Category Archives: Gospel Doctrine

A Tale of Two Comforters.

17 Monday Oct 2016

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John 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.
16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

Jesus Christ promised to personally comfort any who seek to come to Him. His disciple asked how Jesus would show Himself.

21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
22 Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?
23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

In His sermon on the mount, Jesus taught in no uncertain terms what is required.

Matthew 7:

13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

But what is this gate that leads to eternal life? Jesus answered this question when posed to Nicodemus.

John 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?
5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

A prophet who descended from the tribe of Joseph wrote in his own record in plainness what this gate is, verifying Jesus’ teachings:

2 Nephi 31:16 And now, my beloved brethren, I know by this that unless a man shall endure to the end, in following the example of the Son of the living God, he cannot be saved.
17 Wherefore, do the things which I have told you I have seen that your Lord and your Redeemer should do; for, for this cause have they been shown unto me, that ye might know the gate by which ye should enter. For the gate by which ye should enter is repentance and baptism by water; and then cometh a remission of your sins by fire and by the Holy Ghost.
18 And then are ye in this strait and narrow path which leads to eternal life; yea, ye have entered in by the gate; ye have done according to the commandments of the Father and the Son; and ye have received the Holy Ghost, which witnesses of the Father and the Son, unto the fulfilling of the promise which he hath made, that if ye entered in by the way ye should receive.

Nephi’s walk is illustrated in his two books. It is the overarching narrative expressed in his father’s vision of the tree of life. The world is the large and spacious field we read about in 1 Nephi chapter 8. Once one enters in at the gate, which is repentance and baptism of water, THEN comes the remission of sins.

So now Nephi has established by his own life’s experience and his father’s vision of the tree of life that entering the gate is receiving the First Comforter, even the Holy Ghost. Nephi, continues the narrative:

19 And now, my beloved brethren, after ye have gotten into this strait and narrow path, I would ask if all is done? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; for ye have not come thus far save it were by the word of Christ with unshaken faith in him, relying wholly upon the merits of him who is mighty to save.
20 Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life.

tree-of-life

As we read in 1 Nephi 8, linked above, if one endures to the end of the path along the iron rod, one finally comes to the tree of life. It is the inevitable consequence of traveling a straight path between two points–between receiving the Holy Ghost and then receiving Jesus Christ. At the end of the path, the rod ends. One falls to the ground to partake of the fruit of one’s labors of pressing forward with the love of God and of ALL men. If one has the Love of God and all men (TWO greatest commandments/Golden Rule), one becomes like Christ. And what is the inevitable result of becoming like Christ?

1 John 3:2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

Or as Jesus expressed directly to one of his disciples, as I have quoted above:

John 14: 22 Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?
23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

Both the Father and the Son visit him. And we see evidence of this in Nephi’s life, as expressed in the same chapter mentioned above:

2 Nephi 31:14 But, behold, my beloved brethren, thus came the voice of the Son unto me, saying: After ye have repented of your sins, and witnessed unto the Father that ye are willing to keep my commandments, by the baptism of water, and have received the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost, and can speak with a new tongue, yea, even with the tongue of angels, and after this should deny me, it would have been better for you that ye had not known me.

15 And I heard a voice from the Father, saying: Yea, the words of my Beloved are true and faithful. He that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved.

As mentioned above, if one loves God and all men, one will retain a remission of one’s sins as King Benjamin taught:

Mosiah 4:12 And behold, I say unto you that if ye do this ye shall always rejoice, and be filled with the love of God, and always retain a remission of your sins; and ye shall grow in the knowledge of the glory of him that created you, or in the knowledge of that which is just and true.
13 And ye will not have a mind to injure one another, but to live peaceably, and to render to every man according to that which is his due…

He goes on to teach:

26 And now, for the sake of these things which I have spoken unto you—that is, for the sake of retaining a remission of your sins from day to day, that ye may walk guiltless before God—I would that ye should impart of your substance to the poor, every man according to that which he hath, such as feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and administering to their relief, both spiritually and temporally, according to their wants.

Jesus gave three parables in Matthew chapter 25 about those who did and did not love all men. To summarize, He declared:

Matthew 25:

31 ¶When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35 For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

Therefore as one presses forward along the straight and narrow path with the Love of God in one’s heart toward all men, being merciful as God is merciful, one inevitably, finds oneself partaking of the fruit of his labors and finds rest. Thus to partake of the fruit of the tree of life is to gain eternal salvation, which is to make one’s calling and election sure. It is to personally receive comfort from the God of all the earth, even Jesus Christ, an anchor to the soul. It is to receive the Second Comforter. It is to be sealed up by the calling of His voice. The apostle Peter said the same:

2 Peter 1:5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;
7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.
8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9 But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.
10 Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things,ye shall never fall

Peter acknowledges that it is the love of God and of all men, which results in knowing Jesus Christ. This doesn’t just mean knowing about Him, or reading about Him. It means actually knowing Him. Talking with Him. Seeing Him. But whoso lacks the qualities Peter lists is blind and cannot see afar off. He loses that perfect brightness of hope. He forgets that he was baptized with fire, which brings about the remission of his sins. Therefore, it is imperative to press forward to obtain the “knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” as Peter taught in his epistle.

Knowledge saves. We cannot be saved in ignorance. In other words, we cannot be saved without knowing WHO it is that saves us. Knowing Jesus Christ is parting the veil, which keeps us from His presence because of unbelief. It is this veil, as Paul teaches the Corinthians in his second epistle, that is done away in Christ. It is being redeemed from the fall of Adam. It is the end result of entering in at the way, which is the gate spoken of above and pressing forward until one reaches the end. Most give up. Most wander off in unbelief. Some end up in the great and spacious building and point fingers and mock those who have pressed forward and reached the tree to partake of eternal salvation.

In summary dear reader, to be born of the Spirit occurs upon entering in at the gate, which is the beginning of the journey to come unto Christ–literally. But your journey is NOT over until you press forward to receive the greatest gift, even eternal life, which is to KNOW Jesus Christ who then makes His abode with you. When you enter in at the gate, you are blessed with the Comforter, even the Holy Ghost, being born of the Spirit. And if and when you finally arrive at the end of the straight and narrow path, you are blessed with the Second Comforter, even Jesus Christ, thus becoming fruitful in the knowledge of He who is mighty to save.

1 Corinthians 9:23 And this I do for the gospel’s sake, that I might be partaker thereof with you.
24 Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.

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Parable Of The Nobleman

24 Saturday May 2014

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It has been quite a while since my last entry and it’s not for lack of a desire to update, but because I have spent countless hours studying and pondering the scriptures, particularly the Book of Isaiah, which has been the focus of my attention for two years now and counting. And I’m still only getting started. More on the great words of Isaiah in coming months.

