Serving in the Lord's Vineyard

MIRACLE of the Lord's Vineyard... in Madera, California

Last year I sent a link for a video about the Church's grape vineyard here in the CFM, and told you of some of the miracles that have and do happen there. It is an 80 acre farm. 100% of the crop is donated to Church or humanitarian programs, and 300,000 pounds is a normal harvest. It gets better every year. A percentage of the crop goes to the Bishop's Storehouse and a good portion is used for world wide disaster relief.

Once a year the eight Stakes in the area invite their members to COME and pick the grapes. THOUSANDS come. This year, Sister Olson and I went to feel what the members feel every year. We saw 312 rows of grapes - "How long are these rows? Looks like a mile?"  

Comments from participants were--This is sacred land. You can feel it. It is different than other places.

Pausing under the grapes for a cooling moment.  

      

We picked the grapes and laid them out on paper trays where they dry for about a month. This is when we DON'T want it to rain. Rain would mold the whole crop! One year it did rain – EVERYwhere BUT on the Lord's property. How wonderful is that?! Maybe we should 'consecrate' OUR gardens to be protected and do as well.       

 

Drying grapes. When the grapes have dried into raisins, the papers are folded into quarters, and taken to bins then shipped to the Sun Maid plant for cleaning and processing. From there, they are packaged and shipped to SLC for distribution.

This is fun service. We come because these raisins go to many places in the world to bless the hungry. It is a critical addition to their nutrition. We come because we love the Lord. We do get donuts, fruit and orange juice, but that's not all. This is God's land, and His work. That's really all the pay we need. Missionaries young and old help too.  It is all team work.

Our District Leaders, Elder Gentle and Elder Diaz
(from Chile)

Below is Elder Joyner and Elder Loman who serve in the Orchard View Ward.

 

Elder and Sister Thompson posing under the shelter of the vines. 

Elder and Sister Cook before they started picking! 

Jamie Hansen, who is the manager of the farm, shared a few interesting things with us:”When we put in a drip system, we doubled our crop. We asked about what appeared to be bird houses. "Those are for the barn owls. They were built for an Eagle Scout project. As soon as they were up, the owls came and have families now. There were ground hogs and other critters eating the roots of the grape vines, (he even saw a vine literally be pulled into a ground hole), and the owls have curtailed that. We also have two other bird houses, for Kestrels, one at each end of the farm so they don't fight with each other for prey. And we have a house for bats- little brown bats. They eat their weight in bugs every night. They do hiss if you come near. I can pick them up if I am slow and gentle.”

They still have their tasting grapes - with, I believe, 17 flavors? (peach/cherry/watermelon, etc.)

                                           

Brown Barn Owl's Home:  Critters beware!!! 

The moment we drove onto the vineyard property today the feeling changed. We picked with members of the Orchard View Ward. They have four (close to a mile long) rows that they are responsible for. Full families with children from 5 or 6 years old up to us old senior citizens went to work joyfully serving the Lord. It truly was a sacred experience.

Things I Have Learned on My Mission

Be forewarned! This is a long rambling post.

As the end of this mission in the CFM draws near, I find myself reflecting so much on the experiences here, the things I have learned and a little bit about the things I wish I could do over or would have done differently. Some of the things listed were written by Elder Andy Aldrich, a missionary from New Hampshire who had only been a member 7 years when he and Sister Aldrich came to Fresno to serve. I thank him for sharing his thoughts and add mine to them.

God runs the show. When we figure this out our missions will be so much more meaningful and we become missionaries. The people we think will be golden usually aren’t and those who turn out to be golden often come to us from unexpected directions. Just trust God and go where He directs.

Follow the Spirit with exactness and take immediate action on promptings. Don’t let your own judgment (or lack of), rationalization, or weakness allow you to deviate from where you are being led. Know that God will place us in situations where we can make a difference. We may never know the true extent of what was accomplished in all of these situations but if we take action that difference will be made whether we know it or not.

