The Pleading Bar of God?

Because

▪ the pleading¹ bar of God² suggests that the Judgment may involve an adversarial proceeding with an accuser³ and an advocate;⁴

▪ Joseph Smith said:

I preached to the Saints, setting forth the evils that existed, and that would exist, by reason of hasty judgment, or decisions upon any subject given by any people, or in judging before they had heard both sides of a question;⁵

▪ the Apostle Paul recommended that we

Prove all things; hold fast that which is good;⁶

▪ the Almighty may ask us at the Judgment why we didn't follow the advice of His servants Joseph and Paul in ANY and ALL things;

therefore, it might profit those who have heard or read Denver Snuffer's teachings to read the two-part work of Gregory L. Smith entitled:

"Passing Up the Heavenly Gift" (Part One)⁷
"Passing Up the Heavenly Gift" (Part Two)⁸

This is not to say that Gregory Smith should be accepted without further study and discernment, but how can we prove all things if we have a mind set to hear only one-side of a case? As a lawyer, Snuffer knows well that even hearing both sides may not reveal the full truth. He even invites us to test his teachings and so we should, which will require us to make judgments, hopefully following the Savior's counsel:

Judge not unrighteously, that ye be not judged; but judge righteous judgment. (New Testament | JST Matthew 7:2)

Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment. (New Testament | John 7:24)

The reason I have been belaboring Denver Snuffer recently is that some of his teachings and interpretations seem to contradict the gestalt of scripture and Joseph Smith's own teachings. Yes, some of Snuffer's writing is insightful, faith-promoting, and uplifting, but for me there are too many jack-in-the-box flags that spring up amongst the truths—some of which I have discussed in previous posts.⁹ His influence seems to be growing and I wonder if too many are content to believe and follow without "proving all things."

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1. From The Book of Mormon: The Earliest Text, edited by Royal Skousen (2009) where he corrects “pleasing bar” to “pleading bar” in both Jacob 6:13 and Moroni 10:34.
» Finally, I bid you farewell, until I shall meet you before the plea[d]ing bar of God, which bar striketh the wicked with awful dread and fear. Amen. (Jacob 6:13)
» And now I bid unto all, farewell. I soon go to rest in the paradise of God, until my spirit and body shall again reunite, and I am brought forth triumphant through the air, to meet you before the plea[d]ing bar of the great Jehovah, the Eternal Judge of both quick and dead. Amen. (Moroni 10:34)
2. (Bold emphasis added:)
Book of Mormon | Jacob 6:9 ~ Know ye not that if ye will do these things, that the power of the redemption and the resurrection, which is in Christ, will bring you to stand with shame and awful guilt before the bar of God?
Book of Mormon | Mosiah 16:10 ~ Even this mortal shall put on immortality, and this corruption shall put on incorruption, and shall be brought to stand before the bar of God, to be judged of him according to their works whether they be good or whether they be evil—
Book of Mormon | Alma 5:22 ~ And now I ask of you, my brethren, how will any of you feel, if ye shall stand before the bar of God, having your garments stained with blood and all manner of filthiness? Behold, what will these things testify against you?
Book of Mormon | Alma 12:12 ~ And Amulek hath spoken plainly concerning death, and being raised from this mortality to a state of immortality, and being brought before the bar of God, to be judged according to our works.
Book of Mormon | Moroni 10:27 ~ And I exhort you to remember these things; for the time speedily cometh that ye shall know that I lie not, for ye shall see me at the bar of God; and the Lord God will say unto you: Did I not declare my words unto you, which were written by this man, like as one crying from the dead, yea, even as one speaking out of the dust?
3. Is this one of the reasons Lucifer (aka Satan) is called the accuser of the brethren? New Testament | Revelation JST, 12:10 ~ "For the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night." Have we not, on occasion, experienced the whisperings of the adversary accusing us of being worthless, unlovable, unforgivable, a perpetual failure, etc., etc. Why would he not raise every instance of sinful commission and omission that he could, right to the very end of time, in order to stretch his torments out to the nth degree?
4. Book of Mormon | Moroni 7:28 ~ For he [Christ] hath answered the ends of the law, and he claimeth all those who have faith in him; and they who have faith in him will cleave unto every good thing; wherefore he advocateth the cause of the children of men; and he dwelleth eternally in the heavens.
New Testament | 1 John 2:1 ~ My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:
Doctrine and Covenants 29:5 ~ Lift up your hearts and be glad, for I am in your midst, and am your advocate with the Father; and it is his good will to give you the kingdom.
Doctrine and Covenants 32:3 ~ ... I am their advocate with the Father ...
Doctrine and Covenants 45:3 ~ Listen to him who is the advocate with the Father, who is pleading your cause before him—
Doctrine and Covenants 62:1 ~ Behold, and hearken, O ye elders of my church, saith the Lord your God, even Jesus Christ, your advocate, who knoweth the weakness of man and how to succor them who are tempted.
Doctrine and Covenants 110:4 ~ I am the first and the last; I am he who liveth, I am he who was slain; I am your advocate with the Father.
5. Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 118.
6. New Testament | 1 Thessalonians 5:21
7. http://www.mormoninterpreter.com/passing-up-the-heavenly-gift-part-one-of-two/
8. http://www.mormoninterpreter.com/passing-up-the-heavenly-gift-part-two-of-two/
9. See the posts at http://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.ca/search/label/Snuffer

#5: FLAGS*

Because:

▪ these seem to be the Last Days;
▪ errors and deceptions (sometimes unintended) often lie between or amongst proven truths;¹
▪ we should never accept ALL a man or woman says just because some of what they say is or rings true;

thus, I wish to consider in this post two more concerns raised by my study of Denver Snuffer’s Preserving the Restoration, being: 1) “first principles;” and 2) a resurrection issue.

First Principles

Snuffer writes:

[Sidney Rigdon’s restorationist congregation in Mentor, Ohio] sidled up to Joseph Smith to bring him aboard their restorationist movement. This allowed them to become a prophet-led congregation with miracles as proof of authority. … The overthrow of Joseph Smith’s incipient faith by the Campbellite converts was not the work of Sidney Rigdon alone. The Kirtland convert aneurysm brought congregants aboard who saw the faith through Restorationist eyes.²

The “first principles of the gospel” were borrowed from the Campbellites and incorporated into Mormonism by those restorationist converts. Joseph Smith’s Wentworth Letter included the “first principles of the gospel” among Latter-day Saint beliefs. Joseph accepted his converts characterization and used their terminology. … This prior [Campbellite] orientation skewed Rigdon’s views, and Rigdon’s influence altered Joseph Smith’s religious trajectory.³

Snuffer recommends Daymon Smith’s writings on the Campbellite connection and the “borrowing” by Joseph Smith of “first principles.”⁴ I encountered Daymon’s “borrowing” idea two years ago and was so amazed at the allegation (and audacity in the face of scripture—especially the Savior’s teachings in Book of Mormon, 3 Nephi 11, 12, 18, & 19) that I wrote two blog posts about it.

From Whence? (March 27, 2014)⁵ and
First, Last, In-between, Or ... ? (A Mormon Faux-Conundrum??) (January 31, 2014)⁶

Now Snuffer repeats the “borrowing” accusation, and I stand further amazed that anyone, even vaguely familiar with the Book of Mormon, could actually believe “the first principles of the gospel” were borrowed from the Campbellites. I remain stymied by the accusation and select just two passages from the many quoted in the above posts to illustrate:

Wherefore, do the things which I have told you I have seen that your Lord and your Redeemer should do; for, for this cause have they been shown unto me, that ye might know the gate by which ye should enter. For the gate by which ye should enter is repentance and baptism by water; and then cometh a remission of your sins by fire and by the Holy Ghost. ... And now, my beloved brethren, after ye have gotten into this strait and narrow path, I would ask if all is done? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; for ye have not come thus far save it were by the word of Christ with unshaken faith in him, relying wholly upon the merits of him who is mighty to save. (Book of Mormon | 2 Nephi 31:17-19)

And the first fruits of repentance is baptism; and baptism cometh by faith unto the fulfilling the commandments; and the fulfilling the commandments bringeth remission of sins; And the remission of sins bringeth meekness, and lowliness of heart; and because of meekness and lowliness of heart cometh the visitation of the Holy Ghost, which Comforter filleth with hope and perfect love, which love endureth by diligence unto prayer, until the end shall come, when all the saints shall dwell with God. (Book of Mormon | Moroni 8:25-26)

In addition, Snuffer believes that Joseph corrected his borrowed “first principles” shortly before his death with the “real first principles of the gospel.”⁷ To this, I say: What is to stop God from having more than one set of “first principles”? If we are meant to progress through various degrees, capacities, “estates”, stages, graces, exaltations, and so forth, why can there not be “first principles” marking each phase? Can an overarching truth be that we “transcend and include,” moving on to new levels of growth and progression, yet carrying all truth—including necessary compliance with “first principles”—from lower levels?

