Asthma is Officially Cured

Actually, I’m not sure that this cure will work on every asthmatic, but I’m going to make that assumption anyway and all you asthmatics, parents of asthmatics, and friends of asthmatics can prove me right, (or prove me wrong.)

Okay so, watch me single-handedly destroy all the billions in profits that the pharmaceutical industry makes on asthma medications, as I, the LDS Anarchist, with this singular post, show all asthmatics how to immediately stop an asthma attack WITHOUT ANY MEDICATION WHATSOEVER.

Here is what I want every asthmatic to do, and also every parent of an asthmatic: the next time you have an asthma attack, or your child has an asthma attack, I want you to do what this post tells you to do, or to have your child do it, and when you see that you or your child can instantly breathe, without needing an inhaler, I want you to get this message out to everyone you know.  I want you to share this post far and wide, with everyone, whether they are asthmatic or not, and to send along your testimonial of what you personally observed in this bronchial-dilating effect.  I also want you to put a comment down below in the comment section, with your observations and testimonial.

Although the information in this post will entirely gut the asthma profits of the pharmaceutical companies, making all asthma medication obsolete, so that they can’t and will never be able to make money on asthma again, and although this will cause the modern epidemic of asthma to go away forever, it won’t happen unless word gets out.  I can put this information out on this blog of mine, but it won’t do a thing to make a dent to stop asthma unless others share this information vigorously.  Post it everywhere, online, offline, whatever.  If this information works on all, and I believe it will, then there is no more need for any child or adult asthmatic to ever gasp for breath again, and by Christmas-time this very year (2015), if vigorously promoted and applied, this entire nation can finally be rid of asthma, and we can then try to get the word out to the rest of the world, for the pharmaceutical industry rakes in grotesque profits in other nations, too, feeding on their ignorance.

So, I’m going to alter a singular condition among men, right now this very day, among Americans, by giving you, the American people, knowledge that no one but I alone possess, and then you go ahead and take that knowledge and tell everyone else.  And please, do run with this knowledge.  I have seen far too much suffering by asthma.  Which, as of today, is now needless suffering.  So, on to the cure:

The cause of asthma

Asthma is chronic dehydration.  The body of an asthmatic is in an emergency state, in which the alarm bells are ringing, the red lights are flashing, and the body is trying, desperately, to ration every last drop of available water, so that all critical systems get what they need, at the expense of non-critical systems.

The “man” in charge of this water-rationing program sees the alert sign flashing, “Systemic Drought!  All Water Must Be Rationed!” and says to his henchmen, “The stupid owner of this body still hasn’t drunk enough water.  We’ve got to ration more water!”

“But, sir, there is no more water left to ration, and nothing is coming in.  Plus the dummy keeps eating and drinking things that dehydrate him further!” replies the chief henchman.

“There is always more water to ration.  There, over there.  That water over there.  Ration it,” says the “man” in charge.

“Over where?”

“Over there,” pointing to the lungs.  “See all that water vapor escaping as the idiot breathes out?  Stop it from escaping.  Constrict the bronchial tubes so that not so much water is lost.”

“But then he won’t be able to breathe.”

“That’s not my problem.  The sign reads, ‘Systemic Drought!  All Water Must Be Rationed!’ and that is what I’ve got to take care of.  Besides, serves him right that he won’t be able to breathe. Maybe he’ll get the message that we need more water down here.”

“Okay, sir!  As you wish.  It shall be done immediately!”

And so the poor man gets an asthma attack, the bronchial tubes constricting, and he, gasping for breath has no option other than to suffer and perhaps even die, if he can’t get those bronchial tubes open again.

The pharmaceutical industry knows the cause of asthma

They know it is simply chronic dehydration.  They know that if people drank more water, drank less or altogether eliminated the dehydrating beverages they drink, ate less dry food, etc., that they would not suffer the effects of asthma.  It takes years to get a body into a chronically dehydrated state and it will likely take years to get the body back into a hydrated state, but telling people this information would be bad for business, so they keep their damn mouths shut.  Besides, once there is an asthma attack ongoing, there is simply no way to stop it.  The medication they manufacture is absolutely necessary, even if an asthmatic has begun the process of re-hydrating himself.  Or so they tell themselves.

You see, these medications typically are anti-histamines, and histamine is an osmo-regulator.  (Osmo means water.)  So they know the exact cause of asthma (chronic dehydration) but refuse to divulge this information to the masses.  And even if they told the people, they still would need to manufacture medications, because an asthma attack is impossible to stop.

Asthma attacks were impossible to stop, YESTERDAY

But today, courtesy of your friendly, neighborhood LDS Anarchist, I now know how to stop an attack in its tracks.  Without medication.  With better effect than any medication.  Therefore, as of today, asthma attacks are your friend and are totally manageable.

Yes, I said, “Asthma attacks are your friend”

How in the world is an asthmatic going to know they are not getting enough water, if not for an asthma attack?  That attack let’s you know you gotta chug down some of that life-giving fluid.  Those medications that you take in pill form, which prevent asthma attacks from happening, are defeating the purpose, for now that there are no attacks, you continue in your dehydrating ways.  And those inhalers also defeat the purpose, because instead of reaching for a glass of water, you just use the inhaler and the “man” in charge of water rationing in your body still doesn’t get what he needs to keep things functioning correctly.  So, these medications hijack the process of re-hydration.

But there is another reason why the medications are bad: they themselves de-hydrate the body!  So by using them you are exacerbating the situation.

Therefore, I want you to think of asthma attacks from now on as your body’s friendly reminder to drink some water.  With the information in this post they are no longer life-threatening, therefore they should be regarded as friendly, merely as a courtesy reminder.

No more bashing on Big Pharma

From here on out I’m not going to bash on Big Pharma, because despite their despicable behavior in keeping this hydration issue from the public, they don’t know how to stop an asthma attack without medication.  Only I know how to do it.

Credit given where credit is due

I owe the late Doctor Batmanghelidj a debt of thanks for his research into the effects on water on the body, and more especially for his impeccable research in which he determined the exact cause of asthma: chronic dehydration.  Also, he is owed gratitude for his discovery that drinking two (8-10 ounce) glasses of water will cause the adrenal glands to produce adrenaline, which will cause a bronchial-dilating effect.  Unfortunately, this effect doesn’t happen instantly, but may take 15 to 20 minutes, even up to 30 minutes, before the adrenaline finally hits the lungs and soothes the savage beast.  His idea was that an asthmatic should get in the habit of noticing when an asthma attack is about to happen, and when “that cough” or other sign first makes its appearance, to immediately reach for two glasses and drink them down, thus, perhaps, averting the attack, or at the very least, lessening its effect.

His strides in this area have helped a great many people, but, unfortunately, they did not altogether release the masses from their reliance upon inhalers and other medication, for if the attack was not averted, you still had to deal with it, and the only recourse was an inhaler.

Now, before continuing, I want to say something about inhalers and other asthma medications, something that every asthmatic knows or has experienced: there comes a point of dehydration in which the body is so severely dry that these medications have no effect, whatsoever.  No matter how many puffs you take, or pills you pop, only a visit to the emergency room will stop the attack, via an injection, and even then, sometimes, that doesn’t work.  The body doesn’t want or need those drugs, it wants water.

Okay, so another shout out goes to those Russian researchers, who, unfortunately, I don’t remember your names or the name of your research, but I read the research you guys did on asthmatics, which led me to my discovery and knowledge of how to stop an asthma attack, which discovery will be revealed in this post.  I suppose they stumbled upon the effect by observing asthmatics having an asthma attack.

You see, when an asthmatic has an asthma attack, they instinctively close their mouths and breath through pursed lips.  I suppose these guys thought, “Hmmm…maybe that is what you are supposed to do?  Maybe if we take a bunch of asthmatics and tape their mouths almost closed, so that only a little hole allows air through, perhaps that would make them breath easier?”  And they performed the experiment and had some asthmatic kids sleep with their mouths taped almost closed and they found that, sure enough, they had less or no asthma that night.  (Nighttime is typically a bad time for asthmatics, when asthma attacks like to hit.  This is because of the prone position of the body.  I ain’t gonna explain why this is, just know that it is.)

So, kudos and credit goes out to those guys.  Okay, on to the cure:

How to immediately stop an asthma attack

When an asthmatic has an asthma attack, and starts to gasp for breath, this is all he or she has to do to stop it:

1) Purse your lips so that the diameter is less than what you would use to whistle.  The smaller the better.

2) Now breathe through this hole.  Do one exhalation and one inhalation.  It will be difficult to get the air through, but you will notice that it will be possible, despite your former gasping, for already the body has started to hijack the attack.

3) Now start to exhale.  After you have started to exhale, contract your abdominal muscles and force all the air out of your lungs that you possibly can.  Congratulations.  Your asthma attack in now officially over.

4) Now start to inhale.  You will notice that your breathing has slowed down to a freaking crawl, as if your whole body has been relaxed by some miracle drug.  In truth, it probably has.  This will be a first count inhalation.

5) Now exhale, still keeping the pursed lips, but don’t force the air out of your lungs.  Just breathe out whatever comes out naturally.

6) Now inhale.  This is your second count inhalation.

7) Now exhale.

8) Now inhale.  This is your third count inhalation.

9) Now start to exhale and after you’ve started to exhale, contract your abdominals again and force all the air out again.

10) Now inhale.  (1st count.)  Now exhale.  Now inhale.  (2nd count.)  Now exhale.  Now inhale (3rd count.)

11) Now start to exhale, and after you’ve started to exhale, contract your abdominals again and force out all the air.  This is the third and final time you will force the air out.

12) Now inhale, but this time, start enlarging the diameter of your pursed lips, still keeping the air friction up as the air goes through your lips, but just make the hole slightly larger.

13) Now exhale, and again make the hole just a tad bit larger.

14) Now inhale, and again make the hole just a little larger in diameter.

