Not in the Mind of God?

Over the years, this excerpt from an 1890 address by President Wilford Woodruff has caused considerable discussion:

The Lord will never permit me or any other man who stands as President of this Church to lead you astray. It is not in the programme. It is not in the mind of God. If I were to attempt that, the Lord would remove me out of my place, and so He will any other man who attempts to lead the children of men astray from the oracles of God and from their duty. (Sixty-first Semiannual General Conference of the Church, Monday, October 6, 1890, Salt Lake City, Utah. Reported in Deseret Evening News, October 11, 1890, p. 2.)¹

The same goes for President Benson’s 1980 talk, Fourteen Fundamentals in Following the Prophet where the Fourth Fundamental is: “The prophet will never lead the Church astray.”² President Benson bolstered this fundamental with a story told by Marion G. Romney about President Grant’s advice to always follow a prophet’s counsel because one would be blessed even if the prophet’s advice proved wrong. Yes, this is an individual case of advice, but it is used to support a general (ironic?) case that a living prophet can never lead the church astray. This idea is deeply embedded in church manuals and instruction. Only a sampling of references to President Benson’s talk are listed here,³ but the talk is a pervasive footnote.
 
Then, we have this 2021 video:

Follow the Prophet—He Speaks for God
(Russell Simon | Jan 10, 2021 | 2:51 min.) at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BavQ7i-vh0
Original source at Church Site⁴:
Description: Around a table in the Smith family log home in Palmyra, New York, President Russell M. Nelson and Joy D. Jones, General Primary President, ask a panel of children why it’s important to have a prophet. (Circa June 2021 | Time 2:51 min.)

We also have this: a recent resurfacing of the COVID issue:

Idaho Saints Rebuked for Not Following the Prophet
(Connor Boyack | Apr 21, 2024 | Time 55:44 min.) at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jv-CW0mUds0&t=5s

Yes, we are also told to follow the Spirit, but the more insistent drum beat seems to be “follow the prophet,” which is absolutely true if we accept Nephi’s definition:

21 And now I, Nephi, declare unto you, that this prophet of whom Moses spake was the Holy One of Israel; wherefore, he shall execute judgment in righteousness (Book of Mormon | 1 Nephi 22:20–21; bold emphasis added);

which clarifies the preceding verse: “that all those who will not hear that prophet [the Holy One of Israel] shall be cut off from among the people.”⁵

But by juxtaposing “follow the Spirit” with “follow the living prophet / president” a cognitive dissonance is resolving in some leaders and members who can’t accept that the Spirit might direct others to choose or decide contrary to perceived living counsel or authority? And since discerning the Spirit is a challenging, sometimes uncertain, work-in-progress for many of us, the default of “follow the leader / prophet” is more enticing, less time-consuming, less stressful, more soothing; except fairly concerning to those who are aware of the possible uses in creating cognitive dissonance — a known psychological tactic for manipulating thoughts and behaviors.

So as I consider what might be “in the mind of God,” I ask myself:

Why was Jesus so hard on the leaders of His day⁶?
Why did He direct His disciples to do the same⁷?
Why were Isaiah, Jeremiah, Micah, et al. so condemnatory of end-time leaders / priests / prophets⁸?
What should we make (or not) of Joseph Smith’s last dream⁹?
Why the story of an old prophet leading a young prophet astray¹⁰?
And why this provision?

76 But a literal descendant of Aaron has a legal right to the presidency of this priesthood, to the keys of this ministry, to act in the office of bishop independently, without counselors, except in a case where a President of the High Priesthood, after the order of Melchizedek, is tried, to sit as a judge in Israel.
...
82 And inasmuch as a President of the High Priesthood shall transgress, he shall be had in remembrance before the common council of the church, who shall be assisted by twelve counselors of the High Priesthood;
83 And their decision upon his head shall be an end of controversy concerning him.
84 Thus, none shall be exempted from the justice and the laws of God, that all things may be done in order and in solemnity before him, according to truth and righteousness (Doctrine and Covenants | Section 107:76, 82–84).¹¹

Yes, I believe this provision is intended to check straying and / or corruption, but are we, in today's world, too naïve about the nature of power and fraternal bonds?

This post is not to pronounce judgment on anyone, but to raise a cautionary flag as we roll on in these end-times. IF the test of loyalty to God is going to be so severe that

24 ... if it were possible^[12], they shall deceive the very elect (New Testament | Matthew 24:24);

then what greater proving than to test dogmatic expectations? And just as Jesus honored and respected God's temple¹³ in His day despite corruptions, can we not do likewise for the Restoration if we perceive problems, contraries, concerns, manipulations, encroachments of Babylon, and so forth? Just as the ancient temple was God's notwithstanding its administrators, so is the Restoration.

Each of us will be tested on an individual basis. Will we turn away from God's Restoration because of offended expectations and fallible flesh, or will we hold to the Word — to the rod, and follow the Spirit wherever it leads, even beyond every expectation? The present drum beat may feel excessive to some for as one commenter observed on Boyack’s vlog:

“To me, it sounds like programming, whether intentional or not. A wise person made this comment on a FB post, ‘The idea to remember is that if everyone is individually going to Jesus Christ and receiving personal revelation, then each person much be deceived for Satan to capture everyone. But if we are taught to follow the prophet, then only the prophet needs to be deceived for Satan to capture everyone’" (@meridentoombs3840).

I guess the thing I take away from the past four years, especially, is that God’s mind (and heart) is intent on preparing His children for the Day of Judgment and Justice. Do we ask ourselves, What am I preparing to face: the Law of Mercy or the Law of Justice?

Have we seen or heard any snapping red flags over the past many years? Are we seeing, yet not seeing? hearing, yet not hearing? What will the coming years bring?

Considering our God-given agency, I suspect there is much that happens that is “not in the mind of God” — i.e., according to His will. Just consider the many lamentations recorded in scripture¹⁴? Yet everything is in His ability to heal and redeem, if we will but turn to and trust in Him, repenting and aligning with His will; with His knowledge of powers and possibilities beyond our imagination — beyond our present comprehension.

