Splinter Groups: Church of Christ Elijah Message Part 4

Viewpoint on Mormonism, the program that examines the teachings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from a biblical perspective. Viewpoint on Mormonism is sponsored by Mormonism Research Ministry. Since 1979, Mormonism Research Ministry has been dedicated to equipping the body of Christ with answers regarding the Christian faith in a manner that expresses gentleness and respect. And now your host for today's Viewpoint on Mormonism. Welcome to this edition of Viewpoint on Mormonism. I'm your host, Bill McKeever, founder and director of Mormonism Research Ministry. And with me today is Eric Johnson, my colleague at MRM, the Church of Christ with the Elijah message. We've been looking at this group this week, comparing some of the similarities to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as well as some of the differences.

To give you a little recap, this was an organization that was founded by a man by the name of Otto Fedding, who died in 1933. Otto Fedding got himself in trouble when he was a part of the Church of Christ temple lot. He came up with 11 messages that were very well accepted, but it was that 12th message that got him in trouble because he said in that message that all the leaders needed to be re-baptized, said some things that didn't go over very well, and ultimately he left that organization in October of 1929. And we need to remind the listeners that that's not just his message, that's coming from God himself through John the Baptist. So when he says these bad things about the other leaders, that's not him saying it, that's God saying it.

Now, what does that sound like, Eric? That's kind of like when we bring up the first vision to Latter-day Saints when they say, we don't criticize other churches. Why are you critiquing us?

And you bring up the subject of the first vision, they'll say something very similar. Well, that's not us. That was God saying that all the churches were wrong, that your creeds are an abomination and your professors are all corrupt.

So it's kind of like passing the buck off to someone else so that you can wash your hands and not be guilty of saying those very things. Well, now Otto Fedding has died, and another man comes into power, a man by the name of William Draves. Now, like Otto Fedding, he was also a former member of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, now known as the Community of Christ. But Draves also, for a period of time, belonged to the LDS Church.

So here's this connection, folks. Even though they may not agree with everything that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, headquartered in Salt Lake City, believes and teaches, there are going to be some things that connect them. And most certainly, Joseph Smith, the founder of the Mormon movement, connects all of these groups that we are going to be discussing in this series. Now, like Otto Fedding, William Draves also has visitations from John the Baptist, and he is credited with writing 90 messages. So he has even more than Otto Fedding, the founder of this organization.

But Bill, he wasn't accepted by everybody. Draves did have controversy. In fact, in 1943, there was a new church that was formed. Here's another splinter group. It's called the Church of Christ Feddingite. And it was formed when some of the followers rejected Draves and the messages he provided.

They were not accepting that as being the same as what Otto Fedding had. And then another split took place in the 1950s when some from the Church of Christ Feddingite commanded Saturday Sabbath worship under Apostle S. T. Bronson. And so they started a new church called the Church of Christ Restored. And that has fewer than 500 members. The Church of Christ Feddingite has about 2,000 members.

So very small. They still exist today. I didn't talk about them because they're not among the larger groups.

So Draves was with controversy throughout his time. When Draves dies in 1994, we don't have any more messages. We have the 12 apostles. This church does not have a prophet.

It does not have a president. The 12 apostles are supposed to be equal. Today, the church only has 10 at the time we're speaking.

There's 10, but they're supposed to have as many as 12. But nothing happens. We have a period of silence that happens from 1995 to 2017. Here's a quarter century of silence where God does not say anything. We talked about it before that from the time of Joseph Smith, 1836, until Otto Fedding creates the church in 1930, there was, I think, I would call it a second apostasy, a great apostasy.

There was no revelation being given. And then all of a sudden Otto Fedding is able to get revelations with these messages. Well, here we have a 25 year period when the church has nothing going on.

And it's not until John the Baptist reappears to one of the apostles. His name is Norman D Lyles, September 29th, 2018, just a couple of years ago. This is not somebody who has a lot of theological experience. He was a blue collar worker.

He worked as a truck driver and he was a journeyman lineman. He has a degree in math that he got in 1969, but he all of a sudden has John the Baptist come visit him. And I want to read from the 121st message after 25 years of silence.

This is what he writes. I was sitting on a rock writing in my journal the events of the past few days of our missionary effort in Uganda and Kenya. It was just becoming slightly light enough for me to see and write when suddenly the angel, John the Baptist, stood before me. I at first thought it was a vision until he reached in my pack, which was beside me, and handed me a writing pad and another pen and commanded me to write the message that he had brought onto me from the Lord Jesus Christ. All my doubts and fears vanished and a great peace came over me as he moved his hand to my head. He wore a robe of white. Conquering with what Draves had said in his first message, he wore a robe of white and appeared to be about six foot tall and perhaps 30 years of age. With a beard and hair down to his shoulder, most noticeable were his eyes, which seemed to pierce my very soul and his appearance seemed to radiate light.

