There has been much discussion in recent years especially regarding exactly where the events of the Book of Mormon took place, most people settling upon two main places: Central America and the Heartland model which comprises areas between the Great Lakes and Florida. There have been all kinds of videos and seminars and books written […]
We all remember where we were on September 11, 2001, the day the towers fell. I got up that morning at my normal early time and was getting ready to take my dog Licorice for a walk when I felt impressed to turn on the television. Now please understand, television is not allowed to be []
You can prove to yourself that God exists by following the pattern God set up to do this. You need not be swayed by the teachings of man and the philosophies of the intellectuals or atheists. You can know that God lives by following this pattern.
My Grandma Laura (bless her heart) was an amazing gardener. She could grow tomatoes on solid concrete, but as a teenager I teased her about her love of gardening and I regret it to this day. Rarely would I help her unless forced to by my parents and that never proved worthwhile for them or a fun experience for me.
She always had things growing every time of the year all over her house, inside and out. There was hardly a square inch of dirt that didn’t have something growing in it. Oh how I wish I knew what her secrets were now!
A few years ago out of a desire to become a full-fledged prepper I started taking on gardening and I even attended some classes at our local garden nursery and learned from some local experts. I managed to have some success as I grew hundreds of pounds of tomatoes (side note: I hate tomatoes unless they are in some sort of sauce, salsa or ketchup) and a variety of other things.
These pictures show some of that early success. I even tried creating some greenhouses to extend the growing season here in our high desert climate, which is actually quite short and very brutal to plants trying to grow outside the few months time frame that gardening is allowed here by mother nature.
Having moved to a new house 2 years ago I no longer had the available ground space to be able to produce that size of garden anymore. I did try two greenhouse type experiments that had limited success. Buying one of those prefab greenhouses from Lowe’s did not yield the results I wanted as the only thing it did was keep off the frost, but it was no warmer than the outside.
When the sliding glass doors were replaced on the back of the house, I kept those doors and propped them up against the south facing wall of the house. I was surprised at how hot it got inside of it even on very cold days! I managed to grow some things all year long, even though it wasn’t a lot, even green peppers. The problem with both of these was the watering as it took quite a bit of time as I did not have an automatic solution. Every time I did some watering I had to disconnect everything afterwards so it wouldn’t all freeze and break the pipes. This was a 20-30 minute per day process and that proved detrimental to the success of the garden and what was grown.
I then tried some indoor methods like getting a rack from a garage sale with some sunlit lamps at the hardware store. As you can see from these photos there are some salad-like items growing but they aren’t doing very well. I opened a new bag of miracle grow (the one on the bottom of the rack) and tried to plant some more lettuce but after a month it was only 2 inches tall and I gave up and put it outside.
I found a solution with the Tower Gardens available from Juice Plus. Here’s a time lapse video from their website of the tower garden in action over a four-week period. As you can see, it’s a very impressive solution.
I had a taste of some of the vegetables that were produced on this system and they’re absolutely delicious. If you want to buy one, it will cost about $45 per month for the basic system and $80 a month for the top-of-the-line system including all the lights and everything. I figured that a few dollars a week was worth it to have fresh vegetables whenever I wanted that were free from any kind of pesticide or grown in a foreign country. I am now a lot closer to the goal of being a total prepper.
My next purchase is a small solar power generator so that they will be fully self-sufficient and not dependent upon our local power company to provide electricity needed to run the lights and the pumps.
I will update this post with photos of the entire process over the next couple of months including the assembly of it, getting seedlings started, and showing its growth so that you may judge and gauge it for yourself. Of course, if you Purchase A Tower Garden Here I will make a small commission, but that is not my purpose for sharing this. I have tried everything over the last couple of years (as you can see) and I’m just trying to do something to provide for my family.
In the Saturday afternoon session of General Conference in October 2015, three new apostles were chosen to replace three men who died since the last conference in April. The ones who left us were: Elder L. Tom Perry, Elder Boyd K. Packer, and Elder Richard G. Scott.
We are told that these three men received their call directly from President Thomas S. Monson, the current prophet of the church stating that the Lord had chosen them. There are some touching stories about their calls and the reactions to it on various news sites.
Elder Ronald A. Rasband, Elder Gary E. Stevenson and Elder Dale G. Renlund were named to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Saturday, October 3, 2015. © 2015 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.
There was no campaigning involved and no electioneering, just a peaceful transition followed by a sustaining vote. This is unlike any transition of leadership in any church in the world.
Surprisingly though, several people online posted about how they are “disappointed” with the selections as they were hoping there would be someone chosen from other nationalities, races, countries or areas of the world. I presume this request is to make the church look more “inclusive” of other nationalities and not appear to be from just one.
There are two major faults with such reasoning:
The first are the obvious questions, “Were they called of God or not? Is this church led by revelation given to a prophet of God, or not? Did this authority get passed down from Joseph Smith through the proper line as has been stated, or not? Do those who sustain President Monson as a prophet and believe that the Book of Mormon is true, also truly sustain these new general authorities, or not?”
While the leadership of the church in the highest positions may appear to be predominantly “white”, the rest of the church definitely consists of every race imaginable. The Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day Saints is open to anyone in the world desiring to accept its teachings and live by its principles. Hundreds or even thousands of people every day are baptized somewhere all over the world committing themselves to take upon themselves the name of Christ, to keep his commandments and to sustain the leadership of the church.
People who question such actions as choosing new apostles that don’t fit what they were expecting need to seriously consider their own hearts. They are disagreeing with God. They are claiming that He should have done things differently. They are saying in essence, they know what is best and He’s made a mistake.
