STAND IN HOLY PLACES
theSam!! says
As some of you know, I was taught the LDS Church Doctrines in my youth and chose to accept this form of Christianity in my life. It has helped set my life in order and has given me much to believe in, to believe in myself as a son of God and potential heir to God's Celestial Kingdom.
I look back on my life and see that I made it ok to here-Today-just fine. I couldn't have done it as successfully without a Christian religion.
I believe that everyone should have an opportunity to look into a Christian belief system and should live by it strongly if only for awhile, as I know that not everyone will ever accept or stay with Christianity in whatever form they found it.
It is hard, it is inconvenient to live apart from the rest of theWorld at times. It is lonely as well to not follow the practices of drinking, drugs, wild living, delinquency & other criminal living.
Personally, I'd rather be the way that I am than to have my house full of drinking & drunken friends. I'd rather have sober relations with people and not be in less than healthy relationships.
I'd rather have boundaries and privacy. And I'd rather have some restraints upon me as well. For in wishing such things isn't restricting, it helps focus our attitudes, our actions and desires. And I have my good health as well, I'd rather have health than to be an Addict.
I'm sure that many of you people have much to be thankful for in your own lives as well. I will post some more articles and writings of LDS doctrine in this Blog.
I know that for the most part, I am oddly humorous and often at odds with what goes on around me if I feel that things aren't in order to help OTHER people, but that's just me. And this Blog is supposed to be of "theVillage!!" and all the shenanigans that happens.
Don't worry, I have 6+ yrs here in Alaska and will get to such village events soon. But I cannot tell one story without saying why I got there in the first place.
I cannot tell of events without eventually saying what I was thinking at the time and telling how I felt and how I was affected. And speaking from a religious view point will help me to do all of this.
Lately I hear on theRadio news and see on the Internet that references to God is being removed more and more from our Government, our Schools, our work places, Our Lives.
I see that Gays & Lesbians are pushing more for their "rights" to be respected & tolerated and I see that more Gay & Lesbian people are pushing for removal of references to Gender & Judgement as well.
My friends, no famous people in history got that way without making a stand of somekind. No ruling country got to be that way without making judgements and bloodying a few noses in the process.
Once when I was in Seattle I heard Gays & Lesbians speak as I was around some of these people at school and work. I kept on hearing that they didn't want to be Judged and at the same time they kept on saying that they didn't really have an opinion on other "moral" things as well.
I hope that if any of you have a Moral Compass, that it isn't broken. I hope that if any of you do decide to pass Judgement upon me, each other and life around us, that you can do so in a manner that reflects upon a spirit of good will and helpfulness to our Children, theWomen and the Elderly.
I cannot stand fence-sitters. It's like they're Nuetered or something. They don't want to decide or act because that means being responsible! No one wants to take the heat for being in charge do they?! No one wants to get in trouble for standing up!!
To proclaim that you need to be tolerant of activities that for the most part are questionable and sinful and go against the good Christian principles that our United States was founded upon just screams out that you don't want responsibility and that you don't accept restraints of any kind.
You must read my "Look Back at Sodom" post, where LDS writings tell of life in Sodom and tells of such moral decay that eventually brought about the destructions of a sinful people and their decadent way of life.
Sodom wasn't just about homos sexing each other, about limp, passive effeminate fags running around with an anal fetish. Sodom was about people losing all inhibitions and doing what ever they damn well pleased.
Men and Women were aggressive in sexual perversions, alcohol & drug use was rampant and other forms of abuse were theNorm at that time. In fact, no one was actively employed doing industrious things in the end. Everyone pursued pleasure and everything else fell by the wayside.
Society dropped so low that there was no restraint on human behavior.
And if you look at our 2006 society, you'll see that we Once Again are slipping into theAbyss. No... scratch that, we are Sprinting into theAbyss!
For now at least, I'm not worried about Villagers drinking and partying night and day, shooting guns whooping and hollering all the time.
No one is preying upon females in my Village daily, no one is beaten or killed daily either. No one really has to lock up doors here where I live. We all know each other and are Family here. I love this Village and hope that life doesn't change for the worse here.
But not everyone that lives today in the year 2006 is bad.
There are good people everywhere in every Nation, Tongue and Race.
And I am happy to be a part of these good people that can be found.
In my own life, though I have made some mistakes and have fallen on my face several times, I have made a stand on many things. I have chosen to be good and to not be criminal.
My Moral Compass is working and I speak up about things that I don't agree with. I'm not afraid of Criticism and I don't care what Bad people think of me, I only care of what theGood people think because I have their interests in mind.
It is the Good people of this Village, this State, this United States, this World that will triumph. It is scary to know that Life as we know it will get much worse and will cease to exist.
