Sunday, July 23, 2023

Agency means Accountability

 Thanks to Greg Wright's insightful book Satan's War on Agency I have learned some things.

1. Agency is not free. Nowhere in scripture is the term "free agency" found.

2. Satan's plan was not one of compulsion, but one that would supposedly allow us to do whatever we wanted and get away with it. Wright labels the three plans "The University of Freedom" (Satan's real plan); "Force College" (Mormonism's false idea of Satan's plan) and "Law School" (God the Father's plan).

3. See the title of this piece. Agency does not just mean freedom of choice, it means being held accountable for any choice you make.

4. Agency requires choice and different results for those choices.

There is a great section about how to raise an irresponsible child, and how to do the opposite.

I would recommend this book to anyone. It is short but to the point and filled with information anyone can understand. 

Thursday, June 1, 2023

PRIDE goeth...

Proverbs 16:18 (unchanged by Joseph Smith) states,

Pride goeth before destruction,

and a haughty spirit before a fall.

King James Version

Fitting that the arrogant and annoying alphabet people (LGBTQRSTUVWXYZ+-=) have chosen the word "pride" to claim the month of June to celebrate their destructive lifestyle.

It seems that the most wicked people on the earth, want the rest of us average sinners to accept and sanction their foolish beliefs and choices.

Count me out.

I am celebrating June as "First Americans Month". By this I mean the Native Americans who were here long before any white Europeans. There may have been some Hebrews walking around a small part of this continent, but they were not white.

Two historical events occurred in June to make this the perfect month to remember the First Americans.

1. On June 2, 1924 the US government finally gave citizenship to Indians. To me this is like Modern Jews finally giving JESUS an Israeli passport. A most unkind cut to be certain. 

2. June 25-26, 1876  Lt. Colonel George Custer tries to fight Sioux and Cheyenne Indians gathered en masse with just a small group of white guys. We all know how that turned out. Custer's hubris lead to the destruction of the 7th Cavalry.

I know how unrepented pride will go for any person who refuses to follow the loving direction of the true GOD of this world, Jesus Christ. It will lead to spiritual destruction.

Happy First Americans Month!



Monday, May 29, 2023

The Parable of the Ultimate Father

The parable of the prodigal son should be renamed something closer to the title of this piece. Kenneth Bailey, long time Christian theologian living in the Middle East, makes the following statement in his seminal book Jacob and the Prodigal:

For JESUS, sin is desiring the death of GOD and desiring to take [your] gifts without reference to the giver. 

(page 137)

This truth hit me right between the eyes this weekend. I, as a sinner, am like the younger son asking for his inheritance before the rightful owner is deceased. I want GOD to bless me right now for any small thing I might actually or accidentally do correctly. I want my reward NOW. 

Examples: 

1. Me:  "I just gave some money to a beggar so I should get a raise soon."


2. Random Mormon: "I pay my tithing, so when do I get to retire?"


3. Today's college graduates: "Why is my starting salary so low, I have a college degree!"


4. Random Return Missionary; "I worked hard for 2 years in Tucson, when do I meet my future bride?'


5. Today's High School Students: "Why is my high school diploma basically worthless? I only missed 77 days of school in four years!?"


The better attitude for each of the above examples would be:

1. "God, please give that suffering person, a life as great as mine. I am have no idea how I ended up being wealthier than 95 percent of the people on this planet, but I know it was not because of any personal righteousness."

2. "What if I just gave this huge sum of money directly to the poor instead of a corporate church?"

3. "Why did I just waste 5 years of my life only to get into debt just so I get a degree that will likely not ever be related to any job I get?"

4. "There were hundreds of harder places to go than Tucson, but I am still not sure why the Apostles are not out delivering the good news like they did in the New Testament."

5. "I am lucky to have this diploma, which is better than not having one, and I better show up for work on time or I will be a homeless high school graduate."


Let us stop wishing for blessings for our supposed good works, and focus on having a relationship with JESUS and His Father.

They are not dead, and we will never be out of their debt. We owe GOD the Most High for the first atonement made in all the worlds ever created. We now owe JESUS for the most recent atonement that can save all of us from death and hell.