This entry is inspired by Dieter Uchtdorf’s talk, which is available to read in the May Ensign Magazine: “Are You Sleeping Through The Restoration?” There is no doubt in my mind that the restoration of the “fullness” of the gospel was not complete. There was much work left undone and the Lord revealed to us a parable to illustrate that fact. From D&C 101:43-62 we read:

43 And now, I will show unto you a parable, that you may know my will concerning the redemption of Zion.
44 A certain nobleman had a spot of land, very choice; and he said unto his servants: Go ye unto my vineyard, even upon this very choice piece of land, and plant twelve olive trees;
45 And set watchmen round about them, and build a tower, that one may overlook the land round about, to be a watchman upon the tower, that mine olive trees may not be broken down when the enemy shall come to spoil and take upon themselves the fruit of my vineyard.
46 Now, the servants of the nobleman went and did as their lord commanded them, and planted the olive trees, and built a hedge round about, and set watchmen, and began to build a tower.
47 And while they were yet laying the foundation thereof, they began to say among themselves: And what need hath my lord of this tower?
48 And consulted for a long time, saying among themselves: What need hath my lord of this tower, seeing this is a time of peace?
49 Might not this money be given to the exchangers? For there is no need of these things.
50 And while they were at variance one with another they became very slothful, and they hearkened not unto the commandments of their lord.
51 And the enemy came by night, and broke down the hedge; and the servants of the nobleman arose and were affrighted, and fled; and the enemy destroyed their works, and broke down the olive trees.
52 Now, behold, the nobleman, the lord of the vineyard, called upon his servants, and said unto them, Why! what is the cause of this great evil?
53 Ought ye not to have done even as I commanded you, and—after ye had planted the vineyard, and built the hedge round about, and set watchmen upon the walls thereof—built the tower also, and set a watchman upon the tower, and watched for my vineyard, and not have fallen asleep, lest the enemy should come upon you?
54 And behold, the watchman upon the tower would have seen the enemy while he was yet afar off; and then ye could have made ready and kept the enemy from breaking down the hedge thereof, and saved my vineyard from the hands of the destroyer.
55 And the lord of the vineyard said unto one of his servants: Go and gather together the residue of my servants, and take allthe strength of mine house, which are my warriors, my young men, and they that are of middle age also among all my servants, who are the strength of mine house, save those only whom I have appointed to tarry;
56 And go ye straightway unto the land of my vineyard, and redeem my vineyard; for it is mine; I have bought it with money.
57 Therefore, get ye straightway unto my land; break down the walls of mine enemies; throw down their tower, and scatter their watchmen.
58 And inasmuch as they gather together against you, avengeme of mine enemies, that by and by I may come with the residue of mine house and possess the land.
59 And the servant said unto his lord: When shall these things be?
60 And he said unto his servant: When I will; go ye straightway, and do all things whatsoever I have commanded you;
61 And this shall be my seal and blessing upon you—a faithful and wise steward in the midst of mine house, a ruler in my kingdom.
62 And his servant went straightway, and did all things whatsoever his lord commanded him; and after many days all things were fulfilled.

The Lord’s intent and work was to restore to the Gentiles the fullness of the gospel, which required the fullness of the priesthood. He prophecied this to the Nephites and Lamanites at Bountiful:

3 Nephi 20:27 And after that ye were blessed then fulfilleth the Father the covenant which he made with Abraham, saying: In thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed—unto the pouring out of the Holy Ghost through me upon the Gentiles, which blessing upon the Gentiles shall make them mighty above all, unto the scattering of my people, O house of Israel.
28 And they shall be a scourge unto the people of this land. Nevertheless, when they shall have received the fulness of my gospel, then if they shall harden their hearts against me I will return their iniquities upon their own heads, saith the Father.

This is the same “fullness” that was offered to the Israelites when Moses led them out of Egypt:

D&C 84:18 And the Lord confirmed a priesthood also upon Aaron and his seed, throughout all their generations, which priesthood also continueth and abideth forever with the priesthood which is after the holiest order of God.
19 And this greater priesthood administereth the gospel and holdeth the key of the mysteries of the kingdom, even the key of the knowledge of God.
20 Therefore, in the ordinances thereof, the power of godliness is manifest.
21 And without the ordinances thereof, and the authority of the priesthood, the power of godliness is not manifest unto men in the flesh;
22 For without this no man can see the face of God, even the Father, and live.
23 Now this Moses plainly taught to the children of Israel in the wilderness, and sought diligently to sanctify his people that they might behold the face of God;
24 But they hardened their hearts and could not endure his presence; therefore, the Lord in his wrath, for his anger was kindled against them, swore that they should not enter into his rest while in the wilderness, which rest is the fulness of his glory.
25 Therefore, he took Moses out of their midst, and the Holy Priesthood also…

This “rest” is what the Lord offers His covenant people when they are obedient. It is this same “rest,” which the prophet, Mormon taught his people and whose words were preserved by his son Moroni in the Book of Mormon:

Moroni 7:1 And now I, Moroni, write a few of the words of my father Mormon, which he spake concerning faith, hope, and charity; for after this manner did he speak unto the people, as he taught them in the synagogue which they had built for the place of worship.
2 And now I, Mormon, speak unto you, my beloved brethren; and it is by the grace of God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, and his holy will, because of the gift of his calling unto me, that I am permitted to speak unto you at this time.
3 Wherefore, I would speak unto you that are of the church, that are the peaceable followers of Christ, and that have obtained a sufficient hope by which ye can enter into the rest of the Lord, from this time henceforth until ye shall rest with him in heaven…

We begin to see a pattern. The “rest” of the Lord is attainable by anyone who is sanctified by the Holy Ghost (baptism of fire) and goes on to “ask” and to “seek” and to “knock.” Melchizedek attained this priesthood, which was given to the residents of the City of Enoch through their obedience. From the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible, we read:

JST Genesis 14:27 And thus, having been approved of God, he was ordained an high priest after the order of the covenant which God made with Enoch,
28 It being after the order of the Son of God; which order came, not by man, nor the will of man; neither by father nor mother; neither by beginning of days nor end of years; but of God;
29 And it was delivered unto men by the calling of his own voice, according to his own will, unto as many as believed on his name.
30 For God having sworn unto Enoch and unto his seed with an oath by himself; that every one being ordained after this order and calling should have power, by faith, to break mountains, to divide the seas, to dry up waters, to turn them out of their course;
31 To put at defiance the armies of nations*, to divide the earth, to break every band, to stand in the presence of God; to do all things according to his will, according to his command, subdue principalities and powers; and this by the will of the Son of God which was from before the foundation of the world.
32 And men having this faith, coming up unto this order of God, were translated and taken up into heaven.
33 And now, Melchizedek was a priest of this order

What does it mean to be a priest of this order? Who are the priests of this order? Joseph Smith tells us:

D&C 76:51 They are they who received the testimony of Jesus, and believed on his name and were baptized after the manner of his burial, being buried in the water in his name, and this according to the commandment which he has given—
52 That by keeping the commandments they might be washed and cleansed from all their sins, and receive the Holy Spirit by the laying on of the hands of him who is ordained and sealed unto this power;
53 And who overcome by faith, and are sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, which the Father sheds forth upon all those who are just and true.
54 They are they who are the church of the Firstborn.
55 They are they into whose hands the Father has given all things—
56 They are they who are priests and kings, who have received of his fulness, and of his glory;
57 And are priests of the Most High, after the order of Melchizedek, which was after the order of Enoch, which was after the order of the Only Begotten Son.
58 Wherefore, as it is written, they are gods, even the sons of God…

Because of Enoch’s obedience and those with him, they received of this fullness and established Zion. Because of the Israelite’s disobedience, they failed to build Zion so that they could enjoy the same “rest.” In 1833, the Lord gave Joseph Smith a parable as a warning that the saints at Nauvoo were about to forfeit their opportunity to receive this same fullness and fail grievously at building Zion.

