The Awful Situation

Only those who are aware of their lost and fallen state can take the mission of the Savior seriously, and before one can embrace it in terms of the eternities it must be grasped on the level of common, everyday reality … For behold, are we not all beggars? … The essence of [King] Benjamin’s preaching is to purge the people, if possible, of their flattering self-image as good guys. 

-Hugh Nibley

Wrest the Scriptures
We are commanded to “Search the scriptures” (Luke 24:32). The book of Mormon states “Behold, the scriptures are before you; if ye will wrest them it shall be to your own destruction. “ (Alma 13:20). We are told it is our measuring stick. We are commanded to rely upon them “I give unto you a commandment, that you rely upon the things which are written” (D&C 18:3).

The pattern is clear. When a group of people begin to wrest the scriptures they are led down to destruction. You cannot be saved in ignorance. When one lacks knowledge they become susceptable to satan. Satan will have power over that individual. This is why the scriptures tell us to "pray always" "lest ye enter into temptation".

A man is saved no faster than he gets knowledge, for if he does not get knowledge, he will be brought into captivity by some evil power in the other world, as evil spirits will have more knowledge, and consequently more power. (TPJS, p 217)

Eve partook of the fruit of the tree and was "beguiled" by the serpent. She lacked knowledge, thus she was deceived.  Knowledge (revelation) is required to put off the natural, carnal man.

21 And others will he[Satan] pacify, and lull them away into carnal security, that they will say: All is well in Zion; yea, Zion prospereth, all is well—and thus the devil cheateth their souls, and leadeth them away carefully down to hell.

It is this group of people that are asleep. Knowledge is required to wake up. And when awake we must arise to the task before us. Satan makes us feel like all is well. We are doing enough, if we continue doing just that than we will be saved. (Carnal Security)

But what we do is never enough. We will never live up to every covenant nor give up every sin. (Even if Satan tells us we will be under his power if do not live up to every covenant. HE IS A LIAR!) That is not what repentance is about. Want to know the message of repentance sounds like? Read Mosiah 2-4. We must continually acknowledge our nothingness before God.  I will pull out a few verses.

40 O, all ye old men, and also ye young men, and you little children who can understand my words, for I have spoken plainly unto you that ye might understand, I pray that ye should awake to a remembrance of the awful situation of those that have fallen into transgression.
41 And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it. (Mosiah 2:40-41)

2 And the things which I shall tell you are made known unto me by an angel from God. And he said unto me: Awake; and I awoke, and behold he stood before me.
3 And he said unto me: Awake, and hear the words which I shall tell thee; for behold, I am come to declare unto you the glad tidings of great joy. (Mosiah 3:2-3)

Glad tidings of great joy is repentance. Its about the message of Jesus Christ. Its not about all the "dead works" or things that are wrong but its about the glad tidings that I can come as I am to Him. Joseph said when you are ready to come to Him he is ready to come to you. The message is about Coming to Christ, to converse with him, that we can converse with Him. Adam said concerning the redemption of Christ "in the flesh i shall have joy and in the flesh I shall see God" (Moses 5:9-10). That we may be redeemed from the Fall (Ether 3:13). He associated the idea of repentance (redemption) with seeing God. Receiving joy. To repent it requires knowledge. If you lack adequate knowledge you cannot repent.

Go study chapter 2 and see the message the angel gave him including chapters 3 and 4.

The Awful Situation

Behold, when ye shall rend that veil of unbelief which doth cause you to remain in your awful state of wickedness, and hardness of heart, and blindness of mind, then shall the great and marvelous things which have been hid up from the foundation of the world from you—yea, when ye shall call upon the Father in my name, with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, then shall ye know that the Father hath remembered the covenant which he made unto your fathers, O house of Israel. (Ether 4:15) 

This is quite different than All is Well isn't it? Why is it this veil of unbelief cause us to remain in our awful state of wickedness? Perhaps this is why being redeemed is associated with removing the veil?

Awake to the Situation
Ether 8 is often quoted about the land, freedoms, etc... I believe this view is correct. I also believe there is a deeper application to us. I believe its directly related to our awful situation, as latter day saints. I will pull from a General Authority in another post how they apply this to OUR situation.

