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Arthur Alma Oakman was born at Ponder's End, Middlesex, England on March 30, 1905. He was baptized September 5, 1915 by High Priest Roderick May at Enfield, England. He was ordained a Priest July 29, 1928 by Apostle Paul M. Hanson and Elder John W. Worth. He was ordained an Elder Jun 1, 1930 by Bishop G. Leslie DeLapp and President Floyd M. McDowell. He graduated from Graceland College in 1930. He was ordained a Seventy April 15, 1934 by Apostle F. Henry Edwards and Apostle Edmund J. Gleazer, Sr. He was ordained a High Priest April 11, 1936 by Apostle Edmund J. Gleazer, Sr. and Apostle John F. Garver. He served as Pastor of the Stone Church congregation (Independence, Missouri, USA) from 1936 to 1938. He married Elva T. Sturges on January 1, 1937. He was ordained an Apostle April 10, 1938 by Apostle Myron M. McConley and Apostle Edmund J. Gleazer, Sr. He was ordained an Evangelist April 7, 1964 by Apostle Percy E. Farrow and Apostle Charles D. Neff. He authored several books and the hymn "By Thy Redeeming Cross, O Lord." He died December 26, 1975.
Fifth in a series of six lectures given to the Melchisedec Priesthood at the RLDS Stone Church in Independence, Missouri, USA from October 3 to 13, 1966. Brother Oakman states, "Brethren, there is an outer, external world which is designed to minister the life of God to us. And there is also an invisible, interior, inner world, and it is this invisible interior world, the world that is within us, with which we have to do, so terribly important. And, all of the apparatus known to us as the universe, the whole flux of things created, the presence of our fellow men, our heritage, history, all things, are designed that we may take them inside us. And that there may be created in us, in each one of us a universe of discourse, which shall be truly in harmony with the Spirit, and the mind, and the will of our Heavenly Father."
This electronic publication copyright © 2013 LatterDayTruth.org; All Rights Reserved.Fifth in a series of six lectures given to the Melchisedec Priesthood at the RLDS Stone Church in Independence, Missouri, USA from October 3 to 13, 1966. Brother Oakman states, "Brethren, there is an outer, external world which is designed to minister the life of God to us. And there is also an invisible, interior, inner world, and it is this invisible interior world, the world that is within us, with which we have to do, so terribly important. And, all of the apparatus known to us as the universe, the whole flux of things created, the presence of our fellow men, our heritage, history, all things, are designed that we may take them inside us. And that there may be created in us, in each one of us a universe of discourse, which shall be truly in harmony with the Spirit, and the mind, and the will of our Heavenly Father." This pamphlet is designed to be printed in a "booklet" format; choose booklet printing under your printer options.
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49 minute sermon by Apostle Arthur Oakman. He talks about Jesus Christ and the last supper. He also talks about agency and states, "We are free, for the origin of our actions is ourselves, but we are bound hand and foot because from ourselves there is no deliverance, unless it be through the mercy and the merits and the grace of Jesus Christ, who declares the love of God to us in those terms by which he is able to come to us and take us and lift us off of ourselves as center and re-center us in God."
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55 minute sermon by Apostle Arthur Oakman of the RLDS Church. He states, "I think it is foolish of us to close our eyes to our adversary, and I think if we are to combat sin we must study its manifestations, recognize it for what it is. And we cannot do this in our own strength either, because it's in the very nature of sin to deceive the sinner."
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Given on December 5, 1971 at 11 AM at the Enoch Hill RLDS Congregation, in Independence, MO, USA.
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45 minute sermon by Arthur Oakman. He states, "The work of delivery the people of God from bondage and planting them in Zion requires that they have some knowledge of the Divine purpose. That we come to know that the whole of life is purposeless and that nothing ever walks with aimless feet as the poet has said. We live in a day of course when we're blessed by and cursed by the spirit of science. One of the great tragedies of our age is that its chief glory is also its main stumbling block. We have come to believe that nothing that we can imagine can be restrained from us. And as the spirit of inquiry and research goes on and on and on and mankind's more and more about the universe around him, he brings back to us marvelous things. And as he is learning more about the world of course he is learning more about God. But even this glory of ours is our chief stumbling block as I said because it is assumed by so many that the scientific approach to reality is the only valid way that the universe could reveal its' secrets to us."