This is not a popularity contest nor is it a church the bows to every wind of change, doctrine or the latest fads. If there is anyone who questions these choices, they are urged to look deep within themselves and see what it is that really bothers them. The church accepts all people of all races, nations and cultures but the Lord chooses whom he will to lead his church.
That brings us to point number two: it is most likely that each of these men are from the tribe of Ephraim. It is Ephraim’s responsibility in the last days, as prophesied in the Scriptures, to gather the House of Israel together and bring them to the covenants of the Lord. I don’t know the patriarchal blessings and the pronouncements of each of these new apostles lineage, but it is most likely that they are from Ephraim.
Why is this significant? Ephraim’s tribe was taken up north after they were conquered by Assyria. We don’t exactly know where they went, only that they went north. Surely this must include Northern Europe, the Scandinavian countries and the people of the British Isles. It may also include Russia and others “up north”.
These are (were) all predominantly White races as are each of the members of the First Presidency and Twelve Apostles. They are called to this position because they are the lineage of Ephraim. Although Ephraim’s lineage is all over the world, they are mostly White or Caucasian.
Ephraim has great blessings given to it in order to accomplish this mission. These great blessings come with great responsibilities including the enormous task of bringing all of the House of Israel, both living and dead, to the covenants of the Lord.
During the Lord’s short recorded history in Jerusalem he was limited to teaching just the Jews and the House of Israel. There is a somewhat odd story about a woman who was of Canaan and with whom he seemingly rather curtly ignored, but she persisted in her requests. Eventually her faith won him over and he granted her great blessings. (Matthew 15:21-18).
In our supposedly enlightened day this would seem to be a very rude or even “racist” thing to do, yet we are talking about the Lord here. We are talking about Jesus Christ the creator of the heavens and earth. He had a mission to perform as given to him by God and nothing was going to deter him from that. He was obedient unto God.
In our day the tribe of Ephraim, which is predominantly white, although definitely not exclusively, is what makes up the majority of the higher church leadership at this time. In the future day we will see the Lord’s hand in all things and understand why He did these things the way he did. It is my opinion that someday there will be leadership from other races and tribes, but until that time, we need to sustain them and wait upon the Lord.
It would be best to not be like Laman and Lemuel who, “did murmur against their father…because they knew not the dealings of that God who had created them.” (1 Nephi 2:12). It all requires Faith-something that was talked about often in this last Conference.
No active member of the LDS Church would want to receive a letter or email that began like that, especially from a family member or close friend. The recipient would almost certainly feel a sense of remorse and wonder as to what caused such a change and would probably petition the Lord as to best how to answer them and get them back on track, if possible. It would also be a test of their faith and cause them to wonder what they could have done better to prevent such an action.
Sadly, there have always been those who have dissented from the truth in all ages and times, even before this world began. Satan and his minions comprised 1/3 of the host of God’s premortal spirit children. They all knew the truth and left it anyway thinking they could do what they wanted and still achieve the desired outcome of Eternal Life on their terms.
Dissenters of all ages have wrought havoc on the believers and been the cause of the most despicable of crimes. Cylon, a dissenter of Pythagoras killed the great leader and sought to have them follow him. Judas, tempted by the same adversary we are, sought to gain some monetary advantage by betraying the very creator of this world, even Jesus Christ. There are people in our day who have fallen away, have even sought the deaths of the modern prophets and apostolic leaders and now been the means of much deception in our modern online world of Facebook and Twitter. They seek those unsuspecting souls foraging into the new realm of instant access to vast knowledge without effort or verification of the claims made.
People who have been baptized as members of the LDS Church take upon themselves certain covenants, among them being to stand as a witness of God at all times in all places. Breaking those covenants brings serious consequences. As a person progresses beyond baptism, even greater covenants are received and with them greater blessings and greater consequences if broken. Satan gains control over those who break these greater covenants and he then runs their lives. They are no longer in control of their actions.
To me, if I knew that I was not in control of what I was doing and someone else was pulling my strings, I hope that would be enough to shake me from any sin and addiction I was in and get me back on track. I would much rather be truly free than controlled in such a manner.
This post is an attempt to outline a number of things that I have seen and will hopefully help anyone in a similar situation. All of these suggestions are from my own observations and are not to be taken as actual church doctrine even though I believe I’ve kept to what the church teaches. In the spirit of fasting and prayer I share the following. It has taken me many hours to compile this.
Lets first consider the premise of the statement: “I have decided for myself that the church isn’t true.” There are a lot things going on here. Does anyone really decide that the church is true or not? Does this mean they are the ones who know everything and we are to listen to them? Have those who have taught them these principles since birth (if that is the case) been now summarily condemned as teachers of falsehood and deception in their eyes? Is the church on trial or are we?
The intended meaning of the statement should probably be stated, “I have decided that I am not going to follow the teachings and principles of the church and I am going to do what I want to do. I am not able to live the covenants I have taken upon me and I am going to do as I wish.”
Isn’t that exactly what those who followed Satan said in the premortal realm previously mentioned as they “know a better way”?
But Truth is usually not the standard by which people leave the church or admit what is really going on in their lives. Oddly enough, many claim that they have come across some weird historical fact or doctrine of the Church that they just can’t believe in any more and caused them to doubt the things they thought they knew. They claim that because of this “newfound truth” they are leaving the church and that is the reason.
It isn’t. Here’s why.
The first thing that Cain said soon after he killed his brother Abel was, “I’m free!” The first thing that Bruce Jenner said soon after he declared himself as Caitlin Jenner was, “I’m free!” I have had members tell me directly to my face and seen it written in various places online that, “I feel so much better now that I stopped going to church. I don’t feel the pressure anymore. I don’t feel the stress of it all. I don’t have to try to live the way other people think I should. I feel free.”
