Good Fruit Becoming Bitter - What To Do?

My hope for this post is to help any that are wrestling with the things they’ve seen in the LDS Church or any other organization that don’t align with God’s word but at the same time they’ve seen good fruit from in their past and don’t know how to make sense of it all. 

If you’ve read my blog in the past you’ve seen me point out many points of error in the LDS church. In this post, I’ll just use one of those points to create the foundation for the things shared at the end of the post that I hope can be of help to you.

Here's a quote from Brigham that I've never heard anyone make sense of and explain with any degree of logic:

"The second way in which a wife can be separated from her husband while he continues to be faithful to his God and his priesthood I have not revealed except to a few persons in this church, and a few have received it from Joseph the Prophet as well as myself [You’ll find in your research that Brigham often claimed secret meetings with Joseph]. This other path a woman may take if she can get a choice.

If a woman can find a man holding the keys of the priesthood with higher power and authority than her husband, and he is disposed to take her, he can do so, otherwise she has got to remain where she is. This is the second way in which a woman can leave her husband to whom she has been sealed for time and all eternity. In either of these ways of separation you can discover there is no need for a bill of divorcement."

Here's the whole talk so you can get the context: https://ia903009.us.archive.org/21/items/brighamyoungdiscourseonmarriage/Brigham%20Young%20Discourse%20on%20Marriage.pdf

Now combine this general conference talk with a myriad of other quotes he's made and the letters from his wives etc. Here is one podcast that dives into one such case where he convinced a woman to leave her husband for himself: https://youtu.be/WFIXl1TlGdA?si=n_pky--wjxIIHOP3

Are these the words and actions of a prophet of God!?!?!?

These are critical issues for the LDS Church because if Brigham didn't have God with him then the church is an organization that has become like the Jewish church left in the wake of Moses and the original Christian church left in the wake of Peter. All of them have fallen into apostasy. 

So for the faithful LDS this can cause some serious questions to occur. How does one make sense of receiving truth in the temple, hearing God speak to them in an LDS sacrament meeting, seeing miracles in the mission field, feeling the Lord’s approval of their marriage in the temple? 

I can understand this conundrum. I’ve been there. I’m still there. I have experienced the Lord communicating to my heart and soul for my whole life. 40 years of that life was as a faithful member of the LDS church. 

Here is what I feel the Lord has taught me about that predicament. 

1. "God is no respecter of persons" means that God does not show favoritism or partiality towards any individual, essentially treating everyone equally regardless of their background, social status, or ethnicity; this phrase is most commonly found in the Bible in Acts 10:34, where Peter declares that he understands God does not show favoritism towards any person. 

I’ve been out of the church for 4 ½ years. I’ve seen God heal our daughter’s 3 fingers that were sliced off on the tips. The finger specialist doctor recommended amputation of her three fingers from the last joint up. We put our faith in God and He healed her. According to the LDS church we had no authority to call upon God to heal her. 

I’ve heard other Christians explain miracles they’ve seen in their lives. I’ve even heard a muslim explain many instances that God answered his prayers in miraculous ways. God truly loves all of us and is reaching out to all regardless of our organizational or church affiliations. 

I remember going through St. Peter’s Cathedral in the Vatican. A sweet Indian lady, who I’m assuming used to be Hindu, was full of light and was so excited to share everything she knew about the cathedral and catholicism. I sensed that the Catholic church had a role to play in her conversion to Jesus Christ. God used the Catholic Church to help this woman come to know the Lord. 

God has clearly used the LDS Church to help me come to know Him. I’ve had extremely spiritual experiences with the Lord in Spain on my LDS mission. I have no doubt God will communicate to anyone who is seeking Him, even if they don’t know they are seeking Him. 

I rejoice that God will work with me and any other person seeking Him. I’m grateful God will meet us where we are. I’m grateful He helped me make sense of my LDS past and all the good that happened there and still help me see how the church is in a state of apostasy. 

Jesus counseled, “but if it [a church] be called in my name then it is my church, if it so be that they are built upon my gospel” (3 Nephi 27:8). Once a church leaves his gospel, it is no longer His. 

God be praised for His goodness, mercy and grace. 

I hope this helps any who have wrestled with seeing an organization leave God when they know it has been a vehicle for him or herself finding God in the past. May God bless you in your journey. 

