Volume II Issue II

Volume II, Issue II Spring/2005

Rebel Not Against My Servant Joseph

"Says one, "If an angel from heaven would descend and bear testimony that this work was of God, I would believe it. Why may I not receive the testimony of angels, as well as Joseph Smith or any other person? for God is no respecter of persons! If I could receive it, I would be satisfied then that the work is true." But let me here remark again__suppose the Omnipotent Jehovah, that sits upon His throne of glory and power, was to descend and bear testimony, what further credence would you then want? You would want some one to tell you that it was really God Himself that had visited you, that you might be satisfied it was not an angel of darkness in the similitude of a heavenly personage." Orson Hyde, JD 1:121, Oct. 6, 1853

"I command you to repent, and keep the commandments which you have received by the hand of my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., in my name; And it is by my almighty power that you have received them; Therefore I command you to repent—repent, lest I smite you by the rod of my mouth, and by my wrath, and by my anger, and your sufferings be sore—how sore you know not, how exquisite you know not, yea, how hard to bear you know not. For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent; But if they would not repent they must suffer even as I; Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit—and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink— Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men. Wherefore, I command you again to repent, lest I humble you with my almighty power; and that you confess your sins, lest you suffer these punishments of which I have spoken, of which in the smallest, yea, even in the least degree you have tasted at the time I withdrew my Spirit." (Doctrine and Covenants | Section 19:13 - 20)

"Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me." (New Testament | Matthew 10:32 - 38)

"Remember that God, our heavenly Father, was perhaps once a child, and mortal like we ourselves, and rose step by step in the scale of progress, in the school of advancement; has moved forward and overcome, until He has arrived at the point where He now is. "Is this really possible?" Why, my dear friends, how would you like to be governed by a ruler who had not been through all the vicissitudes of life that are common to mortals? If he had not suffered, how could he sympathise with the distress of others? If he himself had not endured the same, how could he sympathise and be touched with the feelings of our infirmities? He could not, unless he himself had passed through the same ordeal, and overcome step by step. If this is the case, it accounts for the reason why we do not see Him__He is too pure a being to show himself to the eyes of mortals; He has overcome, and goes no more out, but He is the temple of my God, and is a pillar there." Orson Hyde, JD 1:121, Oct. 6, 1853

Succumbing to Babylon

" Now what will it avail us if we come out from Babylon and bring the customs of Babylon with us? What will it avail us if we come out from among the nations of the earth and mingle with the ungodly, the infidel worship idols, and do all manner of evils? What good will it do? I can tell you what harm it will do. It will just add that much more condemnation to those who have been called to be not unequally yoked with unbelievers, etc.; they will be held that much more culpable before the Lord; "for unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall much be required; and to whom the Lord has committed much, of him will men ask the more." We know what is good, and if we do it not, we then are guilty of sin. Much has been given unto us, therefore much is required at our hands. If our righteousness exceeds not the righteousness of the modern Pharisees and Scribes, what better are we than they? We are called to be the salt of the earth. What say the Scriptures? "If the salt shall lose its savor, wherewith shall it be salted? The salt shall thenceforth be good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. I give unto you to be the light of the world; a city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. * * * Therefore, let your light so shine before this world, that they may see our good works." That is our calling. We are not called to be infidel to the work God has commenced upon the earth, to be infidel to the truths He has revealed unto us,..."JD, 24:154 Joseph F. Smith

"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. Exalt not yourselves; rebel not against my servant Joseph; for verily I say unto you, I am with him, and my hand shall be over him; and the keys which I have given unto him, and also to youward, shall not be taken from him till I come. (Doctrine and Covenants | Section 112:14 - 15)

"...he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me." (Matthew 10: 38)

The Blessing of the descendants of Joseph Smith is the same as those promises given to Abraham:

"And now I say unto you, as pertaining to my boarding house which I have commanded you to build for the boarding of strangers, let it be built unto my name, and let my name be named upon it, and let my servant Joseph and his house have place therein, from generation to generation. For this anointing have I put upon his head, that his blessing shall also be put upon the head of his posterity after him. And as I said unto Abraham concerning the kindreds of the earth, even so I say unto my servant Joseph: In thee and in thy seed shall the kindred of the earth be blessed. Therefore, let my servant Joseph and his seed after him have place in that house, from generation to generation, forever and ever, saith the Lord." (Doctrine and Covenants | Section 124:56 - 59)

As most of the world traces its blessings to Abraham, the descendants of Joseph Smith have been promised the same blessing, that all the nations and kindreds of the earth will be blessed through the lineage of Joseph Smith. This is curious, as it is not uncommon knowledge that Joseph Smith’s immediate family was scourged and persecuted out of the Mormon Church and are for the most part heard from no more. The significance of Joseph Smith’s plural wives cannot be diminished, for as they were sealed to Joseph Smith for time and eternity, so were the children which came through them also sealed to him for time and eternity. Although attempts have been made among some Mormons to alter history to portray Joseph Smith as not practicing the doctrine of plurality of wives, the fact still exists of many children having been sealed to Joseph Smith through connections to his plural wives as their ancestors. What mortal man could preach such a principle knowing it meant certain death? We see how the Lord will use a principle to separate wheat from the chaff.

"And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire." (New Testament | Matthew 3:9 - 10)

The country and the world has seen an unprecedented virtual explosion of knowledge and advancements since the time Joseph Smith restored the Gospel. Those who do honestly seek to honor Joseph Smith by keeping alive his teachings have faced vicious ostracizing and persecution from even within the current LDS Church itself unless they are willing to reject their heritage and join with the hypocrites. As Satan caused the early Christians to be persecuted and murdered so did he also try to destroy modern LDS Saints by persecuting and murdering them. The works of Satan to destroy Joseph Smith did not stop at his murder.

The servants which Satan sent forth to destroy the works of Joseph Smith took the next logical step in their efforts to destroy the works and credibility of Joseph Smith and the Mormon religion; naturally more harm can be done from within the church than from the outside. When it became evident to the modern world that martyring early Mormon Saints only strengthened their testimonies and therefore strengthened the Mormon religion, Satan sought to use more devious and sinister ways to destroy Latter-day Saints. By working from within, rather than from outside the Church, Satan has accomplished most of what he sought to in the battle for the souls of the Latter-day Saints.

The men who currently disgrace the leadership of the LDS Church today have taken upon themselves to carry on Satan’s work to destroy Joseph Smith and the foundations of the Mormon religion. Evidence of this is everywhere, from at one time edifying the works of criminal forger Mark Hoffman, to supporting shoddy scientific research attacking the Mormon religion, to placing pentagrams on the newly constructed Nauvoo temple. If they deem it necessary, they will also persecute and destroy those descendants of early Mormons who may wish to be true and honor the heritage and sacred principles of their ancestors if they will not conform to the hideous modern form of religion taught in the LDS Church today. The influence behind the official thinking of current LDS rationale derives from that source which is grasping today’s Latter-day Saint membership with it’s everlasting chains of death. "And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations." (New Testament | Revelation 13:7)

Current Leaders continue to build a legacy of thoughtless error and priestcraft regarding the correct Gospel teachings which is unprecedented in the annals of Church history. Apostates flourish and multiply their wicked ideologies from within the modern LDS Church itself, while those who seek to learn the actual Mormon religion are castigated and ostracized, hated and scorned into exile should they seek to hold onto morsels of spirituality and substantial knowledge of the Mormon religion. Craftily reconstructing the beliefs of the modern LDS people for them to blindly ingest, they have made it impossible for a man like Joseph Smith to ever return to Church leadership and for that matter have left no place in the modern LDS Church for such a man. Any man who does not proffer success according the worldly wicked practices guiding mankind today would not be considered fit to have any position of influence in today’s LDS Church! Joseph Smith, a man with little formal education yet blessed with infinite knowledge beyond the comprehension of double-minded mortals would be completely out of place in today’s climate of business and worldly educational practices. While many receive necessary instruction to gain basic academic skills, Joseph Smith could not comfortably exist in such an environment which supplants knowledge imparted by the Lord in conditions of righteousness with state-sponsored humanist religious beliefs which violate basic constitutional rights of not establishing and imposing a state-sponsored religion. Submitting to such gross distortions should be offensive to anyone seeking to live by righteous principles.

"In the course of my travels in preaching the Gospel to different nations, I have often heard it remarked by the people, in days gone by, "We have heard your testimony; we have heard your preaching; but really, why does not Joseph Smith, your Prophet, come to us and bear testimony? Why does he not come to us and show us the plates from which the Book of Mormon was translated? If we could see the Prophet and the plates, then we should be satisfied that the work is genuine, that it is of God; but if we cannot see him and the ancient records, we are still in doubt with regard to the genuineness of the work."

"My reply to them was something like the following__"Joseph Smith cannot be everywhere, and the plates cannot be presented to every eye. The voice of Joseph Smith cannot be heard by every ear." And I have said to them, " You that have seen me have seen Joseph Smith, for the same spirit and the same sentiments that are in him are in me, and I bear testimony to you that these things are verily true." Orson Hyde, JD 1:121, Oct. 6, 1853

"Behold, I say unto you that it is my will that you should go forth and not tarry, neither be idle but labor with your might—Lifting up your voices as with the sound of a trump, proclaiming the truth according to the revelations and commandments which I have given you." (Doctrine and Covenants | Section 75:3 - 4)

" Behold, here is wisdom concerning the children of Zion, even many, but not all; they were found transgressors, therefore they must needs be chastened— He that exalteth himself shall be abased, and he that abaseth himself shall be exalted." (Doctrine and Covenants | Section 101:41)

Joseph Smith had the following dream the night before he was assassinated: "I was back in Kirtland, Ohio, and thought I would take a walk out by myself, and view my old farm, which I found grown up with weeds and brambles, and altogether bearing evidence of neglect and want of culture. I went into the barn, which I found without floor or doors, with the weather_boarding off, and was altogether in keeping with the farm.

"While I viewed the desolation around me, and was contemplating how it might be recovered from the curse upon it, there came rushing into the barn a company of furious men, who commenced to pick a quarrel with me.

"The leader of the party ordered me to leave the barn and farm, stating it was none of mine, and that I must give up all hope of ever possessing it. I told him the farm was given me by the Church, and although I had not had any use of it for some time back, still I had not sold it, and according to righteous principles it belonged to me or the Church.

