There are five church stages
The church of Jesus Christ will go through five distinct stages prior to the Second Coming of Christ.
The first two stages happen during a period which I call, the times of types and shadows. During this period, the last days prophecies are fulfilled solely in shadow forms, as types, so that they never fulfill literally and completely, nor does their chronology ever perfectly match the chronology set out in the scriptures. To give an example of a shadow fulfillment, consider the prophecies of Nephi found in 1 Nephi chapters 13 and 14. The prophetic order is:
- The book of the Lamb of God appears and goes from the Jews to the Gentiles in purity
- A great and abominable church (GAAC) is afterward formed
- The GAAC alters the book of the Lamb of God and then sends it out to all the nations of the world
- The GAAC also slays the saints of God and tortures them and binds them down into captivity
- The saints of God go out of captivity, to the promised land, carrying the altered book of the Lamb of God
- Many Gentile churches stumble because of the altered book of the Lamb of God
- New records are brought forth, starting with the complete and functionally translated Book of Mormon
Now that’s a play-by-play of some of the end time prophecies as they are going to be literally fulfilled, and that is the actual prophetic order given in the scriptures. What happened in the shadow? This:
- The primitive church apostles are killed and the church apostatizes—the saints of God cease to exist
- The Great Apostasy ensues
- The scriptures are collected and the ones considered authentic and binding are compiled into a single book, called The Bible
- One of the many Christian churches punishes heretics (not saints, for they no longer exist) in harsh ways
- Joseph Smith brings forth an incomplete and word-for-word translation of the Book of Mormon, but the other records (plates of brass, etc.) are not brought forth
In the shadow, there is no book of the Lamb of God present on the scene; however, there is a type of the altered version of the book of the Lamb of God, which is called the Bible. In the shadow, there is no great and abominable church corrupting the book of the Lamb of God and torturing and killing saints; however, there is a type of the GAAC which tortures and kills heretics to their church. In the shadow, the Book of Mormon isn’t brought forth in its entirety, nor translated functionally and powerfully; however, a part of it is brought forth and translated word-for-word. And so on.
The third stage is a reset or correction stage, a sort of preparatory stage which sets everything back in order and lays the foundation for the literal fulfillment of all the prophecies, so that all shadows and types cease at this point. Finally, in the last two stages all end time prophecies will be fulfilled every whit, literally and in their exact scriptural order. Okay, so let’s get into the details of each stage.
Stage #1: The restored church
The church was restored back to the earth on 6 April 1830. Lots of heavenly laws were revealed and initiated during the administration of Joseph Smith, such as the law of consecration, the principle of united firms (united orders), plural marriage, the law of tithing, church organization, priesthood offices and duties, two types of temples (Kirtland and Nauvoo) and so on. Problems with living all these principles and laws began almost immediately, but on November 27, 1832, Joseph Smith received a prophecy by revelation in which he learned that “the house of God” would eventually be set in order:
Stage #2: The out of order church
And it shall come to pass that I, the Lord God, will send one mighty and strong, holding the scepter of power in his hand, clothed with light for a covering, whose mouth shall utter words, eternal words; while his bowels shall be a fountain of truth, to set in order the house of God, and to arrange by lot the inheritances of the saints whose names are found, and the names of their fathers, and of their children, enrolled in the book of the law of God; while that man, who was called of God and appointed, that putteth forth his hand to steady the ark of God, shall fall by the shaft of death, like as a tree that is smitten by the vivid shaft of lightning. (D&C 85:7-8)
Per this scripture, at some point the Father (who is the Lord God) will send the Josephite (who is the one mighty and strong) to set the house of God in order. The term “house of God” specifically refers to the temple (and thus church) priesthood records, but it can also refer in general to all the practices and beliefs and policies and organization, etc., of the church, so that after they are set in order they perfectly match the laws and revelations given in the scriptures. In other words, the term “house of God” can be taken to mean the “household of God,” which is composed of the saints themselves. This latter meaning is how Peter used the term:
For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? (1 Peter 4:17)
For the purposes of this post, then, I will be using the general meaning of “house of God.”
Now, the house of God cannot be set in order unless it is first out of order, therefore the Doctrine and Covenants section 87 prophecy presupposes that that first condition must exist. Once the church is out of order, then at some point the Josephite restorer will show up and correct everything, top to bottom, using the power of God.
Getting out of order
The church began to get out of order during the time of Joseph Smith. Here are some examples of things that got out of order nearly from the get-go:
- The law of consecration. Its practice was abandoned, although the saints who go to the temple still covenant to keep it.
- The law of tithing. The initial practice of beginning tithing by consecrating one’s surplus was abandoned, and its original practice of paying $6 for every $1000 of net worth was abandoned and replaced with the current practice of one tenth of one’s gross income.
- United Firms (United Orders.) This practice was altogether abandoned.
- Plural marriage. The beginning of this practice was resisted by Joseph Smith from the time it was revealed to him (around 1831.) When he finally began practicing, after being threatened with destruction by an angel with drawn sword, it was limited to a select number of brethren among the leadership, instead of applied across the board to all members. Later the practice was altogether abandoned, but the sealing of multiple spouse has been continued upon the deaths of the spouses.
- The Word of Wisdom. Originally given without constraint and it allowed the membership to drink wine and beer. Later this was altered to prohibit consumption of all alcoholic beverages and the membership was constrained to follow it, otherwise be barred from entering the temple.
- Kirtland type of temples. The first temple to be built was of the Kirtland type. The saints had a huge outpouring of the Spirit at its dedication, and then many of them apostatized soon afterward. For the second temple, instead of building another Kirtland type of temple at Nauvoo, Joseph Smith introduced a new type of temple (the Nauvoo type), which has been used as the pattern for all subsequent temples ever since. The Kirtland type of temple is no longer existent.
- The quorum of the Twelve apostles as a missionary force. The original quorum operated as a missionary force to the world. It now operates as a regulatory quorum to the church.
- The high councils to settle all difficult matters between members. They now settle only matters of spiritual concerns.
- Preaching without purse and scrip. This practice has been abandoned. In its place the church provides for the missionaries.
- No priesthood ban. Originally there was no priesthood ban during the times of Joseph Smith, given that a black man, Elijah Abel, had been ordained to the priesthood. Later this policy was changed and the ban was implemented, and various doctrinal theories were invented to explain the ban. (In 1978 the entire First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve all received a revelation for lifting the ban, and the policy was subsequently changed back to what it was previously. This technically was not a “steadying of the ark” because it was merely a church policy being altered. In other words, the Brethren were fully in their rights to prohibit giving the priesthood to whomever they wanted, but it still took 150 years and a revelation received simultaneously by all 15 men to get them to make the alteration. Prior to that, they all feared to sin by altering the policy.)
- Gathering to the land of Zion. This was abandoned and the saints were told to gather to the stakes found in their own lands.
- The building of the city of Zion. Abandoned.
- The building of stake cities. Abandoned.
- The Melchizedek Priesthood administering the sacrament when present. This practice was abandoned and now the Aaronic Priesthood administers the sacrament, even when an elder is present.
- The use of wine in the sacrament. Abandoned. We now use water.
- The ordination of men to the Aaronic Priesthood. Abandoned. Now pre-teens and teenagers are ordained to the Aaronic Priesthood.
- The various Melchizedek Priesthood quorums doing local preaching, even when they are married. Abandoned. Now unmarried 18 and 19 year old teen-aged elders go on two year missions, never again to go on a mission until they can go as a couple missionary when they are older.
- And so on and so forth.
Each abandoned or altered practice of the church that no longer exactly matches the scriptures and laws and revelations we have in the church covenants is yet another thing that is out of order. Nevertheless, inasmuch as the works of God continue, none of this indicates a state of apostasy, but merely a disordered state.
The standing orders of the Brethren
During the time period in which the church is out of order (which is prior to the arrival of the Josephite), the Brethren, who are the leaders of the Lord’s church, have the role of keeping the works of the Lord ongoing, so that the spiritual ark of God keeps moving in a forward direction. The Brethren, then, are guided by the following scripture:
And again, verily thus saith the Lord:
Let the work of my temple, and all the works which I have appointed unto you, be continued on and not cease; and let your diligence, and your perseverance, and patience, and your works be redoubled, and you shall in nowise lose your reward,
saith the Lord of Hosts. (D&C 127:4)
These works are likened to an ark on the backs of oxen:
And when they came to Nachon’s threshingfloor, Uzzah put forth his hand to the ark of God, and took hold of it; for the oxen shook it. And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzzah; and God smote him there for his error; and there he died by the ark of God. (2 Samuel 6:6-7)
And when they came unto the threshingfloor of Chidon, Uzza put forth his hand to hold the ark; for the oxen stumbled. And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzza, and he smote him, because he put his hand to the ark: and there he died before God. (1 Chronicles 13:9-10)
The ark of God (the tabernacle of testimony) could only be handled by certain people: the Levites. Anyone else who came near to it or touched it had to be put to death:
For the LORD had spoken unto Moses, saying,
Only thou shalt not number the tribe of Levi, neither take the sum of them among the children of Israel: but thou shalt appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of testimony, and over all the vessels thereof, and over all things that belong to it: they shall bear the tabernacle, and all the vessels thereof; and they shall minister unto it, and shall encamp round about the tabernacle. And when the tabernacle setteth forward, the Levites shall take it down: and when the tabernacle is to be pitched, the Levites shall set it up: and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death. (Numbers 1:48-51)
In like manner, the latter day spiritual ark of God could only be taken down and set up by certain people, namely, the two seers (Joseph Smith and Joseph-Nephi), and of the two seers, only one of them had authority and power to set it back in order (Joseph-Nephi.) All the other leadership in the church, as well as the membership, were likened unto the oxen, the leadership themselves being the lead oxen, who had nothing more to do than bearing the ark of God on their backs, moving it forward no matter what circumstance might come their way, and they were to use the spirit of expediency (which is the Holy Ghost) to accomplish that singular task.
Now, it doesn’t matter if the ark sways to the right or to the left upon their backs (thus getting out of order), as long as it is moving forward, that is all that God requires of the leadership of the church.
The Brethren, then, are not to concern themselves with how the ark is positioned upon their backs, whether it is exactly centered or diagonal or facing the wrong direction or leaning to one side. They are not to make any attempt at putting the ark centered perfectly back on the back of the oxen, for the ark is holy like God is holy, being a representation of His holiness, and thus cannot be touched by just any person, not even a person with priesthood keys. It takes a special kind of person, possessing the power of God, to approach and touch the ark, and to set it precisely back in order upon the backs of the oxen.