Wars and strife that we see so openly upon distant shores will eventually be here in our own Country. We will be like "them" and even our Government will fall. Civilization will collapse too.
But it must be Us, the Individuals within our families, our communities who possess an inkling of Goodness and that have a working Moral Compass to Act, to Judge, to Decide and to Lead.
And there will be such Leaders of all Races, Religions and gender that will hold the Fabric of Freedom together.
America may for a time, be fallen because we have let sin and degradation slowly take root and flourish in our midst. But not everyone will be under the yoke of such bondage.
You can bet that the Christians will be free and happy.
Freedom in it's truest sense is more than being able to vote, to drive, to speak freely, to possess a weapon and all the other things that we take for granted.
Freedom is being free of vice. Being alcohol and drug free. Not being in unhealthy, abusive relationships. Choosing to Not live in Decay leaves one Free to keep on choosing.
If any of you understand anything I say I can hope that you agree with me as well. We must make decisions and make stands and pass judgement every day.
And in doing these "little" things, we are helping or postponing our Nations inevitable fall into theAbyss. For such bad things will happen, let us pray and hope that if we live to see such destructive times that the God of our faith will help us and protect us.
I believe in God, I believe in Jesus Christ.
I know that they didn't just put us on the Earth and let us fend for ourselves.
We are all here by Choice. We all wanted and chose our place in Life. We needed our ailments, our sickness, our flaws to help us learn and grow. Our Race, Nationality, our family blood-lines were things that we had a part in choosing.
We chose our family and friends, and most of us chose to be good people and agreed to participate in helping the evolvement of mankind and to look after the human rights and freedoms of others.
Sadly, there are others that chose NOT to do such good things with their time here in Mortality. You know who these people are.
I conclude with the article below. Speaking about the LDS Temples and of attending such places of worship as often as possible. Understand that religious people have weight upon spiritual matters when they speak and write so please consider the author's words I quote.
When I lived in Seattle I attended the LDS Temple in Bellevue often. At the 2-3 year height of my living close to theChurch and doing everything humanly possible to obey the teachings of this Church I was a fixture at theTemple.
I knew a few Temple workers by-sight. They knew me.
I was dedicated to my Church and felt theWarm & Fuzzies that come with being in touch with God through the Holy Ghost.
Life was good, life was great and yet. The rest of my life fell apart and I fell further into homelessness and unemployment. Some great relationships that I had fell apart and for a time I wondered if I had any place in Life at all.
I did, I found a greater Calling up here in Alaska.
I found my niche in Eternal Service and I will do this to the end of my days.
I haven't set foot in an LDS temple for many years now except for the Anchorage Temple. You don't need a temple recommend to just step in the front doors there and head Right, into the foyer and waiting rooms.
Being in theTemple is peaceful. You don't worry about Worldy things as much. Your perspective is taken higher and you see a bigger picture of your life, of God's Plan for us and of the Universe too.
God is in control. Though bad things may happen and sometimes to his followers he is in control and good will eventually triumph over evil
Perhaps my Moral Compass doesn't work so well anymore. Because I have NO desire to be back where I once stood with LDS temple attendance, at least I still attend Church when I can. I'm self aware and honest enough to share this with others. Because such things might affect other people's decisions regarding me.
My Holy Place now is with my Family.
With my current step-dad, my mother and sister. We are family. We are together Forever and we want to be that way. Nothing on earth can take that bond from us.
My Holy Place now is here in theVillage. With my stepdad's immediate family.
And to an extent my Holy Place is also with theGood people of this village.
I know whom they are, though many of them don't know whom they are.
And I mean that in the sense that they don't know What good people they can be if they tried.
I care not for not being a part of Tribal organizations and Village events because I know that I am not affected by such things. I know what is better and what needs my time more.
I do not need to Stand among such people that won't accept honest help and choose to remain in dysfunction, alcoholism, and abusive familial relationships. I do not discard some people thoughtlessly.
Consider that I have had 6+yrs here in AK and haven't been invited into any circle of family, friends and I'm not one of the Boys either, be it here in theVillage or elsewhere I have been.
If things of such a nature haven't happened by now they'll never happen. And you can't say that I haven't tried though. I tried. I offered my time, talents and gifts to people and just a few have accepted. But that doesn't mean that I give up. I just focus my efforts and time elsewhere.
My Holy Place is also in wearing my Temple garments. Keeping such clothings with me and wearing them constantly. I am reminded of my Temple Covenants daily when I wear the Garments. And though part of such covenants involve sharing the LDS faith with others. How can I share if I'm not a friend? If I'm not a part of some Villagers daily life? So I don't worry about that stuff anymore.
Once I made promises and covenants with God & Jesus in the Temple.
