HIGH PRIEST'S GARB WORN ON THE DAY OF ATONEMENT

I thought the following was interesting (scroll down for the picture of the white robes worn on that special day):

CLICK LINK HERE

POWER IN THE PRIESTHOOD - PROPER WEARING OF THE PRIESTHOOD GARMET

As I have read the Mosiah Hancock diary, I have grown to have quite an affinity for the man. I cannot wait to meet him along with quite a list of others. I liked this story from his diary about pure and abiding faith that his father had. Pure faith and simple faith. That is what will help usher us into God's kingdom:

Father had a great deal of opposition in Nauvoo. One day as father and I were walking down Water Street, and we came within twenty feet of the Mansion, an east window raised up, and Francis M. Higbee took deliberate aim with a rifle, and shot father in the left breast. I was walking on father's right side, and I saw the shot fired, and heard the thud as the bullet struck, but father stopped and picked up the bullet from the ground, and reaching it toward heaven with his right hand, said, "I thank thee, O God the Eternal Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, that thou didst destroy the power of this bullet". As soon as the shot was fired, the window was shut down. I suppose Higbee thought father was gone this time for sure, but father had been shot at many times by the mobbers and apostates. Father had had the temple in his care for sometime, and some were jealous of the honors conferred upon him.

Here is the link for those that liked this snippet from Mosiah's life history:

http://www.boap.org/LDS/Early-Saints/MHancock.html

POWER IN THE PRIESTHOOD - CASTING OUT OF AN EVIL SPIRIT IN BRAZIL

I decided to enter some interesting spiritual experiences while an LDS missionary in Brazil (Fortaleza Mission) from 1988-1990.

Here is one of the most bizarre experiences - okay just one of many. How come it is that my life is just filled with these??

Here goes from my journal entry of 12/25/1988:

"We are here in Brazil in Natal in the NE state of Rio Grande do Norte. I'm going on 10 months on my mission (3 months in the MTC, 3 months in Anaheim waiting for my Brazilian visa) and just four months in Brazil. The time has gone by incredibly fast. Anyway, I had heard alot about the evil spirits they have down here so I had prayed at times in the MTC, in California, and even here to have an experience with an evil spirit so I would have the experience - and knowing I would have an experience thusly according to my patriarchal blessing.

Anyway, my companion (Elder Venancio) were in our house after Christmas letting the food from the Christmas dinner digest and me rejoicing in the fact that I got out of eating lambs feet that our dinner host (who is also our maid) offered me. I've gotten good at that here in Brazil.... Anyway, the neighborhood Mormon boy came into our home and asked if he could use us for a little while (or in other words, use our Priesthood) as he was only a Teacher at that point. He told us that the screaming and carrying-on that we heard was the neighbor lady possessed with a devil and that he wanted us to come and cast it out. I recognized this as a good chance to fulfill my desire and we left right away. We got to the house kitty corner to ours and the gal (about 30 years old) who lived there was on the ground, in the sand, screaming her head off and babbling at times after laughing hysterically. Quite frankly, I thought she was drunk or was having some kind of breakdown. There was a man holding her down and talking to her. I asked the man, who was holding on to her what was going on. He said she and her live-in boyfriend had been to the beach (drinking, etc) and as they were returning on the bus, a bad spirit entered her. I laughed to myself picturing her on a crowded bus carrying on like that - I bet she freaked some people out!

Anyway, they got her to the house and inside and tried to keep her inside by locking the front door. She went bezerk and five men could not hold her down. She got to the front door and ripped it right off of the door frame and was able to get back out side (this gal was about 85 lbs - very small build). The force required to rip the deadbolt out of the frame and spring the hinges would have taken at least four of me. Anyway, she was saying all the time that she wuold run our in the street and jump in front of a car to kill the body she was in. She said it once more as she was headed for the street and then she said "I can't do that!" or something to that effect and then she fell limp to the ground when the spirit left her for the first time. A little bit later the evil spirit returned to her and that's when Elder Venancio and I came upon the scene. I frankly thought she was just a drunk - which was partly true because she had been drinking at the beach with her live-in boyfriend. We observed for about 5 minutes. She was subdued somewhat now and just babbling. I was made a believer (to her condition) when I heard and understood what the spirit was saying over and over - "Ganhei um corpo..." = I got a body and that she was not going to let anybody take it away from her - and that she 'finally got her chance'. Freaky!!

