Millennial Mormonism Today

The Judgement Bar

2011-10-21T15:27:00.000-07:00

Greetings Millennial Mormons. My name is "Moroni" and I am here to finish the book of my "father", the Millennial Mormon. He gives you his greetings, blessings, and love. In his final message to you, he wanted me to post this picture of Ferris Bueller. You may remember his appearance at the end of the credits. The Millennial Mormon's final message to you is he has crossed the river Jordan. He is finding an inheritance in the "Promised Land" after several battles under the leadership of Joshua. He encourages you to do the same. As a result now, he is bringing peace on earth and goodwill to men and women. So, when Ferris says "Go Home" pay attention to the deeper symbolic meaning for you. Go Home. Peace and blessings to you.

General Authority Marlin K. Jensen Offers A Personal Apology To Those Hurt By Prop 8

2010-09-29T08:31:00.000-07:00

See the story here:

http://www.religiondispatches.org/archive/sexandgender/3437/mormon_leader%3A_%E2%80%98i%E2%80%99m_sorry%E2%80%99_for_hurtful_legacy_of_prop._8/

Also here is the link to the Affirmation blog with more detail:
http://blog.affirmation.org/2010/09/elder-marlin-k-jensen-listens-to-pain-caused-by-prop-8/

Millennial Mormonism Today endorses and stands with Brother Jensen. This was a courageous small step towards healing. Thank you Brother Jensen.

Millennial Moments in the Midst of Koran Burning Threats

2010-09-11T13:40:00.000-07:00

Greetings my Millennial Friends! I want to give a Millennial shout out to our international readers. Thank you so much for reading this blog. I hope it is a great blessing in your millennial journey towards the Tree of Life. Peace and blessings to you.

We live in a world of turmoil and tumult. Today is the anniversary of 9-11 and yet hatred and bigotry continue to abound. War and violence continue to steal away our serenity and peace. But it was in the midst of wars and rumors of wars that Jesus Christ said he would return! Ever since the ascension of Christ, his followers believed that His return was imminent and the end of the world was right around the corner. Our faith tradition as Mormons, is no exception.

Nicodemus Mormons will look at Christ's words in a very literal sense. They are like Nicodemus who when he heard that he needed to be "born again" wondered in puzzlement how someone could return to the womb a second time. Many members of our church as well as others continue to interpret scripture and the teachings of Jesus in this uber literalist frame. Jesus said many things that were parables and cryptic symbolisms. As the prophetic Messianic Psalm 78:2 says: "I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old". Unfortunately there are many members of the church who continue to cling to uber literalism just as the ancient children of Israel did as well as the scribes and Pharisees. They fail to uncover the symbolism of Christ's teachings and are left spiritually malnourished. The natural man and woman in their carnal state will look around in desperation wanting to be led. Their senses will dominate and so they will look for messengers of "flesh and blood" to tell them what to do and give them laws. Natural men and women will do this until the expansion and inflation of laws and ordinances end up breaking them down and humbling them. Then perhaps they will turn to God and begin a friendship with Him instead of looking at Him as a Father who is constantly disappointed in them and expects them to work harder and harder to please Him. We would not have high regard for this kind of earthly father whose child can never measure up to his expectations. Yet, that is how many see their Heavenly Father. This belief about God is projected out into the universe and a Telestial life is generated in what Neal A. Maxwell called our "customized curriculum." On the other hand, if we want a millennial relationship with God then He releases the next lessons in our customized curriculum.

Whom do people say YOU are? Flesh and blood will not reveal who we are. That will only come from our Father in Heaven. Through the still small voice.

Thankfully, we can begin to leave this Telestial world behind us and move on to the Terrestrial or Millennial part of our journey that is a paradise filled with peace and goodwill. Once we have mastered our millennial journey, there will be one last battle and we will cross the threshold into a Celestial existence. Jesus Christ has shown us the way to do this and we are all at various stages in our journey. We are in the process of truly becoming like Him. We have the opportunity to truly take upon His name and not just become Christians but Christ-Men and Christ-Women. The word Christ means Anointed One. You also have been anointed (where were you anointed?) and part of the journey of this life is self discovery to find what is within you that needs to be expressed. When it becomes fully expressed you truly take upon yourself the name of Christ and you will enter the Promised Land and create an internal millennium within yourself. As more and more people discover this and leave uber literalism, fundamentalism, legalism, and formalism behind, an actual Millennium will occur where people will lay down their weapons of war both within and without. Swords will be beaten into ploughshares and we will be able to live in peace and harmony within ourselves and with each other. We will realize at that moment what Christ meant when he said he would return. He was talking about YOU!!!

We cling to literalism because as Jack Nicholson said in A Few Good Men: "You Can't Handle The Truth!" Our merciful Heavenly Father understands this and thus provides messengers, ordinances, laws, parables and dark sayings until we are ready to create an internal millennium and wake up and remember who we are. Those who are wise will see that all these things are types and shadows of Christ and point to Him. Once one sees this then those who seek an internal millennium will be able to do so. The temple teaches us all we need to know to do this. Yet most of us continue to circle around in the desert wilderness of the Telestial Kingdom and cling to the law and the prophets. The natural man worships the world or the flip side--they worship the law and the prophets. The Temple is of limited value to uber literalists. For Millennial Mormons it is a treasure trove of symbolism that leads to a new relationship with God.

Fortunately, once one is in tune with the "still small voice" within you, a millennial journey begins and we can recognize that the Law of Moses has been fulfilled and we can move on to a new world. For those on this journey back to the Tree of Life, they begin to see more and more what I like to call "Millennial Moments". These Millennial Moments are very healing and energizing. Thus, in the midst of hatred and people threatening to burn Korans and American flags and all the noise that surrounds this frenzied fear-based chaos, Millennial Mormons will close their eyes and look and see small moments that let them know that they are on the right track. They see the truth and the truth is setting them free. They see a new relationship with God forming. A deep and abiding friendship.

For me, as I watch more and more movies from my childhood, I am finding things in them that I would consider millennial moments. Things that I missed at the time as a youth but now recognize as millennial. sign posts. As most of you know, I have a proclivity towards 80's movies since that was the era of my youth. A few days ago, I watched one of my favorite movies: The Karate Kid. No, not the new one. The OLD one. Sorry I haven't seen the new one yet but I heard it was good.

MR. MIYAGI and DANIEL LARUSSO SPARRING

As many of you remember, in the movie, Daniel is constantly being harassed by a group of bullies who are making his life miserable. Eventually they force him off a road and Daniel tumbles down a hill with his bike. In anger, he throws his mangled bike into a dumpster. He confronts his mother and tells her he wants to move back to his old home in New Jersey. The next day he finds his bike outside his door and it has been fully repaired--good as new. He knows that it had probably been fixed by Mr. Miyagi who is the repairman for the apartment complex that Daniel and his mother live in. As Daniel enters Mr. Miyagi's office to thank him for repairing his bike, he sees the wise old Japanese man clipping a very small bonsai tree. The dialogue goes something like this:

Daniel: Are those real trees?
Miyagi: You like see, come inside.
Daniel: How did they get so small?
Miyagi: I train.
Daniel: Did you go to school for this?
Miyagi: Father teach.
Daniel: Was he a gardener?
Miyagi: Fisherman.
Daniel: These are really beautiful.
Miyagi: Come, you try.
Daniel: I don't know how to do this stuff. I may mess it up or something. (n.b. Note the FEAR of the Natural Man)
Miyagi: Close eyes. Trust. Concentrate. Think only tree. Make perfect picture down to last pine needle. Wipe your mind clean. Everything but the tree. Nothing exists in whole world... ...only tree.
You got it? Open eyes. Remember picture?
Daniel: Yeah.
Miyagi: Make like picture. Just trust the picture.
Daniel: How do I know my picture's the right one?
Miyagi: IF IT COME FROM INSIDE YOU, IT ALWAYS RIGHT ONE.

I highlighted my millennial moments. The symbolism is extensive and beautiful.

There's your recipe for the internal millennium. Take time to ponder what you want to create in your life.

What is wanted?

More war and hatred? Following the masses and the controversy? Continuously partaking of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil? Seeing all things as either Evil or Good?

Let's remember this day as a turning point in our lives. Instead of a day of infamy, let it be the dawning of a millennial day. Instead of a day of revenge and an eye for an eye, the burning of a Koran, and the endless cycle of Telestial wandering, let this day be one of loving our enemies and praying for them as Jesus taught us.

What do you want create with your Divine Nature?

What is wanted?

Embrace your divine nature and create that which is beautiful (like the bansai tree) and that which generates peace on Earth and goodwill toward ALL men and women.

In your mind picture a millennial world. Picture every detail. Then, "make like picture".

Let go of an image of a church with endless laws, rules, ordinances, fear of the family being under attack and more and more wandering in a Telestial Desert. Instead, picture a millennial Mormon Church. A truly Christ-Centered Church. Think of every detail. Then, "make like picture".

Let go of a harsh and accusatory notion of yourself and your life. Dismiss Satan from your Temple inside you. (Remember, YOU ARE THE TEMPLE!!) Instead, picture a millennial life. Down to the last detail. Then, "make like picture".

Until next time my millennial friends. "Trust picture."

Wax On. Wax Off. Wax On. Wax Off . . .

All That I Must Do

2010-08-28T13:41:00.000-07:00

Hello my millennial friends. I hope this post finds you and your loved ones well and in a millennial moment. As we make our journey towards an internal millennium one of the most important things to realize is that your journey is not so much about what you do but what you understand and know. The meaning of the word REPENTANCE in the Greek translation is to change your thoughts or to think differently. Therefore, when Jesus said to "repent, the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand", what he was really saying is: Change your thoughts, the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. Think differently, the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. When one inserts the original Greek meaning of "metanoia" or repentance it can change the entire interpretation of the scripture. Try it. Whenever you read the scriptures and see the word "repent", insert the Greek meaning and you will be surprised at what you find.

Most Nicodemus Mormons and other uber literalists will look at this statement by Jesus as harsh and urgent and that one needs to run out and do something different before the literal end of the world happens. While Christ did often tell others to do something different, his main message was to change our thoughts. It was an invitation to be like him. The message or GOOD NEWS is that we could actually enter a different world or the "Kingdom of Heaven" if we would but repent or think differently.

Natural and fallen men and women who have partaken of the fruit of knowledge of good and evil live in a Telestial world. It is a world filled with strife, anxiety, hatred and fear. The thoughts of the natural man and woman are concerned with how to protect themselves from this Telestial world. They seek money and material goods like the industrious Nephites thinking that this will help insulate them from the harsh Telestial world. But that doesn't work because they will never have enough to satiate their desire for protection. They fear that it could all be taken away at any moment and so they continue to accumulate more and more possessions. It is much like a furnace with no thermostat that will continue to heat up and eventually explode. Others seek power, thinking that if they can have more control over this Telestial world then they can keep the forces of disturbance at bay and so they seek to gain more and more power and control but underlying it all they know that their power is fragile and could come crashing down at any moment. Other people turn to a harsh Old Testament-like god and beg for rules and commandments and messengers to come and show them what to do in a world that is so foreign from the Garden of Eden. God responds and gives them more and more rules, commandments and messengers telling them all what they "must do" to live with Him someday. The list continues to grow and as natural and fallen man becomes overwhelmed he or she is faced with a few choices. They try to work even harder to please a God who is constantly disappointed in their efforts. Harder and harder they try until they are worn out and feel the weight of a disappointed Father. On the other hand, they can run for fig leaves and try to hide their nakedness and pretend that all is well and that they are doing absolutely everything on the list. Or they can become depressed and recognize that they will never be able to do everything on the list and they will look at this demanding and disappointed God with their fist in the air, become angry, and give up. Many move on from the church and find other structures that they believe will help protect them better from a harsh Telestial world. Perhaps it will be a world of science and rationalism that will help protect them. They are much like many of the uber literalist disciples of Christ who when they were told to eat his flesh and drink his blood, "they followed him no more." Thus when many of the uber literalists in the church are consumed with literalism in commandments or the foundational stories of church history, they become angry and disenchanted. They give up and turn to others structures to find peace in the Telestial world. These other structures typically reflect more of the same in terms of materialism, and literalism whether they are religious or secular.

Or they may start to wake up from their nightmare and realize there really isn't any other religion, structure, or philosophy that can save them from their insanity. They are sick and poisoned from the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. The way they are seeing the world, themselves, God, and everything around them, has become twisted and distorted. They entered a whole new world as a result of choosing to partake, and no matter what they DO it won't matter. Whether it is making fig leaf aprons, creating a new church, winning the lottery, moving to a new country, getting a better job, or finding the right self-help book it will make no difference.

It is interesting to note that many of the modern day prophets and apostles have talked about Adam and Eve having no blood before the Fall. Instead, they say they were infused with the spirit and once they ate the fruit their bodies changed and they became mortal and then had blood. While this literal interpretation may seem silly to many, it is not too far from the truth. The fact of the matter is that once you look at everything in the world through the lens of GOOD and EVIL and see everything in black and white and extremes, this does have an effect on your body and blood. You will be on a Telestial/Chemical Roller Coaster ride that constantly fills your blood with hormones like Adrenaline, because in the Telestial world you are always under attack and it is fear, sorrow, anxiety, anger and angst centered. This chronic output of fear and stress hormones in your blood is known to seriously degrade your body. However, it is only an illusion that you have generated inside of you. The Kingdom of Heaven and the Rest of the Lord is at hand. It is right in front of you if you would but REPENT or change your thoughts or think differently.

How do you do it? It's hard to NOT think in extremes and see the world in black and white and good and evil. It's hard to think so differently. God is merciful and full of love. That is why he sent Jesus Christ to show us the way. He is the antidote to the poison. His example and teachings will begin to heal you from this insanity. That is why he could say such unusual and incredible things such as to "love your enemies." What a novel concept! It amazes me that so many people in this country see each other as enemies. If you look at the current political climate for instance in the United States, you don't see much love, peace on Earth, or goodwill toward men. All you see is an escalating cycle of accusation and hatred based on fear.

What can you do about it? You can start with yourself. You can lay down your "weapons of war" that you use on yourself and others and turn them into "pruning hooks". You can begin to think differently (REPENT). You can begin to see that the Kingdom of Heaven is truly at hand but it is within side of you! You can begin to filter out all the external noise and voices and begin to listen to the still small voice within you that is attached to divine intelligence. This divine intelligence will tell your spirit all things. Your spirit in turn will tell your body what action to take and more millennial moments will be created in your life that lead to peace and harmony within yourself and with others. You can begin to have a personal relationship with God and see him as your friend rather than a harsh disapproving and disappointed parent who is never satisfied with what you do.

In 1957 a woman named Naomi Randall after being given an assignment by the Primary Board of the church to write a song that would teach children about their relationship with God, knelt at her bedside and then retired for the night. At 2:00AM she was awakened with the words of what would become one of the most well known and beloved songs in the LDS canon of songs and hymns. She wrote the lyrics down and then knelt again in gratitude. She mailed the lyrics to her friend Mildred Pettit who would write the music. It was later performed and Apostle Spencer W. Kimball heard the song and later asked if the lyric of "teach me all that I must KNOW" could be changed to "teach me all that I must DO". His reasoning was that to know wasn't enough. The devils know. We have to DO something. Naomi accepted the change.

This change is very significant and appropriate and once again showed that the majority of the church at that time continued to live in the Telestial world where DOing is more significant than knowing. The appearance is more important than the meaning. The symbol is more important than what is symbolized. The Natural Man and Woman looks on the outward appearance but God knows the heart and the mind. When the heart and mind are sick it doesn't matter what you DO it will continue to lead to you wandering in a harsh Telestial wilderness. As a result many members of the church are DOING, DOING, DOING but they are going in circles. They are wandering in the Telestial wilderness believing that if they just DO a little more then God will approve and they can live with him SOMEDAY. Thus Jesus says: "Come unto me all ye that labor (doing) and are heavy laden and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28).

However, there is an antidote to the circular wandering. There is a millennium at hand for you. But you must be ready to be taught what you must KNOW before you can DO (enter the promised land) that which creates an internal millennium. Once you begin to internalize who you are and your true relationship with God then you will be able to eliminate fear, anxiety, worry, hatred and enmity in your life. The internal "devil" or "Satan" or the "Accuser" who also KNOWS (as Spencer W. Kimball alluded to) will be dismissed from within side of you and you will begin to see and feel the millennial moments all around you. The dismissing of Satan from your temple is an essential component of entering the internal millennium. The light inside you will become brighter and you will have "1000 years of peace" within you. Today, I believe there is a millennial movement underway in the church. Can you feel it? It is beginning with you! The church is changing because of you! Love is growing and fear is receding and we are creating an internal millennium that is contagious. The truth is a virus. As more and more find themselves becoming truly like Christ and being healed from the poison of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, a new day will dawn and we will be able to live side by side with our external neighbors in harmony and peace.

May love and blessings be with you my friends.

The Pink Triangle

2010-08-14T11:39:00.000-07:00

Greetings to you all. I am grateful to each one of you. There is a shift in the church right now that is happening. It is a subtle shift that is almost imperceptible. It is in the hearts of the members. Many of them have seen and witnessed the pain that has been caused by Proposition 8 in California and also the many deaths and persecutions of Mormons who have a different sexual orientation. Some are persecuted by their own families and even by their church leaders.

Millennial Mormonism Today believes that gay rights are human rights. When we persecute and discriminate against an individual or group it is the equivalent of us harming ourselves. We are all connected in a divine way. We sense that and know that in our hearts.

Due to the church's aggressive campaign on Proposition 8 we are being viewed as enemies of gays and lesbians. Unfortunately this is evidence that most of us are still living in the Telestial Kingdom where hate, animosity, tribalism, fear and fragmentation dominate. But there is hope. There is a growing minority of members of the church that are uncomfortable with what happened. They want to live in peace with their neighbors. They recognize that gay couples and families mean them no harm and in other countries where gay marriage is legal there is no evidence that it has affected, harmed or "done violence to" the traditional marriage.

