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TV WORTH WATCHING and a conversation.

Interestingly, there was a TV program I watched the other night after we talked and my company went home, which addressed the subject of order and variety.  It did it in a very unique way.

Seems a new police chief came to town and one of the first things he learned was that the majority of crime in his city happened between the hours of 6PM and 2AM.  He also found that only 20% of his most senior – thus most experienced – police officers were ever on duty during those hours.  Because of seniority these experienced officers were able to draw daylight hours, thus leaving the city essentially in the hands of rookies during its most vulnerable hours.

Of course being the astute chief that he was he issued an order that for the foreseeable future all senior officers would pull duty during 6PM and 2AM.  As can be imagined, there was an outcry of anger from these experienced policemen who felt they were entitled to have a better shift because they had earned it.  Not only was there an outcry, but acting against this compulsive order was manifest by officers just not showing up for work or being excessively late for shifts.  One act of blowback really caused chaos at police headquarters when officers began bringing their children to work and dumping them off on some of the clerical staff, claiming they couldn’t get childcare.

This grumbling was intense for the first month and then began to taper off during successive months as more and more of the officers began to realize they really liked having this late shift so they could have freedom during the daytime hours to do many other things.  In fact, so much so that the chief realized he could loosen the mandatory nature of this assignment and still have enough senior staff to man those critical hours.

The change was so remarkable in that some of the most intense objectors to the mandate soon became its greatest supporters, seeing that this imposed order actually gave them more variety in their lives.  Then we find the chief uttering this amazing statement:

“Out of chaos comes order.”

The change of attitude didn’t come by mandate but by individuals making within themselves a paradigm shift – awakening if you will to many personal benefits coming their way, not the least of which was increased pride in their profession because of their greater impact on the afore rampant crime in their city:

And all of this because they simply changed their minds and not because the chief rescinded the order to take their turn working what he called “the super shift.”

Here it seems we have order (even to the extent of compulsion) producing variety among the whole police force without producing continued chaos.

Men are agents unto themselves, even in most cases of tyrannical order, and especially in this society, and can conduct themselves, if they so choose, without being part of the chaos going on all around them.  This is seen in a couple of other movies depicting real life situations, such as “Birdman of Alcatraz, and ” Bridge Over the River Kwai.”

Just look at what our Savior did with the order imposing his humble and humiliating circumstances. 

He rose to become a God!

Keith

AND THIS IS LIFE ETERNAL…

“This is life eternal that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent.”

We bring the conversation time and time again to this truism, spoken in the scriptures and again reiterated by Joseph Smith Jr. as part of the King Follett discourse. It was no sooner uttered by the Prophet than almost immediately the following aphorism was cast up by Lorenzo Snow:

As man is, God once was. As God now is, man may become.

We say that it is only through the ministration of the Son that we can be brought to the Father, and we think that it is in this ministration of the Son bringing us to the Father that we finally come to know both the Son and the Father, thus insuring our eternal life. We will see them both in their immortal glory sitting upon Their thrones, encircled about by flaming Seraphim singing their praises with holy anthems of great power. In this ministration we will then see as we are seen and know as we are known, and consequently be invited to join, as equals, this triumvirate of Eternal Gods as one of the Eternals of this great “roundtable.”

The only problem with this is that we have joined the party at the end and really know almost nothing about this magisteral group and what brought them, in the first place to be our hosts.

If any man does not know God [as He was] and inquires only as to what kind of being He is – if he will search diligently his own heart if the declaration of Jesus Christ and the apostles be true, he will realize that he has not eternal life; for there can be eternal life on no other principle.

Based upon Joseph’s above utterance and the couplet that emanated from it, we can then have somewhat more confidence in Pope’s admonition: “Know then thyself, presume not God to scan: The proper study for mankind is man.”

Man will remain a mystery to himself until he has mastered somewhat the mystery of God. An understanding of each is essential to the understanding of the other. It is clearly within the spiritual economy of God that men should know Him; who, (possibly better stated, what) He was, is, and will be. Moreover, though it may be admitted that, “great is the mystery of Godliness,” yet God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up unto glory – all in plain allusion to Jesus Christ, who was therefore God manifested in the flesh. This, so that all may know God through Jesus Christ, and by understanding Him understand God, and thus lay the foundation for better self-knowledge, and enhance the potential for his future eternal life.

