By Curt Heaviland, Association President

Newsletter News

I want to thank the Senior High Class at the  East Alton Congregation in Independence, Missouri, for assembling and mailing the  last newsletter.  They have graciously taken on this task to help us out.  It  sure has taken a load off me.  I cannot express enough my gratitude.

The newsletter gets wide coverage now.  I start it out and then send it to  Kim Jobe, the secretary, who puts it in such great form.  When she has finished with it, she sends me a copy for approval, and from there it goes to Mary Yocum  at the Tri Stake Offices here in Independence.  Mary then gets it ready to print and has it printed.  From there it goes to the Senior High Class and  the sequence starts again.
 

Sri Lankan Saints KIA

Recently, in the “10-Minute News,” there was mention of four of our church  members serving in the Sri Lanka army that were killed in action.  Our heart  goes out to the families of these four church members.
The World Church  donated four hundred dollars to be used by the families left behind.  I would  like to suggest that we as a military community also support the families  financially if possible.
If any of you would like to make a contribution to  be sent the families of these church members via the Association, please send it to Lehman  Heaviland, Treasurer,  RLDS Association for Ministry to Military Personnel,  309 Shrank,  Independence,  Missouri 64056.  We will see what happens by the  end of September and forward any funds we have received by that date.

We will report on the amount collected and sent in the  October newsletter.

Korean War Museum

As you are aware, this is the 50th Anniversary of the Korean conflict.
We  are happy to report that one of our sustaining members, Dr. Paul Edwards,  heads up a museum dedicated to the study of the Korean War.

This is the only  museum dedicated to this conflict in the United States, and it is now housed  at the Graceland Campus here in Independence.

Memorabilia gladly accepted:  Paul would like anything that  you might have that comes from the Korean War.  His only requirement is that  it is something you do not want to keep.  If it means a great deal to you or  your family, then it should remain there.  If, however, you can part with it,  send it to me, and I'll see that he gets it.

Recruitment Is Up!

Our numbers are slowly growing.  Denzil West has been a good recruiter for  us.  He has sent four or five new members since World Conference.

The best  recruiters we have are you out in the field.  Talk to people about what we  are trying to do.  Ask them if they would like to be part of it.  After all, ten dollars a year really won't break any of us!

Congrats to Ensign Samuel Eli Young!

I just got a news article from Dennis Young, a sustaining member from  Buckner, Missouri, about his son Eli.  It is as follows:
 

Ensign Samuel Eli  Young graduated from the Navy Nuclear Powered Command NNPTC in Charleston, SC  on July 7th.  Admiral Richardson gave the address and handed out the  certificates.  Eight members, representing four families from the local RLDS congregation in Charleston, attended Sam's graduation, as well as his parents  Denny and DeAun Young and two brothers, Ben and Peter.
Sam will be staying in Charleston to work on prototype submarines there at  the Navy Weapons Center.  This congregation is pleased to have Sam, a Deacon  in the church, stay a little longer and be a part of the congregational life.

CONGRATULATIONS Sam on a job well done.  Keeps us apprised of your activities  and let us know how life is in the Navy.

… and the Charleston Congregation

The pastor of the Charleston Congregation is Elder Jim Sland, a retired Air Force flight engineer who is active  in the state VFW and is the State Chaplain for the VFW in South Carolina.   Jim joined the church after retiring and moving next to the Meyer Blvd.  Congregation in Kansas City and getting active in the scout troop there.  He has a son  on active duty in the Marines.  (Incidentally I do not believe that we have the name of the son who is on  active duty.  Looks like we are going to have to work on this one.)

A1C Mark Whiting at Aviano AFB, Italy

Just got an e-mail from A1C Mark Whiting who is at Aviano AFB in Italy.   Sure was good to hear from him and now it's our job to try to keep him up to  date.  If you’re interested, let me know, and I'll give you his e-mail address so you can contact him.  That is, if it is OK with Mark.

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A Community of Christ

By Robert L.  Wallace MSG/Ret/Army

It was in 1972 in Vietnam and a number of us, RLDS members and friends, were  stationed in the Da Nang area.  Gary Lair, John Bryant, and I crossed paths  for a short period of time.  Gary was a representative of the RLDS faith in  the Da Nang area.  We have again made contact after almost 30 years.

Most  recently, we shared some of the memories and some of the things we wished we  could remember, e.g., the names of the other soldiers there at the time.   Time has a way of fading our memories, but the desire remains to renew those  relationships, which have been a part of our lives.

