Transition Statements

photo by Jim Doty Jr.

Statement by Mary Jacks Dynes

As I leave the Council of Twelve I am admonished to share my testimony of trust.

“Trust me! Trust me, Mary!” These are the words that come to me almost daily as I journey with God. My life since my husband’s death from suicide has been one of turning and turning in trust and letting go. It is like the nautilus shell, the shape of the Temple. I come around and turn only to find I am not at the same place again, but I am going deeper and fuller in trusting this great source of grace and love.

After David’s death I thought I was the only one who could control what happened to me. I was afraid and fearful. I couldn’t trust anyone, let alone God. So I had to control things. Of course, my sense of control is an illusion. It always was. So now I am letting go and implicitly trusting God, the only source of my being. I surrender to God’s loving care, for God never, ever will abandon me, and I am open to trusting others.

Trust was the topic I shared with the World Church Leadership Council. We met in worship before Christmas and were asked to talk about one thing we treasured. I shared how wonderful it was that Steve Veazey trusted us enough to share some concepts that would be part of his inspired counsel to the World Church on January 17.

Later, as we were divided into groups of two, Steve told me it was more than his trusting us as a World Church Leadership Council. He felt it was God telling him to trust us as he divulged thoughts he felt called to express as inspired counsel.

Again in March, as the World Church Leadership Council met just a few weeks ago, Steve trusted us in what he shared. What a privilege and honor it has been for me to be a part of the World Church Leadership Council all these years! I am so grateful!

Like ripples on a lake, this trust extends to us as a World Church, all of us. The last paragraph of the document starts with, “With deep trust in the spiritual competency and maturity of the church, I turn the words of this counsel over to you for prayerful consideration and continued discernment.”

Steve trusts us! God trusts us, too, as a prophetic people! And so paragraph 9a of the counsel says:

Beloved children of the Restoration, your continuing faith adventure with God has been divinely led, eventful, challenging, and sometimes surprising to you. By the grace of God, you are poised to fulfill God’s ultimate vision for the church.

We are poised. God trusts us! My friends as God trusts us we are to trust God with our whole heart and our whole being!

You and I belong to God totally. Because of this, all of us belong to each other. We are connected in powerful ways. We belong to one another. We are part of one another!

There is a distinction between you, me and others, and at the same time, there is no distinction at all, but a blending of all of us into one. The demarcation that exists is a spiritual one, born of what you and I have lived and what you and I can never explain.

So my friends, we are part of each other, and we must trust each other in our journey together this week and the weeks ahead! We must communicate, communicate, and still communicate. We must enter into this communication process with no judgment. No judgment! We must have the courage to be honest in our feelings, knowing that sometimes we get insight in the middle of a situation that becomes a new awareness.

Self-knowledge is helpful and is an on-going journey. We must allow ourselves to be vulnerable, to take risks, and to be brave, trusting God. Trust God with us, in us, ahead of us, and behind us.

When we trust, my friends, we will find joy! Joy is the gigantic secret of our life together! When we let go of our fears and trust, we will find joy! Joy is God’s trademark! Down to go up, life and birth from death, beauty from ugliness: The pattern is everywhere! I know. I have lived this! And this is my testimony! Joy is the great leveler!

God is pursuing us as lovers pursue one another. God will never, ever let us go. It is true! God will surprise us! Let’s expect surprises from God. It sounds too good to be true, and yet it is true! Trust! Trust this God! Trust each other!

We have an important part to play in fulfilling God’s vision. We trust God to walk with us every step of the way on this new adventure, and I know God will empower us in ways not yet known! With God we will do a new thing! May we be open to God’s surprises and find joy!

May we trust each other and discern God’s way for us, for we are poised to fulfill God’s ultimate vision for Community of Christ! May it be so!

photo by Jim Doty Jr.

Statement by Leonard M. Young

Dear Brothers and Sisters, as I stand here today, I want each and every one of you to know that my testimony is that over the last 27 years of full-time ministry, I have seen the hand of God leading this people. And often I have thought, “What a wonderful time to be serving the church.”

The first World Conference I attended as an appointee minister was the earthshaking Conference of 1984, in which Section 156 extended the call of ordained ministry to women. At the time I thought it probably was going to be the best Conference I ever attended. And it was! At least until the next one! Then there was the Temple Dedication Conference, and the Conference in which Grant McMurray was ordained president of the church, and then the very special Conference of 2005, in which Steve Veazey was called and ordained as the prophet-president. All great moments for me!

You see, unlike many people I have talked with over the years, and maybe some of you here today, I actually do love World Conference! I love the worship. I love the fellowship. And as those who know me well will testify, I even love the business meetings! Maybe I enjoy those most of all! I don’t know…but I often have enjoyed the rolled eyes and waved arms from my colleagues when, with tongue firmly planted in my cheek, I’ve described parliamentary procedure as the highest form of worship.

Well, of course, that’s not really true. Nonetheless, I love a good time of conferring together when we listen carefully and seek common consent.

I stand today to offer my testimony to all of you that God still is leading this church. I have witnessed it in small ways and large, in the US and around the world. And I believe God still is leading this church today! At the Conference of 1994, when the “Communities of JOY” emphasis was unveiled, I said from this rostrum that “God was not through with the church yet!” And I still believe it.

I am so thankful for the ministry I have been allowed to offer as an apostle of Jesus Christ. As I have sought to testify of the peace of Jesus Christ, it has been my great joy to spend most of my time in the Twelve ministering among the peoples of Europe. The Europeans are wonderful! I fell in love with them on my first few trips to long-established churches in the British Isles, Germany, Netherlands, France, and Norway.

