The Infinite, Overpowering, Love of God

 I read this story today, and have permission to share it. For privacy, no names are mentioned:

Most of you know that I have a trans granddaughter, and that her mother was opposed to this decision from point A to point Z, but her dad supported the transitioning. This last year when she had her surgery to permanently mutilate and disfigure herself, her mom would not take her to the surgery. Her dad did that. But of course Dad could not/would not be the person who--everyday--had to cleanse the wounds, and put ointments on them and gauze and bandage her.  AND check the drainage tubes that were attached to her for any signs of infection. That had to be [the mom], of course. 

[The mom] heard the following discussion later between her daughter and her friend:
"Who helped you with your bandaging and stuff?"
"My mom."
"Your mom that opposed this all the way? "
"Yes, that mom."
"Why did she do that?"
"Because she loves me."

Someone commented that it was a beautiful example of true love, even though it was tragic on so many levels.

The person telling the story replied:

It does begin to give you the tiniest idea of the grief we give our Divine Parents. doesn't it? Always left to bandage up all the emotional and spiritual wounds we give ourselves and others even when they warned us that it was a bad idea  . . .

That hit me so hard that I began sobbing. The understanding of the pure love of our heavenly Parents in spite of all the great pain we give them -that I give them- overcame me. I wish I could share the feeling of that overwhelming love and compassion. I wish every human on earth could feel and understand that. I think our world would be changed forever.

The guardian of the inhabited earth

 I didn't know what to title this. The above will do. 

I usually read several books at one time (obviously, taking turns reading them), and another book I've been reading is Old Testament and Related Studies by Hugh Nibley. This morning, I finished the chapter/sermon entitled Treasures in the Heavens and came across something interesting that I wanted to share.

This is from page 186 in the edition I have, and is written exactly as in the book (I changed nothing; the blog would not let me change the footnote # to a superscript, nor would it let me change it to a smaller font than the rest of the post):

These veils seem to serve as protecting as well as confining fences around the worlds: The light of the sun in its true nature (morphe) is not seen in this place, we are told, because it passes through "many veils and regions (topoi)" before reaching us; 116 its protective function is represented by a wonderful super-bird, called "the guardian of the inhabited earth" because "by spreading out his wings he absorbs (dechetai) the fire-like (pyrimorphos) rays" of the sun; "if he did not receive [absorb] them, the human race could not survive, nor any other form of life." 

That sounds, to me, like it is describing the magnetic field that protects the earth from the sun's power. In light of the fact that the magnetic field is weakening, so the when the sun throws things at us we feel it more (recent blackouts in certain countries is caused by that, according to some resources) makes it more likely, in my view.

 

 

The above picture came from here: 

 This search shows pictures of the magnetic field.

Repent - We're no better than the Lamanites in the Book of Mormon

My brother wrote a book called The Life and Times of John Steele: Mormon Kingdom Builder. It got published quite recently (he has written many articles and books in his life). His passion for genealogy (begun when he was about 10 years old) expanded into studying the history of his ancestors (when you trace your genealogy back to Kronos -which I think he did tongue in cheek- you've got to branch out). Now, my brother doesn't whitewash anything. He thinks the weaknesses make for a more interesting person. He's also agnostic, so he isn't going to be trying to get across the idea that the LDS Church is God's only and true kingdom. 

One thing I learned is that John Steele and Catherine (Campbell) left for America after Joseph Smith Jr. died. I had always thought they got there a few months before. So, John never heard Joseph preach against having more than one wife, neither did he experience Joseph excommunicating as many polygamists as he discovered (my brother didn't mention that about Joseph; I'm sure he believes Joseph had extra wives). I'm not going to go into more that the book talks about (but it does talk about the Mountain Meadows massacre, using info the LDS Church finally released, so it was more comprehensive than I've previously read) because I have a different point to make.

 I'm about 2/3 of the way through the book, and it struck me yesterday and last night that we are the Lamanites in the Book of Mormon. No, not by blood (most of us), but those of us descended from the Mormon pioneers who followed Brigham Young out west, laboring under an oppressive regime (though some refused to obey, and it was apparently common for people to leave when they'd had enough). This book was a second witness to me (the first being Passing the Heavenly Gift by Denver C Snuffer) about the wickedness of our ancestors. They were vile!

And I felt a strong desire to repent, repent from the false beliefs, from the follies of my ancestors, from their murders and hypocrisies. Whether directly or indirectly, they killed the prophets of their time (Hyrum and Joseph), and wasted no time going against nearly everything Joseph, Hyrum, and the Book of Mormon preached we should do and be. And I realized that I was in a situation akin to the wicked Lamanites when Ammon, his brothers, and their friends opened up the true history, refuting the whitewashed history the Lamanites had been taught. And, like the Lamanites, I wanted to cease the tradition. I wanted to discard my generational sins, I wanted to come to Christ and have all of that -from the beginning, whenever that was- washed away, washed clean.

