Discerning the Signs and Anti-Signs: Part 5

10/16/2023

Part 1: Discerning the Signs and Anti-Signs
Part 2: Discerning the Signs and Anti-Signs
Part 3: Discerning the Signs and Anti-Signs
Part 4: Discerning the Signs and Anti-Signs

"Will the Anti-Christ Please Stand Up"

I am driving some of you crazy by going so slowly in our treatment of discernment; why not jump ahead to the juicy bits? I can hear Miss Daisy in the back, "Pedal to the metal, mister!"

"Tim, when are you going to get to the Anti-Christ and his anti-signs? Show us goats' blood! Introduce us to the Beast! We're tired of this tedious doctrinal mush. And what in the world does death have to do with the gift of discernment?!"

Patience, we are getting there. We might even find that death plays an important role in the gift of discernment (when you see it, you can decide whether there's any method to my madness). Then, when we encounter the Man of Lawlessness, we shall be better prepared for it.

But there are a couple of things we need to cover first, you adorable eschatological junkies. Discernment will help us navigate a future that appears perilous to the faith of many, as Christ forewarned:

For there shall arise
false prophets . . .
insomuch that,
if it were possible,
they shall deceive
the very elect.

(Matt. 24:24)

Yikes!

The "very elect"? Why do the elect have so much trouble discerning true prophets from false ones ― I mean, if anyone should be able to tell them apart, shouldn't it be the elect?

"Beware the Leaven of the Pharisees"

Several years ago I took my family to Disneyland and became hangry.

We had ridden Splash Mountain and it was well past my lunchtime. I could have used a nap, too. My stomach growled unhappily. The nearest food was located at the Hungry Bear café in Frontierland.

Dripping wet, hungry, exhausted, and appalled at the exorbitant prices being charged for chicken strips and onion rings, I sat down at a picnic table to eat with my wife and children.

Tasting the food, I couldn't even swallow it: it was cold and dry.

That was the last straw. I sat there and sulked. I pouted. I fumed. The experience has become enshrined in my children's memory (who now call the restaurant "Hangry Bear" in honor of my meltdown). To make sure I never forget the occasion, they gave me an enamel pin that hangs in my study showing a bear holding the word "HANGRY".

Jesus was far too meek to ever become hangry (although He never had to endure Disneyland with a gaggle of youngsters, so).

The closest the Lord ever got to becoming hangry, I think, was with His disciples in Matthew 16.

The Pharisees and Sadducees had asked him earlier for a sign from heaven (and nothing makes a person ornery like a bunch of sign-seekers).

Christ gave them the sign of Jonah (Matt. 16:4) and abruptly took off as fast as He could. He traveled to the opposite side of the Sea of Galilee and his disciples followed.

But the disciples had forgotten to bring lunch. "You had one job!" Jesus didn't scold them, though; He just said:

Take heed and beware
of the leaven
of the Pharisees.

(Matt. 16:6)

Well, the disciples whispered to each other without a clue as to what was going on. They said to themselves, "It is because we have taken no bread" (Matt. 16:7).

But Jesus overheard them; I can see Him rolling His eyes (is that something mortal Messiahs are allowed to do?), and then He does scold them.

But He didn't scold them for forgetting to bring food, empty stomach notwithstanding, but for their lack of faith and understanding.

After all, He told them, did they not see him feed the five thousand with a few loaves of bread? Here's a man who can fast for forty days; He'll be okay skipping lunch.

O ye of little faith . . .
How is it that ye do not
understand that I spake it
not to you concerning bread,
but that ye should beware
of the leaven
of the Pharisees?

(Matt. 16:11)

All of the sudden the disciples have an epiphany. Something clicks and they understand, finally, what the Lord was saying. He wasn't talking about bread at all, but about doctrine.

Then understood they
that he bade them not
beware of the leaven
of bread, but of
the doctrine
of the Pharisees.

(Matt. 16:11)

What is "the doctrine" of the Pharisees? Would we be able to spot it? How good is our discernment?

Does Christ care about doctrine?

You bet He does.

Does Christ care when religious leaders preach the leaven of false doctrine, which promotes unbelief?

You bet He does.

Discerning the Leaven of the Pharisees: A Modern Case Study

What is leaven? Yeast. What does it do? It makes things grow bigger. When I make dinner rolls, after the dough rises in the greased bowl, my boys love to punch it down with their fists before I knead and shape it; what had filled a gigantic bowl becomes a small ball I can hold in my hand.

The Lord's use of "leaven" as a metaphor in relation to the Pharisees (who were oh-so-obedient) is so apt: they were puffed up. Their doctrine reflected it. The Pharisees were obsessed with their "righteous" works (which, for the record, did not yield faith in Christ).