God the Father does not want the Brethren to die, therefore in order to protect them, so that they do not attempt to set the ark in order and perish, the Father expressly warns them of the destruction that will be theirs should they make the attempt:
And it shall come to pass that I, the Lord God, will send one mighty and strong, holding the scepter of power in his hand, clothed with light for a covering, whose mouth shall utter words, eternal words; while his bowels shall be a fountain of truth, to set in order the house of God, and to arrange by lot the inheritances of the saints whose names are found, and the names of their fathers, and of their children, enrolled in the book of the law of God; while that man, who was called of God and appointed, that putteth forth his hand to steady the ark of God, shall fall by the shaft of death, like as a tree that is smitten by the vivid shaft of lightning. (D&C 85:7-8)
Thus, the leadership is expressly prohibited from steadying the ark.
Now, the Brethren understand this scriptural warning. They understand that the warning is specifically addressed to them. And so they make no attempt, whatsoever, to re-center the ark. No matter how different the practices of the church become from the actual written laws of God, they will make no move, whatsoever, to bring the ark back into conformity with the scriptures. They are deathly afraid of this warning, and for good reason.
(This is why it took all 15 Brethren simultaneously receiving the same revelation for the priesthood ban to be rolled back. It was a “We all got the same revelation, right?” moment that allowed them to venture forth and alter the policy without fear of getting struck down by God. These men feared for their lives, probably because of all the doctrinal theories that had been put forth to explain the ban and show why it would be in place practically forever, but in that moment of revelation, they were assured by the Holy Ghost that they wouldn’t be killed, and could safely alter the policy.)
Not even Joseph Smith could do it
If you look at the practices of Joseph Smith, while he was still alive, he never attempted to set the house of God in order after it had gotten itself out of order. Instead, he introduced new principles, which would keep the work moving forward. For example, when the law of consecration was introduced, and the saints failed to live it, he was inspired to introduce instead the law of tithing. Joseph’s duty was as a pure seer, restoring and installing as much of Elias’s shadow as he could, but when things went wrong, like the apostasy at the Kirtland temple, he would just restore yet another thing and move on to build yet another temple (Nauvoo), of a different type. He never attempted to recover things, to set things back in order. To do that job required a gift he didn’t have: the working of miracles.
Moving the ark of God back to its original position is like moving God Himself. It simply cannot be done. God is immovable, and His ark is likewise immovable. God allows it to move forward on the backs of the oxen, but it cannot be re-positioned. Whatever position it settles into, is the position it will remain in, until it settles into another position, by the continual shifting and stumbling of the oxen. It settles into these various positions according to the will of God, and nobody can bend God’s will. To even attempt to re-position it is an affront to God and God’s will.
However, the working of miracles can do the impossible, and God allows miracles to re-position the ark, but it requires more faith than anyone has, because it is like moving God Himself. And nobody can move God, right? Well, almost nobody.
The miracle-working seer known as the Josephite will be a person capable of walking right up the Father, and have dealings directly with Him (without the intermediary of Christ), and this will greatly impress the Father:
And their nobles shall be of themselves, and their governor shall proceed from the midst of them; and I will cause him to draw near, and he shall approach unto me: for who is this that engaged his heart to approach unto me?
saith the LORD. (Jeremiah 30:21)
The Father is impressed because the Josephite doesn’t know what impossible is. In other words, to this guy there is no such thing as impossible. His faith is so vastly great that the gift of the working of miracles can move even God Himself, and therefore, moving God’s ark is no sweat off his back. And he doesn’t wither and die before the Father, nor require hours of recuperation like Moses:
And the presence of God withdrew from Moses, that his glory was not upon Moses; and Moses was left unto himself. And as he was left unto himself, he fell unto the earth.
And it came to pass that it was for the space of many hours before Moses did again receive his natural strength like unto man; and he said unto himself:
Now, for this cause I know that man is nothing, which thing I never had supposed. But now mine own eyes have beheld God; but not my natural, but my spiritual eyes, for my natural eyes could not have beheld; for I should have withered and died in his presence; but his glory was upon me; and I beheld his face, for I was transfigured before him.
And it came to pass that when Moses had said these words, behold, Satan came tempting him, saying:
Moses, son of man, worship me.
And it came to pass that Moses looked upon Satan and said:
Who art thou? For behold, I am a son of God, in the similitude of his Only Begotten; and where is thy glory, that I should worship thee? For behold, I could not look upon God, except his glory should come upon me, and I were transfigured before him. But I can look upon thee in the natural man. Is it not so, surely? (Moses 1:9-14)
Therefore only the Josephite can make the correction to the ark without perishing.
In order, then out of order, then back in order
To recap: the sequence of Elias’s shadow (Mormonism) is this: first it arrives on earth and Joseph Smith (the first seer) starts setting everything in order. But soon things start to get out of order. After Joseph Smith dies, they get ever more out of order with the passage of time, but the Brethren keep the ark moving forward, nonetheless. Then the Josephite (the second seer) is born and is later put into a spiritual box by the Father. Later he comes out of his box fully empowered and sets in order the house of God.
A natural seer, multiple office seers, then back to a natural seer
Again, Elias’s shadow starts out with a natural seer (Joseph Smith), who possessed the gift of seership independent of any priesthood office. This allowed him to use all the gifts associated with the gift of seership, including the gift of the word of wisdom, the gift of the word of knowledge and the gift to prophesy, even when there wasn’t any church of God established on the earth. Joseph Smith’s gifts weren’t tied to any priesthood office. They were merely natural gifts given of God.
Then the church of Christ was established and Elias’s shadow contained office prophets, office revelators and office seers. These were men called to various offices in the church who, in their respective offices, had access to the spirit of prophecy and the spirit of revelation. They could see visions, too, making them seers according to that definition. But outside of those offices, they no longer had these gifts. The gifts were tied to the office. Each man that entered the office got a bestowal of the gifts needed for that particular office, and made use of the modes of the gifts that likewise fit that particular office.
To put it another way, a natural prophet is a prophet regardless whether he is sustained as such or not, whereas an office prophet is a sustained prophet, only being a prophet as long as the church sustains him as such. Thus, Joseph Smith initiated the practice of sustaining stake leaders as “prophets, seers and revelators” in his day, and then later the Brethren adopted that practice and applied it to the 15 apostles, so that by sustaining their leaders in this manner, the Lord would pour out the office gifts that were tied to those offices. This reinforcing act would also give confidence both to the membership and to the Brethren, everyone remaining confident that the Lord would bestow the needed gifts.
But then the Josephite would be born, and this man would be, like Joseph Smith before him, a natural seer, except on steroids, having all the best spiritual gifts of God, as well as all the physical gifts of God (such as the Urim and Thummim.) Once out of his box, the fully empowered Josephite would then go to the church leadership, just as Moses went to the elders of Israel when he was called:
And Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the children of Israel: and Aaron spake all the words which the Lord had spoken unto Moses, and did the signs in the sight of the people. And the people believed: and when they heard that the Lord had visited the children of Israel, and that he had looked upon their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshipped. (Exodus 4:29-31)
At that point, the church would again have a natural prophet, seer, revelator and translator guiding it, as well as multiple office prophets, seers and revelators.
“Out of order” is not “apostate”
Apostates like to use the “set in order” scripture of D&C 85:7 in order to show that the church was always destined to one day be apostate. They point to all the discrepancies found between the current practices of the church and the actual text of the Doctrine and Covenants, which prove that the church is currently (and has been for some time) out of order. Afterward, they conflate this state of being out of order with a state of apostasy.
Where the apostates go wrong in their thinking is that if the church were apostate, and not merely out of order, the scripture wouldn’t call it “the house of God.” The fact that the house is still claimed by God as His own, indicates that it is not apostate, but merely out of order. The two terms are not synonymous in the eyes of God. If the church were, in fact, apostate, the Josephite wouldn’t be sent to set it in order, but to destroy it.
All apostates, then, who hold to this false idea that the current state of the church indicates that the church is in a state of apostasy, are in error. The scriptures do speak of an apostasy, but that prophesied apostasy does not consist of the out of order state of the church.
Stage #3: The set in order church
When the Josephite goes to the church leadership, he will demonstrate the power of God to the Brethren, just as Moses did with the elders of Israel, showing them signs and wonders, and he will humble them to the very dust and begin correcting them. They will then give him all their keys. He will then tell them to “go tell the saints” all the things they have seen and heard and the leadership will stand up before the saints and apologize for all their errors and teach them of the corrections they have received from him.
This setting in order will consist, at the very least, of:
- Practicing the law of consecration and stewardship of properties
- The proper application of the law of tithing
- Establishment of United Firms (United Orders)
- Practicing plural marriage
- The proper application of the Word of Wisdom
- The saints gathered to Independence, Missouri
- The saints receiving their inheritances by consecration in Independence, Missouri
- Using wine in the sacrament
- Twelve apostles as missionaries
- Quorums of the seventies as missionaries
- Establishment of high council at Zion
It will not consist of:
- The building of the city of Zion (the New Jerusalem)
- The coming forth of the complete and functional translation of the Book of Mormon
- The coming forth of the plates of brass
- The coming forth of the large plates of Nephi
- The coming forth of the plates of Ether
- The coming forth of the sealed portion of the plates of Mormon
The Josephite will establish all the things that Joseph Smith attempted but failed to establish among the saints, except that the Josephite will succeed at everything. This “setting in order” will, essentially, reset the restoration, so that it is redone properly, the kingdom of God seed being replanted properly among the saints, so that it begins to grow and thrive and take root. Nevertheless, not everything Joseph Smith did will be accomplished during the “setting in order” phase, because what Joseph Smith did was a mere shadow (and shadows never follow the proper prophetic order of things), whereas the Josephite will perform this work in perfect order, according to God’s infinite wisdom:
Give ye ear, and hear my voice; hearken, and hear my speech. Doth the plowman plow all day to sow? doth he open and break the clods of his ground? When he hath made plain the face thereof, doth he not cast abroad the fitches, and scatter the cummin, and cast in the principal wheat and the appointed barley and the rie in their place? For his God doth instruct him to discretion, and doth teach him. For the fitches are not threshed with a threshing instrument, neither is a cart wheel turned about upon the cummin; but the fitches are beaten out with a staff, and the cummin with a rod. Bread corn is bruised; because he will not ever be threshing it, nor break it with the wheel of his cart, nor bruise it with his horsemen. This also cometh forth from the LORD of hosts, which is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in working. (Isaiah 28:23-29)
So the LORD will use His staff/rod (the Josephite) to re-do what Joseph did, not in the shadow order but in the correct literal order, so that this time everything sown in the hearts of the saints will fully germinate. All the abandoned practices, once practiced again under the ideal conditions the Josephite will establish, will rapidly nourish and germinate and transform whatever seeds are found there into their mature forms, be they seeds of wheat or seeds of tares.
Because the laws of the land prohibit many of these practices, the Josephite’s correction will also apply to the United States of America, in which he will restore us back to 1776 conditions, when we operated under the Articles of Confederation, by installing a new set of perfected articles of confederation as the law of the land. This new, revealed and perfected law will allow all church doctrines, laws and principles to be practiced.
He will also reset conditions back to where they were at during the 1830’s and 1840’s, thus resetting the prophecies themselves. The American Indians, then, will be gathered back onto the Missouri lands, as they were previously. All the prophetic shadows will cease, the prophecies will reset and will proceed literally from that point on.
