CAIN & ABEL – DIE-IT & DIET

Cain was not Abel. His focus on this feeling of separateness induced by fore-bitten fruit caused the lousy sensation of jeal-lousy against and blocked any gell-ing with his brother. Cain did not play well with others. And this continued to the point of feeling himself consumed by this thought of not being Abel, thinking himself Un-Abel . Like all of us, C-a-I-n asked the question, “Can-I?” If he would have put the question to God, he would have had his doubt reversed from “Can-I?” to “I-Can!” Instead of asking God, Cain answered that question with his own (T)houghts determining in a negative belief wherein he said to himself, “I Can’T” Our forefather’s uncertainty in his own spiritual abilities caused him to give Forbidden Fruits of the Field (F.F.F. or 666) as an offering to the Lord. When it was rejected, it was because we can not fool ourselves by sacrificing something other than our sinful selves through humility and faith. The story of Abel’s sacrifice not only symbolically speaks of the Sacrifice of the Lamb of God but literally relates how he, himself was sacrificed. In a very real way, Abel was the first Christ. Unfortunately, Self Sacrifice is not well understood and much less the Savior(Him)Self. Mormon and Muslim scripture show us how Abraham broke with a horrible family tradition of fathers sacrificing their sons. The true man of integrity does not rely on pseudo-sacrifice and suppose that the practice will save his soul.

While they were in the field, Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.

God favors neither fruit nor flesh but rather He recognizes only the First-Fruits of the First-Born not the First-Killed. Cain was the firstborn but like Esau, he did not correctly understand his birthright. And as we will see, he too sold it for a “mess of pottage”. Genesis says that Abel became a shepherd of a flock, but Cain cultivated the land. The record does not say it was an orchard or vineyard but a field from whence Cain, “presented some of the land’s produce as an offering to the Lord” and a field to which Cain beckoned his brother with the plan to slay him. Fields which are naturally occurring do not yield anything that man’s stomach can handle without much prior processing. But sheep’s stomachs are made to process the grasses and the meat of grass-fed sheep and other ruminants like bison, venison and goats provided early man with much strength and nutrients. Even if a field is cleared with much toil and “sweat of the brow” to make way for strictly wheat or barely to be grown, grains are typically poisonous to humans until we grind them into powder and cook almost any remaining nutrients out of them.

Mineral deficiencies and birth defects are the legacy of grain based diets. You will remember, ‘pastel’ comes from an Italian word that literally means “material reduced to a paste” and is a diminutive form of the word ‘pasta’. Pasta is made from grains reduced to a paste. This is the same stuff used to put piñatas together. It tastes like crap and production is costly. The agricultural revolution brought us slave food, and since we are what we eat, it inevitably brought us to become slaves. Slaves are miserable and misery seeks company. But healthier humans do not become slaves of their own volition. The situation soon deteriorated All-Over (Oliver) the globe, from healthy hunter-gatherers to Twisted scenes wherein the human race is reduced to orphans begging oppressors, “Please Sir. Can-I have some more?” Seeds are nature’s microchips the original nano-technology. They will hold whatsoever information as is input and execute the same when planted. Ingestion of so many grains makes one more easily engrained by whatever spell the ruling class casts over the seeds that are then cast over the earth for a continued sowing and reaping of their cycle of death. Live by the sickle, die by the sickle. Eating sticky gruel or pottage everyday will produce a sickly populace with a pasty, pale complexion. And the robust Afrikan race may seem to have adjusted physically to a slave diet of cruel gruel. But on the inside, their spirits reject what they have been fed, urging their physical bodies to go against the grain. The effects are felt and it is no coincidence that Afrikan Americans are at highest risk for the blood disease called Sickle Cell Anemia. The mutation that causes all SCDs (Sickle Cell Diseases) originated in Cameroon, Senegal, Benin and other West African areas. This mutation causes haemoglobin to collapse in on itself occasionally. When enough haemoglobin collapses in on itself the red blood cells loose their natural holy torus shape and become sickle-shaped.

Silly Satan, Paste is for the Outside of the Body, Not the Inside of the Body.

Imagine the envy boiling the blood inside Cain as he sees his able-bodied brother, blessed with a life-energy that flowed to him almost effortlessly, without compulsory means (D&C 121:46). Perhaps Cain had tried his hand at sheep herding and found that the animals did not readily obey him as they did his sibling. Watching Abel, the Good Shepherd, Cain may have wondered in awe at his almost magical ability to be trusted and obeyed by the beasts. Protecting one’s flock and self from predators can drive a man crazy but even more maddening to Cain, would have been witnessing how Abel made it look so easy. How had he regained such oneness with nature in this post Eden existence? Eons later Arab slave drivers and white anthropologists would encounter the Masai tribe of North Africa with similar fascination and bewilderment.

Chiefly herders of cattle and goats, the Masai have lived primarily on dairy products, including milk and blood, with some meat, and with a varying percentage of fruit and vegetable foods. Like their progenitor, Abel, they continue blood sacrifice. They have found favor with the Lord through occasional blood letting which is acceptable in the Lord’s sight and does not require the same kind of slaughter called for under the Law of Moses. Anthropologists observe that in every instance these cattle people dominate the surrounding tribes who, in contrast to the Masai, are all agrarian. The Masai are characterized by superb physical development, great bravery and a mental acumen that makes it possible for them to dominate because of their superior intelligence. Dr. Weston Price writes:

“The Masai are tall and strong. In driving over the veldt we frequently saw one or two men or boys guarding an entire herd with only their spears. Their skill in killing a lion with a spear is one of the most superb of human achievements.”

The ‘Abel’ Bodied Massai

The Bible describes Cain as becoming “furious and downcast” that the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering but did not for Cain and his offering. The Lord asks Cain why he is so upset and tells him: “If you do right, won’t you be accepted? But if you do not do right, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must master it.” The Septuagint version has an alternate translation which provides some insight. Here the Lord is recorded as saying: “Hast thou not sinned if thou hast brought it rightly, but not rightly divided it? Be still, to thee shall be his submission, and thou mayest rule over him.” It sounds as if God is explaining that He is not so much disapproving of Cain’s chosen livelihood but of the way he has gone about it. Is it possible that the Lord is giving some sound advice on how to balance his diet or prepare his meals in a healthier manner? Could the words “rightly divided” be referring to proper preparation or even to sharing his harvest with others according to the ways of a just and loving steward rather than insisting on  land ownership and later ownership of people which Cain’s agricultural revolution spawned? The Lord admonishes the vexed Cain to, “Be still.” “Calm yourself. You will get the hang of it if you only relax and put your trust in Me,” seems to be God’s message to Cain. Cain is told that his external environment will submit to him and he will rule it. But for this to happen he must muster up inner courage and master himself. Sadly, Cain does not heed the voice of the Lord. He allows himself to be overcome with resentment. Resentment turns to rage and he commits fratricide. An unspeakable evil was unleashed on the planet and the Curse of Cain has since spread and affected many the world over.

Additional text, not had in the Bible, is found in The Pearl of Great Price, Moses 5:31

“And Cain said: Truly I am Mahan, the master of this great secret, that I may murder and get gain. Wherefore Cain was called Master Mahan, and he gloried in his wickedness.”

Satan Crowns Cain

LDS theologians and Cain himself might very well say that he did in fact master something – the Devil himself. But all that happened here was that his failure to master the devil in his self resulted in an open portal through which evil could work and would flow for millennia to come. For this reason the title ‘Master Mahan’ was passed from Cain to his son Lamech and purity of the bloodline has been of utmost importance within the secret combinations ever since. The passing gene-rations must not feel or think themselves free to pursue their own lives in liberty and in this way they are not masters at all but puppets. To the extent that the dark half of our nature comes to rule our spirit, it causes our countenance to fall and our surroundings follow suit. This is why Cain could only gain anything through lies and the exercise of force, whilst Abel, who walked in holiness before the Lord, had no need of secrets or manipulation. This is the story of two men inhabiting the same physical dimension but operating from very different spiritual dimensions. One, a keeper of cattle, the other a tiller of the field – one was just that much closer to his hunter gatherer roots and the other, following new trends of faithlessness.

The Cry of the Little Peoples goes up to God in vain,
For the world is given over to the cruel sons of Cain;

From Richard Le Gallienne’s poem: Cry Of The Little Peoples

The 2013 edition of the scriptures has unintentionally added new scripture to the canon

I’ll make this post short and to the point.

This is how the section heading of D&C 89 used to read:

Revelation given through Joseph Smith the Prophet, at Kirtland, Ohio, February 27, 1833. As a consequence of the early brethren using tobacco in their meetings, the Prophet was led to ponder upon the matter; consequently, he inquired of the Lord concerning it. This revelation, known as the Word of Wisdom, was the result.  The first three verses were originally written as an inspired introduction and description by the Prophet.

The first three verses were never considered to be part of the revelation itself, therefore, when the saints later voted to make the Word of Wisdom a commandment binding upon all latter-day saints, the part that was binding started in verse 4, for that is where everyone thought the revelation started.

However, new scholarly research* has shown that the first three verses was not just an introduction written by Joseph, but actually part of the revelation itself.  In other words, verses 1-3 are the words of the Spirit**, not Joseph.  So, the scholars changed the section heading to read as such:

Revelation given through Joseph Smith the Prophet, at Kirtland, Ohio, February 27, 1833. As a consequence of the early brethren using tobacco in their meetings, the Prophet was led to ponder upon the matter; consequently, he inquired of the Lord concerning it. This revelation, known as the Word of Wisdom, was the result.

This adds three verses to our scriptural canon and also causes the vote which bound the saints to obey the Word of Wisdom as a commandment to apply to verses 1-3.

Because the Word of Wisdom is not to be sent by commandment or constraint (according to the words of the Spirit in verse 2), the only way to break the Word of Wisdom is by insisting that people follow its proscriptions and dietary regulations.  So, smoking, drinking, coffee and tea are now allowed in the church.

---

Footnotes

*  The following information comes from the Explanations for the Doctrine and Covenants Section Headings page of the Joseph Smith Papers web site:

Section 89

The revised heading in the 2013 edition deletes the last sentence of the earlier heading, which stated that the first three verses of the revelation were written by Joseph Smith. The sources for this change include the versions of the revelation in Revelation Book 1, page 167, and Revelation Book 2, pages 49–50, which treat the opening statement as part of the revelation.

**  DAC 89 on the 1st Act Scriptures web site shows the Spirit’s words in black text, while the Lord’s words are in brown text.

Complete List of Articles authored by LDS Anarchist

BRIGHAM – THE BUILDER & THE BUTCHER pt.1

THE QUESTION

This is not just an exposé on Brigham Young. It is not just an exposé on Masons or Mormons. It is an exposé on you and me.

In Hollywood insider Cecil DeMille’s The Ten Commandments, there is a scene where Moses speaks to the Egyptian who he later slays. He poses a poignant question, from one Mason to another, which illustrates perfectly the fine line between good and evil; not only among us collectively but within us, as potential creators and destroyers. He asks:

“Are you a master builder or a master butcher?”

THE SITUATION

The traveling mystic miracle men or, as they were called in the middle and far-east, fakirs, have been replaced with fakers; apostles with apostates. Moroni tells us that the lack of supply in the department of miracles is a set up scene of false scarcity, meant to produce a demand for false prophets and the false security they sell.

“And now, O all ye that have imagined up unto yourselves a god who can do no miracles, I would ask of you, have all these things passed, of which I have spoken? Has the end come yet? Behold I say unto you, Nay; and God has not ceased to be a God of miracles.”

Mormon 9:15

“Or have angels ceased to appear unto the children of men? Or has he withheld the power of the Holy Ghost from them? Or will he, so long as time shall last, or the earth shall stand, or there shall be one man upon the face thereof to be saved? Behold I say unto you, Nay; for it is by faith that miracles are wrought; and it is by faith that angels appear and minister unto men; wherefore, if these things have ceased wo be unto the children of men, for it is because of unbelief, and all is vain.”

Moroni 7:36-37

This then, is not just a case of market manipulation, rather mammon itself is placing the minds and hearts of men under a magical spell. When a P-R-O-P-H-E-T starts to crack up or break down over profit or under pressure, there are two ways he can go. He can become a P-O-E-T, or if not, all that is left to him is to become an R-P-h (Registered Pharmicist). A prophet without a prophecy is nothing more than an apothecary. If you think that this is merely a clever analogy and is in no way literal, then please, hear the words of Boyd K. Packer in the General Conference of the Church, Oct., 1989. In his discourse entitled Revelation in a Changing World, he identifies himself and his comrades with “those ordained as Apostles, as prophets, seers, and revelators.” (italics added, capitalized ‘A’ in ‘Apostles’copied as is from the official transcript) Boyd took this opportunity to slyly and masterfully direct the substantial spiritual power generated by the collective honor and belief of his vast audience into backing the drug industry. Observe…

“Our physical body is the instrument of our spirit. In that marvelous revelation, the Word of Wisdom, we are told how to keep our bodies free from impurities which might dull, even destroy, those delicate physical senses which have to do with spiritual communication…Addiction has the capacity to disconnect the human will and nullify moral agency… Agency is too fundamental a doctrine to be left in such jeopardy…

It is my conviction, and my constant prayer, that there will come through research, through inspiration to scientists if need be, the power to conquer narcotic addiction through the SAME MEANS which cause it…”

If you don’t see the double speak here it is because your eye is not single. If you feel uneasy or confused by Packer’s message, I ask you to study in your mind and ponder in your heart this short paragraph sandwiched between the alternating truths and lies of his talk…

“Things of the Spirit need not—indeed, should not—require our uninterrupted time and attention. Ordinary work-a-day things occupy most of our attention. And that is as it should be. We are mortal beings living in this physical world.”

