A Modern Captain Moroni

I have recently been introduced to Tim Ballard (via a blog post by Stephanie Nielson). He really is a hero, I'm learning as much as I can about him and will be praying and supporting him in his cause - Operation Underground Railroad. He's like a modern day Captain Moroni, evident by his love of country and his leading out in fighting what might perhaps be the greatest evil in our world - child sex trafficking. Seriously, could you offend God any worse than that? It's bad to "offend" the little ones (putting it mildly, perhaps? (Matthew 18:6)), can you imagine how those who rape them will be condemned? I was ignoring this wickedness before. When I heard about sex trafficking, I assumed I knew what it was about, but nothing I can do, so I didn't care or listen. Besides, I didn't want to hear or think about bad stuff like that. But I'm not going to ignore it anymore. There is a great wickedness among us that we need to rise up and stop.

So, as I did more internet searches, find out there's also an author named Timothy Ballard, and look at that, it's the same guy! I found this lecture he gave about his book (just ordered). He is awesome.

Makes me love even more our great country of America and it's history and the miraculous restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. God bless America, that we will always be one nation under Him. Help us to rise up and defeat this evil, that we can be of one heart and one mind and build up Zion where there will be no poor, and peace and purity will be in our homes and hearts. Please watch that video, it is excellent.

Prophetic Counsel

I listened to this talk several times in the car this week, wonderful talk and prophetic counsel from Elder Neal A. Maxwell in October 1992 "Settle This In Your Hearts" - two quotes that particularly stood out to me ~ one at the beginning about how some might, from the porch of the church "cast off on intellectual and behavioral bungee cords in search of new sensations, only to be jerked about by the old heresies and the old sins." That reminded me of some of the recent events. Another one:

"A little criticism of the Brethren, which seems harmless enough, may not only damage other members but can even lead to one’s setting himself up as a substitute “light unto the world.” (2 Ne. 26:29.) Yes, happily, some such prodigals do come back, but they usually walk alone, unaccompanied by those they once led astray!"

The Church is On Course

I listened to a wonderful talk this week in the car. I got some conference tapes randomly at the DI, put in this tape cause I wanted to listen to Elder Maxwell, but the first talk was actually the one I needed to hear ~ to help steady my mind from any stormy concerns that might have arisen from reading posts saying Latter Day saints are more concerned about following the prophet than they are about following of Christ (not true - we follow the prophet because he is such a Christ like example. I mean seriously, what does President Monson do that they don't approve of or think Christ doesn't approve of?) and another post saying similar things, that the brethren who are witnesses of Christ aren't doing what they are supposed to be doing. SO, anyway, this talk just planted my feet once again on a firm foundation and I feel grounded and on solid ground. The Church is on course. "There is a system, a divinely mandated system, under which there is backup and redundancy to move the work and govern the Church in all the world, regardless of difficulties that may befall any of its leaders."


And I'll just post this whole excerpt below, I loved it:

My Brethren of whom I have spoken are Apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ. I bear witness of their integrity. I bear witness of their faith. I bear witness of the voice of inspiration and revelation in their calls. Every one is a man of tested strength. But the greatest of these strengths lies in the acknowledgment that he must have divinely given direction and blessing if he is to perform acceptably.

Now, in conclusion, do you believe this body of men would ever lead this Church astray? Remember whose church this is. It carries the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, who stands as its head. His is the power to remove any found remiss in his duty or who is teaching that which is not in harmony with His divine will.

I say for each and all that we have no personal agenda. We have only the Lord’s agenda. There are those who criticize when we issue a statement of counsel or warning. Please know that our pleadings are not motivated by any selfish desire. Please know that our warnings are not without substance and reason. Please know that the decisions to speak out on various matters are not reached without deliberation, discussion, and prayer. Please know that our only ambition is to help each of you with your problems, your struggles, your families, your lives.

