Letter From A Wayne

2009-6-9 08:59:00

My faithful friend Wayne, who recently passed away, also stood up for me after I was excommunicated and wrote a letter to the [General] Authorities. He has a much more serious tone than did Dick, but as I read it through again my heart is warmed by his sweet friendship and the support he gave me throughout his life.

June 22, 1979

Brethren,

You lately had occasion to sit in judgment of a brother on trial because his thoughts did not seem to coincide with the leadership of the Church and he also testified of another brother, previously cut off from the Church, as one called of God as a voice of warning to the General Authorities first and then later to the membership of the Church as a whole.

Most of you had no occasion prior to this incident to give thought to the possibility that the Church was actually out of order or that the leaders could be men other than righteous, honorable men doing the will of the Lord. Out of your sense of duty and desire to be just, most of you spent some time reading, contemplating, and praying about some of the material Brother Dewey delivered to you. By your vote, you intimated that you had received answers to your prayers; being that Brother Dewey was being deceived. As a direct result of those findings, it was felt that the best course of action was to cut Brother Joe off in the hope that this drastic action would cause him to see the error of his ways and repent; then you could welcome him back into the fold.

Now brethren, I consider the above to be a fair statement, and I endeavor to be just as fair in my following statements. If you brethren will reflect upon the trial, you will remember that it consisted mainly of statements of belief on both parts along with testimonies of council members and witnesses.

Scriptural references brought forth by Brother Dewey were not directly challenged, nor was a conscientious effort to show that he erred in doctrine put forth.

In the main, all that was done to show him in error was a few of the brethren quoted some scripture that they felt supported the idea that the Lord would call no one but a General Authority to convict a General Authority, and text, not scriptural, was also read to support that theory. Brother Dewey was not given the time nor the opportunity to refute these arguments point by point as he would have liked to do, using the scriptures. In this action, you felt that scriptural debate was unnecessary because your own testimonies were to the effect that Brother Dewey was wrong in his assumptions. Here, brethren, is where the danger and the injustice lies.

We find a brother convicted, not out of the scriptures for erring in doctrine, but out of your own hearts. Brethren, this is deeply wrong, and in doing so, you place yourselves in a precarious position before God. You are infringing on a God-given right, the basis of which our entire religious concept was designed -- that right of free agency. Where has God ever tried to bind the hearts and minds of men? It was the Devil's plan to compel without this freedom of choice. Will you, because of your testimony, seek to take from any man a possession he holds dear, his membership in the Church of Jesus Christ? You heard Joe's testimony about the church, and that he sought no other. How then can you count it a small thing to take away his agency to belong to something he believes in?

Joe is a man in whom you found no sin, for is a man sinful because his testimony differs in some parts from your own? Has the Church of God no room in it now (as it did in times past) for different opinions on doctrine? Is a free exchange of ideas no longer desirable? Is a man no longer able to stand on his beliefs before God in righteousness without his brethren saying,

"You cannot stand thus and still have our association"?

Brethren, it is God's law that "as you sew, so shall ye reap." That which we send forth returns to us. This law is irrefutable and unchangeable. I greatly fear that if the Church as a whole denies men freedom of thought, it will face the grave danger of losing its own, and risk the possibility of being taken down into captivity as prophesied in the scriptures. If you do not even allow our own to worship as they please, how then can we expect to be allowed to worship as we please by the world?

Brethren, you are not the first to make this great mistake, and it is already coming back to the Church a hundredfold. Can you not see the changes, wrought by the hands of men? Political pressure has ever been a foe of this Church since its conception. How can we expect to withstand if we cannot even allow our own their freedom without the political-like pressure of the Church court system, whereby a man can be cut off, not because of sinning, but from stating opinions and beliefs? Brethren, in God's name, can you not see the seriousness of this situation? Who among you has the courage to right it? Who has the fortitude to say with me, "I may not believe exactly as Brother Dewey, but I defend to the death his right to say it."

Brethren, I testify to you that Joseph John Dewey is not apostate and is seeking as much as any man I know to do the will of the Lord in all things. It is a criminal act to cut off a man from this Church because of his heartfelt opinions. No true apostate would be fulfilling his stewardship in the Lord's house, and what man among you has paid a fuller tithe, studied more, prayed for guidance more, or fulfilled his callings in the Church to a fuller extent than has Brother Dewey.

Joe told each of you he would hold you blameless before the bar of God if you would but spend a little time and prayer to consider the things he believes, and I believe he holds no animosity toward any of you for the action you have taken. He did not expect you to believe or understand with so little effort on your part, but hoped it would prove a spark to fire your interest to greater heights. Joe didn't arrive at his present opinions after a few days, and did not expect that you, brethren, would either. For Joe, it has been a continuing effort of many months and years. Were you aware, brethren, that he had fasted a full seven days prior to the trial on your behalf? Brethren, the Lord will give no man testimony that he cannot stand, anymore than he will send us trials past what we can bear. In so serious an affair with such far reaching effects as the Church being out of order, the Lord would not give you testimony until you are fully prepared.

I testify to you the Lord is not your enemy and would not have you for his enemy. If the Lord would have answered quickly your prayers concerning this matter, many of you would become his enemies, for you would be men building houses on sand, having no foundation and not withstanding the strength (the Lord's answer) of the house, you would be blown away by the winds of adversity. Will the Lord give you testimony that you have not strength or understanding to support? In his wisdom, he knows that to do so would not only destroy you, but others seeing that you could not stand, would fear your testimony and avoid that which you put forth.

Joe has earned his testimony through much thought, prayer and study. He can now stand firm. Consider that not many months ago, his testimony concerning the heads of this Church was much more like your own. If search, study and prayer are all sins, then those are the sins he is guilty of, for these are they which made his testimony change. He was found guilty of no offense against God, but of giving offense to some few men. With these thoughts I leave you with the fond hope of your sincere consideration.

Sincerely,

Wayne Garner