After knowing that this was for real I started thinking of how Jesus Christ and the Apostles had cast out the devils and remembered the story of Jesus and Legion and the swine and so I asked the spirit's name. She said she didn't have to tell me because she already told the man who was holding her down. He had forgotten - and I was thinking 'Great, this is like the army where you only have to give your name, rank and serial number once!'. I talked with Elder Venancio and he seemed to think we should command it out as if we were giving a Priesthood blessing by the laying on of hands. He did so (laid hands of her head) but she just struggled to break loose - this devil didn't like anyone touching the new-found body! The crowd of around 30 people who had gathered around were getting pretty anxious to see these two guys in white shirts and ties cast the devil out - and then the boy who had called us to this started saying "Well, come on and use your Priesthood and cast it out!". So I'm going "Great! Group peer pressure to use the Priesthood. Of all the things I've ever seen!". I just sat there for two or three minutes about how my comp hadn't successfully cast it out and then I thought of how they'd successfully cast devils out in the New Testament. Finally, the Spirit said, "Now, do it now!". So I just raised my right arm to the square and proceeded to do the sloppiest prayer I had ever done in my life. It was part in English, part in Portuguese, but I got through it. It was the strangest feeling - doing an ordinance in public for a group of gawking spectators - and not really sure of what I was doing. Anyway, I got done and looked down at her and she was calm and was listening intently as if someone in the distance was calling to her or talking to her. Then she started saying "Alguem e me chamando" = 'Someone is calling me' - over and over. I was sure something had worked but a little flustered that the evil spirit hadn't left right away - like I thought it should have.

Alot more to come - this is alot of typing.....

IOHANI WOLFGRAMM - FAMILY HISTORY

I HAVE BEEN LOOKING FOR THIS FOR QUITE SOME TIME. IT MAY WELL BE THE MOST FASCINATING BOOK I HAVE EVER READ - AND I READ SOME PRETTY GREAT STUFF. TAKE THE TIME TO READ HOW LIFE SHOULD BE LIVED IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO MAKE IT BACK TO GOD'S PRESENCE......

THIS IS WHY I DONATE A FEW BEN FRANKLINS A YEAR TO THE BYU SPECIAL COLLECTIONS LIBRARY!!:

IOHANI WOLGRAM FAMILY HISTORY - THE GOOD STUFF

http://contentdm.byu.edu/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=/FH27&CISOPTR=31717&REC=12&CISOSHOW=31478

HERE IS A TASTE FROM THE ABOVE HISTORY FROM THE CHAPTER ON HEALINGS:

IOHANI SOUGHT FROM A DREAM

It was the first Sunday of November 1979 and I was getting ready for an 8:00 a.m. priesthood meeting. I heard a knock at the door so came to answer it and found a woman at the door that I had never before met. She said, "I'm looking for Iohani Wolfgramm who is living at this address." I noticed she had been crying.

I said, "I'm Brother Wolfgramm, what can I do for you?" "I've come because my brother, Mr. Smith, died at the Cottonwood hospital last Friday and we have asked the doctor if he would bear with us and just leave him there in the room because we have a feeling that his life will return. This Sunday morning his wife went home to Bountiful to feed the children and get them ready for Church, while his sister and other family members are at his room, keeping their eyes on Brother Smith. The reason I came: In a dream my husband saw Brother Smith come to him and ask if he would look for a man by the name of Iohani Wolfgramm and gave him this address, and said, 'Go and ask Brother Wolfgramm to come and call my spirit so it can enter my body again.' That's why I came this moming. Will you come and give him a priesthood blessing?"