May I say, by way of personal testimony, that for more than a third of a century I have served as a General Authority of this Church. For twenty of those years, I sat in the circle of the Council of the Twelve. For eleven-plus years, I have served as a Counselor in the First Presidency. I know how the system works. I know that it is divine in its plan and in its authority. I know that there is no desire to teach anything other than what the Lord would have taught. He has said that “the decisions of these quorums, or either of them, are to be made in all righteousness, in holiness, and lowliness of heart, meekness and long suffering, and in faith, and virtue, and knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness and charity.” (D&C 107:30.) It is in this spirit that we seek to serve.

He further said, concerning that which is taught by His servants, that “those who receive it in faith, and work righteousness, shall receive a crown of eternal life;

“But those who harden their hearts in unbelief, and reject it, it shall turn to their own condemnation.” (D&C 20:14–15.)

Amen. I know Elder Christofferson personally. He is in our ward. He is not retired, he doesn't have free time to go golfing or on cruises or things that other retired people do. He has lost his life and given it to the Lord. He is going to live the rest of his life working and serving in this calling. Really, does any other 69 year old want to trade him places? To say that any of the brethren are aspiring for power or have some agenda or desire for unrighteous dominion is simply false.

I'm thankful to the Lord for the clarity of doctrine taught to me by President Hinckley in this talk. This is Christ's Church. He is at the head, and it is on course for the destination He intends it for.

"Church members have a special rendezvous to keep, brothers and sisters. Nephi saw it. One future day, he said, Jesus’ covenant people, “scattered upon all the face of the earth,” will be “armed with righteousness and with the power of God in great glory.” (1 Ne. 14:14.) This will happen, but only after more members become more saintly and more consecrated in conduct." - Repentance, Elder Neal A. Maxwell October 1991 General Conference

"And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld the power of the Lamb of God, that it descended upon the saints of the church of the Lamb, and upon the covenant people of the Lord, who were scattered upon all the face of the earth; and they were armed with righteousness and with the power of God in great glory."
1 Nephi 14:14

This will happen. I will pray and work for the Lord to help Him bring it to pass.

God Is Waiting...

I've heard through word of mouth that at a recent stake conference Elder Christofferson opened up to the congregation for questions. One person asked "How much more wicked does it have to get before the Lord will come again?" Elder Christoffeerson's reply: "Oh, the world is wicked enough... the Lord is waiting for us to be righteous enough..."

So, the Lord is waiting on us. Well, I don't think he's just waiting, I'm sure he is working. And we shouldn't wait either, we should work, and we have a lot of work to do.

How do we build Zion and come to it? Elder Christofferson gives counsel on this matter:
Come to Zion, October 2008 General Conference


"Zion is Zion because of the character, attributes, and faithfulness of her citizens. Remember, “the Lord called his people Zion, because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them” (Moses 7:18). If we would establish Zion in our homes, branches, wards, and stakes, we must rise to this standard. It will be necessary (1) to become unified in one heart and one mind; (2) to become, individually and collectively, a holy people; and (3) to care for the poor and needy with such effectiveness that we eliminate poverty among us. We cannot wait until Zion comes for these things to happen—Zion will come only as they happen."

I'm going to study this talk more, I also recommend the book "Triumph of Zion" by John Pontius.

Firm Foundation

Ethan gave a talk in sacrament meeting on June 15th. I helped him a little. His topic was "Building a Foundation of Faith on the Gospel of Jesus Christ." Here is part of his talk ~

"In Peru, Much of the city of Cusco is literally built on ancient Inca ruins. The workmanship of the carved stones, all fit together without mortar, is amazing. The walls are strong because they were made from precisely cut stones, many with interior interlocking arms, somewhat like giant ancient Legos. It is ironic that we call them “ruins” because, even though they were constructed many centuries ago, most of them remain perfectly intact today.

"Peru is a land of many earthquakes. There was terrible destruction in a 2007 earthquake there. Through the centuries disasters like this have occurred repeatedly in Peru. Buildings built recently in our time often have crumbled under these quakes, but the Inca-built foundations and structures remain secure. Somehow these ancient stones, fit together perfectly, withstand whatever natural disasters occur. They remain a firm foundation."

