The Ghosts of Dead Men’s Beliefs

You may be surprised to discover that I was not raised in a religious community. Not really. I was raised under a shadow of religion. Like our religion was a persistent and very bossy ghost. I was told what “I” believed, but never asked. I did not experience God personally. I heard some things about other people who had experienced God. But mostly I just experienced judgement and condemnation and also participated in these judging and condemning rituals.

I wish I had grown up in a community that practiced grace and kindness.

That would’ve been amazing.

But, if things had been all soft bunnies, rainbows, and unicorns, I wouldn’t have such an interesting story to tell….

Mormon Roots?

I first learned about the Mormon religion (a.k.a. The Church of Jesus Christ of Ladder Day Saints) in a United States History class in college. I had never heard about Mormons or the Book of Mormon or Joseph Smith before that time. When I heard about this man (Joseph Smith), my immediate reaction was that he was a lunatic or heretic (or both). It was just so incredibly unbelievable.

Over the years I have known several Mormon people. Some of them were very nice, well meaning people. Others were just ... not. I guess you could say that about the people who claim just about any religious affiliation, Followers included.

In 2012, a man from another Followers offshoot (The Church of the Firstborn), named Darren Russell shared a document with me called "ARTICLES OF FAITH OF THE CHURCH OF THE FIRST BORN KNOWN AS THE FOLLOWERS OF CHRIST - 1918". One anonymous commentor pointed out that the Articles of Faith were similar to the LDS Articles of Faith. Another commentor claimed that Walter White (who was the leader of the Oregon City Followers of Christ church until his death in 1969) had a maternal grandmother named Carrie, who was part of the LDS Church.

If the Followers had Mormon roots, they were quite hidden to us! We didn't read (or even know about) the Book of Mormon and the other texts the LDS church uses.

Recently, the Idaho Followers have made the news again and this time the reporter has claimed that the Followers are "fringe Mormons." Interesting. At first I dismissed this as poor reporting. But, maybe there is something to this.

If any Followers (current or former) know anything about this, would you please comment on this post and enlighten me? 

Garth Young: Are You Good Enough?

A guest blog, by Garth Young.

If you could communicate something to those you care about most before you die what would it be? Surely there must be something important you’ve learned that’s worthy of passing on to the next generation—something that’s meaningful and valuable. What would you say is most important? What would your story be about?

Having been brought up in the Oregon City Followers of Christ group, I was taught mainly with stories. These weren’t stories that would point to the gospel but mostly stories from within the group about healings, miracles, things Walter had said, things the elders had taught and how the FOC in Idaho was wrong, etc. The stories were mixed with biblical directives but always pointed to the group in Oregon City as being a special place, the place to be for a chance at salvation—if you were good enough. The following story is one of many that haven’t left my memory after all these years (probably because it seems to be at the core of FOC theology).

I must have been in my late teens when this older man lay sick on his deathbed. As far as I know this man had always been a church member, he was a father and husband, and the son of an elder. From my teenage perspective, he was the kind of man that should be able to speak of real hope and wisdom. As he lay there in a room with his brothers by his side he said this: “I’ve never been drunk, I’ve never committed adultery, I’ve never killed anyone, and I think I’ve got a real good chance of going to heaven.” The brothers all seemed to be in agreement that their brother was on good ground because of his own record. As the story was retold to me at home by one of the brothers of the sick man, he built upon the story with his own comment: “Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you could say the same things before you die?”

Somehow this story affected me. As I recall the impact of this and other stories there is a realization that I liked stories like this because they fed my misguided notion of being spiritually advantaged because there was something good in me and something extra-special about my church. Having a head start on everyone else in the world outside of my group, now I just needed to earn salvation, so I listened for the instructions of going to heaven. When I messed up in my pursuit of being righteous, I would simply start over, and I started over a lot. Even when I could control the words and actions, there were the thoughts to deal with everyday. With this heavy task of self-achieved righteousness ahead, questions often arose in my mind about real hope, purpose and happiness. I continually wrestled with that deathbed story.

What the dying man said sounds right if you read the scriptures merely as a compendium of instructions. But if you read the story in the scriptures and see the hero of the story, it’s shocking. There is no place or people group that can save me and I can’t be good enough to make myself right with God. But there is one story that can bring light out of darkness, it’s a story of the innocent dying for the guilty, the strong standing in place of the helpless, the righteous one suffering and dying for the unrighteous -- that is the good news. If it doesn’t shock you then you haven’t really heard it. If the story of Jesus doesn’t rattle your very core and change you, it will become an offense that forces you to stand upon your own record.

And on the last day, when it matters most, your own record will be contrasted against Jesus’ perfect one and then you’ll see there has ever only been One who was good enough to earn salvation. Will He be your Hero?

