Nephi and the Word of God


 

I have often heard the term ‘word of God’ used to cover everything from scripture to the latest conference talk. Many have the mindset that they must flock to the biannual conferences to hear what the Lord has to say to them. I propose that the ‘word of God’ had a very specific meaning to Nephi and should have a similar meaning to us.

The iron rod in Lehi’s dream symbolized the word of God. So… what is the word of God? I went back through the scriptures to try to better understand the meaning of the word “word.” (Sorry, I had to do that)

 

Let’s start with the triple combination index where you find that the first reference to ‘word of God/word of the Lord’ is to 1 Nephi chapter 2 verse 3:

“And it came to pass that he was obedient unto the word of the Lord, wherefore he did as the Lord commanded him.”

The information defined here as the ‘word of the Lord’ is a dream received by Lehi warning him to flee into the desert.  In other words, this personal revelation received through a ‘vision of the night.’

 

Why do I bring this up? Well, later in the same chapter, another similar term is used. Verse 13 states:

“Neither did they believe that Jerusalem, that great city, could be destroyed according to the words of the prophets.  And they were like unto the Jews who were at Jerusalem, who sought to take away the life of my father.”

Here the reference is to ‘words of the prophets’ regarding the content of what could be considered the inspired writings of Lehi’s day. So we have ‘word of the Lord’ and ‘words of the prophets.’ It seems to me that this is a somewhat subtle suggestion that these two sources should be considered as different classes of the knowledge we receive from God. The ‘word of God’ being direct and personal while the ‘words of the prophets’ being delivered through another person and are written down for others benefit. Further, in verse 16, Nephi tells us of his own desire to gain a testimony of his father’s words:

“And it came to pass that I, Nephi, being exceedingly young, nevertheless being large in stature, and also having great desires to know of the mysteries of God, wherefore, I did cry unto the Lord; and behold he did visit me, and did soften my heart that I did believe all the words which had been spoken by my father; wherefore, I did not rebel against him like unto my brothers.”

Again, Nephi delineates the source of the ‘word.’ We have defined, now, the word of God and the words of prophets. I found that I could fairly consistently apply this idea to the use of the term in the scriptures, especially in 1st and 2nd Nephi. Clearly, though, the primary meaning of the ‘word of God’ as used by Nephi is personal revelation. That communication with God that comes directly to us, not through a third party or the written word.

Alma taught that there are two means that we can receive truth. In Alma 5:45-47 we find:

“And this is not all.  Do ye not suppose that I know of these things myself?  Behold, I testify unto you that I do know that these things whereof I have spoken are true.  And how do ye suppose that I know of their surety?

Behold, I say unto you they are made known unto me by the Holy Spirit of God.  Behold, I have fasted and prayed many days that I might know these things of myself.  And now I do know of myself that they are true; for the Lord God hath made them manifest unto me by his Holy Spirit; and this is the spirit of revelation which is in me.

And moreover, I say unto you that it has thus been revealed unto me, that the words which have been spoken by our fathers are true, even so according to the spirit of prophecy which is in me, which is also by the manifestation of the Spirit of God.”

Alma speaks here of the ‘spirit of revelation’ and the ‘spirit of prophecy.’ The former is the manifestation of the Holy Spirit as a personal witness of the truth. The latter is a witness that the scriptures are true. In other words, by the spirit of revelation we gain a personal testimony of the truth of the things of God. By the spirit of prophecy, we gain a testimony of the truth of that which was written by others.

 

So what is my definition of ‘scripture?’ The words of inspired men that requires the spirit of prophecy to gain a testimony of the truthfulness therein. If one seeks for the spirit of prophecy, they are promised to receive a validation of the truth found in the words of those that have gone before us. It is a supplement to the word of God delivered directly to us through the spirit of revelation.

 

Why is this important? Am I simply wresting the scriptures? You can draw your own conclusion regarding the words that bring us salvation. I have come to recognize, in my own life, that the iron rod is the word of God and the word of God is personal revelation.

 

Following their miraculous departure from Egypt, the children of Israel were invited to ‘sanctify’ themselves in preparation for meeting the Lord. Instead of adequately preparing themselves, the people feared (Exodus 20:19):

“…And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.”

This same fear is prevalent today as we seek to ‘hide’ behind the mantle of the prophet rather than sanctify ourselves to enter the presence of God and hear His words. Gods calls upon all of us to knock. In response, He will open the door. The importance of this sanctification is core to the gospel defined by Christ to the Nephites as we read in 3 Nephi 27: 9-21 that:

And no unclean thing can enter into his kingdom; therefore nothing entereth into his rest save it be those who have washed their garments in my blood, because of their faith, and the repentance of all their sins, and their faithfulness unto the end.

Now this is the commandment: Repent, all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me and be baptized in my name, that ye may be sanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost, that ye may stand spotless before me at the last day.

Verily, verily, I say unto you, this is my gospel…”

We all must be ‘sanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost’ in order to be prepared to enter this kingdom. This sanctification through the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost is also defined as a path the wisdom and knowledge. In D&C 39:6 we read:

 

“And this is my gospel—repentance and baptism by water, and then cometh the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost, even the Comforter, which showeth all things, and teacheth the peaceable things of the kingdom.”

 

The necessity of a personal revelatory relationship with God is the same message as I proposed in my previous post on the mysteries of God. It is not the role of the prophet to stand as an intermediary between us and the Lord, not at the time of Moses and not at the time of Thomas. If we, indeed, strive to receive ‘all things,’ the above scripture should be our roadmap.

 

When Joshua complained about Eldad and Medad prophesying in the camp of Israel, Moses responded (Numbers 11:29):

“…would God that all the LORD’s people were prophets, and that the LORD would put his spirit upon them!”

All of the Lord’s people are to take His spirit upon them. It was not until after the sanctifying baptism of fire, both at the time of Peter and at the time of Nephi and Lehi, that we read of the marvelous things that were spoken by those who had been baptized by fire. The same gospel calls upon us to come unto Christ, be baptised by water and then fire and the Holy Ghost and receive of His wisdom and knowledge.

 

The practice of hiding up treasures unto the Lord


Samuel the Lamanite Prophesies of a Curse

and behold | a curse shall come upon the land |

saith the lord of hosts |

because of the peoples’ sake | who are upon the land | yea | because of their wickedness and their abominations |

and it shall come to pass |

saith the lord of hosts | yea | our great and true god |

that whoso shall hide up treasures in the earth shall find them again no more | because of the great curse of the land |

save he be a righteous man | and shall hide it up unto the lord |

for i will |

saith the lord |

that they shall hide up their treasures unto me |

and cursed be they | who hide not up their treasures unto me |

for none hideth up their treasures unto me | save it be the righteous |

and he that hideth not up his treasures unto me | cursed is he |

and also the treasure | and none shall redeem it | because of the curse of the land |

and the day shall come | that they shall hide up their treasures | because they have set their hearts upon riches |

and because they have set their hearts upon their riches | and will hide up their treasures | when they shall flee before their enemies | because they will not hide them up unto me | cursed be they and also their treasures | and in that day shall they be smitten |

saith the lord |

behold ye | the people of this great city | and hearken unto my words | yea | hearken unto the words | which the lord saith |

for behold | he saith | that ye are cursed | because of your riches | and also are your riches cursed | because ye have set your hearts upon them | and have not hearkened unto the words of him | who gave them unto you |

ye do not remember the lord | your god | in the things with which he hath blessed you | but ye do always remember your riches | not to thank the lord | your god | for them | yea | your hearts are not drawn out unto the lord | but they do swell with great pride| unto boasting | and unto great swelling | envyings | strifes | malice | persecutions | and murders | and all manner of iniquities |

for this cause hath the lord god caused | that a curse should come upon the land | and also upon your riches | and this because of your iniquities |  (Helaman 13: 17-23)

Surplus and the Law of Consecration

Under the law of consecration, after the first consecration of properties to the church, any surplus afterward obtained (called residue in the scriptures) was also to be consecrated.  In this way, the poor would be taken care of on a continual basis.

Poor and Rich Defined

The scriptural definition of “poor” is “having sufficient for one’s needs without any surplus,” whereas the scriptural definition of “rich” is “having more than is necessary for one’s needs.”  Keep this in mind.  (There is also a third class of individuals who do not even have sufficient for their needs.  These are known as the “needy”.)

Surplus, Rich and Riches

A surplus, then, makes one rich, according to the scriptures.  Riches, then, as described in the scriptures, is anything in surplus.

Result of Obedience to the Law of Consecration

When a people begin to live the law of consecration and continue to live it, they become blessed of the Lord in all things.  Initially, as the poor and needy are provided for by the consecrations of the rich, there is an evening out of the properties.  However, as time goes by, the former needy (who now have sufficient for their needs) start to generate a surplus, too, like the former rich (who are continually consecrating their riches, which are surpluses, to the poor and needy.)  All, then, start to generate surpluses.

As an entire society is converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ and lives the law of consecration (such as what occurred with the Nephites when Jesus visited them), very quickly the poor and needy disappear to be replaced only by people having surpluses.  The question then must be asked, “What is to be done with these surplus properties?”  They cannot be given to the poor, as there is no more poor.

Hiding up treasures unto the Lord, a gospel law

When a people reaches this point, where they can no longer give surpluses to the poor because there are no more poor people (and this is Zion), they begin to live the law of hiding up treasures unto the Lord.  The ancient saints, then, took of their surplus wealth (precious metals, jewels, etc.) and buried them in the earth, consecrating them unto the Lord, to be used as He sees fit for a future day, a future need, a future generation, in which there would again be poor people in the earth in need of these treasures.

This was a standard practice, a law of the Lord.  Hoarding riches was contrary to the gospel.  Riches were always to go to the poor and needy.  Yet, as riches could not be given to the poor (as there were none), riches had to be donated to future people.  A hill was selected, a hole was dug, treasures were laid and a rock was placed.  The treasure was dedicated or consecrated to the Lord and then it was blotted from the mind.  It was no more thought of, whatsoever, nor any record of its location recorded.

If the Lord, in a future day, had a righteous servant or servants in need, even if it turned out to be the very servant who hid up the treasure, He could utilize that consecration for that servant, his family, household, tribe, etc.  As the Lord alone knew where it was—it could only be located through revelation and righteousness on the part of the receiver—the Lord alone would decide of its need and whether someone would be given it.  In other words, the Lord alone would serve as the bishop in charge of its dispersal.  We see by this that in time, under the law of consecration, the role of (mortal) bishops in receiving consecrations was to be phased out, to be replaced by the Immortal Bishop receiving consecrations.

For I will, saith the Lord, that they shall hide up their treasures unto me; (Helaman 13: 19)

Hiding up treasures unto the Lord was not optional; it was an actual commandment, a law of God, that when all needs were taken care of, surpluses were to be hidden up unto the Lord and forgotten about.  This was, in essence, the Lord’s banking provision. The earth itself was to serve as a bank, the Lord would be the banker, and there would be no further withdrawals on the account from the depositor.  It was a consecration, a gift, not a place to hoard one’s wealth.

For none hideth up their treasures unto me save it be the righteous; (Helaman 13: 19)

The wicked can only view this practice as absurd.  Why create wealth, riches and treasures (surpluses), only to bury them in the earth and forget about them?  In their eyes this is the absolute height of folly and no wicked person would ever participate in such a practice.  Only the righteous live this law.  It follows then, that as this was a practice that distinguished between the righteous and the wicked, under the more excellent law of Christ, righteous saints in the future will again perform this rite.

Consequences of Disobedience

Those ancients living under the law of consecration who did not hide up their treasures unto the Lord were accursed:

Cursed be they who hide not up their treasures unto me; (Helaman 13: 19)

There were two ways that this commandment could be broken.  1) A man could keep the surplus to himself (hoarding) and attempt to use it in excessive or riotous living.  2) A man could hide the treasure in the earth and make note of where it was, so that he could come back later and obtain it (using the earth as a safekeeping, a bank.)  Men who hid their treasures in this way would still be accounted as righteous by those who viewed them (as they appeared to be fulfilling the commandment of hiding treasures unto the Lord), but as their intent was selfish, they were accounted hypocrites and sinners by the Lord.

A Modern Parallel

The modern banking practice does not in the least resemble what these ancient saints did.  We open a bank account, deposit some money (often our surplus money) and expect to both receive interest and to be able to withdraw our money at any moment.  We know exactly were our money is and our chief concern is that our money grows and/or is protected from thieves and robbers.

So, as we face the prospect of losing every last penny we have by Summer of 2009, should we consider Samuel’s a double-fulfilling prophecy, first fulfilled upon the ancient inhabitants of this land and secondly to be fulfilled upon the modern inhabitants?

And he that hideth not up his treasures unto me, cursed is he, and also the treasure, and none shall redeem it because of the curse of the land. (Helaman 13: 19)

Our money is no longer redeemable in gold or silver, but at least we can still purchase goods with it.  Soon, however, we won’t be able to do even that.  Is this the reappearance of the ancient curse because we’ve been given the law of consecration and a sneak peek into the law of hiding treasures unto the Lord but have failed to do either?

Disclaimer: This article is not meant to encourage everyone to go out and seek buried Nephite treasure.  Nevertheless, that IS an option for the righteous poor who can obtain revelation from the Lord to that end.  One of the purposes of those consecrated treasures, is, after all, for the needy. Also, in case questions come up regarding the Relief Mine, although I make no claim of its authenticity, there is at least scriptural precedent in the burying of treasure for future, holy purposes.  So, the existence of such a mine is not outside of the gospel framework.

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For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine


For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine
The higher Priesthood contains the Key of the Knowledge of God
© Onewhoiswatching www.threewatches.blogspot.com

“I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.” 2nd Tim 4:14

One of the great evidences that the Marvelous Work was to be a separate work from the foundation work of the 1830’s is the prophecy given by Paul in the above verses, that the time would come when the Saints would not be able to endure sound doctrine, but rather, they would turn away their ears from the truth and would be turned unto fables.

Obviously many of the Saints in the Meridian of Time drifted into apostasy and the dark ages followed, during that time men were unable to endure sound doctrine. However, as we have previously discussed, most if not all prophesies have a dual fulfillment. If it can be shown that Latter day Israel has not been able to endure sound doctrine following the restoration of the church in these latter days, then it provides another evidence that another great work is needed to restore true doctrine to Gods people.

We all have our opinions based on our own interpretation of the scriptures which doctrines are true and whitch are false. However  I want to begin this post by showing that modern LDS leaders have stated publicly and privately that false doctrines have entered into the Church.

President Ezra Taft Benson once said:

“Not only are there apostates in our midst, but there are apostate doctrines which are sometimes taught in our classes and from our pulpits and which appear in our publications. The these apostate precepts of men cause our people to stumble. AS the Book of Mormon, speaking of our day, states: “..they have all gone astray save it be a few, who are the humble followers of Christ; nevertheless, they are led, that in many instances they do err because they are taught by the precepts of men” (Book of Mormon ref 2 Nephi 28:14 E.T. Benson ref CR April 1969 )

Not too many years prior to President Bensons statement President Joseph Fielding Smith had entered the following notation in his person diary:

“I attended sessions of meetings for the institute teachers, held in the assembly room on the fourth floor of he Church Office Building. I cannot say that I was very greatly edified. Too much philosophy of the worldly nature does not seem to mix well with the fundamentals of the gospel. In my opinion many of our teachers employed in the church school system have absorbed too much of the paganism of the world, and have accepted too readily the views of the uninspired educators without regard for the revealed word of the Lord. What to do about it I do not know. It is a problem for the Presidency to consider. It is a very apparent fact that we have traveled far and wide in the past 20 years. What the future will bring I don’t know . But if we drift as far afield from the fundamental things in the next 20 years, what will be left of the foundation laid by the Prophet Joseph Smith? It is easy for one who observes to see how the apostasy came about in the primitive church of Jesus Christ. Are we not traveling the same road?” (The Life of Joseph Fielding Smith 212. Deseret Book Co., 1972 )

Prior to that observation by President Smith, George Q. Cannon had made the following remark:

“I tell you we are beginning to follow along the course of the early Christian Church. So long as that church was persecuted from without, it prospered, but when it began to be polluted from within, the church began to wither. There is, creeping into our midst, and I warn you brethren about it, and urge you to meet, a great host of sectarian doctrines that have no place amongst us. The gospel in its simplicity, is to be found in the revelations… we must accept them as God gave them to us and there must be amongst us a unity of the faith.” ( CR October 1944 )

Erastus Snow made this observation:

Over fifty years have passed away since the light of the glorious gospel in its fulness began to dawn upon us, and still we are measurably walking in darkness.” (Annual Conf Report April 6 1883 )

Finally, let me share this sobering proclamation from John Taylor:

We are getting into such a condition that if we were to meet the Lord, we could not look him in the face and the way we are going, it will soon be impossible to tell what we do believe.”

As you can see from the testimony from numerous leaders of the Church, the restored church is plagued with false teachers teaching false doctrines.

Obviously we do not have time in this post to discuss and document the countless false doctrines that have snuck into the fold since the time of Joseph Smith’s 1st commission in the 2nd Watch.

But I do want to speak about one of the most important foundational doctrines upon which I believe all other doctrines rest.

The Prophet Joseph Smith said:

It is the first principle of the Gospel to know for a certainty the Character of God” (Teachings, 345).

In other words, one of the foundation stones of the restored gospel is a knowledge of what kind of being God actually is. But not only do we need to understand what kind of being God is, we must come to know God. In the same sermon from which we just quoted, the Prophet Joseph further stated,

If any man does not know God, . . . he will realize that he has not eternal life; for there can be eternal life on no other principle” (Teachings, 344).

In His great high-priestly or Intercessory Prayer, the Savior confirmed that life eternal was to “know . . . the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom [the Father] hast sent” (John 17:3).

Joseph Smith also endorsed the following teaching taught in the School of the Prophets:

One of the three things necessary in order that any rational and intelligent being may exercise faith in God unto life and salvation, is to have a correct idea of his character, perfections, and attributes.” (Lectures on Faith, 3rd Lecture)

In modern revelation the Savior has stated that:

I give unto you these sayings that you may understand and know how to worship, and aknow what you worship, that you may come unto the Father in my name, and in due time receive of his fulness.” (D&C 93:19)

It seems to me that the first principle constitutes the foundation doctrine of the Gospel. It is the doctrine upon which all other doctrines are built. It sets the stage for learning additional truth. If one has a correct understanding of this fundamental doctrine one stands a reasonable chance of getting the next principle or doctrine right, and the next and so on. Conversely, if one begins with a false perception of who and what God is, it is likely that the belief system that follows will also have erroneous assumptions.

Realizing how important it is to have a knowledge of the true character of God, modern revelation tells us that the “greater priesthood” administers the gospel and holds the key of the knowledge of God:

And this greater priesthood administereth the gospel and holdeth the key of the mysteries of the kingdom, even the key of the knowledge of God.

Therefore, in the ordinances thereof, the power of godliness is manifest. And without the ordinances thereof, and the authority of the priesthood, the power of godliness is not  manifest unto men in the flesh; for without this no man can see the face of God, even the Father and live.” (D&C 84:19-21)

Clearly, those who truly hold the higher priesthood are those who know God and can lead the Saints to him, teaching the truth about who he is and revealing his nature and character.

Having established the incredible importance of the true nature of God and having leaders who truly hold the key of the knowledge of God so that they can lead the Saints to him and protect the Saints from false teachings about God, let’s review an incredible event in LDS Church History:

According to a significant amount of historical documentation, some of which may have been suppressed for a time, it appears that on April 9th 1852 … my great great great grandfather Brigham Young shocked the church by teaching the following doctrine concerning the nature and character of God. In this sermon he declared:

Now hear it, O inhabitants of the earth, Jew and Gentile, Saint and sinner! When our father Adam came into the garden of Eden, he came into it with a celestial body, and brought Eve, one of his wives, with him. He helped to make and organize this world. He is Michael, the Archangel, the Ancient of Days! about whom holy men have written and spoken—He is our Father and our God, and the only God with whom we have to do. Every man upon the earth, professing Christians or non-professing, must hear it, and will know it sooner or later … (Journal of Discourses, vol. 1, pp.50-51).

Related quotes and doctrines from Brigham Young are varied and to numerous to include in this article, among other things, Brigham taught that Adam is the father of Jesus Christ:

When the Virgin Mary conceived the child Jesus, the Father had begotten him in his own likeness. He was not begotten by the Holy Ghost. And who is the Father? He is the first of the human family … I could tell you much more about this; but were I to tell you the whole truth, blasphemy would be nothing to it, in the estimation of the superstitious and over-righteous of mankind. However, I have told you the truth as far as I have gone…. Jesus, our elder brother, was begotten in the flesh by the same character that was in the garden of Eden, and who is our Father in Heaven. Now, let all who may hear these doctrines, pause before they make light of them, or treat them with indifference, for they will prove their salvation or damnation” (Journal of Discourses, vol. 1, pp.50-51).

As a descendent of Brigham Young I have had a particular interest in knowing his place in the restoration movement, who he really was and what he really taught. There is a very large 4 volume document in the Church Historical Library containing every known discourse that Brigham Young ever gave. They don’t let you make copies of it but you can go into a secure room and read it. One day I sat down and read the entire thing. It took many, many hours to read.

I was surprised at how many times Brigham taught the exact opposite doctrines that Joseph Smith taught. I am compiling a list of these contradictions and perhaps will do a post on them someday.

One of the things Joseph and Brigham disagreed on that jumped out at me as I read this volume of discourses is how they both viewed the creation story in Genesis.

Joseph Smith was a biblical literalist. He was once asked how Mormonism differs from other Christian Churches and he answered We believe the Bible. His apparent use of sarcasm was somewhat uncharacteristic but provided a poignant way to point out how most protestant religions pick and choose which Biblical verse they want to take literally.

Although this must have seemed offensive, and condescending to protestants, I think he was simply making a very important distinction… simply that Latter day Saint theology believes the Bible literally as long as it is translated correctly. We have the JST of the Bible to show us any mistranslations in the Bible an it confirms that the creation story is literally true.

