January 29th, 2009

Watchmen on the Tower and a Sleeping People


photo credit: noamgalai

In the 101st section of Doctrine and Covenants, the Lord gives a parable about watchmen on the tower in His vineyard. The various watchmen were commanded to build a tower upon which one watchman could stand and warn the others of approaching enemies. But the construction project was started during a time of peace, and slothful servants questioned the need of such a tower when all was well in Zion.

The tower was not built, and the enemy invaded. In essence, the Saints were not prepared to observe and prepare for the threats around them because of their disobedience, and thus suffered an incursion from the enemy.

What good does a watchman do, though, if those around him do not pay heed to his warnings and react accordingly? With the watchman placed upon the tower, do his alarms make a difference if the watchmen around the vineyard are too distracted with other enticing activities?

36 years ago, then-Elder Benson spoke of this parable and its implications:

These warnings were given 140 years ago. The fulfillment is now. We are living witnesses, unless we are blinded by our own complacency and the craftiness of evil men.

As watchmen on the tower of Zion, it is our obligation and right as leaders to speak out against current evils–evils that strike at the very foundation of all we hold dear as the true church of Christ and as members of Christian nations. (Ezra Taft Benson, Watchman, Warn the Wicked)

While the watchman does his job to sound a warning cry, the watchmen slumber. Whether through complacency or the craftiness of evil men, the watchmen shirk their responsibility and cede their ground to the enemy. Elder Benson also commented:

Freedom can be killed by neglect as well as by direct attack.

Too long have too many Americans, and people of the free world generally, stood by as silent accessories to the crimes of assault against freedom assault against basic economic and spiritual principles and traditions that have made nations strong.

Elder Mark E. Peterson noted that this parable of the watchman and the tower is one of prevention—the Lord has given us a mechanism through which we can be warned of danger. But what does that mechanism profit us if we refuse to take heed?

Every individual who has heard the watchman’s cry is implicitly obligated to warn his neighbor—his family, his friends, his physical neighbors, and any and all within his sphere of influence. News only spreads if we actively pass the message on; if we refuse to do so, we are held accountable for those who were left uninformed.

Elder H. Ross Workman has observed three reasons why the watchmen failed to build the tower in this parable:

  1. “First, the servants began to question. They felt to exercise their own judgment upon the instruction given by their master. ‘What need hath my lord of this tower, seeing this is a time of peace?’ they said (D&C 101:48). They questioned first in their own minds and then planted questions in the minds of others. Questioning came first.”
  2. “Second, they began to rationalize and excuse themselves from doing what they had been instructed to do. They said: ‘Might not this money be given to the exchangers? For there is no need of these things’ (D&C 101:49). Thus, they made an excuse for disobedience.”
  3. “The third step inevitably follows: slothfulness in following the commandment of the Master. The parable says, ‘They became very slothful, and they hearkened not unto the commandments of their lord’ (D&C 101:50). Thus, the stage was set for disaster.”

For these and other reasons, the watchmen failed to fulfill their duty. The vineyard was left prone to attack and total destruction because those who should have been passing on the watchman’s message from the tower did not do so.

Now, a word of application. Anybody who has watched the slightest bit of news in the past year has no doubt caught wind of the despotic drivel, wrapped up in legislative prose, spewing forth from Washington. The Constitution, esteemed as lightly as one-ply toilet paper, is irrelevant in current policy-making. Sycophantic senators and reprehensible “representatives” have let liberty languish and are mortgaging our current house-of-cards economy on the backs of our not-yet-born posterity. Our modern watchmen on the tower have seen their counsel fall on deaf ears and come under attack from the enemy. The watchmen of our time are snoring loudly in a media-induced slumber of ignorance, entertainment, and comprehensive stimuli.