Push Your Way In

I was mopping the floor and had locked my dog in the bathroom so she wouldn’t lick the chemicals off the floor. She’s a three pound teacup Chihuahua and she will NOT be ignored. So I mopped the floor to the sounds of scratching and whining. That poor baby – ten minutes of neglect! But as I was working, I kept hearing the words “push your way in” in my memories.

* * * * *     

“Walter always said to ‘push your way in’.” My folks would tell me and my siblings when we were discouraged by being left out of the church cliques. Do you know how much it sucks to be told that you must select all of your friends and potential mates from just a few dozen people?

Most of my peers told me at some point (or several points) that they were told by their mothers to exclude me. I know of only one person (she was two years older than I) who acted on her own to turn people against me – and her case was driven by a misunderstanding.  Maybe she’ll read my book and finally understand what really happened. Maybe she carries no guilt over what she did and doesn’t care.

But it doesn’t matter to me at this point – I am actually glad for what she did, because it was the final kick in the butt pushing me outta there (although it took me three years from that incident to get the courage to leave).

I think of that group (the FOC) as a group of people who are stuck inside a big glass ball. The air holes are small and it’s hard to get out – but those tiny holes are conical to make it nearly impossible to get back in once you’re out. And that’s a good thing. There aren’t a lot of reasons for wanting to be there once you’ve gotten a little perspective. In fact, I can think of only one: being able to see and talk with your family members.

If you leave, you’ll be shunned. I’m so glad you’re staying because you WANT to be there or because you believe it’s the right thing to do. Push your way in? Into those gossipy little cliques whose parents were against you from the time you were born into the “wrong” family? No thanks. You can have your cliques.

I’ll take my freedom.

Terrified of Storms

But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

2 Peter 3:10

“The family doesn’t want this told.” The tagline came with most gossip. I won’t repeat the gossip here. But it’s a strange thing. First, why and how did it spread so far and wide if the family was determined to keep it quiet? Sometimes the things the family didn’t want told were things that should be told – to warn people to keep their children away. Sometimes they were private and shouldn’t be told. One thing is for certain, they would’ve been discussed from the pulpit when Walter was alive.

Walter called people out. I’ve spoken to folks who were rebuked by Walter for things that seem minor to me – and some not so minor. Your sins will be shouted from the mountain tops. And it seems like that could have some positive aspects. Maybe deter people from temptations (the fear of being publicly called out). Maybe it was a way to seek forgiveness and repent publicly and be cleansed here and now rather than wait for eternal consequences.

I believe in confession. It was so strongly ingrained in me that, as a child from my first conscious lie in the second grade, I believed that unconfessed sin would send me to hell. I was scared and conflicted. On the one hand, if I confessed I would have immediate consequences from my parents; on the other hand, if I didn’t confess and Jesus came back, I would have eternal consequences. I kept track of my lies: I had lied to a teacher at school about picking on some first graders; I lied to my brothers about peeing in the swimming pool. And I had some other sins that seemed huge to a seven-year-old: saying bad words (the ones I remember were “butt” and “fart”). What a serious dilemma it was to try to predict the end of time and the right time for a confession!

Storms terrified me. I lay in bed thinking thunder was the sound of the trumpet of the Lord. I would creep out of bed and peek down the stairs to where my parents sat watching television. Should I go down and confess now while I still had time? Those two lies and “bad” words cost me a lot of sleep in those days. I was nine before I finally broke down and confessed.

When I was nineteen, and still living at home, our area had an earthquake (the Spring Break Quake of 1993 whose epicenter was in Woodburn, Oregon). I had never experienced anything like it. I was awakened in my little white daybed with the entire room shaking. I thought my brother was shaking my bed to wake me up and I woke up yelling, “Stop! I’m awake!” but I opened my eyes and nobody was there. The floor (littered with clothing and books) was shaking, pictures were being knocked off the walls, and I knew it was the end.

I’ve been waiting and watching and expecting the end of time since I was old enough to comprehend the meaning of such a concept. When will it happen? Will Jesus find me waiting?

Bring Your Pet to Church Day

Many have commented that if that if the long-dead FOC prophet, Walter White, were to walk into a church service today, he wouldn’t recognize it as being his church. In the paralysis left by his death, the church did not stay the same. They have waited sure, but for what? Some wait for another preacher like Walter. Others wait for the end of time. Others are content to not worry about it – avoid personal responsibility. We're not in charge here. It’s better to be kept in the dark. Better not to know.

In fact, one of the things we were told growing up was that it was better to NOT read too much of the Bible. They wanted us to be kept innocent. If we didn’t know/comprehend what the Bible said, how accountable could we be?

