September Issue – Editorial by Patriarch Samuel Gould

This September Issue continues to highlight the heightened experiences and moments that have been delightful to our soul, and our faith, as we rejoice in this marvelous work and wonder.  From the very first notice and touch of the Spirit, we have been moved to pursue a course of unity among the Saints of God in the face of adversity, resistance, and the happy embracing of the truth with others. Sister Melva Cackler shares her testimony concerning the Lord’s gentle voice of instruction that led her through the maze of life to this point as President of the Fountain of Living Waters that she directs through the gifts that God has imparted unto her over the years. 

Oh, yes, and the beauty and joy expressed by Sister Kaiss in the use of the Sealed Book from the Plates of Mormon in the education of the rising generations to prepare them for a work that the Lord will entrust and invest in them.  Yes, we are the multigenerational bridge to the future of Zion.  Let us rise up and do our part in the might, mind, and strength that the Lord bestows upon us.

… I rescued the principles that govern the one that was spiritually restored in its fulness by the hand of my servant, Joseph Smith Jr, in a church without walls, founded by living stones, built on this foundation stone, and supported by the pillars of protection of the truth … (Revelations and Doctrine of the Second Invitation – Article 1:52a).

We have been directed to take down the walls that separate us as sisters and brothers in Christ Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith in this Second Invitation labor.  The labor is difficult, challenging, and rewarding as we embrace the light of God delivered in the Sealed Book from the Plates of Mormon; and the accompanying words of direct revelation through the interpreter stones and directly before our very presence in General Conference (November 21, 2020) in both Portuguese and English, as exemplified and recorded in the Revelations and Doctrines of the Second Invitation – Article 11.  In the receiving of revelation upon revelation and in due season, we are immediately presented with the need to consider what the words are directing us to do, and when, and in accordance with the timeline that is kept in the heavens, that must be developed in the hearts of the Lord’s servants engaged in the labors for Zion.

As we labor together in the unity of the Spirit of God, and the guidance of the heavens, through the tireless labors of our prophet Mauricio Artur Berger and fellow servants, the coming together in one accord is required of God.  The ability for us to see “eye to eye” (Isaiah 52:8-10) is extremely difficult, and some may think impossible, yet our benevolent Father does not ask us to do that which he has not already prepared the way for accomplishing the quality goal he has set before us.  One of the most prominent keys for our success is written in my heart from the Acts of the Three Nephites where it records what the Prophet Alma taught them when they implemented the United Order of Enoch.  Let us follow that same path with the light given through our Prophet Mauricio Artur Berger from the heavens.

To the people of the Church, Alma taught that each on should love one’s neighbor as oneself, so that there would be no intrigues between them.  And so Alma, being the High Priest of my sacred Order, became the founder of the Church among them, appointing authorities to preach and teach the people of the Church, so that there would not be among the candidates for evangelizers, those who were not authorized by God to teach, being that all members, men and women, were appointed to speak in congregational meetings, with the purpose of priests preparing them for ministerial work in the preaching of the gospel (Acts of the Three Nephites 13:7 SB).

We are currently attempting to develop the “Evangelizers” who will develop the men and women of the membership of the Church of Christ and United Order to take their proper places within the ministerial work of preaching the Gospel.  In order to do this, collateral materials will be developed and the process of teaching through the Anthroposiniastima process is being instilled within the ministerial laborers.  This process draws upon the true feelings grounded in love and the gifts of the Spirit to take down the walls of separation that have been forged through many generations of heavy feelings and the darkened Nimrod process rules that have supplanted the noble rules of love and light in our current society.  In order to be qualified as these “Evangelizers” we must adopt the process with the “noblest and highest feelings in our hearts” as in the days of Enoch.

No, in no way can my people live the height of my priesthood in a united order, as it did in the days of Enoch, without the noblest and high feeling in their hearts, all derived from charity, which is the purest expression of the love of God among the children of men, much less you can effect any ministry, whether it be healing or powerful works without any of the feelings derived from this greater gift (Sealed Book of Moses 3:62 SB).

When two parties come together to discuss the word of God and find it abundant with meanings that align with our hearts and souls, there is great joy and the sounds of rejoicing.  However, it is more likely that there will be a confrontation of personal interpretations from our past traumas, indoctrinations, and forging of our very character, that which we call “what we are” at this point in our lives.  It is the Lord, however, who has brought us together, knowing full well that the iron within us comes from the word of God (Rod of Iron) of past days.  He sees us as we really are, and really will be, from generation to generation.  He brings us together to test our metal of “iron” with the testing of the metal of “iron” invested through the years in our counterpart.  The meeting of the minds is then to harken unto this key and follow this verse with all due diligence and very keen observation:

And so as iron sharpens iron, so my people become more and more qualified in the art of teaching and skilled in the handling of the words, in order to offer the offers of his lips as sacrifices to God in the preaching of this Gospel to the world, because all are partakers of the body of the Church, by whose sacrifice offered with words and songs of praise are more pleasing to Me than a bull on the altar (Acts of the Three Nephites 13:8 SB).

It is God who seeks to have our Evangelists “qualified in the art of teaching” through this arduous and somewhat painful growing process that we will go through many, many times in order to be “skilled in the handling of the words of God” through his prophets so that we can receive and agree upon God’s words through the prophets (D&C 11:22-23).

When faced with adversity, the Apostle Peter picked up the sword and smote off the ear of the servant of the high priest, then Jesus had to step in to rectify the situation, or the reputation of the Bride of Christ would have been marred by this questionable act of defense (Matthew 26:48-52 IV/JST; 26:50-54 KJV).  Jesus instructed him to put up his sword “again” for this was the way of darkness and death, yet his intentions and the value he sought to vainly preserve did not go unnoticed.  This wall of separation must be taken down in the love, and charity, and good, and noble, and righteous feelings emanating from the essence and virtue of the heavens as Jesus demonstrated.

When faced with adversity, the disciples that followed the daily teachings given by Jesus Christ found some things hard to accept due to the precepts, traditions, and agendas of men (John 6:60-70), so they walked away.  Can we just walk away? This was what Jesus asked the Twelve, but they could not walk away and be one with the Father and the Son (Acts of the Three Nephites 11:1 SB).  Simon Peter declared plainly to Jesus, and to us: “Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life” (John 6:68).

So, as “iron” sharpens “iron”, so must we persevere in righteousness to resolve the interpretational issues that arise through the gift of the Spirit of God, that we may be one with the Father, even as Jesus is one with the Father.  It is this relationship that we wish to share with the world through the evangelization now being called for within the Second Invitation labors in New Nauvoo below Mount Agudo.