Several times per day, Kiaruuh was borrowing a friend’s phone, and patiently typing in numbers to get letters out (thus the short, abbreviated answers). His way of using Facebook was from a simple basic app on a low-grade phone, not a smartphone and not a "real" (fully functioning) app. I have seen the phone and the program, and it is comparable to those new refrigerators or alarm clocks that allow you to view and type facebook messages, but not to openly surf the web.
So Kiaruuh could not get internet of any kind or watch videos for information about the church or about the world. He had no access to a laptop or to the the open, searchable internet; the only media he could see were photos within facebook, and of course facebook messages.
Kiaruuh began to throw out more and more questions about the LDS church, as it relates to his church. The similarities in our churches were shocking to him, and I was equally as shocked at how faithful and similar his people were to our members, and their beliefs to ours.
His church members believe in modesty, complete morality and cleanliness, repentance and cleanliness before God (rather than grace alone), modern day revelation and prophecy,sacrament and fasting, and they do not drink alcohol, do drugs or smoke. In their church they have elders who together pray and decide things such as when a sinful member may come back into the membership of the church, and they pray over the sick and those who need miracles, by a laying on of hands. They believe in having big families, and they find joy in them. Their men preside and have the positions in the church. Mothers stay home to care for their children, and they are very prayerful and grateful for all of the blessings that they receive. He told me that they were taught by the Spirit the way that they should live, and through the gift of prophecy they listened, one revelation at a time, to teachings from God, belonging to no formal religion.
One question at a time, we were finding that almost all of the beliefs between the churches were the same, and the most surprising thing that was found in common is that neither of the churches has a paid ministry.
Messages from me hereaftter will be in green, Kiaruuh's in peach
i can learn that your church and my church has common characteristics, am thinking about that
we also dn't pay any money to anybody, when you commit one of what you have listed above especially fighting, killing (verbally or physically),or sex. Churh leaders give you time to get out of church to go and repent, and if God accept, him/her can come back and continue worshing
i would like to take this matter to my church leaders and have a common powerful prayer bcz there has been prophecy about this,do the same and we shall see results
I would like to know the day and the time that you talk to your leaders and your church, so that I and my faithful friends & family can be praying and fasting for you and your people at that exact time?
And please tell me two things before you go....where is your church located (where your leaders are), and also what is the prophecy? What does it say, who said it,and when?
my church has many brunches (branches) in kenya especialy eastern and central kenya also nairobii
lack words to explain prophecy (from word prophet) but will consolt dictionery
OK the prophecy(God's message) which was prophetised by prophets (one of our church members) june 2012 said
that there are other saints like us in america, europe and asia
and we have been wondering about how to trace those saints.
The holy spirit has been telling us that due to technology we hv been unable to contuct (contact) each other, but since the world now is becoming a globle village, we shall communicate and learn frm each other
Kiaruuh Mnga MmtSunday, July 7, 2013 at 11:17pm CDT
...and i don’t doubt this you might be the one
Kiaruuh Mnga MmtSunday, July 7, 2013 at 11:28pm CDT
because i have never heard onother church where they dnt pay workers and in other churches. people committ sins and no body cares bcz they need more pple to bring more money
Kiaruuh Mnga MmtSunday, July 7, 2013 at 11:32pm CDT
also you are so kind, polite,caring, as i can predict, and i hope it is as a results of being controlled by holly spirit
This was getting heavy.
After reading this, I knew that it was time to contact the missionaries in Kenya. I did some online research, only to find that the nearest church (and mission office) was 6 hours away from him, in Nairobi. Nonetheless, I knew it was worth calling, so I went online and found the number to the office and called (in the middle of the night here, during their business hours). And called. And called. I only got a busy signa. I kept trying, waking up in the middle of the night, hoping for someone to answer.
I also sent the office an email with a call for help, with no reply.
I spent a lot of time trying to figure out any way that I could send the Book of Mormon and information about the church to Kiaruuh, but he had no address, as his home was alone off in the bush. I learned that in the whole town of Garissa, there are only a couple of actual street names, and very few real addresses. He had no money for a PO box (and didn’t know anyone who had one). In fact he had never received a piece of mail in his life. He said that, in Kenya, mail service was for the rich people.
With nowhere to go, and nobody to help me, I continued to share messages about our church through facebook messages, one statement at a time.
Christin Francom ShumwayMonday, July 8, 2013 at 9:44am CDT
When a church member commits a sexual sin, that is a serious sin. It takes a long process to repent, but it can be done if the person is truly sorry to God and humble. He/she begins with true sorrow for the sin, talks to the bishop who acts to listen and counsel. The person may go to church each Sunday for spiritual improvement, but may not take the holy sacrament that we do each Sunday at church, and cannot go to the holy temple for a long time, usually a year. He cannot serve to teach, and he cannot give priesthood blessings or have the authority until the bishop says the time of repentance is finished. He should be praying, apologizing to God. And to any who he had offended, and eventually he can feel forgiveness and do those things again. If it is "adultery" (a married man/woman who has also been sealed in the temple,) , it is very serious and involves a lot of priesthood men of authority, (the high council) who talk together, praymuch together, and decide what to do about it. Usually the person must have his name taken off of the records of the church. And that is very sad, but if he works very humbly to repent, for a long time, he can eventually be baptized again and return to the church..