I don’t respond to most comments on here, but I do read them. A theme I see running throughout is that every home is different. What everyone seems to agree on is that there is no consensus. How can I speak in such general terms about a large group of folks if I wasn’t raised in their homes?

In the 1960s, Walter White had a dream about the future of the Followers of Christ Church. I don’t have a written record of this dream – but if anyone else has it, I would love to publish it.

In the dream, everyone in the building sat caressing their own pet.  I imagine the dream to look something like a Pokémon trainers’ convention. Walter said that in the future, each person would have their own pet religion.

And people claim White’s prophesies never came true.

Church Money

Last July, I wrote a blog about the tithing that is done at most Christian churches, as opposed to the monthly church dues – of about $50 – paid by each head of household in the F.O.C. Since a tithe is ten percent and is, in all circumstances, far more than $50/month, I was surprised by some of the reactions by folks who thought that paying church dues is unbiblical. The catalyst for the Oregon City group charging monthly fees was when the church burned down and they were raising fees to build a new one.

I’ve also blogged about the rejected F.O.C. preacher, Ernest Nichols. I do not have a clear answer as to what really happened with him. Some say he was doing “bad” business. Others say that White wanted to keep the power to himself.

Another story that I’ve recently heard was that Ernest and Walter’s fight was over the church finances and what they should be spent on. Ernest wanted to create children’s services – Sunday school for kids. Ernest wanted to build an area for children.  Just imagine, having Sunday school classes! That would’ve been much more relevant than trying to follow the adult-centered sermons in church. The first time I attended a children’s Sunday school class was when I showed up to teach the class.

Have you ever wondered how the folks who lost their children were able to pay their lawyers? The church had plenty of money (I thought) to pay for this. I’ve heard rumors that there was a legal mandate stating that the church could not pay the lawyers. I don’t know if that’s true or just some garbled rumor.

So the church leaders sent a letter out to heads-of-household asking for $5,000 from each family for the legal defense. People either paid it or were adamantly opposed. The next letter asked for $3000.

Because the efforts to mandate donations created division among the group, a Follower woman then started a fundraising effort – garage sales, craft sales, bring your stuff and have a rummage sale (they used to be free). She also had a knick-knack store and donated part of her profits. Then she started a website to solicit donations and represented it as donations for families with children who have terminal illness; to support grieving parents. Now only the website and private donations and sales are used to pay the legal fees.

How a Preacher is "Called"

And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!

Romans 10:15

I recently had a conversation with another former FOC member, wherein the person claimed that Walter White was “pure evil.”

I never met Walter, but I immediately jumped to his defense. “No he wasn’t,” I said, “people were just so attached to him that they couldn’t let go.”

“Walter allowed himself to made into a god,” the person replied.

I don’t think it was Walter’s fault. But, then again, how would I know? I was born after his death. And I lived in a world of limbo.

If this happens (a preacher is called), then you can be saved. If it doesn’t happen, well…we don’t actually know what will become of you. But, if you don’t toe the line, you will go directly to Hell. So our options were stay and be uncertain of our eternal destiny or leave and be certainly damned. This is where the saying, “damned if I do; damned if I don’t,” really rings true.

It is because of this legacy of waiting in limbo for the miraculous calling of God to save our church that I have become so interested in how preachers are called.

* * * *

It was 2003 (or thereabouts) during church service at the Marsing, Idaho Followers of Christ when the most recent preacher was called.

It was a non-preaching service (the regular preacher was preaching at another FOC location) and members of the church were taking it in turn to stand and testify. Most of the testimonies consisted of the brethren standing and saying some version of, “I’m not worthy,” and “I need to become a better person” and, “I need to become a better servant to God.”

Just as someone sat down, Junior Porter rose out of his wheelchair and was shaking as he began speaking in prophesy. Nearly everyone was crying at the wonder of this. One of the messages Junior had was that Brother R—was called to do God’s work. R—had been having dreams/visions for several years that he would be called to preach. At the next service, Brother R—preached his first sermon. Shortly thereafter, Junior Porter died.

Truly the signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience, in signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds.

2 Corinthians 12:12

End of the World Predictions

Happy New Year everyone! Well, I have decided to take on a challenge for the month of January: to post a blog a day all month long. In the hopes that I don't bore you too much, I have lined up several guest bloggers to help make this crazy goal. When February finally gets here, I'll return to a twice weekly posting schedule.

* * * * *

But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.

Matthew 24:36

1794

Both the Shakers, the United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearance, were convinced the world was going to end in 1794. One of the founders of the Methodist religion, Charles Wesley also believed 1794 marked the end of time.

