Dear Sisters and Brothers, I am sharing a very shortened version of my testimony of how I became involved in the Second Invitation.
Early Life and Difficult Paths
The early years of my upbringing were mainly good. My parents, to me, were and still are the most dedicated people towards family upbringing that I can think of. I know I have been blessed by God because I have such wonderful parents! I am forever grateful to the Lord for allowing me to be a part of this family.
During my early childhood I suffered a significant trauma period that continued for some years. It changed my view, my perspective, and my outlook on life. It broke my trust with others close to my family. It totally changed the happiness and joy I should have had when I was growing up and, therefore, caused significant social interactive and relationship problems during the majority of my life.
I spent my early church years attending the Reorganised Church (RLDS, now the Community of Christ). I was baptised in 1973, and had already learned the basics of the Bible (Joseph Smith Translation) and The Book of Mormon. My parents had spent much time explaining the scriptures to me and gave me my first Book of Mormon in 1975—which I still own and use today! But during that time, struggling with many things, my connection was not as close to God as it should have been. From time to time, I drifted to and from the church (and from God) all the way from my late teens through to my early 40s.
The Turning Point
Many years later (approximately 2008) after struggling mentally with life and questioning many things, I decided one morning that I would pray earnestly, with a broken heart and contrite spirit, for help. Crying out to God, I asked the Lord for something to help ease the pain I felt inside; I asked God for direction, guidance, and help.
Around that time, my mother must have felt that something was wrong, and that I was not internally happy with my life. She gave me a book called Jesus Calling by Sarah Young. The book is a 365-day reading devotional for each day. I started to read it every day, together with prayers, and from there I very slowly started a journey to return closer to God—to help lift myself up out of that huge dark hole I was in. With God’s help it took diligence and faith to get me to a place where I could stand again. The Lord could see I was dedicated in wanting to seek change, and draw nearer to Him. But that was just a starting point. I still had a long way to go!
During a 10-year period, between 2008 and 2018, with the Lord’s help I began to read more spiritual things, and to search for more. As I was given more understanding about life, I began to search the scriptures, beginning with the Bible, and I even returned to church again.
I started to help people at church and beyond. I truly wanted to serve people, to put others first, and to make a difference for others more than I ever had before in my life. I focused more on positives, rather than negatives. Before I had ever learned about Anthroposynaisthima1, The Sealed Book (and what it says in Acts of the Three Nephites, chapter 10, verse 22), I began, with the Lord’s help, to shift my feelings more toward a positive way of being, rather than the negative path I had been traveling on for so long.
The Miracle!
In early 2018, we had a visit from Brother Robert Cackler (now Bishop) and Sister Melva Cackler (now Fountain of Living Waters President). Melva always had a close relationship with our family and church when she lived here in Australia, and when they both visited from time to time.
Our family didn’t know that this visit would change our lives forever!
One Sunday in early 2018, I had arrived at my parents’ home; as I walked up the ramp to the glass sliding door, I noticed some visitors were present. As I approached the door, I saw our friends Brother Bob and Sister Melva sitting around the dinner table with my parents, watching something on a computer.
As I touched the sliding door handle to enter the house, I was given complete information in a vision on what was being presented, and the wonderful news of the information that was coming forth. This all happened in one or two seconds. It really happened that quickly! I was assured that this was the Lord’s hand at work, and that this information was authentic—even before I entered the house. In a split second I was shown so much information!
As I opened the door, I heard a testimony being given about what had been seen down in Brazil. I can’t remember who was speaking; I just quietly sat down, watched, and earnestly listened.
Later, I came to understand that these were the testimonies of the eight witnesses from the USA who went to Brazil. As I watched, I was in total awe and focused intently as each witness gave their solemn testimonies—I wanted to understand more. This was the event that totally changed my life! I desired nothing else but to serve the Lord, and tell as many as possible who would listen, about what I had come to understand, and to also share my personal testimony. We are so grateful to Brother Bob and Sister Melva for their visit as it was a life changing event for me personally. This event was the moment God began to open my understanding, tearing back part of the veil for me to see and comprehend His work. Our family and I are eternally grateful for this event which was without a doubt a miracle from the Lord!
A Step Forward in Faith!
