When I read the Book of Mormon regularly

When I read the Book of Mormon regularly I find that it strengthens me against temptation.  It builds hope and faith.  I appreciate the sacrifices of those who kept the records and compiled them, who had their eyes on our day.  I find more clear understanding of the political challenges and fallacies of today.  I gain an admiration of peoples long past whose example encourages me onward.  The love I have toward my Savior and brothers and sisters on earth grows, and I’m constrained to say, “My God how great Thou art!”

"Victim-less" Crimes

There are no "victim-less" crimes. The victim may not realize they are a victim however. This whole premiss is what brought us the "sexual revolution" in the 60's. The idea being that what two consenting adults did had no victims, and therefore should not be a punishable crime. Usually there are people close to them, including unwanted children that might result, who are harmed directly, but even greater is the harm done to those engaging in that behavior themselves. They become victims of Satan's lies and becoming deprived of what they could become had they not participated. It changes their mind-set and philosophy of life. This is definitely true with gambling as well as sexual sin.

When the Nephites first set up a government of judges, making it a government BY the people, their laws were based on God's laws, including the 10 commandments, as they had been taught by Kings Mosiah and Benjamin. Sexual sins were punishable crimes, as they used to be with us. Over time, as wicked men obtained judgeships, those laws got amended and changed. It became more enticing to engage in illicit behavior, because there was no punishment enforced, so more people began to participate. As victims of Satan's lies, more and more people began to go from one crime to another, changing the laws to allow them to be free from prosecution, as they were able to gain the voice of the people or their judges.

Eventually all the people became victims, because their government was destroyed. They were no longer free even to chose what was right, as they became "tribes and members of tribes," somewhat like gangs. Everyone had to have many friends and relatives to protect themselves. Every man had to conform to what the gang boss/chief wanted. Everything became political in a life-threatening way. And some gangs were worse than others.

My point in this historical comparison with our day is that there are ALWAYS victims when a crime is committed, regardless of whether we "decriminalize" them or not. And those behaviors and attitudes that evolve from those activities have consequences, not only to themselves, but to everyone else in the community as well.

We as a people are well on our way to being just like the Nephites. I've seen even many of the Saints out defending actions that harm others, because they want to engage in them without consequence. They are not converted to the fact that "Wickedness never was happiness." And we can't participate, even a little bit, without the stains obscuring our perspectives on life and blotching our souls. Thank goodness for repentance, so we can wash away those sins/crimes. But we have many who see no need to wash those wrong perceptions away today, and so they go on marching merrily toward their destruction.

We have already decriminalized too many sins. Hopefully fellow saints will not join those in the great and spacious building calling for the continued march to decriminalize that which harms themselves and others.

Prophesy and warnings in 1980 with observations of "I prepared you so..." in 2020

In 1980 President Ezra Taft Benson gave us prophesies and warnings.  In 2020 Boyd Matheson, Deseret News Opinion editor, showed how the prophets have "prepared us so...."  The following are some quotes from both respectively followed by a link to both articles.  For a better experience read both talks in their entirety.

•For over forty years, in a spirit of love, members of the Church have been counseled to be thrifty and self-reliant; to avoid debt; pay tithes and a generous fast offering; be industrious; and have sufficient food, clothing, and fuel on hand to last at least one year.

•More than ever before, we need to learn and apply the principles of economic self-reliance. We do not know when the crisis involving sickness or unemployment may affect our own circumstances. We do know that the Lord has decreed global calamities for the future and has warned and forewarned us to be prepared. For this reason the Brethren have repeatedly stressed a “back to basics” program for temporal and spiritual welfare.

•Today, I emphasize a most basic principle: home production and storage. Have you ever paused to realize what would happen to your community or nation if transportation were paralyzed or if we had a war or depression? How would you and your neighbors obtain food? How long would the corner grocery store—or supermarket—sustain the needs of the community?