In any event, the “first principles” of Joseph Smith’s Article of Faith #4 have ample support in scripture, especially the Book of Mormon (published in March 1830, nine months before Sidney Rigdon even met Joseph Smith), as well as throughout Joseph’s own teachings.⁹

Resurrection

Snuffer writes:

The mortal bodies we temporarily occupy belong to Him. Ultimately He will take them back, convert them to dust, and use the dust to create something new. Nothing is lost. He will continue to use all the materials of creation. Someday He will resurrect us. But even then it will remain His. It will be a long time before we “attain to the resurrection of the dead.” Until then we only borrow from Him. The cycle will continue for as long as is needed to finally attain to the resurrection, as Christ has now done.¹⁰

Is Snuffer suggesting that we will be receiving new bodies rather than renewed ones? And is everyone going to be cycled and re-cycled through creation processes till ALL become like and do like the Savior—no matter how long it takes? till we can resurrect ourselves?¹¹ And what of all those scriptures that state the power of redemption and resurrection is in Christ?¹²

To be frank, I find so many “new” things (tucked between scripture quotes) in Snuffer’s Preserving the Restoration that it feels more like Re-conceptualizing the Restoration. The challenge (for me) in understanding his resurrection and creation-cycling concepts is how our “first” resurrection¹³ is to mesh with the long-delayed resurrection power that he says must be attained by all who reach the “prototype of the saved man,” and thus, the power to resurrect themselves. (See the review in #4: FLAGS.¹⁴)

The following scriptures and Joseph Smith quotes might be considered when trying to “prove all things” that have thus far been revealed about the resurrection (bold emphases added) :

... for that same spirit which doth possess your bodies at the time that ye go out of this life, that same spirit will have power to possess your body in that eternal world. (Book of Mormon | Alma 34:34)

They who are of a celestial spirit shall receive the same body which was a natural body; even ye shall receive your bodies, and your glory shall be that glory by which your bodies are quickened. (Doctrine and Covenants 88:28)

Now I understand by this quotation [Pearl of Great Price | Moses 7:62], that God clearly manifested to Enoch the redemption which He prepared, by offering the Messiah as a Lamb slain from before the foundation of the world; and by virtue of the same, the glorious resurrection of the Savior, and the resurrection of all the human family, even a resurrection of their corporeal bodies, is brought to pass; (TPJS, 84; footnote references omitted.)

If our souls and our bodies are not looking forth for the coming of the Son of Man; and after we are dead, if we are not looking forth, we shall be among those who are calling for the rocks to fall upon them. (TPJS, 160; footnote references omitted.)

How doth [Abel] yet speak? Why he magnified the Priesthood which was conferred upon him, and died a righteous man, and therefore has become an angel of God by receiving his body from the dead, holding still the keys of his dispensation; and was sent down from heaven unto Paul to minister consoling words, and to commit unto him a knowledge of the mysteries of godliness. (TPJS, 169; footnote references omitted.)

We came to this earth that we might have a body and present it pure before God in the celestial kingdom. (TPJS, 181; footnote reference omitted.)

[The spirit] existed before the body, can exist in the body; and will exist separate from the body, when the body will be mouldering in the dust; and will in the resurrection be again united with it. (TPJS, 207, footnote references omitted.)

I would esteem it one of the greatest blessings, if I am to be afflicted in this world, to have my lot cast where I can find brothers and friends all around me. But this is not the thing I referred to: it is to have the privilege of having our dead buried on the land where God has appointed to gather His Saints together, and where there will be none but Saints, where they may have the privilege of laying their bodies where the Son of Man will make His appearance, and where they may hear the sound of the trump that shall call them forth to behold Him, that in the morn of the resurrection they may come forth in a body, and come up out of their graves and strike hands immediately in eternal glory and felicity, rather than be scattered thousands of miles apart. There is something good and sacred to me in this thing. The place where a man is buried is sacred to me. This subject is made mention of in the Book of Mormon and other scriptures. Even to the aborigines of this land, the burying places of their fathers are more sacred than anything else. (TPJS, 294; footnote references omitted.)

I have said, Father, I desire to die here among the Saints. But if this is not Thy will, and I go hence and die, wilt Thou find some kind friend to bring my body back, and gather my friends who have fallen in foreign lands, and bring them up hither, that we may all lie together. I will tell you what I want. If tomorrow I shall be called to lie in yonder tomb, in the morning of the resurrection let me strike hands with my father, and cry, “My father,” and he will say, “My son, my son,” as soon as the rock rends and before we come out of our graves. (TPJS, 295; footnote references omitted.)

The mind or the intelligence which man possesses is co-equal, with God himself. I know that my testimony is true; hence, when I talk to these mourners, what have they lost? Their relatives and friends are only separated from their bodies for a short season: their spirits which existed with God have left the tabernacle of clay only for a little moment, as it were; and they now exist in a place where they converse together the same as we do on the earth. (TPJS, 353; footnote reference omitted; bold emphasis added.)

All things whatsoever God in his infinite wisdom has seen fit and proper to reveal to us, while we are dwelling in mortality, in regard to our mortal bodies, are revealed to us in the abstract, and independent of affinity of this mortal tabernacle, but are revealed to our spirits precisely as though we had no bodies at all; and those revelations which will save our spirits will save our bodies. (TPJS, 355; footnote references omitted.)

And they [inhabitants of the telestial world] shall be servants of the Most High; but where God and Christ dwell they cannot come, worlds without end. (Doctrine and Covenants 76:112)

He is the light and the life of the world; yea, a light that is endless, that can never be darkened; yea, and also a life which is endless, that there can be no more death. (Book of Mormon | Mosiah 16:9; bold emphasis added.)

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*This is number five in a FLAG series intended to encourage us in these last days to apply these words of wisdom and warning:

Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.

(New Testament | 1 Thessalonians 5:21) 

▪ Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye shall continue in the Son, and also in the Father. … These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you. (New Testament | JST 1 John 2: 24, 26)
▪ False prophets^[†] always arise to oppose the true prophets^[†]and they will prophesy so very near the truth that they will deceive almost the very chosen ones” (Joseph Smith, TPJS, p. 365);

^[†] Note: I am not purporting to know for a surety who is false or true in this latter-day, because, as the Lord told Joseph: “you cannot always judge the righteous, or as you cannot always tell the wicked from the righteous, therefore I say unto you, hold your peace until I shall see fit to make all things known unto the world concerning the matter” (Doctrine and Covenants | Section 10:37). And since my peace comes in writing and in trying to “prove ALL things,” I share in these FLAGS things that concern me, hoping that they might help others who are also seeking for the discerning spirit. And since we have been repeatedly warned about the “arm of flesh,” I try to measure ALL latter-day voices and traditions against the Word of God, as best I can.

