"One Ring" Doctrine

One ring to rule them all,
One ring to find them,
One ring to bring them all,
And in the darkness bind them.

It is not difficult to see the parallel to the Luciferian "One Man" doctrine.

It is the glory of God to bring to pass the Godhood of all who will; the everyman doctrine.  ;-)

.

The Good Son

The Parable of the Prodigal Son is both famous and infamous.  It is one of those parables that is both used to uplift the righteous, and alleviate the guilt of the wicked.  It is sad that the most common interpretations or modern portrayals of this parable seem to focus on the latter. 

It is most apparent that the underlying lesson of this parable is so often not even seen, let alone comprehended.  What was the purpose for giving the parable?  Through whom was it given?  Who is the good son?  Why do so many wicked people, who often only feign repentance, degrade and insult the good son? 

While it is true that the wicked son does eventually experience circumstantial repentance and return to his father, the good son never left, and it is the good son’s farm that the father is living out the remainder of his days upon.  The disgusting nature of those who put down the good son, in favour of the returning prodigal, is sickening. 

The Father teaches the good Son an amazing lesson about His love for him, and teaches the good Son compassion.  The Father re-assures the good Son that He loves him as much as He loves his brother, and that He is not going to steal his farm to give to the brother.  The Father teaches the faithful Son the value of family, the value of a soul.  The penitent son now has a job on his brother’s farm and his place is secure.  To an earthly father, this would bring a great amount of peace when he passes. 

Why does the good son need to be taught this parable?  What fear is he living with and why?  Is it really self-righteousness, pride, and vanity, that so many wicked people assert?  Or is there a deeper fear?  How does this parable address that fear?  Is it possible that this parable was given as much for the righteous, as well as for the prodigals that have lost their way? 

Out of love for his Father and his penitent brothers, the Good Son, Christ, will welcome us home and give us jobs and share his inheritance with us.  What a great brother! 

Please do not put down Jesus, just because he had things to overcome as well.  Remember, he had to overcome all things, which is how he knows how to succor His people.  He knows us, He loves us, He has been one of us, and He wants us to be one with Him. 

.

Pete Gray

When Pete Gray was 6 years old, his mother had warned him not to play with the wringer washer, but Pete disobeyed.  He got his clothes caught in the wringer, which pulled him in.  Because of Pete’s disobedience, he lost half of his right arm.  This was a major mistake, one that couldn’t be undone.  But Pete’s older brother inspired Pete and kept Pete looking forward to what his life could be. 

Pete had a great interest in baseball and trained very hard.  He trained so hard that he could hold his own against any two armed player.  He moved from one league to another, and from AAA to the Majors.  With dedication and hard work, Pete Gray overcame insurmountable odds and became the first one armed baseball player to play in the Major Leagues. 

So often in life do our sins beset us.  We find ourselves in situations where we have been disobedient and have experienced tragic results as a consequence.  In Lying we may have spiritually lost a hand, in stealing lost an arm.  Adultery/fornication we may have been spiritually paralyzed from the waist down, becoming a paraplegic, and in murder a quadriplegic.  But just because we may be missing an arm or more because of our own rebellion and foolishness, doesn’t mean that we cannot progress.  Christ overcame this world and suffered for all that the demands of justice would be met if we would just repent and turn our hearts to Him.  This means that even if we have lost an arm, or part of our heart, we can work hard to progress, and because of Him we still have the opportunity to play ball. 

Don’t get discouraged, trust in Christ, if we repent we will still play ball.  And Christ has given us the choice to decide for ourselves which league we play in.  If we repent from murder and adultery, we can play in the Telestial League. If we repent from choosing the comforts of the world, we may play in the Terrestrial League.  If we are fully committed to keeping all of the Gospel, we will find ourselves playing in the Celestial League.  Just like Pete Gray, we make our own choice by our level of devotion and overcoming the consequences of our rebellions. 


Christ overcame this world and suffered for all that the demands of justice would be met if we would just repent and turn our hearts to Him. 

“And if you do these last commandments of mine, which I have given you, the gates of hell shall not prevail against you; for my grace is sufficient for you, and you shall be lifted up at the last day.”  

.

The Book Of Mormon

One thing I have learned in reading about the programmes that Olympic Athletes follow, is that they all follow the same principles.  They have slight variations to accommodate their sport, but the principles are exactly the same.  The coaches have a tremendous talent in applying those principles to each specific athlete. 

Imagine, if you will, that the Olympic Coaches got together and wrote out all their secrets and created a programme that anyone could follow to get them into the best shape of their lives!  The programme would consist of a basic easy to follow how-to programme, with several examples of how to adapt the principles to fit each body type, and how to adapt to any sport.  And to all that would come, they would host an open event. 

The programme is available to anyone.  Anyone can follow the programme and become an expert in any Olympic sport that they desire.  And now that the programme is made public, how many would follow the programme and enter into the Olympic Arena? 

I dare say, not many. 

Those who are interested in becoming among the best will jump at the opportunity to grow and progress in their respective fields.  And those who find it too much work will just be happy to watch their peers advance. 

As the manual is translated into several different languages, there will be words and phrases that just won’t translate correctly, and arguments will undoubtedly arise. 

There will be proud and vain people that will take the manual and change a few things here and there to create a new version, which will not be effective at transforming people into the athletes that they desire to become. 