Kiaruuh Mnga Mmt Monday, July 8, 2013 at 9:47am CDT
there is one holy spirit and he must have tought u somthing so far. am very comfortable with it now bcz i can sence something
He continued to ask about other things…
how do u greet each in your church? is it "HALELLUYAH-AMEN"
Do your church support family planning
how do new converts receive holy spirit or is it automatically
do your church face challeges from the government when carrying on your day to day activitiesis all your children in school?
how do you relate with your neighbous yet u dnt belong to same faith? are they hateful?
u can write answers then i wll read 2mrow since u are off . Please read carefully and answer all of them
do u see alot of grammatical errors in my english?
my mother tougue is kamba language, but I also speak Swahili
Is is hard to tell about your grammar, because you are abbreviating because it takes you so long to type on your phone (do you have to push numbers on your phone to get the letters, or do you have a keyboard with all the letters?). But I usually understand you, and I think it is amazing that you speak so well because it is not your native tongue.
So don't worry.
i hv to push numbers when typing and its tiresome but u can ask me any word that u dnt understand
And so I did my best to answer all of the random social questions, but then I wanted to get back to the doctrine.
I would like to get back to the doctrine of the gospel in the next conversation. These social details are not the most important parts of the truth of the gospel.
There are some beautiful things that I can share with you
i would like to take this matter to my church leaders and have a common powerful prayer bcz there has been prophecy about this,do the same and we shall see results
I hadn't even started to tell about the Restoration, temples, or the plan of salvation. I knew that it just couldn't be done a few paragraphs at a time each day in facebook.
There is so much more that has been revealed, God has spoken again to his children in these days. I wish that there was a way to email or mail to you the material. Messaging is such slow progress.
I will pray and fast for you and your leaders. Do you travel to them these next three days?
yes, i have to travel long distances
Do you pass through Nairobi? There are LDS missionaries who can speak to you in your native tongue there!
no,but i will travel to nairobi in august
also be alert bcz immedietly as i reach there, i will be reading your messages in front of the church
I feel humbled that the messages will be read to so many. Thank you for having faith in me and in our God. This seems to be a miracle.
this conversatn is good and unless we stop, it cnt stop it self
I don't understand your meaning
the conversation is interesting and unless we stop it,it can last for the whole year,
i mean we stop there!
keep on praying and inform others
Ok, thank you. I will. I pray for God to be with you, Kiaruuh, and with your faithful people.
The next day began a local strike (which I also read about in the news), which unfortunately cancelled his trip to take the messages to his home and elders.
i will not travel due to changes made by college administration so probably i will talk to church members on august
From the heading:
In the Resurrection men come forth to a state of endless happiness or endless misery—Wickedness never was happiness—Carnal men are without God in the world—Every person receives again in the Restoration the characteristics and attributes acquired in mortality.
The verses struck me as something that Kiaruuh would value, so I found them in the Swahili language online, copied, and sent them in a message to him, which began the first of many scriptures that I sent to him through messages.
His reply to Alma 41:
Kiaruuh Mnga MmtTuesday, July 9, 2013 at 11:57am CDT
i have felt as if am that son, almost i have dropped tears, i cn't express my feeling through message but i can say that "GOD GIVES AND FORGIVES BUT MAN GETS AND FORGETS" Am still at garissa college
The conversation the next day was as follows, with a powerful ending:
pls do understand me, i have one week to do my final exams then from there i will have all the time to chat. pray for me as i revice
Ok I understand, you have our prayers.
Have you talked to any others about these conversations?
Okay, we'll talk next week, because you have studies now.
do have anything to share now?
How about a continuation of the Swahili verses?
its very ok
This will be kind of long, but it is beautiful. It is starting on the next chapter, after the one that you already read. It is still to the son of the prophet Alma (son named Corianton).
(Alma 43, in Swahili)
ok am through with reading, but i wonder,did that american prophecysed in kiswahili or u interpreted?
do u know him? and where have u got all this information?
thanks alot for that, it shows your concern and it has strengthen my faith
There are missionary members of my church that can answer all of your questions. Have you prayed about the messages I have shared, asking God if they are true?
as i told u, this is a serious case and i hv to share it with my church members, too heavy i cant lift it but I dont hav anydoubts with u, we can chat as i keep records to share with them.our church members, they can as well ask me questns
Do you have a sacrament ceremony in your church?
we hv sacrament but not every sunday but holy spirit has been saying it should be done every sunday and even athomes like the time of disciples
the process of taking it is the same as yours
I felt like it was time that I should share with him Moroni 10, with the promise that if he prayed, he would feel the truth of these things through the spirit. I noticed that it was a fairly long chapter, and decided to end with verse 7, because from verse 8, it started to speak about spiritual gifts, and other somewhat "unrelated" things, as you can see here:
3 Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts.
