my·o·pi·a [mahy-oh-pee-uh]
–noun
narrow-mindedness; intolerance.
It is interesting to me how different views about a topic germinate, and how well founded most peoples opinions are to themselves. Many factors are responsible for our individual world view, such as our parents and families opinions and our own actions. But none have the power to persuade us like our DESIRE does. In fact never will we change or widen our prospective unless we first WANT to. People will always defend their world view with all the facts they know, and ignore relevant truths that may disprove their beliefs. To overcome myopia ALL virtuous truth is included. To truly discern, the good traits are more revealing.
Many people read some of what I write in comment areas and they instantly think that I am very angry. But if they knew me and could see right into my heart they would know that I do not even know what angry is. Yes, sometimes I do lash out when I see people insulting those I love, and quite often I regret it faster than it took to do it. But it is not because I am mad; it is because I am so very sad. I am very defensive because I truly do pity those people who slander the FLDS people and leaders. I will defend those I know as innocent, but I do not want to get angry. Angry folks really only hurt themselves in the long run. Hate comes from fear and creates fear, and I fear no one. I apologize to anyone who I have personally offended, even though some of what you say is intended to offend me.
Most people that I deal with daily have no idea who I am or where I come from, let alone that I have a blog that gets 400-500 hits per day, and lawyers, government officials, and reporters documenting what I say. My own boss and all but one of my coworkers think I am but a shy mainstream Mormon. Yet most every one I converse with for very long want to be my personal friend, with very few exceptions. I would not doubt for a moment that if any of the anti-FLDS who did not know who I was met me in the street, they would think rather highly of me. I was employee of the year for this company of over a hundred my first year here, (I told my boss that was a rather sad commentary). I am often told by my superiors that I am the easiest to give work to. The coworker who knows about this blog considers me his good friend, and he hated Mormonism before he met me. I listen way more than I speak, but when I speak most listen. A black fellow from Vanuatu wanted to move to America and be my son, and I have actually had two different people tell me that if they died, they would want me to have their children. That is something humbling.
I seek to help in every way I can, and try to smile no matter how I feel inside. It is no big deal to insult me, I knew it would happen an expected it when I wrote this blog. But I continue on knowing I have sacrificed all, including my own good name, honor and applause, to defend the innocent. My heart is bigger than Texas, and I owe it all to how much my heart aches. I care so much it hurts.
I admit I have a fairly low self esteem, but it is in my own ability, not my desire. I have very high confidence in what I have been taught, and in the testimony I have of the religion of my heritage and my God; high enough to see great things in other peoples beliefs even when they call me a brainwashed slave. But I do get discouraged easily, and feel frustrated that I am not making the personal progress that I wish I would. I try to think of what I have accomplished, and all I see are my mistakes. When I see others mistakes, I first try to think of how I can help them see those mistakes, but I want to forgive. I will never talk about someone behind their back anything I wouldn’t say directly to them. But that isn’t saying much either. Criticizing is never constructive, and correction can only come from those who have the authority. I am guilty, the FLDS are not. I have probably caused many anti-FLDS to become MORE spiteful because of my words, practically defeating my purpose here. That I do regret.
The desire to have faith, and to believe in a particular religion and religious leader is myopic in a sense, because those who don’t have that same faith are just as credible in their belief that it is wrong, and can “see” all what is wrong about it. But there are no more small minded or pitiful people than those who hate. I have used the term “bigot” more loosely than I should, but it so very accurately describes those who think they or the state should run other peoples EXERCISE of peaceful religion, association, or speech. THAT is myopia.
Showing posts with label FLDS men. Show all posts
Showing posts with label FLDS men. Show all posts
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Sunday, August 17, 2008
The Ideal Home
Sent to me from someone I love:
The Ideal Home
by Joseph F. Smith
What then is an ideal home – model home, such as it should be the ambition of the Latter-day Saints to build; such as a young man starting out in life should wish to erect for himself? And the answer came to me: It is one in which all worldly considerations are secondary. One in which the Father is devoted to the family with which God has blessed him, counting them of first importance, and in which they in turn permit him to live in their hearts. One in which there is confidence, union, love, sacred devotion between Father and Mother and children and parents. One in which the Mother takes every pleasure in her children, supported by the Father – all being moral, pure, God-fearing.
As the tree is judged by its fruit, so also do we judge the home by the children. In the ideal home true parents rear loving, thoughtful children, loyal to the death, to Father and Mother and home! In it there is the religious spirit, for both parents and children have faith in God, and their practices are in conformity with that faith; the members are free from the vices and contaminations of the world, are pure in morals, having upright hearts beyond bribes and temptations, ranging high in the exalted standards of manhood and womanhood. Peace, order, and contentment reign in the hearts of the inmates – let them be rich or poor, in things material.
There are no vain regrets; no expressions of discontent against Father, from the boys and girls, in which they complain: “If we only had this or that, or were like this family or that, or could do like so and so!” – complaints that have caused Fathers many uncertain steps, dim eyes, restless nights, and untold anxiety. In their place is the loving thoughtfulness to Mother and Father by which the boys and girls work with a will and a determination to carry some of the burden that the parents have staggered under these many years. There is the kiss for Mother, the caress for Father, the thought that they have sacrificed their own hopes and ambitions, their strength, even life itself to their children – there is gratitude in payment for all that has been given them!
In the ideal home the soul is not starved, neither are the growth and expansion of the finer sentiments paralyzed for the coarse and sensual pleasures. The main aim is not to heap up material wealth, which generally draws further and further from the true, the ideal, the spiritual life; but it is rather to create soul-wealth, consciousness of noble achievement, an outflow of love and helpfulness.It is not costly paintings, tapestries, priceless bric-a-brac, various ornaments, costly furniture, fields, herds, houses and lands which constitute the ideal home, nor yet the social enjoyments and ease so tenaciously sought by many; but it is rather beauty of soul, cultivated, loving, faithful, true spirits; hands that help and hearts that sympathize; love that seeks not its own, thoughts and acts that touch our lives to finer issues – these lie at the foundation of the ideal home.
Gospel Doctrine p. 302, Joseph F. Smith, Improvement Era, Vol. 8, 1904-05, pp. 385-388
The Ideal Home
by Joseph F. Smith
What then is an ideal home – model home, such as it should be the ambition of the Latter-day Saints to build; such as a young man starting out in life should wish to erect for himself? And the answer came to me: It is one in which all worldly considerations are secondary. One in which the Father is devoted to the family with which God has blessed him, counting them of first importance, and in which they in turn permit him to live in their hearts. One in which there is confidence, union, love, sacred devotion between Father and Mother and children and parents. One in which the Mother takes every pleasure in her children, supported by the Father – all being moral, pure, God-fearing.
As the tree is judged by its fruit, so also do we judge the home by the children. In the ideal home true parents rear loving, thoughtful children, loyal to the death, to Father and Mother and home! In it there is the religious spirit, for both parents and children have faith in God, and their practices are in conformity with that faith; the members are free from the vices and contaminations of the world, are pure in morals, having upright hearts beyond bribes and temptations, ranging high in the exalted standards of manhood and womanhood. Peace, order, and contentment reign in the hearts of the inmates – let them be rich or poor, in things material.
There are no vain regrets; no expressions of discontent against Father, from the boys and girls, in which they complain: “If we only had this or that, or were like this family or that, or could do like so and so!” – complaints that have caused Fathers many uncertain steps, dim eyes, restless nights, and untold anxiety. In their place is the loving thoughtfulness to Mother and Father by which the boys and girls work with a will and a determination to carry some of the burden that the parents have staggered under these many years. There is the kiss for Mother, the caress for Father, the thought that they have sacrificed their own hopes and ambitions, their strength, even life itself to their children – there is gratitude in payment for all that has been given them!
In the ideal home the soul is not starved, neither are the growth and expansion of the finer sentiments paralyzed for the coarse and sensual pleasures. The main aim is not to heap up material wealth, which generally draws further and further from the true, the ideal, the spiritual life; but it is rather to create soul-wealth, consciousness of noble achievement, an outflow of love and helpfulness.It is not costly paintings, tapestries, priceless bric-a-brac, various ornaments, costly furniture, fields, herds, houses and lands which constitute the ideal home, nor yet the social enjoyments and ease so tenaciously sought by many; but it is rather beauty of soul, cultivated, loving, faithful, true spirits; hands that help and hearts that sympathize; love that seeks not its own, thoughts and acts that touch our lives to finer issues – these lie at the foundation of the ideal home.
Gospel Doctrine p. 302, Joseph F. Smith, Improvement Era, Vol. 8, 1904-05, pp. 385-388
Monday, July 7, 2008
The UEP Trust
In the 1930's a group of Mormon Fundamentalist men wanted to live the "United Order" or "All things in common" So they wrote up a Trust and all donated their lands around Short Creek, AZ into the "United Trust". John Y Barlow was the head of it, but the men were not united.
“Thursday Lewis [Kelsch] and I had a personal talk with Bro. John Y. Barlow. We pointed out our fears that under the present set-up the group could not prosper; that there seemed a disposition toward a one man rule; that the present arrangement was not in accordance with the spirit of the action of the Priesthood recently taken, whereby it was advised that Bro. Barlow resign from the Management of the affairs of the group and confine his labors more particularly to the spiritual field; that our work was especially along the line of keeping faith in patriarchal marriage alive, and not in the directing of colonizing. ” (Joseph Musser Journals November 8, 1936.)
"President Barlow went away for a day or two. This situation put me in mind of what Moses passed through when he went into the mountain ans was gone for several days, and the thought he was no more, so they built a golden calf to worship. Brother Barlow was out of this place for a few days. People got anxious, and they got together and formed an organization and voted a man in it to lead them. I remember, President Barlow came to me and he said "Roy, if I can get one man to stay with me, we can build up the Kingdom of God" I said, "You've got one man, John. As far as I am concerned, you've got one man that will stay with you." He went to two other men in the town, and they said the same thing. The result was, the others stepped aside. We hung together- three of us." (Leroy S Johnson 6/20/1960)
The United Effort Plan was a new Trust formed several years later, on November 9, 1942, centered around the homestead property of President Leroy S Johnson.
Forty-seven years later, in 1989, a lawsuit was filed in Federal Court against the leaders of the UEP by a group former members who left the FLDS church in 1984. Most of whom are part of the Centinnial Park fundamentalist group. The suit was based upon the fear that they had of being evicted. Saying they were told that the property was theirs if they built on it.
Utah Federal Court Judge Bruce (J.A) Jenkins ruled in 1990 for all of the church records, Bishops records, and personal records of the leaders of the FLDS be seized and turned over to the court and the attorneys of the apostate former members in an attempt to find UEP funds. After appeal, the records were still required to be given to Judge (J.A.) Jenkins for his personal perusal to see if they could be turned over to the apostates. The following was sent with the records.
Portions of a affidavit given by President Rulon T. Jeffs Given July 30, 1991:
"I am the only person now living who has personal knowledge of the deliberations that resulted in the creation of the United Effort Plan.... In 1942 Joseph Musser, then a member of the Priesthood Council of the fundamentalist church, asked me to be a member of a committee to help create an organization that would allow our people to live the United Order...
"Our purpose was to attempt to create an organization prominently mentioned by the early leaders of the church, such as Brigham Young and John Taylor which the lawyers could not pick apart and which would allow the people to live the law of consecration..."
"The purpose of the United Effort Plan was to allow all of the property of the people to be held in common, and to do away with the selfishness inherent in the concept of private ownership and the attempt to exclude others from what we have. It is our belief that the Lord owns all things and we are mere stewards of property, not the owners thereof.
"Therefore we provided in document that there would be no private ownership of property. Any representation to the contrary, as alleged by the plaintiffs, would be completely contrary to spirit and intent of the document..."
"The United Effort Plan provides that a person can be expelled for conduct prejudicial to the interests of the Plan [unity of members] In our declarations, this directly relates to the instructions of the Lord in Doctrine and Covenants 42:37, in which one who sins and repents not shall be cast out and shall not receive back that which he consecrated"
"The Plan is to assist the church in providing for the "just wants and needs" of the people, as set forth in scripture..."
"The primary purpose of the United Effort Plan was to hold real property that had been consecrated to the priesthood work. In the early days of the United Effort Plan, we attempted to operate other businesses, such as a sawmill at Mile and a Half Spring in the Kiabab National Forest, and a farm at Bloomington as provided in the Declaration of Trust, but these attempts were ultimately abandoned because they could not pay for themselves and became a burden on the consecrations of the people. Following the late 40's, the ownership of the United Effort Plan was limited to real property, which is still the case today.
"There are no UEP funds. There are funds of the church that are derived from the religious offerings of the people. The UEP itself does not generate any funds whatsoever. Therefore, it is impossible that any of the accounts could contain UEP assets, because those assets, for the last nearly 40 years, have been limited to real property..."
"At the time that the Declaration of Trust was drafted, we used the term "member" to describe those who participated in the Order. The term has reference to members of the Church who were found worthy to participate on the plan based on consecration that the trustees deemed adequate. We did not use the term "beneficiary" and the term was never used in our deliberations. It was not our intent to give persons rights that were not scriptural, nor to impose on ourselves any duties that the Lord did not require of his leaders.
"It was also a prominent item of our discussions that we were not trying to duplicate the law of consecration, but rather to form an organization that would allow the people to come closer to the concepts inherent in that law, with the hope that some day we would be able to live the complete law"
The records sat in the judges possession and were never released to the suers. The case was finally dismissed after three years, and the church records were returned to the FLDS in August of 1993.
Reed Lambert, lead attorney for the bitter former members said in open court just before the dismissal of the complaints:
"There's never been a time in this action, at least when I have stood before this court, and said this isn't a religious dispute in some measure. There is no question that these people are religious people, and had we been able to bring a cause of action to change the one man doctrine to the leadership of Council, we would have brought that claim. What I am telling you is there is a religious dispute underlying the division of the parties. Unfortunately, religion is a nice cloak to hide in some respects. What I'm telling you is that even if God Himself were to appear on the earth, at least He's assuming to civil laws. If He is to enter int a contract or make a representation on somebody upon which they rely on their detriment, it is going to be actionable by the law"
“Thursday Lewis [Kelsch] and I had a personal talk with Bro. John Y. Barlow. We pointed out our fears that under the present set-up the group could not prosper; that there seemed a disposition toward a one man rule; that the present arrangement was not in accordance with the spirit of the action of the Priesthood recently taken, whereby it was advised that Bro. Barlow resign from the Management of the affairs of the group and confine his labors more particularly to the spiritual field; that our work was especially along the line of keeping faith in patriarchal marriage alive, and not in the directing of colonizing. ” (Joseph Musser Journals November 8, 1936.)