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44 minute sermon by Arthur Oakman. Brother Oakman states, "We're told in modern day revelation that one of the functions of the restoration is that every man might speak in the name of God the Lord, even the Savior of the world. Have you ever thought about that? That every man might speak in the name of God the Lord, even the Savior of the world. In order that faith might increase in the earth, that mine everlasting covenant might be established, and that my gospel might be preached, that the fullness of my gospel might be preached in all the world by the weak and the simple unto the ends of the world, and before kings and rulers. Can you speak in the name of God the Lord?"
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41 minute sermon by Evangelist Arthur Oakman. Brother Oakman shares an experience of Apostle D. T. Williams who lost his 18 year old son in an auto accident. Brother Williams struggled to continue his ministry until he had an experience with God. Oakman states, "At the foundation of every effective ministry there is always sacrifice." Brother Oakman also shares about two ladies in St. Louis; one was healed, one was not. Brother Oakman states, "Never forget, God Is, and God is Almighty!"
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43 minute sermon by Evangelist Arthur Oakman. He shares an experience of Albert Carmichael, when he was a young pastor in Garden Grove, California, who was concerned about the children of his congregation receiving ministry. Brother Carmichael fasted and prayed for many months. He then had an experience where he was taken by an angel on a journey where he saw beautiful flowers, grass, and birds, and then a temple where the children were being taught. Brother Oakman also shares an experience of Dr. Gustav Platz of Graceland College at the 1946 Lamoni reunion where he shares his testimony. Also, Guy P. Levitt of Berkley California who prophesied in a priesthood prayer service that, "the Lord loved them so much that if necessary, he would take away their possessions until they stood naked before him". 30 years later a friend who lost $250,000 wanted to meet with Arthur. He showed Arthur a diagrammatic representation of the nature of Zion, which had cost him $250,000.
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52 minute sermon by Evangelist Arthur Oakman. Brother Oakman shares about Christopher Columbus, how the Spirit of God wrought upon him, and that everything about the discovery of America was appointed by God. He shares a testimony of Apostle Paul Hanson who was sitting in a General Conference in the later 1950's, when, "Something still came into my soul, and I was exalted and lifted up; and there was born in upon my consciousness the knowledge that Zion shall be!" He asks, "Why does this Church exists? It doesn't exist for what it is now alone. It exists for the potential, what might develop, what must develop and what shall develop as a result of our fellowship together." Brother Oakman also shares about ministering in Europe during World War II and being arrested by the Gestapo in Germany. He also shares an experience about mailing a letter to President F.M. Smith stating he would stay in England during the war. Two celestial beings walked on either side of him as he waited for the train to arrive. "I was given to know that because of their kindness to his ancient covenant people the Jews, God would not permit Great Britain to be invaded by their enemies; and conversely, because of their unspeakable cruelty to his ancient covenant people, the Lord would utterly destroy Germany as a power or influence in Europe." He is also told, "How can the Gospel of the Kingdom be preached in all the world for a witness, unless and until there is a visible kingdom on the earth for which witness can be born? I shall not so far permit the forces of destruction to engulf the world as to make impossible the redemption of my Zion!"
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45 minute sermon by Evangelist Arthur Oakman. Brother Oakman tells the story about John Worth in England. John was an orphan and never knew his parents. He was baptized when he was 17, ordained a Priest and then an Elder. When John was 67 years old and on his deathbed, he was called through Brother Oakman to the office of Patriarch. His health was restored and he was ordained a Patriarch during an air raid on London in May, 1940. Other experiences about Brother Worth are also shared. Oakman also shares about President F. M. Smith visiting England in 1920 and giving a sermon. He asked, "How many plumbers in this group?" He talked about every trade represented in that group. He talked about timbers for the Temple. That they had a chance of being fashioned by the Spirit by the way they did their daily work so that they could be fit to be assembled in the great Temple of God. President Smith also stated, "That every rise in the quality of a man's work is the rise in the quality of the man."
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44 minute sermon by Evangelist Arthur Oakman. He states, "Men are anxiously looking for some sign of peace. Men are kidding themselves, as is our President at this time, that we are nearer to peace then we've ever been. There will be no peace on earth until Zion begins her mild reign, under the blessing and the providence of our Lord Jesus Christ. Let us look. The night was dark after Jesus had ascended, as you well know, men apostatized from his teachings. It wasn't a deliberate thing. The apostacy never took place at ten o'clock in the afternoon of August the 15th, when was it, 570. It was a gradual process in which men with the best of intentions in the world, sought to do the will of God in their own strength. And there were many, many wonderful men, even during the dark ages, we call the dark ages." Brother Oakman goes on to talk about the dark ages, the discover of America, and light and truth coming forth in this land.