Allow me to become a bit more direct. Where is the public outcry and revolt over this grand theft and blatant disregard for the Constitution these people swore to uphold? Lee Iacocca said it better than I:

Am I the only guy in this country who’s fed up with what’s happening? Where the hell is our outrage? We should be screaming bloody murder. We’ve got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state right over a cliff, we’ve got corporate gangsters stealing us blind, and we can’t even clean up after a hurricane much less build a hybrid car. But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their heads when the politicians say, “Stay the course.” Stay the course? You’ve got to be kidding. This is America, not the damned Titanic. I’ll give you a sound bite: Throw the bums out! You might think I’m getting senile, that I’ve gone off my rocker, and maybe I have. But someone has to speak up. I hardly recognize this country anymore. The President of the United States is given a free pass to ignore the Constitution, tap our phones, and lead us to war on a pack of lies. Congress responds to record deficits by passing a huge tax cut for the wealthy (thanks, but I don’t need it). The most famous business leaders are not the innovators but the guys in handcuffs. While we’re fiddling in Iraq, the Middle East is burning and nobody seems to know what to do. And the press is waving pom-poms instead of asking hard questions. That’s not the promise of America my parents and yours traveled across the ocean for.

I’ve had enough. How about you? I’ll go a step further. You can’t call yourself a patriot if you’re not outraged. This is a fight I’m ready and willing to have. My friends tell me to calm down. They say, “Lee, you’re eighty-two years old. Leave the rage to the young people.” I’d love to, as soon as I can pry them away from their iPods for five seconds and get them to pay attention. I’m going to speak up because it’s my patriotic duty. I think people will listen to me. They say I have a reputation as a straight shooter. So I’ll tell you how I see it, and it’s not pretty, but at least it’s real. I’m hoping to strike a nerve in those young folks who say they don’t vote because they don’t trust politicians to represent their interests. Hey, America, wake up. These guys work for us. Who Are These Guys, Anyway? Why are we in this mess? How did we end up with this crowd in Washington? Well, we voted for them, or at least some of us did. But I’ll tell you what we didn’t do. We didn’t agree to suspend the Constitution. We didn’t agree to stop asking questions or demanding answers. Some of us are sick and tired of people who call free speech treason. Where I come from that’s a dictatorship, not a democracy. And don’t tell me it’s all the fault of right-wing Republicans or liberal Democrats. That’s an intellectually lazy argument, and it’s part of the reason we’re in this stew. We’re not just a nation of factions. We’re a people. We share common principles and ideals. And we rise and fall together.

In numerous instances, the scriptures speak of a slumbering people, bound down with chains and unable to easily rise from their sleep. The prophets, through persuasion, have urged them to wake up. Personally, I’m losing patience.

I fear that short of some divine and completely undeserved act of mercy, America will get what she deserves.

33 Responses to “Watchmen on the Tower and a Sleeping People”

  1. Phil801
    January 29, 2009 at 3:24 pm #

    Well put Connor. I’m so mad about our politicians right now! They have gone rogue on us, completely ignoring their constituents and doing whatever they deem to have the least political impact.

    Well, enough is enough. I’m to the point that I intend to be crying out about this every day. I don’t know how to wake the sleeping masses, the sheep who continue to just do what is comfortable to them, ignoring everything going on around them as long as they have their beer and television. I’ve got some ideas of what to do in order to do my part in spreading a warning and attempting to awaken others.

    I started last night by having my final straw broken – the passing of the “stimulus bill” and responded by blogging an outcry and call to action here.

    There isn’t much that little ole me can do to try to motive 300 million plus people, it seems like a futile task. Maybe if enough of us cry out for people to wake up we can begin to stir the great sleeping giant that this Country once was.

  2. rmwarnick
    January 29, 2009 at 3:50 pm #

    Well, it’s too late now to impeach Bush and Cheney for shredding the Constitution. However, Chairman John Conyers of the House Judiciary Committee has proposed a commission to investigate the Bush administration’s crimes. I’m sure you’ll want to support the National Commission on Presidential War Powers and Civil Liberties.

    Also, be sure to read the Conyers report that offers makes 47 recommendations “designed to restore the traditional checks and balances of our constitutional system.”

  3. Kelly W.
    January 29, 2009 at 3:51 pm #

    We love to bear testimony that we know the B of M is true. We say with proudness that the B of M calls this a land of promise. We take pride that USA is so great that no other country will come to get us because of this promise.