In addition to all of the above, which deals with the church and the nation, he will perform yet another work of restoration, with application for the entire world. I will not get into the many details of that particular work, save to say that all of this “setting in order” business he will be doing will be so that he can obtain his carrot and perform his own work, without any legal or ecclesiastical obstacles. In other words, although these things will affect the entire world for the betterment of mankind, he will be doing these things as part of his own work, not the work of the Lord. It will be just the fully empowered Josephite making the world conform to his own image.
A glory age of prosperity
This setting in order of the house of God, and of the world at large, will shift the world into a glory age of prosperity, unheard of in modern times. Perhaps even unheard of in ancient times. It will happen rapidly, via a series of many mighty miracles, so that the inhabitants of the world will have their minds fully blown. Everyone will be dazzled and astounded and wondering if the great Millennium has been ushered in.
When the book of the Lamb of God appears
I do not exactly know when the book of the Lamb of God will appear. I know, per 1 Nephi 13:26, that it appears before the great and abominable church is formed (which is formed in stage #4), and I also know that it appears after the Josephite gets out of his box (which happens in stage #3.) It may be that it will appear while he is setting the church in order, or after he has set the church in order, or even during the time of the apostasy, but before the great and abominable church is formed. I suppose, though, that it will appear while Joseph-Nephi is setting the church in order.
Perhaps the Josephite goes away?
After the church has been set in order, the church will apostatize, but the presence of the Josephite seems to make that all but impossible, therefore I suspect that the Josephite, seeing that all his works have taken root throughout the world, and seeing the world prospering and the gospel going forth everywhere, etc., might just leave for a bit. In the previous post I wrote:
This means that the Josephite, once out of his box, will divide his time between both sides of the world, outside here with us, where he was born in America, and also inside where the kingdom he will establish will be. This is absolutely necessary, for he will be performing a work of salvation that must save the whole world, both inside and out, but it also means that from time to time the Josephite will “go missing,” and during these times nobody will be able to figure out where he’s gone to.
So, to me it appears likely that the Josephite will go missing for a time, perhaps for a long time, and during his extended absence we will get a repeat of the pattern of the molten calf apostasy that happened when Moses went to talk with God on the mount but delayed coming back:
And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him,
Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.
And Aaron said unto them,
Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me.
And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron. And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said,
These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said,
To morrow is a feast to the LORD.
And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play. (Exodus 32:1-6)
The apostate church, then, appears only after the church is set in order, and apparently only after the Josephite goes missing. During the time that the Josephite is gone, both the wheat and the tares finally ripen.
The wheat and tares grow together and ripen, showing themselves
When the saints have received their inheritances by consecration, and entered into all the temple covenants, including the eternal marriage covenant and the principle of plural marriage, and have also entered into united firms (united orders), plus have witnessed the power of God manifested in the Josephite, and perhaps also had outpourings of the spiritual gifts upon them like what happened at Kirtland—if, after all of that, they apostatize, the following scripture will apply to them:
And we saw a vision of the sufferings of those with whom he made war and overcame, for thus came the voice of the Lord unto us:
Thus saith the Lord concerning all those who know my power, and have been made partakers thereof, and suffered themselves through the power of the devil to be overcome, and to deny the truth and defy my power—
They are they who are the sons of perdition, of whom I say that it had been better for them never to have been born; for they are vessels of wrath, doomed to suffer the wrath of God, with the devil and his angels in eternity; concerning whom I have said there is no forgiveness in this world nor in the world to come—having denied the Holy Spirit after having received it, and having denied the Only Begotten Son of the Father, having crucified him unto themselves and put him to an open shame. These are they who shall go away into the lake of fire and brimstone, with the devil and his angels—and the only ones on whom the second death shall have any power; yea, verily, the only ones who shall not be redeemed in the due time of the Lord, after the sufferings of his wrath. (D&C 76:30-38)
The Josephite, then, having set the house of God in order, brings them into the two-handed condition, in which from that point on they either get blessed for their righteousness or cursed for their iniquities and wickedness. While the Josephite is around, they remain righteous and the prosperity miracle goes out, so that the world’s riches endlessly increase, but once he leaves them to themselves, so that they no longer can rely upon him, but must now rely solely upon the Holy Ghost, it is at that point that all the planted seeds begin to ripen.
Once the Josephite has left, and all the seeds begin to ripen, we will finally find out who are the wheat and who are the tares. As the wheat and the tares must grow together until they are fully ripe, the law of consecration and other “growing together” or unifying laws that the Josephite will implement will allow just such a thing to happen.
Stage #4: The apostate church
At some point, iniquity will enter the church and the people will reject the office prophets, their leaders:
For behold, ye have closed your eyes, and ye have rejected the prophets; (2 Nephi 27:5)
Because of that iniquity, and because of the two-handed condition in which curses must go out immediately, the Lord will take away the leadership of the church, by covering them:
and your rulers, and the seers hath he covered because of your iniquity. (2 Nephi 27:5)
Now, as I have prophesied before on this blog, the break up of the church will occur by an earthquake which will destroy the conference center, covering and killing the Brethren and leaving the body of the church in disarray. The saints will then split into different churches, the remaining leaders vying for the top position. The church will then descend into a deep state of apostasy, entering into all manner of wickedness.
What causes the apostasy
I suppose that the initial reason for the apostasy will be a repeat of the Amalickiah situation and the rise of a new set of king-men:
And now it came to pass that after Helaman and his brethren had appointed priests and teachers over the churches that there arose a dissension among them, and they would not give heed to the words of Helaman and his brethren; but they grew proud, being lifted up in their hearts, because of their exceedingly great riches; therefore they grew rich in their own eyes, and would not give heed to their words, to walk uprightly before God. (Alma 45:23-24)
And it came to pass that as many as would not hearken to the words of Helaman and his brethren were gathered together against their brethren. And now behold, they were exceedingly wroth, insomuch that they were determined to slay them.
Now the leader of those who were wroth against their brethren was a large and a strong man; and his name was Amalickiah. And Amalickiah was desirous to be a king; and those people who were wroth were also desirous that he should be their king; and they were the greater part of them the lower judges of the land, and they were seeking for power. And they had been led by the flatteries of Amalickiah, that if they would support him and establish him to be their king that he would make them rulers over the people. Thus they were led away by Amalickiah to dissensions, notwithstanding the preaching of Helaman and his brethren, yea, notwithstanding their exceedingly great care over the church, for they were high priests over the church. And there were many in the church who believed in the flattering words of Amalickiah, therefore they dissented even from the church; and thus were the affairs of the people of Nephi exceedingly precarious and dangerous, notwithstanding their great victory which they had had over the Lamanites, and their great rejoicings which they had had because of their deliverance by the hand of the Lord. Thus we see how quick the children of men do forget the Lord their God, yea, how quick to do iniquity, and to be led away by the evil one. (Alma 46:1-8)
So, I must suppose that the prosperity miracle upon the saints, and upon the world at large, will heap the world’s riches right up into the stratosphere, and the saints in particular will become much richer than those who don’t belong to the church, and given this enormous wealth poured out upon the saints—the saints now being ripened into wheat and tares—the tares will finally make their move, showing themselves. And instead of imparting all this immense wealth to the poor, consecrating it, disbursing it through united firms, etc., they will want to retain it and lord it over their fellow man. The tares will not only set their hearts upon their riches, but they also will seek for power, desiring to alter the new articles of confederation to allow for a king.
And how will the church leadership react to this brazen dissent by the tares? By cracking down on them, calling them sinners in need of repentance, disfellowshipping and excommunicating them. And in response the tares will reject their leaders, fulfilling Isaiah’s prophecy. Given the anger they will feel towards them, there might even be assassination attempts by the tares upon their leaders, just as Amalickiah and his people were determined to slay Helaman and the church brethren of his time. All of this dissent, though, won’t be done by a small segment of the church population, like what occurs today among Mormon apostates, but it will be the overwhelming majority, for the wheat found within the church will suddenly and alarmingly find that they are literally surrounded by ultra wicked tares, because the prophecies of Nephi and Moroni say that the humble followers of Christ during the coming apostasy will be few in number:
And it came to pass that I beheld the church of the Lamb of God, and its numbers were few, because of the wickedness and abominations of the whore who sat upon many waters; nevertheless, I beheld that the church of the Lamb, who were the saints of God, were also upon all the face of the earth; and their dominions upon the face of the earth were small, because of the wickedness of the great whore whom I saw. (1 Nephi 14:12)
They wear stiff necks and high heads; yea, and because of pride, and wickedness, and abominations, and whoredoms, they have all gone astray save it be a few, who are the humble followers of Christ; nevertheless, they are led, that in many instances they do err because they are taught by the precepts of men. (2 Nephi 28:14)
And I know that ye do walk in the pride of your hearts; and there are none save a few only who do not lift themselves up in the pride of their hearts, unto the wearing of very fine apparel, unto envying, and strifes, and malice, and persecutions, and all manner of iniquities; and your churches, yea, even every one, have become polluted because of the pride of your hearts. (Mormon 8:36)
Because the tares will hold the majority, having the voice of the people, they will have clout in the church, causing the church to descend into deep wickedness, repeating more Book of Mormon patterns:
And if the time comes that the voice of the people doth choose iniquity, then is the time that the judgments of God will come upon you; yea, then is the time he will visit you with great destruction even as he has hitherto visited this land. (Mosiah 29:27)
And it came to pass in the commencement of the ninth year, Alma saw the wickedness of the church, and he saw also that the example of the church began to lead those who were unbelievers on from one piece of iniquity to another, thus bringing on the destruction of the people. Yea, he saw great inequality among the people, some lifting themselves up with their pride, despising others, turning their backs upon the needy and the naked and those who were hungry, and those who were athirst, and those who were sick and afflicted. Now this was a great cause for lamentations among the people, while others were abasing themselves, succoring those who stood in need of their succor, such as imparting their substance to the poor and the needy, feeding the hungry, and suffering all manner of afflictions, for Christ’s sake, who should come according to the spirit of prophecy; looking forward to that day, thus retaining a remission of their sins; being filled with great joy because of the resurrection of the dead, according to the will and power and deliverance of Jesus Christ from the bands of death.
And now it came to pass that Alma, having seen the afflictions of the humble followers of God, and the persecutions which were heaped upon them by the remainder of his people, and seeing all their inequality, began to be very sorrowful; nevertheless the Spirit of the Lord did not fail him. (Alma 4:11-15)
The iniquity entering the church might not be just among the general membership but also among the leadership, including even the highest councils (the Brethren.) There are scriptures that indicate that even the apostles will become infected with this apostasy:
Behold, vengeance cometh speedily upon the inhabitants of the earth, a day of wrath, a day of burning, a day of desolation, of weeping, of mourning, and of lamentation; and as a whirlwind it shall come upon all the face of the earth,
saith the Lord.
