Author: northstar

God the Father lives in the NOW. We live in the future and the past. That is one of the reasons that we have trouble understanding God’s ways.

We fear–that is living in the future.

We judge- that is living in the past.

God loves- that is living in the NOW.

It is when we commune with the Lord in prayer, or we practice charity, acts of kindness without any thought for reward (future) or recognition (future), that we live in the NOW.

If we can’t forgive ourselves or others, we live in the past. Maybe that is why we have such trouble believing God and hearing his voice. If our minds are distracted by the past or the future we can’t hear the voice of God, which is carried on the wavelength of NOW.

A few weeks ago a friend who had been suffering for many weeks from the COVID virus began to experience extreme pain in the chest. His wife was driving him to the emergency room when he called and asked me if I could give him a blessing over the phone. It had become my practice that when asked to give a blessing for healing to someone I will pray and ask the Lord for permission because I would never assume to attempt to bless someone without knowing what the Lord wanted me to do. So I told my friend that I would get back to him in a minute.

I always try to take the time to pray until I get an answer. Sometimes, though, the urgency of a person’s suffering makes me feel like there is no time to pray and I make the assumption the Lord would want me to pronounce a healing. In most of those cases, though, healings rarely happen. When I do pray and receive permission I know I can go into a blessing with perfect confidence that person will be healed. I can place my hands on their head and command that the person be healed. I know that is a pretty bold thing to do, but that is what the Lord requires of us to demonstrate faith. First, have the faith that the Lord will answer your request, and second, the Lord will perform the healing as the Spirit said He would. Doubt and faith cannot exist in the same moment.

I was once praying and asking the Lord why we don’t experience miraculous healings as a common occurrence. Why is it uncommon and rare that people with cancer are given blessings and are miraculously healed? Why are there no bringing people back from the dead through priesthood blessings? They do happen but they are so rare today as to be almost non existent. It should be common place. The answer both surprised and shocked me. The Spirit spoke very distinctly to me saying, “If you want healings and miracles….well you had better get busy!” It then occurred to me that the Lord was telling me that I and others could bring about healings through faith and exercising priesthood through the power of Christ. But, since it wasn’t me that was healing people, Christ is the healer, I had to ask permission of the one through whom these miracles are performed. I have no ability to heal anyone, it is really up to faith and the grace of the Lord. Sometimes much prayer and fasting is required.¹

Since then, when I have been asked to give a blessing I have asked the Lord if it was His will that a person be blessed unto healing, and I almost always get permission. It is when I don’t have explicit permission that healings do not occur, when I don’t get an answer, or I neglect to ask because of expediency, and I go ahead with the blessing anyway. There was one instance where I was given permission and a blessing given but the person still was not healed. It was latter related to me that the woman receiving the blessing refused to believe that she could be healed.

Getting back to my friend on the way to the emergency room. I told him that I would call right back, I needed to pray. I went to my room and knelt down and asked the Lord for His permission to apply priesthood power to heal. But I didn’t get the answer I was expecting. I was told, ‘No’. I was taken by surprise by that, but I knew better than to ask why. I was impressed, however, to ask if I could bless him that the pain would be tempered and suppressed and if he could be sustained at least until he reached the Hospital. I was told yes.

I commenced then to give him a blessing as though he were there, and then called him to tell him what had transpired. The pain did subside and he made it to the hospital. It turned out that he had blood clots that had moved through his heart and lodged in his lungs. He has since made a full recovery, although he now has to take expensive medicine the rest of his life. There were some other miracles that took place as a result of his bout with COVID, and he claims to know why the Lord told me not to heal him through a priesthood blessing.

The Lord is generous in his grace in providing healings and miracles, but it is imperative that we work with Him, and we know what His desires are. I believe Christ never healed anyone without conferring with the Father, except perhaps in case of the woman with a blood issue that touched the hem of his garment. After all, He had said that he did nothing without the Father. I have only experienced that one time being told not to give a blessing of healing. It was instructive to me that I was required to always ask permission.

I have found that sometimes people are given tests in the form of infirmities or disease, either for their own learning or for someone else to to be tried, for instance the parents of a sick child. It would be unwise to attempt to heal them in those cases as you would be at cross purposes to the Lord’s purposes. That is why it is important to ask permission first and be patient enough to wait to receive an answer.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if as a priesthood holder you are asked to give a blessing of healing to someone with cancer or some other debilitating disease or impairment, and know the outcome the Lord desires; have a perfect knowledge of what words you are supposed to say? I guarantee you would not be using tentative phrases and less then faith filled phrases like, “If it be the will of the Lord that you be healed…” You would know if it was the will of the Lord. How powerful would be the words of your blessing if you knew the Lord would heal that person? What power could be drawn down from heaven if you knew that the Lord wanted you to say the words, “I command you to be healed!” and know that person will be healed?

The Lord has stated that “…these signs shall follow them that believe–in my name shall cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents and if they drink any deadly thing it shall not hurt them; the shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover; (Mormon 9:24) What is it that is required to perform these miracles? It requires great faith, even exceeding great faith. Moroni describes what is required in verse 21: “Behold I say unto you that whoso believeth in Christ, doubting nothing, whatsoever he shall ask the Father in the name of Christ it shall be granted him; and this shall be granted him; and this promise is unto all, even unto the ends of the earth.“

The time is now for all believers to step up and accept the calling. Be one of the chosen ones who have chosen to believe and to perform (called and chosen)².

“And it shall come to pass that there shall be a great work in the land, even among the Gentiles (Talking about us, now) for their folly and their abominations shall be made manifest in the eyes of all people (The whole world will see the Gentile nations for what they are—think of what has happened in Washington since the election).”

“For I am God, and mine arm is not shortened; and I will show miracles, signs, and wonders, unto all those who believe on my name. And whoso shall ask it in my name in faith, they shall cast out devils; they shall heal the sick; they shall cause the blind to receive their sight, and the deaf to hear and dumb to speak, and the lame to walk.”(The Lord is opening that window now) (D&C 35:7-10)

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Notes: ¹ “…if the church would cease from these bickerings & murmerings & be of one mind the Lord would visit them with health & every needed good, for said he this is the voice of the Spirit. furthermore if the Saints are sick or have sickness in their families, and Elders do not prevail every family should get power by fasting & prayer & anointing with oil & continue to so do their sick shall be healed this also is the voice of the Spirit.” The Words of Joseph Smith, p.37, Andrew F. Ehat and Lyndon W. Cook, ed.

² “…for he is Lord of lords, and King of Kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.” (Revelation 17:14)

“And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins.” (2 Nephi 25:26)

For behold, to one is given by the spirit of God that he may teach the word of wisdom, and to another that he may teach the word of knowledge by the same spirit, and to another exceeding great faith, and to another the gifts of healing by the same spirit; and again, to another that he may work mighty miracles; and again, to another that he may prophesy concerning all things; and again, to another the beholding of angels and ministering spirits; and again, to another all kinds of tongues; and again, to another the interpretation of languages and of divers kinds of tongues. (Moroni 10:9-13)

Nephi writes about how his people talk, rejoice, preach and prophesy of Christ amongst themselves. I imagine that when they gathered together to worship they spoke to one another about their experiences with Christ in dreams, visions, and encounters as well as discuss scriptures about Christ. These things were not too sacred to share amongst themselves. They rejoiced in the measure of the spirit that was poured out amongst them. They were not ashamed to share what the Lord had revealed to them in intimate moments of prayer. I can imagine that they talked about what the spirit had revealed to them during these private moments.

I like to think that we can do the same in our fellowships and church meetings, but in many of our interactions on Sundays we avoid talking about personal sacred events out of fear of judgement from others. What would it be like to share some wonderful spiritual experiences without having to be judged as seeking attention or being labeled as fringy? I often wonder if it is a symptom of gentile churches too much influenced by worldly concerns, where people can be considered too spiritual, and perhaps ungrounded in worldly reality.

It doesn’t make sense to me that one can judge a person as being too spiritual and yet never think that an angel could be too spiritual. This attitude is toxic for the development of a Zion society which will eventually commune with angels. Do we think that angels will come down to our level of spirituality or is it more correct to believe that we will have to rise to their level of spirituality before we can commune with them in Zion?

If we are ‘of the world’ our conversations will be dominated by worldly concerns and matters. If our conversations are lifted up to speak primarily of spiritual concerns then we will become like the people Nephi describes.

Joseph Smith wrote, “How vain and trifling have been our spirits, our conferences, our councils, our meetings, our private as well as public conversations—too low, too mean, too vulgar, too condescending for the dignified characters of the called and chosen of God, according to the purposes of His will, from before the foundation of the world! We are called to hold the keys of the mysteries of those things that have been kept hid from the foundation of the world until now.”  (DHC vol. 3, page 295.) 

It is good that we develop the gifts of the spirit and that we share them. After all that is the purpose of the gifts. “And all these gifts come from God, for the benefit of the children of God.” (D&C 46:26) One of the greatest among these gifts is the gift of prophesy. And what does it mean to prophesy? In its purest form it is to testify of Christ and His reality and to receive instruction and knowledge that He gives through personal revelation.

Some personal revelation is meant to remain secret and for the receiver alone, but I venture to say that most revelation is to be shared. Sharing things that you have experienced is one of the reasons that the revelation was given. It promotes faith and for those who have not reached the point in their spiritual progression where they receive revelation, it serves to teach them what can personally be obtained. This applies especially to our children. They all need to hear about these experiences and messages to develop the faith that such things are possible. This is what Nephi was talking about when he writes how the people talk, rejoice, preach, and prophesy of Christ.

When people relate dreams or visions that they have had, I pay attention. Why not? Why not listen when someone claims to have had a conversation with the Savior and wants to share what they have been told or seen. I don’t claim to understand everything about how the Lord works, so I assume they come from a good source unless the spirit tells me otherwise. Moroni writes, “I exhort you, my brethren, that ye deny not the gifts of God, for they are many; and they come from the same God. And there are different ways that these gifts are administered…” (10:8) In our fellowship we often have people relating special spiritual events that have happened to them. Many times people share special messages they received and are told to tell them to the rest of the fellowship, and we have all been edified by these revelations.

I want to share with you a recent revelation or communication that one of the dear sisters in our fellowship spoke to us about. Her message was profound. I have her permission to share with you what she spoke to us about. These are her words:

“The Lord has pointed out to me that I should pray for things I haven’t prayed for before: In the life before this one we had exceedingly great faith and that we should pray the veil be partially lifted from us that we will remember this exceedingly great faith we had thousands of years before when we planned,  prepared and were chosen to come to earth at this time to build and redeem Zion.”

“In Ether 1:16 the Lord says “For the Lord said unto me: They shall not go forth unto the Gentiles until the day that they shall repent of their iniquity and become clean before the Lord. And in that day that they shall exercise faith in me, saith the Lord, even as the brother of Jared did, that they may become sanctified in me, then will I manifest unto them the things which the brother of Jared saw, even to the unfolding unto them all my revelations, saith Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of the heavens and of the earth, and all things that in them are.“

“We are in that day now. And we have and are repenting and through the power and grace of Jesus Christ we are becoming sanctified. The Lord has asked us to pray for exceedingly great faith. The Lord has asked us to pray that we can understand the mysteries of Godliness, and to pray for the spirit of prophecy and the spirit of revelation.“

“In the Answer to the Prayer for a Covenant, the Lord prophesied (think of what is going on today):

“Men conspire to overthrow and oppress and use violence to control others through fear. My Spirit restrains the destroyer to allow those who are in the world and willing to give heed to my words time to prepare, but I will not always suffer with the wickedness of man.” (Teachings and Commandments 157:62)

“I will be with and lead my people onward through the Spirit of Truth, the Comforter, the Record of Heaven, the peaceable things of immortal glory, even the Holy Ghost which will abide with them, and you will be children of the Most-High God, fellow servants and numbered with the congregation of the just. (Church of the Firstborn) Therefore rejoice!“ (Teachings and Commandments 157:60)

“Praying for the Spirit of Prophecy, the Spirit of Revelation, for the Comforter, the record of heaven, to know the peaceable things of immortal glory and that the Holy Ghost will dwell in us and praying that we might understand the mysteries of Godliness are appropriate for us at this time. We have to step up to what we covenanted to in the place before this. This is how we will become a Zion people.”

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I don’t consider who this came from, whether she is a scholar, well spoken, or well spoken of, although I happen to know that this sister happens to be all of those and is an elect spirit, I consider the words themselves. In the words of Joseph Smith,

“This is good doctrine. It tastes good. I can taste the principle of eternal life, and so can you. They are given to me by the revelations of Jesus Christ, and I know that when I tell you these words of eternal life as they are given to me, you taste them, and I know that you believe them. You say honey is sweet, and so do I. I can also taste the spirit of eternal life. I know it is good; and when I tell you of these things which were given me by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, you are bound to receive them as sweet, and rejoice more and more.” (TPJS, p. 355)

In light of what this good sister shared with us, I have begun to pray for exceeding great faith, to understand the mysteries of godliness, to obtain the gift of prophesy and revelation. I believe that in light of the scriptures and the spirit testifying to me that seeking for these gifts is proper, and in fact essential, I have every right, and indeed an obligation, to seek these gifts.

I am going to study exceeding great faith. What is it and how do we obtain it? That will be the topic of my next post.

I had an interesting conversation with a friend the other day. He was troubled about what the Lord would ask of him as he worked out his salvation. His questions were the same questions that a lot of us ask ourselves. How do you know that insights and inspiration you receive comes from the right source? How can you trust yourself to choose correctly further down the road when you are really being tested, I mean tested in a way that you can’t fathom at the present time? Will the Lord deceive you like He did Abraham? These are all good questions.

His greatest fear was that he could become a son of perdition. After all, Cain was of the elect of God and occupied a place of heirship from Adam if he had kept his nose clean. I was surprised by his concern. I had never heard this worry from anyone before, and I was only too happy (prideful) to give him my opinion. I told him that he needed to have faith in the process, that God would not lead him astray, and that he was overthinking it too much.

Since then I have had time to think about our discussion and have started to realize that my friend was on to something. He was being much the wiser and more knowledgeable man in that discussion. I believe now that his fears have some validity, and we should not take lightly the dangers of seeking to have our calling and election. In our conversation my friend asked if the Lord would deceive us as part of the test, and if He would, how would we know? After all, the Lord deceived Abraham in order to test him.

I am beginning to understand that the Lord is going to test us every step of the way, and these tests will increase in difficulty, eventually creating paradoxes in our minds; damned if you do, and certainly damned if you do not. The tests will cause you to rethink what you thought about righteousness. Do you hold fast to the commandments and the laws or do you do what the Lord asks you to do? Do you hold on to virtue as you understand it or do you follow righteousness? To add to the complexities of the test , how will you know it is the Lord that is the source of the request?

Joseph Smith said that if you drive a stake in the ground and declare that you will go no farther you will be an angel in the next life. You will not sit at Abraham’s table. Your tests, then, will involve forcing you to make a decision that takes you another step beyond your stake. If you say, I will do anything that the Lord will ask of me, but I will never (state a condition or task) , guess what your test will be. If you say, I would never practice polygamy, or I will do anything but please don’t ask me to give away my possessions or leave my family. Guess what the Lord is going to ask you eventually to do. It isn’t the Lord that decides the test, it is you that is deciding what your test will be. According to the Lectures on Faith you must be willing to give up all things, and the Lord will eventually test you on the thing that you fear most.

As you advance in knowledge and light, you will receive greater tests. That is why Paul said, “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” (Philippians 2:12). This was what my friend was afraid. Once you reach a certain level of priesthood or knowledge there is no going back and you must advance and pass the test or you stagnate, or worse. Be careful what you ask for if you are seeking a calling and election in this life, because you just may receive it. Now you become a candidate for Perdition.

I had this conversation while praying. It was for me, and pertains to me and my family, but I was impressed to share it.

“What should I be doing now?” I asked.

“Read and study the scriptures, particularly the Doctrine and Covenants (Teachings and Commandments). Learn what my word is to this generation. Share with others what you learn.”

“Should I write this in a post?”

“Write that trouble is coming and preparations are needed. The physical is not as important as the spiritual. All of the planning and storing of goods will not save anyone unless they are prepared spiritually. Tell them to learn to hear My voice. How will you know where the safe places are if you don’t know how to receive it from Me? People tend to rely too much on other people they consider to be true messengers. So what if they are? Those messengers cannot save you.“

“Is there anything specific I can tell people, or write about?”

“No, everything pertaining to preparations has been given, declared, and written. People need to know how to receive revelation and discern in order to get specific instruction for themselves and their family.”

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If you are not having daily conversations with your Heavenly Father you are not ready for what is coming. All the food, guns, cabins and land in remote places, gold and silver, is not going to save you in the long run. You have to know how to talk to God and, more importantly, know how to receive revelation from Him if you want to survive what is coming. There is no person on this whole earth that will be able to tell you what to do when the trouble comes. You will not be able to rely on government, churches, welfare organizations, even prophets and inspired clergy, etc. You may have 10 years, 3 years, or 2 months to prepare, why put it off?

Following people that you believe have a direct connection to God can be hazardous to your health, if you believe that they will be able to save you. They may have a direct connection, but it won’t save you. Ezekiel had something to say about that:

“Son of Man, when the land sinneth against me by trespassing grievously, then will I stretch out mine hand upon it, and will break the staff of the bread thereof, and will send famine upon it, and will cut off man and beast from it: Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job (you could add Joseph Smith, Russell Nelson, Denver Snuffer or add your favorite prophet) were in it, they would deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord God.” (Ezekiel 14:13-14)

King Benjamin implored his people to come to know the Master’s voice:

“I say unto you, I would that ye should remember to retain the name written always in your hearts, that ye are not found on the left hand of God, but that ye hear and know the voice by which ye shall be called, and also the name by which he shall call you. For how knoweth a man the master whom he has not served, and who is a stranger unto him, and is far from the thoughts and intents of his heart?” (Mosiah 5: 10-15)

It comes down to this: you either believe what has been revealed in the scriptures or you don’t.

“And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them.” (Rev. 11:11)

There is something special about the half day mentioned in scripture. Its not three days, its three and a half days, precisely. Or sometimes its three and a half years, expressed in different ways, but always it means three and a half of some time interval. One example that I think is overlooked by most everyone is the command to build the Nauvoo Temple. This episode is really instructive to those who are open to it.

In January 1841 Joseph Smith received a revelation what would become the One Hundred and Twenty-fourth section of the Doctrine and Covenants. In it the Lord commanded that a temple be built so that He could “restore again that which was lost to you” (v. 28), which the Lord explained was the “fulness of the priesthood“. He said that He would grant “a sufficient time to build (it)” (v. 31). He didn’t mention how long a “sufficient time” was. What He did say was that He expected the saints to go to “work with their might and with all that they have to perform the work, and cease not their diligence.” (v. 49)

The Lord promised great blessings to the saints if they would be diligent and build the temple. First, they would have the fulness of the priesthood restored to them (v. 28). Secondly, the ancient ordinances would be revealed to them (v. 40). Thirdly, the Lord would “reveal hidden things hidden from before the foundation of the world‘ (v. 41). But the temple must be completed before these things would be given to them.

If they didn’t complete the temple there were a number of curses pronounced upon them:

1. No fulness, no ordinances and no hidden things.
2. They along with their baptisms for their dead would be rejected.
3. The people will be moved from their place in Nauvoo.
4. Instead of blessings there would be cursings, wrath, indignations and judgements

In the beginning construction was undertaken enthusiastically by the saints in Nauvoo. It was a costly venture, perhaps too ambitious an enterprise for the church which was in the process of recovering from the terrible ordeals of being chased out of Kirkland and mobbed in Missouri. But the blessings promised by Joseph and the Lord captivated the saints and kept them engaged. The problem was that progress on the temple was slow, too slow. The saints committed to spending one day in ten on the work of the temple, but, were slow to actually follow through with their promise. There were competing interests in the city of Nauvoo of mostly commercial nature and it was too much of a temptation to get involved in the speculation that gripped the people.

Money was to be made as the city began to grow and money began to flow into commercial ventures such as stores, construction, bars, and other enterprises. All of these activities competed for resources and labor which were needed for the temple. The lumber that was being shipped down from Wisconsin, meant for the building of the temple and the Nauvoo House, was being diverted into private concerns, the building of homes and businesses. Even the apostles and other leaders of the church were caught up in the speculation of the growing city.