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41 minute sermon by Evangelist Arthur Oakman. Brother Oakman shares his experience of growing up in England as a boy. His family was very poor. The family lived on a cul-de-sac on Garfield Rd in England. The family would watch each evening for their father to come home to see if he had made any money that day at work. One day there stepped into the street an elderly gentleman with a long white beard. He began to sing, "Begone unbelief, my Savior is near, and for my relief will shortly appear, A prayer let me wrestle and He will perform, with Christ in the vessel I smile at the storm." He asked for some food and Sister Oakman gave him a piece of bread (she only had two slices in the house). He said, "Sister because of this sacrifice you have made, the Lord has set his hand this day to bless your household. And from this day forth you shall never want in basket and store. This young man (Arthur) shall grow to manhood and preach the gospel in many lands." Arthur's father came home that day and said that he had just landed a contract that would keep him in work for six months. Brother Oakman goes on to share many more experiences.
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44 minute sermon by Evangelist Arthur Oakman. Brother Oakman shares about the triumph of men of vision. He talks about the building of St. Paul's Cathedral in London, England. "Vision makes all the difference. The vision of the Kingdom takes the mundane, ordinary things of life and transforms them into things of beauty." Brother Oakman also shares F. Henry Edwards testimony of preparing for some lectures on the atonement at Graceland College in 1925 after a long, exhausting missionary trip. Their next door neighbor's daughter Susie had leukemia and was in the hospital needing a blood transfusion. Brother Edwards ended up being an exact match and they took 3 pints of blood from him. Three days later, after struggling to prepare for the lectures, he went to the hospital to see Susie and he received the inspiration he needed to prepare for the lectures. "Vision changes the aspect of everything."
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33 minute sermon by Evangelist Arthur Oakman. Brother Oakman makes several key statements, including, "Have you people ever become aware of what you have already done in Jesus Christ? That's our difficulty, we don't realize it. What we have already done in Jesus Christ." and, "No man is ever qualified to be his own critic. And unless there shall be given unto him a pattern of a perfect life, how can he gauge or evaluate his own?" and, "We look ourselves over and we're OK, but the fact is that unless the testimony of Jesus resides within us, we have no inward monitor to give us a true evaluation of ourselves. That's why the Holy Spirit was promised to the disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ." He then shares an experience about when he was a young pastor in Berkley, California. He had a vision where he saw Jesus teaching his disciples. Arthur was then told that his ministry was accepted and that he would be called to be an Apostle. Later, Brother Guy P. Levitt also spoke under the influence of the Spirit to Brother Oakman with the same words, except for the calling to the Twelve, which was confirmation of his experience.
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41 minute lecture by Patriarch Arthur Oakman called The Genius of Zion. This was Lecture No. 1 for the Elders Quorum of Center Stake and was given at the Stone Church, Independence, Missouri, USA on January 31, 1974. Brother Oakman states, "The genius of Zion, origin I suppose, rests in the Word of God, and the Word of God let me say is not marks on paper or sounds in the air, the Word of God is the Lord Jesus Christ, His Spirit. It is that which makes us hear, it is that which we hear. And one word spoken from him, has the power to recreate his character in the lives of those who hear it. Because we’re incapable of hearing the Word of God by ourselves, it’s only the action of the Good Spirit, to break down our obtuseness, to break down our deafness, so that our ears are open by him to hear what he has to say…The only thing that we can contribute to our salvation is the sin from which we need to be redeemed, and of course, we are very reluctant to do that."
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Fourth in a series of six lectures given to the Melchisedec Priesthood at the RLDS Stone Church in Independence, Missouri, USA from October 3 to 13, 1966. Brother Oakman states, "Brethren, there is an outer, external world which is designed to minister the life of God to us. And there is also an invisible, interior, inner world, and it is this invisible interior world, the world that is within us, with which we have to do, so terribly important. And, all of the apparatus known to us as the universe, the whole flux of things created, the presence of our fellow men, our heritage, history, all things, are designed that we may take them inside us. And that there may be created in us, in each one of us a universe of discourse, which shall be truly in harmony with the Spirit, and the mind, and the will of our Heavenly Father."
This electronic publication copyright © 2013 LatterDayTruth.org; All Rights Reserved.Transcript for Endowment Lecture #4.