15) Now exhale, and once again make the hole a little larger.

16) Now inhale, and make the hole larger still.

17) Now close your mouth and breathe out your nose.  Notice that there is no more wheezing, constricted lungs, gasping for breath.  Nothing but easy breathing.  The asthma attack is over and your bronchial tubes are fully dialated.  Nevertheless, this bronchial-dilating effect is not permanent, but is merely temporary, therefore…

18) now that you can breathe, drink down two 8-10 ounce glasses of water.

19) If the attack comes back, just repeat the breathing technique without drinking the water afterward.  Eventually, those glasses of water will activate your adrenal glands and you’ll get a long-lasting bronchial-dilation from them.

20) Congratulations.  You are now officially cured of your asthma and are in total control of your condition.  Just make sure you follow good hydration practices and you’ll be fine.

Why this works

I do not know why this works, but I will provide a speculation, nonetheless.

When there is an asthma attack, the body is in “Water!  Water!  We need water!” mode and so releases a chemical that constricts the bronchial tubes so that not so much water vapor escapes.  But when you purse your lips, the body starts to switch gears immediately and the emergency message becomes, “Air!  Air!  We need air!”  This causes the body to let up on the chemical that keeps the bronchial tubes constricted.  And when you empty out all the air from your lungs, the message changes immediately to, “Holy Freaking Cow!  We’re Going to Freaking Die this Very Freaking Moment if We Don’t Get Some Freaking Air In!  Open the Tubes IMMEDIATELY!!!!!” And so the body stops production of the chemical which causes the bronchial tubes to constrict and immediately releases a chemical which causes them to fully dilate.  Ingenious, huh?

So, this little air breathing technique causes the body to instantly switch signals and release the precise, naturally-produced chemical that opens the bronchial tubes.  Asthma is now cured.  You’re very welcome.

Strategies on how to re-hydrate yourself

Drink lots of water each and every day.  Stay off the low-sodium diets.  Salt and water is what is needed for proper hydration.  Stay off the soft drinks.  Stay off the hard liquor.  Stay off the coffee.  These beverages dehydrate more than hydrate.  Eat moist, hydrated foods, whenever possible.  Drink 1 to 2 glasses of water a half hour before you eat a meal.  This will get your body hydrated and ready to digest the meal, because digesting food requires lots of water.  If the meal is big, drink 3 glasses a half hour before.  Make sure you have access to water and/or carry around a bottle of water with you.

Now that you can breathe, there is no more excuse to miss out on exercise or other strenuous activities.  So get some exercise.  Don’t worry about exercise-induced asthma attacks.  You’ve got your breathing technique mastered, right?  It is a piece of cake to do and master.  Don’t worry about allergy-triggered asthma attacks.  You can breathe-technique your way out of them.  On those days that allergens are high, just drink more water than normal.  Don’t worry about dry, hot, windy days that dehydrate you more than normal.  Just drink more water on those days and perhaps, eat more salty foods.

Panic-induced asthma attacks?  Not a problem with this breathing technique.  So you can forget about taking your inhaler with you.  If this works for you, you don’t need an inhaler or any other asthma medication.  Throw the damn things out.  (Asthmatics, if they forget to take their inhaler with them, or if they lose it, are totally fine until they learn that this item, which is essential for their survival, is not available.  Then they panic, causing an asthma attack to take place, which can become life-threatening, now that they don’t have their inhaler with them.)

Like I said above, it likely took you years to become as dehydrated as you are, so it may take years of re-hydration to get your body back to full hydration.  But it is no sweat, now that you can fully deal with attacks.  And these attacks will alert you to whenever you are falling behind on your re-hydration practices.  Eventually, you won’t ever have any more attacks, but continue to re-hydrate yourself anyway.

What to do with all that medication money you saved

Use it to buy full page advertisements in newspapers and magazines, telling people about this new asthma cure, or some other way to promote it.  Or, if you are feeling really grateful, you can send me a thank you (Federal Reserve) note.  😉

---

Addendum: Four Follow-Up Comments

1st Comment—  One thing I probably should have mentioned in the post is that the breathing technique can be practiced when the breathing is normal. One need not wait until an asthma attack is present to try it out.

2nd Comment—  Post Clarification

1. Water is the cure for asthma, (not the breathing technique.) Water is also the asthma medication to take, (plus a little salt.) The average hydrated man needs to drink about 8 glasses of water a day to remain hydrated. An asthmatic, though, is neither hydrated, nor dehydrated. An asthmatic is chronically dehydrated. Therefore, his body is in a state of systemic drought. Land that has experienced drought for an extended period of time cannot replenish its used up water tables and reserves by an average rainy season. It requires an above average rainy season to combat drought. In the case of the asthmatic, what is needed is more like an extended Monsoon season lasting many months. This means that an asthmatic needs to drink a lot more water than merely 8 glasses a day. Perhaps as much as twice that much, or even more.

2. An asthma attack is a thirst signal, tailored specifically for the asthmatic. Asthma, then, is not a disease, but is merely a condition of chronic dehydration. Because of this, the asthma attack must be looked at as a very important indicator of the body’s state of dehydration. In other words, no one ought to try to suppress this signal with drugs. The asthmatic needs to get the message. He needs to see the signal in order to give the proper response that will address the underlying cause of this message: drinking water.

3. All asthmatics instinctively purse their lips during an asthma attack. From the very first asthma attack, the asthmatic notices right away that when his mouth is open normally, he gasps for breath, but when his lips are pursed, the gasping ceases. Unfortunately, asthmatics do not follow through with the lip pursing. They will purse their lips to exhale the air out of their lungs, and then open their mouth to try to get the air back in, which always fails because as soon as they open their mouths, they start to gasp for air. No asthmatic puts two and two together and thinks, “Maybe I should keep my lips pursed for every inhalation and every exhalation.” They don’t think this because it sounds absolutely retarded. It is counter-intuitive to think that by manually constricting the air flow using your lips that that will help you to breathe easier. So, as a result, no asthmatic tries this. However, if any asthmatic does tightly purse their lips during an attack, and keeps them pursed the entire time they are breathing, they will notice that, “Holy freaking cow! I can breathe without gasping for air!” This can be proven with any asthmatic, and I challenge all asthmatics and parents of asthmatics to prove me wrong.

In fact, parents of asthmatics, take your asthmatic child and tell them to tightly purse their lips during their next attack (without taking medication), and to breathe through that tiny hole, and then, during the attack, ask the child to tell you whether he can breathe easier, by nodding his head, “yes,” or shaking his head, “no,” so as not to open his mouth. He will nod his head, “yes.” Ask him whether he is still gasping for breath. He will shake his head, “no.”

This means that there is no asthma attack that need ever be life-threatening. As long as the lips are pursed tightly, every asthmatic can breathe through that hole, without needing any medication, whatsoever.

4. Unfortunately, as soon as your tightly pursed-lips child opens his mouth, he will start to gasp for air again. So, he can’t get that needed water (the real asthma medicine) down his throat, because when he is suffocating he can’t drink anything, for drinking requires opening his mouth, which will cause him to start to gasp for air, and drinking also requires swallowing, which requires holding your breath. Also, he won’t be able to speak, because he can’t open his mouth, (’cause he’s too busy breathing through pursed lips.) Thus, there must be a mechanism which allows him to go from “no more gasping” with his lips pursed to being able to open his mouth and swallow the required water. That mechanism is the emptying of the lungs.

5. When the asthmatic empties his lungs, it causes the breathing to slow waaaaaay down, to a veritable crawl. In other words, when he inhales after his huge exhalation of everything in his lungs, he will notice that the inhalation takes seemingly forever and goes real slow. That is the signal that he can “come out” of the pursing of the lips, which must be done slowly, or incrementally, widening the pursed lips hole bit by bit, until he is able to breathe through his nose without gasping for breath. At that point he can down the two glasses of water without a problem, and also talk to people. But the effect is only temporary. Nevertheless, he can repeat the technique as many times as he wants or needs to.

6. It is the water that is the real asthma medication, so the breathing technique is merely a tool to allow the asthmatic to get the medicine down. Once the water is down the hatch, the asthmatic merely needs to wait until those adrenal glands have been activated, and then he’ll get a long term bronchial-dilation effect. But until the adrenaline is released, he must continue to use the breathing technique, if necessary. Any time he wants to, he can drink water after using the breathing technique. More water than two glasses is not hurtful, but is beneficial to an asthmatic, but there is no need to overdo it and get so full you want to burst.

7. All the facts I have written in the post and also in these two follow-up comments are fully demonstrable. All it takes is one asthma attack in which the lips are pursed, the lungs are emptied, and the water is drunk, and everyone will observe these facts as stated. You will all see that asthma medication is now obsolete. Again, I challenge the whole freaking world to prove me wrong on this. Try the experiment for yourselves and then, once you see that this is all true, get the message out to everyone. Asthma must altogether cease to exist. There is no more need for any more asthmatic suffering.

3rd Comment—  A couple more things

It is perfectly okay to experiment with the breathing technique. Everyone is different. It may be that you don’t need to fully empty the lungs three times before coming out of the lip pursing. Maybe only one time, or two times, is necessary. Or maybe you want four. Whatever works for you. Also, it may be that you don’t need to incrementally come out of the lip pursing. It may be that you can empty your lungs, start the slow inhalation and then close your mouth and breathe through your nose, without any problems. Figure this out for yourself. There is no more risk of suffocation, because you can always go back to pursing your lips and breathing again. So, I have handed you, the asthmatic, all the knowledge necessary to take full control of your asthmatic condition, without needing a doctor or a prescription medicine. You just need water and salt and a pair of lips.

4th Comment—  About the salt: Unless your doctor has put you on a low sodium diet for some reason, make sure that you get the recommended daily value for sodium in your food. Also, as an asthmatic will end up drinking a lot more water than a hydrated person, just have some table salt handy when you eat and sprinkle it around, whenever you want. That should satisfy your salt needs.

