Hello and Welcome:
I am one of the Sheeple, or one of the Brethrenites, or one of the simpletons that the Gnostics and the LDS Apostates love to point the finger at and mock. I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
I have created a few different blogs, each one catering to a different LDS Theme or Topic that is of interest to me.
Callings and Elections: http://callingsandelections.blogspot.com/
Women Ordained: http://allwomenordained.blogspot.com/
God and Goddesses: http://ofgodandgoddesses.blogspot.com/
Satire Because I Had Nothing Better to Do at the Time:
http://megasatire.blogspot.com/
This megasatire blog is one where I tried to defend the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints against the apostates that I encountered on LDS Freedom Forum starting around January 2014. I did the best I could at the time, although some have told me subsequently that I employed many of the same tactics that the apostates often employ and that I should try to be better than that.
Some told me that I was too mean and that I should be nicer. Since then, I have tried to repent and change for the better.
Best wishes to all,
Mark My Words
--
--
Update: 13AUG2014:
I have truly enjoyed Ed Goble's inclusive take on Book of Mormon Geography as expressed in his book "Resurrecting Cumorah" and on LDS Freedom Forum here:
http://www.ldsfreedomforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=7830&start=210#p509507
Hear him out, and choose to ignore the opposition until you have read his book and given him a proper hearing. I feel that Ed's Inclusive Model of Book of Mormon Geography has merit and value. Give it a look if the subject interests you.
--
--
I have been counseled by my LDS guru friend to first seek the word of God before I start preaching the word of God. During the past few weeks, I have started to collect a number of different LDS books; and, my intention is to reduce my online presence and instead spend my time feasting upon the Gospel of Christ. Wish me luck. It's a change of focus, and old habits are hard to break.
Around July 02, 2014, due to requests from moderators that I leave the LDS Freedom Forum and go someplace else, I went public on the LDS Freedom Forum asking people if any of them knew of another forum that is Pro-LDS, sustains the Brethren, supports the LDS Convert, and can help a person to gain a testimony of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I was looking for a forum or a place where the moderators and the participants were actually trying to convert people to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I was looking for a different home. I was looking for a place that would support my growing conversion to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Last I looked at the thread, I was being openly mocked and told that there is no place else to go.
As far as I can tell, that thread has been deleted. I can find no sign of it in the list of my posts. It's gone.
Meanwhile, an LDS friend has recommended Meridian Magazine as a new home that is Pro-LDS.
http://www.ldsmag.com/
I have started to take a look there. As far as I can tell, it doesn't have the contentious debating forum that so many of us love to participate in at LDS Freedom Forum; but, Meridian Magazine has blogs and columnists and editors who are Pro-LDS. From what I can see, it seems to be the perfect place to send a new LDS Convert, where the person can find the support and sustenance that he or she needs as they grow in the Gospel of Christ.
Meanwhile, I have gotten in the habit of backing up my posts on LDS Freedom Forum, because I never know when one of them might just disappear.
Best of Luck and Joy to You All,
Mark My Words
--
http://www.ldsfreedomforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=34486
Saturday, July 19, 2014
Wednesday, July 16, 2014
Archeology and Paleontology
Archeology and
Paleontology:
Hugh Nibley liked to
warn us about the pitfalls of Archeology and Paleontology. They are
inexact sciences. They are filled with tons of personal speculation,
personal interpretation, and guesswork. The archeologists and
paleontologists are presented with a few pieces of the puzzle, and
then they proceed to fill in all the blanks. (Other people do the
same thing with the Callings and Elections made Sure, touching upon
only one piece of the elephant and each touching upon a different
piece of the elephant.)
Hugh Nibley
constantly said that even a first grader can tell you in great detail
all about the cavemen, how they lived, what they ate, what they did,
how they hunted, and so forth. They go ahead filling in all the
blanks using their brilliant imaginations, all the while not knowing
that there were no Neanderthal Cavemen actually living in those caves
but descendants of Adam and Eve painting in those caves instead.
When it comes to
personal speculation, you do NOT want to draw a line in the sand and
then stand behind it for the rest of eternity defending it. You want
to stay mobile and keep constantly adjusting as new information comes
your way.
Last I heard, there
were over 100 different Models or Maps for the Book of Mormon
geography here on the American Continents. What does that tell you?
It tells you that there is a whole pile of personal speculation going
on. And, when it comes to personal speculation, no one person's
guesswork is any better than any other person's guesswork. All of
these different contradictory Models for Book of Mormon geography can
be extremely interesting to look at and study – I have sampled
pieces from many different LDS apologists, and it can be a great deal
of fun; but, I'm not willing to bet my salvation on any one
particular Model actually being complete or 100% true. I have
noticed that they each have interesting things to contribute, things
that I have never thought about before, and some of the things they
present in different Models feel good or plausible or inspirational.
These different geographical Models for the Book of Mormon make the
Book of Mormon authors seem more real to me.
The only real
sadness that I see to any of this is when we find one LDS apologist
actively and openly fighting another LDS apologist, because he has
made his personal speculation a religion and because he is unwilling
to learn, grow, and change his mind as new information comes his way.
When an LDS apologist draws a line in the sand and refuses to go any
further, then that's when personal growth comes to a halt for the
individual.
I have noticed that
some of the LDS apologists have multiple editions of their major
works. What does that tell you? It tells you that they are
adjusting as further information comes their way.
So, it's always good
to me whenever I see intelligent or brilliant Latter-day Saints
refusing to attack and ridicule other LDS apologists, but choosing to
keep an open mind instead. If I understand correctly, to be contrite
means to be teachable, and it's a requirement for salvation and
exaltation in the Celestial Kingdom, no matter how smart we might get
as we travel along the path towards the Tree of Life. I run into
geniuses all the time who seem to be completely blind to some of the
simplest realities of life. If they can be completely blind to
certain things, then we can too.
