Book of Mormon Evidence

“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

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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

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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?

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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

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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!

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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)

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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.

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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. 

This above title is what Thomas Jefferson said to the Royal Crown.

How could the author of the Declaration of the Independence own slaves? How could twenty percent of the population of the new United States, founded on the principles of liberty and equality, live in bondage? What was life like for enslaved people in the early republic? 

“You know that nobody wishes more ardently to see an abolition not only of the trade but of the condition of slavery: and certainly nobody will be more willing to encounter every sacrifice for that object.” -Thomas Jefferson to Brissot de Warville, February 11, 1788

1784
– Rhode Island and Connecticut begin gradual emancipation.
– North Carolina prohibits the importation of African slaves.
– Jefferson’s proposal to restrict the westward expansion of slavery fails.

Jefferson’s Failed Anti-Slavery Proviso of 1784 and the Nascence of Free Soil Constitutionalism

By William G. Merkel

Despite his severe racism and inextricable personal commitments to slavery, Thomas Jefferson made profoundly significant contributions to the rise of anti-slavery constitutionalism. This Article examines the narrowly defeated anti-slavery plank in the Territorial Governance Act drafted by Jefferson and ratified by Congress in 1784. The provision would have prohibited slavery in all new states carved out of the western territories ceded to the national government established under the Articles of Confederation.

The Act set out the principle that new states would be admitted to the Union on equal terms with existing members, and provided the blueprint for the Republican Guarantee Clause and prohibitions against titles of nobility in the United States Constitution of 1788. The defeated anti-slavery plank
inspired the anti-slavery proviso successfully passed into law with the
Northwest Ordinance of 1787. Unlike that Ordinance’s famous antislavery clause, Jefferson’s defeated provision would have applied south as well as north of the Ohio River. https://scholarship.shu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1115&context=shlr

Thomas Jefferson: Liberty & Slavery

Thomas Jefferson helped to create a new nation based on individual freedom and self-government.  His words in the Declaration of Independence expressed the aspirations of the new nation. But the Declaration did not extend “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness” to African Americans, indentured servants, or women. Twelve of the first eighteen American presidents owned slaves. Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration and called slavery an “abominable crime,” yet he was a lifelong slaveholder. Fearful of dividing the fragile new nation, Jefferson and other founders who opposed slavery did not insist on abolishing it.

It took 87 more years―and the Civil War, the Emancipation Proclamation, and the 13^th Amendment―to end slavery. https://www.monticello.org/slavery-at-monticello

Why Thomas Jefferson’s Anti-Slavery Passage Was Removed from the Declaration of Independence

YOHURU WILLIAMS

With its soaring rhetoric about all men being “created equal,” the Declaration of Independence gave powerful voice to the values behind the American Revolution. Critics, however, saw a glaring contradiction: Many of the colonists who sought freedom from British tyranny themselves bought and sold human beings. By underpinning America’s nascent economy with the brutal institution of chattel slavery, they deprived roughly one-fifth of the population of their own “inalienable” right to liberty.

What isn’t widely known, however, is that Founding Father Thomas Jefferson, in an early version of the Declaration, drafted a 168-word passage that condemned slavery as one of the many evils foisted upon the colonies by the British crown. The passage was cut from the final wording.

So while Jefferson is credited with infusing the Declaration with Enlightenment-derived ideals of freedom and equality, the nation’s founding document—its moral mission statement—would remain forever silent on the issue of slavery. That omission would create a legacy of exclusion for people of African descent that engendered centuries of struggle over basic human and civil rights.

What the deleted passage said

In his initial draft, Jefferson blamed Britain’s King George for his role in creating and perpetuating the transatlantic slave trade—which he describes, in so many words, as a crime against humanity.

He has waged cruel war against human nature itself, violating its most sacred rights of life & liberty in the persons of a distant people who never offended him, captivating & carrying them into slavery in another hemisphere or to incur miserable death in their transportation thither.

Jefferson went on to call the institution of slavery “piratical warfare,” “execrable commerce” and an “assemblage of horrors.” He then criticized the crown for

“Exciting those very people to rise in arms among us, and to purchase that liberty of which he has deprived them, by murdering the people on whom he also obtruded them: thus paying off former crimes committed against the Liberties of one people, with crimes which he urges them to commit against the lives of another.”

This passage refers to a 1775 proclamation by Britain’s Lord Dunmore, which offered freedom to any enslaved person in the American colonies who volunteered to serve in the British army against the patriots’ revolt. The proclamation inspired thousands of enslaved people to seek liberty behind British lines during the Revolutionary War.

Why was the Declaration’s anti-slavery passage removed?

The exact circumstances of the passage’s removal may never be known; the historical record doesn’t include details of the debates undertaken by the Second Continental Congress. What is known is that the 33-year-old Jefferson, who composed the Declaration between June 11 and June 28, 1776, sent a rough draft to members of a pre-selected committee, including John Adams and Benjamin Franklin, for edits ahead of its presentation to Congress. Between July 1 and July 3, congressional delegates debated the document, during which time they excised Jefferson’s anti-slavery clause.

The removal was mostly fueled by political and economic expediencies. While the 13 colonies were already deeply divided on the issue of slavery, both the South and the North had financial stakes in perpetuating it. Southern plantations, a key engine of the colonial economy, needed free labor to produce tobacco, cotton and other cash crops for export back to Europe. Northern shipping merchants, who also played a role in that economy, remained dependent on the triangle trade between Europe, Africa and the Americas that included the traffic in enslaved Africans.

Decades later, in his autobiography, Jefferson primarily blamed two Southern states for the clause’s removal, while acknowledging the North’s role as well.

“The clause…reprobating the enslaving the inhabitants of Africa, was struck out in compliance to South Carolina and Georgia, who had never attempted to restrain the importation of slaves, and who on the contrary still wished to continue it. Our Northern brethren also I believe felt a little tender under these censures; for tho’ their people have very few slaves themselves, yet they had been pretty considerable carriers of them to others.”

Many in Congress had a vested interest

To call slavery a “cruel war against human nature itself” may have accurately reflected the values of many of the founders, but it also underscored the paradox between what they said and what they did. Jefferson, after all, had been tasked with writing a document to reflect the interests of an assemblage of slave-owning colonies with a profound commercial interest in preserving the trade in human beings. One third of the Declaration’s signers were personally enslavers and even in the North, where abolition was more widely favored, states passed “gradual emancipation” laws designed to slowly phase out the practice.

Jefferson himself had a complicated relationship to the “peculiar institution.” Despite his philosophical abhorrence of slavery and his ongoing legislative efforts to abolish the practice, Jefferson over his lifetime enslaved more than 600 people—including his own children with his enslaved concubine Sally Hemings. On his death in 1826, Jefferson, long plagued with debt, chose not to free any of the human beings he claimed as property.

READ MORE: How Sally Hemings and Other Enslaved People Secured Precious Pockets of Freedom

Such conflicts didn’t go unnoticed. How was it possible, wrote British essayist Samuel Johnson at the start of the war, “that we hear the loudest yelps for liberty among the drivers of Negroes?” American loyalist and former governor of Massachusetts Thomas Hutchinson echoed these sentiments in his “Strictures Upon the Declaration of the Congress at Philadelphia”:

“I could wish to ask the Delegates of Maryland, Virginia, and the Carolinas, how their constituents justify the depriving more than an hundred thousand Africans of their rights to liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and in some degree to their lives, if these rights are so absolutely unalienable….”

The legacy of a foundational omission

The signers ultimately replaced the deleted clause with a passage highlighting King George’s incitement of “domestic insurrections among us,” for stirring up warfare between the colonists and Native tribes—leaving the original passage a footnote to what might have been.

Indeed, removing Jefferson’s condemnation of slavery would prove the most significant deletion from the Declaration of Independence. The founders’ failure to directly address the question of slavery exposed the hollowness of the words “all men created equal.” Nonetheless, the underlying ideals of freedom and equality expressed in the document have inspired generations of Americans to struggle to obtain their inalienable rights. BY YOHURU WILLIAMS

THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

The flag of the United States of America reminds us daily of our freedom which came from God. The flag is to be honored, loved, respected, and protected as it represents how we feel about our Country and our Heavenly Father. We don’t worship the flag but we honor it’s symbolic nature.

Look around america today. Have we forgotten the flag? do we still honor it? Does it still represent our Liberty in this great Nation? When we see others disrespect the flag what do we do? How we treat the flag is an outward indication of how we feel about our God and Country. What do the flage of other nations represent? Hopefully honor and freedom, but remember, this flag has special meaning on God’s Choice Land and especially as it flutters in the wind on top of Hill Cumorah.

Amazing Flag Quotes

“After President McKay’s remarks the canvas shroud that was covering the monument was removed and the congregations joined in the song “What Was Witnessed in the Heavens.” In attendance at this session was a young Gordon B. Hinckley, on his way home from his mission to England. He later wrote an article for the Deseret News giving these details of that event: “On the summit of the hill was a canvas-draped monument. At an appointed signal four trumpeters raised their gleaming instruments. In sharp clear tones “An Angel From On High” echoed across the placid countryside. The flag—the Stars and Stripes—fluttered in the wind, and it never looked more beautiful than it did over that hill sacred and important to the history of America. Then the canvas shroud fell from the monument, and the figure of Moroni looked out across the quiet fields which in his day of life had been scenes of carnage and sorrow.  It is interesting to note that Gordon B. Hinckley, present at the first dedication of the Hill Cumorah as a returning missionary, would also be present at the 50th anniversary of the dedication in 1985 as a member of the First Presidency. Following the unveiling of the monument, President Heber J. Grant shared a few remarks followed by the dedicatory prayer.” 2002 A Study of the Hill Cumorah: A Significant Latter- Day Saint Landmark in Western New York Cameron J. Packer [Doesn’t this quote above in red, validate that this very hill in upstate NY was indeed the same hill of the last battles of the Book of Mormon?] Read my complete blog about this event in 1923.

“Because the Church was still several years away from purchasing the entire Hill Cumorah, conference organizers secured special permission from non–Latter-day Saint Pliny T. Sexton, owner and proprietor of the hill and surrounding farmland, to hold ceremonies on his property.87 The missionaries and members made their way, flags in hand, to the top of the hill while the sun peeked over the eastern horizon. When everyone summited, the appointed “Flag Sergeants” erected America’s national banner. They also raised a unique “Cumorah—Ramah” flag specially designed for the occasion—bisected into two colors, the blue “Cumorah” side bore the hill’s name “as it was known by the Nephites” in bright gold letters. The purple “Ramah” side similarly bore the ancient name of the hill in gold, as it “was known to the Jaredites—the people who first possessed the land.”88 Pilgrimage to Palmyra: President B. H. Roberts and the Eastern States Mission’s 1923 Commemoration of Cumorah  Author Reid L. Neilson and Carson V. Teuscher [In this quote it mentions the Cumorah Flag and the Ramah Flag being raised together on the same Hill Cumorah, meaning the final battles occurred at the same hill by both the Nephites and the Jaredites, another validation there is only ONE Hill Cumorah!]

Meaning of Our Flag – Colors of our Flag

by Howard Schnauber Credit to Fort Collins Public Library Local History Archive

I Am the Flag Of America

I am the flag of the United States of America.
My name is Old Glory.
I fly atop the world’s tallest buildings.
I stand watch in America’s halls of justice.
I fly majestically over institutions of learning.
I stand guard with power in the world.
Look up and see me.

I stand for peace, honor, truth and justice.
I stand for freedom.
I am confident.
I am arrogant,
I am proud.

When I am flown with my fellow banners,
My head is a little higher,
My colors a little truer.

I bow to no one!
I am recognized all over the world.
I am honored – I am saluted.
I am loved – I am revered.
I am respected – and I am feared.

I have fought in every battle
of every war
for more then 200 years.

I was flown at Valley Forge,
Gettysburg, Shiloh and Appamatox.
I was there at San Juan Hill,
the trenches of France,
in the Argonne Forest,
Anzio, Rome and the beaches of Normandy.

Guam, Okinawa, Korea and
KheSan, Saigon, Vietnam know me.
I was there.
I led my troops, I was dirty, battleworn and tired,
But my soldiers cheered me and I was proud.

I have been burned, torn and trampled on the
streets of countries I have helped set free.
It does not hurt for I am a symbol of love and freedom.
I have been soiled upon, burned, torn and
trampled in the streets of my country.
And when it’s done by those
Whom I’ve served in battle – it hurts.
But I shall overcome – for I am strong.

I have slipped the bonds of Earth
and stood watch over the uncharted
frontiers of space from my vantage point on the moon.
I have borne silent witness to all of America’s finest hours.

But my finest hours are yet to come.

When I am torn into strips and used as bandages
for my wounded comrades on the battlefield,
When I am flown at half-mast to honor my soldier,
Or when I lie in the trembling arms of a grieving parent
at the grave of their fallen son or daughter,

I am proud.
Yet, I am humble. I know that my greatness comes from God.
I know that God’s blessing is what makes my country great.

Howard Schnauber

THE MEANING OF THE COLORS OF THE FLAG

The Colors of the Flag reflect our Christian heritage.

My red stands for the blood that was shed for the freedom I represent. Yet, my red originated from the blood of Jesus who died and rose again for those who believe in Him and for whom the Pilgrims came to this country for religious freedom and for the freedom from tyrants who would not let them worship God except in a national denominational church. My people are now free to worship in the church of their choice whether it be Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, Calvary Chapel, Evangelical Free, Brethren, Episcopalian, Catholic, Vineyard or other denominations who believe in the One True God of the Bible. People here are even free to disbelieve or to doubt. All we ask in America is that the ones who do not believe in Jesus will not try to use the freedoms we give them to try to take away the freedoms of those of us who do believe in Jesus. Our Founders held church services in the Rotunda of the Capitol, in the treasury office, and in the offices of the Supreme Court. By 1867, the church in the Capitol had become the largest church in Washington, and the largest Protestant church in America. (from James Hutson, Chief of the Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress, Religion and the Founding of the American Republic, Washington, D.C., Library of Congress 1998). This, among many other historical writings and facts, is proof that the recent claims of a separation of church and state did not exist among the original intent
of our Founders. The meaning of the colors in the flag reflect our Christian foundation.

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“Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.” Psalm 33:12

My blue stands for heaven, the eternal dwelling place of those who go to be with the eternal, everlasting Father who created us. My blue reminds me that those who want to go to heaven must believe and put their trust and belief in God’s Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Obedience to the written message that God gave to them in His Holy Book, the Bible is the proof of my people’s faith in God.

My white reminds me that my motives must always remain pure, unselfish, without greed, & with arms outstretched to welcome all who long for freedom, justice, opportunity and equality under the law. My white reminds me that because I am the symbol of a Christian nation founded upon Christian principles and the law of God represented by God’s Ten Commandments that I am only pure and righteous because I was washed white in the blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, and Savior of all who trust in Him.

“Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people.”
Proverbs 14:34

May all who love me work to elect Godly men and women who will live Godly lives in private and in public, who will honor me in their homes, their hearts, and in our nation, who will make righteous laws which reflect God’s righteous rules in His Holy Word, the Bible. [And the Book of Mormon]

Please forward my message or this link to all who still love and respect me that I may fly proudly for another three hundred years.

To forward this page to others, use the URL below:
https://www.helpsaveamerica.com/meaning-of-our-flag.htm

THE MEANING OF THE COLORS OF THE US FLAG SYMBOLIZE

The colors of the US Flag have important meaning and the colors symbolize our spiritual heritage.