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1. The thought has been expressed in various ways by others.
2. Denver C. Snuffer, Jr., Preserving the Restoration, © 2015, p. 280-281
3. Ibid, p. 307 (Last sentence in the above quote is from footnote 802; footnote references have been omitted in the quotes above.)
4. Ibid, p. 307, footnote 802.
5. http://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.ca/2014/03/from-whence.html
So, if the Savior’s very first teachings to the surviving Nephites / Lamanites (recorded in Book of Mormon 3 Nephi, chapters 11 & 12) were of faith, repentance, baptism, and receipt of the Holy Ghost, could we not consider these as “first principles of the Gospel”?
6. http://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.ca/2014/01/first-last-in-between-or.html
7. Snuffer, p. 306-309 (The corrected first principles being: “attaining to the resurrection from the dead, becoming Gods, and walking the same path as our Lord walked” (p. 308).
8. Snuffer, p. 124 (footnote #s replaced with the footnote citation).
9. (e.g., TPJS, 88, 148, 188, 198, 328.)
10. Snuffer, p. 338-339; see also his discussions on the cyclings of creation at p. 322, or pursue the entire chapter on the “Prototype of the Saved Man,” pp. 295-348.
11. From Preserving the Restoration at p. 304: For us “to attain the resurrection of the dead” requires us to have the power to resurrect, not only ourselves, but also those who are dependent on us. This is what the prototype of the saved man did. This is Who we worship. This is who and what we must precisely and exactly become. (Bold emphasis added.)
12. A small sampling:
Book of Mormon | 2 Nephi 2:8 ~ Wherefore, how great the importance to make these things known unto the inhabitants of the earth, that they may know that there is no flesh that can dwell in the presence of God, save it be through the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah, who layeth down his life according to the flesh, and taketh it again by the power of the Spirit, that he may bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, being the first that should rise.
Book of Mormon | Mosiah 18:2 ~ Yea, concerning that which was to come, and also concerning the resurrection of the dead, and the redemption of the people, which was to be brought to pass through the power, and sufferings, and death of Christ, and his resurrection and ascension into heaven.
Book of Mormon | Alma 4:14 ~ Looking forward to that day, thus retaining a remission of their sins; being filled with great joy because of the resurrection of the dead, according to the will and power and deliverance of Jesus Christ from the bands of death.
Book of Mormon | Alma 21:9 ~ Now Aaron began to open the scriptures unto them concerning the coming of Christ, and also concerning the resurrection of the dead, and that there could be no redemption for mankind save it were through the death and sufferings of Christ, and the atonement of his blood.
Book of Mormon | Helaman 14:15 ~ For behold, he surely must die that salvation may come; yea, it behooveth him and becometh expedient that he dieth, to bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, that thereby men may be brought into the presence of the Lord.
Book of Mormon | Helaman 14:17 ~ But behold, the resurrection of Christ redeemeth mankind, yea, even all mankind, and bringeth them back into the presence of the Lord.
Book of Mormon | Mormon 7:6 ~ And he bringeth to pass the resurrection of the dead, whereby man must be raised to stand before his judgment-seat.
Book of Mormon | Mormon 9:13 ~ And because of the redemption of man, which came by Jesus Christ, they are brought back into the presence of the Lord; yea, this is wherein all men are redeemed, because the death of Christ bringeth to pass the resurrection, which bringeth to pass a redemption from an endless sleep, from which sleep all men shall be awakened by the power of God when the trump shall sound; and they shall come forth, both small and great, and all shall stand before his bar, being redeemed and loosed from this eternal band of death, which death is a temporal death.
13. Book of Mormon | Alma 11:45 ~ Now, behold, I have spoken unto you concerning the death of the mortal body, and also concerning the resurrection of the mortal body. I say unto you that this mortal body is raised to an immortal body, that is from death, even from the first death unto life, that they can die no more; their spirits uniting with their bodies, never to be divided; thus the whole becoming spiritual and immortal, that they can no more see corruption.
14. http://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.ca/2016/05/4-flags.html

#4: FLAGS*

IF

false prophets^[†] always arise to oppose the true prophets^[†] and they will prophesy so very near the truth that they will deceive almost the very chosen ones” (Joseph Smith, TPJS, p. 365);

then, shouldn't this caution move us to “prove ALL things” when a new voice arises claiming to be from God?—except somehow it seems we attach ourselves as readily to the legitimate complaints and proven truths of these new voices as to their unproven insights, revelations, and interpretations—which brings me to the interpretation of “soul.”

SOUL?
What are we to do with this word soul? Denver Snuffer¹ has taken these verses:

Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was; and among all these there were many of the noble and great ones; And God saw these souls that they were good, and he stood in the midst of them, and he said: These I will make my rulers; for he stood among those that were spirits, and he saw that they were good; and he said unto me: Abraham, thou art one of them; thou wast chosen before thou wast born. (Pearl of Great Price | Abraham 3:21-23)

and interpreted them as follows:

... Christ, as well as the “noble and great” were all embodied and therefore resurrected beings before this world. They were “souls” (Abraham 3:23). The definition of “soul” given through Joseph years prior to his translation of the Book of Abraham was the “spirit and the body” together. (D&C 88:15-17.)²

These souls have already been the beneficiaries of a “preparatory redemption” given before the world. They were redeemed before, and then resent for ministry and service here. … They knew if they condescended to serve in this world they would be redeemed by Christ. They exercised faith in Him by returning to this stage of creation to serve others.³

But before we read “soul” exclusively in the strict sense that Snuffer does (D&C 88:spirit AND body), let us consider other references to “soul” in scripture:

Yea, this bringeth about the restoration of those things of which has been spoken by the mouths of the prophets. The soul shall be restored to the body, and the body to the soul; yea, and every limb and joint shall be restored to its body; yea, even a hair of the head shall not be lost; but all things shall be restored to their proper and perfect frame. (Book of Mormon | Alma 40:22-23)

I say unto thee, my son, that the plan of restoration is requisite with the justice of God; for it is requisite that all things should be restored to their proper order. Behold, it is requisite and just, according to the power and resurrection of Christ, that the soul of man should be restored to its body, and that every part of the body should be restored to itself. (Book of Mormon | Alma 41:2)

For the things which some men esteem to be of great worth, both to the body and soul, others set at naught and trample under their feet. (Book of Mormon | 1 Nephi 19:7)

And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. (New Testament | Matthew 10:28)

And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (New Testament | 1 Thessalonians 5:23)

(For additional “soul” references see footnote 4.)

Obviously, “soul” is not always used in scripture in the strict sense of D&C 88:15-17. As noted in other Déjà Vu posts, words (without images) have severe limitations for comprehensive communication,⁵ so when we find a word being used in seemingly conflicting, confusing ways, perhaps we should hold off final judgment as to a strict, singular meaning.

Further concerns relate to: 1) Snuffer's belief that the Savior and the “noble and great ones” were embodied, resurrected beings before this world and condescended to return to mortality; and 2) his “prototype of the saved man” wherein he seems to teach that:

For us “to attain the resurrection of the dead” requires us to have the power to resurrect, not only ourselves, but also those who are dependent on us. This is what the prototype of the saved man did. This is Who we worship. This is who and what we must precisely and exactly become.⁶

But how does this possibly work? How do resurrected, immortal souls become mortal again?—die again in order to do “exactly” what the Savior did?! And what of these scriptures? (All bold emphasis added.)

Now, behold, I have spoken unto you concerning the death of the mortal body, and also concerning the resurrection of the mortal body. I say unto you that this mortal body is raised to an immortal body, that is from death, even from the first death unto life, that they can die no more; their spirits uniting with their bodies, never to be divided; thus the whole becoming spiritual and immortal, that they can no more see corruption.  (Book of Mormon | Alma 11:45)

And this death of which I have spoken, which is the spiritual death, shall deliver up its dead; which spiritual death is hell; wherefore, death and hell must deliver up their dead, and hell must deliver up its captive spirits, and the grave must deliver up its captive bodies, and the bodies and the spirits of men will be restored one to the other; and it is by the power of the resurrection of the Holy One of Israel. O how great the plan of our God! For on the other hand, the paradise of God must deliver up the spirits of the righteous, and the grave deliver up the body of the righteous; and the spirit and the body is restored to itself again, and all men become incorruptible, and immortal, and they are living souls, having a perfect knowledge like unto us in the flesh, save it be that our knowledge shall be perfect. Wherefore, we shall have a perfect knowledge of all our guilt, and our uncleanness, and our nakedness; and the righteous shall have a perfect knowledge of their enjoyment, and their righteousness, being clothed with purity, yea, even with the robe ;of righteousness. And it shall come to pass that when all men shall have passed from this first death unto life, insomuch as they have become immortal, they must appear before the judgment-seat of the Holy One of Israel; and then cometh the judgment, and then must they be judged according to the holy judgment of God.  (Book of Mormon | 2 Nephi 9:12-15)

They who are of a celestial spirit shall receive the same body which was a natural body; even ye shall receive your bodies, and your glory shall be that glory by which your bodies are quickened. Ye who are quickened by a portion of the celestial glory shall then receive of the same, even a fulness. And they who are quickened by a portion of the terrestrial glory shall then receive of the same, even a fulness. And also they who are quickened by a portion of the telestial glory shall then receive of the same, even a fulness. And they who remain shall also be quickened; nevertheless, they shall return again to their own place, to enjoy that which they are willing to receive, because they were not willing to enjoy that which they might have received.  (Doctrine and Covenants 88:28-32)

Now it came to pass that when Alma had made an end of speaking these words, the people began to be more astonished;  But there was one Antionah, who was a chief ruler among them, came forth and said unto him: What is this that thou hast said, that man should rise from the dead and be changed from this mortal to an immortal state that the soul can never die? (Book of Mormon | Alma 12:19-20)

Therefore, as the soul could never die, and the fall had brought upon all mankind a spiritual death as well as a temporal, that is, they were cut off from the presence of the Lord, it was expedient that mankind should be reclaimed from this spiritual death. (Book of Mormon | Alma 42:9)

(See additional scriptures at footnote 7.)

