RARE "BEHIND THE SCENES" INFORMATION from Elder Ronald A. Rasband on how the Prophets and Apostles receive Revelation (the Mind and Will of the Lord)

On Sunday, Elder Ronald A Rasband spoke at the World Wide Youth Face to Face event on the movie set in Goshen, Utah. (Sidenote: the city of Goshen was formerly known as Sodom) Due to Covid-19, this special devotional was held outside in this almost to scale Jerusalem look-a-like Movie set. Here is blog post of photos I took when I visited the set. LINK . 

It is important to notice that everyone in audience sat over 6 feet apart and wore masks.  What is more unusual than that, Elder Rasband did something that I don't think has been done before. He gave us a little "peak" behind the scenes of how they receive the "mind and will of the Lord, Jesus Christ" for the Church, specifically how the 2020 Proclamation to the World came to be. The reading of the  2020 Proclamation in the Sacred Grove was the highlight of last General Conference which President Nelson said would be "not only memorable, it will be unforgettable." This new proclamation was called "a revelation to bless all people" by Elder Quentin L. Cook.

Here is a very short clip of Elder Rasband's words of him giving us this little peak "behind the scenes."

for the hearing impaired, here are his words:

"Now I would like to give you a little peak behind the scenes and tell you what we did for the month and months leading up to the Proclamation. In President Nelson's wonderful way, he allowed all of the prophets and apostles, all 15 of us, to work on putting together the Proclamation. We wrote it out, we edited it. I even think I have a couple of words in that proclamation that I may have contributed. But in the end, I want you all to know that we reached unity. And we knew that what we were doing in preparing that Proclamation to the World was the Mind and Will of the Lord, Jesus Christ. And then our dear prophet with his prophetic mantle finished the Proclamation and prepared it for his reading in the Sacred Grove at General Conference. It was a wonderfully, special, revelatory experience. And I bear my witness to all of you tonight that it is a true Proclamation of what the Lord Jesus Christ would have us know."

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What many of you might not  know is that 50 years before Elder Rasband and the other 14 prophets and apostles spent months on writing and editing the new 2020 Proclamation to the World another Proclamation in 1980 was presented to the Church by President Hinckley in a special memorable General Conference broadcasted from the farm house of Peter Whitmer. Below is a side by side comparison of the content of these two Proclamations. The one on the left is the 1980 document in exact order.  The one on the right is the 2020 proclamation with some liberty to match up side by side to almost the exact same content. I have color coded to easily recognize the common themes and words. You can notice that the 1980 one is a lot longer and more detailed. It is interesting to read it, and compare it to the 2020 proclamation. It seems like the wording in the 1980 Proclamation is more bold and assertive.  Today there seems to be a softening, words like "we declare" instead of  "we testify", we "affirm" instead of  "we solemnly affirm", etc. I am sure there are more differences to be found that would be interesting to study. Here it is:

I think the purpose of sharing this is to highlight how today the Mind and Will of the Lord is received. It seems like instead of receiving the words from God himself, our leaders spend months writing and editing.  They then come together and if there is unity, they then call that revelation and the Mind and Will of the Lord, Jesus Christ. If I misunderstood anything, I would love to be corrected. Seems like alot has changed since Joseph Smith when he received the word of the Lord directly and now it is almost like revelation by committee. 

CONNECTING WITH THE HEAVENS: Autumnal Equinox 2020

Today is September 22, 2020. At 7:30 AM this morning, the sun crossed the celestial equator, or an imaginary line that projects Earth's equator into space.   At that exact moment, the Northern and Southern hemispheres recieved an equal amount of sunshine, and the length of day and night will be approximately equal around the world — hence the term "equinox," which is derived from the Latin phrase meaning "equal night" After the Fall equinox, nights become longer than days, bringing us into a period of darkness. 

I woke up early and hiked to a mountain summit to see the sunrise this morning. Here are a few photos. 

Also... a new video called Three Great Things Left Undone was posted today on the Fall Equinox. It is the 3rd installment of seven videos in the series "The Heavens are Open Again". Here is the link:

Sidenote: 

Interesting experience that happened on my hike. As I was hiking up in the dark,  I passed a man sitting off the side of the trail who also had camera equipment. While it was still fairly dark, you could tell that the sky was cloudy. I told him that I hoped he gets some good photos of the sunrise. He responded back and said, "I don't think we will be able to see the sunrise today because of the clouds."  He decided not to hike any farther up the mountain. 