Many of our ancestors practiced an alternative marriage lifestyle. We believed it was our right to do this because of the religious freedoms that are associated with the Constitution. But we were looked at with scorn and hatred. Polygamy was called one of the twin pillars of barbarism next to slavery. Many of our people were hunted down and forced to relocate to other countries. And yet with this background there are few that see the mirror of history where now we are seen as antagonistic to those who want to pursue happiness and have equal rights.

The good part in all of this is that the church's actions are so well documented and politically and financially aggressive that it has stirred compassion in the hearts of a growing number of members of the church. While many people think that the direction of the church comes from the top down, in reality it is the collective hearts of the members (symbolic of divine intelligence) that influences the Apostles and Prophets. As Seers, they will be able to sense this compassion and love for their fellow human beings.

Many Nicodemus Mormons who are uber literalists will stand firm that homosexuality is a great and abominable sin. What they do not remember or realize is that Jesus never said a word about it. Is this by accident? Did he just forget to mention it if it was so crucial and important? The vast majority of references to homosexuality as a sin is in the Old Testament--particularly Leviticus. Uber literalists would also be wise to realize that failing to send woman out of the city or camp when they were menstruating was also considered impure and a sin. Yet we have let that tradition go quite a long time ago. Both of these examples from the Old Testament or Law of Moses are examples of a Telestial mindset. A Millennial mindset would be able to see the symbolism, allow it to nurture their lives but would avoid taking a fundamentalist or approach in thinking that they should be considered literal.

What many members of the church fail to know or understand is that before they can enter the Celestial Kingdom they must come to an understanding of the Telestial and Terrestrial (Millennial) Kingdoms. All kingdoms and degrees are symbolic of our spiritual journey. For most Nicodemus Mormons, they expect and talk as though they will jump from "this world" (Telestial) straight to the Celestial Kingdom. What they fail to recognize is that these kingdom designations primarily refer to the state of mind and heart of individuals living on this world.

The millennial state of mind is an acceptance and friendship with those who may be different than us. It is a necessary step toward oneness and harmony. Instead of fear, hatred, and fragmentation, there is a culture of love acceptance, tolerance and peace. Symbolically, weapons of war are changed into peaceful tools that bless the lives of others.

The prop. 8 political drama was very warlike. It was fear based where the reality is that there really wasn't anything to fear. It is reminiscent of previous struggles for civil rights where those who hated black Americans pronounced so much fear-based rhetoric. These elements differ sharply from the Savior's teachings of the golden rule and the parable of the Good Samaritan.

Homosexual Men were one of many classes or groups that were targeted by Nazis and put in concentration camps. When they were put into camps they were forced to wear a pink triangle that identified them as homosexual. Today, we as members of the church have an opportunity to turn away from fear, hatred and intolerance and show compassion for our brothers and sisters who have a different sexual orientation. Let us show support for human rights and allow others who may appear different than us to live side by side as neighbors and in peace. This will be a great test for us to see if we will continue to wander in a Telestial wilderness or if we will begin to embrace our millennial destiny. I hope you will join with me and remember the pink triangle. If we fail to do this then perhaps one day, we will be forced to wear a triangle with a Moroni statue on it. The law of the harvest can be a great blessing or a great curse.

Peace be with you my friends.

The Death of Todd Ransom

2010-07-21T07:28:00.000-07:00

Millennial Mormonism Today wishes to express grief, solidarity and support for the family and friends of Todd Ransom. This kind hearted soul blessed countless lives. May his sacrifice not be in vain and help to awaken us out of the harsh Telestial world we wander in and instead take up our millennial journey anew.

Todd, thank you for your friendship and your life. You will always be a blessing to all those who knew you and you will never be forgotten.

http://blog.affirmation.org/2010/07/candlelight-vigil-to-honor-todd-ransom/

Veils In Comparison

2010-07-17T13:38:00.000-07:00

WARNING! THE FOLLOWING POST CONTAINS MATURE CONTENT THAT MAY NOT BE APPROPRIATE FOR ALL READERS.

Hello my friends. Thank you for reading this blog and for your comments and e-mails. Please feel free to e-mail me at millennialmormon@gmail.com. I would love to hear from you. As always, I wish you and your loved ones peace and goodwill.

Since 9-11 the topic of veils has generated more and more controversy. Some nations in Europe have even taken steps to ban the veil due to safety concerns. Additionally, many feminists see the veil as a symbol of the oppression of women. While all of these concerns are valid and Millennial Mormonism Today agrees with some of these positions, it is important to recognize that a veil is highly spiritually instructive and symbolic. For Mormons, veils are of fundamental importance in temple worship. Unfortunately many Nicodemus Mormons and other fundamentalist religions see a veil as a symbol of the subjection of women to men. This can lead to a failure to treat women as equal partners and can even generate oppression and abuse. Some disaffected Mormons who view the endowment through literal eyes, see the veil as silly, stupid or at worst, a tool of patriarchal supremacy. Unfortunately, uber literalist or Nicodemus interpretations of the veil miss the mark(s). These superficial and externally focused judgements tend to lead to spiritual malnutrition and starvation in the desert wilderness of the Telestial world.

Millennial Mormons on the other hand will see deeper levels of symbolism that are individualized and internalized. They will see the veils of female patrons and the veils of the temple itself as applying to them regardless if they are male or female. To them, a veil is a powerful symbol that gives one the opportunity to pierce the illusions associated with the Fall. Let's take our journey now into the symbolism of the veil.

The Bridal Veil
The bridal veil is of ancient origin. They seem to find their appearance in a variety of ancient cultures. In ancient Norse cultures as well as others, it was not uncommon for women from conquered cities to be kidnapped and for the woman to become wife to the kidnapper. A blanket or some other covering would be used to subdue the woman and may have been a proto-veil of some kind.

In an ancient Jewish marriage the act of the husband veiling his wife suggests that he accepts her regardless of superficial or physical appearances. Their union is not just a physical union but a holy (wholly) union that includes the physical and the spiritual. The veiling of the wife by the husband can also be seen as a witness to the world that the wife belongs to the husband. Middle Eastern cultures even today, use the veil as a symbol of modesty. Only the husband and family members are ever to see the woman without the veil.

For Christians, marriage is a holy sacrament or ordinance. The symbolism is that Christ is the groom and the church is the bride. A bridal veil for many Christians therefore, is a symbol of the Church or a Christian being in subjection to Christ and following Him. Most Mormons are very comfortable with this layer of symbolism and often refer to it and agree with the Apostle Paul when he said: "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it" (Ephesians 5:25). For the vast majority of Christians, a veil is only used in conjunction with marriage. Catholic nuns however, will often wear a veil as part of their dress symbolizing their "marriage" to Christ.

Millennial Mormons will look deeper and recognize that Paul refers to the marital relationship and the relationship of Christ to His Church as a "great mystery" (Ephesians 5:32). He also makes a curious reference in Ephesians almost as a side note that Christ is the "savior of the body" (Ephesians 5:23). Many will see this as a reference to the resurrection which is appropriate but as you know there are deeper levels of symbolism that Millennial Mormons journey to.

As has been said in previous posts, men and women, Adam and Eve, have reference and symbolism consistent with each individual. The Garden of Eden story is a parable about YOU! Yes, it's all about you. In fact everything that happens in the temple is symbolic of what is going on within you because you are the temple. Therefore Adam and Eve are symbolic aspects of who you are. Adam symbolizes your spirit whether you are male or female. Eve symbolizes your body whether you are male or female. Once you understand and internalize these things then you will be on the threshold of entering the promised land and an internal millennium will begin for you. This will lead to "1000 years" of internal peace with Christ (your Spirit) reigning as King over the world (your body).

For Millennial Mormons, a veil is a symbol of the subjection of the body to the spirit. It is a symbol of possession. It is a symbol to the world that your body is for your spirit and is not to be contaminated or possessed by anything or anyone other than your spirit. The spirit possesses the body. This is not a tyrannical possession that leads to the life of an extreme ascetic. On the contrary, it is a joyful union. This joyful union is referenced in the New Testament where Christ turns water (common) into wine (joyful) at a marriage. He also speaks in parable about 10 virgins attending the wedding feast. A wedding feast suggests an abundant relationship between body and spirit rather than a tyrannical and ascetic relationship. The husband is able to unveil the wife and have a beautiful At-ONE-ment relationship with her. The body and the spirit become one where before they were separated.

The body fell and the spirit followed so that creation could take place. Consciousness cannot occur without contrast. Therefore it was necessary for the body and spirit to have the illusion of separation. This separation is symbolized in a veil. But the veil does not last forever. The veil can be unveiled under the right conditions. This is our destiny.

The white bridal veil and the bride wearing white is also symbolic of purity and virginity. The veil therefore is a redundant symbol corresponding to the veil within a woman's body that defines virginity: the hymen. In many Middle Eastern cultures, the literalist and fundamentalist obsession that brides need to be virgins before they are married has led to an industry where women's hymens are reattached if there has been previous intercourse or if for some other reason the hymen is not intact. In ancient Persia, a cultural tradition was generated where the first act of intercourse by a husband with his virgin wife was witnessed to by a white cloth spotted with blood from the pierced hymen being shoved under the door of their room so the family could be assured that the wife was indeed a virgin. While this fundamentalism and literalism is objectionable by today's standards, the piercing of the hymen veil is an extremely powerful symbol of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and ultimately a symbol of At-ONE-ment between our fragmented Telestial self.

As Mormons we have been told over and over again that sex is sacred and sexual sin is next to murder in it's seriousness (Alma 39:5). Yet, many members of the church see Jesus Christ's merciful response to the adulteress in the New Testament as incongruity to Alma's harsh stance. This apparent dichotomy can be reconciled when one understands the difference between literal adultery which can easily be forgiven by the Lord versus internal breaches of the laws of chastity (i.e. your body seeks after false gods associated with the senses instead of being faithful to the spirit) which are more serious in nature. (Blasphemy of the Holy Ghost is a redundant reference to this as well). Thus most members of the church fail to recognize Alma's reference to sexual sin as symbolic of the partaking of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil which God says is punishable by death. The failing of members of the church to recognize the symbolism of the Book of Mormon is identified as a curse in the Doctrine and Covenants that due to the church taking lightly (superficially) the Book of Mormon the whole church is brought under condemnation (D&C 84:54-57). Thus we see why many members of the church have a lot of sexual hang ups and difficulties in intimacy because they see the scripture in Alma in only its literal form and see that any sexual sin they may have committed is actually akin to murder. This of course is appropriate for modern Israel to believe since they are wandering in a harsh Telestial wilderness and are in need of numerous harsh and carnal commandments in order to awake to their awful condition. Due to "not remembering" the Book of Mormon which is an internal symbol of the new covenant between our body and spirit, most Nicodemus Mormons will continue to wander in the wilderness for 40 years. What they do not realize is that the Book of Mormon is about them, personally and internally.

It is important for Millennial Mormons to remember that the marital-sexual act should be understood in deeper levels of symbolism. An ordained priesthood holder (spirit) takes his veiled bride (body) to the marriage chamber (their bedroom). He carries her across the threshold and places her on the bed (altar). The sacrificial instrument of the high priest is revealed. The wife (body) is unveiled and intercourse (At-ONE-ment) takes place. The hymen (veil) is pierced. Blood is released (symbolic that At-ONE-Ment has occurred). The woman (body) and man (spirit) are now one flesh (a living soul).

An Aztec Sacrificial Knife. What does it symbolize?

One may see many parallels with paganistic sacrifice of virgins, Old Testament sacrifice of animals, and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ in the New Testament. They all point to the internal symbolism of the body being crucified or sacrificed and subjected to the spirit. Once this happens, there is a newness of relationship between body and spirit and there is joy and abundance. This is symbolic of the internal millennium or new and everlasting covenant. Thus we see, that marriage, sealing and the sexual act between husband and wife is not just a literal manifestation but a deeply symbolic key that unlocks the mysteries of God.

Temple Veils
Veils within the temple are repetitious and redundant throughout the temple. The temple is saturated with symbolism and therefore one will see veils consistently throughout the temple. All temple veils have a similar meaning which suggests separation, a boundary, or forgetfulness. In the Garden of Eden parable, the apron of fig leaves can be considered a veil. The coat of skins (Genesis 3:21) that The Lord makes for Adam and Eve can be considered a veil. The veil therefore is consistent with fragmentation or separation and the Fall of Man. Additionally, in the Plan of Salvation it is said that our spirit passes through a "veil of forgetfulness" as it enters the physical world. This too is a type of Fall. We then come full circle and pass through veils to return into the presence of God and become united with Him.

The Book of Mormon
According to church history there were several instances where the golden plates were covered by a veil of sorts. In the translation process, there were times when a veil separated Joseph Smith (spirit) and Oliver Cowdery (body) as the translation of plates (spirit) into the Book of Mormon (body) occurred. Further, Emma Smith would move the plates (spirit) covered in a cloth as she would do her housework (body). Once again, most members of the church bring the church under condemnation because they fail to see the personal internal significance of the Book of Mormon. To Nicodemus Mormons the superficial, carnal and literal is more important and as a result the church is brought under a curse that will not be lifted until they recognize the meaning or until the plates are translated correctly (individually and internally).

The Myth of the Dance of the Seven Veils
The dance of the seven veils is often thought to be the seductive dance that Herodias's daughter did for her uncle King Herod. There is no biblical evidence that this dance involved seven veils. The concept of the dance of the seven veils is probably an amalgamation of this biblical story along with Mesopotamian myths regarding the goddess Ishtar's decent into the underworld. These myths are curious and describe a journey where Ishtar must leave behind a piece of clothing at seven points in order to get to the underworld. In other accounts she gives up all her jewelry and all other possessions. At the end of the journey, she has "consecrated" all things. The number seven suggests whole (holy) or completeness. These themes suggest that veils symbolize a form of sacrifice or consecration until eventually all things are consecrated and one has become as a little child returning to the Garden of Eden to embrace the Tree of Life.

Summary
As we can see, veils have significant meaning that goes well beyond the superficial, carnal, and literal. Veils apply to both men and women and deeper symbolism is connected with the internal rather than external. When we are able to pierce through these veils of symbolism about veils, we receive momentum in our millennial journey. The Atonement of Jesus Christ is our greatest evidence of the love of God and how we can partake of His antidote to the Fall. As the Book of Hebrews says: "By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh" (Hebrews 10:20). By "thrusting our hands into his side" (veil) and recognizing the marks on his flesh (veil) we begin to remember who we are and begin a new phase in our journey (John 20:27 and 3Nephi 11:14-15).

I hope you enjoyed this post. Peace be with you my friends.

Why is Church SO Boring?

2010-06-12T14:15:00.000-07:00

Look familiar?

Greetings and blessings to you my friends wherever you might be in your journey. Thank you for your At-ONE-Ment in reading this blog and your e-mails and comments.

A common refrain from many members of the church is that church is so boring. In a post-correlation church, there is often little room to maneuver or freedom to share in a church meeting. On the surface this can be an annoyance in the least, and at worst it can even become a trigger for many to drop out of church activity. However, it is not uncommon to hear that church is boring with regards to other churches of differing faiths. In fact, the image of an individual falling asleep in any church because of the "same-old" dull sermon has become nearly ubiquitous. As a result, many congregations of other faith traditions have adapted and turned their worship services into something akin to a rock concert. Many members of our own church would not mind a loosening up on traditional restrictions in Sacrament Meetings. Sometimes known as the Gladys Knight Effect, some LDS congregations are allowing some gospel(ish) choir components to be a part of their services. While Millennial Mormonism Today welcomes this wholeheartedly, I would remind the reader that being bored in a Sacrament Meeting has profound and deep symbolism that can assist you in your millennial journey.

As a child being born and raised in the church, I've been through my share of dull meetings. While today, many cope by using the latest technology, one thing that I enjoyed doing was to look at the maps in the back of my scriptures. For some reason, those maps were always interesting to me. My favorite map (you won't be surprised) was the one that showed the route the ancient children of Israel took in their exodus out of Egypt into the promised land. The route was marked by red arrows leading out of Egypt into the desert wilderness. The portion of the journey that always stuck in my head was the circular course that characterized their "wandering in the wilderness for 40 years." I always wondered why they had to walk around in circles for 40 years when the promised land was so close! Why would God do that to them? They must have seen the same mountains and desert brush over and over again. The same rocks and sand over and over again. A contemporary analogy today would be a plane circling the airport until it can come in for a landing. A holding pattern.

It is typical that most members of the church will identify the cause of the children of Israel's "wilderness holding pattern" as a punishment from God because they worshipped a golden calf.  This uber-literalist Nicodemus interpretation is acceptable to most. However, Millennial Mormons see deeper levels of meaning. The worshipping of the calf was merely a symptom of a deeper problem. The ancient Children of Israel refused to have a personal and one-on-one relationship with God. The evidence for this can be found in my previous post Let the Journey Begin Part 1 (the relevant scriptures are Exodus 20:19 and D&C 84:23-27 if you are interested). As a result, God gives his children what they want and they subsequently have Moses as an intermediary and are given strict laws and commandments to follow. This refusal to have a personal relationship with God, not living by personal revelation, and wanting a prophet to speak on their behalf is played out today in the church and as a result, history has repeated itself. Many members of the church have no idea that they are wandering in the wilderness and thus they will continue to wander in the wilderness for 40 years until they wake up. The number 40, of course, is symbolic of any period or length of time that is for cleansing, preparation and generating conscious awareness. Nicodemus Mormons will see 40 years as just, 40 years. "40 years" can be any length of time and it is more important to pay attention to the symbolism of the number 40. The reader may want to think of other examples of the number 40 in the scriptures to help them understand the symbolism.

So, as you "meet together oft" each Sunday for 3 hours and have the same correlated lessons week after week after week, then you can understand perhaps what God is trying to teach you on a deeper level. It is supposed to be that way for you because that is where you are at in your life. The REPETITION of talks and lessons is reminiscent of the meaning of the word Deuteronomy. Once Priesthood Correlation was put into effect, we became a deuteronomic people. Interestingly, there is some evidence of prophetic concern on the part of Pres. David O. McKay and his counselor Hugh B. Brown that the expanding Priesthood Correlation Committee could have a stifling effect on the church. However, it is what the people needed at the time and apparently it is still what the church needs today. While we have it, we can recognize it as a deep symbol of wandering in an external wilderness for 40 years.

