BEING IN THE WORLD - BUT NOT OF THE WORLD

This is a talk my wife is giving in another ward tomorrow as a Stake YW assignment.  I thought it was worthy to post and hope it gets as many hits as my number one google hit on LDS FUNERAL TALK. 

I have married one of the most thoughtful and wise women - and patient, too.  I have proof of that; she has put up with me for 20 years - mostly without too much complaint.

Hope you like my sweetheart's work:

"Being in the world but not of the world."   How to prepare yourself and others to be in an ever more spiritually perilous world without being influenced by the world.”

If I could boil this talk down to one or two points, I would say that loving our Heavenly Father more than we love anything else that would get in the way or prevent us from returning to Him would be the key.  Now I would like to expand on how this fits in with being from the world , but not of the world.”

We were born into this physical place called “Earth.”  We learn from the prophet Abraham that this earth was prepared for us in order to see if we would do “all things whatsoever the Lord [our] God shall command us.[Abraham 3:24-25]”  As Alma the younger counseled in the Book of Mormon…”this life is the time for us to prepare to meet God; yea, behold this life is the day for us to perform our labors. [Alma 34:32]”

So one meaning of the word “world” is a physical place for us to dwell when our spirits are first united or with our mortal bodies.  This dwelling place or world provides an opportunity for us to show ourselves and God what is most important to us.  The other meaning of the word “world” is that which is contrary to God or that which distracts us or prevents us from the purpose we came on this earth to achieve….which is to prepare to return to our Heavenly Father.  This use of the word “world” in this context is also used with other words in the scriptures such as “Babylon,” the great and spacious building, the mists of darkness, temptations of the devil, the pride of the world, secret combinations, praise of the world, just to name a few.

So in order to live in this world without being influenced by it, we have to be aware of how our Heavenly Father works and how the world works.   When Lehi was describing his dream of the tree of life to his family, he talked of beholding or seeing “a ^atree, whose ^bfruit was desirable to make one ^chappy.

 11 And it came to pass that I did go forth and partake of the ^afruit thereof; and I beheld that it was most sweet, above all that I ever before tasted. Yea, and I beheld that the fruit thereof was white, to exceed all the ^bwhiteness that I had ever seen.

 12 And as I partook of the fruit thereof it filled my soul with exceedingly great ^ajoy; wherefore, I began to be ^bdesirous that my family should partake of it also; for I knew that it was ^cdesirable above all other fruit. [End of Lehi’s quote.  1 Nephi 8 :10-12]

We learn from his son, Nephi, that this fruit symbolizes “the love of God.”  As we further look at the dream, we can learn tactics Satan uses to either prevent us from receiving this love of God in the first place or rejecting this love when we have had a taste of it.  I would encourage you to read chapters 8 – 16  of 1 Nephi in the Book of Mormon, to verify for yourselves what these tactics are and how God helps us not to be ensnared.

As I read each scenario from Lehi’s dream, try to identify with scenario you can relate to and which one you hope to achieve…

1.     Some do not even have the desire to partake of the love of God or eat of the fruit of the tree.  They simply do not want to move toward the tree nor eat of the fruit.

2.     Some have the desire, but they don’t know which way to go to reach the tree with the fruit.  They need direction.  Some who have found the tree and have tasted of the fruit call out to those who have not found the tree or the fruit yet.  Those who want to find the tree and partake of the fruit hear their voices, find the tree, and eat of the fruit.

3.     Some have the desire to eat, but there are obstacles that they can get stuck in.  A straight and narrow path was placed to guide them directly to the tree and to avoid these obstacles, but the mists of darkness are confusing and hide the path.  Then they get off of the path, get lost, and do not eat of the fruit because they can’t even find the tree.  These mists of darkness are the temptations of the devil.

4.     Some have the desire to eat, and a rod of iron was placed to prevent them from wandering off of the path, so when the path gets obscured by these mists of darkness, they still cling to this rod, which follows the path and also leads to the tree of life and the fruit.  So even when they can’t see the path they will not get lost.  This rod is the word of God.

5.      Some have the desire to eat.  They make it to the tree.  They eat the fruit.  Then they cast their eyes round about…even though they have experienced the love of God.  They seem to care more about who is watching them than they do about enjoying God’s love.   Lehi said, “And after they had partaken of the fruit of the tree they did cast their eyes about as if they were ^aashamed.  And I also cast my eyes round about, and beheld, on the ^aother side of the river of water, a great and ^bspacious building; and it stood as it were in the ^cair, high above the earth.  And it was filled with people, both old and young, both male and female; and their manner of dress was exceedingly fine; and they were in the ^aattitude of ^bmocking and pointing their fingers towards those who had come at and were partaking of the fruit.  And after they had ^atasted of the fruit they were ^bashamed, because of those that were ^cscoffing at them; and they ^dfell away into forbidden paths and were lost. [end of Lehi’s quote.  1 Nephi 8: 25-27]

6.      Then there are some who have the desire to eat.  They make it to the tree by following the voices of those who have made it, and clinging to the rod and staying on the straight and narrow path.  They eat of the fruit of the tree and they “heeded not” those in the building that were scorning them, according to Nephi’s words.

Again, if I could boil this talk down to one or two points, I would say that loving our Heavenly Father more than we love anything else that would get in the way or prevent us from returning to Him would be the key.

We are taught from this experience of Lehi and Nephi that there is a wide gulf that separates the love of God from those that mock the things of God.  Nephi learns that the“^a tree of life, whose fruit is most precious and most ^bdesirable above all other fruits; yea, and it is the ^cgreatest of all the ^dgifts of God.”  [1 Nephi 15:36]  We are also told elsewhere in the scriptures (D&C 14:7) that eternal life is the greatest of all the gifts of God.”  So does that mean that fruit of the tree of life is symbolic of eternal life?” 

Do we trust God that eternal life truly is more desirable than other states of existence? 

Do  we know God?

Or have those who mock God tried to paint an image of God that isn’t true…that distorts how we perceive the true nature of our Heavenly Father?