The red of the stripes was not only emblematic of the blood that was shed in the war that led to the establishment of an independent republic. It also signified the passage into the embodied state of the higher principles of light. Red is the color of the life-blood that runs through humanity and through all warm-blooded creatures, and it was, is, and always shall be America’s destiny to be a funnel or vehicle for bringing light and energy from the higher realms to the earth for the purpose of benefiting the realms of life amidst the physical. In this sense, America functions as the heart of the planetary body, and her purpose serves the purposes of all.

In relation to the white stripes that accompany the red, just as the red signifies the life of the earth, the white signifies the higher realms of light joining and intermingling with the life of the earth, a constant companion to the spiritual evolution of mankind and of all beings.

The stars on the blue background are a composite image that has gone through many changes as the Republic of the United States of America has grown from thirteen colonies to a much vaster size. Indeed, the blue background, today, is almost filled with the stars representing the fifty states of America, and it is possible that more shall be added at some point in the future when those territories seeking statehood shall also come under the umbrella of the vast entity that shall be the new Republic of America.

The number of stars in the original pattern were shaped in the form of a hexagon, with invisible lines of light joining the thirteen stars. These lines crisscrossed from one star to another. Though they could not be seen outwardly, they represented the developing national identity that was being given energy and light by the forces that supported the birth of a nation and the principles upon which she stood. These lines of light remain today in the upper left-hand corner of the flag between each of the fifty stars and every other, although in some instances the threads of connection have become weakened, indicating that the coherence and integrity of the nation as a unity has also become weakened. The patterning of light related to the stars reflects the condition of things on a spiritual level as well as on a physical. At this time in her history, America is in need of a kind of joining on the level of the heart and mind that will eradicate the divisions that are presently undermining her national integrity.

Finally, the blue background against which the stars are placed is a symbol of the eternal being of God, the Creator of all, and represents the Infinite, out of which both America’s identity and the earth itself has been constructed. The eternal and the infinite is interwoven into America’s outer life as it is interwoven into her spiritual life, and despite the fact that there have been significant departures from the fulfillment of her true destiny since her founding, and clear departures from the moral vision that is also part of her foundation, the blue that represents America’s relationship to God remains as the assurance that this connection will never change, no matter what ideology becomes popular. It is why “In God We Trust” is written on the dollar bill, and why in so many other instances, the connection with the eternal has been enunciated as part of America’s most sacred documents.

Editors Note: I have several blogs that speak to this fracturing of our liberties and freedoms. https://www.bofm.blog/freedom-of-speech-worth-dying-for/ and https://www.bofm.blog/liberty-vs-freedom/ and https://www.bofm.blog/the-opposite-of-being-a-slave-is-having-liberty/ and https://www.bofm.blog/want-fundamental-transformation-no/ and https://www.bofm.blog/fear-and-faith-are-not-compatible/

Meaning of our flag brings you these weekly Bible verses

Deuteronomy 7:5-8
⁵ But thus shall ye deal with them; ye shall destroy their altars, and break down their images, and cut down their groves, and burn their graven images with fire.
⁶ For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God: the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth.
⁷ The Lord did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people:
⁸ But because the Lord loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the Lord brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

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Gold-Fringed American Flags

BEWARE OF THE ILLEGAL U.S.A CORPORATEGOLD FRINGED FLAG

Do you know why flags displayed in State courts and courts of the United States have gold or yellow fringes? That is your WARNING that you are entering into a foreign enclave, the same as if you are stepping into a foreign embassy and you will be under the jurisdiction of that flag.

The flag with the gold or yellow fringe has no constitution, no laws, and no rules of court, and is not recognized by any nation on the earth, and is foreign to you and the United States of America.

MILITARY FLAG WITH THE GOLD FRINGE

Martial Law Flag “Pursuant to 4 U.S.C. chapter 1, §§1, 2, & 3; Executive Order 10834, August 21, 1959; 24 F.R.6865; a military flag is a flag that resembles the regular flag of the United States, except that it has a YELLOW FRINGE border on three sides. The President of the United States designates this deviation from the regular flag, by executive order, and in his capacity as Commander-in-Chief of the military.

The placing of a fringe on the national flag, the dimensions of the flag and the arrangement of the stars in the union are matters of detail not controlled by statute, but are within the discretion of the President as Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy.” 34 Ops. Atty. Gen. 83.

President, Dwight David Eisenhower, by Executive Order No.10834, signed on August 21, 1959 and printed in the Federal Register at 24 F.R. 6865, pursuant to law, stated that: “A military flag is a flag that resembles the regular flag of the United States, except that it has a yellow fringe border on three sides.

THE LAW OF THE FLAG

The Law of the Flag, an International Law, which is recognized by every nation of the planet, is defined as:”… a rule to the effect that a vessel is a part of the territory of the nation whose flag she flies. The term is used to designate the RIGHTS under which a ship owner, who sends his vessel into a foreign port, gives notice by his flag to all who enter into contracts with the ship master that he intends the Law of that Flag to regulate those contracts, and that they must either submit to its operation or not contract with him or his agent at all.” Ref.: Ruhstrat v. People, 57 N.E. 41

By the doctrine of “four cornering” the flag establishes the law of the country that it represents. For example, the embassies of foreign countries, in Washington D.C., are “four cornered” by walls or fencing, creating an “enclave.” Within the boundaries of the “enclave” of the foreign embassy, the flag of that foreign country establishes the jurisdiction and law of that foreign country, which will be enforced by the Law of the Flag and international treaty.

If you enter an embassy, you will be subject to the laws of that country, just as if you board a ship flying a foreign flag, you will be subject to the laws of that flag, enforceable by the “master of the ship,” (Captain), by the law of the flag.

When you enter a courtroom displaying a gold or yellow fringed flag, you have just entered into a foreign country, and you better have your passport with you, because you may not be coming back to the land of the free for a long time. The judge sitting under a gold or yellow fringe flag becomes the “captain” or “master” of that ship or enclave and he has absolute power to make the rules as he goes. The gold or yellow fringe flag is your warning that you are leaving your Constitutionally secured RIGHTS on the floor outside the door to that courtroom.

This is exactly why so many judges are appointed, and not elected by the people. The Federal judges are appointed by the President, the national military commander in chief. The State judges are appointed by the Governors, the state military commanders. The judges are appointed because the courts are military courts and civilians do not “elect” military officers.

Under martial law, you are presumed guilty until proven innocent.

The gold-fringed flag only stands inside military courts that sit in summary court martial proceedings against civilians and such courts are governed in part by local rules, but more especially by “The Manual of Courts Martial”, U.S., 1994 Ed., at Art. 99, (c)(1)(b), pg. IV-34, PIN 030567-0000, U.S. Government Printing Office, Wash. D.C. The details of the crimes that civilians can commit, that are classed as ‘Acts of War,’ cover 125 pages in the Manual of Courts Martial.

Under Article IV, section 3, of the Constitution for the united States of America, no new State shall be formed or erected within the Jurisdiction of any other State. So — Why have the judges of the State and Federal courts been allowed to erect foreign enclaves within our public courthouses under a foreign flag with the yellow fringe upon the soil of your state?

We just thought you would like to know, so that the next time you see this yellow fringed flag you will know what you are looking at and what it really means. If you are in Spain and you see the National Flag of Spain, you would know that you are under the jurisdiction of Spain; and their laws govern you at this time. You are officially NOTICED when you see their flag.

This is an admiralty law that says that all who see this flag understand they are governed by the laws of the country that this flag represents. You SHOULD understand that the gold or yellow fringed flag signifies the same thing. It is a notice to you that you are under the rules and regulations of the military force that is flying that flag.

Are you familiar with martial law?
Does your attorney understand what this flag means?

It is an elementary rule of pleading, that a plea to the jurisdiction is a tacit (silent) admission that the court has a right to judge the case and is a waiver to all exception to the jurisdiction.”(Girty v. Logan, 6 Bush KY, 8

Gold-Fringed American Flags

An interview to introduce the matter, followed by an explanation of the facts. By P. Johnson-Holm

Flag of the Unity-States of the America

Title: 4 U.S.A. Codes: Chapter: 1: Section: 1&2 and under Presidential Executive-Order #10834, dated August the 25 of 1959

Q: Is the yellow fringe on some of the flags seen in the United States purely a decorative touch?

A: No. The yellow fringe is only found on military flags, and the gold-fringed American flag is a military flag that represents Martial Law which is not subject to the Constitution. The one without is known as the peace flag of the United States and it symbolizes that the Constitution and the United States is alive and well.

Q: But they are both displayed across the U.S. and everyone knows we’re not under martial law. Why does it matter whether one or the other is flown?

A: There’s an international law known as The Law of the Flag. Whichever flag is displayed, that’s the rules you follow. If it’s on a ship, the ship’s captain is the enforcer of the rules of the country whose flag is being flown. If it’s in a fenced-in enclosure, such as an Embassy, that country’s Ambassador and the rules of his country are in charge in that little area.

Q: So if the Martial Law flag is on display in a courtroom, doesn’t the Constitution still apply?

A: The rules of the court are governed by the local authorities, but mostly by the Manual of Courts Martial, a military publication. One of the big differences is that under this court martial law, you are guilty until proven innocent. The court could even confiscate your possessions. It doesn’t matter whether or not you even get charged with a crime.

Q: But how did this get started? I never knew Martial Law had been declared.

A: Only the Commander-in-Chief can order the use of the military flag, and it was done in 1959 by President Eisenhower.

Q: It just seems that this should be illegal somehow…

A: The Constitution says no new state shall be formed within a State. By planting courts and other buildings into our midst that are governed by the laws of the gold-fringed flag, little “embassies” of these military enclaves are formed. They represent themselves to be government officials of the United States of America – the same country that is governed by the Constitution – but based on all these facts, perhaps you can see that there are two distinct and different groups. So a new ‘state of martial law’ is being formed within all States of the Union. That violates the Constitution. Our country has been taken over right beneath our noses!

This flag is a military flag and its use can only be ordered by the President of the United States. It is not recognized by any nation on earth and it has no constitution, no laws and no courts. The Commander-in-Chief must sign an executive order declaring martial law to activate its use.

This flag is a flag of peace and symbolizes the United States of America, the Constitution and our freedom. It has only three colors – red, white and blue. The specifics are detailed in the Constitution. It is recognized around the world as the flag of our nation.

In 1959 President Eisenhower signed an executive order to have the military flag displayed, and it has not yet been revoked.

The Facts Governing This Issue.

Why does it matter which flag is displayed?

There are certain laws that are fundamental. All countries acknowledge their use and they help all nations communicate and deal with each other. One of those basic laws is The Law of the Flag.

The Law of the Flag

This time-honored law outlines the way flags are used by all nations on Earth. Originally most foreign trade was conducted by sea and the ship captains would fly the colors, or flag, of the country under whose protection they would be traveling.

This practice continues to the present day. The ship, its cargo, crew and passengers are subject to the laws of that country. The ship’s master, or captain, is empowered to enforce the laws of the country of the flag being displayed. Aboard that ship, the captain was the final judge of the law. This is also why marriages performed by boat captains are legal and binding.

When the ship would go into port to do business, others could see the flag flying on top of the ship. That was the captain’s way of giving notice about which country and set of laws he represented. The others had to be willing to do their business according to the represented country’s laws. If they did not agree, they did not do business with that captain.

Four-cornering

This is the term for raising a flag on land. Walls or fences around an area create an enclave, or enclosure. The rules of the country whose flag flies within the four corners governs the property and people inside the enclave. This is how embassies are established with foreign countries.

For example, if you are traveling in another country and visit the American embassy, the area inside the embassy walls is considered American soil. Everyone within is under the jurisdiction of American laws. Any flag with yellow fringe around three edges is immediately recognized as a military flag. At sea, these are known as Admiralty flags.

Traditionally, they are flown during times of war. During time of war, when an admiralty flag is raised on land, it is an identifying point for troops. However, during peace time, the military or admiralty flags has not traditionally been displayed in general public areas.

Which flag is legal?

The international community only acknowledges the legitimacy of the red, white and blue American flag as symbolizing the United States of America. The yellow-fringed flag does not represent the U.S.A. For example, if you enter a courtroom that displays a yellow-fringed flag, that is your notice that the laws of the United States that are based on the Constitution, are not in effect at that location. Instead, the military laws are in effect for everyone within that room. This is why it matters which flag is being displayed.

Isn’t it unconstitutional to do this?

If our country were following the laws of the Constitution, this activity would be illegal.

How our nation is governed.

The Constitution outlines the way our nation is governed. Article III, section 1, describes the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and all other courts of the nation. These rules apply while operating under the American flag. Many citizens call this the Flag of Peace. In other words, when the red, white and blue is flying, it symbolizes that the Constitution is alive and well and all rights are preserved – including the presumption of innocence until proven guilty.

Describing the official flag.

Quoting the Constitution, “The flag of the United States shall be thirteen horizontal stripes, alternate red and white; and the union of the flag shall be forty-eight stars, white in a blue field.” As legalized by Constitutional Amendments, new states have become represented by a new star as they were admitted to the Union.

One nation, one government.

Under Article IV, section 3 of the Constitution of the United States of America, no new State shall be formed or erected within the Jurisdiction of any other State. Many examples exist which show that government officials and judges adamantly refuse requests to remove the gold fringed flag and replace it with the constitutional flag of the United States as defined in Article 4, sections 1,2, and 3 – which has no fringe.

Why are yellow-fringed flags being displayed in the USA?

A simple answer would be that whenever a flag is displayed, it symbolizes the ruler behind the flag. Perhaps a better question would be, “Why do Americans allow a flag to be displayed in the USA that replaces their Constitutional flag?”

How the military is ruling the USA. Where are the yellow-fringed flags being displayed?

Most citizens come across them in courtrooms. The courts are supposed to be the enforcer of our nation’s rules. Instead, many courtrooms are enforcing military rules that are ultimately coming from the Commander-in-Chief.

Our courts have been infiltrated.

In any courtroom displaying a yellow-fringed flag, the judge is the ship’s captain, so to speak. The judge is the enforcer of Martial Law as outlined in “The Manual of Courts Martial.” Federal judges are not elected; they are appointed by the President, who is also the Commander-in-Chief. States judges are appointed by the governor, who is also the state’s military commander.

How other countries view this.

Many rumors have circulated around the globe about who ordered the yellow or gold fringe onto American flags. Why is it still there? Some rumors include conspiracy theories against various groups. Other rumors explain that the whole Admiralty Law thing is just a convenience for local authorities that does not have any meaning behind it. Perhaps its just a marketing ploy to make our flag, and our nation, seem prettier and more colorful. Does that have the ring of truth? Read the facts and decide for yourself.

How does the display of fringed-flags allow our freedoms to be stolen from us?

Remember which ‘ruler’ is symbolized in our courtrooms.

Gold-fringed flags displayed in our courtrooms are actually standing inside military courts. The judges sit in summary court martial proceedings against civilians. These courts are governed in part by local rules, but mostly according to “The Manual of Courts Martial.” This manual is published by the government for the military. It details the crimes that civilians can commit. They are classed as ‘Acts of War,’ and this is all covered by 125 pages within the Manual of Courts Martial.

The importance of inside and outside display.

According to “The Manual of Courts Martial” fringed-flags flown outside are operating under Admiralty Law. When they are flown inside, they only represent military courts that are dealing with administrative matters. Cases brought to these judges are considered court martial proceedings against civilians.

Features that define a military flag.

In 1933 President Theodore Roosevelt described that the admiralty, maritime or administration display of the flag is established by the presence of “gold fringe, gold braid, gold eagle, gold spear, or gold ball atop the flag pole.” In 1979 these standards were set down in Army regulations as part of the War Powers Act.

