My Story (Read in Order)

Wednesday, April 19, 2017

The Dividing Factor of Truth

Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division: For from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three. The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother in law against her daughter in law, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.
(Luke 12:51–53)



Have you ever heard or read something which was factual, sound, and completely logical, yet it made you feel unsettled and queasy because it contradicted your closely held beliefs? As a result, did you react negatively to the presented information, or, out of fear of being wrong, did you choose to dismiss the subject completely?  Did you equate those uncomfortable feelings to a “dark spirit”, and instead of considering the matter from a rational and unbiased perspective, you retreated to your pseudo-knowledge (“testimony”) in an attempt to reinforce your orthodox beliefs?  To justify and rationalize dismissing the material, did you proceed to make hasty assumptions concerning the one presenting the information and label them as heretic, conspiracy theorist, lunatic, prideful, apostate, false-prophet, mislead, “gone-astray”, a “Korihor”, one of the “elect who are deceived”, or one who has “fallen-into-a-knowledge-trap”?

If this is how you react to things which contradict your beliefs, ask yourself this:  How would you have responded to Jesus Christ or any of God’s true messengers had you have lived during their time?  Most of what they taught rocked the belief systems of their audiences, who in turn rejected and killed the messengers.  Would you be any different?  

When declared, truth, God’s word, has a tendency and history of having this negative effect on people.  Not everything that God says can be received as reassuring or “positive”.  His word can cause us to quake in cognitive dissonance:  



Yea, thus saith the still small voice, which whispereth through and pierceth all things, and often times it maketh my bones to quake while it maketh manifest, saying…”
(Doctrine and Covenants 85:6; emphasis mine) 


Positive emotions are not the immediate results of the Holy Ghost testifying of truth, nor are negative emotions the result of an evil spirit trying deceive. 
-If you believe the previous statement is false because of the oft quoted verse in Galatians 5:22-23, go back and reread that entire chapter in its context. Fruit is obtained at the end of laboring and harvesting,  This chapter expounds upon the end results of following after the spirit vs. following after the flesh, it is not a description of an immediate emotional trigger.  

Our emotions are independent of truth.   We have emotional reactions to the truth of which the Holy Ghost testifies.   The Holy Ghost communicates knowledge (Moroni 10:5)  It teaches, enlightens, and edifies. (D&C 50:17-25, 76:10)  Edify: to instruct and improve the mind in knowledge generally, and particularly in moral and religious knowledge, in faith, and holiness (Webster’s Dictionary 1828).  To edify does not mean to make one feel good.  Depending on your perspective and standing before God, you can either:  

Rejoice in truth

“And charity… thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.”
(Moroni 7:45; emphasis mine)

Take it to be hard

“And it came to pass that I said unto them that I knew that I had spoken hard things against the wicked, according to the truth; and the righteous have I justified, and testified that they should be lifted up at the last day; wherefore, the guilty taketh the truth to be hard, for it cutteth them to the very center.”
(1 Nephi 16:2; emphasis mine)

Likewise, you can also have positive emotions in response to a lie, a false sense of peace, or as Nephi puts it, carnal security, through your ignorance, false assumptions, and in treating lightly what God has revealed.

“And others will he pacify, and lull them away into carnal security, that they will say: All is well in Zion; yea, Zion prospereth, all is well—and thus the devil cheateth their souls, and leadeth them away carefully down to hell”
(2nd Nephi 28:21; emphasis mine)


Facts don’t care about your feelings. Truth doesn’t conform to your beliefs; it is self-existent within itself. (D&C 93:30)  If your beliefs are not congruent with truth, it can be offensive and taken hard- it can cut deep. 


“For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
(Hebrews 4:12, see also D&C 33:1)

God likens his word to a two-edge sword because that is exactly what truth does.  Truth can unite, but more often than not, truth divides.  It pierces our paradigms and cuts asunder our beliefs.  The more truth you obtain or experience, the shaper that sword becomes, the more distinguishable things become. 