Do we trust more and give more heed to those who mock us than we strive to do God’s will?  Remember in Lehi’s dream, that those in the great and spacious building were in an attitude of mocking.  When I looked up the word “mock” in Noah Webster's 1806 Dictionary, these were the meanings I found:

mock:deride, mimic, tantalize, deceive

So if I look those words up in the same dictionary, I find these words:

deride:to laugh at, ridicule, mock, scorn

mimic:to ape, imitate, ridicule

tantalize:to teaze with false hopes

deceive:to mislead, mock, cheat, impose on

So these are the attitudes and behaviors of those who sway true followers of Christ from seeking God’s love and truth.

Lehi and Nephi in the Book of Mormon teach us that those who will experience eternal life will “heed not” those who mock them.  What does it mean to heed?  I looked this up as well in the same dictionary:

heed: to mind, observe, regard, attend, value

mind: to mark, head, regard, attend, incline

observe: to watch, mind, mark, see, obey,

regard: to esteem, respect, attention, look, view

attend:  to wait, listen, accompany

value: to fix a price, rate, apprise, esteem

So we are taught by Lehi and Nephi not to esteem, obey, pay attention, watch, view, listen, or regard those who would make us ashamed of following Christ.  

So we need to ask ourselves some questions:

Do we heed what God teaches us or do we heed what the world teaches us?  

So in order to prepare ourselves and others to be in an ever more spiritually perilous world without being influenced by the world we have got to rely on God, and not those from the great and spacious building.  We should avoid developing attitudes of those in the great and spacious building, or joining them in mocking others, or becoming like them.  When we choose Heavenly Father’s will over our will or the will of others, we can overcome the influences that are imposed upon us by the world.

Do we value what God values more than we value what others think of us?

Sometimes we wonder what our friends, co-workers, loved ones think of us. (And sometimes that is not always bad.)  We have to be cautious, though, not to rely on the arm of the flesh for our approval.

When was the last time we asked Heavenly Father what He thought of us?

When was the last time we asked God to help us understand or know something?

When was the last time we asked God to give us power to do something he has asked us to do? 

When was the last time we asked God to give us power to refrain from doing something he has asked us not to do?

When was the last time we asked God to forgive us for our sins and falling short?

“When sons or daughters of God communicate with God, we call it prayer,” says Elder Bednar.  He goes on to say, “When he [God] communicates with us, it comes in a variety of methods, means, or channels.  We are talking about the patterns whereby God communicates with his children here on earth.  Revelation is communication from God to his children here upon the earth.  Sometimes those messages come quickly and rather dramatically.  I’ve compared that to a light being turned on in a dark room, where very suddenly the darkness is expelled, and you can see everything in the room quite clearly and brilliantly.  I would suggest that that pattern of receiving messages from God is more rare than common.

A second pattern is when light comes gradually, much like the rising of the sun. You can discern the increase of light on the horizon, but never all at once.  This pattern of revelation I would suggest is more common than rare.

Sometimes receiving revelation is like a foggy day.  There’s enough light that you can tell there’s not darkness anymore, it’s not night.  But it’s not brilliantly illuminated.  You can see just enough steps ahead to take a few steps ahead into the cloudiness.  There’s enough to just take a few steps, and the light continues to help me see just far enough ahead that I can continue to press forward.

Jesus Christ is the light of the world, a light that is endless, that can never be darkened.  As we follow the teachings of Jesus Christ, He is the light.  One of his names is “The Light.”  As we follow his light and live according to his teachings, there is illumination for all the aspects of our life.  To the degree that we reject him and reject his teachings, we are on our own.  I’d much prefer to follow his light.  I know when there is a power beyond my own that comes from God to me and through me, which is the spirit of revelation.”  [End of Elder Bednar’s quote from Mormon Message Part III]

So in order to prepare ourselves and others to be in an ever more spiritually perilous world without being influenced by the world we have got to pray to God sincerely for His revelation.  We have also got to believe that we can receive an answer from God and be ready to accept it.

When Joseph Smith read the words of James in the New Testament, about gaining wisdom and asking God with faith, he not only believed God could answer his prayer but he believed God would answer his prayer.  It may not have come in a way that he or any of us might have expected, but God answered his sincere prayer and desire to know.

When Nephi in the Book of Mormon heard his father’s dream of the tree of life, he had a desire to know for himself.  He says in 1 Nephi 10:17:

17 And it came to pass after I, Nephi, having heard all the awords of my father, concerning the things which he saw in a bvision, and also the things which he spake by the power of the Holy Ghost, which power he received by faith on the Son of God—and the Son of God was the cMessiah who should come—I, Nephi, was ddesirous also that I might see, and hear, and know of these things, by the power of the eHoly Ghost, which is the fgift of God unto gall those who diligently seek him, as well in times of hold as in the time that he should manifest himself unto the children of men.

And then he says in 1 Nephi 11:1…1 For it came to pass after I had desired to know the things that my father had seen, and believing that the Lord was able to make them known unto me, as I sat apondering in mine heart…”

This pattern is repeated over and over in the scriptures.  There is a desire to know, and a belief that God will make them known to us.  We don’t have preconceived notions of how God will answer or when he will answer.  It may be that he brings something to our remembrance that we have already been taught.  It may be through a servant of God that we learn, it could be directly from him or His Son.  We should not limit God, but accept his answers the way he sees fit to give us revelation and be grateful for it. 

The Lord said in D&C 50:23-25:

23 And that which doth not ^aedify is not of God, and is ^bdarkness.

24 That which is of God is ^alight; and he that ^breceiveth ^clight, and ^dcontinueth in God, receiveth more ^elight; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day.

Are we putting ourselves in places and frames of mind where we can receive answers and be edified?  Or are we distracted by all that the world has to offer us?