There will be people that are either naturally gifted, or who have worked very hard at becoming a great athlete, and don’t want others to become great, so they change the exercises, they alter the programme to keep others from progressing, and to keep themselves special. 

There will be week-end warriors that will take a few pieces here and there and argue over the meanings and definitions.  Then they will start all sorts of different gyms that all say their way is the right way, and they will convince many to follow their worthless programmes and give them their gym fees. 

There will be those that get together and say that they regulate whether or not a person can or cannot get into the Olympics, but this is an open event, and the Olympic Coaches are the only ones who will decide.  All are invited to enter. 

Things may get very complicated, but all the while, all we have to do is go back to the original manual and follow it precisely.  Then, anyone who is willing can progress to whatever level of athlete that they desire to be. 

Heavenly Father is rooting for you, and Christ is the only one who decides if you become an Olympian, no one else. 

.

Tithing

Jesus said “If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.”

This scripture should be self explanatory.  First give away your riches, then follow Him.  God does not want your money! 

Any church that claims that you have to pay for your eternal salvation, is not of God. 

The Book of Mormon prophesied that there would come a time when the churches would say that for your money you would be saved.  This would make God a respecter of persons.  And yet how many churches simply deny blessings, associations, families, temple ordinances, etc, if you don’t pay ten percent of your income?  Keep in mind that the Book of Mormon is talking to and about those to whom it was given. 

There is nothing wrong with donating for a good cause.  If you have a bit of money, and want to donate to alleviate suffering, then there are a multitude of charities, churches, and organizations that will gladly accept your offerings or tithes, though be aware that by giving monies you are also upholding and supporting any priestcraft and/or oppression caused by that organization.  Or you could take the initiative and help people yourself!  Just be sure to note, no one can buy their way into heaven. 

Should we pay tithing?  Sure.  Yes.  Absolutely!  It is a good thing to tithe, to donate, to help out, to contribute and be a part of the congregation.  But does God need our money?  No.  Does our eternal salvation depend on our money?  No.  It does depend on our obedience, and our meekness, and submissiveness to the will of God, but not on our money. 

Do not put your faith in tithing. 

Remember the words of the Saviour, “One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.” 

Go directly to Christ.  Follow Him. 

Follow the words of the Saviour my friends, then shall ye lay hold on Eternal Life. 

.

For Every Sickness, There Is A Cure!

We woke one morning to find that a one of the children had a swollen eye lid.  The swelling was so bad that the child couldn’t even open the eye.  The skin was extremely tight, and there was discolouration.  At close inspection we could see a tiny set of fang marks; it was a spider bite! 

Unfortunately, this was not an isolated instance.  For several mornings that summer, many of us were bitten by spiders while we slept.  We sprayed the house trying to get rid of them, but still they found their way in and attacked in the night. 

Mostly the bites would happen around the eyes or on the fingers.  And the poison was so strong that the swelling would last for days.  Not only would the swelling last for days, it would travel.  I got bit on the back of one finger, and the skin on the back of that finger swelled to twice it’s size, then by the next day the swelling had traveled into the hand and to the next finger, then the next, etc. 

The spider attacks were very painful and would severely limit the mobility of the fingers, and the skin would swell and stretch so tight that it seemed like it would burst.  It was so terrible that we felt we had to take the matter to the Lord. 

We were inspired to do some research to find out what the Native Americans of that area did about those spider bites, and we found that they used the leaves of the Green Alder bush as a poultice.  Green Alder was plentiful around the house so we picked some leaves and made a paste and applied it to the bites, but nothing happened. 

We went back to the Lord in prayer and told Him of what we were trying to do and that nothing was happening, and we asked for help and guidance.  The Spirit said to put the leaves into my mouth and chew them into a paste, then use that paste on the swelling.  This sounded quite strange, but I followed the advice of the Spirit and, glory be to God, it worked.  The swelling, instead of lasting for days, went down in about 20 minutes.  The severe pain was also gone. 

The poultice from God worked amazingly! 

What else could we expect! 

P.S.  We did have another difficulty in that sometimes the poultice would work and sometimes it wouldn’t.  After inquiring of the Lord, we learned that Green Alder grows as a male tree and a female tree, and the Spirit taught us that only the leaves from the tree that grows the seeds works.

And as it turns out, the saliva activated the healing properties in the leaves, whereas just using water didn’t.  Interesting stuff! 

God is so amazing!! 

.

Fore-Ordination

I don’t know how any Mormon could not believe in fore-ordination, but it happens! 

Fore-ordination is not reserved for prophetic callings only, but also occurs in more simple, common things like marriage and children.  See my post entitled “But You Don’t Hold Our Priesthood”. 

Speaking of the doctrine of Plural Marriage, the Lord said:

“Behold, mine house is a house of order, saith the Lord God, and not a house of confusion.
 Will I accept of an offering, saith the Lord, that is not made in my name?
 Or will I receive at your hands that which I have not appointed?
 And will I appoint unto you, saith the Lord, except it be by law, even as I and my Father ordained unto you, before the world was?” 

The Lord makes it quite clear that He is not going to accept anything except what He and His Father ordained unto us before the world was.  Fore-ordination is not only a correct doctrine, but the warning is inferred that if we marry someone whom the Lord has not appointed unto us, that marriage will not continue in or after the Resurrection.

