Astrology

I was getting my hair cut last week, and I was making the usual small talk with the hair stylist. We were talking about work and family and I told this person that I enjoyed staying home and being with my family. She then asked me when Iwas born and what astrological sign I was. She commented how I must have been a "Cancer" because being a "homebody" was typical of those born under that sign. I told her that I thought it was good to know that there are many others who have the same type of temperment. She then asked me if I had ever looked up my birth chart to see how the planets were aligned. I responded by saying that I thought it was much more important how my life was aligned, then how the planets were aligned. For me, being in right kind of places, and doing the right kinds of things have made all the difference.

Thanksgiving Story

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I wanted to link to a previous post that talks about the the real story of Thanksgiving. Despite what Rush Limbaugh would have us believe. The story of Thanksgiving is not about Capitalism. Capitalism is all about the supposed need for inequality; that we desire certain people to become more wealthy than everyone else. Capitalism establishes a system where a certain minority of society is able to amass huge amounts of capital more than others. This capital pool thus empowers these ultra-elites with the political and economic power to choose what to invest in and to become the architects of our society. The real story of Thanksgiving explains the reasons behind the initial failure and suffering of William Bradford and the Puritans at Plymouth Colony and their eventual later success in attempting to institute a communal economic system and then recognizing property rights and switching to the law of tithing.

Fight, Flee or Take the Blows

In the Last Days we are promised much redemptive turbulence associated with the Tribulation and Wrath. However, knowing what to expect and anticipating the events doesn't necessarily help us know what to do in response. The Book of Mormon is a type of the Last Days and we are promised that Secret Combinations exist now all around us. Scripture warns that men sometimes collude together to murder, rob, and plunder and get off if tried in court (see 3 Nephi 5-7, Mormon 8 and Ether 8). The result of conspiracy in the Book of Mormon was that the entire government collapsed and Jesus Christ warned us in 3 Nephi 20,21 that the same thing would happen to us if we didn't repent. Considering this warning, I think I can understand why the "Constitution will hang by a thread" story we so often hear is considered a myth.

However, knowing that adversity may come doesn't help us know how to respond to these tribulations. In the Book of Mormon the prophets led the people in a variety of responses. In some cased the people were commanded to lift up their swords in defense of their liberties. In 2 other instances a great military general Teancum stealthed over to the enemy side and assassinated the opposing forces leader. In other cases the people prostrated themselves before their enemies and submitted to genocide. In still other cases, the people tried the virtue of the word of God which we are told "had a more powerful effect on the minds of the people than the sword, or anything else that happened unto them." In the case of Moronihah the son of Captain Moroni, after losing all of their land to the Lamanites they fought and regained 1/2 of it back then sent in missionaries, converted the Lamanites who gave back the rest of the Nephite lands voluntarily.

Val Johnson in the July Ensign wrote about the issue of knowing how the Lord would want us to respond when facing persecution or tribulation. Bro Johnson cited the instruction in the Doctrine and Covenants 98. Bro Johnson wrote, "1833 the Church was facing intense persecution, especially in Missouri. In defense of their lives, Church members took up arms. At that point, the Lord revealed section 98. In it, He taught them to forbear—within limits. They had a right to defend themselves, but if they refrained, He would reward them. If the offenders sought forgiveness, the Saints were to forgive “seventy times seven” (verse 40). As for going to battle, they were to first sue for peace and engage only if the Lord commanded it."

In the coming times of trouble, I expect the people of the LDS church to face great persecutions and tribulations. Joseph Smith warned us that the LDS people would not necessarily be temporally immune from everything that would happen. Therefore, if the time were ever to come when the LDS people face great adversity, I expect to meet adversity with patience and longsuffering, looking to the Leadership of the LDS Church to know when and how to respond otherwise.

Interestingly, reactively fighting back is usually the worst thing to do. Mormon who was a great military strategist has told us that Lachoneus did not reflexively attack the dug-in Gadiaton Robbers. Instead, Lachoneus gathered all his people in the center of the land, consolidated resources and made the enemy come to them. In this way they met their enemies on their terms.

Multiple Personality Disorder

Todd Hansen in the July Issue of the Ensign gave some recommendations on how to be spiritually safe while traveling alone away from our families. Thankfully, I never have to travel for my job. However, the last point Bro. Hansen made was about the harm of maintaining multiple identities. While reading this article, I had the following thoughts:

Nazi Germany experimented with terrible brainwashing and mind control experiments. These experiments involved torture, abuse, drugs, and hypnosis to fracture the personality into parts. Horrifyingly, this perverse conditioning and abuse can begin even before birth. The mind, in order to cope with the psychological and physical abuse, fractures into different personalities in order to store traumatic memory in an alternate personality that can then be repressed after the abuse stops. When these German scientists were brought over to the US via Operation Paperclip, the CIA continued these evil brainwashing practices which are referred to as the MK-Ultra and Monarch Programs.

MK-Ultra is depicted in movies like Manchurian Candidate and Bourne Identity. Using multiple personalities, a handler can activate the alternate personality and then instruct the asset to kill, steal, or perform some act of terrorism. When the task is complete, the alternate personality and all associated memories are repressed. The victim becomes amnestic to everything that happened while the alternate personality was active. This becomes important if the CIA asset were ever caught. Monarch programing has to do with the sexual exploitation, abuse and training young girls and boys. Boys Town, NE, Finishing Schools, and Child Protective Services has served to supply victims.

While all this seems absolutely revolting, I wonder if some of us live divided lives just as tortured as victims of these mind control programs? Many of us who attend church on Sunday and spend time with our families during the day but then partake of the sins of pornography, drug use, and video games every night can be even more psychologically, and spiritually sick than an MK-Ultra or Monarch victim.

Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, “Living by Scriptural Guidance,” Ensign, Nov. 2000, 17. said, “Danger lurks when we divide ourselves with expressions such as ‘my private life,’ ‘my professional life,’ or even ‘my best behavior.’ Living life in separate compartments can lead to internal conflict and exhausting tension. … Inner peace comes only as we maintain the integrity of truth in all aspects of our lives. When we covenant to follow the Lord and obey His commandments, we accept His standards in every thought, action, and deed."

Trumpets and Spirals at the World Cup

The following is not LDS Doctrine:

Elder Bednar told us to listen for the sound of the trumpet. Anyone notice the prominent sound of trumpets at the World Cup and all the spirals in the graphics. The spiral kudu horn or vuvuzela is an instrument used in South African religious rituals. The sounding of trumpets can signify warning and spirals can signify chaos. There is some vigilant watchfulness concerning 7/11/2010 which is the date of the World Cup finals. Read about it at http://brainbender.blogspot.com

What About UFO's and ET's?

D&C 130:5 there are no angels who minister to this earth but those who do belong or have belonged to it.

Never mind CoasttoCoastAM with Art Bell, there has been some bizarre talk on Larry King Live featuring Buzz Aldrin and other other astronauts and airline pilots concerning trans-dimensional UFO's and ET's. Even more surprising has been several official statements made by the Vatican saying belief in UFO's and ET's is real and not demonic nor psychopathic and that ET's are our brothers and that they may be spiritually superior to us as they are not subject to the Fall.

"in the May, 2008, statement by the director of The Vatican Observatory (Specola Astronomica Vaticana), the Rev. Jose Funes. This priest publicly announced a long-held Vatican position that it's okay for Catholics to believe in UFO and Aliens from other worlds."

While LDS know that life does exist on countless other worlds, the Lord Jesus Christ was very clear to Joseph Smith on this issue. In the Doctrine and Covenants 130:5 Christ tells Joseph Smith he would never send and angel, servant or minister to this Earth that doesn't belong to this Earth. God is a God of order and having ETs suddenly arrive from Orion's Belt or Sirius and tell us that they produced the "Nephalim" and Jesus Christ and that our bodies are just vehicles for our spirit and that our physical reality is not really real is 1. not true 2. not according to the order that God has established.

If your interested in what kind of advanced propulsion systems the US has been hiding since the 1950s then look up info on French astrophysicist and engineer Jean-Pierre Petit who made huge discoveries in the fields of magnetohydrodynamics and magnetoplasmadynamics.

What About 2012?

My wife's uncle is Dr. Alan Christiansen who is a professor specializing in Mayan Art History at BYU. He is the translator of the current scholarly and academically accepted version of the Mayan Popol Vuh. Dr. Christiansen served an LDS mission in Guatemala and speaks fluent modern Mayan. He translates for LDS General Conference and can read ancient Mayan hieroglyphics like he was reading a newspaper. He has also been featured in several National Geographic articles and documentaries. According to Dr. Christiansen, there is nothing in the Popol Vuh or the Mayan Long Count Calendar to suggest the ancient Maya foresaw anything or were predicting anything in Winter Solstice 2012.

If you read my previous post which quotes a General Conference talk by President Ivins in 1931. At that time our occult/globalist/zeitgeist/anti-Zionist friends were telling us the same thing. At that time, they were telling us that the hieroglyphics in the Great Pyramid in Egypt were predicting the Great Depression. This Egyptian prediction claim was a hoax. Yet, the Great Depression did happen, but it wasn't because the ancient Egyptians knew about it.

Ben Bernanke spoke at Milton Friedman's (Nobel Laureate in Economics) 90th birthday and told him in essence 'Milt and Anna, for years you have been saying the FED caused the Great Depression because we contracted the money supply (as opposed to Protectionist policy via the Hawley-Smoot Tariff Act). "You're right, we did it. We're very sorry. But thanks to you, we won't do it again."