Tithes of goods or tithes of labor were being given by the saints to help build the temple, but as Brigham Young characterizes the spirit of the giving:

“In the days of Joseph, when a horse was brought in for tithing, he was pretty sure to be hipped or ringboned, or have the poleevil, or perhaps had passed routine or horse-disease until he had become used up. The question would be, “What do you want for him? “Thirty dollars in tithing. and thirty in cash.” What was he really worth? Five dollars, perhaps. They would bring in a cow after the wolves had eaten off three of her teats, and she had not had a calf for six years past; and if she had a calf, and you ventured to milk her, she would kick a quid of tobacco out of your mouth. These are specimens of the kind of tithing we used to get.” ¹

The temple was never completed. The walls were only half built by the time that Joseph and Hyrum were killed. Brigham Young continued building the temple until the Mormons were forced out of Nauvoo in 1846-7. But even then the temple was only a skeleton of a building when the Apostles snuck back into the city to dedicate it. Nevertheless, the temple was dedicated in the hopes that the Lord would accept a half finished temple project. Endowments were performed in it before its “dedication” with canvasses thrown up to separate the rooms because there were no interior walls. But the spirit-filled, ecstatic manifestations that accompanied the Kirkland Temple’s dedication were missing in Nauvoo. The heavens never registered it’s acceptance of the temple as in Kirkland. In fact, God’s rejection of the temple was complete when the temple was burned out in a great arson fire and then demolished in turn by a great storm and later by explosive devices.

In defense of the saints in Nauvoo and their exile from that place, people will quote D&C 124:49 as justification for their not being able to complete the temple because of being hindered by mobs. But the operative words in that verse are these: if…”those sons of men go with their might and with all they have to perform that work, and cease not their diligence,…”. I am sorry, but they remain under condemnation by those words.

It should also be considered that there was never an account written, or revelation given of the fulness of the priesthood being restored to the saints. There is no account of hidden things being revealed. The LDS church counts the endowment ceremony as the great ordinance, the fulness, that was presented to the church for their faithfulness. But the endowment was revealed by Joseph Smith in 1842 in preparation of the temple’s completion, not as a consequence and fulfillment of the promise to build a temple. Also, Joseph always meant for the temple to be a place where man meets God– in person.² That was the great revelation, the fulness of the priesthood, that was to be restored. An example of what acceptance by the Lord would look like was the smoke and fire that took residence in the Tabernacle of the twelve tribes and later in Solomon’s Temple, and even in the Kirkland Temple.

What was given to the saints as a result of their failure to put God first was their removal from their place. They were cursed, judged, and forced to endure wrath and great indignations. That is not to say that they were totally rejected by God. He prepared a place for them in a desolate place that by their industry and focused labors were able to transform into an oasis. But they had to learn the lesson of all covenant breakers–God comes first. If you make a covenant with God that you will serve Him with all your might, you had better do so.

In contrast to the saints experience in Nauvoo is their earlier response to the Lord’s command to build a House of the Lord in Kirkland, Ohio. The revelation as a command was given on May 6, 1833 (D&C 94). The Temple was completed and dedicated on March 27, 1836. The dedication was accompanied with wonderful outpouring of the Holy Spirit along with revelations and reports of actual “burnings” and angels attending the dedications.

The contrast between the experience in Kirkland and Nauvoo is instructive. After three years the Kirkland temple was completed and dedicated with multiple indications of the heaven’s acceptance of the Saint’s efforts to build the temple. After three and half years of cajoling and pleadings from Joseph Smith to complete the temple in Nauvoo, the walls were completed only to the first story. From the time that Joseph Smith received the revelation to build the Nauvoo temple in January 1841 until he was killed in June 1844 would be 42 months, or three and a half years. Almost to the day.

What is important about three and half years and what does it have to do with all this? Three and a half years, or “a time, and times, and half a time” are mentioned a dozen times in the scriptures. It is significant. I tell the story of the failure of the Nauvoo Temple to be built and the 42 months period when Joseph and Hyrum were killed to register that is exactly what happened. The timing is sacred and indicates that the people failed. We may be under the same sacred requirement to live a covenant today even though the Lord has given us no declared time limit.

In Revelation 12:14: “And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face or the serpent.”

Daniel 12:5-7: ” And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished. “

Daniel 9:27: “And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week (3 1/2 days) he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.“

Elijah sealed up the sky for three and and a half years so there was a famine in Israel. (Luke 4:25 and James 5:17)

Other mentions of a specific three and a half year period in prophesy: Daniel 7:25; Daniel 12:11 and 12; Revelation 11:3; Revelation 13:5)

I am not going to even try to interpret the meaning of the time + times + half a time, many people have commented on that and you can read books on that subject. Most assume that it is meant to convey a three and half year period of time, and the mention of a three and half year period several times in the scriptures supports that assumption. I can make an educated guess that it is meant to represent a very significant, perhaps sacred, interval in heaven. That bears out in the case of what happened in Nauvoo. It looks to be significant, pertaining to covenants; from the offering of a covenant to the execution of either a curse or a blessing, or both.

It can also be a period of time for purification, or the time that the Lord allows for a people to repent for the last time. Examples of this are the famine that Elijah declared in Israel, and also take a look at Daniel 7:25 which appears to be the time that the Lord allows a tyrant to try the saints. It seems to me, that by adding the “half” to the time interval, God is being very serious about the timing. He means what He says. It is mystifying why the Lord didn’t specify the time the saints in Nauvoo had to build the temple. I think He was testing them to see if they would turn to and build the temple out of love and not out of fear of missing a deadline.

In September 2017 a covenant was offered to us by the Lord. You can read about this here: https://thenorthstarchronicle.com/2018/09/19/new-covenant-of-2017-was-fortold/ and here: https://thenorthstarchronicle.com/2018/09/22/signs-that-2017-was-a-year-of-prophecy/. The written covenant can be found here: http://scriptures.info/scriptures/tc/section/158. In the covenant offered in September 2017 is contained this warning:

“But if you do not honor me, nor seek to recover my people Israel, nor teach your children to honor me, nor care for the poor among you, nor help lighten one another’s burdens, then you have no promise from me and I will raise up other people who will honor and serve me, and give them this land, and if they repent, I will abide with them.” (T&C 158:19)

I am not one to believe that we can foretell the exact timing of the Lord’s prophecies, but I don’t know, will something significant happen around late winter or early spring 2021? Will there be a temple offered to the covenant keepers, assuming that the people have kept their end of the covenant? Or will there be a cursing? Just thinking out loud.

Notes:

¹ Journal of Discourses, 8:346

² “No man can truly say he knows God until he has handled something, and this can only be in the holiest of holies.” “A proclamation of the First Presidency to the Church,” January 8, 1841, in Joseph Smith’s History, 4:269.

 

The law is for children

How else would they learn

To be fitted and measured

And turned?

 

They are not aware.

But, they will know

When the training wheels come off,

They then can sow.

In my last posting I wrote about the fall of empires and how it is inevitable that this nation, America, was prophesied to fall. I said that I would write about how to protect yourself as we approach dangerous times; walking the straight and narrow path. This post is about what that means and to stand in holy places.

The tribes of Israel rejected what God had offered them (D&C 84:23-25; Hebrews 4:6), so He acquiesced to their desires and gave them a lessor course offering. Instead of Salvation 101 He gave them the curriculum for kindergarten; you know, “don’t fight, share your toys, get along with others, don’t be a bully, don’t butt in line, don’t stare at others, don’t steal or take other’s toys”. They had to be told exactly what to do, and were threatened with punishments. It was the only way to get them to act civilly amongst each other.

When Christ came, He tried to tell the people there was a better, more productive way. He taught that if you have the Holy Spirit in you, you will have the Law written in your heart. You will know intuitively what you are supposed to do and not do. The laws and commandments as written become superfluous because you have no desire to break them. Simply put, the lower law is to do what your leaders, teachers and parents tell you to do, while the higher law is to follow your conscience and the Holy Spirit that is embedded within your heart. Of course to follow the Holy Spirit you have to first obtain it. Nephi tells you how to do that in 2 Nephi Chapters 31 and 32. Alma and Isaiah describe fruits of having obtained the Gift of the Holy Ghost. You can measure your own experience and state of mind or spirit against what is described here:

“And again I ask, were the bands of death broken, and the chains of hell which encircled them about, were they loosed? I say unto you, Yea, they were loosed, and their souls did expand, and they did sing redeeming love. And I say unto you that they are saved. And now I ask of you on what conditions are they saved? Yea, what grounds had they to hope for salvation? What is the cause of their being loosed from the bands of death, yea, and also the chains of hell?…And now behold, I ask of you, my brethren of the church, have ye spiritually been born of God?” (Alma 5:9-10,14)

What is the song that they did sing of redeeming love? I don’t believe this is a metaphor, it is an actual song. The contents of that song are described by Isaiah and quoted by Nephi:

“And in the day thou shalt say: O Lord, I will praise thee; though thou wast angry with me thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedest me. Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid; for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; He also has become my salvation. Therefore, with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation. And in that day shall ye say: Praise the Lord, call upon his name, declare his doing among the people, make mention that his name is exalted. Sing unto the Lord; for he hath done excellent things; this is known in all the earth. Cry and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion; for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.” (2 Nephi 22; quoting Isaiah 12)

Alma had written in Alma 5:7: “Behold, he changed their hearts; yea, he awakened them out of a deep sleep, and they awoke unto God. Behold, they were in the midst of darkness; nevertheless, their souls were illuminated by the light of the everlasting word; yea, they were encircled about by the bands of death, and the chains of hell, and an everlasting destruction did await them.“

There is a very definitive process that takes place where souls come to a profound realization and understanding of their wretchedness and helplessness, something they never realized before. I come from a religious background that didn’t really teach me about this crises of soul. It was something that only truly evil people experienced when they were converted, people like Alma the younger. The church taught that if I lived a pure life (the Law) then I was on the right track and would receive salvation. But I have come to the understanding that there really is a lot more to it, that I must awaken to the realization that salvation doesn’t come just by living a bunch of commandments that I am coerced into keeping out of fear, I have to be completely reborn. My orientation to the things of the world has to be reversed to focus on the things of spirit. I can only do this by repenting and turning to God. Repenting really means, when you get down to it, rejecting the philosophies and idolatry’s of men and embrace righteousness.

We are commanded to come out of Babylon (Isaiah 48:20). But until there is a way for us to extricate ourselves from any interaction whatsoever from the world, we are limited to living our lives in such a way as to remove the corrupt influences and selfish philosophies that drive the economies of the worldly kingdoms. We are consigned to having to deal with the world for now, but the time will come when we will receive a command to flee! (Genesis 19:17) For now, the command to flee is limited to leaving the urges and desires that the world foists upon us as normal. We need to be born again, to have the baptism of fire and to have the Holy Spirit as our guide to navigate the world that we cannot escape.

Once you receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, which by the way is not given to you automatically at the time of Baptism (the laying on of hands at baptism is only an invitation to receive the Holy Ghost), you will be able to discern God’s direct communication to you. You don’t require somebody else to tell you what the Lord wants you to do. You don’t need a pastor, priest, bishop, prophet, or guru to tell you what the Lord wants you to do. In fact it is necessary that you reach this level of discernment if you want to survive the coming fall of nations. A call to Zion will not – absolutely will not – come from a pulpit. It will come as a voice in the night ¹ to each person and each family that is prepared to receive and follow such a voice.

The preparations that qualify us to hear a voice in the night and be able to discern that it is the Holy Spirit are the same qualifications that will prepare us to live in Zion. That is why the warning to flee will not come from a pulpit, or from a website. It will come to people who have followed the admonition to stand in Holy Places (D&C 87:8) and with patience await the Lord’s word to us personally. Where is this Holy place? It is the place you make Holy by your presence and your righteousness.

Alma gave us a clue, which I quoted above, on how to recognize if you have truly repented and are able to stand in Holy places, and even stand in the presence of the Lord. For how will you withstand being in Zion if you cannot stand in the presence of a glorified being like Christ? Alma further asks: “And now behold, I ask of you, my brethren of the church, have ye spiritually been born of God? Have ye received his image in your countenances? Have ye experienced this mighty change in your hearts? Do you exercise faith…” (Alma 5:14-15). Think about that, do you have an aversion to worldly things that you once enjoyed in the world that may not be very uplifting to the spirit, or do you still enjoy inappropriate pastimes.

In verse 15 and 16 Alma says something profound, “Do you look forward with an eye of faith, and view this mortal body raised in immortality, and this corruption raised in incorruption, to stand before God to be judged…. I say unto you, can you imagine to yourselves that ye hear the voice of the Lord, saying unto you, in that day: Come unto me ye blessed, for behold, your works have been the works of righteousness upon the face of the earth?“

Have you tried in your prayers to imagine that scene? Alma is encouraging us to do that. He asks you to imagine you are standing, or kneeling, before Christ. Picture in your mind the brilliance of his presence and the love that emanates from Him. Can you imagine you hear the words, “Come unto me ye blessed, for behold, your works have been righteous.” Can you picture him standing before you in his glory saying those words to you? Does it rock your soul? Can you feel to sing the song of redeeming love? Or do you cringe and find yourself closing up the picture in your mind because it is too painful? Try lying to Christ in this imagined scene by saying, “Lord, our works have been righteous works upon the face of the earth…“

It takes a whole lifetime of soul searching to really understand the base motivation for your actions. We can do a lot of good deeds for the wrong reason without realizing. I had a conversation with a friend yesterday about the role fear plays in our actions. Even the actions that we think are righteous and motivated by a desire to do good are many times motivated by fear. Fear is the wiping stick of the Law. Talking to people I find some are engaged in doing good works because they fear being left out, or they want to be noticed. Even the desire to receive the second comforter can be couched in fear – the fear of being excluded. There are a lot of busy people working hard to gain God’s graces; they will earn a select spot in the telestial kingdom.

The good news is there is a good side to feeling soul pain. It is the beginning of true repentance. Christ teaches that the soul that mourns (because of sins) will be comforted (Matthew 5:4). It is crucial that we experience an imaginary encounter with Christ in this life and feel the pain of that encounter when we can do something about it, and not in the next life in reality where we can’t.

Nephi’s Straight and Narrow Path

After you recognize that you aren’t as good a person as you thought you were and you feel to cry out like King Lamoni did, “Oh Lord, have mercy; according to thy abundant mercy…!“(Alma 18:41) Those are rather melodramatic words to a modern sensibility, but that is what is required. Nephi says that we demonstrate our desire to repent by witnessing to God by being baptized exactly in the manner Christ was (2 Nephi 31:5). Nephi describes that after we repent with real intent, taking upon us the name of Christ, and entering the waters of baptism, Christ declares that we will receive the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost. Nephi says that after you receive the baptism of fire you will be able to speak with the tongue of angels and shout praises to the Holy One of Israel. Two more evidences that one has been born again.

What is interesting to me are two points. First, that it seems the baptism of fire is a singular dramatic event. Second, you don’t arrive on the straight and narrow path until after you have been baptized by water and also received a remission of your sins “by fire and the Holy Ghost” (2 Nephi 31:18) Nephi describes the process in some detail and declare that this is the Doctrine of Christ (2 Nephi 31:21).

The process of salvation continues in Chapter 32 of 2 Nephi. After you have received the Gift of the Holy Ghost the Holy Ghost will guide you in “all things what you should do“. This is the voice that will speak to you in the night and tell you to prepare, and then to flee. The Holy Ghost will guide you until the day that Christ becomes your personal teacher and your guide (2 Nephi 32:6).

We all have a lot of work to do.

What I have laid out to you in a very brief manner is the ultimate survival course. You could say that the Book of Mormon is the Survival Manual of our age. Obtain the voice of God through the Holy Spirit and you will have obtained the most crucial skills to surviving all the things that the world is going to throw at you in the coming years. I wrote a previous post on how to discern the voice of the Lord which is the Holy Spirit. (https://thenorthstarchronicle.com/2019/10/)

Notes:

¹ https://unityinchrist.com/calltochurchesprt.html An account of Ukrainian Christians who escaped the Stalin purges in the 1930’s. They received a voice in the night that warned them to leave immediately. This is an amazing account that has many lessons to teach us today.

This was a hard post to write. It is a bitter pill to swallow for someone who loves America and what it stands for. But it is important that we examine ourselves and examine what the prophets have warned us about, but we may have been too busy buying and selling to take notice. Until, perhaps, now.

There are two corollaries or themes that seem to be threaded throughout the Book of Mormon. The first is that North America is a covenant land and that any nation that possesses it does so by covenant and is under the protection of God. (2 Nephi 7:4; Ether 1:7; Ether 6:1)) Once a people or nation has been given a covenant, which involves possession of a land and receiving light and knowledge, and then turn away from the light, they become a darkened and doubly cursed people. They become more cursed than if they had never entered into a covenant. The Lord allows them to be destroyed or removed from their place. The Lord explains this eloquently in D&C 101:39-40 and 103:8-10.

Lest you wonder, when did the colonists and pilgrims enter into a covenant with the Lord for the lands of North America? It can be shown that many of these groups did knowingly covenant with God. For example, the Pilgrims arriving off the coast of Massachusetts in 1620 signed a document covenanting to each other and with God using such language as, “Having undertaken for the Glory of God, and Advancement of the Christian Faith, and the Honour of our King and Country“(1), before disembarking the Mayflower. The Puritans believed it was the hand of God that brought them to America and they felt bound to establish a community that Cotton Mather would later claim in the early 1700’s fulfilled the prophesy of Isaiah 1:26: “May these be your Cares. Then there will be fulfilled unto us, that Word; Isa. 1. 26. Thou shalt be called, The City of Righteousness, The Faithful City.”(2)

The Catholics of Maryland, the Huguenots of South Carolina, Virginia and New York, the Baptists of Rhode Island, the Quakers of New Jersey and Pennsylvania, the Congregationalists from Scotland occupying Pennsylvania, Virginia, and New York, and the Mormon Pioneers, all believed that God had brought them to this land and that they had a sacred responsibility in the possession of it.(3) Even the Spaniards made declarations in part that their mission, as corrupt as it was, was to glorify God. Nephi claims that no one was brought to this country unless God led them to come. “Wherefore, this land is consecrated unto him whom he shall bring” (2 Nephi 1:1). The belief that America was special and under the protection of God was passed along to their descendants (us) who, for the most part, kept the terms of this implied covenant. It really wasn’t until the last generation or two during the later part of the 20th Century that the descendants broke with the terms of this covenant with God. Depravity is manifest in many ways, but I think the Gentile brand of iniquity, our brand of darkness, involves abortion, abandonment of the sacredness of marriage, the encouragement of gender dysphoria, failure to keep the Sabbath day holy and the mass exiting of people from the houses of worship to pursue entertainment, shopping and leisure, and the proliferation of secret combinations and cabals amongst us. Americans are increasingly turning their backs on God. In addition, unrighteous dominion use of military might to enforce American financial advantages at the expense of smaller or less developed nations is egregious to God. These all combine to attract the ire of heaven.

The second corollary that is threaded throughout the Book of Mormon, and is also a major theme in the Bible, is that any nation that becomes tyrannical, cruel, or odious to its neighbors, enslaving them and putting a yoke upon their necks, lusting after their possessions, and looting their resources with abandon, is in danger of God’s wrath. The Lord will destroy them or at the least remove their power. A few dramatic examples of that in history are the Assyrians, Babylonians, Greek City States, Persians, Nazi Germany, Imperial Japan, and Hapsburg Spain of the 16th and 17th centuries , etc.

Where does America stand on the spectrum of tyranny? Given that the Lord has given us every advantage and a stewardship over a sacred and covenant land? Have we lived up to our side of the covenant with God? The rest of the world hates America and its policies. Even our allies just tolerate us. As a nation we are nothing like the Assyrians or Nazi Germany, but there are other methods of enslaving people that are more subtle, but just as grievous. Could American fiscal policy and military hegemony which have combined to create a standard of living beyond the wildest dreams of most other nations also contribute to its eventual fall? Creation of ruinous amounts of debt, which so far dwarfs anything that has ever been created in the history of the world is what has made America “great” and is keeping America afloat. Could it be that America is too dictatorial in its foreign policies and selfish in the way it pursues its interests abroad and at home. How long before the Lord says, “Enough!” I wonder if the “Make America Great Again” slogan doesn’t display a hubris and an arrogance , which in Greek tragedies always results in the hero’s fall.

“He that exalteth himself shall be abased, and he that abaseth himself shall be exalted.” (D&C 101:42)

America suffers from the same malady that has gripped the citizens of other great nations from the past. Nations which rose to the apex only to be overrun, destroyed, or eventually reduced to backwater status. Pride is the great denominator for all of these great nations. James Thomson wrote the following in 1740, which became a motto for the British Empire for over two hundred years until they were forced to play second fiddle to America’s super power status after the Second World War.

“When Britain first, at Heaven’s command, Arose from out the azure main, This was the charter of the land, And guardian angels sung this strain: Rule, Britannia, rule the waves; Britons never will be slaves.“

This same sentiment exists among Americans when they boast, “America has never lost a war” or America is the only super power, and is the “leader of the free world”. We are only the greatest because of the great blessings that were placed on the land by God, and by His protection. It could also have to do with the fact that we are the only ones that can afford to build Aircraft Carriers and can absorb twenty trillion dollar deficits without batting an eye. History, however, has proven that no country can remain at the top indefinitely, and God has warned that his covenant people will be cursed if they do not observe his commandments.