Before the 1600’s and the invention of the microscope, science did not yet comprehend cells.  As technological instruments improved, we were able to discover that even cells had various parts to them, and that cells were not the basic building blocks of matter, but that things were made up of atoms.  We soon discovered that atoms were made of electrons, protons, and neutrons.  As we have also pointed our instruments towards the heavens, we have discovered that our planet, our solar system, our galaxy, is just a small part of a much larger, interconnected system.  As we gain a greater perspective of this reality, whether it be on a microscopic or macroscopic level, we learn that the universe is much more expansive than the constraints of the “paradigm box” in which we had previously placed it.  As knowledge replaces ignorance, the various components which we once clumped together as being “truth” separate and become distinguishable.  

Both are pictures of sand. However, the bottom photo is a magnified image
Things become distinguishable according to the degree of light they are placed under   


God’s word is truth, and it does the exact same thing.  It takes what we have previously clumped together as being “truth” and divides it asunder. Just as a microscope or telescope enhances our view of things, The word of the Lord or the light of Christ (D&C 84:45) expands our understanding and gives clarity in our perspective, making things discernable to where we can have a perfect knowledge of the distinction between truth and error- just as clear as the daylight is from the dark night.


“…for ye know that the word hath swelled your souls, and ye also know that it hath sprouted up, that your understanding doth begin to be enlightened, and your mind doth begin to expand. O then, is not this real? I say unto you, Yea, because it is light; and whatsoever is light, is good, because it is discernible, therefore ye must know that it is good…”
(Alma 32:34–35; emphasis mine)

“For behold, my brethren, it is given unto you to judge, that ye may know good from evil; and the way to judge is as plain, that ye may know with a perfect knowledge, as the daylight is from the dark night…. And now, my brethren, seeing that ye know the light by which ye may judge, which light is the light of Christ, see that ye do not judge wrongfully; for with that same judgment which ye judge ye shall also be judged.
Wherefore, I beseech of you, brethren, that ye should search diligently in the light of Christ that ye may know good from evil; and if ye will lay hold upon every good thing, and condemn it not, ye certainly will be a child of Christ.”
(Moroni 7:15,18-19; emphasis mine)

The light of Christ takes a world we previously perceived in shades of gray and shows us how it is entirely black and white.  However, binary reasoning can be arrogantly dogmatic when not rooted in truth or viewed under the light of Christ. Passing binary judgments through a myopic lens of ignorance and self-righteousness is damning, so give heed to Moroni’s advice,  search diligently in the light of Christ that ye may know good from evil and therefore lay hold upon every good thing”.  

Dividing asunder what you previously thought to be one big clump of truth can be psychologically hard if you are not willing to let go of your pride or religious dogmas.  It was and still is for me: 
When I was serving an LDS mission in the Philippines the Lord revealed unto me His word as He expounded the scriptures unto me.  I was guilty and therefore took the truth to be hard. (Nephi 16:2)  It literally made me ill!  What He taught caused me to quake as it cut me to the very center.  I reacted to truth with a degree of cognitive dissonance because it went against my religiously ingrained paradigms; dividing the LDS Church from the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the precepts of men (the "infaliblity" of the Brethern) from the Book of Mormon, a vain religion from an intimate relationship with God.  The Light of Christ allowed me to perceive the clear distinction and I therefore had to make a difficult choice.  The choice I made required repentance and sacrifice.  Since that time and to this very day as God’s Word is unfolded unto me my paradigms are constantly being shattered as the Truth cuts asunder those big clumps of mixed truths and lies.  As I sift through the remains of my shattered beliefs that is when I able to separate dirt and sand from the rocks and diamonds, conjecture and tradition from God’s Word and Truth.  From the debris I am able to obtain the pure and strong elements needed to build my foundation upon the rock of Jesus Christ. This is an ongoing process which requires constant seeking, constant repentance, constant change, and therefore constant sacrifice.   




People don’t like truth because they don’t like being offered a choice that would make them accountable to repent and sacrifice.  Despite it being the right thing, change is scary because it is uncomfortable and unfamiliar.  This is the root of cognitive dissonance and the reason why people reject truth.  It's much easier to confine oneself in blissful ignorance and live as a telestial being – one who loves and makes a lie,(D&C 76:103)- than it is to sacrifice everything to God in the pursuit of truth and as a result have to face rejection and persecution from a world that thrives off of lies.  (See Lectures on Faith 5:4)


To harden your heart and not seek out the mysteries of God -to choose to remain ignorant concerning His word is what is meant to be under the captivity of the devil. 