In the first few verses of the parable, the Lord is represented by the Nobleman who instructs His servants Joseph Smith the prophet, the apostles Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, Wilford Woodruff, etc. to “plant twelve olive trees.” In other words, they were to begin working on restoring the covenant of Abraham, through which all his seed, literal (house of Israel) or adopted (Gentiles) would be entitled to all the blessings of the gospel. The Bible dictionary has an excellent explanation of the Abrahamic Covenant. Naturally, the twelve olive trees represent the twelve tribes of Israel, both literal and adopted. The watchmen were the membership of the church tasked to build up the Kingdom as well as to speedily assist in building the tower, which was the Nauvoo Temple. Without the temple, essential ordinances for receiving the fullness of the priesthood and to *to put at defiance the armies of nations (as described in JST Genesis above) could not be performed.

The Lord describes specifically a period of peace in verse 48. Truly there was a period of peace as evidenced by the luxurious homes built by Heber C. Kimball, Wilford Woodruff and others, which could not have been built under conditions of heavy persecution. A quick click of a link reveals to us how wonderful it was to live in Nauvoo during a short period of time: http://www.historicnauvoo.net/

Heber C. Kimball’s home
HCKimball

“The Heber C. Kimball Home was the inspiration for the restoration of Nauvoo…Heber, his wife Vilate, and their three children arrived in Nauvoo with almost nothing, having lost virtually everything they owned in Missouri. Heber dismantled an old stable to make a crude lean-to for his family. He built two log homes before finally completing this brick home.”

Wilford Woodruff’s home
WWoodruff

“When Wilford built this lovely home, he wanted it to be warm and cozy. Consequently, he put a fireplace in every room, eight in all. He secured bricks, made in Nauvoo, by bartering and using what little money he had, and by doing much of his own work.  He recorded in his journal, “I went to a brick kiln and flung out 7,000 bricks, nearly melting myself.” “

“To the Latter-day Saints, brick homes and shops meant beauty and permanence. There were seven brickyards in Nauvoo in the 1840s, five of them on the bluff and two more on the flats. Those seven brickyards were capable of producing four million bricks in a single season. The three ingredients needed for making bricks, clay containing iron oxide, sand, and water, were all readily available here in Nauvoo.

Many early settlers lived for years in log cabins while they built their brick homes, only to enjoy them for a few short months before they left to begin their trek westward. Nauvoo boasted 350 brick buildings before the Saints left in 1846. Of these, 49 were still standing in the 1960s when the restoration of Nauvoo began. Many of these, including the homes of Brigham Young, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff and Heber C. Kimball, have been restored and made available for public viewing.”  http://www.historicnauvoo.net/2010/01/brickyard/

Prior to their persecution by mobs, they had become a very prosperous society with shops, halls, wide streets, brick homes where at the time frontiersmen and women lived in humble log homes. And regarding their prior attempt to redeem Zion at Kirtland:

“The temple… site had been dedicated more than two years earlier… Beyond laying out stones and logs to mark the foundation site, however, the saints in Zion made no effort to build the temple that would have protected them in times of trial.  Instead, they attempted to establish Zion without building a temple, and they put their resources into other enterprises instead.  This led first to arguing, then to laziness, and then to breaking the commandments (see v. 50).  At that point, the Lord allowed the mobs to descend upon them, first in July and then again in November 1833, and the Missouri Saints, whose watchmen were seemingly asleep on duty (see v. 53), found themselves defenseless and unprepared. (Stephen E. Robinson, H. Dean Garrett, A Commentary on the Doctrine and Covenants, [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 2001] 3:277)

The church membership was fulfilling the parable the Lord had given them earlier that decade. Because of their slothfulness to complete the tower in the prescribed time period (D&C 124:31-32), the Lord had returned “their iniquities upon their own heads,” as He had prophecied to the Nephites and Lamanites at Bountiful. When Joseph and Hyrum Smith were killed, the temple was not half completed. Thereafter, setback after setback, persecution after persecution caused the saints to finish the temple one section at a time. But as Moses was taken from the Israelites, so too was Joseph taken from the saints, and with him the opportunity for the saints to receive the fullness of the priesthood and establish Zion as Enoch had successfully done. Mobs had overrun Nauvoo and and the temple suffered fire after fire, disaster after disaster until finally, May 27, 1850,  A tornado struck, and debris fell around workers who were repairing the walls of the temple. The St. Louis–based Daily Missouri Republican recorded, “This frightful hurricane, the most terrible experienced in the country in many years, burst suddenly on the hill of Nauvoo, where lightnings, thunder, wind, hail and rain, seemed united to assail the building.” — 27 May 1850, quoted in Don F. Colvin, The Nauvoo Temple: A Story of Faith (2002), 270.

After one hundred seventy years, we latter-day saints are as worldly as the early saints were. Isaiah looked most unfavorably at us. The Book of Mormon was written specifically for us so that we would not make the same mistakes that previous covenant peoples did. And for this reason, we have been under condemnation since 1832 (D&C 84:54-58).

Said Hugh Nibley: “Elders of Israel are greedy after the things of this world. If you ask them if they are ready to build up the kingdom of God, their answer is prompt–“Why, to be sure we are, with our whole souls; but we want first to get so much gold, speculate and get rich, and then we can help the church considerably. We will go to California and get gold, go and buy goods and get rich, trade with the emigrants, build a mill, make a farm, get a large herd of cattle, and then we can do a great deal for Israel.

I have heard this many times from friends and relatives, but it is hokum. What they are saying is, “If God will give me a million dollars, I will let him have a generous cut of it.” And so they pray and speculate and expect the Lord to come through for them. He won’t do it: “And again, I command thee that thou shalt not covet thine own property” (D&C 19:26). “Let them repent of all their sins, and of all their covetous desires, before me, saith the Lord; for what is property unto me? saith the Lord” (D&C 117:4). He does not need our property or our help.