Complete List of Articles authored by LDS Anarchist

NEW C.E.S. DEVOTIONAL, FEB. 2013 – ELDER FREDERICK A. DOUGLASS

The New CES (Correctional Ephraimite Society) foretold in scripture as the “Repentant Gentiles,” welcomes you to this, our first Fireside. We hope it is well with you, and we trust that it “will be well with” us all if we repent and are numbered among the “Remnant” according to the words of Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. In His name we open these proceedings and present to you our keynote speaker this evening.

Having received far less “formal education” than even his contemporary, Joseph Smith Jr., Frederick Douglass nonetheless became one of America’s most eloquent and stirring writers and orators. One anecdote regarding the renegade education of this self-taught man relates how he used his god-given wisdom to gain knowledge of the world which would prove useful in his earthly mission. He was taught the basics of reading and writing by a kind mistress who after being reprimanded by the master of the house, immediately ceased the helpful instruction. She had been the kindest white person young Frederick had ever met up to that point, but because she was led by her husband, who was in turn led by a code of ethic, she sinned against her own heart and Frederick watched as she over the course of time became one of the meanest mistresses.

But ever the believer, Frederick determined to continue his education with God’s help. This he did by approaching schooled white boys and boldly proclaiming that he could read and write. This announcement was usually met with great incredulity. How could a little slave boy know how to read and write. Young Frederick would meet their skepticism with added boldness and say that he could write better than any of them. This was cunning on Frederick’s part designed to challenge the young white boys pride and thereby extract the desired secret knowledge which his “master” had sought to keep from him. Douglass would propose a demonstration and purposely select a word which he did not yet know how to spell but was desirous to learn. After scrawling out letters with a stick in the dirt, the pride of the white boys obligated them to prove their supposed “supieriority” by grabbing the stick and showing the correct spelling of the disputed word. Douglass took careful note of the correction and thus perfected his English, eventually surpassing the knowledge of most white people.

Douglass was very accustomed to addressing audiences where the overwhelming majority of the members were white, so he feels right at home speaking in an LDS setting. During his mortal mission, Elder Douglass worked closely with many abolitionist groups in the U.S. and Canada. He also served several missions to Ireland in the cause of Irish Home Rule. Another cause which he champions is women’s rights. Some of these things may seem to us to be non-issues today, but Frederick wants us to know that they are as alive and well as ever, and so is he. Brother Douglass is a shining example of the Latter-Day Saint adage which says that we should be “anxiously engaged in a good cause.” Being very familiar with the truths which we as Latter-Day Saints sometimes have a tendency to think of as exclusive to our Church, Frederick’s work reminds us that the Lord is not under any obligation to accept what we call being “anxiously engaged in a good cause” but will only accept those works done of our “own free will.”

It is on this point which we have asked Brother Douglass to speak to us this afternoon. He has said that he is very excited to be working with us in the cause of Zion and that he “will unite with any one to do right, and with no one to do wrong!” Douglass was and is a great person. He once said, “I prefer to be true to myself, even at the hazard of incurring the ridicule of others, rather than to be false, and to incur my own abhorrence.” His message of faith and freedom can be summed up beautifully by this quote, which says, “I prayed for twenty years but received no answer until I prayed with my legs.” Brothers and sisters, unless we are praying with our legs, something is wrong and we should be concerned. We are grateful and honored to have Brother Douglass speak to us in the Spirit today.

A WEEKEND STATE OF MIND IS A WEAKENED STATE OF MIND

My dear brothers and sisters in Zion, I thank Heavenly Father for this opportunity to address my thoughts and feelings to you from beyond the veil. I pray that the Holy Spirit will convey them with the same or greater power than would be possible were I with you in person. I feel honored to have been called upon by Higher Powers to join with a people who have so much good in their hearts. As Elder Chantdown said in his gracious introduction, it is my hope that we can get that good out and into the world where it is sorely needed. In the days of my mortal mission I faced what, to many, would seem insurmountable odds. But God is Great and with Him I overcame those odds. As I continue in Christ, I find God’s power grants me the ability to experience even greater breakthroughs beyond the grasp of death. True freedom is a wonderful gift from God. I pray that my words may inspire many of you to ask Him for it. For our Savior has said, “ask and ye shall receive.”

What is it that keeps us from asking for true freedom? The simple fact that we believe we are free enough is the greatest stumbling block to establishing a Zion where God’s True Freedom may flourish. In my narratives I describe how, as slaves were granted the days between Christmas and New Year’s Day as holidays. This was done, not out of any goodness on the part of the slave masters, but as a safety valve to carry off the rebellious human spirit. I see that your latter-day state is ruled by modern slave masters who have condensed the process to a weekly ritual for diverting the energies of the slaves and protecting the interests of the oppressors. In my day, as in current times, this is carried out most drastically through alcohol abuse. I know that most LDS do not drink alcohol; however, I wish to impress upon your minds the more subtle and therefore far greater danger which you are faced with. Now, we all can see how wild and raucous living, especially on a 7 day cycle, has such dire effects on the masses. But do we realize the similar effects of spiritual, mental and physical slavery that are perpetuated when we go ignorantly back and forth between the programs of the Church and State? An alcoholic will often, due to the extreme nature of his captivity, come to a moment of clarity which converts him to God in an equally extreme manner. As in the story of Young Alma contained in Mormon scripture. When presented with a false freedom – especially one that seems very convincing, soft and safe – we will feel that we might as well be slaves to men, systems and unseen devils since the highly anticipated WEEK END always leaves us in a WEAKENED state.

It does not matter whether that weekend is filled with worship or wine. When we fall into this trap then we do not advance the cause of truth. Zion falters and the suffering continues. Why do you live like slaves or prisoners even in such an affluent society? What are you afraid of? Why is it so difficult for you to explain the corruption that you do see to so many of your close friends and family? Why are so many of the best examples you have before you of Christian living, of truly Christ-like lives, from Non-Christian people? I have been called upon to preach a very specific message to a very specific audience. Please, liken my life to your own. I lived as best I could and that means that, like my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, I lived my life for you, my brothers and sisters. While the truth that flows through me from God is applicable to all men, I will tailor my words so that they may be of special help to you. I speak to the LATTER-DAY SLAVES.

Frederick Douglass Speaks Seriously to Latter-Day Slaves

Sunday was my only leisure time. I spent this in a sort of stupor, between sleep and wake, under some large tree. [You, under a steeple, may find a similar lulling induced while listening to a High Councilman’s talk.] At times I would rise up, a flash of energetic freedom would dart through my soul, accompanied with a faint beam of hope [for ZION] that flickered for a moment, and then vanished… This time we regarded as [the Lord’s Day], by the grace of our masters [Clergy of the Church&State]. Those of us who had families [and callings], were generally allowed to spend [part of] the day in their society… But by far the larger part engaged in such activities as [meetings, meetings and more meetings] – drinking [spiritual] whisky [like the Drunkards of Ephraim as you are called in Isaiah 28]; and this latter mode of spending the time was by far the most agreeable to the feelings of our masters. A slave who would [watch and warn] during the holiday [Holy Day] was considered by our masters (bishops) as scarcely deserving [a temple recommend]. He was regarded as one who rejected the favor of his master. It was deemed a disgrace not to get drunk [with the doctrine of the Drunkards of Ephraim]… From what I know of the effect of these holidays upon the slave, I believe them to be among the most effective means in the hands of the slaveholder in keeping down the [Holy] Spirit of insurrection… Their object seems to be, to [bore] their slaves with freedom [of religion], [to lull them to sleep and distract them from even the thought of ZION with busy-work].

For instance, the slaveholders not only like to see the slave drink of his own accord, but will adopt various plans to make him drunk [with Strong Delusion as per 2 Thessalonians 2:10-13]. One plan is to make bets on their slaves as to who can drink the most whisky [me(s)morize the most scriptures, baptize the most CONverts, chug a whole Book of Mormon within 5 months, as Hinckley encouraged you to do]; and in this way they succeed in getting whole multitudes to drink to excess. Thus, when the slave asks for virtuous freedom [aka ZION], the cunning slaveholder/stake holder/stake president, knowing his ignorance, cheats him with a dose of vicious [Babylonian Business], artfully labelled with the Name of Liberty [the Name of Jesus Christ]. The most of us used to drink it down, and the result was just what might be supposed; many of us were led [to err, led by the precepts of men]  to think that there was little to choose between liberty and slavery. We felt, and very properly too, that we had almost as well be slaves to [Washington] as to [Salt Lake]. So, when the [three hour block of Sunday meetings] ended, we staggered up from the filth of our wallowing [Tables full of vomit and filthiness – no place clean –  as those described in Isaiah 28:8] we took a long breath, and marched to the field – feeling, upon the whole, rather glad to go, from what our master had deceived us into a belief was [ZION or even an organization dedicated to establishing ZION], back to the arms of slavery.

I have said that this mode of treatment is a part of the whole system of fraud and inhumanity of [Church & State]. It is so… Between the Christianity of this land, and the Christianity of Christ, I recognize the widest possible difference — so wide, that to receive the one as good, pure, and holy, is of necessity to reject the other as bad, corrupt, and wicked. To be the friend of The One, is of necessity to be the enemy of the other. I love the pure, peaceable, and impartial Christianity of Christ: I therefore hate the corrupt, slaveholding, women-whipping, cradle-plundering, partial and hypocritical Christianity [Christ-Shun-Insanity] of this land. Indeed, I can see no reason, but the most deceitful one, for calling the religion of this land Christianity [for calling the Nu-Mormonism true Mormonism…for calling Utah Zion]. I look upon it as the climax of all misnomers, the boldest of all frauds, and the grossest of all libels. Never was there a clearer case of ʺstealing the livery of the court of heaven to serve the devil in.ʺ

The report got abroad that I was hard to whip; that I was guilty of [questioning my priesthood leaders, of not following the “Brethren”, of evil speaking of the Lord’s anointed], and that, though generally a good-natured [Latter-Day Slave], I sometimes “got the devil in me.” These sayings were rife in [my ward and stake] and distinguished me among my servile brethren [by a tag on my membership records]. Trained from the cradle up to think and feel that their leaders were some kind of [spiritual giants] and invested with a sort of sacredness, there were few who could rise above the control which that sentiment exercised. I had freed myself from it, and the thing was known. One bad sheep will spoil a whole flock/ward. I was a bad sheep. I hated [spiritual] slavery, slaveholders, and all pertaining to them; and I did not fail to inspire other [members] with the same feeling whenever the opportunity was presented.

