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Brigham Young on Evil and Unclean Spirits:
I know very well that, whether we are active or not, the invisible spirits are active.  And every person who desires and strives to be a Saint is closely watched by fallen spirits that came here when Lucifer fell [evil spirits], and by the spirits of wicked persons who have been here in tabernacles and departed from them [unclean spirits], but who are still under the control of the prince of the power of the air.
Those spirits are never idle; they are watching every person who wishes to do right, and are continually prompting them to do wrong. This makes it necessary for us to be continually on our guard—makes this probation a CONTINUAL WARFARE. 
(Journal of Discourses 7:239) 

My two experiences while living in the woods of New Hampshire in the 1970s:

This is the companion blog post for my YouTube video: Spiritual Preparation, Part 2: Combating Evil and Unclean Spirits, link HERE, with these slides and images:

While walking one evening in my small town in SW New Hampshire, I started down a logging road about 50 yards from an opening in the trees much like this one. I immediately felt the presence of evil spirits and perceived they were gathered there, held back from closeness to residences by the good spirits that surrounded well-meaning people.

The second experience was at a Halloween party in a neighboring rural home, well off the main road, also on an old logging road. At one point, I went outside with the family dog and headed further into the woods on that road. As soon as we started towards a similar opening in the trees, the dog started barking with his back arched and hair on end. Simultaneously, I felt the same hackles up my back and neck. We went right back inside, shelving any thought of going farther. By my own experience, I know evil spirits are real and either the Spirit of God or my watchful “good spirits” (probably ancestors) saw them and warned me. What mechanism alerted the dog will probably be knowledge gained in the Millennium!

Also in line with the lesser spirituality I was investigating at the time is described succinctly in Isaiah 8:19-20:
19 And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead?
[Seances, Oija Boards, Wiccans, direct Satan worship, and all avenues to God not protected by the Spirit, especially Priesthood power]
20 To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.

How do these dark spirits make you feel?
How does the Spirit of God make you feel?

Satan’s “Vice Presidents”—the Dark Trinity:
BAAL: To the nation of Israel, Baal was the embodiment of paganism and of all pagan gods. He was the epitome of all that was not God and all that warred against Him. . . . He was the god that Israel turned to when it turned away from God. He was the god who separated Israel from its God, who drew it away, who made it forget the God of its foundation.  (Rabbi Jonathan Cahn, Return of the Gods, p. 41)
ISHTAR:  She was the goddess of sexuality. . . . She was also the goddess of war and destruction. . . . If denied the object of her desires or if offended, she would become vengeful and violent and could wreak havoc and destruction. She was the breaker of rules, the trespasser of boundaries, and the transgressor of standards and conventions. (Return of the Gods, p. 71)
MOLECH:  Molech was associated with the darkest of sins —the sacrifice of human beings and, in particular, the sacrifice of children. Even darker, Molech is associated with the sacrifice of children by their parents. The bible speaks of the act as the most grievous of  “abominations” as well as the sign of a nation that has turned entirely against the ways of God and become lost to Him.  (all Return of the Gods, by Jonathan Cahn, p. 93)

MOSIAH 29:27: And if the time comes that the voice of the people doth choose iniquity, then is the time that the judgments of God will come upon you; yea, then is the time he will visit you with great destruction even as he has hitherto visited this land.

Addiction Leads to Possession?
Excerpt: Return from Tomorrow, a near-death experience of George G. Ritchie, P. 59-60:
Gradually I began to notice something else. All of the living people we were watching were surrounded by a faint luminous glow, almost like an electrical field over the surface of their bodies. . . . And then I realized that the non-physical beings didn’t [have that glow] either. My own unsolid body, I now saw, was without this glowing sheath.
At this point the Light drew me inside a dingy bar and grill near what looked like a large naval base. . . . Then I noticed a striking thing. A number of the men standing at the bar seemed unable to lift their drinks to their lips. And these men, everyone of them, lacked the aureole of light that surrounded the others.
I watched one young sailor rise unsteadily from a stool, take two or three steps, and sag heavily to the floor. Two of his buddies stooped down and started dragging him away from the crush. But that was not what I was looking at. I was staring in amazement as the bright cocoon around the unconscious sailor simply opened up. It parted at the very crown of his head and began peeling away from his head, his shoulders. Instantly, quicker than I’d ever seen anyone move, one of the insubstantial beings who had been standing near him at the bar was on top of him. In the next instant, to my utter mystification, the springing figure had vanished.
Twice more, as I stared, stupefied, the identical scene was repeated. A man passed out, a crack swiftly opening in the aureole round him, one of the non-solid people vanished as he hurled himself at the opening, almost as if he had scrambled inside the other man.
Was that covering of light some kind of shield, then? Was it a protection against . . . against disembodied beings like myself? Presumably these substance-less creatures had once had solid bodies, as I myself had had. Suppose that when they had been in these bodies they had developed a dependence on alcohol that went beyond the physical. That became mental. Spiritual, even. Then when they lost that body, except when they could briefly take possession of another one, they would be cut off for all eternity from the thing they could never stop craving.
An eternity like that—the thought sent a chill shuddering through me—surely that would be a form of hell!