    But, the promise works both ways. It says our promised land will be protected IF we serve God. But if we DON’T serve God, he will allow us to be destroyed. *Wow, could the B of M be true that our great nation could be destroyed because the people are no longer serving God?* Oh, heck no, all is well in Zion. Our country is too strong for that.

    The B of M teaches us about that Pride Cycle. We can draw that circle on a piece of paper and label the steps around that circle. We’ve probably seen that done in SS or Seminary, and perhaps we’ve even done it ourselves as we teach the youth on a blackboard. But, do we stop to realize that in labeling those steps we see that the step right before the bottom is an economic collapse?

    Samuel the Lamanite was one of those watchmen. He stood on the wall to tell them their great city would be destroyed if they didn’t repent. The people scoffed, saying: What? Our great city? No way!

    Samuel told them their riches would become slippery. They would hide up their riches, but would not be able to find them the next day.

    Heck, I have buried up some of my riches in a 401k, and the next day I checked and couldn’t find them anymore.

    Are we Saints smart enough to realize we are at the bottom of the pride cycle? I think we are asleep to that fact.

    If we use the template of the Pride Cycle given to us in the B of M, we can chart where we are currently at in 2009. The cycle always goes back up after a humbling period and a returning to serving God.

    Most of the LDS I have talked to are not humble enough yet – our country is too great for them to realize they are walking in a slumber!

    They are undoubtedly still listening to the TV. John McCain proudly and adamantely proclaimed “the fundamentals of our economy are strong.” Obama claims with an infusion of money, we can turn the economic crisis around. The TV prophets surely have the answers the Lord’s prophets don’t.

    We need to awake to our awful situation.

  4. David
    January 29, 2009 at 4:01 pm #

    Phil801,

    I’m not sure our politicians have gone rogue on us. Most of “us” have fallen asleep at the wheel, and some are even clamoring for the politicians to do exactly what they are doing (or worse). The problem is much more widespread than those who hold elective office.

    Connor,

    In some ways I think that getting what our nation deserves right now would be an act of divine mercy (even thought it would be very painful).

  5. Connor
    January 29, 2009 at 4:06 pm #

    In some ways I think that getting what our nation deserves right now would be an act of divine mercy (even thought it would be very painful).

    I completely agree. America needs redemption, and propping up corrupt and incompetent institutions and individuals is only increasing the pain. America must needs be chastened so that its people will turn to the Lord, understand the scriptures, and pay attention to the watchman on the tower.

    In the scriptures, the Lord says on a few occasions that he imposes a punishment or restrictive requirement “for [the individual’s] sake”, which I interpret to mean that it is ultimately in their interest that they go through a difficult time to learn needed lessons and gain strength.

    Americans has enjoyed easy lives for far too long. They’ve become fat, dumb, and sleepy.

    What I’m left to wonder is, how bad does it have to get in order to truly wake them up?

  6. Kathryn Skaggs
    January 29, 2009 at 4:24 pm #

    Excellent use of the scriptures to parallel our current condition. As I was reading your post, I could not help but think of the scriptural reference to “My sheep hear my voice… ”

    Quite the test, eh?

    tDMg
    Kathryn Skaggs

  7. Carborendum
    January 29, 2009 at 4:56 pm #

    We’ve already gone through the cycle many times in America. We are now heading into a period similar to Mormon where, they don’t come back up the cycle. People are not going to wake up.

    Two households in my extended family are very righteous individuals who listen intently to the Prophet. They don’t hear the same things we on this blog tend to hear. It makes me wonder some times if we’re interpreting things correctly.

    But I see things like this stimulus bill where they use the crisis of the economy to pass this huge bill loaded with 88% pork and 12% stimulus. It makes me wonder how much they’re listening.

    Well, they are more ahead on their year’s supply than I am. So, maybe they’re more prepared than I am.

    I hope we are still riding the cycle. But I fear we are reaching the end of the Book. If this is the test, I must not be one of his sheep. Because I just don’t know.

    It’s frustrating, isn’t it?