Know that God opens windows of opportunity to everyone. These windows are literally the windows of heaven. When we take advantage of these opportunities we are blessed and we will continue to be blessed as we make a commitment to ongoing faith-based action. If we fail to act on these opportunities God will close those windows and open them up for someone else. As missionaries we need to recognize when these windows have been opened for those we serve, and those whom we serve o who have had the heavens opened to them need to take action as well. If they do not God will move on and we need to follow where he leads us.

Don’t take things personally when people don't follow your counsel or blow off job leads and suggestions.  Know that you are a representative of Jesus Christ and that you are doing His work, not yours. Know that there are forces at work that are far greater than you and know that you will never see the complete picture of what is going on. Lose yourself in the work and just go and do what you are being asked to do.

Never make assumptions about people. Don’t assume why a phone call or an email may not be returned or why someone seems to brush off everything you have been trying to encourage them to do. Never assume who may or may not be ready to ask God change their lives. Just put God first and seek to follow the Spirit in all that you do. 

When we serve someone who has been prepared to come to the ERC it doesn’t matter how much we know and how well we are able to teach it. God will work with our weaknesses and that prepared person will 'learn' the message for him or her in spite of us. When we teach someone who has not been prepared it doesn't matter much what we say or do, they can't learn and internalize it without the Spirit aiding them.

Know that you are a human being who has physical, mental, and spiritual limits. Take the time to rest and recharge when needed. A day or two off here and there or a day at Yosemite or the beach will not destroy your mission and will in fact leave you in far better shape to do greater works on the Lord’s errand.

Remember to take time for yourself.  Remember that to be the best missionary you can be you must take care of yourself and you must set aside time to do so!

You will work with people who become your favorites; you will work with people you do not like; you will meet people you are intimidated by; you will meet people who you really don’t want to come back to visit. Remember who you are as a representative of Jesus Christ and serve as you are directed regardless of how you feel. Know that those that are the hardest for you to love are those who most need your love!

Know that you are a unique person and a unique companionship. Know that you have unique spiritual gifts as an individual and as a companionship. Don’t try to do what others have done just because it worked for them. Do not be afraid to think out of the box and do things differently from what others may perceive as the correct way to do them. Use your unique gifts, talents, strengths, and weaknesses to customize your mission to the needs of those you are serving.

The Atonement and Plan of Salvation are something we need to be better at teaching. As a church and as missionaries we do not do a very good job teaching the Atonement. We assume that everyone knows what the Atonement is and those assumptions include ourselves. We also do not do a very good job teaching the Plan of Salvation. When we know that we are eternal beings made in the image of our Heavenly Father, and that as sons and daughters of God we have inherited His divine attributes and potential, that changes everything! If people truly understood these two concepts would they ever go inactive or stop progressing towards God?

Each day on our mission we should be better missionaries than the day before. At 6 months we were just getting started learning how to be missionaries; at one year we were elevated to a higher spiritual plain and were teaching concepts and workshops and following the Spirit with a power and conviction we could not even have imagined earlier in the mission. To truly become the missionaries we are capable of being we must give ourselves enough time to grow.

Know that there will be times on your mission where you suddenly feel lost; where you suddenly feel the Spirit is no longer guiding you. There will be weeks where you feel that you have not accomplished much. Know that these are points of transition in your mission; know that these are pivot points or crossroads. You have had success and you have become comfortable and you have grown as a missionary. To keep growing you must occasionally change something; you must occasionally move out of the comfort zone you find yourself in. At these times trust that the Spirit is still with you; review what you are doing and see that miracles are still happening, but know that something needs to change, and trust that you will eventually be led to know what that change may be. Just keep seeking God’s will and be patient and you will soon find yourself back on familiar pathways.

The power we feel when teaching workshops and working one on one with individuals is actually the pure love of Christ coming down and encircling us. As our mission and companionship progressed I started feeling that love flow out from us to those we were teaching. We also learned that we don’t need to know the people we are assisting to feel this pure love flow out to them. God takes care of that - He only asks us to hear his guidance for the individual.

