THE REMNANT. August VOLUME 10 Number 8 THEME: The Kingdom Requires Strength to overcome

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1 1 Remnant CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST of Latter Day Saints Marlin Texas Branch 204 Live Oak Street Marlin, Texas THE REMNANT August 2009 VOLUME 10 Number 8 THEME: The Kingdom Requires Strength to overcome SUNDAY MORNING DEVOTIONALS :45AM SUNDAY SCHOOL :00AM SUNDAY MORNING SERVICE :00AM SUNDAY EVENING SERVICE :30PM (WHEN ANNOUNCED) WEDNESDAY EVENING SERVICE :00PM (WHEN ANNOUNCED) AVAILABLE PRIESTHOOD: 1 HIGH PRIEST, 3 ELDERS, 1 Aaronic Teacher COMMUNION MESSAGE OBLATION REMARKS MESSAGE ASSISTING MESSAGE ASSISTING MESSAGE ASSISTING August 2, 2009 August 9, 2009 August 16, 2009 August 23, 2009 ELDER ROGER SCHUELKE ELDER ROGER SCHUELKE OPEN ELDER R0GER SCHUELKE ELDER RICHARD HOOVER TO BE ANNOUNCED ELDER RICHARD HOOVER OPEN

2 2 Special Activity August 30, 2009 Women in Charge ATTENDANCE Our attendance for July was good; however, we continued to have some personnel working on Sunday s and others were engaged in vacation activity. We are very pleased to see the response of our members. TRACT AND TAPE MINISTRY It should be noted that all requests for tracts and tapes must include Name, Mailing Address and Address when ordering from our Web Site at Items requested from the web site are sent to the requestor free of any cost. We suggest you review our home page and review a change that was made in January. AUGUST BIRTHDAYS Joe Rosas August 1 Roger Schuelke August 1 John Smock August 23 OUR WEB SITE Our web site, continues to be updated. Our Web Site has been registered with the Marlin Chamber of Commerce and now appears under Church s on the Marlin Chamber of Commerce Web Site. For those of you that are new to our Web Site, our Web Site is linked to the General Church Web Site, and can be found under church congregations. The Web Site is updated each month to include new information that may be of interest to members of the congregation as well as too many others. Lists of available sermons have been added to our web site and you can now listen to these sermons while using your computer in other work. It is suggested that you visit the Web Site regularly. The Branch News Letter is posted each month. It should be noted that material listed on the web site under Tape and Tract Ministry is furnished upon request free of charge. A few minor changes have been made. GENERAL CHURCH WEB SITE Click on to the General Church Web Site for the latest information about activities going on in the general church. Changes are made regularly to the Web Site. You can register with the web site and can receive regular updates by . Please check out all of the information furnished on the Site. FROM THE PRESIDING ELDER Our General Church Mission Statement The Remnant Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has been called in renewal to preach the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to all who will listen, and to prepare and gather, a righteous people for the building of the Kingdom of God on Earth, Zion. Our Marlin Branch Mission Statement The Marlin Branch is to provide the most personalized, trusted, valued, comprehensive spiritual ministry for all that Come and See. July was a wonderful month for our congregation. Brandon Calsyn attended the youth retreat at Black Gum, Oklahoma. This was the second youth camp for Brandon. Elder Rickey Welch, his wife Brenda and son, Brandon, are schedule to leave our congregation when they gather to Independence this month. They have made such a great contribution to our congregation. They drive some ninety miles each Sunday from Taylor, Texas to share their