In my religion, the LDS / Mormon's, I stepped up a bit higher and held myself to high standards. Not many people are willing to do such things in their own religion.
You don't exactly see any other denominations building sacred temples and doing religious work above and beyond everyone else do you?
But now that I am in theVillage and away from the big city and away from all my LDS associates and friends, my former callings and those high places in life aren't as important.
But never-the-less I still STAND. I still JUDGE, I still LEAD.
People look up to me and as long as I have even One smiling face that greets me each day here in theVillage then my place is here. I long to be a part of someone's family and to be blessed with sons and daughters and to "progress" in that manner while I am still young but apparently I have other things to do.
For at times I am Lead, and I am taught, and I am moved by Life and others that also STAND do help anchor me.
So wherever you are. Keeping the rightful interests of friends & family, Others in mind, keeping the Welfare of our Great Nation in mind and keeping yourself out of Sodom behavior & mindsets-May you too also be counted worthy to STAND for your cause.
Understand that when such Biblical events happen, such righteous actions done by you may literally be a shield and protection for you from such catastrophic events.
Understand that when Civilization collapses, when mens hearts fail them.
Brother will be against brother, son against father, daughter against mother.
Bloodshed and violence upon a large unprecedented scale will be world-wide.
No one will be free of such events happening around them, but if you are protected then such events around you will not fall upon you.
This is why I feel that Everyone should have an opportunity to live their religion and go on a Church mission and have such adversity in their life-as happened to me.
So that they can see for themselves that doing such good things will strengthen them and set their minds, hearts and their wills upon what is good and decent in life.
The storm is coming, theWolves howl and approach. The enemy is at theGates and you need to be able to stand against such people, such ungodly thinking and behavior regardless of your Race, gender, Nationality and Tongue.
I love America. I love my Country and I love it's people. I love these villagers too.
Long live America. May we be free just a few hours more because we possess and have inherited all that is worth defending from our Enemies.
Samuel L Flyinghorse, full-blood Hunkpapa Lakota
theVillage, Alaska
On with the writings I cut and pasted!
++++++++++++++++++++++
Stand In Holy Places, That Ye Be Not Moved
(A talk written by James L. Carroll for sacrament meeting, 17 May 1998)
In the last days we have been told that perilous times shall come. There is great danger in the world today. Sin is everywhere. Satan seems to be making a last stand. How can we find peace? Where can we go to feel safe? I will be quoting extensively from Vaughn J. Featherstone's talk entitled "Holiness to the Lord" which speaks of the dangers that will come in the last days, and of how we can overcome those dangers through the power found in the Temples of our Lord. He has said:
The season of the world before us will be like no other in the history of mankind. Satan has and will unleash every evil, every scheme, every blatant vile perversion ever known to man in any generation. Just as this dispensation is the fullness of times, so it is also the dispensation of the fullness of evil. We and our wives and husbands, our children, and our members must find safety. There is no safety in the world; wealth cannot provide it, enforcement agencies cannot assure it, membership alone in this Church will not guarantee it.
The only time in the history of the world that can parallel our time, is perhaps the days of Noah. In his days people were ripening in iniquity just as in our days. Then Noah built an ark, entered the ark, and the flood came. The world was destroyed. Noah and his family found safety only in the ark which they were commanded to build. Our days are much the same. People are ripening in iniquity, and safety is hard to find. Where is our ark?
I would like to describe Noah's ark. Perhaps by learning where Noah found safety, we can learn where we can find our safety.
The ark was built of three levels.
The ark was sealed within and without with what the Bible calls Pitch. The Hebrew word used simply means a covering. The ark was pitched (sealed) within and without with pitch (a covering). The Hebrew word for atonement is the same, "to cover." The atonement covers our sins.
It was this pitch that allowed the ark to be watertight, and to be lifted up above the storm.
Within the ark there was a window. The footnote in the LDS edition of the Bible says that many rabbis believe that this window was actually a stone that glowed and gave light to the ark, much as in the Brother of Jared's barges.
There are many parallels between Noah's ark and the temples of our Lord. I believe that it is safe to assume that the ark is a symbol of our temples, and thus it is in our temples that we find our safety.
The temple of Solomon consisted of three rooms, representing the three kingdoms.
It is within the temple that we are sealed to our husband or wife, and it is there that those who are worthy, are tied to the atonement, sealed to God if you will, receiving (through ordinances) the fullness of His priesthood.
Then, like the ark, we can be "lifted up" to meet God, or "caught up in the air" as the Bible describes it.
It is in the temples of God that we are given a new name, which will be written upon a white stone that will reveal all things for our glory, past, present, and future, thus giving spiritual light as the stone in the ark gave physical light.
