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.

Conspiring Men (and Women) - and a Documentary and Book

 (All scripture references are LDS because that's what I have on my computer.)

Behold, verily, thus saith the Lord unto you: In consequence of evils and designs which do and will exist in the hearts of conspiring men in the last days, I have warned you, and forewarn you, by giving unto you this word of wisdom by revelation
(Doctrine and Covenants | Section 89:4)

And there are also secret combinations, even as in times of old, according to the combinations of the devil, for he is the founder of all these things; yea, the founder of murder, and works of darkness; yea, and he leadeth them by the neck with a flaxen cord, until he bindeth them with his strong cords forever.
(Book of Mormon | 2 Nephi 26:22)

Yea, and cursed be the land forever and ever unto those workers of darkness and secret combinations, even unto destruction, except they repent before they are fully ripe.
(Book of Mormon | Alma 37:31)

And the regulations of the government were destroyed, because of the secret combination of the friends and kindreds of those who murdered the prophets.
(Book of Mormon | 3 Nephi 7:6)

And it shall come in a day when the blood of saints shall cry unto the Lord, because of secret combinations and the works of darkness.
(Book of Mormon | Mormon 8:27)

And whatsoever nation shall uphold such secret combinations, to get power and gain, until they shall spread over the nation, behold, they shall be destroyed; for the Lord will not suffer that the blood of his saints, which shall be shed by them, shall always cry unto him from the ground for vengeance upon them and yet he avenge them not.
(Book of Mormon | Ether 8:22)

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.
(Book of Mormon | Ether 8:24)

There's a book by Mikki Willis and an author who chooses to remain anonymous for reasons of safety and income (has a family to provide for) that blows the lid of some of the secret combinations of our day. It brings to light the extent to which our current secret combinations will go to shut someone up, as well as the length to which they've gone to get billions of dollars. The book is called Plandemic. It's about the two documentaries that have been banned (Plandemic and Indoctornation), but not debunked. I would highly recommend reading this book. As of this writing it should be found online on Amazon, Thrift Books, Abe Books, Barnes and Noble, Target, and possibly other places - though they are often sold out in some of those places, in my experience.

If you are interested in watching the documentaries, they can be downloaded here at no charge. Just scroll down a ways. You are encouraged to download and share, as they have been banned from the mainstream media. There is also a 3rd documentary in the works.

What do we do when we see that secret combinations are among us, and getting the better of us? In my opinion, we repent and turn to Christ. We cease being contentious. We refuse to take up arms and kill.

 For the Lord worketh not in secret combinations, neither doth he will that man should shed blood, but in all things hath forbidden it, from the beginning of man. And now I, Moroni, do not write the manner of their oaths and combinations, for it hath been made known unto me that they are had among all people, and they are had among the Lamanites. And they have caused the destruction of this people of whom I am now speaking, and also the destruction of the people of Nephi.

 And whatsoever nation shall uphold such secret combinations, to get power and gain, until they shall spread over the nation, behold, they shall be destroyed; for the Lord will not suffer that the blood of his saints, which shall be shed by them, shall always cry unto him from the ground for vengeance upon them and yet he avenge them not.

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.

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. 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 from the beginning.

Wherefore, I, Moroni, am commanded to write these things that evil may be done away, and that the time may come that Satan may have no power upon the hearts of the children of men, but that they may be persuaded to do good continually, that they may come unto the fountain of all righteousness and be saved.
(Book of Mormon | Ether 8:19-26)

If we repent and refuse to partake of the anger and violence that are around us, and are sure to get worse, this is what we can be part of:

For behold, the righteous shall not perish; for the time surely must come that all they who fight against Zion shall be cut off. And the Lord will surely prepare a way for his people, unto the fulfilling of the words of Moses, which he spake, saying: A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you.  And it shall come to pass that all those who will not hear that prophet shall be cut off from among the people. And now I, Nephi, declare unto you, that this prophet of whom Moses spake was the Holy One of Israel; wherefore, he shall execute judgment in righteousness.