It is my personal opinion, that media and entertainment are our biggest hurdles to receiving revelation.  In my opinion, media and entertainment can be one the most intrusive gateways or tools that the attitudes of the great and spacious building have in altering the way God would have us believe.  The media not only affect us directly, but they affect our family and friends and co-workers, who then affect us.  The media and entertainment can affect our views and attitudes on many critical things like: sexual purity, modesty, humble service, work ethics and self-reliance, dress and appearance, honesty and integrity, language, music and dancing, families, friends, Sabbath Day observance, physical and emotional health, learning, dating, agency and accountability, tithes and offerings…all things which are in the For the Strength of Youth pamphlet.  Without personal purity we limit the amount of light we choose to receive.  The media can distort how we view things and prevent us from seeing things as they really are.  This is done through distorting truths just a little at a time or blatantly.  This is done by omitting truths or leaving out critical information.  This is done by repeating certain distortions over and over.  This is done by baring false witness.  This is done by scorning or mocking those who are reluctant to be persuaded by the world, name-calling, etc.  This is done on purpose by some in power who have the intent to deceive and on accident by those who are deceived by the deceivers.  

The First Presidency and leaders of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints have given us the For the Strength of Youth.  This is what they said about media and technology:  We live in a day of marvelous technologies that give you easy access to a wide variety of media, including the Internet, mobile devices, video games, television, movies, music, books, and magazines. The information and entertainment provided through these media can increase your ability to learn, communicate, and become a force for good in the world. However, some information and entertainment can lead you away from righteous living. Choose wisely when using media because whatever you read, listen to, or look at has an effect on you. Select only media that uplifts you.

Satan uses media to deceive you by making what is wrong and evil look normal, humorous, or exciting. He tries to mislead you into thinking that breaking God’s commandments is acceptable and has no negative consequences for you or others. Do not attend, view, or participate in anything that is vulgar, immoral, violent, or pornographic in any way. Do not participate in anything that presents immorality or violence as acceptable. Have the courage to walk out of a movie, change your music, or turn off a computer, television, or mobile device if what you see or hear drives away the Spirit….

….Take care that your use of media does not dull your sensitivity to the Spirit or interfere with your personal relationships with others. Spending long periods of time using the Internet or a mobile device, playing video games, or watching television or other media can keep you from valuable interactions with other people. Be careful that your use of social media does not replace spending time with your family and friends.

I would encourage you read all of what they have to say on media and entertainment.

It is also my personal opinion that we could choose not to view anything evil, but also be so distracted and mesmerized by all there is to view…that our very way of thinking is changed by media and entertainment.  Instead of focused learning, and asking and seeking, we just jump to whatever we find, which somebody has chosen for us to see, or watch or read. Our ability to concentrate and focus on one issue at a time is hampered with short sound-bytes, instead of thorough examination of a subject.  Our ability to ask and seek for answers to important questions is dulled because of immediate feedback which we get used to receiving, instead of waiting and yearning, and struggling in the learning process. Or we don’t even learn to ask questions anymore because our minds are so stimulated with things to occupy and please and distract us, that we may not do anything evil, but we are distracted from searching and seeking the best gifts.

How would our media and entertainment choices be enhanced if more often we prayed to God to direct us to find, read see, watch and listen to what he thinks would be good for us?  What if we wrote down questions we had about life, and began asking him where to turn to find the answers?  What if we just asked him to help us to have good questions to begin with?  If we don’t even have questions or desires to learn, why don’t we?  These are all things to ask, because they will not only affect our choices in entertainment, but how we read the scriptures with faith. 

The world would have us only believe things that can be seen.  But Moroni, in the Book of Ether, in the Book or Mormon, wanted to show the world that. ^““afaith is things which are ^bhoped for and ^cnot seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no ^dwitness until after the ^etrial of your faith.

 7 For it was by faith that Christ showed himself unto our fathers, after he had risen from the dead; and he showed not himself unto them until after they had faith in him; wherefore, it must needs be that some had faith in him, for he showed himself ^anot unto the world.

 8 But because of the faith of men he has shown himself unto the world, and glorified the name of the Father, and prepared a way that thereby others might be partakers of the heavenly gift, that they might hope for those things which they have not seen.

 9 Wherefore, ye may also have hope, and be partakers of the gift, if ye will but have faith.”[ Ether 12:6-9]

Remember the gifts that God has promised us.  The scriptures talk of many of God’s gifts, if we just study them. It is my prayer that we will all have the desire to value what God values more than we value what the world values…that we will care more about what our Heavenly Father and our Savior, Jesus Christ, think of us, than what the world thinks of us.  That we will have a desire to seek this Jesus of whom the prophets and apostles have testified.  Prophets of old have seen our day.  Jesus Christ has shown our day to them.  These prophets have warned us in very clear words how the world will seek to distract and deceive us from what we need to become during this life we have on earth.  Moroni asked, ” Why do ye not think that greater is the value of an endless happiness than that misery which never dies—because of the praise of the world?”  We have a great privilege of living during a day when living prophets and apostles speak to us as well.  Do we ask God to testify to us of the truths they teach?

May we pray to Father for answers to our questions and for guidance in our lives.    If we don’t have the desire to seek God’s will, may we start with praying for that desire.  May we learn to ask, seek, and recognize revelation from God.   I did not discuss the many methods, means, and ways God shares with us his revelation.  That in itself would take a whole other talk, but I do recommend beginning, by listening to Elder Bednar’s three part Mormon Message on Patterns of Light.  As we get closer to the Second Coming of our Savior and have to navigate through the winding up scenes, our ability to ask, seek, and recognize personal revelation will be like having oil in our lamps to protect us temporally and spiritually.   My biggest desire is to learn to tell when God is speaking and when it is just me.    We can live in this world and not be of this world.  Christ has shown us the way.  I have faith in Him.  He is my Savior and your Savior.  I want to get to know him better through following His example, serving as He served, and being willing to do Heavenly Father’s will.  May I and you have the determination to ask what his will is daily, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. 

Here are some links that she referenced when making the talk:

 https://www.lds.org/pages/mormon-messages?lang=eng#patterns-of-light-the-light-of-christ

https://www.lds.org/pages/mormon-messages?lang=eng#patterns-of-light-discerning-light

https://www.lds.org/pages/mormon-messages?lang=eng#patterns-of-light-spirit-of-revelation

PURE REVEALED RELIGION

PURE REVELATION IS THE BEST FORM OF SCIENCE; AND THE PREMISE OF THIS BLOG - SCIENCE FINALLY CATCHING UP WITH REVEALED RELIGION.

