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GT 16

The Purpose of Demons

This is a subject of some controversy as well as the need of appropriate sensitivity. It is not a subject for experimentation or curiosity. The following is provided for the sake of important insight into the dual positive/negative role these spirits play in the plan of salvation.

 

Consequently, according to our clinical experience on the subject and as a apparent rule of thumb, each person who arrives in mortality has assigned to them a regular number of five evil spirits or demons. Mortals may acquire many more than this original number as they become increasingly useful to Satan through disobedience to eternal laws. However, five evil spirits seem to be standard procedure and allotment. Each demon has an assignment relative to the existing or potential weaknesses of their assigned mortal subjects.

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There are also other demons that roam the earth looking to cause mischief and may be assigned to show up at particular times in a person’s history for which Satan has some particular anticipation relative to his knowledge of us from the pre-mortal existence. These special assignment demonic spirits are more cunning and powerful. They are also the sort that may be involved in human possession.

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A person who is honest and doing his/her best to live the commandments will not attract additional evil spirits but may be invisibly challenged by them at one or more critical junctures in life.

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The purpose of demons and the reason that the Lord allows them to be assigned to us has to do with the principle of “opposition in all things” (2 Ne. 2:10-11). They take an active part in seeing that each mortal is tempted and tried. When we give into temptation, they gain power over us, and in the process our spirits become weak and unclean.

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The purpose of demons as far as Satan is concerned, is to drag us down to misery and woe, to addiction and negative passions, to self-destruction and to be a source of harm to others. Their purpose as far as the Lord is concerned is to bring our weaknesses to our attention so that we will take our weaknesses to the Lord for assistance in getting rid of them (the weaknesses). By so doing consistently we also rid ourselves of the demons assigned to us. The Lord says:

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And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my  grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them (Ether 12:27).

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It is the power of the Atonement that subdues our weaknesses and turns them into strengths. And it is the repentant broken heart and contrite spirit and personal covenants to do better that taps into the power of the Atonement. When this happens the work of one or more demons is thwarted and they lose power over us. As we conquer each weakness that the forces of opposition articulate in us, they lose their hold entirely and must leave us. However, until they are banished by our righteousness, they still have a right to be there and do their job. Our sins are the “hook” that allows them to be with us.

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There are people who go around teaching other people how to get rid of evil spirits. This generally provides the demons with some amusement and has just the opposite effect—it attracts them. As a rule, the only way to get rid of demons is to get rid of the weakness or sinful “hook” that allows or facilitates their presence and influence. The exercise of the Savior’s Atonement and the Melchizedek priesthood are the important and necessary factors. There are rare occasions in which the Lord may direct for an evil spirit to be cast out of a person or the sin/hook removed such that the demon related to that hook is released and expelled [There is an NG Process for this that may only be used as directed by the Lord (e.g. SHRRP].

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Though Lucifer succeeds in keeping most people out of the Celestial Kingdom, it is also Lucifer, much to his consternation, that provides the opposition that serves to perfect the sanctified who will have eternal increase, worlds without end.

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One other important note about Satan. There are those who suppose that the context he provides to supply the necessary opposition for perfecting the righteous, somehow makes him a good guy. This is a popular New Age belief. Nothing could be further from the truth. The most heinous atrocities and abominations perpetrated on mankind, including upon children, are done under his direct supervision. This creation is the most evil of all of Heavenly Father’s creations and he is surely the main reason why. We pray for the day when he is bound.

And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD’S (Obad. 1:21).

GT17

                                                               Saviors on Mount Zion

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The need, benefit and blessings associated with the various aspects of genealogical research and attendant temple work are well enough understood so as to not require being detailed here. Such activities, particularly as led by the Spirit of the Lord, are a definite factor in the Savior on Mount Zion definition and equation.

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What is often missed with respect to the Savior on Mount Zion concept and principle is its extent. Though genealogical activities and related temple work can be challenging, this is only one side of the coin. Intercession and bearing of burdens for both the living and the dead represent the rest of the equation. Such activities require a high personal level of Light and Truth as well as regular direction from the Lord (see also GT 9: Bearing of Burdens).

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When we are in a willing and sanctified spiritual state the Lord may use us in the role of Saviors on Mount Zion as He sees fit. In this role we receive periodic stewardships under the direction of His Spirit. This will include church callings but will consist of other things as the Spirit identifies and directs. This is a matter of consecration and doing the will of the Lord—which is the “meat” of the gospel (see GT 12: Milk vs Meat).

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This service will be unique to us according to our callings and commissions from the premortal realm and also pertains to the changing conditions of our directed spiritual mortal life path. Being a Savior on Mount Zion means not only to bear and lighten burdens but also breaking chains, particularly those of our ancestors.

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Ancestral chains to be dealt with will generally begin with the negative propensities we have inherited and show up in our own conduct. However, as we work our way through these negative behaviors relying upon and applying the Atonement, we shall in time find ourselves dealing with a variety of behavioral issues that are not as much characteristic of ourselves but of others.

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In order to clear negative behavior energy and habits from our ancestors we will be taking on emotional and spiritual issues that may not have affected us directly. However these chains remain in the family line/energy field affecting other siblings and/or posterity and one or more of our children. These are, therefore, worthy of our attention and our burden-carrying and chain-breaking efforts as directed by the Spirit of the Lord. Clearing negative habits and their associated energies from our ancestral and mortal family field by interceding on their behalf has immense benefits for the living and future posterity. It is by this means that we truly become proxy saviors to them (e.g. our stewardships)—in other words, Saviors on Mount Zion.

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The stewardships that the Lord gives the earnest seekers and sanctified servants will include intercessory prayers and bearing burdens for family, friends and sometimes strangers. These personal Savior on Mount Zion service stewardships are generally transitory and will evolve and adjust according to the Lord’s wisdom and to our capacity and ongoing circumstances. They may include church callings but do not require them. Our covenant path of sanctification will be unique to ourselves and require regular personal revelation. The most important work that we do in this regard will likely be anonymous, without fanfare, recognition, worldly or cultural glory. The payoff is peace, power and salvation.

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In the course of performing our stewardships as Saviors on Mount Zion we may also provide some of the Lord’s children with the opportunity to repent, to which they may choose not to avail themselves. In this sense we are or will become judges of those people who will include some who, like Esau, have sold their birthright for a mess of worldly pottage.

GT18

Strait is the gate and narrow is the way... and few there be that find it (3 Ne 27:33).

Scriptures Pertaining to the “Rest of the Lord”

                                            

​When we have entered into the rest of the Lord we have, through extensive repentance, entered into the glory of the Lord and may then rest from all temptation and sin—Satan has no more hold on us. This state of being is the result of calling and election. Following are some pertinent scriptural references:

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3 Ne 27:19, 20: And no unclean thing can enter into his kingdom; therefore nothing entereth into his rest save it be those who have washed their garments in my blood, because of their faith, and the repentance of all their sins, and their faithfulness unto the end… that ye may stand spotless before me at the last day.

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Alma 13:12 Now they, after being sanctified by the Holy Ghost, having their garments made white, being pure and spotless before God, could not look upon sin save it were with  abhorrence; and there were many, exceedingly great many, who were made pure and entered into the rest of the Lord their God.

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D&C 84: 23-24: Now this Moses plainly taught to the children of Israel in the wilderness, and sought diligently to sanctify his people that they might behold the face of God; But they hardened their hearts and could not endure his presence; therefore, the Lord in his wrath, for his anger was kindled against them, swore that they should not enter into his rest while in the wilderness, which rest is the fulness of his glory.

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Hebrews 3:7-11: Wherefore as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice, Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness: When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years. Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways. So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.

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Hebrews 4:9-13: There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.

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Alma 12:33-37: But God did call on men, in the name of his Son, (this being the plan of redemption which was laid) saying: If ye will repent, and harden not your hearts, then will I have mercy upon you, through mine Only Begotten Son; Therefore, whosoever repenteth, and hardeneth not his heart, he shall have claim on mercy through mine Only Begotten Son, unto a remission of his sins; and these shall enter into my rest. And whosoever will harden his heart and will do iniquity, behold, I swear in my wrath that he shall not enter into my rest. And now, my brethren, behold I say unto you, that if ye will harden your hearts ye shall not enter into the rest of the Lord; therefore your iniquity provoketh him that he sendeth down his wrath upon you as in the first provocation, yea, according to his word in the last provocation as well as the first, to the everlasting destruction of your souls; therefore, according to his word, unto the last death, as well as the first. And now, my brethren, seeing we know these things, and they are true, let us repent, and harden not our hearts, that we provoke not the Lord our God to pull down his wrath upon us in these his second commandments [refers to the gospel commandments of the Nephite dispensation] which he has given unto us; but let us enter into the  rest of God, which is prepared according to his word.

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Alma 13:14-18: Yea, humble yourselves even as the people in the days of a Melchizedek, who was also a high priest after this same order which I have spoken, who also took upon him the high priesthood forever. And it was this same Melchizedek to whom Abraham paid tithes; yea, even our father Abraham paid tithes of one-tenth part of all he possessed. Now these  ordinances were given after this manner, that thereby the people might look forward on the Son of God, it being a type of his order, or it being his order, and this that they might look forward to him for a remission of their sins, that they might enter into the rest of the Lord. Now this Melchizedek was a king over the land of Salem; and his people had waxed strong in iniquity and abomination; yea, they had all gone astray; they were full of all manner of wickedness; But Melchizedek having exercised mighty faith, and received the office of the high priesthood according to the holy order of God, did preach repentance unto his people. And behold, they did repent; and Melchizedek did establish peace in the land in his days; therefore he was called the prince of peace, for he was the king of Salem; and he did reign under his father. Now, there were a many before him, and also there were many afterwards, but none were greater; therefore, of him they have more particularly made mention.