23 Wherefore, O ye Gentiles, it is wisdom in God that these things should be shown unto you, that thereby ye may repent of your sins, and suffer not that these murderous combinations shall get above you, which are built up to get power and gain—and the work, yea, even the work of destruction come upon you, yea, even the sword of the justice of the Eternal God shall fall upon you, to your overthrow and destruction if ye shall suffer these things to be.
24 Wherefore, the Lord commandeth you, when ye shall see these things come among you that ye shall awake to a sense of your awful situation, because of this secret combination which shall be among you; or wo be unto it, because of the blood of them who have been slain; for they cry from the dust for vengeance upon it, and also upon those who built it up.

McConkie informs us the ladder day saints are the Gentiles spoken in the book of Mormon. So what about Murder. What could murder mean? Normally we think of it as killing someone. But all things are spiritual in the eyes of God.

Murder
Lets look how the book of Alma defines murder. A man who was an Antichrist was converted back to the Lord.

14 Yea, and I had murdered many of his children, or rather led them away unto destruction; yea, and in fine so great had been my iniquities, that the very thought of coming into the presence of my God did rack my soul with inexpressible horror. (Alma )

So taking this as the meaning for murder, what is those combinations that will come above us? That will lead us down to destruction?  This great combination is what we are commanded to wake up to, it was made known  to us that "ye may repent of your sins". What sort of "wickedness" and where does it come from? It was this thought of the awful situation of those he led away that led Alma to rack his soul with the thought of coming into the presence of God. The message of repentance always makes one afraid (for their own salvation or "fear and trembling"). That is why many taketh the truth to be hard. They don't like being told they are doing everything wrong, or what they are doing will not save them.

Instead they like to focus on things that are visible, instead of the invisible. Going to church, temple, home teaching, numbers, dress and grooming, sacrament, temple recomend. If I hold a temple recommend and continue faithful I will enter the kingdom of God Right?

See these are fruits of the visible, not the invisible. But God looks at the inner countenance.

Most wicked According to Jesus

"…the worst sinners, according to Jesus, are not the harlots and publicans, but the religious leaders with their insistence on proper dress and grooming, their careful observance of all the rules, their precious concern for status-symbols, their strict legality, their pious patriotism. Longhairs, beards, and necklaces, LSD and rock, Big Sur and Woodstock, come and go, but Babylon is always there: rich, respectable, immovable… We want to be vindicated in our position and to know that the world is on our side as we all join in a chorus of righteous denunciation; the haircut becomes the test of virtue in a world where Satan deceives and rules by appearances." - Hugh Nibley

The Secret combination
The awful situation. I have given a few scriptures showing how its directly related to our standing before God and our inability to return back into the presence of god while in the flesh. It is carnal security, that all is well. That Zion prospereth. Well if it is not prospering what is going on? We must assume that things are not prospering, things are not well in Zion.

Awake! You cannot build Zion when you are asleep. Arise, cast off that which binds you down to destruction. Receive the message of glad tidings. Return to his presence. We are told we are under condemnation because we DO NOT UNDERSTAND the Book of Mormon (D&C 84). If the majority do not than how can you feel safe using them as a teaching tool? If a blind guide follows a blind guide they both fall into the ditch. Why not turn to God and he alone?

Deception: Possesion: Casting Out

There are plenty of good sources already written on these subjects. I don't wish to go much into this but can direct anyone that would like more info to some good sources. I will just bring up a few quotes and concepts here.

1) One deception
2) Possession
3) Casting out

You will also find that before the Lord healed others he often would "cast out" an evil spirits beforehand. There is an important principle there I won't go into.

Here are some quotes on Deception.

“… A man is saved no faster than he gets knowledge, for if he does not get knowledge, he will be brought into captivity by some evil power in the other world, as evil spirits will have more knowledge, and consequently more power than many men who are on the earth. Hence it needs revelation to assist us, and give us knowledge of the things of God.”15 (History of the Church, 4:588)

[No wonder why] Joseph Smith taught the following in April 1843, later recorded in Doctrine and Covenants 130:18–19: “Whatever principle of intelligence we attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the resurrection. And if a person gains more knowledge and intelligence in this life through his diligence and obedience than another, he will have so much the advantage in the world to come.”16

It was necessary to educate the Saints that they not be deceived by counterfeit revelations or by the devil appearing as an angel of light (D&C 128:20).

