By Alan on May 26 in Blog tagged House of the Lord, Mormon, temple, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints | 3 Comments

What Are Temples For?

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Temples are literally houses of the Lord. They are holy places of worship where individuals make sacred covenants with God. Because making covenants with God is such a solemn responsibility, individuals cannot enter the temple to receive their endowments or be sealed in marriage for eternity until they have fully prepared themselves and been members of the Church for at least a year. Throughout history, the Lord has commanded His people to build temples. The Church is working to build temples all over the world to make temple blessings more available for a greater number of Heavenly Father’s children.

CLICK TO SEE MORE TEMPLES

“And verily I say unto you, let this house be built unto my name, that I may reveal mine
ordinances therein unto my people; for I deign to reveal unto my church things which have been
kept hid from before the foundation of the world, things that pertain to the dispensation of the
fulness of times.”
Doctrine & Covenants 124:40-41

For The Family

By Alan on Mar 20 in Blog tagged Achieving, actors, America, American culture, apostles, athletes, authors, B, Brigham Young, children, church, David O. McKay, Donny & Marie Osmond, endowment, faith, Family, fourteen million, George Romney, Gladys Knight, Glenn Beck, government, Jimmer Fredette, Latter-day Saints, LDS, leadership, learning, marriage, Marriott, missionaries, Mitt Romney, Momonizing, Mormon, Mormonism, musicians, national stage, newscasters, NFL, Olympics, organizing, Osmonds, politicians, Presidential candidate, priesthood, progressing, prophet, religious value, religious vision, Revelator, sacrament, seer, sports, Stephen Mansfield, Steven Covey, successful, temple, Temples, The Book of Mormon, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, The Mormon Tabernacle Choir, The Osmonds, Thomas S. Monson, upward motion, well educated, well spoken patriotic, willing to serve, worldwide | 1 Comment

The Mormonizing Of America

New York Times best selling author Stephen Mansfield

There are nearly seven million Mormons in America . This is the number the Mormons themselves use. It’s not huge. Seven million is barely 2 percent of the country’s population. It is the number of people who subscribe to Better Homes and Gardens magazine. London boasts seven million people. So does San Francisco . It’s a million more people than live in the state of Washington ; a million less than in the state of Virginia . It’s so few, it’s the same number as were watching the January 24, 2012, Republican debate.

In fact, worldwide, there are only about fourteen million Mormons. That’s fourteen million among a global population just reaching seven billion. Fourteen million is the population of Cairo or Mali or Guatemala . It’s approximately the number of people who tune in for the latest hit show on network television every week. Fourteen million Americans ate Thanksgiving dinner in a restaurant in 2011. That’s how few fourteen million is.

Yet in the first decade or so of the new millennium, some members of the American media discovered the Mormons and began covering them as though the Latter-day Saints had just landed from Mars. It was as though Utah was about to invade the rest of the country. It was all because of politics and pop culture, of course. Mitt Romney and John Huntsman were in pursuit of the White House. Glenn Beck was among the nation’s most controversial news commentators. Stephenie Meyer had written the astonishingly popular Twilight series about vampires. Matt Stone and Trey Parker had created the edgy South Park cartoon series–which included a much- discussed episode about Mormons–and then went on to create the blatantly blasphemous and Saint-bashing Broadway play The Book of Mormon. It has become one of the most successful productions in American theater history.

Meanwhile, more than a dozen Mormons sat in the US Congress, among them Harry Reid, the Senate Majority Leader. Mormons led JetBlue, American Express, Marriott, Novell, Deloitte and Touche, Diebold, and Eastman Kodak. Management guru Stephen Covey made millions telling them how to lead even better. There were Mormons commanding battalions of US troops and Mormons running major US universities. There were so many famous Mormons, in fact, that huge websites were launched just to keep up with it all. Notables ranged from movie stars like Katherine Heigl to professional athletes to country music stars like Gary Allan to reality television contestants and even to serial killers like Glenn Helzer, whose attorney argued that the Saints made him the monster he was. The media graciously reminded the public that Mormon criminals were nothing new, though: Butch Cassidy of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid fame was also a Mormon, they reported.

Most media coverage treated this “Mormon Moment” as though it was just that: the surprising and unrelated appearance of dozens of Mormons on the national stage–for a moment. More than a few commentators predicted it would all pass quickly.

