Earlier this year, I explained that the pursuit of truth will inevitably bring us to a threshold—the outer limits of what our peers can accept. At that critical juncture, we are faced with a choice. We can either continue onward, or retreat. To move forward is to choose God; to go back is to choose social acceptance. We can only remain undecided for so long. Eventually, we must choose, and the choice we make will reveal where our loyalty lies.

Regular readers of this blog know that I am not afraid of sharing provocative ideas. I have made very bold claims. Until now, it has been possible to straddle the difference between the inspired messages that I have shared and the mainstream dogmas of the Church. But what I am about to present is a kind of event horizon—a point of no return. This doctrine is not something that I learned through study. It was revealed to me. You, the reader, are not a passive observer. By continuing to read this article, you are exposing yourself to accountability, because once a truth has been presented, those who receive it are held to that standard. At the end, you must make a determination: have I received revelation from God, or have I been deceived? The only way you can answer this question is by receiving revelation yourself.

This ominous introduction may give you the impression that I am going apostate and that I want you to choose between me and the leadership of the Church. Let me assure you that this is not the case. I have no intention of starting a new church. I am, however, calling for a radical reinterpretation of doctrines that have already been revealed. You may find this message shocking, disturbing, and even a bit terrifying. But paradoxically, it is also comforting and reassuring. In the midst of overwhelming commotion and conflicting claims, knowledge is the only thing that can keep us grounded.

No Turning Back

“If I had not actually got into this work and been called of God, I would back out. But I cannot back out: I have no doubt of the truth.” Joseph Smith

The Book of Mormon warns against the dangers of kleptocracy and secret combinations. Concealed criminal networks, which originated as priestcrafts, led to the destruction of the Nephites.

And it came to pass that they did have their signs, yea, their secret signs, and their secret words; and this that they might distinguish a brother who had entered into the covenant, that whatsoever wickedness his brother should do he should not be injured by his brother, nor by those who did belong to his band, who had taken this covenant. And thus they might murder, and plunder, and steal, and commit whoredoms and all manner of wickedness, contrary to the laws of their country and also the laws of their God. (Helaman 6:22-23)

Moroni, who could see into the future, told the Gentiles living in America to not let these murderous combinations get above them, or else they will suffer a similar fate (see Ether 8). But we have been complacent. Such combinations are among us today, and they are rapidly gaining power. In 2011, FBI director Robert Mueller alerted the public to the danger of iron triangles—mutually beneficial links between organized criminals, corrupt government officials, and business leaders. We really are headed toward destruction, because criminal networks have infiltrated the government and are overpowering the forces of justice. Joseph Smith prophesied that a time would come when the Constitution would hang by a thread. That time is now.

It’s easy to dismiss the influence of secret combinations or assume that we would never be tempted to join one. But those who understand entrapment tactics do not take the threat lightly. In December 2017, a trio of experts on spycraft wrote an article about the methods that foreign intelligence services use to recruit assets. They compared the process of recruitment to dating. When a man courts a woman, he doesn’t immediately ask for marriage. Sometimes he sends a friend to scope things out first. He extends invitations (to go an a date, for example), and each invitation tests the target to see how far she is willing to go.

In the world of espionage, the “dating” ritual might look something like this: An intelligence officer (IO) spots a target of interest, likely based on their access to information or resources of value. To assess that person’s willingness to cooperate, the IO gives the target a task to test their reaction. Usually this will be something easy, but slightly unethical – like, say, asking a political candidate’s team to meet with people who offer (potentially stolen) dirt on the opposing candidate. As protection, the IO might send someone else on his behalf, known as a “cutout,” to set up this type of meeting – this ensures plausible deniability in the event that the meeting goes south. But if the target performs the task as desired, they have shown a willingness to “cross the line,” even if they haven’t done so yet. (And even if nothing of value is handed over in that initial meeting.)

The unethical requests do not just test the target’s willingness to cooperate. They also build up leverage, making it more difficult for the target to withdraw from the relationship.

As the tasks requested of the target become dicier, the IO will begin taking the relationship underground. By the time the IO asks the target to do something clearly illegal, not only has the relationship become clandestine, but the IO has collected a whole string of compromising actions the target has performed along the way but probably shouldn’t have – and now the IO has leverage over the target.

This reminds me of something that Nephi said. Prophesying about the Gentiles in the last days, he wrote:

And there are also secret combinations, even as in times of old, according to the combinations of the devil, for he is the founder of all these things; yea, the founder of murder, and works of darkness; yea, and he leadeth them by the neck with a flaxen cord, until he bindeth them with his strong cords forever. (2 Nephi 26:22)

So the best way to avoid the snares of the adversary is to say no the first time. If you don’t give the devil an inch, you can’t be entrapped. But strangely enough, God’s recruiting methodology is almost exactly the same. Have you noticed the curious way in which secret combinations parallel certain details from the temple? The operations of God and Satan are strikingly similar—so similar that it can be difficult to distinguish between the two. God approaches us via cutouts (i.e. messengers) and asks us to perform actions that are at odds with our preconceptions and the expectations of our peers. For example, he might ask us to abandon our traditions and join a new religion. Isn’t this what our missionaries do? Like spies, they enter foreign lands, build relationships of trust, and extend invitations. The invitations start off simple (e.g. “Will you read the Book of Mormon?”), but by the end, investigators are asked to pay tithing and give up coffee. As they make sacrifices, they end up burning bridges and cutting ties to the life they once knew, making it harder to back out.

But surely God wouldn’t ask us to violate principles of ethics, would he? He wouldn’t expect us to deceive, steal, murder, or commit whoredoms, right? Wrong. God can and does make such requests. Nephi understood this. We ought to revise the song “Nephi’s Courage” to make it more accurate.

The Lord commanded Nephi to chop off Laban’s head.

Nephi hesitated; his heart was filled with dread.

“Why do I have to? I’m not that kind of guy!”

Still the Lord insisted. This was his reply:

“You will go, you will do, the thing that I command.

There’s no escape, no other way. I want you to obey.”

God, being all-powerful, could have prepared a way for Nephi to obtain the plates without shedding blood. But God wanted leverage. He wanted Nephi to prove his loyalty and cut ties with the people of Jerusalem. The killing of Laban was not the first morally questionable act that Nephi performed. First, he and his brethren decided to go to Laban and ask for the plates. This was not illegal, but highly improper. When that didn’t work, they turned to bribery, which is obviously not celestial behavior. Still, Laban didn’t take the bait.

