[An audio version of this article can be played below.]
“Judge a person by their questions, rather than their answers.” – Voltaire
Throughout history, tyrants and freemen have been waging a war – a war of questions. The enemies of agency ask questions in order to confuse, deceive, coerce and enslave. Freemen ask questions designed to clarify, enlighten, persuade and liberate. Prophetic evidence of these questions exists so that we in the latter days can identify those who would seek to trap us or manipulate us.
Satan’s plan is to destroy our agency, and he knows that he can accomplish this in two distinct ways. Since freedom is delicately balanced between tyranny and anarchy, Satan and his followers have designed their questions to draw us toward either end of the governmental spectrum.
One tactic is to ask “Who are you?” in order to ascertain our beliefs and then manipulate them. Consider the recent confrontation between Rep. Bob Etheridge and several students that made headlines all around the country. Etheridge repeatedly asked, “Who are you?”, but the student would not relent and the Congressman became more and more frustrated because without that information he could not deceive them. This is why government programs like the decennial U.S. Census may appear harmless but in actuality are information-gathering tools that Secret Combinations use in their evil work.
On the other hand, “What do you want?” is a fantastic question for finding out if you have an entitlement attitude and then offering you the very item you feel entitled to. This tactic has been employed by the proponents of the welfare state who seek to enslave their fellow citizens by making them dependent upon tyrants.
One group pushes a belief in a higher power, which they use as a means to bring about absolute obedience. The other group wants to give you the things that would win your loyalty and give you power over others, in order to bring about change through chaos.
Democrats and Republicans – often viewed as opposing forces – are simply tools that Satan and his followers are using to destroy our agency. Both parties ask these questions to manipulate our beliefs, to establish Pharisee-esque “fence laws”, and to offer us things we think we “deserve” in order to make us dependent. We are confronted by one group that seeks absolute order – the rule of the tyrant – while another group seeks absolute chaos – the rule of the strong man, with both perceived as ways to encourage growth. Both are the ways of Satan. In this case, the Republicans and Democrats both seek absolute power, or to become the tyrant, and they will use chaos and order in different ways to achieve their goal. The prophet Joseph Smith, Jr. acknowledged this in the Times and Seasons:
In the next canvas we shall be influenced by no party consideration…the partisans in this county who expect to divide the friends of humanity and equal rights will find themselves mistakes — we care not a fig for Whig or Democrat; they are both alike to us; but we shall go for our friends, our tried friends, and that cause of human liberty which is the cause of God. We are aware that ‘divide and conquer’ is the watchword with many, but with us it cannot be done — we love too well — we have suffered too much to be easily duped — we have no cat’s paws amongst us.
The scriptures also provide extensive documentation to shed light on these tactics.
In the Book of Mormon we read about a missionary named Amulek who was confronted by enemies of freedom. In Alma 10 we read about the lawyers who fought against the freemen:
“Nevertheless, there were some among them who thought to question them, that by their cunning devices they might catch them in their words, that they might find witness against them, that they might deliver them to their judges that they might be judged according to the law, and that they might be slain or cast into prison, according to the crime which they could make appear or witness against them.
Now it was those men who sought to destroy them, who were lawyers, who were hired or appointed by the people to administer the law at their times of trials, or at the trials of the crimes of the people before the judges.
Now these lawyers were learned in all the arts and cunning of the people; and this was to enable them that they might be skilful in their profession.
And it came to pass that they began to question Amulek, that thereby they might make him cross his words, or contradict the words which he should speak.
Now they knew not that Amulek could know of their designs. But it came to pass as they began to question him, he perceived their thoughts, and he said unto them: O ye wicked and perverse generation, ye lawyers and hypocrites, for ye are laying the foundations of the devil; for ye are laying traps and snares to catch the holy ones of God.”
Amulek was also confronted by a man named Zeezrom. Again, questions were asked in order to deceive and ensnare the followers of the Savior.
Christ himself was questioned in this same manner. The Pharisees came to the Savior many times in an effort to confuse, twist, or manipulate His responses. Their failure was inevitable, as Christ certainly knew of their designs beforehand. It was only through government force that evil men were finally able to carry out their plans. When Christ stood before Pilate he was asked, “Whence art thou?” And so again we see that it is through that same line of questioning – “Who are you?” – that the Savior of mankind was judged and killed.
The only source of order that can bring growth is God, not any man or government. The only source of chaos that can bring growth is the agency that our Heavenly Father gave us – the ability to choose, but not anarchy. The intersection of these two concepts is freedom. That is why we have the Constitution. As we now see that the rule of order beyond a degree that is needful will bring tyranny, and the rule of chaos beyond a degree that is needful will cause the weak to perish. The happy medium is what benefits all mankind, while the extremes bring loss of freedom, followed by enslavement, death and destruction.