--------------------------------------------/
1. Source: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/od/1?lang=eng (Bold emphasis added)
2 Fourteen Fundamentals in Following the Prophet | EZRA TAFT BENSON of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles | February 26, 1980:
 “Fourth: The prophet will never lead the Church astray.”
“President Wilford Woodruff stated: “I say to Israel, The Lord will never permit me or any other man who stands as president of the Church to lead you astray. It is not in the program. It is not in the mind of God.” (The Discourses of Wilford Woodruff, selected by G. Homer Durham [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1946], pp. 212-213.)
“President Marion G. Romney tells of this incident which happened to him:
“I remember years ago when I was a Bishop I had President [Heber J.] Grant talk to our ward. After the meeting I drove him home. . . .Standing by me, he put his arm over my shoulder and said: “My boy, you always keep your eye on the President of the Church, and if he ever tells you to do anything, and it is wrong, and you do it, the Lord will bless you for it.” Then with a twinkle in his eye, he said, “But you don’t need to worry. The Lord will never let his mouthpiece lead the people astray.” [In Conference Report, October 1960, p. 78]›
Source: https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/ezra-taft-benson/fourteen-fundamentals-following-prophet/
3. ▪ Repeated in October 2010 | Our Very Survival By Elder Kevin R. Duncan Of the Seventy
Source: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2010/10/our-very-survival?lang=eng#p15
▪ Consistently Recommended or referred to in numerous manuals and content:
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/book-of-mormon-seminary-teacher-manual-2017/helaman/lesson-113-helaman-13?lang=eng
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/foundations-of-the-restoration-teacher-manual/lesson-9-follow-the-living-prophet?lang=eng
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/old-testament-seminary-teacher-material-2018/isaiah/lesson-126?lang=eng
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/scripture-study-the-power-of-the-word-teacher-manual/lesson-8?lang=eng
https://speeches.byu.edu/topics/prophets/
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/old-testament-student-manual-kings-malachi/bibliography?lang=eng
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/teachings-of-the-living-prophets-student-manual-2016/chapter-7?lang=eng
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/teachings-of-the-living-prophets-student-manual-2016/chapter-2?lang=eng (4X)
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/book-of-mormon-seminary-teacher-manual-2024/36-helaman-7-12/361-teacher?lang=eng
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/old-testament-student-manual-kings-malachi/chapter-24?lang=eng (2X)
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/old-testament-seminary-teacher-resource-manual/the-book-of-isaiah/isaiah-1-12?lang=eng
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/old-testament-seminary-student-study-guide-obs/the-book-of-jeremiah/jeremiah-23-false-prophets?lang=eng
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/bc/content/shared/content/english/pdf/language-materials/34237_eng.pdf (2X)
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/book-of-mormon-teacher-resource-manual/the-book-of-alma/alma-43-58?lang=eng
4. Source: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/media/video/2020-05-0030-follow-prophets-they-speak-for-god?lang=eng&collectionId=9e790dc7ca744028bf6f1e1e4676fd60
(Archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20210612061721/https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/media/video/2020-05-0030-follow-prophets-they-speak-for-god?lang=eng&collectionId=9e790dc7ca744028bf6f1e1e4676fd60
5. Context: Book of Mormon | 1 Nephi 22:20-21
   20 And the Lord will surely prepare a way for his people, unto the fulfilling of the words of Moses, which he spake, saying: A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass that all those who will not hear that prophet shall be cut off from among the people.
   21 And now I, Nephi, declare unto you, that this prophet of whom Moses spake was the Holy One of Israel; wherefore, he shall execute judgment in righteousness.
6. https://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.com/2023/10/respecting-obeying-authority-what-did.html
https://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.com/2022/03/speaking-truth-to-power-new-testament.html
7. JST Matthew 7:6-9; JST1876-NT, p. 10 (Bold emphasis added.)
   6 And Jesus said unto his disciples, Beholdest thou the Scribes, and the Pharisees, and the Priests, and the Levites? They teach in their synagogues, but do not observe the law, nor the commandments; and all have gone out of the way, and are under sin.
   7 Go thou and say unto them, Why teach ye men the law and the commandments, when ye yourselves are the children of corruption?
   8 Say unto them, Ye hypocrites, first cast out the beam out of thine own yes; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.
   9 Go ye into the world, saying unto all, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come nigh unto you.
8. And can we safely assume they meant everyone but us?
Old Testament | Isaiah 9:13–16; Book of Mormon | 2 Nephi 19:13-15
   13 ¶ For the people turneth not unto him that smiteth them, neither do they seek the LORD of hosts.
   14 Therefore the LORD will cut off from Israel head and tail, branch and rush, in one day.
   15 The ancient and honourable, he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail.
   16 For the leaders of this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed.
Old Testament | Isaiah 28:7
   7 ¶ But they also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way; the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they are out of the way through strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment.
Old Testament | Isaiah 56:10-11
   10 His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber.
   11 Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter.
Old Testament | Micah 3:5-11
   5 ¶ Thus saith the LORD concerning the prophets that make my people err, that bite with their teeth, and cry, Peace; and he that putteth not into their mouths, they even prepare war against him.
   6 Therefore night shall be unto you, that ye shall not have a vision; and it shall be dark unto you, that ye shall not divine; and the sun shall go down over the prophets, and the day shall be dark over them.
   7 Then shall the seers be ashamed, and the diviners confounded: yea, they shall all cover their lips; for there is no answer of God.
   8 ¶ But truly I am full of power by the spirit of the LORD, and of judgment, and of might, to declare unto Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his sin.
   9 Hear this, I pray you, ye heads of the house of Jacob, and princes of the house of Israel, that abhor judgment, and pervert all equity.
   10 They build up Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with iniquity.
   11 The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money: yet will they lean upon the LORD, and say, Is not the LORD among us? none evil can come upon us.
Old Testament | Jeremiah 23:2-4
   2 Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people; Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the LORD.
   3 And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase.
   4 And I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the LORD.
9. Joseph related the following dream which he had last night [June 26-27, 1844]:
“I was back in Kirtland, Ohio, and thought I would take a walk out by myself, and view my old farm, which I found grown up with weeds and brambles, and altogether bearing evidence of neglect and want of culture. I went into the barn which I found without floor or doors, with the weather boarding off, and was altogether in keeping with the farm. While I viewed the desolation around me, and was contemplating how it might be recovered from the curse upon it, there came rushing into the barn a company of furious men, who commenced to pick a quarrel with me. The leader of the party ordered me to leave the barn and the farm, stating it was none of mine, and that I must give up all hope of ever possessing it. I told him the farm was given me by the Church, and [HC 6:609] although I had not had any use of it for some time back, still I had not sold it, and according to [p. 177] <​June 27​> righteous principles it belonged to me or the Church. He then grew furious, and began to rail upon me and threaten me, and said it never did belong to me nor the Church. I then told him that I did not think it worth contending about; that I had no desire to live upon it in its present state, and if he thought he had a better right I would not quarrel with him about it, but leave; but my assurance that I would not trouble him at present did not seem to satisfy him, as he seemed determined to quarrel with me, and threatened me with the destruction of my body. While he was thus engaged, pouring out his bitter words upon me, a rabble rushed in and nearly filled the barn, drew out their knives, and began to quarrel among themselves for the premises; and for a moment forgot me, at which time I took the opportunity to walk out of the barn about up to my ankles in mud. When I was a little distance from the barn I heard them screeching and screaming in a very distressed manner, as it appeared they had engaged in a general fight with their knives. While they were thus engaged the dream or vision ended”
https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/history-1838-1856-volume-f-1-1-may-1844-8-august-1844/183
10. https://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.com/2010/11/lesson-from-old-prophet.html
https://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.com/2021/08/lesson-from-old-prophet-revisited.html
11. Extracted verses from section 107 for those who are curious:
Doctrine and Covenants | Section 107:77–81; bold emphasis added
   77 And the decision of either of these councils, agreeable to the commandment which says:
   78 Again, verily, I say unto you, the most important business of the church, and the most difficult cases of the church, inasmuch as there is not satisfaction upon the decision of the bishop or judges, it shall be handed over and carried up unto the council of the church, before the Presidency of the High Priesthood.
   79 And the Presidency of the council of the High Priesthood shall have power to call other high priests, even twelve, to assist as counselors; and thus the Presidency of the High Priesthood and its counselors shall have power to decide upon testimony according to the laws of the church.
   80 And after this decision it shall be had in remembrance no more before the Lord; for this is the highest council of the church of God, and a final decision upon controversies in spiritual matters.
   81 There is not any person belonging to the church who is exempt from this council of the church .
12. https://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.com/2012/09/if-it-were-possible.html
13. New Testament | Matthew 21:12-13 (Bold emphasis added.)
   12 ¶ And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves,
   13 And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.
New Testament | Luke 19:45-47 (Bold emphasis added.)
   45 And he [Jesus] went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold therein, and them that bought;
   46 Saying unto them, It is written, My house is the house of prayer: but ye have made it a den of thieves.
   47 And he taught daily in the temple.
14. https://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.com/2024/03/where-are-lamentations.html
https://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.com/2024/03/isaiahs-lamentations.html
https://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.com/2016/02/where-is-anguish.html
https://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.com/2018/04/sighing-and-crying.html
https://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.com/2017/11/seest-thou-what-they-do.html