One of the most important things to recognize is the diabolical nature and tactics of Satan, our adversary. Remember, he will do anything to destroy us. There is no tactic that he will not use and he has great power in order to drag us down if we will let him. We as mortal humans in a telestial existence are not able to withstand all of Satan’s powers and control without drawing upon the power of God to help us when we face difficulties or temptations. Yes, those who have physical bodies have power over those that don’t (Joseph Smith) and the act of making promises and covenants is a way for us to draw upon that higher power. Exercising our faith during difficult times will also manifest that power.
Breaking covenants will cause that higher power of God to be removed and that is when Satan gains power over us. That is what he always wanted to do from the premortal beginning: control others.
When Cain said, “I’m free!” he was in reality in worse bondage than ever before. Somehow, I believe, when we commit such actions, large or small, Satan lets off from his influence for a time and causes us to feel that feeling of freedom. It may come ever so imperceptibly and the Scriptures describe it as thin threads gently wrapped around us until they become unbreakable cords or even chains (this applies to sin and addictions too). Of course they are not absolutely unbreakable, because repentance and change through the atonement of Jesus Christ can break any bands, but we by ourselves cannot break them.
If someone takes the first step of doing something against what they know they should do such as attending church, reading their Scriptures, performing promised service, saying daily prayers and a host of other good things, Satan uses his influence to make us feel good about that decision by removing the pressure to not do them, that he put on us in the first place in tempting us not to do them. That lack of doing something then leads to the lack of doing something else until complete inactivity in the church becomes the norm.
A bad habit is formed and more bad habits soon follow.
Once Satan gains control over us and causes us to commit sin in any degree, he gains more control over us until we break our covenants and he has complete control.
What is the final result? In the case of Cain and others who have broken serious covenants, they may lose their eternal possibilities. If they try to repent (and even if they don’t) they undergo the “buffetings of Satan.” This video clip of the Hulk in his confrontation with Loki who demands his worship and allegiance is a similar allegorical example of what I think the buffetings of Satan are like (the Hulk represents Satan and the Proud sinner by Loki):
The Buffetings of Satan are Something Like This
What people don’t know is that people who are under the control of Satan try to find excuses for their actions and even make such claims like the church isn’t true because of something that happened 180+ years ago. They dig up some strange story or twisted interpretation of doctrine and claim that the church can’t be true because of it. Then they go about committing great sins and this justifies their actions?
Does this make sense? Of course not, but to those who are under the control of the adversary it somehow does. They have been blinded and are wandering around in the dark.
In 1 Nephi 15:24, Nephi’s brothers, Laman and Lemuel had asked him a question regarding the interpretation of the rod of iron in the dream of the tree of life that had just been revealed to them. Here is his response:
24 And I said unto them that it was the word of God; and whoso would hearken unto the word of God, and would hold fast unto it, they would never perish; neither could the temptations and the fiery darts of the adversary overpower them unto blindness, to lead them away to destruction.
When I read this verse a few months ago I was struck with a powerful memory. A friend of mine named Hal Hurst and his family was playing darts in their garage. His sister Connie came out of the kitchen into the garage and got one of those darts right into her left eye. She had to wear a bandage for many months and if memory serves me correctly, she did recover.
What’s interesting in this verse is that Nephi inserts an element that is not revealed in the dream: fiery darts. Fiery darts are something that was used in ancient warfare whereby a wad of fabric or material was attached to the front end of an arrow, which was then dipped in oil or fuel and lit on fire. This arrow was then shot towards the walls, buildings or supplies of the opposing army. Not only would the people in those buildings be struggling to fight the oncoming army but now they had to deal with fire which could destroy the very structures that they were in and the supplies that supported them. It caused tremendous havoc and is an extremely powerful weapon.
Fiery Darts of the Adversary (photo credit: “Son of a Parson”)
According to this verse Satan would want to take those fiery darts and shoot them into each of our eyes, not by hand but from a bow or crossbow only a few feet away traveling hundreds of miles per hour. He would gladly blind us in both eyes and cause us to lose our way.
According to this verse, Satan cannot blind those who hold onto the iron rod. That is our protection-we must keep holding onto the rod.
What are some of those actions that would be equivalent to holding onto the iron rod? I believe a few of them are as follows:
The mist of darkness covers the earth and requires us to walk by faith. Faith is one of the most important things we can possibly develop in this life. Many people have heard that phrase but they don’t know why it is so necessary, and for some reason many have never pondered such question. Faith is not something that is popular in our increasingly intellectual and secular world. The powerful technologies that we enjoy today that measure things in almost infinite detail are all just empirical devices that give us readings upon what we can see, feel, taste, hear and smell. Faith is spiritual in nature and requires spiritually attuned senses to feel and understand. The greater the faith, the better it is understood.
Those who hold onto the iron rod eventually make it to the Tree of Life whereby they partake of the fruit that is most joyous to the soul. Those who let go of the iron rod wander away and fall into the raging, filthy river below. We are told that the path that follows the iron rod is strait and narrow. To me this means “difficult to pass” as it is not spelled “straight”. This image below claims to be from “the scariest hike in the world” located in China. Maybe the path to the iron rod is actually something closer to this.
Is this more like the Path to the Tree of Life and the Iron Rod?
When someone steps off this path they fall for thousands of feet. When someone falls off the path towards the tree of life, they fall thousands of spiritual miles. They feel free for a time, until they hit the bottom.