We (all sects who believe the Book of Mormon is our book) are the wicked Lamanites, but we are also the wicked Nephites because we (having the Book of Mormon amongst us since its inception) really have no excuse for our vile behavior: violence, doing in our enemies (or those we judge as unrighteous, or just plain don't like) thievery, abuse, sexual predatory behavior, hatred, pride, arrogance, neglect of the poor and needy, and a host of other sins (the Book or Mormon lists several).

In the Book of Mormon, I've been reading Samuel the Lamanite's sermon and prophecies. His prophecies to the Nephites about how they will literally be destroyed (dead) if they don't repent really hit hard for our present society. And Samuel told them to repent maybe a dozen times (I didn't count how many times the word was mentioned in his sermon). Would to God that I could shout to the skies and be heard before we suffer the likes of which we have only read about - and some of us may not have ever read about it.

It's our common enemy who seeks for us to be full of pride and anger, full of fear and self=justification, full of lust and love of worldly things. This color against that color. Men against women. Women against men. This political party against that political party. This country against that country. Trans against everyone who figures God knew what he was doing. Those who believe in vaccines against those who don't. This against that. Some other thing against it's opposing paradigm. 

I fear we haven't much time left. Please, let us open our hearts to God and realize the precariousness of our situation. Let us love God above all else, including our sins that we think are no sins. Let us be open to drop all of our lies! All of our pride! All of our angers and fears! Our peace, safety, and happiness depend upon it - both temporal and spiritual. You and I will be most upset and regretful and living in horror if we don't repent. The scriptures promise it.

 

 

Should we pray or join the fray?

This post is NOT about the current nonsense going on in the "remnant" movement even though the quotes are from a thread discussing that very thing a couple of years ago. The point I wish to make has zero to do with that. Zero to do with who is right and who is wrong in the present drama and trauma going on. (I’ve no horse in that race.)

The point is this: If you find yourself hating a group of people, or despising them, or think you are better than them, it might be a good idea to humble yourself, ask God where your own failings are, and pray for those you despise or hate.

Post by Silver Pie » Sat Mar 09, 2024 5:47 am

    Farmer wrote: Tue Feb 13, 2024 2:54 pm

    Yet again another example of the mess Denver has created with the “remnant” group. 

Denver didn't create the messes. People who profess to believe what he has taught are making the messes.

    from the periphery I see constant circumstances of bickering and ungodly behavior.

When you see constant bickering and ungodly behavior, you are only seeing the people making a fuss. There are others who are quietly going about their business, doing their best to always face God, and doing their best to allow Christ to save them. To judge every person in the movement by the idiocy, sins, bickering, etc. of those causing contention isn't really a smart thing to do (yet, it is what people do, isn't it?).


Post by Silver Pie » Sat Mar 09, 2024 5:57 am

    Farmer wrote: Sun Feb 18, 2024 6:47 pm

    The arrogance, in many respects, of this group even calling themselves the remnant. I have personally evolved my thinking of what the remnant even is, let alone who they are at least a dozen times in the last 10 to 15 years and I’m still not sure my current understanding is even correct. There is a great deal of assumption and self aggrandizement going on with these various groups of people who look to Denver as their light. 

I don't call myself a remnant. I objected to the idea, in fact - but more recently, I realized they are a remnant of the LDS Church (especially if you include all the factions that claim descent from Joseph Smith Jr). I still don't call myself a remnant. I have no label for myself.

And, while some do look to Denver as their light, he preached against it profusely in the ten lectures. Some set themselves up as a light. Others listen to what Denver has to say, but use the Lord, the Heavenly Parents, and the Holy Spirit as the light they should follow.


Post by Silver Pie » Sat Mar 09, 2024 6:07 am

    Farmer wrote: Tue Mar 05, 2024 7:22 pm

    Emphatically, I state, Priesthood only comes from the heavens. 

Of course it does. The certificate is only so a man can show another fellowship or person who desires baptism/sacrament that the group he came from believes he's honorable enough to bless the sacrament and perform baptisms.

You seem really upset by a group of people who aren't, near as I can figure, causing you any pain. Instead of pointing fingers and b*ching about them, wouldn't a better use of your time be to look at yourself and see where the beams are in your own eyes, and where you might improve so that you can stand in the presence of God without fear or agony (whether in this life when he shows up, or in the next when he judges)?

Or you could pray for all the parties involved in this mess - those who are hurling insults, those who are threatening people, those who are pretending to be something they are not, and those who are the victims in all of that. That would be better than doing your part in spreading the contention on the internet - unless, of course, you get your jollies by being appalled and pointing fingers at other people's pain and anger, as you become part of the problem yourself instead of part of the solution.