These are interesting parallels, but what does all this have to do with us? The Savior answered that question for us when, just before his crucifixion, he taught his apostles about his second coming:
Matt. 24:
37 But as it was in the days of Noah, so it shall be also at the coming of the Son of Man;
38 For it shall be with them, as it was in the days which were before the flood; for until the day that Noah entered into the ark they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage;
39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be.
In Noah's day the people were going on about normal business, right up until the day that Noah entered into the ark. Those who entered the ark were saved. It was only in the ark that safety was found. The Savior has told us that in the days of his second coming it will be the same. People will be going on about their normal lives, right up until the time when He shall come.
But who will be spared? Where is our ark that we are to enter? I believe that it is clear that our arks are the Mountains of the Lord, his holy temples. Noah entered the ark, we enter the temples. In the Doctrine and Covenants the Lord gave us some instruction to protect us in that day:
D&C 45
30 And in that generation shall the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.
31 And there shall be men standing in that generation, that shall not pass until they shall see an overflowing scourge; for a desolating sickness shall cover the land.
32 But my disciples shall stand in holy places, and shall not be moved; but among the wicked, men shall lift up their voices and curse God and die.
33 And there shall be earthquakes also in divers places, and many desolations; yet men will harden their hearts against me, and they will take up the sword, one
against another, and they will kill one another.
If we stand in Holy places, we shall not be moved. To stand in holy places is to come to the temples. The temples are surely "holy places". They are safe havens, given to us by a loving Father, set aside from the world. Jesus said:
Matthew 24
14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)
16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:
Jesus connects the idea of standing in the holy place, and fleeing into the mountains. The temple has always been called both the Mountain of the Lord, and the Holy place. One of the rooms of the temple of Solomon was actually called "the Holy Place". In the last days, Jesus would have us flee to his temples, the Holy Places, the Mountains of the Lord, for there we will learn of Him, and find rest.
Why and How will the temples protect us? Brother Featherstone has said:
Endowed faithful members of the Church who keep all their covenants including the sacred coverings will be safe as [if they were] protected behind temple walls. The covenants and ordinances are filled with faith as a living fire.
Covenants are a protection. They protect us from sin. They help us to change. They fill us with the Spirit of God. They perfect us, and tie us to the atonement of Jesus Christ. Those who keep their covenants, and wear the covering, will always be protected, just as if they were behind the walls of the temple. The covering is a constant reminder of those covenants. By helping us to remember our covenants, it helps us to keep them, and thus offers an added protection. Hugh W. Nibley has told us that the early Christians often spoke of wearing the veil. They believed that those who wear the veil would be protected just as if they were behind the walls of the temple. "The Temple is ...considered as a person and the veil of the temple as a garment that is worn, as a personification of the sanctuary itself." (Temple and Cosmos pg 81)
We will need all these shields, for as Brother Featherstone has said:
Before the Savior comes the world will darken. There will come a time when even the elect will begin to lose hope if they do not come to the temples. The world will be so filled with evil that the righteous will only feel secure through their faith in Christ and within the temple walls. I believe the Saints will come to the temples not only to do vicarious work but to find a God-given haven of peace. The true and faithful Latter-day Saints will long to bring their children to our temples for safety's sake.
Within the temple angels guard us, and protect us, and we are promised that when we leave, if we are worthy, they will be round about us to bear us up. Brother Featherstone has said:
There will be greater hosts of unseen beings in the temple. Joseph told the brethren, "And I beheld that the temple was filled with angels." (History of the Church, vol. 2, page 428.) I believe prophets of old as well as those in this dispensation will visit the temples. Those who attend the temples will feel their strength and companionship. We will not be alone in our temples.
Let us strive harder to understand the profound symbols of the temples. Let us keep our covenants that through obedience the mysteries of God can be unfolded to our view. Let us seek the spirit, that it can teach us of these mysteries. Let us go to the temples, that we can be endowed with the power and understanding from God our Father and our Savior Jesus Christ. There we will find peace. The peace given to the true followers of Jesus Christ. As we work for the salvation of others, we become more like Him, and find protection for ourselves. Brother Featherstone has said:
Let us prepare this special future generation with faith to surmount every trial and every condition. We will do it in our holy sacred temples. Come, come, oh, come up to the temples of the Lord and walk in his "holiness to the Lord" edifices.
Finally let us love the temple. It is perhaps the most glorious part of Christ's restored church to which we belong.
The Savior will come and honor his people. Those who are spared and prepared for that glorious triumphal day will be a temple loving people.
