Do you think stories in the Old Testament foreshadow or even predict people and events in our day? We hear about Joseph in Egypt and Pharoah’s dream as a type of two 7-year periods: a time of plenty followed by a time of famine or tribulation. But more are coming out, especially through the research of Messianic Jewish rabbi Jonathan Cahn. His book, The Paradigm, unveils the amazing parallels between King Ahab and his pagan Queen Jezebel who presided over the Northern 10 Tribes of Israel to Bill and Hillary Clinton in our day. See this image of Ahab and Jezebel created by ChatGPT.
Ahab and Jezebel.ChatGPT
Let’s look at their backgrounds and compare them: King Ahab was an Israelite. Bill Clinton was raised Christian in the South. Ahab was in power 22 years; Bill Clinton was in public office 22 years. Ahab was the center of scandal when he had Naboth killed to obtain his orchard, in his 19th year in power. Bill Clinton was the center of scandal over Monica Lewinsky in his 19th year in power. Ahab’s reign ended 3 years later. Clinton’s term in office ended 3 years later. Ahab confessed his sin and three years later, misfortune struck his nation. Clinton confessed and admitted his guilt on the morning of September 11, 1998. 9-11 happened on September 11, 2001, exactly three years later, even to the hour!
Ahab married a pagan princess, Jezebel, who moved to the Israelite nation. Clinton married a non-believer, Hillary Rodham, who moved to Arkansas. Both Jezebel and Hillary hated “living in the sticks.” Both woman changed the culture in their new home: turning to false gods of materialism and worldly power, creating their own gods and own truth, then a new morality, and finally helping to drive God out of public life. Jezebel promoted child sacrifice with increasingly cruel methods of death. Hillary Clinton was voted “Abortion Champion of the Century” by Planned Parenthood. Jezebel was in power 14 years. Hillary was in public office for 14 years.
General Jehu in the Old Testament was an Israelite general, described as being wild, rough, and crude. Who’s his counterpart today? Donald Trump!
How do they compare? Jehu had Jezebel killed (2 Kings 9). Trump defeated Hillary in her bid for the presidency, effectively “killing” her political career. Jehu reigned over the Northern Kingdom, tore down the temple of Baal and stopped child sacrifice. Trump was elected president twice, still in office as of this writing, and was the moving force behind Roe vs. Wade being reversed by the Supreme Court in June 2022. Jehu failed to bring the Israelites back to God, and the Israelites were attacked by Assyria and ultimately conquered by them and scattered in all directions, becoming the Lost 10 Tribes of Israel.
What will be the outcome of Pres. Trump’s second term? He has bought us time, fought hard to clean up corruption, illegal immigration and drug smuggling, with an eye to restoring America to its earlier greatness and foundation on the constitutional government of our founding fathers.
Will he also fail to bring spiritual revival to America? Is it really his job? Where does that leave us? I suggest we all adopt the mantra I quoted in the last blog post:
We are ALL Charlie!
Let’s not forget Charlie Kirk’s boldness in proclaiming God and Christ, America’s founding principles, and the sanctity of family. Let’s saddle up, ride into battle, and fight hard, with love, against the tide of worldliness, immorality, death and destruction that floods our world!
I just finished watching the end of the beautiful Memorial Service for Charlie Kirk with a high point: hearing the poignant and powerful tribute of his beautiful wife, Erika. She spoke of his many great qualities and the beautiful life they created but, more importantly, she spoke about his commitment to God, to Christ, to this nation and, not least, to his family. Her words (LINK):
Charlie died with incomplete work, but not unfinished business.
Would that we exit this life with our God-given missions in such a good state! If you haven’t seen the video I posted on YouTube last night, here’s the LINK where Charlie takes center stage, second only to our God and our Jesus. Here is the picture I put in that post, simple but oh so powerful to me:
See how Charlie’s inner light and glowing good health stand out from the background of the growing darkness in too many places in our world. He tackled that darkness head on, always dedicating his life to God’s work. I love how he quietly beckons listeners to hear his message and come, not to him but to God.
In our grief, many of us have theorized that he just got a different assignment in a different realm. But one friend of mine prayed about it and got this answer, which I share with her permission:
Yes, I was so despairing and asked during my prayers: “Was this an act of evil without or with God’s permission?“ And the answer was clear that he has been called home. That now, as a martyr, his work will become a greater force spreading throughout the world.
And didn’t this happen almost immediately? Then look at the many thousands who attended his Memorial today, with TV and online viewers numbering who knows how many thousands?
Finally, I’d like to quote Pres. Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr, in his powerful message after he urged us to all take up the banner of truth wherever we are, saying:
We are ALL Charlie!
What a simple, but powerful way to fuel our own trajectory into braver, more eloquent, and far more frequent testimonies of Christ—and the Restoration that expands traditional Christian concepts of priesthood, covenants, and the call to gather scattered Israel. I think I’ll print a small copy of his picture with these words just below, frame it, and keep it on my desk as a solemn reminder of my promise to him and his family.
In my video, I was impressed by the Lord to pair him with another Christian (and Protestant) martyr, Lady Jane Gray, later called the 9 Day Queen in 1550’s England. She was only 17 when proclaimed the legal successor to the crown, bequeathed to her by the previous king, naming her in his will as successor. Mary 1, a zealous Catholic, prevailed on the Privy Council to proclaim her the next queen instead, which happened 9 days later. Jane was convicted of trumped-up charges of High Treason. Both she and her husband were executed. Sometime later, the absolute power of the monarch over life and death was outlawed, due in no small part to this travesty. Mary I carried on a vendetta against Protestants, going down in history as “Bloody Mary.”
This event was commemorated in the famous and oversized painting by Paul Delaroche, now hanging in the National Gallery in London. Here it is:
Notice the simple impact of color: black for the unyielding power of the State in a darkening world, red for the blood about to be shed, and white for innocence. Finally, notice the exposed necks of Lady Jane’s attendants, one from the front and the other showing the back, foretelling the gruesome event just ahead, all in the “language of art.”
As much suffering as these events cause, God means it all for good, when it’s about good people doing right. We have the comfort of knowing mortal life’s adversities are temporary and death holds no permanent power, as brilliantly stated in 1 Corinthians 15:55 and immortalized in Handel’s Messiah.
O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
As hard as it is to take the long view with our limited mortal sight, we must if we are to confidently tread the path to heaven and eternity where all sorrows will be healed, families reunited, and all sincere seekers are welcomed home!
This post is a companion to the YouTube video of the same name, to be posted by September 27, 2025, on my channel, link: @LastDaysDecodedJK. It will summarize the main ideas and provide links mentioned in the video (listed at the end of this post). Here’s the short form of the three main chapters of my life and my conversion to Christ and then to His restored church:
IOWA School Girl: I grew up in the beating heart of the University of Iowa. I went to the “lab school” they ran to train teachers. So from first grade through twelfth grade, I was taught by the best graduate students they could find. These teachers not only used educational “best practices,” they were young and enthusiastic learners. I was taught how to learn, how to neither accept or reject an idea quickly but to keep studying it, as well as scrupulously quote my sources of either evidence for or against each one. But as wonderful as that experience was, I still sat in sixth grade and wondered: “Why don’t they teach us what we really need to know: Where we were before we were born, why are we here in this life, and what happens when we die? I later learned that these are considered pivotal questions in the spiritual life. Somewhere I must have heard them in premortality because no one in my world seemed to be religious. This was a wonderful place to grow up, and I’ve blogged about it in Like a River on my personal website. Here’s the LINK.
NEW HAMPSHIRE Hippie: I married Pete in college and soon we were both working on graduate degrees: he in the famous Iowa Writers Workshop and I in education with a focus on reading instruction. We met a group of friends who were here from the University of New Hampshire getting graduate degrees from Iowa’s Art Department. After college we worked a year in Illinois and then sought adventure on the East Coast. We visited upstate New York and stopped to see these friends, now back in New Hampshire. One drive up the obscure highway from Peterborough to small town Stoddard immersed us in the true New Hampshire rural “magic” composed of the spirit of history and undisturbed nature that hung over these tiny colonial towns that were too far from the centers of employment surrounding them to attract suburban development. Here a picture that captures it, from www.alltrails.com:
While most of my experiences were a true feast of innocent nature at work, I did have a couple of encounters with what felt like evil spirits. Listen to my YouTube video to hear about them (link below).
We bought an old house, fixed it up, and had two children: Amanda and Peter. Sadly the marriage didn’t last, but our split was amicable and we cooperated in caring for them. I then sought out spiritual knowledge and experiences, learning astrology, going to meditation groups, and “asking the universe for answers to my questions” as I had no knowledge of or experience with prayer. I actually did receive images in my mind at least twice that proved to be good counsel. Then a counter-culture friend invited me to a Christian prayer group in our small town where I was asked if “I was saved.” I said I didn’t think so and what did that mean? I was told I only needed to get on my knees and pray to know if Jesus was the Christ, offer to embrace the life of a Christian in all sincerity, and I could get a direct witness from God.
I went home and did just that, kneeling down by my window sill and asked, “God, are you there? And is Jesus really who He’s said to be–our Savior?” I poured out my concerns for my children and lay down on my bed. Immediately, I was filled head to toe, and in every cell of my body, by the strongest and purest love I’d ever felt. It lasted two-three minutes and by then I was crying the ugly cry. I knew for myself the truth of Christianity and told everyone, including my mother in Iowa. She was a lifetime Latter-day Saint but was semi-inactive until my younger sister had a similar spiritual awakening and challenged my mother to “get with the program.” They activated two of my younger brothers, so now they saw me as their next project, sending me books to read. The third one, William Barrett’s The Restored Church was just what I needed: a textbook about the doctrine and history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It all made sense and felt familiar, but when I saw a picture of the Christus statue near the back, I heard these words in my head: “This is My work.” This was the beginning of my testimony.
Next, I had a dream about picking which train to get on from about four. Only one had its headlight on and engines idling. As soon as I got into the back, the train took off very fast. I dropped to my hands and knees and had to crawl forward through many empty cars to the locomotive. It was difficult pulling myself up into the engineer’s seat but I finally managed it. Then fiddling with the many dials and controls, I got a handle on how to operate this huge train. Next I had to open the hatch above my head and extend it up and through it. It didn’t take long but was dark, cold and a little scary, for some reason. Once my face emerged, I could see down the track by the light of the headlight, hear crickets and feel the warm summer night air blowing in my face. All the struggle to get there was worth it and I was literally exultant! Here’s the public domain image I found that gives the feeling I had of power and speed:
UTAH Latter-day Saint: Cutting to the chase, I soon moved to Iowa to create a better life after assuring my ex-husband I would make every effort to support his contact with our children. I took the missionary discussions and was baptized in the Iowa City ward building on June 13, 1975. I had found the “right train” to get on. It was filled with the Light of God’s Spirit, and had its engines running on higher Melchizedek Priesthood power!
Soon after I moved to Salt Lake City and rented a duplex with this same sister as she was graduating from BYU. A year later, she was preparing to go on a mission and I qualified to receive my endowments, so together we went to the Salt Lake Temple on June 15, 1976. That year with her cemented my understanding of the Gospel and put me on the path of deeper commitment and faithfulness.
I was surrounded by wonderful members, co-workers and a good spiritual environment, but less wonderful spirits still did show up and attempt to derail my spiritual growth. But I was like Christ’s followers who almost all left after being fed with “fishes and loaves.” Christ asked His more faithful disciples, “Will ye also go away?” Simon Peter’s answer would also be my reply: “Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.” I had already tried to find eternal and absolute truth in both the academic and counter-culture worlds and had only found small pieces of it. When I found God, Christ, and their church, I knew I was home and wouldn’t find His truth anywhere else.
In my video, you might want to listen to how I discussed the change to I am a Child of God lyrics made by President Kimball years ago in I am a Child of God, from “teach me all that I must KNOW” to “all that I must DO.” I’ve heard many people add “all that I must BE” to that list as well. Think what qualities or actions would fit with each. None of them covers all areas of righteousness, and then check out my sister YouTube video of the same name, link HERE.
Finally, I quoted the experience of the real Maria von Trapp when she experienced a deeper conversion to Catholicism after a youthful trial of her faith. Here are the quotes I gave there:
As I look back on these solemn few hours, I know now what really happened in my soul. This priest was not only a famous theologian, a world-famous preacher sought after everywhere in German- and English-speaking countries, he also was a childlike, pious soul who really loved his Lord and Saviour.
When I was finally finished throwing things at him, he looked at me with such true compassion and genuine love. He made me understand how our Lord Jesus Christ had lived, died, and was crucified for me. Christ suffered His agony in Gethsemane and put up with all my aloofness and hardness of heart for only one reason—to win my love. He said it so simply and so convincingly that I was completely disarmed. And when he finally said, “Are you sorry now for what has happened? I could truthfully say, “Yes, Father.”
With this started a completely new life for me because now I was on the threshold of a new journey where Jesus, the Heavenly Father, the Holy Spirit, and our grown-up sisters and brothers, “the saints” had suddenly turned from fiction to fact, from legend to reality, and my heart was eager to learn. Once again God was back in my life.
(From Maria, the True Story of the Beloved Heroine of The Sound of Music, by Maria von Trapp. Good Source: www.bookfinder.com. Search “Maria” or full title above, author “von Trapp.”)
Reading Enos 1, Moroni 10:4-5, and James 1:5-8 can add to your understanding of how to receive personal revelation. Here’s the ending quote by Todd McLauchlin on aligning our will with God’s:
Todd McLauchlin on Spiritual Survival: Our worthiness is really just a function of how much the Spirit of God flows in you. It’s His worthiness in you. Your heart has to be softened so that the remission of sins flows through you and becomes the new animating aspect of your being,and your will is now His and not yours. It’s the death of the old and it’s the birth of the new will. (Do Veils of Unbelief Keep You from the Power of God? Spiritual Survival YouTube channel)
Finally, here are wonderful talks to add the advice and testimony of others to those above, as well as the link to my companion video on YouTube:
Elder Dallin H. Oaks, Always Have His Spirit, link HERE
Sheri Dew, Will You Engage in the Wrestle?, BYU Devotional, link HERE
Amy Wright, Thou Art the Christ, General Conference April 2025, link HERE
Elder Bruce R. McConkie‘s last testimony, The Purifying Power of Gethsemane, General Conference April 1985, link HERE
Todd Lauchlin, Do “Veils of Unbelief” keep you from the Power of God?, “Spiritual Survival” YouTube channel, link HERE
I testify that God lives, that Jesus is the Christ, and that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is His work, and that all good people will have the opportunity to live in the Millennium and continue to learn and progress. I also testify that the sacrifices needed to attain to that status and then to salvation, even exaltation in the eternal worlds beyond will seem puny and insignificant in the face of the stunning and magnificent blessings of eternal progression and increase God promises His most faithful followers. I hope to be worthy to be there and see you there as well!
This blog will start a series on God’s miracles that don’t make it into the daily news. Some are real-life experiences, either heard first hand or in biographies of real people caught in real events, or “seen” as part of a near-death experience in the Spirit World.
Many of you may have seen the LDS movie, 17 Miracles, based on real history. One of those recounts a young mother who barely escaped a drunken husband with her two children. Then while sitting on the train waiting to leave, she saw him outside approaching her car. She quickly traded hats with the lady across from her but it did nothing to hid her face. Her husband came down the aisle, looking at each person intently. He came to her, scrutinized her face carefully, and then moved on. She was stunned but could only attribute his not recognizing her to a miracle of God.
