​"Excuse Me, is my [Tithing] Slip Showing?"

Yes, it's that time of year again ― time for tithing settlement!

Since tithing is a dead law, it's sorta like we're living in the movie Weekend at Bernie's, trying to prop up tithing to fool others.

For those wondering what I am talking about, feel free to re-read the following posts, including my all-time favorite, "The True Hollywood Story of Tithing" in Part 1 (guest starring Keanu Reeves):

Thou Hast Made an End of Tithing: Part 1
Thou Hast Made an End of Tithing: Part 2
Thou Hast Made an End of Tithing: Part 3
​Thou Hast Made an End of Tithing: Part 4
Thou Hast Made an End of Tithing: Part 5
Thou Hast Made an End of Tithing: Part 6
Thou Hast Made an End of Tithing: Part 7
Thou Hast Made an End of Tithing: Part 8
Thou Hast Made an End of Tithing: Part 9
Thou Hast Made an End of Tithing: Part 10

Lesser Laws are Problematic

What's wrong with lesser laws?  Well, following lesser laws becomes problematic for two reasons:

   1.  When we are so busy keeping all these carnal commandments we may never get to actually live the gospel law; and

   2.  Keeping lesser laws makes us feel pretty good about ourselves.  All this busy work may keep us from the "weightier matters of the law."

Oh, how I wish we would learn this valuable truth:

"Rules and regulations cannot empower us. The potential for sin can be clarified by the law, but not eliminated by it. That is why the law can only be a schoolmaster to teach us of our plight and to encourage us to look for the remedy. The remedy is not the law. Redemption comes in and through the Holy Messiah."

("No Other Way," Blogpost, Given by the Finger of God, October 17, 2021, https://fingerofgod.blogspot.com/2021/10/no-other-way.html)​

Nephi, Please
​
Do you remember when the risen Lord appeared to the Nephites and inaugurated a Zion-like era among the people and told them to keep paying their tithing? 

   Nope.  Me neither. 

Because it never happened.

Have we replaced the gospel of love, the true gospel of repentance . . . with the gospel of performance?

One of my early poems tried to address the legalism of tithing settlement among those of us who have covenanted to be witnesses of Christ, who commanded us to "no more" offer up our sacrifices and burnt offerings (i.e., tithing) and instead sacrifice "a broken heart and a contrite spirit" (3 Nephi 9:19-20).

   Oh well.  I guess we like keeping it "old school."

​Tithing Settlement

And a wire basket piled high with chicken eggs:
little ones not much bigger than a robin’s
treasure.  Average ones, too, spotted brown
coated with fine feather down.  So many shells
have cracked from the weight.
Shall I deduct those?

And alfalfa left too long in the field,
cut just before a late wash in the rain
making a poor yield.  Tried leaving the wilted
leaves in the sun to dry out the mold
but it was all in vain. 

And my family’s horse, which pulled
faithfully all these years.  He is spavined
and mostly lame now.  The grandchildren
learned to ride on his sturdy back, fifteen hands
tall.  Take the saddle, tack: you may have it all
to satisfy the law.  

I won’t be needing a receipt.
Only
leave a little grain, some wheat
to plant in yonder plot where I can grow
old, and thresh upon Araunah’s floor
as my eyes close, feeling the seed
fall between my fingers.
If you take even this
I will have
nothing
left to
sow.

  ********

. . . I just hope there isn't a sequel.

The Truman Show

We've all been living in a sort of Truman Show, haven't we?

For those of you who haven't seen the movie, ​here's a recap (SPOILER ALERT):

At birth, Truman is legally adopted by a major television network to be the unknowing star of a television series, in which his entire life is watched by an audience of millions through an intricate series of hidden cameras.

Everyone participating in this created world is an actor except for Truman himself. Truman is the only “authentic” person in this constructed world; even his mother, father, and wife are paid actors/actresses.