“…he shall bless in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. The Lord shall establish thee an holy people unto himself,…if thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, and walk in his ways. And all people of the earth… shall be afraid of the thee. And the Lord shall make thee plenteous in goods…The Lord shall open unto thee his good treasure…and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow. And the Lord shall make thee the head, and not the tail” (Deuteronomy 28:9-12)

“But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee.

The Lord shall send upon thee cursing, vexation, and rebuke, in all that thou settest thine hand unto for to do, until thou be destroyed, and until thou perish quickly; because of the wickedness of thy doings, whereby thou hast forsaken me. The Lord shall make the pestilence cleave unto thee, until he have consumed thee from off the land, whither thou goest to possess it. The Lord shall smite thee with a consumption, and with a fever, and with an inflammation…” (Deuteronomy 28:15, 20-22)

Interesting that he should mention “a fever and with an inflammation”.

Nephi describes a vision he received, a prophecy of the Nephite, Lamanite, and Gentile peoples that will inhabit the land of America (4) ( 2 Nephi 25-30). He is only mirroring the works of Isaiah that he just quoted in 2 Nephi chapters 7 through 24, which he explains are a little hard for the Gentile to understand. So he interprets Isaiah using plain language and using his own visions and prophesies. If there was any question that Isaiah 10 (2 Nephi 20) where Isaiah foretells the destruction of Assyria, is not talking about America, guess again. He warns of conditions that will occur in our day by highlighting the parts in Isaiah that have a special relevance to the Gentile people today.

It is important to note here that Joseph Smith always believed and taught that the heartland of the Nephites was located in the Central part of the United States. It wasn’t until the 1920’s that Mormon archaeologists suggested that the Nephite nation was in Central America because of the evidences of great stone cities there. The problem with that belief is that Joseph Smith never considered Central or South America as the Nephite Home land. The prophesies of Christ, Nephi, Ether, and Moroni don’t make any sense unless you consider that the Gentile nation is the United States, located on the same covenant land that was given to the Jaradites, Nephites, and Lamanites.

After quoting fifteen chapters of Isaiah, all of which pertain to the last days, Nephi explains Isaiah’s prophesies by relating in “plainness” his own visions and prophesies about the “last days, or in the days of the Gentiles” (2 Nephi 27:1). 2 Nephi 26-30 is all about the destruction of the Gentile nation that will possess the lands once covenanted to the Nephites and Lamanites. In this section of his writings he foretells the eventual destruction of the Nephite nation and the destruction of the Lamanites at the hands of the Gentiles. And then he prophesies about the destruction of the Gentiles. He writes:

“But, behold in the last days, or in the days of the Gentiles– yea, behold all the nations of the Gentiles and also the Jews, … behold, they will be drunken with iniquity and all manner of abominations–And when that day shall come they shall be visited of the Lord of Hosts, with thunder and with earthquake , and with a great noise, and with tempest, and with the flame of devouring fire.” (2 Nephi 27:1-2)

This is very much the same language that Nephi uses to describe the destructions that comes upon the Nephites. He explains that “those who have been destroyed have been destroyed speedily…yea, thus saith the Lord God: It shall be at an instant, suddenly–“ (2 Nephi 26:18). I believe that when the Lord says “suddenly” or “instantly” he is referring to the idea that when wicked people become aware of their dangerous predicament it is all of the sudden. They have ignored the signs that have been sent them for years until suddenly they realize destruction is upon them, but it is too late. Kind of like, “Oh my gosh, I need to go to the grocery store and stock up on food”, but it is too late, the food shelves are empty. I wonder if that day isn’t speedily coming upon us, and we are being given a last warning. I pray everyday that we have more time to prepare ourselves, to be filled with the oil of the Holy Spirit that will arm us against the evil day. Only by being sensitive to the voice of the Holy Spirit will you be able to survive when the time comes. My hope is that we have years still ahead of us. But my fear is that we don’t.

The fate of the Gentiles is the same as that of the Jaradites, Nephites, and Lamanites who all inhabited this land and broke all of the covenants they made with the Lord. Because the Gentiles destroyed the Lamanite nations that existed in North America, the Lord will destroy them. “For behold the same that judgeth rashly shall be judged rashly again; for according to his works shall his wages be; therefore, he that smiteth shall be smitten again, of the Lord.”(Mormon 8:19) Nephi warns the Gentiles that they will receive the same treatment that they have meted out to the Jews, and by extension the Native American descendant Lamanites, “Behold I will return all these things upon your own heads;” (2 Nephi 29:5). Indeed, Nephi threatens the Nephites with total destruction as he has seen happen in vision to the Gentiles! “ye should (not) suppose that ye are more righteous than the Gentiles shall be. For behold, except ye shall keep the commandments of God ye shall all likewise perish;” (2 Nephi 30:1) He compares the blood thirsty, wicked, apostate Nephites of Mormon’s day with the Gentiles!

Why this ranting polemic against the Gentile people? Nephi describes how he sees the Gentile culture:

And the Gentiles are lifted up in the pride of their eyes, and have stumbled, because of the greatness of their stumbling block, that they have built up many churches; nevertheless, they put down the power and miracles of God, and preach unto themselves their own wisdom and their own learning, that they may get gain and grind upon the face of the poor (foreign and domestic)…and there are also secret combinations…“. (2 Nephi 26:20 & 22)

This was very much the same accusation the Lord had with the Assyrians in Isaiah 10 and 13 and again in 2 Nephi 20 and 23. The Lord tells the Israelites not to worry; don’t worry about the Assyrians because, “For yet a very little while, and the indignation shall cease, and mine anger in their destruction.” (Isaiah 10:25) or as Gileadi translates it: “For my anger will very soon come to an end; my wrath will become their undoing.”

The Lord also declared: “When men are called unto mine everlasting gospel, and covenant with an everlasting covenant, they are accounted as the salt of the earth and the savor of men; They are called to be the savor of men; therefore, if that salt of the earth lose its savor, behold, it is thenceforth good for nothing only to be cast out and trodden under the feet of men.” (D&C 101:39-40)

The Gentiles will all wonder, “Who is Nephi talking about? America is the land of the Free. We are the good guys who keep the rest of the world from destroying themselves. I go to church, I am one of the righteous ones, after all, I pay my tithing!” Nephi answers them with a parable:

“…it shall be as a dream of a night vision; yea, it shall be unto them, even as a hungry man which dreameth, and behold he eateth but he awaketh and his soul is empty; or like unto a thirsty man which dreameth, and behold he drinketh but he awaketh and behold he is faint, and his soul hath appetite;…”

“For behold, all ye that doeth iniquity, stay yourselves and wonder, for ye shall cry out, and cry; yea, ye shall be drunken but not with wine, ye shall stagger but not with strong drink.”

“For behold, the Lord hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep. For behold, ye have closed your eyes, and ye have rejected the prophets; and rulers, and the seers hath he covered because of your iniquity.” (2 Nephi 27:3-5)

Nephi is describing people who think they are filled with the Holy Ghost and are righteous. They dream that they are fulfilling the commandments and are a “saved” people; they are God’s special and elect people who will be saved from the calamitous reactions of God’s indignation, which they helped to precipitate by the way. But when they awake they find their soul is unsatisfied (unsaved). Lest you think Nephi is describing someone else consider what Nephi said about all the churches that the Gentiles will build up:

“Yea, they have all gone out of the way; they have become corrupted“. (2 Nephi 28:11)

“There are two churches only; the one is the church of the Lamb of God, and the other is the church of the devil; wherefore, whoso belongeth not to the church of the Lamb of God belongeth to that great church which is the mother of abominations; and she is the whore of all the earth.” (1 Nephi 14:10)

Nephi describes the members of the Church of the Lamb to be very few in number. They are the covenant holders and keepers and the world wars against them. (1 Nephi 3:8) But, even the very few who are humble followers of Christ are still following the ways of Babylon. (2 Nephi 28:14)

So, what can be done? How do you survive what the Lord has proscribed for the Gentile Nation(s)?

After Nephi’s vision of the destruction of the Gentile people, which he gives in plainness, he describes the Doctrine of Christ and how to become a humble follower of Christ (2 Nephi 31-32). The vast majority of the Gentiles will be destroyed (just as the Jaradites and Nephites were destroyed, and the Lamanite civilizations destroyed by the Gentiles) but Christ will save a few of His people. 2 Nephi 31 and 32 is a description of how to save yourself and your family. It is a detailed description of Lehi’s dream and how to get on the straight and narrow path. Baptism does not get you access to the straight and narrow path it only presents you at the gate. Joseph Smith said that you might as well baptize a bag of sand without the baptism of fire. Nephi says that only after you have been baptized by fire and received the gift of the Holy Ghost, which can only be conferred by Christ himself at the behest of the Father, can you then be admitted to the straight and narrow path that leads to eternal life. (2 Nephi 31:17-18) It is only after you have been baptized by fire and the Holy Ghost that you become a member of the Church of the Lamb. Remember, there are only two churches.

In His prophesy on the War between the Northern and Southern states of America, Joseph Smith describes how violence will completely inundate the world and all nations will cease to be, “until the consumption decreed hath made a full end of all nations” (D&C 87:6). The Lord offers comfort to the followers of Christ, “Wherefore, stand ye in holy places, and be not moved, until the day of the Lord come;”(D&C 87:8) Nephi offers a way to be protected and to call down the powers of heaven to survive what is coming suddenly. In his final words he offers this hope to the Gentiles:

“I also have charity for the Gentiles. But behold, for none of these can I hope except they shall be reconciled unto Christ, and enter into the narrow gate, and walk in the strait path which leads to life, and continue in the path until the day of probation.”

In my next post I will be discussing what Nephi writes about entering the narrow gate and walking the strait path leading to eternal life.

God Bless.

Notes:

(1) The Mayflower Compact (1620)

(2)Theopolis Americana: An Essay on the Golden Street of the Holy City (1710), Cotton Mather; Ed. by Reiner Smolinsky. Mather was voicing the well known belief among the people of New England, at that time, that God had brought the Pilgrims and Puritans to America to establish a more righteous country in the image of God’s kingdom of Israel. The Lord had given them the country as a covenant in the pattern of the Israelites at the time of Moses, as described in Deuteronomy. Like the Israelites, the Puritans had to cleanse the country of its native inhabitants before they could fully possess the land and leave God’s law in peace.

(3) Thomas Jefferson included this statement in the Declaration of Independence, recognizing God’s hand in the development of the events leading up to 1776. “We, therefore, the representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the name, and by authority of the good people of these colonies, solemnly publish and declare, that these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be free and independent states; ….And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.“

“We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted but not forsaken; cast down but not destroyed;” (2 Corinthians 4:8-10)

“Do not allow your heart to be troubled.” (Testimony of John 10:9)

“Wherefore, stand in holy places and be not moved until the day of the Lord come, for behold, it comes quickly, says the Lord.” (Doctrine and Covenants 87:8)

We live in a time of fear. I wrote about that on March 16, Entering the Age of Fear. I don’t pay too much attention to social media, but I am told that it is alive with speculation about the apocalypse that it is upon us, that millions will die, that the governments of the world are conspiring to take away all our freedoms. The Covid virus was man made and calculated to reduce the population of the earth, that the vaccines being produced will cause sterilization or create some kind of chemical lobotomy, or at worst, be the means to control the populace more. Food shortages will cause starvation, the economy will never come back to what it was, money will become obsolete, and you wont be able to buy and sell without a chip that will certify you are virus free.

I don’t deny that there are conspiracies, because I know that there are. People have been meeting in secret places in the middle of the night under darkness fomenting sinister plots to gain power since the beginning of time. Secret Combinations are everywhere and exist in every country, and in every segment of society. Its just that, to me, it doesn’t matter. It’s not as important as the need for us all to be prepared. By prepared I mean spiritually and mentally. The stockpiling of food and guns will not ultimately save you and your family. The real story, the kernel of truth here, is that we are beginning to experience the full fury of Mother Earth’s campaign to do something about the wickedness and abuse that has been perpetrated on her by her ungrateful and greedy children. The only thing that will ultimately save you is your righteousness and your turning to God.

So, I sigh when I read about elaborate conspiracy theories or how people obsess about the end of the world and the apocalypse. Not because they are wrong or misguided, they may not be, but, in my mind it just doesn’t matter in the big scheme of things. Conspiracies are only symptoms and not the cause of what is happening. You might say, “How can that be?” Well, wickedness is like a fungus that exists below the ground in a tangled network of molds and mycelium. The mycelium extends over acres of ground but only just barely below ground level, and then in a moment it bursts upward breaking ground creating stalks to release its spores into the wind. We are at the point in time where the wickedness is breaking out in all sorts of ways and the earth and nature can’t contain its revulsion anymore. The Apostle John, in Revelation, describes how the Angels hold back the elements from rebelling against mankind’s pollutions until they are commanded to release the elements (Revelation 7: 1-3). But first the servants have to be prepared.

When people send out emails detailing rumors of conspiracies, of which they usually don’t have the slightest bit of evidence, they are contributing to the atmosphere of fear. I could spend whole days watching YouTube on the subject of “Conspiracies” or “Covid-19”. There is an unhealthy focus that is being given to conspiracy theories and the coming apocalypse. If we obsess about apocalyptic themes and repeat speculation we have heard on the actions and motives of conspiratorial cabals (imagined or real) aren’t we feeding our fears and giving them power? One of the agendas of secret combinations is to plant fear. It is good to be informed, and it is wise to be prepared in physical things for disasters, but I wonder if there is something more important we should be focusing the majority of our attentions and energies on?

The Lord uses disasters, tragedies, even wars to wake us up, to grab our attention away from focusing on mundane worldly labors; Especially to get us to stop obsessing about ourselves. He provides intervals between incidents and disasters to give time to people to turn to Him and repent. Those intervals, however, are becoming shorter and shorter and the incidents are becoming more destructive; like a woman in travail. (1 Thessalonians 5:3)

In Isaiah 13, which is repeated by Nephi in 2 Nephi 23, the prophet details the destruction of Babylon in the last days. It is pretty horrific stuff to read. Verses 6-9 reads:

“Howl ye; for the day of the Lord is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty. Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man’s heart shall melt: And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames.”

“Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.”

The rest of the chapter is pretty graphic. If those days are truly upon us, or at least around the corner, it is right that we should be paying attention. But where should our attentions be focused right now? Isaiah 13 also gives us a clue about where our attentions need to be focused. Isaiah tells us that before the destructions the “sanctified ones” will be removed and led away to safety.

“Lift ye up a banner upon the high mountain, exalt the voice unto them, shake the hand, that they may go into the gates of the nobles. I have commanded my sanctified ones, I have also called my mighty ones for mine anger, even them that rejoice in my highness.” (King James Version, Isaiah 13:2-3)

I like Gileadi’s translation of this verse: “Raise the ensign on a barren mountain; sound the voice among them! Beckon them with the hand to advance into the precincts of the elite. I have charged my holy ones, called out my valiant ones: my anger is not upon those who take pride in me.” (The Book of Isaiah, transl. Avraham Gileadi)

If you believe that Isaiah and Nephi saw our day in vision and wrote to warn us, then you must believe that when the time comes the Lord will call us out from Babylon and lead us to salvation. Remember the parable of the 10 virgins? Five of them were prepared with enough oil (spiritually oriented), but five of them were not prepared properly. The unprepared were told to go to the merchants to see if they could provide the oil of preparation, but were ultimately denied access to the “gates of the nobles” because their reliance on the merchants highlighted their dependence on the merchants for food, guns, etc. to save them. It was wrong for them to put their trust in the merchants and not in the Lord.

“Though a host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear…For in the time of trouble, He shall hide me in His pavilion” (Psalms 27:3,5.)

“Wherefore, stand in holy places and be not moved until the day of the Lord come, for behold, it comes quickly, says the Lord.” (D&C 87:8)

You might ask, where are the holy places that I should be standing in? I believe it is wherever you are. If you are holy, the place where you stand is holy. So my advice would be to make the place where you are a holy place until the Lord calls you to go somewhere else. That will be work enough and require energy enough to consume most of your time. Ask yourself, can I hear the Lord’s call if He calls me to leave? (Mosiah 5:12). If not, you have your work cut out for you.

I came to realize something while reading some scriptures that never occurred to me before. I don’t know why I had never thought about this before, perhaps because I was sure that I understood the topic before. But, it seems imperfectly.

Here is the matter. When I repent, the Lord says that my sin is forgiven and forgotten – completely. I had always looked at it in this way: God says He will forgive my sin, but I can’t be trusted in the same way afterwards. After all, that is the attitude I was raised with. God forgives, but He doesn’t really forget. But I just came to the realization that reasoning is completely false.

God utterly and entirely forgets your sin because it doesn’t matter, its not important. The purpose of the repentance process is to sin, to repent, seek forgiveness, recognize the atonement of the Savior and move on. The Lord does not keep a balance sheet, does not reckon our righteousness by the sins we didn’t commit. The atonement was meant to allow us to clean the slate by putting the sins we repent of behind us. In this way we can build our knowledge and faith without having to carry the burden of our sins as a counterweight to spiritual progress.

His actions toward us is governed by where we are in our progression, which is mapped by our accumulation of knowledge and faith at any given time. By the way, I believe the greatest faith that we can muster is the faith required to forgive ourselves, and by extension, others. If we never sin, we will never advance in righteousness. If I am looking for a baptism of fire (or holy anointing as some understand it) having never received it, it is not because of a payment for sin still outstanding, or because God has not forgiven me yet. It is because I am not ready yet. I have not obtained sufficient faith or knowledge, or the timing isn’t right, or? But it is not because I am under some ban because of a sin I committed, repented of, but haven’t suffered sufficiently for.

This was a revelation to me. It may just be common sense to everyone else, but if that is the case, why do we continue to judge ourselves and other people entirely on our past errors or mistakes? Why can we forgive others (or so we say) but not forget. Why do we tend to think we are not worthy of God’s grace? If it is true that we project our beliefs into our judgment of other people’s behavior, are we not then projecting the belief that we are unforgivable onto them? The gateway to forgiving others is forgiving ourselves. If we can forgive ourselves and believe that we are worthy of a second or third chance, then we can begin to really forgive others fully. If Christ tells us to forgive others 70 times 7, well then, He will forgive us 80 times 8.

Repenting, turning away from the things of the world and facing God, ….Oh, that’s the easy part. Its the forgetting part that I struggle with.

“I am a party of one, and I live in an age of fear.” (Elwyn Brooks White)

“Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith.” (Matthew 8:26)

I will show you fear in a handful of dust. (T.S. Eliot)

It isn’t the Coronavirus (COVID – 19) that we should be afraid. I get that 2% to 3% of people that contract the virus will die. I get that this virus is extremely contagious and I get that there is no known cure or vaccine available. It is dangerous and life threatening, but, really, come on, we have had worse epidemics in America and we survived. Fear has become pathological in America, and that fear will kill a lot more people then the Coronavirus.

When I was a kid measles (rubella) was a true killer. About 3% of people that contracted rubella died in America, 1 in 1,000 children contracted encephalitis (swelling in the brain), and 1 in 20 contracted pneumonia as a result of having measles. In 3rd world countries the death rate is much higher. It is estimated that 3 million people died every year from the virus until 1980. The infection rate for rubella was 90%. 90%! That means that if a person was susceptible (no previous infection) they had a 90% chance of getting sick if they walked into a room where there was a person who had the virus. After a vaccine was developed in the 1960’s the infection rate went almost to zero in the United States. Its not that the Coronavirus isn’t serious, it is, but I wonder if the political reaction to this is feeding the panic and blowing it out of proportion?

When measles made its rounds every two or three years, people didn’t panic by buying out every bag of flour, every roll of toilet paper, every loaf of bread, and now, I’m told, every can of food they can get their hands on. There are lines of people at gun stores now buying up guns and ammunition in anticipation of a complete breakdown of civil laws. Also, the stock market didn’t collapse when the measles virus cycled through every couple of years, which is what is happening now.

The fear that has been engendered by this over-reaction to the pandemic may indirectly end up killing many more people then the virus was ever capable of doing. I am watching the stock markets plummet across the world. There is no way now to avoid a major recession, possibly even a depression. Companies are already having massive layoffs in anticipation of a giant slowdown in the economy. Frankly, economies are beginning to collapse. We are on the edge right now, and I believe the next few days will tell us which direction our economy will go. And fear is the cause of it all. Fear is the great virus here, like a cancer that grows with abandon eventually killing its host. I am reminded of Mormon 6:7: “…with that awful fear of death which fills the breasts of all the wicked…” Fear is contagious. The New York Times reported yesterday that panic buying is escalating. The article explained that when people see empty shelves when they go to the supermarket, they start to panic and start buying any food that is left on the shelves. People have reported seeing fights breaking out over food.