And the righteous need not fear, for they are those who shall not be confounded.  But it is the kingdom of the devil, which shall be built up among the children of men, which kingdom is established among them which are in the flesh—For the time speedily shall come that all churches which are built up to get gain, and all those who are built up to get power over the flesh, and those who are built up to become popular in the eyes of the world, and those who seek the lusts of the flesh and the things of the world, and to do all manner of iniquity; yea, in fine, all those who belong to the kingdom of the devil are they who need fear, and tremble, and quake; they are those who must be brought low in the dust; they are those who must be consumed as stubble; and this is according to the words of the prophet.

And the time cometh speedily that the righteous must be led up as calves of the stall, and the Holy One of Israel must reign in dominion, and might, and power, and great glory. And he gathereth his children from the four quarters of the earth; and he numbereth his sheep, and they know him; and there shall be one fold and one shepherd; and he shall feed his sheep, and in him they shall find pasture. And because of the righteousness of his people, Satan has no power; wherefore, he cannot be loosed for the space of many years; for he hath no power over the hearts of the people, for they dwell in righteousness, and the Holy One of Israel reigneth. And now behold, I, Nephi, say unto you that all these things must come according to the flesh. But, behold, all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people shall dwell safely in the Holy One of Israel if it so be that they will repent.
(Book of Mormon | 1 Nephi 22:19-28)

(Emphases added)

Our Compassionate God

Recently, I was staying in a hotel in Boise, Idaho with a friend. Our room was directly across from the guests' laundry room. On one side of our room were the stairs. On the other was the room of the ladies who had given me a ride to Boise. Sunday morning, my friend left to go home (had pressing business that prevented her from staying the full weekend). That afternoon, the ladies and I were going to meet some people for lunch.

I was in my room, pretty much killing time, when I heard what seemed like a year old baby throwing a fit. I didn't hear adults and supposed they were ignoring the child. A few minutes later, I opened my door to go out and right next to the door, pressed into it, was a two year old toddler, screaming and crying hysterically. I glanced into the laundry room as I picked her up. It was empty. I had felt incredible compassion for the child the moment I'd opened the door, and I told her, "We'll find your mom." She stopped being hysterical, but was still upset. I knocked on the ladies' door, and when I did, the toddler calmed down even more. When the door was opened, I explained what had happened and that I was going to take the child to the office (front desk) to see if they could find her mom. The ladies went with me downstairs and, on the elevator ride, one of them coaxed out of the child that she was two years old (she never spoke the whole time she was with us).

When we got to the front desk, I explained what had happened, and told them it was on the second floor. One of the ladies behind the desk came around and held her arms out to the child. The child hesitated for a nano-second. You could see her deciding if she could trust this person. Then she leaned over and reached out to the lady.

After we got back from lunch, we inquired at the front desk. Was the mom found? The man there had just begun his shift not long before. He said he had not seen the child, but had heard others talking about the incident, and, yes, the mom had been found.

Later that evening, I was talking to God, and he told me, "The child is a sign to you." He told me that the compassion I'd felt for the child was the same compassion he felt for me when I was hysterically scream-crying out to him because of being homeless (or threatened with it), not having enough food to eat, worried about other problems, or just plain having a freak-out attack for no reason that I knew of. He also let me know that just as I had taken immediate steps to solve the toddler's problem when I realized what was happening, so he, also, took steps to alleviate my suffering when I was freaking out.

I am sharing this experience because he told me to. He told me that this compassion he feels toward me is the same compassion he feels toward everyone. Our sincere prayers are always heard, even if we don't see immediate results.

Numbers

It seems to me that God likes 40, 7, and 3 ½. It also seems like God likes to use his messengers as signs to the people (see the Old Testament). He also likes to use heavenly bodies as signs (see Genesis).

