"I am convinced that all the scholars and theologians in the world in 1830, working with all the known texts and reference materials, could not have written what was translated from the gold plates."
Robert A. Rees, faithful Mormon scholar
A New Witness to the World
________________________________________
"I concur one million percent."
John Scott Peterson (me), former Mormon,
current high school teacher
Wednesday, July 29, 2020
Wednesday, July 22, 2020
My Mother Could Not Have Children
I was thinking today about my deceased mother, Janet. She lived over 90 years and only had to wait 2 years to be reunited with my noble father. My sister is also with them. I am the last leaf on the tree, which is a line I stole from my Mom. She was the last of her nuclear family of 6 to go.
Since this world is all about making excuses when things do not go someone's way, I am inspired by the grit and common sense of my Mother. There is a great disparity in between my telestial self and my celestial Mom and equally celestial Dad.
My mother tried for years to have children and finally realized that it was not going to happen the standard way. So at age 33 she and my Father adopted my sister Jill. It is never easy to adopt a child, and it was especially difficult in 1958.
Luckily for me, after 7 years my parents rolled the dice on a son. It was trouble for them, and the second best thing that ever happened to me. Obviously, the Atonement of CHRIST is a clear number 1.
When I hear about people complaining about how GOD must not want them to have kids, "I always think, yeah, my Mom couldn't have kids either, and she ended up with 2!"
Thanks Mom. I miss you and I love you and I will see you when my test here is done. It should only be about 100 more years until I learn all I need to learn.
Since this world is all about making excuses when things do not go someone's way, I am inspired by the grit and common sense of my Mother. There is a great disparity in between my telestial self and my celestial Mom and equally celestial Dad.
My mother tried for years to have children and finally realized that it was not going to happen the standard way. So at age 33 she and my Father adopted my sister Jill. It is never easy to adopt a child, and it was especially difficult in 1958.
Luckily for me, after 7 years my parents rolled the dice on a son. It was trouble for them, and the second best thing that ever happened to me. Obviously, the Atonement of CHRIST is a clear number 1.
When I hear about people complaining about how GOD must not want them to have kids, "I always think, yeah, my Mom couldn't have kids either, and she ended up with 2!"
Thanks Mom. I miss you and I love you and I will see you when my test here is done. It should only be about 100 more years until I learn all I need to learn.
Wednesday, July 1, 2020
No Joseph Smith Translation, No Vision of the 3 Degrees of Glory
Most Mormons and even some non-LDS know that Joseph Smith had a vision regarding the multiple kingdoms awaiting us after this life. Some Mormons know that Sidney Rigdon experienced the same vision with Joseph, probably to fulfill the law of witnesses. This vision came as a direct result of Joseph's efforts to correct the Bible, and Sidney's assistance as scribe. The two men came upon John 5:29 concerning the resurrection of the just and the unjust and decided the ask the Lord if Christianity was correct in its idea of 2 possible results for all people---Heaven or Hell.
GOD would obviously not be fair if there were some arbitrary cut off line dividing the sheep from the goats. Imagine the line was 50.1 percent goodness or righteousness and everyone from 50.0 percent down went to Hell. People who just missed the cut off would spend eons justifiably crushed at just missing out on the only good outcome. It is also patently unfair to put someone who is barely half good with others who could be 70, 80, or 90 percent good.
The Most High GOD is Not arbitrary so there are multiple kingdoms. There are 4 main divisions according to this vision: Celestial, Terrestrial, and Telestial Kingdoms, alone with Outer Darkness, a kind of permanent Hell.
The Telestial Kingdom and Outer Darkness fall under the "resurrection of the unjust" and all who end up in those 2 undesirable spots will spend time in Hell either temporarily (Telestial) or permanently (Outer Darkness). The top 2 kingdoms are part of the "resurrection of the just" and the blessing of such an outcome is CHRIST paying for your sins, and you getting to skip Hell altogether.
JESUS revealed to Joseph and Sidney the kind of people who end up in the lowest kingdom of glory in verse 103 of section 76 of the Doctrine and Covenants.
"These are they who are liars,
and sorcerers, and adulterers, and whoremongers,
and whosoever loves and makes a lie."
