Wedding Portrait Painting

I have decided to include my portrait business on this blog.  I have painted many portraits and every one of my patrons are very pleased.  Please click here or on the picture to more information.

Here is more info on how to get this painting: greatmemories.info/wordpress/art-paintings-for-sale

This book is a series of letters written by a senior tempter — you know one of Satan’s angels — to a junior tempter.  It is a compendium of letters illustrating how to get a new Christian convert to stray from various virtues and turn into a ho hum garden variety Christian.

For the person who is trying to better him/herself, this is a great book.  For those who really don’t care about excellence, or why they are here or where they are going after they die, this may be a boring book.

In my opinion, because of the reader, the old school flowery speech, and the abstractness of this book, one must sit down and study this book, not listen to it.  You must constantly remind yourself that you need to do the opposite of what Screwtape wants you to do, unless of course you want to become a bum and not really accomplish anything worthwhile in this life.

Yesterday I finished reading a similar book that seemed to be easier to understand.  It is called The Brothers: A Novel (The Great and Terrible, Volume 1 — Prologue) . This novel gives a plausible  history of Satan.  More importantly it shows how Satan (aka Lucifer, Son of the morning, etc) can use his logic to bring someone over this his side.

In my opinion one of Satan’s best tools to cause  non-peace is this:  Every one wants to feel that they are doing the right thing, and that the sacrifice that they put in is respected by their peers.  No one wants to be told that they are not as loved.

Does this sound too simplistic?  Here are some examples.  Here’s the first.  Cain and Abel are supposed to sacrifice the firstlings of their sheep flock to God. Well, Cain is a farmer, and doesn’t happen to have a sheep ranch.  He has to go to his brother to get a sheep to sacrifice.  So he bends the rules and offers the produce from his farm.  Well, God shows them that he accepts the sheep but not the produce from Cain.  Cain is mad.  So Satan says to Cain, “Hey you know, all you have to do is to slay your brother Abel, then those sheep will be yours and you don’t have to grovel to him to get your sacrifice.”

Another case, Joseph gets these dreams from God, showing his brother’s corn worshiping his corn.  Another dream shows his brothers’ and parents’ stars worshiping his.   To compound the problem his dad gives him the multi-colored coat, plus the dad loves Jospeh’s mother more; she is a lot prettier too.

The bothers don’t like this.  They work hard than Joseph.  Were they not born first?  So they sell him as a slave.

Satan uses that to get people to do all kinds of mean things.

Well, anyway, there is a Satan.  There is a God.  They both inspire us to do bad or good.  It is part of the plan.  It gives us our free agency to choose.  One of the reasons we are here on this earth is to prove ourselves by the choices we make. We cannot remember our life as spirit children of God.  This is because we are here to be tested.  If we grow toward the light of God and keep his commandments, then we will qualify to live with Him again.

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 This episode of “Conversations” features an interview by host Sheri Dew with Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. He is joined by his wife, Kristen. They discuss their life, marriage, teachings, and ecclesiastical service.

via Conversations—A Mormon Channel Original .

It is always very enlightening to hear an interview with an apostle of the Lord. I listened to this about two weeks ago, and I only recall a few interesting things.

Oaks (far right) with LDS Church President Thomas S. Monson (left) and US President Barack Obama (center) in the Oval Office on 20 July 2009, presenting a personal volume of President Obama's family history as a gift from the LDS Church.

Sheri Dew is always a great interviewer.  She is 56 years old (born November 21, 1953) and has written biographies on people like President Hinckley.  She is also past President of the Relief Society (a women’s organization within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) and currently runs Deseret Book.  It is a mystery why she has never been married.

Sheri L. Dew

To me, there seemed to be a bit of tension in this interview between  Sheri Dew and Sister Oaks, who married later in life to the much older Elder Oaks, who was then a widower.   At one point, Ms. Dew directed a question to both of them, and when Sister Oaks mimicked her husband’s answer,   Sheri called her on it.