And upon my house shall it begin, and from my house shall it go forth, saith the Lord; first among those among you,
saith the Lord,
who have professed to know my name and have not known me, and have blasphemed against me in the midst of my house, saith the Lord. (D&C 112:25-26)
The Lord, in the above passage, was referring to the quorum of the Twelve. Notice verses 14 and 27 to 30:
Now, I say unto you, and what I say unto you, I say unto all the Twelve:
Arise and gird up your loins, take up your cross, follow me, and feed my sheep.
Therefore, see to it that ye trouble not yourselves concerning the affairs of my church in this place,
saith the Lord.
But purify your hearts before me; and then go ye into all the world, and preach my gospel unto every creature who has not received it; and he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, and he that believeth not, and is not baptized, shall be damned. For unto you, the Twelve, and those, the First Presidency, who are appointed with you to be your counselors and your leaders,… (D&C 112:14,27-30)
Also, there’s this scripture:
Behold, I, the Lord, have made my church in these last days like unto a judge sitting on a hill, or in a high place, to judge the nations. For it shall come to pass that the inhabitants of Zion shall judge all things pertaining to Zion. And liars and hypocrites shall be proved by them, and they who are not apostles and prophets shall be known. And even the bishop, who is a judge, and his counselors, if they are not faithful in their stewardships shall be condemned, and others shall be planted in their stead. (D&C 64:37-40)
So, it may be that as the apostasy progresses, the tares will vote in a new class of leaders, an iniquitous class, like what happened with king Noah:
For he put down all the priests that had been consecrated by his father, and consecrated new ones in their stead, such as were lifted up in the pride of their hearts. (Mosiah 11:5)
And thus the leadership, perhaps, would become compromised as well, bringing about the fulfillment of the prophecies of Jeremiah and others which speak of pastors and prophets and priests who are entirely corrupt, such as what is found written in Jeremiah 23:
Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!
saith the LORD.
Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people;
Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings,
saith the LORD. (Jeremiah 23:1-2)
I must suppose, then, that all these patterns, as well as the appearance of king-men desiring to consolidate the confederacy into a kingdom, will repeat during this apostasy, and the iniquity of the tares, being widespread, and the Brethren (that part of them still righteous) unable to hold it all in check—for the tares will outnumber them by a long shot—will cause the Lord to bring a curse upon the church, hence the conference center falling via an earthquake, removing the Brethren in an instant and causing the church to break up. After the break up there will be many churches professing to be the Lord’s church, claiming to possess the priesthood and keys (and thus the power of God.)
The great and abominable church and the tribulation of the wheat
At some point during this ongoing apostasy—whether before or after the earthquake, I do not, as yet, know (but I suspect it will be prior to the earthquake)—the great and abominable church will form. This church will form, apparently, overseas, not upon the mainland of America, and I suppose it will be formed by the most diabolical of the Mormon apostates, who have become, themselves, sons of perdition. It will be a sort of state church, except that instead of it being under the control of the state, it will have control of the states under its jurisdiction. This great and abominable church will have the distinction of killing and torturing and binding down the saints, and bringing them down into captivity, overseas. It will also be perverting the word of the Lord, specifically, the book of the Lamb of God, taking away many plain and precious parts of it and then sending this now corrupted edition to all the nations of the world under its jurisdiction.
Here in this land of America the few remaining saints (the wheat) will be scattered off the land of Zion (just as they were scattered off during the time of Joseph Smith, for all prophecies reset and then fulfill literally.) Apparently they will also be placed into bondage, for the tares will be unhinged in their wickedness. This will be a time of tribulation for the wheat, for the Lord must test His saints, to see if they will obey Him even when they are placed in the midst of a population overflowing with murderous tares. But the tribulation will come to an end when the Josephite returns:
But verily I say unto you, I have decreed that your brethren which have been scattered shall return to the lands of their inheritances, and shall build up the waste places of Zion. For after much tribulation, as I have said unto you in a former commandment, cometh the blessing. Behold, this is the blessing which I have promised after your tribulations, and the tribulations of your brethren—your redemption, and the redemption of your brethren, even their restoration to the land of Zion, to be established, no more to be thrown down. Nevertheless, if they pollute their inheritances they shall be thrown down; for I will not spare them if they pollute their inheritances. Behold, I say unto you, the redemption of Zion must needs come by power; therefore, I will raise up unto my people a man, who shall lead them like as Moses led the children of Israel. For ye are the children of Israel, and of the seed of Abraham, and ye must needs be led out of bondage by power, and with a stretched-out arm. And as your fathers were led at the first, even so shall the redemption of Zion be. Therefore, let not your hearts faint, for I say not unto you as I said unto your fathers: Mine angel shall go up before you, but not my presence. But I say unto you: Mine angels shall go up before you, and also my presence, and in time ye shall possess the goodly land. (D&C 103:11-20)
In addition to being placed in bondage, some of the saints (wheat) will be killed:
And the blood of the saints shall cry from the ground against them. (2 Nephi 28:10)
And some of the saints (wheat) will be tortured by the great and abominable church:
And the angel said unto me:
Behold the formation of a church which is most abominable above all other churches, which slayeth the saints of God, yea, and tortureth them and bindeth them down, and yoketh them with a yoke of iron, and bringeth them down into captivity. (1 Nephi 13:5)
Also, given that the two-handed condition also enacts the anti-prosperity miracle, secret combinations will also be rampant, because these societies will be the only way for the wicked to obtain money and power.
Thus, apostasy will be widespread and rampant, throughout the world, just as Nephi prophesied:
But, behold, in the last days, or in the days of the Gentiles—yea, behold all the nations of the Gentiles and also the Jews, both those who shall come upon this land and those who shall be upon other lands, yea, even upon all the lands of the earth, behold, they will be drunken with iniquity and all manner of abominations— (2 Nephi 27:1)
This prophecy (and other scriptural prophecies of the apostasy of the latter days) is not speaking of The Great Apostasy that occurred after the death of the primitive church apostles—and which was ended by the three-fold restoration performed by Joseph Smith—but of this fourth stage church apostasy, which will infect the whole world, all nations, so that the now ripe wheat will be fully tested by the now ripe tares. Notice, for example, how the apostasy Paul speaks of in 2 Thessalonians ends:
Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and by our gathering together unto him, that ye be not soon shaken in mind or be troubled by letter, except ye receive it from us, neither by spirit nor by word, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means; for there shall come a falling away first and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. Remember ye not, that when I was yet with you, I told you these things? And now ye know what withholdeth, that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work, and he it is who now worketh; and Christ suffereth him to work until the time is fulfilled that he shall be taken out of the way. And then shall that wicked one be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming, yea, the Lord, even Jesus, whose coming is not until after there cometh a falling away, by the working of Satan with all power, and signs, and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish, because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. (JST 2 Thessalonians 2:1-10)
So, this apostasy that Paul speaks of will end with the destruction of the apostates at the Lord’s Second Coming. It also has a “man of sin,” who is a “son of perdition,” sitting in “the temple of God.” When the stage #4 church of God is broken up, the temples of God will fall into the hands of apostates, allowing the literal fulfillment of this scripture. In the meantime, though, this passage is shadow fulfilled by The Great Apostasy.
The return of the Josephite
The Josephite, upon his return, will find that the church has been broken up, that there are now many apostate churches, that there’s a great and abominable church and that people have entered into secret combinations and into whoredoms and drunken revelries and all manner of abominations. He will also find that the saints who kept their covenants while this enormous apostasy was going down are few compared to all the rest, that they have been scattered off the lands of their inheritance, which he gave them (which was upon the land of Zion), and that they are now in bondage. He will also discover that some of them have been killed and others tortured. This will surely infuriate him.
On the other hand, he will also find that everything has ripened, and despite the land being full to capacity with tares, there is now beautiful, glorious wheat on earth, having been ripened by keeping their covenants throughout these tribulations. This will surely make him pleased.
These two conflicting emotions—one towards the tares and one towards the wheat—will cause him to act in a big way, shifting the church into its final stage.
Stage #5: The perfected church
In this stage, the following things will happen:
- The wrath of God will be upon the gathered Indian remnant in the promised land
- A man with the Spirit of God will travel upon many waters to the gathered Indian remnant
- The scattered saints will be freed from their captivity and travel upon the many waters
- The Indian remnant will be scattered off their lands and smitten by the Gentiles
- The Gentiles will inherit the land of promise
The Holy Ghost has not, as yet, told me who the man with the Spirit of God is. I had previously thought that maybe it was the beloved apostle John, but a lot of time has passed and the Holy Ghost never confirmed that. Now, as I look at these scriptures, I think that perhaps it may be Joseph-Nephi. The reason is because I was recently pondering over President Trump’s acknowledgment of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and while I was talking to a friend about it, the Spirit manifested something new about the Josephite, something that he would do in the future, something I had never considered. (And don’t bother asking me about it, because I don’t intend to reveal on this blog what the Spirit said.) Now when I read over the following passage of scripture, I cannot help but filter it through that manifestation:
And it came to pass that the angel said unto me:
Behold the wrath of God is upon the seed of thy brethren.
And I looked and beheld a man among the Gentiles, who was separated from the seed of my brethren by the many waters; and I beheld the Spirit of God, that it came down and wrought upon the man; and he went forth upon the many waters, even unto the seed of my brethren, who were in the promised land.
And it came to pass that I beheld the Spirit of God, that it wrought upon other Gentiles; and they went forth out of captivity, upon the many waters.
And it came to pass that I beheld many multitudes of the Gentiles upon the land of promise; and I beheld the wrath of God, that it was upon the seed of my brethren; and they were scattered before the Gentiles and were smitten. And I beheld the Spirit of the Lord, that it was upon the Gentiles, and they did prosper and obtain the land for their inheritance; and I beheld that they were white, and exceedingly fair and beautiful, like unto my people before they were slain. (1 Nephi 13:11-15)
The Josephite will be returning from a far away land, possibly even from the interior of the Earth. And there are many waters that separate the interior from the exterior, so his return from that place actually fits the scripture. Nephi says he “beheld a man among the Gentiles,” and I have previously taught that the Josephite will be setting up a kingdom in the interior of the Earth, and that he will be bringing Gentiles with him. Therefore, if Nephi saw the Josephite in his kingdom, he would have seen him “among the Gentiles.”
But even if Nephi saw the man on the exterior of the planet, among the Gentile nations that are overseas, it still could be the Josephite. The Josephite, returning from the interior, might not go first to America, but to those captive saints that are overseas, in order to liberate them.
The problem with this interpretation is that the saying, “and he went forth upon the many waters,” indicates sea travel, and nobody travels by boat anymore, except for transporting goods or taking a pleasure cruise. The standard mode of transportation for long distances across continents is the aeroplane, not the boat or ship. So, most Mormons reading this passage just chalk it up to Christoper Columbus’s travels by ship, which is its shadow fulfillment. However, there’s a lot more that I know about the Josephite, which I have not told on this blog, some of which I have told to a handful of people in private. What I will say here is that the Josephite will be restoring a lot of conditions that are no longer found in society. Boat travel will surely be one of them. If, in fact, the scripture does refer to the Josephite, then either it will be a boat of his own making, or it will be the very same boat that Nephi and his brothers constructed. And given that he is the restorer, it wouldn’t surprise me if it’s the latter one.
