Note: The following thougths are CRAZY! Don’t take them as inspiration or revelation. The Holy Ghost didn’t reveal this stuff to me. These are just random and rampant, speculative thoughts that have popped into my head recently. Be amused by their insanity or use them if you find any wisdom in any of them, as you wish.
Crazy thought #1: The Mormon church as the official state religion (not Gaia worship)!
A couple of days ago I found myself reading a blog post written by Denver Snuffer called, Constantine and Correlation, in which LDS church correlation was compared to the historical “correlation” provided by Constantine to the primitive church. I commented on that post but it either wasn’t approved (yet?) or didn’t go through. At any rate, I was able to see the role that correlation might play when the church becomes broken up into churches (see An Alternate View of the Keys) and the majority of members start persecuting, torturing and then killing the minority future remnant. As history repeats itself, just as Constantine’s “correlation” ultimately led to the persecution, torture and killing of those who believed otherwise (in order to save their souls), so the current correlation seed planted by Harold B. Lee and now sprouted into the correlation program we see every day in church might have the same end: the killing of “heretical saints.”
However, although I could see the natural evolution of correlation leading to torturing and murdering saints, which would fulfill the prophecies, creating a modern-day Spanish (Mormon) Inquisition, I still did not have a clear picture of how the Mormon church would become the state religion. In other words, if history repeats itself, then the same thing that happened with the primitive church would happen to the restored church. Just as they got correlation, we go correlation. Just as Constantine made Christianity the state religion, so our religion would become the religion of the state. Now, going on this premise, that the history would be the same, I couldn’t clearly see how this would happen and thought to inquire of the Lord whether it would happen and how.
The next day (yesterday), a friend of mine came over for a surprise visit and we began discussing multiple topics. I mentioned to him about the Constantine and Correlation blog post and as we talked a new thought popped into my head, which was this: when the Mormon church gets broken up by the earthquake, the assets of the church, which are huge (lots of prime real estate, etc.), become a problem, a legal problem. Everyone fights over the assets and can’t come to an agreement as to what property goes to whom. The government, then, steps in to resolve the issue and takes over the property, deciding who gets what, giving to this former stake president these buildings, etc. The government does not relinquish the central buildings that still stand after the earthquake, specifically, the Salt Lake Temple, being the icon of the former church, as everyone wants it and makes a claim on it. The government takes over other general church properties, etc., leaving the meetinghouses, and some of the temples, in the hands of the now broken up individual Mormon churches. But the Salt Lake Temple and perhaps other temples, remain state owned, just as the parable of the redemption of Zion indicated that the enemy will take over the tower (temple.) See D&C 101: 43-62.
Now, this thought sounded crazy to me, as we Americans currently believe in the separation of church and state, but I know that conditions among men are going to change, so I asked my friend what he thought. His answer was that it didn’t sound all that far fetched.
Later in the day, after he left, a few more thoughts along the same line popped into my head, namely, that the priests over the broken up Mormon churches would be agents of the state, having been selected (appointed) by the state (who took over the property of the church) as well as by the people of their respective congregations. As a large amount of real estate would be “up for grabs”, the state would see this (taking over the Mormon church) as something desirable to do. In fact, even the Christians of this nation would see this as something good for the government to do. How much better to destroy Mormonism if its main temple(s) and other properties are in the hands of the government which the people control? We would see a repeat of King Noah and his people, namely, that just as Noah put down the former priests and consecrated new ones, ones that were supported by the taxes of the people, so the new Mormon priests would be agents of the state, selected by the state, working for the state, even, perhaps, being paid by the state (from taxes). Essentially, a total repeat of the history of the Noah, state-sponsored religion.
The descent of the churches into all manner of wickedness, converting the churches into a means to obtain money and power, would benefit the state, therefore, no stops would remain in place to prevent the iniquity from happening.
The saints being in bondage (see D&C 103: 15-18)—who would need to be liberated just as Moses liberated the Israelites from the Egytians and Pharaoh—refers to the time when the state will have taken over the church(es). This bondage means bondage to the state, which, in fact, does have the power to enslave through force of weapons. As there is much property tied up in the Mormon church, the state would not want to let these people and congregations (and their property) depart or separate from the state controlled religion. Just as Pharaoh represented a government, even the Egyptian government, so the saints would need to be freed from the bondage and dictates imposed by the state.