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It is interesting to note that the prophets link the subject of hardening of the heart, or not, as a key factor in entering into the rest of the Lord. It is those who have soft and broken hearts and contrite spirits that can receive the gifts of the redemptive power of Christ’s atonement. It is those who harden not their hearts and do not, therefore, resist the whisperings of the Spirit of the Lord for their lives. These have taken the Spirit for their guide, repented of their sins and are not deceived by the narratives of the world and the subtleties and sophistries of Satan (see Alma 13:28, D&C 45:56-57).

CT20

Let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God; and the doctrine of the priesthood shall distil upon thy soul as the dews from heaven (D&C 121:45).

Dews of Heaven, Doctrines of the Priesthood

  1. The Premortal Realm & the Plan

    • There was a premortal existence which still exists for those who have not yet come to mortality (Abr. 3:22-26).

    • There was only one Plan and it has been used in countless creations before (Alma 42:5, D&C 138:55-56).

    • The objective of the Father’s Plan was to make His creations in His own image and to enable us to become like Him (Gen. 1:27, Moses 1:39, Mosiah 7:27).

    • The human creation consisted of only male and female (Gen. 1:27, 2:24, Mark 10:6, D&C 20:18).

    • Marriage between a man and a woman is the only ordained and approved intimate relationship between the two genders (Gen. 2:24, Matt. 19:4-6, Mark 10:7-9, Eph. 5:31-33).

    • Satan’s alternative plan, the nullification of human agency, was an alternative and defective plan (Moses 4:1-4, Abr. 3:27, D&C 29:36-37).

    • Satan was very intelligent but in the way of cunning. He erroneously supposed he could ascend to be like the Most High God while contradicting eternal principles of progression (Abr. 3:27, Isa. 14:13-14).

    • In terms of earth time we do not know how long we were there, but we do know that we lived with Heavenly Father and that there were opportunities to learn (Alma 13:3, Abr. 3:26).

    • We also know that the degree to which we applied ourselves to learning has benefited us here in our 2nd estate (Abr. 3:22-23).

    • The personal character we bring to earth life is based on the experiences we had in the pre-earth life and how we reacted to them, as well as certain characteristics inherited from ancestors. (See www.neuro-genix.com/appendix-b).

    • We experienced both positive and negative emotions in the premortal realm. We even participated in a war (Rev. 12:7, D&C 29:36) and shouted for joy at the prospect of coming to mortality (Job 38:7).

    • We come to earth as truly unique individuals. Personality traits continue to develop through mortal experiences and ancestral morphic fields. (See www.neuro-genix.com/whitepapers-1)

    • It is also likely that those who followed Satan had squandered lesson time and lacked confidence in their ability to have a successful mortality experience (D&C 29:36).

    • When the Lamb, the Savior, the Son of God, accepted the role of the “Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Rev. 13:8), the righteous shouted for joy (Job 38:7, Abr. 3:27).

    • Satan and 1/3rd of the hosts of heaven, the disobedient, were cast out of heaven and upon the earth (Moses 4:3, Rev. 12:7-11).

    • Opposition was a necessary part of the Creation (see below).

  2. The Creation

    • Since the material universe already existed the creation of the earth was a process of organization (Gen. 1:1-5, Abr. 3:24).

    • The fundamental building blocks or organizing principles of creation are information and intelligence (e.g. the Word, John 1:1-5).

    • Christ is called the Word by John because He is the sources of all information, Truth and Light (John 1:1-3).

    • And it is also by the literal Word of God that all things were created. When the Lord commanded the materials obeyed (Gen. 1:1-29).

    • Many of us also participated in the creation (Job 38:7).

    • The “day” or periods of creation were each for an indeterminate time.

    • It is also likely that the material of this earth was taken from other creations.

    • And it is possible that the earth itself has been used for previous creations.

    • Because of the above and because the earth was not always where it now is, carbon dating of materials and fossils cannot be relied upon.

    • Adam and Eve being created from the “dust” is figurative as human bodies are composed of the natural elements. However, it is the spirit that gives life to the body.

  3. The Garden

    • The planting of the garden and earth consisted of master life forms that could not or were not permitted reproduce until after the Fall (Moses 2:12,24, 2 Ne. 2:22-23).

    • In the Garden Adam is put in charge of all life forms (Gen 2:19).

    • The war between the sexes begins subtly as soon as the Lord puts Adam in charge. It becomes an extension of the war in heaven.

    • Regarding the question of why the woman listens to Satan and Adam does not, is that her decision is a misuse of will that results from her feeling slighted by the Lord when He put Adam in charge.

    • Eve also resented Adam’s leadership and found it lacking. Of the two she is the more natural leader.

    • This leaves her vulnerable to a discussion with Satan as to how to get the upper hand.

    • Satan’s intention is to use the woman to destroy the Divine Order.

    • The Divine Order requires each marriage partner to accept and fulfill the role that is most difficult for them: leadership for Adam, and support of Adam for Eve.

    • Eve’s role is actually the more critical.

    • The blessings of the Divine Order will not be realized unless she chooses to empower Adam, the marriage and the family relationships by her inspired support.

  4. Opposition

    • Opposition is a critical necessity in the scheme of creation, both physical and spiritual (see 2 Ne. 2:11-14).

    • For example, without friction and gravity nothing in the physical world could be accomplished.

    • “We will prove them herewith to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them” (Abr.3:25).

    • Satan’s role of spiritual opposition is critical in the perfection of the saints.

    • Satan finds himself in the position of fulfilling the need of opposition in the Lord’s Plan “for he knew not the mind of God” (Moses 4:6, D&C 29:39).

    • His job is to find and exploit our weaknesses so that we may (ideally) be humble and repent, so that our weaknesses become our strengths (Ether 12:27, D&C 29:39).

    • Some have supposed that Satan is actually a good guy. Nothing could be further from the truth. He is the very epitome of evil and personally oversees the most abominable and heinous acts committed by mortals under his influence (Isa 14:19-21).

    • His job is to find and exploit our weaknesses.

    • The Lord gives us weaknesses that we might be humble because He can only work with (e.g. perfect) the humble.

    • By accentuating our weaknesses Satan either drives us into the hands of the Lord or takes us down. How we handle our weaknesses determines our path.

    • Satan assigns the spirits that followed him to accentuate our weaknesses.

    • From our clinical work we understand that an average of five evil spirits are assigned to each mortal human.

    • These spirits are permitted to have influence upon us until we get rid of the particular weakness or negative behavior “hook” to which they are assigned.

    • Trying to send these spirits away, even by the priesthood, will not be effective until the weakness or sin to which they are assigned has been removed through repentance. Until then they have a right to be attached to the mortal.

    • If we indulge our weaknesses, we may acquire other or additional spirits to have influence over us.

    • The divine purpose of our weaknesses is to come unto Christ to have them removed (Ether 12:27).

    • We come unto Christ for help by virtue of the realization of our weakness or sin (Ether 12:28).

    • We come unto Christ by virtue of urgent and sincere prayer in the form of a broken heart and contrite spirit (3 Ne.12:19-20, 21:6, Ether 4:15).

    • Those who have a broken heart and contrite spirit experience godly sorrow over their sin and are willing to do anything and everything that God asks of them.

    • The broken heart and contrite spirit result in a remission of sins and answer the end of the Law of Redemption (2 Ne. 2:7).

    • It is by this means that the weakness or sin is removed and replaced by a gift of the Divine Nature (2 Pet. 1:4).

    • It is by this means that we are to address and remove all our weaknesses and sins, past and present.

    • Our weaknesses and sins consist of every aspect of our character that is not Christlike or Godlike.

    • This is a step-wise or incremental process whereby our carnal or mortal character is changed over time to become like that of Christ and the Father.

    • Service is also required and will be directed by personal revelation through the Lord’s Spirit by following the above steps.

    • All the relevant ordinances of the Lord’s Restored Church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints are also necessary.

  5. Personal Revelation

    • “Wo be unto him that crieth: All is well!” (2 Ne. 28:25).

    • “Yea, wo be unto him that hearkeneth unto the precepts of men, and denieth the power of God, and the gift of the Holy Ghost!” (2 Ne. 28:26)

    • “Yea, wo be unto him that saith: We have received, and we need no more!” (2 Ne 28:27)

    • There is no salvation in the Celestial Kingdom without personal revelation.

    • The fullness of salvation requires personal revelation (Brice R McConkie, Doctrines of the Restoration, p. 243-4).

    • Repentance and a broken heart and contrite spirit sets the stage and is the price for personal revelation (D&C 50:29-30. 2 Ne. 2:7).

    • Personal revelation is received from the Father because of the Son.

    • This requires complete allegiance to the Father and the Son.

    • We may follow persons, such as church leaders, only as the Spirit of the Lord bears witness and only for as long as He bears witness.

    • Following the Spirit of the Lord through personal revelation will result in personal activities that are questioned by others (JS WofJS, p.323, 12 May 1844).

    • It is by personal revelation and repentance that we come to know and experience our Heavenly Father, ultimately acquiring His attributes.

