By Alan on May 22 in Blog tagged be merry, built up, churches, contend, corrupted, deny, devil, drink, eat, err, false, flattereth, foolish doctrines, God, juudged, kingdom of God, last days, Lord, miracles, not unto the Lord, teach | No Comments

 CHURCHES IN THE LAST DAYS

Many false churches will be built up in the last days—

They will teach false, vain, and foolish doctrines—

Apostasy will abound because of false teachers—

The devil will rage in the hearts of men—

He will teach all manner of false doctrines.

For it shall come to pass in that day that the churches which are built up, and not unto the Lord, when the one shall say unto the other: Behold, I, I am the Lord’s; and the others shall say: I, I am the Lord’s; and thus shall every one say that hath built up churches, and not unto the Lord—

And they shall contend one with another; and their priests shall contend one with another, and they shall teach with their learning, and deny the Holy Ghost, which giveth utterance.

And they deny the power of God, the Holy One of Israel; and they say unto the people: Hearken unto us, and hear ye our precept; for behold there is no God today, for the Lord and the Redeemer hath done his work, and he hath given his power unto men;

Behold, hearken ye unto my precept; if they shall say there is a miracle wrought by the hand of the Lord, believe it not; for this day he is not a God of miracles; he hath done his work.

Yea, and there shall be many which shall say: Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die; and it shall be well with us.

And there shall also be many which shall say: Eat, drink, and be merry; nevertheless, fear God—he will justify in committing a little sin; yea, lie a little, take the advantage of one because of his words, dig a pit for thy neighbor; there is no harm in this; and do all these things, for tomorrow we die; and if it so be that we are guilty, God will beat us with a few stripes, and at last we shall be saved in the kingdom of God.

Yea, and there shall be many which shall teach after this manner, false and vain and foolish doctrines, and shall be puffed up in their hearts, and shall seek deep to hide their counsels from the Lord; and their works shall be in the dark.

And the blood of the saints shall cry from the ground against them.

Yea, they have all gone out of the way; they have become corrupted.

Because of pride, and because of false teachers, and false doctrine, their churches have become corrupted, and their churches are lifted up; because of pride they are puffed up.

They rob the poor because of their fine sanctuaries; they rob the poor because of their fine clothing; and they persecute the meek and the poor in heart, because in their pride they are puffed up.

They wear stiff necks and high heads; yea, and because of pride, and wickedness, and abominations, and whoredoms, they have all gone astray save it be a few, who are the humble followers of Christ; nevertheless, they are led, that in many instances they do err because they are taught by the precepts of men.

O the wise, and the learned, and the rich, that are puffed up in the pride of their hearts, and all those who preach false doctrines, and all those who commit whoredoms, and pervert the right way of the Lord, wo, wo, wo be unto them, saith the Lord God Almighty, for they shall be thrust down to hell!

Wo unto them that turn aside the just for a thing of naught and revile against that which is good, and say that it is of no worth! For the day shall come that the Lord God will speedily visit the inhabitants of the earth; and in that day that they are fully ripe in iniquity they shall perish.

But behold, if the inhabitants of the earth shall repent of their wickedness and abominations they shall not be destroyed, saith the Lord of Hosts.

But behold, that great and abominable church, the whore of all the earth, must tumble to the earth, and great must be the fall thereof.

For the kingdom of the devil must shake, and they which belong to it must needs be stirred up unto repentance, or the devil will grasp them with his everlasting chains, and they be stirred up to anger, and perish;

For behold, at that day shall he rage in the hearts of the children of men, and stir them up to anger against that which is good.

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

And behold, others he flattereth away, and telleth them there is no hell; and he saith unto them: I am no devil, for there is none—and thus he whispereth in their ears, until he grasps them with his awful chains, from whence there is no deliverance.

Yea, they are grasped with death, and hell; and death, and hell, and the devil, and all that have been seized therewith must stand before the throne of God, and be judged according to their works, from whence they must go into the place prepared for them, even a lake of fire and brimstone, which is endless torment.

Therefore, wo be unto him that is at ease in Zion!

Wo be unto him that crieth: All is well!

Yea, wo be unto him that hearkeneth unto the precepts of men, and denieth the power of God, and the gift of the Holy Ghost!

Yea, wo be unto him that saith: We have received, and we need no more!

And in fine, wo unto all those who tremble, and are angry because of the truth of God! For behold, he that is built upon the rock receiveth it with gladness; and he that is built upon a sandy foundation trembleth lest he shall fall. Wo be unto him that shall say: We have received the word of God, and we need no more of the word of God, for we have enough!

For behold, thus saith the Lord God: I will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little; and blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my counsel, for they shall learn wisdom; for unto him that receiveth I will give more; and from them that shall say, We have enough, from them shall be taken away even that which they have.

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.

Wo be unto the Gentiles, saith the Lord God of Hosts! For notwithstanding I shall lengthen out mine arm unto them from day to day, they will deny me; nevertheless, I will be merciful unto them, saith the Lord God, if they will repent and come unto me; for mine arm is lengthened out all the day long, saith the Lord God of Hosts.

Don’t take our word; take the word of the Lord.

(Recorded about 559–545 B.C.)

For The Family
Learn More?

By Alan on Apr 06 in Blog tagged Adam and Eve, body, choice, choose, commandments, enemy to God, eternal life, evil, God, good, Heavenly Father, Jesus, last days, multiply, natural man, overcoming, physical, physically, replenish, Satan, savior, spirit, spiritually, test, The Plan, The World, world | Comments Off

Overcoming The World

“The Lord created all things spiritually before he created them physically.” (Moses 3:5).