  8. Mrs. B. Roth
    January 29, 2009 at 5:47 pm #

    I often appreciate your analysis, whether I agree or not, but you never seem to suggest what we can do. I write to my reps, but it seems useless. They make up the laws, they argue and vote them, I am forced to go along, what use is the voting process, it’s too slow – they do too much damage and never seem to face any consequences. How to we fix it or prepare ourselves?

  9. Marc
    January 29, 2009 at 6:00 pm #

    Its way worse than politicians going rogue. A secret combine has America in a death grip.

  10. Phil801
    January 29, 2009 at 6:06 pm #

    @David
    I completely agree with you that WE are the problem and that it is OUR fault. I still hold that they have gone rogue, but it’s like a dog who isn’t trained to obey it’s master. They haven’t been slapped down and so are convinced that they can do whatever they want. It is completely our fault though. I address this in the blog post I referred to in comment #1.

    @Mrs. B. Roth
    It’s difficult to come up with something useful that can be done. I’ve tried and all I can come up with is to harass them and to vote them out. I don’t think there is a quick fix for this, if there is one at all. We’ve given up our country through our sloth and as David says to Connor above, we’re getting what we deserve.

  11. Connor
    January 29, 2009 at 8:05 pm #

    I often appreciate your analysis, whether I agree or not, but you never seem to suggest what we can do. … How to we fix it or prepare ourselves?

    I usually stop short of giving people direction as to what I think is best. My aim here is to find agreement on common principles and an understanding of what needs to be fixed. Especially in the context of this specific issue, I think there are any number of things that we as individuals and Latter-day Saints can do to fulfill our duty. A few examples:

    • Write your congresscritters.
    • Write a letter to the editor. Or two or three.
    • Read and study to ensure you know the principles and issues at hand.
    • Run for office.
    • Organize a protest.
    • Start up an activist group. Or join one of the many already out there.
    • Create a website and write about an important issue.
    • Start a petition.
    • Attend relevant meetings, such as city council and committee meetings, political party meetings, legislative committee hearings, etc.

    There are plenty of things to due. If we’re truly proactive and willing to warn our neighbor, we can be led by the Spirit to figure out what works best for us and what the Lord wants us to work on. I can’t suggest to you specifics because you may have some talent or ability of which I am unaware, and which you can capitalize upon to move the work of liberty forward. To each his own.

  12. Reach Upward
    January 29, 2009 at 8:26 pm #

    I find the quoting of Mr. Iacocca a little ironic, especially if you read the entire book from which this quote is taken. He is essentially calling for a big government approach.

    Please remember that this is the guy that engineered the first Chrysler bailout with taxpayer funds. He did a very good job of personal PR and making a good name for himself as a guy that can get the job done when the going gets rough. But he set Chrysler up for a bigger fall later on, which is what is happening all over with the firms that have recently been bailed out with taxpayer resources (just on a tighter cycle).

    The points Connor draws here are good and valid. I just take umbrage with the Iacocca quote. Iacocca is advocating the opposite of what Connor is proposing. Iacocca wants us to look to government for the answers. His anger is not about bailouts and massive socialist sprawl, but about the poor early federal response to Hurricane Katrina. He wants more corporate welfare; not less.

    I am riled up too. But my irritation is aimed at attitudes like Mr. Iacocca’s.

  13. Connor
    January 29, 2009 at 8:29 pm #

    The points Connor draws here are good and valid. I just take umbrage with the Iacocca quote. Iacocca is advocating the opposite of what Connor is proposing.

    Yeah, perhaps I should have added a disclaimer that I don’t subscribe to Iacocca’s vision for how to fix the mess; I just agree with him about his assessment of the mess itself. 🙂

  14. loquaciousmomma
    January 29, 2009 at 9:59 pm #

    I am so excited to see this being discussed!!!!

    A while ago, I read a report on Shadowstats.com about hyperinflation that had this to say:

    “Extremes in income variance usually are followed by financial panics and economic depressions. U.S. Income variance today is higher than it was coming into 1929, and it is nearly double that of any other “advanced” economy.”