Where Are OUR Watchmen for the Children?

Do you know yet about the WPATH Files — a recent exposé of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH)? If you are a parent, grandparent, sibling, aunt, uncle, cousin, teacher, or fall within the definition of human being, you should know about WPATH. Here’s an opportunity:

This Cannot Be Ignored
(Jordan B Peterson Clips | Mar 29, 2024 | Time 20:47 min.) at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbUsSN5RKXQ

Full Episode: The Biggest Medical Scandal Of Our Time | Michael Shellenberger | EP 435
(Jordan B Peterson | Mar 28, 2024 | Time 1:49:52 min,) at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7koRuL02sY

Are We Ready for More?

▪ What will our attitude be if “new” words are brought forth in a manner as unorthodox as the Book of Mormon was brought forth¹?
▪ Will we LDS insist that God act only through our leaders²?
▪ What if God’s end-time servant appears as unexpectedly, inconveniently as Samuel the Lamanite did, decrying wickedness and crying repentance³?
▪ What if an end-time, unconventional,⁴ righteous servant brings forth sealed records (as in marked with a seal)?
▪ Will we be open to discerning or will we shut off inquiry because of preconceptions?

If we believe in this:

Know ye not that there are more nations than one? ... and I bring forth my word unto the children of men, yea, even upon all the nations of the earth? ... For I command all men, both in the east and in the west, and in the north, and in the south, and in the islands of the sea, that they shall write the words which I speak unto them; for out of the books which shall be written I will judge the world, every man according to their works, according to that which is written. For behold, I shall speak unto the Jews and they shall write it; and I shall also speak unto the Nephites and they shall write it; and I shall also speak unto the other tribes of the house of Israel, which I have led away, and they shall write it; and I shall also speak unto all nations of the earth and they shall write it (Book of Mormon | 2 Nephi 29:7, 11-12);⁵

For behold, the Lord doth grant unto all nations, of their own nation and tongue, to teach his word, yea, in wisdom, all that he seeth fit that they should have; therefore we see that the Lord doth counsel in wisdom, according to that which is just and true (Book of Mormon | Alma 29:8);

yes, if we believe more words are to come forth, then this recent “Rood Awakening!” may prove a timely discovery and opportunity to exercise discernment. And IF this proves out, what a remarkable witness calling all nations to consider and reconsider the Book of Mormon.

BREAKING Book of Mormon Evidence! Gold Plates Found in Saudi Arabia!
(The Stick of Joseph | Apr 3, 2024 | Time 1:31:15 min.) at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8Mri2mBMj4
Archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20240404144122/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8Mri2mBMj4
Update Apr 5, 2024: MORE INFORMATION On the Saudi Arabian Gold Books
The Stick of Joseph | Apr 5, 2024 | 49:07 min.) at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdHcfug0UMI




(A Rood Awakening! | Mar 29, 2024 | Time 57:19 min.) at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlzwDcsWw04
Archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20240404144345/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlzwDcsWw04

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1. Pearl of Great Price | JS-History 1
JOSEPH SMITH—HISTORY
EXTRACTS FROM THE HISTORY OF JOSEPH SMITH, THE PROPHET
History of the Church, Vol. 1, Chapters 1–5
2. Concerning Bruce R. McConkie’s expectation of how more records promised to come forth will come (which is also the unshakable expectation of many LDS): “records that will come forth in a marvelous manner, at the direction of the president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who is a revelator and a translator and who holds the keys of the kingdom of God on earth as pertaining to all men, the Ten Tribes included” (The Millennial Messiah, 217). (Accessible with subscription at https://archive.org/details/millennialmessia0000mcco/page/217/mode/1up)
3. Book of Mormon | Helaman 13:1-5
   1 AND now it came to pass in the eighty and sixth year, the Nephites did still remain in wickedness, yea, in great wickedness, while the Lamanites did observe strictly to keep the commandments of God, according to the law of Moses.
   2 And it came to pass that in this year there was one Samuel, a Lamanite, came into the land of Zarahemla, and began to preach unto the people. And it came to pass that he did preach, many days, repentance unto the people, and they did cast him out, and he was about to return to his own land.
   3 But behold, the voice of the Lord came unto him, that he should return again, and prophesy unto the people whatsoever things should come into his heart.
   4 And it came to pass that they would not suffer that he should enter into the city; therefore he went and got upon the wall thereof, and stretched forth his hand and cried with a loud voice, and prophesied unto the people whatsoever things the Lord put into his heart.
   5 And he said unto them: Behold, I, Samuel, a Lamanite, do speak the words of the Lord which he doth put into my heart; and behold he hath put it into my heart to say unto this people that the sword of justice hangeth over this people;
4. (and when were any of the Old and New Testament prophets conventional)
5. Book of Mormon | 2 Nephi 29:1-14 (Full quote in context)
   1 BUT behold, there shall be many—at that day when I shall proceed to do a marvelous work among them, that I may remember my covenants which I have made unto the children of men, that I may set my hand again the second time to recover my people, which are of the house of Israel;
   2 And also, that I may remember the promises which I have made unto thee, Nephi, and also unto thy father, that I would remember your seed; and that the words of your seed should proceed forth out of my mouth unto your seed; and my words shall hiss forth unto the ends of the earth, for a standard unto my people, which are of the house of Israel;
   3 And because my words shall hiss forth—many of the Gentiles shall say: A Bible! A Bible! We have got a Bible, and there cannot be any more Bible.
   4 But thus saith the Lord God: O fools, they shall have a Bible; and it shall proceed forth from the Jews, mine ancient covenant people. And what thank they the Jews for the Bible which they receive from them? Yea, what do the Gentiles mean? Do they remember the travails, and the labors, and the pains of the Jews, and their diligence unto me, in bringing forth salvation unto the Gentiles?
   5 O ye Gentiles, have ye remembered the Jews, mine ancient covenant people? Nay; but ye have cursed them, and have hated them, and have not sought to recover them. But behold, I will return all these things upon your own heads; for I the Lord have not forgotten my people.
   6 Thou fool, that shall say: A Bible, we have got a Bible, and we need no more Bible. Have ye obtained a Bible save it were by the Jews?
   7 Know ye not that there are more nations than one? Know ye not that I, the Lord your God, have created all men, and that I remember those who are upon the isles of the sea; and that I rule in the heavens above and in the earth beneath; and I bring forth my word unto the children of men, yea, even upon all the nations of the earth?
   8 Wherefore murmur ye, because that ye shall receive more of my word? Know ye not that the testimony of two nations is a witness unto you that I am God, that I remember one nation like unto another? Wherefore, I speak the same words unto one nation like unto another. And when the two nations shall run together the testimony of the two nations shall run together also.
   9 And I do this that I may prove unto many that I am the same yesterday, today, and forever; and that I speak forth my words according to mine own pleasure. And because that I have spoken one word ye need not suppose that I cannot speak another; for my work is not yet finished; neither shall it be until the end of man, neither from that time henceforth and forever.
   10 Wherefore, because that ye have a Bible ye need not suppose that it contains all my words; neither need ye suppose that I have not caused more to be written.
   11 For I command all men, both in the east and in the west, and in the north, and in the south, and in the islands of the sea, that they shall write the words which I speak unto them; for out of the books which shall be written I will judge the world, every man according to their works, according to that which is written.
   12 For behold, I shall speak unto the Jews and they shall write it; and I shall also speak unto the Nephites and they shall write it; and I shall also speak unto the other tribes of the house of Israel, which I have led away, and they shall write it; and I shall also speak unto all nations of the earth and they shall write it.
   13 And it shall come to pass that the Jews shall have the words of the Nephites, and the Nephites shall have the words of the Jews; and the Nephites and the Jews shall have the words of the lost tribes of Israel; and the lost tribes of Israel shall have the words of the Nephites and the Jews.
   14 And it shall come to pass that my people, which are of the house of Israel, shall be gathered home unto the lands of their possessions; and my word also shall be gathered in one. And I will show unto them that fight against my word and against my people, who are of the house of Israel, that I am God, and that I covenanted with Abraham that I would remember his seed forever.