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Third in a series of six lectures given to the Melchisedec Priesthood at the RLDS Stone Church in Independence, Missouri, USA from October 3 to 13, 1966. Brother Oakman states, "Brethren, there is an outer, external world which is designed to minister the life of God to us. And there is also an invisible, interior, inner world, and it is this invisible interior world, the world that is within us, with which we have to do, so terribly important. And, all of the apparatus known to us as the universe, the whole flux of things created, the presence of our fellow men, our heritage, history, all things, are designed that we may take them inside us. And that there may be created in us, in each one of us a universe of discourse, which shall be truly in harmony with the Spirit, and the mind, and the will of our Heavenly Father."
This electronic publication copyright © 2013 LatterDayTruth.org; All Rights Reserved.Transcript for Endowment Lecture #3.
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58 minute sermon by Evangelist Arthur Oakman of the RLDS Church given June 27, 1968. Discusses the prophetic ministry of Joseph Smith, Jr.
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62 minute sermon by Apostle Arthur Oakman. "My friends, tonight, I bid you to come with me to Calvary in the power of the Spirit. It won't be a pleasant sight; it'll hurt you. But if you're brave enough to stay you'll never be the same again. The center and the meaning of the universe rests in a figure on a cross so dreadful in his solitude and spiritual loneliness, so marvelous in his willing submission to those who killed him and for whom in his agony he prayed and so altogether glorious in his utter dependence upon his Father who did not leave his soul in hell, but delivered him. Can the Church in this day bear the site?"
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49 minutes sermon by Patriarch Arthur Oakman called Men Find Life Only In The Word Of God. It was given at The Campus outdoor amphitheater in Independence, Missouri, USA in 1968. Brother Oakman states, "I'm reminded tonight that the first words ever uttered to Joseph Smith was this is my beloved son, hear him. And as you know this experience had a tremendous impact upon the lad and was the first of a number of such experiences which culminated in the organization of the Church. But hear ye him was not simply the answer to the boy's question, it was the statement of an eternal principal which applies to all mankind. It is a principle of life for all who listen and obey find life, and those who fail to listen and obey are destroyed. Only in the Word of Christ can men find life...The first revelation given before any specific commandment, in other words before ever our Heavenly Father tells us what to do, he tells us who he is! This declaration is first in emergence of time and also in order of purpose...I am the Lord thy God."
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46 minute sermon by Evangelist Arthur Oakman of the RLDS Church, given at the RLDS Stone Church in Independence, Missouri, USA in 1972. He states, "I was given to understand of the Holy Spirit, that our Heavenly Father has softened the hearts of the leaders of the nations for a season in order that we in his church may have the opportunity to strengthen ourselves in zionic endeavor."
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First in a series of six lectures given to the Melchisedec Priesthood at the RLDS Stone Church in Independence, Missouri, USA from October 3 to 13, 1966. Brother Oakman states, "Brethren, there is an outer, external world which is designed to minister the life of God to us. And there is also an invisible, interior, inner world, and it is this invisible interior world, the world that is within us, with which we have to do, so terribly important. And, all of the apparatus known to us as the universe, the whole flux of things created, the presence of our fellow men, our heritage, history, all things, are designed that we may take them inside us. And that there may be created in us, in each one of us a universe of discourse, which shall be truly in harmony with the Spirit, and the mind, and the will of our Heavenly Father."
This electronic publication copyright © 2013 LatterDayTruth.org; All Rights Reserved.First in a series of six lectures given to the Melchisedec Priesthood at the RLDS Stone Church in Independence, Missouri, USA from October 3 to 13, 1966. Brother Oakman states, "Brethren, there is an outer, external world which is designed to minister the life of God to us. And there is also an invisible, interior, inner world, and it is this invisible interior world, the world that is within us, with which we have to do, so terribly important. And, all of the apparatus known to us as the universe, the whole flux of things created, the presence of our fellow men, our heritage, history, all things, are designed that we may take them inside us. And that there may be created in us, in each one of us a universe of discourse, which shall be truly in harmony with the Spirit, and the mind, and the will of our Heavenly Father." This pamphlet is designed to be printed in a "booklet" format; choose booklet printing under your printer options.