    In another report he clarifies:

    Income variance, also known as dispersion, measures the distribution of household income from very low levels to extremely high levels. The more income is distributed in the extreme ranges, the higher is income dispersion; the more income is distributed in the middle income brackets, the lower is the income dispersion. Extremely high levels of income dispersion have tended to precede great economic and financial catastrophes. Those events, in turn, have tended to redistribute income towards the middle, in something of a self-correcting cycle.

    I immediately thought of the pride cycle. The Lord’s way of living in a community is to have “all things in common”, so large dispersions of income are a symptom of a people moving away from the Lord’s way, and toward the “great and spacious building” mentality.

    It was fascinating to me to see the pride cycle spelled out in economic terms, and the person writing about it didn’t even realize he was doing it!

    Now, I have battled this subject in my mind for a while. I was fired up for some sort of a political solution to our troubles here in the US. I wanted to do what Phil is doing, and in fact did start a blog.

    I think I found the best way to do something productive, however. It was in Alma Chapter 4. The Nephites had devolved into a state similar to ours of today, the income disparity was pretty wide, and the true believers were persecuted, along with the poor.

    Alma’s response as Chief Judge wasn’t to use his bully pulpit to effect change, but to resign his seat and preach the gospel full time. I think that is one of the most important things we can do today. It won’t be a quick fix, but the more people who understand the true nature of our Constitution, and have the gift of the Holy Ghost, the better will be our chance to turn things around. It was the elders of this church, after all , who are to save the country from its threatened destruction.

    Obviously, many of the members of the church seem to be oblivious to the severity of our problems. But they are in a better state if they have at least obeyed the commandment to prepare, than someone who is not a member of the church and oblivious.

    I like the Ron Paul Campaign for Liberty event scheduled for Friday January 30. They want us to call at least one talk show and talk about the principles of freedom. Since people are being influenced so heavily by media, why not use it to our advantage?

    I think a combination of being spiritually focused and spreading the gospel, in addition to getting our message out in whatever means we have available to us will make a world of difference.

    Of course the most important thing we can do is to pray incessantly that people will awaken and together we can save this thing before it is too late!

  15. Marc
    January 30, 2009 at 9:10 am #

    Loqua, Nice insights, very nice! Very thought provoking.

  16. Carborendum
    January 30, 2009 at 1:06 pm #

    When in high school, an anit-mormon “friend” almost daily gave me grief for being a Mormon. One accusation he had was “C’mon! you don’t need to be divided up into wards and grouped into congregations . . . God can keep track.”

    My response was that God doesn’t NEED to do anything. He chooses to do certain things because it is efficient, kills more than one bird with one stone . . .”

    I’m now seeing how important the organization of the Church is. How effective were we in giving aid the the Katrina victims? How effective are we in numerous humanitarian efforts after disasters around the world?

    Now, the question arises: How efficient and effective will the organization of the Church be when the world collapses?

    I certainly see some divine foresight in keeping records so that we all might be kept and preserved and nourished by the good word of God.

    Prevention is worth a pound of cure. But when people fail to listen to the watchmen, it is comforting to know the organization can be mobilized to pick up the pieces.

    I’m working on my ham radio license because of the recent push the Church is making for that. It reminded me of the end of Terminator 3. After all the bombs went off, it was ham radio that was being used for communication.

    Not a prediction. Just interesting.

  17. Kelly W.
    January 30, 2009 at 6:05 pm #

    I just read an article by Chuck Baldwin (whom I voted for for president last November). He starts out by saying we are currently asleep as Americans and we need to wake up and notice how we are quickly entering the NWO.

    http://www.newswithviews.com/baldwin/baldwin488.htm

    Corresponds closely to Connor’s post here.

  18. Alex
    January 30, 2009 at 9:45 pm #

    Great picture by Noam Galai!

  19. Clumpy
    January 30, 2009 at 11:24 pm #

    Hmm. . . I don’t think I’ve just congratulated you on a post for awhile, so I’d like to do so.

    The Iacocca quote was interesting, and much of it was very right. Like Marx, he is right at least about the problem if not the solution.