Words

 I was reading this morning and came across this verse, “I’ve now taught the words the Lord God has commanded me to say. The Lord God says my words will be a bright testimony against the people at judgment day. Each person will be judged based on their works, whether they’re good or evil” (RE Mosiah 1:18, LDS edition Mosiah 3:23-24).

I try to hear the word of the Lord probably very similarly to any of you reading this. I pray, listen, ponder, read scriptures, have conversations with others, listen to inspiring music, try to follow the Lord, etc… There are times when something just sticks out to me. It seems to me the Lord is speaking to me. It may even be a simple conversation but whatever is said, heard or felt penetrates my soul and I know the Lord is communicating with me. 

When I shared what the Lord revealed to me over 4 years ago now, it sent my life in a different direction with the LDS church. It also has caused me to pause and wonder at what the Lord was up to and if I was following Him in every post or video etc. 

When I came across this verse this morning, it seemed to settle in my heart that those that know me and heard my witness are accountable to God for what they do with it. That was pretty sobering. I don’t pretend to know where people are at, but God does, and He knows what was delivered to them in those moments of sharing what I felt He put on my heart to share. 

These verses also cause me to pause and wonder if I’m listening to messages He has sent me through other vehicles. When I hear the word of the Lord to me, do I act on it? How do I know He is speaking to me? Sometimes it’s more clear than other times. 

Overall the messages of repentance to me are very simple. The difficult part is putting the counsel into practice. Easy to understand, tough to do. Repentance is hard. In Greek repentance is simply change. Changing course, obtaining a new heart and mind. That is difficult. It takes struggle, prayer, fasting, practicing changing, etc. 

Anyways, I pray for me and all of us to change and come unto Him more fully and recognize His voice to us when it comes.

Polygamy: Was Joseph Smith a Polygamist?

A little over four years ago, I learned and then shared what I discovered for myself, that Joseph Smith was not a polygamist. It rocked my current understanding. I had studied and researched and thought Joseph was a polygamist and I thought I had the facts and revelation to prove it. The Church I belonged to even believes Joseph is a polygamist. 

I felt so convicted of what I found I had to share the truth of who Joseph Smith was and is. Sharing the truth led to my disfellowshipment and excommunication from the LDS Church. I lost many things and many people fell out of my life. But, God is faithful. I learned for myself that the truth really does set us free. 

In my zeal to share what I had learned, I posted on this blog the scriptures, data and quotes by Joseph that show he was true and faithful to his God and his wife, Emma. I wasn't very "techy" nor am I great at sharing things close to my heart. But, I was convicted of the truth and I felt determined to testify of what I knew to be true. Now, others are sharing the truth in a very organized and entertaining way. 

Jeremy Hoop, an actor in "The Testaments," "Charly" and other films has created a podcast to go through both sides of the issue, "was Joseph a polygamist." I wish I had presented the information I found in the way he did. I think you'll find this extremely beneficial. I'd love to hear what you think about it. Enjoy!

https://youtu.be/r_c6ja7iJlA?si=qKN2yBddmRuOKfXD

Independence Day or Bondage

 It’s Independence Day again tomorrow. I wanted to write some thoughts real quickly. It seems clear that we are no longer an independent people, but we are in bondage to big  government and socialist and corrupted ideals. In scripture, we have examples of how people were freed from bondage. It always came by humbly submitting to God and his laws, and praying for deliverance and acting on what he told them. Today we keep claiming that we are a free people, and that we are righteous and in fact, we are in bondage and we’re wicked. I hope we can repent and turn to God that he may deliver us. He is merciful and gracious. He extends his hands of mercy if we remember and follow him.

What Was Significant in the Eclipse?

 My friend created this. Listen closely:

https://youtu.be/uWLw1W1va9s

True Messengers or True Messages?

 Many rejected John the Baptist, Jesus and all the prophets because they weren’t what they thought God should use to declare a message. Will we reject his messengers today because we believe they are from the wrong profession, too proud or wealthy etc.? Some think Joseph Smith was arrogant when he delivered the King Follet discourse. Does that make the message untrue? Does a swearing messenger make the message untrue? If someone speaks out when they are imperfect themselves does that make their message false? I wonder how many would believe any of the scriptures if they were contenpories with those that wrote them and knew them personally? 

The Widow’s Mite

 I think about the widow’s mite and what is important to the Lord.

This is interesting:

https://www.sltrib.com/religion/2024/03/05/lds-church-buys-kirtland-temple/

I’ve been to the Vatican and seen their vast amount of relics and precious things.