It is my testimony that the Endowment that we receive in the Temples of the Lord is inspired from God. There is actual power in those ordinances. Let us begin to find that power and strength, and be brought home to God our Father. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen
As some of you know, I was taught the LDS Church Doctrines in my youth and chose to accept this form of Christianity in my life. It has helped set my life in order and has given me much to believe in, to believe in myself as a son of God and potential heir to God's Celestial Kingdom.
I look back on my life and see that I made it ok to here-Today-just fine. I couldn't have done it as successfully without a Christian religion.
I believe that everyone should have an opportunity to look into a Christian belief system and should live by it strongly if only for awhile, as I know that not everyone will ever accept or stay with Christianity in whatever form they found it.
It is hard, it is inconvenient to live apart from the rest of theWorld at times. It is lonely as well to not follow the practices of drinking, drugs, wild living, delinquency & other criminal living.
Personally, I'd rather be the way that I am than to have my house full of drinking & drunken friends. I'd rather have sober relations with people and not be in less than healthy relationships.
I'd rather have boundaries and privacy. And I'd rather have some restraints upon me as well. For in wishing such things isn't restricting, it helps focus our attitudes, our actions and desires. And I have my good health as well, I'd rather have health than to be an Addict.
I'm sure that many of you people have much to be thankful for in your own lives as well. I will post some more articles and writings of LDS doctrine in this Blog.
I know that for the most part, I am oddly humorous and often at odds with what goes on around me if I feel that things aren't in order to help OTHER people, but that's just me. And this Blog is supposed to be of "theVillage!!" and all the shenanigans that happens.
Don't worry, I have 6+ yrs here in Alaska and will get to such village events soon. But I cannot tell one story without saying why I got there in the first place.
I cannot tell of events without eventually saying what I was thinking at the time and telling how I felt and how I was affected. And speaking from a religious view point will help me to do all of this.
Lately I hear on theRadio news and see on the Internet that references to God is being removed more and more from our Government, our Schools, our work places, Our Lives.
I see that Gays & Lesbians are pushing more for their "rights" to be respected & tolerated and I see that more Gay & Lesbian people are pushing for removal of references to Gender & Judgement as well.
My friends, no famous people in history got that way without making a stand of somekind. No ruling country got to be that way without making judgements and bloodying a few noses in the process.
Once when I was in Seattle I heard Gays & Lesbians speak as I was around some of these people at school and work. I kept on hearing that they didn't want to be Judged and at the same time they kept on saying that they didn't really have an opinion on other "moral" things as well.
I hope that if any of you have a Moral Compass, that it isn't broken. I hope that if any of you do decide to pass Judgement upon me, each other and life around us, that you can do so in a manner that reflects upon a spirit of good will and helpfulness to our Children, theWomen and the Elderly.
I cannot stand fence-sitters. It's like they're Nuetered or something. They don't want to decide or act because that means being responsible! No one wants to take the heat for being in charge do they?! No one wants to get in trouble for standing up!!
To proclaim that you need to be tolerant of activities that for the most part are questionable and sinful and go against the good Christian principles that our United States was founded upon just screams out that you don't want responsibility and that you don't accept restraints of any kind.
You must read my "Look Back at Sodom" post, where LDS writings tell of life in Sodom and tells of such moral decay that eventually brought about the destructions of a sinful people and their decadent way of life.
Sodom wasn't just about homos sexing each other, about limp, passive effeminate fags running around with an anal fetish. Sodom was about people losing all inhibitions and doing what ever they damn well pleased.
Men and Women were aggressive in sexual perversions, alcohol & drug use was rampant and other forms of abuse were theNorm at that time. In fact, no one was actively employed doing industrious things in the end. Everyone pursued pleasure and everything else fell by the wayside.
Society dropped so low that there was no restraint on human behavior.
And if you look at our 2006 society, you'll see that we Once Again are slipping into theAbyss. No... scratch that, we are Sprinting into theAbyss!
For now at least, I'm not worried about Villagers drinking and partying night and day, shooting guns whooping and hollering all the time.
No one is preying upon females in my Village daily, no one is beaten or killed daily either. No one really has to lock up doors here where I live. We all know each other and are Family here. I love this Village and hope that life doesn't change for the worse here.
But not everyone that lives today in the year 2006 is bad.
There are good people everywhere in every Nation, Tongue and Race.
And I am happy to be a part of these good people that can be found.
In my own life, though I have made some mistakes and have fallen on my face several times, I have made a stand on many things. I have chosen to be good and to not be criminal.
My Moral Compass is working and I speak up about things that I don't agree with. I'm not afraid of Criticism and I don't care what Bad people think of me, I only care of what theGood people think because I have their interests in mind.
It is the Good people of this Village, this State, this United States, this World that will triumph. It is scary to know that Life as we know it will get much worse and will cease to exist.
