his homestrengthened and lifted him. Br.Frank read 1 John 5:1-3, from Psalms119, and Romans 10:13. He then toldus that in the Philippines before bap-tisms they have a list of questionsthey ask the candidates: Do you be-lieve in God; do you believe in ChristHis Son; do you believe in the HolyGhost; do you believe in the Bible; doyou believe in the Book of Mormon;do you believe that Christ establishedHis Church and that the Church ofChrist is it; do you have a personal wit-ness or testimony that Christ wantsyou to enter into His Church? If they

can’t answer “yes” to each of thesequestions, they’d best wait. Howshall they believe if they’ve notheard? 1 Corinthians 1:21 tells us thatit pleases God by the foolishness ofpreaching to save them that believe.This tells us that we get better bymeeting together oft to learn aboutthe gospel of Jesus Christ. His wordsinto our life give us light and under-standing. He read Hebrews 10:22-25as an example of exhorting, encour-aging and so much more, to comecloser to Jesus and assure ourselves aplace in Heaven. The next reason Br.Frank gave is to help us obtain salva-tion and eternal life. The full meaningof our lives here on earth is to give ustime to prepare ourselves, to be readyto meet Him. It strengthens us to doit together. He read Psalms 119:28and John 7:17, and declared if we aretruly the church of Christ we will havea desire for each other to have eternallife…do we care enough about eachother to tell someone when they areseparating themselves from the bodyof Christ? How do we know whoneeds comforting if we aren’t togetherto learn? Br. Frank read Mosiah2:48-49, where we are told that thenumber of ways we can sin can’t becounted, so watch yourselves andkeep the commandments of God. Sincomes into our lives so quickly. We arethe early warning signs for each other.We are our brothers’ keepers. Saveeach other from eternal damnation.

Thus, the 2010 Missouri Reunioncame to a close. The Lord did have amessage for us…and we are verygrateful for His Spirit which was pres-ent. We give our thanks and praise toour Heavenly Father for a wonderfulreunion.

May God bless you and yours,In Love & Gospel Bonds,Sr. Deb Haines

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Grand Junction, Colorado Local

On behalf of the Grand Junction,Colorado, local I would like to

greet each of you. It is with greatpleasure that I give you an updatefrom this area. This truly is a beauti-ful area of God’s creation and alovely setting to worship God. Withviews of mountains all around us, asurrounding of peach orchards,grape vineyards, and sweet smellinghay fields, one cannot help but beamazed by God’s incredible cre-ation.

Although the surroundings arebeautiful, it is nothing compared tothe love and the fellowship with ourBrothers and Sisters in Christ. It iswith great wisdom that God requiresus to meet together oft, to share tes-timonies, to praise God and glorifyHis name.

This past year has been one ofchange for the local. As with manyplaces in the nation, our area hasseen many weather records, includ-ing: snowfall, record low tempera-tures, late frost, and early hightemperatures. These things are acontinual reminder that God is incontrol of the weather, our lives, andHis purposes.

Our Pastor David Larsen contin-ues to “labor with his might” for thelocal. He has gone through manyphysical trials, yet he continues toglorify God for his physical and spiri-tual blessings through it all.

Our family moved here in July of

2009: you will have to check withsome of the other church membersto determine whether that has beena blessing or a hardship. It has beenquite a change in temperatures, butan enjoyable one. After being di-rected by God to move here, we knowthat this is where we should be.

The local was blessed to have an-other Colorado Reunion. We en-joyed visitors from many parts of thenation. The young people gatheredtogether to have a campfire and a fewwords from our Brother Joel Yates,reminding us that you are never tooyoung for God to speak to you. Ourservices were filled with His Spirit,and reminded us of the times we livein. Some of the statements thatstood out in my mind: We are God’schildren, we need to come out of theworld and avoid its distractions, ourtestimony and smile testifies of thegoodness of God, God has a feast forus every time we meet together if wecome willing to partake, we need tomake sure others can see the joy andpeace that comes from serving theLord, and finally, those that wait onthe Lord shall renew their strength.We truly did partake of God’s sweetspirit that weekend.

Our Sister Enid Bell had knee sur-gery in June. She continues to healand strengthen each day. She feelslike she has received a great bless-ing.

Our Sister Viva Shaw has faced a

difficult bout with a Staph. infection;it has been quite a trial that haszapped her strength, but she slowlyseems to be regaining her energy.

Our local has been blessed by theaddition of a new member. DebbieShaw was baptized on August 8th,2009. Randy and Debbie have beenin regular attendance and haveblessed our local with their pres-ence, their joy and ready smiles.

Our local has enjoyed the manyvisitors throughout the year, andwelcomes the opportunity to see andmeet with more throughout the year.