The work we did with so many of our candidates could have and should have been done by home and visiting teachers. Home and visiting teaching should focus on those most in need and in getting to know these people the ward can better address their needs both spiritual and temporal. When home and visiting teaching works as intended it takes a huge load off the bishop and frees him from much of his burden. We saw far too many members of the church come into our office for assistance who had no idea who their Bishops were, or who their Priesthood and Relief Society leaders were. In the October 2012 general conference, Elder Christopherson shared this:" "An early Church welfare pamphlet stated: “A man out of work is of special moment to the Church because, deprived of his inheritance, he is on trial as Job was on trial—for his integrity. As days lengthen into weeks and months and even years of adversity, the hurt grows deeper. … The Church cannot hope to save a man on Sunday if during the week it is a complacent witness to the crucifixion of his soul." Employment and self-reliance is critical to the spiritual welfare of every member of the church for without it, a person cannot even begin to feel in control of anything in his life.

Senior missionaries can go to the temple as often as they desire and their daily schedule permits. What a blessing this has been for the past 18 months. Going to such a small temple is such a joy because we know all of the workers by name and they welcome us with open arms each week.

All missionaries, young or old, who will be driving in a new state, should get a copy or the DMV drivers handbook for their new state and familiarize themselves with the rules and laws whether they need to get a new license or not. Doing this would have saved us from almost running down numerous pedestrians in the early stages of our mission.

 We can feel the Spirit no matter what language is being spoken. Today we attended a Hmong ward, and although we couldn't understand half of the meetings, we felt the Spirit stronger than in most all English speaking wards. It was an amazing feeling to feel the testifying spirit of truth. I testify that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is truth. 

Birthday Get-Away

Our office was closed for July 24th, PIONEER DAY,  so we went to the Beach and Hearst Castle.                          

“La Cuesta Encantada” - the Enchanted Hill

We got to the coast in about 2 ½ hours, took a deep breath at the beauty of the ocean, passed our motel, and finally went on to Hearst CASTLE where we had bought tickets for two of the three tours. When we arrived at their visitors center we decided to add the third tour and just see it all. The pictures will say more than a page of words. Today there was NO fog (which usually rolls in) and the view from the top of the mountain (castle is on the top of the highest one there) is beyond expression... the sea on one direction, mountains and cattle ranches on three sides.

Hearst started the “ranch at San Simeon” (he called it that) , a year after his mother died, in 1919, hiring Julia Morgan from San Francisco as the architect. He was about 57 years old... Building stopped in 1947, when he became ill, but still expected to return to finish it. Hearst was 88 when he died.It is done in a Mediterranean Revival design, utilizing the many treasures his family had already collected around the world, and which he was avidly finding and buying throughout his life.

The site includes 3 cottages and the castle which has 115 rooms, 38 bedrooms (each with their own bathroom), family room and Hearst's personal library, movie theater, huge kitchen and staff living quarters, etc. - every one filled with European and some Egyptian treasures 100-3,000 years old. Each room was garnished with gold, on the ceilings- most everything. Most of the pictures/relics/statues/choir benches/chests etc., came from Catholic churches and thus they had a religious theme, and unfortunately were not signed. William Hearst proclaimed himself a Christian, but of no particular faith. … Outside there were an indoor and outdoor pool (3 originally), tennis courts, walkways all around the top of the mountain and riding trails. There was a covered arbor(flowers/vines/etc.) that extended for what may have been a few miles. There was also a zoo that at one time included polar bears, kangaroo, zebra, and various other animals. The latter two roamed the ranges and zebra can still be seen in small herds on the grounds, (We saw them ourselves.) Ice was brought out for the polar bears comfort. His caring for these animals in pleasant homes rather than cages, was copied by many zoos.

                                        

               To the top of the Mountain!                             