By submitting a plea to this type of court, you are silently assenting, or admitting, that the court has jurisdiction over you. That is how the display of the fringed-flags allows our freedoms to be taken away.

What are the consequences of this Martial Law?

The President as Commander-in-Chief is the highest law, not the Constitution. Under these conditions, the President is given great power.

Under Martial Law, the President may seize property, organize and control the means of production, seize commodities, assign military forces abroad, institute stricter enforcement of martial law, seize and control all transportation and communications, regulate the operation of private enterprise, restrict travel, and, in a plethora of particular ways, control the lives of all American citizens.

Under Martial Law, you are presumed guilty until proven innocent.

Where else can people find evidence of this Martial Law?

In the legal notices of your newspapers, look for warrants that have been issued for the forfeiture of property. Look for these words:

“Any persons having or claiming an interest in or to said property must file their claim in accordance with Rule C(6) of the Supplemental Rules for Certain Admiralty and Maritime Claims within 10 days after the first publication of this notice or within such additional time as may be allowed upon application to the court, and must file their answer to the complaint within 20 days after their claim.”

Under these rules, confiscating property is allowed because you are guilty until proven innocent. Other property may also be seized, whether or not a conviction ever occurs. Here are two examples from Colorado.

What Happens From Here?

I have had debates with people who take great issue with the information shared here. Some have dogmatically stated that the Constitution is the Law and the government is outside the Law. I wish they were right, but they fail to see or understand that the American people have been conquered, unknowingly, yet conquered all the same.

This is why judges have told many – and a judge may someday tell you – to not bring the Constitution or a law dictionary into the courtroom.

This is because the judge is the Law, or represents the law, as established by the Commander-in-Chief, not the Constitution. You have only to read the previous Senate’s report on National Emergency to understand that our Constitution – and our Constitutional form of government – no longer exists.

Editors Note: The goes back to the Law of 1871 that made the USA a corporation under British law and we ceased being a Republic. We were bankrupt then and we are bankrupt today. See my Blog Here:

Gold Fringed Flag Facts.

November 22, 2019 by Steven

There are too many rumors about the gold fringed flag that flies in every courtroom¹ that you are dragged into.

• The U.S. flag is defined by law. The flag law is codified in Title Four of the United States Code. It does not have a yellow fringe.
• When you are in a courtroom do you see a U.S. flag attached to a wall? A flag on the wall is attached to the real estate and appurtenant thereto. It is part of the land.
• When you are in a courtroom do you see a U.S. flag with yellow fringe, not attached to a wall, but on a pole planted by dismounted troops? If so you have been given actual notice that you are under martial law. The citizen cannot complain because he has voluntarily submitted himself to such a form of government.

Here is the verifiable fact, from rock-solid sources.

The yellow fringe flag is a military² flag. Understand the deceptions and do not be fooled³.

You have lived under martial law rule ever since the Civil War.  There are four levels of Martial Law: Military law, Military government, martial law proper, and martial law rule.
(see U.S. Supreme Court Luther v. Borden, 48 US 1 for the first three, then martial law rule was necessary for the 8 Amendments that require Congress to enforce. Congress must enforce them because they are contrary to States’ common law.  These amendments are NOT self enforcing as the Supreme Law that judges in every state shall be bound under Article 6 second paragraph).In the U.S. Constitution, Judicial Courts are established, Legislative Tribunals are constituted.
You will only see a gold fringed flag in a Legislative Tribunal, even if it calls itself a court.  The courts with the gold fringed flag are responsible for giving 14th Amendment citizens the six rights allowed by law. (see 42 USC 1981 for the six rights.  These are from the Klu Klux Klan Act of 1871 enacted by Congress three years after the 14th Amendment).That’s right.  When you decided that you didn’t want the thousands of unalienable rights that government was instituted among men to secure, you were given six rights.   Welcome to your Novus Ordo Seclorum secular new world order.

In my article on Martial Law, you will find out HOW TO RECOGNIZE MARTIAL LAW WHEN YOU SEE IT.  With more proof than you can tolerate.

The laws of Congress in Title 4 United States Code section 1 describe a United States Flag. There is no mention of yellow fringe. The national flag when representing the national civil jurisdiction has no yellow fringe on its borders.

But under martial law, the yellow fringe is required.http://notfooledbygovernment.com/gold-fringed-flag-facts/

NO GOLD FRINGE ON PRESIDENT TRUMP’S FLAGS

JANUARY 27, 2017

I witness one of the most unique things I have witnessed in my life of following politics, this afternoon!

While watching the interview with President Donald J. Trump and U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May ‘Old Glory’ was hanging in the fashion that our founders intended! For the first time, since I can recently remember our U.S. Flag was presented in the proper way, with no attached gold fringe!

As a veteran and a patriot, I consider this a very important sign as it is a sign of our Republic! It is also the sign that our President respects our flag, as to not alter it. The altering of the American flag, by adding the fringe, mutilates the flag and is against the Uniform Code of Military Justice. The Gold Fringe Flag Stands for no Nation and no Constitution. It stands for Admiralty Law! Not Constitutional law, not Common Law, but the law that has taken over our nation and court system! It represents Martial Law!

Martial Law Flag “Pursuant to 4 U.S.C. chapter 1, §§1, 2, & 3; Executive Order 10834, August 21, 1959; 24 F.R.6865; a military flag is a flag that resembles the regular flag of the United States, except that it has a YELLOW FRINGE border on three sides. The President of the United States designates this deviation from the regular flag, by executive order, and in his capacity as Commander-in-Chief of the military. The placing of a fringe on the national flag, the dimensions of the flag and the arrangement of the stars in the union are matters of detail not controlled by statute, but are within the discretion of the President as Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy.” 34 Ops. Atty. Gen. 83.

President, Dwight David Eisenhower, by Executive Order No.10834, signed on August 21, 1959, and printed in the Federal Register at 24 F.R. 6865, pursuant to law, stated that: “A military flag is a flag that resembles the regular flag of the United States, except that it has a yellow fringe border on three sides.”

Thank you President Trump for reclaiming our nation! https://proffer.us/no-gold-fringe-on-president-trumps-flags/

Additional Information
Blog called: Would you Lay Down Your Life Simply for a Corporation? 

Let it be known from the get go, I’m an avid constitutionalist. I see the original constitution of The United States (notice the capitalization) as not only a biblical document, but the very infancy of the coming Kingdom (government) of YHWH, The Almighty, here on this earth (Revelation 5:10). The very Kingdom, Yeshua The Christ spoke about, as he stated, “believe the gospel or good news, of the Kingdom of YHWH.”

That said, the point of this teaching will be, the government of THE UNITED STATES (notice the capitalization) is simply not the same government declared in 1776, constituted in 1791 and overthrown in 1869…..Key words in bold. I’ll explain all of that as we go, but first, lets get the terminology correct……

There are two headings you will need to know before anyone can fully come to understand the subject title. They are:

Law of the Land AND Law of the Sea

So, allow me to quickly give some bullet points of each of these two forms of governance from two basic view points. First from a Biblical perspective. Then I’ll do the same from a modern day governmental perspective.

Biblical perspective of The Law of the Land:

• Biblical Covenant Law
• Exodus 20-23, Deuteronomy 4-31, Joshua 23-24
• 31 Chapters Totally Void of Any Ceremonial / Sacrificial Law
• How to Properly Worship YHWH and How to Live Justly with Your Fellow Man, in Liberty, Free from Bondage…..Or what Christians know as “Love Toward God, Love Toward Neighbor”.
• An Eternal Codification of Law, Applicable for All Mankind, actually written on the very DNA of man.

Biblical perspective of The Law of the Sea:

• Regulatory / Code Law
• Levitical Priesthood Law via Sacrificial / Ceremonial Practices.
• Exodus 25-31:11 Repeated in Exodus 35 through 40
• 13 chapters Totally Void of Any Freedom or Liberty. A law of bondage.
• Punishment for Sin. (See Galatians 3:19)
• Instruction on How to Worship YHWH, Free from Idolatry, by the Use of Idolatry.
• A Temporary Codification of Law, Used as A Tutor, Strictly for The Nation of Israel, Until Christ.

Governmental perspective of The Law of the Land:

• Common Law
• Hails Directly From Biblical Covenant Law
• Based Upon Freedom to Choose Right From Wrong
• Allows Free Men to Learn From Their Mistakes
• Only Renders Recompense When Damage is Actually Done
• Trust Completely in a Just Higher Power of Whom All People Agree.
• The Law that will be used in the coming Kingdom of YHWH

Governmental perspective of The Law of the Sea:

• Regulatory / Code Law Known as Admiralty Law
• Hail Directly From Biblical Levitical Priesthood Law, which is a punishment for sin, with the foregone conclusion, man can not govern himself.
• Based Upon Bondage of a People Who Have Proven Ungovernable
• Removes True Freedom / Liberty, Stunting Character Growth
• Renders Recompense Before Damage is Done via Fines and imprisonment.
• Trust Completely in the Higher Power of Man, Void of God.
• The Law of Babylon, creating confusion within the land….The mixing of law.

Now…….if you will study these two perspectives, of these two headings of how man is to be governed, both biblically and secularly, coming to know them, being able to rightly divide the truth properly, you are then ready to hear the facts of the subject title.

Question……Did you watch any of the recent Democratic and Republican Presidential Conventions? If so, you may have noticed a subtle difference in the American Flags represented at these respective conventions.

The RNC…….

 

The DNC……..

 

Do you see it?

The Gold Fringe around the American flag in the DNC picture? Do you see missing Gold Fringe in the RNC picture?

This was not by happenstance. It wasn’t overlooked by Trump and the Republican Party. It is with good reason, this occurred and I will explain shortly, but for now, just know, the gold fringe is a sign of Admiralty Law.

The following quotation hails from Wikipedia at the following link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax_protester_conspiracy_arguments#:~:text=The%20gold%20fringe%20around%20the,is%20operating%20under%20martial%20law. By Joey Thompson

One Man’s Opinion by Rian Nelson

Captain Moroni [Trump] and Amalickiah [Biden]

 

 

 

 

Biden was an American by birth, but he had entirely forgotten the Lord. He was forbidden by his Church to partake of the Sacrament. By lying, deceit, and secret combinations, he became the CEO of the USA Corporation. Biden wanted to defeat the Patriots in battle so he could become king over both the Patriots, the USA Corp and the New World Order.

Captain Trump was the chief commander of the Patriot armies. He was a strong and mighty man who loved the Lord and loved his people. He had sworn with an oath to protect his people from Biden and the New World Order.

As Biden and his World Order were preparing to destroy the Patriots, Captain Trump was preparing his Patriots to defend themselves and reveal all the evils of the New World Order. The Satan Worship and Child Sacrifices, the buying and selling of the Children, the illegal control over the big Pharma, big Oil and other large corporations, the illegal exchange of money and evil taxes on the Patriots along with every other impure and evil practice of this New World Order.

Captain Trump tore a piece from his coat and made it into a flag or banner that he called the title of liberty with no yellow border. Alma 46:12. It said, “In memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children and he fastened it upon the end of a pole.”

“And he fastened on his head-plate, and his breastplate, and his shields, and girded on his armor about his loins; and he took the pole, which had on the end thereof his rent coat, (and he called it the title of liberty) and he bowed himself to the earth, and he prayed mightily unto his God for the blessings of liberty to rest upon his brethren, so long as there should a band of Christians remain to possess the land—

For thus were all the true believers of Christ, who belonged to the church of God, called by those who did not belong to the church.

And those who did belong to the church were faithful; yea, all those who were true believers in Christ took upon them, gladly, the name of Christ, or Christians as they were called, because of their belief in Christ who should come.

And therefore, at this time, Moroni prayed that the cause of the Christians, and the freedom of the land might be favored.” Alma 46:13-16

And the Land was still favored and Trump and his Patriots regained control of the government of God for yet another season. (I propose, This will happen)

I hope same people will realize I am speaking tongue in cheek, but there is some truth to all humor, correct?

What happens next is up to each of us who see and understand the Truth.

Ask yourself what your convictions are and whether you are ready to back them up. (Pray, Pray, Pray) Patriots – those who support the Constitution of the United States – are on notice that it is time to take action.

Tell America – Gold-Fringed American Flags Copyright 2002, 2003, 2004 by P. Johnson-Holm

http://www.treeofthegoldenlight.com/Nesara-Constitution/GoldFringedFlags.htm

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I have been locating some amazing information on temples lately. It’s important to remember that these buildings have special significance in our lives and I’m sure there are many other exciting articles about these buildings.

THE NEPHITE WARRIORS

Brother Samuel Roskelley, recorder of the temple, relates that in early days the United States Marshals were making lots of trouble for the Mormons, and were conducting “polygamy raids” to pick up the men who had more than one wife. ​Two deputy marshals arrived at the temple door one day to find it locked so they could not gain entrance. Brother Roskelley went out to talk with them. They were told that there were no records available to show them. Brother Roskelley told them good-bye and locked the door. The lawmen knew that polygamous marriages were being performed and did not like being denied access to the records. They immediately wired for help, and the next day the head of United States Marshal for Utah, and a whole posse of deputies arrived. This time they demanded, in the name of the United States Government, that the records be given to them. They were again told that no records were available. The marshal then said: “We know you are doing polygamous marriages and that these records are available. We know you have them, and we are going to have them. We will burn the temple door down or even destroy it entirely but what you comply with our request.” The Recorder told them good-bye and looked the door on them again. ​

Brother Roskelley was very worried and spent the next eight or ten hours in constant prayer, asking the Lord to help him preserve the records, that no harm should come to him or to the people concerned, and that the temple records should not fall into the hands of the United States Marshals. He went out under cover of darkness to visit one of his families in the Seventh Ward area. He was up well before daybreak the next morning, dressed in his oldest clothes, put a corn cob pipe in his mouth, an axe on his shoulder as if he were going to the canyon to work, and walked up the middle of the road whistling a happy tune. As he walked towards the temple and crossed a bridge, two men stepped out to stop him. He immediately struck a match to light his pipe, which had nothing in it, and said “Good Morning” and walked on past the men. Evidently they supposed he was not a Mormon polygamist, but just a woodcutter going to the canyon. ​When Brother Roskelley reached the front door of the temple, there stood two giant men dressed in complete armor, with head dress, breast plate, spears and full regalia. They gave him a friendly nod as he passed, unlocked the door and entered the temple. As he neared his office, there stood two more large men dressed in full armor. And as he went to the record vaults on the third floor, he came to two other huge men, both dressed in full armor. ​As soon as he was sure the records were safe, he asked who they were. They told him: “We are Nephite Warriors, and we are here to answer to your prayers.” They then told him not to worry, that they would not allow the temple to be injured or the records to be destroyed in any way. ​When Brother Roskelley related the incident to President Taylor, he was told that they were, indeed, Nephite soldiers, and that this was not the first time they had been assigned to protect the temple and its people (Nolan P. Olsen, Logan Temple: The First 100 Years, pp. 171-72).