"President Barlow went away for a day or two. This situation put me in mind of what Moses passed through when he went into the mountain ans was gone for several days, and the thought he was no more, so they built a golden calf to worship. Brother Barlow was out of this place for a few days. People got anxious, and they got together and formed an organization and voted a man in it to lead them. I remember, President Barlow came to me and he said "Roy, if I can get one man to stay with me, we can build up the Kingdom of God" I said, "You've got one man, John. As far as I am concerned, you've got one man that will stay with you." He went to two other men in the town, and they said the same thing. The result was, the others stepped aside. We hung together- three of us." (Leroy S Johnson 6/20/1960)
The United Effort Plan was a new Trust formed several years later, on November 9, 1942, centered around the homestead property of President Leroy S Johnson.
Forty-seven years later, in 1989, a lawsuit was filed in Federal Court against the leaders of the UEP by a group former members who left the FLDS church in 1984. Most of whom are part of the Centinnial Park fundamentalist group. The suit was based upon the fear that they had of being evicted. Saying they were told that the property was theirs if they built on it.
Utah Federal Court Judge Bruce (J.A) Jenkins ruled in 1990 for all of the church records, Bishops records, and personal records of the leaders of the FLDS be seized and turned over to the court and the attorneys of the apostate former members in an attempt to find UEP funds. After appeal, the records were still required to be given to Judge (J.A.) Jenkins for his personal perusal to see if they could be turned over to the apostates. The following was sent with the records.
Portions of a affidavit given by President Rulon T. Jeffs Given July 30, 1991:
"I am the only person now living who has personal knowledge of the deliberations that resulted in the creation of the United Effort Plan.... In 1942 Joseph Musser, then a member of the Priesthood Council of the fundamentalist church, asked me to be a member of a committee to help create an organization that would allow our people to live the United Order...
"Our purpose was to attempt to create an organization prominently mentioned by the early leaders of the church, such as Brigham Young and John Taylor which the lawyers could not pick apart and which would allow the people to live the law of consecration..."
"The purpose of the United Effort Plan was to allow all of the property of the people to be held in common, and to do away with the selfishness inherent in the concept of private ownership and the attempt to exclude others from what we have. It is our belief that the Lord owns all things and we are mere stewards of property, not the owners thereof.
"Therefore we provided in document that there would be no private ownership of property. Any representation to the contrary, as alleged by the plaintiffs, would be completely contrary to spirit and intent of the document..."
"The United Effort Plan provides that a person can be expelled for conduct prejudicial to the interests of the Plan [unity of members] In our declarations, this directly relates to the instructions of the Lord in Doctrine and Covenants 42:37, in which one who sins and repents not shall be cast out and shall not receive back that which he consecrated"
"The Plan is to assist the church in providing for the "just wants and needs" of the people, as set forth in scripture..."
"The primary purpose of the United Effort Plan was to hold real property that had been consecrated to the priesthood work. In the early days of the United Effort Plan, we attempted to operate other businesses, such as a sawmill at Mile and a Half Spring in the Kiabab National Forest, and a farm at Bloomington as provided in the Declaration of Trust, but these attempts were ultimately abandoned because they could not pay for themselves and became a burden on the consecrations of the people. Following the late 40's, the ownership of the United Effort Plan was limited to real property, which is still the case today.
"There are no UEP funds. There are funds of the church that are derived from the religious offerings of the people. The UEP itself does not generate any funds whatsoever. Therefore, it is impossible that any of the accounts could contain UEP assets, because those assets, for the last nearly 40 years, have been limited to real property..."
"At the time that the Declaration of Trust was drafted, we used the term "member" to describe those who participated in the Order. The term has reference to members of the Church who were found worthy to participate on the plan based on consecration that the trustees deemed adequate. We did not use the term "beneficiary" and the term was never used in our deliberations. It was not our intent to give persons rights that were not scriptural, nor to impose on ourselves any duties that the Lord did not require of his leaders.
"It was also a prominent item of our discussions that we were not trying to duplicate the law of consecration, but rather to form an organization that would allow the people to come closer to the concepts inherent in that law, with the hope that some day we would be able to live the complete law"
The records sat in the judges possession and were never released to the suers. The case was finally dismissed after three years, and the church records were returned to the FLDS in August of 1993.
Reed Lambert, lead attorney for the bitter former members said in open court just before the dismissal of the complaints:
"There's never been a time in this action, at least when I have stood before this court, and said this isn't a religious dispute in some measure. There is no question that these people are religious people, and had we been able to bring a cause of action to change the one man doctrine to the leadership of Council, we would have brought that claim. What I am telling you is there is a religious dispute underlying the division of the parties. Unfortunately, religion is a nice cloak to hide in some respects. What I'm telling you is that even if God Himself were to appear on the earth, at least He's assuming to civil laws. If He is to enter int a contract or make a representation on somebody upon which they rely on their detriment, it is going to be actionable by the law"
Monday, June 30, 2008
Wilford Woodruff, President of the Church
“Perhaps it may make some of you stumble, were I to ask you a question. Does a man’s being a Prophet in this Church prove that he shall be the President of it? I answer, no! A man may be a Prophet, Seer, and Revelator, and it may have nothing to do with his being the President of the Church. Suffice it to say, that Joseph was the President of the Church, as long as he lived; the people chose to have it so. He always filled that responsible station, by the voice of the people. Can you find any revelation appointing him the President of the Church? The keys of the Priesthood were committed to Joseph, to build up the Kingdom of God on the earth. And were not taken from him in time or in eternity; but when he was called to preside over the Church it was by the voice of the people; though he held the keys of the Priesthood independent of their voice.” (Brigham Young 6/6/1853 JD 1:133)
In 1880, three years after the Prophet Brigham Young died and seven years before the Prophet John Taylor died, Mormon Apostle Wilford Woodruff recorded these words in his journal:
"Thus saith the Lord unto my servant John Taylor (?), and my servant Wilford Woodruff, and My servant Orson Pratt, and to all the residue of mine Apostles,… while my servant John Taylor is your President, I wish to ask the rest of my servants of the Apostles the question, although you have one to preside over your Quorum, which is the order of God in all generations, do you not, all of you, hold the apostleship, which is the highest authority ever given to men on earth? You do. Therefore you hold in common the Keys of the Kingdom of God in all the world. It is your right, privilege, and duty to inquire of the Lord as to His mind and will concerning yourselves and the inhabitants of Zion and their interests.”
Between this "revelation" and the Manifesto, Wilford Woodruff is the source of most all of the falling away of people from the truth. He was never the Prophet.
“Through some inadvertence, or perhaps mixed up with the idea of seniority of age taking precedence, Wilford Woodruff’s name was placed on the records of the time, and for many years after, before that of John Taylor. This matter was investigated some time afterwards by President Young and his council, sanctioned also by the Twelve, whether John Taylor held the precedency and stood in graduation prior to Brother Wilford Woodruff, and it was decided that his name be placed before Wilford Woodruff’s although Wilford Woodruff was the older man.” (John Taylor 10/7/1881)
“President Johnson explained to me the Wilford Woodruff held feelings against John Taylor. In some point in time, Wilford Woodruff considered he was senior over John Taylor in the Apostleship.” (Rulon T. Jeffs HOPS pg 79)
Wilford Woodruff, who was the senior in age of John Taylor but was ordained by John Taylor, wrote this “revelation” to his Priesthood head, President and Prophet John Taylor, and to all the Apostles in which he, Wilford Woodruff, is told: “Thus saith the Lord unto my servant John Taylor, and my servant Wilford Woodruff, and My servant Orson Pratt [also John Taylor’s senior in age], and to all the residue of mine Apostles,… you hold in common the Keys of the Kingdom of God in all the world. It is your right, privilege, and duty to inquire of the Lord as to His mind and will concerning … the inhabitants of Zion and their interests.”
This is something that is assumed by many Mormon Fundamentalist groups to replace D&C 132:7 Which states: “… there is never but one on the earth at a time on whom this power and the keys of this priesthood are conferred” This is not the only place this is described, but the one many feel replaced by the 1880.
The problem is Wilford Woodruff was not the Prophet or the President of the Church, John Taylor was. Note the date of the following written revelation:
Revelation to John Taylor June 27, 1882
1. “Verily thus saith the Lord, I have instituted my Kingdom and my laws, with the keys and the power thereof, and I have appointed you as my spokesman and my Constitution, with President John Taylor at your head, whom I have appointed to my Church and my Kingdom as Prophet, Seer, and Revelator unto and over my Kingdom; and I will honor him, and he shall speak forth the words that I will reveal unto him from time to time by the whisperings of my Spirit, by the revelation of my Spirit, by the revelation of my will and my word, or by mine own voice, as I will, saith the Lord, and ye shall listen to his words as my words, saith the Lord your God.”
14. “And now I speak unto you who are members of this Council, and of my Kingdom, and I say unto you, as I said unto my disciples of old, Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you.
15. “I called you by my servant Joseph, and by my servant Brigham, and by my servant John. You did not teach and instruct me; but I have taught you and instructed you and organized you according to my eternal laws.
16. “Ye are my Constitution, and I am your God; and I will be acknowledged and my will and my word and my law shall bear rule in my Kingdom, saith the Lord. If it does not, then it is not my Kingdom, and then are ye not my man, and under the direction of man, then it is a kingdom of man, and it is not of me, and I will not acknowledge it, saith the Lord God.”
There is no question about who the Lord would reveal His mind and will to the Church through, and His mind and will to the Prophet, and in 1880 it was not Wilford Woodruff.
“It is my privilege as an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ to have the revelations of Jesus. It is my privilege to live so as to have the gift of prophecy, and to have wisdom and knowledge from God. It is my privilege to have all these gifts and blessings resting down upon me by virtue of my calling. If I am faithful thereto they will rest upon me. But it is not my privilege to guide this ship. It is not my privilege to write revelations or commandments to this Church. Much as I may rejoice in the knowledge of God, much as I may be possessed of the revelations of Jesus, that is not a privilege which has been accorded unto me, nor has it been accorded unto any other Apostle, or officer, or member of this Church, but one, and that is the man whom God has chosen to hold the keys.”(George Q Cannon 12/2/1883)
In 1882, the U.S. Congress enacted the Edmunds-Tucker Act, a federal law which made polygamy a felony within its Territories. It also stated that anyone “in the marriage relation” with multiple spice could not vote in any election. It was written purposefully to not include adulterers, but only those who were “cohabiting as husband and wife”. Interestingly, in 1870 Utah had become the first place in the United States that allowed women to vote, and in 1975 a petition of over 22,000 Mormon women was sent to Congress asking to repeal the 1862 Morrill law. Women’s suffrage was stopped by the stronger anti-Polygamy Edmunds Act passed in 1887.
In his last public sermon, President John Taylor remarked:
"I would like to obey and place myself in subjection to every law of man. What then? Am I to disobey the law of God? Has any man a right to control my conscience, or your conscience, or to tell me I shall believe this or believe the other, or reject this or reject the other? No man has a right to do it. These principles are sacred, and the forefathers of this nation felt so and so proclaimed it in the Constitution of the United States, and said "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." Now, I believe they have violated that, and have violated their oaths, those that have engaged in these things and passed that law, and those that are seeking to carry it out. Congress and the President of the United States and the Judiciary, and all administrators of the law are as much bound by that instrument as I am and as you are, and have sworn to maintain it inviolate. It is for them to settle these matters between themselves and their God. That is my faith in relation to this matter. Yet by their action they are interfering with my rights, my liberty and my religion, and with those sacred principles that bind me to my God, to my family, to my wives and my children; and shall I be recreant to all these noble principles that ought to guide and govern men? No, Never! No, NEVER! NO, NEVER! I can endure more than I have done, and all that God will enable me to endure, I can die for the truth; but I cannot as an honorable man disobey my God at their behest, forsake my wives and my children, and trample these holy and eternal obligations under foot, that God has given me to keep, and which reach into the eternities that are to come. I won't do it, so help me, God." (2/1/1885 JD 26:152).
John Taylor went into hiding after this address and died in hiding two and a half years later, on July 25, 1887
While in hiding men came to John Taylor with a “manifesto” to consider. The document was written to keep the leading men from losing their property along with the church property. The temple and all church property had been seized by the government over the belief in plural marriage. George Q. Cannon suggested for John Taylor to take the manifesto up with the Lord. On September 26, 1886 the prophet John Taylor recorded a Revelation. In it says: “All those who would enter into my glory must and shall obey my law. And have I not commanded men that if they were Abraham’s seed and would enter into my glory, they must do the works of Abraham. I HAVE NOT REVOKED THIS LAW NOR WILL I, it is everlasting, and those who will enter into my glory MUST obey the conditions thereof.” Most of the people of the church were unaware of the revelation, or of those who were at the meeting. (Read the story here)
John Taylor died ten months later, on July 25, 1887. Due to his being the senior Apostle, Wilford Woodruff then assumed the Presidency of the church.
John Wickersham Woolley was the senior Apostle ordained at the 1886 meeting held in his home, who did not later support the 1890 Manifesto. He obeyed his covenants made on that Sabbath Day, and yet he still respected the Church and their officers even after they turned away from the Celestial Law.
On September 24, 1890 Wilford Woodruff issued the written Manifesto in general meeting. It was not even considered by him to be a revelation from God until later. It says:
“To Whom it may concern: Press dispatches having been sent for political purposes…allege that plural marriages are still being solemnized and that…in public discourses the leaders of the Church have taught, encouraged and urged the continuance of the practice of polygamy- I therefore, as President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints, do hereby, in the most solemn manner, declare that these charges are false. We are not teaching polygamy or plural marriage, or permitting any person to enter into its practice…Inasmuch as laws have been enacted by Congress forbidding plural marriages, which laws have been pronounced constitutional by the court of last resort, I hereby declare my intention to submit to those laws…. And now I publicly declare that my advice to the Latter-day Saints is to refrain from contracting any marriage forbidden by the law of the land.”
