President Russell M. Nelson closed the October 2019 general conference with an invitation for Latter-day Saints to prepare for the subsequent April 2020 general conference, 200 years since Joseph Smith’s First Vision.
“The year 2020 will be designated as a bicentennial year. General conference next April will be different from any previous conference,” President Nelson announced at the end of the Sunday afternoon session.
“In the next six months, I hope that every member and every family will prepare for a unique conference that will commemorate the very foundations of the restored gospel.”
In previewing plans for the coming year, President Nelson recounted those “very foundations.”…
President Nelson invited Church members to read Joseph Smith’s account of the First Vision as recorded in the Pearl of Great Price, noting that next year’s Come, Follow Me course of study is the Book of Mormon…
He suggested incorporating the new Book of Mormon Videos into individual and family study.
“Select your own questions,” President Nelson continued. “Design your own plan. Immerse yourself in the glorious light of the Restoration. As you do, general conference next April will be not only memorable; it will be unforgettable.”
I am sure the Prophet anticipated some great happenings in 2020, including new celebrations and the Prophet also expected some real challenges. Every time something righteous happens, Satan turns that into a crisis as well. Whose side are we on? Now is the time to know.
You realize this year we celebrated the 400th anniversary of the Pilgrims and Puritans who established a new religious freedom at Plymouth Rock?
You know 2020 is the 200th year of when the Father and the Son came back to earth to visit the Prophet Joseph Smith? The Restoration began. Source:
How Did We Do in 2020?
How was a bicentennial year an unusual year for you?
Was it a more unique Conference than ever before?
Did you immerse yourself in the Restoration message?
Was your family study better than ever?
Did what you learned this year, help you during the following challenges?
Pandemic with thousand of deaths.
Protests and Riots
Impeachment of a president
Lies about Russia
Lack of understanding the Deep ties China has to our government
Lack of respect for the Police and desire to defund them
Sanctuary cities and autonomous zones
Police shootings
Division between the Right and the Left?
Radical policies, Black Lives Matter, 1619 Doctrine, White Fragility
Cancel Culture, Loss of First Amendment rights?
Covid-19 shutdowns with many losing jobs
Unrighteous government raises its ugly head. Unconstitutional laws
Lack of respect for our country. Kneeling at anthem, burning flag.
Bitter hate and evil speaking amongst two highly divided sides.
Fraud election. Stuffed ballots, dead voting, computer malfeasants
Socialism, Marxism, Communism vs. Capitalism and Freedom
Who is Your Hero?
Everyone in this world wants a hero or may want to be one. We all want to follow a popular and charismatic leader and we spend our life trying to find one. We look for different leaders for different aspects of our lives. Are we looking for the right type of leader and hero”
My best friend and sweetheart is Stacy my eternal companion.
The man and woman I look up to the most is my Father and Mother
The baseball player I love the most is Willie Mays
My favorite singer is Amy Grant
The most free and my favorite nation is the United States of America
My favorite Prophet’s are Joseph Smith and Spencer W. Kimball
My ultimate hero and Savior is Jesus Christ.
Spirit of Christ is Given to Every Man
“Wherefore, take heed, my beloved brethren, that ye do not judge that which is evil to be of God, or that which is good and of God to be of the devil.
For behold, the Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know good from evil; wherefore, I show unto you the way to judge; for every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God.
But whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do evil, and believe not in Christ, and deny him, and serve not God, then ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of the devil; for after this manner doth the devil work, for he persuadeth no man to do good, no, not one; neither do his angels; neither do they who subject themselves unto him.” Moroni 7:14, 16-17
The Wrong Hero
“Now, one of the things that I have learned about Hillary Clinton is that one of her heroes, her mentors was Saul Alinsky. And, her senior thesis was about Saul Alinsky. This was someone that she greatly admired and that affected all of her philosophies subsequently. Now, interestingly enough, let me tell you something about Saul Alinsky. He wrote a book called, “Rules for Radicals.” On the dedication page it acknowledges Lucifer, the original radical who gained his own kingdom. Now, think about that, this is a nation where our founding document, the Declaration of Independence talked about certain inalienable rights that come from our creator. This is a nation where our Pledge of Allegiance says we are one nation under God.” Dr. Ben Carson Conservative Forbes Magazine
Wayne Allen Root says,
“Saul Alinsky is one of Obama’s heroes and mentors. His book “Rules for Radicals,” is Obama’s bible, even though Alinsky’s masterpiece is dedicated to Lucifer, the Devil. Funny, I’ve never heard the media mention that little fact.
“Alinsky’s philosophy is to destroy and discredit any conservative who dares to question you by demonizing him. The strategy is to call him vile names and tell lies, because the end justifies the means. Humiliate and intimidate them so badly, they will hide under the covers, never to be seen again…” Alinsky Now Blog
Saul Alinsky Is the Cause of Our Political Divisions
Feb. 26, 2018 11:29 am ET
Regarding Mike Gecan’s “Better Call Saul: The U.S. Needs Radicalism, Not Extremism” (op-ed, Feb. 17): To understand President Obama and Hillary Clinton, one must understand Saul Alinsky. At the top of a short presidential resume in 2008, then- Sen. Barack Obama touted himself a “community organizer,” a construct of Saul Alinsky. In 1969 Hillary Clinton wrote a fawning senior thesis on Alinsky. In Alinsky’s 1971 book “Rules for Radicals,” in the chapter titled “Tactics,” he divides the electorate into demographic groups (today’s identity politics) and says the organizer must “rub raw the resentments of the people.” This cynical tactic may win elections but serves as a poison pill for our national cohesion. After eight years of Obama-Clinton we are left to wonder why our culture is so divided and filled with resentment.
Enter Mr. Gecan to offer Alinsky as the cultural solution to the problem he helped create.
I still greatly pray for Trump’s 2nd term. If not watch the new Biden administration for the same type of strategies as Hillary and Obama. Who’s side are they on? This side of freedom and Capitalism, or the side of government guarantees and Socialism? See for yourself. It’s either the Lord’s way or No-Way!
We sure are divided in this country. What will it take to come together? Just two things!
Love the Lord and Love Thy Neighbor. Can we do it?
Isn’t there a happy Medium? Freedom vs. Safety? Government vs Freedom? Self awareness vs Self importance? Control vs Shaming? You choose!
A Complacent Country
“We live in an enormous country, the third largest country in the world. We sit between two oceans, and clock in with the third largest population over 300 million people. Not everything affects us the same way. Those who live in Texas process life differently than those who live in Hawaii. The economy, the neighborhood, the laws, they differ from place to place but there are things that happen to all of us that should make us angry. But many Americans just sit there and take it. Why, this isn’t who we are it’s not who our forefathers were?
It’s not the American spirit. China recklessly released the virus into America. They lied about it and covered it up and even blamed us for it. And many people believe we should consider this an act of war. Has China paid the price? Have our people demanded our leaders do something about this? No, we’re just sitting here on our iPhone made in China ordering take out, because we’re told we can’t go out to dinner because of a virus also made in China.
Congress held a hearing or two and then nothing happened. The media even praised China for how it handled the pandemic. That’s like praising an arsonist who set your house on fire. Our politicians told us to stay inside don’t go to work and we complied in the beginning. That’s fine.
But what broke us out of the lockdowns anymore and reopened their stores so they could put food on the table for their families? Politicians had him arrested, a salon owner in Texas handcuffed. But, the speaker of the house forces a salon to open in San Francisco while she just strolls inside without a mask.
Gym owners, pub owners arrested, not a peep. A few lockdown protests pop up here and there but the media makes them out to be domestic terrorists. And we just nod our heads. All the lies pile up from the press. But we still keep watching.
If the weatherman told you it was going to be sunny and every day it rained, would you still watch? No, but we still watch the fake news, collusion hoaxes, post office hoaxes, impeachment hoaxes, gang rape hoaxes, hundreds of eyewitnesses come forward and testify they saw election fraud, and poll watchers were kicked out of the count rooms. The Republican establishment just fades into the background. A few brave fighters are left out on the front lines totally outgunned by their political enemies. People in your party you thought were in your foxhole went AWOL after everything Donald Trump had accomplished for the country and for the Republican Party. The Republican establishment went silent when we needed them most.
Trump was there for you when you needed him. Cavanaugh, Coney Barret, Isis, Mideast peace, and North Korea. Tax relief, energy independence, border security, and a vaccine, but we just threw in the towel before the bell had wrung. Now we’re facing a second wave and Democrat lockdowns are punishing Americans. Congress thought cutting us 600 bucks before they go on vacation was a win when companies were giving a thousand dollar bonuses to workers after the Trump tax cuts. Nancy called that crumbs, so what’s six hundred dollars Nancy? But it’s even more devious than that. Politicians took your tax dollars while we’re suffering during a pandemic and sent tens of billions of dollars to a third world slush fund. 10 million dollars to Pakistan for gender studies, 700 million to Sudan for G__ knows what? 506 million to Central America to fight corruption. Probably just goes straight into the police chief’s bank account. 300 million to Caribbean countries to study how many fish are in the sea. 500 million to build a border wall between Jordan and Syria. Didn’t the Democrats tell us walls don’t work? 86 million to Cambodia. How about we send that to the Carolinas instead? Okay 1.3 billion to Egypt who’s just going to use it to buy weapons from Russia. The politicians are stealing our money and sending it to other countries. This doesn’t make us safer it’s just credit card therapy for insecure guilty congressmen. It’s our money. It should go to America first after the year we’ve had.
Rand Paul tracked the waste this year and found stuff that’s going to drive you crazy. 54 billion in waste. Here’s some highlights.
1.3 million to study if Americans will eat bugs? No, I just saved you 1.3. 2 million to study if going in a hot tub reduces stress. The answer is yes. 1 million to get people to get over their fear of going to the dentist. 150,000 on Kenyan art classes. 37 million to get Filipino students to stop playing hooky. Three million to send Russians to American community colleges. That’s smart. 1.5 million to walk lizards on a treadmill. First it was shrimp now it’s lizards. And 715 million dollars for equipment that was lost training Syrian rebels. Six million to build a place to park your bike in DC. 4.5 million to spray alcoholic rats with bobcat urine.
Now it’s kind of funny but it’s gallows humor. Americans are struggling, dying, and congress is picking our pocket. There’s hundreds of examples like this. Nobody cares. This is so d___ disrespectful. It’s debasing the dollar too. A million here a billion there, while our countrymen scrape by because politicians won’t let them work. They close our restaurants and then sneak out for a five course meal when they think no one’s watching.
Our country careens from crisis to crisis. Debt ceiling fiscal cliff, great recession, pandemic, government shutdowns, and they just play chicken with each other, and horse trade with our money, and at the very last second in the dark at night, jammed through a trillion in pork that gets laundered through bureaucrats and donors and corrupt foreign nationals, before hardworking taxpayers see a real dime. And nobody reads the bill it’s 5 000 pages rushed through written by lobbyists and special interests. But it’s a crisis so we have to pass it as fast as possible. It’s a criminally corrupt practice. It happens every year. The politicians pass it, pat themselves on the back, and then they go home and ask for your vote again. And guess what? You vote for him again. We must deserve it.
You get the government you deserve. We elect these people and rarely demand change and when they sabotage a president who actually changes things we don’t rebel. We don’t march, we don’t resist. We watch it on TV. Our form of protest is just changing the channel. DC just mocks us and kicks us when we’re down. We used to storm the castle over abuses of power like this. Now we just raid the fridge. So, in 2021 let’s relight that great American Spirit. Let’s stand up to this den of thieves, because they’ll just keep robbing us blind, until we actually do something about it!” Fox News Watters Word Dec 26, 2020 Deleted words added.
View Full Video Below: A Complacent Country
Ezra Taft Benson
How to Overcome Complacency
I thank God for freedom—the right of choice. I am grateful for this great nation in which we meet. Every true Latter-day Saint throughout the world loves the USA. The Constitution of this land is part of every Latter-day Saint’s religious faith.
To us, this is not just another nation, not just a member of the family of nations. This is a great and glorious nation with a divine mission and a prophetic history and future. It has been brought into being under the inspiration of heaven.
It is our firm belief, as Latter-day Saints, that the Constitution of this land was established by men whom the God of heaven raised up unto that very purpose. It is our conviction also that the God of heaven guided the founding fathers in establishing it for his particular purpose.
The founders of this republic were deeply spiritual men. They believed men are capable of self-government and that it is the job of government to protect freedom and foster private initiative.
Our earliest American fathers came here with a common objective—freedom of worship and liberty of conscience. Familiar with the sacred scriptures, they believed that liberty is a gift of heaven. To them, man as a child of God, emphasized the sacredness of the individual and the interest of a kind Providence in the affairs of men and nations. These leaders recognized the need for divine guidance and the importance of vital religion and morality in the affairs of men and nations.
To the peoples who should inhabit this blessed land of the Americas, the Western Hemisphere, an ancient prophet uttered this significant promise and solemn warning: “Behold, this is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ . . .
“For behold, this is a land which is choice above all other lands, wherefore he that doth possess it shall serve God or shall be swept off; for it is the everlasting decree of God” (see (Ether 2:12,10).
Ancient American prophets six hundred years before Christ foresaw the coming of Columbus and those who followed. These prophets saw the establishment of the colonies (1 Ne. 13:12-13), the war for independence (1 Ne. 13:17-19), and predicted the outcome. These prophecies are contained in a volume of scripture called the Book of Mormon. This sacred record, a companion volume to the Holy Bible, which it confirms, is an added witness to the divine mission of Jesus Christ as the Son of God and Redeemer of the world.
How I wish every American and every living soul would read the Book of Mormon. I testify to you that it is true. It tells about the prophetic history and mission of America. It gives the comforting assurance that God has kept this great nation, as it were, in the hollow of his hand in preparation for its great mission.
Yes, the Lord planned it all. Why? So America could serve as a beacon of liberty and in preparation for the opening of a new gospel dispensation—the last and greatest of all dispensations in preparation for the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. To achieve his purposes the Lord had to have a base of operations. Later he revealed to a modern prophet that the Constitution of this land was established by “wise men” whom the Lord “raised up unto this very purpose” (see (D&C 101:80). The Lord also directed that the constitutional laws of the land, supporting the principle of freedom, should be upheld and that honest and wise men should be sought for and upheld in public office.
The establishment of this great Christian nation, with a spiritual foundation, was all in preparation for the restoration of the gospel, following the long night of apostasy. Then in 1820 the time had arrived. God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ made their glorious appearance. I give you a few words from the Prophet Joseph Smith, who was the instrument in God’s hands in restoring the gospel and establishing the true Church of Christ again upon the earth. In response to humble prayer Joseph relates: “. . . I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me.
“. . . When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!” (JS—H 1:16-17).
To me this is the greatest event that has occurred in this world since the resurrection of the Master—and it happened in America.
Later, other heavenly messengers came to restore the authority of the Holy Priesthood and important keys essential to the opening of the final gospel dispensation. The Church was organized in 1830. Immediately, in response to divine command, missionary-messengers began to carry the important message of salvation throughout the world. It is a world message intended for all of God’s children. And so, once this nation was well established, then the Church was restored and from here the message of the restored gospel has gone forth. All according to divine plan.
This then becomes the Lord’s base of operations in these latter days. And this base will not be shifted out of its place—the land of America. This nation will, in a measure at least, fulfil its mission even though it may face serious and troublesome days. The degree to which it achieves its full mission depends upon the righteousness of its people. God has, through his power, established a free people in this land as a means of helping to carry forward his purposes.
“It was his latter-day purpose to bring forth his gospel in America, not in any other place. It was in America where the Book of Mormon plates were deposited. That was no accident. It was his design. It was in this same America where they were brought to light by angelic ministry. It was” . . . [here] “where he organized his modern Church, where he, himself made a modern personal appearance” (Editorial, Church News).
Yes, it was here under a free government and a strong nation that protection was provided for his restored Church. Now God will not permit his base of operations—America—to be destroyed. He has promised protection to this land if we will but serve the God of the land. He has also promised protection to the righteous even, if necessary, to send fire from heaven to destroy their enemies (1 Ne. 22:17; Ether 2:12).
No, God’s base of operations will not be destroyed. But it may be weakened and made less effective. One of the first rules of war strategy—and we are at war with the adversary and his agents—is to protect the base of operations. This we must do if we are to build up the kingdom throughout the world and safeguard our God-given freedom.
How will we protect this base of operations?
We must protect this base of operations from every threat—from sin, from unrighteousness, immorality, from desecration of the Sabbath day, from lawlessness, from parental and juvenile delinquency.
We must protect it from dirty movies, filthy advertising, from salacious and suggestive TV programs, magazines, and books.
We must protect this base from idleness, subsidies, doles, and soft governmental paternalism which weakens initiative, discourages industry, destroys character, and demoralizes people.
We must protect this base from complacency—from the dangerous feeling that all is well—from being lulled away into a false security. We must protect this American base from the brainwashing, increasingly administered to our youth in many educational institutions across the land, by some misinformed instructors and some wolves in sheep’s clothing. Their false indoctrination, often perpetrated behind the front of so-called academic freedom, is leaving behind many faithless students, socialist-oriented, who are easy subjects for state tyranny.
“At what point, then, is the approach of danger to be expected?” asked Abraham Lincoln, and answered, “. . . If it ever reaches us, it must spring up among us. It cannot come from abroad. If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen, we must live through all time or die by suicide.” (Springfield, Ill., Jan. 27, 1837.)
The only threat to the liberty and independence of the American people from abroad is the threat of world communism spreading from its base in the Soviet Union. But the best authorities are confident that the Soviets will not provoke a major war. Their economy would not support it.
Lenin said, “The soundest strategy in war is to postpone operations until the moral disintegration of the enemy renders the mortal blow possible and easy.” Commenting on Lenin’s statement the Indianapolis Star adds: “Where then does the real danger lie? It lies with us—the American people . . .
“Other great civilizations have died by suicide. The first free people, the Greeks, died thus.
“And why did Greece fall: ‘A slackness and softness finally came over them to their ruin. In the end more than they wanted freedom they wanted security, a comfortable life, and they lost all—security, comfort and freedom.’
“It is the same with Americans today. The danger that threatens us is an internal danger. It lies in our hearts and minds and not in the hands of Khrushchev.
“It is our own ignorance—ignorance of our own history and our heritage of liberty that threatens us. It is our ignorance of the true nature of our enemy, socialistic communism, that threatens us . . . Our own lack of faith in freedom and ourselves, our own lack of confidence in the greatness of America and all that she stands for, morally and materially, is what puts us in mortal danger.
“Too many of us are afraid—afraid of atomic war, afraid of the disapproval of our allies or the neutrals, afraid of the threats and boasts of the bloated tyrants in the Kremlin, afraid to offend others by taking action to defend ourselves.”
Yes, we are afraid to live righteously according to eternal principles—economic, moral, and spiritual. This is our danger. We must never forget that nations may—and usually do—sow the seeds of their own destruction while enjoying unprecedented prosperity. As Jenkin Lloyd Jones said, “It is time we hit the sawdust trail. It is time we revived the idea that there is such a thing as sin—just plain old willful sin. It is time we brought self-discipline back into style . . .
“I am fed up with the educationists and pseudo-scientists who have underrated our potential as a people . . . I am tired of seeing America debased and low-rated in the eyes of foreigners. I am genuinely disturbed that to idealistic youth in many countries the fraud of Communism appears synonymous with morality, while we, the chief repository of real freedom, are regarded as being in the last stages of decay.
“In this hour of fear, confusion and self-doubt . . . let there be a fresh breeze, a breeze of new honesty, new idealism, new integrity.”
To protect this base we must protect the soul of America—we must return to a love and respect for the basic spiritual concepts upon which this nation has been established. We must study the Constitution and the writings of the founding fathers.
Yes, we must protect the Lord’s base of operations by moving away from unsound economic policies which encourage creeping socialism and its companion, insidious, atheistic communism. If we are to protect this important base, we must as a nation live within our means, balance our budgets, and pay our debts. We must establish sound monetary policies and take needed steps to compete in world markets.
If we are to protect this American base, we must realize that all things, including information disseminated by our schools, churches, and government, should be judged according to the words of the prophets, especially the living prophet. This procedure coupled with the understanding which will come through the Spirit of the Lord, if we are living in compliance with the scriptures, is the only sure foundation and basis of judgment. Any other course of action leaves us muddled, despondent, wandering in shades of gray, easy targets for Satan.
We must not fail in these pressing and important matters. We must not fall short of the great mission the Lord has proffered and outlined for America and for his divinely restored Church.
Yes, this is a choice land—a nation with a prophetic history.
God bless America and her leaders and all the free world. And may God protect his latter-day base of operation that his glorious message of salvation may go forth to all the world, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.” The Lord’s Base of Operations by Elder Ezra Taft Benson Of the Council of the Twelve Apostles Conference Report, April 1962, pp. 103-106
