Funeral Talk
I was honored to know J-B- in the few years I have live here in Augusta and attended the
Augusta Ward. Although I've lived in Augusta for, nearly 14 years;
considering James age of 96, I will be considering myself a
“Johnny-come-lately” for quite a while yet. It was immediately
evident just how important James and little brother B- were to the
Church here in Augusta. The Church of Jesus Christ here in Augusta
has been and continues to be a great blessing and support for me, my
wife, and 6 children, for which I owe J- and the B-'s a great
debt of gratitude. It's easy to take for granted, that I can move my
family away from Salt Lake City , UT (The capital of the Mormon
Faith) and come to the beautiful garden city of Augusta, GA and enjoy
the same spirit and community of faith that I did there. Much of
that is thanks to stalwart Church members like James Black and many
others in attendance today who built up the Church of Jesus Christ
here, long before the Brosnahan's even conceived of living here.
When I first came to
Augusta, my wife Ruth and I made an offer on our first house without
even seeing it in person first. We were blessed to have contacted an
amazing LDS couple here who told us that we absolutely had to move
into a house that just came on the market down the street from them.
This LDS couple checked the house out for us, sent us pictures,
oversaw the inspection, and even helped us unload the truck and move
in. The first time I physically laid eyes on my first home was after
the closing. But whether it's finding trusted babysitters,
house-sitters, or house-hunters; much of what I enjoy with regard to
a faith community, and values community here is thanks to those who
came before. If there had not been a faithful J- B-, there
may never have been a M- and A- M-. The Church of Jesus
Christ has and continues to be a great support and blessing to me and
my family, and I publicly want to thank James, and the Black family
for many lifetimes of faith, sacrifice, hard work, and devotion that
made that possible.
"When Jesus came
into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying,
Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say
that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or
one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of
the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art
thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto
thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee,
That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and
the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto
thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt
bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt
loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” (Matt 16:13-19)
Peter knew the true identity
of Jesus, as the Son of God. But how were Peter's eye's opened? How
did Peter know the truth while so many did not? Did he learn it from
an institution, or in the process of earning an theological or
divinity degree like as Pharisees or Sadducees? No, Peter like
Christ was not a 'man of letters', but received his witness and
testimony of the divinity of Jesus Christ only from God Himself by
the power of and through the operation of the Holy Ghost. As
Paul would later wright to the Corinthians, “no
man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.” (1 Cor
12:3)
While
on the Earth, Jesus Christ established His Church led globally by an
organized hierarchy of apostles, prophets, and seventies. Also,
Christ's Church was led locally by bishops (episcopate), elders
(presbyters), and deacons (diaconos). Apostle, or 'apostolos'
is a Greek work which means “one who is sent”. The apostles of
Christ traveled the globe and wrote letters intended to encourage and
keep the local congregations in the right way. Peter, James, John,
like the other 12, as the heads of Christ's Church, clarified
doctrine and and reproved sin and apostasy among the body of Christ.
Accordingly, the true Church of Jesus Christ was not Episcopalian, or
led by the bishops. It was not Presbyterian, or led by the elders.
The original Church of Jesus Christ was apostolic, led by Christ
Himself through His personally selected apostles and their divinely
conferred apostolic keys.
But
very early on, both the Jews and the Romans set out to destroy the
newly founded Church of Christ. Notwithstanding the betrayal of
Judas, and early martyrdom of James, the son of Zebedee; Christ
continued to call apostles such as Matthias, Paul, and even Barnabas,
to fill these vacancies, so that the keys of the apostleship would
remain; so that the Church of Jesus Christ would continue to be led
not only locally by bishops, and elders, but globally by His apostles
and prophets (the oracles of God). Their authority would be
conferred by prophecy and by the laying on of hands, and not by
conferred by academia, by letters or by degrees.
When
Christ revealed to Peter that the gates of hell should not prevail
against His Church, He did not mean that His followers or his kingdom
would not ever again temporarily be overcome. Paul warned the saints
in Thesselonica, “Let
no man deceive you by any means: for
that day (meaning
the Second Coming of Christ)
shall
not come,
except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be
revealed, the son of perdition;”
(2
Thes 2:3).
