Memo #27
August 1, 2002
From - Richard Marden Pratt, Dad etc.
Re: The Kingdom
I remember an incident from our Islands mission wherein the pastor of a Protestant church visited us from another island. Short, very brown and rotund and dressed only in a lava lava, a bright piece of cloth about 3 feet wide and twice as long. They wrap it around their body just below the arm pits and it extends down to just above the knees.
He spoke no English. I sent for our translator. Thru the translator I inquired the purpose of his visit.
He replied, “I’ve come to pay my tithing.”
Rather startled at such an odd statement I replied bruskly, “Pay it in your own church.”
He took no offense and replied, “I can’t, my church doesn’t even teach tithing therefore it is not the true church.” and then he quoted some of the many teachings in the Old and New Testaments as to the divinity of the Law of Tithing. He finished by saying, “I hear your church is the only true church on the earth therefore I want it to have my tithing.
To which I replied, “it will be very dangerous for you, for where a man’s money is his heart is also.”
He answered, “oh, I intend to be baptized into your true church as soon as you send missionaries to my island and I will bring my congregation into the church with me. I will also donate my nine acres of land to the church for a building site for a chapel.”
He then extended six dollars to me and I gave him a receipt and that was a lot of money for those so very poor people.
He visited us again a few weeks later and tithed another few dollars. Then he died suddenly and tho he had not been baptized he left his nine acres to the church which now has a large branch on his island.
I had forgotten this story until a few days ago when Carolyn brought my attention to it in our letters, which she and Dawn are preparing for publication. Carolyn suggests that I should go to the temple for him and have his baptism performed and endowments. I shall do so. No other church on earth has or ever will have this great truth, “those who have lived and died and not had the saving ordinances performed for them may receive them vicariously by a mortal going to the temple and standing in the place of the dead to receive the saving ordinances for them.”
His name is Temanaki (The-man-a-ki) just one name as was the custom there. Part of our mission was to help them select a sir name for identification purposes. It was much fun.
We often heard such statements as this, “We or I know from the Bible that our church is not true. The Bible also tells that in the Last Days the true church would be restored to the earth to prepare every soul living and dead, for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. We know that your church is the true church. How do we become a member?”
One man asked this question in the late afternoon. We asked him what else he knew about the church. He replied, “nothing.”
Well explained, Mother and I, you have to know what you’re getting into before you can be baptized and we have a series of seven lessons to explain it to you.
His reply, “hurry up and teach me then for I have to catch the boat home to my island in the morning.”
He was taught all night, baptized in the morning and caught the boat home and became the first Branch President of the branch that soon came into being on his island.
Why then the need of the true Church of Jesus Christ upon the earth? It is the Kingdom of God on earth to prepare the living and the dead for the coming of the Kingdom of Heaven, wherein the King, “Jesus Christ”, will come to earth and claim all those who have become citizens of his Kingdom, by faith, repentance, baptism and reception of the Holy Ghost and compliance with all the laws of his Kingdom.
I love the words of Paul wherein he says, “The Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” (1st. Thessalonians 4:16 -18 I recommend the chapter it is only 18 verses long.)
But before that day comes, and it is coming soon, every ear both living and dead must hear the Word and accept or reject it.
The earth will go thru a great change as it is prepared for a more perfect existence. Including a universal burning that will cleanse the earth from all the vile and filth that her inhabitants have imposed upon her.
At the coming of the Lord all who have accepted him who are dead will receive their resurrection known as the first or Celestial resurrection to be followed by the resurrection of all who are worthy of a Terrestrial resurrection.
Those who have defied God and His Son, who have polluted themselves with the filth of the world will be burned with the earth and will have to wait for another 1000 years to be resurrected. During this time they will suffer for their own sins because they had refused to accept the sufferings of our Savior made for all who will believe on His name which means “obedience to the laws of the Kingdom.”
Finally, having paid the price for their disobedience they too will become clean and fit to abide in a Telestial glory. Thus Jesus will have finished his work and saved all the workmanship of his hands.
Come my family, let us be prepared for the ultimate and dwell eternally as families in God’s presence. I love you all and want you to be the best you can be!
Note: our efforts to prepare all is proceeding at a fantastic rate. For instance there were less than 10 temples in the whole world when Mother and I were sealed as husband and wife for time and all eternity. Now there are 131 and more being built.
In 1944 we finally had 1 million living members. Now we approach 12 million and a non LDS poll predicts a membership of 200 million within 70 years. (If the earth lasts that long.)
As you may have heard I had a bit more surgery Friday July 26th It all went well. Thank you for your prayers, I know they help. I feel great and am recovering well. I am enjoying a cool house thanks to the efforts of Roger, Dustin and Ammon. We have apricots on drying racks on the roof. I was glad to have Steve come and pick the last apricot tree with me. We are having a very hot summer but I keep my days full building in the shop, gardening and going to the temple. We had a great picnic at Sheryl’s and Gibb’s and the men of the family gave me a Priesthood blessing.
My Love ALWAYS,
Dad, Grandpa, etc Richard M Pratt