The fall of Adam and Eve was foreseen by God, our Heavenly Father, and “was a necessary step in the plan of life and a great blessing to all of us”. We lived as spirit children before this world and accepted this condition when we supported Heavenly Father’s plan of life.

Because of the Fall, we are were blessed with physical bodies, the freedom to choose between good and evil, and a commandment to ‘multiply and replenish the earth’ with the opportunity to gain eternal life. None of these privileges would have been ours had Adam and Eve remained in the garden.

“We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam’s transgression.” (2nd Article of Faith)

After Adam and Eve ‘fell’ from the presence of God and became mortal, we needed a Savior so we could live again and return to our Father in Heaven. Jesus Christ was chosen to be our Savior before the world was created.

In order to “choose between good and evil”, Satan, the father of lies who was denied a physical body, was allowed to exist here on earth and to tempt the souls of man to do evil and to live in everlasting misery with him thus completing the law of “opposites in all things”.  He teaches that there is no sin, that it’s natural and if it feels good, do it.

“But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”  1 Corinthians 2:14

“Neither can any natural man abide the presence of God, neither after the carnal mind.”  D&C 67:12

“For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father.”   Mosiah 3:19

“And thus did I, the Lord God, appoint unto man the days of his probation—that by his natural death he might be raised in immortality unto eternal life, even as many as would believe.”  D&C 29:43

We are blessed to be living during these last days; often called “a great and dreadful day”.  My brothers and I wrote a song for “The Plan” album called “It’s Gotta Be The Last Days.” The lyrics of what “some day it will be”, have now all been fulfilled!  The fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and all righteousness has now been restored to the earth and so has the fullness of all wickedness!

This life is a TEST!  Just as answers to a test at school must be hidden, our memory of our pre-exisence life was hidden ‘for a wise purpose’.  Our ‘test’ in life is about our  freedoms and in choosing good versus evil.  We all will make mistakes and Jesus knew it. Thus, He gave His life to pay the price for our sins if we would but with faith come unto Him and repent, be baptized and receive the Holy Ghost, and to endure to the end, controlling the natural man and woman.

Marriage is ‘ordained of God’ and a partnership with God. It is most important.  When the union of man and a woman co-create a life, one of God’s spirit children enters that child’s physical body as well giving it life.  This brings responsibility and accountability for that spirit.  The misuse in causing or terninating a life has serious responsibility and consequences!

God is “the same yesterday, today and forever” and so are His commandments.  With His ‘Plan of Happiness’, our spirit bodies will one day return back to heaven. The body cannot live without the spirit and so when it’s time to return, we will physically die; but, we continue to live spiritually. Jesus is the way and reason we all will be resurrected because of His atonement.  When we do, our spirits will be reunited once again with our physical bodies never to be separated again. We will be judged by our hearts and those choices we have made and will be assigned to dwell in one of God’s mansions in heaven or sent to outer darkness or hell with Satan.  Those who have taken upon themselves further binding covenants in the House of the Lord, will be reunited as families for all eternity.

I have enjoyed many years of sharing my music and talents with many people around the world. I have great memories of traveling with my family and making so many forever lasting memories and trusting friends.  I still love and enjoy music, creating live events, productions and publishing, and  feel it most important ‘at such a time as this’ to ‘not fear man, but to fear God’, and to be honest and share with everyone those truths that last forever that give purpose and reason for living.  I have always promised myself to be ‘a publisher of truth’. To fear God is to love God; which I do!

Our success and careers in life are important but most importantly is the success of the eternal assignments of life from within the family as a mother and a father. We are born, nurtured, educated, we explore, experience and learn; we fall in love, marry, and with the proper union of a man and a woman and a partnership with God, we are able to bring forth life that lasts forever; a posterity.  Besides being a commandment, this is ‘God’s work and glory to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man’, of which we are.   He is a Creator.  As a pony always becomes a horse, a chick a hen, and ‘like father like son’; ‘like mother like daughter’, we become like our heavenly parents; even creators of life.  This is why we are here.

We are not here by chance but by design.  As God’s spirit children, we experience life now housed within a physical body so we can create; learn good from evil, choose the way we wish to live, and work at overcoming the world ever progressing forward becoming more like our Heavenly Parents.  It is God’s Plan of Happiness.  Some may have trials in life and not get all of these opportunities and priveleges or be able to enjoy them but, God is mindful of everyone and as only He can, He has ‘the way’ and ‘the plan’ for them and all of us if we but trust in Him.  May we not lose our focus by only trying to succeed in life that we get caught up with the pleasures, honors, and greed of this world and forget why we are really here!

Ever since my brothers and I started performing music at a young age, we would always gather together and offer a word of prayer before we set foot on the stage and ask the Lord’s blessings to be with us and those in the audience.  We prayed that they might feel the love that we had for them and sence our purpose as a family in sharing the great message of the Lord through our lifestyle and music. As Suzanne and I publish various ways to help “strengthen the family”,  we ‘sanctify the Lord God in our hearts and are ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in us with meekness and fear’.

It is our prayer that we all will be seekers of truth, pray always, and “overcome the world” as we prepare for the second coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Again, God is the same yesterday, today and forever and so are His Commandments.  Let’s pass this “TEST” of life and turn this “TEST” into a “TEST imony” of Jesus Christ that we may live eternally with Him once again.  God’s doctrines are true.  If one does not agree, it’s only that they don’t understand them.  May we each seek the Lord’s words and ways by reading the scriptures, knock on His door through prayer with any questions with humble tears asking for help with our challenges, and receive through the Holy Ghost those answers and guidance knowing that with faith all things are possible to those that love the Lord is my prayer.