•An almost forgotten means of economic self-reliance is the home production of food. We are too accustomed to going to stores and purchasing what we need. By producing some of our food we reduce, to a great extent, the impact of inflation on our money. More importantly, we learn how to produce our own food and involve all family members in a beneficial project. No more timely counsel, I feel, has been given by President Kimball than his repeated emphasis to grow our own gardens. Here is one sample of his emphasis over the past seven years:

“We encourage you to grow all the food that you feasibly can on your own property. Berry bushes, grapevines, fruit trees—plant them if your climate is right for their growth. Grow vegetables and eat them from your own yard.” (Ensign, May 1976, p. 124).

•We encourage you to be more self-reliant so that, as the Lord has declared, “notwithstanding the tribulation which shall descend upon you, … the church may stand independent above all other creatures beneath the celestial world” (D&C 78:14). The Lord wants us to be independent and self-reliant because these will be days of tribulation. He has warned and forewarned us of the eventuality.

•There are blessings in being close to the soil, in raising your own food even if it is only a garden in your yard and a fruit tree or two. Those families will be fortunate who, in the last days, have an adequate supply of food because of their foresight and ability to produce their own.

President Benson was one of the Lord's prophets.  The whole article is better.  Now let us look at how the prophets "have prepared us so..." according to Brother Matheson.

With the physical and financial suffering caused by the historic coronavirus pandemic, which has affected millions worldwide, many are wondering if they are ready to deal with such difficulty, challenge and change. Individuals, families and even the Church of Jesus Christ have had to adapt, adjust and endure.

•I can never imagine President Russell M. Nelson saying, “I told you so.” It isn’t in his nature or his pattern of nurturing. The current crisis conditions around the world could certainly cause a leader to validate their own wisdom and foresight. The prophet isn’t concerned about being right — he is obsessed with helping each of us to be ready.

•For the past several months, as global conditions have deteriorated and uncertainty increased, I have heard the echo of voices of prophets and apostles — past and present. In particular, I have regularly heard in my mind the gentle, firm and affirming voice of President Nelson say, “I prepared you so … .”

and then he lists the following ways the prophets have prepared us

• President Nelson pled with us, “Pray in the name of Jesus Christ about your concerns, your fears, your weaknesses — yes, the very longings of your heart. And then listen! Write the thoughts that come to your mind. Record your feelings and follow through with actions that you are prompted to take. As you repeat this process day after day, month after month, year after year, you will ‘grow into the principle of revelation.’ ”  ...During these difficult days, I can hear President Nelson say, “I prepared you so… you can receive your own revelation in the midst of the storm.”

•On March 25, the Church announced that all temples worldwide would be closed due to the coronavirus. For decades, we have been taught by prophets and apostles that our homes must be temples and holy places of refuge from the chaos of the world.  ...I can hear the voice of Wilford Woodruff say, “I prepared you so… you can bring the blessings of the temple, the power of the priesthood and the spirit of Elijah into your homes.”

•The Church has also closed all missionary training centers to help flatten the spread of the virus as responsible international citizens. Rather than wringing our hands, we can listen to an apostle, Elder David A. Bednar, who in order to say, “I prepared you so …,” declared this in April 2019 general conference:

“The ultimate missionary training center is in our homes; secondary missionary training centers are located in Provo, Manila, Mexico City, and in other locations.”  ...I can hear the voice of Elder Bednar say, “I prepared you so… missionary training would continue.” And I can hear Elder Uchtdorf say, “I prepared you so… you could preach and teach and share my gospel in a multitude of ways.”

•Some members thought adjustments to Sunday church meetings meant two-hour Church. Elder Quentin L. Cook looked beyond the horizon, as prophets and apostles do, to share a vision of a dynamic home-centered, Church-supported worship.  ...I can hear Elder Cook confidently encourage, “I prepared you so… that when home-centered church was the only church meeting available you could gather in His name and be blessed by His grace.”