"He then grew furious and began to rail upon me, and threaten me, and said it never did belong to me nor to the Church.

"I then told him that I did not think it worth contending about, that I had no desire to live upon it in its present state, and if he thought he had a better right I would not quarrel with him about it but leave; but my assurance that I would not trouble him at present did not seem to satisfy him, as he seemed determined to quarrel with me, and threatened me with the destruction of my body.

"While he was thus engaged, pouring out his bitter words upon me, a rabble rushed in and nearly filled the barn, drew out their knives, and began to quarrel among themselves for the premises, and for a moment forgot me, at which time I took the opportunity to walk out of the barn about up to my ankles in mud.

"When I was a little distance from the barn, I heard them screeching and screaming in a very distressed manner, as it appeared they had engaged in a general fight with their knives. While they were thus engaged, the dream or vision ended." (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, Section Six 1843_44 p. 393)

This dream clearly describes the debased condition of the Mormon Church when Joseph Smith returns. While addressing the Nauvoo Legion days before he was murdered, after they pledged their loyalty he told them had they not done so he would go West and raise another people up unto the Gospel, meaning the American Indians.

"Know ye not that there are more nations than one? Know ye not that I, the Lord your God, have created all men, and that I remember those who are upon the isles of the sea; and that I rule in the heavens above and in the earth beneath; and I bring forth my word unto the children of men, yea, even upon all the nations of the earth? Wherefore murmur ye, because that ye shall receive more of my word? Know ye not that the testimony of two nations is a witness unto you that I am God, that I remember one nation like unto another? Wherefore, I speak the same words unto one nation like unto another. And when the two nations shall run together the testimony of the two nations shall run together also. And I do this that I may prove unto many that I am the same yesterday, today, and forever; and that I speak forth my words according to mine own pleasure. And because that I have spoken one word ye need not suppose that I cannot speak another; for my work is not yet finished; neither shall it be until the end of man, neither from that time henceforth and forever. Wherefore, because that ye have a Bible ye need not suppose that it contains all my words; neither need ye suppose that I have not caused more to be written." (Book of Mormon | 2 Nephi 29:1 - 10)

JOSEPH SMITH HOLDS KEYS IN HIS LIFE AND LIFE TO COME

"The keys of this Priesthood were bestowed never more to be taken from the earth; hence, in the revelation I have read, provision was made by the Lord that Joseph, in case he should fall, should ordain another in his stead, and he should have authority only to lay hands on and set apart some one to act in his place, in case he should prove unworthy. Thus, even from the beginning, the Lord seems to have held constantly before him the possibility of his(or any mortal man’s) falling away. He was a young man, and like every man, he was apt to get lifted up in the pride of his heart; therefore, God reminded him that he only held the keys as long as he should be faithful to the truth. But in a subsequent revelation, the Lord informed him that he should hold the keys in this life and in the life to come, and they should never be taken from him."

"Hurry up the work, brethren," he used to say, "let us finish the temple; the Lord has a great endowment in store for you, and I am anxious that the brethren should have their endowments and receive the fullness of the Priesthood." He urged the Saints forward continually, preaching unto them the importance of completing that building, so that therein the ordinances of life and salvation might be administered to the whole people, but especially to the quorums of the holy Priesthood; "then," said he, "the Kingdom will be established, and I do not care what shall become of me." These were his expressions oft repeated in the congregations of the Saints, telling the brethren and sisters of the Church, and the world that he rolled the Kingdom on to the Twelve, and they would have to round up their shoulders and bear it off, as he was going to rest for awhile, and many other expressions of a like nature, the full meaning of which the Saints did not realize at the time. George Q. Cannon, 13:45 (1869)

Scripture Foretelling Present Time

"Jesus answering them began to say, Take heed lest any man deceive you: For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And when ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars, be ye not troubled: for such things must needs be; but the end shall not be yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows." (Mark 13:8)

In the modern day, wars and earthquakes in diver’s places are increasing in a world which seeks bliss through ignorance; powerful events are increasingly forcing the inhabitants of the world to pay attention to the mighty forces which govern our planet. The pending natural disasters which are soon to affect America and sweep through the continents with great force will shake mankind, and as has happened throughout the history of the world, the truth of God will wipe away many current theories of science and will replace them only with original truth from heaven regardless of that opinion of truth that is currently popular. People’s opinions have been given a false significance in today’s society. The time will come when the natural disasters that are beginning to sweep the earth will be of such frequency and severity that the earth’s inhabitants will be left having to face the truth of the Gospel message of Christ as taught by Joseph Smith as the only rational explanation for world occurences. The scriptures teach that "man is a natural enemy to God."

"And now answer me in this, O House of Israel: How shall the ministry of God be established with a people who reject revelation; that doctrines may be kept from corruption and truth be made secure? How can a people abide in the truth, when their ears are shut to the voice of heaven and every man proclaims a law of redemption out of his own thought, and an entrance into the kingdom of heaven by a path whither he has not trod? Neither can he, for he has no power. Nevertheless, I say unto him, harden not your heart in the day of rebuke, but be steadfastly looking for the day of your refreshing."

The whims of what mankind desires are vulnerable to the enticings of Satan, and are therefore most often in direct opposition to the will and Word of the Lord. In this foretold time of Satan’s rule over mankind, society has in many ways supplanted that wisdom that was once established of God with that reasoning which is vile and contemptible. The judgements and knowledge of heaven are unfortunately the only choice the Lord will eventually be left with that will throw down the strongholds of purported knowledge currently promoted by those men who hold dominion with worldly power only. The insignificance of the works and opinions of man will be further discredited and exposed and that untainted truth which will remain, will be the true restored Gospel He established through his servant Joseph Smith, that which is all that is promised to endure.

"But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen." (New Testament | Matthew 3:7)

"Therefore, that we should waste and wear out our lives in bringing to light all the hidden things of darkness, wherein we know them; and they are truly manifest from heaven— These should then be attended to with great earnestness. Let no man count them as small things; for there is much which lieth in futurity, pertaining to the saints, which depends upon these things. You know, brethren, that a very large ship is benefited very much by a very small helm in the time of a storm, by being kept workways with the wind and the waves." (Doctrine and Covenants | Section 123:13 - 16)

This Scripture, a "large ship is benefitted very much by a very small helm in the time of a storm" is aptly appropriate for the time in which we live. As tremendous efforts and resources are spent within the LDS Church to dilute and destroy the true Mormon religion from within the very organizations of the Church itself, it is a wonder at all that knowledge of the Gospel has not been extinguished in the world.

"And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:Even him, whose coming is after 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. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness." (New Testament | 2 Thessalonians 2:8 - 12)

And whom exactly the LDS Church authorities seek to contradict and counteract in their strange works which embrace chaos and delusion and the sciences of delusion, is for that matter any Saint who chooses to keep alive the truth, for they seek any opportunity to edify anything contrary to the teachings of the Gospel restored through Joseph Smith. They seek to bring worldly studies and definitions from the sciences of delusion into their very own midst and teachings, and any priesthood holder is taught to place their calling secondary to the sciences of the mind, so that if there were a man like Joseph Smith today having revelations and heavenly visitations, there would be no room for him and no place for him in today’s LDS Church. For the educated of the LDS Church have submitted themselves and all that transpires in their midst to the teachings and sciences of men, those teachings which discount the possibility of God having a role in their scientific explanations for everything that happens in the world. A man like Joseph Smith has not been given anyplace to be recognized and will be treated very roughly should he make any effort to become known among the Mormons.

So who then will keep the truth of the Mormon religion alive if the Mormons will not do it? Is all lost, all of the efforts and sufferings and sacrifices of the early Church pioneers all for naught, have the efforts to establish righteousness on the earth again all been wasted? Who today is struggling valiantly to preserve the Mormon religion? Who today is making efforts which will naturally be counter-acted by massive efforts within the very Church itself to destroy the Mormon religion itself? A man like Joseph Smith is foretold to be among us today, and that man would not be a member of the popular elite that have placed themselves in eminence above the Mormon people; for Joseph Smith was a prophet for the downtrodden, the oppressed and the ordinary man, and would not tolerate the extravagance and lavishness of today’s leadership. Joseph Smith would have to conduct his mission in a very prudent manner, as described in 3^rd Nephi:

"Behold, my servant shall deal prudently; he shall be exalted and extolled and be very high. As many were astonished at thee—his visage was so marred, more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men— So shall he sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him, for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider." (Book of Mormon | 3 Nephi 20:43 - 45)

That man who has spent a lifetime of struggling against monumental odds to defend the Mormon religion and who has an unconditional love for the Church no matter the level of persecution it offers against him is the man to whom belongs the keys to the Church. That man, who is willing to be the small helm in the time of these storms and defend against that which seek to overthrow the complete foundations of the Mormon religion. That man, from whom emanates a fountain of knowledge to protect and defend the true Mormon Gospel. That man, who has seen the Savior face to face and heard His voice, that man is the prophet who was born to lead the LDS Church as it’s head. Joseph Smith, while martyred, never had the keys of the LDS Church taken from him, and his return means he still has claim as leader of the Mormon Church which he was, the instrument in the hands of the Lord to restore.

"Yea, thus saith the still small voice, which whispereth through and pierceth all things, and often times it maketh my bones to quake while it maketh manifest, saying: 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;" (Doctrine and Covenants | Section 85:6 - 7)

"Wherefore, I, Moroni, am commanded to write these things that evil may be done away, and that the time may come that Satan may have no power upon the hearts of the children of men, but that they may be persuaded to do good continually, that they may come unto the fountain of all righteousness and be saved." (Book of Mormon | Ether 8:26)

"...there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed. For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ. But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ." (New Testament | Galatians 1:7 - 12)

When Joseph Smith was alive there was a tremendous uproar, for he represented a true man of God, and, in part because of his teachings that the other churches were built upon false premises which meant their followers were exposed that they were all under the power of the devil.

"’And he said unto me, Behold there are, save two churches only;’ [this was the angel speaking to Nephi in the vision,] ‘the one is the church of the Lamb of God, and the other is the church of the devil.’

