LDS Patriot: Apologia

LDS Patriot Moved To Wordpress

2006-02-23T09:57:00.000-08:00

This blog has moved to http://ldspatriot.wordpress.com/

Justices to Weigh Late-Term Abortion Ban

2006-02-21T10:41:00.000-08:00

Justices to Weigh Late-Term Abortion Ban

Supreme Court Will Consider the Constitutionality of Banning a Type of Late-Term Abortion

Article
Title: Justices to Weigh Late-Term Abortion Ban
Link: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=1644973&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312
Author: ~
Publication Date:

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Daniel C Peterson On Daniel Pipes

2006-02-10T23:17:00.000-08:00

Background: A copy of my e-mailed to Daniel C. Peterson, Ph.D. regarding some questions I had about Dr. Daniel Pipes. Also, Dr. Peterson’s response is copied below. Dr. Peterson approved the posting of his response to my e-mail.

Brother Peterson:

First, I want to personally thank you for all your efforts at FAIR. I think your posts would make an excellent book for all aspiring apologist. Again, ThankYouVeryMuch!

Because of your expertise in Islam and the Middle East, I would like your professional opinion of Dr. Daniel Pipes. Do you consider Dr. Pipes's to be an expert and a scholar on the Middle East and Islam? In other words, is he someone I can trust and rely on to tell it like it is, or is he simply an anti-Muslim? I’ve been reading his websites for a few years now and find him to be level headed, scholarly, and well versed in the areas of Militant Islam, Arab-Israel conflict, Syria, and American Muslims.

I ask this because some LDS believe the following about Dr. Pipes: “Daniel Pipes is a demagogue with absolutely no interest in scholarly debate…writes rubbish…His failure to acknowledge the diversity of the debate…please choose someone that bothers to read what they write…”

And because I know what it’s like to have my faith misrepresented, I do not wish to give credence to Dr. Pipes’s work if he is in fact the “Muslim Expert” equivalent of Decker/Tanner et al.

If, in your opinion, Dr. Pipes’s ought not to be taken seriously, then I’d certainly stop citing him as an expert. I sure would like to know whom you would recommend I can put my trust in as it relates to Islam, the Arab-Israel conflict, terrorism, etc.

Thread at Millennial Star where I am discussion concerning the Danish cartoons.

http://www.millennialstar.org/index.php/2006/02/07/the_limits_of_free_speech_free_speech#comments

Daniel Pipes

Director

Middle East Forum

Bio: http://www.danielpipes.org/bios/

Areas of Expertise: Militant Islam, Arab-Israel conflict, Syria, American Muslims

Contact: pipes@meforum.org

http://www.meforum.org/experts.php

http://www.danielpipes.org/bios/

http://www.danielpipes.org/bio.pdf

http://www.meforum.org/

LDS Patriot

www.ldspatriot.com

---

Dr. Peterson’s response to my e-mail above:

I think highly of him. His father, Richard Pipes, was a famous Sovietologist at Harvard whose writing I admired. He himself earned a Ph.D. At Harvard with a dissertation on the Mamluks of medieval Egypt that became a fine book entitled, as I recall, Slaves on Horseback. He’s a legitimate, well-trained scholar, and very bright.

I confess that I have a bias with regard to Dr. Pipes, since he’s had some nice things to say about me (on the basis, in my view, of insufficient evidence). But, even factoring that in, I think his is a voice that should not be shunned.

I have at least one colleague here at BYU who despises him, too, but then, that colleague and I disagree very, very much on politics, as well.

I’ve never found Daniel Pipes to be a demagogue.

He is certainly not an Ed Decker or a Jerald/Sandra Tanner.

Keep reading Daniel Pipes. Another good writer—perhaps the greatest scholar of Islam writing in English—is Bernard Lewis, an Englishman now long retired from Princeton. All of his books are worth reading, but two short relatively recent ones are particularly and directly relevant to the current situation: What Went Wrong? and The Crisis of Islam.

Lewis also catches flak from some of my Islamicist colleagues, at least for his recent and more overtly political writing. But that’s to a large extent because most of my colleagues lean politically left, as do most academics generally. (I do not.) It doesn’t hurt to read some of the more liberal Islamicists too (such as John Esposito), to get various perspectives, but I am not very pleased with the campaign to blacken and marginalize Daniel Pipes. If he’s wrong, that should be demonstrated with evidence and analysis, not by name-calling.

Best wishes to you.

Sincerely,

Dan Peterson

Daniel C. Peterson, Ph.D.

Professor of Islamic Studies and Arabic

Editor-in-Chief, Middle Eastern Texts Initiative

3087 Joseph F. Smith Building

Brigham Young University

Provo, Utah 84602

Technorati Tags : Peterson, Pipes, Islam, Expert, Scholar, Muslim, Muslims, Israel, Arab

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New Tomb Found in Valley of Kings

2006-02-09T14:16:00.000-08:00

Very cool! Wonder what treasures of knowledge and wealth will be discovered.

--
New Tomb Found in Valley of Kings

Technorati Tags : New, Tomb, Valley, Kings

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Scientists Celebrate Darwin's Birthday

2006-02-09T14:12:00.000-08:00

Sixty-four percent of American's either reject Darwin's theory or feel they do not know enough to offer an informed opinion. Interesting, I would not have thought that stats were that high against or neutral Darwin's theory. That must frustrate many scientists, especailly those who use Darwin to advance the specious arguements of atheism.

--
Scientists Celebrate Darwin's Birthday

Top U.S. News Headlines

...Polls have shown many Americans don't accept evolution. A Gallup poll in 2004 found that about 35 percent of Americans believe Darwin's theory is well supported by evidence, another 35 percent thought it was not well-supported and 29 percent said they didn't know enough about it.

To show religion and science are not at odds, more than 400 churches of many denominations _ most of them in the United States _ have agreed to participate in "Evolution Sunday" by giving a sermon, holding classes or sponsoring discussions. ...
--
Technorati Tags : Darwin, Church, Intelligent, Design, Religion, Evolution, Sunday

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Japanese Suicide Pacts

2006-02-09T13:29:00.000-08:00

OMGush! I'm speechless.

Web suicide pacts surge in Japan

The number of Japanese who killed themselves in suicide pacts made over the internet rose sharply last year.

Police said 91 people died in the pacts in 2005, compared with 55 in 2004 and 34 in 2003, when the records started.

Alarm at the rise has led to increased vigilance by internet serviceproviders, who now report suspected suicide pacts to the authorities.

Japan has one of the highest suicide rates in the world, and the pacts may appeal to those scared to die alone.

Police figures showed 34 internet-arranged suicide pacts were recordedlast year. Of the 91 people who died, 54 were men and 37 were women,with most being in their twenties or thirties.

Technorati Tags : Hikikomori, Japan, Suicide, Pacts, Japanese

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"Dogtown" director on scene for "Nativity"

2006-02-08T00:15:00.000-08:00

Well, let's hope it is respectful and not sacrilige. Had Jesus wanted his childhood recorded it would have been. Somethings are better left alone.

--
"Dogtown" director on scene for "Nativity"

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Director Catherine Hardwicke, whose films have focused on wayward teens and skateboard punks, is in negotiations to shoot a project about the life of the Virgin Mary before the birth of Christ.

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LDS Adamant Proponents Of Free Speech

2006-02-07T15:16:00.000-08:00

There is a difference between free speech and violent actions purportedly caused by said free speech. The constitution protects the former and condemns the latter.

In contrast to the current violent protests from members of another faith, LDS do not throw stones and make bombs and have mass riots because their religion is insulted.

The LDS faith from the beginning has been viewed as a radical religion by some, and its history is laced with verbal assaults, expulsion, even murder at the hands of its detractors.

Notwithstanding these varied assaults, the early members never once abandoned the importance of the constitutional necessity of freedom of speech, even if lies, provocative statements and venomously vitriolic hate speech were spewed against them.

Moreover, the LDS faith today is incessantly assaulted and insulted daily at the hands of Professional anti-Mormons (PAMs) and their sympathizers. These PAMs actually make their living attacking the LDS faith! What is the LDS response to such behavior? They vow allegiance to the principles of the constitution and free speech, support for and fighting for all peoples inalienable rights.

The LDS are adamant proponents of the principles of the US Constitution, like free speech, even when it does not work in their favor.

I've enjoyed reading Dr. Pipes's articles and website for years. He is a scholar and expert on the Middle East and Islam.

As you click on the URLs you'll find how incredibility ridiculous and hypocritical these protestors are.

Article Highlights:

· Will the West stand up for freedom of speech, or cower to Islamist p.c. bullies
· Will Westerners accede to a double standard by which Muslims
· Are Muslims asking for respect or for submission
· We should not apologize
· "We are all Danes now."
· Western governments should take a crash course on Islamic law and the historically-abiding Muslim imperative to subjugate non-Muslim peoples
· Peoples who would stay free must stand unreservedly with Denmark.

Daniel Pipes's Home Page
http://www.danielpipes.org/

The Middle East Forum
http://www.meforum.org/

--
Cartoons and Islamic Imperialism
by Daniel Pipes
New York Sun
February 7, 2006

The key issue at stake in the battle over the twelve Danish cartoonsof the Muslim prophet Muhammad is this: Will the West stand up for itscustoms and mores, including freedom of speech, or will Muslims imposetheir way of life on the West? Ultimately, there is no compromise:Westerners will either retain their civilization, including the right to insult and blaspheme, or not.

More specifically, will Westerners accede to a double standard by which Muslims are free to insult Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism, and Buddhism, while Muhammad, Islam, and Muslims enjoy immunity from insults? Muslims routinely publish cartoons far more offensive than the Danish ones . Are they entitled to dish it out while being insulated from similar indignities?

Germany's Die Weltnewspaper hinted at this issue in an editorial: "The protests fromMuslims would be taken more seriously if they were less hypocritical.When Syrian television showed drama documentaries in prime timedepicting rabbis as cannibals, the imams were quiet." Nor, by the way,have imams protested the stomping on the Christian cross embedded inthe Danish flag.

The deeper issue here, however, is not Muslim hypocrisy but Islamic supremacism. The Danish editor who published the cartoons, Flemming Rose,explained that if Muslims insist "that I, as a non-Muslim, shouldsubmit to their taboos ... they're asking for my submission."

Precisely. Robert Spencer rightly called on the free world to stand "resolutely with Denmark." The informative Brussels Journal asserts, "We are all Danes now." Some governments get it:

Read full article here: http://www.danielpipes.org/article/3360

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Read prophets words on war

2006-02-06T17:09:00.000-08:00

Having read through this article twice that authors fail to make any recognizable point.

Read prophets words on war

Herald Journal Feb 6 2006 10:08AM GMT

http://hjnews.townnews.com/articles/2006/02/05/letter/letter01.prt

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JetBlue loses altitude

2006-02-06T17:01:00.000-08:00

David Neeleman, 46, founder of JetBlue & Morris Air, is a Mormon. I did not know that.

I also did not know George Soros owes 15% of JetBlue.

I hope David has nothing to do with George.

JetBlue loses altitude

USA Today Feb 5 2006 9:50PM GMT

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/2006-02-02-jet-blue_x.htm

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Mormons, non-Mormons clear the air

2006-02-06T16:57:00.000-08:00

Highlight of the article:
Don't say that, it's hurtful

Some points of tension named in the letter from organizers of "Bridging the Religious Divide":
* Referring to the LDS Church simply as "the Church" bothered people of other faiths, as did being referred to as "non-Mormons."
* The claim that the LDS Church is "the one true church" implies that all other faiths are inferior, and it's offensive to those of other traditions.
* Proselytizing, though an important part of Mormon practice, makes other Utahns feel expressions of friendship may be contingent upon their openness to joining.
* Many Utahns feel that LDS Church members are unaware of how their church's dominance culturally and politically gives them a privileged status and how difficult it is for minority voices to be heard.
* Legislation on issues such as same-sex marriage, gay adoption, benefits for unmarried partners and liquor sales seem to some like an exercise in democracy, where the majority rules. Others see it as inappropriately imposing the majority's moral belief system on every resident.
* Stereotyping Mormons as "obedient, followers or sheep" is offensive and fails to recognize individuality and intelligence.
* Mormons feel that they are targets of disparaging remarks (and at times actions) that offend LDS belief and culture, and that other Utahns do not speak out against such remarks and action

Mormons, non-Mormons clear the air

Salt Lake Tribune Feb 5 2006 9:06AM GMT

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Evolution Measure Splits State Legislators in Utah

2006-02-06T16:52:00.000-08:00

I have not paid much attention to the debate over evolution and intelligent design. Perhaps I ought to given that it's appearing more and more in the news these days.

Evolution Measure Splits State Legislators in Utah

New York Times Feb 5 2006 8:37AM GMT

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Ford Interfaith Network Chairman LDS

2006-02-06T16:45:00.000-08:00

I think it's cool that a major US company is designating ares to accommodate religious practices.

The Separation of Church and Job
New York Times Feb 5 2006 5:24AM GMT

In 2001, the Ford Motor Company started the Ford Interfaith Network, an organization for employees that has members in eight major religions, including Hinduism and Buddhism. Daniel Dunnigan, a Mormon and the chairman of the group, said the network recently designated areas in Ford workplaces where Muslims could perform ablution, a ritual cleansing, before praying.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/05/business/yourmoney/05advi.html?ex=1139806800&en=8c045052ff501597&ei=5040&partner=MOREOVERNEWS

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Apocalyptic prophecies? Natural disasters have some people thinking about last days

2006-02-06T12:17:00.000-08:00

No doubt end-time prophecies are rolling forth. The saints are commanded to know the signs of the times. While many will simply consider these events as par for the course, saints in tune with the Spirit will hear the voice the of Lord within these signs.

President Hinckley:
"What we have experienced in the past was all foretold, and the end is not yet," President Hinckley said. "Just as there have been calamities in the past, we expect more in the future. What do we do?

"Someone has said it was not raining when Noah built the ark. But he built it, and the rains came.

"The Lord has said, 'If ye are prepared ye shall not fear' (D&C 38:30).

"The primary preparation is also set forth in the Doctrine and Covenants, wherein it says,

'Wherefore, stand ye in holy places, and be not moved, until the day of the Lord come. (D&C 87:8).' "

The LDS Church believes in modern scripture and revelation, in addition to the Bible. The LDS Church's Doctrine and Covenants reaffirms the idea of very strong earthquakes in the last days before Christ's second coming.

Apocalyptic prophecies? Natural disasters have some people thinking about last days: "Tsunamis, hurricanes, earthquakes. In the past year, calamities have struck countries around the world and more disasters will come in the last days, according to the Scriptures."

Pres. Hinckley closer to resuming duties

2006-02-06T12:10:00.000-08:00

Hinckley, at 95, has more recovery power than most. Hope you fully recover, President Hinckley.

Pres. Hinckley closer to resuming duties: "President Gordon B. Hinckley is one step closer to resuming his normal duties as leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints."

Hearing set in Virginia slaying

2006-02-06T12:08:00.000-08:00

Hearing set in Virginia slaying: "CHESAPEAKE, Va. (AP) A man accused of killing one Mormon missionary and wounding another will have a preliminary hearing in April."

Play: Confessions of a Mormon Boy

2006-02-06T11:34:00.000-08:00

Some words come to mind when I read about Steven Fales, former LDS turned gay playwright/activist.

Audacity
Braggadocio
Brass
Hutzpah
Conceitedness
Contemptuousness
Disgusting
Hubris
Money
Ostentation
Pomposity
Perversion
Pride
Sad
Self-importance
Sick
Smugness
Superciliousness
Vanity

Words that did not come to mind are:

Christian
Faithful
Humility
Jesus Christ
Modesty
Morality
Obedience
Virtue
Repentance

And a word or two about judging as no doubt some will consider the above too "judgmental."

Moroni 7: 15 For behold, my brethren, it is given unto you to judge, that ye may know good from evil; and the way to judge is as plain, that ye may know with a perfect knowledge, as the daylight is from the dark night.

16 For behold, the Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know good from evil; wherefore, I show unto you the way to judge; for every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God.

--
Mormon Boy Reveals All, Opening Off-Broadway Feb. 5

By Kenneth Jones
February 5, 2006

Confessions of a Mormon Boy, the solo play about the painful journey of a young gay Mormon, opens Feb. 5 in its Off-Broadway commercial bow, following previews from Jan. 27 and engagements around the country. Written by and featuring Brigham Young University alumnus Steven Fales, with direction by Tony Award winner Jack Hofsiss (The Elephant Man), the play tells Fales' autobiographical story — about his "journey through excommunication from the Mormon church, divorce, male prostitution and drug abuse, as he struggles to reclaim himself, his children and his 'Donny Osmond smile.'"

http://www.playbill.com/news/article/97755.html

http://www.mormonboy.com/

THE FAIR JOURNAL January 2006

2006-02-01T11:03:00.000-08:00

Posted by permission from the editors of http://www.fairlds.org/ . Its appearance is independent of this blog, and should not be construed to either agree or disagree with the opinions expressed on this blog, or on any other website.

--
Discuss at FAIR Message Board:
http://www.fairboards.org/

FAIR Topical Guide:
http://www.fairlds.org/apol/

Or discuss at LDS Patriot Forum: Message Board:
http://www.ldspatriot.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=86#86

--
======================================================================
THE FAIR JOURNAL                                          January 2006
----------------------------------------------------------------------
        The Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research
----------------------------------------------------------------------

       Apologetics: The branch of theology that is concerned with
       defending or proving the truth of Christian doctrines. (The
       American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth
       Edition, 2000.)

INSIDE THE JOURNAL
----------------------------------------------------------------------

    * MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT. Scott Gordon looks at the recent
      flurry of anti-Mormon works and discusses their scholarly
      shortcomings.

    * FAIR CONFERENCE NEWS. The FAIR Conference is scheduled for
      August 3 and 4.

    * NEW ON THE WEBSITE. "The Book of Mormon vs. the Critics:
      Nit-Picking for Fun and Profit." Don Neighbors looks at attacks
      against the Book of Mormon based on language, grammar, and
      corrections to the translated text.

    * ASK THE APOLOGIST. Got a question you are dying to ask?
      Here's how.

    * FAIR TOPICAL GUIDE. The Topical Guide on the FAIR Web site is
      one of the most popular resources offered. Learn what is
      available and help us expand our references. This month's
      additions are audio presentations relating to LDS apologetics.

    * FAIR LDS BOOKSTORE. With the changes in the on-line bookstore,
      browsing and ordering is faster and easier than ever. Check
      out the new format and this month's special offerings.

    * ARTICLE SUBMISSIONS. Interested in writing for FAIR? Learn
      how you can have your apologetics work published.

    * PUBLISHING NOTES. Learn how you can become more involved in
      FAIR and how you can reuse the material we publish.

    * FAIR JOURNAL ARCHIVES. All of the FAIR Journal issues since
      October 2001 are on the FAIR web site.

------------------------------
MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

A number of new books and videos about Mormonism have recently been
released. With Harry Reid as minority leader in the Senate and Mitt
Romney contemplating a run for the presidency, we are likely to see
even more. Many of these books and videos have a slightly different
tone than traditional evangelical anti-Mormonm because they are often
coming from, or are influenced by, disaffected Mormons. In addition,
many of these books and videos make an effort to appear scholarly.
While some people take the position that if it is written in a book or
if it is in a video documentary then it must be true, this is not a
safe position to take.

Whether it be history, archeology, or DNA evidence, these books and
films paint the picture that Mormonism is a lie. From there they
either take the path that it is either a well-meaning lie or a
deceitful lie, but it is a lie nonetheless.

Most people love a good story, but few like to do research in history
or science. Fewer still have the knowledge or training to evaluate the
quality of various sources. In history, one should ask questions such
as "Is this first hand?" "Was this written at the time it happened or
was it written many years later?" "Who wrote it?" "What was his or her
relationship to the event or events?"

These were thoughts I had as I recently read the book "An Insider's
View of Mormon Origins" by Grant H. Palmer. He claims in his book that
the history we have learned is a lie.