1814

A Methodist woman named Joanna Southcott, who was born in 1750, believed that she would give birth to the Messiah on October 19, 1814 – which would bring about the end of the world. Joanna died in December 1814. Maybe she misinterpreted signs of her own end?

1836

Charles Wesley’s brother, John, later claimed that “the great beast” would arrive on the earth in 1836, marking the end of the world.

1843 or 1844

William Miller, a Baptist minister, said the prophesies found in the Old Testament book of Daniel, pointed to an end date of March 21, 1843 and March 21, 1844. When the predictions did not prove true, the dates were, of course, changed. First to April 18^th, and later to October 22, 1844.

1919

Albert Porta, a meteorologist, believed that December 17, 1919 would be the end when a union of several planets would “cause a magnetic current that would pierce the sun, cause great explosions of flaming gas and eventually engulf the Earth.” Porta’s claim caused suicides and mob violence.

1914, 1915, 1918, 1920, 1925, 1941, 1975, or 1994

The Jehovah’s Witnesses have claimed the imminent end of the earth several times and then changed the date as each year came and went. The end time predictions of this group have included the following years: 1914, 1915, 1918, 1920, 1925, 1941, 1975, and 1994.

1969

In Oregon City, during the night of March 29, 1965, Brother Walter had a dream he believed to be a prophesy of the end of time. Nobody in the Oregon City Followers of Christ doubted him. One woman named her newborn daughter Angel, believing should would soon be in heaven. Christ told Walter in his dream that baptisms would end in three years. On May 5, 1968, Walter baptized for the last time. In December 1969, Walter died.

1997

In 1996 and 1997, the Hale-Bopp comet was visible from earth. When an astronomer claimed to have seen an object following the comet, the Heaven’s Gate cult decided to commit mass suicide in March, 1997 believing the object seen next to the comet was a spaceship that could only be boarded by leaving their bodies.

2000

Then, of course, time was predicted to end in Y2K by a great many folks. Thanks to the paranoia, I landed a great job as a technical writer for one of the millions of Y2K projects going on in Information Technology departments around the world in 1999. There were billboard predicting the end, and we were advised by the news reporters to stock up on emergency preparedness products, jugs of water, candles, canned foods, etc.

2012

Over the past several years, the media hyped the December 21, 2012 end-of-time prediction with movies and books portraying the end. And that date came and went without incident

2015

Some say we are already living in end times. Others believe the new prophesies stating that the world will end by 2015.

Maybe so.

But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

2 Peter 3:10

Fifty Years Ago

My folks joined the Followers of Christ when it was still possible to do so.  They were not raised in the group. Mom’s uncle (Elmo Welch) married a woman in the church. Her name was Irene and her younger brother married Walter White’s sister.  It was in this roundabout way that Walter White came into her life.

The day after Christmas, 1960, my great uncle Elmo, his wife Irene, and their two children, Charlie and Edna, were in a terrible automobile accident. Both Elmo and Edna were killed and Irene and Charlie were hospitalized.

Elmo’s side of the family – the Welches – arrived at the hospital along with Irene’s side of the family.  Irene’s family were there to have Irene and Charlie removed from the hospital, while the Welch family members were there to ensure that Charlie, at least, was left in the hospital. My mom had grown up knowing her aunt and uncle and being best friends were her cousin Edna. Mom was even living with the family at the time of this tragedy and they had never informed her that they were faith healers. My grandfather had warned them that if they spoke to his daughter about their religion, they wouldn’t be allowed to see her.

A nurse came out and asked the family members to donate blood for Irene and Charlie. Mom followed her family members to go along and do what she could, when she was stopped by Walter’s sister, who told her that they wouldn’t want her to give blood. That was the first she learned about their religion.

A few weeks after this tragedy, Mom dropped out of college (she had been studying to become a nurse!) and moved to Oregon City to help care for Irene and Charlie. Every evening members of the church were there, including Walter White. The men sat around talking about religion. My mother hadn’t grown up in a religious home and she found this fascinating. A month later, she asked Walter to baptize her.

About a year-and-a-half after she became a full-fledged member of the church, she met my dad. Their meeting is controversial, and I will leave the full disclosure of this to those who decide to read my book. But, needless to say, Dad was not a Follower. He was a sailor and was in Portland for the annual Rose Festival.

In October, just a few months after their first date, Dad was granted a leave of absence and returned to Oregon, where he collected my mom and they eloped. Shortly after their elopement, Mom brought her worldly husband to church. He was wearing his Navy uniform.

Dad’s first experience at church was negative because during this service, one of the elders stood on the pulpit and espoused the great idea of an adult man marrying a fifteen year old girl before the end of the calendar year so he could claim her as a dependent on his taxes.