HIGHLIGHTS:
• Takes place in a bar near a naval base (end of WWII)
• Saw beings with aura of light and those without it, drinking or trying to.
• When a living person was intoxicated enough, their aura of light broke open and a non-living spirit jumped in. These spirits were thought to be addicted to alcohol in mortality.
• They were trying to re-experience it because their minds and even their spirits had become addicted, not just their bodies, now in the grave.
• Is this a form of Hell?
• What makes US vulnerable?
• What might free them, and us, from this spirit world prison?

Excerpts from Visions of Glory, Ch 6, pp. 103-104:
It was late at night. A young man in his underwear came into the room quietly. . . . He closed the door softly . . . and went to a computer . . . I felt a growing sense of excitement coming from him. I knew that his wife and two sons and baby daughter were asleep . . . and that he intended to view pornography. I perceived that he was a good man . . . .
I saw eight spirits enter the room. Four of these were evil spirits who had once been mortal, the other four were unborn evil spirits—Satan’s minions. The disemboded [unclean spirits] looked human and wore clothing typical of the period in which they had died.
The evil spirits were less substantial, general smaller, with misshapen features, making them look slightly inhuman. They were agitated, active, jumping around in a frenzy, shouting their commands to the young man in excited voices.
The disembodied spirits said little at first. They had little ability to be heard by the young man. They trying to satisfy the sexual passion they had developed during their own lives. . . both male and female spirits. Their addiction was unending, painful, and impossible to satisfy. . . .
The unborn evil spirits were there to trap him, to entice him on, to remind him of the upcoming thrill. They cared nothing for experiencing his passion. They had never had a body and were not capable of understanding the thrill—they were there to control him . . . to keep him involved and under their “spell” as long as possible. . . .
They were most interested in keeping him focused upon his own body, and his own thrills so effectively that he could not feel his relationship to Christ, the Holy Spirit, or remember his family. All he could think of was himself and the guaranteed gratification that was just a click away. The more excited he grew, the more frenzied the evil spirits became. They became more aggressive, jumping at him, hitting him with their hands and cursing. It was a loathsome thing to see.
I realized even more powerfully from seeing this that all addictions are purely selfish; they guarantee the instant gratification of the flesh.
When he made the decision to partake, all of his good intentions and desires were immediately drowned out by the passion and the control of the evil spirits. The good spirits that had been near him as he slept were forced a distance away until he could not hear them.         

POSSESSION BY AN ANCESTOR: Excerpts from Freeing the Captives: The Emerging Therapy of Treating Spirit Attachment, by Louise Ireland-Frey, M.D.)
“Louise, a neighbor of mine called [Amy], saying that for the past month she has become more and more convinced that her deceased mother [Maggie] is trying to push her out of her body and take over. She can’t talk to anyone about it because people would think she’s crazy. But she has become more and terrified than ever, since even her husband comments on how much like her mother she is looking. I referred her to you.” With considerable hesitation I agreed to see this neighbor.
For years I had been working with hypnosis and had discovered the immense power of the altered state. Moreover, since my teens I had known about “earthbound entities,” the psyches of deceased person that did not “go on to the astral level” [spirit world] as they normally should.
After leading Amy into a light state of hypnosis, I call the mother:
“Maggie, we are calling you. Please come . . . . Amy, tell us when you see her” . . . . [she came]
After commanding Maggie to leave:
“Good, Maggie, that’s fine, you have your own place to go to. You don’t belong here any more. You have your own destiny. You must go on. . . .
“Amy do you see her going? Getting smaller? . . . .
“Yes, she’s going—slowly. She’s very small . . . Way over there.”
“Louise to Amy: “You are free; you are yourself.”

CLEAN HOUSE—Personally and Nationally
Matthew 12:43-45:
43 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none.
44 Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished.
45 Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.
This is true for individuals, families, groups, and nations—

D&C 121:45:  Let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith, and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God . . . .

What’s OUR Power Over Dark Spirits?
• Control Our Thoughts and Actions—Be Your Own “Gate Keeper.” Remember this saying:

Sow a Thought, Reap an Action
Sow an Action, Reap a Habit
Sow a Habit, Reap a Character
Sow a Character, Reap a Destiny

• Pray for the Lord’s Help and Protection.
• Raise Our Right Arm to the Square and Rebuke Them: MY WORDING:

TO EVIL SPIRITS—COMMAND: “Evil spirits leave and never come back, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.”
TO UNCLEAN SPIRITS—INVITE BY WAY OF COMMAND: “Unclean spirits, this isn’t the place for you to satisfy your wishes or progress. There are good spirits waiting to take you to a place of acceptance, instruction, repentance and forgiveness, love and progression. I invite you to go there, by way of command. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

• Have an Inspired Priesthood Blessing on Our Homes.
• Have a Righteous and Believing Priesthood Holder Cast Out An Evil Spirit that Doesn’t Leave Any Other Way.