  20. James Raider
    January 31, 2009 at 12:31 am #

    While this continues to happen …. http://pacificgatepost.blogspot.com/2009/01/should-bailout-beneficiaries-be.html

    and the Obama / Pelosi led government implement a fix heading for disaster, there are significant things that should be discussed as possible shifts to “right” the ship, such as ….
    http://pacificgatepost.blogspot.com/2008/12/revising-government-relationship-to.html

    TAKE BACK CONTROL OF MONEY

    The American economy rests on the back of the American worker and consumer. Taxpayers own the government and currency is only a tool enabling commerce.

    Take charge of it. Get it working for you, not against you.

    Is anything creative being considered by the White House and Congress? Not much.

  21. smoe
    January 31, 2009 at 12:56 am #

    Carb,
    Terminator 3? really?

    You sound like your expecting something pretty terrible in the future. With little wonder, the ‘end times’ predictions (threats) are pretty awful sounding. Also strange.

    “That I may proceed to bring to pass my act, my strange act, and perform my work, my strange work, that men may discern between the righteous and the wicked, saith your God. ” D&C 101:95

    Joseph Smith said this about his Moroni visitation, “…I was again left to ponder on the strangeness of what I had just experienced…” During his several visitations Moroni proclaimed that great judgements were coming upon the earth, famine, war, pestilence. Moroni kept him awake all that night, such that he later fell to the ground the next day unconscious trying to cross a fence. To me it sort of sounds like a type of brainwashing technique to deprive someone of sleep, while repeatedly telling him that he had a work to do.

    Some angel accounts are just so creepy.

    The following is an excerpt of the words of Jim and Michal Ann Goll.
    “On October 6, 1992, at 11:59 p.m:
    I was suddenly awakened by a crash of lightning that brightly illuminated our bedroom. It was the Day of Atonement, the ancient day of sacrifice, salvation, and new beginnings observed by Jews around the world for thousands of years. In the eerie flickering light in our backyard I saw a man standing in our room. He looked strangely at me. I blinked and looked at him again, and he continued to look at me for what seemed like the longest minute of my life. Then I heard the words, “Watch your wife. I’m about to speak to her.” Michal Ann was still asleep when the being spoke to me, but when the clock reached the midnight hour, the manifested appearance seemed to leave the room…the Holy Spirit began to move upon Michal Ann in some rather unusual ways. At one point she felt a hand in the middle of her back exerting great pressure, and she heard herself moaning and groaning as the activity increased. It was so intense that she was afraid to even look at herself in the mirror, thinking she might discover that her hair had turned white or the appearance of her face had been dramatically rearranged. Just as this portion of the intense encounter came to an end, I woke up again. A light was shining over our bedroom dresser. We continued to tremble as the fear of the Lord was ever so strong…”

    I find these things pretty disturbing, along with the ‘end time’ predictions, and all the other gloomy things that people expect to happen from the word of angels. The jewish story wasn’t meant to be negative, but to me its just creepy.

  22. loquaciousmomma
    January 31, 2009 at 11:44 am #

    Smoe, you are comparing two very different things. Joseph Smith’s encounter with the angel was one of instruction. The angel Moroni didn’t do anything strange, Joseph Smith was referring to the strangeness of the whole encounter. How often do we have visits by angels? Clearly a strange occurrence, eh?

    The Jewish story sounds like the work of an imposter, not a true encounter with the Holy Spirit. One of the things that will occur with more frequency in these last days is false spiritual encounters, as Satan tries ever harder to fool people and lead them away from God.

    Joseph Smith was talked to, but the sleepless night, the sheer awe and overwhelming feelings he had to deal with after such an extraordinary experience- left him without strength. Not creepy mind control, just spiritual experiences taxing the limits of this mortal frame.

  23. Carborendum
    January 31, 2009 at 7:55 pm #

    Momma,

    You’re wasting your breath on Smoe. He’s just like Joe. He has a lot of knowledge that prevents him from understanding ANYTHING.

  24. Connor
    January 31, 2009 at 10:33 pm #

    He’s just like Joe.

    Actually, Smoe is Joe. It’s the same person (same IP address), just a different nickname being used. FYI.