To support his thesis, Mr. Palmer quotes the RLDS church (Community of
Christ) president-emeritus saying: "One thing is clear. The genie is
out of the bottle and it cannot be put back. Facts uncovered and the
questions raised by the new Mormon historians will not go away. They
will have to be dealt with if we are to maintain a position of honesty
and integrity in our dealings with our own members as well as our
friends in the larger religious community." (page xi)

LDS Historian Davis Bitton responds to Palmer's book in The FARMS
Review by saying:

   "Grant H. Palmer thinks the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
   Saints has been dishonest by holding back information that
   controverts the traditional account of its origins. But he doesn't
   mind holding back quite a bit himself." [The FARMS Review 15/2
   (2003) page 257.]

Palmer questions whether there was a Palmyra revival in 1820 while
ignoring the June 1820, Palmyra Register newspaper report of James
Couser who dies of intoxication at one of these "non-existent"
meetings. He chooses non-primary quotes to show the witnesses only
thought they saw the plates while ignoring the first-hand statements
of Martin Harris, where he states he held them on his lap for an hour
and a half, and firsthand statements of Katherine Smith where she
describes how she hid the plates in bed with her while people searched
the house for them.

Anyone who has questions about the Witnesses should read Richard
Anderson's book "Investigating the Book of Mormon Witnesses." Anderson
earned a law degree at Harvard Law School and a Ph.D. in ancient
history at the University of California, Berkeley. He has probably
done more research on the topic than anyone else.

     http://store.fairlds.org/prod/p0875792421.html

But Palmer isn't the only new author. Dan Vogel has put together an
impressive book on Joseph Smith. In FARMS Review 17/1 (2005), Andrew
H. Hedges, who has a Ph.D. in American history from the University of
Illinois, and Dawson W. Hedges, MD, observe that Vogel doesn't follow
the traditional lines of scholarship:

   "Frankly admitting his 'inclination...to interpret any claim of the
   paranormal...as delusion or fraud' (p. xii), Vogel refuses to
   accept Joseph's and his supporters' autobiographical statements--
   most of which grant, either explicitly or implicitly, such
   'paranormal' phenomena as angels, revelation, visions, and
   prophecy--at face value."

The FARMS reviewers describe the method of how to support these
positions saying, "Easy--scour the records for any sources whose
authors know, like Vogel, that Joseph was a liar from birth and see
what they have to say about his life."

They go on to describe Vogel's historical conjecturing by saying,

   "In the eight pages from 131 to 138, for example, the words
   'might,' 'probably,' 'may,' 'perhaps,' and 'seems' occur a total of
   17 times--better than two per page, on average. Rarely does one
   find a run of more than two pages where such words aren't employed,
   and not infrequently one sees them in even greater abundance--pages
   178 and 447, for example, contain nine such qualifiers apiece. They
   are central to every point and argument Vogel makes, whatever their
   overall rate of use may be, and one finds oneself involuntarily
   muttering under one's breath 'yes, and maybe, probably not' at the
   end of most of them."

There are two books out on the Mountain Meadows massacre written by
Will Bagley and Sally Denton, and there are films being produced that
use those books as sources. Robert Crockett reviews these books in The
FARMS Review 15/2 (2003) and in The FARMS Review 16/1 (2004). Of
Bagley's book, Crockett writes:

   "Specifically, regarding Blood of the Prophets, it is my view that
   Bagley's analysis of the evidence is uncritical and unbalanced,
   usually favoring explanations that would condemn authorities of the
   Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Bagley often ignores
   exculpatory evidence of a much higher quality than the evidence
   upon which he relies to inculpate Brigham Young. Bagley often
   favors rumor and speculation over hard evidence, or he relies
   solely upon rumor and speculation when there is no evidence."

Of Denton Crockett writes: "She makes mistakes that careful historians
of Mormon Americana do not," and "To say it more succinctly, Denton
discusses the massacre out of context."

Geneticist Dr. Ryan Parr writes in The FARMS Review 17/1 (2005) about
a new book on DNA, "Losing a Lost Tribe: Native Americans, DNA, and
the Mormon Church," by Dr. Simon Southerton. He states:

   "Southerton has done a reasonable job of summarizing the current
   data set describing Native American haplotype/haplogroup
   frequencies of mtDNA and Y chromosomes; however, the obvious
   difficulty is the clear and persistent insistence that these data
   are an accurate archive of all past population histories in the
   Americas. This is an unrealistic and vast simplification of
   population dynamics."

In the same volume of The FARMS Review, Dr. Kent Jackson writes about
Martha Beck's book "Leaving the Saints":

   "In her book Martha calls for the highest standards of scholarship
   and social science professionalism, yet sadly her own writing is
   closer to tabloid journalism, failing to come anywhere close to
   the standards she claims to espouse." (Page 110)

There are critics of The FARMS Review who claim it is "mean spirited"
and "critical." But book reviews in scholarly journals traditionally
have little tolerance for what they believe to be sloppy research.

While not everyone has to agree that Joseph Smith was a prophet or
that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the restored
Church of Jesus Christ, if you write about it, it is important to
follow the traditions of scholarship and research. These new books
and videos suffer from oversimplification, misrepresentation, and
ignoring scholarly research that has been done on the topic.

--Scott Gordon
  President, FAIR

------------------------------

Editors Note: The FARMS review is a good source of scholarly discourse
on the various books that are written about Mormonism. You can read
the FARMS review at

      http://farms.byu.edu

Copies can be purchased at the FAIR bookstore at

      http://store.fairlds.org/bi066.html

------------------------------

FAIR is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, so if you are in the United
States, your donation is tax deductible. Without your donations, FAIR
would cease to exist. Thank you for your support.

       http://store.fairlds.org/bi071.html

------------------------------
FAIR Conference News

The 8th annual FAIR Conference will be held in Sandy, Utah, on August
3-4. Mark your calendars and be ready to take advantage of the early
bird discount on conference tickets! Details on the speakers and
ticket prices will be announced in an upcoming FAIR Journal.

------------------------------
The Book of Mormon vs. the Critics: Nit-Picking for Fun and Profit
by D.E. Neighbors

Nearly every anti-Mormon work that has attacked the Book of Mormon has
used the argument that since the Book of Mormon contains errors and
has been corrected and modified over the years, Joseph Smith's
statement that the Book of Mormon was "the most correct book" was
false and the Book of Mormon itself cannot be considered scripture and
is nothing more than a fabrication of Joseph Smith.

In his article, Neighbors looks at some of the attacks on the Book of
Mormon relating to the language and grammar that the Prophet Joseph
used when he translated the ancient text, as well as some of the
attacks based on changes to the Book of Mormon text after its initial
publication. The Book of Mormon is easily defended against these
nit-picking complaints, which are basically founded on an extreme
textual inerrantist viewpoint. With his long experience in the
publishing field, Neighbors notes that he is "singularly unimpressed
by the claims made against the Book of Mormon on typographical and
grammatical grounds."

Read the article: http://www.fairlds.org/apol/bom/bom21.html

------------------------------
ASK THE APOLOGIST

FAIR invites the public to submit questions relating to LDS beliefs,
practices, and history. Some questions are asked sincerely by members
and investigators, others are clearly hostile questions challenging
the veracity of the Church and its teachings. Many of these responses
may end up on the Web site as a FAIR paper or brochure. If you have a
question, simply mail it to questions@fairlds.org. Email sent to this
address will be shared with members of FAIR, so it is not uncommon to
receive several responses that approach the issue from different
angles.

------------------------------
FAIR TOPICAL GUIDE

The Topical Guide is one of the most important LDS apologetic
resources available. If you aren't familiar with this part of FAIR's
Web site, check it out at

       http://www.fairlds.org/apol

The following are the Topical Guide updates for the month. Each of
these is an audio presentation and can be found in the multimedia
section of the Topical Guide in addition to the appropriate topic
index. To see all audio entries in the Topical Guide, go to

      http://www.fairlds.org/apol/ai197.html

Richard L. Anderson
      "Testimonies of the Book of Mormon Witnesses"
           Book of Mormon > Witnesses
           http://www.fairlds.org/apol/ai109.html

FARMS
      "LDS Perspectives of the Dead Sea Scrolls"
           Scripture and Influential Writings > Non-LDS Text > Dead
           Sea Scrolls
           http://www.fairlds.org/apol/ai175.html

John Gee
      FARMS Presentation regarding Facsimile 3 in the Book of Abraham
           Scripture and Influential Writings > Pearl of Great Price >
           Book of Abraham
           http://www.fairlds.org/apol/ai125.html

Hugh Nibley
      "Faith of an Observer"
           Apologetics and Scholarship
           http://www.fairlds.org/apol/ai003.html

Hugh Nibley
      "Abraham's Creation Drama"
           Scripture and Influential Writings > Pearl of Great Price >
           Book of Abraham
           http://www.fairlds.org/apol/ai125.html

Hugh Nibley
      "Pearl of Great Price Lecture Series - 1. Restoring What Was
      Lost"
           Scripture and Influential Writings > Pearl of Great Price >
           Book of Abraham
           http://www.fairlds.org/apol/ai125.html

Hugh Nibley
      "Pearl of Great Price Lecture Series - 2. Allegory and Rhetoric"
           Scripture and Influential Writings > Pearl of Great Price >
           Book of Abraham
           http://www.fairlds.org/apol/ai125.html

Hugh Nibley
      "Pearl of Great Price Lecture Series - 3. Literalism"
           Scripture and Influential Writings > Pearl of Great Price >
           Book of Abraham
           http://www.fairlds.org/apol/ai125.html

Hugh Nibley
      "Pearl of Great Price Lecture Series - 4. Preexistence"
           Scripture and Influential Writings > Pearl of Great Price >
           Book of Abraham
           http://www.fairlds.org/apol/ai125.html

Hugh Nibley
      "Pearl of Great Price Lecture Series - 5. Cosmology"
           Scripture and Influential Writings > Pearl of Great Price >
           Book of Abraham
           http://www.fairlds.org/apol/ai125.html

Hugh Nibley
      "Pearl of Great Price Lecture Series - 6. The Creation"
           Scripture and Influential Writings > Pearl of Great Price >
           Book of Abraham
           http://www.fairlds.org/apol/ai125.html

Hugh Nibley
      "Pearl of Great Price Lecture Series - 7. The Council"
           Scripture and Influential Writings > Pearl of Great Price >
           Book of Abraham
           http://www.fairlds.org/apol/ai125.html

Hugh Nibley
      "Pearl of Great Price Lecture Series - 8. The Council According
      to the Shabako Stone"
           Scripture and Influential Writings > Pearl of Great Price >
           Book of Abraham
           http://www.fairlds.org/apol/ai125.html

Hugh Nibley
      "Pearl of Great Price Lecture Series - 9. The Shabako Stone
      Continued"
           Scripture and Influential Writings > Pearl of Great Price >
           Book of Abraham
           http://www.fairlds.org/apol/ai125.html

Hugh Nibley
      "Pearl of Great Price Lecture Series - 10. The Babylon Creation
      Myth"
           Scripture and Influential Writings > Pearl of Great Price >
           Book of Abraham
           http://www.fairlds.org/apol/ai125.html

Hugh Nibley
      "Pearl of Great Price Lecture Series - 11. The Human Condition"
           Scripture and Influential Writings > Pearl of Great Price >
           Book of Abraham
           http://www.fairlds.org/apol/ai125.html

Hugh Nibley
      "Pearl of Great Price Lecture Series - 12. The Plurality of
      Worlds"
           Scripture and Influential Writings > Pearl of Great Price >
           Book of Abraham
           http://www.fairlds.org/apol/ai125.html

Hugh Nibley
      "Pearl of Great Price Lecture Series - 13. The Pearl of Great
      Price on the Plurality of Worlds"
           Scripture and Influential Writings > Pearl of Great Price >
           Book of Abraham
           http://www.fairlds.org/apol/ai125.html

Hugh Nibley
      "Pearl of Great Price Lecture Series - 14. Treasures in Heaven"
           Scripture and Influential Writings > Pearl of Great Price >
           Book of Abraham
           http://www.fairlds.org/apol/ai125.html

Hugh Nibley
      "Pearl of Great Price Lecture Series - 15. The Geological
           Problem"
           Scripture and Influential Writings > Pearl of Great Price >
           Book of Abraham
           http://www.fairlds.org/apol/ai125.html

Daniel Peterson
      "A Scholar Looks at Evidences for the Book of Mormon"
           Book of Mormon
           http://www.fairlds.org/apol/ai105.html

Royal Skousen
      "Critical Text of the Book of Mormon"
           Book of Mormon > Textual Issues > Changes in the Book of
           Mormon
           http://www.fairlds.org/apol/ai282.html

John Welch
      "Chiasmus in the Book of Mormon"
           Book of Mormon > Textual Issues > Chaismus
           http://www.fairlds.org/apol/ai119.html

------------------------------
FAIR LDS BOOKSTORE

The Fair LDS Bookstore has some great values. By supporting the FAIR
Bookstore you are also supporting FAIR. Come and see what great books
are here for you. This month we are featuring three marvelous books at
a wonderful price.

--> "Defining the Word - Understanding the History and Language of the
     Bible" John A. Tvedtnes, Covenant Communications, 2006
     (Softbound) ISBN 1-59811078-0

This book will help you to understand and discover what the Bible
*really* means. John Tvedtnes does a wonderful job of writing so that
one can understand and love the words of the Bible, which will help
with understanding of the language that is used in all the standard
works. You'll find that this book is well researched and easy to
understand. Those who love history, language and those who love the
word of God will find this book totally insightful and inspiring.

You can purchase this book for $10.46, 25% off its retail price. (It
is regularly $13.95.)

      http://store.fairlds.org/prod/p1598110780.html

--> "United by Faith" edited by Kyle R. Walker, BYU Studies, 2006
     (Hardbound) ISBN 1-59156-998-2

This book introduces you to the Joseph Sr. and Lucy Mack Smith family,
their troubles, and how they united their family. This intimate story
blends together both research and a tender story of Mormonism's first
family. The work of nine historians brings about new insights on each
family member.

You can purchase this book for $19.95, 20% of its retail price. (It is
regularly $24.95)

      http://store.fairlds.org/prod/p1591569982.html

--> "The Book of Mormon: A Reader's Edition" edited by Grant Hardy,
     University of Illinois Press, 2005 (Softbound) ISBN 0-252-07341-X

This great reader-friendly version of our familiar scripture reformats
the complete, unchanged 1920 text in the manner of modern translations
of the Bible, with paragraphs, quotations marks, poetic forms, topical
headings, multichapter headings, indention of quoted documents,
italicized reworkings of biblical prophecies, and minimized verse
numbers. The book has charts, maps, and a glossary of names. If you've
never seen this book before, it will provide you with new insights
into the Book of Mormon.

You can purchase this book for $17.47, 30% off its retail price. (It
is regularly $24.95.)

      http://store.fairlds.org/prod/p025207341X.html

To see all of our specials for this month in one place, visit this
special page:

      http://store.fairlds.org/specials.html

Thanks for your continued support of the FAIR Bookstore. We hope you
have a great new year!

- The FAIR Bookstore Staff

------------------------------
ARTICLE SUBMISSIONS

We welcome article submissions for the FAIR Journal and Web site. If
you would like to submit an article, please review the editing
guidelines at:

      http://www.fairlds.org/EdStyle.pdf

Submit your article to the FAIR Journal Editor, Paul McNabb
(journal@fairlds.org). An appropriate article would be one that
affirms the truthfulness of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints.

While LDS apologetics (in the broadest sense) deals with refuting
critics of the Church, articles don't necessarily have to deal with
anti-Mormonism, but may deal with some new evidence of the Book of
Mormon, some interesting scripture interpretation, a viewpoint or
quote from the early Christian Fathers or other historical figures, an
interesting lesson idea, an inspiring missionary story, Church
history, or your view on a current event related to the Church or a
piece from a historical journal.

We may also accept articles from people who are not members of The
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that may not necessarily
meet the guidelines of supporting the church if it is a topic of
general interest to people involved in apologetics.

A submission may range in length from several pages to a single
paragraph.

------------------------------
PUBLISHING NOTES

FAIR is not owned, controlled by or affiliated with The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. All research and opinions provided
in the FAIR Journal and on the FAIR Web site (http://www.fairlds.org)
are the sole responsibility of FAIR, and should not be interpreted as
official statements of LDS doctrine, belief or practice.

If someone has forwarded this e-journal to you and you would like to
join, you should go to www.fairlds.org and click on the "Join &
Support FAIR" link.

If you are interested in apologetics and would like to participate
actively in FAIR you should consider joining our apologetics e-mail
list. Visit www.fairlds.org and click on the "Join & Support FAIR"
link to join this list as well.

If you manage your own e-mail list, and wish to include some of these
thoughts or articles on your list, contact us at
webmaster@fairlds.org. We have a fairly liberal policy of using our
material as long as you contact us first to gain permission, clearly
identify that your source was FAIR, and add a link to the FAIR Web
site (www.fairlds.org).

--------------------------------
FAIR JOURNAL ARCHIVES

For past issues of the FAIR Journal, go to

       http://www.fairlds.org/pubs/journal

--------------------------------
Copyright (c) 2006 by The Foundation for Apologetic Information and
Research (FAIR). All rights reserved.

Evangelicals Formula Proves LDS are Saved Christian

2006-02-01T00:21:00.000-08:00

I've been having a bit of fun with a few Evangelicals (EV1 & EV2) and have learned much about how they think.

--
EV2: Mormons, unfortunatley, are not Christian. They believe in a false Jesus, and believe that you have to "work" for your salvation. They also believe that there are three Gods, when Isaiah clearly says there are is only one God in the entire universe. Abandon Mormonism, and believe that the Bible is THE ONLY TRUE word of God on this Earth. That is the first step.

The second step, if you are sincere (I certainly hope you are sincere), isyou must believe in the REAL Jesus (God in carnate on Earth), admit that you are a sinner and that no works of your own can "buy" your way into heaven, and believe that Christ took your place on the Cross, and bore your sins in his body so you wouldn't have to. Believe this, and you are Christian. You will be truely transfored.

Hopefully I've helped some.

--
LDS Patriot to EV2: In your formula for salvation, there is no need to leave the LDS Church to be saved. That is illogical, therefore meaningless.

So, let us now see if I can apply your soul-saving formula and once and for all get-saved-and-stay-saved...unless you change the formula on me...again...

...if you are sincere (I certainly hope you are sincere)...

I am, fully 100% sincere...I could not be more deadly serious than I am now...my soul is at stake!

...you must believe in the REAL Jesus (God in carnate on Earth)...

Yes, I believe in the REAL Jesus, God incarnate on Earth.

...admit that you are a sinner...

I am a sinner.

...and that no works of your own can "buy" your way into heaven...

I believe that is a fact, no works of my own can 'buy' my way into heaven.

...and believe that Christ took your place on the Cross, and bore your sins in his body so you wouldn't have to...

I believe that Christ took my place on the Cross, and bore my sins in his body so I wouldn't have to.

...Believe this, and you are Christian...

I do believe this; therefore, with your blessing I'm sure, I declare that I, LDS Patriot, am a Saved Christian!

--
EV1: Calling a coffee cup "Christ" and believing in it will not result in Salvation.

EV2: If you don't, then you believe in a false God, and are thus not saved…If he doesn't believe in the true Jesus, he isn't saved.

--
LDS Patriot to EV1 & EV2: EV1 & EV2, you both are agreed as to the formula how-to-be-saved. Using your formula I am a Saved Christian.

If I am not saved having used your formula, then neither is either of you.

What is sad is that being a new born babe in Christ you seek to abort my born-again status post-new-birth! Rather than welcome me to the fold of Christ as your brother, you reject my Christianity and condemn me still as neither saved nor Christian.

And by such behavior much is revealed about both of you. One might conclude, that notwithstanding your assumed expertise on ‘how-to-saved’ and the fact you assume authority to speak for God (telling us all how-to-be-saved and your incessant need to act in the place of The Judge), that in point of fact your are clueless, deceitful, condescending and smugly self-righteous.

When I in sincerity followed your formula for salvation, then you claim it doesn’t work or did not work as in my case, then your credibility is at stake and questionable, not my salvation or my Christianity.

And there is more. It is a lie to say I do not believe in the ‘true Jesus.’ We all know we are speaking about the same Jesus. What you are merely saying is that our understand of Jesus is different, not that they are two Jesus’; there is only on Jesus. It is illogical as well as dishonest to claim otherwise.