“…I will consume them by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence.” (Jeremiah 14:12)

One of the definitions my dictionary has for pestilence is: “A pernicious, evil influence or agent.” Jeremiah could easily be defining the fear that sweeps across the nation like a plague as a pestilence.

What is the remedy? What can a sane person do? Do we let fear take hold in our hearts? Or do we look to the only one who can provide peace to our hearts and solace to our fears? The Lord has promised, and I personally believe His promises, “Those who belong to the Lord’s church need not fear.” (D&C 10:55) What is His church? I have come to believe that it isn’t an organized religion, it isn’t a building, and it isn’t a single organization of religious followers. It is as Christ declared: ” Whoever repents and comes to the Lord is His church” (D&C 10:67) All people everywhere that look to Christ, repent, seek the Lord, and feast on his words (2 Nephi 31:20), will be saved.

I like to tell stories. I like them because first, they do capture people’s attention–everyone likes a good story. Second, they help to illustrate complex ideas or thoughts –brings them down to earth where people can relate. My story is from an article I read in the LDS Ensign magazine 30 years ago. An LDS woman and her daughters were living through the invasion of the Russians as they overran Berlin at the end of the Second World War. It was a horrible time for them. Their husband and father was in the German Army and they were left to fend for themselves hiding from the hoards of Russian soldiers that were pillaging and molesting women and girls. They were able to escape the worst that the Russians could do to them through some miraculous interventions, mostly because of their faith in God. Soon the Americans came, since they lived in the American sector, but they still had to contend with hunger and the scarcity of food.

One day word passed through the local neighborhood that food was being handed out. The Mother and her girls rushed to the place and were confronted by a mob of people fighting over a mound of food that had been piled in the middle of the street. I think it was food found in a warehouse that had been stored by the German Army and given out to the people by the American Army. The mother didn’t want to get involved in the fighting for food so she had the girls wait on the periphery of the jostling crowd. She noticed that in their squabbling for food, the people didn’t notice packets of food being thrown about outside the circle of the mob. They started picking up food that flew to the outside out of the chaos in the middle of the pile of food as a result of the fighting. The girls calmly picked up the food laying at the feet of the people in the fray and came away with armfuls of food that they were able to survive on for a while. On another occasion an American serviceman showed up at their door with a box full of food and declared that he was led to collect some food and take it to a house that he was led to by the spirit. The Lord takes care of His people.

“And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them: they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.” (Mark 16: 17-18)

In November, 2017 the Lord offered a covenant to anyone that would accept. The Lord promised: “And I, the Lord your God, will be with you and will never forsake you, and I will lead you in the path which will bring peace to you in the troubling season now fast approaching. I will raise you up and protect you, abide with you, and gather you in due time, and this shall be a land of promise to you as your inheritance from me… And the angels sent to harvest the world will gather the wicked into bundles to be burned, but will pass over you as my peculiar treasure.” (Teachings and Commandments 158: 12,13 & 18)

For those of you who think this is the real deal, the beginning of the plagues that John writes about in Revelation 9, this is only a dress rehearsal. The Lord in his mercy has sent us this warning and if we pay attention and take heed we will prepare ourselves and seek to know Him. He has sent us a lot of warnings and the country took heed for a time, but things went back to “normal” within a few months. 9/11, and the market sell off and start of the great recession in 2008 were both warnings. This time we are being given a third and final warning. We will recover somewhat from the financial crises and the memory of the virus of 2020 will become a soon to be forgotten memory as the country attempts to return to business as usual. But the fourth crises that comes will be a real wake up call, because as Isaiah foretells, the troubles will come like a woman in labor, the contractions will become harder to bear and quicker between.

“Pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them, they shall be in pain as a woman that travails; they shall be amazed one at another, their faces shall be as flames.” (Isaiah 6:2)

Several weeks ago I  had the opportunity to go to Hopi Land in Arizona and witness the Bean Dance, Powamuya. February is known as the purification month, which is a time when the people ready themselves to accept the spirits back into their lives. The Bean Dance is the culmination of the ceremonial sprouting of the beans and a call to prepare the people for the planting season. The Kachinas, or Katsina’s, are called to come and prepare the village.

As I stood on the roof of a stone house in the middle of the third mesa village, Hotevilla, I couldn’t help but be caught up in the mystery of the dance. I watched as 50 or so Katsinas emerged from the depths of one of the kivas and danced slowly and methodically through the passageways of the village. The pace was a very deliberate, slow, and mesmerizing pace. Each of the Katsinas were caricatures of different spirits dressed and acting the part of their characters. There were the spirits of Gods, priests, mortals, spirits of different elements such as storms and clouds, and the clowns. I noticed that some of the clown Katsinas were dressed in white man’s clothes (Bahanas) with peculiar (funny) masks. There is an element of awe and mystique in the dances. American Culture in general has lost a sense of mystery and symbolism and is the worst for it.

In many ways the Kiva is an entry point to learning mysteries for the Hopi. It is representative of the great spirit world that coexists with our own world (what we erroneously call the “real world”). The spirit world may be hidden from us, but it is more intimately experienced by the Hopis. And not exclusively by the Hopis but at one time by all native Americans. The kiva is a connection to the mystery of existence and creation. It is symbolic of a gateway, maybe even a veil for entry into the spirit world. The Kiva is underground because the first humans emerged from underground through a portal from a dimension that connects this world to a parallel world. To access the kiva you descend down a ladder through a hole in the roof; descending into the dark place to learn of things hidden from the world or to conduct the ceremonies that keep the chaotic forces at bay. One of the purposes of the kiva is create a sacred place where the keepers of the covenant and the initiates are taught the purpose and mission of the Hopi people. The Hopis believe that their ceremonies, dances and ordinances serve to keep the world in balance.  I liken that to the idea that a few righteous people can prevent the destruction of an entire city while they are living in it.

At the culmination of the dance, young boys and girls about the age of 8 to 12 are brought down into the kiva by the Kachinas. They pass through the opening, down into the darkness of the kiva, and are exposed to a mystery. They have been taught their whole lives that mysterious things go on inside the kiva, but they must wait until they are initiated to participate. They don’t know what to expect. They are nervous and a little afraid of what is going to happen to them. You can see it in their faces as they are escorted to the kiva.

Before the dance we were invited to a feast with a Hopi family. We were welcomed as family and ate the traditional meal that included bean sprouts and bean soup. It was delicious. I found the Hopi people to be open and genuine. A little like children, but only in the sense that their was no awkwardness, no judgement, guile or defensiveness on their part. It was so refreshing to talk with them because they did not have the habit of sizing you up, or guarding their speech, which the white folks tend to do on meeting strangers. I could sense no guile whatsoever, they accept you as you are. Perhaps this attitude was unique with that family, but we did visit with several other families and I came away with the same impression. Nevertheless, the Hopi’s are a closed society with secrets that they keep to themselves. They have learned not to fully trust the bahana (Non native American) because they have been deceived so many times by them. It may have been that I was under the protection of a bahana brother who had been helping the Hopi people for 20 years, and because they trusted and honored him, they trusted me.

The Hopis are not an ideal society, they have their problems. They are poor, some living in stone pueblos that may have structural elements that are a thousand years old. Many roofs are in a state of disrepair and many do not have electricity, running water, or bathrooms. They have their family and clan squabbles, but I felt they were closer to being a Zion society than we Bahanas are. There is some desire for material acquisition, but not on the scale of the rampant possessiveness and exclusivity that plagues our American culture. Their lives are much simpler then ours, but in many ways, and in ways that count, they are a wiser and more prosperous society.

I have come to believe that the Hopi’s are one of many tribes in North America that are descended from a remnant group of believing Lehites. They are a unique tribe that has been protected because of the promises made to Lehi and Nephi, and I believe, because they remain apart from the American culture that has swamped most other tribes. There is a curious sermon that Moroni preserved of his Father given to a righteous gathering of saints. Curious to me because there appears to have been a righteous group living among the Nephites just before they were completely destroyed.

“And now I, Mormon, speak unto you, my beloved brethren; …I would speak unto you that are of the church, that are peaceable followers of Christ, and that have obtained a sufficient hope by which ye can enter in to the rest of the Lord, from this time henceforth until ye shall rest with him in heaven.” (Moroni 7:2-3)

Mormon isn’t talking to the general population of Nephites who are degenerate, wicked, and unrepentant, as he describes his people. He is talking to a group of people that are a covenant people, who have accepted Christ and have received some spiritual assurances (hope) that they will enter into the rest of the Lord. What happened to these people when the Nephites were utterly destroyed?

I believe that these people were led off by the Lord into safety before the final conflict that resulted in the extinction of the Nephites. The Hopi myth teaches them that they are an ancient people who were guided by one of their spirit leaders or Gods (Masau’u) to leave a land devastated by war and conflict over 1500 years ago. They buried their weapons of war and traveled for 400 years until they came to the three mesas in Arizona over a thousand years ago. There they made a covenant to remain until the end of the current cycle of history we are in.

Masau’u (together with Spider Grandmother) gave them sets of stone tablets. Some of these tablets contain the title and deed to the Lands they were to inhabit and protect until Masau’u would return. There were strong instructions and serious warnings given and the people covenanted to keep the ceremonies and ordinances alive. The tablets are said to contain a description of the land in its entirety and delineate it’s dimensions all the way to the sea. There was a small tablet given to the Fire Clan which had a corner broken off and given to Pahan, the Elder White Brother who was to migrate toward the setting sun and wait there until he heard the cries of distress from the younger brother, or the Hopi themselves. He would come to their aid at the last moment and purify the land. He would prove his identity by fitting the two pieces of the tablet together. Pahaqna, is another name for the white brother. The name is associated with the plumed serpent Kukulkan of the Maya, and Quetzalcoatl of the Aztec. Some Hopi do not believe that Pahan is white, but Hopi.

The covenant that was given to the Hopi was that if they will keep the land pure, continue with the ceremonies and ordinances exactly and precisely as given to them they will ultimately be protected and will not be moved from their land. There are evidences that the American Southwest topography reveals a sacredness and specialness that corroborates the Hopi myth of a covenant land.

Randy Ripplinger has spent years investigating and researching the sacred nature of the Indian lands in the four corners region of the U.S. I listened to an astounding presentation on the uncanny connection that Hopi myth and legend has with the lands of the Southwest. The sacredness of the land is written in the geography of the land. Gary A. David writes in the Orion Zone, that the Hopi lands are a mirror of the stars and constellations in the sky. Of special importance is the Constellation Orion. The three mesas are precisely located and in an exact mirror image of the belt of Orion. Major ancient cities of the Anasazi located at Chaco Canyon, Mesa Verde, Canyon de Chelly , and other sites correspond as an exact mirror image to the relative locations of the other stars of the constellation Orion.

Why Orion? What is so important about Orion? It is one of the most prominent constellations in the sky and represents the great spirit Masauu to the Hopis. He is the one who guided them on their migration, brought them to the Three Mesas, and made the covenant with them. Orion is the great God Osiris to the Egyptians, which is a corruption of the role of Christ. To the Babylonians Orion is the great hunter Nimrod, the founder of the city, who attempted to become god challenging the Almighty to a contest to determine who was the Savior of the earth. To the Hopi, Orion is a symbol that things in heaven are a map of things on the earth. As believers in the prophesies of Joseph Smith, we learn that all things testify of Christ, both on the earth and in the heavens (Moses 6:63). The lands of the Hopi attest to that truth. As it is in Heaven so it is on Earth. The stars and the constellations tell a story, there is no such thing as coincidence.

There is a lot more to this story, but if you are interested, Randy Ripplinger will be giving a 2 hour presentation on March 21st, 3 pm to 5 pm at the Hurricane, Utah Civic Center as part of the Doctrine of Christ Conference.

I also want to bring your attention to an effort to help the Hopis with some badly needed maintenance on their homes. Many Hopis are living in stone homes that were originally built a thousand years ago. Although many alterations have been made using modern materials, many of their homes are in badly need of repair. A team of volunteers is making preparations to return to the third mesa in April to replace one roof, repair 2 other roofs, replace a floor with tile, build a staircase, and other repairs. A GoFundMe project has been created to raise $10,000 for materials. Here is the link: https://www.gofundme.com/f/hopi-help

If the Hopi’s are a remnant of Lehi, then they are part of what the Lord directed us to pay attention when He said, “Seek to recover the lost sheep remnant of this land and of Israel and no longer forsake them. Bring them unto me and teach them of my ways, to walk in them.” (Teachings and Commandments 158:11) This effort to help them with repairs is part of an ongoing effort to gain their trust, only with the motivation to befriend and help them.

“I can see nothing,” said I, handing it back to my friend.
“On the contrary, Watson, you can see everything. You fail, however, to reason from what you see. You are too timid in drawing your inferences.” (Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson from, “The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle“, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.)

In my last post I wrote about the Ark, the Veil, and the Deep. I described the “Deep” as a fearsome place go to, and that, “The deep is a code word or metaphor of what lies beyond the veil. To venture into the deep is to drink generously of the waters of revelation and receive from the treasure house of heaven that is the Holy Spirit, or mind of God.” I should have also said that the deep is the mystery and knowledge of all things. In Doctrine and Covenants 88:6-13, the Lord reveals to Joseph Smith how Christ comprehended everything and descended below all things in order that he could become all things, the Light of Truth. The Lord describes the light of Christ and how it permeates everything: “Which light proceedeth forth from the presence of God to fill the immensity of space– The light which is in all things, which giveth life to all things, which is the law by which all things are governed, even the power of God who sitteth upon his throne, who is in the bosom of eternity, who is in the midst of all things.” We think of the deep as dark, but Christ describes it as Light!

The deep is a fearsome place to us because to venture there is to experience the absolute truth of things, which can be fearful and strange to the human mind. Light shines and reveals what is hidden in the dark. The author of Job writes, “He discovereth deep things out of darkness, and bringeth out to light the shadow of death.” (Job 12:22) In our minds, in the way we think, some knowledge is relegated to the category of darkness because we are like the Isrealites described by Isaiah whose hearts were fat, their ears were heavy, and their eyes were shut, and chose not to comprehend it, so it remains dark to them and to us (Isaiah 6:9-10). Some things we are told are mysteries and it is not meant for humans to know. Rubbish! The fact was the Isrealites heard and saw many things exposed from the deep, but understood not because they chose not to understand; they “perceive not”. The deep is a fearsome place because it utterly changes one’s perspective. If you have invested all your time and efforts in making a place for yourself in this world, by learning the rules that dictate how to get ahead, you don’t want to give that up. Also, perhaps, the deep is fearsome to us because all of our transgressions and weaknesses are laid before us in all their truth. There is an intense existential fear of the unknown, especially if it has the potential of exposing you and changing your belief system.

The Deep is the mind of God. It surrounds us, it permeates all existence, and we move through it, existing like a fish in the medium of water, but unaware. It is the matrix, if you will, that lies just beyond our perception, that orchestrates things, influences events and thought. It is the substance of faith. I suppose you could say that the deep is a place, but not in the sense that you have to travel to it like you would board a train or airplane to get there. It is more a state of mind or spirit, a dimension that co-exists with our own, but we have been shut off from experiencing it. The idea that you have to enter an ark to travel there is only a symbol, a thought device to explain to our finite minds something that is difficult to grasp. The immensity of space is a fearsome concept that the human mind has a difficulty grasping. How long is eternity? How far is infinite space? If the universe is finite, what is beyond that? The mind shudders at such questions and answers.

Christ tells us how to access the deep, the light and knowledge that remains hidden from the world. In a more detailed telling of the Saviors conversation with Nicodemus in “The Testimony of John” John writes this:

“There was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a member of the Sanhedrin, who was in darkness and came to visit with Jesus. He sought wisdom from Jesus and said, Enlightened heavenly guide, some of us know you have descended from the High Council of Heaven because signs confirm you have authority from God. Jesus answered and said to him, In the name of Father Ahman I testify there is a new dispensation begun. You must accept the ordinances of this new Light or you cannot hope to progress to know God.”

“Nicodemus said to him, If I believe this, can I ascend in this life, or will it be accomplished only in the afterlife? Jesus answered, In the name of Father Ahman I say to you, Except you receive the ordinance of baptism to join the new dispensation, and thereby forsake your sins and receive forgiveness and an outpouring of the Spirit, you will not ascend to God’s presence in this life or the life to come.“ (Testimony of John 2:1-2)

Christ spells it out: 1) receive baptism into the new dispensation (covenant) 2) Repent and 3) receive baptism of fire. If this is accomplished then the doors or gates to the treasure house of knowledge and light will be opened to you. The Savior continues:

“All who are devoted to the ambitions of the flesh remain imprisoned by the flesh, and those who are born anew through the ordinances, receive the Spirit of Truth, and are able to know the record of Heaven by the Spirit of Truth. Do not question if what I say is true because the Spirit of Truth confers light, knowledge, and understanding of the mysteries of Heaven within every soul who receives it.“

Nicodemus questions what the Lord is telling him and Christ explains why it is so difficult to enter into the path and obtain access to the Holy Spirit and eternal life. These words are just as apt to our condition as they were to Nicodemus and the Jewish mindset.

“…you who lead Israel fight against it and you refuse to humble yourselves. If I offered you a position of respect and authority, as you now hold, you would believe. But because I testify only of heavenly things that require faith and sacrifice, you refuse to believe? I tell you, if you want to ascend to the Heavenly Council, you must first acknowledge and give heed to the messengers sent by them.“

Here is Nicodemus’ problem with accepting what Christ is telling him- he loves the world too much. The two worlds, the mortal physical world and the spiritual one do not integrate well. You can understand the one but not the other, because they are so diametrically opposite in the laws of physics that govern how they work. You can travel instantaneously in the spirit world, but not in this world. Existence is eternal in the spirit world, not here. All knowledge and truth is accessible to you in the “deep”, but this world is filled with deception, half truths, and lies, mingled with scripture. Those who are comfortable with the way things are in this world will not be at ease in the spirit world.

The Nature of Our World

During the 16^th and 17^th centuries in Europe there was a philosophical discussion about the nature of existence. How can we be sure that anything exists outside of ourselves? Rene Descartes famously stated that, “I think, therefore I am.” It is a given that an individual can know with certainty that he/she exists, but because our senses can be faulty, we can never be absolutely certain about the nature of things outside of ourselves.

This may seem like a nonsense argument, but consider a recent TED talk titled “Your brain hallucinates your conscious reality”, given by Anil Seth (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a54QHJYC8lM). The basic idea is that our minds, or brains, have a hard time with uncertainty. If we experience or see/sense something we don’t understand our mind is unable to process it, so it makes something up.  The basis for interpreting something our mind doesn’t understand is to explain it as best it can with past experiences or something we had been taught, something with which we are already familiar. Perhaps that is why St. John explains his experience at the Sea of Galilee with the risen Lord in mythic terms. That is also why people have such a hard time with Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon, Book of Abraham, etc. How do you explain spiritual things to a people steeped in worldly religion? They will judge by the judgement of the world. Uncertainty and paradox surrounds us, but the world provides convenient explanations anyway for things that seem out of order.

When you consider that at one time we had to experienced everything for the first time and had to rely on previous knowledge or experience to gain an understanding, you get the sense that we have created a world that is built on sand. In the beginning we had to rely on some external source, like parents and teachers, to explain things to us. So, our entire experiential life and understanding is built upon supposition and assumption. Everything. In a sense we and all of our fellow humans have co-created a world based on a collective sensory interpretation. God has stepped in from time to time to course correct us, but for the most part has left us to sort things out using our wills.

As we get older we are able to make some sound and logical judgments about the world on our own, but if you think about it, our judgement is still fundamentally grounded in what we have been taught. You will always judge things by what you have already experienced, laying bricks on a foundation that has already been set.  I will give you an example. Each person raised in their respective culture has an orientation in the way they perceive the world. If you had been born in Medieval Europe you would believe that trial by ordeal or trial by being dunked in a lake was perfectly logical and correct. You would be superstitious and believe in witchcraft -that witches and their curses are the cause of disease, mischief, and mayhem. You would also believe that sickness was caused by imbalance of the humors. Science, basic rights of civil liberties, and hygiene practices would be incomprehensible to you.

There are other ways that culture affects us. Language itself impacts the brains of developing children; it even impacts the way you think about things. Benjamin Whorf studied the Hopi language in the 1940’s and found that the Hopi language shapes the way the Hopi’s think. You are captive to the milieu of family and culture; you cannot escape it. It shapes your thinking and dictates your belief system. Why then do we rely on only what we can see, touch, and hear. Even religious people have a hard time experiencing spirituality.