Another symbol of wilderness wandering is that the Sacrament Meeting is usually presided over by the bishop of the ward and the ordinance of the sacrament is attended to by the lesser priesthood. There are numerous members of the church that think that the office of bishop is within the Melchizedek priesthood. This is not true. A bishop is an office in the Aaronic priesthood. This is critical and important evidence that the congregation is wandering in a desert wilderness. The bishop is a common judge in Israel and is tied to the structure and hierarchy associated with Moses and the children of Israel. The Aaronic priesthood itself is inseparably connected to the world of the law and the prophets or the Telestial world. The Aaronic Priesthood or Levitical Priesthood is the PREPARATORY GOSPEL. A friend of mine pointed out that a careful reading of the D&C will show that the elders of the Melchizedek priesthood are actually to administer the sacrament and priests are only to do it if there are no elders present.

"The priest’s duty is to preach, teach, expound, exhort, and baptize, and administer the sacrament" (D&C 20:46).  However, verse 50 states that the priest, "when there is an elder present, he is only to preach, teach, expound, exhort, and baptize" (D&C 20:50). Administering the sacrament is deliberately left out and appears to be the sole duty of the elders when elders are present! The symbolism perhaps is that though there are probably many with the Melchizedek priesthood in the congregation they still may not be "present" for a variety of reasons that the reader should ponder not the least of which is that they are not consciously aware and have not yet woke up. In addition, D&C 20:58 says: "But neither teachers nor deacons have authority to baptize, administer the sacrament, or lay on hands."

Because many members of the church are in a state of preparation and wandering in the wilderness for 40 years, it is fitting and appropriate for the time being that the sacrament should be presided over by the Aaronic priesthood which is to administer over temporal, external and outward activities. It seems that most of the church perhaps is in the Nicodemus stage of their journey so this would make perfect sense.  The living prophet of course has the power to generate current policy for the church and thus the Aaronic Priesthood is left to administer the sacrament today. If most of the church were in a Millennial phase of their journey we would see a different meeting. Perhaps you will witness a new day when the sacrament will look much more like the ordinance that Jesus, The Nephites and Joseph Smith instituted. For now, Millennial Mormons will concern themselves with the internal sacrament more than the external sacrament.

Another important symbol that the church as a whole is wandering in the wilderness (for 40 years) is the actual sacramental emblems themselves. JST Genesis 14:18-19 states: "And Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought forth bread and wine; and he break bread and blest it; and he blest the wine, he being the priest of the most high God, And he gave to Abram, and he blessed him, and said, Blessed Abram, thou art a man of the most high God, Possessor of heaven and of earth;"

As most members of the church know, wine was used by Melchizedek, Jesus Christ and his Apostles in Jerusalem, the Nephites in the Book of Mormon, and in the early history of the Mormon church. When the Church moved West, and later at around the time of the prohibition movement, obedience to the Word of Wisdom's restricitons became little by litte the new policy, and water completely replaced the wine. In many ways it is an example of a reversal of the miracle Jesus performed by turning water into wine. While most members of the church today will see nothing significant about that, for Millennial Mormons, the symbolism is profound and evident. Today in the church there continues to be a mythology spread that the "wine" that was used by Jesus and Joseph Smith was pure grape juice. This of course is not true. The accusations of being a "winebibber" against Jesus Christ and Joseph Smith would hardly carry any significance and would be folly if the wine was merely grape juice. However, in some instances grape juice has been used for the sacrament in the past, as well as actual wine. The symbolism of moving from wine to grape juice to water is significant. A friend of mine suggests that this is symbolic of the "watered down" spirituality of many members of the church. He also said that the small "crumb of bread" contrasts sharply to many examples in the scriptures where the physical and spiritual bread completely filled the individual. Do you see the symbolism for yourself dear reader? Many members of the church today are certainly not being filled physically by the Sacrament nor spiritually in many instances, as portrayed in our current Sacrament Meeting. Thus, as a result, they may say it is dull or boring.

Another symbol that Nicodemus Mormons are wandering in the wilderness for 40 years (which tends to be dull and boring) is the physical surroundings within the chapel itself and certain policies related to sacrament meeting talks. In the chapel you will find absolutely no artwork and typically it is not ornate in the least. The walls are typically made of concrete cinder blocks. The concrete mixture to produce the blocks are made of SAND or very fine gravel. Thus a person in the chapel could be said to be surrounded by sand! Sounds like a desert to me! (Hmmmm. Also, isn't there a primary song that talks about sand????)

While visual aids are strictly forbidden to be used in conjunction with talks from the pulpit in a sacrament meeting, and there is no artwork hanging on the walls within the chapel itself, one thing that does hang on the wall is a clock. Most Nicodemus Mormons will simply see it as merely just a literal clock. However, Millennial Mormons will see this as a symbol of the Telestial and that we are immersed in time and space rather than transcending time and space into eternity. In a dull or boring meeting, the clock will serve as a "constant reminder" that you are not consciously awake and that you are still wandering in the wilderness for 40 years. Perhaps the clock should have an alarm on it to wake Adam (Spirit) from "his" deep sleep. Perhaps the alarm could be a voice that would call to Adam. What would the voice say dear reader?

President Henry B. Eyring tells an interesting story in his book "To Draw Closer to God". He shares an incident when he was at a sacrament meeting with his father and they listened to a High Counsel speaker who young Henry considered to be DRY (like a desert) and dull. Young Henry was perplexed because during the same talk he noticed his father's face "beaming". His father, one of the greatest LDS scientists of all time, told his son that from the time that he was a young man, when he listened to a speaker at church, he would listen carefully to the speaker and what he or she was intending to talk about and then he would help the speaker by giving himself an additional sermon internally. What a great example of creating an internal millennium within oneself! President Eyring then concludes this treasured story with his father finally saying to him: "Hal, since then I have never been to a bad meeting." (Henry B. Eyring, To Draw Closer To God, page 23).

While many disaffected Mormons feel that they have no power or say in how the church operates, Millennial Mormons see clearly that the church is always recreating itself and changing. The change is tied to the prayer in the hearts of the collective membership. God knows what His children need and desire before and/or without any of his children themselves knowing what they need or desire. If we choose to avoid being sanctified and having a personal relationship with God and want instead "Moses" to speak on our behalf, we are granted our request. As a result, we will follow the prophet in the wilderness for 40 years. Why is church SO boring and dull? Because we are internally boring and dull! Once we choose to create an internal millennium we will see things differently and there will be no such thing as a boring, dull or bad meeting. As more and more members of the church move from being Nicodemus Mormons to Millennial Mormons, God will reveal this secret to his servants the prophets and the church will once again re-create itself as it has many times before. Let those who have ears, let them hear what the symbolism means for themselves.

Take care my friends. I hope your Sunday meetings are millennial both internally and externally.

Keep it millennial until next time!

A Second Helping Of Fig Leaves

2010-06-07T15:34:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! I hope this post finds you in a millennial moment. May peace, blessings and abundance fill your cup to overflowing.

I recently came across a website that was promoting green ribbons for the month of May. The website said that May was Mental Health Month. Knowing family and friends who struggle with mental health problems, I became curious and looked into the site further. What I found was a treasure trove of interesting information and also pragmatic help that can aid us in our millennial journey. This post should be considered an addendum to a previous post on the symbolism of the color green and the apron of fig leaves in the Garden of Eden story. The name of the previous post was Please Pass the Fig Leaves. I recommend that you read it if you haven't already or re-read it in light of this new information that I will share.

On the mental health website, the question was asked: Why a green ribbon? The answer according to the text of the website said that in the 1800's the color green was used to brand people who were labeled "insane". Unfortunately, the treatment of mental health issues carries a stigma and I know it is reality for many people. Many of the treatments for mental health problems in the past were barbaric and science is only now starting to come to a clearer understanding of the causes and the treatment of mental illness. I continue to hope for better and better treatments for all mental health problems.

However, I found it interesting that people chose the color green of all colors to label people as "insane". Perhaps there is a lesson here for all of us in our millennial journey. The reference to the 1800's is fascinating since this was the time period that the Nauvoo endowment was generated. Was Joseph Smith and the early saints aware that the color green was used to label people as "insane"?

For most members of the church who look at the Garden of Eden story in an uber-literalist lens, they see the fig leaf apron as an important and necessary step in the journey of Adam and Eve. They also see it as a symbol of chastity. For most members of the church, the Fall was a positive event and Eve is the hero of the story. All of these interpretations have meaning and relevance. What many members of the church don't realize is that a deeper, more individual interpretation is that Eve is symbolic of our bodies and Adam is symbolic of our spirits. Therefore, the symbolism of Eve partaking of the fruit of the tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil is symbolic of our body becoming dominant over our spirit. Once this happens we enter an illusory world that is dominated by our body and senses. Our physical eyes are opened at the expense of our spiritual sight. This spiritual blindness is symbolized by the apron of fig leaves that Adam and Eve make. It is interesting to answer the question: Who told thee thou wast naked? Thus, Adam and Eve, once they partake of the fruit, and make the aprons, enter a world filled with shame, guilt, anxiety, and blame. They have truly fallen, and are lost, and they haven't a clue of what is really going on.

The symbolism of the color green has many layers and can be very contradictory. Depending on the culture or circumstance, it can symbolize life or death. It can symbolize sickness or health. As mentioned above, it sounds like people in the 1800's used the color to label individuals "insane". (If any of you readers have a reference to this, I would be most appreciative).

The word insanity is actually a very appropriate word to describe what happens to all of us as a result of the Fall. We know from the D&C that the perfected union of spirit with the body leads to a fullness of joy. However, the opposite of this, which is consistent with the Fall, is anything but joyful. The tension and blame between Adam (Spirit) and Eve (Body) if not rectified will lead to deeper insanity and death. As a result, God, in His mercy, provides a symbolic formula for Adam and Eve to follow so that they can regain their sanity and ultimately have Eternal Life by embracing the Tree of Life after a long and difficult self-imposed journey.

The journey consists of breaking Adam and Eve down and humbling them so that they can see that the way they are perceiving the world is faulty and in error. It will take many lessons for Adam and Eve to realize that they are in error and are surrounded by constant consequences that flow as a result of this error. The danger is that they believe they are seeing clearly right up to the "bitter" end!

Of further interest is contemporary research and treatment of mental health issues. Apparently the "gold standard" of counseling is the use of the evidence-based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). In CBT, the therapist will help a client to understand and learn about cognitive thinking errors that appear to be a major culprit in common mental health problems such as Depression and Anxiety. This research backed form of treatment is evidence-based and has been proven to be very effective from what I understand. According to the research it's as effective as medication. When CBT and medication are used together it creates a complimentary and synergistic effect that increases the opportunity for recovery even further.

Apparently, one of the major "cognitive distortions" that CBT works on trying to help clients confront and eliminate is "ALL OR NOTHING THINKING". This type of thinking is described as seeing events, people, circumstances and things as entirely good or entirely bad. There is no in between or grey area. Does this sound familiar dear reader? (COUGH. Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil). Thus, All or Nothing thinking is a central dynamic in mental health problems and for the purposes of this blog it is the central dynamic in spiritual health problems.

Another interesting way to view this topic is through the lens of the anti-mormon. The anti-mormon who also looks at the endowment literally will often mock the temple clothes of faithful members of the church and the ceremony. It is not unheard of for anti-mormons to believe that temple clothing is "crazy". In this sense, anti-mormons may inadvertently be helping us to see that we have lost our minds (spirit) and our senses are now in control. Little do anti-mormons realize that they too have partaken of the fruit (as evidenced by the fact that they see the church as entirely evil or bad) and are as blind as anyone else! Talk about "the blind leading the blind"!!!

The good news in all of this is that God provides a means to become spiritually free. Jesus Christ and the At-One-Ment are the main ingredient in the antidote. The spiritual insanity can be cured and health, wellness, peace and stability can be achieved. Problems will now be seen as opportunities and challenges instead of catastrophes and crisis. The world will fade from a black and white Telestial world into a rainbow of color connected with the millennial world. We will no longer wander in the wilderness. We will enter the promised land.

The mental health web site went on to say that they continue to use the color green in spite of its use in labeling people in the 1800's as "insane". They said that now the green symbolizes "new life, new growth, and new beginnings." May it be so for all of us.

I encourage you to support mental health awareness and the decreasing of the stigma of mental health. I believe we all struggle with mental illness to one degree or another just as we struggle with physical health problems to one degree or another. Universally, we are all struggling with spiritual health problems. Thus the next time you wear green whether it is a ribbon or something else, remember the old meaning and embrace the new meaning.

God bless you in your millennial journey my friends.

What a Faulty Flux Capacitor has to do with Polygamy, the Mountain Meadows Massacre, and Blood Atonement

2010-05-31T16:02:00.000-07:00

Greetings to you all. Thank you for being at one with this blog and choosing to read. Thank you for your comments and e-mails. May peace and joy fill your life.

I seem to be on a roll with 80's movies. (Am I betraying my age?) So why stop now?

For many Nicodemus Mormons and uber literalists, as well as anti-mormons, the Restoration of the Gospel began with Joseph Smith. This is not entirely true. God sends new messengers to a people who yearn for their message. This fits the pattern described in the unrighteous judge parable taught by Jesus (Luke 18: 1-6). Eventually the Lord hears the cries of his people and gives them what they truly desire the most. Often, most people are not conscious of what they truly desire. (Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.) Joseph would not have ushered in the Restoration without a people searching for and prepared for such a message.

Many members of the church think that the church is a top down hierarchy. It is easy to see it that way. However, this top down concept does not completely align with the scriptures. When the children of Israel wanted a King, did they get what they wanted eventually? Was the prophet Samuel in charge or the people? It is Samuel who then enforces God's will which was triggered by the collective desires of the people. Thus the Restoration occurred according to the desires of the people. The people of Joseph Smith's day desired to go back to a time when there were Apostles and Prophets as in the primitive Christian church. My guess is that this was yearned for even before Joseph was born.

In the Back to the Future movies, Marty McFly and Doc Brown travel back in time using a DeLorean DMC-12. The flux capacitor within the vehicle is what made time travel possible. At the end of Back to the Future Part II the DeLorean is struck by lightening and the flux capacitor's time settings malfunction and Doc Brown is sent further back in time to 1885 instead of 1985.

Like Doc Brown in the movies, who woke up from a stupor and was subsequently inspired to develop the key to time travel, I too woke up from a stupor after hitting my head on the uber literalist/Nicodemus bathtub so to speak. What I discovered is an internal flux capacitor that takes me where I want to go. For the people of Joseph Smith's day, they wanted a restoration of primitive Christianity. They wanted new scripture and a return of the spiritual gifts of that time. Their hearts were counter to the prevailing notions of the period that God had already spoken through the Bible and the cannon was now closed and that the spiritual gifts associated with the early Apostles had come to an end. Thus, their collective flux capacitor took them to where they needed to go.

What they did not count on is that their "flux capacitor would malfunction" and they would find themselves going further back in time beyond the early Christian church and back to the Telestial world of the law and the prophets. As a consequence they went deeper into a pseudo-mosaic law world dominated by an all or nothing mindset. This can be seen in many ways:

1. The church moves westward. West is usually symbolic of moving towards death, the physical rather than the spiritual, and deeper materialism and literalism. There continued to be a deeper partaking of the tree of knowledge of good and evil which is symbolic of seeing all things as entirely good or evil. West is considered to be on the left hand of God and further away from light and truth.

2. The temples, women, and scripture. The Kirtland temple was built of simple materials compared to Nauvoo and Salt Lake and the top floor was the school of the prophets where the Lectures on Faith were discussed. The washing of feet was conducted which is a symbol of unity and leaders as servants. There is some evidence that women were permitted to use their spiritual gifts in a greater fullness at this time, including the laying on of hands for healing. The spiritual manifestations associated with the Kirtland Temple are well documented and appear to occur with the broad membership of the church as a whole. The Nauvoo Temple is a more complex building made of more elaborate materials than Kirtland. A new endowment was given that is a complicated symbolic parable with signs, tokens, and covenants. The Book of Commandments or Doctrine and Covenants has reached its fullness and is becoming a new Torah for modern Israel. The Relief Society is formed as a separate women's organization but there continues to be some evidence that the women were on track to receive the priesthood or at least a copy of its structure. The Salt Lake Temple takes 40 years (time of preparation and cleansing in the wilderness) to complete and is made out of granite (suggesting hard, inflexible and unchanging literalness). The new endowment is now secured and viewed in an increasingly literal perspective (as evidenced by the literal Adam worship of many fundamentalist sects) and an oath of vengeance is also added by Brigham Young. Women are further separated from the men and equality between men and women continues to erode over time. The words of the living prophet and the living prophet himself becomes supreme and there is less and less need to add to the D&C due to the use of church policy as the main means of governing the church. The church as a whole giving common consent to policy and doctrine continues to be eroded. Eventually the Lectures on Faith that were developed in Kirtland are removed from the Doctrine and Covenants because the Brethren are concerned that it does not fit with the materialist view of the separated and distinct Godhead. All of this suggests a faulty flux capacitor that takes the people further back than they originally intended.

3. The Exodus. The Exodus from Nauvoo to the Salt Lake valley is a major symbolic parallel that modern Israel has been restored and the saints will be living something akin to an Old Testament lifestyle. They will inhabit a desert land next to a dead sea. The parallels are amazing and beyond comprehension but they are not necessarily flattering as many members of the church even today believe. They not only have travelled westward but they are travelling back in time to the Old Testament.

4. Polygamy. Joseph Smith begins polygamy early in the church's history in Kirtland. Polygamy accelerates in Nauvoo and reaches its zenith in the Salt Lake valley. Polygamy is central in the Old Testament and a sign that the early saints went too far back.

