If it were not for my 3 precocious and beautiful granddaughters, Halloween would be my least favorite holiday. I love watching them go door to door to get candy in their costumes. They are currently 2.5, 5, and 7 years old.
It does make me pause and think of all the people of the world who would be happy for a daily piece of bread. We spoiled Americans get a day for free candy to celebrate the fact we are the fattest people in world history. Seems more like a day of national arrogance to celebrate our ignorance.
Talking today with my good friend Mark, it hit me that Halloween is probably one of least Satan's favorite days. Why? He is worried we might notice that we have appropriated some of his fundamental strategies in order to distract ourselves from GOD for a night of trivialities.
Strategy #1- "Pretend to be someone you are not". Costumes allow people to act differently. Anyone who is not truly repenting is wearing a metaphorical costume all the time, hoping people think they are better than they are. Religious people are the best at this. If I wear a white shirt and tie I am somehow righteous. It does not matter if I have not thought of GOD the previous 6.9 days for the week. If I can get a nice suit I might someday get to misuse my supposed priesthood in a leadership position. Preferably a wool suit so I can be a wolf in sheep's clothing.
Strategy #2- "Get stuff without really earning it". In the case of Halloween it is candy. In the case of this period of testing it is money and fame and honor. I am certainly a worse human being than most of the people I encountered in Bolivia, but for some reason they are poor and I am not. If I do not share my resources with others I am going to end up like the rich man who ignored Lazarus. I am not rich by the standards of Babylon, but I am better off than billions of other people.
"Get stuff for just showing up" was Satan's alternate plan of salvation. He is still trying to get people to buy into it today. Behave however you want and get rewarded when you die. Whether it is in the guise of "no hell" or JESUS saves everyone no matter what. Of course, GOD gives us way more than anyone deserves, but HE is not going to let everyone into His kingdom just to be nice. There are some requirements. I also realize that JESUS has done 99 percent of the hard work, but we as individuals have to do our 1 percent and repent, get baptized, and spend the rest of our lives serving other people.
Strategy #3- "Fear". Fear is the opposite of love. Why do people pay to have other people scare them at Haunted Houses? Why do people pay to see horror films? It has to be one of the most nonsensical things I know of along with driving a motorcycle on a daily basis.
Satan wants us to be scared of GOD. Instead we should be grateful the 2 members of our Godhead have condescended immensely to create a world where people can progress. Satan wants people to think he has power that is comparable to GOD's. Satan's limited power is nothing compared to CHRIST's! The only thing we need to fear is a failure to repent. GOD loves us unconditionally and wants only the best for us with the caveat we need to make unselfish choices.
I am pretty sure there will be no Halloween in the next phase of our existence unless we end up in Hell. They probably have Halloween once a week there.
Thursday, October 31, 2019
Amos 3:6-7: What the what?
One of the many problematic passages in the Bible is found in Amos chapter 3. Up until a few years ago, I had no idea Amos was in the Old Testament. This is like when I got my LDS mission call and thought Bolivia was in Europe. I am learning. Here is the latest thing I have learned.
The King James Version reads:
6.
Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid?
Shall there be evil in a city, and the Lord hath not done it?
7.
Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing,
but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.
So if we take this at face value then GOD is apparently causing evil. Ludicrous, I know. GOD is trying to do the most good for the most people. Evil only occurs by fallen man under the influence of Satan.
By the way, everything does happen for a reason. But the reason is always because of someone's choice to do it. GOD is not orchestrating every act to create a miraculous scenario where everyone gets to go to Heaven. GOD is trying to make the best of our foolish and fallen choices.
Joseph Smith's version of Amos reads as follows:
6. Shall a trumpet be blown in the city,
and the people not be afraid?
Shall there be evil in a city,
and the LORD hath not known it?
7. Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing,
until he revealeth the secret unto his servants the prophets.
Makes it clear the GOD is not doing any evil, but he is aware of all of it. Painfully aware of it, since he suffered so horrifically for the sins of billions of people.
The King James Version reads:
6.
Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid?
Shall there be evil in a city, and the Lord hath not done it?
7.
Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing,
but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.