May God be with you till we meet again,

Alan Osmond
“Strengthening The Family” – Spiritually

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ.”  Romans 1:16

By Alan on Feb 17 in Blog tagged angels, armour of God, Christ, darkness, devil, dragon, evil, evil day, faith, flesh and blood, fought, God's kingdom, gospel preparation, high places, history, John the Revelator, last days, of God, peace, powers, Premortal life, principalities, righteousness, rulers, salvation, serpent, spirit, stand, the war, the whole, the whole armour, war, warriors, wickedness, Winning, world | Comments Off

You were entrusted to come to the earth in these last days to do again what you did before—to once again choose good over evil.

JAMES J. HAMULA
For The Family

Go To: http://pinterest.com/alandsuz/

By Alan on Oct 04 in Blog tagged bad news, devil, don't touch my nose, everlasting darkness, evil, foul minded, last days, moral challenges, scratch, spiritual beliefs, those things for which you stand, worldly ways | Comments Off

First click on the picture.

This picture will open in a new window.

Now try to touch his nose with your cursor in the new window…..

CLICK HERE TO OPEN!

(…Then touch his nose with your cursor! )

We all need to be more like this guy when bad things come into our lives or minds.  If you see or hear things that are bad, not true, that are evil or foul minded, that offend your moral standing or your spiritual beliefs, just do what this guy does!  We are in the Last Days.

Our world is now so filled with bad and evil works that the boss, old scratch himself, is working overtime to get us to accept his WORLDLY WAYS which ALWAYS ends up in everlasting darkness.

Remember this guy and do what he does to protect your soul and those things for which you stand!

“Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord God.    Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin. Ezek. 18: 30

Marlon Snow
For The Family

By Alan on Aug 30 in Blog tagged Alan Osmond, can we talk, choices, friend to friend, intelligence, Jesus, knowledge, last days, LDS, learning, life, light and truth, natural man, publish peace, reliion, share truths, Suzanne, The Family, The Pan, the way | 10 Comments

This is Alan Osmond.

I sure enjoy publishing and sharing ideas, stories, truths, videos, pictures, art and music with all of you here at TheFamily.com and on the social networks.  I have always loved the internet and how we can learn and share good truths with one another with caution because the wrong choices that can also be made here as well.

My motives are to share and publish peace and those truths and bits of knowledge and learning experiences I have had that are important to me and to help strengthen The Family.  Hopefully you will find some interesting things and like them or not and take the opportunity to share and respond. I do not write everything that I post here but also share and edit those things submitted to me thinking that you might enjoy or find amusing and informative. I thank my friends that graciously help me so willingly.  It is amazing what you can do when you don’t care who gets the credit.  I do recognize them!

Life is so good.  We are living here for a short time and we must make the most of our lives while we are here.  I have a great desire to learn and gain knowledge and understanding.  The glory of God is intelligence.  It probably was instilled in me because of my Mother and her family which are all educators and teachers.  I also love music and have a desire to share it as well as to always work hard, which was taught by example to me by my Father who worked hard all of his life and made sure that we, his children, did the same.

I love truth.  Truth helps one to make good choices.  Good choices are what make us better people.  I find that our God above knows all truth and is our creator, scientist, a passionate and loving God and Father to us His children.  I know that we lived before as spirit children with our heavenly parents and though for good reasons we don’t remember, I love trying to learn about those things.  I like learning why I am here, and what I can do to make sure I am moving forward in the right direction towards the fullness of joy so that I can return home to be with our eternal parents once again.  If that is what you like, you are at the right place.

There are laws and opposites in all things in this world.   It is so prevalent in our day and age of this world as we are living in the Last Days!  We have been saved to come forth during this particular time with the fullness of the gospel and best and the worst of life with almost everything we could ever want or need to know to improve ourselves.  There are things both good and bad, light and darkness, right and wrong, strength and weakness which are laws so that we become even stronger with the power to choose which ever of these things we want and desire to live.  The choices we make determine our level of happiness and joy.

Desire is a great word.  It also affects ones choices.  It is my desire and choice to befriend each and every one that comes here so that they might find something to improve their way of life and feel welcomed.   I am glad for all that are here and encourage you to participate.  I will delete anyone who offends, puts down, misjudges, uses inappropriate language or innuendoes or treats others wrongly.  I have a responsibility to monitor things that you and I share.  I will share only things with you that I feel is the truth and what is right and entertaining.

Truth is light.  The more truth and light we can acquire and learn in this life, it will rise with us in the resurrection.  Yes, I believe that we lived as spirit children of God before we came here to get physical bodies so that we can become like our Godly parents who are creators.  That’s why love, marriage, and family are important and that we deny ourselves of all ungodliness and keep our creative sexual powers in control and sacred.  We are also practicing to become like our heavenly parents.   Like father like son.  Like Mother like daughter.  I believe that we all will live forever; that we are not human beings having spiritual experiences but, Spiritual beings, children of God, having human experiences. We face these spiritual and physical tests in this world with pleasure and pain and we must fight the ‘natural man’ which is an enemy to God.  It is all part of God’s Plan of Life.  I want all that I can get out of this life and I’m sure you do too.