Unfortunately, they did do it again when the FED stopped releasing M3 data in 2006 and then oversaw the constriction of the money supply via the implementation of the International Monetary Fund/World Bank/Bank of International Settlement Basel II Accords in 2007. I case you are tempted to think our money masters didn't know better, the Basel I Accords of 1988 bankrupted Japan.

Well, it seems that our New Age/Age of Aquarius friends are playing the same game they played preceding the Great Depression. Our Alchemist/Zeitgeist/Mystery Babylon/Invisible College/Illuminati/Order of Malta/Shriner/Scottish Rite/Rosicrucian/Orangemen/Venetian Black Nobility/Hermetic/Ordo Templi Orientis/Skull and Bones friends are telling us some crazy stuff is going to happen leading up to 2012. I am not going to go into all of it, but whatever tribulation happens, just be sure it is not because the Egyptians or Mayans foretold it.

That said, the Book of Mormon does tell us that the movement of the planets does testify that there is a God. So, the issue of the "Progression of the Equinoxes" and the Earth aligning with and crossing the galactic plane cannot be discounted. I am not saying nothing will happen on 2012. What I am saying is stuff is happening now, and will happen but I am of the opinion that like 1931, the 7 trumpets of the tribulation where calamities by man upon their fellow man made to simulate end of the world events. Then, following the 7 trumpets of the tribulation, come the 7 vials of wrath that represent real acts of God and God's vengeance upon the wicked.

Alma 30:44 all things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and it's motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator.

I am sure all LDS are aware the President Gordon B. Hinkley warned us 8 years ago to get our houses in order just as President Ivins did in 1931. President Hinkley referred to the vision of the Phoaroah interpreted by Joseph who saw the 7 years of plenty followed by the 7 years of famine. President Hinkley told us back then that "portent of stormy weather ahead to which we had better give heed." He then talked about getting out of debt and spoke of the reactionary nature of world financial markets.

What exactly are the globalist/new world order/anti-Zionist/anti-American/elites planning and what exactly is going to happen? I am not sure. I am sure it won't be any sort of economic recovery any time soon. Therefore, according to the prophets and Apostles we need to 1. Get out of debt 2. Beware of Anger 3. Act and don't be acted upon (globalist plans, like chess, rely on predictable reactions by their opponents. They are also playing Good Cop/Bad Cop so beware what seems to be the Good Cops) 4. Secure a year supply of food 5. Put together a 72-hour kit for evacuation. 6. Follow the Prophet. 7. Let the Holy Spirit guide.

The instruction from President Ivins in 1931 LDS General Conference applies today:
"Just be calm and turn to the Lord. It is not the result of any occurrence of the immediate past. We have been gradually drifting toward it for years and years, and personally I have known that it would come, and I bore witness of it from this stand to the people a year ago. I applied it to my own affairs. I pleaded with the people to put their houses in order and get out of debt, for I knew this was coming, because God himself through his Only Begotten Son had declared it.

There is nothing that men can do, nothing that we can do that will avert the fulfilment of those sayings, and it is not the design of our Father in heaven at all either. It is simply the result of our own lack of wisdom, of our own disposition to he selfish, of the accumulation of the wealth of the country in the hands of a few men which prevents its equal distribution among the masses.

Now, my brethren and sisters, if the Church has anything to say to you it will come from them direct and not from the writings of other men. It will come to you in a manner that you will understand it. It will not be speculative. It will come to you philosophically, truthfully and governed by common sense."

1931 LDS Conference and the "Progession of the Equinoxes"

President Anthony W. Ivins, First Counselor in the First Presidency. Conference Report, October 1931, p.87-94

My brethren and sisters, I stand before you this morning in humility and humbly ask that during the few moments of time I expect to occupy I may have your sympathy, the support of your faith, and the help of the Lord, that I may clearly outline to you the thoughts which I have in my mind.

I am going to read from the book of Isaiah, 19th chapter, 19th and 20th verses:

"In that day shall there be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar at the border thereof to the Lord.

"And it shall be for a sign and for a witness unto the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt: for they shall cry unto the Lord because of the oppressors, and he shall send them a savior, and a great one, and he shall deliver them."

REFERS TO BOOK

I have read this scripture, my brethren and sisters, as a basis for the brief remarks that I expect to make in regard to a matter that has caused more or less discussion among members of the Church because of the recent publication of this small book which I hold in my hand. The title of the book is "Our Bible in Stone." The author is Francis M. Darter of Los Angeles, a member of the Church, in good standing, an experienced engineer and a mathematician of ability.

It treats principally the erection, symbolism and prophetic character of the pyramid of Gizeh, or in Greek, Cheops. Various other applications so far as the name is concerned have been applied to this structure. Because of its superiority over all other like structures it has come to be known and referred to as the Great Pyramid of Gizeh.

SITUATED IN EGYPT

The Great Pyramid of Gizeh is situated in Egypt, about ten miles west of the city of Cairo, and one hundred and twenty-five miles south from the city of Alexandria, which was founded by Alexander the Great 332 B. C. It is bounded on the west by the Libyan desert, and is therefore in the borders of the land. It is one of a group of nine other similar structures, which are known as the Pyramids of Gizeh.

It is a noteworthy fact that while many pyramids are found in Egypt, none is known to exist in other parts of the world except in America, where many such structures are known to have been erected, but no other pyramids can be compared with the unusual structure to which my remarks are to be confined.

The orientation of the great pile, as it applies to the points of the compass, and the accuracy with which its proportions are related one to the other, are a marvel to those who have made a study of it.

GOVERNED BY STARS

The relationship of the Pyramid to modern mathematics, by which scholars have endeavored to fix the date of its construction, indicates that in its erection the builders were familiar with and governed largely by the movement of the heavenly bodies, which science the moderns refer to as astronomy.

Sir John Herschel, from astronomical calculation, places the construction of the Pyramid at 2160 B. C., and Professor Piazza Smyth at 2170 B. C. Basil Stewart, in his recently published book, "The Witness of the Great Pyramid," after a careful study of the application of astronomy in its construction, says:

"The Great Pyramid therefore may be considered the earliest known record in existence wherein is embodied the fact of the immense cycle known as the precession of the equinoxes."
OF GREAT MAGNITUDE

The magnitude of the structure may be best understood by comparing it with something with which we are familiar. The area covered by the base of the structure is in excess of thirteen acres, or three acres larger than the block upon which this building stands, which is ten acres. The height of the Pyramid is 485 feet above the base, or more than twice the height of the temple to the east of us. The bulk of the building is more than ninety million cubic feet, and sufficient stone was used in its construction to build a wall four feet high and two feet thick, twenty-two hundred miles in length, or which would reach from Chicago to San Francisco.

THE BUILDERS

Who were the builders of the Pyramid no one knows. Khufu (Cheops, in Greek) is given credit for having been the builder. This personage has been identified by some students as Seth, the son of Adam: others give Enoch, the son of Jared, credit for having been the builder: others Shem, the Son of Noah; while some believe that Melchizedek, that mysterious personage to whom Abraham paid tithes, and whom some of these scholars identify as the Patriarch Job, was the person who constructed it.

Herodotus, who lived nearly five hundred years before the birth of Christ, and who is referred to as the father of history, knew of the existence of the Great Pyramid, and wrote concerning it. He says that the Egyptians detested the memory of the kings who caused their fathers to erect these structures, and besides compelled them to close their own temples, and for this reason they were not willing to mention their names, but called the two first pyramids erected after Philition, a shepherd who fed his cattle about the place.

Manetho, himself an Egyptian, wrote as follows:

"There came from the east, in a strange manner, men of an ignoble race, who had the confidence to invade our country, and easily subdued it by their power without a battle. All this invading nation was styled Hyksos, that is, 'Shepherd Kings'."

He then relates how they departed for Judea and built a city there named Jerusalem. This he says was long before the exodus of the Israelitish people from Egypt under Moses.

OLD THEORY CHALLENGED

It is known that Hyksos, or Shepherd Kings, dominated Egypt at the time that Jacob and his family went into that country, during the period when Joseph ruled as vice regent of the reigning Pharaoh, and it was among this people that Joseph chose his wife, Asenath, who became the mother of his sons Ephraim and Manasseh.

The first definite suggestion that the Great Pyramid was other than the tomb of a king, or other merely temporal monument, was in a work written by John Taylor in London in 1859. He conceived the idea that it was a divinely planned and constructed monument, designed to be a witness to the human race, showing in advance the history of mankind from the creation to the period of the second coming of our Lord, who would establish dominion over the earth upon which we dwell and usher in a reign of righteousness and peace.

At a later date C. Piazza Smyth, astronomer royal of Scotland, wrote upon the subject, agreeing with the conclusions reached by Taylor. Sir W. M. Flinders Petrie, Professor John Edgar, D. Davidson, Joseph A. Seiss, Sir John Herschel, Basil Stewart and many other scholarly men, after making a study of the subject, became advocates of the theory advanced by Taylor, that the Great Pyramid has something more than human in its construction and symbolism.

THE INTERIOR

For ages after its construction the interior of the Great Pyramid remained a sealed mystery. Obsessed with the belief that within the great pile hordes of treasure had been concealed, men finally determined to penetrate and explore it. A tunnel was driven into the structure far towards the center, but the work was so difficult that it was about to be discontinued when the workmen unexpectedly broke into the passageway, and the mystery was solved.