Tickets Here
Speaker Bio’s Here
More Information Here

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THE VISIT OF ANGELS ​

In April 1888, the Hales moved to Cache Valley, bringing their voluminous genealogical records with them, and began an extensive temple activity. At this time they arranged with Samuel Roskelley to prepare the sheets for temple work. He kept names in the temple continuously from then unto about 1903. That fall his health began to fail, his eye sight was poor, and he decided to give up all his record work. He brought the records to sacrament meeting one night and game them to Alma H. Hale, and told him it would be necessary to get some one else to take over the work. ​Jonathan H. Hale wrote: “During the following week, father was very depressed and worried all the time, and was hardly able to work or eat. He could not decide what to do, for neither he nor any of the Hale family knew how to proceed with the work. A great deal of information had been gathered and the family felt a great responsibility to complete the work. The whole family made it a matter of prayer for the week. The next Sunday at meeting, Brother Roskelley came to father and said: ​’Bring the records back to me. I have to finish them. Friday evening as I was returning home from the temple, near Hyde Park, a messenger on a white horse appeared by the side of my buggy and said he wanted me to finish the Hale record. He assured me that the work was done right and that it was all being accepted. He said thousands of the Hale family were anxious that the work go on. I explained that I was too busy to do any more record work, and that my eyesight and health would not permit it. Then the messenger made me this promise, that if I would continue, the Lord would bless me with health and strength, my eyesight would be good, and the way would be opened so I would have the necessary time to do the work. He stayed by my side until I finally promised to do it, and then he blessed me and disappeared.’ ​”When Brother Roskelley described this messenger to father, he answered, “Why that was my own father, Jonathan Harriam Hale, the first of the Hale’s to join the church in 1834. He died in 1847 at Winter Quarters.'” ​When Brother Roskelley finally finished the record he said that the greatest load he ever carried was lifted off his shoulders. He had made a promise to a heavenly being and couldn’t rest until the work was completed. He went home that very night and took off his glasses and never wore them again in his life. He enjoyed much better health and found more time for the work than he had hoped for. ​The Hale family had a week-long reunion in the temple about 1905, when they completed the last baptism and endowment, and then on Friday afternoon the last sealing was done for the 4,000 family members. As President Merrill neared Smithfield that night on his way to Richmond, he turned to tell the temple good-bye, as was his custom, and his heart about jumped out of his body. He could see the temple was on fire, but as he looked at it for a few minutes he was satisfied that there were no red flames licking upwards. The whole temple was filled with light, and the outside of the building shone with a pale pink glow. All the people in the neighborhood gathered to watch the phenomena and said they heard a heavenly choir sing for nearly two hours. Everyone marveled at the sight, for there were no electric lights or others means for lighting the building until ten years later in 1915. The same thing happened the following night, too, with all the rooms and the building lighted, and the heavenly choir singing. ​President Merrill knew that we had had a very heavenly manifestation. When he reported the incident to President Wilford Woodruff, the president asked what special work had been done in the temple. He was told of the unusual activity of the Hale family and how they had accomplished so much in such a little time. President Woodruff said the Hale and Boynton families had been permitted to come from the Other Side, to sing and rejoice and celebrate their deliverance in the Logan Temple. (Nolan P. Olsen, Logan Temple: The First 100 Years, pp. 173-75).

https://www.familysearch.org/photos/artifacts/30247391/the-nephite-warriors-excerpt-from-the-logan-temple-the-first-100-years

Satan and the Logan Temple President

Temple President Merrill encounters the Devil, who threatens to stop the temple work from being done.

(Excerpt from “Logan Temple: The First 100 Years)

Logan Temple President Marriner W. Merrill was sitting in his office one morning in the early 1890’s when he heard a commotion outside. Stepping to the window, he saw a great congregation of people coming up the temple hill, some on foot, and others on horseback and in carriages. President Merrill’s first thought was, “What will we do with so many people? If we fill every room in the temple, it will not begin to hold them all.”

The riders tied their horses up at the hitching posts or turned them loose on the temple corrals, and walked complacently about the front grounds, without seeming to have much purpose in mind. They were rather an odd looking group, and were dressed quite shabbily.

They made no effort to enter the temple, so President Merrill went out to greet them and see what he could do for the group. He said to their leader: “Who are you, and who are these people who have taken possession of the temple grounds unannounced?”

He answered: “I am Satan, and these are my people.” Brother Merrill asked: “What do you want, and why have you come here?” Satan replied: “I don’t like what is being done in the Logan Temple and have come to stop it.” That was a bit of a shock to President Merrill, and he answered: “No, we will not stop it. This is the work of the Lord and must go on. You know that you or any one else can not stop the work of the Lord.”

“If you refuse to stop it, I will tell you what I propose to do,” the adversary said. “I will scatter this congregation of people throughout these valleys, and we will keep people from coming to the temple. We will whisper in their ears and discourage them from attending the temple. This will stop your temple work.”

President Merrill then used the power of his priesthood and commanded Satan and his followers to depart from holy ground. He said that within four or five minutes there was not a person, horse or buggy in sight. They just disappeared into thin air and were gone.

Then for the next ten or twelve years we could have closed the Logan Temple, for very little work was accomplished. In one full year, the number of endowments done totaled only 5,121, while in our day we have done, 3,064 in one day. Where all ordinances for the year equaled but 20,110, today we have done 15,456 in one day, and a total of 1,808,265 for the full year.

Christian L. Olsen lived only a half mile from the temple, and he said any time he said out loud that he was going to the temple, something happened to keep him away. One evening he said to the boys: “Tomorrow we will finish grinding out molasses, and then I’d like to spend a week in the temple.” The mill was operating perfectly that evening, but the next morning the main wheel was broken. The more they repaired the machine, the more things broke and went wrong with it. He finally spent the full week making repairs so the only day’s grind of molasses could be completed. He did not get to spend the week in the temple.

Another time when he planned a day in the temple, he got up to milk his cows and the corral gate was open. He spent the day hunting the cows in the west fields. Still another time, the corral gate was open again and the horses were gone. It took two days to find them in Logan Canyon. He said: “Anytime I wanted to go to the temple, I soon learned that I could not say it out loud. I got up, milked my cows, set the bucket down and ran. And then I could get there without any trouble.”

Eight girls left Garland in a white top buggy one morning at 4am, to do baptisms in the temple. Just as they arrived on the west mountain where they could see the temple, a wheel came off the buggy. Before they reached Logan, they had had trouble with all four wheels, a hame strap had broken, the yoke came apart, and there was one delay after another every few minutes. They finally reached Logan at 5pm, after the baptisms were done and the font had been emptied. Some of the men were still there, the font was refilled, and the girls were baptized. They said that Satan followed them all the way to Logan that day.

The evil one’s power and influence are real. He knows the value of temple work and would do anything in his power to keep people away. But he failed to recognize the faithfulness and devotion of the Saints in this area, for they were not easily discouraged.

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/temples?lang=eng

This article is my own opinion and not that of Rod Meldrum, the Firm Foundation, or The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Some information may seem different to you and you may disagree. All I want is for you to read it with an open mind and consider what I say and then pray about it. I will offend some, but I also know the Savior offended some. My desire is to speak the truth as I have developed through study and prayer. I would also love hearing your feedback.

In my opinion, If you are afraid to die, you are afraid to live! That doesn’t mean we should necessarily look forward to death, but we need to understand it. Since all will die, we shouldn’t allow that fact to hurt, affect, or alter what we enjoy in this life. How do we overcome this fear of death? I’m sure our age and health has much to say about this question as well.

If we have a fear of flying on an airplane, it may be best to develop the attitude of one day flying and then just do it. I have a friend who is afraid of needles and yet she continues to give blood or get a shot if she thinks it’s important. I have a wife who absolutely fears worms, but any other bug or creeping thing doesn’t bother her.

When it comes to Covid 19, what is it you are afraid of? Where does that fear come from? The Dr? The Government? Yourself? I can’t and won’t judge some one who feels they must wear a mask, but I choose not to. The only thing I try to do is when I’m in the presence of a sick person or and older person I try and show them respect by wearing a mask or keeping a distance. Before the Covid scare I would visit the sick by a phone call or keeping a distance from them, but I never wore a mask in the past. If I go outside today I don’t normally wear one. If people are out and about they are usually showing me they aren’t that sick. If places of business refuse me I just go somewhere else. But that’s me. When I am out with my wife I wear a mask because she makes me, and I love her. I don’t expect you to do anything you are uncomfortable with.

I remember ever since I was young that my mother taught me that when you sneeze, cover your mouth and if you are sick stay home so you don’t spread the germs. We have always followed procedures with past flu’s and influenza’s. That’s all Covid is in the Dr’s opinions that I am listening to. What we really have is Sars 2 or a version of an influenza. Isn’t it funny that in 2020 we had about the same number of Covid deaths as we had deaths from the flu in 2019? I just feel most in our government lie to us for power and money. I know hospitals that were paid money to put the cause of death down as Covid. The ultimate goal of evil men in our government was not the Covid, but the desire to get us all to take a vaccine. After all Bill Gates, and Anthony Fuchi will make millions on the vaccines along with all the big Pharma companies.

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Pacify and Lull

In the midst of this global pandemic we must remember that usually our government does not have our best interests at heart. They do what they say seems their best, but in my opinion they do as the Lord has said, “Because their hearts are set so much upon the things of this world, and aspire to the honors of men... We have learned by sad experience that it is the nature and disposition of almost all men, as soon as they get a little authority, as they suppose, they will immediately begin to exercise unrighteous dominion” D&C 121: 35, 39

The larger the government and the more laws and regulations, the less freedom we have. For example I won’t get a vaccine just because the government recommends it and if they force me to get a vaccine I will go to jail I guess or pay the consequence. We need to stop giving up our liberties for a false sense of security. Let’s become secure in God not Man. Our Nation has sunk deeper into Socialism and Communism than ever before.

Satan’s Ploy

“Satan has control now. No matter where you look, he is in control, even in our own land. He is guiding the governments as far as the Lord will permit him. That is why there is so much strife, turmoil, confusion all over the earth. One master mind is governing the nations. It is not the President of the United States… it is not the king or government of England or any other land; it is Satan himself.” ( Source: Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, Vol. 3, pp.314-315

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in their General Handbook in reference to Covid 19 and other issues says, “It is important that church members be wise as they seek truth. They also say, “Seek out and share only credible, reliable and factual sources of information“. That’s what I have tried to do below. I’m sure you can tell me many doctors that say wear a mask, just as I have found many that say wearing a mask in not necessary.

General Handbook

The December 2020 update of the General Handbook includes the following about “seeking information from reliable sources”:

In today’s world, information is easy to access and share. This can be a great blessing for those seeking to be educated and informed. However, many sources of information are unreliable and do not edify. Some sources seek to promote anger, contention, fear or baseless conspiracy theories (see 3 Nephi 11:30; Mosiah 2:32). Therefore, it is important that church members be wise as they seek truth.

Seek out and share only credible, reliable and factual sources of information. Avoid sources that are speculative or founded on rumor. The guidance of the Holy Ghost, along with careful study, can help members discern between truth and error (see Doctrine and Covenants 11:12; 45:57). In matters of doctrine and church policy, the authoritative sources are the scriptures, the teachings of the living prophets and the General Handbook. Source

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has Supported Vaccinations

The First Presidency, which constitutes the top leadership of the LDS church, issued a statement supporting the vaccinations.

“In word and deed, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has supported vaccinations for generations,” the statement said. “As a prominent component of our humanitarian efforts, the Church has funded, distributed and administered life-saving vaccines throughout the world …. Vaccinations administered by competent medical professionals protect health and preserve life.”

It added: “The Church urges its members, employees and missionaries to be good global citizens and help quell the pandemic by safeguarding themselves and others through immunization. Individuals are responsible to make their own decisions about vaccination.”

Editor’s note: Personally I will not take a vaccination. I have no idea what is in it and I don’t feel I need it. I welcome others to receive a vaccination if that is their decision. We just need to be wise and prayerful.

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Dr. Scott W. Atlas

Robert Wesson Senior Fellow Research Team: Health Care Policy Working Group Participants Socialism and Free Market Capitalism: The Prosperity Project Initiative Co-Chairman Related Sites: See Atlas’ Stanford profile

Biography: Scott W. Atlas, M.D. is the Robert Wesson Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution.

Dr. Atlas investigates the impact of government and the private sector on access, quality, pricing, and innovation in health care and is a frequent policy advisor to government and industry leaders in these areas. During the 2008, 2012, and 2016 presidential campaigns, he was a Senior Advisor for Health Care to a number of candidates for President of the United States. He has also advised several members of the United States Senate and House of Representatives and testified to Congress on health care reform. He served the nation from August to December, 2020 as a Special Advisor to the President and a member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force.  His most recent book is entitled Restoring Quality Health Care: A Six‐Point Plan for Comprehensive Reform at Lower Cost (Hoover Press, 2016). Dr. Atlas has participated with leaders from government and academia on the World Bank’s Commission on Growth and Development. He has also advised leaders on health care and medical technology in several countries outside the US, including Latin America, Southeast Asia, and Europe.

Dr. Atlas is also the editor of the leading textbook in the field, the best‐selling Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Brain and Spine, now in its 5th edition and officially translated from English into Mandarin, Spanish, and Portuguese. He has been editor, associate editor, and a member of the boards of numerous scientific journals and national and international scientific societies over the past three decades. His medical research centered on advanced applications of new MRI technologies in neurologic diseases. While Professor of Radiology and Chief of Neuroradiology at Stanford University Medical Center from 1998 until 2012 and during his previous faculty positions, Dr. Atlas trained over 100 neuroradiology fellows, many of whom are now leaders in the field throughout the world.

He lectures on a variety of topics, most notably the role of government and the private sector in health care quality and access, global trends in health care innovation, and the key economic issues related to the future of technology‐based medical advances. In the private sector, Dr. Atlas is a frequent advisor to start‐up entrepreneurs and companies in the life sciences and medical technology.

Dr. Atlas has received numerous awards and honors in recognition of his leadership in the field. He is recognized internationally as a leader in both education and clinical research and had been on the Nominating Committee for the Nobel Prize in Medicine and Physiology for several years. He has been named by his peers in The Best Doctors in America every year since its initial publication, as well as in regional listings, such as The Best Doctors in New York, Silicon Valley’s Best Doctors, and other similar publications. He was honored to receive the 2011 Alumni Achievement Award, the highest career achievement honor for a distinguished alumnus from the University of Illinois in Urbana‐Champaign, his alma mater.

Dr. Atlas received a BS degree in biology from the University of Illinois in Urbana‐Champaign and an MD degree from the University of Chicago School of Medicine. Source

Dr. Scott Atlas defends federal government, blasts mainstream media over coronavirus misinformation

‘The decline of objectivity in journalism has been evident for years,’ Atlas writes in Wall Street Journal

By Brian Flood | Fox News

Video Here Dr. Scott Atlas says data proves him right about schools saying open

Dr. Atlas joins ‘Tucker Carlson Tonight’ for first interview since resigning from White House position

Dr. Scott W. Atlas, a former special adviser to President Trump, blasted the mainstream media for pushing misinformation that allows Americans to falsely believe the federal government is responsible for all coronavirus-related issues.

“America has been paralyzed by death and fear for nearly a year, and the politicization of the pandemic has made things worse by adding misinformation and vitriol to the mix. With vaccines finally being administered, we should be entering a joyous phase. Instead we endure still more inflammatory rhetoric and media distortion,” Atlas wrote in a Wall Street Journal op-ed published Tuesday.

DR. SCOTT ATLAS RESIGNS AS SPECIAL ADVISER TO TRUMP ON CORONAVIRUS

Atlas, who served as an adviser to Trump from August through November, said Americans need to understand “three realities” in order to understand the federal government’s role in combatting the coronavirus pandemic.

“First, all 50 states independently directed and implemented their own pandemic policies,” he wrote, specifying that the federal government is not responsible for school closings, shelter-in-place orders or mask requirements.