"This is a new thing. It is supposed there are a great many churches. The Lord here says there is but one church outside of his own church." JD, 25:120 G. Cannon

This caused tremendous uproar and vicious persecution against him, and most of the uninformed world, often only heard the worst of the vicious slander spread against him, and therefore a tremendous hatred was built up against the Lord’s true Gospel that he taught. Many in the Mormon Church who tried to change Mormon beliefs to become more popular with men were excommunicated, and it was clear Joseph Smith taught the same doctrine as that taught by Paul in the Bible, and if any man were to teach a different religion other than that which Joseph Smith taught or that which was taught by the apostle Paul of the original Christian Church in the Bible, then that man was cursed. When the constitutional rights of Joseph Smith were deprived of him and he was murdered by the officially appointed Carthage Grey militia in Illinois, many in the common world and government nodded approvingly, for they hated the true principles of salvation that Joseph Smith stood for. Those principles of Christ were, and continue to be, hated today as much as they were in Joseph Smith’s day, as well as when they were practiced in the Biblical time of Christ.

" We must always bear in mind that which Paul said__"Though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other Gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed." We must bear this in mind when we investigate the nature of the Apostles' teachings and the ordinances and doctrines which they administered and taught. If they who profess to be preachers of the Gospel diverge in the least from the doctrines and principles taught by the Apostles they place themselves in a position to receive the condemnation which Paul invoked."

"How many did the Lord call? Why he has called all. He commanded the Apostles to go and preach the Gospel to every creature, therefore every human being on the face of the earth was called by the Lord; and the promise was unto the multitude there assembled and to all afar off; hence, it is quite clear that all the inhabitants of the earth had a claim on this promise on complying with the conditions prescribed__namely, faith in Jesus Christ, repentance of their sins, being baptized for their remission, and having hands laid upon them for the reception of the Holy Ghost."

" The Catholic Church, especially, claim uninterrupted descent from Peter and the last of the Apostles. But, while so doing, they ignore the fact that as long as there was a man on the earth who laid claim to authority direct from God the inhabitants warred against him, until they had succeeded in killing him, as they had all others. This fact, though as familiar as any fact to the student of history, is lost sight of by the Catholic Church.

"Is there room for wonder that men are carried about by every wind of doctrine, and that they are deceived by the cunning craft of men, when they no longer believe in Apostles and prophets, and have taken in their stead self_constituted ministers, men who never received authority to administer in the things of God? Can any be surprised that Christendom is split up as it is to_day, and that men are so confused in relation to the doctrines of Christ? or that infidelity rears its head so defiantly in the midst of Christendom? No, it cannot be wondered at, when men have so widely departed from and so flagrantly disobeyed the plain teachings of Scripture as we find them recorded in the New Testament. The condition of Christendom alone is, of itself, sufficient to prove to every reasoning mind that if there is a God in heaven, as we know there is; that if there is such a principle as divine revelation, which we declare to be true; if there are such beings surrounding the throne of God as angels, of which we bear testimony, there never was a greater necessity for angels to be sent to earth, or for revelation to be given to man, than in the day in which we live."

"This was the course pursued by the inhabitants of the earth until the Apostles and every man having authority had been killed, and the gifts and blessings had entirely disappeared from the earth. After this men took to themselves doctrines to accommodate themselves, the rites and many of the doctrines of Paganism and portions of existing institutions were incorporated into the Christian Church, until almost every vestige of the pure doctrines had disappeared, and nothing was left but mere forms."

" Jesus said unto Jerusalem, "How often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!" But the prophets tell us that in the last days the people of God shall be gathered together from the different parts of the earth and be united together in one people. It was necessary, therefore, that a land should be prepared and a form of government be established within its borders without conflicting with it. Therefore, religious liberty and toleration have been proclaimed throughout the length and breadth of this land. Men fought, bled and died in vindication of these principles, and they were incorporated into the Constitution, and we, to_day, are reaping the blessed results of their labors. Shall they not have glory in the sight of God for those labors? Yes, glory and honor and blessings and immortality will rest upon men who have been instruments in the hands of God in bringing to pass his great and marvellous purposes. We have the greatest charity for them; we know that God will save and bless them. We know, further, that their sins were sins of ignorance. Where there is no law, it is said, there is no transgression. They had not the fulness of the Gospel declared unto them; but the generation in which we live hear the law and the testimony, and they will be held accountable for this knowledge. God will hold you, my brethren, sisters and friends, strictly accountable for that which you hear. You live in a day and age when the purposes of God are transpiring before your eyes, and when you see the mighty going forth of his great work. Men, generally, however, will not look at it, and yet they are ready to declare that if they knew the work of God was progressing they would be willing to help it forward. They are the same as the Jews were with the Lord Jesus Christ. When he was with them he was despised and put to death; now men think they honor him, but if he lived upon the earth to_day do you think he would be honored? He would be treated to_day as he was then. God sent his only Son, the Prince of life and glory; he came to the earth in humble mien, in the garb of poverty, speaking ungrammatically, yet he was heaven's Prince, the Lord of all things. He was born in a stable and cradled in a manger. George Q. Cannon, JD, 14:55

John the Baptist further states in the Joseph Smith Inspired Version: "Why is it ye receive not the preaching of him who God has sent?" (Joseph Smith Inspired Bible Translation, Matthew 3:33)

People need to be taught to read the Book of Mormon for themselves and not trust the erroneous interpretations of Church leaders. "And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire." (New Testament | Matthew 3:9 - 10)

It is clear that by and large the world has realized that the principles espoused by Joseph Smith are no longer represented by the LDS Church leaders of today. It is clear that the same Christian and popular world which hated Joseph Smith and the principles he stood for have stopped persecuting the LDS Church today even though worldly precepts have not changed about hating the principles of the true Gospel representing Christ and established upon the American continent through the hand of Joseph Smith.

It is true that while the hatred never subsided for Joseph Smith and the true principles of the Gospel, the world that still possesses these characteristics of hatred for the Mormon religion and sought it’s destruction have come to realize that they love the works of the scribes and pharisees of our time, those who currently guide the modern day LDS Church leadership. The preachers and Church leaders of modern Christian denominations now praise the Mormon people instead of persecuting them, and the modern LDS Church leaders in turn seek to reconstruct the Mormon religion in a manner that is pleasing to those who have hated the Mormon Church in the past. It is clear that the principles which were represented by Joseph Smith and the original Mormon Church are systematically being attacked and eliminated or transformed by modern LDS leaders and therefore the work of destroying the Mormon religion, carried out by angry lynch mobs of the nineteenth century, has taken a new approach. That is, the attacks against the Mormons are now more subtle and more devious. Marked by the infiltration of anti-Mormons into LDS Church ranks for well over a century now. They are seeking the gradual overthrow of the Mormon religion through the leadership, attained from within the very Church itself by these anti-Mormons.

Educated people who hate the Mormon religion the world over and seek to destroy it have recognized that their agenda would be ill served by any further persecution of mainstream modern Mormons. The subtle and crafty doings of modern LDS Church leaders are largely deliberately ignored by mainstream media, who would not like to see the Mormon Church teachings restored, nor the religion ever restored to its’ truthful position. This is the pact with death and Hell that was foretold to be entered into by modern Zion in the book of Isaiah(28:15).

Men search in vain for who it is that "has the truth" and can therefore provide key bits of knowledge necessary for salvation. The roles of prophets have always been to turn the hearts of the people to Christ by instructing them in te Savior’s teachings and not teachings which edify themselves; trendy sayings such as "Follow the Prophet" have no scriptural basis or historical precedent among the true prophets, for a true prophet teaches to follow the Savior - not himself, and also to seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit to attain salvation. Christ has repeatedly instructed us through His teachings and the examples he set to not follow after the teachings of men, and that the way to salvation is narrow and access is only granted through the Savior Himself:

"Remember that his paths are righteous. Behold, the way for man is narrow, but it lieth in a straight course before him, and the keeper of the gate is the Holy One of Israel; and he employeth no servant there;" (Book of Mormon | 2 Nephi 9:41)

"Because they have it in their hearts to do wrong themselves" - Words of Joseph Smith Regarding Extreme Obedience to Appointed Religious Leaders:

"We have heard men who hold the priesthood remark that they would do anything they were told to do by those who preside over them [even] if they knew it was wrong; but such obedience as this is worse than folly to us; it is slavery in the extreme; and the man who would thus willingly degrade himself, should not claim a rank among intelligent beings, until he turns from his folly. A man of God would despise the idea. Others, in the extreme exercise of their almighty authority have taught that such obedience was necessary, and that no matter what the saints were told to do by their presidents they should do it without any questions. When Elders of Israel will so far indulge in these extreme notions of obedience as to teach them to the people, it is generally because they have it in their hearts to do wrong themselves." (Excerpt of words of Joseph Smith, Millennial Star, Vol 14, Number 38)

Christ clearly teaches us that we will not find salvation through the instruction based on the ideas of other men, weak like ourselves. We must seek to communicate with Christ through the Holy Spirit that we may hope to work out our salvation, and that it is only through careful and sincere prayer and study that we may find and know Christ.

It is clear that we live in a time that the only way to find Christ is to seek Him out directly, through our own personal prayers and studies and determination to keep His commandments. When it comes to the teachings of God, we are dealing with the absolute. As we don’t allow for the blatant abuse of societal laws, we should not be permissive of abusing God’s laws. When rare exceptions apply to societal laws, e.g., breaking a minor law to save a life, we do not therefore revoke the law based on the exception and demand "rights" to disobey the laws which keep order, just because there possibly could be an exception when it is justified. So it is with the principles of the Gospel; they are not to be discarded by the crafty construction of scenarios which claim a "right" to disobey that which is ethical or moral.

When Christ returns, the question must be asked whether there will be any worthy enough to receive Him, for who is there alive that is showing the strength to withstand the awful chains of Satan’s grasp by sufficiently repenting of their sins enough to lead a truly righteous life? It is prophesied in Revelations 13:7 that Satan will be given power to make war with and overcome the saints.