The Book of Mormon and the revelations contained in the Doctrine and Covenants reinforce a literal interpretation and belief in the Old and New Testaments.

Joseph Smith interpreted and believed the creation story in Genesis in the literal sense. So important was the literal interpretation of the creation story in Genesis to Joseph Smith that he provided two other versions of it. One was from the JST of Genesis and the other was obtained from translating the papyrus that became known as the Book of Abraham. Both of these accounts of the creation story are published in the Pearl of Great Price.  This provides two witnesses that the literal interpretation of the creation story in Genesis is true and that Adam was literally created out the dust of this earth and Eve was literally taken from his rib.

I was shocked while reading Brigham Young’s discourses to find that he discounted the creation story as a “fairy tale”.

Many members of the Church silently accepted the new Adam-God doctrine that Brigham Young taught, however, some prominent members of the church took issue with the doctrine. Most significantly, Apostle Orson Pratt, one of the greatest doctrinal scholars in the Church at the time, disagreed with the doctrine, and expressed that disagreement publicly and in private meetings with other apostles.

Pratt also published his disagreement in his east-coast publication The Seer. Pratt continued to debate the issue in public forums for months, despite being rebuked privately and publicly by Brigham Young on more than one occasion until 1860, when faced with possible disfellowshipment, he agreed to the language of a public confession as negotiated during a series of meetings among the church hierarchy.” Wikipedia

The following entry is found in the journal of Joseph Lee Robinson:

Oct. 6th attend Conference, a very interesting Conference, for at this meeting President Brigham Young said thus… that Adam was, God our Eternal Father, this as Brother Heber remarked was letting the cat out of the Bag, and it came to pass, I believed every word … our Beloved Brother Orson Prat[t] told me he did not believe it. He said he could prove by the Scriptures it was not correct. I feared lest he should apostetize [sic] …” (Journal of Joseph Lee Robinson, Microfilm copy in LDS Genealogical Library)

Pratt felt so strongly that the Adam-God doctrine was wrong that he expressed a desire to resign his position from the quorum of the Twelve. Brigham’s response to Pratt was “No you won’t Orson, I’ll rub your ears until I get you right..”(Pg 174 Unpublished Revelations by Collier)

Although I am related to Brigham Young through my fathers side of the family, ironically, I am also related to Father Edward Bunker and his son Bishop Edward Bunker Jr. through my Mothers side of the Family. Father Bunker was a contemporary of Brigham Young. In fact Brigham Young had called Father Edward Bunker to settle parts of Southern Utah.

I believe that there is a special place in heaven for people like Orson Pratt and the Bunkers because they had the guts to QUESTION AUTHORITY. Bishop Edward Bunker was possibly the single biggest reason that the Church discontinued teaching the Adam-God doctrine.

For a number of years questions on church teachings had been agitated in the Bunkerville Ward. “Bishop Bunker had stated he did not believe Adam was our God and he had expressed his opinion that some teachings in the temples were wrong, notably part of the Lecture at the veil- That Father Bunker had the same views.” Father Bunker felt that the wrong teaching of God would negate the purpose of the sealing ordinances done in the temple… had stated that-

the principle of adoption would be of no avail as administered in the Temple. All such work would have to be done over again.”

Bishop Bunker created quite a stir in his ward when he began challenging the Adam-God doctrine. In 1891 he made the following declaration to the Stake Presidency when they called him to task for not believing in the doctrine taught by Brigham Young:

I do not believe that Adam is the father of Jesus Christ and the God we worship and the God of this earth…” “Pg 170 Unpublished Revelations)

After the Stake Presidency got an ear full from Bishop Bunker, they turned him over to the First Presidency of the Church. The President of the Church at the time was Wilford Woodruff.

Bishop Bunker got reprimanded by the First Presidency for challenging the official doctrine of the Church concerning God but curiously, shortly after that meeting with Bishop Bunker President Wilford Woodruff was quoted as saying:

“it was not wisdom for the Elders to contend about such matters and things they did not understand. And not to teach such things to the children in the Sunday Schools; they could not comprehend them.” (Pg 174 Unpublished Revelations)

President Cannon later said: “…it is not necessary that we should [teach] or endorse the doctrine that some men taught that Adam was the Father of Jesus Christ” (Pg 174-5 Unpublished Revelations)

Shortly after this, the Adam-God doctrine was no longer taught at all in the Church by the leaders.

A few generations later the Adam-God doctrine was virtually unknown to most members of the Church. When anti-Mormon documents would reference the doctrine some LDS apologists denied that the doctrine had ever been taught. Some have claimed that those who recorded the sermons of Brigham Young made mistakes.

In recent years, a private letter from Bruce R. McConkie to a BYU professor has been copied and made available to the general public. In it Elder McConkie made the following statement:

Yes, President Young did teach that Adam was the father of our spirits, and all the related things that the cultists ascribe to him. This, however, is not true. He expressed views that are out of harmony with the gospel.that is something he will have to account for…. I do not know all of the providences of the Lord, but I do know that he permits false doctrine to be taught in and out of the Church… If we believe false doctrine, we will be condemned. If that belief is on basic and fundamental things, it will lead us astray and we will lose our souls …. This clearly means that people who teach false doctrine in the fundamental and basic things will lose their souls. The nature and kind of being that God is, is one of these fundamentals. I repeat: Brigham Young erred in some of his statements on the nature and kind of belng that God is and as to the position of Adam in the plan of salvation …. If we choose to believe and teach the false portions of his doctrines we are making an election that will damn us: (page 7) (page 6 of McConkie’s letter)

Despite the fact that the Adam God doctrine was taught and believed for many years, it is really quite remarkable that the Church was able to “self correct” and put down the false doctrine that suggested that Adam is the Father of Jesus Christ and the only God with which we have to do. Even more remarkable is that the correction appears to have been initiated from individual Saints in both high and low positions who had the wisdom to compare a questionable doctrine to the word of God and then have the courage to question authority and challenge the doctrine by utilizing the laws of agency and common consent.

The Apostle Paul chastened the Saints of his day for allowing members from within the Church to pervert the true Gospel of Christ and gave a strict warning not to follow anyone… not even an angel from heaven if they preach any other gospel than the gospel of Jesus Christ:

I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.

But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.” (Gal 1) He later gave one of the most simple and concise definitions of the Gospel of Christ:

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power  of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” (Rom 1:16)

Looking at our day the prophet Nephi observed that many of the humble followers of Christ would be led astray because they followed the precepts of men:

They wear stiff necks and high heads; yea, and because of pride, and wickedness, and abominations, and,  whoredoms they have all gone astray save it be a few, who are the humble followers of Christ; nevertheless, they are led, that in many instances they do err because they are taught by the precepts of menCursed is he that putteth his trust in man, or maketh flesh his arm, or shall hearken unto the precepts of men, save their precepts shall be given by the power of the Holy Ghost. (2nd Nephi 28)

The Book of Mormon reinforces that most basic foundational belief that it is through faith in Jesus Christ that we are saved and there is no other name under heaven by which man can be saved:

And now, behold, my beloved brethren, this is the way; and there is none other way nor name given under heaven whereby man can be saved in the kingdom of God. And now, behold, this is the doctrine of Christ, and the only and true doctrine of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, which is one God, without end. Amen.” (2nd Nephi 31)

There is no other cname given whereby salvation cometh; therefore, I would that ye should take upon you the name of Christ..” (Mosiah 5)

If the historical documentation about Brigham Young teaching the Adam God Doctrine is true and if Elder McConkie’s statement is accurate that Brigham Young did in fact teach a false doctrine about who the true God of Israel is, it is deeply disturbing to think that a presiding officer of the Lords Church could lead us incorrectly regarding such an important doctrine. It was Brigham Young himself that expressed his concern that a President of the Church might some day lead the people astray:

“What a pity it would be if we were led by one man to utter destruction! Are you afraid of this? I am more afraid that this people have so much confidence in their leaders that they will not inquire for themselves of God whether they are led by Him. I am fearful they settle down in a state of blind self-security, trusting their eternal destiny in the hands of their leaders with a reckless confidence that in itself would thwart the purposes of God in their salvation, and weaken that influence they could give to their leaders, did they know for themselves, by the revelations of Jesus, that they are led in the right way. Let every man and woman know, by the whispering of the Spirit of God to themselves, whether their leaders are walking in the path the Lord dictates, or not. This has been my exhortation continually.” (Brigham Young, January 12, 1862, Journal of Discourses, 9:151)

He also said:

“I have often said to the Latter-day Saints– Live so that you will know whether I teach you the
truth or not. Suppose you are careless and unconcerned, and give way to the spirit of the world,
and I am led, likewise,to preach the things of this world and to accept things that are NOT of God, how easy it would be for me to lead you astray! But I say to you, live so that you will know for yourselves whether I tell the truth or not. That is the way we want all Saints to live.” (Brigham Young, JD 18:248)

In previous posts I have noted that there was a difference between the “first elders” of the Church who were designated as the first laborers of the last kingdom vs Brigham Young and others who were called about five years later to serve in the quorum of the 12 apostles. They were identified as those who were not the first elders. According to latter day revelation, Brigham Young and the other members of the quorum of the twelve did not enjoy the same relationship with God that Joseph Smith and the First Elders enjoyed. In section 84 Joseph Smith and six others received an incredible confirmation of the higher priesthood by the voice of God out of the heavens… few people have ever received this endowment:

this priesthood which ye have received which I now confirm upon you by my own voice out of the heavens…” (D&C 84:40)

In section 88 Joseph Smith and the other First Elders were promised that God would send them again into the vineyard at a later time to testify and warn the Gentiles for the last time and to bind up the law and seal the testimony and prepare the Saints for the hour of judgment with is to come, however Brigham Young and the other members of the 12 who were not among the first elders and who were not clean from the blood of that generation, were to “continue in the vineyard until the mouth of the Lord should call them…” (D&C 84:74-85)

In the general charge given to the 12 Apostles in the month of April 1835 the Prophet Joseph Smith provided this counsel, admonition and charge:

You have been indebted to other men , in the first instance for evidence; on that you have acted but it is necessary that you receive a testimony from heaven for yourselves; so that you can bear testimony to the truth of the Book of Mormon, and that you have seen the face of God. That is more than the testimony of an angel…. never cease striving until you have seen God face to face, strengthen your faith, cast off you doubts, your sins, and all you unbelief… Your ordination [ as Apostles] is not full and complete till God has laid his hand upon you…  you have our most fervent prayers that you may be able to bear this testimony, that you have seen the face of God.” (DHC2:195-198 see also HC AD 1835 pg 195-6)

It is very important to understand that Brigham Young and his brethren of the 12 were ordained to be Apostles but their calling would not be full and complete until they had seen the face of God and been ordained personally by him..

Mary Rollins Lightner was a convert to the church who had seen an angel, she noted that Brigham Young had said to her in Nauvoo “he would give anything to have seen what I had.” (Mary Elizabeth Rollins Lightner, Autobiography, in B. Carmon Hardy, ed., Doing the Works of Abraham: Mormon Polygamy: It’s Origin, Practice, and Demise (Norman, OK: Arthur H. Clark Co., 2007),

Susa Young Gates recorded that when asked if he had ever seen the Savior, Brigham responded that he hadn’t, and that he didn’t expect to until he died. ( Note, 1885, Susa Young Gates Collection, Box 11, Folder 1, Subfolder 1, Utah State Archives, Salt Lake City  )

Brigham Young was very open and honest about his own status as the President of the Church. He understood that the President of the Church did not necessarily need to be a prophet: “I am not a prophet, nor the son of a prophet…” (Fred C. Collier, ed., The Office Journal of Brigham Young, 1858-1863, Book D (Hanna, UT: Collier’s Publishing Co., 2006),

When responding to a skeptic that was expressing doubt that Brigham was a prophet seer and revelator he responded that he had never made such a claim:

“A person was mentioned to-day who did not believe that Brigham Young was a Prophet, Seer, and Revelator. I wish to ask every member of this whole community, if they ever heard him profess to be a Prophet, Seer, and Revelator, as Joseph Smith was?”  (Brigham Young, Sermon, April 7, 1852, JD 6:319-320 See also a related post in By Common Consent)

One of the things that confuses people concerning the succession issue is that it appears that one can be the legal presiding officer of the Church, elected by the voice of the people without holding the key of the knowledge of God and without being a prophet, seer and revelator.

This doctrine was true in Book of Mormon times as well as pertaining to church government in modern times:

“Thou shalt not leave this place until after the conference; and my servant Joseph shall be appointed to preside over the conference by the voice of it, and what he saith to thee thou shalt tell…. For, behold, these things have not been appointed unto him, neither shall anything be appointed unto any of this church contrary to the church covenants. For all things must be done in order, and by common consent in the church, by the prayer of faith.” (D&C 28 see also D&C 20:63 102:9 )

Brigham Young states that on December 27 1847 he was “unanimously elected president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints” (HC 7:621 see also HC pg 82 )

As we consider the doctrines taught by Brigham Young, we must not hold him to a higher standard than what would be appropriate. It is not fair to accuse someone of being something they have never claimed to be.

Brigham Young never claimed to be the legal successor of Joseph Smith in reference to holding the keys of the kingdom or of being a prophet seer and revelator, those claims became a tradition within the Church over time. By his own admission, it appears he felt he was simply trying to steady the ark until he who had the higher authority rose up:

“The brethren testify that brother Brigham is brother Joseph’s legal successor. You never heard me say so. I say that I am a good hand to keep the dogs and wolves out of the flock. I do not care a groat who rises up. I do not think anything about being Joseph’s successor. That is nothing that concerns me” (Journal of Discourses 8:69).

Years ago I walked into Sam Wellers Book Store and saw a large poster on the wall having to do with the genealogy of the 12 tribes of Israel and I felt compelled to find out who had created it and speak with him. The book store gave me his number… we became fast friends. He is a fascinating personality that has provided me with a differing perspective of the gospel as we have studied the gospel together and debated various aspects of it during the last two decades.When I first met him he was a Jewish Mormon Fundamentalist who had worked for the Boarder Patrol and then served as a security officer at he White House. After joining the LDS church he worked as a security guard at the Washington Temple. He was also a veil worker. Eventually he joined the Allred polygamous group and took on two more wives.

Eventually it occurred to him that he had been deceived about the so-called doctrine of Celestial Plural Marriage and he left the Allred Group.

A friend of his in the Allred Group believed that I had been a bad influence on him but felt that if I would be willing to meet with Owen Allred, the leader of the group, that perhaps I would see the light and join their group. She brokered a meeting between Brother Owen and myself.

After being introduced to Owen, he quickly began speaking about the Adam-God doctrine and began quoting profusely from the words of Brigham Young out of the Journal of Discourses. I sat quietly and listened. After a while he divined that I was extremely unimpressed and he asked why the words of Brigham Young did not have more impact on me.

I replied that I use the Word of God in the Four Standard Works to measure the words of every man regardless of his position.

I quoted the statement by Joseph Fielding Smith to him:

It makes no difference what is written or what anyone has said, if what has been said is in conflict with what the Lord has revealed, we can set it aside. My words, and the teachings of any other member of the Church, high or low, if they do not square with the revelations, we need not accept them. Let us have this matter clear. We have accepted the four standard works as the measuring yardsticks, or balances, by which we measure every man’s doctrine. You cannot accept the books written by the authorities of the Church as standards in doctrine, only in so far as they accord with the revealed word in the standard works.” ( Doctrines of Salvation 3:203)

I then said lets take the doctrine that Brigham Young thought that Adam is the Father if Jesus Christ and lets measure that doctrine against the holy and infallible word of God to see if it squares with the scriptures. I then opened the D&C to section 29 verse 34 and handed it to Brother Owen asking him to read it.

Wherefore, verily I (Jesus Christ) say unto you that all things unto me are spiritual, and not at any time have I given unto you a law which was temporal; neither any man, nor the children of men; neither Adam, your father, whom I created.” (D&C 29:34)

The look on Owen’s face was priceless. Talk about a deer caught in the lights of an oncoming car! He kept reading the scripture over and over again to himself as if to see if there was another way to interpret it. I could see the wheels turning in his mind trying to come up with an answer to the doctrinal dilemma he was facing.

As he sat there confused I asked: “How can Adam be the father of Jesus Christ if Jesus Christ is the one who created Adam?

I got the distinct impression that was the first time Owen had ever read that scripture… although I was excited to review additional scriptures with him, lost interest in the discussion and had me ushered to the door.

I don’t mean to single out Brother Allred, I mention this experience with him simply to demonstrate what has been the rule rather than the exception as I have conversed with LDS Fundamentalists on doctrinal issues. They tend to be very knowledgeable when it comes to the doctrines taught by Brigham Young, John Taylor and Wilford Woodruff in the Journal of Discourses, but less knowledgeable about the holy and infallible word of God as contained in the Bible and Book of Mormon and virtually illiterate in the D&C.

I had a similar experience in an LDS fundamentalist chat board a few years ago. A fellow who considered himself to be an authority on the fundamentalist view of the everlasting covenant of Marriage (Plural Marriage) was jousting back and forth with me and I pointed out the distinction between the “Biblical Doctrine of Plural Marriage” vs the “Spiritual Wife Doctrine” that originated in Nauvoo in the 1840’s… which teaches that you must be sealed to multiple wives in order to attain the highest degree of exaltation. The former was purely for the purposes of procreation while the other was a prerequisite of the Gospel to enter into the highest exaltation.

I then challenged him to prove the spiritual wife doctrine from the Old and New Testament without using any of the teachings from the Journal of Discourses. He enthusiastically accepted my challenge and assured me his response was forthcoming soon. A few hours went by.. then a few days. Eventually he returned to the chat board with a humble acknowledgement that he could not prove such a doctrine in the word of God contained in the Bible. I could tell he was surprised at this realization.

Obviously this did not change his beliefs. My father had a favorite saying that really annoyed me when I was growing up but I have come to realize there is a lot of truth to it.

“A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still”

Even many members of the restored church believe that Celestial Polygamy is a true doctrine that will be lived someday by the Saints. False doctrines have infiltrated the Saints in the latter days as was prophesied by the Apostle Paul. I have provided the testimony of several latter day Presidents of the Church and general authorities to this end. I have even provided an example of one of the most blasphemous false doctrines that was apparently introduced pertaining to the true nature of God. Thankfully the Church self-corrected and later rejected it.

This is another sign that the Marvelous Work and a Wonder did not take place in the 2nd Watch at the time the church was restored to the earth in 1830, rather it is to be a future work that takes place in the 3rd watch when the fulness of the Gospel and the fulness of the scriptures will be restored to the earth.

In closing I want to provide a most remarkable testimony from one of the early members of the restored church who really did know who God the Father and his son Jesus Christ were because he held the key of the knowledge of God and he saw them:

Brother Zebedee Coltrin is one of about 9 people  that has been documented from credible historical sources as having seen God the Father and/or Jesus Christ during the Kirtland Era of the Church. Many years later, after coming to Utah, he was asked to give the following account of what happened in the School of the Prophets in Kirtland:

At one of these meetings after the organization of the school, (the school being organized_ on the 23rd of January, 1833, when we were all together, Joseph having given instructions, and while engaged in silent prayer, kneeling, with our hands uplifted each one praying in silence, no one whispered above his breath, a personage walked through the room from east to west, and Joseph asked if we saw him. I saw him and suppose the others did and Joseph answered that is Jesus, the Son of God…. Afterward Joseph told us to resume our former position in prayer, which we did. Another person came through; he was surrounded as with a flame of fire. He (Brother Coltrin) experienced a sensation that it might destroy the tabernacle as it was of consuming fire of great brightness. The Prophet Joseph said this was the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. I saw Him. When asked about the kind of clothing the Father had on, Brother Coltrin said: I did not discover his clothing for he was surrounded as with a flame of fire, which was so brilliant that I could not discover anything else but his person. I saw his hands, his legs, his feet, his eyes, nose, mouth, head and body in the shape and form of a perfect man. He sat in a chair as a man would sit in a chair, but this appearance was so grand and overwhelming that it seemed I should melt down in his presence, and the sensation was so powerful that it thrilled through my whole system and I felt it in the marrow of my bones. The Prophet Joseph said: Brethren, now you are prepared to be the apostles of Jesus Christ, for you have seen both the Father and the Son and know that they exist and that they are two separate personages.

This appearance occurred about two or three weeks after the opening of the school. After the Father had passed through, Joseph told us to again take our positions in prayer. We did so, and in a very short time he drew our attention and said to us that Brother Reynolds Cahoon was about to leave us, and told us to look at him. He (Brother Cahoon) was on his knees and his arms were extended, his hands and wrists, head, face and neck down to his shoulders were as a piece of amber, clear and transparent, his blood having apparently left his veins. Upon the attention of the brethren being thus called to Brother Cahoon, the change seemed to pass away and Joseph said that in a few minutes more, Brother Cahoon would have left us, but he came to himself again.” (Minutes, Salt Lake City School of the Prophets, October 3, 1883)

The Mysteries of God


As an inaugural post to this blog, I thought it would be appropriate to start at the beginning – the first chapter and first verse of the first book of the Book of Mormon:

“I, NEPHI, having been born of goodly parents, therefore I was taught somewhat in all the learning of my father; and having seen many afflictions in the course of my days, nevertheless, having been highly favored of the Lord in all my days; yea, having had a great knowledge of the goodness and the mysteries of God, therefore I make a record of my proceedings in my days.”

Growing up, the beginning of this verse held prominence in my mind with the message of strong families and overcoming adversity. Today, the latter part of the verse now speaks loudly. Here, in the first statement included in the record consolidated by Mormon, Nephi chooses to emphasize his great knowledge of the ‘mysteries of God.’ Again, in my formative years, I recall the myriad of times I was told to focus on the gospel and don’t dwell on the mysteries, yet here Nephi speaks of being favored of the Lord and receiving of His mysteries.

