249: SACRED BALANCE/UNION ON THE SPRING EQUINOX

Last week was the Spring Equinox. Next Sunday is April 6th. Two weeks after April 6th,  we will celebrate Easter. Here are a few more insights about the significance of the Vernal/Spring Equinox.

The spring equinox represents the renewal of life and the time balance and unity. It begins the time when our days progressively getting longer with more sunlight. symbolic of light overcoming darkness. This is the time of year when we observe the Easter holiday and we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord. Easter is celebrated around the world with eggs and bunnies, all symbols of life, fertility and rebirth and renewal. Spring is usually a time of fertility for animals. It is a time of the beginning of life, or conception. I have recently learned that the Spring Equinox is not only a time of balance of equal light and dark, but a time of creation and union of  male and female.

In Ancient Egypt, there was a festival on the Spring Equinox. It was called the Festival of Isis and Osiris, where ceremonially the union of the female and male Gods brought fertility to the earth. It was also a time of receiving enlightenment from the God. 

On the morning of equinox, it was customary to face East on the Spring Equinox to witness the rising sun with prayer and praise. The Priests of the Temple of Solomon, The Egyptians Priests, and the early Christians would meet before dawn and wait for the rising of the sun. Their temples were oriented geographically so that the rising of the sun on the day of the equinox would enter in through the two front pillars.  

The rising sun was viewed as representing, symbolically, the Son of God. One of the Egyptian titles for the Son of God was "Lord of the Horizon." . As the sun rose above the horizon, the Early Christians would shout "Agerthe!" (Greek meaning "He is risen”). It was thought that one joined with the Gods on the horizon at the rising sun. This was a holy time of union with the Gods, and especially on the day of the equinox

The actual moment of equinox represents the absolute balance between light and dark, the moment of time that light and dark are equal this spring equinox was 10:57 AM. From that time forward, there will be progressively more sunlight as the days get longer until June 21st, the Summer Solstice. A symbolic time period of the triumph of light over darkness for three months. 

Here is a few photos I took on a hike on the Spring Equinox. They represent the symbols of the union and balance of the male and the female.

Male and Female Flowers:

 

 

The only two flowers that I saw were the purple Rockcress flowers and the yellow Daffodil. It is interesting to note that the color Purple and the color Yellow are opposite in the color wheel. In another post I hope to explain more color symbolism. The Purple Rockcress has four petals.  The number four is Symbolic of the square, and forms the four corners of the earth, The Daffodil is symbolic of  life, rebirth and creation. It has six petals which represents harmony, balance, love, and truth. Six is also the number of sides for the geometic shape, the hexagon. We see the hexagon used by the bees in the forming of the honeycomb. All associated with the female.

 

Here are a few more photos from the hike:

Male and Female Rock Shapes

 

Side by side Male and Female rock symbols 

 .......................................................................................................................................

 

Previously posted photos taken on the Spring Equinox 2014 morning.

 

 

 

248: VERNAL EQUINOX 2014: Light begins to conquer Darkness.

Photo taken last year at sunrise on top of Mount Timpanogos

 ...

Today is the last calendar day of Winter. Tomorrow, March 20, 2014, spring begins as we observe the vernal equinox here in Utah. At 10:57 AM will mark that special moment when the sun crosses the celestial equator going from south to north. The word equinox is derived from two Latin words–aequus (equal) and nox (night). On the equinox, the length of day, and the length of night will be close to 12 hours each. Depending on your location the sunrise and sunset will be around 7:40 AM/PM.

Early Christians observed the Vernal Equinox by greeting the rising sun on the morning of the equinox by going outside, facing east and shouting three times: "Christos Agarthe" (Christos Ah-gair-thay) which means “Christ is risen."

Spring is a time of rebirth, rejuvenation, renewal, resurrection, and regrowth. It is a time to gather, search, learn, receive and share more light. Light is becoming a more important, essential commodity to have in our life.

It is light, primarily from the Sun, that cause living things to ripen. The word ripen means to bring to completeness or perfection, or come to maturity. We often use the term "ripen" with fruit. In general when fruit is ripe, it is sweeter, softer and malleable. 

Interesting to note, there are two ways that you can speed up the ripening process.

You can allow the fruit to mature by placing the fruit in direct sunlight out in the open air. This process will make the fruit more sweet.

or

You can place the fruit in a closed bag (like a brown paper sack), control the environment and “suffocate” it with restricted air and little light. In this process, the fruit will be less sweet and eventually becoming rotten.

The fruit ripen by light will be gathered, the second fruit will be usually be destroyed.

...

247: WHAT INFLUENCE ARE WE UNDER?

Today is St. Patrick's Day.. Since this is a holiday where many people get drunk...after tonight, a large percentage of people (especially if they are Irish)  would answer "Alcohol" to the question "What influence are you under?"

 If only we all could answer the question that we are under the influence of The Spirit of the Lord. If we truly are keeping our Sacrament Covenants by being willing to take upon us the Name of the Christ, always remembering Him, and keeping His Commandments, we are promised to have His Spirit to be with us.. ALWAYS.

However, if we fail to live up to our covenants, we are under another influence. From the chapter "On the Sacred and the Symbolic" from Hugh Nibley's book, Eloquent Witness, Nibley writes:

    "What is the result of failing to live up to our covenants? It is to be under Satan's influence; there is no other alternative, for you cannot "serve two masters" (Matthew 6:24)....

    "The ordinances must be kept in the way God appointed: otherwise their priesthood will prove a curse rather than a blessing. There is no margin for rationalization or manipulation; "the moment we revolt at anything which comes from God, the Devil takes power." (TPJS, 169)" ...

 Good questions to ask ourselves.. What master do we serve? Have we changed any of the ordinances from the way God appointed them? Do we rationalize this changes if any change has been made? Who is in control our lives? Who has taken over power?


Furthermore in Nibleys' book he writes:

    "Many have noted the strong tendency of Latter-day Saints to avoid making waves. They seem strangely touchy on controversial issues. This begets an extreme lack of candor among the Saints, which in turn is supported by a new doctrine, according to which we have a Prophet at our head who relieves us of all responsibility for seeking knowledge beyond a certain point, making decisions, or taking action on our own." pg 414-415.

    "When the extremists take over, and the ambitious corporations prevail, when the whole earth groans, who is to be trusted in such a world? "The world always mistook false prophets for true ones," said Joseph (TPJS, 206); and he noted that loyalty oaths and protestations are actually signs of desperation and mistrust.  In the end any solution given "without revelation, without commandment, would prove a curse" (TPJS, 256).

...

 

SIDENOTES:

 

I received a few interesting emails today that I wanted to share. In answering What influence are we under? One of the answers is Money and Wealth.

