HOW ZION SHALL BE ESTABLISHED

One of the things that "Spencer" said to do in the audio of the previous blog post, was to go back and review the scriptural accounts of Zion - and what our role is in establishing it.  First, we have to find it in our hearts, then our families, then our extended circles at church and work until it becomes universal. 

That takes a righteous people with good leadership - who lead in a simple manner without the pride of the world.  If the people fall short, the leadership cannot lead - as agency must prevail in all things.  Rarely, does the leadership pull the people along by sheer force of celeb or charisma as Joseph Smith was largely able to do - it is usually the hearts and desires of the people who make Zion happen, which is why the initial attempt had failed in this last dispensation.  The only two cases I am aware of where the leadership was able to be of such a strength that the people fell in behind them and took it the distance - Melchizedek (Shem, son of Noah) , Enoch, the twelve in America under the leadership of Jesus.  The Old World apostles did not have it - though they made a valiant effort, there was so much Babylon ingrained in the people that rooting it out became problematic and then it got bogged down.  In describing some of the things I do at work that get tedious because of complexity, I call it "Running a marathon in quicksand......".  Notice the three cases where forming an enduring terrestrial society was possible on a telestial earth - it was all after the people could be hand selected, isolated, taught, and where a form of isolation could be maintained.  The attempt was made with Nephi's group - the isolation nearly complete and they had fantastic leadership, but they eventually stumbled and fell.  Even if they could have completely cut themselves off from their errant brethren, the Lamanites, which they did by dissociation, they still managed to mess things up.

In the case of Melchizedek (or Shem, as Joseph Smith taught in TotPJS), they were isolated, established a city of Peace (or Salem or Shalom) in the location where Jeru Salem is today (arguably quite isolated since the place the ark rested was in the "mountains (foothills) of Ararat", quite some distance to the north in present-day Turkey).  They were able to most likely draw on what they saw of the Enoch society that had been previously taken up into heaven in what I would assume was Shem's lifetime, and just before the flood.  I have not done the math - but assume that there was some interaction there - but that their mission was to stay and leave a posterity to inhabit the baptized earth and provide a Savior for the wicked who had rebelled in the days of Noah.  So Shem had a model to follow - one that was fresh in the memory.  He was able to resist the siren call of Babylon precisely because he, his wife and children were it - Japheth and Noah having gone East, Egyptus and Ham having gone further south in the north of Africa.  If only I could raise my kids in that pristine/clean environment - without picking up the filth in the babylon sea of trash we all swim in.

In Enoch's case, he was able to find a location where he could extract himself from the world (Mount Zion) and where the hordes of angry, bitter, sick and degenerate people could not molest him - much as one of those monastic fortresses on the top of the monolithic rock faces around the world, like these:

 MONOLITH MONASTERIES

While he could not be molested by the wicked around him, they could see his peoples' good works and they could choose to join him in his quest for the perfect society.  Many, having chosen Zion's hill, were also able to look down on the plain and were enticed away from their spiritual abode to join the masses below - some heeding the call of the music, dancing and revelry being played on the ancestor of our modern tuba, invented by Tubal Cain, the artificer of brass.  In that day, Zion was terrible because of her righteousness - the wicked dared not enter because any weapon formed to be used against her would not prosper - just as it will be in the Modern Zion once the curse is lifted from that area and beauty reigns once more, though the nations attempt it, they will be crushed in their vain attempts.  It was interesting to note that Spencer mentioned what I have always said would be the case (previous post) for those living approx below 2400' elevation in the mid-west area, they will be swept with the wicked when the city of Enoch and that portion of the earth that was taken up with her returns to the Gulf of Mexico area - sending the water sweeping north after the righteous have gathered to the foothills and everlasting hills - before the triumphant return to the millennial abode.  Someone in a comment on a previous post challenged me on that statement (and I do not mind that - this stuff is off the charts), but you now have a second witness.

The Lord will have a Zion people from the residue that remain of the righteous saints.  We will follow the type given in the Book of Mormon - where our perfection comes only after much tribulation, "if it so be by the things that they must suffer" - and I will say destruction.  Babylon will be destroyed around us - and there will be no more to follow - all worldly constructs having come to an end.  Most areas of the west where the Saints are gathered will be broken up - the entire face of the land.  According to Sols, the areas around Cardston will be relatively untouched, but there will be much destruction in most other areas, including the Kalispell area.  The amount will depend on the level of the Saints' collective righteousness (which is why its probably good to get that home teaching done.... our part towards making inroads to a Zion people).  I have tried to see it for my own family - but I cannot pierce that view of our future.  It might be de-motivating; we have a long way to go as a family unit.  After the destruction and thinning or cleansing, there will be the translation of the Book of Mormon by a Seer that will be raised up again to that end.  We have not had one in the Church who has exercised that gift since the 1830's.  That is a long dry spell - but then, the condemnation of not taking the Book of Mormon seriously has not been lifted yet - and it was given at that time, as was most of the bulk of the revelation at that time - and little since......  Once the reality settles in and we see similar destruction to what has occurred as recorded in 3 Nephi, we will say, "Truly this Book was written for our day.".  When we see what is restored when the Savior comes, and we begin to live the gospel fully as we have covenanted in the Temple - that the membership has rejected almost across the board in our past, we will see that 2 Nephi 28-31 was written for us.  Only in our extremity will we see that, only in our need will we feel after our Lord and become a truly consecrated people who follow His word with exactness because we see Him as He is and we will have a Zion heart.

So, that is our future - as depressing, and as glorious as it is.  It would have been far better had the people of the early Church not tossed out the Prophet or (fully heeded or been able to heed) his counsel so that he could have lived to 85 years of age.  We are on the alternate path that was laid down in Section 101 - there have always been two since the beginning of days, since Adam and Eve were innocent in the Garden of Eden; the easy road where the burden is light, and the school of hard knocks path where we have to stumble in the dark until we get it right.

Here is Section 101.  I hope you enjoy it and feel the spirit of Zion within it.  May we all do our part to redeem it:

1–8, The Saints are chastened and afflicted because of their transgressions; 9–15, The Lord’s indignation will fall upon the nations, but his people will be gathered and comforted; 16–21, Zion and her stakes will be established; 22–31, The nature of life during the Millennium is set forth; 32–42, The Saints will be blessed and rewarded then; 43–62, The parable of the nobleman and the olive trees signifies the troubles and eventual redemption of Zion; 63–75, The Saints are to continue gathering together; 76–80, The Lord established the Constitution of the United States; 81–101, The Saints are to importune for the redress of grievances, according to the parable of the woman and the unjust judge.

 1 Verily I say unto you, concerning your brethren who have been afflicted, and ^apersecuted, and ^bcast out from the land of their inheritance—

 2 I, the Lord, have suffered the ^aaffliction to come upon them, wherewith they have been afflicted, in consequence of their ^btransgressions;

 3 Yet I will own them, and they shall be ^amine in that day when I shall come to make up my jewels.

 4 Therefore, they must needs be ^achastened and tried, even as ^bAbraham, who was commanded to offer up his only son.

 5 For all those who will not ^aendure chastening, but ^bdeny me, cannot be sanctified.

 6 Behold, I say unto you, there were jarrings, and ^acontentions, and ^benvyings, and ^cstrifes, and ^dlustful and covetous desires among them; therefore by these things they polluted their inheritances.

 7 They were slow to ^ahearken unto the voice of the Lord their God; therefore, the Lord their God is slow to hearken unto their prayers, to answer them in the day of their trouble.

 8 In the day of their peace they esteemed lightly my counsel; but, in the day of their ^atrouble, of necessity they ^bfeel after me.

 9 Verily I say unto you, notwithstanding their sins, my bowels are filled with ^acompassion towards them. I will not utterly ^bcast them off; and in the day of ^cwrath I will remember mercy.

 10 I have sworn, and the decree hath gone forth by a former commandment which I have given unto you, that I would let fall the ^asword of mine indignation in behalf of my people; and even as I have said, it shall come to pass.

 11 Mine indignation is soon to be poured out without measure upon all nations; and this will I do when the cup of their iniquity is ^afull.

 12 And in that day all who are found upon the ^awatch-tower, or in other words, all mine Israel, shall be saved.

 13 And they that have been scattered shall be ^agathered.

 14 And all they who have ^amourned shall be comforted.

 15 And all they who have given their ^alives for my name shall be crowned.

 16 Therefore, let your hearts be comforted concerning Zion; for all flesh is in mine ^ahands; be still and ^bknow that I am God.