The author, H.G. Wells published a story, “The Land of the Blind”, about a man named Nunez who is attempting to climb a peak in the Andes in Peru. He becomes lost and stumbles into a hidden valley that is populated by a group of people who had lived there in isolation for hundreds of years. Large earthquakes and landslides had sealed off the valley and prevented anyone from entering or leaving the valley, until Nunez stumbled upon them. He discovers that the entire population is blind. A disease or genetic mutation had rendered all of the population blind from birth over the centuries. Nunez thought that he could teach them and become a ruler over them, for he knew of the old saying, “In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.” But things didn’t work out the way he thought they would. The people were not helpless, in fact they had evolved their other senses in such a degree that sight was unnecessary. In fact they were fairly prosperous and felt that sightedness was a liability. Over time they came to consider that Nunez was the handicapped one, and they decided that they needed to remove his eyes because they thought it was a source of his failures in their society. So, he left their valley only after a very harrowing experience escaping from them by climbing the cliffs that surrounded the valley.

All of this points to the fact that your senses can be a liability to you if you depend entirely on what those five senses tell you. I believe there is a spiritual sense or quality that is undeveloped in us because we tend to emphasize the physical. Until you realize this you are entirely captive to the cultural biases you are raised with, which have been formulated almost exclusively by observation and adaptation to the world. You can’t get away from the cultural influence you are born with. So I guess in this view I am a behaviorist. But, I also believe that there are other influences, the Light of Christ for one, that will provide other evidences to correct our belief system and entice us to embrace truth if we desire. When you approach through the veil and are invited into the deep you will not be able to experience it with your five senses. It will be with your mind, or intelligence- your spirit. You didn’t have your eyes or ears in the preexistence, why would you think that you would need them to experience the universe of light?

This all condenses to this one thought: If you think the universe works a certain way, you are probably wrong. The only thing you can be certain of, using your five senses, is that you exist and there is an external world with other people and objects, but you really don’t and can’t understand them because you are experiencing them second hand through biological processes. Philosophers will debate this idea, but I maintain that you can know absolute truth. This is because, as prophets tell us, the Holy Spirit testifies of truth in a way that defies your rational mind’s ability to deny.

“Enough is underway that rejecting it means you prefer darkness to light. Humble yourself and admit the prophets foretold the very things now underway; repent and be baptized and the Spirit of Truth will open your eyes (your spiritual eyes). If you want greater light, you will obey this instruction. If you refuse, then you never meant it when you greeted me as an enlightened heavenly guide.” (Testimony of John, 2:4)

What does this little philosophical discussion mean to you? It means that all your opinions, all your assumptions, all your judgements are subject to interpretation. Our western culture, scientific based upbringing has taught us that what you see is what you get. We are taught that only our sight, hearing, and science (which is based on observation) is reliable, that spirit as a concept is subjective, and that the entire universe is material in nature. This idea, this world view, colors the way we think of ourselves and the world. It doesn’t matter if you are a Baptist, a Catholic, a Mormon, Islam, Hindu, Atheist, or even a believer in the Doctrine of Christ, your understanding of things is infected by culture and religious belief.  Even if you reject your culture, change your religion, and decide to go live in isolation on an island,  you are basing your belief system, not on acceptance, but on repudiation. You will continue to compare your present experience to what you had rejected; your past life still impacts your world view and your decisions. In the Fellowship world in which I mingle, people are still focused on what the Mormon church is doing, even though they have left that church. There is a tendency to want to do things antithetical to the way “The Church” does it. They can’t leave it alone. I like to think that I have moved on from this way of thinking, but, of course, I am caught in the same trap of thinking.

The Awakening

And so, what is a person to do with this understanding? How do you harness the knowledge and power that is all around us in the Light of Christ? First of all I would say – believe. Believe Christ. I want to tell a story that was related to me by a friend from Colorado that happened a few years ago at the beginning of his awakening to a real relationship to Christ. I will call him Rob, because we need to keep the names of people involved private. Keep in mind that faith is awareness or knowledge and that the universe, or should I say creation, doesn’t operate the way we think it does. There is a power that resides in the deep that hovers all around us constantly streaming light and knowledge/truth. We only need to believe and learn to tap into it, to receive it and be invited into it. Christ is the gateway, He stands “at the horizon of the morning star”, “at the sacred entry”, beckoning us to approach the veil.

One day Rob was praying very earnestly to understand why miracles, healings and gifts of the spirit weren’t as common place as they were in the times of Christ and the apostles. The answer he received was both surprising and forceful, “If you want healings and miracles, you must perform them!” Rob’s reaction was, “What?? Lord, what do you mean?” No answer. It took awhile for Rob to contemplate and come to an understanding that the reason miracles were not common in this day and age was because of the absence of belief. He also came to understand that if a healing was needed, the Lord had given him permission to do it, given that specific permission to proceed was granted. Rob would soon be given a test to prove these things.

Rob was a scout leader in the LDS Ward he lived. He had been planning to do a week long canoe trip down a river in western Colorado with his scouts and several adults. He had conducted several river trips with other large groups over the years which had all been very successful, but as he was planning this trip there was a foreboding that something was going to go terribly wrong. He wondered if he should cancel the trip. He spoke to his wife about the feelings he was having about the trip and she confirmed that she also had some feelings of dread. Rob took his concern to the Lord and asked what he should do. The Lord told him that he should continue with his plans and that something was going to happen on the canoe trip, but the outcome would rest entirely in Rob’s hands. Well, that really scared him.

In the weeks and days leading up to the trip, Rob emphasized safety to the boys and to the adults to the extent that they thought he was being a bit overboard. When they packed up and drove out to the embarkation point on the river they prayed. As they got to the site and prepared the canoes to go into the water he gathered all the boys and the adults and had another prayer. The adults were all wondering, “Whats with all the praying?”

The first day went great, no incidents, everyone had fun. On the second day, at the end of paddling about 10 miles they stopped at a place where there was a large meadow on the side of the river to camp. Within a few minutes of setting up camp, four of the boys became seriously sick. They became almost comatose and could not move because of the pain which they felt all over their bodies. Rob understood that something was seriously wrong and that they may have to call for a medivac helicopter to transport the boys to a hospital. They were a hundred miles from the nearest hospital inside a canyon with 500 foot cliffs on both sides with no roads for miles around. Rob spoke to Jim, who was the ward young mens president, and told him how seriously the boys were sick and needed priesthood blessings. Jim had no idea that the boys were that sick and was a little hesitant to give them blessings. My guess is that he had never experienced miraculous healings through laying on of hands. He agreed, however, to gather everyone around. He told the boys and the adult leaders that they needed to give the boys priesthood blessings and assigned each of the adults to perform the blessings.

Rob took a moment to talk to the boys and told them that the four boys were really sick and that they needed to have faith the blessings would heal the boys. He asked them if they had faith they could be healed. They all kind of nodded their heads, but the adults all looked at each other. Jim would later confide that he was concerned for the boys faith if the blessings didn’t work.

Within 20 minutes of being blessed the boys went from completely bedridden and unable to even speak, to walking around and asking if dinner was ready. Rob went off into the woods to thank the Lord for his great mercy.

The next day the group traveled another 10 miles on the river and started looking for a place to camp for the night. Rob was in the lead boat and found the spot he planned to camp. They beached the canoe on a sand bar and jumped out. As soon as they had their feet on the shore they were attacked by swarms of mosquitos. They came in swarms as thick as the smoke of a camp fire. He received hundreds of bites within seconds and jumped back into the boat setting out as fast as possible to the middle of the river. After 4 more attempts to find a place they could camp that wasn’t occupied by swarms of mosquitos, the party beached on a small sand bar in the middle of the river away from the swarms to figure out what to do.

Rob took Jim aside and told him they needed to have one of the boys pray for guidance to find a place they could camp for the night. Again Jim was reluctant, but he did ask one of the boys to pray. As the whole party gathered around, Rob took the boy aside and told him he needed to pray for a spot they could camp where the mosquitos wouldn’t be a problem. In his prayer, the scout asked the Lord to let them find a place where there were “no mosquitos”. Jim confided later that when the young man prayed for no mosquitos he grimaced. The boys prayer seemed too extreme to him and he was afraid the boys would be disappointed.

Everyone got back in the canoes and started down the river one more time. Rob says they went around a bend a few hundred yards down river and saw a perfect place with a large dry sand bar. As they landed they were not attacked by swarms of mosquitos. In fact, they found there wasn’t a single mosquito. The air was completely clear. Later Rob went up the side of the mountain to find a place he could get cell phone reception. As he walked through the heavy brush, he was sure that he would attract the mosquito swarms, but there was not a single mosquito. What a dramatic answer to their prayer. All of the adults and the young men knew that the Lord had intervened to help them, answering their prayer request precisely. Thank goodness for the faith of the young men, because the faith of the adults would not have had the same results.

Prayer is the key to accessing the powers of heaven. Faith and belief is the juice that lubricates the door hinges. I like to think that faith is the image I hold in my mind of the possibilities. The image I hold in my mind is an active creative conceptualization. After all, if it is the mind that we use to connect with the spirit realm, not the eyes and ears, then the images or impressions created in our minds is the substance of faith. I think it is important to accept that what you sometimes shrugged off as the pure imagination of an active mind was actually the Holy Spirit, the Mind of the Father, trying to communicate with you. Your mind can be influenced from one of two sources, the Holy Spirit or the Adversary. This fledgling mindful creativity we experience is the same process that the Lord used to create the world. He created the world spiritually, conceptually, before the world was created in the physical dimension it now resides.

I find it amazing that faithful church-going Latter Day Saint Mormons lack belief in the power to heal through priesthood blessings. It is an example that faith and belief has diminished greatly from among the Latter Day Saints. They are so used to seeing priesthood blessings as nothing more than simple prayers of comfort. They have lost the ability to draw down the powers of heaven to perform miracles, healings, and spiritual gifts. That is evident to me when I hear sermons from General Authorities who say things like, “You must have the faith not to be healed.” Or you hear blessings being given where the person giving the blessing says something like, “If it is the Lord’s will that you be healed.” You should already know the Lord’s will before you give the blessing so you have full confidence that you can say, “In the name of Christ, BE HEALED!”

You must be willing to venture into the unknown, to take the risk. Be bold, be brash, seek for the things the rest of the world says is forbidden. Persist in knocking at the door of the veil. Believe what is revealed to you, because it will not match your expectation. And pay attention to a gentle summons that come to all of us. If you are not careful you may be missing an invitation.

Here you are, existing in this classroom we call the world. This classroom, unlike many others you have sat in, is pretty unique. The laws of physics and chemistry apply only to this classroom, not to the unseen universe that surrounds you. Because your memories have been suspended while you are in this classroom it is the perfect place for you to exercise your will apart from God. You are free to believe in anything you want and indulge in the physical and material gifts that are provided to you, to the extent that you can become “imprisoned by the flesh”. Or, you can use your class time to find out what this course, you have been enrolled in, is all about. What lies outside the classroom? And once you pass this course, wow, the next classroom waiting on the other side is…well…much deeper.

There is a cryptic account in The Testimony of John“(TOJ) 12:14-16 that I want to explore. I have been thinking about the meaning of these three paragraphs, or verses, since first reading them over two years ago. The Gospel of John tells the same story, but it is told as a simple story which we have generally understood entirely at face value. The TOJ, however, reveals that the story is really a parable and there is a much deeper, more mysterious story to tell. In the Gospel of John chapter 21 we learn that after the resurrection of the Savior the Disciples are told to go to Galilee and wait. The Lord appears to them there. Peter is fishing in a boat, sees the Lord and jumps into the lake. TOJ tells the same tale, but opens our minds to a greater mystery of what really happened there. Here are the three paragraphs:

“ After this Jesus showed Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias. This is an account of that event: There were together Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael from the city of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two others, also disciples. Simon Peter said to them, I ascend to the deep. They responded to him, We go with you. They went forth, and entered into the ark; and they could not grasp anything. “

“But at the horizon of the morning star, Jesus stood at the sacred entry; however the disciples could not recognize it was Jesus for the glory about Him. Then Jesus asked them, Children, have you celebrated the ritual meal? They answered Him, No. And he directed them and said, Approach the veil to the east and you will find what you seek. They approached the veil as instructed, and now they were overcome by the multitude of what was received. Therefore the disciple Jesus loved said to Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he quickly clothed himself ( for he did not wear the apparel), and cast himself into the great deep. And the other disciples came into the ark and parted also the veil ( for they were not bound by the limits of this world).“

“As they ascended, they saw a fire burning at the offering place and the Flesh Offering was upon it, who is also the Bread of Life. Jesus said to them, Rise above the flesh you now occupy, and Simon Peter ascended, and drew the veil open, and there were ministering a hundred, and then fifty, and then three; and for these many who they beheld, yet the veil remained open.” ( Testimony of John 12:14-16)

I don’t pretend to know the meaning of these three verses, but I have done a lot of research and reading, along with some praying, to try and make sense of them. I was really stumped as to their meaning, but as I studied and read some understanding started to coalesce around these verses, at least to my mind. So, this post is an attempt to share some things I have learned to hopefully shed some light on these mysteries. At the least I hope it causes you to think about these things and do some of your own research.

It is obvious that these verses are mystical in nature, following the doctrine that some things should remain hidden from unbelievers. The TOJ has a lot in common with the Gospel of St. John in the New Testament, following the same general framework of the story of Christ’s ministry. The TOJ, however, reveals knowledge about the purpose of Christ’s life that has remained hidden from the Christian world until now. It has a more esoteric tone in describing the life of Jesus than the other accounts we have of His life. The purpose for using this mode of writing is to hide knowledge from the uninitiated or unprepared, but allow enough of a tease to cause some people to want to dig further. In order to discern the true meaning of accounts like the one we are exploring in chapter 12, you must have prepared yourself to receive and act upon the light they reveal, otherwise it is only a strange parable to you.

Before I jump in to expound on the cryptic elements of this account I want to talk about the theme or purpose of The Testimony of John. The Lord had promised in a previous revelation given to Joseph Smith that if we are faithful the full account of John’s testimony would be revealed (D&C 93: 18). The Testimony of John is the fulfillment of that promise. John’s Testimony and his Gospel were written to help all of us know Christ and the Father. Not just believe, or have faith in them, but actually come to know them personally. The express purpose of The Testimony of John is stated in paragraph 3 of the first chapter of the book: “As many as perceived the light in Him, to them He gave knowledge to enable them to follow the path to become like Him, begotten children in the family of the Most High God.” John wrote the book so that we might follow Christ and know what we must do to follow Him. On that note I think it is important we understand how crucial it is to comprehend everything John writes about in his testimony, including what John is teaching us in verses 14 and 15 in chapter 12.

Here are the cryptic elements, as I see it, in these three paragraphs:

• Paragraph 14
• There are seven “initiates” mentioned: Peter, Thomas, Nathaniel (or Bartholomew), James, John, and two other disciples.
• Peter declares he is going to ascend into the deep.
• The others declare they will join him and they entered the ark.
• They couldn’t grasp anything.

• Paragraph 15
• Jesus stood at the sacred entrance, by the horizon of the morning star
• Disciples did not recognize Jesus
• Jesus asks if they have had the sacred meal, the disciples answer, “No”
• Jesus tells them to approach the veil in the East and they will receive answers.
• They approach the veil and are overcome by knowledge
• When Peter learns it is the Lord, he clothes himself and casts himself into the deep
• The other disciples come to the ark and part the veil.

Paragraph 16

• The Bread of Life
• Rise above the flesh
• The 100, the 50, and the 3
• The veil remains open

Who Are the Initiates?

There are seven individuals that participate in the event John writes about. Peter appears to be the leader in this adventure, taking the principal part that the others follow. Peter may be alluding to this incident in 2 Peter 1:19. The second named participant is Thomas, who has some very curious credentials credited to him in early Christian writings and tradition.The Gnostics believed he was a twin of Jesus and was party to all the secret knowledge that Jesus takes him in His confidence to tell him. In The Gospel of John 14:5, Jesus explains that he was going away to prepare a heavenly home for his followers, and that one day they would join him there. Thomas asks, “Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?” In the Gnostic Gospel of Thomas, this event is repeated with Thomas asking, “Show us the place where you are, since it is necessary for us to seek it” (Gospel of Thomas (24)). TOJ 12:14-16 is the fulfillment of Christ’s promise; the seven disciples are shown the way to the place where the Savior dwells in the heavens. Christ is facilitating their introduction into the “deep”.

Nathaniel is the third disciple that is mentioned in the text. Nathaniel is also known as Bartholomew in the New Testament. There is a Gnostic book attributed to him called the Gospel of Bartholomew, in which yet another account exists of the events that occur after Christ is resurrected that is very similar to the story John tells in his testimony. Gnostic texts, like the Gospel of Bartholomew, are primarily sourced from the Nag Hammadi Library discovered in 1947 in the desert in Egypt. Not all are authentic apostolic writings, consisting mostly of heretical writings. Even so, they contain echoes and shadows of true principles originally taught by the primitive Christians, but rejected by theologians and lost to us. And since we can see in the TOJ a second witness of Bartholomew’s account, we must assume that there is some truth in this Gnostic work.

The sons of Zebedee are of course, James and John. But the last two disciples are unnamed. Why? Personally, I want to believe it is because they were women. Bartholomew testifies to that, Mary being one of them (Gospel of Bartholomew, chap. 3 and 4).

What is the Deep?

• Genesis 1:2: “and darkness was upon the face of the deep“.
• Genesis 7:11: “all the fountains of the great deep were broken up“
• Psalms 69:15: “Let not the waterflood overflow me, neither let the deep swallow me up…”
• Psalms 107:23-24: “They that go down to the sea in ships,…These see the works of the Lord, and His wonders in the deep.”

The Old Testament writers referred to the oceans and the great waters that surround the islands and lands as the “deep”. Noah and his family were saved from the “deep” which is the embodiment of the the waters that surround the world and the sky. The waters continue into the heavens and surround the universe behind the firmament. There is also a sense that the deep holds mysteries and wonders that man is not able to see. The deep is not only a place of mystery but a place of terror. In Luke 8:31, the devils, called Legion, plead with the Lord to not send them into the “deep”. “And they besought him that he would not command them to go out into the deep.”

The people of the ancient near east, including the Egyptians and the Hebrews, believed that the firmament was a structure that surrounded and protected the earth from the waters that permeated all space beyond. Water that pours down upon the earth as rain originates from beyond the firmament. The flood waters that covered the earth in Noah’s day also came from beyond the firmament when the flood gates and coverts were opened to allow the waters to come crashing to the earth.

To the Jews the Temple and its environs symbolized a map of the universe. The sanctuary in the temple symbolized the creation of the world. The focus of the world was like the eye having three concentric layers – The pupil, iris, and white.  First, the temple and the whole city of Jerusalem, second the land of Israel, and finally the rest of the world and the waters and oceans that constitute the deep surrounds it all.

As a metaphor, the concept of the deep is a powerful symbol of the unknown. It is full of meaning that has a broad and profound hold upon man’s imagination. Why are devils afraid of it?

“When the Holy One…was about to create the world, He detached one precious stone from underneath His Throne of Glory and plunged it into the Abyss, one end of it remaining fastened therein whilst the other end stood out above; and this other and superior head constituted the nucleus of the world, the point out of which the world started, spreading itself to right and left and into all directions, and by which it is sustained. That nucleus, that stone, is called sh’thyiah (foundation), as it was the starting point of the world.  (The Zohar, Vol IV, p. 259 2^nd ed., Soncino Press, 1984)

Another word used for the “Deep” by the Hebrews is the “Abyss”. The Zohar, a late Jewish commentary on the book of Genesis, describes the deep as the great Abyss from which God is able to draw elements to create the earth. The Abyss is a great maelstrom of chaos, where there is no order, no organization. There is no place to stand to orient oneself. It is the place where creative potential sits waiting for Gods to organize and order. The devils fear to go back to it for their fate there is dissolution. To go there and come back from it with one’s sanity requires that a soul be knowledgeable enough and powerful enough to withstand the chaotic forces that have existed for eternity. The other way to experience it is to have God’s protection – the Ark.

So why go there? Why would the disciples want to go there? Joseph wrote a letter to the church from his cell in Liberty Jail in March 1839. In it he wrote: “Your mind, O man, if you will lead a soul unto salvation, must stretch as high as the utmost Heavens, and search into and contemplate the lowest considerations of the darkest abyss, and expand upon the broad considerations of eternal expanse.”

Here is a modern description of what one man describes as a place akin to what we are talking about:

“…one evening there began to come moments when I could feel moving into my mind, like a physical presence, the conviction that all was quite absurd. It made no sense at all that anything should exist. Something like nausea, but deeper and frightening, would grow in my stomach and chest but also at the core of my spirit, progressing like vertigo until in desperation I must jump up or talk suddenly of trivial things to break the spell and regain balance. (Eugene England, Dialogues With Myself, p.195)

Another account that describes a place very much like an “abyss”:

“When I was a teenager I had a nightmare that was more terrifying and real than anything I have ever experienced. I was taken to a place that was not on this earth, or any other planet. It was pitch black and empty, but seemingly alive–its hard to describe. I was left alone with no place to stand or even orient myself. There was no one there who would answer my cries. I was utterly and completely alone. I had this same dream about ten times over the course of a couple years, and it always terrified me. I have since come to equate the place with the outer darkness described in the Doctrine and Covenants. I can still remember it vividly even though it occurred decades ago.”