What most commentators did not understand was that their “Mormon Moment” was more than a moment, more than an accident, and more than a matter of pop culture and fame alone. The reality was–and is–that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has reached critical mass. It is not simply that a startling number of Mormons have found their way onto America’s flat-screen TVs and so brought visibility to their religion. It is that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- day Saints has reached sufficient numbers–and has so permeated every level of American society on the strength of its religious value–that prominent politicians, authors, athletes, actors, newscasters, and even murderers are the natural result, in some cases even the intended result. Visible, influential Mormons aren’t outliers or exceptions. They are fruit of the organic growth of their religion.

In 1950, there were just over a million Mormons in the world. Most of these were located in the Intermountain West of the United States, a region of almost lunar landscape between the Rocky Mountains to the East and the Cascades and Sierra Nevada Mountains to the West. The religion was still thought of as odd by most Americans. There had been famous Mormons like the occasional US Senator or war hero, but these were few and far between. There had even been a 1940 Hollywood movie entitled Brigham Young that told the story of the Saints’ mid-1800s trek from Illinois to the region of the Great Salt Lake. Its producers worked hard to strain out nearly every possible religious theme, a nod to the increasingly secular American public. Though it starred heavyweights like Vincent Price and Tyrone Power, the movie failed miserably, even in Utah. Especially in Utah.

Then, in 1951, a man named David O. McKay became the “First President” of the Latter-day Saints and inaugurated a new era. He was the Colonel Harlan Sanders of Mormonism. He often wore white suits, had an infectious laugh, and under- stood the need to appeal to the world outside the Church. It was refreshing. Most LDS presidents had either been polygamist oddballs or stodgy old men in the eyes of the American public. McKay was more savvy, more media aware. He became so popular that film legend Cecil B. DeMille asked him to consult on the now classic movie The Ten Commandments.

Empowered by his personal popularity and by his sense that an opportune moment had come, McKay began refashioning the Church’s image. He also began sharpening its focus. His famous challenge to his followers was, “Every Member a Missionary!” And the faithful got busy. It only helped that Ezra Taft Benson, a future Church president, was serving as the nation’s secretary of agriculture under President Eisehower. This brought respectability. It also helped that George Romney was the revered CEO of American Motors Corporation and that he would go on to be the governor of Michigan, a candidate for president of the United States, and finally a member of Richard Nixon’s cabinet. This hinted at increasing power. The 1950s were good for Mormons.

Then came the 1960s. Like most religions, the LDS took a beating from the counterculture movement, but by the 1970s they were again on the rise. There was the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, a symbol of Americana when Americana was under siege. There was Mormon Donny Osmond’s smile and Mormon Marie Osmond’s everything and the three-year run of network television’s Donny and Marie in the late 1970s that made words like family, clean, talented, patriotic, and even cute outshine some of the less-endearing labels laid upon the Saints through the years. New labels joined new symbols. A massive, otherworldly, 160,000-square-foot Temple just north of Washington, DC, was dedicated in the 1970s, a symbol of LDS power and permanence for the nation to behold. Always there was the “Every Member a Missionary!” vision beating in each Saintly heart.

By 1984, the dynamics of LDS growth were so fine-tuned that influential sociologist Rodney Stark made the mind- blowing prediction that the Latter-day Saints would have no fewer than 64 million members and perhaps as many as 267 million by 2080.3 It must have seemed possible in those days. In the following ten years, LDS membership exploded from 4.4 million to 11 million. This may be why in 1998 the Southern Baptist Convention held its annual meeting in Salt Lake City. The Mormons–a misguided cult in the view of most traditional Christians, most Baptists in particular–had to be stopped.

They weren’t. Four years after the Baptists besieged Temple Square, the Winter Olympic Games came to Salt Lake City. This was in 2002 and it is hard to exaggerate what this meant to the Latter-day Saints. A gifted Mormon leader, Mitt Romney, rescued the games after a disastrous bidding scandal. A sparkling Mormon city hosted the games. Happy, handsome all-American Mormons attended each event, waving constantly to the cameras and appearing to be–in the word repeatedly used by the press at the time–”normal.”

The LDS Church capitalized on it all. It sent volunteers, missionaries, and publicists scurrying to every venue. It hosted grand events for the world press. It made sure that every visitor received a brochure offering an LDS guided tour of the city. Visitors from around the world read these words: “No other place in America has a story to tell like that of Salt Lake City–a sanctuary founded by religious refugees from within the United States’ own borders. And none can tell that story better than the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”

Largely unchallenged, the Mormon narrative prevailed.