Wars and strife that we see so openly upon distant shores will eventually be here in our own Country. We will be like "them" and even our Government will fall. Civilization will collapse too.
But it must be Us, the Individuals within our families, our communities who possess an inkling of Goodness and that have a working Moral Compass to Act, to Judge, to Decide and to Lead.
And there will be such Leaders of all Races, Religions and gender that will hold the Fabric of Freedom together.
America may for a time, be fallen because we have let sin and degradation slowly take root and flourish in our midst. But not everyone will be under the yoke of such bondage.
You can bet that the Christians will be free and happy.
Freedom in it's truest sense is more than being able to vote, to drive, to speak freely, to possess a weapon and all the other things that we take for granted.
Freedom is being free of vice. Being alcohol and drug free. Not being in unhealthy, abusive relationships. Choosing to Not live in Decay leaves one Free to keep on choosing.
If any of you understand anything I say I can hope that you agree with me as well. We must make decisions and make stands and pass judgement every day.
And in doing these "little" things, we are helping or postponing our Nations inevitable fall into theAbyss. For such bad things will happen, let us pray and hope that if we live to see such destructive times that the God of our faith will help us and protect us.
I believe in God, I believe in Jesus Christ.
I know that they didn't just put us on the Earth and let us fend for ourselves.
We are all here by Choice. We all wanted and chose our place in Life. We needed our ailments, our sickness, our flaws to help us learn and grow. Our Race, Nationality, our family blood-lines were things that we had a part in choosing.
We chose our family and friends, and most of us chose to be good people and agreed to participate in helping the evolvement of mankind and to look after the human rights and freedoms of others.
Sadly, there are others that chose NOT to do such good things with their time here in Mortality. You know who these people are.
I conclude with the article below. Speaking about the LDS Temples and of attending such places of worship as often as possible. Understand that religious people have weight upon spiritual matters when they speak and write so please consider the author's words I quote.
When I lived in Seattle I attended the LDS Temple in Bellevue often. At the 2-3 year height of my living close to theChurch and doing everything humanly possible to obey the teachings of this Church I was a fixture at theTemple.
I knew a few Temple workers by-sight. They knew me.
I was dedicated to my Church and felt theWarm & Fuzzies that come with being in touch with God through the Holy Ghost.
Life was good, life was great and yet. The rest of my life fell apart and I fell further into homelessness and unemployment. Some great relationships that I had fell apart and for a time I wondered if I had any place in Life at all.
I did, I found a greater Calling up here in Alaska.
I found my niche in Eternal Service and I will do this to the end of my days.
I haven't set foot in an LDS temple for many years now except for the Anchorage Temple. You don't need a temple recommend to just step in the front doors there and head Right, into the foyer and waiting rooms.
Being in theTemple is peaceful. You don't worry about Worldy things as much. Your perspective is taken higher and you see a bigger picture of your life, of God's Plan for us and of the Universe too.
God is in control. Though bad things may happen and sometimes to his followers he is in control and good will eventually triumph over evil
Perhaps my Moral Compass doesn't work so well anymore. Because I have NO desire to be back where I once stood with LDS temple attendance, at least I still attend Church when I can. I'm self aware and honest enough to share this with others. Because such things might affect other people's decisions regarding me.
My Holy Place now is with my Family.
With my current step-dad, my mother and sister. We are family. We are together Forever and we want to be that way. Nothing on earth can take that bond from us.
My Holy Place now is here in theVillage. With my stepdad's immediate family.
And to an extent my Holy Place is also with theGood people of this village.
I know whom they are, though many of them don't know whom they are.
And I mean that in the sense that they don't know What good people they can be if they tried.
I care not for not being a part of Tribal organizations and Village events because I know that I am not affected by such things. I know what is better and what needs my time more.
I do not need to Stand among such people that won't accept honest help and choose to remain in dysfunction, alcoholism, and abusive familial relationships. I do not discard some people thoughtlessly.
Consider that I have had 6+yrs here in AK and haven't been invited into any circle of family, friends and I'm not one of the Boys either, be it here in theVillage or elsewhere I have been.
If things of such a nature haven't happened by now they'll never happen. And you can't say that I haven't tried though. I tried. I offered my time, talents and gifts to people and just a few have accepted. But that doesn't mean that I give up. I just focus my efforts and time elsewhere.
My Holy Place is also in wearing my Temple garments. Keeping such clothings with me and wearing them constantly. I am reminded of my Temple Covenants daily when I wear the Garments. And though part of such covenants involve sharing the LDS faith with others. How can I share if I'm not a friend? If I'm not a part of some Villagers daily life? So I don't worry about that stuff anymore.
Once I made promises and covenants with God & Jesus in the Temple.
