Thoughts on the Atonement

I was thinking abut the atonement several days ago and wanting to write my thoughts down, but I haven't been able to figure out where or how to write my thoughts. Here and now is as good as anytime or anything. Remember, this came from my own ponderings. This is not official anything.

The atonement happens because we agreed to it. There is no magic about it. (Really, this is a different topic than my last post, though it overlaps somewhat.)

In the premortal world, a plan was presented. The problem was stated. We, as pure and holy beings, knew that if we made mistakes or outright rebelled we would feel so guilty that we could not bear to be in our Father's presence. But we knew we would make mistakes. So, how could we go out on this venture and have a chance to return after the venture was over?

Well, there was a plan presented by the Father God. He said, “I can send one down who is part God and part mortal. Because he has a foot in both worlds, he can bring the two together. He will be the liaison. But I will need to send someone who has been tried and found faithful because - number one - he needs to be without sin. Being part God will genetically predispose him to goodness but the core of his inner soul needs to be such that he will not sin. Your collective faith will do the rest.

“Second, if you agree to give him your sins and your pains, your regrets and your guilt, I will decree a law that such will be so. It will be binding because of the law of common consent. But it will be excruciatingly painful, nearly impossible to bear, even for a God-hybrid. So, we need someone we can trust one hundred percent to go through with it.”

Here, I'm going to skip to what the Pearl of Great Price (Abraham 3:27) calls the second answer, though it is possible that the second answer came in jealousy over the firmness of the volunteer who answered first.

There was a stir among the people of the children of the Father-God as they discussed this. Some didn't think it was fair to make one of their siblings the recipient of everyone's guilt and pain, especially if he was innocent of any guilt at all. Others felt guilty already for causing a sibling so much pain, even though it hadn't happened yet. Others saw that there was really no other way for the problem to be solved.

After much discussion, one spoke up -

“It isn't fair or right that one among us should suffer so unjustly for us all.”

Some nodded and verbalized their agreement.

“I have a better plan,” he said.

“What is it?” asked the Father God.

“I'll go down and be the savior. I will make it so that not one soul will be lost. No one will have to feel guilty over causing excessive pain and trauma to an innocent sibling because sin and error will simply not exist.”

“How do you propose to do that?” asked the Father God.

“When we put the veil of forgetfulness over our eyes, we will also make ourselves pliable and compliant to my will. They will always be obedient because they will be incapable of thinking or speaking or acting in any other way.”

“Your will?”

“Of course. As the author of the plan, the glory is mine. My brilliant plan will prevent the loss of even one soul. I should have the Father's glory because my plan is better. We've got to be progressive here - and compassionate.”

“What do you think of that plan?” the Father God asked his children.

The children discussed it.

“How will we be able to learn and grow and become like Father if we are forced to obey?” asked one.

“Or if we are not given the freedom to even think?” asked another.

“How can we learn from our mistakes if we don't make any?” asked still another.

“Look, you're not going to be forced to do anything,” the plan-giver replied. “Force implies choice. You won't be forced. You will have chosen here, therefor your choice has not been trampled upon.

“Listen, you won't want to rebel or do anything wrong. That's the beauty of it. Force doesn't even enter the picture. Not only will all of you return to Father, but you won't be the cause of excruciating pain to anyone. Do you really want Father to slaughter one of his children because you were too selfish to accept my plan?”

There was more discussion. Finally a vote was taken. The majority chose the Father's plan.

“So, who shall I send?” he asked again.

“Me, of course,” said the plan-giver, planning to push his plan through after he was chosen. “As the eldest it is my right.”

“I will go,” said another. “Send me.”

“What of my glory?” asked the Father God.

“I don't want your glory. I want what is best for my siblings. I want them to be free to direct their lives, and to be able to change course when they screw up.”

“But youare not the eldest,” pointed out the plan-giver.¹“Thus you have no right to be the savior of your siblings.”

“I will send you,” said the Father God.

“Me?” asked the plan-giver.

“No,”said the Father. “I am sending the one who will sacrifice himself.”

The plan-giver didn't take that too well. The rejection agitated in his soul. Eventually, he rebelled and decided to take his Father's kingdom by force. That didn't work out too well for him, and for his efforts, he was cast out of the kingdom.

So, the atonement is wrought by a law given with our common consent. Our very hearts are intertwined in the way the atonement works, with how it was set up.