As part of the instructions, the Prophet told of a man who came to him “in Kirtland,” saying he had seen an angel and described his dress. “I told him,” the Prophet said, “he had not seen an angel, and that there was not such dress in heaven. He grew mad, and went into the street and commanded fire to come down out of heaven to consume me. I laughed at him, and said, you are one of Baal’s prophets; your God does not hear you; jump up and cut yourself: and he commanded fire from heaven to consume my house” (Smith, HC, 5:267-68).

“There have also been ministering angels in the Church which were of Satan appearing as an angel of light. A sister in the state of New York had a vision, who said it was told her that if she would go to a certain place in the woods, an angel would appear to her. She went at the appointed time, and saw a glorious personage descending, arrayed in white, with sandy colored hair; he commenced and told her to fear God, and said that her husband was called to do great things, but that he must not go more than one hundred miles from home, or he would not return; where as God had called him to go to the ends of the earth, and he has since been more than one thousand miles from home, and is yet alive. Many true things were spoken by this personage, and many things that were false. How, it may be asked, was this known to be a bad angel? By the color of his hair; that is one of the signs that he can be known by, and by his contradicting a former revelation” (Teachings, 214).

Perhaps it is of more than passing interest that we have ancient stories that have been preserved for us in what is known as the Book of Adam and Eve, or The Conflict of Adam and Eve with Satan, in which Satan constantly tries to deceive our first parents in order to obtain the garments they had received from the Lord in Eden. In one of those episodes, Satan “took the form of an angel, and with him two others” in order to imitate a threesome who had come to them from the presence of the Lord. In this story Adam and Eve were initially deceived by them “because, when they came to Adam the first time, there came upon him from them, peace and joy, through their bringing him good tokens; so Adam thought that they were come a second time to give him other tokens for him to rejoice withal. For he did not know it was Satan; therefore, did he receive them with joy and companied with them” (Lost Books of the Bible, 49).

Speaking to the newly formed Relief Society on 28 April 1842, the Prophet said that the Church would not be fully organized until the temple was complete. He further spoke of the sisters receiving the “keys,” or knowledge through the priesthood, by which they could “detect everything false” ... The Prophet further promised the sisters that in the temple they would learn how to ask of God and how to receive answers. “If you live up to your privileges,” the Prophet promised them, “the angels cannot be restrained from being your associates.” Women, he added, “if they are pure and innocent, can come in the presence of God” (Smith, HC, 4:603-7).

Elder Orson F. Whitney commented on this concept as follows:

There are bad spirits as well as good, and the vital question is: How can we know the difference between them? Let us at this state consult an expert – for there are such – one who came in contact with spiritual forces to a marvelous extent, not only receiving messages from other worlds, but also interviewing the messengers. Joseph Smith knew the difference between good and evil communicants, and here is his testimony concerning them (129:4-8). 

However the Lord told Joseph Smith the following.

“Behold, I do not say that you shall not show it unto the righteous; But as you cannot always judge the righteous, or as you cannot always tell the wicked from the righteous, therefore I say unto you, hold your peace until I shall see fit to make all things known unto the world concerning the matter.” (D&C 10: 36-37.)

Joseph Smith couldn't even tell the difference always between good and evil. No wonder why the Lord tells us to trust no man, the arm of flesh, and trust in God alone. We are here to learn how to avoid deception. Others put their trust in the president because they think his spirit is better than theirs or because of some keys they hold, or they are so worried about deception they put their trust in a man who has seen God or is their leader who could be deceived themselves.

Trust God, not man. And for yourself, keep yourself aligned to heaven, so when presented with the opportunity to make a mistake, heaven can help you in your hour of need. Weakness is part of every man’s life. (Ether 12: 27.) To trade weakness for strength we must all “humble themselves before [God], and have faith in [God].” (Id.) Or you can avoid making mistakes all together and continue to put your trust in another mans revelations and never learn the lessons we are meant to learn. Never learn to become "independent above all other creatures" (D&C 78:11, 14–15). When the Lord tells us that, he means it, ALL CREATURES. No president, no leader, no man with keys that are required for you to be saved, because you will have gained the keys for yourself and will not depend upon another for your salvation or another with their priesthood to save you. If Zion is your goal than you must need to ascend to the level where no man will need to teach you of the Lord for they will all know Him.