Nothing was found to indicate that the Pyramid had been constructed to be the tomb of a king, as was usually the case with the smaller structures of like architecture. It was discovered that the original builders had constructed a series of passages or galleries in the interior of the Pyramid, the entrance to which had been concealed and so strongly closed that it became necessary to blast around it in order that entrance might be made possible. This entrance is on the north side of the structure, and the first gallery or passage descends from the opening at an angle of about twenty-six degrees to a point far below the floor of the Pyramid into the solid rock upon which it stands, where it terminates in a chamber which is called the Pit.

A short distance from the entrance, at the same angle, another passageway leads upward and communicates with two other chambers, one referred to as the Queen's Chamber near the center and the other higher up, as the King's Chamber.

CONCLUSIONS OF SCHOLARS

It is the accuracy with which-these galleries are constructed and certain markings and steps which are placed at intervals along the way, that have convinced scholars who have made careful study of the subject that the Pyramid was intended by its builders to represent the history of our race, as has been stated, from the remote past to the time of the second coming of our Lord.

Discussion of the symbolism of the Great Pyramid is not a new thing in the Church. I well remember that Orson Pratt, during his lifetime, lectured on the subject and made mathematical calculations by which he reached the conclusion that certain measurements of the galleries and markings which were upon them had reference to the opening of the Gospel dispensation in which we live, and the final consummation of the purposes of our Father in heaven by which peace would come to the world and happiness to mankind.

I remember also that his calculations brought conclusions which differed from others who had made a study of the subject, but were in the main the same. Soon after the World War students of the Pyramid announced that according to their theory, and it is only a theory, the year 1928 would witness the beginning of a period of tribulation which would continue with increasing intensity until 1936, and would bring sorrow and mourning to the inhabitants of the earth. At that date their symbols and measurements bring us to the King's Chamber, and the record of the Pyramid, if it has a record, will cease with the advent of our Lord and the establishment of a period of peace, happiness and good will among men.

QUESTIONS CONCLUSIONS

The Church has not at any time, nor does it now, accept the conclusions of pyramid students to be definitely correct. In fact there is great doubt that the arbitrary basis upon which their calculations and conclusions are founded is correct.

I do not wish to be understood to say that they are in error. Neither do I say that they are correct. But this much I desire to declare to this congregation: While I have not given profound study to the theories of men regarding the origin and symbolism of this miracle in stone, I have read and studied it in a general way and have found nothing in it to convince me that the record of the Great Pyramid definitely forecasts coming events.

OTHER SOURCES

The Church does not depend upon Pyramids of Gizeh nor the conclusions of scientific investigators, however helpful they may sometimes be in the study of these questions, for an interpretation of the scripture which refers to the return of Christ our Lord to earth and the millennium of peace and good-will which is to be enjoyed trader his personal administration.

We believe in the literal gathering of the house of Israel, that Judah and Benjamin will he united with Ephraim and the ten tribes from whom they have been separated since the reign of Rehoboam, the son of Solomon: that Zion will be built upon this continent; that Christ our Lord will reign personally among his people; and that the earth will be restored to its paradisaical glory.

This declaration of our faith is based upon the words of our Lord as they are contained in the Bible, and have come to us through modern revelation.

PRECEDING HIS SECOND COMING

As Jesus sat upon the Mount of Olives the disciples came to him privately, saying:

"Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world ?"

Our Lord warned them to take heed lest they be deceived. He told them that preceding the time of his coming there would be a period when war would prevail throughout the world; that nation would rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and that there would be famine and pestilences and earthquakes in divers places; that those who believed in him would suffer persecution, and that tribulation such as had never before been known would be experienced. But he assured them that those who had faith to endure to the end would be saved.

He told them that before his coming the Gospel which he taught would be restored to earth and preached among all people, as a witness, before the end should come. And then he said, "shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven *** and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory."

At the time of his ascension, when the cloud received him, as his disciples gazed in wonder and astonishment, two men in white apparel appeared and said:

"Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven."

The affirmation of the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ and the further fact that he would at a subsequent period of time return to earth to assume control over its affairs and usher in a millennium of peace are so definitely attested that no real believer in the Bible can deny them.

EXACT TIME NOT REVEALED

Conditions which would prevail prior to his glorious appearance are definitely stated, but the exact time when he shall appear has not been revealed. He himself says, referring to the time of his glorious appearance: "But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father."

He does tell us that he will come in an hour when we expect him not and warns us that we must always be prepared to meet him. He warns us further that if at that time we are found oppressing our brethren and eating and drinking with the drunken he will cut us off, root and branch, which will cause weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth.

THE AUTHOR'S OWN VIEWS

Now, my brethren and sisters, I have referred to this little book and its contents as I desire that you might understand. It will undoubtedly go into the mission field and our Elders amy make use of it. I simply want to warn you against sensationalism of any kind.

While the author, as I have stated, is a member of the Church in full standing, this work goes out as his own views. I do not wish to deprecate the amount of work he must have applied in the preparation of this book, in the study of the scriptures, and in the preparation of the charts which are contained in it. I do not say that his conclusions are wrong, but I do say that they do not come to us as the voice of the Church, nor are they to be accepted as such.

TROUBLES FORECAST

Brother J. Golden Kimball told us yesterday that he was a great believer in dreams that come true. I am reminded of the fact that immediately after the close of the World War these students of the Pyramids announced and published it that according to their measurements and calculations there would begin in the year 1928 a period which would bring tribulation and sorrow to the people of the world: that they would be required to humble themselves before the Lord, and that that period of tribulation would continue until the year 1936. This was based entirely upon the measurement of the galleries and the steps that are in the Pyramids.

We all know that a part of this dream at least has come true. Men come to us and tell us that there is no depression; that it is only our imagination. It is true that we are surrounded by plenty, but in the midst of plenty many are in want. Such talk to me is sheer nonsense. My father-in-law, Erastus Snow, used to say that such statements reminded him of a man trying to hold himself up by his own bootstraps. When Great Britain who has stood in the ages past as a financial master of the world sends out cries for financial help; when Germany who stands in the very forefront of the nations of the world in intellectual development in music, in chemistry, in mechanism, sends out calls for help, and is on the very verge of dissolution and anarchy, it is obvious that there is something wrong.

TRIBULATIONS EVIDENT

When our own government is wrestling with problems which they hardly know how to control, but are doing their very best to meet them: when banking establishments are going down like block-houses, and hundreds of millions of dollars of the savings of poor people are being lost to them because of these failures, it appears obvious to me that we are passing through a time of tribulation. I believe it is better at any rate that we should think so. I agree with the Governor of our state in his declaration that we are in a period which requires our most careful attention and our best efforts to avert. If there are those who do not believe it they will find it out before we are through with it.

DEFENDS BANKS

While I am on my feet I want to say one thing: This condition naturally brings trouble to banking institutions, and men are referring to banks as heartless usurers. Banks are not money-lenders alone, they are the custodians of the funds of the people. They do not tend their own money, they lend the money of the widow and the orphan and the fatherless which has been entrusted to them. They make investment of it that it may bring returns to these people who so greatly need it, and it is their sacred duty to preserve those funds to save them from loss. When men go to banks and borrow money they must do it with the expectation that they are to pay it back. It is not their money, it is not the money of the bank: it is the money of the people. And so when banks are careful to preserve their resources and to keep them liquid, so they can meet the demands that are made upon them, they should be complimented and not found fault with.

This brings me right back to another thing that the Redeemer said. He told us you know, that there would be weeping and wailing among the merchants--or the prophet told us that--because there would be no one to buy their merchandise. We have very nearly lived to see that. He told us that it will be the same with the giver of usury as it is with the taker of usury from him. This is not a condition which affects one class of our citizens only, it affects men from the wealthy of our country to those who are in the most humble circumstances.

Well, now, my brethren and sisters, what about it all ?

TRUST THE LORD

Just be calm and turn to the Lord. It is not the result of any occurrence of the immediate past. We have been gradually drifting toward it for years and years, and personally I have known that it would come, and I bore witness of it from this stand to the people a year ago. I applied it to my own affairs. I pleaded with the people to put their houses in order and get out of debt, for I knew this was coming, because God himself through his Only Begotten Son had declared it.

There is nothing that men can do, nothing that we can do that will avert the fulfilment of those sayings, and it is not the design of our Father in heaven at all either. It is simply the result of our own lack of wisdom, of our own disposition to he selfish, of the accumulation of the wealth of the country in the hands of a few men which prevents its equal distribution among the masses.

Now, my brethren and sisters, if the Church has anything to say to you it will come from them direct and not from the writings of other men. It will come to you in a manner that you will understand it. It will not be speculative. It will come to you philosophically, truthfully and governed by common sense.

God bless you, is my humble prayer, through Jesus Christ, Amen.

1 Thing I Would Change

1. No more usury(interest) and fractional reserve banking. The Bible clearly teaches that "thou shalt not charge usury of thy brother". So many of us allow this evil practice hoping that one day we may be the collectors of usury instead of the payees. We learn right after the Fall that men are to Eat their bread by the sweat of their face all the days of their life. Usury is a way the wealthy can eat their bread off the labors of others. Our enabling of Usury has allowed the agents of Satan to get the gold they use to control, oppress and destroy the Earth.

Lending and borrowing policy affects the process of invention as well. Securing a patent and intellectual property is protected in the Constitution so that an inventor will put in the investment and labor needed up front knowing he will be rewarded later. It also encourages disclosure. However, there still can be a problem with finding initial investment. Because wealth is concentrated in the hands of so few, many technologies have been suppressed.