When the judgment day arrives, we will not be ignorant of our part in choosing the plan that included a sacrificial offering. If we have chosen to give all of our sins to Christ, we will have honored our commitment to the plan and we will know it. The honor in our souls (in spite of what we may have done or become here) is what holds up the plan. The law that was made during the planning to which we gave our common consent still lives in each of our hearts.

This has not been a very good description of what I have been pondering. The gist is -

1. We knew that we would feel too horrible to return to God's presence if we made even one mistake.
   
   
2. We agreed to the sacrifice. Without our common consent, it would not have been put in place.
   
   
3. The faith of the faithful, the fact that Jesus was a God hybrid, and Jesus' own natural personality are what made it possible for him to live without sin and to complete the atonement.
   
   
4. Putting our sins on Jesus was something we chose, that's why it is possible to put our sins on him. We simply re-choose what we once chose. Very simple. Too simple for those who want to think of the atonement as something too deep and too mysterious to understand.

The mechanics of how the sins were put upon Jesus is something I have not yet understood.

I wish I could say more, but I am unable to put the rest of my ponderings into words, even in my own mind. I am hoping that my bumbling way to express what little I can is helpful and uplifting to someone, though.

1 I get this idea from the scriptures where it is often the younger brother who rules over the elder, even in the case of twins like Esau and Jacob. For the purpose of my thoughts, the scenario is that they are twins, with one just barely older than the other - though birth order as we know it probably does not exist in heaven. The plan-giver probably lost the “Firstborn status” he would have had if he had been chosen.

Thoughts on King Benjamin's Sermon

I was studying Mosiah 3:25 - Mosiah 4:1 and received what seemed to me to be tremendous insights. (Remember, there's a disclaimer somewhere on this site that my posts are my own opinions.)

I'm going to put my notes below, then try to clean it up a little so that, hopefully, it will make sense.

If's one's works are evil, that person is consigned (not sure what that means) to an awful view of their own guilt and abominations. Their view, their guilt is the punishment. This view causes them to shrink from God's presence - And they shrink into a state of misery and endless woe - whence they can no more return!

The idea that people can or will somehow advance from a lower kindgom to a higher is shot out of the water here. If they feel guilt - shrinking from God's presence - it's a “no more return” (to God) thing.

And they have drunk damnation to their own souls.

In other words, it was their own doing. They cannot blame others or circumstances no matter how bad they were. Someone growing up in hell, if taught the truth by the Spirit, is just as accountable as someone growing up in righteousness who has been taught by the Spirit.

Thisis drinking out of the cup of the wrath of God, which justice cannot deny! Why can it not deny it? Because YOUknowyou are guilty! It has absolutely nothingto do with “little intelligences” that refuse to allow God to let us advance. There are no little intelligences telling God, “Uh, uh, You held usback.”

No, it is allwithin each soul. Wehave a sense of justice within us. When we are brought to ourselves again, and it is everlastingly too late, weare the ones who cannot deny that justice was done. We know, perfectly well, that we are not worthy, because we rejected mercy when it was extended to us.

We cannot deny God's justice because it is also our justice. We are part of God. We have forgotten that here. We think we can hide from God. We think we can hide our sins. But we cannot. The sins are written in our souls. If we have not repented and taken the Holy Spirit for our guide, wewill know it. And because weknow it, we will shrink from God, feeling excruciating pain at being in His presence - and forever carrying the guilt and torment. It may be allayed somewhat as we move far away from God, but being separated from God is hell. So, then, where are we?

Mercy NEVERhas claim again. Neverforever.You cannot get more plain than that.

Their torment is asa lake of fire and brimstone. There is no realfire, no realbrimstone. The comparison is a figure of speech from something long forgotten, though some scholars claim to know where it came from.

It is a figure of speech, originated by those who sawsuch a lake (or lakes). They sawhow terrible the fire, brimstone, and smoke was.

Now, I understand that the idea was supposed to have originated from a group of evil men who prepared the fires to torment and kill others, but I submit that this idea may be more ancient than that. I submit that this goes to the root of the myths about the violent and angry gods such as Venus, Mercury, Mars, and so forth, those planets that once terrorized the earth.

And what do we teach each other today? We teach about the three degrees of glory and how most people will go to a degree of glory. Any torment before reaching one of those is glossed over or ignored. Few of us will be consigned to actual hell, we say. And some few even teach that there is progression from kingdom to kingdom. Others teach that all those in outer darkness, whether with a body or without, will have a total dissolution into intelligences and have another go at becoming Gods.