Dad soon had to return to his station in Japan and Mom was left in Oregon filling out required forms and awaiting a passport so she could join her new husband.

Mom and Dad stayed in Japan for the first three years of their marriage, then Dad was sent to Chicago to push recruits. It was when they lived in Illinois that Walter flew out to visit them and talked my dad into leaving the Navy and moving to Oregon to join his flock. It was a decision my dad has never stopped regretting.

All of this happened fifty years ago. In fact tomorrow is my parents’ fiftieth wedding anniversary. I’m so proud of them for staying together through thick and thin and being good role models to their children and grandchildren. My parents are amazing and I don't want to think about what life would be like without them to support, encourage, and help me, my siblings, and all of our kids. The older I get, the more I need and want my parents to be around. I love you Mom and Dad - happy anniversary!

Why Not Try It?

How many folks in the FOC have never attended a church service that included a sermon? How many have never seen a live baptism (as opposed to seeing one in a movie)?

Legend has it that when Walter White was alive, he invited preachers from other denominations to come to the building on Molalla Avenue and deliver sermons. After the guest preacher was done, they would debate the points of the man’s sermon.

Older ones also say that Walter encouraged members of his flock to visit other churches. He said if they stuck around long enough they would discover the other churches’ faults. He told folks to come to him with questions that came up from visiting these other services.

Walter encouraged it, and any folks who take his advice are guaranteed to learn something from the experience. Why not try it? I'm not saying you should leave permanently - as I'm sure Walter was not - but why not see what church is like in other denominations?

Walter White (standing - right), his three brothers:
Orville (seated - left),
Clarence (standing - left), and Melvine (seated - right)
with their mother, Eva White

A Letter From Walter White

Boise, Idaho

July 19, 1939

Dear Brother Lawrence and Sister Vera,

I hope this shock doesn’t affect your heart. It’s seldom anyone gets to read my handwriting so I hope you are able. And this finds you feeling well and happy and enjoying those things God has provided you. Yet a little while and he that cometh will come and will not tarry. God showed me you and Vera! You was playing sweet music from a harp. Vera raised up, she looked tired and weary and said to me, “Oh, I’m tired!” I said to her, “There remaineth a rest for the people for the people of God.” Then we began to dance out in a green pasture and the spirit guided us as we danced. It just seemed wonderful. It was perfect. You was still playing music on the harp. I hope and pray the time will come when I can see you play that new harp in the kingdom of God. My prayer to God is you brethren never get weary in well doing, but with faith, hope, and charity enter the kingdom. I believe the more we suffer and sacrifice her for Christ, the bigger the reward. As brother George said when he was talking in meeting, he said, I believe in degree in hell and also degrees in heaven. So that gives me hope of one degree. I hope I miss the fire. I wish I was there with you, it would be easier for me to talk. But God knows what is best for us. All things worketh together for good to them that love the lord. Elven and Mary was out last night, had supper with us. They seem to be having trials too.

Lawrence, we must be the people John seen coming up through great tribulations having their garments washed and made white in the blood of the Lamb.

Don’t never get tired of your [unreadable] God has given you. Nor slowfull but always fervent in the spirit. Always patient toward all men. Gentle, an example to all the brethren. That you might save yourself and your house. Uncle George told us in meeting he seen Brother Charley Smith and Brother Marion Reece appear to him just like an angel. They were talking together about the church. I hope we will be worthy to be with them soon and see all the brethren rejoicing with our lord. The brethren are pretty well here now. We haven’t had much sickness this summer as yet. I hope the brethren down there are not getting slowful in coming to meeting and are able to receive the food God has for them by them he has chosen to feed them. “If you love me feed my sheep, feed my lambs.” Brother Lawrence I hope we are worthy and able and when the chief shepherd shall appear we shall receive a crown of life. I feel like many times I’m to [sic] home in the body and absent from the lord.

I have been working pretty steady since I came without much wages, but I'm living so I guess I should be contented. I don’t know when I will be able to be with you brethren again. I hope it won’t be too long. I sure have a desire to see you all. May God be with you and your family and kinsmen and all the brethren is my earnest prayer.

Pray for us.

Good bye,

Walter and Family

Is Rebaptism Biblical?

As much as I enjoy exploring religious topics and learning about the history of the Christian church and its myriad sects, I am far from being a biblical scholar or theologian. Please keep this in mind as I explore the important and controversial subject of baptism and rebaptism.

The Followers teach that only a very special man can perform biblical baptism. The man must be “called” by God to be a preacher. The calling comes about in ways that are clear to both the newly called preacher and to other godly men who have confirmation visions, dreams, or other signs. A man cannot just say, “I’ve been called” and be accepted, it must be confirmed by others.