•As the program of home teaching transformed into ministering in a higher, holier way, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland...knew that in a coming day it would be more needed and necessary than ever before for those who professed to be Latter-day Saints to be the Lord’s hands in lifting those that suffer, “motivated only by the pure love of Christ to do so.”

I can hear Elder Holland remind us, “I prepared you so… none of our Heavenly Father’s lambs will be lost or lonely.”

•The prophet could say, “I told you so” regarding saving money for a rainy day, preparing food storage and getting our temporal houses in order. Instead President Nelson encourages, “I prepared you so… in a time of economic upheaval you, your family and The Church of Jesus Christ could provide aid and assistance to those that are suffering.”

•Many members have been disappointed that general conference this April will not include an opportunity to gather in the Conference Center in Salt Lake City. Others have lamented that Church leaders are currently not able to travel to stake conferences and be with the Saints.

•Doctrine and Covenants 84:62 says: “Therefore, go ye into all the world; and unto whatsoever place ye cannot go ye shall send, that the testimony may go from you into all the world.”

For a season, prophets and apostles will not be able to travel as they have in the recent past, and general conference will be different. But where they cannot go, apostles and prophets will send God’s word abroad through many means.

I can hear the voice of the Lord say, “I have prepared you so… that My word and My Spirit can be sent throughout the world to every nation, kindred, tongue and people.”

•Despite our faults, follies and inability to follow counsel, prophets and apostles will not unleash flurries of condemning, “I told you so…” statements. Instead they will encouragingly say and compassionately invite with a personalized, “I prepared you so…” you can have peace in this time of trial while you continue to pursue the covenant path on your journey to discipleship.

The Lord through His prophets has been preparing us to meet Him when He comes.  We don't need to worry about that day.  We need to do our best to follow His prophets - and through them He will have us prepared to enter into the "marriage of the Lamb."

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/1980/10/prepare-for-the-days-of-tribulation?lang=eng&fbclid=IwAR251iQAKoAhdiW-y-Pe3ulSWC-zpRwrtsY9bP154wOY6u85vY6u-2g2ZYk

https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2020-03-27/boyd-matheson-coronavirus-covid-19-nelson-prophets-preparation-church-jesus-christ-178510?fbclid=IwAR0X9iHYEkGM3em1xCwsdls7pTRD0vZdpKKQVb_6ctrjo49VeJbB8i0rqOM

Nazism and fascism are not far-right. They are rooted in communism.

Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini walk in front of soldiers in Venice, Italy, in June 1934. (Istituto Nazionale Luce)

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Nazism, Fascism, and Socialism Are All Rooted in Communism

Joshua Philipp

 

June 4, 2018 Updated: June 18, 2018

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The concept of a “far left” that is opposed to a “far right” is false. The systems placed on the two ends of that spectrum, including socialism, fascism, and Nazism, are all rooted in communism. And all of them share beliefs in core communist concepts, including state collectivism, planned economies, and class struggle.

All of them were merely different interpretations of Marxism, and played heavily in global politics just after World War I, at a time when the ideas of Karl Marx failed to materialize and communists had gone back to the drawing board.

Before we get into the history of these divergent systems, however, we first need to understand the rift between socialism and communism.

Socialism was described in Marx’s theory of the five stages of civilization. After he helped frame the concept of “capitalism” as a society in which people are able to trade freely, he proposed that after capitalism would come the stage of “socialism,” followed by “communism.”

Socialism was the stage that Vladimir Lenin described as the “state-capitalist monopoly,” in which a dictatorship has seized control of all means of production.

The idea was that a communist regime would use the absolute power of the socialist “dictatorship of the proletariat” to destroy all values, all religion, all institutions, and all traditions—which would theoretically lead to the communist “utopia.”

In other words, socialism is the political system, and communism is the ideological goal. This is why followers of communism argue that “true communism” has never been achieved. The system has thus far failed to utterly destroy human morals and beliefs, although it has taken the lives of more than 100 million people over the last 100 years.

