THEY WILL THIRST AFTER THE BLOOD OF EVERY MAN

HAD TO RE-POST THIS CLASSIC THAT I WROTE QUITE A BIT EARLIER IN THE BLOG.

I HAD ONE OF THOSE DAYS WITH MY MANAGER AT WORK - WHO IS, SHALL WE SAY, OF A DIFFERENT PERSUASION THAN I. AND WHILE THAT IS HIS CHOICE - AND I WOULD FIGHT FOR HIS RIGHT TO HAVE THE FREEDOM TO CHOOSE AS HE WOULD DO, I FIND MYSELF FEELING MYSELF CONSTANTLY AT ODDS WITH THE MAN AND BEGIN TO WONDER WHAT THE ANTAGONISM IS RELATED TO. NO ONE ELSE IN THE GROUP IS RECEIVING "SPECIAL TREATMENT". I CALL BEING SANDUSKIED.... IS THIS SPECIAL TREATMENT DUE TO A REAL PROBLEM WITH MY WORK OR WORK ETHIC - OR A PROBLEM WITH MY VALUE SET AND WHAT DRIVES IT? I FELT THE NEED TO GET ON MY KNEES AND ONCE AGAIN PRAY FOR SOME RELIEF - FOR GOD TO WEIGH US BOTH IN THE BALANCE (BOTH HIS CHILDREN AND DESERVING OF BLESSINGS ACCORDING TO OUR DESIRES AND QUALIFICATIONS) AND DELIVER SPEEDY JUDGEMENT. MY EXPERIENCE IS THAT GOD IS FAITHFUL AS INDICATED IN D&C 71:5-11 (CLICK LINK)

READ ON. AND IF YOU ENJOYED THIS, THERE IS MORE WHERE THAT CAME FROM....
THE GOOD STUFF IS IN THE ARCHIVES.....

I had to work all weekend. Saturday night was spent on a lonely engineering watch with a Jewish friend and we engaged in some great conversation where we shared doctrines of our respective faiths. All of his doctrines are 100% compatible with mine - and shared some mind enlarging feelings on the nature of our spirits and the nature of God and the heavens. We have a fantastic relationship where we just share things as God intended - no contention.
I then had to work on the Sabbath (today) where another co-worker came up (a nice guy - but who has the very appearance/demeanor of what I always have thought the devil himself would look like; dashing good looks with dark hair and the required goatee, a great orator, conceited, self-assured to a fault, with little or no humility, and dark and cold penetrating eyes) and proceeded to hack away at organized religion and proceeded to erroneously tell me what my beliefs are. His name is Daemon and during the course of the conversation, I have to admit, I got things wrong with the pronunciation of his name and 'accidentally' dropped the a (my wife censured me for having done it). Things got a little tense when he began an assault on the Prophet and on the nature of the Holy Ghost. I clearly warned him to watch his words as they were being recorded and he would be "weighed in the balance" over them. Mostly, I have great forebearance with these types of folks and know that mostly, they operate out of ignorance and the wicked traditions of their fathers. It was the same genre of spirit that put our Lord and the Prophet to death because of the inability of the recipients to handle the truth. It is my burden to attract these types and, hopefully with the Spirit, set them on a course to doctrinal correctness. I fear they will have to suffer many things before they are humble enough to even begin to have ears to hear sound principle.

The last one I dealt with (several years ago at work) was literally gnashing his teeth in my face and I warned him against what he was doing - that after a bruising railing against my "stupidity" and "naivety" for believing in God, I was compelled to tell him that 'he would rue the day' (he had been so crass against his maker) and that "in his extremity, he would feel after his Maker". I had no idea, and in such a short order, how prophetic those words would be after getting down on my knees right there in the office after all had left and asking for some blessed relief. He, at that time, was making plans to retire a few short months later. After our very heated conversation (where I thought one of us might get escorted to the door due to the tenor and intensity of the exchange), a few days later, he developed a throat condition where for three or four weeks all he could do was croak. I no longer had to endure his withering anti-God rhetoric that had been building in intensity. He seemed to get a little better but never quite shook that condition until he went to the doctor the day before his retirement. When he got the results back, it was systemic cancer. In his extremity over the next few months, he came to know his Maker. It was sad to hear the progress over the months as he tried in vain to fight it and finally succombed. I e-mailed him at times (near the end) admonishing him to invite the Elders into his house to bless him to live (and maybe to have the teachings of heaven distill on his earthly mind to better prepare him for crossing over) but I think that work will have to continue on the other side when he is ready.

So, I dedicate this post to Gene who might have better spent his time asking thoughtful questions (to someone who has no fear of letting it all hang out) in preparation to meeting his Maker, the Father of us all. Time is short - I can feel it. Now is the time to prepare to meet God. May we all have grace and divine direction to that end is my prayer in Jesus' name, Amen.