It is incumbent upon us to seek the will of the Father in all things, including marriage! 

.

Adultery

This post aught to get those internet prophets and their minions riled! 

After my search on the internet for people claiming to talk to God, I found something disturbing; a few of them were teaching such very low morals that I wonder how anyone could be taken in.  It is apparent, that either they did talk to God, and therefore they just assumed that everything else they believed must be true, or they were deceived by the devil.  My concern is: How many people are going to be led astray?  How many are going to loose out on eternal happiness, because they are taught that it is better to do evil and then you can have a broken heart and then God will love you more, because you need Him more?  God is striving to guide us toward eternal happiness, not eternal regret or eternal grovelling. He wants us to progress to become like Him. 

One of the easiest ways to recognize a false prophet is by their justification of horrible things like murder, pedophilia, rape, and adultery.  These sins will eternally damn a person.  In other words they are damned from becoming eternal.  Those who murder will not find the Celestial glory.  Even if they repent, and are saved to any degree, they cannot be saved to Celestial glory.  Those who molest children are also damned, but not only damned, harsher words are used, it would have been better if they hadn’t been born!  Who were those who hadn’t been born, but Lucifer and his angels?  Those who are guilty of rape, whether it be by physical force or some kind of deception or strategy, will be damned.  Yes, they can repent and turn to God, and they can change their ways and progress toward perfection, yet there will be a limit to their eternal happiness.  Those that commit adultery, the sin next to the unforgivable, are eternally damned.  They will never know the joy of a pure union, not only physically, but spiritually as well.  They will never experience that fullness of joy that they could have, had they been faithful. 

Beware of the false prophets that will endeavour to tell you all the truths that you can hold and yet they slip in that one lie that you long to hear.  They tell you all those truths to gain your confidence only to get you to believe their lie. 

The Father stated to Joseph Smith Jr. that those who committed adultery in either of his probations can not be raised to the highest exaltation.  "If a man commit adultery, he cannot receive the celestial kingdom of God.  Even if he is saved in any kingdom, it cannot be the celestial kingdom."  [HC 6:81] 

In his book “Miracle of Forgiveness”, Spencer Kimball makes the statement that Joseph didn’t know about repentance in the case of adultery.  That Joseph misunderstood God.  That Joseph, through whom the Lord restored the Gospel, who stood in the presence of angels, the Saviour, and the Father, who learned from them in their very presence, didn’t know about repentance????  I dare say, Kimball succeeded in leading astray thousands of followers into the depths of degradation.  The word of the Lord was made void by that book, and as a result there was a significant increase in promiscuity, fornication, and adultery, and consequently divorce, disease, and spiritual darkness. 

One of the common themes of some of these internet prophets is the false doctrine that people can divorce for almost any reason.  If they fall out of love even!  Yet, Jesus had to deal with this very thing; the Jews divorcing for any reason, just so that they can claim not to be guilty of adultery.  So, Jesus responded that ‘Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery; and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.’ 

Of course there are all the common justifications that mostly revolve around arguing over the meaning of words.  Yet, putting all that aside, the meaning is perfectly clear or why would anyone invent excuses and justifications?  The only time any such thing is justified is when the Lord expressly commands.  And this reaches back to a previous post “Echad”, when a person leaves one and goes to another, that is adultery, and no adulterer will see Celestial glory.  They may be saved in another kingdom, but not the Celestial. 

Choosing a marriage partner is Eternally important!  It is of the greatest importance that we seek out only those that will be heirs to the Celestial glory of God. 

It is against the Law of God for a man or woman to take a spouse who is not a virgin. 

I will explain this doctrine more fully. 
The doctrine of marriage, as it pertains to the New and Everlasting Covenant, is comprised of two parts, that of a solemn vow (sealed by the proper heavenly authority) and of joining together as one flesh.  Both parts must exist for the marriage to be valid, therefore if one part exists and not the other there is need for those involved to repent and/or complete the marriage making it honourable.  For example, if a couple have willingly entered a vow to marry (espoused, engaged, vowed) and have not consummated the marriage by physical means, then they are not fully married, then they must repent and join as one flesh and cease making a mockery of the things of God, for God will not be mocked.  And yet it is adultery for either of them to leave when they have already entered into a vow, and in effect divorce the other, and pursue another marital relationship.  The marriage vow is an unbreakable vow and must be treated as such.  If a couple enter into physical relations, join and become one flesh, prior to a vow, then they have committed sin and must needs repent and solemnize their marriage with a vow.  For either of them to leave the other, or in other words divorce the other, and pursue another marital relationship is a sin, specifically the sin of adultery. 

No person or persons, male or female, who have committed adultery will enter the Celestial Glory.  Therefore, what does it profit a person to enter into the New and Everlasting Covenant of marriage with someone who is not a virgin?  It profits them nothing.  In fact to knowingly enter into a marriage with a person who is not a virgin is also adultery, because your Lord expects that person to repent and reconcile their marriage.  By marrying a person who is not a virgin you are stealing that person’s ability to repent and return to their prospective spouse.  Remember the scripture that says ‘that whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.’  Remember that the marriage covenant is an unbreakable covenant and must be treated as such.  It is the highest and holiest of covenants and no person can expect to be exalted if they cannot live this law, for it is a god’s law. 