Post by Silver Pie » Sat Mar 09, 2024 6:13 am

    Wolfwoman wrote: Fri Mar 08, 2024 12:46 pm

    Regarding priesthood: of course Denver believes that women can have an association with Heaven. That has been a big thing that he has taught. The thing about men having priesthood and women sustaining them in that has to do with Genesis 3:16. Due to conditions of the fall, men are to “rule” over women. This has to do with men being priests and leaders in the religious community and with them performing ordinances (law of Moses ordinances back in the day and baptism and sacrament today). He asked the Lord if women could hold priesthood and the Lord told him no. That’s not going to happen until the millennium. So he set up the system of women sustaining men in the priesthood which also harkens back to the original order of God where the mother chose who received the birthright blessing (see Isaac and Rebekah and their sons Esau and Jacob). You don’t have to believe it, but the reasoning is that he got it from the Lord himself. 

Yep. And he specified that it was "public ordinances" (like baptism and blessing the sacrament) that women weren't supposed to do.

Women can give blessings to family and friends. I know because I've done it (long before Denver showed up on the scene) and God honored that by causing the blessings to be fulfilled. Women also have a fellowship with heaven, every bit as real as any man has in his fellowship with heaven.


Post by Silver Pie » Sat Mar 09, 2024 1:21 pm

Since I haven't been coming to this site often lately and may not be back for another month, I want to clarify my last comment to Farmer (love the name by the way!). I was not trying to be accusatory toward them. My point is this: I expect we are all human . . . . Many or most of us view ourselves as followers of Christ, and from what I've seen of Farmer's posts, s/he is no exception.

As those who are following Christ - or trying to to the best of our abilities - I believe it behooves us to pray for fellow followers of Christ who are obviously struggling to be Christlike. It doesn't matter if they don't believe the faction we follow. It doesn't matter if they are "apostate" from the religion we hold dear. It doesn't matter if they are Mormon or CoJCoLDS or Catholic or Lutheran or Baptist or Holy Roller or any other label, or no label at all. It doesn't matter if we don't like the man (or woman) they believe speaks for God.

What matters is that we come to a unity of the faith, even if our doctrines and beliefs differ. Our unity should be in our prayers and concerns for each other (not in being appalled or angry because we don't like that group for whatever reason).

Also, to be clear, I view myself as scum, unworthy of the great mercy our Lord has shown to me (to all of us) - that he should have suffered in Gethsemane and died on the cross for someone as unprofitable and unworthy as me boggles my mind. It is difficult to accept this great gift he so freely gives to us. Just so you know that I'm not coming from some pretended attitude of being better than anyone here.

Who is Keeping You Out of Zion?

 I was reading the 1840 edition of the Book of Mormon this morning, near the end of 1 Nephi where he is explaining some Isaiah verses. (All scripture quotes are from the last chapter of 1 Nephi. No other references are given, because we don't all necessarily use the same version of this book.)

He wrote: "All that fight against Zion shall be destroyed."

That should give us pause.

If we are angry at each other - if we, in the stubbornness of our pride, are accusing others of being the reason we are not in Zion - if we are contentious and angry and will accuse, interrupt, and cut off those who are trying to explain their points of view  - if we are doing all this and more, WE are the ones fighting against Zion. WE are among those who will be destroyed.

Let that sink into your mind and heart.

 

1.  God . . . will not suffer that the wicked shall destroy the righteous.
2. He will preserve the righteous by his power, even if it so be that the fulness of his wrath must come.
3. The righteous be preserved, even unto the destruction of their enemies by fire.
4. All they who fight against Zion shall be cut off.
5. For the time speedily shall come that . . . all those who belong to the kingdom of the devil are they who need fear, and tremble, and quake; 

 Versus the following:

Because of the righteousness of his people, Satan has no power . . . he hath no power over [their] hearts for they dwell in righteousness and the Holy One of Israel reigneth.

We should not be accusing others of doing that which we, ourselves, are doing. (When I first heard that people were essentially saying, "You are the reason we don't have Zion," my mind was blown. NO ONE is preventing YOU from having a Zion in your own mind and heart. How do you know that God has not already begun to establish a physical Zion, but you don't know about it because he won't tell you on account of you serving the devil instead of him?) 

 Have we learned nothing from the experiences of the LDS pioneers who were driven from their homes and suffered all manner of attack on their persons and homes, including the deaths of too many of them and the violation of women? Do we not comprehend how serious this path is that we have embarked on? Are we so oblivious to the power demons have over the hearts of people today that we think we won't be punished in a similar horrendous fashion if we continue in the pride of and contention in our hearts?