Since this spell was cast over the pulpit in ’89, Perscription Drug Abuse has skyrocketed  as the fastest growing addiction in the nation. Utah in particular came to lead this trend in terms of percentages. Carbon County in Utah has the second highest rate of deaths from prescription drug overdose in the nation. 8 other counties in Utah are above the national average for deaths from prescription drug abuse. From 2008 to 2009, more than 10% of all fatalities were from overdose of pharmaceutical drugs. In the first seven years since graduation from high school in Springville UT, resident Cameron Teeples watched as an average of one former schoolmate per year died from overdose of legal drugs. All this only speaks to the levels deemed as abuse and the fatal results stemming from that abuse. The bulk of the dangerous iceberg lies with the simple fact that antidepressant drugs are prescribed in Utah more often than in any other state, at a rate nearly twice the national average. Utah’s rate of antidepressant use according to a study in 2002 was twice the rate of California and nearly three times the rates in New York and New Jersey.

Playing the role of Hierophant, Packer put his trust and prodded the faith of others into scientists who are in fact zionists. Just like the Jewish people as a group are plagued by an infestation of certain misguided yet highly motivated souls who have conglomerated to lend credence to a corrupted version of the idea of a promised land; the Mormons contain an element that craftily substitute the ideal of Zion with an artificial abomination. Such self deception does not quarantine itself to only the inside minority group within, but spreads from mind to mind like germs on the wind. Without a healthy immune system, one will soon turn to vain hopes of fighting off the vile infection with chemical substances like those produced by the zionist scientists “through the SAME MEANS which cause it.”

Brigham Young himself warns against the pitfalls of trusting your life to doctors rather than to God.

“Now the cry is, “Send for a doctor.” If you have a pain in the head, “Send for a doctor;” if your heel aches, “I want a doctor;” “my back aches, and I want a doctor.” The study and practice of anatomy and surgery are very good; they are mechanical, and are frequently needed. Do you not think it is necessary to give medicine sometimes? Yes, but I would rather have a wife of mine that knows what medicine to give me when I am sick, than all the professional doctors in the world. Now let me tell you about doctoring, because I am acquainted with it, and know just exactly what constitutes a good doctor in physic. It is that man or woman who, by revelation, or we may call it intuitive inspiration, is capable of administering medicine to assist the human system when it is besieged by the enemy called Disease; but if they have not that manifestation, they had better let the sick person alone. I will tell you why: I can see the faces of this congregation, but I do not see two alike; and if I could look into your nervous systems and behold the operations of disease, from the crowns of your heads to the soles of your feet, I should behold the same difference that I see in your physiognomy —there would be no two precisely alike. Doctors make experiments, and if they find a medicine that will have the desired effect on one person, they set it down that it is good for everybody, but it is not so, for upon the second person that medicine is administered to, seemingly with the same disease, it might produce death.”

Brigham Young – Journal of Discourses Vol. 15, pg. 225

It is stunning to witness the clarity with which Young speaks of the personal relationship each and every body has with the God of Nature and yet hear him in the same breath, speak with such a bullying tone to push his personal religion/medicine on families far and wide. At what point did this man slide from the position of appointed caliph and protector to become a pointed phallic protractor, plotting and planning his polygynous pimper’s paradise? Where did he make the wrong turn from builder to butcher or were the two extremes always present within him? Was he more self-appointed than chosen?

THE HISTORY

After the death of Joseph Smith Jr., the Mormons suffered a succession crisis, similar to that of the Muslims after the death of Mohammed except more immediate and divisive. Alpheus Cutler, James J. Strang, William Smith, Lyman Wight, James C. Brewster, Charles B. Thompson, Sidney Rigdon and David Whitmer, to mention only a few, each had followers numbering from 100 to several hundreds. So how did Brigham end up with such a sizable following? Actually, he didn’t, at least not at first. Of an approximate 30,000 who identified as members of the Church of Christ (later known as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) in 1847, only about 2,000 initially came across the plains with Brigham Young to Utah. Of course, over the next few decades converts would pour in to a total of almost 70,000. The ignorance with which mainstream LDS consider themselves to be the original and true Mormons, not to mention their arrogance in proclaiming  themselves to be the “Only True and Living Church Upon the Face of the Earth” is similar to the laughable manner in which Super-Bowl winners snatch the self-important title of “World Champions” when only U.S. teams ever compete. Today “Brigham’s Boys” can barely refrain from boasting about their current numbers, even though these do not always reflect reality. It is true that the LDS Church has a significant presence and influence in many regions of the world.

“What is highly valued among men is detestable in God’s sight.”

-  Luke 16:15

Brigham’s success in terms of succeeding Joseph as President had something to do with being a member of the prestigious Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Where you find apostles you will surely find apostasy. The Great Apostasy, which necessitated a Restoration Movement in the first place, begins with the twelve men who Jesus ordained to be traveling teachers and commissioned with the task of giving as freely as they had been given. The moment they started to have disputations among them and to require Gentile converts to adhere to Jewish customs, apostasy set in. The issue is never one-sided and the blind leaders, as well as the blind followers, end up in the ditch. But let us be clear. As soon as apostleship goes to the head of the original quorum members, becoming some kind of exclusive club, the countdown to complete corruption begins.

Opposites are special relationships; two things so close that they are intimately linked in one. Good and evil are the ultimate opposites. And so it is that, anyone who will not accept Christ, the Son, as the union of opposites is doomed to serve one master while hating the other. The one master which they serve is Master Mahan (Master Destroyer) and the great secret is not kept by them but from them as they gather on either side of the conflict. That secret being: that contention is of the devil. So even as they choose the side called good they forget that “only one is good.” So if you’re seeing double, your eye is not single and that’s not good. Apostles seem to forget their heavenly orders too easily. They fail to find the face of God and can not, therefore, help others. They quote scripture which says that God’s house IS a house of order but they do not actually believe it is already so and hence their uncontrollable urge to steady the ark without setting in order their own house. They play as if they would usher in the King of Kings from the House of David. But it’s more like the Fall of the House of Usher. You know what they say about a house divided.

Never at any time have things fallen apart faster than in the dawning of this dispensation. The Lord had already made the definition of His church perfectly clear, through spiritual dictation in first-person to Joseph as His mouthpiece in 1828, two years before registering the church as a legal entity recognized by the state of New York. It was simple.

“Behold, this is my doctrine: whosoever repenteth and cometh unto me, the same is my church: whosoever declareth more or less than this, the same is not of me, but is against me: therefore, he is not of my church.”

Book of Commandments 9:17

This revelation later came to be listed in Doctrine & Covenants, Section 10:67-68. In verse 54 the Lord clarifies that His intentions are to “build up my church” and not to “destroy my church.” Once again, everything is delivered in first-person format. Nowhere do apostles appear. All remains simplistic, quite informal and fluid as a living movement must, until late in 1829 when a suspiciously ‘official’ sounding document titled “Articles of the Church of Christ” comes from Oliver Cowdery. The first line reads:

“A commandment from God unto Oliver how he should build up his church & the manner thereof—”

Oliver claims that God gave it to him through revelation but it is not written in first-person voice – not in the name of the Lord nor from the perspective of Oliver himself. Who is the mysterious entity who is uttering these words what is the church it refers to with the possessive pronoun ‘his’, which we can see is conspicuously devoid of any capitalization as would be typical, especially of that time period when referring in writing to the Lord. Is this for the building up of the Church and all-of-her saints or for the establishment of the Church of Oliver saints?

Brigham was not the only Apostle vying for the position of president after the martyrdom of the prophet. There were also others of the Quorum who presented themselves as candidates for the coveted office. These 12 “brethren” were at least in agreement on one thing, and that was supremacy of their elite group. The membership records of Philadelphia, which was as that time the largest branch of the Church in the eastern states, reveal a rampage of excommunications ramping up to the year of the prophet’s murder. 95% of those excommunications recorded occurred in the three years proceeding that tragic day. Every last instance was for charges of rebellion against the authority of the Quorum of the Twelve. In all, just under half of the entire membership in the Philadelphia Branch were kicked out for their opposition to the Quorum of the Twelve’s insistence on a system of apostolic succession.

However, power plays by the high and mighty Quorum of the Twelve were not enough to ensure the fierce level of devotion demonstrated by the pioneers who faithfully followed Brigham &Co. into the desert of Deseret. Something more, a spiritual manifestation would be necessary to provide men and women with the motivation to follow Big Brigham with some level of zeal. Some would eventually take that zeal to the point of excusing the slaughter of innocent men women and children in the infamous Mountain Meadow Massacre. My intent is not to draw this piece out with information regarding that incident. Many a book has been written on the topic and the reader will find no shortage of material to aid in arriving at some kind of personal conclusion regarding Brigham Young’s involvement, whether it was direct or indirect or however one should choose to view it. Time will tell. I wish only to shed a new light on some of the events surrounding Brigham’s meteoric rise/fall to fame. What was this strange, magical effect he had on the Mormon people as a leader?

On August 8, 1844, six weeks after the Prophet Joseph Smith’s martyrdom, a meeting of the Saints was held in Nauvoo, Illinois. Brigham Young, President of the Quorum of the Twelve, and several other Apostles had just returned from missions. The purpose of the meeting was to determine by vote who had the right and responsibility to lead the Church. Sidney Rigdon, First Counselor in the First Presidency, argued that there could be no successor to the deceased prophet and that he should be made the “Protector” of the church. Brigham Young argued for the right of the Quorum of the Twelve to lead, with himself conveniently positioned at the head of that organization. In the course of the two meetings held that day, many in attendance received what they interpreted as a divine witness that Brigham Young was to be the next leader: some Saints specifically state that as Bro. Brigham addressed the congregation he sounded and appeared remarkably like Joseph Smith, others simply say that the “mantle of Joseph” or “of the prophet” rested on Brigham Young. This occurrence is not easily ignored as there are over 121 personal testimonies given of this extraordinary phenomenon.

“When Brigham Young spoke it was with the voice of Joseph himself; and not only was it the voice of Joseph which was heard, but it seemed in the eyes of the people as though it was the every person of Joseph which stood before them.”

George Q. Cannon, October 29, 1870

“Now when President Young arose to address the congregation his voice was the voice of Bro[ther] Joseph and his face appeared as Joseph’s face & should I have not seen his face but heard his voice I should have declared that it was Joseph.”

George Laub, 1844

“Brother Brigham Young said, “The keys of the Kingdom are with the Twelve Apostles. They are the ones to lead the people.” He looked just like Brother Joseph and spoke like him. Surely the mantle of Brother Joseph has fallen on him. I never had a doubt. I knew Brother Brigham was the man to fill the place of our beloved Prophet. I knew that Brother Joseph Smith was a true Prophet of God and was the mouthpiece of God to the people, and that Brigham Young was his lawful successor.”

Talitha Cumi Garlick, 1844

“But their [Joseph Smith and Hyrum Smith's] places were filed by others much better than I once supposed they could have been, the spirit of Joseph appeared to rest upon Brigham.”

William Burton, May 1845

“But as soon as he spoke I jumped upon my feet, for in every possible degree it was Joseph’s voice, and his person, in look, attitude, dress and appearance; [it] was Joseph himself, personified and I knew in a moment the spirit and mantle of Joseph was upon him.”

Benjamin F. Johnson, 1928

The second-hand memory of this supernatural event survived for a long time, even as the Church ventured across that invisible line, into a time where the dangerously low levels of faith which Moroni warned us of really began to take hold of the hearts and minds of the Mormon people. In the October 1898 General Conference, Heber J. Grant reported:

“There are those that think the Latter-day Saints are a mistaken people, that they are deluded and that they have no faith in the supernatural; but I say here today that I know the mantle of Joseph Smith fell upon the Prophet Brigham Young. I know it, and I am willing to meet the testimony that I bear. How do I know it? I know it because of my mother, a more honest woman than whom never lived, a more devoted Latter-day Saint can not be found; because she and scores of others have told me that they saw the Prophet Brigham Young when he spoke with the voice of Joseph Smith; when he looked like the prophet Joseph; and I know that these people are honest.”

 

Upon examination, we find many common themes and a few variations from one testimony to the next. If we analyze the matter, we will find that, often the people testified to having seen and heard this transference of energy from Joseph to Brigham. But without exception, those testimonies which are detailed enough to recount the physical sensations taken in by the witness at that moment, always emphasize the sound. Remember that Packer, while promoting poison pushers, simultaneously provided us with a nourishing nugget of wisdom denoting the vital connection between the physical senses and spiritual communication. Even the willful Wilford Woodruff, who, when told by the Spirit to wait on the Lord, grew impatient and so became a patient of imps, suffering death by poisoning at the hands of members of the Bohemian Club, who promised him what he most desperately wanted – namely, the resuscitation of the Church as a financially profitable corporation, and thus; having directly defied the Lord’s personal and institutional council to him, as recorded in his meticulous journal keeping, became, as a prophet, unable to procure the Church’s spiritual or even “temporal salvation,” which issue Wilford claimed was keeping him up at night in a journal entry dated precisely 47 years later to the date from the mysterious happenings of August 8^th, 1847; speaking of the occasion in question, publicly said:

“If I had not seen him with my own eyes, there is no one that could have convinced me that it was not Joseph Smith.”