All promises are conditional upon the involved parties keeping their end of the covenants.  God, by the Holy Spirit of Promise, will only ratify the sealing of those who have qualified themselves. 

I say to my sisters, and brothers, who are the victims of any of these things, do not turn hard in your hearts, do not do the same things that the perpetrators did, but look to the Father steadfastly, and you will find He will draw you unto Himself, and you will have the glory which will give you the peace and joy of Eternal Life and Exaltation.  He is not the God of the persecutors, but the God of the oppressed. 

For the comfort of the innocent and the victims, I have decided to quote a revelation:

"It is my decree that a person, or persons, who enters into a marriage covenant by deception, falsely claiming, or allowing the false belief to pervade, that they are indeed virtuous and pure, and yet are not virgins, then they shall be destroyed, saith the Lord God, for they are intentionally deceiving their spouse and involving the other in an adulterous relationship. 

"Therefore use care and caution and seek the best spouse, one worthy of the Celestial Glory of your God.  Seek for those who are pure and virtuous before me, as well as those who have other holy virtues, with their hearts set on me and if you continue faithful to me, and to each other, I will bless that union with immortality and eternal life. 

"Should any of my children, who have committed adultery, wish to repent and marry, let them not marry in the New and Everlasting Covenant, but to marry according to the laws of the land, with a spouse who is also in the same condition, being open and honest with each other that there will not be any deception and that they may progress together.  And if they are faithful, I will bless them with a forgiveness of their sins and I have prepared a place for them.  But let them be warned again not to enter into a marriage under false pretences, thereby sinning against their vow and making a mockery of their marriage, such will not find peace for their souls in this life and will suffer the pains of hell in the next life. 

"And those who are virtuous and pure before me, who have entered into their marriages with openness and honesty, walking uprightly before me, and have not broken their vows, either by adultery or fornication, and should they be the victims of a broken vow, they shall be saved in the kingdom of heaven if they remain faithful, and shall find their salvation because they have been faithful and have not broken their vow.  The Lord their God shall be merciful to them and, should they desire, give unto them a faithful spouse, sealing their exaltation upon them. 

"Those who marry and find that their spouse has been unfaithful and broken their vow, or who find that their spouse has entered into the marriage covenant under false pretences, which constitute adultery, thereby making the covenant of none effect and a mockery before God, may be released from their vow and are free to enter the marriage covenant with another.  Even though they have not sinned in this thing, let them use caution and be wise, telling their next prospective spouse all things so that there will be no misunderstanding and both spouses may enter into the covenant with full understanding so that neither are deceived.  And let it be known to their future spouse that the Lord finds no fault with the first and that spouse has not committed adultery and may still have hope of a Celestial marriage. 

"Yet should a person find that their spouse has broken their vow, by either adultery or fornication, and willingly choose not to have their marriage vow annulled but to stay with the offending spouse and be one in the flesh after receiving this knowledge, have consented to the adulterous relationship and is not worthy of a Celestial Marriage.  Remember the counsel of my servant John to Herod the tetrarch, to put away his brother Phillip’s wife, for it was against the law for him to have her.  Yet my Holy Spirit shall be obeyed in all things, and if I through my Holy Spirit direct the faithful spouse to remain in that union, and if the spouse faithfully keeps the commandments of my Holy Spirit, then that faithful spouse has not sinned in that thing and I will justify him." 

.

Wow! A Revealing Search

Wow! 
I did a search recently that revealed that many more people who have seen the Lord personally are blogging.  It is very nice to see!  I am so grateful that the Lord is revealing His face to those who diligently seek Him.  I have always found it rather lonely that no one would believe that it was possible to talk directly with the Lord.  Now, I am very excited to have the potential of so many new friends! 

Of course there are some who say that they talk to the Lord, but yet they do not follow His doctrine, and they deceive many.  Well, really those who follow seem to love those false doctrines, so it is difficult to say that they are being deceived. 

Be so careful following anyone, just because they say they have seen the Saviour.  It is not wise to follow their doctrine either, when that doctrine attempts to lead you to follow anyone other than Christ.  It is a false doctrine to follow anyone other than Christ! 

True prophets will not accept you following them, but they will only direct you to God Himself.  Christ has His own Church, go to Christ Himself.  He will talk to you directly.  Go directly to Him. 

.

Miscarriage

The loss of a child is so traumatic.  There is such a feeling of total helplessness.  I remember Toni’s first miscarriage, I was so distraught.  I cried for days.  I felt in such despair, not only for the loss of the child, but for anything that I did, and didn’t do, that contributed to the death of the child. 

There were other miscarriages, but the losses didn’t seem to get any better with time.  I still to this day often find my heart filled with sorrow for the loss of my children.  And each loss became increasingly difficult to deal with.  I find my faith tested to it’s limits when my prayers seemingly went unheeded.  Fear and doubt seemed to abound. 

Almost two years ago, when Toni was about 12 weeks pregnant with our last child, she began to bleed, heavy and dark.  The symptoms and timing were similar to other times she miscarried.  I freaked.  I couldn’t deal with it anymore.  I felt it was completely my fault that she was miscarrying.  I felt that I wanted God to end my existence, to remove me from before His face, so that He would never have to look at something so wicked again. 