5. Blood Atonement. Blood Atonement was a doctrine that developed in the Salt Lake Valley by Brigham Young. The doctrine's premise was that the Atonement of Jesus Christ was not sufficient for forgiveness of certain sins such as murder. Therefore, the blood of the individual committing these sins would need to be spilled in order to achieve full forgiveness. Blood Atonement was not enforced except for capital crimes such as murder. In many ways, it is a parallel to the harsh mosaic law where stoning was the method used to spill blood. It suggests a view that Jesus Christ was not sufficient and the Atonement was more finite rather than infinite and all-encompassing. A firing squad was typically used and interestingly, is still to this day a valid option for capital punishment in Utah. Today only Mormon Fundamentalist sects consider blood atonement to be a valid doctrine. The Blood Atonement concept clearly shows that we as a people went too far back in time to the point that even Jesus Christ's atonement began to fade and become less central. Very Old Testament.

6. Race. There is extensive evidence that Joseph Smith ordained black men to the priesthood. However, after Joseph's death, racist views and policies began to escalate. This is a major symbol of fragmentation and disunity. Not only were black men banned from having the priesthood but other racist philosophies that early church leaders and members brought with them from their prior religious and cultural traditions were allowed to contaminate the church. This parallels the Old Testament themes of tribalism and is counter-parallel to Jesus Christ and New Testament doctrines of unity and that God is no respecter of persons. (Although even in New Testament times Jesus forbade the preaching of the gospel to the Gentiles until after his death).

7. Mountain Meadows Massacre. Probably one of the most disturbing and tragic events in Mormon history was when members of the church utterly destroyed (except for a dozen or so children) a wagon party coming from Arkansas passing through southern Utah on their way to California. This holocaust far surpasses any crimes committed against the early members of the church in its scopre, brutality and savagery. It truly is of Old Testament proportions and is reminiscent of Joshua receiving the command to "utterly destroy" the Canaanites or Simeon and Levi's killing spree after the rape of their sister Dinah. This, in my opinion, was one of the darkest moments in church history and the pinnacle of our Old Testament journey. We as a people have been trying to make our way back, more or less, ever since.

Collectively, we simply went too far back in time and as a consequence we still continue to struggle in our journey to leave a harsh, Old Testament world of the law and the prophets. The good news in all of this is that we can learn from history. We know that the hearts and desires of the people are heard by God and if we choose to align our internal flux capacitors to a millennial destination we can avoid the mistakes of the past. As you can see, there is a lot riding on the decisions you make. May you be conscious of your heart and may it align to noble and peaceful principles that will first create an internal millennium within yourself, and then the church, and finally a millennial world. May you fall in your bathroom and knock your head on the bathtub, only to wake up with inspiration concerning your own internal flux capacitor and take your DeLorean for a conscious spin! It is time to wake up! God will respond to our collective desires and tell His secret to the Apostles and Prophets. The church is a mirror of where our collective desires are right now.

Peace and blessings to you my friends. May your flux capacitor never fail to take you to where you truly want to be. Become, remain, and expand your consciousness. Remember who you are! Thank you for using this website as a "Mr. Fusion" to assist you in generating the 1.21 gigawatts of power needed to operate your flux capacitor within your amazing DeLorean body. May you have a wonderful journey and remember: "Roads? Where we're going, we don't need roads!"

Giving the Finger

2010-05-13T20:09:00.000-07:00

Peace be with you my friends. Peace be with you this very moment.

I had the opportunity to watch the movie Willow a few weeks ago. It never ceases to amaze me and create wonder and awe that as I move to new levels of spiritual growth that old things become new. I love this scripture in the Book of Mormon: "And it came to pass that when Jesus had said these words he perceived that there were some among them who marveled, and wondered what he would concerning the law of Moses; for they understood not the saying that old things had passed away, and that all things had become new. And he said unto them: Marvel not that I said unto you that old things had passed away, and that all things had become new" (3Nephi 15:2-3). The Apostle Paul spoke well when he said: "Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more. Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God" (2Corinthians 5:16-18). This was true when I watched Willow again for the "first time" since I began taking my Millennial Mormon journey.

As you may recall, the High Aldwin is seeking a new apprentice. There are three candidates and Willow is among them. The test the High Aldwin gives is that he holds up three fingers and asks "which finger has the power to control the universe?" The candidates, including Willow, choose one of the High Aldwin's fingers. Willow being the last to choose fails the test along with the others. Later, the High Aldwin asks him what was going through his mind before he chose. Willow tells him his first thought was to choose HIS OWN FINGER. The High Aldwin then tells Willow that this was the correct answer and that Willow lacks confidence in himself.

This theme is particularly familiar to Millennial Mormons who are moving beyond living externally and are now living more internally and consciously. They are filled with more awareness of their ability to create or "control the universe" and the consequences of this agency. They know that God will not give them this understanding until they are ready. Line upon line. Precept upon precept.

Few will recognize how this theme in Willow parallels the endowment in many ways.  In the endowment we undergo a series of tests that we fail (to understand) up until "the very end". The uber literalist or carnal man/woman will see the endowment as a series of tests that he or she passes and will congratulate himself or herself for having all "the keywords, the signs and tokens" recited correctly. Like Willow, we may lack confidence in ourselves because we have forgotten who we are. As a result, we will desperately search for messengers to show us what we are to do. However, we will never be able to "take upon ourselves" an apprenticeship with the High Aldwin until we have confidence in ourselves and choose our own finger so to speak. Natural men and women wandering in the Telestial wilderness will continue to wander until they are ready for the next step in their spiritual journey to enter an internal promised land.

It is also interesting to note that the High Aldwin has a ritual that is called "consulting the bones". As he consults the bones, he whispers to Willow that the "bones tell him nothing." The bones do serve a purpose however, but to the uninitiated the bones mean something different.   The bones to the uninitiated are more literal rather than spiritual or symbolic. The uninitiated do not know or understand the true purpose of the bones and therefore will "praise the bones." Let those who have ears, let them hear.

The High Aldwin is wise and can perform miraculous things that few understand how to do.  He is caring and compassionate. In the end, Willow goes on a long and dynamic quest and eventually finds his own confidence and becomes like the High Aldwin.

I love this movie but now that I see it with millennial eyes, I love it even more.

I hope you find old things that have become new to you in your millennial journey. Please feel free to share them in your comments or email me at millennialmormon@gmail.com.

Peace be with you my friends. Now and forever.

Q & A with the "perfected" Millennial Mormon

2010-05-01T10:02:00.000-07:00

I'd like to spend a few minutes responding to some questions about this blog and about myself.

Q: Why is the blog called "Millennial Mormonism Today" when you don't write everyday?
A: There are multiple reasons for this. As you press forward in your millennial journey to rediscover who you are, what you will find is that you are more mindful about today and this very moment than you are about the past or the future. It is a hellish, Telestial, natural man/woman mindset that worries and perseverates about the future (or the past). Jesus the Christ said: "Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof" (Matthew 6:34). This is repeated in the Savior's sermon at the temple to the Nephites and in D&C 84:81-84. The natural woman or man finds this to be a hard saying. Who can hear it?!

Q: Are you an apostate or excommunicated member of the church?
A: No. I actually hold a current temple recommend and love the church. The church, the apostles and prophets and the temple have brought me out of the world and into the wilderness. Jesus Christ is bringing me into the promised land.

Q: So you don't follow the prophet?
A: The scriptures, the laws and ordinances, the temple, the apostles and prophets (dead and living) and indeed "all things" are types and shadows of Jesus Christ (see 2 Nephi 11:4). The apostles and prophets are special witnesses of Jesus Christ and point to him as the means and example of perfection (becoming whole, holy or complete). The natural woman or man worships the types and shadows. They spend most of their energy focusing on the external symbols. A millennial mormon is more concerned with the meaning behind the type and the internal application for him or herself. For every external type, there is a corresponding internal meaning that leads to perfection. Thus there are external apostles and prophets and internal apostles and prophets. There is an external temple and there is the internal temple. There are external ordinances and internal ordinances. It is not that the external is meaningless or of no value. They are very valuable clues that lead us in the right direction. But they are not ends of themselves. Once the meaning and focus is directed to the internal, peace, joy and happiness are found. If you are from Utah, I'm sure you are familiar with the song Jerusalem by Alphaville. There is a profound line in that song that corresponds to my answer. "Chasing shadows (types) leaves you feelin' blue, this situation needs a cure . . ."

Q: So why do you stay in the church?
A: The church continues to be a beautiful and wonderful place to work out my salvation. God speaks to us in our own language as you well know. The language and learning of my "fathers" (in this case the church) is helpful for me to know where I am in my internal millennial journey. The church is the faith and tradition of my fathers and mothers. I have friends and family there. The dogma, doctrines, policies, rules, standards etc. are types and shadows. I don't spend a lot of time focusing on the external. It is the internal that counts more for me at this stage in my journey. If I were to attend another church I would need to learn a whole new language and the message would be the same for me anyways.

Q: Are you a "New Order Mormon"?
A: No. Although there is certainly significant overlap. The difference as I see it is that Millennial Mormons tend to "believe all things" because all things are types and shadows. I would let New Order Mormons speak for themselves on how they would like to be defined. I do like the band New Order though.

Q: Why do you talk about the temple? Don't you know it's sacred? You're not supposed to use the temple's words in common speech.
A: The temple is one of the most profound ways we come to know Truth. As we know, the temple is saturated with symbolism. The entire temple endowment, past and present has been published for quite some time. It truly is not a secret. There are many phrases from the temple that we use in common church dialogue. One example is the phrase: "return and report" which is used frequently outside the temple. I do not claim that how I see the symbolism of the temple is the correct way. I don't speak for the church. I am not President Monson. I alone am responsible for what I say and believe. It is merely my opinion. This is as it should be. The Brethren are correct in promoting the sacredness of temple. On a Telestial level, this is very appropriate. There should not be one correct interpretation of the temple's symbols. What is sacred is the subjective internal meaning translated from those symbols for the individual. The Internet is a miraculous thing. It is a great symbol in and of itself of oneness and unity. I see you the reader of this blog as one with me rather than separate. The Telestial world is about seeing things and people, including God, as separate, whereas in millennial thought, the emphasis is placed more on oneness and unity. Therefore the meaning of how something is sacred and when, how and where, sacred things can be expressed depends upon your mindset.

Q: Do you believe in the literal historicity of the Book of Mormon? What about DNA studies, etc.?
A: For me the value of the Book of Mormon is not so much in what aspects are literal and what aspects are symbolic. There are legion opinions about that. As I have said before, for me, everything is a type and shadow. Which is more important, the mirror and the reflection, or the actual person it is reflecting? Nicodemus Mormons focus on the mirror and the reflection. Millennial Mormons are more interested in the actual person. It is not that the mirror or the reflection isn't valuable. It is. But once you are familiar with what is being reflected back, it becomes less necessary to look into it. The Book of Mormon is a mirror and it is about you! You are the golden plates that have been hidden (deep in the mountain side) and are now coming forth. You are being translated correctly and published to the world. You are the most correct book on earth. The Nephite and Lamanite wars within you are coming to a close as Christ comes. You are the temple in Bountiful where Christ visits. This is what is important from my perspective. I still get curious about if the Nephites actually existed and where they lived. I'll smile if they ever find ancient horse bones, an "I Nephi" inscription or Middle Eastern DNA in Native Americans. But if they don't, then it won't change the incredible meaning and peace I have found through the symbolism of the Book of Mormon. God brought the book forth not as a history lesson but to change your life and help you to remember who you are. The curse has not yet been lifted on the church for treating lightly the sacredness of the Book of Mormon (see D&C 84:54-57). I sometimes wonder if we are seeing that played out now because in times past we have focused so much on the historicity and searching for an epic and romanticized perspective on the book rather than recognizing how the book applies to us individually, spiritually and internally. You can lift the curse for yourself, and eventually it will come to pass that the curse will be lifted on the whole church collectively.

Q: What is a Nicodemus Mormon and why do you hate them?
A: A Nicodemus Mormon is a member of the church who is in the Telestial phase of their spiritual journey towards becoming perfected or whole (holy) and complete. They tend to center their focus and lives on the law and the prophets. They are akin to scribes and Pharisees. They are named after Nicodemus, a Pharisee in the New Testament, who initially took what Jesus was saying as literal and at face value. They tend to be uber literalists. They tend to focus on the physical/material world and make judgements from that perspective. I use the name "Nicodemus" (see John 3:1-9) to describe a stage in my life because he was an open minded Pharisee who became converted to the gospel and began following Jesus. Therefore, Nicodemus Mormon is not a pejorative so much as an identifier of where one is at in their journey. I was once a Nicodemus Mormon but now that phase of my journey is fading away as I continue to rediscover who I am. I may sound a little harsh with them sometimes but that is consistent with the example of Jesus. His most direct criticisms went to the scribes and Pharisees. He was kind and merciful to sinners and prostitutes who wanted to change their lives. This seems to me to be a mirror as to what style a person wants and needs to help them to move forward. Some need kindness and mercy and some need something a little stronger. I do not hate anybody. I especially recognize the difficulty of moving beyond the Telestial. I know it is not easy and I love those who are making the journey as well as those who choose not to in this life.

Q: Why do you believe that we can become perfected in this life?
A: It depends on what you mean by perfected. I use the terms whole or complete as a way to describe a fullness of the triune nature of the soul. The soul is made up of three parts. Intelligence (Divine Nature), Spirit, and Body. Intelligence is co-eternal and cannot be created or destroyed. When all three parts are functioning in harmony and unison then a soul is said to be perfect. Our Heavenly Father has a perfect triune soul. Jesus Christ has a perfect triune soul. The natural man makes a superficial judgement about perfect and tends to only look at the physical or superficial, and is concerned with rules, commandments, traditions and laws. A millennial perspective is more interested in internal process and interaction between the three parts and how they become one. There are many scriptures about finding this perfected process in this life. In Matthew 5:48 Jesus commands men "to be" perfect not to "become" perfect. It is present tense. It is about what is going on right now inside of you. Another scripture is in 2Peter 1:10 where Peter says we should be diligent in making our calling and election sure. Most members of the church see this concept as something out of reach for them when it is clearly applicable to all of us. It is meant to be in this life. In Moroni 7:3 the prophet Mormon speaks about entering into the "rest of the Lord" in this life before our body dies! Many members of the church are in anything but a restful state because they are in the Telestial part of their journey. Jesus said: "Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28). That is so true.

May you always be blessed my friends. I hope this helps to clarify your questions.

Does God laugh?

2010-04-23T15:35:00.000-07:00

Greetings my friends. I'm grateful for each one of you. Thank you for your comments and questions. I always welcome and enjoy them.

There is a Yiddish proverb that says: "Man plans and God laughs". I think there is a lot of truth to that statement, in more ways than one.

When you juxtapose the recent Icelandic volcano activity with the fear based global warming movement, this proverb can be particularly instructive. While I do not deny that humans have an impact on the Earth's environment and even climate, I think we must keep perspective on the limited power and authority of the natural man. Again, I do not deny the science of man-made impacts on climate. That is not my point here. However, if you believe that the natural man can somehow calibrate climate change then you are fooling yourself. Natural man can hardly predict weekly weather patterns, let alone climate change over millions of years. While it is a worthy goal to create Man/Nature At-One-Ment, we must recognize that for this to be effective we must first be in harmony with our own internal divine nature and create the At-One-Ment within.

But why would God laugh at this situation according to the Yiddish proverb? In our planning efforts to curb greenhouse gases to prevent GLOBAL WARMING we may find as time goes on that we come to regret that decision. WHAT!!?? What do you mean Millennial Mormon??! I thought greenhouse gases were a bad thing and a pollutant!

In the future, we may recognize that a few more volcanic eruptions such as the recent one in Iceland would actually create a significant COOLING effect on our climate. This is called: Volcanic Winter and since we can't predict when and how often volcanoes will erupt, we really shouldn't fool ourselves into thinking that we can calibrate our climate. In the future, we may look back and realize that our greenhouse gas emissions were a good thing and actually prevented us from experiencing a mini ice-age or worse. In the mean time, all the fear based global warming hyperbole has actually generated elaborate ideas such as a giant space-based sun-shade.

This is why "man plans and God laughs". Darth Vader said something akin to this when he made this comment about the Death Star: "Don't be too proud of this technological terror that you've constructed. The ability to destroy a planet is insignificant compared to the power of the force."

Therefore, we can construct all the technology we want to curb greenhouse gases but until we understand and remember who we are, we may find God laughing at our best laid plans.

Since I have shown that God obviously does laugh, the next question is how loud does He laugh? The answer is that it is usually not loud laughter. There are many layers of symbolism to this so let those who have ears to hear God laughing, let them hear.

If all of this is still not evidence enough for you that God does indeed laugh and you need a further sign, then just imagine God watching me as I try to pronounce the name of the Iceland Volcano: Eyjafjallajökull.

Say no more.

Peace and blessings to you my friends. All the best to you in your millennial journey to let go of fear.
Laugh a little on the way. But not too loud.

Millennial Conference Report April 2010

2010-04-05T18:13:00.000-07:00

Greetings to everyone! I hope this post finds you well and in the millennial moment. I hope you had a wonderful Easter. Like many of you, I had the opportunity to watch conference on Easter weekend. When I watch conference now, what I am most curious about is what strikes me as millennial and what strikes me as "nicodemus". Please note that I never blame the Brethren for a nicodemus message. Like many of you, I know that the living Apostles and Prophets speak on behalf of the Lord. Their message is a perfect mirror of our millennialness or lack thereof. While there may be many who will blame and fault find the Brethren, I will not be one of them. Blame and faultfinding are inextricably tied to the Fall. Blame is a sign that we have partaken of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, that we see the world in a fragmented perspective, and out of fear and shame we avoid accountability and a recognition of our agency. As a result, we blame and sink deeper into a fear-centered Telestial world. Blame is natural man territory. If you blame, you're lame! When I say "lame" I am using it in the same context as a racehorse. If the horse is lame, it is hurt or damaged and will not be able to progress very far in its journey. The same is true of you, if you blame. When you blame, you sink deeper and deeper into a fallen world that few find their way out of. Millennial Mormons recognize that accountability and recognition of agency or free will is the opposite of blame.