His voice was deep and seemingly kind. Now Bill, I'm going to ask you this question. In the similar way that Joseph Smith had a first vision supposedly in 1820, where he had God the Father and Jesus come, and then later Moroni comes, nobody was ever there. Do you notice something about all three of the men who received these revelations, except for perhaps the 12th message, nobody's ever there.

They're sitting by themselves, they're sitting in a room, and then John the Baptist comes. And so after 25 years, we're wondering, what's going on? Why isn't there any more messages? And then all of a sudden, we have a message given to this apostle, Norm Lyles. Lyles comes up with a message that has to do with the pandemic of 2020.

Why don't you talk about that? Yeah, the 128th message he received, he said he was awakened by the Spirit of the Lord before 3 a.m. on March 20th, 2020. Now the pandemic has already been announced.

We all knew about that at that time. And so he's going to have a response from God to tell people what to do. So this is what he says, I went upstairs to my living room to pray for my brothers who were laboring in Europe for the Lord.

My concern was great for these brothers due to the pandemic, which had become crisis level in Europe and really worldwide. And so while he prayed, the messenger of the Lord appears in the room and lays his hand on Lyles' shoulder saying, Behold, the Lord is mindful of thee and knoweth the needs of thy brothers. I have a question. Why is John the Baptist talking in King James English? That seems to be a pattern here. Is that because people are used to that kind of language if they were raised on the King James Version, which of course this church uses the King James Version, so perhaps it might sound more spiritual if John the Baptist is using these and thou's. Well, the LDS church has done the same thing. I mean, they pray in King James English, and Joseph Smith, when he writes the Doctrine and Covenants, he's receiving revelations that have the same antique language that nobody else is using. So apparently, God the Father and Jesus and John the Baptist are all stuck on 1611 King James kind of English.

This is what he then writes. He said, The Lord had told us of the pale horse had been let upon the earth, and now we were witnessing the power and destruction, sickness and death of this plague. Let the brothers return to their homes for a time and then return on their journey as it becomes more safe. Let all know the time the Lord is not the timing of man. The Lord has opened doors.

However, the destruction of the pale horse must awaken the people and have his hour as well. Then in verse six, he says he receives this direct message from the messenger, John the Baptist. Many in this nation are trembling in fear and falling into division as they seek to entrust men with responsibility to lead and direct the political fortunes which seem to control the nation. However, failing to seek the Lord to rule and overrule in such matters, men are running to and fro, seeking their own will and ideas and failing to place all in the hands of the Lord. Do we really need John the Baptist to tell us that? I mean, I could have summarized what I've seen in the past several months without having a vision of John the Baptist. These guys are always late to the banquet, it seems like. They're coming up with these revelations, but always after the fact. We certainly didn't see Russell M. Nelson, the president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, leading with information when it comes to the pandemic.

They were always following what everyone else was learning from the alleged experts that we hear on television and radio. In the next part of this message, we get a very clear view of the idea that God can actually take somebody and move them across the world. If you remember Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, this reminds me very much of that in verse 9, he writes, We were lifted immediately, upward from my home. He's flying from the earth as we were lifted. I was aware of thousands of souls moving all around me toward the heavens.

We traveled eastward away from the American nation. We paused briefly as the thousands continued toward heaven. I asked the messenger, Who are these that have passed us toward heaven?

The sadness within his eyes was deeper than I had ever witnessed anywhere. He said, These are the souls of the unborn, ripped from their mother's womb. As he spoke, I witnessed an angel descending onto earth with a large vial in his hands. I heard audibly a voice saying, Behold, the wrath of God coming upon the earth. So you can see very clearly this church teaches in pro-life.

They do not believe in abortion. Well, then he's going to get a chance to go see the Middle East. He goes and sees Europe and Russia and China, and the messenger says, I'm showing you the results of sin, greed, the false prophet, and men without mercy. Soon the army shall move, and when it ends, sorrow shall be multiplied upon sorrow.

But Bill, as you mentioned, he's not going to give any specific dates. They do believe we're in the tribulation. Since 1990, we've been in the tribulation. The millennium is coming, and they believe it's coming very soon.

And when you write like this, it sounds like it could be imminent. But you're not getting any clear information as, if you're a member of this church, when this is going to take place. And God, when he looks at the United States, has told John the Baptist to tell him the angel of the Lord poised to pour out the contents of the vial upon the American nation for shedding innocent blood, whoring after strange flesh, and having ministry and sanctuaries that were not part of the Lord's house. Now, on tomorrow's broadcast, we're going to talk about your interview with another one of the apostles of the Church of Christ with the Elijah message.

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