And to insist that my understand match your understanding in order to have the formula applied work for my salvation and Christianity is non sequitur and anti-Biblical. It is non sequitur because it isn’t a Bible standard.

Earlier believers were saved according to the Bible for knowing very little about Jesus Christ. Once the apostle’s et al declared him, and the investigator accepted him, they were according to your formula, saved and Christian.

If these earlier believers can be saved and know very little about Jesus Christ, and not be conversant in advanced Trinitarian concepts, language, etc, than I too can be saved, even if as you claim my views about Jesus are less than perfect. Or do you claim that Jesus’ mercy and grace do not extend that far?

Therefore, by your formula, I declare that I, LDS Patriot, am a Saved Christian!

Lastly, since you provided the formula you must honor it and cease any further insulting, judgmental, condemning language along the lines that I am neither saved nor Christian.

--
Comment at LDS Patriot Forum Message Board:
http://www.ldspatriot.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=85#85

New Domain: www.LDSPatriot.com

2006-01-30T17:06:00.000-08:00

http://www.ldspatriot.com/

LDS Patriot has four blogs and one forum message board.

Blogs

Aggregated Blog: LDS Patriot Aggregated Blog, which combines posts from blogs LDS Centric, Politick Centric blogs, and Links

LDS Centric Blog: LDS Centric Topics

Politick Centric Blog: Political Centric Topics

Links Blog: Links to LDS and Political Sites

Forum Message Board

LDS Patriot Forum Message Board: LDS Patriot Forum Message Board allows users to start their own threads. Unlike a blog, a Forum Message Board allows anyone to start a topic or thread

http://www.ldspatriot.com/

Non-LDS accusatory tirade, "LDS are not Christians?"

2006-01-25T16:42:00.000-08:00

What is the motive behind the non-LDS accusatory tirade, "LDS are not Christians?"

Is it to inform and educate? No, because all Christians churches are "cults" and that cannot be denied, but they conveniently leave that out of the equation. So from the start it's an intellectually dishonest, specious argument.

It's a marketing initiative, period. If they put fear and doubt into the minds of consumers of religion, they may be able to cash in on a bigger share of the pie. It's priestcraft pure and simple.

It's as phony as "LDS worship a different Jesus." Of course it is the same Jesus. So it’s got nothing at all to do with anything remotely resembling a “different Jesus”, rather, it is just a different understanding.

President Hinckley undergoes surgery

2006-01-25T10:32:00.000-08:00

President Hinckley, I love you and my prayer’s are with you. May God grant you a speedy recovering and may he bless us with your continued divine leadership for years to come.

- Hinckley's cancer removedChurch predicts speedy recovery
http://www.sltrib.com/ci_3435143?source=rss

- President Hinckley undergoes surgery
Cancerous growth is removed from intestine after routine screening
By Wendy Leonard
Deseret Morning News
LDS Church President Gordon B. Hinckley was hospitalized Tuesday after doctors discovered and removed a cancerous growth in his large intestine.

After a routine medical screening, church officials said the 95-year-old President Hinckley was admitted to LDS Hospital Tuesday afternoon, where he underwent a successful laparoscopic surgery to remove the diseased portion of his intestine.
http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,635179047,00.html

Spyware is Computer Rape

2006-01-25T09:35:00.000-08:00

Oh happy days!

It is great news that Harvard, Oxford, Google, Lenovo Group and Sun Microsystems have created a new consumer advocacy group, The Stop Badware Coalition, to target and shame spyware makers.

I hate spyware with a passion. It’s computer rape as far as I am concerned.

http://www.stopbadware.org/

By Eric Auchard
Internet brain trust aims to shame spyware makers
REUTERS

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Internet researchers at Harvard and Oxford universities said on Tuesday they are seeking to enlist Web users in a program to name and shame suppliers of spyware and other malicious software programs.

The Stop Badware Coalition will seek to spotlight companies that make millions of dollars by tricking Web users into putting spyware, adware or other deceptive software on their machines, organizers from the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard and the Oxford Internet Institute said.

The multi-year project is financially backed by Google Inc. and computer makers Lenovo Group and Sun Microsystems Inc. It is advised by U.S. consumer advocacy group Consumer Reports WebWatch, its backers said.
http://go.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=internetNews&storyID=10962618&pageNumber=0

Study: Omega-3 fats offer no cancer protection

2006-01-25T08:28:00.000-08:00

I take Omega-3 supplements daily. I have noticed increased memory recall and do hope it helps combat heart disease.

Omega-3 fats offer no cancer protection: study
REUTERS
CHICAGO (Reuters) - The fatty acids found in some fish may help combat heart disease but there is no strong evidence they prevent cancer as some research has suggested, a study said on Tuesday
http://go.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=healthNews&storyID=10957375&src=eDialog/GetContent

God is the First Scientist

2006-01-24T11:37:00.000-08:00

I'm no scientist and the topic of evolution has never interested me per se. My only beef is when people use evolution to claim God does not exist, or that somehow evolution proves the scriptures are not true.

My take is that earth has many phases and different purposes at different times. Just because there was Homo erectus does not mean Homo sapiens must have evolved from them.

Perhaps God allowed these creations to live on earth for a period of time. Then, when it was time to being the phase of mankind as we know it, then the old phase ended and a new one began.

Creation is a continuum, not a single event. This is true temporally as well as spiritually. Consider all the changes the earth has already undergone, i.e., creation, fall, flood, etc. And then consider earths future, e.g., the mighty earthquakes, and the God will bring earths land mass into one before the days it was separated, and the burning and re-creation to a paradisiacal glory only be to go through yet another burning re-creation to its final celestial glory.

Do evolutionists factor in these sudden and mighty changes in earths future? No. And they most certainly do not factor in sudden and mighty changes in earths past either.

Science isn't nearly as useful in determining truth as is revelation.

For example, who knew more about creation, Darwin or Moses? Darwin only used science to aid his understanding. Moses saw every step and particle in earth's creation, as well as the universe as a whole.

When there is an apparent conflict between the two, I side with God, believing it the more prudent path

God is the First Scientist. I'll take his word over the evolutionists any day of the week.

Right v. Rights

2006-01-24T09:13:00.000-08:00

I believe that many American’s are obsessed with rights (legal claim), and could care less about doing what is right (moral truth).

Bush’s position of abortion is more right (moral truth) than those who demand status quo or expanded abortion rights (legal claim). This is one of many reasons I would call myself a Bush supporter. Like Bush, I believe that “every human life has value, that the strong have a duty to protect the weak and that the self-evident truths of the Declaration of Independence apply to everyone, not just to those considered healthy or wanted or convenient.”

Well said, Bush!

Bush to anti-abortion activists: 'We will prevail'
REUTERS
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush on Monday told opponents of abortion their views would eventually prevail and urged them to work to convince more Americans of "the rightness of our cause."
…"We, of course, seek common ground where possible," he said. "We're working to persuade more of our fellow Americans of the rightness of our cause, and this is a cause that appeals to the conscience of our citizens and is rooted in America's deepest principles -- history tells us that with such a cause, we will prevail."
…"You believe as I do that every human life has value, that the strong have a duty to protect the weak and that the self-evident truths of the Declaration of Independence apply to everyone, not just to those considered healthy or wanted or convenient," Bush told the anti-abortion marchers.

Elder Russell M. Nelson, Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, LDS Church, on abortion:
“It is a war on the defenseless—and the voiceless. It is a war on the unborn… What sense of inconsistency can allow people to grieve for their dead, yet be calloused to this baleful war being waged on life at the time of its silent development? What logic would encourage efforts to preserve the life of a critically ill twelve-week-old infant, but countenance the termination of another life twelve weeks after inception? More attention is seemingly focused on the fate of a life at some penitentiary’s death row than on the millions totally deprived of life’s opportunity through such odious carnage before birth… But what impropriety could now legalize that which has been forbidden by the laws of God from the dawn of time? What twisted reasoning has transformed mythical concepts into contorted slogans assenting to a practice which is consummately wrong… Another contention raised is that a woman is free to choose what she does with her own body. To a certain extent this is true for all of us. We are free to think. We are free to plan. And then we are free to do. But once an action has been taken, we are never free from its consequences. Those considering abortion have already exercised certain choices…To clarify this concept, we can learn from the astronaut. Any time during the selection process, planning, and preparation, he is free to withdraw. But once the powerful rocket fuel is ignited, he is no longer free to choose. Now he is bound by the consequences of his choice. Even if difficulties develop and he might wish otherwise, the choice made was sealed by action…So it is with those who would tamper with the God-given power of procreation. They are free to think and plan otherwise, but their choice is sealed by action…The woman’s choice for her own body does not validate choice for the body of another. The expression “terminate the pregnancy” applies literally only to the woman. The consequence of terminating the fetus therein involves the body and very life of another. These two individuals have separate brains, separate hearts, and separate circulatory systems. To pretend that there is no child and no life there is to deny reality… It is not a question of when “meaningful life” begins or when the spirit “quickens” the body. In the biological sciences, it is known that life begins when two germ cells unite to become one cell, bringing together twenty-three chromosomes from both the father and from the mother. These chromosomes contain thousands of genes. In a marvelous process involving a combination of genetic coding by which all the basic human characteristics of the unborn person are established, a new DNA complex is formed. A continuum of growth results in a new human being. The onset of life is not a debatable issue, but a fact of science… Scripture declares that the “life of the flesh is in the blood.” (Lev. 17:11.) Abortion sheds that innocent blood.”
http://www.lds.org/newsroom/issues/answer/0,19491,6056-1-201-10-201,00.html

America, land of religious freedom, but not free from bigotry.

2006-01-23T21:11:00.000-08:00

Will Americans put a Mormon in the White House?

“Why, I can’t tolerate the thought of a Mormon being a US president,” so think 17% surveyed.

Whatever!

Mitt Romney on the Issues
http://www.issues2000.org/Mitt_Romney.htm

-Mitt Romney Confronts Mormon Issue
With Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney being discussed as a potential candidate for the 2008 Republican nomination for president, observers have raised a crucial question: Will Americans put a Mormon in the White House?

Writing for the Wall Street Journal’s OpinionJournal.com this past weekend, James Taranto points out that the "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is indigenous to America, but many Americans view it with suspicion. In a 1999 Gallup poll, 17 percent of those surveyed said they would not vote for a Mormon for president, far more than said the same of a Jew (6 percent) or a Catholic (4 percent).”

...But Taranto observes: "The trouble is that much of today’s anti-Mormon sentiment is found on the religious right, a constituency that looms much larger in the GOP now than it did in 1968, or than it ever has in Massachusetts. Ask a conservative Christian what he thinks of Mormonism, and there’s a good chance he’ll call it a ‘cult’ or say Mormons ‘aren’t Christian.’”

However, Romney – who has announced that he won’t run for re-election in Massachusetts next year – is in step with the Christian right on the issues, Taranto concedes.

He is pro-life, but believes the individual states should decide their own abortion policy, and he vehemently opposed the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court’s 2003 decision to allow same-sex marriage.

http://www.newsmax.com/scripts/printer_friendly.pl?s=pf&page=http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2006/1/23/162340.shtml?s=et

I Stand for Israel

2006-01-22T22:26:00.000-08:00

While I do not agree with every decision Israel has made since its birth, I do stand for Israel for many reasons.

Stand for Israel News and Views

Thursday, January 19, 2006

by George Mamo, Executive Director, Stand for Israel

A few weeks ago, we sent you a survey asking you to give us your reasons for supporting Israel. Here’s just a bit of what we found out:

Of the thousands of responses, a great majority -- over 93 percent -- included “God gave the land of Israel to the Jewish people” among their reasons for supporting the Jewish state

Many cited other biblical considerations, including God’s covenant with Abraham (90 percent) and New Testament scripture that refers to Judaism as the “root” of Christianity (79.2 percent)

Political and strategic factors were important to you as well, including “Israel is the United States’ strongest ally” (43 percent), “Israel is the Middle East’s only democracy” (41.7 percent) and “Israel is the frontline of the war on terror” (41 percent)

http://www.ifcj.org/site/PageServer?pagename=SFI_homepage

Comment at LDS Patriot Forum Message Board:

http://www.ldspatriot.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=14

Prelude to Armageddon? Iran's Money Leaves Europe.

2006-01-22T21:48:00.000-08:00

I am no alarmist. I am a realist who believes in the prophetic writings and statements of God’s prophets. As well, I have a keen interest in all things religious and political.

Notwithstanding the many events which must prelude the Battle of Armageddon, certain actions catch my eye from time.

For instance, Iran is withdrawing money from European banks. Is this permanent or only temporary? I think the former, especially in light of Iran’s incessant need to become build nuclear weapons. The West isn’t going to warm up to Iran anytime soon. Iran certainly doesn’t care one iota what the West thinks regarding its nuclear program(s).

Ezekiel and Joel have named the countries which will seek to destroy Israel in the Battle of Armageddon, namely, Persia (Iran), Russia, Turkey, Ethiopia, Libya. Joel 3:1-4, Rev. 16:9-14. Ezek. 38:2-12. Gen 10:1-3.

REUTERS
Iran says moving assets
By Parinoosh Arami

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Embroiled in a nuclear standoff with the West, Iran said on Friday it was moving its foreign assets to shield them from possible U.N. sanctions and flexed its oil muscles with a proposal to cut OPEC output.

"Yes, Iran has started withdrawing money from European banks and transferring it to other banks abroad," said a senior Iranian official, who asked not to be named.
http://go.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=10918464&pageNumber=0

William Shatner’s Body Estimated Value = $1,234,569,000

2006-01-22T21:17:00.000-08:00

If William Shatner’s kidney stone commands $25,000, let’s estimate how much his whole body would sell for.

Kidney stones vary in size from as small as a grain of sand to as large as a golf ball. One of the largest recorded stones weight in at 1.36 kilograms or 2.992 pounds!

A Golf ball does not exceed 1.62 ounces, and a grain of sand weighs very little indeed.

If Shatner’s stone weight 1/20 of a golf ball, that would be 0.081 ounces. It probably was much smaller, which means my estimate is too low. No worries, you can do the rest of the math based on your estimates.

If Shatner’s weighs 250 lbs, that would be 4000 ounces.

At $25,000 per 0.081 ounces, Shatner's whole body would be worth an estimated $1,234,569,000.

Trekkers, save your money.

Auctioneers, you are going to have a field day.

Charities, you are going to be swimming in cash!

And Shatner, you truly have gone where no man (or stone) has gone before!

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Going maybe where no other actor has gone before, "Star Trek" star William Shatner has sold a piece of his body for charity.

Shatner, famed for playing Captain James T. Kirk, commander of the starship U.S.S. Enterprise in the original "Star Trek" TV series, sold his kidney stone to online casino GoldenPalace.Com for $25,000. The money will be donated by Shatner to Habitat for Humanity to build houses for the poor.

But Shatner said it wasn't easy parting with a kidney stone, even if it had already left his body. He also said he would never sell unless he had visitation rights.
http://go.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=oddlyEnoughNews&storyID=10904655&src=eDialog/GetContent

Kidney Stone Photographs
http://www.herringlab.com/photos/

urologychannel Kidney stones
http://www.urologychannel.com/kidneystones/index.shtml

Neuroscientific Evidence of Schadenfreude

2006-01-22T20:32:00.000-08:00

We all know women are more empathic than men. Science can now explain biologically why this is so. Imagine if the world had been ruled by women instead of men? How different would history read?

REUTERS
By Patricia Reaney

LONDON (Reuters) - Germans have a word for it -- schadenfreude -- and when it comes to getting pleasure from someone else's misfortune, men seem to enjoy it more than women.

Such is the conclusion reached by scientists at University College London in what they say is the first neuroscientific evidence of schadenfreude.

Using brain-imaging techniques, they compared how men and women reacted when watching other people suffer pain.

If the sufferer was someone they liked, areas of the brain linked to empathy and pain were activated in both sexes.

Women had a similar response if they disliked the person experiencing the pain but men showed a surge in the reward areas of the brain.
http://go.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=oddlyEnoughNews&storyID=10904684&src=eDialog/GetContent

The Most Correct Book: Why the Book of Mormon Is the Keystone Scripture

2006-01-22T20:21:00.000-08:00

I like the way Brian M. Hauglid summarizes the meaning behind Joseph Smith’s declaration that Book of Mormon is the "most correct of any book."

Brain states, “He states that the Prophet "no doubt had reference to the contents the doctrines and teachings of the Book of Mormon rather than to its grammatical construction, punctuation, and spelling."2 Somehow this concept is never developed, nor even introduced, in Nyman's volume. The author is trying to make a neat little package using the verses from D&C 20, but in limiting his analysis to the points contained in those verses, he cannot discuss the many significant doctrines and teachings (the contents) of the Book of Mormon with the same emphasis given those teachings in the Book of Mormon itself.

I suggest that the statement of Joseph Smith can only be understood and appreciated in light of the doctrines and teachings of the Book of Mormon. According to Elder Boyd K. Packer, "true doctrine, understood, changes attitudes and behavior. The study of the doctrines of the gospel will improve behavior quicker than a study of behavior will improve behavior."3 President Ezra Taft Benson has said "the Book of Mormon is the keystone of our religion, . . . the keystone of our testimony, the keystone of our doctrine, and the keystone in the witness of our Lord and Savior."4 To emphasize the Savior's power, President Benson has also stated that "the Lord works from the inside out. The world works from the outside in. . . . The world would mold men by changing their environment. Christ changes men, who then change their environment. The world would shape human behavior, but Christ can change human nature."5

Joseph Smith's statement, therefore, is a concise declaration that the Book of Mormon is the "most correct of any book" because it has the power to change individuals into more correct (Christlike) people. This change can only come because of better understanding Christ as the "keystone" figure of the Book of Mormon, and by applying the atonement, which em-braces all of the "precepts" that bring one nearer to God.”

http://farms.byu.edu/display.php?table=review&id=98&mp=T

The Seven Deadly Sins of Sacrament Meeting Talks

2006-01-19T10:25:00.000-08:00

Meridian magazine (www.ldsmag.com) published an excellent article by Christian Johnson is a professor at Loyola School of Law in Chicago and former bishop entitled “The Seven Deadly Sins of Sacrament Meeting Talks.”
The stats he mentions are staggering, “Every Sunday, millions of Latter-day Saints attend sacrament meetings to receive the sacrament and be spiritually nourished by the sacrament meeting talks. Assuming that each of the 26,670 LDS congregations listened to 40 minutes of sacrament talks, speakers present more than 17,780 hours of messages each Sunday. Chances are that some of those speakers commit at least one of the “seven deadly sins of sacrament talks.” Thankfully, however, these sins can be easily avoided upon becoming aware of the pitfalls.”
The Seven Deadly Sins of Sacrament Meeting Talks:

The Sin of Unpreparedness

The Sin of Time Encroachment

The Sin of Out-and-Out Time Theft

The Sin of Repeating Urban Legends

The Sin of Drawing Upon Inappropriate Material

The Sin of Giving “Too Much Information

The Sin of Casting Blame on Others for Your Speaking Assignment

http://www.ldsmag.com/articles/060119sins.html

Summary of Avraham Gileadi, PhD., Old Testament Lesson 4

2006-01-18T15:36:00.000-08:00

Summary of Avraham Gileadi, PhD., Old Testament Lesson 4.

Thoughts, comments?

Summary of lesson 4:

The fall of Adam & Eve wasn’t a blunder, it was the plan.

Isaiah’s paradigm of “descent before ascent” makes immediate sense of the whole matter, providing a model of spiritual progression all can understand.

Isaish’s key antithetical themes, built into the structure of the book, reveal that ruin comes before rebirth, disinheritance before inheritance, punishment before deliverance, suffering before salvation, and humiliation before exaltation.

Each ascent to a higher plane is preceded by a temporary descent into turmoil during which God puts a person’s loyalties to the test (see Avraham Gileadi, Isaiah Decoded: Ascending the Ladder to Heaven, Hebraeus Press, 2002).

For Adam and Eve and their children, the cauldron of mortality would be a refiner’s fire from which they would emerge either as gold tried and proven or, alternatively, as dross or alloy.

Descent into mortality, with all its vicissitudes--ruin, disinheritance, punishment, suffering, and humiliation--could serve as the prelude to ascent to something more glorious than we had experienced before.