“I move that, recognizing Wilford Woodruff as the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and the only man on the earth at the present time, who holds the keys of the sealing ordinances, we consider him fully authorized by virtue of his position to issue the Manifesto… and that as a Church in General Conference assembled, we accept his declaration concerning plural marriages as authoritative and binding” (Lorenzo Snow 10-6-1890)
There is our dilemma, Wilford Woodruff. Which is more binding; the revelation declaring him co- head of the church with his leader and the other Apostles in 1880, or the “Manifesto” where Lorenzo Snow (the President of the Church after Wilford Woodruff) declares that Wilford Woodruff is the only man on earth with the sealing ordinances, and has the authority to end it? The dilemma is one of testimony, and conviction. But even Wilford Woodruff did not follow the Official Declaration of 1890 himself, the church records state:
1897 Sept, Wilford Woodruff, married 6th wife, Lydia Mountford. (President of the church, married Lydia a year before he died)
Our Prophet Leroy S. Johnson said:
“When Wilford Woodruff signed the Manifesto, he didn’t only sign away his rights to the Celestial Law, but he also signed away his rights to the Priesthood.” (2/12/84)
Here is the testimony of my great grandmother, Esther Morrison:
“At the time the manifesto was signed, I was staying with Mary… I remember so vividly when the word came about this…. Everything was so quiet, and it seemed as though there was a feeling of some terrible happening taking place. It was felt in the home and outside even in my young years, about 8 or 9 years old, and not understanding the great significance of what happened, I felt the dreadful impact of it.
Years later, about 1925, I attended a Daughters of the Pioneers meeting held at the home of Mrs. Joseph J Danes, on Fifth east, who was a daughter of President Wilford Woodruff. Also another daughter, Mrs. Beatty was there. She spoke on the Manifesto. During her talk she said:
“The day father signed the manifesto I was in the front room when he came home. I shall never forget his face. He moaned, and said “O God what have I done?” He immediately went upstairs to his room. He remained there for a whole week, never speaking to any of us (his family). When he came down and joined the family he looked awful. The ravages of sickness could never have made him look worse. It was awful.”
As a note here, my children, I desire to leave this to you. I know the law of plural marriage to be a heaven truth. Your father was an issue of that great law. You have a righteous heritage. Don’t trample on it, but treasure it, and accept the pattern given to you.” - Esther E. E. Morrison (who never lived plural marriage but encouraged my grandmother to when she had the opportunity)
In the FLDS church Priesthood lineage, Wilford Woodruff never was the Prophet. He lifted his heel against his leader in 1880, and in doing so, he lost his right to be the successor to John Taylor. He was not united with John Taylor after Brigham Young passed away. John Taylor had appointed John W Woolley and others to carry on in the work of the Celestial Law. The sealing keys of Elijah were given to him who did not lift his heel against the Celestial Law and the Keyholder of Priesthood.
John W. Woolley, as David of old, did not “set on the Lords anointed” but continued on in peace while fulfilling his covenants made on that September day in 1886. He continued in the Church even after he was excommunicated in 1914 for performing marriages and teaching the Celestial Law.
In 1880, three years after the Prophet Brigham Young died and seven years before the Prophet John Taylor died, Mormon Apostle Wilford Woodruff recorded these words in his journal:
"Thus saith the Lord unto my servant John Taylor (?), and my servant Wilford Woodruff, and My servant Orson Pratt, and to all the residue of mine Apostles,… while my servant John Taylor is your President, I wish to ask the rest of my servants of the Apostles the question, although you have one to preside over your Quorum, which is the order of God in all generations, do you not, all of you, hold the apostleship, which is the highest authority ever given to men on earth? You do. Therefore you hold in common the Keys of the Kingdom of God in all the world. It is your right, privilege, and duty to inquire of the Lord as to His mind and will concerning yourselves and the inhabitants of Zion and their interests.”
Between this "revelation" and the Manifesto, Wilford Woodruff is the source of most all of the falling away of people from the truth. He was never the Prophet.
“Through some inadvertence, or perhaps mixed up with the idea of seniority of age taking precedence, Wilford Woodruff’s name was placed on the records of the time, and for many years after, before that of John Taylor. This matter was investigated some time afterwards by President Young and his council, sanctioned also by the Twelve, whether John Taylor held the precedency and stood in graduation prior to Brother Wilford Woodruff, and it was decided that his name be placed before Wilford Woodruff’s although Wilford Woodruff was the older man.” (John Taylor 10/7/1881)
“President Johnson explained to me the Wilford Woodruff held feelings against John Taylor. In some point in time, Wilford Woodruff considered he was senior over John Taylor in the Apostleship.” (Rulon T. Jeffs HOPS pg 79)
Wilford Woodruff, who was the senior in age of John Taylor but was ordained by John Taylor, wrote this “revelation” to his Priesthood head, President and Prophet John Taylor, and to all the Apostles in which he, Wilford Woodruff, is told: “Thus saith the Lord unto my servant John Taylor, and my servant Wilford Woodruff, and My servant Orson Pratt [also John Taylor’s senior in age], and to all the residue of mine Apostles,… you hold in common the Keys of the Kingdom of God in all the world. It is your right, privilege, and duty to inquire of the Lord as to His mind and will concerning … the inhabitants of Zion and their interests.”
This is something that is assumed by many Mormon Fundamentalist groups to replace D&C 132:7 Which states: “… there is never but one on the earth at a time on whom this power and the keys of this priesthood are conferred” This is not the only place this is described, but the one many feel replaced by the 1880.
The problem is Wilford Woodruff was not the Prophet or the President of the Church, John Taylor was. Note the date of the following written revelation:
Revelation to John Taylor June 27, 1882
1. “Verily thus saith the Lord, I have instituted my Kingdom and my laws, with the keys and the power thereof, and I have appointed you as my spokesman and my Constitution, with President John Taylor at your head, whom I have appointed to my Church and my Kingdom as Prophet, Seer, and Revelator unto and over my Kingdom; and I will honor him, and he shall speak forth the words that I will reveal unto him from time to time by the whisperings of my Spirit, by the revelation of my Spirit, by the revelation of my will and my word, or by mine own voice, as I will, saith the Lord, and ye shall listen to his words as my words, saith the Lord your God.”
14. “And now I speak unto you who are members of this Council, and of my Kingdom, and I say unto you, as I said unto my disciples of old, Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you.
15. “I called you by my servant Joseph, and by my servant Brigham, and by my servant John. You did not teach and instruct me; but I have taught you and instructed you and organized you according to my eternal laws.
16. “Ye are my Constitution, and I am your God; and I will be acknowledged and my will and my word and my law shall bear rule in my Kingdom, saith the Lord. If it does not, then it is not my Kingdom, and then are ye not my man, and under the direction of man, then it is a kingdom of man, and it is not of me, and I will not acknowledge it, saith the Lord God.”
There is no question about who the Lord would reveal His mind and will to the Church through, and His mind and will to the Prophet, and in 1880 it was not Wilford Woodruff.
“It is my privilege as an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ to have the revelations of Jesus. It is my privilege to live so as to have the gift of prophecy, and to have wisdom and knowledge from God. It is my privilege to have all these gifts and blessings resting down upon me by virtue of my calling. If I am faithful thereto they will rest upon me. But it is not my privilege to guide this ship. It is not my privilege to write revelations or commandments to this Church. Much as I may rejoice in the knowledge of God, much as I may be possessed of the revelations of Jesus, that is not a privilege which has been accorded unto me, nor has it been accorded unto any other Apostle, or officer, or member of this Church, but one, and that is the man whom God has chosen to hold the keys.”(George Q Cannon 12/2/1883)
In 1882, the U.S. Congress enacted the Edmunds-Tucker Act, a federal law which made polygamy a felony within its Territories. It also stated that anyone “in the marriage relation” with multiple spice could not vote in any election. It was written purposefully to not include adulterers, but only those who were “cohabiting as husband and wife”. Interestingly, in 1870 Utah had become the first place in the United States that allowed women to vote, and in 1975 a petition of over 22,000 Mormon women was sent to Congress asking to repeal the 1862 Morrill law. Women’s suffrage was stopped by the stronger anti-Polygamy Edmunds Act passed in 1887.
In his last public sermon, President John Taylor remarked:
"I would like to obey and place myself in subjection to every law of man. What then? Am I to disobey the law of God? Has any man a right to control my conscience, or your conscience, or to tell me I shall believe this or believe the other, or reject this or reject the other? No man has a right to do it. These principles are sacred, and the forefathers of this nation felt so and so proclaimed it in the Constitution of the United States, and said "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." Now, I believe they have violated that, and have violated their oaths, those that have engaged in these things and passed that law, and those that are seeking to carry it out. Congress and the President of the United States and the Judiciary, and all administrators of the law are as much bound by that instrument as I am and as you are, and have sworn to maintain it inviolate. It is for them to settle these matters between themselves and their God. That is my faith in relation to this matter. Yet by their action they are interfering with my rights, my liberty and my religion, and with those sacred principles that bind me to my God, to my family, to my wives and my children; and shall I be recreant to all these noble principles that ought to guide and govern men? No, Never! No, NEVER! NO, NEVER! I can endure more than I have done, and all that God will enable me to endure, I can die for the truth; but I cannot as an honorable man disobey my God at their behest, forsake my wives and my children, and trample these holy and eternal obligations under foot, that God has given me to keep, and which reach into the eternities that are to come. I won't do it, so help me, God." (2/1/1885 JD 26:152).
John Taylor went into hiding after this address and died in hiding two and a half years later, on July 25, 1887
While in hiding men came to John Taylor with a “manifesto” to consider. The document was written to keep the leading men from losing their property along with the church property. The temple and all church property had been seized by the government over the belief in plural marriage. George Q. Cannon suggested for John Taylor to take the manifesto up with the Lord. On September 26, 1886 the prophet John Taylor recorded a Revelation. In it says: “All those who would enter into my glory must and shall obey my law. And have I not commanded men that if they were Abraham’s seed and would enter into my glory, they must do the works of Abraham. I HAVE NOT REVOKED THIS LAW NOR WILL I, it is everlasting, and those who will enter into my glory MUST obey the conditions thereof.” Most of the people of the church were unaware of the revelation, or of those who were at the meeting. (Read the story here)
John Taylor died ten months later, on July 25, 1887. Due to his being the senior Apostle, Wilford Woodruff then assumed the Presidency of the church.
John Wickersham Woolley was the senior Apostle ordained at the 1886 meeting held in his home, who did not later support the 1890 Manifesto. He obeyed his covenants made on that Sabbath Day, and yet he still respected the Church and their officers even after they turned away from the Celestial Law.
On September 24, 1890 Wilford Woodruff issued the written Manifesto in general meeting. It was not even considered by him to be a revelation from God until later. It says:
“To Whom it may concern: Press dispatches having been sent for political purposes…allege that plural marriages are still being solemnized and that…in public discourses the leaders of the Church have taught, encouraged and urged the continuance of the practice of polygamy- I therefore, as President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints, do hereby, in the most solemn manner, declare that these charges are false. We are not teaching polygamy or plural marriage, or permitting any person to enter into its practice…Inasmuch as laws have been enacted by Congress forbidding plural marriages, which laws have been pronounced constitutional by the court of last resort, I hereby declare my intention to submit to those laws…. And now I publicly declare that my advice to the Latter-day Saints is to refrain from contracting any marriage forbidden by the law of the land.”
“I move that, recognizing Wilford Woodruff as the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and the only man on the earth at the present time, who holds the keys of the sealing ordinances, we consider him fully authorized by virtue of his position to issue the Manifesto… and that as a Church in General Conference assembled, we accept his declaration concerning plural marriages as authoritative and binding” (Lorenzo Snow 10-6-1890)
There is our dilemma, Wilford Woodruff. Which is more binding; the revelation declaring him co- head of the church with his leader and the other Apostles in 1880, or the “Manifesto” where Lorenzo Snow (the President of the Church after Wilford Woodruff) declares that Wilford Woodruff is the only man on earth with the sealing ordinances, and has the authority to end it? The dilemma is one of testimony, and conviction. But even Wilford Woodruff did not follow the Official Declaration of 1890 himself, the church records state:
1897 Sept, Wilford Woodruff, married 6th wife, Lydia Mountford. (President of the church, married Lydia a year before he died)
Our Prophet Leroy S. Johnson said:
“When Wilford Woodruff signed the Manifesto, he didn’t only sign away his rights to the Celestial Law, but he also signed away his rights to the Priesthood.” (2/12/84)
Here is the testimony of my great grandmother, Esther Morrison:
“At the time the manifesto was signed, I was staying with Mary… I remember so vividly when the word came about this…. Everything was so quiet, and it seemed as though there was a feeling of some terrible happening taking place. It was felt in the home and outside even in my young years, about 8 or 9 years old, and not understanding the great significance of what happened, I felt the dreadful impact of it.
Years later, about 1925, I attended a Daughters of the Pioneers meeting held at the home of Mrs. Joseph J Danes, on Fifth east, who was a daughter of President Wilford Woodruff. Also another daughter, Mrs. Beatty was there. She spoke on the Manifesto. During her talk she said:
“The day father signed the manifesto I was in the front room when he came home. I shall never forget his face. He moaned, and said “O God what have I done?” He immediately went upstairs to his room. He remained there for a whole week, never speaking to any of us (his family). When he came down and joined the family he looked awful. The ravages of sickness could never have made him look worse. It was awful.”
As a note here, my children, I desire to leave this to you. I know the law of plural marriage to be a heaven truth. Your father was an issue of that great law. You have a righteous heritage. Don’t trample on it, but treasure it, and accept the pattern given to you.” - Esther E. E. Morrison (who never lived plural marriage but encouraged my grandmother to when she had the opportunity)
In the FLDS church Priesthood lineage, Wilford Woodruff never was the Prophet. He lifted his heel against his leader in 1880, and in doing so, he lost his right to be the successor to John Taylor. He was not united with John Taylor after Brigham Young passed away. John Taylor had appointed John W Woolley and others to carry on in the work of the Celestial Law. The sealing keys of Elijah were given to him who did not lift his heel against the Celestial Law and the Keyholder of Priesthood.