Friday, May 5, 2023

The Rich Young Ruler

 I was inspired by Michael Austin's majestic essay this week on the rich young ruler ("I am the Rich Young Ruler"). You can find his wonderful words at bycommonconsent.com. Please take the time to read his piece, it is far better than anything I can come up with. There were also some good comments that followed.

1. What if they way we think the story ends says more about us and less about the rich man in the story?

If I think he went away sad, (which the text says he did), and that he did not sell his stuff (which the text does NOT say), then perhaps I am the type of person who would also not do what GOD knows is best for me. I have always read this story as ending tragically for the young man, but what if he was intially grieved at the potential loss of his beloved riches, but eventually decided to follow JESUS? 

We are left like Jonah sitting outside of Nineveh hoping that GOD will not save the people of the city.

Probably not the best attitude to have. I am guilty of such bad judgement.

2. Joseph Smith adds a lot of text to this encounter. 

He first changes "murder" to "kill" in Matthew 19 to match up with the correct versions of the verse in Mark 10 and Luke 18. 

The people of Ammon in the BOM would rather be killed than kill, even in self-defense, so there is a lesson here about taking life in general, and not just the premeditated kind. Self-defense is certainly justified, but there is no question the Anti-Nephi-Lehis were following a higher law. 

Joseph also adds to the disciples amazed questions after the encounter that "those who trust in riches" are not going to advance as far or high as possible, but that those "who trust in GOD" will be saved. Joseph's change to all three Gospels are beautifully consistent. It is worth the time to read each one and see for yourself.

3. Peter asks basically "what's in it for us" (meaning the chosen 12)? It is not just general authorities who can receive eternal life.

Jesus promises the original 12 apostles thrones on which to judge Israel. These men did leave their lives behind to follow CHRIST. They were at times knuckleheads, but their sacrifice of everything ensured that 11 of them will have eternal life. 

At the end of this episode JESUS assures anyone who has ever left their comfortable family and home life to serve HIM that they will be better off both in this world, and that they will inherit eternal life in the world to come. 

I believe this promise is referring to any Christian missionary. I know the Mormon church is not true, but it would be perfectly just that the young men and women who sacrifice their time and money during their prime, will be included in this promise. The vast majority are trying to bring people to JESUS. I also feel this promise extends to any missionary of any CHRIST-based faith. This sacrifice shows they are trusting in GOD.

The rich old rulers in Salt Lake should be the ones scouring the world for converts to CHRIST. Instead they fare sumptuously and steal the widow's mites to add to their untold billions. The modern 12 are trusting in riches. We know for sure how that ends. 

Sunday, April 2, 2023

A Weekend of Fools and Foolishness

The Mormon church likes to waste its members' time on a regular schedule, but the cake-taking time waster is the twice a year snore festival known as general conference. I disliked Conference growing up, but ultimately grew to despise it as an adult. My least favorite meeting was the Saturday night Priesthood session where no one actually had any permission from JESUS to do anything, but we liked to pretend for 2 hours that we did. 

This latest round of tomfoolery included the announcement of 15 new temples. Temples that will be built in some far distant future, but in the works nonetheless. For those of you keeping score, that is 50 temples announced in the last 3 general conferences. 

In the first 120 years since the St. George temple opened, the church built exactly 50 temples!

On the day I was born in 1965, the church had 13 temples in operation!! It took until 1972 for the 14th and 15th temples to open.

Who are all these temples for?

The church's "lies, damned lies, and statistics" department released the church falsified figure of 17 million members as of January 1, 2023. Even if this number were magically correct, it does not create a need for 300 plus temples. More than 70 of these temples have not even started construction, and more than 60 are still being built. There are only 170 or so operating temples in the world, except of course Salt City, St. George, and Manti, but who is counting. The 3 pioneer temples are closed until further notice, or until GOD drops some fire and brimstone on them.

There is also the issue of the non-readers in the LDS church ignoring the fact that GOD historically only allows one temple per hemisphere at most. When JESUS visited the Lehites after the great destruction that accompanied his death in the new world, the Christians there did not have to ask which temple JESUS was at, because there was only one. JESUS ministered to the Samaritans in the Old World, but He did not condone their temple. JEHOVAH made his people carry their first temple around with them it the desert. No one in Palestine ever thought how convenient it might be to have temples in Capernaum and Nazareth. Most of their high priests were usurping idiots, but none of them were dumb enough to think about building multiple temples.

