How the Lord will clean his church: a possible scenario

Disclaimer: This is my opinion. I haven’t received inspiration, revelation or any such communication or confirmation from the Spirit concerning the following. It is just what I think will be the causes that allow the church finally to be sanctified, in preparation for the Lord’s Second Coming.

I will try to keep this post short and to the point. There are three things I believe will cause the church to be cleaned of all the hypocrites:

• The Law of Consecration
• The Practice of Plural Marriage
• The Brass Plates (and other new scriptures)

The Law of Consecration As anyone who has read my anarchy articles ought to know, I believe the Lord has intentions of bringing his church into tribal anarchy. The current food crisis (as well as other things that are fast coming) may be the catalyst in bringing us back into the practice of the law of consecration. As the church is largely plugged into the Babylonian system, relying upon it for virtually everything, the current crisis will cause Babylon, and all connected to it, to suffer tremendously. This may be the impetus for the more righteous LDS to desire again to disconnect itself from Babylon and live the law of consecration. However, our current society is largely incompatible for the law of consecration to work properly, unless the current society is completely broken up and replaced by anarchy. I believe that we may be in the stage just before all this happens, namely, that the Lord is going to use the current crisis to initiate tribal anarchy so that the law of consecration will have no impediments and his people can worship him as he intended.

Both tribal anarchy and the law of consecration will naturally clean out many church members (hypocrites, who say they will follow the Lord, but in reality will only follow him so far) because many members are addicted to both money and statism.

The Practice of Plural Marriage The raid on the FLDS has brought a lot of attention to the practice of polygamy recently, essentially vilifying it anew in the eyes of all people. As eyewitness testimony makes its way to the populace of all the horrifying conditions these people were subjected to, the general public will intensify its repugnance of the practice. This plays into the hands of Satan well, as it may be that the whole “gay marriage” push for legality, an obvious plan of the devil, may end up legalizing polygamy, something Satan doesn’t want. So, by putting polygamy in a bad spotlight now, if polygamy ends up becoming legalized, he can then incite the masses against the saints who will have no moral basis to refuse to participate in the practice, creating persecution of a level experienced only by saints of previous dispensations. This may cause another mass exodus from the church, as it will no longer be worth it to remain a member. Also, many members will not want to be a part of a polygamy practicing church, regardless of the persecution.

The Brass Plates The plates of brass are prophesied to go to every nation, kindred, tongue and people of the seed of Lehi. It is my belief that these plates will be revealed before the Second Coming, not after. When the remnant of the church is left, after the mass exoduses from the law of consecration and the re-establishment of the practice of polygamy, the people may be sufficiently righteous to finally receive more of the word of God. The plates of brass, when revealed, will further put a split between the saints left in the church and all other Mormons who have broken away, as well as all other churches, be they Christian or other. Additionally, other ancient scriptures may come forth which will try the faith of those left, as they will undoubtedly contain new laws or information that the saints will need to live. As the LDS now have a hard time believing and living the Book of Mormon alone, more ancient scripture will put us in a further bad light before the world and make it that much harder to be a LDS. This may finally get the last of the hypocrites out of the church, making the church justified, purified and sanctified.

Afterward

What the church will look like at this point is anyone’s guess, but I don’t think it will quite look like it does now, though it will probably resemble the scriptural organization much more closely. One thing I believe is that this sanctified remnant church will be empowered to finally establish the New Jerusalem and actual stakes of Zion in preparation of the Second Coming. And in case anyone is wondering, yes, I believe the scriptures are very clear that the New Jerusalem (in Independence, Missouri) must and will be built prior to the Lord’s coming, not after. But the present unsanctified church cannot do it.

I have passed these thoughts through what4anarchy and he doesn’t think these scenarios are out of the realm of possibility. Time will tell.

Next Anarchism/Anarchy article: How I get out of jury duty

Previous Anarchism/Anarchy article: My take on the FLDS raid

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The faith of God, part twelve: Truth

Continued from part eleven.

Ye were also in the beginning with the Father; that which is Spirit, even the Spirit of truth; and truth is knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come; 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: 23-25)

Here the Lord defined what truth is. He also defined, in the same sentence, what a lie is. Just about everyone understands this. If a man goes into a convenience store and robs it, taking exactly 10 dollars, and I see it happen and witness to its occurrence, I’ve spoken the truth. If I say he took exactly 11 dollars (more than the truth) or exactly 9 dollars (less than the truth), I’ve spoken a lie. In the economy of heaven, truth has bounds or limits, whereas the liar from the beginning has unlimited freedom to create fables.

Now get this: the word of God is the seed of faith, yet the word of God is truth, which is knowledge. How can faith be knowledge and knowledge be faith?

Knowledge creates faith and faith creates knowledge

That sounds like a reasonable statement, as the word of God, which is truth (knowledge), when planted in the heart of man and watered by the Spirit creates faith and faith eventually produces fruit (knowledge), however, it’s a bit simpler (or more complicated, depending on your viewpoint) than that.

Two types of knowledge^*

There is the type of knowledge that you can see with your own two eyes and ascertain with a perfect surety that it exists. This is the first type. This can be termed perfect knowledge. This type of knowledge makes faith dormant in that thing, for the object of faith was to produce such fruit.

The other type of knowledge is awareness of something that really does exist, with witnesses or testimonies or evidence, but which you still haven’t seen with your own two eyes. This can be termed imperfect knowledge.

Faith requires imperfect knowledge

The word of God (the seed of faith) is imperfect knowledge which eventually produces the fruit of perfect knowledge. Imperfect knowledge does not nullify faith, only perfect knowledge makes faith dormant. This is why the obtaining of more and more of the word of God, through revelations, prophecies, visiting angels, visions, dreams, tongues, etc., only has the effect of increasing one’s faith. The more imperfect knowledge we obtain, the greater our faith can become, and the greater our faith becomes the more perfect knowledge we can obtain, or in the case of God, create.

God possesses all knowledge, both perfect and imperfect

Here is the kicker: it is because of God’s imperfect knowledge that he is able to have, maintain and increase his faith. More on this later.

God sees all the fables

Everything that isn’t the truth (what really was, what really is and what really will be) is a fable or a lie. Truth has limits, fables do not. Therefore, there are an infinite number of versions of what wasn’t, what isn’t and what won’t be. (Comic book fans might say these are alternate universes or alternate versions of reality, etc.) At any rate, God can see all the truth as well as all the fables. In fact, the devil’s ability to create fables or tell lies comes from the the Father’s ability to see the lies as well as the truth. The difference is that God presents lies as lies and truth as truth, whereas Satan presents the truth as lies and lies as truth.

Most people have an easy time dealing with the past and present when it comes to the gospel. Where people choke are the future elements of it. How can God tell the future? How can he know what will happen before it does? These and other questions like them are a great mystery to many people.

Some people invent theories such as predestination to explain how he does it. Others just don’t think about it, taking it on faith that this is just how it is and no one will understand it until the Millennium.

The one thing to keep in mind, though, is that God does not violate free agency. Ever. Therefore, theories like predestination are patently false, as they violate one of the revealed laws of heaven. And we know that if God violated one of his own laws he’d cease to be God, so that doesn’t quite work.

Back in the teacher’s quorum

I remember one Sunday being taught by my teacher’s quorum adviser a lesson which really shook up the quorum. The man said, “In the pre-existence, God could have pointed to people and said, ‘You will be saved. You won’t. You will. You will. You won’t.’ etc. He has foreknowledge of all things and knows beforehand who will be saved and who will not.” I don’t know how new this guy was to the gospel, but he seemed pretty sure of himself and no one shot him down. Nevertheless, I didn’t buy the argument, despite myself being new in the gospel.

This idea of his, though, is not unique. I have found many people believe the same thing. Some people try to explain away the problem of a person’s agency (which poses a problem to this line of thinking) by saying that God simply knows us so well that he can tell what we are going to do before we do it, like a parent knows the habits of a child.

The future is uncertain

Contrary to what these people believe, though, the future is uncertain. As we make choices, right or wrong, we are statistically more or less likely to make more right or wrong choices. However, despite statistics, repentance always offers us a way out, unless the last door to salvation is finally closed by us.

When the Lord looks to the future, he sees everything: what will happen, what won’t happen, what can’t happen, what might happen, what probably will happen, what probably won’t happen. Because he sees every possible variation of the future, the truth is in there somewhere along with all the fables. How does he determine what is the truth and what is fable? In a word: FAITH.

The sight of God has divisions

Although God sees all things, both past, present and future, his sight has divisions. For example, he sees all the fables, but not in actuality, as they don’t exist. He sees them in his mind’s eye, or using the incredible imagination that makes up his mind. The truth, however, past and present, actually exists or existed, and he sees or saw them in reality.

When the sight of God is turned to the future, however, the foreknowledge of God (and faith of God) comes into play. Remember, there are two types (or stages) of knowledge: perfect and imperfect. All truth that has existed and exists is perfect knowledge. All truth that will exist is imperfect knowledge. (The reason is because of agency, which is an open variable.) Nevertheless, imperfect knowledge is capable of generating faith and faith is capable of producing perfect knowledge. Therefore, God, when he sees the future (that which will occur) with his mind’s eye (as it is not yet a reality), sees it “with an eye of faith” until it becomes a reality. (See Ether 12: 19; Alma 5: 15 and Alma 32: 40.)

The other things he sees, the fables, he has no faith that they will happen, thus, they do not occur, as faith is what makes things happen, or that makes things reality.

This same principle applies equally to man as to God, which is why faith saves us.

Footnote

* The prophets of the Book of Mormon emphasize that there are two states or types of knowledge: perfect and not perfect.

Next Faith of God article: The faith of God, part thirteen: How charity fits in

Previous Faith of God article: The faith of God, part eleven: Why knowledge doesn’t save

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My take on the FLDS raid

It’s a smokescreen. A distraction.

The real story that Americans are not being told is that there is a (planned) food shortage of enormous proportions happening right now that will affect every man, woman and child in this country (and other countries) who does not have a one, two or three years’ worth of food storage.

The time has past already. If you’ve got the money, buy a complete 1-3 year’s worth of good food storage NOW. Forget the monthly setting aside of a little here and a little there. Purchase a good gravity-fed water filter and stock up on water NOW, as there will be a (planned) water shortage, too. Get your heritage seeds NOW. Put your money into a garden that will sustain life. Plan on being unemployed for a long time and on not being able to afford much of anything, due to unbelievable (planned) inflation. Buy NOW while you can afford it and while it is still available.

2008 is the year when the you-know-what hits the fan. While everyone is looking at the FLDS situation, the political scene and other news that doesn’t directly impact their capacity to survive, this (planned) famine will take virtually all Americans unawares. Even the LDS are asleep on this.

So, to keep our eyes away from the looming (planned) chaos (and then new order, which is the plan) rapidly heading our way this year, a major distraction, an outrageous raid that will keep people focussed away from taking the necessary actions to protect themselves was orchestrated at this time. The ploy has worked. It works every time.

The whole thing is being done under the direction of the global (multi-national) secret combination. Nevertheless, although this will result in death, sickness, mutilation, imprisonment, war (even food and water wars), unemployment, and many other types of mass misery, their ultimate goal in this country will not come to fruition, though they will accomplish it in other nations.

These are some of the whisperings that I’m getting at this time.

Next Anarchism/Anarchy article: How the Lord will clean his church: a possible scenario

Previous Anarchism/Anarchy article: The anarchic laws of D&C 98

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Why the long process?

I know a couple of ladies in the church—one married, one divorced—who have gone to their bishops to confess to breaking the law of chastity and both were told to stop partaking of the sacrament, the other also being forced to surrender her temple recommend. Now, it has been well over two years for both women and neither one has received permission to partake of the sacrament. In these two years, both women have confided in me that they were repentant and felt that God had forgiven them, but that because they still couldn’t partake of the sacrament, their desire to participate in and continue going to church has been waning.

One of these ladies even told me that her bishop had explained to her that she was only required to confess to the bishop and to God, that she need not confess to her husband nor divulge the name of the man with whom she was unfaithful. She disobeyed his counsel and confessed everything to her husband and they are now reconciled, but she still can’t partake of the sacrament, despite her repentance.

Two plus years seems like an awful long time to keep a repentant person who has confessed her sin to God and priest—and in the case of the married woman, confessed to the husband and received forgiveness from him—from partaking of the sacrament. I wonder how prevalent this practice is. I wonder if church discipline is being used as a means to punish, instead of as a means to bring the unrepentant to godly sorrow and repentance (confession).

I am reminded of Nephi, who, after his brothers had attempted to murder him, they came to their senses and asked his forgiveness and, said he, “I did frankly forgive them.” (See 1 Nephi 7: 21.) He didn’t require them to go through a waiting period, etc. They felt sorry, they confessed, he forgave. Simple as that. So, what’s up will all the waiting times?

Next Chastity article: The many definitions of adultery

Previous Chastity article: The Return of Polygamy

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Other prophets and their scriptures

Over the years I have come across an assortment of people claiming to be prophets, translate ancient records, etc., who are not part of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I find the whole of it to be a fulfillment of the prophecies of the holy prophets:

True Prophets

And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: (Joel 2: 28 )

False Prophets

And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. (Matt. 24: 11)

And many false prophets shall arise, and shall deceive many; (JS—M 1: 9)

For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. (Matt. 24: 24)

For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect. (Mark 13: 22)

For in those days there shall also arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders, insomuch, that, if possible, they shall deceive the very elect, who are the elect according to the covenant. (JS—M 1: 22)

But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. (2 Pet. 2: 1)

Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. (1 Jn. 4: 1)

And liars and hypocrites shall be proved by them, and they who are not apostles and prophets shall be known. (D&C 64: 39)

If you know of people who have or are claiming to be prophets, see visions, have angelic ministrations, translate ancient records and in general, lead the people, please leave a comment. Here’s what I’ve found:

• http://www.eritrean-n-d-p.com/ (courtesy of the wayback machine)
  This is an Eritrean man who claims he is a prophet receiving revelation from God and that the Book of Mormon is actually African in origin and was translated from Sabean inscriptions.
• http://www.churchofjesuschristoflatterdaysaints.org/
  This is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, otherwise known as the Strangites, followers of James J. Strang, who claimed he was the next prophet after Joseph Smith and who had angelic ministrations and translated an ancient record called The Book of the Law of the Lord. Strang also claimed to have received revelations from God.
• http://www.sealedportion.com/ (courtesy of the wayback machine)
  This is the official web site of The Sealed Portion of the Brother of Jared, a two volume set of scriptures that is claimed to have been interpreted using another Urim and Thummim. They claim that angelic visitation took place and further revelations were received.
• http://www.helpingmormons.org/TLC_Manti/index.html (courtesy of the wayback machine)
  This is the official web site of The True and Living Church of Jesus Christ of Saints of the Last Days whose founder is James D. Harmston, a man who claims to be a prophet and to have had the ministration of angels and revelations.
• http://www.cofchrist.org/
  The official web site of the Community of Christ, which used to be the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. They claim to have a prophet and additional revelations.
• http://wovoca.com/prophecy-mormon-dream-mine.htm (courtesy of the way back machine)
  This is the story of John Hyrum Koyle who claimed to have had a dream in which the angel Moroni showed him an ancient Nephite hoard of gold he called the Relief Mine, more commonly referred to as the Dream Mine. He also claimed to receive revelations and made prophecies.
• http://www.artbulla.com/
  The official web site of Art Bulla who claims to be the Root of Jesse mentioned in Isaiah 11 and the One Mighty and Strong mentioned in the Doctrine and Covenants. He claims to have received additional revelations for the gathering of the saints to Zion.
• http://thelatterdaychurchofchrist.blogspot.com/
  The current web site (blog) of the Latter Day Church of Christ. They have a prophet, Matthew Gill, who claims to have received revelations and to have translated a new book of scripture of ancient people who lived in the British Isles, received from an angel, known as the Book of Jeraneck.
• http://mentinah.com/
  These are the Nemenhah Records known as the Mentinah Archives. The Indians who hold onto these ancient records are just now releasing translations of them. They make the claim that they asked Brigham Young and other prophets to translate them but were told, essentially, that there was no Urim and Thummim (for translation of ancient records) in the church any longer and that they must wait, so, after waiting many years, they have now decided to do it themselves.
  

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The faith of God, part eleven: Why knowledge doesn’t save

Continued from part ten.

A new visitor (RWW) to this blog recently made the following comment:

I must take issue with your statement that “A man is not saved by knowledge. A man is saved by faith.” I am fairly new to your blog, so I may be misunderstanding your meaning, but taken at face value, I can’t agree with that. Faith is only a step toward the sure knowledge that truly saves. A man cannot be saved in ignorance, which is the lack of knowledge (not faith).

As I was planning for this installment on faith to address knowledge, it seems the best time and place to explain why knowledge doesn’t save us.

Joseph’s words

RWW was paraphrasing the Prophet’s words, found in D&C 131: 6. These are instructions by the Prophet, not revelations, nevertheless, they are true. Here is the direct quote: “It is impossible for a man to be saved in ignorance.”

This quote, though, is taken out of context. The full item of instruction is the following:

The more sure word of prophecy means a man’s knowing that he is sealed up unto eternal life, by revelation and the spirit of prophecy, through the power of the Holy Priesthood. It is impossible for a man to be saved in ignorance. (D&C 131: 5-6)

In other words, the Prophet is saying that it is impossible to be permanently saved without knowing you are saved, as that knowledge is communicated by the Holy Ghost, which is what the more sure word of prophecy is, namely, a revelation from the Holy Ghost that you have overcome the world and thus are permanently saved. Therefore, in regards to permanent salvation (overcoming the world), if you don’t know if you are permanently saved, meaning you are ignorant of whether you have received the more sure word of prophecy, it means that you still haven’t overcome the world, or you still haven’t been permanently saved. (I may have to dedicate an entire post to the more sure word of prophecy, but hopefully I have sufficiently explained the principle.)

The important thing to understand is that both of these verses are speaking of the more sure word of prophecy and not of being saved by knowledge. Joseph wasn’t saying that it is knowledge that saves, but that knowledge of salvation comes with salvation, therefore it is impossible to be saved in ignorance.

Knowledge has no power to save

Returning to that exceptional sermon on faith, we find Alma also explaining the futility of knowledge to save.

Therefore, blessed are they who humble themselves without being compelled to be humble; or rather, in other words, blessed is he that believeth in the word of God, and is baptized without stubbornness of heart, yea, without being brought to know the word, or even compelled to know, before they will believe. Yea, there are many who do say: If thou wilt show unto us a sign from heaven, then we shall know of a surety; then we shall believe. Now I ask, is this faith? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; for if a man knoweth a thing he hath no cause to believe, for he knoweth it. (Alma 32: 16-18 )

If it was knowledge that saved, a sign from heaven would be enough. The Lord could send angels to all of his children, giving them knowledge of him and his kingdom and we would all be saved. Yet, Alma stresses the importance of belief and faith, even in the face of knowledge. Why? Because it is faith that saves.

If knowledge saved, who cares whether you believe or not, whether you have faith or not? Armed with knowledge, sufficient and of the right type, you’d be saved, right? Yet, Alma explains that “if a man knoweth a thing he hath no cause to believe, for he knoweth it.” Alma is explaining that knowledge gained by means other than faith ruins, or does not generate, faith in the individual and that faith is really, really important. What is so important about faith that God doesn’t just reveal himself to all the world once and for all, giving them the knowledge of him that “supposedly” saves? It is namely that faith alone saves us and if he were to do that, we would possess knowledge, having no means to obtain faith unto salvation.

Lucifer, the light-bearer, the champion of borrowed knowledge

Any study of the occult will bring up that Lucifer, the bearer of light, is all about knowledge. Lucifer (Satan) gives occult (hidden) knowledge (science) without faith. As he has no faith, he has no faith to give. Yet, Satan has knowledge, lots of it and those who worship him on earth are seekers of knowledge, not of faith. They look for signs and wonders and cold hard facts that they can see with their own two eyes.

All of the Luciferian knowledge, though, is borrowed. It doesn’t come from the heart of man, as there is no planted faith to produce it. As such, those who seek knowledge to the exclusion of faith are doomed to hell, as Satan always abandons all his servants, leaving them in darkness and despair.

Faith alone saves

One of the Mormon blogs had a post a couple of years back about Atonement Theories and proposed a list of questions that needed to be answered by any new theory that was drawn up. One of those questions was: “How was the atonement efficacious before it was performed?” The question presupposed that it was the Atonement that saved us. But the author did not understand that it is not the Atonement that saves us, it is faith that saves us.

And I will tell you of the wrestle which I had before God, before I received a remission of my sins. Behold, I went to hunt beasts in the forests; and the words which I had often heard my father speak concerning eternal life, and the joy of the saints, sunk deep into my heart. And my soul hungered; and I kneeled down before my Maker, and I cried unto him in mighty prayer and supplication for mine own soul; and all the day long did I cry unto him; yea, and when the night came I did still raise my voice high that it reached the heavens. And there came a voice unto me, saying: Enos, thy sins are forgiven thee, and thou shalt be blessed. And I, Enos, knew that God could not lie; wherefore, my guilt was swept away. And I said: Lord, how is it done? And he said unto me: Because of thy faith in Christ, whom thou hast never before heard nor seen. And many years pass away before he shall manifest himself in the flesh; wherefore, go to, thy faith hath made thee whole. (Enos 1: 2-8 )

It is the Atonement that allows us to have faith unto salvation and it is faith unto salvation that saves us. The Lord’s words in this scripture are crystal clear. However, as we are conditioned to interpret Joseph’s words to mean that we are saved by knowledge, when LDS read the above words in the Book of Mormon, they look beyond the mark and invent theories to explain away the doctrine of salvation by faith. The reason why many LDS choke on this doctrine is that they don’t understand what faith is.

Additionally, if one does not understand what faith is, he cannot understand what knowledge is. The end result is a guessing game, each one inventing a theory or fantasizing about how it all works, instead of just taking the scriptures as they are written and believing them to say what they mean and mean what they say.

Knowledge and faith are two parts of the same thing

Alma explains in chapter 32 that the seed of faith is the word of God and that when planted by belief in the heart of man it begins to grow due to the action of the Holy Spirit. As it grows, we can know that the seed is good and by not laying aside our faith and belief, it will continue to grow. Alma then explains that the seed of faith eventually grows into a fruit tree, called the tree of life, which twice he states is a “a tree springing up [in you] unto everlasting life” (Alma 32: 41; 33: 23.) Therefore, it is the entire, mature tree of faith grown in you—seed, roots, trunk, branches, leaves and fruit—that grants eternal life, and not just one part of it.

Now, Jesus, on the other side of the world and at another time, explained in his intercessory prayer to the Father that “this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent” (John 17: 3.) Notice that Jesus did not say, “this is life eternal, knowing (or to know) thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou has sent.” Instead, he used the words “that they might know.” This indicates that Jesus is not referring to the fruit of the tree of faith, which is knowledge, even the knowledge that one is like God, possessing all of his attributes in perfection, for the only way to know God is to be like him, but is referring to the entire tree of faith, including the fruit (knowledge.)

Again, knowledge alone does not grant salvation. The fruit (knowledge) cannot come from another tree, it must come from a tree of life planted in your heart. It must be your tree, planted by the good sower (Christ), who plants individual trees in every heart of man that allows him to. It is these trees of faith that produce the fruit (knowledge) that you have obtained (eternal) life.

There is an expression in the church (though not in the scriptures) that “no one can endure on borrowed light.” The expression is a truism. Everything borrowed must eventually be returned. This is why if you cannot produce knowledge (fruit) yourself through a tree of faith planted in your heart, you will fall.

Once a person understands that faith and knowledge are part of the same organism (the tree of life), it becomes easy to see why the scriptures stress faith and faith alone to obtain all other things, including knowledge.

There are different trees

Just as there is a tree of life (faith) that can be planted and grown in one’s heart, there are other plants that can also grow there: the tares. Only the tree of faith, planted in one’s heart, sustains life in the kingdom of God. All other trees or plants will eventually be cut down and cast into the fire (the lake of fire and brimstone.) It is not, though, that you are cast out forcibly, as these scriptures are also written more express, to work upon our hearts, but that you possess no power (agency) to remain in the kingdom. Only the tree of faith grants agency.

Knowledge alone cannot keep you in the created universe. You need a tree of faith, planted in your heart. This is why Satan and his angels (and all the sons of perdition), despite their immense knowledge of the created universe, having never gone through a veil of forgetfulness, will not be able to keep themselves within the confines of the created universe and will go into outer darkness. They have no faith and thus have no agency and thus they cannot save themselves.

God is saved

As all who believe in God will concede that God is saved, and as the scriptures indicate that salvation comes only through faith, this is a further evidence that God possesses faith.

Next Faith of God article: The faith of God, part twelve: Truth

Previous Faith of God article: The faith of God, part ten: the relationship of faith to agency (power)

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My extended fast journal

After writing about the physical benefits of extended fasting, I decided to try it myself. As I’ve never engaged in an extended fast, this is my first foray into Moses, Gandhi, Alma and Jesus territory. I am seeking both spiritual and physical blessings with this fast and will report what I learn.

My goal is to fast at least 30 days and maybe reach the golden number of 40 days. But I’ll be happy with 30.

I started my fast Sunday night, April 6th, 2008. Here’s a quick recap.

Monday night, April 7th. I completed a 24-hour fast. Whoop-dee-doo. I do this every month. No biggie. I can handle this.

Tuesday night, April 8th. I completed a 48-hour fast. Wow. I’m impressed. I don’t think I’ve ever gone two days without a bite to eat. Strangely enough, I have no temptations and hardly any hunger. Piece of cake. I can easily reach 30 to 40 days.

Wednesday night, April 9th. Most of the day was fairly easy, though my sense of smell has gone up a notch or ten in sensitivity. I can smell every dish being cooked up from a block away. For most of the day, it’s no biggie. This evening, though, hunger hit hard. Maybe it was me watching episode after episode of Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations on the Travel Channel, which I regularly record, that set me off on a hungering after non-spiritual physical things. I don’t know. As I don’t normally watch television, other than Bourdain and Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern (another Travel Channel show), I didn’t think it would hurt to keep watching my favorite shows during my time of fasting.

I was wrong.

Although my mouth normally waters while watching Bourdain stuff himself with things I have only dreamt of eating, this time I got an epiphany. My childhood dream of becoming a chef hit me again. Not that I want to change careers and work at a restaurant of my own or of another. Heaven forbid. No, but suddenly, this man who doesn’t ever cook (my wife being the chef of the house), suddenly found himself desirous to both cook and eat. Everything. Who cared what it was. But especially the good stuff. I saw my culinary experience as very limited and realized that I had to catch up. What if I died tomorrow, or on the 30th day, fasting, and never got to eat any of the good stuff? No, I now know without a shadow of a doubt, that on that 41st day will begin my newfound second profession of cook. And not just any cook, at that. I plan on making my mark on the culinary world by creating my own personal dishes, unique in all the world. Thank you Bourdain and thank you fasting.

Okay, so, now it’s the middle of the night, technically April 10 (Thursday) and I’ve somewhat gotten over the starvation I earlier experienced. Will I make it through this fast? Will I make it through tonight? Or will my strong will see me through it? I’m betting on my strong will (as I really want the spiritual and physical blessings that supposedly come from this.) This blog post will document my new journey. Anyone who wants to leave encouragement or even tell me what a stupid thing I’m doing is welcome to do so. (If I get the latter, it’ll make it all the more pleasurable to say “Nyah, nyah, nyah, nyah, nyah!” to the scoffers and naysayers as I recount my improved physical state and enhanced spiritual powers with a demonstration that my will is stronger than theirs.)

Note: the only thing I am ingesting during this fast is lots of water and some sea salt. I’m also ingesting a special clay, mixed in water, to help clean out the intestines.

Thursday night, April 10th. I have completed a four-day fast. Today was easy. I don’t know why.

Friday night, April 11th. I’ve got a five-day fast under my belt. I had no temptations today, whatsoever. I did feel a little tired in the late afternoon, but it didn’t last long. My wife decided this morning she would also fast to clear up some physical conditions that have not responded to medical treatment. She lasted until this evening. She says she’ll try again tomorrow. The 6th or 7th day is when the body switches signals. I look forward to finding out what this feels like.

Saturday night, April 12th. I’ve now completed a six-day fast. Still no temptations, however, I went to bed kinda early last night and overslept today. I was exhausted pretty much the whole day, with sporadic bursts of energy in between. I took a two-hour nap in the afternoon, which helped to restore energy. I hope that tomorrow I’ll be past this stage. For those who attempt an extended fast, I recommend that you time it so that your sixth or seventh day lands on a non-work day, such as the weekend, so that the fatigue doesn’t cause problems. I don’t know how long the signal switching lasts, but I’m ready for it. My wife, on the other hand, apparently has a food addiction. She tried to fast again today and lasted about 4 hours. She has now ditched the fasting idea, which is too bad, as her conditions constantly afflict her.

Sunday night, April 13th. I’ve completed a seven-day fast. It appears my appetite has completely switched off. The sight and smell of food causes no reaction. My strength has returned, too. My stomach still feels weird at times, though, from being continually empty (hunger pangs), but I have no desires to eat. I wonder if the hunger pangs will go away eventually. Today was also kind of weird as I partaking of the sacrament, as I realized I couldn’t partake of the bread, only the water. Hopefully, Heavenly Father understands the situation and blesses me according to the desires of my heart, despite partaking of a partial sacrament. It should be smooth sailing from now on until the “wolf’s appetite” arrives after the 30th day. I’ll deal with that when it comes.

Monday night, April 14th. I have completed an eight-day fast. Today was a piece of cake, or should I say, a piece of nothing? Had I known that extended fasting was this easy, I would have done it along time ago. All one has to do is get through the 3rd day and the 6-7th days and it’s easy sailing until the end. I weighed myself on a scale this morning and found that I have lost 13 pounds during this fast! I had no fatigue whatsoever today, only energy and calmness.

Tuesday night, April 15th. I now have nine days under my belt. Red areas are starting to break out in certain parts of my body. It’s not quite a rash, more like dermatitis. It doesn’t itch. In fact, I wouldn’t have known it was there until some one pointed it out to me. It is not extensive, just one or two very small spots. As the skin is an eliminative organ, this doesn’t phase me. I had plenty of energy today, no fatigue, drank lots of water, etc. Tomorrow will make the ¼ mark. Maybe I should throw a celebration or something, without the cookies and milk.

Wednesday night, April 16th. I’ve completed a 10-day fast. So far, so good. I dreamed I went to a restaurant last night and chewed a morsel of an orange, only to realize that I was fasting and attempted to spit it out, but some went down the hatch. I had a Herxheimer effect tonight for a few hours due to another healing modality I’m using, but it passed. No fatigue, plenty of energy, etc. 20 – 30 days left of this fast.

Thursday night, April 17th. 11 days down, 19-29 left. My stomach has been queasy on and off today. I trace it to that “other” healing modality I did yesterday. The red areas are not spreading, but have become more noticeable. They are drying out with small scabs. I expect they’ll fall off eventually. The bad thing is some of these areas are on my face (forehead and cheek) so people are probably going to think I’ve got some contagious disease. At least it appears to be in its “out” phase.

Saturday afternoon, April 19th. Tonight will make 13 days into this fast. 17-27 days left. The queasiness of my stomach has steadily decreased over the last two days, but occasionally I still feel it. Smelling foods and being around foods seems to help get through the days. Smelling a lemon removes queasiness temporarily. According to a friend of mine, smelling food imparts the food’s energy to the body. My 13-day experience seems to indicate that this is correct.

As I’ve been thinking a lot about food lately, I ended up inventing a novel way of serving a simple sandwich: peanut butter and jelly. Make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, pour some cold milk in a bowl, place the sandwich in the bowl so that one side soaks up the milk. Pour more milk if necessary until the one side is saturated with milk to overflowing. Flip the sandwich over using a spatula. Pour more milk until the second side is saturated. Cut the sandwich into small squares and serve immediately with a spoon. I tried it out on my youngest son. I also prepared a second peanut butter and jelly sandwich (the normal way.) He ate both. Afterward, I asked him which he preferred. His answer was the one soaked in milk.

There has been no fatigue, etc., so far. Nevertheless, I am anxious to get to the 40 day mark so that I can finally start eating again. The red spots have turned dark and dried out. I don’t know when they will fall off, but I expect it to happen soon.

One last thing: I probably won’t be writing any more original articles on this blog until this fast is over. Although I have already noticed a significant improvement in mental clarity, I’m trying to bathe as little as possible in the radiation of a computer monitor as I can. But I may still comment on posts from time to time and I will definitely continue to update this journal.

Monday night, April 21st. No I haven’t keeled over and died. However, my wife did save my life Saturday night. (It was nothing fasting related.) As I have saved her life on an occasion, which I thought would forever put her in my debt, she has now repaid the favor, so we are now even. Now back to the regularly scheduled fasting updates…

I’ve completed a 15-day fast. I am at the half-way mark for a 30-day fast. There are 15-25 days left. I feel fantastic. No loss of energy, no temptations, though I think about food constantly. I’ve even invented other culinary dishes much more complex than the simple BJM sandwich (peanut butter and jelly with milk sandwich.) The queasiness of my stomach, which was due to a accident with another healing modality that I did, has finally left. Thank goodness! I can handle hunger, but constant nausea without vomiting was driving me up the wall. My skin blotches have not entirely gone away, yet. I got a call from a good friend today to find out if I was still alive. His assessment, based upon our conversation, was that I had more energy than ever before. He’s right. I do.

Tuesday night, April 22nd. 16 days down, 14-24 days left. No changes, other than that the dry blotches are still slowly falling off. I think and talk about food constantly and need to smell all food odors around me. I am haunted by its memory. I weighed myself yesterday morning and I had lost a total of 18 pounds so far. There are still more areas where poundage can come off, so it will be interesting to see what my final weight will be. My wife said to me tonight that she will attempt a fast starting tomorrow. We’ll see.

Wednesday night, April 23rd. 17 days down, 13-23 days left. They don’t call this the hunger cure for nothing. I get really hungry at times, but without any appetite. I know it sounds like a contradiction in terms, but those who have gone through this before will understand what I’m saying. It’s a very strange sensation. My wife has fasted all day today. We’ll see if she sticks with it tomorrow.

Thursday night, April 24th. 18 days down, 12-22 days left. My skin is clearing up more and more each day. No problems, no temptations, no appetite, no loss of energy or strength, etc. My wife completed a two-day fast tonight. I’m proud of her, though she is suffering tremendously with a hungering appetite. If she can last past three days, her appetite will switch off and it’ll be much easier. We’ll see if she makes it. what4anarchy is now considering doing an extended fast, too.

Friday night, April 25th. 19 days down, 11-21 days left. It’s amazing to think I only have three weeks left of this. My wife’s will broke down this morning. She ended her fast two and a half days into it. She says she’ll try it again. The first three days really is the hardest part. No changes as far as I go. We went to a church function tonight, which, off course, had food. I hated seeing people leave food on their plate. I wanted everyone to eat every last bite. Fasting gives one a new perspective on just what a blessing food is. Also, the starving people around the world have been on my mind. I can’t bear to see food go to waste.

Saturday night, April 26th. 20 days down, 10-20 days left. About a year ago I broke my big toe in a crush injury. I have never had full mobility in it since, but I now, since fasting 20 days, have full mobility with no pain, at all. I was told that I would probably develop arthritis in the joint. If it did develop, it’s gone now. The last I checked (yesterday), I had lost a total of 19 pounds since starting the fast. My skin seems to be noticeably improving all over my body.

Monday, April 28th. 22 days down, 8-18 days left. Tonight I will complete 22 days. The last few days I’ve felt nausea. I can deal with hunger, but constant nausea drives me up the wall. I found that a broken cinnamon stick right under the nose so that I am continually smelling it takes away the nausea. Today, I’ve had minimal nausea. It appears to be going away. Also, there is a bump or inflammation in my throat, at the back of my mouth. It’s been there for days. It feels like a hair stuck there. Again, it is driving me crazy, but it, also, is diminishing. I want to clear my throat constantly. The red blotches have all turned very dark and are starting to lighten up to match the color of the surrounding skin. They are no longer dry or flaky or scabby, as all of that has fallen off, leaving only dark “stains” which each day lighten more and more. It still looks like I got some vile skin disease, though, as they are in a very noticeable area (the forehead.)

I broke my big toe last year (a crush injury) which prohibited me from full mobility and what little mobility I had was with some pain. Some were of the opinion that arthritis would develop in the toe and I would always have pain and limited mobility. The other day, though, I noticed I had full mobility with no pain, whatsoever. If I did have arthritis, it appears to be gone. [Tue 29 Apr ’08 update: I didn’t realize I had written this same thing last Saturday. Sorry for the redundancy.]

The miracle of the toe has inspired my wife and mother to try a seven-day fast, to see if their symptoms improve any. If improvement is noticed, they will continue longer. They started last night. We’ll see how long they last.

One piece of advice to any who wish to start an extended fast: the bowels should be purged first before beginning the fast. The best way to purge bowels is through squatting.