(I added the underlining for emphasis)
It looks like CHRIST is emphasizing the lying part because "liars" leads off the verse, and "a lie" ends it with nifty inclusio.
The line "whosoever loves and makes a lie" has always perplexed me, but now I think I have an answer. The line refers to anyone who uses deception to take away other people's free agency. It refers to anyone who enjoys lying for the sake of personal gain at the expense of others.
Now, who in the present day world who fit such a bill?
Politicians. The old joke about the politician being told he was lying and responding "I know I am, but hear me out!" comes to mind. Regardless of party, if you are just going with the flow of public opinion, and you do not stand up for truth and the rule of law, you are going to Hell.
Journalists. The media world-wide is so corrupt as to be a cruel joke. Promoting fear and hoping for rewards from their political overlords is just another great way to pay for your own sins with some wailing and gnashing of teeth.
Religious Leaders. No surprise here. Since the days of JESUS, religious leaders care more about power and prestige than people. They would rather kill the GOD of this world and forfeit salvation, than give up power. Still true today.
There should be a special section in the Telestial Kingdom for Sadducess, Pharisees, Molesting Priests, and pretend Apostles who have never seen GOD.
JESUS is real, and He has revealed to 2 of his servants that there are more than just Heaven and Hell. He also graciously gave them, and us, information about how to avoid the lowest kingdom:
be faithful to your spouse,
the occult is out,
avoid jobs in the sex industry, and...
STOP LYING!
GOD would obviously not be fair if there were some arbitrary cut off line dividing the sheep from the goats. Imagine the line was 50.1 percent goodness or righteousness and everyone from 50.0 percent down went to Hell. People who just missed the cut off would spend eons justifiably crushed at just missing out on the only good outcome. It is also patently unfair to put someone who is barely half good with others who could be 70, 80, or 90 percent good.
The Most High GOD is Not arbitrary so there are multiple kingdoms. There are 4 main divisions according to this vision: Celestial, Terrestrial, and Telestial Kingdoms, alone with Outer Darkness, a kind of permanent Hell.
The Telestial Kingdom and Outer Darkness fall under the "resurrection of the unjust" and all who end up in those 2 undesirable spots will spend time in Hell either temporarily (Telestial) or permanently (Outer Darkness). The top 2 kingdoms are part of the "resurrection of the just" and the blessing of such an outcome is CHRIST paying for your sins, and you getting to skip Hell altogether.
JESUS revealed to Joseph and Sidney the kind of people who end up in the lowest kingdom of glory in verse 103 of section 76 of the Doctrine and Covenants.
"These are they who are liars,
and sorcerers, and adulterers, and whoremongers,
and whosoever loves and makes a lie."
(I added the underlining for emphasis)
It looks like CHRIST is emphasizing the lying part because "liars" leads off the verse, and "a lie" ends it with nifty inclusio.
The line "whosoever loves and makes a lie" has always perplexed me, but now I think I have an answer. The line refers to anyone who uses deception to take away other people's free agency. It refers to anyone who enjoys lying for the sake of personal gain at the expense of others.
Now, who in the present day world who fit such a bill?
Politicians. The old joke about the politician being told he was lying and responding "I know I am, but hear me out!" comes to mind. Regardless of party, if you are just going with the flow of public opinion, and you do not stand up for truth and the rule of law, you are going to Hell.
Journalists. The media world-wide is so corrupt as to be a cruel joke. Promoting fear and hoping for rewards from their political overlords is just another great way to pay for your own sins with some wailing and gnashing of teeth.
Religious Leaders. No surprise here. Since the days of JESUS, religious leaders care more about power and prestige than people. They would rather kill the GOD of this world and forfeit salvation, than give up power. Still true today.
There should be a special section in the Telestial Kingdom for Sadducess, Pharisees, Molesting Priests, and pretend Apostles who have never seen GOD.
JESUS is real, and He has revealed to 2 of his servants that there are more than just Heaven and Hell. He also graciously gave them, and us, information about how to avoid the lowest kingdom:
be faithful to your spouse,
the occult is out,
avoid jobs in the sex industry, and...
STOP LYING!
Tuesday, June 30, 2020
Revelation 2:26-27
"The history book on the shelf, is always repeating itself."