So if we take this at face value then GOD is apparently causing evil. Ludicrous, I know. GOD is trying to do the most good for the most people. Evil only occurs by fallen man under the influence of Satan.
By the way, everything does happen for a reason. But the reason is always because of someone's choice to do it. GOD is not orchestrating every act to create a miraculous scenario where everyone gets to go to Heaven. GOD is trying to make the best of our foolish and fallen choices.
Joseph Smith's version of Amos reads as follows:
6. Shall a trumpet be blown in the city,
and the people not be afraid?
Shall there be evil in a city,
and the LORD hath not known it?
7. Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing,
until he revealeth the secret unto his servants the prophets.
Makes it clear the GOD is not doing any evil, but he is aware of all of it. Painfully aware of it, since he suffered so horrifically for the sins of billions of people.
Wednesday, October 30, 2019
There is no Trinity
One of the many great things about Joseph Smith was his involvement in the Lectures on Faith. These lectures were so important they actually were placed first in the Doctrine and Covenants before the revelations that were received. The were the "doctrine" of the book and the revelations were the "covenants."
The language of the lectures can be pretty dry, but the light and truth they contain is precious. It is worth studying them repeatedly to get a correct idea of GOD and CHRIST. The LDS church does not like the Lectures because they expose the unbelief present in the pseudo-Mormonism of today.
One example of a lost truth is Joseph's explanation of the Godhead. He wrote that it consists of 2 beings (personages) and not 3. Those 2 beings are God the Father and Jesus Christ. The Holy Ghost is the mind of GOD the Father and not a personage. That turns the Holy Ghost from the busiest being in the Universe to simply the pure light and knowledge that the Most High God possesses. Easier for light to travel around than a personage. Makes infinitely more sense to me.
This restored truth (surely Adam and Eve knew this) did not sit well with the polygamous Brighamite church in Salt Lake. The Lectures were taken out of the D&C in 1921 by men who had never seen Jesus and did not want to rock the boat of Christianity. This cowardly act has set back Mormonism for almost 100 years.
Time to reclaim the majestic Gospel restored via Joseph Smith one truth at a time.
The language of the lectures can be pretty dry, but the light and truth they contain is precious. It is worth studying them repeatedly to get a correct idea of GOD and CHRIST. The LDS church does not like the Lectures because they expose the unbelief present in the pseudo-Mormonism of today.
One example of a lost truth is Joseph's explanation of the Godhead. He wrote that it consists of 2 beings (personages) and not 3. Those 2 beings are God the Father and Jesus Christ. The Holy Ghost is the mind of GOD the Father and not a personage. That turns the Holy Ghost from the busiest being in the Universe to simply the pure light and knowledge that the Most High God possesses. Easier for light to travel around than a personage. Makes infinitely more sense to me.
This restored truth (surely Adam and Eve knew this) did not sit well with the polygamous Brighamite church in Salt Lake. The Lectures were taken out of the D&C in 1921 by men who had never seen Jesus and did not want to rock the boat of Christianity. This cowardly act has set back Mormonism for almost 100 years.
Time to reclaim the majestic Gospel restored via Joseph Smith one truth at a time.
Monday, October 7, 2019
I was wrong: I need to apologize
My last post described the unforgiving nature of the current LDS president. I wrote that the Nelson's middle initial of M stood for "Merciless". I was wrong, and I need to apologize to anyone who read my blog or heard about.
His real middle name is Moron. Why do I believe this?
1. Nelson is one of many LDS leaders since the death of Joseph and Hyrum Smith to take the name of the LORD in vain by pretending to receive revelation from GOD.
2. He is the only one I know of who was the audacity to throw GOD under the bus in attempting to explain the LDS church's asinine exclusion policy for members who are gay. Nelson wants his followers to believe that he, a 95 year old white American, is more compassionate than GOD. He wants to sell you a narrative about he and his false apostle buddies begging GOD to change the policy. According to the most blasphemous story in history, GOD finally relented. He also has some ocean front property in Arizona he is trying to get rid of.
Here is what actually happened.
1. 15 old guys ass-kissed their way up the Mormon leadership ladder their entire adult lives and were eventually rewarded with some power ("as they suppose").