 17 ^aZion shall not be moved out of her place, notwithstanding her children are scattered.

 18 They that remain, and are pure in heart, shall return, and come to their ^ainheritances, they and their children, with ^bsongs of everlasting joy, to ^cbuild up the waste places of Zion—

 19 And all these things that the prophets might be fulfilled.

 20 And, behold, there is none other ^aplace appointed than that which I have appointed; neither shall there be any other place appointed than that which I have appointed, for the work of the gathering of my saints—

 21 Until the day cometh when there is found no more room for them; and then I have other places which I will appoint unto them, and they shall be called ^astakes, for the curtains or the strength of Zion.

 22 Behold, it is my will, that all they who call on my name, and worship me according to mine everlasting gospel, should ^agather together, and ^bstand in holy places;

 23 And ^aprepare for the revelation which is to come, when the ^bveil of the covering of my temple, in my tabernacle, which hideth the earth, shall be taken off, and all flesh shall ^csee me together.

 24 And every ^acorruptible thing, both of man, or of the beasts of the field, or of the fowls of the heavens, or of the fish of the sea, that dwells upon all the face of the earth, shall be ^bconsumed;

 25 And also that of element shall ^amelt with fervent heat; and all things shall become ^bnew, that my knowledge and ^cglory may dwell upon all the ^dearth.

 26 And in that day the enmity of man, and the ^aenmity of beasts, yea, the ^benmity of all flesh, shall cease from before my face.

 27 And in that day ^awhatsoever any man shall ask, it shall be given unto him.

 28 And in that day ^aSatan shall not have power to tempt any man.

 29 And there shall be no ^asorrow because there is no death.

 30 In that day an ^ainfant shall not die until he is old; and his life shall be as the age of a tree;

 31 And when he dies he shall not sleep, that is to say in the earth, but shall be ^achanged in the twinkling of an eye, and shall be ^bcaught up, and his rest shall be glorious.

 32 Yea, verily I say unto you, in that ^aday when the Lord shall come, he shall ^breveal all things—

 33 Things which have passed, and ^ahidden things which no man knew, things of the ^bearth, by which it was made, and the purpose and the end thereof—

 34 Things most precious, things that are above, and things that are beneath, things that are in the earth, and upon the earth, and in heaven.

 35 And all they who suffer ^apersecution for my name, and endure in faith, though they are called to lay down their lives for my ^bsake yet shall they partake of all this glory.

 36 Wherefore, ^afear not even unto death; for in this world your joy is not full, but in me your ^bjoy is full.

 37 Therefore, care not for the body, neither the life of the body; but care for the ^asoul, and for the life of the soul.

 38 And ^aseek the face of the Lord always, that in ^bpatience ye may possess your souls, and ye shall have eternal life.

 39 When men are called unto mine ^aeverlasting gospel, and covenant with an everlasting covenant, they are accounted as the ^bsalt of the earth and the savor of men;

 40 They are called to be the savor of men; therefore, if that ^asalt of the earth lose its savor, behold, it is thenceforth good for nothing only to be cast out and trodden under the feet of men.

 41 Behold, here is wisdom concerning the children of Zion, even many, but not all; they were found transgressors, therefore they must needs be ^achastened—

 42 He that ^aexalteth himself shall be abased, and he that ^babaseth himself shall be exalted.

 43 And now, I will show unto you a parable, that you may know my will concerning the ^aredemption of Zion.

 44 A certain ^anobleman had a spot of land, very choice; and he said unto his servants: Go ye unto my ^bvineyard, even upon this very choice piece of land, and plant twelve olive trees;

 45 And set ^awatchmen round about them, and build a tower, that one may overlook the land round about, to be a watchman upon the tower, that mine olive trees may not be broken down when the enemy shall come to spoil and take upon themselves the fruit of my vineyard.

 46 Now, the servants of the nobleman went and did as their lord commanded them, and planted the olive trees, and built a hedge round about, and set watchmen, and began to build a tower.

 47 And while they were yet laying the foundation thereof, they began to say among themselves: And what need hath my lord of this tower?

 48 And consulted for a long time, saying among themselves: What need hath my lord of this tower, seeing this is a time of peace?

 49 Might not this money be given to the exchangers? For there is no need of these things.

 50 And while they were at variance one with another they became very ^aslothful, and they hearkened not unto the commandments of their lord.

 51 And the enemy came by night, and broke down the ^ahedge; and the servants of the nobleman arose and were affrighted, and fled; and the enemy destroyed their works, and broke down the olive trees.

 52 Now, behold, the nobleman, the lord of the ^avineyard, called upon his servants, and said unto them, Why! what is the cause of this great evil?

 53 Ought ye not to have done even as I commanded you, and—after ye had planted the vineyard, and built the hedge round about, and set watchmen upon the walls thereof—built the tower also, and set a ^awatchman upon the tower, and watched for my vineyard, and not have fallen asleep, lest the enemy should come upon you?

 54 And behold, the watchman upon the tower would have seen the enemy while he was yet afar off; and then ye could have made ready and kept the enemy from breaking down the hedge thereof, and saved my vineyard from the hands of the destroyer.

 55 And the lord of the vineyard said unto one of his ^aservants: Go and gather together the residue of my servants, and take ^ball the strength of mine house, which are my warriors, my young men, and they that are of middle age also among all my servants, who are the strength of mine house, save those only whom I have appointed to tarry;

 56 And go ye straightway unto the land of my vineyard, and redeem my vineyard; for it is mine; I have bought it with money.

 57 Therefore, get ye straightway unto my land; break down the ^awalls of mine enemies; throw down their tower, and scatter their watchmen.

 58 And inasmuch as they gather together against you, ^aavenge me of mine enemies, that by and by I may come with the residue of mine house and possess the land.

 59 And the servant said unto his lord: When shall these things be?

 60 And he said unto his servant: When I will; go ye straightway, and do all things whatsoever I have commanded you;

 61 And this shall be my seal and ^ablessing upon you—a faithful and ^bwise steward in the midst of mine house, a ^cruler in my kingdom.

 62 And his servant went straightway, and did all things whatsoever his lord commanded him; and ^aafter many days all things were fulfilled.

 63 Again, verily I say unto you, I will show unto you wisdom in me concerning all the churches, inasmuch as they are ^awilling to be guided in a right and proper way for their salvation—

 64 That the work of the ^agathering together of my saints may continue, that I may build them up unto my name upon ^bholy places; for the time of ^charvest is come, and my word must needs be ^dfulfilled.

 65 Therefore, I must gather together my people, according to the parable of the wheat and the ^atares, that the wheat may be secured in the garners to possess eternal life, and be crowned with celestial ^bglory, when I shall come in the kingdom of my Father to reward every man according as his work shall be;

 66 While the ^atares shall be bound in bundles, and their bands made strong, that they may be ^bburned with unquenchable fire.

 67 Therefore, a commandment I give unto all the churches, that they shall continue to gather together unto the places which I have appointed.

 68 Nevertheless, as I have said unto you in a former commandment, let not your ^agathering be in haste, nor by flight; but let all things be prepared before you.

 69 And in order that all things be prepared before you, observe the commandment which I have given concerning these things—

 70 Which saith, or teacheth, to ^apurchase all the lands with money, which can be purchased for money, in the region round about the land which I have appointed to be the land of Zion, for the beginning of the gathering of my saints;

 71 All the land which can be purchased in Jackson county, and the counties round about, and leave the residue in mine hand.

 72 Now, verily I say unto you, let all the churches gather together all their moneys; let these things be done in their time, but not in ^ahaste; and observe to have all things prepared before you.

 73 And let honorable men be appointed, even ^awise men, and send them to purchase these lands.

 74 And the churches in the ^aeastern countries, when they are built up, if they will hearken unto this counsel they may buy lands and gather together upon them; and in this way they may establish Zion.

 75 There is even now already in store sufficient, yea, even an abundance, to redeem Zion, and establish her waste places, no more to be thrown down, were the churches, who call themselves after my name, ^awilling to hearken to my voice.