And it came to pass that I beheld the Spirit of God, that it wrought upon other Gentiles; and they went forth out of captivity, upon the many waters. (1 Nephi 13:13)
This scripture doesn’t say how these Gentiles who have the Spirit of God working upon them escaped their captivity. If the Josephite is the man that had the Spirit of God work upon him, spoken of in the preceding verse, then surely once he finds out that the saints are in captivity, he will deliver them at once. The following scripture, which speaks of the Josephite, even says that he will do this:
Behold, I say unto you, the redemption of Zion must needs come by power; therefore, I will raise up unto my people a man, who shall lead them like as Moses led the children of Israel. For ye are the children of Israel, and of the seed of Abraham, and ye must needs be led out of bondage by power, and with a stretched-out arm. (D&C 103:15-17)
The man with the power who delivers the people out of bondage is the Josephite. He performs this mission in the fifth stage of the church. Therefore, he seems the likeliest candidate to liberate the captive saints from the great and abominable church. Yet Nephi writes his vision in very general terms, almost as if he’s trying to hide the fact that a miracle-working seer is on the scene, so that people will read the text and mistake the shadow fulfillment for the literal fulfillment. It’s almost as if God wanted this whole thing to be a huge surprise. If Nephi had written, instead, “And I looked and beheld a miracle-working seer among the Gentiles, who was separated from the seed of my brethren by the many waters; and I beheld the power of God, that it came down and wrought upon the man; and he went forth upon the many waters, even unto the seed of my brethren, who were in the promised land,” that would have changed everything. Nobody, but nobody would have thought that that referred to Christopher Columbus, and everyone would have looked at this chapter as being a prophecy still future to us. His use of “man” and not “prophet” or “seer”, and “Spirit of God” and not “power of God” allows the shadow of Columbus to exist and keeps the Josephite hidden.
Again, when Nephi speaks of the Gentiles going forth out of captivity, he gives no details as to how they were delivered. If the Josephite and the power of God was involved, and he stated so explicitly, then the shadow of the Puritans could not exist. Writing what he wrote allows the Puritan shadow to exist, while keeping the Josephite hidden. And so it goes, throughout the narrative.
The text says that the Gentiles go “forth out of captivity, upon the many waters.” This indicates that they traveled by boat. Whose boat? Perhaps the Josephite’s boat. According to D&C 61, boat travel during the fifth stage will be dangerous, but God also said:
For I, the Lord, have decreed in mine anger many destructions upon the waters; yea, and especially upon these waters. Nevertheless, all flesh is in mine hand, and he that is faithful among you shall not perish by the waters.
Behold, I, the Lord, in the beginning blessed the waters; but in the last days, by the mouth of my servant John, I cursed the waters. Wherefore, the days will come that no flesh shall be safe upon the waters. (D&C 61:5-6,14-15)
So, it may be that these faithful saints, who have passed through the tribulation heaped upon them by the great and abominable church, and thus have ripened into wheat, may be brought across the many waters, in safety, by the Josephite.
Then we get the scattering of the Indian remnant off of the lands of their inheritance and them being smitten by the Gentiles:
And it came to pass that I beheld many multitudes of the Gentiles upon the land of promise; and I beheld the wrath of God, that it was upon the seed of my brethren; and they were scattered before the Gentiles and were smitten. (1 Nephi 14:14)
Why is God so angry with the Indian remnant? Nephi doesn’t say. But I find it awfully coincidental that a man appears and then right afterward the captive saints are freed and the Indians are scattered. The man seems to me to be the cause of all these things happening. God sees His saints suffering in captivity, being tortured and killed. Suddenly a man appears with the Spirit of God, and the saints right afterward are freed. God is angry with the Indian remnant, and right after the text says that “the wrath of God” is upon the Indians, the man with the Spirit of God shows up and goes right to the remnant, and soon afterward, they get scattered and smitten (by the Gentiles.) It is almost as if the man with the Spirit of God is the one causing the Gentiles to scatter and smite the Indian remnant, as if the man cursed the Indian remnant. The destroyer fits both as a person who has the power to perform such miracles, and who has the gumption to do it. So, maybe it’s Joseph-Nephi, after all?
The text then says that the Gentiles inherit the land, and this is something that the Josephite would actually do for the saints. They were scattered off their lands by the tares, and once he returns, he would put them right back onto their lands:
And I beheld the Spirit of the Lord, that it was upon the Gentiles, and they did prosper and obtain the land for their inheritance; and I beheld that they were white, and exceedingly fair and beautiful, like unto my people before they were slain. (1 Nephi 13:15)
Finally it says that the power of the Lord was with them, and it is my manifested understanding that at this point the Josephite is definitely on the scene with them:
And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld that the Gentiles who had gone forth out of captivity did humble themselves before the Lord; and the power of the Lord was with them. (1 Nephi 13:16)
Okay, so I will continue with the list of things that occur during this fifth stage:
- The Josephite delivers the Gentiles out of the hands of all other nations
- The Josephite first translates the Book of Mormon
- The Josephite later translates the plates of brass, the large plates of Nephi and the plates of Ether
- The saints take these records to the Indian remnant
- The Indian remnant believe the records and repent
- Many of the Gentiles do not believe the new records, and ditch using the corrupt version of the book of the Lamb of God and they go back to using the Bible
- The Josephite gathers the righteous, splitting the world into two territories: those of the righteous and those of the wicked
- The city of Zion (the New Jerusalem) is built
- Other cities of refuge (stakes of Zion) are also built
- And so on.
After delivering the American Gentiles out of the hands of all other nations, the Josephite will then proceed to re-organize and gather the wheat, who are the remnant saints, into another church of Christ, calling them the church of the Lamb of God, initiating the last phase of the church. As part of his commission, he will bring forth the additional records, to prepare the wheat for their perfection and the tares for their destruction.
A furious Josephite
Joseph-Nephi, being the destroying angel, is by nature altogether destructive. Although he’s slow to anger, when he does get angry, it knows no bounds, and nothing sets him off quite like finding that his works have been undone in his absence by wicked tares, or that the saints he has been assigned to gather together, as the fold’s sheepdog, have been scattered, tortured and killed. All of this wickedness, done in his absence, will cause his anger to spiral out of control.
A normal servant of God would desire, in such a situation, to try to reclaim the apostates. A normal servant would want to show compassion and mercy and not do anything that would destroy the tares, for the tares will be found absolutely everywhere at that time, and given the two-handed condition which will be in place, any improper move on the part of a servant of the Lord and they would become fully ripened, and thus ready for destruction, and thus lost. So, a normal servant would shrink and not want to be the means of destroying these tare-ish souls.
But Joseph-Nephi is not a normal servant of God. Upon seeing all of this wickedness, Joseph-Nephi’s only desire will be to destroy the tares. And how do you destroy the tares? By fully ripening them unto destruction. And how do you fully ripen them? By performing the Lord’s strange work, His strange act. By releasing all the records, all of them, upon the population, so that they spiritually perish, thus ripening them for temporal destruction.
Now, the records can safely be released upon the wheat, for the wheat are already ripened, and they won’t spiritually perish, but all others around them will either spiritually perish as tares, upon contact with the records, or the records will cause them to instantly repent, on the spot, so that they become instantly ripened wheat. Either way, the two-handed condition is kept intact, so that they will either be brought into salvation and exaltation, or into perdition and destruction.
So, the Josephite, in his anger against the tares, will push forward and begin the Lord’s work, even the great and marvelous work, and he will begin bringing forth the records, starting with the Book of Mormon, thus fulfilling 2 Nephi 27. And he will bring forth the large plates of Nephi, thus fulfilling 3 Nephi 21, and also the plates of brass, thus fulfilling 2 Nephi 29. And he will bring forth the plates of Ether, thus fulfilling Alma 37.
And in his anger, he will trigger the fulfillment of the prophesy of Isaiah in chapter 28, so that plagues of tempests of hail, destroying storms, floods of mighty waters overflowing, an overflowing scourge (a desolating sickness) and even eventually unleashing the Lamanite remnants upon the people so that the Gentiles are vexed with a sore vexation (see D&C 87:5) and are trodden down, all occurs:
Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim, whose glorious beauty is a fading flower, which are on the head of the fat valleys of them that are overcome with wine! Behold, the Lord hath a mighty and strong one, which as a tempest of hail and a destroying storm, as a flood of mighty waters overflowing, shall cast down to the earth with the hand. The crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim, shall be trodden under feet: and the glorious beauty, which is on the head of the fat valley, shall be a fading flower, and as the hasty fruit before the summer; which when he that looketh upon it seeth, while it is yet in his hand he eateth it up. (Isaiah 28:1-4)
The whole of Isaiah chapter 28 is speaking of the return of the Josephite into this environment of apostasy, after he has set the church in order.
Now, the drunkards of Ephraim in this chapter are the apostate Mormons. In Isaiah 28 the Lord says He has given line upon line to the drunkards of Ephraim, but then they apostatized:
But the word of the Lord was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken. (Isaiah 28:13)
The Lord only gives line upon line to the faithful, who are the saints, not to the unbelieving:
For he will give unto the faithful line upon line, precept upon precept; and I will try you and prove you herewith. (D&C 98:12)
Therefore these people are Mormon apostates that have entered into a pact with the devil, even into secret combinations:
Because ye have said,
We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves: (Isaiah 28:15)
But this pact will be annulled by the Lord, because He intends to send the Josephite back, to destroy these people:
Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place. And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it. From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report. (Isaiah 28:17-19)
Given that the Lord’s servant is the destroying angel, when He sends the Josephite back to see all the ensuing apostasy, the Josephite’s anger will be kindled, and his destroying nature will manifest, and it is this fierce anger that will cause him to push forward right into the Lord’s work, which is the great and marvelous work and the restoration of all things, even the strange act and strange work:
For the LORD shall rise up as in mount Perazim, he shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon, that he may do his work, his strange work; and bring to pass his act, his strange act. Now therefore be ye not mockers, lest your bands be made strong: for I have heard from the Lord GOD of hosts a consumption, even determined upon the whole earth. (Isaiah 28:21-22)
The consumption is a destruction. So, the Josephite’s anger sends out these plagues upon the wicked and then, in his anger, instead of saying with mercy, “If I push ahead and restore all things, all these people will die, therefore I will not push ahead,” he says with justice, “I will push ahead and restore all things and whoever doesn’t repent and get in line, let them die.” It is the Josephite’s destroying nature that allows him to push ahead, even in the midst of worldwide apostasy. Any other prophet would have pulled back, not wanting to have so many people perish, but the Josephite is different, and will be motivated by anger.