The question that must be asked, then, is “Why are you here?” In Doctrine and Covenants 50 the Lord confirms this question in a way:
“Wherefore, I the Lord ask you this question—unto what were ye ordained?”
This is the question that missionaries encourage people who are learning about the Gospel to ponder. This is the question that, ultimately, scientists in every field are asking of the universe around them in order to understand themselves. The answer to this question leads us to the proper answers to the other questions, “Who are you?” and “What do you want?”. The questions aren’t necessarily bad in and of themselves, but when the concepts are misunderstood, they can be used manipulatively. In the Church we are taught the correct answers to these three questions all together:
“Who are you?” – you are a child of God.
“Why are you here?” – you are here to work out your own eternal salvation.
“Where are you going?”, or in other words, “What do you want?” – you should want exaltation and eternal life.
Notice that the adversary, including his followers amongst the major political parties, have different answers for these questions that are intended to manipulate and confuse, but they do not touch very often on that central question, “Why are you here?” They love to tell us who we are, and what we should want, but they never tell us why we are here! In contrast, the Lord has spoken through his prophets and has shown us the true purpose for these questions so that we can ensure our freedom from bondage.
In a Liahona article from 2005, L. Tom Perry provided some insight:
“We find a world today looking for answers to the question, What seek ye? in so many different ways. Too many are sowing seeds of a fruit that will not nourish an eternal soul…We boldly declare that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints provides answers to the question, What seek ye? Our Church is the means by which men and women find our Savior and His gospel.”
Steer clear of the lawyers and evil-doers who use these questions to do harm. Keep close to the prophets and apostles who use these questions to liberate and enlighten.
This article was a collaborative effort between Doug and Patrick Walters, two Latter-day Saint brothers in blood and freedom, living in Pennsylvania.
Spot on, Doug.
The constant theme running throughout the Book of Mormon has been this:
And we have beheld that the great question which is in your minds is whether the word be in the Son of God, or whether there shall be no Christ.
Alma 34:5
Answering that question identifies whether one is a Son of God, or a person of the world. Whether one lives a moral life that is contrary to the fallen state of this world for the sake of obtaining a better life, or if one follows the order of a Kingman, Korihor, Sherem, Gadination, or similar philosophy to obtain power and wealth in this brief moment of mortality.
Once that is decided, all principles and morals–all the whys and shoulds and should nots–become evident. Rationalizing principles for the sake of expediency or convenience quickly determines the identity of the individual.
My apologies to those listening to the audio version. My kids were louder than I thought they were. It’s a family site!
Doug,
What is the thesis of your article? It looks like an advertisement for the LDS Church. You also reinforced the idea to put one’s faith in the arm of flesh (see your last sentence).
Paul
PAJ,
“You also reinforced the idea to put one’s faith in the arm of flesh (see your last sentence)”
I don’t understand what you wrote. Are you saying it’s wrong to trust in the prophets and apostles, because they too are the “arm of flesh” because they are mortal men? If you don’t trust them, tell me in whose wisdom do you suggest we trust?
Ron,
This is not what I am saying. This is what the Lord himself said. The Lord warned us NOT to put our trust in the arm of flesh. And he said that those who do will be damned. It is perfectly fine to listen to what the prophets, apostles, and other so-called leaders say, but we MUST validate everything with the Lord. Hence, we must seek his guidence to be sure we are not led astray. Remember, a prophet is only a prophet when he is acting like one. Church leaders are just mortal men with human weaknesses. Sometimes they make mistakes. And sometimes these mistakes can lead us down the wrong path. In fact, it has already happened numerous times. Don’t be mislead into thinking that church leaders are exempt from free agency. The Lord can no more force them to do what is right anymore than he can force you and me. Anyway, this is what I meant.
Paul
PAJ,
There’s merit to what you say. Yes, we need to be attune to the spirit, and not be just obedient robots. In the possible absence of Church leaders during the last days, we will have to rely on personal revelation to get us through.
But in the mean time, Latter-day prophets, such as Harold B. Lee, have distinctly stated that if they ever begin to lead the Saints astray, the Lord would remove them at once. Sounds to me like a pretty good warranty by God on the trustworthiness on those whom he chooses to appoint as our inspired leaders. The Lord said his Church would never be taken away again, so I would think we can feel safe that no General Authority is going to hijack the gospel for any length. of time to bring this Church down
Can you cite any examples of Prophets or Apostles since Joseph Smith, who have led the Saints astray, and were not immediately corrected or removed?