4 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the EternalFather, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, withreal intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the HolyGhost.
5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.
6 And whatsoever thing is good is just and true; wherefore, nothing that is good denieth the Christ,but acknowledgeth that he is.
7 And ye may know that he is, by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore I would exhort you that ye deny not the power of God; for he worketh by power, according to the faith of the children of men, the same today and tomorrow, and forever.
8 And again, I exhort you, my brethren, that ye deny not the gifts of God, for they are many; and theycome from the same God. And there are different ways that these gifts are administered; but it is thesame God who worketh all in all; and they are given by the manifestations of the Spirit of God untomen, to profit them.
9 For behold, to one is given by the Spirit of God, that he may teach the word of wisdom;
10 And to another, that he may teach the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;
11 And to another, exceedingly great faith; and to another, the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;
12 And again, to another, that he may work mighty miracles;
13 And again, to another, that he may prophesy concerning all things;
14 And again, to another, the beholding of angels and ministering spirits;
15 And again, to another, all kinds of tongues;
16 And again, to another, the interpretation of languages and of divers kinds of tongues.
17 And all these gifts come by the Spirit of Christ; and they come unto every man severally, according as he will.
18 And I would exhort you, my beloved brethren, that ye remember that every good gift cometh ofChrist.
19 And I would exhort you, my beloved brethren, that ye remember that he is the same yesterday,today, and forever, and that all these gifts of which I have spoken, which are spiritual, never will be done away, even as long as the world shall stand, only according to the unbelief of the children of men.
So I shared the following words with him, and some words from James, and then I gave him only verses 3-7 in Moroni (but I didn't expect what he would say next).
Christin Francom Shumway Thursday, July 11, 2013 at 2:56pm
From the old testament...
James 1:5
5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
I know that God can tell you things personally, Kiaruuh. I understand that you would trust the wisdom of your leaders, but you can trust God even more. He is very aware of you, and will give you a wonderful feeling when you ask him with a sincere heart.
James 1:6
6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
This might be your worry, that you will not be able to understand his answer because of your human natures (as we all have), but he understands that nobody is perfect, even Moses he helped because Moses had desire for righteousness and faith in God.
Here is more from the scriptural book from the prophet Moroni, at the end of the book of Mormon:
Sasa mimi, Moroni, naandika machache ambayo naonani ya kufaa; na ninaandika kwa ndugu zangu, Walamani; na…….. (etc.)
….i do belief in that, its true.
Yes, I know it is very true. You can have a personal relationship with your Father in Heaven, and develop it, and then your people will feel your testimony when you share it with them. Maybe you are being called of God, a part his purpose for you
yes, i agree
also the church is build up of different gifts of holy spirit and everyone has a part to take in churh according to his gift
Why did you decide to say those words about gifts?
i have just felt to say about it
Since you have not ever in your life read it ever before, a miracle just happened. You will see it when you read the next part of the chapter in your language..... I will send it all together, with all of the verses.... (It is the very last chapter of the Book)
7 Na mngejua kwamba yuko, kwa uwezo wa Roho Mtakatifu; kwa hivyo ningewashauri….(etc. to the end of the chapter)
my God is alive and i trust in Him. He is God of miracles
since i have God i cnt fear to give my number. call anytime 2morow =0738181500
Probably it will be the church member missionaries who will call, since they can speak your language. thank you! Do youhave an address?
i dnt hv
Can you tell me the building you are in at the school? Or maybe the room number or such?
in kenya thr is nothing like room number unless at nairobi or other big cities. to contact we use only phone
We would like to send you a free copy of these scriptures, in the mail, or the missionaries can bring you one, and then they can also talk with you about it. There is so much more to read!
You can read the whole book and then see if it is good in your life. And you can share it with others instead of just these messages My words are just imperfect words, but the word of god is pure
its ok,but in college we stay 6 per cube and i have only 3weeks remaining to finish so its better to use phone
okay.
Did you see the miracle in the words?
I saw the miracle that, I chose to not give all of the words, because it began to talk about spiritual gifts, and I didn't think that it was a part of what we were talking about. But then you started talking about spiritual gifts, without even reading it before. That was a little miracle to me that you would know and speak what was coming next. It is like it is written for you today
Those who belongs to God think, talk and do like him.
do u doubt yourself?
I trust that His spirit helps us when we need guiding, as it just did.
It is late in Kenya, I will go so you can sleep.
although i might not be perfect, but i know and i belief that the first and the last person to enter the kingdom of god will come from my church which looks like yours
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