"And therefore, he that will harden his heart, the same receiveth the lesser portion of the word; and he that will not harden his heart, to him is given the greater portion of the word, until it is given unto him to know the mysteries of God until he know them in full. And they that will harden their hearts, to them is given the lesser portion of the word until they know nothing concerning his mysteries; and then they are taken captive by the devil, and led by his will down to destruction. Now this is what is meant by the chains of hell."
(Alma 12:10–11; emphasis mine)

"O ye wicked and perverse generation, why hath Satan got such great hold upon your hearts? Why will ye yield yourselves unto him that he may have power over you, to blind your eyes, that ye will not understand the words which are spoken, according to their truth?" 
(Alma 10:25–26; emphasis mine)

Hardness of heart is the belief trap you place yourself in.  Beliefs are what blind you from perceiving truth.  
Do as the brother of Jared and rend that veil of unbelief.   (Ether 4:13-15)

Ignorance = damnation



Whenever truth (the Word of Lord) is declared from the mouth of God, lines are drawn in the sand.  Not only does a division of dissonance take place within us on a micro-scale, but separation forms between us on a macro-scale. Truth is being declared today! The times of the Gentiles is come and is being fulfilled, and although most of us do not perceive that a light has broken forth from among us Gentiles who sit in darkness, (D&C45:28-30) this breakthrough of light and truth is necessary for God’s strange act and strange work to proceed so that those who are truly seeking may discern between the righteous and the wicked. (D&C101:95) Despite the Father working a great and marvelous work among us Gentiles, we do not believe it, although a man has declared it unto us. (3rd Ne 21:9-11).   Before the burning of the field takes place, God in his fairness and in accordance with His patterns in scripture will send messengers into the world to declare the truth. This allows the people to determine their own fate, to manifest themselves as wheat or tares.    

"For the time cometh, saith the Lamb of God, that I will work a great and a marvelous work among the children of men; a work which shall be everlasting, either on the one hand or on the other—either to the convincing of them unto peace and life eternal, or unto the deliverance of them to the hardness of their hearts and the blindness of their minds unto their being brought down into captivity, and also into destruction, both temporally and spiritually, according to the captivity of the devil, of which I have spoken."
(1 Nephi 14:7; emphasis mine)


The truth justifies the righteous who embrace it…

…our father also saw that the justice of God did also divide the wicked from the righteous..”
(1 Nephi 15:30)
“And it came to pass that I said unto them that I knew that I had spoken hard things against the wicked, according to the truth; and the righteous have I justified, and testified that they should be lifted up at the last day…”
(1 Nephi 16:2; emphasis mine)

The truth condemns the wicked who will not hearken to it:

“…wherefore, the guilty taketh the truth to be hard, for it cutteth them to the very center. And now my brethren, if ye were righteous and were willing to hearken to the truth, and give heed unto it, that ye might walk uprightly before God, then ye would not murmur because of the truth, and say: Thou speakest hard things against us
(1 Nephi 16:2–3; emphasis mine)

“…that ye will not understand the words which are spoken, according to their truth? For behold, have I testified against your law? Ye do not understand; ye say that I have spoken against your law; but I have not, but I have spoken in favor of your law, to your condemnation.
(Alma 10:25–26; emphasis mine)

God’s word divides, hence Christ's opening statement to this post, Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather divisionFor from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three. The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother in law against her daughter in law, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.” (Luke 12:51-53) If you follow Jesus don't be surprised if your family ends up in a similar situation! 

The harvest is coming and there will be a separation and gathering, a sifting of the wheat from the tares. When the Sword of Truth falls upon you and cuts you asunder will you choose to remain in the dark, cowering from your dissonance to confine in ignorance- disregarding the entangled cognitive web of contradicting beliefs and partial truths?  Or will you have the courage to step into the light to face and embrace the truth? Will you break through the chains of hells to shed the scales of darkness from your eyes and sift through yourself- separating the wheat from the tares, dividing truth from falsehood?  