Here is a 9 minute interesting video:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IuqGrz-Y_Lc&sns=em

 

EMAIL 2:

 

The LDS Church tearing down beloved school, homes near the New Zealand temple — and building a Legacy Park. The plan is for 100 new homes on the site, but they would be more expensive. "It feels like Americans came in and saw that our community was run-down and said, ‘This is not good enough. We need to put some sparkle on it,’ " Nin says. "If they had really looked at the people, they would know there is already something special here."

SL Tribune Article on New Zealand Temple

........


EMAIL 3:

With permission, a friend sent me an email that contained part of a letter that was written to the Presiding Bishop.


This letter is written to express the concerns of my wife and myself. We identify ourselves as active Mormons, being lifelong members of the church, current temple recommend holders, faithful tithing payers, with callings in our ward, attending our meetings as frequently as health and work permit.

I am not sure to whom to address this, as this is written primarily out of concern for church spending, especially when it comes to tithing and other sacred offerings. Local leadership certainly can’t provide all the answers, as all tithing funds are funneled centrally to Salt Lake, to be spent as the general leadership sees fit. So it is to you I address this letter. If you feel this is out of your jurisdiction, please forward to the appropriate office.

It is my understanding that the church invests our tithing funds, using the earnings in projects/business ventures that aren’t necessarily projects that tithing funds are to be used for. Is this true? Does the church invest these sacred funds for profit? If it is so, I am concerned…since I believe that any money earned from investing tithing is still the Lord’s to be used with prudence.

The church has made some rather large investments recently. One was in the news last week: the purchase of land in Florida for over half a billion dollars. The other: City Creek shopping center. My wife and I really started to become concerned about church spending since news of City Creek reached our ears. We have not ventured to the mall, but we are in awe of such a building project that cost more per square foot than any other building project ever. I have read that the funds did not come from tithing, and that it was built using funds from the church’s “real estate arm”. Were those funds augmented with earnings from tithing investments? The church offers no transparency when it comes to finances, and as a member it is impossible to know where funds arise from, and where they are spent.

In a recent conversation with a friend, who happens to be an architect with one of the firms that the church uses to build temples and to maintain the Salt Lake temple, we learned about the high cost of planning and building a temple. We learned of the process of planning, making renderings of the rooms, each rendering costing tens of thousands of dollars. If the plans were not approved, the firm had to start over, and all that cost leading up to that point would have to be absorbed by the church. What a wasteful and careless process it sounds like! I know our temples are sacred edifices, but certainly the Lord doesn’t require custom furniture, custom rugs and carpets, fine gold and crystal furnishings. Doesn’t He care more about what is in our hearts than how we are adorned? If that is true for man, shouldn’t it be true for temples?

This architect friend informed us of a recent bathroom remodel in the Salt Lake temple that we had the privilege of using while waiting to attend a temple sealing. The bathroom was impressive, with solid onyx slabs partitioning the stalls and lining the walls, fine woodworking throughout, and beautiful hardware and fixtures. We were told the price to complete this project was $500,000. Did that come from tithing funds, since it was a temple project? How many poor members might have benefitted from those funds? How many temple trips might have been realized by members too poor to afford transportation to their nearest temple? How many mouths might have been fed?

My wife and I were recently made aware of starving LDS children in South America and southern Asia. It is estimated that up to 900 LDS children will die from starvation/malnutrition this year, while 90,000 will receive inadequate nutrition. Is church headquarters aware of this? The group that informed us about these children is called Liahona Children’s Foundation. This group is attempting to raise money to provide nutrition and education to these children and their friends. If what they claim is true, can’t more of our offerings be sent to ensure our brothers and sisters in third world countries have enough, and then some to spare? Especially since we are so richly blessed as members in North America.

I am reminded of a scripture in 2 Nephi 28: 12-13. I think as a church we need to heed all warnings from the Book of Mormon, as though they are directed towards us individually and as a church. We will certainly learn more that way.

“12 Because of pride, and because of false teachers, and false doctrine, their churches have become corrupted, and their churches are lifted up; because of pride they are puffed up.

 13 They rob the poor because of their fine sanctuaries; they rob the poor because of their fine clothing; and they persecute the meek and the poor in heart, because in their pride they are puffed up.”

My wife and I are striving to know our Savior. We are trying to teach our children to know Him, and serve Him. We continue to pay an honest tithe, and it is our hope and prayer that the leaders of this church are being honest with those tithes. If there is a system of accountability of church leadership to the members who provide the tithes and offerings, I am unaware of it. In any corporation, there needs to be checks and balances, and I am curious if there are any checks in the church. Perhaps financial transparency would be a wise initiative, so that as members we can retake our privilege of consent, even common consent, for church expenditures.

We know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, that he restored wonderful truths to the earth, and that we may become the beneficiaries of wonderful blessings if we seek after our Savior and do as He commands. At this time we find ourselves confused at the direction the church is moving, which feels ever closer to Babylon, rather than fleeing in the opposite direction.

If you have the time and ability to answer any of these questions, we would greatly appreciate it. We have no plans of leaving this church. We are part of this church, and it is a part of us. There is not one part that ought to be esteemed greater than the other, as every member is a member of the body of Christ. It is with this thought in mind that we submit this letter to you.

........................

Response Letter:

Email 4:

It was the announcement of the 2014 recipient of "The Pillar of the Valley" Award which is one of the highest awards given to man in Utah Valley.  This award is given at Utah Valley's premiere business gala event. If you want to attend the event as a capstone sponsor" it will cost $10,000 (not including the cost of the tuxedo.) The event is advertised as "This is a black tie-optional event that is first class in every way. ". Billboards can be seen in Utah Valley along the Interstate 1-15 announcing the winner.  Here is the website to see who will be receiving the award. WINNER.


BTW: An Electronic Billboard can be seen driving North on the east side of I-15 between 1600 North Orem Exit and Pleasant Grove Exit of the recipient as well. Here is a small cell phone photo:





 

 

And Lastly: New Scout lodge to be named for LDS Church President Thomas S. Monson. The lodge will be named the Thomas S. Monson Lodge in honor of the longtime Scouter and president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The lodge will be the centerpiece of the Hinckley Scout Ranch (named after the father of Gordon B. Hinckley), which is home to several separate campsites including Tomahawk, Frontier, Ridgeline and Sunrise. The nearly 23,000-square-foot lodge will feature conference rooms, restrooms, a Scoutmaster area with Wi-Fi access, a full-service kitchen, a dining patio, and program pavilions.   LINK

246: MORMONOPOLY: BUILDING "ZION" ONE PROPERTY AT A TIME

When I was a little kid, sometimes instead of a lesson for Family Night Evening, we would play board games. One of my favorite games was Monopoly. It is a game where the players move around the gameboard buying properties, developing their properties by building housing and then collecting rent from their opponents.  For the LDS market, I had an idea for a new variation of the game. I would call it Mormonolopy.

