The Branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints here in Kalgoorlie became a ward on June 16th, 2013. It was a joyous day for all the members here, but especially those members who have lived here for a long time and have been waiting and waiting for this day. The spirit was so strong and it could not be contained. The building was packed-nearly 300 people filled the chapel and the overflow area.
Missionaries from Perth first traveled to Kalgoorlie in late August 1907 and met up with Sister Brooks, and Sister Miles and Brother James Harding. On Sunday, the 8th of September, a sacrament meeting was held in Sister Brooks' home with seven present, including non-members. This would have been the first ever meeting held by the Church in the Goldfields. (Saints of the Golden West, by Donald W. Cummings, P4-5, 1896-1924).
The Kalgoorlie Branch officially began in 1963 with just a few families. Then in 1966 the Kalgoorlie Chapel was dedicated. The Mayor of Kalgoorlie at the time, Sir Richard Moore was in attendance at the dedication and he said, "Watch the Mormons, if they build a new church, then the area will be stable."
I don't mean to be boring, I just thought it would be nice for my own family history to have a little bit of the history of the church here in this unique area of the Lord's vineyard. I also wanted to record some of my own feelings about the Kalgoorlie Branch becoming a ward and Cory becoming the bishop of that ward.
I would just like to start by saying what a testimony building experience this has been watching our branch become a ward and watching Cory become a bishop. It was incredible to see the Priesthood in action like that. It is evident to me that the Priesthood really is the power of God on earth. These men who are called are nothing more than that, they are only men who have been called on to serve and they have accepted that call. But when these men accept the call to serve and are set apart, they truly become the instruments of God. I have seen that amazing transformation in Cory as he has been set apart and filled that role as bishop. The Lord is working through him, he is simply an instrument in the Lord's hands.
It was also amazing to hear and see the bestowal of the priesthood keys. Having the keys of the Priesthood is essential to being able to serve in the capacity required. I don't think I even ever understood what the difference was between Priesthood keys and Priesthood power until I saw my husband recieve those keys by the laying on of hands.
The day the branch became a ward, the spirit truly was there and it was unrestrained. It was so clear who was really in charge of that meeting and it was the Savior. He is truly the head of this church and He is mindful of all of his members in all parts of the world. When Cory got the call extended to him the stake president didn't say that he would like to call him to be bishop, he said that Heavenly Father would like to call you to serve as bishop of the Kalgoorlie Ward. That is a truly humbling and overwhelming moment.
The meeting was a truly memorable one, it really brought to light the words of the classic hymn, The spirit of God like a fire is burning. I know that this church is true and I love my Savior, Jesus Christ with all of my heart. I would do anything he asked me to do because I love him. I am so grateful for this amazing learning experience and great opportunity to serve that He has given Cory and our family.
Since that day when Bishop Rowe got called I have seen an amazing transformation as Cory has risen up to fulfill that mantle of the bishop. It is truly a testament to me that whom the Lord calls He qualifies. When Cory first got called, and it hadn't officially been announced, any time I thought about him being the bishop, I couldn't stop laughing. It was just so funny to me that my husband of all people was going to be bishop. Don't get me wrong, I knew he was very capable, it's just not something that I ever thought would happen to us. But since he has been called and set apart it is very clear to me that the Lord knows what He is doing and that He calls people not because they already know how to do what is asked, but because He wants to teach and mold them through the experience. The other thing that has been reinforced to me through this whole experience is that the more you serve and the more you sacrifice, you get infinitely more in return from the Lord in the form of blessings.
We feel so blessed and grateful to be a small part of this historic moment for the church here in Kalgoorlie. I am so grateful for the gospel in my life and this great plan of happiness that our loving Father in Heaven so perfectly prepared for us. He truly is a loving and merciful God, and I love him.
We hope that the next few years will have good things in store for the church here in Kalgoorlie. We are excited to be a part of it.
This is from Devin, not Joslyn (too lazy to sign out):
ReplyDeleteThat is so awesome. I love seeing good character development in movies and books, but you get to see it in real life! I wish that I could see the development that you, Cory and your whole family are making out there, but I guess that I'll just have settle for seeing it in a book... or a blog. ;).
Wow. I didn't realize Cory is going to go down in history as the FIRST bishop EVER in your ward since it was a branch before.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing how Cory is growing under the mantle he has been given.
PS... I laughed too when I first heard. But I knew he was capable as well. And God truly does qualify those he calls.