3 3 ministry with us. While we are very happy for them, but sadden for their loss in our branch. Their loss will be felt for months to come. Their leaving us to gather to Missouri is but another example of our mission as a way station helping to prepare our members for the transition of gathering to Zion. We expect another family will be leaving us sometime during the next few months. We will continue to tell our story and encourage our members to prepare for the Gathering. We were sadden by the death of Richard Louis Oldaker, Jr., on July 9, He is survived by his wife, Sharon, his son Jeff Wise, Daughters April Dean, Janel Wise and Jennifer George, other family members and a host of friends. He married Sharon Wise on April 9, 1977 in Waco. They recently moved from Independence, Missouri to Temple, Texas where he was employed as a superintendent in the construction business. His wife Sharon is the daughter of Dan and Mary Gough of Independence, Missouri. His service was conducted by Elders Dan Gough, Jim Lero and Arthur Allen. Two major activities are scheduled for October with some members planning to participate in the Priesthood Assembly scheduled for 2-4 October and the Women s Retreat that is scheduled for the same dates. The branch will have a celebration on the 17 th and 18 th of October celebrating 112 years of service in Falls County. Apostle Ralph Damon, President of the Council of Twelve, Apostle Leland Collins, our assigned Apostle, and Seventy Bruce Terry will be our General Church Representatives. What a wonderful time is expected for all that Come and See. We continue our Missionary efforts and continue to invite all to Come and See. WHAT DOES HINDER YOU NOW? There are times when people are scheduled to participate in certain projects or scheduled for vacation and or other activities. There are those things that occur that prevent a person from completing the project(s) and or fulfilling other scheduled activities. We all can answer the question(s) WHY. Paul asked a question that I now ask you. In Galatians 5:7 Paul asked the following question, Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth? Put another way the question can be asked, Ye did run well for a Season, what doeth hinder you now? The scriptures are very clear. We are to love God with all of our Heart and Mind and Soul. We are to give all of our self to God. We are instructed to Love our Neighbors as our self. We have been told that Zion could have already been established; however, due to the failure of the Saints, this has not yet been accomplished. So the question is still, what doeth hinder you now? When Philip preached the Gospel to the Ethiopia Eunuch the Eunuch asked the following question, See, here is water; what doeth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. See Acts 8: If you read the rest of this chapter you will discover the mode of baptism. The final result of this baptism was that the Ethiopia Eunuch went on his way rejoicing. After hearing the Gospel preached, the Eunuch could have found many reasons why he did not have to be baptized; however, he kept the commandment and went his way rejoicing. When Paul had his experience, hearing the voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul Why persecutest thou me? And a little later Saul asked the question, what wilt thou have me to do? Saul was given instructions and he followed those instructions and he became one of the great Giants of the New Testament. The Apostle Peter was told on one occasion that when he become converted that he was to strengthen the brethren. After he went thru a cleansing process he became one of the great apostles. So here today, you and I can look at the work of establishing Zion. We can blame or condemn others for not completing the tasks while we ourselves set on the side line and in our on mind and in our actions we may be saying let brother or sister or someone else do the work. We sometimes forget that the task is laid upon all of us. One of my favorite question that I ask my self and others is on a scale of one to ten with ten being the highest where do we place God in our life. Is he number ten or number one or some where in between. I guess the next question is if he is not number ten, why isn t he number 10. We confess we love the Lord, and I think we do; however, we have not reached the

4 4 point of complete love for him. Our place of dwelling, our house, and here on the earth depends how we go about establishing our selves, our work ethics, our training and yes how hard we work for our dream house. What type of dream house are we thinking about for our future Life? In John 14:1-2 Jesus stated that in his Father s house are many mansions and if it were not so he would have told us. He further stated that He was going to be gone and he was going to prepare a place for us. The question is and has always been what kind of mansion he is preparing for you and me for us. We all know that he loves us, that he gave his life as a sacrifice for you and me. I believe that His Grace, His Love, will save us from the Second Death, the Lake of Fire; however, I also am convinced that the type of mansion that we will inherit, the mansion that he has gone to prepare for us, will depend on how well we have kept his commandments. We must not think that he is going to give us that magnificent mansion in the sky when we have permitted ourselves to be side tract to other vain avenues of life where God was not at the helm. So the question is Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth? Our future life is worth planning for, worth sacrificing for, worth all we give it. When we go to die only one thing matters, not how much money we have, not how many floral offerings there were nor the number of Clubs and Lodges we belong to, but what is in your soul, how much of Jesus Christ is there, for it is only this divine being that walks that path with us. In this old, old path are my friends most dear, and I walk with them with the angels near, in this old, old path made strangely sweet by the touch divine of his blessed feet. This statement did not originate with me. It was used at the funeral service of my wife. It came from the heart of Evangelist Edmond Daniel Gough as he sought to insure myself, my family and others the importance of preparing our life for inhabiting that mansion that our Lord is preparing for all of us. Recently I received an and it reflected flowers as their color changed as they began to grow and mature. As I thought about the beauty of this change I was reminded about my own life how it was changed after I committed my life to Him. The following statement is a part of my feelings of what happed to my life and what happens to all of us as we make our commitment. To see the moving color from black to real color filled my heart with joy and I think understanding. I think that I can compare my life to any one of the pictures. You see, I was born and raised in this world and had my humanistic traits whatever they may have been - ; however, God has taken my life and my life has been changed and I am not the man that I use to be. I think I have belonged to God in a special way all of my life, but when his hand was placed on me in July 1949 I became a different person. I am not perfect but as I looked at the gradual change of the flowers to the beautiful state that I saw them in I could not but think that God changes us a little at a time as we embrace the truth of the Kingdom. Isaiah put it in another way in Isaiah 28:10 and I quote, For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little. As I understand life I find that after we discover Jesus Christ and commit our life in a life of service we must be willing to place him above all else and seek to dismiss all things that cause us to place him at the bottom of the list as we consider his place on the scale of one to ten. So we ask the question again, Ye did run well for a Season, what doeth hinder you now? The clamoring voices that seek our time, our talents, our material wealth are all apart of the devils plan to keep us from obeying the commandments of God and establishing His Kingdom. We each have our free moral agency so we make the choice as to the kind of Mansion that awaits us in the after life. Joshua 24:14-15 gives us some insight into our life and a better way of life. I challenge you to listed/read these words, Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the Lord. And if it seems evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the Gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. And the people answered and said, God forbid that we should forsake the Lord, to serve other gods. So our real question here today is will we place all of our life at the altar of God and serve him the rest of our life. May our Lord bless us as we seek to fulfill our mission of establishing his Kingdom here on this earth and preparing for His return?