These feelings of terror of being alone in the universe is described in some intellectual circles as existential anxiety. It begs the question, Why is there existence and not nothing? These experiences highlight the notion that we are completely dependent on a being, a God who “…has created you from the beginning, and is preserving you from day to day, by lending you breath, that ye may live and move and do according to your own will, and even supporting you from one moment to another…” (Mosiah 2:21). It is God that holds back the destructive chaos that threatens to consume us, that surrounds us and governs the inclination of things to descend into disorder or entropy. Entropy and disorder is the natural order of things without God’s influence.

The Vision of Abraham, an early Christian writing of the late 1st century AD, describes a vision that Abraham had in which he was shown the dwelling place of God, and the devil. His visit to the abyss was so frightening and chaotic to Abraham that he could not make sense of it. He could not put any order to it in his mind and had to cried out for help several times.

The Gospel of Bartholomew says this about the deep:

“And Jesus answered and said unto them: Ask me what ye will that I should teach you, and I will show it you. For yet seven days, and I ascend unto my Father, and I shall no more be seen of you in this likeness. But they, yet doubting, said unto him: Lord, show us the deep (abyss) according unto thy promise. And Jesus said unto them: It is not good for you to see the deep: notwithstanding, if ye desire it, according to my promise, come, follow me and behold. And he led them away into a place that is called Cherubim , that is the place of truth. And he beckoned unto the angels of the West and the earth was rolled up like a volume of a book and the deep was revealed unto them. And when the apostles saw it they fell on their faces upon the earth. But Jesus raised them up, saying: Said I not unto you, ‘It is not good for you to see the deep’. And again he beckoned unto the angels, and the deep was covered up.” (Gospel of Bartholomew V, para. 3-9)

The deep is a vast and infinite place. Everything beyond the physical world, beyond the veil, is unknown territory to the mortal man and woman. God dwells there somewhere in a vast dimension which is His dominion, and devils will be consigned there in the dimension that contains the abyss. The deep is the place where all knowledge can be found and where the material for creation is sourced. It is a place that is wonderful, but forbidding and terrible to the human mind. The deep is a code word or metaphor of what lies beyond the veil. To venture into the deep is to drink generously of the waters of revelation and receive from the treasure house of heaven that is the Holy Spirit, or mind of God.

The Ark

The Lord established a covenant with Noah before he entered the Ark. (Gen. 6:18). The Zohar explains that the Lord was able to establish the covenant because of Noah’s righteousness, and because of his righteousness he was allowed with his family to enter into the ark.

“Thou shalt come into the Ark. For had Noah not been Righteous, he could not have entered the ark, as only the Righteous one can become united with the ark, as Eleazer said: ‘As long as men remain attached to that ark and do not loosen their hold of it, there is no nation or language in the world that can harm them.” Zohar, Vol 1, p.219, [66b]

The Ark of the Covenant, which was symbolic of the Ark that Noah built, was placed in the Holy of Holies in the temple and represented the throne of God. His presence in the Holy place was symbolized by the smoke of the incense that was burned by the High Priest and represented the Shekinah, which was the fire and smoke that guarded the camp of the Israelites during their exodus from Egypt. As long as the Ark of the Covenant was present in the temple and the people were righteous the nation was under the protection of the Lord God.

The symbol of the Ark of the Covenant and Noah’s ark is that of a vehicle, a conveyance, or a protection that not only provided safety for the righteous from physical harm but is also symbolic in allowing the righteous mortal a means of traveling through the veil and across the deep to the dwelling place of the Almighty. It is symbolic of the connection we can have with Christ and the Father. It is interesting to me that there is a strong tradition among many ancient cultures that the soul takes a journey to the spirit world after death conveyed on a boat or ark. In facsimile 2 in the Book of Abraham, the throne of God is depicted on a boat or Ark (Fig.3) and the firmament (Fig. 4)(See note 1) is depicted as Horus (the son) journeying in a boat. In Egyptian mythology, the soul is carried on its journey through eternity traveling through the cosmos on a bark or boat. (H. Nibley, Message of the Joseph Smith Papyri, Figure 47). The Greeks also envisioned the soul being transported in a boat across the river Styx to Hades.

It is clear to me that John is using a well known mythology to tell the story of what happened on the shores of the Sea of Galilee after Christ’s resurrection. He is using the same technique in his writing that Jesus used in his discourses, that is, he was explaining some unexplainable things using metaphor and parable.

There is an account in Mathew 14 where the apostles are sailing across the lake in a big storm. Jesus walks out on the lake and comes to join them. Peter sees the Lord and asks if he could join the Lord on the water. The Lord beckons him to come out on the water, which Peter does. But he soon loses faith and begins to sink below the waves. Christ reaches out and saves Peter from sinking into the deep. In the 12th chapter of the Testimony of John, the apostles are gathered on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. They enter the Ark to ascend into the deep. As they journey, Peter sees the Lord at the sacred entry and he plunges himself into the “great deep”, in remembrance of the episode with Christ walking on the water. Only now, Peter has perfect faith that Christ will not let him sink or become lost in oblivion in the deep.

The Ark is Christ. He invites us to come and drink of the waters and partake of the bread of life. And then as we approach Him he guides us and stands ready to protect us. Like Noah, and Peter, we must repent and be able to be counted among the righteous to enjoy the protection of our Father in Heaven.

The Constellation Argos (Ark)

There was a constellation in the ancient skies that is no longer shown today in modern sky maps. The constellation was called Argos Navis after the mythological ship (Ark?) that Jason and his men used to sail the sea in search of the golden fleece. It is located just on the horizon in the southeast portion of the sky. It is not visible from most of North America and Europe today, because of procession, but in ancient times it was higher up in the sky and visible from most of the Mediterranean lands. This constellation has been broken up into three different constellation on today’s star maps, but anciently it was a well known constellation. The Ancient Greek poet, Aratus in his work, Phaenomena, writes this about Argos Navis:

“Beside the tail of the Great Dog (ie: Canis Major) the ship Argo is hauled stern-foremost (backwards)….Partly in mist (ie: The Milky Way) is she borne along, and starless from the brow even to the mast, but the hull is wholly wreathed in light. Loosed is her rudder and is set beneath the hind feet of the dog (Constellation Canis Major) as he runs in front.” (Aratus, Phaenomena, translated by G.R. Mair, Loeb Classic Library, 1921)

To me, what is interesting about this description by the poet Aratus is the connections it has to our story by John. By the way, Aratus is the Greek poet that the Apostle Paul quotes in Acts 17:28: “For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of our own poets have said, ‘For we are also his offspring‘.” Aratus was not an astronomer, but he put into prose the writings of a more ancient astronomer, Eudoxus, who reportedly was very knowledgeable of Egyptian astronomy. Bare with me on this because it leads to some pretty interesting connections pointing to the nature and purpose of the Ark, the Deep, a vision of God, and how the ancients perceived the search for meaning in the heavens.

The Argo, which I will refer to as the Ark for clarifications sake, sits on the great river, the Milky Way, that makes its way through the heavens. The Milky Way is the river course that the Ark uses to journey through the deep. It also represents the veil that separates the world from the heavens. The Ark is the gateway between the two worlds, the way through the curtain that one must pass through to cross the deep. It is significant that it was positioned right at the southern horizon at its apex in the spring, with its prow pointing to the east and its stern towards the west.

The Greek story of Jason and the Argonauts journeying on the Argo to find the Golden Fleece lends some pertinent details to our story in TOJ. The fact that Jason is seeking the Golden Fleece in order to legitimize his claim to kingship has similarities to the purpose that Peter and the disciples have for getting in the ark and going to the deep. Jason, perhaps in following Noah’s example, also uses a dove by releasing it to fly through the Dardanelles to help him through the treacherous straits. Myths and legends carry strains of older stories as cultures interact with each other. So we see patterns that emerge in the themes of myths of all the peoples along the shores of the Mediterranean and Mesopotamia, including the Hebrew peoples. In the story of Jason, we see images of Noah and his journey. In the story of Peter and the other disciples in TOJ we see images of what Noah, Jason, Abraham, Isaiah, and others experienced.

The East, The Horizon of the Morning Star

“But at the horizon of the morning star, Jesus stood at the sacred entry;”

The sacred entry to the heaven is in the east. In Egyptian Temple Theology, the great pylons at the entrance of the massive temples represent the entrance to the sacred place which is always depicted to be in the East. The two great pillars of the Temple at Jerusalem, Boaz and Jachin also symbolize entrance into the sacred precincts of the Temple of Solomon and are emblematic of the Egyptian pylons. The pillars of the Temple are the mountains that bracket the entrance way, or gate, where the morning stars and the sun first appear on the horizon.

Christ is the gateway. He is also the gatekeeper. No one enters into the realm beyond the gate without His express permission. The purpose of the temple is to prepare us to meet Christ in the flesh and ascend. The great pillars are symbolic of the gateway in the East that hints at such a great promise.

Sacred Meal and Sacred Clothing

The sacred meal appears to be the sacrament which John describes in his Gospel chapter 21. “As they ascended, they saw a fire burning at the offering place and the Flesh Offering was upon it, who is also the Bread of Life.” (verse 16) But, it isn’t clear here if partaking of the sacred meal is essential to prepare them for entering the deep, or the object of entering the deep is to receive the sacred meal. If I were to take a stab at interpreting this verse I would say that as they looked toward the Eastern gateway they saw the sun arise, a bright burning presence, and in that brilliant presence the Flesh Offering, who is Christ, was there.

The parable of the Marriage of the King’s son in Matthew 22 seems to be at play here. Guests are bidden to come to the feast, but the first invited reject the invitation and the second group invited accept and come. Some have the wedding garment, but one man doesn’t and is thrown out. Enoch declares that he “beheld the heavens open, and I was clothed upon with glory” In our story in TOJ, as well as in the Gospel of John, Peter found he was not wearing the proper apparel and quickly clothed himself in the garment. Alma stated: “no man be saved except his garments are washed white; yea, his garments must be purified until they are cleansed from all stain,” (Alma 5:21). I wonder if Peter had to repent from his having denied the Savior? In John 21:15 is an account during the sacred supper on the shore of Galilee when the Savior confronted him three times. Is repentance the cloak that we have to clothe ourselves with to be considered righteous enough to enter the Ark and the presence of God?

Questions with No Easy Answers

“Undoubtedly we have no questions to ask which are unanswerable. We must trust the perfection of the creation so far, as to believe that whatever curiosity the order of things has awakened in our minds, the order of things can satisfy.” (Emerson, Nature)

“And He directed them and said, Approach the veil to the east and you will find what you seek. They approached the veil as instructed, and now they were overcome by the multitude of what was received.” (TOJ verse 14)

What is the purpose for the Disciples wanting to come to the veil and enter into the Ark? They had questions. In the Gospel of Bartholomew is a collection of questions that the disciples ask the resurrected Lord by the shores of the Sea of Galilee. He answers their questions, but they still do not understand. In the TOJ, John writes that, ” they were overcome by the multitude of what was received.”

There is a modern twist to the story. Remember the picture above depicting the ancient constellation of Argo Navis? I want to remind you of the description by the Poet Aratus above that says: “Beside the tail of the great dog (Canis Major) [is] the ship Argo… The constellations are so close to each other that it seems the Dog is pulling the Ark backwards across the sky as the constellations move with the seasons. But where is the dog pulling the Ark? In myth the dog is chasing a very swift fox, but in the night sky he is chasing the constellation Lepus, which is a rabbit. Where is the rabbit taking us? A modern parable, Alice in Wonderland, tells us the rabbit is going to go down the rabbit hole. How deep is the rabbit hole? How deep do you want to go?

Alice had a difficult time making sense of the behavior of the characters she met in her make believe world. The disciples also had a very difficult time understanding the Savior, but it was no make-believe world that they were confronted with. I believe that what made it so difficult for them was their judging of everything they saw and heard through the filter of their understanding and learning. During His mission on earth, Christ sometimes became very frustrated with the people unable or unwilling to understand what he was trying to teach them. They were not very willing to let go of their preconceived ideas and traditions. How strange and different would the deep appear to us who have been brought up with an understanding of science and the overconfidence of a modern age man or woman?

In the mouth of the dog is the brightest star in the sky- Sirius. It is the great prize, the gem that is symbolic of the thing that we desire most. If you are to ascend into the deep, learn the mysteries behind the veil, and obtain the prize, which I believe is salvation, you have to shed preconceptions, traditions, and your gentile leanings and learnings. The universe beyond the veil does not work the way you think it does, which is why you would be entirely disoriented if you were to be subjected to it in your physical state of mind. Reality in the eternal worlds is far different then anything you have been taught in your religion. Even the spirits who die and leave mortal existence have to be conveyed to a sort of halfway house to prepare them for existence on the other side because it can be very upsetting to discover the truth, especially for religious people who have been taught to expect something entirely different.

The explanation of John, concerning the disciple’s experience, highlights the notion that the scriptures are only a gateway to truth. At first glance we see a nice story with a moral purpose, but there is a universe of truth and mystery just lurking beneath the surface begging us to ask questions. It is in the asking of questions that we demonstrate a desire to ascend.

Drawing the Veil

Simon Peter ascended, and drew the veil open, and there were ministering a hundred, and then fifty, and then three; and for these many who they beheld, yet the veil remained open.” (verse 16)

Simon Peter was the one who drew the veil open. At this point he is given the power to seal and to close. He opens the way for the others to follow, and indeed, for many others to follow.(2) The account says that the veil remains open.

In the Gospel of Bartholomew there is a very interesting discussion between the Savior and His disciples on the shores of the Sea of Galilee after the resurrection. The numbers 50 and 3 are mentioned which parallel TOJ 12:16. The numbers represent how few of the total number of souls born on the earth are righteous.

“Bartholomew answered and said unto him: Lord, if thirty thousand souls depart out of the world every day, how many souls out of them are found righteous? Jesus saith unto him: Hardly fifty my beloved. Again Bartholomew saith: And how do three only enter into paradise? Jesus saith unto him: The three enter into paradise or are laid up in Abraham’s bosom: but the others go into the place of the resurrection, for the three are not like unto the fifty.” (Gospel of Bartholomew, I, para 31-34)

The TOJ seems to say that the veil will remain open for the three (out of 30,000 righteous?) that they beheld in the deep. Did the disciples experience a vision of the world like other prophets before them did? The Brother of Jared was shown all the inhabitants of the world in a vision (Ether 3:25), and likewise Enoch was was given a vision of the world from beginning to end. Can it be that having been granted access through the veil once means that you have free access to pass through the veil? Can having access to the veil be a fulfillment of Moses 6:61 which says that you will be granted “the record of heaven, the Comforter; the peaceable things of immortal glory; the truth of all things; that which quickeneth all things, which maketh alive all things; that which knoweth all things, and hath all power…” (Moses 6:61).

Summary

The Testimony of John is an example that we cannot take the scriptures at face value. There is a depth of understanding that is hidden within them, only to be revealed if we ask. We must also learn to ask the right questions. Even seemingly simple stories told about Christ and his mission in the New Testament, that we think we understand, are gateways to wisdom and knowledge, the breadth and depth of which will astound us. But the understanding is not given freely unless we ask. And in the asking we demonstrate our readiness to receive.

I hope this post has given you some tidbits that will awaken a desire to dig deeper into the mystery of what happened on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. The Lord uses symbology heavily because symbols are the language of the heavens. If you think that the constellations are configured the way they are by happenstance, then you will probably not be interested in pursuing this line any further. But if you believe that the constellations were created as signs and for seasons in the heavens then you will recognize there are mysteries contained in them. If you want to know what those mysteries are, ask.

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Note 1. The symbol that Joseph Smith identified with the number 1,000 in facsimile 2 was shown by H. Nibley to indeed represent the number 1,000 in ancient Egyptian. It is interesting that Gospel Thomas identifies the number 1,000 with the fraction of one one thousandth of redeemed souls, “I shall choose you, one out of a thousand” (Gospel of Thomas (23)). This symbol recognizes that very few, tragically few, will receive salvation in this life.

Note 2. Peter is considered in Christian tradition to be the gatekeeper of heaven.

Twenty years ago the movie “The Truman Show” came out. It was a hit movie staring Jim Carey as Truman Burbank. The story is of a boy, Truman, who is born on a movie set and becomes the subject of a reality TV show following every moment of his life growing up in a giant TV studio. He doesn’t know that he is living his life in a make-belief world watched by millions of people. All of his family, friends, and even his wife are all make believe, actors hired to play parts. Only Truman doesn’t know that he is living a big deception.

Deception is a part of our lives. From the perspective of the heavens looking down on us, you could almost say that we are all living the life of Truman. Angels see the obvious deceptions and lies that we are immersed in, that surround and blind us every moment of our lives, of which we are oblivious for the most part. Like Truman we are manipulated by people. Deception is used by people to manipulate people to do things they wouldn’t normally do left on their own. We find deception used in every aspect of our lives; it is practiced skillfully in politics, war, media and advertising, business and commerce, diplomacy, schools, food production and processing, prescription drugs and the medical world, and even in religion. I wrote a previous post on deception in politics in Byzantine Rome and how it portents politics in our own day; how corrupt people manipulate the truth for their own purposes and how prevalent it is in our lives. Master deceivers create a desire for whatever they are peddling in people, then give them what they think they want. https://thenorthstarchronicle.com/2018/11/13/chariot-races-politics-and-zion/ In reality, though, we are not only subject to influence by unscrupulous people but are also being played by unseen dark forces.

The invasion of Normandy by the Allies during World War 2, in 1944, was preceded by an elaborate deception to convince the German Army that the Allies were going to land somewhere other than Normandy. This elaborate deception consisted of sending dispatches and secret messages to an army that didn’t exist, conducting whole army-sized exercises with imaginary men, and planting disinformation using double agents. They even had General Patton posted as the commander of the non-existent army because intelligence indicated the Germans believed General Patton would lead the invasion. The deception was so complete that when the Allies began the landing on the beaches of Normandy, the German High Command refused to believe that it was a real invasion, convinced the main invasion was much further north. The Allies were able to secure a beachhead and establish a successful base for the invasion of Europe. Without the deception the allies may not have been successful in their landing at Normandy.

“All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when we are able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must appear inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near. ” (Sun Tzu, The Art of War; chapter 18).

“Hence the saying: If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.” (Sun Tzu, The Art of War; chapter 3).

Our lives are constantly exposed to deception, exploitation, and conflict from people that we should be able to trust. Most of them are being deceived by not other people, but by unseen dark forces. It is important we understand all this deception is orchestrated behind the scenes by Satan. Paul wrote, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities , against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” (Ephesians 6:12). The deceptions perpetrated by people against us originate from and are manipulated by the adversary. He is the father of lies (John 8:44) who orchestrates everything from his self proclaimed perch “upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north” (Isaiah 14:13). The stratagems of engagement and the tactics used by the adversary have a lot in common with the military arts of warfare: surprise, timing, concentration of force, unrelenting attack, exploiting weaknesses, and deception.

The power of the Deceiver to blind and mislead us is so insidious and overpowering that I wonder how anyone can ever know any truth. His power largely originates from his knowledge, and our lack thereof. His power is so overwhelming and daunting that unless you receive some divine protection and obtain light and knowledge you will always be in his power. The thing that I have come to understand is that God intercedes when we ask Him. The Lord recognizes our free will so he will usually not interfere until we ask for His help. One of the reasons we are admonished to always pray is because, like the rudder of a ship or airplane, constant course corrections are required to stay on the path (Alma 34:39).

The thing that makes it all so tragic is that most people don’t really know what they want. People think they know what they want; they may think they want to live righteously, but are distracted either by the need to get through life or get caught up in acquiring the shiny things life has to offer. We cannot serve two masters. Satan also knows how to manipulate your desires and wants, because he has an advantage – he knows how to distract you. And so, as the scripture tells us, Satan leads some “carefully” down the road to hell (2 Nephi 28:21). This is why prayer is so important, because we need the constant help of Heaven to counteract the ever present and unrelenting pressure of the adversary (Alma 34:39). Without constant prayer and guidance we become a rudderless boat cast upon a rough sea with strong currents that will carry us to a place we don’t want to go. And so, we must really want the blessings of heaven in our lives, and we have to display or show our desire constantly through prayer and scripture study to keep our guard up.