Isaiah’s Lamentations?

If we accept that circa 34 A.D., Jesus commanded His people to

“search the words of Isaiah” because “all things that [Isaiah] spake have been and shall be, even according to the words which he spake,”¹

then do we ponder our place in those lamentations? Or are we so immersed in the environs of Babylon, like fish in water, that seeing, we see not how surrounded, compromised, distracted, preoccupied, addicted² we are? Do we ever ask how Isaiah’s words might apply to us in this very hour? how near his warnings might be to literal fulfilment?

What are we to make of these three lamentations out of many possible?

4 Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.
5 ¶ Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.
6 From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.
7 Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers.
8 And the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city.
9 Except the LORD of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah.
10 ¶ Hear the word of the LORD, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah (Old Testament | Isaiah 1:4–10).

8 ¶ The Lord sent a word into Jacob, and it hath lighted upon Israel.
9 And all the people shall know, even Ephraim and the inhabitant of Samaria, that say in the pride and stoutness of heart,
10 The bricks are fallen down, but we will build with hewn stones: the sycomores are cut down, but we will change them into cedars.
11 Therefore the LORD shall set up the adversaries of Rezin against him, and join his enemies together;
12 The Syrians before, and the Philistines behind; and they shall devour Israel with open mouth. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
13 ¶ For the people turneth not unto him that smiteth them, neither do they seek the LORD of hosts.
14 Therefore the LORD will cut off from Israel head and tail, branch and rush, in one day.
15 The ancient and honourable, he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail.
16 For the leaders of this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed.
17 Therefore the Lord shall have no joy in their young men, neither shall have mercy on their fatherless and widows: for every one is an hypocrite and an evildoer, and every mouth speaketh folly. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
18 ¶ For wickedness burneth as the fire: it shall devour the briers and thorns, and shall kindle in the thickets of the forest, and they shall mount up like the lifting up of smoke.
19 Through the wrath of the LORD of hosts is the land darkened, and the people shall be as the fuel of the fire: no man shall spare his brother (Old Testament | Isaiah 9:8-19).

9 ¶ Rise up, ye women that are at ease; hear my voice, ye careless daughters; give ear unto my speech.
10 Many days and years shall ye be troubled, ye careless women: for the vintage shall fail, the gathering shall not come.
11 Tremble, ye women that are at ease; be troubled, ye careless ones: strip you, and make you bare, and gird sackcloth upon your loins.
12 They shall lament for the teats, for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine.
13 Upon the land of my people shall come up thorns and briers; yea, upon all the houses of joy in the joyous city:
14 Because the palaces shall be forsaken; the multitude of the city shall be left; the forts and towers shall be for dens for ever, a joy of wild asses, a pasture of flocks; (Old Testament | Isaiah 32:9-14).

Let us take time to ponder: How much social-consensus and self-centrism is manifest in our thoughts and behaviours? Have we any awareness of how our society has initiated and embraced the return of the old world gods Baal, Moloch, and Ishtar³ — the gods that caused so much prophetic lamentation in the past? How many of us naively participate in or affirm the rites, rituals, fashions, philosophies, and parades of the revived gods? And if we have somehow avoided the lure of Babylon and her resurgent gods, are we content with the praise of our goodness? the preaching of a 180 gospel of love and mercy almost completely ignoring justice and judgment, except for our judgments of the transparently wicked world?

Except, to whom were the majority of Isaiah’s lamentations and warnings directed?

-----------------------------------------/
1.  Book of Mormon | 3 Nephi 23:1-5 (Bold emphasis added.)
    1 AND now, behold, I say unto you, that ye ought to search these things. Yea, a commandment I give unto you that ye search these things diligently; for great are the words of Isaiah.
    2 For surely he spake as touching all things concerning my people which are of the house of Israel; therefore it must needs be that he must speak also to the Gentiles.
    3 And all things that he spake have been and shall be, even according to the words which he spake.
    4 Therefore give heed to my words; write the things which I have told you; and according to the time and the will of the Father they shall go forth unto the Gentiles.
    5 And whosoever will hearken unto my words and repenteth and is baptized, the same shall be saved. Search the prophets, for many there be that testify of these things.
2. New Testament | Acts 17:21
   21 (For all the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing.) (Bold emphasis added.)
3. Cahn, Jonathan. The Return of the Gods. Charisma House. Kindle Edition.

Where Are the Lamentations?

This year marks the 62nd anniversary of the 1962 publication: The Prophets by Abraham J. Heschel¹ where Heschel profiles the lamentations, pathos, and pleadings of Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, Micah, Jeremiah, and Habakkuk. And what were the outcomes (even in the old New World) of these old-world prophetic lamentations? Too often, rejection and responding lamentation

... because the Lord would not always suffer [the people] to take happiness in sin (Book of Mormon | Mormon 2:13)².

Today, there are street-preachers, pastors, podcasters, watchmen, et al. in the style of the old prophets lamenting the state of our degraded world, followed by  rejection and lamentation from many of their hearers. Just listen to the activists and advocates preaching social / power consensus and self-as-sovereign while stridently decrying transcendent / divine — another déjà vu of lamentation on both sides.³

Yes, we are told to be of good cheer,⁴ but also to study Isaiah, one of the prolific lamenters of the world; and not just Isaiah, but to “search the prophets,”⁵ which if we do, exposes us to litanies of lamentation.