Deseret News, Mar. 15, 1892

BELIEVE IT OR NOT

In this world there are believers and there are non-believers. But to believe is to LEAVE BE. He who possesses wisdom will see that when a man identifies himself as a so-called believer, he believes or leaves be things of which he has no understanding. For example, the LDS Church is allowed to function financially with zero disclosure because people believe blindly. The government is allowed to continue with its covert activities because people believe that they can and must only work for positive change through the political process and within legal ramifications set by the very system they know to be corrupt. Speak to them of the nature of reality, through prophecy and with the tongue of angels. They will not listen. Their belief is disbelief. Their understanding is misunderstanding. When a man chooses to identify himself as a so-called non-believer in regards to any matter, this does not mean he is not a firm believer in other ideas and instances. He simply refuses to believe in things he does not think he understands. A little belief would bring much understanding for such an individual. But in leaning to his own limited understanding he simply blocks things which he labels “too good to be true” from being true in his life.

I believe that there was a transfiguration that happened to Brigham. I believe that it was a portion of the spirit of Joseph Smith that came over Brigham Young. Indeed ye may say I believe all things. But I also believe there are details regarding this transfiguration that you and I have overlooked till now. And I believe that both Joseph and Brigham want to make these details known at this time for our enlightenment and understanding.

In the Book of Mormon we read about how Nephi and his brothers return to Jerusalem on a mission to obtain certain records from a man named Laban. It is made clear that this man enjoys great power and not only has access to genealogical records and scripture but also has close ties to the religious hierarchy. Laban refuses the band of brothers’ requests and even rejects an offer to purchase the records. He causes them to flee by calling them thieves and sending guards after them; thereby cheating them out of their goods. At this point in the story Nephi decides to go back into the city by himself, trusting completely in the voice of the Holy Spirit to guide him. He finds Laban drunk and passed out on the street. The Spirit of the Lord constrains Nephi to slay Laban and after some contemplation he does. From there we read how, after smiting off Laban’s head, he takes his clothes and sword and dons them. He goes directly to Laban’s treasury and encounters a servant of Laban who supposes him to be his master. After obtaining the records the servant accompanies Nephi to the city limits, talking to him several times and all the while thinking that he is actually Laban. In verse 23 Nephi tells us:

“And I spake unto him as if it had been Laban.”

When Nephi’s brothers see him coming they believe that it is Laban and start to run away in fear. What are we to understand from this strange story? The words that Nephi uttered to Laban’s servant were not some concocted story to try to persuade him or even tell him that he was Laban. But the servant was convinced because Nephi spoke as if he were Laban. Shadow and costume could account for Nephi’s passing for Laban visually. But the human voice is a unique marker like a thumbprint and is very difficult to falsify. What is happening here? Nephi appears to take on the mantle of Laban.

If the auditory and visual effects of the transfiguration of Brigham seem to match up with that of Nephi, what other common elements may there be to the experiences of both of these men? Slaying as a conscious act with a purpose in mind will endow the slayer with the qualities of the slain. The would-be warrior hunts the lion, not for food, but to gain bravery. If the hunter eats his prey he also incorporates physically and subconsciously many aspects of it. You are what you eat. Jesus commanded his disciples to eat of his body and drink of his blood. Of course, that was symbolic. But then again, everything is symbolic, even and especially, those things that we call literal. It’s all about INtention and INteraction.

We have no definitive evidence pointing to Brigham as a guilty party in the killing of Bro. Joseph. But there is one smoking gun which makes him in one way, if not as responsible as the mob who came to Carthage Jail that fateful day, at least as, or more responsible than any other member of Joseph’s circle. It is a natural law observable throughout history, that man-made structures are never brought down solely from without. The coup de gras is always delivered from one within the inner circle. Jesus and Judas, Caesar and Brutus, Dr. King and Jessie Jackson, Malcolm and Farrakhan, Sampson and Delilah, Biggie and P. Diddy, Pac and Shug, Jericho and Rahab, The Twin Towers and Cheney – It would not have been the first time that a close confidant to the Christ figure stood to benefit greatly from his absence and played a part in selling his friend out. It would not be the last time that Brigham Young was involved in a scenario that ended up costing people their lives. That the murders occurred at a remote distance from him does not diminish the major role President Young played. When Joseph was heading out of Nauvoo to lay low and avoid capture at the hands of his enemies, what was it that caused him to turn around and go like a lamb to the slaughter? What would make him say, “If my life is of no value to my friends, it is of none to myself.”? He read a letter filled with self-righteous rhetoric aimed at persuading Joseph to go to jail for trumped up charges and face an unjust legal system because it might give the public a better image of the Church; basically bating him into a place where assassins could be sure to find him. Who was the “friend” who wrote that letter?

THE BAD NEWS – THE GOOD NEWS

If the gospel is the Good News, then its counterpart (in truth) or counterfeit (viewed separately) would be the Bad News. When we are approached by someone bearing both we usually opt to hear the bad news first. There is an eternal principle in that.

A professor of the Queen’s English might tell you not to confuse the prefixes ‘ante’ (meaning before) and ‘anti’ (meaning against). But a teacher of Englitch will respect your intelligence and free your mind by pointing out that they both stem from the same Greek word, ‘antí’ and before that, the Sanskrit word ‘ánti’ (meaning opposite). Opposites are special relationships. We covered this before, but it bears repeating. Opposites are two things so close that they are intimately linked in one, and THE ONLY WAY to learn about one half is to learn through the other. Good and evil, evil and good must be comparable, must become ‘pair-able’ in our minds or we can never comprehend the parable of life. Religions or ways of life are meant to re-league estranged enemies and re-pair im-paired souls.

There is a riddle which illustrates this secret very well. A man comes to a fork in the road of life. Down one path: life eternal; down the other: certain death. Of course, at the gate to the path leading to Heaven, there sits a Man of Holiness who always tells pure truth. And at the gate to the path leading to Hell sits a Trickster who always tells lies. Both gates and both gatekeepers look exactly the same. So the traveler must be wise. If he asks one of them, which is the way to Heaven, that one will say “Lo, here” (Matt. 24:23). If he asks the other he will get the same response. Should he inquire which of the two paths leads to Hell, both men will tell him, “That one there.” After some thought the man realizes that the only way to know which is which, is to talk to both, but ask each about the other. Not only must he separately interrogate one gatekeeper about what the other would advise and vice versa, but he must also pay close attention to the response. Because; if he asks, “Which path will he tell me leads to life eternal?” then he must be prepared to select the opposite of that path which would be indicated by both sentinels; since the Liar would designate his own path and the Truth Teller would point to that same path. And this would mean that the path indicated was not the path to eternal life, but rather the path to certain death. If he were to ask, “Which path will he tell me leads to Hell?” both the Holy Man and the Trickster would signal towards the same path. And yet, that would be the path to Heaven.

False prophets and false christs signal the coming of the true. The thing we need to realize about the Anti-Christ is not just that he fights against the Lamb but that he comes before and literally clears the way for Him. If God says He will gather Israel then you can bet that the United Nations, with their U.N. Holidays which are Unholy Days, has made up an unholy country that people think is real and call Israel but isn’t. Same goes for the U.N.ited States of America. The States are not really u-n-i-t-e-d but u-n-t-i-e-d. What the U.N.does, God undoes. Jewish and Mormon zionists are the same. Understand that anti means against, as in the wicked who fight against Zion. Ante means before and the false Zion precedes the true. Know that the holy three letter word G.O.D. stands for Generator, Operator, Destroyer. If the prototype does not function properly, then the D-stroyer in the G.O.D.Head reserves the right to trash it. The Protocols of the Learned Elder’s of Zion will not stand. No, I am not speaking of the suspected anti-semitic hoax. I am talking about the interplay of superiority and inferiority complexes which spring from such ideas whether published by Nazis or Niceys. The Learned “B.Y.U.ppie” attitude of the affluent and arrogant Provo pricks and the “B.Y.Me?” attitude of {misplaced} groveling gratitude of the Latino undergrad enrolled and embroiled in Hinckley’s Perpetual Debt-U-Cation Fund both share the guilt in the iniquity of inequity.

Not to confuse the reader, but the Book of Mormon provides us with a further unfolding of the multi-layered meaning of this ‘ANTI’ matter. In Alma 23:17we find the case of the Lamanite group who took on the name Anti-Nephi-Lehies. Here ‘Anti’ refers to the Reformed Egyptian reflex of an ancient Khemetian (Egyptian) word ‘N-T-Y’ which is used grammatically to connect a relative clause to an undetermined antecedent. It would translate as “One With”, “One Of” or “One who” depending on the relative clause which followed. As Egypt started in ancient Ethiopia and in modern times Ethiopia has made its mark on Jamaica; it can be aptly compared to the way in which Afro-Jamaican Patois uses ‘One’ instead of ‘A’ as the indefinite article. But this is similar to many Latin-based languages where the words for ‘One’, ‘A’ and ‘An’ are very similar. More grammatical crossover can be heard in Reggae’s rich vocal tradition, where it is common to hear the phrase, “The one called” before introducing one’s self on the track. It translates as “One With”Opposites are two halves of the same whole. “If ye are not one ye are not mine.” (D&C 38:27) Or we could say if ye are not “One With” the U‘n’I-verse ye are NoTYet mine. This author is not anti-mormon. I am only “one with” understanding granted me from on high. I be-for Zion mon! De spirit ah Gaad like a fyah is burnin’ up de wicked mon! The more righteous paart is again-stirrin’ like a pot. De Laad ah Laads and King ah Kings, Conquerin’ Lion ah de Tribe ah Judah soon come. One Love!

 

Just before the glorious First Vision burst upon Joseph, he felt “ready to sink into oblivion” in the grasp of some evil being from the unseen world.“After the dark arrives the sweet dawn,” writes the righteous revolutionary singer/song writer Lauryn Hill. Alma the Younger describes his prior pains and consequent joy as equally exquisite. (Alma 36:21) “No hay mal que por bien no venga,” sings Gloria Estefan. There is no evil that from good does not come. The Devil only operates on the power and principles that the Almighty gives him. All dead filth is given over to the care of Lucifer and his Fallen Angels. This is why, even the Lord of Lies is only Lord o Flies. First will be Last, Last will be First – will be the flow of eternity. When you follow God’s established order, you start to lose track of things like beginnings and ends and it all blends into one ‘Begending’. In D&C 29: 31-33, the Lord tells us:

31 For by the power of my Spirit created I them; yea, all things both spiritual and temporal—

32 First spiritual, secondly temporal, which is the beginning of my work; and again, first temporal, and secondly spiritual, which is the last of my work—

33 Speaking unto you that you may naturally understand; but unto myself my works have no end, neither beginning; but it is given unto you that ye may understand, because ye have asked it of me and are agreed.

So we go, Spiritual, Temporal, Temporal, Spiritual – S,T,T,S,S,T, – st-st-stuttering like Moses, the ‘Slow of Tongue’ mouth-piece of the Lord. One second we are ST-arting our engines, the next thing we know, starting line becomes finish line. A steady course of First, Last, Last, First – F,L,L,F,F,L – takes us on a time-traveling adventure like Marty, with a fully functioning FLux capacitor.

If we stick to the gospel tradition of Bad News, Good News, Good News, Bad News, then the simple sound of our “BuGaBuGaBoo!” will ward off the buzzing flies of Beelzebub who would try to bug us. Should we think we can put the ‘G’ before the ‘B’ we will get the “GoBBle, GoBBle!” sound of the Global Elite Goblins who eat everything and everyone in their path. Operating out of Great Brittan, adorned in royal GarB in this age, the Oppressor has spread his infectious GarBage to us in the U.S., since King George W. Frederick to George W. Bush, they are never without their entourage of wicked priests. Lt. George Bush could never have used the LGBT rights issue (of which the secret combinations make a loveless mockery) so astutely to seduce the LDS into political prostitution, without the aid of a very priestly but beastly Gordon B. Hinckley (GBH). This P.R.iest even received his training in the haughty cult-sure of Great Britain. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly – All are alike unto God. But the Prideful always insist that they are all Good, and they put themselves first. Still, they always end up Bad. In the ‘last days’ of their mortal lives, they may nervously admit that there are some things which they do not know, just as Gordon B. did. But if they were completely honest with themselves they would borrow a line from ‘Chill’ Bill Murray in Ghost Busters, who, when told that he must never “cross the streams” because “it could be bad,” responds truthfully and wisely, “Alright, I’m fuzzy on this whole Good/Bad thing.” The world leaders and worldly followers do not realize, until it is too late, that their “Could be Bad” philosophy, phonetically matches the dangerous incantation of “Good be Bad” which their vain minds keep muttering in the trance induced by that White Magic Scapegoat Spell de-scribed in the Bible when Isaiah speaks woefully unto them that “call evil good, and good evil.” To the pure, humble followers of Christ, all things are pure. And they use their humility for converting evil into good, whereas those proud followers do not posses the clarity/charity necessary for such a feat, and instead entertain themselves with the cheap trick of perverting good into evil.

To give Pres. Hinckley the benefit of the doubt, we could say that he thought it best to deny the saints meat in favor of prepping their palettes with milk. But then it begs the question, “Have ye done all this? And have ye taught this people that they should do all these things?” Abinadi, an unpopular prophet of old, would say, “Nay, ye have not.” Mosiah 12:28, “And they said: We teach the law of Moses.” But you will have to do better than your Mormon Yom Kippur if you want to keep pure. The Day of Atonement, ‘Yom Kippurim,’ as it is written in the Torah, is directly related to the idea behind the word ‘Pūrim’- The Day of Deliverence. But ‘Pūrim’ split up and turned around is ‘Impūr’. Those who were mercifully kicked out of Babylon, now embrace her. The resulting American Religion has fashioned itself the perfect idol in Mitt Romney. And false prophets like Glenn Beck, talking out of the side of his GliB Neck, have successfully bid for Salt Lake to become the new cult center for the worship of false Godvernment.  If GBH understood the scriptures or had the spirit of prophecy, he would know that the milk which he ad-minister-ed was tainted with BGH (Bovine Growth Hormone). Maybe Hinckley did have the gift of prophecy. If so, that would make him not just a false prophet but a Prophet of Falsehood.

If we want to hear the ‘Good News’ so Badly that we reject the ‘Hard Sayings’ of Jesus, then we will remain in denial, saying, “All is well in Zion, Yea, Zion prospereth” when in reality, Zion is not to be found anywhere on the face of the earth. But, “the earth travails, like a woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; the Day of Deliverance. But when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world.” – John 16:21. Isaiah 62:1 – “Because I love Zion, I will not keep still. Because my heart yearns for Jerusalem, I cannot remain silent. I will not stop praying for her until her righteousness shines like the dawn, and her salvation blazes like a burning torch!” May this be our gathering freedom cry. Give us the bad news then. BRING IT ON!

If we absolutely must defer dessert till after this dinner in the desert then so “bee” it. For, we shall soon make the Red Land of the Egyptian DSRT flow with honey.

“And should we die before our journey’s through;

Happy day! All is well!”

                                              – Come, Come Ye Saints 

                                                    by William Clayton

“Blessed are those who struggle.

Oppression is worse than the grave.

Better to die for a noble cause

Than to live and die a slave.”

                                         – Blessed Are Those Who Struggle

                                                   by The Last Poets

Why should we fear? The wicked who fight against Zion shall surely be smitten at last. The first has been last and now the last shall surely be first. The righteous rise in the morning of the first resurrection. THIS IS OUR TIME!

The Strength of the Lord

The strength of the Lord was a miracle bestowed upon all the Nephites and Lamanites who had repented of their sins and come to Christ. Basically, it gave a person supernatural strength. It was first bestowed upon Lehi and party during their eight year walk to Bountiful, because they needed it for the long and arduous journey. When they arrived at the promised land, the strength of the Lord was again needed to protect the Nephites from the Lamanites, who always greatly outnumbered them.

The diet of the two nations

For the trip to Bountiful, the party was commanded to eat nothing but raw meat which they hunted in the wilderness. The Lord made the meat sweet to them, which was yet another miracle. At the promised land, though, they were commanded to plant seed and raise crops and animals, which they did. The party, though, soon split, with those who would come to be known as Nephites continuing to farm the land, and the Lamanites continuing to eat after the fashion of their eight-year journey in the wilderness, hunting their food and often eating it raw.

The two forms of diet had a different effect on their bodies. The farmers’ diet, which resembled our modern Word of Wisdom, made the Nephites physically weaker and less sexually charged. As a result, they had less sex, and thus produced less children than did the Lamanites. The protein rich hunter’s diet of the Lamanites, in which they drank the blood of beasts, etc., made them sexually charged and physically stronger than the Nephites. The Lamanites had lots of sex and produced children like rabbits.

The war practices of the two nations

The Nephites had no standing army. They merely went about their lives raising crops and animals, constructing buildings, mining out precious metals and other occupations of industry. They had prepared weapons of war in case they ever needed to defend themselves, but they did not train for war, nor were they supposed to. Nevertheless, they were commanded of God to defend themselves from the Lamanites even unto bloodshed.

The Lamanites, on the other hand, did not raise crops nor construct buildings. They lived in tents, like their fathers did on the eight-year trip, and they spent their time hunting and training for war. Their skill was “in the bow and in the cimeter and the ax.” In other words, the Lamanites had standing armies that were always trained for war and raiding. Additionally, the Lamanites were a blood-thirsty and ferocious people, delighting in wars and bloodshed.

The Lamanites were plunderers who had an everlasting hatred towards the Nephites, therefore, they were always the ones who attacked first. From all appearances, the Nephites were easy pickings. They were small in number, compared to the Lamanites. They were farmers who did not train for war, therefore, the Lamanites were more skilled in war than were the Nephites. And their diet made them physically weaker than the Lamanites.

Based on all of these variables, the Lamanites should have easily wiped the Nephites out.

Weaker, out-numbered and out-skilled…by design

The Lord commanded the Nephites to do these things so that He could show forth His strength in them. Despite the farmer’s diet making their bodies physically weaker, the strength of the Lord made them vastly stronger than the Lamanites. Despite not training for war, it also made them more skilled in warfare than the Lamanites. And despite being outnumbered, it caused one Nephite to be able to defeat scores of Lamanites, so much so that larger groups of Lamanites would routinely be scattered by small numbers of Nephites. In short, the Nephites became faster, stronger, more enduring, more skilled and had more energy than the Lamanites, despite the Lamanites constantly training for war.

for every man of teancum did exceed the lamanites in their strength and in their skill of war | insomuch that they did gain advantage over the lamanites

A sign to all nations

Now, this miracle was to be a sign, both to the Nephites and to the Lamanites, as well as to the Gentiles, that God was with those who repented of their sins and exercised faith in the Lord. It served to cull the iniquitous from the ranks of the Nephites, for those who went to battle who were impenitent, would not have the strength of the Lord, and would get mowed down by the Lamanites. It also served to fortify the faith of the faithful, for when they obeyed the commandments of the Lord and trusted in Him, having faith that He would give them of His strength, and then they left their farms to go to battle, they would witness firsthand that they had the strength of a God in them, that allowed them to impossibly defeat a superior force. This sign would be witnessed by the faithful Nephites many times throughout their lives, for the Lamanites would attack from time to time, and they could testify to this miracle to their children, encouraging them to put their trust entirely in the Lord and to keep His commandments.

For the Lamanites, it also served as a sign, for they also would witness, time after time, an impossible miracle, in their defeat at the hands of the weaker, less numerous Nephites. It should have caused them to stop and wonder and repent of their sins and acknowledge that the Nephites were supported by the hand of a God, but they were very set in their violent ways.

For those latter-day Gentiles (and Lamanites) who would end up reading the Book of Mormon, it would serve as a sign or a witness to which those who endeavored to establish Zion would seek. The casualty numbers for both sides of each war indicate to the reader just how impossibly powerful the strength of the Lord was. It truly fit the description of “matchless and marvelous.” For example, Zeniff’s numbers show an 11:1 ratio, meaning that for every eleven Lamanites that were killed, only one Nephite died.

The Nephites’ pride

Although the Lord intended the bestowal of His strength to develop faith and trust in Him, often many of the Nephites, after witnessing this miracle, became prideful, thinking that they could sin and God would still give them of His strength. This despite the fact that the Lord had plainly stated to them:

i will not show unto the wicked of my strength | to one more than the other | save it be unto those | who repent of their sins | and hearken unto my words |

At the end of their civilization, this pride caused their entire destruction, for they were great sinners by that time and did not have the strength of the Lord with them, nevertheless, they believed they were still invincible because the Lord still protected them somewhat from the Lamanites, that is, until they broke the final commandment of the Lord and attacked the Lamanites.

Then the Lord fully removed this miracle and they were left to themselves, a physically weaker, vastly outnumbered nation whose skills were no match for the war-trained Lamanites, who then wiped them completely off the face of the earth.

The times of the Gentiles

During our time, it has been prophesied that this ancient gift will return to all those who repent of their sins, exercise faith in the Lord and ask for it.

and it shall be said among the wicked |

let us not go up to battle against zion | for the inhabitants of zion are terrible | wherefore | we cannot stand |

They will be terrible, in part, because they will have the strength of the Lord. Unlike the ancient Lamanites who couldn’t get it into their heads that they “could not stand” against the strength of the Lord that was within the Nephites, and so kept attacking them anyway—thinking that this time they had enough numbers to wipe them out, or that this time the Nephites were spread too thin, etc.—the Gentiles, when they witness the strength of the Lord will be entirely freaked out and will desire to “sit this one out” and not attack the inhabitants of Zion.

The Gentile way

The way of the Gentiles is this: some eat a grain-based diet like the ancient Nephites, becoming physically weak like unto them, while others eat a high protein diet, like the Lamanites. Still others eat a mix between the two. In fact, you can find just about every possible type of diet among the Gentiles, for every Gentile seeks to obtain physical health, strength and beauty by his or her diet, and so many dietary theories exist based on this or that scientific finding.

The Gentiles also have standing armies, like the Lamanites did, and rely upon their armies and police forces, etc., who train for war and combat, to protect them from their enemies, using the most advanced weapons technologies that they can find, invent and afford.

Many Gentiles live a sedentary lifestyle with high caloric intake, resulting in physical obesity and lots of diseases, becoming even weaker, physically, than the Nephites. On the other hand, many engage in various physical education courses, classes and training programs to keep their bodies in as physically fit a shape as they possibly can, like the Lamanites, which also helps in conflicts. A good number of civilian Gentiles also arm themselves with additional weapons and take self-defense courses, such as martial arts, etc., again like the Lamanites, so that they can defeat an attacker.

Some Gentiles only defend themselves, like the Nephites, while other Gentiles will preemptively attack, or even pillage, like the Lamanites. Still others sometimes defend and sometimes attack, whenever it suits their purpose. Always, though, the Gentiles depend upon their numbers and war skill and weapons technology, like the Lamanites, to see them through conflict.

In other words, the Gentiles rely upon the arm of flesh.

o lord | i have trusted in thee | and i will trust in thee forever | i will not put my trust in the arm of flesh | for i know | that cursed is he | that putteth his trust in the arm of flesh | yea | cursed is he that putteth his trust in man | or maketh flesh his arm |

And thus the Gentiles are cursed.

The Zion way

The Gentiles of this day and age, who will repent and come unto Christ, will be justified, purified and sanctified, receiving a remission of their sins by fire and by the Holy Ghost, having angels minister to them, and hearing the voice of the Lord speak to them from the heavens. Such people, following the commandments of the Lord, will eat according to the dietary guidelines found in the Word of Wisdom, which will make them physically weak. This is by the design of the Lord, so that He can show His power and miracles in His people.

In this physically weakened, but spiritually strong, condition—for they have obeyed the voice of the Lord and fulfilled His dietary sayings and other commandments, becoming spiritually strong—they may now ask and receive what they will. And ask they will, even for all of the miracles that the Lord bestows upon His faithful. As the Lord has said:

and all saints | who remember to keep and do these sayings | walking in obedience to the commandments | shall receive health in their navel and marrow to their bones | and shall find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge | even hidden treasures | and shall run and not be weary | and shall walk and not faint | and i | the lord | give unto them a promise | that the destroying angel shall pass by them | as the children of israel | and not slay them | amen |

It is not the diet that will give the saints the strength of the Lord, “running without being weary and walking without fainting,” for the diet makes the saints physically weak, or physically weaker than many other types of diets. It is not the diet that gives “health in their navel and marrow to their bones,” for anyone who eats after the manner of the Word of Wisdom still may, and often still does, become sick. It is the keeping and doing of these sayings, along with keeping all the other commandments, that allows a person to ask the Lord for what they will, and receive it.

Again, the Lord’s law of strength and health has nothing, whatsoever, to do with the kind of diet you eat or the kind of exercise or strength training you do. The principle is simply this: if you exercise faith unto repentance unto the remission of your sins, and continue to hearken unto the voice of the Lord, which includes these dietary guidelines, you may ask for the strength of the Lord and He will give it to you. You may ask for health and He will give it to you. You may ask for wisdom and knowledge and He will give it to you. And so on and so forth.

All of these things are intended to be miracles, which operate on faith, not the natural outgrowth of a superior diet and exercise regime. The strength you will get will be supernatural strength, the health, supernatural health, the wisdom, supernatural wisdom, and the knowledge, supernatural knowledge. It is meant to be a miracle.

The LDS are weak-bodied, weak-minded, fools

The LDS have misunderstood the Word of Wisdom. They have thought that the Lord has given them a superior diet which would produce superior physical specimens. He hasn’t and it doesn’t. They have thought that by merely obeying certain parts of the diet, the “thou shalt nots,” that the Lord would give them health and strength. Others have thought that if they obeyed both the “thou shalt nots” as well as the “thou shalts” of the sayings, that they would get the promised blessings of strength, health, wisdom and knowledge, yet still the promises have remain unfulfilled. Still others try to twist the revelation into a scriptural support for their current dietary lifestyle. If they are vegetarians, they stress the “sparingly” clause of the meat. If they are meat-eaters, they claim the comma is misplaced in that clause.

