MY TESTIMONY
THE LIGHT HAS INVADED THE DARKNESS

This thing I know that there is a God in heaven and that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is the framer of heaven and earth that He is eternal and He is indeed an unchangeable God. How do I know this? I have seen the Lord’s handiwork; I have heard His voice through prophecy; I have felt His spirit; I have seen the Lord Jesus Christ in vision; I have experienced His love; and I have felt His light and truth invade the darkness of my soul.
“And I, God, said, Let there be light, and there was light. And I, God, saw the light, and that light was good. And I, God, divided the light from the darkness. And I, God, called the light day, and the darkness I called night. And this I did by the word of my power; and it was done as I spake.” (Gen 1:6)

This thing I know: that God created man, male and female. He created them in His image and after His likeness. And He commanded us, that we should love and serve Him. We also know that a marvelous work and a wonder has come forth among the children of men and the Church of Jesus Christ has been restored to the earth by divine command as prophesied by John on the Isle of Patmos:

“I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come; and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.” (Rev 14:6-7)

In all these events, light has invaded the darkness. It invaded the darkness during creation when God said let there be light and there was light. Light invaded the darkness through the personal ministry of Jesus Christ and light invaded the darkness during the great Reformation. This light was desperately needed because the Catholic Church had amassed all ecclesiastical power as well as civil power. They had the power to arrest, to put to death and to deny people from getting married or burying their dead. Many great men like John Knox, John Calvin and Martin Luther suffered and many died in order to bring forth the great Reformation Movement.

Like the law of Moses the great Reformation was a preparatory work that led to a higher law and broke the stranglehold of the Catholic church. This was all necessary and part of the preparation needed to prepare for the angel that John saw flying through the midst of heaven, restoring the everlasting gospel to earth. But in fourteen short years the world rejected the Restored Gospel and killed the young prophet Joseph Smith and after his death that light grew dim once more. But through the Lord’s power and according to his will, that light was restored again in the period we call the Reorganization. (1852-60) And as the Church in the Book of Mormon days went in and out of apostasy so it did again in 1984, we found the light of the gospel going dim once again. The Church leadership did what Isaiah prophesied they would do. “The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the law, changed the ordinance and broke the everlasting covenant. (Isaiah 24:5) Many of the priesthood became concerned as to how that light which was lost might be recovered and we formed what was called a Prayer and Study group. Many others across the country were invited to join us and we fasted, prayed and studied for five long years, all the while asking the Lord what we could do to help bring order and unity back to his Church and through those years of prayer and study some outstanding experiences brought added light and truth.

These scriptures once again flooded our minds: Moses was admonished by God, “See that thou make all things according to the pattern.”(Heb. 8:5). “And again, I will give unto you a pattern in all things, that ye may not be deceived.” (D&C 52:4b) After fasting and praying over these matters the Lord said, I have given you a pattern in all things, look for the pattern. So we went back and began to study the pattern to see how the reorganization came into being. We discovered that the church in the 1850s was in the same shape we were, scattered and divided. After Joseph was killed the church was lost not knowing which way to turn. What happened in the past was now being duplicated again. In the 1850s the priesthood began to fast and pray and the Lord gave Jason Briggs a revelation and we said the Lord had not changed. If He will give the Saints of an earlier day a revelation, He will also reveal His mind and will to us. One of the first things we did was to take a close look at the revelation received by Jason Briggs, this is his testimony given in 1851:

 “While pondering in my heart the situation of the church, on the 18th day of November 1851, on the prairie, about three miles northwest of Beloit, Wisconsin the spirit of the Lord came upon me, and the visions of truth opened to my mind, and the Spirit of the Lord said unto me. “Verily, verily, saith the Lord, even Jesus Christ, unto his servant, Jason W. Briggs, concerning the church: behold, I have not cast off my people; neither have I changed in regard to Zion. Yea, verily, my people shall be redeemed, and my law shall be kept which I revealed unto my servant, Joseph Smith, Jr., for I am God and not man, and who is he that shall turn me from my purpose, or destroy whom I would preserve? Wolves have entered into the flock, and who shall deliver them? Where is he that giveth his life for the flock? Behold, I will judge those who call themselves shepherds, and have preyed upon the flock of my pastures.