“Second, nearly all states used the same draconian policies that people now insist on hardening, even though the number of positive cases increased while people’s movements were constrained, business activities were strictly limited, and schools were closed,” Atlas continued. “Governors in all but a few states—Florida and South Dakota are notable exceptions—imposed curfews, quarantines, directives on group gatherings, and mask mandates.”

Atlas cited Gallup and YouGov data that indicates “80% to 90% of Americans have been wearing masks since early August,” but the virus spread anyway, so anyone who orders additional lockdowns isn’t looking at results.

ATLAS FIRES BACK AGAINST CRITICISMS, SAYS ADVICE BASED ON ‘CURRENT SCIENCE’

“Third, the federal government’s role in the pandemic has been grossly mischaracterized by the media and their Democratic allies,” Atlas wrote. “That distortion has obscured several significant successes, while undermining the confidence of ordinary Americans.”

Altas said “federal financial support and directives enabled the development of a massive, state-of-the-art testing capacity and produced billions of dollars of personal protective equipment,” while federal agencies met all requests for supplemental medical personnel and hospital-bed capacity. He listed a variety of federal government accomplishments, including increasing the protection of the elderly and “expedited development and delivery of lifesaving drugs.”

He then declared that any post-vaccine lockdowns will essentially be “doubling down” on policies that didn’t work the first time.

“States and cities that keep their economies locked down after highly vulnerable populations have been vaccinated will be doubling down on failed policies that are destroying families and sacrificing children, particularly among the working class and poor,” he wrote.  “The media has done its best to misinform the public with political attacks about who is to blame for this pain and misery even as it diminishes the great achievement of the new vaccines.”

He wrote that “the decline of objectivity in journalism has been evident for years” and now even top scientific journals are “contaminated” by politics.

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Eric Moutsos Outstanding Patriot

The Salt Lake City Police Department placed Officer Eric Moutsos on administrative leave for voicing his conscience.  They broke their own policies, leaking info to the media in an attempt to tarnish his good name, and ultimately took his badge and gun. The public was misled.

Were there ulterior motives for their treatment of this award-winning cop?  Was it a cover-up? 

Rumors circulated, after he became vocal in support of constitutional rights, that he was merely being insubordinate, yet nothing negative was ever written in his personnel file prior to his taking a stand.  He had the audacity to expose corrupt practices within the department during his time on the job, and since.  He challenged those practices and paid dearly for it.

This book is based on the true story leading up to and following the destruction of a good officer’s seven-year career – a circumstance that played out in global media.

This book is about issues as big as the US Constitution.  It is about what American society will and will not tolerate.  It is about loving those with differing opinions while maintaining one’s convictions.  It is about opening a dialogue that will lead to a better tomorrow.

This book is about fundamental problems plaguing police agencies across the Nation, problems that lead to tension between citizens and those who are sworn to protect and serve them.  This work deals with police actions often misinterpreted as racism, but which actually stem from a system of quotas.  It exposes the funds for numbers dilemma and the complications inherent in such a system.

This book is about how to overcome adversity in the deepest levels of despair. How to become better by the opposition, which is inevitable when going against the toughest grains. This book is about finding the strength and courage to use the convictions deep in your soul.  To follow the dictates of your conscience in any circumstance.

GOD, GOVERNMENT, AND CANCEL CULTURE

“This has been on my mind the last several days and I’ve been trying to spiritually see the devils tactics (or intent) when it comes to all of the force and fear regarding the cancel culture that’s taking place right now. Literally anyone they disagree with, removed from society as they see fit. From the President of the United States of America, to a Disney celebrity with a different opinion, to a school teacher who believes in the Constitution. Gone. Cancelled. Over. This is where we are America. And if we don’t ALL stand up for speech, we will ALL fall together in every different idea we once had.

I hope my words can properly convey what I believe is happening spiritually. Yes, I can be wrong, but this is how I see it.

God has always used symbols of love and Eternal significance, while the devil will use them with hate, force, and fear, all in the name of love. Taking God’s symbols, turning them upside down (like the cross for example) in mockery. Symbols are important because we can see who’s behind it. For example, God uses a wedding ring to signify one Eternal round with your eternal companion. The devil sends signs and symbols of just the opposite.

The mask for example (I believe) is an evil sign of silence, fear, control, submission, and ultimately, the loss of individually. Do you think you will have an identity in hell? Do you think you’ll even be called by your name? I don’t think people realize, but in hell, satan literally runs and operates an entire kingdom; and whoever is with him will be a literal slave to the devil himself; and he will “seal you his”, says modern scripture. And no, you won’t be able to talk or have free speech. You will be divided and segregated. You will be controlled. There is no such thing as the Bill of Rights in the kingdom of hell, especially with the father of lies. The only rights you’ll have are the right to be silent, always, and all things will be held against you, guilty or innocent. You will become a number, without a name, called by your sins.

This is why I believe Ezra Taft Benson said, “Stand up for freedom no matter the cost, it can help to save your soul- and maybe your country.” God is not only a God of peace, hope, and love, but a God who wins wars, spiritual and physical wars. Yes, God is a warrior. And yes, the Bible tells us this, “The Lord is a man of war: The Lord is his name.” Exodus 15:3- And No, he doesn’t lose. So why are we? Do you really believe we are to become more like Christ by simply being “nice” because we don’t want to offend people? Why did Christ hang on the cross? Was it because He was being politically correct? No. Just the opposite.

After resurrection, I believe hell is a literal place, a literal world, in a literal dark and cold solar system, light-years away from any type of warmth, from any type of sun. Yes, hell is as real as heaven, physically and spiritually. Except it’s the exact opposite of heaven. Instead of forever Eternal choices living with a liberated God, there will be a forever forced damnation stuck in a cell where every single decision is made for you by the devil himself. And guess what? Some souls will actually want it. The God of Liberty or the god of forced Government programs that pretend to unite and save, when all they do is divide and kill. And sadly we are watching people choose mammon. That’s hell.

See now in hell, I can envision many of the strange cultish characteristics of what we are seeing today, multiplied by 1000. For example, 6x6x6 social distancing, arrows on the ground in stores, all in masks that can’t stop an airborne virus (and or having their faces hidden) race wars, fake victim mentality, you name it, it’s there. It’s the same pattern. Do you think the devil is going to give you more freedom the closer you get to his kingdom?

I don’t believe people will wear masks in hell because of a virus, no, I’ll bet because everyone will be so ashamed of themselves they won’t dare reveal their own faces, ironically still trying to save-face from their wicked and destructive lives they lived. Remember, hell is not just for just “sinning”, like we all do, I mean the hell prepared for wicked wicked people who absolutely know what they are doing is evil, and don’t care, because of self-interest/selfishness. Including many politicians and influential people who keep the fake flames going. From Abortion to every other deadly sins.

Why I believe the mask is on everyone’s mind (and clearly faces) and won’t stop being talked, is because it’s absolutely part of the spiritual battle on both sides of the veil. It’s just a continuation of the mark of the beast, not being able to buy or sell without this mark spoken of in Revelation 11:13: and 17. And we failed as a society bowing down to it the way we did. No thoughts. No questions. We just did it. All for what? A 99.991% survivability rate?

Think how many times the word “mask” has been used vs. the name Jesus Christ this last year. How many times Corona, or virus, or “stay safe”, vs. talking about God’s healing power? It’s an incredibly sad and awful situation we’ve put ourselves in. And unfortunately we’re even seeing many religious leaders (from all denominations) reciting back TV talking points, instead of preaching the Word of God. Ironically not putting much effort in pointing anyone to Christ, but listening to a wild and out-of-control government, because they clearly know what’s best with each and every evil rule they make up for the day. Again, who IS the answer to all of this? God or government? And it can’t be both.

And how do we know these things? Because God gave us the scriptures so we don’t make the same mistakes. From Adam, to Noah, to Abraham, to Moses, to Christ Himself. All in battle with the same spiritual war, with the same players, using the same type governments for more control. The only difference for us is more energy is being exerted in the last days because millions of souls are forced to pick a team on both sides of the veil. And energy inside of a single soul, whether dark or light, matters in this war. Joseph Fielding Smith once said, “Satan has control now. No matter where you look, he is in control, even in our own land. He is guiding the governments as far as the Lord will permit him. That is why there is o much strife, turmoil, and confusion all over the earth. One master mind is governing the nations. It is not the president of the United States; it is not Hitler; it is not Mussolini; it is not the king or government of England or any other land; it is Satan himself.”

When I was a police officer doing my investigations, intent meant a lot to me. From speeding to an assault. I would always try to get down to the bottom of the WHY people were doing what they were doing. We can learn a lot about people when we get down to the WHY; the motivation, the drive, and more importantly the intent.

And when we can see certain politicians and very influential community leaders (including faith based leaders) stay silent and just going with the sweeping cultural current, we are witnessing the very harvest of the wheat and the tares, with the very elect of God being deceived. Even with the best intentions in the world. Didn’t it all start our with a war in heaven? So would that war be stronger or weaker today? Is the devil relaxing in the last days? Or has he upped his game 100 fold?

If the government would have not forced what they forced on society, would churches have set their own rules with masks and social distancing? In other words, were these mandated fearful made-up daily rules inspired by God? If the government tomorrow said mask don’t work, and social distancing and isolation makes it worse, would churches continue to mask up and preach isolation instead of gathering with immune systems God gave us to live and function? No they wouldn’t. All would be open. So again, is it inspired to be controlled to what a health department says? Where are the spiritual marching orders coming from? God or the devil? Fear or faith? Because there is only two ways of influence. Nothing is by chance.

Going back to why I even started this post, cancel culture is absolutely leading (and will end in hell) by the devil himself, because he is the biggest bigot, the most intolerant, the least loving, in all of the universe. And he wants to cancel not only God, but you too, literally. To where you have no soul, like him. Not just in society, but throughout eternity. He wants to reduce you down to where he is, then leave you with nothing behind, including a soul filled with any amount of truth and light. He can’t stand if someone has a different opinion than him. Therefore he will keep silencing people until he is the only one left standing, and all the dark and wicked end up kneeling down to their prince of darkness. Which is interesting, because it’s just another jealous mimic/mock of what it will be like when those who choose heaven, voluntarily kneel in complete reverence and love, to the King of Kings, our God and Rock, Jesus Christ. A knee will be taken one way or another.

Cancel culture is a sign and symbol of fear and control and leads to hell. It’s evil. It’s fear based. It’s dark. It’s wrong. It’s Unconstitutional. It’s everything that America is not, or at least what it should be. And if every single free voice (left and right side of politics) doesn’t start defending the 1st Amendment, I promise as God as my witness, ALL will be canceled and crushed when we don’t bow to the next phase of the this satanic NWO takeover. Because that’s exactly what it is. And though Satan might be proud of himself for the force and fear driven kneeling of just about the entire world, the tables will turn, the chess move to checkmate will be played by The Chess Master, even God himself, and every knee and tongue confess that Jesus is the Christ. And as a constant sinner who continues to stumble and fall everyday, I choose to keep getting up and put on the armor of God every single day, as weak as I am. Because I know God will fight our battles if we just let Him, but we have to have faith (action) in order to receive the blessings of Liberty. There is no other way.

Remember to text the word “Liberty” to 888-210-6260 just in case I’m cancelled on social media. I won’t spam your phone and you can “cancel” at anytime.” Source

FEBRUARY 11, 2021/BY ERIC MOUTSOS

Eric will be one of over 70 new thought leaders speaking at our 3rd Virtual Conference April 9th. HERE!

“How long can rolling waters remain impure? What power shall stay the heavens? As well might man stretch forth his puny arm to stop the Missouri river in its decreed course, or to turn it up stream, as to hinder the Almighty from pouring down knowledge from heaven upon the heads of the Latter-day Saints.” D&C 121:33 Below are some of the Latter-day Saints who have had this information the Lord speaks of, “pouring down”. Rod Meldrum, Wayne May, Jonathan Neville, Dean Sessions, Russ Barlow, Eric Moutsos, Steven Smoot, Amberli Nelson, David Barton, and many more who are planning to be speaking at our Conference. Join us!

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EXCLUSIVE: Dr. Simone Gold discusses benefits of Hydroxychloroquine 13 Minute Video

Dr. Simone Gold 56 Minute Video Below

This is a lecture by Dr. Simone Gold Board Certified Emergency Physician detailing the in her opinion the lie the “covid pandemic” is. She explains in terms anyone can understand how the pandemic is being used to target minorities while projecting that their foremost concern are the very people being targeted. She details why we don’t have a vaccine, but an Experimental Biologically Agent Research Project. She explains why Hydroxychloroquine does CURE coronavirus’, yet the biological agents being sold as vaccines have side effects they will present as “unforeseen consequences,” She explains why she believes that the current “vaccine” has a high probability of causing infertility in females aged from prepubesent to all women of child bearing age. This is a MUST SEE! The people promoting the vaccine are also those who believe we need to reduce the population of earth.

HISTORY OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS
Period I History of Joseph Smith, the Prophet by Himself
Volume II An Introduction and Notes by B. H. Roberts
CHAPTER XXVI. OPENING OF THE YEAR 1836–THE AMERICAN INDIANS–SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETINGS IN KIRTLAND.

January 6, 1836
“Much has been said and done of late by the general government in relation to the Indians ( Lamanites) within the territorial limits of the United States. One of most important points in the faith of the Church of the Latter Day Saints, through the fullness of the everlasting Gospel, is the gathering of Israel (of whom the Lamanites constitute a part)—that happy time when Jacob shall go up to the house of the Lord, to worship Him in spirit and in truth, to live in holiness; when the Lord will restore his judges as at the first, and His counselors as at the beginning; when every man may sit under his own vine and fig tree, and there will be none to molest or make afraid; when He will turn to them a pure language, and the earth will be filled with sacred knowledge, as the waters cover the great deep; when it shall no longer be said, the Lord lives that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt, but the Lord lives that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the lands whither He has driven them. That day is one, all important to all men.

In view of its importance, together with all that the prophets have said about it before us, we feel like dropping a few ideas in connection with the official statements from the government concerning the Indians. In speaking of the gathering, we mean to be understood as speaking of it according to scripture, the gathering of the elect of the Lord out of every nation on earth, and bringing them to the place of the Lord of Hosts, when the city of righteousness shall be built, and where the people shall be of one heart and one mind, when the Savior comes; yea, where the people shall walk with God like Enoch, and be free from sin. The word of the Lord is precious; and when we read that the vail spread over all nations will be destroyed, and the pure in heart see God, and reign with Him a thousand years on earth, we want all honest men to have a chance together and build up a city of righteousness, where even upon the bells of the horses shall be written Holiness to the Lord. The Book of Mormon has made known who Israel is, upon this continent. And while we behold the government of the United States gathering the Indians, and locating them upon lands to be their own, how sweet it is to think that they may one day be gathered by the Gospel…” HISTORY OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS Period I History of Joseph Smith, the Prophet by Himself

Editors Note:
Unfortunately the Prophet Joseph Smith was hoping our government was gathering the Lamanites to help them. Latter on he knew our government was driving them out of their homeland, which was a disgrace. Latter on in this same article, Joseph Smith said the following.

“The joy that we shall feel, in common with every honest American, and the joy that will eventually fill their bosoms on account of nationalizing the Indians, will be reward enough when it is shown that gathering them to themselves, and for themselves, to be associated with themselves, is a wise measure, and it reflects the highest honor upon our government.

May they all be gathered in peace, and form a happy union among themselves, to which thousands may shout, Esto perpetua. “Let it be eternal” HISTORY OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS Period I History of Joseph Smith, the Prophet by Himself Volume II An Introduction and Notes by B. H. Roberts

We have learned many things since:

1. 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.
2. 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
3. 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.”
4. Indian removal took place in the Northern states as well. In Illinois and Wisconsin, for example, the bloody Black Hawk War in 1832 opened to white settlement millions of acres of land that had belonged to the Sauk, Fox and other native nations.