    • It is by personal revelation and the discernment it provides that we avoid deception and are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb (D&C 45:56-57).

    • By obedience to its commandments and ordinances the object of membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is to obtain membership in the Church of the Firstborn (D&C 76:50-60).

    • It is by personal revelation, repentance and ordinances sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise that we become members of the Church of the Firstborn and have our names written in the Lamb’s Book of Life (D&C 132:7-11).

    • The temple ceremony teaches us that the information we need to pass through the veil into the Celestial Kingdom is received directly from the Lord.

    • This requires a personal relationship of “fellowship” with the Lord.

  6. The Priesthood

    • The priesthood is eternal in nature and power (D&C 84:17-18, Alma 13:7-8).

    • The power to act in the name of God through the reception and exercise of priesthood keys (Bruce R McConkie, The Doctrine of the Priesthood, General Conference, Priesthood session, Apr, 1982).

    • Received through ordinance by those who hold the keys and are duly authorized by the Lord (D&C 84:17-18).

    • Priesthood keys are to be used as directed by higher authority and by the Spirit of the Lord.

    • Priesthood keys are bestowed in a probationary manner upon worthy males.

    • The day of this life is the time for priesthood holders to magnify their priesthood with acts directed by priesthood authority and the Spirit of the Lord.

    • Such acts may receive the seal of the Holy Spirit of Promise and have eternal merit (D&C 132:7-11).

    • Priesthood holders, who have proven themselves worthy through a life of repentance and service, may receive the fullness of the priesthood.

    • The fullness of the priesthood is received in conjunction with an oath sworn by the Father and a covenant of the bestowal of power manifest by His voice and witnessed by angels (see GT 4: Oath & Covenant).

    • The fullness of the priesthood includes the sealing power restored by Elijah the Prophet (D&C 2:1).

    • Receiving the fullness of the priesthood requires calling and election made sure (D&C 88:1-69).

  7. Principles of Salvation

    • The first principles and ordinances must be repeated and applied throughout our life—faith, repentance and baptism, which becomes the baptism of fire at each level.

    • Learn how to hear and follow the Spirit of the Lord.

    • Obtain all the ordinances of the temple and do work for the dead.

    • Study the scriptures daily—hold on to the iron rod.

    • Learn the mysteries of godliness through repentance and a broken heart and contrite spirit.

    • Serve the Lord in your church callings and in all the other things the Spirit of the Lord directs in your life.

    • Do all your labors as if in the service of the Lord.

    • Receive the baptism of fire at each level of sanctification.

    • Retain a remission of sins from day-to-day.

    • Make your calling and election sure.

  8. Justification

    • All works directed or approved by the Spirit of the Lord are justified and will have eternal effect (Rom 2:3, James 2:24, D&C 20:30, 88:39, Moses 6:60).

    • All of our works done for other objectives will have an end when the earth is renewed (Heb 12:27-29, D&C 132:7).

    • Our acts, only as directed by the Spirit of the Lord, are justified in preparation for sanctification.

  9. Sanctification

    • The changes our character requires to live with God requires sanctification.

    • We are sanctified by and through application of the Atonement, that is by the blood of Christ.

    • Sanctification only occurs through daily repentant offerings of a broken heart and contrite spirit.

    • Sanctification also requires that we studiously follow the instructions and directions we receive through the broken heart and contrite spirit communication with Heavenly Father.

    • This allows us to receive and apply the gifts of the divine nature of Christ required for full salvation (exaltation).

    • A key to sanctification is to "let virtue garnish [our] thoughts unceasingly" (D&C 121: 45) and to keep our minds in “perfect peace whose minds are stayed upon Thee [the Lord], because he [we] trusteth in Thee" (Isa 26:3). Any unkind or negative thoughts/ feelings are not allowed to stay in our minds.

    • Our hourly and daily level of peace is an indicator and monitor of our level of sanctification. There will be times when we must "cry out" to the lord in order to maintain this peace. "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee" (Isa 26:3, emphasis ours)

  10. The Rest of the Lord

    • The “rest of the Lord” is defined as the “fulness of His glory” (D&C 84:24).

    • Entering into the rest of the Lord or the fulness of His glory, is the object of our existence (see Moses 1:39, D&C 76:56-58).

    • The term “rest” describes a state of being in which we are no longer troubled by temptation or personal sin (Alma 13:12, 3 Ne 27:19-20).

    • Because of current complacency and the philosophies of men the Saints are not entering into the “rest” of the Lord (see Isa. 30:15).

    • However, according to Alma there were, “exceedingly great many, who were made pure and entered into the rest of the Lord their God” in previous dispensations (Alma 13:12).

    • In order to enter into the rest of the Lord we must first have become sanctified and receive our calling and election (see Alma 13:12).

    • “For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works” (Heb. 4:10). In other words, he/she has ceased from doing his/her own will.

    • The Melchizedek priesthood is actually a type of the Order that enables entrance into the rest of the Lord (Alma 13:14-16).

    • It was through priesthood intercession and the preaching of repentance that the inhabitants of the cities of Enoch and Melchizedek were translated and entered into the rest of the Lord (JST Gen. 14:33-34, Heb. 5:6-7, Alma 13:15).

  11. Calling & Election

    • An ordinance first defined by the Apostle Peter as a guarantee of salvation (2 Pet 1:10).

    • Calling and election is also known as the “more sure word of prophecy” (2 Pet 1:19) and also means to be “sealed up unto eternal life… through the power of the Holy Priesthood” (D&C 131:5).

    • Calling and election requires partaking of the “divine nature” and “escaping the corruption of the world” (2 Pet. 1:4).

    • Calling and election also requires virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness and charity (2 Pet. 1:5-7).

    • Church leadership positions are no guarantee of this blessing. “But he that lacketh these things [see 2 Pet. 1:5-7] is blind, and cannot see afar off” (2 Pet. 1:9).

  12. Exaltation

    • Exaltation refers to the highest degree of the Celestial Kingdom.

    • Personal exaltation for each of His children is the purpose of God’s existence. It is “His work and His glory” (Moses 1:39).

    • It is by the exaltation of His children that God is glorified.

    • Qualifying for exaltation means ultimate personal godhood.

    • It is only those who attain exaltation that will maintain a gender identity.

    • Failing to achieve personal exaltation is to repudiate the Father’s purpose in this creation (Moses 1:39, Moroni 10:32-33).

    • “Because strait is the gate and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Matt. 7:14).

  13. The Spirit World

    • The spirit world or realm could be termed a combination of hell and paradise with a spectrum of Light and Darkness in-between.

    • Where our spirit lands in this spectrum upon death depends upon the level of Light and Truth we acquired in our mortal probation.

    • The vast majority of human spirits arrive in the spirit world in a degree of darkness, confusion and preoccupation with unfinished or unresolved negative feelings.

    • Evil people will generally have obsessions that are impossible to satisfy.

    • The more honest and just people will either go directly to the Light or will gravitate there from the darkness before too long.

    • However, the lower levels of the Light are still levels of bondage that do not allow upward progress except through prayer, repentance, service and character change.

    • No character flaw is overlooked.

    • Those in the lower levels of the Light that qualify through obedience are given the opportunity to progress, “that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit” (2 Pet. 4:6).

    • Such are permitted to progress and advance as they gain and apply knowledge through obedience to commandments and the Spirit of the Lord/revelation.

    • Knowledge and application of attributes of godliness and change of character are the prerequisites to progress in this realm.

    • Within the realm of Light there are 7 gates with angelic sentinels at each one that do not allow passage except to those who qualify according to their personal level of Light and Truth (see GT 6: Spirit World & The Gates of Heaven).

    • At a certain level of progress within the Light tasks are offered to the personal spirit. These tasks are designed to teach and develop the missing character traits required for progress.

    • These tasks are revealed by the Spirit of the Lord to the person's spirit and will create situations that allow or facilitate personal growth.

    • However, the necessary reaction or participation in these tasks is not obvious. The tasks test for humility, obedience, inspiration and willingness to learn and change.

    • Many spirits who make it into the Light get stuck at some lower level because they are unable or unwilling to change. Therefore they remain in bondage.

    • The tasks provided to spirits of the dead parallel our own tasks in mortality. It is always a matter of listening to the Spirit of the Lord and doing our tasks accordingly. 

    • Those of us who learned to listen and heed the Spirit of the Lord while doing our tasks here in mortality have a distinct advantage in the spirit world.

    • We come to earth life to learn. The more saving knowledge we gain here the greater (more advanced) will be our entrance into the spirit realm and the faster will be our progress there.

  14. Work for the Dead

    • Salvation is both an individual and a family matter (see GT 3: Salvation is a Family Matter).

    • In the premortal realm our family ancestral lines were organized down to the last person to be born in this dispensation (Joseph Smith, DHC).

    • From among each ancestral line the spirits that were to come to mortality in each dispensation were chosen, the last dispensation being the most important.

    • The spirits chosen by our family lines for this last dispensation were among the best they had to offer.

    • Upon them (us) is the obligation to receive and apply the true gospel and its ordinances and to become Saviors on Mount Zion.

    • Satan has in many cases disrupted the original ancestral lineage orders.

    • There has been a great deal of work on the other side of the veil to restore the original lineal orders as much as possible.

    • Any failure on our part to provide the saving ordinances to the degree required by the Lord reflects badly upon our lineage and our ancestors may suffer for the chains we did not break.