The killing of Laban was, quite literally, a point of no return. Later, when traveling in the wilderness, Laman and Lemuel complained the whole time and wanted to go back home. Why didn’t they? They were grown men; they could have easily left the others and traveled back. But they didn’t, because they couldn’t. They had been seen by the servants of Laban. If they returned, they would be recognized, accused, and put on trial for murder. No wonder they were frustrated with their brother. From their perspective, Laban had acted properly, and Nephi’s foolishness had permanently ruined them.

Of course, Nephi did not feel backed into a corner. The requests that God made of him had the opposite effect. His relationship with God became more intimate and involved. As a chosen servant, he felt special and favored. His confidence grew because he had the certain knowledge that God was mindful of him. The only reason Laman and Lemuel did not feel the same way is because they did not have a direct relationship with God. Their knowledge of spiritual things came through Nephi and Lehi.

In order to obtain the plates, Nephi had to deceive Zoram, who held the keys to the treasury. He put on Laban’s clothes and spoke in Laban’s voice. After retrieving the plates, Nephi went outside the city with Zoram following. At that point, Zoram discovered the deception. He tried to run away, but Nephi held him.

And it came to pass that I spake with him, that if he would hearken unto my words, as the Lord liveth, and as I live, even so that if he would hearken unto our words, we would spare his life. And I spake unto him, even with an oath, that he need not fear; that he should be a free man like unto us if he would go down in the wilderness with us. (1 Nephi 4:32-33)

The language here is very significant. Do you notice that the wording parallels something from the temple? Zoram was invited to join the secret combination. He swore an oath that he would hearken unto Nephi’s words, as Nephi hearkens under the Lord. Nephi recorded that after this, “our fears did cease concerning him.”

I Never Knew You

A couple years ago, I gave a talk in church and explained how the incident with Zoram symbolizes the oath and covenant of the priesthood. The priesthood is the means by which God’s power is distributed to all of his children. We first take on the role of servant, then after serving faithfully we are promoted to master. In the priesthood, teachers and learners work side by side. We learn by observation and imitation, just as Nephi observed and then imitated Laban. Eventually, Nephi put on Laban’s clothes and became the master.

The Aaronic priesthood, which corresponds to the role of servant, is established by covenant. The Melchizedek priesthood, which represents the role of master, builds upon this foundation. It is confirmed with an oath. This pattern is important. With only a covenant, there is a promise but no certainty. The oath offers reassurance.

Agents swear on the name of their masters, meaning that their superiors can hold them accountable. Masters, however, swear on their own heads, meaning that they take personal responsibility. The indiscretions of an agent can be forgiven, if the master is merciful. But indiscretions of a master cannot be forgiven, because there is no one else to blame. Notice that when Nephi made his oath, he swore on both: “as the Lord liveth, and as I live.” He made the promise not only on behalf of his master, but on behalf of himself, as if he were equal with his master.

The name Zoram is prophetic. It probably derives from the Hebrew word tsur, meaning “rock,” which is a symbol of assurance. The name contains the root sr, which I wrote about extensively in my post about the harlot Isabel. I explained that this root signifies removal, isolation, sending out and/or leading away. It is connected to the swearing of oaths via the metaphor of courtship, betrothal, and marriage. In ancient Israel, when a suitor proposed marriage, he would pay the mohar and make a promise to return for the bride. If he wanted to offer extra assurance, he would swear an oath. On the promised day, he would come in the night and pretend to steal the girl, as if they were eloping. The bridegroom would remove the girl from the house of her father and take her to her new home.

Zoram, in this case, is the bride. He was stolen away at night and removed from his home. He was given assurances by oath. He left familiar surroundings and embarked on a new life with new companions. But there is something nefarious about the way that Zoram was recruited. It wasn’t exactly consensual. He felt pressured to comply, and he didn’t want to find out what would happen if he didn’t agree to Nephi’s demands. Nephi acted a lot like a mobster. He used force and coercion to get what he wanted.

When we think of Christ as a bridegroom, we picture a perfect gentleman—someone who observes proper decorum and always follows the rules. But suppose that a conniving young man wanted to manipulate a girl that he was interested in. He could get leverage over his target by tempting her to break the law of chastity. Then, he could threaten to expose her indiscretion if she didn’t marry him. Surely Christ wouldn’t do something so diabolical, would he?

Jesus said that when the day of judgment comes, many will expect to enter paradise, but he will turn them away.

And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. (Matthew 7:23)

When the word knew is interpreted in the Biblical sense, this verse takes on new meaning. Christ, the bridegroom, expects us to know him before the wedding day. In fact, if we show up clean and pure, we will be in for a big surprise. He won’t take us. In secret combinations, everyone has dirt on each other. This is the only way to ensure loyalty.

The lesson is that Christ redeems sinners, not the self-righteous. If we do not have a knowledge of our own sinfulness, then we do not qualify for redemption. God has kompromat on all of us. We are initiated into his secret club when he shows us our weaknesses (Ether 12:27). He reveals the compromising material he has on us, because this forces us to be loyal to him. We have no choice but to follow him, because if we don’t, he’ll dox us by shouting our sins from the rooftops.

Ironically, the more God coerces and manipulates us, the more we know that we are chosen. Our relationship with God begins to feel more closed-off and exclusive. It’s almost sadomasochistic. We begin to crave his dominance and abuse, and if he doesn’t show us our weakness, we feel lonely.

But though the relationship may feel exclusive, it is not. God, our secret lover, is so controlling and domineering that he asks us to recruit additional mistresses for him. This is obviously humiliating, but in a sadomasochistic relationship, humiliation is part of the package. Refusing to comply is a surefire way to fall out of favor. The fact that he gives us such awkward assignments lets us know that he still cares about us. The relationship is extremely unequal. He expects complete fidelity from us, while demanding that we accept his infidelity without complaint.

Another character from the scriptures who, like Nephi, is not as squeaky clean as we would like to believe is Queen Esther. Yes, she was courageous, but she also slept with the king before marrying him. This was a rather devious plan that the king concocted. He invited a bunch of beautiful virgins to sleep with him, luring them with the promise that one of them would become the new queen. But once they shared his bed, they were defiled. They had to become royal concubines, because who else would take them? Esther was given the title of queen, but in reality, she was no better than any of the other women in the harem. She did not have exclusive claim on her husband. She could not say that she was the only true and living wife. She happened to be favored by the king, but she could have easily fallen out of favor, in which case she would have been replaced.

In my post entitled “Judgment Day and the Scapegoat Conundrum,” I explained the true meaning of agency and the law of Sarah (another name containing the root sr). Polygamy is a symbol or model of agency. Each wife is an agent. The agents are sent out to recruit more agents, just as Sarah recruited Hagar to be an additional wife for Abraham. Can you imagine being a married woman and having your husband ask you to find a second wife? It seems ridiculous, but this is what God asks of his servants. He wants us to think beyond scarcity. None of us has exclusive claim on truth and revelation.