In addition, I have had the great joy of working with the first-generation churches that have been emerging in Russia and Ukraine since Apostle Larry Tyree first planted the church in Russia in 1995. I have loved my involvement with planting new churches and finding new disciples for Christ in Russia and Ukraine. These churches are unique, each and every one of them, yet they are bound with all of you by the joy of sharing the peace of Jesus Christ with the world.

So to my beloved friends who speak Russian who are here this week, I want to say especially to you:

Дорогие друзья, вы изумительные чудесные люди! Я люблю всех вас, и я молюсь о том, чтобы Бог благословлял вас в грядущие годы. Мне будет недоставать вас. Вы будете всегда пребывать в моем сердце.

(Dear friends, you are wonderful people. I love all of you, and I pray that God will bless you in the years ahead. I will miss you. You will always be in my heart.)

In recent years, I have been experiencing a growing feeling the Holy Spirit is calling me to a new and different ministry. I look forward in the next period of time before my formal retirement to working with the First Presidency. We want to help develop a new, comprehensive, spiritually sensitive and fully integrated way for us to confer together that honors our heritage of parliamentary process and blends with it the growing consciousness in the church that the old ways we have conferred together no longer are adequate in this increasingly international church. To this responsibility I feel uniquely called by my experience as a historian, a parliamentarian, and an apostle of Christ.

In addition, it is with joy in my heart today, that I accept the call to further service as an evangelical minister. Evangelists and apostles always have had a close relationship. Indeed, it is the Twelve that calls and ordains evangelists in the usual way in the church. I look forward as an evangelist to being supportive of my brothers and sisters in the Council of Twelve who have walked with me, prayed with me, cried with me, and laughed with me, as together we have sought to be true to the call of Section 163 to be apostles of the peace of Jesus Christ.

Dear friends of the Council of Twelve, I love all of you and will deeply miss our daily associations. I hope you will feel free to call on me for help and support in any way I can assist you.

I would be remiss today if I do not mention a few people who have been great blessings in my life. First and foremost is my wife, Peggy. Many of you know she has served in the Order of Evangelists for over 11 years. Peg, you are a role model for me about how to be patient, loving, and giving. When I have gone on long journeys you have sent me out with love. And when I’ve returned, you’ve received me home with joy. I love you and thank you for your support and personal ministry for the last 38 years of our marriage. You are a true minister of blessing.

I want to thank my children, Brian and Amy, who have not always understood why I was so dedicated to this church, but who nonetheless have loved me and supported me these many years.

I also want to express deep gratitude to those who have mentored and guided me in ministry. Particularly, I want to say thank you to two individuals. First to President Howard S. Sheehy Jr. Bud, you have been a second father to me for many years. Your guidance and encouragement have meant much to me, and I look forward to serving as an evangelist with you in the coming years.

And I want to express appreciation to High Priest Bill Barnhard. Barney, you have been my pastor ever since I came to headquarters in 1992. Your support and encouragement have been a true blessing in my life.

Finally, I want all of you know I am aware that during the last 27 years of full-time ministry that I have been much more the recipient of blessings than I have blessed the church. I know that.

Today I see us moving into the future with boldness, and I want to commit myself to walk boldly and with a quickened step, as with you, we all seek to be ambassadors of the peace of Jesus Christ.

May God bless the church, is my prayer.
Amen.

photo by Jim Doty Jr.

Statement by Richard C.N. James

I stand before you as a witness of Jesus Christ. Lives are changed when they come to know him. I have seen this change in so many people, and it is wonderful to me.

As I was growing up in a small congregation in South Wales, I was aware of what a loving and caring congregation can provide. I felt the warmth of loving people who, being filled with the Spirit, laughed, prayed, and worshiped together. It was home to me—from the time I would fall asleep on my mother’s knee in a prayer meeting, to mowing the church lawns, to being a part of a vibrant youth group. Community of Christ has been a huge part of my life.

My parents prepared me for this moment; they have been faithful and deeply committed to God and to the church. They have nurtured and guided me throughout my life. They were generous in so many ways. We had few material things at home, but my parents sacrificed so we would receive opportunities to go to church events. They even gave what little they had so this Auditorium could be finished. How much they would love to be here to see it and the Temple, as well. They were rich in love and acceptance of all people.

I appreciate the support and the sacrifices my family has made to allow me to travel and to provide ministry around the world. They are a blessing to me. They give up so much so that I can be free to share the Peace of Jesus Christ with people.

I always have tried to be of service to God, and opportunities have come in various ways. This new calling is a significant opportunity to respond again to the prompting of the Holy Spirit in my life. When I was informed of this call to be an apostle, I felt a deep peace within me, which I still feel. I know this is what God is calling me to, at this time. I have a strong passion for sharing the gospel with people who do not yet know God and Community of Christ I accept this new responsibility and calling with a spirit of humility, knowing God will be by my side and enable my witness to shine. Praise be to God!

photo by Jim Doty Jr.

Statement by K. Scott Murphy

As I stand before you today, I am mindful of the deep blessings God has shared with me over my life. God’s wonderful grace and generosity has been present as my life has been formed through the witness, support, and love of my family. It has been present in the witness and ministry I have received from so many of you as we have journeyed together in the work and mission of the church.

Today, my name is being presented to you for this special call. Yet, I fully recognize that this call is not about me, but about us, and us in community in God. We each have something to bring to the call to share the peace of Jesus Christ embodied in the gospel message. We each bring something from our lives that is necessary to make the presence of sacred community real in the places we live and serve.

I offer myself and accept this call with hope as I join with you in this special work and mission God is calling us to.