 HOPE YOU ENJOY THIS:

Oh, that Latter-day Saints would only study the history of the church from its beginnings! They would begin to see and have an understanding of the sciences and cosmology relating to our origins and the vast infinitude of creations to which we belong.

Brigham Young taught quite in depth regarding our origins:
"Mankind are here because they are the offspring of parents
who were first brought here from another planet, 

and power was given them to propagate their species,
and they were commanded to multiply and replenish
the earth." JD 7:282-291

A NATION THAT WILL NOT HEAR THE WHISPERINGS OF GOD WILL HEAR THE ROAR OF HIS VOICE - RABBI CAHN'S WORDS - A HARBINGER OF JUDGEMENT

This piece is the best use of an hour that I have had in quite some time; HIGHLY RECOMMENDED:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXei0Zb3dxM&feature=related

It gets better in time - an excellent analysis.  World class interpretation of scripture.

STRESS TEST - A SURVIVALIST'S STANDBY

I just got done reading an article on Duane S. Crowther's website on how he was asked by an inspired bishopric to see how well he could do living on his preparations for one month.  I have also attempted to do this very thing - but failed miserably.

Stress tests are imperative if you expect to survive what is coming.  Living without electricity or other modern conveniences is tough. I used to be a flight test engineer - and we tested for every possible scenario, so that the flying public did not have to experience an unexpected failure - and then end up getting stress tested in a 30 second inverted dive down to their deaths.....  NO FUN!

One of my preparations is a 1996 4x4 Dodge pickup with Cummins diesel.  Direct injection, etc for EMP robustness.  I have an extra starter and alternator in a metal garbage can as a means of getting it going in case the OT scripture of the "chariots" suddenly not working comes to fruition.  See my previous blog post on the Shahab III missile air bursts the Iranians are testing.  That along with their nearly-completed nukes and their recent statements that they are going to begin to field a navy outside our territorial waters, gives me pause - and makes me wonder if we should not be looking towards a precision strike of the Iranian facilities, as Romney wants..... 

Well, after taking a look around a Dodge Cummins forum, I found out that this particular Dodge does have a low pressure electrical fuel pump that delivers the fuel to the engine where the high pressure mechanical pump does the rest.  I went to my local regional library in Seattle, checked out the factory manual and indeed that little detail was correct.  It also has a crank angle sensor on the vibration dampener (front of the engine) that would easily go out in an EMP event.  So, my great little plan was fraught with problems which I am working to resolve.  Only a stress test would uncover some of these issues - unplugging the body computer and seeing if the old girl would still run normally - or at least in limp mode so I could charge the battery bank and run my 6000 Watt inverter from them for emergency power.

Here is something I HEARTILY RECOMMEND that each person does in order to see where they are at is where they need to be:

http://www.duanescrowther.com/PDF/Food%20Storage%20Experiment.pdf

If you are a patriarch or a matriarch, you need to be sure that your children can also pass the stress test.  It can be a fun supplementation of the FHE where you simply let them show that they know how to master the making the bread with little or no input, etc.

Of course, the most important thing you can do is make sure you are spiritually ready for what comes.  Only a fraction will physically make it through.  It is far more important that you come through spiritually than physically.  My motivation is my children - and those who are striving.  I care little for myself (do not fear for my own life or well-being) other than to be there for the leadership portion of the exercise.

LIFE EVERLASTING - DUANE S CROWTHER; A BOOK REPORT

The titles to the blog are somewhat boring or "utilitarian".  Its done on purpose in order to make sure that a google search on a given set of keywords will bring the reader to the blog.  There are hundreds (and probably approaching thousands) of key word strings that will bring up the blog in the top 10 or even top 1 or 2 ranking - and thus ensure that the message is disbursed to as many people as possible.  Google ranking is everything if you are trying to punch through the computing ceiling of the cloud.  With bizarre "one off" topics, its not hard to be at the head of the class.  No one else will touch them - or cares about them, so I have the field to myself, so to speak....

I think the author who has had the greatest impact on my life, so far would have to be Duane S. Crowther.  Not so much that he is off the charts in his writing style, just that his works are excellent, and came along at the right time; when my wife and I needed them most.  Right before our kid died, we had two salt of the earth neighbors who happened to be LDS, the Jacobsens.  They recommended a few books that impacted me heavily and were instrumental in me deciding to start this blog.  One was Fate of the Persecutors of the Prophet Joseph Smith and the other was Life Everlasting, by Duane S. Crowther.

The book Fate has been downplayed by Dallin H. Oakes and even some anti's - largely because it tells it as it happened - and stuffs the wicked; really just slams their hellish practices down and lets them know what they have coming for their efforts.  The Church wants to play along and get along; I personally do not care much to.  I like things presented as they are and were - and let the chips fall where they may.  I happen to miss the preacher in the Temple Endowment.....  The Savior's words 'wise as a serpent, harmless as a dove', sometimes are lost on me and I go about like a bull in a china shop.  I personally will take the 'trash' head on and not care about the consequences.....  Several years ago, I tangled with a rabid anti named Tal who was just going about destroying the Church - son of Almaesque-like; and warned him that the path he was on would bring great destruction in his own life.  At that time, I could tell his activities were blinding him to the destruction in his marriage - and no doubt the stress he was also subjecting his 8 kids to.  I was recently in contact with him and his marriage is over and he may be ready to turn the corner in a repentant way.  I guess Saul of NT fame did it, why not Tal.  Truly sad - as the wicked kick against the pricks, they do have their agency - but they absolutely CANNOT choose the outcome of their consequences.  I was in contact with him in a public way on a forum I no longer endorse due to the amount of godless anti activity on it and lack of moderator discernment, and he (or one of his hellish anti cohorts) let me know that the book Fate was inaccurate.  While there may be a few inaccuracies, I know the principles in it are correct; precisely because I have warned and forewarned several people who have kicked against the pricks that they were on a collision course with their fates.  One co-worker is now experiencing spirit prison and the other accidentally sent his own mother over to the spirit world and he came out of it a changed and humble man (two separate previous blog posts).   I have also seen it in my own life when I have become slothful and crossed a line; the smack-down is swift and sure.  God would rather have a corrected, compliant person than to let them go to waste for not having input external course corrections at the right time.  The same goes for nations - who declare they no longer have a need for a God in directing their affairs......  The smack-down there comes shortly.  I open my mouth so that I do not end up part of the problem - but rather part of the solution.

