PEOPLE FREAKING OUT OVER THE END OF THE WORLD

I have a few things to say about the last post that ended up in the comments section:

Just as a side note. There is nothing but safety in following at least a majority of the Brethren and staying with the records of the Church. That rule was established from the beginning (even in Christ's day and it stands today).

Also, time has an amazing way of flushing out the wolves in sheeps clothing. I did a little research and the Harmstons of Manti fame really did "harm to that town" - they lived up to their name quite well. They ran some weird offshoot religion and made a mess out of things there - harmed the reputation of Manti that still suffers to this day from the turmoil they stirred up. There were alot of people harmed because they were engaging in the last three of the things on that list of things to watch for in extremism within the membership.

Interestingly, Bo Gritz of "Gold, Guns and Groceries" Presidential candidacy fame was probably the instigator of what the Church did in 1992 - as he was LDS at the time and 28,000 people in Utah voted for him in that election.  I vaguely remember his antics - and just found out on the 20th anniversary of that tragedy, that Randy Weaver (of Ruby Ridge fame) lives 300 yards as the crow flies from my house.  YIKES!! My daughter who always likes a lark found out from me and talked her brother into going over there a couple of weeks ago to sell some football dinner tickets for a fundraiser.  That kid.....always looking for the selacious....must get it from her mother.....  For those who do not know, Bo Gritz was the self-appointed mediator in the whole Ruby Ridge mess - and he got the government out of a mess that could have ended much worse than it did.  The Church steers clear of controversial stuff almost at any cost so that we do not come off more weird or peculiar than we already do...  Bo Gritz was apparently joined liking our correct doctrine of modern Israel, because, as soon as he came under scrutiny for his more radical views, he ended up telling a Stake President that would not give him a Temple Recommend (because he would not pay his Federal Taxes), to go pound sand and left the Church.  He then promptly aligned himself with the group that Randy Weaver is no longer part of (some kind of Christian Identity Movement) that believes in the same doctrine of modern Israel that we do - but that took a left turn back in the 1920's and really got twisted badly into what it is today.  So our Church, really was trying to stay clear of the doomsday kind of stuff back then - people already know us as the wacky "years worth of food" people. The latest foray into this distancing was the smackdown at a Provo area regional conference by Elder Dallin H. Oaks - where people were told to lay off the Mormon militia thing - Boys From the Mountains - or some such a thing. Something I quite frankly, might have been interested in.  Just for the fun of it - nothing like having an Elder's Quorum gig on a Saturday that involves clay pigeons and shooting ranges.....  Sure beats casseroles and small talk with the kids running everywhere...   All I can say is people are freaked out right now - just as they were in the early to mid-90's when the government got oppressive with Ruby Ridge, Waco, etc. Just as the Saints were back in Missouri when the local and state governments got heavy handed and then launched the famous Extermination Order.

Interesting times we live in.   I would never panic or operate out of fear - that is not how God operates.  But I would be deliberate and having a spirit of fasting and prayer in my preparations.

So, the title of this post is tongue-in-cheek - I have the biggest freak-out response to the events of late of anyone I have met - so I am poking fun at myself.  But I did get a serious question about whether I thought it would be smart to relocate to Missouri.  Again, I get NOTHING for anyone but those I have stewardship over (and not my hobby/journal/blog), but I do have some thoughts.  I have wondered if that very thing would be a good idea for my family - to just make a bee-line for Missouri.  I have a sibling who was born in Columbia, Missouri where my dad was going to school to get his Phd and, on a trip to take the kids thru the Nauvoo Temple open house, we had to make the obligatory trek to Adam-Ondi-Ahman, Far West and Independence and stayed in that town where my dad was struggling with his young family 40 years before that.  I mentioned in a previous post the amazing feeling my wife and I had in the Far West grounds.  We were standing on hallowed ground - with the same exact feeling we would have in a dedicated building; more-so than what we felt in the then undedicated Nauvoo Temple.  The veil was very thin at that time - I had purchased the Southwest tickets for that trip that night wondering whether we should buy an extra seat for what would have been a one year old baby so we could enjoy the flight.  We ultimately decided we would hold him in our lap and pass him around between the other four of us to entertain him.  He was gone four hours later in the middle of the night - you never know what life will hand you, so make each moment count and love each other. 

Back on topic.  A very recent post talked about water coming from the Gulf of Mexico north and sweeping that area clean.  I reiterated my feelings of something I had said in a post a few years ago.  Also, in a post in the last couple of years, I also said that there is a possibility of that area taking a nuclear strike due to the high concentration of silos and munitions plants in Western Missouri.  There is also a very high concentration of "Bible Colleges" there in the Kansas City area.  I googled them one time and it was pretty much off the charts.  From what I remember, it felt like the bible colleges were as concentrated as chapels are in Utah.  One on every other block.... Not really - but ALOT of them.  The thing that took me there was wondering where a bible college was located that had produced some particularly vitreolic anti literature my "friend" gave me.  Sure enough, the hometown was Kansas City.  I then poked around on google earth and it seemed like there were just a ton of others - I had to wonder if they were also in the business of cranking out lies - thinking that they were doing God and mankind a favor.....  We will see how honest in heart some people are by whether or not they will not vote for Romney just because he is a Mormon.....