But my wife saw more.  She, also, was panicking at loosing her child, but her approach was to ask me to heal her, to stop the miscarriage.  But how could I give a blessing, when my prayers already were not being answered?  Nevertheless, she persisted.  She reminded me of how the Lord has helped us in the past, and how she had perfect faith in me.  She wanted me to obtain the Spirit of revelation and prophesy to find out the will of God. 

Because of the faith of my wife, my own faith was revived, and at that moment the Holy Spirit enlightened me; It was the will of God that Toni be healed.  At that instant, I turned to Toni, laid my hands upon her head, and spoke the words of the Holy Spirit.  I knew the voice of the Spirit, and I had perfect faith in that voice.  Instantly, the fountain of blood dried up, and Toni felt the healing power of God in her womb. 

The promise of the Spirit was fulfilled every wit.  There were no more complications throughout the remainder of the pregnancy.  The delivery was easy, and the recovery was fast.  And as a reminder of the blessings of God, Toni wanted the child named after me. 

The Lord loves all of His children.  And He has a plan for everyone.  And though there are times when horrible things happen, we must remember that the Lord still loves us and will turn all things for our good, and one day we will rest from all these worldly cares. 

.

Lucifer’s Plan – The One Man

At the Council in Heaven, the Father asked: Whom shall I send? 

Lucifer answered: Behold, here am I, send me, I will be thy son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it; wherefore give me thine honor. 

Right from the beginning Lucifer wanted to set himself up as a light.  He strove to take away the agency of man, to have power and dominion over the souls of men.  He wanted to be the “one man” who had all power and all glory.  And now, look at how many men promote this "one man" doctrine as being the pattern of God.  It is all too clear what "god" they worship! 

On the contrary, Jesus during his great intercessory prayer pled with the Father to let all who would come, be one with Him, as He was one with the Father.  He wanted all to be “one”, not a single man to be the “one man”.   From the beginning the Son of God did not want the glory, but just wanted to provide the opportunity for His brothers and sisters to come back into the presence of God.  He did not ask that He could rule over them, but asked that they be co-heirs with Him, that they would rule and reign with Him. 

Any church or group or organization that does not strive to progress all it’s members to be equal in heavenly things, is of Lucifer.  No matter what the excuse, that church is not of God.  Leave that church/group and find Christ’s Church which strives to make all people equal. 

.

The Book Of Mormon; Prophesy For Our Day

I will give you the key to understanding the Book of Mormon.  The Book of Mormon itself is prophesy for our day.  The cycle that is repeated in the book is repeating now again. 

The Book of Mormon was brought forth because the Lord knew that we were going to repeat it at this time and we can learn from it and break the cycle in our own lives, because we know exactly what is going to happen next.  At large, the Book chronicles the last days, it is history, but it is history that is repeating itself right now. 

To understand it we need to realize that the timeline and events will be slightly different, in other words it will not be year for year, event for event.  But the basic timeline and progression is the same.  We are following the same basic history in the restoration of the Gospel.  The same events are happening.  In the beginning of the Book of Mormon we read that Lehi is spoken to by God and commanded to travel to a new location where he and his friends and their families can live the Fullness of the Gospel in peace.  Similarly, Joseph was spoken to by God and was instructed to move to a certain area where he was to live the Fullness of the Gospel in peace.  Lehi died on his way to the new location, and Joseph died before getting to the new location.  Nephi continued to teach and move the families, as Brigham continued to teach and move people.  Nephi’s brother Jacob continued in the work of the Lord, and it was supposed to be Hyrum and his descendants to continue with the Fullness, but Hyrum was martyred along with Joseph, and that line was in disarray until recently when the Patriarch passed away, at which time it ended.  So it continued through a priesthood line.  After the ending of righteousness in Jacob’s line, there was a new gathering under Mosiah/Benjamin…  And so on. 

It is quite easy to see how the Book of Mormon is prophesy for our day.  And just as in the Book of Mormon, the two great prophet brothers Nephi and Lehi did a great work and gathered a few people in preparation for the coming of the Messiah, there will be such a preparation this time also. 

This time when Christ comes again, he will set up his Kingdom for a thousand years.  Then afterward the devil will be released for a short season, and the Book will continue it’s prophesy until it is done. 

.

Pride

Why would some people not want to listen to spiritually uplifting experiences?  Experiences that show that God is real.  That God really does talk to people today.  That He still gets involved in people’s lives? 

Why do some people not want to hear about miracles, visions, dreams, angelic visitations, yet they love to read the scriptures where those things are written???? 

For some it is pride.  They want those spiritual things to happen, they just want them to happen to them, and they are angry when they happen to someone who they feel is inferior.  This is not the way of God, and the prideful will never experience the things of God (unless it is to their condemnation). 

For some it is too real.  They love to live in their little bubbles, surrounded by excuses and justifications, all so they don’t have to give up anything or do anything.  They are content with their life, and if they see that these things are possible, then they would feel guilty because they are not doing what it takes.  

Oh God, who made the sun and the moon, the earth and the stars, the entire universe, everything that was made, Thou whose only desire is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man, bless thy Holy Name! 

All can become prophets, if they follow the principles of the Living God, give up the world and let God be their only desire. 

.

Echad

In Genesis chapter 2:24 we read:

Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh (echad). 

This was the Law from the beginning.  This is the very first Law that the Lord gave to Adam and Eve. 