I have often thought that Nephi’s experience differed from Laman and Lemuel in that he was younger and more impressionable. His father was a visionary man and he automatically accepted his visions and teachings as desirable. In 1 Nephi 10:17 we read:

“And it came to pass after I, Nephi, having heard all the words of my father, concerning the things which he saw in a vision, and also the things which he spake by the power of the Holy Ghost, which power he received by faith on the Son of God—and the Son of God was the Messiah who should come—I, Nephi, was desirous also that I might see, and hear, and know of these things, by the power of the Holy Ghost, which is the gift of God unto all those who diligently seek him, as well in times of old as in the time that he should manifest himself unto the children of men.”

Nephi sought to have the same experience as his father, the vision of the tree of life. He desired to ‘see, hear, and know’ of these things. He recognized that they were given ‘by the power of the Holy Ghost’ and were available to ‘all those who diligently seek him.’ As we read in verses 18 and 19, Nephi again extends this promise to ALL who ‘repent and come unto God.’

“For he is the same yesterday, to-day, and forever; and the way is prepared for all men from the foundation of the world, if it so be that they repent and come unto him.

For he that diligently seeketh shall find; and the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto them, by the power of the Holy Ghost, as well in these times as in times of old, and as well in times of old as in times to come; wherefore, the course of the Lord is one eternal round.”

As stated in this scripture, to achieve this objective, one must ‘repent and come unto Christ,’ which represents acceptance of the gospel (see www.fulness.com/gospel). One must then ‘diligently seek’ after these mysteries. The promise is given that by doing so, we will have the mysteries of God presented to us by the power of the Holy Ghost.

Alma gives a glimpse of what it means to ‘diligently seek’ in Alma 5:46 where he states that these things

“…are made known unto me by the Holy Spirit of God. Behold, I have fasted and prayed many days that I might know these things of myself.”

Even after his glorious baptism of fire, Alma had to humble himself and fast and pray mightily before he was blessed with the revelation through the Holy Ghost. We can, through Alma’s example, understand that the mysteries of God are available to us for a price – we must diligently seek after them.

The previous scripture reference should help one understand that the mysteries of God are available to each of us if we repent, come unto Christ, and diligently seek them through fasting and prayer.

Let’s turn to some scriptural examples of the mysteries of God. In his lecture to his son, Corianton, Alma addresses an issue ‘that thy mind is worried concerning the resurrection of the dead.’ This is found in Alma chapter 40 verse 3:

“…Now, I unfold unto you a mystery; nevertheless, there are many mysteries which are kept, that no one knoweth them save God himself. But I show unto you one thing which I have inquired diligently of God that I might know—that is concerning the resurrection.”

As we read earlier, Alma diligently sought to know the mysteries of God and now, under the guidance of the Spirit, he expounds on one of these mysteries – the resurrection – to his son. Have you ever considered the resurrection as a mystery of God? Yet here, in the Book of Mormon, Alma defines resurrection as such.

In my mind, an earlier comment by Alma now make more sense regarding a question posed by Zeezrom. As you may recall, Alma and Amulek were preaching to the people of Ammonihah when a skilled lawyer named Zeezrom began to contend with them. Once he was ‘softened up,’ Zeezrom presented the following question found in Alma 12:8:

“What does this mean which Amulek hath spoken concerning the resurrection of the dead, that all shall rise from the dead, both the just and the unjust, and are brought to stand before God to be judged according to their works?”

Here is a question regarding the same topic – resurrection – which we previously discussed. As a preface to his remarks on the topic, Alma first discusses the mysteries of God as found in verses nine through eleven:

“And now Alma began to expound these things unto him, saying: It is given unto many to know the mysteries of God; nevertheless they are laid under a strict command that they shall not impart only according to the portion of his word which he doth grant unto the children of men, according to the heed and diligence which they give unto him.

And therefore, he that will harden his heart, the same receiveth the lesser portion of the word; and he that will not harden his heart, to him is given the greater portion of the word, until it is given unto him to know the mysteries of God until he know them in full.

And they that will harden their hearts, to them is given the lesser portion of the word until they know nothing concerning his mysteries; and then they are taken captive by the devil, and led by his will down to destruction. Now this is what is meant by the chains of hell.”

Zeezrom had asked a question about a mystery of God. Alma responds by educating him and us about the importance of diligently seeking the mysteries. We learn here that many are given to know the mysteries of God but they are not to share them except under the direction of the Spirit. We also learn that by being receptive to the spirit of the Holy Ghost, we can know the mysteries of God in total. What a marvelous promise, to have all this knowledge available to us, individually and uncorrelated. We are also presented with the fate of those who refuse to seek after the mysteries of God – they are captured by the ‘chains of hell.’ What a powerful contrast between the two extremes – accepted by God through the dispensation of His mysteries and the chains of hell reserved for those who do not seek the knowledge of the mysteries of God.

It is noteworthy that exposition on the mysteries is not constrained to the Book of Mormon. In Doctrine and Covenants section 76:5-8, we read:

“For thus saith the Lord—I, the Lord, am merciful and gracious unto those who fear me, and delight to honor those who serve me in righteousness and in truth unto the end.

Great shall be their reward and eternal shall be their glory.

And to them will I reveal all mysteries, yea, all the hidden mysteries of my kingdom from days of old, and for ages to come, will I make known unto them the good pleasure of my will concerning all things pertaining to my kingdom.

Yea, even the wonders of eternity shall they know, and things to come will I show them, even the things of many generations.

And their wisdom shall be great, and their understanding reach to heaven; and before them the wisdom of the wise shall perish, and the understanding of the prudent shall come to naught.

For by my Spirit will I enlighten them, and by my power will I make known unto them the secrets of my will—yea, even those things which eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor yet entered into the heart of man.”

The Lord here reinforces the idea that the mysteries of God are available to all those who serve Him in righteousness. He also notes that these mysteries are unbounded – covering all things from the beginning to the end. This promise, to each of us individually, is contingent on our willingness to serve Him and diligently seek after this knowledge.

At the end of the vision captured in Section 76, Joseph Smith speaks of the vision that was unfolded to Sidney Rigdon and himself. This is found in verse 114:

“But great and marvelous are the works of the Lord, and the mysteries of his kingdom which he showed unto us, which surpass all understanding in glory, and in might, and in dominion;”

Joseph reaffirms that the contents of the vision touching on things such as the three degrees of glory and the requisite behavior of those in each kingdom represents a mystery of God.

What I have presented here is a glimpse into what I consider the true meaning of the mysteries of God. These mysteries represent the knowledge that God desires us to have. The mysteries of God are required of us to avoid the captivity of the devil. They are available to ALL who diligently seek after them.

What think ye?

A Mystical Look at the LDS Restoration Movement


A Mystical Look at the LDS Restoration Movement

© Onewhoiswatching www.threewatches.blogspot.com

mys·ti·cal having a spiritual meaning or reality that is neither apparent
to the senses nor obvious to the intelligence

Daniel the Prophet and the Kirtland Temple

Thousands of years ago Gabriel appeared to Daniel the Prophet and revealed future events concerning God’s covenant relationship with his people Israel. Much of the prophetic content within the Book of Daniel is cryptic, using code words and numeric sequences to create a last-days time-line of events. The meaning behind these words was to remain sealed until the time of the end;

O Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, even to the time of the End… Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.” [1]

One day, while reading the 84th section of the Doctrine & Covenants a few things jumped out at me that I had never contemplated before. In the opening verses we are informed that the city of New Jerusalem would be built beginning at the temple lot located in the western boundaries of the State of Missouri that had been dedicated by the hand of Joseph Smith Jr.

God informs us that this event had to do with the “restoration of his people” and the “gathering of his saints“… as he has spoken by the mouth of his prophets“.

Having recently read the prophecies contained in the 9th chapter of Daniel about the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem in the last days, the thought occurred to me that perhaps some of the events that took place during the early days of the LDS restoration movement[2] were fulfilling what Daniel had seen.

As I read verse four, I realized that the beginning of the gathering of the saints that would eventually lead to the building of the City of Zion and the Temple was to actually take place in Kirtland Ohio! Look closely at verses four and five:

Verily this is the word of the Lord, that the city New Jerusalem shall be built by the gathering of the saints, beginning at this place, [Kirtland] even the place of the temple, [Kirtland Temple] which temple shall be reared in this generation. For verily this generation shall not all pass away until an house shall built unto the Lord, and a cloud shall rest upon it, which cloud shall be even the glory of the Lord.” [3]

Some LDS scholars have assumed that the phrase “this place” in this passage of scripture was referring to the western boundaries of the State of Missouri, the topic of the previous three verses. Naturally the deductive assumption is that the “place of the temple” was referring to where the temple in Missouri would one day stand.

However, as I read this passage of scripture I got a strong impression that the phrase “this place” was referring to where this particular revelation was being given and the “place of the temple” was referring to where the temple in that place would eventually stand. Upon closer scrutiny, I believe it becomes apparent that the first three verses of this section were an inspired preface to the revelation from God, and that the actual revelation itself BEGINS with verse four.[4]

If you turn to the preface of this revelation you will note that it was received in Kirtland Ohio. This interpretation changes the meaning significantly and makes much more sense because the geographical gathering of Saints did in fact begin in Kirtland Ohio, the first stake of Zion. Also, the Kirtland Temple was completed within that generation of time, during that generation of people. This interpretation fulfills the prophecy in verse four which states that the temple would be reared in that generation. (Notice that verse 31 in section 84 reiterates the prophecy. The Sons of Aaron shall offer an offering in the house of the Lord in this generation! I believe the Sons of Aaron offered up an acceptable offering to the Lord when the Kirtland Temple was finished and the Lord accepted it in section 110. The acceptance of the Temple potentially fulfills the prophecy that John the Baptist gave in section 13)

History verifies that the glory of the Lord did rest upon the Kirtland Temple when it was completed about four years later, in that generation! The temple in Independence has not been started much less completed to this day, over 160 years later and would render the prophecy unfulfilled.

I had just recently read in the book of Daniel how the people of the Lord would restore and build Jerusalem “even in troublous times“.[5] I began searching the events of LDS church history having to do with the building of the Kirtland Temple and found that the church indeed organized all of the priesthood quorums and built up the city of Kirtland and the Kirtland Temple during extremely difficult times:

The Church was in a state of poverty and distress, a consequence of which it appeared almost impossible that the commandments could be fulfilled [relative to the building of the Kirtland Temple]; at the same time our enemies were raging and threatening destruction upon us, and we had to guard ourselves night after night, and for weeks were not permitted to take off our clothes, and were obliged to have our fire locks in our arms.”

At the dedication of the Kirtland Temple these troubled times were acknowledged in the dedicatory prayer that had been revealed to Joseph Smith by the Lord:

For thou knowest that we have done this work through great tribulation; and out of poverty we have given of our substance to build a house to thy name, that the Son of Man might have a place to manifest himself to his people.”[6]

As I compared the words of Daniel and other ancient prophets and compared them to the events of the Latter Day Saint restoration movement I began to ask myself, “Could the city of Kirtland and its temple actually be what Daniel was referring to?”

It seemed like quite a stretch to me but I couldn’t shake the thought. The concept was so intriguing it continually crept back into my mind… so I kept digging and searching. Why would Daniel refer to Kirtland as Jerusalem? Why was he saying that this city was being rebuilt? As I continued my research I came across an interesting statement in the History of the Church where one of the early elders of the church, referred to the Jerusalem in the Old World as the former Jerusalem and the place where the “school of the prophets” was being held in Kirtland Ohio as the Latter Jerusalem[7].

That statement seemed odd to me because Mormonism teaches that America is the land of the “New” Jerusalem in the sense that Zion is to be established on this continent but never refers to this land as being identified in any way with the “Old” Jerusalem nor does it ever characterize it as the “Latter Jerusalem. The implication was that Old Testament prophesies referring to Jerusalem in the last days may be referring to the land of America.

Why did he make that statement I wondered. Had he heard it from the prophet Joseph Smith? Did he extract that concept from his reading of the scriptures? Was it from personal revelation? Was it just his personal speculation?

As I looked at the area of Kirtland on an older map of the United States I was surprised to see that Kirtland was in “Jerusalem County“! I had heard that some out of print books about the Kirtland area claimed that this county had possibly been named Jerusalem County because the native Indians of the great lakes region had referred to a near by area as the Jerusalem Trail. I later discovered that the LDS Church has in its possession thousands of the controversial archaeological artifacts from the great lakes region linking the North American Indian tribes of the Great Lakes region the Old Testament religion. [8]

As I continued to investigate and compare historical facts with the scriptures, I became convinced that the ancient inhabitants of America once occupied the places where the Saints were being directed to gather such as Kirtland Ohio, Jackson County Missouri and Nauvoo Illinois. Remember, one of the major cities in the area that Christ visited in America was called Jerusalem! The thought that Christ might have visited the Nephites in or around Kirtland or other church historical sights in the surrounding areas seemed intriguing, even mystical. This provided a possible explanation for why God designated the area across the river from Nauvoo as the City of Zarahemla. (perhaps he was simply identifying what it had already been named by an earlier Book of Mormon people)

If the City of Jerusalem that is mentioned in the Book of Mormon at the time Christ visited the Nephites[9] was located near where Kirtland is today, then indeed the Lord was having the Saints of the restoration movement rebuild the city of Jerusalem and the Temple that had previously been there!

Searching the Scriptures with Key Words and Key Phrases

Up to this point I had assumed that the similarities between the prophecies of Daniel and the early LDS restoration movement were probably either a coincidence or perhaps a “type and shadow” of events that were to take place in the last days in the Old World. But I continued to be haunted by the prophecies of Daniel and the revelations that Joseph Smith had received during the early days of the restoration movement.

I started doing “key word” and “key phrase” comparisons to see if there was further evidence that the prophet Daniel was referring to the building up of Kirtland and the Kirtland Temple. I found numerous key word and key concept similarities between the Book of Daniel and the revelations in the D&C, too many to list in this article! Listed below are just two examples of similar wording in the Book of Daniel and in the dedicatory prayer of the Kirtland Temple:

“And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments;” Dan 9:4

“Thanks be to thy name, O Lord God of Israel, who keepest covenant and showest mercy unto thy servants who walk uprightly before thee, with all their hearts—“ D&C 109:1


Here is another example-

Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure. Dan. 2:45

..all thy church, O Lord, with all their families, and all their immediate connections, with all their sick and afflicted ones, with all the poor and meek of the earth; that the kingdom, which thou hast set up without hands, may become a great mountain and fill the whole earth; 109:72

The keys of the kingdom of God are committed unto man on the earth, and from thence shall the gospel roll forth unto the ends of the earth, as the stone which is cut out of the mountain without hands shall roll forth, until it has filled the whole earth. D&C 65:2

Over the years I have done thousands of key word and key phrase searches and I have come to believe that a greater understanding of any section of scripture can be greatly illuminated by doing this. It is like connecting pieces of a puzzle together because each of the four standard works provides additional information that broadens and illuminates that which is revealed in the other standard works.

We live in an age of technology that enables a person to do an extensive key word or key phrase search of the four standards works in a few minutes that would have potentially taken years to do through manual reading and note taking in the days of Joseph Smith.

Key word searches are an important aspect of searching the scriptures.[10] Key word searches provide scriptural proof that doctrines and prophecies within the Old and New Testament are deeply interconnected and inherently congruent with those found in the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, Pearl of Great Price and the JST Version of the Bible. As shown above, the stone cut out of the mountain without hands that Daniel saw had something to do with the events that took place in Kirtland.

The Testimony of Numeric Time Sequences

Finally, it occurred to me that if Daniel had given a specific time sequence to his prophecies, there must be a reason for providing this information and it probably had to do with helping the Saints of the latter days to identify the prophetic events contained therein.

In Daniel 9:24-25, It appears as if Daniel foresaw that there would be a period totaling 139 weeks[11] from the time the commandment is given, until Jerusalem was restored and built. This window of time was to take place following a long period of transgression or apostasy.

I felt prompted to find the date that the Kirtland Temple was completed and accepted by the Savior. Using that date, I would simply count back 139 weeks and see if a commandment to build the city, or house of God had been given. Section 110 is the revelation wherein Christ appeared to Joseph and Oliver and accepted the temple.

The date Christ appeared and accepted the Kirtland Temple is April 3rd 1836. I counted back from that date exactly 139 weeks and it fell on Sunday August 2, 1833.[12] You can imagine the anticipation I felt when I turned to the D&C to see if any revelations had been given on that exact date. Only two (canonized) revelations had been given in that month and year one of the revelations was section 97 which had been given on August 2nd! I feverishly turned to that section and read it to see if a commandment to build God’s city and/or house had been given. To my surprise it did contain a commandment to build a temple. But to my great disappointment, the commandment had to do with the building of the temple in Missouri, not Kirtland!?!?

I kept doing the math over and over again to see if I had miscalculated but I couldn’t come up with anything other than August 2nd 1833 so I shelved it and went on to other topics of gospel study.

Several months later, while studying another topic in church history, [13] I discovered that the Prophet Joseph Smith had identified section 94 as having been received on Sunday August 2nd 1833, the same day that section 97 had been given! Somehow the date of that revelation had been identified incorrectly in the canonized publications of the Doctrine and Covenants.[14]

I turned to section 94 in great anticipation to see if a commandment pertaining to the building up of Kirtland and the temple was contained therein! To my utter astonishment and delight this is what the first verse says:

And again, verily I say unto you, my friends, a commandment I give unto you, that ye shall commence a work of laying out and preparing a beginning and foundation of the city of the stake of Zion, here in the land of Kirtland, beginning at my house [temple].”

There it was! Exactly 139 weeks prior to the completion of the Kirtland Temple, the commandment to build up Kirtland Ohio beginning with Gods house [Temple] is given in section 94!!!!!

I was stunned! What were the mathematical odds that the matching up of Daniels numeric time sequences with the dates and events of the LDS restoration movement could be a coincidence? What were the chances that the commandment to build up the holy city of Zion, beginning with the gathering of the saints in Kirtland, marked by the completion of the Kirtland Temple, would just happen to fall exactly in conjunction with Daniel’s 139 week prophecy?

What I was beginning to see was incredible to me. There was a very real possibility that the LDS restoration movement had literally fulfilled some of the prophecies of Daniel and other ancient prophets in ways that had never been publicly or doctrinally identified or acknowledged by anyone in this dispensation to my knowledge.

Section 109 further verifies not only the incredible part that the Kirtland Temple is yet to play in the events of the last days, it also verifies that the old testament prophets had spoken about it!

“…And we ask thee, Holy Father, that thy servants may go forth from this house armed with thy power, and that thy name may be upon them, and thy glory be round about them, and thine angels have charge over them; And from this place they may bear exceedingly great and glorious tidings, in truth, unto the ends of the earth, that they may know that this is thy work, and that thou hast put forth they hand, TO FULFILL THAT WHICH THOU HAST SPOKEN BY THE MOUTHS OF THE PROPHETS, CONCERNING THE LAST DAYS.”[15]

That is quite a proclamation. The going forth of God’s servants from the Kirtland Temple at a designated future time is interrelated to the Old Testament prophecies that have been spoken by the prophets concerning the last days!

I was really curious to better understand why Daniel broke the 139 weeks into two periods of time. How was the second period of 70 weeks different from the prior 69 weeks? What was the event that according to Daniel would make reconciliation for sins and bring in the everlasting righteousness of the Saviors appearance? What exactly was Daniel talking about when he mentioned the anointing from God and the most holy place in the temple.

Once again I began with the date that Christ appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery to forgive their sins, accept the temple and usher in the various dispensational keys. I backed up 70 weeks from Sunday April 3rd 1836 to find the starting date of the seventy-week period. It is Sunday November 30th, 1834. I Began looking though the history of the church to see if anything of significance happened on that date that might involve Joseph and Oliver. The event according to Daniel would be essential in making a reconciliation for sins. Once again I was blown away at what I found. Here is what the Documentary History of the Church has to say about the prophecy on that date and the covenant that was made the day before.

The Covenant of Tithing [consecration].

On the evening of the 29th of November, I united in prayer with Brother Oliver for the continuance of blessings. After giving thanks for the relief which the Lord had lately sent us by opening the hearts of the brethren from the east, to loan us $430; after commencing and rejoicing before the Lord on this occasion, we agreed to enter into the following covenant with the Lord, viz.:

That if the Lord will prosper us in our business and open the way before us that we may obtain means to pay our debts; that we be not troubled nor brought into disrepute before the world, nor His people; after that, of all that He shall give unto us, we will give a tenth to be bestowed upon the poor in His Church, or as He shall command; and that we will be faithful over that which He has entrusted to our care, that we may obtain much; and that our children after us shall remember to observe this sacred and holy covenant; and that our children, and our children’s children, may know of the same, we have subscribed our names with our own hands.

(Signed)

Joseph Smith, Jun.

Oliver Cowdery.

A Prayer.

“And now, O Father, as Thou didst prosper our father Jacob, and bless him with protection and prosperity wherever he went, from the time he made a like covenant before and with Thee; as Thou didst even the same night, open the heavens unto him and manifest great mercy and power, and give him promises, wilt Thou do so with us his sons; and as his blessings prevailed above his progenitors unto the utmost bounds of the everlasting hills, even so may our blessings prevail like his; and may Thy servants be preserved from the power and influence of wicked and unrighteous men; may every weapon formed against us fall upon the head of him who shall form it; may we be blessed with a name and a place among Thy Saints here, and Thy sanctified when they shall rest. Amen.)”[16]

The following day on Sunday November 30th, 1834 this entry is made in the same journal;

A Prophecy.

“While reflecting on the goodness and mercy of God this evening, a prophecy was put into our hearts, that in a short time the Lord would arrange His providences in a merciful manner and send us assistance to deliver us from debt and bondage.”

It appears that the seventy-week reconciliation for sin leading up to the forgiveness of sins and the acceptance of the Kirtland Temple was initiated and accomplished by Joseph and Oliver making a covenant to live the law of tithing! The terms tithing and consecration appear to be used synonymously in modern revelation. The incredible significance of the law of consecration is stated in the “Law” given in section 42 and reiterated throughout the D&C. It is one of the foundational principles upon which Zion is to be established.