But the interesting thing about His use of "leaven" was its relationship to the Passover. Remember the Seder meal, when the Jews had to eat UN-leavened bread? What does that tell us?

Does it imply that our salvation comes not through our own "yeast" and efforts ("The Lord loves effort" = *divine eye roll; see Eph. 2:9)?

How do we sprinkle leaven into our doctrine in the Church today? What is the "Covenant Path" but rapid-rise yeast mixed with sugar and warm water? We can all see the bubbling in the bowl.

Anyway, I thought it would be fun to use what we've learned about discernment and apply it to President Nelson's recent General Conference address, "Think Celestial."

Because President Nelson fell recently, injuring his back, he wasn't able to speak in the October 2023 General Conference. Instead, he delivered a pre-recorded message.

In his talk, "Think Celestial," President Nelson said, "Mortality is a master class in learning to choose the things of greatest eternal import."

Wonderful, I thought! That's true. We're off to a great start. And this notion goes along swimmingly with this Series' subject: choosing.

But things got rocky after that.

"Think Celestial" = "Think Telestial"?

President Nelson reminded us that in his first message as President of the Church he encouraged us to "make the celestial kingdom your eternal goal" and to "begin with the end in mind." Okay, sounds fine, I guess. He continues we should "carefully consider where each of your decisions while here on earth will place you in the next world."

Very prudent and reasonable. So what's "off"? Something is askew. Let's use our gift of discernment.

President Nelson continued, "Any addiction—be it gaming, gambling, debt, drugs, alcohol, anger, pornography, sex, or even food—offends God."

(Uh, food? This is where I start feeling guilty about the bag of Hostess powdered donuts I just polished off.)

May I ask: why does President Nelson believe God is so easily offended by conduct that he deems sinful?

This is a tad bit ironic since Elder Bednar taught us that being offended is a choice in his talk (appropriately titled) "And Nothing Shall Offend Them".

But God? President Nelson's message could be called, "And Just About Everything Offends Him."

Really though? Is this the God you know? Is this the God of heaven and earth, the Creator of all things, who gets offended when we use the term "Mormon"?

"If we allow nicknames to be used or adopt or even sponsor these nicknames ourselves, He is offended." (President Nelson, "The Correct Name of the Church", emphasis added).

(Sorry Melchizedek Priesthood; you're a nickname; so now we'll have to refer to you as the Holy Priesthood After the Order of the Son of God. Wait, what was that? God said NOT to call it by His name in D&C 107:4?)

Why is President Nelson so preoccupied with behavior? Why is he concerned about us offending God (when God seems far more concerned with us offending His little ones, see Matt. 18:6)?

A Covenant with Death

The drama over using the word "Mormon" ― and the repeated emphasis the leaders have placed upon it (there was another talk devoted to it during this Conference) ― underscores where the heart and mind of the Brethren are.

In reality, nothing offends God, except, I guess, the times we are willfully blind and deaf (see D&C 59:21).

Can anyone explain why the President of the Church is preaching an Offended God? A Conditional God (remember when he taught that God's love is conditional back in 2003 in "Divine Love")?

What happens to our faith when the leaders spread leaven into the loaf, telling us, "If there is anything in your behavior or environment that offends the Holy Spirit, then the heavens withdraw themselves" (President Nelson, "What We Are Learning and Will Never Forget")? When the leaders insinuate we shall have broken families and "TK Smoothies" (i.e., sexless bodies) in the hereafter because someone drank coffee?

Take time to ponder this. What is Headquarters teaching us? What truth (or untruth) does their message carry? What are its implications?

Most importantly, where is the focus being placed? In what (or whom) are they telling us to repose our trust?

Surprise! Lucky for us, no other than Elder Renlund (of "prophetic prerogative" fame) answers these questions explicitly.

In his talk "Jesus Christ is the Treasure" (so far, so good), he counsels us to not "look beyond the mark" ― and then he goes on (I kid you not) to say:

"When we trust God’s prophet [who?] on the earth today and act on his counsel [whose?], we will find happiness, and we too can be healed [by whom?]. We need to look no further."

That statement beautifully summarizes the problem perfectly. The members of the Church are being told to "look no further" than the Prophet.

And what is the Prophet teaching? Moralistic living as a substitute for the gospel of Jesus Christ.

"Nevermind Lord, we all good with this leaven, yo."