We don’t need to fear evil. Its only power is to cause fear and intimidation but it can’t force our thoughts, words, or actions. Here’s the AI image given in the video to illustrate that—a half vision/half dream I received years ago after an encounter with an evil spirit entity I perceived as the “Angel of Death” trying to scare me:

The message was pretty clear to me. Evil is real and really wants to hurt and destroy us, but this wolf couldn’t get up from this bench and could only threaten me. What looks like a clown suits symbolizes that we can laugh at Satan and his evil minions—they have no real power!

REMEMBER:  The Prophet Joseph Smith:
All beings who have bodies have power over those who have not. The devil has no power over us only as we permit him. The moment we revolt at anything which comes from God, the devil takes power.
(Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, sel. Joseph Fielding Smith [1976], 181).

GOOD	EVIL
Church of Christ	Church of Satan
Create, Build Up, Expand	Destroy, Tear Down, Constrict
Create Loyal Families	Living Any Immoral Lifestyle
Protect Innocence/Children	Destroy Innocence/Children
Build Communities/Nations	Destroy Communities/Nations
Teach Good Principles	Teach Evil, Masked as “Good”
Form Government of Liberty	Form Government of Slaves
God Gives Us Free Agency	Satan Controls/Owns Us
God Promises Eternity and Delivers It for the Righteous	Satan Promises Eternity but Only Delivers Darkness/Death
LIVE WITH GOD	ETERNAL DAMNATION

Behold there are save two churches only;
the one is the church of the Lamb of God,
and the other is the church of the devil . . .
(1 Nephi 14:10)

FULCRUM OF CHOICE Diagram: See Home Page of this website or direct link HERE.

FINAL THOUGHTS:
St Augustine:
For the Devil does not seduce or influence anyone, unless he finds him ready in some way similar to himself. He finds him coveting something, and greed opens the door for the Devil’s suggestion to enter.

D&C 122:9:  Therefore, hold on thy way, and the priesthood shall remain with thee; for their bounds are set, they cannot pass. Thy days are known, and thy years shall not be numbered less; therefore,  fear not what man [or evil] can do, for God shall be with you forever and ever.

St Ambrose of Milan:
The Devil tempts so that he may ruin; God tests so that He may crown.

FOR FURTHER STUDY:
• YouTube video: Combating Evil and Unclean Spirits, link HERE
• The Return of the Gods and Josiah Manifesto, by Rabbi Jonathan Cahn
• Visions of Glory, Ch 6, by “Spenser” as told to John Pontius
• Return From Tomorrow,  by George G. Ritchie with Elizabeth Sherrill
• Freeing the Captives: The Emerging Therapy of Treating Spirit Attachment, by Louise Ireland-Frey, M.D.
• Manual for Spiritual Warfare, by Paul Thigpen, quotes on p. 169
• NOTE: Many of these books can be purchased on Amazon or used from www.bookfinder.com—a site that surveys the top used books sellers online—a great resource!

OTHERS not quoted in Video:
• Scott Gillespie: Porn, Sickness, Evil Spirits and the Priesthood, 61 pp, better for study, redundancies removed, link HERE.
• Scott Gillespie: Porn, Sickness, Evil Spirits and the Priesthood, longer version with redundant references, but starts with his personal story and worth reading, link HERE.
• EXCERPTS: The Unquiet Dead, A Psychologist Treats Spirit Possession, link HERE.

Please do contact me with your comments and/or questions, link HERE.

Here the “Tiers of Authority” in our search for Truth, as I understand them:

Authoritative, Top-Down Learning:
– Holy Ghost, understood correctly
– Prophets and Apostles, “over the pulpit”
– Scriptures
Semi-Authoritative—human opinion can creep in:
– Church Education
– Church College Professors
– Deseret Book Publications
– Apocrypha
Logical Analysis:
– Personal Experience
– Human theory
Interesting:
– All are subject to possible personal error, or opinions of the speaker/writer.
No Authority: 
– Emotion, Opinion, Speculation—just ask more questions

USE A “MAYBE BOX” AND KEEP STUDYING:
French philosopher Simone Vey/Weil says: 
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 hastily and, being thus prematurely blocked, is not open to truth.    (from Waiting on God, Reflections on the Right Use of School Studies with a View to the Love of God, Simone Weil, 1950)
Also:
There is nothing that comes closer to true humility than the intelligence. It is impossible to feel pride in one’s intelligence at the moment when one really and truly exercises it.   (https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Simone_Weil)

PITFALLS IN THE LEARNING PROCESS:
Joseph Smith, Prophet of the Restoration:
It is not very essential for the elders to have knowledge in relation to the meaning of beasts, and heads and horns, and other figures made use of in the revelations; still, it may be necessary, to prevent contention and division and do away with suspense.
If we get PUFFED UP by thinking that we have much knowledge, we are apt to get a contentious spirit, and correct knowledge is necessary to cast out that spirit.  (TPJS, P. 287)
D&C 88:118:
And as all have not faith, seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even BY STUDY and also BY FAITH.

LET’S SHARE IDEAS:
– Set aside pride and see ideas as “things” and not “personal pets.”
– Become “as a little child” and play with ideas. (Matthew 18:3)
– Get in the “sandpile” and collaborate with other students.
– Develop a thick skin and don’t take offense when your ideas are questioned, even challenged vigorously.
– Remember: It’s not WHO’S right, but WHAT’S right.
– Give the glory to God because all truth comes from Him.
– Stay a “little child” and resist the temptation to become “puffed up” in pride.

