A Day of Warning

RECENT CONFERENCE TALKS WITH WARNING
Pres. Thomas S. Monson "The Divine Gift of Gratitude," (October 3, 2010): Develop an attitude of gratitude. Quotes Aldous Huxley here and Alice in Wonderland later.
Pres. Thomas S. Monson "Till We Meet Again," (October 3, 2010): "We live in a troubled world, a world of many challenges. We are here on this earth to deal with our individual challenges to the best of our ability" (i.e. our job is not to contentously take on the NWO, Christ will fight for Zion, we are to lift up an ensign of peace, D&C 105:14, 39).
Elder Dallin H. Oaks "Two Lines of Communication," (October 3, 2010) "some seek to have their priesthood leaders make personal decisions for them, decisions they should make for themselves by inspiration through their personal line."
Pres. Dieter F. Uchtdorf "Two Principles for Any Economy," (October 3, 2009): Hard Work and Learning will relieve anxiety, develop our character, provide for family and save our souls.
Pres. Thomas S. Monson "School Thy Feelings, O My Brother," (October 3, 2009): Beware of anger and the MSM.
Elder David A. Bednar "Watching with All Perseverance," (April 3, 2010): We live in a day of warning. Those who bare testimony of the warning in the Book of Mormon will be "blessed with eyes that can see afar off and with ears that can hear the sound of the trumpet . . . [and] will enable you to stand as watchmen on the tower for your families—”watching … with all perseverance”
Elder Dallin H. Oaks "Healing the Sick," , (April 3, 2010): "I will concentrate my remarks on healing blessings involving the power of the priesthood. We have this priesthood power, and we should all be prepared to use it properly. Current increases in natural disasters and financial challenges show that we will need this power even more in the future than in the past."
Pres. Thomas S. Monson "He Is Risen!," (April 4, 2010): "And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away" (Rev 21:4).
Pres. Thomas S. Monson "Examples of Righteousness," (April 5: 2008): As bearers of the priesthood, we have been placed on earth in troubled times. We live in a complex world with currents of conflict everywhere to be found. Political machinations ruin the stability of nations, despots grasp for power, and segments of society seem forever downtrodden, deprived of opportunity, and left with a feeling of failure. We who have been ordained to the priesthood of God can make a difference. When we qualify for the help of the Lord, we can build boys, we can mend men, we can accomplish miracles in His holy service. Our opportunities are without limit. Ours is the task to be fitting examples." Later quotes President N. Eldon Tanner who is known to have tempered then Elder Ezra T. Benson.

ARE THEY AWAKE?
Some here have been questioning whether LDS Leadership is AWAKE and what will say and will not say to warn the people. Yes. I cannot imagine how Pres. Monson, who was counselor to Pres. Benson is not well versed in all things conspiratorial.

WILL THEY WARN US?
They have been all along. Pres. Hinckley's warning of a "portent of stormy weather" and to "get out of debt" and "get our houses in order" was so right on. Pres. Hinckley was so out in front of the housing fraud it was miraculous. However, according to church statistics, LDS consumer debt doubled after the warning. Not enough of us listened. Too many of us went in the exact opposite direction of what the prophet directed.

CONSEQUENCES
I am not sure we realize the consequences of not listening. I am not sure anyone saw the recent documentary "Inside Job" that played in theaters. Here you have the NWO documenting many details of how the whole banking/mortgage fraud happened. Interspersed throughout the film are comments by IMF/NWO leaders George Soros and Dominique Strauss-Kahn smugly saying in effect "look how your wickedness and excess and corruption has hurt the developing world." What they don't tell you was that these very NWO leaders who set this whole thing up. In fact is the the Bank of International Settlement Basil II Accords in late 2007 that tightened fractional reserve requirements and popped the housing bubble.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzrBurlJUNk

RAMIFICATIONS
However, the market downturn in the US is just the tip of the iceberg as far as ramifications go. Many countries were defrauded by the banking scandal; not just America. Our New York Banks hurt a lot of people out there. Furthermore, because the US dollar is the world reserve currency, as it is being devalued through TARP and QE1, QE2, commodity prices are going up throughout the world and people in developing countries are going hungry, protesting, and rioting.

THE UGLY AMERICAN
The significance of this is that these NWO/IMF people are blaming the US for it all. In addition, the leaders of many countries are are fed up with continual US interference through our self-proclaimed role as world policeman and our extensive and intrusive CIA blackops programs. We are being framed in a way. Even though we may have good intentions in what we do, that is not how other countries may interpret our actions.