It is the anger of the Father, through His appointed emissary of justice (the Josephite), that gets the ball rolling, that allows the strange act to occur:
And if the president heed them not, then will the Lord arise and come forth out of his hiding place, and in his fury vex the nation; and in his hot displeasure, and in his fierce anger, in his time, will cut off those wicked, unfaithful, and unjust stewards, and appoint them their portion among hypocrites, and unbelievers; even in outer darkness, where there is weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth.
Pray ye, therefore, that their ears may be opened unto your cries, that I may be merciful unto them, that these things may not come upon them. What I have said unto you must needs be, that all men may be left without excuse; that wise men and rulers may hear and know that which they have never considered; that I may proceed to bring to pass my act, my strange act, and perform my work, my strange work, that men may discern between the righteous and the wicked, saith your God. (D&C 101:89-95)
And it is the wrath of the Father upon the Gentiles that causes the restoration of Israel to happen:
And it came to pass that I beheld that the wrath of God was poured out upon that great and abominable church, insomuch that there were wars and rumors of wars among all the nations and kindreds of the earth. And as there began to be wars and rumors of wars among all the nations which belonged to the mother of abominations, the angel spake unto me, saying:
Behold, the wrath of God is upon the mother of harlots; and behold, thou seest all these things—and when the day cometh that the wrath of God is poured out upon the mother of harlots, which is the great and abominable church of all the earth, whose founder is the devil, then, at that day, the work of the Father shall commence, in preparing the way for the fulfilling of his covenants, which he hath made to his people who are of the house of Israel. (1 Nephi 14;15-17)
Now, notice Moses’s reaction when the Israelites made the molten calf:
And the Lord said unto Moses,
I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people: now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation.
And Moses besought the Lord his God, and said,
Lord, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand? Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say,
For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth?
Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them,
I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever. (Exodus 32:9-13)
And Moses returned unto the Lord, and said,
Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them godsof gold. Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin—; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written. (Exodus 32:31-32)
We see from this that Moses tried to save them, whereas the Josephite will seek to destroy the wicked from off the face of the planet, via the great and marvelous work and the restoration of all things.
The Josephite’s anger will wax hotter and hotter and eventually even the Indian remnant will be sent to vex the Gentiles:
And it shall come to pass also that the remnants who are left of the land will marshal themselves, and shall become exceedingly angry, and shall vex the Gentiles with a sore vexation. (D&C 87:5)
All of this anger, and the ensuing curses and vexation, is what prepares the world for the Second Coming of the Lord, for it preps the wicked for their impending destruction, continuing to ripen them until they are finally fully ripened in iniquity and quite ready to be burned as tares.
The records unleashed upon the world, then, perfect the wheat, so that Ether 4 is fulfilled, so that they become sanctified like the brother of Jared was sanctified, so that the Lord is enabled to finally reveal all the records to His saints. In other words, the very sealed portion itself. And so the Josephite, after translating the Nephite records, will translate the sealed portion, the “vision of all,” so that all things are unleashed upon the world (i.e., the restoration of all things occurs), causing the wicked to fully spiritually perish, and bringing the righteous to the very heights of heavenly bliss.
The wicked Gentiles, on the other hand, will reject the gospel fulness found in all the new records:
And thus commandeth the Father that I should say unto you:
At that day when the Gentiles shall sin against my gospel, and shall reject the fulness of my gospel, and shall be lifted up in the pride of their hearts above all nations, and above all the people of the whole earth, and shall be filled with all manner of lyings, and of deceits, and of mischiefs, and all manner of hypocrisy, and murders, and priestcrafts, and whoredoms, and of secret abominations; and if they shall do all those things, and shall reject the fulness of my gospel, behold,
saith the Father,
I will bring the fulness of my gospel from among them. (3 Nephi 16:10)
Once the new records are rejected, the Josephite will initiate the “great division” of the people:
For the time speedily cometh that the Lord God shall cause a great division among the people, and the wicked will he destroy; and he will spare his people, yea, even if it so be that he must destroy the wicked by fire. (2 Nephi 30:10)
The fifth phase is when the separation and two-church status happens
The fifth stage of the church, in which it gets perfected, is when the separation occurs between the righteous and the wicked. In the first, second, third and fourth stages, the righteous and the wicked dwelt together, but when the Josephite returns and begins to perfect the church, he will split the world into two territories: the territories of the righteous, controlled by the righteous, and the territories of the wicked, controlled by the wicked.
This territorial division will cause all apostate churches to join the great church, it being an “umbrella” or “mother” church, in which will be found all apostate doctrines. At that point, there will be only two churches on the planet:
And he said unto me:
Behold there are save two churches only; the one is the church of the Lamb of God, and the other is the church of the devil; wherefore, whoso belongeth not to the church of the Lamb of God belongeth to that great church, which is the mother of abominations; and she is the whore of all the earth. (1 Nephi 14:10)
Thus, the two territories will be ruled by two churches. Each church will have dominion over their respective territories:
And it came to pass that I looked and beheld the whore of all the earth, and she sat upon many waters; and she had dominion over all the earth, among all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people.
And it came to pass that I beheld the church of the Lamb of God, and its numbers were few, because of the wickedness and abominations of the whore who sat upon many waters; nevertheless, I beheld that the church of the Lamb, who were the saints of God, were also upon all the face of the earth; and their dominions upon the face of the earth were small, because of the wickedness of the great whore whom I saw. (1 Nephi 14:11-12)
All the wicked, who live in wicked-controlled territory, who repent, will become instantly ripened wheat, and like the wheat that ripened during the fourth stage of the church, in which they were surrounded by tares and had to go through a period of tribulation, so the newly repented and ripened wheat living in the territory of the wicked will be surrounded by tares and have to go through tribulation from them. The Lord puts them into the very same trial of faith, so that they can show themselves as true wheat, having endured persecution, torture and even death, by the hands of the tares. The following passage refers to this very event occurring in wicked-controlled territories during the fifth stage:
And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: and they cried with a loud voice, saying,
How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?
And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled. (Revelation 6:9-11)
This tribulation continues until either the wheat can escape into the cities of refuge (the stakes of Zion) that the Josephite will build, which will be in righteous-controlled territory, or until the angels are sent to pluck them out from the cities of the wicked, just before the burning.
From few to many
Although the faithful saints who survive the fourth stage will be few, once the Josephite returns in the fifth stage and starts working his mighty wonders and convincing the world, both Jew and Gentile, through his powerful translation of the Book of Mormon and other scriptures, he will miraculously turn those few stalks of wheat into many stalks by his exceeding faith:
And now behold, my beloved brethren, I would speak unto you; for I, Nephi, would not suffer that ye should suppose that ye are more righteous than the Gentiles shall be. For behold, except ye shall keep the commandments of God ye shall all likewise perish; and because of the words which have been spoken ye need not suppose that the Gentiles are utterly destroyed. For behold, I say unto you that as many of the Gentiles as will repent are the covenant people of the Lord; and as many of the Jews as will not repent shall be cast off; for the Lord covenanteth with none save it be with them that repent and believe in his Son, who is the Holy One of Israel. And now, I would prophesy somewhat more concerning the Jews and the Gentiles. For after the book of which I have spoken shall come forth, and be written unto the Gentiles, and sealed up again unto the Lord, there shall be many which shall believe the words which are written; and they shall carry them forth unto the remnant of our seed. (2 Nephi 30:1-3)
These many Gentiles who repent, along with all the house of Israel that repents, will be gathered together into either the city of Jerusalem, the city of New Jerusalem (which is the city of Zion) or into the stakes of Zion, which will not be like the current non-city stakes, but will be filled-to-the-brim cities of refuge stakes; and all these cities of refuge will be the territories of the righteous, into which these many righteous souls will be gathered. But compared to the territory of the great whore of all the earth, the dominion of the church of the Lamb will be geographically small and compact.
And it came to pass that I beheld the church of the Lamb of God, and its numbers were few, because of the wickedness and abominations of the whore who sat upon many waters; nevertheless, I beheld that the church of the Lamb, who were the saints of God, were also upon all the face of the earth; and their dominions upon the face of the earth were small, because of the wickedness of the great whore whom I saw. (1 Nephi 14:12)
This scripture shouldn’t be taken to mean that there will be few righteous on the earth at that time. It only means that the righteous will be gathered into specific cities of refuge that the Josephite will build, which will be places safe from the desolation and plagues that the Lord will pour out prior to His coming. The region outside of those specific cities will be inhabited by the wicked and will be vast in comparison, but the scripture is only giving a territorial comparison, not a comparison of population size. There will be many righteous on the earth at that time.
The city of Zion gets built in the fifth stage, after the records come forth
All the saints who are alive now, in this second stage of the church, who pine for Zion, long for it, and think it might be built some time soon, or when the Josephite gets out of his box, are mistaken. Zion gets built by the remnants of Israel, with whatever portion of the Gentiles that repent assisting, and that city will be built during the perfected church stage, which is the fifth stage. It won’t happen until after the church is set in order, until after the apostasy happens, and until after the Josephite gets back and begins perfecting the church and performing the great and marvelous work, bringing forth the new records:
And blessed are they who shall seek to bring forth my Zion at that day, for they shall have the gift and the power of the Holy Ghost; and if they endure unto the end they shall be lifted up at the last day, and shall be saved in the everlasting kingdom of the Lamb; and whoso shall publish peace, yea, tidings of great joy, how beautiful upon the mountains shall they be. (1 Nephi 13:37)
The last days prophecies of Gentile apostasy speak only of the fourth and fifth stages
Only the fourth and fifth stages contain the Gentile apostasy spoken of in the last days prophecies. Prior to those stages, any apostasy that happens among the Gentiles is a shadow fulfillment. The Mormon dissenters who have continually claimed (from the beginning of the restoration to now) that the LDS church is apostate have been deceived. They have no understanding of these scriptures, nor of these stages. Even the mainstream Mormon mixes things up, not understanding that we are only in the second stage, and this is merely a time of types and shadows.
The sealed portion pertains to the book of Revelation
The book of Revelation begins its narrative with the opening up of the sealed book, which contains the “vision of all.” In other words, chapter 4, 5 and 6 is when the book is finally opened, and then the prophetic events ensue. The sealed portion is the revelation of all things, followed by the restoration of all things, all performed by the Josephite. All of these events happen in the fifth stage of the church, after the other records have come forth, after the world has split into two territories and into two churches. With this post, then, there is no more need for anyone to wonder, “When will the sealed portion be opened?” I have just told you when that happens. It happens in the fifth stage. Nobody need be confused by any of these things anymore.
And nobody who reads and believes this post need wonder if the things written in the book of Revelation are happening around us, yet. They are surely not. We are merely in the second stage. Also, given this new information about the stages, nobody need harp on the church leadership as being “out of tune” with the signs of the times. The literal fulfillment of all these prophecies is still to come. All we see around us are mere shadows and types.
A key: always keep in mind the first sign
And his disciples asked him, saying,
Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come?