A man like Joseph Smith today speaking words such as these in the Mormon Church of today would not only be hated by modern day Mormons, he would not be allowed to attain any position of prominence or influence in today’s LDS Church. He would be ostracized and cast out o the Church for not bowing to men’s perceived authority over God’s. His name would be slandered, his name falsely impugned among his acquaintances and the secret workings in the Church would not allow him to prosper in their midst. Every attempt would be made to degrade him and steal his dignity. Evil tentacles of influence extending into government entities would seek to use corrupt courts to trump up libelous falsehoods in an effort to dishonor and discredit the man for life. Cowardly LDS Church representatives would stealthily spread false rumors and throw the man’s children out of the Church while they were yet small and lacked understanding of the hideous persecution that would be directed against them, originating from contemptible men holding offices as high as the apostleship. The putrid stench of sanctimonious persecution would continue to exert undue pressure against the man’s family unless and until one by one they succumbed and betrayed their heritage and join with the hypocrites in rejecting their promised blessings. And should the lack of integrity of modern LDS Church representatives and their ilk be brought to light, they would act as hypocrites and liars do, and deny the slanderous discriminatory practices and gross infringements that were committed against the God-given constitutional rights of the man and the man’s family.

"he that exercises no faith unto repentance is exposed to the whole law of the demands of justice; therefore only unto him that has faith unto repentance is brought about the great and eternal plan of redemption. Therefore may God grant unto you, my brethren, that ye may begin to exercise your faith unto repentance, that ye begin to call upon his holy name, that he would have mercy upon you;"(Book of Mormon | Alma 34:16-17)

The conditions of the world indicate that all of mankind who are clouded by the teachings of the weak arm of flesh of another person will be caught napping when the Savior returns, and those without oil in their lamps will be too late in their efforts to obtain it.

" And at that day, when I shall come in my glory, shall the parable be fulfilled which I spake concerning the ten virgins. For they that are wise and have received the truth, and have taken the Holy Spirit for their guide, and have not been deceived—verily I say unto you, they shall not be hewn down and cast into the fire, but shall abide the day. And the earth shall be given unto them for an inheritance; and they shall multiply and wax strong, and their children shall grow up without sin unto salvation." (Doctrine and Covenants | Section 45:56 - 58)

Were men to find a true spiritual leader preaching the truths of the Gospel today they would seek to destroy him as they have the prophets throughout the ages; the wickedness of the world today is indicative that a true prophet could not openly preach the pure principles of the Gospel without placing himself in jeopardy. The majority of the world today shrink and cower when confronted with a rational discussion regarding the truth and fulness of the Gospel. Vain preachers of the world preach only a corrupted and perverted form of the Gospel, and it appears that there is no prominent place in any church in society that will allow God’s message to be heard. This is a condition much like the Biblical time when Jesus was born an outcast and was looked upon as an outcast by all churches and synagogues once they heard His message. All who preach from pulpits of prominent religious posts of all churches are engaged in a conspiracy to hide the truth, some unwittingly, to withhold knowledge of the full meaning of the Gospel. And for those who would mock and deny the existence this conspiracy, one would have to look no further than the teachings and life of Joseph Smith as evidence. Although his name is known the world over, it appears almost impossible to find a soul on the earth who can explain and discuss the topic of Joseph Smith honestly and intelligently. So effective has been Satan’s plan to discredit and destroy Joseph Smith that almost without exception, practically anyone alive on the earth today cannot discuss him without breaking the most basic of all commandments against bearing false witness and slandering him due to the efforts and false teachings of anti-Mormons that have been at work for close to two centuries to discredit him. All modern preachers of prominent religions have a place in this conspiracy, for Satan directs all under his power to try to suppress and contend against the truth of God, and they are affected by the testimony of the prophet Joseph Smith, whether they realize it or not.

"For they put to death the Twelve, whom I left at Jerusalem, to finish my ministry, and to establish my true Church upon a firm and enduring foundation, even that Church which is the Church of the First Born, the Church of Jesus Christ, the Redeemer and Savior of the world. And thus did I establish my Church upon the shoulders of mine Apostles, whom you slew, you and your fathers; and when you slew them, you took away the foundation of my Church, and the light of my Gospel, and left the world in darkness, which is confusion, for I would not renew the Twelve unto you again. Wherefore also, because of shedding the blood of the innocent ones whom I sent unto your fathers, even as I sent the prophets unto Israel, because of this, you and your fathers received my Gospel only in fragments, and my Scriptures with numerous interpolations and omissions. "And you translated them from the original tongue by men inspired only of their own learning, and who were appointed of men; for I would not raise up unto you mine own translators, whom you and your fathers would have slain, as you did mine Apostles. And thus the plainness of my Gospel was taken away. And as the Prophet Isaiah declared would come to pass, your fathers transgressed the law, changed the ordinance and broke the everlasting covenant. Whereupon you were left unto yourselves, that, as the Scriptures declare, you might come to believe in the lies of your fathers and be damned, or, in other words, be condemned. And thus you have inherited the lies of your fathers."

They have been tested and proven on the basis of the testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith, for they have been a part of Satan’s desire to withhold knowledge Joseph Smith restored to the world under the direction of the Lord. All who have heard of Joseph Smith and most of who have rejected Joseph Smith have done so based on the dishonest teachings of others, and all others knowingly spread lies about Joseph Smith. Regardless, by rejecting Joseph Smith without fairly examining a factual account of his life and his teachings they are bearing false witness, and the scriptures teach that liars will not enter heaven. By giving attention to only small portions of the Lord’s Word in scripture, all partake of the "dam" constructed by Satan to withhold knowledge from those who seek a fulness of pure Gospel truth.

A search for men of any prominence who preach with the power of the Holy Spirit turns up naught, as true servants of the Lord will find that no church will welcome their message, and all churches are under the power and control of Satan, as described in the Book of Mormon. The pursuits of the LDS people become a realized folly far from the Spirit of the Lord. "For how knoweth a man the master whom he has not served, and who is a stranger unto him, and is far from the thoughts and intents of his heart?" (Book of Mormon | Mosiah 5:13)

"Yea, wo unto this people, because of this time which has arrived, that ye do cast out the prophets, and do mock them, and cast stones at them, and do slay them, and do all manner of iniquity unto them, even as they did of old time. And now when ye talk, ye say: If our days had been in the days of our fathers of old, we would not have slain the prophets; we would not have stoned them, and cast them out. Behold ye are worse than they; for as the Lord liveth, if a prophet come among you and declareth unto you the word of the Lord, which testifieth of your sins and iniquities, ye are angry with him, and cast him out and seek all manner of ways to destroy him; yea, you will say that he is a false prophet, and that he is a sinner, and of the devil, because he testifieth that your deeds are evil. "(Book of Mormon | Helaman 13:24 - 26)

With these obvious conditions it is clear that all inhabitants of the earth are left to their own means and desire to seek out the truth and gain a testimony of Christ through prayer and personal study, for they will not get it from going to any church or corrupt ministry, as there are no known examples of any appointed leader of any religion on earth preaching the True Gospel of the Holy Spirit and who preaches with the authority of the priesthood; therefore all of the inhabitants of the world who receive their instruction from men are misled to following the path that takes them to the outer darkness of Hell. All who listen to the teachings of men and follow them are also following the devil’s carefully constructed pathway to hell.

Those searching for truth will likely reject Mormonism either because of the lack of sincerity of the Mormon People and its’ leaders, or because of the sheer contradictions of the Mormon people and leaders to the teachings of the Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants, of which Mormons claim to have a testimony. Mormons will likely agree that the LDS Church was established as a means of gathering the Saints, but Mormon scriptures also warn of the great apostasy which will occur among themselves, needing the Lord to send "One Mighty and Strong" to set in order the Holy Church of God (Doctrine and Covenants, Section 85):

"Yea, thus saith the still small voice, which whispereth through and pierceth all things, and often times it maketh my bones to quake while it maketh manifest, saying: 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;" (Doctrine and Covenants | Section 85:6 - 7)

Prophecy of Heber C. Kimball: "Before that day comes , however, the Saints will be put to a test that will try the integrity of the best of them. The pressure will become so great that the more righteous among them will cry unto the Lord day and night until deliverance comes. Then the Prophet Joseph and others will make their appearance and those who have remained faithful will be selected to return to Jackson County, Missouri and take part in the upbuilding of that beautiful city, the New Jerusalem."

A voice of authority, who is this man foretold to divide up the lots/inheritances of the Saints? What defines a great man? There is no doubt a sincere people seeking to serve the Lord would answer this question much differently than the popular opinion of the world. In our known history that covers thousands of years we have many examples in scriptures of great men who served God and accomplished magnificent things, beginning with the Savior. We have great examples such as Moses, but if we realistically seek to understand the greatest men in the history of the world, we find that one factor they seem to have in common is the willingness to stand alone against great odds, even the willingness to be alone and even unknown in their mortal life if they wish to serve their God instead of mammon. Were it not true that the story of Moses was considered familiar Biblical reading, the story of a man conversing with God on Mt. Sinai in the way he did would in no way be accepted by most professing Christians of today because of it’s peculiar details. If the world valued truth as it pretends, who would be the greatest man of the twentieth century? Would it be any publicly known preacher of religion, who travel in Limousines and preach in richly adorned churches? Would the righteous agree with the secular world in choosing from the popular figures built up in popular culture? We have witnessed the deteriorated condition of the Mormon Church as dreamed by Joseph Smith before his martyrdom, but there are more than a few references in early Church history to his returning:

The last address of Joseph the Prophet to the Nauvoo Legion, before leaving for the Carthage Jail where he was murdered: "You will be called the first Elders of the Church, and your missions will be to the nations of the earth. You will gather many people into the vastnesses of the Rocky Mountains as a center for the gathering of the people, and you will be faithful because you have been true; and many of those that come under your ministry, because of their much learning, will seek for high positions, and they will raise themselves in eminence above you, but you will walk in low places unnoticed and you will know all that transpires in their midst, and those that are my friends will be your friends. This I will promise you, that when I come again to lead you forth, for I will go to prepare a place for you, so that where I am you shall be with me."

We look for "a voice of authority." Joseph Smith returns, but how will the world know when he is here? Joseph Smith was clearly talking about the time of today where those who seek to be true Saints have found themselves pushed out of the Lord’s Church should they have not chosen to betray their heritage and join with the hypocrites. It is clear the prophecy Joseph Smith uttered before his martyrdom has described the Mormon Church today; men that were once under the ministry of the Lord’s Church under the leadership of worthy apostles have sought for and attained leadership in today’s LDS Church, setting themselves up in eminence over the LDS people, as prophesied by Joseph Smith in an address to the Nauvoo Legion. A man such as Joseph Smith would not possibly have an opportunity to find a place among the hypocritical leadership of today’s LDS Church.

" ... the Book of Mormon, which contains the truth and the word of God— Which is my word to the Gentile, that soon it may go to the Jew, of whom the Lamanites are a remnant, that they may believe the gospel, and look not for a Messiah to come who has already come. And again, I command thee that thou shalt pray vocally as well as in thy heart; yea, before the world as well as in secret, in public as well as in private. And thou shalt declare glad tidings, yea, publish it upon the mountains, and upon every high place, and among every people that thou shalt be permitted to see." Doctrine and Covenants, Section 19:27-29)

Hindering the works of the one mighty and strong is the fact that those of the ilk of the persecuting mobs that sought to defame and destroy the early Mormon pioneers have today found their niche by joining that Church for which they carry such tremendous hatred. The efforts of trying to defame early Mormons and trying to destroy the Mormon Church are much more easily accomplished from within the Church by becoming members in good standing. By attaining offices in various bishoprics, stake presidencies and of course in the first presidency of the LDS Church, all of the evidence indicates mobocrats have infiltrated the current Mormon Church at the very highest levels and have found a gullible and unsuspecting LDS membership eager to embrace the betrayal of their very own sacred beliefs. There is no place of refuge for the Saints, as the modern leaders of the LDS Church have sought to destroy any place of refuge for true Mormons.

The return of Joseph Smith is indisputable. The issues of where he will be, who he is, and when he will be here breeds more deceptions, more false conclusions, more false prophets, more erroneous assumptions than any foretold event in the last days, among those that identify themselves with the Mormon faith. The resulting confusion has produced such a clouded state of thinking and erroneous expectations, that it is likely the emergence of the one mighty and strong will be rejected by the majority of those who look for him.

A question of who could possess such knowledge and be that man who would stand for truth against all odds and refuses to succumb - eliminates almost everyone from consideration as to who this man is. In a day when no publicly known figure seems to have the voice of authority or understanding of Joseph Smith, he still must exist according to scripture.

A man speaking according to the teachings of Joseph Smith today would be treated the same way as when Joseph Smith was alive. No one would believe a man coming from a humble background to be a spokesman and servant of the Lord. As it once infuriated the Biblical Jews enough to betray the Savior, so are modern Mormons now infuriated when spiritual souls are born outside of their realm of control, those that do not bow to the self appointed tyranny of officially endorsed modern LDS scribes and pharisees. Modern Mormons have a difficult time believing that any man directed by the Lord could be raised outside of the watchful eye of modern LDS scribes and pharisees and so-called "Mormon research scholars", as so did the Jews not believe it when the Savior was born in humble circumstances outside of their earthly realm of jurisdiction, although there is nothing in the scriptures to support such a notion that it is only in current restricted socially elite current LDS leadership where the Lord will place his servant. Those scribes perceived the Savior was blaspheming against their priesthood authority for daring to make an entrance to the world without their permission and under their perceived authority. The Savior we worship today was looked at as a plain and simple mortal man who spoke what was considered blasphemy when he rebuked the scribes and pharisees and spoke of himself as the Messiah, so he was betrayed and sacrificed upon a cross. Had he come in the fashion that the Jews of the day envisioned, making a lavish appearance as a forceful immortal being who would compel his people to be ruled through use of forceful powers, there would have been no test of man’s free agency to accept or reject that which was good. They could not envision that he was their king in a spiritual and eternal realm rather than in a worldly realm that they could easily understand, such as in a manner which would prevent having their free agency tested.

The following scripture reference provides a clear outline for those seeking to endure to the end and be saved:

"But ye are commanded in all things to ask of God, who giveth liberally; and that which the Spirit testifies unto you even so I would that ye should do in all holiness of heart, walking uprightly before me, considering the end of your salvation, doing all things with prayer and thanksgiving, that ye may not be seduced by evil spirits, or doctrines of devils, or the commandments of men; for some are of men, and others of the devils." (D&C 46:7)

"For now will the indignation of the Lord fall upon that nation, or church, or people, which continue in their hearts to deny Him the exercise of His own power. Or who would determine for Him how or when He shall send forth His Word. And wheresoever there is the greater light there shall also be the greater condemnation." Word of the Lord II, 3:18

"Cursed is he that putteth his trust in man, or maketh flesh his arm, or shall hearken unto the precepts of men, save their precepts shall be given by the power of the Holy Ghost." (Book of Mormon | 2 Nephi 28:31)

"For I command all men, both in the east and in the west, and in the north, and in the south, and in the islands of the sea, that they shall write the words which I speak unto them; for out of the books which shall be written I will judge the world, every man according to their works, according to that which is written." (Book of Mormon | 2 Nephi 29:11)

"Wherefore murmur ye, because that ye shall receive more of my word? Know ye not that the testimony of two nations is a witness unto you that I am God, that I remember one nation like unto another?" (Book of Mormon | 2 Nephi 29:8)

"And it shall come to pass that the Jews shall have the words of the Nephites, and the Nephites shall have the words of the Jews; and the Nephites and the Jews shall have the words of the lost tribes of Israel; and the lost tribes of Israel shall have the words of the Nephites and the Jews." (Book of Mormon | 2 Nephi 29:13)

Joseph Smith’s mission is not accomplished until he convinces the American Indians of the Book (the Book of Mormon) which has already gone forth among them. This is a clue that Joseph Smith must return, for when he was assassinated, the Mormon Church had barely started preaching to the American Indians, then he was killed before they were convinced of it.

"But a seer will I raise up out of the fruit of thy loins; and unto him will I give power to bring forth my word unto the seed of thy loins—and not to the bringing forth my word only, saith the Lord, but to the convincing them of my word, which shall have already gone forth among them." (Book of Mormon | 2 Nephi 3:11)

Joseph Smith was targeted almost from the time he was born: "It seems as though the adversary was aware, at a very early period of my life, that I was destined to prove a disturber and an annoyer of his kingdom, else why should the powers of darkness combine against me? Why the opposition and persecution that arose against me, almost from my infancy?" (JS_H 1:20.) Even while yet a child, he endured malicious persecution from the so-called Christian world instead of being treated with love and understanding that they pretended to profess. When Joseph Smith announced his purpose to restore the True Gospel, one unfortunate effect was that Satan and his followers were given notice who they were to try to destroy, but for the price he paid, Joseph Smith was promised great blessings for his life of suffering and sacrifices.

" And the Lord said unto me also: I will raise up unto the fruit of thy loins; and I will make for him a spokesman. And I, behold, I will give unto him that he shall write the writing of the fruit of thy loins, unto the fruit of thy loins; and the spokesman of thy loins shall declare it." (Book of Mormon | 2 Nephi 3:18)

If the measure of greatness were the contributions left behind, could any man provide evidence of greatness as did the prophets of the scriptures? We look for great men and spokesmen for the Lord. At this point the field considerably narrows. Such a man would be foreign to the teachings of today’s Church, most likely hated by current LDS, but a man who would love the Mormon religion and Church at any cost no matter how it’s people treated him in return. The term spokesman implies one who will carry out and represent the Lord’s will. Therefore, we look for a man who will produce words representative of the Lord’s approval. The Lord chose one such man to receive His word close to a century ago, and as far as it is known, in the twentieth century, there had been no greater words of wisdom produced the entire world over during this time than the Word of the Lord received by Harry Edgar Baker of Chicago. Harry Edgar Baker is the only known man to have been chosen to deliver a series of revelations from the mouth of God from the entire twentieth century, words that are unparalleled in intelligent thought.

"It is in the order of heavenly things that God should always send a new dispensation into the world when men have apostatized from the truth and lost the priesthood, but when men come out and build upon other men’s foundations, they do it on their own responsibility, without authority from God; and when the floods come and the winds blow, their foundations will be found to be sand, and their whole fabric will crumble to dust. (June 16, 1844.) D. H. C. 6:473-479

The Marred Servant Joseph:

There needs to be a search again for the man speaking with a voice of authority. How this strange work of the Lord will take place, only He knows. Joseph Smith is foretold to "convince the Lamanites of the Book of Mormon, which had already gone among them. As Joseph Smith was murdered before the Book of Mormon had been distributed among the American Indians, it is clear Joseph Smith has some unfinished work to do that he is needed to return to accomplish, one is to set in order the distortions of the false servants, modern scribes and pharisees. It says in the Bible that if man isn't born again, he cannot inherit the Kingdom of God, and the strict road to the lives few find, while the road to the deaths most follow.

"Let no man be afraid to lay down his life for my sake; for whoso layeth down his life for my sake shall find it again." (Doctrine and Covenants | Section 103:27) Keeping in mind James 4:4: "he who is a friend to the world is an enemy to Christ."

"Behold, ye know that my coming is at the door and ye look for a prophet. Verily, I say unto you, at the door of the tabernacle of Zion have I laid a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense. Will you bring into her gates the blindness that fell upon Judah? You have brought an evil report. One has lied against me, and a whole company have believed the lie. You have been tale_bearers against me. Yea, from a distance, and from afar off, you have borne a false witness against me. From the north you have lied, and out of the earth you have lied; even out of the very ground, you have lied against me, saith the Lord. Lo, these many years you have lied. Yet, I would not speak. I did not answer. I would not suffer my silence to be broken; that my people might fill up their cup to the full; that I might deal with them.." Word of the Lord I, 15:6-8

"...I do not think that the children of Israel thought a great deal about their crossing the Red Sea in the way they did. Perhaps they thought it was done upon natural principles. They probably attributed the separation of the waters to some natural causes, and failed to see the hand or power of God in it any more than the people of Missouri, in 1878, saw the power of God in a cyclone there, which was so powerful that it lifted the water and mud out of a large lake in its course clean to the solid ground or bed rock, leaving a dry pathway from shore to shore about a quarter of a mile wide, carrying away and scattering thousands of fish over the country for miles away, and it was some little time before the water flowed back to its level in the lake. This was accounted for, I suppose, on scientific principles. It was the power of this electric storm that raised the water out of the lake, swept it clean to bed rock, carrying everything before it, and leaving a path upon which people could walk dry shod! They do not think God had any thing to do with it."

