The Mormon History, Writings, and Testimonies of Arlin Ewald Nusbaum – Volume Two

Preface

The original book has been divided into three Volumes. A description of each volume, with its Table of Contents, is listed in About the Series. Readers may see references to Spiritual Journeys (Volumes 1-3). These have been republished as the Testimony Series:

TESTIMONY: America’s Mt. Zion – Now

TESTIMONY: The Christian Writings and Testimonies of Arlin Ewald Nusbaum

TESTIMONY: Immortal Convergence and The Great One or Ancient of Days

TESTIMONY: Last Testament of Jesus Christ (formerly: Land of the Master)

TESTIMONY: The Miracle Painting

TESTIMONY: The Resurrection

TESTIMONY: Scotland

TESTIMONY: Spirits Among Us 

TESTIMONY: Temple Mount – 11:11 – Horn of God

About the Series

Volume I

Volume I covers Arlin’s time in the Mormon Church from birth through his resignation at 32. He shares what life was like being raised a seventh-generation Mormon outside the Book of Mormon beltway (Idaho-Utah-Arizona). Pictures are included in all volumes.

President Robert & Sister Thomas

Prophecies by President Thomas

Catch Me Up

Mormon History

Mormon Testimonies

Preston Nibley

Sunstone & Symposiums

September Six

Last Visit with the Thomases

Volume II

In Volume II, Arlin delves deeper into his mission experiences and explains How and Why he left Mormonism.

Missionary Service

Legacy

Jews

Freemasonry

Elder Bruce R. McConkie

Light

Mission Release

Unavoidable Doctrinal Forks

Pandora’s Box

Line of Demarcation

What If?

No Other Foundation

Joseph Not The Way

Joseph’s Original Call

Volume III

Volume III details the Heavenly Messengers who tutored Arlin, enabling him to transition from Mormonism, followed by a Call to Action for Mormons.

Heavenly Messengers

God the Father

Jesus Christ (0-33)

Apostle Saul (0-67)

Joe Smith (1805–1844)

David Whitmer (1805–1888)

William P. Brown (1832–c. 1891)

Dr. William Law (1809–1892)

Patriarch David White Rogers (1787–1881)

William Madison Wall (1821–1869)

Constantine (272-337)

Prof. William Barclay (1907-1978)

Rev. Thomas Campbell (1763-1854)

First Vision Location

Whitmer Farm – Angel Field

Angel and the Plates

New Jerusalem Fulfilled

Warning

Call to Action

Dedication

1

Missionary Service

Back when I was of missionary age, President Kimball (who was the prophet at the time) threw down the gauntlet by saying that every worthy male member of the Church was expected to serve a mission, but for girls and retirees, this was optional:

"Kimball’s presidency was noted for the 1978 revelation ending the restriction on church members of black African descent being ordained to the priesthood or receiving temple ordinances. Kimball’s presidency saw large growth in the LDS Church, both in terms of membership and the number of temples. Kimball was the first church president to state publicly that the church expects all able-bodied male members to serve missions in young adulthood, resulting in an increase in missionary service"[1]

It was clear that everyone in my age group was expected to serve missions. Those who did not were considered disobedient, and thus it was never a question if I would go. I had two older brothers who did serve and one who did not. I’m sure many individuals influenced my positive outlook on the subject over the years. At University, I was used by the local missionaries to go on appointments with them, visiting students around campus.

I guess they saw in me a willing participant, and I even went cold-tracting with them in the local neighborhoods. I wish I could recall the names of those elders, for they greatly influenced me. At college, I didn’t know anyone initially and was left to find my way to church, and because most students went home on the weekends, I was likewise left to myself in the dorms. Without funds for a bike or anything else, I initially had to walk several miles to the meetinghouse.

The missionaries saw my plight and broke mission rules by giving me a lift to the church. They then showed me the bicycle heap in their garage full of old missionary bike parts and said I could help myself. So, I took pieces from the different bikes and made a completely functioning one. Sometimes on the weekend, when the cafeteria was closed, they would invite me up to their apartment (above the garage) for food, and that is when I got to see behind the scenes what being a missionary was like.

I’m grateful those elders were on fire for the work, not slackers or complainers. We were all busy, but our paths would cross every once in a while, and it was they who encouraged me to memorize the Missionary Discussions right then rather than wait to do it at the MTC or on my mission. Those discussions were nicknamed the rainbow discussions and were 219 pages long:

"The Uniform System for Teaching Families. In 1973, a new set of missionary discussions, later nicknamed the ‘Rainbow discussions‘ because of their colored pages [7 Discussions – 219 pages], were introduced."[2]

They gave me a used set of the Rainbow discussions (plenty were left behind by missionaries who went home), and I proceeded to memorize all 219 pages before entering the MTC, which was a labor in futility for when the Church shortened missions to 18 months, they also implemented new, shorter discussions. My Stake President at school was also the Institute Director, and he taught several classes. President Lazenby was familiar with the optimal time for turning in missionary papers. Though my birthday was not until April 16th, he said I could submit my papers much earlier, so we did that.