Tuesday, April 29th. 23 days down, 7-17 days left. Still going strong. I’ve learned that the nausea is caused by the lymphatic system dumping an overabundance of toxins into the liver, which then delivers bile to the stomach to attempt to get me to vomit it out. In other words, this is a detoxification symptom. Though less today, there is still some nausea. I’ll just have to wait it out.

Thursday, May 1st. 25 days down, 5-15 days left. Tonight will make 25 days on this fast. It’ll take me at least 10 days to get off of it gradually. Will I make it to the magic number 40? I am anxious for the end to come, but very curious as to when the “wolf’s appetite” will hit. Spiritual benefits have already been manifested. A couple of nights ago I received a prophetic dream which woke me up. About 45 minutes later the prophecy was fulfilled. (Unfortunately, it wasn’t a “good” prophecy.) At any rate, though, it is good to know that extended fasting does work as promised to increase one’s faith so that spiritual gifts already possessed are enhanced or new spiritual gifts are obtained. My skin blotches are now nearly faded away. My wife lasted but one day on her fast, but my mother, who it turns out started her fast last Saturday afternoon, is still going strong. She has a surgery scheduled for next month (a replacement) that she is hoping to avert by curing her condition with fasting, so she is a bit more motivated than my wife.

Friday, May 2nd. 26 days down, 4-14 days left. Tonight will make 26 days on this fast. Two weeks left, unless I decide to go for a record. (Highly doubtful.) A mystic intellectual (strange mix) friend of mine thinks I have sufficient mental and spiritual constitution to go past the “wolf’s appetite” phase and just live on the Spirit. She may be right, but my goal in this fast is just to clear up certain physical ailments and to gain more spiritual powers. When those physical ailments are gone, I will stop. The next time I do this—and there will be a next time, as I now see that faith is rapidly increased on an extended fast, and I desire even greater faith—it will be a strictly spiritual fast, to obtain the spiritual gifts that I do not yet have and to obtain the higher manifestations of the gifts that I do have. I’d also, one day, like to get to the point of Moses, who apparently went 40 days and 40 nights without food or water. That requires living on the Spirit from the get go. My mother is still going strong on her fast, too. (Almost six days now.) Oh, yeah, and I weighed myself today and have lost a total of 23 pounds on this fast.

Monday, May 5nd. 29 days down, 1-11 days left. Tonight will make 29 days on this fast. It looks like I’ll be going at least 40 days on this fast. Although one of the two conditions I was hoping to clear up appears to be completely gone, the other condition is not, yet, entirely eliminated, even though each day it gets better. I will fast until the second ailment has entirely disappeared. If, though, it disappears and the “wolf’s appetite” hasn’t struck, I’ll wait until my appetite comes, then stop. If the appetite strikes and the condition is not completely gone, I’ll ignore the appetite until the condition is gone, then stop. That is my plan. I don’t care if it takes 40 or more days. I suppose all the medications I took as a kid (steroids, etc.) have accumulated in my cells and my body is now scouring every last nook and cranny, trying to get rid of all foreign substances. This is, in fact, what happens with extended fasts. The first part all the “obvious” poisons are gotten rid of, the second half of the fast is dedicated to removing the junk from all “hidden” spots. Each day you extend it, more garbage is found and thrown out. Eventually, I’ll be completely clean of the medications. I believe it is the medications, as I’ve been a fairly good eater pretty much all my life.

This is not to say that the fast is easy. It is not. It is very hard. It takes guts to go cold turkey like I’ve done. Usually, fasting experts suggest you build up to long fasts with short ones, using juice fasts, etc. I don’t recommend doing what I’ve done unless you’ve got what it takes. I am extremely motivated, though, so I don’t mind passing through 40 days of absolute hell and boredom. On other news, my mother lasted almost nine days on her fast and today she decided to wean herself off of it. She experienced lightheadedness, dizziness, nausea, weakness, etc. She will go through with her surgery, even though a slew of ailments she has always had have disappeared in the last nine days, including the limp she used to have.

Wednesday, May 7th. 31 days down, 9 days left. Tonight will make 31 days on this fast. I was just about ready to throw in the towel last night. The last few days my salivary glands have been overactive, salivating constantly. Plus, I have had to expel phlegm continuously. Not the green or orange stuff, but even though it is white, I know it is toxic because after clearing my throat and spitting it out a few times, I’m left with a putrid taste in my mouth. I’ve got to brush my teeth often to get the taste out of my mouth. This has become quite an inconvenience as I need to spit all the time and it has been affecting my work. I was left with a decision: continue on and have my work disrupted or discontinued (for a time) or stop before the body had cleared out everything. Initially, I decided in favor of work and putting food on the table. But then I reconsidered. The Lord has always provided for us, even miraculously in the toughest of times. I’ve made it a practice to try to always live by faith. Why change now, right? So, I’m pushing on. Still no appetite. Yesterday I weighed myself and found that I’ve lost a total of 26 pounds, so far. There are a few more areas of stored fat that can be melted away, so I expect to lose even more. Even so, I look extremely skinny. Not skin and bones, but muscle, skin and bones, as I’ve lost none of my muscle fiber. However, the muscle is now lean muscle, not fatty muscle, and I can finally see clearly just how much actual muscle tissue I have on my body. The last few days I’m having a hard time getting water down the hatch. Water gives me the chills. Also, I’m unbelievably cold all of the time. I need to wear layered clothing all the time. Go figure with all the insulating fat I’ve lost. One other thing, I now have times of lack of energy. I need to take rests often. My mystic friend says the last ten days of a 40 day fast is the hardest part. She says to keep in mind that I am on “nature’s operating table” and to take it easy. Whatever is happening in my body must be radically altering every part of the organism.

Friday, May 9th. 33 days down, 7 days left. Tonight will make 33 days on this fast. Although I am encouraged that I only have a week left to complete 40 days, the last few days have been absolute hell on earth and very discouraging, to say the least. First of all, my appetite still hasn’t returned. When will it, I wonder? What if the 40th day comes and still no appetite? Should I still push on until the body has completely cleaned itself? How long will this fast have to last? Then there was (and still is, to some extent) the horrendous experiences of the last few days. Imagine the worst tasting medicine you’ve ever had to ingest. Now imagine tasting that medicine 24-hours a day for days at a time. This is what I’ve been going through. I was nearly brought to tears yesterday by this purging process. Granted, yesterday was not as bad as the day before yesterday, meaning that that the taste was not as strong, but it was nonetheless constant with no solution in sight other than waiting out the purging of these synthetic chemicals embedded in my organism. I remember being sick all the time as a kid—I was the boy in the bubble, just like John Travolta, except only in the hospital “oxygen bubble bed,” nine times before the age of nine due to pneumonia—but I had no idea until a couple of days ago when I asked my mother that I had received pharmaceuticals from the get go, from birth onward. She had attempted to limit the amount of medications the doctors wanted to administer to me, but I still got a fairly decent dosage on a daily basis, year after year after year. Now the “miracle” of modern medicine is being purged out of my system and I am suffering to an extent I had not anticipated. Hopefully today and subsequent days will not be as bad as the last few days.

Tuesday, May 13th. I completed a total of 34 ½ days, ending the fast on Sunday, May 11th. I came up about 8-10 hours short of completing a full 35 days, or seven weeks. The medicine taste was too much for too many days. So, I decided to cut the fast short. As it is, I’m still detoxifying (spitting up toxic goo and poisoned saliva).