                      Butterfly on the foliage
        Entrance to the castle

      The "Cottages" for guests. These are a few pictures of the insides No kitchens as the guests were 'required' to eat in the castle dining room - to socialize.

                        

                                     

                                    

Below is the Hearst Castle... Note the ceilings in all the pictures. Most are taken directly out of ceilings from Europe. Two in the cottages were duplications of originals.

                                                                                                                                 

 

 

 

 

Movie Theater.. for 1st time showing of films. When it was chilly, the guests were given mink blankets to cover up with.

 

      
Kitchen waming table to keep food warm. This kitchen reminded me a lot of the Downton Abbey kitchen.


                                

 

Ceilings... Most were taken from ceilings of buildings in Europe- in fact- only two were duplicated to be like the original.

  

Indoor pool. Tennis court on top, outside. All tile, 8-10 feet deep. 24 carot gold paint on the wall decor and ceiling beams. Opulent but also Magnificent  !!!

                           Neptune's outdoor pool...  for little parties?

  
The main estate. Hearst owned the land as far as he could see in all directions of the castle.

What is a Pioneer?

Saturday, July 26th, 2014 Fresno North Stake Celebrated Pioneer Day

In the evening, nine wards gathered at the Stake Center for a celebration. There was a blow-up bounce house, a blow-up slide/entertainment center and water games for the children, and mingling and snow cones for everyone. The latter was appreciated in the 106 degree heat.

For dinner we had pulled-pork burgers, cole slaw, watermelon, and baked beans. Yummy.

After dinner there was a short program. People filled the cultural hall. Although all were invited to do so, only two wards presented skits, the Young Adult Ward and the Pioneer Park Ward, which is composed of Hmong people. Many of the older people still only speak Hmong, but the next generation speak both, and the youngest generation speaks some. Missionaries sent to one of the two Hmong Wards, learn the language to speak to them in their own language.

The young adults did a short and really cute little skit, with one young man singing a short song to win the girl. It was exceptional – and yes he did win the hand of the girl.

The Pioneer Ward presented 4 short scenes, showing the Hmong people coming to Fresno and joining the Church. The Stake President later spoke of how they are true pioneers as well as the Church pioneers we celebrate. They had to escape from Laos to come to the US. He had those, who had escaped, stand. There may have been about 20 +, including the Bishop and his wife in the Pioneer Park Ward. 

The Story of Laos Pioneers: as told by those who were in that flight.

1. In the Laotian Mountain villages the Hmong people lived a very simple family life, living together with children and grandparents, all of whom had daily responsibilities. They were up early, grandma having prepared the rice for lunch, and they all went to the fields to farm. Babies were carried on their backs.
2.  War came to their country and if they were sympathetic to the USA they were suddenly warned to flee, taking only what they could carry.
3.  They fled through the jungles to the Mekong River, which they had to cross at night. Soldiers lined the river and anyone  caught leaving was shot.
4. They finally made it from Laos to Thailand and then to America where they settled in Fresno. One day two 'white' Elders rang the doorbell. They listened and were converted. Their legacy remains. A Hmong youth choir of about 20 youth, attired in native dress,  sang “Come, Come Ye Saints” and as a closing song “I Am a Child of God”. They are a beautiful and a humble people.  They value education and do all they can to improve each generation's lives.

These are the head-dresses OUR Hmong wore in the  play (but traditional work clothes). 

Here's a little more about the HMONG, that might interest you:

-1977 Fresno had one Hmong family

-four in 1978 and five in 1979

-1980 there were 2,000 Hmong in Fresno

-1981 this increased to 7,000

-1982, 12,000 Hmong lived in Fresno

-1989 there were about 26,000 Hmong in Fresno

-1993 there were about 35,000 Hmong in Fresno... one of the 2 largest Hmong populations in USA. 
WE MAY ALL BE PIONEERS in one way or another when we begin a personal journey that is new to us and our families. Do you remember some of OUR pioneer stories? We have several people on just my side of the family who crossed the plains with the pioneers. There are also many on Dave's side as his fraternal line runs through Martin Harris Jr.