I've continued to think of this during the past few months, since Snuffer's excommunication last September and continuing through this past month with the Kate Kelly and John Dehlin stuff. So, I read a few of Snuffers books and liked them fine, I've followed his blog a little bit and take it with a gran of salt, and Corey and I often discuss the latest comments of other readers during our date night conversations. So, as I said in my last post, who is right? Who do we follow? Is Snuffer a sure foundation for me? He says that he's just trying to lead people to Christ and that he only teaches from scriptures. Well, what do the scriptures say? WHO were the scriptures even written by?!? PROPHETS.

"And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone." - Ephesians 2:20

So some think that Snuffer is a prophet because he says he has seen and spoken with the Lord. I don't doubt him, but I also don't know. If he has though, what then? What about the brethren? Have they too? Well, personally I already know they are guided by the Lord, because many of my prayers have been answered by them, and my life has been so blessed by their teachings. Are they both prophets? Can they both be led by the Lord and yet be at odds with each other? Who do we follow? Should we be more loyal to Snuffer than the Brethren? Perhaps some feel that they should, but I wouldn't. Following the brethren and remaining in the church give me anchor. I need and want the strength that comes from trusting the Lord's prophets. The prophets have been commissioned the following by Christ:

"Go ye therefore and teach all nations... teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you..." - Matthew 28:19-20

Those who want to follow Christ and his prophets, are to do WHATSOEVER thing the Lord commands us. Not all things that are true for you or all things that make you authentic to yourself, not all things politically correct, not all things that are culturally acceptable, not all things that are true according to law or scripture alone, BUT ALL THINGS WHATSOEVER I HAVE COMMANDED YOU.

And whether through is voice or the voice of his servants, it is the same (all of them together are the FOUNDATION spoken of in Ephesians). If I was told to cease publication of a book by the Lord's servants, I would have done it. If I was told to stop an organization I had started, I would have done it, even if it meant I would then be "inauthentic" to myself (quote from Kelly half way down in this article). Authenticity is not the first law of heaven. Obedience is. I'm sure Satan is being "authentic" to himself, but that's not going to get him out of his miserable situation. When Abraham went to sacrifice Issac, I'm sure that required him to be inauthentic to himself. I'm sure it went against laws and teachings that he had learned about previously. IT WAS A TEST. We are all tested. We are to be obedient, that's what the test is about, if we are willing to lay everything we want and think and are on the altar and go forward with trust in God.

We're supposed to be totally inauthentic to ourselves! Forget me and what I want and what I am, God wants me to become what He wants and like He is. That's going to require a lot of "living inauthentically" along the way. We are to kill our natural men and become new creatures in Christ. Love this quote by CS Lewis:

Christ says, "Give me All. I don't want so much of your time and so much of your money and so much of your work: I want You. I have not come to torment your natural self, but to kill it. No half-measures are any good...Hand over the whole natural self, all the desires which you think innocent as well as the ones you think wicked--the whole outfit. I will give you a new self instead. In fact, I will give you Myself: my own will shall become yours."

We are to obey everything that is commanded by the Lord. So, how do we know if a commandment, rule, tradition, expectation, teaching, etc... how do we know if it's commanded by the Lord? There are three ways, and these three ways should never be at odds with each other. These three things are the Iron Rod and the sure foundation we should build our lives upon: HOLY GHOST - LIVING PROPHETS - SCRIPTURES. More on the iron rod later. For prep read John Pontius "Following the Light of Christ" and listen to this talk by President Harold B. Lee

Guide Us, O Thou Great Jehovah

I've started to write several posts the past two weeks to offer my thoughts about the things that have been in the news and on the internet and "bloggernacle" lately about the LDS Church~ thoughts that go along with others who have written about the subjects women and the priesthood, excommunication & apostasy, and things like that. (I recommend those two posts above) Who is right - Ordain Women or the Church? Who do we follow - The Brethren or Denver Snuffer? Who is being led by the Lord? Guide me, O thou Great Jehovah! I want to be led by thee.