In this interview we learn about the life of the apostle, Elder Oaks.  He was raised by his mother.  He learned to work at an early age.  He went into law and enjoyed it.  He became the President of the Brigham Young University when Sheri started school there in 1971.

Elder Oaks is known to tell people what they need to hear even if it is not very popular.  With his law background he knows that members of the Church need to stand up for what they believe because we have a right to.  For example, God has taught through his prophets:

The first commandment that God gave to Adam and Eve pertained to their potential for parenthood as husband and wife. We declare that God’s commandment for His children to multiply and replenish the earth remains in force. We further declare that God has commanded that the sacred powers of procreation are to be employed only between man and woman, lawfully wedded as husband and wife.

We declare the means by which mortal life is created to be divinely appointed. We affirm the sanctity of life and of its importance in God’s eternal plan.

Husband and wife have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children. “Children are an heritage of the Lord” (Psalm 127:3). Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, and to teach them to love and serve one another, observe the commandments of God, and be law-abiding citizens wherever they live. Husbands and wives—mothers and fathers—will be held accountable before God for the discharge of these obligations.

The family is ordained of God. Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan. Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity. Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities. By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners. Disability, death, or other circumstances may necessitate individual adaptation. Extended families should lend support when needed.

We warn that individuals who violate covenants of chastity, who abuse spouse or offspring, or who fail to fulfill family responsibilities will one day stand accountable before God. Further, we warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets.

We call upon responsible citizens and officers of government everywhere to promote those measures designed to maintain and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society.

See complete text here.

As you can see, this kind of doctrine is not taken very well by Satan and his followers. They are trying to teach that marriage is not important, that women should “liberate” themselves and get careers and not be tied down to over populating the world with more children.

In closing, we all know that Israel is being gathered in the last days.  The Children of Israel is anyone who hears the master’s voice and follows him.  The Saviour talked about the wheat and the tares.  When they are young, you cannot tell the difference between the weed and the wheat.  But when they mature, you can.

The Kingdom of God has been restored to the earth with all the keys, Priesthoods, and truths that were lost when the apostles were all killed. You have the freedom to judge between the truths taught by the current apostles of the Lord, and the false information taught by those who would destroy the family as God ordained it. This restored Gospel is run by volunteers (some call them lay ministers).  We need to spread the word, and you are invited to help.

This episode of “Conversations” features an interview by host Sheri Dew with Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. He is joined by his wife. They discuss their life, marriage, teachings, and ecclesiastical service.

via Conversations—A Mormon Channel Original.

Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

I listened to this interview a few days ago.  I love the interviews from Sheri Dew because for some reason she has not been able to land a husband and maybe because of that she picks people’s brains about their marriages.

Well this is great for me because I need all the help I can get.  I figure that every team needs a coach.  In this life, the teams that really count are the family teams.  The Ballard’s are as good as it gets as far as coaching family teams.

The Ballard’s talk about what they say in family prayer, about how the man should seek and heed advice from his wife, and how the wife notices things that are not always apparent to the husband.  The wife should also take advice, if she ever happens to need any!

Other things in the interview:

• Listening to advice (like when he got involved in the Edsel Car dealership).
• Life is not always cushy for Apostles.  They need family and friends to rally around them too.
• It has been a sacrifice for him to always be on call to serve in the church, but that is what life is about.
• People need to share the Gospel with their acquaintances.  It is so simple.  Elder Ballard suggested that we at least read chapter 3 in Preach My Gospel. The Gospel is this:  That Jesus Christ organized his church when has on earth.  He died for us so that through repentance and following him we can return to our Heavenly Father.  After his apostles were killed, his  Church fell away from some of his original teachings.  He has restored his Church and Priesthood on the earth again and is gathering Israel to Zion and to her stakes throughout the world.  The blessings of the temple have been restored. (That’s not an exact quote, but hopefully it is close).