Still others look at the Word of Wisdom with the wisdom of the world in their minds and realize that such guidelines will not produce the best results. And they wonder, “How on earth could this be inspired of God?” So, they come to the conclusion that the Word of Wisdom is a lower law, and thus that the health guidelines they have learned from the nutritionists are higher laws. And on and on go the rationalizations, the end result being the production of weak-bodied and weak-willed fools.

Weak-bodied, because scripturally, all physical bodies of men that do not have the strength of the Lord are considered weak.

and they saw | that they had become weak like unto their brethren | the lamanites |
…
for behold | they saw that the strength of the lamanites was as great as their strength | even man for man | thus had they fallen into this great transgression | yea | thus had they become weak | because of their transgression | in the space of not many years |

Weak-willed, because strong faith and a firm mind in every form of godliness is required to obtain the strength of the Lord, through repentance of all one’s sins, and the LDS do not “look unto the Lord, as they ought” (1 Ne. 15:3.) They look to the Word of Wisdom diet, not to the Lord, to obtain the blessing.

Fools, because they have misunderstood the Word of Wisdom, thinking it comes under natural, and not supernatural, law. In other words, they have assigned a natural result to it. They expect the strength, health, wisdom and knowledge of men to be the result of complying with this law. They do not expect anything superhuman or supernatural to come from keeping its sayings. (If you don’t believe me, look at any General Conference talk on the Word of Wisdom. All blessings that are thought to come of it are based upon natural consequences of obeying its divinely revealed, “natural laws of health.”)

Now, I do not exclude myself from that company of fools. Until I just now typed out these words, in this very essay, I myself understood it as a natural law begetting natural results. But now I know otherwise and clearly see that I was wrong. It is a supernatural law given to produce, or show forth, supernatural results, by the faith of the people trusting in their Lord and asking Him for these miracles.

How to obtain the strength of the Lord

The first step is walking through the gate, namely, exercising faith unto repentance and receiving a remission of sins by fire and by the Holy Ghost. At this point, you can speak with the tongue of angels, shout praises to the Holy One of Israel by the power of the Holy Ghost, and worship the Father in the name of the Son with “clean hands and a pure heart.” (See 2 Ne. 25:16 and Alma 5:19.)

The second step is to keep the commandments of God, including the Word of Wisdom sayings, continuing in constant prayer and fasting to retain a remission of sins from day to day.

The third and final step is merely to ask God for His strength, for once you are “purified and cleansed from all sin, ye shall ask whatsoever you will in the name of Jesus and it shall be done” (D&C 50:29.)

But what of my [fill in the blank] regime?

Like the Nephites of old, who didn’t need a special type of superior diet, or special training, or special weaponry (the common weapons of the day sufficed), or special anything, to defeat the Lamanites, so the modern Gentile does not need to change the Lord’s instructions, neither adding to nor subtracting from them, to obtain His strength. No strength or military or defense training is required. Nor are dietary supplements needed. There is no need to alter the Word of Wisdom, at all. It is a very simple process: ask and ye shall receive, after ye have become purified by exercising faith in Christ, repenting and receiving a remission of all your sins.

Even after writing this, I am certain there will be those who will object based upon soil nutrient depletion (requiring supplementation) or who will claim that relying upon their particular diet or self defense/strength training does not disqualify them from receiving the strength of the Lord, so, let me be very clear on this point: you must rely wholly upon the merits of Christ to receive of His strength. If you attempt to rely partially on God and partially on your own strength, through dietary modifications and/or defense/strength training, the Lord will leave you to yourself, to defend yourself by your own arm of flesh.

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The Healing Gifts

Before the Millennium begins, every corruptible [mortal] thing will be consumed and all things will become new [as in new creatures].  The descriptions of bodies in the Millennium seem to match that of John the apostle or the three Nephites, who were transfigured [or had became translated],

Note:  This also describes the type of body that Jesus was born with:

Their children shall grow up without sin unto salvation.

Men shall die; but they shall not sleep in the dust, but they shall be changed in the twinkling of an eye.

For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.

compare that to:

Therefore, more blessed are ye, for ye shall never taste of death; but ye shall live to behold all the doings of the Father unto the children of men, even until all things shall be fulfilled according to the will of the Father, when I shall come in my glory with the powers of heaven.

And ye shall never endure the pains of death; but when I shall come in my glory ye shall be changed in the twinkling of an eye from mortality to immortality; and then shall ye be blessed in the kingdom of my Father.

And again, ye shall not have pain while ye shall dwell in the flesh, neither sorrow save it be for the sins of the world; and all this will I do because of the thing which ye have desired of me, for ye have desired that ye might bring the souls of men unto me, while the world shall stand.

It was this gift that allowed the three Nephite disciples to continue to further the work of the Lord long beyond the time their mortal lives would have lasted — Moroni and his father having been ministered to by these three disciples:

My father and I have seen them, and they have ministered unto us.

We should be seeking the fulness of the gift of faith to be healed:

Thus, as we prepare,

for the revelation which is to come, when the veil of the covering of my temple, in my tabernacle, which hideth the earth, shall be taken off, and all flesh shall see me together.

And every corruptible [mortal] 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 consumed;

we should be seeking translation [transfiguration] as the highest manifestation of the gift of faith to be healed — so that:

when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

meaning that we will have the same kind of bodies that he had during his mortal life.

Further, as a part of the restoration of all things [at the time of the initiation of the Millennium], all things must be transfigured and revert back to the translated state that existed prior to the Fall [to the original bodies formed for Adam and Eve].  Whereby we too can become last Adams/Eves, as was Christ, and the earth can be renewed to a paradisaical glory.

Enoch and his people are the pattern that Zion will follow.  Zion, which is to be established before the Millennium, will follow the pattern of Enoch by obtaining the gift of faith to be healed in its fulness and become translated — thereby becoming the people prepared to usher in the Millennium.   This new city of Zion will remain here on the earth when the Millennium starts — to greet Enoch’s city as it returns from its separated state and rejoins the earth.

Also, after this current period of mercy ends — diseases, food scarcities, and general violence will go forth as judgments among the tribes of the earth.  As we near the period of the Millennium,  preaching the gospel may require complete immunity from such diseases or plagues.  In other words, the full manifestation of the gift of faith to be healed [being transfigured into a translated body] will be more than just a perk — but will be a serious necessity in order for saints to not fall victim to the plagues, famines, and general violence that will be the normal condition on the earth.

God only has power where there is faith.  He will only work and show Himself according to the faith of the children of men.  This means that the timetable for the establishment of Zion and the initiation of the Millennium is dependent upon us — meaning it is variable.  We can establish Zion now according to the three covenants given to the Gentile Mormons to do so:

• The law of consecration — in which they freely share of their substance, according to the principle of charity.
• The united order — in which they bind themselves by covenant to establish Zion.
• The new and everlasting covenant of marriage — in which they freely give of their love and hearts in plural marriages, binding all members together by bonds of kinship [hence the term "tribe"]

If we so choose [according to our agency] to be the group of people who fulfill the prophecies that are spoken of in the scriptures, then the Lord will work thru us according to the faith that we have [which faith is obtained by virtue of our agency].

However, the timetable for these events is also fixed according to the foreknowledge of the Lord.   Meaning regardless of what the LDS do — there will be a people who fulfill the prophecies according to the fixed, prophetic timetable.   So, we can continue to spin our wheels until the point where the cup of our iniquity runs over and we are swept out of the covenant [destroyed] to be replaced by another people who choose to fully fulfill the prophecies according to the fixed 7,000 year timetable — or we can begin to gain faith and seek to become the very people the scriptures speak of.

Thus, Zion will be built up by a people transfigured prior to the Millennium — because as Christ will be sanctified in the flesh when we see Him at His return, so also must we be in order to fulfill the scripture every whit when it says that “when He shall appear we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.”

The practical application for all of this is that we all should be seeking transfiguration — not as a blessing meant for the few, but for all those who seek Zion for this is necessary for the prophecies be fulfilled by us. 

This would be the counterpart to the doctrine of being spiritually born of God or receiving His image in one’s countenance or experiencing the mighty change of heart.  This would be a doctrine of being physically born of God.  Transfigured or translated flesh is strong and matches the willingness of the spirit — correcting the conflict [in which mortal humans' spirit is willing but their flesh is weak] and allowing humans to have total and complete peace.

Spiritual gifts cessationism:

The cessation of the best gifts of the Spirit that has taken place among the LDS congregations in general are a hindrance to our role as the latter-day saints and those who will fulfill the prophecies of the Lord.

When speaking on the oath and covenant of the priesthood, most speakers interpret the scripture to mean that if members magnify their Church™ calling, then they will become sanctified by the Spirit.  We then go on to talk of ways to magnify callings so that we can become sanctified.

However, the Lord is explaining how to discern between a faithful priesthood holder who is magnifying his calling, and a faithless priesthood holder who is not magnifying his calling.  The key to that discernment is in the last phrase:  the faithful ones are “sanctified by the Spirit“.

Sanctification by the Spirit is always attended by the powers and gifts of the Spirit.  Sanctification by the Spirit with the attendant powers and gifts is the key to determine the faith of the saints or the faith of the priesthood holders.  This is why there are signs that follow those that believe on the Lord [given later in D&C 84], so that we may determine who has faith and who does not.

Without the gifts and powers of the Spirit and the signs following them that believe manifesting as the scriptures describe them — there is no fruit that can be used to determine who are sanctified believers in Christ [saints] and who are professed believers in Christ [Christians].  LDS judge their prophets in terms of warm feelings and good talks.  They judge their fellow members in terms of money donated, length of hair, number of earrings, color of dress shirts, substances abstained from, etc.

Without the spiritual gifts manifesting among members [including the gift of discernment among presiding elders] — appearances rule the day and must become the measure of faithfulness.

And even if we could grant that the presiding authorities are in possession of the gift to discern all the best gifts of the Spirit among members [lest there shall be any among us professing and yet be not of God] — no members [in my experience] are in possession of any of the best gifts for the leaders to be able to discern.  How else are the leaders supposed to discern justified believers in Christ [saints] from professed believers in Christ [Christians] — when the signs don’t follow them that profess to believe?  The outward metrics are all that are left in a spiritually dead congregation.

Thus we have a church where something ridiculous like clothing, facial hair, earrings, etc. are taught — and then those who find it ridiculous are told to “be humble”.  The burden being placed on them to prove their “humility” by submitting to the ridiculous — instead of being placed on the requirers, to prove the standard/condition they are teaching is from the Lord.

In light of all of this — below I have outlined two specific causes for our current lack of the healing gifts of the Spirit and what I believe their remedies are.

Calling for the elders of the church:

And whosoever among you are sick, and have not faith to be healed, but believe, shall be nourished with all tenderness, with herbs and mild food, and that not by the hand of an enemy.

And the elders of the church, two or more, shall be called, and shall pray for and lay their hands upon them in my name; and if they die they shall die unto me, and if they live they shall live unto me.

“Faith to be healed” is one of the best gifts of the Spirit given to the LDS Church.  So, this instruction is given if the case may come up that a person is sick, but is not in possession of that particular gift for whatever reason [in other words, they have not faith to be healed].

Were that person to be in possession of the gift of faith to be healed, then no instruction would be required because he/she would just be healed.  Likewise, this instruction assumes that there is not a member available with the gift of faith to heal — otherwise the counsel would be for the sick person to be ministered to by that member [instead of the elders].

If the sick member described above has [at least] the gift of belief [which is another best gift of the Spirit], then he/she should receive the treatment that includes our currently emphasized practice of calling the elders to administer.

Because the above method is not a manifestation of the gifts of faith to heal/be healed, the scripture does not go one to say that they will be healed, but it is offered as only some minor protection against dying — meaning it does not conclude that “they will be healed,” but only that “if they die they shall die unto me, and if they live they shall live unto me.“

In other words, these verses do not say:

Whosoever among you are sick — let them call for elders because that is the way the best gifts of the Spirit for healing are manifested.

rather, they say:

If there are sick people among you who do not possess the spiritual gift of faith to be healed — then they can call on the elders if they need to.

The promise is not that they will be healed, but that should they live or die — it’ll be unto the Lord.   That is not a promise of healing and therefore that is not a scripture referring to the priesthood offering a gift from God of healing.

Thus using elder anointings as the sole method for administering to sick members is an acknowledgment that [at a minimum] the gift of faith to be healed as ceased from among general LDS possession — for were that not the case, we would use that spiritual gift instead of what’s outlined in D&C 42: 43-44.

The general reliance on elder anointings is what leads many to be dissatisfied with lack-luster healings:

I have always struggled to give blessings of healing.  I fear making false promises to individuals who might desperately hold onto any idea of hope or healing and then see them fail.  Moreover, though I believe in God’s power to heal, I also am unsure about the role I play as a Priesthood holder.  Am I a vehicle, conduit, or petitioner?

With hands placed upon my daughters head, holding back tears, I could find no words.  The impressions I have experienced so readily with other blessings of comfort or ordination seemed to dry up; and I was left alone.   Brigham Young’s words haunted my attempts to connect with God’s spirit and love:  ‘In many instances our anxiety is so great that we do not pause to know the spirit of revelation and its operations upon the human mind. We have anxiety instead of faith.’

Anxiety crippled my faith.