The second book - almost polar opposite the first, and the subject of this piece was given to my wife and I to borrow around 6 months before we went through our life-changing event.  Life Everlasting is a great compilation of most of the outstanding historical quotes and anecdotes on NDEs, spirit world, and post-life experiences of notable members of the Church.  Thus, there is credibility there.  Duane and his wife lost one of their daughters as an eleven year old to childhood leukemia.  Being a Church seminarian, he started digging on the topic of death, and the book was the result of his excellent research.  By it, we were prepared for what was coming into our lives in a few short months.  After our loss, I was filled with the spirit of prophecy and loaned our copy to my mother to let her get ready.  It was one of those statements out of my mouth that I did not know how to the letter would be fulfilled.  My mother always kind of feared death - and expressed it to me.  After reading this book, she was at peace with the process.  Though healthy right up to her death, as predicted, she was gone within six months - and came back a month after her death to deliver a message (previous blog piece).  I now own no less than three copies of this work and find it some of the best material to loan out to people who are struggling with issues of death.

You can find the book here on Duane's web site:

www.duanescrowther.com

Hope you enjoy this book as much as I did.

CLEON SKOUSEN ENDORSED BY THE FOUNDING FATHERS

So, several of the previous posts have dealt with the Hopi prophecy rock.  Few people have seen it.  Among the few (white people) who have were Jacob Hamblin,  Hugh Nibley and Lance Richardson.  I first came across Lance's NDE when, around 17 years ago, my wife brought home a tape about his experience.  It struck me as authentic - everyone who has a claim to one of these experiences is a changed person - whether in the Church, or out of it.  The doctrine also seems to follow that of our faith - whether in the Church, or out of it (see my previous post by a Catholic co-worker who had an amazing experience).

In reading this blog, which I shamelessly copied so there is a second location for this interesting data, it appears that the Founding Fathers put their stamp of approval on the works of Cleon Skousen.  As an author, I have to say his book on the Old Testament threw enough light and knowledge into my mind, that I no longer considered things so twisted and backwards - when put in context of modern revelation and Cleon's excellent grasp of the prophetic bent.

So here it is.  I hope you find it as interesting as I did:

The Message by Lance Richardson

A couple years ago (2003'ish) I had the opportunity to meet Cleon Skousen, quite a well known individual in church and government circles. I spent a wonderful afternoon talking with him about a variety of subjects and over the course of that conversation he made a fascinating statement to me about a man named Lance Richardson. He told me that Lance had had an NDE (Near Death Experience) where he died, went to the spirit world, and came back. When Lance returned he said that he was told by some of the men who lived with the founding fathers of our country to read several books when he returned to help him better understand why our founding fathers were inspired to organize this country the way they did, and several of those books were written by Cleon.
Cleon is in his early-mid 90's and still pretty lucid, but I wanted to verify the story so I tried to track Lance down to ask him if this was true.
My first search led me to a website where the author claimed to be at a fireside in rural Utah somewhere and Lance came and shared his experience with a small group. This person wrote down a bunch of notes including one I thought was particularly interesting about Lance meeting up with a friend of his in heaven that was still enjoying golf in the spirit world.
So I ordered Lance's book, The Message. The book describes how Lance got some illness on a European mission when he was young that devastated his health. Numerous and frequent trips to the hospital for recurring pneumonia and other diseases really wrought havok in his body and finally after a motorcycle accident ended with his near death experience. He talks about family relations and how there are reunions and celebrations (with food :)) in heaven. It also talks about sometimes departed friends and loved ones are sent to inspire us and give us direction in our own mortal lives. Part of "the message" that Lance was instructed to bring back is that this country is on the brink of self-destruction for removing God from our lives and country. He also discusses how he was told we needed to serve each other to prepare for the coming trials and preparation for creating Zion, or a place where peace and harmony exist between people.
Finally I tracked down an email address for Lance and made contact. These are Lance's comments on the website I mentioned above:

"...the website you refer to where this guy claims to have heard me say each of these things he has in his website has many erroneous statements. I have tried several times to have him remove this material, because it is false. But he has hid behind the same legalities as the tabloids do in their false reporting. So, I have not been able to shut his article down.
"However, he does have a number of items in his article that are true. It is true that I met a friend of mine who used to be a professional golfer before he died. He is now a missionary to his ancestors, for he was the only family member in mortality that had joined the church. He was having great success, whereas these family members knew him, and loved him, and were willing to listen to him. But they do have a balance in their time and are given some time to enjoy the tremendously beautiful world God has created for them, as well. One of the things he had enjoyed in that world, he said, were some incredibly beautiful golf courses that had been created in this wondrous world. He said they were absolutely amazing. So, according to my friend, there are some of the wonderful things we enjoyed in this life in the world beyond, too. It is important that this point is properly understood, though. Unfortunately, because of this report, I have been quoted numerous times as having said that the spirits are just sitting around golfing in the spirit world, having a great time. Nothing mentioned about balance or the rest of the work they are doing. Thus I mention that it is important that the whole story be told rather than just that one sentence."