Here are three more, the last one I heard directly from the missionary involved:
FromThrough the Window of Life, by Suzanne Freeman, (pp. 84-85): A young mother and her fussy baby were separated from her wagon train a short distance. Here’s what happened:
“After a while, I heard footsteps, then voices. At first I was relieved, thinking that someone from our group had missed me and came back to help. But then I realized the voices were speaking the enemy’s language.” Stacey stopped and pressed one hand against her chest.“I nearly fainted. I was so scared. There was no place to hide, and there was no time to run away. Porter was fussing as much as ever, crying louder than ever. The only thing I could think to do was pray, and it was a fast one. Just ‘Oh, Heavenly Father, please help us.’
“Those soldiers walked right past us, with just a bush between them and us. Not a single one of them paused or even stopped talking to one another. It was as if Heaven put earplugs on them or something. It was amazing. I thanked Father in Heaven over and over, but I was too scared to move until the search party came to get us.”
From We Were Not Alone: How an LDS Family Survived World War II Berlin, by Patricia Reece Roper and Karola Hilbert Reece, a true story of an LDS German family in very adverse conditions. It began when the father (the local Branch President) turned down an invitation to join the Nazi Party, saying: I serve only Jesus Christ, which cost him his job and all others except menial work assignments where he could only visit his family sporadically. The youngest daughter in the family was the one to go search out sources of food because her older siblings were employed. She was told good farms were at the end of one particular train line, so when she arrived she took the one of three roads out from that station that no one else took. Soon she realized why: there was a Russian garrison between the station and the village that was her only hope of food. If she turned back, she would return empty-handed, and her starving mother was only eating half her ration at each meal so that her children could eat enough to be able to work.
She bravely set out and was soon given a ride by a local farmer who hid her in smelly, dirty straw. She arrived safely and soon found a shopkeeper who didn’t want to sell her anything until he saw how half-starved she was and how sincerely in need. She offered to pay whatever he asked as they were earning regular pay, but he said he would sell her whatever her bags could hold at regular market prices and that she could come back every week. And every week, she miraculously found rides coming and going, until finally one week, there was no ride in sight as she was returning and approached the garrison. Just then she saw the soldiers all coming outside and knew she was in a terrible situation. If she turned back to the village, she would miss the last train home, her family would be horribly worried, and her mother might not live through such trauma. Here’s her account of what happened next (pp. 195-6):
There was no possible way that I could pass by them without being seen. If I were discovered, I could never survive what would be in store for me. There was no earthly help for me to plead for. No one was coming to my aid. So I turned to the only One who could give me the heavenly help I so crucially needed. Creeping between two trees by the side of the road, I quietly laid my nets down, folded my arms, and closed my eyes in prayer. I knew I urgently needed the courage to face the most savage enemies I’d ever known so that I could save the life of my mother. She was the one person on earth whose faith had sustained me and given me hope, courage, and a faith of my own at a time when all seemed lost. It was critical that I get home to her.
That day I did more than pray. I begged the Lord for his divine intervention. I felt like I was truly wrestling with the Lord. As I used every ounce of energy I possessed to reach my Father in Heaven, I became deaf to the soldiers’ voices and the world around me. My only focus was my Eternal Father.
The instant I began my prayer, I knew with all my soul that He was listening. He was right beside me, hearing each breath I took as I said, ‘I believe all the miracles Thou has done in the time recorded in the Bible. I also believe all Thou hast done for the people in the chosen land of America as recorded in the Book of Mormon. I know Thou art the same today, yesterday, and forever . . . . Dear Heavenly Father, I know Thou canst protect me. Please make me invisible to the eyes of those Russian soldiers so that I may walk through them unharmed, even as Thou hast done for Thy prophet Joseph Smith. Help me reach the train so that Mother will not have cause to worry beyond the strength she has to endure.’
After closing my prayer, I immediately picked up my sacks and, without a doubt in my heart, walked straight toward the Russian soldiers. I had to literally plough my way through them. As I pushed one soldier with my right shoulder to have a pathway through, he turned and said something to the soldier on my left. I looked into his eyes and he looked right through me, his big, clear, blue eyes holding no image of me. I continued on my way unscathed. They never even knew I was there. . . .and I caught the train home.
When she told her parents what happened, this was her mother’s response: Karola, you have made a tremendous sacrifice to get this food for us. I feel that the Lord has given you this test. You had a sufficient amount of faith to pass it. Her father’s: The Lord will not require your sacrifice anymore, and neither will we. Don’t go again. The Lord will provide. He will open the way for us to get food from some other source. Several days went by and soon her mother was starving again. Karola watched while her mother continued to go downhill, the rest is in her mother’s words: This morning after everyone left, I knelt by the side of the bed to pray. I had hardly begun when I broke down and cried to the Lord. I explained our pitiful circumstances. I have been surviving on faith and prayers for so long I knew it couldn’t last, and this morning it was clear to me that the end was near. It hurt me to envision your life [Karola’s] and the lives of the rest of the family if I should pass away. . . . I must have wrestled with the Lord for half an hour or more. When I finished, a great calm came over me, and I knew that help was coming. I lay down on the couch to rest and wait. . . . She opened the door some time later. There stood an America major. He merely said, ‘Wait right there,’ in his awkward German. I heard him run downstairs, and a few minutes later, he returned carrying several boxes. . . . ‘[these] are filled with food for you and your family’ . . . . He said that as he went past the PX store this morning, he felt as if someone pushed him inside. He took a cart and began to fill it with food. . . . He knew that he didn’t need anything, so he asked the Lord what he was supposed to do with it all. A deep impression came to him as he remembered the four young girls he had seen in church last Sunday. He went to the mission home, got their address and came straight over, and he came every week until he was transferred away.