 Are you aware that the reason God sent Denver was not just to try to establish a people worthy of Zion, but to also warn us of our destruction if we refused to repent? Folks, this is not a game. We need to take this task of creating Zion seriously - and I suggest we begin by looking into our own hearts and, with God's help, ousting pride, fear, sacred cows, the need to always be right.

Whose side are we really on? God's side - or the Devil's? 

 

 

 

No place to be placed alone in the midst of the earth.

 Isaiah said (recorded in the Book of Mormon, and obviously the same in the Old Testament)

Wo unto them that join house to house, till there can be no place, that they may be placed alone in the midst of the earth!

2 Nephi 15:8 (LDS version because that's what I have on my computer).

I knew that was true because I have lived in rented apartments and in a rented condo. You hear other people's music, bathroom fans (one place I lived had them horrendously loud; they should have replaced them in the whole complex), phone conversations, room conversations, quiet singing, and I even lived in one place where I got the "joy" 🙄 of hearing the people across the wall having sex (and they were NOT noisy doing it).

Today I was looking at comments under a video entitled, "Why Every House Built After 2010 Feels Off (But You Can’t Explain Why)" (I haven't watched it yet, but probably will at some point in time) and thought of that scripture while reading this comment under it a few minutes ago:

@davel7014
2 months ago
Open floor plan used to mean that one room flowed into another room, say, by an arch or other wide opening, but they were still separate rooms. Now, open floor plan is one big open room with everything in it. I hate it. No privacy, noisy and anyone who walks in the front door can see the kitchen, which can be a mess. Builders need to stop pushing this open floor plan design 

 

 Truly, Isaiah knew what he was talking about. Don't let anyone tell you that he was not really saying "there's no place to be alone".

 

 

To give proper credit, this is the video the comment was under:

 

 

Zion

 I don't believe Zion will be an intentional community. I don't believe a group of people (led by a "moses" or not) will buy or overtake a plot of land and build Zion. I believe it will happen naturally. I believe that people will become zionlike in their own minds and hearts, then in their families. I believe it will spread to friends. I believe God will physically move like-minded people together in small groups, and that none of them will be thinking, "We are creating Zion."

I believe Nephi when he said he saw many small groups of people all over the planet, "armed with righteousness and with the power of God in great glory." (1 Nephi, chapter III, page 24 in the 1840 reprint of the Book of Mormon I have). I believe they may not even realize they are armed with righteousness, nor that they are armed with the power of God. I believe they may just think they are ordinary people. I believe these groups are "zion" even though they are not the official Zion built in the western hemisphere (likely "in the tops of the mountains" as recorded by Isaiah), with the temple that the Covenant Christians are waiting for the command to build. (See Denver Snuffer's most recent conference talk if you haven't heard of Covenant Christians.)

I believe God is working among all peoples, among all nations, quietly and diligently. I believe there may already be such groups of people as Nephi saw. I believe there will be more. And I think it possible that most of these groups will be unknown to most of the world (except to local people).

I think it's wrong and prideful to attempt to buy a piece of land for the express purpose of creating a Zion. All attempts I know, from two or three hundred years ago until today, have failed.

May we be humble and teachable before God, willing to do God's will even if it is as simple as learning not to be critical of others, and allowing people the freedom to be who they genuinely are, with out complaining that they are "trammeling on my rights" while being blissfully unaware that the truth is that we are trammeling on their rights.

May God bless all of us on this planet to be humble enough and teachable enough that not one of us is a danger to another person on the planet. 

Trammel - to deprive of freedom of action

Gethsemane - Forgiveness - Repentance

This morning, I read the Gethsemane chapter in Come, Let Us Adore Him in preparation for my personal celebration of Easter (the Resurrection) tomorrow. I don't know how anyone can read it and not be sobbing by the fourth page in.

For this post, I just wanted to share a few quotes from this chapter, which is an apostolic eyewitness of Christ's suffering, death, and resurrection as seen by Denver Snuffer. All emphases are mine.

To enter into the kingdom of heaven, all [people] must lay down their sins. But this they cannot do when they claim the right to restitution for any offense from their brother [meaning all other humans]. All claims must be set aside, the greater and more difficult being the righteous claim against another for their deliberate offense. Yet in asking for justice for yourself, you always require justice be answered in turn for all of your offenses. A [person] will not be given mercy if he is not merciful. (pp 228-9)

Denver talks about paired waves of torment our Lord suffered, the first being the suffering for those who harmed others (the perpetrators) and the second being the suffering for those who have been harmed by others (the victims), then he writes the following:

The greater difficulty in these paired waves of torment was always overcoming the suffering of the victim. With these waves, the Lord learned to overcome the victims' resentments, to forgive, and to heal both body and spirit. This was more difficult than overcoming the struggles arising from the one who committed the evil . . . The victim . . . always feels it is their right to hold resentment, to judge their persecutor and to withhold peace and love for their fellowmen. (pp 220-1)

In the final wave, the most brutal, most evil, most heinous sins men inflict upon one another were felt by Him as a victim of the worst men can do. He knew how it felt to wrongly suffer death. He knew what it was like to be a mother holding a child in her arms as they are both killed by those who delight in their suffering. He knew how it was for ambitious men to rid themselves of a rival by conspiracy and murder. He knew what it was to have virtue robbed from the innocent [this would include the rape of toddlers and children]. He knew betrayal, treachery, and abuse in all its worst degrading horror. There was no cruelty, no offense, no evil that mankind has suffered or will suffer that was not put upon Him.

