Musings - What if . . . ?

What if . . .
Destruction begins in Boise, Idaho, flows down through Idaho Falls, Logan, Utah, the Centerville/Salt Lake area, through the Orem/Provo area, then stops for a season?

What if . . . 
During this period of rest, God sends out his angels to gather the beginnings of Zion?

What if . . . 
After the period of rest, destruction picks up again where it left off, going from the Ephraim, Utah area through the Cedar City area, through the St. George area to the Las Vegas, Nevada area, then continues until it reached the Phoenix, Arizona area?

What if . . .
There's another period of rest, then destruction picks up again in California, Texas, and Georgia - and continues until the overflowing scourge has encompassed all of the continental U.S. - maybe even Canada?

What if . . . 
God has a pattern he wants us to see, so that we can be forewarned and prepared?

God, Numbers, and His Ten Lectures

I've been studying the ten lectures to see what God would have me learn, do, and be. This part made me wonder what it is God is saying by doing this:

. . . beginning in Boise and going on through Phoenix, the beginning date, the ending date, the content, the fact that there are 10 of them, the timeframe in which they are being delivered, the fact He wanted us to begin on the first day of the 40th year, and He wanted us to end on the last day of the 40th year, those things are not my doing. He is the author of this all.

What this site says about the numeral 40 is this:

The number 40 represents transition or change; the concept of renewal; a new beginning. The number 40 has the power to lift a spiritual state.

It represents a purification (see the link above).

The symbol for us may be that the messenger was purified, meaning we can trust what he says because he is not on his own errand, but that of the Lord's. It is a symbol or witness to us that he may very well have been sent by God. (For me, the message convinces me it is of God. The number only verifies that.)

Also, the change in the LDS Church (and probably other churches that count Joseph Smith Jr as their spiritual father) - a transition away from being led, collectively, by the Lord (though individuals are always able to open heaven, if they repent and believe, and follow Christ).

For those of us who listened to and believed the Lord's words through His messenger, it was the year of renewal and a new beginning for us, lifting us to a spiritual state because our hearts are not hardened, our minds are not blinded, our necks are not stiff. It can represent God's invitation to be purified, to begin anew, to change into what the Lord would like us to be.

10 lectures, 10 places (could have been 10 separate men, if 9 others could have been found. It reminds me of the story of the ten lepers. Only one returned, and he was a stranger. Only one was found to deliver the lectures, and he was a convert -instead of being one of the descendants of those who had lived in Nauvoo).

In regards to the numeral 10, this site has this to say:

[T]en is one of the perfect numbers, and signifies the perfection of Divine order, commencing, as it does, an altogether new series of numbers.  . . . 

Completeness of order, marking the entire round of anything, is, therefore, the ever-present signification of the number ten. It implies that nothing is wanting; that the number and order are perfect; that the whole cycle is complete.

That ought to give us something to ponder on (I have no intention of spelling out all that I've been thinking nor all my conclusions).

1 year. 1 = unity. Also, the first. The Firstborn. All rising up to be firstborn, if they are willing to do, to sacrifice, to be.

See this site - and this one for a little information about the numeral 1.

I couldn't find the meaning of a year, let alone an exact year, but I found this site that talked about the meaning of the number 365.

 Age of Enoch when God took him.

 Interesting, considering that it is the city of Enoch that we are looking for, after Zion is established.

North to Boise, south to Mesa (Phoenix area), west to Las Vegas (Henderson, actually), and east to Grand Junction. From Idaho to Arizona. From Nevada to Colorado. Thus covering the whole of Utah and most of the pioneer outposts or settlements sent out in Brigham Young's time.

From the Idaho Falls lecture:

I don't know if it's important that anyone from Idaho Falls comes here. I don't know if it's important if anybody from Idaho Falls hears one word. But I do know that a testimony needs to be spoken on this ground, in this place. I know that everyone will be accountable for that. Not just those who happen to stumble upon this.

 (Off our topic, but he also said: "God is moving systematically. He is taking the measure of the Latter-day Saints. His hand is about to move again in the affairs of men. We have a window." I would say that His hand is definitely moving now.)

 We could make a whole discussion on how we are all connected and that being the possible reason we are all held accountable. Or we could go at it from the angle of most of us within the parameters of the lectures know about the Book of Mormon and say we believe it is a holy book and valuable to us.

But, I am looking at the "testimony needs to be spoken on this ground," part. I believe there is a reason God wanted the lectures given in certain places (someone who ought to know, said that the messenger was rejected in Salt Lake City, and that is why one of the lectures was given in Centerville, Utah). I believe Manti was once holy ground and that is why one of the lectures was given there.

Look at the map (the cities that mark the outside perimeters of the lectures are starred). Draw your own conclusions. They are likely to be just as good or better than mine.

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.