In rapid fire manner, yet another thought occurred to me: that as agents of the state, when the Spanish Inquisition-type of murders begins happening, that they would not be considered murder by the leaders, as they would be state authorized. Just as a soldier does not commit murder when told to go into a town and kill everyone, because he or she is engaging in state-authorized killing, so these priests, being agents of the state, and their tribunals, and the resulting executions, would be authorized, even legalized killings, and not murder. (Of course, in the eyes of God, that’s another story).
Yet another thought: that the blood of these slain saints would be not only on the hands of the wicked Mormon churches and their wicked leaders, but also upon the hands of the state. This would lead to the Lord sending the Lamanites upon both the Mormon churches, wiping them out, and also upon the American government in general, destroying it entirely.
Lastly, a final thought: there are many current members of the church who have very strong ties to the American government. When the earthquake hits, these members will use their influence to bring the government in, so as to arbitrate among the bickering parties, encouraging it to take over the properties. Although there may be good intentions in these actions, this will also be done to enrich themselves.
New topic: Anarchists (and Mormons) are all talk and no action
I have found that anarchists, in general, like to discuss principles of anarchy and ponder anarchical theories, but when it comes to doing something that will actually change society, they choose either to do nothing or simply to educate. (Neither of these options change, or will change, society.) When two anarchists get together, if they are not of the same flavor, they will just argue back and forth over which school of anarchic thought is superior. Of course, there are thugs who perform violent acts, destroying personal property, etc., who act “in the name of anarchy,” but I don’t consider these reactionary acts to actually further the work of changing society into anarchies. If anything, they lend power to the state’s propaganda machine. Defending oneself with force is one thing, provoking a state to clamp down on you is another.
Peaceful change from a state to an anarchy is possible and practical, at least in this country. One way to do it is to write up initiatives, in those states that allow initiatives, in which a simple NONE OF THE ABOVE is added to every elected office of the ballet. In this way, if the people want to peacefully shut down their government, or any part of it, they can choose to do so. I cannot foresee my countrymen opposing such an initiative measure, as it is based upon a fundamental right, even the right that this nation was built on. Working in this practical way, appealing to the American sense of natural born rights, anarchists can peacefully offer to the population at large an option to enter into anarchy, if they want to. The slogan “the lesser of two evils” can be replaced with “choose no evil, select none of the above.” Or any other type of campaign to influence people to voluntarily and peacefully shut their governments down. Once the option to shut the state down is on the table, don’t you think the rest will follow its course? Of course, it will. People aren’t stupid. We had untramelled agency in the heavens. Once presented with the prospect of expanded agency, people will voluntarily choose to limit or even eliminate the state, and thus expand their agency even further. And you can bet that the first thing they’ll probably shut down are all the tax officers!
As far as the LDS are concerned, they also use their precious time to discuss principles of the gospel (and sometimes won’t even do that!) but will not implement them unless they are commanded by their leaders. My focus in the gospel has always been on Zion, because the gospel’s whole purpose is to establish Zion here on earth, so any gospel discussion I have with LDS inevitably leads to a discussion of that perfect society. However, whereas I always forge ahead into the ways to establish Zion, the other interlocutors either stick to just a discussion of the principles of Zion, or try to altogether change the subject into a discussion of how to apply the gospel principles while still remaining firmly attached to Bablyon. They have no interest in discussing or implementing ways to establish Zion. This is because the LDS desire to be commanded in all things, especially where Zion is concerned, and have no innate desire to see it established now. This lack of initiative and dislike of Zion, along with the inequalities of wealth among the membership, etc., has caused the Lord to in large measure remove His gifts from the church. Instead of everyone having the gifts, hardly anyone has them. We LDS are now unequal in every sense of the word, both materially and spiritually.