Here are some Heschel insights about these lamenters:

The prophet is not only a prophet. He is also poet, preacher, patriot, statesman, social critic, moralist (p. xxii).

The prophet was an individual who said No to his society, condemning its habits and assumptions, its complacency, waywardness, and syncretism. He was often compelled to proclaim the very opposite of what his heart expected. His fundamental objective was to reconcile man and God. Why do the two need reconciliation? Perhaps it is due to man’s false sense of sovereignty, to his abuse of freedom, to his aggressive, sprawling pride, resenting God’s involvement in history (p. xxix).

The things that horrified the prophets are even now daily occurrences all over the world (p. 3).

Indeed, the sort of crimes and even the amount of delinquency that fill the prophets of Israel with dismay do not go beyond that which we regard as normal, as typical ingredients of social dynamics. To us a single act of injustice—cheating in business, exploitation of the poor—is slight; to the prophets, a disaster. To us injustice is injurious to the welfare of the people; to the prophets it is a deathblow to existence: to us, an episode; to them, a catastrophe, a threat to the world (p. 4).

Their breathless impatience with injustice may strike us as hysteria. We ourselves witness continually acts of injustice, manifestations of hypocrisy, falsehood, outrage, misery, but we rarely grow indignant or overly excited. To the prophets even a minor injustice assumes cosmic proportions (p. 4).

The prophet’s words are outbursts of violent emotions. His rebuke is harsh and relentless. But if such deep sensitivity to evil is to be called hysterical, what name should be given to the abysmal indifference to evil which the prophet bewails? They drink wine in bowls, And anoint themselves with the finest oils, But they are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph! The niggardliness of our moral comprehensions, the incapacity to sense the depth of misery caused by our own failures, is a fact which no subterfuge can elude. Our eyes are witness to the callousness and cruelty of man, but our heart tries to obliterate the memories, to calm the nerves, and to silence our conscience (p, 5).

The prophet is a man who feels fiercely. God has thrust a burden upon his soul, and he is bowed and stunned at man’s fierce greed. Frightful is the agony of man; no human voice can convey its full terror. Prophecy is the voice that God has lent to the silent agony, a voice to the plundered poor, to the profaned riches of the world. It is a form of living, a crossing point of God and man. God is raging in the prophet’s words (pp. 5-6).

The mouth of the prophet is “a sharp sword.” He is “a polished arrow” taken out of the quiver of God (Isa. 49:2).
    Tremble, you women who are at ease,
    Shudder, you complacent ones;
    Strip, and make yourselves bare,
    Gird sackcloth upon your loins. Isaiah 32:11

Reading the words of the prophets is a strain on the emotions, wrenching one’s conscience from the state of suspended animation (p. 8).

Israel’s history comprised a drama of God and all men. God’s kingship and man’s hope were at stake in Jerusalem. God was alone in the world, unknown or discarded. The countries of the world were full of abominations, violence, falsehood. Here was one land, one people, cherished and chosen for the purpose of transforming the world. This people’s failure was most serious. The Beloved of God worshiped the Baalim (Hos. 11:1–2); the vineyard of the Lord yielded wild grapes (Isa. 5:2); Israel, holy to the Lord, “defiled My land, made My heritage an abomination” (Jer. 2:3, 7) (p. 17).

The prophet hates the approximate, he shuns the middle of the road. Man must live on the summit to avoid the abyss. There is nothing to hold to except God. Carried away by the challenge, the demand to straighten out man’s ways, the prophet is strange, one-sided, an unbearable extremist (p. 19).

It is embarrassing to be a prophet. There are so many pretenders, predicting peace and prosperity, offering cheerful words, adding strength to self-reliance, while the prophet predicts disaster, pestilence, agony, and destruction. People need exhortations to courage, endurance, confidence, fighting spirit, but Jeremiah proclaims: You are about to die if you do not have a change of heart and cease being callous to the word of God. He sends shudders over the whole city, at a time when the will to fight is most important (p. 20).

They had to remind the people that chosenness must not be mistaken as divine favoritism or immunity from chastisement, but, on the contrary, that it meant being more seriously exposed to divine judgment and chastisement (p. 39).

How does one reconcile the tenderness of divine love with the vehemence of divine punishment? Clearly it is not a love that is exclusive and that ignores the wickedness of the beloved, forgiving carelessly every fault. Here is a love grown bitter with the waywardness of man. The Lord is in love with Israel, but He also has a passionate love of right and a burning hatred of wrong (p. 61).

So where is our lamentation? the “sighing and crying” of Ezekiel 9⁶? OR the self-centrism and clamour of “Do not challenge my or society's ways and beliefs”? “Do not speak of judgment or punishment, only of love”?

But where is the love in neglecting to assure a wandering, confused soul that God “also has a passionate love of right and a burning hatred of wrong” — that His are the standards that govern; that repentance triggers His mercy and grace?

Where are the latter-day lamentations?

The prophets of Israel proclaim that the enemy may be God’s instrument in history. The God of Israel calls the archenemy of His people “Assyria, the rod of My anger” (Isa. 10:5; cf. 13:5; 5:26; 7:18; 8:7). “Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, My servant” whom I will bring “against this land and its inhabitants” (Jer. 25:9; 27:6; 43:10). Instead of cursing the enemy, the prophets condemn their own nation.

What gave them the strength to “demythologize” precious certainties, to attack what was holy, to hurl blasphemies at priest and king, to stand up against all in the name of God? The prophets must have been shattered by some cataclysmic experience in order to be able to shatter others (Heschel, p. 14).

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1. Heschel, Abraham Joshua. The Prophets. (1962) HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.
2. Book of Mormon | Mormon 2:13 (full verse)
    13 But behold this my joy was vain, for their sorrowing was not unto repentance, because of the goodness of God; but it was rather the sorrowing of the damned, because the Lord would not always suffer them to take happiness in sin.
3. https://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.com/2024/02/,moral-orientation-where-are-we.html
https://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.com/2024/02/moral-orientation-part-ii-social-power.html
https://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.com/2024/02/moral-orientation-part-iii-self-as.html
4. New Testament | John 16:33
    33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
5. Book of Mormon | 3 Nephi 23:1-5
    1 AND now, behold, I say unto you, that ye ought to search these things. Yea, a commandment I give unto you that ye search these things diligently; for great are the words of Isaiah.
    2 For surely he spake as touching all things concerning my people which are of the house of Israel; therefore it must needs be that he must speak also to the Gentiles.
    3 And all things that he spake have been and shall be, even according to the words which he spake.
    4 Therefore give heed to my words; write the things which I have told you; and according to the time and the will of the Father they shall go forth unto the Gentiles.
    5 And whosoever will hearken unto my words and repenteth and is baptized, the same shall be saved. Search the prophets, for many there be that testify of these things.
6. Old Testament | Ezekiel 9:4
    4 And the LORD said unto him [v. 3 the man clothed with linen, which had the writer's inkhorn by his side] Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof.
See also:
https://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.com/2018/04/sighing-and-crying.html
https://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.com/2017/11/seest-thou-what-they-do.html
https://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.com/2016/02/where-is-anguish.html
https://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.com/2011/05/dont-worry-be-happy.html

What / How to Pray for “Enemies”?