He knew what is it like for men to satisfy their ambition by clothing their hypocrisy in religious garb. He also felt what it was like to be the victim of religious oppression by those who pretend to practice virtue while oppressing others. He knew the hearts of those who would kill Him. Before confronting their condemnation of Him in the flesh, He suffered their torment of mind when they recognized He was the Lord, and then found peace for what they would do by rejecting Him. In this extremity there was madness itself as He mirrored the evil which would destroy Him, and learned how to come to peace with the Father after killing the Son of God, and to love all those involved without restraint and without pretense, even before they did these terrible deeds. . . .

As a result of what the Lord suffered, there is no condition - physical, spiritual or mental that he does not fully understand. He knows how to teach, comfort, succor and direct any who come to Him seeking forgiveness and peace. (pp 222-3)

I share the above in the hopes that it gives comfort to some, and that it helps someone who is struggling to forgive a person or people who have caused them harm, no matter how terrible that harm.

P.S. You can forgive without putting yourself in danger, and without ever having to contact or talk to a person who is dangerous to you.

Independent Fellowships

 Before the Lord’s appearance to the Nephites, society broke down into tribes consisting of family and friends. Immediately before the Lord’s return we should expect something similar. Therefore, part of the preparation by God’s house for coming social chaos is likely to include some preliminary preparations by families and friends to fellowship with one another in local gatherings, perhaps completely apart from control by the LDS hierarchy. Only by independently functioning can they hope to prepare for social chaos prophesied to accompany Zion and precede the Lord’s return.

page 314 40 Years in Mormonism PDF

If I were to “lead” and standardize things it would be a return to correlation. Why return to what has damaged Mormonism? It is the system that has done the damage. You cannot improve that flaw by choosing to make me your new correlator. I will not do it. It will darken your minds and would corrupt me. I am no better than you, and I believe some of you to be better than I. We need hundreds of independently functioning believers adapting the Gospel to their needs. Doctrine does not change, and the scriptures are constant. Your needs will vary. Therefore you apply what is changeless to your peculiar circumstances. You can do it better than any distant authority could possibly do it for you.

When you submit to the rule of God, you then place yourself in a position where you must be dependent upon Him. Then every one of you will immediately realize your own weakness. You will be tempted to have others tell you how to please God. You must resist that temptation. You must arise and seek Him directly. Every one of you has to grapple with the uncertainty of, “is this right or is this wrong?” Every one of you has to grapple with the fact, that in answer to some questions, there is silence. You all must be forced to choose. If you choose right, you do not know you chose what was right, because He refused to answer you. Then you act in reliance on your own decision, going forward to do what is right, only later to be told, "If you had have made the mistake, I would have corrected you. But you needed that experience.” God answers prayers. Sometimes He forces you to make choices, and very often, I can't tell you how often, but very often I make the wrong choice. It is almost like I got a compass pointing south. I often choose wrong and then I get an answer correcting me. But I got an answer because I made a mistake.

page 339-40 40 Years in Mormonism PDF

 Those who are familiar with the ten lectures in this PDF will recognize that those are words Denver Snuffer said at the beginning of what we have now. (The bold in all quotes in this post are mine.)

More and more, this movement has been heading toward one religious entity that has rules all fellowships must obey. Conferences are called, votes are taken, and all fellowships are expected to abide by the majority vote, even though we were supposed to be separate so that if one was corrupted the whole would not be corrupted.

Most recently, one fellowship (or is it just a couple of women from different fellowships? I honestly don't know) are meddling with a decision made by another (with great drama posted online so the world can see how evil and contentious some of us are) - and a vote is being called (with a lot of contention from what I hear, a lot of shutting down of opposing voices during zoom calls by one particular woman, according to a ChatGPT synopsis (I have not been involved in the arguing going on, and I trust that ChatGPT reported accurately)) that all fellowships will be expected to abide by.