Every rhetorician knows that his most effective weapons by far are labels. He can demolish the opposition with simple and devastating labels such as communism, socialism, or atheism, popery, militarism, or Mormonism, or give his clients’ worst crimes a religious glow with noble labels such as integrity, old-fashioned honesty, tough-mindedness, or free competitive enterprise. “You can get away with anything if you just wave the flag,” a business partner of my father once told me. He called that patriotism. But the label game reaches its all-time peak of skill and effrontery in the Madison Avenue master stroke of pasting the lovely label of Zion on all the most typical institutions of Babylon: Zion’s Loans, Zion’s Real Estate, Zion’s Used Cars, Zion’s Jewelry, Zion’s Supermart, Zion’s Auto Wrecking, Zion’s Outdoor Advertising, Zion’s Gunshop, Zion’s Land and Mining, Zion’s Development, Zion’s Securities–all that is quintessentially Babylon now masquerades as Zion.” — “What Is Zion? A Distant View” in Sunstone 13 (April 1989):20-32

The remainder of the parable, or in other words, the redemption of Zion is yet to come. But will it happen before the Lord pours out his judgment upon the Gentiles as prophecied by Isaiah? Perhaps the Gentiles will repent. But that is a topic for another day.

 

God’s hand in all things

14 Monday Jan 2013

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I was asked to talk today on “How I can learn to see Heavenly Father’s hand in all things.” The key word in that question is see. But in order to see, we must first have our eyes open and if our eyes are open, we need to ask ourselves what it is that we are focused on. In 3 Nephi 13:19-24, we read:

19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and thieves break through and steal;
20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal.
21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
22 The light of the body is the eye; if, therefore, thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.
23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If, therefore, the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!
24 No man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and Mammon.

Jesus Christ is telling us to make a choice. We either focus on heavenly things or we focus on worldly things. There is only Zion and Babylon. There are only two churches, as Nephi explained many years before–the church of the Lamb of God and the church of the devil. There must be an opposition in all things and we can only choose one or the other.

When we were baptized and confirmed members of the church, we were commanded to “receive the Holy Ghost.” Only when we have obeyed and truly received this great gift can we know that we have truly been reborn. And one of the changes that is wrought in us by this literal baptism of fire is a powerful willingness to submit or to obey. It is this obedience out of love and faith that will lead us back to the Lord’s presence.

The question then begs to be asked, “have I been born again?” There are two great witnesses, which may be called to answer. The first is evidence in the fabric of your soul. If your life is filled with charity; if you have no more desire to sin; if your soul yearns for prayer and love of the Lord; if you have no more desire to accumulate wealth, power, position, worldly acclaim or honor; if all your hobbies, pastimes and possessions become nothing more than a child’s play things to be put away and forgotten; if these things are true without exception, then you have been reborn.

The second witness is the very source of truth, which is the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost. I remember when I experienced that mighty change of heart in my life. The Spirit poured into me like fire that lasted many days. I knew that I had been reborn. I had received the Holy Ghost, which has been my constant companion ever since. In D&C 88: 63 and 67 we read:

63 Draw near unto me and I will draw near unto you; seek me diligently and ye shall find me; ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
67 And if your eye be single to my glory, your whole bodies shall be filled with light, and there shall be no darkness in you; and that body which is filled with light comprehendeth all things.

In ancient Egypt, after Joseph (who was sold into slavery and then freed to protect Egypt from famine) had brought his family to settle in Goshen, his family began to grow into a great nation. These Israelites had found themselves in bondage to Egypt. After their cries to the Lord, He did remember His covenant to bring them out of Egypt and lead them to a land of promise. It was His intention to bring them into His presence and not simply to free them from oppression just so that they could continue in their worldly ways. But to do this, they need to be washed and anointed and receive other ordinances. So Moses was commanded to build a tabernacle. In D&C 84:18-25 we read:

18 And the Lord confirmed a priesthood also upon Aaron and his seed, throughout all their generations, which priesthood also continueth and abideth forever with the priesthood which is after the holiest order of God.
19 And this greater priesthood administereth the gospel and holdeth the key of the mysteries of the kingdom, even the key of the knowledge of God.
20 Therefore, in the ordinances thereof, the power of godliness is manifest.
21 And without the ordinances thereof, and the authority of the priesthood, the power of godliness is not manifest unto men in the flesh;
22 For without this no man can see the face of God, even the Father, and live.
23 Now this Moses plainly taught to the children of Israel in the wilderness, and sought diligently to sanctify his people that they might behold the face of God;
24 But they hardened their hearts and could not endure his presence; therefore, the Lord in his wrath, for his anger was kindled against them, swore that they should not enter into his rest while in the wilderness, which rest is the fulness of his glory.
25 Therefore, he took Moses out of their midst, and the Holy Priesthood also.

For all intents and purposes, the Israelites had a temple in their midst. Zion was in their grasp. And they rejected it. They enjoyed their freedom and their worldly ways too much. You could take the Israelites out of Egypt, but you couldn’t take Egypt out of the Israelites. And among their acts of idolatry, they built a golden calf to worship as proof.

Just as the Egyptians feared being outnumbered by the growing nation of Israel after Joseph’s death, so too did the early Americans of eastern cities fear being outnumbered by the growing membership of the early latter-day saints after Joseph Smith had restored Christ’s church. It was the Lord’s intention to bring them into His presence with the restoration of both priesthoods and the bringing forth of temple work and the establishment of New Jerusalem. However, because of divisions, contentions and their ultimate failure to follow Joseph Smith west to the Rocky Mountains and instead, convincing him to surrender after much persecution, Joseph was taken from them.

Despite ongoing persecution under Brigham Young’s leadership, the saints managed to build the Kirtland temple where ordinances could be performed. But like the ancient Israelites, the saints had failed to build up Zion. The greater (Melchizedek) priesthood was not taken, however, and Brigham Young led the saints west to the Rocky Mountains where they could try again.

Dispensations earlier, a young man named Enoch preached and prophecied to a very wicked generation. As a result of his great faith and great works, a city was built where they lived the law of consecration and where no poor lived among them. Enoch and his people walked with God and God dwelt among them. They had successfully built Zion. Because of their righteousness, they became a translated city. This is what the Lord was offering Moses and the people of Israel. This is what the Lord was offering Joseph Smith and the early latter-day saints. This is what has been offered to all the children of God in each dispensation since the days of Adam. And this is what God has been offering to us ever since.

Brothers and sisters, we have been under condemnation since the days of Joseph Smith for taking lightly our duty to obtain the fullness of the gospel, which is the fullness of the priesthood, which is the fullness of the Father. It is this fullness that parts the veil and brings us into Christ’s presence as the city of Enoch was brought into Christ’s presence. Remember that the lesser priesthood, which is the Aaronic Priesthood, is what endured with the ancient Israelites after Moses was taken from them. This priesthood contains only the preparatory gospel, which is faith, repentance and baptism.