And Jesus answered and said unto them,
Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things. (Matthew 17:10-11)
As long as Elias has not gotten out of his box, we will continue to remain in the second stage.
Another key: the leaders will tell the people
Paul wrote:
Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and by our gathering together unto him, that ye be not soon shaken in mind or be troubled by letter,
except ye receive it from us, neither by spirit nor by word, as that the day of Christ is at hand. (
JST 2 Thessalonians 1-2)
The standard that the primitive church lived under was to not be shaken in mind or troubled by letter or by spirit or by word, as that the day of Christ was at hand, unless the Brethren of that time sent a letter to them informing them of the new condition. This principle—the leadership informing the membership of the prophetic timeline—is had among the latter-day saints, too. Yet I find very many Mormons shaken in mind and troubled, thinking the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ is at hand. Many Mormons take the scriptural prophecies of the end times and apply them to our times, as if they have literally been fulfilled already or are literally being fulfilled before our very eyes, even though the Brethren have made no such pronouncements. Has the First Presidency or Quorum of the Twelve issued a letter or said that these times we are living in are the “end times?” No, they haven’t. All they say is that these are the last days and the latter days. The “last days” and “latter days” covers everything that happens after the resurrection of Christ, including the times of types and shadows. Saying we are in the “last days” or “latter days” does not necessarily mean we are in the “end times,” meaning those times in which the last days prophecies are fulfilled literally. The Brethren never use the term “end times” because they have received no information from God that we are in the end times. Why haven’t they received such information? Because we aren’t in the end times. If we were in the end times, they would receive the information and then tell us, per the principle given by Paul.
The Brethren will receive such information from the Josephite. When the Josephite comes out of his box and makes his announcement, he will afterward go to the church leadership to set the house of God in order and he will make the Brethren eat humble pie. He will demonstrate the power of God to them, in mighty signs, that will astonish them so that they are convinced that he is “the one mighty and strong” that was prophesied to appear, just as Moses and Aaron did to the elders of Israel:
And Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the children of Israel: and Aaron spake all the words which the Lord had spoken unto Moses, and did the signs in the sight of the people. And the people believed: and when they heard that the Lord had visited the children of Israel, and that he had looked upon their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshipped. (Exodus 4:29-31)
He will receive all their keys from them, and then he will make his corrections, setting the house of God in order from top to bottom, teaching them things they never knew, explaining things they misunderstood, and so forth, and then those now humbled to the dust leaders will stand in front of the pulpit in general conference, and they will admit all their errors, in doctrine and in practice and in policy, and they will confess all their sins and faults, and they will say that a new era has officially started, that the times of types and shadows has ceased and now the prophecies will proceed literally. They will tell the saints each and every detail of the correction, as they receive it from the Josephite. And thus, the end times will be officially announced from the pulpit when it begins, for the Josephite will tell them, “The end times has now officially begun. Go and tell the saints.” So, nobody needs to guess at these things.
The Lord will not make the saints guess at the signs of the times, but will very clearly tell them these things, so that no one is left with any excuse that they didn’t know.
Call ye, therefore, upon them with loud proclamation, and with your testimony, fearing them not, for they are as grass, and all their glory as the flower thereof which soon falleth, that they may be left also without excuse—and that I may visit them in the day of visitation, when I shall unveil the face of my covering, to appoint the portion of the oppressor among hypocrites, where there is gnashing of teeth, if they reject my servants and my testimony which I have revealed unto them. (D&C 124:7-8)
What I have said unto you must needs be, that all men may be left without excuse; that wise men and rulers may hear and know that which they have never considered; that I may proceed to bring to pass my act, my strange act, and perform my work, my strange work, that men may discern between the righteous and the wicked, saith your God. (D&C 101:93-95)
And perhaps a committee can be appointed to find out these things, and to take statements and affidavits; and also to gather up the libelous publications that are afloat; and all that are in the magazines, and in the encyclopedias, and all the libelous histories that are published, and are writing, and by whom, and present the whole concatenation of diabolical rascality and nefarious and murderous impositions that have been practiced upon this people—that we may not only publish to all the world, but present them to the heads of government in all their dark and hellish hue, as the last effort which is enjoined on us by our Heavenly Father, before we can fully and completely claim that promise which shall call him forth from his hiding place; and also that the whole nation may be left without excuse before he can send forth the power of his mighty arm. (D&C 123: 4-6)
Therefore, they are left without excuse, and their sins are upon their own heads. (D&C 88:82)
All the people who have left this church believing that the end times are upon us—for a recent example, consider those who have held up the teachings of Denver Snuffer—have not understood the principle that Paul wrote about. They have thought that the church leadership is out of tune with the Spirit, out of line and unaware of the signs of the times. They have supposed that they know better than the leadership and that the end times are now upon us and have looked at the leadership as out of touch, for they say nothing concerning the end times signs. But they say nothing about this because we are not in the end times! If we were in the end times, our leaders would open their mouths, because as the above scriptures explain, it is a gospel principle that the Lord must leave all men, including His saints, without excuse.
Wrapping up the post with a stage review
Here’s a breakdown of some of the last days prophecies according to the church stage in which they will be literally (not shadow) fulfilled, and notice that not a single one of them pertains to Stage 2, which is the stage we are currently in:
Complete List of Articles authored by LDS Anarchist
January 16, 2018
Categories: Apostasy, Arm of the Flesh, Babylon, Common Consent, End Times, Hollow Earth Theory, Joseph-Nephi, LDS, Power of the Holy Ghost, Priesthood, Prophecy, Prophets, Sanctification, Secret Combinations, Temples, Tithes and Offerings, Unity, Word of Wisdom, Zion . . Author: LDS Anarchist . Comments: 9 Comments
signifies some predefined activation function. Anyone who studies the Holy Scriptures will know that a pre-stood 
LDS Anarchy 
1 Nephi 13 & 14 commentary, using CTC’s view
On June 17th, 2008, Anthony E. Larson uploaded a post to this blog called, The Great and Abominable Church. A couple of weeks later a visitor called CTC claimed that 1 Nephi 13 & 14 spoke of a literal great and abominable church that had yet to make its appearance and that much of both of these chapters was yet to be fulfilled. He said he got this information from someone who he believed was a bona fide prophet of God. CTC did not use a chronological approach to Nephi’s prophecy. This made it easy for him to get around certain parts which posed problems to him as a future fulfillment. But I’m not going to take that approach. I’m going to read it chronologically and literally, and see where it takes me.
I’m doing this because it interests me, not because I subscribe to this view, so please don’t take this as my interpretation of this chapter. As I’ve said before, my understanding of prophecy is that it is plain and speaks of real things, and also that it often has shadows or types. When CTC first posted his comments, I did not respond, because I hadn’t taken the time to really look at 1 Nephi 13, to see if the fulfillment that we normally assign to it could be a mere shadow. So, I remained silent and let others respond to him. However, recently I have found myself mentioning time and time again about a coming future captivity of the saints, which brought to my mind what Nephi had stated in 1 Nephi 13, which then brought to my mind what CTC had written in his comments.
All of which leads me to this post, in which I look at these chapters and attempt to interpret them as if their literal fulfillment was still future. So, let’s begin.
Chapter Thirteen of First Nephi
I will quote a part of the chapter, then give what is commonly assumed as its fulfillment, but as a shadow, and then I will give its literal future fulfillment. I will try to convincingly show why the shadow fulfillment does not satisfy the prophecy, meaning why the prophecy is not fulfilled every whit by the shadow, necessitating a future, literal fulfillment. I am using this as my Book of Mormon text.
The times of the Gentiles
This is obviously talking about the times of the Gentiles. But which times? The times of the primitive church with the twelve apostles, the times right after the death of the apostles, the times of Joseph Smith, the current times, or a future time of the Gentiles? Nephi isn’t clear on this point, but I will interpret this as a future time.
The formation of a church
Shadow past fulfillment: Some have stated that this is the Roman Catholic Church, a literal church, which would put its formation after the death of the apostles. Others have stated that this is the “church” of science, a metaphorical church, which would put its formation after the Roman Catholic Church. Others believe this is speaking metaphorically about all churches that are not the true saints of God, per the later verse of 1 Ne. 14:10, giving it a metaphorical “formation” and a metaphorical “captivity.” These must all be shadows because they do not fulfill the prophecy every whit.
Literal future fulfillment: This a real church, not a figurative or metaphorical church. And it exists among other, real churches. It literally kills and tortures real saints—or sanctified people who have entered into a covenant with God, witnessed by baptism—and literally binds them, puts real iron yokes upon them and brings them down into literal (not metaphorical) captivity.
To literally fulfill this prophecy every whit, living saints of God must be present during, or after, the formation of this church, and they must be killed, tortured, bound, yoked with iron, and brought into captivity. Also, there must be other, real churches present, which do not pertain to the abominable church.
This has not occurred, yet, for although there were people tortured, killed, put into iron yokes and brought into captivity, by various religious organizations in the past, these tortured souls were not saints of God, for the church of God was already non-existent by then and the saints and apostles were already dead. Therefore, this prophecy must pertain to the future.
Devil, materialism, worldy praise
The previous commentary applies to this section, as well, for if the church of God is not present, in order for this abominable church to bring God’s saints down into captivity and destroy them, it cannot be fulfilled literally.
Many waters
Shadow past fulfillment: The Gentiles of Europe are divided (separated) from the American Indians (Lamanites) by the Atlantic Ocean.
Literal future fulfillment: The Gentiles of Asia are divided (separated) from the American Indians (Lamanites) by “many waters.” The term “many waters” refers to that body of water called by the Nephites, Irreantum, which is the Pacific Ocean.
The Spirit of God upon a man
Shadow past fulfillment: The European Gentile, Christopher Columbus, “believed himself chosen by God to find [a new] land and deliver the light of Christianity to the natives there.” He sailed upon the Atlantic Ocean to the New World, all the way to the Lamanite remnant.
Literal future fulfillment: A man among the Asian Gentiles (not necessarily a Gentile man, nor Asian) will have the Spirit of God come down and work upon him. This man will be a holy prophet of God and will travel from Asia to North America, upon the Irreantum or Pacific Ocean, until he reaches the Lamanite remnant.
The Spirit of God upon captive Gentiles
Shadow past fulfillment: European Gentiles (Puritans) leave Europe and their religious “captivity” for America to partake of religious freedom. (Never mind that Europe was one of the freest places on the planet at the time.) They travel over the Atlantic Ocean.
Literal future fulfillment: Asian Gentiles are wrought upon by the Spirit of God, becoming saints of God, and leave Asian captivity, meaning that they leave the captivity of the tyrannical Chinese, North Korean and other communist regimes and dictatorships, which bind the people down in literal captivity. They travel over the Irreantum (Pacific Ocean.)
The scattering of the Lamanites
Shadow past fulfillment: Lots of European Gentiles are in America. The European Gentiles partially scatter the American Indians and gather them into reservations. The European Gentiles take possession of Indian and American land. Some prosper, some do not. The European Gentiles are white, fair and beautiful.