As anyone who has read my narratives will know, my road to freedom was not an easy one. Neither will it be an easy task for you to shake off the shackles which bind your spirits. It will not be easy to leave the Field, so Large and Spacious, as if it were a World. Your escape will be made exceedingly difficult by the people, both old and young, both male and female; whose manner of dress is exceedingly fine; who fill the Great and Spacious House and who are in the attitude of mocking and pointing their fingers, even shouting orders towards you who have come at and are picking The Fruit of The Love of God. But you must eventually leave the Planet-ation at any cost and this you can only do by the grace and power of God. Come ye out from Her and touch not her unclean things. The process of following Christ to life and liberty is one that leads us spiritually, emotionally, intellectually and physically closer to Heavenly Father. Do not stop until you have reached Him. Once you have tasted of His Love, do not feel ashamed and do not settle for less. Love and encourage one another in pressing forward along the path to freedom. I share these words with you, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

America, let the results of this shooting be a rush to HOMESCHOOL, not GUN CONTROL!

Today’s horrendous act (the elementary school shooting in Connecticut) will surely have every American reeling, demanding that “something be done” to prevent this from ever occurring again.

My own initial gut reaction is that this must, must have been someone delta programmed to kill, for I just can’t conceive of someone capable of gunning down little children in this fashion without being in a dissociated mental state.  If that’s true, then there was an agenda to this massacre, and I can only think it must have been to get Americans wanting GUN CONTROL and more school security.

May I suggest, though, a different response than the one that surely will be promoted on every television news channel?  May I suggest that Americans en masse pull their children out of the schools and begin to homeschool their children?  Can we not turn the tables on those who, perhaps, planned this and do something they weren’t expecting us to do?

Now, homeschooling surely will be an option that will occur to EVERY parent that hears the news of this event.  But, they will probably think that it’s not possible, for a variety of reasons.  Perhaps both parents work, or perhaps there is a single parent working, or perhaps there is a parent at home who could homeschool but they feel inadequate for the task.  Let me suggest some easy and very quick ways to skirt around these difficulties so that concerned parents can do the proper response and pull their children out of school.

First, get the Robinson Curriculum (www.robinsoncurriculum.com) and use that, since it doesn’t require much of anything, just a computer and a printer, and it is an autodidactic course, meaning that the parent doesn’t have to teach anything, the kids just learn on their own, teaching themselves.  Use that initially, since it can be started immediately, and then if you want to use some other curriculum, you can, but the Robinson Curriculum will get you started without having to wait for anything.  That takes care of the how and what to teach.

Second, for those families that do not have a parent at home to school their children, let me suggest gathering your extended family around and finding one person, or several adult family members, who are currently staying at home, and then recruiting them as the “extended family teacher.”  Drop your kids off at that family member’s house to do the Robinson Curriculum or whatever curriculum you choose.

If you cannot find an extended family member who stays at home, such as a grandparent, retired person, disabled person, stay-at-home mom, unemployed person, etc., or if you do not have any extended family that you can rely upon, perhaps you can rely upon a trusted neighbor or friend who has an adult that stays at home, and use them as your children’s “teacher.”  (I put teacher in quotes because the RC has no teacher, since the children teach themselves.  But an adult to supervise is required.)

It is my hope that this despicable act will turn into a catalyst that causes Americans to reconsider homeschooling their children and perhaps some kind of organized movement will begin that will show Americans just how easy and quickly it is to pull their children out of school without hurting their education one bit.

If you find this suggestion practical and want to pass it on, please send this information far and wide, via email, Facebook, Twitter, 2-cent stamped snail mail, or whatever, adding whatever other additional information you think would be helpful.

On a more prophetic note, should Americans actually start pulling their children out of the schools en masse, that may signify the beginning of tribal formations among them.

Complete List of Articles authored by LDS Anarchist

Punishment

The goal of punishment is to inflict something unpleasant on a person – whether physical [e.g., corporal striking, physical confinement, monetary penalties] or emotional [e.g., shaming, time-outs, or making a public example] – for the purpose of discouraging the repeat of a certain behavior.

As with all things satanic, the focus is on the external – i.e., how to control behavior – rather than on the internal – i.e., how to affect the right-brain-heart.  Heart-level change does not result from punishment.  Worthiness will not result from the struggle to conform one’s behavior to this or that standard.

Any church that bases itself on the works of men will place its focus on the outside being “good” – assuming that a “good” inside will, of necessity, follow.  However, God says that it is our hearts that matter most, and it is often the sins that we can’t see that are the most dangerous.

The external metrics of “worthiness” are never an issue with the Lord for there is no one worthy.  It is those with hard-hearts who are obsessed with worthiness.  You can do all the church service and works of man until you have wasted your strength and you will still be unworthy to receive anything from God – an unprofitable servant.  Nothing in the gospel is based upon our merits.  We are to rely solely on the merits of Christ.  He is the only worthy one among us.

Further, it is only by entering into a covenant relationship with Him that the nature [or heart] of a person can be sanctified.  It will not come after a life-long process of struggling to sanctify our behavior.

Punishment belongs to God:

The word of God, which is quick and powerful, sharper than a two-edged sword – is the only thing that may execute vengeance upon the heathen, and punishments upon the people.  Truly we say that to the Lord alone belongeth judgment:  “For it is mine and I will repay.”

The inflicting of punishment is reserved by God the Father.  The only punishment which can be justly inflicted is the removal of a soul to hell [rather hell on this earth for a time or to outer darkness for eternity].  This punishment belongs to the Father alone because it is based on the hardness/softness of the right-brain-heart, which no man can ascertain.

But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart. [1 Samuel 16:7]

Humans are not to judge:

Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven: [Luke 6:37]

This is the principle on which the atonement of Jesus Christ forgives sin.  Sin is not forgiven and punishment withheld because God effectively beat it out of Jesus.  Justice is not satisfied by the punishment of an innocent.

[The Compassionate Empathy Model of the Atonement and How the atonement of Jesus Christ solves the “victim” problem]

The gospel teaches us that Christ can satisfy the demands of justice on the behalf of those who repent and believe in Him.  In other words, Jesus satisfies those seeking justice [judging/condemning] thereby putting an end to their demands.  He can remove all accusers as demonstrated in John 8: 10-11.

The visual imagery of Jesus being:

filled with compassion towards the children of men; standing betwixt them and justice; [Mosiah 15:9]

is that for a person to obtain or “get to” justice — they would first have to go through Jesus.  And He is there to present His atonement as evidence in your behalf so that justice will pause from making its demands long enough for Christ to make his own demands of mercy.

Where there is no condemnation [meaning we do not accuse or judge], there can be no punishment:

where there is no punishment there is no condemnation; [2 Nephi 9:25]

Thus, saints who have been commanded not to judge, accuse, or condemn are thereby prohibited from punishing other people.

Further, even assuming that a temporal punishment [rather inflicted by circumstance or by the State] is just and comes from God, gives a person,

a great cause to repent; and except he repenteth of that which he hath done he perisheth forever, and hath no interest in the kingdom of God. [Mosiah 4:17-18]

Problems with human punishment, in general:

When humans inflict punishment on others, it encourages them to hide their feelings rather than express them honestly and truthfully.  This can begin in childhood and can have a myriad of negative consequences well into adulthood — negatively affecting a person’s relationship with spouses, children, and friends.

When parents punish, children are not taught appropriate ways to deal with anger, instead they learn that expressions of anger will result in a spanking or time-out.  They are taught that crying will result in being given “something to cry about”.  They are taught that happy is the only acceptable emotion.

Punishment increases deceitful behavior in children.  Afraid to own up to mistakes — children learn to become secretive, lie, and hide their errors.   In addition, no motive to obey [other than by threat of punishment] has been generated — when the threat of punishment is removed, true desires and character will be manifest.

In criminal punishment, offenders are judged as the ultimate source of their socially deviant behavior — and then they are deemed deserving of punishment on the grounds that they could have overcome their environmental and biological circumstances, but simply chose not to do so.  Thus, incarcerations and executions are valued over rehabilitation, retribution to victims, and deterrence.

Those in favor of punishment [rather a parent-to-child or the State-to-criminal] will refer especially to the “rod” verses in the Old Testament:

He that spareth his rod hateth his son [Proverbs 13:24]

As though this evidences that physical punishment is mandated by scripture, if not at least permitted.

Many may even feel that a child’s salvation depends on a parent punishing them. Punishment is considered the method of paying for their sin and removing their guilt.

However, the message of the gospel is that all sins, including those of children, have already been suffered for by Christ.  If the message that Christ has taken the burden of sin for us all [especially little children] tells us anything at all, it tells us that as saints — we are:

to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;

To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; [Isaiah 61:1-2]

Spanking, in particular:

Spanking is a bit of a controversial topic among parents.  Like the decision to homeschool, I have found that most will retort with:  “Well, I was spanked and I turned out fine.”  Not only does that assume that a person is capable of diagnosing their self as “fine” — but it ignores the very real fact many people who were spanked did not turn out “fine”.  Many of them are still, as adults, dealing with the results of their well-intentioned parents’ choice to punish.  Being “fine” in spite of something is not evidence that the thing is proper or necessary.