ALEX JONES MISDIRECTION
If anything could prove the fraud of Alex Jones, it is his interview with Charlie Sheen. I couldn't stand listening to it. The global big brother control grid hype/police state is very misleading. A total Singapore-like police state is not what the NWO want for the US necessarily. What they want is for the US to become divided, and then when we are divide, they want the US and our Constitution to be discredited in the eyes of the world and then to be destroyed.

THE REAL END GAME
It is my opinion that what the NWO is trying to do is, lay the blame on the US for the global economic crisis, the riots in the Middle East, the drug trade in Afghanistan, and Columbia, and overstepping of our military, and the many BlackOps programs in many countries. True or not, the reality is, despite our giving for disasters, many foreign countries are getting fed up with America. Because of HAARP, true or not, many are being convinced the US is causing natural disasters or that we are contributing to global climate change.

As I see it, what the NWO is trying to do, is convince whoever has his finger on the nuclear button, to push it. And when that person pushes the doomsday button, the other countries of the world will mourn, but not that much. They won't lift a finger and will let it happen. The world leaders will come together, if they haven't already and will agree that the US is so corrupt, and intrusive and dangerous that we should be invaded and split up and that the US Constitution and Constitutional government is a failure and should disappear into the history books as a failed experiment. (google George A. Smith Vision, Albert Pike letter to Muzzini)

NO SHRILL CRITICISM
To this point, the LDS Church has been happy to keep its head down. When NWO leaders come to BYU to speak, they generally comment what "useful little soldiers/sheep/idiots" we are. The Doctrine and Covenants instructs us to befriend our enemies. And so far we have done a good job of that. And thanks to this policy, the LDS church has been able to build temples and expand its missionary reach into much of the world. I am not sure how productive being vocally shrill critics would be? What the NWO wants is division, and it is when the US is divided when they most likely plan to strike.

WARNING VOICE
I thought it was an interesting point of discussion whether our LDS Leadership where giving talks within talks or communicating messages to those of us who are AWAKE without directly coming out and saying things that would be alarming to those who are remain in their state of BLISS. I don't think this is true. I just think that they are awake, and are giving clear, principle-based counsel that will be useful to membership whether we are awake or not.

Doctrine and Covenants 105: 14; 38-39 For behold, I do not require at their hands to fight the battles of Zion; for, as I said in a former commandment, even so will I fulfil—I will fight your battles. . . . And again I say unto you, sue for peace, not only to the people that have smitten you, but also to all people; And lift up an ensign of peace, and make a proclamation of peace unto the ends of the earth;

Economic Equality of Opportunity

Capital: Cash or goods used to generate income either by investing in a business or diferrent income property. (e.g. leveraging money to make more money)

Capitalism: An economic system which promotes the use of cash or goods to generate income either by investing in a business or diferrent income property.

On another thread, some where debating whether Cleon Skousen ever bashed Capitalism. I don't know that he did. But I have no problem doing it. I do not favor Capitalism. But that doesn't mean I am for Communism. This is an obvious false dichotomy. What I favor is Free Enterprise, which is essentially Capitalism without the Usury. Free Enterprise recognizes property rights, individual liberty and self-determination. Free Enterprise provides equality of opportunity but not necessarily equality of result.

The Constitution calls for FREE ENTERPRISE not CAPITALISM. Are you brave enough to break your mind-control and admit it? Some how we've been programmed to associate Capitalism with freedom and even the gospel of Jesus Christ. Capitalism isn't free, Capitalism produces a Corporatocracy that is unelected, self-interested, and oppressive. Capitalism little better than Communism or Socialism. Free Enterprise means equal opportunity and equal opportunity equals true freedom.

The half-truth of Capitalism is that we should let the free market decide what to invest in and where to take the economy and not the government. Letting the markets decide where to take the economy is Free Enterprise. But Capitalism is not the way to do it. The half-lie part of capitalism is that society needs to be dependent upon an ultra-elite, ultra-wealthy, economic ruling class.

Capitalism is inherently unequal because it requires that certain people in the society amass more wealth than others. Then those people with the massive wealth, have unrivaled, unelected Machiavellian power to decide what they will or will not invest in, to leverage that capital to make more money, to make other people their economic surfs and sharecroppers via usury, and to influence law makers via campaign contributions.