Tuesday, July 15, 2014
Divine Inequality
Divine
Inequality:
The
younger generation has spent very little time thinking about
Communism or studying Communism. What is Communism? Communism is
enforced equality. Communism is militant atheism or enforced
atheism.
They
will kill you if you refuse to see things the way that they see them.
They will kill you if you refuse to do things the way they do them.
They will kill you if you have more than they do, or appear to have
more than they do.
They
literally killed all of the Doctors and Scientists in Cambodia
because the Doctors and Scientists had more than the rest of the
people had. That's the fruits of enforced equality. Enforced
equality is a Satanic principle. Study Pol Pot and the Killing
Fields to see the fruits of Enforced Equality.
A
lot of time, effort, inspiration, potential, and life can be wasted
by trying to enforce equality. Who is the one who wants us wasting
time, effort, potential, and life? It’s Satan. The drive to
enforce equality does NOT come from God. It comes from Satan.
And,
just because we live in America, we are not automatically immune to
the lures of enforced equality.
Every
generation we always have some kind of equal rights amendment or some
kind of program to make the sexes equal.
In
contrast, God deliberately created us different and unequal, male and
female, for a wise and glorious purpose. This was God’s Plan, to
have us unequal and different. There are many many things that a
woman can do that a man simply cannot do. There are also a couple of
things that a man can do that a woman cannot do. A woman makes for a
rather poor father to emulate, especially for a young man. A woman
doesn’t have the mechanism needed to become a father, either.
Again,
study the Parable of the Talents or the Parable of the Elections.
Notice that some were given 10 Elections. Some were given a couple
of Elections or a few Elections. And, some were only given one
Election or one Talent. Notice that they were created unequal by God
right from the very beginning. God did it this way so that we would
actually have a need for each other. Together, we are greater than
the sum of our unequal parts. Together, we can approach perfection,
fullness, wholeness, unity, or completion. Standing alone, we will
fall.
--
--
Parable
of the Ten Virgins:
The
beauty of a parable is that it can have dozens of different
interpretations, each of which is valid and useful. That's why some
claim that it's useful to have the gift of the Holy Ghost while
studying the parables, because the Holy Ghost will help you to see
other possible and useful interpretations for the very same
parable.
I latched onto the Joseph Smith Translation of the parable of the Ten Virgins, where Joseph equates the Ten Virgins to the Latter-day Saints. I personally took that to mean ALL baptized Latter-day Saints, from 1830 to the Second Coming. What is this Wedding Feast that the Ten Virgins are headed towards? It's the Celestial Kingdom. ALL baptized Latter-day Saints are ELECTED or qualified to go to the Celestial Kingdom (as are children under the age of eight).
Thus, I personally tend to interpret the Parable of the Ten Virgins to mean that, of all the people who are baptized Latter-day Saints (past, present, and future), half of them are going to apostatize, or turn apathetic, or stop keeping the commandments, or not have the Holy Ghost in them when Christ comes. There will be no oil in their lamps when the Bridegroom comes and they will be off doing something else. It's also possible that half of the baptized Latter-day Saints in the spirit world might actually remain in spirit prison, when Christ comes and when the oil-filled Latter-day Saints in Paradise are resurrected from the dead on the Morning of the First Resurrection.
Everyone tends to focus on the half of the Latter-day Saints who aren't going to make it. But, this parable tells us that half of the baptized Latter-day Saints (past, present, and future) will actually make it to the Wedding Feast or the Celestial Kingdom.
I latched onto the Joseph Smith Translation of the parable of the Ten Virgins, where Joseph equates the Ten Virgins to the Latter-day Saints. I personally took that to mean ALL baptized Latter-day Saints, from 1830 to the Second Coming. What is this Wedding Feast that the Ten Virgins are headed towards? It's the Celestial Kingdom. ALL baptized Latter-day Saints are ELECTED or qualified to go to the Celestial Kingdom (as are children under the age of eight).
Thus, I personally tend to interpret the Parable of the Ten Virgins to mean that, of all the people who are baptized Latter-day Saints (past, present, and future), half of them are going to apostatize, or turn apathetic, or stop keeping the commandments, or not have the Holy Ghost in them when Christ comes. There will be no oil in their lamps when the Bridegroom comes and they will be off doing something else. It's also possible that half of the baptized Latter-day Saints in the spirit world might actually remain in spirit prison, when Christ comes and when the oil-filled Latter-day Saints in Paradise are resurrected from the dead on the Morning of the First Resurrection.
Everyone tends to focus on the half of the Latter-day Saints who aren't going to make it. But, this parable tells us that half of the baptized Latter-day Saints (past, present, and future) will actually make it to the Wedding Feast or the Celestial Kingdom.
--
--
Although
it can be fun to run the numbers and to speculate, you don't want to
make a religion out of it or bet the farm on it. God changes His
mind all the time depending upon whether we choose to repent or not,
or depending upon whether we choose to be baptized into the LDS
Church or not, or depending upon whether we choose to sustain the
Brethren or not.
If
all ten virgins repent and keep oil in their lamps, then they will
all be going to the Wedding Feast or the Celestial Kingdom, and the
parable be damned.
God
was going to destroy Ninevah, and God sent Jonah to Ninevah to warn
them. But guess what? They repented, and the city was spared, much
to Jonah's disappointment. Jonah didn't like them and wanted them to
be destroyed, but they repented and God changed His mind.
--
--
Deliberate
rebellion against God the Father, His Plan of Salvation, His Church
or Kingdom, His Ordinances, and His Priesthood is a SIN no matter
when we commit that sin during our existence. One third of the hosts
of Heaven were deliberately guilty of that sin or committed that sin
in the pre-mortal world, and it put an end to their progress.
Rebellion against God and His Kingdom or Church can have serious
consequences.
In
the pre-mortal world, the Brethren were God the Father, Jesus Christ,
and the Holy Ghost. In the pre-mortal world apathy or a refusal to
sustain the Brethren was also a reason why some of them were exiled
from Heaven. A refusal to sustain the Brethren or God's Chosen
Prophets can have eternal consequences as well, no matter when we
chose to go that route during our eternal progression.
