481: NO LONGER THE CHURCH OF THE DEVIL?

WHAT A DIFFERENCE 100 YEARS MAKE

THEN in 1919: "The Catholic church is a national liability to any country. It is a power for evil rather than for good".... it is "most abominable above all other churches"

NOW in 2019: "Latter-day Saints cherish the long-standing friendship we have developed with the Catholic community"

The following was written by Elder Hyrum M Smith, one of the apostles in the Quorum of the Twelve in his Conference address in October 1916. He was the eldest son of church apostle and future church president Joseph F. Smith and grandson of Joseph Smith's brother Hyrum. 

"The great Catholic division of the Christian world, the Catholic church, is a national liability to any country. It wields a great power over the minds and the hearts of the children of men, but it is a power for evil rather than for good. It brings countless thousands regularly to confession ; it rarely brings a single man to repentance and the abandonment of his sins. The power wielded by that organization is one that does not promote civilization, nor advancement morally or spiritually, but it binds its adherents in the thralldom of superstition and ignorance and fear, and denies them the liberty to make an open-minded investigation of other questions ; and the nations and the people governed and controlled by that power are the least advanced intellectually and morally and industrially of any people in the world called Christian or civilized."

Elder Bruce R McConkie wrote the following definition for the Church of the Devil in his first edition book of Mormon Doctrine on page 129. 

Church of the Devil.. There are two scriptural senses in which the titles church of the devil and great and abominable church are used: 1. All churches or organizations of whatever name or nature-whether political, philosophical, educational, economic, social, fraternal, civic, or religious-which are designed to take men on a course that leads away from God and his laws and thus from salvation in the kingdom of God, and 2. The Roman Catholic Church. specifically-singled out, set apart, described, and designed as being "most abominable above all other churches"

WOW.. things sure have changed. See below video of President Nelson and Elder Ballard forming ties with the His Holiness (which is how President Nelson refers to and addresses the Pope).

"For me, the moment 

when President Nelson 

actually embraced the Pope 

and they gave each other a hug as

 we left was EVERYTHING".

Elder Ballard

_______________

A question/comment that I received a Reader: 

"So did the Catholic Church elevate itself out of the devils most abominable church? Or did the LDS descend and now embrace that which they taught was most abominable and of the devil? " 

480: INSIGHTS? IS THAT THE BEST WE CAN EXPECT FROM A PROPHET'S LIFE?

Here is a list in order (from High to Low)

of how we should expect God 

to communicate truth to us through His prophets  

Here is the Biography of President Nelson that will be going on sale in a few weeks. 

Just before April 2019 General Conference.

That being said.. I will say that maybe Sheri Dew should add another chapter to the book with all the revelations that President Nelson has been having recently and then retitle the book to a higher description from the list above... even Revelations and include the divine communication from the Lord to eliminate sacred symbolism from the temple endowment as well as taking all of the Brethren and their wives on a trip to Rome.

479: HISTORIC AND ICONIC PHOTO NOW AVAILABLE FOR SALE

President Nelson received a revelation from the Lord to bring the entire First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve along with their wives to Rome. Here is the quote in The Church News

"President Nelson said the Lord told him to take the entire First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles to Rome for the dedication. “I was just following the instructions I received,” he said. “It was very clear to me.”

This historic moment allowed for an iconic photo to be taken with the statues of the original Twelve Apostles (minus Judas which they replaced with Paul). It is now for sale to the public. If you enter your credit card, an electronic image will be sent to you via email for the low price of $26.90. Here is the LINK to download the file. You will then need to print it out yourself for an additional cost..so no downloading the image for free. (I think this might be the fundraiser to help pay for the trip)
 
Sidenote: I am wondering if individual photos will be available of each apostle standing next to their equivalent counterpart apostle in order of rank. Here is Elder Bednar standing next the the fourth apostle over from Peter, since he is currently the 4th one in seniority of the modern day Quorum of the 12 apostles.