Some teach that we keep coming back to this life over and over again until we either give up or get it right. They claim that this is notreincarnation. But this view is refuted in the Book of Mormon. Thislife(not some past or future lives) is the day in which to repent and produce fruit. Besides that, our tendency to act in a certain way will remain - whether we are totally dismantled and put together again or whether we come back to this life six hundred times. How we act will not change. One life is enough to show who and what we really are. And that is the purpose of this life after all: To show us what and who we really are when we are wearing blinders.

“There is no hell.” “There is no devil.” And thus he whispereth in their ears and draws them down to hell with his flaxen cords that have turned into chains of iron.

I don't think we take the opportunities offered is in this life seriously enough. We think we'll get another chance in the spirit world. We think we'll magically want what we either did not want or actively fought against here - so we blithely assume, suppose, and hope that unhearing or antagonistic loved ones (or even ourselves) will magically transform once they are dead. Some truths, apparently, are too hard for people to bear.

I had an experience that showed me this truth (that we do not change once we hit the spirit world).

I was working for a man who had - oh, I'm thinking it was Musser, but I'm not sure - anyway this person's journal (on small floppy disks), who was a leader in what eventually became the FLDS church. When I worked for the man, he was blind and could not do his own typing, so he hired me to help him. He wanted me to type the journals for him.

As I typed, I came across something I could not decipher. I didn't know what to do, so I asked the man who wrote the journals to tell me what the words said. I thought, living in the spirit world and having his eyes opened, he would have a different view of polygamy and all that. He did not. He was very eager to tell me what the words were that I could not read. In fact, he was very eager for me to understand where he was coming from. He was very enthusiastic as I typed the journal. He was pleased that it was being done, even though it would not further his purposes. He never tormented my dreams or anything. He was respectful of me, but I could sense the eagernesswith which he shared the missing words.

I promise you: We do not change simply because we have died.

Back to my notes: Benjamin has finished telling the people what the angel told him to say to them. He looks at the people and sees they have fallen to the earth. They have understood his words. They have understood that they don't get to come back over and over again (whether from scratch, as an intelligence, or as a spirit being). They have understood that theywill be the condemner of themselves. And so on.

They know full well what they are. They can and do clearlysee their own fallen state. They are carnal. They are sensual. They are devilish. They see the natural tendency to deny justice and concentrate on mercy - receiving mercy without following the laws that lead to mercy. They are less than the dust of the earth, because the dust of the earth obeys God willingly, never putting it off, never refusing, never complaining.

Dowe realize this stuff? Do I realize this? Am Iguilty of any of these things (being carnal, sensual, devilish, unwilling to always obey every single thing God tells me to do)?Of course I am. I admit it freely. But my desire is to change until I am not guilty. I amchanging. I can feel it, and I can see it.

This book (the Book of Mormon) was written for us, those who read it and those believe it. It was written for me. It is a warning to us so that we will not lift up our eyes in hell, being in torment. It is a handbook to teach us how to come to Christ, until we are redeemed from the fall and brought back into God's presence. That means wehad better scrupulously study this book. Ihad better do so.

It was written to help us escape from hell. How was that again? [This is referring to previous parts of Benjamin's sermon.]

Believe in Jesus Christ. Understand that He lived and what He did. Understand your need to repent. Understand that little children and the ignorant are covered by the atonement. Understand that it is youwho are the catalyst for the power of the atonement in your life. Understand that youare the marker and the judge and you cannotdeceive yourself at the last day, let alone deceive God.

Understand that the punishment and torment is real. Don't minimize it. Don't ignore it. Understand that God sends holy prophets (and they may not be who you expect them to be) to warn us and to teach us. But, ultimately, it is between us and God, not between us an anyman.

Understand that Jesus is the onlyway. It is in yoursoul that justice will be satisfied. Youwill judge yourself. What about all the other judges? 12 original apostles, 12 disciples, etc. I think there is more to that information than meets the casual eye. They will not condemn us. Neither will Christ. We will. We are less subservient than we think.

[Note: if you want scripture references for what I've written that is not in Benjamin's speech, search the Book of Mormon; it's in there.]