We cannot, therefore, think we know the only true God and Jesus Christ whom He sent to manifest Himself in the flesh by having only seen them in their magisterial glory, seated upon their thrones. The best we can hope for, having thus seen, is a promise that upon our separation from this mortal coil we have the right to continue our quest in knowing Them. Better yet said, “As the Father hath power in Himself, even so hath the Son power.” To which the Prophet answers, “to do what? Why, what the Father did. The answer is obvious – in a manner to lay down His body and take it up again. Jesus, what are you going to do? To lay down my life as the Father did and take it up again. Here then, is life eternal – to know the only wise and true God; and you have got to learn to be God’s yourselves, and to be kings and priests to God, the same as all Gods have done before you, namely by going from one small degree to another, and from a small capacity to a great one; from grace to grace, from exaltation to exaltation, until you attain to the resurrection of the dead, and are able to dwell in everlasting burnings, and to sit in glory as do those who sit enthroned in everlasting power.” “What did Jesus do? Why, I do the things I saw my Father do when worlds came rolling into existence. My Father worked out His kingdom with fear and trembling, and I must do the same; and when I get my kingdom, I shall present it to my Father, so that He may obtain kingdom upon kingdom, and it will exalt Him in glory. He will then take a higher exaltation, and I will take His place, and thereby become exalted myself.

It is by becoming that we learn to know about those who have become. It is also in understanding that when Moses asked God on the mount what he should call Him when asked by the elders of Israel to give the name of He who sent him; he should say I Am sent me. In this declarative name we gain a more complete understanding of who God is by comprehending “I Am” is the present tense of the infinitive form of the verb “To Be.” And, as all verbs in English and most other languages have past tense, present tense, and future tense forms, so also would Christ’s declaration that He is, (I Am) also include that He Was, and that He Will Be. To see Christ or to know Christ in one condition exclusive of all the other possibilities does not allow one to say they know Him.

This thing called Eternal Life is a great thing. It is not only a (hoped for) condition but also a span of conditions that began long before we set our foot on the bottom rung of that ladder of intent to learn all the principles of exaltations and will continue on a great while into the future, after we have passed through this veil, until we have learned them all. “It is not all to be comprehended in this world – [“where conditions require a necessity to have a physical body to both come here and to perform”], but It will be a great work to learn our salvation and exaltation even beyond the grave – [“where there are other places beyond, with other conditions”].”

BUT…

When it is all learned, then we will know God and His Son, Jesus Christ whom He sent, because we will truly see them as they are, for we will be like them. We will do as they do, and we will truly be seen as they are seen.

Change in baptism recording

Due to a problem within www.recordersclearinghouse.com, which may very well have occured because of my own ineptness in using computers, we have determined, what for us, will be an easy fix. 
From now on after being baptized it will only be necessary for the baptized or their baptizer to send an email to keelhenderson42@gmail.com stating the baptism has taken place and including the full name of those baptized and the year in which it took place.  A return email will then be sent by me indicating receipt.
This process can also be followed at www.recordersclearinghouse.com by clicking on the Name Submissions page and following the same instruction given there.
We would like those who have been baptized since October 1, 2022 to resubmit their names and year as per these instructions.
Please disseminate this change as widely as possible to any you might know who you think will need this information, but probably won’t get it from the email or from this post.

Thanks.
Keith Henderson

Recorder

If I could have the wish of my heart

My thoughts this past evening have turned to considering the three Nephites and what brought them to desiring a different thing for themselves than the other nine of their brothers. My inner vision has seen them struggling to come to understand in the days before it was granted, that such a thing might even be possible. I am sure that the accounts of others who had this great blessing of translation bestowed upon them had been read and studied. I am sure that the accounts they read of these others were at least as complete as the one we have today of these three in the Book of Mormon. These three read and envisioned this very thing for themselves. They had tried to see themselves caught up, as had been Elijah or Moses. I can only imagine that each had felt like I do when I have connected with another in explaining these glorious truths of the Lord’s Gospel; They felt that it would be their greatest desire to have this happen over and over until the very last possible soul had seen through their eyes what they had seen, had felt what they had felt, and had heard what they had heard, and because of their word, would come to connect with that Great One whose right it is to bestow these very things. To gain a true brother or sister is perhaps one of the greatest things a human being can experience, and to think that the Lord could use one, such as I, in helping this to happen. They had come to know the greatness of the experience and realized the “days of man” were too short to have enough of it.