Before I started this blog, I had pretty much given up on all anarchists, as well as all Mormons. Anarchists would continue to argue their principles and do nothing. Mormons would continue to align themselves with Babylon and neglect Zion. I thought that I was alone in my thoughts of practical anarchy and practical theology (establishing Zion). I didn’t see the need nor the theological basis of having to wait for the leadership to command the people in this (or any other area). The Lord is capable of directly inspiring His people, He need not go through His priesthood leadership. I knew this, but I didn’t see it happening anywhere.
In fact, I was pretty much the only one I knew of having direct revelations, or that had seen angels, or that had seen evil spirits, or that had seen a vision, or that had had inspired dreams, or that had healed the sick, or that had been miraculously healed, or that had heard the voice of the Spirit audibly, or that had prophesied, and on and on and on. If other members were having revelations, seeing visions, angels and the like, they were not talking about it. People around me would refer to other people as manifesting gifts or receiving inspiration and/or revelation, but would not give a personal example. I never liked to rely on someone else’s testimony, always choosing to tell an experience I had personal knowledge of, so I would always refer to my own revelations, gifts and manifestations. But doing so alienated me from everyone, both member and non-member alike. It got to the point where it seemed like the LDS no longer even desired to possess the gifts of the Spirit. (A couple of LDS even commented to me once that they felt the gift of tongues was a useless gift and were glad it was no longer operative in the way it was anciently!)
To compound the strangeness of it all, one of the two gifts I’ve been given is the discerning of spirits. If I apply myself to exercise it, I can feel the people in my presence and discern their spirits, or whether they are operating under a foreign (evil) spirit. I’ve also been able to discern unembodied spirits in the vicinity. I don’t always remember to apply the gift, but when I do, it has never failed to manifest the true nature of the individual in question. Well, of late, my discernment “probes” haven’t been giving me pleasant information. There shouldn’t be a single LDS operating under evil spirits, or engaging in hypocrisy, yet I keep discovering them. There are other disturbing trends I’m noticing, too, which leads me to believe that the LDS are not simply keeping the manifestations to themselves, but that the manifestations have all but ceased among the long time members. (The new member or investigator is an exception, as they are still receptive to the spiritual promptings.) When a congregation stops receiving the Spirit’s manifestations, the evil spirit can more easily start to guide the people.
Anyway, that was my opinion before I started the blog. However, since starting it, and especially of late, I am now of the opinion that the Lord has people among the congregations who still receive revelations, prophecies, etc. You might call these people agents. (See here and here and here.) It may be that these people are keeping quiet for fear of repercussions by the presiding authorities or merely because they have been taught to keep these experiences to themselves, as if they are too “sacred” to share with others. It may be that these people are ready, able and willing to act, but they need something new to inspire them.
So, based upon this recent belief, that there are Zion-seeking LDS out there in the congregations who have received the Spirit of Christ and possess gifts, I’ve had some new thoughts of a more practical nature in which some theological anarchy can be instilled among this group I’m referring to, the end result, perhaps, being a preparation for the establishment of Zion.
Crazy thought #2: A New School of the Prophets
Another of Denver Snuffer’s posts, Personal Revelation, also got me thinking. This time, my comment actually went through. Quoting myself: “These days are, after all, those in which sons and daughters are supposed to be prophesying, etc. (Joel 2: 28).” I wrote that three days ago. Today the thought popped into my head to do what I could to encourage prophesying, visions, etc.
So, I decided to start an online “school of the prophets.” Apparently, ancient prophets came in schools. (See the Prophets entry of the Encyclopedia Britannica.) So, I’ve decided to create an online school of sorts, an association of prophets, in which prophets can talk to one another and share their prophecies, etc. The Establishment of Zion Think Tank now has a board called A New School of Prophets. The idea is this: if you are a LDS and you have got the gift to prophesy, then register and go there and share your prophecies and talk to other prophets. Now, when I say the gift to prophesy, I don’t mean the spirit of prophecy and revelation, which is the testimony of Jesus, which is the Holy Ghost. Anyone in the church can, and should, have that. I’m referring to the specific gift to prophesy listed as one of the 14 gifts given to the church in D&C 46. But even if you don’t have that gift, you can still enter the board and read the prophecies listed there, and talk to those who claim to possess this gift.