Throughout his entire life, the television network is on a continual mission to keep Truman in ignorance of his situation through the manipulation of his environment.

The film follows Truman’s eventual realization of the true nature of his reality and his dramatic escape from the artificial world.

(http://www.philfilms.utm.edu/1/truman.htm)

Fake News

Years ago I stumbled across something that flipped my paradigm.  It was life-altering (kind of like when Truman realized he was living in a Studio Set rather than the real world).

You see, during my youth and my missionary years, I had been told that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was going to build Zion. 

. . . I had been taught that the Church was the "stone cut out of the mountain" and that "no unhallowed hand" could stop the work from progressing.  

. . . People said we'd follow the Prophet's call when it was time to return to Jackson County.  

. . . I understood that the early saints had missed their chance to see the New Jerusalem, but maybe this generation of members would succeed where our ancestors had not. 

Well, guess what?  

    That's all wrong.​

Not the Main Show?

So, you're probably wondering what I learned that changed my outlook so dramatically.

I was reading in 3 Nephi and . . . well, I'll let the Savior speak for Himself:

​   But if they [the Gentiles] will repent
   and hearken unto my words,
   and harden not their hearts,
   I will establish my church
   among them, and they shall come
   in unto the covenant
   and be numbered among this
   the remnant of Jacob,
   unto whom I have given this land
   for their inheritance;

   And they [the Gentiles]
   shall assist my people,
   the remnant of Jacob,
   and also as many of the house of Israel
   as shall come, that they may build
   a city, which shall be called
   the New Jerusalem.

   And then shall they assist my people
   that they may be gathered in,
   who are scattered
   upon all the face of the land,
   in unto the New Jerusalem.

(3 Nephi 21:22-24)

Did we catch that?!
   
   Q No. 1:  Who does the Lord call "my people?"

   A:  The remnant of Jacob (not the Latter-day Saints).

   Q No. 2:  Are the Latter-day Saint Gentiles in charge of building the New Jerusalem?

   A:  No, the Lord promised that the New Jerusalem will be built by the remnant of Jacob.

   Q No. 3:  So what is the role of the Latter-day Gentiles in the building of Zion?

   A:  Our role is to "assist" the remnant of Jacob.   

   Q No. 4:  Will all Latter-day Gentiles be able to assist?

   A:  No, only those who have:
   
      1.  Hearkened to the voice of the Lord; and

      2.  Not hardened their hearts; and

      3.  Been numbered among the remnant of Jacob.

What Does This All Mean?

​   1.  We're not the main show.  We're the opening act.  We're playing on stage warming up the crowd.  That's right ― the crowd that came to see the headlining band play (which is not going to be us!).
​
   2.  It was never the job of the Church to build Zion (which explains a lot, since we haven't been able to).

   3.  The mission of the Church was to bring the gospel to the "remnant of Jacob" (i.e., Lamanites).  They're the ones who will build the New Jerusalem.

   4.  Everything that has occurred since 1820 in the Restoration has been prelude to the main event.  We're the stage hands.

   5.  The Latter-day Gentiles, for all of our money, status, and keys, will not be in charge.  The irony!  If we're "numbered among the remnant of Jacob" we'll get to "assist." 

(So we better humble ourselves because we're going to be second string, the junior varsity, the water boys, the assistants to the president.)

​It's All Greek to Me

Can anyone explain to me what, exactly, is meant when we call someone a "gentile?"  

​   Am I one?  Are you?

According to the Encyclopedia Britannica:

"Gentile" is a person who is not Jewish.  The word stems from the Hebrew term goy, which means a “nation."  The Latin versions of the Bible translated goyim as gentes (singular gens) or gentiles.

Is it Good or Bad to be a Gentile?

Our spiritual standing (whether we're repenting) is more important than our ethnic heritage.  But sometimes we might wonder if we want to be numbered with the gentiles?  