It is so much better to be a Modern Day Apostle... because the life of today's apostles bear little resemblance to how the early apostles were treated. 

478: THE NEXT MORMONS

A new book written by Jana Riess was released this week. It is called: The Next Mormons: How Millennials Are Changing the LDS Church.  I attended a Q&A with her during a book signing at Benchmark books on Wednesday night.  It was recorded and you can watch the video here:  

I asked her with all that she learned from the data and research from writing the book,  what are a few recommendations that she would you make to the Church to fix some of the problems.  She said as part of her answer, "We have elevated to sanctity, the idea that the Church should be the same everywhere. Why do we think uniformity is Gospel. It makes no sense to me."  She suggested that there needs to be more local autonomy and to let wards be different from each other. 

Many good questions were asked and I am sure many of the Church leaders are aware of her book and the data she has gathered. She might be ruffling some feathers especially now from her recent column on Religion News Service. She wrote that she will continue to use the word Mormon and LDS as a columnist. (I think she should be nicknamed Rebel Riess.) However, she makes some really good points.

Here are some excerpts from the article: Why journalists will keep using the word "Mormon"

"As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I’m happy to avoid using the word “Mormon” at church, at home, and in my family. I can easily try to substitute “I’m a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints” for “I’m a Mormon” in my personal conversations and church lessons. As a columnist for Religion News Service, however, I will continue using “Mormon” in headlines, articles, and columns. I will also continue using “LDS” as shorthand after using the church’s full name upon first reference to it as an institution. This is the style guide established by the Associated Press, which RNS and most other media outlets follow. It’s not just because the AP sets the rules that RNS will continue using “Mormon.” It’s also because the AP style guide makes more sense than what the church is asking reporters to do. The church wants to emphasize the name of Jesus Christ. As the Newsroom announcement put it, “the invitation to use the full name of the Church is an opportunity for Latter-day Saints to refocus their lives on the living Christ.” That’s wonderful, but Mormons’ spiritual development as disciples of Christ has nothing to do with how journalists do their jobs. Members of the media do not have a mandate to emphasize the name of Jesus Christ in the course of doing their 9 to 5 jobs just because one denomination has told its members to do so.
It is not journalists’ job to adjudicate faith claims. Built into the request to use the full name of the church is a claim to theological superiority: this is “The” church of Jesus Christ. (The church’s style guide in fact requests that the first letter of the definite article be capitalized.) But if a church’s full official name includes a theological claim, it’s not journalists’ responsibility to affirm or deny it. For example, the world’s largest denomination is officially called the Holy Roman Catholic Church, but journalists call it the Roman Catholic Church. Whether it’s headquartered in Rome is a fact journalists can verify. Whether it is holy is way beyond our pay grade.

477: A MAJOR PROBLEM WITH CHANGING THE NAME OF THE CHURCH'S WEBSITE

Yesterday, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints changed the names of its major websites to reflect President Nelson's emphasis from his conference address a year ago.

LDS.org, the church's main page, has now changed to ChurchofJesusChrist.org,

But why has it taken so long to change the website? It has been almost a year.  And why did the Church decide not including the word 'The' in the new URL? In fact, if you type in the new domain name https://www.ChurchofJesusChrist.org, it will still point to the LDS.org home page. The press release said that it will take a few months to fully replace LDS.org. I hope they get this solved because we don't want to give Satan any more victories.

As far as the new website, if I were to conduct a survey, which one would you choose?

I think the top one is ALOT better. So why go with the bottom one?

Well maybe because there already exists a Church called The Church of Jesus Christ and they already own the website...  And maybe it has taken so long to change because the Church has been trying to buy/negotiate with the already existing website TheChurchofJesusChrist.org .... but it failed.

Below is a screenshot of website for TheChurchofJesusChrist.org. I can't help but think this might be a problem for the Church because this Church is so much like the LDS Church. In fact, The Church of Jesus Christ also believes in the Book of Mormon, baptism by immersion, laying on of hand for the Holy Ghost, ..  in fact almost everything the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believes.  

