Well [Name Withheld], you have really done a number now; if I answer all of these questions in full I would have to print a book! Bear with me and Andy as we try to help you out a little. Do remember that it is you who is the one who must make important decisions regarding these things and not deny the witnesses that you have already received.
You testified to me that you knew that I was an Apostle of Jesus Christ. I also felt a confirming witness when you shared that with me. This being true, then why not add faith to faith and realize that if the above is true, and came from God, then my authority of Apostleship came at the hands of Jim Harmston who was visited by the four Angels and given that very authority that you testified of. If once, you have obtained that witness, which you have, then the academics of learning the doctrines and coming to understanding on unfamiliar points is really a matter of time and diligent study. [Name Withheld], the witness HAS been given to you by the Holy Ghost. If the true Priesthood authority has been given to us to establish TLC and the eventual Zion, then all other bits of knowledge are minor events that are obtained as you follow the initial witnesses and take action on the seed of faith that has definately been planted in you.
A person could study for twenty years the inside-out of all the doctrines and principles of the restoration (some have, like Ehat) and still never DO ANYTHING about their knowledge. Many there are that are ever learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth. The Spirit has already attempted to save you the misery of getting lost in the study alone. It is the mighty power of God's spirit that awaken's the Elect, not just their own intellect or study.
Just having knowledge does not give a person strength and power to make hard decisions, it is the Spirit of truth that enables a man to have the courage to follow the promptings of the Spirit.
Which leads me to another question of great importance: Have you begun to use the True Order of Prayer? Using these keys as taught in the proper endowment amplifies one's ablilities to receive revelation and guidance. That is the entire purpose of the True Oder of Prayer, or else it would have never been given to man. It is the vehicle to use whereby you are recognized by God and the Just men and women. This is the way God's covenant children are taught to pierce the veil and receive instruction on their eternal journey, especially as it pertains to this earth life. Are you using it yet, [Name Withheld]? If not, why not? I ask these questions for a reason: there are steps and demonstrations of conviction on your part that must be done in order to invite the Lord's guidance. Why would you be more courageous to live the higher laws of God if you are too fearful to even utilize the keys of the priesthood in the True Order of Prayer? This is a first step and a very important one.
Also comes implementation. Once a witness is received and you waiver or reject it or downplay it, then the witnesses of the Spirit are grieved and they will shut down or off. Be careful not to deny the witnesses you have ALREADY received. Do not begin to handicap yourself by expecting that God must give you a witness on every last doubt before you will act on them. God does not, nor has ever worked that way with the children of men. He expects you to apply faith on the things you have already been led to and given witnesses on.
I testify to you [Name Withheld], that you HAVE been called out as one of the Elect in the last days. The Spirit has awakened you to see the reality of the wrongs in the LDS Church for years! 99% of the LDS do not even think or see things with such clarity! Do not for a minute assume that you haven't been awakened to these things for no future purpose! [Name Withheld], you have been awakened and called, I so testify in the name of Jesus Christ. God has major covenants with you and you agreed to come down here and accept your assignments; you were fore-ordained for this very hour to do this! Never underestimate or reject this call! Now, called does not mean that you have proven to be chosen. This you must prove by your actions on the faith that you already have. Hence, many are called but few are chosen.
I want to share with you a story of a baptist minister, James Coville, who met Joseph Smith and obtained a witness from God to follow Joseph and the Church. D&C section 39 is full of God's promises to James Coville IF he would follow up on the witnesses he already received. Section 40 is the actuality of what he did. Listen to this:
1. Behold, verily I say unto you, that the heart of my servant James Covill was right before me, for he covenanted with me that he would obey my word.
2. And he received the word with gladness, but straightway Satan tempted him; and the fear of persecution and the cares of the world caused him to reject the word.