Well, let's see what the Lord said on the subject:

   Blessed are the Gentiles,
   because of their belief in me,
   in and of the Holy Ghost,
   which witnesses unto them
   of me and of the Father.

(3 Nephi 16:6)

Okay, I want to highlight two things:

   1.  It's pretty awesome, isn't it, that the Lord pronounces a formal blessing on the gentiles who believe in Him!  It is like He's speaking a new Beatitude.  

   2.  Also notice this: our belief in Christ comes "in and of the Holy Ghost."  (This will become important later.)

Casting Characters in the Book of Mormon

Don't get me started on casting directors choosing actors to portray characters from the Book of Mormon.

I remember going to see the Book of Mormon movie and thinking the audition for the part of Nephi went something like this:

Casting Director:  Okay, take off your shirt.

Actor:  [Takes off shirt]

Casting Director:  Okay, you've got good pecs and abs.  You've got the role.

Yup.  I can just imagine the most faithful, orthodox Jew you've ever met washing his car without his shirt on.  

4 Groups in the Book of Mormon

There are four main groups of people in the Book of Mormon (we're not taking about Jaredites, so put them aside for now).

   1.  The Jews (living in the environs of Israel);

   2.  The Lost Tribes of Israel (living in the nethermost parts of the vineyard);

   3.  The descendants of Lehi and Ishmael (living somewhere in the promised land); and

   4.  The Gentiles (everyone else).

Which group do members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints belong to?

   Well, let's ask Joseph Smith!

Joseph Smith:

   Now these words, O Lord,
   we have spoken before thee,
   concerning the revelations and
   commandments which thou hast given
   unto us, who are
   identified with
   the Gentiles.

(D&C 109:60)

[Did we catch that?  Regardless of blood lineage, we are "IDENTIFIED. WITH. THE. GENTILES."]

What's Up With the Gentiles?

When I was a new missionary in Paris, I made a rookie mistake.  Being unfamiliar with the language, after a meal at a member's home I said, patting my stomach, "Je suis plein." ("I am full.")

Well, this is a common mistranslation.  While "plein" does mean "full," the phrase "je suis plein" is a vulgar way of saying, "I'm pregnant."

   Hilarious embarrassment ensured.

Why do I share this random anecdote?  Because we need to talk about what it means for the Gentiles to be plein, or "full."

Fulness of the Gentiles

What is the "fulness of the Gentiles" referring to?  

It must be something important, because when the angel appeared to Joseph Smith in 1823, he said that "the fulness of the Gentiles was soon to come in" (JS-H 1:41).

At the risk of oversimplifying things, for now let's say that the "fulness of the Gentiles" refers to two major world events, beginning with #1 and ending with #2:

   1.  When the Gentiles receive a "fulness" of the gospel; and

   2.  When the Gentiles commit a "fulness" of sin and reject the gospel.

This has to do with the whole "last shall be first, and the first shall be last" thing (1 Nephi 13:42).

Last Shall Be First:  The Gentiles Receive a Fulness of the Gospel . . . and Reject It

​   1.  The gospel came to the Gentiles when Peter baptized Cornelius (Acts 10).  

   2.  In 1823 the "fulness of the Gentiles" was about to come in (JS-H 1:41), referring to the fulness of the gospel as well as the fulness of the Gentile sins.

   3.  The Times of the Gentiles shall be fulfilled when, after having received a fulness of the gospel, "they receive it not . . . and turn their hearts from me because of the precepts of men" (D&C 45:28-29).

   4.  When the Gentiles sin against the gospel, and reject the fulness of the gospel, then the Father "will bring the fulness of my gospel from among them" (3 Nephi 16:10).

   5.  Then shall the Times of the Gentiles be fulfilled, and the Lord promises that "I must bring forth the fulness of my gospel from the Gentiles unto the house of Israel" (D&C 14:10).

Question:  Who are these "Gentiles" who have received the fulness of the gospel and then turn their hearts from Christ because of the precepts of men?  