I don’t know for sure which three it was, but there must have been a special bond generated as perhaps one expressed a more than usual interest in these things for himself, and then caught the elongated stare from another that signified a like interest. As they became aware of the other’s interest in this seemingly obscure and probably unthinkable desire, there must have been times when they slipped away together, away from the hearing of the others to discuss this smoldering fire of desire that was building together in them. They surely related to each other the things they understood of the accounts of those others, which would have included Enoch, Melchizedek, Alma and Nephi, son of Helaman. They thrilled that such a thing could happen to others and reveled in the thought of, “what if this were to happen to us?” And at the same time wondered what made those others special enough to warrant such a blessing. There were many things their record did not relate, just as there are many things obscure in ours. Part of their desire could only be fed by speculation.

Days past, months past, the work of being the Lord’s servants was arduous and sometimes downright dangerous. There were many, even though they were part of the “more righteous” who had been spared in the calamities, who took offense at these men’s sayings and teachings. Some had not heard these things at all, and others had long standing traditions which made what these twelve were saying just sound ridiculous. And today a special, but seemingly serious problem surfaced. Bringing everyone together under one belief system, and under one head, required the establishment of a church. But what would they call such a church? Standing on a dusty road, around a bend which put them out of sight of any other traffic, these twelve sought the wisdom they needed from the Source which they knew it was available. As had happened on other occasions like this, they suddenly became aware that their Master had come to join them. As He greeted them warmly and began conversing with them, they explained their seeming dilemma to Him. Looking upon them lovingly and considering them as the children they all still were in many respects, He gently answered very easily their concerns. I can see them all wagging their heads at the logic of His explanation and wondering, because of the simplicity of the answer, why they hadn’t thought of it. When suddenly the Master, who always gives more than asked, bore into each of them with His eyes as He asked, “What is it that ye would that I should give you, after that I am gone to the Father?”

Here the arduous nature of the work surfaced for all of them as they realized what they had been offered. Their Beloved Master was offering them all, the opportunity for respite, and not only that, but of magnificent compensation, for the torturous, dangerous, and sometimes seemingly thankless work they were doing for Him who had commanded them. As He asked each again, separately, “What is it my son that thou desirest?” The first nine responded separately but in like manner, “Beloved Master, we desire that when we have come to the age of man, that our work have an end, and that we come speedily unto Thee in Thy kingdom.” This certainly brought an affirmative response from Jesus and praise for the righteousness of their desire. However, the three who had all along entertained other desires, but never thinking the opportunity would ever be presented, were suddenly panic stricken by the responses of the others, and the acceptance and praise of their requests by the Master. “Will he think us ungrateful if we should ask something different from what He has already accepted from our brethren?” They cast a furtive glance at each other, and not knowing how or whether to take advantage of this presented opportunity, they simply cast their eyes upon the ground, and dared not to speak the true desires of their hearts.

Jesus looked lovingly upon the three and with that common mind with His Father which is in all and through all, knew immediately the nature of their desires; how long they had nurtured their hopes, and the reason they felt they could not now speak. I can only imagine the overwhelming joy He felt for these three who were expressing with their minds a desire to serve Him to the very end. He gently and softly spoke to all three together as He said, “I know your thoughts. Ye desire that which my beloved John desired of me as he came quietly and alone to me with this same desire. My beloved sons, this long wish of thy heart is granted unto thee, and more blessed are ye for this thing which ye desire.”

At this point is where I bare my own simple witness and desire. If I can bare my witness to just one more who will believe, I will be content. But, Oh my God! How my heart yearns for more of the same!

Keith

AN UMBRELLA

The 1960’s movie, Swiss Family Robinson, fired in my being an almost overwhelming desire to be part of such an idyllic setting.