And because you have asked me in faith concerning William Smith, this is the answer of the Lord thy God concerning him: I, the Lord, have permitted him to represent the rightful heir to the presidency of the high priesthood of my church by reason of the faith and prayers of his father, and his brothers, Joseph and Hyrum Smith, which came up before me in his behalf; and to respect the law of lineage, by which the holy priesthood is transmitted, in all generations, when organized into quorums. And the keys which were taught him by my servant Joseph were of me, that I might prove him therewith. And for this reason have I poured out my spirit through his ministrations, according to the integrity of those who received them.

But as Esau despised his birthright, so has William Smith despised my law and forfeited that which pertained to him as an apostle and high priest in my church. And his spokesman, Joseph Wood, shall fall with him, for they are rejected of me. They shall be degraded in their lives, and shall die without regard; for they have wholly forsaken my law, and given themselves to all manner of uncleanness, and prostituted my law and the keys of power entrusted to them, to the lusts of the flesh, and have run greedily in the way of adultery.

Therefore, let the elders whom I have ordained by the hand of my servant Joseph, or by the hand of those ordained by him, resist not this authority, nor faint in the discharge of duty, which is to preach my gospel as revealed in the record of the Jews, and the Book of Mormon, and the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, and cry repentance and remission of sins through obedience to the gospel, and I will sustain them, and give them my Spirit; and in mine own due time will I call upon the seed of Joseph Smith, and will bring one forth, and he shall be mighty and strong, and he shall preside over the high priesthood of my church; and then shall the quorums assemble, and the pure in heart shall gather, and Zion shall be reinhabited, as I said unto my servant Joseph Smith; after many days shall all these things be accomplished, saith the Spirit. ...And the Spirit said unto me, "Write, write, write; write the revelation and send it unto the saints at Palestine, and at Voree, and at Waukesha, and to all places where this doctrine is taught as my law; and whomsoever will humble themselves before me, and ask of me, shall receive of my Spirit a testimony that these words are of me. Even so. Amen.” (Church History, Vol. 3, page 200 & 201)

“Shortly after this communication was given, it was intimated by the Spirit that we must organize. It was now March. Our April [1852] conference was near at hand… Such was the manifestation of the power of God, that not a doubt was left on our minds concerning the source from which the commandment came. We all knew it was from God, but how to organize was the question… We were in trouble–deep trouble. To refuse to organize was disobedience; to go forward in the attempt was darkness. There was but one alternative, and that was to seek wisdom from above. We sought, and in answer were told to appoint a day and come together fasting and praying, and the Lord would show us how to organize. We therefore appointed the day, dismissed the meeting, and went home rejoicing…

“We came together on the day appointed...all came together in good faith, rejoicing that we had the opportunity of seeking for the information we needed: viz., how to organize the church. We then presented the following question: “First. Will the Lord please to tell us how to organize, that what we do may be acceptable unto him, and who among us will he acknowledge as the representative of the ‘legal heir’ to the Presidency of the Church?... Shortly after this a brother [High Priest Henry Deam] came to me and asked if I had received any answer to our question. I said ‘no.’ He said ‘I have.’ At my request he sat down and wrote it. It read as follows: “‘Verily, thus saith the Lord, as I said unto my servant Moses, “See thou do all things according to the pattern,” so say I unto you. Behold, the pattern is before you. It is my will that you respect authority in my church; therefore let the greatest among you preside at your conference. Let three men be appointed by the conference to select seven men from among you, who shall compose a majority of the Twelve Apostles; for it is my will that that quorum should not be filled up at present. Let the President of the Conference, assisted by two others, ordain them. (The senior of them shall preside.) Let them select twelve men from among you, and ordain them to compose my High Council. Behold, ye understand the order of the Bishopric, the Seventy, the Elders, the Priests, Teachers, and Deacons. These organize according to the pattern. Behold, I will be with you unto the end; even so. Amen.