“Before the Russian Revolution of 1917, ‘socialism’ and ‘communism’ were synonyms,” Bryan Caplan, associate professor of economics at George Mason University, states in the chapter on communism in “The Concise Encyclopedia of Economics.”

“Both referred to economic systems in which the government owns the means of production,” Caplan states. “The two terms diverged in meaning largely as a result of the political theory and practice of Vladimir Lenin.”

Of course, the failings of Marx’s predictions is also what gave rise to the many interpretations of communism that emerged following World War I. These included Leninism, fascism, and Nazism.

As the world boiled in the turmoil that led to World War I between 1914 and 1918, many communists looked to the words of Marx, who in the 1848 “Communist Manifesto” said, “Workers of the world, unite.”

Yet, the workers of the world did not unite—at least not how Marx envisioned. Instead of rallying behind communism, they largely rallied behind their respective kings and countries.

In addition, the livelihood of workers became better under capitalism, as opposed to Marx’s predictions that it would become worse. Then, when the communist revolution did happen, it did not happen in the “late-stage capitalist” societies which at the time were Britain and Germany, but instead in Russia.

And instead of the Bolshevik Revolution being the “proletariat” against the “bourgeoisie,” as Marx predicted, it was the military and intelligentsia against the feudal Russian tsarist system.

The series of events largely disproved Marx’s predictions, and it sent communists of the time back to the drawing board, as was noted by bestselling author Dinesh D’Souza in his book “The Big Lie: Exposing the Nazi Roots of the American Left.”

After Lenin, the next communist revisionist to take the world stage was Benito Mussolini, who took from World War I the lesson that nationalism was more uniting than the idea of a worker’s revolution. He thus revised Marxism into his new system of fascism, using the collectivist principle of “fasci,” which refers to a bundle of sticks reinforcing the handle of an ax.

Mussolini explained his concept in his 1928 autobiography, in which he states, “The citizen in the Fascist State is no longer a selfish individual who has the anti-social right of rebelling against any law of the Collectivity.”

According to “Russia Under the Bolshevik Regime” by Richard Pipes, “No prominent European socialist before World War I resembled Lenin more closely than Benito Mussolini. Like Lenin, he headed the antirevisionist wing of the country’s Socialist Party; like him, he believed that the worker was not by nature a revolutionary and had to be prodded to radical action by an intellectual elite.”

Then soon after, Adolph Hitler emerged with his re-branded socialist system under the banner of “national socialism.”

Taking advantage of the fact that the German people had been divided by new national borders established by the armistice, Hitler used identity politics to rally his followers.

The policies of the Nazi Party followed the communist model, D’Souza notes, and the 25-point program included universal free health care and education, nationalization of large corporations and trusts, government control of banking and credit, the splitting of large landholdings into smaller units, and similar policies.

In addition, D’Souza states, “Mussolini and Hitler both identified socialism as the core of the fascist and Nazi Weltanschauung [way of life]. Mussolini was the leading figure of Italian revolutionary socialism and never relinquished his allegiance to it. Hitler’s party defined itself as championing ‘national socialism.'”

Like all other communist ideologues, Hitler was also viciously opposed to the traditional capitalist system. Just as Lenin blamed wealthy farmers, and Mao Zedong blamed landlords, Hitler transferred blame to a single group of people—the Jews.

As D’Souza states, “Nazi anti-Semitism grew out of Hitler’s hatred for capitalism. Hitler draws a crucial distinction between productive capitalism, which he can abide, and finance capitalism, which he associates with the Jews.”

The conflict that later took place between the various systems during World War II was not a battle of opposite ideologies, but instead a fight over which interpretation of communism would prevail.

According to “The Road to Serfdom” by F.A. Hayek, “The conflict between the fascist or national-socialist and the older socialist parties must indeed very largely be regarded as the kind of conflict which is bound to arise between rival socialist factions.”