The doctrine of consecration is a central theme having to do with the eventual redemption of Zion. Failure to live it is one of the primary reasons the saints got expelled from Jackson County[17] and eventually from Kirtland and Far West. It is interesting to note that Section 109 makes reference to the covenant of tithing that Joseph Smith made-

O Lord, remember thy servant, Joseph Smith, Jun., and all his afflictions and persecutions- how he has covenanted with Jehovah, and vowed to thee, O mighty God of Jacob – and the commandments which thou hast given unto him and that he hath sincerely striven to do they will.[18]

Sixty Nine Weeks

“From the going forth
of the commandment

to restore and to
build Jerusalem unto Messiah

shall be seven weeks,
and threescore and two weeks”

Seventy Weeks

“Seventy weeks are
determined to finish the transgression

To make an end of
sins and to make reconciliation for iniquity”

One Hundred and Thirty Nine Weeks
From the time the commandment is given until Jerusalem is built up again

8/2/33                                                         11/30/34                                                         4/3/36

If in deed Daniels prophecy was fulfilled during the LDS restoration movement, it is an incredible testimony of modern revelation and one of the mystical secrets to unlocking the meaning behind the important events that took place in Kirtland Ohio! But why hasn’t this information been available until now? Why had dates and verses in the Doctrine and Covenants been altered in such a way as to obscure this information?[19]

With the realization that Daniel had prophesied about Kirtland and the Kirtland Temple, additional prophetic dates and numeric time sequences began to be unsealed. Some of these will be covered at a future time.

God Refers to Kirtland as Jerusalem in Modern Revelation

It occurred to me that if Kirtland was the Jerusalem of last days prophecy spoken of in the Old Testament, God possibly referred to Kirtland as Jerusalem in modern revelation. I did a key word search on Jerusalem and found several places in the Doctrine and Covenants where the Lord appears to do so. Perhaps the most obvious and profound is found in section 109, the dedicatory prayer for the Kirtland Temple that was given to Joseph Smith by revelation;

“..that all the ends of the earth may know that we, thy servants, have heard thy voice, and that thou hast sent us; That from all of these, thy servants, the sons of Jacob, may gather out the righteous to build a holy city to thy name, as thou has commanded them.

We ask thee to appoint unto Zion other stakes besides this one [Kirtland] which thou hast appointed that the gathering of thy people may roll on in great power and majesty, that thy work may be cut short[20] in righteousness.

Now these words, O Lord, we have spoken before thee, concerning the revelations and commandments which thou hast given unto us, who are identified with the Gentiles. But thou knowest that thou hast a great love for the children of Jacob, who have been scattered upon the mountains for a long time in a cloudy and dark day.

We therefore ask thee to have mercy upon the children of Jacob, that Jerusalem [Kirtland], from this hour, may begin to be redeemed: And the yoke of bondage may begin to be broken off from the house of David: And the children of Judah may begin to return to the lands which thou didst give to Abraham, their father.

And cause that the remnants of Jacob, who have been cursed and smitten because of their transgression, be converted from their wild and savage condition to the fulness of the everlasting gospel… And may all the scattered remnants of Israel, who have been driven to the ends of the earth, come to a knowledge of the truth, believe in the Messiah, and be redeemed from oppression, and rejoice before thee.”[21]

Although the use of the word Jerusalem in the above scripture is quite cryptic and hidden to the casual reader, a careful look at the related content and world events at that time shows that the Lord is referring to Kirtland, not the Jerusalem of the Old World.

According to this inspired prayer, the children of Judah who were still in a scattered condition were to begin to return to the lands that God had promised to Abraham beginning at the time of the dedication of the Kirtland temple in 1836. Notice how the above passage of scripture begins speaking about the sons and children of Jacob, then speaks of the house of David, then the children of Judah, then refers to the remnants of Jacob and finally ends with the scattered remnants of Israel.

At this time in history nothing of any real significance was happening in the Jerusalem of the Old World! Nor Had Joseph Smith or any of the first Elders been to the Old World Jerusalem, no were Joseph Smith and the leading elders of the church talking about any plans or future visits pertaining to the Old World Jerusalem. All of the efforts of the Saints and the commandments in modern revelation to them were directed at the consecrated land in and around Kirtland Ohio and Independence Missouri in America, the Promised Land of the end times.

Note how the prayer was beseeching the Lord to redeem Jerusalem:

We therefore ask thee to have mercy upon the children of Jacob, that Jerusalem, from this hour, may begin to be redeemed

This is an obvious reference to Isaiah’s prophecy that Jerusalem would be redeemed in the last days and therefore identifying Kirtland Ohio to the end times Jerusalm of ancient prophecy;

“Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem: for the LORD hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem[22]

Other revelations pertaining to the redemption of God’s people all referred to the saints who were gathering in Ohio and Missouri, not the Jews in the old world;

Verily I say unto you who have assembled yourselves together that you may learn my will concerning the redemption of mine afflicted people- Behold, I say unto you, were it not for the transgressions of my people, speaking concerning the church and not individuals, they might have been redeemed even now.”[23]

Nowhere in section 109 does it indicate that the children of Judah are restored and gathered to a completely different continent than the rest of the house of Israel! It would make no sense if it were speaking about the old world Jerusalem. Section 109 is referring to Kirtland and yet calling it JERUSALEM! It was Kirtland Ohio and the Saints who were gathering there that Joseph Smith was petitioning the Lord to redeem from the yoke of bondage![24]

Notice that the children of Judah were to begin to return to the land which was promised to Abraham.

“And the yoke of bondage may begin to be broken off from the house of David: And the children of Judah may begin to return to the lands which thou didst give to Abraham, their father.”

One of the things that Christ revealed to the Nephites in the 3rd chapter of Nephi is that America is the land of the Abrahamic land covenant and it is the land given to the posterity of Jacob, hence, the insertion of the word Jerusalem instead of Kirtland makes perfect sense.

The Lord provides another cryptic reverence to Kirtland being Jerusalem in section 124:

And after this time, your baptisms for the dead, by those who are scattered abroad, are not acceptable unto me, saith the Lord. For it is ordained that in Zion, and in her stakes, and in Jerusalem, those places which I have appointed for refuge shall be the places for your baptisms for your dead. (verse 36)

It makes no sense at all that God is referring to the Jerusalem in the Old World here… why would the saints be doing baptisms for the dead on the other side of the world during the 1840’s when there were no organized branches, wards or stakes over there? There were not even any Saints over there! God had never designated the Old World Jerusalem to be an appointed place of refuge to the Latter day Saints! Clearly the use of the term Jerusalem in section 124 and section 109 was referring to Kirtland!

Joseph Smith Identifies Kirtland Ohio as the Jerusalem of end times prophecy

As I began to research the Jerusalem issue further I realized that all of Old Testament prophecies referring to the events of the last days take place in America and that the “Jerusalem” of end times prophecy probably is located in or near Kirtland Ohio.

As I was reading history of the Church I noticed a cryptic reference that Joseph Smith made referring to Kirtland being Jerusalem:

Notice how Joseph Smith paraphrases Isaiah to show that Kirtland is the “Jerusalem” of last days prophecy from whence the word of the Lord shall go forth.

The following was in a letter to the brethren in Jackson County who were complaining about the fact that Joseph was living in Kirtland while they were struggling to establish Zion. They were accusing Joseph Smith of not coming to live in Jackson County where Zion was to be established. Joseph’s response to them is as follows:

“I send you the olive leaf which we have plucked from the tree of Paradise, the Lord’s message of peace to us; for though our brethren in Zion indulge in feelings towards us, which are not according to the requirements of the new covenant, yet, we have the satisfaction of knowing that the Lord approves of us, and has accepted us, and established His name in Kirtland for the salvation of the nations; for the Lord will have a place whence His word will go forth, in these last days,

[Compare the words of Isaiah…for the law shall go forth of Zion and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.” (Isa 2:3 Micah 4:1)]

in purity; for if Zion will not purify herself, so as to be approved of in all things, in His sight, He will seek another people; for His work will go on until Israel is gathered, and they who will not hear His voice, must expect to feel His wrath. Let me say unto you, seek to purify yourselves, and also the inhabitants of Zion, lest the Lord’s anger be kindled to fierceness.” (HC 1:166)

Suddenly my whole paradigm was beginning to change and I was beginning to understand scriptures that had never made sense to me before. The descendents of the Children of Israel including the “Jews” were to begin to believe in Christ and gather to the land of America in the latter days and virtually all of the major events of end times prophecy would take place in America.

This is why the Lord informs the Saints in section 103:

“ye are the children of Israel”

Indeed ancient scripture makes it quite clear that the whole house of Israel will be gathered to the same lands in the last days:

Thus saith the Lord God: When I shall have gathered the house of Israel from the people among whom they are scattered, and shall be sanctified in them in the sight of the heathen, then shall they dwell in their land that I have given to my servant Jacob.” [25]

And after the house of Israel should be scattered they should be gathered together again; or in fine, after the Gentiles have received the fulness of the Gospel, the natural branches of the olive-tree, or the remnants of the house of Israel, should be grafted in, or come to the knowledge of the true Messiah, their Lord and their Redeemer.” [26]

Modern scripture agrees that everyone, both Jew and Gentile are to gather to the land of Zion in America. Once the final gathering takes place, they return to the “Land of Zion“, then they are separated into two groups. Those who are among the gentiles are to go to a place in the land of Zion called Zion. Those who are of Judah, are to go to a place in the land of Zion called Jerusalem, also referred to as the mountain of the Lords house;.

Yea, verily I say unto you again, the time has come when the voice of the Lord is unto you: Go ye out of Babylon; gather ye out from among the nations, from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. Send forth the elders of my church unto the nations which are afar off; unto the islands of the sea; send forth unto foreign lands; call upon all nations, first upon the Gentiles, and then upon the Jews. And behold, and lo, this shall be their cry, and the voice of the Lord unto all people: Go ye forth unto the land of Zion… Let them, therefore, who are among the Gentiles flee unto Zion. And let them who be of Judah flee unto Jerusalem, unto the mountains of the Lord’s house.[27]

Would the Real Jerusalem of End Times Prophecy Please Stand Up?

According to modern revelation, the building of the New Jerusalem was to be preceded by the rebuilding of the other Jerusalem, both located in America! One of the reasons I had assumed that the above parallels between Kirtland and Daniel’s prophecies about Jerusalem could only be a type and shadow is because I had always been taught that in the last days Zion would be established in America but that the old Jerusalem of last days prophecy would remain in the Old World. When I found that the 139 weeks mentioned in Daniel were pointing to Kirtland, I had to ask myself if the old testament prophecies about Jerusalem could possibly have to do with the Jer – USA – lem of Book of Mormon times which was located in America instead of the Jerusalem in the old world.

In evaluating this possibility, I was reminded that the term Jerusalem means “holy city of Gods people“. The definition has to do with the people and land where the gathering and organizing of Gods people takes place, it doesn’t necessarily refer to just one specific geographical location on the earth. The truth is that the very first city of Jerusalem was probably in North American not far from where the Garden of Eden had been. After the flood the Old World Jerusalem came into existence.

I was also reminded that the Kingdom of Judah in the old world was removed to America through the lineage of “Mulek” who was the son of King Zedekiah. Zedekiah was the last king of the kingdom of Judah in the Old World. The Old Testament indicates that the sons of Zedekiah were killed,[28] bringing the lineal kingship of Judahs kingdom to an end. The Book of Mormon reveals however, that one of Zedekiahs sons by the name of Mulek was preserved and brought over to the Western Hemisphere, with others of the Kingdom of Judah.

And now will you dispute that Jerusalem was destroyed? Will ye say that the sons of Zedekiah were not slain, all except it were Mulek? yea, and do ye not behold that the seed of Zedekiah are with us, and they were driven out of the land of Jerusalem? [29]

Isaiah and all of the great Old Testament prophets spoke of Zion and Jerusalem both being on the same continent in the last days just as they were on the same continent in ancient times. They even seem to use them interchangeably at times. Note the following verse in Isaiah:

For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem [30]

Isaiah clearly identifies the Jerusalem of end times prophecy as being located in America just like Zion will be in America.

The LAW and the WORD OF THE LORD Will Come Out of AMERICA

Old Testament Prophets have prophesied that;

…the law shall go forth of Zion and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem[31]

It is now apparent why the Lord required Joseph Smith and the saints to gather to “The Ohio” before they could receive “The Law”. Indeed the Law was to be given from and to go forth from Jerusalem (Kirtland Ohio).

Wherefore, for this cause I gave unto you the commandment that ye should go to the Ohio; and there I will give unto you my law; and there you shall be endowed with power from on high and from thence, whosoever I will shall go forth among all nations[32]

Virtually every revelation wherein the Lord makes reference to the “word of the Lord” is given in Kirtland Ohio!

HEARKEN, O ye people, and open your hearts and give ear from afar; and listen, you that call yourselves the people of the Lord, and hear the word of the Lord and his will concerning you.[33]

This is the word of the Lord unto you, my servant Orson Hyde..[34]

BEHOLD, and hearken, O ye inhabitants of Zion, and all ye people of my church who are afar off, and hear the word of the Lord which I give unto my servant Joseph Smith, Jun[35]

The word of the Lord, in addition to the law which has been given, making known the duty of the bishop who has been ordained unto the church in this part of the vineyard..[36]

The Mountain of the Lord is in America

It is commonly taught in the church that Latter-day Saints are gathering to the Mountain of the Lord as prophesied in Isaiah:

And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills: and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.” [37]

A close look at these verses in conjunction with other Old Testament passages makes it quite clear that the Mountain of the Lord is located in the end times Jerusalem of Old Testament Prophecy! Numerous Old Testament prophecies about the last days and end times link Jerusalem to the mountain of the Lord. Look at the following verses in Zachariah:

Thus saith the Lord; I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth; and the mountain of the Lord of hosts the holy mountain [38]

Teaching that the Zion of last days prophecy was going to be in America while Jerusalem would remain in the old world is one of the things that must have made the Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants seem quite controversial to non-LDS biblical scholars at the time of the restoration movement because they understood full well that the Zion and Jerusalem of end times prophecy are clearly located on the same continent just as they were anciently. It would make no sense for God to separate them onto different continents in the end times.

The prophet Joseph Smith addressed this controversy and verified that both Zion and the mountain of the Lord (which the Old Testament clearly places in Jerusalem) are currently located in North and South America.

“You know there has been a great discussion in relation to ZION- where it is, and where the gathering of the dispensation is, and which I am going to tell you. The prophets have spoken and written upon it; But I will make a proclamation that will cover broader ground. The whole of America is Zion itself from north to south and is described by the prophets, that it is the Zion where the Mountain of the Lord should be, and that it is the center of the land. When the Elders take up to examine the old prophecies in the bible they will see it.” [39]

The Holy Seed in the Holy Land

The prophecies of Daniel had to do with Gods gathering and restoring his covenant people in the last days to the Land of America. First Israel was to be gathered from among the Gentiles, then Israel was to be gathered from all over the world.

This was also a major theme in Isaiah and the Book of Mormon[40]. The Book of Mormon informs us that the ancient inhabitants of this land who migrated from the Jerusalem of old are the Jewish descendants of Abraham mentioned in end times prophecy. They were to be restored in the latter days. Restored to the land of America! The Book of Mormon reveals that those among the believing gentiles are the covenant people and that the covenant people are literal Israel.

“ For behold, I say unto you that as many of the Gentiles as will repent are the covenant people of the Lord”; (2 Nephi 30:2)

This is what the gathering to Kirtland had to do with, God was gathering his covenant people from among the Gentiles to the lands that had been promised to the children of Abraham.

The Lord said to Joseph Smith:

“Therefore your life and the priesthood have remained, and must needs remain through you and your lineage until the restoration of all things spoken by the mouths of all the holy prophets since the world began” (86:10)

Joseph Smith is a descendant of both Jesse and of Ephraim. (D&C 113:6)

In other words, he is a descendant of both the House of Judah (Jews) and the House of Israel (Gentiles). It was necessary for him to be of split lineage so that he could gather both tribes of Israel, both Jew and Gentile when the fullness of times comes in.

In section 109, a prayer received by revelation, Joseph refers to himself and the leading elders of the church as “thy servants” and the “sons of Jacob” who were ordained to gather out the righteous and build a righteous city. (verse 57-58)

Many Christians and even Mormons view the establishment of Jerusalem in the Old World in 1948 as the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy referring to the time when God would gather Israel a “second time”. This assumption for protestants who only have the Bible is understandable; however the Book of Mormon elaborates on the prophecies in the Old Testament regarding the gathering of Literal Israel in the last days and informs us that when God gathers his people the second time, in the 3rd watch, the Jews are gathered to the lands of their inheritance AFTER the times of the Gentiles have come to their fullness. The fullness of the Gentiles has not yet taken place in the 3rd watch, therefore the establishment of Jerusalem in the Old World in 1948 could not possibly be the fulfillment of prophecy. Furthermore, the Book of Mormon tells us that the gathering of scattered Israel does not take place until the Jews come to knowledge of their Redeemer.

And it shall come to pass that the Jews which are scattered also shall bbegin to believe in Christ; and they shall begin to gather in upon the face of the land; and as many as shall believe in Christ shall also become a delightsome people.


”Wherefore, after they are driven to and fro, for thus saith the angel, many shall be afflicted in the flesh, and shall not be suffered to perish, because of the prayers of the faithful; they shall be scattered, and smitten, and hated; nevertheless, the Lord will be merciful unto them, that when they shall come to the knowledge of their Redeemer, they shall be gathered together again to the lands of their inheritanceAnd behold, according to the words of the prophet, the Messiah will set himself again the second time to recover them; wherefore, he will manifest himself unto them in power and great glory, unto the destruction of their enemies, when that day cometh when they shall believe in him; and non will he destroy that believe in him.” ( 2 Nephi 6:11-14 see also 2nd Nephi 10, 25 & 30 & 1st Nephi 19)


The Book of Mormon reveals that the real gathering of the Jews in the last days takes place in America, not the Old World… it appears those so-called Jews that began gathering to the Old World Jerusalem in 1848 are not the real Jews!

Clearly the Book of Mormon reveals that the latter-day gathering of Israel mentioned in the Old Testament scriptures has to do with the gathering of Israel back to AMERICA. It also reveals that the latter-day gathering of the Jews takes place AFTER they begin to believe in Christ.

The LDS restoration movement was laying the foundation for a future work. After the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled, God will remember the remnants of the Book of Mormon peoples and all other branches of Israel that have been scattered all over the world and he will bring them to the land of COVENANT or promise.

The Prophet Daniel was referring to the LDS restoration movement, and the implications are profound!

The book of Daniel is another testimony that Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and the other Old Testament Prophets are speaking prophetically of America when they speak about the end times. Daniel confirms the Jewishness of the LDS faith and membership! The holy seed was mingled among the gentile church at the time of the restoration.[41] Many scholars have pointed out how the events, dates and doctrines of the Latter-day Saint Movement are consistent with those of the Jewish faith. This is no coincidence.

For me the events of LDS church history and the associated revelations that Joseph Smith received took on a greater meaning when I realized that they were fulfilling the prophecies of Daniel and other Old Testament Prophets. My testimony of modern scriptures was strengthened and my diligence in searching them greatly increased. I have come to judge the events of LDS history through the eyes of Gods word instead of judging Gods word through the eyes of mortal historians and theologians.

I now believe that most if not all of the major events of the last days contained in the scriptures will take place in America, not the Old World.

During this time of study, I was beginning to realize that the Doctrine and Covenants was a great key to unlocking the mysterious meaning behind the end times prophecies contained in the Bible. The events of the LDS restoration movement were fulfilling many of the prophesies contained in ancient scripture while others were laying the foundation for future prophesies to be fulfilled at a later time.

Another incredible resource was the inspired version of the Bible with reveals that the Saviors earthly ministry was the First Watch, the restoration of the Church and the coming forth of the unsealed portion of the Book of Mormon was the Second Watch and the Marvelous Work and a Wonder which is about to come forth will be the 3rd Watch. JST Luke 12

For additional information regarding the Marvelous Work which is about to come forth in the 3rd Watch click here


[1] Dan 12:4,9

[2] I use the term “restoration” movement very lightly in this article. Church historians and LDS scholars commonly refer to early LDS history as the beginning of the “marvelous work” or the time of the “restoration”. The scriptures also appear to use these two terms interchangeably at times. Interestingly, none of the revelations to the prophet Joseph Smith contained in the Doctrine and Covenants ever use either of these terms when referring to the time when Joseph Smith lived. The term used in modern scripture to describe the events of the early history of the church is “foundation”. According to modern revelation, the work that was being accomplished during that period of time had to do with “laying the foundation of the church” (1:30) , “laying the foundation of a great work” (64:33) and “laying the foundation of Zion” (119:2). Scripturally, I believe it would be more appropriate to refer to early LDS history as the “Foundation Movement” instead of the “Restoration Movement”. Joseph Smith taught that the “two witnesses” would “prophesy to the Jews … at the time of the restoration” To my knowledge, these witnesses have not shown up yet! (D&C 77:15)

A close look at modern and ancient scripture indicates that there was to be a significant and distinct period of time between the laying of the foundation during Joseph’s ministry and the commencement of the restoration, (or marvelous work). The term Marvelous work only shows up six times in modern scripture. The term, “Great Work” shows up five. Even though some of these revelations came after the coming forth and translation of the non-sealed portion of the Book of Mormon and the legal restoration of the church, the Lord informs us that the marvelous work was to be a future event “…a Marvelous Work is ABOUT TO COME FORTH unto the children of men…

Modern revelation also refers to the restoration as a future event. Sections 45 and 88 associate it with the restoration of the Jews in the last days section 103 and the 10th article of faith associate it with the redemption and restoration of Zion upon the earth, and Sections 84 and 86 associate the term with the restoration of ALL THINGS that have been spoken by the mouths of all the holy prophets which identifies it as being what the Apostle Paul referred to as the TIMES OF REFRESHING:

“Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.

Without exception, when Book of Mormon prophets refer to the time of the restoration, they are referring to a specific time in the latter days when their scattered descendants are spiritually restored to the knowledge of the gospel and physically restored to the lands of their inheritance in America. Additionally, the Book of Mormon concurs with the statement of Paul in associating the restoration and marvelous work with the restoration of ALL THINGS including the establishment of Zion. I will cover this topic in more detail at a later time. Avraham Gileadi has written an excellent article that relates to this topic from the view point of Isaiah and the Book of Mormon. It is about the marvelous work and a wonder that is yet to come forth.

[3] D&C 84:4-6 The words “Kirtland” and “Kirtland Temple: were inserted by me. They do not appear this way in the current edition of the Doctrine and Covenants.

[4] It is my belief that these verses were not part of the revelation that God gives in the first person. The original revelation began with verse four which verifies that the term “this place” could only be referring to Kirtland, the place where the revelation was given! Note how verse two in the dedicatory prayer of the Kirtland Temple gives further proof of this interpretation by making direct reference to the above mentioned prophecy in section 84: “Thou who hast commanded thy servants to build a house to thy name in this place [Kirtland]. (D&C 109:2 The phrase “this place” is also used in this section to refer to Kirtland. This insertion of the word “Kirtland” is found in current editions!)

[5] Daniel 9:25

[6] D&C 109:5-6

[7] Dear Brothers:—It is about six weeks since I left Kirtland to take a mission to the East; since which time I have visited twelve churches, and passed three others in coming to this place; all of which are nearly in the course from Kirtland to Chenango, N. Y.; so grows, and so spreads the mighty work of the Lord. Some of said churches are composed of nearly one hundred members; and in nearly all of them, the work is still going on. O, may the Lord cause His glorious voice to be heard, until error and superstition shall give way to the everlasting Gospel of Jesus. I feel much weakness as a man, but in the strength of Christ, I am resolved to blow the trumpet of the Gospel until the people of God are delivered from the merchants and traffickers of souls unto the glorious liberty of the Gospel. I have baptized four since I left Kirtland. As for myself I intend, if possible, to attend the school at the latter Jerusalem, to which I am confident it is my privilege to go, as often as the old Apostles went to the former Jerusalem. I have traveled about five hundred miles in about six weeks, and held fifteen meetings, and I trust that I shall continue to receive the grace of God to support me even to the end. Sylvester Smith. (History of the Church Vol. 1, P 388)

[8] RE: Soper/Savage. They had been dug up by two non-mormons in the 1800’s from various mounds in the Upper Michigan/MidWest/Great Lakes Region and surrounding areas. These artifacts seem to indicate that Kirtland and surrounding areas were very possibly where some of the Book of Mormon people and possibly the city of Jerusalem had been located when the Savior came down and visited the ancient inhabitants of North America.

[9] 3 Nephi 9:7, 10:5,

[10] Search the Scriptures: One of the great keys to understanding ancient prophecy is in understanding the modern revelations contained in the Doctrine and Covenants. The great commandment and promise of the Doctrine and Covenants is as follows: “Search these commandments, for they are true and faithful, and the prophecies and promises which are in them shall all be fulfilled. What I the Lord have spoken I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away but shall all be fulfilled…” (D&C 1:37-38) We have been commanded to search the words of Isaiah: “Ye remember that I spake unto you, and said that when the words of Isaiah should be fulfilled—behold they are written, ye have them before you, therefore search them—“ (3 Nephi 20:11) Related scriptures: “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.” (John 5:39) “And it came to pass that peace and the love of God was restored again among the people; and they searched the scriptures, and hearkened no more to the words of this wicked man.” (Jacob 7:23) “And it came to pass after he had made an end of speaking unto the people many of them did believe on his words, and began to repent, and to search the scriptures” (Alma 14:1) “Now these sons of Mosiah were with Alma at the time the angel first appeared unto him; therefore Alma did rejoice exceedingly to see his brethren; and what added more to his joy, they were still his brethren in the Lord; yea, and they had waxed strong in the knowledge of the truth; for they were men of a sound understanding and they had bsearched the scriptures diligently, that they might know the word of God.” (Alma 17:2)

[11]Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most holy. Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.” [Seventy weeks plus seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks= 139 weeks]

[12] Time calculation (verified at the following website http://www.timeanddate.com/date/duration.html )

[13] Volume 2 Part 2 page 1226 of “The Historical Development of the Doctrine and Covenants A BYU Masters Thesis by Woodford which is an invaluable help in studying church history and the D&C. Copies of this six set series may be obtained from Dissertation Information Service (Proquest) Ann Arbor Michigan 800-521-0600. I have found this to be as invaluable as the 1820 edition of the Websters Dictionary for studying the Doctrine and Covenants!

[14] Originally Sections 94 and 97 in our current Doctrine and Covenants were part of the same revelation. The first known transcript of the revelation was in a letter that Joseph Smith sent to the Saints in Jackson County. The second transcript of this revelation is in the Kirtland Record Book. Both of these sources identify August 2nd 1833 as the date of the revelation. Eventually the first part of the revelation which commands the saints to build the temple in Jackson county was separated from the second part of the revelation which commands the saints to build the temple in Kirtland.

The first part of the revelation became known as section 97 in our current scriptures. It retained the original date of August 2nd 1833 from the time of the 1833 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants. The second part of the revelation became known as section 94. It was given the erroneous date of May 1833. I am not aware of who made the changes or what their motivation was.

In the August 6th letter to his brethren in Zion, Joseph Smith makes the following statement:

“… according to your request we enquired of the Lord and send this letter, the communication that we received from the Lord concerning the school in Zion. It was obtained August 2nd and reads thus-

(Next was a composite revelation containing sections 97 & 94 as they appear in the current LDS editions of the DC)

You will see by these revelations that we have to print the new translation here at Kirtland for which we will prepare as soon as possible here follows another revelation received today-

Kirtland August 6th 1833 [Next was a transcript which appears as Section 98 in our current LDS editions] Having here given you two revelations we accompany them with the following explanations….” (Pg 1226 Vol 2 Part 2 of HDDC)

As you can see, Joseph Smith himself identifies the letter as containing two revelations, not three. He is designating sections 94&97 as one revelation and 98 as the other revelation. He also identifies August 2nd as the date that sections 97&94 were received. .

Heber C. Kimball recorded the following “When I got to Kirtland the brethren were engaged in building the house of the Lord. The commandment to build the house, and also the pattern of it was given in a revelation to Joseph Smith Jr., Sidney Rigdon, and Frederick G. Williams, and was to be erected by a stated time” Two incredible things are learned from this statement. First, the commandment/revelation to build the Kirtland Temple was given to the above mentioned leaders of the church. Although section 94 in our current editions of the scriptures states in the preface that the revelation was given to Joseph Smith, it is obvious from verse one that the Lord was speaking to two or more people. Knowing as we do now that both sections were originally part of the same revelation, with the portion now known as 97 being the first part of the revelation and section 94 following it, it is interesting to note that the original text of section 97 began by saying “The word of the Lord to Joseph, Sidney and Frederick”. That portion of the first verse was subsequently deleted from the revelation and was also left out of the preface. (Pg 1254 Vol 3 Part 1 of the HDDC)

[15] D&C 109:22-

[16] DHC, 2:174-5.

[17] D&C 105:1-5

[18] D&C 109: 68 “

[19] Speaking to the latter-day believing Gentile recipients of the Book of Mormon, the prophet Moroni asks the following question: “…why have ye transfigured the holy word of God?” (Mormon 8:33) See also JST Luke 11:53 “Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge, the fulness of the scriptures; ye enter not in yourselves into the kingdom; and those who were entering in, ye hindered.” Unfortunately, other scriptures have been altered. There is not room in this article to spend time on this important topic, but two other changes of interest are as follows: Verse 23 was added in section 107 after the saints migrated to Utah . Also, the following section of scripture contained in the Book of Commandments was deleted when the first edition of the D&C was published: “…If this generation do harden their hearts against my word, behold I will deliver them up unto Satan..” Note the similarities with 2nd Thes. 2:11-12 “…And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness..”

[20] According to the 1828 Websters Dictionary, the phrase “to cut short” means “to hinder from proceeding by sudden interruption. God’s foundation work was to be interrupted or hindered at or during a time of great righteousness or righteous intervention. Note how the term hinder is used in section 124; “Verily, verily, I say unto you, that when I give a commandment to any of the sons of men to do a work unto my name, and those sons of men go with all their might and with all they have to perform that work, and cease not their diligence, and their enemies come upon them and hinder them from performing that work, behold, it behooveth me to require that work no more at the hands of those sons of men, but to accept of their offerings. And the iniquity and transgression of my holy laws and commandments I will visit upon the heads of those who hindered my work, unto the third and fourth generation, so long as they repent not, and hate me, saith the Lord God. Therefore, for this cause have I accepted the offerings of those whom I commanded to build up a city and a house unto my name, in Jackson county, Missouri, and were hindered by their enemies, saith the Lord your God. And this I make an example unto you, for your consolation concerning all those who have been commanded to do a work and have been hindered by the hands of their enemies, and by oppression, saith the Lord your God.

[21] D&C 109:58-67

[22] Isa 52:2

[23] D&C 105:2

[24] Just as Daniel had been petitioning the Lord in behalf of ancient Israel who had been cut off as a result of transgression (Dan 9)

[25] Ezek 28:25

[26]1 Nephi 10:14

[27] D&C 133:7-

[28] Jer 52:10

[29] Hel 6:10, 8:21 Omni 1:14

[30] Isa 30:19

[31] Micah 4:2 See also Isaiah 2:3 2nd Nephi 12:3

[32] D&C 38:32-33

[33]D&C 63:1

[34] D&C 68:7

[35] D&C 70:1

[36] D&C 72:9

[37] Isa 2:1-3

[38] Zach 8:3

[39] HC 6:318

[40] One of the major themes of Christ when he visited the Nephites was that they were the literal children of Abraham and that God had sent him to give the land of America to them as their inheritance. See 3rd Nephi 16 & 20. This represents a striking difference from Christ’s ministry in the Old World. He never emphasized the importance of a land inheritance to the Jews in the Old World because they were not living in the land that had been promised to Abrahams children.

[41] “For ye are lawful heirs, according to the flesh, and have been hid from the world with Christ in God” D&C 86:9

Our Living Hollow Earth


Our Living Hollow Earth

by Rodney M. Cluff
2008
for more information, visit
http://www.ourhollowearth.com

The Aurora Australis Over Antarctica

For centuries, people have referred to our earth, the planet upon which we live, as “mother earth.”

In nature, seeds germinate in fertile soil to become giant trees, crops of our fields, or the humble grass we walk on. We don’t even think about the air we breath, but we couldn’t live without it. The soil and waters of earth grow the food we eat. The gravity of earth holds our feet firmly on the ground. Without the gravity of our mother earth, we would float out into outer space and be lost. Our lives depend entirely upon the fortitude of our mother earth. From space, earth appears as a beautiful jewel shining in the light of the sun. Our lives depend so much on mother earth that most of the time we take her for granted, but some people even worship her.

It would seem that mother earth indeed is the source of all life upon it. Seeds germinate in its soil, fish lay their eggs in the sea and hatch to fill the oceans with life. Our very own bodies are made from mother earth — made from the minerals taken up in the plants that we eat. And when we die, our bodies disintegrate into soil once more to provide the fertilizer for yet another life to begin its life’s journey in the light of the sun. Yet science has utterly been unable to generate life from lifelessness. It seems to be an indisputable law of the universe that only life can beget life. Therefore, it is a logical assumption that our earth must be alive in order for it to beget life on and within it.

Indeed, God’s revealed word to man indicates that our earth is alive. It appears that God would have us know that our earth upon which we live is actually a living being. This is not a new idea. The indigenous people of many lands believe to this day that the earth is alive. For example, the American Indian treat the earth with great respect because they believe it is alive.

Is there any scriptural or scientific evidence that would indicate that our earth is alive? Believe it or not, there is an abundance of this evidence. Not that the earth should be worshiped like many ancient peoples apparently did when they worshiped the earth, the sun, the moon and stars. But at least, this knowledge should generate within us a deep respect for the planet upon which we live which provides us our home in the vastness of space.

The scriptures do indicate that our “mother” earth is alive. In the scriptures, we find that the Earth has many characteristics of a living being. It has a mouth, a womb, a heart, a navel, with openings into it’s interior, breathes, and can even “speak” as an intelligent being. Indeed, the scriptures when describing the earth, describe a hollow planet with polar openings and an interior sun with people living throughout its entirety — on its outer surface, within it’s shell, on it’s inner surface and within the interior sun.

Earth’s Premortal Existence

As all living beings, the earth was “born” spiritually first, and then came into existence physically second. It acknowledges the existence of its creator, God, and “obeys” God’s celestial law. As a righteous living being, the Earth underwent a baptism of immersion in water at the time of Noah’s flood. At the beginning of the millennial reign of Jesus Christ upon the Earth, it will undergo a baptism of fire, and at the end of it’s temporal existence, the earth will “die” and be brought forth in it’s resurrected form as a celestial kingdom to be inhabited in the eternities by those of its inhabitants worthy of a celestial glory.

All life had it’s genesis with God. Jesus Christ is the creator of heaven and earth — the Great “I Am,” who revealed himself to Moses. And all living things were created first spiritually before they were created temporally upon the earth.

In Genesis 2:5, we learn that “every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew” were created first spiritually before they were created physically upon the earth.
This was clarified in Joseph Smith’s re translation of the Book of Moses: “For I, the Lord God, created all things, of which I have spoken, spiritually, before they were naturally upon the face of the earth. For I, the Lord God, had not caused it to rain upon the face of the earth. And I, the Lord God, had created all the children of men; and not yet a man to till the ground; for in heaven created I them; and there was not yet flesh upon the earth, neither in the water, neither in the air;” (Pearl of Great Price, Moses 3:5)

All living beings, including the earth, have a spirit body, as well as a physical body. Jesus Christ revealed to the prophet Joseph Smith, “that which is spiritual being in the likeness of that which is temporal; and that which is temporal in the likeness of that which is spiritual; the spirit of man in the likeness of his person, as also the spirit of the beast, and every other creature which God has created.” (Doctrine & Covenants 77:2) It is the spirit within each living being that gives it life. When that spirit leaves the physical body at death, then that body becomes life-less.

From this we learn that within our bodies, we have a spirit that looks like us, but is made of a “spiritual” substance. To the prophet Joseph Smith, it was revealed that, “There is no such thing as immaterial matter. All spirit is matter, but it is more fine or pure, and can only be discerned by purer eyes; We cannot see it; but when our bodies are purified we shall see that it is all matter.” (D&C 131:7-8)

What’s more, it is evident from the scriptures that the spirit of every living thing had parents in Heaven that gave it life. Concerning our heavenly parents, the scripture states, referring to Our Father in Heaven, “Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?” (Hebrew 12:9) And Christ told his disciples to pray to “Our Father which art in heaven…” in which Christ is telling us that we all have a father in heaven — the father of our spirit bodies, and if we have a father, we also, of course, have a mother in heaven, — for wherever was there a father without a mother?

Even so, if our earth is a living entity, it must also have a spirit that gives it life. Indeed, it is so, for the spirit world of this earth is where the spirits of all men go at death. The Mormon Apostle, Bruce R. McConkie, in his book, MORMON DOCTRINE wrote, “The spirit that enters the body at birth leaves it at death, and immediately finds itself in the spirit world. That world is upon this earth.” (MORMON DOCTRINE, p. 68) Since the spirits of all living entities have the same shape and appearance as their physical bodies, so the earth’s spirit world has the same shape and form as it’s physical body — and is what makes the earth alive.

Joseph Fielding Smith, the great nephew of Joseph Smith, stated that, “This earth is a living body.” (DOCTRINES OF SALVATION, Vol. I p. 72) As a living body, the earth actually obeys God’s commands. It is a mortal being and will die and be resurrected the same as all of us by the power of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. As revealed to the Prophet Joseph Smith, “And again, verily, I say unto you, the earth abideth the law of a celestial kingdom, for it filleth the measure of its creation, and transgresseth not the law. Wherefore, it shall be sanctified; yea, notwithstanding it shall DIE, it shall be quickened again, and shall abide the power by which it is quickened, and the righteous shall inherit it.” (D&C 88:25, 26).

As a living being, our earth has a spirit — it is the spirit world where all men go at death. That spirit world had it’s beginning in heaven as did the spirits of all men. The earth was created spiritually in heaven before being created physically here in our solar system. If the earth’s spirit were created in the presence of God, most likely it was created in His world. God, our Heavenly Father’s planet is a star in the center of our Milky Way Galaxy. The largest stars are located in the center of the galaxy and control all the other stars throughout the galaxy by reason of their great size, mass and central position.

This was revealed by God to Abraham, “And I Abraham, had the Urim and Thummim, which the Lord my God had given unto me, in Ur of the Chaldees; And I saw the stars, that they were very great, and that one of them was NEAREST UNTO THE THRONE OF GOD; and there were many great ones which were near unto it; And the Lord said unto me, by the Urim and Thummim, that Kolob was after the manner of the Lord, according to its times and seasons in the revolutions thereof; that one revolution was a day unto the Lord, after his manner of reckoning, it being one thousand years according to the time appointed unto that whereon thou standest. This is the reckoning of the Lord’s time, according to the reckoning of Kolob.” (ABRAHAM, The Pearl of Great Price, 3:1-3) Verse 9 clarifies that it is Kolob that governs our galaxy wherein our earth resides: “And thus there shall be the reckoning of the time of one planet above another, until thou come nigh unto Kolob, which Kolob is after the reckoning of the Lord’s time; which Kolob is set nigh unto the throne of God, to govern all those planets which belong to the same order as that upon which thou standest.”

In the explanation of Facsimile No. 2 in the book of Abraham, Figure 2 says, “Stands next to Kolob, called by the Egyptians, Oliblish, which is the next grand governing creation near to the celestial or the place where God resides…Fig 4…the time of Oliblish, which is equal with Kolob in its revolution and in its measuring of time.”

Therefore, as revealed through Abraham, at the center of our Milky Way Galaxy which is “the same order (in the same galaxy) as that upon which thou standest,” are two stars of gigantic size, in rotation about a common center of gravity — a double star system with the rest of the galaxy rotating about them. Both Kolob and Oliblish are the same size and take 1,000 of our earth years to complete one rotation or day. Oliblish “…is the next grand governing creation near to the celestial or the place where God resides…” and Kolob is the “…nearest unto the throne of God.” Therefore, I conclude that the throne of God is INSIDE Kolob and Kolob is HOLLOW as are all stars and planets. In fact, the stars ARE planets — the planets of the Gods.

Since a hollow planet or star essentially consists of matter in orbit about its central sun, perhaps we could use Kepler’s 3rd Law of Planetary Motion to calculate the size of Kolob. Using Kepler’s 3rd Law of Planetary Motion, we can use the following formula to calculate orbital radii,
R=VxT
where
R = a planet’s distance from the sun in astronomical units. One AU equals 93,000,000 miles, the average distance from the earth to the sun.
T = the time for a planet to orbit the sun in earth years
V = 1 divided by the square root of R.
Knowing this formula and the time it takes for one revolution of Kolob,
100 AU = 1/10 earth velocity X 1000 years

From this, we can deduce that the distance to Kolob’s outer surface from God inner throne, “…the celestial or the place where God resides…” would be 100 astronomical units, or 9.3 billion miles. That is 2.5 times the distance from the sun to the planet Pluto. The diameter of Kolob and its companion double star then, would be about 18.6 billion miles — plenty of space could be found within its hollow interior for the creation of planets.

Since spirit beings are the offspring of celestial parentage — just as the human race has celestial parents of their spirits, it is logical to assume that the earth’s spirit body would have celestial parentage also — that being the planet of Our Heavenly Father and His Throne in Kolob at the center of our galaxy.

Earth’s Physical Origin and Characteristics

Just as our physical bodies were created on this earth, the Earth’s physical body probably also originated within our own solar system — a best guess would be the planet Uranus.

One of the physical characteristics the scriptures give in describing our planet earth as a living entity, is that it has a “womb” within it, and that our earth is the “mother” of mankind and can actually utter words.
In the Book of Moses, Chapter 7, verse 48, we read, “And it came to pass that Enoch looked upon the earth; and HE HEARD A VOICE FROM THE BOWELS THEREOF, saying: Wo, wo is me, THE MOTHER OF MEN; I am pained, I am weary, because of the wickedness of my children. When shall I rest, and be cleansed from the filthiness which is GONE FORTH OUT OF ME? When will my Creator sanctify me, that I may rest, and righteousness for a season abide UPON MY FACE?” Thus Enoch testified that the earth is an intelligence living entity that he heard speak words.

In recent decades with the mapping of earth’s sea floor, it appears that our “mother” earth is expanding, and even has stretch marks in many places on the ocean floor, and many continents appear that they could have at one time fit together as the scriptures indicate that in the beginning there was but one continent that came up out of the sea, and at the beginning of the millennium that the many continents shall be “returned to their own place” as they were before they were divided.

In Genesis, we read, “And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.” (Genesis 1:9-10)

Even the earth’s oceans shall be driven back into the north countries of our hollow earth where they came from at the time of Noah’s flood, and the many continents and islands will become one continent again in the time of the restitution of all things.

As the Apostle Peter wrote, “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.” (Acts 3:19-21)

At the beginning of Christ’s millennial reign, “He shall command the great deep, and it shall be driven back into the north countries, and the islands shall become one land; And the land of Jerusalem and the land of Zion shall be turned back into their own place, and the earth shall be like as it was in the days before it was divided.”

The mid-Atlantic ridge was probably where they were divided. It goes from pole to pole paralleling the “everlasting hills” of the Rocky Mountains that joins up with the Andes Mountains that extend even down into Antarctica and on into Inner Earth.

There is a continual series of earthquakes along the mid-Atlantic ridge and around the Pacific “ring of fire” where molten lava emerges pushing the continents apart as the earth expands. Perhaps, when the earth “dies,” after the short period of time after the millennium, the earth will break apart at the mid-Atlantic ridge, and then roll up like a scroll.