Any time we deliberately or knowingly rebel against God, His Kingdom or Church, and His Chosen One, it is a SIN; and, it will put an end to our progress unless we repent.
Some of the more valiant spirits or the great ones were Fore-Ordained to various Gifts or Elections while there in the pre-mortal world. We can rest assured that Mary was fore-ordained to be the mother of the Savior. I feel confident that Elijah in the Bible and Nephi in Helaman 7 were fore-ordained to receive the Sealing Power. Certainly others were fore-ordained to specific Callings, like Moses, Noah, Adam, Abraham, Enoch, Israel, Jesus Christ, and Joseph Smith. Some of them were fore-ordained, Elected, Gifted, or given a prior Election to be Seers in this life. This kind of tells me that they either sinned less or progressed further than I did in the pre-mortal realms.
Any time we deliberately or knowingly rebel against God, His Kingdom or Church, and His Chosen One, it is a SIN; and, it will put an end to our progress unless we repent.
Some of the more valiant spirits or the great ones were Fore-Ordained to various Gifts or Elections while there in the pre-mortal world. We can rest assured that Mary was fore-ordained to be the mother of the Savior. I feel confident that Elijah in the Bible and Nephi in Helaman 7 were fore-ordained to receive the Sealing Power. Certainly others were fore-ordained to specific Callings, like Moses, Noah, Adam, Abraham, Enoch, Israel, Jesus Christ, and Joseph Smith. Some of them were fore-ordained, Elected, Gifted, or given a prior Election to be Seers in this life. This kind of tells me that they either sinned less or progressed further than I did in the pre-mortal realms.
--
--
Equality
is an illusion. It's a man-made concept. Some people have suggested
to me that it is Satan who introduces to us the concept that we each
should be equal carbon-copies of each other, in order to stir up
jealousies within us when we can clearly see that we are not
equal.
We each came to this earth with different Callings and different Elections or Gifts or Fore-Ordinations. Not all of us are going to receive the Sealing Power while we are here in mortality, because we were simply not fore-ordained unto to that particular Election or Gift from God. Not all of us are going to be Dispensation Heads, because only a few of us received that particular Election while in the pre-mortal world.
The idea that we were able to sin and rebel in Heaven, explains lots of things that we see going on around us here in mortality. Some of us progressed further in the pre-mortal life than others did. Some of us will deliberately choose to end our progress or progression while we are here in this mortal life; thus, it's not going to turn out equal in the next life for any of us. Even in the Celestial Kingdom there will be an unequal pecking order, and all of us who go to the Celestial Kingdom will be learning from those who are further along than we are.
We each came to this earth with different Callings and different Elections or Gifts or Fore-Ordinations. Not all of us are going to receive the Sealing Power while we are here in mortality, because we were simply not fore-ordained unto to that particular Election or Gift from God. Not all of us are going to be Dispensation Heads, because only a few of us received that particular Election while in the pre-mortal world.
The idea that we were able to sin and rebel in Heaven, explains lots of things that we see going on around us here in mortality. Some of us progressed further in the pre-mortal life than others did. Some of us will deliberately choose to end our progress or progression while we are here in this mortal life; thus, it's not going to turn out equal in the next life for any of us. Even in the Celestial Kingdom there will be an unequal pecking order, and all of us who go to the Celestial Kingdom will be learning from those who are further along than we are.
Saturday, July 12, 2014
The Sure Thing
Multiple
Callings and Multiple Elections:
It
amazes me how intelligent and cunning Heavenly Father really is. He
won't allow Himself to be mocked or tricked or abused.
We
have all been issued a Calling to come back to Heavenly Father. The
associated Election or the Gift takes place when God grants and
promises the recipient Eternal Life. It's supposed to be a comfort
and a support to the individual, and it's supposed to open a New
Door, New Possibilities, or New Callings that were not possible to
the recipient before the Election or Gift was granted or given. It
becomes truly Sure when the recipient of that particular Election
actually steps into the Celestial Kingdom in the next life instead of
going to Outer Darkness in the next life.
Some
people are so focused on that one particular Gift or Election (the
promise of Eternal Life) that they ignore all the others that God
offers. They are so focused on becoming members of the Church of the
Firstborn, that once they believe that they have achieved that
particular Election then they think that they have graduated from the
LDS Church and no longer need any of the other Blessings or Elections
that God offers to us through the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints. I sometimes wonder if God meant for it to be that
way, in order to test the people's faith, loyalty, and staying power.
Most people can't see that God offers more than one Election or Gift
or Blessing through membership in the Church of Jesus Christ.
So
many people get the one that they want, and then they leave the LDS
Church and leave all of the other Elections and Blessings on the
table fully satisfied that they got the one they wanted and that they
don't need any more Blessings or Callings from God. Remember, there
is more than one sin or shortcoming that Jesus Christ atoned for; and
thus, there is more than one blessing or Election or gift that He
offers to us.
We
have each heard of the people who proudly announce to their Bishop or
Hometeacher that they no longer need to attend the LDS Church and no
longer have to accept any more callings in the LDS Church because
they have had their Calling and Election Made Sure. They can't even
see the fallacy or the flaw in their logic or declaration. They are
confident that they know exactly what they are talking about and have
received from God all that they need to receive. These people have
been tricked by Satan who has gotten them to stop looking for any
more Blessings from God. Satan doesn't want them to have any more
Elections or Blessings from God and will even make their Calling and
Election Sure so that they will stop looking for any more blessings
or gifts from God.
Notice
what happens next each and every time in the LDS Scriptures whenever
a Prophet has an Election Made Sure or is Given a Gift from God. God
issues a New Calling to the individual. Elections open New Doors or
New Possibilities. Every time God gives an individual a Gift, that
newly re-made individual can now do things that were impossible for
him to do before receiving the Election or Gift from God. Every time
God gives a person a Gift or an Election, God expects that person and
Calls that person to go and use that Gift to feed Christ's sheep.