FAITHFUL vs “CHURCH OF THE FIRSTBORN”:
Elder Bruce R. McConkie on who will be at Adam-ondi-Ahman:
. . . before all these, there is to be a secret appearance to SELECTED members of his Church. He will  come in private to his prophet and to the apostles then living. Those who have held keys and powers and authorities in all ages from Adam to the present will also be present.
And further, all the FAITHFUL members of the Church then living and all the faithful saints of all the ages past will be present. It will be the greatest congregation of faithful saints ever assembled on planet earth. And it will take place in Daviess County, Missouri, at a place called Adam-ondi-Ahman.     (From: The Millennial Messiah (pp. 578–79)
CHALLENGE:  “No, it’s not only being FAITHFUL, but we’ll need to be in the Church of the Firstborn.“

THE RESOLUTION:
D&C 93: 11–13, 18–20, 22: 
11 And I, John, bear record that I beheld his glory, as the glory of the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth, even the Spirit of truth, which came and dwelt in the flesh, and dwelt among us.
12 And I, John, saw that he received not of the fulness at the first, but received grace for grace;
13 And he received not of the fulness at first, but continued from grace to grace, until he received a fulness;
18 And it shall come to pass, that if you are faithful you shall receive the fulness of the record of John.
19 I give unto you these sayings that you may understand and know how to worship, and know what you worship, that you may come unto the Father in my name, and in due time receive of his fulness.
20 For if you keep my commandments you shall receive of his fulness, and be glorified in me as I am in the Father; therefore, I say unto you, you shall receive grace for grace.
22 And all those who are begotten through me are partakers of the glory of the same, and are the CHURCH OF THE FIRSTBORN. (EMPHASIS added)

LEARN BY FAITH: KNOWLEDGE IS “ONE GREAT WHOLE”:
Elder Dallin H. Oaks (Always Have His Spirit, Conference, Oct 1996):
To repeat, the Light of Christ is given to all men and women that they may know good from evil; manifestations of the Holy Ghost are given to lead sincere seekers to gospel truths that will persuade them to repentance and baptism.
The GIFT of the Holy Ghost is more comprehensive. The Prophet Joseph Smith explained: “There is a difference between the Holy Ghost and the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Elder and Sister Neil L. Andersen:
The Mormon view of truth is grounded in the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, but that doesn’t mean truth is limited to the Mormon experience. As Elder D. Todd Christofferson said, “Truth is scattered liberally across the globe.”  And it was Joseph Smith who encouraged us to “get all the good in the world”  and to “receive truth, let it come from whence it may.”
Truth has many aspects — spiritual, physical, philosophical, historical — and in the end they all fit together into one great whole. (Worldwide Devotional, 13 Oct 2017)

Brigham Young:
It’s OK to think far out—just be sure you can think your way back!

Find the center of all truth—It’s bigger than we are!

This is the companion post to YouTube video link HERE: God’s Timeline? Part 5: Timeline Skeleton: The “BONES” and “JOINTS” Explained.

I provided the scriptures that described the “bones” of the timeline I use in my book and elsewhere, also referred to as “Daniel’s Numbers”—spans of days associated with Last Days events: 1,290; 1,260; 2,300; and 1,335 days.

Here’s a simplified chart to refer to, and you will see that the beginning and ending points of those four spans all land on a relevant Hebrew “Holy Day” for that event:

Here are the scriptures that describe each “number”:

1,290 Days: Daniel 12:7-11:
Daniel 12:7–11:
7 And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished.
8 And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things?
9 And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.
10 Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.
11 And [1] from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away [beginning], and [2] the abomination that maketh desolate set up [end], there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days. [1,290]

1,260 Days: Revelation 11:1-3
1 And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.
2 But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city [Jerusalem] shall they tread under foot forty and two months.
3 And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore  days, clothed in sackcloth.
SIDE NOTE: Revelation 12:6:
6 And the woman [House of Israel—native or adopted] fled into the wilderness [Zion in America?], where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days [1,260 days].

2,300 Days: Daniel 8:13-14:
13  Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation [set up], to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot?
14 And he said unto me, Unto [until the END of] two thousand and three hundred days [2,300]; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed. [in America]
SIDE NOTE: Review Daniel 12:11 listed above to review the 1,290 days that are the second part of the 2,300 days.

1,335 Days: Daniel 12:11-13:
11 And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days. [This verse is repeated from above for continuity.]
12 Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days. [1,335]
13 But go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days. [1,335]

If all this seems too bold for our current understanding of these scriptures, see what these scriptures have to say:

New Knowledge OK?
D&C 121:26-28, 33:
26 God shall give unto you knowledge by his Holy Spirit, yea, by the unspeakable gift of the Holy Ghost, that has not been revealed since the world was until now;
27 Which our forefathers have awaited with anxious expectation to be revealed in the last times, which their minds were pointed to by the angels, as held in reserve for the fulness of their glory;
28 A time to come in the which nothing shall be withheld, whether there be one God or many gods, they shall be manifest.
33 How long can rolling waters remain impure? What power shall stay the heavens? As well might man stretch forth his puny arm to stop the Missouri river in its decreed course, or to turn it up stream, as to hinder the Almighty from pouring down knowledge from heaven upon the heads of the Latter-day Saints.