At that April General Conference, just before my birthday, they announced the shortened missions. That day, I went to Church to listen to the conference broadcast there, and as soon as I got out of the car, others began to tell me the good news, and all were greatly rejoicing. Later that night, I received a call from my parents informing me that students at BYU were celebrating; my reaction was the opposite. I had been preparing for a 2-year mission and was very disappointed; maybe I was the only one, I don’t know.

My mom said, Aren’t you happy? What’s wrong? My reply was, "Of course they are, but I want to serve," and felt I was being robbed of what I had prepared for; at least they could have left the longer mission as an option, but try as President Lazenby and I did, Church headquarters would not grandfather me into a 24-month mission.

Mission Call

I fondly recall the day the letter from Church headquarters arrived with my mission call.

Envelope from Salt Lake City – April 8, 1982

Opening the letter was especially exciting, and reading the part where I was called—Australia Melbourne Mission.

Mission Call – April 8, 2018

This is what I recorded in my Missionary Journal:

First Impressions

"I sent my papers in 3-25-82 and got my call 4-12-82. This waiting period was a lot longer than I was expecting. When I read that I was going to Melbourne, Australia, my whole self was filled with so much joy as I have never felt in my whole life. It said I wasn’t to enter the MTC until 7-15-82. Three months was quite a while but I know I needed this time to prepare myself better. I have noticed an extra evil force put upon me. I know the adversary watches closely for any chance to get me (First Impressions," Missionary Journal).

As is the custom in the Church, a special service is held for departing missionaries. I had two Mission Farewells, one in Norman, Oklahoma, and another at my home ward in Arvada, Colorado. Below is a picture of my journal entry following my farewell in Norman, Oklahoma.

Mission Farewell, Norman, OK – May 2, 1982

"Yesterday was fast Sunday and the Norman 2nd Ward gave me a farewell by asking me to conclude the testimony meeting with my testimony. I had fasted four days in hopes of preparing for my testimony. My name was even on the program, and my picture will be in the display case. Many of my friends were there; some unknowingly were guided there. I do not recall how long I talked, but I had words given to me by the Spirit which contained a message which many did receive or received a witness of the Spirit" (Personal Journal, May 3, 1982).

And here’s a picture of me after the farewell in Arvada, Colorado.

Mission Farewell, Arvada, CO - July 1982 Mission Farewell, Arvada, CO – July 11, 1982

I entered the Missionary Training Center (MTC) on July 15, 1982, and lived in unit 13M-317 until August 2. Here’s our district picture.

Arlin’s MTC District (4th from left) – July 1982

Some facts about my mission:

18 Month Mission

3 Mission Presidents (including the MTC)

9 Companions (including the MTC)

8 Areas (not including the MTC)

Master Missionary

Trainer

District Leader

Zone Leader

Released Christmas Day

Here’s a picture of a zone gathering on Preparation Day, called P-day, that I fondly remember; I’m third from the left (three of my companions are also in it).

Dandenong Zone (3rd from left) – 1982

This is a picture of the mission with my first mission president—President and Sister Sanders:

Mission Group, 12th from left, 2nd from top – 1982

Like other missionaries, I kept a journal:

Missionary Journal Cover

My writing was small and intense to fit my experiences into the journals:

Missionary Journal Page

1st Mission President

My first mission president was harsh and went by the book. Stats were everything to him (whether from him or his higher-ups, I don’t know), but President Thomas discontinued nearly all of Pres. Sanders’ programs after he arrived. For example, under Pres. Sanders, on the first meeting with an investigator, missionaries were expected to obtain the following commitments:

Commitment to buy (preferably) and read The Book of Mormon

Commitment to attend a presentation by the Zone Leaders

Commitment to attend Church on Sunday

Commitment to listen to the First Discussion

Commitment to pray

Commitment to be baptized

Each of those commitments was a statistic, and statistics were reported at the end of every week, and goals were always set.

President Sanders

"Chris (1919-2014) was employed as an FBI Special Agent. Chris loved the Gospel of Jesus Christ and dedicated much of his life to service in the Church. In addition to many other callings, he served as bishop in Topeka as well as stake president and stake patriarch in Kansas City. Together with Joyce he served as mission president in Melbourne, Australia from 1980 to 1983. They also served a mission in India (Christian Follet Sanders," The Salt Lake Tribune – Obituaries, Oct. 26, 2014).

Sister Sanders Sister Sanders

"Joyce (1927-2004) is survived by her loving and devoted husband, Christian F. Sanders, her children David (Vickie), Scott (Tobi), Sheridan (Brad) Cates, Robyn (Craig) Spongberg, Ron (Jeanne), and