W. A. Draves
| W. A. Draves | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Founder and Apostle of the Church of Christ with the Elijah Message |
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| 1943 – June 28, 1994 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
William August Draves May 12, 1912 Keystone, Nebraska |
| Died | June 28, 1994 (aged 82) Independence, Missouri |
| Resting place | Salem Cemetery Association Cemetery 39°08′08″N 94°20′22″W / 39.13544°N 94.33954°W |
| Spouse(s) | Naomi Diefendorf Ruby Jessie Siefort Marjorie Marie Truitt |
William August Draves (born "Wilhelm") (12 May 1912 — 28 June 1994) was the founder and an apostle of the Church of Christ with the Elijah Message, a successor to the organization founded by former Church of Christ (Temple Lot) Apostle Otto Fetting. Like Fetting, Draves claimed to have received visits and messages from John the Baptist. Although accepted by many Fettingites, Draves was rejected by portions of the Fettingite leadership, leading him to found his own church in 1939. He continued to produce a total of ninety messages from the alleged angelic visitor throughout succeeding decades, serving in the church as an apostle until his death in 1994.
William "Oley" Draves was born in Keystone, Nebraska on 12 May 1912, the third of eight children born to Wilhelm August Heinrich Draves (born in a covered wagon April 8, 1877 near Oshkosh, Wisconsin - d. April 9, 1929 Gilcrest, Colorado) and Sylvia Stella Dunwoody (b. February 17, 1884 Valparaiso, Nebraska - d. August 11, 1962 Kingston Township, Caldwell County, Missouri). Draves' paternal grandfather Leopold Friedrich Johann Drews/Draves was born in Coburg, Germany January 10, 1848 and died January 12, 1904 in Dows, Iowa. Raised by what he called "goodly parents," ten-year-old Draves embraced the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (now called the Community of Christ) through baptism in 1922 at an RLDS reunion being held at North Platte, Nebraska. During his subsequent confirmation, Draves testified that the RLDS elder prophesied that he would have "a peculiar work to do among [his] Brethren", and that he "would behold Angels and be considered a prophet in God's Work." Days later, a "prophetess" at this same reunion reemphasized Draves' destiny to him, predicting that his mother would pass away exactly forty years from that date (August 11, 1922). Much later, Draves reported the prophecy came true — to the day — exactly as specified, confirming to him the truth of what he had experienced in 1922.
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