When I was young, I knew some older people in the church who had been baptized in other churches and then joined the Followers where they were told they needed a true baptism by a man called by God – Walter. Two of the folks who were baptized by Walter after having been baptized earlier in their lives were my uncle and my grandmother (on my dad’s side of the family). Both of them left the church after Walter died and before my birth. I'm told (and the baptism records confirm) that in the last few months of Walter’s baptism ministry, many outsiders came to be baptized, and very few of them stayed around long after his death.

So I have been wondering about this: is rebaptism biblical? Is it necessary? In my search, the first bible verse I found led me to believe that rebaptism is not biblical:

There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

Ephesians 4:5-6 (KJV)

But that didn’t address the claim that only certain baptisms count – the critical belief among the Followers that the person doing the baptism holds the key to salvation. Last December, Jerry Patton wrote a guest blog exploring the requirements for a person who performs baptisms. Who Can Baptize? 

I wasn’t satisfied with the very brief hint of “one baptism” in the Ephesians verse, so I read up a bit more and found other relevant verses. This verse, from the book of Acts, refers to some men who had been baptized by John the Baptist, and then were rebaptized by the apostle Paul, in the name of Jesus.

And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples, he said unto them, have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, we have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost.  And he said unto them, unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, unto John's baptism. Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.

Acts 19: 1-6

This verse brings up another question: most churches (including, I’m told, The Church of the Firstborn) baptize “in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost” but here we are told to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.

Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

Acts 4:12

I grew up believing, as I was told, that baptism is what saves a person’s soul. But as an adult, the vast majority of Christians I met outside the FOC believed that making a commitment to follow Christ, along with a prayer (the sinner’s prayer) asking for forgiveness and inviting Jesus into one's heart was what saves. As a Follower, I understood Jesus’s statement to Nicodemus in John 3:5: “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit” to mean that you must be baptized with water to be saved. While the understanding of most Christians is that being “born of water” happens to us at birth, and being born of the Spirit happens when we accept the free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ. And this makes sense; I accepted the new explanation with relief. But I have been digging deeper into scripture and I wonder about other verses such as this:

He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

Mark 16:16 (KJV)

I’m not sure what to make of it. In the first part of the sentence it is belief and baptism that saves; but the second half states that unbelief results in damnation. Is it possible that those who believe, but are not baptized will end up in neither heaven nor hell? And here is another verse that leads me to the conclusion that baptism is a requirement of salvation:

Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Acts 2:28 (KJV)

I had never realized that the New Testament refers to the baptism of Noah’s family. Here it is along with a clear indication that baptism leads to salvation:

to those who were disobedient long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ,

1 Peter 3:20-21 (NIV)

In doing the research for this blog entry, I spoke to a number of fundamentalists. Two of them said that rebaptism is a sin and is recrucifying Christ. I tried to find a biblical reference for this – but found that this idea may have originated with Martin Luther (the protestant reformer who brought to light the sins and heresies of the Catholic Church). The term Anabaptist means to re-baptize, and centuries ago, Anabaptists were executed for their beliefs.



I have a lot of questions. I find that the more I learn the less confidence I have in what I “know.”  A good sign of spiritual (and intellectual) growth, I think. What do you think? Is rebaptism a sin? Who has the authority to baptize people? And, if people back in Walter White’s days were rebaptized by him, then why is it such an unforgivable sin when one of the Followers gets baptized in another church? Is it better to remain unbaptized, considering all the evidence of our need for baptism? And if God does send you another leader, can’t those people just be rebaptized?

 

Old Haunts

Do you believe in ghosts? I have personally experienced and seen beings that were not flesh and blood human – though I’m not sure if they were ghosts, spirits, angels, or something else. I was not afraid of them, and I’m not afraid of going into places that are known (said?) to be haunted.

A few weeks ago, while on a writing retreat on Star Island off the coast of New Hampshire, I attended a gathering of more than fifty writers in a small graveyard at just after 9pm for ghost stories. While we listened a few of the gathered stood and told of their own otherworldly encounters.

A fellow writer was feeling sick, but she left her Android loaded with a Ghost Radar app for us to run. I volunteered to hold the Android – curious what technology could possibly pick up of another dimension. What it picked up were several random words and three names: Mary, Edward, and Elizabeth. The next morning, I headed back to the graveyard to look for the names – there were less than thirty graves total, and guess what? There were gravestones bearing the names of Mary, Edward, and Elizabeth.