ABBA, "Waterloo" 1974 winner of the Eurovision Song Contest
Yes, truth can come from a Swedish pop supergroup of the 1970s. One of the things that keeps happening over and over and over in history is people trying to get power. It is occurring right now all over the world with the overblown reaction to a virus. The virus is serious. The medical experts seeking 15 minutes of fame act like Covid-19 is infecting billions of people, when it is only millions. Their hysteria is off by a factor of 1,000. Politicians and the press want us to give up our rights as if the Coronavirus was killing every other person it infected, rather than 2 out of a 100. Their methods are truly madness.
Joseph Smith, aided by the Holy Spirit, made dozens of changes to the Book of Revelation. The most significant one I have found occurs in chapter 2.
In verse 18 and angel of GOD tells John "these things saith the Son of God." This deals with all the statements in the rest of chapter 2. JESUS is speaking the following words.
The KJV of Revelation 2:26-27 is as follows:
And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end,
to him will I give power over the nations:
And he shall rule them with a rod of iron;
as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers:
even as I received of my father.
I can just imagine all the tyrants in the past reading these 2 verses and salivating in hopes of getting power over the world. Too bad that is not what CHRIST actually said. I can also see people asking what they heck shivers are, but that is beside the point.
The Joseph Smith Translation of the same 2 verses reads as follows:
And to him who overcometh,
and keepeth my commandments unto the end,
will I give power over many kingdoms;
And he shall rule them with the word of God;
and they shall be in his hands
as the vessels of clay in the hands of a potter;
and he shall govern them with faith,
with equity and justice,
even as I received of my Father,
CHRIST is promising the truly faithful power after this life. It is only for those who prove they can be trusted during this present time of testing. Equity and justice does not exist in the halls of power in this fallen world. It does exist in the next phase of everyone's existence when there is an initial judgement for everyone who dies. The justice of GOD will separate people in one of 3 places in the Spirit World: Paradise, Prison, and Hell.
Those who have power now and do not use it with justice and equity will end up in Hell. Good luck to all the fools trying to get some temporary power here, and then end up being a slave to Satan in the next life. They will get to pay for their owns sins, and when your corruption has effected the lives of large groups of people, that bill is going to take a long time to pay.
ABBA, "Waterloo" 1974 winner of the Eurovision Song Contest
Yes, truth can come from a Swedish pop supergroup of the 1970s. One of the things that keeps happening over and over and over in history is people trying to get power. It is occurring right now all over the world with the overblown reaction to a virus. The virus is serious. The medical experts seeking 15 minutes of fame act like Covid-19 is infecting billions of people, when it is only millions. Their hysteria is off by a factor of 1,000. Politicians and the press want us to give up our rights as if the Coronavirus was killing every other person it infected, rather than 2 out of a 100. Their methods are truly madness.
Joseph Smith, aided by the Holy Spirit, made dozens of changes to the Book of Revelation. The most significant one I have found occurs in chapter 2.
In verse 18 and angel of GOD tells John "these things saith the Son of God." This deals with all the statements in the rest of chapter 2. JESUS is speaking the following words.
The KJV of Revelation 2:26-27 is as follows:
And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end,
to him will I give power over the nations:
And he shall rule them with a rod of iron;
as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers:
even as I received of my father.
I can just imagine all the tyrants in the past reading these 2 verses and salivating in hopes of getting power over the world. Too bad that is not what CHRIST actually said. I can also see people asking what they heck shivers are, but that is beside the point.
The Joseph Smith Translation of the same 2 verses reads as follows:
And to him who overcometh,
and keepeth my commandments unto the end,
will I give power over many kingdoms;
And he shall rule them with the word of God;
and they shall be in his hands
as the vessels of clay in the hands of a potter;
and he shall govern them with faith,
with equity and justice,
even as I received of my Father,
CHRIST is promising the truly faithful power after this life. It is only for those who prove they can be trusted during this present time of testing. Equity and justice does not exist in the halls of power in this fallen world. It does exist in the next phase of everyone's existence when there is an initial judgement for everyone who dies. The justice of GOD will separate people in one of 3 places in the Spirit World: Paradise, Prison, and Hell.