Earth life would provide the optimum conditions under which we could undergo rebirth to a new life, receive a noble inheritance, find deliverance from damnation, gain salvation from an endless disembodiment, and, ultimately, attain exaltation in the kingdom of God.

It is not so important, then, from whence sorrows come--how we got into this mortal mess, why things are so flawed, whose fault something is, who has offended us, etc.--but how we respond.

Ultimately, all afflictions are a test from God we volunteered for.

As a result of Satan’s influence, henceforth “works of darkness began to prevail among all the sons of men” (Moses 5:55), until men’s “hearts have waxed hard, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes cannot see afar off” (Moses 6:27).

Satan and his followers adopt the opposite paradigm of that which leads to salvation and exaltation. Instead of experiencing “descent before ascent,” they undergo “ascent before descent.”

By proposing an alternative plan that would exalt himself, for example, Satan ends up humiliated.

By being unwilling to pay the price of humanity’s salvation--but rather compelling people to behave--he nevertheless ends up suffering.

Although Satan didn’t get his chance to “save” anyone by using his methods, he nevertheless still implements controlling tendencies in world religions.

The cursed condition caused by the Fall--in which all manner of evils and falsehoods are permitted to prevail--is nonetheless the perfect environment in which spiritual growth can occur.

The redeeming factor of the Fall is the opportunity to rise to new heights by availing ourselves of Christ’s atonement for transgression.

Although Adam’s and Eve’s descent from a celestial to a telestial sphere for the sake of their posterity was greater than ours (and consequently their ascent to glory also), nevertheless all follow the same pattern in becoming “sons” of God.

When making the Atonement, Christ “descended below them all” (D&C 88:6; 122:8), thereafter ascending above them all to sit on his Father’s throne (Revelation 3:21; cf. Moroni 9:26) .

Avraham Gileadi, PhD., Old Testament Lesson 4:
http://ldspatriot.blogspot.com/2006/01/avraham-gileadi-phd-old-testament_18.html

Avraham Gileadi, PhD., Old Testament Lesson 4

2006-01-18T15:19:00.000-08:00

Posted by permission from the editors of www.latterdaylight.com. Its appearance is independent of this blog, and should not be construed to either agree or disagree with the opinions expressed on this blog, or on any other website.

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ISAIAH DECODED: ASCENDING THE LADDER TO HEAVEN by Avraham Gileadi

LDS scholar Avraham Gileadi shares Isaiah's "good news" and how the book of Isaiah teaches us God's higher law and how God enables us to ascend to heaven. By living God's law, we are reborn on ever higher levels of a spiritual "ladder" until we are privileged to pass through heaven's gate.  Special $1 shipping! http://www.latterdaylightbooks.com/catalog.php?Iit=78&Ict=21

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Lesson 4 - The Fall -- Descent before Ascent

Some people view the fall of Adam and Eve from an exalted state--from dwelling in the presence of God to being cut off from his presence--as a huge blunder, without which we would all be better off. Without the Fall, however, we wouldn’t be able to progress beyond the most basic level, beyond our “first estate.” In other words, we wouldn’t be here. Although it affected Adam and Eve differently than it did their children, in each case the Fall constituted a descent from a higher plane to a lower one. As primordial spirits, we too dwelt in holier spheres than this earthly habitation. Because God’s plan is based on individual agency, mortality was no doubt something we chose not just with enthusiasm but also with some degree of trepidation because of the hazards inherent in the journey.

Fortunately, Isaiah’s paradigm of “descent before ascent” makes immediate sense of the whole matter, providing a model of spiritual progression all can understand. While salvation and exaltation are as much a part of Isaiah’s theology as they are of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, in the book of Isaiah they appear within a holistic context that provides a clear perspective of how these goals are attained. Thus, key antithetical themes, built into the structure of the book, reveal that ruin comes before rebirth, disinheritance before inheritance, punishment before deliverance, suffering before salvation, and humiliation before exaltation. Just as night precedes day, and chaos precedes creation, so each ascent to a higher plane is preceded by a temporary descent into turmoil during which God puts a person’s loyalties to the test (see Avraham Gileadi, Isaiah Decoded: Ascending the Ladder to Heaven, Hebraeus Press, 2002).

For Adam and Eve and their children, the cauldron of mortality would be a refiner’s fire from which they would emerge either as gold tried and proven or, alternatively, as dross or alloy. When God said to Adam, “Cursed shall be the ground for thy sake” (Moses 4:23; cf. Genesis 3:17), the words, “for thy sake,” let us know there was something to be gained from this telestial experience. The curse of being “made partakers of misery and woe” (Moses 6:48) could turn into a blessing. Although “sin conceiveth in their hearts, and they taste the bitter,” their purpose was to teach God’s children to “prize the good” (Moses 6:55). Descent into mortality, with all its vicissitudes--ruin, disinheritance, punishment, suffering, and humiliation--could serve as the prelude to ascent to something more glorious than we had experienced before. Earth life would provide the optimum conditions under which we could undergo rebirth to a new life, receive a noble inheritance, find deliverance from
damnation, gain salvation from an endless disembodiment, and, ultimately, attain exaltation in the kingdom of God.

Although in mortality both the man and the woman experience “sorrow” (Moses 4:22–23; cf. Genesis 3:16–17)--the Lord’s words to the Prophet Joseph Smith in the midst of his afflictions apply here as well: “Thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high” (D&C 121:7–8). A passage from Isaiah is likewise relevant: “For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee” (Isaiah 54:7–8). It is not so important, then, from whence sorrows come--how we got into this mortal mess, why things are so flawed, whose fault something is, who has offended us, etc.--but how we respond. Ultimately, all afflictions are a test from God we volunteered for.

Not only do death and sorrow come into people’s lives with the Fall, so does another enemy: “Satan hath come among the children of men, and tempteth them to worship him; and men have become carnal, sensual, and devilish, and are shut out from the presence of God” (Moses 6:49).  A notable angel, who once dwelt in God’s presence (2 Nephi 9:8), has now become “Satan, yea, even the devil, the father of all lies, to deceive and to blind men, and to lead them captive at his will, even as many as would not hearken unto my voice” (Moses 4:4). As a result of Satan’s influence, henceforth “works of darkness began to prevail among all the sons of men” (Moses 5:55), until men’s “hearts have waxed hard, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes cannot see afar off” (Moses 6:27).

Satan and his followers adopt the opposite paradigm of that which leads to salvation and exaltation. Instead of experiencing “descent before ascent,” they undergo “ascent before descent.” By proposing an alternative plan that would exalt himself, for example, Satan ends up humiliated. By being unwilling to pay the price of humanity’s salvation--but rather compelling people to behave--he nevertheless ends up suffering. Although Satan didn’t get his chance to “save” anyone by using his methods, he nevertheless still implements controlling tendencies in world religions. Moreover, his “desire” being directed towards Cain--as Eve’s desire is towards Adam (Genesis 3:16; 4:7; Moses 4:22: 5:23)--foreshadows the alternative lifestyle he advocates in a morally corrupt world. No wonder God calls his latter-day people “Sodom and Gomorrah” (Isaiah 1:10; 3:9), alluding to sexual depravity among many of them and to their ultimate demise (Isaiah 13:1–19).

The cursed condition caused by the Fall--in which all manner of evils and falsehoods are permitted to prevail--is nonetheless the perfect environment in which spiritual growth can occur.  As Lehi teaches in his masterful discourse to his son Jacob, “It must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things” (2 Nephi 2:11). In this mortal probationary state, people are “free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil” (2 Nephi 2:27). On the one hand, “redemption cometh in and through the holy Messiah,” who “offereth himself a sacrifice for sin, to answer the ends of the law, unto all those who have a broken heart and a contrite spirit” (2 Nephi 2:6–7). On the other, “the will of the flesh and the evil which is therein...giveth the spirit of the devil power to captivate, to bring you down to hell, that he may reign over you in his own kingdom” (2 Nephi 2:29).

The redeeming factor of the Fall is the opportunity to rise to new heights by availing ourselves of Christ’s atonement for transgression. To that end--in the midst of and in spite of our disadvantaged state--we must follow the commandments of God and “turn unto me, and hearken unto my voice, and believe, and repent of all thy transgressions, and be baptized, even in water, in the name of mine Only Begotten Son, who is full of grace and truth, which is Jesus Christ, the only name which shall be given under heaven, whereby salvation shall come unto the children of men” (Moses 6:52). In the process, we “must be born again into the kingdom of heaven, of water, and of the Spirit, and be cleansed by blood, even the blood of mine Only Begotten; that ye might be sanctified from all sin, and enjoy the words of eternal life in this world, and eternal life in the world to come, even immortal glory” (Moses 6:59).

When Adam, in fulfilling these commandments, “was born of the Spirit, and became quickened in the inner man,” God declared, “Behold, thou art one in me, a son of God; and thus may all become my sons” (Moses 6:65, 68). Although Adam’s and Eve’s descent from a celestial to a telestial sphere for the sake of their posterity was greater than ours (and consequently their ascent to glory also), nevertheless all follow the same pattern in becoming “sons” of God. Without undergoing a descent into mortality--without experiencing the perils of the Fall--we cannot be called God’s “sons” in the scriptural definition of the term. The sacrifice Adam and Eve made in their descent was nonetheless eclipsed by one even greater. When making the Atonement, Christ “descended below them all” (D&C 88:6; 122:8), thereafter ascending above them all to sit on his Father’s throne (Revelation 3:21; cf. Moroni 9:26) .

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Gospel Doctrine Supplements by Avraham Gileadi is a service of the Hebreaus Foundation and Latter Day Light—www.latterdaylight.com, and distributed by email via the Latter Day Light–Gospel Doctrine Supplement mailing list.  This message may be forwarded to individuals if this copyright notice is included.  Posting, printing, or any other form of reproduction of this material without the permission of the owner is prohibited.  Copyright 2006 The Hebreaus Foundation.
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DNA & the Book of Mormon: Summary of Scientific Facts To Date

2006-01-18T09:26:00.000-08:00

It is scientifically unsound to claim "DNA science has disproved the Latter-day Saint assertion that the Book of Mormon is historical reality." Before you buy into that specious argument, get the facts first. Facts are our friends and shouldn't be shunned.

Here is a summary of the scientific facts to date:

Those who make this claim have not done actual DNA studies that had the premise of being a litmus test the Book of Mormons historical claims. Rather, they have sloppily borrowed other research and cast out unwarranted accusations against the Book of Mormon. Clearly this hardly is a "scientific" approach, as I'm sure you would agree (if you know anything about science in the least, that is).

DNA has supported New World immigrations from Asiatic populace, and to that we say, "So what?" This falls short of disproving the Book of Mormon for several reasons.

1) The Book of Mormon doesn't deal with all ancient New World peoples. Meaning, the geography and group in the Book of Mormon is very limited, and other peoples were present in the New World before Lehi's family came over. Take this into account and that means "scientific" conclusions are impossible.

2) We don't know what Israelite DNA from Lehi's time looks like. Therefore, without a base line, without knowing what to look for, "scientific" conclusions are impossible.

3) DNA markers can and do disappear. Take into account the combined effects of Genetic Bottleneck, the Founder Effect and Genetic Drift, and that means "scientific" conclusions are impossible.

DNA evidence is not incompatible with a belief that the Book of Mormon is an authentic ancient document. That is the only "scientific" conclusion that can be confirmed at the moment.

Is An Historical Book of Mormon Compatible With DNA Science?
http://www.fairlds.org/apol/brochures/BoMDNA.pdf

DNA and the Book of Mormon
http://www.fairlds.org/apol/ai195.html

Isaiah Decoded: Ascending the Ladder to Heaven by Avraham Gileadi

2006-01-14T09:13:00.000-08:00

Gileadi's background makes him uniquely qualified to bring to light Isaiah as never before or as know one else can. His contribution to Isaiah is second to none; both in the LDS community and outside the LDS community.

As Nibley is to Book of Mormon research, Gileadi is to Isaiah. He has advanced the keys to unlocking, or decoding Isaiah, in a way hitherto unknown. If McConkie is king of Mormon doctrine, Gileadi is king of Isaiah.

In fact, unless one reads Gileadi's books on Isaiah, Isaiah will (and the OT and the Plan of Salvation) simply will not be fully appreciated.

Again, it is my opinion, that until on learns about what Gileadi has to say about Isaiah, Isaiah will remain a sealed book.

IMHO, the best book to begin with in taking on his work is "Isaiah Decoded: Ascending the Ladder to Heaven by Avraham Gileadi."

"The Literary Message of Isaiah" was his doctorate thesis. Some have criticized is as being too technical, and as a result the message was getting buried. So the audience for "The Literary Message of Isaiah" is fulltime scholars.

"Isaiah Decoded: Ascending the Ladder to Heaven" is the layman’s book of "The Literary Message of Isaiah." It was written to summaries the salient points in "The Literary Message of Isaiah" minus all the details and with language the average LDS in mind; it’s an easier and more enjoyable read.

BYU BOOK STORE:
Isaiah Decoded: Ascending the Ladder to Heaven by Avraham Gileadi
Item #0-910511-07-1
For the first time, a Bible scholar fully integrates the Old and New Testaments. Dr. Avraham Gileadi reveals the Book of Isaiah as the key to these two seemingly incompatible books of scripture, taking both to an unprecedented level of understanding. Hitherto unseen literary features change the rules for interpreting the prophecy of Isaiah, showing it to be an allegory of the end of the world. Isaiah's "good news" teaches us God's higher law and how God enables us to ascend to heaven. By living God's law, we are reborn on even higher levels of a spiritual "ladder" until we are privileged to pass through heaven's gate. For centuries, people have tried to make sense of Isaiah's writings, not realizing that sophisticated literary structures both conceal and reveal a major prophecy about our time. Now, decades of scriptural analysis by Avraham Gileadi, a leading Bible scholar, are simplified for the lay reader in Isaiah Decoded. Hardback.

http://www.byubookstore.com/ePOS/this_category=253&store=439&item_number=0-910511-07-1&form=shared3/gm/detail.html&design=439

Reflections on Avraham Gileadi, PhD., Old Testament Lesson 3

2006-01-13T09:04:00.000-08:00

Reflections on Avraham Gileadi, PhD., Old Testament Lesson 3

What do you think of Gileadi’s assertion that “a knowledge of the words of Isaiah is key to comprehending the Old Testament itself and, indeed, all scriptures.”

Given Nephi’s intense love for Isaiah & Jesus’ commandment to diligently search Isaiah, Gileadi’s viewpoint may provide a key reason why Isaiah should be central to our scripture studies.

Jesus said in, 3 Ne. 20: 11 Ye remember that I spake unto you, and said that when the words of Isaiah should be fulfilled—behold they are written, ye have them before you, therefore search them—

Jesus commanded 3 Ne. 23: 1, AND now, behold, I say unto you, that ye ought to search these things. Yea, a commandment I give unto you that ye search these things diligently; for great are the words of Isaiah.

Lesson 3 is full of deep theological insights and I look forward to your feedback and opinions about this lesson.

Some Lesson 3 points in summary:

First of all, we should know that the word “God,” in Hebrew, is a plural term.

If we too may become Adams and Eves--by passing through the steps God has outlined in his plan of salvation and exaltation--then we can reason backwards and conclude that Adam and Eve, our ancestors, must have passed through these very same steps in order for them to become Adam and Eve.

Isaiah’s spiritual levels of Jacob/Israel (telestial), Zion/Jerusalem (terrestrial), and God’s Sons/Servants (celestrial)

Image and likeness of God is itself defined as male and female

God consists of both a divine Father and a divine Mother

Adam/Eve bodies were organized from earthly (telestial) elements (cf. Moses 6:59), the words “dust” and “waters” used in the creation narrative being chaos motifs that represent matter in a disorganized state.

The word “dust” also alludes to a rebirth or resurrection from the dust

Those who inherit Paradise on this earth by right of possession also qualify as Adams and Eves who at some point may populate worlds. To receive Paradise as a birthright, in other words, puts a couple on the level of Adam and Eve, ready, in the due time of the Lord, to begin a new cycle of creation.

The fact that Adam and Eve chose to partake of the forbidden fruit and temporarily leave Paradise was a calculated act that provided their sons and daughters with the kind of (telestial) environment in which they too, by overcoming evil, could ascend to their parents’ level. Through their selfless sacrifice, Adam and Eve, in turn, would ascend even further.

Avraham Gileadi, PhD., Old Testament Lesson 3
http://ldspatriot.blogspot.com/2006/01/avraham-gileadi-phd-old-testament_13.html

Avraham Gileadi, PhD., Old Testament Lesson 3

2006-01-13T08:01:00.000-08:00

Posted by permission from the editors of www.latterdaylight.com. Its appearance is independent of this blog, and should not be construed to either agree or disagree with the opinions expressed on this blog, or on any other website.

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OLD TESTAMENT GOSPEL DOCTRINE SUPPLEMENTS by Avraham Gileadi
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Please share this email with someone you feel would enjoy the gospel insights from Dr. Avraham Gileadi, PhD.    To subscribe to this newsletter, visit www.latterdaylight.com.
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STUDIES IN THE BOOK OF MORMON by Avraham Gileadi

This book provides wonderful insights for your study the Book of Mormon. Brother Gileadi's background brings fascinating understanding to the language and teachings found the Book of Mormon.  http://www.latterdaylightbooks.com/catalog.php?Iit=77&Ict=23

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Lesson 3 - In the Image and Likeness of God

The story of how God made the heavens and the earth and created Adam and Eve often remains at the kindergarten level in our minds when in actuality the Bible is replete with data that fills out the sparse account of the creation narrative. This is particularly true of the theology of Isaiah, who identifies a series of spiritual levels that greatly impacts our understanding of Adam and Eve and of anyone else in his or her relationship to God. Just as a knowledge of the Old Testament is key to understanding the New Testament, Book of Mormon, Doctrine & Covenants, etc., so a knowledge of the words of Isaiah is key to comprehending the Old Testament itself and, indeed, all scriptures.

Isaiah informs us, for example, who it is that qualifies for Paradise and that God hasn’t stopped creating. God continues to create, or rather re-create, the heavens and the earth, his covenant people, and all who keep his commandments. According to Isaiah, the earth itself, God’s people Israel, and righteous individuals are all in the process of pursuing a well-defined pattern of ascent by following the steps God has formulated that will exalt them, in which each ascent or rebirth involves a divine act of creation that brings his children ever closer to his image and likeness.  Outside of this arrangement there is but spiritual stagnation, which, in actuality, constitutes descent or regression, entailing a de-creation of what a person once was, because time itself moves forward.

In the light of Isaiah’s theology of spiritual ascent, the creation of the heavens and the earth and of Adam and Eve is seen as part of a much broader, ongoing process; in other words, as part of a continuum of creation, not as a one-time event. Although God shows Moses only concerning this earth and its inhabitants (Moses 1:35, 40), God has nevertheless created “worlds without number,” many of which have “passed away,” many of which “now stand,” and others of which, very evidently, are in the process of creation (Moses 1:33, 35). Of course, these worlds too have “Adams” and “Eves” to populate them, so that their children, in turn, may likewise qualify for Paradise if they progress to that point. This process has been going on long before we arrived on the scene, and it will continue long after we exit mortality.

As a case in point, a pinhead view of deep space, now possible with the Hubble Telescope circling the earth, reveals endless galaxies stretching into the distance as far as the eye can see, each galaxy with its billions of stars. Multiply that with similar scans in every possible direction and we can conclude that the numbers of Adams and Eves populating planets--the “worlds without number” God has created--must be in the trillions upon trillions! What Isaiah teaches us, however, is that we ourselves may become Adams and Eves, and as we grasp that fact we will understand the Bible’s creation story in an entirely new light.

First of all, we should know that the word “God,” in Hebrew, is a plural term. This explains why Abraham 4–5 speaks of “the Gods” creating the heavens and the earth rather than “God.” The Book of Abraham simply renders another translation of the same word in the language of the Old Testament. The plurality of the term “Gods” throws into perspective the vastness of the cosmos and who was involved in the creation of our particular earth and its “heavens,” which to the naked eye consist of our own galaxy.