Granted, there is much that God has yet to reveal about man's origin and destiny, yet my concern about some of what I read in Snuffer's works is his seeming propensity to ignore scriptures that do not support his interpretations.

As humans, we all manifest “motivated reasoning” and “hard priors”⁸ which seem to blind us to the counsel to “prove ALL things.” Thus, when reading Snuffer, we might be well-advised to run everything “new” through the entirety of scripture and to remember that most of us (especially lawyers;-) have developed the skill of presenting the best (one-sided?) “case” possible to convince others that our interpretation / understanding of “facts” or evidence is the most believable and reasonable.

If ever there was an apt description of our tendency (persistent déjà vu) toward “motivated reasoning” and “hard priors,” it might be this observation by the Savior:

Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel (New Testament | Matthew 23:24);

Does this not describe every one of us, to some degree or other, as we try to grow in the way of knowledge, understanding, truth, and discernment? Nonetheless, we are counselled to “prove ALL things” through scripture and the tutelage of the Holy Spirit, so when things seem to conflict with scripture, perhaps we should proceed (or not) with great caution.

***************************

*This is the fourth in a FLAG series intended to encourage us in these last days to apply these words of wisdom and warning:

Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.

(New Testament | 1 Thessalonians 5:21)

▪ Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye shall continue in the Son, and also in the Father. … These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you. (New Testament | JST 1 John 2: 24, 26)
▪ I preached to the Saints, setting forth the evils that existed, and that would exist, by reason of hasty judgment, or decisions upon any subject given by any people, or in judging before they had heard both sides of a question.  (Joseph Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 118.)

^[†] Note: I am not purporting to make judgment on who is false or true in this latter-day. That is a matter of witness, testimony, and proving by the Holy Spirit. We have always been warned about the “arm of flesh,” so I have a lot of questions that I don't have sure answers for yet, but generally speaking, I believe when the prophets in scripture agree on matters, we can use their words to measure the words of others who claim to speak for God.

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1. Denver C. Snuffer, Jr., Preserving the Restoration, Mill Creek Press, Salt Lake City, UT, © 2015. For another post relating to his interpretation of “The Fathers” and of the need for only one temple, see http://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.ca/2016/03/3-flags.html
2. Preserving the Restoration, p. 304 at footnote #796; bold emphasis added.
3. Ibid, pp. 317-318; bold emphasis added. Additional quotes relating to this theory are: “[God] intends to give us immortality and eventual eternal life. How long it will require depends on how long it takes us to become like the prototype of the saved man. How long we delay attaining to the resurrection is in our control” (p. 323). See also pages: 304, 322, 371, Without using the word reincarnation, Snuffer seems to teach this concept—that we will be re-embodied (recycled?) till we get things right and fill the measure of the “prototype of the saved man.” (See particularly pp. 295-348.)
4. Other interesting soul references:
Pearl of Great Price | Abraham 3:23 ~ And God saw these souls that they were good, and he stood in the midst of them, and he said: These I will make my rulers; for he stood among those that were spirits, and he saw that they were good; and he said unto me: Abraham, thou art one of them; thou wast chosen before thou wast born. (Bold emphasis added to show that the verse Snuffer uses to set forth his “soul” interpretation is not itself definitive by the very use of the word spirits. Thought: If our past, present, and future is visible to God, why could He not see the mortality of the good souls (spirit and body) of His noble and great ones, while at the same “time” be able to record: “These I will make my rulers; for he stood among those that were spirits ...”?)
Old Testament | Isaiah 1:14 ~ Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them.
Old Testament | Isaiah 10:17-18 ~ And the light of Israel shall be for a fire, and his Holy One for a flame: and it shall burn and devour his thorns and his briers in one day; And shall consume the glory of his forest, and of his fruitful field, both soul and body: and they shall be as when a standardbearer fainteth.
New Testament | Matthew 22:37 ~ Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
New Testament | Acts 4:32 ~ And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.
New Testament | 1 Corinthians 15:44-46 ~ It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.
New Testament | Hebrews 4:12 ~ For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Book of Mormon | 1 Nephi 14:3 ~ And that great pit, which hath been digged for them by that great and abominable church, which was founded by the devil and his children, that he might lead away the souls of men down to hell—yea, that great pit which hath been digged for the destruction of men shall be filled by those who digged it, unto their utter destruction, saith the Lamb of God; not the destruction of the soul, save it be the casting of it into that hell which hath no end.
Book of Mormon | 2 Nephi 1:22 ~ That ye may not be cursed with a sore cursing; and also, that ye may not incur the displeasure of a just God upon you, unto the destruction, yea, the eternal destruction of both soul and body.
Book of Mormon | Mosiah 2:38 ~ Therefore if that man repenteth not, and remaineth and dieth an enemy to God, the demands of divine justice do awaken his immortal soul to a lively sense of his own guilt, which doth cause him to shrink from the presence of the Lord, and doth fill his breast with guilt, and pain, and anguish, which is like an unquenchable fire, whose flame ascendeth up forever and ever.
Book of Mormon | Alma 36:15-16 ~ Oh, thought I, that I could be banished and become extinct both soul and body, that I might not be brought to stand in the presence of my God, to be judged of my deeds. And now, for three days and for three nights was I racked, even with the pains of a damned soul.
Book of Mormon | Alma 40:11-23 ~ Now, concerning the state of the soul between death and the resurrection—Behold, it has been made known unto me by an angel, that the spirits of all men, as soon as they are departed from this mortal body, yea, the spirits of all men, whether they be good or evil, are taken home to that God who gave them life.  And then shall it come to pass, that the spirits of those who are righteous are received into a state of happiness, which is called paradise, a state of rest, a state of peace, where they shall rest from all their troubles and from all care, and sorrow. And then shall it come to pass, that the spirits of the wicked, yea, who are evil—for behold, they have no part nor portion of the Spirit of the Lord; for behold, they chose evil works rather than good; therefore the spirit of the devil did enter into them, and take possession of their house—and these shall be cast out into outer darkness; there shall be weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth, and this because of their own iniquity, being led captive by the will of the devil. Now this is the state of the souls of the wicked, yea, in darkness, and a state of awful, fearful looking for the fiery indignation of the wrath of God upon them; thus they remain in this state, as well as the righteous in paradise, until the time of their resurrection. Now, there are some that have understood that this state of happiness and this state of misery of the soul, before the resurrection, was a first resurrection. Yea, I admit it may be termed a resurrection, the raising of the spirit or the soul and their consignation to happiness or misery, according to the words which have been spoken. And behold, again it hath been spoken, that there is a first resurrection, a resurrection of all those who have been, or who are, or who shall be, down to the resurrection of Christ from the dead. Now, we do not suppose that this first resurrection, which is spoken of in this manner, can be the resurrection of the souls and their consignation to happiness or misery. Ye cannot suppose that this is what it meaneth. Behold, I say unto you, Nay; but it meaneth the reuniting of the soul with the body, of those from the days of Adam down to the resurrection of Christ. Now, whether the souls and the bodies of those of whom has been spoken shall all be reunited at once, the wicked as well as the righteous, I do not say; let it suffice, that I say that they all come forth; or in other words, their resurrection cometh to pass before the resurrection of those who die after the resurrection of Christ. Now, my son, I do not say that their resurrection cometh at the resurrection of Christ; but behold, I give it as my opinion, that the souls and the bodies are reunited, of the righteous, at the resurrection of Christ, and his ascension into heaven. But whether it be at his resurrection or after, I do not say; but this much I say, that there is a space between death and the resurrection of the body, and a state of the soul in happiness or in misery until the time which is appointed of God that the dead shall come forth, and be reunited, both soul and body, and be brought to stand before God, and be judged according to their works. Yea, this bringeth about the restoration of those things of which has been spoken by the mouths of the prophets. The soul shall be restored to the body, and the body to the soul; yea, and every limb and joint shall be restored to its body; yea, even a hair of the head shall not be lost; but all things shall be restored to their proper and perfect frame.
Book of Mormon | Alma 42:16 ~ Now, repentance could not come unto men except there were a punishment, which also was eternal as the life of the soul should be, affixed opposite to the plan of happiness, which was as eternal also as the life of the soul.
Doctrine and Covenants | Section 25:12 ~ For my soul delighteth in the song of the heart; yea, the song of the righteous is a prayer unto me, and it shall be answered with a blessing upon their heads.
Old Testament | Genesis2:7 ~ And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
5. http://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.ca/2014/02/here-and-there.html or the entire label Communication: http://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.ca/search/label/Communication
6. Preserving the Restoration, p. 304.
7. Book of Mormon | Mosiah 16:9 ~ He is the light and the life of the world; yea, a light that is endless, that can never be darkened; yea, and also a life which is endless, that there can be no more death.
New Testament | Revelation 21:4 ~ 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.
Doctrine and Covenants | 63:49 ~ Yea, and blessed are the dead that die in the Lord, from henceforth, when the Lord shall come, and old things shall pass away, and all things become new, they shall rise from the dead and shall not die after, and shall receive an inheritance before the Lord, in the holy city.
Doctrine and Covenants | 93:33 ~ For man is spirit. The elements are eternal, and spirit and element, inseparably connected, receive a fulness of joy;
Doctrine and Covenants | 101:29 ~ And there shall be no sorrow because there is no death. [All bold emphasis added in this footnote.]
8. The science writer Sharon Begley gives insight into such motivated reasoning: “If you have a strongly held belief with an emotional component, the brain defends information that reinforces those ‘priors’ and is skeptical of information that challenges them. … People who hold these hard priors filter information to support their perceptions.” (Bold emphasis mine.) These observations are from the work of political scientist Hank Jenkins-Smith of the University of Oklahoma as quoted, in Newsweek, October 13, 2010, pp. 29-30 by science writer Sharon Begley about voter tendencies—observations that seem applicable to almost everything that requires choice or discernment. We all do it, (even this writer) and without awareness of a “priors” bias, are we not all more prone to biased judgment—whether pro or con? Shouldn’t 360° honesty in dealing with all the facts help control that bias?