Further, the practice of spanking on the buttocks comes from the Victorian era — not from biblical times as is often assumed.  Spanking began under domestic discipline [a husband spanking his wife for not properly obeying him] and the history of the practice is sexual — both of which were enough reason for my family to refrain from spanking our children.

Besides, the physical punishment today rarely looks like the literal interpretation of the “rod” verses in the Old Testament.  The rod or shebet [which Proverbs tells us we are not to spare] was an implement that could kill a grown adult when being used to punish.  To be biblically-spanking [using the “rod” according to the original meaning] I would have to strike my children on the back with a shepherd’s staff large enough that I could conceivably kill them with it.

However, there is also another way to read the shebet that we are not to withhold.  As the staff of a shepherd, it would be used to guide [rather than strike].  As the scepter of a king, it would be

an unchanging scepter of righteousness and truth; and thy dominion shall be an everlasting dominion, and without compulsory means it shall flow unto thee forever and ever.

As a measuring rod, it would be the standard works [or the word of God] by which all human behavior ought to be governed by.

Further, the Lord — in addition to proclaiming liberty to captives and opening prisons to those bound:

hast broken the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, [Isaiah 9:4]

Moved with compassion:

Because human punishment only teaches a person to obey — rather than why to obey or how to think for themselves — people have become more vulnerable to peer-pressure.  Already geared to be a people-pleaser, a child who is raised through fear of punishments will not have developed the necessary skills to be self-governing and say “no” — and will likely act out of fear of the negative consequences the group can inflict, as they learned in the home.

The punishments that humans inflict will not save a child, nor will it save a criminal.  That work is only wrought by Jesus Christ.  You cannot beat a person into salvation.  A child is not saved by a parent [nor a criminal by the State] who punishes him/her in order to “atone for his sin” or that he may learn how to “be good”.

No one is even saved by “being good” anyway.  A person is saved through a covenant relationship with God through Jesus Christ — nothing more, nothing less.

Instead of helping people, punishment presents a distorted view of God.  God raises His children with compassion and mercy, not with punishment.  We cannot constantly beg at His throne for mercy and patience — while accusing and condemning our fellow-humans here on earth.

Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants.  And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents.

But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.

The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying:  “Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.”  Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.

But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying:  “Pay me that thou owest.”

And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, “Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.”  And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt.

So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done.  Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, “O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me:  Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?”  And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.

So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.

By this you may know my disciples:

The unsanctified believer in Christ will always focus on verses intended for others.  In this case, many may refer to Ephesians 6:1

Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.

and yet ignore the following verse directed towards the parents:

ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

It is not the place of a steward to make the concerns of their stewardship obey them [rather we are talking about husband-wife, parent-child, or State-citizen].  Rather, it is only the steward’s duty to govern:

by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned; By kindness, and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy, and without guile — Reproving betimes with sharpness, when moved upon by the Holy Ghost; and then showing forth afterwards an increase of love toward him whom thou hast reproved, lest he esteem thee to be his enemy; That he may know that thy faithfulness is stronger than the cords of death.

One is only brought up in the “nurture and admonition of the Lord” by discipline [meaning the way of disciple-making] — not punishment.

The root of our word for both disciple [and therefore “discipline”] is that of a student or follower.  It is a relational word — just as the Savior spent His time with His disciples, teaching them by word and by deeds.  Discipleship is what we do with others when we

sittest in [our] house, and when [we] walkest by the way, and when [we] liest down, and when [we] risest up. [Deuteronomy 6:7]

with them.

Discipleship is how humans learn by sight.  In our pre-mortal life, we walked by sight — meaning we were discipled.  As we saw, so we did — imitating the beings around us, learning by copying what we saw them do.

Upon entering mortality as children, we bring this capacity to imitate others with us.  We imitate or emulate our parents, our brothers and sisters, our friends and associates, the celebrities of the day, etc.  Eventually we assimilate into whatever society we are born into.

Disciplining [in the sense of how to make a disciple] comes as a steward acts as the servant that he or she is.  A servant is one who goes “through the dust” with another.  Only example and repetition will effectively:

Train up a child in the way he should go [Proverbs 22:6]

Using punishment does not discipline [or teach] a person.  When we punish, we act as if human society has no other means of bringing weaker members up to a standard of conduct — except for waiting until a person does something non-sanctioned, and then punishing them [legally or morally] for it.

The family has complete jurisdiction over a person during the entire childhood period.  The whole period up to maturity can be used to it teach a person to be capable of rational conduct in life.

Parents who disciple in the home will teach their children diligently and freely to understand the doctrine of repentance, faith in Christ the Son of the living God, and of baptism, and the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of the hands – before the age of eight.  Then shall their children be baptized for the remission of sins when eight years old, and receive the laying on of the hands.  They will also teach their children to pray, and to walk uprightly before the Lord.  They will teach their children to read and write, having a language which is pure and undefiled.  They will engage in continual tribal rituals to strengthen the common morphic field that exists among disciples of Jesus Christ.

If you love God sincerely, then you will naturally gravitate to becoming as He is and gathering with others who do too.  You cannot not, by adhering outwardly according to a law or standard, come to love God.  Thinking that our behavior can affect our standing with God is what leads people to falsely conclude that we should punish — because “it’s worth it”.

When we pass from mortal life and realize that all the laws and traditions of human convention no longer exist — then the true nature [state of the right-brain-heart] will manifest and those who have not learned to be as God [even though they still managed obedience] will find themselves removed from God because of their new-found freedom.

Our Father’s kingdom is tribal anarchy because it is for people who already know how to be.  He wants to know what people want to be — not what they can be punished into acting like.

Next Article by Justin:  Masculinity, Femininity, and Gender

Previous Article by Justin:  The conditions of this law

The Tribal Church

Rebecca [from the-exponent blog] once asked me:

In your ideal world, I’d assume there is no church outside of the family unit.  Is this the primary appeal of anarchy within the LDS context for you?

It is evidence of the “Catholic-ization” of the LDS church that members refer to the leadership in Salt Lake as “the Church” – as opposed to the group of believers that meet together.  Like the Catholics – I often hear LDS refer to “What the Church has said” about such-and-such or what “Our leaders haven’t taken a position” on such-and-such.  LDS will speak of “the Church” as if it is some entity completely removed and separate from the members.  Where was there ever a body without parts?  The church is the people who make it up.

The church is a tribe; your tribe is the church:

As LDSA outlined in the Wives, follow your husbands! – Patriarchy, androcracy and the egalitarian tribe post:

Because of the gospel’s tribal nature, the organization of the priesthood mimics that of the egalitarian tribe.  Bishops, bishoprics, counselors, common judges, higher judges, lower judges, high councils, presidencies, apostles, seventies, quorums, etc., all have their counterpart in egalitarian tribal organization.

The principle described here is entirely correct.  What most LDS understand as the church structure is actually a tribal structure.  Currently, the Gentile Mormon church uses the structure of wards and stakes with presiding bishops and presidents over congregations and quorums – however this is a mere copy [an incomplete/improper copy] of the tribal structure in which the gospel is designed to be lived — a structure of clans and tribes with presiding husbands and tribal elders.

This is seen as LDS refer to their local congregation as the “ward family”, their fellow-members as “brother” and “sister” so-and-so, etc.  This is also why even official Church™ policy is to acknowledge [in word at least – though not in deed], that the family is the central unit in the gospel of Jesus Christ, with the Church being only an appendage.

Therefore, the priesthood holder in the home is the central priesthood leader – and the church priesthood holders are appendage leaders – in other words they are secondary as compared to a woman’s husband.

Much of what is wrong in the LDS church originates with wives not considering their husbands to be their priesthood/church leader – which itself originates with the Church™.

In the eyes of the Church™, the husband is not a priesthood leader with keys – only a quorum member without keys.  Leaders have keys, and members do not.  Because, in the eyes of the Church™, husbands do not have keys – they could not leaders.  Quorum members report directly to quorum leaders, and as a quorum member, the husband is an agent of his quorum president.

This view is then passed on to the wife, so that when a wife thinks of a priesthood leader, she will think of someone who holds keys, such as a bishop or stake president.  Thus, it becomes that in the eyes of a wife, her husband is subordinate to the priesthood leaders found in the Church™.

This is why we find wives by-passing their husbands and going behind his back to a bishop or stake president [see comment #87 and #102 here].  Any LDS wife who does view her husband as her priesthood leader typically does so insofar as the husband is following the direction of the Church™ leaders.  An easy way to discern this is to have the husband do something different than what the church leaders council him to do [like baptize children or administer the sacrament without a bishop’s approval].  Then the wife’s true loyalties will manifest and she will likely side with the Church™ authority.  Only when there is conflict between a Church™ leader with “keys” and a husband without them can it be seen who a wife really believes her church leader to be.

The Church™ is actually a religion:

What most LDS refer to as “the Church” is, therefore, not actually a church at all [it not being bound by covenant bonds between members].  It is a religion.  When seen from the tribal point-of-view [where church = tribe], the church is an entirely new people-group, nation, or tribe separate from any of the nations or tribes of the earth – the church of Jesus Christ being the tribes of Israel.  A tribe is merely a form a human organization that is based on two features:   kinship and shared belief.  Where these two things exist, there exits a tribe.  Where one or both of these things lack, there is no tribe.

Currently, in the LDS church, we have shared beliefs, but not kinship.  We may call others in our “ward family” by the names “brother” or “sister” so-and-so, and we may tend to all be of the same tribe [that of Ephraim] – but most members will view their blood family [kinship] as distinct from other LDS.