In another place, the Prophet said:

“Wicked spirits have their bounds, limits and laws, by which they are governed; and it is very evident that they possess a power that none but those who have the Priesthood can control” (HC, vol. 4, 576).

D&C 130:14 William Miller a Baptist preacher had prophesied that the 2nd Coming would be on April 3rd, 1843 and many of the Saints believed. Joseph inquired about it and the Lord told Joseph not to worry about it. I find his reaction the most telling, he didn't say he couldn't reveal such doctrine or that since it didn't come from one with "keys" don't believe it but rather he inquired of the Lord. Which is what we should do when someone claims to be teaching something that could affect us. We inquire of the Lord. the Lord told Joseph to not worry about it.

A man must have the discerning of spirits… for nothing is a greater injury to the children of men than to be under the influence of a false spirit when they think they have the Spirit of God. As we have noticed before, the great difficulty lies in the ignorance of the nature of spirits, of the laws by which they are governed, and the signs by which they may be known; (TPJS, pg. 386)

Those who are deceived as they struggle to find Christ can repent as soon as they realize they have listened to a false spirit. Joseph was overcome by "thick darkness" before he called upon God and was delivered. Lehi walked behind a man dressed in white for the space of many hours in a "dark and dreary waste" before he called upon God and was delivered. When Adam built an altar and called upon God, it was Lucifer who replied, "I hear you, what is it you want?" Adam had to refuse the offer and await true messengers sent from the Father.

You will encounter false spirits, as well as true ones if you will persist in seeking God. You need to be familiar with both in order to choose. These opposing forces are part of the process of becoming competent and adept. No one lacking knowledge of these things can be saved. "A man is saved no faster than he gets knowledge, for if he does not get knowledge, he will be brought into captivity by some evil power in the other world, as evil spirits will have more knowledge, and consequently more power." (TPJS, p. 217.)

Possesion:

Both adults and children can suffer from these things.

Satan’s punishment and the punishment of his followers for their rebellion in heaven, Joseph Smith the Prophet said, is that they are denied mortal bodies. The said punishment is terrible and will make those who receive it most unhappy for the reason that they arc halted, they cannot progress, they cannot go forward, cannot attain a full measure of happiness. 

Their eagerness to secure bodies is so great that in many cases they endeavor to steal the bodies of the more favored spirits, and when these evil spirits enter into and take possession of the bodies of others we say of those afflicted that they are possessed by evil spirits. They can only be subdued and cast out of stolen bodies by those members of Christ's Church who are under divine authority.
(President Rudger Clawson, Conference Report, Apr 1939, Pg. 118)

Children:

"On the day following I parted with Elders Taylor and Fielding, who went to Liverpool, and with Elder Richards, who tarried in Preston. Elder Turley and I went to Manchester; it was the first time I had visited that city. There I met for the first time Elder William Clayton. As soon as I was introduced to him, he informed me that one of the sisters in that place was possessed of a devil. He asked me if I would not go and cast it out of her. He thought one of the Twelve Apostles could do most anything in such a case. I went with him to the house where the woman lay, in the hands of three men, in a terrible rage. She was trying to tear her clothing from her. I also found quite a number of Saints present, and some unbelievers, who had come to see the devil cast out and a miracle wrought. 