I, myself, possess the gift to prophesy (though it is not as developed as discernment), but I don’t know if anyone else in the church does. I’d like to think there are others that possess it, but I’ve never heard anyone prophesy, other than myself, so, hopefully, I’m not the only one. If so, well, then the board will remain empty. But if there are any prophets within the sound of my voice, enter the board and prophesy away. Later, as more and more LDS gain this gift, the board can be used to create local, bona fide schools of prophets.
Crazy thought #3: Spiritual Healing Centers
On 28 February 2008, on Doc’s blog, I wrote the following comment:
It’s funny you should mention this topic. Just yesterday, a close friend of mine, who has no health insurance, went to see a doctor for a condition she thought was pretty bad. She was thinking maybe she had cancer, etc. She paid cash for the visit and got a 10% discount as a result. It cost her $124 and basically the doc told her that it seemed to be a combination of nerves, allergic and maybe indigestion (acid reflux). She recommended a blood test a few other tests. Then my friend went to the laboratory to find out how much the blood test would be. $825 was the price she got. She decided to skip on the blood test and change her eating, drinking and other habits, as that was cheaper. I, personally, didn’t realize that prices were so high, though we’ve all heard the news report on this. Insurance has insulated us from the real cost of health care. If these numbers are typical, these costs truly are skyrocketing.
The solution that I see to this problem is a spiritual one. The LDS have been offered the “best gifts,” listed in D&C 46. Two of those best gifts are the gift to heal and the gift to be healed. For the most part, according to my experience in the church, we haven’t used these gifts, nor any of the other best ones. The gift to heal has been “assigned” to the priesthood by tradition and precedent in the administration of priesthood blessings, which, according to D&C 42: 43, only was to occur where there was no faith to be healed. Thus, most priesthood blessings are not miraculous. Some are, though, but these are rare, indeed. I myself have healed miraculously and also been healed miraculously, so I won’t say that the gifts are non-existent in the church, but they appear to be virtually non-existent.
If the LDS would wake up out of their stupor and set right the temporal inequalities among them, so that they qualify for the abundance of the manifestations of the Spirit, which includes the best gifts, then we would have men and women among us who can heal others miraculously. We’d also have individuals, such as bishops or others, who possess the gift to discern other gifts (see D&C 46: 27) and we would know who possessed which gift. This would solve to a great extent the present health care crisis not only among ourselves but also among the people of the world who believe in Christ.
The poor typically are people of faith. If the LDS started exercising these gifts and powers of the Holy Ghost, as they should be, poor people would seek out the LDS healers to rid them of their illnesses and conditions “without money and without price.” This would free up the health care system of a huge drain on their resources. Those who could afford it, and who wished to be healed slowly, or not at all, could exercise their money and visit the allopathic medical doctors, whereas those who couldn’t afford it and who wished to be miraculously healed, could exercise their faith and visit the LDS who possessed and used the gift to heal. If bishops actually possessed the gift of discernment of gifts, as they are supposed to have, a non-LDS believer in Christ could seek out the local LDS bishop and be directed to a member of that ward who possessed the gift to heal.
Unfortunately, the LDS currently also use allopathic medicine, or other types of health practitioners, and have not received these gifts, except in rare cases, or have received them in their lower administrations (blessing the doctor so that he prescribes correctly or the surgeon so that he has a steady hand) instead of the higher administrations (miraculous healing.) This is in keeping with D&C 46: 15, and is better than nothing, at all, but still not what we should expect of ourselves.
Thus we see that the LDS have the solution to the problem but do not use it. What I wonder is, will our unwillingness to obtain and use a fullness of these gifts to bless the world and alleviate the suffering and pain of illness bring repercussions upon us from the Lord in the day of judgment? Are we considered “part of the problem” because we don’t use the very solution the Lord has set up?
Doc responded:
LDSA,
Whoa, who knew you had such a dim view of medicine. Color me sensitive, but I consider a lot of what I do to be the gift of healing, which after all is much more than just curing. It takes a real, genuine, personal connection, love and faith.
I do believe in the gift of the spirit to heal and be healed. You probably have a point about a typical lack of faith these days. It is a product of our culture. I would bet you healing is much more common in the Church outside the US.