 

All of us are very familiar with the non-profit side of the Church with the buildings of Temples, churches, and the missionary program, but most are not familiar with the LDS Church for-profit companies. I thought it might be good to have fun playing a game with some of the properties that the Church owns. These are investment properties and companies that are income-producing assets. One would assume that these properties are helping with the Church's 3 fold mission, (actually I think there are four missions now.) It was announced recently the additional 4th mission: To Care for the Poor and the Needy.

Many might be surprised to know that the LDS church is the largest non-governmental land owner in the US. It is not unusual for the Church to buy land. It normally does so through its primary corporate entity, the Corporation of the Presiding Bishop of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  news article

 

In a recent fireside at our stake, a Church employee spoke and shared with us that the Church builds more square footage in United States than Walmart. I don't know what the Church's exact square footage is, but as of January 31, 2014,  Walmart  has built almost 1 billion square feet. ( 723,385,669 square feet to be exact) stats 

Last week,  Suburban Land Reserve (one of the real estate arms of the Church) met with the City Council to propose a preliminary Planned Unit Development (PUD) in Herriman.  The LDS Church owns 300 acres in Herriman approximately at 6801 W 11800 South.  and hopes to get approval to subdivide the land into 2,549 home building lots. (Minutes to the City Council Mtg.)

A few years ago, "The Mormon Church has purchased a major chunk of undeveloped property in overbuilt Maricopa from two major home builders. Property Reserve Inc., a real-estate holding company owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, paid home builders Fulton Homes Corp. and Shea Homes for Active Adults a combined $72 million in October for about 1,900 acres of virgin land in the Pinal County city, 35 miles south of Phoenix." LDS Purchases Maricopa land from builders in Arizona

While a developing land to subdivide into home lots is one thing, when I learned that the Church has land with plans to develop an entire new city, I was really surprised. Here are some specifics of developing the Elberta/Goshen area. For those who are not familiar with this area, this is the land that is being used to film all of the New Testaments Bible videos for the Church.

http://www.utahcounty.gov/Dept/ComDev/Planning/UtahCountyGoshenValleySpecificAreaPlan.pdf

 

 

A few other purchase of the Church within the past 10 years:

International Corporate Park in Orlando bought by LDS Church's Surburban Land Reserve.
http://www.bizjournals.com/orlando/stories/2007/08/27/daily52.html

• Suburban Land Reserve announced late Friday that it has bought the International Corporate Park in east Orange County for an undisclosed price.  Scott Dean, a vice president with the Utah-based firm, says work with Orange County and the Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority will begin immediately to complete the development and construction of the Innovation Way interchange at the 528 Beachline.

LDS church transfers Northwest Quadrant to Kennecott
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/politics/52567975-90/kennecott-development-church-lake.html.csp

• Most of the quadrant has been owned by the LDS Church for decades, once serving as a welfare-era farm during the Great Depression. Duke, with the LDS Church's real-estate arm, notes PRI now holds 2,000 acres there, 1,000 of which is the city's former landfill.  Firmage says the LDS Church was "frustrated" by the inability to make a return on its sprawling investment. He says the housing market makes it too risky to develop, so he hopes to see an easement or the like to protect the land as open space." 

For those that are interested, here is a partial list of some of the other LDS for-profit companies and  property holdings.

 

• Deseret Management Corporation 
• Property Reserve, Inc.
• Suburban Land Reserve, Inc
• City Creek Properties
• Beneficial Financial Group 
• Bonneville International 
• Bonneville Communications 
• Bonneville Interactive Services
• Bonneville Satellite 
• KSL Radio Station as well as other affliates.
• Television Station (KSL)
• Deseret Book 
• LDS Motion Picture Studios
• Deseret Morning News 
• Hawaii Reserves 
• Polynesian Cultural Center (PCC) 
• La'ie Shopping Center
• La'ie Park
• La'ie Cemetary
• Hukilau Beach Park
• La'ie Water Company
• La'ie Treatment Works (sewer)
• Temple Square Hospitality 
• Joseph Smith Memorial Building 
• The Inn at Temple Square 
• Lion House Pantry 
• The Roof Restaurant 
• The Garden Restaurant 
• Passages Restaurant 
• Zions Securities Corporation 
• Farm Management Corporation 
• Deseret Land and Livestock
• Sun Ranch (Martin's Cove)
• Deseret Ranches of Florida (Orlando)
• Deseret Farms of California
• Rolling Hills (Idaho)
• West Hills Orchards (Elberta, Utah)
• Cactus Lane Ranch (Arizona)
• Deseret Trust Company
• LDS Family Services
• Property Reserves Inc. (PRI)
• Ensign Peak Advisors - 
• Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators 
• Brigham Young University (BYU) 
• BYU - Idaho 
• BYU - Hawaii
• LDS Business College
• Agreserves Australia 
• Deseret Ranches of Alberta, Canada
• Agreserves LTD Cambridge,England
• AgroReservas, S.C. Los Mochis, Mexico
• Deseret Farms of CA Woodland, CA
• Deseret Farms of CA Modesto,CA
• Deseret Farms of CA Chico,CA
• South valley Farms Bakersfield, CA
• Deseret Security Farms Blythe, CA
• Naples Farms Naples,FL
• Deseret Cattle & Citrus ST. Cloud, FL
• Deseret Farms of Ruskin Ruskin, FL
• Kewela Plantation O'ahu,HI
• Rex Ranch Ashby, NE
• Riverbend Farms ST.Paul, OR
• Deseret Land & Livestock Woodruff, UT
• Wasatch-Dixie Farms Elberta, UT
• Agreserves Cottle CO.,TX
• Agrinorthwest Kennewick, WA

 

  

I would be interested in know how these companies and properties fulfill the missions of the Church, and with "hastening the work". It might be my lack of understanding but, it seems to be a lot of business as usual.  Large land parcels of several thousand acres for agriculture seems like a good thing.. but long-term development, mixed use projects, office, industrial, high rise condos seems more like Monopoly.

Sidenote:

Genesis 11:4–6
"And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and they said, "Come, let us build us a city, and a tower, with its top in heaven, and let us make us a name". And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded. And the Lord said, Behold, the people is one. . . Let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand . . . and the Lord scattered them."

 The Gospel of Thomas, 64:1–12
 "Buyers and merchants will not enter the places of my father."

245: ILLEGITIMATE PRIESTHOOD

A descriptive banner from the Dead Sea Scroll Exhibit currently on display at the Leonardo in Salt Lake City. 

....

 

Salt Lake City is one of only six cities in the United States to display a collection of the Dead Sea Scrolls. On display is one of the largest collections of the priceless 2,000-year-old Dead Sea Scrolls and can be seen at the Leonardo Museum through April 27, 2014.