A true story from a missionary just returned from an area in the Pacific where a very powerful hurricane had made landfall 3 months before and his was the worst hit area. It took three days for the Mission President to even make contact with his Bishop and assure his family that he and his companion were safe. The background is that this missionary and his companion were living on high ground in a concrete block house and were asked to move about 3 weeks before the hurricane hit, but they couldn’t find anywhere that met Mission standards, so they were still there when the storm hit, and hit hard. 90-95% of the buildings were destroyed and about the same number of people died. The Elders survived by hanging on to the posts of their bunk bed while most of their possessions were sucked out along with one wall.
They took in survivors until they were full, sharing their food and water from the small well outside their door. The last person they could accommodate had a somewhat fierce dog that kept others away. They then went and found their Bishop as the storm died down. He gave them a list of members and asked that they go and check on them. Miraculously, they had all survived which they then reported to the Bishop. In the meantime, he had found food and asked them to take it, go back and give it to each member.
By this time, these young man started to fear for their safety as the final survivors were probably growing more desperate and bolder. In his own words, he said: “We were two white faces in a sea of brown faces. Everyone had always looked at us and everyone had talked to us. This time no one looked at us and no one spoke to us. It seemed we were invisible to them.”
This Elder then chose to stay and complete the last 3 months of his mission doing service and cleanup, and I heard him speak in person shortly after he was released. I could see the fear he had experienced still deep in his eyes. The lesson was that he did what was right in spite of his fear and was protected. And who knows what this experience prepared him for in the future??
What stories will WE have to tell someday? Part of me shudders to think and part of me hopes I’ll rise to whatever challenge comes my way. So will we all have to have this trial and test of our faith? According to Elder Richard G. Scott in his October 2005 Conference talk, Truth Restored, we agreed to our mortal trials or at least knew they were coming:
So that the period of mortal testing and growth would yield its greatest benefit, you were taught and prepared for the circumstances you would personally encounter in mortality. Our Father’s pattern for guiding you through mortal life was explained. He would choose from among the most valiant, obedient spirit children prophets and other authorized servants to hold His priesthood, to be taught His truth, and to be guided to disseminate that truth among His children on earth. God would give each child moral agency, the right to choose His counsel or to ignore it. All would be encouraged but not forced to obey. You understood that while you could choose your path on earth, you could not determine the outcome of your choices. That would be decided by eternal law.
So I conclude from this that we all have individual paths ordained for our growth, and we don’t have every trial that is possible for others, just the ones we most need to demonstrate our worthiness for the level of glory we wish to attain in the next life. Additionally, here’s advice my mother was given in a priesthood blessing by her bishop many years ago: Your life has been designed to be the MOST perfect life it could be for your growth and development. If this was true for my mother, it must be true for all of us, because she was just another person like us, with strengths and weaknesses, and God is “no respecter of persons.” See the original blog post on my personal site, Just a Little Chipmunk in God’s Big Forest, for a fuller discussion.
One further thought: our prayers asking for protection will be answered in accordance with our premortal agreements and the Lord’s will. See a beautiful example Karola Hilbert’s family prayer early in World War II as adversity overtook the citizens of Berlin and all of Germany (p. 101):
Mother bowed her head for prayer, and we reverently lowered our heads and put our arms around each other, interlocking them so that we because a tight, unbreakable circle. Mother prayed. All the yearnings of her soul were opened and laid before the Lord. She asked him for our lives, that we would be spared the devastation that surely lay ahead. That somehow we would survive, if that was his will, to raise future generations in righteousness to him. She prayed for our purity, that we would be chaste and no one would steal this from us. That our hearts would be pure and we would not fall into the temptation of working for vengeance or withholding our forgiveness from our predators. That we would share the light and the love of the gospel in whatever circumstances we would be sent. Lastly, she prayed for our possessions and our home. In closing, Mother humbly said, “We ask for these things, kind Father, only if it is thy will. We leave it to thee to decide if we will have or have not. We place all our lives, virtue, and possessions into they hands: do with them as thou wilt.”
Those prayers were answered but not after they had been tested to see if they would live the Gospel in adversity. They shared what they had, they were an example of faith to their friends and neighbors, and they surrendered their wills, their safety, and their lives to God. Her mother was even willing to starve, that her children might live. And the Lord allowed her to come within days of dying before He accepted her sacrifice, released her from it, and brought them much needed food. But we can’t all count on being spared adversity, suffering, and possibly even death in the days ahead, no matter how hard we pray and how beautifully we live the Gospel. May we all take a page from the Hilbert family’s story and rise to a higher plane of faith and surrender!