Cast upon an uninhabited island after their ship has crashed upon the rocks outside an exposed reef in a raging storm, and then left to make do with what could be salvaged from the broken vessel, and such foodstuffs and materials as could be used from the bounties of such an island. With hard work, the family made lemonade out of lemons – so to speak. They built paradise!

I can still see in my memory the amazing tree house with its multi level rooms high up in the lofty branches, with a roped stairway from one level to the next, a water wheel driven bucket system which provided running water to the rooms high up, and the opening roof of the upper room which could be drawn back in the evening for star gazing.

The ingenious methods they devised to cope; i.e. fishing in the surf. The hilarious animal race, riding on Clementine the ostrich, Dutchess the zebra, Lightning the donkey and Rocky the elephant. Filmed on the Island of Tobago with its lush tropical vegetation, and many exotic settings, including its famous swimming hole under the falls. I hope the swinging rope over the pool is still there.

“The gathering to the New Jerusalem develops in time to the status of being “Zion” where God will visit. The growth is through refinement of the residents of the New Jerusalem… It will be a physical and spiritual enterprise to be accomplished by the hard effort of those interested in welcoming the Lord’s return.” (Was there an Original? Paper by Denver C. Snuffer Jr. P. 35-36.)

Perhaps, partly because of “Swiss Family Robinson” I have this longing to be in this New Jerusalem. I know many like me who have an aching desire to go there, but many of us have issues…

. We are old.
. We will be hard pressed to contribute physically.
. We are poor and contribute only little to the temple fund.
. We are unmarried, widowed, divorced. Can we go into the temple in such a state?
. I was/am a sinner.
. I would have to see it first.
. and many many more…..

There are probably as many situations for thinking we cannot or should not make a move to the New Jerusalem, if given the chance, as there are people. And sadly, there are those who think that because of their situations, they will not be given an invitation, nor even noticed. And others who think they could, and want to go there, but ask themselves questions like, can I go into the temple, or will my circumstances preclude me? If so then why pack up and move just to the “city?”

I know there are many who are so sure of themselves they would never think to ask any of these questions. Perhaps that is good and will work out well for them. There are, however, those like I have posed above. I know. I have talked with them. Mostly they have come asking these things of me. So I will ask this about myself:

“If I think that in spite of any existing circumstances such as listed above, or any other, that I can go to the city of The New Jerusalem, but doubt If I might ever be able to enter that beautiful edifice on the hill, why do I still want to go?”

Perhaps to answer that question, I’ll ask and then try to answer another related one:

“is there an umbrella of some sort which the Temple, set on a hill, will cast over the city, its surrounding precincts, and the people who will reside there, but who have not yet entered or cannot yet enter that Holy Edifice?” I think there is. Consider the following:

. Association with like minded, covenant people.
. Association with the endowed.
. Association with holy men, and angels.
. Physical and spiritual protection.
. Peace.
. Access to truth uncluttered by error.
. An increase of proximity with the Spirit, until the Perfect day.
. A library of the best books and artifacts of this earth. My opinion is that there will be a city library, separate from the library within the walls of the Temple.
. A holy place for conferences and festivals.
. One year for a vacation we traveled to all the temples in Utah in order to let our young grandchildren touch the temples. They knew they could not go inside, however the lasting impression on them has been immense in a lot of ways that are good. We too can be as little children.
. There will be many sacred things (I’m sure) visible from outside the temple, which to look upon will create a condition of holiness and wonder within us.
. In the encounter between the Lord and Paul as he was on his way to Damascus, Paul saw into the light, and heard the voice. Those with him seeing indeed a light, but hearing no voice nonetheless were left speechless by the experience. So too with Christ in the Temple.
. And then, one day, perhaps it will be my turn to go in. Oh be still, my heart….

I can yet think of many more benefits of coming to live within The city of The New Jerusalem, but even if I stop here, it –

Sounds like paradise to me.

Keith

PERHAPS HELP IS ON THE WAY

The two links listed below should be read by everyone. They detail efforts being made via the courts to hold those responsible for the misery perpetrated via this fraudulent covid-19 “pandemic.”

My question since last April is why there seems to be no lawsuits jamming the courts over this fraudulent covid-19? Maybe there will be.