The early part of this year, I was taking several Temple School courses.   Because all of the classes focused on the past to one degree or another, I  began to remember my time spent in Vietnam.  In particular, I remember the  baptism and confirmation of John Bryant, an Air Force SSG.  Gary had arranged  for the baptism of our brother to take place inside a Baptist Church in Da  Nang City.  The outside of the church was well kept and beautifully  landscaped.  Inside the church, the baptismal font was elevated to the right and  front.  We remembered the long side windows where the sunlight came in.  I  witnessed the baptism taking place as Gary baptized John by immersion.  In  this setting of a war zone, a commitment was being made to follow Christ.  A  week later the promise was made that the Holy Spirit would sustain our  brother as Gary and I laid our hands on his head and blessed him into the  fellowship of the church.

In that setting, as I was remembering it, as I looked up, I saw the Christ  standing there in that soft robe of His presence.  It was a deep sense of  reality that the Christ was there facing Gary and John in that baptismal  process.
We do not always see the Christ at the time of the event but  sometimes only as we look back and Christ inserts His presence into our  remembrance of what took place.

In that time and in that place, though we  were small in number, we were soldiers of a community of Christ who witnessed  a dedication and commitment to walk with the Christ and hear of the ministry that He has for all people, regardless of nationality, culture, or race.  It is a ministry that is not to be exclusive; it is to be inclusive of those  willing to share their story of their faith journey with each other.  In  particular, that ministry is to reach out the hand of fellowship to those  who were and are marginalized in our world and in our society.

The impact of  war marginalizes people and sets us apart from those we call our enemies, who  also, are a part of God's creation.  When we see God's creation in each other from heart to heart , we see our sameness and also our uniqueness, rather than  just our differences and separations from each other.

In that war zone there was demonstrated a forgiveness from God as expressed in the baptism.  God's forgiveness is always available through our own  forgiveness of others.  That forgiveness is inseparably connected with God  and each other as we engage in our encounters and dialogues of variance.  In  that forgiveness we find healing, and the past becomes past, so we can live in the present without the burdens of prior time.  In this forgiveness, we see God's possibilities in each other and in ourselves.

Even at the time of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, some other  soldiers, who were Roman, may have heard the Christ say, "Forgive them, for  they know not what they have done."  Those soldiers of that long distant past cried out, "Truly, He was the Son of God,"  (Gospel of Peter) and, most  likely they realized what they had done.
Two of Jesus' disciples were walking to Emmaus, seven miles from Jerusalem,  thinking and talking about what had happened after Jesus' crucifixion.  Jesus  came along beside them, and walked and talked with them on their journey.  It  was only after they sat together, and Jesus prayed and broke bread and gave  it to them to eat, that recognized Him.  Surely, they had shared similar  experiences where they talked and ate together and were able to recognize the Christ.

We do not necessarily always recognize the Christ as He walks with us in our  journeys as a result of stresses of the time.  It is as we begin to recapture  where we have been and with whom that we have the possibility of finding the  presence of the Christ in our search for our purpose, at this time and place.

As each of us left Vietnam in 1972 and 1973 we were transferred to various  assignments throughout the world.  Some of us were to continue our military  careers and others to return to civilian life.  Women, men, families and  friends who have shared in the military experience have a special connection  because of the similarity of our mission.  When we make contact with each  other we ask often, "Where were you stationed?"  We seek our connection and  identity as we share our stories with one another in our journeys.

It was good to meet Gary and John and their families after all these years and share our stories—and especially to know I am not the only one who has  white in his hair and a little less on top.  It was good to call each other  brother and recognize our friendship together.  There will be opportunity in  the near future for our three families again to meet and to share stories as  we eat together.

These words from Touch Me Lord (RLDS Lamoni Congregation's collection of  familiar words and hymns) apply as we renew our connectedness:

We gather as wounded people who have been touched by love, and wandering  people who know that Christ is the power that brings life together and makes  us whole.  Who shall separate us from God's love?  No power, no person, nor  height, nor depth, no thing in all creation shall separate us from the love  of God in Christ Jesus.

The invitation is to sit at the table with the Christ whoever we are and  wherever we have been, to share our story and our gifts with each other in our  faith journey.  The invitation is to seek out those we have walked with, to come to that table, and once again break bread with one another in this  Community with Christ.

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Could You Write the Book Of Mormon?