MILLENNIAL HIGHLIGHTS:
President Uchtdorf is on a millennial roll! His talk: "You Are My Hands" was extremely impressive. If you want to shift your life into more of a millennial gear, I would highly recommend his talk. Reading the words don't really do the talk justice. Hearing him express this talk was truly inspiring. The feeling of love was overwhelming. Thank you President Uchtdorf.

Elder Oaks also gave an interesting talk in the Priesthood Session entitled: "Healing the Sick". What was interesting and unifying about this groundbreaking talk is his recognition that faith is the central element in the miracle of healing. He referenced that other churches and traditions have legitimate healing miracles in their midst and that those miracles are attributed to faith. He also said that the faith of the individual asking for a priesthood blessing is more essential than the words spoken by the priesthood holder in the blessing. Remarkable, and as I said, groundbreaking in many regards.

Were there other talks or moments that you would describe as millennial?

NICODEMUS HIGHLIGHT:

I have great memories of Easter weekend because without fail one of the networks would show The Ten Commandments with Charlton Heston and Yul Brynner. One of my favorite parts is when Moses is on the mountain and about to receive the ten commandments and the Lord, in a deep and authoritative voice, calls out one of the ten commandments like: "THOU SHALT NOT KILL" and this blast of fire writes the law in stone with sparks flying everywhere. I must admit a smile crossed my face when I juxtaposed the Nicodemus highlight of the conference with me imagining the Lord, in a burst of fire and a deep thundering voice, writing in the stone and saying: "THOU SHALT NOT WEAR FLIP-FLOPS TO CHURCH ON SUNDAY". I had this image of God who loves His children, actually becoming offended at those who would think of wearing flip flops to church. It reminded me of the Zoramites in their church who cast out those who did not meet their clothing standards for worship. Have we considered what Jesus used to wear for footwear? What about those in other countries who wear this style as typical to their culture? Let me be clear, it is not the Apostles and Prophets who are to blame for nicodemus utterings. It's you and me. Clearly I still have a ways to go in my millennial journey when such attention and concern is placed on external footwear at General Conference.

Flip-flops are considered to be comfortable. What if if those who wear uncomfortable shoes to church perhaps may have an uncomfortable inner relationship with God whereas those who wear flip-flops and other comfortable shoes may be more at peace and comfort in their relationship with God? Just a thought. But it shows how judging appearances can be deceiving and detrimental. Clearly you and I have some millennial work to do!

Contrast the carnal commandment footwear focus with President Uchtdorf saying: "I hope that we welcome and love all of God’s children, including those who might dress, look, speak, or just do things differently. It is not good to make others feel as though they are deficient. Let us lift those around us. Let us extend a welcoming hand. Let us bestow upon our brothers and sisters in the Church a special measure of humanity, compassion, and charity so that they feel, at long last, they have finally found home."

When we care more about the external than the internal we can be assured that we are in the Nicodemus or Telestial stage of our spiritual journey. As I've said before, this is an important and essential stage in our journey to rediscover who we are. However, is it not time for you and me to remember who we are and create an internal millennium within ourselves?

I had a man come up to me a few months ago and he was concerned about people who were taking the sacrament with the left hand instead of the right hand. I have pondered that quite a bit over the last several months. The Brethren have not taught in Conference anything about the "correct" hand to use during the sacrament. At least not recently. There is nothing written about it in the Church Handbook of Instruction either. If the proper hand you use to take the sacrament is so important, why is it not being taught? It's a great example of how the church is becoming more millennial all the time. The external hand that we use when we take the sacrament is not nearly the most important part of our anatomy when it comes to that profound ordinance. It's a broken heart and contrite spirit that are truly required (see D&C 59-8-9). When we focus on, judge, and condemn the external, often we miss the internal which is the holy place of the soul.

General Conference is a great mirror that we can use to look at ourselves to see where we are at in our spiritual journey to rediscover who we are. The more nicodemus we are, the more of that is reflected in the talks of General Conference. When we yearn to enter an internal millennium we will hear more talks that reflect a millennial consciousness and awareness. The servants of God, the Apostles and Prophets, truly reveal God's secret (Amos 3:7). The secret that is within you. I look forward to the day when all the messages of conference are millennial.

All the best to you on your journey. Peace and blessings to you always my friends.

In The Year 3000

2010-03-06T07:13:00.000-08:00

Greetings to everyone. Peace be with you. May you always be blessed.

We often hear that the church is perfect and true but the members aren't. This is very true on a number of levels. The church actually is a reflection or a mirror of ourselves. Therefore it is a perfect reflection of where we are at in our spiritual journey. When we see Nicodemus moments in church history, doctrine, or policy we really should look at ourselves and understand that we are seeing a refection of where we are right now. When the church moves in a millennial direction, millennial Mormons rejoice everywhere and Nicodemus Mormons become bitter and angry. When the church moves in a Nicodemus direction, millennial Mormons use that as an opportunity to reflect on where they are at in their journey.

Nicodemus Mormons know not what they do.

What would the church be like in the year 3000? Let me play the role of Conan O'Brien for a moment. Let's have some fun and perhaps we can learn something about ourselves that will help us in our journey. Let's pretend that we and therefore the church were to continue down a Nicodemus path, continually partaking of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil instead of setting our sights on the tree of life. What would it be like in the year 3000 if we and therefore the church were to wander deeper and deeper into the Telestial world? Let's get uber Nicodemus shall we? Let's laugh a little. (But not too loud).

In the year 3000 temple attendance is to be observed several times a day. A new fabric has been created using Celestial Nano Technology (CNT) that is very expensive but makes white clothing shine with an amazing brilliance. Members are INVITED to purchase this new clothing or rent it for a fee. All priesthood holders can no longer wear just a white shirt in a temple session but must wear a full suit that uses CNT. Also, when you do your own names at the temple, the slips have become exceedingly large and elaborate whereas if you ask for temple file names they are on smaller and smaller slips of paper and temple workers will continually look disappointed and encourage those people with the small slips of temple file names to bring their own names to the temple so they will be blessed.

In the year 3000, the "4th block" is a meeting where a recap of the previous 3 meetings is the latest in a series of new meetings designed to increase the spirituality of the members. It lasts about an hour and starts with a hymn, prayer, spiritual thought, missionary moment, temple moment, food storage moment, modesty moment and followed by members sharing what they learned in the previous 3 meetings and how they can "apply it in their daily lives." The sick, the diabetic, the pregnant, and nursing mothers are exempt from the 4th block. The levels of sickness, diabetes, pregnancies and nursing at church continues to rise.

In the year 3000 missionary work in the United States and Canada grinds to a halt since almost every non-member has at least one tattoo and multiple piercings. In addition, it is really hard to get any investigators to stay for all 4 blocks on Sunday (Note that baptisms still occur as long as investigators attend sacrament meeting maybe once or twice in a month before baptism). As a result, the ULTRA missionary coordination meeting is developed in addition to the weekly missionary coordination meeting. The ULTRA missionary coordination meeting is a meeting held at least once a month in order to make sure the weekly missionary coordination meeting is being held.

In the year 3000, righteous priesthood holders not only continue to open doors for their wives but they also carry their wives and daughters over any water or debris on the ground no matter how small it may be. In some wards, men are to escort their wives to Relief Society, take them into the Relief Society Room, pull out their chairs for them, seat them, and kiss them goodbye on the cheek. They are also encouraged not to call their wives by their given name due to its sacredness. They should only be referred to as "my sweetheart" or "mother". In a related change of policy, any priesthood holder seen in the passenger seat of a car being driven by his wife or failing to open a car door for his wife is regarded as engaging in conduct unbecoming a member of the church and could be brought before a disciplinary council if there are witnesses to these abominable and despicable acts.

In the year 3000 a new handbook for married couples is published by the church. The list of approved and non-approved married intimate activities (MIAs) receives the most attention. According to the Church's Handbook of Instruction, (which is now 12 volumes) Bishops are to interview all married couples in the ward "at least monthly" in order to encourage them to follow the counsel in the married couple handbook.

In the year 3000 on the night before the Sabbath (Saturday is a special day), members of the church are INVITED to put on their best Sunday clothes at sundown and to sleep in them. Members then are to keep their Sunday clothes on for the entire day on Sunday until 10:00PM. 8:00PM for children, the sick, the diabetic, the pregnant or nursing mothers. The number of children, sick, diabetic, pregnant and nursing mothers continues to increase.

In the year 3000 church members are no longer allowed to have anything with caffeine and cannot receive a temple recommend if they do not comply. The issue of chocolate though is an exception, and is left up to the members to decide, similar to the fruits and grains section of the word of wisdom. Some members worry that in the year 4000 chocolate will also be banned. Section 89 of the D&C has been revised to include the "caffeine restriction" and verse 2 now reads: "To be sent by commandment, showing forth the order and will of God in the temporal salvation of all saints in the last days—" (see D&C 89:2).

In the year 3000 after conclusive evidence shows that "gay genes" contribute 53% to the outcome of whether a person is gay or not, the church concedes and allows members who struggle with "same gender attraction" to kiss each other without putting their membership at risk. However, the kiss can only be as intimate as a mother towards her son.

In the year 3000 the church continues to emphasize the importance of talents. However, now that church members are entirely responsible for the upkeep and cleaning of buildings, increased inflation of number and length of meetings, expanded home teaching and visiting teaching, extended seminary and institute, more bishop's interviews, more temple attendance, 30 minute missionary moments added to family prayer and scripture study, and increased fast offering contributions, few members of the church have time or money to even think about expressing and working on talents. As a result, anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medications are the norm. But they must be prescribed by a "competent medical professional".

In the year 3000 bishops can no longer delegate any of their duties. Bishop burnout increases. The sole role of the counselors now is to literally lift up the weary arms and hands of the bishop and give words of encouragement to him. Due to the bishops being burnt out it is thought that they just require more training and so bishop training meetings occur "at least twice a month" in addition to a monthly PPI with the Stake President.

In the year 3000 reverence in the chapel is finally conquered. Members now are silent when they enter the chapel and if they need to communicate they do so in a whisper. Babies and small children are quietly escorted out of the chapel if they fuss. Bishops are instructed that a new goal for wards is for members to apply the reverence they have for the chapel to the entire building.

In the year 3000 modesty continues to take on new meanings as women and girls are no longer allowed to show their bare arms, hands and legs in public. The piercing of ears is abolished and no earrings are allowed any longer. All of this is codified in the new For the Strength of Even Stronger Youth pamphlet. Women and girls wonder when the "Mormon burka" will be coming. It's only a matter of time. Perhaps in the year 4000.

In the year 3000 the members continue to say that it is now the most wicked time on the face of the earth and that the most recent generation of Mormon infants born is the most righteous of any previous generation. The people of the world are worse than in the days of Sodom and Gomorrah. There continue to be wars and rumors of wars and earthquakes in diverse places. Many members' hearts fail them as they await the millennium (external of course).

Finally, in the year 3000, one of these "diverse earthquakes" finally hits Utah as had been rumored and thought to be coming for centuries. The epicenter, ironically, is in the county that has the highest compliance rate with the new 40 year food storage plan. Although there are no fatalities, all the food storage on the other hand, has been completely ruined and is utterly unusable. So is the modern shelving units, thermal generators, and the precise temperature and humidity food storage rooms in members' basements. Not so ironic is that the Utah county that had the highest rate of 40 year food storage compliance is also the wealthiest county in Utah. Poorer members of the church outside this county continue to struggle with the food storage requirement and continue to be encouraged to have faith and follow the counsel.

I'm sure you can think of many more. I hope you had fun and I hope you recognized that these exaggerations teach you about where you may perhaps be in your spiritual journey. I have been heartened as I have embraced my journey away from the tree of knowledge of good and evil and towards the tree of life. I can see the church is becoming more millennial all the time.

Remember, the church is not to blame. It is a reflection of you. When the church takes a Nicodemus direction, we don't need to look any further than ourselves for the reason. Conversely, we can rejoice when it moves in a millennial direction.

If you are ready for a millennial church then work on the internal millennium within yourself first and watch how things change externally. Watch how the church continues to become more millennial and rejoice in the journey towards the tree of life.

Peace and blessing to you my friends.

Your Life Is A Parable

2010-02-02T09:51:00.000-08:00

Your life is a parable. Your life is scripture.

The Prophet Joseph Smith said: “I have a key by which I understand the scriptures. I enquire, what was the question which drew out the answer or caused Jesus to utter the parable?” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, sel. Joseph Fielding Smith, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1938, pp, 276–77.)

In order for you to understand your life you must do as Joseph said. What is the question which drew out the answer or caused Jesus (Spirit) to utter the parable (Body) or the manifestation of your physical life? Once your life is given the correct interpretation then you will experience "the peace of God, which passeth all understanding" (Philippians 4:7).

Millennial Avatar

2010-01-23T11:10:00.000-08:00

I recently saw the movie Avatar and enjoyed it quite a lot. It is an amazing 3-D experience not to be missed. James Cameron has made some extraordinary movies and this one may be his best. Although there is criticism that the concepts for the story are a mixture of Dances with Wolves, Return of the Jedi and Pocahontas, I must say that it really was an elegant portrayal of some profound spiritual principles. Much like George Lucas for Star Wars, James Cameron pieced together many historical and mythological principles in a science fiction form that creates a timeless quality to the story.

There are the usual demonizations of the military and corporations. Greedy corporations run by white males with no shred of decency, combined with a collusionary military to enforce the desires of the corporation are all too frequent themes that tend to be tired and worn. But if you can move past the typical left wing political ideology and see beyond the cliches then you can truly find some impressive symbols that point towards a millennial frame of reference. Not to mention that the special effects in this movie are extremely impressive.

Jake Sully is the main character. He has left Earth which is no longer green and beautiful but has been "killed" and is presumed to be an environmental wasteland. His twin brother has died and Jake is taking his place as a "driver" for an avatar body on another planet. The planet "Pandora" is filled with life and has a sapient native population called the Navi who are ONE with their environment and the planet. Jake is a disabled marine who is despised and rejected by his own kind but has the DNA to drive an avatar that has the form of the Navi. His initial goal is to assist the corporation and military in pacifying the Navi and moving them away from their home so the corporation can continue to mine the planet for a rare mineral. If he succeeds, Jake will be paid handsomely and the military will also pay for him to have his disabled legs replaced. As he makes contact with the native population and learns their ways, he recognizes that their way of life is more beautiful and more harmonious than the one that he has. As he integrates deeper into the Navi culture and falls in love, he leads the Navi in an epic battle to turn back the tide and defeat the military-industrial alliance.

This movie is a visually stunning reverse parable of the garden of Eden story. Jake (Adam) lives a Telestial existence where all things are fragmented (including his body) and everything is a great threat. It is a place where the pursuit of money and power provides illusory carnal safety and security. Jake describes how they had "killed their mother" Earth and now history would repeat itself on this new planet. In spite of his carnal condition and beliefs, he leaves the lone and dreary world behind. He is saved and guided by a female Navi named Neytiri (Eve) who helps Jake to let go of his fragmented beliefs and embrace oneness and unity in a garden of Eden paradise.

The journey is challenging. Netytiri's mother wonders if Jake's "insanity" can be cured and describes him as a cup that is already full (of fragmented beliefs). Jake's world is turned backwards and upside down as his physical life fades and his spiritual life with the Navi becomes supreme. As Jake unlearns what he has learned and lets go of illusion, Jake and Neytiri become one flesh and live in harmony with each other, the tribe, and all life on Pandora. The Navi are said to believe in "two births". Jake is born again as a Navi when his spirit is miraculously transferred from his disabled human body to his Avatar Navi body at the "Tree of Souls".

Jake in many ways is also a Christ figure who is anointed through sacred signs and "ordinances" to lead the Navi (Spirit) in a battle to conquer the carnal humans (Body). Jake is not of Pandora just as Jesus said that he was "not of this world" (John 8:23). Jake is despised and rejected by his own kind just as Jesus was (see Isaiah 53:3). He is Navi and Human but over the course of the movie his Navi self comes into a fullness until he gathers all the Navi people from various tribes (dispersed Israel) across the planet to himself and leads them in battle and saves the planet from the carnal invaders. Jesus went from grace to grace until he received a fullness (see D&C 93:3-4). He gathers all his people unto himself and fights their battles (see D&C 98:37). The wicked (carnal man) perishes and the millennium is ushered in after the conclusion of "Armageddon".

Temple themes are also abundant in the movie. There is a sacred space where the Navi finally retreat. At the center of this sacred space there is a great white tree called the Tree of Souls that brings healing and unity. The tree is their greatest connection to Eywa (their deity). The natives will encircle the tree and interlock hands and arms with each other and pray and sing as ONE in order to call for miraculous healing to take place for those who are dying.

The Navi have a unified relationship with all the creatures of Pandora. This millennial existence provides sharp contrast to the humans who see everything as a threat. The prophet Joseph Smith had this millennial perspective in mind when he chastised the brethren on their Zion's Camp march. He said: "“We crossed the Embarras river and encamped on a small branch of the same about one mile west. In pitching my tent we found three massasaugas or prairie rattlesnakes, which the brethren were about to kill, but I said, ‘Let them alone—don’t hurt them! How will the serpent ever lose his venom, while the servants of God possess the same disposition and continue to make war upon it? Men must become harmless, before the brute creation; and when men lose their vicious dispositions and cease to destroy the animal race, the lion and the lamb can dwell together, and the sucking child can play with the serpent in safety.’ The brethren took the serpents carefully on sticks and carried them across the creek. I exhorted the brethren not to kill a serpent, bird, or an animal of any kind during our journey unless it became necessary in order to preserve ourselves from hunger” (History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2:71-72).

Avatar is an excellent movie and I would definitely recommend you see it. It is also a helpful example of leaving the Telestial world behind and can provide you momentum to take the steps you need to take to begin a new day. As we turn away from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil and embrace the Tree of Life, we will come out of our "insanity" and the Telestial world of illusionary threats and carnal security will fade as it did with Jake Sully. We too can see that "all things" testify of Christ. We too can begin a dawning of an internal millennium within ourselves.

Peace and blessings to you until next time my friends.

Millennial Game Change

2010-01-14T17:14:00.000-08:00

Greetings everyone. Peace and blessings to each one of you. My prayers and thoughts are with the people of Haiti. I, like many others, are galvanizing my resources to assist however I can. My heart goes out to them.