The Lord said, “Wherefore, this land is consecrated unto him whom he shall bring. And if it so be that they shall serve him according to the commandments which he hath given, it shall be a land of liberty unto them; wherefore, they shall never be brought down into captivity; if so, it shall be because of iniquity; for if iniquity shall abound cursed shall be the land for their sakes, but unto the righteous it shall be blessed forever.” 2 Nephi 1:7

Unfortunately the Lamanites were scattered for disobedience and some Americans sinned against God in the horrible things we did to them. We hope and pray this reuniting will return quickly as we Gather Israel.

Sagwitch The Corinne Scare 

Chapter 4 1999 Sagwitch by Scott R. Christensen

“The white man is roaming all over my country and killing my game. Still I make no objection to his doing so, and all I want is to be let alone, with the privilege of making a small farm for the benefit of my people, and to be allowed to live on it in peace. I have not gone into the white man’s country and intruded on him, and I do not think it is fair for him to come into mine and drive me from my own lands without any cause, and I ask the government to take the matter in hand and reinstate me and mine on our own lands, that we may live there in peace and friendship with all men. “Sagwitch” August 31, 1875 Continued

As Brigham Young announced new missionary assignments at the Mormon Church’s general conference in April 1875, he signaled his resounding support of George Washington Hill’s work among the Indians by calling fifteen men for a season of work among the “Lamanites” of northern Utah—eight more men than he called to labor in all the rest of the United States and Canada.1 [Read more about George Washington’s work among the Native American’s in the following section called Native American Policy]. Young was willing to dedicate so much manpower to the Indian cause he anticipated a large return in Indian converts. He had been greatly impressed by the positive reports forwarded to his office in 1873 and 1874 concerning Native American converts to Mormonism. Now he wanted to see them transformed from nomadic hunters to sedentary and self-supporting farmers. As Mormonism’s prophet, he was undoubtedly anxious to support a movement that seemed to fulfill scriptural injunctions concerning the “redemption” of the remnants of the “House of Israel,” interpreted by the Mormons to be America’s indigenous peoples. Another practical benefit of the Lamanite Mission, if implemented successfully throughout the Great Basin, was much hoped for relief of white settlers from the temporal demands associated with Young’s “feed rather than fight” policies.

George Washington Hill was one of those called to labor among the Indians, and Young assigned him to head the mission. Hill’s first task was to find a suitable location for a continuation of the farming experiment begun at Franklin the summer before. The search took him north and west of Brigham City to an area about halfway between present-day Plymouth and Tremonton. In a report to President Young, Hill commented, “I went to look for a location[.] selected for permanent location a section of country lying betwen bear river and malad about twenty miles from corinne with good land and plenty of grass[.] water plenty but a heavy job to get it out.”2 The site had merit, including thousands of acres of fertile land needing only a plow and the diverted waters of the Malad River to make it productive. Young approved the location and asked the missionaries to gather there.

Sagwitch and his band of approximately seventy lodges returned from the Promontory region sometime in late winter. On February 22, 1875, Sagwitch and his wife, listed as Mogogah, but probably Beawoachee, along with fellow Shoshone Ohetocump and his wife, Minnie, entered the Mormon Endowment House located in the northwest corner of the temple block in Salt Lake City. They participated in sacred temple rituals and received the Mormon endowment. Afterward, Apostle Wilford Woodruff performed another ceremony that, according to Mormon belief, “sealed” each couple’s marriage in an everlasting union.3 Only a few Native Americans had received the Mormon endowment, and none had ever been sealed. Woodruff recorded the significant event in his journal: “This is not only the birthday of George Washington. But it was the day when the first Couple of Lamanites were together as man and wife for time & Eternity at the Alter in the Endowment House according to the Holy Priesthood in the last dispensation & fulness of times. Wilford Woodruff Sealed at the Altar two Couple of Lamanites. The first Couple was Indian Named Ohetocump But Baptized and Sealed by the name of James Laman. His wife Named Mine. 2d Couple Isiqwich [Sagwitch] & Mogogah.4“

Read my blog on Chief Sagwitch Here

Native American Policy by Richard Harless
George Mason University

“Near the beginning of his first term as President, George Washington declared that a just Indian policy was one of his highest priorities, explaining that “The Government of the United States are determined that their Administration of Indian Affairs shall be directed entirely by the great principles of Justice and humanity.”¹ The Washington administration’s initial policy toward Native Americans was enunciated in June of 1789. Secretary of War Henry Knox explained that the Continental Congress had needlessly provoked Native Americans following the Revolution by insisting on American possession of all territory east of the Mississippi River. Congress had previously argued that by supporting the British during the war Native Americans had forfeited any claim to territory on the western frontier of American settlement. However, this perspective ignored the fact that only a portion of tribes had actually supported the British.

In 1787, the Confederation Congress enacted the Northwest Ordinance, opening the Ohio Valley to new American settlement. Members of the Western Lakes Confederacy reacted by utilizing armed resistance to protect their land. These events increased the urgency for Washington to develop a formal method for managing Indian affairs. In referring to the constitutional grant of treaty-making powers to the chief executive—with the “advice and consent” of the Senate—Washington declared that a similar practice should also apply to agreements with Native Americans. The Senate acceded to the President’s wishes and accepted treaties as the basis for conducting Indian relations.

In response, Congress proceeded to approve a treaty with seven northern tribes (the Shawnee, Miami, Ottawa, Chippewa, Iroquois, Sauk, and Fox). This agreement, however, lacked meaningful protection of tribal land. To the northern tribes this ineffectual treaty and the constant intrusion into their lands by droves of settlers meant that the American government had little control over its own citizens. Members of the northern tribes believed it was necessary to deploy force to prevent further incursions.

Washington’s desire to protect American citizens led to an American military response. In 1790 and 1791, Washington dispatched armies to confront native forces, and in both instances the Americans were soundly defeated. Responding to these two embarrassing setbacks, Congress authorized a five-thousand man regular army to quell resistance. Led by General “Mad Anthony” Wayne, the Legion inflicted a crushing defeat on the Indian confederation in the Summer of 1794. This decisive battle and the ensuing Treaty of Greenville brought a tentative peace to the northwest in 1795.

Simultaneously, as momentous events in the north unfolded, Washington also faced challenges from the four southern tribes. For the Cherokees and the more distant Choctaws and Chickasaws, Washington sought messages of assurance, friendship, and plans for trade. The formidable Creeks were the fourth southern tribe. Washington regarded the Creek with considerable apprehension because of their disagreement with the state of Georgia’s interpretation of three treaties that had been negotiated by that state during the 1780s. These treaties included significant cessions of land from the Creeks to Georgia that the tribe did not recognize.

The Creeks’ leader was Alexander McGillivray, a mixed-race chief who spoke fluent English and was a shrewd negotiator. Twenty-eight Creek chiefs led by McGillivray accepted Washington’s invitation to travel to New York in the summer of 1790 to negotiate a new treaty. The result was the Treaty of New York which restored to the Creeks some of the lands ceded in the treaties with Georgia, and provided generous annuities for the rest of the land. It also established a policy and process of assimilation called “civilization,” aiming to attach tribes to permanent land settlements. Under the policy tribal members would be given “useful domestic animals and implements of husbandry” to encourage them to become “herdsman and cultivators” instead of “remaining in a state as hunters.”²

In August 1790 the Creek chiefs formally approved the Treaty of New York. The Creek chiefs agreed to place themselves under the protection of the United States. In return the United States confirmed the sanctity of the Creek land lying within the boundaries defined by the treaty. However, the Treaty of New York failed to achieve its goals, as the federal government could not stem the relentless incursion of American settlers onto “protected” Indian lands. In a letter to Washington, Knox agonized over the possibility of Indian extermination. He observed that in the most populous areas of the United States, some tribes had already become extinct. “If the same causes continue,” he explained, “the same effects will happen and in a short period the idea of an Indian on this side of the Mississippi will only be found in the page of the historian.”³

Washington and Knox sought to provide safe havens for native tribes while also assimilating them into American society. Washington and Knox believed that if they failed to at least make an effort to secure Indian land, their chances of convincing Native Americans to transform their hunting culture to one of farming and herding would be undermined. As the two reluctantly came to recognize, however, it was the settlers pouring into the western frontier that controlled the national agenda regarding Native Americans and their land. By 1796 even Washington had concluded that holding back the avalanche of settlers had become nearly impossible, writing that “I believe scarcely anything short of a Chinese wall, or a line troops, will restrain Land jobbers, and the encroachment of settlers upon the Indian territory.”⁴ Richard Harless George Mason University

Notes:

1. George Washington to The Commissioners for Negotiating a Treaty with the Southern Indians, 29 August 1789,” The Writings of George Washington, 30:392 & 392N.

2. Charles J. Kappler, Indians Affairs: Laws and Treaties, Vol. II, Treaties (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1904), 2:28.

3. “Henry Knox to George Washington, 7 July 1789,” The Papers of George Washington: Presidential Series, eds. W. W. Abbot and Dorothy Twohig, 2:139.

4. “George Washington to the Secretary of State, 1 July 1796,” The Writings of George Washington, 35:112.

References Native American Policy

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O that I were an angel!

When I am reading pondering, studying and fixating on the Book of Mormon, I am the happiest man alive. I feel exactly like Pres Nelson has said, “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.” President Russell M. Nelson The Book of Mormon: What Would Your Life Be Like without It? This quote represents a deep thirst for this Book and a desire to gorge my soul on it’s precious words.

I feel exactly as Alma exclaims here. “O that I were an angel, and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the trump of God, with a voice to shake the earth, and cry repentance unto every people! Yea, I would declare unto every soul, as with the voice of thunder, repentance and the plan of redemption, that they should repent and come unto our God, that there might not be more sorrow upon all the face of the earth. But behold, I am a man, and do sin in my wish; for I ought to be content with the things which the Lord hath allotted unto me”. Alma 29:1-3

Nothing Could Convince me that Meso is the Place.

“As a scientist, I worked with Dr. William Woods who was a prominent anthropologist working on Cahokia and he worked closely on the Terra Preta (Dark Earth Soils) soils in the Amazon with Charles Mann who wrote “1491 America Before Columbus.”  I meet with Mann and William, and Charles and I had dinner and I listened to the conversations that seems similar to the battle between Heartland and Meso.  At the time, we were battling the Smithsonian, however.  The Smithsonian claimed there could not have been large human populations in the Amazonian Basin because there was no way to grow enough food on the poor soils of the Amazon. 

What Dr. Woods and others found was that the people created their own soils now called Terra Preta.  These are among the most fertile soils in the world and have up to a 3-foot-deep dark organic layer.  They are buried under the rainforest canopy, so I had to develop a method for mapping these soils using satellite imagery.

The Terra Preta soils cover an area under the Amazonian rainforest that is as large as the country of France. What many do not know is that these soils were created from biochar, so most of the rainforest was cleared to make the biochar and the Terra Preta soils. Most of the rainforest is regrowth forest and not primary forest. 

The point to my long story is that even with amazing evidence, still the Smithsonian resists our findings and was promoting its stand that there were few people living in Amazonia and the tales of El Dorado are very likely true. Sometimes you have to wait for the old dogs to die.

As a scientist with close to 100 publications in refereed journals, I do not recall ever PROVING anything.  All we can to is continue finding evidence but proving our theory will be difficult and will never be accepted by all.

To me, however, coupling a theory with revelation by a Prophet of God like Joseph Smith is proof enough.  I, like Martin Harris will say, ““Tis enough tis enough mine eyes have beheld mine eyes have beheld.” But I hope I have more faith than poor Martin had at the time.  Nothing could convince me that Meso is the place. (Picture Right) Heartland is the PLACE.” Best wishes, Kevin Price PhD [email protected]

Science Progresses one Death at a Time

“That’s very interesting about the Amazon. I’ve been there twice, once in Peru and once in Brazil, and it’s easy to see why people would have difficulty believing anyone could farm in those jungles. Your work makes sense, though. As the saying goes, science progresses one death at a time. Academics tend to keep teaching whatever they were taught by the mentors they admired.” Jonathan Neville JD

The Book of Mormon has been Sitting on the Fiction Shelf of People’s Minds too Long

“Thank you so much for your message.  We have critics of our work tell us that the Book of Mormon geography is not important.  As one with a PhD in geography, I would strongly disagree.  Think of removing the geography of the Bible and contemplate the considerable losses associated with the Bible without its geography. Geography professors teach that a place without a known geographic location is only a fable or fairytale.  The Book of Mormon has been sitting on the Fiction Shelf of people’s minds too long. I pray the Lord will help us remove it from the fiction shelf in the minds of millions as we keep doing our part to uncover it from the dust of the earth.

The geography took place in the Heartland without doubt.  I drank the Meso Kool-Aid for too many years.  It was like eating cotton candy. Like the cotton candy, the buildings all look amazing in Mesoamerica, but when you take a bite, there is nothing there.

May I share your story with others?  It tells a wonderful story about how the correct model for geography of the Book of Mormon strengthened your testimony.” Best wishes, Kevin Price PhD

The Heartland Model took the Book of Mormon out of the Realm of a Book of Fiction and Placed it Squarely in the Realm of a Real World Documentary.

“Dear Kevin and Heartland friends,

Of course!  I would be deeply humbled if you would use my story/testimony to share with others!  My greatest desire now is to witness the world flooded with the Lord’s Restored Gospel, coupled with the Lord’s Restored North American Book of Mormon Geography—the means by which the Lord will cause this land to testify to the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon!  I agree with our own Jonathan Martin Luther Neville.  Many more people around the world will come to a knowledge of the Gospel and the Book of Mormon when they are taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ via the Book of Mormon with the correct geography to further ground its message in logic and in truth!  As has happened with me and with thousands of others, the testimonies of many members, not just investigators, will be strengthened with this additional light and knowledge, as well!

I totally related to your profound comment about taking the Book of Mormon off the Fiction Shelf in the minds of the people!  I would like to add that, for me, the Heartland Model took the Book of Mormon out of the realm of a book of fiction and placed it squarely in the realm of a real world documentary.  I had a testimony the Book of Mormon was true because it was part of the Gospel!  I knew the Gospel was true, and I loved the Gospel!  But for years I did not love the Book of Mormon as others loved it!  For years I felt guilty and ashamed!  In retrospect, I now understand what was wrong!  I have never liked fiction!  However, I was granted a tender mercy some years ago.  The Spirit brought peace to my troubled heart when I was assured that one day I, too, would love the Book of Mormon!  That day has come…I love the Book of Mormon with all of my heart!  And that love came the minute I learned where the people in the Book of Mormon lived on this earth.  I never even prayed about whether the Heartland Model was true or not!  I did not have to!  I was overwhelmed with joy and peace and love and enthusiasm!  I knew the answer!  And the Spirit continues to testify to the truthfulness every time I learn more about the Heartland!  Uncovering Zarahemla is already so exciting!  A clambake in Zarahemla and the spotted bee balm to treat their fevers—how real is that?  The only prayers I have uttered about the Heartland have been the many prayers of gratitude and thanksgiving.  This is what the correct Book of Mormon geography has done for me!  This is what I pray many others will experience, as well!
 
Dave sent me a copy of the article on the Spotted Bee Balm by none other than the HEARTLAND RESEARCH INSTITUTE!!  This is over the top!  So professional and so fitting!  The Heartland is pushing all of my buttons!  I have been active in natural healing and herbals for 30 years—I call it the “Lord’s Pharmacy!”  Thank you for this, as well!