 Discovered by a shepherd in the Qumran caves in 1947, the Scrolls contain the oldest known copies of the Hebrew Bible. Qumran, was home to a community of a religious group called the Essenes, who devoted much of their time to writing and preserving sacred texts. The Essenes refer largely to those people who left Jerusalem after the destruction of Solomon's Temple and  went into the desert to continue to practice the ancient temple religion.

Part of the Dead Sea Scroll exhibit on display is the War Scroll popularly known as "The War of the Sons of Light Against the Sons of Darkness," is one of the seven original scrolls discovered in Qumran in 1947. The scroll sheds light on the New Testament Book of Revelation, in which a final war is described between earthly and heavenly forces.

Above is a photo of one of the banners above the War Scroll display. I found the information contained on the banner to be really interesting. It reads:
 
"The authors of the Dead Sea Scrolls were intimately familiar with Jerusalem. It is likely that some of them lived in the city at one time. Many scrolls mention both the contemporary city and messianic visions of it in a perfect future age. For these writers, the city was polluted and profane. It was  place from which they had spiritually and physically withdrawn because of its religious corruption, "the city in which the evil priest has undertaken abominable actions so as to render the Temple impure." 

The Temple was the seat of an illegitimate priesthood, which would be delivered into the hands of the Kittim, probably the Romans. At the same time, the scrolls speak of Jerusalem's future restoration, it would again be worthy of the divine presence at the end of days, when God would build a perfect Temple there."

I think this is the first place I have read the words " illegitimate priesthood." The word illegitimate means not authorized or in accordance with accepted principles or standard. It is not recognized as valid or sanctioned.  A question to think about is... what makes the Priesthood illegitimate?  Some answers can be found in D&C 121.



 

244: LDS CHURCH EXPANSION OF THE CITY CREEK CENTER

 

 

More development by the Church to the multi billion dollar City Creek Center. The Church plans to now take over the development and build a 24 story high rise office building on Main Street next to the City Creek Mall.  This morning on Channel 2 news, it was reported that the 111 Office Building on Main Street which was originally being developed by Hamilton Partners will now be developed by the LDS Church's CCRI (City Creek Reserve Inc.)

The proposed 24 story office building will feature retail space, while the upper floors offer 440,000 rentable square feet of office area with the average floor size consisting of 21,000 square foot customizable sections, column-free design, floor-to-ceiling glass, with 9-foot ceilings and 16-inch raised floors throughout.

Read more about the building at 111 MAIN OFFICE TOWER

243: PUPPETS

 A few weeks ago I attended the funeral of the mother of our close friend. Our friend spoke at the funeral as did all of the siblings. They each gave tribute to their mother in their own unique way. The common remembrance shared about their mother was that she loved to laugh and was always smiling. It was said that their mother loved life, and truly made the world a brighter place wherever she went. I came away from the funeral wanting to be a better person, smiling and laughing more.

I came across a youtube the other day that made me laugh. I think we all need to laugh more. Life is too short. This video is a short comedy act by Nina Conti, a ventriloquist. As part of her act, a man is brought onto the stage and is transformed into a human puppet. The comedic ventriloquist has complete control of what he says and operates his “mouth mask” to open and close his mouth to look like he is speaking. It is clever and I thought it was pretty funny.

Here is the link to the embedded video:

The video prompted me to make a simple observation.

 A “puppet” can be defined as a person, group, government, etc., whose actions are prompted and controlled by another or others. The "puppet" is usually a charismatic person and holds a position of power or authority over others. However, the one(s) controlling the puppet have all of the power. While the "puppet" appears to be the one saying or acting on their own, it is the person behind the curtain that is actually doing the talking. Those in control are usually called the "powers that be". The "powers that be" always have an agenda.  

In powerful corporations, there is always a sole leader that speaks for the entire institution. They usually have staff members or committees who help write or edit their speeches. The corporate head is the mouthpiece for the company. There is a delicate balance to make sure that what is said by this spokesperson will not offend a large amount of people. Furthermore, if a change in direction is desired for the institution,  a delicate balance needs to be maintained between keeping the original practices versus changing and “implementing” new policies which might too difficult for the members of the group to accept.  To avoid making these mistakes, institutions use focus groups, surveys, and opinions polls to help assess what will be currently acceptable to the larger group.

 These institutional leaders need those under them to support and sustain them in order to maintain power and control. However I think Albert Einstein said it really well:

“Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth."

Fortunately, the Lord doesn’t use social sciences to declare His word. His mouthpieces speak His word. I am grateful that the Lord continues to speak to us today through His prophets in order  to point us to back to Him. The scriptures teach us the importance that the words spoken by true prophets come from the Lord. He is not pleased when the messages do not come directly from Him.

One interesting scripture found in Jeremiah 23:30 (New Living Translation of the Bible) says, "Therefore," says the LORD, "I am against these prophets who steal messages from each other and claim they are from me.”

...

 

Sidenote:

Recently there has been a lot excitement about the recent Church policy change to lower the missionary age for the Elders to age 18 and for the Sisters to age 19. A few weeks ago, a member of the Quorum of the 70's met with local ward mission leaders. The General Authority  asked the ward mission leaders why they thought the age requirements had been lowered.

He then said that he and all the 70's had a conference with two members of the Quorum of the 12 and they posed the same question to the 70's. The apostle told the 70's that the missionary age was not lowered to "save" all of these youth -- although that's a nice thing. They said there was only one reason it was done. It's because the Lord said so, to hasten his work---- that's it.”

Some might have watched the special report that aired in between the General Conference sessions that reported on this decision to lower the missionary age.  



 Link to the one hour special report "A mighty band of youth"

Here are a few interesting quotes from the above link.

“The First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve, they say, have studied this idea for years. Eighteen year old men have been serving in 48 countries throughout the world for the last ten years, because of university entrance and military qualifications in those nations.”

"Many might not know this is not the first age change for serving missions. The age for missionary service for men used to be 20 years olds prior to 1960. Elder Jeffrey R Holland was one of the first missionaries called when the age was lowered to 19 years."

Around 13: 43 minute mark in the above video, there is an interview with Elder Jeffrey R Holland.

Elder Holland states: “I was in the first wave of 19 year olds when that change was made in 1960. President Monson, as this was all being discussed with him, and as he was giving leadership to it, we asked his opinion in this and in all other matters about the age change . . . and he said, 'I was a Mission President, I was presiding in Toronto when the 19 years old change came and we didn’t miss a beat'.” 

I found it interesting that he states that the decision to lower the missionary age was discussed with President Monson and that they asked his opinion about lowering the age. Faithful members would likely say that they believe that this was divine revelation given to President Monson, as the Lord's prophet. And the reason why it was lowered was because the Lord said so.. in order to hasten His work.
...