As a family we were then driven by our faith to visit the USA in early April 2019. My father, especially, was so excited! And even although my mother had never travelled outside of our country during her 81 years, she also desired to meet with and hear first-hand accounts from most of the witnesses who went to Brazil to see the Plates of Mormon, and to hear about all the things that happened at the beginning of this Second Invitation. The Lord guided us to draw near to those special witnesses, and we were guided to ask Brother Samuel S. Gould and his lovely wife Linda to share a meal together. That special evening together was one that will never be forgotten! The Lord was with us that evening, as the Holy Spirit bonded our faith together in “one heart and mind”.
At that point in time, I was still “green” in the beginning of “sprouting leaves” of understanding of the Lord’s work and learning at an ever-increasing pace. Since that day the Lord has enabled me personally to seek, and to search diligently and tirelessly for more information of the truth and light given from the Word of God, from that “rod of iron”—a thirst that will never be quenched on this earth.
Our family has always been a close family, and the Second Invitation has brought our family circle closer, but not without tribulation of Satan trying, from the extremities, to intervene, divide, and separate our family. We know this is common throughout the families of the Second Invitation, as our faith is tested. I am always reminded of Lehi’s vision of the “rod of iron” leading to the “tree of life” and as they were partaking of the precious fruit from the tree of life, many in the large and spacious building scoffed at them.
In this work of the Second Invitation, we all have to sacrifice something to achieve a higher understanding of God’s work, something that cannot be understood by all, as some are “not ready.” I was reminded of when Christ met at night with Nicodemus. Christ had trouble getting Nicodemus to understand spiritual things: “If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe if I tell you heavenly things?” (John 3:12).
In other words, if a person doesn’t believe the things that are being shown to them on earth, (therefore by only understanding man’s precepts and traditions), then how can a person advance spiritually in understanding? This limits a person’s comprehension; it is like a wall that has been placed before them of limited understanding to try to get over, before they can even start to comprehend the why, where and when of the many questions in their minds. What I am saying is, if someone can only understand things spiritually by trying to fit all the information into a box of human understanding that they have made (from what they have been taught in their upbringing) to perceive what they “assume” the logical (human) way things must be, then how will they ever progress in human understanding beyond the walls of that box they have made for themselves?
What happened in the outcome of my testimony here could be summed up by many verses from The Sealed Book of Mormon, but one that was revealed to me by God through the Holy Spirit is Acts of The Three Nephites, chapter 1, verse 7:
“So desire to remember what was said by Alma, that “faith is not perfect knowledge”. The same is true of these words of mine. At first, you can not be sure of them until you awaken your spiritual faculties, testing the words of this record as a result of what was written by the ancient prophets, and exercise a particle of faith in your quest for knowledge of the mysteries of God, still though you only have the desire to know the truth behind my words, and let this desire operate in your heart and mind, until you comprehend the fullness of these mysteries, so that you may with all diligence add to your faith the virtue of this new perception” (emphasis added).
I solemnly declare before God and the world that the work of the Second Invitation was brought forward by the Hand of God, through His chosen servant Maurício Artur Berger, and this Prophet is ordained of God for the full purpose of helping the work and will of the Father—to restore all things before His Son returns to redeem a righteous people in the last days.
I urge every Man, Woman and Child to open their hearts, and come learn and seek God’s light of truth through the work of this Second Invitation. God’s ways are higher than our ways; we must all humble ourselves so that we can learn more of the spiritual things that the Lord needs to prepare us all for before His coming!
May we all seek to understand the many mysteries of God, in our hearts and minds, as we repent, humble ourselves in love with one another, and seek a testimony to be guided towards Heavenly Zion—as we give all the glory to God in extending His grace and mercy to us in this Second Invitation!
Shalom, Shalom (Perfect Peace)! Amen!
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- Anthroposynaisthima: this is a new word formulated by Prophet Mauricio Berger. The main objective of anthroposynaisthima is to enable us to have conscious command of our emotions and feelings in a way that allows us to control ourselves in all situations. The result will bring freedom from the effects of physically and spiritually destructive negative emotions.
- Acts of the Three Nephites, chapter 10, verse 2: Cease therefore your complaints and your grumblings, for nothing can be more destructive to men in the flesh than to complain continually. Cease looking for mistakes on your brothers or sisters, but love one another just as Christ loved us, for this not only qualifies us to be his disciples, but identifies us as such.