 I see us heading more and more into a big group with rules all must obey. It reminds me of this quote from Denver Snuffer's blog (yes, he's talking about power, but I think it applies anyway):

If you never consolidate power into a single place but every person must stand on their own—and every person has their own volume of Scriptures, and everyone has the ability to get access to the heavens through prayer—then it doesn’t matter who you corrupt, you cannot corrupt the whole.

 https://denversnuffer.com/2024/12/corruption/

When the Covenant of Christ book came out, we were told that we had permission to keep using the Book of Mormon if we wanted to. What nonsense is this? Are we children, hidden away in dark depths from God that we cannot choose what we consider scripture?

What is all this nonsense that we have created for ourselves? Truly, as it now stands, if "one" is corrupted, the whole will also be corrupted because "the one" creates great drama and does their best to force their views on the whole. And, of course, there is Denver's role in receiving revelation for the movement, when we were supposed to come to Christ ourselves and have a personal relationship with Him so that "none need say, Know ye the Lord, for they will all know him."

Do I blame Denver for any of this? Do I blame Denver for being the go-between between us and God? I do not. He does his best to stay out of the fray, but God answers people according to their idols. He answers them according to what they insist on having.

 Let's say that I'm in a fellowship that chose to use the 1840 Book of Mormon as their Nephite scripture, never took the 2017 Boise covenant because they had a previous covenant with God, peacefully never accepted the Guide and Standard (because it was a strong man model pushed through, quoting only Joseph Smith and Denver Snuffer, or maybe for other reasons), and generally mind their own business, ignoring the drama and trauma that gets shouted from the rooftops.

Let's say I'm in one like that (I'm not). I think that fellowship is doing what fellowships were originally intended to do (be independent from rules imposed by people in other fellowships, and never having Denver as a go-between between them and God. In fact, never elevating Denver nor Stephanie to any special importance other than that Denver gave us a call to repentance that we sorely needed in the 10-lecture circuit. Respecting him as a teacher, but believing he was being honest when he said, "To the extent that anyone is trying to displace your faith in God, and attract attention to themselves, myself included, that is a perversion and it will not save you. It is a distraction, it is evil, and it is wrong. It is damnable. Anyone who tries to attract your worship, myself included, ought to be sent to hell. It's why I continually remind you, talking about me is a waste of time. Talking about the things that I'm saying, talking about the content of the scriptures, talking about the doctrines that will save you, that is very important. But you can leave me out of that. You don't ever need to mention my name again in your life." (40 Years in Mormonism PDF, page 34)

 If I'm in a fellowship and we remove a man's certificate, he is perfectly free to move to a different fellowship and seek a brand new one. Now, if his wife is unwilling to endorse him, he can't do that according to the instructions given in Lecture 10. But the bottom line in all of this is that he is not going to be able to perform ordinances in our fellowship. What we do is not the business of another fellowship.

That's all. 

 

 

 

 

Thoughts that came about as a result of the storm Helene

 And plagues shall go forth, and they shall not be taken from the earth until I have completed my work, which shall be cut short in righteousness, until all shall know me who remain, even from the least unto the greatest, and shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord, and shall see eye to eye, and shall lift up their voice, and with the voice together sing . . . .

T&C 88:7 - D&C 84:97

The earth surely seems to be in commotion. All sorts of things happening that are not good. I've been seeing a lot in regards to the decimation and loss of life in the southeastern United States. And I'm seeing some things I haven't seen before.

First: I have not seen such devastation in my lifetime as has happened there.

Second: I am seeing lots of calls for prayers from the victims and those who care about them. "If you can help with supplies, please do so, and if you can't, please pray for us."

Third: As seems typical, a certain alphabet agency is hindering people from helping - but, this time, people are finding ways around them. I mean physically getting around them. I think it's a combination of compassion, determination, and God's help.

Fourth: The downplaying in the media (I don't blame them; they are only as good as the info they're fed) is offset by the fact that individuals own cell phones. Power may have been out (and is still out in many places), but some people have generators. Some people have some electricity. Some people can connect to satellite internet (think Starlink), which made it possible for others to contact people outside the devastated area. And, people in the areas are reporting a whole lot more death than we have been told.

I can give nothing physically to help these people, but I can pray. And I have been praying most sincerely, fervently, with single-mindedness. I have been praying for the people who are suffering, that they get the relief they so desperately need, and that they are comforted by God and angels and that their hearts are turned to rely on God. I have been praying that God bless the people who are determined to get needed supplies in, that God fight their battles like he did so many times with the Nephites against the Lamanites. And, this morning, I felt such incredible power in my prayers, sobbing in sorrow for the suffering and also sobbing in joy and gratitude for those stepping up to give concrete help in spite of the obstacles. And I believe that the power I felt came and comes from the thousands (perhaps even millions) of other people praying the same prayers.

I have also prayed that God give this country (and Canada, if I'm being honest) another chance. That he put in whatever candidate that he sees can be humble and teachable, and that God will protect (or continue to protect, if it is Trump, as many seem to think he's God's man) and help that person to live in God instead of his own ego or blindness and fears, so that he can be a factor in giving us more time to truly repent.