Answer:  We are!  These prophecies are given to, and are about, the Latter-day Gentiles who call themselves members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Where is Hope for Zion?

In a way, everything I have written has been to address the question, "Why have we been unable to build Zion after 200 years of trying?"

But what is my motivation?  Why do I care about Zion?  Why can't I just be happy with the status-quo?

One word:

   Hope.

I am filled with hope in the Holy One of Israel.  I have hope to be numbered among the remnant of Jacob and I hold onto hope that we may yet become precious to each other as brothers and sisters, as equals, in order to preserve the Lord's fruit at the End Harvest.

Where does all this "hope" come from?

Love Hope

The title of this Series comes from 4th Nephi where we read about the Nephite "Zion."

My favorite verse from it is:

   And there was no contention
   in the land, because of the love
   of God which did dwell in the hearts
   of the people.

(4 Nephi 1:15)

Notice that this love "dwells" in us.  It is not a guest.  It takes up its abode.  It possesses us.

Mormon said that "whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him" (Moroni 7:47). 

The idea of being “possessed” by charity is interesting: it is an adjective that we usually associate with a negative connotation (such as when I say, “Are you possessed?!”).

But in this case, we are possessed not by an evil spirit, but by the spirit of love.  

Are we a people possessed by love?

I think not.  Else we would have already established Zion, right?

Charity and Contention Are Opposites

What is the opposite of charity?  Is it contention?

True, perfect love casteth out all fear.  But isn't contention the product of fear?

There is no fear in love because there is nothing love won't sacrifice.

In other words, all fear stems from anticipated loss.  We fear death because it is the loss of life (when it is not); we fear divorce because it is the loss of family (when it is not); we fear change because it is the loss of things we hold dear (when it is not); we fear tomorrow because it is the loss of control (when it is not); we fear giving up our money and power because it is the loss of our status (when it is not).

Okay, we get the idea: Jesus came to show us there is NOTHING to fear.  Nothing.

This was the message, the promise, declared at Christ's birth!

   Fear not:
   for, behold,
   I bring you good tidings
   of great joy,
   which shall be to all people.

   For unto you is born this day
   in the city of David a Saviour,
   which is Christ the Lord.

(Luke 2:10-11)

There is no fear in Christ; Christ casteth out all fear. 

Because in love, or in other words, in Christ, everything is sacrificed but nothing is truly lost.

Authority and Love

I think we all understand that Leaders cannot produce unity from the pulpit.  Unity cannot be socially engineered.  It cannot be imposed. 

Authority figures are incapable of making us "one."  

Only charity has the ability to unite our hearts.  

   Why?

Where Does Authority Come From?

The point I want to make is subtle:

   1.  We do not honor those who have authority.  We honor those who love us with authority.

   2.  Authority does not attach to an office or title because authority belongs to the people, not the leaders!

   3.  The people, who hold all authority, choose to give authority to those who have demonstrated their genuine love.

   4.  Any authority held by leaders is only held in trust for the people who reposed it in them in the first place.

   5.  Any leader who assumes greater authority than that bestowed by the people has breached their trust and has become a tyrant.

   6.  Therefore, when any leader acts unlovingly, the people have the right to reclaim the authority which they gave to that leader, rendering that leader's authority null and void.

(This is what the Declaration of the Independence was all about.  And if we hold our political leaders to this standard, imagine what a higher standard the Lord must hold the church leaders!)

Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government. . . . But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government.

Authority and Contention

   FACT:  The Devil is the "father of contention" (3 Nephi 11:29).

   FACT:  Jesus wants us to "lay down [our] contentions and establish peace" (2 Nephi 3:12).

But how?  How do we get rid of contention?  

In order to answer that question, we have to identify the source of contention (besides, you know, Satan).

What causes contention?

Here's an idea: what if contention was the friction caused by two opposed parties seeking to control the other?