John W. Woolley, as David of old, did not “set on the Lords anointed” but continued on in peace while fulfilling his covenants made on that September day in 1886. He continued in the Church even after he was excommunicated in 1914 for performing marriages and teaching the Celestial Law.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
John W Woolley, Prophet
John Wickersham Woolley was born December 30, 1831 in Newlin, Pennsylvania. He was the first of eight children born to Edwin Dilworth Woolley and Mary Wickersham Woolley. His father had 5 wives and 27 children. During his life he was a messenger boy for Joseph Smith at age 13, was ordained an elder by Brigham Young, was second councilor to his father, Bishop Edwin D. Woolley bishop of the 13th Ward in SLC, and he was a High Councilman in the Davis Stake. He was a Salt Lake Temple worker and sealer beginning in 1894. He was deputy sheriff of S.L. County, deputy Territorial Marshall, and Justice of the Peace of Centerville UT for 16 years. When John Taylor went into hiding in the 1880’s he spent much of his time at John Woolley’s home. On September 27, 1886 John Taylor received the 1886 Revelation in John Woolley’s home while in hiding from persecution.
John W. Woolley’s first wife was Julia Seales Ensign, they married March 20, 1851 and from whom came his six known children, John Ensign, Franklin, Lorin Calvin, Julia Adarena, Mary Emma, and Amy Irene. Seven days after the 1886 revelation was given, On October 4, 1886, John Taylor sealed him to Ann Everington Roberts, widowed mother of B. H. Roberts, he was 56. On March 23, 1910 John married Annie Fisher. LDS President Joseph F. Smith performed the wedding. John was active in the LDS Church up until 1914. He was excommunicated by the church Apostles in 1914, and died 24 years later, December 13, 1928 at age 96.
“John Woolley said that his brother Samuel told him if he did not live this law, he would not have his first wife. President Young taught him that, and others, and he did not believe it. But the Lord told him, and he believed Him. (He then told of how John Woolley’s wife was shown to him in the temple and the Lord told him so, etc., and how Joseph F. Smith married them.) Joseph F. Smith was hounded and died a martyr. Orson F. Whitney died a martyr, and others.” (John Y Barlow June 11, 1944)
“I can see a few faces here that were with us a few years ago. When we used to go up to Uncle John Woolley's and Lorin Woolley's, they would tell us of things -- how the Savior and Joseph Smith came to their place and what he told them to do to keep this principle alive. I have heard those men testify to that many times. I have been called into their Council and told of these things -- tutored up. I used to live just a little way from Uncle Lorin Woolley, and I knew Uncle John Woolley; and I heard the neighbors say that Joseph F. Smith used to go up and visit with him. They said that Joseph F. thought a lot of him, that he went up and pled with him and pled with him. Yes, he did -- he counseled with him, but he wasn't pleading with him as they thought he was doing.” (John Y Barlow 9/13/42)
[In 1928]… I visited Brother John W. Woolley who was then head of the Priesthood -- God's chosen servant in the earth. He was the first to hold the presidency after John Taylor in this line of Priesthood. My brother [Price] took me to see him, introduced me to him. I sat down on the couch after shaking hands with Brother Woolley. He looked a hole through me for a moment. I thought, "Oh, this man is going to tell me of all the trials and tribulations I have had." He startled me by saying, "Get up, young man, and come over here. I want to feel your hand again." I don't know whether I was shaking or whether I wasn't. I know I had a feeling that I was being tested. He looked me in the eye and said, "My boy, you'll do. You'll do." He told me to go and sit down, and I did. He says, "Now I know that I am among friends." And he opened up and told me of the revelation of 1886 and the eight-hour meeting.” (Leroy S Johnson 6/3/1978)
“When brother Price Johnson was talking of Brother John Woolley, I thought many are the hours I have spent with him. Many things were shown to me then. We have seen many of those things literally fulfilled” (JYB 5/25/41)
"I did not have the privilege of having a personal acquaintance with Uncle John W. Woolley, but my Father and brother Richard brought me many stories of his remarkable character and instructions; and knowing them to be honest and that they did not lie, I was privileged to believe what they related to me. We lived in Millville, Utah, at this time, and in the early 1920's, my father and older brothers worked in Salt Lake City, at the Baldwin Radio Plant, where Uncle Lorin Woolley worked also.
My father related that Uncle John Woolley said that the Church authorities were about to cut President Joseph F. Smith off the Church. President Smith reported to his senior, John W. Woolley, who said, "No, Joseph, let them cut me off the Church." Later, members of the Twelve required President Smith to recant his position before the people. He asked by phone if he should do so, and John W. Woolley said, "If you do, that will be the last speech the Lord will let you make." Uncle Lorin told us that President Smith sweat blood on his garments, who explained, "I would rather do this than have my blood on my brethren's hands."
I remember hearing the news of Uncle John Woolley's passing and I felt very sad. He died December 13, 1928, at the age of 97, when I was eighteen years old." (Fred M. Jessop)
John W. Woolley’s first wife was Julia Seales Ensign, they married March 20, 1851 and from whom came his six known children, John Ensign, Franklin, Lorin Calvin, Julia Adarena, Mary Emma, and Amy Irene. Seven days after the 1886 revelation was given, On October 4, 1886, John Taylor sealed him to Ann Everington Roberts, widowed mother of B. H. Roberts, he was 56. On March 23, 1910 John married Annie Fisher. LDS President Joseph F. Smith performed the wedding. John was active in the LDS Church up until 1914. He was excommunicated by the church Apostles in 1914, and died 24 years later, December 13, 1928 at age 96.
“John Woolley said that his brother Samuel told him if he did not live this law, he would not have his first wife. President Young taught him that, and others, and he did not believe it. But the Lord told him, and he believed Him. (He then told of how John Woolley’s wife was shown to him in the temple and the Lord told him so, etc., and how Joseph F. Smith married them.) Joseph F. Smith was hounded and died a martyr. Orson F. Whitney died a martyr, and others.” (John Y Barlow June 11, 1944)
“I can see a few faces here that were with us a few years ago. When we used to go up to Uncle John Woolley's and Lorin Woolley's, they would tell us of things -- how the Savior and Joseph Smith came to their place and what he told them to do to keep this principle alive. I have heard those men testify to that many times. I have been called into their Council and told of these things -- tutored up. I used to live just a little way from Uncle Lorin Woolley, and I knew Uncle John Woolley; and I heard the neighbors say that Joseph F. Smith used to go up and visit with him. They said that Joseph F. thought a lot of him, that he went up and pled with him and pled with him. Yes, he did -- he counseled with him, but he wasn't pleading with him as they thought he was doing.” (John Y Barlow 9/13/42)
[In 1928]… I visited Brother John W. Woolley who was then head of the Priesthood -- God's chosen servant in the earth. He was the first to hold the presidency after John Taylor in this line of Priesthood. My brother [Price] took me to see him, introduced me to him. I sat down on the couch after shaking hands with Brother Woolley. He looked a hole through me for a moment. I thought, "Oh, this man is going to tell me of all the trials and tribulations I have had." He startled me by saying, "Get up, young man, and come over here. I want to feel your hand again." I don't know whether I was shaking or whether I wasn't. I know I had a feeling that I was being tested. He looked me in the eye and said, "My boy, you'll do. You'll do." He told me to go and sit down, and I did. He says, "Now I know that I am among friends." And he opened up and told me of the revelation of 1886 and the eight-hour meeting.” (Leroy S Johnson 6/3/1978)
“When brother Price Johnson was talking of Brother John Woolley, I thought many are the hours I have spent with him. Many things were shown to me then. We have seen many of those things literally fulfilled” (JYB 5/25/41)
"I did not have the privilege of having a personal acquaintance with Uncle John W. Woolley, but my Father and brother Richard brought me many stories of his remarkable character and instructions; and knowing them to be honest and that they did not lie, I was privileged to believe what they related to me. We lived in Millville, Utah, at this time, and in the early 1920's, my father and older brothers worked in Salt Lake City, at the Baldwin Radio Plant, where Uncle Lorin Woolley worked also.
My father related that Uncle John Woolley said that the Church authorities were about to cut President Joseph F. Smith off the Church. President Smith reported to his senior, John W. Woolley, who said, "No, Joseph, let them cut me off the Church." Later, members of the Twelve required President Smith to recant his position before the people. He asked by phone if he should do so, and John W. Woolley said, "If you do, that will be the last speech the Lord will let you make." Uncle Lorin told us that President Smith sweat blood on his garments, who explained, "I would rather do this than have my blood on my brethren's hands."
I remember hearing the news of Uncle John Woolley's passing and I felt very sad. He died December 13, 1928, at the age of 97, when I was eighteen years old." (Fred M. Jessop)
"John W. Woolley filled a little niche in the line of Priesthood. He had to live in obscurity out of the lives of most people. There were only a few people that knew his position, and those who did find out his postition had a hard time doing so. They had to be men of God and the Spirit of God would have to be upon them in order to find it out." (Leroy S. Johnson 12/28/1952)
Olive Woolley Coombs (daughter of Lorin Woolley): Grandfather was really a different individual. At the age of 90 he got our and chopped and thinned beets for two or three hours a day and was very, very accurate with them. He was very healthy, and I remember he got up very early in the morning. He ate only two meals a day-noon and night- and then went to bed very early—by 7pm every night. He ate very simple meals. The thing I remember most was bread and milk and cheese; and honey was always on the table at my Grandfathers home.”
Rhea Allred Kunz- When my husband and I met him, your grandfather was very forthright. He didn’t mince words with anyone. His mind was clear as a bell.
Olive- No he didn’t. He was very alert even the day he died. You see he died just a few days before his 97th birthday.”
Rhea- As I recall, we saw him just about a week to ten days before he died. He sat erect with a long flowing beard. We were in the very room where the Savior visited Pres. John Taylor on that memorable night of September 26-27, 1886. He talked with us on how the room had been changed since that time—two other doors having been added and this sort of thing.
Olive- “Father had a much more severe life in things that take the physical body down, such as being gored by a bull and the riding he did for John Taylor…when father was a minute man for John Taylor, he did a lot of riding in the cold. However, Grandfather had a hard life too, being in the army as he was. He was in the Nauvoo legion, you know. He had a rough life too, but he seemed to be a little more hale and hearty than my dad. Dad was a little more frail.”
Rhea- There is something that I recall you told me about long ago….You had asked him a certain question. By his skillful manipulations, he had helped you work out the answer yourself. Then he finally said, when you had it right, “You are too smart for your own britches.”
Olive- “You might be talking about President Joseph F Smith when he came out of the tabernacle at Bountiful. I was a child of seven—I well remember my age. Daddy had taken me over to the Stake Conference in Bountiful. We had taken Grandfather with us. They had disfellowshipped Grandfather before this time. That didn’t stop Grandfather from going to church. It didn’t stop Grandfather from preaching the Gospel. It didn’t stop him from any of this. Father and I were standing in front of the Tabernacle after the meeting, waiting for Grandfather to come out. He liked to say hello to this one and that one. Joseph F Smith was the General Authority present at the conference. He walked up to us just as Grandfather walked up, and Pres. Smith put his arm around Grandfathers arm and said, “John, I’m very sorry about what has been done. I want you to know it wasn’t my will. It was voted. But I have the assurance that if you will come back into the Church secretly we are ready and willing” And he. Grandfather, said, “I appreciate that very much, but since I was taken out publicly, the way you must take me back is publicly, because I feel I have done nothing wrong, and my Lord, I’m sure, agrees with me.” That was all there was to it, but it was quite a thing to a little kid standing there.”
“I should mention the firesides Grandfather had at the old home. It included the Barlow’s, and the Jessop’s and everybody that used to come out there to Grandfather’s. They would talk and enjoy the scriptures and have songs and have a regular wonderful visit of friends.”
"I was acquainted with Brother John W Woolley back in 1928. He sealed my first plural wife to me under very wonderful circumstances. There is an incident about his death that not too many people are really acquainted with. On the morning that he was to leave this earth, he got all cleaned up and told his wife to leave the house. She hesitated, and he said “I want you to go; you MUST go.” So she left the house under these strange circumstances; and when she came back later, he was lying on the floor dead. He had previously indicated to certain people that Joseph Smith and others were coming for him very, very soon.
… At this particular time, to find authority was one of the most difficult things that you could ever imagine. I had no idea where I should go, or what to do. So that started another period of fasting and prayer to know where to go. One day, out of the clear blue sky, when I was working alone in my own little shop, a perfect stranger walked in. I happened to have my Doctrine and Covenants laying there on the bench. He walked over and said, “What are you searching for?” I told him. He says “Okay I’ll help you.” This was brother Worth Kilgrow. He said “I’ll take you to the man.” I said “Okay” So, even at that particular time in the Church, this whole thing had been going on. If you wanted to be sealed, you had to go and talk to the man and he might make you wait as long as six months. And another thing—He would NEVER perform a sealing without revelation. This I testify to, here and now. There is NO sealing’s without revelation, whether anybody here on this earth knows this or not, but that’s a FACT of the matter. So I took my wife and this young lady, Hilda- she was the same age as I, and we went there. I left her outside and went in to talk to him. I had no sooner walked in than he said, “You are Carl Jentzch, yes?” I said yes, and I had never seen the man. He said “Where is the girl?” I never even asked him. I said, “Oh, she’s out in the car.” He said, “What’s she doing out there? Why don’t you bring her in? “ I asked “Now?” You know, I had never told her. I had said “Well, we’re going to have to figure on a six month’s wait; that’s all there is to it. Brother John Woolley won’t do it.” So I went and said “Hilda, he wants to talk to you” I took her by the hand and we walked into the house. I’ll never forget that man’s face. He had a beautiful face—his eyes were piercing. He could look right through you. He could read your thoughts just as if they were written on a page. And his eyes pierced through me and I just faltered, like two hot pokers, you might say. He questioned both of us, and then turned to me and said, “The only thing I can’t understand is what took you so long to get here. I have been waiting for months for you. I’m only talking here so that you’ll be at ease. All right, I’m going to seal you two together now
… He told me something else, too. I’ll try to put it in his own words: “One thing, there’s no bargain counter into heaven; you will pay the same price that Abraham paid, or any other man” I said “What do you mean?” “The sacrifice of all things, If you are not willing to sacrifice all things, you are not worthy of the Kingdom.” (Carl Jentzch)
John Wickersham Woolley died December 13, 1928 seventeen days before his 97th birthday. He outlived all of his known children except Lorin Calvin Woolley.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
The Greatest President We Never Had
To announce his candidacy to be President of the United States, the most influential religious leader in American history proclaimed his political views with this press release: (abridged)
“Born in a land of liberty, and breathing an air uncorrupted with the sirocco of barbarous climes, I ever feel a double anxiety for the happiness of all men, both in time and in eternity.