I'll jump right into my thoughts. Denver Snuffer was baptized on Sept 10, 1973 (Second Comforter: Conversing with the Lord Through the Veil, page 88). 40 years later, to the day, he was excommunicated (see Lecture 1 in Boise, Idaho, of the 10-lecture circuit that stretched from Sept 2013 to Sept 2014).

His ministry began March 1, 1984 (Second Comforter, pages 104, 200-01). Interesting, I think: 1984. The name of a book about total loss of real freedom to act and be. A story about a man who tried to buck the system. I believe his ministry will either end or change 40 years later. On the exact day of March 1st, 2024? I don't have an opinion on that, though I do think it will be in the spring of that year.

And the moon shall turn to blood

When the moon is eclipsed, it looks blood red. No biggie, except there have been several blood moons on or near Jewish holy days, and even an LDS holy day (Saturday General Conference, April 4, 2015). You can read more about the eclipses and the holy days here and here. And here is a list of all the posts on Bare Record that talk about moon and blood, if you care to peruse it.

From the first link:

. . . the fact that these four blood moons will occur on significant Jewish holy days is not only rare, but significant. The first blood moon will be on Passover on April 15, 2014. There will be another blood moon on the following year on Passover which will be April 4, 2015. The other Jewish Holy Day is the Feast of Tabernacles which is  Oct. 8, 2014. On this day as well, there will be a Blood Moon Eclipse.. and then the following Feast of Tabernacle on Sept. 28, 2015 will be the 4th Blood Moon.

 The sun shall be turned to darkness

There's something interesting about the full eclipse of the sun (August 21, 2017) that goes from the west coast to the east coast of the continental United States. First, it falls on the birthday of "the venerable leader" of the LDS Church. Second, it is the first stroke of an X. The second stroke will come on April 8, 2024 and will begin in Mexico and end in a tiny bit of Canada, crossing the United States in the process.

As you can see below, it marks a giant X over the continental United States (as an aside, God's handwriting is very artistic. The X is not a straight, austere duet of lines but poetic curves). It's as if God will be saying, "I've had enough of your wickedness, rebellion, and nonsense, dearest Gentiles. I'm done. You are no longer a nation. The Gentiles have proven themselves fruit worthy only to be cast out and burned." I suspect it's all quickly downhill from there for us.

Sidenote: It was made known in a conference in St. George, Utah in March 2017 that God was offering another covenant. People will have the opportunity to accept or reject that covenant on Sept 3, 2017. The words of that covenant were given by the Lord in, if I remember correctly, July 2017, and 7 years from that conference is March 2024. Also, 7 years from verbally accepting or rejecting that covenant is Sept 2024.

Spring 2024.  
Denver's 40-year mission is complete. March 1. 
 The X is complete. April 8. 
The covenant is either accepted or rejected by our behavior; the time possibly past, and the country erupts into violence, the like of which has never been seen before. March to Sept.

It will be interesting to see how it all plays out. Maybe, just maybe, this post is not the vain musings of a religious lunatic. I wonder if we should, perhaps, "fear and tremble" and look into our own hearts for pride and rebellion against God, look into our own hearts to see if they are filled with love or with anger/accusation against our fellow beings. Truly, the earth is quickly filling with more violence than it has experienced for a long time. Not too many years from now, I expect, until the whole face of this land is one continual round of murder and bloodshed (see Mormon 8:8) and violence from one end to the other.

Helaman 3:27-30

Thus we may see that the Lord is merciful unto all who will, in the sincerity of their hearts, call upon his holy name. Yea, thus we see that the gate of heaven is open unto all, even to those who will believe on the name of Jesus Christ, who is the Son of God. Yea, we see that whosoever will may lay hold upon the word of God, which is quick and powerful, which shall divide asunder all the cunning and the snares and the wiles of the devil, and lead the man of Christ in a strait and narrow course across that everlasting gulf of misery which is prepared to engulf the wicked— And land their souls, yea, their immortal souls, at the right hand of God in the kingdom of heaven, to sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and with Jacob, and with all our holy fathers, to go no more out.