D&C 107:56-57:
56 And Adam stood up in the midst of the congregation; and, notwithstanding he was bowed down with age, being full of the Holy Ghost, predicted whatsoever should befall his posterity unto the latest generation.
57 These things were all written in the book of Enoch, and are to be testified of in due time.
SIDE NOTE: You will see that the Book of Enoch that we don’t currently study as a Church is to be “testified of in due time.” Due time has arrived!

Appointed Times? Set Times? D&C 121:29-32:
D&C 121:29-32:
29 All thrones and dominions, principalities and powers, shall be revealed and set forth upon all who have endured valiantly for the gospel of Jesus Christ.
30 And also, if there be bounds set to the heavens or to the seas, or to the dry land, or to the sun, moon, or stars—
31 All the times of their revolutions, all the APPOINTED DAYS, months, and years, and all the days of their days, months, and years, and all their glories, laws, and SET TIMES, shall be revealed in the days of the dispensation of the fulness of times—
32 According to that which was ordained in the midst of the Council of the Eternal God of all other gods before this world was, that should be reserved unto the finishing and the end thereof, when every man shall enter into his eternal presence and into his immortal rest. (EMPHASIS added)

TO RECAP: Here are the “bones” and “joints” of this skeletal timeline:

The original researcher on this theory, Farrell Pickering (www.PropheticAppointments.com) tried placing this skeleton in all 50 years between 2020 and 2070 and the only one where all 8 points of Daniel’s Numbers landed on the appropriate Hebrew Holy Day for Adam-ondi-Ahman, and all the others, was 2031. What are the odds that they would all land where they needed to:

1 in 385,000,000! Is this really what the Lord intended? There’s only one way to know:    PRAY !

When it comes to scripture, no human logic can determine truth, God’s truth! If you’re truly seeking truth about this theory, you will need to ASK GOD (Moroni 10:4 in the Book of Mormon, and James 1 in the New Testament):

• Humble yourself and set aside your preconceived notions.
• Pray with total sincerity,
• With “real intent,” meaning you will act on what the Lord tells you,
• And with at least a beginning Faith in Christ,
• Nothing wavering (James 1).

Empty yourself of all opinion, hold up an open hand to the Lord, and He will lead you along to higher and higher truths:

Pixabay Image 3452582

The full explanation in given in the companion video on YouTube, link HERE, and even more in my book on Amazon, link HERE. Be sure to read the “Sample Pages” linked under the cover photo. It’s the first 40 pages or so.

Onward and Upward!

There are 4 BEASTS described in the Old Testament, mostly in the Book of Daniel, and there are 4 described in the New Testament, Book of Revelation. Are they the same? Are they good or evil?

Here’s what the Prophet Joseph Smith said:
When God made use of the figure of a beast in visions to the prophets He did it to represent those kingdoms which had degenerated and become corrupt, savage and beast-like in their dispositions, even the degenerate kingdoms of the wicked world; but He never made use of the figure of a beast nor any of the brute kind to represent His kingdom.…    (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith or TPJS, pp. 289-91)

Then see the description of these Beasts and Horns, continuing Joseph Smith’s commentary:
Daniel 7: 3: And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another. There are four successive empires, and then the kingdom of God is established.      (Old Testament Institute Manual, Lesson 28 on Daniel)
 Daniel says (ch. 7, v. 16) when he saw the four beasts . . . [the] beasts had no allusion to the kingdom of God. . . . the beasts are spoken of to represent the kingdoms of the world, the inhabitants whereof were beastly and abominable characters. . . . The lion, the bear, the leopard, and the ten-horned beast represented the kingdoms of the world, says Daniel.
John’s Vision of Futurity: John saw that only which was lying in futurity and which was shortly to come to pass. See Rev.1:1-3. . . . The four beasts and twenty-four elders were out of every nation; for they sang a new song, saying, “Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seal thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation.” (See Rev. 5:9) . . . What John saw and speaks [mostly] of were things which he saw in heaven; those which Daniel saw were on and pertaining to the earth. (TPJS, p. 287)

See Home Page for Simplified Timeline Chart, or direct links here: Black and White link HERE, Color link HERE.