The next part is where it really started interesting me. I had asked Lance about Cleon's comments. Lance's reply drew out an exchange of emails between us that has provided me with some great reading material. Lance said:

"What occurred was that I met with many men who had died in the revolutionary and civil wars and who had assignment now, as part of a quorum, to protect America and keep her free for the final day when Christ returns and directs the building of the city of New Jerusalem, or the latter-day Zion. These men who died in the Revolutionary War shared with me that they had lived with the men who we consider as the founding fathers of America, and that they head the quorum which these men are a part of. They further explained that these men, in particular Jefferson, Adams, Franklin, and Washington, were deeply inspired in their work, and that they came to an understanding of exactly what they were ultimately doing; laying the foundation for the latter-day Zion to be built spoken of in the Old Testament by several ancient prophets. They came to understand this work that they were doing and carried out their assignments.
"These men then explained to me that I needed to understand better what they knew and what they had recognized in their studies and works. They told me several books which I should read in order to come to this better understanding. Three or four of these books were books written by Cleon Skousen about the founding fathers."

Lance died last year (2004) before he could look up from his journal the full book list, but he did give me several off the top of his head. I have only read a couple so far but they're all on my short list to get and read. Here's the list:
Books by Cleon (co-authored the last 3):

1. The Making of America
2. The Majesty of God's Law (this book, I believe, Cleon told me he wrote at President McKay's request stating this was how he got a job at BYU. President McKay and the first presidency told Cleon if the Elders of Israel are to save the constitution, we need to figure out how it is we are to do it. Please go do some research in the archives at BYU and Cleon wrote this book on the subject. I hope I'm not too far off on my recollection...)
3. The Real George Washington
4. The Real Thomas Jefferson
5. The Real Benjamin Franklin

Other books Lance was told to read:

1. Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
2. De Tocqueville's Democracy in America

If you are interested in getting Lance's book "The Message," and I do heartily recommend it as well as a couple other of his items, you can go to www.americanfamilypublications.com. I have read his book "Masquerading as Angels" which is a wonderful story he only partly tells in his book "The Message" about a family service vacation that is very inspirational. I also have his tape set "They Saw Our Day" which talks about Indian Prophecies of Christ's second coming. After playing the tapes for some scouts on an overnighter, one of them replied "whoa, that's crazy cool!" Take that as an endorsement I guess. Purchasing from the website I just gave you also helps support Lance's family directly. That is their own personal website and they could use the support since Lance's death has obviously burdened the family.
To acquire the books by Cleon visit www.skousen2000.com and www.nccs.net (National Center for Constitutional Studies--founded by Cleon). The other books you can get at Amazon.com.

Back to There Goes the Neighborhood

HUGH NIBLEY AND THE SACRED HOPI STONE

I thought this was interesting - from a blog called "in the cavity of a rock".  I copied it because its too important not to have a duplicate of it.

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Hugh Nibley and the Sacred Hopi Stone Tablets

Old Oraibi

This post is out of the Neal A. Maxwell Institutes publication by Hugh Nibley entitled, "Promised Lands".  This is an exerpt directly from that
publication in regards to the times in which Hugh was honored to have been shown the sacred Hopi Stone Tablets.  This is a rare thing even for most Hopi let alone any Pahana (white people). Off of the top of my head I can only think of two other people that I know of who have seen them, one being Lance Richardson author of "The Message" and the other was an early LDS missionary who was a friend of Chief Tuba back in the early 1900's (1921 to be exact) named Elder C.L. Christianson.  Nibley also offers his thoughts on what they are and because I completely agree I will leave it at that and let the reading commence....enjoy I know I did.

One evening as it was getting dark I was passing by their (John and Mina Lansa) house, the northernmost
house in Old Oraibi, when Mina came out and beckoned me vigorously to come in. I wondered what I had done wrong, because new infringements of the whites were causing considerable tension. In the house the chief elders were seated all around the room. A small kitchen table and chair were in the middle of the room and a coal oil lamp was on the table. Mina told me to sit on the chair; then she went out of the room and soon returned with a bundle, something heavy wrapped in a blanket. She put it on the table and then unwrapped it. It was the holy tablet, the Hopi Stone, no less, the most sacred possession of the people. I knew what I was expected to do and started talking.

Anasazi Stone Tablets found at Mesa Verde

By an interesting coincidence I had spent the previous week in Cedar City with President William Palmer, a patriarch as well as stake president, who taught anthropology in the college there. He had been initiated into the Paiute tribe, and took me out to their sacred place in the plain southwest of Parowan. The building of the highway had put an end to the rites of initiation that once took place there, but President Palmer described the teachings and ordinances as far as was permitted. In particular he told the story of the descent of the Lord from heaven as if at that place, an event much like that described in 3 Nephi.

Tobats was the God of all Creation; his son Shinob was the peacemaker full of love and eternally young. One day the Evil One Un-nu-pit killed Shinob. At once a great darkness fell upon "Tu-weap," the whole earth. It was absolute blackness for three days. In this chaos and confusion everyone was groping around in howling and lamentation. Finally, a voice from the top of the mountain spoke; it was Tobats the Father. He told them to move about with outstretched arms, calling out to each other, and joining hands with whoever one touched. Thus they formed lines, and the lines were instructed to join with each other; people in the lines were to cry out for husbands and wives and children until all families had reformed. Then the noise ceased, and a voice told them to climb the mountain or mesa where Tobats was. They worked their way up the mountain, toiling in human chains and finally forming a huge circular formation on the top, with Tobats in the middle. Well, Tobats said he would shoot an arrow straight up (this is the well-known Indian and world-wide theme of the arrow chain to heaven). His arrow produced a tiny spark of light; but the second arrow brought light, which grew like an explosion until it flooded all the land. The blackbird and the flicker have been honored ever since because their feathers were used for the arrows—they are perpetual reminders of the great event. And thus the Indians typically reedit, according to the tribe and the land, those stories whose origin is lost in a distant past.