"...They will find the journey back to Jackson County will be as real as when they came out here. Now, mark it. And though you may be led by the power of God "with a stretched out arm," it will not be more manifest than the leading the people out here to those that participate in it. They will think there are a great many hardships to endure in this manifestation of the power of God, and it will be left, perhaps to their children to see the glory of their deliverance, just as it is left for us to see the glory of our former deliverance from the hands of those that sought to destroy us. This is one way to look at it. It is certainly a practical view." JD, 25:120 Cannon

The strange work will happen in a society where the norm has become to seek out fellow weak mortals and become dependent on their strength and counsel in matters such as personal salvation, a society where the weak need constant attention and heavily rely on the counseling they receive from other mortals. The strange work foretold in the Book of Mormon will be, must be, of such nature that allows the man who is called to be unhindered in the spreading of the Gospel to the House of Israel. Those who seek a prophet to cling to will be frustrated, for the scriptures clearly foretell that in the age of today, the inhabitants of the earth will be left to themselves to maintain knowledge directly from the Lord through the Holy Spirit. And a prophet could not be sustained on the modern world’s changing definitions of righteousness. The confusion Satan wields over the minds of men would not allow a man of God to perform a work without a necessary detachment from the wicked practices all have apparently succumbed to; the strange work of the Lord must be strange enough in appearance to force all to turn to the Lord and the Lord only for salvation; for most seek approval from fellow weak human beings for self legitimatizing praise instead of listening to the Lord, and it is in this that nearly all are in error. Although Brigham Young remained true to the Mormon religion until his death, he was subject to mortal shortcomings as much as any other and close confidant Heber C. Kimball once had to remind him: "Brigham, this is the Lord’s Church, and I have as much right in it as you do."

The Lamanites don’t seem to know what they have, the many promises of blessings and restoration are now theirs for the taking, as modern LDS leaders have weakened the LDS Church to the point, that the weak scripture interpretations of the LDS people have now crossed into the boundaries of delusion, as foretold in the noted biblical scripture. A vast infusion of House of Israel American Indians in fulfillment of Book of Mormon prophecy is all that will now save the LDS Church from disintegrating into oblivion. "And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you." (New Testament | Matthew 17:20)

Those sophisticated in the arts of anti-Mormonism love the works of current LDS Church leaders; it is these sources that modern Mormons seek to cultivate praise from. By all outward appearances, many of those who would seemingly fit the profile of hating and persecuting Mormons are for some reason in this day expressing great admiration and respect for works of the current LDS leadership, for why would the world continue to persecute the Mormon religion when the LDS leaders themselves are accomplishing the same evil objectives of destroying it from within the very Church itself? A lack of journalistic standards have permeated American culture since persecution of early Mormons and the murder of Joseph Smith, and dishonest premises that define American and world standards of journalistic integrity have been punctuated in a visible nationwide rift in ideologies and contrasting definitions of truth from the curse entered into by the American culture at the time of the murder of early Mormon Saints and Joseph Smith. As a nation adrift in a morass of propaganda which governs the lives of all enters into the final phase before the sweeping of the land through the judgements, most inhabitants are slowly awakening to the realization that no less than at least half of our nation’s inhabitants are completely deluded by the controlling lies of evil men, whereas the other portions may only be influenced by deceptions and lies to a lesser extent.

Joseph Smith is that one mighty and strong foretold in the scriptures possessing that voice of authority. When he was murdered by the state of Illinois, that mantle fell on Brigham Young, then John Taylor, then for a short time, Wilford Woodruff. Since the nineteenth century, there have been few, if any, men in the LDS Church who have been able to take on that mantle. There has been no discernable voice of authority coming from the official LDS Church for quite some time. What has been passed off as the voices of authority have since become pathetically weak, and now LDS leaders only preach a form of the religion with their lips, but with their hearts draw far away from the restored gospel and teachings of Christ restored to the world through Joseph Smith. The current LDS leaders, having led the LDS people to reject the teachings of Joseph Smith now bring attention to the 16^th section of 3 Nephi, when the Gospel will be taken from the LDS Gentiles and given to the American Indians. There are strong scriptural parallels between today’s Mormon Church and the Jews of the Biblical Church of Jesus Christ:

IS THIS THE DAY THAT THE PEOPLE IN THE MORMON CHURCH HAVE FULFILLED THE PROPHESIES OF THE BOOK OF MORMON AND BECOME APOSTATES AND TRAITORS TO THEIR OWN RELIGION?

3 NEPHI CHAPTER 16. VERSE 10

"10. And thus commandeth the Father that I should say unto you: At that day when the Gentiles (the people of the LDS Church- "us, who are identified with the Gentiles." -Doctrine and Covenants, 109:60) shall sin against 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 secret abominations; and if they shall do all of 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."

Let us analyze this prophesy line by line.

HAVE THE PEOPLE SINNED AGAINST HIS GOSPEL? YES THEY HAVE. It has become quite evident that what the church teaches today is quite different than what was taught even a few decades ago. Twenty years ago, a forger, Mark Hofmann was busily spreading a dark and sinister web of deceit and lies that surprisingly originated from within the very hallowed halls of the church itself! Support for these vile forgeries was amply provided by the church leadership. Authentication and funding for these forgeries was generously provided. Publicity and complicity abounded. Apostles were trying to explain to the people that a lizard was an angel of fire, as one of the lies in the forgeries stated. Witchcraft and sorcery, which were more of the forgeries’ defamatory lies, were accepted as truth. "But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in." (New Testament | Matthew 23:13) Although he has been credited for being a cunning genius by those he fooled and that because they were so easily deceived, they endeavored to show that the one who deceived them was of a genius level of unparalleled magnitude, and this to cover up the embarrassment of their lack of knowledge of the history of their own church. In truth Mark Hofmann himself was actually somewhat of a simpleton. Proof of this is in the fact of his amateurishly conceived and near bungling as he carried out hideous crimes to cover up for the equally amateurish and fraudulent schemes he perpetuated on so many gullible church authorities and their complicit anti-Mormon "experts." Where did he obtain his material for these forgeries? From so called church historians, anti Mormon authors, Sunstone Symposiums, and other media that was accessible to him at the time. The damage that has been done to the Church from this calamity of events is insurmountable. It has had lasting effects that plague the true doctrine of the Church even to this day. Bitter seeds yield bitter fruit. The fruit of lost spirituality among the LDS people has left a vacuum. To dwell under the constraints of corrupted men running today’s LDS Church and to maintain status in today’s LDS Church is to exist in a state of spiritual bondage. The seeds planted of apostasy against the foundations of the Gospel restored through Joseph Smith have brought forth the fruit of indifference. An entire generation has risen up in the Church under the influence of false teachings slandering the name of Joseph Smith. This is something that the leadership of the Mormon Church has never publicly repented of or asked forgiveness for from the members. Would a true prophet of God be so deceived as to allow this to happen? And if a humble prophet had been deceived, would he not ask the people for forgiveness? On the contrary, it is decreed to unconditionally support all that transpires as the doings of a "prophet": "WOE unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and that write grievousness which they have prescribed; To turn aside the needy from judgment, and to take away the right from the poor of my people, that widows may be their prey, and that they may rob the fatherless! And what will ye do in the day of visitation, and in the desolation which shall come from far? to whom will ye flee for help? and where will ye leave your glory?" (Old Testament | Isaiah 10:1 - 3). The recent teachings of those currently in control of the LDS Church are rapidly becoming obsolete in a time that it is vitally important for people o draw close to God. Sweet, sickly teachings, e.g., "follow the prophet" no longer satisfies the flock in this somber time; neither does it prepare the flock for the perilous times that lay ahead, for the people have only learned dependence on the weak, mortal arm of flesh. In lieu of a somber and humble respect for the true Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, the public relations of the LDS Church bombard the airwaves with "messages" and "Family" with the babblings and chatter of disrespect and silliness which are obviously only designed to appeal to the irreverent of the world, at the expense of searching out the Saints in the world; an undignified and blasphemous manner for a Church which bears the name of the Lord. Early Mormon Church leader Heber C. Kimball said he is only a prophet when he was prophesying. There is one key that the Lord gives us, that is the confirming witness of the Holy Spirit to confirm a testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ. Although men may serve a purpose with God to deliver His messages through visions and revelations, they remain weak mortal men always, subject to stumblings and fallacies in their works when they take actions without heeding the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

ARE THEY LIFTED UP IN THE PRIDE OF THEIR HEARTS ABOVE ALL NATIONS, AND ABOVE ALL THE PEOPLE OF THE WHOLE EARTH? JUDGE FOR YOURSELF

ARE THEY FILLED WITH ALL MANNER OF LYINGS, AND OF DECEITS, AND OF MISCHIEFS? YES THEY ARE! Recently they rebuilt the Nauvoo Temple. In this they added a symbol of evil so sinister, so vile and its meaning so terrifying. Something that has never been seen before on any Mormon church building before the 1980's. An inverted pentagram! Not just one, but dozens. They are woven into the tapestries. They are in the windows. They are in the frieze accents. They are above the doors, and proudly proclaim that all who enter herein are under the power of Satan! When met with a small amount of resistance they even computer enhanced an old Daguerreotype photo of the Nauvoo Temple on the LDS Church website to show pentagrams. When this was exposed they removed the Photograph from their website.