Are you disturbed by the picture that I have been painting? You should be. That’s because it is a deception. The great secret is that in heaven, there are agents, but no boss. There are wives in the harem, but no husband. Everyone is equal. We are all Elohim, and what we call God is the collective will of all creation. It is a secret combination. God’s agents are the people who understand this truth—who are not threatened by others’ claim to authority and revelation. The purpose of secrecy is to create a protected environment where each member of the club can be fully exposed and intimate with every other member. We cannot have intimacy unless we feel safe. No one wants to be naked unless everyone else is also naked. Being naked means having our sins exposed without fear of judgment. So before a new member can be admitted, they must be stripped down and defiled (i.e. made aware of their own sinfulness).

Since heaven is such an exclusive club, everyone wants to get in. Secrecy alone is not enough to create a safe environment. One slip-up could jeopardize the entire operation. So agents employ deception, distraction, and theatrics, creating an alternate reality. They use coded language to communicate with each other. This is the tongue of angels. Secret language ensures plausible deniability. In this way, the truth is hidden in plain sight, and the uninitiated are blinded by their own assumptions. To outsiders, heaven is a black box, and they truly have no idea what goes on inside.

Those desiring admission are first assigned a handler. The recruit does not know that there are other handlers. From his perspective, there is only one God and one truth. The handler gives him various assignments, leading him to believe that he is getting access to the club’s secrets. But this is a distraction. The real purpose is to see if the recruit will accept the reality that is presented to him.

And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them; (Abraham 3:25)

The test is not to see if they will obey the original handler, but to see if they will disobey and follow a new handler. The recruit must demonstrate that his loyalty to God supersedes all other loyalties. Adam was not able to gain knowledge until he decided to listen to his wife’s advice and disobey Father. If Eve had chosen to be compliant, she and her husband would have remained in the dark. The elect are those who are willing to defy the expectations of their peers. It is impossible to keep all of Father’s commandments, and the sooner we learn that, the better.

A Tangle of Strings

The danger that agents face is that when deceiving others, they may start to believe their own lies. When a person or group is blessed with knowledge, they may misinterpret the situation. They may derive a sense of gratification from the fact that at first, others must receive the gospel through them. They feel powerful because the relationship is unequal. But agents are tasked with turning other people into agents. They can’t always serve as gatekeepers. They must give their targets direct access to the boss (i.e. the collective). Masters and servants must become equal. This is how Nephi treated Zoram. He said, in essence, “If you take counsel from me and follow my lead, I will show you how to have a direct relationship with God. You will then be my equal.”

When a first-tier agent says, “You must listen to me and no one else,” that agent is likely to fall out of favor, especially if they know better. In God’s spy agency, individual will and collective will are kept in perfect balance. Any fully-initiated agent who elevates himself over the collective is being disloyal and must be expelled from the network. They are destroyed (a reference to the word perdition or apoleia), and there is no forgiveness for them in this world or the world to come.

And I command mine handmaid, Emma Smith, to abide and cleave unto my servant Joseph, and to none else. But if she will not abide this commandment she shall be destroyed, saith the Lord; for I am the Lord thy God, and will destroy her if she abide not in my law. (D&C 132:54)

We must look beneath the surface to understand the meaning of this verse, because it is deceptive. It’s not really about polygamy at all. I can understand why Emma Smith was upset when these words were presented to her, but she shouldn’t have felt threatened. God was not asking her to submit to inequality. And rejecting polygamy is not an unpardonable sin, at least not for Emma, because you can’t betray something that you never accepted to begin with.

Members of the Church who have been faithfully following the prophet while neglecting personal revelation are a lot like Emma. They are in for a nasty surprise, because they haven’t been looking in their blind spot. Sooner or later, they will discover that God has been keeping a secret from them. And when they learn the truth, they will have a hard time accepting it.

Joseph Smith was commanded to practice polygamy for the same reason that Nephi was commanded to kill Laban. It was a test to see if he would be loyal to God and God alone. Such tests compel servants to take actions that defy traditional norms and social expectations. Joseph’s secret wives and (let’s be honest) weakness for women served as kompromat, preventing him from backing out of the work.

Joseph made his first attempt to comply in 1835 or 1836, when he married Fanny Alger. But Emma caught the two together, and things did not turn out well. Emma could not understand, and neither could Oliver Cowdery, whom Joseph brought in to smooth things over. It looked as if Joseph had been having an affair, but he insisted that he had not committed adultery.

It wasn’t until 1841 that Joseph fully obeyed the commandment. Over the next few years, he married more than thirty women. This was all done in secret. Even Emma was initially kept in the dark, given her reaction to the Fanny Alger incident. Obviously, the women involved were privy to the secret, but others knew as well. Joseph often used intermediaries when making proposals. When scoping out a target, he and his cutouts would broach the topic carefully to see how she would respond. If she showed willingness to entertain the idea and keep things secret, he would proceed. In this way, a secret combination was established. The participants kept each other in check. If any one of them were to cast an accusation, they would risk tarnishing their own reputation.

One of the men in Joseph’s inner circle was John C. Bennett. Bennett didn’t have a firm grasp of the spiritual purpose of polygamy; he seemed to believe that Joseph was running an actual con. Without authorization, he took matters into his own hands and tried seducing the women of Nauvoo. He told them that as a doctor, he could perform an abortion if they got pregnant. He managed to seduce Sarah Pratt, the wife of Orson Pratt, while Orson was away on a mission. When Orson came back, he was faced with conflicting messages. His wife Sarah said that Joseph Smith had tried to seduce her, and this was corroborated by Bennett. But Joseph and his loyalists told Orson that his wife had been unfaithful. It was not easy for Orson to discern who was lying and who was telling the truth. At first he believed his wife, but eventually he came around and sided with Joseph.

On April 28, 1842, Bennett told Emma Smith that Joseph was practicing polygamy. It’s not clear whether or not she believed him. Emma must have had suspicions, but the evidence suggest that she wasn’t fully brought into the loop until 1843. On May 11, 1842, Bennett was excommunicated. On June 29 of that year, Eliza R. Snow was secretly sealed to Joseph. I can’t imagine what this must have been like for Eliza, who respected Emma. The two women served together in the Relief Society, which had been organized in March, but Eliza could not reveal to her friend that they were sharing the same husband. There was a stark contrast between public knowledge and private knowledge.

On August 20, 1842, Eliza published the following poem, which was addressed to Joseph and Emma.