In my religion, the LDS / Mormon's, I stepped up a bit higher and held myself to high standards. Not many people are willing to do such things in their own religion.
You don't exactly see any other denominations building sacred temples and doing religious work above and beyond everyone else do you?
But now that I am in theVillage and away from the big city and away from all my LDS associates and friends, my former callings and those high places in life aren't as important.
But never-the-less I still STAND. I still JUDGE, I still LEAD.
People look up to me and as long as I have even One smiling face that greets me each day here in theVillage then my place is here. I long to be a part of someone's family and to be blessed with sons and daughters and to "progress" in that manner while I am still young but apparently I have other things to do.
For at times I am Lead, and I am taught, and I am moved by Life and others that also STAND do help anchor me.
So wherever you are. Keeping the rightful interests of friends & family, Others in mind, keeping the Welfare of our Great Nation in mind and keeping yourself out of Sodom behavior & mindsets-May you too also be counted worthy to STAND for your cause.
Understand that when such Biblical events happen, such righteous actions done by you may literally be a shield and protection for you from such catastrophic events.
Understand that when Civilization collapses, when mens hearts fail them.
Brother will be against brother, son against father, daughter against mother.
Bloodshed and violence upon a large unprecedented scale will be world-wide.
No one will be free of such events happening around them, but if you are protected then such events around you will not fall upon you.
This is why I feel that Everyone should have an opportunity to live their religion and go on a Church mission and have such adversity in their life-as happened to me.
So that they can see for themselves that doing such good things will strengthen them and set their minds, hearts and their wills upon what is good and decent in life.
The storm is coming, theWolves howl and approach. The enemy is at theGates and you need to be able to stand against such people, such ungodly thinking and behavior regardless of your Race, gender, Nationality and Tongue.
I love America. I love my Country and I love it's people. I love these villagers too.
Long live America. May we be free just a few hours more because we possess and have inherited all that is worth defending from our Enemies.
Samuel L Flyinghorse, full-blood Hunkpapa Lakota
theVillage, Alaska
On with the writings I cut and pasted!
++++++++++++++++++++++
Stand In Holy Places, That Ye Be Not Moved
(A talk written by James L. Carroll for sacrament meeting, 17 May 1998)
In the last days we have been told that perilous times shall come. There is great danger in the world today. Sin is everywhere. Satan seems to be making a last stand. How can we find peace? Where can we go to feel safe? I will be quoting extensively from Vaughn J. Featherstone's talk entitled "Holiness to the Lord" which speaks of the dangers that will come in the last days, and of how we can overcome those dangers through the power found in the Temples of our Lord. He has said:
The season of the world before us will be like no other in the history of mankind. Satan has and will unleash every evil, every scheme, every blatant vile perversion ever known to man in any generation. Just as this dispensation is the fullness of times, so it is also the dispensation of the fullness of evil. We and our wives and husbands, our children, and our members must find safety. There is no safety in the world; wealth cannot provide it, enforcement agencies cannot assure it, membership alone in this Church will not guarantee it.
The only time in the history of the world that can parallel our time, is perhaps the days of Noah. In his days people were ripening in iniquity just as in our days. Then Noah built an ark, entered the ark, and the flood came. The world was destroyed. Noah and his family found safety only in the ark which they were commanded to build. Our days are much the same. People are ripening in iniquity, and safety is hard to find. Where is our ark?
I would like to describe Noah's ark. Perhaps by learning where Noah found safety, we can learn where we can find our safety.
The ark was built of three levels.
The ark was sealed within and without with what the Bible calls Pitch. The Hebrew word used simply means a covering. The ark was pitched (sealed) within and without with pitch (a covering). The Hebrew word for atonement is the same, "to cover." The atonement covers our sins.
It was this pitch that allowed the ark to be watertight, and to be lifted up above the storm.
Within the ark there was a window. The footnote in the LDS edition of the Bible says that many rabbis believe that this window was actually a stone that glowed and gave light to the ark, much as in the Brother of Jared's barges.
There are many parallels between Noah's ark and the temples of our Lord. I believe that it is safe to assume that the ark is a symbol of our temples, and thus it is in our temples that we find our safety.
The temple of Solomon consisted of three rooms, representing the three kingdoms.
It is within the temple that we are sealed to our husband or wife, and it is there that those who are worthy, are tied to the atonement, sealed to God if you will, receiving (through ordinances) the fullness of His priesthood.
Then, like the ark, we can be "lifted up" to meet God, or "caught up in the air" as the Bible describes it.
It is in the temples of God that we are given a new name, which will be written upon a white stone that will reveal all things for our glory, past, present, and future, thus giving spiritual light as the stone in the ark gave physical light.
