Below is photo of an advertisement that appeared in last Sunday's Deseret News. A collection of past songs sung by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir has now been compiled and sold. It is being advertised as "INSPIRATION FOR HASTENING THE WORK." The CD's are not cheap, the retail price is $39.98. It is being promoted for all missionaries now leaving on their missions. Since mission rules only allow the missionaries to listen to either the Mormon Tabernacle Choir or classical music, it makes a wonderful gift. If you act now, these CD's are on a promotional sale at Deseret Book. You can get 4 dollars off of the $39.98 retail price plus discount tickets to Lagoon.
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ON SALE NOW:
Buy the CD Soundtrack for 35.98 (save 4.00 off the retail price of 39.98) LINK
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COMING TO A THEATRE NEAR YOU:
MEET THE MORMONS: THE MOVIE
A new movie has been produced by the Church entitled "MEET THE MORMONS". Not only will it be shown at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, but coming this fall, the movie will be released in select theaters nationwide. The movie has been under production for the past 4 years and is currently being prescreen to audiences including Church authorities, employees and their families. The Church hopes that there will enough demand that the movie will also be picked up and available for viewing on Netflix.
From the lds.org is the following article about the movie:
"Do you sometimes find yourself wishing there was a simple way to let others know that Latter-day Saints are just normal people who find purpose and direction as they focus their lives on Jesus Christ? That’s what a documentary movie soon to be released by the Church will help you to do.
Meet the Mormons starts with a lighthearted look at how members of the Church are often misperceived by others. Then it introduces six families, each sharing personal experiences and describing how the gospel helps them in their lives. Those featured include:
- The Bishop: Jermaine Sullivan and his wife, Kembe, from Atlanta, Georgia, USA, work to create unity in a diverse community while raising their three young sons.
- The Coach: Ken Niumatalolo, the head coach of the U.S. Naval Academy football team in Annapolis, Maryland, USA, and his wife, Barbara, with the support of their children and the coaching staff, keep the Sabbath day holy.
- The Candy Bomber. Gail Halvorsen, a 93-year-old World War II veteran, and his wife Lorraine, 90, from Amado, Arizona, USA, remind children of the value of service. Still a pilot, Brother Halvorsen drops candy from an airplane as he did during the Berlin Airlift following the war.
- The Fighter. Carolina Marin, a kickboxer from San José, Costa Rica, and her trainer and husband, Milton, balance their roles as spouses and parents of young children with their love of competition.
- The Humanitarian. Bishnu and Mangala Adhikari, of Kathmandu, Nepal, honor the beliefs and heritage of their homeland. Brother Adhikari is an engineer who has built roads, schools, and clean water systems that have blessed many small communities.
- The Missionary Mom. Craig and Dawn Armstrong and their son Anthony, from Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, tell how Sister Armstrong was a homeless single mother when she met the missionaries. The gospel they shared helped her to turn her life around. She later married Craig, and the story comes full circle when Anthony goes on a full-time mission to South Africa to share the gospel that so blessed his mother.
Meet the Mormons will be shown in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, and at other locations yet to be determined." LINK
Sidenote:
How we as members are viewed around the world is very important to the Church, especially amongst the hot-topics with minority groups. (Blacks and Women regarding the Priesthood) The six featured stars of the film were specifically selected to change these "misperceptions". For example, the Bishop holding high priesthood leadership position in the movie is Afro-American who lives in Georgia. The Fighter is a female who is a professional kickboxer. The Missionary Mom is a homeless single mother whose child out of wedlock serves a mission to South Africa.
The way that things are accelerating in the county, it's my opinion if the Church were to make a sequel to this movie called "Meet the Mormon 2".. we could possibly see one of the stars of the movie touch on the subject of same-sex marriage.
Recently a survey went out to select LDS church members with questions regarding same-sex marriages. Here were a few of the questions that were to be answered with either Strongly Disagree, Disagree, Neither Agree nor Disagree, Agree, or Strongly Agree.
- The Church's position on same-sex marriage is clear to me.
- I'm troubled by the Church's position on same-sex marriage.
- The Church teaches that legalizing same-sex marriage will increase social acceptance of violating the law of chastity.