What incentive does God have to give a person a Gift if God knows
that that person has no intention of using that Election or Gift to
feed Christ's Sheep? Study the Parable of the Talents or the Parable
of the Elections. What happens when someone refuses to use a Gift
from God to feed Christ's sheep? That Election or Gift or Talent is
taken away from the individual and given to another individual who
will use the Talent to feed Christ's sheep.
If a
person says that he has had his Calling and Election Made Sure, yet
that person received no New Calling from God and refuses to accept
any new callings in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,
then that serves as a sign that the person either made it all up or
that Satan made that person's Calling and Election Sure. Having
one's Calling and Election made Sure has no value to a person if the
gift came from Satan instead of God. Satan doesn't have the power to
grant anyone Eternal Life or entry into the Celestial Kingdom.
Over
the years, I have noticed some Latter-day Saints go public with the
claim that they have received the Second Comforter. The ones that I
have noticed who have gone public with such a claim are now years
later making the claim that they no longer need the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints, because they have received such a
wonderful Gift or Election from God and have now gone further than
any living LDS Apostle has gone. As I see it though, the recipients
of the Second Comforter should instead be asking, “What's next?”
LDS Theology makes brief mention of a Third Comforter.
Each
Election or Gift from God always opens a New Door to another possible
Calling or Election. The LDS Scriptures counsel us not to be
satisfied with the Gifts or the Elections that we have already
received, and instead, counsel us to seek for even more. We are told
to increase our Talents or to increase our Elections. We are told to
covet the best gifts from God. This applies not only to Spiritual
Gifts but also to the Best Callings and the Best Elections. There is
only one time when it is righteous to covet, and that's when we are
coveting to become even more like God the Father and Jesus Christ.
If you receive an Election or Gift from God, the natural question to
be asking is, “What's next?”
On
various LDS forums and in LDS magazines, there is ongoing talk of a
Second Endowment, a Second Anointing, a Second Washing, a New
Calling, a New Name, and so forth. A simple Google search brings it
all up, so we can see how it is all being ridiculed and mocked and
distorted. I have periodically found myself asking, “Why is God
doubling up and then tripling up on all of these things?” Then I
read of those who have received The Second Comforter, and they have
decided to leave the LDS Church or have been excommunicated from the
LDS Church. I read of others who have received the Second Endowment
or Second Anointing, and then they decide to leave the LDS Church for
whatever reason. Then I suddenly have my answer as to why God is
tripling up on some of these things. Those who don't figure out how
to properly handle or incorporate the Second One will not be around
to receive the Third One.
The
Holy Ghost gives us our First One, of whatever Gift or Election it is
that we receive in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Our next Election in the series is given to us or sealed by Jesus
Christ. The Third One in the series is handled by God the Father.
It's a progression or a ladder. All throughout the process we have
to remain a member of the Church of Jesus Christ, or the progression
comes to an end. If you have received the First One in an Election
or Gift series, you should be asking, “What's next?” If you have
received the Second One in an Election series, then you should be
asking, “What's next?”
It's
all leading towards returning to God the Father. Until you have
entered into the presence of God the Father to remain for the rest of
Eternity, then you are NOT done or finished yet. What did the
Resurrected Jesus Christ have to do before other people were allowed
to touch Him? He had to return to the Presence of God the Father.
Jesus had to be completed or finished by God the Father. In all
things, we are told to do as Jesus Christ has done, including
returning to the presence of God the Father one day for the final
perfecting or the final completion. If that hasn't happened to you
yet, then you are not done; and, you still have need for the Church
of Jesus Christ. It might not need you, but you still need it.
Let
me ask you a simple question. Have you stood in the presence of God
the Father in a resurrected body and been completed or finished or
perfected by God the Father? If not, then you are NOT done yet; and
therefore, you still have need for the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints. The truth is simple and plain. The Third
Comforter, the Third Endowment, the Third Anointing, and the Third
Election in any Election Series all take place in the Presence of God
the Father. God the Father is the one who will complete you or
finish you and make you perfect. With maybe the exception of the
Third Comforter, all of these other “Third Elections” are only
available after we have been resurrected from the dead. It's one
thing to have the Holy Ghost or Jesus Christ promise you Eternal
Life; but, it's a whole other ballgame when God the Father actually
gives you Eternal Life.
My
advice is not to apostatize from the LDS Church, until after you have
received all of the possible Elections or Blessings from God that you
can get through membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints, and know for sure that all of them are yours for
the rest of Eternity. Don't jump over the cliff until you know that
you have a safe place to land. You want to make Sure that you don't
leave any Blessings or Elections behind when you decide to pack it
all in and go someplace else. There's only one problem. How can you
really be sure that you have received all of the Blessings and Gifts
and Elections that God has available to give you through His Church,
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints? How can you be sure
that you are not leaving something valuable behind when you decide to
leave the LDS Church and never come back?
Remember,
every day in the spirit world, people willingly and eagerly join the
Church of Jesus Christ so that they can move from Spirit Prison into
Paradise. Even they have a need for membership in the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, even though they are no longer
mortal. Remember, you are still going to have a need for your LDS
Ordinances, LDS Temple Blessings, LDS Priesthood, and LDS Covenants
long after you are dead and have found yourself in the spirit world.
Any other Elections or Gifts from God that you have received from God
will come in handy too, while you are in the spirit world, unless you
have deliberately walked away from them in this life.
Scriptures
to Consider:
2
Nephi 29: 9: 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.
Likening
this Scripture unto This Topic:
2
Nephi 29: 9: And I do this that I may prove unto many that I am the
same yesterday, today, and forever; and that I give forth my Gifts
and Elections according to mine own pleasure. And because that I
have given one Election ye need not suppose that I cannot give
another Election; for my work is not yet finished; neither shall it
be until the end of man when he is no longer a mortal man but a
Resurrected God, neither from that time henceforth and forever.