I can only hope that Governor Gary Herbert, and the local government supporters of this most recent lockdown, and those who have been elected to carry on his policies, will be caught up as defendants, and found guilty of complicity is this Orwellian fiasco to subjugate a gullible populace, and ruin and rob a complete State’s population of their fiscal and social well being.

And if the directions of these recent illegal State government actions turn out to be tied to prodding’s by his/their church leaders, may they be exposed as well!

Keith

https://thenewamerican.com/huge-lawsuits-coming-against-covid-totalitarians-and-con-artists/?fbclid=IwAR0dzvQxcJbaogNTRoJ15DA2LgAcY49P6OWUqNfdFU0kGotagYjfm64QG34

https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2020/10/17/coronavirus-fraud-biggest-crime-against-humanity.aspx

THE ARK OF THE COVENANT—WHERE IS IT?

Mughrabi gate = The Mughrabi gate is the only gate to the Temple Mount that the Waqf allows non-Muslims to use for visiting the Temple Mount complex. The Mughrabi Gate is atop the Western Wall of the Temple Mount at a point between the prayer plaza to the north and the archaeological park. Other gates to the mount names: Gate of the Tribes, Moors Gate, Golden Gate. Until February 2004 the Mughrabi gate was accessed by an earthen ramp.

Jerusalem Islamic Waqf = an Islamic religious trust (sometimes called an “Islamic Religious Endowments” organization) best known for controlling and managing the current Islamic edifices on and around the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem, including the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock.
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“There is a tradition that the Ark of the Covenant was taken to a Jewish settlement with a temple located at Elephantine Egypt, but those traditions are somewhat dubious. [There are] lots of claims, including that it is housed today in Ethiopia, but that one has proven to be false and no one has been able to substantiate any [other] rumors.  It is likely that, if it fell into non-Jewish possession, it would be melted down for the gold. If so, the[n the] original no longer exists.

I think it will have to be reconstructed, if it is to be around again.”
_____________________________________________________

One other tradition that still holds to this day is that the Ark was buried in a chamber under the Court of the Women, just prior to the Babylonian capture of Jerusalem in 587 BC.

This brings us to an incident which occurred in February of 2004.  After a period of torrential rain and heavy snow, an earthquake hit with its epicenter almost exactly under the earthen ramp access to the Mughrabi gate, giving it the coup de gras, causing it to collapse. 

Since the Six Day War that ramp was the only access for Jews and all other non-Muslems to the temple mount. If anyone was up for an entangled, convoluted, yet interesting legal exercise, it would be to unravel the right of access of the Jews to the Temple Mount.  It makes my head spin to try to get a grip on all the rules and regulations, both Muslim and Jewish, that has piled up over that one topic. Their are claims from the big three, Muslim, Jewish, and Christianity, plus a cabal of intrigues and a whole gamut of other combinations, secret and otherwise.

Interestingly enough when the ramp collapsed it was discovered (exposed, pun intended) that there had been excavation going on over a proceeding 10 year period attempting to expose the whole underground length of the Western (Wailing Wall, Ha Kotel Ha Ma’aravee, etc.) Wall.  At one point during this “archeological dig,” earth and stone had been removed away from the wall, and it exposed an ancient, filled in gate. In the vicinity of the gate it was found that water was leaking through the wall from the inside.  At that point, Religious Affairs Minister Aharon Abuhatzeira gave permission to breach the wall through the sealed gate.  A large cistern was discovered on the other side.  At this point Chief Rabbi Schlomo Goren came to inspect and after his tour, immediately gave orders to seal up the breech again “because of the sensitive nature of the area.”  “The cistern was a tunnel from the Second Temple period that; (it was speculated, but never confirmed, because those who could confirm stayed silent); it was speculated, could lead to the treasures of the temple, INCLUDING THE HOLY ARK.” (Almost a quote from “Jerusalem, The Eternal City.”  Galbraith, Ogden, Skinner. Page 483.)  