 76 And again I say unto you, those who have been scattered by their enemies, it is my will that they should continue to importune for redress, and redemption, by the hands of those who are placed as rulers and are in authority over you—

 77 According to the laws and ^aconstitution of the people, which I have suffered to be established, and should be maintained for the ^brights and protection of all flesh, according to just and holy principles;

 78 That every man may act in doctrine and principle pertaining to futurity, according to the moral ^aagency which I have given unto him, that every man may be ^baccountable for his own sins in the day of ^cjudgment.

 79 Therefore, it is not right that any man should be in ^abondage one to another.

 80 And for this purpose have I established the ^aConstitution of this land, by the hands of wise men whom I raised up unto this very purpose, and redeemed the land by the ^bshedding of blood.

 81 Now, unto what shall I liken the children of Zion? I will liken them unto the ^aparable of the woman and the unjust judge, for men ought always to ^bpray and not to faint, which saith—

 82 There was in a city a judge which feared not God, neither regarded man.

 83 And there was a widow in that city, and she came unto him, saying: Avenge me of mine adversary.

 84 And he would not for a while, but afterward he said within himself: Though I fear not God, nor regard man, yet because this widow troubleth me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.

 85 Thus will I liken the children of Zion.

 86 Let them importune at the ^afeet of the judge;

 87 And if he heed them not, let them importune at the feet of the governor;

 88 And if the governor heed them not, let them importune at the feet of the president;

 89 And if the president heed them not, then will the Lord arise and come forth out of his ^ahiding place, and in his fury vex the nation;

Quick side note - there is duality in Verse 89 depending on how bad the driving this time around is.  The Law of the Harvest is in effect.....

WE MUST SUFFER IN ORDER TO BECOME A ZION PEOPLE

I may be a hopeless romantic - too idealistic to function in today's fallen world - or I am a realist.

God WILL have a Zion people that will be caught up into the heavens to meet Him when he comes in glory. In my opinion, this people has gone "a whorin' after Babylon" just a little too much and is filled with pride to the point that the mighty gulf between where we are now as a people, and where we need to be as a people is just too much to deal with unless there is a radical intervention.

I think the Lord hinted where the path we are on would take us:

CLICK LINK

Surely, none of us wants to go down this path - but I am afraid the lot is cast and our future determined. Heaven help us all.

A PICTURE OF ELENIN FROM CHANDRA, OUR ORBITING X-RAY OBSERVATORY

ELENIN SHOWS AT LEAST TWO ORBITERS (I BELIEVE FOUR SHOW UP - AND A BUNCH OF JUNK SHE PICKED UP ON HER WAY THRU THE ASTEROID BELT) AROUND HER. VERY INTERESTING STUFF, INDEED!

CLICK FOR LINK

THE DOCTRINAL IMPLICATIONS ARE HUGE....

LEAVING THE WEST COAST

Well, I do not want to freak folks out if you live on the West coast - but we are evacuating within three month's time.

I can't begin to say how weird this is for me to finally arrive here. It has been a 12 year journey of small steps to get to this point. It has been such a gradual thing that none of my family is resisting or upset about it. In fact, they were the ones that suggested it and we are just beginning to gel a timeline and what we will need to do to have every needful thing in order.

Right now, it will just be the family while I remain behind to take care of details here and keep working my job up until the time is right. In the event that Elenin becomes a major issue (I am 95% sure it will be, as described in my previous posts), then we will not want to be anywhere near this area. I spent my lunch hour with my co-worker who I featured on this blog who was miraculously healed by the three nephites who twice "went to see God". He says that what he saw while he was over there was the Pacific sloshing around in the Okanogan valley below his mountain-top retreat that he built after he came back, made his Paul-like change in his life and began his preparations. He has also been looking for this exact event to come about. I still cannot find the capacity in my comprehension to understand or begin to fathom the magnitude of what is coming - and I really do try to get it. I suppose it is much like the City of Enoch coming down out of heaven - just simply impossible to visualize (or comprehend from a physical perspective) - so I take it simply on faith and understand that I do simply do not comprehend all things.

So how do we know that it will be an issue to be concerned about? Well, we will continue to see things like the record flooding on the Mississippi into the next several weeks, the sun rising two days later than normal in the Northern regions, and monster manifestations in the sun like this one - never before seen....:

MASSIVE CME ON SOLAR SURFACE

The events will begin to pick up again in the next three weeks with a steady asymptotic crescendo arriving the end of Sept through mid November. As the one previous commentator said, "In a year, it will just be cleanup." When people begin to sense things are getting untenable, it will be too late to act.

I always thought we (as a people were not at "that point"). I guess, if this does go down, then my perceptions were just a little off. The folks in Jerusalem had no clue before their fate was sealed several times in a row. Lehi had his game on, and he and his family did not have to suffer. The rest were just fodder. Who knew?? I thought we would see a little more persecution over gay unions, etc.

BUILDING UP ZION - THE WORDS OF MODERN PROPHETS

From an old Mission Companion:

LINK

This is our generation. Rise up and be a Zion people. Let us be worthy of it. The thing that will cause Zion to be a great fear to all the wicked of the world will be due to the overwhelming righteousness of the people who love her and who live in her bosom. Truly one heart and one mind - having the best interests of your neighbor burning within your heart even over your own. When that desire burns in your own heart you then become worthy to come out of Babylon and leave the unclean things of the world - lust, greed, power, having more than sufficient for your own needs, and having something for nothing that the liberal ideology teaches to the world and which has caused our financial and social ruin. All of these things will be done away with and, in our dire circumstances that are about to come to pass shortly (within our lifetimes), we will be welded into that people who will be a light on a hill that cannot be hid. One that the honest in heart will seek out as the tares are prepared for the burning in Babylon. Where is your heart - what do you seek? You hold your future destiny in your very hands. You make the choice for a glorious future or an inutterable horror.

Check out his other videos. They are world-class. I am pleased to say I know this man.

ELIZA R. SNOW - HOW THE EVERLASTING HILLS SHALL TREMBLE

Alot of the time we just get things line upon line, here a little, there a little on this fascinating journey we call life. The more our faith increases - and our ability to assimilate what we are given grows - the faster it comes. When we say, "It is enough", the drought of knowledge and revelatory silence can be deafening. Just try it sometime (not!).

When I was at my Dad's last spring following my wife's g-ma's funeral, and I mentioned something about this mystifying Eliza R. Snow hymn from an old hymnal I had read about. My Dad's wife ran off and came out later toting this 1895 Hymnal. It took us an hour to go thru it (no index) and I found the jewel which I had been seeking for many a year. I was nearly jumping up and down - I had sourced this mysterious hymn where one of the Prophet's wives (who I am sure regularly shared pillow talk - and was actually capable of comprehending what he had to say) wrote the truth about our planet's past and its future. This is one of the greatest mysteries that nails down what the heck happened to the ten tribes. It also nails down so many details of this earth's history that modern science is just in the nascent stages of comprehending. Enjoy!



CLICK TO ENLARGE

I pretty much idolize this woman - excellent enough that she could hang with Joseph through anything. Most people could not take the mind-bending stuff he was exposed to and of all the things he yearned for in this life - was to have someone that could hang with him and go where he could go without having to throttle back or water it down. He had so much meat to share having had the visions of the eternities opened to him - and most were content to handle just skim milk, or less.

I have two daughters who were named after her (Eliza Suzanne and Annelise). I hope to be able to spotlight more of Eliza's stuff as time goes on.

Here is a great post that I ran into that is a synopsis of her life:

ELIZA ROXCY SNOW

CITY OF ENOCH AND THE NEW JERUSALEM - PHYSICS DEFYING PHENOMENON

WHEN YOU CONSIDER THAT SOON THE "SAINTS WILL BE CAUGHT UP TO MEET THE SAVIOR" WHEN HE COMES ALONG WITH THE CITY OF THE NEW JERUSALEM COMING DOWN OUT OF HEAVEN, WE ARE IN FOR SOME PHYSICS BENDING MOMENTS IN THE NEXT FEW DECADES.

AN INTERESTING JOSEPH SMITH QUOTE OF THE CITY OF ENOCH FROM THE BLOG OF ONE OF MY FAVORITE AUTHORS, LARSEN:

The Babel planet

Among his collected discourses is a remarkable allusion to Joseph Smith’s belief that Zion once hovered above the Earth. Of course, things that linger in Earth’s heavens are commonly called planets and moons.
Elder Whitney wrote:

It has been taught that it was the object of the people who built the Tower of Babel to reach heaven, to attain to one of the starry planets, one of the heavenly bodies. This sounds, indeed, like a fairy tale ... that they could actually reach the sun, moon, or one of the stars, simply by piling brick upon brick and stone upon stone. But the Prophet Joseph Smith, whose mission it was to shed light upon the darkness of this generation, is said to have declared that it was not their intention to reach heaven, but to reach Zion, which was then suspended in mid-air, between heaven and earth, or at such a height as to render the project feasible. This certainly is more reasonable.” Collected Discourses, Vol.1, p. 359.)

Such a statement by a general authority must be taken seriously. In fact, when considered in light of Dibble’s illustration and Talbott’s Polar Configuration thesis, it makes perfect sense. If the Dibble drawing represents Joseph’s belief regarding the positioning of planets with respect to the Earth anciently, then he would have naturally envisioned that the Tower of Babel was constructed to reach observable orbs in close proximity. As a result, the ancients would have perceived the project as feasible.

Using the gospel taught by the prophet as a yardstick, the novel view of Earth’s ancient past proposed by Talbott et al becomes logical and understandable, no matter how science may view it. The common axis of rotation depicted by Joseph Smith in the Dibble illustration means that the fundamental tenet of Talbott’s thesis is certainly correct: Saturn and its companion planets appeared to hover in a fixed position in the heavens above Earth’s northern horizon due to that unique alignment.

As Elder Whitney noted learning from the prophet, the Babylonians were not trying to reach some distant planet, moon, sun or star, which all appear to steadily, unceasingly traverse the arch of the heavens. They knew that reaching one of those moving, distant bodies was futile. On the other hand, a planet or cluster of planets that remained fixed in the heavens presented an entirely different prospect: It appeared close enough to be reachable and was fixed to one point in the sky. This is the implication of Elder Whitney’s observation when taken together with the Dibble drawing and Talbott’s thesis.

Thus, disparate pieces of evidence come together to further corroborate and substantiate the premise that Joseph Smith believed that the Earth was once part of a congregation of planets.

An interesting evening with the prophet

There is one more anecdotal account that sheds still more light on this confluence of ideas. Taken from a book by Robert W. Smith called, Scriptural and Secular Prophecies Pertaining to The Last Days, this account attributes some remarkable statements to the prophet, Joseph Smith. It purports to be an interview with Homer M. Brown, a past Patriarch of the Granite, Utah, Stake and grandson of Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Brown, the principles in the story.

In that interview, Patriarch Brown explains that the setting for his grandparents’ story is their home in Nauvoo before the prophet was martyred and the Saints were forced to move West. According to the account, one evening Joseph Smith came to his grandparents’ door seeking refuge, saying, “Brother Brown, can you keep me overnight? The mobs are after me.” He was granted asylum and offered a meal, which he accepted.

In the gospel discussion that followed, Bro. Brown inquired of the prophet as to the whereabouts of the Lost Tribes of Israel. Joseph Smith’s response was to take them outside. “Come to the door and I will show you,” he said. “Come on, Sister Brown, I want you both to see.”

According to the account, the reason Joseph took them out into the starlit night was to find Polaris, the North Star.

“Brother Brown, can you show me the Polar Star?”

“Yes, sir,” responded Brother Brown, pointing to the North Star. “There it is.”

“Yes, I know,” said the Prophet, “but which one? There are a lot of stars there.”

“Can you see the points of the Dipper?” asked Brother Brown.

The Prophet answered, “Yes.”

“Well,” he said, pointing up to the largest star, “trace the pointers. That is the North Star.”

“You are correct,” the Prophet answered. (Scriptural and Secular Prophecies Pertaining to The Last Days, pp. 89, 90.)

One is compelled to ask why the Prophet insisted that the Browns not only locate the North Star but that they do so using the “Dipper,” the constellation Ursa Major, to find it? What made stargazing so important in the Prophet’s mind that he would risk exposure in the midst of his flight from the mob by going out-of-doors with the Browns — even if only momentarily? Obviously, he must have felt it was a vital point to make in his attempt to answer Brother Brown’s question. But, what made it so important?

Curiously, the answer to those questions is never provided. While the prophet went on to reveal many vital and crucial concepts on that occasion, according to the account as we have it, the concept of locating the North Star is never revisited. Patriarch Brown never explained why Joseph sought to make that point.

However, a clue to why may be found in a place we might never expect to look — high up on the west wall of the Salt Lake Temple.


Many visitors to Temple Square over the years have gazed up at the temple and wondered, no doubt, why the stars of the constellation Ursa Major, the Bear or the Big Dipper are etched there in stone. Certainly, those icons were not placed on that sacred edifice by chance or whimsy.

A moment of deliberation reveals that those mute temple stones echo the concept that Joseph Smith tried to teach to the Browns on that evening in Nauvoo. They involve the same celestial bodies, Polaris and Ursa Major, and are an iconic representation of that same concept he tried to impress upon the Browns.

The presence of that illustration on the Salt Lake Temple allows us to infer that the Browns’ account is accurate and that Joseph must have taught the same concepts to others. We can also infer that, without a doubt, it was Joseph Smith who passed on the relevance and meaning of these astronomical elements to Brigham Young, Truman O. Angel and Orson Pratt, those responsible for the iconography of the Salt Lake Temple. Certainly Pres. Young, the prophet who oversaw the construction of the Salt Lake Temple, felt they were important enough to include them in the iconography of that sacred edifice.

But why?

With these two correlations in evidence — the Brown account and the temple icons — we are still left with the same question. Why were these stars important to a Prophet of God? What significance do they have to the Prophet’s teaching of the restored gospel?

CHURCH TALK ON BEING ONE - THE CITY OF ENOCH

THIS WAS GIVEN THE SUNDAY AFTER THANKSGIVING. I WAS PINCH HITTING FOR SOMEONE THAT CANCELLED AT THE LAST MINUTE SO THIS WAS THROWN TOGETHER IN AROUND 2 HOURS:

HOW EACH MEMBER IS ESSENTIAL TO THE FUNCTION OF THE BODY OF CHRIST
THANKS FOR OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK…..
BRO. FOETZ, I SAW SANTA OUT FRIDAY SHOPPING AND I KNOW WHAT YOUR KIDS ARE GETTING FOR CHRISTMAS. BETTER BE NICE OR THEY WILL FIND OUT….
THE TOPIC OF MY TALK IS (ABOVE)….
THIS TOPIC IS ESSENTIAL TO THE MISSION STATEMENT OF GOD REGARDING HIS CHILDREN.
MOST ORGANIZATIONS HAVE A MISSION STATEMENT THAT IS POUNDED HOME SO THAT PEOPLE STAY ON A SINGLE TRACK AND ARE UNIFIED IN THEIR GOAL. BOEING’S MISSION STATEMENT IS TO PRODUCE A WORLD-CLASS PRODUCT IN A COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT…
GOD’S MISSION STATEMENT FOR HIS CHILDREN IS FOUND IN MOSES 1:39, AS FOLLOWS: BEHOLD, THIS IS MY WORK AND MY GLORY, TO BRING TO PASS THE IMMORTALITY AND ETERNAL LIFE OF MAN.”
I HOPE TO BE ABLE TO DESCRIBE WHAT IT IS LIKE TO HAVE HEAVEN ON EARTH AND HOW GOD DEEMS ALL OF US AN ESSENTIAL PART OF THAT PROCESS AND EQUATION FOR GOOD LIVING.
FIRST WE, AS CHILDREN OF GOD, HAVE TO FIND OUR ‘NICHE” AND PURPOSE FOR BEING HERE IN THIS LIFE.
SECOND, ONCE WE HAVE ESTABLISHED HOW WE CAN BLESS THE LIVES OF OTHERS, WE NEED TO DO THAT.
THIRDLY, WE AS A GROUP OF PEOPLE THEN NEED TO TAKE IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL SO THAT WE CAN MOVE UP AND RECEIVE THE BLESSINGS OF LIVING IN A TRUE ZION SOCIETY.
I WILL START WITH THE DESSERT (THE GOOD STUFF) OF THE THIRD THING (THE PROMISE WE HAVE AND THEN WORK BACKWARDS TO THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF THAT). SOMETIMES WE HAVE TO HAVE THE GOAL IN FRONT OF US FOR THE HARD WORK TO MAKE SENSE FOR US.
WHAT IS THE VISION OF EACH OF US NEEDS TO HAVE TO REACH A LOFTY GOAL OF A TRUE ZION SOCIETY. FIRST OF ALL, WE HAVE TO DISCOVER WHAT HAS BEEN DONE SUCCESSFULLY IN THE PREVIOUS 6 THOUSAND YEARS OF THIS EARTH’S HISTORY. WE HAVE AT LEAST TWO WELL-RECORDED ERAS OF TIME WHEN GOD’S PEOPLE WERE ABLE TO GET IT TOGETHER SUFFICIENTLY TO MAKE SOCIETY WORK IN HEAVEN’S IMAGE. HONORABLE MENTION GOES TO MELCHIZEDEK AND THE INHABITANTS OF SALEM, THERE WAS AN ATTEMPT BY THE ANCIENT SAINTS OF THE OLD WORLD RIGHT AFTER CHRIST’S CRUCIFIXION AND AN ATTEMPT BY THE MODERN SAINTS TO LIVE THE LAW OF CONSECRATION (ALL THINGS WERE HAD COMMON AMONG THE PEOPLE) AND THUS TAKE THEM TOWARD A ZION SOCIETY.
MOSES 7:18 SAYS “AND THE LORD CALLED HIS PEOPLE ZION, BECAUSE THEY WERE OF ONE HEART AND ONE MIND, AND DWELT IN RIGHTEOUSNESS; AND THERE WAS NO POVERTY AMONG THEM.”
I INTERJECT HERE THAT THERE ARE MANY PEOPLE IN THIS LAND AND ESPECIALLY IN THIS CHURCH WHO BELIEVE SOCIALISM IS THE MODERN ANSWER TO THE LAW OF CONSECRATION. THEY ARE IN GRAVE ERROR AND NEED TO BECOME MORE FULLY ACQUAINTED WITH GOD’S WORD ABOUT A ZION SOCIETY. THIS SOCIETY ONLY COMES ABOUT BY THE PRINCIPLE OF CONSECRATION AND NOT BY FORCE OR COERCION, WHICH IS “THE” TOOL OF THE ADVERSARY.
IN THE SOCIALISTIC MODEL, PEOPLE ARE FORCED UNDER DURESS OF POSSIBLE CONFISCATION AND IMPRISONMENT TO IMPART OF THEIR SUBSTANCE FOR THE GOOD OF SOCIETY. IN GOD’S MODEL, THERE IS NOTHING DONE, BUT IT IS DONE BY INVITATION BY ONE WHO HAS BEEN CHOSEN BY REVELATION AND THE INVITATION TO PARTICIPATE IS EXTENDED WITHOUT ANY FORCE, COERCION OR BACKLASH FOR NON-PARTICIPATION. THESE ARE PRINCIPLES OF HEAVEN. FOR EVERY PRINCIPLE OF HEAVEN, THE DEVIL AND HIS MINIONS SET UP COUNTERFEITS TO CONFUSE AND DESTROY GOOD PRINCIPLE. SOCIALISM AND ITS OVERBEARING COUSIN, COMMUNISM ARE THOSE VERY COUNTERFEITS AND LEAD TO UNDERMINE GOOD PRINCIPLE. DO NOT BE DECEIVED BY THEM.
IF YOU HAVE FURTHER QUESTIONS, PLEASE COME SEE ME AFTERWARD.
ONE OF THE GREAT RECORDINGS OF A ZION SOCIETY WAS IN THE AMERICAS AFTER THE GREAT DESTRUCTION AT CHRIST’S FIRST COMING AND THE OTHER ONE THAT GIVES US A MORE FULL ACCOUNT WAS THE CITY OF ENOCH – THE CITY THAT WAS TAKEN COMPLETELY INTO HEAVEN, ALL IT’S MEMBERS AND THE CITY AND EVEN THE EARTH THAT THE CITY WAS BUILT UPON. THEY ARRIVED AT THIS LOFTY POINT PARTLY BECAUSE THEY WERE FORCED TO BY CIRCUMSTANCE. THINGS WERE SO BAD ON THE OUTSIDE THAT THOSE WHO CONGREGATED TOGETHER DID SO AS A PROTECTION (BOTH PHYSICAL AND MOSTLY SPIRITUAL).
TODAY, MOST OF US ARE HERE IN THIS MEETING IN A GROUP AS A HEDGE AGAINST THE SPIRITUAL DARKNESS THAT SURROUNDS US WHERE WE CAN FEEL SAFE ESPOUSING VALUES OF SANCTITY OF LIFE, OF MARRIAGE BETWEEN ON MAN AND ONE WOMAN, AND WHERE WE ARE TAUGHT GOOD PRINCIPLE AND TO LIVE BY IT. OTHERS WILL BE ATTRACTED TO THE THINGS OF THE WORLD AND WILL NOT CARE TO WASTE THEIR TIME OR ENERGY ON WHAT THEY VIEW AS TRIVIAL PURSUITS. WE CONSTANTLY ARE JUDGING OURSELVES BY HOW WE CHOOSE TO SPEND OUR TIME AND BY WHAT THINGS WE PUT VALUE UPON. IN THE END, IT IS NOT GOD, OUR LOVING FATHER WHO WILL CONDEMN US, BUT INDEED OUR OWN MEMORIES AND CONSCIENCES THAT WILL SELL US DOWN THE ROAD.
THE PEOPLE IN ENOCH’S DAY WORKED HARD AND EVERY ONE PITCHED IN AND WORKED HARD INCLUDING BEING PART OF THE MILITARY TO FEND OFF THE ONSLAUGHTS OF THE WICKED THAT SURROUNDED THEM BELOW ON THE PLAIN BELOW MOUNT ZION. EACH MEMBER OF THAT SOCIETY KNEW THAT IF THEY DID NOT CONTRIBUTE TO THE PRODUCTION OF THAT GROUP, THAT THE OTHERS WHO DID WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO CARRY THE BURDEN ALONE AND THUS THE WHOLE SOCIETY WOULD COLLAPSE AND THEY WOULD BE THRUST INTO THE ARMS OF THOSE WHO DID NOT HAVE THEIR BEST INTERESTS IN MIND. THEIR PHYSICAL AND SPIRITUAL DESTRUCTION WOULD BE COMPLETE. LET US CONSIDER HOW WE, AS THE MODERN BODY OF CHRIST, MIGHT BE IN THE SAME SITUATION IF WE DO NOT LIKEWISE ALL PITCH IN TO HEDGE AGAINST THE SPIRITUAL DECLINE AROUND US. EACH PERSON EXTENDED A CALLING, EACH PERSON ACCEPTING IN A COVENANT MANNER (EVEN IF WE DO NOT THINK WE HAVE THE CAPACITY TO SUCCEED AT IT), AND EACH PERSON ADDING THEIR BIT OF TALENT AND GOODNESS TO THE WHOLE - ALL PEOPLE BEING UNIFIED IN ONE BODY.
“And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.” (Mark 3:24–25.)
However great the need may be for unity within nations, there is even greater need for harmony and interdependence within the worldwide Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. May I read from what a modern-day prophet referred to as “the greatest prayer ever uttered in this world”? It is recorded by John in impressive detail as he hears it fall from the lips of the Son of God at the close of the evening, after he and his apostles had dined together for the last time:
“Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee. …
“I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word. …
“I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. …
“Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are. …
“As thou has sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. …
“Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;
“That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
“And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one.” (See John 17.)
Within this Church there is a constant need for unity, for if we are not one, we are not his. (See D&C 38:27.) We are truly dependent on each other, “and the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you.” (1 Cor. 12:21.) Nor can the North Americans say to the Asians, nor the Europeans to the islanders of the sea, “I have no need of thee.” No, in this church we have need of every member, and we pray, as did Paul when he wrote to the church in Corinth, “that there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another.
“And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it.” (1 Cor. 12:25–26.)
Paul’s words are as applicable to us today as they were to the saints at Corinth.
It is unity and oneness that has thus far enabled us to bear our testimony around the globe, bringing forward tens of thousands of missionaries to do their part. More must be done. These great purposes of the Lord could not have been achieved with dissension or jealousy or selfishness (WHAT BISHOP WAS TALKING ABOUT THE LAST FEW WEEKS – WE MUST STRIP OURSELVES OF ALL PRIDE). Our ideas may not always be quite like those who preside in authority over us, but this is the Lord’s church and he will bless each of us as we cast off pride, pray for strength, and contribute to the good of the whole.
By the same token, I know of no stronger weapons in the hands of the adversary against any group of men or women in this church than the weapons of divisiveness, faultfinding, and antagonism. In a difficult period of the Church’s history, the Prophet Joseph Smith spoke of the opposition which can hinder the Church when we are not filled with the spirit of support and helpfulness.
JOSEPH SMITH TALKING ON THIS SUBJECT SAID THE FOLLOWING:
“The cloud that has been hanging over us,” he said, “has burst with blessings on our heads, and Satan has been foiled in his attempts to destroy me and the Church by causing jealousies to arise in the hearts of some of the brethren; and I thank my heavenly Father for the union and harmony which now prevail in the Church.” (History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2:355.)
Of course, the key to a unified church is a unified soul—one that is at peace with itself and not given to inner conflicts and tensions. So much in our world is calculated to destroy that personal peace through sins and temptations of a thousand kinds. We pray that the lives of the Saints will be lived in harmony with the ideal set before us by Jesus of Nazareth.
We pray that Satan’s efforts will be thwarted, that personal lives can be peaceful and calm, that families can be close and concerned with every member, that wards and stakes, branches and districts can form the great body of Christ, meeting every need, soothing every hurt, healing every wound until the whole world, as Nephi pleaded, will “press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. …
WE ACHIEVE PERSONAL PEACE AT HOME, THEN IN THE WARD FAMILY, THEN IN OUR COMMUNITIES, THEN OUR COUNTRY, THEN THE ENTIRE HUMAN FAMILY. IS IT NO WONDER THAT SATAN’S FIRST LINE OF ATTACK IS AIMED AT THE FAMILY AND THE SANCTITY OF MARRIAGE. ANY INDIVIDUAL OR INSTITUTION THAT SEEKS TO UNDERMINE EITHER OF THOSE SACRED UNITS SHOULD BE PUT DOWN IMMEDIATELY OR WE ARE NOT THE SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF GOD, BUT BASTARD CHILDREN AND NOT A FRIEND OF TRUTH.
In 1 Corinthians chapter 12, the Apostle Paul emphasizes that every member is needed to help successfully establish the Church:
“For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. …
“For the body is not one member, but many. …
“And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you. …
“Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.
“And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues” (1 Cor. 12:12, 14, 21, 27–28).
MY DAD HAD A BAD ACCIDENT IN THE EARLY 1940’S AND LOST THE USE OF ONE EYE AND ALMOST THE OTHER. BUT THROUGH A SERIES OF MIRACLES HE GOT ENOUGH SIGHT BACK TO GO ON A MISSION, ETC..
RECENTLY, HE LOST THE SIGHT IN HIS LAST EYE AND HAD TO HAVE A CORNEAL TRANSPLANT WHICH ONLY TOOK ON THE FOURTH AND LAST TRY.
HE IS ONE THAT CAN TRULY SAY THAT HE KNOWS THE NEED OF EVERY BODY PART.
Each member of the Church has been blessed with special gifts or talents. Just think how difficult it would be for a bishop or branch president to successfully staff a ward or branch if everyone had the same talents. A great youth leader may have different talents than the choir director, but both are important to the overall well-being of the ward or branch. Just as each part of the body is essential to the health and strength of the whole body, each member is essential to the health and strength of the ward or branch.
When members willingly donate their time and talents to the Church, their testimonies grow and their spiritual lives are strengthened. In various locations throughout the Church, I have observed members’ lives change as they become fully engaged in helping to establish the Church.

Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 3:9 [1 Cor. 3:9], “For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.” Similarly, Peter taught, “Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house … to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ” (1 Pet. 2:5). Let us individually commit to do our part in building up His Church. In the words of a great modern prophet, Brigham Young (1801–77), “When we conclude to make a Zion we will make it, and this work commences in the heart of each person.” 1

Becoming indifferent to our need for others is a common snare. It was this very danger Paul warned about in his letter to the early saints of Corinth. Using Christ’s body to represent the church, Paul taught that the Spirit gave to each member separate gifts, that each member of the church thereby might contribute to the well-being of the whole body of the church. But he also carefully emphasized that this interdependency was given so that each member would see and acknowledge his need for every other member:
“And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you.” (1 Cor. 12:21.)
Out of such recognition of need, the Lord intended that there should come to all a greater bond of love:
“That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another.
“And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it.
“Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.” (1 Cor. 12:25–27.)
So that we might be humbled and that the bonds of love might be stronger among us, we ought to accept as necessary to our lives the dual experiences of “administering” and of “being administered to.”
Beautiful examples of these dual elements are found in every area of the gospel. The ordinances of the priesthood have them—in “being baptized” and in “baptizing,” in “being ordained” and in “ordaining.” They are found in the manner in which the gospel was spread upon the earth, for the Lord deliberately and purposely established that the gospel would first go to the Jews, who would then administer it to the Gentiles. But in the latter days, the pattern has reversed. The Gentiles now serve the Jews in regard to Christ’s words, and the Jews must be the receivers.

When Malachi asked if any man would rob God, he referred to not paying tithing. But there is another way to rob God. Each worthy individual mirrors a portion of the glory of God through some gift or blessing. When we refuse what others have to offer us, we are in essence denying that portion of God’s glory that their gift reflects. When we refuse his servants, we also refuse him, regardless of whether the blessing offered is spiritual or material.
How much wiser we would be to hearken sincerely to the counsel of Paul: to think of the Church as Christ’s body, to think of each member as a vital functioning part of that body, and then to earnestly realize of each member, “Head, I have need of you. Feet, I have need of you. Eyes, I have need of you. Hands, I have need of you. …”
In his analogy, Paul made special mention of:
—Members “which seem to be more feeble.” He stated that they “are necessary.” (1 Cor. 12:22; italics added.)
—Members “which we think to be less honourable.” Such, he wrote, were to receive “more abundant honour.” (1 Cor. 12:23; italics added.)
—Members of the body referred to as “our uncomely parts” who were to receive “more abundant comeliness.” (1 Cor. 12:23.)
Listen to Paul’s instructive words: “God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honour to that part which lacked:
That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another.
“And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it.” (1 Cor. 12:24–26.)
Few words found in the scriptures are more poignant than these: “I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me: refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul.” (Ps. 142:4.) Do any members of the Church feel that they are unknown and uncared for? Have we turned our faces away from some whose lives appear less than Saintly?
To build unity we must avoid contention by controlling our own words as well as rumor, gossip, accusation, and criticism. The seven evils the Lord “hates” all seem to be associated with the failure to control our thoughts and words. These are “a proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren” (Prov. 6:17–19). We must be constantly alert to and eliminate such behavior among us.
MAY EACH OF US CONTRIBUTE TO THE BUILDING OF THE BODY OF CHRIST UNTIL WE ALL COME TOGETHER IN THE PERFECT UNITY OF FAITH, AND IN SO DOING, BECOME A ZION SOCIETY THAT WILL BE WORTHY OF BEING PART OF THE GREAT ZION SOCIETY THAT CHRIST ACCEPTS AT HIS COMING. MAY WE NOT BE AMONG THOSE, AS IN THE CITY OF ENOCH WHO STAND WITHOUT THE GATE AND DO NOT CONTRIBUTE TO THE GREAT SOCIETY WHOSE ARCHITECT AND FOUNDER IS CHRIST.

MAY WE BE HIS PEOPLE AS WE EMULATE HIS LIFE OF SERVICE IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST, OUR SAVIOR, AMEN.

HERE IS A GREAT TALK BY PRESIDENT EZRA TAFT BENSON THAT BACKS UP THE ZION VS. SOCIALISM GARBAGE THAT I CONSTANTLY HAVE TO FIGHT IN THE CHURCH:


A Vision and a Hope for the Youth of Zion

EZRA TAFT BENSON

Ezra Taft Benson was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when this devotional
address was given at�Brigham Young University on 12 April 1977.

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My beloved brethren and sisters, humbly and gratefully I stand before you this morning and seek an interest in your faith and prayers that the message that I have may be accompanied by the Spirit. It is a wonderful sight that I view here this morning. It is good to be with you, my beloved young friends, distinguished members of the faculty, and special guests.