 I have begged God to make the Covenant of Christ (modern-day translation of the Book of Mormon, for those who don't know) flood this country, then flood Canada and the rest of the world, so that another honest chance at repentance can be given

 There is no scripture, anywhere, that says only a tiny amount righteous people are going to be alive when the Lord comes again. In fact, reading Jacob's retelling of the parable of the olive tree leads me to believe that there will (or could be) a great many people who are good fruit (the wicked/bad fruit are destroyed by degrees, so that the good fruit can become strong). I'm talking about the whole planet here. Also, Nephi (son of Lehi, in the Book of Mormon/Covenant of Christ) saw many places all over the planet where the people were armed with righteousness and God's glory.

So, let's take heart. Let's join together in faith, whoever you are, wherever you are, whatever faith you might or might not espouse. Let's join together in God. Let's let this ground roots movement of loving and caring for others take root in our own hearts and minds. Let us repent in sackcloth and ashes so that the whole of America can become Zion, so that the whole of Earth can become united in compassion and caring and love.

And let us be faithful to God while the cleansing is taking place, even while we mourn for those innocents who may be taken in the process. Surely, those who are not worthy of destruction will be claimed by angels and taken to God's bosom if they die in what has happened and what will happen.

Let us pray for the Power of God to be with us, as well as with those who are presently doing their best to provide relief. Let us pray with deepest humility and sincerity that we are no longer blinded by pride or devils or darkness. Let us cast aside all we think makes us more enlightened or better than others. Compared to God, all of us are idiot fools who know zilch.

Please! I pray for our (this earth's) collective repentance and mighty change of heart, that we face toward God and be filled with God's power, that God protect us with his power as we struggle to overcome the vast wickedness that is determined to bring this country (USA) to its knees to drown in the mire, and as we struggle to overcome the vast wickedness that has infested every country on this planet, as if the planet were a garbage dump and those controlling it were rats, spreading disease and death with everything they touch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thoughts

 You cannot learn to forgive if you have never been wronged.

What if . . .?

What if, when a baby is staring at her hands, she isn't trying to figure out what those things are? What if she's learning to focus on objects and is practicing on her hands?

What if we can improve our own vision by practicing how to focus - even if it looks weird or our brain screams that we can't see that thing clearly, even though we obviously can?

What if we can take that a step further and look at spiritual things with new eyes, learning how to focus clearly on what really matters?

What if we had a vision from God, very clear and loaded with meaning, but believed it was not a real vision from God because it was only a few seconds long, and neither angels nor God was in it, let alone them speaking words to us?

What if we are sorely in need of learning how to focus on all the messages and abundance God is giving directly to us, but we don't recognize it because our focus is off?

To those who are suffering

 - especially at the hands or words of others.

May I offer up the words to this hymn. (It is found on #285 in the 1985 green LDS hymn book.

God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform;
He plants his footsteps in the sea
And rides upon the storm.

Ye fearful Saints fresh courage take;
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy and shall break
In blessings on your head.

His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flower.

Blind unbelief is sure to err
And scan his works in vain;
God is his own interpreter,
And he will make it plain

 Some background:

One of the ways I receive things is through pieces of songs playing in my mind. Most of the time, they prove prophetic. Sometimes, they're more on a comforting level. So, I was going through a week that felt like hell, with so many things pressing down on me. I reached my breaking point over and over again. I was at the point where I was wondering if God was even real - and if God is real, do they really have any actual power to help alleviate the hell this place is?

And after a week, I broke down yet again and told God that I wanted to believe. (I mean, there's no other direction or being for me to focus on, so it's them or no one.) "I want to believe . . . but I can't." And pieces of the above hymn started playing in my head, and all that day pieces from that hymn played. It was "louder" than I've ever "heard" the songs in my mind - and more constant. I would like to believe, and I do think, it was God/heaven communicating with me, to let me know there is a purpose for this suffering. Some day, at some point, it will be made plain.

And so, to you who are reading this blog post, I offer up the song in the hopes that it will likewise give you comfort in the trials, unjust suffering, and even hell you are going through when you read this.

Thoughts on the coming total solar eclipse.

A new thing about the April eclipse came to light for me a few days ago. On April 21st, a comet will be the closest to the sun in its path. That means it will appear about 25 degrees away from the sun during totality, which means it might "photobomb the display."

The interesting thing about this comet is that one of its nicknames is "Devil Comet" because it appears to have horns.

It makes me wonder about the symbolism. The sun (representing God) leaves the sky, making the only thing visible the Devil's presence. Luckily, it is temporary, just like the gross wickedness and gross darkness covering the face of the earth is temporary - lasting until Jesus comes to reclaim the planet.