First: three case studies in brief (from the global, to the group, to the individual):

Case One
Billions of people worldwide are warned of an emerging virus that might kill hundreds of millions. Masking, washing hands, isolation, lock-downs, social distancing, etc., etc. are mandated till miracle vaccines can be developed. No protocol of treatment is offered before hospitalization, and some viable healing options banned. PHOs and media foment fear while professional colleges step in between doctors and their patients, de-licensing non-conformers during the height of the alleged public health crisis. The vaccine arrives and is declared “safe and effective” when there was no way such could be known. The Pharma and big business windfall is astronomical; small business and employee losses are staggering. Adverse events and sudden deaths skyrocket. Despite exposés, whistle-blowers, facts, and damning stats, the narrative, lies, pretense, censorship, and tyrannies persist.
So what and how does one pray for these enemies of truth, science, honor, and integrity?¹

Case Two
A 14-year old scout is groomed and incrementally abused in a church-sponsored scouting group. He doesn’t know how to escape the trap and the shame but when the abuser begins to target his younger brother, he reports the abuser to his scout hierarchy but is assured that things will be taken care of; no need to report to other authorities; he is not even to tell his parents in order to protect the reputation of the sponsor. However the abuse continues. At last, at a scout camp, the boy becomes aware that there are many victims. When an instance of abuse becomes so blatant and public, the boy calls the police after the other scout leaders refuse. Sometime later, he and his father campaign to change statute of limitation laws and he launches a lawsuit to try and get documented abusers removed from positions and re-assignments. For some years, he and his family are targeted and persecuted for not dropping the case and the campaign. Some years later, in therapy, he and his then wife suffer therapy abuse by a church-approved therapist which results in the breakup of his marriage. It is a traumatic, painful story still unfolding where tens of thousands have been abused and abandoned.
So what and how does one pray for these enemies of truth, justice, honor, and integrity?²

Case Three
A young (NPD³?) mother of three is willingly seduced by a spouse predator.⁴ In a flood of self- and others-deception, she divorces her children’s father and soon denies him access to the children who are encouraged to call her paramour “daddy.” While awaiting an access hearing date, a temporary, limited access agreement is reached where the parties covenant not to disparage one another⁵ and the ex-husband will not speak about the paramour in front of the children. On the first, 1/4 day visit in circa two years, the 4-year old comes, wearing a hoodie under his jacket. When the jacket is removed in the presence of other close family members (who were also denied access to the children for almost two years), the new hoodie is exposed: vividly marked with the child's nickname⁶ down the sleeve length and the paramour's last name on the back in large letters. Considering the mother’s ego-driven history, this cruel “joke” — this blatant breach of non-disparagement — along with the innocent child’s incessant (pre-coached?): “Do you like my hoodie?” is not out-of-(vindictive)-character.
So what and how does one pray for this “enemy” of truth, morality, honor, and integrity?

These offenders and destroyers of rights, relationships, and families are becoming tragically common. The continuum of BPD, NPD, psychopathy, etc. is stressing so many to the breaking point. They agonize: “Do I keep trusting in God when things only seem to go from bad to worse? or do I give in to revenge, retaliation, eye-for-eye, despair? How do I endure this continual drama? the continual scaling up of bullying and tyranny? these unimaginable breaches of trust and promise? these brutal cruelties?”

Most of us know of many other dreadful, agonizing situations. We know, too, that:

43 ¶ Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? (New Testament | Matthew 5:43-46)

But how do we reconcile a deep sense of and need for justice with the unjust cruelties of wickedness, especially if we also recognize our own weaknesses and failings? Here is a suggestion:

Please bless ____________________________ with those experiences that will bring _____ to repentance, and if _____ refuse(s) Thy mercy and grace, please bless _____ with exposure and accountability, justice and judgment.

And because we are all susceptible to misjudgment, mis-perception, and self-deception, perhaps our addendum to every such earnest prayer should be to finish with “me / I” in the blank spaces.

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1. https://dejavu-times.blogspot.com/2020/05/a-global-stanley-milgram-experiment.html
https://dejavu-times.blogspot.com/2020/04/real-life-milgram-spe.html
https://dejavu-times.blogspot.com/2020/03/a-gift-horse.html
https://dejavu-times.blogspot.com/2020/03/covid-covert.html
https://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.com/2020/03/in-one-fell-swoop.html
https://dejavu-times.blogspot.com/2020/04/no-no-no.html
https://dejavu-times.blogspot.com/2020/10/pscience.html
https://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.com/2020/08/catastrophe-prophets-profits.html
https://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.com/2020/03/sample-questions-by-keeper-of-gate.html
https://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.com/2021/10/what-is-covid-narrative.html
https://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.com/2021/01/the-new-normal-samaritan.html
https://dejavu-times.blogspot.com/2021/05/by-what-authority.html
https://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.com/2021/06/forsake-conscience-or-community.html
https://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.com/2021/11/russian-roulette.html
https://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.com/2021/10/it-all-makes-perfect-sense.html
https://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.com/2021/12/when-pscience-becomes-god.html
https://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.com/2022/11/campaign-amnesty.html
https://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.com/2024/01/something-we-can-do-rx.html
2. Signs of a Sexual Predator
Medically Reviewed by Smitha Bhandari, MD on December 16, 2022
https://www.webmd.com/sex-relationships/signs-sexual-predator
For more info on this story search “Adam Paul Steed”
3. NPD - narcissistic personality disorder:
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/narcissistic-personality-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20366662
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/9742-narcissistic-personality-disorder
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narcissistic_personality_disorder
4. Did Your Marriage Fall Prey to a Spouse Poacher?
https://debramacleod.com/did-your-marriage-fall-prey-to-a-spouse-poacher/
Is A 'Partner Predator' Circling Your Husband Or Wife?
https://www.huffpost.com/archive/ca/entry/partner-predator_b_16231118
5. which the ex had never done for the sake of the children, also believing his beloved wife would wake up and seek to return.
6. A nickname given to the child by his mother or her paramour after the separation with the husband, so the mother and the paramour could avoid using the name given to the child at his birth — a name bestowed in honor of his step-grandpa, (who, at the separation, had spoken too much truth, but had thereafter extended an increase of love to the mother only to be given the order of no-contact, no birthday gifts, no Christmas gifts for her or the children.

Moral Orientation: Part III - Self-as-Sovereign

Damnatio Memoriae*
(Erasing memory)

(Thoughts and Observations)

If we view history and humanity through moral orientation, we seem, in thought and deed, to continually fluctuate between orientations:

1. Transcendent / Divine
2. Social / Power Consensus
3. Self-as-Sovereign [as Supreme Authority].

For background to this 3-part series, see 1) Moral Orientation? Where Are We?¹ and 2) Moral Orientation? Part II: Social / Power Consensus?²

The third orientation: self-as-sovereign runs along a spectrum from sweet, naïve new-ager types who radiate love, peace, freedom, tolerance, live-and-let-live all the way to the extreme, “do what thou wilt,” hard-core pederast.

