Category: Faith

More of My Word

Are you as excited as I am about obtaining and reading the additional records which are promised to come out in the last days? If you are, then you are probably a Book of Mormon reader, and a believer that additional records will be forthcoming:

  • The fullness of the re-translation of the Bible, including the contents of the plates of brass (Old Testament).
  • The fullness of the record of the Twelve Apostles (New Testament).
  • The Sealed Portion of the Book of Mormon.

People are going to approach you, if they haven’t already, claiming to have translated these records. They will make sensational and tantalizing claims. These records will surely come forth, but only under certain conditions, and possibly only to certain people. What are those conditions and who are these people?

Here they are:

3 Nephi 26:8 And these things have I written, which are a lesser part of the things which he taught the people; and I have written them to the intent that they may be brought again unto this people, from the Gentiles, according to the words which Jesus hath spoken.

3 Nephi 26:9 And when they shall have received this, which is expedient that they should have first, to try their faith, and if it shall so be that they shall believe these things then shall the greater things be made manifest unto them.

3 Nephi 26:10 And if it so be that they will not believe these things, then shall the greater things be withheld from them, unto their condemnation.

Ether 4:5 Wherefore the Lord hath commanded me to write them; and I have written them.  And he commanded me that I should seal them up; and he also hath commanded that I should seal up the interpretation thereof; wherefore I have sealed up the interpreters, according to the commandment of the Lord.

Ether 4:6 For the Lord said unto me: They shall not go forth unto the Gentiles until the day that they shall repent of their iniquity, and become clean before the Lord.

Ether 4:7 And in that day that they shall exercise faith in me, saith the Lord, even as the brother of Jared did, that they may become sanctified in me, then will I manifest unto them the things which the brother of Jared saw, even to the unfolding unto them all my revelations, saith Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of the heavens and of the earth, and all things that in them are.

These records will not come forth until there are enough people with faith sufficient to receive them. To receive them means more than to possess them, or lightly read them in order to satisfy your curiosity. To receive them means to read them, embrace them, search them, receive revelation concerning them, and teach them.

These additional scriptures aren’t given to people who either want to satisfy their lusts with them, or debate against them.

Ether 4:8 And he that will contend against the word of the Lord, let him be accursed; and he that shall deny these things, let him be accursed; for unto them will I show no greater things, saith Jesus Christ; for I am he who speaketh.

But the main condition pertaining to the coming forth of these records is FAITH. By now, you should realize that faith is more than just belief or assent. More than following some “abominable” [the Lord’s word, not mine] creed. More than obedience to some man claiming to act for God. Faith means to seek revelation from God, receive it, and act on it.

How do you receive the word of God? From the scriptures, from inspired teachers, from true servants of the Lord, and ultimately personal revelation from God to you. In order to receive and appreciate new revelation, you must have also received some personal revelation yourself and be familiar with the revelatory process. You will probably have received at least your baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost. The scriptures (above) say you must be sanctified: the definition and the result of having been “born again”. Your journals will contain sacred experiences and insights that you know came from God. You will understand how God teaches us, and specifically how God teaches you, and you will be hungry to learn more. You may probably have had revealed to you some of the contents of these records, so they will come as no great surprise. But, even if God has revealed every word of them to you, already, they must still come forth as a witness to the world that God faithfully honors His covenants and promises.

So, this is a call to prepare for coming events by knowing the true definition of faith, and by developing your own personal faith. As enough of us do this, and enough of us cry out to the Lord for additional light and truth, in order to bear up under the trials yet to come, the heavens will be moved with compassion, and the Lord will send His servants to you with these records in their hands. In His name, Amen. So let it be.

Baptisms of Fire and the Holy Ghost

First Experience – 1982

It was Seattle in the early 1980’s. I had just been excommunicated from the Church for a serious sexual sin. The trial had just concluded, and I was still in the high council room when I received a vision of a whole bunch of people on the other side watching me with concern, wondering what I was going to do next. I don’t know whether they were my ancestors, my future descendants, and just a bunch of people. I knew they were watching me and counting on me to do something for them. I resolved there and then that I was going to “make it back”, even though I didn’t exactly know what “back” meant.