My source for the information about the comet came from here, and I would recommend reading the article: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/stunning-comet-could-photobomb-this-aprils-total-solar-eclipse/

Church of the Lamb of God

The Great and Abominable Church/the whore of all the earth has dominion over all the earth, among all nations kindreds, tongues, and people. This Church includes everyone who is not a part of the church of the Lamb of God. All the nations of the Gentiles fight against against the Lamb of God.

But

There is also the church of the Lamb of God (I made it small c because it isn't a legally organized entity of any kind, nor does it try to hold itself up as some kind of authority that tries to force others to obey its every whim). The people belonging to it are also all over the planet, even though there are very few of them in comparison to the earth's population.

The saints of the church of the Lamb of God and the covenant people (I find it curious that it's worded as two groups - or is it saying that the "saints" of the church of the Lamb are also the covenant people?) are armed with the righteousness and with the power of God in great glory. That description deserves a lot of humble pondering and self-introspection.

At some point, Satan will have no power because of the righteousness of the people. He has no power over their hearts. I think that also deserves a lot of humble pondering and self-introspection.

Sources: RE 1 Nephi chapter 3, paragraph 28

RE 1 Nephi chapter 7, paragraph 5

Thoughts

 I've noticed that the harder devils push against me, trying to make my life a living hell, the more inclined I am to reach to God for help and relief. I wonder if they realize that they're shooting themselves in the foot when this happens with the people they are trying to lead into hell.

The Watchers

 I've begun reading The Books of Enoch by Joseph B. Lumpkin.

What if "the watchers" were the ancient version of National Geographic journalists and scientists, sent to watch how primitive societies do things? What if the watchers were from the first world countries of their time, the same people Graham Hancock talks about in his books? What if the traditions and stories we have came down from the third world countries (our ancestors), so the history was skewed from the primitive perception?

Not "angels" nor supernatural beings at all, but humans from societies more advanced than the primitive ones who remembered them. The ancient ones who, in the lore of many countries, were destroyed because of their wickedness by great flooding. Humans who, over the millennia, were elevated into some sort of God-beings, supernatural beings, angels, when all they actually were were humans who had access to fire, metal working, vices, and so forth that the primitive societies didn't have. Was it God who didn't want the primitives to have this, or were the publishers upset because they now had less interesting material to provide to their readers?

Pray for . . .

the political prisoners in the U.S.A. and Canada - and for the women in Iran and other countries who are being beaten, arrested, and even killed if they show their faces or if their heads are uncovered.

Some things I cannot personally change, but I think if enough people pray for something, things can change, because God is powerful.

I am praying, and I'm also designating November 1st (one week from this writing) as an international day of prayer and fasting for these groups.

If you so desire, I would love for you to join me.

Safety

 A friend brought this blog post of Denver Snuffer to my attention recently.

https://denversnuffer.com/2012/03/nephis-brother-jacob-part-6/

 I think this part is quite apropos for our time:

There will be many who are destroyed who will be quite surprised by it. They will complain that they have prophesied in Christ’s name, and in His name cast out devils, and done many wonderful works, but they do not know Christ, and therefore never did believe in Him. (See Matt. 7: 22-24.)

If you are one of those who believe in Him, and who will not dwindle in unbelief, will not accept the commandments of men as doctrine, but will take the Spirit for your guide, then Jacob promises that Christ will not destroy you. The rest He will destroy.

Fire will upset the order of things and make societal collapse inevitable. Men’s self-inflicted woes will not be the only sign of Divine disapproval. The earth will quake to signal God’s disapproval. Interruptions of social order and control will be followed by self-inflicted violence. Bloodshed will be widespread among the survivors. Disease and pestilence will be one of the results of the lack of social order. Air and water will be contaminated. Neglected hygiene will lead to the promised pestilence. As the downward spiral continues, food production and distribution will be inadequate to prevent widespread, global famine. It is as if Jacob could see the sequence of events and gave us the list of how it would unfold, step by step, as the unbelieving are wiped from the earth.

Survival during this bleak time depends on the qualification of “believing in Him.” Suddenly, if you think Jacob knew what he was talking about then our doctrines take on terrible significance. What we believe matters. Not just in the distant after-life, but for the preservation of our present lives.

That time when God clearly shows you . . .

how vile and how big a sinner you have really been, which thing you had never supposed.

that the Atonement of Jesus Christ really does apply to you, through and through. No exceptions.

that the "voice" in your mind that tells you it's impossible and that the Atonement can't really cover you because you're worthless is a lie.

the reality of your growing up years and that you were actually more "white trash" than you had ever supposed, but you are shown that enlightenment with an incredible amount of compassion - and you finally understand the wounds that made you do the things you did that were not good for yourself or others.

God is grand. God is glorious. I'll take waking up here over waking up after death, and seeing I'm in Hell, any day.