8 Comments

David

10/16/2023 08:21:49 pm

When I imagine an Antichrist Grima Wormtongue comes to mind. He was a spy for Saruman, furtively poisoning the ear of the king of Rohan. Is that not what we have today? We have GA's furtively poisoning the ears of the members of the Church telling them to "look no further" than the Prophet - a prophet who who boasts in his autobiography about his membership in a secret society commonly known as the Skull & Bones. For those who don't know - the Skull and Bones, is also known as The Order, Order 322 or The Brotherhood of Death. To not look further unto Christ is death. And those who who teach otherwise are Antichrist.

Tim Merrill

10/19/2023 10:54:37 am

David, the Lord of the Rings is my favorite movie! I read the book 20 years ago but have seen the movies a dozen times or more. The musical score by Howard Shore was inspired.

I recall reading somewhere that J.R. Tolkien told C.S. Lewis that myth was a superior vehicle to expository writing for conveying truth. I think the Lord of the Rings teaches principles of sacrifice, friendship, hope, duty, and more, far better than anything I could say about them.

My one-and-only attempt at creating a meme was with the king of Rohan and Gandalf trying to cast out Grima's poison. I can't paste the picture in this comment, but it's posted here:

https://www.owlofthedesert.com/blog/in-the-mouths-of-two-or-three-witnesses-part-2

To quote Eomer, "There is trouble now on all our borders, and we are threatened; but we desire only to be free, and to live as we have lived, keeping our own, and serving no foreign lord."

This series, I hope, will point to the banner of freedom that is held by Christ's true followers.

Ruth

10/17/2023 07:14:41 am

I never read that from Elder Renlund before. That hurts my heart. I pray people have eyes and ears to see this! And I never realized Nelson focus’ so much on behavior, you’re right! His wife wrote a children’s a book a few years ago called, “Not Even Once” and it was about never making a mistake even once. Sounds like they both have the perfection itch.

10/17/2023 07:17:58 am

https://www.amazon.com/Not-Even-Once-Club/dp/1609073371/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=FYKYXHJLPBIR&keywords=not+even+once+club&qid=1697548632&sprefix=not+even+once%2Caps%2C122&sr=8-1

“Not Even Once Club” by Wendy Nelson

10/19/2023 11:09:37 am

Thanks Ruth. I haven't read the Not Even Once Club, but its message sounds absolutely chilling. In fact, it is the opposite of the spirit of compassion that we find in the Savior.

This morning I read a post on Exponent II that made me view compassion in a new light:

https://exponentii.org/blog/physical-therapy-for-the-body-of-christ-healing-the-wounds-of-general-conference

The author wrote about going to physical therapy for a back injury and how mean she was to her own body over the pain (you have to read the whole thing to get the gist), saying, "When my left leg drags, I insult it by calling it a lazy learner. When my arms and hands shake, I chastise them by calling them unruly children. When my back aches, I tell it that it can’t be trusted, and I won’t be receiving counsel from it."

As I concluded reading her essay, I realized that the spirit of compassion is largely absent from the Church and the world at large; perhaps it is a sign that the love of men and women is waxing cold?

My youth went to "standards night" and I wonder if it is counter-productive to be instructing them in "standards" rather than in love and repentance. But the real risk, I think, is that our obsession with "righteous" behavior creates a culture of cover-ups, lying, and shame. In a Church culture where we are so conscious of being "good" (and yet, are human), we wear painted faces instead of our authentic ones, burying our burdens like dead bodies in our gardens and planting flowers on top hoping to forget the reality of what lies beneath.

So, thank you for your compassion. It is a rare thing these days! Tim

10/19/2023 08:40:11 am

Great point Ruth.

Here is a summary of the story as posted in the Amazon reviews.

Once upon a time there was a group of people who wanted to be better than everybody else. They forgot about weightier matters of the law such as love, humility, and Grace and began looking beyond the mark.

They decided to form a club, an elite group of people who were better than the rest, detached and separate. They called themselves the prushim (pharisee) because they were superior to lesser mortals.

In order to meet where nobody else could meet they build a Great and Spacious Tree house, up above the other people where only the select few could meet.

They decided to name the Great and Spacious Tree House, Rameumptom, and whenever they would gather there they would talk about how thankful they were that there was nobody else like them and how thankful they were that they didn't believe in the Grace of Christ.

10/19/2023 11:13:13 am

Ouch. Satire speaks the truth, doesn't it! Thanks David for sharing this gem. Tim

10/19/2023 07:36:03 pm

Satire aside, creating a culture of guilt is a malicious and abusive control tactic. I earned my discernment the hard way in being able to recognize this tactic utilized by narcissists and sociopaths. And, it is sickening to see this tactic being used on the innocent. Jesus states, “It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones” (Luke 17:2).

The antichrists teach an antigospel of guilt and fear to control and enslave.

Discerning the Signs and Anti-Signs: Part 5

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Discerning the Signs and Anti-Signs: Part 5

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