The
Summation:
2
Nephi 31: 15-21:
15
And I heard a voice from the Father, saying: Yea, the words of my
Beloved are true and faithful. He that endureth to the end, the same
shall be saved.
16
And now, my beloved brethren, I know by this that unless a man shall
endure to the end, in following the example of the Son of the living
God, he cannot be saved.
17
Wherefore, do the things which I have told you I have seen that your
Lord and your Redeemer should do; for, for this cause have they been
shown unto me, that ye might know the gate by which ye should enter.
For the gate by which ye should enter is repentance and baptism by
water; and then cometh a remission of your sins by fire and by the
Holy Ghost.
18
And then are ye in this strait and narrow path which leads to eternal
life; yea, ye have entered in by the gate; ye have done according to
the commandments of the Father and the Son; and ye have received the
Holy Ghost, which witnesses of the Father and the Son, unto the
fulfilling of the promise which he hath made, that if ye entered in
by the way ye should receive.
19
And now, my beloved brethren, after ye have gotten into this strait
and narrow path, I would ask if all is done? Behold, I say unto you,
Nay; for ye have not come thus far save it were by the word of Christ
with unshaken faith in him, relying wholly upon the merits of him who
is mighty to save.
20
Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ,
having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all
men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of
Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye
shall have eternal life.
21
And now, behold, my beloved brethren, this is the way; and there is
none other way nor name given under heaven whereby man can be saved
in the kingdom of God. And now, behold, this is the doctrine of
Christ, and the only and true doctrine of the Father, and of the Son,
and of the Holy Ghost, which is one God, without end. Amen.
It's
one thing when the Holy Ghost tells you that you are going to have
Eternal Life. It's another thing when Jesus Christ tells you that
you are going to have Eternal Life. It's a Third Thing when God the
Father tells you that you are going to have Eternal Life. But, it's
a Sure Thing when God the Father actually gives you Eternal Life.
Best wishes to all,
Mark My Words
--
--
Doubling and
Tripling Elections:
Whenever God the
Father starts doubling up on and then tripling up on a single
Election, then we know that God is trying to make that Election Sure.
God is trying to perfect it. God is trying to perfect it in our
lives. God is trying to make that Election an integral part of who
and what we really are.
There's a
progression going on here, like climbing a ladder to Heaven. One
Election leads to the Next One, which leads to the Next One. And,
all the Elections or Gifts from God lead to God the Father. You have
to choose to climb the ladder to the Celestial Kingdom, and choose to
keep climbing, or you will never reach the top of the ladder.
The Elections build
upon each other. The current Election builds upon the previous
Election, which builds upon the previous Election. You start with a
proper foundation, and then you keep building until you have built
your own Mansion in Heaven. The sad truth is that you can choose to
stop building anywhere along the way, and thus your Mansion in the
Celestial Kingdom will never be built.
There's nothing
strange or new about any of this. This is the way God has been
operating all along. Jesus Christ has told us all about it in the
LDS Scriptures. It's there for those who are willing to look and
see. The only thing strange is that people are unable to see it,
mostly because they don't want to see it.
It seems to me that
half of the Latter-day Saints are trying to figure out how to get
excommunicated from the LDS Church rather than trying to figure out
how to make their next Election Sure.
Friday, July 11, 2014
LDS Freedom Forum
LDS
Freedom Forum:
I
have spent five months posting on LDS Freedom Forum. I didn't know
what I was getting into at the time. I was surprised at the negative
response I received when I first started posting. I was trying to
resist the anti-LDS bias on LDS Freedom Forum, or at least trying to
provide a contrasting point of view. My mistake!
Over
time, with the help of a few friends on LDS Freedom Forum, I came to
see that LDS Freedom Forum is a misnomer.
The
majority of the forum regulars and moderators on LDS Freedom Forum
are excommunicated Latter-day Saints, non-LDS, Jack Mormons, or
people on the verge of disciplinary action in the LDS Church. The
active Latter-day Saints who try to defend the Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints or the Brethren are vigorously ridiculed and
persecuted. There's really nothing LDS about LDS Freedom Forum.
LDS
Freedom Forum has some of the most abusive and mean moderators that I
have ever encountered on the internet. If you don't like the
anti-LDS stance of the moderators or the forum regulars, the
moderators will invite you to leave and go someplace else. The
active Latter-day Saints are not free to defend the Brethren or the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and the Latter-day
Saints are not free to discuss the Gospel of Christ without
concentrated ridicule from the forum regulars and some of the
moderators. There is nothing liberating about LDS Freedom Forum,
unless you are an LDS apostate or an excommunicated Latter-day Saint.
The
moderators discipline and abuse and intimidate in public, instead of
in private messaging, like it should be done. The moderators issue
their demands to shut up and go away in public. Then, if the
moderators are ever called on it, then they just delete their posts
and deny that it ever happened. Meanwhile, they twist the words of
the patrons, post that, and then use that as a reason to chastise or
ban the participant that they don't like.
If
the participants who have been chastised in public by a moderator
respond in kind, then their messages are just deleted by the
moderator, and they are issued a warning by the moderator. It has
proven to be a very unpleasant environment for me and for my friends.
Most everyone that I have corresponded with in LDS Freedom Forum has
eventually written me a message telling me why they decided to leave
LDS Freedom Forum and not come back, assuming that they weren't
already banned from the forum. Their reasons for leaving are
summarized in this message. I still have Private Messages out there
that were never delivered; and, I learned later that the person had
been banned for life from the forum.
The
only part of LDS Freedom Forum that fits with the name is the fact
that it seems to be a forum.
This
past week or so, I realized that it would be impossible to gain a
testimony of Jesus Christ and the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints on LDS Freedom Forum. The forum doesn't cater to
such a thing.
The
only thing I think I could get from the moderators and the forum
regulars on LDS Freedom Forum is a desire or a reason to apostatize
from the LDS Church.