What followed was the decade of the new millennium we have already surveyed. Mormons seemed to be everywhere, seemed to be exceptional in nearly every arena, seemed to have moved beyond acceptance by American culture to domination of American culture. At least this was what some feared at the time.

But Mormons did not dominate the country. Far from it. Remember that they were not even 2 percent of the nation’s population as of 2012. True, they were visible and successful, well educated and well spoken, patriotic and ever willing to serve. Yet what they had achieved was not domination. It was not a conspiracy either, as some alleged. It was not anything approaching a takeover or even the hope for a takeover.

Few observers seemed to be able to explain how this new level of LDS prominence in American society came about. They reached for the usual answers trotted out to account for such occurrences: birth rates, Ronald Reagan’s deification of traditional values, the economic boom of the late twentieth century, a more liberal and broadminded society, even the dumbing down of America through television and failing schools. Each of these explanations was found wanting.

The Mormon Machine

The truth lay within Mormonism itself. What the Saints had achieved in the United States was what Mormonism, unfettered and well led, will nearly always produce. This was the real story behind the much-touted “Mormon Moment.” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had risen to unexpected heights in American society because the Mormon religion creates what can benevolently be called a Mormon Machine– a system of individual empowerment, family investment, local church (ward and stake level) leadership, priesthood government, prophetic enduement, Temple sacraments, and sacrificial financial endowment of the holy Mormon cause.

Plant Mormonism in any country on earth and pretty much the same results will occur. If successful, it will produce deeply moral individuals who serve a religious vision centered upon achievement in this life. They will aggressively pursue the most advanced education possible, understand their lives in terms of overcoming obstacles, and eagerly serve the surrounding society. The family will be of supernatural importance to them, as will planning and investing for future generations. They will be devoted to community, store and save as a hedge against future hardship, and they will esteem work as a religious calling. They will submit to civil government and hope to take positions within it. They will have advantages in this. Their beliefs and their lives in all-encompassing community will condition them to thrive in administrative systems and hierarchies–a critical key to success in the modern world. Ever oriented to a corporate life and destiny, they will prize belonging and unity over individuality and conflict every time.

These hallmark values and behaviors–the habits that distinguish Mormons in the minds of millions of Americans– grow naturally from Mormon doctrine. They are also the values and behaviors of successful people. Observers who think of the religion as a cult–in the Jim Jones sense that a single, dynamic leader controls a larger body of devotees through fear, lies, and manipulation–usually fail to see this. Mormon doctrine is inviting, the community it produces enveloping and elevating, the lifestyle it encourages empowering in nearly every sense. Success, visibility, prosperity, and influence follow. This is the engine of the Mormon ascent. It is what has attracted so many millions, and it is the mechanism of the Latter-day Saints’ impact upon American society and the world.

Mormons make achievement through organizational management a religious virtue. It leads to prosperity, visibility, and power. It should come as no surprise, then, that an American can turn on the evening news after a day of work and find one report about two Mormon presidential candidates, another story about a Mormon finalist on American Idol, an examination of the controversial views of a leading Mormon news commentator, a sports story about what a Mormon lineman does with his “Temple garments” in the NFL, and a celebration of how Mormons respond to crises like Katrina and the BP oil spill, all by a “Where Are They Now?” segment about Gladys Knight, minus the Pips, who has become–of course–a Mormon.

Mormons rise in this life because it is what their religion calls for. Achieving. Progressing. Learning. Forward, upward motion. This is the lifeblood of earthly Mormonism. Management, leadership, and organizing are the essential skills of the faith. It is no wonder that Mormons have grown so rapidly and reached such stellar heights in American culture. And there is much more to come.

President Thomas S. Monson
Prophet, Seer, and Revelator
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

For The Family

THE MORMONIZING OF AMERICA by Stephen Mansfield, © 2012. Published by Worthy Publishing, a division of Worthy Media, Inc., Brentwood, TN. 11/06/2012

By Alan on Feb 10 in Blog tagged apostles, authority, healing, Jesus Christ, Joseph Smith, miracles, priesthood, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Thomas S. Monson | Comments Off

Miracles Are Everywhere To Be Found

Miracles are everywhere to be found when the
priesthood is understood, its power is honored
and used properly, and faith is exerted.