5 5 Arthur Allen Presiding Elder Marlin, Texas Branch Remnant Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints July 19, APOSTASY APOSTASY the dictionary defines Apostasy as an abandoning of what one believed in What do we know about Biblical Apostasy? Or was there an Apostasy discussed and or foretold in your Bible? These are important questions to be answered. As Church members we should already know the answers; however, what about our friends? How do we discuss these questions? Are we familiar with the scriptures that support our claim that an Apostasy did occur and the necessity of a Restoration? Isaiah 24:1-6, I will mention only a few verses; however, it would be helpful if you studied all of the verses mentioned as well as the entire chapter. The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinances, broken the everlasting covenant. Verse 5 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high and the kings of the earth, upon the earth. And they shall be gathered together as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited. Verses We could spend the rest of our time on Isaiah, Chapter 24; however, we need to mention a few other scriptures and make a few comments concerning our subject today, Apostasy. II Timothy 4:2-4. Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; for the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned into fables. The above scripture refers to the transgression of the everlasting covenant of the gospel, and to consequent desolation through loss of the truth and abandonment of righteousness. Students of the bible understand the Apostasy was clearly foretold. In addition to statements found in Isaiah we also are reminded of Jeremiah 2:13 My people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water. The apostles knew that the seeds of apostasy, already planted in the church, would bring a rank growth. Paul gave admonition to the Church Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchase with his own blood. For I know this, after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, seeking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. Acts 20:28-30 The saints in Thessalonica, were given the following advise Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first. II Thessalonians 2:3. These Saints expected the return of Christ in the not to far distant future; however, they were warned that a falling away would occur before his return. Paul sent warning to the Colossian Saints Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. I Colossians 2:8 Paul continues to warn the church He gave clear instructions to timothy I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine, neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do. I Timothy 1:3,4

6 6 Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. But shun profane and vain babbling: for they will increase unto more ungodliness. And their word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus; who concerning the truth hath erred, saying the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some. II timothy 2:15-19 The Apostle Peter also was concerned about the growth of apostasy. He gave the Church the following warning But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. II Peter 2:1 You also need to review II Peter 2: The apostle John adds his testimony. He repeated it many times - I John 2:18, 19; I John 4:1; II John 7:5. God threatened the church at Ephesus with rejection for leaving her first love See Revelation 2:4,5 Since God threatened the church at Ephesus with rejection for leaving her first love must not the whole church have been rejected when she, too, left her first love and became entangled in the things of this world? The apostasy actually took place. The period known to history as the dark ages was indeed a period of apostasy, then this confirms the prophetic foresight of Isaiah 24:5, and by that fact shows us the way of life and redemption. If darkness came through apostasy, a new life will come through new revelation and renewed obedience. The church teaches today They have strayed from mine ordinances, and have broken mine everlasting covenant; they seek not the Lord to establish his righteousness, but every man walketh in his own way, and after the image of his own god Doctrine and Covenants 1:3 Some of the changes that took place: The form of baptism was changed. Baptism of infants. Changes in Priesthood/Church Organization. Changes/deletion of the Spiritual Gifts. You should search the Scriptures and find many other changes within the Church s of today. The Gospel was Restored. To Simon Peter Jesus said: I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Matthew 16:18 John adds his testimony that a restoration was coming. And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heave, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear God and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of water. Revelation 14:6,7 Summary: We proclaim with confident assurance, based on the revelation of God (Galatians 1:12) that this restoration, that we are now a part of, has now taken place and that evidences of its divinity have been granted to us John 7:17. The gospel is again available with its divinely commissioned priesthood, its actively participating people, its adequate and inclusive doctrine, the gifts, blessings and fruits of the Spirit, and its goal in the building of the kingdom: This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not know the truth; but if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. See I John 1:5-7 Arthur Allen Presiding Elder Marlin, Texas Branch Remnant Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints