President Russell M. Nelson in Priesthood Session on April 3, 2021 said, “What are lessons learned — and never to be forgotten — in the two years since the last general conference priesthood session?

Lesson 1: “The home is the center of faith and worship.”
Lesson 2: “We need each other.”
Lesson 3:  “Your priesthood quorum is meant for more than just a meeting.”
Lesson 4: “We hear Jesus Christ better when we are still.”
__President Russell M. Nelson April 3, 2021

“If you know of anyone who is alone, reach out — even if you feel alone, too! … Pandemic or not, each precious child of God needs to know that he or she is not alone!” President Russell M. Nelson April 3, 2021

President Nelson also quoted from Luke, emphasizing; [When men’s hearts are failing] “And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.” Luke 21:25-28

Here is a wonderful video I found about when things look bleak and it seems there is no way out.

I repeat from the above video, “People will be afraid. Men’s hearts are failing and that includes women because they forget their identity and purpose.” The heartaches will come…. Don’t demand things that are unreasonable, but demand of yourself improvements. As you let the Lord help you through that, He will make the difference.” Men’s Hearts Shall Fail Them (Video transcript by Elder Russell M Nelson Nov 18, 2011 highlights added)

May the blessings of Easter be with each of you. He died that we may live, so may we live to remember Him. I am sharing with you below on this Easter day, words of the Scriptures, songs of praise and pictures of beauty. May we all live worthy to be with our Savior Jesus Christ again. I know He lives.

“Yea, even so He shall be led, crucified, and slain,
the flesh becoming subject even unto death,
the will of the Son being swallowed up in the will of the Father.
And thus God breaketh the bands of death,
having gained the victory over death,
giving the Son power to make intercession for the children of men—having ascended into heaven,
having the bowels of mercy,
being filled with compassion towards the children of men,
standing betwixt them and justice,
having broken the bands of death,
taken upon Himself their iniquity and their transgressions,
having redeemed them, and satisfied the demands of justice.”
The Prophet Abinadi (Mosiah 15:7-9)

THE ANNOTATED EDITION OF THE BOOK OF MORMON
Page v, vii, ix, and 585

THE OLD TESTAMENT:
“I will gather the remnant of My flock out of all countries whither I have driven them.” (Jeremiah 23:3)
THE NEW TESTAMENT:
“I am the Good Shepherd, and know My sheep, and am known of Mine. As the Father knoweth Me, even so know I the Father, and I lay down My life for the sheep. And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear My voice; and there shall be one fold, and one Shepherd.”
(John 10:14-16)
THE BOOK OF MORMON:
“And verily I say unto you, that ye are they of whom I said: ‘Other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they shall hear My voice; and there shall be one fold, and one Shepherd.’” (3 Nephi 15:21) “…for behold, I know My sheep and they are numbered.” (3 Nephi 18:31)

Above: Christ Appears to the Nephites in North America
by Kendra Burton

YEA, come unto Christ, and be perfected in Him,
and deny yourselves of all ungodliness;
and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness,
and love God with all your might, mind and strength,
then is His grace sufficient for you,
that by His grace ye may be perfect in Christ;
and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ,
ye can in nowise deny the power of God.
(Moroni 10:32)
ND He shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions
and temptations of every kind;
and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith,
‘He will take upon Him the pains and the sicknesses of His people.’
And He will take upon Him death,
that He may loose the bands of death which bind His people;
and He will take upon Him their infirmities,
that His bowels may be filled with mercy,
according to the flesh,
that He may know according to the flesh how to succor His people
according to their infirmities.
(Alma 7:11–12; see Isaiah 53:4)

Book of Mormon References to Deity
by Charles D. Tate

In a day when many claim that the “Mormon Church” is a cult and certainly not a Christian church, it is interesting to note that the Book of Mormon has 476 references to the Lord Jesus Christ by name. With 531 pages in the text of the 1981 LDS edition, that averages nearly one reference per page. Of all the other Christian scriptures, only the Gospels, which abundantly use the name Jesus because they present synopses of his life, have more references to him by name.

Lee Crandall and Susan Easton Black did studies on the frequency of all references to Deity in both the Book of Mormon and the New Testament. They found that even with 1,349 fewer verses than the New Testament, the Book of Mormon makes 108 more references to the Lord. (Because Jehovah was actually the premortal Christ, and because the Savior directs the affairs of the world, most of the references to Deity in the Book of Mormon refer to Jesus Christ.)

I, too, had long known that almost every page of the Book of Mormon refers to Deity. In my Book of Mormon classes I would have the students let their copies of that scripture fall open randomly to any page. We would see how many times the books would fall open before we found one of the few pages that did not contain a specific name of God. Pronoun references did not count.

We learned a great lesson—the Book of Mormon is a Christ-oriented book. I had heard estimates that there are fewer than 50 of the 531 pages in the Book of Mormon on which a name of God does not appear. Not satisfied with guesswork, I set out to count the pages that did not contain a name of Deity.

To my delight, I found that only 30 of the 531 pages contain no specific name reference to Deity. Furthermore, many of those 30 pages make references to God without using names.

For instance, two pages record catastrophes and “a voice heard among all the inhabitants of the earth” (3 Ne. 9:1), but the source, Jesus Christ, is not identified by name until the third page.

Two more pages describe Lehi’s vision of the tree of life. (1 Ne. 8:1–35.) Nephi later tells us that the tree and the rod of iron in the vision are the love of God and the word of God. (1 Ne. 11:21–22; 1 Ne. 15:23–24.)

To those who say Latter-day Saints don’t respect Christ or don’t worship him, we need simply point to the Book of Mormon. If they read only the book of Moroni, they will encounter 215 references to him in its thirteen and one-half pages. Page 519 alone has 26 references to Deity. The Book of Mormon is a volume of scripture that centers on God the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ. It records the Lord’s dealings with the Nephites and witnesses to the world that the Bible is true, that Jesus is the Christ, and that God still speaks from the heavens.

Charles D. Tate, professor of English, Brigham Young University, https://www.lds.org/study/ensign/1992/04/research-and-perspectives-book-of-mormon-update?lang=eng

Names of Christ in the Book of Mormon
By Susan Easton Black

Even statistically, he’s the dominant figure of the Book of Mormon.

The Book of Mormon was preserved to come forth in these latter days to convince “the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God.” Its purpose is to verify the divine Sonship of the Nazarene to those who “ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ.” (Moro. 10:4.)

The divinity of Christ is proclaimed by prophets in the Book of Mormon. They had a conviction of his divinity because the Holy Ghost had revealed it unto them.

Through the instrumentality of the Holy Ghost, these prophets also knew that their writings were to bear testimony that Jesus is the Christ. This they solemnly did, more than I had ever realized. In a word-by-word study, I have found some form of the Lord’s name mentioned an average of every 1.7 verses in the Book of Mormon. (See Table 1.)

I have found that the Savior is referred to by one hundred different names—from the first reference to him as “Lord” in 1 Nephi 1:1 [1 Ne. 1:1] to the final reference to him as “the Eternal Judge” in Moroni 10:34. [Moro. 10:34] (See Table 2.) Each of the one hundred names signifies a different attribute or characteristic of the Lord and was used appropriately to convey the prophets’ recognition of who he is and what his mission represents. For example, “Savior” means that Christ came to save his people from their sins. “Holy One” signifies that he is holy and without sin, being perfect in all things. “God of the Whole Earth” reflects his universal interest in all men and their redemption. “Lord of Hosts” indicates that Christ is a God of battles. And “Lord Omnipotent” means that Christ is the Lord of all, possessing all power. The names given to our Lord take on new significance when they are approached through a thoughtful and sensitive study of their meanings. His profound character, his singular mission, and his divine relationship to man are thereby more clearly revealed.

Further understanding of man’s relationship to Christ, the central figure of the Book of Mormon, occurs through a study of the periods of apostasy, contention, and war. Fewer references to Christ are made during these periods of darkness, probably because his influence is lessened due to the unrighteous actions of man. (See Alma 50–59, for example.) During periods of peace, joy, and prosperity, which come through man’s keeping the commandments, the names of Christ are used profusely, indicating the abundant presence of his Spirit. (See 4 Ne. 1, for example.) Thus, the righteous actions of the people brought the influence and blessings of Christ among them.

Being aware of the number of references to Christ, having an understanding of the meanings for each name, and knowing when his influence can be greatest upon the earth can inspire reverential awe for our Savior. The witness of his divinity, however, must come personally to each of us—we cannot rely exclusively on the testimonies of others. The conviction that Jesus is the Christ occurs only when God, the Eternal Father, manifests the truth of it “by the power of the Holy Ghost.” (Moro. 10:4.) To the prayerful and the sincere, the Book of Mormon bears a powerful testimony that “Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God.” https://www.lds.org/study/ensign/1978/07/discovery/names-of-christ-in-the-book-of-mormon?lang=eng

Charts adapted from Susan Easton’s

FINAL COMMENTS and TESTIMONIES/From the ANNOTATED EDITION of THE BOOK OF MORMON

On August 16, 2017, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland gave an address at the 50-year jubilee of the discovery of chiasmus wherein he spoke at BYU in the Joseph Smith Auditorium Building saying, “the presiding officers of the Church appreciate and applaud the exceptional work being done by so many to search and to substantiate, to defend and promulgate the history and doctrine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, including and especially the Book of Mormon, in a way both scholarly and spiritual.” He discussed the contributions from scholars at BYU, including John W. Welch, who discovered chiasmus in the Book of Mormon, and then continued by saying, “that compliment is, of course, extended to a legion of other men and women across the Church who are putting their shoulders to the wheel of reasoned, determined, persuasive gospel scholarship. Other groups and like-minded colleagues are not part of the university per se, but may be nearby, or spread out around the Church. Our heartfelt thanks go to all of you wherever you are…

”He continued, “it should be noted that truly rock-ribbed faith and uncompromised conviction comes with its most complete power when it engages our head as well as our heart.” Speaking of the unbelieving eleven disciples of Christ following Mary and Peter’s witness of Christ resurrected, Elder Holland referenced Mark 16:14 and explained, “The message is that if members of the Godhead go to the trouble of providing‘ many infallible proofs’ [Act 1:3] of truth, then surely we are honor bound to affirm and declare that truth and may be upbraided if we do not.” He stated that “we ought to be more assertive than we sometimes are in defending our testimony of truth.

”Elder Holland then concluded, “in making our case for the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, I believe God intends us to find and use the evidence He has given—reasons, if you will—which affirm the truthfulness of His work… May our Father in Heaven bless us and an ever-larger cadre of young scholars around the Church to do more and more to discover and delineate and declare the reasons for the hope that is in us, that like those converted Lamanites, we may with bold conviction hold up to a world that desperately needs it ‘the greatness of the evidences which [we have] received,’ [Hela-man 5:50] especially of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon, the keystone of our religion.”– Chiasmus, An Open Conference on the State of the Art, Celebrating 50Years of Scholarship, Sponsored by Book of Mormon Central.

It is our hope and desire to do as Elder Holland has indicated, to affirm and declare “with bold conviction” the greatness of the evidences that have been discovered in support of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. Our purpose for combining the sacred text of the Book of Mormon with the now enormous number of evidences continually springing from the earth in the land choice above all others in this, the Dispensation of the Fulness of Times, is to affirm that this is divine scripture, and the events, places and peoples contained within its pages were real.

We solemnly bear our witness that Joseph Smith Jr. was a prophet of God and testify that he translated the Book of Mormon by the gift and power of God. We pray that the Lord’s Spirit will attend and bless all who will read and ponder the words of this book. The Holy Ghost has borne witnesses to us that the Book of Mormon is indeed the Word of God.– David R. Hocking and Rod L. Meldrum.

Below: He Truly Was the Son of God
by Clark Kelley Price

Yea, even so He shall be led, crucified, and slain,
the flesh becoming subject even unto death,
the will of the Son being swallowed up in the will of the Father.
And thus God breaketh the bands of death,
having gained the victory over death,
giving the Son power to make intercession for the children of men—
having ascended into heaven,
having the bowels of mercy,
being filled with compassion towards the children of men,
standing betwixt them and justice,
having broken the bands of death,
taken upon Himself their iniquity and their transgressions,
having redeemed them, and satisfied the demands of justice.”
The Prophet Abinadi
(Mosiah 15:7-9)

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

I share this song as one of my personal favorites. It really helped me in challenges as a young husband and father. I found strength to release my “Old Man’s Rubble” and focus on Christ in all that I do including today.

Heartland- Divine Documents

I believe the Heartland of the United States of America is the very center of where the events of the Book of Mormon happened. I believe as Elder Perry said, “The United States is the promised land foretold in the Book of Mormon—a place where divine guidance directed inspired men to create the conditions necessary for the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ.” Elder L. Tom Perry Ensign Dec. 2012

Many people ask me why Joseph didn’t speak about North America much. He did! “The Prophet seems to have known a good deal about ancient Nephite civilization. Why, then did he not tell his followers more about such matters as Book of Mormon geography? Because they were not yet ready for it, and because that was not what the Church was to become involved in at that stage of development. It would seem, however, that he at least left a few clues behind, perhaps to stimulate us of the present generation to further inquiry. (Incidentally, I am not one to accept everything Joseph Smith ever said or wrote as automatically binding; he was a human being like the rest of us. But I do believe he had special insights, and whatever he may have had to say–even on a subject like Book of Mormon geography–is worthy of careful consideration.)” Ross T. Christensen at the Thirty-third Annual Symposium on the Archaeology of the Scriptures, held at BYU on September 28 and 29, 1984.

My friends also ask me why does it matter where the Book of Mormon took place? I ask does it matter where the Lord was born? Or, does it matter the exact location of where Abraham offered sacrifice? Yes, at Mount Moriah which just happens to be the most sacred place on earth for three major religions, Jew’s, Muslim’s and Christian’s who fight over control of that land today. It is not a beautiful plot of ground but it is sacred because of the covenant.

In the same way, where specifically was that covenant renewed in the Book of Mormon? “And they shall remain under this condemnation until they repent and remember the new covenant, even the Book of Mormon and the former commandments which I have given them, not only to say, but to do according to that which I have written” D&C 84:57. Where was this “new covenant” for the New world made? Right in the the United States of America the same place the New Jerusalem shall be built.

My good friend Rod Meldrum said, “Does the geography of the Book of Mormon matter? With over 1400 references to “this land” in the Book of Mormon I’m not sure how the Book of Mormon prophets could have made it clearer. THIS LAND matters. Geography matters. Those of us on THIS LAND the “promised land,” the Land of Liberty, the Land of the New Jerusalem need to know who we are. America is THIS LAND. America is a covenant land. I live on THIS LAND. Even the chapter heading of 3 Nephi also confirms this truth.

Israel will be gathered when the Book of Mormon comes forth–The Gentiles will be established as a free people in America–They will be saved if they believe and obey; otherwise, they will be cut off and destroyed–Israel will build the New Jerusalem, and the lost tribes will return.

I am learning more each day about what the prophecies say about me, my fellow Gentiles and my House of Israel sisters and brothers on THIS LAND. I desire to understand my covenant that I have made with the Lord and the Book of Mormon is the “voice crying from the dust” helping me understand it. The geography of the Book of Mormon matters to me.” Rod Meldrum FIRM Foundation President (To me This Land, Here, this country etc, means the same place Joseph Smith was standing at the time he was quoted.)

As a believer in the Heartland Model, there are five amazing documents, revelation, epistles or letters described below that tell me that the Book of Mormon in the Heartland is indeed the place of the New Covenant. As you read these documents below you too may feel the spirit whisper the same thing to your heart as it has to mine. Here is also what Jonathan Neville has called the Geography Packet you can see which is about the evidence about Heartland that every one including BYU Professors should have. 

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Joseph Fielding Smith

With the belief that Cumorah is in Ontario, County New York, now you can begin to research the appropriate documents supporting this idea. Pres Joseph Fielding Smith in Doctrines of Salvation, Chapter 12 “A Voice from Cumorah Witnesses of Book of Mormon” said the following:

“This modernistic theory of necessity, in order to be consistent, must place the waters of Ripliancum and the Hill Cumorah some place within the restricted territory of Central America, notwithstanding the teachings of the Church to the contrary for upwards of 100 years. Because of this theory some members of the Church have become confused and greatly disturbed in their faith in the Book of Mormon. It is for this reason that evidence is here presented to show that it is not only possible that these places could be located as the Church has held during the past century, but that in very deed such is the case.

It is known that the Hill Cumorah where the Nephites were destroyed is the hill where the Jaredites were also destroyed. This hill was known to the Jaredites as Ramah. It was approximately near to the waters of Ripliancum, which the Book of Ether says, “by interpretation, is large, or to exceed all.”¹⁸ Mormon adds: “And it came to pass that we did march forth to the land of Cumorah, and we did pitch our tents round about the hill Cumorah; and it was in a land of many waters, rivers, and fountains; and here we had hope to gain advantage over the Lamanites.” 

Elder Mark E. Petersen

“I do not believe that there were two Hill Cumorahs, one in Central America and the other one up in New York, for the convenience of the Prophet Joseph Smith, so that the poor boy would not have to walk clear to Central America to get the gold plates.” Elder Mark E. Petersen, General Conference Address, April 1953

Letter to Emma-On the banks of the Mississippi, June 4th. 1834

    My Dear Companion, I now embrace a few moments to dictate a few words that you may know how it is with us up to this date. We arrived this morning on the banks of the Mississippi, and were detained from crossing the river, as there was no boat that we could cross in, but expect a new one to be put into the river this evening, so that we are in hopes, to be able to cross tomorrow, and proceed on our journey…

Now is the time for the Church abroad to come to Zion. It is our prayer day and night that God will open the heart of the Churches to pour in men and means to assist us, for the redemption and upbuilding of Zion. We want the Elders in Kirtland to use every exertion to influence the Church to come speedily to our relief…

The whole of our journey, in the midst of so large a company of social honest and sincere men, wandering over the plains of the Nephites, recounting occasionaly the history of the Book of Mormon, roving over the mounds of that once beloved people of the Lord, picking up their skulls & their bones, as a proof of its divine authenticity, and gazing upon a country the fertility, the splendour and the goodness so indescribable, all serves to pass away time unnoticed, and in short were it not at every now and then our thoughts linger with inexpressible anxiety for our wives and our children our kindred according to the flesh who are entwined around our hearts; And also our brethren and friends; our whole journey would be as a dream, and this would be the happiest period of all our lives. We learn this journey how to travel, and we look with pleasing anticipation for the time to come, when we shall retrace our steps, and take this journey again in the enjoyment and embrace of that society we so much love, which society can only cause us to have any desire or lingering thoughts of that which is below…

Tell Father Smith and all the family, and brother Oliver to be comforted and look forward to the day when the trials and tribulations of this life will be at an end, and we all enjoy the fruits of our labour if we hold out faithful to the end which I pray may be the happy lot of us all.

From your’s in the bonds of affliction.

JS, Letter, Pike County, IL, to Emma Smith, Kirtland, OH, 4 June 1834; in JS Letterbook 2, pp. 56–59 To read Online this letter in the Joseph Smith Papers, CLICK HERE

 Letter VII by Oliver Cowdery July 1835

…At about one mile west rises another ridge of less height, running parallel with the former, leaving a beautiful vale between. The soil is of the first quality for the country, and under a state of cultivation, which gives a prospect at once imposing, when one reflects on the fact, that here, between these hills, the entire power and national strength of both the Jaredites and Nephites were destroyed.

By turning to the 529th and 530th pages of the Book of Mormon, you will read Mormon’s account of the last great struggle of his people, as they were encamped round this hill Cumorah. (It is printed Camorah, which is an error.) In this valley fell the remaining strength and pride of a once powerful people, the Nephites….

Read Online the complete LETTER VII HERE

Zelph-On the Banks of the Illinois River June 1-3, 1834

Joseph Smith told the brethren at Zion’s Camp about Zelph, and many of them wrote in their journals. Wilford Woodruff, Levi Hancock, George A. Smith, Heber C. Kimball, Reuben McBride, and Moses Martin all wrote about this event. Is seems Wilford Woodruff compiled the information and put it in History of the Church Volume 2 page 79-80

     “During our travels we visited several of the mounds which had been thrown up by the ancient inhabitants of this country—Nephites, Lamanites, etc., and this morning I went up on a high mound, near the river, accompanied by the brethren. From this mound we could overlook the tops of the trees and view the prairie on each side of the river as far as our vision could extend, and the scenery was truly delightful.

On the top of the mound were stones which presented the appearance of three altars having been erected one above the other, according to the ancient order; and the remains of bones were strewn over the surface of the ground. The brethren procured a shovel and a hoe, and removing the earth to the depth of about one foot, discovered the skeleton of a man, almost entire, and between his ribs the stone point of a Lamanitish arrow, which evidently produced his death. Elder Burr Riggs retained the arrow. The contemplation of the scenery around us produced peculiar sensations in our bosoms; and subsequently the visions of the past being opened to my understanding by the Spirit of the Almighty, I discovered that the person whose skeleton was before us was a white Lamanite, a large, thick-set man, and a man of God. His name was Zelph. He was a warrior and chieftain under the great prophet Onandagus, who was known from the Hill Cumorah, or eastern sea to the Rocky mountains. The curse was taken from Zelph, or, at least, in part—one of his thigh bones was broken by a stone flung from a sling, while in battle, years before his death. He was killed in battle by the arrow found among his ribs, during the last great struggle of the Lamanites and Nephites.” (1)

“I brought the thigh bone to Missouri. I desired to bury it in the Temple Block in Jackson County; but not having this privilege, I buried it in Clay County, Missouri, near the house owned by Col. Arthur and occupied by Lyman Wight. The arrowhead referred to is now in the possession of President Joseph F. Smith, Salt Lake City, Utah.”

“The Prophet Joseph called upon Brother Brigham, myself and others, saying, “Brethren, come, go along with me, and I will show you something,” He led us a short distance to a place where were the ruins of three altars built of stone, one above the other, and one standing a little back of the other, like unto the pulpits in the Kirtland Temple, representing the order of three grades of Priesthood; “There,” said Joseph, “is the place where Adam offered up sacrifice after he was cast out of the garden.” The altar stood at the highest point of the bluff. I went and examined the place several times while I remained there.”

“While on our way we felt anxious to know who the person was who had been killed by that arrow. It was made known to Joseph that he had been an officer who fell in battle, in the last destruction among the Lamanites, and his name was Zelph. This caused us to rejoice much, to think that God was so mindful of us as to show these things to His servant. Brother Joseph had enquired of the Lord and it was made known to him in a vision.” (3)

• Joseph Smith Papers Letterbook 2; History of the Church Volume 2: pp.79-80
• Wilford Woodruff Journal Page 41.
• Life of Heber C. Kimball, by Orson F. Whitney page 209.
• To read Online in the Joseph Smith Papers CLICK HERE
  

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Revelation given through Joseph Smith the Prophet, at Nauvoo, Illinois, March 1841

“Let them build up a city unto my name upon the land opposite the city of Nauvoo, and let the name of Zarahemla be named upon it.” D&C 125:3

 An epistle from Joseph Smith the Prophet at Nauvoo, Illinois, September 6, 1842.

“And again, what do we hear? Glad tidings from Cumorah! Moroni, an angel from heaven, declaring the fulfilment of the prophets—the book to be revealed. A voice of the Lord in the wilderness of Fayette, Seneca county, declaring the three witnesses to bear record of the book! The voice of Michael on the banks of the Susquehanna, detecting the devil when he appeared as an angel of light! The voice of Peter, James, and John in the wilderness between Harmony, Susquehanna county, and Colesville, Broome county, on the Susquehanna river, declaring themselves as possessing the keys of the kingdom, and of the dispensation of the fulness of times!” D&C 128:20

Manti- Huntsville, Randolph County MO

“The camp passed through Huntsville, in Randolph County, which has been appointed as one of the stakes of Zion, and is the ancient site of the City of Manti…” Millennial Star, vol. 16, p. 296

“September 25, 1838. We passed through Huntsville, Co, seat of Randolph Co, Pop. 450, and three miles further we bought 32 bu. of corn off one of the brethren who resides in this place. There are several of the brethren round about here and this is the ancient site of the City of Manti, which is spoken of in the Book of Mormon and this is appointed one of the Stakes of Zion, and it is in Randolph County, Missouri, three miles west of the county seat.” Journal of Samuel D. Tyler, filed in Church Historian’s Office. Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation 3: 239  History of Joseph Smith page 296

“We came through Huntsville, the county seat of Randolph county . . . A mile and a half west of Huntsville we crossed the east branch of Chariton (River), and one and a half miles west of the river we found Ira Ames and some other brethren near the place where the city of Manti is to be built, and encamped for the night on Dark creek, six miles from Huntsville. Traveled this day seventeen miles. Distance from Kirtland, seven hundred and fifty-five miles.” Joseph Smith Documentary History of the Church, 3:10:144:1

Joseph Smith accompanied several Church members in exploring the area around Lyman Wight’s northern Missouri home. In his journal, A. Jenson wrote: “The [Kirtland] camp passed through Huntsville, in Randolph County, which has been appointed as one of the stakes of Zion, and is the ancient site of the City of Manti.” A. Jenson, Historical Record, Book 1, p. 601 Millennial Star 16:296

What Else Did Joseph Smith Say?

“In this important and interesting book the history of ancient America is unfolded, from its first settlement by a colony that came from the Tower of Babel at the confusion of languages to the beginning of the fifth century of the Christian era. We are informed by these records that America in ancient times has been inhabited by two distinct races of people. The first were called Jaredites and came directly from the Tower of Babel. The second race came directly from the city of Jerusalem about six hundred years before Christ. They were principally Israelites of the descendants of Joseph. The Jaredites were destroyed about the time that the Israelites came from Jerusalem, who succeeded them in the inheritance of the country. The principal nation of the second race fell in battle towards the close of the fourth century. The remnant are the Indians that now inhabit this country…” Wentworth Letter reprinted in Ensign July 2002

“Joseph said that “the Book of Mormon is a record of the forefathers of our western tribes of Indians . . . By it we learn that our western tribes of Indians are descendants from that Joseph that was sold into Egypt, and that the land of America is a promised land unto them.” Joseph Smith’s Letter to The American Revivalist Feb 2, 1833 (Quoted in Dean C. Jessee, The Personal Writings of Joseph Smith (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1984), p. 273)

“He told me of a sacred record which was written on plates of gold, I saw in the vision the place where they were deposited, he said the Indians were the literal descendants of Abraham…” Joseph Smith Journal, November 9, 1835; The Joseph Smith Papers: Journals Volume 1:1832-1839 (Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2008), 88-89.

“From this time forth, Joseph continued to receive instructions from the Lord, and we continued to get the children together every evening, for the purpose of listening while he gave us a relation of the same. I presume our family presented an aspect as singular as any that ever lived upon the face of the earth–all seated in a circle, father, mother, sons, and daughters, and giving the most profound attention to a boy, eighteen years of age, who had never read the Bible through in his life: he seemed much less inclined to the perusal of books than any of the rest of our children, but far more given to meditation and deep study… During our evening conversations, Joseph would occasionally give us some of the most amusing recitals that could be imagined. He would describe the ancient inhabitants of this continent, their dress, mode of traveling, and the animals upon which they rode, their cities, their buildings, with every particular; their mode of warfare; and also their religious worship. This he would do with as much ease, seemingly, as if he had spent his whole life with them.” Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1844–1845 Book 4 Joseph Smith Papers

Visit the Links below for information from The Joseph Smith Papers Links below and from  Annotated Book of Mormon by David Hocking and Rod Meldrum page 555

Letter I to Letter VIII

Zelph and Onandagus

Letter to Emma

D & C 125

D & C 128

It is my hope and prayer to help members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and other wonderful people all across the world, to become more aware of what is happening in the world of ours and especially in the United States of America. The USA is great but it is at a terrible tipping point. Our Constitution has not been honored nor followed since at least since 1781. The Lord has warned us.

Benjamin Franklin was approached by a group of citizens asking what sort of government the delegates had created. His answer was: “A republic, if you can keep it.” The brevity of that response should not cause us to under-value its essential meaning: democratic republics are not merely founded upon the consent of the people, they are also absolutely dependent upon the active and informed involvement of the people for their continued good health.

21 And others will he pacify, and lull them away into carnal security, that they will say: All is well in Zion; yea, Zion prospereth, all is well—and thus the devil cheateth their souls, and leadeth them away carefully down to hell.
22 And behold, others he flattereth away, and telleth them there is no hell; and he saith unto them: I am no devil, for there is none—and thus he whispereth in their ears, until he grasps them with his awful chains, from whence there is no deliverance.
23 Yea, they are grasped with death, and hell; and death, and hell, and the devil, and all that have been seized therewith must stand before the throne of God, and be judged according to their works, from whence they must go into the place prepared for them, even a lake of fire and brimstone, which is endless torment.
24 Therefore, wo be unto him that is at ease in Zion!
25 Wo be unto him that crieth: All is well! 2 Nephi 28:21-25

This is a very frightful warning. Let’s read this every day for about 2 weeks and then pray and ask what can we do personally to help, it would be a great beginning. Are we even aware of the horrible things that Satan is doing today? Are we so focused on the commandments and our day to day life without pausing and searching for the evil things in this world that we can fix? I don’t want you to focus on evil of course, but answer these few questions below. You may not have a clue what I am talking about. If you don’t, please find out and maybe on your own you may be able to discern the evil that Satan is doing right here under out feet.

Things to Research or Think About! Your Opinion?

Why does good seem bad and bad seem good? That is Satan’s plan

What is The Act of 1871? Is the USA a Corporation or a Republic?
What is the Original 13th amendment that today is not even listed. (TONA)
What is the significance of the Evergreen ship stuck in the Suez Canal right now?
Quantum Financial System (NESARA, GESARA)
Fiat Currency vs Krypto currency
The earth is a water sphere not a magma sphere.
The Promised Land is the USA.
Blue Star on the Israeli flag is not the Star of David?
Did you know Jeffrey Epstein is alive and singing like a bird?
It is not a sin to be attracted to the opposite sex but it is when you are intimate.
Dinosaurs live during the time of Adam?
Illuminati, Cabal, Deep State, all the same
What does Tim Ballard’s Underground Railroad organization do?
Adrenochrome, Pizza-gate, Bohemian Grove
D.U.M.B.S.
The NEA received $40 Billion and still refuse to teach our children
IRS and Central Bank are not owned by the United States
Who is Q and QANON and what do they believe?
Our worst enemies are our allies, Israel, United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Canada
Our best friends are China, Saudi Arabia, and Russia.
Six Cabals own all News networks and major newspapers. Think Disney, ESPN, Wayfair, Amazon, Facebook, Rothchild’s, Rockefeller’s, YouTube, Google, Ford, Standard Oil, Big Pharma etc.
2,000,000 missing Children per year in the world, 800,000 per year in the USA
3 City States independent as their own country jurisdiction: Vatican, City of London, Washington DC
Prominent names on Jeffrey Epstein’s travel list to his Islands
Funding for Antifa and Black Lives Matter comes from who?
Governors whose state is still closed down for Covid 19. Why?
Wuhan virus started in the Chinese lab and was helped by US scientists
Who makes money in Vaccines. Bill Gates, Anthony Fauchi, Big Pharma
Are we living under a dual Presidency? President Biden and the US Military?
Was our election interfered in by foreign powers? DNI Report
What executive order did Trump sign Sep 18, 2018?
Did any State, Federal or the Supreme Court review any of the election 2020 fraud cases? (Review means, hear the evidence in their court)
Did US Space Force follow the 2020 election and do they know the honest count of votes?
Did you know China is no longer the CCCP, but becoming the Republic of China?
Did you know that Hitler was half Jewish?
Do you know who the most evil intelligence agencies are? CIA, DOJ, FBI, Mossad, MI-5 and MI-6
Does anyone know who was responsible for killing JFK? Is JFK Jr. alive today?
Who was given a special message at Pres. George HW Bush’s funeral? What did it say?
Become familiar with Steven E. Jones former BYU Professor who was fired.
What is a “Med Bed” and can they really help with miraculous health?
Can we legally and peaceably do anything to overturn the 2020 election?
Who is Michael Flynn and why did Obama say he and N. Korea are the worst nightmare for the New Trump Presidency?
Was Wiki Leaks and Snowden good or bad for our Constitution?
Who were the two billionaires killed during the sinking of the Titanic and did it really hit an iceberg?
Why do many gun shootings happen just as Congress is trying to pass new gun laws?
What is the 1619 Project and what does it teach about the beginning of our country?
What is White Guilt, the Cancel Culture, and a Woke Society?
How many of our children know US History and the founding fathers?
Did you know two famous Rothchild’s of the Deep State fought over control of the North and the South in the Civil War? They each wanted to be king of each area.
Why does main stream media always want a Black vs White fight?
Have you seen John and Bill Podesta recently? What about Adam Schiff?
What did attorney say about Mike Pence, Justice John Roberts and the election?
Have you noticed many popular actors and actresses wearing ankle bracelets?
Have you seen newly released pictures of Obama that teach us more about his previous life?
Did you know the Khazarian Mafia is one of the oldest and most Satanic groups that continue today as Zionists and Fake Jews and the Cabal. They were originally “Mystery Babylon”
Were hospitals paid to declare people died with Covid 19?
What is Eugenics and is it happening today?
Why do Professors have tenure? Why is it almost impossible to fire a government e
Only 5-8% of Jews living in Israel are from the tribe of Judah.
What was the most evil thing Baal and Moloch did during the Bible days and does it continue today?
Is it legal to keep printing US Treasury Notes?
Why does Facebook and YouTube ban conservative speech?
Satan can’t win unless we allow him to take over.
Why are the Main Stream Media going after Dr. Seuss, and Mr. Potato Head?
What is the Second Harvest Rian Nelson has been speaking about? Can it happen?
Lastly:
Vaccines currently in use in the United States contain ingredients including “human fetus cells lines” and “African Green Monkey kidney pus cells” harvested from diseased primates, according to a bombshell document published by the CDC. The report also shows that other substances are used in vaccines manufactured for human use, including: porcine circoviruses, Thimerosal, aluminum, formaldehyde, human serum albumin, diploid human cell, human embryonic kidney cells 293, also often referred to as HEK 293, HEK-293, 293 cells, or less precisely as HEK cells, human fetal cells listed as WI-38, MRC-5, HEK293, and more. — The Standard Editor More complete List Here

PLEASE WAKE UP! WE ARE ALLOWING VACCINES THAT HAVE HUMAN FETUS?

So I ask you, Is ALL WELL in ZION? See if you can answer three or four of the questions above and see if it may alter your paradigm of how wrong things are in America. Please Pray. Please spread the word. Please help the Lord and our wonderful Prophet and Apostles by helping this world become better. Write your congressmen, even Mitt Romney, visit your school boards, run for office, volunteer and watch the new FIRM Foundation videos beginning April 9th here:
https://bookofmormonevidencestreaming.com/

I don’t know all the answers to the above questions, but I have studied about them all and I have an opinion. I would like to hear what you think. It will keep us awake and ready to save our country in a peaceful way.

HUMAN AND CHILD TRAFFICKING IS REAL. REFUSING TO SEE IT WON’T MAKE IT STOP.

March 11, 2021 The Marshall Report

Human trafficking is real, it does happen and it has become a billion dollar illegal business. There is an  estimated 24.9 million victims worldwide at any given time!  It is a horrific crime and human rights abuse, and a crime of exploitation – traffickers profit by forcing their victims to perform labor, and/or engage in commercial sex in every region in the United States and around the world. These human traffickers prey on adults and children of all ages, backgrounds, and nationalities for profit.

Did the Phoenician’s Practice Child Sacrifice?
(Yes According to the Video Below)

“And thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to Molech, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the Lord.” Leviticus 18:21

“And he made his son pass through the fire, and observed times, and used enchantments, and dealt with familiar spirits and wizards: he wrought much wickedness in the sight of the Lord, to provoke him to anger.” 2 Kings 21:6

Human Trafficking vs. Migrant Smuggling

Human trafficking uses force, fraud, or coercion to compel another person to work or engage in a commercial sex act, and does not require crossing a border. Migrant smuggling is the crime of bringing people across international borders through deliberate evasion of immigration laws. While these are distinct crimes, individuals who are smuggled may become vulnerable to and victims of human trafficking.

What happens to these victims is horrendous. Many never live through it and those who do are left with severe emotional and often physical scars. Many children are sold for organ harvesting and some are sold specifically to those involved in satanic rituals and harvesting a substance called Adrenochrome (C9H9NO3) a compound synthesized by the oxidation of adrenaline, sourced from the blood of human children after they are tortured.

Those who bring this to public attention are ridiculed as conspiracy theorists and those who traffic children for such use deny it even exists. Yet, it is a billion dollar industry.  Heads of states have cracked down on human and child trafficking yet, there is much more that needs to be done to end this atrocity.

Information on Human Trafficking can be found on the US Department of State website at:  https://www.state.gov/humantrafficking-about-human-trafficking/

The children who have been rescued from underground tunnels is real. Those who practice rituals involving children are real. It is ancient in origin and modern in practice. It has never gone away any more than Satan has decided to go away. Pray to the Lord that this evil end and those who partake in it are all exposed. Dianne

Juan O Savin and SGT Report. Sex Trafficking and Blackmail
(Caution bad language twice)

Full SGT Report Video Here:
https://beforeitsnews.com/alternative/2021/03/sgtreport-with-juan-osavin-the-rulers-of-darkness-hate-america-video-3745983.html

27 Bizarre Facts About The Georgia Guidestones

By Jerome London Updated November 4, 2020. What the heck is this weird, Stonehenge-like structure in rural Georgia, and why do the messages inscribed on them predict the end of the world?

The Georgia Guidestones, AKA the “American Stonehenge,” are a massive granite structure in far eastern Georgia near the South Carolina border. No one knows who paid for the construction of the Georgia Guidestones, nor what exactly is meant by the strange messages engraved on them.

Here are some of the most bizarre and interesting facts about the Georgia Guidestones.

1. The Georgia Guidestones are almost twice as tall as Stonehenge.

2. Nearly a quarter-million pounds of granite was used to make them.

3. The stones have 10 messages inscribed on them. They read:

•  MAINTAIN HUMANITY UNDER 500,000,000 IN PERPETUAL BALANCE WITH NATURE
• GUIDE REPRODUCTION WISELY – IMPROVING FITNESS AND DIVERSITY
• UNITE HUMANITY WITH A LIVING NEW LANGUAGE
• RULE PASSION – FAITH – TRADITION – AND ALL THINGS WITH TEMPERED REASON
• PROTECT PEOPLE AND NATIONS WITH FAIR LAWS AND JUST COURTS
• LET ALL NATIONS RULE INTERNALLY RESOLVING EXTERNAL DISPUTES IN A WORLD COURT
• AVOID PETTY LAWS AND USELESS OFFICIALS
• BALANCE PERSONAL RIGHTS WITH SOCIAL DUTIES
• PRIZE TRUTH – BEAUTY – LOVE- SEEKING HARMONY WITH THE INFINITE
• BE NOT A CANCER ON THE EARTH – LEAVE ROOM FOR NATURE – LEAVE ROOM FOR NATURE

4. These ten “messages” are written on the Guidestones in eight different languages. Those languages are English, Swahili, Russian, Spanish, Sanskrit, Hebrew, Arabic, and Chinese.

5. No one knows who paid for their construction. As the story goes, an elegant, well-spoken, well-dressed, and grey-haired man who identified himself only as “R. C. Christian” appeared at a granite company in nearby Elberton, GA one day requesting a quote on the project. Figuring he was some “nut,” the granite specialist purposely claimed a ridiculous price, figuring Mr. “Christian” would balk. Instead, Mr. Christian agreed to the price.

6. Some people suspect the Rosicrucian Order financed the project.
Since “Rose Cross Christian,” AKA “Christian Rosenkreuz,” was the founder of the mystical society the Rosicrucian Order, many suspect that the Rosicrucians were financed the building of the Georgia Guidestones.

7. Others suspect that Ted Turner financed the project. Since Ted Turner of CNN fame is located a mere 100 miles away in Atlanta, and since many of his stated globalist goals reflect the Message of the Georgia Guidestones, it has also been suggested that he is the mystery patron behind the giant granite slabs.

8. The project’s builders’ had to sign a legal agreement never to reveal the identity of the financiers. They also swore to destroy all legal papers regarding the Guidestones’ construction once the project was finished.

9. The “Message of the Georgia Guidestones” seems to call for at least 90% of the Earth’s population to be wiped out. The passage about maintaining humanity at a population of a half-billion or less would require a massive dying-off of humanity the likes of which we’ve never seen. This is what has led many conspiracy theorists to allege that whoever financed the Guidestones, they are in cahoots with an evil New World Order project to extensively depopulate the planet.

10. Yoko Ono called the Guidestones “a stirring call to rational freedom.”
Apparently The Beatles widow is fine with seeing 6.5 billion humans wiped out.

11. The stones were defaced with graffiti in 2008. The spray-painted message was DEATH TO THE NEW WORLD ORDER.

12. About that “New World Order” thing… Whoever paid an astronomical sum to build a giant set of tombstones calling for massive depopulation, a single world language, and a World Court definitely didn’t see a use for national borders.

13. The Guidestones were designed to withstand catastrophic events. Events such as, oh, a World War that wiped out 6.5 billion people. As the world lay in ashes, somewhere R.C. Christian and his cohorts could take a little comfort that at least their giant creepy tombstone was still standing way out in rural Georgia.

14. Some claim they are Satanic in origin. This includes right-wing pundit Mark Dice, who claims they are of “a deep Satanic origin” and that R. C. Christian was a member of “a Luciferian secret society” with ties to the “New World Order.” Others have referred to the ten messages inscribed on the Guidestones as “The Ten Commandments of the Antichrist.”

15. Others claim they were intended to be seen by the survivors of a nuclear war.
Since the Georgia Guidestones were built in 1979, at the height of the Cold War between the USA and the Soviet Union that many thought would inevitably result in a nuclear apocalypse, writers such as Brad Meltzer suggests that the Guidestones were meant to be seen by that war’s survivors, at which point the world’s population would already be below a half-billion.

16. A mysterious “Time Capsule” is allegedly buried nearby. A tablet erected near the Guidestones claims that a time capsule is buried beneath the tablet, although there is no proof the capsule really exists and no suggestion of what is written on it.

17. R. C. Christian presented builders with a shoebox containing a wooden model of the monument along with 10 pages of extremely detailed specifications. Many of the specifications involved using the Guidestones as an astronomical guide, as explained in the next few items.

18. The Guidestones were purposely designed to track the sun’s east-west migration year-round.

19. During an equinox or solstice, those who stand at the west side of a “mail slot” carved into the Guidestones can see the sunrise over the horizon.

20. The four outer stones are positioned to mark the limits of the 18.6 year lunar declination cycle.

21. An eye-level hole drilled into the center stone permits viewers to locate the North Star.

22. A small hole drilled through the capstone serves as a sundial.
At noon every day, a reading of where the sunbeam hits the center column allows one to pinpoint the exact day of the year.

23. R. C. Christian and his cohorts allowed the landowners full cattle grazing rights. In a small gesture of generosity, the mysterious backers of the Georgia Guidestones still permitted the owners of the land on which they were built to allow their cattle to graze on it for their entire natural lives—or until a nuclear war that wipes out 90% of the world’s population, whichever comes first.

24. In his film Endgame: Blueprint for Global Enslavement, Alex Jones claims the Guidestones represent a genocidal depopulation program sponsored by the world’s financial elites.

25. The Georgia Guidestones have been called “America’s Most Mysterious Monument.”

26. In 2009, a man stole a 6-inch cube of granite from the top of one of the Guidestones. Four years later, police arrested William Jeremy Ellis in the middle of the night as he was trying to replace the cube of granite he’d stolen. He explained to police that he “didn’t want that weight anymore.”

27. A tablet in front of the monument declares “LET THESE BE GUIDESTONES TO AN AGE OF REASON.” It’s kind of hard to be reasonable when you’re talking about wiping out 90% of the planet’s inhabitants, though?

Lil Nas X Says Children Are His Core Audience Before Releasing Music Video Giving Satan a Lap Dance, Selling Shoes Made With Human Blood

By Cassandra Fairbanks Published March 27, 2021

A rapper by the name of Lil Nas X said that children are his core audience, just months before releasing a music video in which he pole dances down to hell to give Satan a lap dance.

The deranged rapper also announced a sneaker collaboration called “Satan” that features a pentagram and real human blood. The shoe also contains the numbers 666 and come in a limited edition of 666 pairs.

The devil wears Prada and now, according to rapper Lil Nas X, he also wears custom Nike sneakers containing human blood.

Lil Nas X, the “Old Town Road” artist, is collaborating with the streetwear company MSCHF on a pair of “Satan Shoes,” only 666 pairs of which will be on sale Monday. 

The controversial kicks apparently modified Nike Air Max 97s are decorated with a pentagram pendant and a reference to Luke 10:18, a Bible verse about Satan’s fall from heaven. They’ll be sold for $1,018.

The sneakers also contain a drop of human blood in the sole, drawn from members of the MSCHF team, the company told NBC News on Sunday.

News of the shoes drew outrage over the Palm Sunday weekend; some critics slammed both Lil Nas X and Nike. But Nike was quick to distance itself from the shoes, pointing out that they’re custom adaptations of existing products.

Nike thinks its funny that Human Blood is in their SOLE?

What’s Really Going On With the Pandemic?

We don’t need to make up stories any more. The world is full of real things that continue to amaze me. Satan is working overtime but if we continue to love the Lord and read and pray and serve others we can be a great help in this world. May the Lord bless each of you.

The Constitution is in Crisis!

1- The Basis of the Declaration/Constitution is GOD’s Biblical Law?
2- Congress endorsed America’s first printed Bible, the “Aitkens Bible” on September 12, 1782?
3- You live in a REPUBLIC & not a democracy (as the Founders Warned)?
4- We were to ONLY coin money based on God’s money (Article I Section 8; gold & silver)?
5- Separation of Church and State” is found nowhere in the Constitution & it was never INTENDED to take GOD out of the public square?
6- The U.S. Capital Building was converted to a church every Sunday morning; Jefferson & Madison attended service there?
7- 27 signers of the Declaration of Independence had “seminary” degrees?
8- The Electoral College was to ONLY nominate a President (Usurped by 12th Amendment)?
9- The Constitution is NOT a political document, it is a Sovereign Document; there is deliberately no mention of party within the Declaration or Constitution?
10- Only Congress can write Law, Executive orders do NOT write law?
11- The Federal Reserve is neither federal nor reserve (Statesmen warned us in 1913)?
12- The Founders despised political parties, they warned that it would dilute and bring faction to the Constitution and our God given Liberties (We need Statesmen, NOT politicians)?
13- Washington D.C.’s worship team every Sunday morning was the U.S. Marine Corps Band?
14- Congressional declarations actually called for “Christianity” to be “spread all over the Earth”?
15- The first U.S. Supreme Court opened with a four hour Prayer and Communion service?
16- The Founding Bible of this Nation was the GENEVA Bible, not the King James for a reason?
17- The Bible was a required reading textbook in our public schools?
18- In 1812, President Madison signed a bill aiding the Bible Society of Philadelphia to help mass distribute the Bible?
19- Christians allowed GOD to be kicked out of the public square in 1962 thanks to a usurping Supreme Court ruling making it illegal to pray in school?
20- Territories applying for Statehood were required to BAN slavery and were encouraged to teach the Bible in their schools? (Northwest Ordinance, Section XIV, Article III, Article 6, passed by the House, passed by the Senate and signed into law by Pres. George Washington, August 7, 1789)

“It will be of little avail to the people, that the laws are made by men of their own choice, if the laws be so voluminous that they cannot be read, or so incoherent that they cannot be understood;”
~James Madison, (Federalist #62 Independent Journal Wednesday, February 27, 1788)

Instead of trying to find out where the Nephites lived, try this experiment. Find an ancient culture of people that lived somewhere in the world at the same time period as the Nephites. (C. 200 BC to 500 AD). If you believe the Nephites lived in Mesoamerican look for this group of people there. If you believe the Book of Mormon events happened in North America, look there. If you feel Nephi and Mosiah lived in South America, look there.

Next find real artifacts that exist today that are dated during those time frames of 200 BC to 500 AD. Look at their travel patterns and hunter gatherer societies and compare it with the location you have found.

Finally, does the land and these people you are looking for, match these 17 promises and prophecies below as recorded in the Book of Mormon? (I can give you 19 more if you need them). If not, don’t be alarmed. The answer is: “The events of the Book of Mormon happened in the Heartland of the United States of America.” Item 8 below is a {REVELATION}. It shouldn’t be disputed. The way the Meso boys get around this, is they say the entire continent includes the New Jerusalem not just the USA. (So the Promised land could be Greenland, or Nova Scotia, or Venezuela, or Montreal? I guess it could be, but I don’t think it is. The place of the Constitution written by the Lord Himself and the place where the Garden of Eden is located is the Promised Land. What else is an important location of a promised land? Hill Cumorah, Palmyra, Susquehanna, Colesville, Kirtland, Nauvoo, Independence, MO, Salt Lake City? There is overwhelming evidence that as Elder L Tom Perry said, “The United States is the promised land foretold in the Book of Mormon—a palace where divine guidance directed inspired men to create the conditions necessary for the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ.” Elder L. Tom Perry Ensign Dec. 2012. Stop looking. The Hopewell Mound builders are the society that match the criteria of what you are looking for.

“Though such piles as the great pyramid-temple of Chichén Itzá yield to few buildings in the world in beauty of proportion and grandeur of conception, there is something disturbing about most of these overpowering ruins. Writers describing them through the years have ever confessed to feelings of sadness and oppression as they contemplate the moldy magnificence—the futility of it all: “They have all gone away from the house on the hill,” and today we don’t even know who they were.

The great monuments do not represent what the Nephites stood for; rather, they stand for what their descendants, “mixed with the blood of their brethren,” descended to. But seen in the newer and wider perspective of comparative religious studies, they suggest to us not only the vanity of mankind and the futility of man’s unaided efforts, but also something nobler; the constant search of men to recapture a time when the powers of heaven were truly at the disposal of a righteous people.” Ancient Temples: What Do They Signify? By Hugh Nibley September 1972

“Blinded by the gold of the pharaohs and the mighty ruins of Babylon , Book of Mormon students have declared themselves “not interested” in the drab and commonplace remains of our lowly Indians. But in all the Book of Mormon we look in vain for anything that promises majestic ruins.” (Hugh Nibley, An Approach to the Book of Mormon (Melchizedek Priesthood manual, 1957

“I have lived in the State of New York, town of Bloomfield, Monroe County, right in the heart of the country where the ancient Lamanites, and other veterans, destroyed each other, root and branch; where the Book of Mormon was discovered in the hill of Cumorah. From among those rich hills the people are flocking to these mountains. Why? Because this is the richest place in the world.” Heber C Kimball Lamanites in New York JD 2:105

With these quotes and clues above, I think the best opportunity to find a culture of the Nephites is in the Heartland of the United States of America.

Conflict and Displacement of Hopewellian People In the 4th Century in Western New York

Focus of Research in the Heartland of North America- Prepared by Dr. John Lefgren PhD

All serious conflict results in the displacement of people.  Indeed, much of the movement of people in the ancient as well as the modern world is the result of conflict.  The proposed research would examine the movements and the encampments of the Hopewellian people who were in conflict in Western New York during the late 4th century.  The paper examines associated themes such as the dislocation and displacement of people who came from the river valleys of Ohio and Illinois.  There would be a review of the accounts by the first Europeans of fortifications and artifacts of war including bones of a people who were in Western New York a thousand years before Columbus.  The research would examine sites where the archaeological record shows artifacts from the rich agricultural lands of the Mississippi river valleys.  The research would examine various aspects of ancient life in these sites and their particular ‘wilderness’ settings, framing the discussion within the themes of movements and dislocations, and especially their multiple impacts on the Hopewellian people who came to a land removed from their origins.  A particular emphasis for the research would be movements and dislocations of people in conflict.  The Hopewellian people became in effect ‘stuck’ in the northeastern wilderness.  The inhabitants of these ancient sites were in conflict and they coped with the situation as well as they could.  The conflict is reflected in the different features of the sites and the archaeological material which the fieldwork produces.  The research would focus on how conflict pushed the Hopewellian people from one region to another.  The research will compare the multi-generational construction of large and numerous earthworks of these people in Ohio to the immediate construction of hundreds of fortifications in Western New York.   Considering the displacement of people in our time the research will note how conflicts have pushed hundreds of millions of people from one region to another in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, the Indian Subcontinent and Asia.  In this context the research examines how in the ancient world one conflict pushed one people from the Heartland of America into the northeastern lands of Western New York.

Purchase Dr Lefgren’s Book Below!

Lands, Peoples, and Armies In Ancient America During the Fourth Century
John C. Lefgren, PhD 

Statement of Thesis

This paper supports the Heartland Geography for the lands of the Book of Mormon. The primary arguments are based on the knowledge (1) that large armies need large populations, (2) that large populations need large amounts of food, and (3) that large amounts of food need large amounts of land and water. The historic setting for the Book of Mormon is a place which is epic in size and significant in location. Moroni confirmed the grandeur of his people. Moroni’s father, Mormon, was the leader of armies which were larger than those under the command of George Washington. The armies of Mormon operated in areas which were comparable to those of Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee. The history of this true story entails 1,500,000 square miles where the waters of the Mississippi and St. Lawrence flow.

Mormon wrote in AD 385 that he had under his command 230,000 men. He placed his armies in defensive positions because his armies were numerically less than his opposition. In the final battles, the two sides had more than 500,000 combatants. This war required huge amounts of material and food. The methods of production were pre-industrial. In the final stages of the war the combatants needed more than 1,000,000 tons of food and supplies per year. How did these nations organize themselves? Does pre-modern history in other parts of the world help us to understand what Mormon experienced? These are the important questions of this paper.

The conclusion of the study is that in the final battles of the late fourth century the Lamanite armies had
access to the resources of the world’s largest contiguous arable land while the Nephite armies had access to the resources of the world’s largest system of fresh water lakes. The Mississippi Basin has an area of about 1,000,000 square miles and the St. Lawrence Basin has an area of about 500,000 square miles. The study explains that the theory of war for a large theater of operation gave good reasons why Mormon would gather the Nephite armies into defensive positions near the southern shores of Lake Ontario.

The final battles of the Book of Mormon required the resources of the basins of the Mississippi River and the St. Lawrence River. In the battle of AD 385 there were combatants who came from the 31 states which are connected to the Mississippi as well as from the 9 states and 6 provinces which are connected to the St. Lawrence. The armies of the Lamanites destroyed the armies of the Nephites. The final battles required more than 1,000,000 tons of food and material which were produced by a population of about 30,000,000 who were working in an area of 1,500,000 square miles. The men and material necessary to execute this war were moved on the major waterways of North America.

Given available historical sources, it is possible to estimate how lands, waterways, people and armies were interrelated in the pre-modern societies of Europe and Asia. These interrelationships help to establish how similar parameters related to people who were preparing for battle in North America in AD 380.

Large or Small

After making its thesis known, the study now frames these questions. Where did the events of the Book of Mormon take place? Were they on the large stage of Heartland Geography or on the small stage of Limited Geography? Heartland Geography places the book’s history on lands which can support the large armies of the Book of Mormon. The Limited Geography tries to place the events of the Book of Mormon into a small space which would never have been sufficient to support large armies.

John Sorenson, the most ardent defender of Limited Geography, wrote in the Ensign in 1984 that “the immediate land covered by the book’s events was probably only hundreds rather than thousands of miles long and wide”.

The figure on the left is an illustration of John Sorenson’s comparative statement of the two theories for the geography of the Book of Mormon. In this figure the large area is a square of 1000 x 1000 and the small area is a square of 100 x 100.

Sorenson’s view of limited geography is possibly more limited than what he may have expected. The land areas of Mesoamerica when compared to the land areas of the Mississippi and St. Lawrence are a ratio of 1:12. His statement of 1000 x 1000 compared to 100 x 100 is a ratio of 1:100. In this view the lands of the Book of Mormon are limited even when compared to the total lands of Mesoamerica.

Armies in Pre-Modern History

Pre-modern history identifies times and places when societies organized large armies. The following figure lists 16 large armies which existed from 1000 BC to AD 420. The figure divides these armies between those of the West and those of the East.

During the 1,420 years represented in the figure for pre-industrial armies there were 6 empires and dynasties which had armies of about 500,000 men. These were (1) the Persian Empire of 500 BC, (2) the Mauryan Empire of 300 BC, (3) the Han Dynasty of AD 1, (4) the Nephite-Lamanite Nations of AD 385, (5) the Gupta Dynasty of AD 350, and (6) the Roman Empire of AD 425.

This paper focuses on the Nephite-Lamanite armies from AD 320 to AD 385. Before going to that point it
is useful to review the histories of pre-modern armies which are comparable to the sizes of the armies found in the last battles of the Book of Mormon. The following world map shows locations of large pre-modern armies numbered from 1 to 4. Number 5 is Mesoamerica. It is too small to support a pre-modern army of 500,000 men. It is presented as a counterpoint for other areas in the world where there were large armies.

The Persian Empire of 500 BC, also called the Achaemenid Empire, was founded by Cyrus the Great.
Ranging at its greatest extent from the Balkans of Eastern Europe in the West to the Indus Valley of India
in the East, it was one of the largest empires in history, spanning 2.1 million square miles. It was also larger than any previous empire in history.

The Han Dynasty of AD 1 had an army of 500,000 men and a population of 50,000,000 people. This empire in the East rivaled that of the contemporary Roman Empire in the West. With only minor interruptions it lasted a span of four centuries and was considered a golden age in Chinese history especially in arts, politics and technology. All subsequent Chinese dynasties have looked to the Han period as an inspiring model of a united empire and self-perpetuating government. The Han Dynasty controlled three major rivers with an area of 1.1 million square miles.

The Gupta Dynasty of AD 375 had about 40,000,000 people which supported an army of 500,000. Based
in northern India, the Gupta Empire was one of the largest political and military empires in world history.
Distinguished by peace and security at home and abroad, as well as by religious freedom and flourishing
trade, the rule of the Guptas led to a remarkable flowering of art and culture that is often referred to as India’s golden age. The Gupta Dynasty had a territory of 1.4 million square miles and including the major
waterways of India such as the Ganges River.

The Roman Empire of AD 420 had arguably one of most effective fighting forces in the history of premodern armies. It had 450,000 men in 33 legions and 400 auxiliary regiments. A population of more than 40,000,000 was necessary to keep these forces in the field. The Empire had a land area of about 1.7 million square miles which included the waterways of the Mediterranean Sea, the Nile River as well as major rivers in Europe and Asia Minor.

The table to the left examines the land and water systems required to support large armies found in
pre-modern history. The table shows that before the modern era a population of at least 30,000,000 living in a land area of 1,000,000 square miles where rivers discharge at least 1,000,000 cubic feet of water per second could support military forces of 500,000 men. The table shows that these conditions for supporting 500,000 armed forces were satisfied for (1) the Persian Armies in Eurasia in 500 BC, (2) for the Mauryan Empire in India in 300 BC, (3) for the Han Dynasty in China in AD 1, (4) for the Nephite-Lamanite Nations in North America in AD 385, (5) for the Gupta Dynasty in India in AD 375, and (6) for the Roman Empire in Eurasia of AD 420. All these cases there were pre-industrial societies. In all these cases there were armies of about 500,000 men.

Mississippi and St. Lawrence Basins and Mesoamerica Land Areas and Water Discharges

The land areas and water discharges are important for comparing the demographic structures of populations in other areas of the world and when estimating the potential for raising and maintaining military forces which are consistent to the record which Mormon made of his final battles around Cumorah.

The construction of the comparisons in attached table to the right, of the Mississippi and St. Lawrence Basins to Mesoamerican lands are based on the number of square miles in the actual areas of the two geographies. The figures in the table are particularly important when comparing the accounts of the Book of Mormon to the histories of Europe, India, and China.

Assumptions and Sources

Every historic account needs assumptions and sources. Here is an outline of how I look at the final battle in the region of Cumorah. The best account of what happened there is found from the plates which Mormon engraved and from the geographical links to the ground where the battles occurred. The Book of Mormon is the primary source. Wayne May knows how to look for traces of these battles. Many important sources from the ground will still come forth.

I offer this as a list of my assumptions and sources.

(1) I believe that the account of the people in the Book of Mormon mainly took place where the waters of the Mississippi and St. Lawrence flow. I do not subscribe to the view which includes both North and South America. I do not subscribe to the view that the setting was in Mesoamerica.

(2) I believe that the chronology of the Book of Mormon is very accurate. In the case of Christ’s death and birth, it is accurate to the very day. (Purchase his Book here!) Mormon knew how to count. He was very careful in keeping track of time and space. It is his book which is the primary source for Cumorah.

(3) I believe that Mormon’s account in 385 AD is a firsthand account. He was the commander-in-chief of
large armies and he required his field commanders to give him accurate reports so that he could control his armies. When Mormon was in battle or preparing for battle he would absolutely require subordinates to report on the number of men who were ready for action. Of course, the 10,000 could have been a figure which was a starting point for a field command. Of course, the actual number for each field command could have been less than 10,000. Perhaps the reported numbers for some units were as low as 6,000. The total men under Mormon’s command during the last battles at Cumorah was 200,000 – 230,000. From the hilltop of his central command Mormon saw 20,000 dead soldiers. Mormon personally witnessed these deaths. He was surprised that he was still alive. He received reports from his field commanders on the destruction of the remaining 210,000 men which were in the area but not in his sight. Mormon certainly knew so much more than we will ever know about this time and place. He and his staff knew the battle order for the Lamanite armies. They knew the resources of the Mississippi River Basin. But even with all this knowledge when the battles began they were surprised at the size of the Lamanite armies. If the size of the Lamanite armies surprised the people who were at central command, is it any wonder that today we have a hard time to appreciate how large this final battle really was?

(4) I have personal experience with the chaos of war. For six years I was a staff officer in Military
Intelligence. My commander wanted to know what was going on and I had to give him good numbers. For six years I was a Foreign Officer and in May 1975 I was on the eighth floor at the head office of the US State Department. Vietnam was falling apart and that war was coming to a close. On a Sunday morning I was the only person on the Guam Desk. On that day there were tens of thousands of refugees in the South China Sea. The Secretary of State wanted to know the number of refugees and these numbers were hard to find. I had to rely on firsthand reports from military commanders in Guam and in Saigon. I have some knowledge of how hard it is to provide good numbers to headquarters when people are dying in war. The commander of any army wants to know every day how many of his men are still alive. Mormon received reports from the field until he found out that his armies were completely destroyed.

(5) In AD 385 Mormon was the supreme commander of great armies. He was not a historian who was trying to estimate the number of men in a war which happened generations before his time. Mormon was commander-in-chief and his staff gave to him reports on the number of men in his armies. How else would he be able to control his armies? To bring it to a closer time. General Grant knew the number of men in his armies. General Lee knew the number of men in his armies. General Eisenhower knew the number of men in his armies. I think that it would be an insult to General Mormon to think that he did no know the number of men under his command. He had firsthand knowledge and he made a record of his armies. No other historical source could possibly be as good as Mormon’s account. We have no right to discount what he wrote. Consider the source and accept it as true. To do otherwise diminishes the heroic effort which Mormon made so that we could have the book which we have received by the gift and power of God.

(6) Based on the primary source of the Book of Mormon, General Mormon had 200,000 – 230,000 men under his command. General Mormon had firsthand knowledge that the Lamanite armies were more numerous than his. The total number of men in the final battles of the Nephite and Lamanite nations was more than 500,000 men. All the resources of the Mississippi and St. Lawrence Basins were organized to support these great armies. This was no small effort. The history of the Book of Mormon took place in an area which had about 1,500,000 square miles. The last battle took place in an area which was maybe 100 x 100 = 10,000 square miles. There is no space in Mesoamerica which could have supported armies as large as Mormon’s account.

When we look at the histories of China, India and Rome we find that there were armies of 500,000 men.
These armies required about a million square miles with world-class rivers to support food production.
Mesoamerica has no rivers which compare to the Nile, to the Yangtze, or to the Ganges. The battle at
Cumorah required the resources of lands where the Mississippi and St. Lawrence flow. Cumorah was one
of the great battles of history.

Mormon’s book has 1,000 years of history and with the exception of the 200 years after Christ’s visit much of Mormon’s history of ancient America was during times when the people were involved in wars. The cycle of wars and more wars is common with the histories of all nations but it was particularly noteworthy among the children of Lehi.

Mormon was a careful student of the history of wars in which his people participated. Many of these wars included large armies. Here is a list of the wars which he mentioned in his book.

– Wars in the time of Jacob.
– Wars in the time of Enos.
– Many battles in the time of Jarom.
– Omni mentions warfare in his time.
– In the time of Amaron, there was destruction and in Abinadom’s time.
– The the people of Zarahemla mentioned that they had wars and contentions amongst themselves.
– War in King Benjamin’s time.
– Zeniff’s battle with his own comrades.
– Zeniff’s wars with the Lamanites.
– King Noah’s battle with the Lamanites
– Lamanite invasion at the end of King Noah’s reign.
– War during Limhi’s rule.
– War with Amlicites.
– Massacres of the Ammonites.
– Destruction of Ammonihah and the war that followed.
– War with Zerahemnah.
– Amalickiah’s war against the Nephites.
– Battle against Morianton.
– Ammoron’s war against the Nephites. Coupled with the Kingmen’s insurrection and rebellion.
– Battles with Lamanites, Moronihah leads the Nephites.
– Repealing of Coriantumr’s invasion.
– Civil wars in the time of Nephi, the son of Helaman.
– Wars with Gadianton robbers.
– Wars against King Jacob by Nephite tribes.
– Wars after the Division of the people. (After the time of Christ.)
– War during Mormon’s childhood.

With all this as background, when Mormon saw the Lamanite armies he wrote “and it came to pass that they came to battle against us, and every soul was filled with terror because of the greatness of their numbers” (Mormon 6:8). The battles at Cumorah were the appalling climax of Mormon’s history. The people of Nephi who had been favored of the Lord fell into a state of wickedness and that wickedness led to their destruction in senseless acts of violence and carnage. Never before had such acts of slaughter been seen among the children of Israel. This was the sad tale which Mormon wrote. I repeat from Mormon’s book that “every soul was filled with terror because of the greatness of their numbers”. This was not just another war in a long list of wars. This was a war of annihilation. Mormon was careful to give us the numbers of men so that his readers might in some small measure appreciate what he experienced when his nation was completely destroyed. At his command post Mormon saw the destruction of 10,000. Next to his command post Mormon saw the destruction of his son’s 10,000. Mormon received dispatches from 21 field commanders where he learned of the destruction of their armies. Wayne May has identified more than 200 ancient fortifications in Western New York. He has a map which shows their locations. Was there an average of 1,000 men per fortification? I do not know the arrangement of these ancient fortifications. It would be interesting to see if there is a cluster or grouping of 10 fortifications which would have reflected a layout of 21 separate field command posts. The map below shows the locations and movements of the Nephite armies and the Lamanite armies from AD 320 to AD 385.

Starting Position – AD 320

The first left quadrant has a map which places Zarahemla on the left and Cumorah on the right. Between these two points seas and rivers. The Lamanites were pushing up from the south across the Ohio River and from the west across the Missouri River. They were trying to cut the Nephite nation in two by overtaking the Land of Bountiful. The Lamanites understand that the plains were open and that it would be difficult for them to engage the Nephite armies in a decisive battle. The Lamanites wanted to destroy the Nephites and they could only do this by crushing them in a final battle. Mormon was familiar with the terrain and feared that his nation would be cut in half. If the Nephite lands were divided in two, Mormon feared that he would only have one last chance before his people could be completely destroyed.

Mormon in AD 380 knew that the forces of the Lamanites were greater than the forces of the Nephites. His first line of defense consisted of forts and earthworks on the Ohio River. Mormon planned that his armies could fall back to a succession of prepared positions to extract a high price from the advancing Lamanite armies. Nevertheless, Mormon wanted to avoid the danger that the Lamanite armies would overrun or outflank his armies.

Delaying the Lamanite armies’ advance would mitigate any advantage of surprise and would allow time for Mormon to move his armies to a second line of defense where he could regroup and take his last stand.

Mormon’s defense in depth strategy deployed his forces in mutually supportive positions and in appropriate roles. For example, he could have put poorly trained troops in static defenses on the front line, whereas better trained and equipped troops could form a mobile reserve. Mormon’s defense in depth would have allowed his armies to maximize the possibilities of natural terrain.

The disadvantage of Mormon’s defense in depth was that it would be difficult for Nephites to give up
important ground to the attacking Lamanites. The Land of Bountiful was close to the front line and was a
vital military and economic resource. If the Lamanite armies were to break through the Land of Bountiful,
the Nephite nation would be cut in half which would make it impossible for Mormon to defend the right flank of the city of Zarahemla. As Mormon’s armies retreated they would have to show a high degree of mobility and Mormon would have to deal with the morale of his own armies after they had lost the first round of battles.

By AD 381 the Lamanites had broken Mormon’s first line of defense and the City of Zarahemla was no
longer defensible. Mormon made an agreement with the leader of the Lamanite armies. Mormon wanted to move his armies to a better position of defense.

Mormon calculated that the best chances for his nation’s survival would be to move his armies into defensive positions where he would force the Lamanite armies to deal with difficult terrain and weather. His defensive plan was similar to the Russians who gave up land and relocated their armies to positions were the armies of Napoleon in 1812 and of Hitler in 1943 would have to deal with the vastness of the land and the coldness of the winter. So, Mormon moved his armies to a place where Lamanties would have to deal with the narrowness of land and the coldness of winter. The large Lamanite armies were on the move to annihilate the Nephite armies. Mormon knew it and he chose Cumorah to make his last stand.

There are mountains south of Cumorah which meant that the Lamanite armies would have to come to him over narrow strips of land along the shore of the South Sea. Mormon understood that by building defensive positions on the many drumlin hills in the region of Cumorah the Lamanites would have a hard time cutting down his armies.

The Lamanites made a deal and they gave Mormon time to move his armies. The Lamanites understood the importance of the last battle and the difficulty of engaging the Nephite armies on the open plains in the Land of Bountiful. The Lamanites agreed to Mormon’s proposal for a last stand and they gave him time to move his forces to the lands around Cumorah.

And so the final battle of the destruction of the Nephites was at Cumorah at a place next to the East Sea, at a place chosen by Mormon and at a place where the great Jaredite nations centuries before were destroyed. This is a sad tale. The details for this fallen people are taken from the Book of Mormon and from the geography of the lands of the Book of Mormon.

As this article began by Dr. Lefgren saying, “All serious conflict results in the displacement of people.  Indeed, much of the movement of people in the ancient as well as the modern world is the result of conflict.  The proposed research would examine the movements and the encampments of the Hopewellian people who were in conflict in Western New York during the late 4th century”, the statement below from Joseph Fielding Smith adds to that information.

“NEPHITE AND JAREDITE WARS IN WESTERN NEW YORK. In the face of this evidence coming from the Prophet Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, and David Whitmer, we cannot say that the Nephites and Lamanites did not possess the territory of the United States and that the Hill Cumorah is in Central America. Neither can we say that the great struggle which resulted in the destruction of the Nephites took place in Central America. If Zelph, a righteous man, was fighting under a great prophet-general in the last battles between the Nephites and Lamanites; if that great prophet-general was known from the Rocky Mountains to “the Hill Cumorah or eastern sea,” then some of those battles, and evidently the final battles did take place within the borders of what is now the United States.

There were no righteous prophets, save the Three Nephites, after the death of Moroni, and we learn that Zelph was slain during one of these battles during the great last struggle between the Nephites and Lamanites and was buried near the Illinois River.

In the Book of Mormon story the Lamanites were constantly crowding the Nephites back towards the north and east. If the battles in which Zelph took part were fought in the country traversed by the Zion’s Camp, then we have every reason to believe from what is written in the Book of Mormon, that the Nephites were forced farther and farther to the north and east until they found themselves in the land of Ripliancum, which both Ether and Mormon declare to us was the land of Ramah or Cumorah, a land of “many waters,” which “by interpretation, is large, or to exceed all. “240. 32

This being true, what would be more natural then that Moroni, like his father Mormon, would deposit the plates in the land where the battles came to an end and the Nephites were destroyed? This Moroni says he did, and from all the evidence in the Book of Mormon, augmented by the testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith, these final battles took place in the territory known as the United States and in the neighborhood of the Great

Lakes and hills of Western New York. And here Moroni found the resting place for the sacred instruments which had been committed to his care. 241. 33.” Joseph Fielding Smith Doctrines of Salvation Volume 3 Chapter 12

Amazing Coincidence

Tonight March 27th at 10:23 pm, I was at home on my computer just finishing up the day with the blog you see above. As I was saving this blog to share to each of you for tomorrow Sunday March 28, 2021, I wanted to catch up on the last few emails I had received. 

Below is the email I received from John Lefgren my great friend that he had sent to myself and a few others of us in his orbit. I was amazed to see all about what he wrote below. It is very relevant to the information I shared with you from above. The connection to me is wonderful. I can see how the power of the Nephites helping us in our day is undisputable. The spirits of Mormon and Moroni are here with us of that I can testify. They know us just like our Savior knows us. These special Nephite prophets care about what happens to each of us in this life. The witness from the ground (gold plates, artifacts, and relics) show me that Nephites are thinking of us and praying for us in these difficult times. God does live and the political mess we are currently in is simply a bump in the road to our amazing future. God is helping us defeat this huge Cabal or the Deep State as I call it. These great Nephites are warning us today to avoid their fate in 385 AD. God has helpers with us right now including Mormon and Moroni and Joseph Smith.

There are miracles that soon may happen unlike anything we have ever seen. Many of our children will be and are being rescued right now from terrible sex trafficking situations. Our governments may be re-worked and replaced with better and more righteous people. Our monetary system may change and we will hopefully go back to a solid “backed by gold” Quantum Financial System without evil usury. We may see the money and gold of the world taken away from the evil Cabal and criminals of this world. We could experience unbelievable health systems that will benefit us physically and mentally that have been worked on by our military and inspired scientists for years, and a Great Reawakening could happen. I call this possibility as a “Second Harvest” as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints hopefully now will be able to spread its message in China, Israel, Iran and other nations we have never been able to share our message with.

I love and follow the lead of our Prophet Russell M. Nelson and the Lord’s Apostles. I speak for myself and not for the FIRM Foundation and I hope and anticipate that these things may be true. I don’t know any of this for sure as I am simply an imperfect man trying to figure out a way to help my fellow Latter-day Saints wake up and see God is in control of our lives. He loves us and great things could emerge soon. I have hope in a few good people named Michael Flynn, Lin Wood, Sidney Powell, Donald Trump, our United States Military, and many friends I am close with.  I have no time frame as “soon” could mean in a week or in a few weeks or a few months, or a few years, but I feel strongly the evidence of All Mighty God will be seen in a way we have seldom seen. May the Lord bless and keep us safe. Pray, Pray and then Pray some more as He hears our prayers and He will answer.

Solar Eclipse Cut In Stone from Ancient America For more than one hundred years, the Michigan Relics have had a long and complicated history with believers of the Book of Mormon. I want to bring to your attention an astronomical event in the skies over Michigan that occurred 1,669 years ago. The details of this event came from the exact movements of the sun and the moon. Some of you during your lifetimes have had the excitement of personally witnessing the moon in its normal course cover the face of the sun. Of course, no one can change the movements of the sun and the moon. Scientists know a lot about the course of the sun. Its eclipse always comes as predicted. The only thing anyone can do is to stand as a witness to one of the great events he will ever see in the sky. Anyone who sees it will never forget it. Such an event is a matter of exact calculation. I want to bring to your attention the following facts: (a) ANCIENT SOLAR ECLIPSE at 1:20 p.m., July 27th, AD 352; (b) Latitude: 40.7442 W, Longitude 84.2115 N; (c) Magnitude of Solar Eclipse: 98.8%; (d) Duration of Eclipse: 2 minutes 4.5 seconds; and (e) the ALTITUDE OF THE SUN AT 67 DEGREES AS SEEN FROM THE HORIZON. These facts come from careful calculations that are available online from NASA computer programs. Go and make for yourselves the same calculations with the same programs. What does any of this have to do with one of the nearly thousand artifacts from Michigan that Milton R. Hunter gave to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the 1970s and that the Church later give to the State of Michigan in the early 2000s? Take a look at the picture of the ancient stone that is part of the Michigan Relics and is now controlled by the State. Measure on the face of the stone the sun’s altitude from the earth’s horizon. Make note that the angle is 67 degrees. This is the same angle that the NASA program connects to the Fourth Century solar eclipse. With confidence, we can note that the sun’s face was dark for 2 minutes and 4.5 seconds when the moon covered 98.8% of the sun on July 27, AD 352, at 1:20 p.m. The ancient person who cut this stone saw the sun’s darkness and, as a witness, made a drawing of what he saw in the sky. We know from a careful reading of the Book of Mormon that in AD 350, the Nephite Army Commander made a treaty with the Lamanites and the Gaddiation Robbers. The Nephite Army agreed to give up any claim to southern lands if their enemies would cease fighting and leave them in peace on the northside of the new border. The peace treaty made a new border where the Mississippi Valley rivers came under the control of the Lamanites. By making this treaty, the Nephites hoped to remain in peace on the north side of a watershed border. Unfortunately, both sides broke the treaty, and 34 years later, large armies gathered at Cumorah, where the Nephites fell as they made their last stand. The cut stone from Michigan has exact details. These details relate to an ancient eclipse of the sun. The artifact clearly connects to an important event that occurred in the heavens, as seen from Michigan. No European farmer in Michigan in the late Nineteenth-Century would have been able to calculate and replicate what is now identified in the stone’s engravings.

Dr. John C. Lefgren lives in Pennsylvania and owns his own business. He has a PhD in economics, served as a Foreign Service Officer with the US Department of State and was an officer with a major bank in New York. In 1980 his book April Sixth was published by Deseret Book. Since his youth he has had an active interest in Church History. He has developed a property in Vermont near the Joseph Smith Birthplace Memorial and has a business producing maple syrup.

In his book, April Sixth, John Lefgren said that “On Tuesday, April 6, 1830, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized according to the commandment of the Lord. Why was that date chosen? What was special about the sixth of April?

“For the last century and a half,” the author wrote, “Latter-day Saints have continued to believe that the timing of the restoration of the Church of Christ has an association with the birth of Christ.” April Sixth shows justification for this belief as it links three historic events: the birth of Christ, the death and resurrection of Christ, and the nineteenth-century restoration of the Church of Christ. His friend Dr. John P. Pratt said the following about the book. “Lefgren states that his intent is “to show how the modern revelation concerning the significance of April 6th is in perfect harmony with other sacred writings” (p. 12). That is, he proposes that the belief that Jesus was born on 6 April 1 B.C. is consistent with all LDS scripture, but not necessarily with all secular sources. (All dates refer to our Gregorian calendar.) The reviewers claim that Lefgren also believes the “resurrection of Jesus fell on April sixth. He does not; his date for the Resurrection is 3 April A.D. 33 (p. 61).”

Thirty-eight years after the publication of his first book, Dr. Lefgren again looks to the Mosaic Law for the ordering of days and how this calendar connects to the birth of Christ as synchronized by the world’s largest geometric clock. He examines the very minute for the numeric harmony of the sign for the birth of Christ — a sign which ancient people witnessed in the Heartland of America. The identification of this moment is found in a timeline from more than 2000 years ago and relies on 6 primary sources: (1) the exact movements of the earth around its axis; (2) the exact movements of the earth around the sun; (3) the exact movements of the moon around the earth; (4) the exact physical alignment of 3,000 acres of ancient earthworks in Newark, Ohio; (5) the exact 5-year prophecy of the coming of Christ by Samuel, the Lamanite; and (6) the exact eyewitness testimony of the fulfillment of the prophecy by Nephi, the Son of Nephi. All these sources point to the same moment in time and place.

He has a new book here which is entitled The Sign Before the Birth of Jesus Christ; As Witnessed in Newark, Ohio, 6:29 P.M., Tuesday April 6th, 1 B.C.; The 5-Year Prophecy of Samuel, the Lamanite; The Sun and the Moon Keeping Ancient Time at the Newark Earthworks.

Dr Lefgren along with Dr John Pratt have created a wonderful new DVD called, “Oh How Lovely was the Morning”  This is the true story about two people who were on the same search for important dates associated with the History of the Church. Little did they know that their paths would come together many years later in such an important way. The event of the First Vision and the appearance of the Father and the Son to the Prophet Joseph Smith, stands alone as the pivotal event from the Lord in these last days! John Lefgren and John Pratt conclude the date of The First Vision was March 26, 1820.

The answer to the titles question is, “yes”. I believe our government with it’s deep state cabal is trying to scare us and force us to follow them. This blog was originally posted on April 6, 2020. Today is March 26, 2021. I have not added any updates here but I give a link at the bottom where you can find new information from me. I personally won’t take a vaccine and I believe masks do not help. This is only the opinion of Rian Nelson and not of the FIRM Foundation and not of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. May the Lord wake us up! Please follow the direction of the Lord and His Prophets below. Pray for our Country

Is COVID-19 another 9-11? April 6, 2020 by Rian Nelson

“The most important lasting effects of this historic conference will be as our hearts change and we commence a lifelong quest to hear Him.”
—President Russell M. Nelson April 5, 2020

If We’re Humble, He Will Heal!

“If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people; If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. Now mine eyes shall be open, and mine ears attend unto the prayer that is made in this place.” 2 Chronicles 7:13-15 

Desolating Sickness, Curse God, or Humility?

D&C 45:30 And in that generation shall the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.
31 And there shall be men standing in that generation, that shall not pass until they shall see an overflowing scourge; for a desolating sickness shall cover the land.
32 But my disciples shall stand in holy places, and shall not be moved; but among the wicked, men shall lift up their voices and curse God and die.
33 And there shall be earthquakes also in divers places, and many desolations; yet men will harden their hearts against me, and they will take up the sword, one against another, and they will kill one another.
34 And now, when I the Lord had spoken these words unto my disciples, they were troubled.
35 And I said unto them: Be not troubled, for, when all these things shall come to pass, ye may know that the promises which have been made unto you shall be fulfilled.

Hear Him!

Let us hear and follow the teacings of Christ or be prepared to pay the price of spiritual death. It is rare to hear our Father in Heaven or Elohim speak to us on earth. The great majority of time we hear the voice of The Son or Christ. When we do hear Elohim’s voice, what He says is most significant and Holy. President Russell M. Nelson during April 2020 Conference emphasized that when Elohim speaks to Moses, Joseph Smith, and others, Elohim said the simple words, while pointing to Christ, “Hear Him.”

“For the second time in as many months at the start of 2020—the year marking the bicentennial of the First Vision—President Russell M. Nelson has extended a special invitation to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

On January 1, he invited Church members to share the gospel with others. And on Wednesday, February 26, his message across several social media and digital platforms again tied to the First Vision, of God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, appearing to the young Joseph Smith.

“I invite you to think deeply and often about this key question: How do you hear Him?” said President Nelson, with the hashtagged phrase #HearHim included.

The most recent invitation and accompanying embedded video were published on a variety of sites—including President Nelson’s Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter accounts, as well as on YouTube and ChurchofJesusChrist.org/blog.

“I also invite you to take steps to hear Him better and more often,” he added, returning to mention the First Vision. “Throughout this year, we will focus in a special way on the historic event that took place in the Sacred Grove. President Nelson’s Second Invitation of 2020: “How Do You Hear Him? #HearHim” Contributed By Scott Taylor, Church News managing editor

The Book of Mormon Current as the Daily News!

Elder Gordon B. Hinckley, 1st Counselor to President Ezra Taft Benson, proclaimed that the Book of Mormon “is as current as the morning newspaper”, “in its descriptions of the problems of today’s society.” The Power of the Book of Mormon, Ensign June 1988

The American Prophet Moroni testified that “Jesus Christ hath shown you unto me, and I know your doing.” Mormon 8:35

Using these two quotations as a guide, author Rod Meldrum explores some of the Book of Mormon prophecies that pertain to our day and compare them directly with news headlines from the mainstream media of the USA.

To understand the signs of our day, we must read the Book of Mormon!

Trailer Here!  Using the two quotations above as a guide, author Rod Meldrum explores some of the Book of Mormon prophecies that pertain to our day and compare them directly with news headlines from the mainstream media of the USA. WE STILL HAVE TIME!

The Book of Mormon Prophets warned a very specific nation about the consequences of being wicked, upon God’s Promised Land. Rod discusses the 4 Sacred Covenants that George Washington invoked at St. Paul’s Cathedral during his inauguration – the same sacred ground the New York Twin Towers collapsed on during 911. Take a trip through current news headlines and see why America’s promised blessings are now being revoked, leaving her in grave peril and judgment from God. With this warning will the people living in our nation, foretold by ancient prophets in the Book of Mormon still serve Jesus Christ, the God of this sacred covenant land?

With this new COVID-19 upon us, we can say one of two things. “Why is this happening?” or “What can I learn from this?” We can either be angy or helpful. The purpose of life is to learn to overcome challenges. All the Lord wants is a “humble people” and if we aren’t humble, he will compel us to become humble.

The Lord Condems our Arrogance

You may remeber shortly after the 9-11 attacks many in our Country humbled themselves. You saw American Flags everywhere. Our patriotism was amazing. There was little conflict between the Republicans and the Democtats. We seemed united.

When the Children of Israel were attacked about 720 BC by the Assyrians, they at first beat back and overcame their attackers. The Children of Israel’s cry was. “We are better we are stronger and we will win regarless of if the Lord is with us.” Shortly thereafter the Children of Israel were again attacked and this time destroyed as they had forgotten God. The same happened in the southern Kingdom of Judah in about 586 BC.

Is that how we reacted at 9-11? Is that how we should act now during the current pandemic? Should we turn inward to our own strength, or humbly kneel down and ask God to deliver us? Shouldn’t we understand we have no chance of overcoming any challenge in life without His help? Let us serve, not complain.

During 9-11, did we truly humble oursleves as a people, or did we forget the story of the Children of Israel? During trials to we turn to the Lord or does our arrogance compel the Lord to humble us?

In 2012 you can see below, our leaders seemed to rebel and refuse God’s hand. We seemed to say, “We are the mighty USA and nothing can stop us.” Shouldn’t we learn more humility?

The beam below says, “We remember. We rebuild. We come back stronger!” Would it be more appropriate to have said, We will humble ourselves before Thee Almighty God?”

President and Mrs Obama toured the World Trade Center complex in New York yesterday, and got an up close look at the skyscraper that’s being built to replace the twin towers that were destroyed in the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001.

The First Couple reviewed the entire site from the 22nd floor of One World Trade Center, and then made their way back down to the ground level, where they signed one of the final steel beams that will be added to the tower. The President wrote his message in red marker:  “We remember. We rebuild. We come back stronger!”

What We Learn from Isaiah 9:10-11

In condemning his people’s arrogance the prophet Isaiah also makes a contrast between sycomores and cedars. Isaiah 9:10 How does this compare with 9-11 and the COIVID-19 Virus today?

The bricks are fallen down . . .—Sun-dried bricks and the cheap timber of the sycamore (1Kings 10:27) were the common materials used for the dwellings of the poor, hewn stones and cedar for the palaces of the rich. Whatever injury Samaria had sustained (the words are too proverbially figurative to make literal interpretation probable), through the intervention of Tiglath-pileser, was, its rulers thought, but as the prelude to a great and more lasting victory even than that of 2 Chronicles 28:6. Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary 9:8-21 Those are ripening apace for ruin, whose hearts are unhumbled under humbling providences. For that which God designs, in smiting us, is, to turn us to himself; and if this point be not gained by lesser judgments, greater may be expected. The leaders of the people misled them. We have reason to be afraid of those that speak well of us, when we do ill. Wickedness was universal, all were infected with it. They shall be in trouble, and see no way out; and when men’s ways displease the Lord, he makes even their friends to be at war with them. God would take away those they thought to have help from. Their rulers were the head. Their false prophets were the tail and the rush, the most despicable. In these civil contests, men preyed on near relations who were as their own flesh. The people turn not to Him who smites them, therefore he continues to smite: for when God judges, he will overcome; and the proudest, stoutest sinner shall either bend or break. Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

Pulpit Commentary Verse 10. – The bricks are fallen down, etc.; i.e. we have suffered a moderate damage, but we will more than make up for it; all our losses we will replace with something better. Bricks were the ordinary material for the poorer class of houses in Palestine; stone was reserved for the dwellings of the rich and great (Amos 5:11). Sycamore wood was the commonest sort of timber, cedar the scarcest and most precious, having to be imported from Phoenicia (1 Kings 5:6; 2 Chronicles 2:3; Ezra 3:7). (On the contrast between cedar and sycamore wood, comp. 2 Chronicles 1:15.) Cut down. The Israelites probably alluded to damage done by Tiglath-Pileser in his first invasion. The Assyrians were in the habit of actually cutting down trees in foreign countries, in order to injure and weaken them; but the present passage is, perhaps, rather intended to be figurative. https://biblehub.com/commentaries/isaiah/9-10.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ficus_sycomorus

Prayerfully Consider Us Today vs. the People of Isaiah’s time

Isaiah 9:8 ¶ The Lord sent a word into Jacob, and it hath lighted upon Israel.
9 And all the people shall know, even Ephraim and the inhabitant of Samaria, that say in the pride and stoutness of heart,
10 The bricks are fallen down, but we will build with hewn stones: the sycomores are cut down, but we will change them into cedars.
11 Therefore the Lord shall set up the adversaries of Rezin against him, and join his enemies together;
12 The Syrians before, and the Philistines behind; and they shall devour Israel with open mouth. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
13 ¶ For the people turneth not unto him that smiteth them, neither do they seek the Lord of hosts.
14 Therefore the Lord will cut off from Israel head and tail, branch and rush, in one day.
15 The ancient and honourable, he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail.
16 For the leaders of this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed.
17 Therefore the Lord shall have no joy in their young men, neither shall have mercy on their fatherless and widows: for every one is an hypocrite and an evildoer, and every mouth speaketh folly. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
18 ¶ For wickedness burneth as the fire: it shall devour the briers and thorns, and shall kindle in the thickets of the forest, and they shall mount up like the lifting up of smoke.
19 Through the wrath of the Lord of hosts is the land darkened, and the people shall be as the fuel of the fire: no man shall spare his brother.
20 And he shall snatch on the right hand, and be hungry; and he shall eat on the left hand, and they shall not be satisfied: they shall eat every man the flesh of his own arm:
21 Manasseh, Ephraim; and Ephraim, Manasseh: and they together shall be against Judah. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

Isaiah 30:8 ¶ Now go, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever:
9 That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the Lord:
10 Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits:
11 Get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us.
12 Wherefore thus saith the Holy One of Israel, Because ye despise this word, and trust in oppression and perverseness, and stay thereon:
13 Therefore this iniquity shall be to you as a breach ready to fall, swelling out in a high wall, whose breaking cometh suddenly at an instant.
14 And he shall break it as the breaking of the potters’ vessel that is broken in pieces; he shall not spare: so that there shall not be found in the bursting of it a sherd to take fire from the hearth, or to take water withal out of the pit.
15 For thus saith the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not.
16 But ye said, No; for we will flee upon horses; therefore shall ye flee: and, We will ride upon the swift; therefore shall they that pursue you be swift.
17 One thousand shall flee at the rebuke of one; at the rebuke of five shall ye flee: till ye be left as a beacon upon the top of a mountain, and as an ensign on an hill.
18 ¶ And therefore will the Lord wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the Lord is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him.
19 For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem: thou shalt weep no more: he will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry; when he shall hear it, he will answer thee.
20 And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction, yet shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner any more, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers:
21 And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.
22 Ye shall defile also the covering of thy graven images of silver, and the ornament of thy molten images of gold: thou shalt cast them away as a menstruous cloth; thou shalt say unto it, Get thee hence.
23 Then shall he give the rain of thy seed, that thou shalt sow the ground withal; and bread of the increase of the earth, and it shall be fat and plenteous: in that day shall thy cattle feed in large pastures.
24 The oxen likewise and the young asses that ear the ground shall eat clean provender, which hath been winnowed with the shovel and with the fan.
25 And there shall be upon every high mountain, and upon every high hill, rivers and streams of waters in the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall.

https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4031853/user-clip-tom-daschle-isa-910

U.S. Senator Tom Daschle Quoted Bible Verse Isaiah 9:10 in Speech on September 12, 2001

Senator Majority Leader Tom Daschle
September 12, 2001

Bible Prophesecies Fulfilled

In the previous post we looked at then-Senator John Kerry’s words in his speech on the floor of the U.S. Senate the day after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and how his words paralleled the defiance against God echoing from ancient Israel in Isaiah 9:10. But John Kerry was not the only United States leader who made a speech that day.
If I may simply quote a short portion of Jonathan Cahn’s book The Harbinger Companion with Study Guide, because he explains it so succinctly:

The Harbinger Companion with Study Guide

On the morning of September 12, 2001, a day after America’s calamity, the al Qaeda breach, the US Senate and House of Representatives, the representative bodies of the entire American nation, issued a joint resolution in response to 9/11. 

After the resolution was read, condemning the attacks, expressing condolences, and calling for unity, a war against the terrorists, and punishment of the guilty parties, the Senate majority Leader, Tom Daschle, the highest representative of the nation’s highest legislative body, rose to speak. 

At the end of the speech, Daschle uttered the following: 

I know that there is only the smallest measure of inspiration that can be taken from this devastation, but there is a passage in the Bible from Isaiah that I think speaks to all of us at times like this… 

The bricks have fallen down,
But we will rebuild with dressed stone;
The fig trees have been felled,
But we will replace them with cedars. 

Could it be clearer? On the day after the terrorist attacks 9/11, on the floor of the very place that represents all the people of America, Isaiah 9:10 was spoken to us and on behalf of us.

However, this Bible verse is not something that pleases God. Rather, it is a statement of defiance against God!

This is not a coincidence. This is not a mistake. This surely was not planned by Tom Daschle. (I’d really really really like to know who the speech writer was. Just curious.) But as I said in my previous post, this is God showing up, whispering to all who will listen, making Himself known, through the leaders He has put in power over us. He is using them and guiding their every word.

Is that not a display of the answer to prayer of those who pray for our leaders as we are commanded to do in the Bible? Of course it is. Do not worry. God is at work. We are in His hands.
If you think this is the only time one of our leaders quoted the Isaiah 9:10 passage in a speech, it’s not. Come back on Saturday for another dose of Isaiah 9:10.

(The Harbinger Companion with Study Guide by Jonathan Cahn, pp 57-58.)

Related Articles:

• April 21, 2015: The Spiritual Importance of Secretary of State John Kerry Saying “If Allah Wills It”
• April 23, 2015: American Secretary of State John Kerry Says “If Allah Wills It”
• April 25, 2015: John Kerry’s Jewish Ancestry, Catholic Profession, and Islamic Pronouncement = Spiritual Confusion
• April 28, 2015: Then-Senator John Kerry’s Biblical Prophetic Statement the Day After September 11, 2001 

Then-Senator John Kerry’s Biblical Prophetic Statement the Day After September 11, 2001

In last week’s posts we explored the important spiritual connections between the words of our leaders and the impact these words have in real ways on our nation.
If John Kerry’s words, “If Allah wills it,” surprised you, there are many more examples of similar statements by leaders in America that you need to know about. These include incredible spiritual statements made by America’s leaders after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. We will look at three of these this week, beginning with another statement by John Kerry the day after the 9/11 attacks.
In the hours and days following the terrorists attacks and the fall of the twin World Trade Center towers, many (if not most) Americans held a spirit of defiance – we would not allow this attack to go unanswered. We would respond. For me, that reaction is completely understandable and I was right there among everyone else.
It is important for me to say that I do not blame any U.S. leader for the words they said or in any way think they did anything wrong. They did not even know they were being used by God in those moments.  But God was and is using these leaders to communicate, in His often-quite ways, to all who will listen. Here’s what happened…
At the time, John Kerry was a senior Senator from Massachusetts. On September 12, 2001, the day after the 9/11 attacks, John Kerry delivered a speech on the floor of the United States Senate in response to the 9/11 attacks. John Kerry said:
“I believe one of the first things we should commit to — with federal help that underscores our nation’s purpose — is to rebuild the towers of the World Trade Center and show the world we are not afraid. We are defiant!”  (The Harbinger, page 63, 256; also The Harbinger Companion with Study Guide page 40, both by Jonathan Cahn.)

But who, really, are we defying?
I, John Kerry, and certainly everyone else meant our defiance against the terrorists. But is that what really is taking place?
In the years since, an amazing network of facts have emerged, detailed by the work of Jonathan Cahn in his book The Harbinger (presents this material in fiction) and The Harbinger Companion with Study Guide (nonfiction). If you’re not familiar with Jonathan Cahn’s work, this is fascinating material. I’m sharing from his work and I highly recommend you read his books if you haven’t yet. If you are familiar, you may, as I am, appreciate a review of these facts and details in history.
Let’s suppose for now that this terrorist attack of 9/11/2001 were, in fact, allowed by God in order to get the attention of America, a nation that was founded on His principals and that is straying away from Him. Just suppose.
Now, if that were true, then our defiance would not be defiance against terrorists, but rather defiance against God.
I don’t know how that strikes you. You may react with skepticism, anger, or curiosity. But let’s just explore the possibility. Because Jonathan Cahn has uncovered some amazing parallels that support that possibility. I’ll be detailing these in future posts.
This possibility is based on a Scripture verse: Isaiah 9:10.
The setting is ancient Israel. Dateline: 732 B.C. At that time in history, the nation of Israel is divided into two kingdoms: Israel in the north and Judah in the south. The brutal Assyrian empire (modern day Iraq), led by Assyrian king Tiglath-Pileser III, attacked and sacked the northern kingdom of Israel. This could only happen if there was a breach in the “wall” of God’s promised protection of Israel…which occurred because Israel was straying away from its foundation on the One True God.
After this breach, the leaders of Israel refused to see this as a warning from God. Instead, this is what the Bible records Israel’s leaders as saying:
“Who say in pride and arrogance of heart: 

“The bricks have fallen down, but we will rebuild with hewn [quarried] stones. The sycamores have been cut down, but we will plant cedars in their place.” 

(Jonathan Cahn’s translation of Isaiah 9:9b-10 found on page 49 of The Harbinger Companion with Study Guide.)

Fast forward to the day after al Qaeda, based in Iraq which is ancient Assyria, attacked the United States. A senior leader in the United States Senate firmly announces: “[We] should…rebuild the towers of the World Trade Center and show the world we are not afraid. We are defiant!”

Not convinced 9/11 was a parallel warning from God? Then please come back on Thursday for the next post and some amazing evidence of this parallel.

Related Articles:

• April 21, 2015: The Spiritual Importance of Secretary of State John Kerry Saying “If Allah Wills It”
• April 23, 2015: American Secretary of State John Kerry Says “If Allah Wills It”
• April 25, 2015: John Kerry’s Jewish Ancestry, Catholic Profession, and Islamic Pronouncement = Spiritual Confusion

Posted by Jonathan Cahn, September 11 2001, The Harbinger, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry

Senator Hillary Clinton After 9-11

Dr. Lloyd J. Ogleby Senate Chaplain

What did he pray for?

9-11 By David W. Allan my Great Friend.

“…My heart is heavy as I see Satan with his uncountable inroads combating Christianity, especially here in America.  We have been commanded to “cry repentance… preparing the way of the Lord for his second coming.” (D&C 34:6)  I share the following with love and with heart felt prayers to help as many as will to come to know the Lord’s hands and arms are out stretched.  The secret combinations and abominations are increasing to try and stop the work of the Lord.  They will not succeed.  Consider the enormous atrocity of 9/11:

Wake up America! What Really Happened on 9/11?

As of today (25 Dec. 2019), three thousand two hundred and thirty-five architects and engineers, and over 24 thousand at large, have signed a petition “…calling for a new investigation of the World Trade Centers’ destruction.”  https://www.ae911truth.org/  They have done an outstanding job of writing peer reviewed papers and books documenting their findings.  Their excellent work has been used by a “Lawyers Committee for 9/11,” https://www.lawyerscommitteefor9-11inquiry.org/ to petition NY Attorney General, who is required by law to hold a Grand Jury. 

The far reaching and profound evidence provided by the architects and engineers for the Lawyers Committee totally convinced them that controlled demolition brought down the three buildings, and that it was impossible for the three towers to fall from the impact of the airplanes and internal fires.  That Grand Jury is secret and is in process now.  We do not know what the Grand Jury will do with the evidence, but we can hope and pray that the jury members have integrity that the justice system in this country can work in a good direction – a critical direction given this most egregious crime ever committed on  the American people on 9/11 eighteen years ago in 2001. https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=9+11+grand+jury+investigation&view=detail&mid=58FCCE0D082245DDA57558FCCE0D082245DDA575&FORM=VIRE

I have been following the physics of 9/11 closely over the years because my good friend, Emeritus Professor of Physics from BYU, Steven E. Jones, was one of the earliest whistle blowers on this horrendous atrocity.  I was asked to be one of the peer reviewers on his ground-breaking paper showing direct evidence of controlled demolition taking down the three world trade center buildings.

1.      All three buildings fell at near free-fall acceleration velocities.  The 47 stories of Building 7 fell into their own footprint in 6.5 seconds.  This time matches controlled demolition, and the twin towers closely followed the gravitational acceleration equation as well: s = ½ gt², where “s” is the free-fall distance, “g” is the gravitational acceleration, and “t” is the time of free-fall.  The velocity increases as v = gt.  The gravitational acceleration experiment is a high-school physics experiment.  The world observed it – not knowing it – with the controlled demolition of these three world trade center buildings falling as they did.

2.      All three buildings fell into their footprint – as would happen in controlled demolition.

3.      The government and media explanation for the buildings being destroyed by the impact of the airplanes, the jet fuel fires and office fires in Building 7 defies the fundamental laws of physics.

4.      The temperatures from jet-fuel fires and office fires are way too low and insufficient in extent to have caused ALL the steel girders to collapse all at once as was observed.

5.      Typical controlled demolition expanding dust clouds were observed on all three buildings.

6.      Squibs (horizontal, outward explosions) seen in advance of the collapsing portion – typical of controlled demolition.  Fragments of human bones were found on roofs of adjacent buildings.  This could not happen from internal fires as the supposed cause of the buildings collapsing.

7.      The over one hundred first responders, who survived the attack, reported series of explosions.

8.      Thermite and nanothermite (red-gray chips) found in the dust of all three buildings at 0.1 % concentration levels – as used in high tech-controlled demolition.  This is direct evidence of how the buildings were brought down and an excellent peer reviewed paper documents these findings.  The full paper can be found at the following web address: https://benthamopen.com/contents/pdf/TOCPJ/TOCPJ-2-7.pdf.  It was a privileged to be part of the peer review team on this ground-breaking paper.

9.      The occurrence of iron (not steel) micro-spheres were found in the dust, which could only happen under super high temperatures (like in thermitic reactions) could not be generated from building fires or jet fuel alone melting steel; these iron micro-spheres occur in controlled demolition using thermite.

10.  Several tons of molten metal at the base of the three buildings were reported by numerous highly-qualified witnesses – consistent with a nanothermite controlled demolition and not explainable from the fires present.

11.  Thermitic reactions have their own oxygen as part of the chemical reaction and cannot be put out with water.  These extremely hot metal pools were observed even after Christmas.

12.  This liquid iron in the wreckage months after the collapse (from continued thermite reactions) cannot be explained from the impact of the jets and the resulting jet-fuel fires and office fires.

13.  The fact that never before or since has a fire caused even one steel structure building to fall in the free fall-fashion observed – let alone three in one day.

14.  The fact that the buildings had recently undergone elevator upgrades, gave access to the support structures.

15.  The fact that emergency evacuations were conducted just a few days prior to 9/11 in which security cameras were disabled (providing un-documentable access).

16.  The owner of WTC building 7 – the 3^rd building to collapse on 9/11 – even though it was NOT hit by a plane at all (Larry Silverstein) was videotaped saying, “pull it” (the phraseology used in demolishing a building), and he made enormous profits as a result of the 9/11 disaster; his multi-billion dollar insurance was updated to cover terrorist attacks just six weeks before 9/11.

17.  Cover-ups on the part of leading elite officials have been well documented in several books.  The work of Emeritus Professor Peter Dale Scott of UC Berkeley in his book, The Road to 9/11, is an outstanding example.

18.  We have the petition signed by 3,231 architectural and engineering professionals, who have studied the evidence and cannot agree with the government’s and media’s story.  In addition, the petition has been signed by 23,537 other supporters including A&E students demanding of Congress a truly independent investigation.  The petition is open to everyone, as 9/11 has impacted the world in a major way: https://www.ae911truth.org/ and the effects of the deceit have been enormous.  Perhaps this “Grand Jury” will bring out the desired results for America to heal from this horrible event.

19.  Seismology experts have monitored the events around 9/11 and observed significant anomalies, which cannot be explained by the government’s and media’s stories.  One explosion occurred 17 seconds before.

20.  One of the twin tower antennas started to fall before the building fell indicating the melting of the center core of the tower.

21.  After the airplane hit the south tower, the building above the  impact started to tilt over and its angular momentum would have it fall across the street destroying many other buildings, but just then the top disintegrated and fell down in its footprint – preventing this toppling and completing the controlled demolition, as it fell into its own footprint.

22.  The government officials involved and the media contradicted themselves on several occasions during the coverup.

In September 2006, Professor Steven Jones presented some of his findings from his 9/11 research at BYU.  Because of the politically incorrect nature of his results, BYU forced Steve into early retirement.  Later, in an apologetic manner, they granted him – most appropriately — Emeritus status.  Steve has written a book documenting his experiences: https://www.amazon.com/Research-Professor-Physics-Exiled-Steven-ebook/dp/B07X13S763

The following January, Elder Boyd K. Packer, President of the Twelve Apostles for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, gave a most appropriate talk at BYU: https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/boyd-k-packer/lehis-dream/ .   And I quote from his talk:

Moroni warned us that the secret combinations… “are had among all people. …

“Wherefore, O ye Gentiles [and the term Gentile in that place in the Book of Mormon refers to us in our generation], it is wisdom in God that these things should be shown unto you, that thereby ye may repent of your sins, and suffer not that these murderous combinations shall get above you. …

“Wherefore, the Lord commandeth you, when ye shall see these things come among you that ye shall awake to a sense of your awful situation, because of this secret combination which shall be among you” (Ether 8:20, 23–24).

Atheists and agnostics make nonbelief their religion and today organize in unprecedented ways to attack faith and belief. They are now organized, and they pursue political power. You will be hearing much about them and from them. Much of their attack is indirect in mocking the faithful, in mocking religion…

You who are young will see many things that will try your courage and test your faith. All of the mocking does not come from outside of the Church. Let me say that again: all of the mocking does not come from outside of the Church. Be careful that you do not fall into the category of mocking.

Only a few months later Dick Chaney, then Vice President of the United States, invited himself to give the commencement address at BYU and was given an honorary doctorate.  Yet Chaney has been documented as one of the insiders.  There were those who were calling for his impeachment, because they knew of his involvement with 9/11.  How appropriate a warning has President Packer given us? https://www.patriotsaints.com/News/911/Conspiracy/Mormons_Silence_Cheney_Dissent/index.html

I hope and pray for a great healing for this “Land of the free.”  This is the “Promised Land” and the place of the New Jerusalem.  From here the gospel is to go to all nations.  How can we share it if we are not living it?  The need for America to repent is paramount! https://itsabouttimebook.com/americasgreatestneedrepentanceThe glorious promise is that if we will do so, we can be part of the Bride to meet the Bridegroom at His Coming in preparation for Him to enter into His glorious millennial reign as King of kings and Lord of lords.” David W. Allan

Steven Jones a former BYU professor has a similar belief or Dr. Allan about the 9-11 attacks. See here and here

These opinions of our great friend David W. Allan and Steven Jones are not necessarily endorsed by FIRM Foundation or it’s friends. I personally believe the towers were brought down on purpose by our government. There is still much to consider as we understand what was behind the 9-11 attacks. This information is shared in order to give two sides to the event so we can decide on our own through prayer and study. The greatest key to this article is that we turn to God during trials and challenges, and not blame Him, but thank Him for the opportunity to learn.

President Nelson

“Now, as one of the Lord’s special witnesses, I bless you in your efforts to get on and stay on His covenant path, and strive with all your heart, might, mind and soul to Hear Him!”    

Another blog called Fake Covid to Force a Vaccine

“Whenever the God of Heaven establishes by revelation his design, Satan always comes among men to pervert the doctrine, saying, ‘Believe it not.’ He often establishes a counterfeit system, designed to deceive the children of men” (“A Vision and a Hope for the Youth of Zion” [President Ezra Taft Benson Brigham Young University devotional, Apr. 12, 1977], 3, speeches.byu.edu).

We bind the adversary and his mortal minions only as we bind our appetites.—Neal A. Maxwell “The Man of Christ,” Ensign (May 1975).

“Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you” (James 4:7–8).

“When we yield to temptation just once, we give Satan ammunition in the form of a memory,” Elder Lynn G. Robbins of the Seventy Sept 2013

Can Satan??

..appear as an angel of Light?
..read our thoughts?
..bruise our heel?
..enter the temple?
..appear as a dove?
..tempt us beyond our ability to overcome?
..tempt little children?

That Old Serpent

Moses 4:20. The Serpent Was Cursed

Elder Bruce R. McConkie (1915–85) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles wrote: “Since the day in which Satan spoke by the mouth of the serpent to entice Eve to partake of the forbidden fruit (Moses 4:5–21), Satan has been called ‘that old serpent.’ (Rev. 12:9; 20:2; D&C 76:28; 88:110.) Choice of the name is excellent, indicating as it does a cunning, sly, subtle, and deceitful craftiness” (Mormon Doctrine, 2nd ed. [1966], 704).

“Being cursed is the very opposite of being blessed; God’s blessing graciously invokes good, whereas his curse justly invokes evil upon one deserving it. Thus Satan was informed through symbolic terms that he would not have the privilege of earth life that even cattle and beasts have” (Ellis T. Rasmussen, A Latter-day Saint Commentary on the Old Testament [1993], 16).

Can Satan Bruise our Heel?

Moses 4:21. The “Seed of the Woman” Refers to the Savior, Jesus Christ

Elder James E. Talmage (1862–1933) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles wrote: “Adam, the patriarch of the race, rejoiced in the assurance of the Savior’s appointed ministry, through the acceptance of which, he, the transgressor, might gain redemption. Brief mention of the plan of salvation, the author of which is Jesus Christ, appears in the promise given of God following the fall—that though the devil, represented by the serpent in Eden, should have power to bruise the heel of Adam’s posterity, through the seed of the woman should come the power to bruise the adversary’s head. It is significant that this assurance of eventual victory over sin and its inevitable effect, death, both of which were introduced to earth through Satan, the arch-enemy of mankind, was to be realized through the offspring of woman; the promise was not made specifically to the man, nor to the pair. The only instance of offspring from woman dissociated from mortal fatherhood is the birth of Jesus the Christ, who was the earthly Son of a mortal mother, begotten by an immortal Father. He is the Only Begotten of the Eternal Father in the flesh, and was born of woman” (Jesus the Christ [1916], 43).

“And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.” Romans 16:20

“And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” Genesis 3:15

Can Satan Read our Thoughts?

Surely then Satan and his followers have some knowledge of our thoughts and tendencies. He has knowledge that is superior to man’s knowledge, but he lacks the wisdom to properly use his knowledge for good purposes. Some people are like that and often find themselves opposing even that which is right and true. Satan is a great deceiver, a liar. He appeared unto Korihor in the form of an angel and said unto him: “Go and reclaim this people [the faithful believers in God], for they have all gone astray after an unknown God. And he said unto me: There is no God; yea, and he taught me that which I should say. And I have taught his words; and I taught them because they were pleasing unto the carnal mind; and I taught them, even until I had much success, insomuch that I verily believed that they were true; and for this cause I withstood the truth, even until I have brought this great curse upon me.” (Alma 30:53.)

Satan and his aides no doubt may know our inclinations, our carnal tastes and desires, but they cannot compel a righteous person to do evil if he seeks help from the Lord. Too many try to blame Satan when in reality the fault lies within themselves because they yield to his enticements.

He delights in introducing to the world innovations and practices that lead to unhappiness and misery, all the while making it appear that such evil practices are now acceptable. “It is he who inspires every evil teaching, every evil thought even in false religions, creeds, and organizations.” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 297.)

D&C 6:16 Yea, I tell thee, that thou mayest know that there is none else save God that knowest thy thoughts and the intents of thy heart.

“Satan cannot know our thoughts unless we speak them.”
James E. Faust, “The Great Imitator,” Ensign (November 1987).

Why Does God Allow Satan to Tempt Us?

God allows Lucifer and his agents to tempt us so that we may more deliberately choose between good and evil. The Lord could banish Satan and his angels from the earth and remove temptations from men, but “it must needs be that the devil should tempt the children of men, or they could not be agents unto themselves; for if they never should have bitter they could not know the sweet.” (D&C 29:39.)

Satan knows all the tricks. He knows where we are susceptible to temptations and how to entice us to do evil. He and his messengers suggest evil, minimize the seriousness of sin, and make evil inviting.

“He will appear to us in the person of a friend or a relative in whom we have confidence. He has power to place thoughts in our minds and to whisper to us in unspoken impressions to entice us to satisfy our appetites or carnal desires and in various ways he plays upon our weaknesses and desires.” (Joseph Fielding Smith, Melchizedek Priesthood Course of Study, 1972–73, p. 298.)

Does Satan Force our Obedience?

We learn from the scriptures that Lucifer, a brilliant, influential character who had considerable authority in the premortal world, rebelled against the plan whereby Jesus Christ would become the Savior and Redeemer of mankind. Lucifer’s plan, which was proposed and rejected, was based on forcible compliance to law without the blessing of free agency. Along with Lucifer one-third of the heavenly host rebelled also and vowed their allegiance to him. Lucifer and his followers were cast out and denied forever the blessing of mortal bodies.

“And he became Satan, yea, even the devil, the father of all lies, to deceive and to blind men, and to lead them captive at his will, even as many as would not hearken unto my voice.” (Moses 4:4.)

Can Satan Tempt us Beyond our Ability to Overcome?

“One of the most impressive doctrines found in the Book of Mormon is that Satan’s power over a person increases as that person becomes more wicked, until eventually the person is “taken captive by the devil” and bound with the “chains of hell.” (Alma 12:11.) Satan’s method is to influence the thoughts of men, tempting them and enticing them, always working “in the hearts of the children of men.” (2 Ne. 28:20.) Nephi chillingly describes the method: “He whispereth in their ears, until he grasps them with his awful chains, from whence there is no deliverance.” (2 Ne. 28:22.)

But Satan’s power is not unrestrained. Joseph Smith taught that Satan has no power over us unless we give it to him. (See Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, sel. Joseph Fielding Smith, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1938, p. 181.) And Nephi explained that the righteousness of a people deprives Satan of his power, “for he hath no power over the hearts of the people, for they dwell in righteousness.” (1 Ne. 22:26.)… Free agency demands that neither the Holy Spirit nor the evil spirit have power to control the person against his will….

We’re promised that we won’t be tempted beyond our ability to withstand, we can consistently choose to resist all forms of temptation, if that is our desire. “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” (see 1 Cor. 10:13)

President Kimball has written, “Temptations come to all people. The difference between the reprobate and the worthy person is generally that one yielded and the other resisted.” (The Miracle of Forgiveness, Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1969, p. 86.)

By desiring to serve God with all our heart, might, mind, and strength, we can eliminate Satan’s power over us—which is the power to cause us misery. The battle for the souls of men is fought within every heart, and each of us has the power of victory. As we seek to follow the Savior, we should strive to have such pure thoughts that it will make little difference who knows them” Lawrence R. Peterson, Jr., high councilor, Salt Lake Brighton Stake. 

Can Satan Tempt Little Children?

Temptation is a test of a person’s ability to choose good instead of evil. It is an enticement to sin and follow Satan instead of God. Part of the experience of this life is to learn to overcome temptation and to choose right over wrong. Modern revelation indicates that Satan does not have power to tempt little children until they begin to be accountable for their actions (see Doctrine and Covenants 29:4).

Can Satan Appear as an Angel of Light?

“And our spirits must have become like unto him, and we become devils, angels to a devil, to be shut out from the presence of our God, and to remain with the father of lies, in misery, like unto himself; yea, to that being who beguiled our first parents, who transformeth himself nigh unto an angel of light, and stirreth up the children of men unto secret combinations of murder and all manner of secret works of darkness.” 2 Nephi 9:9

“But behold, the devil hath deceived me; for he appeared unto me in the form of an angel, and said unto me: Go and reclaim this people, for they have all gone astray after an unknown God.” Alma50:33

D&C 129:8–9. “The Devil As an Angel of Light”

Just as there are righteous spirits committed to the accomplishment of God’s work, so there are evil spirits committed to the destruction of His work. “These are fallen angels,” President Charles W. Penrose explained, “who were cast down for transgression, as mentioned by Jude (verse 6), chief among whom on this earth is Lucifer or Satan, who has sought on many occasions to appear as an ‘angel of light’ to deceive and lead astray, and who tempted the Son of God, but failed in his efforts as he did with Moses and with the Prophet Joseph Smith. (See Luke 4:1–13; … Moses 1:12–22; Doctrine & Covenants 128:20.) That great spiritual personage was an angel of God in his ‘first estate’, and yet never had a body of flesh, but ‘was in authority in the presence of God’ as a spirit, before he rebelled and was ‘thrust down.’ (Doctrine & Covenants 76:25–28.)” (“Who and What Are the Angels?” p. 951.)

Satan attempts to deceive by counterfeiting the light that accompanies the spirit of a just man made perfect. A just man made perfect who comes as a messenger will appear in his glory, “for that is the only way he can appear” (D&C 129:6). The Prophet Joseph Smith once said, “Wicked spirits have their bounds, limits and laws, by which they are governed … and, it is very evident that they possess a power that none but those who have the priesthood can control” (History of the Church, 4:576).

The Prophet Joseph Smith taught: “An angel of God never has wings. Some will say that they have seen a spirit; that he offered them his hand, but they did not touch it. This is a lie. First, it is contrary to the plan of God: a spirit cannot come but in glory; an angel has flesh and bones; we see not their glory. The devil may appear as an angel of light. Ask God to reveal it; if it be of the devil, he will flee from you; if of God, He will manifest Himself, or make it manifest. We may come to Jesus and ask Him; He will know all about it.” (History of the Church, 3:392.)

Can Satan Enter the Temple?

“As he observed human behavior, Joseph Fielding wondered about the nature of evil and its source. He asked his father [Joseph F.] whether Satan was the sole source of evil and to what extent Satan was restricted from sacred places, such as the temple. An avid student of Church history, even at this early age, Joseph Fielding knew that once, during the apostasy at Kirtland, a number of disgruntled members tried to take over the Church. In a meeting at the Kirtland Temple in late 1837, Brigham Young vigorously defended Joseph Smith. A scuffle ensued, during which some minor damage was done to the temple. Joseph Fielding cited the incident in his question regarding Satan’s influence and human agency:

You ask, Can a man do any wrong without first being tempted of Satan? All men have their agency, the spirit of Satan leads to error and darkness and wrong doing. If a man does wrong, it is because he yields to the spirit of evil, thereby exercising his agency. If he does good, it is in accordance with the spirit that is of God, and he uses his agency in that as well. Those who overcome evil in this life will be beyond the power of Satan in the life to come. In other words, Satan’s power ends in this world so far as the righteous are concerned, for they arise above him and above his influence; and power is not given to him to tempt them in the spirit world, they having overcome him in this. So far then as the righteous are concerned, Satan is effectually bound, whether it is in this life or in the life to come. But as mortality is never free from its own weaknesses there is no perfect safety in this sphere without the presence continually of the influence of the Holy Spirit. Satan can enter any place where he is invited or permitted to enter by man. If wicked men enter the house of God or have dominion in it, Satan will have access there, but where the righteous rule and the righteousness of God prevails, there Satan cannot come, at least with power.

You ask the question, Can a man do wrong in the temple if Satan is not there to urge him on? In the case you cite with reference to the Kirtland Temple it would seem that Satan himself had taken possession of the minds of those men, and if not in the temple in person, his power was certainly manifested through his agents there, who were apostates. I repeat, Satan, by his presence or power, can go anywhere that man can go who invites him or yields to him and his influence. The prevalence of the spirit of apostasy on the occasion you refer to gave the adversary almost full control at that time in the temple, and it is only by the power of righteousness that Satan and his influence was expelled therefrom. As to whether the binding of Satan is a literal binding as with a chain or not, it matters not. I am inclined to believe that the chain spoken of in the Bible, with which Satan is to be bound, is more figurative than real. He will be bound both by the faith of the righteous and the decrees of the Almighty during the Millennial reign and will be cast down into hell, as the prophets have said, and shall not be at liberty to molest the children of men until the end of the thousand years.” Joseph F. Smith, From Prophet to Son: Advice of Joseph F. Smith to His Missionary Sons, compiled by Hyrum M. Smith III and Scott G. Kenney [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1981], 70

Strange Interview with the Evil One

“On one occasion I heard the late Apostle Marriner W. Merrill, President of the Logan Temple, relate this extraordinary incident:

He was sitting in his office one morning, he said, when he noticed from the window a company of people coming up the hill to the Temple. As they entered the Temple grounds they presented rather a strange appearance, not only in dress but in their mode of travel. Some were riding on horses, others were in conveyances, and still others were afoot. He wondered who they could be as he was not looking for a company of such size that particular morning. They dismounted from their horses, stepped down from their conveyances, put their animals under the shade and walked about complacently as if they had a perfect right to be there.

A little later a person unknown to Brother Merrill entered the room. Brother Merrill said to him: “Who are you and who are these people who have come up and taken possession of the Temple grounds unannounced?” He answered and said: “I am Satan and these are my people.” Brother Merrill then said: “What do you want? Why have you come here?” Satan replied: “I don’t like the work that is going on in this Temple and feel that it should be discontinued. Will you stop it?” Brother Merrill answered and said emphatically, “No, we will not stop it. The work must go on.” “Since you refuse to stop it, I will tell you what I propose to do,” the adversary said. “I will take these people, my followers, and distribute them throughout this Temple district, and will instruct them to whisper in the ears of people, persuading them not to go to the Temple, and thus bring about a cessation of your Temple work.” Satan then withdrew.

President Merrill, commenting on this strange interview with the Evil One, said that for quite a period of time the spirit of indifference to Temple work seemed to take possession of the people and very few came to the House of the Lord. The presumption was that Satan had carried out his threat which caused a temporary lull in Temple work.

It is not to be wondered at that Satan, who is the enemy of all righteousness, is displeased with Temple work.” Rudger Clawson: [Church Section, The Deseret News, Dec. 12, 1936, Vol. 344, No. 61]
https://josephsmithfoundation.org/01-can-satan-enter-the-temples/

The Devil cannot come in the Sign of a Dove

The question arose from the saying of Jesus—”Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist; but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” How is it that John was considered one of the greatest of prophets? His miracles could not have constituted his greatness.

First. He was entrusted with a divine mission of preparing the way before the face of the Lord. Whoever had such a trust committed to him before or since? No man.

Secondly. He was entrusted with the important mission, and it was required at his hands, to baptize the Son of Man. Whoever had the honor of doing that? Whoever had so great a privilege and glory? Whoever led the Son of God into the waters of baptism, and had the privilege of beholding the Holy Ghost descend in the form of a dove, or rather in the sign of the dove, in witness of that administration? The sign of the dove was instituted before the creation of the world, a witness for the Holy Ghost, and the devil cannot come in the sign of a dove. The Holy Ghost is a personage, and is in the form of a personage. It does not confine itself to the form of the dove, but in sign of the dove. The Holy Ghost cannot be transformed into a dove; but the sign of a dove was given to John to signify the truth of the deed, as the dove is an emblem or token of truth and innocence.

Thirdly. John, at that time, was the only legal administrator in the affairs of the kingdom there was then on the earth, and holding the keys of power. The Jews had to obey his instructions or be damned, by their own law; and Christ Himself fulfilled all righteousness in becoming obedient to the law which he had given to Moses on the mount, and thereby magnified it and made it honorable, instead of destroying it. The son of Zacharias wrested the keys, the kingdom, the power, the glory from the Jews, by the holy anointing and decree of heaven, and these three reasons constitute him the greatest prophet born of a woman.

Second question:—How was the least in the kingdom of heaven greater than he:

In reply I asked—Whom did Jesus have reference to as being the last? Jesus was looked upon as having the least claim in God’s kingdom, and [seemingly] was least entitled to their credulity as a prophet; as though He had said—”He that is considered the least among you is greater than John—that is I myself.” https://byustudies.byu.edu/further-study-lesson/volume-5-chapter-13/ History of the Church Volume 5, page 256-2

A Sure Foundation

“Remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall” (Helaman 5:12).

Question from a Customer!

Does the border immigration crisis have possible connections to the gathering of the Lamanites so they can participate in the construction of the NEW JERUSALEM?

Prepaid Preacher?

An LDS man on you tube called the prepaid preacher, quoted these following scriptures, claiming that maybe these illegal immigrants crossing the southern border today into our country are the house of Jacob as lions (Illegal Immigrants) going into the midst of sheep (Current Americans)

16 Then shall ye, who are a remnant of the house of Jacob, go forth among them; and ye shall be in the midst of them who shall be many; and ye shall be among them as a lion among the beasts of the forest, and as a young lion among the flocks of sheep, who, if he goeth through both treadeth down and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver.

22 And behold, this people will I establish in this land, unto the fulfilling of the covenant which I made with your father Jacob; and it shall be a New Jerusalem. And the powers of heaven shall be in the midst of this people; yea, even I will be in the midst of you. 3 Nephi 20:16,22

First of all the illegal immigrants coming from our southern border are mostly Asian and if they were chosen by the Lord to come to America, the Lord would allow them here without a lot of legal hankering. We already have a very orderly way to bring immigrants legally into the USA but the system is broken and overwhelmed. The Lord works in an organized way not in chaos. We already allow over 1 million legal immigrants each year, how many should we allow illegally before we will be overrun? Besides, as Rod Meldrum explains below, those in Central and Mesoamerica are not the people spoken of in the Book of Mormon, these illegal immigrants just received some of the blood of Lehi from actual Nephites much later in about 900 AD.

Answer by Rod Meldrum:

“If our research on the geography of the Book of Mormon is correct then the vast majority of the remnant Lamanites are the North American Indians, not the Maya, Inca, or other populations of Central or South America who genetically are Asian, not Semitic or Hebrew

We know that the ancient people’s of North America had Middle-eastern genetic ancestry.

We know that the Asiatic Mayan civilization suffered the ‘Great Collapse’ around 800-900 AD leaving their cities abandoned and new findings indicate they came north into the Mississippi river valley. Indications are that they subjugated the remnant Lamanites, forcing them into slave labor to build their massive earth mounds (Cahokia, Etowah, Ocmulgee and other massive mound complexes) and after 300 years the Lamanites overthrew them and the Maya descendants returned to their original lands around 1100-1200 AD. There was considerable intermixing between the two peoples over that 300 years, resulting in some Lamanite genetic ancestry being brought back into Central and South America and giving them claim to having Lamanite ancestry.

However, the New Jerusalem location in the Heartland of America (USA) was never the ancestral home of the Maya. Neither was this the case for any other Central American ancient civilization.

The Heartland of America was anciently occupied first by the Adena (Jaredite) culture, and then the Hopewell (Nephite) culture. The descendants of the later Hopewell culture are the North American Indians of the Algonquin language groups, which consists of some 110 tribes primarily located in the Northeastern United States and Southeastern Canada. There are a few of those tribes that migrated west, such as the Sioux, Cheyenne and Blackfoot.

So, in order for the people now crossing the border illegally to be some type of fulfillment of the prophecies regarding the   building of the New Jerusalem…

First, wouldn’t they need to be primarily Lamanites?

Second, how can they be returning to their ancestral lands when the Heartland of America was never their lands anciently?

Therefore, as I see it, the crisis going on at the border has little or nothing to do with Lamanites coming to reclaim ancestral lands they never occupied in order to begin construction of the New Jerusalem. 

I hope this makes sense in the brevity in which I’ve attempted to explain a complex issue that really deserves more time.

If you’d like to delve further into this subject may I suggest getting a copy of my DVD, The Hinterland Hypothesis, which I released a couple of years ago that goes into detail about what happened in North America after the end of the Book of Mormon’s Nephite civilization. I think you’d find it fascinating.” Rod Meldrum March 22, 2021

Who are the Lamanites?

I believe the understanding of who the Lamanites are, and where they lived, has been a topic of interest for many years in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Many of us have been taught the “Hemispheric Model” about the Book of Mormon. Meaning, that generally speaking all of the Lamanites lived in South America and all the Nephites lived in North America and the “Narrow Neck of Land” was Central America. That has now become obsolete to most people in the Church, whether they believe in a Mesoamerican, a Heartland, a Baja theory, or any other theory about Book of Mormon Events. The reason is that the distances required to make this a reality has created an almost consensus opinion that it just doesn’t make sense.

I believe the best evidence of who the Book of Mormon Lamanites are, comes from the Lord in D&C 32:2-3: “And that which I have appointed unto him is that he [Parley P. Pratt] shall go with my servants, Oliver Cowdery and Peter Whitmer, Jun., into the wilderness among the Lamanites. And Ziba Peterson also shall go with them; and I myself will go with them and be in their midst; and I am their advocate with the Father, and nothing shall prevail against them.”

These first missionaries to the Lamanites first visited the Cattaraugus Indians in Buffalo NY, then the Wyandot Indians in Sandusky, OH, and finally the Shawnee and Delaware Indians in MO. It seems that we know from the Lord that these Native American Tribes are Lamanites. See Church Article Here!

Many dedicatory prayers by Prophets at Temples in South and Central America have mentioned that the people have, “the blood of Father Lehi”, or Prophets refer to “Lehi’s blood” or “Lehi’s descendants,” or even the “Lamanites,” how should we understand these terms? (See Rod’s answer above), and more information below.

Hinterlands?

Who are the Lamanites? To help answer this question let’s first discuss an issue called “the Hinterlands.”

Mormon could not “write the hundredth part” of the events of his people. For this reason we have the record of the Nephites from Mormon’s abridgement, but we don’t have the written record of those who lived in the periphery or “Hinterland.” See Words of Mormon 1:5, Ether 15:33, Isaiah 18:1 Read my other blog here:

Defining Hinterlands from a Heartland Perspective
“Hinterlands is defined here as meaning the unknown area of North and South America that are not within the scope of the writings of the Book of Mormon. In other words, since we believe main events of the Book of Mormon happened in a limited area of North America around the Great Lakes  in the east,  and Ohio, Indiana, Iowa and Missouri to the west, and south in Tennessee, West Virginia, Georgia, and Florida, all other areas will be discussed as “The Hinterlands”. We propose that Mesoamerica is the Hinterlands along with many other areas of the continent. As Mormon has said, “…I shall take from the plates of Nephi; and I cannot write the hundredth part of the things of my people (Words of Mormon 1:5).  There are many people in South and Central America that are Lamanites and part of the Hinterlands.” Jonathan Neville

In other other words, if the Book of Mormon events took place in Mesoamerica, then every other area would be the “Hinterlands” where other Lamanites may have migrated and lived. If however the events of the Book of Mormon took place in the Heartland of the United States (As we believe they did), then every other area outside of this limited Heartland area would contain migrating Lamanites, including the western United States, Canada, Mexico, and South and Central America. Heartland Core – Where the main Nephite and Lamanite events occurred! Mesoamerican Periphery – Where Nephites and Lamanites migrated to outside of this core! (See map above left). Please read my entire blog here on the Heartland Theory.

Are Illegal Immigrants Lamanites?

As I said before I believe there is possibly a small amount of Lamanite blood in some of those in Mesoamerica and South America but the amount would be small and limited and would have came from intermarrying many years ago. It is well known those people in Central and South America are of Asian descent. There are only 3 choices of descendants through Noah. Ham, Shem or Japeth. We believe Ham are the African nations, Japeth are the Asian nations, and Shem are the Priesthood line in the Middle East, Europe and in Eastern North America.

Under President Trump we had the highest number of children without adults at the southern border at about 3,000. Today at the southern border there are over 14,000 unaccompanied children and that number is growing. The government won’t let us look inside the holding cells and the press can’t interview anyone. How is that for transparency?

However, Representative Cuellar and a group called Project Veritas has obtained some pictures from the border and it is very troubling. We have a crisis. We can’t be responsible for the entire world population. We must have borders and a way to bring good people who have earned a right to be in our country legally.

Here is a very interesting letter former Pres Trump just shared:

Border Policies

“In a blistering statement on Sunday, former President Donald Trump excoriated his successor, blaming Joe Biden’s policies for the border crisis.

“We proudly handed the Biden Administration the most secure border in history. All they had to do was keep this smooth-running system on autopilot. Instead, in the span of a just few weeks, the Biden Administration has turned a national triumph into a national disaster. They are in way over their heads and taking on water fast,” the former president declared.

The border crisis is quite dire. Border crossings are on pace to top the past three years combined, and immigration officials have more than 15,000 minors in U.S. custody.

Biden’s campaign rhetoric — promising a deportation moratorium (that got blocked by court order) and health care for illegal aliens, among other things — arguably encouraged migrants to rush to America. Immigrants have come to the border wearing shirts that read, “Biden please let us in!” Source PJ Media

Today’s Border News

There is no easy answer to fixing the border problem. I feel both sides need to organize and execute an efficient plan to help these wonderful children and adults. The USA can’t solve every problem as other nations must step up and help their own people. No other country would allow any of these illegal immigrants into their country without proper vetting in an orderly manner. Until the USA gets organized and even tougher with a humane and good plan, we will continue to have this problem. It seemed under Trump the problem was being reduced and I am hopeful President Biden can do the same thing.

“The Biden administration has awarded ICE an $86.9 million contract for hotel rooms near the border to provide temporary shelter and processing services for families who have not been expelled from the United States but have been placed in immigration proceedings for their removal.

The contract, through Texas-based nonprofit Endeavors, provides 1,239 beds and “other necessary services.” The families will receive a comprehensive health assessment, including COVID-19 testing. The announcement comes days after White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters on Thursday that the White House planned to provide 2.5 million doses of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine to Mexico.” Fox News

Illegal Immigrants to Receive $4.38 Billion in Stimulus Checks: Report

BY CHARLOTTE CUTHBERTSON March 22, 2021 Updated: March 22, 2021 biggersmallerPrint

As Americans start to receive the latest round of stimulus checks, a new analysis reveals that about $4.38 billion will also go to illegal immigrants.

The Center for Immigration Studies estimates that 2.65 million illegal immigrants have Social Security numbers that allow them to receive stimulus checks. This group of illegal immigrants can be described as “aliens temporarily present without status,” according to Steven Camarota, director of research for the Center for Immigration Studies.

“These individuals are in the country illegally and could be required to leave. Yet, under the current system, they are still given work authorization and Social Security numbers,” he said. Source Epoch Times

x22report.com

The 1845 Proclamation of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints : To all the Kings of the World; to the President of the United States of America; to the Governors of the several States; And to the Rulers and People of all Nations, was not the first Proclamation sent to all the world and it won’t be the last.

Publication date 1845
Topics Doctrine
Publisher New York Prophet Office
Collection churchhistorylibrary; americana
Digitizing sponsor Corporation of the Presiding Bishop, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Contributor Church History Library, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Language English

THE POWER OF WE KNOW IT!

“Let the Government of the United States also continue to gather together, and to colonize the tribes and remnants of Israel (the Indians), and also to feed, clothe, succor, and protect them, and endeavor to civilize and unite; and also to bring them to the knowledge of their Israelitish origin, and of the fulness of the gospel which was revealed to, and written by, their forefathers on this land;… He has revealed the origin and the Records of the aboriginal tribes of America, and their future destiny. —And we know it. He has revealed the fulness of the gospel, with its gifts, blessings, and ordinances. —And we know it. He has commanded us to bear witness of it, first to the Gentiles and then to the remnants of Israel and the Jews. —And we know it. He has commanded us to gather together his Saints on this Continent, and build up holy cities and sanctuaries. —And we know it.” PROCLAMATION of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. New York April 6, 1845. James R. Clark, comp., Messages of the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 6 vols. (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1965-75), 1:, p.252-266See complete downloadable copy at the end

To Our Rulers, is it Treason to Know?
And We Know It!

Repent and be Baptized
We Invite all Kings to Aid us!

You My Obtain Further Information

https://archive.org/details/proclamationoftw01unse

Share the Book of Mormon

Enjoy these other seldom heard or referenced quotes. The Lord lives and loves us. This time that we are living in, is a special time with may challenges. We are assured we can handle anything that comes our way with the Lords help and we won’t be given a challenge that is not possible for us individually to handle. Please review each of the quotes below and share them with everyone you  can. Take the time to share your thoughts about these quotes and why they are important to you. 

Since it is important to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to PROCLAIM TO THE WORLD, I think we could easily do the same in our own family or community. Share your witness. Let others know you love the Book of Mormon. I love President Nelson’s quote.  “Whenever I hear anyone, including myself, say, “I know the Book of Mormon is true,” I want to exclaim, “That’s nice, but it is not enough!” We need to feel, deep in “the inmost part” of our hearts, that the Book of Mormon is unequivocally the word of God. We must feel it so deeply that we would never want to live even one day without it. I might paraphrase President Brigham Young in saying, “I wish I had the voice of seven thunders to wake up the people” to the truth and power of the Book of Mormon “ President Russell M. Nelson The Book of Mormon: What Would Your Life Be Like without It?

Power of God vs. Satan

“There are many Elders in this house who, if I had the power to Mesmerize that vase and make it dance on that table, would say that it was done by the power of God; and I expect that some of them would begin to shout, and that some of the sisters would shout, ‘Glory be to God, hallelujah.’ Who could tell whether it was done by the power of God or the power of the devil? No person, unless he had the revelations of Jesus Christ within him.

“I suppose you are ready to ask brother Brigham if he thinks the power of the devil could make the vase dance. Yes, and could take it up and carry it outdoors, just as easy as to turn up a table and move it here and there, or to cause a rap, rap, rap, or to bake and pass around pancakes, or to get hold of a person’s hand, and make him write in every style you can think of, imitating George Washington’s, Benjamin Franklin’s, Joseph Smith’s, and others’ autographs. Can you tell whether that is by the power of God or by the power of the devil? No, unless you have the revelations of Jesus Christ.” Brigham Young, “The Necessity of the Saints Having the Spirit of Revelation,” in Journal of Discourses, vol. 3 (London, 1856), 157. Discourse given on May 6, 1855.

“If the Book of Mormon is true, then America is a choice land, but if it is to remain such the inhabitants of the land must worship the God of the land, the Lord Jesus Christ. The histories of two great nations, told with warning in this sacred volume, indicate that while we must have science, while we must have education, while we must have arms, we also must have righteousness if we are to merit the protection of God.” Gordon B. Hinckley The Power of the Book of Mormon Ensign June 1988

[Apostle Abraham H. Cannon Journal] (at a stake conference at Brigham City) President Snow reported that on one occasion Joseph Smith was once asked who he was: “The Prophet smiled kindly upon his interlocutor and replied, “Noah came before the flood; I have come before the fire.” 3 – Abraham H. Cannon Journal Excerpts, http://www.amazon.com/Apostles-Record-Journals-Abraham-1889-1896/dp/B000MFD1K4

For those concerned how this occultic “Joseph Smith” could make its way into Church publications, President Ezra Taft Benson offered this advice, “Sometimes from behind the pulpit, in our classrooms, in our Council meetings and in our church publications we hear, read or witness things that do not square with the truth. . . . Now do not let this serve as an excuse for your own wrong-doing. The Lord is letting the wheat and the tares mature before he fully purges the Church. He is also testing you to see if you will be misled. The devil is trying to deceive the very elect.” Ezra Taft Benson, “Our Immediate Responsibility” (BYU Devotional, Provo, October 25, 1996), https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/ezra-taft-benson_immediateresponsibility.

“I suppose you are ready to ask brother Brigham if he thinks the power of the devil could make the vase dance. Yes, and could take it up and carry it outdoors, just as easy as to turn up a table and move it here and there, or to cause a rap, rap, rap, or to bake and pass around pancakes, or to get hold of a person’s hand, and make him write in every style you can think of, imitating George Washington’s, Benjamin Franklin’s, Joseph Smith’s, and others’ autographs. Can you tell whether that is by the power of God or by the power of the devil? No, unless you have the revelations of Jesus Christ.” Brigham Young, “The Necessity of the Saints Having the Spirit of Revelation,” in Journal of Discourses, vol. 3 (London, 1856), 157. Discourse given on May 6, 1855.

ANCIENT RECORDS

“Circumstances are daily transpiring which give additional testimony to the authenticity of the Book of Mormon. . . . it was [once considered] improbable, nay, almost impossible—notwithstanding the testimony of history to the contrary, that anything like plates could have been used anciently; particularly among this people. The following letter and certificate, will, perhaps have a tendency to convince the skeptical, that such things have been used, and that even the obnoxious Book of Mormon, may be true; and as the people in Columbus’ day were obliged to believe that there was such a place as America; so will the people in this day be obliged to believe, however reluctantly, that there may have been such plates as those from which the Book of Mormon was translated.” John Taylor [Times and Seasons 4 (May 1, 1843), pp. 185-6]

THIS LAND

“The Angel also informed him that America had once been people by a remnant of the seed of Israel of the tribe of Joseph who became two great Nations upon this Land one of those Nations were the present Natives of America or the Indians the other Nation was distroid [sic] about four hundred years after Christ.” Pratt, Parley Parker 1807-1857. An epistle written by an elder of the Church

The Indians

“I am asked to occupy the few minutes yet remaining: If the Spirit gives me liberty I will pursue the train of thought that has passed through my mind while Brother Richards has been speaking upon the spirit that has gone abroad upon the remnants of the house of Israel who occupy this land, the American Indians whom we understand to be the descendants of the Nephites, the Lamanites, the Lemuelites and the Ishmaelites who formerly possessed this land, whose fathers we have an account of in the Book of Mormon.” The Indians—The Influence of the Elders Among Them in the Interest of Peace, Etc. Discourse by Elder Erastus Snow, delivered at Logan, Sunday Afternoon, February 5th, 1882

THE HISTORY OF HIS FOREFATHERS
Mormon lived in that age of the world, and was a Nephite, and a Prophet of the Lord. He, by the commandment of the Lord, made an abridgment of the sacred records, which contained the history of his forefathers, and the Prophecies and Gospel which had been revealed among them; to which he added a sketch of the history of his own time, and the destruction of his nation. Previous to his death, the abridged records fell into the hands of his son Moroni, who continued them down to A. D. 420; at which time he deposited them carefully in the earth, on a hill which was then called Cumorah, but is situated in Ontario County, township of Manchester, and State of New York, North America. This he did in order to preserve them from the Lamanites, who overran the country, and sought to destroy them and all the records pertaining to the Nephites. This record lay concealed, or sealed up, from A. D. 420 to September 22, 1827, at which time it was found by Mr. Joseph Smith, jun., he being directed thither by an angel of the Lord.” A Voice of Warning, page 96 Parley P. Pratt

CUMORAH/RAMAH
“Moroni told Joseph that he had hidden up the records four centuries after the birth of Jesus, while he was living on the earth. He said that the Nephites, the people to which he belonged, called the hill where they stood Cumorah, and that a still earlier people, the Jaredites, called it Ramah. This was a very important hill in the history of both these peoples.” The Latter-day Prophet. History of Joseph Smith Written for Young People by George Q. Cannon 1900

THE LORD WILLED IT!
Joseph Fielding Smith said the following in the April 1966 General Conference, “America was discovered because the Lord willed it. The gospel was restored in America, rather than in some other land because the Lord willed it. This is the land “shadowing with wings” spoken of by Isaiah that today is sending ambassadors by the sea to a nation scattered and peeled, which at one time was terrible in the beginning (Isaiah 18:1-2). Now that nation is being gathered, and once again they shall be in favor with the Lord.” (Joseph Fielding Smith, Conference Report, April 1966, pp. 12-15).

HERE IN AMERICA
“Moroni’s father was commander of the armies of this ancient people, known as Nephites. His name was Mormon. The war of which we speak took place here in America some four hundred years after Christ. As the fighting neared its end, Mormon gathered the remnant of his forces about a hill which they called Cumorah, located in what is now the western part of the state of New York… When finished with his record, Moroni was to hide it up in that same Hill Cumorah which was their battlefield. It would come forth in modern times as the Book of Mormon, named after Moroni’s father, the historian who compiled it.” (“The Last Words of Moroni,” Conference Reports, October 1978) Mark E. Petersen

CURRENT AS THE MORNING NEWSPAPER
“It’s narrative is a chronicle of nations long since gone. But in its descriptions of the problems of today’s society, it is as current as the morning newspaper and much more definitive, inspired, and inspiring concerning the solutions to those problems… If the Book of Mormon is true, then America is a choice land, but if it is to remain such the inhabitants of the land must worship the God of the land, the Lord Jesus Christ. The histories of two great nations, told with warning in this sacred volume, indicate that while we must have science, while we must have education, while we must have arms, we also must have righteousness if we are to merit the protection of God.” Gordon B. Hinckley The Power of the Book of Mormon Ensign June 1988

A DESCENDANT OF RED CLOUD, SITTING BULL, CHIEF JOSEPH, CHEE DODGE, CHIEF CRAZY HORSE
“I am proud to declare to you today, brothers and sisters, that I am a descendant of Lehi, Nephi, and all the great Book of Mormon prophets. I am proud to be a child of the Book of Mormon people. I have found my true heritage; I have found my true identity. I am a son of God, a child of God, a child of the Book of Mormon, a child of Lehi, a rich heritage that extends all the way back to my Heavenly Father, through Moses, and Abraham, and other great prophets.

I am also proud to be a descendant of great Indian chiefs of our country. I am proud to be a descendant of Red Cloud, Sitting Bull, Chief Joseph, Chee Dodge, Chief Crazy Horse and all these great Indian chiefs that did so well as leaders of their people. I want you to know that these men were great. I wouldn’t be surprised if they are all in paradise; and I wouldn’t be surprised if some of them are converted, and maybe some of them are on the fourth missionary discussion. I am proud of my rich heritage.

To you my people, the Lamanite people, on Indian reservations and in the cities of our country and through the islands of the sea, I want you to know that Jesus Christ is our Elder Brother. He is our Savior. He is our Redeemer.” George P. Lee October 1975 My Heritage Is Choice (Editor’s note: I thought long and hard about using this quote, but who am I to judge?)

A MIGHTY LAND
This has always been a mighty land in God’s plan. It was in the valley of Adam-ondi-Ahman prior to his death, called the great high priests together and there bestowed upon them his last blessing. The Lord appearing there proclaimed Adam to be Michael, the Prince, the Archangel. (D&C 107:53-54) It is to that same spot that Adam, as the Ancient of Days, shall come to visit his people (D&C 116), where judgement shall be set and the books opened. (Daniel 7:9 ff; Revelation 20:4) It is here on this land that the New Jerusalem shall be built “unto the remnant of the seed of Joseph” — ourselves and those others the literal descendants of Lehi. (Ether 13:5 ff; 1 Nephi 14:1-2, 2 Nephi 10:18) And finally, it is here on this hemisphere that Zion shall be built. (Tenth Article of Faith.) It is this fact and this purpose, the building of Zion on this hemisphere, which is Zion, which seems to be the dominant elements in all of God’s dealings with them who possess this land, for Isaiah, speaking more than twenty-five hundred years ago, declared that “out of the Lord from Jerusalem” (Isaiah 2:3.) President J. Reuben Clark, Jr The Glorious Purpose page 103

CHOICE ABOVE ALL OTHER LANDS

“Because of his faithfulness and integrity, Joseph received greater blessings than the progenitors of Jacob, and was rewarded with the land of Zion. His brothers, with malicious intent, separated him and cast him out from among them. The Lord, in rewarding him, separated him from his brothers — the other tribes of Israel — and gave him an inheritance in a land that is choice above all other lands, which, we have learned from the Book of Mormon and modern revelation, is America… We are informed in the revelations given to Joseph Smith the Prophet, that the city of Zion and the New Jerusalem is one and the same. In a number of revelations the Lord speaks of the New Jerusalem which is to be built…” Zion and Jerusalem by Joseph Fielding Smith, Improvement Era Vol. 22 JULY 1919

ONLY TWO PROMISED LANDS

3 Nephi 20:22: “And behold, this people will I establish in this land, unto the fulfilling of the covenant which I made with your father Jacob; and it shall be a New Jerusalem. And the powers of heaven shall be in the midst of this people; yea, even I will be in the midst of you.
23 Behold, I am he of whom Moses spake, saying: A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass that every soul who will not hear that prophet shall be cut off from among the people.
24 Verily I say unto you, yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have testified of me.
25 And behold, ye are the children of the prophets; and ye are of the house of Israel; and ye are of the covenant which the Father made with your fathers, saying unto Abraham: And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed.
26 The Father having raised me up unto you first, and sent me to bless you in turning away every one of you from his iniquities; and this because ye are the children of the covenant—
27 And after that ye were blessed then fulfilleth the Father the covenant which he made with Abraham, saying: In thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed—unto the pouring out of the Holy Ghost through me upon the Gentiles, which blessing upon the Gentiles shall make them mighty above all, unto the scattering of my people, O house of Israel.”
28 And they shall be a scourge unto the people of this land. Nevertheless, when they shall have received the fulness of my gospel, then if they shall harden their hearts against me I will return their iniquities upon their own heads, saith the Father.
29 And I will remember the covenant which I have made with my people; and I have covenanted with them that I would gather them together in mine own due time, that I would give unto them again the land of their fathers for their inheritance, which is the land of Jerusalem, which is the promised land unto them forever, saith the Father.” 3 Nephi 20:22-29

AMERICA’S PAST UNCOVERED
“Remarkable discoveries of evidences of America’s prehistoric civilizations in various parts of the country are frequently being reported in public prints…

On Sept. 10, what are believed to be bodies of a royal family of the ancient mound builders were unearthed in a group of mounds near Bainbridge, Ohio. With these remains were found strands of pearls, some of extraordinary size and perfection; also ornaments of silver and copper and some sculptured objects of exquisite workmanship.

This is a highly interesting find. It shows that these mound builders in the Mississippi valley were wealthy and civilized, and that they must have had commercial connections with distant places where pearl oysters were procured.

Scientists know nothing certain about the time when the mound builders lived, whence they came and what became of them.

However, when Zion’s Camp, in the year 1834, was temporarily located on the western bank of the Illinois river, the Prophet Joseph and others ascended a high mound, on the top of which three altars had once stood. On removing some soil, they uncovered a skeleton, between the ribs of which there was an arrowhead. To the Prophet it was later made known that this was the remains of a Lamanite warrior, by the name of Zelph, who served the great Onandagus, a prophet known from the Hill Cumorah to the Rocky Mountains. Zelph was slain during the last struggle between the Lamanites and Nephites. May not this furnish a key to the mystery of the mound builders in the Mississippi valley? Besides this, at various points, from Maine to California, we find evidences of a race, or perhaps more than one race, that, like the Jaredites, who from their point of departure, carried with them “the fish of the waters,” depended largely upon sea food for their sustenance. The evidence of this they have left in numerous shell mounds, which consist almost entirely of oyster shells, some of gigantic size.

Some tell us American archaeology does not corroborate the Book of Mormon. As I see it, American Archaeologists will never unravel the mysteries of this country without the Book of Mormon.” THE JUVENILE INSTRUCTOR, Vol. 60, No. 10 October 1925 Janne M. Sjodahl

INTEREST IN HISTORY AND IN GEOGRAPHY

“We have a great message to tell the world. We have to live it, and then we have to tell it, too. If you’re interest in history and in geography, just think what you can get out of the Book of Mormon! The Book of Mormon is the most tangible evidence that we have the truth, for no man could have written it at the time that it was written—except the story of the Prophet Joseph be a true story. Just imagine what that book has to tell us about America. Go back to the promises of Jacob and Moses and Joseph, who was sold into Egypt and who was promised a new land in the utmost bounds of the everlasting hills. Nobody in this world, outside of this Church, can tell you where that new land is, and yet Moses, in describing that land, used the word precious five times in just four short verses in the bible (see Deuteronomy 33:13–16). He called it a precious land, and we read the history of how Lehi and his people came here and how they were told that it was a land choice above all other lands. This fact is repeated over and over again in the scriptures.

From a historical standpoint, it ought to be worth something to people to know about this land of America or when Columbus discovered it. The knowledge that we get through the Book of Mormon is a knowledge that we can’t get any other way in all this world. It not only tells us of the great destiny of this land of America, but it also gives the promises of the Lord through his prophets that it would be a land choice above all other lands and that it would be the land upon which God would build his New Jerusalem in the latter days. It was hidden away from the eyes of the world that it might not be overrun, and the Spirit of the Lord moved upon a man across the great waters to come here. We understand and know that man was Columbus. You see what a marvelous thing it is to have understanding.”
LeGrande Richards, “You’re Fringe Benefits” 1975 Devotional

The “Sacred” Translation

“And I have caused you that you should enter into a covenant with me, that you should not show them except to those persons to whom I commanded you; and you have no power over them except I grant it unto you.” D&C 5:3

“At length the time arrived for obtaining the plates, the Urim and Thummim, and the breastplate. On the twenty-second day of September, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-seven, having gone as usual at the end of another year to the place where they were deposited, the same heavenly messenger delivered them up to me with this charge: that I should be responsible for them; that if I should let them go carelessly, or through any neglect of mine, I should be cut off; but that if I would use all my endeavors to preserve them, until he, the messenger, should call for them, they should be protected.” Joseph Smith History 1:59

Helaman 13-15

Newark Earthworks, Ohio

“This section of the text bears the heading “The prophecy of Samuel, the Lamanite, to the Nephites.” Helaman 13:1 explains the context:

“And now it came to pass in the eighty and sixth year, the Nephites did still remain in wickedness, yea, in great wickedness, while the Lamanites did observe strictly to keep the commandments of God, according to the law of Moses.”

Throughout the Book of Mormon, the law of Moses was an important part of the culture. Obedience of the law was a key indicator of the righteousness of the people, as this passage shows. Presumably the Lamanites began living the law of Moses as part of their conversion by Nephi and Lehi. (See Helaman 15:5, where Samuel emphasizes this point).

In about 6 B.C., “Samuel, a Lamanite, came into the land of Zarahemla and began to preach unto the people” (Helaman 13:2). He preached “many days” but was rejected. He was going to return home but the Lord told him to “return again” and preach. When the people would not let him into the city—Samuel identifies it as “this great city of Zarahemla”—he “got upon the wall thereof” (Helaman 13:4, 12). What kind of a wall could a man “get upon” the way the scripture describes Samuel’s action? Certainly not the wall depicted in the iconic painting by Arnold Friberg. (Picture Right)

Although the painting depicts an undoubtedly dramatic scene, it is nothing remotely comparable to what the text describes. Arnold Friberg specifically set his artwork in Central America, and many if not most LDS have been raised with this understanding of the setting for the Book of Mormon. Overcoming these long-held mental images is one of the challenges of changing the paradigm from Central America to North America.

What would be a more accurate image? [See Below] The text speaks of “throwing up banks of earth… and also building walls of stone to encircle them about, round about their cities and the borders of their lands” (Alma 48:8).

Scene depicting an Early Woodland/Adena (2800-2000 B.P. gathering at a ceremonial earthwork in the Hocking River Valley. The Adena people of this period constructed circular earthen enclosures which were used as sites for ceremonies and social events. A hunter can be seen holding spears and an atlatl as he oversees the ceremony taking place, with Adena men and women performing a ritual using wolf skins. In the distance can be seen the encampment which would be constructed for use during ceremonial periods until participants returned to their home settlements in the region. The large enclosure seen here is modeled on similar earthworks along the Hocking River in Athens County, Ohio.

Moroni’s America continued, “They built breastworks of timbers; “they had encircled the city of Bountiful round about with a strong wall of timbers and earth to an exceeding height” (Alma 53:4). These are good descriptions of Hopewell sites. They built mostly with earth and timber, but sometimes they built walls of stone by piling stones. Perhaps the actual wall Samuel “got upon” was more like the one shown in the painting (above), although more likely topped with timber, (as shown below left).

The likelihood that Samuel stood on a typical Hopewell wall is attested later in the account. After Samuel had prophesied, many Nephites became angry.

Recreated Hopewell Wall by Wayne May

“But as many as there were who did not believe in the words of Samuel were angry with him; and they cast stones at him upon the wall, and also many shot arrows at him as he stood upon the wall; but the Spirit of the Lord was with him, insomuch that they could not hit him with their stones neither with their arrows” (Helaman 16:2). The inability of the Nephites to hit Samuel had to be quite miraculous, because “when they saw that they could not hit him, there were many more who did believe on his words, insomuch that they went away unto Nephi to be baptized” (Helaman 16:2).

Had Samuel been standing on a wall such as the one in the Friberg painting, it would have been a miracle for the people to hit him, not to miss him. Furthermore, when they saw that they could not hit him with their stones and their arrows, they cried unto their captains, saying: Take this fellow and bind him, for behold he hath a devil; and because of the power of the devil which is in him we cannot hit him with our stones and our arrows; therefore take him and bind him, and away with him. And as they went forth to lay their hands on him, behold, he did cast himself down from the wall, and did flee out of their lands, yea, even unto his own country, and began to preach and to prophesy among his own people (Helaman 16:6-7).

Samuel had to be close enough that the people could seize him and bind him. And the wall had to be low enough that he could “cast himself down” from it. This entire description suggests the kind of wall built by Hopewell Indians, and not a high wall made of carved blocks of stone.
When Samuel gets upon the wall, he introduces himself and declares an alarming prophecy:

Behold, I, Samuel, a Lamanite, do speak the words of the Lord which he doth put into my heart; and behold he hath put it into my heart to say unto this people that the sword of justice hangeth over this people; and four hundred years pass not away save the sword of justice falleth upon this people… And four hundred years shall not pass away before I will cause that they shall be smitten; yea, I will visit them with the sword and with famine and with pestilence. (Helaman 13:5, 9), emphasis added.”

“What is the significance of the four hundred years? (Note 190) Genesis chapter 15 provides a Hebrew background.

13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;
14 And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.

The Nephites to whom Samuel was preaching would recognize the symbolic significance of his prophecy. There are several references in the Book of Mormon to the children of Israel being in bondage and being freed. Ancient Israel was afflicted for four hundred years before the nation that subjected them would be judged; now the sword of justice would fall on the Nephite nation in four hundred years. Samuel’s prophecy, particularly in the context of the law of Moses referenced just a few verses earlier, demonstrates the Book of Mormon is a Hebrew text and should be interpreted with that in mind.
Samuel tells the people of Zarahemla that, “if it were not for the righteous who are in this great city, behold, I would cause that fire should come down out of heaven and destroy it” (Helaman 13:13). Later we see that the city of Zarahemla was burned (3 Nephi 9:3).

He names the city of Gideon, and then says “wo be unto all the cities which are in the land round about, which are possessed by the Nephites” (Helaman 13:16). Because Zarahemla and Gideon are on opposite sides of the River Sidon, Samuel’s prophecy suggests the cities destroyed in 3 Nephi are along that river.

Samuel condemns the people for having their hearts set on their riches, so the judgment that takes place in 3 Nephi is appropriate. These cities are buried in the earth and the water, and covered with earth, and burned—completely destroying the material wealth that the people valued over living the gospel.

I will address the actual destruction in the chapter on 3 Nephi, but it’s important to note that Samuel’s prophecy is not necessarily limited to the immediate vicinity of Zarahemla. For example, Samuel prophesied that “there shall be many mountains laid low, like unto a valley, and there shall be many places which are now called valleys which shall become mountains, whose height is great” (Helaman 14:23). Yet when the destruction is described in 3 Nephi, only one mountain is mentioned, and it is formed when “the earth was carried up upon the city of Moronihah that in the place of the city there became a great mountain” (3 Nephi 8:10). This suggests fulfillment of Samuel’s prophecy in other parts of the world; even in the case of the mountain on Moronihah, a “great mountain” is not the same as a mountain “whose height is great.” Moroni’s America page 206-9 by Jonathan Neville.

Note 190:  “Proponents of a Mesoamerican theory claim the 400 year prophecy should be viewed in the context of a Mayan culture the text never mentions. For example, in Mormon’s Codex, Sorenson writes, “An intriguing possibility of a detailed Mesoamerican correspondence with the Book of Mormon arises in connection with the prophecy of Samuel. He had announced that “four hundred years pass not away save the sword of justice falleth upon this people” the Nephites (Helaman 13:5, 9). (Here he nearly echoes Alma in Alma 45:10…) Another cycle in the numeration of some [Mayan] groups was 400 years. The 400-year prophecies by Alma and Samuel would be on a potentially correct calendrical target, even though so far we lack documentation form secular sources that prophecies occurred for a like period.” In my view, this is an illusory correspondence that is much better explained by the passage in Genesis, as are the other references to 400 years (Alma 45:10, Mormon 8:6, and Moroni 10:1).” Moroni’s America page 208

About Hopewell Walls

Reconstructed Hopewell Timber Stockade at Hopewell Mound Group, Ohio, covered with a type of cement.

The website JosephKnew.com said, “This [Hopewell Culture] was a Native American culture that developed and spread throughout the Midwest. It is not associated with any specific tribe, but rather is a way of life that was common throughout the heartland of North America, Indiana, Minnesota, Nebraska, Mississippi, and the Ohio Valley. The main concentration was found in these areas, but evidence of them can be found in other areas as well.

They built their cities mainly near waterways such as rivers and lakes that could support their trade system. They created large enclosures of earthen walls 2 -3 meters high. These walls outlined shapes such as squares, circles and octagons. They created entire cities using geometry and astronomy. Their sacred enclosures often occupied spaces of over 100 acres and were laid out in distinctive patterns aligned with the sun, moon and stars.”

Samuel the Lamanite and additional Information including the Indian Removal Act

The Book of Mormon, which contained Lehi’s prophecies, was published in March, 1830. The infamous “Indian Removal Act” was passed by Congress on May 28, 1830.

In speaking to the Lamanites and others who are disobedient, the Book of Mormon said, “and he will take away from them the lands of their possessions, and he will cause them to be scattered and smitten.” 2 Nephi 1:10-11

At the beginning of the 1830s, nearly 125,000 Native Americans lived on millions of acres of land in Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, North Carolina and Florida–land their ancestors had occupied and cultivated for generations. By the end of the decade, very few natives remained anywhere in the southeastern United States. Working on behalf of white settlers who wanted to grow cotton on the Indians’ land, the federal government forced them to leave their homelands and walk thousands of miles to a specially designated “Indian territory” across the Mississippi River. This difficult and sometimes deadly journey is known as the “Trail of Tears.”

“Samuel [The Lamanite] here gives important keys to identifying the Lamanites in the latter days. We should be looking for a people who were “driven to and fro upon the face of the earth.” They will have been “hunted, and smitten and scattered abroad, having no place for refuge.” This is an accurate description of the fate of the American Indians, as is well known in history. The Lord sent Oliver Cowdery, Parley P. Pratt and others to the Lamanites—Indian tribes—in New York, Ohio, Missouri and Kansas.

Although Indians had been “to and fro” ever since the Europeans arrived, the Indian Removal Act—enacted in 1830 after the Book of Mormon was translated—gave President Andrew Jackson authority to negotiate removal treaties with Indian tribes who lived east of the Mississippi. Before becoming President, Jackson had waged war against the Indians, including the Creek nation that lost 22 million acres of land in Georgia and Alabama. By 1837, most of the southeastern tribes had been removed from their homeland, “smitten and scattered abroad,” with no place for a refuge other than government-operated reservations that were, in many cases, difficult places to live and without resources. The legacy of this treatment continues today, with many Indian nations suffering from high levels of poverty, substance abuse, and poor health.”  By contrast, Mayan peoples in Central America generally occupy their ancestral homes.” Jonathan Neville, Moroni’s America

Map by Worksofjoseph.com

Other Rock and Earth Walls in North America

“Scattered throughout the woods and fields of New England lie the remains of an ancient civilization. These remnants are enigmatic stone structures that predate European settlement. Standing stone circles, hundreds of impressive and elaborate stone chambers, massive balanced stones, over one million stone cairns, stone animal effigies, solstice and equinox markers and many other unexplained structures litter the landscape. Historical texts, colonial reports, carbon dating, astro-archeological research and Native American oral traditions all support this contention. Written by Jim Vieira a stone mason, researcher, freelance writer and member of the Northeast Antiquities Research Association… The Adena, Hopewell and Mississippian mound building cultures built earthen mounds, pyramids and geometric enclosures that showed an extremely high degree of engineering and mathematical skill. Shell and midden mounds were built from Florida to Maine. Mystery stone walls and forts were built throughout the midwestern states…

America’s Stonehenge in Salem, New Hampshire is probably the most elaborate and controversial site in New England. It has been described by Dr. Edward J. Kealy, professor of History at Holy Cross University as “potentially the most important stone complex in the Northern Hemisphere”. Featured on the History Channel and other programs, this 30 acre complex is a mixture of stone chambers, stone solstice and equinox markers, cairns, chimneys, fireplaces and stone drains. The two largest stones here weigh 45 and 70 tons. The site has been carbon dated to at least 2000 B.C. by scientists at Geochron Labs of Cambridge, Mass after dating 13 different test pits. That dates it’s construction half a millenia before the final construction phase of Stonehenge, and like Stonehenge it possesses many precise astronomical alignments. Stone markers throughout the site provide over 200 alignments with the sun, moon and 45 different stars which have been verified by independent researchers. One alignment wall allows a person to observe the southern most standstill of the moon on its 18.61 year metonic cycle. A period of 18.61 is required to carry the moon to all of its possible positions in respect to the sun. This event is marked at Mystery Hill as the moon passes above the winter solstice stone and then aligns with the terminal of this wall…

Thomas Jefferson, Yale President Ezra Stiles, Cotton Mather, Roger Williams and countless others described the different structures they saw and theorized about who the builders might be. There is certainly a mystery here and the closer you look, the stranger it gets.”

Jim Vieira I am a stone mason, researcher, freelance writer and member of the Northeast Antiquities Research Association. I can be reached at [email protected]. https://barbaradelong.com/special-projects/secrets-of-the-stones/search-for-the-mysterious-stone-builders-of-new-england-2/

Imitation is Flattering
Creation, Government-1776, Priesthood, Publications-1830, Temples, Societies, Covenants

Revelation 12:12 Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.

It has been said that imitation is the greatest form of flattery. I had a motivational speaking teacher many years ago who I loved. He said all the right things and could light up an audience. I learned to speak like him, cadence like him and even do my hand gestures as he did. I even began sounding like him. Clients I had spoken with would even comment and say, “wow you sound just like so and so”. It was a compliment to me because I thought so highly of this teacher. I have always loved baseball and the man I emulated was Willie Mays of the San Francisco Giants. I purchased a glove like his with his signature engraved in it, I bought the same size bat as his with of course the name Willie Mays emblazoned on it. I even ran and threw and slid the same way as Willie. I of course didn’t make the kind of money Willie made, but my parents were amazed as they watched me, they would say. “wow just like Willie”. Willie did have a habit of catching a fly ball in what is called a basket catch which drove my father crazy. When the ball came my way in the air I would get under the ball and instead of holding my glove above my head and looking for the fly ball with two hands in the air as you should, Willie and I would put both hands down by our waist and catch it almost like a show off would. The problem was Willie was great at it and I was just trying to show off. My dad rid me of that habit quickly so I was taught the proper fundamentals of baseball which I really appreciated from my father.

Do evil people imitate spiritual people? Will a good person at times imitate a bad or wrong behavior on purpose? Of course all the time. I want to share with you today that the Lord and Savior of the even Jesus Christ is constantly imitated by the casual or great Christian as well as a good person and an evil one. Why would anyone imitate the Savior? That’s an easy question isn’t it? Who wouldn’t want to imitate perfection? That’s why we are counseled to be like the Savior in all we do and say. Many religions have the misconception that the Father and Son are one God, but we know they are literally the Father God and Jesus Christ who is also a God. Both perfect.

But, guess what? Satan imitates and the good he sees God do, he mocks it or changes it, or makes the evil things of Satan look like they are the good things of God. Satan takes the evil and dresses it up to look good and yes it is very deceiving and evil.


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Firm Foundation from Latter-Day Media on Vimeo.

Ephesians 2:1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)

“In the early days of the Church, many were curious about angels, spirits, and resurrected persons. About the time Joseph Smith recorded this revelation, he wrote: “A man came to me in Kirtland, and told me he had seen an angel, and described his dress. I told him he had seen no angel, and that there was no such dress in heaven. He grew mad, and went into the street and commanded fire to come down out of heaven to consume me. I laughed at him, and said, You are one of Baal’s prophets; your God does not hear you; jump up and cut yourself: and he commanded fire from heaven to consume my house.” (History of the Church, 5:267–68.)

Doctrine and Covenants 129 describes the difference between angels who have gone through mortality and have been resurrected and those who are still spirits. It also gives three keys “whereby you may know whether any administration is from God” (v. 9).

The Prophet Joseph Smith may have known these keys long before this revelation was recorded. Earlier, Michael helped the Prophet by detecting Satan, who had appeared to Joseph as an angel of light (see D&C 128:20).” DOCTRINE AND COVENANTS STUDENT MANUAL SECTION 129, KEYS FOR DETERMINING IF ADMINISTRATIONS ARE FROM GOD

What are some instruments or ideas of good that Satan turns into instruments and ideas of evil?

Computer, Television, Smart Phones
Dating a person who only has one or two bad qualities
The Priesthood, Temple Ceremonies
Turns love into wrong sex
Tells us the Book of Mormon is true but you don’t have to read it much
You work many hours in six days so you deserve a seventh day to do what you want. Forget Church
Legal drugs are disguised as drugs you must take
Its ok to sin a little you can repent later, Creation is taught as evolution

Leviticus 19:30 Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am the Lord.
31 ¶ Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God.

Two very influential Books Published in 1830

1- The Book of Mormon (April 1830) translated by the gift and power of God by the Prophet Joseph Smith.

2- Principles of Geology (July 1830) by Charles Lyell. Building on the innovative work of James Hutton and his follower John Playfair, Lyell favored an indefinitely long age for the Earth, despite evidence suggesting an old but finite age. He was a close friend of Charles Darwin, and contributed significantly to Darwin’s thinking on the processes involved in evolution. Some cite geological data to argue against the Flood. The issue for them, perhaps, revolves around the concept of uniformitarianism, which has been described simply in this way: “The present is the key to the past.”

Later in Nov of 1859 Charles Darwin’s Origin of the Species came out as well. So along with The Principles of Geology two of the most opposing books to true science were published.

Blog Here for more detail: Two 1830 Books that Changed the World

Prophets of God

Adam is Michael the Archangel First Born in the Flesh

Moses 5:10 And in that day Adam blessed God and was filled, and began to prophesy concerning all the families of the earth, saying: Blessed be the name of God, for because of my transgression my eyes are opened, and in this life I shall have joy, and again in the flesh I shall see God.

Solomon’s and the Lord’s Temple

The conventional dates of Solomon’s reign are about 970 to 931 BCE, normally given in alignment with the dates of David’s reign. He is described as king of the United Monarchy, which broke apart into the northern Kingdom of Israel and the southern Kingdom of Judah shortly after his death. Following the split, his patrilineal descendants ruled over Judah alone.

The Hebrew Bible identifies Solomon as the builder of the First Temple in Jerusalem, beginning in the fourth year of his reign, about 970 BC using the vast wealth he and his father had accumulated. He dedicated the temple to Yahweh, the God of Israel. He is portrayed as great in wisdom, wealth and power beyond either of the previous kings of the country, but also as a king who sinned. His sins included idolatry, marrying foreign women and, ultimately, turning away from Yahweh, and that led to the kingdom’s being torn in two during the reign of his son Rehoboam.

Moses:

Moses also known as Moshe Rabbenu (Hebrew) is the most important prophet in Judaism, and an important prophet in Islam, Christianity, the Baháʼí Faith, and a number of other Abrahamic religions. In the biblical and Qur’anic narrative he was the leader of the Israelites and lawgiver, to whom the authorship of the first five books of the bible, the Torah, or “acquisition of the Torah from heaven,” is attributed.

Rabbinical Judaism calculated a lifespan of Moses corresponding to 1391–1271 BCE; Jerome suggested 1592 BCE, and James Ussher suggested 1571 BCE as his birth year. Scholarly consensus sees Moses as a legendary figure, while retaining the possibility that a Moses-like figure existed.

According to the Book of Exodus, Moses was born in a time when his people, the Israelites, an enslaved minority, were increasing in population and, as a result, the Egyptian Pharaoh worried that they might ally themselves with Egypt’s enemies. Moses’ Hebrew mother, Jochebed, secretly hid him when the Pharaoh ordered all newborn Hebrew boys to be killed in order to reduce the population of the Israelites. Through the Pharaoh’s daughter (identified as Queen Bithia in the Midrash), the child was adopted as a foundling from the Nile river and grew up with the Egyptian royal family. After killing an Egyptian slave-master who was beating a Hebrew, Moses fled across the Red Sea to Midian, where he encountered the Angel of the Lord, speaking to him from within a burning bush on Mount Horeb, which he regarded as the Mountain of God.

Exodus 7:10 And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and they did so as the Lord had commanded: and Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh, and before his servants, and it became a serpent.
11 Then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers: now the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments.
12 For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents: but Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods.

Satan’s Evil Servants

Cain is Master Mahan

Moses 5:29 And Satan said unto Cain: Swear unto me by thy throat, and if thou tell it thou shalt die; and swear thy brethren by their heads, and by the living God, that they tell it not; for if they tell it, they shall surely die; and this that thy father may not know it; and this day I will deliver thy brother Abel into thine hands.
30 And Satan sware unto Cain that he would do according to his commands. And all these things were done in secret.
31 And Cain said: Truly I am Mahan, the master of this great secret, that I may murder and get gain. Wherefore Cain was called Master Mahan, and he gloried in his wickedness.
32 And Cain went into the field, and Cain talked with Abel, his brother. And it came to pass that while they were in the field, Cain rose up against Abel, his brother, and slew him.

Satan’s Evil Secret Societies

Khazars: For some three centuries (c. 650 – 965) the Khazars dominated the vast area extending from the Volga-Don steppes to the eastern Crimea and the northern Caucasus.

See my Blog about the Khazarian Mafia which is the Illuminati and Deep State today.

Proposals of Khazar origins have been made regarding the Hungarians, the Kazakhs, the Cossacks of the Don region and of Ukraine, Bukharan Jews, the Muslim Kumyks, the Turkic-speaking Krymchaks and their Crimean neighbors the Crimean Karaites, the Moldavian Csángós, the Mountain Jews, even some Subbotniks on the basis of their Ukrainian and Cossack origin and others. The late 19th century saw the emergence of the theory that the core of today’s Ashkenazi Jews are descended from a hypothetical Khazarian Jewish diaspora which migrated westward from modern-day Russia and Ukraine into modern-day France and Germany. Linguistic and genetic studies have not supported the theory of a Khazar connection to Ashkenazi Jewry. The theory still finds occasional support, but most scholars view it with considerable skepticism. The theory is sometimes associated with anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism.

It has been estimated that from 25 to 28 distinct ethnic groups made up the population of the Khazar Qağanate, aside from the ethnic elite. The ruling elite seems to have been constituted out of nine tribes/clans, themselves ethnically heterogeneous, spread over perhaps nine provinces or principalities, each of which would have been allocated to a clan. Direct sources for the Khazar religion are not many, but in all likelihood they originally engaged in a traditional Turkic form of religious practices known as Tengrism, which focused on the sky god Tengri. Something of its nature may be deduced from what we know of the rites and beliefs of contiguous tribes, such as the North Caucasian Huns.

The conversion of Khazars to Judaism is reported by external sources and in the Khazar Correspondence, although doubts persist. Hebrew documents, whose authenticity was long doubted and challenged,[note 56] are now widely accepted by specialists as either authentic or as reflecting internal Khazar traditions. Archaeological evidence for conversion, on the other hand, remains elusive, and may reflect either the incompleteness of excavations, or that the stratum of actual adherents was thin. Conversion of steppe or peripheral tribes to a universal religion is a fairly well attested phenomenon, and the Khazar conversion to Judaism, although unusual, would not have been unique. Other scholars have concluded that the conversion of the Khazar elite to Judaism never happened.

Acts 19:11 And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul:
12 So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them.
13 ¶ Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth.

Knight’s Templar: The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon (Latin: Pauperes commilitones Christi Templique Salomonici), also known as the Order of Solomon’s Temple, the Knights Templar or simply the Templars, were a Catholic military order founded in 1119, headquartered on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem through 1128 when they went to meet with Pope Honorius II. They were recognized in 1139 by the papal bull Omne datum optimum. The order was active until 1312 when it was perpetually suppressed by Pope Clement V by the bull Vox in excelso. The Templars became a favored charity throughout Christendom, and grew rapidly in membership and power. They were prominent in Christian finance.

Freemasonry or Masonry consists of fraternal organizations that trace their origins to the local fraternities of stonemasons that from the end of the 14th century regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities and clients. The degrees of Freemasonry retain the three grades of medieval craft guilds, those of Apprentice, Journeyman or fellow (now called Fellowcraft), and Master Mason. The candidate of these three degrees is progressively taught the meanings of the symbols of Freemasonry and entrusted with grips, signs and words to signify to other members that he has been so initiated. The degrees are part allegorical morality play and part lecture. Three degrees are offered by Craft (or Blue Lodge) The first Grand Lodge, the Grand Lodge of London and Westminster, later called the Grand Lodge of England (GLE), was founded on St John’s Day, 24 June 1717

Jesuits:  In 1534 the Society of Jesus, a Roman Catholic order of priests and brothers founded half a millennium ago by the soldier-turned-mystic Ignatius Loyola. As members of a religious order, Jesuits take three vows — of poverty, chastity and obedience

2 Thessalonians 2:11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:

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Stand fast in gospel liberty—
Seek faith, Love, Christ, and the Spirit—
The works of the flesh and the fruits of the Spirit are named.

GALATIANS CHAPTER 5
1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
2 Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.
3 For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.
4 Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.
5 For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.
6 For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.
7 Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth?
8 This persuasion cometh not of him that calleth you.
9 A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.
10 I have confidence in you through the Lord, that ye will be none otherwise minded: but he that troubleth you shall bear his judgment, whosoever he be.
11 And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution? then is the offence of the cross ceased.
12 I would they were even cut off which trouble you.
13 For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.
14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
15 But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.
16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.
19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
24 And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
26 Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.

The Illuminati began in May of 1776 in Ingolstadt (Upper Bavaria), by Jesuit-taught Adam Weishaupt.

The New World Order and the Illuminati

One of the biggest conspiracy theories would have to be the New World Order/Illuminati. The New World Order (NWO) is the term used to describe a new Orwellian world where individual freedoms would be non-existent and everything would be controlled from a central hub. The NWO will be brought about by the elites, who can also be termed the deep state, Illuminati, the .01% or the hidden hand. It proposes a one world government, with one set of rules for all peoples. The idea is that all disasters are constructed by these elites, such as wars, recessions and diseases. The solution to these problems is much worse than the engineered problems – vaccines, removal of guns and liberties, increased surveillance, increased impoverishment, high taxes and a general lessening of the standard of living for all people bar the .01%. Devaluation of the currency is a key tactic used by the elites in order to gain power over all citizens, as it worsens living standards and increases the wealth of the rich, in the guise of helping the poor and solving an invented problem. Another tactic is the promotion of unity as a method of solving imagined problems. An integrated Europe is an example of how the New World Order could be established, and this is why many see the exit of Britain from Europe is seen as a blow to the New World Order/Forces of Globalism. The hallmark of the New World Order would be centralization, surveillance, regulation, high taxes, social repression and little or no civil liberties. The term New World Order is mentioned in many newspapers and speeches by politicians and other people of influence, and this is cited as evidence by theorists that such a plan exists. Conspiracy documentaries such as Zeitgeist also encourage the idea of a New World Order which is currently being established. Other evidence that a new world order is being created by the powers that rule the world is the use of illuminati symbolism seen in media and popular culture, mainly the inverted pentagram. However, there is little evidence of the Illuminati beyond their organization in 1776 by Adam Weischauft and its subsequent disassembly a year later.” (Lie, in my opinion, the Illuminati is stronger now that it ever has been and Trump is bringing it down).

https://www.conspiracies.net/top-10-conspiracy-theories-all-time/

The Illuminati structure also creates artificial countries to further their goals. Examples of these are the United States, Switzerland, Kuwait, the Soviet Union, Panama, Israel, Italy, Yugoslavia, the United Kingdom, most of Black Africa, all of the Arab countries, and all of Central and South America. These nations were created to amass wealth for the ruling families and their supporters, to hide or keep their wealth, and to create unstable conditions necessary to start wars or increase military budgets.

Switzerland was created as a neutral banking centre so that Illuminati families would have a safe place to keep their funds without fear of destruction from wars and prying eyes.

The United States was established with 13 colonies, one for each of the Illuminati families. The original flag had 13 stars, and still has 13 stripes. The eagle, the symbol of the United States, holds 13 arrows in its talons. The United States is actually a corporate asset of the Virginia Company that was established in 1604 in England with direct involvement of the Rothschilds. The finances of the Rothschilds were necessary to fund the exploration and exploitation of the North American continent.

The assets of the Virginia Company, including the United States, are owned by the Holy Roman Empire via the Vatican. This occurred in 1213 when King James gave all English assets to the Reptilian Pope. Executorship remains with the British royal family, but actual ownership lies with the Roman Catholic Church.

The United States of America is not named after Amerigo Vespucci, as you learned in school. The Illuminati would never name a continent, actually two continents, after an Italian mapmaker. The name is actually a combination of words.

• “Am” is the Hebrew word for “people”
• “Ame” is also the command form of the Spanish/Latin verb “to love”
• “Eri” or “ari” is a Hebrew term for “lion”
• “Rica” is the feminine form of the Spanish word for “rich”
• “Ka” is the ancient Egyptian word for soul, or spirit force within a body

There are two layers of meanings. The Ancient Hebrew/Egyptian translates to say,

“The people of the lion with spirit force”

Hence, the pyramid and all-seeing eye on the one-dollar bill. The Latinized version translates to say, “love riches”, in a feminized/physical reality way. This gives an idea of what they had in mind.

Take this a step further, and one sees the mixture of the feminine Latin/eagle ideas with the masculine Hebrew/lion ideas. The symbolic statement of America is that it is a combination of Lemuria and Atlantis; a blend of the human/Lyrae with Reptilian/Draco. Perhaps the anagram LSD, an Illuminati created drug, has a hidden meaning as well: Lyrae-Sirius-Draco!

Lemuria Description
Lemuria was an ancient civilization which existed prior to and during the time of Atlantis. Physically, it is believed that Lemuria existed largely in the Southern Pacific, between North America and Asia/Australia. Lemuria is also sometimes referred to as Mu, or the Motherland (of Mu). At its peak of civilization, the Lemurian people were both highly evolved and very spiritual. While concrete physical evidence of this ancient continent may be difficult to find, many people “know” that they have a strong connection to Lemuria.

The combination of these three civilizations would produce the most powerful, technological Empire ever known!

In 1776, the creation of the United States as an independent nation coincided with the declaration into public existence of the official Illuminati organization by member Adam Weishaupt, in Bavaria. Publicly, Mr. Weishaupt appeared to be determined to create an organization comprised of the European elite that would uplift mankind.

Of course, this was part of an Illuminati global ceremony. The creation for the United States and the Illuminati global ceremony. The creation of the United States and the Illuminati organization were artificial beginnings for public consumption. The United States was the device to be used to bring the Illuminati into public acceptance. Current Illuminati members believe that Adam Weishaupt was a look-alike for George Washington, and it is actually Weishaupts image that appears on the one-dollar bill.

10 Illuminati Symbols On The One Dollar Bill

Remember the love of money is the root of all evil and you can do about anything in this life with money. It makes sense that these evil treasury notes from the Illumminati would try and control our life.

Adam Weishaupt 1776

Johann Adam Weishaupt 6 February 1748 – 18 November 1830) was a German philosopher, professor of civil law and later canon law, and founder of the Illuminati, a secret society.

After Pope Clement XIV’s suppression of the Society of Jesus in 1773, Weishaupt became a professor of canon law,[13] a position that was held exclusively by the Jesuits until that time. In 1775 Weishaupt was introduced[14] to the empirical philosophy of Johann Georg Heinrich Feder[15] of the University of Göttingen. Both Feder and Weishaupt would later become opponents of Kantian idealism.[16]

Foundation of the Illuminati
At a time, however, when there was no end of making game of and abusing secret societies, I planned to make use of this human foible for a real and worthy goal, for the benefit of people. I wished to do what the heads of the ecclesiastical and secular authorities ought to have done by virtue of their offices …[17]

On 1 May 1776 Johann Adam Weishaupt founded the “Illuminati” in the Electorate of Bavaria. He adopted the name of “Brother Spartacus” within the order. Even encyclopedia references vary on the goal of the order, such as New Advent saying the Order was not egalitarian or democratic internally, but sought to promote the doctrines of equality and freedom throughout society; while others such as Collier’s have said the aim was to combat religion and foster rationalism in its place.

The actual character of the society was an elaborate network of spies and counter-spies. Each isolated cell of initiates reported to a superior, whom they did not know: a party structure that was effectively adopted by some later groups.[

Weishaupt was initiated into the Masonic lodge “Theodor zum guten Rath”, at Munich in 1777. His project of “illumination, enlightening the understanding by the sun of reason, which will dispel the clouds of superstition and of prejudice” was an unwelcome reform.[18] He used Freemasonry to recruit for his own quasi-masonic society, with the goal of “perfecting human nature” through re-education to achieve a communal state with nature, freed of government and organized religion. Presenting their own system as pure masonry, Weishaupt and Adolph Freiherr Knigge, who organised his ritual structure, greatly expanded the secret organisation.[18]

Contrary to Immanuel Kant’s famous dictum that Enlightenment (and Weishaupt’s Order was in some respects an expression of the Enlightenment Movement) was the passage by man out of his ‘self-imposed immaturity’ through daring to ‘make use of his own reason, without the guidance of another,’ Weishaupt’s Order of Illuminati prescribed in great detail everything which the members had obediently to read and think, so that Dr. Wolfgang Riedel has commented that this approach to illumination or enlightenment constituted a degradation and twisting of the Kantian principle of Enlightenment.[20] Riedel writes:

‘The independence of thought and judgement required by Kant … was specifically prevented by the Order of the Illuminati’s rules and regulations. Enlightenment takes place here, if it takes place at all, precisely under the direction of another, namely under that of the “Superiors” [of the Order].[21]

Weishaupt’s radical rationalism and vocabulary were not likely to succeed. Writings that were intercepted in 1784 were interpreted as seditious, and the Society was banned by the government of Karl Theodor, Elector of Bavaria, in 1784. Weishaupt lost his position at the University of Ingolstadt and fled Bavaria.[18]

Activities in exile
He received the assistance of Duke Ernest II of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (1745–1804), and lived in Gotha writing a series of works on illuminism, including A Complete History of the Persecutions of the Illuminati in Bavaria (1785), A Picture of Illuminism (1786), An Apology for the Illuminati (1786), and An Improved System of Illuminism (1787). Adam Weishaupt died in Gotha on 18 November 1830.[1][2][3][4] He was survived by his second wife, Anna Maria (née Sausenhofer), and his children Nanette, Charlotte, Ernst, Karl, Eduard, and Alfred.[2] Weishaupt was buried next to his son Wilhelm who preceded him in death in 1802.

After Weishaupt’s Order of Illuminati was banned and its members dispersed, it left behind no enduring traces of an influence, not even on its own erstwhile members, who went on in the future to develop in quite different directions.[

Assessment of character and intentions
Weishaupt’s character and intentions have been variously assessed. Some took a negative view, such as Augustin Barruel, who despite writing that Weishaupt’s goals were that “Equality and Liberty, together with the most absolute independence, are to be the substitutes for all rights and all property” saw this as more dangerous than beneficial,[23] and John Robison who regarded him as a ‘human devil’ and saw his mission as one of malevolent destructiveness. Others took a more positive view, including Thomas Jefferson, who wrote in a letter to James Madison that “Barruel’s own parts of the book are perfectly the ravings of a Bedlamite” and considered Weishaupt as an “enthusiastic Philanthropist” who believed in the indefinite perfectibility of man and his intention was simply to “reinstate natural religion, and by diffusing the light of his morality, to teach us to govern ourselves”.[24]

In his defense, Weishaupt wrote a Kurze Rechtfertigung meiner Absichten[25] in 1787 (A Brief Justification of my Intentions). A translation was done by Dr. Tony Page in which he wrote:

“Weishaupt’s plan was to educate Illuminati followers in the highest levels of humanity and morality (basing his teachings on the supremacy of Reason, allied with the spirit of the Golden Rule of not doing to others what one would not wish done to oneself), so that if Illuminati alumni subsequently attained positions of significance and power (such as in the fields of education and politics), they could exert a benevolent and uplifting influence upon society at large. His project was utopian and naively optimistic, and he himself was certainly not without flaws of character – but neither he nor his plan was evil or violent in and of themselves. It is one of the deplorable and tragic ironies of history that a man who tried to inculcate virtue, philanthropy, social justice and morality has become one of the great hate-figures of 21st-century ‘conspiracy’ thinking.”[26]

Greater Feast

“The feast for life is at a birth; and the feast for death at a death. 

A Greater Feast is mentioned in the Book of the Law, Chapter II, 41 as one of the “feasts of the times”¹⁾.

“A feast for fire and a feast for water; a feast for life and a greater feast for death!”—Liber AL vel Legis, Book of the Law, Chapter II, 41

Events

• Greater Feast of Adam Weishaupt, died November 18, 1830 at Gotha, Germany

Saint of Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica

Adam Weishaupt appears in only the Magick in Theory and Practice version of Liber XV published during Aleister Crowley’s lifetime. Adam Weishaupt is not on the short list, and is therefore a name celebrated only at performances when the full Saints Collect is read.

The Hermetica are the philosophical texts attributed to the legendary Hellenistic figure Hermes Trismegistus (a syncretic combination of the Greek god Hermes and the Egyptian god Thoth).

Comments

Freemason; tried to turn Freemasonry towards political ends in Bavaria; Philanthropist; believed in the perfectibility of Man; While Freemasons supported the successful American and somewhat successful French Revolutions, Weishaupt’s dream of bringing Humanism to Germany and the surrounding Kingdoms failed, and he was disgraced

Masks and Vaccines are a Cult

Read my blog here about other Cults and Child Trafficking Clubs
45 Minute Video below about the Secret Society Bohemian Grove.

Bohemian Grove

Bohemian Grove is a restricted 2,700-acre (1,100 ha) campground at 20601 Bohemian Avenue, in Monte Rio, California, United States, belonging to a private San Francisco–based gentlemen’s club known as the Bohemian Club. In mid-July each year, Bohemian Grove hosts a more than two-week encampment of some of the most prominent men in the world.^[1][2]The Grove is particularly famous for a Manhattan Project planning meeting that took place there in September 1942, which subsequently led to the atomic bomb.

Other behavior at the campground has led to numerous claims and even some parody in popular culture. One example was former president Richard Nixon‘s comments from a May 13, 1971 recording that: “The Bohemian Grove, which I attend from time to time—it is the most faggy goddamned thing you could ever imagine.

The names you’ll recognize: Former U.S. Presidents William Howard Taft, Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover, Dwight Eisenhower, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George Bush Sr. and Jr. Most of our present Bush administration’s top officials, such as Colin Powell, are also members of this exclusive men’s club. California Governor Pete Wilson, the mayors of Los Angeles, San Francisco and other major cities; astronauts Wally Schirra and Frank Borman; former FBI and CIA directors; former Secretaries of State George Schultz and Henry Kissinger; international bankers; heads of big oil companies (ARCO, Mobil, Pennzoil, Texaco), and corporate CEO’s frolic in the redwoods with some of the most famous creative people in history: Mark Twain, Ambrose Bierce, Bret Harte, Jack London, Will Rogers, Douglas Fairbanks, Charlie Chaplin and Art Linkletter all “let their hair down” here.

Even Great Britain’s Queen Elizabeth showed up in 1983. Her Majesty was honored with an ecstatic pagan dance ceremony, complete with expensive, elaborate stage props such as Egyptian pyramids and Babylonian ziggurats. Yet, even the Queen of England could not join this club if she applied for membership. Why? Because this club is exclusively all male. Women have not ever been allowed since the club’s founding in 1873.

So what is this ultra-elite club with the bizarre Druid customs? They are the Bohemians, formally known as the Bohemian Club. They practically own their own county north of San Francisco, a 2,700-acre summer camp they call the Bohemian Grove. Since the 1890s, the “Grovers” (as they are known to intimates) have gathered amongst these redwood trees to “get away from it all,” have a little summer vacation fun, and avoid business dealings altogether for two weeks. At least, that’s the official story.

Then, there are the other stories…some of them too strange to believe. Tales of world leaders plotting the world’s destiny there in secret “war rooms,” hand-picking Presidents and future leaders from the Bohemian Grove. Reports of occult rituals being conducted by these same powerful men, clad only in hooded red, black and white robes, offering an effigy of a human being to be sacrificed by fire to a towering 45-foot stone owl God, the “Great Owl of Bohemia” in a ceremony called “The Cremation of Care.” Sometimes, they discard the robes, don women’s clothing and parade around onstage in theatrical productions or – if the spirit so moves them – they wear no clothes at all!

Things get even stranger still. Stories have come out of the Grove about wild homosexual orgies, male and female prostitutes being engaged in what can only be described as extreme sexual games, young children being exploited in unspeakable ways, up to and including cold-blooded ritual murder. There are stories involving actual human sacrifice on the “altar” of the owl God statue. Understandably, it’s all very hard to believe.

But is any of it true? Does the Bohemian Grove emulate the ancient mystery cults of Babylon, Rome, and Greece? Do its members celebrate the old Gods such as Molech, Ishtar, Lilith, Attis, Mithra, Apollo, Zoroaster, and others? Or is it a western secret society like the freemasons and Yale’s exclusive Skull and Bones? Are they just having “good clean fun” at the Grove? Or are they covertly plotting to take over the world? Why do our world leaders meet here to share a fascination with the arts and all things Bohemian? Why the obsession with the occult and ancient Babylon? This book proposes to answer many of the most frequently asked questions about Bohemian Grove, investigate the rumors, fully document what is known to be true, and hopefully destroy a few misconceptions…

Time to WAKE UP!
No More Evil Treasury Notes Soon

“If you don’t have a clue about what Gesara is all about, you’d better do your homework. Our great country will be going off the Fiat Currency system that is not backed by gold. We will become a Sovereign People again like before 1871 and not just chattel in a bankrupt corporation.” Call me if you don’t understand. Rian Nelson

GESARA Articles

Dan Scavino tweets

Dan Scavino tweets and tweets from our Great Military. So many coincidences that it is just not mathematically possible. When we think of Biblical we think of an event of massive historic proportions. More than one meaning. We are at the precipice Patriots. Buckle up and prepare!

Unstoppable Trump statement:
Wouldn’t it be fantastic if the legendary Herschel Walker ran for the United States Senate in Georgia? He would be unstoppable, just like he was when he played for the Georgia Bulldogs, and in the NFL. He is also a GREAT person. Run Herschel, run! just redirects to Q post 34:

My fellow Americans, over the course of the next several days you will undoubtedly realize that we are taking back our great country (the land of the free) from the evil tyrants that wish to do us harm and destroy the last remaining refuge of shining light. On POTUS order, we have initiated certain fail-safes that shall safeguard the public from the primary fallout which is slated to occur 11.3 upon the arrest announcement of Mr. Podesta (actionable 11.4). Confirmation (to the public) of what is occurring will then be revealed and will not be openly accepted. Public riots are being organized in serious numbers in an effort to prevent the arrest and capture of more senior public officials. On POTUS order, a state of temporary military control will be actioned and special ops carried out. False leaks have been made to retain several within the confines of the United States to prevent extradition and special operator necessity. Rest assured, the safety and well-being of every man, woman, and child of this country is being exhausted in full. However, the atmosphere within the country will, unfortunately, be divided as so many have fallen for the corrupt and evil narrative that has long been broadcast. We will be initiating the Emergency Broadcast System (EMS) during this time in an effort to provide a direct message (avoiding the fake news) to all citizens. Organizations and/or people that wish to do us harm during this time will be met with swift fury – certain laws have been pre-lifted to provide our great military the necessary authority to handle and conduct these operations (at home and abroad).
Sources: maybe60794885, PatriotCharlie1

Birth certificates and Sight Drafts myth

When the United States went off the gold standard in 1933, the federal government somehow went bankrupt.
With the help of the Federal Reserve Bank, the government converted the bodies of its citizens into capital value, supposedly by trading the birth certificates of U.S. citizens on the open market.

After following a complicated process of filing UCC documents with either the Secretary of State of the persons residence or another state that will accept the filings, each citizen is entitled to redeem his or her “value” by filling out a sight draft drawn on their (nonexistent) TreasuryDirect account.

The scheme asserts that each citizens Social Security Number is also his or her account number.
As a part of the scheme, participants also file false IRS Forms 8300 and Currency Transaction Reports in the name of law enforcement officials and other individuals they seek to harass.
Drawing such drafts on the U.S. Treasury is fraudulent and a violation of federal law. The theory behind their use is bogus and incomprehensible. The Justice Department is vigorously prosecuting these crimes. Federal criminal convictions have occurred in several cases.
Sources: www.treasurydirect.gov

NESARA to CPAC 2021

Trump speech decoded:
1.They just lost the White House;
2.Beat them for a 3rd time;
3.He never said 2024, he said 3rd time;
4.Dec 21st Bidan got shot. Bidan vs. Biden urban dictionary it;
5.No yellow fringe on flags. Unlike DC, yellow fringe on flag = USA Inc.;
6.Golden eagle on top of the flagpole.
7.Trump already is the 19th President under military control.

The adornments (FINIAL) on the top of the flag poles are for military use only. The gold eagle is for the use of the President of the United States only, and only in times of war. The gold spear ball is for military recruiting.
Trump Refers To Biden As Chief Executive (Not President) and States Biden Not Allowed In The White House
Sources: rumble.com

QFS The Quantum Financial System

Could the Quantum Financial System have been activated?
Quantum computers can make parallel computations and calculate so much faster than their classical counterpoints that this problem is child play for them.
They can figure out in seconds or minutes what most classical computers could never do.
Could the Quantum Financial System have been activated?
The concept is simple, but the system has become increasingly complicated over time.
As quantum finance gets better at predicting different outcomes given different variables, algorithms can make better trades given individual investors preferences.
Quantum finance can tell people with stock options when the best time to exercise them is. It can assess risk by better calculating probabilities, making arbitrage more profitable.
Little is it known that this new system has been designed in preparation for the takeover of the Central Bank Monetary Debt System to end the financial slavery and control over the populace.
The QFS is expected to operate on Quantum Benevolent Intelligence with interaction on any financial transaction anywhere in the financial world. As a guarantee that every transaction; is legal and transparent for every account holder.
Truth is, the QFS has been running in parallel with the Central Banking System for some time and has countered many hacking attempts by the Cabal to steal funds. In the process, many banksters have been caught red-handed and arrested.
Sources: thebossmagazine.com, standupamericaus.org

Your taxes, debts, investments

This article is intended to reply to the messages from our readers, such as:
When was THE UNITED STATES CORPORATION dissolved?
Does the IRS still exist?
Are we still required to pay 2020 income taxes?
What legal actions are necessary to stop paying income tax?
What will happen to our money invested? etc…
First, please consider reading our terms of service.
To understand what is really happening, we recommend you to read carefully the following posts:
Understand the nature of the battle we are in
What is NESARA GESARA
The history of NESARA
NESARA law implementation stage by Trump

Trump vows Greatness in the months ahead

Former President Donald Trump sent out an email blast after the Senate acquitted him on a 57-43 vote.
At one point in his statement, Trump says “Our historic, patriotic and beautiful movement to Make America Great Again has only just begun. In the months ahead I have much to share with you, and I look forward to continuing our incredible journey together to achieve American greatness for all of our people. There has never been anything like it!”
Full text below:
I want to first thank my team of dedicated lawyers and others for their tireless work upholding justice and defending truth.
My deepest thanks as well to all of the United States Senators and Members of Congress who stood proudly for the Constitution we all revere and for the sacred legal principles at the heart of our country.
Our cherished Constitutional Republic was founded on the impartial rule of law, the indispensable safeguard for our liberties, our rights and our freedoms.
It is a sad commentary on our times that one political party in America is given a free pass to denigrate the rule of law, defame law enforcement, cheer mobs, excuse rioters, and transform justice into a tool of political vengeance, and persecute, blacklist, cancel and suppress all people and viewpoints with whom or which they disagree. I always have, and always will, be a champion for the unwavering rule of law, the heroes of law enforcement, and the right of Americans to peacefully and honorably debate the issues of the day without malice and without hate.
This has been yet another phase of the greatest witch hunt in the history of our Country. No president has ever gone through anything like it, and it continues because our opponents cannot forget the almost 75 million people, the highest number ever for a sitting president, who voted for us just a few short months ago.
I also want to convey my gratitude to the millions of decent, hardworking, law-abiding, God-and-Country loving citizens who have bravely supported these important principles in these very difficult and challenging times.
Our historic, patriotic and beautiful movement to Make America Great Again has only just begun. In the months ahead I have much to share with you, and I look forward to continuing our incredible journey together to achieve American greatness for all of our people. There has never been anything like it!
We have so much work ahead of us, and soon we will emerge with a vision for a bright, radiant, and limitless American future.
Together there is nothing we cannot accomplish.
We remain one People, one family, and one glorious nation under God, and it is our responsibility to preserve this magnificent inheritance for our children and for generations of Americans to come.
May God bless all of you, and may God forever bless the United States of America.

Gold standard the final solution globally

Precious metals have been a safe haven all throughout human history, and that is especially true during highly inflationary times.
If we continue destroying the U.S. dollar at our current pace, toilet paper will eventually be more valuable than U.S. dollars.
Gold Could Offer a Way out of Switzerland Failing Inflationist Experiment.
Switzerland could break with the globally pervasive regulations which suppress the potential of gold to develop fully as a nonstate money. Swiss banks, already expert at servicing gold deposit accounts for their clients, would get permission to establish a clearinghouse in Zurich for settling transactions between themselves in the yellow metal (in, say, kilogram gold bars deliverable in Switzerland), thereby facilitating direct payments in gold by their clients for goods or assets without having to pass through the US dollar.
The World Gold Council announced, on Sunday, that the central banks possession of gold increased.
It is noteworthy that the World Gold Council, which is headquartered in the United Kingdom, has extensive experience and deep knowledge of the factors causing market change and its members consist of the largest and most advanced gold mining companies in the world.
Sources: search4dinar.wordpress.com, mises.org

The history of NESARA

On 9 March 2000 the National Economic Security and Reformation Act was passed in a secret joint session of Congress with the walls of the House Chambers lined with Navy Seals and Delta Force.
On October 10, 2000 at gunpoint and surrounded by Special Forces, President Bill Clinton, signed the NESARA bill into law, knowing full well that the Illuminati were in charge, and that this law was never to be enforced. No one wanted to enforce NESARA because this law required the physical and permanent removal from their government positions of all those who had committed treason, which included the US President, VP, Presidential Cabinet, all members of Congress, various government departmental heads, all fifty governors of the fifty states, judges and others.
At 10 am on September 11, 2001 NESARA was to be implemented. However, computers and data of the beneficiaries of the trillions of dollars in “Prosperity Funds” were destroyed on the second floor of one of the World Trade Center towers in New York City during the 9/11 attack. Bush orchestrated the September 11th attacks and the Iraq War as a distraction from NESARA.
To hide NESARA from public view and, thus, to prevent its enforcement by popular demand, the United States Supreme Court placed a gag order on all public officials, the United States military, law enforcement personnel, bankers, attorneys, judges, the media and anyone else, who knew about NESARA and, who might give information about NESARA to the public.
Gradually news of NESARA began to be leaked to the public. A plan was formed to forever delay the enforcement of NESARA. NESARA was embroiled in fictitious legal procedures and court orders by both the United States Supreme Court and the International Court of Justice. To discredit NESARA and spread misinformation a false website was set up by the SU Government under the direction of CIA/FBI personnel. Claims were made that there was no such law as NESARA, that it had no Congressional file number, no sponsors and was only a thought somewhere under consideration.
The public was told through the government that there never was such a bill, it was never acted upon, nor passed by Congress and that the president had never signed it.
Since October 10, 2000 we as a nation have been under our original Constitution of the Republic of the united States of America, but we have not realized it. We have also been under Common Law, but the courts have continued to destroy us with their military law.
Sources: inteldinarchronicles

Final Word

Follow Truth and the Light of Christ, not a Cult
Revelation 12:12 Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.

Beit Lehi or House of Lehi near Jerusalem

“Beit Lehi is a buried city just a few miles southwest of Jerusalem, and is currently under excavation. It received its name from the Bedouin Arabs who reside in the area. There are some very interesting possible correlations with this site and the home of Lehi in the Book of Mormon.” Read more about the place called Biet Lehi is where Samson killed 1,000 Philistines with the  jawbone of a donkey, and likely it was the same location where Lehi and his family lived. This area is sacred to the Jews, Arabs, and Christians.” By Book of Mormon Evidence 

Origins of the Name “Beit Lehi”

“Almost every town or city is named for something—a person, an event, or a nearby geographical wonder. Beit Lehi is no different. “Beit” in Hebrew means “house or dwelling of,” while “lehi” means “jawbone.” The name “Lehi” seems to have originated in biblical times, apparently referring to the traditional resting place of Samson after he slew one thousand Philistines with the jawbone of an ass. “But God clave an hollow place that was in the jaw, and there came water thereout; and when he had drunk, his spirit came again, and he revived: wherefore he called the name thereof En Hakkore, which is in Lehi unto this day” (Judges 15:19). Thus, Beit Lehi means “dwelling place of Lehi.”

We suggest identifying the site of Beit Lehi with “Beit Tzedek”, or the “House of Righteousness” mentioned by the Jewish historian Josephus Flavius in the 1st century A.D. Josephus recounts how, during the time of the Great Revolt against Rome (66–70 AD), a group of Jewish rebels escaped to a village by this name.” beitlehi.org

LEHI MANY HERITAGES

“The caravans of Egypt and Israel pass each other, guided through the sands by those men of the desert (Arabs) who were the immemorial go-between of the two civilizations. 

Arab: Arab designates a way of life, and was applied by the Jews to their own relatives who remained behind in the wilderness. , Manessah lived furthest out of Jerusalem and had contact with Arabs the most

Israeli: Of Manasseh through Joseph and the 12 tribes of Israel

Egyptian: Language of Lehi consists of learning of Jews and language of Egyptians: Heritage, culture. Ammon was Manassah’s nearest neighbor and is an Egyptian name.

Hebrew: Lehi means Jaw Bone in Hebrew. From Eber, Jewish because they live near and around Jerusalem. Learning of the Jews.” Hugh Nibley.

The Man Lehi has ties with all 4 names below:

Christian: Through Christ, and lived the law of Moses

Arabic Names: Laman, Lemuel

Egyptian Names: Nephi, Sam

Israeli Names: Jacob, Joseph

Biet Lehi Foundation Mission Statement:

“The Beit Lehi Foundation was organized to support the excavation of the Beit Lehi archaeological site, located 22 miles south of Jerusalem,  for the benefit of the general public and to advance the understanding and awareness of the general public of ancient religious history associated with this site through scientific research and education.  Additional objectives include protection and preservation of the archaeological site, education for visitors and to facilitate the opportunity for families and young people to work at the excavation site under the guidance of a qualified archaeologist and his staff.

In 1961 Israeli soldiers unearthed a cave that had inscriptions and drawings including the oldest known Hebrew writing of the word “Jerusalem” dated to approximately 600 B.C. by Dr. Frank Cross Moore, Jr. of Harvard University.

“I am Jehovah thy Lord. I will accept the cities of Judah and I will redeem Jerusalem”

“Absolve us oh merciful God. Absolve us oh Jehovah”

The drawings depicted men who appeared to be fleeing and two ships.

While investigating the cave, Dr. Joseph Ginat of The University of Haifa met a Bedouin who told him about the remains of an ancient oak tree about 1/4 of a mile away where, according to Bedouin legends and tradition, a prophet named Lehi blessed and judged the people of both Ishmael and Judah. The Bedouin told Dr. Ginat that Lehi had lived many years before Muhammad and that Arab people had built a wall of large rocks around the remains of the tree to protect it as a sacred spot, long known by arab inhabitants as “Beit Lehi”, meaning “Home of Lehi.”

Dr. Ginat shared this information with W. Cleon Skousen whom he had met while studying anthropology at University of Utah and teaching at Brigham Young University from 1970 through 1975.

In 1983 Dr. Skousen and Dr. Glenn Kimber worked with Dr. Ginat and Dr. Yoram Tsafrir of Hebrew University to secure permission and funding to excavate the site. The first excavations began in December 1983. By noon of the first day, archaeologists found an ancient village and well-preserved mosaic floor of a Byzantine era chapel. Since that time, “hewn subterranean installations, including columbaria, olive presses, water cisterns, quarries, a stable, and hideaways,” have been discovered along with pottery and other items suggesting that the area had been populated from  600 B.C. until the Mameluke period of 1500 A.D. The discovery has been featured in the book Ancient Churches Revealed, published in 1993 by the Israel Exploration Society.

After 1986 the site was covered to protect it until additional funds could be raised and conditions were right to continue future excavations.

In 1994 Dr. Kimber and about 40 others, including a number of students, joined Dr. Ginat and Dr. Tsafrir to re-open the site. Since 1994, many groups have visited the site and participated in the excavation.

Dr. Tsafrir, has since retired and according to Israeli law, passed responsibility for archaeological exploration to Dr. Oren Gutfeld of Hebrew University who continues to manage the excavation.

Name History

What’s in a name?  Almost every town or city is named for something, a person, an event or a nearby geographical wonder.  Beit Lehi is no different.  Beit comes from the Arabic word meaning house or dwelling.  Lehi means jawbone.  Beit Lehi means the “house” or “dwelling” of the jawbone.  An odd name without the rest of the story.

The story begins around 1160 B.C.  As recorded in the Bible Judges chapters 13-15, Manoah and his wife have no children, but a man of Manoah’s means and stature in the community must have an heir.  He and his wife traveled often to a holy place near their home to make sacrifice and pray for a child.  That prayer is heard and answered when an angel appears to his wife and tells her that she will bare a son by God’s providence; that he should be a goodly child, of great strength; by whom the Israelites will be delivered from the hands of the Philistines.  He was to be a Nazirite, one who takes a vow of dedication to God.  At the time of Samson’s birth, the Israelites had been in bondage to the Philistines for more than 40 years.

Perhaps the strongest man in biblical history, Samson’s impetuous nature  causes havoc among the Philistines.  He ties torches to the tails of 300 foxes and releases them into the fields of the Philistines destroying all their crops.  He kills 30 Philistines when they didn’t play fair in solving a riddle.  The Philistines seek to remedy the situation by sending an army of one thousand men to capture Samson who is hiding in the cave of a rock at Etam.  The army demands that 3,000 men of Judah capture Samson and deliver him into their hands.  With Samson’s consent, the men of Judah bind him with rope and are about to hand him over to the Philistines when he breaks free.  Using the jawbone of an donkey that lays at his feet, Samson slays 1,000 Philistines.

Exhausted and near death from thirst, Samson prays for water.  Miraculously, a spring  bursts forth from the ground to revive the champion.  “And when he drunk, his spirit came again and he revived: wherefore he called the name thereof Enhakkore (meaning fountain of the crier), which is in Lehi unto this day.” (Judges 15:19).  In writing “The Antiquities of the Jews”, the great Jewish historian Josephus (1st century A.D.) confirms the biblical account and notes that the spring remained vibrant in his day.  Samson remained at Lehi for 20 years as a judge of the people of Israel.

More than 3100 years later, Jewish tradition suggests that the spring that gave life to Samson continues to this day near Beit Lehi.” bietlehifoundation.com

The painting above was created to show the plausibility of the First Nephite Temple built near Chattanooga, Tennessee. In several articles below in the year 1935, an ancient Egyptian Temple actually was found on the Clinch River between Chattanooga and Knoxville Tennessee.

The tools of faith shown in this painting above, were likely utilized by Nephi and subsequent Prophets, and delivered to Joseph Smith in our day. The Lord said through Joseph Smith, “Behold, I say unto you, that you must rely upon my word, which if you do with full purpose of heart, you shall have a view of the plates, and also of the breastplate, the sword of Laban, the Urim and Thummim, which were given to the brother of Jared upon the mount, when he talked with the Lord face to face, and the miraculous directors which were given to Lehi while in the wilderness, on the borders of the Red Sea. And it is by your faith that you shall obtain a view of them, even by that faith which was had by the prophets of old.” D&C 17:1-2.

Nephi’s breastplate in this painting represents Nephi’s readiness for the protection of his people and was not necessarily the one that Joseph Smith found at Cumorah. The breastplate at Cumorah was possibly one of those mentioned in Mosiah 8:10, given to Mosiah by Limhi’s explorers. This Jaredite breastplate was handed down to Alma (Mosiah 28:20), and eventually to Moroni to be buried with the other tools of faith at Cumorah. Mosiah (the second) used seer stones or interpreters, to translate the twenty-four Jaredite plates (Mosiah 28:13), as his grandfather Mosiah (the first) interpreted the Jaredite stone record (Omni 1:20). These seer stones are represented in the painting and may have been handed down from Lehi or Nephi. Moses and the Israelites were also blessed with similar tools of faith that physically represented spiritual things. “…The ark of the covenant overlaid roundabout with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant; And over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercy seat; of which we cannot now speak particularly.” Hebrews 9:4-5.

After Nephi and his people were driven into the wilderness and found a place to settle, Nephi continued to instruct and serve his people. “And I did teach my people to build buildings, and to work in all manner of wood, and of iron, and of copper, and of brass, and of steel, and of gold, and of silver, and of precious ores, which were in great abundance. And I, Nephi, did build a temple; and I did construct it after the manner of the temple of Solomon save it were not built of many precious things; for they were not to be found upon the land, wherefore, it could not be built like unto Solomon’s temple. But the manner of the construction was like unto the temple of Solomon; and the workmanship thereof was exceedingly fine.” 2 Nephi 5:15-16 italics added.

Nephites built mainly of wood, and earth as you can see quotes below. At times they waited for trees to grow up and they used cement. Cement is not stone. There is no indication of building with large cut stone as shown in Central America. Hewn or cut stone would be against the Law of Moses. Only one place mentions stone in the Book of Mormon and it says, “Yea, he had been strengthening the armies of the Nephites, and erecting small forts, or places of resort; throwing up banks of earth round about to enclose his armies, and also building walls of stone to encircle them about, round about their cities and the borders of their lands; yea, all round about the land. ” Alma 48:8 Notice it says “walls of stone” not “stone walls” as compared in the cartoon below:

Heleman 3:11 “And thus they did enable the people in the land northward that they might build many cities, both of wood and of cement.”

Jarom 1:8 “And we multiplied exceedingly, and spread upon the face of the land, and became exceedingly rich in gold, and in silver, and in precious things, and in fine workmanship of wood, in buildings, and in machinery, and also in iron and copper, and brass and steel, making all manner of tools of every kind to till the ground, and weapons of war—yea, the sharp pointed arrow, and the quiver, and the dart, and the javelin, and all preparations for war.”

Mosiah 11:8 “And it came to pass that king Noah built many elegant and spacious buildings; and he ornamented them with fine work of wood, and of all manner of precious things, of gold, and of silver, and of iron, and of brass, and of ziff, and of copper;

9 And he also built him a spacious palace, and a throne in the midst thereof, all of which was of fine wood and was ornamented with gold and silver and with precious things.

10 And he also caused that his workmen should work all manner of fine work within the walls of the temple, of fine wood, and of copper, and of brass.”

See more about stone walls and buildings here: https://www.bofm.blog/stonehenge-of-north-america-walls-of-stone/

More about building with earth and wood here: https://www.bofm.blog/nephite-building-materials-wood-dirt-cement/

How Manifest Destiny Destroyed Book of Mormon Evidence

January 12, 2015 by JA Benson

In 1934, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), was constructing a dam which would flood a portion of the Clinch River in East Tennessee. Because the area to be flooded included a Hopewell Native American mound, a group of archeologists were called in to excavate the site. The archeologists came upon an amazing discovery when they uncovered the ruins of a large stone and wood structure. So unlike any other find found at a Hopewell site, British Egyptologist, James Rendel Harris from the London Museum, was consulted. At the site, Harris identified the structure as an “Egyptian Temple”. A single newspaper article documents this account.

I know! Amazing! An Egyptian temple in East Tennessee of all places, AND why is this fact not widely known??!! I’ll tell you why, Dear Reader, our ignorance of the Egyptian temple ruins in East Tennessee is the consequence of Manifest Destiny.

When European colonists settled North America they found immense earth mounds and earthwork enclosures, larger than Giza in Egypt. Manifest Destiny and all that, it seemed prudent to plow it all under.The vanquished Native inhabitants were deemed ignorant savages. In regards to the Native Americans, consequentialism was the morality of the day, in other words “the ends justify the means”.

“The geography of the Book of Mormon has been a complex issue with multiple factors involved.  For example, when the book was first published, it was commonly thought that Native American Indians had never achieved the level of “civilization” as defined in the book Ancient Society by Lewis Henry Morgan which had become the handbook of instruction for the US government in dealing with the Indians.  Morgan proposed that all human societies evolve through three stages of development, from being ignorant savages (a term he then used to label the Native Americans) to barbarism and finally on towards civilization.  John Wesley Powell, Ephraim George Squier and Morgan were three highly influential men in science, politics and Native American affairs, governing such organizations as the AAAS (American Association for Advancement of Science), the Bureau of Ethnology, the Smithsonian Institution, the Bureau of Indian Affairs and were very active politically.  Both Powell and Squier’s fathers happened to be Methodist ministers in Palmyra New York in the 1820’s when the Book of Mormon was first published and these men began what non-Mormon scholars have called the “wanton destruction” of the ancient history of the Mound Builder civilization.” -Rod L. Meldrum

Over parts of the eastern half of the United States, farmers put their plows to what they wanted to believe was virgin turf. They uncovered arrowheads by the bucketfuls, clay pots, long metal “knives” and occasional stone boxes with the bones of the dead. Thousands of mounds and earthwork stockades were leveled with shovels.  Native American pottery, and other artifacts, and even the bones themselves sometimes made it into private collections. For the most part the metal was melted down and recycled. For a time, bones were ground up into fertilizer, and the unwanted artifacts were thrown into trash piles. European civilization was the victor, and it was in the best interest to promote a Anglo-Saxon version of history. As the immense earthworks were leveled, the North American Native population was completely conquered by wiping away the history and accomplishments of the ancient inhabitants.

Least we frown and waggle our forefingers at our European ancestors with our modern 21^st century morality; this conquering business was nothing new to humanity. One group of humans subduing another group of humans seems to me pretty typical human behavior. Conquerors all over the world, throughout recorded history, and across all civilizations, have made it part of their conquering to erase the traces of the previous dynasties.

Battle of Franklin

A perfect example of what occurred in the eastern US, both north and south and including the mid-west, happened where I live. Just south of the town of Franklin Tennessee, on the southern edge of the Eastern flank of the Battle of Franklin where the Army of the Ohio soundly beat the Army of Tennessee on that fateful afternoon of November 30, 1864, is a completely demolished Hopewell Mound Site of the Mississippian period (900-1450AD) identified as the DeGraffenreid Site.

Our house sits on the edge of a ridge just a few yards from a large bend in the Harpeth River, right outside of the approximately 20 acre DeGraffenreid Site in a quiet middle-class subdivision of modest red brick homes. Most people would never guess the rich and varied history of land which has been inhabited by humankind for at least a thousand years. I, in fact did not know about the DeGraffenreid site literally right under us, until very recently, and we have lived here for 22 years.

To give you a little history lesson, Dear Reader, the first known inhabitants of our little piece of heaven were the Hopewell Natives of the Mississippian period. Later American settlers, most notably a family of moonshiners who spanned several generations, before, during and after the Civil War, who proudly claimed to be the “biggest moonshining outfit in the county” lived on our property situated between a narrow neck of  land between the 20 acre DeGraffenreid site and 5 Mile Creek which empties into the Harpeth River. The moonshiners were shut down in the 1930’s by a no-nonsense county sheriff who filled the family car with bullet holes and threatened to do the same to the family if they didn’t cease and desist with the illegal distillery. During the Civil War, several skirmishes happened nearby and a Confederate Calvary regiment commanded by Major General Nathan Bedford Forrest camped on our property after the Battle of Franklin.

The DeGraffenreid mounds, one large and eight significantly smaller, were enclosed by an immense stockade. Farmers in the 1800’s greatly damaged the site by leveling the mounds and the stockade. Amateur archeologists shortly after the Civil War carted off some of the artifacts. At the turn of the last century, an early Monsanto company mined the area for phosphate, so by 1919 all traces of the mounds were gone.

Red dot is where the Benson homestead is probably located

After extensive damage was done, during the late 1960’s, we can thank University of Tennessee-Knoxville archeologist H.C. (Buddy) Brehm who visited the site and conducted a meager salvage of the remaining items and more importantly provided documentation of the  DeGraffenreid site. Without Mr Brehm we would know, even less, of the DeGraffenreid site. Unfortunately where these relics are today, cannot be determined. An interesting bit of information from burial mound H1:

“four copper crosses (copper plates embossed with a copper cross design)”. From Potash From Pyramids: Reconstructing Degraffenreid (40WM4)–A MIssissippian Mound Complex in Williamson County Tennessee

I did a little digging to find out more about Buddy Brehm and I came across this forehead slapping tidbit:

SIAS members Bob Ferguson (center) and Buddy Brehm (right) discussing the sabertooth cat find with an unidentified worker, summer 1971. Photo courtesy of Les Leverett.

“During this time there was not a State Archaeologist or antiquities laws in Tennessee, nor were there any universities interested in the archaeology of the region. State laws did not yet protect prehistoric human remains, and when an ancient graveyard was encountered during development, the graves were open to whoever wanted to dig them. My memories from that time include seeing Boy Scout troops digging graves to earn their “Indian Lore” badges, and housewives digging with their kitchen utensils. SIAS members were also present on these sites, though with the intention of recording as much information as possible before graves were bulldozed away. ” John T Dowd

See: https://tennesseearchaeologycouncil.wordpress.com/2014/09/26/30-days-of-tennessee-archaeology-day-26-archaeology-in-middle-tennessee-in-the-1960s-and-70s/

If this all weren’t so tragic, it would be really hilarious in a Keystone Cops kinda way. Think about it, Dear Reader, if this chunk of tantalizing history could exist unknown to me, a person who loves history, right under my nose for two decades….

This brings us to Wayne May and Rod Meldrum. Neither of these gentlemen hold degrees in history or archeology, but instead are Book Of Mormon enthusiasts who are able to think outside the box and have spent many years studying and visiting the Hopewell Civilizations, documenting their discoveries. They maintain that the destruction of other Hopewell sites, similar to the DeGraffinreid site, was repeated over much of the eastern half of the United States, including the mid-west. May and Meldrum believe the North American Hopewell civilizations were the People of Lehi and the Jaredites, and the events described in the Book of Mormon played out not in Mesoamerica, but right here in the United States. May and Meldrum have amassed an amazing amount of data to support their claims.

You can look at the vast evidence they have collected in two presentations available on Youtube. These presentations by Wayne May are long, but well worth your time. We popped a whole lotta popcorn and watched the videos for a couple of Family Home evenings (parent, young adult, high school and elementary age family members). I am happy to report a good time was had by all. Source https://www.millennialstar.org/tag/degraffenreid-stie/

Secrets About ‘Tennessee’s Ancient Egyptian Temple’ Revealed

“The project identified 23 sites in the area that soon became the bottom of a series of lakes created by the dam. There were 29 mounds at the sites: 20 earth mounds, 9 stone mounds, and several village areas. Twelve of the mounds were found to be burial mounds and 17 had prehistoric structures associated with them. A total of 54 wooden structures were identified. The subsequent report on the project related that all of important sites were excavated and all of the artifacts and other archaeologically important materials were preserved. The full report was published by the Smithsonian as “Ethnology Bulletin 118” and was written by Webb. The report contains dozens of intriguing photos of the mounds, excavations, artifacts, and skeletal remains.

One mound, the “Irvin Mound,” had a row of 10 standing stones, most of which were about 2-4 feet in height. Adjacent to the line of standing stones was the remains of a rectangular building formed by cedar posts. Inside this rectangular building was another line of small standing stones.

Oddly, a copper coin, button, and bead were found at a depth of 18 inches inside another structure under a smaller adjacent mound”. Ancientpages.com Aug 15, 2018

Prehistoric American Indians in Tennessee

The following essay was sponsored in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities in 2009 and the Tennessee State Museum. For more on Tennessee history visit: http://www.tn4me.org Download PDF by Jefferson Chapman, McClung Museum, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville

The state of Tennessee is long and narrow, stretching 432 miles from the high mountains of the Appalachians and the Great Smoky Mountains on the east to the Mississippi River on the west. Moving from east to west, the state is divided into six major physiographic provinces (Figure 1): the Unaka Mountains (Appalachians), the Great Valley, the Cumberland Plateau, the Highland Rim which surrounds the fifth, the Central Basin, and the Gulf Coastal Plain of West Tennessee (Folmsbee, Corlew, and Mitchell 1969). The Tennessee and Cumberland rivers and their tributaries flow through the state and a number of rivers in West Tennessee are tributaries of the Mississippi River. These physiographic provinces and river valleys provide a diversity in natural resources and environments that have affected human settlement and adaptation for millennia. While there are many differences in the prehistoric Indian cultures found in East, Middle, and West Tennessee, there are general characteristics that they shared over time.

Figure 1. Physiographic provinces of Tennessee (Luther 1977).

Our knowledge of the prehistoric Indians of Tennessee is a result of over 150 years of archaeological investigations. Archaeology is the scientific discipline responsible for the recovery and interpretation of the remains of past cultures. Modern archaeology has three basic objectives: first, employing excavations and analysis based on scientific principles, archaeologists seek to develop temporal sequences of past cultures; second, archaeologists seek to reconstruct the lifeways of past human societies; and third, archaeologists address the evolution and operation of cultural systems—topics such as the origins of agriculture and changes in political organization. Places where cultural remains are found are called sites, and these may be as simple as a location where several arrowheads are found and as complex as a ten acre village and mound complex.

Scanty written information about the Indians of Tennessee and the Southeast come from chronicles of the sixteenth-century Spanish (Hudson 1990), seventeenth-century French (Williams 1928), and eighteenth-century British expeditions (King 2007). As Euro-American settlers moved westward across Tennessee in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, the many mounds and earthworks they encountered became a focus of speculative interpretation, often based on scripture or comparison to cultures in other parts of the world. The most pervasive was the theory of the Mound Builders which held that the ancient mounds were the remains of an extinct culture, likely the Canaanites and Lost Tribes of Israel (Silverberg 1968).

By the 1870s, antiquarian collecting and speculation were replaced with more systematic excavations in Middle (Jones 1876, Putnam 1878, Thruston 1890) and East (Thomas 1894) Tennessee and these clearly demonstrated that the prehistoric mounds and villages were constructed by the American Indians and that the occupants may have been ancestors of historic tribes of the Southeast. By the 1920s, excavations made it clear that many sites were occupied over time by successive Indian groups (Harrington 1922).

With the creation of the Tennessee Valley Authority in 1933, there began a massive archaeological recovery program using federal relief workers (CWA, WPA) in valleys to be inundated. Between 1934-1942, surveys and excavations were conducted in the Pickwick, Guntersville, Chickamauga, Kentucky, Watts Bar, Douglas, and Fort Loudoun reservoirs. In addition, limited excavations were conducted at the Obion, Link, Pack, and Mound Bottom sites in Middle and West Tennessee. This period saw the establishment of professional archaeology in the state and increased enormously our understanding of the prehistoric Indian occupations locally.

In the 1940s a technique to date organic material (charcoal, wood, bone, shell) from archaeological sites was developed. Called radiocarbon dating (Libby 1955), archaeologists were now able to determine how long ago sites had been occupied—and suddenly the Indian occupation of Tennessee became very long.

The 1960s and 1970s saw a series of state and federal laws enacted that are designed to protect, preserve, and manage archaeological sites (TCA 11-6-101 et seq., The Reservoir Salvage Act of 1960, National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, The Archaeological and Historic Preservation Act of 1974, and the Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979). Among other things, these laws required that for any project on state or federal land, or that is funded by or permitted by state or federal agencies, the project must identify and mitigate the impact on archaeological sites. Consequently, there has been an enormous amount of archaeological work done in Tennessee over the past 40 years ranging from major reservoir projects such as the Tellico, Normandy, and Columbia, to road, bridge, sewer line, and transmission line projects.

Archaeologists divide the time humans have been in eastern Tennessee into periods. These periods are both references to some span of time, and to some stage in a continuum of increasing social complexity.

The result of the past 150 years of archaeological work is that we now know a lot about the prehistoric Indian occupation of Tennessee. Archaeologists divide the time people have been in Tennessee into a series of major periods (Figure 2). These periods are both references to a span of time and to a stage in a continuum of increasing social complexity. Ancient native peoples formed numerous and varied social and political groupings that changed through time during each of the archaeological periods. Although ancestral to native peoples of today, the ethnic and tribal affiliations of these ancient societies are unknown. The prehistoric peoples of Tennessee may well be the ancestors of several southeastern tribes.

The First Tennesseans: The PaleoIndian Period

Figure 3. Clovis type spear points, lengths 5.4 and 4.7 inches. Ernest J. Sims Collection

One of the big issues in American archaeology is the peopling of the New World. The traditional explanation has been that during the last Ice Age, the sea levels were as much as 300 feet lower than today thus exposing a dry land bridge across the Bering Strait from Siberia to Alaska. Around 13,000 years ago, bands of hunters with their families crossed into North America and radiated across the continent, their presence recorded by Clovis points (Figure 3)—a distinctive lanceolate stone spear point with flutes or grooves on each face and named for the Clovis site in New Mexico where they were found in association with extinct mammoths.

In the last two decades evidence has mounted that suggest an earlier, pre-Clovis arrival of people into the New World (Malakoff 2008). Monte Verde, a site in Chile, is dated 14,500YBP (Dillehay 1989, 1997). Human feces from Paisley Caves, Oregon, have been dated 14,300YBP (Curry 2008); and genetic studies comparing modern Native American genes to native Siberians show that the populations diverged 15-20,000 years ago (Goebel et al. 2008). These and other data indicate a date of 15,000+ YBP for the beginning of the PaleoIndian period.

Figure 4. Mastodon molar and bones at the Coats-Hines site.

Evidence for PaleoIndians in Tennessee comes primarily from finds of fluted spear points and other distinctive cutting and scraping stone tools. Over 1,000 fluted points have been found across the state and over 100 sites identified. Concentrations of these artifacts may indicate the location of base camps where a number of activities would have occurred. A particularly good example is the Carson-Conn-Short site in Benton County (Broster and Norton 1993), which contains over forty hearths. The greatest concentration of evidence for PaleoIndian occupation is the western valley of the Tennessee River and the Central Basin particularly along the Cumberland River. This may be due to the high-quality chert resources in the western valley and the availability of mineral-rich soils, springs, and licks in the Central Basin where animals such as the mastodon, an extinct Ice Age elephant, likely congregated (Breitburg and Broster 1994).

Two sites show the direct association of humans with mastodons, At the Coats-Hines site in Williams County, thirty-four stone artifacts were found with the remains of a juvenile male mastodon (Figure 4); stone tool cut marks were present on a vertebra (Breitburg et al. 1996). At the Trull site in Perry County (Norton, Broster, and Breitburg 1998), a modified section of a mastodon tusk was found.

PaleoIndians have been often referred to as big game hunters, focusing on the now-extinct large animals of the last Ice Age (Figure 5). A more accurate description would be to call them generalized foragers who supplemented their diet of plant foods and small game with an occasional opportunistic killing of a mastodon. To understand the cultural organization of the PaleoIndians, archaeologists look at studies of living groups of foragers and construct theoretical models. Thus we believe that PaleoIndians were organized into bands in which several related families occupied and exploited a certain territory. A typical band may have numbered twenty to twenty-five persons and been comprised of a mother and father, their unmarried children, their married sons with their families, a few uncles and aunts, and a grandparent or two (this assumes that the society was organized along male lines; later societies were organized along female lines).

This social group had little political organization except for a nominal leader chosen perhaps for his hunting prowess. The band moved occasionally to take advantage of the seasonal availability of certain plants and animals, but probably also had a base camp where a greater portion of their time was spent. Bands would join with other bands from time to time to hunt game, to exchange items, or for marriage between groups. Religious beliefs probably focused heavily on a respect for and an explanation of various natural forces. Of particular importance would be ceremonies designed to assure success in the hunt and continued abundance of game. In times of sickness or stress, the band looked to a shaman who was thought to have received power from supernatural forces.

Clothing can be assumed to have been sufficient for the environment in which the group lived. Similarly housing would range from simple lean-tos to more elaborate enclosures as the weather and mobility warranted. One must realize that these bands did not wander aimlessly. Their culture was an adaptation to whatever situation they encountered, and although band level society seems “primitive” when compared to later more complex groups, it provided all the physical and spiritual needs of the group.

References

• Breitburg, Emmanuel and John B. Broster 1994 Paleoindian Site, Lithic, and Mastodon Remains in Tennessee. Current Research in the Pleistocene 11:9-11.
• Broster, John B. and Mark R. Norton 1993 The Carson-Conn-Short Site (40BN190): An Extensive Clovis Habitation in Benton County, Tennessee. Current Research in the Pleistocene 10:3-5.
• Curry, Andrew 2008 Ancient Excrement. Archaeology 61(4):42-45.
• Folmsbee, Stanley J, Robert Corlew and Enoch L. Mitchell 1969 Tennessee: A Short History. The University of Tennessee Press, Knoxville.
• Goebel, Ted, Michael C. Waters, and Dennis H. O’Rourke 2008 The Late Pleistocene Dispersal of Modern Humans in the Americas. Science 319(5869):1497-1502.
• Harrington, M.R. 1922 Cherokee and Earlier Remains on Upper Tennessee River. Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, Indian Notes and Monographs, Miscellaneous Series No.24.
• Hudson, Charles 1990 The Juan Pardo Expeditions: Exploration of the Carolinas and Tennessee, 1566-1568. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington.
• Jones, Joseph 1876 Explorations of the Aboriginal Remains of Tennessee. Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge No. 259. Washington, DC
• King, Duane H. (editor) 2007 The Memoirs of Lt. Henry Timberlake: The Story of a Soldier, Adventurer and Emissary to the Cherokees, 1756-1765. Museum of the Cherokee Indian Press, Cherokee, NC.
• Libby, Willard 1955 Radiocarbon Dating. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
• Luther, Edward T. 1977 Our Restless Earth: The Geologic Regions of Tennessee. The University of Tennessee Press, Knoxville.
• Malakoff, David 2008 Rethinking the Clovis. American Archaeology 12(4): 26-31.
• Morgan, William N. 1999 Precolumbian Architecture in Eastern North America. University Press of Florida, Gainesville.
• Norton, Mark R., John B. Broster, Emmanuel Breitburg 1998 The Trull Site (40PY276). Current Research in the Pleistocene 15:50-51.
• Putnam, Fredrick W. 1878 Archaeological Explorations in Tennessee. Eleventh Annual Report of the Trustees of the Peabody Museum of American Archaeology and Ethnology 2 (2):305-360).
• Silverberg, Robert 1968 Mound Builders of Ancient America: The Archaeology of a Myth. New York Graphics Society, Ltd.
• Simek, Jan F. and Alan Cressler 2008 On the Backs of Serpents: Prehistoric Cave Art in the Southeastern Woodlands. In David Dye, Cave Archaeology of the Eastern Woodlands: Essays in Honor of Patty Jo Watson, pp. 169-191. The University of Tennessee Press, Knoxville.
• Thomas, Cyrus 1894 Report on the Mound Explorations of the Bureau of Ethnology. Twelfth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethology, Washington.
• Thruston, Gates P. 1897 Antiquities of Tennessee and the Adjacent States. Second Edition. The Robert Clarke Company, Cincinnati.
• Williams, Samuel Cole (editor) 1928 Early Travels in the Tennessee Country, 1540-1800. The Watauga Press, Johnson
  City, Tennessee.
• Yarnell, Richard A. 1993 The Importance of Native Crops during the Late Archaic and Woodland Periods. In Foraging and Farming in the Eastern Woodlands, edited by C. Margaret Scarry, pp. 13-26. University Press of Florida, Gainesville.

Netflix has made the old Mark Hoffman forgeries a part of it’s dialogue lately. I wanted to share some information with you that may help you navigate the critical importance of Church Leaders and how they help us learn how to receive personal revelation.

Honesty and trust in others is a big part of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We as members feel it is critical to be honest in our dealings with everyone and in return we sometimes falsely believe others. In other words we are gullible and sometimes naïve. From our own personal experiences we feel most people are trustworthy. The sad thing today is it’s getting harder to believe that. When I was in my teens I believed the Government was 90% honest. Today, it may be 5%. Evil has darkened our door in a huge way. That doesn’t mean government was 90% honest, that was just my perception.

An Act of Faith

“Sustaining is a sacred action that connects membership of the Church to Church leaders, says Elder Gary E. Stevenson. With more than 16 million members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, relatively few Church members will ever speak face to face with an Apostle or shake an Apostle’s hand. But every member has the opportunity to make a personal connection with these and other Church leaders through his or her formal sustaining vote and daily sustaining actions, says President M. Russell Ballard, Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve…

“I love the imagery of arms to the square and the meaning behind that,” says Elder Jeffrey R. Holland. For the Apostles, being sustained by the members of the Church is spiritually akin to receiving life-giving food, he adds. “Every voice counts and every helping hand looked to. No one has to serve alone in the Church, whatever our calling.”

A Long-Standing Practice

Sustaining the Apostles is a latter-day practice that dates back to Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. From the first day, early Saints were invited to consent to the calling of Church leaders and to sustain them in that calling.

On April 6, 1830, Joseph Smith and his newly baptized followers gathered in a small log farm home belonging to Peter Whitmer Sr. in Fayette, Seneca County, New York.

Joseph stood and asked those participating if they desired the organization of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Exercising the principle of common consent, the new members raised their hands and consented by unanimous vote. Next they consented to accept Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery as their teachers and spiritual advisers.

“Membership in the Church is a very personal matter,” notes Elder Holland. “Every individual counts. That is why we function on the principle of common consent. We want everyone to have an opinion, to express him or herself, and to be united in going forward.” How Can We Sustain Our Leaders? By Sarah Jane Weaver and Jason Swensen Church News

Ezra Taft Benson

“Suppose a leader of the Church were to tell you that you were supporting the wrong side of a particular issue. Some might immediately resist this leader and his counsel or ignore it, but I would suggest that you first apply the fourth great civic standard for the faithful Saints. That standard is to live for, to get, and then to follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit.“

Said Brigham Young: “I am more afraid that this people have so much confidence in their leaders that they will not inquire for themselves of God whether they are led by Him. … Let every man and woman know, by the whisperings of the Spirit of God to themselves, whether their leaders are walking in the path the Lord dictates, or not.” (JD, vol. 9, p. 150.)”

The leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have not received revelation on every item of knowledge and truth, else what would our purpose be in life, than to just do what the Leaders say and that’s it?

Remember free agency is vital. We have to be able to choose good or evil as it is our choice. The Brethren make a few mistakes but not many. We can’t expect them to know everything, nor do they desire for us to learn only from them. 

The Brethren have no say in whether they allow false doctrine in the church, some wrong ideas have to be part of the Church because of free agency. I believe in these last days the Brethren want us to listen to them of course and maybe even more personally to the scriptures and prayer than to just them. We will receive hundreds of answers for our personal edification this way. Don’t depend on the source of man but of God. Follow our leaders, sustain our leaders and accept their council after personal prayer and study on your own. Truth will match what the Brethren say in the great majority of issues.

“I think the Brethren are weaning us and guiding us to the source of all truth. Like a child, there comes a time when the parents have to allow their kids to make mistakes and seek guidance from God. 

“I like the saying that the Catholic church teaches that the Pope is infallible, and few Catholics believe it.  In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the general authorities teach us that the prophet is fallible and few of the LDS members believe it.” Kevin Price PhD

MY OPINION ON NEUTRALITY Rian Nelson

I think there is importance in the Brethren being neutral on Geography, Evolution and other difficult issues. They want us to gain our own witness to secondary information. They have given us sound doctrine and that is what we should focus on. I know through the Spirit that the Book of Mormon is true. However, I love to seek for other truth and as Moroni has said “I may know the truth of all things”.

I believe the Land of Promise spoken of in the Book of Mormon is the United States of America. The Constitution was created by the Lord, that Adam and Eve were placed on this same land and the New Jerusalem will be on this same land. No need for me to check out Mesoamerica anymore as I did for 40 years.

Just like Evolution. I don’t believe we came from an ape and I know that matter cannot come from nothing. I don’t have to look into science to figure this out, but by the witness of what the scriptures tell us.

I don’t expect Pres Nelson to come right out and tell me where the Book of Mormon events happened or if we came from an ape, I know through sound reasoning the answer that makes most sense to me. Now if the Brethren say otherwise I would always listen to them first, but in my opinion the Church is neutral on difficult issues that exist to help each of us individually come to a knowledge of the “truth of all things” as promised in the Book of Mormon. I don’t need to be commanded in all things!

All the teachings from current Brethren and those before them and from the Prophet Joseph Smith are to be taken as given. They are guides to the answers I seek. I leave one example on believing that the United Sates is the Choice and Promised land, I quote Pres Nelson when he was President of the Quorum of the Twelve who said, “The Book of Mormon reveals that Joseph, the son of Jacob who was once sold into Egypt, foresaw the Prophet Joseph Smith and his day (see 2 Ne. 3:6–21) and noted that there would be many similarities in their lives. Centuries later, the Prophet Joseph stated, “I feel like Joseph in Egypt.” (The Personal Writings of Joseph Smith, ed. Dean C. Jesse, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1984, p. 409; spelling modernized.) The Book of Mormon reveals that the inheritance of Joseph, son of Israel, was not forgotten when, as promised in the Abrahamic covenant, land was distributed to the tribes of Israel. Joseph’s inheritance was to be a land choice above all others. (See Ether 13:2, 8.) It was choice not because of beauty or wealth of natural resources, but choice because it was chosen. It was to be the repository of sacred writing on plates of gold from which the Book of Mormon would one day come, choice because it would eventually host world headquarters of the restored church of Jesus Christ in the latter days.” A TREASURED TESTAMENT By Elder Russell M. Nelson Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

I leave you with true words of a prophet, “Whenever I hear anyone, including myself, say, “I know the Book of Mormon is true,” I want to exclaim, “That’s nice, but it is not enough!” We need to feel, deep in “the inmost part” of our hearts, that the Book of Mormon is unequivocally the word of God. We must feel it so deeply that we would never want to live even one day without it. I might paraphrase President Brigham Young in saying, “I wish I had the voice of seven thunders to wake up the people” to the truth and power of the Book of Mormon.” President Russell M. Nelson The Book of Mormon: What Would Your Life Be Like without It?

Hoffman, Church history, Saints, and President Oaks by Jonathan Neville

“The Mark Hoffman saga is in the news because of the Netflix documentary. Let’s look at some parallels between the Hoffman problem with fake documents and the ongoing suppression of Church history designed to promote M2C and SITH. In response to the Hoffman events, President Oaks delivered a detailed, masterful address, which you can read here: Recent Events Involving Church History and Forged Documents (churchofjesuschrist.org) Here are excerpts from that talk (in blue), along with my commentary (in red). What interested me most was the fact that these forgeries and their associated lies grew out of their author’s deliberate attempt to rewrite the early history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and that so many persons and organizations seized on this episode to attempt to discredit the Church and its leaders. [emphasis added] Deliberate attempts to rewrite the early history continue, but now it’s the Church History Department doing the re-writing. For many years, certain LDS historians have sought to rewrite the early history of the Church. Richard Bushman explained: “The downside of that is that there is developing in the scholarly world a view of church history. It’s out of kilter with the church version, what’s told in Sunday school class. All sorts of things that don’t fit together such as the seer stones in the hat, or many, many other things.” https://medium.com/@jellistx/transcript-of-claudia-and-richard-bushmans-remarks-at-faith-again-e9d03bdea0e3 Now the problem has reversed. Correlated Church history, such as the Saints books, is “out of kilter” with authentic historical documents and events. Why? So far as I can tell, the only reason is to promote modern narratives, including M2C and SITH.  Yesterday I showed specific examples regarding Cumorah. The  Saints book, volume 1, quotes Lucy Mack Smith’s histories 127 times, but it deliberately omits every one of her references to Cumorah because the M2C citation cartel rejects the New York Cumorah. We see the same careful re-writing of Church history in the Gospel Topics Essays. There is a revolving door between the Church History Department and the M2C citation cartel (including BYU Studies and Book of Mormon Central), so naturally they work together and reinforce these narratives. That’s what makes it a cartel. Consequently, well-meaning but uninformed Latter-day Saints don’t know that when Moroni first visited Joseph Smith, he identified the hill where the plates were concealed as Cumorah, even though this was widely known during Joseph’s lifetime and informed everyone’s writing and understanding at the time. By omitting Cumorah from the historical record, our LDS historians have distorted Church history and created a new version that (i) accommodates M2C but (ii) contradicts the historical record. This leads to preventable confusion among new, former, and prospective members.   The same thing has happened with the discrepancies between the Urim and Thummim and seer (or “peep”) stone accounts. (SITH=stone-in-the-hat.) Like the Gospel Topics Essays, the Saints book deliberately omitted Lucy Mack Smith’s accounts of Joseph using the Urim and Thummim. Instead, it cites much later accounts from David Whitmer and Emma Smith, both of whom had ulterior motives for promoting SITH (i.e, refuting the Solomon Spalding theory).  For example, Saints merely says “Another letter informed David that it was God’s will for him to bring his team and wagon to Harmony to help Joseph, Emma and Oliver move to the Whitmer home in Fayette, where they would finish the translation. “However, Lucy explains that they made the request because Joseph received a commandment through the Urim and Thummim to do it. “an intimation that was given through the urim and thumim for as he one morning applied them to his eyes to look upon the record instead of the words of the book being given him he was commanded to write a letter to one David Whitmore [Whitmer] this man Joseph had never seen but he was instructed to say [to] him that he must come with his team immediately in order to convey Joseph and Oliver [Cowdery] back to his house which was 135 miles that they might remain with him there until the translation should be completed for that an evil designing people were seeking to take away Joseph’s life in order to prevent the work of God from going forth among the world” https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/lucy-mack-smith-history-1844-1845/100 “Not far from this time, as Joseph was translating by means of the Urim and Thummim, he received instead of the words of the Book, a commandment to write a letter to a man by the name of David Whitmer, who lived in Waterloo; requesting him to come immediately with his team, and convey them [3 words illegible] (Joseph & Oliver) to Waterloo; as an evil designing people were seeking to take away his (Joseph’s life), in order to prevent the work of God from going forth to the world.” https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/lucy-mack-smith-history-1845/156 Saints omits these and related passages because they contradict the currently fashionable narrative that (i) Joseph merely dictated words that appeared on the seer stone in the hat (SITH); (ii) Joseph didn’t even use the plates, which remained concealed under a cloth the entire time; and (iii) Joseph didn’t really translate anything anyway. And, of course, Saints completely omits the account of David, Joseph and Oliver meeting the messenger on the road to Fayette. In his knapsack, the messenger had the abridged plates that Joseph had given him in Harmony. He declined a ride to Fayette, explaining he was taking the plates to Cumorah. Joseph identified him as one of the Nephites. But instead of relating these detailed historical accounts, Saints elaborated on the sketchy account of the same messenger showing the plates to David’s mother Mary. To make it worse, Saints concocted a fake quotation! “My name is Moroni,” he said. Except that is a fictional quotation and contradicts what Mary Whitmer herself said, that the messenger identified himself as “Brother Nephi.” It also contradicts Joseph Smith’s identification of the messenger as “one of the Nephites,” an identification he made more than once. David Whitmer, who actually conversed with both this messenger and Moroni on separate occasions, clearly differentiated between the two individuals, but Saints changes Church history to portray the resurrected Moroni as capable of changing his appearance, age, and physical size for unknown reasons. Obviously, that raises important questions about the doctrine of the resurrection. In a sardonic sense, it’s funny to see how the historians manipulated the history to reach this result. For example, in note 16 (page 595), they cite David Whitmer Interviews, 26-27. That book is long out of print and difficult to obtain, but I have a copy. On page 182 of the same book, which Saints does not reference, David says “Joseph looked pale almost transparent & said that was one of the Nephites and he had the plates of the Book of Mormon in his knapsac.” Why deprive Church members of this interesting and relevant information? Recall, this was the messenger who said he was going to Cumorah before going to Fayette. Because the M2C citation cartel insists Cumorah cannot be in New York, our historians decided we should not be informed about this event. They must accommodate M2C at all costs. I’ve shown before how the book Opening the Heavens went so far as to deliberately falsify this same history. Which brings us back to President Oaks’ talk. The Church operates under a divine mandate to acquire and preserve the documents and artifacts that show its history… We are deeply indebted to the Joseph Smith Papers project to preserve our history. Despite the notes and annotations that, in some cases as I’ve discussed, seek to promote M2C and SITH, at least we have the actual documents that the historians cannot change.   The historians can and do omit relevant documents from correlated materials such as the Gospel Topics Essays, Saints, and lesson manuals, but anyone can go to the original documents and see for themselves what Joseph Smith and his contemporaries said, did and thought, as much as the historical record can reveal. It seems to me that the mandate is not only to acquire and preserve the documents, but also to accurately convey them to Church members and the world as a whole. When it comes to M2C and SITH, though, that does not seem to be the case.   “In order to perform their personal ministries, Church leaders cannot be suspicious and questioning of each of the hundreds of people they meet each year. Ministers of the gospel function best in an atmosphere of trust and love. In that kind of atmosphere, they fail to detect a few deceivers, but that is the price they pay to increase their effectiveness in counseling, comforting, and blessing the hundreds of honest and sincere people they see. It is better for a Church leader to be occasionally disappointed than to be constantly suspicious.“ Here, President Oaks gives us an exceptionally important insight. I agree that Church leaders should be able to trust the Church historians and scholars to be open and honest in their portrayal of Church history.  But when we see the type of omissions we see in Saints, and no effort to correct those omissions when pointed out, it is difficult to continue to trust those historians who are promoting an agenda instead of accurately reporting history.  It’s even worse with the Gospel Topics Essays, as we’ve discussed many times. Fortunately, some of those have been edited (albeit without notification) from time to time to correct mistakes, but they still reflect specific agendas of the scholars who wrote them. There is a long way to go to making those essays reliable and credible.     I observed that “historical and biographical facts can only contribute to understanding when they are communicated in context.” This is the work of the scholar. We would all be better informed about history if historical impressions came from the articles and books of mature and objective scholars rather than through the often sensational and always incomplete “stories” of journalists. Sound historical work takes time, but patience is rewarded. This is another important point. My basic life philosophy is that eventually, the right thing happens. A lot of Latter-day Saints are impatient with the revisionist Church history we are expected to believe, even though it contradicts the historical record and the teachings of the prophets.  Nevertheless, we remain hopeful that these things will be corrected and revised over time. In the meantime, we can read the original sources ourselves and see how the writings of both critics and correlated materials vary. Fortunately, the actual history is the most faith-affirming of all.  When it comes to naivete in the face of malevolence, there is blame enough to go around. We all need to be more cautious. In terms of our long-run interests in Church history, we now have the basis, and I hope we have the will, to clear away the Hofmann residue of lies and innuendo. With that done, we should all pursue our search for truth with the tools of honest and objective scholarship and sincere and respectful religious faith, in the mixture dictated by the personal choice each of us is privileged to make in this blessed and free land. I bolded that last sentence because it epitomizes my approach to all of this. I strongly favor and encourage people making informed decisions. That’s why I don’t accept the revisionist history designed to accommodate M2C and SITH. That’s also why I disagree with the censorship-based editorial policies of the M2C citation cartel. I don’t expect LDS scholars to vary from their dogmatic enforcement of M2C and SITH. Book of Mormon Central, for example, has M2C embedded in its logo. After decades of promoting M2C, it is probably impossible, psychologically, for the scholars to become open to alternatives to M2C, let alone change their minds. But their intellectual rigidity doesn’t matter to those who, as President Oaks says, “pursue our search for truth.” Source: About Central America Jonathan Neville | March 5, 2021 URL: https://wp.me/p741A5-YW

No Blind Faith

“We don’t know everything, so we have to have faith in many areas of life.  But to rely solely on emotion or blind faith isn’t a good approach, in my view.  Instead, to we should gather all available data to make the most-informed decision possible.

I’ve noticed that many LDS critics fall into this category — partisan, uniformed zealots — on many topics.  They rush to judgment when an LDS official is accused of wrongdoing, for example (this has occurred recently online).  Indeed, in my experience zealous LDS critics often assume the worst when the topic involves Joseph Smith or current leaders.  More data or context isn’t needed.  No way!  They “know” the truth, and their mind’s made up.

This tendency — to assume the worst without evidence — is indicative of a problem.  A lack of balance and sense of proportion.  A willingness to be ignorant.  Perhaps lacking understanding that they’re, in fact, ignorant.  But being ignorant, nevertheless.

This tendency — to assume the worst without evidence— is indicative of a problem.  A lack of balance and sense of proportion.  A willingness to be ignorant.  Perhaps lacking understanding that they’re, in fact, ignorant.  But being ignorant, nevertheless.

If you’re too quick at either activity — to defend or to accuse —  rather than gather the evidence fully, you might fall into the zealot camp.  An overzealous and uninformed fan with lacks proportion, balance, and all the context…

And when questions arise relative to items in LDS history, please take the time to do the research.  You shouldn’t immediately trust LDS critics, nor should you exclusively trust what your Uncle Bob might say about our own history (even if he’s an active member).  Study things on your own.  Weigh the evidence.  And strive for balance and prudent understanding.

The best route is to follow the advise given in this podcast:  always consider the best in other faiths and groups.  Don’t knock down their weakest point.  Appreciate their strongest point!” Partisan, Uninformed Zeal vs. Balance, Reason, and Prudent Use of Data, Why the LDS Church is True

Below is one of by blogs that will help you receive your own answers and learn to not just rely on the Prophet, other than for doctrine which we have revelation for.

ANSWERING A DEFENSE OF CRITICS

There are many complicated issues and the Church tells you about these things on their Gospel Topic Essays Here: Since the Church is neutral on some of these issues, you will have to study and pray about answers yourself.

Remember we humans including Bishops, Leaders and members make mistakes. Most of your answers should come from the scriptures and from the spirit of the Lord. You may not always feel you get answers that way, so at times we rely on the church websites or Ensign talks or quotes from the Prophets and Apostles, but then always take it to the Lord for confirmation. The quote I love is “you may know the truth of all things.”

Men and Women Blessed by the Priesthood

The Prophet Joseph Smith once said, “Wicked spirits have their bounds, limits and laws, by which they are governed … and, it is very evident that they possess a power that none but those who have the priesthood can control” (History of the Church, 4:576).

Question and Note:

I believe a righteous woman through the Priesthood of their marriage, or endowment, or baptism, as a member of the true Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has the same ability as male priesthood holders to bruise the head of Satan just as any other worthy male with the priesthood has that power. I do feel it is best for a woman to receive a Priesthood blessing first if that is possible. I’m only surmising here. If any of you have any further information about this from one of the Brethren I would appreciate you sharing it with me.

I love what is said in the Pearl of Great Price, Moses 4:21, “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, between thy seed and her seed; and he shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”

Do the words above of, “between thy seed” mean that Satan has seed as in spirit children, or does it more likely mean his seed is the other one-third that were fallen angels with him? (Let me know if you have heard please)

Enmity (which derives from an Anglo-French word meaning “enemy”) suggests true hatred, either overt or concealed. Hostility implies strong, open enmity that shows itself in attacks or aggression. Animosity carries the sense of anger, vindictiveness, and sometimes the desire to destroy what one hates. Source See, I believe it is ok to HATE; Evil and Satan!

Angels Visited the Native Americans

First, says Mr. Boudinot: “It is said among their principal or beloved men, that they have it handed down from their ancestors, that the book which the white people have, was once theirs: that while they had it they prospered exceedingly, etc. They also say, that their fathers were possessed of an extraordinary Divine Spirit, by which they foretold future events, and controlled the common course of nature; and this they transmitted to their offspring, on condition of their obeying the sacred laws; that they did, by these means, bring down showers of blessings upon their beloved people; but that this power, for a long time past, had entirely ceased.” Colonel James Smith, in his journal, while a prisoner among the natives, says: “They have a tradition, that in the beginning of this continent, the angels or heavenly inhabitants, as they call them, frequently visited the people, and talked with their forefathers, and gave directions how to pray.”

Angel Tells Joseph the Name of the Hill

Joseph Smith said to his father, “I have taken the severest chastisement that I have ever had in my life.” When his father began to interrogate him as to who had a right to find fault in him, he answered, “Stop, father, stop, it was the angel of the Lord. As I passed by the hill of Cumorah, where the plates are, the angel met me and said that I had not been engaged enough in the work of the Lord; that the time had come for the record to be brought forth; and that I must be up and doing and set myself about the things which God had commanded me to do.” (History of Joseph Smith by His Mother, pp. 99–101.) This event occurred before Joseph even obtained the plates. The translation was yet in the future. Joseph could only have learned the name of the hill from Moroni. Obviously, if that was the case, then the hill in New York is actually Cumorah, as the prophets have consistently taught.

Michael the Archangel in America

This has always been a mighty land in God’s plan.  It was in the valley of Adam-ondi-Ahman prior to his death, called the great high priests together and there bestowed upon them his last blessing.  The Lord appearing there proclaimed Adam to be Michael, the Prince, the Archangel.  (D&C 107:53-54) It is to that same spot that Adam, as the Ancient of Days, shall come to visit his people (D&C 116), where judgement shall be set and the books opened.  (Daniel 7:9 Revelation 20:4) It is here on this land that the New Jerusalem shall be built “unto the remnant of the seed of Joseph” — ourselves and those others the literal descendants of Lehi.  (Ether 13:5 1 Nephi 14:1-2, 2Nephi 10:18) And finally, it is here on this hemisphere that Zion shall be built.  (Tenth Article of Faith.)  It is this fact and this purpose, the building of Zion on this hemisphere, which is Zion, which seems to be the dominant elements in all of God’s dealings with them who possess this land, for Isaiah, speaking more than twenty-five hundred years ago, declared that “out of the Lord from Jerusalem” (Isaiah 2:3.) President J. Reuben Clark, Jr  The Glorious Purpose page 103  

Plates Under Charge of Holy Angels

“The hill Cumorah, with the surrounding vicinity, is distinguished as the great battlefield on which, and near which, two powerful nations were concentrated with all their forces. Men, women and children fought till hundreds of thousands on both sides were hewn down, and left to molder upon the ground. . . .

These new plates were given to Moroni to finish the history. And all the ancient plates, Mormon deposited in Cumorah, about three hundred and eighty-four years after Christ. When Moroni, about thirty-six years after, made the deposit of the book entrusted to him, he was, without doubt, inspired to select a department of the hill separate from the great depository of the numerous volumes hid up by his father. The particular place in the hill where Moroni secreted the book, was revealed, by the angel, to the prophet Joseph Smith, to whom the volume was delivered in September, A.D. 1827. But the grand repository of all the numerous records of the ancient nations of the western continent, was located in another department of the hill, and it’s contents under the charge of holy angels, until the day should come for them to be transferred to the sacred temple of Zion.” 1866 Orson Pratt Millennial Star (28 (27): 417)

Nibley Explains Angels

Some have thought it strange that God should use any earthly implements and agents at all, when he could do all things himself just as easily. But even the Moslems, who protest that Christianity places needless intermediaries, notably Jesus and the Holy Ghost, between God and man, declare in their creed that they believe “in God and his Angels and his Prophets and his Books.” Does God need all of these to do his work with men? However we may rationalize, the fact is that he does make use of them…” Ancient Temples: What Do They Signify? By Hugh Nibley September 1972

Angel Witnesses Cumorah is the Place of the Last Battles 

“The Angel also informed him that America had once been people by a remnant of the seed of Israel of the tribe of Joseph who became two great Nations upon this Land one of those Nations were the present Natives of America or the Indians the other Nation was distroid [sic] about four hundred years after Christ.” Pratt, Parley Parker 1807-1857. An epistle written by an elder of the Church,  https://catalog.lds.org/assets?id=790a9435-99fc-44a2-95ef-8d9a1cd6a553&crate=0&index=2

Angel Moroni, was with Joseph Smith, Washington, and Columbus,

“In those early and perilous times, our men were few, and our resources limited. Poverty was among the most potent enemies we had to encounter; yet our arms were successful; and it may not be amiss to ask here, by whose power victory so often perched on our banner? It was by the agency of that same angel of God that appeared unto Joseph Smith, and revealed to him the history of the early inhabitants of this country, whose mounds, bones, and remains of towns, cities, and fortifications speak from the dust in the ears of the living with the voice of undeniable truth. This same angel presides over the destinies of America, and feels a lively interest in all our doings. He was in the camp of Washington; and, by an invisible hand, led on our fathers to conquest and victory; and all this to open and prepare the way for the Church and kingdom of God to be established on the western hemisphere, for the redemption of Israel and the salvation of the world. This same angel was with Columbus, and gave him deep impressions, by dreams and by visions, respecting this New World. Trammeled by poverty and by an unpopular cause, yet his persevering and unyielding heart would not allow an obstacle in his way too great for him to overcome; and the angel of God helped him—was with him on the stormy deep, calmed the troubled elements, and guided his frail vessel to the desired haven. Under the guardianship of this same angel, or Prince of America, have the United States grown, increased, and flourished, like the sturdy oak by the rivers of water.” Orson Hyde, JD 6:368

Brigham Young About Angels

“They are just as busy in the spirit world as you and I are here. They can see us, but we cannot see them unless our eyes were opened.” (Discourses of Brigham Young, p.378)

Note: Is there any doubt about when angels come? They come when they are needed, asked for, summoned, expected, desired, prayed for, sent, and whenever the Lord needs to bless us with their presence. They are sent to protect, to reprimand, to share a message, to prepare the way, to over come evil, and to be our comfort.

Section 129, Keys for Determining If Administrations Are from God,” Doctrine and Covenants Student Manual (2002), 319–21

Historical Background

In the early days of the Church, many were curious about angels, spirits, and resurrected persons. About the time Joseph Smith recorded this revelation, he wrote: “A man came to me in Kirtland, and told me he had seen an angel, and described his dress. I told him he had seen no angel, and that there was no such dress in heaven. He grew mad, and went into the street and commanded fire to come down out of heaven to consume me. I laughed at him, and said, You are one of Baal’s prophets; your God does not hear you; jump up and cut yourself: and he commanded fire from heaven to consume my house.” (History of the Church, 5:267–68.)

Doctrine and Covenants 129 describes the difference between angels who have gone through mortality and have been resurrected and those who are still spirits. It also gives three keys “whereby you may know whether any administration is from God” (v. 9).

The Prophet Joseph Smith may have known these keys long before this revelation was recorded. Earlier, Michael helped the Prophet by detecting Satan, who had appeared to Joseph as an angel of light (see D&C 128:20). Nothing further is known about the incident, and whether the Prophet learned of these keys at that time is not known. However, Wilford Woodruff recorded in his journal that he learned of these keys from Joseph Smith as early as 1839 (see Journal of Wilford Woodruff, vol. 2, 27 June 1839, Historical Department, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City).

The Prophet Joseph Smith taught: “An angel of God never has wings. Some will say that they have seen a spirit; that he offered them his hand, but they did not touch it. This is a lie. First, it is contrary to the plan of God: a spirit cannot come but in glory; an angel has flesh and bones; we see not their glory. The devil may appear as an angel of light. Ask God to reveal it; if it be of the devil, he will flee from you; if of God, He will manifest Himself, or make it manifest. We may come to Jesus and ask Him; He will know all about it.” (History of the Church, 3:392.)

When Do the Angels Come? 

By Bruce C. Hafen 

“The ministry of angels in the lives of ordinary, devoted people often goes unrecognized. 

At certain sacred times, God has sent his holy angels to instruct and minister to his children. Think of the angel who first taught Adam about the Atonement; the angel who announced to Mary that she would bear the child Jesus; the angels who sang glories to God the night of Christ’s birth; the angel who comforted the Savior in the Garden of Gethsemane; and the angels who brought the keys of the Restoration to Joseph Smith. 

No wonder the angels came at such times. These were history’s crowning events. But angels have also come at times that were significant mostly because of their personal, spiritual meaning in the lives of ordinary but faithful men and women. 

Personal Manifestations 

Some of these personal visits were dramatic and powerful. Think of the angels who ministered to the Nephite children in the account of 3 Nephi 17 [3 Ne. 17], or the angel who chastised Alma and Mosiah’s sons in answer to a father’s prayer. (See Mosiah 27.) 

Other personal manifestations have been so quiet that those who received them were unaware of the angelic presence. The ministry of these unseen angels is among the most sublime forms of interaction between heaven and earth, powerfully expressing God’s concern for us and bestowing tangible assurance and spiritual sustenance upon those in great need. 

Think of the angel who came to comfort the sleeping Elijah when he was in such despair that he wished to live no longer. (See 1 Kgs. 19:4–8.) Or recall when Joseph Smith “saw the Twelve Apostles of the Lamb, … in foreign lands, standing together in a circle, much fatigued, with their clothes tattered and feet swollen, with their eyes cast downward, and Jesus standing in their midst, and they did not behold Him. The Savior looked upon them and wept.” (Joseph Smith, History of the Church, 2:381; italics added.) The Prophet also “saw Elder Brigham Young in a strange land, … in a desert place, upon a rock in the midst of about a dozen [hostile] men. He was preaching to them in their own tongue, and the angel of God standing above his head, with a drawn sword in his hand, protecting him, but he did not see it.” (Ibid.; italics added.) 

For an unforgettable picture of unseen angelic armies, think of Elisha’s young servant, who cried when he was surrounded by an ominous army, “Alas, my master! how shall we do?” Answered Elisha, “Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.” Then Elisha said, “Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.” (See 2 Kgs. 6:15–17.) 

President J. Reuben Clark eloquently captured the blessing of unseen angels in the lives of ordinary, devoted people in his masterful sermon, “To Them of the Last Wagon.” President Clark recognized the “mighty men” who led the early Saints, but he reserved his most reverent tribute for “the meekest and lowliest” found in “the last wagon in each of the long wagon trains.” Out in front of these toiling caravans were “the Brethren,” for whom “the air was clear and clean and … they had unbroken vision of the blue vault of heaven.” But, in contrast, “back in the last wagon, … the blue heaven was often shut out from their sight by heavy, dense clouds of the dust of the earth … [which made] the glories of a celestial world [seem] so far away.” 

Even though some of the early brethren had seen “in a vision, the armies of heaven protecting the Saints in their return to Zion” (History of the Church, 2:381), President Clark mentioned angels only once. After describing the grinding frustrations of lame oxen, broken hubs, and sick children in the last wagon, he spoke of a pregnant mother trying to breathe through heavy, choking dust. “Then the morning came when from out that last wagon floated the la-la of the newborn babe, and mother love made a shrine, and Father bowed in reverence before it. But the train must move on. So out into the dust and dirt the last wagon moved again, swaying and jolting, while Mother eased as best she could each pain-giving jolt so no harm might be done her, that she might be strong to feed the little one, bone of her bone, flesh of her flesh. Who will dare to say that angels did not cluster round and guard her and ease her rude bed, for she had given another choice spirit its mortal body that it might work out its God-given destiny?” (New Era, July 1975, p. 8; italics added.) 

Discerning the Light 

The veil between heaven and earth usually hides the angels from our sight. Yet often in the early stages of our spiritual development, we may experience unmistakable contact with the angels of the unseen world. These experiences may move our sense of belief to a sure sense of knowledge, as we exclaim with Alma, “O then, is not this real?” And Alma replies to us, “Yea, because it is light; and whatsoever is light, is good, because it is discernible.” (Alma 32:35; italics added.) 

Yet our discerning this light does not yield perfect knowledge. We must nourish the tree of faith to “get root” against the day “when the heat of the sun cometh and scorcheth it.” (See Alma 32:37–38.) As we wait for additional flashes of spiritual light, our days of nourishment and testing can last many years. 

The early manifestations of “discernible” angelic contact in our spiritual development frequently occur in youthful conversion experiences, missionary service, or times while we are attending college. These crucial, formative periods of spiritual breakthrough in a young person’s life may be compared with the Kirtland period in Church history; and the years that follow may be compared with the period of Nauvoo and beyond. 

Youthful Kirtland Years 

The early years of Kirtland were an unusually happy time for Joseph Smith and the Saints. What wonderful events had blessed them in only a few years: the Vision in the grove, the publication of the Book of Mormon, the formal organization of the Church, the optimistic launching of missionary work, the school of the prophets, and mighty revelations outlining a glorious future. It was a youthful, buoyant time. The Saints had no inkling of what waited for them, coiled like a deadly snake barely around the corner of history: mobs, persecution, apostasy, and martyrdom. 

But first the angels came. Indeed, the dedication of the Kirtland Temple in March of 1836 represented the greatest spiritual outpouring in modern Church history. Joseph wrote that, shortly after the dedicatory prayer was offered, “Frederick G. Williams arose and testified that [during the prayer] an angel entered the window and took his seat between Father Smith and himself. David Whitmer also saw angels in the house.” 

Later, “Brother George A. Smith arose and began to prophesy, when a noise was heard like the sound of a rushing mighty wind, which filled the Temple, and all the congregation simultaneously arose, being moved upon by an invisible power; many began to speak in tongues and prophesy; … and I beheld that the Temple was filled with angels. … The people of the neighborhood came running together (hearing an unusual sound within, and seeing a bright light like a pillar of fire resting upon the Temple,) and were astonished at what was taking place.” 

Of one of the concluding meetings, Joseph wrote, “The Savior made his appearance to some, while angels ministered to others, and it was a Pentecost and an endowment indeed, long to be remembered, for the sound shall go forth from this place into all the world, and occurrences of this day shall be handed down upon the pages of sacred history, to all generations.” (History of the Church, 2:427–33.) 

Dark Nauvoo Years 

Now contrast those glorious experiences with the dreadful conditions under which the Nauvoo Temple was dedicated less than ten years later. Joseph and Hyrum had been slain. The Church was racked with dissension and apostasy, and the dark spirit of the martyrdom hovered over Nauvoo like the destroying angel of death. The Saints knew they could not stay. They worked frantically to finish the temple, even as they also hurried to gather provisions and prepare wagons for their plunge into the great unknown trek westward. 

Part of the Nauvoo Temple was dedicated in October 1845, even before it was finished, and in December Brigham Young began to administer the temple ordinances day and night. Within two months, the first company of wagons crossed the frozen Mississippi, never to return. 

The story is told of a blind convert named Brother Williams who came from Massachusetts to Nauvoo in time to help complete the temple. Brother Williams had heard the stories of Kirtland, and he believed fervently that when the Nauvoo Temple was dedicated, the Savior and even the resurrected Joseph would return. He anticipated great spiritual manifestations that would heal his blindness. He believed that each stone they were laying brought him one step closer to the Savior’s healing hand. 

But the Nauvoo Temple dedication was no Kirtland. As far as we know, there were no visible manifestations, no angelic ministries, no Pentecost. 

We Lived Once in Kirtland 

Our youthful years as missionaries and students are, despite their typical growing pains, frequently a kind of Kirtland for us: a simple and beautiful time, filled with intellectual breakthroughs, private spiritual moments, and emerging idealistic convictions. Those years may lift us for a time above the noise and smoke and confusion of worldly valleys to a high mountain peak, where we develop a growing closeness to the Infinite. 

But the day always seems to come when we must leave our Kirtlands. When we do, sooner or later, we may have our own kind of Nauvoo, perhaps more than once. We will have our own frozen rivers and parched deserts to cross, a moral or financial or intellectual wilderness to tame. It will not always be fun. Perhaps we will feel bewildered and disappointed, and we may look back longingly to those youthful years, wondering why we cannot recapture the way things were in our days of Kirtland. 

When our Nauvoo comes, we may find ourselves living in a culture that offers little reinforcement for our belief in the ideals of  family life. The surrounding environment may even discourage and attack our devotion to marriage and children. Some of us may begin to feel a growing sense of distance in our marriages, as those around us take for granted that modern men and women should not feel bound by unconditional family commitments. But we will know better, for we lived once in Kirtland, where the Spirit whispered to us that the doctrine is true: marriage is sacred and love is forever. 

After leaving our Kirtland, some may feel the waning of their sense of spiritual wonder, as the accumulating pressures and pollutions of life seem to cast doubt on the reality of inspiration or the worth of the institutional Church or the value of giving ourselves unselfishly to others. Especially in that kind of Nauvoo, some of us may turn away bitterly and say that the stories of Kirtland were not really true. 

“How could they be true?” some will ask. “We see no angels here, not now, when we need them most. What happened at Kirtland must have been the foolish imagination of our youth.” We will feel pressure to see things this way, for we may be surrounded by unbelievers who whisper tauntingly in our ears as did the enemy in Nauvoo: “Your Prophet is dead. Wake up—it was all a childhood dream.” 

Our Nauvoos Must Come 

When our Nauvoo comes, it will neither surprise us nor throw us off course if we have kept the image of Kirtland burning brightly in our memories. “It is all right,” we will say. “We understand. We receive our full witness only after the trial of our faith. After much tribulation come the blessings.” And we will pick up our wagons and our families and head west. 

As we do, we will sense that Kirtland was given to us as a first witness, to be told to our children and their children’s children, that they may know that God is the Lord. He slumbers not nor sleepeth. We will know that, always, for we were there, that season in the Mormon village of Kirtland. 

I still think of Brother Williams, his blind eyes glistening with hope, waiting for Jesus and his angels to come to the Nauvoo Temple. I don’t know what happened to him after Nauvoo. Did he find the healing he hungered for? Did he find his Savior and see the face of Brother Joseph? I suppose that he and the other faithful ones of Nauvoo did find the enlightenment and the peace they sought—but later, perhaps within the last wagon along some dreary prairie trail, or in struggling to build a new life, far away in the West. 

I suppose that Brother Williams made the same discovery as did the Saints in the Martin and Willie handcart companies, which were trapped by heavy, early snows on their way across the plains. In a conference address, Elder James E. Faust shared the feeling of one company member: 

“‘Not one of that company ever apostatized or left the Church, because everyone of us came through with the absolute knowledge that God lives, for we became acquainted with him in our extremities. 

“‘I have pulled my handcart when I was so weak and weary from illness and lack of food that I could hardly put one foot ahead of the other. I have gone on [to some point I thought I could never reach, only to feel that] the cart began pushing me. I have looked back many times to see who was pushing my cart, but my eyes saw no one. I knew then that the angels of God were there.” (Ensign, May 1979, p. 53.) 

Such unseen angelic manifestations in the “extremities” of our lives may, over time, have more profound meaning than the more visible outpouring of Kirtland. The Lord has promised that if you are true and faithful, the Lord himself may be “in your midst and ye cannot see me.” (D&C 38:7.) Even if you do not see him, he can “be on your right hand and on your left, and [his] Spirit shall be in your hearts,” and the angels who came to Kirtland will be “round about you, to bear you up.” (D&C 84:88.) 

Moreover, our memories of Kirtland can be enriched by our later, perhaps more turbulent, experience. The very meaning of earlier witnesses may well grow richer with the perspective of time. It is because of what we saw in Kirtland that we ventured to Nauvoo. That we have once seen so clearly is our witness that we can again see clearly, with greater depth, even in the very midst of our afflictions. 

When do the angels come? If we seek to be worthy, they are near us when we need them most. The mountain might even be full with the horsemen of Israel and their chariots of fire.” Bruce C. Hafen, provost at Brigham Young University, serves as a Gospel Doctrine teacher in the Sharon Fifth Ward, Orem Utah Sharon Stake.