I muttered some empty words with a heavy heart and closed in the name of Jesus Christ.  Our hospital visit showed no signs of damage and our daughter, to this day, has no problem with her hearing.

Driving home we discussed my blessing and whether it had an impact; I was skeptical because of my own lack of faith in giving the blessing.   I felt that we had simply mis-read the signs, but my wife believed that it was possible that the offering of my faith to the Lord was enough…

…This struggle returns to me now, because my step-father  is dying of Motor-Neurons Disease; and I want to heal him — for me and for my mother.

But I am not sure that I have the faith.  [From here]

or

It seems like there are never any blessings of actual healing any more. They don’t bless you, they bless your doctor, or they say some nice kind things about how your body will be strengthened. This has caused me to do some reflection about the gift of healing.  [From here]

Also, the issue was addressed during the April 2010 general conference by Dallin Oaks — in which he acknowledged the general uncomfortablity among most priesthood holders when it comes to administering anointings to the sick.

That the Church™ teaches that the approved practice for sick people is for them to call for two elders to come and lay hands on them is an admission that whosoever among the LDS are sick are assumed [by the general authorities] to not have the faith to be healed — and thus we have the standing orders to follow D&C 42: 43-44.

Widespread use of calling on two elders for administration to the sick is a witness of widespread cessation of [at least] the gift of faith to be healed.

Administering the emblems of Jesus’ body and blood:

For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.

For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.

Among the issues directed to the church in Corinth, Paul discusses a corruption of the sacramental meal of the emblems of the body and blood of Jesus.

In summation, the wealthy members of the congregation were able to arrive to the meeting house much earlier than the laboring poor — who often had to work until sundown and therefore arrived much later.

At this time, the emblems of the body and blood of Jesus were still largely administered as full-on tribal meals [as Jesus has instituted it among the brethren at Jerusalem and among the Nephites] — something akin to “pot-lucks” we might hold in the church today.

Thus, when Paul writes:

For in eating every one taketh before other his own supper: and one is hungry, and another is drunken.

What?  have ye not houses to eat and to drink in?  or despise ye the church of God, and shame them that have not?

He is condemning the practice of the wealthier members arriving early, filling themselves on the food and wine — knowing that fellow saints couldn’t arrive until later, leaving them to go away hungry.

There were temporal inequalities that were manifesting themselves as inequalities in worship as well.

Paul then re-outlines the pattern of the administration of the sacramental emblems that he had received from Jesus Christ:

For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread:  And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, ‘Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.’

After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, ‘This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.’

For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord’s death till he come.

Thus, after pointing out the improper [unworthy] manner in which the Corinthian church was partaking of the Lord’s supper — and then re-telling the proper [worthy] manner by which to partake of the Lord’s supper [as was given by the Lord himself] — Paul writes:

Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.

But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.

This is often interpreted to refer to the state of personal worthiness of those partaking of the bread and cup of the Lord.  However, in the context of Paul’s instruction — this is referring to the state of collective worthiness of the manner in which the congregations partake of the bread and cup of the Lord.

Should a congregation administer the emblems of the body and blood of Jesus unworthily [meaning contrary to the pattern outlined by him], then that congregation would be guilty of his blood.  Further, should it be a whole-sale, church-wide abandonment of the worthy manner of administration — then the whole church would fall under condemnation, become spiritually dead, and have members unable to manifest the healing gifts of the Spirit.

The remedy would be to make sure that in your communal [group] worship, you are partaking of the sacrament in a worthy manner — so as not to fall under this condemnation.  Things to look for in discerning an unworthy congregation:

• Deacons and teachers being allowed to administer the sacrament to the congregation
• Priests administering the sacrament in the presence of elders
• The entire congregation sitting during the sacramental prayers
• The amount of emblems administered not being enough to fill the congregation
• The absence of wine as the emblem of the blood [given that the congregation has sufficient means to have their own fermented]
• Priesthood leadership in the congregation having the trappings of royalty, e.g. getting the chief seats or partaking of the sacrament first.

Should you find this to be the general practice in your congregation, then activating a group worship dynamic among your tribe would bring you out of the condemnation described by Paul in 1 Corinthians 11.

Further, a proper [worthy] communal observance of the Lord’s supper [rather that be in the church or in the tribe] seems necessary in order for the healing gifts of the Spirit to be given and manifesting among a congregation.

Next Article by Justin: The Tree of This and That

Previous Article by Justin:  Methods of Scriptural Interpretation

Methods of Scriptural Interpretation

Constitutional Interpretation:

Judicial interpretation explains how a judge/court should interpret specific statutes of law, particularly in constitutional documents and legislation.

There are two main camps with regard to how this legal interpretation should work:

• Originalism/strict constructionism – which would be characterized as “conservative” or “judicial restraint”.
• Functionalism – which would be characterized as “liberal” or “judicial activism”.

Simply speaking, the former emphasizes fidelity to the original meaning [or originally intended meaning] of the words in the constitution.  It seeks to be loyal to the authors’ original intent by looking at things like what the words used generally meant at the time they were written and looking at what reasons the authors had for using particular phrases, etc.

While the latter would argue that the constitution was deliberately written to be broad/vague and flexible to accommodate social or technological change over time.  It seeks to be loyal to the author’s original intent by looking at what the words have generally come to mean in applicable ways to people today, etc.

The Constitutional Example of “Cruel and Unusual Punishment”:

In the 8^th amendment of the US constitution, there is a clause that states:

nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

This seems cut-and-dry – however, there is controversy as to how to apply this clause/standard in specific judicial cases.  To look at it from the point-of-view of the two above schools of interpretation, we could interpret the clause in terms of:

• What were generally accepted as “cruel and unusual” punishments during the late 1700’s?  What were the specific conceptions the founders had in mind when barring “cruel and unusual punishments”?  Etc.
• Or what do we, as 21^st century Americans, understand to be “cruel and unusual” ways to punish criminals?  How did the founders want us to be guided by the general concept of “cruelty” or “unusualness” in assigning punishments?  Etc.

In this way, one group has ground to argue, based on the idea of original intent, that hanging is not a cruel and unusual form of capital punishment because it would have generally been accepted at the time the constitution was written.

While the other group, still based on the idea of original intent, can argue that hanging is cruel and unusual at a time when we have developed more humane technologies for capital punishments – or that we have come to view the taking of human life as a form punishment itself as being cruel and unusual.

Scriptural Interpretation:

Scriptural interpretation can be seen as very similar to this constitutional/judicial interpretation.  There are different ways to approach the “original intent” question of passages that may seem quite vague when one attempts to apply them to particular circumstances.  These mirror to two schools of thought on judicial interpretation:

• Strict textual/contextual interpretation – which would be characterized as “fundamentalist” or “conservative”.  Wherein this group focuses on the specific context of the scripture, what the author was addressing in that scripture, what did the words used mean at the time they were written, etc.
• Liken the scriptures to yourself interpretation – which would be characterized as being more “liberal” with interpreting passages.  Wherein this group focuses on personal circumstances and concerns, what general concepts did the author outline in that scripture, what do the words used in the translation mean to me or what can I conclude from them personally, etc.

The former approaching scriptural intent by focusing on original context – the latter approaching the same goal by focusing on application to modern issues.

The Scriptural Example of Adultery:

Many directives in the scriptures seem cut-and-dry at first glance.  Take:

thou shalt not commit adultery

as an example.  What seems straight-forward can be really quite vague as we start to look into applying this “statute” to specific cases.  For example:

Alice is in an “open relationship” with Barry.  Both she and Barry have agreed to allow the other to seek extra-marital sexual partners for one-time flings – given that consent is granted prior to any intercourse.  Alice has had sexual relations with men other than Barry [her only husband], but she has always sought and obtained his permission for each of the encounters.

Barry [from the above example; married to Alice] has had some sexual relations with women other than Alice [his only wife], but maintains that – based on the original meaning of the Hebrew word “na’aph” – a man is not able to commit adultery.

Connor is married to two women.  Both know about the polygynous arrangement and both consented to it and find joy in it.  Connor engages in sexual relations with both women separately.

Darren is Christian.  Though he is married to only one woman and has only had sexual relations with his wife, he has imagined lust in his right-brain-heart towards other women.  Jesus Christ said:

But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

Earl is Catholic.  Though he is married to only one woman and has not imagined lust in his right-brain-heart towards other women, he has imagined lust in his right-brain-heart towards his wife.  According to Pope John Paul II:

Adultery “in the heart” is committed not only because man “looks” in this way at a woman who is not his wife, but precisely because he looks at a woman in this way.  Even if he looked in this way at the woman who is his wife, he could likewise commit adultery “in his heart”.

Who in this group committed adultery – which did not?  For what reasons did that person commit or not commit adultery?  Answering these specific cases suddenly reveals how vague a simple command of “thou shalt not commit adultery” can really be.  Am I bound by what adultery would have meant to Moses when he wrote it – or by what the church currently interprets “adultery” to entail – or by what my wife and I have agreed would violate the terms of our marriage covenant?

The Scriptural Interpretation of Hot Drinks:

Another example is:

And again, hot drinks are not for the body or belly.

The current church method seems to be the “strict textual/contextual interpretation” method, wherein essentially all official exposition on the subject default to this quote from Brigham Young:

I have heard it argued that tea and coffee are not mentioned [in D&C 89]; that is very true; but what were the people in the habit of taking as hot drinks when that revelation was given?  Tea and coffee.  We were not in the habit of drinking water very hot, but tea and coffee — the beverages in common use.

However, Brigham Young is going thru some contextual reasoning.  He is answering the question in terms of what the saints were generally in the habit of drinking very hot.  He is not laying down a clear-cut definition of “hot drinks” so that “tea and coffee” simply can just be substituted in for the words “hot drinks” to make the revelation read:

And again, tea and coffee are not for the body or belly.

However, given Brigham’s line of reasoning, it could be argued that the Lord is counseling against habitually drinking things very hot — which for the early saints happened to be tea and coffee.  However, it doesn’t necessarily follow that those are the only two specific conceptions the Lord wanted the saints to be guided by.

Putting this into the perspective of the two schools of interpretive thought:

• Are we bound by the specific conceptions of “hot drinks” – meaning we, today, should just not drink the things that people in the 1830’s were in the habit of drinking very hot [As Brigham was arguing] — such that even though tea and coffee are now often consumed cold, we still must avoid them?
• Or are we bound to the general concept of “drinks that are hot” – meaning we, today, should not be in the habit of drinking anything very hot [regardless of what the early saints were habitually doing] — such that if the saints became in the habit of drinking apple cider or chocolate as “hot drinks”, then we must avoid those too?

Questions:

• How do you interpret scripture?
• Are you an “original meaning” kind of reader – or a “liken it to myself” kind of reader?
• Might one be appropriate at some times, while the other more appropriate for others?
• What are the implications of favoring one school of thought over the other?
• How might an “original meaning” person give extra insight to a “liken it to myself” person.  What about the other way around?

Next Article by Justin:  The Healing Gifts
Previous Article by Justin:  The Will of God and Faith

Seeking the Good of Others

Meat Sacrificed to Idols:

One of the issues in the first-century church that was addressed in writing by Paul concerned meat that had been sacrificed to idols.  Debates over what to eat might seem strange within a church established by a man who said:

“Do ye not perceive, that whatsoever thing from without entereth into the man, it cannot defile him; Because it entereth not into his heart, but into the belly, and goeth out into the draught, purging all meats?“

However, as formerly pagan/Roman converts began joining congregations of the church of Jesus Christ, an issue arose concerning the eating of meat.

Pleasing the Romans gods thru animal sacrifice resulted in temples having more meat than their priests and priestesses could eat.  So, as a source of income, the temples would sell the extra meat to vendors — who would in turn sell that meat in the marketplace for general consumption.  Thus, it was common for meat sold in the marketplace to have been previously consecrated as a sacrifice to a Roman god.  The Jews stayed away from such meat because they were wary of the chances encountering the “unclean” food-handling practices and they believed that to partake of consecrated meat was to give second-hand approval of idol worship.  The Gentiles did not believe that meat could be tainted by a sacrifice they did not participate in.  Both parties brought these preconceived cultural views on the subject with them into the church of Jesus Christ — thereby making the matter a point of contention within the church.

The council recorded in Acts 15 urged Gentile converts to abstain from meat sacrificed to idols.  In essence, the council sought to assure that at the next church sacramental meal a formerly-Jewish believer could eat meat he was served with confidence — knowing it had never been part of a sacrificial cow, and a formerly-Roman believer could not be accused of participating in idol worship.

Applying the Matter to Ourselves:

Whenever I read Paul’s writings on the subject of members of the church of Jesus Christ eating meat that had was considered “unclean” by some — I can’t help but think of the current LDS views on things like meat, caffeinated drinks, beer, and wine.  So last week, I read thru 1 Corinthians 8-10, imagining that Paul was writing to church members today on the subject of the Word of Wisdom.

Paul’s Law of Offense = Seek the good of others instead of being concerned for your own good:

The following was taken from 1 Corinthians 8-10.

Some people might think that all things are lawful for them because of justification by faith or because of all the knowledge they have on the issue.  While the freedom in Christ or the knowledge you obtain may make you feel important, it is love that strengthens the church of God.  If you claim to know all the answers, then you don’t really know very much.  However, the person who loves God – the same is known by Him.

Whether or not everything is lawful for you – not everything is expedient or constructive.