All
of my friends and all of the people that I learned to trust on LDS
Freedom Forum have been banned for life, or have left in disgust, or
are too afraid to post. Some of them are not even responding to the
Private Messages that I sent them. They are gone. I see no evidence
that they intend to ever come back. The most recent thread I started
has now been locked; so now it can fade away into oblivion as well.
It's
also getting kind of boring over there on LDS Freedom Forum, unless
you like Flame Wars. Most of the good, fun, enjoyable, and
interesting LDS people have been banned or have been told to shut up
and go away. A few of the others are just too afraid to post. It's
an intimidating environment in which to start up a conversation. I
think there is only one thread left that even interests me, and it
was started by the nicest moderator of the bunch, and there is little
or no activity in the thread. I can just copy the few pages to my
hard drive, and come back in a couple of months to see if anything
has changed.
LDS
Freedom Forum has proven to be a nasty, unfriendly place; and, the
great shame is that the forum uses the term LDS in it's name giving
the incorrect impression that it is an LDS forum. There's really
nothing free or liberating about the forum either, because one is not
permitted to oppose the LDS Apostates and their doctrines. In my
humble opinion, if it is going to keep the LDS claim in its name,
then it really should be more accurately called the LDS Apostate
Forum. It should be called what it is and not what it
ain't.
Anyway, I'm no longer reading the LDS Freedom Forum. I'm taking a break from it all, until after I have gotten some more important things done. I'm just responding to email and personal messages that I have received through the forum. My life will be better if I'm not reading the rot and contention that goes on there, and just refuse to get embroiled in it.
Anyway, I'm no longer reading the LDS Freedom Forum. I'm taking a break from it all, until after I have gotten some more important things done. I'm just responding to email and personal messages that I have received through the forum. My life will be better if I'm not reading the rot and contention that goes on there, and just refuse to get embroiled in it.
I
think the only good thing I got from LDS Freedom forum is a desire to
read and study the LDS Scriptures and the Gospel of Christ. I
haven't had any desire to do that for a many years now. So, while
attempting to defend the Latter-day Saints on LDS Freedom Forum, it
gave me a desire to study the LDS Church and the LDS Scriptures. I
have learned a lot of things that I didn't know before, while trying
to defend the Gospel of Christ against the ongoing attacks it is
receiving at LDS Freedom Forum. For the first time in my life, the
process of trying to defend the LDS Church has given me a desire and
the courage necessary to proudly declare that I am a Latter-day Saint
and a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
That's probably the best thing that I got from LDS Freedom Forum. It
wasn't all wasted time.
Mark My Words
Wednesday, July 9, 2014
The Deceivers and the Deceived.
The Deceivers and
the Deceived:
I was talking with
an LDS friend about this subject. The person opened my eyes to a few
things that I had never been able to see before. I noticed that the
person is right because it conforms with what I have observed online;
and, the Spirit told me that the person is right.
Whenever Gospel
Subjects are being discussed online or in person, there are three
types of people that you will encounter.
The first type of
person that you can encounter is the Seer. This person has seen
Heaven and the Spirit World and knows exactly what's going on there.
This person has seen the mind and the will of God, and thus this
person sees things the way that God sees them. This person has a
sure knowledge of the Truth. I see and experience some of that in
the writings and revelations of Joseph Smith. There are also
occasional times when I encounter the writings or sermons of LDS
Apostles and some of the Seventy who seem to have been given a peek
behind the Curtain and know how things really are in Heaven and how
things really work in Heaven. Some of them seem to know the mind of
God and God's will concerning a wide variety of subjects. They have
Seen.
The next group that
you can encounter are the deceived. The baptized Latter-day Saints,
many of the LDS Apostates, the atheists, the agnostics, and the
non-LDS typically fit into this category.
The deceived can be
like Saul, who truly and sincerely believed that he was doing God's
work by killing the Christians. Saul believed that he was serving
God whenever he killed a Christian. There are many people out there
in the world who truly believe that they are serving God and doing
God's work whenever they try to destroy the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints. They are good sincere people doing what they
believe God wants them to do.
There is another
group of the deceived that I like to call the “rank and file”
Latter-day Saints. These are people like me. Throughout our lives
we have periodically been taught false doctrines and false ideas, and
have come to believe that they are true. Thus, we will go online and
sincerely preach lies and false doctrines all the while believing
that they are true, because we don't know any better. When someone
tells me that I have lied or that I need to retract some lie, I have
no idea what they are talking about, because I can't see where I was
lying. I'm just telling people what I have been taught and what I
believe to be true. I can't see the falsehood unless somebody kindly
points it out to me.
The non-LDS, the
Atheists, the Agnostics, and so forth are another group of the
deceived.
I have noticed that
most people on LDS Freedom Forum fit within the classification of the
deceived. We are each going along doing the best we can, telling it
as we see it, and getting it wrong some of the time. We are the
blind leading the blind, because NONE of us are Seers. But, since I
have gotten the sense that there are NO Seers participating on LDS
Freedom Forum, nobody who really knows God's mind and nobody who
really knows how things are there in Heaven, I have been instructed
to patiently allow people to make their mistakes and try to correct
them where appropriate in a kinder and more pleasing manner than I
have been doing.
There's a third
group that we can encounter, and that's the deceivers. These people
know the truth and they know the true doctrines of Christ, yet they
deliberately choose to spread lies, false Doctrines, and falsehoods
instead. They have chosen Satan as their god instead of Jesus
Christ; yet, they will pretend to be servants of Christ and Prophets
of Christ all the while mixing lies and false interpretations into
the LDS Scriptures while quoting the LDS Scriptures. These people
are the anti-Christs. They take the truth and twist it to serve
their agenda; and, their agenda is typically to lead people away from
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
I have periodically
been asked why I chose to participate on LDS Freedom Forum. I have
noticed that LDS Freedom forum is packed with disgruntled Latter-day
Saints, deceived Latter-day Saints, Control Freaks, People Looking
for a Friend, uneducated Latter-day Saints, LDS converts, LDS
Apostates, Agnostics, Repentant Sinners, non-LDS scholars, unhappy
people, confused people, depressed people, excitable people, sincere
people, and people looking for a better way. These people are like
me. I am them, and they are me. I have been where some of them are.