Finally, the most laughable moment of general conference was the announcement of a temple in Bakersfield, California. I say that as a life long resident of the area. Some of the hardest working people in the state work either in the ag or oil industries near Bakersfield. Unlike Utahns, I did not have to wait until my mission to see a black person in person. I had non-white friends, and non-Mormon friends, because I was the only LDS kid at any school I ever attended until going to BYU.

What makes the announcement ludicrous is the fact that in all of Kern County there are three stakes. Kern County, home to Bakersfield, is an area larger than the states of Connecticut and Delaware combined. In that 8,100 square miles (90 miles by 90 miles) are just under 1 million people, but still only three stakes. Three. Three stakes in a city that is the 51st largest city in the US. I estimate there are 5,000 "members" in each of the stakes, but only 2,000 of them are even nominally active. That makes 6,000 semi-active members, of which at least half are children. I would guess there are at most 2,000 or so adults with current temple recommends. I predict the "Bako" temple will only be open on Saturdays, when it opens it 2035.

General conference had one of its 2 days fall on April Fool's day. It has a 3 in 7 chance of happening every year. Very fitting. If you are going to keep announcing 50 temples every 18 months, you are going need a lot of rubes to buy the lie you are selling. 

Friday, March 3, 2023

Bags of Silver for a Box of Nails

 My favorite female musical duo is the Indigo Girls. Two girls from the South who can harmonize like the angels. A lot of people love their song "Closer to Fine" with its ringing guitars and catchy lyrics. It is the song that catapulted them to fame. It is a great song, despite its erroneous theme. 

My favorite Indigo Girls song is called "Come on Home", and it was not a hit. It has achieved a kind of cult status with its hard core fans, and they will usually play it while touring. Listening to the lyrics for the 111th time the other day while driving, the third verse finally struck me like a bolt of lightning.

    There is fire... there is lust

    Some will trade it all for someone they could trust.

    There's a bag of silver for a box of nails

    It's so simple the betrayal 

    Though it's known to change the world and what's to come.

I instantly thought of all the religions of the world who have traded JESUS for silver. Catholics, Evangelicals, and yes of course, Mormons. Any fool dumb enough to try to become wealthy by pretending to speak for GOD. Any group satanic enough to trick its members into paying them for the privilege of membership, or say temple entrance.

That is the true definition of taking the LORD's name in vain combined with priestcraft. Not a great way to prepare for the judgments to come. JESUS told the Jewish hierarchy that the prostitutes would get into Heaven before a corrupt leader would. 

Each individual must decide for themselves whether ignoring, dismissing, or betraying JESUS is worth the money. It is not. Not for all the money on the planet.


    

Wednesday, January 25, 2023

Words of Joseph Smith Part Two

On January 21st, 1844 Joseph Smith addressed the Saints in front of a hotel near the Nauvoo temple site. He would be killed less than half a year later.

In Wilford Woodruff's journal we get the famous quote about trying to get people to accept new ideas about the gospel of JESUS. It was like trying to make firewood using cornbread as a wedge and a pumpkin as the sledge hammer. That statement comes near the end of Joseph's talk. 

In the middle of the talk comes a statement about Joseph's fears for the original Mormon church. On page 319 of The Words of Joseph Smith (edited by Ehat and Cook) we get this sentence:

    "...my only trouble at the present time is concerning ourselves 

        that the Saints will be divided and broken up and scattered

        before we get our Salvation secure..."


I believe this is one of Joseph's overlooked prophecies. It is a prophecy that has been fulfilled. There are now over 100 different sects that all lead back to Joseph Smith. Some of them have some truth, like the Book of Mormon, but none of them is recognized by GOD as His Church. 

Ask GOD if this is not so. 

Ask GOD if the Book of Mormon is true. I believe it is, but that is no reason to join a church.

Ask GOD if Joseph was a real prophet. I believe he was, but still no reason to join anything.

Be like Joseph and go somewhere private and ask GOD which church to join. 

I am certain you will get the same answer Joseph got..."none of them."