Let me repeat:  Contention is the friction formed when two opposing parties seek to control the other.

There is no contention in love because love is inherently uncontrolling.  

You may want to control my idea of right or wrong; you may want to control how I dress; you may want to control who I marry; you may want to control what I believe; you may want to control the things I say . . . . 

In a perverse way, we see that authoritarian religions cause contention(!) by practicing priestcraft.  

Contention is the byproduct of control.

And we only seek to control others because we fear.  

What is Really "Polluting" Our Religion?

​In Part 4 of "Complications of Temple Worthiness,"  I asked, "How do we pollute the house of the Lord?"

I want to suggest that the most poisonous and noxious pollution is not individual sin but our collective use of force, control and compulsion upon the souls of the children of men (which extinguishes the authority of the priesthood).

Talk about straining at a gnat but swallowing a camel!  We are so worried over things like what bathroom transgendered people use that we ignore the fact that our house is on fire, being consumed in the flames of control,  compulsion and unrighteous dominion! 

Our efforts to enforce moral boundaries are hypocritical when we we use devices that are antithetical to Christ's gospel, which relies foremost on our protection of agency against force, control and compulsion. 

Why haven't we learned that the only means at our disposal are "persuasion, long-suffering, gentleness, meekness, and love unfeigned" (D&C 121:41)?  Why do we keep falling into the snare that teaches it is okay to build Christ's kingdom using the Devil's tools?

In other words, we have proven by decades of experience that we are incapable of building Zion because we're too addicted to the kind of authority that stems from force, control and compulsion.

Whenever a society is structured around priesthood "authority" that seeks to exercise control and dominion, rather than around the authority that flows freely and uncontrollingly from charity, that society is doomed.

Conclusion

Why haven't we built Zion?  Because we have not learned this lesson: that authority is secondary to, and only a byproduct of, love.

Status is the gigantic elephant in the room.  A hierarchy that jealously protects its status is the problem. 

The solution?  The genuine equality that can only arise from pure love.

Will the Correct Way to Judge Please Stand?

Is discerning hard?  Is it difficult to tell truth from error? 

   Not according to Mormon.

Mormon is a Rock Star.  He's my scriptural crush.  He's got some amazing physical and spiritual muscles, to be sure.  Call me a fanboy.

Here is what a true prophet of God teaches:

   It is given unto you to judge,
   that ye may know good from evil;
   and the way to judge is as plain,
   that ye may know with a perfect knowledge,
   as the daylight is from the dark night.

(Moroni 7:15)

Okay, so here we see that:

   (1) We can judge good from evil (since we're not judging people);

   (2) Discerning good from evil is "plain," so this isn't rocket science;

   (3) It's crystal clear what is good or evil; we're not guessing; we can know with "a perfect knowledge";

   (4)  If you can look out the window and can tell whether it is day or night, you can know good from evil. 

   It's that easy.

Mormon's Secret Sauce

So what's the secret?  What is the secret sauce that allows us to know all these things?  

Is it the Brethren?  Our leaders?  Our parents?  Our teachers?  Our priests?  Our Magic 8 Ball?

   Nope.  It's Christ.

   For behold, the Spirit of Christ
   is given to every man,
   that he may know
   good from evil.

(Moroni 7:16)

If you want a second witness, just remember the most-quoted verse in the Book of Mormon:

   And by the power of the Holy Ghost
   ye may know the truth
   of all things.

(Moroni 10:5)

If we want to judge truly, then we'll have to rely upon the Spirit of Christ and the Holy Ghost more than we do on the precepts of men mingled with scripture, right?

Sure, we can still listen to each other; we can listen to General Conference; we can study Freud and Nietzsche; we can read the apocrypha and pseudepigrapha; we can absorb information from any source . . . but we tell whether it is "good" or "evil" or "true" based upon:

   THE SPIRIT.  Period.  Full Stop.  

(See what the Lord says in D&C 91 about such things.  Very enlightening.)