A few weeks later, I was riding on a city bus in downtown Seattle, and the Spirit told me to pray and ask our Heavenly Father for something very specific. I asked the Lord if he would grant me the ability to see people the way He sees them. I didn’t even know why I was supposed to do this or what it even meant. He granted my request immediately. People changed around me. A homeless black man became in my eyes a king, and a little old lady in a wheelchair, a queen. Everywhere I looked, all I could see was the goodness and potential in people, and a bright light inside each person. I wanted to fall down and worship them. Whatever this gift was, I thought it would eventually go away, but in over 30 years, it has never gone away. I didn’t know what it was, but I was grateful to have it. I just found out about a week (This was written in Winter 2019.) ago that what the Lord blessed me with was charity. And, that’s why I am reading Lectures on Charity in order to find out more about it. I wondered how I could go so long without knowing it was charity, but I remembered the scripture that says “Charity does not vaunt itself.” I believe it is possible for a person to receive the gift of charity, and never know what they received. They just see people in a different light, and they act accordingly. And that may be OK.

Then, a few weeks after this, after I had finished my evening prayers and was sitting on the bed when this intense burning came over my entire body and lasted a good 5-10 minutes. I knew my sins were being burned out of me, and that this was the Baptism of Fire. When, it was done, I heard a voice tell me: “You are Abraham.” I don’t know if that meant I was literally Abraham, like unto Abraham, or adopted into Abraham’s family. I do know this. Ever since I was little and read a children’s Bible story book about Abraham being the friend of God, I wanted to be like Abraham and be a friend of God.

A few weeks ago, I read a Witness of Christ urge his readers to seek the Baptism of Fire, and if you think you have already received it, think about what happened, and ask the Lord to confirm it to you. I asked the Lord, and he confirmed that it was the Baptism of Fire, that happened over 30 years go. I feel to say, along with Abraham in one of my favorite lines in passages in all of scripture: “Thy servant has sought thee, now I have found thee.” 

Sometime, about this same time, I was sitting in church, in our local ward, in Sacrament Meeting, when I saw a vision of the Father and Son, sitting in heaven, sitting our thrones. I had forgotten this event happened in the same time frame as these other events. So, there was the gift of charity, baptism of fire and the holy ghost, and the vision of the Father and the Son.

After I had been excommunicated, I attended a Sacrament Meeting where a young Aaronic Priesthood holder was giving a talk about the restoration of the Aaronic Priesthood to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery. He was taking is far too lightly, and making a mockery of the whole thing. I was so angry, I wanted to jump up to the front, rip him off the stand and give a proper talk that the subject deserved. I didn’t do anything except leave before I did started tipping over tables.

Second Experience – 2020

Click Here to download.

Covid-19 Booster Shot

I received my booster yesterday, and today, I am getting weakness and chills just like last time, though not as severe as the second dose. My body temp is naturally low. Since yesterday, my highest temp has been 98.6, but that feels like a fever to me.

I don’t really care what your opinion is of the vaccine, or of me for taking it. Each person should check in with their own highest source of spiritual light and follow where that leads you. As you may know, I asked the Lord to send somebody into my life, just like Him. He told me a year before it happened that somebody, whom I never imagined or thought of, was on the way. When we first met, the Lord confirmed that this was the person, and He told me: “He’s mine. Take care of him.”

I have promises to keep, and I have been faithful to that promise for 35 years. He is disabled and has no other source of income other than me. I will continue to fulfill that promise and remain alive for as long as I can.