It was good to listen to this interview.  The powerful counsel for husbands and wives is priceless.

I can now understand why the Muslims try to memorize this Holy Book of the Law of God.  There is a lot of law to know.  There is some things that don’t apply to me, but apply to other people, such as marrying up to four wives if you can afford it.

The Qur’an is God’s (another name for Allah) word to people through his prophet Muhammad.

There are chapters called suras.  I currently am on number 4.

I think peace will come into the world when we start educating ourselves about each other.  It is hard to judge someone when you find out what makes them they way they are.  Religion is very personal, and nothing gets us into trouble more than by telling someone that we are more worthy than they are.  Or God loves me more because I am doing it right and therefore God accepts me and not you as much.

Yet God seems to put us into those positions.  Why?  Why? Perhaps it is to finally force us to really sit down with other people and listen to them and love them no matter how different they are from us.

This book is doing that.  I am sitting here crying a bit because of the amazingly preciousness of this book.  The last few days I spent with some Muslim girls and ladies in their schools.  They are trying so hard to love other people even though maybe the other people are not so easy to love.  They are trying to stay modest in this world where modesty is so out of vogue.  May God bless them and keep them pure.  May the two angels on their shoulders not tire and keep them on the right path. (They believe they go through the day with an angel on each shoulder.)

I don’t know if this book is fiction or true life.  In my mind this really happened because it is coming from someone’s mind.  It is about Stephanie who goes to Syria on a fellowship to research how Islam believes in Jesus.  I decided to read it for that reason, yet I am learning how Catholics — at least the Stephanie version — believe in Christ.

Stephanie wants to marry the man she has fallen in love with.  The only problem is that he is a Novice Monk, and apparently Novice Monks don’t marry folks.  He is seriously thinking about it though.  He would have to change careers,  become part of the real world, get a job, raise a family, and cut the lawn.  Well, maybe he has to cut the lawn anyway.

(Personal Note: I believe there is sometimes confusion about what the Bible is talking about as far as marrying.  Jesus called some people (disciples) on temporary missions to spread the Gospel. While they were on missions, they were not supposed to worry about working, or where their food and clothing were to come from.  They could worry about working and raising a family when their mission was over. We still need missionaries.  Missionaries today are called for two years to teach the restored Gospel, and to do humanitarian work. )

Muslim’s view of Jesus

The author talked about the Muslim’s view of Jesus.  They believe that Jesus was not the Son of God, but was only a prophet. They believe that he did not die for our sins and was resurrected.

I don’t understand this.  I believe that Mohammed, Peace be upon him, was a prophet.  And I don’t believe he would have said anything differently about Jesus than what all the other prophets of God have said, including Jesus himself.  And that was that Jesus would come and pay for our sins if we repented.  All the sacrificial ceremonies point to the sacrifice of Christ for our sins.  Do the Muslims believe that they candidates for the atonement?  That is one reason why I wanted to read this book, but the author didn’t answer that question.  The Muslims believe in Mary, the mother of Jesus, and that she was a very good person.  I wish I had this book in front of me so that I can relate exactly what she said on the subject.

My Belief

The bottom line is what I know to be true, and is what all the prophets have taught since the world began, which is that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.  Jesus was a spirit son of God before he was born, just like we were spirit children of God before we were born.   When he was born his spirit was clothed in a body, just like our spirit was.  When he was born his spirit was clothed in a body, just like our spirit was.  His mother was the Virgin Mary, and his father was God.  He looked like his parents.  His father has a body of Flesh and bones, just like Jesus does.  Jesus taught that. “If you see me you see the father.” Jesus grew, was baptized, and organized his Church.  He called twelve Apostles, he upgraded the law of Moses from an eye for an eye to turn the other cheek.  He was later crucified for our sins, and then was resurrected.  When he was resurrected his spirit and body were reunited as an eternal soul.  If you were to see Jesus today he would look like a man, a glorified man, who is a member of the Godhead.  Through Jesus’ atonement we are washed clean and able to return back to our Heavenly Father.