Secondly, we should keep in mind that if God is the same yesterday, today, and forever and is no respecter of persons (see Acts 10:34; 1 Nephi 10:18; Mormon 9:9; D&C 1:35; 35:1; 38:16), then he will not do for Adam and Eve something he will not do for us. In other words, the creation of our first parents wasn’t something unique that has not or will not repeat itself elsewhere. If we too may become Adams and Eves--by passing through the steps God has outlined in his plan of salvation and exaltation--then we can reason backwards and conclude that Adam and Eve, our ancestors, must have passed through these very same steps in order for them to become Adam and Eve.

As Isaiah informs us, those steps involve ascending through several spiritual levels until one’s election is made sure, corresponding with a theology of progression through telestial, terrestrial, and celestial degrees of glory. In his inspired writings, Isaiah identifies a telestial category of people as Jacob/Israel, which consists of generic believers in God in an unsaved state. Second, he designates a terrestrial category as Zion/Jerusalem, comprising God’s covenant people or those who obtain a remission of their sins. A third, celestial category of people, God’s Sons/Servants, is composed of individuals who see God, thus making sure their calling and election.

As with Adam and Eve, only on this celestial level does the idea of male and female become prominent in the book of Isaiah. This is important because, as the Genesis account informs us, being created in the image and likeness of God is itself defined as male and female: “God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness...So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them” (Genesis 1:26–27; cf. Moses 2:26–27; Abraham 4:26–27); “In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him; Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created” (Genesis 5:1–2; cf. Moses 6:8–9). The alternate pronouns, “him/them,” show that Adam and Eve were inseparable.

This male–female identity means that anything less than that is expressly not in the image and likeness of God because God himself is male and female; that is, God consists of both a divine Father and a divine Mother. It also means that on the celestial level the marriage covenant is an integral part of one’s covenant with God and that male–female relationships below this level have no permanency. One cannot claim, therefore, that all of God’s children are created in the image and likeness of God, at least not physically in the literal, scriptural sense, not until they becomes celestial beings. Only as one makes sure his calling and election--possible only as male and female on the Son/Servant (celestial) level--is one truly created, or rather re-created, in the image and likeness of God to dwell in his presence as did Adam and Eve.

The fact that “Adam...begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth” (Genesis 5:3; cf. Moses 6:10), implies that Seth followed Adam’s example of covenantal loyalty to God (cf. Moses 6:3) and that Adam was a son of God through the same natural process by which Seth was a son of Adam (cf. Moses 6:22). That idea is implicit in the use of the identical terms, “likeness” and “image,” that describe both Adam’s and Seth’s origins, apart from any human resemblance that was apparent. Although Adam was physically “formed from the dust” (Genesis 2:7; 3:19; Moses 3:7; Abraham 5:7), that doesn’t imply he was made from a lump of clay. It simply means his body was organized from earthly (telestial) elements (cf. Moses 6:59), the words “dust” and “waters” used in the creation narrative being chaos motifs that represent matter in a disorganized state.

The word “dust” also alludes to a rebirth or resurrection from the dust, as in “Awake, arise; clothe yourself with power, O Zion! Put on your robes of glory, O Jerusalem, holy city...Shake yourself free, rise from the dust; sit enthroned, O Jerusalem” (Isaiah 52:1–2, GT; cf. Moroni 10:31). That idea coincides with the “deep sleep” that fell upon Adam (Genesis 2:21; Moses 3:21; Abraham 5:15), from which God awakens him. The words, “Awake” and “arise” are resurrection motifs, as in “Yet shall thy dead live when their bodies arise. Awake, and sing for joy, you who abide in the dust: your dew is the dew of sunrise! For the earth shall cast up its dead” (Isaiah 26:19, GT). They also suggest rebirth from a lower to a higher spiritual level, as in “Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light” (Ephesians 5:14; cf. 2 Nephi 1:14, 23).

In the millennial age that Isaiah predicts, when the Lord comes to reign on the earth, all the righteous who remain--that is, Zion/Jerusalem and above--will enjoy the earth’s paradisaical glory. However, only those on the Son/Servant level or higher will inherit Paradise by right of possession (see Avraham Gileadi, Isaiah Decoded: Ascending the Ladder to Heaven, Hebraeus Press, 2002, 169–219). This implies that, as God is the same yesterday, today, and forever and is no respecter of persons, those who inherit Paradise on this earth by right of possession also qualify as Adams and Eves who at some point may populate worlds. To receive Paradise as a birthright, in other words, puts a couple on the level of Adam and Eve, ready, in the due time of the Lord, to begin a new cycle of creation.

The fact that Adam and Eve chose to partake of the forbidden fruit and temporarily leave Paradise was a calculated act that provided their sons and daughters with the kind of (telestial) environment in which they too, by overcoming evil, could ascend to their parents’ level. Through their selfless sacrifice, Adam and Eve, in turn, would ascend even further.

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Gospel Doctrine Supplements by Avraham Gileadi is a service of the Hebreaus Foundation and Latter Day Light—www.latterdaylight.com, and distributed by email via the Latter Day Light–Gospel Doctrine Supplement mailing list.  This message may be forwarded to individuals if this copyright notice is included.  Posting, printing, or any other form of reproduction of this material without the permission of the owner is prohibited.  Copyright 2006 The Hebreaus Foundation.
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Do LDS Idolize Joseph Smith?

2006-01-12T13:32:00.000-08:00

Selah on FAIR Message Board wrote, “That to me always seemed like idol worship when the first name out of a person's mouth was almost ALWAYS Joseph Smith and not Jesus.” http://www.fairboards.org/index.php?showtopic=12688&st=15&#entry347234

I hear what you are saying and there maybe merit to what you say. I do not dismiss outright your opinion.

I do, however, want to provide my personal observations that speaks to this issue. I'm a talk show radio-holic; I'd listen to talk radio 24/7/365 if I could. I listen to everything, including Christian talk radio. I've witnessed like parallels amongst some Christian leaders who praise and nearly worship the ground Paul walked on. They drone on and on and on and on incessantly about Paul.

To your point, do these Christian leaders idolize Paul? Given your view point we must conclude that to be the case.

But I do not think so; I do not believe these Christian leaders idolize Paul anymore than LDS idolize Joseph Smith. Why so much emphasis upon these Prophets then? When such emphasis is evident what is the motive in the heart of those who would hold such high regard for these Prophets that it requires such much emphasis?

I'm sure you can answer the question yourself. It is not these Prophets per se that is being held up, but rather the miracle that God wrought through them. In my mind and in my heart, there is no possible way for be to speak about Paul & Joseph without thinking about the God and all that in his mercy and grace he has done for us.

We witness through these great Prophets God's proximity to us. God isn't some spirit essence which fills the universe and I've no contact with him. Rather Paul and Joseph demonstrate that God is close, and better yet, because God was close to Paul & Joseph, I too can be close to God in like manner.

I see Christ in Paul, so I love to talk about Paul. Likewise, I see Christ in Joseph, so I love to talk about Joseph. It's all about the miracle of God speaking to man, God speaking to Propehts, God speaking to you and me. That isn't idolatry, it's faith and gratitude towards God that we honor His servants the way we do. And that, I'm certain, warms God's heart to no end.

Deification

2006-01-12T12:52:00.000-08:00

SeattleGhostWriter wrote on the FAIR Message Board, “Thus, if the Judaic, Christian and Islamic religious theophany and doctrine of Man and God are more in the minority than that of the Ancient religious theosophies that are separated by lands, oceans and times - but are parallel and similar in that man has a divine destiny that is just not ultimately reaching heaven and ending there.” http://www.fairboards.org/index.php?act=ST&f=13&t=12642&st=0#entry347183

My explanation for these parallel teachings is that it stems from two sources, 1) man's innate spiritual intelligence; the veil is not so complete as to conceal all truth and intelligence gained in the pre-earth life, and 2) the Spirit of Christ, better known as the conscience, is the Light of Christ, which Light is divine intelligence or truth, and it would not surprise me one bit that God would plant into the hearts of men truths which uplift man towards his potential.

Deification is as old as man because it is as old as God. When God declared that his work was to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man, it should be implicitly understood that his work and glory was to "remove the distinctions and barriers between us and to make us what God is." (Stephen E. Robinson) Because eternal life is the quality of life enjoyed by God and the exalted only, what kind of life God lives is the kind of live man may also enjoy and partake in.

Robinson further states, "The official doctrine of the Church on deification does not extend in essentials beyond what is said in the Bible, with its Doctrines and Covenants parallels, and in Doctrine and Covenants 132: 19-20...Those who are exalted by [God's] grace will always be 'gods'...by grace, by an extension of his power, and will always be subordinate to the Godhead. Any teaching beyond this involves speculation without support from either the Bible or other LDS Scriptures."

Irenaeus, Justin Martyr, Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Dionysius, Athanasius, Maximus the Confessor, and Augustine writings all contain references to deification.

Avraham Gileadi, PhD., Old Testament Lesson 2

2006-01-11T12:08:00.000-08:00

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OLD TESTAMENT GOSPEL DOCTRINE SUPPLEMENTS by Avraham Gileadi
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Lesson 2 - An Order of Stars/Planets/Intelligences

Abraham 3 contains several parallel statements postulating that if "two facts" (or things) exist, one being above (or greater than) another, then this suggests that a third exists above them (3:6, 8, 16-19). With this comparative model the Lord describes stars or planets and intelligences alike (see, respectively, 3:2-18 and 3:18-23), thus implying that stars and planets are a type of intelligences. The indissoluble connection of stars and intelligences is confirmed in Abraham's seeing the stars multiply before his eyes, until "I could not see the end thereof" (3:12), and God then telling him, "I will multiply thee, and thy seed after thee, like unto these" (3:14). That episode echoes the Genesis account, in which the Lord says, "Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be" (Genesis 15:5; cf. 26:4).

A further intrinsic link between stars and intelligences appears in the Lord's description of stars as "lights," which are "set to give light" (3:10, 13), whereas we know from another source that intelligence is synonymous with the light of truth: "He that keepeth his commandments receiveth truth and light, until he is glorified in truth and knoweth all things. Man was also in the beginning with God. Intelligence, or the light of truth, was not created or made, neither indeed can be. All truth is independent in that sphere in which God has placed it, to act for itself, as all intelligence also; otherwise there is no existence" (D&C 93:28-30). In short, a person's intelligence increases in proportion to his assimilating light and truth, which, in turn, depends on his choosing to keep the commandments of God.

A later revelation adds, "Whatever principle of intelligence we attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the resurrection. And if a person gains more knowledge and intelligence in this life through his diligence and obedience than another, he will have so much the advantage in the world to come" (D&C 130:18-19). The word "knowledge," in this scripture, is not to be confused with information, which anyone can accumulate but not act upon. Rather, it refers to the knowledge of God, without which we cannot relate to or comprehend him (cf. Ether 3:20; D&C 84:19; 121:26; Abraham 1:2). This growing in intelligence, too, resembles cosmic phenomena, as when heavenly bodies accumulate sufficient mass to become stars and planets. Stars form when larger agglomerations of matter are compressed by intense gravity and commence fusion, at which point they begin to shine. Planets form from leftover cosmic debris surrounding the stars.

Additional scriptures directly identify persons with stars, and vice versa, as in "The morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy" (Job 38:7). These parallel phrases practically equate "morning stars" with the "sons of God," although the term "sons," by definition, identifies an exalted category among God's children, not all of them (see Avraham Gileadi, Isaiah Decoded: Ascending the Ladder to Heaven, Hebraeus Press, 2002, 169-219). Just as God numbers and "names" his sons, signifying their calling and election, so he does the stars: "He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names" (Psalms 147:4); "Lift your eyes heavenward and see: Who formed these? He who brings forth their hosts by number, calling each one by name. Because he is almighty and all powerful, not one is unaccounted for" (Isaiah 40:26, GT).

Ultimately, God's children go one of two ways, as in "[The great dragon's] tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth" (Revelation 12:4), representing the spirits who rebelled with Lucifer, who did not keep their first estate but were cast down, as well as possible further latter-day phenomena. Others of God's children keep both their first and second estates, as in "They that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever" (Daniel 12:3), representing the celestial exaltation of those who shone as exemplars to others during their tenure in mortality .

The Lord himself, too, is depicted as a star: "There shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel" (Numbers 24:17); "Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him" (Matthew 2:2); "I, Jesus, have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star" (Revelation 22:16). Rhetorically, Job's equating "morning stars" with the "sons of God," as mentioned earlier, nuances Christ's identity as a morning star, precluding any confusion, for example, with the planet Venus. Rather, the terms "bright and morning star" identify Christ as the brightest morning star, he being the firstborn Son of God and a God in his own right.

In fact, Christ's identity with Kolob appears evident, which we also glean from Abraham 3. The order of the stars and planets God has made parallels the order of the intelligences that are organized. The chiastic form of the first part of the chapter highlights the cosmic order:

a. Abraham sees the stars as far as those nearest the throne of God (3:2)
b. Kolob governs all heavenly bodies of the same order as the earth (3:3)
c. Kolob is after the reckoning of the Lord's time (3:4)
d. The planet of the lesser light is slower than the earth (3:5)

e. Abraham sees how the greater and lesser lights relate to the earth (3:6)

d. The time of the lesser light is longer than the earth's (3:5)
c. Kolob is after the reckoning of the Lord's time (3:9)
b. Kolob governs all heavenly bodies of the same order as the earth (3:9)
a. Abraham sees the stars as far as those near the throne of God (3:10)

From this first part of the chapter, we identify 1. Kolob as the "greatest of all" the stars, being nearest the throne of God (cf. 3:16) and governing "all those which belong to the same order as that upon which thou standest" (3:3, 9); 2. other "very great" governing stars near the throne of God (3:3); and 3. our immediate universe, consisting of the earth, sun, and moon (3:6). This order parallels, in the same chapter, the order of "the intelligences that were organized before the world was" (3:22), namely, 1. one "like unto God" (3:24); 2. certain "noble and great...souls" foreordained to be rulers (3:22-23); and 3. other "spirits" whom God will "prove...to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them" (3:23-24). Just as those who keep their first estate are "added upon" (3:26), so those who keep their second estate are "added upon" (ibid.), presumably the "glory" they inherit being proportional to their increase in intelligence in mortal
ity.

From these scriptures, we observe that the scriptural definition of "intelligence" is not identical with the idea of possessing smarts or being savvy in a worldly sense but rather in a spiritual sense. In effect, true intelligence consists of doing "all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them," through which persons increase in light and truth or the knowledge of God. In Isaiah's paradigm of ascending spiritual levels, moreover, obedience to the law or terms of God's covenant and compliance with God's will form a grand key to successive rebirths or re-creations of the person who ascends. Thus, ultimately, all of God's children are given the opportunity to attain celestial exaltation, as have others before them. In that respect, the cosmos surrounding us has much to teach us, as we note from the following:

"Isaiah's use of celestial imagery as a type of persons who ascend leads to interesting parallels with a ladder to heaven. When we think of smaller heavenly bodies that orbit larger ones in terms of the smaller keeping the 'law' of the larger, then the cosmos alludes to a series of ascending levels. Moons orbiting planets, planets orbiting stars, and stars orbiting centers of galaxies parallel persons observing ever higher laws as they ascend. The movement in unison of larger heavenly bodies and the lower nature of 'rogue' entities, such as comets, asteroids, meteors, and dust, parallel the oneness of higher spiritual levels and the chaotic character of lower ones." (Isaiah Decoded, 281-82.)

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STUDIES IN THE BOOK OF MORMON by Avraham Gileadi

This book provides wonderful insights for your study the Book of Mormon. Brother Gileadi's background as a rabbinical student in Israel brings fascinating understanding to the language and teachings found the Book of Mormon. http://www.latterdaylightbooks.com/catalog.php?Iit=77&Ict=23

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Gospel Doctrine Supplements by Avraham Gileadi is a service of the Hebreaus Foundation and Latter Day Light--www.latterdaylight.com, and distributed by email via the Latter Day Light-Gospel Doctrine Supplement mailing list. This message may be forwarded to individuals if this copyright notice is included. Posting, printing, or any other form of reproduction of this material without the permission of the owner is prohibited. Copyright 2006 The Hebreaus Foundation.
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Avraham Gileadi, Ph.D, Old Testament Lesson 1

2006-01-11T12:04:00.000-08:00

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OLD TESTAMENT GOSPEL DOCTRINE SUPPLEMENTS by Avraham Gileadi
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Please share this email with someone you feel would enjoy the gospel insights from Dr. Avraham Gileadi, PhD. To subscribe to this newsletter, visit www.latterdaylight.com.
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Lesson 1 - In the Similitude of the Only-Begotten

Because the Old Testament is the foundation of all other scriptures, unless a person has a firm grounding in this book, he can never "put it all together"--he cannot integrate all the scriptures into one. As we near the period in the history of humanity to which the ancient prophets looked forward--the time of the coming of our Lord and Savior--we may no longer have the luxury of biding our time to "catch up" on our understanding of this enigmatic book. And that could bring unfortunate results for those who may misread unfolding events--as unprepared generations did before us--in a time of upheaval and uncertainty mistaking the things that are of God to be of the devil and the things that are of the devil to be of God. If God has given us "a pattern in all things" (D&C 52:14), then shouldn't we become familiar with that pattern? If not so, the awful consequences that were predicted--when, if it were possible, even the elect will be deceived (Matthew 24:24)--will be on our own
heads.

How appropriate, then, to commence study of the Old Testament with the book of Moses, the prophet who wrote Genesis through Deuteronomy! In Moses 1, we gain some background into how Moses--who appeared with Jesus and Elijah on the Mount of Transfiguration--came to be called of God to deliver Israel from bondage in Egypt. The approximate chiastic structure of Moses 1, as follows, highlights important elements in God's empowerment of Moses:

a. God speaks to Moses on an exceedingly high mountain (1:1)
b. God speaks with Moses face to face (1:2-3)
c. God's works are without end (1:4-5)
d. God has a work to do for Moses (1:4-7)
e. God calls Moses his "son" (1:4-7)
f. Moses sees the ends of the world and all men (1:8)
g. The presence of God withdraws from Moses (1:9)
h. Moses loses and regains his natural strength (1:9-10)
i. God's glory is upon Moses (1:11)
j. Satan commands Moses to worship him (1:12)
k. Moses is in the similitude of the Only Begotten (1:13)

l. Moses discerns between God and Satan (1:14-15)

k. Moses is in the similitude of the Only Begotten (1:16)
j. God commands Moses to worship him (1:17)
i. God's glory is upon Moses (1:18)
h. Moses loses and regains his natural strength (1:20-21)
g. Satan departs from the presence of Moses (1:22-24)
f. Moses sees the earth and all its inhabitants (1:25-30)
e. God "chooses" Moses and empowers him (1:25)
d. God appoints Moses to deliver Israel (1:25-26)
c. God has created worlds without number (1:33)
b. Moses speaks with God face to face (1:31-41)
a. God speaks to Moses on an unidentified mountain (1:42)

We may sometimes wonder--and perhaps feel ourselves inadequate by comparison--why God appears to some of his children in mortality and not to others. One response is that such privileged persons have been chosen from before the foundation of the world for the tasks they are to perform on the earth (Isaiah 49:1; Jeremiah 1:5; Ephesians 1:4), and that God appears to them, as in Moses' case, to commission them to fulfill his work. However, the question is, Why does God choose them? Alma provides an answer when he says, "This is the manner after which they were ordained--being called and prepared from [before] the foundation of the world according to the foreknowledge of God, on account of their exceeding faith and good works; in the first place being left to choose good or evil; therefore they having chosen good, and exercising exceedingly great faith, are called with a holy calling, yea, with that holy calling which was prepared with, and according to, a preparatory redemption
for such" (Alma 13:3).

Another explanation comes from the prophet Isaiah, who distinguishes people by the different spiritual levels they are on, each characterized by the observance (or lack of observance) of the law or terms of the covenant pertaining to that level. The only way a person can attain a higher spiritual level, such as that of Moses, is to "ascend" or progress from the lowest, starting level like everyone else. No one is created in a high spiritual category all at once, though--as Isaiah teaches--God "creates," or rather recreates, the person each time he or she ascends a level. Every such rebirth or ascent into a higher category, however, is characterized by the person first experiencing a kind of trial or descent, during which God tests his or her loyalties to the terms of the covenant. (See Avraham Gileadi, Isaiah Decoded: Ascending the Ladder to Heaven, Hebraeus Press, 2002.)