This caused a real stink when it was discovered the Israeli’s had breeched the wall. (and perhaps had entered the tunnel?)  Consequently, the Jerusalem Muslamic Waqf sealed the temple mount side of the wall also at the “underground cistern” to prevent continued or further “Jewish penetration.”  This all took a massive police intervention and a lot of political manuerving to quell the uprising it caused. In fact if my mind doesn’t fail me there were calls for holy Jihad throughout the Muslim world.

This stuff is better than either Dan Brown: The Da Vinvi Code, or Joel Rosenberg: The Copper Scroll. This stuff is a “real” thriller.  

I remember thinking at the time, how can I get over there to be in on this.  Well when I finally got there it was January 2007 and a temporary wooden ramp was in place up to the Mughrabi gate, but I never even got to go up onto the mount because there was a Palestinian uprising going on and the Jewish authorities had closed the whole Temple Mount even to Muslims who couldn’t prove they were older than 50, Even the wooden ramp was closed.  Shucks!!  This uprising was over the still ongoing archeological excavations where the old ramp had stood.  This one issue alone has put muslims all over the world on alert and ready to perpetrate Armageddon on the Jews.  Makes one wonder how a temple can ever be built there.  Or even if it will be built there.  Or……?

Well, we know a temple will be built at least someplace “in” (or is that the Book of Mormon “at”) Jerusalem before our Lord comes, and for me it’s exciting to speculate that some way or another, the ancient treasures, including the Ark will be made available.  It seems to me that perhaps a better place to build the temple would be on Mt. Gerizim or enclosing Jacob’s well where Jesus first publicly announced His Messiahship – to a woman, no less.  

Maybe the Two Prophets could with the spirit of prophesy, declare Samaria a suburb of Jerusalem. After all they are only about 40 miles apart, as the crow flies.

Keith

for further study of the issues with the Mughrabi gate I have attached the following link:

https://jcpa.org/article/the-mughrabi-gate-to-the-temple-mount-in-jerusalem-the-urgent-need-for-a-permanent-access-bridge-2/

THE RETURN OF JOSEPH SMITH. (I Swear it’s True)

A long time ago, when I served on the High Council, I was assigned to Home Teach Kent Smith and his family. I loved that family! 

Kent and Sally’s oldest son was named Joseph Brett Smith.  And boy was he ever a cut-up; actually borderline rebellious.  This was back when boys hadn’t yet begun to dye their hair or wear make-up. But Brett did.  See, that’s what we all called him; Brett.  I think this was so we wouldn’t make mundane use of such a sacred name as Joseph.  As you can imagine, Kent was about to pull his own hair out (what he had left) over the antics of this hoped for heir.

One day Brett showed up to church sporting a four inch Mohawk, dyed purple with highlights of pink. The kids thought it was really cool, and their parents feared and trembled that this might be an example for their own. Actually, although the other kids thought Brett looked neat in this hair-do with somewhat matching attire, it never really caught on.  So, Brett continued to stand out all alone like a zit on the end of a nose.  But Brett was OK with his new look and the increased attention to himself, and it didn’t go away any time soon.

One Sunday, at early morning High Council meeting, just as we were getting into the heavy stuff of whether to have beef or pork at the coming HP banquet, there came a knock on the door of the HC room. The arrangements of the room were such that the door was down a short hallway out of sight from the main room, so when first Counselor Jack Diamond went to see who was there, at the request of President Mills, he was out of sight to the group sitting around the table.  But not out of hearing.  After we heard him open the door, there was about fifteen seconds of total silence. Then we heard this exchange:

“Can I help you?”

“Hi – I’m Joseph Smith, and I’ve been sent with a message from Bishop Stokes.”

After another 10 second pause;

“Sure you are!  And I’m the pope.”

“Gowan kid, don’t you know there’s a meeting going on in here?”

With this the door shut a little harder than usual.

President Diamond came walking back in with the weirdest look on his face.

“You should have seen what I just saw!”

Then it dawned on me – and only me – as to what just happened.  By this time a knock came again on the door.  President Diamond jumped to his feet and said, “I’ll take care of this.”

There stood Joseph again holding out his hand with a note,  “Really!  My name is Joseph Smith, and I have this message I’m suppose to give you from Bishop Stokes.”

This time President Diamond said, his words dripping with sarcasm, “Won’t you please come in and give your message to President Mills.”

