This action will be the final act that tears families apart - wives against husbands, mothers against daughters, fathers against sons. Pretty much cats, dogs and total chaos. It will be a contest of values that will pit the former best against those who are clinging to the iron rod. Those who choose to follow the counsel of the Brethren and who have the Holy Spirit as their guide will make it. All else will be/are being sifted as we speak, for they do not know how to doubt their doubts and increase their faith.
This analysis in from a blog reader I highly respect:
How Lehi’s Dream applies to the last day saints of North America
1 Nephi 8: 9-16, 30 -The wise virgins. These partake of all of the blessings of the gospel and are truly converted through the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost. These are temple worthy and have a year or more supply of food, water, and supplies. These gather to wherever the Holy Spirit guides them. These are the ones that survive the purging of the church in the near future.
1 Nephi 8:21-23 -The tares (the 50% of the total adult church membership who will apostatize from the church per John Taylor). These have very little spiritual conviction. They started down the straight and narrow path that leads to the iron rod (joined the church) but would not give up the things of the world including their sins. These join with evil nonmembers who persecute the unwise virgins.
1 Nephi 8:24-28 -The unwise virgins. These saints have only testimonies (a burning in their bosoms) and are not truly converted (baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost) to Christ. Many have gone through the temple but their hearts on set on the things of the world. These are the additional 25% of the total church membership who will apostatize from the church because of the persecution they receive from the tares and evil nonmembers. These are not able to gather with the wise virgins because they are not worthy nor ready.
1 Nephi 8:31-33 - The nonmembers. These are incited by the apostate tares to persecute the unwise virgins into denouncing their membership in the church. Some of these help slay apostles and other faithful saints as well. But many will flee unto Zion (in this case the church) for safety both physically and spiritually (join the church in large numbers).
Please source the John Taylor quote about 50% of the adult membership. I'm all ears to hear more.
ReplyDeleteA Remarkable Prophecy By President John Taylor As Told by Edward Lunt, An Ordinance Worker in the Mesa Temple
DeleteThe following incident occurred at my father's home in Cedar City, at the time a stake conference was being held in that city, at which President John Taylor and George A. Smith were present.
Apostle Smith was asked to conduct the conference, as President Taylor wished to rest after his having held meetings in the different wards and stakes between Salt Lake City and Cedar City. President Taylor asked Elder George A. Smith to start the conference, as he wished to rest until the afternoon meeting. President Taylor, with some of the authorities, were staying at the home of my parents during this conference.
President Taylor wished to go to his room and lie down. He asked my mother to awaken him in time for the afternoon conference, as he feared he might oversleep and thus fail to arrive at the conference in time.
My mother was busy preparing dinner for the visitors but was surprised to see President Taylor come into the kitchen so soon after retiring for his much needed rest. He immediately started telling mother of a most remarkable vision that he had just had while in his room.
He stated that he saw that Salt Lake City would become a great city with many beautiful paved roads and streets of cement construction, and that the people had become wealthy. He saw that the city extended almost to the point of the mountain south of the new 1951 State prison.
The people, he saw, had become quite indifferent to the counsel and advice of the authorities of the church, and were more interested in the accumulation of wealth than they were in living their religion. He told mother that he saw that war had been started, and that so great was the destruction of life within the city that blood ran down the gutters as though it were streams of water, and the violence was such that it would cause the destruction of the beautiful city. The people were fighting among themselves until it became necessary to remove the church records across the Colorado river.
"One half of the Mormon people will entirely forsake their leaders, and half of the other half, because of their suffering, will leave the church. Many Mormons will die in the struggle, but the Lord will bless those who stick faithfully to the church and will bless them to the extent that they will not be destroyed."
He said that faithful Latter-day Saints would go to the south and would form a circle something like a horseshoe, before they return to Jackson County, Missouri. Said he, "Those only will be privileged to help build Jackson County who will be found willing and glad to obey the counsel and advice of the authorities who will be placed over them, and who will seek counsel that they may be guided and protected from dire want and distress.
Subscribed and sworn to this 28th day of June, 1951.
Thank you, Ken.
ReplyDelete