Church of God in Christ Leaders Visit Salt Lake City

Senior leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are coming together with the leadership of another global faith to help those in need. A delegation from the Church of God in Christ, the largest Pentecostal denomination in the United States, visited Church headquarters in Salt Lake City this week.

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“When I walked into the room and I met the First Presidency, I could sense the Holy Spirit and I could tell that these men had been with Jesus,” said John Drew Sheard, presiding bishop of the Church of God in Christ.

“My visit here has just been far beyond what I could have even expected,” said Bishop Sheard, who is also the chief apostle of the Church of God in Christ, which has 2,000 churches in over 112 countries.

Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles hosted the faith leaders. “We have different theologies, but we both have this strong feeling of a loving Father in Heaven and that we are all brothers and sisters.”

Elder Cook continued, “We both have in our theology the worship and the desire to follow Jesus Christ and his teachings. We both make a strong commitment to family. … We both have a commitment to humanitarian efforts to bless those in need.”

The Church of Jesus Christ has collaborated with the Church of God in Christ to provide service in Detroit and Flint, Michigan; Boston; and New York.

“There are so many people who are hurting,” said Bishop Sheard. “We have to ascertain what their needs are in order to give them an opportunity to become better people.”

The delegation from the Church of God in Christ toured Welfare Square, the Bishops’ Central Storehouse and the FamilySearch Library during their Utah trip.

“We feel like we can do things together that will fulfill our commitment to helping those in need and fulfill their commitment to helping those in need. So a lot of our conversations have been along those lines,” said Elder Cook.

The group met with the First Presidency on Thursday, August 24, 2023, in Salt Lake City.

“It almost made me proud of even my age to see them carrying on at their age to represent Christ,” remarked Bishop Roger L. Jones Sr. of the Greater Holy Temple Church of God in Christ in Flint.

President Russell M. Nelson will celebrate his 99th birthday on September 9, 2023.

Singing With the Choir

Gospel music is a part of the Sheard family. Bishop Sheard was joined by his wife, Karen Clark Sheard, and daughter Kierra Sheard-Kelly — both renowned gospel singers — who had a chance to sing with The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square during their Thursday night rehearsal at the Conference Center.

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“Singing with them tonight — oh my goodness, I can’t wait — will be something that I can put in my resume,” remarked Karen, who grew up listening to the Tabernacle Choir. Mattie Moss Clark, her late mother, who was the music director of the Church of God in Christ, would play recordings from the Tabernacle Choir in her home every Christmas.

Karen, known as the first lady of the denomination, is a Grammy Award-winning singer and the youngest member of gospel group The Clark Sisters.

“Oh, music. I’ve heard someone say before, it’s a universal language, sometimes what we can’t get across through the spoken word,” said Kierra, a contemporary gospel singer with a large following on social media.

Elder Cook anticipates future humanitarian collaborations with the Church of God in Christ.

“It’s a work in progress, but we feel that where we’ve been most successful is when we have worked together locally,” said the Apostle. “Our members get involved and their members get involved, and … it’s a marvelous thing to see. So, we see it as happening more.”

“Your church has been a beacon of light and helping people and humanity to find a better way of life,” said Bishop Jones.

“I’m anticipating that we as partners we'll be able to do a mammoth job in turning the world upside down,” concluded Bishop Sheard.