Hugh Nibley



There were many things on the Hopi Stone that are never shown in the sketchy reproductions of it, but the main items were the wanderings of the people and upheavals of nature, the arrow-chain to heaven and the light descending from the clouds. I started to explain things in terms of what I had learned from President Palmer a few days before. As I talked the elders began whispering among themselves with some animation. Suddenly Mina snatched the stone from the table, clutched it tightly, and said excitedly, "You are a smart man—but you don't know everything!" Was I on the right track? I suspect so, because some years later, in 1965, when I was wandering in the sad desolation of Oraibi, now emptier than ever, I was approached again with an invitation to come to the house and see the Hopi Stone again. When I got there, there was confusion and excitement; something had happened. We would have to call it off. Everyone was going to where the meeting of the Tribal Council had just been held. The Tribal Council was a creation of the BIA, compliant to the will of the powers of the East, whose authority the traditionalists had never recognized. They had just that day leased a tract of the sacred Black Mesa to the Peabody Coal Company. The company had generously offered to provide trailer houses for the entire tribe if they would move to Los Angeles. A more colossal culture gap could not be imagined.

Here it is necessary to speak of that strange passion for the land with which all Indians seem to be obsessed. This state of mind can best be explained by reference to the Book of Mormon. In his great sermon to the Nephites the Lord declares, "Behold, the covenant which I have made with my people is not all fulfilled" (3 Nephi 15:8). "And behold, this is the land of your inheritance; and the Father hath given it unto you" (3 Nephi 15:13). Again he tells them to "write these sayings after I am gone, . . . that these sayings which ye shall write shall be . . . manifested unto the Gentiles, that through the fulness of the Gentiles, the remnant of their seed, who shall be scattered forth upon the face of the earth because of their unbelief, may be brought in" (3 Nephi 16:4). We are to take note of what they have written, and it is this: "Verily, Verily, I say unto you, thus hath the Father hath commanded me—that I should give unto this people this land for their inheritance" (3 Nephi 16:16). The Hopi Stone, beautifully done on highly polished porphyr, is such a writing as the Nephites were ordered to make—a deed to the land. The Lord concludes with a final repetition: "And the Father hath commanded me that I should give unto you this land, for your inheritance. . . . And if the Gentiles do not repent . . . after they have scattered my people, . . . the sword of my justice shall hang over them at that day" (3 Nephi 20:14—15, 20).

What could be clearer? This land has been given to that particular branch of Israel as an inheritance for their children in perpetuity—it is their sacred obligation to hold it for their children; they cannot possibly sell it or allow it to be taken from them. That would be unthinkable, and that we never seem to understand.

NOT MY TIME TO GO, PART II

For almost a decade, I have been building a home on a few acres in the hills of Montana.  It is the only thing my wife and I can truly call our own.  The banks own everything else.  We are slaves, folks.  And if I do not pay the taxes on that, it will be sold on the steps of the county courthouse within 3 years.  If my wife and I die, though the estate has title to it, it will have to be sold to satisfy a 50% estate tax.  How free do you really think you are?  I maintain most people historically have been more free under King George III - do not believe the lies you are told by the main stream media.  It is pure fiction and propaganda - we have been asleep at the wheel for decades.  President Benson was right.

I read the Mosiah Hancock quote (from Joseph Smith - its in the archives) about the "spirit of speculation and extravagance" taking possession of the Saints back in 1999 and that there would be a financial collapse.  I pegged the extent of it being a 40% correction in the housing market.  That has since come to fruition - what remains to happen is that our financial system will go off a cliff.  That could be as soon as 2015 or even earlier - maybe a few months from now.  I am such a conservative, I have taken no chances and liquidated anything that cannot be used for food, water, heat or shelter and turned it into those items.

One of those items I converted cash into was a pair of 40' shipping containers.  One of them, the nicer one, was to be loaded with 60,000 pounds of used glu-lam beams for the post and beam-style home and shipped over to MT on a low boy trailer.  I had no way to cheaply get the container into the air, so I took a welding class and built 4 legs with sliders that moved inside.  The sliders were to be mounted in the four corners of the container with 8 ton hydraulic rams to do the lifting.  I hauled the 1500 lbs of posts out to the site and just needed to drill 8 holes in order to get the 9500lb container the 42" in the air so the trailer could be backed under it.

I had brought my large generator with me - I had bought it the previous fall brand new at the Home Depot - and, after running it for just a few hours to see what it could do, it had been sitting all winter and I had no idea the carb was gummed up.  It was pouring outside so I put the generator inside and I tried for a good hour to get it to run.  I only needed it for 20 mins to drill 8 holes and then I could drive the 25 miles back home.  It was getting very fume-rich inside that space as I pulled away on the handle.  Finally, in exasperation, I pulled the spark plug out and pulled on the handle a few times to see if I was getting enough gas - it was spraying out of the spark plug hole and I consciously knew I was approaching the LEL (lower explosive limit - where the fuel to air stoichiometry was the proper ratio for combustion).  The only thing that lacked was a spark.  I also knew, that might have been one of the things that was missing from the basic AIR/FUEL/IGNITION SOURCE of small engine troubleshooting.  I just needed to hook the spark plug on the end of the wire, place it next to the head of the engine and watch for the blue spark to eliminate that as the possible source of my headache.  I did not have the proper tools to rebuild the carb on the spot and I was not driving 25 miles in that rain just to get a lousy screw driver so I could drill 8 lousy holes!  My mind told me to not introduce a spark at that juncture - because the fireball would be substantial.  Another part of me was so fed up with the situation, it overrode logic.  Literally, something was screaming in my mind DON'T DO IT.  YOU WILL DIE!!!  My stubborn natural man said  I DON'T CARE IF I DIE (I really did - but I had had enough of fiddling around and it was getting dark, to boot).  I reached down and gave a crank on that handle as hard as I could on that cord of that Generac generator with less than 8 hours on it as my mind is screaming out not to do it. 

Two seconds later, I was standing in front of the generator shaking with the handle in my hand and the cord swinging in the air.  The knot had come undone and the generator did not even turn over one revolution - and produced no spark.  I was HUMBLED in an instant.  I knew immediately my bacon had been saved in spite of the screaming warning in my mind.  I set the cord down, walked out to the car and drove the 25 miles back home thanking my Maker the entire way home that someone or something had stepped in to save me from my own stubbornness and stupidity.

Always heed that warning voice - even when it is not so still and small as it can be sometimes......