3. Wherefore he broke my covenant, and it remaineth with me to do with him as seemeth me good. Amen. (D&C section 40)
So, we see that the fear of persecution and the cares of the world wipe most people out of their calling and duty. Today is no different. When a person looks at all the things he may lose if he follows the truth, the mountain may seem too high to climb. What has to be focused on is the desire to come and build up Zion more than love for anyone or anything else. This is eye of the needle time. It was Christ who said that if anyone loves his family or anything more than Christ, is not worthy of His kingdom. These scriptures become very real for all true saints, because they actually face and walk the same steps. God is not going to make exceptions for you on these things. God will provide the way and an open door, but you must make the sacrifice to go through it on your own volition. If your wife won't follow you [Name Withheld], what are you going to do? Now this becomes real-time faith and religion. What if you get excommunicated from the LDS Church and all your friends and family find out? What if your former Misiion President calls you and warns you not to get mixed up with apostates,, what are you going to do? What if President Hinckley himself tells you that you are wrong? What are you going to do? Let me share a pertinent thought at this juncture:
5. For a man to lay down his all, his character and reputation, his honor, and applause, his good name among men, his houses, his lands, his brothers and sisters, his wife and children, and even his own life also-counting all things but filth and dross for the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus Christ-requires more than mere belief or supposition that he is doing the will of God; but actual knowledge, and most assuredly knows that he is doing the will of God; but actual knowledge, realizing that, when those sufferings are ended, he will enter into eternal rest, and be a partaker of the glory of God.
6. For unless a person does know that he is walking according to the will of God, it would be offering an insult to the dignity of the Creator were he to say that he would be a partaker of his glory when he should be done with the things of this life. But when he has this knowledge, and most assuredly knows that he is doing the will of God, his confidence can be equally strong that he will be a partaker of the glory of God.
7. Let us here observe, that a religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things never has power sufficient to produce the faith necessary unto life and salvation; for, from the first existence of man, the faith necessary unto the enjoyment of life and salvation never could be obtained without the sacrifice of all earthly things. It was through this sacrifice, and this only, that God has ordained that men should enjoy eternal life; and it is through the medium of the sacrifice of all earthly things that men do actually know that they are doing the things that are well pleasing in the sight of God. When a man has offered in sacrifice all that he has for the truth's sake, not even withholding his life, and believing before God that he has been called to make this sacrifice because he seeks to do his will, he does know, most assuredly, that God does and will accept his sacrifice and offering, and that he has not, nor will not seek his face in vain. Under these circumstances, then, he can obtain the faith necessary for him to lay hold on eternal life.
8. It is in vain for persons to fancy to themselves that they are heirs with those, or can be heirs with them, who have offered their all in sacrifice, and by this means obtain faith in God and favor with him so as to obtain eternal life, unless they, in like manner, offer unto him the same sacrifice, and through that offering obtain the knowledge that they are accepted of him. (Joseph Smith, Lectures on Faith 6:5-8)
[Name Withheld], you will notice that I have not even begun to address you questions. All of my answers to your questions will not ultimately help you if your faith is insufficient to act on what you already know and have been led to. I will try to help on these questions but my point is being established that until you do your part, it won't make any difference on the outcome. Faith without works is dead. Works without faith is dead also.
Alma asks us to experiment on the word as if it were a seed. If we fertilize that seed with doubt, it won't grow. If we feed it with prayers of faith, it will grow. If we tell God what our conclusions are, and then ask if it is right, then He will answer. We can't just ask Him, we have to study it out, come to a conclusion, and then ask. [Name Withheld], you know all these things.
Faith has to replace fear. Fear kills faith and action. Satan loves it when that happens. Satan loves it when you size up how much you may lose if you follow the truth and he tells you that it is not worth it. "The prudent man would never risk like that." "Carnal security is what you need to stick with, like the rest of us LDS people." etc..etc..
Now, on to your questions:
7/27/96 Questions:
1 - What does genuine repentance require? I know the LDS doctrine and the checklist -- after what I saw it seems there is more involved, especially when it comes to the higher Temple ordinances.
Repentance means change; changing one's course. It also means 'return'; to return to the Lord and His ways. You will never get to the higher ordinances on earth or Heaven unless you accept the fact that your current course is wrong. You must repent of such folly and blindness and 'return' to the Lord's way of salvation and exaltation, put on the yoke of Christ, and carry the cross. No Zion = no deliverance. Therefore you must repent of Babylon's ways and come and help shoulder the building up of Zion and truly magnify your priesthood.
2- Who do we pray to? I understand (at least on the surface) the Adam /God doctrine. What difference does it make if pray to "Father Adam" or "Heavenly Father"?