We all say stupid things. I know I have said some pretty ridiculous things over the course of my journey. It seems that as a former Nicodemus Mormon filled with uber-literalism, legalism, and external focus, I made more than my fair share of stupid comments. One statement in particular that I made from a Telestial/fragmented perspective was when I was hometeaching a "less active" family that I was "working" with. The husband was a convert to the church who had dropped out over the course of many years but was still open to hometeaching visits.

In one encounter we were teaching a lesson on spiritual gifts. He shared an example of a friend of his who was good at reading minds and he had witnessed several examples of her doing this remarkable act. His point was that spiritual gifts were not unique to the church or the priesthood. As a strong Nicodemus Mormon, I wondered how it could be possible for a person to be able to do such a thing. I know Jesus Christ had this gift and I had heard of this ability in others, but I had never witnessed it first hand. I also wondered how it could be done without the priesthood or at the very least not being a member of the church. He asked me how I could account for such a gift if she was not a member and did not hold the priesthood. Initially, I said that I couldn't account for it. But then I played the dreaded "devil card".

According to church doctrine, a third part of the hosts of heaven rebelled and followed Satan, thus rejecting God's plan and the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Satan and his followers continue to tempt and deceive the world according to the doctrine of the church. I verbally speculated that perhaps this woman, who I did not know at all, was able to tap into some kind of a satanic power that enabled her to do this. The man I was hometeaching was disgusted that I would think such a thing. For that, and other Nicodemus-like mistakes, I pushed him further away from the church and to this day we don't have any contact even though we had developed a decent friendship up to that point.

Little did I realize at the time that in playing the "devil card", I was the one who was behaving like Satan. One of the definitions of Satan is ACCUSER. He is know as "the accuser of our brethren . . . which accused them before our God day and night" (Revelation 12:10). Accusations bring fragmentations. This is in contrast to Jesus Christ who is known as our ADVOCATE. Advocacy brings unity.

I had become an accuser of this woman who I did not know at all, nor did I have any concept that she could hold a legitimate spiritual gift. As a result, my friend became more disengaged and fragmented from me. I was much like the disciples of Jesus who, when they saw a man casting out devils and yet was not following them, they complained to Jesus. The reply of Jesus is interesting. He said: "Forbid him not: for he that is not against us is for us (Luke 9:50). Notice how this statement is very unifying while on the other hand the disciples are making an accusation that brings disunity. Nicodemus Mormons take a very narrow view of Luke 9:50 and say that the man must have had the priesthood in order to perform such miracles. However, there is very little evidence that this is the case. If the man had the priesthood and had been called by Jesus, I'm sure the disciples would not have complained and Jesus would not have made such a broad far reaching statement. This scripture is very millennial and I would encourage the reader to ponder it a great deal.

On January 13, 2010 Pat Robertson made an accusation against the people of Haiti. He is quoted as saying: "[S]omething happened a long time ago in Haiti, and people might not want to talk about it, they were under the heel of the French, uh, you know, Napoleon the third and whatever, and they got together and swore a pact to the devil, they said, we will serve you, if you get us free from the French, true story. And so the devil said, 'OK, it's a deal.' And they kicked the French out, the Haitians revolted and got themselves free, and ever since they have been cursed by one thing after the other, desperately poor." (France 24 International News).

When I saw his statement, initially I was disgusted. I need to be honest with you. It is so easy to lapse into Nicodemus ways and return hatred for hatred. But then I remembered my own "devil card" play. I saw how I made silly and absurd accusations that created more division and fragmentation in the world.

When any follower of Christ plays the "devil card" it's the fundamentalist equivalent of "jumping the shark" or "diablo" ex machina. I saw myself in Pat Robertson and I had compassion on him. The fact of the matter is that we all have the capacity to say outrageous, hateful and divisive things. It is in all of us and that Accuser that is within our temple needs to be dismissed.

However, I do believe that all fair-minded people of whatever religious tradition or non-tradition should join with me in turning our back on this horrific comment. I can still have compassion for this man. I see my own history of fundamentalism, legalism and carnal mindedness in Pat Robertson and it provides contrast for me to continue to pursue embracing the Tree of Life and becoming perfected in Christ. I can stand up and condemn this comment as Anti-Christ without having any hatred toward the man who uttered it. I hope you will too.

We all say stupid things. Harry Reid, a faithful Mormon and Senate Majority Leader of the United States made a stupid comment about Barrack Obama. Although I don't agree with Harry on all of his political positions, I do know why he was forgiven so quickly and readily. It's because he has a track record of working to achieve racial harmony, equality, tolerance and understanding. Unfortunately, his words were not framed in an appropriate manner and I'm sure he wishes that he could take them back. I wonder if Pat Robertson wishes that he could take what he said about Haiti back.

I used to be a very staunch conservative Republican. I'm not anymore. The comments that Pat Robertson made are a big part of why I no longer label myself a conservative or a Republican. (I don't know that I could call myself a Progressive Democrat either--currently I have no political home. The political foxes have holes, and the political birds of the air have nests; but the political Son of man hath not where to lay his head [Matthew 8:20]). The reality is that much of conservative Christian fundamentalism is intolerant and divisive. The fact of the matter is that between 10% and 30% of registered Republicans would never vote for a Mormon no matter how qualified. You could easily see this played out between Romney and Huckabee in the run up to the 2008 election. You will likely see it between Romney and Palin in the future. And yet, there is a majority of Mormons who continue to align themselves with this hatred and intolerance. As I talk with more and more Mormons, Millennial or Nicodemus, they are moving away from the Republican party for this very reason. We know that the party is largely controlled by fundamentalists who seek to exclude and are intolerant of us and so many others. We need to all turn our backs on intolerance.

Ed Decker, a Christian fundamentalist evangelist who created the grotesque movies The Godmakers and The Godmakers II, (which both have been condemned by fair minded individuals everywhere) also plays the "devil card" when he attributes the miracles of the Restoration and Joseph Smith to be of the devil. I unfortunately see myself in Ed whenever I have a temptation to fall back into Nicodemus ways.

Let the Ed Deckers and Pat Robertsons of the world along with my past Nicodemus example encourage you on your path out of fundamentalism, legalism, uber literalism and continuous partaking of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Haven't you had enough of that? It's time for you to embrace the Tree of Life and seek the dawning of an internal millennium. It's time to dismiss the accuser and stop playing the "devil card". No more jumping the shark! No more diablo ex machina. It's time for a millennial game change.

Peace and Blessings to you and all the people of Haiti.

Happy New Heaven and New Earth!

2010-01-01T07:32:00.000-08:00

I hope all of you had an excellent Christmas and New Years. May 2010 bring an abundance of unity into your life.

As I have been considering Christmas and the celebration of the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ and the subsequent celebration of the New Year, I have pondered its significance from an internal millennial perspective. This time of year has fascinating symbolism. The winter solstice. The birth of Joseph Smith. The celebration of Jesus Christ's birth. In Hanukah, the festival of lights. The new year. All these things point to greater light and truth coming into the world or the dawning of a new millennial day.

However, carnal man will continue to look for the external in these symbols rather than recognizing the great internal truths that are being presented right in front of them. Carnal man will worship these symbols and expand them in increasing layers of complexity that become burdensome and heavy. For instance, Christmas is often condemned for being too materialistic and in many cases it is. It can become the most stressful time of year. This is a great example of how carnal man's worship of signs, symbols, and tokens becomes a burden. As the burden becomes too heavy, in desperation, carnal man then will become sufficiently teachable and perhaps will learn the true meaning behind the symbols. The meaning is about you!

The prophet Nephi spoke well when he said that as he read from the books of Moses and that which was written by Isaiah, he "did liken all scripture unto" him and his people that it might be for their "profit and learning" (1 Nephi 19:23). Most members of the church interpret this scripture to mean that Nephi applied the scriptures to the external circumstances of the children of Lehi and their journey to the promised land as well as their encounters with Gentiles. This is a true interpretation of that scripture. However, there are deeper and more profound levels of understanding. Ultimately, the whole (holy) point of the scriptures is about you! It is the journey you are taking to come unto Christ and become perfected in him. Jesus clearly asked the Nephites: "What manner of men ought ye to be? Verily I say unto you, even as I am." (3 Nephi 27:27). The whole (holy) point of scriptures and prophets, symbols, tokens and signs is to point the way to this meaning. However, the carnal and literalist man will only see and apply scriptures and the words of living prophets to their external environment. What will escape carnal man is that all these things will bring him experience to understand who he is. Once the meaning of scriptures and all things external to us is comprehended, a new INTERNAL millennial day will dawn and there will be a new heaven (spirit) and a new earth (body). The carnal man will have been allowed to perish and the illusion that comes from partaking of the tree of knowledge of good and evil will dissipate. Your spirit and body will cease their enmity and unite. Men and women will remember once again who they really are and will begin to create that which brings unity and peace first within and then without.

It would be helpful to liken the life and mission of Jesus Christ to our own lives. There are few who apply this to themselves. As you may recall, according to the teachings of the church, our Heavenly Father had a plan for his children to come to earth and gain a physical body and experience. The pre-mortal Jesus (Jehovah) volunteered to be our Savior and redeem us from the Fall where man would partake of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. He would provide an infinite AT-ONE-MENT to reconcile us with God due to man becoming lost in the illusion of a harsh Telestial world filled with sin, death and decay. In desperation, man would need to rely on strict commandments given by messengers because fallen man will categorize all things as either good or evil in order to have illusory safety and survival. As a result, God would give more and more laws and commandments to burden man so they would wake up and see that they are partaking of an illusion. But man in his carnal state would then begin to worship the law and the prophets and miss the mark. Therefore, a Savior would be needed to show lost and fallen man the way back to unity (Tree of Life). They would need to pass the cherubim (angels/messengers) which stand as sentinels to guard the way of the tree of life. God is love (1 John 4:8). He would never want us to live eternally in hell, misery and illusion. Therefore we must consecrate all things to the Lord, including and especially giving up the illusion that comes from partaking of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, before we can partake of the tree of life.

Jesus Christ would clearly show us the way and the path to do this. The difficulty will be in actually seeing that His life can be likened to our own. Many will take up stones and cry blasphemy. Some have attempted to illustrate these principles in word and/or deed. Joseph Smith said: "Brethren, if I were to tell you all I know of the kingdom of God, I do know that you would rise up and kill me." (As recalled by Parley P. Pratt in MS 55 (September 4, 1893): 585.). He also said: "Would to God, brethren, I could tell you WHO I am! Would to God I could tell you WHAT I know! But you would call it blasphemy and want to take my life!" (Life of Heber C. Kimball, p.333).

Jesus Christ is our perfect exemplar who shows the way clearly. Thus Jehovah came to earth, born in a miraculous manner into humble circumstances. He passes through a veil of forgetfulness. The prophet John said: "And I, John, saw that he received not of the fulness at the first, but received grace for grace; And he received not of the fulness at first, but continued from grace to grace, until he received a fulness; And thus he was called the Son of God, because he received not of the fulness at the first." (D&C 93:12-14).

Each of us decided to come to earth and have a physical experience. Each birth is miraculous in some way. Each of us passes through a veil of forgetfulness. As a result we forget who we are and begin to become lost and fallen in the physical world. It is a humbling experience to lose your memory and have to put the pieces back together. But God is merciful. We have an opportunity to go from grace to grace until we become a joint-heir with Christ and receive of the Father's fullness. Each birth is a miraculous event and journey. Christ's virgin birth is more than a literal miracle but is an important symbol of each one of us. It teaches us who we are and what we have the power to create in the physical world when we become aware and understand the symbolism of all things. The virgin birth of Christ symbolizes purity or creating that which is pure and unifying and can be seen in this way:

God ---> Mary ---> Jesus

Even so, when we begin to understand who we are, we will recognize that we have a trinity within ourselves. Our triune nature can be described as:

Intelligence ---> Spirit ---> Body

It can also be seen this way:

Spirit ---> Body ---> physical manifestation or creation

The fruits of this inspired physical creation unifies and generates peace on earth and goodwill towards men.

When we allow divine intelligence to flow into our lives through our spirit, our body will become servant to that revelation and that which is created brings peace on earth and goodwill towards men. A new heaven and a new earth are created (or discovered) when we become perfected in Christ and live our lives in this way. What we create becomes unifying to the world rather than generating more fragmentation, warfare and tribalism. We too will truly participate in bringing to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. Our role that we play in this process is co-created with God before the foundation of the world. We can embrace it and take the truly straight and narrow path or we can continue to worship signs, symbols and tokens as most do. Though our role will obviously not involve suffering in Gethsemane or on the cross, still we will have an opportunity to play a unifying role that brings AT-ONE-MENT.

However, when we take the broad well travelled road and fall into the illusion of the Telestial world by partaking of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil moment to moment each day, the body becomes the first rather than the last. The last shall be first and the first shall be last. Often the body is so centric that it has no awareness of spirit or intelligence. This physically dominant state leads to anything but peace on earth or goodwill. Even when our body is aware of its triune nature of intelligence and spirit, it often leads to internal tribalism, fragmentation and internal warfare which then become externalized. This is the source of all hatred and external war.

It is of interest to note that Muslims of the Sufi tradition made a distinction with the concept of Jihad or Holy War. They describe a greater jihad which is the war within oneself rather than the lesser jihad which is an external war against the infidel neighbor.

We could say that the wars between the Nephites (spirit) and Lamanites (body) were of a similar vein. They appear to be external wars but they can also symbolize the war within ourselves. This internal symbolism supersedes literal or carnal interpretations. As we draw closer to God, the internal will become a higher truth than the external. The final great war of Armageddon can be symbolized as the final struggle within men and women to give up the illusion of the Telestial world and allow Christ to come and become King. Or in other words for your spirit to become a righteous king over the body.

When you live a life of conscious awareness of who you are, you will see things clearer and in a different way. A millennial day will dawn inside of you and you will witness a new heaven and earth. May this be a truly NEW YEAR that begins the birth of a millennial day within you.

Peace and blessings to you in your journey.

The First Vision Rediscovered

2009-12-03T16:50:00.000-08:00

Greetings, peace, and blessings to all. I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. As we consider the First Vision of the Prophet Joseph Smith it is easy for Mormons as well as those who hate the church to only look at the First Vision through natural or carnal eyes. While I do know that Joseph Smith was indeed a true prophet and that the First Vision is true, I have come to see the event through millennial eyes. It has blessed my life in new and profound ways and has created the dawning of a new millennial day within my temple.

Nephi spoke well when he said: "Behold, my soul delighteth in proving unto my people the truth of the coming of Christ; for, for this end hath the law of Moses been given; and all things which have been given of God from the beginning of the world, unto man, are the typifying of him" (2Nephi 11:4). This important scripture plainly shows that symbolism of Christ is truly all around us. We are constantly being invited to come unto Christ and become prefected in Him. Nephi was blessed because he recognized that the multitude of laws within the law of Moses were customized sign posts for the stiffnecked children of Israel. Moses saught diligently to have his people perfected in Christ and enter into the rest of the Lord but they wanted Moses to speak on their behalf. As a result, they were given extensive carnal commandments until they were ready to awaken to who they really are. These carnal commandments all pointed to Christ. However, because the natural and literal man or woman becomes lost in the physical world of the senses, he or she ends up worshiping the symbols, instead of comprehending the meaning behind the symbols and applying the meaning to his or her own life.

Joseph was really no different than Moses. We as modern children of Israel are very similar to the ancient children of Israel. Stiffnecked literalists who wanted to be told exactly what to do. Joseph clearly wanted us to enter into the rest of the Lord and have the same experiences he had but history repeated itself and rather than Joseph being more like Enoch or Melchizedek he became more like Moses because of us and what we needed at the time. We really were not ready to learn who we are. As a result we received more and more commandments and doctrines that are camflouged in symbolism and allegory. The temple endowment is one of the more elegant and layered symbols that Joseph gave us. It is heavily layered in multiple levels of deep symbolism. This is in contrast to the straightforward school of the prophets and lectures on faith. The lectures on faith were eventually decanonized or "taken from our midst" because we as a people were not ready for them. Instead we received layer upon layer of complex structure, rules, laws, and commandments much like the children of Israel. It will continue to be this way until we are ready.

The First Vision is beautiful in its simplicity. When we go to this SOURCE of the RESTORATION and understand the profound symbolism of this event, then we will be RESTORED and connected with SOURCE. The First Vision is one of the most important symbols that is the typifying of Christ. When viewed through spirtual eyes we begin to comprehend our own nature and how we can be a blessing to all nations, kindreds, tongues and people.

As, I have mentioned in previous posts, when you see three individuals in unity and harmony, you are receiving a beautiful lesson concerning Jesus Christ and ultimately yourself. Jesus Christ is perfect and our great Exemplar as you know. He is Holy or in other words Whole-ly. Although, He was born into the world with a physical body like you and I and He had the same 5 senses and similar temptations, He did not succumb. He was directed purely by His Heavenly Father (Divine Intelligence). This Source of Intelligence and Purity was the revelation that guided his WHOLE life. As the Father spoke to His Spirit and His Spirit spoke to His body and senses, He was able to change the world forever. Jesus Christ is the perfect example of the triune nature of each one of us.

INTELLIGENCE ---> SPIRIT ---> BODY

Sometimes it is called:

MIND ---> SPIRIT ---> BODY

Or as I have mentioned before:

GOD ---> ADAM ---> EVE

Thus, to take upon ourselves, the name of Chirst, is to have an awareness of this principle and then to live in such a way. When we fail to do this, we choose another path that usually leads to partaking of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. As we partake of this fruit from moment to moment in our lives, our body and senses call the shots, and our spirit ends up going along for the ride and then judging all things as either a great threat or giving us undisturbed pleasure. This fragmented perspective is in direct opposition to the Tree of Life which is about unity and oneness. Partaking of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil is a moment to moment occurence that leads to anxiety, fear, hiding, covering up, and blame. These feelings lead to an expansion of misery and take their toxic toll on our physical bodies and our minds which leads to death and decay. We fall into an illusion of a fragmented world of lone-ness, dreary-ness, and separateness. The Lord, in his mercy, puts cheribim and a flaming sword to guard the Tree of Life until we are ready to consecrate or give up this illusion. Once we give up the illusion, we are then free and can partake of the unity and AT-ONE-MENT of the Tree of Life. Jesus the Christ showed us the way. The First Vision event also gives us the clear "first vision" of who we really are so we can partake of the Tree of Life.