This problem of initial investment argument is based on the problem of usury and unfair banking and lending practices. If banks didn't charge usury and people with good ideas could get all the money they could need to develop an idea, new discoveries would immediately be available to everyone. And I predict learning and technological advancement would skyrocket. Innovators and inventors could make money other ways by consulting, or franchising thier new processes and products so that other craftsmen or tradesmen could offer the same innovation in their market.

Act and Not Be Acted Upon

The following is not necessarily LDS Doctrine:

Elder Bednar in April Conference warned the Saints about conspiring men in the Last Days and that if we would read and bare testimony of the Book of Mormon and learn to act and not be acted upon we would be like watchman upon the tower being enabled to see afar off and hear the sound of the trumpet. In regards to trumpets, there is currently a reason to be watchfully vigilant. So, in the spirit of hearing trumpets and vigilant watchfulness, I want to discuss the following:

According to a bizzare series of 5 slideshows at the website at the UK Telegraph entitled Operation Blackjack a warning of an immenent terrorist threat may be announced tomarrow (June 21, 2010 12:00 GMT). The series of 5 slideshows depict nuclear bombs being detonated in several US cities along with Mexico City, London, Washinton DC, Toronto, and Los Angeles. According to the slideshow MI5 the British Counter Intelligence Agency will increase their threat level to Critical and should release info to the public to vacate large cities. At the same time, local, state and federal law inforcement will start rounding up supposed suspected terrorists. Despite this action, the bombs go off starting in London at 8:03am and subsequent detonations occur at the same time in each time zone at 8:03am on June 22, 2010.

In response, rioting ensues, Martial Law is imposed upon the US, and the sovergnity of the US as well as the US Constitution is lost as a new North American Union is put together to deal with the chaos created by the attack. If you were not aware, all the plans for the North American Union have been drafted and signed into law by President Bush. These series of Executive Orders are known as the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America. Officials from the US, Mexico and Canada have ironed out all the policies over the last few years. There has been no SPP summit scheduled for 2010 because this is the year when these executive orders will be implimented and inforced.

According to the Operation Blackjack scenario, citizens will be issued micro-chipped national ID cards and will be subject to manditory vaccinations. Eventually all citizens will be required to receive the implantable RFID VeriChip. The new capital of the NAU will be Denver from the underground military complex which was built under the airport.

Pesident Obama warned us earlier this year at the UN nuclear summit about nuclear bombs being detonated in US cities. He called this our number one security threat. Accordingly FEMA has been preparing for this scenario by conducting drills like NLE2010 which simulated the response to a nuclear detonation in Los Angeles. The US Military have practiced for this scenario via Operation Ardent Sentry 09 and 10. Local and State authorities in Chicago have had similar drills. Additionally, FEMA has purchased millions of body bags, plastic coffins, and has finished several mass graveyards in Houston, Phoenix, Southern California and Indiana. While Chicago is not listed as a target city in Operation Blackjack there is some concern it may be included in the real life terrorist act.

Next year, according to the Operation Blackjack slideshow, the goverment is expecting large demonstrations protesting the NAU and the in favor of preserving the US Constitution and Bill of Rights. Many protesters will be rounded up and sent to FEMA forced labor camps.
Then at some point after a failed bombing attempt, nuclear forensics will finally discover the the bombings were not from domestic terrorist groups in league with Iran and China, but that the components of the bomb are American made. Then at that point, there will be a civil war of sorts and the NAU will divide up into 2 or 4 pieces potentially creating a King of the North and King of the South situation that would divide Utah and the US politically similar to the political situation described in Daniel 11.

If bombs do go off starting with London on June 22, 2010 at 8:03 GMT which is 4 am PDT on the East Cost, then according to the Operation Blackjack Senario there will be a swift, decicive and horrible nuclear response upon Iran, China and whomever else is implicated. This is very unfortunate because there are so many freedom loving people in China and Iran that will be targeted in a revenge attack. And if that revenge attack occurs, the question is what the response of Russia and China will be. Operation Blackjack doesn't mention a WW3 scenario as a consequence nor does it mention a nuclear counterattack from Russia.

There is also a concern about the release and emergance of diseases during this time. Elder Oaks gave a talk forewarning us that worthy priesthood holders would be needed. President Taylor in his Vision of Destruction and Horseshoe Prophecy commented about the conditions in Salt Lake and the power of the priesthood which would be be needed to keep disease from raging uncontrollably.

According to another person who is watching these events unfold, he describes the situation like this:
I donno about you but I take that as a warning, and there are so many more symbolic things shown in these pictures, like the UNA (Union of North America), the Amero, to replace the dollar, and all the chaos that will be caused resulting in Martial Law and more loss of freedoms. And all of this is being done by design, that they, the Elite, planned on purpose. It's called Problem, Reaction, Solution. They create the problem, the people react they way the expect, and then they offer their solution that normally would not be accepted but because of the circumstances the people will practically beg for it. And it will result in more control for them and less freedoms for us.

Therefore, to preserve our freedom, our rights, our constitution, and our Constitution we need to act according to correct principle not simply react according to fear and uncontrolled emotion. Therefore, in my opinion, we need to take any potential warning tomarrow very seriously. If the MI5 threat level goes to critical tonight (12pm GMT) we should all have our 72hr kits and should be able to evacuate from major population centers. Following the crisis, we can act in civil ways to show our support for the constitution preventing our being rounded up by UNA or FEMA troops and sent away to a work camp. We can also be ready to listen and respond with exactness to any and all counsel we receive from our prophet President Monson and the Quorem of the Twelve Apostles.

Hopefully this whole thing is just a sick joke. However, unlike Y2K the convergence of so many details including, predictive programming in the media, and occult numerology (which the anti-Zionist conspiracy uses) suggests otherwise. You can view the Operation Blackjack slideshow for yourself. Even though the caption says the whole thing is fiction, codes and ciphers within the slideshow say otherwise. The first cipher reads: "this is not entertainment".

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/culturepicturegalleries/4220575/Blackjack.html

P.S.if the night skys happen to be red like an aurora it is a manmade unfocused exicition of the ionophere by HAARP and not solar despite what NASA may claim or your astrologer. The vision of the "night of the red sky vision" by an Apache wiseman is manmade as it exibits many major occultic characteristics: 1. Received in a cave 2. Speaks of man as a cancer upon the Earth 3. Does not strengthen faith in Jesus Christ.

http://tremen.dous.org/vision/item/4

Stop Giving Satan the Gold

The Following is not LDS Doctrine:

In my opinion, our current economic banking, lending and monetary system violates the Constiution and is bankrupting and enslaving the world through a corrupt system of fractional-reserve lending and inflation- and class-causing amortized loans. According to the Constitution Article, 1 Section 8, the Federal Government is given the power to coin money and to regulate its value. However in our current system of fractional-reserve banking, mega-banks create near 90% of the money out of thin air.

Anyone who thinks the current system is just fine because they think "I could turn around and sell my house tomorrow and I would already have $30,000 in equity" is not thinking about the next family that will buy that house. How is the next family going to afford a house that is 5 years older but $30,000 more expensive. In the following post at Brain Bender I explain again the current Fractional-Reserve Banking system and I suggest an alternative Full Reserve Banking solution that would take the power away from the corrupt globalist/ new world order elite. Doing away with the FED alone is not enough if the instruments of oppression remain in place.

We need to stop giving up all our gold and silver to the agents of Satan who are using our our money to buy up armies and navies, fund false priests, and sustain destroying tyrants who reign with blood and horror upon the Earth.

Trumpets and Conflict

The Following is not LDS Doctrine:

When the Bible and Revelation talks about the 7 Trumpets and 7 Vials of Wrath, some people believe that these prophecies have had multiple fulfillment throughout history. The 7 Trumpets had to do with what corrupt government did to the people, and the 7 Vials of Wrath had to do with what God did in repayment. I was hoping that 1/2 hour of silence would give us 21 years. But God seems to be hastening things maybe.

For example. One fulfillment or type of the antichrist, tribulation, and wrath in Matt 24 is Titus. General Titus (little horn) was the son of the 10th Emperor (10 horns) of the Roman Empire (4th Beast). General Titus destroyed the temple, and crucified tens of thousands of Jews on the walls of the city of Jerusalem. When Titus became Emperor, he continued the persecution of the Christians and outlawed the daily sacrifice in the Roman Empire. Not long after, Rome was hit by several natural disasters. Mount Vesuvius destroyed Pompeii and Herculaneum, there was another fire in Rome, a plague, and a drought. Finally Titus suffered a mysterious death; probably being poisoned by his brother Domitian.

Another possible fulfillment of the 7 Trumpets has to do with the fall of the Roman Empire. In addition to declining morals and corruption, Rome was economically bankrupt. They had sent much of their gold over to the orient in exchange for luxuries. Low on gold, Rome didn't have enough to put into their own currency. This led to a devaluation and contraction of the money supply. Contraction of the money supply and cheap slave labor led to greater unemployment. Greater unemployment led to more and more people relying upon government welfare. Rome put what money they had to fund the games to keep the unemployed mobs amused and pacified. In this weakened economic condition, the Roman Empire was vulnerable to attack.