There are many arguments and justifications of the meaning of the word echad, which is most often translated as ‘one’.  This verse taken in context, was when Adam was first divided into two beings, so it is quite easy to see that he was no longer echad, but it was still expected of him and Eve to be echad, a whole being.  The word ‘echad’ was the original term for marriage. 

In order to return to the beginning, we have to become whole (echad) again.  And what does it take to become whole (echad)?  We must have a God’s level of love for each other, complete forgiveness, complete caring, complete zion.  Suddenly the commands of Jesus to love each other as we love ourselves becomes plain. 

Then, of course, why is the Bible so full of laws that have to do with divorce and ‘putting away’? 

The laws given to govern divorce and separation were given under the law of Moses.  As I mentioned before in the post entitled “An Eye For An Eye”, the Lord offered the Children of Israel the Law that He first gave unto Adam, the Law that would bring them back into His presence, but they rejected it and so were cursed with a law of observances.  And this applied to the law of marriage.  The law of purity was too much for them.  What if they didn’t get along with their spouse?  What if they wanted another?  What if they just grew apart?  How were they going to move on to their next sexual partner if they had to follow the law of the Gods????   And so, the Lord condescended and gave them a lower law to at least limit their filthy adulterous desires. 

When Jesus walked the earth in mortality, both the Pharisees and the Sadducees, challenged the Lord on this Law and began to question Him rather boldly.  To which Jesus responded:

2 And the Pharisees came to him, and asked him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife? tempting him.

3 And he answered and said unto them, What did Moses command you?

4 And they said, Moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement, and to put her away.

5 And Jesus answered and said unto them, For the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept.

6 But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female.

7 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife;

8 And they twain shall be one flesh(echad): so then they are no more twain, but one flesh(echad).

 9 What therefore God hath joined together(echad), let not man put asunder.

10 And in the house his disciples asked him again of the same matter.

11 And he saith unto them, Whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry(echad) another, committeth adultery against her.

12 And if a woman shall put away her husband, and be married(echad) to another, she committeth adultery. 

Why do so many Christian denominations struggle to justify themselves in following a lower law?  Do we really need to ask?  Isn’t it self-evident?  Are they not the same as the children of Israel that rejected the Law of God for a lower law of observances?  

If you really want to go back to Heavenly Father and live in His presence among the Gods, then you must abide the law of the Gods, including their law of echad marriage. 

Echad is a Hebrew word meaning to be one, often translated to be one flesh, the original term for marriage.  Echad/marriage is to be one flesh.  Marriage is not a piece of paper, not a minister saying that you are married, not the government recognizing a marriage.  Marriage is when two people join(echad).  And once they are joined, let no man or church separate them.  If two people echad, then go and echad with another person, they are breaking the command, thou shalt not commit adultery. 

The Lord is going around testing the various fruit of the branches that he has planted and grafted in all over his vineyard.  And He will destroy those branches that are not producing good fruit; the fruit being the people that the branches produce.  The fruit is not the insignificant acts of charity with which they so often try to use to pay off God.  If the branches are not producing good fruit/good people they will be hewn down and cast into the fire.  If they are producing people who justify adultery under the guise of marrying under consent of the church, those branches will be hewn down and cast into the fire and the fruit will be destroyed.  Of this I can personally testify, because God has shown me, and not me only but the prophetess as well.  God is at this time tasting the fruit.  We need to have good fruit for Him. 

To those who love the Lord and keep His commandments, I say don’t fear, and don’t fall to the false doctrine and temptations that those who hate God thrive on.  You will be blessed to live in the presence of the Father if you continue to live the Law of Echad as God gave to Adam and Eve. 

.

A few references: 
Matthew 5:27-32 
Matthew 19:3-12 
Mark 10:2-12 
Mark 12:18-25 
Luke 16:18 
JST Luke 16:21-23 
Luke 20:27-35 
D&C 132:39, 41-44, 52, 54, 61-63
All of 132 is good
And there are many more …

Excerpt From Praying Hyde

“’Who will go for us, and whom shall I send?’ Are you who read these words willing to be intercessors?  If we are willing to put ourselves into God’s hands, then God is willing to use us.  But there are two conditions: obedience and purity.  Obedience in everything, even in the least, surrendering up our wills and taking the will of God.  And the next step is purity.  God wants pure vessels for his service, clean channels through which to pour forth His grace.  He wants purity in the very center of the soul, and unless God can have a pure vessel, purified by the fire of the Holy Spirit, He cannot use that vessel.  He is asking you now if you will let Him cleanse away part of your very life.  God must have a vessel He can use.” 

An excerpt from Praying Hyde, pg. 17. 

Whooping Cough

To this day, when I think of how sick my baby girl was … 

It was when my eldest daughter was only three and a half months old.  She was sick with Whooping Cough.  She had been sick for a couple of weeks already, and her health was so bad that she wouldn’t sleep, but just stayed up all night coughing.  She would barely eat, and she was loosing weight fast.  My baby girl was dying. 

She was so emaciated and weak that I was afraid that she wouldn’t live much longer.  I would pray for my little girl, but she didn’t get better.  I often thought of giving her a blessing, but because she was my little girl I was terrified that I would fail her.  I struggled with thoughts of my own worthiness, or I should say, lack thereof. 