Thursday, April 6, 2017

Bound in Bundles

Response to a religious organization who views those who lecture, criticize, and counsel their church and its leaders as "tares".  Many members quote Neal A. Maxwell as their premise in dismissing any criticism advanced towards them. 

Elder Neal A. Maxwell's statement, I am amazed how history repeats itself:
"Church members will live in this wheat-and-tares situation until the Millennium. Some real tares even masquerade as wheat, including the few eager individuals who lecture the rest of us about Church doctrines in which they no longer believe. They criticize the use of Church resources to which they no longer contribute. They condescendingly seek to counsel the Brethren whom they no longer sustain. Confrontive, except of themselves, of course, they leave the Church, but they cannot leave the Church alone."  (Neal A Maxwell, April 1996 General Conference)

Jesus lectured the Jews concerning doctrine. (John 9:40-41, John 10,Mark 7:7-9, Matthew 16:6-12)
Samuel the Laminate criticized the use of church resources for supporting their prophets and their doctrine of following such guides. (Helaman 13:24-29)
Jeremiah "condescendingly" sought to counsel the people and the Priest. (Jeremiah 26:5-24)
Jesus “condescendingly” sought to counsel the Pharisees and scribes. (Matthew 23)
The author of the book of Mosiah was very critical of the use of that religious group's resources. (Mosiah 11)
Jesus criticized the Pharisees on how they used their resources (Matthew 23:2,4,14)
Isaiah criticized leaders on how they used their resources (Isiah 3:12-15)
Malachi criticized the Priest on how they used the resources they collected from tithes. (Malachi 3:8-10)
Mormon criticized the use of church resources. (Mormon 8:36-41)
Ezekiel criticized religious leaders on how they used their resources (Ezekiel 34)
Nephi is "condescendingly" counseling us. (2nd Nephi 26-28)
Mormon is "condescendingly" counseling us. (Mormon 8:32-41)
Jesus Christ is "condescendingly" counseling us. (3rd Nephi 16: 10-15, 3rd Nephi 21:21-29)

These men had to leave “the church” but could not leave “the church” alone!
These men were all preaching to a religious people who believed themselves to be chosen and elect.
These men were all social outcast who were rejected because of the pride and collective self-righteousness of the people.

Given the current model, policies, belief-system, culture, and pride of the LDS church, if any of these men lectured us about church doctrine, criticized the use of church resources, or sought to counsel the Brethren, they would be excommunicated.

Beware of pride, it may trick you into thinking you are the “wheat” when in reality you are very much one of the “tares”. Every group of people in scriptures who fancied themselves as a chosen and elect people, and who would bear “testimony” that they as a collective body of religious members were infallible and could not be lead astray, fell into apostasy- they were all eventually destroyed and scattered.
Remember the pattern in scripture: Just like in times of old when the Lord separated His humble followers from the wicked before the people were destroyed, likewise, will the wheat be gathered out. While the tares, bound in their “Bundles”, will be left to burn with the field. (Matthew 13:24-30,38-42, D&C 86)


Tuesday, April 4, 2017

Got Wisdom?

Recently, some have asked if they could have access to some of the letters that I shared a couple of years ago chronicling and encapsulating my family’s conversion to the Lord and subsequent departure from institutionalized religion.  This, along with a renewed desire to experience and testify of His grace, is why I am re-posting this and a few other letters.  Some of the writing has been edited to remove references to specific people, while still maintaining the integrity of the original message.  It is my hope and prayer that this may be of some help to others who may be struggling to put their own experiences and thoughts into words.  Please feel free to use and share as the Spirit guides...  
-Rex Pettingill
11 March, 2017



Other letters in this series:


18 November, 2015
Do you lack wisdom?  Do answers to your prayers seem to be elusive or hard to discern?  Do you need further light and knowledge and clarity?
This was my question and concern that started our discussion last light at our scripture study, and here, along with some additional insight that came as I was writing this, is what we received and shared with one another:
“It is given unto many to know the mysteries of God…according to the heed and diligence which they give unto him.”
“He that will harden his heart, the same receiveth a lesser portion of the word; and he that will not harden his heart, to him it is given the greater portion of the word, until it is given unto him to know the mysteries of God until he know them in full.”  Alma 12:9-11
Consider:  What does it mean to “harden ones heart”?  What does it mean to receive a “lesser or greater portion of the word”?  What is the “word”?  Does any of this have anything to do with humility? Desire? Repentance?  Receiving the Powers of Heaven, even Christ himself?
“…I know that he granteth unto men according to their desire, whether it be unto death or unto life; (he) allotteth unto men…according to their wills, whether they be unto salvation or unto destruction.” Alma 29:4
We are granted that which we desire.  And yet, we are not given all at once…
“For behold, thus saith the Lord God: I will give unto the children precept upon precept, here a little, and there a little; and blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear to my counsel, for they shall learn wisdom; for unto them that receiveth I will give more; and from them that shall say, We have enough, from them shall be taken away even that which they have.” 2 Nephi 28:30
Even the savior did not receive a fullness all at once, but rather he
“…continued grace to grace, until he received a fullness.” (D&C 93:13)
And so, what do we do when we have received a portion of his word, a degree of grace, and have done our best to hearken unto his precepts, and yet feel stuck? Are we not promised that we will be given more?  How do we go about getting more?  
The answer can be found in considering what did we did to receive the light that we received in the first place…
Humility is key, and the essential action that must follow it.  Alma taught that humility is a good thing, that we are to be humble “…that ye should learn wisdom.” (Alma 32:12)  Humility brings wisdom.  Then Alma gives us a very interesting definition of humility…
“Therefore, blessed are they who humble themselves without being compelled to be humble; or rather, in other words, blessed is he that believeth in the word of God, and is baptized without stubbornness of heart…” (Alma 32:12, 16)
Humility leads us to repentance and baptism, and wisdom follows!  How or why does wisdom follow baptism?
“For by the water ye keep the commandment; by the spirit ye are justified, and by the blood ye are sanctified; therefore it is given to abide in you; the record of heaven; the Comforter; the peaceable things of immortal glory; the truth of all things; that which quickeneth all things, which maketh alive all things; that which knoweth all things, and hath all power according to wisdom, mercy, truth, justice, and judgment” Moses 6:61
As we are to learn, according to our desires, precept upon precept, grace by grace, portion by portion, we must seek to receive the Holy Ghost in so doing, as he is the teacher.  And how do we receive the Holy Ghost?  
“…by following your Lord and your Savior down into the water, according to his word, behold, then shall ye receive the Holy Ghost; yea, then cometh the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost; and then can ye speak with the tongue of angels, and shout praises unto the Holy One of Israel.”  2 Nephi 31:13
In the truest sense of the word, repentance is turning from ignorance and facing God.  What greater sin is there than to lack knowledge of God, to not seek to know his word and will?  If this is true repentance, and if we are to indeed receive “according to our desires” and “precept upon precept, here a little, and there a little”, then it suddenly becomes very apparent just how necessary and ongoing the process of humility and repentance needs to be.  Remember, Alma offered a definition of humility, stating that it is synonymous with baptism.  If humility and repentance is by necessity a recurring event, so then is baptism and the receipt of the Holy Ghost.  
“And now, my brethren, I would that ye should humble yourselves before God, and bring forth fruit meet for repentance…”  Alma 13:13
To “meet” in this context means to fulfill or satisfy a need, requirement, or condition.  In order to fulfill a condition of repentance, what is the fruit that must be brought forth?
“And the first fruits of repentance is baptism; and baptism cometh by faith unto the fulfilling of the commandments; and the fulfilling the commandments bringeth remission of sins.” Moroni 8:25
Remember that great sin – ignorance and lack of knowledge of God and his will…
And so here is the pattern: 1) have desire and humility, 2) repent, 3) be baptized, 4) receive the Holy Ghost, 5) gain a portion/degree of wisdom and knowledge/ light and truth, 6) REPEAT.
In summary, baptism and receiving the Holy Ghost was never intended to be a one-time event; like the sacrament, the Lord has given us baptism as a tool through which we connect with the Powers or Heaven to receive, line upon line,  greater wisdom and knowledge and to demonstrate our continued humility, repentance, and dependence on the Lord.  
I have very little recollection of my first baptism almost 37 years ago in Bountiful, Utah.  But I can testify that after I was baptized in Idaho last October, my spirit began to be awakened in a way that I had never before experienced.  I received much needed comfort and strength to help see me through some very imminent trials that were to come as a result of my desire to covenant more fully and meaningfully with my Savior.  A sincere love for the scriptures was kindled and light and knowledge began to burst upon my mind as I read passages through a corrected lens.  I know that this was the Holy Ghost working within me, and that this is what is meant by both the promise and the commandment that we are to receive the Holy Ghost.  I desired and prayed for more, and along with my wife and children, I was baptized again in April of this year.  We have all received even greater strength and comfort, and the amount of knowledge and truth with which we have been blessed has been incredible.  And yet we now as a family find ourselves at a particularly difficult and significant crossroads, needing more than ever to know the Lord’s will for us, yet struggling to receive it.  And so it is with great humility and the desire to repent and receive a greater portion of His Spirit that we will once again this weekend enter the waters of baptism, looking forward to the promise of the Holy Ghost to teach, edify, enlighten, and testify.
I love the Doctrine of Christ!

