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Church Educational System first begun in Trinidad in the 1980's with a couple
called the Evans. They organized a small group of about six in what was still
the Trinidad Branch in Port of Spain. After the Evans left C.E.S. more or less
started and stopped with every couple that came and departed. In the late 1980's
a man by the name of Kelvin Diaz joined the Church and was later appointed as
the C.E.S. Co-ordinator for the region. He continued where the couples left off,
but on a bigger scale. Following Br. Diaz, came Fritzner Joseph from Haiti. Br.
Joseph took over from Br. Diaz and expanded C.E.S. in the region. The first C.E.S.
Couple to be sent to work in Trinidad are the Mc Gills. This Couple has been able
to organize Seminary and Institute in a special and specific way than any of the
previous initiators. The Mc Gills stats are below:
From Elder
John and Sister Natalie McGill, 4 Dec 1999: We are senior couple missionaries
currently serving as the West Indies Mission's first Church Educational System
(CES) missionaries, and have four children and nine grandchildren. Sister McGill
was converted in 1967 while a young mother of two daughters living in Covington,
Kentucky, where Elder McGill was practicing law in Cincinnati, Ohio. Elder McGill
was baptized 8 1/2 years later in Memphis, Tennessee. Our life in the Church has
been rich and rewarding, and we count it as our greatest blessing that all our
children were married in the temple, and their children are being raised in the
Church. Because we never got to serve missions as young adults, and to show our
gratitute to Heavenly Father for His great blessings, Elder McGill took early
retirement from Reynolds Metals Co. in 1993 so we could begin our missionary service.
Our first mission was as counselor to the Virginia, Richmond Mission President,
so we moved to Virginia Beach in 1994 to serve there for 14 months. In February
of '99 we left Richmond, Virginia, where we have lived for twenty years, to begin
this mission, and we will serve here in Trinidad for 18 months (until August,
2000). This is an exciting and rewarding mission, and we love working with the
young people. Thus far, our work within the mission has been concentrated on the
five branches in Trinidad, three each in Guyana and Barbados, and the branch in
Suriname. In each counrty we help appoint, train and support seminary and institute
teachers; visit their classes as often as possible; hold Super Saturdays every
few months; work with district and branch leadership as youth advocates; help
plan and carry out activities for the young single adults; teach a weekly institute
class and provide substitute teaching; LOTS of record keeping; and are now working
with the district president to form an Institute Council in Trinidad.
It is a rich and varied work, sometimes exhausting and frustrating, but has brought
so many blessings. We feel the Lord's hand in countless ways in this work, and
realize how precious the youth are to Him. We miss our family terribly, but they
have been so blessed as we serve that we don't worry about them. Our testimony
of the Savior has increased immeasurably these past 9 plus months, and we realize
the need for strict obedience as we have never understood it before. We hope to
be able to serve more missions in the future. |

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I know I might get some flack for this one, but I'm going to post them anyway. You decide if these apply to Glenn Beck or not.
QUOTE "Whenever a preacher is popular in the midst of a wicked generation, or a man is popular who professes to be a minister of truth, you may set it down as a certain fact that that man does not preach the truth as it exists in Christ. There is no disputing this, if this book (the Bible) be true; if there is any reliance to be placed in the word of God. As true as there is a God, and as true as there is a devil, the man that preaches the truth to a wicked generation will bring about the hatred of which I have read in your hearing. This is just as true as that God lives and that there is evil to combat, or that Satan has power over the hearts of the children of men." George Q. Cannon JD 20:334 Oct 6th, 1879
QUOTE Popular Teachers and the Potential of Priestcraft
Another illustration of a strength that can become our downfall concerns charismatic teachers. With a trained mind and a skillful manner of presentation, teachers can become unusually popular and effective in teaching. But Satan will try to use that strength to corrupt teachers by encouraging them to gather a following of disciples. A Church teacher, Church Educational System instructor, or Latter-day Saint university professor who gathers such a following and does this “for the sake of riches and honor” (Alma 1:16) is guilty of priestcraft. “Priestcrafts are that men preach and set themselves up for a light unto the world, that they may get gain and praise of the world; but they seek not the welfare of Zion” (2 Ne. 26:29).
Teachers who are most popular, and therefore most effective, have a special susceptibility to priestcraft. If they are not careful, their strength can become their spiritual downfall. They can become like Almon Babbitt, with whom the Lord was not pleased, because “he aspireth to establish his counsel instead of the counsel which I have ordained, even that of the Presidency of my Church; and he setteth up a golden calf for the worship of my people” (D&C 124:84).
Dallin H. Oaks, “Our Strengths Can Become Our Downfall,” Liahona, May 1995, 10 |
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