So, in an egalitarian society where there is freedom of opportunity and not freedom of results, is that no man would be enslaved to another. That applies to economic enslavement as well. In an egalitarian economy, the wealthy would not leverage wealth to create more wealth. The scriptures command, "by the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat thy bread all the days of thy life." It does not say, "by the sweat of thy neighbor face. . ." (Gen 3:19).

Mos 2:13 Neither have I suffered that ye should be confined in dungeons, nor that ye should make slaves one of another, . . . And even I, myself, have labored with mine own hands that I might serve you, nd that ye should not be laden with taxes,

D&C 101:79 Therefore, it is not right that any man should be in bondage one to another.

Deut 23:19 Thou shalt not lend upon usury to thy brother; usury of money, usury of victuals, usury of any thing that is lent upon usury:

In a FREE ENTERPRISE system the US Treasury creates all the money (Article 1, Sec 8), and local banks issue "fee-based", no-interest loans to individuals, groups, and communities who are credit worthy. The rules that determine credit worthiness would be uniform. No loop holes. No exemptions. The problem with our current system is that many of the wealthy are "above the law" and they operate under and different set of rules than the rest of us.

In a True Fee Enterprise system, credit would be freely available based on uniform criteria. Therefore, if someone were to gain wealth by his skill and labor, He wouldn't be tempted to use that wealth to economically enslave others by issuing credit with usury (except for the specific case of venture capital where there is no proven market or collateral).

A Constitutional Republic which supports the Free Enterprise economic system with truly free markets, would support local banking institutions that we could name Safety Societies. These local and state institutions could determine credit-worthiness, and administer "fee-based", no-interest loans using money created by the US Treasury for non-depreciating real assets. In this way, this money that is created doesn't have to be backed by gold or silver, or anything, because the asset itself is the backing for the loan. Such real assets would include land, real estate, and even some well-made heirloom furniture.

These Safety Societies would never speculate. That is, they would never invest their reserves in stock or derivatives. Safety Societies would be non-profit and charge loan origination fees and monthly service charges to cover the cost of business. However, since the capital for the loans they issue is coming from the US Treasury, they don't need to make profits to make more loans. Safety Societies would also practice Full Reserve Banking. That is, they never loan what they don't have, since they get 100% from the US Treasury, and they never lend out deposits. Therefore, all deposits are kept at the bank, ready for immediate withdrawal at any moment. Therefore, the Safety Society would never be threatened by a bank run.

Today's banks operate on Fractional Reserves. Fed-member Mega-banks can lend 10x what they themselves borrow from the FED. However, because of inflation due to Amortized loans, they must hold reserves as stock, bonds, and derivatives because we have been continually devaluing our currency. And these banks are continually threatened by a bank run because they only ever have less than 10% of reserves on hand. If withdrawals or a stock market crash destroy that 10%, then the bank becomes insolvent, and goes bust. Safety Societies are immune to all of this.

CAPITALISM
Isa 10:13-14 For he saith, By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom; for I am prudent: and I have removed the bounds of the people, and have robbed their treasures, and I have put down the inhabitants like a valiant man: And my hand hath found as a nest the riches of the people: and as one gathereth eggs that are left, have I gathered all the earth; and there was none that moved the wing, or opened the mouth, or peeped.

FREE ENTERPRISE
Isa 65:21-22 And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: . . . and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labour in vain,

Finally, I only recently realized, you don't necessarily need the Federal Government to institute this Safety Society, Free Enterprise system. Any group of people could do it who were not constrained to the US Constitution which reserves this right to the Federal Government. However, in another circumstance, a group could select a treasurer who would create money which the community bank would extend at no-interest to other group members to purchase non-depreciating goods like furniture, homes, and land. These real assets serve as the backing for the money creation, and could be repossessed and re-sold by the bank. Otherwise, money created from the treasury and extended by the bank would go to craftsman who are building the homes and heirloom quality furniture and return to the bank in repayment for the no-interest loans. As much money could be created as needed. When not needed, monthly payments return excess money to the bank, and new money is not created; which prevents inflation.

Zion vs. the Great Latter-Day Conspiracy

Dr. Stanley Monteith make the great point about the Great Latter-Day Globalist Conspiracy.