Those who have power now and do not use it with justice and equity will end up in Hell. Good luck to all the fools trying to get some temporary power here, and then end up being a slave to Satan in the next life. They will get to pay for their owns sins, and when your corruption has effected the lives of large groups of people, that bill is going to take a long time to pay.
Friday, June 19, 2020
Fast Sunday is Not the will of GOD
The King James Version of Mark 2:28 is:
Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.
The Joseph Smith Translation of the same verse reads:
Wherefore the sabbath was given unto man for a day of rest;
and also that man should glorify God,
and not that man should not eat;
For the Son of man made the sabbath day,
Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.
(the underlining is mine for emphasis)
It appears as if no leader in Mormonism, since Joseph Smith, has ever read this restored verse because Utah-based Mormons have a day called "Fast Sunday." This is not a recent thing, but the Church's fast day used to be on Thursdays. In an effort to pack more pain into the sabbath, church leadership decided the day of fasting should be moved to the first Sunday of each month, unless a boring conference has been scheduled for talk regurgitation from previous boring conferences.
Fast Sunday is in direct violation of JESUS's teaching that the sabbath is not about not eating. Once of month misguided Mormons "fast" and then go to church and bear testimony to whatever health issue or travelogue they have experienced. Testimonies rarely focus on GOD, are rarely interesting, but you get the occasional crazy person to kept you distracted from the line of primary children waiting their turn at the podium. The fact that Mormons also think fasting includes not drinking anything, gives you an idea of how utterly ridiculous this idea is.
When CHRIST came out of the desert after fasting for 40 days, why didn't Satan tempt JESUS with superfluous water creation to quench His thirst, as well as unneeded creation of food? Because Satan knew that JESUS was not dehydrated. JESUS was drinking water the entire time. CHRIST is the only being in history who could go 40 days without water, but He would not set an example that would endanger the rest of us. There was no need for Him to avoid water, when it would have required Him to use His Divine powers over life unnecessarily. Satan could have then led with, "Hey, I see you were using your powers over life and death to avoid drinking anything, so you have already abused your gifts from GOD and I have won." We would all be literal toast.
Fast Sunday seems like a really good way to get people to hate the sabbath. Have people not eat and not drink, and then have them sit through an hour of crying women, coached kids, and old men who know that their church is the only one worth attending. It it almost as foolish as the Zoramites from the Book of Mormon. At least the Zoramites were not at the point of hospitalization before ascending the Rameumpton to tell each other how chosen they were.
If only someone in Salt Lake would read the Joseph Smith Translation then Mormons could avoid excess torture on Sunday. 2 hours of pain is better than 3, so they are getting marginally smarter. If they really cared what CHRIST said they could get rid of Fast Sunday too. That might get their attendance numbers up to 25 percent.
JESUS created the Sabbath to be the best day of the week. We do not have to work, we get to focus on GOD, and we should be allowed to eat whatever and whenever we want. The Jewish leaders in His day, and moronic Mormons in our day have made it the worst day of the week. Once a month, it gets even worse.
JESUS's commandments are what He said, not what someone or some group decides in the Vatican, Mecca, or Salt Lake City.
Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.
The Joseph Smith Translation of the same verse reads:
Wherefore the sabbath was given unto man for a day of rest;
and also that man should glorify God,
and not that man should not eat;
For the Son of man made the sabbath day,
Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.
(the underlining is mine for emphasis)
It appears as if no leader in Mormonism, since Joseph Smith, has ever read this restored verse because Utah-based Mormons have a day called "Fast Sunday." This is not a recent thing, but the Church's fast day used to be on Thursdays. In an effort to pack more pain into the sabbath, church leadership decided the day of fasting should be moved to the first Sunday of each month, unless a boring conference has been scheduled for talk regurgitation from previous boring conferences.
Fast Sunday is in direct violation of JESUS's teaching that the sabbath is not about not eating. Once of month misguided Mormons "fast" and then go to church and bear testimony to whatever health issue or travelogue they have experienced. Testimonies rarely focus on GOD, are rarely interesting, but you get the occasional crazy person to kept you distracted from the line of primary children waiting their turn at the podium. The fact that Mormons also think fasting includes not drinking anything, gives you an idea of how utterly ridiculous this idea is.