 

Here is the complete list of their Articles of Faith. 

·         We believe in God: the Father, Jesus Christ-His Son, and the Holy Spirit.

·         We believe The Church as established by Jesus Christ has ordained officers consistent with the scriptures, that the believers possess the signs promised to them, and that this Church/Kingdom will remain upon the earth until the end of time.

·         We believe the Bible and the Book of Mormon to be Holy Scriptures telling of God’s relationship with the human family. These two scriptures jointly convey God’s dealings and plan for mankind.

·         We believe that divine inspiration is an indispensable qualification for the preaching of the Gospel.

·         We believe that The Church of Jesus Christ is patterned exactly as is represented in the scriptures including the following ordinances and practices:

§  Baptism by immersion

§  Laying on of hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost

§  Lord’s Supper

§  Feet washing

§  Anointing the sick with oil and praying over them

§  Ordaining all spiritual Church Officers

§  Blessing of children

·         We believe obedience to the Gospel is necessary to obtain salvation by taking the following actions:

§  Believe and have faith that Jesus Christ is the risen Savior of the world

§  Repent of your sins with a desire to sin no more

§  Be baptized by immersion in water for a remission of sins

§  Receive the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands

§  Live righteously, remain faithful, and endure to the end of your life

·         We believe that the Lord God continues to reveal His will through the power of the Holy Ghost.

·         We believe that the resurrection of Jesus Christ established resurrection for all mankind.

·         We believe that marriage between a man and a woman is a holy institution.

·         We believe that many pure and precious tenets of Christ were eventually changed in the early centuries of The Church of Jesus Christ, and that God restored the Gospel of Christ in its fullness.

·         We believe that God has promised many blessings to all who love and serve Him, and that He will remember His covenants to the House of Israel.

·         We believe in the second coming of Jesus Christ to occur at the end of the world – with the First Resurrection - and that He will wed His Bride, The Church, and gather unto Himself all the righteous

Sidenote:
I am wondering if the only difference is the requirement for their members to stand when their leaders walk into a room.

476: 3rd MONTH, 3rd DAY, 3rd HOUR.... and 3 BIRDS

I asked my sister to come hear a talk this Sunday. The talk will be given on March 3 at 3:00 in Centerville at the Centerpoint Legacy Theater on the Center stage. I find that the time, the location, and the subject matter to be interesting.  When something is repeated 3x.. it is important. Procedure calls for the 'May-Day' distress signal to be said three times in a row so that it won't be mistaken for another word or phrase that sounds similar under noisy conditions. Critical commands are repeated 3 times. This ensures there is absolutely zero doubt in anyone's mind (especially on a big crew airplane) of what needs to be done in a critical situation.   When the Lord pronounces the word 'Woe' three times to His people, it means it probably would be a good time to take cover. In addition, there is a reason why we knock three times to get someones attention, even in the sacred places.

There was a research conducted in 1890 by Hermann Ebbinghaus, a German psychologist about what he called the "rule of three". Ebbinghaus studied how many repetitions were necessary for his test subjects to remember things by repeating the word.  The results showed that three was the optimal number, and that became a rule of thumb in many other things, such as advertising.

In my conversation with my sister about attending this talk, she told be about 3 different types of birds.  The bird analogy and the talk are not related, but since this post is about "3's" I thought I would add it to this blogpost.

My sister has birdfeeder that hangs over her back porch  and lately, she has been observing these birds out her kitchen window.  All three types of birds each have a specific behavior and all eat seeds. I found there to be some symbolism with these birds and thought I would share.