* * * * *

This past Thursday morning, I dressed in grey corduroy pants and a lightweight grey cotton t-shirt, socks – despite the July heat wave, and tennis shoes. Not my typical summer teaching apparel – which, lately has been maxi-skirts and dresses. It was the first time my students would see me dressed casually and I wondered how they’d react. I couldn’t wear a floor length skirt and high heels for the what I had planned immediately following my morning lecture. I needed to be able to move comfortably. But, considering the heat of the day, a skirt would’ve been nicer.

I left the campus with the last of my students and hurried out to my overheated car. Sweat pouffed my blow out and streaked my make-up. Oh, cursed summer, why do I even bother? My gut ached and my mind played out scenarios of being arrested for trespassing on private property. Would they impound my car too?

I hope nobody’s there. It’s Thursday, so hopefully they’re getting ready for church [at 1:15?]. Maybe there’s a funeral today.

As I got closer, I realized I wasn’t sure where the turnoff was. It had been at least 17 or 18 years since I’d been out there - maybe longer. I knew the main road and what side of the road and how to tell if I’d gone too far. I remembered the dip in the highway where cars exceed the posted 55/mph and where a church member had a fatal car crash on the way to my great-aunt’s funeral in 1992. I reached the road where my childhood home had been, too far. I turned around and found the right side road on the first try.

Despite the full power air conditioning that had been cooling me down, I felt sweat sliding down my sides. My heart beat sped up as I approached the site – and I was ready to turn around and leave when I saw the groundskeeper spraying around the gravestones. I parked in front of the “No Trespassing” sign.

I got out of the car and walked through the open gate. I didn’t recognize the groundskeeper, but he looked like he could be a Follower – short hair, clean cut. It wasn’t the same person who kept the grounds all my life – he was now buried in this cemetery.

I walked among the gravestones and saw many familiar names. My ex-boyfriend was there, and his baby son. His best friend was also there. Many girls and young women who were younger than me. Girls I’d known growing up, and guys. And then there were the babies and toddlers. I counted thirty nine little ones buried all together – those were the ones who had headstones, many had just plastic markers which were overgrown. There were at least another twenty buried among the adult graves – not counting those dating back before the 1930s when the church began using the cemetery. There are a number of gravestones from non-Followers from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. 

It made me sad to see graves of babies from the year I was born – 1973 (it made me sad seeing all the babies' and childrens' graves). These might have been my friends had they survived. And something else struck me about that year – an irony, maybe some savvy readers will comment on it.

I spent about two hours walking among those graves. The cemetery is a sacred place in the Follower tradition. Here lies Walter White, our leader. When Christ returns, when the trumpet blows, the faithful Followers buried here will rise. I always believed that Jesus was coming back to Oregon City – either to the church building or to this cemetery to claim his faithful and judge those of us who didn’t cut it.

A few years ago my parents began talking about being cremated when they died. I was shocked to say the least. Why would you want to have your flesh incinerated when you had spent your entire lifetime in fear of an eternity of incineration? Never. Also, how could you be raised from the dead at the rapture if your body was ashes – and some people actually scatter the ashes of their loved ones. What happens then?

Of course, intellectually, I realize that a person’s burial site and the condition of their remains does not affect their final destination. But I still dislike the idea of cremation.

C.C. Smith: Divorce

The issue of divorce is tricky in the Christian belief system. There are certain rules in which a person may be released from marriage - if their spouse cheats, if the marriage was never consummated, or if a spouse denounces God (or in this case, the specific Oregon City FOC church) and leaves of their own accord. The problem with this is that the OC Group only allows men to be released from a cheating spouse. Also, the only people who know what really goes on behind closed doors are the husband, wife, and God. Another problem in this system is that, in order to be free, the spouses must prove themselves   innocent by trashing their spouse - who is, in most cases, the mother or father of their children. Who suffers most from this? The children. Does God hate divorce? The bible tells us that He does. God hates all sin. And we have all sinned.

For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.

James 2:10

Please read these two letters from the preacher C.C. Smith on the subject of divorce.

* * * * *

Gerber, California

March 11, 1933

Greetings:

I read Brother George’s letter and was surprised that he would teach as he did. I think he needs a little teaching himself. Let us turn to the Sermon on the Mount: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: and he opened his mouth and taught them saying. This is very plain that where man and wife are both in the faith there is but two reasons for them to marry again, namely fornication or death of one or the other.

Now let us see what Paul was talking about 1^st Cor. 7-15, he was talking to one that was in the faith which had an unbelieving companion in other words unequally yoked together. Now Paul says if the unbelieving depart let them depart: a brother or sister is not under bondage in such cases. And he didn’t say if the other has committed fornication.