We can thank historical revisionism and plenty of mental gymnastics for the current narrative that socialism is somehow separate from Nazism and fascism and, even more so, the belief that these concepts are somehow divorced from their communist origins.

D’Souza attributes this narrative shift to what Sigmund Freud called “transference,” based on his idea that people who commit terrible acts often transfer blame onto others, accusing others, including their victims, of being what they, themselves, are.

Zoram, an individual noticed and blessed by God

Watching an animated video about getting the Plates of Brass from Laban, I noticed that Zoram, Laban's servant, is portrayed as a bungling fool.  I was not amused.  I got thinking about it.  Zoram was a trusted servant of Laban, entrusted with all things important to Laban, including the Plates.  He must have been a devout Jew, because in 1 Nephi 4:22 "And he spake unto me concerning the elders of the Jews...." and verse 27 "And he spake unto me many times concerning the elders of the Jews...."

If he had gotten away from Nephi and gone back to Jerusalem, he would likely have been blamed for the death of Laban or at least for the loss of the Plates, since he alone had access to the Plates, and would have been executed.  If not, he would likely have been killed when Jerusalem fell to the Babylonians.  If he were wicked as Laban and many in Jerusalem were, what would it matter if he had been allowed to return to Jerusalem and suffer either of those fates?

Nephi's taking Zoram with them saved his life, which also gave him posterity he would not have had in Jerusalem.  In Jerusalem he was virtually a slave to Laban, a no one of consequence, and would not have been allowed to marry.  He remained loyal to Nephi all his life rather than joining Laman, as the sons of Ishmael did.  It is my belief that Zoram was blessed by the Lord to go with Nephi, because he was righteous, and the Lord knew it as well.

This leads me to my final conclusion.  The Lord knew Zoram individually and saved him, even though he was not a prophet like Lehi.  The Lord also knows each of us individually.  He knows our true desires and efforts.  He will protect, bless, and save us, if we are faithful and do our best to obey Him.  Don't ever think your life or efforts are unnoticed by Him.

The Truth About Christopher Columbus

I wish I had known of this very good essay in the 1992 Ensign and on the Church's website about Columbus before last Monday, Columbus Day, so that you could study it on that day.  I strongly urge you to read this to clear up myths and and malign-ments about him.  He was an imperfect mortal, who was an instrument in the hand of God for the benefit of all mankind and the furtherance of the Lord's work.  There are many things I did not know before reading it today.  Please read it.
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/1992/10/columbus-and-the-hand-of-god?lang=eng

What Will You Do When Your Faith is Challenged?

What will you do when your faith is challenged?  Faith can be challenged in many ways – not just a challenge to your testimony of God and His Church.  The Savior’s faith was challenged in three different ways after He had spent 40 days fasting and getting ready for His 3 year ministry.  His faith was challenged by His appetite first.  He was challenged by a dare, and then challenged by ambition.

It’s fine to think we’ll just hold on when challenges arise, but I remember thinking I could hold onto a rope swing while swinging out of a tree like Tarzan without sitting on the stick.  It didn’t work, I found out when I lit head first into a pumpkin!  You need to do more than just hold on.  You need to prepare.

When the heat hits the plants in the garden, if I don’t weed around them, deep water them to establish deep roots, fertilize, and soften the soil, the bugs will get to them or the plants will be stressed.  If they survive, they will likely produce little fruit that is of any good.