   And now, my brethren,
   seeing that ye know
   the light by which ye may judge,
   which light is the light of Christ,
   see that ye do not judge wrongfully.

(Moroni 7:18)

Umm.  How are we "judging wrongfully?"

   By judging using some standard other than Christ.

Deny the Holy Ghost?

The "wrong way" is to gullibly swallow up anything and everything an authority figure tells us without proving (testing) it by the Spirit within us.

But what happens when the "priesthood" is used unrighteously?

Nephi told us to expect exactly what we're seeing today:

   Their priests shall contend
   one with another,
   and they shall teach
   with their learning,
   and deny the Holy Ghost,
   which giveth utterance.

(2 Nephi 28:4)​

How do we "deny the Holy Ghost which giveth utterance?" 

   Well, it's easy! 

   By making the priesthood an iron yoke, a tool of control and unrighteous dominion. 
 
   By conditioning people to obey priesthood keys over internal whisperings of the Holy Ghost and Spirit of Christ. 

   Bait and switch, Baby! 

But why would leaders be afraid of the Holy Ghost and allowing the membership to exercise their birthrights? 

Why do leaders lead us away from the light of Christ and attempt to make us dependent upon their counsel?  

   - Because the Spirit destroys their priestcraft and reveals the "evil" found in Anti-Christ doctrines, teachings and practices (which are all around us).

   - Because the fulness of the Holy Ghost cannot be controlled or patrolled by leadership since it is the gift given to all of Christ’s children.

In other words, it takes away their power and priesthoods (is this why leaders, like Satan before them, want us to follow them and to rely upon their power to save us rather than upon the mercies of Christ?).

"The Fulness of the Holy Ghost"

No worries!  We have something better than any priesthood office or priesthood key.

We've all heard about the "fulness of the priesthood," haven't we? Yup.  

But here's the surprising thing: why haven't we heard about the "fulness of the Holy Ghost" (D&C 109:15)?

Both men and women can attain to the "fulness of the Holy Ghost" (no Second Anointing required).

​Back in 1836, in connection with the Kirtland Temple, Joseph Smith said in his Dedicatory Prayer:

   And that they may grow up
   in thee, and receive
   a fulness of the Holy Ghost,
   and be organized according to thy laws,
   and be prepared to obtain
   every needful thing.

(D&C 109:15)

You see, Joseph Smith did not say the temple was for restoring the fulness of the priesthood.  No, the temple was to restore the fulness of the Holy Ghost! 

Does this remind us of what the Lord called the "oil" in the lamps of the wise virgins?

   For they that are wise
   and have received the truth
   and have taken the Holy Spirit
   for their guide,
   and have not been deceived.

(D&C 45:57)

So the scriptures plainly teach that we are to:

   (1) judge, and
   (2) be led
   (3) by . . . 

   The Holy Spirit.

*Sigh*  Why is it in 2021, almost 200 years later, that we still have not accepted the truth and power of the following words? 

Jacob said:

   My beloved brethren,
   come unto the Lord, the Holy One.

   Remember that his paths
   are righteous.

   And the keeper of the gate
   is the Holy One of Israel;

   and he employeth
   no servant there;

   and there is none other way
   save it be by the gate;

   for he cannot be deceived,
   for the Lord God is his name.

(2 Nephi 9:41)

Baby Blessing

Four weeks later, I attended Church for my first time. 

On April 8, 1979, my father gave me a baby blessing in Sacrament Meeting.  He was joined in the circle by his friend Roger McGrady, Bishop Ashcraft and his counselor Ralph Freeman, and by our home teacher, Phil Mallory.  The two full time elders also joined us, Elders Rhodes and Neeld.

