On June 5, 1882, Rebecca Mitchell stepped off the train in Eagle Rock.  After a few months of training at a denominational women’s school in Chicago, she came to the West under the umbrella of the American Baptist Home Missionary Society, today known as National Ministries.  As a determined, self-supporting Baptist missionary, she entered town with the motto:  “All things are possible to him that believeth” (Mark 9:23).  She commented about seeing no other Baptist pioneers around her, and then she declared her mission:

I found no church or church organization on this line of road from Ogden, Utah to Butte, Mont., a distance of four hundred miles.  Neither tree, nor grass, nor bird was to be seen on the streets but sand, sand, everywhere, but when the sandstorms came, it was beyond description.  My first work was a day and Sunday school, which I named Providence Mission, because by unexpected and unplanned journeys the Lord had transplanted me into this needy field.”

And so Baptist missions began.  Through the help of the Reverend Dwight Spencer  of New York, the Superintendent of Baptist Missions in the West, a little chapel [First Baptist Church] was dedicated in 1884.  With a joyful heart, Rebecca wrote, “It was the beginning of a new era in Snake River Valley when the bell rang out the hour of prayer.”

First Baptist Church happily ministered for 70 years in Idaho Falls before the birth of the Calvary Baptist congregation in Idaho Falls.  And the chain of Baptist churches and some of their missions outreach congregations in town followed something like this:  First Baptist Church (1884), Calvary Baptist Church (1954), Gethsemane Baptist Church (1958), Eagle Rock Baptist Church (1982), Liberty Missionary Baptist Church (1985), First Bible Baptist Church (1985), Mission Baptista Del Sur (1993), New Hope Community Fellowship (1994), Berean Baptist Church (1995), Falls Southern Baptist Church (1995), the Korean Church (1996), New Hope Anchor Fellowship (2002), and the Hispanic Baptist Church meeting at Gethsemane (2012).

How many of you have been marked by one of these local churches?  What stories could you tell me?  I would like to hear them.  Share with me any observations.  I am all ears.  Feel free to comment below.  Even your questions.  Or please email me at elonwood@juno.com.  I would like to learn all the ins and outs of this Baptist stream in town.

Some Baptist churches have disassembled, like First Baptist Church.  But we are thankful that the American Baptists are leasing the old building of First Baptist Church to Calvary Chapel Christian School for the Christian training of 6th-10th grade students (in the fall, including 11th grade).  So in a sense, the burden of the early Baptist missionary, Rebecca Mitchell, in teaching young people the ways of God long ago, lingers on today.  This upcoming Tuesday, June 5, 2012, marks 130 years of Baptist ministry to the King.  Sola de gloria.

Church Planting.  By Faith.

And the music will lift your heart.

1.  The 5K / 10K Walk / Run begins at the boat dock on the  West side of the Snake River along highway 20 in Idaho Falls – 5:30 pm, June 2.

2.  We are very thankful for all the businesses and restaurants who have donated certificates and gift baskets for this event.  Lots of prizes will be available.

3.  We are thankful for those who have donated to the event costs and t-shirts.

4.  We are thankful for those helping and assisting in this event.  Our contact lady is Cassie Smith.  Her cell is (208) 351-7844.  Or you may contact me: (208) 419-9442.

Coming soon to the LDS I-15 Corridor.

“I John your brother and companion in tribulation.”

One of the themes of the book of Revelation is grace and peace to those in tribulation, specifically to those who suffer for the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. And we all face pressures . . . psychological . . . financial . . . physical, etc. Some of those in our church family face daunting physical ailments. One of the sisters has been in the hospital for over a week. And it might yet be another week.

I think back to an ancestor of mine who was dying of Tuberculosis. The brother, Erastus Lee, of my great, great, great, great, great grandpa Eber Lee writes to beloved Betsy Ann Lee. Eber Lee was the son of Elon Lee I. I have Elon’s cane, dated back to 1762. Erastus writes to Betsy:

“May He direct you in wisdom, what to do for the attainment of health. If He directs the means, and gives His blessing, you will soon have health. Let us therefore seek His grace, for He alone is sufficient for all our wants. But let us beware of hypocrisy; and go before Him without any covering for our souls, save the robes of righteousness wrought by our glorious mediator, seeing it is only in and through Jesus our Redeemer, that our surety, and in our name has paid our debt to justice; may we not now, “come boldly to the throne of grace, and obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” Heb. 4:16

“May God grant you so much happiness as a mortal can enjoy on earth; and the full fruition of perfect blessedness, when you pass the bounds of time. This, my beloved, is the sincere prayer of my heart. With what earnest desires, with what sincerity of heart, these petitions are offered before God, He knoweth.

