The Presence of the Lord in Aberdeen

His manifest presence in Aberdeen

            Pastoring a Christian church in an LDS community can be a challenge. Balancing your love for each and every soul while confronting the extensive differences in doctrine is certainly a tight rope act that must be sustained by the leading and wisdom of the Holy Spirit. Pastoring in a small farming community in southeastern Idaho almost assures you that this is something that you will have to deal with.  My experience pastoring in that culture was no exception to that rule.

            The Lord called us to Aberdeen in southeastern Idaho to open a church that had been closed for several years. The predominant LDS population of the community had made pastoring this Christian church a difficult endeavor for the previous pastors.  Even after a year there, our congregation continued to be small. Nevertheless, the impact of our outreach went far beyond the walls of the actual church.  One woman who became an occasional attender provided one of the avenues God would use to allow us to take the gospel into the community. Although this woman’s faith was sincere, she was married to an LDS man.  The spiritual conflict that developed from this mixed marriage proved to be the door the Lord would open for us to do what we would spend three plus years there doing, and that was taking the gospel beyond the church and into the community.

          Because of their marital conflicts, I was asked to provide them with marriage counseling. The man’s name was Tom, and through our meetings Tom and I became friends.  Tom was an active member in the LDS church, with two of his adult sons even serving as teachers in the LDS seminary. Tom himself was a biology teacher at the local high school, and a very intelligent man. Although the woman was a believer and a member of my church, it was Tom who was most interested in restoring peace to their marriage. He would take the biblical instructions I was giving them to heart, striving to apply them to his marriage.  The woman had decided the marriage was a failure and was willing to give up on it.  She eventually left Tom, moving to another community. Tom continued in our little community, heartbroken at the loss of his wife. It was this grief that caused Tom to grow even closer to me, and to be more open to the scriptural counsel I was offering.

            Living in an LDS community, I was constantly confronted with their doctrine. Because of this, I had obtained the books they consider “biblical”, and spent many hours studying these and other books that revealed the true beliefs of the LDS church, I became fairly versed in their doctrine. As previously stated, Tom was an intelligent man with a strong education background and a life history of attending the LDS church.  Although our conversations were long and often involved deep issues, I found the Lord clearly preventing me from confronting or arguing against Tom’s LDS faith. 

            After the departure of Tom’s wife, our weekly meeting turned into three or more times a week.  Tom was hurting and he needed the encouragement our friendship was providing. While the kids were in school and Betsy was teaching at a local Christian School, Tom would often show up at our home or at our church. In these times Tom and I would just sit and talk.  Although I would share the love of Christ with him on these visits, I still felt the Lord refraining me from confronting the errors of LDS doctrine that Tom believed.

            Late one afternoon during that time, Tom showed up at our parsonage. I had stayed home to study that day, having my bibles, commentaries, and books all spread out across the living room table. Hearing the doorbell ring, I went into the small room at the front of our parsonage to find Tom’s friendly but burdened face looking in at me through the wagon wheel glass on the front door. Before I could even open the door, the Lord spoke clearly and concisely to me. He said “today is the day to confront Tom’s false beliefs”.  Tom and I had been meeting for several months, and I had grown accustomed to the casual and friendly nature of our visits.  I was so caught off guard by the Lord’s instruction that I immediately began wondering if I was prepared to have what I believed would be an intense doctrinal discussion.

            Remembering all my study books that were spread out across the kitchen table, I realized that if I took Tom into the living room it would be a very intimidating environment.  In our little entry area, we had placed a long sofa for such times of counseling as this. I invited Tom to sit there with me on the sofa. While sitting there, I began to one by one confront some of the major LDS doctrines that conflicted with the Bible. Although Tom asked many questions during this time, the conversation never became antagonistic. My previous time with Tom had produced a trust between us and Tom was willing to listen to my confrontation of those things he had believed his entire life. He did not immediately accede to the things I was presenting, but it was clear that his heart and mind were open.

            My rebuttals lasted for nearly an hour, yet neither of us sensed any animosity or offense.  When it seemed I had exhausted all the doctrinal ammunition I had, we both sat quietly on the sofa, I believe Tom was experiencing a time of reflection and maybe even conviction.  I continued praying silently, asking the Lord for wisdom. I It was at this time that the Lord again spoke to me.  He told me I was to pray with Tom, but I was to first allow Tom to pray, calling on his LDS God to hear his prayers. I had never done this before. We both knelt against the sofa, bowing our heads and folding our hands. Tom prayed. His prayer was elementary, but sincere. He asked his God to help him understand the truth, and to bring comfort to his broken heart.  When Tom was done, it was my turn to pray.

     Still kneeling next to Tom, I called upon and prayed to the God of Creation, the one who lovingly sent His Son Jesus Christ to live, die, and rise from the dead for us. I asked the Lord to do what He promises in His Word, and what I have myself experienced many times. That is to “show Himself strong on behalf of those who turn their hearts towards Him” (2 Chron. 16:9).  Before I could even finish my prayer, the Lord responded. The Psalmist wrote “and God came down” and that is precisely what He did that day (Ps.18:9).  The Lord so filled our little parsonage entry that neither Tom nor I could speak or even lift our heads.  We were being overwhelmed with the presence of the Lord.  Even breathing was difficult.

            After several minutes (I still do not know how long) of this divine presence, both Tom and I looked up from our now almost prostrate posture. It was still several minutes before either of us could speak. When we could speak, it was Tom who hoarsely mouthed, “What was that?”.  As I began to realize what the Lord had just done, a smile broke over my face as I responded to Tom saying “that was the Lord of Creation, the God of the Bible, the one to whom I have been telling you about these past months.”

         Tom was awestruck by the powerful presence of the Lord. He confessed he had never experienced anything like it.  He prayed with me that day, asking this all-powerful God of Creation to fill him with His salvation and power. Tom became a sincere child of God that day, inviting Jesus into his heart.

       Evidences of Tom’s sincere conversion were many. He spoke to all those he knew, including his many LDS family members, testifying that he had met the one true and living God. One of the greatest evidences of Tom’s conversion came only a few weeks later.  He was retiring from his years of teaching and the school board, made up entirely of leaders in the LDS church, where honoring Tom at the retirement party.  Surrounded by these LDS leaders and by many other members of the LDS community, Tom stood before them and declared the Christ of the Bible His Lord, denouncing the errors of his LDS faith.

            Tom soon left our little LDS farming town, moving to the community where his wife had settled. There he became an active member of a Christian church.  About a half year later, I contacted Tom and found out his sincerity of faith and devotion to the truth had caught the attention of the leadership of his new church. They had made him a deacon, and he was both serving the Lord and pursuing his wife with that same sincerity and devotion.  In His timing, the Lord had reached into Tom’s broken heart and showed “Himself strong” in such a way that Tom could only surrender to the truth of Gospel.