In the First Vision, you have a young uneducated farm boy going into a secluded grove of trees to pray. James 1:5 was a major influence on Joseph and gave him the courage to seek God in prayer and to ask questions. It was his first "uttered prayer" alone and as he opens his physical mouth, Satan attempts to foil his prayer and "thick darkness" gathered around him. Thus we see that worldy education and scholarship, as mighty as they may be, cannot answer the truly important questions of life. They will never be able to tell us who we are and in some ways we need to (as Yoda says) "unlearn what we have learned." Thus we see that the scriptures (dead and living prophets) point the way to God and personal revelation. Until we decide to "venture" (Joseph Smith History 1:13) as Joseph did, our spiritual journey will remain incomplete. Thus we see that "uttered prayer" because it uses physical voice, can be heard by Satan. When we ask God to physically hear the words that come from our physical mouth we may inadvertantly invite Satan to make an attempt to darken our minds. Thus we see that the territory of the physical and the senses is where Lucifer tries to influence. The prayer of the heart however, is always heard by God before we even have a chance to utter it with physical voice. As the Apostle Paul said: "Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered" (Romans 8:26).

As Joseph's tongue was bound and he was about to yield to this unseen dark force, the Spirit interceded and a pillar of light descended above his head. It was above the brightness of the sun. Pure Light. He saw two personages standing above him. One pointed to the other and said this is my Beloved Son. Hear Him. Thus we see that Joseph was on the cusp of succumbing to darkness but endured until the light came. Even so, we may feel as though our lives are filled with confusion and darkness. We may recognize that our senses cannot be relied upon to save us and are ineffective. Thus we see that our physical senses are easily manipulated by Lucifer. But our Spirit cannot be controlled by him unless we let it. Thus we see that the power of God to illuminate the darkness is superior to Satan's power. Thus we see our spirit being awakened. Pure intelligence flowing into us.

Thus we see who we are:

God the Father ---> Jesus Christ ---> Joseph Smith

Intelligence ---> Spirit ---> Body

When we awaken to this fact about ourselves we enter a brighter world and leave the darkness and confusion behind us. God the Father represents pure intelligence that is infinite, co-eternal and can never be created or destroyed. Jesus Christ represents our obedient and submissive spirit that seeks only to do the will of the Father. Joseph Smith represents our body that materializes God's will in the physical world. This is who we are. This is the source of all creation. We are not merely the created but we are awakening to our role as creator. We are not merely acted upon but we are awakening to act and create. When we live in harmony with our triadic nature, we have joy and create that which is good. When our body and senses are lied to, controlled, and tricked by Lucifer, and our Spirit loses awareness, and fails to judge properly, then Divine Intelligence gives us curses (for our sake) and misery to let us know that we are going in the wrong direction. Or in other words, we are walking in darkness when it is really brighter then noon day. We will need dead or living messengers to guide us back to Christ. We will need His AT-ONE-MENT. We will know the TRUTH and the TRUTH will set us free.

I thank God for the prophet Joseph Smith. I thank God for this First Vision that happened in a "garden" eastward. The East symbolizes light and enlightenment. The symbol of the West symbolizes darkness, death and confusion. Though the church grew as it moved West, so did the number of external (carnal) commandments. These carnal commandments point the way back to the East. They point the way to Christ. We must go to the "SOURCE" of the "RESTORATION". That is why almost every temple's entrance points East. Towards the source of light. Even so, may we now turn towards the simplicity and brilliance of the First Vision to see who we truly are and awaken to a new millennial morning within our temples.

God bless you my friends.

Church Supports Gay Rights Ordinance

2009-11-14T09:13:00.000-08:00

Historical and remarkable is what Millennial Mormonism Today calls the church's public endorsement of a gay rights measure designed to protect gays and lesbians from discrimination in employment and housing. The recent battle between the church and the LGBT community over marriage had produced so much animosity, I really wondered if there could be reconciliation. I did not think it would happen this soon.

Michael Otterson, managing director of the LDS Church's public affairs office, spoke during a public hearing Tuesday before the Salt Lake City Council regarding ordinances proposed to protect gay and lesbian residents from housing and employment discrimination. This unexpected public support for a city ordinance by the church created a small media bombshell that made it into national headlines.

I was overjoyed that the church took a consistent stand with it's August 2008 press release which states that they are not opposed to civil protections and rights for gays and lesbians when it does not interfere with religious liberties and the traditional definition of marriage. That stance seemed to fall on deaf ears when it came to the media, some members of the LGBT community and even some Mormons particularly those of the Nicodemus variety who will likely become offended by this action.

The church took a bold step in declaring support for the Salt Lake City ordinance rather than merely not opposing it. The support came as a result of meetings of leaders in the LGBT community and the church. Apparently they were able to find common ground.

This is extremely millennial and Millennial Mormonism Today welcomes it wholeheartedly.
I thought I would share some of the more interesting comments about this historic event as well as some of my thoughts about those comments. All of these comments were taken from the Deseret News website reporting on this event.

Here is an anti-LDS comment. Notice the twisted skepticism and contempt:
"This is only Salt Lake City one of the areas of Utah slipping from LDS control. I still don't trust this. The LDS does NOTHING until after they are absolutely forced to do so."

It is important to note that the church could have chosen not to make a big fuss about this and simply not opposed it. I'm not sure how the church could be forced to publicly support this. NOTHING is also a very absolutist statement. Apparently, for this angry and bitter individual, any good or positive step the church takes is because somebody is holding a gun to their head. I wish this person peace and blessings and that their life may be healed from the contempt and bitterness they feel.

Here is a comment of the more Nicodemus variety:
"The Mormon church has moved far from the ideology of its founders, and will do pretty much whatever popular opinion tells it to do. Just wait. In a couple of decades or so there will be gay and lesbian Mormon bishops."

This one sounds like a fundamentalist who values tradition over revelation. I hate to break it to them and others but there have been and are gay bishops! They simply choose to remain faithful in their temple marriage in spite of feelings of attraction to the same sex.

I liked this one quite a bit:
"I think if the LDS church is going to do what the popular opinion is at the time, women would be able to hold priesthood positions by now. We invited a gay friend to church several times, and he wanted to stay in relief society with us, nobody made a big deal out it. Everybody welcomed him just fine."

Nobody should make a big deal out of it. We invite ALL to come unto Christ. Some people act like gays and lesbians are not included in the "who is my neighbor" aspect of the parable of the Good Samaritan. For the Mormon community and LGBT community I think it would be an interesting contemporary twist and likening the scriptures to ourselves and our day if we substituted Samaritan and replaced it with a Mormon or someone who identifies themselves as gay or lesbian. We should all go and do thou likewise. It would get us much closer to a literal millennium or at least an internal one.

Here is a comment from a LGBT rights activist that I really liked:
"I am thrilled to be standing shoulder to shoulder with the LDS church on this issue. There are so many areas such as this where we agree! Let's work on those and leave the others to rest for a while, Let's make sure all God's children are respected and protected from discrimination and have the rights they need to manage their affairs. Sure We'll disagree on the boarderlands of our ideologies, but in the center, there is much we can cooperate on. Thanks to the LDS Church for speaking up for what is right, even when (as is obvious from comments here) it may not be popular or advisable or may be misconstrued as being solely for PR. This allows the LGBT community their first glimpse of the compassion of the LDS church as opposed to their view of it as a frightening institution that wants to strip their rights."

Here is a classic Nicodemus Mormon:
". . . I've been a member for over half a century. The leaders of the Church are righteous people, full of love for everyone. I applaud all those who stand up for religious freedom. No one should ever be forced to believe a certain way even if it becomes popular or politically correct. The Gays in the days of Sodom and Gomorrah became the leaders of those cities. They tried to force everyone to think and become like them. Ultimately they were destroyed by God himself because in their perversions they would defile themselves and the children of God and would not repent."

As you can see, at the beginning of this comment, there is some "putting the brethren on pedestals" here. I agree that there are some who want to suppress the free speech of people who are religious, especially if they disagree with them. They should have stopped there. But then you see this person go off the rails and take a purely literalistic position on the Sodom and Gomorrah story instead of seeing the symbolism behind it. The uber-literalist perspective promotes hatred, intolerance, and sometimes even violence. It may surprise this Nicodemus Mormon that I have known some gays and lesbians who are extremely Christ-like. On the other hand I have met some Mormons and other Christians who are more like the Pharisees than like Christ.

This next comment is actually two comments. The first is a previous comment made by a member of the church and the second comment is clearly from the GLBT community. I post it simply to show that we have some work to do in healing some wounds, correcting ignorance, and misunderstanding:
"No matter what the church says or do it will never be good enough for the LGBT's..."Yup... kinda like how nothin' the GLBT community does is ever good enough for LDS members."

This posted comment shows that we don't always recognize that when we make harsh judgements, we then receive harsh judgements. As the Savior said: Judge not, lest ye be judged. It's not fun when we receive what we dish out.

Here's some comments that are about as Nicodemus Mormon as you can get. Notice in the first how uncomfortable he is with the idea that there could be revelation involved in this process:
"A big step back for the church. I can not sit back and have this spoon fed to me as revelation. We should have stuck to our guns. These people need help not compassion!"
"I never thought the church would cower to political pressure. Another decline of the church in these latter days."
"A sad day in Utah. The Church should have stuck to their guns. It certainly shows a weakness that we are becoming 'in the world."

Enough said.

Many years ago, my grandfather's grandfather practiced an alternative lifestyle. He had three wives. He was persecuted for that. It was not popular and the majority of people in the country looked upon that lifestyle with disgust and ignorance. He, like many others were hunted and threatened with sanctions for the life they chose to live according to their religious principles. He and his family even had to leave the country to live this alternative marriage lifestyle according to his conscience.

Today, there are people who are not going to choose to live the same way we do. They have the right to define themselves the way they want. If they want to define themselves by their sexuality then they should be allowed to do that. If they want to say that sexual orientation is 100% purely genetic and biological then they should have the right to take that stand. One thing that used to bother me and many other members of the church is when other Christians try to define who I am and what I believe. Who is anyone to say that I am not a Christian? We of all people, know what it is like to be persecuted, threatened, abused with acts of violence and even killed. We should remember our history and stand with GLBTs in support of tolerance and mutual respect and kindness.

This does not mean we need to agree on every issue. I believe we can find common ground and understanding. Much of the common ground will be found in living a Christ-like life. Once we have a more Christ-like perspective then we will be less condemning and more loving and kind.

Finally, I share one last comment that I liked:
"This is a great day. As an active member of the LDS church with a strong testimony of the Savior and the church I'm thrilled. People deserve to be treated fairly."

Once again, I express gratitude for the church's public endorsement of this ordinance and look forward to further steps by the church to create more tolerance and understanding.

Peace and Blessings to each one of you my friends.

I'm Sorry But It Appears You've Been Damned

2009-11-06T14:25:00.000-08:00

In the prophet Joseph Smith's final sermon on this Earth he said "I believe all that God ever revealed, and I never hear of a man being damned for believing too much; but they are damned for unbelief" (King Follet Discourse). This profound statement should come as great comfort to Millennial Mormons everywhere. Millennial Mormons are in a great position to avoid being damned because they believe that personal revelation is absolutely essential to spiritual growth and development. They are open to receiving truth wherever it may come from. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, they seek after these things wherever they may be.

On the other hand, Nicodemus Mormons are only content to have Apostles, Prophets, Stake Presidents and Bishops tell them what they should do, even as Moses did with the Children of Israel. As a result they receive a rebuke and a warning from the Lord: "For behold, it is not meet that I should command in all things; for he that is compelled in all things, the same is a slothful and not a wise servant; wherefore he receiveth no reward" (D&C 58:26). Nicodemus Mormons are more uncomfortable with personal revelation and listening to the still small voice. Instead, hearing the physical voice of the Lord's servants is more comforting. Though the Lord rebukes and warns us about being commanded and compelled in all things, He understands that this is a necessary step in our spiritual journey and it is certainly better than wandering in spiritual darkness (the world). Accepting living prophets or messengers is an essential step in our journey but it is not the end of the journey. As we begin to create a personal millennium within ourselves we recognize, like Joseph, that we too believe all that God ever revealed, all that He has now revealed and that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the kingdom of God.

The one thing we learn from history is that we don't learn from history. "Not us" we say. We're different and special. We won't fall into the same trap as those who came before us. Well, let's look at history and see if we can see any patterns.

When Jesus came to teach His gospel he encountered a people who were largely unprepared to accept what he was teaching. You will recall that the Pharisees at that time were looking for a physical/carnal Messiah who would deliver them from Roman captivity. They clung to the dead prophets (whom many of their ancestors killed ironically) in the scriptures and the law as found in the Torah. Most did not believe that there would be any new prophets or revelation and so they rejected John the Baptist and subsequently many rejected Jesus in the process. You could say that the Pharisees said "A Torah! A Torah! We have got a Torah and there cannot be anymore Torah." In the end, they were so outraged at what He taught, they sought to kill Him. Tradition is so powerful. Jesus voluntarily gave up his life to complete the Atonement (At-ONE-ment) and show us the way.

For those who were ready, the floodgates of new revelation burst forth. The canon of scripture was once again open. Living Apostles and Prophets returned to the earth and miracles were common. As time went on, history repeated itself. The Apostles and Prophets were killed. The canon of scripture began to close somewhere around the 4th century. Miracles were less common. Thus, the Dark Ages were ushered in.

And then, a new day began to dawn. A young uneducated farm boy asked a question of God which ushered in the Restoration of the Gospel. Miracles became common again. Many of the sectarian Christians were not prepared for such an event. They believed that Apostles and Prophets were a thing of the past and that there would be no new revelations. The Bible was closed and had been that way for centuries. God had been gagged and would not say anymore than what was in the Bible--after all that's what the Book of Revelations says right??!! In the end, tradition was too powerful and they became outraged at what Joseph taught. They sought to kill him and succeeded. Even in his final moments, the prophet Joseph Smith pointed the way to Christ.

Nephi identifies their thinking well when he says "A Bible! A Bible! We have got a Bible, and there cannot be any more Bible" (see 2 Nephi 29: 3-4, 9). Nephi goes a step further when he speaks on behalf of God and states this in regard to those who reject new revelation: "For unto him that receiveth I will give more; and from them that shall say, We have enough, from them shall be taken away even that which they have" (2 Nephi 28:30).

History once again repeats itself.

Is it possible today that history could be repeating itself again with members of our own church? Could Nicodemus Mormons today be saying: "Living Prophet! Living Prophet! We have got a living prophet". Might they not recognize that living prophets and previous scriptures have their role in preparing the way to Christ? They are not ends in themselves. Ironically, Nicodemus Mormons find themselves in the unenviable position as the Pharisees did and many Christians do today. They no longer ask, seek or knock. They have enough! Will tradition once again override new revelation?

Even temple attending members of the church, if they look at the endowment in superficial and carnal levels, will fail to make progress in their spiritual journey. They will be like the children of Israel prior to the Babylonian captivity who trusted in the temple (carnally and superficially) and found their world come crashing down around them. Jeremiah warned them by saying this: "Trust not in lying words saying , The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, are these" (Jeremiah 7:4).
Let me be clear. Having the scriptures, a living prophet, and the temple are wonderful blessings. They are essential aspects of the gospel. As Jesus said, he did not come to destroy the law or the prophets but to fulfill (FULL-FILL) them. Living prophets, scriptures and even the temple can only take us so far. They all do the same thing--point the way to Christ. Until we are ready to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and live by personal revelation then we will continue to wander in the wilderness. As Joseph said, a man is damned for unbelief.

But Millennial Mormon! Don't we have the fullness of the gospel?! Yes, we absolutely do. What that means though is that we have everything we need to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. We have everything we need to begin to become like Him. Whether we choose to do that or not is up to us. If we are to become like him as the Bible and the Book of Mormon teach, then we must begin to live as He did which was by personal revelation from His Father in Heaven. (Many Christians today believe that it is blasphemy and robbery that we could ever become like Jesus Christ or our Heavenly Father. This is one of the reasons why they killed Joseph. It was a hard saying. Who could hear it?)

Millennial Mormons recognize the 9th article of Faith as extremely relevant each and every day. It says: "We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God" (Articles of Faith). Most Nicodemus Mormons won't really comprehend that this article of faith has any personal meaning for them right at this very moment. They would only see this article of faith as pertaining to the living prophets revealing doctrine for the church rather than personal revelation. As a result of their dependence on living prophets and listening to their physical voice, many Nicodemus Mormons are not always well practiced at listening to the still small voice and continue to wander in the wilderness or are damned until they learn these lessons from history.

Eventually, as we embrace the Savior, come to know Him, take up our cross, and actually follow Him, we will "believe all things" (Article of Faith 13) and the internal millennium will begin. When that day comes, the words of the Apostle John will be fulfilled in your ears: "Beloved, now are we the sons (or daughters) of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is" (1 John 3:2).

Peace and blessing to all of you my friends. May God be with you.

EPILOGUE:
I just realized that some people may be misinterpreting how I am using the word damned. Most of you probably know what I mean but for all those literalists out there I had better clarify. I am using it the same way Joseph meant it. What I do not mean is that damned means that you will burn in a literal fire, in a literal hell for literally all eternity. What Joseph and I do mean is that damned means you are temporarily stuck in your eternal journey until you understand these principles that God is trying to teach you. Take your time and learn for yourself.

Dan "Millennial" Brown and The Lost Symbol

2009-10-31T13:51:00.000-07:00

Greetings to all! May peace and blessing be with you as always.

I just finished reading Dan Brown's new novel called The Lost Symbol. For those who don't know who Dan Brown is, he is the author of Angels and Demons and The DaVinci Code. I enjoy his books because they center on historical and religious themes. Although they are fictional works, they present quite a number of historical and contemporary facts. It makes for excellent reading in my opinion.