I wished him well and continued to hike up. I reach the summit just before sunrise at 7:15 am. To my disappointment, it was as if a giant "hand' was blocking the sun as it came over the horizon. However, the dark cloud "hand" began to move and at 7:30 AM, the sun peaked up over the clouds right at the time of the Equinox. 

An unexpected event on President Nelson's Birthday - Category 2- 3 Hurricane-like storm in SLC

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Church did not plan a worldwide gala celebration for President Nelson's Birthday on September 9th.  Good thing they didn't. Unlike last year when President Nelson personally invited all to his Birthday gala celebration, this year his birthday was marked by a extremely unusual and devastating Category 2 hurricane-like storm. Starting on the eve of his Birthday  lasting throughout his big day, 100 plus mile winds caused destruction and uprooted century old trees around the Temple Square and the Church Office Building as well as up and down the Wasatch Front. Some areas reported actual wind gust of 112 miles an hour which would be a Category 3 hurricane wind. 

This is a photo of President Nelson at his Birthday Celebration last year. I had posted more about it HERE 

Despite Mother Nature reeking havoc on his birthday, President Nelson sent out a news release this week with a photo of him as a young boy and expressed gratitude for those who sent him Birthday Wishes this week. Here is his text and photo. No mention of the destruction that occurred in the Salt Lake Valley. 

Russell M Nelson as a young boy

“Today I am 96 years old! Many years have passed since this photo was taken when I was a young boy, and in those years I have been blessed richly with opportunities to meet and come to love God’s children all over the world. I have also witnessed many miracles and mercies from the Lord.

“Many of you have wished me a happy birthday. I wish to thank you and express my love for all who read this. The Lord loves you, and I am a witness that He is in the details of our lives.”

Also a video tribute has been posted online and members of the Quorum of the Twelve have recently shared their love for President Nelson. 

Elder Gary E Stevenson said "Latter-day Saints have been highly favored of the Lord during this time of pandemic as they have received words and counsel from a living prophet...Knowing the calamities that would come upon the world, the Lord called upon President Russell M. Nelson to guide us and help us manage these unique and perilous times."

Elder Ronald A Rasband said, "During these challenges, no one has been better at communicating the will of the Lord to the world than President Russell M Nelson"...The most important prophet, so far as we are concerned, is the one who is living in our day and age. This is the prophet who has today’s instructions from God to us. Therefore, the most crucial reading and pondering that you should do is of the latest inspired words from the Lord’s mouthpiece...Those who look to the watchman on the tower “can notch their fear index down a little, they can drop their anxiety, they can lessen their loneliness to know that this Church is in the hands of the Lord. And He is guiding and directing His Apostles and Prophets.

Sidenote: 

A few weeks ago, our Chief Watchmen on the Tower, President Nelson said the following and was printed in the Church News  last week. 

“Dear friends, the road ahead may be bumpy, but our destination is serene and secure,” he wrote. “So, fasten your seatbelt, hang on through the bumps, and do what’s right. Your reward will be eternal.”

Pretty safe bet to say that things "may" be bumpy. 

Um, maybe bumpy? may be that was a misprint. I am no prophet, but I think it would be better to say, The road ahead WILL be bumpy. 

No "maybe's" about it. 

Symbolic places where the 90 mph winds uprooted trees - SLC Declares State of Emergency

Hurricane-level winds blew through the Salt Lake Valley this morning. Unofficial reports at the University of Utah had the gusts as high as 112 mph. Power expected to be out 2 to 3 days in some areas. Another wind storm is expected to develop tonight. Much of downtown Salt Lake is closed to business due to power outages. The Traffic signals were malfunctioning. However, I still drove downtown and took a few photos of some key symbolic locations. The Church Office Building, The Salt Lake Temple, and the State Capital Below are some of the photos I took.

In the last place I drove past was Liberty Park. I was touched to see a few Native Americas who were weeping, chanting and performing a ceremonial ritual around the largest tree that fell in the center of this downtown park. I couldn't help think that they see the symbolism of this portent hurricane storm that left such devastating destruction to these beautiful,  majestic trees that have been swept off around symbolic buildings. 

Trees around the LDS Church Office Building:

 Uprooted Pine Trees to the East of the Salt Lake Temple:

Some of the last remaining mature trees at Salt Lake Capital

Liberty Park:

Sidenote:

This Tree was uprooted in front of this house off of Harvey Milk Blvd:

If there was ever a time to be inspired, uplifted and motivated, it would be now!