The purpose of the restoration of the gospel in the latter-days was to convert a diverse assortment of people [from every nation, tribe, and people-group] into a new kind of people.  The vision is a tribe, united under the bonds of a new and everlasting covenant, and restored to the ancient Hebrew notion of a holy nation/separate people-group.  No matter what the former culture was, any converts are adopted into a new family – formed on the basis tribal covenant bonds and shared beliefs.  Status in this group is not determined be virtue of what you believe or how many people you could tell what to do – but instead by the covenants a person has assumed and how many people you serve.

Without both kinship bonds and shared beliefs, we are not fully organized as the Lord’s tribes of Israel.  Groups that are bound by only shared belief are referred to as “religions”.  When Adam was praying, after having been removed from the Garden of Eden, there entered the god of this world in answer to his prayer:

So, you want religion, do you?

Religion is what Satan has been offering as a substitute for tribal relationships with our Heavenly Parents, Jesus Christ, and our fellowman since the beginning.  It is religion and the associated creeds that have prevented humans from coming to Jesus and the Father individually – instead forcing people to jump thru hoops, observances, rituals, classes, advancements, programs, etc.  Satan will always give a people religion, and it will be largely based in the left-brain-mind, professing God with the mouth [the left-brain-mind words] but having [right-brain-] hearts is far from Him.

A religion is just a branded belief.  Two people can be of different religions – and still be of the same nationality, work for the same companies, belong to the same social groups, etc.  There is nothing really distinct between the two, other than what they are doing for a few hours on Sunday.

The LDS church has taken direct action to remove any of the original elements of being a separate tribe/people-group, which are an impediment to popular acceptance.  Distinctions are minimized to remove any conflict between LDS and the state they reside in.  Any commitment to public relations will cause any movement, idea, or product to become less distinct – to boil down further and further, trying to find a least common-denominator and mass appeal/acceptance.  This is the story of Correlation™ and it has been handled in detail elsewhere.

Joseph Smith said that he:

cannot believe in any of the creeds of the different denominations [religions], because they all have some things in them I cannot subscribe to, though all of them have some truth.  I want to come up into the presence of God, and learn all things; but the creeds set up stakes, and say, ‘Hitherto shalt thou come, and no further’; which I cannot subscribe to.

Establishing an institution with orthodoxy and checklists – and then requiring uniformity of belief/thought in order to belong to the orthodox religion is the way of the Christians.  They are bound together not by tribal family bonds but instead by their confessions of faith and their creeds.

If we really want to come up “into the presence of God, and learn all things,” then we’d be wise to seek out and avoid the creeds of religions that “set up stakes” and demand that we “come no further.”

Within such an institution, one will find that if he/she:

wants to have the manifestations of the spirit in the place where I go to church, then I had better go to a church where we share all things in common… When you attend a church which spends $3 billion on building a shopping/commercial center right close to the temple and exactly $[zero] on implementing the law of consecration, I would hazard a guess that the odds are pretty close to 3 billion-to-zero that an abundance of the gifts of the spirit are [not] going to [be] in that church.

So now you may say well there isn’t any church or group that lives with all things in common.  How about forming your tribal organization and getting on with living that way?  That is what I am going to do.

I want to live the full gospel of Jesus Christ. I am going to start by having all things in common in my tribe so I can claim the blessings God has offered to those who obey the law given for that blessing.

Truly, one can not do this within the LDS church.  Such blessings are found only in communal worship that adheres to the word of God, the spirit of expediency, and the law of common consent.  Currently, this can only be achieved within tribal organizations.

Two ways to grow your tribe:

The discussion on plural marriage at Wheat and Tares taught me that most LDS will consider any discussion on organizing multihusband-multiwife tribes as “communes for unbridled secret sex at night.”

However, a tribe is merely a form a human organization based on two features:   kinship and shared belief.  This is the earliest form of human community – predating cities, states, churches, and even recorded history.  Tribal affiliations exist naturally among humans – when states don’t exist to break them up.  God does not look upon an individual as an isolated creation, all alone.  He sees people as they are connected to everyone else.  He sees all the tribal bonds and recognizes the tribal affiliations – even if we ourselves are not even aware of them or allow their functions to remain dormant.

God and the gospel are tribal in nature – always working to connect humans together into His tribe [which is composed of the tribes of Israel].  Our lineage is plainly manifest to Him and so when we begin to act tribally, He recognizes the tribal authority because it has been there all along, among the other conventional things we place upon it [e.g. political affiliations culture, religion].  All that is necessary for us to obtain tribal authority is to exercise it.  If we just need to assert it, God will recognize/validate it because it really is there and has been there all along.  We just haven’t been aware of it or acknowledged it.

The steward of a tribe is free to grow/enlarge his tribe or allow it to stay dormant.  While I intertwine multihusband-multiwife marriage systems together with my tribal understanding of the gospel, there are functions of tribalism that can be activated currently with a one-husband:one-wife tribe. Tribal plural marriage is simply the means whereby a tribe grows or is enlarged horizontally.  In like manner, having children is the means whereby a tribe grows or is enlarged vertically.

Growing horizontally:

Tribes are grown horizontally as new adult members are converted and desire to join.  As tribes must be bound by both kinship and shared belief, once conversion to the gospel takes place [shared belief], he/she must then be married into the tribe [kinship] as a part of the other entrance ordinances, e.g. baptism.

Growing horizontally is a function of tribal missionary work.  This has been discussed in the comments of dyc4557’s CHI #5 post.  Currently, LDS missionary work is comprised of sending never married, non-father elders into the mission field – following the pattern of the celibate, Catholic priesthood.  These celibate elders are sent by an “across the board” calling of all 19 year-old young men – instead of having any elder with the desire to travel, and calling of the Spirit to preach the gospel, approach their bishops to obtain license to do so by church vote.

In the comments on that post, LDSA touches on some principles for initiating the preaching of the gospel from a tribal point-of-view.  Briefly, they include:

• A married man with children having an advantage over a never-married, non-father young man with regards to relating to families [husbands, wives, fathers, and mothers].
• Distraction not being an issue when a person goes on a preaching mission only when he has a desire to go and feels called to do so by the Spirit.
• Leaving the length of a traveling mission open, instead of a fixed two-years, so that the Spirit can have flexibility in keeping a man in the mission field for short or long time periods.
• Utilizing all married men within a tribe [the priests, bishops, elders, seventy, apostles, high priests, and patriarchs], who are under the same commandment to travel and preach when their circumstances allow, to open up a larger pool from which to fill a mission field.
• Multihusband-multiwife tribes having less of a burden with traveling missionary work because when husbands leave to preach, wives and children will be taken care of by the tribe or other husbands.
• Not leaving converts [harvest] in the care of others who, hopefully, will take care of them – instead, either sending these people back to the tribe or, after the mission is complete, returning with them to the tribe, so that tribal integration can be complete.
• Marrying converts while still in the mission field so that, while there, a tribal missionary will have new tribal members to support him, giving him food, drink, clothing, shelter, and a family love and environment – fulfilling the commandment to travel with purse or scrip.  Also – retaining and building on the connection that a missionary makes with the converts he or she has taught.

Growing a tribe horizontally is essentially founded on multihusband-multiwife plural marriages.  It is this aspect that would likely make converting non-LDS into a tribe easier than converting LDS.  Many LDS come with cultural indoctrination [as both Americans and Mormons] that state-sanctioned monogamy is superior to any other form of marriage.  Polygyny is either valid insofar as it is state-sanctioned and First Presidency™-approved or was valid in the mid/late 19^th century but is now just a relic of a less-enlightened time gone by.  Polyandry is completely unheard of or considered and makes a mockery of God’s ordered system of paternity [which is why most LDS will always use “polygamy” when they really mean “polygyny” – polyandry not even being a consideration for them].

Monogamy is not sin.  If one spouse [or both] has emotional needs that necessitate him/her requiring a spouse to commit to not loving any other people, then [if the other spouse is willing to submit to that] they may take vows of exclusivity upon themselves. These vows are ordained of God, as long as both persons consent, and are in accordance with the new and everlasting covenant revealed in D&C 132.  As I stated previously, there are functions of tribalism that can be activated currently with a one-husband:one-wife tribe – however such a tribe will be limited horizontally.

Polygyny is not sin given that a woman gives her consent to the husband to take additional wives [releasing him from any vows of exclusivity he may have been under] – he is justified in taking on additional wives, for it is marriage with consent and thus a marriage ordained of God.

Polyandry is not sin.  In the new and everlasting covenant, there are two ways in which a woman get take an additional husband:

• One way is that she is simply sealed to a second [or third, etc.] husband.
• The other is that her husband breaks his marriage vows [commits adultery], whereby she is married to another man.  She remains married to the first husband because there is always the possibility of repentance and reconciliation.

Outside of the new and everlasting covenant, a woman [in the same manner as stated in the polygyny section] may obtain a second marriage thru the consent of her current husband or husbands.  This [like polygyny] is ordained of God insofar as all parties involved give consent.

Not giving consent to marry is the sin. When a man wishes to take an additional wife and his current wife or wives do not give their consent [which are the keys of this power], then they become sinners because they are forbidding him from marrying, making them not ordained of God.  Likewise, were a woman to desire an additional husband and her current husband or husbands do not give consent, then the husbands become sinners by virtue of forbidding her to marry.

This is the law of Sarah [in the new and everlasting covenant of marriage] and it is applicable to both men and women. “Wrongness” consists in forbidding marriage, which makes the person doing the forbidding not ordained of God – whether the forbidder is the state, the Church™, parents, or a spouse.

Growing vertically:

Tribes can also grow vertically.  This is done as married couples come together via sexual intercourse and provide physical life to children.  The two methods [horizontal and vertical] are related.  Just as parents are capable of loving more than one child with all of their heart – spouses are capable of loving more than one spouse with all of their heart.  Just as parents are commanded to have as many children as possible, not forbidding any spirits from entering their family – spouses ought to seek as many additionally spouses as possible, never forbidding one another from loving other people.