    • Our level of obedience in this dispensation reflects a combination of our determination as well as the wisdom of the forebearers who selected us to be here at this critical time.

    • For example, members who broke the covenant of consecration in the early Church were not to have their genealogy on the official records (D&C 85:4).

    • And if the Saints failed to complete the Nauvoo temple by the deadline given, they were to “be rejected as a church, with [their] dead” (D&C 124:32).

  15. Saviors on Mount Zion

    • Being a Savior on Mount Zion requires more than doing genealogy and temple work.

    • Generally speaking our ancestors require more than the availability of the ordinances.

    • Whether having lived during a dispensation of the gospel or not, very few of our ancestors have advanced sufficiently to qualify for exaltation.

    • The majority still have the weight of weaknesses and sins which also come down to us as generational chains.

    • Our repentance and the breaking of these chains is critical to our salvation and theirs.

    • We may also bear their spiritual burdens and pay the price of sin for them as well as others as directed by the Lord (JS WofJS, p 323, 12 May 1844).

    • Obadiah prophesied that “Saviors would arise upon mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau” (Obed 1:21). The mount of Esau are those who have sold their birthright for a mess of pottage.

    • Saviors on Mount Zion will be judges of the people including those Saints who failed to live up to their privileges.

    • Saviors on Mount Zion are intercessors.

  16. Intercession

    • Intersession is defined as an action of intervening on behalf of another for their benefit.

    • Intercession is a basic gospel principle and a requirement of the righteous (Alma 34:27, Ether 2:15).

    • Intercession may take several forms:

      • Prayer offered on behalf of others.

      • Service rendered on behalf of and for others.

      • Carrying spiritual and emotional burdens of others as directed by the Lord.

      • Suffering in some measure for other’s sins.

      • Suffering afflictions because of other’s sins.

    • Intercession inspired by the Spirit of the Lord constitutes an offering in the "similitude of the Only Begotten" (D&C 138:12-14).

    • Christ is the exemplar (John 17:1-26).

    • Intercession is a general requirement of the righteous (Alma 34:27).

    • Intercession and offerings of righteousness as directed by the Spirit of the Lord are also the particular obligation of holders of the Melchizedek priesthood (Heb. 5:1-2).

    • Includes prayer for others as directed by the Spirit of the Lord (Ether 2:15, D&C 50:29-30).

    • Bearing of others' burdens that they may be light (Mosiah 18:8, see GT 9: Bearing of Burdens).

    • Includes praying for your enemies and those who “despitefully use you, and persecute you” (Matt. 5:44).

    • Intercession can also mean suffering afflictions on behalf of others (Alma 7:5, 26:27, 31:31-38).

    • Intercession was the means by which the inhabitants of the cities of Enoch and Melchizedek were transformed and translated (Heb. 5:6-7, Alma 13:17-18, JST Gen. 14:33-34, see also GT 4: Oath & Covenant and GT 5: Intercession, a Case Study).

  17. It Shall be Given

    • In the economy of the Lord there is a unique path for each and every person.

    • We experience a time of trial and probation designed to arrive at the personal conclusion that the God of heaven and earth knows what is best for us and is willing to guide us by His Spirit (2 Ne. 32:2-5).

    • As we shift from my will to Thy will, we will find our path prepared before us. There is no challenge that we must endure alone or without sufficient power to deal with it.

    • It is when we put our will (agency) on the altar that the Lord can change us and work with us and through us (see Milk vs Meat).

    • If we are in tune with the Spirit of the Lord and are called upon to testify or to teach it shall be given us in the very moment what to impart (D&C 24:6,100:6-8).

  18. In the Time Appointed

    • There is a perfect order in the heavens and the cosmos. The planets and stars are governed by law and give light to each other in their [set] times and seasons (D&C 88:41-45).

    • Planets and stars in the heavens are symbolic of people.

    • Like the stars and planets, we also give Light and Truth to each other in the set times and seasons of our lives.

    • Everything happens in its “set time” or in “the time appointed” (Gen. 18:9, 21:2, Ex. 9:5, 2 Sam. 24:15, Psalm 27:5, 102:13, Isa. 28:19, Dan. 2:19-23, 8:19, 10:1, 11:27, 29, 35, Gal 4:2, Alma 40:4-5, 9).

    • All important junctures on this earth and in our lives have their appointed times. This timing works best for us if we are following the Spirit of the Lord (see GT 12: Milk vs Meat).

  19. The Former Rain & the Latter Rain

    • Rain is critical for both physical and spiritual life (Deut. 11:13, Job 29:23, Jer. 3:3, Joel 2:23, Zech. 10:1, James 5:7).

    • Rain can symbolize revelation—personal and community.

    • It is the spring rain that causes the seeds to germinate and begin to grow.

    • Symbolically the spring rain is the revelation that brings initial personal conversion.

    • The latter rain is the rain that comes in the summer and causes the plants and crops to mature, that they may be harvested.

    • Symbolically the latter rain is the revelation that causes one's personal testimony to mature and result in doing the will of the Lord in all things, becoming the Lord’s servant.

    • Without latter rain there is no harvest of celestial souls (James 5:7).

  20. How Stars Become Untimely Figs (Rev. 6:13)

    • The Lord’s leaders for this critical dispensation were chosen in the beginning from among the “noble and great ones” in the pre-mortal existence (Abr. 3:22-23).

    • These and other people are represented symbolically by the stars in our heaven (Rev. 1:20, 3:1, 9:1, 12:4).

    • Some people are negatively described as “wandering stars” (Jude 1:13).

    • Before the Savior returns the heavens shall be shaken by the Lord through the instrumentality of the Anti-Christ. Some stars shall fall (Dan. 7:21, 25, 8:10, 24, Rev. 6:13).

    • This is because the end-time Anti-Christ shall make “war with the saints” and prevail “against them” (Dan 7:21, 12:7).

    • Under persecution, affliction and lack of sanctification foreordained leaders or “stars” shall become “exceedingly angry” and “cast themselves down as a fig that falleth from off a fig tree” (D&C 88:87).

    • “And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind” (Dan. 6:13). Untimely figs are fruit that never ripened to maturity and remained on the tree until winter winds came and shook them off the tree.

    • As “many are called but few are chosen,” many will fall (D&C 121:34-40).

    • Latter day apostasy will include church leadership (Dan. 11:30, 12:10).

    • “Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand” (Dan. 12:10).

    • “And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame [and] everlasting contempt” (Dan. 12:2).

    • "And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever” (Dan. 12:3).

    • The stars in heaven represent the foreordained order of human spirits (family lines and leadership).

    • The stars falling from heaven represent individual and collective apostasy from the foreordained order, leaving behind the final order of faithful stars (persons) remaining upon Christ’s return.

  21. Trust in the Lord

    • Trust in the Lord is the only true security in life (Psalm 9:10, 34:22, 62:8, 125:1).

    • In order to have trust in God we must understand His divine attributes—including that He is all powerful, all knowing and unchangeable (see JS Lectures on Faith).

    • Included in this understanding of trust is the fact that Heavenly Father always and perpetually has our personal best interests at heart (Hel. 12:1, Mosiah 7:19, D&C 184:16).

    • In order to have trust we must keep the Lord’s commandments (Psalm 32:3, 64:10).

    • In order to have trust in the Lord it is necessary to know where we stand with Him (see JS Lectures on Faith, 6:7).

    • It is impossible to know where we stand with the Lord without receiving personal revelation (1 John 2:28, 3:19, D&C 121:45).

    • There is no statistic or endless checkbox law of Moses performance that can substitute for the personally revealed knowledge necessary to put our trust in Him (Psalm 9:10).

    • It is also necessary to know that the course we are pursuing in life is one that has Heavenly Father's approval (see JS Lectures on Faith, 6:4-5).

  22. Watchman, What of the Night? (Isa. 21:11)

    • We are to be our own watchman and always ready to receive divine reproof (Habak. 2:1, Isa. 21:8).

    • The members of the Lord’s church have been carried captive into Babylon (Micah 4:8-10).

      • Because of the love of the world (Isa. 3:11-24)

      • Because they have no knowledge of saving principles (Isa 5:13-15)

      • Because their watchmen have not sounded the warning voice (Ezek 3:17-21, 33:6, Isa. 56:9-10)

      • Because the members want to hear “smooth” things (see Isa. 30:8-17)

    • The members of the Lord’s church generally have the quality of leadership/watchmen they deserve (Ps. 23:1,127:1, Jer. 6:17).

    • This lack of leadership quality will have to be rectified before the members can build Zion (see GT 21: Latter-day Timeline).

    • The deliverance from Babylonian (worldly) captivity will come via an Assyrian invasion of America (likely a Russian alliance) (Isa 10:5-6,13:1-10,19, Micah 4:3, Rev 18:20-24).

    • Because they are not accustomed to listening and following the Spirit of the Lord:

      • Many people will die including LDS Church members (Isa 3:25-26,4:1).

      • Many will take up arms unwisely and unnecessarily (Isa10:24-27,26:20-21, Zeph 2:3).

      • In the US there will be mobocracy and breakdown in law and order (D&C 87:4-7, 101:89).

      • In the world there will be war, pestilence and disease (D&C 5:19, 45:31, 97:23-26).

    • Jackson County will be swept by the “besom of destruction” (see Joseph Smith, 2nd V., 2:323-24; B H Roberts, , Vol. 1, p 298).