The 1^st Beast:
Daniel 7:4: The first was like a LION, and had eagle’s wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man’s heart was given to it.
Anciently: The first, which was like a lion with eagles’ wings, represented the Babylonian Empire under Nebuchadnezzar.  (OT Institute Manual, Lesson 28 on Daniel)
Modern Times: Corresponds with ENGLAND:
England had “3 Lions” on their Coat of Arms since at least 1200s AD. The Royal Crest of England has an “upraised” Lion on it’s 2 rear feet with 3 small lions in the middle. The Eagle Wings could refer to the spread of  Britain’s Colonial Empire. (Source: James Prout, Last Days Timeline, pp. 30-32)

The 2^nd  Beast:
Daniel 7:5: And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh.
Anciently: The Median-Persian Empire – The bear was considered next to the lion as the strongest among animals by the people of the ancient Middle East. The raising up on one side could represent the raising of the forefeet of the bear (standing on its hind feet) as when it goes after prey.    (OT Institute Manual, Lesson 28 Daniel)
Modern Times:  Russia’s USSR was the 2^nd Beast, from the 1940s to 1991.
James Prout theorized that the “three ribs” in verse could be the three eastern European countries that Stalin grabbed before WWII, and where Russia “devoured much flesh.” Contemporary John Taylor also identifies the USSR as the bear which is also on its feet, and Stalin also murdered at least 10,000,000 of his own people. (James Prout, pp. 33-35)

The 3^rd Beast:
Daniel 7:6: After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it.
ANCIENTLY:  The Greek Empire of Alexander the Great –
Wings signify power to move and extend influence.
Heads signify governing power or the seat of government. His kingdom extended greatly under Alexander and had great power.  
(OT Institute Manual, Lesson 28 Daniel)
MODERN TIMES:  Germany and France’s European Union
James Prout’s theory: Germany’s national symbol is the Leopard/Panther which are seen on their Coat of Arms, stamps, WWII tanks. This union needs to fall before the 4^th Beast arises. The 2^nd Beast (Russia) fell because of too much debt, and this 3^rd beast and America’s financial collapse will set the stage for the 4^th Beast. The Four Wings and Four Heads could certainly be other European powers or leaders extending their power.  (pp 36-40)

The 4^th Beast:
Daniel 7:7: After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron  teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns.
Revelation 13:1-2:
1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.
2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the DRAGON gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.

 The 4^th Beast Gives Rise to the “Horns”:
Daniel 7:23, 8-9:
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.
8 I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another LITTLE HORN, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.  [“3 Horns = 3 Eagle Heads?]
9 I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the ANCIENT OF DAYS  [Adam/Michael] did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire.

The 10 HORNS:
Revelation 17:12-13:
12 And the TEN HORNS which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings ONE HOUR with the beast.
[the 4th Beast kingdom]
13 These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.     
[1 hour = 7 years]

Who is the LITTLE HORN?
Daniel 11:21, 23, 22, 24:
21 And in his estate shall stand up a VILE PERSON, to whom they shall not give the honour of the kingdom: but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries.
23 And after the LEAGUE made with him he shall work deceitfully: for he shall come up, and shall become strong with a small people.
22 And with the arms of a flood shall they be overflown from before him, and shall be broken; yea, also the prince of the covenant.
24 He shall enter peaceably even upon the fattest places of the province; . . . and he shall scatter among them the prey, and spoil, and riches . . . .
[The 10 Horns = the League of 10 Nations with 10 Rulers]

See Home Page for Simplified Timeline Chart, Black and White link HERE, Color link HERE.

Why is BARBARISM Dominate in History?
From the book, Alfred the Great, by Jacob Abbott:
It was discreditable then, as it is now in Europe, for any branches of families of the higher class to engage in any pursuit of honorable industry. They could plunder and kill without dishonor, but they could not toil. To rob and murder was glory; to do good or to be useful in any way was disgrace.
The “Danes” or Vikings made excursions every where for conquest and plunder, and were proud of their successful deeds of violence and wrong. It was honorable to enter into their service. Chieftains and nobles who dwelt upon the land sent their sons to acquire greatness, and wealth, and fame by joining these piratical gangs.

Do We See THESE PATTERNS Today?
Henry B. Eyring: The Lord would not use the word warn if there was no danger. Yet not many people we know sense it. They have learned to ignore the increasing evidence that SOCIETY IS UNRAVELING and that their lives and family lack the peace they once thought was possible.  (First Presidency Message, Ensign, January 2009)

How Did ALFRED “the Great” Tame Barbarism (the Vikings)?
Through (1) Christianity, (2) Fair and just government, (3) Impartial court system, (4) Fairer distribution of wealth, and (2) Building Civilization–Learning and Culture.

MASLOW’S “HIERARCHY OF NEEDS” SHOWS HOW CIVILIZATION IS BUILT:

The bottom 4 layers are called “Deficiency Needs” because until they are secured, one cannot build the higher layers of society and civilization (the “Growth Needs”). This is true for individuals, families, groups, states, and nations, and whole worlds!

How Can WE Tame Modern Barbarism and Where is Our Help?
Deuteronomy 30:19:
I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live. . .
2 Nephi 25:23:
. . . for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.
Pres. Nelson, Overcome the World and Find Rest, Oct 2022 Conf Talk:
But, my dear brothers and sisters, so many wonderful things are ahead. In coming days, we will see the greatest manifestations of the Savior’s power that the world has ever seen. Between now and the time He returns “with power and great glory,” He will bestow countless privileges, blessings, and miracles upon the faithful.
JST Matthew 1:37:
. . . for the Son of Man shall come, and he shall send his angels before him with the great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together the remainder of his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Our Promise of a Future Civilization:

President Brigham Young:
       “The business of the Elders of this Church (Jesus, their elder brother, being at their head), is to gather up all the truths in the world pertaining to life and salvation, to the Gospel we preach, to mechanisms of every kind, to the sciences, and to philosophy, wherever they may be found in every nation, kindred, tongue and people, and bring it to Zion.”  
The “Gathering” was to be not only a bringing together of people, but of all the treasures surviving in the earth from every age and culture; “Every accomplishment, every polished grace, every useful attainment in mathematics, music, in all science and art belong to the Saints, and they rapidly collect the intelligence that is bestowed upon the nations, for all this intelligence belongs to Zion.  All the knowledge, wisdom, power, and glory that have been bestowed upon the nations of the earth, from the days of Adam till now, must be gathered home to Zion.”  
       “What is this work? The improvement of the condition of the human family.” 
         (Hugh Nibley quoting Brigham Young in Why I Believe, a collection of essays, Bookcraft, SLC, 2002; and originally from Brother Brigham Challenges the Saints, 1994, emphasis added) 

Every minute, every day we can choose to build or tear down, to create or destroy, light over dark, and good over evil. So let’s keep at it and build Zion!

Here are the quotes and the end chart from YouTube video of the same name, link HERE.

We always say THE Antichrist —is this right? Farrell Pickering who discovered our skeletal timeline structure, theorizes that there are really two main ones:
(1) The “Little Horn” in America
(2) Then “The Assyrian” in Israel, ruling worldwide, except in Zion

See the full chart shown layer by layer in the YouTube video, PDF available on this website, link HERE.

The “Little Horn” Antichrist in America, references here:

Daniel 11: 21, 23, 22, 27-28:
21 And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honour of the kingdom: but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries.
23 And after the league made with him he shall work deceitfully: for he shall come up, and shall become strong with a small people.
22 And with the arms of a flood shall they be overflown from before him, and shall be broken; yea, also the prince of the covenant.

Daniel 8:11:
11 Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily  sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down.

Daniel 7:25, 21:
25 And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High . . . .
21 I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them;

Revelation 17:6:   [the Whore of Babylon]
6 And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.

Here’s the fate of the “Little Horn” Antichrist:

Daniel 7:22:
22 Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.

Daniel 11:41, 44-45:
41 He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.
44 But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.
45 And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.

Who then took out the “Little Horn” as described in this last verse (Daniel 11:45)?

The Assyrian, references here:
Ezekiel 31:3, 5, 10, 13, 14:
3 Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon with fair branches, and with a shadowing shroud, and of an high stature; and his top was among the thick boughs.
5 Therefore his height was exalted above all the trees of the field, and his boughs were multiplied, and his branches became long because of the multitude of waters, when he shot forth.
10 Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Because thou hast lifted up thyself in height, . . . his heart is lifted up in his height;
13 Upon his ruin shall all the fowls of the heaven remain, and all the beasts of the field shall be upon his branches:
14 . . . for they are all delivered unto death, to the nether parts of the earth, in the midst of the children of men, with them that go down to the pit.

2 Thessalonians 2:3-4—I believe this applies to both Israel and America:
Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

Man of Sin = Satan Who is Behind the Two Antichrists

How we will escape the severe tribulations under the Little Horn Antichrist? Places of Refuge!

. . . for without Zion, and a place of deliverance, we must fall; because the time is near when the sun will be darkened, and the moon turn to blood, and the stars fall from the heaven, and the earth reel to and fro. Then, if this is the case, and if we are not sanctified and gathered to the places God has appointed, with all our former professions and our great love for the Bible, we must fall; we cannot stand; we cannot be saved; for God will gather out his saints from the Gentiles, and then comes desolation and destruction, and none can escape except the pure in heart who are gathered.  In addition to all temporal blessings, there is no other way for the Saints to be saved in these last days, than by gathering …. (Joseph Smith (DHC 2:71; 4:272), and Chapter 8 in my book Last Days Decoded on Amazon, link HERE).

2 Priesthood Blessing Excerpts:

30 years ago: It will be one of your tasks, in your later life to help provide a place of (1) physical safety for (2) your family when the (3) wrath of the Lord will be poured out on the Earth. (4) And you will know this place by the Spirit when you find it.

Heard in Stake Conference Several Years Ago by a General Authority:
Now when it comes to food storage, the counsel of the Church has never changed. We are to have:
(1) a 72-hour kit
(2) 90 days of everyday or comfort food
(3) one year or more of survival food
(4) and every “needful thing”
His parting comment: Those who don’t do this will REALLY SUFFER!

3 years ago: Your Father in Heaven wants you to how much He is grateful for your diligence in trying to gain understanding and knowledge, especially of the Gospel and the Second Coming. He asks you to continue to talk to people about these things because we are going through tribulation. The times to come are coming soon and they will be difficult, and the members and those people around us need to be ready. You have the knowledge and the understanding, and He would like you to continue sharing that, that people might be able to prepare, to prepare their:
(1) food storage,
(2) to prepare themselves spiritually, and
(3) to prepare their lives.
Your Father in Heaven will support you and lift you up in this endeavor as well.