ARE THEY GUILTY OF HYPOCRISY? YES THEY ARE. They claim to believe in the Book of Mormon as the Word of God, but at the same time they reduce its authority and diminish the scope of its area. Saying that it only took place in an area a "few hundred miles by a few hundred miles" and that it is not inclusive of the entire western hemisphere as the Mormons of a few decades ago believed. Why are they doing this? They are doing this so that it can fit in with the fad of DNA research and the modern scientific theories of today. They will not trust the Word of the Lord, that it can stand on its own, and be proven by time. "For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee." (New Testament | Romans 11:21)

ARE THEY GUILTY OF MURDER? YES THEY ARE! But how can this be? How can a religious organization who professes a belief in God be guilty of murder? By the most vile form of murder, the shedding of the blood of innocence and assenting to the death of Christ. Church leaders have stood by idly while vile men and women come into their midst and plant the evil practice of abortion, and allowing wolves to break down the hedges of the vineyard to destroy it and scatter the flock (Doctrine and Covenants | Section 101:41 - 60). By murdering their own offspring, their own children before they can be born. What a filthy, debased and barbaric people who would murder their own babies. For what? Convenience? Bishop sanctioned abortions can be obtained easily through the hypocritical stand that the Church people have taken in which they say "WE ARE AGAINST ABORTION IN ALL CASES EXCEPT............... Rape..... will you kill a baby for the sins of the baby’s father? ...Incest..... Again will you kill a baby for the sins of the baby’s father? ...Fetal deformities - who and what decides which baby dies? Should it be the terribly deformed baby or the baby with a mild cleft palate? ...Mental trauma....it is by far more traumatic to destroy a human life. The guilt and pangs of sorrow, even suicidal tendencies have haunted those who have taken this course... The health of the mother?....Most women who become pregnant are more healthy. There are only two life threatening tragedies that are of consequence. A tubal pregnancy where a surgeon must operate to save the woman’s life. This takes place in a hospital operating room , not an abortion clinic where death is all that happens. No life saving operation has ever been performed in an abortion clinic. Or a cancerous uterus, this is very rare indeed. Many women have heroically risked their own lives to bring a baby to viability and life with this condition. Some women have heroically died. Again the treatment is surgery in a hospital and regrettably the outcome of the surgery to save the woman’s life is the loss of the baby’s life. This operation would never be done in an abortion clinic and the object is to save life not deliberately take a life. And so it is that if a woman wants an abortion in the Mormon Church, She can obtain one under one of these vague categories. She is also counseled to pray about it to make sure that she is doing the right thing!!!!!! Who would you pray to for something so hideous as to murder your own baby? Would you pray to the giver of life? Or perhaps to Moloch or Satan the deceiver, who delight in the sacrificing of the unborn, and offer an innocent blood sacrifice to him!

ARE THEY GUILTY OF PRIESTCRAFTS, AND WHOREDOMS, AND OF SECRET ABOMINATIONS? These are mentioned in the prophecy, as things that the people would be guilty of. These are things to be judged by the Lord.

AND IF THEY SHALL DO ALL THOSE THINGS, AND SHALL REJECT THE FULNESS OF MY GOSPEL, ? In 1998 Gordon B. Hinkley renounced polygamy and said it had no scriptural basis! This said before the nation meant that he was stating a belief that the Early Latter Day Saints were living in sin and error in their beliefs, that the holy order of marriage held by so many as the fulness of the Lord’s Gospel was wrong! And that the entire section 132 of the Doctrine and Covenants was also wrong. Never at any time has God restricted the free-agency of any individual, throughout all the Scriptures. God is not going to force the church leaders from going astray. It would be a violation of their free-agency. It is simply impossible. What the Church leaders say cannot be considered infallible. They cannot be above this test that all of us must go through. Their eternal salvation is at stake.

BEHOLD SAITH THE FATHER, I WILL BRING THE FULNESS OF MY GOSPEL FROM AMONG THEM.

3 NEPHI CHAPTER 16 VERSE 11

"11. And then will I remember my covenant which I have made unto my people, O house of Israel (The American Indian Israelites), and I will bring my gospel unto them."

(THIS IS SELF EXPLANATORY)

3 NEPHI CHAPTER 16 VERSE 12

"12. And I will show unto thee, O house of Israel, that the Gentiles shall not have power over you; but I will remember my covenant unto you, O house of Israel, and ye shall come unto the Knowledge of the fulness of my gospel."

3 NEPHI CHAPTER 16 VERSE 13

"13.But if the Gentiles will repent and return unto me saith the Father, behold they shall be numbered among my people, O house of Israel."

This most extraordinary passage points out that the power, the authority, and that the majority of the followers of the Lord would be American Indian Israelites. The Gentiles who repent would be numbered among them. Not the way that it is presently, where the American Indian Israelites are numbered among the Gentiles.

IF ALL OF THESE CONDITIONS ARE MET, THEN THE POWER HAS BEEN TAKEN FROM THE GENTILES AND GIVEN TO THE AMERICAN INDIAN ISRAELITES WHETHER THEY KNOW IT OR NOT.

Benjamin Franklin stated that if a printer was determined not to print anything, until he was sure no one would be offended, there would be very little printed (and therefore little advancement in knowledge). The cowardice of the modern LDS people to face up to issues such as polygamy leads to true saints becoming victimized by the Mormons’ betrayal. Now the poor, the afflicted, the widows and elderly suffer. The current LDS would love to wash their hands of the history of the principle, and disassociate themselves from polygamy entirely, but have actually empowered those who abuse this principle and enabled tyranny to rule the modern practice of it by refusing to acknowledge its place in their own religion and fostering a hateful persecution against those who do live it. And those who would like to stamp out the practice of polygamy forever will never succeed without a strong feeling of murder in their hearts, that they are eager and willing to act upon. Those who wish to define polygamy as an issue that can be settled by force will have to possess a resolve comparable to murder, similar to that which existed in the earth’s inhabitants who exterminated the Saints of the New Testament era to accomplish their motives. For the Church set up by Christ in the Bible was only done away with after every last Christian Saint was hunted down and killed, because the world could not accept the righteous principles that the Saints stood for. And this is also the principle which led to the martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum Smith and many other innocent early Mormons. Whether polygamists are sincerely trying to keep alive a sacred principle or in some cases are those best described as wolves in sheep’s clothing abusing the rights and free agency of the innocent in their midst, the modern LDS people have been at the forefront of persecuting all who have lived it, so that the evil men who abuse a holy principle have been given an opportunity to seize a place among the humble, meek and sincere who are simply trying to live according to the Lord’s will. What most fail to comprehend about polygamy is that there will always be those who seek to live it righteously as the Mormon Church once did. Joseph Smith was reluctant to follow the commandment to live polygamy, and it took an angel with a drawn sword to make it clear that he was expected to lay down his life for this principle: From a sermon of Joseph F. Smith: "But he did not falter, although it was not until an angel of God with a drawn sword, stood before him and commanded that he should enter into the practice of that principle, or he should be utterly destroyed, or rejected, that he moved forward to reveal and establish that doctrine. ...Patriarchal marriage involves conditions, responsibilities and obligations which do not exist in monogamy, and there are blessings attached to the faithful observance of that law, if viewed only upon natural principles, which must so far exceed those of monogamy as the conditions, responsibilities, and power of increase are greater. This is my view and testimony in relation to this matter. I believe it is a doctrine that should be taught and understood." —— Journal of Discourses, Vol. 20, p. 29

It is an unfortunate reality today that those who are sincere about this principle and desire to live it in righteousness are scourged and driven out of general society and forced to seek refuge with various break-off clans most often are led by evil men who abuse leadership positions.. A situation has therefore been created of some righteous people dwelling among those whose deeds are contemptible, the sincere mingled with the insincere. Unlike other practices of our day that are driven by greed and selfishness, polygamy only can succeed in righteousness when driven by an unselfishness that is in harmony with the Spirit of the Lord. Persecution only forces the practice outside the bounds of society where evil opportunistic men have found the opening created to make these people their prey. Those who persecute polygamy refuse

Those who persecute polygamy refuse to consider the fact that righteous and principled humble people seeking to serve the Lord could possibly be living among the evil and corrupt tyrants that typically rule and garner the attention among polygamist groups. When the Lord gathers and redeems His sheep, many may be shocked to see that He gathers from the downtrodden and oppressed who seek to live righteously and serve the Lord by living in this principle unselfishly. Because of the great cowardice shown by the LDS Church to oversee the righteous principle of polygamy, many have been abandoned to the hands of despicable tyrants who have seized the opportunity to use a holy principle as a cover to rob the free agency and innocence of the vulnerable. The LDS Church therefore shamelessly uses and grinds faces of meek and poor while not looking out for their needs, not giving the spiritual nourishment that is needed by the sick, the poor and the afflicted. Our purpose is to preserve truth and keep the light of the Gospel established through Joseph Smith and ask the LDS leaders and people to halt and decease their treacherous treatment of God’s Holy Church that has been entrusted to them, to stop their devious efforts to destroy the Mormon religion. The Gentiles are warned not to reject the fulness of the Gospel in 3 Nephi, 16:10.

"For behold, my beloved brethren, I say unto you that the Lord God worketh not in darkness." (Book of Mormon | 2 Nephi 26:23)The secrecy in the LDS Church regarding their works and scriptural interpretations is in direct contradiction to the word of God. Since 1890, polygamists were left to fend for themselves, and without protection from the Church, wolves in sheep’s clothing seized the opportunity to enter into this principle to pervert and corrupt Holy Doctrine. A sincere but now misled people is itself infested and suffering with corrupt rule and a corrupt leadership of their own, and only offered persecution by a hateful LDS people ashamed of their own heritage. The injustices which often surface from these groups is only exasperated by the complete rejection of those who seek to live it sincerely (by those who represent the modern LDS Church). The LDS people have only offered persecution to those who struggle to keep the Holy principle alive, among the corrupted conditions they have been pushed into by LDS persecution. Because tyrants have entered into the midst to rule over and oppress those who seek to live the righteous principle of polygamy sincerely, the LDS seek to lead the popular world in condemning this holy principle.

It is well documented that the raids on the Short Creek, Arizona polygamist community in the early 1950's brought strong criticism from around the country, as families were broken up, and children were taken away from their mothers and placed in custody. It was not a secret that the LDS Church had played a role in pressuring the State of Arizona to carry out the operation. At an LDS General Conference after it happened, President David O. Mckay had his turn to speak and one the first things he said was: "The thing that the Mormons are condemned the most for, they should be given credit, for, and that is polygamy. Mothers, no state has the right to take your children away from you and your love and prayers and teaching them to pray and substitute state teachings for them." His remarks caused a dead silence to come over those in attendance, then he quickly moved on to his regular sermon.