Notice the two aspects here: we are walking in the mist of darkness and Satan wants to blind us with fiery darts. Both have to do with walking on a daily basis in the dark or on a limited basis. Our faith increases as we hold onto and progress along the iron rod towards the ultimate goal. Our sight is blinded when we let go of the iron rod and fall into the depths of sin and temptation.
I once had one young man tell a friend of mine that when he stands before God he’s going to tell Him exactly how He should’ve done it! Mind you, this person followed the path of getting involved in anti literature and fell away from the church and now declares himself a, “secular humanist.” Now he’s boldly telling others what he’s going to tell God when he meets him face-to-face. I find the premise quite interesting, but here’s what he said anyway, “I’m going to tell God that he should not have had everything be so hidden. Everything should have been more open. We should have seen more things and You should’ve shown us all of this.”
I think the experience will be quite different than he anticipates. When his (and our) life story is broadcast in ultra 3-D (or multidimensional) visuals for all to see on the Day of Judgement, he will recognize just how often the spirit tried to work with him, how often he made mistakes, how often he succumbed to Satan’s temptations, how evil his thoughts were, etc. Everything will be visible and open for all to see. He will not be telling God anything but he will slink in despair and guilt and wish that the mountains could fall upon him and hide him from His presence. And that will be the case with all of us who have not repented and rejected the opportunity taking advantage of the atonement of Jesus Christ offered to all mankind.
So back to the question of faith. Why is there such an emphasis upon developing this characteristic? We are told that the worlds were created by faith (Lectures on Faith 1:14). Faith is power (Lectures on Faith 1:13). Our faith must be put in Jesus Christ, the creator of this world, the finisher of our faith, the rock of our salvation. Yes, we must develop Faith in ourselves but it is only through Him that we can accomplish all things. This life is a testing ground for us to exercise faith in smaller, more controlled areas. We must exercise our faith to accomplish a task, finish a job, plan for the future, build a business, run a race and raise a family. Faith is Mental Exertion. All of these experiences can lead us to become more like God if we do them with Him in mind.
We’re promised that those who keep their covenants will receive all that God has and become like Him. We are told that the righteous will be received in the morning of the first resurrection and raised up with bodies like Him. Those who have developed their faith in this life will become like Him. Then the faith we have will be true power within ourselves with which we will also do what He does and continue on the process into the eternities.
Yes, Faith is one of the most important things we can develop in this life. Also included in that is hope and charity and love and service and education and a host of other things. But faith is the first principle of the gospel for a reason.
Yet sadly, we still see people who have been deceived in such a fashion and have left the church. The church recently published a number of articles on the website clarifying a number of things have happened in past church history. Some of these don’t fit the way we think things should be. In our intellectually sophisticated and advanced society, it would be improper to expect the same attributes to be put on cultures of the past. Michael Otterson of the church public affairs department recently gave a wonderful speech and calling such actions, “Presentism“, and quoted the Webster Dictionary definition as, “an attitude toward the past dominated by present-day attitudes and experiences.”
Joseph Smith was commanded to live the law of polygamy and even had an angel with a drawn sword warn him that if he did not live it, his life would be taken. That line alone is so offensive to many people of our day that it is not possible to even discuss much beyond it. Yet the Lord had His reasons for doing this and I believe it is possible that one of the major reasons for doing so was to test us in our day. The Lord’s ways are higher than our ways and it is sometimes very difficult to understand the reason he does things.
Nephi was told to make a second set of plates, but was not told why. Mormon was told to include that set of plates with that which he had already engraved, but was not told why. Moses asked the Lord to reveal to him why and how he had created all these things he had just seen in vision, yet the Lord told him No. Abraham was commanded to offer up his son as a sacrifice. This had to have been the most difficult thing Abraham had ever done since he, as a child, was also almost offered as a sacrifice upon the altar. But Abraham ended up learning something about Abraham (Neal A Maxwell). All of these great prophets still had to develop more faith. Abraham has now gone on to his exaltation and is doing the things that God does.
Are we better than Abraham? Are we better than any of these great Prophets with whom the Lord helped increase their faith? I think not.
To put it bluntly, those who have left the church because of some unusual history or twisted take on doctrine, have been blinded by the adversary. And the reality is they are most likely caught in the snares of Satan’s grasp by committing sin and breaking covenants. They are not telling us the truth. They claim that they left the church because of these things, but in reality they are caught in sin and are trying to cover it up.
The purpose of anti-Mormon literature is to cause doubt. Doubt and faith cannot exist at the same time the mind. As President Dieter F. Uchdorf once said, “Doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith.”
There have been many times in my life when I have had a question about something that I didn’t understand. If, during my research, I couldn’t find the answer, I discovered that the best thing to do is just put it aside for a while (I can’t remember which prophet suggested that tactic, maybe Pres. Kimball). Eventually the answer will come.
This experience just happened to me a few months ago. I had had a question that had been in my mind for many years but I have learned not to let them bother me. Then, out of the blue, through a very small and subtle experience, an answer came to me very clearly and in a way that I would never have anticipated.
But if we do the opposite thing and allow these doubts to destroy our faith, Satan begins to take hold until he causes us to sin and break our covenants. Then, oddly enough, those caught in sin use the very same things that cause their doubts to justify their actions.
There are also those who pray to God and demand an answer right now. They don’t want to wait. They have their timetable and expect God to adhere to it. It doesn’t work that way. We have to wait upon Him, and not tell Him how things need to be. That requires Faith.