Sadly,
the Bible itself tells the tragic tale of man's history of
continually falling away from the truth of God. Genesis begins with
God establishing His truth and covenant with Adam and Eve. But it
wasn't long until man fell away into waywardness necessitating the
Great Flood. Then God reestablished His truth and covenant with
Noah, and things went on okay for awhile until man descended again
into corruption necessitating the confounding the languages at the
tower of Babel. Again, God restored His covenant with Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob. But it wasn't very long until the tribes of Israel
had been enslaved in Egypt. God then raised up Moses, who delivered
Israel from Egypt and restored them to their promised land in Canaan.
But, it wasn't very many years until Israel had been lured away
from the true God and was soon brought into captivity into Babylon.
Then, God sent His very own son to personally restore the truth and
covenant through Peter. However, not even sending God's own son
would turn man's heart (collectively) away from our wickedness.
Consequently, the entire Earth, in addition to so-called Christian
Europe, fell into the Dark Ages.
In
the parable of the wicked tenants, Christ related this exact parallel
story of man's repeated failure. And that God, the householder would
repeatedly send servants to his vineyard to take delivery of the
fruit but who instead would be run off and killed by the tenants.
Finally Christ, relates that God, the householder would “[send]
unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son. But when the
husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir;
come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance. And they
caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him. When the
lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those
husbandmen? They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked
men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall
render him the fruits in their seasons. Jesus saith unto them, Did ye
never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected,
the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing,
and it is marvellous in our eyes? Therefore
say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given
to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. And whosoever shall
fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall,
it will grind him to powder.” (Matt 21:37-43)
Jesus
Christ's reference to a stone which shall fall upon and grind the
wicked husbandman to powder is referencing Himself, as well as
referencing a very important prophecy of Daniel who foretells the
coming of Christ's Millennial kingdom. After being shown the rise
and fall of numerous earthly kingdoms, Daniel is shown a small rock
cut out of a mountain without hands that began to roll forth and grow
larger and larger until it itself became a great mountain and
pulverized all the other kingdoms to dust.
Daniel
reveals to King Nebuchadnezzar, “And
in the days of these kings (meaning in the Last Days represented by
the kingdom of clay, and not during Roman Times which was
represented iron) shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which
shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other
people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms,
and it shall stand for ever.” (Daniel 2:44-45)
Joseph
Smith was the prophet, like Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Peter,
who was personally visited, and called as the prophet of this last
dispensation, preceding the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. The
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is this latter-day
kingdom of which Jesus Christ , Daniel and the Apostle John in
Revelations is referring too. I honor and am honored by James Black
who was and is a fellow and faithful high priest in and ambassador of
this great latter-day kingdom. Like John the Baptist was called to
prepare the way before Christ's first coming, so the establishment of
this Latter-day kingdom would prepare the way before Christ's Second
Coming. This great and last latter-day kingdom, would start out
small, like a mustard seed, or a pearl of great price, but it would
be established by the revelations and authority of God and not by the
institutions and scholarship of man. And that kingdom, although
small, would grow in humility, righteousness and purity, until the
day of destiny when it's watchman would one day see “eye
to eye , when the Lord shall bring again Zion.” (Isaiah 52:8)
And
even thought Christ's people appear relatively small in number here
in mortality, Christ completely overcame death and our numbers there
on the other side, far outnumber our smaller numbers here. James
Black has moved on to join the great latter-day missionary effort in
the spirit world that continues the work that Jesus Christ started
when Peter says that, after His crucifixion and before His
resurrection, Jesus Christ, “went
and preached unto the spirits in prison;” (1 Peter 3:19-20) And
by those apostolic sealing keys given to Peter, James and John, and
restored to Joseph Smith, the work of God is being effectuated on
both sides of the veil, in life, and beyond the grave. May we be
blessed to continue in our commitment to the work, and the purposes
of Jesus Christ and the building of His kingdom, In the sacred name
of our Lord and Savior, even Jesus Christ, Amen.