The first trumpet had to do with hail fire and destruction burning up all the green grass and 1/3 of the trees. Some associate hail with war as Job does in Job 38:22 and the invasion of Rome by Alaric the Visigoth and the Goths by land. The second trumpet speaks of a burning mountain falling into the sea and the water turning to blood, 1/3 fish dying, and 1/3 shipping being destroyed. Some associate this with the attack of the Vandals by sea by way of Carthage. The 3rd Trumpet speaks of a star falling from heaven and poisoning 1/3 part of the rivers and streams. Some associate this with Attila the Hun's attack of the Roman Empire. Attila the Hun conquered by following the river valleys. The 4th Trumpet speaks of darkening the 1/3 part of the sun, moon, and stars. These same people associate this with the insurrection of German Barbarians who infiltrated and lived in the Roman Empire led by Odoacer who was an agent of Eastern Roman Emperor Zeno. The consequence of Odoacer's insurrection was a fracturing of the entire Western Empire into separate tribes.

The 5th Trumpet speaks of locusts which many believe speaks of the rise of the Arab Muslims which conquered Sephardic Jews and Arian Christians in Spain, North Africa, and destroyed the Christian capital of Alexandria and Heliopolis. I am told the Hebrew word for locust and Arab are very similar. Arab Muslims did not kill civilian Christians and Jews outright. They gave them a choice to convert to Islam or be a slave. If they choose slavery, their wives were taken and placed in harems. The 6th Trumpet speaks of the Euphrates overflowing and an Eastern Army killing 1/3 of men. Some believe this refers to the transfer of the Muslim Caliphate to Iraq and the rise of the Ottoman Turks. Dressed in fire, Jacinthe, and brimstone matches the Turkish uniform colors of red, blue and yellow-orange. The horses with mouths like lions that spew fire and brimstone with the power being in their tails refers to the Ottoman Turks use of gunpower, artillery,and cannons. The power in the tail was John likely describing the fuse and gunpowder. The Turks were successful in destroying the other Christian capitals of Jerusalem, Antioch and finally Constantinople leaving Rome the supreme ruler over all Christianity.

The 7 vials of wrath the occur during the sounding of the 7th Trumpet, likely refer to the many judgments of God that were poured during the Dark Ages.

Now what about the Last Days? I am not the only one who is asking if this BP Gulf Oil Spill is not a modern fulfillment of the 2nd Trumpet spoken of in Revelations. Since the American Empire is an Empire of Economy and not Land, some think that the 1st Trumpet would refer to the recent economic war which has brought upon the western world a great Economic Depression, banking failures, unempoloyment, and a dollar on the verge of collapse. The second trumpet refers to a mountain of fire being thrust into the sea turning the sea to blood, and killing 1/3 of the creatures of the sea, and 1/3 the ships or shipping. I am not the only one watching the 200,000 barrels/day of oil leak into the gulf and the toxic Corexit being sprayed thinking this accident is going to have major negative impacts. Who knows how a couple of hurricanes this summer will mix things up. The limit on off-shore drilling was 22,000ft and that BP well was deliberately drilled to at least 30,000ft.

If the first and second trumpets are sounding, then what about the third, fourth and fifth? The third trumpet has to do with a star falling from heaven and poisoning 1/3 the rivers and streams. I learned on the playground in 1986 that "Chernobyl" was the Russian word for "Wormwood." Could the next trumpet have to do with something nuclear? The Federal Government and Pres Obama himself at the UN nuclear summit warned us about the possibility of nuclear devices being set off in several US cities. This scenario has already been featured in a made for TV movie called "The Day After" where Kansas City gets obliterated. Were the globalists who own ABC and who produced the movie trying to tell us something? Kansas City just so happens to be the major North American Hub for the NAFTA superhighway. They had a very difficult time in Texas imposing imminent domain. If a nuclear device or dirty bomb was set off anywhere in the Missouri/Mississippi watershed, all the water downstream would be contaminated. Being LDS, we shouldn't forget Joseph Smith's warning to Alexander Donovan nor the "Yellow Dog" prophecy concerning Missouri. (Graham W. Doxey, “Missouri Myths,” Ensign, Apr 1979, 64). By the way, the movie depicts Kansas City getting nuked on Saturday the 16th. That would be in October this year.

Did I mention that FEMA has purchased 500,000 plastic grave liners which are sitting in fields in Madison and Conyers, GA as well as additional liners in Indiana. The US government is also building several enormous graveyards in Houston, TX, Phoenix, AZ, Southern California, and Indiana. In each of these locations are huge fields that have been filled with rows and rows of rectangular concrete boxes, just bigger than the plastic liners in Georgia, that are being placed side-by-side and then buried. That begs the question of what kind of catastrophe or war our government is preparing for.

The fourth trumpet may have to do with the fulfillment of Christ's warning to the Gentiles in 3 Nephi 20:16. Could there be a similar insurrection in this country like there was in the Roman Empire with Odoacer? As far as the fifth and sixth trumpets go, and the 7 vials of wrath following, I have no idea who the locusts will be this time.

But I am concerned that Pres. Obama has appointed himself to chair the UN security council without Senate approval which is against the Constitution Article 1, section 9. I am concerned about the recent escalation in rhetoric and violence between North and South Korea and between Israel and Iran and Venezuela and the US. Hugo Chavez together with Iran has been selling oil in Euros and Yuan directly to China without China first having to buy dollars according to the Petro-Dollar system. The Petro-Dollar System which is supported by Saudi Arabia is the only thing that supports the huge US deficits and debt. If China can buy oil in Yuan, it will have no need to purchase US T-Bills. Currently, the only people buying US T-Bills are banks, the FED. This was exactly the reason the US went to war against Iran. Because the US Dollar is off the gold standard, if China and India can get oil without buying dollars, the dollar and the country will go bust.

The world is being set up to enter into WW3. If you read Albert Pike letter on WW3, the 3 Catholic Secrets of Fatima, and the Muslim prophecies about the coming of the Dijjal and the Mahdi, they all seem to be coming about. And all thats bad because all these bring the nations into conflict.

Wake Up America: Stand Up For Freedom

I work as an Emergency Physician in the South and witness on a daily basis the consequences of poverty, ignorance, and complacency. I used to be your average LDS Reagan Sean Hannity Conservative. I was a conservative like most LDS because I am Pro-Life and I believe in Limited Government and reject Socialism and "Big Government". I believed in the Left-Wing Conspiracy to make the US a more socialist country. But not until recently did I come to understand and believe that the Left was also correct in warning us against the Right Wing Conspiracy by the so-called Neo-Cons or what is called "Big Business." Only recently did I come to understand that both this Left Wing Conspiracy and Right Wing Conspiracy is the same conspiracy. Our government leaders and both major political parties are controlled by special interests which are instituting policies that consolidate economic power into the hands of large cooperations and bankers on one side and other social policies which usurp individual liberties on the other side.

The current economic situation and fraud charges brought by the SEC against Goldman Sachs has really served to open my eyes. I have been arguing for some time that it was not only the subprime loans that caused the most recent economic and banking meltdown but the selling of these toxic assets/mortgaged backed securities/collateralized debt obligations. But this is not all. It the selling of these volatile derivative toxic assets which were deceitfully given AAA rating by the rating agencies, but also the inherent instability of fractional-reserve banking.

Because of fractional-reserve banking (which you have never heard of), when a FED member bank borrows a dollar from the FED (our tax money), they can lend 10$ or even 50$. That means the Bank and not the US Treasury nor even the FED is creating money out of thin air. This is known as the money multiplier = M3/M0. But while the consequences of fractional-reserve banking mean huge profits for the big banks, it means great instability for the smaller banks. Banks have to hold on to their small fractional reserves to lend. But Banks don't hold onto cash, but stocks and bonds. If the stock market crashes, then the banks lose their fractional reserves, cannot lend, and fail. They fail unless they are bailed out by the FED and if they are a FED member. Throughout US History, our economy has gone through one orchestrated economic depression after another which necessitates the Federal Government in picking winners and losers (those that get bailed out and those who don't).

Goldman Sach's and Paulson and Co's fraudulent selling of these risky CDO's while at the same time betting against them, is only part of the story. Do not forget who are the big winners here. The Big Banks got not just 700 billion in bailout money, but they got nearly 10 trillion in all. And due to fractional reserves, these banks turned that 10 trillion into 100 trillion. That is why cooperations like GMAC and Goldman which are not and never were traditional banks before filed for banking status. And with this free bailout money the banks turned around and bought US T-Bills which earn 3% interest. When the banks are asked what they did with the bailout money, they evade the question, but the FED recently bought 300 billion in long-term T-Bills which it never does saying it was do drop the rate of T-Bills so that Banks would quite buying T-Bills and lend money like they normally should. But these bailed out banks and cooperations received their 3% interest payment and then could easily pay the FED back for the initial free bailout with our own money we gave them as interest on the original money we gave them. Instead of Banks paying us prime to use our money we have paid them to take our money.

This whole thing was orchestrated. I believe that the Banks purposefully had John Paulson go to Goldman Sachs to create the CDO's for them to buy. We know from internal emails that Paulson and Goldman knew these CDO's were designed to fail and that knowing this Paulson and Goldman shorted or bet against these derivatives. However, Paulson isn't that smart of a guy, and I don't think he was smart enough to think of this scheme on his own. He was a nobody before, and I am not buying another lone gunman scenerio. I think Paulson was just selfish enough to take a bribe promising millions at the expense of the rest of us. I believe the Banks knew these derivatives would fail, that they would get hurt, and that they would get bailed out by the FED while the little banks would fail. The evidence for this is the fact that the FED stopped releasing M3 data in 2006 which tracts the money supply due to derivatives claiming the value held no significant additional information. Failing to release M3 data hid the degree of leverage in the system, it hid the money multiplier, it hid the artificial bubble being created. Thereupon, M3 ballooned to record levels and then was sharply contracted in 2008 triggering the failure.