You may be able to consume any food or drink without raising questions of moral conscience within yourself because you understand that everything from the earth comes from the Lord.  Why should your freedom be limited by what someone else thinks?  If you are capable of enjoying all things that come from God, then why should you be condemned for it?  We can’t win God’s approval by what we eat – you won’t lose anything if you abstain, and you won’t gain anything if you partake.  So whether you eat or drink – whatever you do – do it all to glorify God.

However, not all believers understand this.  Some are accustomed to thinking that words of wisdom concerning diet are commandments – and their weak consciences will be offended.

Should a non-member ask you over to his or her house, by all means go if you want to and eat whatever is offered to you, out of respect for their hospitality.  But then should a member there point out that the food or drink served ought to be considered morally objectionable to you because of your religion – don’t consume it out of consideration for the one who told you.  For you must be careful that your freedom doesn’t cause another of a weaker conscience to stumble.

If your superior knowledge on a subject were to encourage a believer to do something they believe is wrong, then you would be sinning against Christ because he died for that person too.

If my dietary choices would cause another believer to sin, then may I never break the “commandments” outlined in any words of wisdom concerning diet so long as I live.  I do not desire another believer to stumble.  Don’t give offense to Jews, Gentiles, or the church of God.  Try to please everyone in what you do.  Don’t just do what is best for yourself – do what is best for others, so that many may be saved.

When you are with those who are weak, you should share their weakness because you have a desire to bring the weak to Christ.  It is best to try and find common ground with people, doing everything you can that you might save some.

Even though you are a free person, with no earthly slave master, you must become a servant to all people to bring them to Christ.  When you are with Jews, live like a Jew to bring them to Christ.  When you are with members who strictly adhere to Church™ teachings, live under that law – even though you are not subject to that law, do so in order to bring Christ to them.  When you are with Gentiles who are without the law, then also live apart from that law for the purpose of bringing them to Christ.  But you must not ignore the law of God – always obey the law of Christ.

Questions:

• Is my characterization of Paul’s teaching on offense accurate?
• What lessons can be drawn from his teaching?
• Is my connection of his teaching on eating pagan meat with the Word of Wisdom™ fair?
• Is this teaching consistent with the rest of the Scriptures?
• How can we balance Paul’s law of offense with spicing up your church experience, rebelling against body modesty, or cheerfully doing all things?

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So John the Baptist Smoked Pot, What of It?

Recent evidence has surfaced which reveals that John the Baptist was high on pot—descending in a cloud of marijuana smoke—when he conferred the priesthood upon Joseph and Oliver.  Some may feel this is unbecoming of an angelic prophet, but I want to state for the record that I support John 100%.

To all the prudes and misinformed:

So John smoked pot.  So what?

A List of Evidences in Favor of Pot

Latest CBS News Polls Finds Majority Of Western Voters, Californians, Back Marijuana Legalization by Paul Armentano, April 27, 2010

End Insanity Of The War on Drugs—Start With Decriminalizing Marijuana at The Federal Level by Ron Paul, April 20, 2010

Marijuana: Recreational drug or natural health miracle? by Kevin Genovario, April 19, 2010

Anti-Pot Propaganda As Stupid As Ever – Yet Our Alarmist Media Continues to Hype It by Paul Armentano, March 10, 2010

The Feds Are Addicted to Pot – Even If You Aren’t by Paul Armentano, December 18, 2009

Marijuana Is Safer: So Why Are We Driving People To Drink? by Mark Thornton, December 1, 2009

Marijuana Is Safer: So Why Are We Driving People to Drink? by Paul Armentano, August 12, 2009

Why Condemn Phelps, When We Ought to Condemn the Laws That Brand Him a Criminal by Paul Armentano, February 4, 2009

Drug War’s Latest Tally: 872,721 Pot Arrests, an All-Time High by Paul Armentano, September 17, 2008

Pot Versus the ‘Superbug’ by Paul Armentano, September 2, 2008

So Where Did All The Ditchweed Go? by Paul Armentano, August 11, 2008

20 Years for Pot Possession? by Paul Armentano, July 29, 2008

The Death of Rachel Hoffman by Paul Armentano, July 28, 2008

When It Comes To Medical Pot, Rats Are Smarter Than Our Politicians by Paul Armentano, July 22, 2008

So What If Pot Can Cure Cancer; That’s No Reason For You To Use It by Paul Armentano, July 19, 2008

What the Government Knows About Cannabis and Cancer – and Isn’t Telling You by Paul Armentano, June 26, 2008

Is Senator Kennedy a Victim of Pot Prohibition? by Paul Armentano, May 22, 2008

It’s Official: Gordon Brown and Jacqui Smith Have Lost Their Minds by Paul Armentano, May 15, 2008

How to Tell If the Drug Czar Is Lying? His Lips Are Moving by Paul Armentano, May 14, 2008

Setting the Record Straight on Marijuana and Addiction by Paul Armentano, March 31, 2008

Pot Makes You Lose Your Mind! by Paul Armentano, March 21, 2008

Outrageous Anti-Pot Lies: Media Uses Disgraceful Cancer Scare Tactics by Paul Armentano, March 11, 2008

Ending America’s Domestic Quagmire by Paul Armentano, March 10, 2008

The Lies of the Drug War by Paul Armentano, March 1, 2008

Making Pot Legal: We Can Do It – Here’s How by Paul Armentano, February 13, 2008

What’s the Going Price for a Joint? by Paul Armentano, February 5, 2008

‘Pot 2.0’: Where Can I Get Some? by Paul Armentano, November 2, 2007

Could Cannabis Quell Americans Addiction to Pain Meds? by Paul Armentano and Chris Goldstein, September 20, 2007

Nothing’s Either Good or Bad – Unless the State Says So by William Norman Grigg, July 2, 2007

It’s Been an ‘All Out War’ on Pot Smokers for 35 Years by Paul Armentano, March 23, 2007

White House Requests Increased Funding for Failed Student Drug-Testing, Discredited Anti-Pot Ads by Paul Armentano, February 10, 2007

A Billion Dollars a Year for Pot? by Paul Armentano, October 19, 2006

Medical Marijuana and the Ninth and Tenth Amendments byAnthony Gregory, October 5, 2006

Another Marijuana Myth Goes Up In Smoke by Paul Armentano, June 9, 2006

Cannabis and the Brain: A User’s Guide by Paul Armentano, March 2, 2006

NFL’s Buzzkill: No Beer at Giants Stadium by Paul Armentano, January 14, 2006

Here’s Your Cup, Junior by Paul Armentano, October 12, 2005

Bad Trip by Paul Armentano, March 22, 2005

Crimes of the Other War by Paul Armentano, February 8, 2005

High Court Must Take Lead in Medical Marijuana Debate Because Politicians Will Not by Paul Armentano, November 30, 2004

Terror War Takes a Back Seat to War on Drugs by Paul Armentano, October 30, 2004

Exposing Potent Pot Myths by Paul Armentano, October 21, 2004

Federal Drug Use Surveys and Fuzzy Math by Paul Armentano, September 22, 2004

Unlocking a Cure for Cancer – With Pot by Paul Armentano, August 17, 2004

Complete List of Articles authored by LDS Anarchist

Spicing up your church experience

Combating Cultural Mormonism with a Little Anarchy

In my estimation, there seems to be a growing number of LDS that are starting to recognize the difference between doctrinal Mormonism and cultural Mormonism, with a discontent concerning the latter.

I, personally, worry that cultural Mormonism is killing too many of these good people with boredom.  So, if there are any out in Cyberspace who are tired of the Utah culture being exported to every part of the globe, here are some suggestions from your friendly, neighborhood LDS Anarchist to spice up your church experience and bring a little leavening to the doughy masses.

Feel free to run with any of them and to encourage your LDS and, depending on the suggestion, non-LDS friends to do the same.  With enough people doing the following small things, the church will quickly be de-culturalized, leaving only doctrinal Mormonism left.  But even if only a very few people do these things, it will still cause a tremendous shift of attitude among the saints and bring about significant cultural change.  Lastly, if it is only you working, and you are not having any effect, at all, upon the Cult of Conformity, at least you will have de-culturalized yourself and removed much of the boredom you might have been going through.

Bring back the visual cues of manhood

• Men and boys, grow your beards out.

This is a very easy thing to do, as there is nothing that needs to be done.  It is a passive act.  You simply allow the facial hair to grow out.  This will save you time, energy, electricity (for electric shavers), damage to the skin (no more nicks and cuts) and money (no more shaving equipment needed.)

Many men desire to grow a beard but use the excuse that it grows out in patches and ends up looking horrible, so they cut it.  The truth of the matter is that if you just let the hair grow, even the patches start to sprout hair and eventually everything looks even and full, but sometimes it may take six months for a very patchy man to have a full beard.  A little patience is all it takes.

Teenage boys of 15 and 16, when they start to notice that their peach fuzz is turning into terminal hairs, will immediately start shaving it off.  This is a mistake, as the facial hair is a visual cue that manhood is now upon them.

Young men, aren’t you tired of people treating you like a child?  Grow your facial hair out and watch how quickly people begin treating you as a more mature individual.  Watch the reaction of your parents, male peers, school teachers and the young women of your age.  A beard is a very strong visual cue of manhood and everyone will start to treat you as an adult, especially when your voice deepens.  Remember, things should match.  A deep voice goes with a full beard.  A high pitched voice goes with a clean-shaven (boyish) face.  These visual and audible cues were given to us by God on purpose.

Men, unless you are in a profession that requires you to be clean-shaven, let the hair grow out into a full, bushy beard.  Ditch the fads and trends of trimming into this or that beard style.  You don’t need a goatee, you need a full beard.  You were created in the image of God.  He’s got a full beard.  You’re supposed to have one, too.  Be like God in heart and look like God in image. Don’t trim his image.  If the mustache gives you trouble when you eat, or if you find that the beard becomes a “flavor saver” (because food gets stuck in it), just exercise the patience of the saints and let it grow until it is long enough to no longer get in the way.

Now, I say grow a full, bushy, untrimmed beard because that is the most manly of beards. Short beards, even when full, indicate young men, whose beards have not yet attained the length of a fully grown man.

Women, compliment your husbands and sons on the fine beards they are growing.  You are hard-wired to find beards attractive.  Why?  Because beards are manly, and women love manliness.  So, dump all the (beardless) Roman and (beardless) homosexual propaganda that has filled your head and embrace the real image of Christ. You don’t want a beardless Roman, now do you?  Remember, the beardless Romans killed the bearded Christ.  You want a Christ-like man, right?  So, encourage the growing of the beard, ladies.  Besides, you know that women constantly complain of how grown, adult men act like immature 12-year olds, right?  Well, have you ever considered that they act like 12-year olds because they still look like 12-year olds?  Can you really expect your men to grow up and be adults if they just look like bigger versions of beardless kids?

Men, women and children should consider the functions of the full beard and respect them.  Here are some examples:

• Beards come in quite handy during intimacy.  (I ain’t gonna elaborate on this one.)

• Beards help to develop the manual dexterity of infants and toddlers, who, as they are held by their fathers, grasp the beard, which fully develops the hand and fingers of the child.

• Beards help to distinguish the father from the mother in the eyes of the child, causing them to view the sexes as very, very different.  (“Viva la difference!” as the French say.)  This causes young girls to develop into very feminine women and young boys to develop into very masculine men.

• Bearded men (full, bushy beards, mind you, not the sissy trimmed beards) elicit an involuntary reaction upon all who see them.  Beards emit power and virility and evoke instant respect.  Big, clean-shaven men with tattoos all over the place, piercings, etc., who look for confrontations, involuntarily avoid bearded men because they don’t feel manly in the presence of bearded men.  In point of fact, bearded men look upon beardless men as less manly.

• When two bearded men enter an area and spot each other, they are naturally drawn to each other, involuntarily complimenting the other for their fine facial hair.  (This is significant, as men normally do not give compliments of appearance to one another.)  A bearded man talking to another bearded man feels like he is talking to a man. A bearded man talking to a beardless man feels like he is talking to a boy. All beardless men know this, or feel this inferiority of manliness when in the presence of fully bearded men.  There is no worse feeling to a man than to feel less than manly.

• Conversely, there is no greater feeling to a woman than to feel feminine, but femininity must be contrasted with masculinity to get its greatest effect.  A fully bearded man gives the highest contrast of manliness to a woman, which is why women who have experienced fully bearded men don’t want them to ever cut the beard off.  They feel supremely feminine in the presence of such a manly man.  (Of course, cultural conditioning can take away this natural affinity that women have towards manly beards.)

• Fully bearded men have an air of authority around them that children and women (and beardless men) respond to.  There is something in our psyche that still remembers Heavenly Father and that responds to His bearded image.

• There may be many other reasons to grow a beard, but I’ll end with this one: if the Lord ever wants to send you out among the people to prophesy like one of His prophets of old, shouldn’t you look the part?

Worldly trends to eliminate beards Can you imagine a homosexual male with a full beard?  Kind of hard to picture, isn’t it?  Ever wonder why adult, homosexual males are almost always clean shaven, or have a minimum of facial hair?  Every wonder why the “playboy” image, started by Hugh Hefner, is clean-shaven (kind of like the homosexuals?)  Homosexual males don’t have children because they don’t get into long-term, committed relationships with females (otherwise known as “marriage.”)  “Playboys” (or nowadays the term is “players”) don’t get into long term, committed relationships with females, either.  (No marriage.)  You think the parallels between homosexual males and players is mere coincidence?