My cogitations, like Daniel’s, have for a long time troubled me, when I viewed the condition of men throughout the world, and more especially in this boasted realm, where the Declaration of Independence “holds these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness;” but at the same time some two or three millions of people are held as slaves for life, because the spirit in them is covered with a darker skin than ours; and hundreds of our own kindred for an infraction, or supposed infraction, of some over-wise statute, have to be incarcerated in dungeon gloom, or penitentiaries, while the duelist, the debauchee, and the defaulter for millions, and other criminals, take the uppermost rooms at feasts, or, like the bird of passage, find a more congenial clime by flight.
"The wisdom which ought to characterize the freest, wisest, and most noble nation of the nineteenth century, should, like the sun in his meridian splendor, warm every object beneath its rays; and the main efforts of her officers, who are nothing more nor less than the servants of the people, aught to be directed to ameliorate the condition of all, black or white, bond or free; for the best of books says, “God hat made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth.” …
“The great Washington, further advised Congress that “among the many interesting objects which will engage your attention, that of providing for the common defense will merit particular regard, To be prepared for war in one of the most effectual means of preserving peace.” As the Italian would say- “Buono aviso.”…
“The elder Adams, in his inaugural address, gives national pride such a grand turn of justification, that every honest citizen must look back upon the infancy of the United States with an approving smile, and rejoice that patriotism in their rulers, virtue in the people, and prosperity in the Union once crowded the expectations of hope, unveiled the sophistry of the hypocrite, and silenced the folly of foes. Mr. Adams said “If national pride is ever justifiable or excusable, it is when it springs not from power or riches, grandeur or glory, but from conviction of national innocence, information, and benevolence” …
“General Jackson, upon his ascension to the great chair of the chief magistracy, said, “As long as our government is administered for the good of the people, and is regulated by their will, as long as it secures to us the rights of person and property, liberty of conscience, and of the press, it will be worth defending; and so song as it is worth defending, a patriotic militia will cover it with an impenetrable aegis.”
General Jackson’s administration may be denominated the acme of American glory, liberty, and prosperity; for the national debt, which in 1815, on account of the late war, was $125 million, and being lessened gradually, was paid up in his golden day, and preparations were made to distribute the surplus revenue among the several states; and that august patriot, to use his own words in his farewell address, retired leaving “a great people prosperous and happy, in the full enjoyment of liberty and peace, honored and respected by every nation of the world” …
“No honest man can doubt for a moment but the glory of American liberty is on the wane, and that calamity and confusion will sooner or later destroy the peace of the people. Speculators will urge a national bank as a savior of credit and comfort. Hireling pseudo priesthood will plausibly push abolition doctrines and doings and “human rights” into Congress, and into every other place where conquest smells of fame, or opposition swells to popularity. Democracy, Whiggery, and cliquery will attract their elements and foment divisions among the people to accomplish fancied schemes and accumulate power, while poverty, driven to despair, like hunger forcing its way through a wall, will break through the statutes of men to save life, and mend the breach in prison glooms…
“Now, O people! Turn unto the Lord and live, and reform this nation. Frustrate the designs of wicked men. Reduce Congress at least two-thirds. Two Senators from a State and two members to a million of population will do more business than the army that now occupy the halls of the national Legislature. Pay them two dollars and their board per diem (except Sundays.) That is more than the farmer gets, and he lives honestly. Curtail the officers of government in pay, number, and power; for the Philistine lords have shorn our nation of its goodly locks in the lap of Delilah.
“Petition your State Legislatures to pardon every convict in their several penitentiaries, blessing them as they go, and saying to them, in the name of the Lord: Go thy way and sin no more. Advise your legislators, when they make laws for larceny, burglary, or any felony, to make the penalty applicable to work upon roads, public works, or any place the culprit can be taught more wisdom and more virtue, and become more enlightened. Rigor and seclusion will never do as much to reform the propensities of men as reason and friendship. Murder only can claim confinement or death. Let the penitentiaries be turned into seminaries of learning, where intelligence, like the angels of heaven, would banish such fragments of barbarism. Imprisonment for debt is a meaner practice than the savage tolerates, with all his ferocity. …
“For the accommodation of the people in every state and territory, let Congress show their wisdom by granting a national bank, with branches in each State and Territory, where the capital stock shall be held by the nation for the Central Bank, and by the states and territories for the branches; and whose officers and directors shall be elected yearly by the people, with wages at the rate of two dollars per day for services; which several banks shall never issue any more bills than the amount of capital stock in her vaults and the interest.
“The net gain of the Central Bank shall be applied to the national revenue, and that of the branches to the states and territories revenues. And the bills shall be par throughout the nation, which will mercifully cure that fatal disorder known in cities as brokerage, and leave the peoples money in their own pockets.
“Give every man his constitutional freedom and the president full power to send an army to suppress mobs, and the States authority to repeal and impugn that relic of folly which makes it necessary for the governor of a state to make the demand of the President for troops, in case of invasion or rebellion.
“As to the contiguous territories to the United States, wisdom would direct no tangling alliance. Oregon belongs to this government honorably; and when we have the red man’s consent, let the Union spread from the east to the west sea; and if Texas petitions Congress to be adopted among the sons of liberty, give her the right hand of fellowship, and refuse not the same friendly grip to Canada and Mexico. …..
“The Southern people are hospitable and noble. They will help rid so free a country of every vestige of slavery, whenever they are assured of an equivalent for their property. The country will be full of money and confidence when a National Bank of twenty millions and a State Bank in every state, with a million or more, gives a tone to monetary matters, and makes a circulating medium as valuable in the purses of a whole community as in the coffers of a speculating banker or broker.
“In the United States the people are the government, and their united voice is the only sovereign that should rule, the only power that should be obeyed, and the only gentlemen that should be honored at home and abroad……..
“When the people petitioned for a National Bank, I would use my best endeavors to have their prayers answered, and establish one on national principles to save taxes, and make them its controllers of its ways and means. And when the people petitioned to possess the territory of Oregon, or any other contiguous territory, I would lend the influence of the Chief Magistrate to grant so reasonable a request, that they might extend the mighty efforts and enterprise of a free people from the east to the west sea, and make the wilderness blossom as the rose. And when a neighboring realm petitioned to join the union of liberty’s sons, my voice would be:
COME- yea, come, Texas; come Mexico, come Canada; and come, all the world; let us be brethren, let us be one great family, and let there be universal peace.”
---Joseph Smith February 7, 1844 (five months before his assassination)
“Born in a land of liberty, and breathing an air uncorrupted with the sirocco of barbarous climes, I ever feel a double anxiety for the happiness of all men, both in time and in eternity.
My cogitations, like Daniel’s, have for a long time troubled me, when I viewed the condition of men throughout the world, and more especially in this boasted realm, where the Declaration of Independence “holds these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness;” but at the same time some two or three millions of people are held as slaves for life, because the spirit in them is covered with a darker skin than ours; and hundreds of our own kindred for an infraction, or supposed infraction, of some over-wise statute, have to be incarcerated in dungeon gloom, or penitentiaries, while the duelist, the debauchee, and the defaulter for millions, and other criminals, take the uppermost rooms at feasts, or, like the bird of passage, find a more congenial clime by flight.
"The wisdom which ought to characterize the freest, wisest, and most noble nation of the nineteenth century, should, like the sun in his meridian splendor, warm every object beneath its rays; and the main efforts of her officers, who are nothing more nor less than the servants of the people, aught to be directed to ameliorate the condition of all, black or white, bond or free; for the best of books says, “God hat made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth.” …
“The great Washington, further advised Congress that “among the many interesting objects which will engage your attention, that of providing for the common defense will merit particular regard, To be prepared for war in one of the most effectual means of preserving peace.” As the Italian would say- “Buono aviso.”…
“The elder Adams, in his inaugural address, gives national pride such a grand turn of justification, that every honest citizen must look back upon the infancy of the United States with an approving smile, and rejoice that patriotism in their rulers, virtue in the people, and prosperity in the Union once crowded the expectations of hope, unveiled the sophistry of the hypocrite, and silenced the folly of foes. Mr. Adams said “If national pride is ever justifiable or excusable, it is when it springs not from power or riches, grandeur or glory, but from conviction of national innocence, information, and benevolence” …
“General Jackson, upon his ascension to the great chair of the chief magistracy, said, “As long as our government is administered for the good of the people, and is regulated by their will, as long as it secures to us the rights of person and property, liberty of conscience, and of the press, it will be worth defending; and so song as it is worth defending, a patriotic militia will cover it with an impenetrable aegis.”
General Jackson’s administration may be denominated the acme of American glory, liberty, and prosperity; for the national debt, which in 1815, on account of the late war, was $125 million, and being lessened gradually, was paid up in his golden day, and preparations were made to distribute the surplus revenue among the several states; and that august patriot, to use his own words in his farewell address, retired leaving “a great people prosperous and happy, in the full enjoyment of liberty and peace, honored and respected by every nation of the world” …
“No honest man can doubt for a moment but the glory of American liberty is on the wane, and that calamity and confusion will sooner or later destroy the peace of the people. Speculators will urge a national bank as a savior of credit and comfort. Hireling pseudo priesthood will plausibly push abolition doctrines and doings and “human rights” into Congress, and into every other place where conquest smells of fame, or opposition swells to popularity. Democracy, Whiggery, and cliquery will attract their elements and foment divisions among the people to accomplish fancied schemes and accumulate power, while poverty, driven to despair, like hunger forcing its way through a wall, will break through the statutes of men to save life, and mend the breach in prison glooms…
“Now, O people! Turn unto the Lord and live, and reform this nation. Frustrate the designs of wicked men. Reduce Congress at least two-thirds. Two Senators from a State and two members to a million of population will do more business than the army that now occupy the halls of the national Legislature. Pay them two dollars and their board per diem (except Sundays.) That is more than the farmer gets, and he lives honestly. Curtail the officers of government in pay, number, and power; for the Philistine lords have shorn our nation of its goodly locks in the lap of Delilah.
“Petition your State Legislatures to pardon every convict in their several penitentiaries, blessing them as they go, and saying to them, in the name of the Lord: Go thy way and sin no more. Advise your legislators, when they make laws for larceny, burglary, or any felony, to make the penalty applicable to work upon roads, public works, or any place the culprit can be taught more wisdom and more virtue, and become more enlightened. Rigor and seclusion will never do as much to reform the propensities of men as reason and friendship. Murder only can claim confinement or death. Let the penitentiaries be turned into seminaries of learning, where intelligence, like the angels of heaven, would banish such fragments of barbarism. Imprisonment for debt is a meaner practice than the savage tolerates, with all his ferocity. …
“For the accommodation of the people in every state and territory, let Congress show their wisdom by granting a national bank, with branches in each State and Territory, where the capital stock shall be held by the nation for the Central Bank, and by the states and territories for the branches; and whose officers and directors shall be elected yearly by the people, with wages at the rate of two dollars per day for services; which several banks shall never issue any more bills than the amount of capital stock in her vaults and the interest.
“The net gain of the Central Bank shall be applied to the national revenue, and that of the branches to the states and territories revenues. And the bills shall be par throughout the nation, which will mercifully cure that fatal disorder known in cities as brokerage, and leave the peoples money in their own pockets.
“Give every man his constitutional freedom and the president full power to send an army to suppress mobs, and the States authority to repeal and impugn that relic of folly which makes it necessary for the governor of a state to make the demand of the President for troops, in case of invasion or rebellion.
“As to the contiguous territories to the United States, wisdom would direct no tangling alliance. Oregon belongs to this government honorably; and when we have the red man’s consent, let the Union spread from the east to the west sea; and if Texas petitions Congress to be adopted among the sons of liberty, give her the right hand of fellowship, and refuse not the same friendly grip to Canada and Mexico. …..
“The Southern people are hospitable and noble. They will help rid so free a country of every vestige of slavery, whenever they are assured of an equivalent for their property. The country will be full of money and confidence when a National Bank of twenty millions and a State Bank in every state, with a million or more, gives a tone to monetary matters, and makes a circulating medium as valuable in the purses of a whole community as in the coffers of a speculating banker or broker.
“In the United States the people are the government, and their united voice is the only sovereign that should rule, the only power that should be obeyed, and the only gentlemen that should be honored at home and abroad……..
“When the people petitioned for a National Bank, I would use my best endeavors to have their prayers answered, and establish one on national principles to save taxes, and make them its controllers of its ways and means. And when the people petitioned to possess the territory of Oregon, or any other contiguous territory, I would lend the influence of the Chief Magistrate to grant so reasonable a request, that they might extend the mighty efforts and enterprise of a free people from the east to the west sea, and make the wilderness blossom as the rose. And when a neighboring realm petitioned to join the union of liberty’s sons, my voice would be:
COME- yea, come, Texas; come Mexico, come Canada; and come, all the world; let us be brethren, let us be one great family, and let there be universal peace.”
---Joseph Smith February 7, 1844 (five months before his assassination)
Sunday, June 22, 2008
The United Effort
The United Order, the economic order of Heaven, the effort of men and their families living in a community with all things in common; is the highest order between men ever established on earth. There is but one example of lasting success in history, and that is the Ancient City of Enoch. The Apostles in Jerusalem started to live it after the days of Christ. The Nephites lived it after Jesus came to them. But eventually these orders failed.
In order for men to live with all things in common they must overcome most every sin and weakness within them. Men have to devote their lives to God and the Priesthood more than they require their wives to devote themselves to them. It creates a family organization between men who have united families. Absolute sacrifices is required, absolute trust, absolute conversion, and great faith. Happiness comes from knowing you are doing Gods will.
The United Effort Plan was formed at the direction of the prophet John Y Barlow in 1942. This was a legal trust created to provide a sanctuary for the United Order. The original 600+ acres in the trust was land owned by Leroy S Johnson. He refused to take his property back from John Y Barlow at the failure of the first attempt by several men to hold their property in common. The UEP Trust was a document that Brigham Young spoke about:
"It is a matter that I am paying particular attention to, with some of my brethren, to see if we have skill enough to get up an organization and draw up papers to bind ourselves together under the laws of the United States, so that we can put our means and labor together and join as one family. As soon as we can accomplish this, and get an instrument that lawyers cannot pick to pieces and destroy, and apostates cannot afflict us, we expect to get up this institution, and enter most firmly into it" (JD 16:122)
The property was to be divided up into individual lots for the members of the church, designated by the trustees of the Trust. When a member of the church went to the trustees with his just wants and needs, he was given a lot as a stewardship, to build up the church under the Trust. Any building put onto the property became property owned by the Trust. In essence, it was a donation to the church , and thus to the United Effort Plan, by the men building on the property.