Also, just ask yourself why the SEC is always so late in cleaning up these economic scandals. Why did the SEC do nothing pre-emptive with ENRON, WorldCom, Bernie Madoff, and now Goldman Sachs. A whistle blower outed thousands of ultra-elite tax evaders with offshore Swiss Bank Accounts. The result is that the US doesn't request a full list of US citizens with Swiss Bank accounts but only a select list, grants amnesty to the names that are given, and then sends the whistleblower to jail for withholding one of his clients. So, noone goes to jail but the whistleblower.

Now to top it all off, I was encouraged when Barak Obama was saying that he was going to institute financial reform to regulate the bankers who earned obscene profits and paid their executives obscene bonuses. However, when you read the financial reform bill, what the bill calls for is for a tax to be levied upon all banking institutions and upon all transactions based on some determination of risk. The international monetary fund and other countries have just released similar proposals. Then all that money will go to the FED or the IMF so that these institutions can decide who deserves to be bailed out the next time. And this is all under the guise that they are doing this so that the tax payer will not be liable to bail out banks in the future because there will be this pool of money.

But, duh people, wake up!!! Whether they tax all transactions as we go along or we get stuck with a big bill at the end, either way its our money. But this way, we give the FED and possibly an international banking organization like the IMF supreme power to arbitrarily determine who will get taxed and how much they will get taxed. To sum up, this bill is nothing short of a total usurpation of individual liberty by the Federal Government and possibly international government.

This kind of thing matches the MO of the conspiracy for a long time. These people prey upon real social and economic problems, some of them they create. But instead of fixing them, they institute policies which only serve to consolidate power into their hands. Examples of this was instituting the FED, instituting the Income Tax, Patriot Act, our current Health Care reform which allows the government to assign an arbitrary quality factor to every doctor and hospital which will determine reimbursement. Carbon Cap and Trade works the same way allowing the Federal Government total control over which business activities would be taxed and how much. Please do not tell me that our Federal Government would never dishonestly exercise such far-reaching power as total control over determining quality factors, determining carbon tax and trade, and determining banking transaction risk. If I learned anything from George Orwell's "Animal Farm," it is that "power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely."

Wake up people! When there is a social problem, scandal, or threat, the answer is not bigger government. We need to resist the temptation to trade our individual liberties for security. When there is a scandal or threat, the problem usually the fault of too much consolidation of power as opposed to not enough consolidation. the whole point of Constitutional government is that rights and liberties reside with the people and that the Federal Government can only exercise those powers enumerated in the Constitution.

So what to do:
1. End the FED
2. Shift to Full-Reserve Banking
3. Earn fee on full money supply and not just a fraction of it
4. End income tax
5. Institute Protectionist trade policies by using the power of the tariff to protect and rebuild domestic industry and production (Lincoln and McKinley Republicans were historically Protectionist and never Free Trade until FDR lied about the cause of the Great Depression which was really the FED contracting the money supply).
6. Offer no-interest, fee-only home and business loans administered by non-profit local and state banks
7. Allow local and state banks to purchase money from US Treasury
8. Return money to gold standard
9. Reverse 17th Amendment restoring state control of election of senators
10. Return all government lands to States
11. End Derivatives and speculative markets
12. Campaign finance reform
13. Use anti-trust laws to break down global businesses too big to fail
14. Never bailout business but use bankruptcy to allow business to divide and reorganize
15. Shift burden of charity programs from Federal Government to local and state agencies and governments.
16. End or phaseout all non-enumerated activities of the Federal Government
17. Develop domestic natural resources and end dependence on foreign oil. Drill in ANWR, off-shore, and the Bakken formation in Montana and North Dakota.
18. Develop natural gas economy by converting automobiles to natural gas and incentivize Bloom Energy natural gas fuel cell for residential use.

Brainbender

Please visit my other blog at http://brainbender.blogspot.com for some commentary on economics and politics.

Children of God

We are Children of Our Heavenly Father

God is not only our Ruler and Creator; He is also our Heavenly Father. All men and women are literally the sons and daughters of God. “Man, as a spirit, was begotten and born of heavenly parents, and reared to maturity in the eternal mansions of the Father, prior to coming upon the earth in a temporal [physical] body” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith [1998], 335).

[What do scriptures and latter-day prophets teach us about our relationship to God?How does the belief that we are children of God empower us against sin? Example of the endowment of Moses.]

Every person who was ever born on earth is our spirit brother or sister. Because we are the spirit children of God, we have inherited the potential to develop His divine qualities. Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we can become like our Heavenly Father and receive a fulness of joy.

[How does your knowledge that you are a child of God influence your thoughts, words, and actions? How does this knowledge influence how you treat others?]

We Developed Personalities and Talents While We Lived in Heaven

The scriptures teach us that the prophets prepared themselves to become leaders on earth while they were still spirits in heaven (see Alma 13:1–3). Before they were born into mortal bodies, God foreordained (chose) them to be leaders on earth. Jesus, Adam, and Abraham were some of these leaders. (See Abraham 3:22–23.) Joseph Smith taught that “every man who has a calling to minister to the inhabitants of the world was [fore]ordained to that very purpose” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith [2007], 511). However, everyone on earth is free to accept or reject any opportunity to serve.

[Explain: intelligence, spirit body, physical body. How does the self-existence of man address the problem of suffering? How does foreordination empower against sin vs. predestination? Give the example of how deterministic philosophy results in students cheating]

We were not all alike in heaven. We know, for example, that we were sons and daughters of heavenly parents—males and females (see “The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” Ensign, Nov. 1995, 102). We possessed different talents and abilities, and we were called to do different things on earth. We can learn more about our “eternal possibilities” when we receive our patriarchal blessings (see Thomas S. Monson, in Conference Report, Oct. 1986, 82; or Ensign, Nov. 1986, 66).

A veil covers our memories of our premortal life, but our Father in Heaven knows who we are and what we did before we came here. He has chosen the time and place for each of us to be born so we can learn the lessons we personally need and do the most good with our individual talents and personalities.

[How have other people’s talents blessed you? How can your talents and gifts bless others?

Our Father in Heaven Presented a Plan for us to Become Like Him

Our Heavenly Father knew we could not progress beyond a certain point unless we left Him for a time. He wanted us to develop the godlike qualities that He has. To do this, we needed to leave our premortal home to be tested and to gain experience. Our spirits needed to be clothed with physical bodies. We would need to leave our physical bodies at death and reunite with them in the Resurrection. Then we would receive immortal bodies like that of our Heavenly Father. If we passed our tests, we would receive the fulness of joy that our Heavenly Father has received. (See D&C 93:30–34.)

[How does life on Earth prepare us to become more like our Heavenly Father? Differentiate godhood vs. eternal parenthood. Differentiate Satan's plan vs God's plan. Explain why the idea of a pre-existence cannot be accepted. Just returning to live with God is not the goal]

Our Heavenly Father called a Grand Council to present His plan for our progression (see Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, 209, 511). We learned that if we followed His plan, we would become like Him. We would be resurrected; we would have all power in heaven and on earth; we would become heavenly parents and have spirit children just as He does (see D&C 132:19–20).

We learned that He would provide an earth for us where we would prove ourselves (see Abraham 3:24–26). A veil would cover our memories, and we would forget our heavenly home. This would be necessary so we could exercise our agency to choose good or evil without being influenced by the memory of living with our Heavenly Father. Thus we could obey Him because of our faith in Him, not because of our knowledge or memory of Him. He would help us recognize the truth when we heard it again on earth (see John 18:37).

[Prove to ourselves what we are made of. Will vs. Agency]

At the Grand Council we also learned the purpose for our progression: to have a fulness of joy. However, we also learned that some would be deceived, choose other paths, and lose their way. We learned that all of us would have trials in our lives: sickness, disappointment, pain, sorrow, and death. But we understood that these would be given to us for our experience and our good (see D&C 122:7). If we allowed them to, these trials would purify us rather than defeat us. They would teach us to have endurance, patience, and charity (see Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball [2006], 15–16).

[God does know the intimate details of our life. Bad stuff doesn't just happen. G0d doesn't just play dice with the Universe despite what Rabbi Kushner says]

At this council we also learned that because of our weakness, all of us except little children would sin (see D&C 29:46–47). We learned that a Savior would be provided for us so we could overcome our sins and overcome death with resurrection. We learned that if we placed our faith in Him, obeying His word and following His example, we would be exalted and become like our Heavenly Father. We would receive a fulness of joy.

[A Muslim told me he could not accept Christ as God because that would mean all men are gods. A Christian told me he could not accept Islam because they deny the divinity of Christ. What think ye of Christ, whose son is He?]

Hebrews 12:9 (God is the Father of our spirits) Job 38:4–7 (premortal life implied) Abraham 3:22–28 (vision of premortal life) Jeremiah 1:5 (vision of premortal life) D&C 29:31–38 (vision of premortal life) Moses 3:4–7 (spiritual and temporal creations) 1 Corinthians 15:44 (spiritual and temporal creations) D&C 76:23–24 (begotten sons and daughters) D&C 132:11–26 (plan for progression)

LDS Doctrine Responses

Quote:
They make philosophical arguments against God, just like atheists do.They attack the Bible, just like atheists do.