I come from a family whose name is well known but I feel equal to each and every one of you.  I love to share those things that I like and that have blessed my life and that I have come to know as truths.  You may disagree with me but that is your choice as well.  I make mistakes as you may notice from time to time but I try hard to be accurate, tell the truth, stand for what’s right and don’t mind being corrected. I have learned that things are not always what some say they are and just today, I learned that even Snopes where we get verification of on things said and published is biased and has alterior motives.  Life is tough and a real test sometimes.  This is how we learn.  Making correct choices.

I felt badly this morning because someone wrote to me insisting that, “Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is all we need and that works are not necessary.”  You know, I love discussing religious topics and discussing them, not arguing!  I told him that according to James 2in the scriptures, ‘faith without works is dead’ and showed him scriptures from the Bible that verified it.  He called me a CULT and said goodbye to my site.  First of all, I am not in a CULT!  I am a Christian and a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with the nickname of Mormon.  I have had several individuals ask for help to deal with life.  I tell them to check out our Church. If you want to know about Mormons, go to a Mormon Church and ask one. You will be most welcomed.  I also encourage them to get a FREE Book of Mormon.  It will change your life and contains many of the missing parts that were taken from the Bible.

I hope that when we deal with each other we give each other the benefit of the doubt and that we have no motives in what we say and do.  We all have been raised from different backgrounds with teachings that vary at times.  He was right in that Jesus is The Way and that we all must accept Him in order to be resurrected and to live again after we die which we all will . . . but where?  John 14: 2 says, “In my Father’s house and I have prepared a place for you.” There are also many levels of light or truth. There is also the fullness of truth and light.  A little light or knowledge is good but the more light and truth we attain in this world the better and more accurate our choices will be.

I am a Christian, and I know and believe in Jesus Christ and am not ashamed of His gospel and accept Him as my Savior.  I also know that we are expected to learn and to choose well in this life.  Yes, we will make mistakes and  Jesus knew that and thus died for us to help us pay our debt for sin.  What ever mistakes have been made and repented of, except for murder, there is hope that we can be forgiven.  We each were born and will die alone and are responsible for ourselves and what choices we make.  I also know that we are also expected to work for what we get.  Nothing good comes easy!

I have a love for the scriptures as far as they have been translated correctly and what we have been given as truth.  Sometimes those truths have been lost, taken away, misinterpreted and even changed and distorted by some for personal gain and money. There are also more hidden records and writings of scripture that are still coming forth witnessing further that Jesus is the Christ.  I will never knowingly share untruths with my friends.  I don’t have any reason or ulterior motives to make anything financially by having this website. It would be nice but in fact, it costs me money and time.  But I do it because I am having a good time and making friends as well as it is helping me grow.  I do share those things that I have found like the natural essential oils for good health with tips that have helped me physically plus I share spiritual and personal experiences.   I have sometimes even offered things that I believe will bless others lives that are for sale.  But, there is nothing wrong with that if it is good and fair.

Religion is an important and a big issue that should not be taken lightly, bashed or to cause bad feelings with one another.  It is an individual’s belief system.  I talk about it often and share scriptures because if we are not interested in who we are and what we can become, then we are not fulfilling our purposes here on earth.  We also have a responsibility to each other to warn and to help one another.  We each can accept or deny it.

I have been blessed with goodly parents who taught me about God, religion and truths that support my reality here on earth.  My Mother was an educator and a theologian and studied all religions.  She taught me that we all have truths and things in common with our various religions.  Some have more truths than others but that doesn’t make them all wrong. It just gives us choices with which to choose.  I do believe that Jesus organized His Church and that it is here once again here on the earth today with the fullness of the gospel to help us obtain those sacred ordinances and promises that will get us to the highest mansions in heaven.  Unfortunately, there have been truths lost and doctrines changed from the past for greed, money, and power which are all traits of the adversary or Satan.

Our purpose here in life is to decipher what is truth or not, and to choose that which will get us the closest to our God above and His eternal kingdoms where He dwells.   I choose to become the best person I can while on this earth and work hard to improve my mind, my body, my personality, and my reputation as a son of God.  I hope you will continue to trust me in my efforts and join in and share with me when you feel the same.  At the same time, have fun!

I welcome your thoughts and comments.  I am open and not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  I am bold and speak out for truth.  I also like to have a good laugh once in a while.  I try not to be disrespectful of others but have to stand up and speak out now and then when I see or hear things that are not true, lies, or that are not the best for us as individuals.  I respect our leaders of government but honestly feel that there is much corruption and self serving ulterior motives today with lies and  secret dealings under the table that go on by conspiring men, which was prophesied would happen, to control and take over and create a new world order, which was Satan’s desire.  It would limit and put down our God given freedoms of this blessed and promised land.  I will speak out when I feel things are not right.  I will stand up for truth and justice.  I will stand with Israel.  I care deeply for the one, the individual, the person who is sincere without any judgment of race or creed, upper or lower class, healthy or sick, rich or poor.  I truly believe we are all brothers and sisters, even children of God, and we need to be of One Heart in helping one another to be happy, well, and successful in this life.

Thanks for the visit and letting me share my heart with all of you with the hopes of making us better friends and this world a better place to live.  It all starts with faith, hope, charity, love, marriage and the family. Life is important.  We all were born to become something eternal and everlastingly important.  We are better than what we think we are and we deserve all the opportunities to prove it and gain further truth and knowledge.  Freedom is Godly.  It is light.  It is truth.  We can become what we want to be if we be what we want to become!

“And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins.” 2 Ne. 25: 26

Alan Osmond
For The Family

(I always share a picture with my wife Suzanne because we are as ‘One’ in everything we do.)