Anyway. . . sorry to digress. I thought the video of the human puppet was pretty funny and wanted to post it in case it might make another person laugh and/or at least smile. If it didn't, smile or laugh anyway because it helps brighten these latter days that we live in.


  

242: DISCONNECTED CONNECTIONS

There’s never been a time in the history of the world when we can communicate  with a wider assortment of people, while simultaneously fostering a shallower connection. We electronically communicate using technology and cell phones, send photos to each other that can only be viewed for a few seconds, and text acronyms instead of words. We rarely talk with each other using our voices and seldom in person. We are losing the personal and emotional bonds that last. We’re becoming masters of disconnected communication.

Two recent movies depict what happens when a loss of communication happens. I found it ironic that both movies were released around the same time. The movie, All is Lost, involves a man, in the middle of the ocean.. stranded...unable to transmit via his radio the need for help.  The other movie is about a woman astronaut,  who is adrift in space after a tragic Space Shuttle mission. Both movies contain a lot of symbolism. Both were in a "vehicle" that they were expecting to "remain intact" and transport them safely back home. Instead their vehicle became damaged resulting in a loss of communication to the only ones who can save them.

 

  

 To connect means to bring together two people, to join, to become in contact with, or to establish a relationship with. While we might be more "connected" with each other here on earth, we are probably becoming less connected to the heavens. However, there are few who are beginning to  understand the importance of connecting with the Heavens in preparation for the foundation of Zion.
   
"The foundation of Zion consists largely in reconnecting the children as a consequence of the promises that were made to the fathers, back again to the fathers. This is so there might be a welding link that connects the children who are on the earth with the fathers who are in the heavens. Not a connection to the dead who are in the Spirit world. They who are dead are in desperate need of your ministration to save them. For in connecting yourself to them is to connect yourself essentially to the damned, the dead, the disembodied. The fathers who are in heaven are the ones to whom you need to form the link. The whole purpose behind these promises and prophecy delivered to Joseph by Moroni was to fix this problem. Because if it were not so, the whole world would be utterly wasted, utterly wasted at His (and “their”) coming." Lecture on "Be of Good Cheer, Be of Good Courage."


We think that by expanding worldwide, building more and more temples, buildings, apartments, even malls, that we are hastening the work of the Lord and establishing Zion. But frankly I don't think we know what Zion is. The problem exists because no one has, and the scriptures are very careful to not include, a model for Zion. Is the model for Zion have a centralized control and command hierarchy? What happens when that command center becomes corrupt? The only way it can be fixed is requires knowledge about things that world doesn’t have. Only the Lord Himself can bring again. I don’t think we have the first inkling yet of how Zion is going to come about, or what it will require of us who are so hungry for it. Quite possible we might have the wrong picture in our head.

What I do know is that individuals need to connect to Christ. Him Alone. We do not go through any man to communicate with Him. He employeth no servant there. (2 Nephi 9:41)  Once individuals have connected with the Lord, they become one in heart and mind. And in that desire towards Christ.. they hopefully move forward, until Christ comes among them. 

Christ speaks of Himself as the “true vine” in John 15:1-6 to which we must connect if we are going to bear fruit.. None of us can bear fruit unless we are connected to the true vine. The vine is a genealogical term, it is a family of God term, it is a son of God term.

"Joseph received, in this first interview with the angel Moroni, an announcement about the first indications of the restoration of God's intent, to restore a holy family. God is telling us what He wants. He, God, wants to have upon the earth again His family. This is your dispensation, this is your time. You came down here with the intent of living and finding the things that will bring you back. This is your opportunity. Don't let some other group claim that it doesn't belong to you. These Scriptures are only going to be fulfilled when enough people awake and arise to realize that it is devolving upon you the obligation to find, to heed, to seek, to search, to pray, to obey and to form what is necessary in order to fulfill the promises and the covenants that were made to the fathers."
Lecture on "Be of Good Cheer, Be of Good Courage."


The only way we truly connect with others is through communication. A true Connection can not happen without communication between both parties, speaking with each other face to face.. without any digital device.

“We speak to each other in physical, analog ways. Our vocal chords vibrate. This initiates waves in the air, which are also physical. Those waves hit the eardrums of others, causing them to vibrate, which in turn creates tiny electrical signals that transport those vibrating patterns to the listener’s brains. In turn, the signals initiate neurons to zip around our brains, distilling the concept that the speaker wanted to convey. The key concept is that these are physical, mechanical phenomena. We don’t hear with our ears, we hear with our brains. Our wonderful ears are converter, they transform mechanical into electronic signals. 
 
 So far as we know, these physical, mechanical waves that convey speech don’t work in space, where there is no atmosphere. So if two astronauts took off their helmets on the moon and tried to talk to each other, it wouldn’t work, because there is no air in which vibrations can be converted into waves. So they need to talk electronically, not mechanically. 

This is a long way of saying that you should not expect God to speak to you by these physical waves that your ears collect. Rather, He dispatches the Holy Ghost, which is the Spirit of God to you, and His spirit can communicate to your spirit inside of you directly to your brain or your feelings- without going through mechanical-electrical conversions in your ears. A lot of people get confused because they try to hear God’s voice with their ears, and they don’t hear anything. Instead you need to listen inside your self. Sometimes you detect His voice as ideas, words, or sentences that just emerge inside your head as thoughts. More often you detect His message as a peaceful, warm feeling inside your heart. It is as if the Spirit of God went inside of you and gave your spirit a warm hug to say that “This is right”.   The Power of Every day Missionaries by Clayton Christensen pg 96-97

 I believe that on one level God speaks to us through the Holy Ghost, but I also believe He can and will speak to us face to face. It is that connection, that personal connection to the Living Vine, that we will need to have in order to survive the coming days.

241: MORMON REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT ON THE EAST COAST

At first glance, I thought this was an image of downtown Salt Lake City. However this is not Salt Lake, but the city of Philadelphia where the LDS Church is planning on building a 32 story residential building . The tower looks exactly like the one they built in City Creek Center where some of the condominiums were selling for over a million dollars.

Just to give you an idea on how tall the building will be.. the LDS Church Office Building is only 28 stories. This new building development will be 32 stories. Taller than any other building in Salt Lake.


Artist rendering of the Mormon meeting house and 32-story residential tower

The announcement that the Church plans to build this 32 story tower was printed in the Philadelphia news with the article titled, "Mormons to build 32-story tower near Center City."

 LINK TO THE STORY

 "The Mormon Church plans to build a 32-story apartment tower and a public meetinghouse on a vacant lot next to the Vine Street Expressway, filling in a key piece of the no-man's-land that has long separated Center City and North Philadelphia's rebounding neighborhoods.

The private development by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints calls for 258 apartments, 13 townhouses, and retail shops at 16th and Vine Streets.

Tenants need not be Mormons to rent an apartment or townhouse in the development, officials said. They said the units would rent at market prices.