Mayday! Or Not?

Not long ago, a good man said he was not too concerned about the state of the world because God was going to take care of it all. I believe he is half right—God IS going to take care of it all, which might include all the good people who weren't concerned enough to get informed or involved.

What might Captain Moroni say to this good man if he were here to witness what this good Christian is content to ignore? Moroni's words to Chief Governor Pahoran during that crisis of 62 BCE seem apropos:

7 Can you think to sit upon your thrones in a state of thoughtless stupor, while your enemies are spreading the work of death around you? Yea, while they are murdering thousands of your brethren—

11 Behold, could ye suppose that ye could sit upon your thrones, and because of the exceeding goodness of God ye could do nothing and he would deliver you? Behold, if ye have supposed this ye have supposed in vain.

 23 Do ye suppose that God will look upon you as guiltless while ye sit still and behold these things? Behold I say unto you, Nay. Now I would that ye should remember that God has said that the inward vessel shall be cleansed first, and then shall the outer vessel be cleansed also.

29 Behold it is time, yea, the time is now at hand, that except ye do bestir yourselves in the defence of your country and your little ones, the sword of justice doth hang over you; yea, and it shall fall upon you and visit you even to your utter destruction  (Book of Mormon | Alma 60:7, 11, 23, 29).¹

Indeed, we have been commanded to “wake up”:

24 Wherefore, the Lord commandeth you, when ye shall see these things come among you that ye shall awake to a sense of your awful situation, because of this secret combination which shall be among you; or wo be unto it, because of the blood of them who have been slain; for they cry from the dust for vengeance upon it, and also upon those who built it up  (Book of Mormon | Ether 8:24; bold emphasis added).

There are many ways to begin waking up. Here is one:²

If We Don't Stop This We're Dead (Time 36:05 min.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHttfbmFJ_s&list=TLqrNfGZboDJIyODA0MjAxNg

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1. Chief Governor Pahoran's reply to Moroni: "Therefore, my beloved brother, Moroni, let us resist evil, and whatsoever evil we cannot resist with our words, yea, such as rebellions and dissensions, let us resist them with our swords, that we may retain our freedom, that we may rejoice in the great privilege of our church, and in the cause of our Redeemer and our God." (Alma 61:14)
2. See also:
▪ Dane Wigington - HAARP Triggering Yellowstone - EPIC Voyagers Radio on Inception Radio Network ~ (Time: 1:56:33) at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5URldSUpB6k
▪ Geoengineering Watch Global Alert News, April 23, 2016 (geoengineeringwatch.org ) (Time 55:07 min.) at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EABDHF1q5cM
▪ Geoengineering Watch Global Alert News, April 16, 2016 (geoengineeringwatch.org ) (Time 54:44 min.) at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akPLxCYJdaA
▪ Follow the weekly reports: Geoengineering Watch Global Alert News, at geoengineeringwatch.org
▪ Mayday? Mayday? Mayday! from May 1, 2015 at http://www.dejavu-times.blogspot.ca/2015/05/mayday-mayday-mayday.html

In Their Foreheads?

Michelangelo's Isaiah

Recently, I was directed¹ to an essay,² entitled, “Isaiah’s Job” which “first appeared in The Atlantic Monthly in 1936.”

If one has ever wondered how to navigate this present corrupted world—wondered how to be one with the Remnant instead of the masses (i.e., majority)—this essay might prove helpful. Here is a portion highly relevant to all of us in this age of messaging and WorldWideWeb.

Everyone with a message nowadays is, like my venerable European friend, eager to take it to the masses. His first, last and only thought is of mass acceptance and mass approval. His great care is to put his doctrine in such shape as will capture the masses' attention and interest. This attitude towards the masses is so exclusive, so devout, that one is reminded of the troglodytic monster described by Plato, and the assiduous crowd at the entrance to its cave, trying obsequiously to placate it and win its favor, trying to interpret its inarticulate noises, trying to find out what it wants, and eagerly offering it all sorts of things that they think might strike its fancy.
The main trouble with all this is its reaction upon the mission itself. It necessitates an opportunist sophistication of one's doctrine, which profoundly alters its character and reduces it to a mere placebo. If, say, you are a preacher, you wish to attract as large a congregation as you can, which means an appeal to the masses; and this, in turn, means adapting the terms of your message to the order of intellect and character that the masses exhibit. If you are an educator, say with a college on your hands, you wish to get as many students as possible, and you whittle down your requirements accordingly. If a writer, you aim at getting many readers; if a publisher, many purchasers; if a philosopher, many disciples; if a reformer, many converts; if a musician, many auditors; and so on. But as we see on all sides, in the realization of these several desires, the prophetic message is so heavily adulterated with trivialities, in every instance, that its effect on the masses is merely to harden them in their sins. Meanwhile, the Remnant, aware of this adulteration and of the desires that prompt it, turn their backs on the prophet and will have nothing to do with him or his message.³

It is well worth the time to read the entirety.

In the End Times and Judgment, we are told that a critical difference between the Remnant and the masses will be found in their foreheads.