    • The righteous, the elect according to the covenant, shall leave spiritual Babylon early (Isa. 48:20-21,D&C 54:10,88:83).

    • They will be spared in the day of travail; they shall stand in “holy places and be not moved” (D&C 45:32, 87:8, 97:21).

    • If we seek meekness and righteous judgment we may be hid in the day of the Lord’s anger (Zeph. 2:3).

  23. Requirement of Works

    • Grace and works are both required (Heb. 12:1, Jas. 2:17-26, Hel. 12:1,24).

    • Our works are to be directed by the Spirit or they are of no eternal merit (Matt. 7:19, D&C 132:7).

    • "Thou [the Lord] hast wrought all our works in us," that is, all our works that have eternal merit (Isa 26:12, 64:8).

    • Our works are of no efficacy unless sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise (D&C 132:7-11).

    • In the coming days our works and their effects shall be “shaken” and tried by “fire” to see if they are worthy of eternal merit (1 Cor, 3:13, Heb. 12:26-29).

  24. How to Survive the Coming Tribulations

    • Put our whole soul and will on the altar—follow the Lamb “withersoever He goeth” (Rev. 14:4, PofGP Joseph Smith, , 6:7-12).

    • Study the word of the Lord in order to know the  the word of the Lord, in order to do the will of the Lord (Matt. 6:10, Rev. 19:10, WofM 1:7, Hel. 10:4, D&C 63:20).

    • Be endowed and always wear the temple garments (Rev 16:15). 

    • Sanctify ourselves (Hel. 3:35, Moses 6:59-60, D&C 20:31).

    • Develop the ability to receive daily revelation through daily repentance (2 Ne. 28:30, Hel. 11:23, D&C 42:61, 76:5-8).

    • Maintain a remission of our sins from day-to-day (Mosiah 4:26).

    • Learn through personal revelation how and when to stand in your “holy places” (D&C 45:32, 87:8).

    • Deliverance in time of trouble:

      • Keep all our covenants: Baptism, temple and other personal covenants made as directed by the Spirit of the Lord (D&C 54:6, 97:8-9, 105:10-12 ).

      • Exercise the gift of the Holy Ghost (Jhn. 14:26, Moro. 8:26, 10:5, D&C 8:3-4).

      • Set in order your own house (D&C 93:42-43).

      • Be willing to receive divine correction (Heb. 12:5-10, D&C 95:1).

      • Be patient in affliction (Luke 21:19, 1 Pet. 2:20-22, Jas. 5:11, Mosiah 24:15, Alma 38:4-5).

      • Use our afflictions to learn and to endure them “well” (D&C 121:7-8).

      • Praise the Lord in and for our afflictions.

      • Pray for others including our enemies (Matt. 5:44-48).

      • Pay our debts (D&C 104:80,82-83).

      • Strengthen our brethren in all our conversation, prayers, and doings (D&C 108:7-8).

      • Be innocent of any offense (Matt. 18:7-9, Acts 24:16).

      • "Blessed are the poor who are pure in heart, whose hearts are broken, and whose spirits are contrite, for they shall see the kingdom of God coming in power and great glory unto their deliverance" (D&C 56:18).

    • Live the Law of Consecration (D&C 38:22, 78:5-7, 85:3-4). All our assets belong to the Lord for Him to use as He directs.

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I testify that wickedness is rapidly expanding in every segment of our society (see D&C 1:14–16, 84:49–53). It is more highly organized, more cleverly disguised, and more powerfully promoted than ever before. Secret combinations lusting for power, gain, and glory are flourishing. A secret combination that seeks to overthrow the freedom of all lands, nations, and countries is increasing its evil influence and control over America and the entire world (see Ether 8:18–25). I testify that the church and kingdom of God is increasing in strength. Its numbers are growing, as is the faithfulness of its faithful members. It has never been better organized or equipped to perform its divine mission. I testify that as the forces of evil increase under Lucifer’s leadership and as the forces of good increase under the leadership of Jesus Christ, there will be growing battles between the two until the final confrontation. As the issues become clearer and more obvious, all mankind will eventually be required to align themselves either for the kingdom of God or for the kingdom of the devil. As these conflicts rage, either secretly or openly, the righteous will be tested. God’s wrath will soon shake the nations of the earth and will be poured out on the wicked without measure (see Joseph Smith—History 1:45, D&C 1:9). But God will provide strength for the righteous and the means of escape; and eventually and finally truth will triumph (see 1 Nephi 22:15–23). I testify that it is time for every man to set in order his own house both temporally and spiritually. [Ezra Taft Benson, Conference Report, Oct. 1988, 103; or Ensign (Nov. 1988), p.87] 

GT 29

For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father (Mosiah 3:19).

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                                       The Little Child – and a Spiritual Metaphor

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On an occasion when some parents wished to bring their children to the Savior the disciples sought to restrain them, thinking of protecting their Lord from a distraction of his mission, or perhaps thinking to safeguard his strength. However, the Savior rebuked them, saying “suffer little children to come unto me.” Not only did He demonstrate His love of little children, but He pointed out on this occasion that “for such is the kingdom of heaven” (Matt 19:13-14).

 

The Savior's love of little children is further illustrated in 3rd Nephi in the Book of Mormon during his visit to the Lehites during which the children receive special attention and ministering that includes administration of angels, being encircled about by heavenly fire and inspired utterances evoked from them too holy to be written (3 Ne 17-19).

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In our emotional and spiritual healing work we find that two of the most common processes that testing reveal in the service of patrons is that of childhood trauma and the audit trail process—both of which reveal and assist to heal issues that inevitably have informational and energetic roots in childhood.

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What parents (and others) often do not understand relative to children is that in their early developmental years (especially birth to five years old) there is a sacred mature eternal spirit there that has limited access to physical expression but that understands and records everything at some level within its cellular and neurological memory banks. The child may not remember everything consciously, but they will remember many things unconsciously and that will come out in some kind of expression in their later life.

 

The unconscious mind generally plays a master role in human behavior and, lacking sufficient background information related to its new physical and emotional experiences may, often draw erroneous beliefs about this world which will limit their potential success in life.

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Satan is not able to tempt little children, but this does not stop him from harming them through the ignorance or harmful complicity (as the case may be) of their care givers and others that have access to them. By such means the fulfillment of their foreordained missions in life may be hampered or even prevented. When the Lord sent a flood to destroy the population of the world in Noah’s day it was because societal conditions had become completely under Satan’s control and children had no chance of achieving their righteous potential or the free exercise of their will. Our present world is approaching similar conditions again.

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As we in our work referred to above also test for the immediate (as well as residual) effects of childhood traumas we almost always find a child’s suffering involves interaction with one or more parents or caregivers—and that the child did not really understand the meaning of the event or punishment that resulted in trauma. As bright and hungry for learning as they might be they are simply not equipped to understand often complex situations possibly combined with parental impatience or anger.

 

In the vast majority of such cases parents and caregivers do not realize their interaction with the child is leaving trauma markers in the physiology and psyche of the child. Add to this the effects of children growing up in war zones, drug or other spiritually dark environments and we have a world with exceedingly many emotionally and spiritually wounded within whom both the Lord and Lucifer contend for souls.

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Even though harming a child is greatly displeasing to the Lord there is hardly a child in existence that has not suffered inappropriately at the hands of his/her parents and others in their circle of acquaintance. The sad truth is that few of us as parents understand the pure and holy nature of our children and that most of their seemingly bad behavior stems from our own parenting and erroneous concepts of children and their spirits. Added to this is the ancestral baggage of false beliefs and weaknesses under which we labor (they also receive some portion of ancestral behavioral chains in the figurative “backpack” of their mortal life which, ideally, would also be taken into account). We have found that the negative reactions and beliefs associated with childhood trauma often remain entrenched in their behavior into adulthood and even beyond the veil of death. Indeed, we commonly process childhood trauma in people in their 80’s and 90’s as well as in the spirits of the dead (when permitted).

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The false belief of original sin taught by most Christian religious is a factor that also obscures the fact that children’s spirits come here from a realm of heaven and light and that they come “trailing clouds of glory from God who is their home” (Wordsworth Ode: Intimations of Immortality). What appear to be their sins are generally the result of our sins and negative cultural programming. Enlightened parents will seek and be sensitive to the directions of the Spirit of the Lord with respect to the raising and environment of the child from conception, the duration of the child’s spirit in the womb and through all the developmental stages of early and young mortality.

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Additional Context

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In the perspective of the scriptures there is often more to the references pertaining to little children than generally meets the eye. Like so many scriptural terms there can be more than one valid meaning or a scriptural term may include metaphorical implications.

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For example, we are enjoined to become like a little child both before and after baptism—as an illustration of the degree of submissive humility required to be successful within the covenant path.

And again I say unto you, ye must repent, and become as a little child, and be baptized in my name, or ye can in nowise receive these things. And again I say unto you, ye must repent, and be baptized in my name, and become as a little child, or ye can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God (3 Ne 11:37–38).

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When the Savior’s found his disciples occupied with the idea of their future reward of glory in heaven the Savior set a little child in their midst to illustrate and teach a lesson.

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Then there arose a reasoning among them, which of them should be greatest. And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, took a child, and set him by him, And said unto them, Whosoever shall receive this child in my name receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me receiveth him that sent me: for he that is least among you all, the same shall be great (Luke 9:46–48).