I recently saw the documentary called 'Rising Phoenix,' which follows the story of nine Paralympians.

Each athlete showcased in the film shares their amazing story of overcoming obstacles to achieve the unthinkable.  If there was ever a time to be inspired, uplifted and motivated, it would be now. 

The human spirit is truly amazing.  

SCRUPULOSITY.... Unhealthy Excessive Religious Behavior

Scrupulous is a word to describe someone who is diligent, thorough, and extremely attentive to details in following the rules or requirements that is asked of them. They are very concerned to avoid doing any thing wrong.  On the surface, being scrupulous might be considered a good thing, but if excessive, it could possibly lead to unhealthy religious behavior called Scrupulosity.  

Common Symptoms of Scrupulosity:

• Believes that religious practice must be 100 percent perfect.
• Critical of others that are perceived to be sinful. 
• Believes in a "Check-list" type God. 
• Overly concerned about keeping every Letter of the Law. 
• Devout in their outward observances especially in places of Worship
• Obedient in keeping the rules/commandments out of fear of punishment.
• Proud of being a member of "The Not Even Once Club"
• Confesses to every indiscretion.
• Fears that things are not being done quite the "right way"
• Believes you earn your love from God. 
• Overzealous in the need to keep religious tradition.

All of these symptoms could describe perfectly the Pharisees at the time of Christ. They were religious zealots and were scrupulous in following the Law of Moses. Their scrupulosity was so deep that they could not recognize the Savior of the World, the actual giver of the Law of Moses.

Common  Ways to Avoid of Scrupulosity:

• Remember that we all fall short and make mistakes .
• Forgive others of their faults. 
• Life is so much more than a check list of "to-do's" to cross things off.  
• Be guided by the Spirit of the Law. 
• Your inner commitment is more important than the outer appearance
• Be obedient to God's commandments because of your love for Him.
• Repent and access the Christ's Atonement when we sin.
• Confess your weakness and ask for strength to overcome
• Relish in the fact that someone does things differently than you.  
• Remember the Mercy of Christ and His love for us 
• Avoid perpetuating false traditions.

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Sidenote:

Another interesting thing about the Pharisees is that they cooperated with the Romans in order to preserve their own position among Israel. I bring this up because I recently came across an interesting 600 page dissertation about a possible parallel in our time.. If true, it is very unsettling.  

LINK TO DISSERTION

"This dissertation studies a small American religious group that survived unscathed during the Third Reich. Some fifteen thousand members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Mormons, lived under National Socialism. Unlike persecuted Jews and Jehovah's Witnesses, and other small American-based sects that suffered severe restrictions, the Mormons worshiped freely under Hitler's regime. They survived by stressing congruence between church doctrine and Nazi dogma. Mormons emphasized their interest in genealogical research and sports, sent their husbands into the Wehrmacht and their sons into the Hitler Youth, and prayed for a Nazi victory in wartime. Mormon leaders purged all Jewish references from hymnals, lesson plans and liturgical practices, and shunned their few Jewish converts. They resurrected a doctrinal edict that required deference to civil authority, which the Mormons had not always obeyed. Some Mormons imagined fanciful connections with Nazism, to the point that a few believed Hitler admired their church, copied its welfare program, and organized the Nazi party along Mormon lines."

"This dissertation builds upon Christine Elizabeth King's theory of a common Weltanschauung between Mormons and Nazis, and Steven Carter's description of the Mormons' “accommodation” with National Socialism. Instead of a passive approach, however, the Mormons pursued aggressive and shameless “ingratiation” with the Nazi state.""This work also examines memory. Mormons later tried to forget their pandering to the Nazis, especially when large numbers of Germans immigrated to Utah in the post war period. When the story of a martyred Mormon resister, Helmuth Hübener, emerged in the 1970s, church officials interfered with the research of scholars at Brigham Young University. They feared that Hübener's example would incite Mormon youth to rebel against dictators abroad, hurt the church's relations with communist East Germany, and would offend recent German Mormon immigrants in Utah. A few Mormons shunned and harassed Hübener's surviving coconspirators. In recent years, Hübener— excommunicated for rebellion against the Nazis but later restored to full church membership—has been rehabilitated as a recognized hero of Mormonism. A new collective memory has been forged, one of wartime courage and suffering, while the inconvenient past is being conveniently discarded."