My wife and I have just returned from a glorious weekend at St. George, where I had the privilege of addressing three overflow audiences, two in the largest auditorium they have at Dixie College and made up largely of young people, and one on the fourth floor of the temple in a Solemn Assembly. We were honoring the centennial of the dedication of the St. George Temple, the first one to be erected in the western part of the country. We are still basking in the aftermath of another great general conference of the Church. Never in my memory have we had more explicit warnings from prophets of God; and nowhere in the world are there men better prepared or more obligated to issue such warnings.

The Celestial Kingdom

Today I want to discuss some principles and laws of the celestial kingdom, and some of the fallacies of their perverted counterfeits in the world. I share with you a vision of your eternal possibilities. The celestial kingdom, residence of God, our Eternal Father, is comprised of men and women who have complied with divine law and who were not deceived by the craftiness of men or the doctrines of devils. They are just men made perfect through the mediation and atonement of Jesus Christ (see D&C 76:69). They are obedient to celestial law; for, as the Lord has said, he who is not able to abide the law of a celestial kingdom cannot abide a celestial glory (D&C 88:22).

Celestial laws, embodied in certain ordinances belonging to the Church of Jesus Christ, are complied with by voluntary covenants. The laws are spiritual. Thus, our Father in Heaven has ordained certain holy sanctuaries, called temples, in which these laws may be fully explained, the laws include the law of obedience and sacrifice, the law of the gospel, the law of chastity, and the law of consecration.

I want to speak more particularly this morning about this one law--the law of consecration. It is that one's time, talents, strength, property, and money are given up to the Lord for the express purpose of building up the kingdom of God and establishing Zion on the earth. Or, as we read in Doctrine and Covenants 105:5, "Zion cannot be built up unless it is by the principles of the law of the celestial kingdom."

Much has been written about this law and its attempted implementations in the early history of the Church; and much deception has taken root, even among some of our members, because of misinformed opinion or misguided interpretations. Some view it as merely an economic alternative to capitalism or the free enterprise system, others as an outgrowth of early communal experiments in America. Such a view is not only shortsighted but tends to diminish in importance a binding requirement for entrance into the celestial kingdom. The law of consecration is a celestial law, not an economic experiment.

The vehicle for implementing the law of consecration is the united order. The basic principle underlying the united order is that everything we have belongs to the Lord; and, therefore, the Lord may call upon us for any and all of our property, because it belongs to him. The united order was entered by "a covenant and a deed which cannot be broken" (D&C 42:30), according to the scriptures. In other words, an individual conveys his titles to all his property to the Church through the bishop. The property becomes the property of the Church. You read about this in the forty-second section of the Doctrine and Covenants.

The bishop then deeds back to the consecrator by legal instrument the amount of personal property required by the individual for the support of himself and his family, as the Lord declares, "according to his circumstances and his wants and needs" (D&C 51:3). This becomes the private, personal property of the individual to develop as he sees fit. It is his stewardship. When an individual produces a profit or surplus more than is needful for the support of himself and his family, the surplus is then placed in the bishops storehouse to administer to the poor and the needy. Under the united order, idleness has no place, and greed, selfishness, and covetousness are condemned. The united order may therefore operate with only a righteous people.

It has been erroneously concluded by some that the united order is both communal and communistic in theory and practice because the revelations speak of equality. Equality under the united order is not economic and social leveling as advocated by some today. Equality, as described by the Lord, is "equal[ity] according to [a man's] family, according to his circumstances and his wants and needs" (D&C 51:3).

Is the united order a communal system? Emphatically not. It never has been and never will be. It is "intensely individualistic." Does the united order eliminate private ownership of property? No. "The fundamental principle of this system [is] the private ownership of property" (J. Reuben Clark, Jr., Conference Report, October 1942, p. 57).

Two separate groups of saints have fully implemented this divine law. The first was the united order under Enoch, wherein the Lord designated this people Zion, "because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them." We read of this in the seventh chapter, eighteenth verse, of Moses, in the Pearl of Great Price. A second instance was the Nephite civilization following the visit of the Savior to the Western Hemisphere after his resurrection. This is recorded in 4 Nephi, the third verse particularly. The failure of the early Saints in this dispensation to live according to the fulness of the law is explained by the Lord in revelations recorded in the Doctrine and Covenants, sections 101 and 105.

I repeat and emphasize that the law of consecration is a law for an inheritance in the celestial kingdom. God, the Eternal Father, his Son Jesus Christ, and all holy beings abide by this law. It is an eternal law. It is a revelation by God to his Church in this dispensation. Though not in full operation today, it will be mandatory for all Saints to live the law in its fulness to receive celestial inheritance. You young people today abide a portion of this higher law as you tithe, pay a generous fast offering, go on missions, and make other contributions of money, service, and time.

Satan's Counterfeit System

But whenever the God of heaven establishes by revelation his design, Satan always comes among men to pervert the doctrine, saying, "Believe it not." He often establishes a counterfeit system, designed to deceive the children of men. His aim, as it was before the foundation of this earth was laid, is to thwart the agency of man and to subjugate him. Throughout all ages of mankind, the adversary has used human agents and despotic governments to establish his purpose. Satan is determined to destroy all that is dear, all that will ennoble and exalt man to a celestial kingdom.

Isaiah foresaw the time when a marvelous work and a wonder would come forth among men (see Isaiah 29:14). Isaiah also predicted that there would be those that "seek deep to hide their counsel from the Lord, and their works are in the dark, and they [shall] say, Who seeth us?" (Isaiah 29:15). He saw the time when the work, man, shall say of him that made him, "He made me not," denying his creation (see Isaiah 29:16). It is well to ask what self-proclaimed atheists came on the human scene following the restoration of the gospel, who established secret works of darkness to overthrow nations by violent revolution and who blasphemously proclaimed the atheistic doctrine that God made us not. Yes, Satan works through human agents. We need only look to some of the ignoble figures in human history who were contemporary to the restoration of the gospel to discover fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy. I refer to the infamous founders of communism, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Today, if we are alert, we can see further fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecies.

Communism--a System Antithetical to the Gospel of Christ

Through the instigation of Marx and Engels, a most successful counterfeit to the united order was introduced into the world. The declaration of principles found in their Manifesto to the World advocated the overthrow of capitalism and free enterprise, the abolition of private property, the elimination of the family as a social unit, the abolition of all classes, the overthrow of all governments, and the establishment of communal ownership of property in a classless, stateless society. All this was to be accomplished by revolution.

On July 3, 1936, the First Presidency published this warning to Church members. I quote it in part; I hope you will get a copy of the full statement for your files. In part, the statement reads:

. . . Communism is not a political party, nor a political plan under the Constitution; it is a system of government that is the opposite of our Constitutional government. . . .

Since Communism, established, would destroy our American Constitutional government, to support Communism is treasonable to our free institutions, and no patriotic American citizen may become either a Communist or supporter of Communism.

To our Church members we say, Communism is not the United Order, and bears only the most superficial resemblance thereto. Communism is based upon intolerance and force, the United Order upon love and freedom of conscience and action. . . .

Communists cannot establish the United Order, nor will Communism bring it about. . . .

Communism being thus hostile to loyal American citizenship and incompatible with true Church membership, of necessity no loyal American citizen and no faithful Church member can be a Communist.

We call upon all Church members completely to eschew [and shun] Communism. The safety of our divinely inspired Constitutional government and the welfare of our Church imperatively demand that Communism shall have no place in America.

Signed,

President Heber J. Grant

J. Reuben Clark, Jr.

David O. McKay

The First Presidency



You students have only to read some of the speeches and writings of the exiled Russian Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn to appreciate this farsighted warning of the First Presidency.

I have been on both sides of the Iron Curtain several times. I have talked to these godless leaders face to face. I say to you with all the sincerity of my soul that since 1933 this godless counterfeit to the gospel has made tremendous progress towards its objective of world domination, for over one-third of the human family are now under totalitarian subjugation.

Today we are in a battle for the bodies and souls of men. It is a battle between two opposite systems: freedom and slavery, Christ and anti-Christ. The struggle today is more momentous than a decade ago, yet today the conventional wisdom, so called, is that we have got to learn to live with communism, to give up our ideas about national sovereignty. You hear that repeated today. Tell that to the millions--yes, the scores of millions--who have met death or imprisonment under the tyranny of communism. Learn to live with communism? Such would be the death knell of freedom and all we hold dear.

The gospel of Jesus Christ can prosper only in an atmosphere of freedom. As members of his Church, we have a major responsibility to do all in our power to see that freedom is preserved and safeguarded. I pray that God will bless you to see communism for what it really is: the greatest system of human slavery that the world has ever known. May you not be deceived into believing that the communists have moderated their goal toward world domination. I say to you that so-called detente is a fraud. Time will prove it to be such.