And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel. (New Testament | Revelation 7:2-4)

And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads. (New Testament | Revelation 9:3-4)

And he [another beast who rose up out of the earth] had power to give life unto the image of the beast [that arose out of the sea], that the image of the beast [from the sea] should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. (New Testament | Revelation 13:15-17)

AND I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads. (New Testament | Revelation 14:1)

AND he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads. (New Testament | Revelation 22:1-4)

Now the Amlicites knew not that they were fulfilling the words of God when they began to mark themselves in their foreheads; nevertheless they had come out in open rebellion against God; therefore it was expedient that the curse should fall upon them. (Book of Mormon | Alma 3:18)

Q. What are we to understand by the angel ascending from the east, Revelation 7th chapter and 2nd verse? A. We are to understand that the angel ascending from the east is he to whom is given the seal of the living God over the twelve tribes of Israel; wherefore, he crieth unto the four angels having the everlasting gospel, saying: Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. And, if you will receive it, this is Elias which was to come to gather together the tribes of Israel and restore all things. (Doctrine and Covenants | Section 77:9)

Perhaps some questions to ask ourselves: Are we just another historical déjà vu seeking “mass acceptance and mass approval”? What is being written or sealed in our foreheads as we go about our daily lives? Can we awaken in time? Can we endure the seeming solitude?

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1. Thanks to my sibling, BYS.
2. (by Albert Jay Nock, reposted 06/21/2008 at Mises Daily at https://mises.org/library/isaiahs-job)
3. First two paragraphs of Part III of the essay.

Considerations ?

▪   IF God can reveal what He wants, when He wants, to whom He wants;¹ and if man has been highly presumptuous to include God in the “YE” of

Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, … (Old Testament | Deuteronomy 4:2, see also 12:32);

▪   IF … man doth not comprehend all the things which the Lord can comprehend. (Book of Mormon | Mosiah 4:9);

▪   IF Satan and his minions have co-opted and corrupted almost every sign, symbol, mark, and meaning of God’s communion with man (including sun, moon, stars, rainbows, covenants, shapes, numbers, prophecies, light, etc., etc.);

then, as we try to understand the following things, it might help to consider God’s added words:

Timing of the Savior’s death compared to His birth?

And now it came to pass, if there was no mistake made by this man in the reckoning of our time, the thirty and third year had passed away;^[2] And the people began to look with great earnestness for the sign which had been given by the prophet Samuel, the Lamanite, yea, for the time that there should be darkness for the space of three days over the face of the land. And there began to be great doubtings and disputations among the people, notwithstanding so many signs had been given. And it came to pass in the thirty and fourth year, in the first month, on the fourth day of the month, there arose a great storm, such an one as never had been known in all the land. And there was also a great and terrible tempest; and there was terrible thunder, insomuch that it did shake the whole earth as if it was about to divide asunder. And there were exceedingly sharp lightnings, such as never had been known in all the land. (Book of Mormon | 3 Nephi 8:2-7, bold emphasis added.)

A moving or unmoving earth, planets, sun, moon, etc.?³

Yea, and if he [our great and everlasting God, v. 8] say unto the earth—Move—it is moved. Yea, if he say unto the earth—Thou shalt go back, that it lengthen out the day for many hours—it is done; And thus, according to his word the earth goeth back, and it appeareth unto man that the sun standeth still; yea, and behold, this is so; for surely it is the earth that moveth and not the sun. (Book of Mormon | Helaman 12:13-15)

The earth rolls upon her wings, and the sun giveth his light by day, and the moon giveth her light by night, and the stars also give their light, as they roll upon their wings in their glory, in the midst of the power of God. (Doctrine and Covenants | Section 88:45, bold emphasis added.)

And the Lord said unto me, by the Urim and Thummim, that Kolob was after the manner of the Lord, according to its times and seasons in the revolutions thereof; that one revolution was a day unto the Lord, after his manner of reckoning, it being one thousand years according to the time appointed unto that whereon thou standest. This is the reckoning of the Lord's time, according to the reckoning of Kolob. And the Lord said unto me: The planet which is the lesser light, lesser than that which is to rule the day, even the night, is above or greater than that upon which thou standest in point of reckoning, for it moveth in order more slow; this is in order because it standeth above the earth upon which thou standest, therefore the reckoning of its time is not so many as to its number of days, and of months, and of years. (Pearl of Great Price | Abraham 3:4-5, bold emphasis added.)

Fig. 4. Answers to the Hebrew word Raukeeyang, signifying expanse, or the firmament of the heavens; also a numerical figure, in Egyptian signifying one thousand; answering to the measuring of the time of Oliblish, which is equal with Kolob in its revolution and in its measuring of time. (Pearl of Great Price | Abraham 2 Fac.:4, bold emphasis added.)

A time to come in the which nothing shall be withheld, … All thrones and dominions, principalities and powers, shall be revealed … And also, if there be bounds set to the heavens or to the seas, or to the dry land, or to the sun, moon, or stars—All the times of their revolutions, all the appointed days, months, and years, and all the days of their days, months, and years, and all their glories, laws, and set times, shall be revealed in the days of the dispensation of the fulness of times—(Doctrine and Covenants | Section 121:28-31, bold emphasis added.)

More meanings than we imagine?

God’s prophecies may encompass more meanings than we imagine, so when we try and confine Him to “either / or” meanings we go astray or abide in confusion.⁴ So, if the “beast” in New Testament Revelations 17:7 has multiple heads and crowns, could it also have multiple expressions of the mark (13:18) depending on which head is manifesting? Could Babylon be a city AND a church (or churches) AND a corporate mercantile system AND a nation or league of nations, etc. etc.? Could some prophecy contain multiple meanings, depending on the image in the mind of the speaker?⁵ depending on the relevant archetype? depending on time and place and people?

Satan’s co-opting and corruption of truth:

Perhaps we shouldn’t be so dismissive or quick to declare that someone’s use of a sign, symbol, mark etc. reveals them to be a follower of Satan, Babylon, the illuminati (or more accurately: d-lluminati), and so forth, especially when original symbols and meanings began with God. Are He and His people not still entitled to use them where and how He wishes and directs? We are told: “By their fruits ye shall know them,”

But as you cannot always judge the righteous, or as you cannot always tell the wicked from the righteous, therefore I say unto you, hold your peace until I shall see fit to make all things known unto the world concerning the matter.⁶

Thus, we must also appeal in righteousness for the discerning spirit of the Holy Ghost to inform us what is of God and what comes as false light or incomplete enlightenment.

There is a lot to consider in studying the things of God, so let us also consider this

“The greatest barrier to truth is the conviction that one already has it [all].”⁷

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1. Book of Mormon | 2 Nephi 29:11-12, 14 ~ I [God] 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. … And it shall come to pass that … my word also shall be gathered in one.
Pearl of Great Price | Articles of Faith 1:9 ~ We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.
2. Book of Mormon | 3 Nephi 2:6-8 ~ And six hundred and nine years had passed away since Lehi left Jerusalem. And nine years had passed away from the time when the sign was given, which was spoken of by the prophets, that Christ should come into the world. Now the Nephites began to reckon their time from this period when the sign [of His birth] was given, or from the coming of Christ; therefore, nine years had passed away.
3. To the passionate geocentric and flat earth advocates: If our earth were enclosed by a dome or within a bubble of firmaments, could we not still be moving along various planes and yet not feel effects of motion, just like driving in a car, plane, train, etc. By being isolated from cosmic externals, we do not get the clues of motion that we get when using earthly means of transportation. See http://www.dejavu-times.blogspot.ca/2015/12/the-babylon-con.html
4. Excerpt from previous blog post: http://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.ca/2016/03/3-flags.html
» Too often we seem to overlay restrictions on God’s meanings. Take for example the following queries:
Doctrine and Covenants | Section 77:3 ~ Q. Are the four beasts limited to individual beasts, or do they represent classes or orders?
A. They are limited to four individual beasts, which were shown to John, to represent the glory of the classes of beings in their destined order or sphere of creation, in the enjoyment of their eternal felicity.
Book of Mormon | 1 Nephi 22:1-3 ~ AND now it came to pass that after I, Nephi, had read these things which were engraven upon the plates of brass, my brethren came unto me and said unto me: What meaneth these things which ye have read? Behold, are they to be understood according to things which are spiritual, which shall come to pass according to the spirit and not the flesh? And I, Nephi, said unto them: Behold they were manifest unto the prophet by the voice of the Spirit; for by the Spirit are all things made known unto the prophets, which shall come upon the children of men according to the flesh. Wherefore, the things of which I have read are things pertaining to things both temporal and spiritual; … [bold emphasis added]
God’s replies were not confined to an either / or paradigm because a compound understanding was required. We encounter this all the time—people passionately defending their “theory” against some other “theory” when, in God’s comprehension, economy, and plan, dual or multiple explanations fit. «
5. http://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.ca/2015/02/words-without-images.html
http://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.ca/2014/02/here-and-there.html
6. Doctrine and Covenants | Section 10:37
7. Author of this quote or its similar versions is unknown at this time.