Then one day, Toni asked me to give Amy a blessing.  As a priesthood holder, it was my duty to administer should anyone ask, and so, with all my might I pushed my fears away, and held onto that glimmer of faith that I had in our Heavenly Father and His priesthood.  We went upstairs where I administered to the baby. 

With all the faith that I could muster, I pronounced her healed, and before I got to the word Amen, she had stopped coughing!  It was a miracle!  I couldn’t understand it.  I wasn’t worthy.  I could never do something like that.  And so I began to fear.  I began to fear, because it really worked.  It worked!  How did it work?  It couldn’t be possible.  I really did it?  It couldn’t be.  And as soon as I began to fear, the innocent baby girl began to cough again.  I had failed. 

I was so upset.  How could I fail?  How could I let my little girl down?  It was too much for me; too much to ask.  How could the life of my child be laid upon my shoulders like this?  I felt so bad.  I couldn’t let her down.  I couldn’t give in to fear.  I wouldn’t give in. 

With a broken heart I turned to God.  Oh, please help me.  I picked up my child and bowed my head, and once again cast out all doubt and fear from my mind, and with perfect courage pronounced the blessing. 

Heavenly Father heard.  Blessed be His great name!  Oh, how merciful!  Oh, how kind!  I was overwrought.  Even before I got to ‘Amen’, my little girl stopped coughing, and began resting peacefully.  I held tightly to the courage granted me by Heavenly Father, and wouldn’t let my mind wander.  We placed Amy in her crib and let her sleep.  This was the first time in so long that she could even sleep.  We were so happy. 

Fifteen minutes later I was in the kitchen preparing supper, when I allowed my mind to think on what just happened.  And as soon as I thought, ‘Wow, did that really happen?’, fear entered my heart once again, and that tiny little precious angel began to cough. 

I broke!  God gave me a second chance to do it right and I broke!  All my bragging to my wife and others, that God could do anything; that Heavenly Father loves each of us and is just waiting to do miracles for us, and I completely failed Him.  What could I do now?  I was traumatized.  How could I face my wife, who asked me to heal her first born child?  Who was I that I could be asked to do such a thing?  How could I face my Heavenly Father?  I was a tough, 100kg, 23 year old zealot, willing to do anything for God, and here I stood broken, with tears streaming down my face.  A total and complete failure to my God.  I couldn’t stand it.  What would people think of Him??  How much doubt would this failure inspire?  How many would be driven away from the God of Love?  All because of my failure, my lack of faith! 

I couldn’t take it anymore.  I was traumatized.  Then, something changed deep within my heart, and I resolved that I would try yet again to serve God, or I would die trying.  I can’t explain it, but that is how I felt.  I was willing to give my life for the child to be healed.  I locked myself in the washroom, fell to my knees and plead with the Lord to forgive me; to forgive my weakness, my failure; only let my daughter live! 

A third time, I pushed all fear out of my heart.  I would have perfect faith this time.  I wouldn’t allow myself anything less.  The Lord’s will would be done.  With tender care, I picked up my dying child, and in the name of the Lord Jesus, commanded that she be healed. 

Instantly, the child stopped coughing.  Her fever broke, and she fell fast asleep. 

For the longest time after she fell asleep, I wouldn’t even think about what happened.  I just believed with perfect faith, and never doubted.  I would never give the sickness a chance to take hold again.  And it didn’t.  Amy slept through the night, and began to eat and gain weight.  Health and colour returned to her and she began to thrive. 

The Holy Spirit was shed forth and Heavenly Father blessed her with such a blessing that she has never gotten sick like that again.  The Lord truly is a God of miracles!  Praise be to His name! 

.

An Eye For An Eye

It is so distressing to see the wicked folks of the world turn the word of God into a justification for evil.  The concept of ‘An Eye for an Eye’ was not meant to allow people to seek revenge.  This is an adaptation of satanic men to justify their lust for blood. 

When the Lord led the Children of Israel out of Egypt, He attempted to give them the Fullness of His glory, but to do that He had to first give them instructions of how to behave so that they could be pure enough to behold Him.  The Israelites of course didn’t like the fact that they had to actually be good, cleanse themselves from the attachments of the world, and keep such strict commandments, so they rejected the higher laws of God, which instructed them to forgive each other, to not hold a grudge, to entreat kindly those who do them wrong. 

Instead the Children of Israel wanted revenge on their enemies.  They were not even content with simple justice, they wanted blood.  To counter the hardness of their hearts, the Lord gave them limitations to their vengeful desires.  He gave a strict commandment that if they could not forgive, if they had to give into their satanic desires to seek for vengeance, then they were not allowed to exact more than what had been done to them.  Thus came the command to exact no more than ‘an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ 
It was not a law of revenge; it was a law to limit revenge. 

.

Extortion - Punishment And Reward

I often read murmuring arguments from those willing to justify themselves, that God would have spoken in proper grammar, and because the Prophet makes a mistake in spelling, or in sentence structure, that this is reason to disbelieve.  Those who argue these points are lost, and stand in need of repentance. 

The lord speaks to man, in the language of man, unto the understanding of man. 

He speaks in a way that we can understand, or rather to the prophet in the way that the prophet understands, who desperately tries to explain it in a way that the wicked can understand.  This explains why the Lord talks to man according to punishment and reward, because that is what most men understand. 