What can we do to “prepare for the evil day” then?  In my life I’ve had a number of different challenges to my faith.  One was as a senior in high school.  A former student, who was then at the University of Utah and a member of Students for a Democratic Society, came to speak.  I got permission to go listen to him.  I got up at the front of the classroom, so I could ask questions.  When the chance came I did.  I can’t remember what I ask, but after that question, he wouldn’t call on me again.  He said that Brigham Young was a tyrant, and that our parents were misguided – sincere but misled by “the foolish traditions of their fathers,” and that we should become enlightened.  I was frustrated that he would not let me challenge him, but that night as I said my prayers, I suddenly stopped and asked, “Are you there, or am I just talking to the ceiling?”  I then got a definite impression from Him that He was there, and He cared about me.  There were other similar experiences in my teens and younger, in prayer, in service, in study, in music, that helped develop a relationship with my Father in Heaven, so that when challenges came on my mission, my roots were deep enough to handle the heat.

When I first went to college before my mission, there came a time when I thought things were not going right with a number of people I cared about.  I felt it wasn’t fair, and, though I don’t remember all the details now, I actually got mad at God and decided to quit praying, I guess to “show Him!”  How foolish, right!  As one more crisis came I began to think to whom else would I turn?  Where else would I find the truth?  Before nightfall, I humbly begged forgiveness from Him and repented of my pride.

The biggest challenge on my mission was not having a sufficient work ethic.  I wasn’t used to having to work hard, and I struggled with the demands of learning a new language and doing work that wasn’t fun or interesting.  That challenge would take time to overcome, and had I not developed a relationship with God, I would have looked for excuses to leave.  But I do remember that He stayed with me even in my weakness, and when I cried out to Him in my honest despair one night, I felt His presence.  It seemed like He picked me up and held me, comforting me, then set me down again to continue my struggles.

Another challenge came from a minister in another faith.  I told him, among other things that he ignored, that priesthood authority from God was necessary to perform ordinances.  He challenged me back by saying that all that was necessary was to live the commandments, one of which was keeping the Sabbath “on the seventh day,” and that since I was worshipping on the first day of the week, I was not keeping the commandments and therefore had no authority.  I could not answer him at that time, though I can very well now.  But because I had studied the Book of Mormon, I knew it was true, and if it was true, then Joseph Smith HAD to be a prophet, and the instruction to him about priesthood authority was also true.

Sometimes Satan lets you go a long time between challenges, so that you will let your guard down.  I had been ward clerk and then stake clerk for well over 10 years.  As stake clerk I had drawn the lines for ward divisions and even our stake division.  I felt pretty important.  When we were released, everyone in the stake leadership got new callings – everyone except me.  I was suddenly sitting in the back of the chapel on a hard chair, where for the previous 9 years I had set up front.  I had participated in all the callings and workings of the stake, and now I was nothing, I thought.  I was tempted to wallow in self-pity.  This is partly where covenants are such a strength to us.  I had made covenants with my Father in Heaven, and I knew He lived, so I just kept keeping on, going to church, praying, serving however I could, little as it might be.  I kept working on my weaknesses, repenting of things like wrong attitudes and hurt feelings.

Your prior preparation will make all the difference, particularly on our modern changing battlefield.  It isn’t just study that will do it.  No, it takes developing your spiritual self with spiritual virtues such as patience, long suffering, diligence, forgiveness, dependability, etc.  If we take time in our prayers, and pray throughout the day, to discuss our development, we will be given situations that will develop and prepare us for what will come our way.  Then we will be ready to stand, and having done all, we WILL stand in the evil day.

--> One of the biggest things that kept me on my mission and helped me through all of these challenges was that I loved my family: my parents, my younger siblings, and later my wife and children.  I did not want to hurt them or cause them to falter.  Included in that was that I loved my Father in Heaven as well.  It is my prayer that in the day of preparation, you will each prepare, which means continuous repentance to become ready for the challenges great and small, to cleanse ourselves, that through the sacrifice of our Savior, Jesus Christ, we will find ourselves becoming like Him and therefore able to live in His presence.  Don’t be afraid.  He will lead you by the hand, guide you, comfort you, and never forsake you.  Trust Him, for after all He is the only name on whom we can trust to bring us back to our Heavenly Parents eternally to go no more out.  I love them.  I love you.  I want us to be happy – together.