May 24, 2019

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

My dear brother and fellow laborer, Bro. Paul Palmieri, and I, desire to send you this letter to share our love
and encouragement to all who love and serve the Lord. As leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ, we have a
tremendous anxiety for the Church to be the Kingdom of God upon the earth, in the fullness that our Lord
intends. Additionally, we share a great concern for the spiritual welfare of each and every one of you.

Jesus Christ taught us the greatest commandment. “Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy
mind. This is the first and great commandment.” (Matthew 22: 36-38).

Brothers and Sisters, we encourage you to examine this commandment in relationship to your life. Does the
Lord have first place in your heart and soul? What does it mean, for you, to have the Lord first place in your
mind? Are we all striving daily to pray, to keep our lives pure and holy before the Lord, and intentionally
make love the cornerstone of our life? Are we all loving God as He desires and deserves? Life challenges
abound for each and every one of us. Our world seems to slide further away from love, day by day. However,
by personally examining and following the first and great commandment, the Spirit of God will expand and
bless your life in ways beyond what our minds can imagine. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither
are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher
than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9)

We have also been instructed; “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” (Matthew 22:39). Oh yes, it sounds
simple and easy to accomplish, but truly what a daunting task. As the people who love the Lord, we implore
you to love one another. First and foremost, love your brothers and sisters. Love the family of God. Speak
in kindness and act in gentleness. “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have
loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love
one to another.” (John 13: 34-35). Be assured, by continuously demonstrating love with each other, the habit
of love will become a way of life within you. You will find it much easier to love all the neighbors that come
into your life as well. We encourage each and every one to allow the world to see we are the disciples of Jesus
Christ.

In fulfillment of these commandments of love, the Lord has promised that He will restore the fullness of His
Kingdom on earth as has been experienced previously upon the promised land. “And it came to pass that
there was no contention in the land, because of the love of God which did dwell in the hearts of the people.”
“…and surely there could not be a happier people among all the people who had been created by the hand of
God.” “…but they were in one, the children of Christ, and heirs to the Kingdom of God. And how blessed
were they!” (4 Nephi 1:15-18).

Bro. Paul and I have seen this vision of The Church of Jesus Christ all of our life. We dream of the day, we
work for the day, we expect to see the day, that the Kingdom of God will be upon the earth as it was in the
past. Brothers and Sisters, this promise, this vision, is before us today. Please, let us all labor together in love
and righteousness to fulfill the greatest commandments of our Lord.

Your Brothers in the Love of Christ,

Bro. Joel Gehly Bro. Paul Palmieri

President, The Church of Jesus Christ Former President, The Church of Jesus Christ

110 Walton Tea Room Road, Greensburg, PA 15601 www.thechurchofjesuschrist.org