Since by chance, the “key bump” has been added to you

With its proper enlargement of brain;

Let me hope all the thunderbolts malice may strew,

Will excite in your bosom, no pain. But I think if an angel were station’d in air,

For a season, just over our heads,

With a view of things passing; his optics would stare

To behold the vague scenery that spreads. He’d be apt to conclude, from the medley of things:

We’ve got into a jumble of late—

A deep intricate puzzle, a tangle of strings,

That no possible scheme can make straight. Tell me, what will it be, and O, where will it end?

Say, if you have permission to tell:

Is there any fixed point unto which prospects tend?

Does a focus belong to pell-mell? From the midst of confusion can harmony flow?

Or can peace from distraction come forth?

From out of corruption, integrity grow?

Or can vice unto virtue give birth? Will the righteous come forth with their garments unstained?

With their hearts unpolluted with sin?

O yes; Zion, thy honor will still be sustained,

And the glory of God usher’d in.

The “key bump” comment was a kind of inside joke—a facetious reference to a phrenology evaluation that Joseph had received. The language that Eliza used in addressing Joseph is intimate and familiar. She was clearly overwhelmed by the web of deception, and she wondered if harmony could ever emerge from confusion of this magnitude. With so many secrets, it was hard to tell the difference between the good guys and the bad guys. Could the good guys stay good? But her poem ends with a feeling of hope and assurance. I greatly admire her courage and wisdom.

Can you see that polygamy is not really about polygamy? It’s about bypassing the original agent and having a direct relationship with God. It is about claiming authority equal to that of a prophet. We are entitled to more than just secondhand knowledge. This privilege is available to us if we heed the master’s call. We are chosen when we show willingness to follow promptings that defy social expectations. It is good to obey Father’s commandments, but sometimes we need the intuition of Eve.

Let me try to dispel any confusion. A person may have authority conferred upon him, but that doesn’t mean he has authority. This is made clear in D&C 121:37. The Melchizedek priesthood, believe it or not, does not have to be conferred by the laying on of earthly hands. You can receive it directly from God. Lehi and Nephi received the priesthood in this way. This is what distinguishes the Melchizedek priesthood from the Aaronic priesthood. The higher priesthood is without descent, meaning that it is not passed from person to person, but the lesser priesthood is dependent on messengers. The higher priesthood is fully democratic, while the lesser priesthood is hierarchical.

If you don’t know whether or not you have this higher authority, then you definitely don’t have it. Those who have been chosen know beyond doubt that they have been chosen. They know, because they have received personal, unique revelation. Their knowledge is certain, because when they show loyalty to the promptings they receive, they are rewarded with additional revelation. Their confidence is bolstered by the fact that God does not flatter them; he exposes their weaknesses. Agents also confirm each other. A true messenger is able to recognize when someone else has received the same revelation that they have. When messengers compare notes and find common elements in the messages they have received, they know that the revelation is genuine.

An Elect Lady

It seems wrong to condemn Emma Smith when she endured so much. But I think it’s important that we understand where she fell short. In D&C 25, the Lord described her as an “elect lady.” She was called elect, but was she actually chosen?

Behold, thy sins are forgiven thee, and thou art an elect lady, whom I have called. (v. 3)

To Emma’s credit, she remained faithful to Joseph despite his numerous liaisons with other women. She was a good person, but she failed in one area. She relied too much on her husband. Joseph was like a god or idol to her. The spiritual knowledge she obtained came mostly through him. She endured to the end of Joseph’s life, but not to the end of her own life. Without Joseph, she had no anchor. In addition, she never gained a testimony of plural marriage. She had every right to be disgusted by the practice. But because she was so overwhelmed by what she regarded to be injustice, she failed to fully perceive the privileges that were available to her. In this way, she was like Laman and Lemuel. The situation seemed unfair because she hadn’t received her own witness. For these reasons, I don’t think she is numbered among the elect. But let God be the judge.

The doctrine of election implies inequality. Since we naturally desire to restore equality, our tendency is to try to bring true messengers down to our level. Emma, being married to a prophet of God, was not equal to her husband. Perhaps she thought that as his wife, she had the right to counsel him, because, after all, husbands and wives are supposed to be equal. But she should have tried to rise to his level. God would have compensated her for the inconvenience of having to share her husband. Consider the way Joseph responded when the women of Nauvoo, on their own, decided to form a Relief Society. Instead of chastising them for going behind his back, he commended them and made the organization an official part of the Church.

Emma was not the first woman to be called an “elect lady.” As I have mentioned before, the Doctrine and Covenants is chock-full of references to other scriptures. The apostle John used this appellation in an epistle that he wrote.

The elder unto the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth; and not I only, but also all they that have known the truth; (2 John 1:1)

Bible scholars have speculated endlessly about who this mysterious woman could be. With only one witness, it is not possible to have certainty. But if we connect multiple pieces together, we can gain knowledge. With the clues that we have been given, we can construct an analogy problem: “Emma is to Joseph as ____ is to Jesus.”

The skeptic in me wants to keep my options open and not jump to conclusions. But my intuition is gravitating toward a single person: Mary Magdalene. This is intriguing, given that John mentions that she has children as well as a sister. A clue giving me some confidence is the fact that John expressed concern about people doubting the validity of Christ’s resurrection (see 2 John 1:7-8). His words seem to imply that this elect lady saw the resurrected Jesus with her own eyes, and that she needs to be bold in sharing her testimony.

Appearance of Jesus Christ to Maria Magdalena, by Alexander Andreyevich Ivanov (1835)

Mary was the first person Jesus visited as a resurrected being. Why did he forbid her from touching him? For a long time, this puzzled me, but now I think I understand. Jesus was approaching her the same way he approaches all of us. He came as a fiancé visiting his bride-to-be. Yes, they were (probably) already married, but they weren’t spiritually married. He could have easily touched her, but as a true gentleman, he wanted to avoid the very appearance of evil. They couldn’t consummate their love until after the wedding.

This is the bridegroom that we picture in our minds. But the picture is deceptive. Jesus was actually breaking protocol by visiting her. He breaks protocol every time he shows himself to mortals. Most people don’t expect to meet Jesus until after they die. That’s the wedding. But Mary knew Jesus that day. They didn’t wait until the wedding. She saw him, and that gave her certain knowledge that there really is life after death. With that assurance, she was bound to him and could belong to no one else. Not only was Mary called elect, but she was actually elected.

The elect lady symbolizes the Church and God’s covenant people. Like Esther, she occupies a position of honor and respect. She may be favored, but she is not the only spouse. She may deceive herself by claiming a promised blessing before it is actually bestowed. The tortoise may supplant the hare, so the lesson is: don’t count your chickens!