After His resurrection, Jesus came to ancient America and spoke of this to the Nephite Nation, “And he did expound all things, even from the beginning until the time that he should come in his glory—yea, even all things which should come upon the face of the earth, even until the elements should melt with fervent heat, and the earth should be wrapt together as a scroll, and the heavens and the earth should pass away;” (3 Nephi 26:3)

The ancient American prophet Mormon wrote, “Know ye not that ye are in the hands of God? Know ye not that he hath all power, and at his great command the earth shall be rolled together as a scroll?” (Mormon 5:23)

If the earth is hollow, then earth’s shell could conceivably break apart down the seam of the mid-Atlantic ridge and then roll up like a scroll at the time the earth dies at the end of the earth’s temporal existence.

The earth also has polar orifices that lead into its interior.

Concerning the north polar orifice, God told the prophet Job, “He stretcheth out the north over the EMPTY PLACE, and hangeth the earth upon nothing…” (Job 26:7,9)

The people that live in that region of the earth, the Eskimo, claim that there is a hole in the Arctic Ocean that leads into the interior of the Earth. They have accounts of Eskimos who have gone into the opening and found cousin Eskimos living within the earth. They believe that the woolly mammoth found frozen in Arctic wastes originated within the earth, perhaps because those that have been there have seen them there wandering around alive.

A Baby Mammoth found frozen in Siberia in 1977

Norwegian fishermen claim to have also gone through this polar opening in the Arctic Ocean into the Hollow Earth where they saw great herds of woolly mammoths, and describe how in winter when the Arctic sun has dipped below the horizon, that within the earth sometimes baby mammoths wander out onto the frozen rivers that empty into the polar opening where they fall into crevasses in the ice and are instantly frozen. Later, when the summer sun shines through the polar orifice, the frozen rivers are thawed out and carry their frozen animals and dump them onto the northern shores of Siberia and Alaska. When these frozen mammoths are opened up, they find undigested green vegetation in their stomachs indicating they were frozen so fast the food was unable to be digested before they froze. The remains of other exotic animals have also been found entombed in arctic ice, such as the woolly rhino, steppe lions, giant deer, mammoth and foxes and a hardy breed of horse — that originate from Inner Earth.

One of the things that God describes in His scriptures that comes “out” of the earth’s womb through polar orifices is the fresh water icebergs found in Arctic and Antarctic waters.

To the prophet Job, God asked, “OUT OF WHOSE WOMB CAME THE ICE? and the hoary frost of heaven, who had gendered it? The waters are hid as with a stone, and the face of the deep is frozen (icebergs).” (Job 38:29-30)

The ice comes out of earth’s womb through polar orifices. The Norwegian fishermen describe how great rivers dump into the Arctic ocean within the north polar opening, but the river mouths freeze over in the winter. Come summer, they thaw out and the river waters shove the icebergs out into the Arctic Ocean where they cover the entire Arctic basin.

Water vapors also come out of the earth’s womb from the polar orifices.

“When he uttereth his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens; and he causeth THE VAPOURS TO ASCEND FROM THE ENDS OF THE EARTH: he maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures.” (Jeremiah 51:16)

These water vapors condense into ice and snow and fall onto the Greenland and Antarctic icepacks to the awesome depth of three miles in thickness!

Apparently, all planets have “wombs,” which makes for the possibility that planets could be “born” from the “wombs” of larger planets.

Immanuel Velikovsky wrote that, “The Greek authors described the birth of Athene (which became the planet Venus), saying she sprang from the head of Jupiter.” (WORLDS IN COLLISION, p. 175)

If the planet Jupiter is hollow, then the “head” or north polar area would be the logical place for a planet to be “born” or ejected — out of a polar orifice. Such an ejection could be effected by manipulating the electromagnetic fields of the two planets.

A perplexing discovery was made by Apollo astronauts when they brought moon rocks back to earth to be analyzed. Prior to the Apollo moon shots, scientists had assumed that the moon was made out of the same materials as the earth. Yet the rocks brought back from the moon were found to consist of materials very different from those found on earth, containing very dense rare earth materials. Testing also determined that the moon is much older than the earth.

A prominent LDS geologist, Eric N. Skousen, (son of the late famous LDS author, Cleon Skousen) believes this indicates that the moon may have been here first. According to his theory, the moon originally possessed earth’s orbit about the sun BEFORE the earth was placed here, and that the earth was created somewhere else INSIDE another planet in an actual planetary birth process. (See, pp. 92-96, EARTH, IN THE BEGINNING, by Dr. Eric N. Skousen) Dr. Skousen, quotes one of the earlier LDS church leaders, Heber C. Kimball, as asking, “Where did the earth come from?” To which he answered his own question: “From its parent earths.” (November 8, 1857, Journal of Discourses, 6:36)

Dr. Skousen proposes that the earth could have been ejected out of the planet where it was built by the Gods, and then was guided into the orbit in our solar system that the moon had about the sun in close enough proximity that it caused the moon to go into permanent orbit about the earth.

https://i0.wp.com/www.ourhollowearth.com/EdeninH1.JPG

Man’s Physical Origin Within Mother Earth

Our Earth is literally the “mother” of men.

The scriptures indicate where the original Garden of Eden is located — within the earth’s “womb.”

Out of the Garden of Eden flow four rivers that divide the earth into four parts which converge at the “four corners” of the earth — at Eden.

The prophet Isaiah testified that the four corners of the earth, which is Eden, would still exist in the Latter Days. He wrote that in the Latter Days, that the God of Heaven, “…shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the FOUR CORNERS of the earth.” (Isaiah 11:12)

So if earth is the “mother of men” and has a “womb,” then the logical place for the origin of man would be from the earth’s interior. This would mean that the original Garden of Eden must be located, even today inside the earth.

When Enoch heard the earth speak, he heard it say that it was “the mother of men,” and that the children of men came “forth out of me.” (Moses 7:48)

From THE FORGOTTEN BOOKS OF EDEN we read of the manner in which Adam and Eve arrived on the surface of the planet from the Garden of Eden within. In the book of ADAM AND EVE, we find that when Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden, the Lord commanded them to go into the Cave of Treasures where they wandered for a long time before emerging in their new home on the exterior of the planet. (Chapter III:17, XII)

The sun they saw when they came out of the cave was not the same that gave them light in the Garden of Eden. Chapter XVI says that when Adam came out of the cave, he was afraid of the sun and its extraordinary heat because, “Inasmuch as while he was in the garden and heard the voice of God and the sound He made in the garden, and feared Him, Adam never saw the brilliant light of the sun, neither did the flaming heat thereof touch his body.”

By passing through the earth’s cavern systems from the earth’s “womb” inside to come to the surface, Adam and Eve were “born” into this world by “mother” earth. Their second home on the earth’s surface was near the cavern that brought them here.

Brigham Young taught that, “Joseph, the prophet told me that the Garden of Eden was in Jackson County, Missouri. When Adam was driven out, he went to the place we now call Adam-ondi-Ahman, in Daviess County, Missouri.” (WILFORD WOODRUFF, by Cowley, p. 431) Joseph Smith was right. The Garden of Eden IS in Jackson County, Missouri, but NOT on the surface. It is located 800 miles down — on the inner surface of the earth on the highest mountain plateau of the Inner Continent.

The 16th century Spanish scholar Bernardino de Sahagun recorded in his History of the Things of New Spain that the original settlers of America, the ancestors of the American Indians, came in boats from the East in search of the terrestrial paradise. They settled in Central America near the highest mountains they could find, because they had with them an account that the earthly paradise is a very high mountain. (Ancient America and The Book of Mormon, pp. 31, 156.)

Since Christian explorers, among them Christopher Columbus, have sought earnestly the lost Garden of Eden, it is with interest that the actual discovery should fall to a non-Christian, in fact, a worshiper of the Norwegian gods, Odin and Thor. This explorer, Olaf Jansen, actually a fisherman, has related in his book, THE SMOKY GOD, of his voyage with his father into the inside of the earth in their small sail boat via the North Polar Opening in 1829. They were taken in by the people there, taught their language and shown their country. Hence, their great discovery was brought to bear when after one year, they were taken to the capital city which the inhabitants called the City of Eden.

In THE SMOKY GOD, Olaf Jansen gives a description of where the Garden of Eden is located. Inside the earth, Olaf Jansen says, “The City of ‘Eden’ is located in what seems to be a beautiful valley, yet, in fact, it is on the loftiest mountain plateau of the Inner Continent, several thousand feet higher than any portion of the surrounding country. It is the most beautiful place I have ever beheld in all my travels. In this elevated garden all manner of fruits, vines, shrubs, trees, and flowers grow in riotous profusion. In this garden four rivers have their source in a mighty artesian fountain. They divide and flow in four directions.” (THE SMOKY GOD, pp. 113, 114)

Mercators Map of the Arctic

Mercator’s Map of the Arctic

That mountain can be seen on Mercator’s map of the arctic which first appeared as a vignette in his 1569 world map. The Flemish geographer and cartographer Gerardus Mercator’s methods of map-making were so accurate and reliable that they are still commonly used today (for example, the Mercator projection) and have remained virtually unchanged for nearly 450 years! His maps of Europe and the known world were exceptionally accurate and were commonly used with a great degree of reliability for navigation and commerce.

Bear in mind that prior to the advent of GPS and satellite navigational aids, exploration was the sole method of acquiring the data necessary for accurately portraying geographical details on a map. So, when we view Mercator’s representation of the Arctic as containing a large landmass, equally divided into four sections by massive rivers, it stands to reason that this data was acquired by means of thorough exploration. It also is apparent that, according to the perspective of the early explorers, they had no way of knowing that the land mass they were then encountering actually lay at the interior of the earth. Instead they assumed, as did many at the time, that the massive island or continent they found was actually an “island at the top of the world.” Mercator’s representation of the Arctic also very closely parallels the experiences of Olaf Jansen and his father in their exploration of the inner world.

So, it can be seen why and how these myths of an “undiscovered” northern region … a land beyond the north wind came to be and how a man, so obsessed with details as was Mercator, painstakingly reproduced the knowledge he had in his possession on his map of the Arctic.

In 1827, William Morgan, whose wife later became one of Joseph Smith’s plural wives, was taken on a mission to Inner Earth — most likely through the same cavern system that Adam and Eve wandered through on their journey from the Garden of Eden within to their home without.

William Morgan had joined the Free Masonic movement with the intent on learning their secrets so he could subsequently publish their secret rites, which he did. As punishment for this, the Masons, had him thrown in jail for a debt, then stole him out of prison. They took him to a secluded shack out in the woods. They dug up a body that resembled him, and threw it into a river and published an account in the papers that it was William Morgan. There was a big uproar by the people that lived in the vicinity — all neighbors of the prophet Joseph Smith — with preachers and citizens rising up against the Masons for what they had done.

But the Masons didn’t kill William Morgan. They secretly took him to live as a prisoner to a cabin in the woods until he grew a long beard. They then added some chemicals to his skin and beard and hair on his head to turn it so he looked like a very old man. They then took him back to his wife, who claimed he wasn’t her husband, that she had seen the dead body of her husband, and that she didn’t now know him. Then the Masons took Morgan to Kentucky, near the Mammoth Cave where he was taken by an Inner Earth guide through the cavern systems to our hollow earth. Many years later, Morgan reappeared as a translated being and gave the account of his trip to inner earth. It was later published by John Uri Lloyd as Etidorpha. Bruce Walton, hollow earth researcher from Provo, Utah, discovered that William Morgan was the I-AM-THE-MAN in the book, ETIDORPHA.

The Lost Ten Tribes in Inner Earth

“I was then really ‘the bosom friend and companion of the Prophet
Joseph.’ … Sometimes when at my house I asked him questions relating
to the past, present and future; … one of which I will relate: I asked
where the nine and a half tribes of Israel were. ‘Well,’ said he, ‘you
remember the old caldron or potash kettle you used to boil maple sap in
for sugar, don’t you?’ I said yes. ‘Well,’ said he, ‘they are in the
north pole in a concave just the shape of that kettle. And John the
Revelator is with them, preparing them for their return.”

– Benjamin Johnson, My Life’s Review, 1947, p. 93

The scriptures indicate that the Lost Ten Tribes have been hidden by God within the earth’s “womb” from which they will emerge in the Latter Days when the earth will “travail” and “bring forth her strength.” (D&C 84:101)

Dr. Clay McConkie, with B.A. in history and a Ph.D. in education, declared in his book, The Ten Lost Tribes, A People of Destiny, that after a thorough analysis of all scriptural references to the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel that the scriptures indicate that the lost tribes …”are presently living in a locality not on the earth, but somewhere in the earth… in …an area capable of accommodating a relatively large civilization of people and keeping them hidden from the world for more than twenty-five centuries.” He points out that scripture indicates that this large area inside the earth must be where most of the water came from that covered the earth’s surface at the time of Noah’s flood, and that the exit point in the Arctic must also be the entrance to inner earth that the Lost Tribes took when they disappeared into the north country 25 centuries ago and from which they will someday soon reappear with great fanfare to help spread the Kingdom of God throughout the earth in preparation for the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The earth’s “womb” where the Lord has hidden the Lost Tribes is also called in scripture, “the outmost parts of heaven.” The Lord told Moses, “If any of thine be driven out unto the OUTMOST PARTS OF HEAVEN, from thence will the Lord thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee: And the Lord thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers.” (Deuteronomy 30:4)

The earth’s “womb” and “the outmost parts of Heaven” to where the Lord took the Lost Tribes in scripture is also called the “North Countries” because it can be accessed through the north polar orifice to the earth’s interior. Jeremiah testified that, “In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together OUT OF THE LAND OF THE NORTH to the land that I have given for an inheritance unto your fathers.” (Jeremiah 3:12-18)

Some of the house of Judah are also there, because the scriptures indicate that that is where the lost and legal inherited throne of David is located.

The Political Kingdom of God in Inner Earth

According to the Bible, the Kingdom of Israel in Palestine under King David and his son Solomon became divided at Solomon’s death. The tribes of Judah and Benjamin resided in the south around Jerusalem, and the other Ten Tribes resided in the north of Palestine with their capital at Samaria. In 721 BC, Assyria conquered the northern Ten Tribes and took them into captivity.

A century later, in 687 BC, when Assyria encamped outside Jerusalem to take it captive also, the record of the Jews reported that a blast from space killed all 185,000 Assyrian soldiers. They were preparing to attack Jerusalem the next morning. It was not a flame, but a consuming blast: “Their souls were burnt, though their garments remained intact,” the record stated. The phenomenon was accompanied by a terrific noise. It was probably an interplanetary lightning bolt from a passing planetary body such as a comet.

This event allowed the Ten Tribes to escape their Assyrian captors. Apparently, they were considering returning to their homeland in Palestine, but upon reaching the Euphrates River, they discovered that an earthquake that accompanied the blast from Heaven, had caved in the narrow canyon in the upper reaches of the river, and so the river ran dry at their crossing point. Their leaders were inspired to direct the Israelites to instead of cross the river, that they would instead travel up the dry river bed until they reached a natural caved-in dam caused by the earthquake where they climbed out. The next day, when the home-standing army of the Assyrians in pursuit reached the river, it was again flowing with the turbulent waters of the flood from the broken dam. They could see the tracks of the Israelites entering the river, but could not see where they had come out on the other side. Thus, the Lord assisted the Ten Tribes in their escape from Assyrian captivity.

The Ten Tribes then continued north over the Caucasus Mountains and encamped north of the Black Sea, where many stayed. But a sizeable group continued their trek north into Russia, Mongolia and Siberia, where some of their remains have been found to this day. But they didn’t stay there either. Their trek took them even further north through the northern aperture of the earth led by a prophet of God where they live today in the “North Countries” of Our Hollow Earth.

The Apostle John, gave us an indication where the Lost Tribes of Israel went — through the Earth’s “mouth” into the bowels of the earth where the waters of Noah’s flood had come from and subsided to. In Chapter 12 of Revelations, the “woman,” which is the House of Israel, was persecuted by the “dragon” which is Satan and his followers. The House of Israel escaped into the “wilderness” of Russia, Mongolia and Siberia and passed through the earth’s “mouth” into the interior of the earth 2,500 years ago where they reside to this today.

John recorded, “And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child (referring to Jesus Christ — a descendant of Judah of the House of Israel). And to the woman (the House of Israel) were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent (another reference to Satan. The Lost Tribes went to the Hollow Earth 2,500 years ago. One time = 1,000 earth years, being one day of the Lord). And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood. And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth. And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed (remnants of the House of Israel that stayed on the earth’s surface), which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” (Rev 12:13-17)

To the prophet Joseph Smith, the Lord Jesus Christ revealed that the Lost Tribes have prophets, and shall lead the Lost Tribes when they come out of the Land of the North to outer earth to receive their endowments in the House of the Lord by the hand of the children of Ephraim who are the Servants of the Lord, of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — in the New Jerusalem, which Joseph Smith said they will help build.

“And they who are in the north countries shall come in remembrance before the Lord; and their prophets shall hear his voice, and shall no longer stay themselves; and they shall smite the rocks, and the ice shall flow down at their presence.
And an highway shall be cast up in the midst of the great deep.
Their enemies shall become a prey unto them,
And in the barren deserts there shall come forth pools of living water; and the parched ground shall no longer be a thirsty land.
And they shall bring forth their rich treasures unto the children of Ephraim, my servants.
And the boundaries of the everlasting hills shall tremble at their presence.
And there shall they fall down and be crowned with glory, even in Zion, by the hands of the servants of the Lord, even the children of Ephraim.
And they shall be filled with songs of everlasting joy.” (D&C 133:23-33)

This scripture says the Lost Tribes have prophets of God and have the gospel of Jesus Christ — the Jehovah of the Old Testament. They were visited by the Lord Jesus Christ after his visit to ancient America. He told his disciples in Jerusalem, “And OTHER SHEEP I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.” (John 10:16)

When the resurrected Christ came to ancient America, he told them, “And verily, verily, I say unto you that I HAVE OTHER SHEEP, which are not of this land (America), neither of the land of Jerusalem, neither in any parts of that land round about whither I have been to minister…I have received a commandment of the Father that I shall go unto them, and that they shall hear my voice, and shall be numbered among my sheep, that there may be one fold and one shepherd; therefore I GO TO SHOW MYSELF UNTO THEM. And I command you that ye shall write these sayings after I am gone, that if it so be that my people at Jerusalem, they who have been with me in my ministry, do not ask the Father in my name, that they may receive a knowledge of you by the Holy Ghost, and ALSO OF THE OTHER TRIBES WHOM THEY KNOW NOT OF…” (3 NEPHI 16:1-3)

“But now I go unto the Father, and also to show myself unto the LOST TRIBES OF ISRAEL, for they are not lost unto the Father, for he knoweth whither he hath taken them.” (3 Nephi 17:4)

After the Lord visited the Nephites in Ancient America, he visited the Lost Tribes of Israel in the North Countries of Inner Earth. And the record of that visit will be found in their holy scriptures when they return to outer earth to expand the Kingdom of God to all the world.

To those that reject the Word of God given to prophets in Ancient America found today in the Book of Mormon, the Lord Jesus Christ saith,

“Thou fool, that shall say: A Bible, we have got a Bible, and we need no more Bible. Have ye obtained a Bible save it were by the Jews? Know ye not that there are more nations than one? Know ye not that I, the Lord your God, have created all men, and that I remember those who are upon the isles of the sea; and that I rule in the heavens above and IN THE EARTH BENEATH; and I bring forth my word unto the children of men, yea, even upon all the nations of the earth? Wherefore murmur ye, because that ye shall receive more of my word? Know ye not that the testimony of two nations is a witness unto you that I am God, that I remember one nation like unto another?…For behold, I shall speak unto the Jews and they shall write it; and I shall also speak unto the Nephites and they shall write it; and I shall also speak unto the other tribes of the house of Israel, which I HAVE LED AWAY, and they shall write it…And it shall come to pass, that the Jews shall have the words of the Nephites, and the Nephites shall have the words of the Jews; and the Nephites and the Jews shall have the words of the LOST TRIBES OF ISRAEL; and the lost tribes of Israel shall have the words of the Nephites and the Jews.” (2 NEPHI 29:7-14)

Many today reject the record of the Jews, which is the Holy Bible, as the word of God, saying that is just myth and stories made up by the Hebrews. Many more today also reject the Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ that testifies that He came to ancient America after his resurrection where he set up his church and taught his everlasting gospel. But when the Lost Tribes return and bring their scriptures, those that reject this third witness that Jesus Is the Christ, the Savior of the World — will be burned at His Coming in Glory.

The law of God and His people Israel, is that in the mouth of two or three witnesses shall all truth be established, and according to the Law given to Moses on, Mt. Sinai, which was Mt. Horeb in the Land of Midian in Arabia, a man cannot be condemned to death by God’s law, except at the testimony of two or three witnesses. “…at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established.” (Deut 19:15) During the Millennium, the wicked will be ashes beneath the feet of those who have accepted God’s word in righteousness. “And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the Lord of hosts.” (Malachi 4:3)

Before leaving the ancient Americans, Jesus prophesied unto them regarding the Latter Days, “…Verily I say unto you, at that day shall the work of the Father commence among all the dispersed of my people, yea, EVEN THE TRIBES WHICH HAVE BEEN LOST, which the Father hath led away out of Jerusalem…” in which they will come forth to help preach the gospel to the whole earth for the last time before His Coming in Glory. (3 Nephi 21:26)

The Lost Tribes will bring forth the political Kingdom of God to our surface world.