#3: FLAGS*

Too often we seem to overlay restrictions on God’s meanings. Take for example the following queries:

Q. Are the four beasts limited to individual beasts, or do they represent classes or orders?
A. They are limited to four individual beasts, which were shown to John, to represent the glory of the classes of beings in their destined order or sphere of creation, in the enjoyment of their eternal felicity (Doctrine and Covenants | Section 77:3).

AND now it came to pass that after I, Nephi, had read these things which were engraven upon the plates of brass, my brethren came unto me and said unto me: What meaneth these things which ye have read? Behold, are they to be understood according to things which are spiritual, which shall come to pass according to the spirit and not the flesh? And I, Nephi, said unto them: Behold they were manifest unto the prophet by the voice of the Spirit; for by the Spirit are all things made known unto the prophets, which shall come upon the children of men according to the flesh. Wherefore, the things of which I have read are things pertaining to things both temporal and spiritual; … (Book of Mormon | 1 Nephi 22:1-3).

God’s replies were not confined to an either / or paradigm because a compound understanding was required. We encounter this all the time—people passionately defending their “theory” against some other “theory” when, in God’s comprehension, economy, and plan, dual or multiple explanations fit.

The Fathers?
So, if you have encountered new understandings concerning “the fathers” as referenced in Malachi,¹ or the meaning of being “sealed to the fathers,” perhaps it would be wise to review this teaching in light of what Joseph Smith had to say about families and sealings and proxy work for our deceased kin?

These must, however, be a place built expressly for that purpose [i.e., “things pertaining to the house of God”], and for men to be baptized for their dead. It must be built in this central place; for every man who wishes to save his father, mother, brothers, sisters and friends, must go through all the ordinances for each one of them separately, the same as for himself, from baptism to ordination, washing and anointings, and receive all the keys and powers of the Priesthood, the same as for himself (Joseph Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, selected and arranged by Joseph Fielding Smith [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1976], 362).

The doctrine or sealing power of Elijah is as follows:—If you have power to seal on earth and in heaven, then we should be wise. The first thing you do, go and seal on earth your sons and daughters unto yourself, and yourself unto your fathers in eternal glory, and go ahead, and not go back, but use a little wisdom, and seal all you can, and when you get to heaven tell your Father that what you seal on earth should be sealed in heaven, according to his promise. I will walk through the gate of heaven and claim what I seal, and those that follow me and my counsel (Ibid, 340).

This doctrine presents in a clear light the wisdom and mercy of God in preparing an ordinance for the salvation of the dead, being baptized by proxy, their names recorded in heaven and they judged according to the deeds done in the body. This doctrine was the burden of the scriptures. Those Saints who neglect it in behalf of their deceased relatives, do it at the peril of their own salvation. The dispensation of the fullness of times will bring to light the things that have been revealed in all former dispensations; also other things that have not been before revealed. He shall send Elijah, the Prophet, &c., and restore all things in Christ (Ibid, 193).

I am going on in my progress for eternal life. It is not only necessary that you should be baptized for your dead, but you will have to go through all the ordinances for them, the same as you have gone through to save yourselves. There will be 144,000 saviors on Mount Zion, and with them an innumerable host that no man can number. Oh! I beseech you to go forward, go forward and make your calling and your election sure; and if any man preach any other Gospel than that which I have preached, he shall be cursed; and some of you who now hear me shall see it, and know that I testify the truth concerning them (Ibid, 366).

A man may act as proxy for his own relatives; the ordinances of the Gospel which were laid out before the foundations of the world have thus been fulfilled by them, and we may be baptized for those whom we have much friendship for; but it must first be revealed to the man of God, lest we should run too far. "As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive;" all shall be raised from the dead. The Lamb of God hath brought to pass the resurrection, so that all shall rise from the dead (Ibid, 367).

The Lord has an established law in relation to the matter: there must be a particular spot for the salvation of our dead. I verily believe there will be a place, and hence men who want to save their dead can come and bring their families, do their work by being baptized and attending to the other ordinances for their dead, and then may go back again to live and wait till they go to receive their reward. I shall leave my brethren to enlarge on this subject; it is my duty to teach the doctrine. I would teach it more fully—the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. God is not willing to let me gratify you; but I must teach the Elders, and they should teach you (Ibid, 363).

I have a father, brothers, children, and friends who have gone to a world of spirits. They are only absent for a moment. They are in the spirit, and we shall soon meet again. The time will soon arrive when the trumpet shall sound. When we depart, we shall hail our mothers, fathers, friends, and all whom we love, who have fallen asleep in Jesus. There will be no fear of mobs, persecutions, or malicious lawsuits and arrests; but it will be an eternity of felicity (Ibid, 359-360).

We have reason to have the greatest hope and consolations for our dead of any people on the earth; for we have seen them walk worthily in our midst, and seen them sink asleep in the arms of Jesus; and those who have died in the faith are now in the celestial kingdom of God. And hence is the glory of the sun (Ibid, 359).

I want to talk more of the relation of man to God. I will open your eyes in relation to your dead. All things whatsoever God in his infinite wisdom has seen fit and proper to reveal to us, while we are dwelling in mortality, in regard to our mortal bodies, are revealed to us in the abstract, and independent of affinity of this mortal tabernacle, but are revealed to our spirits precisely as though we had no bodies at all; and those revelations which will save our spirits will save our bodies. God reveals them to us in view of no eternal dissolution of the body, or tabernacle. Hence the responsibility, the awful responsibility, that rests upon us in relation to our dead; for all the spirits who have not obeyed the Gospel in the flesh must either obey it in the spirit or be damned. Solemn thought!—dreadful thought! Is there nothing to be done?—no preparation—no salvation for our fathers and friends who have died without having had the opportunity to obey the decrees of the Son of Man? Would to God that I had forty days and nights in which to tell you all! I would let you know that I am not a "fallen prophet" (Ibid, 355).

But how are [the Saints] to become saviors on Mount Zion? By building their temples, erecting their baptismal fonts, and going forth and receiving all the ordinances, baptisms, confirmations, washings, anointings, ordinations and sealing powers upon their heads, in behalf of all their progenitors who are dead, and redeem them that they may come forth in the first resurrection and be exalted to thrones of glory with them; and herein is the chain that binds the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the children to the fathers, which fulfills the mission of Elijah. And I would to God that this temple was now done, that we might go into it, and go to work and improve our time, and make use of the seals while they are on earth. ¶ Saints Have Not Much Time ¶ The Saints have not too much time to save and redeem their dead, and gather together their living relatives, that they may be saved also, before the earth will be smitten, and the consumption decreed falls upon the world. ¶ I would advise all the Saints to go with their might and gather together all their living relatives to this place, that they may be sealed and saved, that they may be prepared against the day that the destroying angel goes forth; and if the whole Church should go to with all their might to save their dead, seal their posterity, and gather their living friends, and spend none of their time in behalf of the world, they would hardly get through before night would come, when no man can work; and my only trouble at the present time is concerning ourselves, that the Saints will be divided, broken up, and scattered, before we get our salvation secure; for there are so many fools in the world for the devil to operate upon, it gives him the advantage oftentimes. ¶ All Ordinances Necessary ¶ The question is frequently asked, "Can we not be saved without going through with all those ordinances?" I would answer, No, not the fulness of salvation. Jesus said, There are many mansions in my Father's house, and I will go and prepare a place for you. House here named should have been translated kingdom; and any person who is exalted to the highest mansion has to abide a celestial law, and the whole law too (Ibid, 330-331).

More painful to me are the thoughts of annihilation than death. If I have no expectation of seeing my father, mother, brothers, sisters and friends again, my heart would burst in a moment, and I should go down to my grave. ¶ The expectation of seeing my friends in the morning of the resurrection cheers my soul and makes me bear up against the evils of life. It is like their taking a long journey, and on their return we meet them with increased joy (Ibid, 296).