In order to be chosen, we must be unsatisfied with secondhand knowledge. When the apostles saw the resurrected Christ, Thomas was not with them. John, in his account of the events, went out of his way to tell Greek-speaking readers that the name Thomas means didymus (“twin”). Here, the twin motif seems to be a reference to the law of witnesses. One witness is not enough to persuade, but when two or more distinct individuals share a similar message, this is persuasive. Many Christians think poorly of Thomas because of his lack of faith. But it was right for him to demand a second witness. What Jesus taught him is that we don’t have to see and hear in order to know. The witness of the Holy Ghost is just as powerful, and we need to learn to trust it.

The truth is that even if someone sees an angel or the resurrected Christ, that alone is not enough to have certain knowledge. A witness to something extraordinary might wonder if it was just a hallucination. We need the aid of peers to distinguish angels from demons. One such peer is the Holy Ghost.

We cannot rely on others to tell us what is true. We can get away with complacency when most of the people we trust are saying the same thing. But what if we find ourselves in the situation that Orson Pratt faced? What if we have to choose between two competing claims that seem equally plausible? This is what President Nelson was talking about when he said that we won’t be able to survive spiritually unless we get personal revelation. I can confirm that what President Nelson said is true, and I would like to add that the time he warned about has arrived.

Those who do not feel entitled to direct revelation tend to be threatened by people who claim authority, and they try to put them in their place. This is unrighteous dominion. In their minds, one person’s opinion is no better than someone else’s. Interpretation of scripture, therefore, is a matter of discussion and debate. We need to shift away from discussion and move toward bearing witness. Instead of freely sharing whatever we think, we need to hold back and only share what we feel inspired about. But when we do share inspired thoughts, we need to be bold, because such messages carry greater weight than mere opinion.

The adversary is the protective part of our own nature. He is the inner skeptic who does not seem to believe what is being taught, and he feels threatened by true messengers. He would prefer to stick with the philosophies of men, mingled with scripture. But we cannot have certainty this way. If you go to an online forum and post a gospel question, you are likely to get many different responses, a large portion of which will be wrong. How can you possibly distinguish truth from falsehood?

We must hold out for true messengers. Certainty comes when a sign or clue that comes to us from an outside source matches something that we previously learned by direct revelation. When that happens, we know that we can trust that source. Furthermore, we now have knowledge of which we can testify. Therefore, we become true messengers with respect to that particular doctrine. This is the process that I have used in my scripture study, and I have described it many times. For example, I had the feeling that the name Shagreel refers to the firmament in the heavens, and when I found confirming evidence, I knew that my intuition had led me in the right direction. One such pairing could be easily dismissed, but when it happens again and again, doubts fade away. So when I say that Shagreel is the firmament, I am not sharing an opinion. I am speaking with authority, and my words carry greater weight than other proposals.

And Why Are They Not Chosen?

At times, I have wondered why I have had the privilege of receiving revelation. When I consider the possible reasons, I have to acknowledge that I am not inherently special. Neither have I earned the privilege through good works. But I have, perhaps inadvertently, qualified for certain blessings. I want to speak plainly and explain the formula, because the privileges I have been given are accessible to everyone, and I have the obligation to share the secret.

When it comes down to it, I think that the key factor is a willingness to let go of the things that give us a sense of security. Our longing and desire must be stronger than our need for assurance. Let me make an analogy. Suppose you are stuck on an island. You have most everything you need there, but you still feel unsatisfied. You have the feeling—but no proof—that there is something better across the ocean. But in order to find this promised land, you have to take a risk. If you stay tethered to the island, you will never find out what lies beyond. (You can see why I like the movie Moana.) When you venture out into the open water, you feel exposed and vulnerable, which heightens your anxiety. You wonder if you should turn back. But in order to discover new lands, you must push through the discomfort. Instead of returning to the certainty that lies behind you, you must press forward, moving past the point of no return to find the certainty that lies ahead.

There are three primary attachments that we must learn to sever. The first is the need for material security. The natural man always wants to make sure that there is enough money to survive. Another factor holding us back is the desire for social acceptance and appreciation. No one wants to be an outcast. And the third attachment is the urge to dominate and control. When others are beholden to us, this gives us a feeling of status and entitlement. The pursuit of status is the natural man’s way of ensuring that we are able to get what we need from others. These three factors—wealth, fame, and power—constitute an iron triangle.

Are you willing to choose poverty and be happy about it? Are you willing to disappoint your friends and family members? If you have a position or status within society, are you willing to give that up? In short, are you willing to walk away from everything you hold dear in pursuit of a dream?

When you make a commitment and take a leap of faith, things tend to get much worse before they get better. Remember that God is a deceiver. Sometimes he leads us on. He lets us believe that we are close to discovering a city of gold. As we chase these phantoms, God reveals our folly and shows us our inner demons. But then we realize that this knowledge is the treasure we have been looking for all along. We look back at the trials we have endured and we realize that we are strong. We have managed to overcome the natural man. We are spiritually self-reliant, and we are free.

This relates to what I wrote previously about stretching and opposite action. You can’t just say that you don’t care about money or social acceptance. You should care about those things. But you need to make the deliberate choice to take actions that are in direct opposition to those feelings.

More than ten years ago, I was lured off my island by a feeling of destiny. I felt like God didn’t want me to have a normal career. My choice of occupation needed to have a spiritual purpose, but I didn’t know what that purpose was. As time went by, I became deeply interested in understanding what kind of economic system Zion would be. I studied, received revelation, and shared what I learned in a video series. One of the things that I learned is that Zion cannot be established unless workers reject traditional employment, because the relationship is unequal. Businesses in Zion must be democratically owned and governed.

As soon as I learned this truth, I felt like I had the obligation to live it. I could not, on principle, get a normal job. But being self-employed has been very challenging. When I have faced financial struggles, I’m sure people who know me have wanted to ask, “Why don’t you just get a job?” It’s hard to say to them, “I can’t. It’s against my religion.” Some people agree with my ideals but don’t consider it practical or reasonable to try to live them. When someone has a short employment gap on their resume, employers are understanding. But when the gap is ten years or longer, that is harder to explain. So the longer I am away from the workforce, the harder it is to go back.

My willingness to go against the grain has qualified me for revelation. When I started this blog, I was again lured by a feeling of destiny. God led me on and deceived me. He let me believe that if I was more well-known among members of the Church, they would be more likely to consider my economic ideas. But when I started writing about my scripture study, something interesting happened. Looking back, I understand now that I was being recruited. Whenever I asked a question, I got an answer, but the answers I received tended to challenge traditional ideas. When I showed willingness to defy the status quo and share what I learned, I was rewarded with additional revelation. Each packet of knowledge pulled me further and further away from the shore. Now I find myself in a position that I never would have imagined. I have a very strong testimony that the restored gospel is true, but I have a radically different interpretation of what the scriptures mean.