Bird Number 01: The House Finch

The House Finch is the bird that goes straight to the birdfeeder to get their food. They are fast, active and nimble. House Finches are gregarious birds. With their large beaks they are able to get the seeds quite easily from the bird feeder while still flying. The finch has been associated with joy and happiness in various Native American cultures. The finch comes in a variety of colors, sings different songs, and behaviors of these little birds are deemed the perfect animal symbol of happiness and celebration

__________________________________________________________________

Bird Number 02: The Black Eye Junco

The Black Eye Junco never fly up to the bird feeder to get the seeds directly. Instead, the Junco bird stays on the deck under the bird feeder and waits for the seeds to drop on the ground. This bird feels safer on the ground and doesn't exert the needed energy to fly upwards to get the seeds. These birds are reliant for the seeds to fall down to them. Most of the seeds however are "leftovers" and also they need to pick through what are either seeds or the bird droppings of the House Finch. 

Also interesting to note is that the Black Eye Junco usually flocks together. They typically have a hierarchy or pecking order, and earlier arrival birds tend to rank higher in the group than later arrivals.

 __________________________________________________________________

Bird Number 03: The Blue Jay

The third bird is the Blue Jay. She said that she sees the Blue Jays not only getting seeds from the birdfeeder with the House Finch but also flies down onto the deck collecting seeds along side the Black Eye Junco.  Blue Jays are known for their intelligence and complex social systems with tight family bonds.They usually fly across open areas silently, especially during migration.. They stuff food items in throat pouch to cache elsewhere; when eating, holds a seed or nut in feet and pecks it open. 

I believe there is more coincidences about the March 3rd - date and time for this upcoming talk. For example, events that happened 6 years ago on March 3rd as well as what happened on September 3rd (18 months ago)

475: DESERET NEWS and KSL.COM: PROTECTORS OF THE LDS CHURCH NAME

David Moss, 51, of Lehi, was booked into the Utah County Jail for investigation of exploiting a prostitute, patronizing a prostitute, two counts of lewdness and sexual battery.

The Utah County Sheriff's Office conducted a "human trafficking operation" in Lehi on Valentine's Day. After posting a message on an undisclosed social media app, Moss — using the name "Pilot" — contacted what ended up being an undercover detective and arranged to pay $150 for "services such as kissing, touching and pleasure that Moss was looking for," according to a police affidavit.

"Moss then stated he was looking for girls to let him be their manager. He stated he has done this sort of thing in the past and he has a system that is 'cutting edge' and avoids people getting caught," according to the report.

What the article fails to report is that he was currently serving as an LDS BISHOP of the Mill Pond Ward in Lehi, Utah.  

Bishop David Moss on Sunday February 10, 2019 conducted Sacrament Meeting as well as probably giving Temple Recommend Interviews. Four days later, he was busted for "exploiting a prostitute, patronizing a prostitute, two counts of lewdness and sexual battery."... The following week on February 17th, he was released from being the Bishop.

The KSL article hides the fact that he was a current serving Bishop. The headline says former Utah vice squad lieutenant arrested. Well it was years ago that he was in law enforcement  and only say at the end of the article that "Moss has also served as a leader of a local religious congregation."

Moss was a lieutenant over the St. George Police Department's vice squad, according to investigators, but was forced to resign from the department due to sexual misconduct allegations. He then moved to Lehi. Not sure how he was then called to be a Bishop of the ward.

So, Why hide the fact that he was a Bishop... I mean that is BIG NEWS! He is even still listed as the Bishop on the LDS Tools and Meetinghouse locator. See below of a screenshot as of today.

The headline should say,  LDS BISHOP IN LEHI ARRESTED IN PROSTITUTION STING.

Makes you wonder how David Moss was called to be the Bishop: See article below on LDS.org

HOW A BISHOP IS CALLED

When the stake president feels directed to release a bishop, he fasts and prays for inspiration to know whom the Lord has chosen as his replacement. When he feels he has identified the Lord’s choice, the stake president then sends a recommendation to the First Presidency for approval. (There’s actually a form the stake president fills in and sends to the First Presidency.) The First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles then prayerfully consider the person recommended by the stake president. Once the person recommended is approved, the stake president can extend the call to the potential bishop and ask his wife for her support. If he is worthy and accepts the call, the new bishop is then presented to the ward for their sustaining vote and is ordained and set apart, usually by the stake president.