“And now, will Betsy unite with me in these or similar supplications? Bowing ourselves before the throne of His glory, let us worship Him with ardent devotion; and humbly entreat His favor, that He would be our joy, our rejoicing, our all in time, and prepare us to glorify and enjoy Him, when time shall be no more. And when we leave these present scenes, may our God receive us, where we shall have no more pain; no temptations; no sin; no trials, grief, or trouble of any kind. But where all is perfect purity, holiness, harmony and love. Where we shall see as we are seen, know as we are known, and love as we are beloved. And may that love of Christ be shed abroad in our hearts even now, constraining us, that we may love our God supremely; and each other with purity and fervency; and our fellow creatures with Christian benevolence. And now, blessed Betsy, I commit you to God, and to His holy keeping. Farewell. Yours truly, Erastus Lee

This is an excerpt of one of the letters (July 31, 1841) written by Erastus to beloved, beautiful Betsy. She died two years later.

I cry, Maranatha,

Todd Wood

“I, John, your brother and companion in tribulation”.

Late last night after the cubscout Blue and Gold meal at the church building, my father passed on to me 16 volumes of family correspondence that my grandfather typed out on his old antiquated manual “Royal” typewriter. I am blown away by some of the things that I am reading.

The first volume begins with Christopher C. Chesebro who was a prisoner on a ship in the Revolutionary War. This man is the great, great grandfather of my great, great grandpa on his mother’s side. He is my grandfather with 5 greats attached.

For generations, my family has known the fellowship of deep suffering. My great, great, great, great, great grandpa signed his name to this poem:

“Oh! land of rest, for thee I sigh,

When will the moment come,

When I shall lay my armor by

And dwell with Christ at home.

No tranquil joys on earth I know,

No peaceful sheltering dome,

This world’s a wilderness of woe,

This world is not my home.

Would at once have quit this place

foes in fury roam,

ah, my passport was not sealed,

not yet go home.

When by afflictions sharply tried,

I viewed the gaping tomb,

Although I dread death’s chilling flood,

Yet still I sigh for home.

Weary of wandering round and round

This world of sin and gloom

I long to leave the unhallowed ground

And dwell with Christ at home.

I was thinking that real comfort does not come from religious leaders who just sit in ivory towers, untouched by tribulation.

So far, the year 2012 has been a riveting year for this pivotal Eastern Idaho community situated on the northern stretch of the I-15 LDS corridor.

First, we had the opportunity to listen live to Republican Presidential candidate, Mitt Romney, in a packed-out, standing-room-only gymnasium at Skyline High School. The cheers for Mitt were deafening. I could have reached out and touched the man, an individual who recently spoke at the commencement of Liberty University – one of the largest evangelical campuses in America. I hope Mitt, who is LDS, will beat Barak this November.

Secondly, those of all different religious backgrounds were invited and had the privilege to hear ex-LDS bishop Earl Erskine speak to a Saturday night audience (and through Sunday) in the large Calvary Chapel sanctuary. This man had never before been featured in an evangelical worship service of that nature. On Saturday night, he spoke softly and haltingly in his speech. I have never seen anything like it.

And if that has not been enough to supercharge our city with electricity, thirdly, on Wednesday, 7:00 pm, June 13, 2012, less than four weeks from today, Greg Johnson (founder of Standing Together) and Dr. Robert Millet will be on stage at the downtown Colonial Theater to have a historic public conversation in Idaho Falls, Idaho about the respective faiths of evangelicalism and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This will have nothing to do with American governmental politics but everything to do with what these two affable men have promoted as convicted civility in their gospel discussions. For some time in town, we have had an evangelical ministry, Share the Son Ministries, (which I highly recommend) lovingly and respectively seek to discuss LDS and evangelical doctrinal differences in order to obtain clarity and further evangelistic strategies, but this is the first time we have had a prominent LDS man and an ordained Baptist minister share the platform together in a public event.

Undoubtedly, there will be a large representation of LDS leadership at this event. I desire to meet as many of the men as possible. The event is free to the public. Concerning your attendance, one evangelical brother in town, Larry Hall, is a chief architect for helping arrange this event. He has about 450 tickets available. To request your block of tickets, email him at LarryJHall@hotmail.com. He will send you a confirmation about reserving your tickets, how to pick them up, and a request to contact if there is a cancellation.

As you consider the dynamics of a dialogue like this, whether you are evangelical or LDS, I would encourage you to pick up the book, Bridging the Divide: The Continuing Conversation Between A Mormon and An Evangelical (Monkfish, 2007). Read this book and you will come with even more questions on June 13. They touch on subjects that are vital to me: The nature of God, the Trinity, mankind’s sin, and the gospel.

See you all in downtown Idaho Falls soon,

Todd

At Liberty University . . .

Marriage is a relationship between one man and one woman.