Literal future fulfillment: Lots of different Gentiles are in America. An unnamed group of (European?) Gentiles fully scatter the American Indians, off of the reservations, and smite them, so that the Lamanites are completely landless. The Spirit of the Lord comes upon a righteous group of (Asian?) Gentiles (saints) and they prosper and inherit the land. This righteous group of Gentiles is white, fair and beautiful.
Former captors wage war against former captives; God saves former captives
Shadow past fulfillment: Many European Gentiles (in the American British colonies) are either deists or believe in God, Christianity and the Bible. The American Revolutionary War ensues. Despite hardships, lack of supplies, training, etc., the American Continental Army defeats the British.
Literal future fulfillment: The Asian Gentiles (who are converted saints of God)—who left their Asian communist countries, who traveled over the Irreantum (Pacific Ocean), who are now living upon the land of America—humble themselves before the Lord and obtain the gifts and powers of the Holy Ghost. Their mother countries (China, Russia and the rest) send warships upon the waters to battle them and gather together upon the water and also gather together upon the land. Divine intervention (miracles of God) takes place and the armies of the mother Gentile nations, as well as the armies of all those nations who were gathered with them to battle the former Asian Gentile captives, are defeated by the power of God, and not by any power of man.
A book, the record of the Jews
Shadow past fulfillment: The European Gentiles (now called American citizens) have a Bible—written by multiple authors, not a single Jew—which has been corrupted by that great and abominable church, you know, the Roman Catholic Church, or the science non-church, or the vast assembly of non-saint churches “church.” That church. Anyway, that church/non-church takes some plain and precious parts away from the Bible and then sends it out to all the European Gentiles, which then makes its way to America, since the European Gentiles have traveled there over the Atlantic Ocean. And because of this faulty Bible, many of the European Gentiles stumble and sin. But hope is not lost, for the Lord has a plan.
Literal future fulfillment: The Asian Gentiles saints living in America have a book, written by a singular Jew, which contains a record of the Jews, the covenants of the Lord and many of the prophecies of the prophets. This book is like the plates of brass, except it doesn’t contain as much information as the plates of brass. It contains the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the testimony of all twelve apostles of the Lord.
When the book first appears, written by the singular Jew, it will go to the Gentiles, presumably to the Asian Gentiles who were in captivity, since they will be carrying the book. After it goes to the Gentiles, the great and abominable church will be formed. That church apparently will get a copy of the book and make drastic changes to it, taking out plain and precious parts. Then they will publish the book far and wide, so that it ends up in every Gentile nation, including in America.
There will be, then, two editions of the book. One which is pure, carried by the Asian Gentile saints living in America, and the other which is corrupted, carried by the other Gentiles (living in America and elsewhere). Because of the corrupted version, many Gentiles stumble and sin. But hope is not lost, for the Lord has a plan.
Another book, the record of the Nephites
Shadow past fulfillment: The Book of Mormon, an abridged record of the Nephites, was written, and came forth to the Gentiles that were stumbling, by the gift and power of God, and in it is God’s rock, salvation and gospel, and it contains the many plain and precious parts that have been taken out of the Bible, as well as an abridgment of the ministry of the Savior to the Nephites. Those during the time of Joseph Smith were blessed with the gift and power of the Holy Ghost as they sought to establish Zion.
Future literal fulfillment: An unabridged Nephite record (not the Book of Mormon) will be written, to come forth to the Gentiles that stumble, by the gift and power of God, and in it will be God’s rock, salvation and gospel, and it will contain the many plain and precious parts that have been taken out of the book that is carried by the Asian Gentile saints. In the Nephite record will be “many things” that the Savior personally ministered to the Nephites. In other words, it will be an unabridged account of that ministry. Those during the time of the appearance of this unabridged Nephite record will be blessed with the gift and power of the Holy Ghost as they seek to establish Zion.
Two records established in one
Shadow past fulfillment: The Bible written by multiple Jews went to the Lamanites. Later, the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants and Pearl of Great Price went to the Lamanites, and these last records established the truth of the Bible (as far as it is translated correctly), which is a record of the four apostles of the Lord, and made known the plain and precious parts missing in it. Both volumes of scripture were established in one, by being bound up as a quadruple combination.
Literal future fulfillment: The unchanged book carried by the Asian Gentile saints, written by a singular Jew, will go to the Lamanites. Later, the unabridged Nephite record (as well as other records) will go to the Lamanites and will establish the truth of the unadulterated book that is carried about by the Asian Gentile saints, which is a record of all twelve apostles of the Lord, and will make known the plain and precious parts that are missing in the perverted edition of that record. Both volumes of scripture will be established in one.
Chapter Fourteen of First Nephi
The whole of 1 Nephi 14 is still future, according to my understanding, but since I’m using CTC’s view to interpret the prophecy, I will try to bring up anything that may coincide with what I wrote about chapter thirteen.
Numbering
Shadow past/present fulfillment: I suppose latter-day saints could interpret numbering among the house of Israel as fulfilled by getting their patriarchal blessings, which tell them what tribe they have been assigned to.
Literal future fulfillment: Numbering is a tribal function. I’ve already gone over this on this blog before, so I’m not going to elaborate on this topic again. Let it suffice that my understanding is that this pertains to the future and has not yet been fulfilled in any part, whatsoever.
The great and marvelous work
Shadow past fulfillment: The times of Joseph Smith in which he restored many lost truths and layed the foundation of the kingdom is often thought as the great and marvelous work.
Literal future fulfillment: The great and marvel work takes places after the numbering of the Gentiles among the house of Israel, therefore, it is still a future event.
The covenants of the Father to the house of Israel
I don’t really need to comment on this.
Two churches only
Shadow past fulfillment: Some use this scripture retroactively, to apply to the thirteenth chapter of First Nephi. So, they define the great and abominable church as everything that isn’t the LDS church.
Literal future fulfillment: The great and marvelous work, which is still future, will cause a division among the people, so that there are no longer a multiplicity of churches on earth. Everything will either align itself with the great and abominable church, being absorbed by her, or join the saints of God in the now-called church of the Lamb of God. The church of the Lamb of God will be using, if you remember, the Book of the Lamb of God. In other words, that unchanged book written by a singular Jew, carried by the Asian Gentile saints, which contains the writings of the twelve (not four) apostles of the Lamb. Just as Mormons are called Mormons because of the book they carry and use and believe, so the Lamb of God church will be called by the name of their main book.
Headquarters in the midst of Irreantum
Shadow past fulfillment: Bad (non-LDS) churches are all over the planet.
Literal future fulfillment: The great and abominable church will be headquartered somewhere in the Pacific Ocean and will have global reach.
The church of the Lamb of God
Shadow past fulfillment: Good (LDS) churches are all over the planet.
Literal future fulfillment: The church of the Lamb of God will have global reach, but small membership, due to the other church’s wickedness.
Gathering of the whore to fight the Lamb
I ain’t gonna interpret this.
Power of God upon the saints and covenant people
Nor will I interpret this. But do notice that at this point in the prophetic timeline, the covenant people of the Lord are still in their scattered state.
Worldwide wars
Nor will I interpret this. But do notice that only now, after there are wars and rumors of war everywhere, after the numbering, after the unabridged Nephite record and the record of the twelve apostles of the Lamb come forth, etc., only after all these things happen does the work of the Father commence in preparing the way for the fulfilling of His covenants with Israel!
The apostle John
Shadow past fulfillment: John the apostle wrote the Book of Revelation, which contains some of the things that Nephi saw and the Book of Revelation is found in the Bible, which was written by multiple Jews.
Literal future fulfillment: John the apostle will appear in the future, with a mission to gather the tribes of Israel, as a Jewish Elias, meaning an Elias of the tribe of Judah, and he will come and restore all things pertaining to the Jews.
It was for this reason that John was translated, that he might perform this latter-day work.
John, then, is the Jew, out of whose mouth the book, which Nephi saw in vision, would proceed. He is the “hand of the twelve apostles of the Lamb” which will write this book. Through John will proceed the record and testimony of all twelve apostles of the Lamb, and all the things which Nephi saw will be written by John, “and also many things which have been,” meaning that John will write things which preceded Nephi. The writings of John in the Bible do not cover all the things that the angel told Nephi John would write, which would be written in the book that proceeded out of the mouth of the Jew, which is called “the Book of the Lamb of God.”
And this is the very reason why the angel prohibited Nephi from writing the rest of his vision. The Book of Revelation does not contain the vision that Nephi saw. If anything, it only contains a part of the vision, or an abridgement. Nephi could not write what he saw because it was not the proper time for that information to come forth. When John re-appears on the scene, he will dictate the book that Nephi saw the Asian Gentile saints carrying, which will contain the full vision of Nephi, as well as the covenants of the Lord, many of the prophecies of the prophets, the testimony of all twelve apostles, a record of the Jews and “many things which have been.” Yet, despite all that, it will still be less material than what the plates of brass contain.
John may, in fact, be the man who is wrought upon by the Spirit of God, who goes forth upon the many waters (Irreantum) to the promised land, who is followed by the Asian Gentile saints. John may be that man among the Asian Gentiles, who preaches to them and gives them the book that he will write, which they will carry with them to the promised land. John may be the very one who frees them from captivity, allowing them to leave their countries and come over the Irreantum to America.
Wrapping this up
Is any of this true? Could our standard interpretation of these two chapters be mere shadows? I will leave it up to the reader to figure that out for him or herself. One thing is for sure, if 1 Nephi 13 has yet to be literally fulfilled, we know what the very first thing mentioned is: the formation of a great and abominable church and the death, torture and captivity of the saints. Let us hope that none of the things I wrote above have any basis in prophetic reality.
Complete List of Articles authored by LDS Anarchist
December 29, 2012
Categories: Babylon, Gift of the Holy Ghost, Holy Ghost, Jesus Christ, LDS, Patriarchal Blessings, Power of the Holy Ghost, Preaching the Gospel, Prophecy, Prophets, Repentance, Sanctification, Scriptural Expositions, Secret Combinations, Symbolism, Tribalism, Zion . Tags: America, American Indians, Asia, Atlantic Ocean, Baptism, Book of Mormon, Book of the Lamb of God, captivity, Christopher Columbus, Church, Church of the Devil, Church of the Lamb of God, covenants, Death, destruction, devil, Elias, Europe, Gathering, Gentiles, Great and Abominable Church, Great and Marvelous Work, history, House of Israel, Irreantum, Jesus Christ, Jew, Jews, John, John the Apostle, John the Beloved, Lamanites, Land of Promise, Last Days, Latter-days, Nephi, Nephites, Pacific Ocean, Prophecy, Prophecy Interpretation, Remnant of Jacob, saints, Saints of God, Scattering, Scriptural Commentary, Scriptures, Spirit of God, Torture, Tribes of Israel, War, Warfare . Author: LDS Anarchist . Comments: 58 Comments