The purpose of the Trust being held as a Trust was to keep anyone who left the church from staying there and using their influence to attack the leadership of the church from the UEP property. And to preserve and protect the Unity of the men and women who would stay from the influences of the apostates and the world.
But bitter men, when they feel that they are injured, never assume they could be in the wrong. When they leave the “wrongs” of the church, they feel like they should be repaid everything they gave to the church through building upon the Trust lands. It is akin to demanding all of the tithes and offerings from any church a follower leaves. But a good man would leave in a moment if he felt like he needed to seperate from those who did not believe as he did. A good man would be glad to leave if he left for a good reason. A good man is a defender, not an attacker.
Brigham Young left behind several houses when he was persecuted in the east and driven to Utah. When the President of the United States sent the Army to stop the Mormons from wrongs that didn’t exist in 1857 30,000 Saints boarded up their homes and started to move away, some with straw on them ready to burn them down. When Leroy S Johnson and others finished building seven houses on Dayer Labaron’s property in Mexico, he freely left them when Dayer refused to let them live in them unless they accepted him as the head of the Kingdom of God. And recently after a judge confiscated the UEP to "help" the FLDS people, several men have walked away from very large and expansive homes. The keys are in Bruce Wisan’s pocket.
The FLDS trustees of the UEP did not evict anyone unless they had a place to go. The purpose of the trust was to preserve the unity of the faithful followers, those who no longer wanted to follow were expected to find somewhere else to live. But no one was evicted who did not have accommodations arranged for themselves elsewhere. The eviction notices were most often for those who moved away but tried to give the home to another dissadent. When Milton and Lenore Holm left the church, Milton’s brothers (my uncles) went to him and volunteered to help him pay for a new place off of the UEP anywhere he might want one, even up in Idaho where his mother and step-father (who had left the church several years earlier) lived. When the famous “historian” Benjamin Bistline moved off of the UEP property, he moved into a home in Cane Beds, AZ that the FLDS gave to him and refurbished for him. His wife said it was the best house she ever lived in. He was never evicted from the shack he lived in on the UEP, even though he had become embittered over ten years earlier. The only eviction notices ever given by the FLDS trustees were to those they knew had homes and accommodations elsewhere. No family was ever thrown on the street by the FLDS.
In order for men to live with all things in common they must overcome most every sin and weakness within them. Men have to devote their lives to God and the Priesthood more than they require their wives to devote themselves to them. It creates a family organization between men who have united families. Absolute sacrifices is required, absolute trust, absolute conversion, and great faith. Happiness comes from knowing you are doing Gods will.
The United Effort Plan was formed at the direction of the prophet John Y Barlow in 1942. This was a legal trust created to provide a sanctuary for the United Order. The original 600+ acres in the trust was land owned by Leroy S Johnson. He refused to take his property back from John Y Barlow at the failure of the first attempt by several men to hold their property in common. The UEP Trust was a document that Brigham Young spoke about:
"It is a matter that I am paying particular attention to, with some of my brethren, to see if we have skill enough to get up an organization and draw up papers to bind ourselves together under the laws of the United States, so that we can put our means and labor together and join as one family. As soon as we can accomplish this, and get an instrument that lawyers cannot pick to pieces and destroy, and apostates cannot afflict us, we expect to get up this institution, and enter most firmly into it" (JD 16:122)
The property was to be divided up into individual lots for the members of the church, designated by the trustees of the Trust. When a member of the church went to the trustees with his just wants and needs, he was given a lot as a stewardship, to build up the church under the Trust. Any building put onto the property became property owned by the Trust. In essence, it was a donation to the church , and thus to the United Effort Plan, by the men building on the property.
The purpose of the Trust being held as a Trust was to keep anyone who left the church from staying there and using their influence to attack the leadership of the church from the UEP property. And to preserve and protect the Unity of the men and women who would stay from the influences of the apostates and the world.
But bitter men, when they feel that they are injured, never assume they could be in the wrong. When they leave the “wrongs” of the church, they feel like they should be repaid everything they gave to the church through building upon the Trust lands. It is akin to demanding all of the tithes and offerings from any church a follower leaves. But a good man would leave in a moment if he felt like he needed to seperate from those who did not believe as he did. A good man would be glad to leave if he left for a good reason. A good man is a defender, not an attacker.
Brigham Young left behind several houses when he was persecuted in the east and driven to Utah. When the President of the United States sent the Army to stop the Mormons from wrongs that didn’t exist in 1857 30,000 Saints boarded up their homes and started to move away, some with straw on them ready to burn them down. When Leroy S Johnson and others finished building seven houses on Dayer Labaron’s property in Mexico, he freely left them when Dayer refused to let them live in them unless they accepted him as the head of the Kingdom of God. And recently after a judge confiscated the UEP to "help" the FLDS people, several men have walked away from very large and expansive homes. The keys are in Bruce Wisan’s pocket.
The FLDS trustees of the UEP did not evict anyone unless they had a place to go. The purpose of the trust was to preserve the unity of the faithful followers, those who no longer wanted to follow were expected to find somewhere else to live. But no one was evicted who did not have accommodations arranged for themselves elsewhere. The eviction notices were most often for those who moved away but tried to give the home to another dissadent. When Milton and Lenore Holm left the church, Milton’s brothers (my uncles) went to him and volunteered to help him pay for a new place off of the UEP anywhere he might want one, even up in Idaho where his mother and step-father (who had left the church several years earlier) lived. When the famous “historian” Benjamin Bistline moved off of the UEP property, he moved into a home in Cane Beds, AZ that the FLDS gave to him and refurbished for him. His wife said it was the best house she ever lived in. He was never evicted from the shack he lived in on the UEP, even though he had become embittered over ten years earlier. The only eviction notices ever given by the FLDS trustees were to those they knew had homes and accommodations elsewhere. No family was ever thrown on the street by the FLDS.
Friday, June 20, 2008
The UEP Attack
Summary by Samuel S. Barlow
“On July 29, 1963, J. Marion Hammon invited Harold Blackmore to move to Hildale, Utah. He was assigned a lot on United Effort Plan property, but soon became apostate, and demanded payment for the consecrations of materials and time he had made.
"The first day of spring 1968, he left after expressing his greed and denouncing the effort in unity. On June 8, 1976, Harold Blackmore made a demand for a deed from the United Effort Plan to his son James Blackmore, who had now joined him in his apostasy. They threatened a civil lawsuit in the courts of Arizona if the demand was not met. On July 22, 1976, a civil summons and complaint was served on the Prophet Leroy S. Johnson in an attack on the United Effort Plan. There then followed a barrage of letters to the public officials against the Priesthood Council, the public schools, the religious community in general, and the United Effort Plan. The Priesthood was publicly branded as the "Holy Mafia" by Blackmore.
"On July 17, 1977, a letter of complaint was sent from Harold Blackmore to the Attorney General attempting, through bold accusations and falsehoods to get the State of Arizona to take up a cause against the religious leadership of the United Effort Plan.
"On July 21, 1977, Harold Blackmore aired his gripes before the Utah Board of Education in an attempt to get them to take up his cause. There followed a media crusade, an investigation by a national syndicated columnist, and feature articles in the major newspapers of Arizona and Utah which were very negative.
"President Johnson made reference to Blackmore's activities in a sermon dated September 3, 1978, at Salt Lake City: "We are not out of the woods yet, and we are still being persecuted by the enemies of righteousness. We all know what went on a year ago when Harold Blackmore was trying to blackmail us."
New Apostates Seek Harold Blackmore's Help
"During the early 1980's, there was a group of apostates who rebelled against the Prophet Leroy S. Johnson. They joined with Harold Blackmore (who is without question the most vocal apostate of our time) in a conspiracy to destroy the United Order Effort which had been established in the Short Creek Valley since 1935.
"They selected Harold Blackmore as a guiding spirit because he had attempted to destroy the United Effort Plan in the courts of Arizona in the 1970's. The new generation of apostates now sought his leadership and began to participate with him.
"Blackmore's plan, as he described it in his sworn deposition testimony, was to activate the mass communication media and bring the world in upon us, and in this way put as much pressure on the elected governmental officials as they possibly could through allegations of criminal wrongdoing. They then planned to call on the public officials to do something that would destroy us or put a stop to our unity.
"They started a media campaign which went every direction. It attacked the local officials, the Bishop, the United Effort Plan, the Prophet Leroy S. Johnson, and the Prophet Rulon T. Jeffs. The apostates objected to every effort of progress appointed by the Prophet.
"They also objected to the formation of the Colorado City Town Corporation, and the organization of a High School District. They publicly lamented any adjustments that were made by the brethren in managing the United Effort Plan, such as requiring people to live properly.
"They conducted a very intense crusade of anonymous letters and negative news reports with reckless disregard for the truth. They alleged that assault weapons were cached on United Effort property, fanaticism, fear, and a forsaking of respect for life and property, predicting bloodshed, mass graves, etc.
"After they were unable to get any of the local officials, the county attorneys, or the County Sheriffs to take any action, they requested help from the State Highway Patrol, and the State Criminal Intelligence investigators, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, who commenced an investigation and interviewed President Rulon T. Jeffs.
"Each new ear that would listen, they approached it in such a bombastic way that no public official dared turn a deaf ear to their inflated stories and complaints. But after comparing what was alleged by the apostates with the truth, all evidence of criminal wrongdoing was extinguished by the lack of evidence.
"In desperation, this coalition of apostates sought help from the Attorney Generals of both Utah and Arizona. They then went to the U.S. District Attorney trying to find a way to have some governmental agency carry the expense of their desired attack on the Priesthood work and the United Effort Plan.
"Because these efforts to stimulate a criminal investigation all failed, they came to a point in time when they decided to file a civil action in the Federal Court. Because of threats against religious leaders by the Ervil LeBaron followers, there was a major law enforcement coverage acting in the security and protection of the Prophet Leroy S. Johnson during that period of time, much to the disappointment of the apostates.
"The storm clouds were gathering during the latter part of Uncle Roy's administration as the one man on the earth who held the keys of the sealing powers of the holy Priesthood. Some of those who claimed to be brethren, some of them having high and holy callings, actually joined with the enemies. They were very active in promoting a program that would bring distress and destruction and dissolution of the United Effort Plan, and whatever possible hardship they could bring on the leaders of the Priesthood. They had become traitors. This was the environment when the Prophet Rulon T. Jeffs took the leadership of the Priesthood after the death of the Prophet Leroy S. Johnson."
Tenant-at-Will Letter -- Summary by Elder Samuel S. Barlow
"President Jeffs sent notice out to the people who lived on the United Effort Plan property, setting forth the UEP's policy in support of the building code that had been adopted by the newly organized town of Colorado City, Arizona, and the town of Hildale, Utah. This building code was the uniform state building code of the State of Utah and Arizona. This was designed to provide for orderly growth of the area, which included development on the United Effort Plan land.
"A great howl went up in the camp of the apostates because the words "tenant-at-will" were used to describe the occupancy of the land without a term lease. This phrase "tenant-at-will" was then used as a "bone of contention" by the coalition of apostates that had formed by this time.Harold Blackmore declared in deposition:
"But then they did us a marvelous favor. They wrote the Tenant at Will there, and that tipped the scale. And the suit that's filed is the result."
"He stated the base of opposition was broadened enough so that they could collect sufficient money to file a major lawsuit in the Federal Court. He also admitted to having gifted and loaned money to fund the initial filing of the federal lawsuit.”
Tenant-at-Will" Letter:
TO ALL OF THE PEOPLE RESIDING UPON UNITED EFFORT PROPERTY:
"As you know and as was explained to you in great detail when you became residents on the property, you are tenants at will and reside on the property at the pleasure of the trustees.
"Some or all of you have made improvements to the property with the consent of the administration of the trust. Any such voluntary improvements become part of the land and are not to be moved, transferred, demolished or assigned to other occupants without the consent of the United Effort Plan.
"The above policies have been in effect since the creation of the United Effort Plan and this letter is not intended to represent any change but merely the written clarification of pre-existing policy.
"Since the incorporation of both Hildale and Colorado City certain additional formalities are required before any improvements can be constructed on the property located in either of those towns. The United Effort Plan is most supportive of the governments of those towns and desires that all of the ordinances with regard to building permits and inspections be complied with. The United Effort Plan will require that building permits be issued by the proper authority before any improvements are made on the property. As the residents have no authority to improve the land without the consent of the United Effort Plan, the application for each building permit must be approved by one of the agents for the Plan and we are notifying the towns of Hildale and Colorado City of this fact and request that they not grant any building permit unless approved by an agent.
"The agents of the trust authorized to approve applications for building permits are the trustees of the Plan: (6 men listed)
"The willful violation of any of the policies set forth above shall constitute grounds to terminate the violator's tenancy at will on the property.
Very truly yours,
(Signed:) Rulon T. Jeffs
President of the United Effort Plan by order of the Board of Trustees. (Stamped USPS June 29, 1987)
“On July 29, 1963, J. Marion Hammon invited Harold Blackmore to move to Hildale, Utah. He was assigned a lot on United Effort Plan property, but soon became apostate, and demanded payment for the consecrations of materials and time he had made.
"The first day of spring 1968, he left after expressing his greed and denouncing the effort in unity. On June 8, 1976, Harold Blackmore made a demand for a deed from the United Effort Plan to his son James Blackmore, who had now joined him in his apostasy. They threatened a civil lawsuit in the courts of Arizona if the demand was not met. On July 22, 1976, a civil summons and complaint was served on the Prophet Leroy S. Johnson in an attack on the United Effort Plan. There then followed a barrage of letters to the public officials against the Priesthood Council, the public schools, the religious community in general, and the United Effort Plan. The Priesthood was publicly branded as the "Holy Mafia" by Blackmore.
"On July 17, 1977, a letter of complaint was sent from Harold Blackmore to the Attorney General attempting, through bold accusations and falsehoods to get the State of Arizona to take up a cause against the religious leadership of the United Effort Plan.
"On July 21, 1977, Harold Blackmore aired his gripes before the Utah Board of Education in an attempt to get them to take up his cause. There followed a media crusade, an investigation by a national syndicated columnist, and feature articles in the major newspapers of Arizona and Utah which were very negative.