I said, "I would like to help you but I can't. My bishop and stake president won't allow me out of the jurisdiction of my stake or ward to exercise my priesthood." The woman said, "May I please go and see your bishop and give him the information that my husband received?" So she went and spoke to the bishop. After she told the bishop the story, she was sent to the stake president. After the stake president heard the story, he gave his permission and said, "If this brother needs his help, he may go."
So the woman returned to my house and took me in her car to the hospital. When we entered the room I noticed all the family sitting around. His sister told me her brother had died on Friday. I met the brother-in-law who had the dream and asked if he would assist me in the administration. The brother-in-law told me to anoint the oil and he would give the blessing. I said, "Thank you." and we went ahead and gave Brother Smith his blessing. After we said 'amen' everyone sat down. They waited for about 15 minutes, nothing happened. They waited for another 30 minutes, nothing happened.

This went for an hour and still nothing. The sister began to cry again and called me aside and said, "My husband doesn't have enough faith when he prays, that's why my brother came in that dream and wanted you to give him the blessing because of the faith that you have. Would it be too much if we could all unite in faith and prayer and ask the Lord to bless my brother, and through your faith you can raise him from the dead?"

The brother-in-law returned only this time 1 offered the prayer. In my prayer I said, "Our Father in Heaven, we are here together with the rest of Brother Smith's family to offer a special prayer on his behalf. We know that he has been dead since Friday, but his spirit has come and asked if I could give him a blessing and call for his spirit to return to his body. We pray for his health to return to normal. We pray that his heart will start to function, his lungs and circulation start to work and each and every one of his veins and arteries will begin to function. Through the power of the priesthood and in the name of the holy Savior Jesus Christ, I command you, Brother Smith, for your spirit to now enter your body. And when you revive from your death bed you will know that it was through the power of Christ that your spirit has returned to your body. And you will stand as a witness to God that this is His gospel and this is one of the miracles that He performed among the people before His second coming. I pray for you that everything will function normally as we come to the end of our blessing and say this to you in the name of Jesus Christ and in the power of the holy Melchizedek priesthood which we bear."

Right after Brother Smith heard my voice, he slowly got up. When his sister saw her brother get up she started to cry loudly and ran up to him, and the rest of the family came running and hugged and kissed him. At that moment the phone rang and it was his wife. She asked her sister-in-law how her husband was doing. She asked if she would like to talk to him and handed Brother Smith the phone. They sat there and talked on the phone as if nothing had happened. They gave me a big hug and I was finally brought home.

Brother Smith knew he had to come back to finish his work on earth, and it was only through the priesthood blessing that this,could be accomplished. He told the family that for three days he had been there wanting to return to his body, but didn't know how. He saw his body laying there but no one could hear what he was saying. That's why his spirit went to his brother-in-law to find someone that had great faith and was given Iohani's name and address.

I received a call from the Stake President after I returned home wanting to know what happened to the man. I told him the Lord had heard my prayer and his life was revived. The Stake President told me that he would take away my restrictions, and I would be free to go anywhere that the Lord wanted me to go to bless the people.

PRETTY EXCELLENT STORY - AND THERE IS ALOT MORE LIKE IT IN THE WOLFGRAMM FAM HISTORY. READ UP!

WHEN WE FOUND OUR LITTLE DALLIN JACOB DEAD ON APRIL 4TH, THE FIRST THING THAT I DID (AFTER COMPLETELY FREAKING OUT) WAS TO CALL MY HOME TEACHER SO THAT WE COULD DO THE SAME THING IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST. IT WAS NOT UNTIL A LITTLE LATER THAT I REALIZED THAT THIS SIMPLY WAS NOT THE WILL OF THE LORD. I WILL ADD THE WHOLE EXPERIENCE TO THE BLOG AS A WITNESS THAT GOD LIVES AND LOVES EACH OF US. IT WAS RIGHT IN LINE WITH THE SWEET SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE THAT THE SMITH FAMILY HAD - JUST WITH A DIFFERENT OUTCOME.