Alma, Jesus, Moses and the other saints in former ages never had it quite like we do. Unlike them, we are totally surrounded with chemicals, from pesticides and herbicides in our plant foods, to chemical leakage into our water tables (yes, even trace pharmaceuticals are found in our water supply), to deodorants, air fresheners and disinfectants sprays in the air we breath (inside), to smog and other air pollutants (outside), to chemically treated and laundered clothes that we wear against our bodies all day and all night, to all the chemicals we use to clean things with, including our own bodies. Then, of course, there are the chemicals (pharmaceuticals) that we partake of when sick. This environment is so polluted with artificial substances that it is virtually impossible to escape it. Even getting your own piece of land and growing your own food doesn’t guarantee that the ground underneath you is not polluted to some extent. You’d have to start with new, clean soil (such as Square Foot Gardening) and purified water (using something like a Berkeley water filter) to begin a new, clean cycle, which is not something everyone can do.

When faced with such pollutions, it is only natural that the body’s natural defenses to cast out the bad and keep in the good would eventually be overrun. Especially since none of us are even taught the proper way of expelling the bad (squatting), which causes us to keep it in, compacting it and making ourselves a toxic breeding ground. It is only logical, then, that our bodies contain embedded poisons accumulated over years of bad living, or even just living in a polluted environment, compounded by direct injection of those same chemical poisons in the form of pharmaceuticals under the guise of medicine.

The saints in former ages never had to deal with this. Their extended fasts were purely spiritual feasts. Detoxification wasn’t an issue. Their water, food, clothing, air, soil, and environment didn’t contain the pollutions ours does. Although they may have ate an improper diet, according to some modern researchers, as they squatted and did other anatomically proper movements, their bodies were more or less able to get whatever bad was in, out. Thus, their fasts were not for physical benefits, though undoubtedly, they experienced physical benefits. And I highly doubt they experienced detoxification like I have been going through.

When one’s body is detoxifying in such an extreme and rapid manner, such as what I experienced, it becomes a bit more difficult to focus on the spiritual aspects of the fast. All your mind can focus on is: when will the suffering end? This is not the right environment for spiritual fasting. Nevertheless, I have grown spiritually on this fast.

I’ve also grown in knowledge about the body in general, especially about my own body. I now realize that I have more embedded synthetics (chemicals) in my body than I realized. 35 days was not enough to clear them all out. I needed more time. Perhaps as long as 10 or more days. I now believe I understand to a greater degree the underlying causes of the two physical conditions I had hoped to clear up. Although certain raw-foodists will cry out: Cooked food is poison!, the truth of the matter is, what came out of me, that put me in hell for days on end, was not cooked food, but pharmaceuticals. Cooking food may change the chemical composition of the foods, but in no way or not to the same degree as synthetics. Chemicals are the real poison. The body can deal with many cooked foods. It cannot deal with chemicals. I see this clear as water now.

One of the two conditions I had appears to be gone, however, as I did not complete the entire duration of the fast—as my appetite never came back, because I was still detoxifying and my body still had stored energy that was not used up—I am going to assume that possibly it did not fully get cured and that it may still return. The other condition was clearing up, but not fully cleared up, either. So, what this means is that I will have to perform yet another fast of extended duration and this time take it to completion.

However, before I attempt this again, I will take some time out to try to detoxify using other means as much as possible. Luckily, there are other means available that don’t require one to taste medicine continuously.

All in all, this was a successful experiment, I’d say. I’ve learned much, gained more faith, am definitely healthier and now know for sure that going without food for 35 days does not kill a man, as long as he is drinking water. I’ve lost a lot of weight, but I expect to gain it back. This time, though, it will be healthier flesh than what I lost. Not the toxin-loaded cells that I discarded.

I’ve got about one more week to wean myself off this fast. As of today, I’m drinking pure, fresh-squeezed juice. My appetite is beginning to really (finally!) open up, too.

Thursday, May 15th. I was supposed to start eating yogurt today but instead had a cup last night with chopped strawberries mixed in. It sat well, but began producing gas in the intestines. Today I’ve continued with the yogurt with fresh, whole, chopped (and also liquified) fruits mixed in. The gas continues to bubble in there, but it is not uncomfortable or painful. I chose to use whole milk yogurt from cows that aren’t treated with growth hormone (and that have probiotic cultures, etc.) It is just plain yogurt which I sweeten by the fruit. To be truthful, normally I don’t enjoy plain yogurt sweetened by fruit. But for some strange reason, it now tastes good to me, or at least, I can eat the whole thing without complaining. It is also really filling. I’m also drinking straight water now, lots of it, with no more medicine taste and no more need to put lemon juice in it (to overpower the taste of the medicine.) My salivary glands have completely calmed down, too. I no longer need to spit or clear my throat of saliva. All in all, I’m feeling fantastic, though I do look really skinny.

Friday, May 16th. This will be my last update. Tonight marks 40 days from when I first started this fast. I feel fantastic. I have successfully transitioned into eating a normal diet now. I want to mention and link to a free, online book written by Arnold Ehret called Rational Fasting: Regeneration Diet And Natural Cure For All Diseases taken from this page. It is in the public domain so anyone can download and read it. It contains an interesting theory as to why fasting works to cure so many illnesses so quickly. It also goes into the fact that all those who worked miracles were ascetics, who fasted much, whereas today we have many preachers who pray much and preach much but who do no miracles, as they fast very little. I had originally intended to wait maybe year before attempting another extended fast, however, as I was not able to fully cleanse my body, I plan on waiting some time, gaining strength, weight and experience, and then engaging in another extended fast, which I now think I should be able to easily go through to completion, as my understanding of how and why the body works, and how to control it, has been enlightened tremendously. When I perform the next extended fast, I will be sure to write another public journal on the experience. In the meantime, I plan on doing short fasts of one or two days from time to time. This is still a new experiment for me, but the results produced, despite the period of suffering I went through, were well worth the time, effort and diligence required. As I said, I feel fantastic. Everything tastes wonderful. I feel like much has been cleared out, but not everything. My confidence is soaring. My mind is sharper than ever before. My faith has grown stronger. All things considered, this has been a marvelous experience and I recommend it to everyone.

The End

(until the next extended fast journal, that is)

Previous Fasting article: Extended fasting: a cure for all spiritual AND PHYSICAL ailments

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Follow the leader: satanic in nature?

Disclaimer: Although I am the author of this post, it really is the idea of what4anarchy. I invited him to participate in this blog when I first started it, but he declined due to concerns over anonymity. Still, there are many topics of his that I’d like to broach. This particular one is from his camp. As he refuses to write, I must do the dirty work.

Our experience is the same

Over the years, both what4anarchy and myself have come across the following bizarre responses of LDS we have talked with when discussing the reason for their taking certain actions: “I have to follow my bishop.” “I have to follow the stake president.” “I have to follow my leaders.” “The bishop told me to do it and I’ve got to do as he says.” Etc. I personally have asked many of these same people, “Well, if the bishop told you to jump off a bridge, would you do it?” The majority response I’ve gotten is a resounding, “Yes!”

Essentially, what I’ve learned is that these people believe it is a sin to not follow the chain of command, or the leaders who preside over you, even if those leaders are guiding you down the wrong path. They feel (and I state this based on the answers I’ve received from people who have been asked, by me, questions about why they feel this way, so this isn’t speculation on my part) that it is better to obey an incorrect command or unwise counsel than to disobey, as disobedience is rebellion, which they immediately equate with sin.

Now, no amount of reasoning with such individuals can change their minds. At least, all of my attempts have failed and I have since stopped trying. However, what4anarchy, continues to strive with these saints, attempting to open their minds to other, less cultish thoughts.

One of the tactics he uses, as he has revealed to me, is to bring up Lucifer and the war in heaven.

what4anarchy’s approach

Lucifer was an angel in power in the pre-mortal existence. As such, he was in a leadership position and presided over some and perhaps many of heavenly Father’s children. If it were a sin to disobey a command or counsel that came from the direct chain of command, even if that counsel was incorrect or unwise, then all those people under Lucifer’s stewardship, he being the priesthood leader who presided over them, who did not follow him and his counsel, sinned, while all those who did follow behaved righteously, yet became devils. Does this make sense to you?