Colors

In reading this blog, I was moved to analyze colors. I love colors and I love nature, so it was a normal thing for me to do. I'm not sure if the author of this blog got his opinions from heaven or from his own thinking and study. Well, the idea that there are colors we can't see, in my opinion, probably came from his own experience. Some people who have had near death experiences also say there are colors we can't see here.

Blue is the color of the priesthood. Blue is the expanse of heaven, as we look up from the earth when it is sunny. As the blue above us covers and protects us, so the priesthood can cover and protect us. Priesthood is, so I understand, the power of God. Every time we look up and see the blue sky, we can be reminded of the power of God, and the power he gives to holy men, to repentant men.

Red is the color of judgment. Jesus will return wearing a red robe. He trod the wine press alone. Red wine. He went through the press, and it squeezed him until blood came from every pore. We are judged by how much of his press we accepted in our behalf. (Red) wine in the sacrament of the Lord's supper is to remind us of Jesus: His sacrifice and the final judgment. Water isn't really as powerful a metaphor as wine.

Gold. Heavenly royalty. Some sunsets and sunrises are awesome in their gold. They shine. Nothing one can hold in one's hand can be made as gloriously beautiful as a golden sunset or sunrise. Every time we see one, we can be reminded of heavenly royalty. We are reminded of something awesome that is impossible to hold in one's hand.

Green is the color of healing. Green is something that grows. It improves. It becomes stronger. It is beautiful to see green plants, especially if one lives in a desert. Green can remind us of the healing power of Jesus every time we look at it. And green is healing in and of itself. There is great emotional healing in being amongst plants. Plants were given to be used as healing. (See Ezekiel 47:12 and Alma 46:40)

I suppose yellow is covered under gold.

What about purple? It is a mixture of red and blue. Traditionally, it has been the color of royalty.

What about orange? A mixture of red and yellow. So if you put judgment and heavenly royalty together you get something pretty cool if you've taken the Holy Spirit for your guide during your life.

Black is an absence of light.

Green is yellow and blue. I wonder if that means anything? Yellow/gold is heavenly royalty. Blue is priesthood. Put them together and you get healing.

A Couple of Blogs Worth Perusing

A friend sent me a link to a blog and I found one of the posts worth repeating. Instead of repeating it here (since I don't have permission to quote the entire post), I'll send you over there. A Little Peace In Paradise  is the name of the blog - The Doctrine of the Anti-Christ is the post.

The other blog is All Things Bear Record of Me, also known as "Bare Record".

Some Scriptures to Consider

In my studies today, I realized (probably not for the first time) that in the scriptural days, when the prophets were cast out, they were basically excommunicated. Something to think about.

20 And when the Jews heard these things they were angry with him; yea, even as with the prophets of old, whom they had cast out (excommunicated), and stoned, and slain; and they also sought his life, that they might take it away. But behold, I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance.
(Book of Mormon | 1 Nephi 1:20)

3 And after the Messiah shall come there shall be signs given unto my people of his birth, and also of his death and resurrection; and great and terrible shall that day be unto the wicked, for they shall perish; and they perish because they cast out (excommunicate) the prophets, and the saints, and stone them, and slay them; wherefore the cry of the blood of the saints shall ascend up to God from the ground against them.
(Book of Mormon | 2 Nephi 26:3)


24 Yea, wo unto this people, because of this time which has arrived, that ye do cast out the prophets, and do mock them, and cast stones at them, and do slay them, and do all manner of iniquity unto them, even as they did of old time.

25  And now when ye talk, ye say: If our days had been in the days of our fathers of old, we would not have slain the prophets; we would not have stoned them, and cast them out (excommunicated).

26 Behold ye are worse than they; for as the Lord liveth, if a prophet come among you and declareth unto you the word of the Lord, which testifieth of your sins and iniquities, ye are angry with him, and cast him out and seek all manner of ways to destroy him; yea, you will say that he is a false prophet, and that he is a sinner, and of the devil, because he testifieth that your deeds are evil.
(Book of Mormon | Helaman 13:24-26)

33 O that I had repented, and had not killed the prophets, and stoned them, and cast them out (excommunicated). Yea, in that day ye shall say: O that we had remembered the Lord our God in the day that he gave us our riches, and then they would not have become slippery that we should lose them; for behold, our riches are gone from us.
(Book of Mormon | Helaman 13:33)