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The concept of “least” in the scriptural sense here is that of humble service, Christ himself being the example. Like a child doth submit to his father so Christ did “only those things that please the Father” (Jhn 8:29). It was in this metaphorical sense that He referred to himself as “least in the kingdom of heaven” (Matt 11:11) being “the servant of all” (Mark 9:35). The order of heaven being the opposite of that which generally prevails on earth.

The Savior also warned people not to harm little children—that it would be better to be cast into the sea with a millstone hung about the offender’s neck.

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And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me. But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh! Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire. And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire. Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, that in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven (Matt 18:3-10).

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Can the reader sense that there is hidden meaning in the above passages? Taking nothing away from the obvious concerns the Lord has for children, there is a deeper meaning in references to the Lord’s “little ones.” This term also has reference to the sanctified. It is the guardian angels of the sanctified that behold the face of God. These are also the little ones for whom the Lord takes special care to note the sources of their difficulties and offences.

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For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost. How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray? And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray. Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish (Matt 18:11–14).

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The little ones referenced in the above passages may be barely a tithe of the overall LDS Church membership, but they are of special concern to the Lord. Rather than Stake President. Bishop or other ranking positions they may hold only nominal or even no positions in the church. They may not even be sanctified right now or even active. They might not even be a member. They are waiting for the right angelic person to cross their path. Rather than business leaders these little ones may be store clerks, delivery people, disabled or even in prison.

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For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence (1 Cor 1:26–29).

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These little ones actually have an important place and role in the kingdom. Since, like the Savior in his mortal ministry, they present a particular opportunity by which their associates and others may be judged. They and their children often have needs that may best be met by others, or may only be met by others. As far as offences go, since they are often of no consequence in the world, they may be the object of snubs, offensive remarks or just ignored. However, one of the reasons these little ones even exist is to prove the world and provide cause for the Father’s rewards and judgments.

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The warning by Paul to be careful how we treat strangers “for thereby some have entertained angels unaware” (Heb 13:2) may also apply such that we ought also to be careful how we treat the Lord’s little ones that we fall not under condemnation.

While the “noble and great” spirits chosen by the Lord to be his rulers (Abr 3:22) have the substantial obligation in this life to bring lessor souls into the Celestial kingdom though intercession and example, many of them have failed this duty in this, their second estate. By virtue of their high intelligence and powerful personalities many of this category of spirits have become “shakers and movers” in mortality. While the Lord still makes use of them here, they often become the nobility invited to the wedding supper whose preoccupations prevent them from partaking of the feast. In the end it is only the truly and consistently humble, as a little child, that the Lord can perfect.

GT 27

Isaiah 42 & 43: The Promised Blessings

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Isaiah 42​

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1 Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. 2 He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. 3  A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth. 4 He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law.

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The above passages clearly have reference to the Savior, the Son of God as the Father’s servant. Should there be any question of this we have the attribution of this passage of Isaiah to Christ as quoted by Matthew, the apostolic writer of one of the four gospels in the New Testament (see Matt 12:19-20).

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His judgment is unequivocal truth—the kind the righteous love and that makes the wicked rage and seek the blood of the righteous. But He shall not fail nor be discouraged because He knows who He is and He has conquered death. The world awaits His law ranging from anticipation to terror.

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5 Thus saith God the Lord, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein:

 

The Lord of heaven is making clear who is speaking. Our obligation is to give heed.

 

6 I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; 7 To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.

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Has reference to the lord’s servants who serve in His image and with whom He empowers to do His directed work in the last days. The freeing of prisoners refers to the breaking of spiritual and moral chains of belief and behavior of Jew and Gentile on both sides of the veil of death in the latter-days.

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8 I am the Lord: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.

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Ours is an age in which people take glory unto themselves and to an enormous spectrum of counterfeit objects, causes and movements. All glory belongs to the Father and to His Son—the creators of all things and the power by which all things are upheld. The only personal glory of any consequence is that which the Lord, in His infinite goodness, bestows upon us “unworthy creatures” ( King Benjamin, Mosiah 4:11).

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9 Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them.

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The Lord goes to considerable lengths to inform his prophets and servants so that they may understand his works and play their foreordained roles and commissions in this creation. He has revealed the former things to His people before they happened, and He will and has done the same again in our day. “Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7). And “where there is no vision, the people perish” (Prov 29:18).

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The Lord has revealed his secrets to his servants the prophets in every dispensation, not only as pertaining to their days, but also to ours. We have, therefore, warnings and instructions from almost every dispensation that also and in amany instances apply to our day. It is also the obligation of modern prophets to see the future and instruct and warn us of what we need to know to endure to the end of our commissions in this end-time dispensation. This instruction includes teaching the Latter-day Saints the necessity of personal revelation required for a personal relationship with the Lord that is and will be required in the difficult and challenging days ahead.

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10 Sing unto the Lord a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth, ye that go down to the sea, and all that is therein; the isles, and the inhabitants thereof. 11 Let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift up their voice, the villages that Kedar doth inhabit: let the inhabitants of the rock sing, let them shout from the top of the mountains. 12 Let them give glory unto the Lord, and declare his praise in the islands.

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Let all the inhabitants of the earth break forth in songs of praise to the God of all the tribes of the earth and to the God of all the universe as He brings to pass the salvation of His creations. So will His Holy Spirit move upon the faithful in every nook and cranny of the earth as we approach His return to His Temple and to the earth in glory.

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13 The Lord shall go forth as a mighty man, he shall stir up jealousy like a man of war: he shall cry, yea, roar; he shall prevail against his enemies.

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The lord has been very patient with his creations. He has allowed his children to learn, grow and prove themselves under all circumstances. He has also allowed many to suffer privation and abuse at the hands of the privileged and the powerful due to greed and immorality of all kinds as we earn our rewards or lack of them in the eternities. In the end all scores will be settled and all rewards will be fair and the punishment of the wicked will be appropriately severe.

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14 I have long time holden my peace; I have been still, and refrained myself: now will I cry like a travailing woman; I will destroy and devour at once.15 I will make waste mountains and hills, and dry up all their herbs; and I will make the rivers islands, and I will dry up the pools.

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There is a sense of pent-up anger to be released in a day of reckoning. The Lord must destroy the wicked because, left to their own devices, they will destroy the righteous. But there is also an element of accumulated indignation whose expression brings the world back into equilibrium and stability by the dispatch of evil legions into the realms of Hell.

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16 And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them.

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Some of the shepherds have been of late unsteady and inconsistent in the direction and protection of us, their poor sheep. As the Lord’s return approaches, He will send us shepherds who will love and serve the flock and teach us the things we need to know. He will gather us so that we may stand in holy places and not be afraid. The Lord himself will be with us and guide in ways of living and being that we have not known before. The lord is the Rock upon which we must build and Light that we must cultivate and follow. In the end their will not be that much difference between the shepherds and the sheep as all come to know the Lord.

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17 They shall be turned back, they shall be greatly ashamed, that trust in graven images, that say to the molten images, Ye are our gods.

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The work of our hands may be holy or it may be unclean. The work of our hands and our efforts may be consecrated, or it may be idol worship. We are surrounded by idols, both physical and spiritual luring us to place value in them. Those whose focus in life is on material things will in the end be greatly ashamed.

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18 Hear, ye deaf; and look, ye blind, that ye may see.

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To the worldly wise the gospel of Jesus Christ is foolishness. When the gospel is preached, they will not hear, when the works of the Lord are on the earth they will refuse to see. But it is the poor and humble will hear and see and be healed.

In that day shalt thou not be ashamed for all thy doings, wherein thou hast transgressed against me: for then I will take away out of the midst of thee them that rejoice in thy pride, and thou shalt no more be haughty because of my holy mountain. I will also leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people, and they shall trust in the name of the Lord (Zeph 3:11–12).

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Interesting. It appears that in the final settings their will not be a group of powerful CEO’s around whom to rally, but rather the weak and simple by which the Lord will thresh the nations with the scythe of the Word and the clarion call of repentance (according to the Holy Order of the Melchizedek priesthood).

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19 Who is blind, but my servant? or deaf, as my messenger that I sent? who is blind as he that is perfect, and blind as the Lord's servant?

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The true servants of the Lord, emulating their file leader [Christ], are not distracted by the images and cacophony around us. They shut their ears from hearing the siren songs of Satan’s minions and close their eyes from the allurements of Babylon. They have taken the Holy Spirit for their guide and are not deceived in any way because the Spirit of the Lord, the Testator, is the source and validator of all truth and the discerner of all claims and purported things of value.

20 Seeing many things, but thou observest not; opening the ears, but he heareth not.

There is a parallel between the righteous and the wicked, The wicked refuse to see the truth while the righteous detect and refuse to heed Satan’s sophistries. The wicked reject the truths of the gospel even when they are pricked in their hearts by hearing it.

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21 The Lord is well pleased for his righteousness' sake; he will magnify the law, and make it honourable.

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The Father is well pleased with His Son. He will magnify His Son’s atonement, the law of redemption by which salvation is made available to His children. The Father is also well pleased with his righteous servants and will magnify their redemption and the eternal merits of their ministry to the rest of his children.

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22 But this is a people robbed and spoiled; they are all of them snared in holes, and they are hid in prison houses: they are for a prey, and none delivereth; for a spoil, and none saith, Restore.