Wednesday's announcement is the next step in the church's commitment to invest in Philadelphia, City Council President Darrell L. Clarke said. Church officials said the development would complete their local building plans.

The total cost of the project is not yet known, church officials said.
....

240: IRREPLACEABLE

We read in Ephesians 6:12: "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." One of the tactics that Satan has used from the very beginning to exercise control and dominion is to attempt to break the bonds of marriage between the husband and the wife. In the garden, Adam and Eve were both tempted by Satan. Once Eve was alone, away from Adam, Satan was able to beguile her. I have wondered if Adam and Eve were together when Satan tempted them that he would not have been successful. Instead of partaking of the fruit when tempted, they could have counseled with each other and waited for further instruction promised by the Lord. When the husband and wife are connected together with God and seek guidance from Him, then Satan is more likely to not have power over them.

 

Currently we are in a war. We are wrestling against the rulers of the darkness of this world and against spiritual wickedness in high places. Below is a 2 minute trailer of a movie documentary that will be coming out this Spring. The movie is called "Irreplaceable". I  look forward to seeing it.

 

 

Marriage has been a hot topic lately on whether it is a right or privilege. In the 1828 dictionary, Marriage is defined as "The act of uniting a man and woman for life" or the "union of one man and one woman"  Ultimately, this union is meant to be fruitful and result in children. Our society is now trying to redefine the word marriage.  .

Here are a few thoughts on marriage and some advice that I wanted to share that I have heard. I thought since it is Valentines Day on Friday that this would be a good time to post this.

Marriage demands commitment, passion, humility, love, and respect. These traits are most evident in a person who has an intimate relationship with God. Communication in marriage is one of the main problems that can plague relationships. Communication is the foundation of every good relationship, especially marriage. In Colossians 4:6, the apostle Paul exhorts us, “Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.” Too often this exhortation is ignored in marriage relationships and a lot of hurtful things get said. Proverbs 10:19 says, “In the multitude of words sin is not lacking, but he who restrains his lips is wise.”

If emotions are overheating, give one another permission to take a timeout to cool off. Studies show that marriages that fight dirty with a lot of hurtful speech will erode over time and chip away at the relationship until there is nothing left. James tells us that though the tongue is a small member; it can kindle a great fire, and has in it the power of life and death. "Choose today, to tame your tongue, as a soft answer turns away wrath but a harsh word stirs up anger" (Prov 15:1). Determine to replace the harsh tongues in your marriage with words of graciousness that will bring life rather than death blows.

Forgiveness is foundational to every healthy relationship. We are an imperfect people and we hurt each other and let one another down regularly. Learning to forgive each other is crucial for preserving loving relationships. It's been said that these nine words can save your relationship, "I was wrong, I am sorry, please forgive me." Use them often as they have great power in maintaining closeness in relationships. Forgive early, don't allow a lot of time to go by, often the greater the time lapse the greater the damage done to the relationships. Jesus sets the bar in forgiveness, we are to forgive others as God has forgiven us and no we don’t deserve it. Jesus said, "if you do not forgive, neither will your father in heaven forgive you" (Matt 11:26). Choose to be one who forgives quickly and often, allowing God’s grace to prevail in your relationships!

The first step in re falling in love is to start paying attention again. Do you remember how much attention you paid your mate before they were married to you? The quickest way for you to put spark back into your marriage is for you to start affirming and appreciating and admiring again the strength of your spouse instead of focusing on their weaknesses. You know how affectionate you were during your courting days; it needs to be a part of your marriage each day. You had adventure when you were having romance. You've lost the adventure. Everything is predictable. Predictability kills in a marriage. All work and no play makes a dull marriage. The family that plays together stays together. Revelation 2:4-5 "You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen? Repent and do the things you did at first."

....

Sidenote: To the men out there.. a reminder that this Friday, February 14th, is Valentine's Day. Some of you probably know that St. Valentine's Day began as a liturgical celebration of a Christian saint named Valentinus. There are many legends about Saint Valentine. One of the more popular legends of Saint Valentine of Rome states that he was imprisoned for performing weddings for soldiers who were forbidden to marry and for ministering to Christians. The Roman Emperor Claudius II supposedly forbade his soldiers to marry in order to grow his army, believing that married men did not make for good soldiers. According to legend, in order "to remind these men of their vows and God’s love, Saint Valentine is said to have cut hearts from parchment", giving them to these soldiers and persecuted Christians, a possible origin of the widespread use of hearts on St. Valentine's Day. (Frank Staff, The Valentine & Its Origins, 1969, Frederick A. Praeger)

239: AND THEY BEGAN TO SEEK TO GET GAIN.

I recently noticed that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is one of the proud sponsors of the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce. In fact, the Church is not just a sponsor, but it is one of the Chairman Level Sponsors along with American Express, Wells Fargo and Intermountain Health Care.  In addition to the LDS Church, the Deseret Management Corporation is also listed as a chairman sponsor. The Deseret Management Corp is the management and holding company for all of the "for-profit" businesses owned by the LDS Church. This Corporation was established by the President David O McKay to hold already existing church assets.  The following subsidiaries of the LDS Deseret Management Company are:

• Beneficial Financial Group (insurance, investment and retirement services)
• Bonneville International Corp (television, radio stations, satellite company,)
• Deseret Book
• Deseret Mutual (medical, dental, life and disability insurance)
• Deseret News Publishing Company
• Hawaii Reserves
• Temple Square Hospitality, Lion House, and Joseph Smith Building
• Zions Securities

 

 

Large companies who have a financial interest in Utah pay to be part of the Salt Lake Chamber. Salt Lake Chamber is Utah’s largest business association with the slogan of “We stand as the voice of business, we support our members' success, and we champion community prosperity." In order to be one of the sponsors you need to donate at least $50,000.00+ annually. According to the website, here are a few of the benefits for being a Salt Lake Chamber Chairman Level Sponsors ( full list of benefits.)

• Guaranteed spot in each Leadership Utah class
• Special promotion to all Chamber events
• Special promotion on printed Chamber Material
• Special sponsorships.

I didn't see any other religious organization listed as a chairman sponsor. In fact if someone saw the Catholic Church listed as one of the Chairman Sponsors of any business association, they might think it odd for the Church to use their member donations in such a way.
..........

 

In the upcoming month of April, the week of General Conference, the 8th annual Utah Economic Summit will be held at the prestigious Grand America Hotel (Salt Lake City's only 5 star hotel). This yearly summit has become Utah’s premier event for advancing the states local and global economic position. The slogan for the summit is "Executing the Fundamentals of Economic Development for a Better Bottom Line." The Summit is designed to enhance Utah businesses across the local, national and global marketplace... to help increase companies profits in order to get a "better bottom line." 

  

Here is the full page spread as it appears in the Deseret News.