Yes, tolerance and live-and-let-live are essential elements in this mortal probation³ with its moral agency — where  tolerance means accepting people without having to accept their ideas or demands. They pursue their own way and we pursue them with “Good News” (as much as they will allow).

Granted, maintaining peace and social order is a complex task in a complex society, but in large measure private, personal choices do not injure others or their property. If choices do harm (especially the innocent), there are generally criminal and civil remedies, but, in the end, all thought, speech, and action, public or private, will be judged by Divine Justice — not by social / power consensus or some sovereign-self defense. The Great Judge will decide, in every individual case, if it is just to apply mercy.⁴ In the meantime, however, our societies and cultures must learn how to manage aggressive, self-as-sovereign activists and tyrants (and their servitors) who pursue control and domination.

If we had retained memory of the “Grand Council,”⁵ we might be better able to spot the many mortal variants of that first and famous self-as-sovereign activist — the one described by God:

1 AND I, the Lord God, spake unto Moses, saying: That Satan, whom thou hast commanded in the name of mine Only Begotten, is the same which was from the beginning, and he came before me, saying—Behold, here am I, send me, I will be thy son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it; wherefore give me thine honor.
2 But, behold, my Beloved Son, which was my Beloved and Chosen from the beginning, said unto me—Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever.
3 Wherefore, because that Satan rebelled against me, and sought to destroy the agency of man, which I, the Lord God, had given him, and also, that I should give unto him mine own power; by the power of mine Only Begotten, I caused that he should be cast down;
4 And he became Satan, yea, even the devil, the father of all lies, to deceive and to blind men, and to lead them captive at his will, even as many as would not hearken unto my voice (Pearl of Great Price | Moses 4:1-4).

Isaiah said of this failed usurper:

12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High (Old Testament | Isaiah 14:12-14).

We see this self-as-sovereign attitude manifest in the monuments, inscriptions, and writings of many kings, pharaohs, emperors, wanna-be’s, et al. throughout history. In page after page in Empires of the Bible one can read the extravagant, self-accolades of old world tyrants.⁶

And what is self-as-sovereign if not: “I am who I think and say I am; I am subjectively able to decide what is good and what is bad; I am destined, deserving, entitled to rule in whatever spheres I choose; My way is the way”? And thus we hear the ever recycling divine lament of “their own way.”⁷

We are now witnessing a self-as-sovereign explosion, especially, in the promotion by seducers and servitors of “sovereign” dysphorics — supreme arbiters now of what is “real” based on feelings; of what is good speech, what is hate speech; what is right, what is wrong; what is timely, what is not; what another must say and think to conform to the sovereign-self’s self-image. Values orientation is now subjective and personal unless contested, and then it (bizarrely) becomes objective and compulsory (for less-sovereign selves?). Almost always, the self-as-sovereign moves from personal choice to public coercion.

We see this self-as-sovereign manifest throughout scripture, every time an “authority” took it upon him- / herself to act outside divine orientation. Think of kings Saul, David, Solomon and on down the divided line for generations. We see it succinctly expressed in the words of anti-Christ Korihor:

17 And many more such things did he [Korihor] say unto them, telling them that there could be no atonement made for the sins of men, but every man fared in this life according to the management of the creature; therefore every man prospered according to his genius, and that every man conquered according to his strength; and whatsoever a man did was no crime.
18 And thus he did preach unto them, leading away the hearts of many, causing them to lift up their heads in their wickedness, yea, leading away many women, and also men, to commit whoredoms—telling them that when a man was dead, that was the end thereof  (Book of Mormon | Alma 30:17-18).

We see it in the descriptions of the “natural man.”⁸ Many, in the past, have conspired to be rulers, and using fear, favour, and falsehood have prospered for a time, always with the help of social / power consensus. As Étienne de La Boétie observed:

I should like merely to understand how it happens that so many men, so many villages, so many cities, so many nations, sometimes suffer under a single tyrant who has no other power than the power they give him; who is able to harm them only to the extent to which they have the willingness to bear with him; who could do them absolutely no injury unless they preferred to put up with him rather than contradict him. Surely a striking situation! Yet it is so common that one must grieve the more and wonder the less at the spectacle of a million men serving in wretchedness, their necks under the yoke, not constrained by a greater multitude than they ...⁸

Now under COVID, “gender,” and climate politics, we have regressed to another déjà vu of tyranny and mindless servitors. With the aid of the internet, social / power consensus has elevated the self-as-sovereign orientation to new heights, creating a flood of mini-tyrants — a plague of bullies; a bully culture. Social / Power consensus and self-as-sovereign have conjoined once again to battle against transcendent / divine. So, have we come to this?

5 [T]he people shall be oppressed, every one by another, and every one by his neighbour: the child shall behave himself proudly against the ancient, and the base against the honourable (Old Testament | Isaiah 3:5).

25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever (New Testament | Romans 1:25).

Before ending this post, I reiterate: for truly dysphoric adolescents, compassion with a balancing of facts, feelings, faith, and science (NOT pscience ⁹) can help adolescents navigate crises till the age of maturity when as adults, they can make a choice of orientation and presentation, but not a choice to coerce conformity in others.

In the meantime what choices are we, adults, making? Are we, “compassionately” coaching youth to live in the suffocation and sin of self-focus and -centredness with the expectation of happiness, joy, peace? Are we too sophisticated to mention:

19 [K]now ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's (New Testament | 1 Corinthians 6:19-20)?

Let us ponder whether our participation in the mocking of divine truths and divine traditions that have proven themselves over millennia is but a precursor to the sudden demise of our own arrogance.

G.K. Chesterton: Tradition means giving votes to the most obscure of all classes, our ancestors. It is the democracy of the dead. Tradition refuses to submit to the small and arrogant oligarchy of those who merely happen to be walking about. All democrats object to men being disqualified by the accident of birth; tradition objects to their being disqualified by the accident of death. (Orthodoxy [Image Books, 1959], 48)¹⁰

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*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damnatio_memoriae

1. https://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.com/2024/02/moral-orientation-where-are-we.html
2. https://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.com/2024/02/moral-orientation-part-ii-social-power.html
3. Probation:

Book of Mormon | 1 Nephi 10:20 21
   20 Therefore remember, O man, for all thy doings thou shalt be brought into judgment.
   21 Wherefore, if ye have sought to do wickedly in the days of your probation, then ye are found unclean before the judgment–seat of God; and no unclean thing can dwell with God; wherefore, ye must be cast off forever.
Book of Mormon | 2 Nephi 2:21
   21 And the days of the children of men were prolonged, according to the will of God, that they might repent while in the flesh; wherefore, their state became a state of probation, and their time was lengthened, according to the commandments which the Lord God gave unto the children of men.
Book of Mormon | 2 Nephi 9:27-28
   27 But wo unto him that has the law given, yea, that has all the commandments of God, like unto us, and that transgresseth them, and that wasteth the days of his probation, for awful is his state!
   28 O that cunning plan of the evil one! O the vainness, and the frailties, and the foolishness of men! When they are learned they think they are wise, and they hearken not unto the counsel of God, for they set it aside, supposing they know of themselves, wherefore, their wisdom is foolishness and it profiteth them not. And they shall perish.
Book of Mormon | 2 Nephi 33:9
   9 I also have charity for the Gentiles. But behold, for none of these can I hope except they shall be reconciled unto Christ, and enter into the narrow gate, and walk in the strait path which leads to life, and continue in the path until the end of the day of probation.
Book of Mormon | Alma 12:24
   24 And we see that death comes upon mankind, yea, the death which has been spoken of by Amulek, which is the temporal death; nevertheless there was a space granted unto man in which he might repent; therefore this life became a probationary state; a time to prepare to meet God; a time to prepare for that endless state which has been spoken of by us, which is after the resurrection of the dead.
Book of Mormon | Alma 42:3-4, 10, 13
   3 Now, we see that the man had become as God, knowing good and evil; and lest he should put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat and live forever, the Lord God placed cherubim and the flaming sword, that he should not partake of the fruit—
   4 And thus we see, that there was a time granted unto man to repent, yea, a probationary time, a time to repent and serve God. ...
   10 Therefore, as they had become carnal, sensual, and devilish, by nature, this probationary state became a state for them to prepare; it became a preparatory state. ...
   13 Therefore, according to justice, the plan of redemption could not be brought about, only on conditions of repentance of men in this probationary state, yea, this preparatory state; for except it were for these conditions, mercy could not take effect except it should destroy the work of justice. Now the work of justice could not be destroyed; if so, God would cease to be God.
Book of Mormon | Helaman 13:38
   38 But behold, your days of probation are past; ye have procrastinated the day of your salvation until it is everlastingly too late, and your destruction is made sure; yea, for ye have sought all the days of your lives for that which ye could not obtain; and ye have sought for happiness in doing iniquity, which thing is contrary to the nature of that righteousness which is in our great and Eternal Head.
Book of Mormon | Mormon 9:28
   28 Be wise in the days of your probation; strip yourselves of all uncleanness; ask not, that ye may consume it on your lusts, but ask with a firmness unshaken, that ye will yield to no temptation, but that ye will serve the true and living God.
Doctrine and Covenants | Section 29:43-45
   43 And thus did I, the Lord God, appoint unto man the days of his probation—that by his natural death he might be raised in immortality unto eternal life, even as many as would believe;
   44 And they that believe not unto eternal damnation; for they cannot be redeemed from their spiritual fall, because they repent not;
   45 For they love darkness rather than light, and their deeds are evil, and they receive their wages of whom they list to obey.
4. Book of Mormon | Alma 42:12-31
5. https://www.mormonwiki.com/Council_in_Heaven
https://www.ldsscriptureteachings.org/2015/09/the-grand-council-and-the-war-in-heaven/
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/manual/doctrine-and-covenants-student-manual/section-116-grand-council?lang=eng
https://www.fairlatterdaysaints.org/conference/august-2010/joseph-smith-and-the-biblical-council-of-gods
6. Jones, Alonzo T. Empires of the Bible(Kindle Locations 3848-3850). . Kindle Edition.
See sampling at: https://moc-n-dox.blogspot.com/2023/11/urgent-memo-to-global-order-gang-gog.html
7. (All bold emphasis added.)
Old Testament | Proverbs 1:30-31
   30 They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof.
   31 Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.
Old Testament | Isaiah 53:6; Book of Mormon | Mosiah 14:6
   6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Old Testament | Isaiah 56:10-11
   10 His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber.
   11 Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter.
Old Testament | Isaiah 58:13
   13 ¶ If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:
Old Testament | Isaiah 66:3
   3 He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man; he that sacrificeth a lamb, as if he cut off a dog's neck; he that offereth an oblation, as if he offered swine's blood; he that burneth incense, as if he blessed an idol. Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their abominations.
Old Testament | Ezekiel 22:31
   31 Therefore have I poured out mine indignation upon them; I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath: their own way have I recompensed upon their heads, saith the Lord GOD.
Old Testament | Ezekiel 36:17, 32
   17 Son of man, when the house of Israel dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by their own way and by their doings: their way was before me as the uncleanness of a removed woman. ...
   32 Not for your sakes do I this, saith the Lord GOD, be it known unto you: be ashamed and confounded for your own ways, O house of Israel.
Book of Mormon | Helaman 6:31
   31 And now behold, he [Satan] had got great hold upon the hearts of the Nephites; yea, insomuch that they had become exceedingly wicked; yea, the more part of them had turned out of the way of righteousness, and did trample under their feet the commandments of God, and did turn unto their own ways, and did build up unto themselves idols of their gold and their silver.
Doctrine and Covenants | Section 1:15-16
   15 For they have strayed from mine ordinances, and have broken mine everlasting covenant;
   16 They seek not the Lord to establish his righteousness, but every man walketh in his own way, and after the image of his own god, whose image is in the likeness of the world, and whose substance is that of an idol, which waxeth old and shall perish in Babylon, even Babylon the great, which shall fall.
Doctrine and Covenants | Section 56:14-15
   14 Behold, thus saith the Lord unto my people—you have many things to do and to repent of; for behold, your sins have come up unto me, and are not pardoned, because you seek to counsel in your own ways.
   15 And your hearts are not satisfied. And ye obey not the truth, but have pleasure in unrighteousness.
8. Book of Mormon | Mosiah 3:19
   19 For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father.
New Testament | 1 Corinthians 2:14
   14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
Book of Mormon | Alma 26:21-22
   21 And now behold, my brethren, what natural man is there that knoweth these things? I say unto you, there is none that knoweth these things, save it be the penitent.
   22 Yea, he that repenteth and exerciseth faith, and bringeth forth good works, and prayeth continually without ceasing—unto such it is given to know the mysteries of God; yea, unto such it shall be given to reveal things which never have been revealed; yea, and it shall be given unto such to bring thousands of souls to repentance, even as it has been given unto us to bring these our brethren to repentance.
Doctrine and Covenants | Section 67:12
   12 Neither can any natural man abide the presence of God, neither after the carnal mind.
9. https://voices-from-the-dust.blogspot.com/2021/03/023-mystery-of-civil-obedience.html
See also: https://voices-from-the-dust.blogspot.com/2021/03/006-secret-of-domination-6-6-6.html
https://voices-from-the-dust.blogspot.com/2021/04/049-submission-through-corruption.html
9.  Pscience is the corrupted offshoot of honorable Science. It is the inevitable consequence of man's obsessive pursuit and protection of power, gain, glory, and domination. Pscience is pseudo, psychopathic, propagandizing, plagiarizing, politicized, psy-opic, and above all, profit-obsessed, and profit-driven. This obsessive pursuit and protection by people without conscience is often enabled by naïve, trusting, or fear-filled acolytes. Pscience is a one-faith, one-dogma, heretic-fearing, self-deceiving, other-censoring system.
https://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.com/2021/12/when-pscience-becomes-god.html
https://dejavu-times.blogspot.com/2021/06/death-of-science-tyranny-of-pscience.html
https://dejavu-times.blogspot.com/2020/10/pscience.html
https://dejavu-times.blogspot.com/2021/07/a-representative-history-of-pscience.html
10. As quoted by Dickson, John. A Doubter's Guide to the Ten Commandments: How, for Better or Worse, Our Ideas about the Good Life Come from Moses and Jesus (p. 15). Zondervan Academic. Kindle Edition.