"Had I acted upon my own judgment I should have refrained from administering to her in the company of those present; but as I was a stranger there, and Brother Clayton presided over the branch, I joined with him in administering to the woman. The unbelief of the wicked who were present was so great that we could not cast the devil out of her, and she raged worse than ever; I then ordered the room to be cleared, and when the company, except the few attending her, had left the house, we laid hands upon her head, and in the name of Jesus Christ I commanded the devil to come out of her. The devil left, and she was entirely healed and fell asleep."The next day being the Sabbath, the woman came before a large congregation of people, and bore testimony to what the Lord had done for her. We had a large assembly through the day and evening, to whom I preached the gospel. On Monday morning, the devil, not being satisfied with being cast out of the woman, entered into her little child, which was but a few months old. I was called upon to visit the child, and found it in great distress, writhing in its mother's arms. We laid hands upon it and cast the devil out; the evil spirits thereafter had no power over that household. This was done by the power of God, and not of man. We laid hands upon twenty in Manchester who were sick, and most of them were healed. (Wilford Woodruff: History of His Life and Labors, Pgs. 114-11)

More on Children.

However, the fact that they can neither be tempted nor sin does not, on its own, uphold the conclusion that children, under the age of accountability, are never afflicted by unclean spirits. Consider the following incident that occurred shortly after the transfiguration when the Lord rejoined his disciples: And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit; And wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not. He answereth him, and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him unto me. . . . And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child. And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us. . . When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him. . . . And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, Why could not we cast him out? And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting (Mark 9:17-29).

It was before this incident, earlier in the ministry of the Lord, that he had given power to his apostles to heal the sick and to cast out devils. As noted above, they had experienced much success and had returned from their early missions firm in their testimony of the power conferred upon them. This was the first instance of their failure to command an unclean spirit. This incident has been cited by Dummelow (1936) as one in which the child, being described as a “lunatic” in another gospel, was actually suffering from a form of epilepsy, a physical ailment, of which he was healed by the Lord, and not a case of demonic possession. However, such explanation ignores the plain text of the scripture and thereby dismisses from consideration several profound questions. First, the Lord asked the father: “How long is it ago since this came unto him?” What was the point of this question? Would it really have made a difference whether it had been a month or a year? It is the father’s answer that may hold the key; his answer to the Lord was: “of a child.” The Gospel of Mark does not tell us the age of the boy when presented to the Lord or the age of the boy when the affliction first began. However, the Greek adverb, “paidiothen ” here translated as “of a child” is related to the noun “paidion ” which is a child, one as young as a new born infant. (Understanding Spiritual Evil in the Context of Psychotherapy)

Casting Out 
One story of casting out. This is found in Duane Crowthers book, Gifts of the Spirit. Page 126. The original source is cited there.

After joining the Church Elder (John) Parry was often troubled in his sleep by evil spirits. Upon one occasion he enquired of the President of the Liverpool branch why it was that he was thus annoyed. The (President) replied that some persons were troubled more than others, and told him to use the following words in his prayers before retiring to rest: ''O God, the Eternal Father, I ask Thee in the name of Thy Son, Jesus Christ, to give Thine angels charge concerning me this night, and allow not the powers of darkness to molest my spirit nor body." 

 He did this, and was troubled with the evil spirits no more, until one night, feeling very sleepy, he uttered a hasty, formal prayer and went to bed. During the night he was almost overcome by the power of evil spirits, which were visible. Unable to utter a word, he prayed fervently in his mind to the Lord to release him. In an instant the heavens appeared to him to open, and he saw an angel descend towards him. The personage took hold of him and raised him up a little and immediately the powers of darkness disappeared. (emphasis added)

Moses said.

15 Blessed be the name of my God, for his Spirit hath not altogether withdrawn from me, or else where is thy glory, for it is darkness unto me? And I can judge between thee and God; for God said unto me: Worship God, for him only shalt thou serve. 

16 Get thee hence, Satan; deceive me not; for God said unto me: Thou art after the similitude of mine Only Begotten. (Moses 1:16)

They Will be led away

Lets look at a few scriptures on those who were led away in scriptures.

Revere Only God

1 If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, 2 And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; 3 Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the Lord your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. 4 Ye shall walk after the Lord your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him. (Deuteronomy 13:1-4)

Prophet Risen from Among the People

9 ¶When thou art come into the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations.
10 There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch,
11 Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.
12 For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord: and because of these abominations the Lord thy God doth drive them out from before thee.
13 Thou shalt be perfect with the Lord thy God.
14 For these nations, which thou shalt possess, hearkened unto observers of times, and unto diviners: but as for thee, the Lord thy God hath not suffered thee so to do.
15 ¶The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken; (Deuteronomy 18:9-15)

This was done due to the corruption from within the groups of people. The prophet was brought forth from the midst of the people.