Joseph Smith, Prophet of the Restoration, account of his “First Vision” and related images: a recreation of Joseph praying in the Sacred Grove and the photo I took there in 2021, beseeching the Lord for a witness of Joseph’s experience. I was guided to this spot and immediately saw the connection of the two trees growing from the same root. I heard in my mind the taller one saying in my imagination, “This is my beloved son. Hear Him.” Christ would then be the smaller trunk that grew up into the only opening in the tree canopy, and surrounded by a halo of light.

This blog post is a companion to my YouTube video: “My Experience with God’s Prophets,” linked HERE and my channel’s link HERE. Here are the prophets I’ve featured in that video with key quotes and pictures:

At length I came to the conclusion that I must either remain in darkness and confusion, or else I must do as James directs, that is, ask of God. . . . So, I retired to the woods to make the attempt. . . . I kneeled down and began to offer up the desires of my heart to God. I had scarcely done so, when immediately I was seized upon by some power which entirely overcame me, and had such an astonishing influence over me as to bind my tongue so that I could not speak. Thick darkness gathered around me, and it seemed to me for a time as if I were doomed to sudden destruction. But, exerting all my powers to call upon God to deliver me out of the power of this enemy which had seized upon me . . . Just at this moment of great alarm, I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head . . . I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him! (Joseph Smith History 1:13-17 excerpts).

Pres. Spencer W. Kimball: Here’s a story about how he gently, but skillfully gave “corrective feedback” to a hospital orderly while coming out of surgery:

In the 1970’s, President Spencer Kimball had to undergo surgery. While President Kimball was under surgical anesthetic, he was being wheeled down the hall in the hospital by a young orderly. As the orderly pushed the bed carrying the prophet through the [elevator] door, he accidentally smashed his finger between the metal door frame and the metal frame of the bed. Angry and in pain, the orderly took the name of Jesus Christ in vain. Still drugged and only half-conscious, the prophet opened his eyes and managed to gently rebuke the orderly by saying, “Young man, please don’t say that. He’s my best friend. I love Him more than anything in this world.” After the orderly composed himself, he answered softly, “I shouldn’t have said that. I’m sorry.“ (from bio “Spencer W. Kimball,” p. 264 and picture from de.wikipedia.org):

Dearly Departed Pres. Russell M. Nelson: His strong emphasis on developing the habit of receiving personal revelation, preparing for the Last Days, and especially doing all in our power to gather the scattered House of Israel through missionary and temple work are “marching orders” for us all! Note his funeral on Tuesday, October 7 coincides with the last and 3rd day of this year’s Harvest Moon, a time of real shift between seasons and possibly a symbolic progression in human lives as well. How fitting that one prophet departs this Earth as the next one waits in the wings! See a YouTube video that describes this (about 30 minutes), link HERE. Note: All interpretations of astrological meanings are theory only, but interesting. . . .

We’re witnesses to a process of restoration,” President Russell M. Nelson has said.
“If you think the Church has been fully restored, you’re just seeing the beginning. There is much more to come . . . . Wait till next year.And then the next year.
Eat your vitamin pills. Get your rest. It’s going to be exciting. 
(Quoted in “The Ongoing Restoration,” by Elder LeGrand R. Curtis Jr. in the Liahona/Ensign, April 2020 issue.)

Pres. Gordon B. Hinckley: He was loved by many as the grandfather we wish we’d had. It gives many of us great comfort that someone without genius, several college degrees, or family connections could rise so far in the Kingdom of God. After listening to his funeral on TV, I pictured he and his departed wife Marjorie finally reunited and released from attendance at his funeral so they could fly to grander places in Heaven. He had publicly expressed his grief at losing her and how he missed her companionship and love. Coincidentally, I then drove west from Boise and Meridian on Chindon Blvd, heading to a real estate open house. I suddenly notice two lone Canada geese flying south, from left to right in my view. This seemed like a lovely message from the Lord confirming that they were indeed back together and flying off into a world of light and love, away from from this darkening world. Here’s what I found that is a beautiful representation of both that experience and what I imagined for them spiritually (Pixabay.com/image 4139298)

Pres. Dallin H. Oaks: He is a former president of BYU Provo, a Utah Supreme Court Justice, an Apostle of God, and now in line to be the next president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Here’s a lovely picture of him and his second wife, Kristen. Notice the arched doorways behind each of them, probably a temple somewhere in the world. See the scripture below that sprang to mind as I contemplated those “open doors” beckoning them to come in and rise to a higher calling, probably defending our church and religious freedom for all—soon to be coming under greater attack!

I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name. (Revelation 3:8)

Captain Moroni in the Book of Mormon, like Pres. Oaks, he was a defender of liberty on every front. Here he is waving the “Title of Liberty” flag he fashioned in a time of war and persecution, as described in Alma 46, in the Book of Mormon, image from www.BookofMormonEvidence.org:

Here’s our modern “Title of Liberty”—the Stars and Stripes forever, from Pixabay.com/ image 239620):

Finally, is Pres. Oaks our new Moroni, defender of the faith and America’s constitution?

Stay strong, stay faithful, and never weaken!

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.

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:

• Janet Kent, “Last Days Decoded” YouTube channel, “Come Unto Christ,” link: @LastDaysDecodedJK
• 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:

• From Through 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!