But the greater priesthood contains much more. With the Melchizedek Priesthood, we can receive the everlasting gospel, which contains the ordinance of the baptism of fire, which is the gift of the Holy Ghost. But there are more. If Joseph Smith had published ten principles and ordinances of the gospel it might look something like this, although there are more:

Faith
Repentance
Baptism (of water)
Baptism (of fire) or gift of the Holy Ghost
Washing and anointing
Endowments
Calling and election
Second Comforter
Translation
Resurrection

In Brigham Young’s journal of discourses, we read that when God dwelt with the people of Enoch, He taught them the great doctrines and principles of translation, for that is a doctrine the same as the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead, which is among the first principles of the plan of salvation.  And we may also say that the doctrine of  translation, which is intimately connected with that of the resurrection, is also one of the first principles of the doctrines of Christ. In Moses 1:39 we read:

39 For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.

Brothers and sisters, it is our privilege and our duty to continue on our journey beyond the first four principles and ordinances of the gospel; to purify ourselves continually; to seek our calling and election; to seek further light and knowledge always and to be led by the Spirit and to seek the face of the Lord. This is the purpose of temple ordinances that through our obedience to covenants made and through our worthiness, we can converse with Jesus Christ through the veil and find ourselves in His embrace.

We have been promised that if we ask, we will receive. If we seek, we shall find. And if we knock, it shall be opened. We must learn to take the Spirit for our guide when we are reborn, keeping our eye single to God’s glory, to begin to see His hand in all things. In D&C 84:54-58 we read:

54 And your minds in times past have been darkened because of unbelief, and because you have treated lightly the things you have received—
55 Which vanity and unbelief have brought the whole church under condemnation.
56 And this condemnation resteth upon the children of Zion, even all.
57 And they shall remain under this condemnation until they repent and remember the new covenant, even the Book of Mormon and the former commandments which I have given them, not only to say, but to do according to that which I have written
58 That they may bring forth fruit meet for their Father’s kingdom; otherwise there remaineth a scourge and judgment to be poured out upon the children of Zion.

Can we remove this condemnation from us? Nephi takes great length to teach us plainly in his two books that we can. He emphasizes his entire message in a few short verses. In 2 Nephi 32:5-7 we read:

5 For behold, again I say unto you that if ye will enter in by the way, and receive the Holy Ghost, it will show unto you all things what ye should do.
6 Behold, this is the doctrine of Christ, and there will be no more doctrine given until after he shall manifest himself unto you in the flesh. And when he shall manifest himself unto you in the flesh, the things which he shall say unto you shall ye observe to do.
7 And now I, Nephi, cannot say more; the Spirit stoppeth mine utterance, and I am left to mourn because of the unbelief, and the wickedness, and the ignorance, and the stiffneckedness of men; for they will not search knowledge, nor understand great knowledge, when it is given unto them in plainness, even as plain as word can be.

Joseph Smith said in a sermon to the saints, “then I would exhort you to go on and continue to call upon God until you make your calling and election sure for yourselves, by obtaining the more sure word of prophecy, and wait patiently for the promise until you receive it.” Many other prophets besides Joseph preached this doctrine. They continually tried to get the saints to develop a Zion stature. To my knowledge, the last prophet to publicly teach this was Marion G. Romney in the April 1977 session of general conference. He gave a beautiful talk. To summarize, he said:

“…When the Lord has thoroughly proved him, and finds that the man is determined to serve Him at all hazards, then the man will find his calling and his election made sure, then it will be his privilege to receive the other Comforter, which the Lord hath promised the Saints, as is recorded in the testimony of St. John…I should think that all faithful Latter-day Saints “would want that more sure word of prophecy, that they were sealed in the heavens and had the promise of eternal life in the kingdom of God…”

Since 1977, I have not heard another prophet or apostle with the possible exception of Bruce R. McConkie expound on such doctrine in public. Perhaps it is because as a membership that spans the globe, we simply are not seeking these things. Sure, we attend church most Sundays; maybe we do our home teaching assignments; maybe we read our scriptures once in a while; maybe we attend the temple if we can clear our schedules. But this is not enough. This does not make our eye single to His glory. This does not develop within us a Zion stature. We are commanded to serve with all our heart, might, mind and strength. We have made covenants in the temple, especially to live the law of consecration.

The ancient Israelites failed to build Zion as did the early latter-day saints of our dispensation. Only Enoch’s people succeeded in building Zion and thus they escaped the great cleansing that was the flood. Have we bid Babylon farewell and have we begun to build Zion in our hearts and in our homes? Brothers and sisters, another great cleansing is coming and the Lord has declared that upon His house will it begin and from His house will it go forth. He called it a day wrath; a day of burning; a day of desolation, of weeping, of mourning and of lamentation.

The second coming of Jesus Christ when He comes in glory with the powers of heaven will not happen until Zion exists on the Earth. Zion will not exist on the Earth until New Jerusalem is built and New Jerusalem will not be built until there are saints who have fully developed an eye single to God’s glory and to His work. We can see His hand in all things as long as we open our eyes and purify ourselves and as Nephi exhorted us: to seek knowledge! In D&C 59:21 we read:

21 And in nothing doth man offend God, or against none is his wrath kindled, save those who confess not his hand in all things, and obey not his commandments.

I testify that the Lord’s hand is in all things even today. I testify that miracles, even great miracles have not ceased, and that angels minister to us today, and that Jesus Christ does visit men today, and that He does open when we knock. In closing, I leave you with the words of the prophet, Mormon, which he wrote in an epistle to his son Moroni, which we read in Moroni 7:

27 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, have miracles ceased because Christ hath ascended into heaven, and hath sat down on the right hand of God, to claim of the Father his rights of mercy which he hath upon the children of men?
29 And because he hath done this, my beloved brethren, have miracles ceased? Behold I say unto you, Nay; neither have angels ceased to minister unto the children of men.
30 For behold, they are subject unto him, to minister according to the word of his command, showing themselves unto them of strong faith and a firm mind in every form of godliness.
36 Or have angels ceased to appear unto the children of men? Or has he withheld the power of the Holy Ghost from them? Or will he, so long as time shall last, or the earth shall stand, or there shall be one man upon the face thereof to be saved?
37 Behold I say unto you, Nay; for it is by faith that miracles are wrought; and it is by faith that angels appear and minister unto men; wherefore, if these things have ceased wo be unto the children of men, for it is because of unbelief, and all is vain…
48 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure.

Amen.