 

 

 

All of the listed speakers at this event are LDS leaders. Governor Gary R. Herbert is the featured speaker. He was appointed to serve as governor after Jon Huntsman was appointed the United States Ambassador to China by President Barack Obama. The Keynote Speaker is Clayton Christensen, LDS author, an Area Authority 70, and professor at Harvard Business School. Additionally, Richard Marriott, Chairman of the Board of Host Hotels, will be a major speaker, son of JW Marriott who was also a Area Authority.  

 

There seems to be a desire to expand Utah businesses to other areas of the world, including China.  Many might think that this is the Lord's way of getting the missionary work into this country.

One of these companies who is expanding in China is Nu Skin. A year and half ago on September 21, 2012 it was reported that Utah-based Nu Skin Enterprises planned to triple the number of stores and sales support centers in China by 2017.
 

However, it was reported last week that Nu Skin along with the President and Chief Executive Officer, and Chief Financial Officer are been sued with a class action lawsuit  because of failing to disclose “its fraudulent sales practices and non-compliance with Chinese laws and regulations,”  (Ironically, Nu Skin's President and CEO is President Truman Hunt who is a Stake President for the LDS Church. Some might recognize his name in connection with a LDS author who has written a book about Church History.)  It is reported that Truman Hunt certified the Company's materially false and misleading quarterly reports. There are three law firms hired for the lawsuit in the states of Utah,  Florida, and Pennsylvania. Read more here: Deseret News Article

  

For some time, Nu Skin's China operations have been under attack by Citron Research. Citron said in early August that Nu Skin was operating in China as a multilevel marketer in which distributors earn commissions through recruiting new distributors, a business model that is illegal in that country.
 

As many know, Multi Level Marketing or Pyramid Schemes are great for those at the top, but the pits for hundreds of thousands beneath them, who become its victims.

  

Each of these men should be familiar with the question: "Are you honest in your dealings with your fellowmen?" Local leaders such as Bishops and Stake Presidents ask this question in interviews to members seeking to enter the Temple. There should be no doubt in the members minds that these religious leaders can answer all the questions correctly. So it is somewhat puzzling to hear of prominent leaders being slapped with a class action lawsuit for being dishonest causing investors to lose billions and billions of dollars..

 

238: TEMPLE RITES.... and movies.

For those who not have attended the Temple in the last few weeks might not be aware that an entirely new movie with a completely new cast is now being shown. Six months ago, the LDS Church began using the first new film for temple instruction in 20 years. Sources have shared that in addition to these two new Temple movies, that a third movie that has also been filmed and edited. The release of the third movie has not be released , but my guess that it will be probably be later this year.

In a recent Deseret News article reports, “An additional temple film is now in use," said Cody Craynor, spokesman for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. "As with previous films, this second instructional presentation is rotated with the film released this past July to give variety.

LINK TO ARTICLE

The new film amplifies the different emotions and personality characteristics. While the first released movie focused on the cunning and more deceitful nature of one of the main actors in the film, this second film focuses on his joker and trickster characteristics.

Sidenote:

I found this quote interesting in the Ecclestiastical History by Mosheim.

“There is no institution so pure and excellent which the corruption and folly of man will not in time alter for the worse. Many unnecessary rites and ceremonies were added to the Christian worship, the introduction of which was extremely offensive to wise and good men. These changes, while they destroyed the beautiful simplicity of the gospel, were naturally pleasing to the gross multitude, who are more delighted with the pomp and splendor of external institutions than with the native charms of rational and solid piety, and who generally give little attention to any objects but those which strike their outward senses." The church leaders of that day sought to give splendor and add to the rites and ceremonies and ordinances "by way of accommodation to the infirmities and prejudices of both Jews and heathen."

Mosheim, Ecclestiastical History, Century II, Part II, chapter 4. 

237: IRONY

Irony is characterized by an incongruity, or contrast, between what the expectations of a situation are and what is really the case. 

Instead of reading the Book of Mormon as a warning to us of what we are doing wrong, we use the Book of Mormon as proof that we are right.. and the only true church. Instead of using the book as a prophetic blueprint of what not to do, we use it to hasten our efforts to proclaim the message that we are building Zion. Instead of admitting our mistakes and repenting, we follow along and maintain the status quo. 

Our existence was designed for us that we might have joy, yet in this world we are seeing more and more sadness. A recent article in the LA Times reported that that Clinical depression is now the second-leading cause of global disability, according to new research, with the highest rates of incidence affecting working-age adults and women more than men. These depressive disorders were second only to lower respiratory infections. LINK

We see innocent life lost while the guilty live. Last week a family in our neighborhood were driving home when an intoxicated undocumented illegal immigrant hit their car and their 3 year old was tragically killed. The man who hit their car attempted to flee the scene, since he is un-insured and without legal documents to be in the country. 

Those who have the role to protect life are the very ones who destroy life. Here in Utah over the past two weeks , a mother killed her two daughters and then killed herself. A Utah police officer killed his wife, his 7 year son and his 5 year old daughter, and his mother in law before killing himself. 

We punish and cast out those who tell the truth and stand up for their convictions.

We desire to have love in harmony in our homes, yet we spend little time nourishing our family relationships. Instead we abuse, neglect and eventually separate causing heartache, despair, and pain to those we should love the most.  

We are taught the importance of seeking out receiving Christ in the flesh in the Book of Mormon, yet we don't believe those who testify of Christ, who have seen Him in the flesh and instead we label them as deceivers, Anti-Christs, and apostates.

The list could go on.  In his final words before passing the records to his brother Jacob, Nephi teaches the doctrine of Christ, “Behold, this is the doctrine of Christ, and there will be no more doctrine given until after he shall manifest himself unto you in the flesh. And when he shall manifest himself unto you in the flesh, the things which he shall say unto you shall ye observe to do. And now I, Nephi, cannot say more; the Spirit stoppeth mine utterance, and I am left to mourn because of the unbelief, and the wickedness, and the ignorance, and the stiffneckedness of men; for they will not search knowledge, nor understand great knowledge, when it is given unto them in plainness, even as plain as word can be.” 2 Nephi 32: 5-7

236: STAND WHEN THE PROPHET STANDS, SIT WHEN HE SITS

  “Surely one of the crowning blessings of membership in this Church

 is the blessing of being led by living prophets of God…..

Trusting in and following the prophets is more than a blessing and a privilege.

President Ezra Taft Benson declared that “our [very] salvation hangs on
following the prophet….

We can choose to follow the prophet, or we can look to the arm of flesh.

May we have the wisdom to trust in and follow the counsel of the living prophets and apostles.”

Elder Duncan October 2010 General Conference
 LINK 

... 

After reading the above counsel given to us in General Conference, my question would be: “Is the Prophet's arm not make out of flesh?”