Christian Jensen
Edward Hyrum Parry Jones
Elizabeth Nuttall Bradshaw
Jens Poulsen
John Baugh
John Leishman
Joseph Barnes Woodward
Joseph Hague Woodward
Joseph Price Jones
Maren Poulsen
Martha Sutcliff
Robert Urquhart Leatham

HOW else could someone be a pioneer? Who do you know that is a pioneer? We have met many members here who are pioneers in that they are the first in their family to join the church. It takes courage and much faith to be a pioneer. In the Pioneer Day Fireside in Ogden this year, President Uchdorf expresses how we can show appreciation for our pioneer heritage:
       “The best way we can honor the pioneers—the best way for us to repay our debt of gratitude to them—goes beyond making and hearing speeches, marching in parades, or attending fireworks celebrations.
    “The best way we can show our gratitude is by incorporating into our own lives the faithfulness to God’s commandments, the compassion and love for our fellowmen, the industry, optimism, and joy the pioneers demonstrated so well in their own lives.”

This is what I hope for myself and our family, that we will be faithful, have compassion and joy in our lives of service to the Lord.

A little HOT humor for the day-    

 

It has been 106, or close, for most of the week.

It was 106 degrees yesterday too...HOT!!                                                  

Just Doing the Work of the Lord

Story Line One: Darren

Shortly after our staff prayer meeting, Darren came into the office. He had called yesterday and made an appointment with me, but when he came in I  had mysteriously disappeared to a room down the hall, so Sister Olson had him sit and chat. His story is that he worked at the correctional center for 18 years, and the last few years of that time he had some difficulties with his boss. He had tried to work them out by talking to him and that didn't work so he finally went to the man above him and complained. I do not remember all the details but it ended up that it went to court to be settled, his boss then trying to justify himself by making false accusations. He wasn't fired, but he still wasn't on staff and off the payroll – as difficult situation for a man with a family to provide for.  In time the courts showed that the accusations against him were not true, and recently the courts have given him permission to work.

He said that he went into a depression over the whole ordeal and was VERY bitter, blaming, irritated. (probably at everyone and everything).  A few weeks ago he started taking the missionary lesson, and the missionaries in the Fig Garden Ward recommended that he come to the Center to look for work and get help (YAH! Good job Elders!)  His wife and children were baptized within the last year. He is being baptized July 20 and he hopes to take his family to the temple.

Everything began to change. Sister Olson reviewed what we have to offer and discussed what he had and what he needed.

The first thing he agreed he needed to do was to get a profile to assess what is generally needed in job searches, etc.  Bonnie (our resume specialist who is a spiritual giant and excellent resource), happened to be in that morning and had no appointments until 11:00 am. She said to fill out the profile so she could more effectively work on the resume, and we made a tentative time frame to work on the profile until 10:00 or so, to give her time before her 11:00 appointment. We did the skills/experience/education and then in the interest of time, Sister Olson shooed him over to Bonnie. She worked with him until a little after 11:00, but her appointment (who has been in several times to get help) was gracious and waited.

When the resume was done, Darren came back, so happy. He had information, started his profile, and  had a beautiful resume!  He kept commenting on all we had accomplished, how fantastic it was to be in a place that was so positive, how he didn't feel that negative influence (starting from the missionaries for sure) and recognized where he had been and where he was now, how he wasn't the same man he had been for two years, but was ready to move forward. “I can't believe it. You've (the ERC) given me so much!” We continued on with a little more work on his profile, and Jeremy came out to give him a few thoughts.

Finally, after being with us for 5 ½ hours (his count), he called his father to pick him up. They intended to do some dad/son bonding over a big hamburger.  Again and again, he rehearsed how he couldn't wait to share with his family all he had done, all he had been given... “You spent 5 ½ hours with me! Look what we got done!!!”