But the fact is, it remains a gift, and not everyone will be blessed with it. I don’t think it was intended to supplant medicine. Were it so, Brigham Young wouldn’t have sent all those LDS women off to medical school.
To which I responded:
I didn’t mean to offend you, Doc. But you are right, I do look down upon much of modern allopathic medicine techniques and conclusions. I appreciate the immense knowledge that scientific research has discovered about the body, but due to the inability to factor in the role of plasma in our organisms, modern medicine usually can’t see the forest for the trees. There are a lot of people who, given plenty of facts, still can’t come to correct conclusions, and nowhere is this more prevalent than the medical community. The medical community, unfortunately, has lots of facts of the physical and chemical nature of the body, but does not have an understanding of the electric fields therein, or their role in our systems. They see it, but not being plasma scientists, they don’t know what it does or how it got there, or even why it is important. They look upon it as secondary. Although I have commented on my blog only about plasma cosmology and plasma theology, there is also plasma geology and plasma biology, as well as every other field of study. The role of plasma is universal. When you gain a deep understanding of plasma, all scientific fields suddenly open up, both true causes and true effects. And when it is discounted, the true causes and effects are missed. Nevertheless, it is still possible to arrive at a cure by happenstance, without knowing the true cause and cure.
The medical establishment does much good with what they have, and there are definite gifts of compassion, sacrifice, kindness and knowledge being manifest among these non-miraculous healers. The Lord works according to the conditions among men, so he does what he can with what he has to work with. I do not doubt that you help many people using medical care, and it can be termed a gift of healing, especially as the Lord does still help according to whatever faith is present. But this is not THE gift of healing spoken of in the scriptures, or, perhaps, better said, it is not the higher manifestation of this gift.
I have no idea if spiritual, miraculous healing is more prevalent outside the U.S. Many foreign countries have socialized medicine, which makes it that much easier to rely upon a doctor, so it might be even less than here. But then again, foreigners are often seen to be more “superstitious” than Americans are, so they may seek first a spiritual solution, therefore, you may in fact be right.
Brigham Young was a believer in education, so maybe he had it in mind to get the LDS as educated in all fields as was possible, so that they could take that knowledge and use it to their advantage in their own land. This, in my estimation, would be a wise course to take. Especially if the abundances of the Spirit (the best gifts) were not being manifest due to temporal stinginess and inequality. But if the gifts are manifest, and specifically this one gift to heal, much of medicine becomes unnecessary, except in cases where a healer is not present.
This subject of gifts requires a more in depth exposition. I guess I’d better take it up on my own blog. As yet, I’ve only taken up tongues, but the gifts of healing deserve attention. Thank you for stimulating my mind.
Okay, so, as you can see from the above, I believe the Lord would like us to expand these gifts so that we can become a benefit not only to ourselves (the LDS) but also to all mankind. I do not know if anyone possesses the two gifts of healing (the gift to have faith to heal and the gift to have faith to be healed). I know that I do not possess them. Yes, I have had instances in which the Spirit was upon me and I miraculously healed or I was miraculously healed, but these were temporary manifestations and not permanent gifts. I do not know of anyone in my locality who possesses these gifts. If I did, I would take my entire family to him or her and ask to have us healed every whit. But, to my knowledge, there is no one. However, because the Lord may have such people with these gifts, I propose to create an online Spiritual Healing Center. If you are a LDS who possesses the gift of faith to heal and wish to exercise the gift by healing others, visit the Spiritual Healing Center board, which I have created on the Establishment of Zion Think Tank forum. You can leave contact information on that board or talk to other healers so that people in your area can come to you and have you lay hands on them and be healed. Also, if other healers are local to you, you can interact with them and use the board to establish bona fide Spiritual Healing Centers in your locality, in which people can come and be healed by the “resident healers” as a group.