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Israel’s waywardness has been seemingly endemic and systemic. New dispensations are always required because of Satan’s success with Israel in the past. The Lord has to regularly break branches off of the mother tree and take them to some new environment where they might flourish for a time until the blessings turn to cursings. Our dispensation is no different. We are in need of constant revival and retrenchment.

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23 Who among you will give ear to this? who will hearken and hear for the time to come?

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Good question? As the Lord explained to the prophet Zephaniah quoted earlier above, what will be left after the scourging and refiner’s fire, is a poor people purged by the furnace of affliction.

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24 Who gave Jacob for a spoil, and Israel to the robbers? did not the Lord, he against whom we have sinned? for they would not walk in his ways, neither were they obedient unto his law.

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All blessings, without exception, are predicated upon obedience to divine law. When the Lord’s people wander and cease to drink from the well of the waters of redemption the lord turns against them. He becomes their enemy. Their prosperity and ease becomes their snare, and their works are no longer blessed, their protection from the destroyer becomes increasingly thin and ineffective.

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25 Therefore he hath poured upon him the fury of his anger, and the strength of battle: and it hath set him on fire round about, yet he knew not; and it burned him, yet he laid it not to heart.

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The US now longer wins wars, and Israel is in a state of more or less unrelenting siege. The sword of the Lord cuts both ways in the sense that the righteous and the wicked are found on both sides of almost any conflict. The only safety is in sanctification.

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Generally speaking, we are not learning from our mistakes and from the current wars and trials as well as those that lie ahead. There will, hopefully, be interludes but the bottom line is the destruction of the wicked—destruction that cuts across all delineations of nationality, race and religion. We, and Israel in the past and present, have been burned and not taken it to heart. We do not understand nor see the Lord’s discerning hand in His judgments upon the nations nor His judgments upon our own people.

 

Isaiah 43 

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1 But now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.

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The ultimate fulfillment of this prophecy in the latter-days began with the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ to the prophet Joseph Smith and to the tribes of Israel beginning mainly with the scattered children of Ephraim. But this is only the beginning, the tip of the Israelite iceberg. The commission to find and gather the descendants and remnants of the other tribes was given to Ephraim and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We belong to the Lord. He has put His name upon us. It is a serious responsibility. All that has transpired before is but a prelude to what is to follow.

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2 When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.

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These are the blessings promised to the righteous and faithful. In the latter-days Ephraim and the other tribes, each in its appointed time, shall indeed pass through the waters and the rivers of crime and turmoil, and will walk through fire and the flame of warfare, apostacy and pestilence. But for the righteous and sanctified members of each of the Israelite tribes in the latter-days they shall triumph over the watery floods of deceit and deception and the fiery trials of Babylon and the Antichrist.

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3 For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee.

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The neighboring countries have often been Israel’s enemies, past and present. In the latter-days the Lord will have given Israel ascendency over them, often against all odds because they are the remnant of Jacob, His covenant people. What we see now is setting the stage for further trial, tribulation, peace and deceit, treachery and final triumph. Israel’s enemies [both the nation and the people] shall be sacrificed on the altar of God’s promises to his people and to the grand plan of salvation for all mankind. In the end God’s wisdom shall both prevail and prove just for every tribe of the earth and every realm of His creation. Everything is and will be in perfect order.

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4 Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable, and I have loved thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life.

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The children of Abraham have been true to the Lord from time to time in former dispensations but will in the end time finally qualify for the Lord’s enduring blessings that were always promised to Abraham’s seed. The ascendancy of Israel in the last days will require sacrifices in their crucibles of affliction and it will also require subjugation of their enemies—whom the Lord will give into their hands. The lands God promised to Abraham shall surely be theirs—while the whole earth transitions into millennial splender.

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5 Fear not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west;

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This gathering has been going on since 1948 but will greatly accelerate as world conditions fulfill prophecy. The pandemic of antisemitism now circling the globe will bring a new focus on Jewish immigration to their ancient homeland. In time this gathering will extend to the other tribes as they gather to both Jerusalem and the New Jerusalem. Within the temporal and logistical gathering of the Jews lies a smaller vein of spiritual gathering which shall prove to be the most important element.

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6 I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth;

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Though not without challenge, the lands given by the Lord to Abraham shall indeed become occupied again by his descendants—while their children play in the streets without fear and grow up without sin for a thousand years.

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7 Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.

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Israel was formed in the pre-mortal world to be the Lord’s servants. Despite their mortal weaknesses and failings, they were still the best spirits that this world, the most evil of all of God’s creations, would receive. The Lord, in his great wisdom, would ration and apportion [scatter] the seed of Jacob among all the nations and throughout all of earthly history to achieve the most optimum effect. And He would see to it that they would not fail.

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8 Bring forth the blind people that have eyes, and the deaf that have ears.

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We all fall into this category but those of us who are humble and willing shall have our eyes and ears opened not only to accept the gospel but also to accept the full measure of what the Covenant means. While such realizations are sobering, the Lord holds himself responsible to empower and protect those who shoulder the required responsibilities and commissions.

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9 Let all the nations be gathered together, and let the people be assembled: who among them can declare this, and shew us former things? let them bring forth their witnesses, that they may be justified: or let them hear, and say, It is truth.

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All else that has come before the people of the world is as nothing compared to the Covenant of God with His people. Everything else has no meaning except as it serves or fits within or supports the objects of the Covenant that the Lord made with Israel before the world was and renewed with Adam and the head of every dispensation until now. We, who have accepted and embraced the Covenant, and all those yet to be converted and assimilated into it, are the servants of the Lord—His witnesses.

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The spirits of those in these latter-days who are open to, or seekers of truth will, when they hear the Restored gospel message [witness], shall say “it is truth.”

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10 Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.

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In this instance the “Ye” and “servant” both refer to latter-day Israel. We, who have taken upon ourselves the “new and everlasting covenant” relationship with God, are the Lord’s witnesses. This pool of witnesses will expand as the other tribes are gathered and also come into the Covenant.

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We, the latter-day descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob [mostly by lineage but, if not, by adoption] who have accepted and embraced the Restored gospel of Jesus Christ are the Lord’s witnesses in this dispensation, the dispensation of the fulness of times.

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11 I, even I, am the Lord; and beside me there is no saviour.

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It is Jehovah [Jesus Christ’s name as the God of the Old Testament] speaking. He was and is the Savior of all mankind. As the Holy One of Israel, He is the “keeper of the gate” of heaven “and he employeth no servant there” (2 Ne 9:41). We will all stand before Him, and we will all give an account of our stewardships. It will be a blessed day or not, as the case may be.

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12 I have declared, and have saved, and I have shewed, when there was no strange god among you: therefore ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, that I am God.

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It is not just the fact that Israel’s God is the only true God, but it is Israel’s [our] responsibility to declare this fact to all the world. We are the Lord’s witnesses. Our behavior is a testimony, and we must also bear testimony. Among other things, this will require a purging of the inroads of Luciferian so-called progressive philosophies and false doctrines. The time is coming when we must cease to accommodate ecumenical coziness and our low-profile declaration of our mission [e.g. to save the world].

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13 Yea, before the day was I am he; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand: I will work, and who shall let it?

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The Lord is God and everything is in His hands. But we live in a time and culture of unbelief and have little or no idea how involved with us God is or can be. God’s work in these latter days in preparation for the return of His Son in glory will go on regardless of our participation or lack of it.

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However, our detractors and enemies can prosper or not and rule over us or not according to our humility and righteousness, according to our cultivation of the Spirit of the Lord and our willingness to do His will. Whether or not our enemies are also the Lord’s enemies and worthy of His retribution or even wrath are dependent upon our steadfast faithfulness [which will be tried].

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14 Thus saith the Lord, your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; For your sake I have sent to Babylon, and have brought down all their nobles, and the Chaldeans, whose cry is in the ships.

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This has an historical reference to the conquest of Babylon by Cyrus the Great and the destruction and flight of its nobility. Much of their wealth came from shipping.

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Like so much of Isaiah this has also an end-time application. Once again, we could say that Israel has been taken captive by Babylon and its culture and merchandise.  Currently, our Babylonian preoccupations essentially rule our lives. There is not room nor inclination to live as if we were in a consecrated theocracy. Our thoughts are dominated by the choices and opportunities rationed to us by the Enemy of our souls. This cultural and political situation in which we now find ourselves is the great set-up for the great Reset [e.g. Gadianton New World Order]. But don’t bring it up in class!

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However, the Lord has a solution in the form of Babylon’s destruction. The problem is that Babylon’s devastation will take many Saints with it.

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15 I am the Lord, your Holy One, the creator of Israel, your King.

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The Lord has to keep reminding us who He is. The history of Israel makes this necessity obvious.

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16 Thus saith the Lord, which maketh a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters;

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The latter-day prophets of those “who are in the north countries… shall smite the rocks, and the ice shall flow down at their presence, And an highway shall be cast up in the midst of the great deep’ (D&C 133:26-27). The Lord will also make paths through the mountains for the return of His people Israel to their lands of inheritance (Isa 49:11).

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17 Which bringeth forth the chariot and horse, the army and the power; they shall lie down together, they shall not rise: they are extinct, they are quenched as tow.

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This is a description of the fate of those who war against Israel and Zion in the latter-days. And in the case of the return of the Ten Tribes referenced above we are told that their “enemies shall be come a prey unto them” (D&C 133:28).

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18 Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old.19 Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.

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There will be miraculous changes in the latter-day and millennial geography of the world to assist and enable the gathering of the tribes of Israel and the enabling of pilgrimage to the two holy cities of Jerusalem and the New Jerusalem.