By Alan on Jul 01 in Blog tagged Bible, Book of Mormon, disease, earthquakes, Elijah, famines, future, future of the holy land, gathering, hailstones, hreat storms, Jesus Christ second coming, Jewish nation, king of kings, last days, LDS, Mormon, New Jerusalem, prophecies, prophets, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, The Family, theFamily, war, we must stand with Israel, Zion | 2 Comments

“Of all the things in the world, the saddest is to see a people who have once known libery and freedom and then lost it.” Ezra Taft Benson

Jesus’s return is called the Second Coming.

At the Second Coming, Jesus will come down from heaven with great power. He will cleanse the earth of all wickedness, and Satan will no longer have power over the people. Jesus will rule for a thousand years over all the people who have been faithful to Him.

Jesus Has Told Us What Will Happen Before He Comes

Jesus has told us many things that will happen before He comes again. These things are called the signs of His Second Coming. He has told us to look for these signs and be ready for His coming. He said that when we see these things happening, we will know He is coming soon. But we will not know the exact time of His coming.

If we study the scriptures and are faithful to Jesus, we will know what the signs of Jesus’ coming will be.  Many things will happen before Jesus comes to earth again. Some have already happened, some are happening now, and the rest will happen in the future.

Before Jesus’ Second Coming, the gospel will be preached to all nations. This will make many people happy and bring them blessings. Other things that will happen will test our faith. There will be great wickedness, earthquakes, and other kinds of destruction.

There Will Be Great Trouble on the Earth

Jesus said we will know His coming is near when we see much wickedness, war, and suffering on the earth. This will be a time of great trouble. There will be earthquakes, great storms, disease, and famines. Hailstones will destroy the crops of the earth.

Many people will stop loving our Father in Heaven and will turn to Satan. They will also stop loving and serving other people and will begin to harm them. There will be many wars on the earth. Nations will fight each other. These wars will continue until a great and final war takes place, which will be the most destructive war ever fought on the earth. Then Jesus will come.

History records what happened just before Jesus appeared to those in America after He was resurrected.  This is a “type and shadow” of things to come:

The House of Israel Must Be Gathered Again

Our Father in Heaven said the descendants of the house of Israel*  must hear and accept the gospel and prepare themselves to meet Jesus when He comes again. Those who accept the gospel must teach it to all people, build temples, and do the ordinances for the dead people.

Many people from the house of Israel, either by blood or by adoption, are being converted to the Church as they accept the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Holy Land has been blessed for the gathering of many of the descendants of Abraham. The descendants of Abraham include the people known as Arabs and Jews, and others. The descendants of the Book of Mormon people in America, who also are descendants of Abraham, are accepting the gospel and are becoming a strong and righteous people.

The Gospel Will Be Preached to All the World

Jesus said we will know He is coming soon when His followers have preached the gospel to all the world. From the time when the Church was restored, missionaries have been sent to preach the gospel in different nations. Many missionaries are now preaching the gospel almost everywhere in the world. Every member of the Church is asked to tell his or her relatives and friends about the gospel, and many are going to other countries to preach the gospel, so that all people will have an opportunity to hear it.

Elijah Has Come

The prophet Malachi in the Bible said that before Jesus would come the second time, the prophet Elijah would visit the earth. He would bring back the authority to seal families together forever. He would cause people to want to learn about their ancestors and their descendants and help them be saved.

In April 1836, Elijah came and restored this authority to the Prophet Joseph Smith. Because Elijah came, families can now be sealed together in temples on the earth today.

A New City of Jerusalem Will Be Built

Jesus said we will know He is coming soon when His Church has built a city called the New Jerusalem. Jesus said He will rule in that city, and righteous people will live there. He has told us where this city will be built. It will be in the state of Missouri, in the United States.

The nations of the earth will gather together against the descendants of Judah, and Judah will be smitten.

Zechariah says, quoting the Lord: “For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.” (Zech. 14:2.)

President Woodruff has also discussed this subject: “… O house of Judah, … It is true that after you return and gather your nation home, and rebuild your City and Temple, that the Gentiles will gather together their armies to go against you to battle, to take you a prey and to take you as a spoil, which they will do, for the words of your prophets must be fulfilled. …” (Matthias F. Cowley, Wilford Woodruff [Bookcraft, 1964], p. 509.)

If you wonder how this prophecy could be fulfilled, let me simply remind you that on July 4, 1967, the United Nations General Assembly voted 99 to 0 to condemn Israel because of its annexation of Jerusalem. Twenty countries abstained; 99 countries voted in favor of condemning Israel; not a single nation voted against the condemnation. And if a United Nations military force should be sent into the Middle East to take over Jerusalem again, literally all of the nations of the earth would gather together to battle against Judah.

Two prophets are to be raised up to the Jewish nation.

Joseph Smith has explained the following concerning the two prophets who are mentioned in Revelation 11:2–3, 6–12 [Rev. 11:2–3, 6–12]:

“Q. What is to be understood by the two witnesses, in the eleventh chapter of Revelation? [And the Lord answered:]

“A. They are two prophets that are to be raised up to the Jewish nation in the last days, at the time of the restoration, and to prophesy to the Jews after they are gathered and have built the city of Jerusalem in the land of their fathers.” (D&C 77:15.)