NOT MY TIME TO GO

For anyone that has been around me for some time, you will hear my stories of when I nearly got sent over to the other side.  I have never sat down to do an exact count, but I have nearly died no less than 10 times.  If I were any more paranoid than I am, I would have to think that someone was trying to kill me off.  Most of it is probably me, due to my own stupidity.

I am quite certain, one of the reasons my son was called over to the other side is because I have been such a pain in the butt for those responsible for overseeing what is going on down here on this telestial sphere.  In the dream my father had two weeks before that fateful day, the statement of my Great G-pa seemed to indicate that he was overloaded and needed a hand to keep up with the workload that I was probably contributing to.  Some days, if I am doing something very difficult, I will literally pray non-stop.  I like to think that I have an advocate over there - and it does bring me great comfort.  In the short 9 months we were together, I developed a close bond with that little guy.

Just before my mission, we were tearing our old barn down to make way for a new pole barn my dad was putting up.  My dad had a guy with a large backhoe come over and knock it over.  It was my job to then drag the large pieces over to an open area of a field away from the other outbuildings and prepare them for burning.  I used a large chain and attached the roof sections to the three point hitch on the old Ford 8N.  I had left it in the highest position, about 30" off the ground.  I dragged the first section over to the field quite easily and then returned for the second section.  This time, I was more comfortable with how the tractor was reacting to the load and I put it into third gear as I moved across the field.  I wanted the two roof sections on top of each other so that the burn pile would be as small as possible so I drove the tractor up onto the first roof section while trying to pull the second one on top while going between 5-10 mph.  I did not foresee that the 2x4 ends of the sections would butt up against each other and that, with the 3 point hitch raised - and going at the speed I was with the tractor holding down the first roof section, disaster was about to strike.  Basic physics won out - next thing I knew, the tractor was rotating back on its large rear wheels.  I began to panic in the 1-2 seconds I had to react.  I did not think to hit the throttle or the key, my mind started racing and thinking whether I should go right or go left as the steering wheel was coming up into my chest.  My life then began to proverbally flash before my eyes at frightening speed.  Everything was put into a ultra-slow state - except for what was flashing through my mind.  I had just been to see the Patriarch to receive my blessing wherein I was given some promises.  The thoughts in my mind were now literally screaming - a shout raced through my mind "I HAVE NOT SERVED A MISSION YET!!!!".    At that point the tractor was at about a 45 degree angle and I was certain it could have gone over with the 3 point hitch so high and not able to stop the backward movement.  One of the thoughts that raced through my mind was the story my mother always told of an uncle on her side of the family that had died - crushed by a tractor roll-over.  At that instant, the tractor stalled and crashed to the ground - the front tires bouncing about 1 foot off the ground on the first bounce.  I sat there for a few seconds still clutching the wheel - not believing I was still alive.  Then anger; at having been so reckless.  I jumped off the tractor and kicked the rear tire.    I was shaking.  I headed home and my mother saw me as I came in the rear door.  "What happened?"  I was too embarrassed to tell her that I had almost killed myself - but she knew by the ghostly color of my face that I had been in a brush with something scary.  Whether the carburetor float was at too steep of an angle to function, or whether there was a heavenly intervention, it simply was not my time to go.  I was able to serve my mission.

God is in control - and we cannot add a single day or hour to our life.  Therefore, seek to do His will and trust in His tender mercies.  It will all work out.

A MAN WILL NOT BE DAMNED FOR BELIEVING TOO MUCH

The following are quotes by Joseph Smith on how much we should search the things of God in our studies.  There are several camps within the Church - one of them is that "you must eat white bread with apricot jam" in your gospel searchings - stay away from the big, bad mysteries.....".  I about barf when someone gives me that tripe.  I immediately avoid them like the plague for the mindless "gospel zombies" that they are.....  Heck, where would be without people who didn't follow the zombies of the day and were not afraid to ask a few questions to One who upbraids not for having asked the question.  I prefer what the founder of this dispensation had to say, as taken from LDSFF from a guy named "Bob":

I like to carry a few copies of the following quotes with me, stops a lot of potential arguments.

Joseph Smith; "It has always been my province to dig up hidden mysteries—
new things—for my hearers. (teachings p.364)" "I never hear of a man being damned for believing too much; but they are damned for unbelief."

Joseph Smith; "We deem it a just principle . . . that all men are created equal, and that all have the privilege of thinking for themselves upon all matters relative to conscience. Consequently, then, we are not disposed, had we the power, to deprive any one of exercising that free independence of mind which heaven has so graciously bestowed upon the human family as one of its choicest gifts."

Joseph Smith; “The Savior has the words of eternal life. Nothing else can
profit us. There is no salvation in believing an evil report against our neighbor.
I advise all to go on to perfection, and search deeper and deeper into the
mysteries of Godliness. A man can do nothing for himself unless God direct
him in the right way; and the Priesthood is revealed for that purpose.”
( Discourses of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p.364)

Alma explains the blessings of proper search and study of the scriptures
and the destructive results of "willful ignorance" of the word of God.

9. And now Alma began to expound these things unto him, saying: It is given
unto many to know the mysteries of God; nevertheless they are laid under a
strict command that they shall not impart only according to the portion of his word which he doth grant unto the children of men, according to the heed and diligence which they give unto him.
10. And therefore, he that will harden his heart, the same received the lesser portion of the word; and he that will not harden his heart, to him is given the greater portion of the word, until it is given unto him to know the mysteries of God until he know them in full.
11. And they that will harden their hearts, to them is given the lesser portion of
the word until they know nothing concerning his mysteries; and then they are taken captive by the devil, and led by his will down to destruction. Now this is what is meant by the chains of hell. (Alma 12:9-11.)

Having Little knowledge is described by Alma as "the chains of hell!" Get to much knowledge and supposed faithful church members have no problem with condemning you to hell! Wacky world!

Our standard works and the words of our modern-day prophets are "the portion of his word" referred to in the above passage, it's what has been revealed! The problem we searchers have is in getting people to understand what we are saying "has been revealed!"

Bob