You are praying to Adam whether you call Him 'Heavenly Father' or not. Once knowing that Adam is your Father in Heaven, then you will have no fear or trepidation in addressing him. The difference is huge once you have a testimony that your father in Heaven has lived on this same earth like you. It makes all the difference in the world to me to know that my Father has gone through much of what I am going through. It makes Him seem more palpable and closer to me and that I also can come to where He is if I will but follow the path that gets me there. He is Adam, not some nebulous Father with no name of identity. His history is close to ours, we are his spirit and body children. This makes all the difference in the world to actually know the identity of your Father and God. It truly is a family affair and a precious truth that has been repudiated and cast off by the Lattter-day saints. They truly don't know who they pray to; just as blind as the Greeks and Romans that Paul referred to when he told them that he knew who their unknown God was. The LDS are also praying to an unknown God. They don't know Him at all. This knowledge of Adam as our Father brings the eternal plan of progression into absolute focus for me.
3 - Why did the LDS change the ordinances especially the endowment? Why were the higher ordinances eliminated? Most mainstream LDS that I know have no idea about the higher ordinances.
The ordinances were changed because Satan, the evil one, influenced the changes. He does everything in his power to get the children of men to shut the ladder or stairway to exaltation, thereby damning the progress of God's children. What better way than to get those who are stewards over such things to lose focus on their importance and begin to remove and discard them in the name of 'enlightenment' or even 'revelation'. That is why Christ said this: " But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in." (Matt. 23:10 JST) In essence, Christ foresaw that men would shut up the kingdom of Heaven against men. The ordinance and priesthood changes brought about by the LDS in the last century and more is among the most damning things to the Kingdom of God than could ever be perpetrated! [Name Withheld], do you believe that the LDS will exalt you through the ordinances now in place? Their actions and rebellions are a BLASPHEMY TO GOD! THESE ACTIONS ARE THE SPARK THAT BRINGS ON THEIR IMPENDING DESTRUCTION.
4 - Early in the Models Jim Harmston talked about the "awake and arise" sensation and doing what God requires. What does He require?
TO AWAKE AND ARISE. PERIOD. Isaiah talks about Zion putting on her beautiful garments. This means that Zion must have all the ordinances in place and be living the laws. These laws and ordinances constitute 'beautiful garments'. When Jim or the Lord say 'awake and arise' it is ALWAYS directed at that small remnant who will accomplish these things in the last days. Historically, it has always been a small remnant that accomplished the work in spite of the apostasy of the rest.
5 - What did certain spirit children do in the pre-existence to merit the denial of the PH?
The 'pre-existence' [Name Withheld], was merely other probations leading up to this earth. With that in mind, read section 121 and see how one violates the priesthood. I believe that murder and abortion also qualify one for a curse to the priesthood in future probations. These are delineations and judgments that are placed on the children of men as part of a cause and effect religion in the eternities. In other words, we find ourselves where we are in life largely upon merit and placement by fore-ordination. Your question is incorrect if you assume that actions of Spirit children means that they were only spirits. They were on many earths and were rightfully denied priesthood because of actions and deeds on mortal earths like this one. That's eternal progression, or digression, depending on your fruits. It's a ladder that you can either go up or down on.
6 - What documentation is there of the 1970s threat to the LDS Church of loosing tax exempt status and the link to the 1978 Official Declaration-2?
May I ask why this is so crucial to your understanding or belief about blacks and the priesthood? All this demonstrates is that the LDS Church was pressured from within and without to change their policy on the blacks and they succumbed to it. In my mind it didn't matter what the pressures were, it was the fact that they changed it at all. Ogden Kraut's book, Segregation of Israel has pretty good documentation of all the secular pressures and events that surrounded that timeframe. Bottom line is that the LDS leaders feared man and governments more than God.
7 - Is there documentation of LDS Patriarchs inability to declare lineage with certain races?
Not on paper. At least that I know of. [Name Withheld], what lineage would you give someone who is not of the House of Israel? You can see their dilemma.
8 - Do you have the documentation to Le Grand Richards statement, "We just decided to do it"? (Referring to the 1978 "revelation")
Yes. Interview by Wesley Walters and Chris Vlachos on August 16,1978. COB.
Walters: On this revelation, of the priesthood to the Negro, I've heard all kinds of stories: I've heard that Christ appeared to the apostles; I've heard that Joseph Smith appeared; and then I heard another story that Spencer Kimball had had a concern about this for some time, and simply shared it with the apostles, and they decided that this was the right time to move in that direction. Are any of those stories true, or are they all?