I don't remember any of this, of course.  But my father always kept a detailed journal.  And on this day, he wrote:

"Timothy is one of the noble and valiant sons of our Heavenly Father [I probably blushed hearing that] who . . . studied the gospel principles for thousands of years prior to his coming [yikes! no wonder I slept so much as a baby; I must have been exhausted] to be prepared. . . . I blessed him with the power of discernment to know right from wrong and to have the desire to choose the right. . . . I blessed him with a strong voice to call to repentance the Lord's people and with the power of testimony to confound the enemies of the Lord's people."

The Point

I did not realize until much later who the most dangerous "enemies" to the Lord's people are.  Now I know that the greatest threat to the Lord's people comes not from without, but from within.

Time to Speak Up

All of us can speak with the tongue of angels. 

We all have a divine message to share if we give voice to the Holy Spirit within us.

Lately I have observed many people "awakening" to the Spirit of Christ.  Together we are flooding the earth with our voices declaring "the word of God, one with another, without money and without price" (Alma 1:20).

Like Amos, I can say:

   I was no prophet,
   neither was I
   a prophet’s son;
   but I was an [attorney],
   and a gatherer of [Marvel Comics]:

   And the Lord took me
   as I followed the [Brethren],
   and the Lord said unto me,
   Go, prophesy
   unto my people
   Israel.

(Amos 7:14-15)

Ever since, I've been trying to declare the good news of the gospel.  I've been trying to call the Lord's people to repent. 

Before the fullness of the times of the Gentiles is fulfilled.

What Message Does the Lord Want Me to Share?

There are many ways to express our faith in Christ.  For me, one of the things I want to share is Christ's pure love, or charity.

I want us to appreciate that authority derives from love and not(!) from priesthood office.

But, in consequence of men valuing power and control over love and sacrifice, we have created a system that is backwards, rewarding us with the spoils of Babylon and causing us to think we're rich when in fact we're dead broke.

We can sense a "nothingness" coming from a religious system that does not act according to charity's commandment.

   My beloved brethren,
   if ye have not charity,
   ye are nothing.

(Moroni 7:46)

When we all sense this "nothingness," why would we follow it?  Why would we follow leaders who do not produce the fruits of love?

   Beware of false prophets,
   who come to you
   in sheep’s clothing,
   but inwardly they are
   ravening wolves.

   Ye shall know them
   by their fruits.

(3 Nephi 14:15-16)

Why do we honor those who demonstrate by their actions that they value pride, status, wealth and idolatry over love and sacrifice?

Why have we fashioned a Church of, by, and for Pharisees, having replaced following Christ with following the Brethren?​

Feel Discouraged?  Some Advice

Sometimes I feel discouraged as I've tried my best to declare the word of God.  I have found it is not always well received, even (especially) among members of the Church. 

What if nothing I write changes anything?  What if the leaders and members don't want to leave behind their carnal security and idolatry?

Well, something the Lord has told me helps me press forward:

We just need to warn our neighbors and trust in Him.

You see, it is not up to us how others react.  We can't force anyone else to repent.

But we can raise our voice in the celestial chorus that is flooding the earth right now: the voice of Christ calling to his children, his sheep, through thousands of us singing His words.

   And they will recognize His voice.

   Let your preaching
   be the warning voice,
   every man to his neighbor,
   in mildness and in meekness.

(D&C 38:41)

We don't have to run faster than we have strength.  All the Lord asks is that we warn our friends and family and neighbors.  No running required. 

   Just walk. 

Walking in mildness and meekness, we can invite them to leave behind the Great and Spacious Building, the pride that ties us to dead laws and imperfect men, and come unto Christ. . . and live!

   I sent you out to testify
   and warn the people,
   and it becometh every man
   who hath been warned
   to warn his neighbor.

(D&C 88:81)

And so my dear friends, family, and neighbors, I invite you to behold God with an eye single to His glory, to experience the freedom purchased us in and by Christ Jesus, and live!

   Follow love.

   Follow the Holy Spirit.

   Follow the fruit.

   Follow Christ.

So we will not have to follow the "nothingness" anymore.