Isaiah identifies the spiritual level on which one sees God face to face, has a cosmic vision, is given power over the elements, and is appointed a prophet to the nations as the level of "seraphim." Moses, who experienced these very things, thus belongs in this category. Other distinguishing characteristics of this level include the sealing power, a translated state (though not all individuals are translated), the ability to perform mighty miracles, and the power to convince others of the truth of their words (Ibid.). The Prophet Joseph Smith identified this spiritual level with "the power of Elijah and the fulness of the [Melchizedek] Priesthood" (TPJS, 337-40), which is a stage beyond making sure one's calling and election. Persons who fall into this category include Enoch, Moses, Elijah, John the Revelator, Nephi the son of Helaman, and the Three Nephites. Like John and the Three Nephites, such persons are "beloved" of God (3 Nephi 28:6; Mormon 1:13).

There exists no indication that anyone ascends to this spiritual level in this one earthly mortality. Like Abraham, "noble and great" souls had experiences before this life that advanced them to their starting level here on earth (Abraham 3:22-23; D&C 138:55-56), having hitherto undergone a "preparatory redemption" (Alma 13:3). This explain why God appears to some even in their youth, to others in later years as they progress, and to yet others not in this life. In effect, to dwell in the presence of God is an earned blessing or privilege that pertains to each spiritual level or category. Persons may experience the presence of the Holy Ghost, our Savior Jesus Christ, or the Father, depending on which spiritual level they are on. The fact that both the Father and the Son visited the Prophet Joseph Smith in his early years, for example, indicates that he had attained the seraph category even before this mortality.

What Moses 1 adds to our knowledge of this spiritual level is that Moses rejected Satan and worshiped God--a central idea of the chapter--and that he was "in the similitude of [God's] Only Begotten" Son (Moses 1:6, 13, 16). This doesn't mean, however, that all God's children are in this similitude. It does mean that Moses, by rejecting Satan and worshiping God in his life, ultimately came to resemble God's Only Begotten Son in a particular sense, and that all who attain this spiritual level go through this process and grow into the same similitude. The only other scriptural instances of the above expression appear in a context of sacrifice: Adam's offering the firstlings of his flock was "a similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father" (Moses 5:7); and Abraham's offering up his son Isaac was "a similitude of God and his Only Begotten Son" (Jacob 4:5).

These rhetorical connections suggest that persons who are in the similitude of the Only Begotten have fulfilled what the Prophet Joseph Smith counseled those who would attain such an exaltation to do, namely to "covenant with God by sacrifice," laying our all upon the altar (Psalms 50:5; "Lecture Sixth," Lectures on Faith), with the sure knowledge that this constitutes true worship of God and that anything less than this puts a person in Satan's power. This, Moses did, upon which God empowered him to command Satan himself to depart. By the law of sacrifice they kept, and by means of sacred ordinances under the terms of the covenant, ancients such as Adam, Melchizedek, Abraham, and Moses established "a type of his order [of the Only Begotten of the Father], that [their people] might look forward to him for a remission of their sins, that they might enter into the rest of the Lord" (Alma 13:16), "which rest is the fulness of his glory" (D&C 84:24). Moses was thus well qualified
to "sanctify his people that they [like him] might behold the face of God" (D&C 84:23) and similarly grow into the similitude of his Only Begotten.

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ISAIAH DECODED: ASCENDING THE LADDER TO HEAVEN by Avraham Gileadi

LDS scholar Avraham Gileadi shares Isaiah's "good news" and how the book of Isaiah teaches us God's higher law and how God enables us to ascend to heaven. By living God's law, we are reborn on ever higher levels of a spiritual "ladder" until we are privileged to pass through heaven's gate.
http://www.latterdaylightbooks.com/catalog.php?Iit=78&Ict=21

====================================================
Gospel Doctrine Supplements by Avraham Gileadi is a service of the Hebreaus Foundation and Latter Day Light--www.latterdaylight.com, and distributed by email via the Latter Day Light-Gospel Doctrine Supplement mailing list. This message may be forwarded to individuals if this copyright notice is included. Posting, printing, or any other form of reproduction of this material without the permission of the owner is prohibited. Copyright 2006 The Hebreaus Foundation.
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LDS Church Growth Facts & Stats

2006-01-11T10:59:00.000-08:00

Question: What do you think…should I bother to print out his book and hand out to my good friends in the Elder's Quorum?

Last Sunday in priesthood there was a discussion regarding the growth of our Church? With the greatest respect, most of what was said was pure myth. It is commonly purported among LDS that "the growth in the LDS Church is phenomenal…that it is the fastest growing Church…or…according to reports by 2080 membership will be 265 million!..."

All these common sentiments just are not true. Those who make such claims mean no harm, and of course, love the Church and are excited about its growth naturally.

The reality, however, is that Church growth has significantly slowed from 5% to 3%. What is more, other Churches vastly out grew the LDS Church by significant, if not breathtaking, numbers.

However, I did not have the heart to dispel the illusion held by all members of my LDS Elders Quorum. No one likes to be corrected, especially in front of others, more especially if the illusion is something commonly held in belief by many others, even more especially if somehow the illusion is tied to faith, love, loyalty and a type of sign which buttresses their faith in the Church they so love and know beyond doubt to be true. Sometimes it's just better to keep things to ones self until a better opportunity presents itself.

The URLs below contain a book written by Dr. David Stewart, 32 year old physician who served a mission in Russia. He is an exceedingly faithful LDS who loves missionary work, statistics, and facts; he is not afraid of facts & stats & reality when it comes to Church growth. His work is extremely insightful and very valuable to the LDS community.

I'm thinking of printing out his book and distributing it. Facts are our friends and ought not to offend us!

HTML online book:
The Law of the Harvest
Practical Principles of Effective Missionary Work
By David G. Stewart, Jr.
Email: dgstewart@yahoo.com
Copyright 2005
Version of August 21, 2005
http://www.cumorah.com/harvest.html#introduction

MS Word version of the book
http://www.cumorah.com/report.html

Home page:
http://www.cumorah.com/

About David Stewart & cumorah
http://www.cumorah.com/about.html

Will 2012 be the start of a 7 year famine?

2006-01-11T10:42:00.000-08:00

WhisperFox of another forum posted the following insight regarding President Hinckley’s 7 years of plenty and 7 years of famine and the year 2012. He alludes that the year 2012 will be the year the famine begins. For a variety of reasons I agree with his conclusion.

What are your thoughts about the possibility of the year 2012 as the beginning year of a famine?

WhisperFox
The answer is 7 and 2012, now if we just knew the right question.
http://p198.ezboard.com/fzionscampfrm13.sh...picID=316.topic

7 years ago ...

1998, October conference, President Hinckley gave a talk in general priesthood meeting warning priesthood holders to get their houses in order, focusing mainly on financial matters, using the biblical story of Pharoahs dream of 7 years of plenty and 7 years of famne.

7 years later ...

2005, October conference, President Hinckley gave a talk in general priesthood meeting warning priesthood holders to get their houses in order, focusing mainly of food storage and emergency prepardness, referencing in his talk his comments before about Pharoah's dream of 7 years of plenty and 7 years of famine.

7 years from now two interesting things occur....

2012, December 23rd, the Mayan calendar ends (or better ends it's major cycle) This calendar was begun in about 3114 BC and can still predict all the eclipes' of this solar system to the day. It ends Dec. 23rd, 2012.

2012, the Great Pyramid of Cheop's, thought by many to be a giant stone calendar of the history of the world. The great corridor calendar has managed to show each major event in the history of the world, even though it was built before 2,000 BC. It ends in 2012.

The answer for today's Jeopardy daily double is "7" and "2012"

What is the question?

As we all know, President Hinckley is very educated and is very adept at the use of the English language. In the talk in 1998 and in 2005 he used the word "portent". Lets take a look at the definitions of "portent".

Quote:Dictionary.com
Main Entry: por•tent

1 : something that foreshadows a coming event : OMEN
2 : prophetic indication or significance
3 : MARVEL, PRODIGY

Quote:Meriam Websters
por•tent n.

1. An indication of something important or calamitous about to occur; an omen.
2. Prophetic or threatening significance: signs full of portent.
3. Something amazing or marvelous; a prodigy.

From 1998

Quote:Now, brethren, I want to make it very clear that I am not prophesying, that I am not predicting years of famine in the future. But I am suggesting that the time has come to get our houses in order.

So many of our people are living on the very edge of their incomes. In fact, some are living on borrowings.

We have witnessed in recent weeks wide and fearsome swings in the markets of the world. The economy is a fragile thing. A stumble in the economy in Jakarta or Moscow can immediately affect the entire world. It can eventually reach down to each of us as individuals. There is a portent of stormy weather ahead to which we had better give heed.

In 2005 he said;

Quote:How portentous are the words of revelation found in the 88th section of the Doctrine and Covenants concerning the calamities that should befall after the testimonies of the elders. The Lord says:

"For after your testimony cometh the testimony of earthquakes, that shall cause groanings in the midst of her, and men shall fall upon the ground and shall not be able to stand.

"And also cometh the testimony of the voice of thunderings, and the voice of lightnings, and the voice of tempests, and the voice of the waves of the sea heaving themselves beyond their bounds.

"And all things shall be in commotion; and surely, men's hearts shall fail them; for fear shall come upon all people" (D&C 88:89–91).

I believe he was trying to warn us with the use of the word "portent". Those with ears to hear, hear.

"Learn the Parable of Figtree"

2006-01-11T10:41:00.000-08:00

Learn the Parable of the Figtree, Prophetic End Time Parable of LDS Church

The #1 prophecy relating to the last days that I keep pondering and coming back to is the parable of the figtree (LDS Church) is:

D&C 45: 37 Ye look and behold the figtrees, and ye see them with your eyes, and ye say when they begin to shoot forth, and their leaves are yet tender, that summer is now nigh at hand;

D&C 35:16 And they shall learn the parable of the figtree, for even now already summer is nigh. 17 And I have sent forth the fulness of my gospel by the hand of my servant Joseph; and in weakness have I blessed him;

Today is the day when this prophetic parable is being fulfilled in the fullest sense of the prophecy.

The figtree is the LDS Church. Its leaves are the Stakes/Wards/Branches spreading its influence amongst the world. The Stakes et al have shoot forth, not quite a worldwide body, still tender (young and vulnerable).

What is also significant to note is that the figtree (LDS Church) is not going to be fully mature in age or stature. Meaning, it will not be THE major tree in a big forest of figtrees, rather, a youngling.

This is important to note because far too many LDS are uninformed regarding end time prophecies and their sequence of fulfillment. Case in point, last Sunday in priesthood several Elders discussed how the LDS Church was growing (they are unware that its growth has slowed down significantly). These Elders projected erroneously that the LDS Church's growth would be such that the LDS Church will take overtake all other religions and become the majority BEFORE the end cometh. That simply isn't the case as the parable above clearly indicates.

Given such preconceived notions, it is possible for such like minded saints to be caught off guard per se as events unfold in a manner far different than their current level of understanding affords them.

Be that as it may, I am fully convinced "that summer is now nigh at hand" and LDS "shall learn the parable of the figtree."

Holy Ghost Given Commandments—Acts 1:2

2006-01-09T11:21:00.000-08:00

Acts 1:2. Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen:

LDS believe that the Holy Ghost(‘s):

is Christ's minister

speaks and acts in the place and stead of the Son

mission is to testify of Jesus

reveals the mind and will of the Lord

to say what Christ would say if personally present

So complete, whole, and total is this commission and power that the Holy Ghost speaks in the first person as though he were Christ: Moses 5:10: And in that day Adam blessed God and was filled, and began to prophesy concerning all the families of the earth, saying: Blessed be the name of God, for because of my transgression my eyes are opened, and in this life I shall have joy, and again in the flesh I shall see God.

In most instances when God's prophets and apostles say: "Thus saith Christ the Lord," they are announcing Christ's words as revealed to them by the power of the Holy Ghost.

The Holy Ghost gives commandments today like he did in biblical times.

What do you believe?

Does the Holy Ghost give commandments today? If so, to whom are they given and how would you know it’s true and from God. If not, why?

Do you believe the Holy Ghost can give you a personal commandment today?

Can/does the Holy Ghost give new commandments today?

What parts of the LDS position above do you agree with? What parts do you disagree with?

ANTI-MORMONISM DEFINED

2006-01-09T11:13:00.000-08:00

I came across the web page of Paul McNabb's, "Five Signs of an Anti-Mormon".

Do you agree or disagree with Paul's definition copied below as to what constitutes the qualities and characteristics of an Anti-Mormon?

What parts do you agree with?

What parts do you disagree with?

Paul wrote:

A Brief Discussion of Anti-Mormonism

I will never classify a person as "anti-Mormon" who is defending his own beliefs, no matter how much at odds with LDS beliefs that may be. Contrasting what you believe with LDS beliefs and showing why you think you're right and the LDS are wrong is, in my book, not anti-Mormon.

People can step over the line and become anti-Mormon, however. (People can step over the line and become anti-anything, of course.) Usually it happens when a person become so passionate about proving Mormonism to be false that he stops being kind, tolerant, patient, and respectful.

Paul McNabb's Five Signs of an Anti-Mormon

An anti-Mormon is a person who does one or more of the following.

1) Describes Latter-day Saints or LDS leaders as being stupid, insincere, dishonest, or evil.

2) Accuses Latter-day Saints of having a "secret" doctrine or agenda, argues with Latter-day Saints about "what Mormons really believe," or refuses to accept a Latter-day Saint's description of his beliefs as being valid LDS beliefs.

3) Distorts and mischaracterizes LDS beliefs by presenting beliefs or citations out of context; presents the most unfavorable LDS behaviors or statements as being typical, normative, or authoritative; or presents and mocks LDS beliefs using parody, caricature, and demeaning language.

4) Interferes with Latter-day Saints in their worship and religious practice, such as by picketing Church buildings and events, shouting through bullhorns at LDS gatherings, etc.

5) Uses seminars, books, newsletters, websites, and other forms of mass media to specifically target Latter-day Saints to destroy their faith or to encourage others to do so.

http://paul.mcnabbs.org/religion/antimormon.html

Common Traits of Professional anti-Mormons (PAMs) & Nehor's

2006-01-06T16:54:00.000-08:00

How much in common do you find Professional anti-Mormons (PAMs) to be like the followers of Nehor (Priestcraft of Nehor) as found in the Book of Mormon?

Backgroup: Per the Encyclopedia of Mormonism...Nehor (c. 91 B.C.), a practitioner of priestcraft, preached and established a church to obtain riches and worldly honor and to satisfy his pride. He taught that God had created everyone, had redeemed everyone, and that people need not "fear and tremble" because everyone would be saved. Furthermore, he said priests should be supported by the people. Nehor attacked and killed a defender of the true doctrine of Christ, and was tried before Alma 2 and executed (Alma 1:2-16). He was not executed for being an antiChrist, but for having enforced his beliefs "by the sword." (Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 1-4 vols., edited by Daniel H. Ludlow (New York: Macmillan, 1992), 45.)

Characteristics of the Priestcraft of Nehor:
- Nehors were false teachers
- Nehors were murderers in spirit if not action...sometimes action too
- Nehors have spiritual disorders
- Nehors thrive on elitism
- Nehors lie a little and think it no big deal
- Nehors take the advantage of believers because of their words
- Nehors dig a pit for their fellow neighbor
- Nehors are very prideful
- Nehors are dishonest
- Nehors got to be right, got to win the arguement at all cost
- Nehors are not bashful about manipulating the truth to suit their purposes
- Nehors initiate attack upon attack upon attack...never stop the attack...never...give up...attack...attack...attack...
- Nehors "persecute them (believers), and afflict them with all manner of words" Alma 1:19-20a
- Nehor's offer a form of cheap grace
- Nehors have a violent spirit
- Nehors tried to destroy the scriptural records of the Church
- Nehors were religious people
- Nehors built many sanctuaries as places of worship
- Nehors were a hard-heated people
- Nehors have unbridled arrogance
- Nehors belitted and rejected Aaron's testimony
- Aaron's appeal to scripture was met with anger and mockery
- Nehors spend a lot of time and energy fanning the flames of bigotry and prejudice
- Nehors professed a belief in God (Alma 22:7)
- Nehors set themselves as a light unto all to get glory of the world
- Nehors need to attack and mock and criticize another faith
- Nehors fear truth
- Nehors disregard truth
- Nehors proclaim loud and long a love for truth, but the opposite is truth
- Nehors repackage concepts of salvation, e.g., who is saved, how one is saved, etc.
- Nehrism is hubris maximized
- Nehors enjoy cocksure grandstanding
- Nehors gloat in their false claim that True Believers are gullible (read stupid, dumb, brainwashed, ignorant et al)
- Nehorites engage in vitriolic persecution of Christ's Church
- Nehors are compelled to obliterating whatever they see as an affront to their version of Christianity
- Nehors are filled with hatred and venom
- Nehors misreprest the faith they target by telling the believers they believe in something when in fact they don't
- Nehors are relentless in their attacks
- Nehors often engage in ugly verbal, and sometimes physical attacks
- Nehors love to taunt
- Nehors try to pass themselves as a brilliant
- Nehors refuse to continue the debate with faced with the truth
- Nehors virtue is mocking the Church, not truth
- Nehors are bigots
- Nehors hate it when they are called anti-whatever-faith, and discount it as an inappropriate label
- Nehors are in a deep, delusional, denial

Source: Nehors in the Land: A Latter-day Variation on an Ancient Theme: http://www.fairlds.org/pubs/conf/2000NorL.html

Some LDS Believe Book of Mormon To Be Fiction

2006-01-06T13:50:00.000-08:00

Some LDS believe and advocate that The Book of Mormon is a work of fiction.

What if the Book of Mormon was a work of fiction as opposed to historical reality?

Would it be a big deal to LDS who accept The Book of Mormon to be historical reality?

IFF (if and only if) God had anything to do with the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, then yes, it's a big deal if "the BoM isn't true?, ...would it really matter?"

In fact, a very big deal indeed.

Why?

Because God's Godhood is at stake.

God's Godhood is dependent upon the Book of Mormon being a true and accurate historical record, for God has endorsed it as such, i.e., a true and accurate and real historical record.

If it isn't true, then God would be a liar; thus in effect, God would cease to be God.

What God has said regarding the Book of Mormon:
· It was a miracle, and without God's mercy and power it would not have been possible
· It contains commandments of God
· By it lay the power to establish God's kingdom on earth
· By it proves the LDS Church to be the only true and living church that pleases the Lord
· God claims it "contains the truth and word of God"
· God claims it the key to converting all people to believe His gospel
· God claims it proves the Messiah has already come, an important message to the Jews, his covenant people
· God claims it to be nonfiction and a trustworthy account of a fallen people
· God claims it contains the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ
· God claims He is responsible for the inspiration behind the Book of Mormon from inception to print
· God claims he sent for angels from heaven to declare from on high it's validity and gave His word that it is true and correct, a historically accurate record
· God claims it proves that the Bible is true
· God claims it proves Joseph Smith et al are His true prophets
· God claims it proves He is an unchangeable being, the same yesterday, today and forever. This is significant for God is saying here that it proves His Godhood, i.e., by it God as God stands or falls
· By it the world will be judged
· Believers in it will be crowned with eternal life
· Disbelievers will be condemned and denied eternal life
· By it we know there is a God in heaven
· By it all things related to God, e.g., creation, salvation, gospel, ordinances, Jesus Christ, are true and factual and proven
· By it God promises that believers will "I will drink of the fruit of the vine with you on the earth"
· God will "I will drink of the fruit of the vine with you on the earth" with Moroni, proving him to be a real person who lived and whose record is true
· God sent Moroni to reveal the Book of Mormon, which means the Book of Mormon come from God's presence
· God calls it "the record of the stick of Ephraim", thus providing the key to interpretation of Isaiah 29.
· God claims the Book of Mormon was "given by [him]"
· God claims the "and the power of my Spirit quickeneth all things", thus the Spirit has born record of it's truthfulness, and all shall be held accountable for their belief or disbelief in the record
· God command the Elders to "which are in the Bible and the Book of Mormon, in the which is the fulness of the gospel."
· By it the church and individuals "under this condemnation until they repent and remember the new covenant, even the Book of Mormon and the former commandments which I have given them, not only to say, but to do according to that which I have written—...remaineth a scourge and judgment to be poured out upon the children of Zion."
· Church members who reject it for what God claims it to be are called by God told they "pollute my holy land?", and God will not tolerate that
· God used the belief in the Book of Mormon as a qualifier to "pay stock" at Nauvoo, symbolic of the requirement LDS have to be called to the work of building up the kingdom of God: "And again, verily I say unto you, let no man pay stock to the quorum of the Nauvoo House unless he shall be a believer in the Book of Mormon, and the revelations I have given unto you, saith the Lord your God;"
· God said that to try and turn the Book of Mormon into something other than what God said it was evil and cursings would follow instead of blessings: For that which is more or less than this cometh of evil, and shall be attended with cursings and not blessings, saith the Lord your God. Even so. Amen.