How about the sex performers and industry?  The only hair on their bodies (male or female) is found on their heads (and sometimes not even that for the men.)  Ever wonder why all this shaving of armpit hair, pubic hair and facial hair?  All of the visual cues of adulthood (for men and women) are snipped off by this industry, by the homosexuals and often by the playboys.  But think about it, if you take away this hair, what does an adult look like?  Answer: A large child.

None of this is coincidence.  Just as the hair that develops during puberty is designed by God to be a visual cue that the body is becoming an adult and getting ready for its sexual function between ADULTS, the world would remove all this hair so that it looks like CHILDREN are performing these sacred acts.  Thoughts to consider.

(After writing the above, which is based upon my own, personal observations, I did some Internet surfing and came across the following web site that confirmed what I had perceived about beards.)

All About Beards (beards.org)

Pay your tithing in silver

Stop writing checks or paying in cash.  Take whatever cash amount you would spend on tithing and convert it into silver coins, specifically, this silver.  Package and mail the coins off to your bishop, along with a tithing slip inside.  Make sure the slip is filled out so that you are anonymous.

Leave boring sacrament meetings after partaking of the sacrament

If you are tired of banal, boring, lame sacrament meeting talks and seriously consider going inactive, don’t.  Just go to church, partake of the sacrament, and as soon as the priests and deacons are dismissed to sit with their families, walk out and go home. You can return later to attend the Gospel Doctrine class, Relief Society or Priesthood Meetings, if you want or need to.  If Gospel Doctrine is lame, skip that, too. (However, to remain in good standing, priesthood holders must attend their priesthood meetings, even if they are boring.)

Doing this will allow you to keep your sanity for a few more years.  Also, if enough people in your ward participate in collective ditching, the bishopric may get the message that boredom is not a generally accepted principle of the gospel and may make needed improvements to the sacrament meeting.  But don’t hold your breath on that one.

Ditch the necktie and white shirt

Last I checked, you can’t be ex’d for that, or even disfellowshipped.  But some anally retentive bishops may decide that you are no longer worthy to bless or pass the sacrament, give talks, teach classes or perform ordinances of church record, so, if you are looking for a breather from a heavy church load, conveniently make sure that every Sunday your white shirts and ties are too dirty to wear and dress in nice, comfortable, casual clothes, instead.  And if you are called to give a priesthood blessing to some sick person in the ward, don’t be anally retentive yourself and rush home to get dressed in a white shirt and tie.  Just go as you are and bless them.

Grow your hair long

Jesus did it.  Samson did it.  Who is more manly than those two?  Long hair and a full, bushy beard complement each other.  If you have the Roman hair (short cut) and the Israelite beard (full and bushy), it will almost look hypocritical, like having one foot in Babylon and one foot in Zion.  Put both feet in Zion and grow the hair out.  You’ll look a whole lot more handsome and manly if you do.  Plus, you’ll save on all the barber shop money you spend.  (Or, to appease a wife that is unaccustomed to long hair, tell her that you are going to the barber, but instead come back with chocolates and roses…and uncut hair.  She’ll soon look forward to your “barber shop” excursions and will end up being the one insisting you never cut your hair.)  If anyone asks you why you are not cutting the hair, say you are trying to be like Jesus, or that you have taken a Nazarene vow, or that you’ve noticed that your strength increases the longer your hair is, and you’ve decided to enter a strongman contest.

Call everyone brother and sister so-and-so

And I do mean everyone.  Bishops, presidents, missionaries, apostles, prophets and all General Authorities.  Everyone.  And make it part of every sentence, too, when you are called out on the practice.  So, for example: “Hello, Brother Brown.’  “Uh, I’m the bishop, Brother Green.”  “Yes, I know, Brother Brown.”  “Well, it is customary to call one’s bishop by the title bishop and not brother.”  “I was aware of that, Brother Brown.  But thanks for the information, anyway.”  You get my drift, right?  If anyone asks why you are doing this, just get all emotional and, if you are able to, shed a few tears while giving him (not her) a big hug and saying that you love him as your own brother.  Fairly quickly, no one will ask you again about it.

Print out your own set of scriptures

Include whatever canon you want.  Let it contain the four standard works (any version of the Bible you want, or multiple versions, or the red-letter version, etc.), the Apocrypha, the Inspired Version, etc.  Use a desk-top publishing program and a good printer and take it to a binding shop to get it professionally bound.  Remember, the saints set the canon.  You are a saint, so set your own canon.

Reverse the order of prayer

Instead of ending “in the name of Jesus Christ,” make it a habit of starting with “Heavenly Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, …” and then end with a simple “Amen.”

Reverse the order of priesthood blessings

Instead of saying, “John Smith, by the authority of the Melchizedek Priesthood, we lay our hands on you…etc.” and then ending with, “…and we leave this blessing with you in the name of Jesus Christ, amen,” just begin with, “John Smith, in the name of Jesus Christ and by the authority of…” and end with, “amen.”  Sure, you”ll undoubtedly get elders telling you afterward that you screwed up the blessing and must do it again because the order was reversed, but stick to your guns and teach them a thing or two, namely, that stating the authority is what is required, not the order in which the authority is stated.

Drop all the archaic expressions of prayer

Don’t worry, you won’t tick God off by calling him “you” instead of “thee.”  Lol.  That is a Mormon cultural artifact, nothing more.  Use plain, modern English when talking to God and drop all the thees, thous, wilts, etc.  Do this in private and in public, after all, it’s going to take practice to get out of this habit.  But it’ll be well worth the effort both to witness the expressions of horror by the LDS around you after you’ve said your prayer, as well as seeing how more accepting Christians are of you when you’ve said a prayer without archaic, “holier-than-thou” expressions.

De-McConkie-ize the church: stop ending talks with “In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.”

This practice was started by Bruce R. McConkie.  The early saints just said, “Amen.” to end a talk, or just ended it however they wanted to end it and then sat down.  Surely you don’t think your entire talk speaks for Jesus, now do you?  So, leave off speaking in His name except for ORDINANCES which require speaking in His name and for those times when you are filled with the Spirit and are prophesying in the name of God.  (Now how many times has that happened, huh?)

Build an altar in your home

Purchase bottles of vodka and leave them out to be seen

Use the vodka to wash your bodies, as directed by the Word of Wisdom.  Make sure they are conspicuously displayed and then invite some church members over for dinner.  Have fun with the discussions that ensue.

Other ideas

Obviously, these are just ideas to get you started.  Cultural Mormons will probably call you a sinner for doing these things.  But then, they also see anarchy as evil, which it isn’t.  Just smile and do them anyway.  Eventually, the tide of Mormon cultural crap will turn.  If you have any other ideas to offer, or if you are already doing some of these or other things, feel free to leave a comment and inform us all of your experience.

Next Anarchism/Anarchy article: Anarchism

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What the Word of Wisdom says and what it doesn’t say

D&C 89, the revelation known as the Word of Wisdom, gives both very specific and very general instructions. Sometimes we have a tendency to read more into it than is there, or to take away what is actually written there. In the economy of heaven, supererogation is a sin. We are expected by the Lord to do what is required by him. No more, no less.

And whoso shall declare more or less than this, and establish it for my doctrine, the same cometh of evil, and is not built upon my rock; but he buildeth upon a sandy foundation, and the gates of hell stand open to receive such when the floods come and the winds beat upon them. (3 Ne. 11: 40)

But whoso among you shall do more or less than these are not built upon my rock, but are built upon a sandy foundation; and when the rain descends, and the floods come, and the winds blow, and beat upon them, they shall fall, and the gates of hell are ready open to receive them. (3 Ne. 18: 13)

Whosoever declareth more or less than this, the same is not of me, but is against me; therefore he is not of my church. (D&C 10: 68 )

And whatsoever is more or less than this is the spirit of that wicked one who was a liar from the beginning. (D&C 93: 25)

And as pertaining to law of man, whatsoever is more or less than this, cometh of evil. (D&C 98: 7)

For that which is more or less than this cometh of evil, and shall be attended with cursings and not blessings, saith the Lord your God. Even so. Amen. (D&C 124: 120)

So, in the spirit of doing no more and no less than what the Word of Wisdom says, let’s review just what it does say, and what it doesn’t say.

• Wine Drinking wine is prohibited by the revelation with but one exception: we can use wine for the sacrament if we ourselves make it, but it must be pure grape wine, not other types of wine.
• Strong Drink Drinking strong drink is strictly prohibited, however, it is given the use of washing our bodies.
• Tobacco Smoking, chewing and eating tobacco is strictly prohibited, however, it is given the use of a healing herb for bruises and sick cattle, with cautions on its use (as tobacco poisoning is a real danger.)
• Hot Drinks Hot drinks, defined by modern prophets as tea and coffee, are strictly prohibited to be used on the outside or inside of the body.
• Wholesome Herbs The Lord gives the thumbs up, but says to use them in the season thereof, with prudence and thanksgiving.
• Fruit Again the Lord gives his approval of their use, but says to use them in the season thereof, with prudence and thanksgiving.
• Flesh of Beasts and Fowls of the Air The Lord gives his approval for their use but emphasizes two times in the revelation that they are only to be used in times of winter, cold or famine, which is his definition of the word “sparingly” and also says that it is pleasing to him that they not be used, at all, except under the conditions he states. Also, these things are to be used with thanksgiving.
• Grain The Lord gives a thumbs up for all grain, both for man, beasts of the field, fowls of heaven and all wild animals on dry earth.
• Mild Grain Drinks The Lord gives a thumbs up for all mild grain drinks. Mild grain drinks at the time the Word of Wisdom was revealed was interpreted by the saints, including, apparently, the Prophet Joseph Smith himself, as being beer drinks, with alcoholic content between 1% and 5%, as opposed to strong drink, which was hard liquor with alcoholic content of 40% or more.
• Fruit-Bearing Plants The Lord gives a thumbs up to all fruit-bearing plants, whether that “fruit” is found above or below ground.

That, in a nutshell, is what the Lord says about what we can or cannot eat. Now, here is what the Lord doesn’t say:

• Cola drinks The Lord is silent on cola drinks.
• Chocolate The Lord is silent on chocolate, including hot chocolate drinks.
• Caffeine The Lord is silent on the consumption of caffeine.
• Seafood The Lord is silent on eating seafood, both sea creatures and sea plants. After all, the saints were in the middle of the country and had no access to seafood, so why talk about it?
• Insects, Arachnids, etc. The Lord is silent on the eating of insects, arachnids (scorpions, etc.)
• Drugs The Lord is silent on drugs, whether legal or illegal.
• Cooking The Lord is silent about cooking food. He doesn’t approve or disapprove of raw-foodism.
• Vegan Diets The Lord is silent about vegan diets.
• Vegetarian Diets The Lord is silent about vegetarianism, though the revelation seem to stress a mainly plant-based diet.
• Every other type of food consumed, not mentioned in the revelation. The Lord is silent.

Some modern LDS interpretations on the revelation that contradict how the saints who lived at the time of the revelation interpreted it:

• Wine Means Grape Juice The early saints did not understand the revelation to mean grape juice. It was wine, as in it had alcoholic content. It is lumped together with strong drink for this reason. After all, what’s wrong with drinking grape juice?
• Mild Barley Drink Is Barley Water The early saints did not use barley water. The mild barley drinks they made were beers, not barley water. The Lord in the revelation is referring to the practices of the time. Therefore, he is referring to, and approving of, beer.

Open interpretations:

• Wholesome Who decides what a wholesome herb is? You do.
• Tea Although the prophets have interpreted “hot drinks” to mean tea and coffee, just what constitutes the tea that is prohibited is interpreted by LDS in different ways. For example, there are four types of tea: black tea, oolong tea, white tea and green tea. Some choose to interpret tea as being only the type of tea that was in use by the saints at the time of the revelation, leaving the other three types open for use. Especially green tea, which many people feel has great healing properties. Others reject all teas, including herbal teas.
• Coffee Many saints think that it is the caffeine in coffee that makes it prohibitive and so drink decaffeinated coffee.

Sometimes as LDS we tend to be a little too judgmental of our fellow saints, based upon our preconceived notions of what the Word of Wisdom is and isn’t. Just because a saint has a bottle of vodka in his cupboard doesn’t mean he’s drinking it, it may mean he’s using it for washing purposes. Just because a saint has a winery and is bottling wine doesn’t mean he’s drinking it, it may mean he’s preparing for the day when we will again partake of the sacrament with wine. Just because a sister refuses to eat meat, it doesn’t mean she is breaking any commandment. Just because a saint is a raw-foodist or vegan or vegetarian, doesn’t mean they are weird or strange. Just because a saint drinks coca-cola or green tea or makes a meal of cake and ice cream doesn’t mean that they are sinners. And even if we ever see a saint drinking Guinness, at 5% alcohol, are they really breaking the Word of Wisdom? The earlier saints wouldn’t have thought so.

Remember, the Word of Wisdom was given for “the weakest of all saints, who are or can be called saints.” It may be less of a test to see if we can follow it and more of a test to see if we can stop judging our fellow saint.

Previous Word of Wisdom article: Strong drinks, mild drinks, hot drinks, wine, etc.

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