These are interesting parallels, but what does all this have to do with us? The Savior answered that question for us when, just before his crucifixion, he taught his apostles about his second coming:
Matt. 24:
37 But as it was in the days of Noah, so it shall be also at the coming of the Son of Man;
38 For it shall be with them, as it was in the days which were before the flood; for until the day that Noah entered into the ark they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage;
39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be.
In Noah's day the people were going on about normal business, right up until the day that Noah entered into the ark. Those who entered the ark were saved. It was only in the ark that safety was found. The Savior has told us that in the days of his second coming it will be the same. People will be going on about their normal lives, right up until the time when He shall come.
But who will be spared? Where is our ark that we are to enter? I believe that it is clear that our arks are the Mountains of the Lord, his holy temples. Noah entered the ark, we enter the temples. In the Doctrine and Covenants the Lord gave us some instruction to protect us in that day:
D&C 45
30 And in that generation shall the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.
31 And there shall be men standing in that generation, that shall not pass until they shall see an overflowing scourge; for a desolating sickness shall cover the land.
32 But my disciples shall stand in holy places, and shall not be moved; but among the wicked, men shall lift up their voices and curse God and die.
33 And there shall be earthquakes also in divers places, and many desolations; yet men will harden their hearts against me, and they will take up the sword, one
against another, and they will kill one another.
If we stand in Holy places, we shall not be moved. To stand in holy places is to come to the temples. The temples are surely "holy places". They are safe havens, given to us by a loving Father, set aside from the world. Jesus said:
Matthew 24
14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)
16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:
Jesus connects the idea of standing in the holy place, and fleeing into the mountains. The temple has always been called both the Mountain of the Lord, and the Holy place. One of the rooms of the temple of Solomon was actually called "the Holy Place". In the last days, Jesus would have us flee to his temples, the Holy Places, the Mountains of the Lord, for there we will learn of Him, and find rest.
Why and How will the temples protect us? Brother Featherstone has said:
Endowed faithful members of the Church who keep all their covenants including the sacred coverings will be safe as [if they were] protected behind temple walls. The covenants and ordinances are filled with faith as a living fire.
Covenants are a protection. They protect us from sin. They help us to change. They fill us with the Spirit of God. They perfect us, and tie us to the atonement of Jesus Christ. Those who keep their covenants, and wear the covering, will always be protected, just as if they were behind the walls of the temple. The covering is a constant reminder of those covenants. By helping us to remember our covenants, it helps us to keep them, and thus offers an added protection. Hugh W. Nibley has told us that the early Christians often spoke of wearing the veil. They believed that those who wear the veil would be protected just as if they were behind the walls of the temple. "The Temple is ...considered as a person and the veil of the temple as a garment that is worn, as a personification of the sanctuary itself." (Temple and Cosmos pg 81)
We will need all these shields, for as Brother Featherstone has said:
Before the Savior comes the world will darken. There will come a time when even the elect will begin to lose hope if they do not come to the temples. The world will be so filled with evil that the righteous will only feel secure through their faith in Christ and within the temple walls. I believe the Saints will come to the temples not only to do vicarious work but to find a God-given haven of peace. The true and faithful Latter-day Saints will long to bring their children to our temples for safety's sake.
Within the temple angels guard us, and protect us, and we are promised that when we leave, if we are worthy, they will be round about us to bear us up. Brother Featherstone has said:
There will be greater hosts of unseen beings in the temple. Joseph told the brethren, "And I beheld that the temple was filled with angels." (History of the Church, vol. 2, page 428.) I believe prophets of old as well as those in this dispensation will visit the temples. Those who attend the temples will feel their strength and companionship. We will not be alone in our temples.
Let us strive harder to understand the profound symbols of the temples. Let us keep our covenants that through obedience the mysteries of God can be unfolded to our view. Let us seek the spirit, that it can teach us of these mysteries. Let us go to the temples, that we can be endowed with the power and understanding from God our Father and our Savior Jesus Christ. There we will find peace. The peace given to the true followers of Jesus Christ. As we work for the salvation of others, we become more like Him, and find protection for ourselves. Brother Featherstone has said:
Let us prepare this special future generation with faith to surmount every trial and every condition. We will do it in our holy sacred temples. Come, come, oh, come up to the temples of the Lord and walk in his "holiness to the Lord" edifices.
Finally let us love the temple. It is perhaps the most glorious part of Christ's restored church to which we belong.
The Savior will come and honor his people. Those who are spared and prepared for that glorious triumphal day will be a temple loving people.
It is my testimony that the Endowment that we receive in the Temples of the Lord is inspired from God. There is actual power in those ordinances. Let us begin to find that power and strength, and be brought home to God our Father. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen
Comments