To King David the Lord promised that he and his sons would rule over the house of Israel forever: “Now these be the last words of David. David the son of Jesse said, the man who was raised up on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, and the sweet psalmist of Israel said, ‘Although my house be not so with God; YET HE HATH MADE WITH ME AN EVERLASTING COVENANT, ordered in all things, and sure…'” (2 Samuel 23:1,5)

This was the covenant that the Lord made with David: “And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established forever before thee; THY THRONE SHALL BE ESTABLISHED FOREVER. According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so did Nathan (the prophet) speak unto David.” (2 Samuel 7:16-7)

And of David’s son Solomon, the Lord said, “He shall build an house for my name, and I WILL ESTABLISH THE THRONE OF HIS KINGDOM FOREVER.” (2 Samuel 7:13)

The Lord had explained to David, as he recorded in Psalms 89: Verse 3. “I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant, 4. Thy SEED will I establish FOREVER, and build up THY THRONE TO ALL GENERATIONS. Selah. 28. My mercy will I keep for him for evermore, and my covenant shall stand fast with him. 29. His SEED also will I make to ENDURE forever, and his THRONE AS THE DAYS OF HEAVEN. 30. If his children FORSAKE my law, and walk not in my judgments; 31. If they BREAK my statutes, and keep not my commandments; 32. Then will I visit their transgression WITH THE ROD, and their iniquity with stripes. 33. Nevertheless my lovingkindness will I NOT UTTERLY TAKE from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail. 34. MY COVENANT WILL I NOT BREAK, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips. 35. Once have I sworn by my holiness that I will not lie unto David. 36. HIS SEED SHALL ENDURE FOREVER, AND HIS THRONE AS THE SUN BEFORE ME. 37. It shall be established forever as the moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven. Selah.” (PSALMS 89:3, 4, 28-37)

“For thus saith the Lord; there shall NOT BE CUT OFF from David A MAN to sit upon the throne of THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL.” (Jeremiah 33:14, 17)

From this scripture we discover that there will never be a time that A MAN, a descendent of David, will not sit upon the throne of David. However, the scripture makes clear that the throne of David is now not over Judah but over THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL — the ten tribe nation which went into the North Countries of Our Hollow Earth.

The throne of David today exists in the North Countries. It is the living, legal, righteous and acceptable throne of David. The government of the Lost Tribes is a Theocracy. It is the political Kingdom of God.

Olaf Jansen, the Norwegian fisherman, described his interview with the King of Israel. After obtaining the North Countries in their fishing craft through the North Polar Opening, he and his father were taken before the Great High Priest, Ruler Over All the Land:

“The surprise of my father and myself was indescribable when, amid the regal magnificence of a spacious hall, we were finally brought before the Great High Priest, ruler over all the land. He was richly robed, and much taller than those about him, and could not have been less than fourteen or fifteen feet in height. The immense room in which we were received seemed finished in solid slabs of gold thickly studded with jewels of amazing brilliancy…” (The Smoky God, p. 114)

Joseph Smith spoke of this last of the Kings of Israel before Christ takes over the throne at the commencement of the Millennium, “Although David was king, he never did obtain the spirit and power of Elijah and the fullness of the priesthood; and the Priesthood that he received, and the throne and kingdom of David is to be taken from him and given to another by the NAME OF DAVID in the last days, RAISED UP OUT OF HIS LINEAGE.” (TEACHINGS, p. 339)

This King David, a descendant of David lives today and is the King of the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel in Our Hollow Earth. He is a prophet of God, necessarily under the direction of the prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who today holds the keys given by Moses to Joseph Smith in the Kirtland Temple. At that time, Joseph Smith recorded that “…the heavens were again opened unto us; and Moses appeared before us, and committed unto us the keys of the gathering of Israel from the four parts of the earth, and the leading of the ten tribes from the land of the north.” (D&C 110:11)

The prophet Jeremiah testified that a righteous branch of the House of Israel were taken by God to Inner Earth, “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a RIGHTEOUS BRANCH, and a KING SHALL REIGN and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice IN THE EARTH.”

“In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.”

“Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that they shall no more say, The Lord liveth which brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt;”

“But, the Lord liveth, which brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the North Country, and from all countries whither I had driven them; and they shall dwell in their own land.” (JEREMIAH 23:5-8)

When the Ten Tribes return, a portion will go back to Palestine to join the descendants of Judah there, “And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd.”

“And I the Lord will be their God, and my SERVANT DAVID a prince among them; I the Lord have spoken it.” (EZEKIEL 34:22-24)

The political Kingdom of God presently is headquartered at the City of Eden, in that primeval Garden where our race began, within Our Hollow Earth whose King is a descendant of David, his name is David and he sits on the inherited throne of David of old. He rules over the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel. And in fulfillment of prophecy, the political Kingdom of God under the guidance of the living throne of David will expand to the surface of the earth. A highway will be cast up in the midst of the Arctic Ocean, probably a mono-rail train on posts, which Olaf Jansen described they presently use extensively, and “their prophets shall stay themselves no longer” but will proceed to connect a permanent link between their capital city in Eden with the New Jerusalem–the future capital of the Kingdom of God in America to be built in Independence, Jackson County, Missouri. Near there, at Adam-Ondi-Ahman, Adam’s home after being evicted from the Garden of Eden, a grand council will be convened.

At this grand council, the resurrected Adam, and all the prophets down through the ages who held keys in the Kingdom of God, including Joseph Smith and our current living modern prophet, together with the presently reigning King David of Israel will deliver the throne of David and all the keys of the Kingdom — to Jesus Christ who will henceforth reign as King of Kings forever more. Christ is “the root and the offspring of David.” (Revelations 22:16) And thereby will the scripture be fulfilled that said that there will never be a time when a son of David will not sit upon his throne which throne will endure forever.

The scripture testifies of the earth, “And truth is established in her bowels;” (D&C 84:101) It explains that truth is established in the earth’s bowels because people live there who have the truth and live by it. During the Millennium there will be three world capitals of the political Kingdom of God — Jerusalem in Palestine, the New Jerusalem in Missouri, and the City of Eden inside the “bowels” of the earth from whence the word of the Lord will issue forth to all the world.

In fact, the scriptures refer directly to a people who live within the earth’s crust in giant cavern cities, and to the Ten Tribes who live within Our Hollow Earth. In Section 88, verse 104, it is written: “And this shall be the sound of his trump, saying to ALL PEOPLE, both in HEAVEN and IN THE EARTH, and that are UNDER THE EARTH–for every ear shall hear…”


The Heart of the Earth

The “outmost parts of Heaven” to where the Lost Tribes were taken, also gives us an indication of where the Heaven of this earth is located within the “heart” of the earth. Christ told the thief on the cross, “Today shalt thou be with me in Paradise,” (Luke 23:43)

The Apostle Paul told us where Paradise or “Heaven” is located — in the “lower parts of the earth.” Paul wrote of Christ saying, “Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high (referring to the ascension into heaven after his resurrection)…Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also DESCENDED FIRST INTO THE LOWER PARTS OF THE EARTH?…” (Ephesians 4:8,9)

The scriptures teach us that Mother Earth has a heart. It is the location of Paradise, or the Heaven of this earth, where Christ’s spirit went while his body lay in the tomb. He told the Jews where he would be going. Christ told them, “For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights IN THE HEART OF THE EARTH.”

Since the “heart of the earth” can be considered the “center” of the earth, Paradise must be located in the center of the earth, or as Paul expressed it, in “the lower parts of the earth.”

It is covered by a bright cloud and “shines.” The Lord said to Job, “Hearken unto this, O Job: stand still, and consider the wondrous works of God. Doest thou know when God disposed them, AND CAUSED THE LIGHT OF HIS CLOUD TO SHINE?” (Job 37:14.15)

It is the location of God’s throne in the Heaven of this Earth in the center of the earth’s womb. “He holdeth back the FACE OF HIS THRONE, and spreadeth his CLOUD upon it.” (Job 26:9)

Paradise, the Heaven of this earth in the “heart of the earth,” is also where Jesus Christ reigns from his throne on this earth. He told the prophet Nephi, “…that I rule in the heavens above and IN THE EARTH BENEATH;” (2 Nephi 29:7)

It is the place that Jesus hides himself. Joseph Smith prayed saying, “O, God, where art thou? And where is the pavilion that covereth thy HIDING PLACE?” (D&C 121:1) To which fact, the prophet Isaiah also testified, “Verily thou art a God that HIDEST thyself, O God of Israel, the Saviour.” (Isaiah 45:15)

The throne of our Savior in Paradise has a cloud that shines and covers it indicating that Paradise is a place of light. Indeed, the Prophet Joseph Smith stated that when the righteous die and go to Paradise (which is another word the Savior used for Heaven), they will be enveloped in “flames of fire.” He stated, “The spirits of the just are exalted to a greater and more glorious work; hence they are blessed in their departure to the world of spirits. ENVELOPED IN FLAMING FIRE, THEY ARE NOT FAR FROM US, and know and understand our thoughts, feelings, and motions, and are often pained therewith.” (TEACHINGS OF THE PROPHET JOSEPH SMITH, p. 326)

In Nephi’s vision of the Tree of Life, in which he saw Paradise, he testified that, “…the brightness thereof was like unto the brightness of a flaming fire”… (I Nephi 15:30)

The prophet Enoch testified of Paradise saying, “My spirit saw around the CIRCLE OF THIS FLAMING HABITATION, on one of its extremities, that there were rivers of living fire, which encompassed it.” (Lost Books of the Bible, The Book of Enoch 70:8) He saw this fire coming from Paradise streaming towards the ends of the earth, “Where I beheld the operation of a GREAT FIRE BLAZING AND GLITTERING, in the midst of which there was a DIVISION. COLUMNS OF FIRE struggled together to the end of the ABYSS, and deep was their descent…” (The Book of Enoch 21:4-5, From Lost Books of the Bible) These are the source of auroras that emanate out from the earth’s womb from Paradise within through the polar orifices which are literally the “ends of the earth” from whence the Lost Ten Tribes will come in the latter days. The Lord said through the prophet Isaiah, “I will say to the NORTH, GIVE UP; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the END OF THE EARTH;” (Isaiah 43:6)

The “ends of the earth” are the earth’s polar openings that lead into the interior “womb” of “mother” earth.

The earth’s womb, in scripture, is also called the Abyss, or “Bottomless Pit,” because it has neither a top nor a bottom consisting of the “empty places” spoken by the prophet Job — which are the polar orifices, and is also referred to as the “Great Gulf.” It is a great hollow within the earth’s bowels.

The prophet Abraham in Paradise was speaking to the rich man in hell and said, “And beside all this, between us and you there is a GREAT GULF FIXED: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.” (Luke 16:26)

The prophet Nephi also saw this great gulf in his vision of the Tree of Life. He testified that between Hell and Paradise was “an awful gulf which separated the wicked from the tree of life, and also from the saints of God.” (2 Nephi 15:28)

Apostle Bruce R. McConkie wrote, “The Spirit World is divided into two parts: PARADISE which is the abode of the righteous, and HELL which is the abode of the wicked.” (MORMON DOCTRINE, “Spirit World” p. 68) They are separated by the great gulf.

Thus, the scriptures describe a hollow spirit world, with Hell located down in the earth’s shell, and Paradise in the center or “heart” of the earth in the “lower parts of the earth” separated by a “great gulf” of space. And since the spirit of all living beings have the same shape and form as their physical bodies, the physical world must also be hollow with a central sun.

“Spirit Prison” would be located on the surface of the planet where spirits that haven’t been cast down to Hell are waiting to hear the gospel, which if they do, and repent and receive a proxy baptism in the Temples of God, they are then empowered to cross the great gulf into Paradise.

Hell, in scripture, is called “outer darkness” because it is dark underneath the surface as anyone who has been in a cavern knows, — and because it is located “outer” or away from the center Paradise or Heaven of this earth. Many who have died and are medically resuscitated report that after leaving their bodies, they are taken through a dark tunnel through the earth’s shell and then come out in brilliant light in Paradise in the center of the earth.

The Tree of Life originally was in the Garden of Eden, but when Adam and Eve were driven out, the Lord transplanted it to Paradise-Heaven, where he placed “Cherubims and a flaming sword which turned everyway to keep the way of the tree of life” so that Adam and Eve could no longer eat the fruit thereof and live forever in their sins. The only way the fruit could to be partaken of again by humans was on condition of repentance and purification of all sin. Then they could be caught up to Heaven to partake of the fruit of the Tree of Life. Christ said regarding the blessing of translation, “And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.” (John 11:26)

Many Saints have achieved unto this blessing of translation. The City of Enoch, the people who repented in the time of Noah’s preaching that were caught up to heaven, King Melchizedek’s City of Salem, Elijah, Moses, Alma the Younger, many Masters of the Far East, the Three Nephites, and the Apostle John, the Beloved of the Savior, all have partaken of this blessing wherein the righteous that are cleansed from all sin and wickedness may fore-go death and be caught up to Paradise to become translated beings by partaking of the fruit of the Tree of Life in a special gift from the Savior.

Jesus Christ revealed to John that, “To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.” (REVELATION 2:7) Many who have died and were medically resuscitated report that after passing through a dark tunnel through the earth’s shell, they arrive in Paradise in the heart of the earth and see a City of Light in the distance. That City of Light in Paradise is the City of Enoch that was physically taken to Heaven — buildings and all — many years before Noah’s flood. It will return to the earth’s surface at the beginning of the millennial reign of Jesus Christ when Heaven and Hell will change places.

The Celestial Destiny of Earth

In forming the earth, physical matter was controlled and governed by spirit matter. Therefore, a hollow spirit world with a central paradise-sun was organized from spirit matter upon which the physical matter was superimposed. So explained the guide to I-AM-THE-MAN in Lloyd’s ETIDORPHA:

“Matter has no strength, matter obeys spirit, and spirit dominates all things material. Energy in some form holds particles of matter together, and energy in other forms loosens them…The spirit that pervades all material things gives to them form and existence. Take from your earth its vital spirit, the energy that subjects matter, and your so-called adamantine rocks would disintegrate, and sift as dust into the interstices of space.” (ETIDORPHA, p. 253)

The Inner Earth guide further explained, “The earth forming principle consists of an invisible sphere of energy that, spinning through space, supports the space dust which collects on it, as dust on a bubble. By gradual accumulation of substance on that sphere a hollow ball has resulted, on the outer surface of which you have hither to dwelt. The crust of the earth is comparatively thin, not more than eight hundred miles in average thickness, and is held in position by the central sphere of energy (center of gravity, or central sphere of gravity) that now exists at a distance about seven hundred miles beneath the ocean level.” (ETIDORPHA, p. 193)

When we look at the Earth, it may seem to be just one big lump of rock covered with some dirt and water. But if we look at it from God’s perspective, he describes the earth as having two separate parts.

In Genesis, we read God’s account of the Earth’s creation. The Lord spoke to Moses saying,

“In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth.”
Notice that “heaven” and “earth” here are both singular. From this we learn that our Earth consists of TWO parts, a “Heaven,” and an “Earth.”
“And God said, Let there be light; and there was light.”

Now, since God placed the Sun, Moon and Stars on the 4th Day of Creation, the question that must be asked is, “What lit up on the first day of creation?”

God goes on to describe this light that he lit up on the first day of creation.
“And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the FIRST DAY.”
Here we learn another characteristic of this light, is that God divided it into a light side and dark side. How unusual. What light could have a dark side so that is causes Night? The phrase, “The evening and the morning were the First Day” indicates that this light rotates.

Then God, describes this light even more.
“And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the SECOND DAY.”

Here we learn that this light is in the midst of the waters of the earth, and it actually divides the waters below it from the waters above it. How unusual! What kind of light could be suspended between two oceans of water?

Then God describes where this light is located. He says it is located in a “firmament.”

The word “firmament,” translated from the Greek means “expanse.” The dictionary says firmament means, “sky, considered as an arch.” A characteristic of an arch is that it is curved. Apparently, God is describing something that is curved, is in the sky, and it separates an ocean, or “waters” above it from an ocean, or “waters” beneath it, and is an “expanse.” What is more, God gives this expanse a name. He calls it “Heaven.” This part of the creation occurred on a separate day from the first day, so this firmament must have been an important part of the creation of the earth. Where could this expanse, firmament, or Heaven be located?

Planetary Nebula NGC 6369
taken by the Hubble Space Telescope

There is a pattern in God’s creations. Take an atom, for example. It has two separate parts — the nucleus and the electron shell. And they are separated from each other by a considerable space. In other words, an atom is hollow. It has a nucleus suspended within the center of its electron shell. Our sun is located at the center of the solar system surrounded by orbiting planets. And if we look out into space we see many similar creations — all having a central star surrounded by orbiting stars and dust. It seems that all of God’s creations have this pattern.

If we would consider that our earth is built with a similar construction, with two separate parts, one inside the other, then we can begin to understand the Creation account in Genesis. The “light” that God lit up on the first day of creation is the core of the earth, or the “heart” of the earth. And it shines.

This is the discovery made by polar explorers. Through polar openings in the Arctic, at the “end of the earth” they have seen through an “empty place” in the earth’s shell. And what do they see? An inner sun shining within the hollow of our earth!

This inner sun produces a solar wind that emanates out through the polar openings to light up the auroras at both poles. And our astronomers report that most of the planets in our solar system have been found to have auroras at their poles just like earth.

The Norwegian fisherman-explorer, Olaf Jansen, described this inner sun in his book, The Smoky God.

It was the first part of August 1829. They had been sailing in the Arctic about 15 days northeast of Franz Josef Land through leads in the ice when Olaf recorded:

The Inner Sun

The Inner Sun

“One day about this time, my father startled me by calling my attention to a novel sight far in front of us, almost at the horizon. ‘It is a mock sun,’ exclaimed my father. ‘I have read of them; it is called a reflection or mirage. It will soon pass away.'”

“But this dull-red, false sun, as we supposed it to be, did not pass away for several hours; and while we were unconscious of its emitting any rays of light, still there was no time thereafter when we could not sweep the horizon in front and locate the illumination of the so-called false sun, during a period of at least twelve hours out of every twenty-four.”

“Clouds and mists would at times almost, but never entirely, hide its location. Gradually it seemed to climb higher in the horizon of the uncertain purply sky as we advanced.”

“It could hardly be said to resemble the sun, except in its circular shape, and when not obscured by clouds or the ocean mists, it had a hazy-red, bronzed appearance, which would change to a white light like a luminous cloud, as if reflecting some greater light beyond.”

“We finally agreed in our discussion of this smoky furnace-colored sun, that, whatever the cause of the phenomenon, it was not a reflection of our sun, but a planet of some sort–a reality.” (THE SMOKY GOD, pp. 85-7)

Fridtjof Nansen saw a mirage of this inner sun when he was caught in the ice on his ship, the Fram, in February 1894, at 80 degrees 1’ N Latitude. He reported, “Monday, February 19th… Both today and yesterday we have seen the mirage of the Sun again; today it was high above the horizon, and almost seemed to assume a round, disk-like form.” He remarked that it had a hazy, smoky-red color.

As the Norwegian fishermen explorers, Olaf and his father Jens Jansen passed through the North Polar Opening to Inner Earth, they met the Inner Earth inhabitants who were very friendly to them. They were very large in stature, very refined, highly educated and were in many respects as fair and similar in appearance to North Europeans. In fact, his father considered them his cousins. He told Olaf, his son, that their Norwegian legends told of a country in the far north that was a terrestrial paradise where the “Chosen People” lived. They were cousins, descendants of some of his ancestors, whom Norwegians worshiped, such as Odin, and Thor, whom now they considered to be Gods.

Similarly, members of the Church of Latter-day Saints consider some of their ancestors to be Gods also. Members are taught that they are “modern” Israel, many of which are actual descendants of the tribes of Israel, and if not, all who join the church are adopted into the House of Israel — and if they live their lives righteously, taking upon themselves the sacred covenants with God of baptism, and covenants of His holy temple, they become worthy of all the inherited blessings God promised to their ancestors, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel by an angel of God.

To the prophet Joseph Smith, Jesus Christ revealed, “I am the Lord thy God, and will give unto thee the law of my Holy Priesthood, as was ordained by me and my Father before the world was.

Abraham received all things, whatsoever he received, by revelation and commandment, by my word, saith the Lord, and hath entered into his exaltation and sitteth upon his throne. Abraham received promises concerning his seed, and of the fruit of his loins—from whose loins ye are, namely, my servant Joseph—which were to continue so long as they were in the world; and as touching Abraham and his seed, out of the world they should continue; both in the world and out of the world should they continue as innumerable as the stars; or, if ye were to count the sand upon the seashore ye could not number them.”

In fact, the righteous of any age can become Gods, if they live God’s full law — which is Celestial Marriage performed by authorized servants in the Holy Temples of God.

Concerning those who will be privileged to live here when our earth becomes celestialized and they become Gods and angels therein, Jesus Christ revealed to the prophet Joseph Smith, July 12, 1843:

“And again, verily I say unto you, if a man marry a wife by my word, which is my law, and by the new and everlasting covenant, and it is sealed unto them by the Holy Spirit of Promise, by him who is anointed, unto whom I have appointed this power and the keys of the priesthood; and it shall be said unto them–Ye shall come forth in the first resurrection; and shall inherit thrones, kingdoms, principalities, and powers, dominions, all heights and depths–then it shall be written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, that he shall commit no murder whereby to shed innocent blood, and if ye abide in my covenant, and commit no murder whereby to shed innocent blood, it shall be done unto them in all things whatsoever my servant hath put upon them, in time, and through all eternity; and shall be of full force when they are out of the world; and they shall pass by the angels, and the gods, which are set there, to their exaltation and glory in all things, as hath been sealed upon their heads, which glory shall be a fullness and a continuation of the seeds (children) forever and ever.”

“Then shall they be GODS, because they have no end; therefore shall they be from everlasting to everlasting, because they continue; then shall they be above all because all things are subject unto them. Then shall they be GODS, because they have all power, and the angels are subject unto them.”

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, except ye abide my law ye cannot attain to this glory.”

“For strait is the gate, and narrow is the way that leadeth unto the exaltation and continuation of the lives (posterity), and few there be that find it, because ye receive me not in the world neither do ye know me.”

“But if ye receive me in the world, then shall ye know me, and shall receive your exaltation; that where I am ye shall be also.” (D&C 132:19-23)

However, unlike some of our ancestors that went astray in the worship of their ancestors, our worship must be confined to the true and living God of Heaven, even Jesus Christ, of whom the Apostle Peter testified when he healed a man by God’s holy priesthood power, “Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” (Acts 4:10-12)

In his sojourn in the hollow earth, Olaf Jansen was very interested in the inner sun and gave several descriptions of it. He called it, “the Smoky God,” because the Inner Earth inhabitants, he reported, believed it was the throne of their “Jehovah.” Here, it is curious that he would mention that the Inner Earth inhabitant’s God was Jehovah — the God of the ancient Israelites, because Olaf and his Father were worshipers of the Norwegian Gods, Odin and Thor, to their dying days.

