My Journey with God, Part 180 In any case, in a meeting on August 3, 2008, the member of the Stake Presidents high council said that he was concerned about how my letter, dated July 7, 2008, might have come across to the Church President, even though the words might be true, and verily, the words were (and are) true, even as the words that came forth out of the mouth of Jesus were (and are) true, even though His words were not sugar coated to massage the pride of the audience, for Jesus was focused on pure truths, even as I am focused on pure truths, for verily, I have prayed many times to be a fountain of truth, nevertheless, I wrote another letter to the Church President, dated August 11, 2008, with sugar coated words to massage the pride of its recipient. August 11, 2008 Dear Brother [Last name of Church President], I write this letter in the spirit of affection and humility. Please consider me as a beggar, begging you to do certain things. I pray that you will not deny my request. Why do I begin this letter in such a way? Let me explain. You may or may not know that I am a manager at an automotive company. While working at this company, I have noticed something interesting about the written word (for example, in e-mails), in many cases, the person that reads such words reacts in certain ways that surprises the author of the words. Sometimes, the reader gets upset, formulates bad thoughts about the author, etc, when, in reality, the author had no ill intents whatsoever. In such cases, it helps when the reader and author talk, get on the same page, etc. So, thats why I began this letter the way I did, so you will not misunderstand my intents, attitudes, etc. It goes without saying that the Lord always knows the thoughts and intents of our hearts unto perfection, but this is not the case with the children of men. You might recall that the Stake President of my current stake sent forth a recommendation to the First Presidency in July 2004 (after holding a Stake Disciplinary Council). I understand that the following recommendation was made: Admit me into the Church ASAP, with a full restoration of all privileges and blessings that I enjoyed prior to my excommunication, without rebaptism, and remove all references to my excommunication from Church records. This recommendation may sound bold, but in reality, it is not given the basis for the recommendation, which is as follows: I was excommunicated unrighteously. In other words, I am innocent regarding this case, and did no wrong. Once again, please do not take this the wrong way. Please do not view this as Bharat is saying that he is right, and the First Presidency is wrong, instead, please look at the objective truth without being a respecter of persons. Verily, the Lord is not a respecter of persons. The decision of the First Presidency came back in 2004, with a denial of the Stake Presidents recommendation. Based on a meeting with the Stake President, I understand the following rationale: In an April 2000 letter, Bharat wrote something like you are getting old, and your days are numbered upon this Earth, etc. Saying such things is unbecoming of someone that desires to be a member of the Church, and depicts an attitude problem of the author of such words. Once again, please recall the point that I made at the very beginning of this letter regarding words and underlying attitudes and intents. Please allow me to explain these words. First the words are true. I also am getting old, and my days are also numbered upon this Earth. If someone tells me this, I view it as a fact, and I take no offense at such a thing. I love truth, and I focus on truth. The Lord knows that I did not have any bad intents or feelings when I wrote such words. Instead, I am only saying what is true. Prophets of old have also said things that are purely true, and they also got in trouble for it. Brother [last name of Church President], please understand. Please do not punish me for this. I have no hard feelings against anyone on this Earth, nor have I had any hard feelings against anyone on this Earth (not even against the Stake President who excommunicated me). I love all of you, and will do anything for you that is right before the Lord. However, why should I be expected to recall words that are true? I love truth. I love God, who is a God of truth. The Stake President (who excommunicated me) told me, when he rendered the excommunication decision unto me, you are so concerned about truth that you forget that God is not a God of truth, but a God of love. My response to him was God is a God of truth and also a God of love. In the eyes of God, when we truly love someone, we want them to leave this Earth in good standing in the eyes of God, certainly, there is nothing wrong with this. I hope you understand my heart. I hope you understand my attitudes. In a nutshell, I love truth. I love the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. I love everyone, even though I may not like the things that they do. Once again, even as Ammon said to King Lamoni, I will do anything that you ask me to do that is right before the Lord. I hope you understand that I have sufferred, and continue to suffer, great anguish of soul for the things that have happened to me. There is no way I can describe in words the depth of this anguish. At the same time, the Lord does comfort me. People may say otherwise, but I have not lost the gift of the Holy Ghost, after all, no one on the face of this Earth can break the covenant that I have made with Heavenly Father. The only way that the gift of the Holy Ghost can be taken away from me is if I myself break the covenant. So, if I truly have been unrighteously excommunicated from the Church, this does not take away such blessings like the gift of the Holy Ghost. In fact, I feel the Holy Ghost continually for long periods of time. It is a great comfort, a feeling of peace, a source of truth and wisdom, etc. President Monson, please, I beg thee, please revisit the recommendation of the Stake President that he sent to the First Presidency in July 2004. Please have mercy on me, and follow the recommendation as outlined in this letter. You have the power to do it. Please have mercy on me. I beg thee. I still do all the things that a member of the Church ought to do. I read and study the Book of Mormon, in fact, at least once per month. I am kept out of the temple, but I take my wife to the temple every Saturday, while I babysit our kids. I go to Church every Sunday. I open my mouth and testify of the Church, the Book of Mormon, the prophet Joseph Smith, the restoration, prophets and apostles on the earth today, etc. I never say anything against the Church, nor do I have even one ounce of any bad feelings against the Church in any fiber of my being. For example, I have not gone forth and murmured to people about this case, in fact, people do not know about it (only a few leaders, for example, various bishops and stake presidents). [Verily, I only discuss this case as directed by the Spirit to fulfill the purposes of the Lord.] I felt inspired to write my testimony down on paper, and to share it with people. I have a rich testimony regarding this. The Stake President (who excommunicated me) told me not to share it, but I could not withhold it from others. So, he excommunicated me, claiming that I was not sustaining leaders. How can I go against the promptings of the Holy Ghost? Havent you ever had an experience in your life in which you made a commitment to always follow the promptings of the Holy Ghost? Brother Monson, please, I beg thee, have mercy on me. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen. Brother Bharat Kharadia
Posted on: Thu, 02 Oct 2014 10:08:25 +0000
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