Pray and not faint

15 Monday Oct 2012

Posted by in Gospel Doctrine

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Today we live in a world of automation and instant gratification. Where once it took up to a minute to dial someones telephone number on a rotary phone, today we’re connected at the push of a touch screen icon. Even with the age of the internet and wireless technology we can transfer money between accounts in a matter of seconds. There is no need to wait minutes for a dial-up connection or for an internet page to load. One click and in the blink of an eye, today the page is loaded and ready to browse. You can connect with anyone around the world in seconds where once it required a written letter via air mail that would take between two to three weeks for a single correspondence. Even few people grow their own food when you can go to the nearest burger joint for a meal in under two minutes. We have spoiled ourselves rotten.

We tend to have this same mentality with prayer. We desire something, which in our finite wisdom we think is good, and ask it of our Father in Heaven. We tend to ask with superficial sincerity, with not much more than uttering a couple phrases, as if we were going to withdraw an instant blessing from a heavenly account and not give much more thought after our petition, thinking we’ll get what we prayed for within the next day or week. And when the answer doesn’t come as we expect, we give up asking and rationalize that there is always a reason for everything. That much, however, is true.

More often than not, most people pray hoping for an answer, but seldom, if ever truly praying with faith. There is a distinct difference between praying with hope and praying with faith. Most who pray may not doubt God’s ability to grant requests, but they seldom exercise faith long enough to wait for the right answer. When Jesus Christ walked on the stormy Sea of Galilee, Peter petitioned the Savior to bid him come out onto the water with Him. He hoped that the answer would be yes. Jesus Christ granted his petition but it was not until Peter exercised faith to take that first step, defying the laws of a natural world that he was able to do it. It wasn’t until the storm shook Peter’s faith that he began to immediately sink, even while in the very presence of and within the grasp of his divine mentor.

James 1:5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to allmen liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.

When people pray for an answer, they may believe that God has the power to grant their request, but seldom do they believe that He will. What, therefore, separates those who receive answers from those who don’t? The primary answer is faith. Faith is evidenced by a person’s actions, not hopes. Peter’s example above illustrates this point. Consider also a Gentile by the name of Cornelius, who was a Roman Centurion, which we read about in the New Testament. It was his humble prayer accompanied by fasting that changed his life. After having fasted for four days, proving his determination to gain an audience with heaven, his petition was answered by a visit from an angel and soon after by the apostle Peter. I have no doubt that Cornelius would have continued fasting for as long as it took for heaven to take notice.

What is it about fasting that focuses or amplifies the power of prayer? By depriving our physical bodies of nourishment, we subjugate the flesh to the spirit. And when we have gained mastery of our physical body by the good desires of our spirit and our heart, the “veil” that separates our mortal world from the eternal and heavenly  sphere becomes thinner, making communication with heaven more powerful.

Lorenzo Snow, a young missionary in Italy, was faced with a dire situation. A young boy was sick on his death bed, surrounded by grieving family members. Snow knew that he had the priesthood power as the apostles of old did to heal this boy, but he first had to know the will of the Lord. Sometimes it is appointed to us to leave this mortal world. But if not, then petitions are granted. The next day, Lorenzo fasted and went alone to pray outside the town, alone in the mountains. He was determined not to move until he had received an answer, whether it was yes or no. He struggled six long hours in fervent prayer until finally his answer came. He returned to the home of the boy with the approval from God, and with his priesthood authority, laid his hands on the boy and healed him.

Seeking first the Lord’s will is another key that separates those who receive answers from those who don’t. Furthermore, we must accept that the answer is not one we will always want to hear. Sometimes, the answer will be no. When Jesus Christ bled from every pore in Gethsemane, He prayed that His bitter cup be removed. He had had enough and wanted to stop. Yet He knew what His Father’s will was and because of His love for his Father in heaven, he continued, “not my will but thy will be done.” And so He finished what He started and became the Savior of mankind.

If we truly received the answers to all the prayers we ever uttered, I think our world would be in much greater chaos than it is today for it is because of free will that God allows us to manage ourselves for the most part. But for the few who truly receive answers, it is because of hope and their exercise of faith AND because they have come to understand God’s will, especially in the matters of their own personal lives, AND aligning their own will with that of God’s that they receive answers.

Sometimes prayers are answered immediately if expedient in the Lord at the time. Such was the case as I shared in a recent entry, A humming bird and a prayer. It has not always been the case. I have literally prayed for hours before finally receiving a definitive answer. And sometimes, most of the time, the answer is no. We also have to accept the fact that God sees beyond the horizon. His wisdom and foresight is infinitely greater than our own. I have come to accept this in my life as I continually refine my own desires and I align them with His will and His work.

His ultimate desire for each of us is to bring us back into His presence. And so He has given each of us a set of trials, weaknesses and obstacles to overcome so that we become mindful of Him and continually turn to Him for guidance. For many, however, especially those who do not understand how the Lord operates, it becomes a bitter experience, which leaves them cynical and doubting.

But for the humble followers, the meek believers who endure patiently, with longsuffering and love for others, who follow Christ’s example and way of life, who by these virtues become more Christlike, answers come more readily, typically because they are offered, not on behalf of themselves, but on behalf of and for intercession of others, for they have become true servants of their fellow man, concerned not for their own personal gain, but for the welfare of others.

Moriancumr received all that he desired:

Ether 1:43 And there will I bless thee and thy seed, and raise up unto me of thy seed, and of the seed of thy brother, and they who shall go with thee, a great nation. And there shall be none greater than the nation which I will raise up unto me of thy seed, upon all the face of the earth. And thus I will do unto thee because this long time ye have cried unto me.

Nephi also had received answers to great questions:

1 Nephi 16 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, being exceedingly young, nevertheless being large in stature, and also having great desires to know of the mysteries of God, wherefore, I did cry unto the Lord; and behold he did visit me, and did soften my heart that I did believe all the words which had been spoken by my father; wherefore, I did not rebel against him like unto my brothers…
19 And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto me, saying: Blessed art thou, Nephi, because of thy faith, for thou hast sought me diligently, with lowliness of heart.

Enos also received an answer to a prayer:

2 And I will tell you of the wrestle which I had before God, before I received a remission of my sins.
3 Behold, I went to hunt beasts in the forests; and the words which I had often heard my father speak concerning eternal life, and the joy of the saints, sunk deep into my heart.
4 And my soul hungered; and I kneeled down before my Maker, and I cried unto him in mighty prayer and supplication for mine own soul; and all the day long did I cry unto him; yea, and when the night came I did still raise my voice high that it reached the heavens.
5 And there came a voice unto me, saying: Enos, thy sins are forgiven thee, and thou shalt be blessed.
6 And I, Enos, knew that God could not lie; wherefore, my guilt was swept away.
7 And I said: Lord, how is it done?
8 And he said unto me: Because of thy faith in Christ, whom thou hast never before heard nor seen. And many years pass away before he shall manifest himself in the flesh; wherefore, go to, thy faith hath made thee whole.

