"Lord, to whom shall we go?" Charting the Course of the Church from Here to the Second Coming: Part 15

"One Cumorah, Two Cumorah . . . Three Cumorah Pie"

We started this Series in July!  Can you believe it? 

So let's recap what we've covered thus far:

   1.  In the previous Series, "The Church Began to Be Broken Up," we saw how the the scriptures foretold the Church would fracture and be broken up (which we've seen in church history and are witnessing even at the present time) just as it did among the Nephites, when "the church had begun to dwindle; and they began to disbelieve in the spirit of prophecy and in the spirit of revelation; and the judgments of God did stare them in the face" (Helaman 4:23).

   2.  With the decline of the Church, this Series posed the question, Where will members of the Church go when they can no longer rely on the institution?  Who will lead us?  Who will tell us what to do?

   3.  The Lord has new wine and he cannot use old bottles (you know, like, maybe, an authoritarian church organization?).  His new wine will be poured into the body of Zion.

   4.  In order to make room for Zion, the Lord must clear the hierarchy off the board in order for His church (the people, not the organization) to learn how to "govern themselves" ― which will NEVER happen so long as we remain dependent upon leadership.

   5.  The sifting has begun, but not in the way we expected.  What if . . . what if the sifting was never about the tares leaving the Church, but the wheat (!). 

   Huh?

Is it possible the wheat are first "cast out" of the church by their leaders and/or gathered out by the angels?

Does this mean the tares are those who remain?

   Let the wheat and the tares
   grow together until the harvest
   is fully ripe; then ye shall
   first gather out the wheat
   from among the tares,
   and after the gathering of the wheat,
   behold and lo, the tares are bound
   in bundles, and the field remaineth
   to be burned.

(D&C 86:7)

Is this saying the tares are those who stay behind, who "choke the wheat and drive the church into the wilderness" (D&C 86:3) from their castles of carnal security?

   6.  What qualifies us to be citizens of Zion?  What blessing do we receive when we are "pure in heart?"  Zion is comprised of those who are able to endure the presence of the Lord without burning up like a box of Cornflakes doused in kerosene.

   And Enoch
   and all his people
   walked with God,
   and he dwelt
   in the midst of Zion.

(Moses 7:69)

See, in Zion there is no spiritual "elite." 

   Why?

Because no one has "special access" to God more than anyone else.

No one needs "keys" when all of us can walk personally with Jesus down to the neighborhood Starbucks and share a coffee.

Thus our priestcraft will burn away like dross in the celestial city, where there is no need for leaders among a community of kings who are equal, and queens who are equal, who all worship the One who is King of Kings. 

   7.  The coming calamity, according to Joseph Smith, shall result in the ​"sweep[ing of] the wicked of this generation from off the face of the land, to open and prepare the way for the return of the lost tribes of Israel from the north country." ("Letter to Noah C. Saxton, 4 January 1833," p. 17-18, The Joseph Smith Papers).  This shall occur on the land of America when its peoples are "fully ripe."

   8.  In order to weather the coming storm, we'll need a loving community where we care for each other's needs in a time of scarcity and insecurity.  This will coalesce into Zion, which will be a place of "refuge."  Zion IS the "ark."

   9.  In a time when "men's hearts shall fail them," we'll need authentic, abiding faith in Christ (more than in our leaders).  Like the wise virgins, the oil in our lamps is the Spirit.  The Holy Ghost shall guide us (see D&C 45:57).  Our most important survival skills are the gifts of the Spirit.

   10.  The three pillars of Zion are:

      a.  A Holy House
      b.  A Holy City
      c.  A Holy Name

   11.  Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are identified with the Gentiles.  On the other hand, Latter-day Lamanites (who have not yet been identified) are destined to be the ones who build the New Jerusalem, not the Church (see 3 Nephi 21:22-24).

   12.  Gentiles who repent can be "numbered among the remnant of Jacob" and "assist" in the Lord's great work.

Time for a Second Wind

Exhausted yet?  We're just getting started!

Remember in Ether 12, when Moroni is talking to the Lord and is told that weak things become strong? 

Well, isn't it interesting that in the Very. Next. Verse. the Lord says:

   I will show unto the Gentiles
   their weakness
 
[What is our corporate, Gentile weakness?  Is it our pride, arrogance, unrighteous dominion, and idolatry?]
 
   and I will show unto them
   that faith, hope and charity

[Does the Lord mention priesthood authority, keys, the temple or following the prophet here?  Nope.]

   bringeth unto me--
   the fountain of all righteousness.

[Gentiles don't come to know Christ through other men.  Remember: "Blessed are the Gentiles, because of their belief in me, in and of the Holy Ghost" (3 Nephi 16:6)?]

To be technical:

   1.  Yes, faith comes by hearing the word of God taught by others.

   2.  Yes, baptism is performed at the hands of mortals.

   3.  But once we're in the Gate, we ultimately come to know Christ in two ways:
   
     a.  The Spirit (revelation, prophecy, visions, etc.); and

     b.  Loving one another (finding Christ in each other).  

As an example, Joseph Smith did not see God by listening to preachers; Joseph went to God in prayer and spoke to Him directly.

   4.  Exercising authority is not a sign of love.  Nurturing the spiritual gifts in each other is.

Beating a Dead Horse?

Am I beating a dead horse, repeating myself?  

   Sorry.  

It reminds me of a moment in Paul's life when, after having spent years trying to reason with the Jews and to share God's grace with them, he decided he was done preaching to them. 

Paul had no more words left for the Jews. 

So he packed his bag and went preaching to the Gentiles instead.  

   Arrivederci!

   And Paul shook his raiment,
   and said unto them, Your blood
   be upon your own heads; I am
   clean: from henceforth I will go
   unto the Gentiles.

(Acts 18:6)

Well, no such luck here.  I have lots more things I hope to share and will keep writing until I run out of words. 

In fact, I wonder if we should all be writing as fast as we can before the Lord pulls the plug and the lights go out:

Mormon:

   I did endeavor to preach
   unto this people, but
   my mouth was shut,
   and I was forbidden
   that I should preach
   unto them.

(Mormon 1:16)

Yikes!  Imagine a people who are so hard-hearted it becomes futile to reason with them.

So the first thing to go is the preaching of the word of God by those who have been sent, replaced with a sickly sentimentality that drips from most religions built of gingerbread and icing, where we consume the church instead of Christ.

But the really scary thing is when the prayers stop:

Jeremiah:

   Thus saith the Lord
   unto this people,
   Thus have they loved
   to wander, they have
   not refrained their feet,
   therefore the Lord doth
   not accept them . . . 

   Then said the Lord unto me,
   Pray not for this people
   for their good.

   When they fast, I will not hear
   their cry; and when they offer
   burnt offering and an oblation,
   I will not accept them:
   but I will consume them
   by the sword, and by the famine,
   and by the pestilence.

(Jeremiah 14:10-12)

Right now we appear to have about as much chance of surviving the coming calamity as Burger King has of making a better chicken sandwich than Chick-fil-A.

   Is there hope?

Yes!  Stay tuned . . . .