Judas Iscariot 

6 ¶Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper,
7 There came unto him a woman having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and poured it on his head, as he sat at meat.
8 But when his disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, To what purpose is this waste?
9 For this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the poor.
10 When Jesus understood it, he said unto them, Why trouble ye the woman? for she hath wrought a good work upon me.
11 For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always.
12 For in that she hath poured this ointment on my body, she didit for my burial.
13 Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her. (Matthew 26:6-13)

Unbeliever as An Apostle
The account of John explains what happens.

4 Then saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son,which should betray him,
5 Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?
6 This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein.
7 Then said Jesus, Let her alone: against the day of my burying hath she kept this. (John 12:4-7)

Satan as an Angel of Light 

13 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.
14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works. (2 Corinthians 11:13-15)

As it did happen with Joseph Smith (D&C 128:20) and through the keys was able to detect it. Satan can look as an angel of light, and satan minsters (mortal ministers) can go about as if they are doing good yet they are evil and if you heed them you will be damned.

How can we appear as an Angel of Light?

an angel of God who was in authority in the presence of God (D&C 76:25)

he was Lucifer, a son of the morning. (vs 26) 

Men Crept into The Church

3 Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.
4 For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ. (Jude 1:3-4)

False Teachers

3 As I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine,
4 Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do.
5 Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned:
6 From which some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling;
7 Desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm.
8 But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully;
9 Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,
10 For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine;
11 According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust. (1 Timothy 1:3-11)

Jewish Myths 

10 For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the circumcision:
11 Whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre’s sake.
12 One of themselves, even a prophet of their own, said, The Cretians are alway liars, evil beasts, slow bellies.
13 This witness is true. Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith;
14 Not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men, that turn from the truth.
15 Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled.
16 They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him,being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate. (Titus 1:10-16)

As we can see there were many problems with the early church's. It was these problems that led to the apostasy of the members. Talmage talked about the great apostasy and said that it did not happen when the Apostles were killed but when they were alive. They changed the sound doctrine, teachings commandments of men and accepted Jewish fables. Until they had fully forgotten the original religion.

Yet Laman and lemuel thought before they left Jerusalem and it was going to be destroyed they were a righteous people. Why is it so hard for those living in wickedness to recognize it?

Laman and lemuel

22 And we know that the people who were in the land of Jerusalem were a righteous people; for they kept the statutes and judgments of the Lord, and all his commandments, according to the law of Moses; wherefore, we know that they are a righteous people (1 Nephi 17:22)

Even Sherem the antichrist taught the law of moses when he taught the gospel in Jacob 7 verse 4. They fall back into this "law of moses" instead of the greater gospel (weightier matter of the law). They teach without revelation (visitation of angels, holy ghost, visions, etc)

Corrupted From Within

1 Now the Spirit explicitly says that in the later times some will desert the faith and occupy themselves with deceiving spirits and demonic teachings, 
2 influenced by the hypocrisy of liars whose consciences are seared. 
3 They will prohibit marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.  4 For every creation of God is good and no food is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving.  5 For it is sanctified by God’s word and by prayer.
6 By pointing out such things to the brothers and sisters, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, having nourished yourself on the words of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed. 
7 But reject those myths fit only for the godless and gullible, and train yourself for godliness (Nev Translation, Timothy 4:1)

The first part goes along with 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3 "a great falling away" in the last days which is also shown in the parable of the 10 virgins. The second part about food compares with a modern revelation of the word of wisdom. God is the same.