I will tell you what I want. If tomorrow I shall be called to lie in yonder tomb, in the morning of the resurrection let me strike hands with my father, and cry, "My father," and he will say, "My son, my son," as soon as the rock rends and before we come out of our graves. ¶ And may we contemplate these things so? Yes, if we learn how to live and how to die. When we lie down we contemplate how we may rise in the morning; and it is pleasing for friends to lie down together, locked in the arms of love, to sleep and wake in each other's embrace and renew their conversation (Ibid, 295).

Would you think it strange if I relate what I have seen in vision in relation to this interesting theme? Those who have died in Jesus Christ may expect to enter into all that fruition of joy when they come forth, which they possessed or anticipated here. ¶ So plain was the vision, that I actually saw men, before they had ascended from the tomb, as though they were getting up slowly. They took each other by the hand and said to each other, "My father, my son, my mother, my daughter, my brother, my sister." And when the voice calls for the dead to arise, suppose I am laid by the side of my father, what would be the first joy of my heart? To meet my father, my mother, my brother, my sister; and when they are by my side, I embrace them and they me. ¶ It is my meditation all the day, and more than my meat and drink, to know how I shall make the Saints of God comprehend the visions that roll like an overflowing surge before my mind (Ibid, 295-296).

And now as the great purposes of God are hastening to their accomplishment, and the things spoken of in the Prophets are fulfilling, as the kingdom of God is established on the earth, and the ancient order of things restored, the Lord has manifested to us this day and privilege, and we are commanded to be baptized for our dead, thus fulfilling the words of Obadiah, when speaking of the glory of the latter-day: "And saviors shall come up on Mount Zion to judge the remnant of Esau, and the kingdom shall be the Lord's" (Ibid, 223).

Again; if we can, by the authority of the Priesthood of the Son of God, baptize a man in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, for the remission of sins, it is just as much our privilege to act as an agent, and be baptized for the remission of sins for and in behalf of our dead kindred, who have not heard the Gospel, or the fullness of it (March 27, 1842) (Ibid, 201).

President Joseph Smith, by request of the Twelve Apostles, gave instructions on the doctrine of baptism for the dead, which were listened to with intense interest by the large assembly. He presented baptism for the dead as the only way that men can appear as saviors on Mount Zion. ¶ The proclamation of the first principles of the Gospel was a means of salvation to men individually; and it was the truth, not men, that saved them; but men, by actively engaging in rites of salvation substitutionally became instrumental in bringing multitudes of their kindred into the kingdom of God (Ibid, 191).

I first mentioned the doctrine [of “baptism for the dead”] in public when preaching the funeral sermon of Brother Seymour Brunson: and have since then given general instructions in the Church on the subject. The Saints have the privilege of being baptized for those of their relatives who are dead, whom they believe would have embraced the Gospel, if they had been privileged with hearing it, and who have received the Gospel in the spirit, through the instrumentality of those who have been commissioned to preach to them while in prison (Ibid, 179).

Blessed of the Lord is my father, for he shall stand in the midst of his posterity and shall be comforted by their blessings when he is old and bowed down with years, and shall be called a prince over them, and shall be numbered among those who hold the right of Patriarchal Priesthood, even the keys of that ministry: for he shall assemble together his posterity like unto Adam; and the assembly which he called shall be an example for my father, for thus it is written of him: ¶ Three years previous to the death of Adam, he called Seth, Enos, Cainan, Mahalaleel, Jared, Enoch and Methuselah, who were High Priests, with the residue of his posterity, who were righteous, into the valley of Adam-ondi-Ahman, and there bestowed upon them his last blessing. And the Lord appeared unto them, and they rose up and blessed Adam, and called him Michael, the Prince, the Archangel. And the Lord administered comfort unto Adam, and said unto him, I have set thee to be at the head: a multitude of nations shall come of thee, and thou art a Prince over them forever. ¶ So shall it be with my father: he shall be called a prince over his posterity, holding the keys of the patriarchal Priesthood over the kingdom of God on earth, even the Church of the Latter-day Saints, and he shall sit in the general assembly of Patriarchs, even in council with the Ancient of Days when he shall sit and all the Patriarchs with him and shall enjoy his right and authority under the direction of the Ancient of Days. ¶ And blessed also, is my mother, for she is a mother in Israel, and shall be a partaker with my father in all his patriarchal blessings. ¶ And blessed, also, are my brothers and my sisters, for they shall yet find redemption in the house of the Lord, and their offsprings shall be a blessing, a joy and a comfort unto them (Ibid, 38).

What is this office and work of Elijah? It is one of the greatest and most important subjects that God has revealed. He should send Elijah to seal the children to the fathers, and the fathers to the children. … ¶ Now was this merely confined to the living, to settle difficulties with families on earth? By no means. It was a far greater work. Elijah! what would you do if you were here? Would you confine your work to the living alone? No: I would refer you to the Scriptures, where the subject is manifest: that is, without us, they could not be made perfect, nor we without them; the fathers without the children, nor the children without the fathers. ¶ I wish you to understand this subject, for it is important; and if you receive it, this is the spirit of Elijah, that we redeem our dead, and connect ourselves with our fathers which are in heaven, and seal up our dead to come forth in the first resurrection; and here we want the power of Elijah to seal those who dwell on earth to those who dwell in heaven. This is the power of Elijah and the keys of the kingdom of Jehovah (Ibid, 337).

Temples ?
As to the teaching that only one temple is needed, here is another quote:

The following instruction was given at the time of the laying of the corner stones of the Nauvoo Temple, April 6, 1841.
If the strict order of the Priesthood were carried out in the building of Temples, the first stone would be laid at the south-east corner, by the First Presidency of the Church. The south-west corner should be laid next. The third, or north-west corner next; and the fourth, or north-east corner last. The First Presidency should lay the south-east corner stone and dictate who are the proper persons to lay the other corner stones. ¶ If a Temple is built at a distance, and the First Presidency are not present, then the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles are the persons to dictate the order for that Temple; and in the absence of the Twelve Apostles, then the Presidency of the Stake will lay the south-east corner stone; the Melchizedek Priesthood laying the corner stones on the east side of the Temple, and the Lesser Priesthood those on the west side. —DHC 4:331. (Ibid, 183.)

PS: For the idea that connecting or sealing to the fathers is not a genealogical / family lines concept, see Denver Snuffer's, Preserving the Restoration, pp. 32-33, 35, 109-154, 287, etc.; e.g., He writes: “The foundation of Zion requires reestablishing a connection between living children and those fathers to whom God made promises. There must be a welding link connecting the two. Contrary to the traditions, it does not involve connecting us to dead ancestors in desperate need of our connection to the fathers in heaven. That connection is the only way our ministrations will help them. If all we do is connect ourselves to our imprisoned dead, then we are tied to the damned, the dead, and the disembodied, who look for a way to escape their fate” (p. 32).
“We do not need hundreds of temples, but will need one to which Christ can come. We will not need to perform endless work for the dead until first there has been a covenant made by God with us. We must be first connected to the fathers in heaven. Only then can we do something to liberate the dead” (pp. 526-527).

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*This is the third in a FLAG series intended to encourage us in these last days to apply these words of wisdom and warning:

Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.

(New Testament | 1 Thessalonians 5:21)

I preached to the Saints, setting forth the evils that existed, and that would exist, by reason of hasty judgment, or decisions upon any subject given by any people, or in judging before they had heard both sides of a question. (Joseph Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, selected and arranged by Joseph Fielding Smith [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1976], 118.)
Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye shall continue in the Son, and also in the Father. … These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you. (New Testament | JST 1 John 2: 24, 26)

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1. For behold, the day cometh that shall burn as an oven, and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly shall burn as stubble; for they that come shall burn them, saith the Lord of Hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. And again, he quoted the fifth verse thus: Behold, I will reveal unto you the Priesthood, by the hand of Elijah the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. He also quoted the next verse differently: And he shall plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to the fathers, and the hearts of the children shall turn to their fathers. If it were not so, the whole earth would be utterly wasted at his coming. (Pearl of Great Price | JS-History 1:37-39)