I continue to be profoundly touched and amazed by the diligent efforts and by all of the evidences my Heartland friends continue to uncover!  I testify that this is the Work of the Lord!  Each of you have been called by Him to play your part in His marvelous work and a wonder!  Thank you for magnifying your callings so magnificently and for sharing with the world!
My sincere love and thanks to all!” Barbara Garner

The Book of Mormon by the Spirit and the Evidence

“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

The Voice of Seven Thunders

I end this blog 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?)” Article By Rian Nelson

About the Windows

All the above pictures are beautiful windows at the Old Stone Church in Independence, Mo owned by the Community of Christ.

The Stone Church of the Community of Christ (“CofC”) in Independence, Missouri was the administrative headquarters and site of general conferences of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (which was renamed the CofC in 2001) from the early 20th century until the building of the Auditorium in 1958. For that reason, they refer to the Stone Church as the “pulpit of the presidency.” 

I believe our Constitution is inspired of God. I also believe it is a document that has been trampled on, changed, tortured, and illegally altered. “On the final day of the Constitutional Convention in 1787, when our Constitution was adopted, Americans gathered on the steps of Independence Hall to await the news of the government our founders had crafted. They asked Benjamin Franklin, ‘What do we have, a republic or a monarchy?’ Franklin replied, ‘A republic, if you can keep it.’ Our responsibility is to keep it.” Quote from Nancy Pelosi according to the Washington Post by Zara Anishanslin. Read here as you will enjoy the story about who asked Franklin this very popular question? (I don’t often quote Pelosi, but she was quoting Franklin the best she could remember).

Maintaining our Religious Liberty

Elder David A. Bednar on June 17, 2020 spoke out about the challenges of the Covid-19 Pandemic and maintaining our religious liberty at the same time. He said that “Gathering” is at the core of religious liberty and being in each others presence is a unique experience. Elder Bednar also said, “The Vision of Gathering has been a driving motivation for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.” He said that the power of government must have restrictions, and he ended by saying, “Never again must the fundamental right to worship God be trivialized below the ability to buy gasoline.”

The importance of “awakening” us to the blessing of our rights is spoken of by Elder Bednar. It is true, religion IS an “essential” that was missed during the COVID 19 pandemic and we must never forget it again.

Pacify and Lull

In the midst of this global pandemic we must remember that usually our government does not have our best interests at heart. They do what they say seems their best, but in my opinion they do as the Lord has said, “Because their hearts are set so much upon the things of this world, and aspire to the honors of men, that they do not learn this one lesson—That the rights of the priesthood are inseparably connected with the powers of heaven, and that the powers of heaven cannot be controlled nor handled only upon the principles of righteousness. That they may be conferred upon us, it is true; but when we undertake to cover our sins, or to gratify our pride, our vain ambition, or to exercise control or dominion or compulsion upon the souls of the children of men, in any degree of unrighteousness, behold, the heavens withdraw themselves; the Spirit of the Lord is grieved; and when it is withdrawn, Amen to the priesthood or the authority of that man.” D&C 121: 35-37

The larger the government and the more laws and regulations, the less freedom we have. For example I won’t get a vaccine just because the government recommends it and if they force me to get a vaccine I will go to jail I guess or pay the consequence. We need to stop giving up our liberties for a false sense of security. Let’s become secure in God not Man. Our Nation has sunk deeper into Socialism and Communism than ever before. Don’t believe me take a look at these articles:

Poll shows BYU students prefer socialist Sanders

Post by Col. Flagg » February 20th, 2016, 10:34 pm
BYU students are “feeling the Bern.”

An internal campus email invited students to participate in an online poll conducted by The Daily Universe. Of 735 respondents self-identifying as BYU students, 30 percent said they would vote for democratic socialist Vermont senator Bernie Sanders if the general presidential election took place today. Florida Republican senator Marco Rubio came in second at 20 percent. The poll was open from Monday, Feb. 8 through Monday, Feb. 15, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percent.

Here is another one:
BYU Students Prefer Socialism? Cwic Media Feb 22, 2016

Huh? In a recent poll, BYU students choose self-proclaimed socialist, Bernie Sanders as their favorite presidential candidate. Surprised? Base[d] on another recent national poll, most millennials do not know what socialism is or what its effects are. If BYU students are on board with socialism, then we are at a very big turn from traditional American principles of government and self-reliance. Of course, Trump is equally a phenom. Populism rings true these days. Bernie does seem to be the most honest of all of the candidates.

Bernie seems to be most honest? Yes maybe he is, the most honest in saying he is a Socialist and acting like he is for the people. I voted for Trump and am thankful I did. (Twice) If this can happen at BYU it is definitely happening all over the world. I feel we are being deceived, for the Lord said,

“For behold, at that day shall he rage in the hearts of the children of men, and stir them up to anger against that which is good. And others will he pacify, and lull them away into carnal security”. 2 Nephi 28:20-21

We better wake up our children and let them know more about SOCIALISM. It is a tool of Satan to get us into COMMUNISM as you can ready from many Prophets and Apostles below:

David A. Bednar

First reflection: Government power can never be unlimited. In our political system, the government “derives its just powers from the consent of the governed,” to quote the Declaration of Independence. But the “just powers” of government cannot be unlimited, because they exist most fundamentally to secure the God-given rights of life and liberty, so that each of us can exercise our moral agency—the ability “to act for [ourselves] and not to be acted upon”[xiii]—and be accountable before God for our choices and actions…

Second reflection: Religious freedom is paramount among our fundamental rights. This time of restriction and confinement has confirmed for me that no freedom is more important than religious freedom. The freedom of religion properly has been called our first freedom. It is first not only because of its placement as the first right in the First Amendment, but also because of the paramount importance of respecting the moral agency of each person…

Third reflection: Religious freedom is fragile. As we have just experienced, religious freedom can quickly be swept aside in the name of protecting other societal interests. Despite COVID-19 risks, North American jurisdictions declared as essential numerous services related to alcohol, animals, marijuana, and other concerns. But often religious organizations and their services were simply deemed nonessential, even when their activities could be conducted safely…

Fourth reflection: In a time of crisis, sensitive tools are necessary to balance the demands of religious liberty with the just interests of society. I am not for a moment saying that religious freedom can be unlimited in the middle of a pandemic. Nor am I saying that all government officials have disregarded religious rights. Far from it.

What I am saying is that we can no more disregard the valid claims of religious freedom in a time of crisis than we can disregard the valid claims of freedom of speech, freedom of the press, or freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures. Nor should we prioritize secular interests above religious ones. A health crisis should not become an excuse for a religious freedom crisis.

I believe we must always remember a key principle: specifically, religion should not be treated less favorably than analogous secular activities. “

And When He Came to Himself (Luke 15:17) By Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles The preceding address was given June 17, 2020, for the digital-only 2020 BYU Law School Religious Freedom Annual Review.

Is the Constitution Divinely Inspired?

“Not long after I began to teach law, an older professor asked me a challenging question about Latter-day Saints’ belief in the United States Constitution. Earlier in his career he had taught at the University of Utah College of Law. There he met many Latter-day Saint law students. “They all seemed to believe that the Constitution was divinely inspired,” he said, “but none of them could ever tell me what this meant or how it affected their interpretation of the Constitution.” I took that challenge personally, and I have pondered it for many years.

I hope I will not be thought immodest if I claim a special interest in the Constitution. As a lawyer and law professor for more than twenty years, I have studied the United States Constitution. As legal counsel, I helped draft the bill of rights for the Illinois constitutional convention of 1970. And for three and one-half years as a justice of the Utah Supreme Court I had the sworn duty to uphold and interpret the constitutions of the state of Utah and the United States. My conclusions draw upon those experiences and upon a lifetime of studying the scriptures and the teachings of the living prophets. My opinions on this subject are personal and do not represent a statement in behalf of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Creation and Ratification

The United States Constitution was the first written constitution in the world. It has served Americans well, enhancing freedom and prosperity during the changed conditions of more than two hundred years. Frequently copied, it has become the United States’ most important export. After two centuries, every nation in the world except six have adopted written constitutions, 2 and the U.S. Constitution was a model for all of them. No wonder modern revelation says that God established the U.S. Constitution and that it “should be maintained for the rights and protection of all flesh, according to just and holy principles.” (D&C 101:77.)

George Washington was perhaps the first to use the word miracle in describing the drafting of the U.S. Constitution. In a 1788 letter to Lafayette, he said:

“It appears to me, then, little short of a miracle, that the delegates from so many different states (which states you know are also different from each other in their manners, circumstances, and prejudices) should unite in forming a system of national Government, so little liable to well-founded objections.” …

I have always felt that the United States Constitution’s closest approach to scriptural stature is in the phrasing of our Bill of Rights. Without the free exercise of religion, America could not have served as the host nation for the restoration of the gospel, which began just three decades after the Bill of Rights was ratified. I also see scriptural stature in the concept and wording of the freedoms of speech and press, the right to be secure against unreasonable searches and seizures, the requirements that there must be probable cause for an arrest and that accused persons must have a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury, and the guarantee that a person will not be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. President Ezra Taft Benson has said, “Reason, necessity, tradition, and religious conviction all lead me to accept the divine origin of these rights.”

The Declaration of Independence had posited these truths to be “self-evident,” that all men “are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights,” and that governments are instituted “to secure these Rights.” This inspired Constitution was established to provide a practical guarantee of these God-given rights (see D&C 101:77), and the language implementing that godly objective is scriptural to me…

Citizens should also be practitioners of civic virtue in their conduct toward government. They should be ever willing to fulfill the duties of citizenship. This includes compulsory duties like military service and the numerous voluntary actions they must take if they are to preserve the principle of limited government through citizen self-reliance. For example, since U.S. citizens value the right of trial by jury, they must be willing to serve on juries, even those involving unsavory subject matter. Citizens who favor morality cannot leave the enforcement of moral laws to jurors who oppose them.

The single word that best describes a fulfillment of the duties of civic virtue is patriotism. Citizens should be patriotic. My favorite prescription for patriotism is that of Adlai Stevenson:

“What do we mean by patriotism in the context of our times? … A patriotism that puts country ahead of self; a patriotism which is not short, frenzied outbursts of emotion, but the tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime.” by Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve. “The Divinely Inspired Constitution,” Ensign, Feb. 1992, 68.

What is the official position of the Church on communism?

“What is the official position of the Church on communism? In 1936 the First Presidency made an official declaration on communism which has never been abrogated. I quote the concluding paragraph:

“We call upon all Church members completely to eschew communism. The safety of our divinely inspired constitutional government and the welfare of our Church imperatively demand that communism shall have no place in America”

We must ever keep in mind that collectivized socialism is part of the communist strategy. Communism is fundamentally socialism. We will never win our fight against communism by making concessions to socialism. Communism and socialism, closely related, must be defeated on principle. The close relationship between socialism and communism is clearly pointed out by Senator Strom Thurmond of South Carolina in a letter to the editor of the Washington Post, of August 6, 1961, in these words:

“. . . Both socialism and communism derive from the teachings of Marx and Engels. In fact, the movements were one until the split over methods of approach, which resulted after the Russian revolution in 1905…. The aim and purpose of both was then and is now world socialism, which communism seeks to achieve through revolution and which socialists seek to achieve through evolution.

“The industrial achievements of the U. S. are the result of an economic system which is the antithesis of socialism. Our economic system is called ‘capitalism’ or ‘private enterprise’ and is based on private property rights, the profit motive and competition.

“Both communism and socialism seek to destroy our economic system and replace it with socialism; and their success, whether through evolution by socialism or through revolution by communism or a combination, will destroy not only our economic system, but our liberty, including the ‘civil’ aspects as well….

“. . . The ‘common ground’ of socialism and communism is a factor to which the American people should be alerted. Without a clear understanding that communism is socialism, the total threat and menace of the cold war can never be comprehended and fought to victory.”

When socialism is understood, we will realize that many of the programs advocated, and some of those already adopted in the United States, fall clearly within the category of socialism. What is socialism? It is simply governmental ownership and management of the essential means for the production and distribution of goods.

We must never forget that nations may sow the seeds of their own destruction while enjoying unprecedented prosperity.

The socialistic-communist conspiracy to weaken the United States involves attacks on many fronts. To weaken the American free-enterprise economy which outproduced both its enemies and allies during World War II is a high priority target of the communist leaders. Their press and other propaganda media are therefore constantly selling the principles of centralized or federal control of farms, railroads, electric power, schools, steel, maritime shipping, and many other aspects of the economy–but always in the name of public welfare.

This carries out the strategy laid down by the communist masters. John Strachey, a top official in the Labor Socialist party of Great Britain, in his book entitled The Theory and Practice of Socialism said:

“It is impossible to establish communism as the immediate successor to capitalism. It is accordingly proposed to establish socialism as something which we can put in the place of our present decaying capitalism. Hence, communists work for the establishment of socialism as a necessary transition stage on the road to communism.”

The paramount issue today is liberty against creeping socialism. It is in this spirit that President McKay stated:

“Communism is antagonistic to the American way of life. Its avowed purpose is to destroy belief in God and free enterprise…. The fostering of full economic freedom lies at the base of our liberties. Only in perpetuating economic freedom can our social, political, and religious liberties be preserved.” (Excerpt from Inaugural address for Dr. Henry A. Dixon, President of USU, delivered by President McKay at the USU fieldhouse, Logan, Utah, Monday, March 18, 1954.) Secret Combinations by Ezra Taft Benson

“Be Subject to the Powers that Be.”

In a revelation given to the Church, August 1, 1831, the Lord said: “Let no man break the laws of the land, for he that keepeth the laws of God hath no need to break the laws of the land. Wherefore, be subject to the powers that be, until he reigns whose right it is to reign, and subdues all enemies under his feet.” It has been the doctrine and practice of the covenant people of God in all ages to be subject to the worldly “powers that be,” and to sustain and uphold them in all just and proper government. (Joseph Fielding Smith. Progress of Man. 1964)

[Communism] “We Consider it the Greatest Satanical Threat to Peace

In order that there may be no misunderstanding by bishops, stake presidents, and others regarding members of the Church participating in nonchurch meetings to study and become informed on the Constitution of the United States, Communism, etc., I wish to make the following statements that I have been sending out from my office for some time and that have come under question by some stake authorities, bishoprics, and others.

Church members are at perfect liberty to act according to their own consciences in the matter of safeguarding our way of life. They are, of course, encouraged to honor the highest standards of the gospel and to work to preserve their own freedoms. They are free to participate in nonchurch meetings that are held to warn people of the threat of Communism or any other theory or principle that will deprive us of our free agency or individual liberties vouchsafed by the Constitution of the United States.

The Church, out of respect for the rights of all its members to have their political views and loyalties, must maintain the strictest possible neutrality. We have no intention of trying to interfere with the fullest and freest exercise of the political franchise of our members under and within our Constitution, which the Lord declared he established “by the hands of wise men whom [he] raised up unto this very purpose” (D&C 101:80) and which, as to the principles thereof, the Prophet Joseph Smith, dedicating the Kirtland Temple, prayed should be “established forever.” (D&C 109:54.) The Church does not yield any of its devotion to or convictions about safeguarding the American principles and the establishments of government under federal and state constitutions and the civil rights of men safeguarded by these.

The position of this Church on the subject of Communism has never changed. We consider it the greatest satanical threat to peace, prosperity, and the spread of God’s work among men that exists on the face of the earth.