- The Church teaches that legalizing same-sex marriage could seriously interfere with our religious liberty to teach and live our religion.
- The Church teaches that same-sex marriage places priority on the desires of adults, whereas marriage between a man and a woman places the highest priority on the needs of the children.
- On January 9, 2014, The First Presidency sent a letter to Church leaders about same-sex marriage. Were you aware of this letter? Yes or No
- Please indicate how much you agree or disagree with the following statement: I have personally experienced harassment, discrimination, or other social or economic costs because of the Church's opposition to same-sex marriage.
- Which of the following, if any, have you consulted to learn about the Church's position toward same-sex marriage over the past year? (First Presidency Letter, Lds.org, Church meetings, discussions)
There were more questions on the LDS survey regarding on same-sex marriage topic including if you know or have close acquaintances with anyone involved in such relationships/attractions. We live in interesting times of "Hastening the Work". Not sure if the "work" is being hastened or if we are just hastening the "ripening".
11 comments:
There certainly appear to be opposing "works" at play. It seems at least one is being "hastened". The jury still looks to be out on the other.
My husband has been sent these surveys for almost two years now. I saw these same questions when he received his survey a couple months ago. I don't know how so many can be ok with decisions made based on opinion polling, and then call it, "revelation."
WOW, "...hastening the ripening". You nailed it! :-(
Thank you for this incredible blog that I continue to enjoy and share! - Jules
Wo, unto them who hasten the work.... Makes me think of Isaiah 5:
18 Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope:
19 That say, Let him make speed, and hasten his work, that we may see it: and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw nigh and come, that we may know it!
(Isaiah 5:18-19)
In the Deseret news this morning there was an article entitled: "Boy Scout numbers grow in Utah, defying national trend" it indicated that one year after the Boy Scouts opened its ranks to openly gay boys. The number of scouts has declined in the nation. Yet, in Utah the numbers have increased. Just ten years ago you would have expected the opposite trend. What is going on? Are we following the pattern of the Nephites?
I've gone from wondering how things could be so bad to wondering why they aren't worse. God is unbelievably long suffering. The destruction will happen, and maybe very soon. In the meantime I stand all amazed at the nonsense that God allows men to proliferate. I pray that the bought time translates to more people waking up.
Rob (and whoever else will listen),
I'd like to respectfully offer an alternative to your vision of the destruction which will happen, maybe very soon.
Rock Waterman recently posted on his Pure Mormonism site a write-up showing a few examples of how the LDS people cursed their enemies over the years. It started with curses extended towards the mob who killed Joseph and Hyrum, and then became ones directed towards the inhabitants of Missouri, and then all of the United States (perhaps excluding the Utah territory at the time). So now I get the impression that our curses are being proclaimed against our own people!
The Lord made a few things very clear to us, I believe. First of all, we are to bless our enemies, which most certainly includes those of our own church who have not "awakened" yet. Secondly, we are told that God will forgive who He will forgive (and by the way, that seems to be about anyone who asks for mercy). It's not up to us to wonder why his wrath hasn't wiped out those who are less enlightened than we are. His thoughts are not ours. Lastly, God causes it to rain on the wicked and the righteous alike. He does not curse us, we do that to ourselves.
To me, it seems like an uninspired plan would be to have the Saints go through all the lessons they have learned in the wilderness, get access to our true records, have our folly put on showcase for the world and just as people were about to figure it out, God says, "Sorry, time's up. You're all toast now."
If The Lord is indeed long suffering as you say, then I would suspect that we will yet be given an opportunity to make a different choice. Perhaps this is what Moroni meant by saying that God will show the Gentiles that "faith, hope and charity leadeth to the fountain of all righteousness." At any rate, call me optimistic, but I rather think that "a marvelous work and a wonder is about to come forth among the children of men," and everything you see as a sign of our forthcoming doom is actually a witness that we are on the verge of rejecting the nonsense (of course, there are stragglers, but can't those who are marching ahead wait up for a few?)
Will destruction come at some point? Maybe. Probably. But you won't hear words from my lips to summon its quick advancement. The thing about curses is that they seem to boom-a-rang right back to us.