The divine, magnifying, and strengthening power can
come to us through priesthood blessings by those
who have been ordained and given the Priesthood.

Jesus Christ Ordained His Twelve Apostles
to be his closest disciples and helpers
during his ministry on earth with
the Priesthood.
Luke 6:13; John 15:16

He sent them forth to represent him and to minister
for him after his ascension into heaven.

Both anciently and in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
in the restored Church today, an Apostle is a
special witness of Jesus Christ in all the world to testify
of his divinity and of his resurrection from the dead.
Acts 1:22; D&C 107:23

John the Baptist conferred the Aaronic Priesthood
on Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery in
Harmony, Pennsylvania
D&C 13; JS—H 1:71–72

The Melchizedek Priesthood was restored to the earth
in these last days by the ministry of Peter, James, and John,
who literally came to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery
in the spring of 1829 and conferred this power and
authority upon them (D&C 27:12–13).

Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery
in the Kirtland Temple. Moses, Elias, and Elijah
appeared and conveyed priesthood keys (see D&C 110).

Today - Miracles Are Everywhere To Be Found!

By Alan on Dec 18 in Blog tagged 18 Prophecies and Promises, a religious based constitution, Benjamin Franklin, Chief Canasatego, Chief Hiawatha, constitution, despite whatever trials, God of Peace, have faith in America, importance the Native Americans played, lack of wisdom and ignorance of good procedures, land of our forefathers, LDS, one voice, or crisis, preach, President Harold B. Lee, prophet, scolded colonial delegates, Six Nations, tell the world, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the cradle of humanity, the founding of this country, the Garden of Eden, the greatest country in all the world, the importance, the nation that will stand, the promised land, The United States of America, this nation, to His Temple, Treaty of Lancaster, Washington D.C. "Gods of War, where life began, where New Jerusalem is, where the Savior will come | Comments Off

The Importance Native Americans Played In The Founding Of This Country

The United States of America - The Promised Land

Words of President Harold B. Lee (1974)

“I have faith in America.

You and I must have faith in America if we understand the gospel of Jesus Christ.

This is the cradle of humanity where life on this earth began in the Garden of Eden.

This is the place where the New Jerusalem is.  This is the place where the Savior will come to His Temple.  We must all sound with one voice.  We must tell the world how we feel about this land and this nation.

I plead with you not to preach pessimism.  Preach that this is the greatest country in all the world.  This is the favored land.  This is the land of our forefathers.  It is the nation that will stand despite whatever trials or crises it may yet have to pass through.”

Independence Hall in Washington D.C.
From book: “Gods of War, Gods of Peace”

 “Many people do not realize the importance the Native Americans played in the founding of this country!  Benjamin Franklin had first learned something about the constitution of the Six Nations in delegates accounts of the proceedings at the Treaty of Lancaster, Pennsylvania in 1744.

When the delegates from Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia fell apart in quarrels among themselves about their objectives, this Chief Canasatego, (whose home government had by then been resolving internal dilemmas by means of check-and-balance debates for a century or more) ran out of patience.

.Hi

Raising his hand and speaking with the eloquence that would have done credit to Chief Hiawatha, he scolded the colonial delegates for their lack of wisdom and ignorance of good procedures.”

Canasatego’s words rang in Benjamin Franklin’s ears.  Although he had certainly known about the military might and diplomatic effectiveness of the Six Nations, he only now, through Canastego’s words caught an intimation of what its government work – a religious based constitution.   Benjamin Franklin held it up in a series of pamphlets as the worlds only available model for a confederation of thirteen contentious colonies.”

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Why has this information been hidden and erased from our American History?

Some of these Native Americans came from Jerusalem and are of Israeli descent. The Native American’s wrote in Ancient Hebrew!

Glenn Beck discusses why these records were destroyed.

Download with Vixy | Convert YouTube to MP3

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North American Lost Civilizations!

 CLICK:  http://youtu.be/GJLqDlZokhA

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The stick of Ephraim or Joseph: A record of one group from the tribe of Ephraim that was led from Jerusalem to America about 600 B.C. This group’s record is called the stick of Ephraim or Joseph. It and the stick of Judah (the Bible) form a unified testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ, his resurrection, and his divine work among these two segments of the house of Israel.