The Great Latter-Day Conspiracy is like the book "Murder on the Orient Express" by Agatha Christie. On the train from Paris to Istanbul, there is one American, a Detective, and 12 other passengers who share a rail car. When the American turns up dead, the Detective is asked to investigate the murder. The Detective discovers that the American was stabbed 12 times. He also finds that after interviewing all 12 passengers in the rail car, each one has a motive to kill the American. In the end, the truth comes out that all 12 of the passengers killed the American together.

Like "The Orient Express", the Great Conspiracy is hitting America from multiple multiple directions. Because of this, it is nearly impossible to rally enough people on any one issue to mount any kind of defense. In this way, the Great Conspiracy keeps us defensive and on the defensive. If you think about it, what cause do we take on first: the FED, national debt, gun rights, campaign finance, abortion, energy independence, traditional marriage, climate change, AIDS in Africa, save the whales?

Basketball falsely teaches us that "a good defense is a good offense." The real truth is that "the best defense is a good offense." So, when it comes to fighting the Great Latter-Day Conspiracy, when it comes to picking our cause, it turns out that the Scriptures teach that there is only one cause worth fighting for. Furthermore, there is only one battle that we can win. What is this cause? What is the battle? The only cause that is promised to prevail is Zion.

So, while I am not necessarily saying that fighting for the Fair Tax, or against this cause, or for that other cause is worthless. Mormon in the Book of Mormon still made a final stand at Cumorrah. I am just saying that I am not all that sure that any of these other battles are winnable on the short term. We can't hope to change prophecy any more than Mormon could change what Nephi had foreseen a thousand years earlier about the fall of the Nephites.

And why be too focused on the defensive against the Great Globalist Conspiracy anyways when scriptures are clear that Babylon will fall all on its own without any of our help. Cleon Skousen talked about this in his writings about Pres. J. Ruben Clark who said that trying to oppose this Great Conspiracy would be like trying to stop a freight train. We would just get run right over. Instead, Pres. Clark instructed us to; instead of focusing our efforts on trying to turn the train around on track 1, to quietly build tract 2. The scriptures are unmistakable in foretelling that Babylon will fall and Zion will prevail. Zion is track 2. Let's focus on building Zion. Zion is our resistance.

D&C 105:14 For behold, I do not require at their hands to fight the battles of Zion; for, as I said in a former commandment, even so will I fulfil—I will fight your battles.

SAVE OUR NATION, FIX THE ECONOMY, UPHOLD THE CONSTITUTION

This is a link to my other blog at Brain Bender which discusses how to take our country back, fix our economy, defend the US Constitution, and end corruption.

http://brainbender.blogspot.com/2010/11/save-our-nation-fix-economy-uphold.html

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

Beware of Anger

The Prophet of the Lord Jesus Christ, Pres. Thomas S. Monson. spoke in Oct Conference in 2009 that we should beware of anger. Pres. Monson said he was watching the news and was impressed by the spirit that the message of many of the stories was designed to incite anger in the people. He then warned us to "school our feelings" and to beware of anger. Pres. Monson reminded us of several scriptures that warn us of anger:

Psalm 37:8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath.

John 13:35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

Eph 4:26 Can ye be angry, and not sin? let not the sun go down upon your wrath.

3 Nephi 11:28-30 “There shall be no disputations among you. … For verily, verily I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another. Behold, this is not my doctrine, to stir up the hearts of men with anger, one against another; but this is my doctrine, that such things should be done away.”

Pres. Monson added his own prophetic words saying, "Anger, Satan’s tool, is destructive in so many ways. . . To be angry is to yield to the influence of Satan. No one can make us angry. It is our choice. If we desire to have a proper spirit with us at all times, we must choose to refrain from becoming angry. I testify that such is possible."

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.

Failure of Zion

Section 101 explains why Zion failed. The reason is because the people failed to obey the commands of God to build a temple. The temple provides spiritual protection against sin through sanctification. Had the people been more sanctified through the temple, the LDS people probably would have gotten along with their neighbors better and not resulted in the Mormon War and the Extermination order. It takes two to tango, and in war both sides are wicked. One side may be less wicked than the other.

BUt, If we were righteous, then God would help us avert war, and would fight our battle for us like what God did for the Southern Kingdom of Judah during the time of Isaiah. When someone is rude or mean to you and you are rude and mean back, that gives them justification in their mind for the initial rudeness and worse behavior in the future. Pretty soon noone can remember who was mean first.