There is a fun primary song called “Do as I’m doing.. Follow, follow me” These words are sung while the person leading the music performs an simple action while singing “if I do it high or low.. if I do it fast or slow.. Do as I’m doing; Follow, follow me.”

The direction to follow means to do as another has done. Christ asks us all to come, follow Him. He is only One we should follow. Yet, today’s mantra seems to be “Come, Follow the Prophet.”  

I recently read a couple of reports from people who attended their Stake Conference a few weeks ago. One the Twelve Apostles was in attendance and was the concluding speaker. It was reported that after he spoke, the congregation sang 6 of 7 verses of the closing song and as the sister assigned the closing prayer approached the rostrum, the apostle then stood up again. He asked the sister for a moment to address the congregation before she prayed and he shared the following the story before the closing prayer was given. He said that there was a devotional at BYU when another apostle spoke. During the closing hymn, some of the students in the building stood to sing. Their closing hymn ended and the apostle stood again and said, "I love you and so I want to teach you something. I noticed that some of you, in your enthusiasm, stood during the closing hymn. You should always follow the presiding authority in the meeting. If he stands, you stand. If he sits, you sit." The apostle then yielded the pulpit to the person who would say the prayer. The apostle in this recent Stake Conference then told us: "The day is coming that you will have to follow the prophet. If he stands, you must stand. If he sits, you sit." And with those words, he sat down and the benediction was given.

The report by one who attended then said and I quote, “Praise be to a loving Father in Heaven. There is a prophet in these, the Latter-Days! Let me be among those who stand or sit as he directs.”


In the Catholic Church, the priests and superior religious leaders are treated with the utmost respect. The rules are that all in room or congregation is to stand when the leaders enter the room and remain standing until they invite the congregation to sit. Men must remove their hats in their presence. When it is your own Bishop, kneel on your left knee and kiss ring as sign of respect for his office.

 I read recently why this formality began in the Catholic Church. “The Pope did not need to display virtue, only power. He did not need to produce revelation or expound on how men could entertain angels, only to appear in the seat of power, displaying the incidents of authority, wealth, privilege, standing above the common man in a place filled with art, treasure, statuary surrounded by supporters. These trappings were a substitute for revelation and authentic fruits from heaven. This formula worked to keep all of Christendom subordinate to the rule of oftentimes wicked, even cruel, men. For nearly a thousand years it monopolized power over men. Because these pontiffs claimed to hold God's authority, people feared them and were loathe to challenge them. When the bedrock of an institution's claims rests on authority, these failings are almost always eventually unavoidable. God's power is so resilient, so powerful, so vital for salvation that almost all men will surrender to it or be forced to submit when a group trusts that it exists. These are powerful forces. When released upon the stage of history, they are meant to be held by only the meek, the humble, and the servants of all. Never by the proud, the vain, and the ambitious. But it is always the proud, the vain and the ambitious who are drawn to seek to hold such authority. Hence the many sycophants who always congregate at Rome.” DS Remembering the Covenant. Volume 4 pg 1356

 Many of us have heard the Brigham Young quote that was also cited by Harold B Lee in the October General Conference in 1950.   “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 being led by Him. I am fearful they settle down in a state of blind security, trusting their eternal desting in the hand of their leaders with a reckless confidence that in itself would twart the purposed of God in their salvation, and weaken that influence they could give their leaders if they know for themselves by the revelations of Jesus Christ that they are led in the right way. Let every man and woman know by the whisperings of the Spirit of God to themselves whether their leaders are walking in the way the Lord dictates or not. (As cited by Harold B Lee, Conference Report, October 1, 1950)

“I do not believe God was meant to be experienced second and third-hand. I do not believe we are supposed to "know about God" but were instead, according to Christ's doctrine, to "know God." He will make Himself known to you. Not vicariously through a Pope, or a Bishop, or an Archbishop, or a Cardinal, or a Stake President, or some other preacher. He, Christ, and He, the Father and the Holy Ghost are the ones who are to declare themselves to you. Then you aren't building on the sandy, unstable foundation comprised of the many varieties of the hireling intermediary who gets acclaim here, praise and adoration here, as an inappropriate surrogate for He alone who can save. When men get put between the individual and God almost every individual immediately begins to exercise control, and dominion and compulsion over others. It is a wise God who restricts His delegation of "power" to such a degree that it cannot be exercised unrighteously.”  DS Remembering the Covenant. Volume 4 pg 1328

 Someone left a comment on a previous post that I really appreciated. I don’t know who the author was, but this is what they wrote: “God will never remove our ability to have a choice. In order to make a choice, you have to have at least two options. When you remove all other options, there is only one option left so how can there be a choice? By making a statement "The Prophet will not or cannot lead you astray" automatically removes the perception of any options and by definition puts him in a position of control, which is what the war in heaven was about! If you buy into that logic, you have moved over to the dark side. This places a greater responsibility on us to have Him as our standard to measure ideas and revelations against. While it is usually a simple process, it's not always easy, and yes we often don't get totally correct on the first pass. It becomes a learning and sharing process. Thank Heaven for the atonement, patience and forgiveness!”

 So lets hope we don’t add “Stand when your prophet stands, and sit when your prophets sits.” to the list of mantras like “When the Prophet speaks, … the debate is over.” and “When our leaders speak, the thinking has been done.”

...

235: OUR IDOLS WILL BE DESTROYED

  

The iconic statue of Christ overlooking Rio de Janeiro was damaged during a storm on Thursday, January 16, 2014. Lightning struck and broke a finger off the right hand of Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro. Lightning frequently strikes the nearly 100-foot tall statue, a symbol of Rio that overlooks the Brazilian city from the peak of the Corcovado mountain. Its right hand had been damaged sometime ago, but part of finger finally broke off in a storm late Thursday, night. A lightning rod and other equipment are in place “to protect the image,” but they do not always do the trick.




Lightning lights up the sky over Sugar Loaf mountain in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, Jan.16

 

 

From the beginning, mankind was told not to make idols and displace their reverence for God by a physical image or object. It is the second of the Ten Commandments. The commandment extends to the “likeness of anything that is in heaven” and would include the Lord. An idol does not apply just to an inanimate object but to people as well. In our modern day culture, we tend to idolize people who possess things we wished we had. That could include power, fame and/or riches...we even idolize those who claim to have authority to speak in God's name.

"Any man who tries to come between you and the Lord is seeking to make themselves an idol and they will lead you astray. There is no-one who can stand between you and the Lord. He alone is the keeper of the gate, and He does not now and never has employed a servant there. You should obtain your own independent knowledge of everything another man tells you. If you don’t then you are surrendering what should never be surrendered: your own agency and responsibility." Remembering the Covenant Volume 1, pg 245

Anything that separates us from the Lord is an idol. We need to cast it aside and come to Him.