This record records Jesus’s visit to America and telling the people to “come forth unto me, that ye may thrust your hands into my side, and also that ye may feel the prints of the nails in my hands and in my feet, that ye may know that I am the God of Israel, and the God of the whole earth, and have been slain for the sins of the world.”

These history of these people is recorded in This Book.

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There are eighteen (18) Prophecies and Promises regarding this land of America!

1. Land of Promise.

2. Land consecrated for an inheritance.

3. Land choice above all other lands.

4. Land cursed because of wickedness.

5. Land Holy to those led to it by the Lord.

6. Land of prosperity and security.

7. Land of Liberty.

8. Land of the New Jerusalem.

9. Land where all worship God or will be destroyed.

10. Land prepared for the Lord’s people.

11. Land never brought into captivity.

12. Land fortified against all other nations.

13. Land only for those brought by the Lord.

14. Land kept from the knowledge of other nations.

15. Land where none shall molest.

16. Land not to be governed by a king.

17. Land to be visited by Christ.

18. Land were sacred record is to be kept.

 “The United States will stand despite whatever trials and crisis it may have to pass through.  It is a nation that was founded upon an inspired declaration we call the Constitution of the United States and the Lord said it was written by men whom He raised up for that very purpose.“   Harold B. Lee – 1974

Scripture references:

D&C 98: 5
     “And that ^law of the land which is ^{constitutional}, supporting that principle of freedom in maintaining rights and privileges, belongs to all mankind, and is justifiable before me.”

(This is the first time the Lord has given His stamp of approval on a government institution.)

2 Ne. 1: 7
“Wherefore, this ^land is consecrated unto him whom he shall bring. And if it so be that they shall serve him according to the commandments which he hath given, it shall be a land of ^liberty unto them; wherefore, they shall never be brought down into captivity; if so, it shall be because of iniquity; for if iniquity shall abound ^cursed shall be the land for their sakes, but unto the righteous it shall be blessed forever.”

(So long as they are righteous.)

The North American Native Americans have been the ones to be scattered and afflicted (“Trails of Tears”), removed from their lands. 

Christ’s prophesy that the New Jerusalem would be built in America:

3 Ne. 20: 22
     “And behold, this ^people will I establish in this land, unto the fulfilling of the ^covenant which I made with your father Jacob; and it shall be a ^New Jerusalem. And the ^powers of heaven shall be in the midst of this people; yea, even ^I will be in the midst of you.”

 Ether 13: 2-3
     “For behold, they rejected all the words of Ether; for he truly told them of all things, from the beginning of man; and that after the waters had ^receded from off the face of this ^land it became a choice land above all other lands, a chosen land of the Lord; wherefore the Lord would have that all men should ^serve him who dwell upon the face thereof;

     And that it was the place of the ^New Jerusalem, which should ^come down out of heaven, and the holy sanctuary of the Lord.”

Ether 13: 4, 6
 
“Behold, Ether saw the days of Christ, and he spake concerning a ^New Jerusalem upon this land. 



     And that a ^New Jerusalem should be built up upon this land, unto the remnant of the seed of ^Joseph, for which things there has been a ^type.”

Jesus said:

3 Ne. 21: 2-4
     “And behold, this is the thing which I will give unto you for a sign—for verily I say unto you that ^when these things which I declare unto you, and which I shall declare unto you hereafter of myself, and by the power of the Holy Ghost which shall be given unto you of the Father, shall be made known unto the Gentiles that they may know concerning this people who are a remnant of the house of Jacob, and concerning this my people who shall be scattered by them;

     Verily, verily, I say unto you, when these things shall be made ^known unto them of the Father, and shall come forth of the Father, ^from them unto you;

     For it is wisdom in the Father that they should be established in this land, and be set up as a ^free people by the power of the Father, that these things might come forth from them unto a remnant of your seed, that the ^covenant of the Father may be fulfilled which he hath covenanted with his people, O house of Israel.”

 3 Ne. 21: 22-23
     “But if they will repent and hearken unto my words, and ^harden not their hearts, I will ^establish my church among them, and they shall come in unto the covenant and be ^numbered among this the remnant of Jacob, unto whom I have given this land for their ^inheritance;

     And they shall assist my ^people, the remnant of Jacob, and also as many of the house of Israel as shall come, that they may build a city, which shall be called the ^New Jerusalem.”