-Rex Pettingill

Baptism, More or Less

Recently, some have asked if they could have access to some of the letters that I shared a couple of years ago chronicling and encapsulating my family’s conversion to the Lord and subsequent departure from institutionalized religion.  This, along with a renewed desire to experience and testify of His grace, is why I am re-posting this and a few other letters.  Some of the writing has been edited to remove references to specific people, while still maintaining the integrity of the original message.  It is my hope and prayer that this may be of some help to others who may be struggling to put their own experiences and thoughts into words.  Please feel free to use and share as the Spirit guides...  
-Rex Pettingill
11 March, 2017

Other lettes in this series:


17 November 2015


The Savior make it crystal clear what His doctrine is concerning baptism, and the requirements for such:
“Verily I say unto you, that whoso repenteth of his sins through your words, and desireth to be baptized in my name, on this wise shall ye baptize them…” (3 Nephi 11:23)
There are only two “requirements”: REPENT and DESIRE.
That’s it.  And it is such a vital, essential, absolutely necessary ordinance that it is the VERY FIRST THING he teaches the Nephite people after he appears to them in the land Bountiful; and it so important that it is done correctly that he added a stern warning concerning His doctrine pertaining to baptism:
“And whoso shall declare more or less than this, and establish it for my doctrine, the same cometh of evil, and is not built upon my rock; but he buildeth upon a sandy foundation, and the gates of hell stand open to receive such when the floods come and the winds beat upon them.” (3 Nephi 11: 40)
Baptism is the gateway ordinance.  It is how we show that we have accepted the invitation to the wedding feast (see Matthew 22 and ponder vs. 10 – all are invited in to the feast [through baptism/doctrine of Christ]).  Baptism is the tool that the Lord has given us by which we are to receive the Holy Ghost and be under its influence.  Furthermore, one cannot worthily partake of the sacrament (another gateway ordinance the Savior thought to be so important that it was the second ordinance He taught the Nephites in Bountiful) without having first repented and been baptized.  Partaking of the sacrament is essential in order for one to receive the Spirit of Christ.  Without the Holy Ghost (received through baptism) and the Spirit of Christ (received through the sacrament), salvation is not possible.  
It is absolutely antichrist to deny either of these ordinances to ANYONE who has expressed a willingness to follow Christ and a desire to witness their commitment to Him.  Regardless of the intent or the sincerity of the effort, attaching additional restrictions, stipulations, public-relations incentives, social change mandates, stat-boosting requirements, etc. to these incredibly salvific and essential ordinances is adding to or taking away from Christ’s doctrine, and surely cometh of evil.  
“Woe unto you, lawyers!  For ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered.” (Luke 11:52)
I love my Savior.  I love the Doctrine of Christ.  I desire to be under the influence of the Holy Ghost and the Spirit of Christ, and so I seek to partake of baptism and the sacrament as often as possible.  I invite any and all who have similar desires to join me and my family in fellowship as we partake freely of the waters of life and the emblems of the Savior’s atonement.
Your Brother in Christ,

Rex