I alternate between being a whiner and a tantrum thrower when adversity seems to gang up on me. Many times I can take the road of faith, strap on my backpack filled with spiritual tools, and tackle that particular mountain. But with other challenges, life all of a sudden seems unfair, and I think I can’t possibly have signed up for this.
Sitting in Sacrament Meeting my first year as a new convert, I silently whined to the Lord: What gives? I just dedicated my life to you and it just got worse – why? The Lord’s answer in my mind: It wouldn’t be a test, would it, if it weren’t a REAL test?
So evidently, goodness doesn’t bring immediate rewards, or even just trying to be better. Years ago, I read this thought in an LDS singles newsletter, paraphrased from memory:
The reason we don’t have immediate rewards or punishments is that the Lord wants us to choose the right way because of our love and commitment to Him. If He were to provide immediate blessings or negative consequences, many people would live “righteously” just for the reward and not really become better people. When good deeds don’t bring a visible result, it’s a much truer test of our intentions.
Along that line is the old saying: Virtue is its own reward. And what is that reward? Since I discovered God and His restored church as an adult, I could clearly see the difference that changing my intentions, then words and actions, brought: greater self-respect, and quickly too. It also brought improved relationships, greater achievement on the job, and a happier home life with my very deserving children.
Then I dimly remembered this thought from the Prophet Joseph Smith:
If you live up to these principles, how great and glorious will be your reward in the celestial kingdom! If you live up to your privileges, the angels cannot be restrained from being your associates. (LDS Church Manual, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, Chapter 39).
So we get a reward in the Celestial Kingdom and the company of angels in this life – this is getting better.
Years ago, my mother told me about a priesthood blessing she received from her bishop, paraphrased from memory:
Your life is the MOST perfect life you could have, for your growth and development.
She was on a long road to see my father join the Church and needed regular encouragement. She was finally rewarded when he was baptized at age 85 and three months before her death. He stayed faithful and we participated in their sealing 9 months after her passing. Another eternal reward, and a true principle for all of us.
Jim and Cloy Kent, Family Photo
Then in a Stake Conference talk years ago, I heard this thought (sorry, no idea of the source), but it rings true:
The angelic choirs in heaven are singing praises to God for the mortal adversities that brought them to Christ.
And that reminds me of another quote, from one of the survivors of the Willey Martin handcart companies, when he stood up in Sunday School after hearing some strong criticism of their leaders for choosing to leave late in the summer, putting their people at risk. This gentleman stood up at the back of the class and said, paraphrased:
You do not know what you’re talking about. I price I paid to know my Savior was worth it, and I would do it again!
By now, I was feeling properly put in my place, especially when this scripture rang in my mind:
Doctrine and Covenants 88:5-7: 5 Which glory is that of the church of the Firstborn, even of God, the holiest of all, through Jesus Christ his Son— 6 He that ASCENDED up on high, as also he DESCENDED below all things, in that he comprehended all things, that he might be in all and through all things, the light of truth; 7 Which truth shineth. This is the light of Christ. As also he is in the sun, and the light of the sun, and the power thereof by which it was made.
If Christ needed to DESCEND before He could ASCEND, the greatest ever to walk the Earth, it must be true for us. My thought: Since we are to fill “themeasure of our creation” (D&C 88:15-19), doesn’t that also mean we are to descend an equal distance below our real potential for goodness to qualify for the rewards that come with personal triumph?
Then, the phrase, Sweet Are the Uses of Adversity, echoed through my mind as I tossed around ideas for this post today. I also realized that we sometimes fall for a mistaken belief that: The more we live righteously, the more we’ll be protected from adversity.
That logic certainly appeals to our “natural man” and our desire for a “white-picket-fence” lifestyle, where everything is hollyhocks and rose buds. But a lifetime of observation and then gospel study contradicts that thought, absolutely. And as the Lord said, It wouldn’t be a test, would it, if it weren’t a REAL test? Ouch! We don’t have to like it, but we’ll get further if we just accept it, buckle on our backpack of faith, courage, and perseverance (qualities I’m counseled to cultivate in my Patriarchal blessing), and get on with it – another ouch!
So where did that phrase, Sweet Are the Uses of Adversity, come from? I thought it was a hymn but a search of the hymnal came up empty. Then I did a phrase search on the Church website and it seems the earliest reference is from a BYU Devotional, given February 2, 1962, by Elder Harold B. Lee (and later prophet), click HERE to listen to it – 36 minutes, it’s a corker and you’ll be glad you made the time. Sadly, no transcript is available, but here Elder Lee quotes Dr. Victor Hess, Nobel Prize winner for the discovery of cosmic rays:
Real faith for a scientist, as for anyone else, is often a matter of bitter struggle. The victory must be won or the gift must be discovered by each one in his own soul. It often takes the personal experience of grave danger of death to bring conviction and prepare the way for faith in divine providence. What is certain is that when faith comes, there follows a great serenity of soul and a deep peace in the human heart.
Mirroring that thought, Joseph Smith taught that “a religion that does not require the sacrifice of ALL THINGS never has the power sufficient to produce the faith necessary unto life and salvation” (Church Website Guide to the Scriptures: Sacrifice, first paragraph, EMPHASIS added).