Personally, I am even more skeptical that there are spiritual healers among us than I am that there are prophets among us, but the Lord hasn’t told me everything and I’m willing to give Him the benefit of the doubt. Maybe, just maybe, one or two individuals will show up on the board…
Crazy thought #4: Use the priesthood for everything and ask for every gift
The next thought is some practical advice for those who are tired of the same old same old. I have heard of someone who uses the priesthood to counteract the devil and his secret combination(s). He thinks of something specific, very specific, that he wants the Lord to do, as well as a specific area in which he wants it done. Then, he circles the area in his car (or if it is a small area, he’ll walk) seven times. Then he puts his arm to the square, states the authority of the priesthood and commands in the name of the Lord the specific thing he wants to happen. In the case of using the priesthood against conspiring men (the secret combination), he may ask God in the authority of the priesthood to remove poisons from the neighborhood water, or disintegrate the vehicles used in chem trails, or put a mark upon federal reserve notes. He may ask that whatever intentional evil is being inflicted by conspiring men may be returned four times upon the heads of those who are conspiring. He may ask for cursings and destructions, and/or blessings and that evil things don’t work. He has routinely used the priesthood to eliminate or reduce the power of evil spirits in the area, etc.
Now, he is just one lone man, an elder possessing the Melchizedek priesthood. Imagine if there were many such priesthood holders who routinely asked for specific things and performed the ordinance and request by the authority of the priesthood and according to their faith, not only to bless themselves and others, but to also stop the evil workings of the devil around us. How many LDS do you know of that are doing this? I know of only one. That number needs to increase. The priesthood, when spoken correctly, has power to do all things and can stop Satan in his tracks. The limits of how one could use priesthood are only the things in which one can exercise faith. This means that as long as the priesthood is being used to expand agency and not abridge it, one can exercise it in faith.
Destructions and other evil works can be stopped by the priesthood. Alma and Amulek had priesthood power to stop evil men:
And it came to pass that they took Alma and Amulek, and carried them forth to the place of martyrdom, that they might witness the destruction of those who were consumed by fire. And when Amulek saw the pains of the women and children who were consuming in the fire, he also was pained; and he said unto Alma: How can we witness this awful scene? Therefore let us stretch forth our hands, and exercise the power of God which is in us, and save them from the flames. But Alma said unto him: The Spirit constraineth me that I must not stretch forth mine hand; for behold the Lord receiveth them up unto himself, in glory; and he doth suffer that they may do this thing, or that the people may do this thing unto them, according to the hardness of their hearts, that the judgments which he shall exercise upon them in his wrath may be just; and the blood of the innocent shall stand as a witness against them, yea, and cry mightily against them at the last day. (Alma 14: 9-11)
The only reason they didn’t stop them was because the Spirit told Alma not to. But if the Spirit isn’t telling you, “No,” you are free to use the priesthood to stop wicked men from performing their wicked acts. The reason why this is permitted is because the priesthood can be used defensively to protect agency from those who would attempt to remove it. It isn’t used to take away the agency of a wicked person, which would be bad and the work of the devil, but to protect the agency of the person whose agency is being threatened by the wicked individual(s). This is why putting at defiance the armies of men is a perfectly acceptable use for the priesthood. This is why the sons of Mosiah could not be killed.
In like manner, you can use the priesthood in imaginative ways to protect your family, the saints and other innocents from the harm that would be inflicted by wicked men. Your use of the priesthood is limited only by your imagination, by whether the thing you are asking for can be asked in faith and whether your faith is firm in the belief that you will get what you are asking for.
There are many gifts. You can ask for any one of them, or all of them together. Here is a list:
A List of the Gifts of the Spirit
The gift of salvation.
The gift of interpretation of visions.
The gift of interpretation of dreams.
The gift of conveyance by the Spirit.
The gift of the convincing word.
The gift of causing the dumb to speak.
The gift of unstopping the ears of the deaf.
The gift of opening the eyes of the blind.
The gift of casting out devils.
The gift of retaining a remission of sins.
The gift of forgiveness.
The gift of protection from administered poison.
The gift of subduing principalities and powers.
The gift of standing in the presence of God.
The gift of breaking every band.
The gift of dividing the earth.
The gift of defying the armies of nations.
The gift of drying up waters.
The gift of dividing the seas.
The gift of breaking mountains.
The gift of delivery from the depths of the earth.
The gift of playing with wild beasts.
The gift of quenching the violence of fire.
The gift of turning the course of rivers.
The gift of tumbling prisons.
The gift of shaking the earth.
The gift of removing mountains.
The gift of taking up poisonous serpents.
