Friday, October 2, 2020

A Solemn Promise by Seventy Frank Dippel

 From:Frank Dippel



A Solemn Promise by Seventy Frank Dippel
 
                                                                                                A Solemn Promise. 
                                                                                           By Seventy Frank Dippel


First, let me offer my thanks to several saints. The Presiding team, these brothers High Priest Marlin Guin, High Priest Steve Bohall, and Seventy Richard Neill spent many hours or days in preparation and seeking the directions of the Lord. They spent hours presiding over the assembly in such a masterfully manner, so we were able to be blessed by the Spirit of the Lord. 

Next, the Virtual team, these brothers worked until 2:30 am and return at 6 am Sunday. They fought through interruptions in the internet service caused by the storms here in the Center Place, but also across the globe. The outages occurred frequently making their task more difficult. They brought to us the prayers of our brothers and sisters from far away making this assembly a global worship of 2,000 saints. They made it possible to worship on Zoom, Live Stream, at satellite locations and in person at the Waldo Restoration Branch.

Also, thanks to the Aaronic priesthood, these brothers worked diligently to insure that all were seated and had the microphones for all those that desired to pray. They directed the parking, both on Saturday and Sunday. They handled all their  tasks in an orderly and gentle manner. These brothers also provided a great ministry. 

Lastly, the Waldo Restoration Branch, you saints did a great service for the gathering. Thank you, for sanitizing the furniture, the door handles, and bathrooms. Thank you for giving us a place to assemble what a wonderful blessing. Waldo, you are great hosts. God bless.

The Solemn Assembly called for by God, was a divinely orchestrated gathering. It was a giant step toward the finish line(God’s Kingdom) in this extremely long and arduous journey. It is a step toward the unified love of Christ that the Lord desires for us all. This assembly was about becoming a repentant people for there can be no revival without first we repent. The repentance necessary is that which is brought to our hearts by God’s sorrow. It is a result of the pain He feels for us, and the tears He sheds for us. The saints filled the airways to heaven with their concerns, the seeking of forgiveness,  there were emotional expressions of love and loss, a desire for unity, and a searching for God’s love. This body of believers should begin looking for an outpouring of Spiritual fruits. 

On Monday after the gathering we began to realize how God had worked among us at the assembly. We were discussing that we had not yet seen the positive outcome from the gathering. Then we were awakened to the fact that we had truly already witnessed four miracles. The first, was the fact that the Solemn Assembly was conducted and was a Spiritual event. There was opposition to this assembly, it was being conducted in a Covid world, and there were so many logistical issues to be resolved. 

The hand of God or His angels were ministering in the midst of this gathering. A senior brother fell from the top step entering the sanctuary from the gymnasium side. He stated the next day, “that he received no injuries because he felt someone grab him and slowed his fall.” He said, ”it must have been the angels of the Church of the First Born.” This was truly a miracle from God. Praise the Lord!

Here too is the testimony of a brother of the Aaronic priesthood and was also expressed at Living Hope on Monday evening. He stated, ”that he suffers from extreme foot pain and that Saturday he was handling the microphones at Living Hope and that he was required to sit several time as a result of his foot pain.“ At the Solemn Assembly he also handled the microphones and was so blessed by the Spirit of God he never had to stop for the whole 8 or 9 hours. Praise God from whom all blessing flow!

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My testimony is next. I have rods, screws, spacers, and cages along my spine. They are the result of a few back injuries and three surgeries. The most difficult position for me is sitting. I normally can’t sit for an hour of two. I must also add in suffer from COPD and quite often I have restricted airways and I must cough frequently.  The Lord revealed to me through another brother I would be blessed. This was God’s Solemn promise to me. Here is the miracle, I never coughed nor was I never in pain throughout the entire service of 8 or 9 hours. His promise was fulfilled to me as a witness to you. 

On Thursday after the assembly a brother priesthood member as a result of this gathering and the Spirit that was present asked for forgiveness. He had been struggling with the loss of a couple dear brother from his branch and his was concerned he may have offend some of the brother in our region. There was no offense among the brothers , they were concerned. The Spirit that day was so redeeming, so reconciling, and so healing that it restored the unity to us all once again.  What a healing! What a miracle! What a blessing!

Allow the Spirit of the Lord to work, put behind you those events that tend to divide. Allow the mind of God to be in you. We have taken a wonderful step toward becoming a people as in times past. In the time of Moses and Joseph Smith Jr., God directed these two prophets to bring His word to the people.  They were directed to resist idolatry and evil. We today have the same struggles and should not permit our pride, or opinion to become our idols. “Seek ye first the kingdom go God and His righteousness.” These two prophets were commanded to bring to the people God’s laws and commandments. They were required to teach the people about God’s word and how His word should be used to build a righteous people and to destroy evil. Moses cast the word of God and destroyed the golden calf removing idolatry and Joseph used the fullness of God’s word to establish the Restoration church. Are we not the Restored church? Allow God’s word to live and breathe in our lives to remove idols and restore His kingdom.

We must consider the directions in God’s word to be reconciled, to forgive, and to come together none accord. While reading Exodus 19 before the Solemn Assembly I came to an understanding that God’s hand was in the gathering. The pattern that was chosen fit very well with the events in Chapter 19. The people were to be brought near unto God but they were required to prepare for two day before coming unto Him. The Hebrew nation was brought to the mountain but they must cleanse themselves and fast for two days with no physical encounter with their spouse.  We as a people were beckoned to the Solemn Assembly and were given two days also to fast, cleanse, seek forgiveness and prepare to be with God or His mighty Spirit. There were services for repentance on Friday evening, Saturday morning, afternoon and evening. This permitted us Friday and Saturday as a time of reflexion and preparation ,then the could approach the Lord on Sunday.

There was great excitement before the Solemn Assembly and the excitement continues. We have witnessed the Lord’s hand in the miracles. We have felt His presents. There was prior to the assembly a 60 day preparation scripture worship sent out, and now there will be sent out another 60 days preparation scriptural worship to assists the people in continuing in the joy of the Lord. It will help us stay focused , and in a better state of readiness. The saints are in a much better place because of the call to this gathering. We can’t wait to see what comes next, but we hope and pray we are continuing to move toward our Heavenly Father. 

God bless all!











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