The Lord has commanded parents to be fruitful and multiply:

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.  And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it:

The secret combinations of central planners all establish two children per woman as their goal.  They have achieved this goal in the countries referred to as “developed”, and they are approaching success on a global scale.  The reason being that two children [replacement reproduction] breaks the commandment to multiply and “fill” the earth with humans – only replacing the two parents with two children.  The scriptural minimum for the number of children per family would therefore be three, with there being no associated maximum.

They have used various tools to achieve their satanic goal.  One need only search [population control eugenics] in a search engine to find plenty of resources on the subject.  To be brief, they would include:  barrier and hormonal methods of birth control, drugged hospital birthing experiences, circumcision, bottle-feeding, abortion, vasectomies and elective hysterectomies, focusing on “equal” employment for women, reducing sperm counts thru administered chemicals and diet, and sterilants in food/vaccines/water/etc.

A tribe based on the gospel of Jesus Christ will never restrict themselves to a set number of children – utilizing hormonal, barrier, or surgical forms of birth control thereafter.  They will not plan their number of children around their desired lifestyle, but will plan a lifestyle around the number of children they have.  They shall also teach their children to pray, and to walk uprightly before the Lord.  They will teach their children to read and write, having a language which is pure and undefiled.  They will teach their children diligently and freely to understand the doctrine of repentance, faith in Christ the Son of the living God, and of baptism, and the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of the hands – before the age of eight [lest the sin be upon their heads and it be the cause of their affliction].  Then shall their children be baptized for the remission of sins when eight years old, and receive the laying on of the hands.  They will engage in continual tribal rituals to strengthen the common morphic field that exists among disciples of Jesus Christ.

Next Article by Justin: The Will of God and Faith

Previous Article by Justin:  Tribal Rituals

Tribal Rituals

The performance of rituals is an integral part of all religions.  A ritual is some repetitive act that takes place at a set time and location.  Rituals also involve the use of symbolic objects, clothing, words, and hand gestures.

Everyone Participates in Rituals:

For example, going to church on Sunday is a common religious ritual for Christians.  As a ritual, it entails the donning of a different set of clothing, as well as interacting with others in a specified manner [hand-shakes, hugs, calling them brother/sister so-and-so, etc.] while gathered to a set-apart location.  Once gathered for this experience, members ritualistically participate in reenacting the life, teachings, and death of Jesus Christ.

However, even for non-religious persons — Sunday may still be a day of ritualistic behavior.  Millions will don a different set of clothing that marks their favorite sports team, interact with others thru high-fives and various team cheers, all while gathered to a set-apart location [the stadium or the TV room].

Rituals reinforce the basic tenets of a group and facilitates bonding between the members.  When the Catholics, for example, participate in the mass — it is [for the members] a ritualistic participation in the body and blood of Jesus and, by extension, a communal affirmation of the acceptance of the administrators of the mass [the Catholic priesthood].

Rituals are often charged with high emotions.  The rush of brain chemicals and “good” feelings that people receive during rituals are what provide the positive reinforcement for continuing them.  This is the same mechanism that binds two humans together during sexual relations [which are themselves rituals].  All rituals that a person participates in makes him or her “feel good”, and thereby reinforces the belief that their group is “true” and reinforces the morals associated with that group.

The state also has rituals to bind the mind of the citizenry to the “national identity”.  For example,  within the United States — the pledge of allegiance to the American flag will often begin a government-school day or a public meeting.

Archetypal Rituals:

While many cultures do vary in the prevalence and forms of the more minor rituals — there are five main rituals [archetype rituals] that mark the progress of a member of the group thru the main stages of life.  Though they may vary slightly from group-to-group in terms of form and symbolism — any group, religion, tribe, etc. will have:

• Birth Rituals
• Puberty Rituals
• Marriage Rituals
• Funerals Rituals
• Communal Meals

Within an LDS Context:

When a baby in born to LDS parents [some time within the first few months] the congregation will allow time for the father and other male family and friends to use the Melchizedek priesthood to place the child’s name on the records of the Church™ and to give a blessing by the influence of the Spirit.

When an LDS boy reaches age 12, he will be receive the Aaronic priesthood, in the office of deacon.  This marks his exodus from the female-dominated environment of primary classes and his entrance into the male-dominated environment of the Young Men™ program.

When an LDS couple decide to marry, they must participate in a large set of rituals.  First, there must be a temple recommend interview by both a bishop and a stake president.  Then, they will participate in a preparation class for the Temple™ that will be taught by a fellow member of their congregation.  There may also be more informal preparation of family/friends telling them what to expect, what kind of Garments™ to buy, etc.  Finally, there is the rituals associated with the Initiatory™, Endowment™, and Sealing™ ordinances.  In conjunction with this, LDS couples must also go thru the ritual of obtaining permission from the state to marry [as other non-LDS couples do].

Upon death, an LDS member’s family will typically organize a funeral service.  If this service is held in a Church™ building, then the bishop presides at the meeting and will conduct it.  If it is held in a home, at a funeral-home, or at the graveside, then the family presides.  Typically, families choose to have funeral rituals conducted by the bishop in a Church™ building.  As such, it is a Church™-governed ritual and the bishop is charged by the Oral Law to ensure that the funeral is simple and dignified, contains music and brief addresses and sermons centered on the gospel, and includes the comfort afforded by the atonement and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  An LDS funeral is an opportunity to teach the Gospel™ and testify of the Plan of Salvation™ — though they may also provide an opportunity to pay tribute to the deceased.  Such tributes will not dominate a funeral service.  Having large numbers of people share tributes or memories can make a funeral too long and may be inappropriate for a Church™ service.  Further, the Church™ will authorize the dedication of the member’s grave by a family member who holds the Melchizedek priesthood.

Communal Meals:

Finally, I want to discuss communal meals.  This archetypal ritual is particularly important because it occurs with more regularity than the “milestone” rituals.  A member of a group may participate in thousands or hundreds of thousands of these communal meals during the duration of his or her lifetime.

While the “milestone” rituals may provide the traveling guideposts on life’s journey [something to look forward to and something to always look back on], communal meals act as a constant boost and reinforcement for a person at more regular intervals.

Within an LDS Context:

The communal meal ritual is represented by the Sacrament™ during our Sunday meeting block.

Controlling the Communal Meal:

Because communal meals are more intimate [the sharing of food] and occur more frequently than other rituals — they carry with them great power to direct and connect the mind.  Thus, religions, states, and corporations seek control over them, to use them to concentrate power within their respective hierarchies.

A commenter on the Tribal Worship Services post noted that:

“Seems that you are looking for or seeking some form of “agape” feasting in which earlier Christians met for a common meal with each bringing some food; historical references do not clarify the earliest practice of such meals but there are lots of theories and ideas concerning it…

…By the way, the Council of Laodicea in 364 tried to outlaw the “agape” feastings for they were outside the “church control” – but they continued.”

Here is the excerpt from decision of the Catholic church in 364 AD:

CANON XXVII.

NEITHER they of the priesthood, nor clergymen, nor laymen, who are invited to a love [agape] feast, may take away their portions, for this is to cast reproach on the ecclesiastical order.

CANON XXVIII.

IT is not permitted to hold love [agape] feasts, as they are called, in the Lord’s Houses, or Churches, nor to eat and to spread couches in the house of God.

The Church™ likewise would not permit individual tribes within a congregation to utilize “the Lord’s House or Church” for their tribal worship services.  Church™ leaders hold full authority over the Church™ buildings [which power has been given them by the keys of the church] — and they use that power to provide a morsel of bread and a thimble of water to the congregations.  Further, they structure meetings according to the commandments of men [assigning talks, lessons, musical numbers, etc. in advance] so as to remove any chance of the Spirit manifesting herself spontaneously.  This is done to keep the members in a spiritually-starved state — so they must continue to come back and feed at the Church™.

The entrance of the television into family homes represents another attempt to usurp the power of communal meals to bind families together.  For a typical American child, the first meal of the day is eaten from a package and in front of a favorite television show.  This breakfast ritual ingrains the messages from the corporations in charge of the show’s content and the advertising commercials.

Next, this child will be dropped off at his/her government school.  Their next meal will come from the school’s cafeteria.  Corporations exercise their control over the food choices [most often thru vending machine choices, etc.] while the state has expressed recent interest in gaining more of that control.

Finally, the third meal the child will have again will likely come from a package and be eaten in front of the family’s favorite sit-com or sporting event — or maybe will be eaten in the child’s room alone.

Activating Tribal Meals:

In addition to tribal sacrament meetings [which is an important tribal ritual], tribes should also make a daily meal into a communal ritual.  Secular research has verified that the more often children eat a meal with the family:

• The less likely they are to abuse drugs
• The less likely they are to break the law of chastity
• The less likely they are to commit suicide
• The more emotionally fulfilled they are
• The more healthier their eating habits are
• The better they do in their chosen fields of study

A survey found that the 9-14 year-olds who eat dinner with their families at home are more likely to eat fruits and vegetables and less likely to consume soda and fried foods.  Further, the average American spends more than 40% of the family’s food budget on meals outside of the home.  Plus, the average meal outside the home costs $8 per person — while in-home meals average $4.50 per person.  Also, the average restaurant meal has as much as 60% more calories than a homemade meal.

Thus, even if your current tribe still consists of a monogamous, nuclear family — Tribal meals can still have a profound impact on strengthening your tribe from conspiring groups.  Remove your tribe from the influences of manufactured entertainment and manufactured food.  Imagine your family’s diner table is the alter upon which your tribe will offer daily thanks for the blessings God has granted you.  Offer this sacrifice daily, at an appointed time.  Approach it as a ritual, invoke the priesthood to ask God for all things, form a prayer circle, etc. — and it will activate the unifying power inherent in rituals to bring your tribe closer together.

