"An Enemy Hath Done This": Part 7

Migratory Patterns of "Wheat"

In this Post we are going to identify some of the patterns and principles of the Gathering that we find in the scriptures (it might sound tedious, but believe me, it is going to be thrilling!). 

Since we are part of the great latter-day Gathering and Restoration of Israel, this is particularly relevant for us. 

   Q.  Who is gathered first, the Wheat or the Tares?

First things first: always remember that the Wheat is gathered first (this is significant because it flips the standard narrative on its head, as we'll see shortly).

   Let both grow together
   until the harvest:
   and in the time of harvest
   I will say to the reapers,
   Gather ye together 
   first the wheat 
   into my barn.

(Matt. 13:29-30, JST Version)

Let's pretend for a moment that what we're taught in Church is correct; I'm talking about the idea that the Church is composed of both Wheat and Tares who are co-existing and growing together in our Wards and chapels ― for now.

But just you wait, Henry Higgins, because in a coming day there will be a sifting.  What is this "sifting" everyone is so excited about? 

Well, it refers to all the unfaithful folks (the bad apples) being shaken out of the Church like rotten fruit falling from a tree's branches.  "Finally!  About time we start cleansing the inner vessel."

In other words, "sifting" is the process of Tares being weeded out of the Church; "Tares" meaning those who leave the Church, those apostates!  (In fact, their leaving the Church is all the proof we need of their Tarehood.)

And good riddance!  With all those "Tares" gone, maybe now we can get serious about the business of building Zion, seeing as we just have super-faithful Wheat left.  Jackson County, here we come.

   Did any of that sound familiar?

"A TEST is coming"

I think this all goes back to something Heber C. Kimball said long ago when he warned the Saints that Salt Lake City would become one of the wickedest cities in the world.  "The time is coming when … it will be difficult to tell the face of a Saint from the face of an enemy to the people of God. Then … look out for the great sieve, for there will be a great sifting time, and many will fall."  He concluded that there is "a TEST coming." (Quoted by Elder Quentin L. Cook, "Valiant in the Testimony of Jesus," 2016 October General Conference.) 

What test?  What is the test the Tares fail?

According to the Church, the Test is, of course, whether we follow the Prophet (not, incidentally, the Lord).

But that is not the test the Lord described, is it?

   For whoso cometh not unto ME
   is under the bondage of sin.
   And whoso receiveth not MY voice
   is not acquainted with MY voice,
   and is not of ME.​

   That which you hear is as the voice
   of one crying in the wilderness--
   in the wilderness, because you cannot
   see him—my voice, because MY voice
   is Spirit; MY Spirit is truth; truth abideth
   and hath no end; and if it be in you
   it shall abound.

(D&C 84:51-52; 88:66)

Apostles and prophets of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints speak with God's voice when they share the words of Christ; but remember, a prophet is only a prophet when he speaks by the power of the Holy Ghost.

The gift and prerogative to speak the truth with the tongue of angels is available to us all, regardless of race, gender, age, calling, office, sexual orientation, denomination, economic status, and so forth:

   They shall speak
   as they are moved upon
   by the Holy Ghost.

   And whatsoever they shall speak
   WHEN moved upon by the Holy Ghost
   [which is the only time it counts]
   shall be scripture, shall be the will
   of the Lord, shall be the mind
   of the Lord, shall be the word
   of the Lord, shall be the voice
   of the Lord, and the power
   of God unto salvation.

   Behold, this is the promise of the Lord
   unto you, O ye my servants
   [see, this is the privilege of all].

(D&C 68:3-5)

There is no hierarchy for speaking truth when the Holy Ghost gives utterance; the Holy Ghost renders rank and office obsolete.

So we see the Great Divide has already begun: on the one hand, the Church teaching us to follow a man because of his title and office; on the other, the Lord telling us to follow His voice regardless of its source.

Here is an example of the Church's position:

"This is a time of sifting, a time when, more than ever in the history of the modern world, the adversary and his followers have shown themselves to be enemies of God....The time has come for each member of the Church to keep close to the Lord, to be steadfast by sustaining and upholding and following the counsel of his divinely appointed servants." (Elder ElRay Christiansen, "The Sifting," 1971 October General Conference.)

​Thus we see our Wheatie-ness in all of its pre-1978 white-bleached-flour-glory: obey the Prophet; when the Prophet speaks, the debate is over; the Prophet will never lead us astray.

   All hail.

A Different Paradigm

I want to suggest another possibility: what if the "sifting" described the process of Wheat being led out of the Church by the angels of God?

   What?!

Hold on, before you have an aneurysm, ask yourself, is it possible?  What if, instead of Tares leaving the Church because they're unfaithful, the Wheat leave the Church because the Stone the builders rejected (Christ) is no longer its cornerstone?

What if the cornerstone of our religion has become "follow the prophet," and brought us under condemnation?

Take the example of Lehi: sure, to a Jew in Jerusalem circa 600 B.C. it may have seemed like Lehi leaving the Church was faithless, the brazen act of an apostate.  "Lehi, why aren't you more obedient to the priests?  Why can't you be happy with your temple sacrifices and the Rabbi's teaching in the synagogue?  Surely you know we are the Lord's covenant people!  Stay in the boat here in Jerusalem where the Lord will protect his people."

   Behold he [Lehi] [and Clark] [Lavina]
   [Teresa] [Denver] [Adrian] [Rock]
   [Paul] [Tim] [Rob] [Ruth] [Cameron]
   [Nathan] [Dave] [Laura] [Harry]
   [Hugh] [Dieter] [Mike] [George]
   [Avraham] [and on and on and on]
   went forth among the people,
   and began to prophesy
   and to declare unto them
   concerning the things which
   [t]he[y] had both seen and heard.