Orson Pratt has said the following concerning the role of these prophets: “We might bring up, also, the declaration of John in relation to the two witnesses who are to prophecy about that period. They are to prophecy three and a half years, and their field of labor will be Jerusalem, after it shall have been rebuilt by the Jews. By means of their prophecies and the power of God attending them, the nations who are gathered together against Jerusalem will be kept at bay, these Prophets will hold them in check by their faith and power. By and by these nations overcome the two witnesses and, having finished their mission, they are slain, and their bodies will lie three days and a half in the streets of the city. Then a great earthquake will take place, and these two witnesses will be caught up to heaven.” (JD, vol. 16, p. 329. Italics added.)

For a thrilling detailed insight into what is going to take place concerning this, one should read the entire eleventh chapter of the Book of Revelation.

12. The Savior is to appear to the descendants of Judah.

Zechariah says:

“… they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him. …” (Zech. 12:10.) The Doctrine and Covenants provides an even more vivid account, because the Savior, in talking about this, says:

“And then shall the Jews look upon me and say: What are these wounds in thine hands and in thy feet?

“Then shall they know that I am the Lord; for I will say unto them: These wounds are the wounds with which I was wounded in the house of my friends. I am he who was lifted up. I am Jesus that was crucified. I am the Son of God.

“And then shall they weep because of their iniquities; then shall they lament because they persecuted their king.” (D&C 45: 51–53.)

President Woodruff has referred to this great event as follows: “… the Jews have got to gather to their own land in unbelief. … and when they have done this and rebuilt their city, the Gentiles, in fulfillment of the words of Ezekiel, Jeremiah and other prophets, will go up against Jerusalem to battle and to take a spoil and a prey; and then, when they have taken one-half of Jerusalem captive and distressed the Jews for the last time on the earth, their Great Deliverer, Shiloh, will come.” (JD, vol. 15, pp. 277–78. Italics added.)

13. The Messiah will lead the people of Israel to victory and later he will rule as King of kings and Lord of lords.

In fact, Zechariah, in talking about this, says:

“Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.

“And the Lord shall be king over all the earth; in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one.” (Zech. 14:3, 9.)

The Doctrine and Covenants also mentions this event:

“… for the presence of the Lord shall be as the melting fire that burneth, and as the fire which causeth the waters to boil.

“O Lord, thou shalt come down to make thy name known to thine adversaries, and all nations shall tremble at thy presence.” (D&C 133:41–42.)

Also, President Woodruff has said that the Savior will fight the battles of Judah: “… but when this affliction comes, the living God, that led Moses through the wilderness, will deliver you, and your Shiloh will come and stand in your midst and will fight your battles; and you will know him, and the afflictions of the Jews will be at an end, while the destruction of the Gentiles will be so great that it will take the whole house of Israel who are gathered about Jerusalem, seven months to bury the dead of their enemies, and the weapons of war will last them seven years for fuel, so that they need not go to any forest for wood. These are tremendous sayings—who can bear them? Nevertheless they are true, and will be fulfilled, according to the sayings of Ezekiel, Zechariah, and other prophets. Though the heavens and the earth pass away, not one jot or tittle will fall unfilled.” (Cowley, pp. 509–10.)

14. Two great world capitals are to be established—one in Zion and one in Jerusalem.

Isaiah has prophesied the following concerning this event (Latter-day prophets have also indicated this scripture pertains to this day, and the same idea is found in the Doctrine and Covenants, section 133 [D&C 133]):

“And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.

“And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.” (Isa. 2:2–3.)

President Joseph F. Smith has spoken of these two gathering places as follows: “Jerusalem of old, after the Jews have been cleansed and sanctified from all their sin, shall become a holy city where the Lord shall dwell and from whence he shall send forth his word unto all people. Likewise, on this continent, the city of Zion, New Jerusalem—shall be built, and from it the law of God shall also go forth. There will be no conflict, for each city shall be headquarters for the Redeemer of the world, and from each he shall send forth his proclamations as occasion may require. Jerusalem shall be the gathering place of Judah and his fellows of the house of Israel, and Zion shall be the gathering place of Ephraim and his fellows, upon whose heads shall be conferred ‘the richer blessings.’” (Improvement Era, vol. 22 [1919], pp. 815–16.)

As Latter-day Saints, we should know more about the prophecies pertaining to Israel than any other people on earth, including the Jewish people themselves. We have everything they have, and in addition we have the words of the prophets in the Book of Mormon, the Pearl of Great Price, and the Doctrine and Covenants. We also have living prophets who stand at the head of our church today who can tell us about these great events.

The Savior has admonished us to “search these things diligently.” One purpose of devoting this special issue of the Ensign to the Holy Land is to inspire and motivate Latter-day Saints to learn about the dealings of the Lord with his covenant people.

Original Ensign Article.

“And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.” Isa. 11: 11

Various Prophets
For The Family

By Alan on Apr 26 in Blog tagged I hate it when this happens, Jesus Christ, last days, prepared, second coming, shall not fear, The Family, theFamily | Comments Off

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Things in your life are probably not as drastic as this. Most people don’t have catastrophes that large suddenly loom up and ruin everything at once. But sometimes things happen that sap the budget over the long-haul–things like unemployment, chronic illness, or caring for a parent or another loved one over months or years.

Sometimes wanting something and trying for it aren’t enough. The honest truth is that, no matter how frugal you are, no matter how extensive your emergency fund, no matter how good your invetment portfolio, things can come up that ruin your financial situation.

It’s also true that we are only human. We are not supposed to foresee the future. We are not supposed to live without anything comfortable or luxurious “just in case.” Most of the time, we haven’t caused the problem. Many times, we are also helpless to change it.

Mary cries because she never imagined she and her husband would be so broke, so desperate that they’d need help feeding their family.