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53 minute sermon by Patriarch Arthur Oakman on The Power To Achieve Over Ourselves, given in 1968 at The Campus outdoor amphitheater in Independence, Missouri, USA. "Whatever may be the truth about the various theories of evolution it is a fact that we have reached the stage in our church endeavor, I suppose a stage which is always present with us, that without God we cannot build Zion, and without us he will not. In fact he cannot do so. If he is to have his way with us he has to be obedient to the law of our own being. He is made to serve with our sins, as Isaiah has said. And because he has created us as he has, he has imposed upon himself certain limitations, and these he struggles with. A man's consent to serve the Almighty may be engendered by the revelation of his love, but such consent may be and very often is indefinitely withheld and there's nothing God can do about it. He is helpless, utterly helpless. And in this regard he has delivered himself into our hands to do with as seemeth him good....The words of the New Testament have been sifted and resifted millions of times in an endeavor to gain some fresh angle of vision. And we must be grateful for the insights that come to us from these men. But let us not forget that God is his own interpreter. Let us not forget that only Christ himself can tell us who he is; only Christ himself can tell us who we are and only Christ himself can tell us what he would have us do and it is by and through and of the power of the Holy Spirit."
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53 minute sermon by Apostle Arthur Oakman, given at the 1958 RLDS General Conference. He states, "He is our light, indwelt by the glory of the divine love. For all of us share a common humanity, just as every continent is secretly joined beneath the depths of the sea, joined to every island of the sea, is related to and joined to every other part of the earth; so every man in the depths of his personality is joined to every other man."
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47 minute sermon by Patriarch Arthur Oakman on The Sin of Man, given in 1968 at The Campus outdoor amphitheater in Independence, Missouri, USA. Due to being recorded outside it has poor audio quality. He states, "We do not like the word sin so we have committed the additional sin of calling sin something else other than sin. All sorts of words have been introduced as surrogates and substitutes, some of them have come even from the realm of science, which illustrate rather the affects of sin in describing sin itself....It still has the same affect as always and what sin does to us is dire and immediate; it hardens our hearts. We do not have to wait until the day of judgement to see the affects of our wickedness. They are about us everywhere. And the one thing sin does to people is make them unconcerned about other people. It centers our minds and our hearts upon ourselves...Have you ever noticed a man who is in transgression, how kind he is to himself? How he seeks to find excuses and reasons for doing what he did? Conscience of the fact that he has done wrong, he will not judge himself harshly but make all kinds of excuses justifying himself for his conduct, and in the justification confirming himself in his wickedness."
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41 minute sermon given at the RLDS Stone Church, Independence, Missouri, USA. Discusses the struggle between good and evil. He states that there are only two churches, the church of the Lamb of God and the church of the devil. One is dominated by the spirit of pride and the other is dominated by the spirit of love. Recording is poor quality at the beginning.
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Sixth in a series of six lectures given to the Melchisedec Priesthood at the RLDS Stone Church in Independence, Missouri, USA from October 3 to 13, 1966. Brother Oakman states, "Brethren, there is an outer, external world which is designed to minister the life of God to us. And there is also an invisible, interior, inner world, and it is this invisible interior world, the world that is within us, with which we have to do, so terribly important. And, all of the apparatus known to us as the universe, the whole flux of things created, the presence of our fellow men, our heritage, history, all things, are designed that we may take them inside us. And that there may be created in us, in each one of us a universe of discourse, which shall be truly in harmony with the Spirit, and the mind, and the will of our Heavenly Father."
This electronic publication copyright © 2013 LatterDayTruth.org; All Rights Reserved.Transcript of lecture #6.
This electronic publication copyright © 2013 LatterDayTruth.org; All Rights Reserved.
Second in a series of six lectures given to the Melchisedec Priesthood at the RLDS Stone Church in Independence, Missouri, USA from October 3 to 13, 1966. Brother Oakman states, "Brethren, there is an outer, external world which is designed to minister the life of God to us. And there is also an invisible, interior, inner world, and it is this invisible interior world, the world that is within us, with which we have to do, so terribly important. And, all of the apparatus known to us as the universe, the whole flux of things created, the presence of our fellow men, our heritage, history, all things, are designed that we may take them inside us. And that there may be created in us, in each one of us a universe of discourse, which shall be truly in harmony with the Spirit, and the mind, and the will of our Heavenly Father."
This electronic publication copyright © 2013 LatterDayTruth.org; All Rights Reserved.Transcript for lecture #2.
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Article on the Book of Mormon. Brother Oakman states, "Recognizing, therefore, this implicit teaching of the prophets and apostles, there is no reason to limit the expectancy of sacred literature to any nation or people." and "Basically, then, belief in the God of the prophets and of Jesus means belief in the Book of Mormon."
This electronic publication created with the express approval of the original copyright holder: The Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ Of Latter Day Saints (Community Of Christ). Copyright © 2017 LatterDayTruth.org; All Rights Reserved.