Going back to my earlier question: Did I sign up for this? Evidently I did:
So that the period of mortal testing and growth would yield its greatest benefit, you were taught and prepared for the circumstances you would personally encounter in mortality. Our Father’s pattern for guiding you through mortal life was explained. He would choose from among the most valiant, obedient spirit children prophets and other authorized servants to hold His priesthood, to be taught His truth, and to be guided to disseminate that truth among His children on earth. God would give each child moral agency, the right to choose His counsel or to ignore it. All would be encouraged but not forced to obey. You understood that while you could choose your path on earth, you could not determine the outcome of your choices. That would be decided by eternal law (Elder Richard G. Scott, Truth Restored, Conference Talk, October 2005).
So what chosen trials will you be thankful for someday as you sing praises to your Savior in some glorious heavenly choir?
I, for one, am just realizing that the dynamics in my life that created far too much solitude, even social isolation, was a pure gift, as I became my own best companion and then a daughter of a Heavenly Father who’s a treasured counselor and fatherly comfort. I also now see what seems to be a boring trudge through long years of school, taught in a dry left-brained, sequential way, has given me an organized brain – paths I would never have chosen on my own.
You might start with the trials you’re facing today and apply Gospel principles to navigate through them. If you’re not thankful now, you will be someday as you warm up in your own heavenly choir!
So, let’s tackle the big one: The Time of Tribulationcoming towards us. How we handle our current challenges is how we can best prepare for those we’ll face in the future. And studying the wars of the past will prepare us for the wars ahead. Remember that the generation that lived through the Great Depression and then World War II were later called The Greatest Generation, and for good reason. Out of great adversity, comes greatness of soul. That greatness built a powerful and prosperous new age. Sadly “moles” have crept in with a different agenda, bringing the next big fight in order for freedom, fairness, and goodness to triumph.
The Storm Approaches, Pixabay Image 20352
But triumph we will. Read this description of that glorious new day:
Revelation 14:1-3, 6-7, 12-13: 1 And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion [Zion in America], and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads. 2 And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps: 3 And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth. 6 And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, 7 Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. 12 HERE IS THE PATIENCE OF THE SAINTS [patient through the tribulations]: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. 13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.
To recap:
We must DESCEND before we can ASCEND above our trials to claim the glory promised to us.
No matter how hard our trials are, our rewards will be greater, far greater. See my previous blog post: A Feast of Fat Things.
Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning (Psalm 30:5), and the Lord will wipe away all tears from our eyes (Isaiah 25:8; Revelation 7:17, 21:4).
Finally, think about the “mansion in heaven” being prepared for you (D&C 76:111). It will be your perfect home in a world of great love, cooperation, goodness, and amazing creativity. Think of all the history and cultures that will come alive to enrich every day. As Sarah said in 17 Miracles to her fiancé George, as he tackled life and death struggles: It will all be worth it! He lost the mortal battle for survival but gained new life with Sarah by his side, eternally.
Let’s all use that mantra as we go through difficulties, large or small, and not lose our focus on the ultimate prize – reunion with our most real and ultimate Father, as well as all who’ve gone before.
When we’re exposed to a flood of new spiritual insights, experience, or simply information, it’s easy to get pulled off center from the basics of Eternal Truth.
Brigham Young once said, It’s all right to think far out, just don’t forget to think your way back! (from memory). As usual, his common sense advice finds application in many situations, and this is one of them. So I try to keep these characteristics of God and Light clearly in my mind, as well as my understanding of Satan and the Dark side, as I integrate new learning with what I already know. It’s important to follow French philosopher Simone Vey’s advice, as quoted by Kate Holbrook, while at the Church History Dept:
All wrong translations, all absurdities in geometry problems, all clumsiness of style, and all faulty connection of ideas, all such things are due to the fact that thought has seized upon some idea too hastilyand, being thus prematurely blocked, isnot open to truth.
So here is how I see and describe God, His Kingdom, and His works, paired with Satan’s counterparts – in my TOTEM POLE OF TRUTH:
GOD and LIGHT
SATAN and DARKNESS
GOD exists
SATAN and evil are real
JESUS is the CHRIST
Satan’s ANTI-CHRIST is a false “Savior”
GOD, JESUS are SERVANTS
SATAN and the A-C are TYRANTS
Author of CREATION, ATONEMENT, IMMORTALITY, & ETERNAL LIFE
Goal: TOTAL DESTRUCTIONof Mankind with no progression
Christ is our ADVOCATE
Satan is our ACCUSER
Men have FREE AGENCY
Men are ENSLAVED to the will of Satan
THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRISTOF LATTER-DAY SAINTS is the Work of God
THE CHURCH OF THE DEVIL and the WHORE OF BABYLON is the Work of Satan
JOSEPH SMITH is called of God to organize God’s Restored Church.
SATAN’S LEADERS organize Secret Combinations.