We don’t know everything about the early history of the church. Someday all will be revealed and there will be many who wish they had not let the incomplete knowledge or false teachings to sway them into unbelief and eventual damnation. I recently read of a man who claims to be a former Bishop who now goes around teaching against the Church because once he learned these things, he claims he was deceived all of his life and so he got himself excommunicated.
Something is very fishy with this story. I actually saw him at the Manti Temple Pageant this past summer and he was quite vocal about his position. Many people were surrounding him and listening to his flamboyant speech and loud demeanor. But I am here to tell you, something is fishy. Those who follow the true Lord and God do not exhibit such anger and it’s my personal belief (I have no proof) that he is hiding something. He has committed some sin and has gone against the church to cover up the guilt that he feels. Its the same pattern I have seen before.
When Satan takes control of someone he will continue to bring them down. At first, as mentioned above, we may feel good for a time but it will not last. I have seen people who follow this path commit terrible sins and even crimes. One young man even had a Mission call but sadly, committed murder about a month before he was scheduled to leave! Satan doesn’t care what he would have you do, just as long as you are in his power. He will continue to drag you down to the depths of hell. The chains get larger and longer and he exercises more and more control over you. Korihor’s terrible fate is an example of what awaits those who fail to repent: in the end, Satan will not support those who follow him (Alma 30:60).
All of us have weaknesses and fallibilities. All of us can be caught in his snare. The church recently published a series of videos for those in the addiction recovery program. They are good for anyone at any level of the church. We all have things we are trying to overcome. We all have bad habits. The principles espoused in the addiction recovery program can help us.
The first principle is to be Honest. Be Honest with ourselves. Admit we have a problem. Admit we have sinned and maybe are addicted to something. Take upon ourselves the responsibility that we have made a mistake. Tell others exactly the reasons we have fallen away and not be dishonest about our actions. Be humble and go to the Bishop and be honest with what we have done. Addictions are powerful things and the only reason we don’t overcome them is because we don’t want to do what is required. It’s a difficult principle but there is no way to return without being honest.
In April 1986 President Benson gave a warning to the church that they were still under the condemnation that had been given in 1832 regarding how they had not heeded the words of the Book of Mormon and the Bible. They had taken lightly those things and it caused this condemnation to come upon them (D&C 84:54-55). President Benson’s words struck me deeply.
I had been a member since I was 8 years old. I had gone to seminary and on a mission. I had been through multiple religion classes at BYU and had read the Scriptures several times. I had fallen in love with them many years prior, but something hit me that day. I realized I had not taken them as my own guide or Liahona. I had not used them in the personal way that the Lord had intended.
I made a promise to myself and God that day that I would read my Book of Mormon every day from that day forward. That was 29 1/2 years ago and I have only missed about 52 days so far. Of course, some days have been rather quick for a variety of reasons but I’ve always tried to read for at least 15 minutes a day.
I cannot tell you how many wonderful experiences I’ve had reading the Book of Mormon! I look forward to it every day. It’s my favorite part of the day. There are times when I look at the clock and say to myself that I can read for the next 30 minutes. The next thing I know an hour and a half has gone by and I have no desire to quit!
This daily act of Scripture reading has built up a giant tree within me as strong as possible and able to withstand anything thrown at it. Yet, I am tempted every single day not to read. You would think that after 29 1/2 years that Satan would give up. He doesn’t. I have to make that decision every day and set aside the time to do so. Because of this testimony, I have been able to withstand any false ideas or deceptions that are thrown at me. I can smell an argument based on falsehood a mile away.
But I also must be diligent and recognize that I have my own weaknesses. If I fell from the position I’m in, I would receive the most severe of condemnations. I look at people in high positions that have fallen and pray that this never happens to me. I have many things I need to overcome and I’m greatly concerned that I stay on the path.
I have followed the example given in Alma 32 of planting a seed, watering it, fertilizing it and watching it grow. I know it is true. Yes, anyone can fall by not watering it, and then chop it down when it’s dead. Some go so far as to get a stump remover to finish it. Here is a video of an amazing device that tree removers now use to quickly remove a tree:
How would someone get that far to rip out their testimony that they had built over the years? The simple answer: doubts that beget sin. And once they get to that point I usually see people start demanding proof or signs in order to bring them back.
It seems that everyone demands proof in our secular world. I always find this interesting. The very first temptation that Jesus faced as recorded in the Scriptures was Satan urging him to turn the stones into bread IF he was the Son of God (Matt 4:3). Then he was tempted to prove to the world that he was the Son of God by jumping off the temple in front of all these people (Matt 4:6). The last temptations that he faced were two thieves begging him to prove he was the Son of God and to save them also (Luke 23:39).
Anytime someone demands proof of anything of a scriptural or religious nature, it’s instant sign to me that Satan has taken over their lives. God does not work this way. He wants us to develop faith but faith can be destroyed by doubts and sin and breaking covenants.
There is also a terrible warning for those who have broken covenants and turned from that which they knew to be true.
Alma 24:30 And thus we can plainly discern, that after a people have been once enlightened by the Spirit of God, and have had great knowledge of things pertaining to righteousness, and then have fallen away into sin and transgression, they become more hardened, and thus their state becomes worse than though they had never known these things.
Sadly, I have seen this to be true. I saw one young man return from off his mission and within weeks, fell away into past sins and has never returned to church. I saw another take a few years to fall completely away after his mission, but now you can hardly recognize him. He looks terrible. He smokes and drinks and does who-knows-what and has a terrible darkness about him.
Many who fall away turn to drugs and alcohol as a way to “feel something” after the loss of the Spirit they once had. Sadly many turn to sex as a way to get some pleasure in life and pornography can become a constant addiction. One man lost his family due to porn and he has never returned to activity 25+ years later. He is now over 60 years old and as far as I know, no desire to change.