I have been in hell, and I want to try to help them to get out of
hell if I can.
I also want to try
to help them to avoid the deceivers, because I would have been in a
heck of a mess if I had started to take instruction from deceivers
instead of the active Latter-day Saints, during my withdrawal from
drugs and my recovery and reactivation. At the time, I was extremely
vulnerable to deception, because I hadn't yet found my current group
of LDS friends whom I have learned to trust. You don't want to fall
into the hands of a deceiver while you are trying to find God.
Falling into the hands of the deceived who are sincerely trying to
help you will serve you fine enough; but, falling into the hands of a
deceiver will bring you a whole new round of hell.
While I was going
through the recovery process, I prayed and asked God who I could go
to in order to get instruction from God and not be led astray. The
names of a few Latter-day Saints in the ward repeatedly came to mind,
one in particular. It has now been confirmed dozens of times that I
had indeed received a revelation from God. I was told where to go to
get the lessons and the instruction that I needed and desired from
God.
Some people have
asked me why I write such long posts. I learn by writing. I often
receive revelations and insights from God while writing. That's just
the way it works for me. So, when I write and post, I want it to be
something that has some substance or meat to it. Therefore, my posts
are not short. If I pick a topic to discuss, I like to cover it in
full, if possible. I like to write whatever God is willing to give
me to write.
I can also testify
that it is infinitely more effective to discuss the Gospel in person
face-to-face than it is do to it online. Where two or more people
are gathered together in person in Christ's Name, the Spirit can
actually be there to testify whenever truth is being spoken. You
usually can't get that kind of thing online through the written word,
because many of the people online are not gathered there in Christ's
Name. They have their own agenda instead.
I can also testify
that it has been extremely helpful to attend the LDS Church on
Sundays, especially after having not done so for over a decade.
My message is to
look to the LDS Prophet, the LDS Apostles, and the LDS General
Authorities for the Gospel Knowledge that you seek. My message is to
find some active Latter-day Saint in your ward that you can learn to
trust and actually learn from. Some of them are Prophets and Seers
and Revelators. It might be possible to find a Prophet, Seer, and
Revelator in your own ward. My message is not to let anyone lead you
away from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Tuesday, July 8, 2014
The Apostate
The Apostate:
If you follow me, then you are going to go to hell with me where I have spent a great deal of time in recent years. I'm trying to prevent people from going where I have gone. I apostatized from God and from the LDS Church. I can testify first-hand that it is no place you want to go. It is hell.
Look to the current LDS Prophet. Look to the current LDS Apostles. In this there is safety and peace.
--
I wrote this to BrianM, the Owner of LDS Freedom Forum:
I signed up for this forum (LDS Freedom Forum) as MegaManToo back when I was going through withdrawal and first started attending the LDS Church. My intention was to lurk, which is what I did for a year. Meanwhile, I was converted to the Gospel while attending Church and making friends with some Latter-day Saints. Then when Denver Snuffer and people on this forum started publicly attacking the LDS General Authorities, I knew they were wrong, and I couldn't remain in hiding any longer. I chose to champion the Brethren because nobody else seemed to be doing so at the time. After all, the local Brethren in my ward had been extremely kind to me during my recovery, and they didn't deserve the kinds of attacks that they were indirectly receiving here on LDS Freedom Forum.
After I accomplished that mission to my satisfaction, and as my testimony grew, I realized that I actually wanted to engage in some of the Gospel Discussions here on this forum; and, I thought it was insincere and disingenuous to do it anonymously, so I created an account under my own name, with the intention of letting the MegaManToo account and the Denver Snuffer issue just simply die. And, it was all dead for me for about a month, until people started resurrecting it again and commenting on what I had written as MegaManToo.
I have re-engaged to provide the clarification that I have been asked to provide, but I keep stating my intention to withdraw from the Denver Snuffer debate, which I still intend to do. I want to let Denver Snuffer and MegaManToo die. Over and over again, I keep saying that my intention is to just fade away into the sunset.
Meanwhile, the new convert to the LDS Church continues to function under his own name, which is the way that I now believe that it should be. I'm no longer hiding from the Latter-day Saints like I was a couple of years ago when I signed up as MegaManToo.
Mark My Words
--
BrianM (the owner of LDS Freedom Forum) told me that he was fine with people having more than one user account on LDS Freedom Forum.
--
Hindsight is 20/20. I can see now that it was unwise to create two separate user accounts; but at the time, it seemed like the correct and proper thing to do.
--
I hadn't gone to Church for over a decade, when I became addicted to many different prescription drugs.
When I was working through the withdrawal symptoms, I went back to the LDS Church on a dare from my wife. I didn't believe in God, religion, or the afterlife at the time. I had fallen so far that I didn't even know how to turn on the television anymore. Nothing seemed real to me. I later found out that the Psychiatrists had diagnosed me as having a drug-induced Schizophrenia. I was Schizophrenic, but were fine now.
It was subsequent to this time, after I had basically completed the withdrawal process and was starting to think logically again, that I signed up as MegaManToo on LDS Freedom Forum.
I was trying to figure out who and what I was. Marjorie Conder helped me to realize that I was a Cultural Mormon at the time. That's a term that I identified with for nearly a year as I worked through the withdrawal process and the reactivation process.
Am I angry at the Doctors for getting me addicted to sleeping pills, benzos, anti-psychotics, anti-depressants, proton-pump inhibitors, and hormone treatments?
No.
They were only trying to help me at the time. I had a severe physical illness at the same time that they were trying to help me to cope with the associated mental illnesses. I think they each did the best that they could, given what they had to work with.