PROPHETS& APOSTLES: Leaders trusted by God, or He removes them
SATAN’S MINIONS and SLAVES, Evil and Unclean Spirits
God of LOVE and all its offspring
Author of HATE and all its offspring
God of TRUTH Good is Good, and Bad is Bad. God keeps His promises. He delights in “plainness.” (2 Nephi 31:3)
God of FALSEHOOD Good is Bad, and Bad is Good. Satan is a liar from the beginning. (D&C 93:25; Alma 5:20-25)
God of PEACE and CONFIDANCE
Author of FEAR and INSECURITY
God of ABUNDANCE Matthew 6:33: But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Creator of SCARCITY Artificially created for power and profit. D&C 104:17: For the earth is full,and there is enough and to spare;
GOVERNMENT of the people, by the people, and for the people. Inspired the United States Constitution. Christ heads world government in the Millennium.
GOVERNMENT of TYRANNY Socialism and Communism Promises everything but never delivers. Satan is bound during the Millennium.
FAMILY is the organization of heaven, focused on serving mankind.
Thefocus is on the INDIVIDUAL and anything that separates each one from God.
MARRIAGEonly between 1 man and 1 woman and shall “become one flesh” with total fidelity.
IMMORALITY enthroned, any deviation from God’s law is encouraged and supported.
CHILDRENare loved and cared for.
CHILDRENare abused, exploited, murdered.
FAMILIES build COMMUNITIES to support life, creativity, all good things.
SATAN builds SECRETCOMBINATIONS that undermine human life & civilization.
COMMUNITIES build the KINGDOM OF GOD
SECRET COMBINATIONS build the KINGDOM OF THE DEVIL
Our DESTINY is OUR CHOICE
Satan controls our DESTINY
So when someone doesn’t want to accept the officially published word of an Apostle of the Lord because they don’t like that Apostle’s personality, I remember that the Lord will not allow His prophet, counselors, nor Apostles to teach falsehood in their official capacity (see item 9 above). But I also search the scriptures to find corroboration and further enlightenment.
See my previous Blog Post, O Say What is Truth? for more to chew on. Do study, but study carefully and keep early opinions squarely in the Maybe Box, until evidence and revelation bring greater clarity. And do spend time in your intellectual and spiritual sandbox, enjoy the journey, and don’t take yourself too seriously – remember we’re supposed to become as little children (3 Nephi 11:37-38) . . . .
Author’s Photos – Early Selfies – Me in MY Sandpile Upper Left
Right after celebrating an early Thanksgiving with my children and grandson on Monday last week, I woke up at 4 am Tuesday morning with violent chills and body aches. Thinking I had picked up a flu bug the week before on my visit to Idaho where two of my friends were either getting sick or getting over a nasty flu, I settled in with the usual: Vit C, lots of water, and Motrin for the pain. But later in the day as I only got more miserable and also experiencing both a dry cough and creeping lung congestion, I said to myself, Really, really!I’ve been brave enough – where’s the relief? I don’t suffer illness readily and was complaining to the universe about the unfairness of this illness.
Then I remembered a workshop several years ago taught by Claudia Orgillwhere she gave us a list of her top anti-viral herbs. The three I have tried in the past: Olive Leaf, Chinese Skullcap (not American), and Dyer’s Woad (from the Indigo plant). About 8 years ago, I came down with a nasty flu that was going around, about a week before Thanksgiving. I hated the thought of missing the get-together with my brother’s family, so I quickly ordered both Chinese Skullcap and Dyer’s Woad (Woad Supreme brand) from Amazon. The Skullcap came first and quickly. Taking a capsule about every 4 hours brought little relief.
The next day, the Dyer’s Woad arrived and I took that every 4 hours also, along with the usual Vit C, liquids, etc., and very shortly I started feeling better. Within 3 days, I felt perfectly well and stayed that way another 2-3 so I had an extra reason to be thankful: I didn’t miss any of the fun or wonderful food that year.
So I dug out my Woad Supreme, taking it every four hours, and added my homemade Respiratory Salve (1/4 lobellia, 3/4 mullein) and slavered it on my neck and face. Plus I had just gone to a Homeopathy Workshop by Angie Christensen, bought her kit of remedies and added Sepia (1 drop on the tongue, about 4x daily), reportedly helpful for infections. Plus I took 1 – 200 mg Motrin with each dose too.
On Wednesday, I saw real improvement, but was still noticeably sick. On Thursday most symptoms were gone, I was just tired, so I spent most of the day in bed. By Friday, I felt normal enough to tackle my neglected cooking and household tasks. Sadly, I overdid it and had a minor relapse of symptoms.
So yesterday (Saturday) I finally went to Urgent Care and tested positive for COVID – no surprise. The doctor was very pleasantly surprised at how good my numbers were: 96% blood oxygen (a high for me), perfect blood pressure, normal pulse, good skin color and obvious close-to-normal energy level. I told her about my remedies and she wrote down Dyers Woad/Woad Supreme – hopefully she at least tries it personally. Here it is Sunday and it’s too soon to attend church safely, plus I still feel a little weak and light headed, but other symptoms are reduced by 90%. I call it a victory for the lowly Indigo plant.
This is only an account of what’s worked for me, and it’s not intended as medical advice. Consult your own medical professionals, do your research, and decide for yourself. But the links above will provide a start to your study – be safe and well this beautiful Christmas season as we celebrate the gift of life, both here and in the eternities.