The power given to the deceiver by the Father is purposeful in order to induce people to come to the realization they are subject to the power of the devil, who is the personification and source of sin. Once we realize this, it is expected that we throw ourselves on the mercy of the Lord to save us (Romans 11:32). “Throw” seems like a strong word here, but it is apt. In order to get to that place a person has to know what they want and learn to ignore the distractions. Not so easy as some religions might make it out to be. It is not as easy as repeating a few words or performing some ritual cleansings or ordinances, no matter how heartfelt and emotional. The Lord requires your whole heart and mind because no ceremony or recitation has the power to change a persons heart. They can only point a person to Christ, not change a lifetime of habits overnight.

After we have decided to repent and live the life of a Christian, how do we discern that deception is being practiced on us? First, we have to understand that deception exists in every aspect of our lives, perpetrated upon us to make us perceive the world in a certain way. From the time we are small children we are fed a constant flow of misinformation about how the world works. It is to the advantage of the adversary to get you to perceive the world in a false light so that he can manipulate you. It is impossible to see through this deception without divine help. You will not discern the deceptions unless you believe something is not quite right and you become a seeker of truth.

One of the great powers that Satan has is the ability to impersonate our conscious thoughts. Where the Holy Spirit will always speak truth to us, Satan will whisper things that are enticing to our ego’s or to our natural desires. He will speak to our pride or our desire to accumulate things. People receive communication from the spirit world, from both good and bad sources, and not even realize it, thinking it is their own reasoning mind working out the problems and challenges of living. Unlike the Holy Spirit, Satan’s tactic is to disguise his communication so that it seems like our own thoughts. To learn how to recognize deception you must become an efficient prayer practitioner. I could give you some tips, but the best way is to spend a lot of time on your knees and ask for guidance.

Some people have an innate or, as Immanuel Kant would put it, an “a priori” knowledge that things are not quite right with their perception of the world . There has to be more to life than eeking out a living, trying to make ends meet and accumulating stuff. There has to be a purpose to all of the vicissitudes of life, doesn’t there? Truman, in our movie, senses something is not quite right with the way the world works. He discerns that there is some deception taking place, but he can’t put a finger on it. He begins to look for the gaps, the inconsistencies, and he searches for explanations. Things are just not quite right. And thus begins the great adventure of finding a way through the haze. But unlike Truman, the vast majority of people are content. They are not keen to look behind the curtain or ask the important questions; they accept the status quo – that the world is exactly what it seems. Most would probably take the blue pill. Actually, most would not even approach the situation where they might be offered the red or the blue pill. Either they are not comfortable with challenging accepted views, even if it means they will uncover truth by doing so or they are just plain lazy. They don’t want to rock the boat; too much trouble. But our purpose in life is to rock the boat!

Why does the Lord allow this seemingly insurmountable deception to be perpetrated against everyone? Why can’t it be easier? Why does it have to be so hard? The Lord allows Satan this great power in order to wring a desire out of us to pursue truth. Through this incredible adversity he is giving us an opportunity to determine what we really want. Do we want to continue in the same mode of existence, content with the way we perceive the way the world works, or do we want to pursue truth no matter where it takes us? The Lord wants us to focus on Him, and by exercising our intentions to follow Christ, in spite of a tremendous effort on our part to swim upstream against adversity, it is the perfect way to develop faith in Him.

One of the great powers that Satan is given is his advanced knowledge. He is able to deceive people because he remembers everything, and we remember virtually nothing. Another advantage he has is he knows how to tempt us; he knows what motivates us and he knows our proclivities and weak points. Although every person is different in what motivates and drives them, His method of temptation is generally tailored to where we are in our spiritual maturity.

At a basic level, we are easily entreated to satisfy the physical needs. The urge for self protection, self promotion, and the comforts we crave, either psychological or physical, are primary motivators. Satan uses selfish self interest to tempt and deceive by promising something that is impossible to obtain- salvation through personal indulgence. People who are tempted by self interest may have altruistic desires and believe in charity, but rationalization can move them to acts of worldly self interest, many times at the expense of inflicting pain or suffering on others.

The Religious

Being religious can include belonging to any philosophy that a person clings that governs their moral behavior. It could be a church, a political ideology, saving the planet, saving animals, or anything that gives a soul a sense of higher purpose. People that have acquired religion or something equivalent recognize a need for peace in their lives and desire for God’s approval. Even some atheists create a form of religion that seeks for some sort of individual salvation. Religious people are troubled about the next life beyond the veil, but in the vast majority of people their religion only counterfeits a truly spiritual life.

Religious people acquire a world view that tends to place a religious lens on everything they see or experience. Like a polarized lens their view is restricted and completely filtered by dogma. Francis Bacon (1561-1626) wrote: “The human understanding when it has once adopted an opinion…draws all things else to support and agree with it. And though there be a greater number and weight of instances to be found on the other side, yet these it either neglects and despises.” Religious people tend to become doctrinal bigots, and it is very difficult to sway them from their ideology. They have invested so much time and effort in their religion and their view has become so entrenched and comfortable to them that it would be earth shattering to change their views. They are also filled with fear that if they strayed from the party line, they would be condemned. They are convinced that they hold the key to the mystery of life. Satan is able to use that to create an army of zealots who will fight any light and truth revealed from heaven they do not agree with. He will also convince people of a religious inclination that they are better than other people (Alma 31).

Religious people can also be tempted by riches and power in a uniquely diabolical manner. Satan will use the compliments of obtaining riches and power as proof of God’s favor. At the beginning they seek money and power in order to help others, but it will become a trap to them. The religious will sometimes follow prophets and pastors who preach prosperity to them. The deception goes something like this: “If you keep God’s commandments he will bless you with prosperity because he wants you to be happy and wealthy. Then you can shine for the rest of the world to see and be recognized as His people.” They believe that if they are wealthy they have nothing to fear- “all is well”. This is the prosperity gospel and it has gained a strong foothold in many churches in America, including the LDS church. This is especially enticing to religious people because of their need to justify their belief that they are “chosen” or “elect”.

There is a unique type of temptation that exists in the LDS Church: envy of priesthood holders having authority. By envy I mean that men in lower echelons of priesthood aspire to be Bishops, Stake Presidents, and General Authorities because of the prestige that accompanies those positions. God holds men in high regard that are called to those exalted positions. That is because of the belief that it is God Himself that appoints these leaders. It doesn’t hurt, either, that church members give these authorities rock star status. Most in the church don’t realize that this is a form of “priestcrafts” and idolatry, which Alma declared would lead to utter destruction (Alma 1:12).

Covenant Holders

Covenant people of Christ that have accepted the Doctrine of Christ have a unique temptation that they are subject to. A Fundamental Christian who has repeated the sinners prayer and felt they have been “saved” can be included as well as many who belong to various religions not caught up in the religious pitfalls discussed above. They may even have had their baptism of fire and “second comforter” experience with Christ. What motivates them, what temptations would be effective against them?

If People have not received the baptism of fire or audience with Christ, but have an expectation that they will receive because of assurances by the Holy Spirit, they become susceptible to impatience and pride. They believe they are on the “path”. Their impatience manifests in part because they believe they are worthy, so they may take matters into their own hands and try to manipulate God into giving them what they want. If they can demonstrate to God they are righteous and full of good works, then they believe heaven has to take notice of them. A lot of this thinking may not be evident, even to the person experiencing these thoughts, but lays embedded in the subconscious and motivates their behavior. The psychology of a person in this frame of mind becomes fertile ground for being deceived. A person pleading and begging for God to manifest spiritual experiences and miracles will be ripe for receiving spirit communication from any source. The dark and dreary wilderness of Lehi’s dream was full of people wandering around because they were tired of waiting for the word of God. Many of them left the path looking for a shortcut.

A person who reaches this level of spiritual maturity has experienced some or many of the gifts of the spirit. If a person is not careful, this can lead a person to believe they are better than others who have not experienced spiritual gifts, or anyone else for that matter. Pride in this case leads to judgement. People will agree or disagree with others in the fellowship or the church based on whether they think the others are worthy of their support. I have also seen where people will disagree and fight the majority simply because they were not involved in developing the policy or the idea. There is a natural tendency for a person to believe that because they are “favored” of the Lord, their opinions should be accepted by everyone else.

Another category are people who have received revelation, or believe they have received revelation. They have heard the spirit tell them things that are not common knowledge. This is a good thing if it comes from the right source and is handled with discretion. But pride will sometimes take hold of that person who then takes it upon himself/herself to correct everyone else. This is a great temptation for those who are in this category of spiritual development.

Unlike the Holy Spirit, Satan’s tactic is to disguise his communication so that it seems like our own thoughts. He will even counterfeit the voice of the Holy Spirit, which if you are not fluent (I really emphasize “fluent”) in the language of the Holy Spirit, is difficult to discern as coming from the wrong source. Even the most advanced spiritual people are deceived this way. Unless you develop the ability to discern between the two ways, you will always be subject to the power of Satan.

Unfortunately we will never reach the point where we are no longer susceptible to deception and temptation. Because the power of the Adversary to deceive us is so great, no matter at what level of spirituality we are, we must protect ourselves. We must seek to have the ability to discern the spirits.

• Oh! What a racket, what a cacophony of voices!
• Confusion, sleight of hand, innuendo,
• Chest pounding, supposition, accusation
• And confounding logic.
• How is a soul to know truth at all?

• Ha! There is no truth in the world,
• Only creation.
• There is no world, only imagination, thought, emotion;
• Faith.

• What is real?
• Love is…
• Fear is…
• Mustard is…

A question was asked in our fellowship meeting a few weeks ago that has got me thinking a lot. I didn’t know how to answer that question at the time, so I just listened to the discussion. I wanted to get my facts straight before I gave an opinion. The question was, “Who should we be praying to? The Father or to Jesus?”

The sentiment among the fellowship followed this logic: Since we eventually become the sons and daughters of Jesus, He becomes our Father, we should pray to Him. The belief was also voiced that when we pray to the Father in the name of Christ, it is always the Savior who answers our prayers anyway, so we just as well pray to Him. I am not so sure, and below are my reasons for believing that we should continue to address our prayers to the Father, at least until the time we are instructed to change that.

• “But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.” (Matthew 6:6)
• “And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him.” (Colossians 3:17)
• “And whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, which is right, believing that ye shall receive, behold it shall be given unto you.” (3 Nephi 18:20)
• “...Whatsoever thing ye shall ask the Father in my name, which is good, in faith believing that ye shall receive, behold, it shall be done unto you.” (Moroni 7:26)
• “…pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of His Son, Jesus Christ…” (Moroni 7:48)
• Alma 34, in verse 14, differentiates between God and the Son of God. In verse 17, Alma teaches that we call upon His holy name – God, not the Son of God.

In Mathew 6:6 Christ says to “pray to thy Father” which can be problematic to some people. The argument could be presented that Christ is our Father since He purchased our parentage by His blood. But, it seems we are not His children until He personally accepts us as such, at which point we can then consider Him as our Father. This is one of those points, I believe, we should not be assuming if it has not been instructed to us explicitly. In 3 Nephi 19:18, the Nephites prayed directly to Jesus, “calling him their Lord and their God.” They were either told to pray to Him or felt the necessity to pray to Him while in His presence. This should be instructive to us.

As in all things let the Holy Spirit guide you, and don’t rely on anyone to tell you how it is supposed to be done without the Spirit’s confirmation.

“Wherefore, beware lest ye are deceived; and that ye may not be deceived seek ye earnestly the best gifts…” (D&C 46:4).

“…I exhort you, my brethren, that ye deny not the gifts of God, for they are many; and they come from the same God. And there are different ways that these gifts are administered; but it is the same God who worketh all in all; and they are given by the manifestations of the Spirit of God unto men, to profit them.” (Moroni 10:3)

The Two Ways

One day, a few years ago, I was driving to attend the funeral of a friend.  Suddenly the thought came into my mind that I would be asked to lead the singing at the funeral.  It was really a thought that just popped into my head. I didn’t think anything of it, but somehow I was sure that it wasn’t just a random thought in my mind. As I arrived at the church, a member of the bishopric ran up to me and said, “I’m glad you are here, will you lead the music?”  Leading music wasn’t something new to me, I had no problem leading the music at the last minute so I didn’t really need a warning to prepare myself for something that wasn’t difficult for me. So why would the Spirit warn me?  I didn’t need time to prepare, I only needed a minute to coordinate with the organist and select some hymns.  As I later thought about this I came to the realization that the Spirit spoke to me on this occasion as a way of teaching me to recognize revelation. It was as if He was saying, “This is the way revelation is given.” This is one of the manifestations of discernment. The following post is based on my own experiences with discernment and deception. I have found that discernment can be as individual and personal as each person is unique.

I happen to believe that the Lord, through His Spirit, talks to us quite frequently. We don’t always pay attention, though, because our minds are focused on worldly concerns. We assume that our thoughts are our own and expect that any divine guidance would always come as something dramatic like a voice or burning feeling in our chest, but the scriptures and my own experience teach otherwise. So before talking about the spiritual gift of discernment I want to spend a little time talking about the nature of spiritual communication–both the good and the bad. The two ways.

The world’s philosophy teaches that the only force that influences the actions of people are natural forces that originate from an instinct for self preservation and natural selection. People do what they do because they are biologically predisposed to actions in order to deal with intense competition. In its pure form this is known as behaviorism. Actions people do are chosen because they benefit the individual, or by extension, the group, tribe, or family they are associated with. Deep down, at the fundamental core of our brains, every action we do is a natural consequence of our environment and DNA. That’s the world view of what motivates our actions.

Although there is some reality to that, we are subject to external environmental pressures. The real truth, however, is that we are influenced as much by supernatural forces as we are by the natural. The Prophet Ameleki wrote this in the Book of Omni: “…for there is nothing which is good save it comes from the Lord: and that which is evil cometh from the devil.” (Omni 1:25) According to Ameleki there are two powers that exist in the world that influence all the actions of men and women– God and the devil. While the adversary’s goal is to influence mankind to pay attention to the natural man, the Holy Spirit, which is in every person, works to influence men and women to resist the natural-man impulses (Mosiah 3:19).

In the preexistence when we were in the presence of God, we received information from only one source and our decisions were really one sided. There was no real choice or free will involved in our spiritual lives because we did not know how to disobey. The war in heaven did provide some limited ability to exercise free will, but the consequences of disobedience were immediate and did not fully allow us to understand or comprehend the dynamics between light and darkness. A fallen world like the one we are in now was required to more fully test and fine tune our resolve to always choose the good , which was impossible in the spirit world where we had a perfect knowledge of God. We had to experience a fallen world where a veil is drawn across our memory where we could make a willful decision to follow God while being pitted against powerful forces hell-bent on influencing us otherwise. This world is the perfect place to exercise and practice our faith and our will.

But what we think is our free will in fact is not as free as we might think, at least not in the form that we have been taught. That is because we are subject to unknown and unseeable forces that insert their will into our thoughts. What we believe is our own thoughts can sometimes actually be those of a “familiar spirit”. Familiar because that spirit has been with us from the beginning of our lives not only tempting and influencing us to do things we would not otherwise have wanted to do, but also getting to know us and our weak points. They will use these weak points against us. These spirits are “familiar” because we usually can’t differentiate these influences from our own thoughts.

When we come to this world our spiritual awareness is encapsulated within a very finite field of view. Initially this is only what the physical senses offer us for stimulation and experience. Since we don’t know anything as small children, we receive Satan’s constant chatter to our minds as part of our own “familiar” thoughts. (Contrary to what you may have been taught, the adversary has full access to tempt, influence, and become familiar with young children.) As we get older and realize that there is a spiritual world we need to pay attention to, we begin to develop spiritual abilities. However, we find that it takes real effort to discern the spiritual influences from a good source, while the influence of the adversary seems natural and normal to us. Almost every decision we make is influenced by either the adversary or the Holy Spirit. Thoughts and the actions that succeed from our thoughts originate in our minds as a result of a combination of our will and influence from one of these two sources. Ideas are not so original as we might think. Both ways entice us to perform actions which strengthen the ties that will bind us to the path they represent. Our will and our desire is the differentiating factor, to follow Christ and the Holy Spirit or indulge in physical appetites.

The Lord has not left us to our own devices. He wants us to have a fighting chance to overcome the mistakes that we made while young and continue to make. The Lord has given us a gift to help us choose correctly in order to overcome the temptations. This gift is called our conscience, also known as the Light of Christ (D&C 84:45-48; Moroni 7:16). As we get older we come to understand that there is an outlet that allows to move beyond the guilt and the consequences of our youthful sins–repentance and the atonement. If we take advantage of the atonement offered to us we can overcome our sins and mistakes and move on to higher states of spiritual awareness. If we don’t take advantage we add to the “cart rope” we drag along with us in our life and the consequences become a yoke around our necks (Isaiah 5:18). One of the consequences of choosing wrongly is the inability to discern spiritual things along with a diminishing of the Light of Christ in our lives.

The Lord’s plan for us is perfectly suited to our disposition and nature as nascent sons of God. According to Paul, “For God has consigned all men to disobedience that he may have mercy upon all” (Romans 11:32, English Standard Version). We are subject to the temptations of the adversity; committing sin before we have a real understanding of what we are doing while young. As we mature we become aware at some point to the presence of light and truth and are faced with a choice: to change course and follow the better way or continue on the path we are on. Paul explains, in somewhat cryptic terms, that we are subject to sin (can’t get away from it) in order to force us to come to the realization that Christ is the only relief.

Once we have matured enough to differentiate between the influence of Satan and Christ, which is spiritual discernment, we graduate to a state of existence where we are not blown about by every doctrine of men, which are really doctrines of devils. “That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive (Ephesians 4:14).” We are spiritually mature at this point to recognize truth when it presents itself. To get to the point of recognizing real knowledge and light requires a lot of work, study, practice, and prayer. It is vitally important that you have the ability to discern; to know the difference between light and dark, worldly and spiritual, love and fear. You may think you now know how to differentiate, and you have gotten to this point in your life with a certain level of discernment, but it is more difficult then you realize to separate out prejudices and predispositions created in your minds through years of exposure to tradition, public schools, religious teachings, and exposure to powerful propaganda through media. There will come a time in your life when you will be racked on the altar of truth and have to make a decision where there will be no one to tell what to do. You will come to a moment of truth. Although there will be many moments of truth in your life, each one will be a fork in the way, each will be a point of destiny.

Recognizing The Holy Spirit

When I was on a mission in New Zealand many years ago, I remember a young woman that my companion and I met while tracting. As we taught her about Joseph Smith, we could see the light visibly changing her countenance as she recognized the truth of our messages. She had never heard of Joseph Smith before but as we told her of the first vision we could see and feel the light pouring into her. It was as if she was remembering where she had put some long lost articles of great value. (I keep thinking about the parable of the long lost piece of silver (Luke 15:8-9)). She knew, just knew that what we were telling her was true. We had no evidence other than our testimonies. We also knew, without any doubt that she knew the truth and the Spirit was telling her it was true. It was like electricity in our bodies is the best way to describe it. We were being instructed in our hearts and our minds (D&C 8:2). ( It was just as the Doctrine and Covenants describes it in Section 50, “Wherefore, he that preacheth and he that receiveth, understand one another, and both are edified and rejoice together.” We were witness to a soul that was recognizing truth that was being transmitted to her by supernatural means. We also learned at the time that there is often a level of joy and sometimes an outpouring of love that accompanies spiritual communication (revelation) from the Holy Spirit. This was a dramatic instance of discerning the Holy Spirit in our minds and feeling it in our hearts. But the Spirit is not always discerned in such a powerful way.

A good friend told me this story several years ago of an experience he had with a prompting he received. He was hiking in the woods on a path in the mountains one day. Suddenly, a very strong impression came into his mind to stop. He immediately stopped. He listened. The voice in his head, which was really like his own thoughts, said he needed to turn around and that if he continued would result in great harm to him. He paid attention to the prompting and turned away going by a different path. He never learned what the danger was. His purpose in telling that rather undramatic story to me was to relate his understanding that the spirit sometimes comes to us as an interruption to the constant stream of thoughts that occupies our minds. When that happens, it is important to pay attention. That is another way that the Spirit conveys intelligence to us. Discernment in this case was in the acceptance that it was the Spirit of the Lord speaking to my friend, and acting upon it.

Another friend likes to tell this story about his conversion and baptism in the LDS Church. He married a woman who was an active member of the church. Through her years of gentle prodding he finally investigated the church seriously and listened to the missionary discussions. One day during this process he was thinking about the discussion he recently had with the missionaries. He was having a polemic with himself on the subject–you know, he was arguing the advantages and benefits of becoming a member or not. “Is this what God wants?” Maybe. Is this the right thing to do? I don’t know. There are some benefits to being baptized, your wife will be happy and the people in the church are really good people. What if its true? Maybe I should pray about it. Will the Lord really answer me?” Immediately a voice blurted out in his mind, “WHO DO YOU THINK HAS BEEN TALKING TO YOU!”