Enos had faith. He hoped that he would receive an answer. He knew that God could answer. But it was his exercise of faith, knowing that God would answer, to stay on his knees until he received an answer, which he finally did just as Lorenzo Snow, Nephi, Moriancumr and many others throughout history who proved themselves worthy of divine attention.

Throughout written scripture we read over and over where we should “pray and not faint.” What this simply means is to be ever drawn to our Father in heaven in prayer, that our thoughts always be directed to Him. To faint means to falter, to give up, to lose hope, to lose courage.  Nephi sums it up this way:

2 Nephi 32:8 And now, my beloved brethren, I perceive that ye ponder still in your hearts; and it grieveth me that I must speak concerning this thing. For if ye would hearken unto the Spirit which teacheth a man to pray, ye would know that ye must pray; for the evil spirit teacheth not a man to pray, but teacheth him that he must not pray.
9 But behold, I say unto you that ye must pray always, and not faint; that ye must not perform any thing unto the Lord save in the first place ye shall pray unto the Father in the name of Christ, that he will consecrate thy performance unto thee, that thy performance may be for the welfare of thy soul.

According to Vines Dictionary of NT Words, page 400, enkakeo (Greek word for faint), means to “lack courage, lose heart, be fainthearted.”

It is all to easy for us to become distracted by the shiny things of the world, to become idle, idolatrous, lazy, indifferent, etc. But if we remain focused, especially when we pray with righteous desires, and if we never doubt, as James in the New Testament warns, we will always receive an answer. But we must prove ourselves ready and willing to act upon that answer. Where much is given, much is required.

So how should we pray then? For me, I find that I need a quiet time of the day, usually in the very early hours of the morning (usually between 1 to 5 AM or so) on weekends where I can be alone in silence, and can focus and ponder my life, my struggles, my desires, etc. and where I can peacefully search the scriptures. It is during this time that I can prepare myself mentally and spiritually to approach the Lord in prayer. Sometimes I will go to a quiet corner of my home, where I like to read by the window or I will go outside on a swing chair. The greater the matter that I take up with heaven, the more time I give myself to be alone. Sometimes an entire weekend alone isn’t enough. But with enough solitude, the proper state of mind and heart, preparation and fasting, I know that I will get an answer. One of my greatest desires, if not the greatest, has yet to be granted. But I know that my feet are on the path to being granted this desire. It is partly the reason that I have created this blog. I only hope that along the way, I will have shed a broad enough light that many others may benefit from it.

An Overflowing Scourge

15 Saturday Sep 2012

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Jerusalem fell. The Jaredite nation fell. The Nephite nation fell. Each nation was warned about pride, idolatry, idleness and more time and time again since the day Moses led Jacob out of Egypt. He took Israel out of Egypt, but he couldn’t take Egypt out of Israel. Soon after they crossed the Red Sea and Moses left them for a moment, his people began the building of a graven image to worship–a golden calf.

With the blessing of each nation came prosperity. With that prosperity came pride and thereafter their fall. After the Nephite nation fell, the Lamanite nation dwindled in unbelief, bringing us to our day in the gentile nation–America. The last prophet of the Book of Mormon warned us that we will follow in their footsteps and suffer the same fate as they suffered. He revealed to us in great detail how their government had been corrupted and how their entire civilization had been destroyed from within so that we could avoid the same pitfalls.

Ether 8
23 Wherefore, O ye Gentiles, it is wisdom in God that these things should be shown unto you, that thereby ye may repent of your sins, and suffer not that these murderous combinations shall get above you, which are built up to get power and gain—and the work, yea, even the work of destruction come upon you, yea, even the sword of the justice of the Eternal God shall fall upon you, to your overthrow and destruction if ye shall suffer these things to be.
24 Wherefore, the Lord commandeth you, when ye shall see these things come among you that ye shall awake to a sense of your awful situation, because of this secret combination which shall be among you; or wo be unto it, because of the blood of them who have been slain; for they cry from the dust for vengeance upon it, and also upon those who built it up.

Moroni also writes:

35 Behold, I speak unto you as if ye were present, and yet ye are not. But behold, Jesus Christ hath shown you unto me, and I know your doing.
36 And I know that ye do walk in the pride of your hearts; and there are none save a few only who do not lift themselves up in the pride of their hearts, unto the wearing of very fine apparel, unto envying, and strifes, and malice, and persecutions, and all manner of iniquities; and your churches, yea, even every one, have become polluted because of the pride of your hearts.

Clearly none of us are exempt, especially not those in the Lord’s own house:

D&C 112
23 Verily, verily, I say unto you, darkness covereth the earth, and gross darkness the minds of the people, and all flesh has become corrupt before my face.
24 Behold, vengeance cometh speedily upon the inhabitants of the earth, a day of wrath, a day of burning, a day of desolation, of weeping, of mourning, and of lamentation; and as a whirlwind it shall come upon all the face of the earth, saith the Lord.
25 And upon my house shall it begin, and from my house shall it go forth, saith the Lord;

By the time Samuel the Lamanite, a stranger, even a foreigner, had come to warn the “sleeping” Nephites, the likes of Amalickiah, Kishkumen and Gadianton had quietly usurped power at every level of government. Where is our modern day Samuel the Lamanite to warn us? Or have we already been warned time and time again, but we are too caught up in worldly things, like the ancient Israelites were of their world? Are we too busy worshiping our own golden calves to notice that modern day Kishkumens and Gadiantons have take control of every level of our own government for the sole purpose of getting gain?

By now only few have awakened enough to see the pattern of history repeating itself. The Nephites undoing was their own pride and rejection of their Savior and heavenly protector. It is ironic that the Lord gives us exactly what we want. When people decide they don’t need God in their lives anymore, they follow their own wisdom and understanding. This is their greatest folly. So as a nation we are left to our own devices, straying further and further from Him. And when those in the Lord’s own house take lightly the very road map that tells us where all the roadblocks and dead ends are, they receive the greater condemnation for it.

We live in a generation of depravity, social disintegration and worse. It has gotten to the point where our own children don’t have much of a chance OR a choice in life as abortions range in the countless millions. This has become our culture. How much longer before that day of wrath and of burning are upon us? A child could see the writing on the wall. America will be cleansed as will the world.

Have we missed our modern day Samuel the Lamanite? Our Jeremiah? Our Abinadi? Or have they been with us all along? Joseph Smith and John Taylor are two examples:

D&C 45
26 And in that day shall be heard of wars and rumors of wars, and the whole earth shall be in commotion, and men’s hearts shall failthem, and they shall say that Christ delayeth his coming until the end of the earth.
27 And the love of men shall wax cold, and iniquity shall abound.
31 And there shall be men standing in that generation, that shall not pass until they shall see an overflowing scourge; for a desolating sickness shall cover the land.