D&C 1:
29 And after having received the record of the Nephites, yea, even my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., might have power to translate through the mercy of God, by the power of God, the Book of Mormon.

30 And also those to whom these commandments were given, might have power to lay the foundation of this church, and to bring it forth out of obscurity and out of darkness, the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth, with which I, the Lord, am well pleased, speaking unto the church collectively and not individually—

D&C 19
26 And again, I command thee that thou shalt not covet thine own property, but impart it freely to the printing of the Book of Mormon, which contains the truth and the word of God—

27 Which is my word to the Gentile, that soon it may go to the Jew, of whom the Lamanites are a remnant, that they may believe the gospel, and look not for a Messiah to come who has already come.

D&C 20
7 And gave unto him commandments which inspired him;

8 And gave him power from on high, by the means which were before prepared, to translate the Book of Mormon;

9 Which contains a record of a fallen people, and the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles and to the Jews also;

10 Which was given by inspiration, and is confirmed to others by the ministering of angels, and is declared unto the world by them—

11 Proving to the world that the holy scriptures are true, and that God does inspire men and call them to his holy work in this age and generation, as well as in generations of old;

12 Thereby showing that he is the same God yesterday, today, and forever. Amen.

13 Therefore, having so great witnesses, by them shall the world be judged, even as many as shall hereafter come to a knowledge of this work.

14 And those who receive it in faith, and work righteousness, shall receive a crown of eternal life;

15 But those who harden their hearts in unbelief, and reject it, it shall turn to their own condemnation—

16 For the Lord God has spoken it; and we, the elders of the church, have heard and bear witness to the words of the glorious Majesty on high, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

17 By these things we know that there is a God in heaven, who is infinite and eternal, from everlasting to everlasting the same unchangeable God, the framer of heaven and earth, and all things which are in them;

18 And that he created man, male and female, after his own image and in his own likeness, created he them;

19 And gave unto them commandments that they should love and serve him, the only living and true God, and that he should be the only being whom they should worship.

20 But by the transgression of these holy laws man became sensual and devilish, and became fallen man.

21 Wherefore, the Almighty God gave his Only Begotten Son, as it is written in those scriptures which have been given of him.

D&C 27
5 Behold, this is wisdom in me; wherefore, marvel not, for the hour cometh that I will drink of the fruit of the vine with you on the earth, and with Moroni, whom I have sent unto you to reveal the Book of Mormon, containing the fulness of my everlasting gospel, to whom I have committed the keys of the record of the stick of Ephraim;

D&C 33
16 And the Book of Mormon and the holy scriptures are given of me for your instruction; and the power of my Spirit quickeneth all things.

D&C 42
12 And again, the elders, priests and teachers of this church shall teach the principles of my gospel, which are in the Bible and the Book of Mormon, in the which is the fulness of the gospel.

D&C 84
57 And they shall remain under this condemnation until they repent and remember the new covenant, even the Book of Mormon and the former commandments which I have given them, not only to say, but to do according to that which I have written—

58 That they may bring forth fruit meet for their Father's kingdom; otherwise there remaineth a scourge and judgment to be poured out upon the children of Zion.

59 For shall the children of the kingdom pollute my holy land? Verily, I say unto you, Nay.

60 Verily, verily, I say unto you who now hear my words, which are my voice, blessed are ye inasmuch as you receive these things

D&C 124
119 And again, verily I say unto you, let no man pay stock to the quorum of the Nauvoo House unless he shall be a believer in the Book of Mormon, and the revelations I have given unto you, saith the Lord your God;

120 For that which is more or less than this cometh of evil, and shall be attended with cursings and not blessings, saith the Lord your God. Even so. Amen.

Lawsuit: Tanners vs. FAIR

2006-01-06T11:25:00.000-08:00

Lawsuit: Tanners vs. FAIR

The behavior of PAMs (Professional Anti-Mormons) like Tanner is predictable. PAMs practice priestcraft.

The Book of Mormon defines priestcraft as “men preach and set themselves up for a light unto the world, that they may get gain and praise of the world; but they seek not the welfare of Zion.”

That describes the Tanners to a T; 1) light unto the world (utah LIGHTHOUSE ministry), 2) get gain (their complaint focuses on sales or revenues lost), 3) praise of the world, and 4) seek not the welfare of Zion.

The Tanners are in it for filthy lucre.

On the other hand, FAIR/Wyatt motives are antithetical to that of the Tanners; 1) defend the light of Christ’s gospel & church, 2) in it for the sake of truth, not money, 3) are not in it for the praise of the world, 4) do seek the welfare of Zion.

The Tanners motives are unChristian in nature.

FAIR/Wyatt motives are Christian in nature.

Best of luck to FAIR/Wyatt!

TBM: Is it a derogatory label?

2006-01-06T11:21:00.000-08:00

TBM: Is it a derogatory label?

On beliefnet.com I asked if anyone can explain the meaning behind a common label used for believing LDS..."TBM" (True-Blue-Mormon)...

What is your take on that term? Have you seen it before? Is it a derogatory label?

My question:
"TBM" (True-Blue-Mormon): Can someone please define a TBM? More specifically, is it a derogatory label?...like along the lines of "gullible" or "brainwashed" or "mindless"...

Most LDS agree it is a derogatory label, defamation worthy of denouncing.

So now the rest of the story.

I created a thread and coined a term PAM (Professional Anti-Mormon), or the Ed Decker et al, to differentiate PAMs from members on BNet who are PAM sympathizers.

And you might have thought I called these BNet anti-Mormons Satan! They took it personally as though it was a term aimed at them, but it wasn't.

Heck, the term PAM was invented for the express purpose of a shorthand way to talking about those who make a living as a wolf feeding on the flesh of the sheep. Besides, truth be told, “PAM” affords them far more dignity than they deserve IMHO.

It is not nor was it about users on BNet. But they decided to take offense and created such a stir.

The maelstrom of protests and fang-n-foam was downright hilarious! I was literally ROTFL like never before.

The exceedingly hypersensitive of the anti's was a hoot to behold.

...now back to the regularly scheduled programming...

Did you see O'Reilly on Letterman this week?

2006-01-06T10:20:00.000-08:00

Did you see O'Reilly on Letterman this week?

What did you think?

O'Reilly shined much better than he has before in that type of setting. O'Reilly stopped Letterman dead in his track with humor. That's as funny as it is ironic.

Letterman, on the other hand, exposed his profound arrogance and ignorance. Letterman is a dunderhead.

The Culture War Plays Out on 'Letterman'
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,180673,00.html

David Letterman Denounces Iraq War and Criticism of Sheehan
http://www.mediaresearch.org/cyberalerts/2006/cyb20060104.asp

Professional anti-Mormon Joke

2005-12-14T10:51:00.000-08:00

On the lighter side...I replaced "ATTORNEY" with “PAM ATTORNEY” (Professional Anti-Mormon who happens to be a lawyer).

PAM ATTORNEY: Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse?

WITNESS: No.

PAM ATTORNEY: Did you check for blood pressure?

WITNESS: No.

PAM ATTORNEY: Did you check for breathing?

WITNESS: No.

PAM ATTORNEY: So, then it is possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsy?

WITNESS: No

PAM ATTORNEY: How can you be so sure, Doctor?

WITNESS: Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar.

PAM ATTORNEY: But could the patient have still been alive, nevertheless?

WITNESS: Yes, it is possible that he could have been alive and be a practicing Professional anti-Mormon (PAM).

Modified and adapted from a book called “Disorder in the Courts of America,” and are things people actually said in court, word for word, taken down and now published by court reporters that had the torment of staying calm while these exchanges were actually taking place.

Acts 12 Until the day

2005-11-03T08:29:00.000-08:00

Acts 1:2. Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments; unto the apostles whom he had chosen:

LDS believe that the Holy Ghost(‘s):

is Christ's minister

speaks and acts in the place and stead of the Son

mission is to testify of Jesus

reveals the mind and will of the Lord

to say what Christ would say if personally present

So complete, whole, and total is this commission and power that the Holy Ghost speaks in the first person as though he were Christ: Moses 5:10: And in that day Adam blessed God and was filled, and began to prophesy concerning all the families of the earth, saying: Blessed be the name of God, for because of my transgression my eyes are opened, and in this life I shall have joy, and again in the flesh I shall see God.

In most instances when God's prophets and apostles say: "Thus saith Christ the Lord," they are announcing Christ's words as revealed to them by the power of the Holy Ghost.

The Holy Ghost gives commandments today like he did in biblical times.

What do you believe?

Does the Holy Ghost give commandments today? If so, to whom are they given and how would you know it’s true and from God. If not, why?

Do you believe the Holy Ghost can give you a personal commandment today?

Can/does the Holy Ghost give new commandments today?

What parts of the LDS position above do you agree with? What parts do you disagree with?

Book of Mormon Evidences: Literary form of Chiasmus

2005-07-22T16:47:00.000-07:00

Chiasmus is a literally art form, a form of parallelism used as a poetical structure in some ancient writings from the Middle East and Greece. The word chiasmus derives from the Greek letter chi (X) which symbolizes the top-to-bottom mirror image reflection achieved by elements of text. An example of a very simple chiasmus is found in Psalms 124:7:

We have escaped as a bird
From the snare of the fowlers
The snare is broken
And we have escaped.

In 1969, John W. Welch reported he discovery of many-element chiasms in the Book of Mormon, which Joseph Smith testified to have translated from plates written anciently by Hebrew descendants.
The historical record has yielded no direct evidence that Joseph Smith actually knew about chiasmus when he translated the Book of Mormon in 1829, although some other people at that time did.

If he did not know about chiasmus, then its presence in the book might be considered as evidence for the authenticity of the book as modern translation of a record written anciently by those familiar with chiastic style.

So far, here are the stats of chiasmus in the scriptures:

CHIASMS IN THE SCRIPTURES
961 chiasms have been identified in the Book of Mormon.
53% of the verses the Book of Mormon are Chiastic
72% of the small plates of Nephi are Chiastic.
33 different authors in the Book of Mormon used Chiasms.
33-Chiasms are found in the Pearl of Great Price
225 Chiasms are found in the Doctrine and Covenants

Criteria for Identifying and Evaluating the Presence of Chiasmus
http://farms.byu.edu/display.php?table=jbms&id=101

Chiasmus in the Book of Mormon: Possible Evidence of Authenticity
http://www.jefflindsay.com/chiasmus.shtml

Does Chiasmus Appear in the Book of Mormon by Chance HTML
http://byustudies.byu.edu/chiasmus/

Does Chiasmus Appear in the Book of Mormon by Chance .pdf
http://byustudies.byu.edu/chiasmus/pdf/Edwards.pdf

How Much Was Known about Chiasmus in 1829 When the Book of Mormon Was Translated?
h

New Official Website On Joseph Smith

2005-07-22T16:25:00.000-07:00

Throughout his life, the Prophet Joseph Smith lived and taught the principles and virtues of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

By his own example, he taught us:
—courage at age seven

—faith in his fifteenth year

—honesty in responding to others about his first vision

—patience as a teenager

—diligence in bringing forth the Book of Mormon

—the importance of missionary work

—obedience to law

—the importance of having a clear conscience toward God and our fellowmen

—love in offering his life
(Taken from talk by President Monson)

See the Site Map for a good overview of topics covered on this site.

"I know..."

2005-07-22T16:22:00.000-07:00

Question 1: LDS often say “I know that…”, and I have not heard that from other people of faith…is it uniquely an LDS thing to so commonly have members say “I know…”?

Question 2: Has God revealed to you the truth about Christ’s divinity the same way He revealed it to Peter? If so, please elucidate. If not, please explain.

Isaiah 52: 6 Therefore my people shall know my name: therefore they shall know in that day that I am he that doth speak: behold, it is I.

John 17: 3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

Moroni 10:5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.

Know: v. knew, (n , ny ) known, (n n) knowing, knows v. tr.
1. To perceive directly; grasp in the mind with clarity or certainty.
2. To regard as true beyond doubt: I know she won't fail.
3. To have a practical understanding of, as through experience; be skilled in: knows how to cook.
4. To have fixed in the mind: knows her Latin verbs.
5. To have experience of: “a black stubble that had known no razor” (William Faulkner).
6. a. To perceive as familiar; recognize: I know that face. b. To be acquainted with: He doesn't know his neighbors.

Jesus asked Peter, “Whom do you say that I am.” Peter said, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of God.” Jesus then said, “Blessed art thou, Simon Bar Jonas, for flesh and blood hath not revealed that to you, but my Father which is in Heaven (meaning, via The Spirit or Holy Ghost.)”

This is extremely informative and very critical to understand. Here is Christ telling Peter how Peter came to “know” that Jesus is whom he claims to be, namely, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of God.”

Jesus did not say, “Well, Peter, you know because you witnessed first hand 3 ½ years of miracles, visions, raising the dead, living with with me, listen to me…”. Good as that “evidence” was, Peter’s knowing did not come from direct observation.

Peter had a better source of “evidence” than direct observation of Jesus’ life and miracles. God The Father “revealed” to his mind, soul, heart, and spirit that in fact, Jesus was indeed The Christ. The Father sent the Spirit, or the Holy Ghost which told Peter undeniably, “Peter, Jesus is the very Christ prophesied since the beginning of the world. Peter, he is The Way, The Truth, The Light, your Lord and Redeemer, and no man can come to me (The Father) expect through my Son, Jesus The Christ!”

Then and only then, did Peter “know.”

Likewise, the spiritual witness from the Holy Ghost is our only way to “know” Jesus is The Christ. The ancient records we call scriptures are insufficient to bring the same level of knowing that Peter enjoyed.

Have you ever said or thought or asked yourself the following, “I wish I could have lived to observe or see Jesus with my own eyes, to hear him, to watch him do some miracle, then it might be different, then perhaps I’d “know” whether he was real or myth, man of Son of God, only then could I believe or trust…” That’s 100% incorrect.

The “proof” comes when God reveals Himself to you, just like he revealed Himself to Peter via the Holy Ghost.

Anyone can have the same experience and the same level of “evidence” or “proof” that Peter, James, John, Noah, Moses, and Joseph Smith did that Jesus is the Christ.

You can and need to have a personal revelation born of the Spirt/Holy Ghost on the matter like unto Peter. If not, you cannot truly know Jesus, who is "the Christ, the Son of God.”

Hypothetical: A Mormon US President

2005-07-22T16:19:00.000-07:00

Hypothetical:
An active Mormon wins the 2008 Republican primaries and his political views are inline with a Moderate/Conservative Republican platform.

Questions:
1) Would you support a Mormon running for the US Presidency? If so, why? If not, why not?

2) How do you think your church would react to the potential of a US President being a Mormon? Would your church support it? Would they be opposed to it?

3) Do you think professional anti-Mormons (Tanners et al) would do all in their power to prevent the election of a Mormon to the US Presidency simply because of fact he is Mormon?

By Alex Beam, Globe Columnist July 21, 2005
I spent a week earlier this month vacationing with friends in California. Because we don't have a governor with a household name, they inquired who was running Massachusetts. ''Mitt Romney," I replied, adding: ''He's running for president."

That came as news to them, and provoked this rejoinder: ''Really? But isn't he a Mormon? Can a Mormon be elected president?"

''It's a fascinating question," says Alan Wolfe, director of Boston College's Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life. ''Catholics like to talk about anti-Catholicism and Jews like to complain about anti-Semitism. But a hundred years ago, Mormonism was the most hated religion in America. Since then the religion has changed dramatically. It's almost like a new business taking off -- it's a quintessential American success story."

Wolfe thinks that if Romney's ambitions take him to the 2008 Republican primaries, he's likely to be slimed by political operatives of the Karl Rove mold. ''I think there will be rumors spread about how Mitt Romney has six wives, all of them 14 years of age, stashed in a house in Utah. These rumors will be denied, but they will stick in people's minds. There is some subterranean sentiment about curious practices in Mormonism."

Are you ready for a Mormon president?

LDS Patriot: Realist Based On Neocon Quiz

2005-07-20T14:06:00.000-07:00

My Neocon quiz results: Based on your answers, you are most likely a realist.

I concur.

Realist
- Realists…
- Are guided more by practical considerations than ideological vision
- Believe US power is crucial to successful diplomacy - and vice versa
- Don't want US policy options unduly limited by world opinion or ethical considerations
- Believe strong alliances are important to US interests
- Weigh the political costs of foreign action
- Believe foreign intervention must be dictated by compelling national interest
- Historical realist: President Dwight D. Eisenhower
- Modern realist: Secretary of State Colin Powell
Neoconservative
- Neoconservatives…
- Want the US to be the world's unchallenged superpower
- Share unwavering support for Israel
- Support American unilateral action
- Support preemptive strikes to remove perceived threats to US security
- Promote the development of an American empire
- Equate American power with the potential for world peace
- Seek to democratize the Arab world
- Push regime change in states deemed threats to the US or its allies
- Historical neoconservative: President Teddy Roosevelt
- Modern neoconservative: President Ronald Reagan
Liberal
- Liberals…
- Are wary of American arrogance and hypocrisy
- Trace much of today's anti-American hatred to previous US foreign policies.
- Believe political solutions are inherently superior to military solutions
- Believe the US is morally bound to intervene in humanitarian crises
- Oppose American imperialism
- Support international law, alliances, and agreements
- Encourage US participation in the UN
- Believe US economic policies must help lift up the world's poor
- Historical liberal: President Woodrow Wilson
- Modern liberal: President Jimmy Carter
Isolationist
The term isolationist is most often used negatively; few people who share its beliefs use it to describe their own foreign policy perspective. They believe in "America first." For them, national sovereignty trumps international relations. Many unions, libertarians, and anti-globalization protesters share isolationist tenets.

- Isolationists…
- Are wary of US involvement in the United Nations
- Oppose international law, alliances, and agreements
- Believe the US should not act as a global cop
- Support trade practices that protect American workers
- Oppose liberal immigration
- Oppose American imperialism
- Desire to preserve what they see as America's national identity and character
- Historical isolationist: President Calvin Coolidge
- Modern isolationist: Author/Commentator Pat Buchanan

--
Comment at LDS Patriot Forum Message Board:

http://www.ldspatriot.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=48&highlight=isolationists%85

War on Terror: Rename it the War on Militant Islam.

2005-07-20T11:46:00.000-07:00

Al Qaeda = The Base, pronounced al-Ka-ee-da, not al-Kay-da

We are not at war with al Qaeda, we are at war with Militant Islam. The "War on Terror" should really be called the "War on Militant Islam."

See this very informative and well written article, At War With Whom? A short history of radical Islam by Jonathan Schanzer Doublethink Spring 2002: At War With Whom? A short history of radical Islam by Jonathan Schanzer Doublethink Spring 2002

Dr. Pipes said, "So, the President turns to me and asks: “Tell me the next steps I must take in the War on Terror in general and in Iraq in particular,” and I reply as follows.

War on Terror: Rename it the War on Militant Islam. Just as a physician must identify a disease before treating it, so a strategist must identify the enemy before defeating it. What would World War II have looked like had FDR named it the War against Surprise Attacks?"

Dr. Leiken said, "I agree with Daniel Pipes – the war on terrorism or terror is a misleading phrase. It could lead to the conclusion that the terrorists hang together and can be counted on to cooperate – like Saddam and Osama. It could lead to the view that people become terrorists and then decide which flavor to adopt. No, terror is a tactic that has been attached to a variety of opposed ideologies: nationalist, anarchist, Communist, Nazi, fascist, Islamist etc. Terrorism like war is an extension of a specific politics. Very early Daniel Pipes wrote that the ideology and politics we should focus on was radical Islam." Frontpagemag.com Symposium: The War on Terror. How Are We Doing? (Continued)

Not only can we as a National call it like it is, we must!