Isaiah – Searching for Truth

Here is a video by the author.

I Felt Sorry for Jeremiah

Here was a guy, just trying to mind his business and lead a normal life with friends, when God calls him to be a prophet.

Jeremiah

And not just any prophet — a prophet who has to always preach doom and destruction.  Back then the messenger was usually shot (OK, fed to the lions — whatever), so having a job as a prophet was usually a short career.

It is good to know that even prophets have their limitations.  They are people like you and I.  Jeremiah told God that he was tired of always having to tell Jerusalem to repent or the Babylonians would get them.  He lamented the day he was born. He wished he had died in his mother’s womb. Stuff like that.

It is amazing that the Jews did not get it.  Time and time again Jeremiah’s predictions came true.  And the people would even ask him what they should do.  But they never followed his advice and they ended up getting in trouble.

Lehi

It is interesting to note here that there were other prophets also that were warning the people.  One was Lehi.  Before the Babylonians took over, God told Lehi in a dream to take his family and leave Jerusalem.  Here is that story.

Actually Jeremiah also tried leaving Jerusalem.  But he was stopped at the gate and incarcerated.

Daniel

Daniel and his two buddies (they had Jewish names and were also assigned Babylonian names which I can’t remember. I just call them Hayshack, Kneeshack and toBedWeGo.  Daniel was his Jewish name.) were taken by the Babylonians to live in  Babylon.  He his two friends talked the guard into letting then eat healthy foods, and ended up more buff than their fellow future courtiers (government admins).

Anyway, Daniel got into some scraps with the good old boy network that was already entrenched in the government before Daniel arrived.  He refused to pray to King Nebuchadnezzar, so he had to do time out in a furnace,

Daniel and his Two Friends and God in the Furnace

which had no effect because God was actually in there with Daniel and his two mates, and they came away unscathed.  This had a profound effect on the King, and he made everyone in his Kingdom pray to Daniel’s God.  Also there was the Lion’s Den that Daniel ended up doing some time in.  I can’t remember why he ended up in there.  I think it also had to do with praying.  Anyway, the good ol’ boys who put him there ended up getting put in there themselves.

Daniel in the Lion's Den

Daniel also interpreted a boat load of dreams.  One was for the King.  The King would not tell Daniel what his dream was, so Daniel had to figure out what the dream was.  It talked about a big statue of a man which had the head of gold, a torso of bronze, legs of iron, and I forget my metals, but there were two legs and ten toes.  Then there was a stone cut out of a mountain without hands and rolled down the mountain and broke to pieces all of these kingdoms.

This stone is the Kingdom of God.  I believe that no hands means that this will be an all volunteer effort, and that people will not be coerced to join.  There will be no paid clergy.  The mountain is possibly the Lords house — his temples.  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is this stone.  They do not have a paid clergy.  We are not “hirelings,” who leave the sheep when the going gets tough.  The Church is gathering scattered Israel — not to one place, but to stakes of Zion, which stakes are like tent pegs which support Zion.  These stakes are where ever there are members of the Church.

Last Days

There were a few dreams or visions that Daniel had that talked of a man that takes over much of the world by lying and by using fortresses, whatever that means.  He is able to change the seasons.  It reminded me of the anti-Christ mentioned in the Book of Revelations in the New Testament.  He puts the heat on the people of God but in the end he is defeated by God.

The Prophet Mormon Abridging the History of His People

The word Mormon came from the name of an ancient prophet who was entrusted with the writings of the ancient Native Americans. These writings taught that some of these Native Americans were descended from a group of Israelites from the tribe of Manasseh. They also taught that Jesus visited these people shortly after his resurrection as He promised he would in the Bible.