Richards: Well, the last one is pretty true, and I might tell you what provoked it in a way. Down in Brazil, there is so much Negro blood in the population there that it is hard to get leaders that don't have negro blood in them. We just built a temple down there. It's going to be dedicated in October. All those people with Negro blood in them have been raising money to build that temple. If we don't change, then they can't even use it. Well, Brother Kimball worried about it, and he prayed a lot about it. He asked each one of us of the twelve if we would pray--and we did--that the Lord would give him the inspiration to know what the will of the Lord was. Then he invited each one of us in his office--individually, because you know when you are in a group, you can't always express everything that's in your heart. You're part of the group, see--so he interviewed each one of us, personally. to see how we felt about it, and he asked us to pray about it. Then he asked each one of us to hand in all the references we had, for, or against that proposal. See, he was thinking favorably toward giving the colored people the priesthood. Then we had a meeting where we meet every week in the temple, and we discussed it as a group circle. and then held another prayer circle after the close of that meeting, and he (President Kimball) lead in the prayer; praying that the Lord would give us the inspiration that we needed to do the thing that would be pleasing to Him and for the blessing of His children.
And then the next thursday--we meet every thursday--the presidency came with this little document written out to make the announcement--to see how we'd feel about it--and present it in written form. Well, some of the members of the Twelve suggested a few changes in the announcement, and then in our meeting there we all voted in favor of it--the Twelve and the first Presidency. One member of the Twelve, Mark Peterson, was down in South America, but Brother Benson, our president, had arranged to know where he could be reached by phone, and right while we were in that meeting in the temple, Brother Kimball talked with Brother Peterson, and read him the article, and he (Peterson) approved of it.
Walters: There wasn't a special document as a "revelation", that he had wrote down?
Richards: We discussed it in our meeting. What else should we say besides that announcement? And we decided that that was sufficient; that no more needed to be said.
[Name Withheld], there is more of the interview that is most interesting, but that gives you some first-hand reality as to what occured.
9 - What does women exercising the Priesthood mean? Do you have a citation for this?
Women receive the same keys of the priesthood that you do when they receive their endowment. They are to be Queens and PRIESTESSES to their husbands. In the early days of the Church this was well understood. My own women ancestors participated in anointing and blessing the sick with their husbands ALL THE TIME. It wasn't even questioned that those endowed women didn't have priesthood keys, they did have keys. Women's priesthood is not to preside or conduct the affairs of the Church or outward things. They use it within the confines of their stewardship, which is their family or in conjunction with their husband. When the husband isn't present, that wife can anoint and bless her children when needed. Even when the husband is there, she can participate in those ordinances, because they do fall within her stewardship. This was actual and factual reality in the early days of the church, up until around the turn of the century when it began to be swept under the carpet, as with may other truths that have come to extinction among the LDS.
10 - What is the baptism of fire? Is it necessary prior to receiving the higher ordinances of the temple?
Baptism of fire is a true rebirth experience in the Spirit. It is the testimony of the Spirit that tells one that God has accepted them. Just receiving the ordinance of water baptism is not the same as the baptism of fire; that may come many years after the actual baptism and it is a very distinct and personal event for each person. It seems that it is requisite to receiving higher ordinances but usually no one even gets close to the higher ordinances unless they have been tried in the furnace of affliction and tribulation and trial beforehand. That's why much of these experiences will never happen to a person until they have sacrificed and gathered and gone through the pre-requisite testing of soul and mettle that qualifies one for such a confirmation. For after much tribulation cometh the blessings, section 82 says.
11 - Why is rebaptism necessary? Doesn't the sacrament accomplish the same thing?
Because it is not a one time ordinance. The sacrament is wholly a different ordinance that the LDS have mixed up into meaning that it has to do with re-covenanting their baptismal vows. Wrong. Rebaptism was done at many different junctures of a person's life. New marriage, repentance of a bad sin, entering a new commitment, going through the endowment, baptism for health,new calling, etc.. The clarity of this is lost to the LDS today.
12 - What does the TLC sacrament use as the symbol of the blood?
Unfermented or fermented grape juice, wichever is available, from our own make, as instructed in D&C. Water is nowhere to be found as any part of the sacrament but it is indicative of how the LDS have 'watered down' the doctrines.
13 - Holy Ghost Witness -- what does Jim mean when he talks about warm fuzzies?