The gift of beholding angels and spirits.
The gift of justification.
The gift of sanctification.
The gift of the Holy Ghost.
The gift of dreams.
The gift of visions.
The gift of the word of knowledge.
The gift of the word of wisdom.
The gift of hope.
The gift of charity.
The gift of faith.
The gift of translation (as in a translated being.)
The gift of seership.
The gift of prophecy.
The gift of working miracles.
The gift of interpretation of tongues.
The gifts of healing.
The gift of power to command the waters.
The gift of commandments.
The gift of power to seal both on earth and in heaven, the unbelieving and rebellious.
The gift of sufficient strength.
The gift of the words of God.
The gift of the sword of Laban.
The gift of the Urim and Thummim.
The gift of the miraculous directors (Liahona.)
The gift of the gold plates.
The gift of the breastplate.
The gift of the name of Jesus Christ.
The gift of the revelations of God.
The gift of the scriptures.
The gift of the keys of the mysteries.
The gift of the revelations which are sealed.
The gift of understanding.
The gift of the laws of God.
The gift of power to build up the church among the Lamanites.
The gift of parables.
The gift to go forth to preach the gospel and build up the church.
The gift of the fulness of the scriptures.
Anywhere in the scriptures where it says, “I give unto you” or “it is given unto you,” it is speaking of a gift of God. All of the covenant people of God have access to these gifts if they but ask for them. Women who have no priesthood are not limited in any way, for these gifts are extended to them, as well.
How to make it all work
Try something completely different. Instead of doing things the Babylon way, trying literally doing things by the power of the priesthood or by the power of the gifts and power of the Holy Ghost. Merely asking is not enough, one also needs to be Christ-centered. Let me make a suggestion that, if followed, will sanctify, purify and justify you so that what you ask for you will get.
The key is in Christ. Now, on my mission, my MTC mission president once challenged the missionaries to read 2 Nephi chapter 9 every day for 30 days, promising that their lives would be changed for the better because of it. That was a good challenge and some took it up and followed through with it. As 2 Nephi 9 is all about the atonement, it really did have an effect on those missionaries. (Not on me, though, as I didn’t take up that challenge.) But I will recommend something even better than that, for I think that mission president missed the mark. Instead of reading about Christ, read Christ. The following are my recommendations:
Read Day One of the Lord’s visit to the Nephites one day, then read Day Two the following day, then read Day One the next day and so on and so forth, alternating each day. Skip over the descriptive text and just read the words of Jesus, nothing else. Then, during the day, try to conform your life to those words. Now, I’ve tried this particular experiment with myself and others and I can tell you this, nothing gets Christ into people like the actual words of Christ. Not Jacob’s words, not Nephi’s words, not Joseph Smith’s words. Make the words of Christ the priority and watch how quickly you suddenly have your prayers answered. To give you an example of the power of Jesus’ words, I have seen a demon-possessed person have the demon rooted out and not come back as long as this practice was followed daily. The evil one cannot stand the words of Christ, and if the evil one is gone from your presence, think how easy it is to get the Spirit of the Lord there.
Day One begins in 3 Nephi 11 and finishes in 3 Nephi 18. Day Two begins in 3 Nephi 19 and finishes in 3 Nephi 25. Day One deals mostly with conduct, while Day Two deals with prophecy. Both are important. All you need to do is follow the instructions of Christ as detailed in Day One. Don’t try to rationalize them into different behavior, just take them at face value and attempt to conform your life to, as Jesus says, “the law and commandments of my Father”. Then watch and feel and experience what happens, as the Father begins to show forth his miraculous power and works in your life. When you see it, don’t go back to the old ways of doing things, the Babylonian ways. Do the good works defined by Moroni as “working by the power and gifts of God.” In other words, make the actual attempt to work miracles in your life. If enough people do this, we will almost immediately have the gifts, all of them, back in the church, and people can then once again benefit from them by going to others who possess the gifts we personally don’t have. In this way, all will be edified by all.
Complete List of Articles authored by LDS Anarchist
June 2, 2010
Categories: Uncategorized . . Author: LDS Anarchist . Comments: 52 Comments
LDS Anarchy 