A natural birth turns out to be
C-Section

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I HATE IT WHEN THIS HAPPENS!

A Dirty Diaper!

An illness in the family?

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A sudden death?

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Personal and Family Preparedness is designed around the realities of everyday family life in a remarkable balance. You can scarcely think of a problem that could arise in the life of any family member—or the family as a whole—that could not be taken care of if preparation were solid enough and early enough!

Are you prepared to meet the Lord?

. . . or will you Hate it when that happens?

“Yea, let the cry go forth among all people: Awake and arise and go forth to meet the Bridegroom; behold and lo, the Bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Prepare yourselves for the great day of the Lord.” D&C 133: 10

“I tell you these things because of your prayers; wherefore, treasure up wisdom in your bosoms, lest the wickedness of men reveal these things unto you by their wickedness, in a manner which shall speak in your ears with a voice louder than that which shall shake the earth; but if ye are prepared yeshall not fear.” D&C 38: 30

Kirk Matson
For The Family

By Alan on Mar 03 in Blog tagged faith, Gentiles, gospel, hard times, hope, Jerusalem, Jesus Christ, jews, last days, Lord, opposites, prophecy, prophet, restored church, second coming, Sodom and Gomorra, thousand years. | Comments Off

He is "The Way".

Why should I be excited for hard times?

We know that Jesus will appear to the Jews and show them his nail scarred hands and feet and disclose himself as Jesus of Nazareth, whom they had reviled and whom their fathers put to death.  Then will unbelief depart from their souls, and “the blindness in part which has happened unto Israel” be removed.  Then they will fall down at His feet and worship Him.

After these days will come their redemption and the building of Jerusalem.  They will be given their own land again, and every man will live under his own vine and his own fig tree and they will learn to love the Lord and keep His commandments and walk in the light, and He will be their God and they will be His people.

. . . and right now is at our front door!

Yes, we know how this world and it’s story ends.  The scriptures will be fulfilled!

We know which way to follow!  Jesus is The Way!

So, let’s fasten our seat belts, offer a humble prayer, take a deep breath and enjoy the ride!

I can hardly wait for our Lord and Savior to return and rule this world for a thousand years in peace and happiness.

If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear.

By Alan on Feb 11 in Blog tagged Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, continues, control, Egpt, faith, forgiveness, glory, hope charity, Jesus, Joseph Smith, last days, LDS, love, Momon, money, perilous, Plan of Life, power, pre-existence, restored, Satan, sober, war, War in heaven, war today, warriors | 5 Comments

…and we will WIN The War Again!

Have you watched the News?  We have a VERY Different Egypt Today!
Do you see that the people took charge?  That’s what the War /in Heaven was before we came here !  We must be willing to recognize what is coming and then warn our neighbors!

We must do as the scriptures say and choose “THE WAY” which we will follow; “The Way” of everlasting darkness… OR “The Way” of Eternal Life.  2 Nephi 10:23

We need to realize that the reasons we are at war today are for the same reasons why we fought in the War in Heaven!  We must CHOOSE Satan’s Plan of Life versus Jesus’s Plan of Life.

SATAN: Power, Control, Money, King, He Wants The Glory!

JESUS: Love, Forgiveness, Faith, Hope Charity, Glory To God.

We were entrusted to come to the earth in these last days to do again what we did before—to once again choose good over evil.

NOTE!!!!  CLICK FOR MUSICAL EXPLANATION: BeforeTheBeginning

We have come into the world at a most significant time. We are entering the final stages of a great war. This war commenced before the foundations of the world and has been pursued with awful consequence throughout the world’s history. I speak of the war between the followers of Christ and all those who deny Him as their God. ¹

John the Revelator wrote concerning this war:

“And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,

“And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.

“And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.”

It was Satan who instigated this premortal war. He did so by rebelling against our Father’s plan of salvation for His children and rejecting the Christ, who was designated to effectuate the plan. Tragically, a third of our Father’s children followed Satan. Yet two-thirds did not. We were among these, and with them have come to earth to pursue the Father’s plan of happiness.

Unfortunately, Satan’s war did not end with his expulsion from heaven.

As John observed, Satan and his followers were “cast out into the earth” and have come here with “great wrath.” The evidence of their wrath can be seen in the blood and horror that has afflicted man from the beginning of time.

So profound and extensive have been the wounds suffered among men that God Himself wept as He surveyed man’s condition.

We now find ourselves in the last days of this earth’s temporal history. In a coming day, our Father’s Son will return to the earth from which He was rejected and reclaim it as His own.  In that day, He will subdue Satan and his legions and usher in a thousand years of peace and righteousness. In anticipation of that day, God has restored His kingdom to the earth one last time. That kingdom is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

While God’s kingdom has been established on the earth in times past, the people to whom the kingdom was previously committed were unable to keep it. This time, however, is different. The prophetic promise is that this time God’s kingdom will not be lost but will overcome the world.

To ensure its ultimate success, the final restoration of God’s kingdom has been commenced with unprecedented spiritual power and is being sustained by that same spiritual power and something more. Reserved to come forth in these last days and labor for our Father and His Son are some of the most valiant and noble of our Father’s sons and daughters. Their valiance and nobility were demonstrated in the pre-earth struggle with Satan. There, “being left to choose good or evil,” they “[chose] good” and exhibited “exceedingly great faith” and “good works.” Such are the traits that are now needed to sustain the work of God in the earth and to save the souls of men from the intensifying wrath of the adversary.