Love in Christ,Liza Hedrick

NEWS

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PRIESTHOOD VISITATION

If you or someone you know (member or non-member) would like tobe visited by a member of the Priesthood of the Church of Christ,please call or write to the Council of Apostles at Church Headquar-ters in Independence. The phone numbers and addresses are listedon the inside front cover.

2010 CAMPS &

REUNIONS

�Arizona Reunion:November 26-28, at thePhoenix Local. Contact:

Elder Gordon McCann

602-569-2341 orgpjmccann@cox.net,

Elder Jim Yates, Jr.

602-692-4205 orjimyatesjr@yahoo.com,

Priest Glenn Orsted

623-780-8764 orgorsted@gmail.com.

AVA WEBSITE

On the Church of ChristAVAweb site you will be ableto access media such as ar-chived sermons in video andaudio formats, past issuesof Zion’s Advocate, search-

able Bible and Book of Mor-mon, studies and SundaySchool lessons. Real timelive streamed sermons arebroadcast every Sunday at11:00 a.m. and 6:30 p.m.central time which can alsobe accessed from the site.We invite you to take a lookand discover what a usefultool this site can be in ex-panding your knowledgeand faith. The address iswww.cocsermons.net.

CORRESPONDENCE

COMMITTEE

The General Church Cor-respondence Committeewould like to extend the op-portunity for any who wish tocommunicate through writ-ten correspondence to con-tact one of the followingthree committee members:

Pat McCann (CommitteeChairman)18808 N. 30th St.Phoenix, AZ 85050

Marlene Cobb

630 S PickwickSpringfield, MO 65802

June Haines

11589 Genuine RdClare, MI 48617

THE HOPE OF ZION

The Board of Publicationshas made available a copyof the report from the Com-mittee to Study Zion entitled,The Hope of Zion. ContactElder Robert W. Oldham atrwoldham1@sbcglobal.net,or any member of the Board.

NOTICES

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ARTICLESChance or Choice - Apostle Roland Sarratt . . . 2 . . . . 19

A Christian Respone to Increasingly Acceptable

Sins - Priest Aadam Yates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 . . . . 77

Protecting Life…Confronting “Pro-Choice”

Arguments - Elder Matt Case. . . . . . . . . . . . 2 . . . . 25

Spiritual Renewal - Elder Dan Lawrence . . . . . 4 . . . . 55

EDITORIALA Choice Land - Elder Gordon McCann . . . . . . 5 . . . . 75

The History of the Church . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 . . . 108

“Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled” -

Elder Gordon McCann . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 . . . . . 3

FROM THE ARCHIVESThe Gift of the Holy Ghost - Joseph Smith . . . . 1 . . . . . 4

A Short Sermon - Hiram E. Moler . . . . . . . . . . 6 . . . . 99

MANIFESTATIONGod is so Powerful and Mysterious -

Omega Mae Alameda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 . . . 101

OBITUARIESSylvia Darlene Addie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 . . . . 14

Jeanne Louise Brantner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 . . . . 50

Lawrence (Larry) Edward Kelley . . . . . . . . . . . 3 . . . . 51

Melissa Minette Seibel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 . . . . 71

Tobias Obuli Simbo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 . . . . 50

MANIFESTATIONSDreams from Honduras - Elder Ronnie Gill . . 3 . . . . 36

PATHLIGHTSDeeply Rooted and Standing Against All

Storms - Karen Yates-Reiser . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 . . . . 70

The True Church - Teacher Evans Nyaata. . . . 4 . . . . 69

REPORTS2010 Missouri Reunion Report - Deb Haines . 6 . . . 109

2010 Solemn Assembly and General Church

Conference - Deb Haines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 . . . . 42

Kenya 2009 Youth Camp - Margaret Kerosi . . . 4 . . . . 63

Kenya’s Ten Years of Endurance -

Apostle Brian McIndoo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 . . . . 59

Special Conference Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 . . . . 35

SERIESIsaiah Eleven: The Gathering - Part 1 -

Apostle Don McIndoo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 . . . . 66

Isaiah Eleven: The Gathering - Part 2, The

Kingdom of God - Apostle Don McIndoo . . . 5 . . . . 88

Isaiah Eleven: The Gathering - Part 3, The

Conclusion - Apostle Don McIndoo . . . . . . . 6 . . . 104

SERMONS“Wickedness Never Was Happiness” -

Elder Gerry Case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 . . . . . 8

STATEMENTMission Statement of the Church of Christ -

Council of Apostles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 . . . . 28

TESTIMONIESEvery Mother’s Nightmare - Deb Haines . . . . . 3 . . . . 38

Why I Came to Believe in the Church of

Christ - Apostle Plácido Matú . . . . . . . . . . . 2 . . . . 24

2010 INDEX

Title/Author No. Pg. Title/Author No. Pg.

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