Something from one of my favorite authors on seeking after truth and taking some damage over it, by those who cannot endure sound doctrine due to their wicked and adulterous natures:

Persecution and hatred by those who love not the truth are a legacy bequeathed by the Saviour to all His followers; for He said they should be hated of all men for His name's sake. (JD 7:42)



At the time of the restoration of the Gospel, the Prophet Joseph Smith said:



It seems as though the adversary was aware, at a very early period of my life, that I was destined to prove a disturber and an annoyer of his kingdom; else why should the power of darkness combine against me? Why the opposition and persecution that arose against me, almost in my infancy?

Some few days after I had this vision, I happened to be in company with one of the Methodist preachers, who was very active in the before mentioned religious excitement; and, conversing with him on the subject of religion, I took occasion to give him an account of the vision which I had had. I was greatly surprised at his behavior; he treated my communication not only lightly, but with great contempt, saying it was all of the devil, that there were no such things as visions or revelations in these days; that all such things had ceased with the apostles, and that there would never be any more of them.

I soon found, however, that my telling the story had excited a great deal of prejudice against me among professors of religions, and was the cause of great persecution, which continued to increase; and though I was an obscure boy, only between fourteen and fifteen years of age, and my circumstances in life such as to make a boy of no consequence in the world, yet men of high standing would take notice sufficient to excite the public mind against me, and create a bitter persecution; and this was common among all the sects@all united to persecute me. (P. of G. P., Joseph Smith 2:20-22)



True Gospel principles have always brought trouble to prophets, patriarchs and apostles. People didn't have room for [28] new truth. They were content with a few pebbles of information, rather than accept new outcroppings and boulders of greater knowledge.



But even more than just opposing new knowledge, many people are led by an evil influence to actually fight against new knowledge from God. Brigham Young noted this battle between good and evil:



Wicked men, Satan, and all the powers of hell and hate are at war with every holy principle that God wishes to place in the possession of his children. (JD 8:13)



It is clear that the devil is opposed to the principles and doctrines of the Gospel more than the Church itself. The Prophet Joseph exclaimed:



This generation is as corrupt as the generation of the Jews that crucified Christ; and if He were here today, and should preach the same doctrine He did then, they would put Him to death. (TPJS, p. 328)



And on another occasion he said:



"It is thought by some that our enemies would be satisfied with my destruction; but I tell you that as soon as they have shed my blood, they will thirst for the blood of every man in whose heart dwells a single spark of the spirit of the fullness of the Gospel. The opposition of these men is moved by the spirit of the adversary of all righteousness. It is not only to destroy men, but every man and woman who dares believe the doctrines that God hath inspired me to teach in this generation." Such were the words of the Prophet Joseph Smith to the Nauvoo Legion on the 18th of June 1844. ("Rise and Fall of Nauvoo," B. H. Roberts, Contributor VIII:12, Oct. 1887, p. 441)



[29] A true Christian, or a true Mormon, will often arouse some enmity because his strong beliefs in doctrine and principles are not in conformity with the rest of society. Jesus knew this and made the following promise:



If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; . . . (John 15:18-20)



King Solomon seemed to understand the nature of the opposition by saying, "The wicked watcheth the righteous and seeketh to slay him." (Ps 37:32)



Since the devil is opposed to truth, he causes trouble, false rumors, suspicion and eventually persecution to come upon the true followers of Christ. The Prophet Joseph observed this:



The enemies of this people will never get weary of their persecution against the Church, until they are overcome. I expect they will array everything against me that is in their power to control, and that we shall have a long and tremendous warfare. He that will war the true Christian warfare against the corruptions of these last days will have wicked men and angels of devils, and all the infernal powers of darkness continually arrayed against him. When wicked and corrupt men oppose, it is a criterion to judge if a man is warring the Christian warfare. (DHC 5:140)



Brigham Young noted:



As the kingdom of God increased upon the earth, so would the power of the enemy increase in like manner, to keep pace with it. (JD 2:249)



[30] It may be observed today that most of those who are rejected by society, cast out of their honorable positions, and considered evil, probably have some truth with them. Either they are very evil or they are defending true principles.



Consider the following comparison: If Billy Graham were really teaching the Gospel as Jesus taught it, he would be mobbed and driven-just as the disciples of Jesus were. If Joseph Smith taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ, as the scriptures declare, then he would be persecuted and mobbed-and he was. They both claimed to be followers of Christ, yet only one received much persecution. This opposition from the world is not for belief and reading the Bible, but because of the difference in the doctrines they taught. It is important, then, to be well informed on the doctrines of the Church, more so than the history of the Church.