Chancery

0118 Conversion

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Names and contact information have been changed.
From 📧 Bride and Groom
To 📧 1st Trustee, 📧 2nd Trustee
Date 3 Jul 2025
Subject Conversion

Ref: 19841103 BT01 0118

Dear 1st Trustee and 2nd Trustee,

I write to you with a heavy heart, yet with hope that this letter will bring clarity and resolution to a matter that has deeply affected our guests and, consequently, ourselves.

The core of this matter is ownership.

The Bible 1 shows that God takes ownership very seriously.2 As stewards of what we have been given,3 we must honour the lawful owners and their decisions.

Scripture is clear that only the lawful owner has authority over, that is determines the fate of, their property. Jesus’ teachings often referenced private property. In the parable of the talents,4 a master entrusts his property to his servants and after a long time calls them to give account for and return his property to him, indicating:

Likewise, New South Wales law similarly protects ownership rights under the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW), s134,5 which addresses misappropriation of property without consent.

This is not a minor issue but one of great moral and spiritual significance.

The guests intrusted their wedding gifts, that is their property, to you with the clear intention and expectation that they would be handed to us. The guests have expressed disappointment that their gifts did not reach us, the intended recipients. Some await the return of their property.

Through the act of conversion,6 you have taken ownership of the guests’ property without their permission. Conversion occurs when one treats another’s property as their own without lawful authority.

Case law 7 defines conversion as, the unauthorized control or destruction of another person’s property in a manner repugnant to the immediate right of the owner’s possession.

Despite repeated requests, no evidence has been provided to show that the ownership of these gifts was lawfully transferred to you. Without such evidence, the conclusion is inescapable: the guests’ property was taken without their consent. The Bible calls this theft, a grievous offence in the eyes of God.

The trespass of theft in Scripture is equivalent to the likes of murder and adultery; a transgression against trust and covenant.8 This underscores how seriously God views unauthorized taking of property.

1 Corinthians 6:9-10 9
…Be not deceived: neither fornicators,… nor adulterers,… nor thieves,… shall inherit the kingdom of God.

Galatians 5:19-21 10
…Envyings, murders,… they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

It is clear that God values lawful ownership. The Bible states that no one can usurp another’s property rights without consequence.

The consequences are eternal. 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 9 warns that thieves will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

God, in His mercy, provides a clear path for redemption. The Bible calls for restoration in cases of theft or unauthorized possession:

  1. Restore the Original Property
    Leviticus 6:2-5 11 instructs that stolen goods should be returned in their original condition.

  2. Sevenfold Compensation
    When restoration is not possible, Proverbs 6:30-31 12 teaches that repayment should be made sevenfold.

  3. Seek Forgiveness
    Luke 17:3-4 13 urges reconciliation with those wronged, requiring an honest admission and genuine repentance.

With the severity of these principles in mind, I urge you to consider the following steps:

  1. Heed the Warning in Ezekiel 33:13-16 14

    • Do that which is lawful and right lest you die.

  2. Repent

    • Repent of any claim to ownership over the guests’ gifts.
    • Acknowledge and address the disregard of the guests’ directions.

  3. Do that which is Lawful and Right

    • Return the gifts in their original condition to the guests or their households.11
    • When this is not possible, restore sevenfold to the guests or their households.12
    • When contact cannot be made with the guests or their households, restore sevenfold to us, the intended recipients of those gifts, thus meeting your obligations to the guests in lieu of fulfilling their direction.

  4. Seek Forgiveness

    • To be reconciled is to do that which is lawful and right.15

This matter transcends mere material possessions, it is about integrity, trust, and honouring both God’s laws and our relationships. I urge you to prayerfully consider these truths and take the necessary steps toward restitution.

All deserve closure and justice.

Veronica passed away on 25 December 2024. The time to make amends with her is now gone. You can no longer seek forgiveness from her, but you still have the opportunity to return her property to her family.

With sincerity and hope,

Bride

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  1. Online Authorised King James Version↩

  2. Exodus 20:15 15. Thou shalt not steal.↩

  3. 1 Corinthians 4:2 2. Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.↩

  4. Matthew 25:14-30 14. For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. 15. And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey. 16. Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents. 17. And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two. 18. But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money. 19. After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them. 20. And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more. 21. His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. 22. He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them. 23. His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. 24. Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed: 25. And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine. 26. His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed: 27. Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury. 28. Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents. 29. For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. 30. And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.↩

  5. Crimes Act 1900 (NSW), section 134↩

  6. Tort of con­ver­sion 30 Nov 17, Sewell & Kettle Lawyers↩

  7. Case law Penfolds Wines Pty Ltd v Elliott (1946) 74 CLR 204↩

  8. Exodus 22:1‑4 ​1. If a man shall steal an ox, or a sheep, and kill it, or sell it; he shall restore five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep. 2. If a thief be found breaking up, and be smitten that he die, there shall no blood be shed for him. 3. If the sun be risen upon him, there shall be blood shed for him; for he should make full restitution; if he have nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft. 4. If the theft be certainly found in his hand alive, whether it be ox, or ass, or sheep; he shall restore double.↩

  9. 1 Corinthians 6:9‑10 9. Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, 10. Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.↩

  10. Galatians 5:19‑21 19. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20. Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21. Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.↩

  11. Leviticus 6:2‑5 2. If a soul sin, and commit a trespass against the LORD, and lie unto his neighbour in that which was delivered him to keep, or in fellowship, or in a thing taken away by violence, or hath deceived his neighbour; 3. Or have found that which was lost, and lieth concerning it, and sweareth falsely; in any of all these that a man doeth, sinning therein: 4. Then it shall be, because he hath sinned, and is guilty, that he shall restore that which he took violently away, or the thing which he hath deceitfully gotten, or that which was delivered him to keep, or the lost thing which he found, 5. Or all that about which he hath sworn falsely; he shall even restore in the principal, and shall add the fifth part more thereto, and give it unto him to whom it appertaineth, in the day of his trespass offering.↩

  12. Proverbs 6:30‑31 30. Men do not despise a thief, if he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry; 31. But if he be found, he shall restore sevenfold; he shall give all the substance of his house.↩

  13. Luke 17:3‑4 3. Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. 4. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.↩

  14. Ezekiel 33:13‑16 13. When I shall say to the righteous, that he shall surely live; if he trust to his own righteousness, and commit iniquity, all his righteousnesses shall not be remembered; but for his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it. 14. Again, when I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; if he turn from his sin, and do that which is lawful and right; 15. If the wicked restore the pledge, give again that he had robbed, walk in the statutes of life, without committing iniquity; he shall surely live, he shall not die. 16. None of his sins that he hath committed shall be mentioned unto him: he hath done that which is lawful and right; he shall surely live.↩

  15. Matthew 5:23‑24 23. Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; 24. Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.↩