So, the answers always come through prayer and study. I found this quote in the Joseph F. Smith manual (Chapter 13) this week and I think it pretty much sums it up for me:

From the days of Hiram Page (Doc. and Cov, Sec. D&C 28), at different periods there have been manifestations from delusive spirits to members of the Church. Sometimes these have come to men and women who because of transgression became easy prey to the Arch-Deceiver. At other times people who pride themselves on their strict observance of the rules and ordinances and ceremonies of the Church are led astray by false spirits, who exercise an influence so imitative of that which proceeds from a Divine source that even these persons, who think they are “the very elect,” find it difficult to discern the essential difference [Matthew 24:24]. Satan himself has transformed himself to be apparently “an angel of light” [2 Corinthians 11:14; 2 Nephi 9:9].

When visions, dreams, tongues, prophecy, impressions or any extraordinary gift or inspiration conveys something out of harmony with the accepted revelations of the Church or contrary to the decisions of its constituted authorities, Latter-day Saints may know that it is not of God, no matter how plausible it may appear. Also they should understand that directions for the guidance of the Church will come, by revelation, through the head. All faithful members are entitled to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit for themselves, their families, and for those over whom they are appointed and ordained to preside. But anything at discord with that which comes from God through the head of the Church is not to be received as authoritative or reliable.⁶

and here's another quote by him from the beginning of that same chapter:

Among the Latter-day Saints, the preaching of false doctrines disguised as truths of the gospel, may be expected from people of two classes, and practically from these only; they are:

First—The hopelessly ignorant, whose lack of intelligence is due to their indolence and sloth, who make but feeble effort, if indeed any at all, to better themselves by reading and study; those who are afflicted with a dread disease that may develop into an incurable malady—laziness.

Second—The proud and self-vaunting ones, who read by the lamp of their own conceit; who interpret by rules of their own contriving; who have become a law unto themselves, and so pose as the sole judges of their own doings. More dangerously ignorant than the first.

Beware of the lazy and the proud.⁴

Strength to persevere through the midsts of darkness will come to us as we hear and hearken to the Lord's servants the prophets. Quote above by Elder Neil L. Anderson (I am loving these conference posters!)

Wealth & Losing Your Life

We had a wonderful Stake Conference on April 27th. Our Stake Presidency was reorganized, so we had two visiting authorities, Elder Stephen Allen and Elder Robert Gay.

First Elder Allen spoke to us about the Law of the Fast ~ how it is the Lord's law for helping care for the poor and needy. Fasting is a consecration of our means and our heart. Our offering should be a generous free will offering. Then he gave "a word of warning to this affluent stake:"

Then he quoted part of and recommended the book by Elder Richard G. Scott called "Finding Peace, Happiness, and Joy" (...and these notes might be Elder Allen quoting from the book, but this is what I wrote that he shared):

• We need to ask to be guided by the Spirit and to do God's will.
• Much of life's disappointments from from looking beyond the mark
• Wealth and things cannot produce happiness.
• Sometimes wealth gets in the way of our pursuit of greater and nobler goals.
• Our things are just tools - am I wisely using the tools that I already have!?
• 2 Nephi 12:7-8
• Be faithful, be generous, seek our the poor and help them privately.
• Use these tools for the Lord's purposes.

Then, building on that note, Elder Gay gave us instruction~ my notes will be by bullet points the rest will be me sharing what I remember him sharing...

• You talk about growing up in prosperity... I grew up in wealth...

He shared how as a child, he had anything and everything he wanted. Tickets to see the Beatles? He could get it, and get the best seats. He shared a few things about his life as a kid and then again as a successful business man who even had his own jet. Then he said also knew what it was like to be poor - his dad thought it would be good for them to pay for college themselves, so he did, and he was broke. One time they went up fishing at Deer Creek reservoir for dinner, cause it was less expensive to pay for the gas to go fish that it would cost to go to the store to buy food. He worked his way through school, and the kids kept coming, they had 5 kids when he was in school and every Sunday after paying their tithing, there was no money left for food, so they'd eat the canned food in the pantry, and they had 5 kids to feed! I could sympathize... 