When CHRIST came out of the desert after fasting for 40 days, why didn't Satan tempt JESUS with superfluous water creation to quench His thirst, as well as unneeded creation of food? Because Satan knew that JESUS was not dehydrated. JESUS was drinking water the entire time. CHRIST is the only being in history who could go 40 days without water, but He would not set an example that would endanger the rest of us. There was no need for Him to avoid water, when it would have required Him to use His Divine powers over life unnecessarily. Satan could have then led with, "Hey, I see you were using your powers over life and death to avoid drinking anything, so you have already abused your gifts from GOD and I have won." We would all be literal toast.
Fast Sunday seems like a really good way to get people to hate the sabbath. Have people not eat and not drink, and then have them sit through an hour of crying women, coached kids, and old men who know that their church is the only one worth attending. It it almost as foolish as the Zoramites from the Book of Mormon. At least the Zoramites were not at the point of hospitalization before ascending the Rameumpton to tell each other how chosen they were.
If only someone in Salt Lake would read the Joseph Smith Translation then Mormons could avoid excess torture on Sunday. 2 hours of pain is better than 3, so they are getting marginally smarter. If they really cared what CHRIST said they could get rid of Fast Sunday too. That might get their attendance numbers up to 25 percent.
JESUS created the Sabbath to be the best day of the week. We do not have to work, we get to focus on GOD, and we should be allowed to eat whatever and whenever we want. The Jewish leaders in His day, and moronic Mormons in our day have made it the worst day of the week. Once a month, it gets even worse.
JESUS's commandments are what He said, not what someone or some group decides in the Vatican, Mecca, or Salt Lake City.
Tuesday, June 16, 2020
JESUS Had 12 Apostles
Why the obvious title? In reading S. Kent Brown's commentary on the book of Luke it struck me that CHRIST only had 12 special witnesses in the innermost circle. Why is this important? Because modern corrupted Mormonism would like its members to believe you need 15 apostles to run a church. 3 for the First Presidency and 12 for the quorum.
GOD does not change, so why would Mormons need 15 apostles? I guess to share the wealth of their priestcraft among an extra 3 people who have never seen the SAVIOR, and have apparently never read the New Testament.
GOD does not change, so why would Mormons need 15 apostles? I guess to share the wealth of their priestcraft among an extra 3 people who have never seen the SAVIOR, and have apparently never read the New Testament.
Sunday, June 7, 2020
30 Pieces of Silver
We all know that Judas Iscariot betrayed JESUS for the sum of 30 silver Roman coins. It was a significant amount of money. I do not care what the exact figure would be then or today, the point is that Judas felt it was worth it. He realized his colossal mistake too late and hung himself.
In reading the accounts in Mark 14, Matthew 26, and Luke 22 I was struck with one nagging thought,
For what kinds of temporary reward do We betray the SAVIOR?
Money?
Sexual gratification?
Career Advancement?
To fit in and avoid drawing attention to our cowardly selves?
To remain part of any religion?
To pursue or own vain interest on the Sabbath...sports, recreation, travel, shopping, work, etc?
To have more of the world's goods than our neighbors?
We need to ask ourselves if in some way, large or small, we are betraying CHRIST. Do we really do what he says, even at the most basic level of the 10 commandments? Do we honor our parents, never lie, keep the Sabbath, etc. Is there some other god in our lives before the true GOD of this planet?
If not, let us repent and avoid a fate similar to Judas.
In reading the accounts in Mark 14, Matthew 26, and Luke 22 I was struck with one nagging thought,
For what kinds of temporary reward do We betray the SAVIOR?
Money?
Sexual gratification?
Career Advancement?
To fit in and avoid drawing attention to our cowardly selves?
To remain part of any religion?
To pursue or own vain interest on the Sabbath...sports, recreation, travel, shopping, work, etc?
To have more of the world's goods than our neighbors?
We need to ask ourselves if in some way, large or small, we are betraying CHRIST. Do we really do what he says, even at the most basic level of the 10 commandments? Do we honor our parents, never lie, keep the Sabbath, etc. Is there some other god in our lives before the true GOD of this planet?
If not, let us repent and avoid a fate similar to Judas.
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