You are these valiant and noble sons of our Father! You are the strength of the Lord’s house, His warriors! You are those who chose good over evil and who exhibited “exceedingly great faith” and “good works.” And because of your personal history, you were entrusted to come to the earth in these last days to do again what you did before—to once again choose good over evil, exercise exceedingly great faith, and perform good works—and to do so in behalf of the kingdom of God on the earth and your fellowman!

With God’s kingdom restored to the earth and your entry into the world, Satan knows that “he hath but a short time.” Therefore, Satan is marshalling every resource at his disposal to entice you into transgression. He knows that if he can draw you into transgression, he may prevent you from serving a full-time mission, marrying in the temple, and securing your future children in the faith, all of which weakens not only you but the Church. He knows that nothing can overthrow God’s kingdom “save it [be] the transgression of [his] people.” Make no mistake about it—the focus of his war is now on you—you who seek to “keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.”

You need to appreciate that our days now and the days that lie ahead are “perilous.” In this regard, President Boyd K. Packer has observed:

“I know of nothing in the history of the Church or in the history of the world to compare with our present circumstances. Nothing happened in Sodom and Gomorrah which exceeds in wickedness and depravity that which surrounds us now.”

In referring to the perils of our day, I do not intend to inspire fear, but soberness. Being sober means being earnest and serious in assessing your circumstances and careful and circumspect in weighing the consequences of your actions. Soberness therefore yields good judgment, as well as measured conduct. No wonder then that prophets counsel young men to be sober. Remember Mormon’s observation that what madeHelaman’s 2,000 stripling warriors so effective in battle was not just their courage, strength, and trustworthiness, but their “soberness.” Mormon valued such a trait because he was blessed to possess it himself. It was Mormon who was entrusted with the sacred records of the Nephite nation at only 10 years of age because he was a “sober child” and “quick to observe.” And it was Mormon who, at age 15, was “visited of the Lord” and “knew of the goodness of Jesus” because he was of a “sober mind.”

So, as we enter the final climactic stages of the war against Satan, be sober, my young friends. Understand that you cannot partake of drugs, alcohol, or tobacco. You cannot participate in pornography or other immoral activity. You cannot lie, cheat, or steal. You cannot use false, demeaning, or dirty language. You cannot deface your body with tattoos and other piercings. You cannot do these things and be victorious in the battle for your own soul, let alone be a valiant warrior in the great struggle for the souls of all the rest of our Father’s children.

Understand, my young friends, that there is only one way to win the war against Satan, and that is to win it in the same way it was won in the beginning. When victory was finally achieved in the War in Heaven, a loud voice was heard to declare:

“Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ. …

He is "The Way".

“For they [referring to Michael and his angels] have overcome him [referring to the devil] by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; for they loved not their own lives, but kept the testimony even unto death.” Do not miss the significance of this declaration. Satan was overcome in the beginning by (1) faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and His atoning sacrifice, (2) testimony of Him that was steadfastly kept to the very end, and (3) consecration of oneself to the Lord and His work. If this was the means for defeating him in the beginning, you can be sure that this is the one sure way to defeat him now.

Now, you may wonder how to acquire the faith, testimony, and consecration of spirit necessary to overcome the adversary. Let me assure you that these qualities are already within you. You simply need to recover them. To that end, allow me to make three suggestions.

First, do as young Joseph Smith did. Find a quiet place and pray to your Father in Heaven. Do so regularly and earnestly. Prayer is a precondition to revelation. The more regular and earnest the prayer, the more frequent the revelation. When received, revelation provides the evidence or assurance of things unseen, which is the foundation of faith.

Second, learn to hear the voice of the Lord. His is a still, small, and whisper-like voice. It is one that is felt more than it is heard. It comes in the form of thoughts, feelings, and impressions. To hear such a voice, you must be still and quiet in your own soul, laying aside your excess laughter and light-mindedness. While it may not seem easy to so discipline your life, hearing the precious, loving voice of the Lord will sustain you in every circumstance and is therefore worth every effort.

Third, obey the word of the Lord as it is given to you. His word will not only love and comfort but invariably instruct and correct. Do as He bids you to do, no matter how hard it may seem to you, and do it now. It is in doing the will of the Lord that knowledge of Him and love for Him accrue to your soul, which leads you to be ever more willing to lay down your own life and follow Him.

My dear brethren, these are your days! Do not squander them! Be sober! Take “the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall … quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.” Then “fight the good fight of faith.” And when you have done all, “stand” still and “see the salvation of the Lord.”

I assure you that His salvation will come, delivering you and yours from every evil. I so testify in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, amen.

ELDER JAMES J. HAMULA
Of The Seventy
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

By Alan on Jan 28 in Blog tagged earthquake, last days, mountains, prophecy, scripture, sign of the times, valleys, wickedness | 1 Comment

Are You Prepared?

“And they that believe not in him shall be destroyed, both by fire, and by tempest, and by earthquakes, and by bloodsheds, and by pestilence, and by famine. And they shall know that the Lord is God, the Holy One of Israel.  2 Ne. 6: 15

What To Do?

Marlon Snow
For The Family

Moving Mountain!

Stay Positive!  ”Endure To The End”!

To order…Go Here:  http://www.ringmastersonline.com

“And blessed are they who shall seek to bring forth my Zion at that day, for they shall have the gift and the power of the Holy Ghost; and if they endure unto the end they shall be lifted up at the last day, and shall be saved in the everlasting ^gkingdom of the Lamb; and whoso shall publish peace, yea, tidings of great joy, how beautiful upon the mountains shall they be.  1 Ne. 13: 37

Become a Zion People!