It is my opinion, that when the Saints are again driven from city to city, the Lord will again lower the boom as He did with the people of that area that were kind enough to drive the Saints out and steal their land in the 1830's.  Executive Order 10 of the Civil War (CLICK ON THIS TEXT) gave the same back - and then some.  Those who love and make a lie (2 Nephi 9:34) will suffer for what they have done in this life according to the Law of the Harvest.  It is quite merciful of Him, actually.  Better to suffer here in mortality for our indolence and slothfulness, than to pass thru as much distress as awaits us on the other side.  Justice demands it - the Savior gives the unrepentant as much of a break as they will handle (suffering in hopes of them softening their hearts thru their trials) without breaking them completely and being in despair to the point that they take their own lives and end their mortal probation prematurely without the chance of repentance.  The hope is that repentance will occur, but history shows that this is the exception, not the rule.  Thus, when the final displeasure of a Just God is handed down, the wicked, having been subjected to such hell will raise their fists to heaven, curse God and wish to die before they go to the place where their worm dies not.....  For the righteous who may get caught up in it, they will bear it patiently, and then go to their reward.

As we were leaving the grounds on Adam-Ondi-Ahman, there was a pair of guys in an old Chevy pickup with the hood up.  I pulled over and hopped out of our van to see if I could offer help - and had the Spirit tell me that they were not in need of help and to just move along quickly.  The look one of the guys gave me freaked me out.  I was glad to get out of there.  I wondered at that point what kind of people lived there besides those two.  As I said before, I do get impressions and shadows of what could be seen of the future - but never open visions crystal clear in their form.  My impression overall of the area there is that is it still laboring under a curse - just as much of upstate New York is, Boston/Salem, MA is, NYC is, Southern Louisiana is, many parts of the west coast are (Seattle, San Fransisco).  That curse I felt in Missouri, I was able to contrast with what we felt smack dab in the middle of our visit to what I felt in Far West.  My wife and I entered the gated area where the cornerstones were laid, walked in opposite directions around the enclosure and read the various panels - then returned to each other.  We both said the same thing when we got back to each other - "We are standing on holy ground" - as if we were in a dedicated temple.  The temple is there, we just could not see it.  Where the Saints are concentrated, I feel there is safety.  But the numbers and faithfulness has to be higher.

Recently, the Church has used funds from successful investments to build a massive planned community within that three county area - with plans for thousands of houses, shopping, parks, etc.  To me, that is controversial on one hand - and oh, so cool on the other.  When weighed against my understanding (which is miniscule), I wonder if that is the arm of flesh acting, or if there is truly a miracle at work in that.  I have to be honest and say I am skeptical.  Even the SLC temple will receive damage from the water that will sweep the SL valley.  If the Lord will not spare all things including His own House, how would we expect to be spared as individuals in our homes - even if our faith were strong or even mighty.  There are many organs of the Church which do many things that may or may not necessarily be inspired - as in, "Thus saith the Lord...."

So, after a long journey to get to my feelings, I would say I would never live there.  I would never live where there is a massive concentration of the Saints living in mediocrity.  While there are many who are striving in Utah for example, there were many striving in the land Bountiful who had to pass thru the same things the wicked did in order to get to the happy ending of seeing the Savior.  The purge affected all in order to effectively kill the parasite that had entrenched itself - the Gads of the day.  I have always sought the safety and companionship of the Saints, but only where I have felt a majority have been striving, otherwise, I feel as if I am setting myself up for failure.  I do not necessarily look at Church attendance, where that may be culturally accepted, I look at outward manifestations of evil things done in secret than cannot be hidden behind a faked smile, etc like teen pregnancy/abortion rates, divorce rates, plastic surgeries performed per 100,000, pornography usage, rape statistics (Serenitylala in an LDSFF post said that Utah county was leaps and bounds ahead of all of the other places she had interned at as she got her medical license - including Vegas!  YIKES!!).  And then there are other things like HT/VT/FHE stats that are telling about the health of the people.  I am an odds person - and I like to drive my chances to the highest level, whenever possible.   My visit to Missouri did not impress me - so I expect that those women who were moving toward the mountains (after Utah has been purged) will also be from that area - and the East coast.  After the initial purging (EQ and nasty biologics), there is safety in the mountains til after the war is over, the midwest is swept clean and survivors from the mountains begin to head back home to Independence, being further purified along the way.

I have chosen my beloved valley for a very good reason - and we seek to make it a piece of Zion with like-minded people who love the Lord until it is our turn and time to go.  I would have moved to Cardston directly if we had been directed there - or the other side of the Continental Divide.....  We have been planted where we are for now - until the Lord directs us to walk on foot across the mountains to begin the trek south and east.

I will share my daughter's dream later.