You mistake revelation God has given those who have seen what is coming for desire on my part. I lament what is coming more than you can know. However, God's word is clear on this.
" and even as I have said, it shall come to pass." D&C 101:10
There is a difference between cursing people and honoring God's word by working as fast as possible before the harvest he has promised to bring.
But does "working as fast as possible before the harvest" go contrary to the theme of this blog post and of what Denver Snuffer said in his last lecture that we cannot hasten the work?
According to your scripture citing, "soon" the Lord will pour out the wrath of His indignation "in behalf of" His people. It sounds to me like it's His people who are calling for this wrath. You should also take a look at the preceding verse:
"Verily I say unto you, notwithstanding their sins, my bowels are filled with compassion towards them. I will not utterly cast them off; and in the day of wrath I will remember mercy."
Could it be that the Lord is waiting for us to rescind judgment on those who were "slow to hearken unto voice of the Lord their God"? If we don't stand holding stones their direction, is it possible that the Lord will say:
"Where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?"
and they can say, "No man, Lord."
And Jesus may reply, "Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more."
He is the light of the world: Whoever follows this example shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
Working as fast as possible: "as possible" indicates constraints which limit the speed, therefore hastening beyond as fast as it is already going is impossible.
Who are "his people"? God condemned the LDS church in the 1830s, and I haven't heard any revelation where he said he removed that condemnation.
Jesus will not withhold the destruction. The destruction will begin at his house among those that profess his name, just as he has said. Your hopes defy his word, and without more of his word to indicate he has changed his mind, I struggle to be persuaded.
The implication of "working as fast as possible" is that God is in a hurry to destroy his people, and we'd better get a move-on to save those who might otherwise not make the deadline, as if God is not aware of them and their potential to repent. The Lord is telling Joseph way back in 1833 that "soon" his indignation will be poured out to all nations. One hundred and eighty plus years has passed since that time. Clearly "soon" can be generations. If people are starting to wake up to things now, imagine what it might look five years from now, or even twenty or fifty. My assertion is that we can remain steadfast and trust The Lord. Part of that, in my experience anyway, requires patience. Running at our maximum pace can be problematic, as mistakes are made in hastiness.
Perhaps the time will come when we are destroyed. But we are not to the level of accountability that the Nephites were when Christ came. They had the Plates of Brass, which contained the pure record. What we have, according to Nephi is incomplete at best (the Book of Mormon) and corrupted at worst (the Bible).
If you are going to hold Jesus to his promise to "not withhold the destruction," then you are removing the possibility that the LDS Gentiles can repent. We talk a lot about how wicked we Gentiles are. Indeed, this blog is where one shows the "bare record" of our folly. But notice that there is always an "if" clause in the Book of Mormon when talking about the Gentiles.
"...wherefore, the promises of the Lord are great unto the Gentiles, for he hath spoken it, and who can dispute?"
"But if the Gentiles will repent and return unto me, saith the Father, behold they shall be numbered among my people, O house of Israel."
"For behold, I say unto you that as many of the Gentiles as will repent are the covenant people of the Lord;"
"...for this cause that the Gentiles, if they will not harden their hearts, that they may repent and come unto me and be baptized in my name and know of the true points of my doctrine, that they may be numbered among my people, O house of Israel"
"And it shall come to pass, saith the Father, that the sword of my justice shall hang over them at that day; and except they repent it shall fall upon them, saith the Father, yea, even upon all the nations of the Gentiles."
So your proclamation that The Lord will not withhold the destruction is contrary to words of the Father, because there is a stated exception. These words indicate that he does change his mind, based on our own belief and repentance.
It's possible that we're saying the same thing here, Rob. I doubt you want to see destruction any more than I do. I guess what I'm trying to "persuade" you of here is that if there is even a smidgen of hope, why don't you cling to that, instead of throwing your arms up in the air... lamenting and awaiting the Day of Doom which will surely be upon us any minute? Can we claim, even beg for mercy in behalf of those who God condemned way back in the 1830's? Can't we plead with God to stay His hand for a little while longer and yet see how this new Awakening plays out? If you or others have seen this desolating affliction in vision, then I would think that more than anyone else you would want to sing the song of hope, so that such suffering could be avoided, or at least postponed.
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