Looking back at that point in time as I hit rock bottom, I can see that I had all of the Doctors confused and stumped. They didn't know how to help me, even though they wanted to help me; and, I came close to dying a few times. It was as confusing for me as it was for them.
--
Ever since the Internet started, I have signed up all over the Internet under different anonymous handles. Why did I sign up anonymously? I intended to create chaos, destruction, and carnage everywhere I went. I intended to pwn them. I have been a very bad boy during my time.
As far as I know, the LDS Freedom Forum is the first and only forum where I actually created a user account under my own name. My intention was to repent of my evil ways, and I thought that using my own name would make my messages more genuine, sincere, and real. I have to freely admit that functioning under my own name is new to me and foreign to me. I have been forced to learn to do things in a different way. It's not natural for me to resist going on the attack; but, I'm getting much better at it, as some of my more recent posts on LDS Freedom Forum might attest.
http://www.ldsfreedomforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=34268
I still have a couple of messages to finish and post under the MegaManToo handle, but I have been in no real hurry to do so. Other things have intervened and taken precedence. Instead, I have taken to blogging under my own name.
http://ofgodandgoddesses.blogspot.com/
http://allwomenordained.blogspot.com/
Forgive me Father, for I have sinned.
Mark My Words
If you follow me, then you are going to go to hell with me where I have spent a great deal of time in recent years. I'm trying to prevent people from going where I have gone. I apostatized from God and from the LDS Church. I can testify first-hand that it is no place you want to go. It is hell.
Look to the current LDS Prophet. Look to the current LDS Apostles. In this there is safety and peace.
--
I wrote this to BrianM, the Owner of LDS Freedom Forum:
I signed up for this forum (LDS Freedom Forum) as MegaManToo back when I was going through withdrawal and first started attending the LDS Church. My intention was to lurk, which is what I did for a year. Meanwhile, I was converted to the Gospel while attending Church and making friends with some Latter-day Saints. Then when Denver Snuffer and people on this forum started publicly attacking the LDS General Authorities, I knew they were wrong, and I couldn't remain in hiding any longer. I chose to champion the Brethren because nobody else seemed to be doing so at the time. After all, the local Brethren in my ward had been extremely kind to me during my recovery, and they didn't deserve the kinds of attacks that they were indirectly receiving here on LDS Freedom Forum.
After I accomplished that mission to my satisfaction, and as my testimony grew, I realized that I actually wanted to engage in some of the Gospel Discussions here on this forum; and, I thought it was insincere and disingenuous to do it anonymously, so I created an account under my own name, with the intention of letting the MegaManToo account and the Denver Snuffer issue just simply die. And, it was all dead for me for about a month, until people started resurrecting it again and commenting on what I had written as MegaManToo.
I have re-engaged to provide the clarification that I have been asked to provide, but I keep stating my intention to withdraw from the Denver Snuffer debate, which I still intend to do. I want to let Denver Snuffer and MegaManToo die. Over and over again, I keep saying that my intention is to just fade away into the sunset.
Meanwhile, the new convert to the LDS Church continues to function under his own name, which is the way that I now believe that it should be. I'm no longer hiding from the Latter-day Saints like I was a couple of years ago when I signed up as MegaManToo.
Mark My Words
--
BrianM (the owner of LDS Freedom Forum) told me that he was fine with people having more than one user account on LDS Freedom Forum.
--
Hindsight is 20/20. I can see now that it was unwise to create two separate user accounts; but at the time, it seemed like the correct and proper thing to do.
--
I hadn't gone to Church for over a decade, when I became addicted to many different prescription drugs.
When I was working through the withdrawal symptoms, I went back to the LDS Church on a dare from my wife. I didn't believe in God, religion, or the afterlife at the time. I had fallen so far that I didn't even know how to turn on the television anymore. Nothing seemed real to me. I later found out that the Psychiatrists had diagnosed me as having a drug-induced Schizophrenia. I was Schizophrenic, but were fine now.
It was subsequent to this time, after I had basically completed the withdrawal process and was starting to think logically again, that I signed up as MegaManToo on LDS Freedom Forum.
I was trying to figure out who and what I was. Marjorie Conder helped me to realize that I was a Cultural Mormon at the time. That's a term that I identified with for nearly a year as I worked through the withdrawal process and the reactivation process.
Am I angry at the Doctors for getting me addicted to sleeping pills, benzos, anti-psychotics, anti-depressants, proton-pump inhibitors, and hormone treatments?
No.
They were only trying to help me at the time. I had a severe physical illness at the same time that they were trying to help me to cope with the associated mental illnesses. I think they each did the best that they could, given what they had to work with.
Looking back at that point in time as I hit rock bottom, I can see that I had all of the Doctors confused and stumped. They didn't know how to help me, even though they wanted to help me; and, I came close to dying a few times. It was as confusing for me as it was for them.
--
Ever since the Internet started, I have signed up all over the Internet under different anonymous handles. Why did I sign up anonymously? I intended to create chaos, destruction, and carnage everywhere I went. I intended to pwn them. I have been a very bad boy during my time.
As far as I know, the LDS Freedom Forum is the first and only forum where I actually created a user account under my own name. My intention was to repent of my evil ways, and I thought that using my own name would make my messages more genuine, sincere, and real. I have to freely admit that functioning under my own name is new to me and foreign to me. I have been forced to learn to do things in a different way. It's not natural for me to resist going on the attack; but, I'm getting much better at it, as some of my more recent posts on LDS Freedom Forum might attest.
http://www.ldsfreedomforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=34268
I still have a couple of messages to finish and post under the MegaManToo handle, but I have been in no real hurry to do so. Other things have intervened and taken precedence. Instead, I have taken to blogging under my own name.
http://ofgodandgoddesses.blogspot.com/
http://allwomenordained.blogspot.com/
Forgive me Father, for I have sinned.
Mark My Words
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