Many Mormons had heard that Dan Brown had been poking around in the church archives doing research for this book and that he was doing a book on the Masons. Many Mormons were nervous that he was going to do an expose on the temple endowment and the connections with Masonry. This did not turn out to be the case. He only directly references the church twice. Both of the mentions are fairly neutral for someone who doesn't know much about the church.

The overall theme of the book will be of great interest to most Mormons, especially of the Millennial persuasion. One of the primary themes of the book is of apotheosis or man becoming a god. It is primarily a Masonic perspective on the issue but as most of you know, many early members of the church were Masons, including Joseph Smith. Joseph clearly saw many parallels between masonic rituals and Restoration principles and thus there are commonalities and overlap in Mormon temple ordinances and Masonry. There are differences as well of course.

In addition to early members of the Church, a large number of the founders of the United States of America were also Masons. Thus, much of the symbolism of the country is connected to Masonry. This will be difficult for many Nicodemus Mormons as well as Evangelical Christians to take because their view of the United States is consistent with it being a "Christian country". The reality is that most of the founders were Deists and have a strong Masonic background.

The novel takes place in Washington, D.C. and it is a page turner. I highly recommend it for everyone. If you are working on becoming a Millennial Mormon then I would strongly encourage you to check it out. You won't be disappointed.

Another theme of the book is the tension and hopeful reconciliation of science and religion. In many ways, the book parallels many of the topics I have discussed here on Millennial Mormonism Today.

Western civilization, over the centuries has created this separation of religion and science. The two have become like oil and water. Most atheists and agnostics cleave towards science in totality and most orthodox religious folks cleave to their religion in totality. The two appear to be at odds with each other and reconciliation between the two seems out of reach. Both sides seem to want to keep it that way. It appears that this schism has always existed. However, this isn't true. Most Eastern religions are not incompatible with science and you will not see the same fragmentation in the East as you do in the West. However, the West is in the midst of an incredible transformation.

Dan Brown has been able to tap into the pulse of the coming era. Something quite remarkable has happened as science has explored the fundamentals of physical reality. They have begun to find that things are not so tidy and neat as they once thought. The Newtonian laws of classical physics don't seem to work quite the same at the sub-atomic level. The advent of Quantum Physics has changed everything. Many of you may not know much about Quantum Physics but it is in the process of revolutionizing everything we know and everything we thought we knew about how the universe works.

As we get to the sub-atomic level, the rules seem to change and scientists are baffled by what they are seeing. Billions of dollars are being spent to try to figure out what is going on. As Quantum Physics hits the mainstream, scientists are desperately trying to interpret this strange sub-atomic world and the laws that govern it. As a result, new interpretations are developed frequently. Currently, there are 11-12 different interpretations of quantum mechanics and counting. There will likely be many more.

The bottom line with Quantum Physics is that there is a lot we don't know about our physical universe and how it is created. What this has done is "create space" for spirituality and science to begin to make tentative steps towards each other. For many, spirituality and science may be describing the same things with a difference only in terminology and semantics.

It is in this fertile ground that Dan Brown plants the seeds of his novel. His bridge between science and spirituality is the Noetic Sciences and Masonry. Noetic Sciences is the study of the mind and the role it plays in affecting matter--if any. For most classical scientists who tend to be strict materialists, there is no role for the mind to play and matter reigns supreme. For them, the Noetic Sciences are fringe or pseudoscience. For others, it is called frontier science and it challenges many of the notions of the mainstream. As Dan Brown alludes to in his novel, at one time, believing that the Sun revolved around the Earth and that the Earth was flat was considered mainstream and even scientific, based on what mankind knew at the time. Surely we are no different now. This is what Dan Brown explores in his novel and what I try to explore on this blog.

The symbolism of science and religion is consistent with many of the themes we have previously discussed. I am optimistic and hopeful that Science (physical body) and Religion (spirit) will be reconciled and unity and at-one-ment will be achieved. Science and Religion have been like two estranged siblings who are on the verge of healing their relationship and coming together again. I, like other Millennial Mormons, will look forward to that great day. In the meantime, I suggest you read the book and keep your eyes open. There are a lot of wonderful opportunities on the horizon.

Also, in the meantime, I would like to make Dan Brown an honorary Millennial Mormon. Congratulations Dan on your success and I look forward to hearing more from you.

Happy Halloween everyone! Try not to take things too literally tonight. Just because someone dresses like a witch does not mean she is involved in witchcraft. Have fun!

Peace and blessings to you my friends!

James Arthur Ray and the Sweat Lodge Deaths

2009-10-19T18:58:00.001-07:00

It's been all over the news but I would like to say a few words about the 3 sweat lodge deaths that occurred recently. I want to send my heart felt condolences to the families of those who died in this tragic incident. I feel sorrow and compassion for them. Any loss of a loved one is one of the most difficult things to go through in life especially when it is under tragic circumstances. May God bless each of the family members who are suffering right now.

In many ways, I understand some of the desire of these sweat lodge participants. I don't think they needed to pay exorbitant sums of money for what they were searching for. As the scriptures teach, we have a source of spirituality that does not require money to tap into. The prophet Isaiah spoke well when he said: Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price (Isaiah 55:1).

For Mormons, both of the Nicodemus and Millennial variety and everything in between, this source is centered on God through His Son Jesus Christ. It is Him who we place our faith in and with good reason. When we place our faith in man we are bound to be disappointed. Nephi spoke well when he said: Cursed is he that putteth his trust in man, or maketh flesh his arm, or shall hearken unto the precepts of men, save their precepts shall be given by the power of the Holy Ghost (2 Nephi 28:31).

At this point it appears that James Arthur Ray is a failed and false prophet. He may go down in history as a Marshall Applewhite or Jim Jones or perhaps he will come through it and redeem himself. Only time will tell and God only knows. Jesus identified the way to tell whether a prophet is true or false. He said:

" Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them"
(Matthew 7: 15-20).

It is often hard to judge the fruits of a person's life except over a long period of time and perhaps after they have died.

It is a good lesson for us as Mormons that we do not put our faith in man but we put our faith in Jesus Christ. Yes, even though we have living prophets we must avoid the temptation to put our faith in them. They are special witnesses of Jesus Christ. Joseph Smith and all the prophets after him never claimed to be perfect and would never have wanted you to worship them. They point the way to Christ just as the dead prophets from the scriptures did. We should not forget that and this tragic situation is a good reminder. When we put any man or woman on a pedestal, we can become sorely disappointed and led astray. This is why our personal relationship with God through His Son Jesus Christ is so important. The more of a Nicodemus Mormon we are, the more likely we are to put our faith in the physical. On the other hand, many false prophets preach a gospel of hyper-asceticism and unfortunately this is one of the signs of going off the rails. When someone starts to hate the body or see it as 100% negative and an evil thing then you can be assured that you have a false prophet in your midst. There are few Mormons in this category. I would call them hyper-Hellenized Mormons. There are not many of them and most leave the church.

I'm afraid that James Arthur Ray had perhaps become a hyper-ascetic and this was a sign that he had fallen into blindness and illusion. One of his goals was to reach the age of 120 and I noticed he had become obsessed with healthy food and drinking algae/chlorophyll water to shift his ph levels in the hope of achieving greater longevity. I was getting concerned that he had become too hyper-ascetic and was pushing too hard. Perhaps it is a factor in what happened here. Perhaps he forgot that we are all on different levels and that if we push someone too hard they could literally die.

I know some about this man, James Arthur Ray, and I feel very sad for him. I do not think he was an evil man at all but he clearly may have become blinded. In this country, he is innocent until proven guilty and I feel very sorry for him. He carries an extremely heavy burden right now. I don't know if I could stand to carry a burden as great as this. Although he needs to be held accountable for his actions, I personally have no ill will towards him. If it was one of my family members who died on this outing with him, I would hope that I could have the strength to forgive him. I know I would need God's help to do it. I know it would be the right thing to do. From what I do know about him, I believe he would have never wanted this to happen and the burden of this tragedy is something he will carry for the rest of his life. In the eyes of many, it has disintegrated all his hard work and any positive legacy he may have had. In many ways, it is like the burden that a drunk driver would carry if he or she killed someone as a result of their actions. Many people, who do not know him will think that he is a snake oil salesman and was only out for the money. It's true, James may have become drunk with power, money and success. It is easy to do.

I never payed anything into the coffers of James Arthur Ray. But, I have spent money in other places that seemed like the right thing at the time. James is no different than high priced business consultants, therapists, doctors, pharmaceutical companies, dentists, chiropractors, counselors, bloggers, lawyers, fashion designers, televangelists, movie makers and almost any other profession. It could be said of any profession that we either take advantage of a weakness in order to make money or we fill a needed niche. If you are in the profession you are in, you will certainly tend to look at it in the most positive light or you would likely leave that profession. If you have had a negative experience with a certain profession you could say they are only out for the money. It all depends on how you look at it. Either way, I say may God bless you James.

It is sad to see so many people out there who want revenge and who want an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. As Gandhi said, "soon the whole village is blind" and toothless with that approach! Until we get away from that tired, old, and worn out way, we will never have a millennium--internal or otherwise. Winning a million dollar lawsuit, having someone locked away, or giving someone the death penalty will never give anyone the peace and happiness they are searching for. Yet, there are so many who have not learned this lesson. They want his blood and they want him to pay the ultimate price. In many ways I feel the most sorrow for those who hate and condemn without even knowing anything about this man. May God be more merciful with you than you have been to James.

I remember when another man who became much more blinded went into an Amish schoolroom and deliberately shot all those children and the Amish community forgave him. That was one of the most inspiring, millennial, and Christ-like stories that I have heard. What a great example for all of humanity.

James Arthur Ray did not deliberately cause this. Based on what I know about James, this was an accident. He was pushing these individuals to break through physical and emotional barriers that hold people back. Much like Bob and Gillian on the Biggest Loser push severely, morbidly obese people to break through similar barriers. If anyone has seen the Biggest Loser, you will see people passing out and throwing up all the time. You may even see some dangerous situations on that show. The only difference is that NBC knows the liability in trying to help people change their lives and they were willing to pay the money for that protection. Thus, there are life-flight helicopters, consulting physicians, EMTs, ambulances, etc. all standing by. The sweat lodge incident did not have that. James was required by law to have one nurse on standby, which he did. He probably had done events like this for years with no disastrous consequences and instead received positive feedback from the participants. In this case, something went very wrong and people died. James has probably put himself in jeopardy of a manslaughter conviction unfortunately. It will be interesting to see how James deals with this. I wonder if his unflinching message of pure accountability will survive through this. It will be interesting to see if he can use the law of polarity as well.

In the mean time, I feel great sorrow for these families of those who died. Their lives have changed forever and many of them will find it hard to see through spiritual eyes. I would have a hard time if it was my family member. As I said before, I would need God's help to forgive. There would be such a great temptation to fall into bitterness and hatred.

Once again, I send peace and blessings to the family of the victims. May God be with you at this difficult time.

Please pass the fig leaves...

2009-10-10T10:05:00.000-07:00

Peace and blessings to you my friends!

As we look at the illuminating Garden of Eden story, we see many layers of symbols and meanings. Of significant importance is the symbolism of the green fig leaves.
As you recall, Adam (Spirit) and Eve (Body) are told by God not to partake of the fruit of knowledge of good and evil. For most Nicodemus members of the church, the Fall is considered to be a purely positive event, necessary for the spiritual development of mankind. For most everyone else it is viewed purely as a negative event and most especially as "original sin." The Fall clearly has both negative and positive elements. It is important to have a balanced view of the Fall and to see it in totality.

One of the first effects of partaking of the fruit for Adam and Eve is recognition that they are naked and that this is an embarrassment (evil) even though Adam and Eve had been walking and talking with God in this manner. This essential part of the story punctuates the fear, anxiety, and worry that begin to corrupt the bodies of Adam and Eve. Partaking of the fruit begins a spiral into the physical or carnal world that is fragmented into seeing things as either good or evil. They become lost in the physical plane of existence. The first thing they saw as evil in addition to partaking of the fruit was their own naked bodies. This led to the first great "cover up" which most public relations firms and lawyers would agree is in many ways worse than the actual event you are trying to cover up.

Genesis 3:7 says that Adam and Eve's eyes (physical/carnal) were "opened" and they knew that they were naked. The superscript for "opened" in the LDS edition of the scriptures references "Fall of Man." This is very appropriate. As their physical eyes opened, their spiritual eyesight went dim. What they had once seen as normal and had been a symbol of their oneness with their surroundings, was now associated with shame, fear, anxiety and worry. They had forgotten that God had made all things and put them in the garden as they were. Genesis says: And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed" (Genesis 2:25). The partaking of the fruit, led to shame, fear, anxiety, fragmentation and a reliance on the physical.

To symbolize this event, the scriptures say that Adam and Eve made aprons of fig leaves. Why fig leaves? What do the fig leaves symbolize? In order to understand the symbolism it is important to understand the significance of figs. The LDS bible dictionary speaks of figs being "everywhere common in Palestine". The symbolism of this is that what Adam and Eve did is common. It happens to all of us. As has been mentioned before, this Garden of Eden story is not just a historical event but a symbolic circumstance that human beings engage in from moment to moment each and everyday. Thus a common symbol is very appropriate and fig trees as a very common fruit tree fit this concept. It also suggests that Adam and Eve went from having an uncommon, peculiar (treasured), spiritually centered perspective that recognized unity in all things, to a common, carnal, physically-dominated view on life that sees a fragmented world. Once again, the foliage of the common fig tree would fit this symbolism.

In addition, an apron made of fig leaves would tend to wilt very quickly. This tends to suggest that their "cover" will need to be constantly replenished. It is temporal. It is illusory and Adam and Eve will need to work very hard to keep up this facade. This anxiety and constant need to replenish the fragmentary belief system that Spirit and Body have fallen into will deplete them to the point of exhaustion and death.

Further evidence, that Adam and Eve were now spiritually blind is God's question to them before he pronounces the consequences of eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. He asks them a very important question: "Who told thee that thou wast naked?" This question should serve as a wake up call to Nicodemus Mormons everywhere. As a former Nicodemus Mormon, although I knew that Satan was the father of lies, I actually viewed him more as a spoiler or a spiller of beans. We must be careful not to take what Satan says at face value. We cannot trust any information that comes out of his mouth. Nicodemus Mormons often believe that Satan will tell 99 truths in order to perpetuate 1 lie. This is a dangerous assumption to make and can lead to ongoing spiritual blindness. We must be careful to not assume that anything he is saying is the truth or that we are somehow clever enough to see the distinction in his statements. A better approach, and one that is more accurate in deciphering the spiritual symbolism of the Garden of Eden event, is to simply see Satan for what he is: The father of lies. Start to look at each of Satan's statements as a falsehood designed to blind you. An essential step in becoming a Millennial Mormon is casting out Satan and no longer listening to anything he has to say.

Thus, the initial symbolism of the fig leaf aprons worn by Adam and Eve is a covering symbolizing blindness. Carnal man will view it as a symbol of chastity. This is a carnal interpretation that is not necessarily wrong. It is a superficial way of looking at it. Deeper symbolism suggests blindness. Additionally, the color green can be associated with and represent, sickness, poison, death and decay which is all appropriate with certain consequences of the Fall.

The color green can have very contradictory meanings and symbolisms. It can mean both life and death. It means both sickness and health. Thus fig leaf aprons are a very appropriate symbol of fragmentation. In some cultures, the color green, is symbolic of the devil. In Chinese, the symbol for cuckold (a man whose wife has committed adultery) is a man wearing a green hat. This is a nice parallel of how the body (Eve) seeks after forbidden fruit (carnal/physical desires) instead of cleaving to the Spirit (Adam).

The meaning of the green fig leaves changes and evolves over time as Adam and Eve take the long hard road to return to the Tree of Life (Jesus Christ, or seeing the unity of all things or At-One-Ment). With God nothing is impossible. And so the color green and fig leaves can become a positive symbol in the end. The color green also has reference to the tree of life, resurrection, eternal life and immortality. For instance, the Egyptian god of the resurrection, Osiris, was depicted as having green skin.

OSIRIS with Green Skin

Other important symbolisms of fig leaves is that when a fig tree has leaves there should always be fruit (see Bible Dictionary for Fig Trees). Thus, the leaves also symbolize fertility and the ability to produce offspring. This includes children but it also symbolizes our 5 senses of smell, taste, sight, hearing, and touch. Additionally, it also suggests that we have the power to create not just children but anything else we want. It suggests that we can make things that are "man-made" to help us feel comfortable and avoid the pain of a fragmented world where the natural man and woman sees death, sickness, grief and loneliness. We then can become dependent on our "man-made" creations and get lost in them. We can create "Towers of Babel" that are man-made which tend to be self-serving, give an illusion of security, and are carnally inspired. Just as in the tower of Babel story, this leads to confusion and fragmentation. On the other hand, we can create that which is inspired of God through which all the nations of the earth will be blessed. This is our agency.

With God nothing is impossible and in spite of the Fall, a remedy is given to Adam and Eve that will help them to work through their blindness. Messengers are a big part of this. All true messengers represent and symbolize Jesus Christ. It is through studying His life and taking upon His name that we come to see clearly and are able to banish Satan from our midst. As a result the green fig leaves become a symbol for renewal and resurrection. It becomes a symbol of physicality that will always be with us. Ideally, our physical natures and the physical world are brought into their proper perspective and are viewed as a small but significant part of the totality of eternal life and reality. The spiritual world is much larger and can't be seen with physical eyes. Once this is grasped, the physical body becomes a submissive vessel to create that which edifies, and generates beauty, peace and blessings to the world.

The physical plane of existence is only part of our lives. It is significant but easy to become lost in. While the spiritual must take priority over the physical, the physical is not to be completely abolished. The physical remains with us and provides a fullness of joy (see D&C 93:33-34). The physical is not evil or bad.

My best to you as you make the journey to becoming a Millennial Mormon. Please continue to send me your e-mails and update me on your journey. Until next time my friends.