To carry your concern to its final conclusion–what about the frailty of our own flesh to rationalize what we will or will not obey regarding the proclamations of the the Lord’s servants? I know for myself that I have been spiritually corrected from my own defective reasoning by counsel I heard during conferences or read in the Ensign. It’s been my experience that those saints that make a big deal over General Authorities real or imaged faults do so as to justify their own disobedience.
Ron,
Wow. LOL! I guess the great wisdom of Harold B. Lee preempts the wisdom of the Lord who warns us in the BoM to NOT put our trust in the arm of flesh. Now, I am pretty sure that the Lord is a very intelligent man and that if there were exceptions to his statement, he would have said so. We also know what the Lord said in D&C 121:39 about the nature and disposition of almost all men. I don’t know about you Ron, but I’m going to side with the Lord on this one. You can put your trust in the arm of flesh, believing that they will never lead you astray, but everyone including the prophets and geneal authorities still have their free agency. Hence, God cannot force them to obey him or to NOT go down their own path. Heck, even Moses made a few mistakes. Gack!
Good luck with that, Ron. :-)
Paul
So… You are saying Harold B, Lee lied? Intentionally deceived? or otherwise mentally incompetent when he said that. He’s not the only prophet to say so.
That living revelation is trumped by written revelation?
“Brother Brigham took the stand, and he took the Bible, and laid it down; he took the Book of Mormon, and laid it down; and he took the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, and laid it down before him, and he said: “There is the written word of God to us, concerning the work of God from the beginning of the world, almost, to our day. And now,” said he, “when compared with the living oracles those books are nothing to me; those books do not convey the word of God direct to us now, as do the words of a Prophet or a man bearing the Holy Priesthood in our day and generation. I would rather have the living oracles than all the writing in the books.” That was the course he pursued. When he was through, Brother Joseph said to the congregation: “Brother Brigham has told you the word of the Lord, and he has told you the truth.” [in Conference Report, October 1897, pp. 18-19)”
That God does not change his commnads as he see fit?:
“Wherefore I, the Lord, command and revoke, as it seemeth me good; and all this to be answered upon the heads of the rebellious, saith the Lord.”
D&C 56:4
So, PAJ, whom am I to trust in this matter–Your arm of flesh in interpetnation, or the Lord’s mortal servants who have spoken on this matter?
“So… You are saying Harold B, Lee lied? Intentionally deceived? or otherwise mentally incompetent when he said that. He’s not the only prophet to say so.” — Ron
Who knows why he said it or why others have said it. If you can be decieved into thinking that a mortal man cannot lead you astry, then you are already lost.
“So, PAJ, whom am I to trust in this matter–Your arm of flesh in interpetnation, or the Lord’s mortal servants who have spoken on this matter?” — Ron
It’s not “my” arm of flesh Ron. Let’s keep this clean of straw-man, shall we.
I’ll tell you what I think. I believe you have two choices:
1) Burn the scriptures and put your trust 100% in the prophet and general authorities to tell you what to do, when to do it, and to whom you can do it with. Face it, if the scriptures are preempted by a living prophet, then you don’t need them anymore. Just rip the pages out and light them up, and then blindly follow your mortal master.
2) Listen to what the Lord tells us in the scriptures, and do as he says. To start with, don’t blindly follow any so-called leader. Validate everything you hear with the Lord and prove it for yourself. Trust nobody but the Lord to lead you down the right path.
Frankly, I think you’re in big trouble, Ron. If you really believe what you said, then send a letter to the First Presidency and ask them to send out a proclimation to the entire church to ban all scriptures in favor of the living prophet and to be taught according to his will and pleasure. After all, what’s the point of having this second hand scriptural garbage around to confuse us when we have a living prophet to tell us what to do.
Sorry Ron, I’m going to side with the Lord on this. I will never put my trust in any mortal man. I will learn from them what I can, but always validating what I’ve learned with the Lord and Alma’s test of faith.
Gack!
Paul
“Brother Brigham took the stand, and he took the Bible, and laid it down; he took the Book of Mormon, and laid it down; and he took the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, and laid it down before him, and he said: “There is the written word of God to us, concerning the work of God from the beginning of the world, almost, to our day. And now,” said he, “when compared with the living oracles those books are nothing to me; those books do not convey the word of God direct to us now, as do the words of a Prophet or a man bearing the Holy Priesthood in our day and generation. I would rather have the living oracles than all the writing in the books.” That was the course he pursued. When he was through, Brother Joseph said to the congregation: “Brother Brigham has told you the word of the Lord, and he has told you the truth.” [in Conference Report, October 1897, pp. 18-19)”
By the way Ron, I see the date of this conference is October 1897. Wasn’t Joseph Smith assassinated on June 27, 1844? Who is Brother Joseph in this quote of yours?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Joseph_Smith,_Jr.