First Cor. 5-5. This speaks of the spirit that was in the man when he was born into the world. The flesh would return to the earth as it was and the spirit return to God that gave it. If there is any in that body who wants to turn someone over to Satan., tell them to be sure there is not a beam in their own eye.

I believe it would do those good who are always contentious if they would read all of the sermon on the mount. Matt 5-6, in the prayer he taught his disciples to pray: and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.

I was glad to hear that Brother Walter had been preaching. I trust God will reward him. And now I charge you that this epistle be read among all the holy brethren.

May God bless you and yours, my earnest prayer.

Pray for us.

C.C. Smith

* * * * *

The following letter was undated, but also addressed questions about the circumstances in which divorce is permitted in the church. Smith also exhorts the church not to remove members from their body, a practice the Oregon City group has taken up in recent years, by means of shunning and pressuring others to shun.

Dear Brother and Sister in Christ Jesus,

I just received your letter asking for information concerning certain scriptures. You did not mention any names. I have guessed that you refer to old sister Rogers as we used to call her.

Now Mr. Rogers left her. Answer: if the unbelieving depart, let them depart, a brother or sister is not under bondage in such cases. If she was not under bondage she was free to marry.

Then she married an old soldier who seemed to me to be faithful. This brother died, she was no longer his wife but his widow. If her husband be dead she is at liberty to marry who she will only in the Lord. First Cor. 7-39.

The last man did not marry his father’s wife but his father’s widow, and one that was free because of his death.

As far as putting one out of the church is a Pharisee error. If our names are on the Lamb’s Book of Life, no man can take it off. Each one can take his own name off by evil conduct or disobedience. Remember the wheat and the tares must grow together until the harvest and God’s angels will separate them.

I charge that this epistle be read to all the Holy Brethren.

May the richest blessings from on high reside and abide with you all. Amen.

Pray for us,

C.C. Smith

The Prophesies of Walter White

December 7, 1947

“Ye are the sons and daughters of the most high God. Be faithful! Be faithful!”

June 21, 1951

“Yea, yea, yea. These words are truth. Take heed! Take heed! Beware! I come in the clouds with power and glory.”

April 17, 1952

“Oh, my brethren, my brethren. Hear these words. They will judge you in the last day, when I come!”

June 6, 1953

“Ye are the sons and daughters of the most High God. Be faithful, be faithful and you will live again.”

March 7, 1954

“Yea, yea, yea my brethren, my brethren. Pay heed unto these words.”

February 6, 1955

“My children, my children! Be faithful be faithful until I come and you will live forever and ever!”

July 25, 1955

“My children, my children! Be faithful, be faithful in my word until I come again and you will live forever and ever!”

November 27, 1955

“Ye are the children of the most High God. Be faithful ‘till I come and you will live forever and ever.”

August 5, 1956

“Yea, my children, my children! Be faithful, be faithful and you will live forever and ever!”

October 7, 1956

“Yea, my brethren! Be faithful to the word of God (or to these words) and you will live forever and ever!”

November 4, 1956

“My children my children! Awake to righteousness!”

February 14, 1957

“Yea, my brethren, be faithful to the word and you shall live forever and ever!”

June 16, 1957

“Yea, my people, my people. Be faithful till I come and you will live forever and ever!”

September 5, 1957

“Yea, my brethren. Be faithful, be faithful and you will live forever and ever!”

June 26, 1958

“I am Jesus of Nazareth. Behold I come! Be careful to maintain good works!”

March 19, 1959

“Behold, I come quickly and my reward is with me to give every man according as his work shall be!”

May 10, 1959

“Yeah, my brethren. Be faithful, be faithful! In my father’s house are many mansions!”

January 10, 1960

“I am Jesus, the light of the world. Be faithful to my word and you will wear a crown of everlasting life!”

November 13, 1960

“I am Jesus. I am Jesus! Be faithful to my word and you will live forever.”

March 19, 1961

“Yea. I am Jesus and I walk in the midst of the churches. Be faithful to my word and you will live forever.”

April 2, 1961

“Yea. I am Jesus of Nazareth. Be faithful to my word and you will live forever and ever!”

July 16, 1961

“My children, my children. Be faithful to my word and you will live forever and ever!”

February 8, 1962

“Yea, my brethren. Be faithful, be faithful until I come and you will live forever and ever!”

June 9, 1963

“Behold, I come quickly! Be faithful, be faithful and live forever and ever.”

April 11, 1965

“Behold, I come quickly! Be faithful, be faithful until I come.”

March 26, 1967

“Behold! Behold! Behold! I come in the clouds and every eye shall behold me and they that pierced me shall wail because of me!”

July 21, 1968

“Behold, I come in the clouds! Be faithful, be faithful until I come!”