• I never tell anyone this... and I don't know why I'm sharing this today, I'm going to be kicking myself later... because it's not important, our money doesn't define us...

He was called to be a mission president in Africa, and as they went in to talk to Elder Ballard, Elder Gay said he hesitated... they had a ton of things going on... there was his business plus a foundation with all these orphans that needed their attention... but Elder Gay's wife was excited and willing, and Elder Ballard said to her "Sister Gay, you are going to make a GREAT mission president's wife...." then turning to Elder Gay he said "...You just don't get it! There will never be a convenient time to go. But the Lord is calling you to save your life..." So, exercising faith, they accepted the calling and left for Africa. 

Some time later, PBS was doing a special about the Church's missionaries and Elder Holland called up his friend Bobby (aka Elder Gay, they knew each other when they were younger and Elder Holland always called him Bobby...) "Bobby! I told them to call you and I want you to just say it how it is, tell them the absolute truth, hold nothing back..." So, as he's serving in Africa, he does an hour long interview with some lady over the phone, then at the end of the interview she gets to the question she's been building up to the whole time and asks... "Have you had any regrets about going on a mission?" and he found himself saying without hesitation "Yes." and she said "Great! We're going to come down and do a 5 hour interview with you." and as he hung up he thought "Oh great! I can see the headlines now! 'Mormon mission president regrets serving mission!'" And after they came down and they did more of their interview, they followed up on the question. He said "I have regretted coming. But it only lasted for one day, and I haven't regretted it since." And then he told them about that one day...

He then told us about a day in his mission. You never known what flying is like until you've flown on air Nigeria. They give bribes to the mechanics to not fix the plane so that smaller planes can have the business. As mission president, he was visiting the missionaries in a part of his mission, he had to fly out into the middle of nowhere, then they got on a road for 2 hours, a road which was the worst road in the world... You hear of potholes? Well this road didn't have potholes, it had caves. And they would sometimes slowdown to go down and up the caves, and then sometimes they would just gun it and go flying from cave to cave. And the only people driving on it are Mormon missionaries and UN Peace keepers. (funny)

As he was driving on this road in the middle of nowhere, his personal cell phone rings. And he's thinking "How in the world am getting any reception down here?!?" It's a business partner who took over his job when he left to serve. He was calling him from his old office in London. "Hey Bob! I'm in your office... this is a really nice office by the way! I just wanted to let you know we closed another round of funding" and told him it was the biggest round their company had ever had. Elder Gay asks "How big is it?" and he also knows that this round was closed on the end tails of all the work he had been doing for the past 5 years. "How big is it?" he asks, and when the guy tells him, Elder Gay was able to calculate in nano seconds what his bonus percentage would have been had he stayed and had he not sold his shares and had he not served a mission. And it was HUGE. It was so huge, it was so much money it would have made Michael Jordan's contract blush. He new in nano seconds that he'd just lost a ton of money, and here he was on the middle of a god forsaken road in the middle of nowhere. And he was feeling very sorry for himself. And he didn't talk to anyone for the next 2 hours. And he thought "Couldn't the Lord have just waited for 3 years? Surely he could have used all that money, I could have used it to help people..." 