Anyone can lay hold on the word of God, not just members of a certain sect (LDS, FLDS, RLDS, JW, SDA, etc.).

The word of God is quick and powerful.

The word of God cuts to bits all the tricks, lies, deceits, traps, and so forth that the devil throws out.

The word of God leads the (hu)man who follows Christ in a strait and narrow course. Rather like a guide who leads people through a forest, because he knows the right trails to follow.

Across that everlasting gulf of misery which is prepared to engulf the wicked. This shows my bias towards mortality, but I look at this and see that this mortality touches everlasting on the one side and everlasting on the other. It, being in time, is in the middle.

And is it not a place where the most wicked dwell? Does it not engulf the wicked? Are we not swallowed up in the cares of the world, in perversions, greed, fear, lust for power and money, lust for bodies to play with, the need to survive, and so forth? Are we not all wicked to some degree or other?

To land with the Gods (why does this remind me of fishing? He landed the fish).

To go no more out. What? So, if God makes lots of eternal rounds in an effort to save his children, does this mean that if we follow Christ and don't veer off the path, we don't have to come back to another round? We can be with the Gods? We can be on that upper rung of Jacob's ladder? We don't have to come down into a mortal hell ever again? Sounds enticing to me.

Let's do it. Let's follow Christ and let him lead us safely out of this vale of tears and pain. Let us not allow the cares of this world, the fears of this world, the lusts of this world to distract us from our task of escaping this stuff.

Critique of Those Who Claim to Believe Denver Snuffer

Upward Thought has a post entitled A Critique Directed to Those Who Claim to Believe What Denver Snuffer Teaches. Rob doesn't allow comments on his blog as far as I could tell. Since this post (an anonymous email he received) is directed to those like me, I would like to briefly state my stand (but I will not address all that the email states. If anyone reading that post, like me, is frustrated at the lack of ability to discuss it, feel free to discuss it here).

I will not quote any of the email here. Anyone who is curious should go to Rob's blog to read it.

My reply is simple:

Patience. Give people time to figure it out.

Forgo judgment, criticism, and condemnation. You don't really know what these people should be doing.

First, they should be getting themselves, individually, right with God. Setting their own houses in order as it pertains to their individual souls.

Second, they should work on their marriages (if they have any).

Third, their children.

Fourth, extended family, friends, communities.

There is absolutely no need to rush into living the law of consecration. Learning to help others, learning to agree with how money is to be spent, is a good beginning.

The priesthood that you call Melchizedek is now the holy priesthood after the order of the Son of God. It is no longer divided. It is what men seek because it can only be given by the voice of the Lord, in His own time, not yours.

As far as leaving an apostate church instead of keeping a foot in both camps, the Lord has specifically told some people to stay. There are loving, sincere followers of Christ in that church (if it is the one I think you are referring to) and some of us may be able to lift others up or open their eyes to something better. It is up to the Lord to tell people whether they should stay or not, not you.

What are we doing differently than has already been done? We are seeking the face of Christ - literally, face to face, as one person speaks to another. We are noticing that that which we once thought was virtue is sin, is pride, is an abomination before God. We are partaking of the sacrament of the Lord's supper according to the pattern found in the Book of Mormon. We are baptizing according to the pattern set by Alma the Elder. The Holy Ghost is falling upon us and we are understanding scripture better than we ever have before. It is astonishing what we thought we knew, yet missed.

God is speaking to us - in our minds and hearts, in dreams and visions. We are seeing angels. We are gaining knowledge of things, yet not knowing how we know. The Lord is supporting us in our trials and tribulations. He is pointing out where He is helping us and where we need to improve.

God is in no hurry. Why are you?

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.

Jacob 5 - the end of the world

So, I was thinking about Jacob 5 today, studying it (it was our Sunday School lesson today). I had some questions.