2 To be sent greeting; not by commandment or constraint, but by revelation and the word of wisdom, showing forth the order and will of God in the temporal salvation of all saints in the last days—
11 Every herb in the season thereof, and every fruit in the season thereof; all these to be used with prudence and thanksgiving.
12 Yea, flesh also of beasts and of the fowls of the air, I, the Lord, have ordained for the use of man with thanksgiving; nevertheless they are to be used sparingly; (D&C 89:2,11-12)

All things to be in the Latter Days
A prophecy by Joseph Smith

You will live to see men arise in power in the Church who will seek to put down your friends and the friends of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Many will be hoisted because of their money and worldly learning which they seem to be in possession of; and many who are the true followers of our Lord and Savior will be cast down because of their poverty (Mosiah Hancock Journal, pg. 28)

Idolatry: Ezekial 14

“President Joseph Smith read the 14th chapter of Ezekiel - said the Lord had declared by the Prophet, that the people should each one stand for himself, and depend on no man or men in that state of corruption of the Jewish church - that righteous persons could only deliver their own souls - applied it to the present state of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints – said if the people departed from the Lord, they must fall – that they were depending on the prophet, hence were darkened in their minds, in consequence of neglecting the duties devolving upon themselves, envious towards the innocent, while they afflict the virtuous with their shafts of envy" (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, Section Five 1842-43, p. 237-38).

Prophets: An Answer Man

I copied this from the bloggersphere. I thought it was worth reposting.

"The Burden placed upon true prophets (Priests and Kings) is great. Prophets are mighty in spirit and knowledge because they have paid the price in discipleship, being careful to always do good. Since the purpose of the gospel is to make of us an holy nation of priests and kings, for a prophet to serve as a strongman or an answer man stunts the development of others

Humans are, at their cores, economically driven beings, which should be obvious to the most casual of observers. If a person wants to know whether there are multiple mortal probation's, for example, he could call upon the Lord in mighty prayer and faith for maybe years, being careful to bring forth good works in diligence and with an eye single to the glory of God and thus obtain the answer directly by the spirit of prophecy.

OR he could be a lazy faithless bum and ask a prophet for the answer. After all, one may more easily weary a human into answering one and thus satisfy one’s lust of curiosity than one can weary God. God is notorious for not answering to satisfy curiosity. 

Which course entails the lower price? Obviously, asking the prophet. Which way therefore do we expect more people to choose? Obviously, asking the prophet. Which way have people historically chosen? Obviously, asking the prophet – and we have now got a whole church dedicated to that course, and quite a shortage of prophets.

As an aside – sign-seekers cannot be satisfied. Their hearts are divided from God or else they would get the answer from God. They don’t trust the prophet of whom they inquire, so they cannot trust any answer he gives, even if it happens to be straight from God’s mouth – they can’t tell that because they have not the Spirit to discern. So they pester the prophet and provoke him continually until they have, as they suppose, cause to find fault and reject him, no matter how trivial in reality that cause is. Then they denounce him and congratulate themselves on their wisdom."

Seeking the Welfare of Zion

The "welfare of Zion" consists of teaching others how to come to God themselves, and receive the heavenly promises directly from God. (2 Ne. 26: 29.) Zion will be composed exclusively of those who can endure the presence of God (D&C 84:23-25, Isaiah 51:11). Therefore, it is necessary for everyone to come up to the heavenly mount by their own repentance and remembrance of the Lord.(D&C 76:66) When the servants appeared within the vineyard to labor, they "did go and labor with their mights" because this is serious work, not to be idled away with distractions. (Jacob 5: 72.) "Zion's welfare", of course, consists primarily in qualifying people to be called to Zion. The servants only labor, which involves all their might, is to provide sufficient for their needs and then seek only the "welfare of Zion". (Jacob 5: 71-73.)

Stupid Rules: A Pharisee

Stupid Rules

The Pharisees were chastised repeatedly for focusing on the law over what the Lord was trying to teach them. These thoughts have been in my mind a lot recently. I came across the following website which I think speaks exactly how I feel. I have been trying to apply this to myself. As we should liken all scriptures unto us so I asked myself what stupid rules am I focusing on that is keeping me from drawing closer to God?

The website: http://hwarmstrong.com/mercy.htm

I don’t know anything about this website only this article I have seen and probably won’t take another look at the site.

According to Micah 6:8, all God ever wanted was for us "to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly" with Him.