An interesting prophesy that the Savior made to these ancient Native Americans, and to all the scattered tribes of the House of Jacob:

Native Americans at the Nauvoo Temple Site

Several years ago my Father and Step Mother were volunteers at a historical city called Nauvoo, Ill.  As visitors came they showed them the site where the Nauvoo Temple once stood.  The temple was built by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, nicknamed the Mormons.  It was in the temple that sacred ordinances were performed.  Baptisms for the dead were one of these ordinances, where people were baptised in proxy for their deceased ancestors.  The leader of the Mormon church, Joseph Smith, taught that God had restored the original church organization.

Too Much

Nauvoo Temple Burning

Well, this was too much, too different for the local residents, who forced  the Mormons out of the state and burned down their Nauvoo Temple.  This happened about November 1848.

My Dad’s Story

A few years ago, my dad told this story.  He said that some Native American visitors were touched by the story of the temple, and they went to the site and performed some kind of dance (or something, I can not recall).  Dad said it was very special, and there was a very good feeling.

Since then, the temple has been rebuilt.  My ancestors were there to build it the first time.  Some day my wife and I hope to go back there and do  baptisms for more of our ancestors.

The Nauvoo Temple Today

The book talked about many massacres by the Whites.  One of the more notorious was led by a Methodist preacher, John Chivington.

U.S. Army Colonel John Chivington's portrait. Chivington was a Methodist preacher

He led the massacre on a village of friendly Indians who flew the American Flag.  His reason, “I have come to kill Indians, and believe it is right and honorable to use any means under God’s heaven to kill Indians.” His leader had gotten permission to organize a company of Indian fighters,  and when they found only peaceful Indians, they did not want to look bad, so they came to the Indian village during the night and murdered men, women, and children.

Chivington gloated, ‘I have eclipsed Carson and posterity will shortly speak of me as the great Indian killer.’ Kit Carson, when he heard the news,  was livid:

‘To think of that dog Chivington, and his hounds, up thar at Sand Creek! Whoever heerd of sich doins among christians! Them pore Injuns had our flag flyin’ over ‘em….Well, here come along that durned Chivington and his cusses. They’d bin out huntin’ hostile Injuns, and couldn’t find non….So they just pitched into these friendlies, and massa-creed them…in cold blood….And ye call these civilized men Christians and the Injuns savages, du, ye?…I never yit draw a bead on a squaw or papoose, and I loath and hate the man who would. ‘Taint natural for brave men to kill women and little children.’

There is no doubt that Chivington was a coward and a murder, and there were many other cowards who murdered the Indians.  By law, according to the Bury My Heart, Indians were not considered human, much less citizens with any rights.

Ghost Dance

One of the subjects that I found interesting was a huge movement among the Indians involving the Ghost Dance.  This was a religious movement started by a Paiute Indian named Jack Wilson in 1889.  He said that Jesus Christ visited them and taught them how to co-exist with the white man.  He taught them a new dance.

The Ghost Dance by the Oglala Lakota at Pine Ridge. Illustration by Frederic Remington

The movment also included the Ghost Shirt, which was supposed to protect the faithful wearer from harm.  Here is a quote from Wikipedia.org:

Jack Wilson (known in Lakota circles as Wovoka) opposed rebellion against the white settlers. Wovoka believed that through pacificism, the Lakota Sioux and the rest of the Native Americans would be delivered from white oppression in the form of earthquakes. However, two Lakota warriors and followers of Wovoka, Kicking Bear and Short Bull thought otherwise, and believed that Ghost Shirts would protect the wearer enough to actively resist white oppression.^[1] The vests did not work as promised, and consequently 153 Lakota Sioux died, with 50 wounded and 150 missing at the Wounded Knee Massacre.

This sounds familiar to me.  I have read something like the ghost shirt in the Book of Jasher, Nimrod had this garment, which was handed down from Adam, and came into the hands of Esau and then, if I remember correctly, sold to his brother Jacob when Esau sold his birthright.

Some wonder if the idea of this ghost shirt came to the Indians by way of the Mormon’s.