Spiritual Gift of Discernment

Up to this point I have been writing about how revelation and discernment manifests in us. I have also been describing that the adversary works somewhat in the same way, but has had a head start in making his voice familiar to us before we have really had a chance to know what is going on. I want to present some thoughts now on how to discern truth from false teachings, or how to discern false spirits.

The way the gift of discernment works in us, as a spiritual gift, is that we are able to perceive truth without an abundance of evidence, or any evidence for that matter. If we have the spiritual gift of discernment we are able to tap into “the record of heaven” which is the spiritual memory of valuable things we have forgotten because of the veil of forgetfulness that has been drawn across our minds when we were born.

“Therefore it is given to abide in you; the record of heaven; the Comforter; the peaceable things of immortal glory; the truth of all things; that which quickeneth all things which maketh alive all things; that which knoweth all things, and hath all power according to wisdom, mercy, truth, justice, and judgement.” (Moses 6:61)

Discernment is best described as the ability to distinguish between good and evil.  But that may be too simplistic a definition.  Moroni talks about discernment as the ability to judge righteously. 

“For behold, my brethren, it is given unto you to judge, that ye may know good from evil. And the way to judge is as plain, that ye may know with a perfect knowledge as the daylight is from the dark night. For behold, the Spirit of Christ is given to every man that they may know good from evil. Wherefore, I shew unto you the way to judge. For everything which inviteth to do good and to persuade to believe in Christ is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ. Wherefore, ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God. But whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do evil, and believe not in Christ and deny him and serve not God, then ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of the Devil.” (Moroni 7:3)

Discernment actually requires one to be a revelator.  The Lord says he will show the way to judge. Discernment then is the beginning of salvation.  What do I mean by that?  Think back to the time when first introduced to the writings of Denver Snuffer, I remember reading his blogs first, before reading the Second Comforter.  I recognized truth, but how do I describe it? I knew I was hearing truth, it was light, intelligence, and there was no contrariness in my discernment. It fit, it tasted good.  “the way to judge is plain, that ye may know with a perfect knowledge, as the daylight is from dark.” It was like I was remembering something I had forgotten. I came to understand that the words I was reading were principles that would lead to a greater knowledge of the eternal worlds.

On the flip side of discernment is the work that the adversary does to prevent us from accepting truth. I remember from my missionary days trying to get people to read the Book of Mormon. The response I would often get is something like this, “I won’t touch that book, it is evil.” or, “I tried reading it, but just felt such negative feelings, I put it down.” The Lord does not work that way. He does not influence people with a feeling of fear. As He instructed Oliver Cowdery, ” if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right. But if it be not right you shall have no such feelings, but you shall have a stupor of thought that shall cause you to forget the thing which is wrong;” (D&C 9:7-9) Only the adversary will project feelings of fear and disgust. The Lord does not talk to you in negatives.

Several years ago Nancy and I spent some time in Kyoto, Japan, the old capital of Medieval Japan.  Among the dozens of old temples, castles and palaces there is one castle called Nijo Castle, that was built in the 1500s or 1600s, that had floors that squeaked when you walked on them.  It is called the Nightingale floor.  The Floors are made of very dry boards that creak under pressure.  The nails rubbed against a jacket or clamp causing chirping noises.  Legend is that the floor was designed to detect robbers, or worse, Ninja Assassins in the night.  I am reminded of Luke 8:26, “And now, truly I say these things unto you that you may know this, that the coming of the Lord is as a thief in the night… And it is like unto a man who is a householder who, if he watches not his goods, the thief comes in an hour of which he is not aware, and takes his goods and divides them among his fellow partakers. … And they said among themselves, If the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not have suffered his house to be broken through and the loss of his goods.“

The gift of discernment would be handy to have as we approach the time of the coming of Christ.  Which signs do we pay attention to?  Where do we go to prepare for Zion, when do we go? How will we know? I can promise you that there will not be an announcement from any pulpit. I am convinced the message will come to us individually in a dream or a spiritual prompting.** Are you confident that you are versed enough in the Spirit’s language to know when the time is right? Do you have the gift of discernment? Sometimes it is obvious when the Lord speaks to us, but if you’re not paying attention it will pass you by. All the squeaking of the floors in Nijo Castle will do no good if you don’t pay attention. You will be like the 5 foolish virgins who put their trust in the merchants (the world, men, or the name of someone you trust with your salvation), who were left behind..

I like the story told about the Stake Patriarch sitting on the stand before a stake meeting began.  He was watching the chorister put the song numbers up on the song board.  He turned to another brother on the stand and said, “She’s going to put up one of my favorite numbers.”  Sure enough she put up the page number of his favorite hymn.  What was the point of the Patriarch knowing that?  There was no great heavenly purpose behind the revelation he received. I believe that he lived his life in such harmony with the spirit that some things could not be withheld from him.

Occasionally the Lord tests us by forcing us to use our discernment.  If our motives are good, and we are not seeking selfish gain we will be able to access the source of truth within us.  But if we have motives that are not right, or we have not spent enough time strengthening our tie to the heavens we will come to the wrong conclusion.  King Saul was waiting for Samuel to come and sacrifice to the Lord before going to battle against the Philistines, but the people had gone into hiding because they were afraid of the Philistines.  King Saul pondered what to do. If he didn’t do something quick his people would leave, and he would have no army to fight the Philistines.  Why wouldn’t the Lord tell him what to do? He reasoned that the situation was crucial, he might lose the people if he didn’t act quickly.  Samuel the prophet had told him to wait for him 7 days, but the 7 days were past.  His men were losing confidence in his leadership, he might lose their trust.  He decided to perform the sacrifice himself.  It was a bad decision because Samuel ended up cursing him and the Lord took away the right of Kingship from him and his sons. Samuel had made his decision purely on the basis of fear.

Sometimes, as with King Saul, the Lord doesn’t answer you at all but makes you reach into the very core of your soul for the answer.  When we have a hard decision to make, we sometimes will go to the Lord and ask him to tell us what to do, or if something we have learned is true.  The Lord will often not answer.  This is because He knows we already know the answer. By answering you, He may actually be infringing on your free agency.  If your heart is right, you will do the correct thing or accept the truth you are trying to judge.  If you are wrong you will eventually be confronted with the truth and the Lord will correct you.  If you are right you will come to know you judged correctly. 

Many people can not make decisions righteously because they want the easy thing or the thing which will improve their status, or they depend on the arm of flesh, or make decisions out of fear. Sometimes no answer is just that, a “no” answer. It might be best to postpone a decision if possible. But, to tell you the truth, because of Moses 6:61, you already know the answer. Also, it is important to point out that most people make assumptions about truth that guides their response. They accept the testimony of authority figures without testing it out themselves. Perhaps they are just too plain lazy to work out the truth or perhaps afraid to ask knowing the answer might not be to their liking.

So what are the actual mechanics of receiving revelation?  How do we discern through the power of the Spirit?  We are going to explore the experience of living by the word of the Lord. We are not talking about theology or doctrine anymore.  We are talking about putting faith in action.

Joseph Smith said, “The best way to obtain truth and wisdom is not to ask it from books, but to go to God in prayer, and obtain divine teaching (TPJS p.191).

“It is the privilege of the children of God to come to God and get revelation” (Words of Joseph Smith, p.13).”If we have any claims on our Heavenly Father for anything, it is for knowledge…Could we read and comprehend all that has been written from the days of Adam, on the relation of man to God and angels in a future state, we should know very little about it.  Reading the experience of others, or the revelation given to them, can never give us a comprehensive view of our condition and true relation to God. Knowledge of these things can only be obtained by experience…Could you gaze into heaven five minutes, you would know more than you would by reading all that ever was written on the subject” (TPJS p.324).

It is going to become more and more necessary to have spiritual discernment in the days ahead.  There will be false prophets, false doctrine, false principles that will sound reasonable and will tickle your fancy.  They will seem to be so light filled and logical that even the most elect (the Lord uses “very elect”) will be deceived.  But, if your lamps are filled, like the wise virgins, it will work out.  You may be deceived on occasion, but hopefully you have enough of the Spirit of the Lord and discernment that you will not be fully taken in and be able to course correct.

There will be many deceptions that will come as we approach the second coming of Christ. It will be chaotic.  I believe that we must be prepared to be able to sort out truth for ourselves. We cannot and must not rely on any man, whether he be pastor, priest, prophet or president, to tell us what to do, especially when it comes to questions of salvation (physical and spiritual). Even Joseph Smith had lapses in discernment.  One of the greatest purposes of life is to be able to rise above the noise and make decisions on our own, because if you are to become like Christ you must be able to act like Him. It will be required of you to have the gift of discernment and experience enough to be able to call upon the Lord and receive an answer.  

As you seek the gift of discernment here are some things to remember:

Behold, you have not understood; you have supposed that I would give it unto you, when you took no thought save it was to ask me. But, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right. But if it be not right you shall have no such feelings, but you shall have a stupor of thought that shall cause you to forget the thing which is wrong; therefore, you cannot write that which is sacred save it be given you from me.” (D&C 9:7-9)

Some of the still, small voice’s characteristics are these:

• It’s heard in your mind: “Behold, the voice of the Lord came into my mind” (Enos 1:10).  The spirit will be recognizable because the thoughts may seem foreign to you. You will think, “Where did that come from?”
• Sometimes it will come as an impression.  You are driving, maybe coming home from the store or work, and the thought comes to you, “I should go visit so and so.”
• Typically the spirit will never command you to do anything.  It will come as a gentle suggestion, but almost never as a command. Rarely, however, when the situation demands an action such as immediate danger, the Spirit will be more urgent; almost like a command. Later, much later, when you are fully matured in the Gospel of Christ, you may receive directives that will be like commands.
• It’s not always just a thought, but will sometimes be accompanied with a feeling. I believe that the Lord at times will tell you “in your heart and your mind”.  The heart being the spiritual source of emotion or feeling.  Your body will sometimes help you to recognize truth when you hear it because your bosom shall burn within you. Thus, the Spirit also speaks to your heart (D&C 8:2)
• It’s as gentle as a whisper: “It was not a voice of thunder, neither was it a voice of a great tumultuous noise, but behold, it was a still voice of perfect mildness, as if it had been a whisper, and it did pierce even to the very soul.” (Helaman 5:30). Nephi also reminded his brothers that an angel “hath spoken unto you in a still small voice, but ye were past feeling, that ye could not feel his words.”  (1 Nephi 17:45).
• Most importantly, it will entice you to do good (Moroni 7:12-13) and speak peace to you (D&C 6:23)
• When in doubt about the answer, can you feel love in the answer?  “…I will encircle thee in the arms of love” (D&C 6:20)
• Any thoughts that play to your ego, are enticing, or urge you to actions that are purely for your benefit are suspect.
• I have found that impressions that come to me while I am praying are almost always from the Lord.  I pray with a notebook next to me so that I can record those communications.  Sometimes they are impressions, sometimes answers to questions I have put to Him.
• Has this ever happened to you? While praying and asking if there is someone you need to help, a name pops into your mind. You think that is just your own thought and you disregard it. STOP! The Lord is answering your prayer, and you must act upon that impression as soon as possible or the opportunity will be gone. Often times, those simple, seeming random thoughts are not what they seem to be. They are words being spoken to you from the mind of the Lord.
• Often when asking the Lord questions I will not receive answers to my prayers until much later when I am doing other things. Answers will suddenly pop into my head out of the blue when I am washing dishes, mowing the lawn, reading a book, in a conversation with someone, or even watching TV.
• The Lord will sometimes communicate with us in dreams. Dreams are often prophetic. I have come to realize that we need to get into the habit of asking the Lord about our dreams, asking whether or not they have a meaning for us (they usually do). Discernment enters into it when we recognize that insights to dreams that come to us are from the Lord, and acknowledge them as such.
• There are many ways that the Holy Spirit communicates to us. The Lord communicates in a perfect way with us. As each of us is unique, when the Lord wants to talk to us He will do it in a way that is personal to us, using a “diversity of operations” (D&C 46:16). ——————————————————————————————————-**Note: Here is a link to an account of a group of farmers who were led by God to escape the Stalin purges in the Ukraine in the 1930’s. This is how I think the word will come to people to leave and prepare for Zion. It is called “A Call to the Churches in America” by Boris Sorokovsky. It is a sermon that contains an account of a people who learned to discern the Lord speaking to them: http://www.sermonindex.net/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=60526&forum=35

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If you are old enough, like me, you might remember a commercial in 1984 that Wendy’s Hamburgers aired on television. There is a trio of older women standing at a counter of a drive-in hamburger place. They look at a big bun and comment on how big it is, but, when they take off the top bun there is a tiny patty of hamburger. One of the women yells, “Where’s the Beef?” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riH5EsGcmTw

One of the tell tale marks of the believers of Christ is that signs will follow them. If you are a sincere person seeking to find a community of believers that the Lord has blessed with the gifts of the spirit, I would think one of the questions you would want to ask yourself is, “Where is the Beef?” Where are the signs that this group of followers has the Lord’s blessing?

And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing it shall not hurt them: they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. (Mark 16:17-18)

If you have accepted the new covenant offered by the Lord in 2017 (See http://scriptures.info/scriptures/tc/section/158) you know that the Lord is again very active in the world. Light and knowledge is being poured out upon the earth as it was through Joseph Smith 180 years ago.  I wonder, though, if we are paying enough attention to living it- practicing the principles contained in the words of the covenant itself.  The covenant contains a number of promises that are dependent upon the behavior of the covenant holders.

“It is not enough to receive my covenant, but you must also abide it. And all who abide it, whether on this land or any other land, will be mine, and I will watch over them and protect them in the day of harvest, and gather them in as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings. I will number you among the remnant of Jacob, no longer outcasts, and you will inherit the promises of Israel. You will be my people and I will be your God, and the sword will not devour you. And unto those who will receive will more be given, until they know the mysteries of God in full.” (T&C 157:48)

A number of people I have spoken with have asked, “Since we have become a covenant people, where are the signs that are supposed to accompany a covenant people?” Where are the gifts of the spirit being manifest? Why don’t we see miracles happening amongst us? Why aren’t people healed miraculously from serious diseases and life threatening malady’s?

What do the scriptures say about recognizing a covenant or righteous people?  It seems that miracles and gifts of the spirit are one of the sure signs of a covenant people. Mormon talks about the miracles that were prevalent among the covenant people in the Book of Mormon:

“God knoweth their prayers, that they were on behalf of their brethren.  And He knoweth their faith, for in his name could they remove mountains; and in his name could they cause the earth to shake; and by the power of his word did they cause prisons to tumble to the earth, yea even fiery furnace could not harm them neither wild beasts nor poisonous serpents, because of the power of his word”. (Mormon 8:24)

“And these signs shall follow them that believe—in my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover.” (Mormon 9:24)

The Lord describes to Joseph Smith the signs that follow those who believe and are baptized, which words are recorded in the Doctrine and Covenants:

“And these signs shall follow them that believe: in my name they shall do many wonderful works, in my name they shall cast out devils, in my name they shall heal the sick, in my name they shall open the eyes of the blind and unstop the ears of the deaf, and the tongue of the dumb shall speak, and if any man shall administer poison unto them, it shall not hurt them, and the poison of a serpent shall not have power to harm them. But a commandment I give unto them that they shall not boast themselves of these things, neither speak them before the world, for these things are given unto you for your profit and for salvation.” (D&C 84:66-72; T&C 82:22)

If we are a covenant people, having received and accepted the New Covenant offered in Boise, Idaho in September 2017, where are the signs that accompany a covenant people?  Where are the miraculous healings, the raising of the dead, and the angels walking among us?

I maintain that there miraculous things are happening all around us, and healings are taking place, but, many are not aware of them taking place. Why? First, people who experience miracles are sometimes reluctant to talk about it for several reasons: fear of being judged, fear of casting pearls, not wanting to share thinking they are not supposed to talk about it, or perhaps they were given specific instruction not to discuss it. Second, people may not be prepared to experience them, are not exercising sufficient faith, or are seeking them for the wrong reasons.

Seeking Signs

The Lord warns about sign seekers and declares: An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: (Matthew 12:39). One of the fears we face sharing miraculous events is that it attracts sign seekers, which is one reason why people don’t share personal experiences. I believe, however, that the warning is regarding a certain class or category of sign seekers. The warning is more about being careful when sharing spiritual experiences with the world.

And he that seeks signs shall see signs, but not unto salvation. Verily I say unto you, There are those among you who seek signs, and there have been such even from the beginning. But behold, faith comes not by signs, but signs follow those that believe. Yea, signs come by faith, not by the will of men nor as they please, but by the will of God. Yea, signs come by faith unto mighty works, for without faith no man pleases God. And with whom God is angry, he is not well pleased, wherefore, unto such he shows no signs, only in wrath unto their condemnation. Wherefore, I the Lord am not pleased with those among you who have sought after signs and wonders, and not for faith, and not for the good of men unto my glory. (D&C 63:7-12; T&C 50:3)

For verily I say unto you, they are given for the benefit of those who love me and keep all my commandments, and him that seeketh so to do; that all may be benefited that seek or that ask of me, that ask and not for a sign that they may consume it upon their lusts. (D&C 46:9)

In these last two verses the Lord differentiates between those who seek signs because of lust and those sincere and righteous individuals who seek to do the Lord’s will. If gifts of the spirit are given to benefit the saints and encourage them, it is right that we expect those gifts to be present among us. And if those gifts are present we can have assurance the Lord is working miracles within a group of covenant holders. In contrast to the belief that we should never seek for signs, the Lord only admonished not to share miracles and spiritual gifts with the world. There are those who say “If you tell about miraculous events that you experience you are only attracting the wrong kind of people.” So they keep to themselves accounts of miraculous outpourings of the spirit. Personally, I don’t believe that was what was meant in the Lord’s caution about sign seekers. Sharing miraculous accounts with people having the same spiritual orientation will benefit the group and strengthen faith. If your motivation is to get people’s attention through amazing stories and experiences, then yes, you will attract a certain sort of people, but, even then, like casting a net where all kinds of fish are caught, you will also get a few sincere people to investigate. My purpose in relating a few spiritual experiences is to teach that the Lord is active and the gifts of the spirit and miracles are manifest among us. So yes, you can look for the gifts of the spirit to be manifest and, in fact, expect them without “seeking” to consume them on your lusts.

Was it wrong for Gideon to ask for a sign that the Lord really was giving him a mission to lead the Israelites against the Midianites? Gideon was new at receiving revelation from the Lord, he only wanted assurances that it truly was the Lord speaking to him–a righteous desire. On the other hand, it was wicked for the Pharisees to ask a sign from the Lord, because their hearts were wicked and set on the prideful things of the world. They had no intention of following Christ under any circumstances, they only wanted to see a magic show.

What does it mean to consume them on your lusts? The dictionary defines lust as any overwhelming desire or craving. I look at it this way, lusting after miraculous events and spiritual experiences is an ego thing. Your ego thinks that you are special and your involvement in miraculous experiences feeds that pride. At least that is what sometimes drives the urge to experience it. But because that urge is driven by ego, once you have seen a miracle, if your heart is not pure, you will experience one of several negative responses. You may later deny the event you saw was miraculous because your heart is firmly set on the things of the world; the world can’t explain a miracle except to say it was a coincidence or there is a logical explanation for it somewhere. Or, your pride will be puffed up and the lack of humility will cause you to judge the participants of the miracle as beneath contempt, because you deem them to be lessor souls than yourself. These are the true signs of an adulterous generation. But if your heart is in the right place, your experiencing of a miracle will increase faith and strengthen your (and other’s) connection to heaven.

It is right that we not “seek” for miracles to consume on our lusts, but as fledgling spiritual beings, it is right that we look for miracles and spiritual gifts to accompany righteous teachers and covenant holders. This is one way of helping us to identify that the Lord is working with a people. We are also commanded to “seek earnestly the best gifts” (1 Corinthians 12:31). As we mature in our knowledge of spiritual things, miracles will become commonplace and we will experience spiritual gifts on a daily basis.

Another reason people may not share personal experiences is a fear that others may look at them as showing off or being ego driven to speak of miracles they have experienced. With my own fear that others may think that of me, I will share an experience I had with the spirit. While praying and being told to share a certain miraculous event I experienced, I expressed to the Lord a fear that others may think unkindly of my sharing – that my sharing would be misconstrued as being ego driven. I was rebuked with these words, “Get over it, deal with it.”

If, perhaps, you desire to obtain the gifts of the spirit but are not experiencing them, at least to the degree you think you should, you may want to look deeper into your motives for experiencing them. I have caught myself at times wanting to talk of spiritual experiences for the wrong reasons. If I am not careful, the spirit withdraws, which it has on those occasions to my sorrow. Another reason we don’t experience them to the degree we desire is that we are not paying the price. I will talk more about that in a later post.

In conclusion, it is right to expect miracles and spiritual gifts. The Lord commands us to seek them, and then when they happen we are urged to share with the faithful so that they might be edified and their faith strengthened.