There is no excuse for any BYU instructor to grant a forum to an avowed communist for the purpose of teaching communism on this campus. It may be done on other campuses in the United States, but it will not be done here.

Socialism--a Philosophy Incompatible with Man's Liberty

Another notable counterfeit system to the Lord's plan is collectivized socialism. Socialism derives its philosophy from the founders of communism, Marx and Engels. Communism in practice is socialism. Its purpose is world socialism, which the communists seek to achieve by revolution, and which the socialists seek to achieve by evolution. Both communism and socialism have the same effect upon the individual--a loss of personal liberty. As was said so well by President J. Reuben Clark, Jr., "The two are as two peas in a pod in their ultimate effect upon our liberties."

Why is socialism incompatible with man's liberty? Socialism cannot work except through an all-powerful state. The state has to be supreme in everything. When individuals begin to exert their God-given rights, the state has to suppress that freedom. So belief in God must be suppressed, and with that gone freedom of conscience and religion must also go. Those are the first of our liberties mentioned in the Bill of Rights.

There are some among us who would confuse the united order with socialism. That is a serious misunderstanding. It is significant to me that the Prophet Joseph Smith, after attending lectures on socialism in his day, made this official entry in the Church history: "I said I did not believe the doctrine" (Joseph Smith, History of the Church 6:33).

Socialism Disguised under Welfare State Measures

As citizens of this noble land, we have marched a long way down the soul-destroying road of socialism. If you question that statement, consider the recent testimonial from the Nobel prize-winning economist, Milton Friedman. He indicated that government spending in the United States at all levels amounts to over forty percent of today's total national income. If we continue to follow the trend in which we are heading today, two things will inevitably result: first, a loss of our personal freedom, and second, financial bankruptcy. This is the price we pay when we turn away from God and the principles which he has taught and turn to government to do everything for us. It is the formula by which nations become enslaved.

This nation was established by the God of heaven as a citadel of liberty. A constitution guaranteeing those liberties was designed under the superintending influence of heaven. I have recounted here before what took place in the St. George Temple when the Founding Fathers of this nation visited President Wilford Woodruff, who was then a member of the Twelve and not president of the Church. The republic which was established was the most nearly perfect system which could have been devised to lead men toward celestial principles. We may liken our system to the law of Moses which leads men to the higher law of Christ.

Today, two hundred years later, we must sadly observe that we have significantly departed from the principles established by the founders of our country. James Madison opposed the proposal to put Congress in the role of promoting the general welfare according to its whims in these words:

If Congress can employ money indefinitely to the general welfare, they may take the care of religion into their own hands; they may appoint teachers in every state, county and parish and pay them out of their public treasure; they may take into their own hands the education of children, establishing in like manner schools throughout the Union; they may assume the provision of the poor. . . . Were the power of Congress to be established in the latitude contended for [and it was an issue then], it would subvert the very foundations, and transmute the very nature of the limited Government established by the people of America. [quoted in Donald L. Newquist, Prophets, Principles, and National Survival, p. 342]

That statement, given as a warning, has proved prophetic. Today Congress is doing what Madison warned about. Many are now advocating that which has become a general practice since the early 1930s: a redistribution of wealth through the federal tax system. That, by definition, is socialism!

Americans have always been committed to taking care of the poor, aged, and unemployed. We have done this on the basis of Judaic-Christian beliefs and humanitarian principles. It has been fundamental to our way of life that charity must be voluntary if it is to be charity. Compulsory benevolence is not charity. Today's socialists--who call themselves egalitarians--are using the federal government to redistribute wealth in our society, not as a matter of voluntary charity, but as a so-called matter of right. One HEW official said recently, "In this country, welfare is no longer charity, it is a right. More and more Americans feel that their government owes them something" (U.S. News and World Report, April 21, 1975, p. 49). President Grover Cleveland said--and we believe as a people--that though the people support the government the government should not support the people.

The chief weapon used by the federal government to achieve this "equality" is the system of transfer payments. This means that the federal governments collects from one income group and transfer payments to another by the tax system. These payments are made in the form of social security benefits, Medicare and Medicaid, and food stamps, to name a few. Today the cost of such programs has been going in the hole at the rate of 12 billion dollars a year; and, with increased benefits and greater numbers of recipients, even though the tax base has been increased we will have larger deficits in the future.

Today the party now in power is advocating and has support, apparently in both major parties, for a comprehensive national health insurance program--a euphemism for socialized medicine. Our major danger is that we are currently (and have been for forty years) transferring responsibility from the individual, local, and state governments to the federal government--precisely the same course that led to the economic collapse in Great Britain and New York City. We cannot long pursue the present trend without its bringing us to national insolvency.

Edmund Burke, the great British political philosopher, warned of the threat of economic equality. He said,

A perfect equality will indeed be produced--that is to say, equal wretchedness, equal beggary, and on the part of the petitioners, a woeful, helpless, and desperate disappointment. Such is the event of all compulsory equalizations. They pull down what is above; they never raise what is below; and they depress high and low together beneath the level of what was originally the lowest.



Are we part of the problem or part of the solution?

Recently a letter came to my office, accompanied by an article from your Daily Universe, on the matter of BYU students taking food stamps. The query of the letter was: "What is the attitude of the Church on taking food stamps?" The Church's view on this is well known. We stand for independence, thrift, and abolition of the dole. This was emphasized in the Saturday morning welfare meeting of general conference. "The aim of the Church is to help the people to help themselves. Work is to be re-enthroned as the ruling principle of the lives of our Church membership" (Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1936, p. 3).

When you accept food stamps, you accept an unearned handout that other working people are paying for. You do not earn food stamps or welfare payments. Every individual who accepts an unearned government gratuity is just as morally culpable as the individual who takes a handout from taxpayers' money to pay his heat, electricity, or rent. There is no difference in principle between them. You did not come to this University to become a welfare recipient. You came here to be a light to the world, a light to society--to save society and to help to save this nation, the Lord's base of operations in these latter days, to ameliorate man's social conditions. You are not here to be a parasite or freeloader. The price you pay for "something for nothing" may be more than you can afford. Do not rationalize your acceptance of government gratuities by saying, "I am a contributing taxpayer too." By doing this you contribute to the problem which is leading this nation to financial insolvency.

Society may rationalize immorality, but God cannot condone it. Society sponsors Sabbathbreaking, but the Church counsels otherwise. Society profanes the name of Deity, but Latter-day Saints cannot countenance it. Because society condones a dole, which demoralizes man and weakens his God-given initiative and character, can we?

I know what it is, as many of your faculty members do, to work my way through school, taking classes only during winter quarters. If you don't have the finances to complete your education, drop out a semester and go to work and save. You'll be a better man or woman for so doing. You will have preserved your self-respect and initiative. Wisdom comes with experience and struggle, not just with going through a university matriculation. I hope you will not be deceived by current philosophies which will rob you of your godly dignity, self-respect, and initiative, those attributes that make a celestial inheritance possible. It is in that interest, and that only, that I have spoken so plainly to you.

My Hope for You, the Youth of Zion

In opening my remarks to you, beloved youth of the Church, I attempted to share with you a vision of your eternal possibilities. In closing my remarks, I share with you my hope for you:

I hope that you learn through your struggles the joy of achievement.

I hope that you recognize in the gospel of Jesus Christ a solution to our problems, temporal and spiritual.

I hope that you marry well, live together in love, rear a family in righteousness, and have joy and rejoicing in your posterity.

I hope that you follow the example and counsel of him whom the Lord has appointed as prophet, seer, and revelator.

I hope that you learn the joy of work, the ability to postpone wants, and the economic independence not to be a slave to any man.

I hope that you keep yourselves clean morally and spiritually, that your confidence will wax strong in the presence of God, as the scriptures say, and the Holy Ghost will be your constant companion (see D&C 121:45–46).

I hope that you will be united in philosophy, purpose, and action to the laws of the celestial kingdom.

I pray God's choicest blessings on you, my beloved brethren and sisters. May I say to you that there isn't anything in this world that's right that the leadership of this Church wouldn't do for the youth of the Church; and so I hope and pray that you realize the hope of those who love you and serve you and the possibilities of your potential as sons and daughters of God. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.