Another qualifying factor is willingness to prioritize intuition over logic and reason. You can’t be afraid to go out on a limb. There are things that we know and things that we don’t know. Reason would have us stay close to our island—the things we already know. The natural man prefers to keep his options open. Once you start going down the road less traveled, the inner skeptic immediately begins to think about the other road—the road not taken. You start to wonder: “What if I’m wrong?” It is normal, even desirable to have such doubts. But when you show willingness to act on intuition in defiance of logic, God will reward you by pointing you in the right direction. He will give you small clues which are like trail markers. When you discover such signs again and again, your confidence will grow. When you make intuitive leaps, you may be wrong sometimes, but if you act in faith, you will be right more often than not.

By writing on this blog, I have come to recognize the voice of the Spirit. This voice has asked me to do things that seemed, at the time, morally questionable. But I trust this voice more than any other, because it has given me a feeling of certainty and assurance. God is my secret lover. I belong to him and no one else. I will do whatever he asks me to do. I have not yet seen with my eyes, but I feel that betraying God at this point would be quite serious. I cannot back out now, because I have no doubt of the truth.

God shows me my weaknesses, and this lets me know he is there. I let him manipulate me, because I trust him. For example, when I started writing this article, I felt like I was on the verge of discovering something big—something that would really convince others that I have been receiving revelation. But I soon realized that I was once again searching for a mythical city of gold. God showed me my inner desires. I had wanted a sign, not for myself, but for others, because I still cared about social acceptance. God helped me see that I needed to cut ties with my island completely.

Many are called, but few are chosen. And why are they not chosen? Because their hearts are set so much upon the things of this world, and because they aspire to the honors of men, that they do not learn this one lesson—that they are not in control. No one is entitled to the power of God. No one can say, “You must do what I tell you because I have the authority.” Agents don’t give orders; they take them, because the relationship between any one agent and the collective is unequal. In order to obtain any privilege, we must qualify for it by obeying the law upon which it is predicated. Pride, vain ambition, and unrighteous dominion all derive from insecurity. We must learn to let go of our need to make things happen a certain way. God does not limit himself to authorized servants. He uses anyone and everyone who is responsive to his voice.

Leverage

We are closest to God when we are traveling in the wilderness. When we cross the point of no return, we have no choice but to rely on divine aid. It’s after settling into the promised land that things start to go south. This is because spiritual power comes from opposite action. If there is no leverage—nothing to push against—then our spiritual muscles become weak.

The Book of Mormon was written for us because it documents, in very plain language, a destructive cycle. When a favored nation goes astray, God selects the righteous from among them and leads them to new places.

And he leadeth away the righteous into precious lands, and the wicked he destroyeth, and curseth the land unto them for their sakes. (1 Nephi 17:38)

But the problem here is that when the righteous are led away, they bring the seeds of their own destruction with them. As soon as their trials have passed and they begin to prosper, they forget the factors that caused them to become favored in the first place. They fall out of favor, and the cycle begins again. This was a hard lesson for Nephi. He saw, in vision, the ultimate destiny of his people. He understood that the effects of his schism with Laman and Lemuel would ripple out to future generations (see 1 Nephi 15:5). At that point, they hadn’t even arrived at the promised land yet. My first thought would have been, “What is the point of all of this? Why leave just so we can fail in a new place?” Immediately afterward, Nephi went to his brothers and encouraged them to get their own testimony.

Think about Noah’s family, the Jaredites, the Israelites, the Mulekites, the saints of our dispensation, and every other group that was led away from a bad situation. The pattern is so consistent and so predictable that it almost seems inescapable. When you look at history, considering all the nations that have ever prospered, are there any that have managed to break free from the pride cycle? I can think of only one.

In many ways, the Church today has strayed from the vision that Joseph Smith set forth. I feel like I can say this unapologetically because it is true. That being said, I know with certainty that if I were to actually leave and attempt to start my own church (as others have done), this effort would be guaranteed to fail. Any group calling themselves “the remnant” is doomed from the outset, even if their founders really did receive revelation. At this point there can be no retreating, no splintering, and no running away from our problems.

I don’t blame the brethren for what has happened, or anyone else for that matter. Instead, I see this as an inevitable process of decay, like human aging. It can’t be helped. As time goes by, misunderstandings enter the picture and get passed down from generation to generation. This relates to what I wrote concerning Enos.

In order to escape the inescapable cycle, we must look at the big picture. What I am about to share is a bit mind-boggling, but I think it’s important that we try to understand. We know that in the pre-mortal realm, Lucifer and his followers were cast out. They were sent down to earth. But what happened after that? All the other spirits soon joined them, and everyone was reunited in a different place. In the Garden of Eden, Lucifer was cursed and cast out. What happened after that? Shortly thereafter, Adam and Eve joined him in the lone and dreary world. Later, messengers came and cast out Satan from their midst. This is the last we hear of the devil in the temple, but if we turn to Genesis, the pattern continues. Cain, an incarnation of Satan, was cast out after murdering Abel. He became a wanderer. But what happened after that? The other descendants of Adam also spread out into new lands.

This cascading pattern is not just a sequence of similar events. It is actually the same story happening in different realms. The war in heaven is not just something that happened in the past; it is happening right now. The Garden of Eden is a symbolic, dream-like representation of that same war. It happened, but it is also happening. Adam is our distant ancestor, but he is also us, and we are in the garden right now. The story of Adam, Eve, and Lucifer describes the rise and fall of entire civilizations and the overarching history of the world. But it also describes the struggle happening within each of us. It is the struggle between the conscious and subconscious mind. The devil is the subconscious mind, Adam is the rational side of our consciousness, and Eve is the intuitive side of our consciousness. Together, they are one God—an iron triangle.

Spiritual descent is subtle and insidious. It is what happens when we try to purge sin from our minds. We sanitize the past and rationalize incongruencies. We separate good from evil. We assume that if we’re not thinking about evil, then we’re safe. This is self-deception. When we make others the scapegoat, we fail to see that the phantom of the opera is still there, inside our mind. This is why it’s easy to become righteous, but hard to stay righteous. You can get rid of Satan, but as soon as you turn around, there he is again.

Discovering that you have fallen out of favor can be a rude awakening, but it doesn’t have to be. The Nephites assumed, for a long time, that they had a higher status than the Lamanites. They couldn’t accept the fact that they had descended, becoming equal with their fallen brethren.