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And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein. No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there: And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away (Isa 35:8–10).

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Behold, these shall come from far: and, lo, these from the north and from the west; and these from the land of Sinim (Isa 49:12).

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Most scholars agree that the land of Sinim referenced by Isaiah was far distant either to the south or the east, perhaps even to include China.

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20 The beast of the field shall honour me, the dragons and the owls: because I give waters in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert, to give drink to my people, my chosen.

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Pertaining to the Holy Land:

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And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: in the habitation of dragons [heb. jackals], where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes (Isa 35:7).

 

And pertaining to American Zion:

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And in the barren deserts there shall come forth pools of living water; and the parched ground shall no longer be a thirsty land (D&C 133:29).

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21 This people have I formed for myself; they shall shew forth my praise.

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The righteous spirits sent to earth in this dispensation are tasked with the critical work required of the dispensation of the fulness of times. It is our assignment to do the ordinance work and also break the chains of our progenitors to avoid having the earth smitten with a curse. It is our task to be instruments in the hands of the Lord to complete the work of salvation that validates the labors of all the previous dispensations and their prophets and fulfills the promises given to them.

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Regarding the blessings and knowledge to be poured out upon the righteous descendants of Israel in the last days and the relationship of this dispensation to those previous the Lord explains:

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God shall give unto you knowledge by his Holy Spirit, yea, by the unspeakable gift of the Holy Ghost, that has not been revealed since the world was until now; Which our forefathers have awaited with anxious expectation to be revealed in the last times, which their minds were pointed to by the angels, as held in reserve for the fulness of their glory (D&C121:26–27, emphasis ours).

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If the work that falls upon the Latter-day Saints of this dispensation is not accomplished according to plan the earth and its inhabitants would be smitten with a curse and Satan would rejoice over us, having accomplished his goal of thwarting the work of the Most High God. The final glory and blessings of the righteous of former dispensations, including prophets and archangels, is of no account without the success of this dispensation in which all the loose ends are to be tied up and secured.

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Of course, in the end the Father shall show that His wisdom is greater than the cunning of the Devil but there is a strong element of brinkmanship involved that will have left many of the great and noble spirits standing on the sidelines while the poor and the meek have stepped up to fill the critical assignments necessary to the ultimate salvation of the most evil of all the Lord’s creations. Thanks to Satan, the only creation that would kill their God.

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22 But thou hast not called upon me, O Jacob; but thou hast been weary of me, O Israel.

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Historically true, and still essentially to this day. People leave the Church because they are weary of keeping the commandments. People leave the Church because their fickle testimony is based on personalities or the subculture. Whereas some are weary of hearing the same things over and over.

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Regardless, Nephi, looking through a prophetic lens at our day, scolds the Latter-day Saints for not praying with real intent and for not seeking genuine divine knowledge.

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And now I, Nephi, cannot say more; the Spirit stoppeth mine utterance, and I am left to mourn because of the unbelief, and the wickedness, and the ignorance, and the stiffneckedness of men; for they will not search knowledge, nor understand great knowledge, when it is given unto them in plainness, even as plain as word can be. And now, my beloved brethren, I perceive that ye ponder still in your hearts; and it grieveth me that I must speak concerning this thing. For if ye would hearken unto the Spirit which teacheth a man to pray, ye would know that ye must pray; for the evil spirit teacheth not a man to pray, but teacheth him that he must not pray. But behold, I say unto you that ye must pray always, and not faint; that ye must not perform any thing unto the Lord save in the first place ye shall pray unto the Father in the name of Christ, that he will consecrate thy performance unto thee, that thy performance may be for the welfare of thy soul (2 Ne 32:7–9).

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Many of us [LDS], perhaps most, are guilty as charged. We shall never know the “greater things” unless we remove that veil of unbelief under which we labor, or perhaps don’t even bother to labor (Ether 4:4,8,13).

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Behold, when ye shall rend that veil of unbelief which doth cause you to remain in your awful state of wickedness, and hardness of heart, and blindness of mind, then shall the great and marvelous things which have been hid up from the foundation of the world from you—yea, when ye shall call upon the Father in my name, with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, then shall ye know that the Father hath remembered the covenant which he made unto your fathers, O house of Israel. And then shall my revelations which I have caused to be written by my servant John be unfolded in the eyes of all the people. Remember, when ye see these things, ye shall know that the time is at hand that they shall be made manifest in very deed (Ether 4:15–16, emphasis ours).

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23 Thou hast not brought me the small cattle of thy burnt offerings; neither hast thou honoured me with thy sacrifices. I have not caused thee to serve with an offering, nor wearied thee with incense.24 Thou hast bought me no sweet cane with money, neither hast thou filled me with the fat of thy sacrifices: but thou hast made me to serve with thy sins, thou hast wearied me with thine iniquities.

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The sacrifices and oblations were always symbolic of deeper devotion and penitent states of mind. The sacrifice required of the last two dispensations is that of a broken heart and a contrite spirit (3 Ne 9:19-20). Without which sacrifice, according to Father Lehi, the ends of the law of Redemption “cannot be answered” (2 Ne 2:6-7). In other words, without a repentant offering of a broken heart and contrite spirit there is no effective remission of sins. This offering replaces the Mosaic morning and evening daily oblation.

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In this same sermon Father Lehi continues to explain the critical need of conveying this key information relative to how to access the Atonement to the children of men.

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Wherefore, how great the importance to make these things known unto the inhabitants of the earth, that they may know that there is no flesh that can dwell in the presence of God, save it be through the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah, who layeth down his life according to the flesh, and taketh it again by the power of the Spirit, that he may bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, being the first that should rise (2 Ne 2:8).

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Its easy to read these things without catching their profound meaning and personal significance.

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25 I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.

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The Lord is in charge. For His own sake and according to His Plan the Lord restores Israel to His embrace in the end times, but not without their repentance. This only works because of the righteous spirits that have been reserved to come forth at this time. The Father purges the married wife [LDS Church, Isa 54:1] through travail and restores the forsaken wife of youth [Israel. though not without her own purging and affliction].  See also: GT 21: Latter-Day Events Timeline.

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26 Put me in remembrance: let us plead together: declare thou, that thou mayest be justified.

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Take the sacrament, covenant to remember the Lord in all thy doings. Pray earnestly for thy salvation and for the redemption of Israel and the righteous and repentant of the world. Plead for mercy upon yourself and all your loved ones. See also: GT 5: Intercession, A Case Study.

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Justification requires strict honesty with self and others and lockstep attunement with the Spirit of the Lord. Justification means that our works are accepted of the Lord, that they have eternal merit and their effects will carry forward into the eternities. Justification is the main state that must be traversed to arrive at the higher state of sanctification and membership in the Church of the Firstborn. While the justified are honest and true in all things, the sanctified are those in a state of constant or daily remission of sins. However, lest the sanctified get too confident, “there is a possibility that man may fall from grace and depart from the living God” (D&C 20:30-31).

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27 Thy first father hath sinned, and thy teachers have transgressed against me.

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Departure from the Covenant goes all the way back to Cain and many of the other children and grandchildren of Adam and Eve (see PofGP Moses 5:12-13). Eventually, the people of the antediluvian world became so bad that the flood would be required to essentially start things over again. The priesthood of Adam descends through Noah and his son, Shem and becomes more visible in the Bible in the days of Melchizedek and Abraham at a time when most of the world are again wicked.

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The Biblical focus then follows Abraham, Isaac and Jacob [renamed Israel] and his twelve sons. Some of these twelve were so troublesome one wonders that God did not cast them off. But for the sake of their fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and for the sake of their posterity down to this time the Lord has preserved them. The world will be amazed with their emergence out of obscurity and the power they will wield in the days ahead.

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There have been teachers of false doctrines in every age and dispensation. Watered down doctrine and immorality generally go together. Today, in our classrooms we are increasingly offered the philosophies of men mingled with scripture. In conjunction with this is the common practice of taking the name of the Lord in vain, in the sense of not having the authority to teach; for, “If ye receive not the Spirit ye shall not teach” (D&C 42:14) though we often try anyway.

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In order to teach with authority, one must take the time and effort to study the gospel topics and doctrines to be presented and, ideally to understand their context in the larger backdrop of all other related doctrinal principles. The Spirit required to teach is also to be obtained by the “prayer of faith” (also D&C 42:14).

 

Living worthy of the Spirit of the Lord is also an obvious qualification to teach with the support and direction of the Spirit of the Lord [Holy Ghost]. And finally, we may note all of this should be done under the umbrella of and in congruence with the authorization of the Melchizedek priesthood.

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Teaching without the Spirit of the Lord constitutes a transgression and leaves both the teacher and his/her listeners subject to false doctrines and misconceptions [unfortunately common].

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28 Therefore I have profaned the princes of the sanctuary, and have given Jacob to the curse, and Israel to reproaches.

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We didn’t talk about the blessings for very long, did we? It seems to be the nature of Israel that the Lord has to use the stick at least as often as the carrot. This cycle, also related to what has been termed the “Nephite disease,” is operative in our day and will be the cause of much affliction before the promised blessings can be realized. Having said that, “he that seeketh me early [the justified and sanctified] shall not be forsaken” (D&C 88:83) and will persevere and endure the coming challenges mainly in a state of peace and tranquility. It will also be their lot to teach others.

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