The phenomenon of the development of the Pharisee mentality is easy to trace. In olden [testament] times, there were these Ten Commandments, which in their pure form were not that burdensome--at least the ones dealing with your neighbor. The Israelites had a problem of "buying into" the whole framework, so even these simple principles were deemed to be "Stupid Rules". That is the problem when folks don't buy into the "Spirit" of regulations: They become stupid rules.…

From the Pharisee's point of view, being a superstitious sort, there came to be a belief that many bad things happened to the Israelites because they did not obey "stupid rules".

What to do? What to do?

The Pharisees invented even MORE stupid rules, so the people would not break laws that could send the nation into captivity or worse.

That really does seem to be the solution to everything now doesn’t it? Look at the government. All we see is more and more stupid rules being implemented. Lastly they are given because people won’t give into the “spirit of regulation”. What is the spirit of regulation? “He that is commanded in all things is a slothful servant”?

This last part is the best part.

Pharisees focus in on the methods and processes, rather than the results. Once a stupid rule is conceived and written, it stays, and is nearly impossible to remove. It is administered without mercy. YOU MUST KEEP THIS STUPID RULE because it shows how righteous you are! AND it shows who is IN CHARGE, and how RIGHTEOUS they are.

What is it about a wicked and perverse generation that only wants more and more rules? Why is that? Why do they want everything spelled out? We want others to tell us how to live the law of tithing. Is it gross or net or interest, surplus? Or something else? You are not righteous because you are not wearing your Sunday best! You are not righteous because you are not paying tithing. Because you missed church once, twice, once a month. Because you are wearing immodest clothes that “don’t cover the knees or shoulders”. Because you drink coffee. My favorite comment “I am not dumb enough to drink and smoke” or “drinking is bad”.

All rules do is bring judgment and makes us lose focus on seeing who the person is instead of what they are doing. Stupid rules bring regulation. D&C 107:14 shows us that the lesser priesthood was an appendage, or added to (due to transgression this occurs). Fortunately God looketh on the inward appearance not the outward and He alone is our judge.

As soon as you have one restrictive law Zion ceases to be.

More rules.

When are we going to learn to “govern ourselves”?

So I ask have we fallen into the same trap as LDS members? What are the stupid rules we are following that cause us to “omit the weightier matter of the law” like the Pharisees did? The lord tells us judgment, mercy, and faith is what our focus should be (Matthew 23:23).

"Once a stupid rule is conceived and written, it stays, and is nearly impossible to remove." Are these among us? What beliefs or doctrines do we believe that may have just been handed to us?

To Control Thought

To control thought (Copied From Wiki article named "Newspeak")

According to George Orwell, "The purpose of Newspeak was not only to provide a medium of expression for the world-view and mental habits proper to the devotees of Ing Soc, but to make all other modes of thought impossible. Its vocabulary was so constructed as to give exact and often very subtle expression to every meaning that a Party member could properly wish to express, while excluding all other meaning and also the possibility of arriving at them by indirect methods. This was done partly by the invention of new words, but chiefly by eliminating undesirable words and stripping such words as remained of unorthodox meanings, and so far as possible of all secondary meaning whatever."^[2] The idea that language influences worldview is linguistic relativity.

For example, the word "free" still existed in Newspeak but could only be used in terms of something not being possessed as in, "the dog is free from lice" or, "this field is free from weeds." It could not be used in terms of being able to do as one pleases, as in "free choice" or "free will" since these concepts no longer existed. Newspeak was designed not to extend but to diminish the range of thought, and this purpose was indirectly assisted by cutting the choice of words down to a minimum. Any redundancies in the English language were removed.^[2]

As Orwell further states, "By 2050—earlier, probably—all real knowledge of Oldspeak will have disappeared. The whole literature of the past will have been destroyed. Chaucer, Shakespeare,Milton, Byron—they'll exist only in Newspeak versions, not merely changed into something different, but actually contradictory of what they used to be. Even the literature of the Party will change. Even the slogans will change. How could you have a slogan like "freedom is slavery" when the concept of freedom has been abolished? The whole climate of thought will be different. In fact there will be no thought, as we understand it now. Orthodoxy means not thinking—not needing to think. Orthodoxy is unconsciousness."^[1]

To Control Thought:

1) Only one acceptable interpretation or thought.

2) No other meanings of vocabulary acceptable

3) Exclude any other meaning from those terms

4) Invention of new words