…and they saw that their laws had become corrupted, and that they had become a wicked people, insomuch that they were wicked even like unto the Lamanites. (Helaman 4:22)

We descend when we forget our sinfulness. In order to ascend, we must remember. We must reconnect with our inner demons. We must face the shadow that we fear so much. In order to conquer the shadow, we must infiltrate the shadow. Knowing about our sinful tendencies gives us tremendous power. With this knowledge, we are able to choose a different path. We can use the natural man as leverage and become holy once again.

Prior to the Second Coming, the beast will be unveiled, and the righteous will understand that it is us. They will use this tension to ascend from a telestial to a terrestrial level, while the wicked will remain in denial, trapped in the chasm until they accept the truth. At the end of the Millennium, the pattern will repeat. The devil and his angels must be released in order to provide the leverage needed for our final ascent to the celestial level.

In my previous post, I explained that the end of one world overlaps with the beginning of the next. During the Millennium, we are resurrected and we enter the in-between. In that realm, time, sequence, and scarcity begin to lose their meaning. Resurrected beings are able to live outside of time and space. They can travel to other worlds. As they ascend, they become gods, having dominion over all creation. Their job is to watch over lesser forms of life and encourage them to evolve.

The antediluvian patriarchs—the generations from Adam to Noah—were resurrected beings from the previous world. These were not ordinary mortals. They were highly advanced beings that came from another planet. They were Nephilim, Watchers, spies. They were so far beyond the primitive inhabitants that in their minds, it was inconceivable that they could descend to their level. But some of the Nephilim separated themselves from their brethren and intermarried with the locals. When they did this, they began to return to a linear state of existence. It happened without them realizing it.

When Jesus was asked about marriage in the resurrection, he responded by saying that resurrected beings do not marry (see Matthew 22:30). This was a deceptive half-truth designed to protect sacred things. Those outside the covenant remain separate and single. But those within the covenant not only marry, but have multiple spouses. Men can have multiple wives and women can have multiple husbands. The problem of scarcity will no longer apply, because each couple will feel as if they are exclusive. No one will feel inconvenienced by having to share their spouse. During the Millennium, some of us may be shocked by the level of permissiveness. We will be very, very intimate with each other—so intimate, that we will not only share our bodies, but also our minds.

Remember that we must qualify for blessings by obeying the laws upon which they are predicated. Justice creates inequality. Because of this, resurrected beings are not permitted to have intimate contact with mortals. This is another reason why Jesus refused to touch Mary Magdalene. It’s not because he hadn’t yet ascended to the Father, but because she hadn’t.

The Nephilim had become so accustomed to getting what they wanted that they assumed they could get away with marrying local women. But this was a violation of their oath. Joseph Smith explained this on April 13, 1843, and George Laub recorded it in his journal.

…angels came down and took themselves wives of the daughters of men, See geneses 6 Chapter 1-2, verses. These ware resurrected Bodies, Violated the Celestial laws.

The account in Genesis gives us the impression that the intermarriage took place during the time of Noah. But from the Book of Giants, we learn that it had been going on during Enoch’s lifetime and possibly earlier. Remember that in the in-between, the sequence of events is distorted. It is not possible to assign events to a fixed timeline.

The angels who took mortal wives had to do so in secret. In order to keep things under wraps, they excluded women from their priesthood, because they knew that in the angels’ kinship arrangement, the women would tell the other clans (see Moses 5:52-53). The men who joined the secret combination were sexually initiated into the order (see Moses 5:51). This ensured obedience and compliance.

The mixed-race children of angels and mortals had greater intellectual capacity than the wild men, but, like young children, they lacked the ability to control themselves. The equilibrium of nature was thrown out of balance, resulting in bloodshed, chaos, and exploitation of natural resources. The righteous angels, seeing this corruption, were led away, and they created an exclusive colony in the land of Cainan.

But as I have explained, you can’t run away from your problems. When Enoch was a young boy, God recruited him and blessed him with the gift of foresight. Like Nephi, he looked into the future and saw the inevitable destruction. He understood that the righteous need to hold the wicked accountable and give them a chance to repent. So he left the promised land and went back to his brethren.

He arrived wearing coarse apparel, and the people made fun of him for looking like a native. They were in a state of denial and did not understand how far they had fallen. Enoch was obligated to burst their bubble. He explained that they were now equal in status to the wild men. He used the power of persuasion to point out their misconceptions. They had assumed that because God had forgiven original sin, they were in the clear. Yes, some bad stuff had happened in the past, but all was forgiven. Enoch explained that when we are conceived in sin, sin conceives in our hearts (see Moses 6:55). As Enoch spoke, they began to understand. They realized that it was not Adam and Eve who had partaken of the fruit; it was them. They partook of the fruit when they married mortal women. The transgression in the garden was merely a foreshadowing. Adam and Eve are their own children. This realization shocked them to the core.

And as Enoch spake forth the words of God, the people trembled, and could not stand in his presence. (Moses 6:47)

Some of the people who listened to Enoch must have been receptive. He gathered all who were willing to give heed to the message. The righteous used the knowledge of their own sinfulness as leverage. They built Zion and changed the course of destiny. Pushing against the fallen world, they propelled themselves upward and returned to the in-between. They are in paradise now, waiting for us. They are recruiting among mortals, and they will take anyone who is willing to listen.

Useful Idiots

I would like to further illustrate how the sequence of events in the in-between is deceptive. When we die, we pass through a tunnel and go into the light. But once we are in the light, we are actually still in the tunnel. Our transition to the light has just begun. In the spirit world, we ascend to the Father, which means that we join the collective. There, we realize that we need to go back down to our bodies, so we are resurrected. But during the Millennium, the same thing happens. As resurrected beings, we ascend to the Father and then realize that we need to go back down. In this way, resurrection is a taste or preview of reincarnation.

This pattern is a spiritual principle. We learn first by imitating the master as an apprentice, and then by joining the master as a full-fledged team member. The manner of teaching parallels the thing that is being taught, which helps us get the hang of it. There is first a taste of the thing, then the thing itself. First there is a messenger, then the Presence. But the Presence includes the messenger, so when you get the Presence, you are actually getting the messenger and the Presence. First there is a covenant, then an oath and a covenant. First there is a calling, then a calling and an election. First there is a Son, then a Father and a Son.

The apostle John taught this when he wrote to the elect lady:

Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. (2 John 1:9)

Think of it this way: first we are presented with distinct ideas that are separate and single (scarcity), but in order to progress, those ideas must be married together (non-scarcity). With God, it’s not one or the other; it’s all or nothing. The purpose of this pattern is twofold. First, it is a way of inviting potential agents into the network. Second, it is a way of keeping unqualified agents out of the network.