Anyways, it is actually prophesied that Zion would not be realized on the first try. This goes back to Able being killed by Cain, and then with the birth of Seth. Another allegory goes to the flood and God starting over with Noah and his family. Another allegory is Solomon building the temple instead of David because David was a man of war. Another allegory is the 2 attempts to build the Temple of Zerrubabbel. Isaiah said in the Last Days the temple would be built in the top of the mountains. Utah means "top of the mountains, or high place" in the Ute language. Mormons wanted to name the State "Deseret,' but the governor of the territory at the time decided otherwise. And Abraham blessed Joseph who was sold into Egypt that his future seed in the Last Days: " The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.”(Gen.49:22-26).

The best prophecy is the account by John in Revelations about the woman (Zion) getting ready to give birth to child (Theocracy) and the dragon devouring the child just as it is born and sending a flood against the woman. Then John says the woman was carried away into the dessert and nurished there and the Earth helps the woman until she is ready to return but this time wearing her beautiful white robes. Zion is the LDS church, the dragon and the flood represent the persecution. The child being devoured represents how Joseph Smith was martyred right after declaring his candidacy for president of the United States. The woman going into the wilderness represents the LDS church going to Utah. The Earth helping the woman represents the Book of Mormon which came from the Earth and out of the Earth.

But the prophecy will still be fulfilled. LDS still plan to build the city of Zion. But it will wait for a future day during the tribulation and before the rapture and the wrath when all governments collapse and a center gathering place is needed to protect the LDS people from the ensuing anarchy. However, right at the moment, Independence MO is a suburb of Kansas City, so there are no immediate plans to do anything. There is one troublesome prophecy concerning Independence which Joseph gave to General Doniphan while meeting with him and a 3rd person entered the room and offered to pay a dept to Doniphans business firm with land from Independence. Joseph warned Doniphan to not accept the land. This prophecy was fulfilled during the Civil War when Colossians W. R. Penick burned Jackson County to the ground in 1863 in response to General Order No. 11 by Union General Thomas Ewing, Jr. and again in 1864 when the area of Independence was ravaged by war again by Confederate Sterling Price who launched Price's Raid through the area culminating with the Battle of Westport.

"'Doniphan, I advise you not to take that Jackson county land in payment of the debt. God's wrath hangs over Jackson county. God's people have been ruthlessly driven from it, and you will live to see the day when it will be visited by fire and sword. The Lord of Hosts will sweep it with the besom of destruction. The fields and farms and houses will be destroyed, and only the chimneys will be left to mark the desolation.'

In reality, Joseph Smith prophesied and knew all along that the LDS people would end up in Utah. It is documented that Joseph Smith prophesied that the Saints would become a great people in the midst of the Rocky Mountains. There is some debate about this prophecy mainly because Brigham Young preferred Vancouver Island to the Salt Lake Valley, but a record by Oliver H Olney verifies the prophecy.

"I prophesied that the Saints would continue to suffer much affliction and would be driven to the Rocky Mountains, many would apostatize, others would be put to death by our persecutors or lose their lives in consequence of exposure or disease, and some of you will live to go and assist in making settlements and build cities and see the Saints become a mighty people in the midst of the Rocky Mountains." Documentary History of the Church (DHC) 5:85 August 1842

"As a company is now a forming / In to the wilderness to go / As far west as the Rocky mountains. . . . If this was not the secret whispering / Amongst certain ones of the Church of L.D.S. / And could be easily proven If man could speak." [Oliver H. Olney Papers, Western Americana, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University, New Haven, Conn.] July 2, 1842

Strengthing the Stakes of Zion

Isa. 54: 2 Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes;

LDS congregations are referred to as wards and are organized into groups called stakes. While individual wards are presided over by bishops, the stake is presided over by a stake president and council of High Priests. Where does the word stake come from? The term stake comes from Isa. 54:2 where Isaiah likens the Daughter of Zion, Israel, or the Kingdom of God to a tent. Encouraging the people of God to "lengthen their stride," Isaiah tells the people of Israel to expand the borders of the tent, lengthen the tent cords, and strengthen the stakes. This instruction may not mean much to the modern camper, but before the age of spring bar tents, this was how tents were set up. Today's spring bar tents are set up by first unrolling the tent, or enlarging the place of they tent as Isaiah says; but the poles are placed first and then the cords and stakes are set in place. Conversely, earlier tents going back to the time of Isaiah, after unrolling the tent on the ground, the stakes were pounded in first, and then the center poll was placed last. And this is exactly how Zion is being built today.