LDS believe everything in the Bible is true and faithful. However, we recognize that some writings have been lost from the Bible, and that there are many Bible translations and even more interpretations that has led to many Christian denominations and non-denominations. IF you want an important doctrine that illustrates the problem with interpretation, look at Calvanism and the the doctrine of predestination.

Therefore, LDS believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated and interpreted correctly. This belief is hardly Bible bashing.

Quote:
Mormons claim to believe in god, or gods ("plurality of gods"). But their belief seems to be no different than Caesar's claim to be God of ancient Rome. Just like ancient Rome, the "gods" Mormons believe in, and even the Heavenly Father "god" Mormons claim to worship, are nothing more than human beings, even the same "species" as ourselves, only recognized as having higher honour. There is no ontological difference between the Mormon "god[s]" and ourselves.

The Bible itself says that all men are the "offspring" of God or the same "kind, species, genus". This belief just teaches that God considers all mankind His children and not just fish in a fancy aquarium. And our belief in deification and theosis and that men are "gods in embryo" is Identical to the Early Christian Fathers who taught again and again "God became man so men could become gods."

This belief in eternal life and the deification of man has nothing to do with taking Gods place. God is a God of gods, King of kings, and Lord of lords. God is the Most High God. This doctrine just means that through Christ the children of God will be blessed to participate in the same creative work and eternal parenting that God Himself does. This is how the faithful in Christ will eventually know God and enjoy His fellowship.

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The Mormon "god" can't "create" like the God of the Bible can, he can only "organize existing matter" (just like we humans can).

The Bible itself says that God organized the world and man from the dust. Paul describes God as the builder of all things, and the potter of the clay. The Bible says that "without God, nothing was make, that was made" suggesting that not everything required making. Somethings like intelligence and spirit have always existed and are co-existent, and co-eternal. The Bible in Greek uses verbs for create that suggest God "brought into being" and "put all things together" (sunstaken) and not "brought into existence".

This is especially important when it comes down to the creation of Satan and who is responsible. Because if God brought evil into existence than God is the Father of Evil. If God meerly Gave Satan his agency knowing what he would do with it, than God is an accomplice to mass spritiual murder. But since the intelligences and spirit are co-existent and have no beginning, and evil has always existed as spirit has then Satan is responsible himself for his rebellion after being given every opportunity for good. This resolves a major problem that athesists cite as the "problem of suffering and the problem of evil."

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The Mormon "god" doesn't have the attributes of the God of the Bible (omniscience, omnipresence, omnipotency, invisibility, etc.), he is limited in time and space (just like we humans are).

God is the unification of the spiritual and the physical. Even spirit is not immaterial matter. Even spirit occupies space. But LDS know that if your being is composed of pure light, then you are a relativistic being and are not confined by time. God dwells in the eternal now where all things are present before Him. Therefore, a glorified and tangible being can have physical aspects without being limited by time and space. LDS do not confine God to classical Newtonian physics like this argument does.

Mormon Response

1) The Book of Mormon is a fabrication of the questionable religious experience of Joseph Smith, whom I do not believe to have been a prophet.

The Book of Mormon is the word of God and is the stick of Joseph in the hand of Ephraim as spoken of by Ezekiel. The book chronicles the higher covenant God makes with Lehi, Nephi, and Jacob just like Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

2) Because there are many accounts of the First Vision, it is unclear as to what message Joseph was trying to relay. The poor copout that the many versions mold together to make one big story is exactly what I said...a copout.

There are several versions of the First Vision. And Joseph Smith suited each version to the audience for which it was intended. In the first version, Joseph Smith wanted to create a parallel between his experience and that of Paul and therefore only mentions that he beheld Jesus Christ. In other version, he included more detail about the entire experience of seeing the Father and the Son as Stephen beheld Jesus Christ standing on the right hand of God.

The truth that God the Father and God the Son are 2 distinct persons and personages is not new with Joseph Smith. Justin Martyr to Trypho interprets "Let us make man in our image" and "Man has become as one of us" to prove that Christ is God and that there were at least 2 intelligent and distinct beings present. Justin Martyr specifically rejects the "Royal We" interpretation.

My favorite version contains the description of how Joseph Smith felt after the First Vision. Joseph Smith simply stated that after the vision "my heart was filled with love for days afterward."

3) On the part of the institutional church (in existence), the inability to maintain honest record of its history leads me to further believe that the LDS church is in fact a man made institution with great financial ploys and is more concerned with church wealth, blind obedience, and power than it is about preserving the TRUTH found in the body of Christ and His Gospel.

What other church has done a better job of keeping records and achieving everything any of our leadership has said and making it available to all to see. If we were hiding something we would keep things hidden and use the document shredders. Our church is a record keeping church because we have a duty to chronicle the restoration of the fullness of the gospel of Christ in this the dispensation of the fullness of times.

4) The Book of Abraham is a fabrication created to promote a monolatry or henotheism which are only disguises of polytheism.

The Kirtland Egyptian Papers contain descriptions of all the papyri that Joseph Smith had in his possession. Only a small fraction of the collection exists today and what Joseph Smith translated as the Book of Abraham is not in the existent papyri fragments.

5) I do not agree with the denigration of women. I see women more as equals than as mere child bearers.

Women enjoy great freedom, respect, and equality in the LDS faith. There is no "I am the priesthood holder so you have to do what i say" in the LDS faith. My wife and I make all decisions together in prayerful consultation with our Heavenly Father. I would never make a decision alone and have adversity arise and have my wife say, "This is all your fault, I never thought this was a good idea". In stead, because we are equally yoked, when adversity arises, because we have made a prayerful decision together, we can say, "we both know the Lord guided us in this direction, and therefore we should have faith, patience, and perseverance and hold to the more narrow path knowing the Lord will bless us and things will work out for our good because we have followed the Lords way"

6) It is a mockery of God's divine character by lying about His supposed 'exaltation'. He was not a man and never will be a man.

The Early Christian Fathers were the ones that taught "God became man so men could become gods." This is not about taking Gods place and God ceasing to be our Father. We will forever be His children and He our Father. This is about maturing to become like Him and being empowered to join in with Him in His work of creation and eternal parenting. How else would you really come to know the Father and enjoy fellowship with Him unless you were empowered to do the kind of work that God does. Are you going to circle the throne and honor God with your lips only, or are you going to be blessed to sit in His throne with Him and worship God in word and works, in spirit and in truth.

7) I'm a Trinitarian and I view the Godhead as such. God is Master. Christ is the bodily manifestation of God. The Spirit is His consciousness meant to guide and to help discern.

"bodily manifestation of God?" That is modalism and not trinitarianism. the Lutheran Hour speaker Rev. Ken Klaus a month ago was explaining the trinity and was stressing the 3-ness of the Godhead and reviewed all the places in which Christ referred to the Father as separate from Himself and came to the conclusion that the Father and Son are not only 2 separate persons but also 2 separate "individuals".

8) I will agree with Bruce McConkie in stating that the Adam-God theory is a deadly heresy.

Adam-God is a misunderstanding of what Brigham Young was trying to say. I have read many recorded diary accounts of Brigham Young speaking on this subject and it is clear that some LDS misunderstood what was being taught. But if you have been to an LDS temple you know that Adam-God cannot be because Elohim, Jehovah, and Michael are all clearly depicted.

Brigham Young was not teaching that Adam is the Father Elohim. Adam is the Father of Jesus Christs body only by way of Mary the Mother, and Adam is the only God with whom we have to do meaning that Adam has entered into his exaltation and since we are his physical offspring, physically-speaking, Adam is our father and our god, and the only god, physically-speaking, with whom we have to do.

9) No plans to go to the temple within this lifetime or any for that matter. The commonalities that are shared between Masonic ritual and Mormon temple worship are too close. Joseph Smith knew this and so he copied the rituals. Not a good move. I am planning to buy a book from Lighthouse Ministries (the Tanners) in SLC about the changes in the endowment ceremony over the years. I'm not so much worried about exaltation and my 'calling and election' so much as I am about salvation by grace.

If the temple is a pure copy of the Masonic, then you have to explain why the temple covenant is taught over and over again in the Book of Mormon and the Pearl of Great Price. The Tree of Life vision, that is Lehi and Neph's endowment. King Benjamin's Sermon, that is a mass endowment session. Jesus Christ at the temple in Bountiful is also a mass endowment session. Moses 1 is Moses personal endowment. Yes, the parable and pattern may very, but the message and mysteries being taught are the same.

Joseph Smith clearly confessed that he was impressed with the way that the Masonic ritual was able to teach uneducated and illiterate farmers and labors together with the most sophisticated and learned. Therefore, he used the same format and ritual symbolism of the masonic ritual to teach the LDS endowment.

The parallels you see between the two are like watching a power-point presentation on Physics and a power-point presentation on art history and claiming that one was a complete copy of the other. Yes, the organization of the room is the same, same laser pointer, same projector, screen, monotone lecturer, etc, etc, but the subject being taught is completely different.

Works do not deny grace. Christ empowers us to receive the works and ordinances. This is why Cornelius had to receive the Holy Ghost before he was water baptized. And make no mistake, Cornelius was water baptized as was the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And if you think that water baptism is optional after God has commanded that you receive it, and you openly refuse it, I don't think you can bank on grace to cover you when you all this time you have rejected Gods grace that would have empowered you to receive it. Today is the day of your repentance and salvation.