"President Johnson made reference to Blackmore's activities in a sermon dated September 3, 1978, at Salt Lake City: "We are not out of the woods yet, and we are still being persecuted by the enemies of righteousness. We all know what went on a year ago when Harold Blackmore was trying to blackmail us."
New Apostates Seek Harold Blackmore's Help
"During the early 1980's, there was a group of apostates who rebelled against the Prophet Leroy S. Johnson. They joined with Harold Blackmore (who is without question the most vocal apostate of our time) in a conspiracy to destroy the United Order Effort which had been established in the Short Creek Valley since 1935.
"They selected Harold Blackmore as a guiding spirit because he had attempted to destroy the United Effort Plan in the courts of Arizona in the 1970's. The new generation of apostates now sought his leadership and began to participate with him.
"Blackmore's plan, as he described it in his sworn deposition testimony, was to activate the mass communication media and bring the world in upon us, and in this way put as much pressure on the elected governmental officials as they possibly could through allegations of criminal wrongdoing. They then planned to call on the public officials to do something that would destroy us or put a stop to our unity.
"They started a media campaign which went every direction. It attacked the local officials, the Bishop, the United Effort Plan, the Prophet Leroy S. Johnson, and the Prophet Rulon T. Jeffs. The apostates objected to every effort of progress appointed by the Prophet.
"They also objected to the formation of the Colorado City Town Corporation, and the organization of a High School District. They publicly lamented any adjustments that were made by the brethren in managing the United Effort Plan, such as requiring people to live properly.
"They conducted a very intense crusade of anonymous letters and negative news reports with reckless disregard for the truth. They alleged that assault weapons were cached on United Effort property, fanaticism, fear, and a forsaking of respect for life and property, predicting bloodshed, mass graves, etc.
"After they were unable to get any of the local officials, the county attorneys, or the County Sheriffs to take any action, they requested help from the State Highway Patrol, and the State Criminal Intelligence investigators, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, who commenced an investigation and interviewed President Rulon T. Jeffs.
"Each new ear that would listen, they approached it in such a bombastic way that no public official dared turn a deaf ear to their inflated stories and complaints. But after comparing what was alleged by the apostates with the truth, all evidence of criminal wrongdoing was extinguished by the lack of evidence.
"In desperation, this coalition of apostates sought help from the Attorney Generals of both Utah and Arizona. They then went to the U.S. District Attorney trying to find a way to have some governmental agency carry the expense of their desired attack on the Priesthood work and the United Effort Plan.
"Because these efforts to stimulate a criminal investigation all failed, they came to a point in time when they decided to file a civil action in the Federal Court. Because of threats against religious leaders by the Ervil LeBaron followers, there was a major law enforcement coverage acting in the security and protection of the Prophet Leroy S. Johnson during that period of time, much to the disappointment of the apostates.
"The storm clouds were gathering during the latter part of Uncle Roy's administration as the one man on the earth who held the keys of the sealing powers of the holy Priesthood. Some of those who claimed to be brethren, some of them having high and holy callings, actually joined with the enemies. They were very active in promoting a program that would bring distress and destruction and dissolution of the United Effort Plan, and whatever possible hardship they could bring on the leaders of the Priesthood. They had become traitors. This was the environment when the Prophet Rulon T. Jeffs took the leadership of the Priesthood after the death of the Prophet Leroy S. Johnson."
Tenant-at-Will Letter -- Summary by Elder Samuel S. Barlow
"President Jeffs sent notice out to the people who lived on the United Effort Plan property, setting forth the UEP's policy in support of the building code that had been adopted by the newly organized town of Colorado City, Arizona, and the town of Hildale, Utah. This building code was the uniform state building code of the State of Utah and Arizona. This was designed to provide for orderly growth of the area, which included development on the United Effort Plan land.
"A great howl went up in the camp of the apostates because the words "tenant-at-will" were used to describe the occupancy of the land without a term lease. This phrase "tenant-at-will" was then used as a "bone of contention" by the coalition of apostates that had formed by this time.Harold Blackmore declared in deposition:
"But then they did us a marvelous favor. They wrote the Tenant at Will there, and that tipped the scale. And the suit that's filed is the result."
"He stated the base of opposition was broadened enough so that they could collect sufficient money to file a major lawsuit in the Federal Court. He also admitted to having gifted and loaned money to fund the initial filing of the federal lawsuit.”
Tenant-at-Will" Letter:
TO ALL OF THE PEOPLE RESIDING UPON UNITED EFFORT PROPERTY:
"As you know and as was explained to you in great detail when you became residents on the property, you are tenants at will and reside on the property at the pleasure of the trustees.
"Some or all of you have made improvements to the property with the consent of the administration of the trust. Any such voluntary improvements become part of the land and are not to be moved, transferred, demolished or assigned to other occupants without the consent of the United Effort Plan.
"The above policies have been in effect since the creation of the United Effort Plan and this letter is not intended to represent any change but merely the written clarification of pre-existing policy.
"Since the incorporation of both Hildale and Colorado City certain additional formalities are required before any improvements can be constructed on the property located in either of those towns. The United Effort Plan is most supportive of the governments of those towns and desires that all of the ordinances with regard to building permits and inspections be complied with. The United Effort Plan will require that building permits be issued by the proper authority before any improvements are made on the property. As the residents have no authority to improve the land without the consent of the United Effort Plan, the application for each building permit must be approved by one of the agents for the Plan and we are notifying the towns of Hildale and Colorado City of this fact and request that they not grant any building permit unless approved by an agent.
"The agents of the trust authorized to approve applications for building permits are the trustees of the Plan: (6 men listed)
"The willful violation of any of the policies set forth above shall constitute grounds to terminate the violator's tenancy at will on the property.
Very truly yours,
(Signed:) Rulon T. Jeffs
President of the United Effort Plan by order of the Board of Trustees. (Stamped USPS June 29, 1987)
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
The Communist Dictator
The FLDS religion has three central tenants that distinguish it from every other religion on the planet, and although other religions and churches ascribe to parts or all of them in one form or another to a certain degree, no other religion ascribes to all three with the determination and devotion to them that the FLDS faithful do. These are in essence the crowning laws that if lived faithfully can create characters that will be worthy of the highest heaven:
1-The Holy United Order (referred to in the Bible and Book of Mormon as “All Things in Common”) This is the Economic Order of heaven. Also called the Order of Enoch
2-The Celestial Law of Marriage, including the plurality of wives. This is the Family Order of Heaven. Also called the Law of Abraham
I list the two highest laws for us to ponder upon. Many who may read this may be very vengeful about them, or at least indifferent to them, wanting me to get to the central one; the one that makes these two laws livable on earth. But I would like you to imagine yourself taking your entire life; stripping it of selfishness, and putting it into these two laws.
Men must overcome all jealousy to live the first one. It is the most difficult. Their effort must be completely selfless or the Order will not function. Masculinity is rather independent and confrontational, and these things must be subdued in the heart. In all of history, this economic order has only one lasting success story, found in the Pearl of Great Price. After the Savior came the early Saints set up this order in Israel and in America, but they did not last. The YFZ community in Texas is one of the central efforts set up today. There are others, but they all have this in common; unity of economic effort; giving all for the common good.
The second law requires the ladies to overcome their jealousy. That is easy for them. No lady has ever had a problem living polygny. OK! I am just joking! But ladies do have an inward ability to be more compassionate and caring, humble and religious. There are struggles, for sure, jealousy and selfishness cannot survive, but day to day life is easier for the ladies who share the duties of the home. It is not difficult when they can find a man who is stalwart and loyal to his leaders and an example of how to live pure. Joining forces with him is not as difficult as is portrayed by the few who abandon the idea.
Few people have any idea how wonderful the home and community is with those who are determined to overcome themselves and live these laws to their last breath. I have never seen a happier more peaceful people. But I must tell you, these two laws cannot be lived without the one that this post is titled after. I promise you, it is impossible.
The FLDS church is a family, and church organization under the wing of the Constitutional laws of the United States. The political order within the church itself is a Benevolent Dictatorship; in essence communism, or communalism.
Personal free will is what the war in heaven was fought over. It is what the American war of Independence was fought over. Almost every war that ever was, was one fought over freedom from tyranny and oppression. But by reading the Bible, you can see that God puts specific limits on our freedom, but only through benevolent love. The Ten Commandments are not the ten suggestions. While I know, and all who strive to follow those Commandments know that they are happier and feel more blessed when they follow those Commandments, God will force no one to follow them or any of His other laws like tithing. The Ten Commandments are a distinct list of what our Father in heaven commands us to do. What is our punishment if we don’t obey them?
If God was right next to you (as He is), what do you think He would do if he saw you lying? Or take His name in vain? Does He strike you dead, or damn you to hell? Are they not commandments? When you think of your Father in heaven, do you think of a tyrant, or one who loves you unconditionally?
He loves us unconditionally, but He blesses those who obey His commandments more than those who don’t. He will not force us to obey, but he will and does exclude us from the blessings of obedience. This is perfect merciful justice.
We believe that all mankind may be saved by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel. The Ten Commandments are the beginning and foundational laws, and the Law of Abraham and the Order of Enoch are the highest. In order to live the highest laws, men must have a central Priesthood authority for them to look up to and obey. The anxious, those who desire to throw off all selfishness seek to obey more and more; they are those who want to obey with all their hearts. Obedience is like delicious fruit to them. So they look for the man who they believe is the most like God; the one who they can trust to tell them what the Lord wants them to do. It is their belief in God that turns them to this one man.
I don’t know of a lady who does not want to be married. Motherhood is what most girls dream about. Marriage is the greatest step in a ladies life. I have never in my life even heard of a girl who was married before they wanted to be. That is until long after they were married and changed their mind, some decide to change their mind and remember that they didn’t date their husband and so they must have been forced.
No one can ever be forced to live their religion. No matter how big a gun you have pointed at their head, you cannot force someone to have faith in the prophet or God. It would be completely pointless to pressure someone to tell the truth against their will, let alone get married against their will. You can’t get to heaven unless you want to. The prophet would never even want to make you. The only thing that could be considered force in the gospel is the guilty conscience we get if we don’t obey it. You never will have a guilty conscience if you are innocent; the innocent have no reason to be worried.
Heavenly Father is a dictator, He dictates. If we will ask and listen, He speaks to each of us and tells us what we should do to govern our personal responsibilities. Each person is responsible for themselves, a mother is responsible for her children, a father is responsible for his home, and the prophet is responsible for the obedient church members.
“You may keep Plural Marriage and live it pretty strict, but you reject the United Order. United Order and Plural Marriage are the highest orders of the Priesthood. Whether we keep them or whether we reject them it is going to be up to us….
What difference does it make who the man is at the head? Who the man is doesn’t make a bit of difference. When he is placed there, God tells him to set certain men apart. What difference does it make who it is? I am well aware that I am not as good a man as Uncle John Woolley and Lorin. I haven’t had the experience yet. But I do know this Gospel is true and that these brethren here are called of God. I do know that every man that fights it. I don’t care who it is, will reject the counsel of God concerning themselves.” (John Y Barlow 9/14/47)
1-The Holy United Order (referred to in the Bible and Book of Mormon as “All Things in Common”) This is the Economic Order of heaven. Also called the Order of Enoch
2-The Celestial Law of Marriage, including the plurality of wives. This is the Family Order of Heaven. Also called the Law of Abraham
I list the two highest laws for us to ponder upon. Many who may read this may be very vengeful about them, or at least indifferent to them, wanting me to get to the central one; the one that makes these two laws livable on earth. But I would like you to imagine yourself taking your entire life; stripping it of selfishness, and putting it into these two laws.
Men must overcome all jealousy to live the first one. It is the most difficult. Their effort must be completely selfless or the Order will not function. Masculinity is rather independent and confrontational, and these things must be subdued in the heart. In all of history, this economic order has only one lasting success story, found in the Pearl of Great Price. After the Savior came the early Saints set up this order in Israel and in America, but they did not last. The YFZ community in Texas is one of the central efforts set up today. There are others, but they all have this in common; unity of economic effort; giving all for the common good.
The second law requires the ladies to overcome their jealousy. That is easy for them. No lady has ever had a problem living polygny. OK! I am just joking! But ladies do have an inward ability to be more compassionate and caring, humble and religious. There are struggles, for sure, jealousy and selfishness cannot survive, but day to day life is easier for the ladies who share the duties of the home. It is not difficult when they can find a man who is stalwart and loyal to his leaders and an example of how to live pure. Joining forces with him is not as difficult as is portrayed by the few who abandon the idea.
Few people have any idea how wonderful the home and community is with those who are determined to overcome themselves and live these laws to their last breath. I have never seen a happier more peaceful people. But I must tell you, these two laws cannot be lived without the one that this post is titled after. I promise you, it is impossible.
The FLDS church is a family, and church organization under the wing of the Constitutional laws of the United States. The political order within the church itself is a Benevolent Dictatorship; in essence communism, or communalism.
Personal free will is what the war in heaven was fought over. It is what the American war of Independence was fought over. Almost every war that ever was, was one fought over freedom from tyranny and oppression. But by reading the Bible, you can see that God puts specific limits on our freedom, but only through benevolent love. The Ten Commandments are not the ten suggestions. While I know, and all who strive to follow those Commandments know that they are happier and feel more blessed when they follow those Commandments, God will force no one to follow them or any of His other laws like tithing. The Ten Commandments are a distinct list of what our Father in heaven commands us to do. What is our punishment if we don’t obey them?
If God was right next to you (as He is), what do you think He would do if he saw you lying? Or take His name in vain? Does He strike you dead, or damn you to hell? Are they not commandments? When you think of your Father in heaven, do you think of a tyrant, or one who loves you unconditionally?
He loves us unconditionally, but He blesses those who obey His commandments more than those who don’t. He will not force us to obey, but he will and does exclude us from the blessings of obedience. This is perfect merciful justice.
We believe that all mankind may be saved by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel. The Ten Commandments are the beginning and foundational laws, and the Law of Abraham and the Order of Enoch are the highest. In order to live the highest laws, men must have a central Priesthood authority for them to look up to and obey. The anxious, those who desire to throw off all selfishness seek to obey more and more; they are those who want to obey with all their hearts. Obedience is like delicious fruit to them. So they look for the man who they believe is the most like God; the one who they can trust to tell them what the Lord wants them to do. It is their belief in God that turns them to this one man.