Granted, I’m paraphrasing what what4anarchy says to LDS when faced with the “Follow the Brethren” mantra we hear all the time. He says it better than I do. But I think you get the point.

After stating the above and seeing if it dispels the myth, what4anarchy will then attempt to teach the principle that following a leader no matter what is satanic in nature.

(In fact, what4anarchy even goes so far as to state that the one-third that followed Lucifer were likely those who were directly under his priesthood leadership, that he was their presiding leader and that they literally followed their leader down to hell.)

Now, what I want to know is this: Do you agree with his assessment? And do you think this is a good analogy? If not, what is wrong with his approach?

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Intellectuals

The recent uploading of the Moura “Joseph Smith” Daguerreotype has brought a lot of attention (and criticism) to this blog, especially from intellectual quarters. Intellectuals and myself are like water and oil: we don’t mix, at all. In order to explain why I’ll have to get a little personal…

When I was just a kid, my scores were so much higher than my classmates that my teacher decided to split our class into three sections: A, B and C. Virtually all of my friends were in the middle and lower sections. I was in the highest section with Jill, the only other high scoring classmate.

I was both happy and unhappy with this arrangement. On the one hand, Jill was the prettiest girl in class, so I was happy to spend all my time alone with her. On the other hand, as all my friends were in the middle to lower sections, I now couldn’t spend time with them. This ticked me off. It also caused a lot of tension and fights as those in the “lower class” resented those in the “upper class,” especially my friend Ryan, who had the hots for Jill, and who was insanely jealous of my “luck.”

Later, a change of schools brought me into what was termed the Gifted and Talented Program. Once again, I was separated from my friends and put into a different class, with different people. These kids were from other schools, except for myself and Jennifer, another high scorer. I noticed that they were mostly nerds and prideful, arrogant children that thought they were better than everyone else and that judged others based upon their knowledge. It made me sick to be there, as it was so anti-gospel. (By this time I had converted to Mormonism.)

At some point there came the letter that most parents would get giddy over: an invitation from MENSA to join their organization. My mother left it up to me to decide. It was a no-brainer. I tore up the letter and chucked it into the garbage. I have never regretted my decision.

Since my childhood, my experiences with intellectuals have inevitably been the same, with but few exceptions: They like to use big words. “And [Sherem, an Anti-Christ] was learned [he was an intellectual], that he had a perfect knowledge of the language of the people; wherefore, he could use much flattery, and much power of speech, according to the power of the devil.” (Jacob 7: 4) They love to quote other “authorities.” They like to presume they know whereof they are talking about and that you don’t. They like to use sarcasm. They can’t stand being corrected. They like to argue. They do not engage in edifying conversation. (See D&C 50.) They feel that their degrees and studies at a University demonstrate that they actually know something. And they judge everyone based upon what they don’t know and based upon their lack of knowledge of what the “experts” have said. “And many more such things did [Korihor, an Anti-Christ] say unto them, telling them that…every man fared in this life according to the management of the creature; therefore every man prospered according to his genius [intellectual power].” (Alma 30: 17)

The possession of, type of and amount of knowledge is the ruler that intellectuals use to measure others. In my early days, I was being trained as an intellectual and would have done the same thing, had God not given me an early introduction to the gospel of Jesus Christ and taught me to discard that ruler as a measuring stick. A man is not saved by knowledge. A man is saved by faith. (See my continuing series of articles on faith as I expound upon this principle.) I learned that when judging others, if one were to judge them, faith must be the measuring stick, not knowledge. But intellectuals do not agree with this assessment.

Throughout my life, I’ve come across two classes of intellectuals: LDS and non-LDS. One would think that the addition of the letters “LDS” would make a world of difference between the two, but in my experience the difference is merely in degrees. The non-LDS intellectuals are, by and large, atheists, having no faith and thus no spiritual experiences whatsoever. The LDS intellectuals have little faith and thus minimal spiritual experiences. In other words, the thread that binds them both to each other is a general lack of faith.

My experience is that LDS intellectuals get, at best, “feelings.” (Many of the non-intellectuals do, too.) Revelations (the type that you can write down) seem to be rare among LDS and even rarer (as in non-existent) among intellectual LDS. Prophecies, visions, dreams, angels? Forget it. Gift of tongues and interpretation? Lower manifestations that only happen during the mission. Administrations, operations, discerning of spirits, miracles, audible voices, etc. are all scarce among intellectuals.

I have also observed that when RM intellectuals are telling of spiritual manifestations that have happened to them, they almost always give an experience from their mission. It’s like for two years the Lord is able to humble them sufficiently to get some small measure of spiritual experience under their belts, and then upon returning home they resume their intellectual studies and spiritual mediocrity. But I emphasize that the experience was usually of small measure. Granted, small is better than nothing.

As a society we’ve come to glamorize knowledge and college degrees. An intellectual, therefore, is someone special, superior even. Many people are intimidated by them. And they try to maintain that public image and fear factor. Yet, in my own experience with them, I have found them to be the group most likely to be devoid of, or severely lacking in, faith (with but few exceptions.) Because of this, when I come across an intellectual my expectations of the encounter are usually pretty low.

I am not alone in this assessment. The Lord himself speaks of them in the harshest of terms.

Jacob said, “When they are learned they think they are wise, and they hearken not unto the counsel of God, for they set it aside, supposing they know of themselves, wherefore, their wisdom is foolishness and it profiteth them not. And they shall perish.” (2 Ne. 9: 28 )

The Lord despises intellectuals “who are puffed up because of their learning and their wisdom,” and “save they shall cast these things away, and consider themselves fools before God, and come down in the depths of humility, he will not open unto them.” (See 2 Ne. 9: 42.)

Intellectuals “contend with one another” and “teach with their learning, and deny the Holy Ghost, which giveth utterance.” (See 2 Ne. 28: 4.) If you look over the Internet discussions that are occurring in intellectual circles over my recent posting of the Moura Daguerreotype, which looks like Joseph Smith’s death mask, you’ll see plenty of contention generated when anyone has a contradictory opinion. You’ll also notice the general attempt to get the Holy Ghost and all spiritual manifestations out of the discussion.

Intellectuals that are puffed up in the pride of their hearts “shall be thrust down to hell.” (See 2 Ne. 28: 15.)

The world (and the church) have generally adopted the Nephite educational model: “And the people began to be distinguished by ranks, according to their riches and their chances for learning; yea, some were ignorant because of their poverty, and others did receive great learning because of their riches.” (3 Ne. 6: 12)

Intellectuals are “ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. (See 2 Timothy 3: 7)

So, I welcome to this blog all the intellectual, teach-me-nothing know-it-alls: the scholars, the academics, the experts, the authorities, the wannabes and their worshipers. Yes, I still think you are all one taco short of a combination plate and incapable of spiritual enlargement. (You all probably think the same of me.) Yet, although I don’t believe you’ll actually learn anything here, it’s nice to know that after all these years I’m still irritating your kind.

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LDS Anarchy blog listed as Best Radically Faithful Blog by SLWeekly.com

Whoohoo! More press! This blog was listed under the Best of Utah 2008: Media & Politics section, on page three. (Shhhh…don’t tell them, though, that this ain’t no Utah blog.)

P.S. This is the second time that Salt Lake City Weekly magazine has written about the LDS Anarchy blog. Many gracious thanks to them.

Complete List of Articles authored by LDS Anarchist