John Taylor, the third LDS president and prophet, received the following vision concerning the “overflowing scourge,” which becomes a “desolating sickness”:

The first thing that I recognized was that I was in the tabernacle of Ogden, Utah…I arose to speak and said that I did­n’t know that I had anything es­pecially to say, ex­cept to bear my tes­timony of the Latter-day work, when all at once it seemed as if I was lifted out of myself and I said, “Yes, I have something to say and that is this: Some of my brethren have been ask­ing, “What is be­coming of us? What is the wind blowing?” I will answer you right here what is coming very shortly.”

I was then in a dream, im­mediately in the city of Salt Lake, and wandering around in the streets and in all parts of the city, and on the doors of the houses I found badges of mourn­ing and I could not find a house but was in mourning…

It seemed strange to me that I saw no person in the streets in all my wan­dering around the coun­try. I seemed to be in their houses with the sick, but saw no funeral proces­sion, nor anything of the kind, but the city looking still and as though the people were praying. And it seemed that they had controlled the dis­ease, but what the dis­ease was I did not learn; it was not made known to me. I then looked over the country, north, east, south, and west, and the same mourning was in every land and in every place…

The next thing I knew I was just this side of Omaha. It seemed though I was above the earth, and look­ing down upon it. As I passed along upon my way east I saw the road full of people, mostly women, with just what they could carry in bundles on their backs, trav­eling to the moun­tains on foot. I won­dered how they would get through with such a small pack on their backs…

I continued east by the way of Omaha and Council Bluffs, which were full of disease. There were women every­where. The state of Illinois and Mis­souri were in a tumult, men killing one an­other, women joining the fight­ing, fam­ily against family in the most horrid manner…I was in Wash­ington and I found desola­tion there. The White House was empty and the Halls of Congress the same, and everything in ru­ins. The people seemed to have left the city and left it to take care of itself.

I was in Baltimore. In the square where the Monument of 1812 stands in front of the Char­les Hotel. I saw dead piled up so as to fill the street square. I saw mothers cutting the throats of their own children for their blood. I saw them suck it from their throats to quench their own thirst and then lie down and die. The water of Che­sapeake Bay was stagnant, and the stench arising from it on ac­count of their throw­ing their bod­ies into it so terrible, that the very smell carried death with it. I saw no man ex­cept they were dead or dying in the streets and very few women. Those I saw were crazy and in an ugly condi­tion. Everywhere I went I beheld the same sights all over the city; it was terrible be­yond description to look upon.

I thought this must be the end; but no, I was seemingly in an instant in the city of Philadel­phia. There eve­rything was still. No living soul was there to greet me. It seemed the whole city was with­out any inhabi­tants. In the south of Chestnut Street and in fact everywhere I went, the putrefaction of the dead caused such a stench that it was impos­sible for any living thing to breathe, nor did I see any living thing in the city.

Next I found myself in Broadway, in the city of New York, and there it seemed the people had done the best they could to overcome the disease, but in wandering down Broad­way I saw the bodies of beautiful women lying, some dead and oth­ers in a dy­ing condition, on the sidewalks. I saw men come out of cellars and ravish the per­sons of some that were yet alive and then kill them and rob their bodies of all the valu­ables they had upon them. Then before they could get back to the cellar they would roll over a time or two and die in ag­ony. In some of the back streets I saw them kill some of their own offspring and eat their raw flesh, and in a few minutes die them­selves. Every­where I went I saw the same scene of horror and de­struction and death and rap­ine.

No car­riages, buggies, or cars were running; but death and de­struc­tion were every­where. Then I saw fire start and just at that moment a mighty East wind sprang up and car­ried the flames over the city and it burned until there was not a sin­gle building left standing there, even down to the waters edge. Wharves and shipping all seemed to burn and follow in common destruction where the “great city” was a short time ago. The stench from the bodies that were burn­ing was so great that it was carried a long dis­tance cross the Hudson Bay and carried death and destruction wherever it pene­trated. I cannot paint in words the horror that seemed to compass me about; it was beyond description of man.

I sup­posed this was the end; but it was not. I was given to understand the same horror was being en­acted all over the coun­try, east, west, north, and south. Few were left alive, still there were some. Immediately after I seemed to be standing on the left bank of the Mis­souri River, opposite e the City of In­de­pendence, but there was no city. I saw the whole state of Missouri and Illi­nois and all of Iowa, a complete desert with no living being there…

This overflowing scourge begins among the Latter-day Saints who “profess” to know the Lord, yet blaspheme. These are the they who partake of the sacrament unworthily, attend the temple unworthily, etc. thus profaning what is holy. It will then spread throughout the nation from coast to coast. I find it interesting that an East wind brings a terrible fire after this scourge leaves the land barren. In ancient times, the East wind brought plagues such as locusts and also famines. I suspect that the great fire in this vision results from the East wind bringing nuclear destruction. We will reap the chaff in the whirlwind what we have sown, as Abinadi prophecied would happen to King Noah. This brings to mind some of Isaiah’s writings, although directed at Jerusalem, that when read in the context of John Taylor’s vision, makes perfect sense:

Isaiah 3
16 Moreover the Lord saith, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet:
17 Therefore the Lord will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and the Lord will discover their secret parts.
18 In that day the Lord will take away the bravery of theirtinkling ornaments about their feet, and their cauls, and theirround tires like the moon,
19 The chains, and the bracelets, and the mufflers,
20 The bonnets, and the ornaments of the legs, and the headbands, and the tablets, and the earrings,
21 The rings, and nose jewels,
22 The changeable suits of apparel, and the mantles, and the wimples, and the crisping pins,
23 The glasses, and the fine linen, and the hoods, and the vails.
24 And it shall come to pass, that instead of sweet smell there shall be stink; and instead of a girdle a rent; and instead of well set hair baldness; and instead of a stomacher a girding of sackcloth;and burning instead of beauty.
25 Thy men shall fall by the sword, and thy mighty in the war.
26 And her gates shall lament and mourn; and she being desolate shall sit upon the ground.

There was a time when the United States was a beacon of light to the world. Perhaps to many it still is. I know many still believe in its founding principles, myself included, and fight to return to those principles of liberty, free agency, etc. Today, however, it is clear that, little by little, we have been taken over by Amalickiahs, Kishkumens and Gadiantons who tear down our title of liberty, replacing them with false flag operations. And because of our apathy, slothfulness, and preference to be distracted and entertained by modern day golden calves, far too few have “awakened to our awful situation,” which has gotten above us.

The only answer is to return our sights to a loving Father in Heaven whose arm is bare and outstretched all the day long and who can protect us from enemies, both foreign and domestic, when we seek His counsel rather than rely on our own limited judgment. It is tragic, however, that we will inevitably follow right behind the Nephites and the Jaredites and the ancient Israelites and repeat history. But the light at the end of the tunnel is the literal gathering of all the tribes of Israel, the building up of New Jerusalem by the “remnants” (of Joseph) and the final events that lead to the second coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ. And the government shall be upon His shoulders. And His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.