Occasionally, you hear someone say,  "I could believe your doctrine if I just  didn't have to swallow the story about Joseph Smith being a prophet of God  and that he translated the Book of Mormon from some golden plates which he  claimed he found in a hillside."  Let us consider some facts or conditions  that must be complied with in order for you to produce a similar record under  comparable conditions:

1. You must be between 23 and 24 years of age.
2. You cannot be a college graduate.  In fact, you can only have three years of  formal schooling.
3. Whatever you write must be on the basis of what you know and not what you  learn through research.
4. You must write a history of an ancient country, such as Tibet, covering a  period from 2200 BC to 421 AD.
5. You must write a book with 102 chapters, 25 of them about wars, 10 about  history, 21 about prophecy, 32 about doctrines, 5 about missionaries, and 9  about the mission of Christ.
6. You must include in your writings the history of two distinct and separate  nations, along with histories of different contemporary nations or groups of  people.
7. Your writings must describe the religious, economic, social and political  cultures and institutions of these two nations.
8. You must weave into your history the religion of Jesus Christ and the  pattern for Christian living.
9. When you start to produce this record, covering a period of 2600 years,  you must finish in approximately 60 days.
10. When you have finished, you must not make any changes in the text.  The  first edition must stand forever.  (This does not include grammatical error,  etc.)
11. After pauses for sleep and food, if you are dictating to a stenographer,  you must never ask to have the last paragraph or last sentence read back to  you.
12. Your history or record must be long, approximately 522 pages with over  500 words per page.
13. You must add 180 proper nouns to the English language. (William  Shakespeare added 30).
14. You must announce that your "smooth narrative" is not fiction, but true;  yes, a sacred history.
15. In fact, your narrative must fulfill the Bible prophecies; even in the  exact manner in which it shall come forth, to whom given, and its purposes  and accomplishments.
16. You must publish it to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people,  declaring it to be the Word of God.
17. You must include with the record itself this marvelous promise: "And when  ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the  Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if  ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ,  He will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost."
18. Tens of thousands must bear record to the World for the next 170 years  that they know the record to be true.  Because they put the promise to the  test.

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 Doing the Right Thing

Ken McLaughlin Apostle, Western USA and Canada Mission Field

Recently I have been involved in several lively conversations with colleagues  and friends.  The topics have all been ones that invoke strong opinions and are not easy to deal with.  They also involve lots of factors—social,  environmental, theological, biological—you get the picture.

Now, I am not  one to back away from difficult matters, and I surely enjoy lively discourse.   However, I fear that in the years ahead, we will be faced with an increasing  number of issues that have the potential to divide us more and  more—particularly in the church.  Even though the 2000 World Conference  looked at some weighty matters, I sense that the years ahead will bring even  more complex matters that the faithful persons with reasonable minds will see  differently from one another.  Are we at a point in history where we can no  longer expect to find THE single answer to the question that confronts us?   Or frankly, did such a time really exist?

Recently, the World Church Leadership Council was engaged in a discussion of  a most difficult issue facing the church—and many other churches as well.  In  the midst of the rather complex dialogue, one of the council members reminded  us that we are not ultimately called upon to do something because it is  politically expedient, or because it leads us down the path of least  resistance, but because it is the right thing to do.

Now even if we agree to follow this rather simplistic, homespun piece of  advice, we realize that we certainly might not all agree on what constitutes  the "right thing".  Even so, I have given a lot of thought recently about   "doing the right thing".

From the Christian perspective, I believe there ARE some basic questions  we can ask ourselves that can help us decide what indeed is the "right  thing".  Let me suggest just some of these for you.  Does this affirm the  worth of all persons?     Does this decision promote abundant life, especially for the powerless?  Will this bring harm to the planet?  Is this action honest and does it promote integrity?  Will this action in any way harm the children?   Would Jesus have acted in a similar way?

Perhaps this sounds far too easy, but I find nothing easy for many of us in  bringing our actions in harmony with the life and ministry of Jesus of  Nazareth.  After all, this was a man who asked us to love and care for our  enemies and to willingly give up all that we have for the sake of God's  kingdom.  This was a man who told us to love our neighbors and ourselves with  the same passion with which we love God.  This was a man unconcerned by the  current whims of government or the popular culture.  This was a man who spoke  for the powerless, the marginalized, and the sick.

I am grateful that God elected to give us the timeless example of Jesus, who  helped us understand that in the midst of the complexities of life, we are  called upon to do the right thing.  May we each be guided by the Holy Spirit  in all our decisions and actions.

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