2. These 15 fools who hate the majority of their brothers and sisters on the planet came up with a satanic policy in 2015 to exclude any fellow church members who had gay parents. Prospective members with LGBT parents had to wait ten years longer than a child with heterosexual parents for baptism. The child of gay parents also had to renounce their parents in order to gain entrance into the LDS church. Nelson and his 14 cronies labeled the parents "apostate" in an act of obvious compassion.
3. Since most people on this planet are not complete idiots (even Mormons) there was an instant public backlash. The 15 rubes in Salt Lake tried to figure a way out of their self-created PR nightmare. The first lesson that Mormon leadership has never learned is "do not dig yourself into a hole." The second lesson they have clearly not learned is "when you are in a hole stop digging."
4. The top fool decided to blame GOD and his predecessor Thomas S ("Stupid" ?) Monson for the original decision to punish gays. He also decided to give himself credit for changing GOD's mind through his supposed tears and prayers for those he claims to love.
Now I understand that GOD sometimes tests real prophets to see if they are willing to sacrifice their own lives (Moses and Joseph Smith) for the lives of those they serve. This did not happen in this instance. Russel M Nelson would no more sacrifice $20 for his fellow man let alone his own life. There is only one being in the history of this planet with more arrogant ambition than Nelson. I am referring to Satan himself. His demanding the MOST HIGH GOD's glory for his idiotic plan to save all mankind is the only thing I can think of that surpasses Nelson's audacity in demeaning GOD.
GOD has not talked to anyone in Mormon leadership since 1844. HE is certainly not talking to Russell Moron Nelson.
I remember a scripture about GOD being the same, yesterday, today, and forever.
His real middle name is Moron. Why do I believe this?
1. Nelson is one of many LDS leaders since the death of Joseph and Hyrum Smith to take the name of the LORD in vain by pretending to receive revelation from GOD.
2. He is the only one I know of who was the audacity to throw GOD under the bus in attempting to explain the LDS church's asinine exclusion policy for members who are gay. Nelson wants his followers to believe that he, a 95 year old white American, is more compassionate than GOD. He wants to sell you a narrative about he and his false apostle buddies begging GOD to change the policy. According to the most blasphemous story in history, GOD finally relented. He also has some ocean front property in Arizona he is trying to get rid of.
Here is what actually happened.
1. 15 old guys ass-kissed their way up the Mormon leadership ladder their entire adult lives and were eventually rewarded with some power ("as they suppose").
2. These 15 fools who hate the majority of their brothers and sisters on the planet came up with a satanic policy in 2015 to exclude any fellow church members who had gay parents. Prospective members with LGBT parents had to wait ten years longer than a child with heterosexual parents for baptism. The child of gay parents also had to renounce their parents in order to gain entrance into the LDS church. Nelson and his 14 cronies labeled the parents "apostate" in an act of obvious compassion.
3. Since most people on this planet are not complete idiots (even Mormons) there was an instant public backlash. The 15 rubes in Salt Lake tried to figure a way out of their self-created PR nightmare. The first lesson that Mormon leadership has never learned is "do not dig yourself into a hole." The second lesson they have clearly not learned is "when you are in a hole stop digging."
4. The top fool decided to blame GOD and his predecessor Thomas S ("Stupid" ?) Monson for the original decision to punish gays. He also decided to give himself credit for changing GOD's mind through his supposed tears and prayers for those he claims to love.
Now I understand that GOD sometimes tests real prophets to see if they are willing to sacrifice their own lives (Moses and Joseph Smith) for the lives of those they serve. This did not happen in this instance. Russel M Nelson would no more sacrifice $20 for his fellow man let alone his own life. There is only one being in the history of this planet with more arrogant ambition than Nelson. I am referring to Satan himself. His demanding the MOST HIGH GOD's glory for his idiotic plan to save all mankind is the only thing I can think of that surpasses Nelson's audacity in demeaning GOD.
GOD has not talked to anyone in Mormon leadership since 1844. HE is certainly not talking to Russell Moron Nelson.
I remember a scripture about GOD being the same, yesterday, today, and forever.
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