He literally clutched his folder to his heart.

The next day Darren came in with a bounce and a smile. We were wondering if we had an appointment we didn't remember?  “Sister Olson! You told me to come in if anything interesting happened!”  He then proceeded to tell us how he and his father (who had driven him), had stopped at a relatives' on their way to get a hamburger. He shared with them all the things he had accomplished and how he had been treated for 'over 5 hours'- totally, unbelievably amazing!  They were thrilled he was making the change to be positive and not bitter over his last job, and he is moving forward.  His relative knew someone in security and gave him the information to visit/call. Then another gave him another name.

He decided to visit them immediately, so he went to the office of the first, with his brand-new resume in hand and  pretty much demanded to see this person (not normal procedure but he said it was the way they all respond). He was let in to see him; Darren told him who had referred him, and gave him the sparkling resume.  The man read over it, was visibly impressed.  Darren acted out his movements several times. He pretended he was reading it with interest; the person had commented on how good his experience was, and then held it to his chest, saying he was going to keep it. Darren likewise held a paper to his chest and held it there, for several minutes. They told Darren to go and apply on line, right away, and they would be watching for it to come back to them.

He was so excited with all that had happened that day, he had called to come back to the office and do the application – right then. He called; we had left the office early to get our hair cut and colored.

So here he was now, telling his tale and wanting to do the applications. For whatever reason, doing the applications seemed too technical for Sister Olson so she asked me if I would help him. Another man, Ben (whose story will be next in this blog) had just come in and sat down at my desk, being the first chair available. He had just started to explain his needs.  Sister Olson said she would help him, if I would help Darren with his “2” applications. Darren said several times that he couldn't believe what he had accomplished  yesterday and today. It said it almost scared him - it was all so fast.

We had a great time filling out the two lengthy applications – laughing at the ridiculousness of the questions. Darren is so appreciative of our help and responded to every suggestion and idea. He will succeed – because he is including the Lord in his plans now and seeking His help.

Story Line Two: Ben

This is about Benjamin; he came in to the office, tall, red hair and freckled, slow moving and slow of speech - some impediment? 

He sat down and his story began to unfold. He is married with two children, girl and boy (both very beautiful); his wife is Christine. He started work when he was about 14 at Burger King and worked his way up to manager by the time he was 18. He repeated several times that his grandfather had taught him how to work, and to always do a good job. He couldn't advance further at Burger King, so he took another job, again starting at the bottom as a stocker, and quickly worked up to management. They down-sized the management job and rather than move backwards to an assistant manager, he decided to take a different job, which he did. I forget how long he was there, but a few years ago he was at Target with his two children and he had a seizure – totally unexpected. He said his son started to run away in fear and his daughter who is older chased him down, brought him back to the father, and they remained there until help came. Yes, a scary time for the children - and him.

He had had an aneurism - a broken blood vessel in his brain. After many tests and an MRI they discovered he has another blood clot deep within his brain which is inoperable. He has anywhere from a few years to maybe fifteen years to live – or death could be tomorrow (true for all of us). He now has physical limitations and had to leave his last job. During his time with us, it was evident he did not feel well and was sweating profusely. I kept asking if he was able to continue or should he come back, “No, I need to do this.” He said that he wanted to set an example for his children, of effort and work. Sister Olson told Ben how he was such a hero. He smiled. 

They talked about what our Center had to offer, what his goals were, expectations of work, etc. He agreed to start a profile. They started that, and when they got to the 'skills', she showed him the workshop list of skills or adjectives that he already had and used in his jobs. Every skill on the list he confidently accepted as “oh, yes. I am that/did that - with the exception of 'global expertise'. It was absolutely evident by his manner he took complete ownership of these qualities that he was an exceptional manager, and person,  confident, etc. His favorite two were gratitude and faith.  Faith and family  being the most important to him. Since we have people come in who can't think of two good qualities about themselves, and with more physical ability, this is astounding and Sister O. told him so. In the conversation he said something that prompted her to ask WHY he had come into our Center. He had seen our AD in the telephone directory and felt strongly that he needed to come in. (Really? It does happen, but it felt like such a direct direction.) We truly believe that everyone who crosses the threshold of the ERC is there because God wants them to be there at that moment.