In walks, and there stands Joseph Brett Smith in all his glory of a four inch Mohawk, dyed purple with pink highlights.

He was, however, dressed in a very fine looking suit.  I’m sure Kent would have been proud.

Keith

PS  This Gospel of Jesus Christ can cause us to have wonderful associations.

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.

Statement of Support

8/24/2020
Statement of Support

Being aware of the abundance of work that needs to be done to prepare a people and a place for the return of the Lord, we the members of a fellowship of families and friends who meet together in Clinton, Utah, issue this “Statement of Support” to our Brothers and Sisters who are anxiously engaged in the important work to be done.

We are thankful and express our gratitude for all who have applied their time, talents, and resources to past efforts. So many of those efforts have provided light and understanding for the blessing and benefit of us all. We know that much work is and has been quietly engaged in with no desire for recognition or fanfare. We pray that every worthy effort will be recognized and sustained by Heaven as surely it will be.

The Lord commanded, “Teach your children to honor me. Seek to recover the lost sheep remnant of this land and of Israel and no longer forsake them. Bring them unto me and teach them of my ways, to walk in them.” (T&C 158:11)

We pray particularly for those who are actively working to recover the descendants of Lehi on this land as well as the House of Israel in the land of Israel and other lands.

In as much as all cannot be physically engaged in every needful effort, We offer our hearts and our thoughts to be united with those who do the labor for the sake of the covenant, bringing to pass the blessing of God’s people and vindication of God’s promises to the Fathers.

Our hope and prayers are that Heaven will inspire with light and understanding, every individual found laboring. We also pray for a spirit of unity and harmony to be with those who labor with others to identify and obtain difficult objectives.

We are striving to heed the Lord’s recent counsel to us.

“But remember that without the fruit of repentance, and a broken
heart and a contrite spirit, you cannot keep my covenant; for I, your
Lord, am meek and lowly of heart. Be like me. You have all been
wounded, your hearts pierced through with sorrows because of how
the world has treated you. But you have also scarred one another by
your unkind treatment of each other, and you do not notice your
misconduct toward others because you think yourself justified in this.
You bear the scars on your countenances, from the soles of your feet
to the head, and every heart is faint. Your visages have been so marred
that your hardness, mistrust, suspicions, resentments, fear, jealousies,
and anger toward your fellow man bear outward witness of your inner
self; you cannot hide it. When I appear to you, instead of confidence,
you feel shame. You fear and withdraw from me because you bear the
blood and sins of your treatment of brothers and sisters. Come to me
and I will make sins as scarlet become white as snow, and I will make
you stand boldly before me, confident of my love.” (T&C 157:49)

“Be of one heart, and regard one another with charity. Measure
your words before giving voice to them, and consider the hearts of
others. Although a man may err in understanding concerning many
things, yet he can view his brother with charity and come unto me,
and through me he can with patience overcome the world. I can bring
him to understanding and knowledge. Therefore, if you regard one
another with charity, then your brother’s error in understanding will
not divide you. I lead to all truth. I will lead all who come to me to the
truth of all things. The fullness is to receive the truth of all things, and
this too from me, in power, by my word, and in very deed. For I will
come unto you if you will come unto me.
Study to learn how to respect your brothers and sisters and to
come together by precept, reason, and persuasion, rather than sharply
disputing and wrongly condemning each other, causing anger. Take
care how you invoke my name. Mankind has been controlled by the
adversary through anger and jealousy, which has led to bloodshed
and the misery of many souls. Even strong disagreements should
not provoke anger, nor to invoke my name in vain as if I had part in
your every dispute. Pray together in humility and together meekly
present your dispute to me, and if you are contrite before me, I will
tell you my part.” (T&C 157:53-54)

With gratitude for those who labor for The Kingdom of God and His Zion,

Clinton Utah Fellowship

Brittany Mulvey
Benjamin Henderson
Steve VanLeer
Linda VanLeer
Preston Hurst
Heidi Hurst
John Dutson
Elaine Henderson
Keith Henderson
Alan VanLeer
Jan VanLeer
Brian VanLeer
Kristen Weber
Tammy Hunt
Bonnie Parkinson
James Adair