I know a woman who fell away because of a confrontation she had with a church leader. She took it personally and angrily fell away from the church. I recently saw her at the store at least 10 years after the event. She said, “Hi” to me but I didn’t have a clue as to who she was. I politely said “Hi” back, but it wasn’t until I saw her husband come up next to her that I realized who she was. She doesn’t look at all like I remember her.
I know one man who got despondent over the loss of his wife. He let that fester and eventually lost his job, his home, his children, his membership in the church and then got into drugs and lost all of his friends and family as he stole from everyone to support his habit. His parents have no idea where he is to this day.
I saw a good friend with whom we had worked together in callings for years and had fallen away. He came by my house to get something and there was a visible shadow on his face that frightened me. I kept looking around as to where that shadow was coming from as it was in broad daylight. It was almost as if he had a baseball cap on, but he had nothing on his head. It stunned me to see this and I later found out that he had been excommunicated. He had such a dark countenance about him that I never forgot the experience. The good news is that he later repented and returned to activity in the church. But all of his children are now outside of the church.
The only hope that we all can really have is that anyone who has left the church will someday return to what they know to be true. This talk by Elder Brent Nielsen talks about this very subject: Waiting for the Prodigal. We all need to have hope that they will return and not be like those mentioned in Alma 24:30. As parents and friends of those who have fallen away, sometimes all we can do is love them until they have gone through enough buffetings that they realize what they have done and want to come back.
Those who follow this path of leaving and then returning are often left with some difficult problems because of the time they were “inactive” that may last for the rest of their lives. The worst I have seen is the effects upon their children and other family members who followed their example and did not return.
My prayer is to all those who have fallen away is to try and remember the spirit you once felt as a member of the church. It may be very difficult as the loss of the spirit can result in a loss of memory, but if we truly desire the happiness we once felt, the spirit can bring all things to our remembrance (John 14:26).
If you need to repent of something you have done, be humble and recognize that God will forgive you if you turn unto him. It may be embarrassing and there may be difficult times ahead, but this is the day we need to repent. If we wait we run the real risk of losing that chance.
I once knew a man who became very wealthy and left the church. I asked him why he did so and he replied that he had “grown past it” and was onto better things. One day he got scratched by his cat and died the next day. He never repented and will now suffer God’s punishment for what he has done and most likely will lose the eternal standing he once had.
Here is a short list of things to do to get your life in order, take control of your destiny and receive the blessings of God again:
Let me end with this powerful video from the Church about someone who fell away and eventually returned:
I know the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the true church of God on the earth today. I know that Thomas S. Monson is the Prophet on the earth today and the one to follow him will be the one God chooses to fill that position. I know the Book of Mormon is true and I pray that all the world will someday know what I know and partake of what I have tasted and felt.
To those who have fallen away, I pray that you will do what you need to come back. If this isn’t the true church, what is? If this doesn’t have the truth, who does? You will determine how far you fall before you “hit bottom”. It is up to YOU! Just remember that some never make it back and lose the eternal blessings once offered. How will you be different?
Someone who fell away once told me that he didn’t know it was true any more, but wished that it was because he didn’t see anything else that could be.
Please recognize the perilous situation you are in and that someone is controlling your actions. Please come back. Please know that your eternal destiny is not what it once was and that you will not receive the promised blessings held out to the faithful. God’s word cannot be denied and we must follow His ways in order to receive His blessings.
This I pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
On Tuesday April 29, 2014 I had the following dream, only a portion of which I will mention here.
I dreamt I was in the home of a man than I did not know, but that I had heard about. I saw something that reminded me of my father’s business, a poster with the logo of his old company on it. I bent down to pick it up as instant nostalgia overflowed my being. As I was leaning down someone brushed by me and I turned to see my father standing there. He had been dead for over 9 years and I rushed to hug him. It felt so good to see him again!
Without saying a word he gently pushed me away with a somewhat stern look on his face that suggested he was here to deliver a serious message. I was confused and in my heart thought, “Dad, I haven’t seen you in 9 years. Can’t I hold on to you for a bit longer?” These are only thoughts in my mind and are not actual words, but there was no change in my father’s face. He was very concerned that I get this message.
I turned to see a large book sitting on a coffee table and felt impressed to go pick it up. There were several other people in the room but I don’t know who they were. The book was about 18 inches square and about 6 inches thick. The outside cover was red velvet and in the middle of the front was a cutout revealing a photograph or drawing, but I don’t know what it was of.
As I picked it up and tried to open it, it instantly fell apart in my hands and pages fell out of it all over the table and floor. I was embarrassed that I had been given such a beautiful gift and was treating it so casually. I really had done nothing wrong as a profound message about to be revealed. I quickly grabbed each of the pages and tried to find how they fit back into the book trying to determine what was the front, what was the back and which went in first. I didn’t have time to look at much of the pictures as I was hurrying to get it all back together. I noticed that there were pictures of many things (mostly of very sickly animals that were almost dead) floating in the ocean. There were also many pictures of wars, earthquakes, tsunamis, riots, atomic bombs, plagues, floods, erupting volcanoes, hurricanes, etc. and they were all done in an unusual drawing style as they were not photos.
I did stop and look at one picture (or drawing) of a Duck. He looked terrible. He was not sitting on top of the water but was down in it a ways. His beak was broken, his eye was damaged, feathers were missing and he was covered in diseases. I inserted the page into the book and picked up another one of an Eagle in exactly the same situation.