He wrote, “In the meantime, we had lost sight of the sun’s rays, but we found a radiance ‘within’ emanating from the dull-red sun which had already attracted our attention, now giving out a white light seemingly from a cloudbank far away in front of us. It dispensed a greater light, I should say, than two full moons on the clearest night.”

“In twelve hours this cloud of whiteness would pass out of sight as if eclipsed, and the twelve hours following corresponded with our night. We early learned that these strange people were worshipers of this great cloud of light. It was ‘The Smoky God’ of the ‘Inner World.'” (THE SMOKY GOD, pp. 102, 103)

He further wrote, “The great luminous cloud or ball of dull-red fire–fiery-red in the mornings and evenings, and during the day giving off a beautiful white light, ‘The Smoky God,’–is seemingly suspended in the center of the great vacuum ‘within’ the earth, and held to its place by the immutable law of gravitation…”

“The base of this electrical cloud or central luminary, the seat of the gods, is dark and non-transparent, save for innumerable small openings, seemingly in the bottom of the great support or altar of the Deity, upon which ‘The Smoky God’ rests; and, the lights shining through these many openings twinkle at night in all their splendor, and seem to be stars, as natural as the stars we saw shining when in our home at Stockholm, excepting that they appear larger. ‘The Smoky God,’ therefore, with each daily revolution of the earth, appears to come up in the east and go down in the west, the same as does our sun on the external surface. In reality, the people ‘within’ believe that ‘The Smoky God’ is the throne of their Jehovah, and is stationary. The effect of night and day is, therefore, produced by the earth’s daily rotation.” (THE SMOKY GOD, pp. 108-110)

All living things have been found to have an electromagnetic field about them. It is sometimes called an “aura.” So, the fact that the earth has an electromagnetic field could be an indication that it is alive. Similar to a dynamo, the earth produces an electromagnetic field because it has two parts, both with electrical charges, one rotating about the other. Olaf Jansen reported that the inner sun appeared to be stationary, however, it does rotate very slowly — originally it was once every 1,000 earth years, but since creation, the earth’s rotation has slown down, and has been pushed into an orbit further from the sun, so that the inner sun now rotates about once every 623 years.

Similar to a magnet, the magnetic flux emerges from within at the south magnetic pole, and enters again at the north magnetic pole, which means that within the earth, the directions of the compass are opposite ours on the surface. This is what Olaf Jansen discovered. Their compass continued to point north even after passing through the north polar opening into Inner Earth.

Some people have thought that Olaf’s description of how the inner sun appears to come up in the morning in the east and go down in the west, was an indication of the falsity of his story. But they didn’t think about this carefully enough. Since magnetic flux flows out of the earth at our south pole, and goes in the north pole, and continues towards the south pole within the earth, then our south pole is their north pole and our north pole is their south pole. Since the earth rotates from west to east on the outside of the earth causing the sun to appear to rise in the east in the morning. and the directions of the compass are opposite inside the earth, then the inner sun’s bright “day side” cloud would appear in the east in the morning as seen from the inner surface of the hollow earth, and appear to go out on the west side in the evening so that the dark side of the inner sun then appears for night time.

God’s Genesis account appears to now make sense. The light that lit up on the first day of creation was a different sun that our outer sun that was placed in the sky on the 4th day of creation. (Actually, the earth was probably just put in orbit about the sun so that the sun, moon and stars then appeared in the sky.) That “light” that lit up on the first day of creation has a day and night side, and rotates once for every day of the Lord, which God told Abraham was once every 1,000 earth years. That “light” that lit up on the first day of creation is an inner sun suspended within the “expanse,” “womb,” or hollow of the earth. It is the “heaven” or “heart” of this earth, and “paradise” of the spirit world of earth.

We, as inhabitants of earth, can be grateful to God, our creator, Jesus Christ, and His Father for such a nice place to live. And we can have great respect for our “mother” earth knowing that she is alive, and obeys God’s will. In fact, God’s prophets have taught that our earth after its resurrection, will be the celestial kingdom for those of us found worthy to live on and in it.

Jesus taught his disciples, that the “meek” will inherit the earth. “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.” (Matt 5:5) John, the Beloved, saw the death of the earth and its resurrection in his Revelation.
“And I saw a great white throne and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.” Notice the special mention of “the earth and THE heaven, ” again “heaven” is singular.

“And I saw A NEW HEAVEN and A NEW EARTH: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.” (Rev. 21:1-3)

The celestial city, the New Jerusalem, that John the Beloved saw, is being build right now inside our outer sun by Jesus and his Saints and Prophets. Phoebe Marie Holmes in 1933, told in her book, My Visit To The Sun, of her visit to the Celestial City of God within the Sun.

She described how she was taken in the Spirit by angels to the heart of the Sun where the New Jerusalem is today being built. It will be brought to earth after the earth’s resurrection when the earth becomes celestialized and becomes the abode of the righteous. Since it is so big, 1,500 miles long, wide and high, it will probably take the place of the earth’s inner sun in the celestialized earth.

Christ, on his Sermon on the Mount said, “In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.” A mansion is being built there right now for each of us, in the New Jerusalem, by our actions here on earth. Phoebe was taken by the angels of God to visit her unfinished mansion, where she found her husband, who had already passed on. She then was brought back to earth to finish her life’s work.

Phoebe reported that the city in the Sun is a giant terraced mountain with a square bottom — having a pyramid shape. John, the Beloved, in Revelations 21 reported that the New Jerusalem is as long and wide as it is tall and gave the measurements, which in our units of measure comes to 1,500 miles, with a wall 1/2 mile thick. So perhaps the ancient Meso-Americans, Chinese and Egyptians knew the New Jerusalem would have the shape of a pyramid, and so built their temples with that shape.

The angels told Phoebe that the Sun is a giant crystal. Joseph Smith also taught, “The angels do not reside on a planet like this earth; But they reside in the presence of God, on a globe like a SEA OF GLASS AND FIRE, where all things for their glory are manifest, past, present, and future, and are continually before the Lord.”

“The place where God resides is a great Urim and Thummim.”

“This earth, in its sanctified and immortal state, will be made like unto crystal and will be a Urim and Thummim to the inhabitants who dwell thereon, whereby all things pertaining to an inferior kingdom, or all kingdoms of a lower order, will be manifest to those who dwell on it; and this earth will be Christ’s.” (D&C 130:6-9)

Scientists, on the other hand, claim the Sun is entirely gaseous. But if it is hollow and has a shell thickness 10% of its planetary diameter, — that would give the Sun’s shell a density of 2.9 gm/cc, and so would have a solid surface! Glass has a density of 2.6 gm/cc.

The scientific work of Michael Mozina at his website at http://www.TheSurfaceOfTheSun.com, presents considerable evidence that the sun has a solid surface covered by some kind of liquid, perhaps silica. In recent satellite images of the sun in various wave lengths, surface features such as mountains and hills can be seen. He even shows a movie on his website taken by satellite of a “sun quake” on the surface of the sun, which sent out a tsunami from it’s epicenter and you can see the waves passing over the mountains.
This evidence that the Sun has a solid surface indicates the Sun is a hollow globe — since it does not have enough mass to be solid all the way through.

And it’s not that hot inside the Sun as scientists claim either. Phoebe described a nice warmth is provided for the celestial city suspended within the Sun’s hollow interior.

Joseph F. Smith, wrote in his book, DOCTRINES OF SALVATION, of the Celestial Destiny of our earth:

“The earth will be cleansed again. It was once baptized in water. When Christ comes, it will be baptized with fire and the power of the Holy Ghost. At the end of the world, the earth will die; it will be dissolved, pass away, and then it will be renewed, or raised with a resurrection. It will receive its resurrection to become a celestial body, so that they of the celestial order may possess it forever and ever. Then it will shine forth as the sun and take its place among the worlds that are redeemed. When this time comes the terrestrial inhabitants (those living terrestrial laws, Phoebe said would be taken to the Moon) will also be taken away and be consigned to another sphere suited to their condition. Then the words of the Savior will be fulfilled, for the meek shall inherit the earth.”

The Meek are those living celestial laws–which includes baptism in the true church of Jesus Christ and subsequent righteousness throughout this life. Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism by an authorized servant of Jesus Christ and reception of the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and continued living “by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” (Matt 4:4) are the requirements for entrance into the Celestial World.

President Joseph F. Smith, of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, continued:

“It is my opinion that the great stars that we see, including our sun, are celestial worlds; at least worlds that have passed on to their exaltation or other final resurrected status. This is in conflict, of course, with the teachings of scientific men, who declare that the sun is losing energy and gradually cooling off and will eventually be a dead world. I do not believe the Lord has any such thing in his plan. The Lord lives in ‘everlasting burnings’ we are informed. President Brigham Young has said that this earth when it is celestialized will shine like the sun, and why not?” (DOCTRINES OF SALVATION pp. 88, 89)

Isaiah wrote, “The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall DWELL WITH THE DEVOURING FIRE? WHO AMONG US SHALL DWELL WITH EVERLASTING BURNING?: He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that stayeth his hand from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil: He shall dwell on high…” (Isaiah 33:14)

Indeed, our LIVING earth is alive, and will continue to be our home forever — if we are worthy of such a great an honor. After the resurrection, our Living Earth will become a Celestial World for its righteous inhabitants and will take it’s place as a Star — another of God’s jewels shining in the vastness of space.

— * —

Liberty Dollar Alert #29


I received the following Liberty Dollar newsletter in my email inbox, as I am subscribed to this service, and it struck me as important enough to post to this blog. It is Bernard’s last email before he goes into retirement and, perhaps, into jail, if he loses his court case, and I thought his words were important enough to record here, as the Liberty Dollar web site newsletter subscription archives does not appear to contain this one.

  September 30. 2008Alert #29: Aloha Liberty Dollar

Dear Liberty Dollar Supporters:

We did it! Congratulations on the Liberty Dollar Tenth Anniversary! What an amazing ten years it has been! What an amazing future we now face.

Well, as Paul McCartney wrote, the last 34 years have been a long and winding road – from my initial economic research paper, To Know Value, written on September 11, 1974 to the introduction of the Liberty Dollar on October 1, 1998, to my retirement today.

When a hearty group of concerned Americans, led by Jim Thomas of Media Bypass magazine and I, launched the Liberty Dollar, we thought the “patriot” community would jump at a currency that exemplified Constitutional values. Instead, most were too suspicious even of their own shadow, and the Liberty Dollar almost failed.

For many years, most people could not get past the question: “Why should I pay twice the price for silver?” I hope that by now you know that the Liberty Dollar is a “currency” and not a substitute for silver. Those early, brave souls who understood and supported the Liberty Dollar have been richly rewarded. For example, recently a Type II Silver Liberty issued in 1999 at $7.50 went for a cool $1,000 on eBay!

Unfortunately, throughout most of its 10 years, the Liberty Dollar has been shunned. It seems while there is a mounting patriotic fever as exemplified by the Ron Paul campaign, there is still a lot of misunderstanding on the part of mainstream Americans regarding money if not the whole CFR controlled monetary/political system of bellybutton A vs. bellybutton B.

The middle years were punctuated by many bright times and important issues. I promise to organize a proper history of the Liberty Dollar… sometime in the not-too-distant future. Click HERE and HERE for the archives of the monthly Newsletters and Alerts that chronicle the history of the Liberty Dollar.

Apocalypse
But now we face Fear vs. Fear. Fear of the FBI (aka Fumbling Bunch of Idiots) vs. Fear of Inflation. There is no doubt that the raid scared off a lot of LD associates and businesses whose ongoing support is critical to fight the bellybuttons (my euphemism for the excretory orifice) who are trying their best to drive the Liberty Dollar out of business while we strive to return America to a value based currency ala the Liberty Dollar model.

As Dictator Roosevelt said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” And while that may be one of the only truthful things he said, the coming economic collapse is something to prepare for, if not fear, for it will be the worst event in our lives. It will be much worse than the Great Depression and may last much longer.

And while you hear the word “collapse” often today, rarely is there any real definition as to what happens in a collapse. Well, to paraphrase my presentation at the Silver Summit, the coming Economic Collapse will be a global monetary apocalypse that will mirror the Fall of Rome and include the following:

National currency controls… Nationalization of major industries… layoffs… strikes… domestic strife… food shortages… … massive unemployment… bankruptcies… greatly reduced standard of living… road blocks… marshal law… military troops at major intersections… passport and travel restrictions… a total lockdown of the country… until the masses cry out… “Give me anybody… Anybody who will bring sanity back to the monetary system…” rise of a dictator… and a totalitarian government.

Just look at these historical experiences: France and the rise of Napoleon in the1800’s, Germany and the rise of Hitler in the 1930’s and China and the rise of Mao in the 1940’s. We are all going to be millionaires… in the same soup line during the coming hyperinflationary depression. Click HERE for an excellent article on each.

Think this is impossible? Think marshal law and military troops is too extreme? Check out this Wednesday, September 24, 2008, article on Prison Planet By Paul Joseph Watson:

U.S. troops returning from duty in Iraq will be carrying out homeland patrols in America from October 1st in complete violation of Posse Comitatus for the purposes of helping with “civil unrest and crowd control” – which could include dealing with unruly Americans after a complete economic collapse.

This shocking admission was calmly reported on September 8th on the Army Times website that from the beginning of next month the 3rd Infantry Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team “Will be under the day-to-day control of U.S. Army North, the Army service component of Northern Command, as an on-call federal response force for natural or manmade emergencies and disasters, including terrorist attacks.”

The unit would also be deployed to deal with hostile crowds of Americans in the aftermath of a massive economic depression, potential food riots and race riots, if one defines the term “crowd control” to match its reasonably applicable scenarios.

The open admission that U.S. troops will be involved in law enforcement operations as well as potentially using non-lethal weapons against American citizens is a complete violation of the Posse Comitatus Act and the Insurrection Act, which substantially limit the powers of the federal government to use the military for law enforcement unless under precise and extreme circumstances.

Please click HERE for the complete article.

Financial Bailout is not the answer. It is the problem. It is the government’s way to gain more control. From an article by Chris Powell on Thursday, September 25, 2008, for the Journal Inquirer in Manchester, Connecticut:

The bad-debt bailout would be the biggest government patronage program in history and would amount to declaring martial law over the U.S. financial system and economy. Even if such martial law is necessary, its implementation should be put in democratic hands — a non-partisan agency with full transparency, statutory standards for its purchases, and close accountability to Congress.

Chris Powell is managing editor of the Journal Inquirer and the Secretary/Treasurer of
Gold Anti-Trust Action (GATA) Committee Inc.

Now I am not usually a doom-and-gloom guy. I developed the Liberty Dollar to bring a real solution to the currency situation that I realized in 1974… some 34 years ago! And for all these years I have strived to bring about a proven, positive, peaceful and profitable solution to our country’s controlled fiat monetary system.

And while I greatly appreciated your support (ala the Choir), at almost every turn there has been an invisible force that has thwarted the Liberty Dollar development and larger use. At first you may think, I mean the government. That is not the case. The government had been amazingly supportive up until the raid. The most disturbing “invisible force” is bunch of traitors who confess to have the very ideals that you think they endorse. Unfortunately, most of the time I found our supposed “leaders” to be vain little men, who were much more interested in maintaining their position than saving the country.

Who are these traitors who have steadfastfully blocked or secretly worked to undermine the Liberty Dollar and its ideals? Well over the years I have made several lists, but I am now on Tour and time has long dulled that list… but it is easy to list a few and you may know a few more from your own efforts with the Liberty Dollar.

List of Bellybuttons:
Lew Rockwell, Von Mises Institute
Mark Skousen, Newsletter
Bill Bonner, Agora Publishing
Addison Wiggin, Newsletter
John McManus, John Birch Society
Ed Crane, Cato Institute
Jack Pugsley, Sovereign Society
Vin Suprynowicz, Las Vegas reporter
Charley Reese, Orlando reporter
Sheldon Richman, writer
Doug Casey, Newsletter
Franklin Sanders, Moneychanger-my-ass
Jim Cook, Investment Rarities
Peymon Mottahedeh, Freedom Law School
Ron Paul, Politician

I contacted every one of these bellybuttons. Each had the opportunity to really advance the ideals of liberty but didn’t. They are liars and traitors to the ideals that you may think they support. I would never trust any of them. None will address the issues or even state their objections to the Liberty Dollar. Most will not even reply. A few have said I don’t like them because they would not endorse the Liberty Dollar. Hell, I have never asked for an endorsement from anyone and don’t care if someone endorses the Liberty Dollar or not. But I brand these traitors as bellybuttons because they stonewall, back stab and take adverse positions against the Liberty Dollar while publicly stating that they support the very same ideals but refuse to enter a discourse to move a viable solution forward.

As a student of Austrian Economics, I was particularly drawn to the Mises Institute so I made an appointment to meet Lew Lockwell. When the day finally arrived, his secretary kept me waiting for an hour, then he stood me up and had me forcibly evicted into a driving Alabama rainstorm without a car. Nice business manners, eh?! For that and ten years of behind-the-scenes of negativity, I name Prickwell king bellybutton of the government controlled opposition. Skousen, Bonner, McManus, Crane and Casey are not far behind. Be very careful of whom you ask advice. If you have any doubts, just ask this list of American traitors, because I have and they all made me sick.

Contrary to these lying bellybutton traitors, there have been a great many “ordinary Joes” who have exemplified the greatness of our original Founding Fathers. These men and women have won my heart, not because they support the Liberty Dollar, but because they have devoted their lives, fortunes and sacred honor to furthering the ideals as represented by the Liberty Dollar.

List of Liberty Angels:
Jim Thomas
Ed Griffin
Harold Skousen
Michael Badnarik
Richard H. Timberlake
Tom Curtis
Jason Pratt
Albert Wagner
Dan Priest
Kevin Innes
Alan McConnell
Pete Hallock
Ron Goodger
Jeff Kotchounian
Dave Gillie

On October 1, 1998, the Liberty Dollar was created:

  1. To put a powerful proactive symbol in the hands of the people that builds
    consensus every time the currency changes hands.
  2. To popularize and educate more people about the Federal Reserve fraud and focus
    attention on the Internal Revenue Service lie.
  3. To provide an honest medium to facilitate exchange and provide better
    communications between all groups of concerned Americans.
  4. To bring about the repeal of the Federal Reserve and the end of fractional reserve
    banking through education and mass popular support.
  5. To help the American people preserve their purchasing power and alleviate some
    of the pain and suffering from the imminent government planned national crisis.

We stated very clearly that it was our intent to achieve these goals slowly and that our success would be a gradual, evolutionary process rather than a costly and destructive revolutionary process. That evolution begins with education, as one person reveals the truth to another – that the Federal Reserve is neither federal, nor does it have any reserves. And that the government uses its debt based monetary system to manipulate our money and our lives.

We have done much of what we intended. But as America is still addicted to fiat money and big government, there is much to be done. We still need to Change the money to Change the country.

Silver: The marketplace is NOT out of silver. Technically, there is not even a shortage of silver. There IS a shortage of fabricated silver, especially one ounce rounds for the retail market. While some young talking heads would have you believe the sky is falling, silver is plentiful in 1000 oz bars, but nobody wants that; everybody wants one ounce Eagles or generic rounds. Besides love and the world of intangibles, silver still remains the single best item to hold. Period. Inflation is coming and we will see phenomenally higher prices for silver. Just remember in Germany on January 1, 1919, one ounce of silver cost 12 German marks, very much like one ounce cost 12 US dollars not long ago. Four years later, November of 1923, just before Hitler came to power, the same one ounce of silver cost 543 billion marks! Hold on, the world is about to go through hell as it finds it way back to value. “Revaluation” is the word to remember!

Now, regarding the US Mint warning and the FBI raid, I think it is ludicrous that the government would even try to make people think that they can’t use their own gold and silver in any manner they wish. To articulate that point, I penned Bernard’s Second Law of Money: Any law that purports to prohibit an American citizen from using a piece of gold or silver (or, for that matter, anything) in a voluntary transaction between consulting adults is preposterous, antagonistic to a free market, and totally without legal merit.

And in case you missed Bernard’s First Law of Money: When the people own the money, they control the government. When the government owns the money, it controls the people. We choose, therefore we are free.

Every day we see a lot more control of the monetary system. The “news” is confusing and will get increasingly confusing. Don’t get confused. Stay with the truth. We are witnessing a global revaluation of money and everything denominated by it. Remember the three stages of truth: First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident. The Liberty Dollar is following that similar path. Stick with the truth, hold silver and please support the Liberty Dollar.

Just as I wrap up this bittersweet Aloha Alert and return to Hawaii… comes news from Reuters: “Private banks rethinking gold, seen next big buyers.” Please read this excellent article that validates my 34 year opinion that we are witnessing a global revaluation of the monetary system. I guarantee – anybody who bought silver at $5 per ounce is happy! I guarantee – if you buy and hold gold and silver right now – you will be happy as you watch your net worth double and double and double many times as the world struggles to redefine value and replace the damn good-for-almost-nothing fiat government crap money into real value. Please click HERE for Private banks rethinking gold, seen next big buyers by Jonathan Leff for Reuters, Monday September 29, 2008.

Now it is time for me to turn over the reigns to Dan Priest. Please bless him with your prayers and support. He needs your support. My sincere thanks to you for all your efforts in behalf of the Liberty Dollar. You have been the greatest people I have met throughout my life. And although I have had some godawful days, I would not trade my last 10 years and the $3 million I put into this effort, for anything. I have no regrets. I gave Liberty Dollar my best. I ask you to do the same. I look forward to resolving the legal issues and seeing the Liberty Dollar fulfill its potential. God save the country.

Thanks again for ten years of support. You made the Liberty Dollar the largest private value based currency in history. Now valued at well over $60 million at the new $50 silver base with over 200,000 supporters! Happy Tenth Anniversary! Aloha!

Bernard von NotHaus
Monetary Architect / Editor


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