 “On April 6,1853, Conference assembled at Zarahemla, Wisconsin, and continued in session three days, J. W. Briggs presiding, H. H. Deam clerk; during which the following important business was done, as well as some local and some routine business. Ethan Griffiths, William Cline, and Cyrus Newkirk were chosen a committee, according to former commandment, to select seven men for ordination to the office of apostle. They selected Zenos H. Gurley, Sen., Henry H. Deam, Jason W. Briggs; Daniel B. Rasey, John Cunningham, George White, and Reuben Newkirk, who were ordained according to the commandment. Samuel Blair was sustained as Recorder; Jason W. Briggs was appointed Church Historian.” (Church History, Vol. 3 Pages 215, 216, 217 & 218)

Once again light had come forth and pierced the darkness. The reorganizing and reordering of the Church had begun. Please note without the preparation, calling and ordaining of the Apostles in 1853, Joseph Smith III could not have been ordained in 1860. Joseph said, “if I could not have come in at the door, I would not have come.” And then a very interesting thing happened in the Prayer and Study Group. Our research led us to a 1952 General Conference sermon given by Israel A. Smith. In speaking to the Centennial Conference of the Reorganization, he said:

“That schism and departure from doctrine had brought spiritual cleavage and great loss cannot be denied. But in law civil and divine, and in good conscience and reason, only such portion of the body of Christ as remained faithful to the doctrines of the Church would have the right to realign its forces, bring them together, and reform the broken ranks. There could never be any support in law or common sense for the theory that they who had abandoned original tenets, changed the ordinances and machinery of government, and brought in heresy, could be held to be the trustees of the body or even held to be the Church. Nor could they in any way prevent or hinder the faithful from carrying on under the law and the traditions of the original Church.”

That was exactly what we needed to hear, new light and truth was coming forth again. Then we found in Church History these inspiring words by Joseph Smith III when he spoke on the foundations of reorganization:

“It is not a new dispensation, as contradistinguished from the church established in 1830. Nor is a new delegation of priesthood required; other than a commandment to those already empowered to move in given directions to the magnifying of that already given…. It is a reorganization of elements that remained after a disorganization of an organized body had taken place…. To whom belonged the duty of reorganizing these elements? Clearly to that portion of them that remained within the rule of faith and practice, given of God to govern the body…. Where was the Church during the lapse of time between the disorganization and the reorganization? It was with the remnant scattered abroad, who remained true to the principles first given as the gospel of Christ. If the priesthood was disorganized, did not paramount right remain with some one holding the highest authority, upon whom the duty rested, ‘to set the house of God in order’?

A command of God to do anything always conveys the right to do it, and guarantees to those commanded the powers necessary to carry into effect the command.” (Church History, Vol. 5, Page 346, 347)

All of these things opened our eyes, because here we had the Prophet Joseph Smith III telling us how to begin the process of setting the church back in order and we felt we were being directed more than we realized. The Lord confirmed this in:

(D&C 104:6) “An elder has a right to officiate in his stead when the high priest is not present. The high priest and elder are to administer in spiritual things, agreeably to the covenants and commandments of the church; and they have a right to officiate in all these offices of the church when there are no higher authorities present.”

(D&C 104:9a) “The power and authority of the higher, or Melchisedec, priesthood, is to hold the keys of all the spiritual blessings of the church; to have the privilege of receiving the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven; to have the heavens opened unto them;”

(D&C 122:10a) “Should the church fall into disorder, or any portion of it, it is the duty of the several quorums of the church, or any one of them to take measures to correct such disorder; through the advice and direction of the Presidency, the Twelve, the Seventy, or a council of high priests, in case of emergency;”

If ever there was an emergency it was now because we were lost fragmented and divided and the church was certainly in disorder. The Lord foresaw the day when all the quorums would be in apostasy. And the Lord said, in case of an emergency a council of high priests should be used to set things in order. Acting in faith to that council and in response to an invitation for all High Priests to assemble, in July of 1999 a body of 24 men met to consider the divinity of a document prepared and submitted to that body by the Prayer and Study Group. The document was known as the “Proclamation and Invitation to the Faithful.” The High Priests assembled received the document as the expression of the divine will and according to the instructions given in the document established a Council of High Priests to be charged with the responsibility to call for and make preparation for a Conference in April of 2000. That Conference convened in April of 2000 and over 400 people by their vote determined to organize as the “Remnant Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints” and sustained the temporary leadership of a Council of High Priests. High Priest Lee Killpack had been elected chairman of the Council of High Priests and six months later Brother Killpack received a revelation from the Lord stating that three patriarchs should be chosen to select seven apostles to begin the process of setting the church back in order. Remember that when Fred M. Smith died without leaving a revelation as to who would succeed him, the Conference turned to Patriarch Elbert A. Smith and asked him to go to the Lord in prayer and asked who should be the one to serve as Prophet. He came back in a few days and said Israel A. Smith should be ordained as Prophet of the Church. And so everything we did was done according to the pattern which had been previously given. This was in obedience to the Lord’s instructions, “See thou do all things according to the pattern. It is my will that you respect authority in my church, therefore let the greatest among you preside at your conference.” (Church History, volume 3, page 217)

Some are saying that we should not run ahead of the Lord. I assure you, we are not running ahead of the Lord, my testimony is that the Lord is out ahead of us and we are running to keep up. Some others are saying, we should wait on the Lord, but the Lord is waiting on us to do what he has called us to do.