I don’t know of a lady who does not want to be married. Motherhood is what most girls dream about. Marriage is the greatest step in a ladies life. I have never in my life even heard of a girl who was married before they wanted to be. That is until long after they were married and changed their mind, some decide to change their mind and remember that they didn’t date their husband and so they must have been forced.
No one can ever be forced to live their religion. No matter how big a gun you have pointed at their head, you cannot force someone to have faith in the prophet or God. It would be completely pointless to pressure someone to tell the truth against their will, let alone get married against their will. You can’t get to heaven unless you want to. The prophet would never even want to make you. The only thing that could be considered force in the gospel is the guilty conscience we get if we don’t obey it. You never will have a guilty conscience if you are innocent; the innocent have no reason to be worried.
Heavenly Father is a dictator, He dictates. If we will ask and listen, He speaks to each of us and tells us what we should do to govern our personal responsibilities. Each person is responsible for themselves, a mother is responsible for her children, a father is responsible for his home, and the prophet is responsible for the obedient church members.
“You may keep Plural Marriage and live it pretty strict, but you reject the United Order. United Order and Plural Marriage are the highest orders of the Priesthood. Whether we keep them or whether we reject them it is going to be up to us….
What difference does it make who the man is at the head? Who the man is doesn’t make a bit of difference. When he is placed there, God tells him to set certain men apart. What difference does it make who it is? I am well aware that I am not as good a man as Uncle John Woolley and Lorin. I haven’t had the experience yet. But I do know this Gospel is true and that these brethren here are called of God. I do know that every man that fights it. I don’t care who it is, will reject the counsel of God concerning themselves.” (John Y Barlow 9/14/47)
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Father
When I was young, my father'd say
Come on son, we've got work today!
Sometimes it seems like yesterday
Then I'd climb up the closet shelf
When I was all by myself!
Grab his hat, and fix the brim
Pretending I was him
No matter how hard I try
No matter how many years go by
No matter how many tears I cry
I still can't say..... goodbye
He always took care of his family
He had many mouths to feed
Yet he always had time for me
Wind... blows throught the trees
Street lights.... they still shine bright
Moon... still looks the same
But I miss my father tonight!
I walked by a salvation army store
Saw a hat like my daddy wore
Tried it on, when I went in
Still trying to be... like him
No matter how hard I try
No matter how many tears I cry
No matter how many years go by
I still can't say.... goodbye
Come on son, we've got work today!
Sometimes it seems like yesterday
Then I'd climb up the closet shelf
When I was all by myself!
Grab his hat, and fix the brim
Pretending I was him
No matter how hard I try
No matter how many years go by
No matter how many tears I cry
I still can't say..... goodbye
He always took care of his family
He had many mouths to feed
Yet he always had time for me
Wind... blows throught the trees
Street lights.... they still shine bright
Moon... still looks the same
But I miss my father tonight!
I walked by a salvation army store
Saw a hat like my daddy wore
Tried it on, when I went in
Still trying to be... like him
No matter how hard I try
No matter how many tears I cry
No matter how many years go by
I still can't say.... goodbye
-adapted from a song performed by Chet Atkins
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
The Brotherhood
Deseret News-
"The Washington (Utah) County Sheriff’s Office sent Texas authorities dossiers of several FLDS members “who may engage in acts of intimidation or violence again law enforcement and/or potential witnesses.” The information, obtained by the Deseret News through Texas public records laws, includes intelligence compiled during Warren Jeffs’ 2007 trial in St. George for performing an underage marriage."
Actually the trial was for rape as an accomplice, which in any other case has nothing to do with marriage. But anyway, here is their list of "hitmen" in the Keep Sweet Club.
William Roy Jessop
• AKA “Willie the Thug” or “King Willie”
• The most serious threat affiliated with the FLDS religion.
• Reportedly has a passion for violence, weapons (legal and illegal) and explosives.
•Accused of intimidating witnesses at Warren Jeffs’ trial in 2007.
•“If anything remotely resembling violence or intimidation occurs, you can be fairly certain that William had a hand in it.”
• Has acted as a spokesman for the FLDS Church after the raid on the YFZ Ranch.
Yes indeed he is the MOST serious threat, second only to my grandma. This is the most resembling violence or intimidation I have ever heard from him. Just listen:
http://www.azfamily.com/video/?z=y&nvid=251003&shu=1
Ruth Cooke
• A “wild card” who is “blindly devoted to Warren and the FLDS religion.”
• “We reviewed countless letters she had sent to Warren that confirmed her unstable behavior, as she talked of disturbing visions she had received and breaking down the prison walls in the name of the prophet.” “She is just the kind of person who may be capable of doing something crazy, but justified in her head.”
Wait a minute, I thought she was a victim, make up your minds!
"I had a dream!"
http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=tYUCHlFrv1I
Lindsay Hammon Barlow
• Several witnesses describe him as Warren Jeffs’ “muscle.”
• Barlow was “clearly in charge of the group’s security.”
• During Warren Jeffs’ trial, Barlow “attempted to seat individuals who could intimidate the witnesses in their direct line of sight.”
.
Wimp! My muscles are bigger than his.
William E. Jessop
• “Respected as a bishop in the FLDS religion.”
• “He is a very powerful man in the community, but I have never received any information that would indicate that he is involved in anything of a violent nature.”
• “Could be involved in the decision-making processes due to his position of power.”
If you ever heard a soft spoken man, he speaks softer.
Lyle Steed Jeffs
• Brother to FLDS leader Warren Jeffs.
• Acted as wedding security during illegal marriages conducted in Nevada.
• “Minimal information to suggest that Lyle would be considered a threat to commit acts of violence or witness intimidation.”
But he could whip you in a game of tennis!
David S. Allred
• Involved in the financial areas of the FLDS Church.
• “Fairly high in the FLDS pecking order.” “I do not have any specific information that would label David as a threat, nor do I have any that would discount him as a threat.”
Can't discount anyone at this time, not even Casper the Friendly Ghost
Nephi Steed Jeffs
• Brother and personal assistant to FLDS leader Warren Jeffs.
• “To the best of my knowledge, he is not involved in any FLDS security and has no known history of violence or intimidation.”
Sure sings good though!
http://www.captivefldschildren.org/Videos.php?VID=22
Wendell Loy Nielson
• One of the presiding elders in the FLDS religion.
• “He is not likely at this time to be involved directly in any acts of violence or intimidation, but may still be involved in their development, planning and approval stages.”
He plans for and approves of people being kind.
Rodney Hans Holm
• Convicted of unlawful sex with a minor in Utah in 2006
• “Known to have significant disdain for law enforcement.”
• “Rodney also was under the close watch of our court security staff during the trial, as he appeared at times to be attempting to intimidate witnesses from his seat.”
The former policeman, who was convicted of breaking a law that was passed years after the "crime" occured, intimidated me when I drove around without my pickup being licenced. He walked up to me, put his hand on my back, and said "Get your truck licenced Al, its four months out."
Can I sue?
Rulon Daniel Barlow
• “Rulon seemed to be extremely focused on the routines of our court staff and repeatedly seemed to be staring down the prosecuting attorneys and their witnesses.”
O those eyes, O those eyes! I see them in my sleep!
Dee Yeates Jessop
• “Appears to be another intimidating enforcer for the FLDS religion.”
• Was more interested in intimidating witnesses with “menacing” stares during
Warren Jeffs’ trial than the trial itself.
• “He has been described as a fanatic, who is blindly devoted to Warren Jeffs.”
He has also been described as a good man, and an excellent outdoorsman. Great with wild animals such as Zebra's, Buffalo, and Ostriches.
Samuel Rapylee Bateman
• “Showed an unnatural interest in the security procedures and routines of our staff during the trial.”
What would be natural?
Donovan J. Stubbs
• “Seemed to be taking mental notes of the security staff present.”
• “Donovan carried himself well and seemed to be respected by the other members of the FLDS group. When he spoke, others listened.”
What did he say in his mental notes? If a man speaks in the middle of the forest, and no woman is around to hear him, is he still wrong?
Guy Curtis Bauer
• “Seemed to “make it a point to be noticed by the prosecution’s victim and witnesses whenever possible.”
• “Seemed to be there for the purpose of intimidation.
Seemed to wish they would leave the FLDS people alone.
Guy E. Nielson
• “Appeared to make several discreet attempts at intimidating the victim and members of her (Alissa Wall’s) family.”
Very discreet, like thinking "I sure pity your hatred"
Nathan Mead Jessop
• “Multiple witnesses confirm Nathan Jessop is a member of the FLDS security team.”
• One of three men who came to a woman’s home and informed her she was no longer a worthy member of the community, a task generally reserved for Warren Jeffs’ security staff.
A possible former member of Uncle Rulon Jeffs "pod squad". Like I have any room to speak. "I'll go on a diet tomorrow!"
"The Washington (Utah) County Sheriff’s Office sent Texas authorities dossiers of several FLDS members “who may engage in acts of intimidation or violence again law enforcement and/or potential witnesses.” The information, obtained by the Deseret News through Texas public records laws, includes intelligence compiled during Warren Jeffs’ 2007 trial in St. George for performing an underage marriage."
Actually the trial was for rape as an accomplice, which in any other case has nothing to do with marriage. But anyway, here is their list of "hitmen" in the Keep Sweet Club.
William Roy Jessop
• AKA “Willie the Thug” or “King Willie”
• The most serious threat affiliated with the FLDS religion.
• Reportedly has a passion for violence, weapons (legal and illegal) and explosives.
•Accused of intimidating witnesses at Warren Jeffs’ trial in 2007.
•“If anything remotely resembling violence or intimidation occurs, you can be fairly certain that William had a hand in it.”
• Has acted as a spokesman for the FLDS Church after the raid on the YFZ Ranch.
Yes indeed he is the MOST serious threat, second only to my grandma. This is the most resembling violence or intimidation I have ever heard from him. Just listen:
http://www.azfamily.com/video/?z=y&nvid=251003&shu=1
Ruth Cooke
• A “wild card” who is “blindly devoted to Warren and the FLDS religion.”
• “We reviewed countless letters she had sent to Warren that confirmed her unstable behavior, as she talked of disturbing visions she had received and breaking down the prison walls in the name of the prophet.” “She is just the kind of person who may be capable of doing something crazy, but justified in her head.”
Wait a minute, I thought she was a victim, make up your minds!
"I had a dream!"
http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=tYUCHlFrv1I
Lindsay Hammon Barlow
• Several witnesses describe him as Warren Jeffs’ “muscle.”
• Barlow was “clearly in charge of the group’s security.”
• During Warren Jeffs’ trial, Barlow “attempted to seat individuals who could intimidate the witnesses in their direct line of sight.”
.
Wimp! My muscles are bigger than his.
William E. Jessop
• “Respected as a bishop in the FLDS religion.”
• “He is a very powerful man in the community, but I have never received any information that would indicate that he is involved in anything of a violent nature.”
• “Could be involved in the decision-making processes due to his position of power.”
If you ever heard a soft spoken man, he speaks softer.
Lyle Steed Jeffs
• Brother to FLDS leader Warren Jeffs.
• Acted as wedding security during illegal marriages conducted in Nevada.
• “Minimal information to suggest that Lyle would be considered a threat to commit acts of violence or witness intimidation.”
But he could whip you in a game of tennis!
David S. Allred
• Involved in the financial areas of the FLDS Church.
• “Fairly high in the FLDS pecking order.” “I do not have any specific information that would label David as a threat, nor do I have any that would discount him as a threat.”
Can't discount anyone at this time, not even Casper the Friendly Ghost
Nephi Steed Jeffs
• Brother and personal assistant to FLDS leader Warren Jeffs.
• “To the best of my knowledge, he is not involved in any FLDS security and has no known history of violence or intimidation.”
Sure sings good though!
http://www.captivefldschildren.org/Videos.php?VID=22
Wendell Loy Nielson
• One of the presiding elders in the FLDS religion.
• “He is not likely at this time to be involved directly in any acts of violence or intimidation, but may still be involved in their development, planning and approval stages.”
He plans for and approves of people being kind.
Rodney Hans Holm
• Convicted of unlawful sex with a minor in Utah in 2006
• “Known to have significant disdain for law enforcement.”
• “Rodney also was under the close watch of our court security staff during the trial, as he appeared at times to be attempting to intimidate witnesses from his seat.”
The former policeman, who was convicted of breaking a law that was passed years after the "crime" occured, intimidated me when I drove around without my pickup being licenced. He walked up to me, put his hand on my back, and said "Get your truck licenced Al, its four months out."
Can I sue?
Rulon Daniel Barlow
• “Rulon seemed to be extremely focused on the routines of our court staff and repeatedly seemed to be staring down the prosecuting attorneys and their witnesses.”
O those eyes, O those eyes! I see them in my sleep!
Dee Yeates Jessop
• “Appears to be another intimidating enforcer for the FLDS religion.”
• Was more interested in intimidating witnesses with “menacing” stares during
Warren Jeffs’ trial than the trial itself.
• “He has been described as a fanatic, who is blindly devoted to Warren Jeffs.”
He has also been described as a good man, and an excellent outdoorsman. Great with wild animals such as Zebra's, Buffalo, and Ostriches.
Samuel Rapylee Bateman
• “Showed an unnatural interest in the security procedures and routines of our staff during the trial.”
What would be natural?
Donovan J. Stubbs
• “Seemed to be taking mental notes of the security staff present.”
• “Donovan carried himself well and seemed to be respected by the other members of the FLDS group. When he spoke, others listened.”
What did he say in his mental notes? If a man speaks in the middle of the forest, and no woman is around to hear him, is he still wrong?
Guy Curtis Bauer
• “Seemed to “make it a point to be noticed by the prosecution’s victim and witnesses whenever possible.”
• “Seemed to be there for the purpose of intimidation.
Seemed to wish they would leave the FLDS people alone.
Guy E. Nielson
• “Appeared to make several discreet attempts at intimidating the victim and members of her (Alissa Wall’s) family.”
Very discreet, like thinking "I sure pity your hatred"
Nathan Mead Jessop
• “Multiple witnesses confirm Nathan Jessop is a member of the FLDS security team.”
• One of three men who came to a woman’s home and informed her she was no longer a worthy member of the community, a task generally reserved for Warren Jeffs’ security staff.
A possible former member of Uncle Rulon Jeffs "pod squad". Like I have any room to speak. "I'll go on a diet tomorrow!"
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