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We have had no experience or precedent to know how one with such
musical talent should be compensated for his years of faithful labor, but
because
of IRS restrictions over us by the government, and the fact he is my brother, I
feel
he has never been properly rewarded for his efforts. However, if some of you
brethren do feel you would like him to know how much his beautiful music has
meant to your Christian life, and would care to just write him a few words of
appreciation, I know that would brighten the few remaining days he probably has
in this life.
Write to his local pastor, Richard Parker, 5540 34th St., Loop NE,
Tacoma,
WA 98422.
I am writing you after a week of crisis, with my life hanging in the
balance.
I had to call two of our ministers at 2:30 in the morning, to anoint me, and
also the
doctor who regularly checks up on my heart condition since my total heart
failure
in August of 1977. I was put on oxygen for the next few days. The doctor has
said
since that he was frankly scared that I would not survive this recent crisis,
but
God heard our prayers, and I have come through and once again am back at work
in my office.
This morning one of our regional directors from overseas and another
leading overseas minister dropped into my home to view the weekly telecast with
me.
During our conversation afterward a matter came up about one or two
former brethren whom they had had to disfellowship. I was naturally very much
interested in knowing the details. If there is anything we dislike to do it is
to have
to disfellowship anyone from God's Church. In each of these cases the one
disfellowshipped had disagreed with the government of the Church--they had
taken an offensive and hostile attitude toward the minister who was over them in
their local church. The question then came up between us: Just how would we
know if one has been really converted?
I said, let's go back once again to the beginning--the incident of the
forbidden fruit at the time of Adam and Eve. If Adam had taken of the Tree of
Life
he would have received, along with his own human spirit, the Holy Spirit of God.
To understand conversion we need to understand how man was created. He was
created out of matter just like the animals. He has a brain like animals with a
difference that God put a human spirit within the man that impowers the human
brain with mind power. It gives him power to acquire knowledge that a simple
animal brain cannot acquire. It gives him power to have attitudes of both good
and evil. Now remember the first man was created with that power. Had he taken
of the Tree of Life, the Spirit of God would have been added to his human
spirit,
and would have given him spiritual knowledge not available through his single
human spirit. Moreover, it would have given him spiritual knowledge that the