“There is even now already in store a sufficient, yea, even abundance to redeem Zion, and establish her waste places, no more to be thrown down, were the churches, who call themselves after my name, willing to hearken to my voice.” (D&C 98:10c) Who is waiting on whom?

“The work of preparation and the perfection of my Saints go forward slowly, and Zionic conditions are no further away nor any closer than the spiritual condition of my people justifies;” (D&C 140:5c)]

The Lord has been and still is waiting on us to rise to a higher spiritual condition. The Restoration braches were never intended to be permanent; only temporary until the church could be reorganized again. Anyone who believes in Zion must have the faith and courage to take the next step and start again. The Lord does not mean for us to sit passively back and do nothing. Complacency is the sin of doing nothing when we could have done something. The priesthood are responsible for preparing the people and it is now time for us to work together and put into practice what we know to

“For, behold, it is not meet that I should command in all things, for he that is compelled in all things, the same is a slothful and not a wise servant; wherefore he receiveth no reward. Verily I say, Men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness; for the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves.” (D&C 58:6c)

“Behold, I say unto you, Were it not for the transgressions of my people, speaking concerning the church and not individuals, they might have been redeemed even now; but, behold, they have not learned to be obedient to the things which I require at their hands, but are full of all manner of evil, and do not impart of their substance, as becometh Saints, to the poor and afflicted among them, and are not united according to the union required by the law of the celestial kingdom; and Zion cannot be built up unless it is by the principles of the law of the celestial kingdom, otherwise I cannot receive her unto myself;”(D&C 102:2a-c)

There are forces in our society that seek to divide us but we as the body of Christ must be one or we are not his. God is pushing us toward Zion and the kingdom. The bridegroom will come but the bride must now make herself ready and only we ourselves can limit our spiritual growth. The more we seek the Christ the more we will be unified. This thing I know the set time has now come and I bear testimony to you that the setting of the Church of Jesus Christ back in order took place in April 2002 when the ordination of the Prophet took place. The reason that we are here today is clear, certain, and absolute. God has honored us with the privilege of being a part of this great latter-day work. The light has once again invaded the darkness and anyone who will abide in truth and work for unity is highly favored of the Lord. I am gratified to have witnessed the reordering and the renewing of the Remnant Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I have also seen the re-establishing of the quorums and the calling of a Bishop. I have been honored to see the seed of Joseph Smith, Jr. (Frederick N. Larsen) come forth to take his place as Prophet, Seer and Revelator of the Church. Some today are questioning the lineage of Brother Larsen, but I hold in my hand a pamphlet created by Audentia Anderson in the early 1900s showing the seed of Joseph Smith the martyr and updated again in 1952. This pamphlet put out by the Smith family shows Frederick N. Larsen to be of the seed of Joseph Smith. According to the Apostle Paul, the Messiah was to come through the lineage of David and any earthly lineage that Jesus had would have had to come through his mother. We know that priesthood cannot be handed down from the mother, but lineage can; and they are not the same.

“Concerning his son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh;” (Rom 1:3)

The seed of Joseph the martyr who by God’s plan and design has now come forth and has taken his place as Prophet, Seer and Revelator of the Remnant Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Once again light has invaded the darkness and I praise my God for the opportunity to be able to serve in such a day and age as this. At this unique point in history, let us join together and prepare ourselves for the exciting challenges that lie ahead. Let each of us stand side by side in advancing the cause of Christ and freeing Zion from her bondage. We invite each and everyone who are interested in this Great and Marvelous Work to come and join us. I say to you, oh house of Israel, there is destiny that shapes your end because Christ’s purposes will be fulfilled and he will complete his work of building Zion and the Kingdom.

“The hopes of my people and the goals of my church, while not yet fully realized, and at times and to many seemingly distant, are closer to realization than many recognize. It is yet day when all can work. The night will come when for many of my people opportunity to assist will have passed.” (D&C 142:5a)