“Mormonisms”

Somebody posted the following on their blog as “Mormonisms” — unique teachings of Mormonism:

  • Mormonisms
    • We are made of gods, blood, and stardust.
    • We were always meant to partake of the fruit.
    • God is a state of relation, not just being.
    • Heaven cannot be experienced in solitude.
    • Obedience is but the first—not the only—law of heaven.
    • To follow Christ is to become Christs ourselves.
    • We are the work and glory of God.
    • Revelation is a democratic enterprise.
    • Authority exists as it is given, not imposed.
    • True power is born from love, not fear or coercion.
    • To truly live is to live for others.
    • If you want to be, act as though you are, and you will become.
    • We progress at the rate we choose for ourselves.
    • The results of Final Judgment are determined by our own.
    • God desires mercy more than obedience to the law.
    • The Plan would have been frustrated were it not for disobedience.
    • We are to serve God by serving others.
    • We will all become the Gods we worship.
    • You die by the same that you live by.
    • Salvation cannot occur in ignorance.
    • The glory of God is intelligence.

My response

`Unfortunately, “Mormonisms” and the truths of the Gospel of Jesus Christ are not always the same thing.

We are made of gods, blood, and stardust. “Intelligence, or the light of truth, was not created or made, neither indeed can be.” D&C 93:29

ADAM (not we) were always meant to partake of the fruit, but on the Lord’s timing, not ours.

“God is a state of relation, not just being.” Not sure what you mean, the but Gospel is all about relationships.

“Heaven cannot be experienced in solitude.” I don’t know what this means. Joseph Smith was alone in the woods. Joseph and Sidney ascended to heaven together. Paul ascended to the third heaven. He doesn’t say anybody went with him.

Obedience is not the first law of heaven. Agency is. We have to be able to choose to obey before we can obey.

“To follow Christ is to become Christs ourselves.” Yes. This is why it is called the church of the Firstborn.

“We are the work and glory of God.” Yes. God defines His whole purpose in life as serving us.

“Revelation is a democratic enterprise.” I don’t know what this means. D&C 67:13,14.121:33

“Authority exists as it is given, not imposed.” A man receives the Aaronic Priesthood by ordination. A man receives the Melchizedek Priesthood by an oath and covenant, by the calling of God’s own voice Gen 14:28-29 JST, D&C 84:42

“True power is born from love, not fear or coercion.” No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the Priesthood. Power or influence ought to be maintained “by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned”.

“To truly live is to live for others.” In order to love your neighbor as your self, you have to love yourself. Pray with all the energy of your soul to be given the spiritual gift of charity — the ability to see yourself and all others as God sees you.

“If you want to be, act as though you are, and you will become.” This is the principle of faith. It’s even better to seek revelation from Christ as to what you are to become. Then, have the faith to become it. “I’ll be what you want me to be.”

“We progress at the rate we choose for ourselves.” This is true, but if you follow the Lord and let Him push you a little, your capacity will increase.

“The results of Final Judgment are determined by our own.” We will be our own accusers, as Joseph Smith taught.

“God desires mercy more than obedience to the law.” If you are talking about the law of works, yes. Hos. 6:6. Not even God can violate the laws of heaven. Not even God can revoke “a law irrevocably decreed”. But, He know how to use mercy to leverage justice.

“The Plan would have been frustrated were it not for disobedience.” D&C 29:30 “But remember that all my judgments are not given unto men;”

“We are to serve God by serving others.” Yes. King Benjamin taught that.

“We will all become the Gods we worship.” Yes. Bruce R. McConkie gave a great sermon. To worship God is to seek to become like Him.

“You die by the same that you live by.” The law of Karma, aka the law of Cause and Effect.

“Salvation cannot occur in ignorance.” D&C 131:5-6 “The more sure word of prophecy means a man’s knowing that he is sealed up unto eternal life, by revelation and the spirit of prophecy, through the power of the Holy Priesthood. It is impossible for a man to be saved in ignorance.” You cannot be saved without receiving the testimony of Jesus that you will be saved. D&C 76:51

“The glory of God is intelligence.” Yes, but, ‘intelligence’ as defined by the Lord. D&C 93:36 The glory of God is intelligence, or, in other words, light and truth.