474: PRESIDENT NELSON TO GIVE TOM BRADY A RUN FOR HIS MONEY?

 Here are a few quotes from a newspaper article write up about President Nelson's talk tomorrow that will be held in the State Farm Stadium in Arizona.

"President Nelson won’t be running a 4.4 second 40-yard dash, throwing a deep route or catching a sideline pass on the field Sunday. (Though having watched him bound up steep steps while at almost 14,000 feet above sea-level in Bolivia, I believe he still could give Brady a run for his money.) President Nelson is keeping a pace that would exhaust any athlete"

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"This Sunday at State Farm Stadium in Arizona, a capacity crowd that could rival Atlanta, is expected to watch a spry and energetic 94-year-old take the field."

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"Those in attendance Sunday should watch close and listen closer as the sprinting president dashes onto the field and through his talk."

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"He will cover more ground in a short period than a Larry Fitzgerald deep route."

Read the entire article here.

473: "I KNOW THE SAVIOR'S FACE".. says Elder Quentin L.Cook

In a recent Regional Conference for young married couples held on January 26, 2019 in Salt Lake City, Elder Quentin L. Cook spoke and shared his testimony in closing where he said,

"I know the Savior's voice,

and I know the Savior's face"

I don't think I have heard a testimony like that given by an LDS apostle since Elder Rruce R McConkie's final testimony given in April 1985. Below is a short youtube video of the audio.

The phrase, "I know the Savior's face" has a different ring to me in my ears. I am not sure why the choice of words of using 'know' instead of 'hear' and  'see'. Makes me wonder if it is possible for someone to "know someone's face" without ever seeing it.  Elder Cook mentions that it is too sacred to share spiritual experiences. Maybe I am asking too much, but I am still waiting to hear the following:

"I have heard the Savior's voice"

"and I have seen the Savior's face"

Well, whatever the reason for not actually saying that he has both heard and seen, I am grateful for anyone who has an personal experience with the Lord in any degree. I am even more grateful for those who actually teach others that they can and should have that same personal experience with the Lord instead of just looking to those who have. 

472: SUPER WOLF BLOOD MOON - JAN 20, 2019

Photos taken last night of the Lunar Eclipse as seen from down in the desert of Southern Utah. Clouds parted just minutes before totality.

 

470: THE PARALLAX EFFECT: The art of fooling the senses to believe something is authentic

Parallax is a late 16th century word that means ‘the fact of seeing wrongly’. The origins of the word comes from the French word parallaxe, and from the Greek word parallaxis which means ‘a change,’  and from parallassein which means ‘to alternate, to vary,  to decline, to wander'.

A parallax effect is used in computer graphics where background images move past the camera more slowly than foreground images, creating an illusion of depth in a 2D scene and adding to the sense of immersion in the virtual experience. 

For some, this effect when viewing 2D images on a large screen can cause dizziness, nausea, motion sickness and vertigo. 

I think it is interesting that a new "movie" that was released  worldwide yesterday uses this effect.


Sidenote:

From the Old Testament LDS Seminary Teacher Manual

1. Isaiah describes our day

2. Isaiah prophesies of the consequences that will come from disobeying the Lord

3. Isaiah prophesies of events in the last days

4. Isaiah prophesies of woes and judgments that will come upon the house of Israel

Joseph Smith said: "all things pertaining to [our] dispensation should be conducted precisely in accordance with the preceding dispensations...God set the temple ordinances to be the same forever and ever and set Adam to watch over them, to reveal them from heaven to man, or to send angels to reveal them." (Joseph Smith, History of the Church 4:208.)

"For I am the Lord, I change not" (3 Nephi 24: 6)

469: THE BEGINNING OF THE NEW YEAR: 2019

Twelve diehard people with soaring birds overhead hiked in frigid temperatures and gusty winds to welcome in the New Year. The view of the sunrise from a peak on an island did not disappoint.