The OKC temple was my home temple. I went there many times to do baptisms for the dead with the youth of our ward, and also to perform endowments for the dead. My daughters sang for the open house and I baked cookies as my contribution to the refreshment table. The OKC temple was "my" temple. We Oklahomans had waited long for it and we were thrilled to have a temple of our own.
I met the Chesney's at the open house. As the new Temple President, Jerrell came to speak to our ward. His genuineness struck me right away and my family was quite fond of him. He was very down to earth.
Mr. Chesney left the Mormon church after much soul-searching. He has chosen to remain low-key about his departure, but there are bits and pieces of his story made available by his close friends and associates. Follows are a few snippets of his story which I believe demonstrate his character and may be of interest:
swedeboy from FLAK wrote:My friend then sent me a copy of Mr. Chesney's letter as well as a copy of his own. He did ask that I not post the letter on the internet, and I have respected his wishes. However, here is a paragraph from the letter, which I think says it all:
"I would never have made the decision that I made unless I was absolutely certain that it was the right decision to make. Since I had so fully embraced the church, it filled me with agony and despair and forced the most sickening grief to separate myself from it. The factors of truth, honesty, and integrity, were so compellingly influential, however, that, finally, I had to face up to what I had tried hard to avoid. I hasten to say that my belief in Christ and my commitment to Christ has not diminished in the least. My only problem is with the Mormon Church. Notwithstanding that, it has some commendable features that I appreciate, it is too full of deceit and hypocrisy with regard to its history and to its continuous representations to the world for me to associate it with the glorious and defining principle of truth. One doesn't wish or expect to find practices of hypocrisy and deceit so interwoven into a true Christian enterprise."
That is all that I will post of the letter, but I think you get the gist.
Close friend of mine and the Chesney's who must remain anonymous wrote:Sunday, I spent seven hours with a man whose integrity required him to resign from the LDS church. I am posting some of his story with his permission. Jerrell Chesney joined the church at the age of thirty-five in 1970. As a younger man, Jerrell was certain that there must be a restored church of Jesus Christ upon the earth. In 1970, Jerrell was presented a message by two LDS missionaries who taught him that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was the restoration of the exact primitive church Christ himself had formed upon the earth. Jerrell together with his wife embraced the message and were baptized members. Jerrell is a uniquely gifted administrator and became the Executive Director of the Board of Regents for Oklahoma State University. His administrative skills were also appreciated by the LDS church. Jerrell served in various leadership positions including bishop and stake president.
When a temple was announced for Oklahoma City, Jerrell was given the assignment of Chairman of the Temple Open House Committee. Shortly before the dedication, Jerrell was called to be the president of the Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Temple and his wife as the matron. He and his wife completely devoted the next five years of their lives to the temple, consistent with their previous church service. Following his recent release as temple president, Jerrell was again asked to serve as a bishop and became the bishop of the Shawnee, Oklahoma Ward. However, Jerrell had had doctrinal questions that he had buried over the years which kept re-emerging as he studied the scriptures. In an effort to find answers to specific doctrinal questions, he wrote the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve for help. It was his hope that the fifteen men whom he believed were entitled to revelation and the only fifteen men upon the earth capable of direct heavenly inspiration for the world would help him rescue his testimony. These men never responded but gave the assignment to Charles Didier, who initially telephoned Jerrell regarding his concerns and followed with a letter. In short, the message was for Jerrell to ignore his doubts and that he would have to ignore the words of Jesus Christ recorded two thousand years ago in favor of modern day prophets. Jerrell was also told that the words of Joseph Smith were to be ignored when contradictory to modern teachings, even when those teachings and doctrines were taught as unalterable.
The response caused Jerrell and his wife to research and study more regarding the foundation of the LDS Church including the teachings of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young. The Chesneys concluded that neither Smith, Young or their successors could be sustained as modern prophets. Jerrell stated that had he had any belief whatsoever that the Church was what it claimed to be, the modern restoration of the same organization initiated by Christ, he would have remained a member of it. Sadly, but resolutely he and his wife tendered their resignations this summer from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Jerrell harbors anger and resentment at the level of deceit practiced on him and the innocent others by those who head the Church. I have long respected Jerrell and his wife. They represent all that was good about the Church. Their dedication, loyalty and service will be missed by the institution which both would have gladly sacrificed the remainder of their lives had it been true. However, integrity and their love for Jesus Christ required Jerrell and his wife to leave the Church. I believe that their departure will come as a shock to most Latter-day Saints in the Oklahoma area and will give some needed courage to exam the Church. Like so many here, his shelf collapsed under the weight of contradictory LDS teachings. Once ignored issues demanded a thorough and impartial examination. And like so many here, that examination lead to them to the inescapable conclusion that the LDS Church was not what it claims to be the restoration of the Primitive Christian Church.
I very much admire Mr. Chesney for his integrity.
KA