A selfish person only understands punishment and reward, which accounts for the scriptures being written in this manner.  Unfortunately, this gives rise to the portrayal of God as a gangster, using extortion or bribery to get His way.  By threatening punishment for those who disobey Him, or by offering a reward for those who obey Him.  And since God is the only true source of pure good, how can He be a gangster?  He must be speaking in terms of punishment and reward for the sake of people who cannot understand anything else. 

Nevertheless, He has also spoken in other ways in the scriptures, such as the stewardship parables.  These parables portray more individual free agency, instead of just using extortion or bribery as the means of motivation to choose good over evil.  They portray a steward getting a promotion if he does well, and getting fired if he neglects his duties.  I would hazard a guess that if he does his duty, and very little beyond his duty, that he would just remain in his job, but I hope not to inspire anyone to complacency, for we should always be striving to do better. 

These stewardship parables can be easily applied to a more modern setting, helping some to understand God’s plan and our own accountability, such as a parable of an employee doing very well at his job and then at his job assessment, he is promoted to a better position.  Many people are happy in the job that they have and do not desire a promotion, and they just do their duty and remain faithful in their current position.  There are others that do their job poorly or cause problems, and these are demoted or fired, and sometimes they have legal action brought against them. 

This parable can be expanded or modified to show many different aspects of life and judgment and the afterlife.  This would be like doing well at school, studying hard, staying away from the popular people and parties and trouble-making, then getting good grades and going to university and getting a good education.  Then comes judgment, or in other words, an employment opportunity.  The better we did in school and the higher the education we obtained, the better the job that we may apply for.  This shows God in a more kind light, as a willing employer, instead of a gangster.  But if we spent our time goofing off and not studying, or partying and not doing our homework, or just spend our time trying to make friends or be popular or accepted, then when it comes to the time to get a job, we do not have the skills or education to get a good job and we have to settle for whatever we can get. 

These type of parables, the steward/employee or education/job parables, portray God and judgment in a more loving light.  The responsibility of our afterlife is more completely in our control, and we are not just choosing good under duress of punishment, nor is our love for our fellow beings degraded, by payment for our good deeds, thus making us selfish and greedy, and certainly uncaring and evil.  Instead we are more free to choose the position in the afterlife that we want. 

One of my favourite parables is the one of the two sons who work on their daddy’s farm.  Both sons work very hard and do equally well in all aspects of the farm.  Then the daddy asks the sons why they work so hard.  One son says that he works hard because he loves his daddy and wants to please him.  The other son says that he began working hard because he loves his daddy and wanted to please him, but after time he learned also to love the farm and all it could provide for others.  Both sons did their duty; the son who did his duty would always have a place on the farm, but the son who loved the farm as his daddy did, and loved the work because he could provide for others, would inherit the farm. 

Toni told me of a parable that she likes –

If a person had a garden, and worked in the garden, planting and weeding, watering and fertilizing, then that person will have a harvest according to his labours. 

If the person were to goof around and neglect his garden, then he would have a harvest according to his neglect. 

If the person neglected his garden and ruined plants, then he would have less plants to harvest from later.  But if he later decided to repent and replant, tending to his duties, then he would be able to undo some of the damage that he caused and gain a better harvest, but still the harvest would not be as good as it could have been, if the person had done his duty from the beginning. 

This parable shows that our afterlife is completely in our control and our harvest will be our decision.  We reap what we sow. 

I also like the parable of the bodybuilder.  A person who is interested in getting stronger and healthier may do so according to his wants.  If he eats healthy and exercises properly and makes the appropriate lifestyle choices, then that person may find the desired results.  But if the person just says that he wants to have a strong and healthy body, and does not follow the appropriate method to obtain such, then he will not have the healthy body that he says that he desires.  This is a simple cause and effect that most people can understand. 

But if we apply reward and punishment to this, it almost seems ridiculous.  Such as:  If you eat properly, exercise properly, choose the proper lifestyle choice, then I will bless you with a strong and healthy body, but if you do not these proper things to build your body, then I will punish you with a weak and unhealthy body. 

The scriptures were not written to the righteous, but to the wicked, so they at times may seem terribly cruel to the righteous.  The scriptures say that God will punish people for evil and reward people for good, but in reality, a person punishes themselves and rewards themselves by living appropriately.  It is the same as making our bodies healthy or not.  It is not so much that the Lord is punishing us with an unhealthy body, or rewarding us with a healthy one, but more like a cause and effect of our own choice.  So also do I view my life choices, that my judgment really is of my own making, not punishment or reward, but cause and effect, a direct result of my own making. 

This parable shows God in a completely loving light, teaching us the methods to obtain a healthy body, or great afterlife, and letting us build ourselves as much as we desire.  He is certainly sad if we do not progress as far as we could, but He is also very happy for us the closer we get to perfection.  Either way it is our choice, and He is happy to allow us our choice. 

Therefore, threats that we will not progress if we do evil are then really for the benefit of those people who cannot take responsibility for their own actions and they want to blame someone else, also for those who enjoy harming others.  So ‘punishment and reward’ is a telestial level law.  Earning a better job or position, is a little higher law.  And doing good because you like good, not for reward or position, but because you like to help people, shows that you will become who you make yourself, and the things that you do wrong are really self inflicted hindrances and not punishments forced upon us.

The Lord loves those who do good for the sake of doing good.  They are the ones who are true followers of the Father.  They are they which pass on to the next stage of progression. 

.