When the LDS Church first began, the center place or New Jerusalem was revealed to the prophet Joseph Smith as being in Independence, MO. The church began buying land there and planning to establish a perfect city after the manner God would reveal to His Prophet and Apostles. However, because the Saints in Missouri weren't quick to build a temple, the people were run out of the state by lawless mobs and the infamous extermination order signed by Gov. Boggs. The New Jerusalem would have to wait for future generations. But according to Isaiah, this initial failure seemed to be according to the grand and eternal design of God. Before placing the center pole in the center place, which would be represented by Christ appearing to His people in the New Jerusalem, the Kingdom of God would need to first enlarge the place of the tent through missionary work, lengthen the cords via family history work and redeeming the dead, and strengthening the stakes by perfecting the saints through temple service. Only then could the great tent of God's kingdom be pitched and stand triumphantly throughout the Millennium.

D&C 57: 3 And thus saith the Lord your God, if you will receive wisdom here is wisdom. Behold, the place which is now called Independence is the center place; and a spot for the temple is lying westward, upon a lot which is not far from the courthouse.

Zion: A Temple City

During LDS General Conference this past October, several new temples were announced to be built. One of the temples to be built will be in Kansas City in Clay County adjacent to Jackson County. My wife at hearing this asked me if I thought that building the temple there was in fulfillment of the revelation that a temple would be built one day in Independence, Missouri. I said, I didn't think so. Here is why.

The temple that will be built during or just before the tribulation preceding the Second Coming of Christ will not just be a simple temple. It will be a temple city. As I have explained earlier, the concept of a temple is scalable. It begins within each individual and expands to an individual home and family, and then to a building, and then to a city, a nation, and then the whole Earth until when John in Revelations sees the Celestialized Earth, he comments, "there is no temple there." That is because there are no temples in Heaven. There are no places set aside as clean and holy. Heaven is God's place, and the whole place is holy and pure and not just part of it.

So, before the coming of Christ, God will reveal exactly the details of what a temple city should look like. He has already begun by revealing this City Plat by Joseph Smith for the City of New Jerusalem or "The New City of Peace." First off, you will notice that the city is only 1 mile square, and each city block is 10 acres, divided into 20, 1/2-acre lots. So, if you count up all the lots it adds up to just over 1000 lots. The significance of a city with a 1000 families is that it parallels Jethro's instruction to Moses to select captains of 1000, 100, 50, and 10 for the judging and civil governance of the people.

There are 20 lots per block, and the houses on each adjacent block do not face each other. While the homes on one block are oriented east-west, the homes across the street are oriented north-south. The lots are very elongated as well. This is the genius of the design right here. What happens here is that the home is build on the front of the lot near the street, while the back yards of all the homes of the block become a large common garden area. Because of the alternating orientation of the blocks, none of the houses face other houses, but would have a spectacular view of the central garden or forested area of the adjacent block.

There are no barns or farms in the city. All farms, barns, and animals are kept outside the city to the north and south. Everyone lives in the city. This allows everyone to enjoy the blessings that come from social and cultural interaction with others. However, the city doesn't sprawl and get too big. Once the city is full, then another city is surveyed and built like it according to the same pattern in another favorable location.

The city center is said to contain 24 temples. Now these buildings are not just for church. There will be a place for worship services, but the other 23 building will be used for government, education, and commerce. Brigham Young was said to have seen this city built and noted that the building were terraced and planted with lush gardens and fish pools on the rooftops and the terraces just like the Conference Center in Salt Lake. What is interesting about this detail is that this characteristic of terraced gardens is what made the ancient city of Babylon one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world. And to those who have been to the LDS temple, there is an interesting parallel between the serpent-inspired idea of Adam covering himself with fig leaves and God later suggesting that we use that same idea to accent our white temple robes. In the same way that the "hanging gardens" were a symbol of the wicked city of Babylon, the same terraced gardens will later become a symbol of the future righteous city of Zion. However, we should remember that it is Satan who is the great impersonator and is the one who steals ideas and not God.

The 3 central acres which are reserved for the 24 temples of learning, commerce, government, and worship are symbolic of the God Head or God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost which must be the center focus of any perfect society.