When Political Correctness is of greater value than reality, truth and National Security, then we are just being plain stupid.

I agree 100%! with Osama bin Laden's own definition of what his al Qaeda are all about and what they ought to be called, mujahedin: jihad warriors: in other words, Militant Islam!

As Robert Spencer wrote, "Osama bin Laden and other radical Muslims around the world have unanimously stated that they are not indiscriminate purveyors of mayhem -- terrorists -- but mujahedin: jihad warriors. They have declared again and again that they are fighting to unify the Islamic people under a restored caliphate, and to establish the hegemony of Islamic law over the reunified umma, as well as over the non-Muslim world. In doing this, they say, they are acting in complete accord with the commandments of their religion, which mandates warfare against non-Muslims in order to establish Islamic rule. And they have declared that in this struggle, the United States is their principal foe.

Why not take them at their word? Why not acknowledge that the war on terror is a defensive action against global jihadists?"

See Robert Spencer's article: End War on Terror. Fight War on Mujahedin:
Humaneventsonline.com End War on Terror. Fight War on Mujahedin. by Robert Spencer Posted Feb 19, 2004

You think al Qaeda is bad, check out the Muslim Brotherhood!
Humaneventsonline.com We Are Not Fighting Just Al Qaeda by Robert Spencer Posted May 27, 2004

For really fun reading, check out the official al Qaeda training manual!:
Al Qaeda Training Manual

American Israel

2005-07-20T10:59:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite quotes by Avraham Gileadi:

Today America is the "head of nations."

It has always received God's covenant blessings-the very ones God promised his people Israel.

The founding fathers established "one nation under God" in modern fulfillment of God's promise.

In an endtime or prophetic sense, therefore, when Isaiah refers to "Israel," we can just as easily read "America."

America, too, is God's people.

AIM: Should Reporters Go to Jail?

2005-07-15T11:23:00.000-07:00

It appears the media and not Rove are to blame for the 'Outed' CIA Employee.

Accuracy In Media is not a partisan site. They go after all parties with equal diligence.

____________________________________________________

Subject: The Media ?Outed? CIA Employee; AIM Says Evidence Backs Jailing of Journalist - July 15, 2005

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: CONTACT: Anne Tyrrell

July 14, 2005 Shirley & Banister Public Affairs

800.536.5920 or 703.739.5924

The Media “Outed” CIA Employee;

AIM Says Evidence Backs Jailing of Journalist

WASHINGTON -- New revelations about the CIA leak case suggest that reporters “outed” Valerie Plame as a CIA employee and that Bush Administration officials merely received and passed on the information.

“The disclosures have turned this case upside down,” says Cliff Kincaid, editor of Accuracy in Media (AIM). “It’s clear that reporters, not the White House, are under investigation. Judith Miller of The New York Times is in jail because she may have been the real ‘source’ in this case.”

The Washington Post reports today that “there is significant evidence that reporters were in some cases alerting officials about Plame's identity and relationship to Wilson -- not the other way around.” The paper says not only did Bush official Karl Rove learn about Plame from journalists but that Vice President Cheney's chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, was “alerted by someone in the media” to Plame's identity, and that he told Matt Cooper of Time that “he had heard about her from someone else in the media…”

“The journalistic defenders of Judith Miller have egg all over their faces,” says Kincaid. “The media called for this probe thinking they could nail Rove. But they only succeeded in jailing one of their own. By defending her, they are obstructing justice in the case.”

Accuracy In Media (AIM) is a non-profit, grassroots citizens watchdog of the news media that critiques botched and bungled news stories and sets the record straight on important issues that have received slanted coverage. For more information, please go to www.aim.org.

U.S.A. Constitution: Political Light For All The World

2005-07-15T10:12:00.000-07:00

Question:
Do you believe that American citizens (not government officials) have a fundamental civic, ethical or moral obligation to try and pursuade citizens of other countries of the necessity to adopt and apply American ideologies into their own form of government? (Explain why or why not)

Answer:
Yes. The principles of freedom and the maintenance of rights and privileges as found in The Declaration of Independence and The U.S.A. Constitution were inspired by God and were intended to benefit the entire world.

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.

And in Isaiah 2:3 is reads "for out of Zion shall go forth the law," meaning, not only the gospel law, but the principles of law, freedom, rights and privileges as found in the U.S.A. Constitution shall go forth to bless the entire world.

The U.S.A had the first written constitution. So remarkable and majestic is the U.S.A. Constitution that it is the model of all written constitutions of which only 6 countries in the world have yet to adopt and follow in like pattern.

As God sent his Son into the world to be The Light, God also sent men inspired by Him to bring forth the US Con. to be a Political Light unto the whole world. After all, we are all His children and He has given us a great blessing in the US Con., which has blessed the entire world by its Light!

Perfect Harmony Between Pro-Life & Death Penalty Positions

2005-07-15T09:54:00.000-07:00

To be short, there is perfect harmony with the Pro-Life & Death Penalty issues. There is perfect harmony because it’s a principled decision; therefore there is neither conflict nor contradiction.

The four principles (at least four) are accountability & sanctity of life, & mercy & justice.

Being responsible for the choices one makes is key to LDS (Christian) theology. One is held accountable not only for actions, but words and desires, all which will affect ones status on the Judgment day.

The commandments related to chastity apply to all people, regardless of age or circumstance. If a person chooses to engage in sex a realistic outcome is pregnancy. While such pregnancy maybe unwelcome or unwanted, the sex act itself was welcomed and wanted, therefore that person by default accepts the risks (pregnancy) associated with the act. Just because a pregnancy occurred, does not provide sufficient cause or reason to abort the baby. Hence, the person who engaged in sex is accountable for the life created; they are not innocent per se; it did not “just happen”.

Further, the baby is innocent, and deserves life and protection because the baby did not choose this pregnancy; it is innocent, therefore it cannot be held accountable and nor has a voice on the matter, therefore it must be protected and nourished and honored.

Herein is all four principles played out: accountability (those who had sex should live with that decision), sanctify of life (both the sex act and a baby are sacred in Gods eyes and are not to be take lightly), mercy (life of the baby protected) and justice (law of chastity requires responsibility of all outcomes, including pregnancy).

In the case of rape or incest or life of the mother, abortion is acceptable because the person getting pregnant did not have a choice in the matter; no person chooses rape, incest or death. Here again, the same principles are in perfect harmony.

The commandments related to life/murder (thou shall not kill) and the death penalty also are in perfect harmony with the four principles (at least four) are accountability & sanctity of life, & mercy & justice.

When a person repents, he is to restore what was take or lost. A thief replaces with equal value or greater the item they stole. A liar must make amends equal to the crime committed and the harm to another. What can the murder restore? How can the murder repent? Can the murder bring back the life (accountability) of the person murdered? No!

The murderer has sealed their fate, unable to repent (restore life), therefore, mercy is robbed and the sanctity of life mocked by murder. Therefore, accountability and justice must be executed, and this for the murders soul as well; it’s part of the price of their repentance; giving up that which they took, namely, their life for a life.

Op-Ed: Fairness Isn’t Part of the Obstructionist Playbook

2005-07-15T09:27:00.000-07:00

Will President Bush encourge Majority Leader Bill Frist to implement the Constitutional option (better known as the Nuclear option)?

If it happens the only ones to blame will be the Dems whose filibustering effected to the negative the lives of millions as case after case becomes back logged.

Nuclear option definded

The ‘Nuclear Option’

Nuclear Option Still on the Table by Sen. Orrin G. Hatch

The Constitutional Option Explained

__________________________________________

Fairness Isn’t Part of the Obstructionist Playbook

As President Bush deliberates on whom to nominate to fill the first Supreme Court vacancy in more than a decade, it’s worth contemplating the other side of the confirmation equation: the U.S. Senate.

For four years, liberals in the Senate tested strategies and tactics that they could employ to obstruct Senate confirmation of a Supreme Court nominee. And typically, their methods involve abusing the Senate’s traditional confirmation process. Nominees to federal appeals courts like Henry Saad, Miguel Estrada and Charles Pickering have been victims of their obstruction. So have nominees to executive branch posts like John Bolton.

So with the Senate set to consider a nominee to the Supreme Court, it’s worth considering what the Senate confirmation process should look like, and it is likely to be abused.

Op-Ed: Liberals Play the Terrorism Blame Game

2005-07-15T09:20:00.000-07:00

Some people just don't get it!

________________________________________
Liberals Play the Terrorism Blame Game

In the aftermath of last week’s London bombings, most Britons and Americans turned their thoughts to the victims and their families. Many liberals, however, immediately turned their thoughts to the blame game.

Within hours of the first reports from London, Leftist commentators and bloggers were attacking President Bush and Prime Minister Blair, blaming them for the bombings.

Under the pseudonym WilliamPitt, a writer at the blog Democratic Underground says, “Mr. Bush and Mr. Blair bear the responsibility.” A headline on Salon.com shrieks, “Blowback from Bush and Blair’s incompetently pursued war on terror has hit London.” And, on the very day of the bombings, leading liberal blogger Markos Moulitsas said on his blog Daily Kos, “Bush (and Blair) took their eyes off the prize … There are consequences to the mess in Iraq. And today, we’re seeing one of them.”

The Left’s attempt to blame President Bush and Prime Minister Blair for terrorism is so transparently wrong as to be absurd. Let’s be clear. The only people who bear responsibility for the grotesque attack on London are the blood thirsty killers who were behind it. They have made their pact with the devil and committed themselves to evil and death. Their campaign of murder will not end until they rid the world of all of us, or until we rid the world of them. Terrorists are the proper targets for anger and vengeance, not those attempting to eradicate them.

The Left’s attack on the President and the Prime Minister springs from the worst kind of self-deception. The terrorists would still be using any means at their disposal to try and kill us whether we had responded to 9-11 with troops in Afghanistan or impotent cruise missile strikes. And whether or not the U.S., U.K. and our allies had gone into Iraq, the terrorists would be recruiting new killers, training them and sending them to kill us. As the official report from the 9-11 Commission put it, “Claiming that America had declared war against God and his messenger, [the terrorists] called for the murder of any American, anywhere on earth, as the ‘individual duty for every Muslim who can do it in any country in which it is possible to do it.’”

But the liberals pretend that if we would only do nothing and leave the terrorists alone, then the killers would leave us alone, and we could all, to paraphrase Merle Haggard, be eating rainbow stew together. Hedging their bets, however, the liberals suggest that the President bring home all of the troops from Iraq and Afghanistan and post them to guard New York subway entrances. (Seriously. That’s what they said. Don’t believe it? Click here.)

All of their pleasant fiction conjures the question: What color is the sky in their world?

The President and the Prime Minister can be held responsible for many things. They are, after all, the principal leaders of two great nations in a time of war. One can fairly question their judgment and even their candor. But to argue that they are to blame for the tragic deaths of more than 50 innocent Londoners is careless and foolish. Even more unfortunate is the liberals’ obvious political motivation. Rather than mourning the dead, comforting the wounded and targeting the culprits, the Left would prefer to vent its hatred of President Bush and Prime Minister Blair for daring to have the courage to stand up and fight.

In some ways, those who publish their pronouncements in the public domain are best judged by what they don’t say. For the liberals trying to use the London tragedy for their own political advantage, it’s time to take that axiom to heart.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Posted July 12, 2005 ]

Response: The President Consults with Liberal Senators

2005-07-15T08:50:00.000-07:00

Read the following and it made me ROTFLOL!
__________________________________

The President Consults with Liberal Senators
(a Double Super Secret Transcript) *

“Mr. President, we want you to fire Karl Rove.”

“No.”

“But he leaked that CIA hottie’s name.”

“No.”

“But you promised.”

“No. Confirm John Bolton.

“Will you fire Karl Rove if we confirm John Bolton?”

“No.”

“Well, uh, we want you to nominate a liberal to the Supreme Court.”

“No.”

“But we need all that liberal wacko money.”

“No.”

“We could share.”

“No.”

“Well, uh, how about a woman?”

“Janice Rogers Brown.”

“Maybe someone, uh, a little, uh, less radical.”

“Phyllis Schlafly.”

“Could we have some water?”

“Bo Derek.”

“Would she sign autographs in her robe?”

“No.”

“Please, Mr. President, some water?”

“Ann Coulter.”

“There would be pies thrown all over the court.”

“I like mincemeat. Very good at Christmas.”

“How about firing Rumsfeld?”

“I have to ride my bike now.”

(Sound of Oval Office door closing)

“What about just suspending Rove for a few days?”

“Excuse me, gentlemen, the President is gone. I’m going to have to ask you leave the room now.”

“Why?”

“Mr. Rove needs it.”

“For what?”

“He said something about interviewing potential opponents for your Senate seats. Please take some of those prune danishes with you.”

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

* The Center for Individual Freedom received the above transcript from a confidential source. We will protect his identity until after lunch. To obtain our notes, please call our attorney, Norman Pearlstine.

Op-Ed: Waking Up to 'Islamo-Fascism'

2005-07-14T08:29:00.000-07:00

M. Zuhdi Jasser of American Islamic Forum for Democracy wrote an Op-Ed Waking Up to 'Islamo-Fascism'All Muslims must play a role in stopping the violence being done in the name of our faith.

When I read it I was encouraged the some Muslims are waking up to the reality of the threat Islamo-Fascism is to themselves and the world.

Copied below is the Email I recieved today from Beliefnet.com regarding Jasser's Op-Ed.

---- ----- ----- ----- ----- ------ ------- ---

Beliefnet.com is running an editorial by M. Z. Jasser of AIFD (American Islamic Forum for Democracy) and CIP (Center for Islamic Pluralism) in the wake of the London bombings. The article is below. You can also find the link at
http://www.beliefnet.com/story/170/story_17057_1.html. Or at http://www.beliefnet.com/

Beliefnet.com also solicited a counterpoint response from Salam al-Marayati of MPAC (Muslim Public Affairs Council) which can be found at
http://www.beliefnet.com/story/170/story_17079_1.html

---- ----- ----- ----- ----- ------ ------- ---

Waking Up to 'Islamo-Fascism'
All Muslims must play a role in stopping the violence being done in the name of our faith.

By M. Zuhdi Jasser

As we all began digesting the news of last week's terrorist attack, most of America's Muslim organizations issued what has become a predictable, yet empty, round of condemnations. Articulated in press releases, these rote statements are not backed up with sincere attempts to acknowledge and fix the problems within Islam. Listening to these empty pronouncements, I can't help but ask: Where is our Muslim responsibility--our duty--to protect the world from the actions of our own?

It is time for us Muslims to take ownership of our faith by moving beyond empty condemnations and ensuring that Islamo-fascists--those who seek to create an Islamic totalitarian theocracy through the use of any and all means--have no place in our world. These fascists are Muslims who have hijacked and twisted our faith. They subscribe to a medieval code where the ends justify the means. And you can hear their rhetoric not only in the Middle East; radical imams preach in London and in many cities in the U.S. Cutting off this lifeblood and its ideology should be the focus of our collective Muslim response.

Many well-meaning Muslims react to news about Muslim terrorists by insisting that anyone who commits violent acts is, by definition, not part of Islam. But who are we fooling? The Islamo-fascists did not come out of thin air. They use our scripture, our prayers, our language, and our tradition--and they come from somewhere within our community. These killers are doing incomprehensibly evil actions across the world in the name of our religion, and because of that, my fellow Muslims and I should act now--decisively, publicly, and in tandem with our leadership--against Islamo-fascism. To argue whether they are Muslims or not--and what is a 'true' Islamic society--is only deflection and denial.

Every time I experience the joy and spirituality of joining with my Muslim brothers and sisters in devotional prayer, I feel a perfect harmony of thought and movement as we bow and say God's praises together. Islam is a religion of community, and I know I can walk into any mosque in the world and join the congregation in reciting the same prayers I say at home. While my faith is very personal, without that communal energy, my religion is not complete.

But with spiritual fulfillment and community connection come responsibility. Moderate, moral Muslims--that is to say, the vast majority of the world's Muslims--may see these Islamo-fascists as far removed from our reality; however the unforgiving truth is that we are responsible as a group for our weakest and also for our most corrupt and deranged. Islam has no formal clergy, and so it falls to the community as a whole, all of us, to take on this challenge. Denial serves nothing but the empty ego and is destined to fail. As Muslims we must help bring these barbaric Islamists to justice and assist in dismantling the systems that create them.

How many wake-up calls do we need? Most faith groups have at some point in their histories seen their compasses falter, as deviants exploited their altars. However, those same faith groups have also eventually assumed responsibility for exposing, exterminating, and marginalizing the cancers who are their own. The need for Muslims to act now cannot be overstated, for it becomes exponentially more difficult after each horrific bombing. My fellow Muslims must immediately--and in large numbers--become proactive in the war against militant Islamists, or soon it may be too late. We owe it to the nations in which we live, as well as to our truly pluralistic faith.

Many people ask what they or their communities could possibly do to counter a cancer like Islamo-fascism. But all Muslims--and all Muslim organizations--can play an active role in this battle.

What it would mean to take a true stand against terror
The immediate reaction to the London devastation should be declaration after declaration by Muslim leaders around the free world that we will immediately redirect all of our resources to combat al Qaeda and every other militant Islamist organization, in order to extinguish their barbarism. These barbarians should hear words from moderate Muslims around the globe that make them fear they will never again find a single religious haven for their ideology. As pluralistic Muslims take away from them the mantle of faith and the acceptance of their formative ideologies, they will be left with nothing but the depths of their own evil.

It's time to build an anti-terror ethos within the Islamic community. We can publicly embarrass radical imams and organizations who preach hatred. We can publicly expose the twisted interpretations of the Qu'ran and Muslim teachings perpetuated by radical Islamists who justify killing innocent people in the name of our God. We can focus the public agenda of American Muslims on publicizing our commitment to our citizenship oath and to the American secular form of democratic government.

We need to force a public debate with the Islamists, not run from it. By constantly reasserting Muslim critiques of Wahhabism, Salafism, and other fundamentalist Islamist ideologies that feed terrorist networks, we will fight terror at its core. It is time to ensure that Islamic sermons around the world teach Muslims to dismantle terrorist organizations like al-Qaeda, Islamic Jihad, Hamas, Hezbullah, and any group that harbors, teaches, and trains the world's future Islamo-fascists.

In addition, we must root out all hate and intolerance from the educational texts in our mosques, which we use to teach our youth and our co-religionists. Anti-Semitism, anti-Western feelings, and chauvinism should be combated directly by American Muslim organizations.

And we need to teach our Muslim-American youth to feel a sense of responsibility to our America, which gives us freedom and liberty. Why is it that so many people from every minority in America are dying to liberate Iraq and Afghanistan and free the world from the Islamo-fascists while so few American Muslim organizations have actively encouraged military service since 9-11? We should sponsor public campaigns to encourage our community to join the military and law-enforcement agencies. What better way to ensure that enforcement of the Patriot Act does not unfairly target Muslims than to have American Muslims within law enforcement? Allegiance to our country is in fact a deeply Islamic obligation.

The war against Islamo-fascism has many fronts, and moderate Muslims need to be leading the struggle. We must always remember the Qu'ranic teachings on peace and justice, such as: "Stand out firmly for justice, as witnesses to God, even as against yourselves, or your parents, or your kin, and whether it be against rich or poor, for God can best protect both. Follow not the cravings of your hearts, lest you swerve, and if you distort justice or decline to do justice, verily God is well acquainted with all that you do." (Qu'ran 4:135).

At its core, "terror" is simply a barbarically evil tactic in a war of ideologies. Muslims, and only Muslims, hold the keys to the flood gates that can drown militant Islamists in their own twisted interpretations of scripture. But time is running short. Muslims must realize the challenge before us and step forward on all these fronts or risk losing our freedoms and our faith to the barbarism of Islamo-fascist terror. It is time that the majority of Muslims said, "not on our watch."

M. Zuhdi Jasser is a Phoenix, Ariz., physician. He is chairman of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy. He is also a founding board member of the Center for Islamic Pluralism. He can be reached at He can be reached at Zuhdi@aifdemocracy.org