14 And it came to pass in the thirty and first year that they were divided into tribes, every man according to his family, kindred and friends; nevertheless they had come to an agreement that they would not go to war one with another; but they were not united as to their laws, and their manner of government, for they were established according to the minds of those who were their chiefs and their leaders. But they did establish very strict laws that one tribe should not trespass against another, insomuch that in some degree they had peace in the land; nevertheless, their hearts were turned from the Lord their God, and they did stone the prophets and did cast them out (excommunicated) from among them.
(Book of Mormon | 3 Nephi 7:14)

25 And in another place they were heard to cry and mourn, saying: O that we had repented before this great and terrible day, and had not killed and stoned the prophets, and cast them out (excommunicated); then would our mothers and our fair daughters, and our children have been spared, and not have been buried up in that great city Moronihah. And thus were the howlings of the people great and terrible.
(Book of Mormon | 3 Nephi 8:25)

11 And because they did cast them all out (excommunicated), that there were none righteous among them, I did send down fire and destroy them, that their wickedness and abominations might be hid from before my face, that the blood of the prophets and the saints whom I sent among them might not cry unto me from the ground against them.
(Book of Mormon | 3 Nephi 9:11)

25 For it cometh to pass that whoso buildeth it up seeketh to overthrow the freedom of all lands, nations, and countries; and it bringeth to pass the destruction of all people, for it is built up by the devil, who is the father of all lies; even that same liar who beguiled our first parents, yea, even that same liar who hath caused man to commit murder from the beginning; who hath hardened the hearts of men that they have murdered the prophets, and stoned them, and cast them out (excommunicated) from the beginning.
(Book of Mormon | Ether 8:25)

29 But the people believed not the words of the prophets, but they cast them out (excommunicated); and some of them they cast into pits and left them to perish. And it came to pass that they did all these things according to the commandment of the king, Heth.
(Book of Mormon | Ether 9:29)

I'm a Mormon

Inspired by this and this and this post, I decided to add my own testimony of assorted things.

I'm a Mormon. I'm a Mormon who has a brother who began to research church history when I was about eleven years old. Pretty much all of our ancestors, except for the Swedish line, came from Nauvoo. Some of the things my brother told me about church history were far from faith-promoting. As a young adult, I had several friends who began to learn about the history we don't hear at church; they also began “searching for the mysteries”. All of these (my friends and my brother) left the church. I didn't. I was pretty good at “putting [things] on the shelf” and, besides that, I was acutely aware that the biggest mystery in my life was to know myself and overcome the sins that so easily beset me. I had no desire for any deeper mystery (and wasn't even sure that the mysteries my friends were seeking were the mysteries the scriptures were talking about).

I also read many “anti-Mormon” books. (It has been over thirty years since I've read them, so I don't remember a whole lot of specific examples from them.) I noticed several things about the ones I read:

First, there were a lot of “must have beens” thrown in. Sometimes it was a real stretch of logic to come to those conclusions. I saw no reason why something “must have been” from the evidence given. I could think of other “could have beens”.

Second, the books contradicted themselves. One example that I can think of right now is the book written by one of Brigham Young's wives. He lusted after her, she said. He was really wanting her sexually, the dirty old man. But, lo and behold, many pages later we find out that he married her. And her chief complaint was that he never (apparently not even once) had sex with her. Hm. So which accusation is true? If he lusted after her so much, wouldn't her complaint be that she couldn't make him stay away from her? Her other chief complaint was that he wouldn't give her money. She expected him to support her. In fact, it appeared that the only reason she married him was for money and prestige. In any case, she was bummed that he only gave her a house she could use for a rooming house to bring in her own money. Actually, that way, she wouldn't have to be dependent on him, begging for money – but that is a perception that was not appreciated until much later in American history.

Third, harmless things were depicted as horrendously evil. Joseph Smith was a money-digger. That means he dug for gold and such. Oooh, spawn of the devil, indeed! So, what does that make all of those people who followed the gold into California and Alaska? What does that make people in the past and present who mine for gold, silver, copper, diamonds, and so forth? And he believed in superstitious things. You know, things that we are far too “superior” to believe in today. Incredible, isn't it? He had faith in things unseen, like a child does until it “knows better”. I doubt angels and Gods could have appeared to someone too “sophisticated” and “advanced” to believe it possible.

Fourth, truths were depicted as lies straight from hell. For example, the doctrine that humans can, through repentance and the grace of God, eventually become gods, themselves. Yes, the devil told Eve that if she ate the fruit that she would become like the Gods, in that she would know good from evil. The devil was right; he just neglected to tell her that it was through excruciating pain that she would learn the difference. But, seriously, if God tells a truth, who was Joseph, and who is the church, to change the truth into a lie to make it palatable to the world at large?