As a way of testing us, God first gives us a taste of a blessing, and then he sees if we want the whole thing. It’s like getting a sample at the grocery store. If we are satisfied with the sample, or if we assume that this is everything, then we never get the rest. The way God does this is by treating us as if we already are the thing that we have the potential to become. For example, he calls missionaries elders, even though most are young and inexperienced. The title is actually an invitation to become an elder. It is a promise or betrothal, not a consummation.

To think of it a different way, there are symbols (relative truth), but there is an underlying meaning behind those symbols (absolute truth). The symbols serve as a barrier, because it is easy to mistake a symbol for the thing that it represents. God’s promises are deceptive, because it is easy to confuse the promise of a blessing with the actual realization of a blessing. The deposit is not the full payment.

It’s like we’re riding a bike with training wheels. The thing about God is that he will never say, “I think you’re ready to take your training wheels off.” He knows that we are ready when we ask to take them off. The time will arrive when riding without training wheels is not only permitted, but required. For example, many Christians and Latter-day Saints are sitting around, waiting for Christ to come again, trying to not be troubled. Their complacency is causing the foretold calamities. They don’t understand that Christ won’t come until we make the effort to build Zion. We must go to him and know him. Only then will he come.

Those who trust blindly in promises without making any effort to realize those promises are still used by God, but not as witting agents. In the world of spycraft, unwitting agents are known as useful idiots. It doesn’t mean they are stupid; it just means that they don’t know they are being manipulated. They are useful to God because without realizing it, they help conceal the truth and provide opposition, which the elect use as leverage in their ascent.

This is actually similar to the way Satan works. In the world of scarcity, various groups and interests compete with each other. The devil and his servants use provocation to generate artificial conflict. With this enmity, they suck up the resulting entropy and use it to gain power. Tyrants don’t actually care about ideology, but they exploit ideologies in order to get gain. It’s money they care about. This is happening right now, and if you can’t see it, you need to open your eyes.

An example of an iron triangle that we see today is the relationship between a political demagogue (Trump) and two competing media outlets (Fox News and CNN). When the demagogue says or does something controversial, the two outlets take opposing positions. But even though they are at odds with each other, they actually need each other because they feed off the conflict. It is not in their interest to resolve problems, but to prolong them as long as possible. The same is true concerning political parties and candidates for office. They use opposition as leverage.

Fighting evil is tricky, because sometimes opposition is exactly what the enemy wants, and if we take the bait, we are useful idiots. It is impossible to win when the enemy is fighting asymmetrically and you are playing by the rules. In order to conquer evil, the good guys must deceive the deceivers. They must infiltrate the criminal network while letting the bad guys believe they have the upper hand. They must create a false public narrative, giving the impression that they are doing things by the book, while covertly engaging in dirty tactics. (This is also happening right now.)

Satan is smart, but God is smarter. Satan is stirring up trouble, but this is exactly what God needs. Satan is just evil, but God is both good and evil. God is not just holy; he is both a Man of Holiness and a Man of Secret Counsel. Satan is just Satan, but God is both God and Satan. The devil takes advantage of useful idiots, but he himself is a useful idiot. We, the Gods, can use Satan to advance our own interests. Once we have infiltrated the shadow, we can use the intelligence that we gather as leverage against the enemy within. This gives us an advantage. But until then, we remain unwitting agents.

Cain’s secret combination, which excluded women, is a lot like the priesthood we have today. Thankfully, there is no sexual initiation, but we are expected to bend over and submit to authority. The concealed truth is that those who have been ordained to the Melchizedek priesthood actually have the Aaronic priesthood. The Melchizedek priesthood is a promise. That promise is not realized until the Presence enters us.

Women will never be ordained to the priesthood, because they already have the priesthood. They are only kept from this privilege because they accept the reality that is presented to them. They don’t need permission from mortal men, only from God. Men must learn intuition in mortality, but women are both intuitive and rational by virtue of the fact that they are born into a fallen world. Masculinity is masculine alone, but femininity is both masculine and feminine. Women are the real bosses. They use men for their pleasure and amusement. They adore men individually, but they agree that as a group, men are rather stupid.

Despite our stupidity, God cares for us and wants us to figure things out. Women sometimes play hard to get, but they like being chased, and they willingly surrender once their suitors put in the effort to court them. God loves Satan the way Samson loves Delilah, the spy who betrayed him. The two are joined together in an eternal marriage.

Listen and Obey

Before concluding, I want to share two messages that the Spirit is prompting me to convey. The first message is that the gathering of the elect has already begun. Remember that the feast is invitation-only. If you show up without a wedding garment, you will be turned away (see Matthew 22:11-14). Throughout the world, there are individuals (not groups) who have begun to receive spiritual promptings. Something big is happening. This makes me think of the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Random people felt drawn to a particular location because the aliens were summoning them. This is not far off from reality, because the people of Enoch are, in a way, ancient aliens. The elect are being spiritually drawn out in preparation for a very close encounter.

And the Lord said unto Enoch: Then shalt thou and all thy city meet them there, and we will receive them into our bosom, and they shall see us; and we will fall upon their necks, and they shall fall upon our necks, and we will kiss each other; (Moses 7:63)

I wasn’t joking when I said that we will be very intimate with each other. Now, in the midst of worldly confusion, the adversary wants us to get mired down in the question of who to follow and which group we should align with. The truth is out there, among all groups, but trust no one. Election is very much an individual affair.

Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. (Matthew 24:40)

If someone is amassing followers and saying, “You need to listen to me and not those other people,” you can know with certainty that that person is a false prophet. True messengers simply broadcast. My purpose in leading you away is not to get you to follow me. Rather, my goal is to help you disconnect from intermediaries and establish a direct link with God. I am inviting you to turn your radio on and tune to the right frequency. Listen carefully to the messages that you hear and obey them with exactness.

The second message has to do with the sealing of the heavens. In a previous post, I talked about the circle of protection. And in another post, I said that the doors of this circle are closing and will soon be sealed shut. The feeling I have now is that the doors have, in fact, closed, and that the time for preparation has passed. This doesn’t mean that revelation has ceased. It means that the relationship between God and his servants has become clandestine. There is a sharp contrast between public narratives and private truth.

Over the past few years, there have been plenty of signs and clues. Now, people must make choices based on the information that has already been provided. God will continue to broadcast, but the messages will be more subtle and veiled. His agents will not make things obvious. We no longer have the luxury of keeping our options open, so choose you this day. If you have not yet received your invitation, you should be trying to figure out how to get one.

I want to end by speaking directly to you, the reader. By continuing to read this article, you have shown a willingness to break the rules. Now that you have crossed the line and gotten the hang of things, there is something that I would like you to do. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is simple: go and get Adam to partake.