A FAMILY AFFAIR

Last Tuesday was our immediate family’s Sacrament meeting. We hold this separate from our fellowship meeting, because we are spread far apart, and Brittany can’t make it to our fellowship because of her employment. Brittany is full of concerns and full of questions. The one she asked last Tuesday was: “Grandpa, do you think we have lost the chance to establish Zion or do you still think it will come; and how many does it take?” Her concern comes from the podcast “One Heart First.”

Immediately two things came to my mind which I presented to our little gathering as something to consider. The first was the concern Abraham showed about the Lord’s determination to destroy the Cities of the Plains, and the first question Abraham put to the Lord about it, which was, “Will you destroy the righteous with the wicked?” And the second was the ending of the talk Denver gave to our fellowship on January 14, 2018, “That We Might Be One.”

This is the way we considered each:

“Perhaps there may be fifty righteous within the city. Will you also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous within the city? Will you also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that may be therein? Oh, may that be far from you to do in this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked and that the righteous should be as the wicked. Oh God, may that be far from you. For shall not the judge of all the earth do right? And the Lord said unto Abraham, if you find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all this place for their sakes. And Abraham answered and said, Behold, now I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord who is able to destroy the city and lay all the people in dust and ashes. Will the Lord spare them if perhaps there lack five of the fifty righteous? Will you destroy all the city for their wickedness, if I find there forty five righteous? And he said, I will not destroy, but spare them. And he spoke unto Him again and said, If perhaps there should be forty found there? And He said, I will not destroy it for forty’s sake. And he said again unto the Lord, Oh, let not the Lord be angry and I will speak. If perhaps there shall thirty be found there. And He said, I will not destroy them if you shall find thirty there. And he said, Behold, now I have taken it upon me to speak unto the Lord. Will you destroy them if perhaps there shall be twenty found there? And He said, I will not destroy them for twenty’s sake. And Abraham said unto the Lord, Oh, let not the Lord be angry and I will yet speak but this once. If perhaps ten shall be found there? And the Lord said, I will not destroy them for ten’s sake. And the Lord ceased speaking with Abraham.” (OC Genesis 7: 40.)

We were amazed at the condescension, patience, and willingness of the Lord to work with man. We also found out the Lord has His limits. In this case Lot, Lot’s wife, and two daughters were willing to do as the Lord said. That makes four! The Lord brought them out and Sodom was destroyed.

At our fellowship meeting where Denver gave the talk entitled That We Might Be One, he said, “We have an opportunity. We have a bona fide, actual offer from God to allow us to be that generation in which the promises get fulfilled. But we have the freedom of choice that allows us to elect to be severed, to be contentious, to be agents of disruption, and to discourage and break the hearts of those who would willingly accept the challenge to repent and follow God.

Now it’s possible, in fact it’s probable, that at some point what the Lord will do is gather out a remnant of the remnant, gather out a few, and how many are essential in order for the promises to be fulfilled? I’m certain there is a minimum and I’m fairly confident that the minimum can be counted on your two hands, but there is no maximum. We’re not going to just have eight people on the ark; there can be more, there can be many more. The upper number is practically limitless. There is a minimum but heavens, why would anyone want that?” ( That We Might Be One. Denver Snuffer. 20129.01.14. P8 of 9. Emphasis throughout, mine.)

We took a vote. There were four of us together (same as in Lot’s group) and we voted affirmative. We want to be the kind of people whom the Lord can use in Zion.