My father then spoke for the first time saying, “Destruction is Imminent.” I quickly turned and looked at him, rather alarmingly and questioning, “destruction is imminent?” He replied, “destruction is imminent.”
I then gathered up the book with all of the pages loosely between the covers and all of the other items that were on the table. I bundled them all in my arms feeling so good that I knew this information. I then walked out the door and promptly woke up.
I wrote that dream down in my phone at 3:30 in the morning. That phrase “destruction is imminent,” has gone through my mind every single day since that time. Now that it has been almost a year and a half since I had that dream, I have spent much time reflecting upon a number of the images and the entire process in which it was revealed. Although the images were terrible in nature it was done in such a manner as to not cause great fear within my soul. Although destruction is imminent according to the prophecies given in the Scriptures, there seems to be a little time left to get ready. The word imminent means a different thing to humans than with God.
Yet even with all of that, I feel a great urgency to become prepared. It has also changed my perspectives on some of my goals in life. I no longer have a desire to have many of the things of the world but only those things that are necessary for life and protection. When the Scriptures say that the, “earth shall reel to and fro as a drunken man,” it’s hard to see any property surviving such a drastic earthquake, the largest one ever seen in the history of the world. Why spend my time trying to acquire such things when they will become worthless in just a few years?
It also made an increased desire in me to be a better person and to shed many of my weaknesses. I have a long way to go but I am working on it every day. Although I have been an avid reader of the scriptures (especially the Book of Mormon) for the past 29 years (I have only missed about 52 days in that time) I have an even greater desire to understand the messages in them and to use them as a personal guide or Liahona (a reference to a spiritual compass or director to the Prophet Lehi in the Book of Mormon).
The Scriptures reveal a number of things regarding the future and the prophesied destruction that comes before the return of our Savior Jesus Christ. In the Book of Mormon, Christ gives a number of prophecies to the people upon this land soon after his resurrection and appearance to them here in the Western Hemisphere, and shows two possible outcomes: 1-acceptance of the gospel message with glorious blessings attending it, or 2-rejection of that message and incredible destructions because of it. It is obvious to me, because of that dream (and other things) that America has chosen to reject the great blessings that they have been given and the requirement to live and keep the Commandments as instructed by God.
Here are some of the things that show what I mean:
1-Now that the Supreme Court has instituted gay marriage as a requirement in all 50 states, they have inserted themselves into the freedom of religion debate and tried to change the laws of God. Making immorality legal will not change what God has declared. The Supreme Court is supposed to be following the laws of God in their decisions, not over-riding them. Combine this with the fact that many people don’t want to offend their friends, family or neighbors as to how wrong homosexuality is, believing that is it is somehow something they are born with, is causing a tremendous division in the country. When no one stands for what is right, why should they be given the things God has blessed them with?
2-The horrific crime of abortion has been going on in our country for over 42 years killing over 56 million of the most innocent of God’s children. The recent revelation that their body parts of been sold for profit in a most callous manner is deeply disturbing. We have become a nation that is performing atrocities that are worse than the crimes of Hitler against the Jews. It is beyond reason that this continues to go on. It is impossible to describe the pain that those involved in this heinous crime will feel when they stand before God at the day of Judgement and have to answer for their sins.
3-Our economic system is a complete house of cards and could come down at any minute. It is not built upon any kind of solid foundation and it has all been done for political expediency. We have gone away from the standards that made us profitable and reliant upon God’s graces and are being lied to every day regarding the reality of the situation. We now owe over $18T, much of it to foreign countries, and if the unfunded liabilities were included we are well over $127 TRILLION, or over $1.1 Million per taxpayer! No nation can survive such a debt load. We are far worse than Greece and will soon be a worse situation when no one comes to bail us out of it.
4-To allow waves of millions of illegal immigrants to invade our country in order that the Democratic Party may get more votes should be the most alarming event of recent memory regarding the future stability of America. This influx is the main reason we are suffering such increases in Medical expenses, the drain on our Education system and the reduction in pay for the average American. It’s as if we have been invaded by foreigners and is like no other time in history, except after wars. While we love all of God’s children, it is impossible to support the load that has been thrust upon us with all the illegal aliens. The recent events of people being harassed, raped and murdered by illegals should hopefully wake up our elected officials to do something about it. Also, the adjacent desire of the Media and those in Power to inject the subject of Racism into every action and discussion is not helping matters one iota and is just another ruse to gain more power.
5-The recent elections that took place and changed the balance of power of those who have been elected to political office, should have changed the direction of the country, yet nothing has changed and the electorate is extremely frustrated by this alarming development. Why vote when the officials won’t change the laws and do what they were elected to do? If we don’t change, the outcome is sure.
6-The complete disregard for the laws of the land by almost everyone from the President on down activist judges (including the Supreme Court) is turning our country into a land not ruled by law, but by a whim and whoever is in power. This is Tyranny and will result in Civil War. Our founding fathers fought against such actions to establish a free society and we will most likely end up fighting again to preserve it, if it isn’t too late.
7-It has recently been reported that Las Vegas is suffering in an industry it was once famous for: quickie marriages. The fact is that Marriage rates in the entire country are plummeting and the traditional family is losing out to convenience and a rather cavalier attitude of “do whatever you want.” The stability of a family with a Father and a Mother to bring God’s children into this world is eroding our society and our future.
All of these things and many others are part and parcel of a society that has forgotten God, has ignored His counsels and fallen victim to laziness and materialism. But it is the destruction of the family that is of the greatest concern. In “The Proclamation on the Family,” we were warned 20 years ago (1995) that if we did not do all we could to preserve the family, it would bring upon us the destructions prophesied so long ago.