The fate of the LDS Church is hanging in the balance and is now passing through the close place that was predicted by the early Mormon prophets, but it will come through, even though those in charge are trying to destroy it of every vestige of spiritually that is left in the religion that Joseph Smith taught. When Joseph Smith was reluctant to teach what he knew of polygamy, an angel with a drawn sword appeared. In the words of his nephew, .Joseph F. Smith: "But he did not falter, although it was not until an angel of God with a drawn sword, stood before him and commanded that he should enter into the practice of that principle, or he should be utterly destroyed, or rejected, that he moved forward to reveal and establish that doctrine

The Word of the Lord to His Prophet John Taylor: "...All commandments that I give must be obeyed by those calling themselves by my name, unless they are revoked by me or by my authority, and how can I revoke an everlasting covenant; for I the Lord am everlasting and my everlasting covenants cannot be abrogated nor done away with, but they stand forever."

Brigham Young on polygamy:

Why do we believe in and practice polygamy? Because the Lord introduced it to His servants in a revelation to Joseph Smith, and the Lord's servants have always practiced it. And is that religion popular in heaven? It is the only popular religion there, for this is the religion of Abraham, and unless we do the works of Abraham, we are not Abraham's seed and heirs according to promise. —— Journal of Discourses, Vol. 9, p. 322

"For if ye will not abide in my covenant ye are not worthy of me. Therefore, renounce war and proclaim peace, and seek diligently to turn the hearts of the children to their fathers, and the hearts of the fathers to the children; And again, the hearts of the Jews unto the prophets, and the prophets unto the Jews; lest I come and smite the whole earth with a curse, and all flesh be consumed before me." (Doctrine and Covenants | Section 98:15 - 17)

(See also D&C, Section 132)

"For there are many yet on the earth among all sects, parties, and denominations, who are blinded by the subtle craftiness of men, whereby they lie in wait to deceive, and who are only kept from the truth because they know not where to find it— Therefore, that we should waste and wear out our lives in bringing to light all the hidden things of darkness, wherein we know them; and they are truly manifest from heaven— These should then be attended to with great earnestness. Let no man count them as small things; for there is much which lieth in futurity, pertaining to the saints, which depends upon these things. You know, brethren, that a very large ship is benefited very much by a very small helm in the time of a storm, by being kept workways with the wind and the waves." (Doctrine and Covenants | Section 123:12 - 16)

The most significant battle in the world today is between forces of good and evil over the truth. This also is what distinguishes the scriptural events of the separation of the wheat and the tares. The LDS Church has a record of unjustly cutting people off who seek to establish the truth, except for those who might also show they are apostates to the foundation of the Mormon religion and Joseph Smith, in which case the LDS Church treats them lightly. Those few that are spiritually awake and still have spirituality but feel helpless to do anything need refer to the scripture in D&C 123, which urges us to think not that "small things" are not important" It is with this intent and the desire to serve the Lord that carries the motivation for the publication of this newsletter.

WHAT LIFE WAS LIKE IN UTAH’S EARLY DAYS

Abraham Lincoln said of the Mormons "It is a stump that I will plow around for now, and deal with it later." Later, President Ulysses S. Grant was passing through the Utah territory by train, as he got close to Salt Lake City lined up on both sides of the track into Salt Lake were little children waving with bouquets of flowers at him, He asked "are these the Mormons?" They said yes. He said " I have been badly misinformed about them."

The crime rate in Utah territory was much lower than anywhere else in the entire Country. Small towns like Logan, Utah would go months without even a single crime, and if a crime was committed it was usually a misdemeanor or something of a very trifling nature. Only in the larger cities along the Wasatch mountains was crime a problem, and this was centered around the Gentile( where non-Mormons had emigrated) districts, the mining districts and the railroad terminals. Murders were so few that even into the 1900's the people that heard of it would remember every detail on account of it being so rare. Prostitutes were found only in the mining, railroad and Gentile areas as well. The remaining Mormon small towns and hamlets were entirely free of this problem as well as free from gambling, drinking, and the disorderly conduct associated with that kind of behavior. Small towns in Utah were so crime free that most people left their doors unlocked and until recently, succeeding generations left the keys to their automobiles in the ignitions.

Skilled craftsmen had joined the Church from all over the world bringing with them their skills that were then taught to the youth of the territory and the opportunities that were afforded to the youth were greater than anywhere else in the Country. And even today Mormon Craftsmen enjoy a reputation of excellence.

The Utah territory at this time was leading the way for women’s rights. The Church had opened up the tabernacle for large rallies. Susan B. Anthony spoke here as well as a myriad of other women’s suffrage speakers. In the latter part of the 1800's plural marriage was thriving in Utah, even though less than two percent of the Mormon people practiced it. Most of the Mormon community believed in having large families. Women could choose who they wanted for a husband and not have to marry the less desirable men. This gave them more freedom of choice to enter into a wholesome family if they so desired. If they were injured or sick the entire family would not be totally dependent on them and in turn would help them and care for them. Many of the polygamous marriages were to older women, even those past child bearing. And so by marrying them in name only it gave them honor and respect through marriage, which made them part of a family, where they were taken care of and not left to themselves. By doing this the family then had more resources to draw from; many of these women had fantastic talents as teachers, musicians, amazing cooking and sewing skills, bookkeeping, medicine, and even politics. Having more people available in the family unit, was a great benefit to all of the family members. It allotted more free time for the pursuits of academic excellence, religious studies, arts, crafts, sciences, mathematics and vocational skills. They had sister wives to help them in all of their labors which gave them more security. They loved their children as much or more than anyone can love their children and they had a much higher success rate at raising them to be responsible and good citizens, more than the rest of the country at that time. They were industrious, thrifty, moral, and patriotic. As a result the population base in Utah was that two thirds of the entire population was under the age of twenty.

The children of those times had much more security. Children who had a lot of brothers and sisters going to the same school could attend school without fear of encountering bullies. It was common for sisters and brothers to teach their younger siblings academic skills and knowledge at a pace sometimes way ahead of the rest of the classes. The children learned strong work ethics. Some of them were in charge of and managed family farms, businesses, and even manufacturing at very early ages. They were hard working and industrious. This instilled in them wonderful work ethics and self worth that lasted their whole lives through and made them very capable people who were upstanding examples for their communities.

It was not all work for the children. Not only did they have school but they had their Church. Youth groups were taught and instructed in various classes on points of doctrine and scriptures throughout the week. They had church dances and plays. Many of them had their own family choirs, orchestras and bands. Several holidays were observed, with picnics and outings. Mormon people of that time were a fun loving and good natured people (who were good hearted and jovial) as well as being serious and strict about the right things. Their music at that time was very beautiful, spiritually uplifting both in verse and song. It was inspiring and it was a prayer of the heart to the Lord.

Plural Marriage was referred to by the early Mormon leaders as the Fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. To live it correctly was very difficult. It was as a refiners fire to those who practiced it. Throughout the history of the Bible those who lived it righteously were blessed. It also brought the Spirit and Light of God to those around them who were blessed as well. The Utah territory benefitted greatly by this practice. It was and still is a corner stone of the Mormon Religion as recorded in the Doctrine and Covenants Section 132.

The grandfather of the author of this article was in attendance at evening church service at the Ensign ward (in SLC)at a time when the president and prophet of the Church(at that time), Heber J. Grant, was also in attendance in the congregation. It was a time in the 1940's, close to the end of Heber J. Grant’s life. Although the president and prophet of the LDS Church was not scheduled as a speaker, at the end of the service he arose from his place in the congregation. His words were short and to the point, "I’ve got something to say to you people," he said, then walked up to the pulpit and finished, "God never took polygamy away, it’s still here." That is all he said and then he walked away.

"And as I have heretofore said by my servant Joseph: All those who would enter into my glory must and shall obey my law. And have I not commanded men that if they were Abraham’s seed and would enter into my glory, they must do the works of Abraham?" ....... "And I say again, woe unto that nation or house or people who seek to hinder my people from obeying the Patriarichal law of Abraham, which leadeth to Celestial Glory, which has been revealed unto my Saints through the mouth of my servant Joseph, for whosoever doeth these things shall be damned, saith the Lord of Hosts, and shall be broken up and wasted away from under heaven by the judgements which I have sent forth, and which shall not return unto me void." "The blood of my servants Joseph and Hyrum and mine Apostles and Elders which has been shed for the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ, cries from the ground for vengeance upon the nation which has shed their blood." (from W. Woodruff revelation)

"But if you will to be disobedient unto Him who made you, and will to be a law unto yourself, then will you remain in that darkness which you have chosen; and this is the free-agency which you have received from the Father; and it leadeth unto life eternal, on the one hand, or to the second death, which is eternal damnation, on the other. Wherefore, you are left to choose, and the responsibility is with every man.

"For you must know that man could not have been created in the likeness of God, and not possess the initiative principle of a free-agent; which supreme attribute abideth in the bosom of the Father and the Son forever.

"Neither could he ascend to that company of angels who become joint-heirs with Jesus Christ of all things, together with all powers and dominions and glories according to the promise, except he be first tried in his choice of good and evil, as they have been. "And how could one who thus possesses a will, which is forever independent of his Creator, be measured for the vast responsibilities of an endless future, except by his record." Word of the Lord, First Message 9:6-9.

Quote of the Month:

Here is wisdom from the Apocrypha, Chapter 5(excerpts) which clearly describes those of today who persecute the Lord’s Gospel:

1. Then shall the RIGHTEOUS MAN STAND IN GREAT BOLDNESS before the face of such as have afflicted him, and made no account of his labours.

2. When they see it, they shall be troubled with terrible fear, and shall be amazed at the strangeness of his salvation, so far beyond all that they looked for.

3. And they repenting and groaning for anguish of spirit shall say within themselves, this was he, whom we had sometimes in derision, and a proverb of reproach.

4. We fools accounted his life madness, and his end to be without honor.

5. How is HE numbered among the children of God, and his lot is among the saints!

6. Therefore have we erred from the way of truth, and the light of righteousness hath not shined unto us, and the sun of righteousness rose not upon us.

7. We wearied ourselves in the way of wickedness and destruction; yea, we have gone through deserts, where there lay no way, but as for the way of the Lord, we have not known it.

8. What hath pride profited us? Or what good hath riches with our vaunting brought us?

15.But the righteous live for evermore; their reward also is with the Lord, and the care of them is with the MOST HIGH.

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