We believe that when Jesus comes before the Millennium, the earth is going to catch on fire and melt with fervent heat – and it will do so again after the Millennium is over, at the very end of the earth's mortal existence. But when we read Jacob 5, which seems to be very chronological, it doesn't say that.

So, what is going to happen?

D&C 101:24 talks about every corruptible thing being consumed.

D&C 88:94 says the tares will be bound to be burned. And every other scripture that I found today seems to say the same thing: The tares/bad fruit will be taken away and burned.

D&C sections 45 and 64 both talk of burning, but of individuals, not of the earth as a whole. D&C 84 mentions plagues going forth until all who remain are those that know God.

Anyway, back to Jacob. This is what he says:

Verse 71 – The master of the vineyard (Jesus) says, in essence, “This is the last time I'll nourish my vineyard for the end is nigh at hand [near], and the season speedily cometh.”

So the servants labor with their mights. Angels? Humans? Both?

Verse 73 – There began to be natural fruit again. The natural branches (Israelites, though one might make a case for Abraham's seed) began to grow and thrive exceedingly.

My question is, “Is this happening yet?” The natural branches, after the Gentiles have turned somewhat bad, begin to grow, yet they are thriving exceedingly.

Well, we don't know where the lost tribes are. They could very well be growing. They could very well be thriving exceedingly. The D&C sounds like we won't know until they return with their prophets and their records. Hm. Their prophets. Their records. Notice the “s” on prophet. (D&C 133:26)

Anyway, back to Jacob again. So, as the natural fruit is beginning to grow, and is thriving exceedingly, the wild branches (the wicked people – no matter what their bloodlines in my opinion) begin to be plucked off, and cast away.

Verse 74 – The natural fruit became “like unto” one body and the fruits were equal. A clear statement of Zion, of being one, of having all things in common (no rich, no poor).

Zenos (who Jacob is quoting) says there is a balance between good and evil fruit. I thought about this, and this is my understanding of it:

As people are wicked enough to be destroyed, they will be destroyed. As people become righteous, they will be gathered to Zion. As people gravitate to one side or the other, ripening, those who are the most wicked will be destroyed. When they are gone, things may be relatively calm until the next batch of wicked people have become so bad that they must be destroyed, and on and on until there are no more wicked on the earth.

On the other hand, those who ripen toward righteousness, when they are “ripened” in righteousness they will be gathered, too. But, whereas the wicked are physically killed (disease, war, disaster, famine, etc.) the righteous are physically gathered to places of Zion until Zion fills the whole earth. (I believe the scripture for this is in the D&C, as well as Isaiah saying that the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord.) Verse 75 of Jacob 5 – The vineyard is no more corrupt, but there is no mention of the vineyard (earth) being burned with fire.

Also, things are like they were in the beginning (i.e. the garden in Eden).

76 – Now, “for a long time” (said twice in this verse), there will be peaceful fruit. Sounds like the Millennium to me.

77 – When evil fruit returns, at the end of the period of peace, then the good and bad will be gathered, and after they are gone, the vineyard will be burned with fire.

Seriously, I think this “end of the world/wicked” thing and the “establishment of Zion” is going to be majorly different than we envision. It looks to me like it is going to happen very naturally. It seems to me that people will gather in specks all over the earth (see Nephi's mention of the dominions of those who belong to the church of the Lamb being small, even though they are all over the earth – and they are armed with the power of God). Eventually, those specks will gather and/or grow until the whole earth is in Millennial peace. At least that's how it looks to me after studying Jacob 5.

The Barefoot Professor: An Issue of Safety? Really?

The Barefoot Professor: An Issue of Safety? Really?: "warning: I was a *tad* angry when I wrote this! I recently saw a news clip* of a British Columbian teen who was left stranded at a bus station ..."

[Note: I, L'Jn, did not write anything in this post but this sentence that you are reading right now.]