 D&C 10: 53
     “And for this cause have I said: If this generation ^harden not their hearts, I will establish my ^church among them.”

The Truth
For The Family

Yes, I would like to know more?

NOTE:

If you google Chief Conasatago, you will find this:

“Chief Canasatego,” he said with the warmth of someone remembering a close friend. “He’s a historical figure few people know about, but one who played a vital role in America’s formation. Some consider him a lost Founding Father.”

“Dr. Heisman has done extensive research on the Iroquois chief. One of his dissertations was vital in getting Congress to pass a resolution concerning the role Native Americans played in the country’s founding.” “He’s a fascinating figure. He was the greatest and most influential Native American of his time. If he hadn’t been struck down so young, there is no telling how different this nation might look, especially regarding its relation with Native Americans.” Gray leaned back in his chair. “And he was murdered like the letter said.” Heisman nodded and finally took a seat at the table. “He was poisoned. Historians disagree about who killed him. Some say it was spies of the British government. Others claim it was his own people.”

“Seems like ol’ Ben had his own theory,” Monk added.

Heisman eyed the letter with a hungry look. “It is intriguing.” Gray suspected there would be no further trouble convincing the curator to assist them with their research. The irritated sleepiness in his manner had drained away, leaving behind only avid interest.
“SO WHY WAS THIS IROQUOIS CHIEF SO IMPORTANT?” Monk asked. Heisman reached to the photocopied letter and flipped to the crude representation of the bald eagle with outstretched wings. He tapped the claw that held the bundled arrows. “THATS WHY.” He glanced around the table. “Do any of you know why the Great Seal of the United States has the eagle gripping a sheaf of arrows.” Gray shrugged and shifted the page closer. “The olive branch in one claw represents peace, and the arrows in the other represent war.” A wry-grin-his first of the night- rose on the curator’s face. “That’s a common misconception. But there’s a story behind that bundle of thirteen arrows, one that rises from a story of Chief Canasatego.” Grey let the curator speak, sensing he’d get more by letting the man ramble on. “Canasatego was a leader of the Onondaga nation, one of six Indian nations that eventually joined together to form the Iroquois Confederacy. That union of tribes was already centuries old, formed during the 1500′s–long before the founding of America. After generations of bloody warfare, peace among the tribes was finally achieved when the disparate nations agreed to bang together fr their common good. They formed a uniquely democratic and egalitarian government, with representatives from each tribe having a voice. It was government like no other at the time, with laws and it’s own constitution.” “Sounds darned familiar,” Monk added. “Indeed, Chief Canasatego met with the early colonists in 1744 and presented the Iroquois Confederacy as an example for them to follow, encouraging them to join together for the common good.” Heisman stared around the room. “Benjamin Franklin was in attendance at that meeting and spread the word among those who eventually frame our own Constitution. In fact, one of the delegates to the Constitutional Convention–John Rutledge of South Carolina–even read sections of Iroquoian law to his fellow framers, reading directly from one of their tribal treaties, which started with the words, “we, the people, to form a union, to establish peace, equity and order–” “WAIT,” Monk sat straighter. “That’s almost word for word like the preamble of the U.S constitution. Are you saying we patterned our founding documents upon some old Indian Laws”? “Not just me, but also Congress of the United States, Resolution 331, passed in October of 1988, recognizes the influence that the Iroquois Constitution had upon our own constitution and upon our Bill of Rights. While there is some dispute as to the degree of influence, the facts can;t be denied. Our founding fathers even immortalized that debt in our national seal. “How so?” Gray asked. Heisman again tapped the eagle drawing. “At the gathering in 1744, Chief Canasatego approached Benjamin Franklin and gave him a gift, a single feathered arrow. When Franklin expressed confusion, Canasatego took back the arrow and broke it across his knee and let the pieces drop to the floor. Next he presented Franklin with a sheaf of thirteen arrows tied together in leather. Canasatego attempted to break the bundle across his knee like before, but joined as one, they would not break. He presented that bundle to Franklin, the massage plain to all. To survive and be strong the thirteen colonies; only then would be unbreakable. The eagle in the Great Seal holds that same bundle of thirteen arrows in his claw as a permanent–if somewhat secret–homage to the wise words of Chief Canasatego..

NOTES FROM THE AUTHOR!!!!