Fifth, there were some outright lies. The woman who stated some things were never taught (like Jesus was never mentioned when she went to primary), ever. But, of course, she fell into the category of contradicting herself. She knew exactly what the “Mormon” church taught every Sunday even though she admitted in another part of the book that she rarely went. It reminds me of the woman I met on my mission who told me how evil the Book of Mormon was. When I asked her if she had ever read it, the answer was no. She'd never read such an evil book and she never intended to read it. Strange how she would know so much more than me about a book she had never read, but that I had read several times.

The books, I noticed, would suck people in on an emotional level. Once that happened, you'd be “good and angry” so that the inconsistencies and idiocies in the book would go unnoticed by your rational mind.

On my mission, my foundation got knocked out from under me, and I realized it had been based on being surrounded by an LDS environment. In Michigan, that environment was not there. So, my base of faith began to be built up again, being based on something other than environment.

Recently, I came across a book called, “Passing the Heavenly Gift”. I thought I could handle it, in light of my brother, friends, and the books I'd read. There were many parts of the book I didn't like. There were a couple of experiences I read that I could have gone my whole life without knowing, and I would have been fine and dandy about it. But the book lacked the anti-Mormon qualities. I don't recall any “must have beens”. I saw no contradictions. Things one might have considered “horrendously evil” were explained. Truths were depicted as true. There was nothing that I could see was a lie. And the best thing was that I could take Brigham Young off the shelf. I'm not any more impressed with him than I have been since I was 11 or 12, but I can accept him as a “legal” or bona fide leader now. He is no longer an enigma to me.

Oh, I've got to mention this: I recognized immediately that I am one of the “proud descendents of Nauvoo” and the label didn't bother me one whit. I am what I am. I was glad to wake up. I was glad to see things in a better light, even if it showed me that my ancestors were not quite as worthy to be worshipped as I had been taught. That doesn't diminish their suffering. It doesn't diminish their humanness. I don't think them worthy of anger or resentment. I'm not so sure I would have done any better if I had been in their shoes.

I like the original plan of letting every member of the LDS church believe the way they understand the gospel to be, instead of trying to force each member into a unified box, or having a secret committee like the Strengthening the Members Committee. I like the idea of letting my son have ear plugs if he wants them. I like the idea of a variety of clothing on the men each Sunday. Some men look terrific with beards and/or a mustache. I like the idea of being able to meet with friends to discus the gospel without an “authorized priesthood leader” around to make sure we aren't going “apostate”. I like the idea of seeing someone at church with a tattoo and admiring the beauty if it is an artistic drawing. I like the idea of accepting each other as children of God when we don't fit some preconceived and arbitrary mold. I have known demons who “dressed the dress” and appeared to “walk the walk” and “talk the talk”. I have known angels who not only didn't “look the part” but who were not members of my religion (or were not active members of it). (For the curious, I am speaking of mortals, not actual unembodied demons nor of angels from the presence of God.)

I love my God. I love my Savior. Jesus Christ has rescued me from hell. When He has sent true messengers, He has told me they were His if I asked. He has been opening my mind to the fact that we are all on equal ground, that not one person is better than another. True messengers are not to be worshipped nor idolized nor feared nor strictly obeyed. The message is to be listened to, heeded and probably strictly obeyed, but only after God has let us know it is a true message. Sometimes that message is not comfortable. Sometimes it tells us our thinking has been all wrong. But the honor and the glory go to the Man who has sent the message, not the one who has delivered it.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is Jesus' church. It was restored through a bona fide prophet of God who was not only imperfect, but never made a pretense of perfection.

The leaders the church have now are bona fide leaders. They are there through our common consent. They are thus eligible for inspiration and revelation when it comes to guiding the church. Like Joseph Smith, they are imperfect, and should not make a pretense of perfection. If they have given anyone the idea that they are perfect and that every action they have and every word they speak is as if God, Himself, has spoken and acted I would think they would feel sorrow for that worship of men.

Jesus has not deserted this church. As far as I know, He has not deserted any soul who lives upon the face of this earth. He speaks to anyone who will listen, no matter what religion they espouse.

Test of Fire - Election 2012

This is an awesome video a friend shared with me. Feel free to share it (they want it shared).