So he's feeling sorry for himself, and the missionaries in the car with him (the APs) aren't talking to him cause they can tell he's upset, and then they had a bad hit one of the "caves" in the road and their car rolls three times, the roof and sides are banged in, the windows are all shattered, and it stops on it's side - he's got the missionaries lying on top of him. They are all quiet for a minute and he thinks everyone is dead, but then they come to and everyone is okay, they kick their way out of the car and get out and the people from the local village all come running and wailing cause they think they're dead. They try to get them to be quiet and calm down, they are not dead, but then he discovers he's all covered in blood. And he's got a HUGE gash in his forearm. And he's thinking "Great, now I'm going to die. Now I'm going to die or lose my arm cause I hurt and we are no where near civilization or a hospital!!!!" They get the villagers to be quiet and they wait for some car to pass to pick them up. As luck would have it, just 15 minutes later a truck comes and they stand arm to arm across the road and don't let them pass without picking them up. They are taken to the closest village and there is a small medical clinic there. It's got one dinky table, a single light bulb hanging from a little electric cord from the ceiling, and he doesn't think he's gonna get any help there. And he's right. The little doctor looks at his arm and says it's so bad he can't help him. Elder Gay's thinking "Yup, I'm gonna die. This is the worst day of my life." And then the doctor says "I can clean out the dirt and the infection..." Sure, that would be good. So the doctor notices his missionary badge and asks him if he's from the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. "Yes, I am." "I would like to tell you a story about members of your church, perhaps you would be interested?" "Sure, whatever, Fine..." (Elder Gay still not in a good mood...) and the doctor says "If you would have been here a year ago, I would not be able to help you at all. But a year ago, members of your church came and gave us all this..." as he points to the medicine and supplies he has on the shelves, and right at that moment, clear as day, Elder Gay heard these words

• "Your live has been saved today because someone, who you will never know, went out into the bush of Sierra Leone... and gave service. 
• Everything we have is Gods. 
• There is never a convenient time to serve. But the Lord is calling you to save your life. 
• Save your life, and lose it. Lose your life to save it.
• Never get to comfortable with what you have and where you sit, cause the Lord needs you.

Lastly he shared that when he was 18 years old, he was living in New York and his dad had him pick up Elder Howard W. Hunter from the airport, who was then an apostle, not that Elder Gay knew much about that. So he picked him up in a limo, and Elder Hunter got in the front cab in shotgun and grilled him, gave Elder Gay his first PPI "Tell me about your friends? Are you going on a mission? Do you read your scriptures?" And they had a nice visit and he counseled him to "Do it the Lord's Way". After they got to where they were going, he told him that if he was ever in Salt Lake, to come by and see him at his office. So after his mission when he was a young college kid at the U of U, he went down to the church office building a couple of times, just in his t-shirt and jeans, and said "Hi, I"m here to see Elder Hunter." Do you have an appointment? "Uh, no..." They call up to his office, and both times Elder Hunter was there, and invited him up. He got an update on what was going on in young Elder Gay's life, his family, school, church, kids... his advice to him then was "Do it the Lord's way." So Elder Gay made a commitment to himself to not study on Sundays. And when he got to Harvard, that was a huge trial of faith, cause all the exams there are given on Mondays. But he was committed to do it the Lord's way. They started their family, even though they were broke and busy with school. "Do it the Lord's way..."

• Do it the Lord's way, cause the blessings will be unlimited.
• Do it the Lord's way, because you will never be forsaken and your life will be saved in the bush.
• Don't settle for less.
• This is Christ's church, this is His gospel. 
• There's nothing that the world has to offer than can even compare.
• By not saving our lives, but by giving our lives.

So that's that! Isn't that GREAT!?!?! Corey and I were both moved and inspired and touched by it all, (Corey was crying, which always makes me cry) ~ I kept looking over at Corey and my heart was filled with happiness for this wonderful life we have together. It seemed like so much Elder Gay shared is our same story ~ of going forward in faith, trying to do it the Lord's way, having kids while he's struggling through school, being broke and not knowing where the money might come from... crazy adventures in foreign lands... It all hit home, ...except for the insane wealth part. But we're getting ready for God to smite us with that curse when he goes down to Brazil for his businesses big launch this year. Over these past 7 years Corey has told me often that "someday... this business will make you a very happy woman...". We'll see... 

Perchik: Money is the world's curse!

Tevye: May the Lord smite me with it. And may I never recover!