Next Article by Justin: The Tribal Church

Previous Article by Justin:  Tribal Connections

Cheerfully Doing All Things

In the beginning, there was man — and for a time, it was good.  But humanity’s civilization soon fell victim to materialism and covetousness.  Then man made a System in his own likeness — man becoming the architect of his own demise.  But for a time, it was good.

The Cynics were a philosophical group in Greece and Rome around two to three centuries before and after Christ.  They were named, by their critics, after dogs [The Greek kynikos] because of their shameless rejection of conventional manners, mores, and values.  They were a group of indifference towards the normality enforced by Luciferian control systems.  They were known for eating with hands, going naked and having intercourse in public, walking barefoot, sleeping outside, etc.  As dogs, who have a very discerning nature, they could recognize as friends and receive kindly those ready for their teachings and lifestyle – while they would drive away any unfitted or unfriendly.

I share, with the Cynics, a similar understanding of how happiness is attained in mortal life:

• The goal of life is happiness, or joy – which is to live in harmony with Nature.
• Happiness depends on freeing yourself from influences such as wealth, fame, materialism, or power – things that have no value in Nature.
• Suffering is caused by assigning value falsely – striving after the wrong things leads to negative emotions and vicious character traits.

Paleoanarchism, or Anarcho-primitivism, is a critique of the origins and progress of human civilization.  As I studied human history I noticed a common trend, the shift from hunter-gatherer tribes to sedentary agrarian communities gave rise to the social stratification, coercion, and alienation from God, fellow humans, and Nature that have been the main reasons behind every success Satan has had with the human race.  Anarcho-primitivists advocate a return to non-“civilized” ways of life thru deindustrializing society, abolishing the division of labor, and abandoning large-scale organization power into states.

Satan’s first success story with using a mortal to alter conditions on earth was Cain.  Notice that Cain brought forth “of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord,” signifying his lifestyle of sedentary agrarianism.  He was the first to “build a city,” thereby establishing a rule of statism over his posterity.  His family initiated the first secret craft guild societies when they became “instructors of every artificer in brass and iron.”

This continued beyond the deluge in Noah’s time – with the great amalgamating power represented by Nimrod’s Babel.  As any statist, Nimrod was working to concentrate all power and knowledge at the top of his pyramid –archie.  Had the Lord not gone down and encrypted the human language, either Nimrod or someone following in his footsteps, would have succeeded.

Today, were are nearing that point again.  Babylon has brought all nations and people,

“to bow down with grief, sorrow, and care, under the most damning hand of murder, tyranny, and oppression, supported and urged on and upheld by the influence of that spirit which hath so strongly riveted the creeds of the fathers, who have inherited lies, upon the hearts of the children, and filled the world with confusion, and has been growing stronger and stronger, and is now the very mainspring of all corruption, and the whole earth groans under the weight of its iniquity.”

Her “iron yoke” and “strong bands” represent the “very handcuffs, chains, shackles, and fetters of hell.”  The innocent are murdered by this System – and we, as the ones awakened to it – have an “imperitive duty” to “work with great earnestness” – even “that we should waste and wear out our lives in bringing to light all the hidden things of darkness.”

Babylon has entrapped us to an unbelievable extent.  There is no way to be truly pure in the world today.  Babylon provides all who suck at her breast a simulated sameness that removes humans from the natural cycles of life.  Our planet has boasted extraordinary longevity because she has been allowed to go thru the cycles of waxing and waning, decay and renewal.  These cycles are necessary for humans too – for the rejuvenation of our cells.  However, we are provided food produced in industrial factories without respect to seasons, water on tap at any time without respect to seasons, housing at the same temperature and amount of light without respect to seasons – but everything comes at a cost.  Urbanization and industrialization of human life has resulted in persistent stress, rampant responsibilities, less sleep, less play, less sunlight, creation of new environmental toxins, new pathogens, and reduced fertility.

We have falsely assigned value to monogamy, body modesty, consumption of things, “cheap” food, allopathic medicine, statism, hierarchies, and public education [Note that in that last link, LDS are half as likely as the general population to homeschool].  These manifestations of the Luciferian control system are intended to entice and derail the energies of the saints – until we come to lose agency and consciousness.  Humans are only truly happy when we embrace that which is designed into our constitution and nature – this means rejection of all things that are the result of convention or earthly –archies.

I believe firmly that if we “cheerfully do all things that lie in our power” – we can then “stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed.”  In Acts 2, when the Holy Spirit came upon the believers gathered in that upper room — they immediately got up, left the room, and went to work.  Likewise, let us not focus on preaching to the choir, but instead focus on creating a little anarchy in the local congregations each of us has been placed into by the Lord [Examples of this can be found here, here, and here].

All things that lie in our power, which can restore humanity’s natural order, include:

• Declaring the words of Christ [Not Gentile LDS Missionary Work™]
• Using silver bartering currency
• Paleolithic nutrition
• Tribal relationships
• Bradley birth method for homebirthing
• Lactational Amenorrhea Method as a form of natural birth control
• Homeschooling
• Using the priesthood for everything
• Asking for every gift
• Tribal worship services

 

Previous Article by Justin:  The World I See

Next Article by Justin:  Seeking the Good of Others

See also:  Zo-ma-rah’s Week in Faith October 17, 2010, comments at Tom’s Church Finance – Part III, and D&C 123: 7-15, 17

Inculcating Anarchy

I am of the opinion that the greatest potential for change in our society comes first through the Atonement of our Lord Jesus Christ and second by how we raise children. Marianne Williamson, a spiritual activist, has said, “There is no single effort more radical in its potential for saving the world than a transformation of the way we raise our children.”  The Lord has revealed that “the wicked one cometh and taketh away light and truth, through disobedience, from the children of men, and because of the traditions of their fathers. But I have commanded you to bring up your children in light and truth” (D&C 93:39-40). With such a command, the issue of child rearing in light and truth is of highest importance. We must dispel and drive out any tradition that will take away light and truth from our children thus enabling them to reach higher than we can.

I hope for a better world. In my opinion a better world is one of harmony, peace, love, equality, freedom, truth and faith. Any action we take contrary to that better world can instill that negative action into a child’s nature.  The idea of a child being a sponge, soaking up all the information of the world around her, causes me to account for all my beliefs and values. Damage done to a child in their formative years is nearly ineradicable. Conversely, good and true principles and virtues established in their life from the day these children are conceived has the power and capacity to bring up children more fully in light and truth.

Ever since my son was conceived my wife and I have sought to minimize the impact of the traditions of men on him. We’ve had to critically look at the practices with which we were raised and compare those against others, guided by the Holy Spirit and using our best judgment when presented with scientific research and advice from other parents. I’ve come to the conclusion that Western methods of raising a child have been greatly influenced by the devil.

Anarchist Education

Considering the multiplicity of directions we could take this discussion, I wish to focus on anarchy in education. First off, I do not consider anarchism to be some nonsensical gimmick that I encourage or with which I affiliate myself for the sake of non-conformity. Though I am attracted to bohemian lifestyles, I truly believe that anarchism is the social order of a perfect society. This is a romantic notion but one worthy of study and active integration where possible.

One definition or explanation of anarchism that I like is that of being master of your own destiny.  It makes no sense to endorse an ideology devoid of unjustified rule, explicitly devoted to personal freedom in the grandest sense, and not give that very freedom to children from the beginning of their lives. As adults we are capable of exerting force upon children, either physically or psychologically, and satan would have us exploit that power. We must cast satan out of our midst and trust in the divine nature with which we have all been blessed by our great Creator.

I’ve mentioned this in at least three blog posts I’ve done in the last year (one of which can be found on my personal blog here) but I believe God has given us at least three important attributes that will bring us to Him if we allow them to develop:

1) Curiosity. This is what brings an infant to crawling, walking, talking, drawing, whatever in spite of the fact that it requires work and necessitates a move toward independence. If we were not curious, why would we ever want to do those things? Everything is done for us before we begin learning those things. I submit that humans naturally are curious.

2) Goodness. I do not believe that we enter this world desiring to sin. I think we are susceptible to sin but not inherently endowed with sinful tendencies. I believe people unfettered by the chains of the adversary will innately gravitate toward justice, peace, love, and kindness.

3) Aspiration. People want to become better and greater than they currently are. Children want to become effective adults. They observe adults carefully and closely and seek to emulate what they consider effective adulthood. Adults find models that they can look up to. The obvious hope is that we all look to the happiest being we know of, God our Father, and seek after Him.

I don’t think I will find much protest with those who frequent this blog in saying that I reject public education and the modern school system. But I also reject any attempt at indoctrination of children. Indeed one of the fundamental aspects of anarchism is the ability to critically examine anything with which we are presented. I therefore reject curriculum of any sort thrown upon a child. One critical aspect of casting satan out of our midst is to reject all forms of coercion or compulsion. Telling people what to learn or think is force. The doctrine of agency disallows anything that is forced.

So how can we teach our children? This issue is never one-sided. You can yak all day to me about anything you want but if I don’t decide to listen and learn, it’s just wasted breath. Freedom of choice is crucial to development, which is why it was so strongly guarded and fought for in heaven. Power and influence can only be had by persuasion, long-suffering, gentleness, meekness, love unfeigned, kindness and pure knowledge, without hypocrisy or guile (D&C 121:41-42). Those are the same principles upon which our Father teaches His children.

Do we trust our divine nature? Do we trust that we have, through extensive examination and spiritual guidance, arrived at the conclusions we have, making it possible for us to persuade another? God trusts Himself. Therefore he knows His doctrine is well founded and He needn’t resort to force to convince others to follow Him. If we are attempting to force others to do this or that, we must think that the subject is not self-justifying. Therefore no one should pursue it. Is our knowledge pure? Do people seek the knowledge we have without being tricked into it? If not, perhaps it is not knowledge worth having.

I hope I have portrayed this idea well enough to generate conversation. I am always willing to admit my logic may be flawed or faulty.