Apparently these things are about to happen as,
“Destruction Is Imminent.”
Yesterday, Tuesday February 10, 2015, a Press Release announced that John Dehlin, a controversial figure with his own podcasting program and devoted followers, was excommunicated from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The reason we know this is because John had organized the press release announcement to make sure that everybody saw […]
Yesterday, Tuesday February 10, 2015, a Press Release announced that John Dehlin, a controversial figure with his own podcasting program and devoted followers, was excommunicated from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The reason we know this is because John had organized the press release announcement to make sure that everybody saw […]
If there’s one thing that has gone completely wrong in our country
over the last six years, it’s the forceful establishment of the
“Affordable Care Act” upon “we the people”. Nothing has worked out as
promised and none of the promises have been kept. People I know are
losing their doctors, their coverage and their planned procedures right
and left. And now as of this year, those who don’t subscribe to this
forced government program are going to be penalized and the penalties are going to be worse than what people think.
Medical bills are affecting more and more people’s financial situations in a negative way.
Everybody I know wants a way out. They want some kind of
alternative and they want to go back to what we once had, which was the
greatest medical system in the history of the world. More medical
advances have been made under the free market system than people
realize. Other people I know want a “single-payer system” in order to”
keep down the cost.” It won’t work. As soon as you remove competition
out of the equation, prices go up and the quality goes down and every
socialist country in the world attests to that. Story after story is
told the people in those type of countries that wait weeks or months for
even being seen on the procedures. I’m surprised that our government
decided to adopt such a disasterous system.
During the medical program I was previously on, when Obamacare was
made into law, they said that they were now switching and would give me a
quote. I waited a couple days and received a phone call from them. They were so excited to tell me the good news.
Because of our situation at the time we would only have to pay $325 per
month for the Silver Plan and the taxpayers would pay $950 per month. I
said, “Are you kidding me?” He replied, “No we aren’t. Isn’t that great
news?” I said, “No thank you. I refuse to have the taxpayers of this
country pay for my medical insurance. It isn’t fair. Isn’t right. It
isn’t constitutional. How do you expect the country to survive under
such a program? This is a disaster of epic biblical monumental
proportions like never seen before. You are guaranteed to bankrupt this
country in the years ahead and this program will not survive.” I hung up
the phone and immediately started looking for an alternative.
Keeping our children healthy is most parent’s priority.
And surprisingly the alternative is right in Obamacare. Very deep within the law is an option for people who belong to Christian healthcare organizations
to not be subject to the tax or penalty. To me this is quite surprising
that this would be allowed, but I’m sure that everyone thought that no
one would join such a program and so they allowed it. They were wrong.
In fact they were dead wrong and more and more people are finding this
as a viable option, in fact in many ways, it is even better than the
insurance they once had even though this is not insurance.
There are a couple things to be aware of when joining one of these
organizations. Some of these things are not palpable to some people.
Well, they can go back to Obamacare if they want to. Here are a few
things to keep in mind:
1-You must be a Christian. You must have a document
signed by your Pastor, Bishop or Priest attesting to your attendance at
church on a regular basis. If you can’t do that, either start attending
or look someplace else.
Complete
Maternity coverage is available under Christian Healthcare Ministries
if you belong to the program at least 30 days before becoming pregnant.
(See plan for details).
2-You must sign a document that you agree that this is not insurance. You agree that you have no guarantee that your bills are going to be paid. This is a legal requirement
because it isn’t insurance and not subject to insurance rules and
regulations. But know this, the group that I belong to has never missed a
payment in over 30 years (yes, they are a 30-year-old company). For
some people, they will not be able to accept this option. I would have
them look at it this way. Even though you once purchased an insurance
program that you may or may not have liked, how often were your bills
always paid? Were there times that you fought and struggled over all
sorts of things and found out that you weren’t covered for certain
procedures? In reality it all comes down to faith anyway and that’s what
this is all about.
The costs of medical procedures has skyrocketed because of government intervention.
3-They don’t cover preventative measures or
procedures and they don’t cover some things like dental, vision or
chiropractic care, but very few insurance companies cover those anyway
anymore. There are three different levels at which you can join and the
maximum amount you would have to pay is $450 per month for your entire
family on the Gold Program. With that you get a $500 deductible per
incident program, meaning that they would have to pay the first $500 of
any single event, like breaking an arm. After that, you are covered for
everything up to around $125,000 regarding that incident. If you have
another “incident” you will have to pay the first $500 of that one too.
But here’s the beauty of the system. If
you belong to the “Brothers Keeper” program where you pay an extra $75
per quarter, you have the option of requesting additional help for
catastrophic plans and your name is put into the prayer rolls of the
people and there is unlimited coverage for those massive bills.
There are many stories of people who had multi-gazillion dollar
procedures that were covered under this Brother’s Keeper program.
Can you imagine how expensive this surgery is going to be?
There are some other things to be considered and looked at if you
want to join this program. I encourage you to take a look at it and see
if this will fit you and your family. There is also a way to get your
coverage at no cost. If you want to learn about that, please feel free
to call me at 775-722-4949 and I will explain that program to you. It
has already work for me.
So I encourage you to take a few minutes to look at this program and call me if you have any questions. It isn’t 100% perfect but it is 1000% better than Obamacare!
It’s far cheaper, you are opted out of the penalties, you can go to any
doctor or hospital that you wish, and you now have a faith based system
for controlling and helping you with medical expenses.
If you would like a way to get a quote on any type of insurance (home, auto, health, life, etc.), go to this website and get a quote with just One Click. In most cases you will not even have to talk to an Insurance Agent!
kellywsmith1 