   And it came to pass that the Jews
   did mock [them] because
   of the things which [t]he[y] testified
   of them; for [t]he[y] truly testified
   of their wickedness 
   and their abominations;

   And when the Jews heard
   these things they were angry
   with [t]h[e]m.

(1 Nephi 1:18-20)

So if you're a Russian soldier and a fan of Stalin, and you see your admiral defect to the United States in The Hunt for Red October during the Cold War, you probably view him as a traitor and an enemy of the state.

But in America? He's a hero!  

It all depends upon your allegiance.

So when we see shrinking numbers at Church, it may not be because we're shedding the dead weight; it is more likely we're losing the Wheat.

Q.  How Does the Lord Gather His Wheat?

Because the Wheat is gathered first (before the destruction of the wicked), we need to identify the mechanism by which the Wheat finds its way to the barn.

Do the faithful call an Uber and wait for the angels to show up, curbside, in a black limousine?  Do we ride horses aflame with heaven's fire bareback to Kolob?  Do we build an Ark out of gopherwood and watch the forecast?

As complex as it may appear at first, it is not rocket science; because in the end, the righteous are always gathered in only two ways:

   1.  The righteous are cast out; and/or

   2.  The righteous are led away.

See?  Simple.

   1.  Righteous Are Cast Out.

Being "cast out" of society may not seem like a very efficient way to gather, but make no mistake: it is foolproof.
​​
In a way, we owe the Tares some credit; after all, they're the ones who do the sifting by throwing out the Wheat! 

That's right: watch for Wheat among those who have been rejected, scorned, ridiculed, and excommunicated.  

   a.  Jesus told his disciples:

   They shall put you out
   of the synagogues:
   yea, the time cometh,
   that whosoever killeth you
   will think that he doeth God service.

(John 16:2-3)

Notice that Jesus was talking about faith-groups here: those who believed they were doing God a favor by tossing his messengers out of the Church. 

Jesus was, Himself, the best example of this type of persecution; religious persecutors are always the worst.

   b.  Samuel the Lamanite warned:

   The time cometh, saith the Lord,
   that when (NOT "IF") ye shall
   cast out the righteous
   from among you,
   then shall ye be ripe
   for destruction.

(Helaman 13:14)

This all begs the question, What are the Tares thinking?!  Why would they cut off the very leaven that is sparing the loaf?

Well, that's the sad part: they think they're on the Lord's errand by "defending the faith," using their authority to shun, excommunicate, and even kill, those who threaten the regime.

The spirit of the Crusades and the spirit of the Inquisition and the spirit of September Six are all examples of men causing injury because they think they have the Spirit of God when they are under a false spirit. 

   c.  Alma and Amulek saw first hand what happens when the Spirit ceases to strive with a people in Ammonihah:

   And they were also angry with Alma
   and Amulek; and because they had
   testified so plainly against
   their wickedness, they sought
   to put them away privily.

   And they brought their wives
   and children together,
   and whosoever believed
   or had been taught to believe
   in the word of God they caused
   that they should be cast into the fire.

(Alma 14:3, 8)

"Not me, Tim; I would never cast anyone into the fire; I don't kill people! And neither would our priesthood leaders, for cryin' out loud!"

   That is good.  But . . . 

   I had murdered
   many of his children,
   or rather, led them away
   unto destruction.

(Alma 36:14)

I wish (I wish!) we would teach in Sunday School that the Nuremberg Defense is not available to the participants in the Mountain Meadows Massacre, who were just "following orders" of their Stake President, Isaac C. Haight.
​
What about those who excommunicate members of the Church at the direction of Headquarters for preaching the word of God?

2.  The Righteous Are Led Away

So you've been rejected and cast out of your community ― yes, the one you love and have labored with and would die for ― but they want nothing to do with you anymore; so where do you go?

Well, this is the fun part!  Welcome, dear brothers and sisters, to the "Fellowship of His sufferings" (Phil. 3:10).

Blessed are ye!  For they reviled you, and persecuted you, and said all manner of evil against you falsley for His name' sake (see Matt. 5:11). 

Rejoice!  For great is your reward in heaven.

   a.  Mosiah the First warned to flee.

There are far too many illustrations in the scriptures of the righteous being led away (think of Lot leaving Sodom) for me to cite them all; but this one sums it up beautifully:

   He [Mosiah I] being warned
   of the Lord that he should flee
   out of the land of Nephi,
   and as many as would hearken
   unto the voice of the Lord
   should also depart out of the land
   with him, into the wilderness--

   And it came to pass that he did
   according as the Lord commanded
   and they departed out of the land
   into the wilderness, as many as would
   hearken unto the voice of the Lord;
   and they were led
   by many preachings
   and prophesyings.

   And they were admonished
   continually by the word of God;
   and they were led
   by the power of his arm.

(Omni 1:12-13)

I wanted to point out the last part: "the power of his arm."

This should spark some comparisons to Isaiah's writings about the Lord's "arm."

Also, in D&C 103 we get these goosebump-inducing words:

   I say unto you,
   the redemption of Zion
   must needs come by power;

   Therefore, I will raise up
   unto my people a man,
   who shallalead them
   like as Moses led
   the children of Israel.

   For ye . . . must needs be led
   out of bondage by power,
   and with a stretched-out arm.

   And as your fathers were led
   at the first, even so shall
   the redemption of Zion be.

(D&C 103:15-18)

   So hush little baby,
   don't you cry;
   Papa's gonna deliver you
​   by-and-by.