In this connection, we are continually being asked to give our opinion concerning various patriotic groups or individuals who are fighting Communism and speaking up for freedom. Our immediate concern, however, is not with parties, groups, or persons, but with principles. We therefore commend and encourage every person and every group who is sincerely seeking to study Constitutional principles and awaken a sleeping and apathetic people to the alarming conditions that are rapidly advancing about us. We wish all of our citizens throughout the land were participating in some type of organized self-education in order that they could better appreciate what is happening and know what they can do about it.” A statement by President David O. McKay concerning the position of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Communism.

Faith of the Latter Day Saints in Governments and Laws in General

by Joseph Smith

Jan. 22, 1840

“For as much as many false rumors are abroad in the world concerning myself and the faith which I profess, and that my belief with regard to earthly governments and laws in general may not be misinterpreted nor misunderstood, I have thought proper to present for your consideration and for the consideration of the public (if you will do me the favor), through your valuable and interesting paper, my opinions concerning the same.

First, I believe that governments were instituted of God for the benefit of man and that he holds men accountable for their acts in relation to them, either in making laws or administering them for the good and safety of society.

Secondly, I believe that no government can exist in peace, except such laws are framed and held inviolate as will secure to each individual the free exercise of conscience, the right and control of property, and the protection of life

Third, I believe that all governments necessarily require civil officers and magistrates to enforce the laws of the same; and that such as will administer the law in equity and justice should be sought for and upheld by the voice of the people (if a republic), or the will of the sovereign.

Fourth, I believe that religion is instituted of God; and that men are amenable to him, and to him only, for the exercise of it, unless their religious opinion prompts them to infringe upon the rights and liberty of others; but I do not believe that human law has a right to interfere in prescribing rules of worship to bind the consciences of men, nor dictate forms for public or private devotion; that the civil magistrate should restrain crime, but never control conscience; should punish guilt, but never suppress the freedom of the soul.

Fifth, I believe that all men are bound to sustain and uphold the respective governments in which they reside, while protected in their inherent and inalienable rights by the laws of such governments; and that sedition and rebellion are unbecoming every citizen thus protected, and should be punished accordingly; and that all governments have a right to enact such laws as in their own judgments are best calculated to secure the public interest at the same time, however, holding sacred the freedom of conscience.

Sixth, I believe that every man should be honored in his station, rulers and magistrates as such, being placed for the protection of the innocent and the punishment of the guilty; and that to the law all men owe respect and deference, as without them peace and harmony would be supplanted by anarchy and terror; human laws being instituted for the express purpose of regulating our interests as individuals and nations, between man and man; and divine laws given of heaven, prescribing rules on spiritual concerns, for faith and worship both to be answered by man to his maker.

Seventh, I believe that rulers, states and governments have a right, and are bound to enact laws for the protection of all citizens in the free exercise of their religious belief. But I do not believe that they have a right in justice to deprive citizens of this privilege, or proscribe them in their opinions, so long as a regard and reverence is shown to the laws and such religious opinions do not justify sedition nor conspiracy.

Eighth, I believe that the commission of crime should be punished according to the nature of the offense; that murder, treason, robbery, theft, and the breach of the general peace, in all respects, should be punished according to their criminality and their tendency to evil among men, by the laws of that government in which the offense is committed; and for the public peace and tranquility all men should step forward and use their ability in bringing offenders against good laws to punishment.

Ninth, I do not believe it just to mingle religious influence with civil government, whereby one religious society is fostered and another proscribed in its spiritual privileges, and the individual rights of its members, as citizens, denied.

Tenth, I believe that all religious societies have a right to deal with their members for disorderly conduct, according to the rules and regulations of such societies; provided that such dealings be for fellowship and good standing; but I do not believe that any religious society has authority to try men on the right of property or life, to take from them this world’s goods, or put them in jeopardy either life or limb, neither to inflict any physical punishment upon them. They can only excommunicate them from their society, and withdraw from their fellowship.

Eleventh, I believe that men should appeal to the civil law for redress of all wrongs and grievances, where personal abuse is inflicted or the right of property or character infringed, where such laws exist as will protect the same; but believe that all men are justified in defending themselves, their friends, and property, and the government, from the unlawful assaults and encroachments of all persons in times of exigencies, where immediate appeal cannot be made to the laws, and relief afforded.

Twelfth, I believe it just to preach the gospel to the nations of the earth, and warn the righteous to save themselves from the corruptions of the world; but I do not believe it right to interfere with bond-servants, neither preach the gospel to, nor baptize them contrary to the will and wish of their masters, nor to meddle with or influence them in the least to cause them to be dissatisfied with their situations in this life, thereby jeopardizing the lives of men; such interference I believe to be unlawful and unjust, and dangerous to the peace of every government allowing human beings to be held in servitude.

Thirteenth, It has been reported by some vicious or designing characters that the church of Latter Day Saints believe in having their property in common, and also the leaders of said church controls said property. This is a base fabrication without the least shadow or coloring of anything to make it out of, but on the contrary, no person’s feelings can be more repugnant to such a principle than mine. Every person in this church has a right to control his own property, and is not required to do anything except by his own free voluntary act, that he may impart to the poor according to the requirement of the gospel, “Give to him that asketh thee and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away” (Math. 5:42).

I believe in living a virtuous, upright, and holy life before God and feel it my duty to persuade all men in my power to do the same. That they may cease to do evil, and learn to do well, and break off their sins by righteousness. I close this by subscribing myself your most obedient servant.” Faith of the Latter Day Saints in Governments and Laws in General by Joseph Smith Jr.

Notes: The sentiments set forth in the following thirteen articles are Joseph Smith’s personal affirmation of a statement on law and Church government, written by Oliver Cowdery in 1835, and published that same year in the Messenger and Advocate and the Doctrine and Covenants. (Compare D&C 134.)By Joseph Smith, On September 1, 2020.”

Faith of the Latter Day Saints in Governments and Laws in General

Socialism vs Communism

Communists advocate for a total upheaval of political society to achieve their goals.

Socialists believe it is possible for their goals to be carried out within a pro-market society.

Socialism and Communism are both political ideologies defined by their dissatisfaction with a capitalist socio-political system, but they have distinct outlooks and goals.

Socialism and communism champion the rights of the worker, and the common person, and believe that corporate monopolies and government compliance with elite interests stand in the way of the integrity and emancipation of the common worker.

Because of its less wavering and more radical nature, communism has been considered a late-stage form of socialism. Along the spectrum capitalism is at one end, socialism is in the middle and communism is at the farthest reaches. https://thisonevsthatone.com/socialism-vs-communism/

Have you ever been walking in a nice park, or the forest or on a beautiful path in the mountains? As you are walking and enjoying the beauty the Lord has created, you notice a small brick or a broken piece of cement block laying near you? You pick it up and marvel at its beauty? I seriously doubt this has ever happened to you correct? Maybe you found a brick at the dump, or near a home construction site or you even have some of these old cement blocks around your current home?

Now imagine the same walk on a woodsy path or at a nice park or in the mountains at your favorite retreat. Have you ever found a beautiful round rock? Or an intricate smooth stone? Maybe you have found a half pound rolling rock in the river, or maybe you have even found an ugly rock but once you break it open it is a beautiful crystal? Maybe you have brought home dozens of unique rocks and then tumbled them to create beautiful round shiny stones?

The difference between brick and stone? Brick is made by man and rock was made by God mostly through the universal world wide flood of Noah. Nephi said about his Father Lehi, “And it came to pass that he built an altar of stones, and made an offering unto the Lord, and gave thanks unto the Lord our God.” 1 Nephi 2:7. He did not say “build a stone altar” or create “a stone altar”. Nephi simply said, “altar of stones”.

Firm Foundation Conference- Main Stage Speakers

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“Altar of Stones”

“In Nephi 2:7 we find that Lehi and Nephi offered sacrifices upon an “altar of stones” after keeping their covenants with the Lord and successfully completing an assignment to obtain the plates of brass (the word of the Lord). The fact that they offered sacrifice on an altar of stones is full of covenant symbolism.

In Exodus 20:24–26 God instructed Moses to tell the people to make an altar of earth (mizbah) or (unhewn) stones (mizbah), upon which to sacrifice their offerings. . . . The form of this passage, in which God tells Moses to pass on this instruction to the people, suggests that it, like the Ten Commandments at the beginning of the chapter, was addressed to each Israelite individually.” [Tyndale House, The Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Vol 1, p. 36]

Law Demanding Uncut Stones

“Hugh Nibley attests that to this day the Bedouin makes sacrifice on every important occasion, not for magical and superstitious reasons, but because he “lives under the constant impression of a higher force that surrounds him.” St. Nilus, in the oldest known eyewitness account of life among the Arabs of the Tih, says, “they sacrifice on altars of crude stones piled together.” That Lehi’s was such an altar would follow not only from the ancient law demanding uncut stones (Exodus 20;25), but also from the Book of Mormon expression “an altar of stones” (1 Nephi 2:7), which is not the same thing as “a stone altar.” Such little heaps of stones, surviving from all ages, are still to be seen throughout the south desert.” [Hugh Nibley, Lehi in the Desert, F.A.R.M.S., pp. 62-63]

See blog here about Altars

Bricks vs. Stones

At the very beginning of the Bible, in the eleventh chapter of Genesis, we have this description of the Tower of Babel:

While men were migrating eastward, they discovered a valley in the land of Sennaar and settled there.  They said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them.”  They used bricks for stone and bitumen for mortar.  They then said, “Let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves lest we be scattered all over the earth.”  [Genesis 11:2-4]

Many people, yours truly included, believe that the Tower of Babel is the perfect symbol of secular society.  By “secular society” I mean a world that sets itself up in arrogant opposition to the will of God.

Note that the Tower of Babel was constructed of bricks.  Bricks have four characteristics.

First, they are unnatural and artificial.  You won’t find a brick occurring in nature.
Second, they are identical and uniform.  It’s not easy to distinguish one brick from another.
Third, they are functionally undifferentiated and interchangeable.  A brick can serve equally well anywhere in a wall.
Fourth, they are all but worthless.  So what if you lose a brick.  There are hundreds more just like it.

What could be more unnatural and artificial than a society that rejects God?  In such a state, citizens will be made to conform to uniform standards and will lose their individuality.[1]  Their work will be reduced to interchangeable roles.  And, because they have lost all uniqueness, they will become utterly worthless[2].

Now, listen to what Saint Paul has to say in his Second Letter to the Corinthians:

If then any man is in Christ, he is a new creature:  the former things have passed away; behold, they are made new!  [2 Corinthians 5:17]

In opposition to the Tower of Babel, we have a new creation.  This is how Saint Peter describes this new creation:

Draw near to him [viz. Christ], a living stone, rejected indeed by men but chosen and honored by God.  Be you yourselves as living stones, built thereon into a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.  [1 Peter 2:4-5]

There you have it.  Bravely standing against secular society, the Tower of Babel, built of bricks, we have a new creation, the Church, a temple built of living stones.

Living stones have four characteristics.

First, living stones are not just natural, but supernatural.
Second, they are utterly unique.  No two are exactly alike.
Third, they are irreplaceable.  A stone that occupies a particular place in a wall can fit nowhere else.  Fourth, they are extremely precious.

What could be more supernatural than a society in which Christ dwells?  In the eyes of Jesus, every human being is utterly unique and unrepeatable.  What two human beings are exactly alike?  In the Church, every person is irreplaceable, because each one of us has a mission no one else can fulfill.  Finally, in the heart of Christ, every human being is precious, because every one of us is made in the image and likeness of God.  Each one of us, therefore, has infinite value.

The question is this:  Which would I rather be—a brick in secular society or a living stone in the temple of the Church?  In the former edifice, we lose our identity.  In the latter, we become who we are meant to be.  C.S. Lewis puts it this way.  In his book The Screwtape Letters, he writes of God’s plan for His human creatures:

[He] sets an absurd value on the distinctness of every one of them.  When He talks of their losing their selves, He means only abandoning the clamour of self-will; once they have done that, He really gives them back all their personality, and boasts…that when they are wholly His they will be more themselves than ever.  [Letter XIII]

Only in a secular society—where men and women, husbands and wives, fathers and mothers, are interchangeable—only in such a society can “same-sex marriage” and Facebook’s fifty-eight genders be even remotely considered as possibilities.  In the Church, however, where men and women, husbands and wives, fathers and mothers, are irreplaceable, marriage as anything other than one man and one woman for life is, to use a word from the movie The Princess Bride, “inconceivable.”

Unnatural bricks versus supernatural stones.

Secular society versus the Kingdom of God.  Interchangeable cogs versus irreplaceable persons.  Now there’s something to ponder!  Bricks vs. stones.  I’m not talking about building a house.  I’m talking about building a future.

[1] I cannot help but think of the evil city on the planet Camazotz, described in Madeleine L’Engle’s young adult classic A Wrinkle in Time.  Here even children are required to bounce their balls simultaneously in precise rhythm.

[2] Recall the futuristic society depicted by Lois Lowry in her book The Giver.  This brave new world at first appears to be quite utopian, but we soon learn that euthanasia and infanticide are essential features of a colorless world.

Conclusion

The bottom line is this:  You can choose to become another brick in the wall of this fledgling global order they’re trying so desperately to usher in (and which, I believe, will ultimately fail, based on Daniel 11:14).

Or, you can choose to remain a living stone in the Temple of the Most High God (I Peter 2:5), and stand firm in your purpose as a vessel through which His Word is transmitted to others.  That is your eternal destiny, IF you’re not talked out of it through deception.

Choose very wisely.
Bricks vs. Stones January 21, 2017 Father Bernard J. Ezaki Homily

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Altar, Tent, and Well 

“Isaac did not become an Abraham or a Jacob. He did not reach the heights of Abraham, called the “father of the faithful.” Nor was he as impressive as his son Israel, father of the twelve tribes. Yet Isaac is loved and revered. He worshiped God, cared for his home, and pursued his work. He is remembered simply as a man of peace. The eloquent simplicity of his life and his unique ability to lend importance to the commonplace made him great.

Altar, tent, and well: his worship, his home, his work. These basic things of life signified his relationship to God, his family, and his fellowmen. Every person on earth is touched by these three.

Kneeling at his altar, mindful of his family in his tent, Isaac found most of his working hours consumed in watching over wells he had caused to be digged. His flocks were nourished by them. His simple dependence upon the water and the soil and the forage that grew is little different in our day, for man must work.

Let a man choose an occupation in balance with the other two elements of the triumvirate of which I have spoken. Learn to give an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay. In the farm or shop or office, let that man know that work is not an end in itself, but a means to a noble end.

How little things have changed since Isaac’s day—the things that really matter. There is the same God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the same family roles to fill, the same need to work.” D. Kelly Ogden, “Answering the Lord’s Call,” in Studies in Scripture: Book of Mormon, Part 1, pp. 32-33]

Stone Altar Linked to Site in Yemen

A group of Latter-day Saint researchers recently found evidence linking a site in Yemen, on the southwest corner of the Arabian peninsula, to a name associated with Lehi’s journey as recorded in the Book of Mormon.

Warren Aston, Lynn Hilton, and Gregory Witt located a stone altar that professional archaeologists dated to at least 700 B.C. This altar contains an inscription confirming “Nahom” as an actual place that existed in the peninsula before the time of Lehi. The Book of Mormon mentions that “Ishmael died, and was buried in the place which was called Nahom” (1 Ne. 16:34).

This is the first archaeological find that supports a Book of Mormon place-name other than Jerusalem or the Red Sea, says Brother Witt.

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See my previous blog here about Biet Lehi an archaeological site near Jerusalem that is said to be the City of Lehi