- Chief Canasatego is a real Iroquois leader who had a profound impact on the founding of America. Many people do believe him to be a lost Founding Father. The story related about the arrows and Franklin and how it led to the bundle of arrows in our national great seal is true.

- As in Resolution 331, passed in October of 1988, which acknowledged the influence that the Iroquois constitution had upon our own founding documents, including the Declaration of Independence.

- For example, in 1787, John Rutldge of South Carolina read to memeber of the Constitution Convention from Iroquois law, words written 250 years before our constituion. Here are those words he read: “We, the people, to form a union, to establish peace, equity, and order….”Sound Fimiliar?

By Alan on Dec 07 in Blog tagged church, gay, hope, LDS, love, Mormon, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, understanding, website | Comments Off

New Church Website on Same-Sex Attraction
Offers Love, Understanding and Hope

SALT LAKE CITY —

By Alan on Oct 07 in Blog tagged as they are, as they may become, as thyself, love, love thy neighbor, Mormon, President Thomas S. Monson, prophet, Revelator, seer, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints | Comments Off

See Others Not As They Are, But As They May Become

“So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.”   Matthew 18:35

 ”Honour thy (Heavenly) Father and Mother.”  Ephesians 6:2

For The Family

By Alan on Oct 04 in Blog tagged LDS, Mormons, October 7, prophet, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Thomas S. Monson | Comments Off

Come Listen To A Prophet’s Voice

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints invites all to watch or listen to general conference.

Below are resources to assist you in inviting others to
participate in this live event.

CLICK HERE!

By Alan on Sep 14 in Blog tagged Boyd K. Packer, children, Elijah, Family History, Fathers, genealogy, heart, LDS, Mormon, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, The Family, the prophet, twelve apostles | 1 Comment

 ”Turning The Hearts Of The Children To The Fathers”

“And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children
to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.”
Malachi 4:6

This work that Elijah the Prophet refers to is what we do in our Temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  We seal families together for all eternity.  God’s work and glory is “to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man”.  Our Heavenly Father loves us and has great things prepared for us as only a good Father would do.  How Great Thou Art!  We must trust in Him and do the work He has instructed us to do and to accomplish.

We are all God’s children.  Sometimes we get so busy and involved in the things of this world that we forget that there is more to life and that we will live forever.  We believe that we will be together again as families after this life as well.  Elijah restored the sealing powers to the earth so that our families can be together for all eternity as God’s Plan of Life was designed.

Please visit our website at http://osmond.org and see if we are related.  We love finding our relatives and seeing those among you who are our cousins.  It is also inspiring to remember and read about our pioneer ancestors who showed great faith and hope as we learn of their struggles and successes and as they risked their lives forging rivers and seas, mountains and plains, driven by their faith in God and seeking truth and freedom and a better life for their families.

We are all doing the same thing today as we face the unknown and unexpected searching for the same freedoms and important things of life but in a much faster, extremely technical, and more violent and turbulent world.  There is peace in store for us all though because just as Elijah returned, so will our Savior Jesus Christ.  When Jesus returns, He will live with us for a thousand years in peace as our Lord and Savior.

He is “The Way”.

One day, Adam and Eve, with angelic assistance, will present to Jesus Christ a book or record containing the linked genealogy of their posterity and family history of all of God’s children that ever lived in this world.  This is what Elijah was talking about when he talked about turning the hearts of the children to the fathers.  We are to remember our forefathers and mothers.  Just as the internet “links” certain items together, with the power and spirit of Elijah, our families can be “linked” together also.  This is why genealogy and family history is the fastest growing hobby today.   We were born into a family.  We will die and be remembered as a family.  We are being watched over from on high because we are God’s family.

This is why I enjoy publishing works that can help Strengthen The Family. .

.Alan Osmond
For The Family 

By Alan on Sep 08 in Blog tagged Apostle, Christian, evangelical, Jeffery R. Holland, LDS, Mormon, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints | Comments Off

ARE MORMONS CHRISTIANS

“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 Nehpi 25:26

For The Family

By Alan on Aug 26 in Blog tagged become, destiny, God, happiness, identity, is, LDS, man, Mormon, Tad Callister, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, The Family, The Plan, woman | 1 Comment

Our Identity And Our Destiny

Elder Tad R. Callister Explains:

CLICK TO WATCH!

 (Excuse the commercial.)

The Plan of Happiness.
For The Family