LDS Doctrine Q&A

The following is an interestesting post with my responses on supposed inconsistencies in LDS Doctrine which uses a similar tactic that atheists use against Evangelicals using the Bible.

Is God An Exalted Man?
NO! "Believest thou that this Great Spirit, who is God, created all things." Alma 18:28. BOM
YES! "The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man's, the Son also..." D&C 130:22
NO! "God is a Spirit.", John 4:24 ; God is not a man.", Num. 23:19 God has an eternal Spriit and an eternal glorified body.

[Ammon was building on common beliefs. It was the Lamanites who thought of God as a The Great Spirit.]

Are The Father, Son And The Holy Ghost One God?
YES! "Which Father, Son and Holy Ghost are one God, infinite and eternal."D&C 20:28
NO! ..."Father, Son, and Holy Ghost comprise the Godhead. As each of these persons is a God...a plurality of Gods exists." M.D. , pps. 576,577.
YES! "For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and these three are one." 1 John 5:7

[LDS Godhead = 3 Persons, 3 Beings, 1 God
Evangelical Trinity = 3 Persons, 1 Being, 1 God

LDS explain how 3 beings can be 1 God because they are 1 in purpose. Evangelicals have difficulty explaining how 3 Persons can be 1 God other than saying its a mystery.]

Is God Eternal?
YES! "For I know that God is not a partial God, neither a changeable being; but he is unchangeable from all eternity to all eternity." Moroni 8:18 BoM
NO! "We have imagined and supposed that God was God from all eternity. I will refute that idea.." M. D. p.321
YES! "The eternal God is thy refuge." Deut. 33:27

[Yes, God is self-existing and never had a beginning. God is a dynamic being always increasing in glory. God is not increasing in power or knowledge but increases in glory through the progression of His creations. The progression of His children adds to His glory but God remains all-powerful and all-knowing.]

Does God Change?
NO! "There is a God in heaven, who is infinite and eternal, from everlasting to everlasting, the same unchangeable God." D&C 20:17
YES! "We believe in a God who is Himself progressive,...whose perfection consists in eternal advancement.." Articles of Faith, p.430
NO! "For I am the LORD, I change not." Mal. 3:6
NO! "God is Spirit.", John 4:24 ; God is not a man.", Num. 23:19

[God is not static but unchanging in that God is always dynamically increasing in glory.]

Is There A Plurality Of Gods?
NO! "The Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost are one,""..and whoso shall declare more or less that this, and establish it for my doctrine, the same cometh of evil." 3 Nephi 11:27,40 BOM
YES! "These three are the only Gods we worship. But in addition there is an infinite number of holy personages, drawn from worlds without number, who...are gods."M.D. p.576,77
NO! "I am He. Before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me." Isaiah 43:10

[There is only 1 God. There will only ever be 1 God. The 1 True God will always be the only 1 True God over us and we under Him. There may be other beings called gods, but they are not worthy of worship. ]

Can Men Be Gods?
NO! "Now Zeezrom said: Is there more than one God? And he answered, No." Alma 11:28,29 BOM
YES! "Then shall they (those resurrected) be gods, because they have no end." D&C 132:20
NO! "Thus saith the Lord...besides me there is no God." Isa.44:6

[The children of God will be called the sons of God, heirs of God, and be worthy to be called gods. Heirs of exaltation and eternal life will be blessed by God to participate in Gods work of creation. Heirs of eternal life and exaltation on God's right hand will be the managers as opposed to angels on God's left hand who will be the doers. (see Heb 1:1-14)]

Did God Create Man?
YES! "And I, God, created man in mine own image." Moses 2:27 P.G.P.)
NO! "Man was also in the beginning with God"..."For man is spirit." D&C 93:29,33
YES! "And the LORD God formed man..." Genesis 2:7

[God formed man's spirit and brought it into being (not brought into existence) as a spirit child of our Heavenly Father. But that spirit although formed and brought into being is self-existent and co-eternal with the Father and the Son.]

Can God Be Seen?
NO! "For without this (the authority of the Priesthood) no man can see the face of God, even the Father and live. D&C 84:22 (J.Smith did not have Priesthood when he claimed to see God.)
YES! "And he (Moses) saw God face to face, and he talked with him...Moses could endure his presence." Moses 1:2, P.G.P.
NO! "No man hath seen God at any time...the only begotten Son...hath declared him." John 1:18

[Yes, but only through spiritual eyes and after being transfigured or changed by the power of the Holy Ghost and through the mercy of the atonement of Jesus Christ.]

Is Jesus The One True God?
YES! "Blessed be the name of the Most High God. And they did fall down at the feet of Jesus and did worship him. 3 Nephi 11:17 BOM
NO! "Jesus Christ a separate and distinct personage...three distinct personages and three gods." (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith by J.F. Smith, page 370)
YES! "Now unto the King Eternal, immortal, invisible, the ONLY wise God..." (Speaking of Jesus Christ) 1 Timothy 1:17

[LDS Godhead = 3 Persons, 3 Beings, 1 God
Evangelical Trinity = 3 Persons, 1 Being, 1 God

LDS explain how 3 beings can be 1 God because they are 1 in purpose. Evangelicals have difficulty explaining how 3 Persons can be 1 God other than saying its a mystery.]

Is Jesus Christ Eternal?
YES! "..from all eternity to all eternity, the Great I AM, even Jesus Christ." D&C 39:1
NO! "Christ, the Firstborn, was the mightiest of all the spirit children of the Father." M.D. p.590 YES! "whose goings forth have been...from everlasting." Micah 5:2

[Jesus is self-existent, Jesus Christ is Jehovah of the Old Testament. Jesus Christ is 1 God with the Father and the Holy Ghost. Jesus is the I AM THAT I AM or the "self-existent of self-existent."]

Was Jesus Born Of A Virgin?
YES! "And behold, he shall be born of Mary at Jerusalem (!)...she being a virgin." Alma 7:10 BOM
NO! "Christ was begotten by an Immortal Father in the same way that mortal men are begotten by mortal fathers." M.D.p.547
YES! "When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child." Matthew 1:18

[Yes, "Mormon Doctrine" is not mormon doctrine. Jesus Christ was begotten by our Heavenly Father but there is no mention of mechanism. There are lots of ways humans can achieve conception without sex, I am sure God knows a few other ways too.]

Is Jesus The Way To Salvation?
YES! "Behold, Jesus Christ is the name...there is none other name whereby man can be saved." D&C 18:23
NO! "the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints holds the keys of salvation for all men now living..." M.D. p.411
YES! "...one mediator between God and men, the man, Jesus Christ." 1 Timothy 2:5

[Jesus Christ gave the keys and ordinances for baptism and the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost. So, by receiving these ordinances which are Christ-given, we show we accept Christ.]

Does Christ's Blood Cleanse Us From All Sin?
YES! "..salvation was, and is, and is to come, in and through the atoning blood of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent." Mosiah 3:18 BOM
NO! "..for the blood of Christ alone under certain circumstances will not avail." (for atonement of sins) M.D. p.93
YES! "...and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from ALL sin." 1 John 1:7

[The blood of Christ will not cover those who refuse to repent and reject Christ by their works.

Titus 1: 16 They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.]

Is Salvation By Grace, Not Works?
YES! "And we know that justification through the grace of our Lord and Saviour, is just and true." D&C 20:30
NO! "That by keeping the commandments they might be washed and cleansed from all their sins..." D&C 76:52
YES! "For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God; Not of works..." Eph. 2:8,9

[Both, Grace without works is dead just as works without faith is dead. But even the works are done by the power of Christ in us and are a manifestation of Christ's grace over us and our saved state. If we are not improving, repenting, and doing good works daily maybe we are not saved. Christ's atonement is both grace and transformative power, that will empower us to reject sin, and purify us like silver and sanctify us. The atonement is both justification and sanctification.]

Is There Salvation After Death?
NO! "For behold, if ye have procrastinated the day of your repentance even until death...the devil hath all power over you; and this is the final state of the wicked." Alma 34:35 BOM
YES! "..in relation to the dead...For their salvation is necessary and essential to our salvation...that they without us cannot be made perfect." D&C 128:15
NO! "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgement." Hebrews 9:27

[There are no second chances. But everyone will get a fair first chance.

D&C 137: 7-8 Thus came the voice of the Lord unto me, saying: All who have died without a knowledge of this gospel, who would have received it if they had been permitted to tarry, shall be heirs of the celestial kingdom of God; ]

IS Hell Everlasting Destruction?
YES! "yea, they were encircled about by the bands of death, and the chains of hell, and an everlasting destruction did await them." Alma 5:7 BOM
NO! "Whosoever, therefore receives God's punishment receives eternal punishment, whether it is endured one hour, one day, one week, one year or an age." Plan of Salvation p.30 (Pamphlet Distributed by Elders)
YES! "And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever; and they have no rest day or night. Revelation 14:11"

[Those that go to hell and endure eternal punishment with Satan until the second resurrection when the unjust will also be resurrected and stand before God to be judged. They will have paid for their own sins in hell to that point. But, if they accept that it was Christ who saved them then they will receive a degree of salvation but will suffer eternal loss and regret and separation from the Father in a lower degree of glory or having received a lower reward because they were not valiant. Salvation without Exaltation is still Damnation.

Acts 24: 15 And have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust.

1 Cor. 3: 15 If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

Rev. 20: 5-6 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

Heb. 11: 35 Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection:

1 Pet. 3: 19 By which also he (Christ) went and preached unto the spirits in prison;

Rom. 10: 9-10 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.]