Emotions that are confused as being witnesses of the Holy Ghost. Most LDS witnesses are emotions evoked and not witnesses. The keys of understanding the difference between the two are singular to the way each individual receives and separates the two.
14 - With respect to the Covenant of Sacrifice, what does it mean to sustain and defend the Kingdom?
Just what it says in the endowment covenant of Sacrifice: that you would even give up your life in sustaining and defending the K.o.G.. That everything of a temporal nature you would sacrifice to build up and sustain the Kingdom. That is what you are now being asked to do, [Name Withheld].
7/28/96 Questions
1 - As Jim was sharing his testimony of the restoration of the Holy Apostleship I was expecting a spiritual confirmation . There was none. What does that mean?
You're expecting that the witness is going to be given at every turn. It does not work that way. As to the Apostleship, you testified to me that you knew by the witness of the Holy Ghost that I was an Apostle. [Name Withheld], I received my authority and Apostleship from Jim Harmston, the only one on the earth that held those keys, as he received them from the four Angels. If I have it, then I received it from Jim Harmston, who also has it, and had it before I did.
2 - As Jim bore testimony of the pending last days destructions, the need to gather, and to do HIS will, the Holy Spirit bore solemn witness of these truths. Now I'm really confused........
Like I said above, the witness is given according to what the Holy Order wants to give and also if you are attentive to the Spirit at the time. BTW, the above witness you received it verily true.
3 - Jim called on several people to stand and do the work. He looked at me and passed over me. Why? Did he receive some revelation about me that says I am not one of the elect?
Maybe he assumed that you were already heeding the call and did not feel to address you specifically. If you remember from section 4, all those who have desires to serve God are called to the work. That does in no way exclude you, [Name Withheld]. I think you are battling with your own fears on this question. God knows you and your strengths; it is you that needs to awaken to your duty, you have already been called, I keep telling you that.
4 - How does one become a son of perdition? According to mainstream LDS doctrine, it is nearly impossible to fall to this position. My crude understanding of the Models, indicates it is not as impossible as it seems, with the higher ordinances. Help?
It is broader than LDS theology, but not germain to our current discussion. Move on.
5 - Does the doctrine of multiple mortal probations mean that this may not have been my first time here and I'm back because I didn't get it right the first time?
Who Knows? But my feeling is that if you have come this close to the work of Zion in the last days, then you are here by good works, not punishment. God does not invite to Zion those who He is punishing. You wouldn't even be close to where you are now if you did some big screwup. The reverse should be your real fearful question: What happens if you reject the call to duty in this probation? That is a far more pertinent and timely question to ask.
Other Comments:
Today, I was teaching about "testimony" in my Elders Quorum. The spirit was very strong as I bore witness of the divine mission of Jesus Christ, the reality of Heavenly Father, and the mission of Joseph Smith. As we discussed the purpose of personal revelation, one of the members of the Quorum said, "thats' why we have Prophets, to guide us in such decisions......." I was dumbfounded......How can so many assume with such impugnity that they can solely rely on the testimony of the Brethren?
Well, you will only see more of this sort of blindness and doctrinal-spiritual stupidity from the members who languish in darkness. [Name Withheld], that darkness has been brought on by the very LDS leaders that lead that Church. Even they, the leaders, are saying the most ridiculous and spritually blind things; it is happening even more as the spirit rockets away from the LDS and their apostasy. Hopefully, you will see it in clarity the way it truly is, [Name Withheld]. The LDS Church is never going to build Zion, they have already got a big stake in the success of Babylon, the opposite kingdom. Everything that was pure and Holy has been discarded and rejected, and it is destruction and collapse that awaits that institution of rebellion. Mark my words, for they are true.
What is also true is that God is doing His great and marvelous work among a remnant of sons and daughters who will rise up out of the apostate filth and blindness around them and who will put on the full armor of Christ and Establish Zion in the last days. That is my duty. That is your duty. You have your agency to choose, as always. One choice is death, the other is life eternal. Enjoy if you can this interesting crossroads that all of the Elect face at one moment in time. Here you are, [Name Withheld]. This is your moment. Forward or backward?
May God bless you with a witness of truth and a DESIRE to do His will regardless of the cost. I, like Nephi, can speak no plainer words than these to you. Find out His will and follow it. (Clue: It's already been shown to you.)
Sincerely, as a witness for Christ and His Kingdom,
Jeff Hanks