Even though he was still sweating and struggling, Sister O. suggested he meet with Steve long enough to get an idea on how we could help him. He agreed, but Steve was in the middle of something and asked if we could wait a few minutes. So she told Ben they could look over her folder of quotes and she would copy whichever ones he liked. I thumbed through them and handed him some. He read them and basically handed them all back to me. In the second She thumbed through them and handed him some. The batch he was reading had a small square of paper, with tiny, tiny, print. He handed that to Sister O. as well and she said, “That is interesting. I had not intended to give you that one.” His response, “This one is my favorite.” It was a list of 17 criteria for the TRUE CHURCH. He said "I am going to blow this one up and put it on my wall at home.” Be still my heart. Sister Olson said that she really hadn't seen that it was among those quotes, and his response? - priceless. (Do you suppose that angels were directing this interchange?)

Just as they were putting the quotes into a folder, Steve came out to get him. Steve apologized for taking a few minutes. She said they had spent the time looking at quotes and said, this is the one Ben liked best. She showed him, saying she had not intended to give it to him. His eye brows raised. Ben commented that is was rare to find a quote that was “honest”. The way he said it, we understood he meant it relating to truth. That was a great word to use! Ben felt the honest truth!

He visited with Steve and made an appointment to come in on Monday afternoon.

He thanked Sister Olson several times for everything she had done, and it was deeply sincere.

Sister Olson says she was grateful to be able to see a little into this fine man, who loved to work, who wanted to be an example to his family, who was grateful, who recognized good and truth (even though he doesn't know anything about the Church yet). We had specifically prayed that morning to be able to serve in a way to be more greatly filled with the Spirit of the Lord. He was one of the several things/people that were an answer to our morning prayer that day.
Please pray for Ben and his family, in your family prayers, that whatever the Lord has in mind for him, will be fulfilled.

Here are the 17 Points of the True Church by Floyd Weston

1. Christ organized the church.  (Ephesians 4:11-14).
2. The True Church must bear the name of Jesus Christ.  (Ephesians 5:23)
3. The True Church must have a foundation of Apostles and Prophets.  (Ephesians 2:19-20)
4. The True Church must have the same organization as Christ’s Church. (Ephesians 4:11-14)
5. The True Church must claim divine authority.  (Hebrews 5:4-10)
6. The True Church must have no paid ministry.  (Isaiah 45:13; 1 Peter 5:2)
7. The True Church must have baptism by immersion.  (Matthew 3:13-16)
8. The True Church must bestow the Gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands.  (Acts 8:14-17)
9. The True Church must practice divine healing.  (Mark 3:14-15)
10. The True Church must teach that God and Jesus Christ are separate and distinct individuals.  (John 17:11, 20:17)
11. The True Church must teach that God and Jesus Christ have bodies of flesh and bone.  (Luke 24:36-39, Acts 1:9-11)
12. The officers must be called of God.  (Hebrews 5:4, Exodus 28:1, Exodus 40: 14-16)
13. The True Church must claim revelation from God.  (Amos 3:7)
14. The True Church must be a missionary church.  (Matthew 28:19-20)
15. The True Church must be a restored church.  (Acts 3:19-20)
16. The True Church must practice baptism for the dead.  (1 Corintians 15:16, 29)
17. “By their fruits ye shall know them.” (Matthew 7:20)

I know we belong to the only true church on the earth day - the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I know God the Father, His Son, Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost are three separate beings. I know that we have a living prophet and apostles directing our church today. I am serving as a missionary because of my testimony of these things. I love my Savior.