By the way Ron, didn’t Brigham Young die on August 29, 1877, 20 years before this conference date?
If Joseph Smith and Brigham Young were both dead long before this conference took place, how did they attend? Were they resurrected from the dead or is there a problem with the date of this conference or is there some other problem here? :-)
Paul
PAJ
If it t was mortal men called of God to write the scriptures, how can you trust the bible or even the BOM any more than a living prophet? Peter himself said no scripture is of any private interpretation. (2 Peter 1:20) Please show me in the scriptures where God includes his prophets as those we should hold in suspect as the rest of arm of flesh. I think you are confusing the worldly power vs. the divine power that God gives his anointed.
I also get the impression PAJ, that you honor the dead prophets more than the living. If you cannot comprehend why Harold B. Lee said such a statement, and essentially feel ” I can take it or leave it”, then how can assume your measure of what the Prophets say is any better than the Prophets themselves? You must be in a constant state of spiritual anxiety, picking and choosing what parts the General Authorities say to accept. Which is fine, you have the free agency to do so. But you put yourself at as much or more risk tuning them out than following them blindly to commit apostasy.
But hey, if your testimony is that strong to go at it alone, that’s your prerogative.
“Please show me in the scriptures where God includes his prophets as those we should hold in suspect as the rest of arm of flesh.” — Ron
The command to NOT put your trust in the arm of flesh was meant primarily for the leaders of his church and anyone who would assume authority over us. In light of the Lord’s own statement in the D&C about the nature and disposition of almost all men, and the fact that nobody can interfere with our free agency, we must validate anything we learn from them by personally taking it to the Lord. I’m not saying we should ignore them. We should hear them out and then validate it privately with the Lord. Since you are so interested in proof, why don’t you find where the Lord says that his servants can never lead his followers astray. Don’t give me hearsay. I want you to find where the Lord says this personally. Hint: you can’t, because he never said it.
“I think you are confusing the worldly power vs. the divine power that God gives his anointed.” — Ron
Power? What power? What you think is power is nothing more than responsibility. In fact, the priesthood itself has nothing to do with power. It has been referred to as a dreaded responsibility.
“I also get the impression PAJ, that you honor the dead prophets more than the living. If you cannot comprehend why Harold B. Lee said such a statement, and essentially feel ” I can take it or leave it”, then how can assume your measure of what the Prophets say is any better than the Prophets themselves?” — Ron
I think you get lots of impressons, mostly wrong. Any prophet who says something that contradicts the Lord, has gone down his own path and is teaching his own gospel. Harold B. Lee may have meant well, but he was mistaken. And I say this without hesitation. Read the following quotes. The message remains the same: do not put your trust in the arm of flesh:
2 Nephi 4:34 — O Lord, I have trusted in thee, and I will trust in thee forever. I will not put my trust in the arm of flesh; for I know that cursed is he that putteth his trust in the arm of flesh. Yea, cursed is he that putteth his trust in man or maketh flesh his arm.
2 Nephi 28:31 — Cursed is he that putteth his trust in man, or maketh flesh his arm, or shall hearken unto the precepts of men, save their precepts shall be given by the power of the Holy Ghost.
D&C 1:19 — The weak things of the world shall come forth and break down the mighty and strong ones, that man should not counsel his fellow man, neither trust in the arm of flesh
Jer. 17:5 — Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord.
“You must be in a constant state of spiritual anxiety, picking and choosing what parts the General Authorities say to accept.” — Ron
On the contrary, I am happy to be able to determine what part of their message is inspired or not. They really don’t say much these days, except to revisit the tired old stories covered by others for the past 100 years. Boring actually. But I do feel that I must warn you and anyone who blindly follows any leader of the church (or any man), you may not suffer from spiritual anxiety now, having foolishly placed your salvation in the hands of another person, but the time is swiftly coming that you will discover your mistake. And then you will drink from that awful cup of spiritual anxiety and will swallow it to the last bitter drop.
“Which is fine, you have the free agency to do so. But you put yourself at as much or more risk tuning them out than following them blindly to commit apostasy.” — Ron
Who said that I tune them out? Don’t put words into my mouth. And please refrain from your indirect accusations of apostasy.
“But hey, if your testimony is that strong to go at it alone, that’s your prerogative.” — Ron
Well, I know better than to put my trust in the arm of flesh. I know better than to blindly follow a mortal man. And I know that when I have the option of choosing between what a prophet says and what the Lord says, I will always side with the Lord. I think I’m in pretty good company. How about you?
Paul
PAJ – “They [current GAs] really don’t say much these days, except to revisit the tired old stories covered by others for the past 100 years. Boring actually.”
PAJ, criticizing the Lord’s anointed is unacceptable. You are hereby banned from posting comments on this website.