  25. Carborendum
    February 1, 2009 at 10:07 am #

    Well, that would explain an awful lot.

  26. Michael L. McKee
    February 2, 2009 at 11:30 am #

    Kelly W.

    Thank you for posting the Chuck Baldwin article from NWV. I too voted for Chuck, and it was one of the most exhilarating feelings I have experienced in my nearly 62 years. In my humble opinion, he truly conducts himself reminiscent of George Washington and the other founders of our Christian nation. I was most fortunate to have met him at the John Birch Society 50th. Anniversary celebration in Appleton, Wisconsin in early October. I also had the great pleasure of having lunch with him in Columbus, Ohio a couple of weeks before the election. I was genuinely impressed with his sincerity and honesty. His understanding of our glorious Constitution of the United States of America and those other grand documents is overwhelmingly impressive. But, most importantly, upon looking into his eyes, I felt a sincere kindred spirit which declared to me that he has an unimpeachable character and I would trust him absolutely to make correct choices notwithstanding our doctrinal differences.

  27. Kelly W.
    February 2, 2009 at 12:12 pm #

    Michael,

    It’s good to see you post here – I haven’t seen you for some time.

    I have a feeling that the thread holding our Constitution snapped with the defeat of Ron Paul and Chuck Baldwin. The Elders and other good people were trying to save our Constitution by upholding patriots like these, but we see that the attempt to save the Constitution through the means of electing good people has failed.

    I fear the writing is now on the wall and etched in stone. The Constitution is now as good as gone, and any attempt to save it will probably be as fruitless as the attempt to elect a Paul or Baldwin.

    I hope I’m wrong, but most people are still asleep as our watchmen cry into deaf ears.

  28. Michael L. McKee
    February 3, 2009 at 10:13 am #

    While I have been casually following Connor’s Conundrums for quite some time, several moths ago I chose to curtail my participation due to my inability to find redeeming value in some of the opposing commentary. I would oftentimes find it necessary to throw political correctness and patience aside in an effort to offer my unsolicited disparaging remarks to those who cannot see and do not hear. It seems things have not changed much since there are still some who would rather debate than prepare. There are yet many who have been philosophically challenged to accept darkness as being light, and of course, vice versa. It is sad to see so many fall victim to the wiles of satanic influence. It is especially disheartening to witness the gradual fall of so many of the Saints who should know better given the many scriptural and prophetic warnings which have preceded their eternal demise. Of course, it is not too late to repent and seek to return to the path of righteousness they once strode.

    I have recently been pondering the wisdom available in the Doctrine and Covenants. I just finished reading Section 38. The following is what I would determine to be wise counsel:

    28 And again, I say unto you that the enemy in the secret chambers seeketh your lives.

    30 I tell you these things because of your prayers; wherefore, treasure up wisdom in your bosoms, lest the wickedness of men reveal these things unto you by their wickedness, in a manner which shall speak in your ears with a voice louder than that which shall shake the earth; but if ye are prepared ye shall not fear.

    31 And that ye might escape the power of the enemy, and be gathered unto me a righteous people, without spot and blameless–

    39 And if ye seek the riches which it is the will of the Father to give unto you, ye shall be the richest of all people, for ye shall have the riches of eternity; and it must needs be that the riches of the earth are mine to give; but beware of pride, lest ye become as the Nephites of old.

    40 And again, I say unto you, I give unto you a commandment, that every man, both elder, priest, teacher, and also member, go to with his might, with the labor of his hands, to prepare and accomplish the things which I have commanded.

    41 And let your preaching be the warning voice, every man to his neighbor, in mildness and in meekness.

    42 And go ye out from the wicked. Save yourselves. Be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord. Even so. Amen.

    While Connor has indicated he is “losing patience,” I have every confidence he will continue to be a valiant servant and will be even more vocal upon his modern-day tower. After all the Elders of Israel know their calling and they too are combining and heeding the call to arms.

  29. Kelly W.
    February 3, 2009 at 10:39 am #

    Michael,

    Your impression of disparaging remarks and debating is well understood. However, I can learn from some of these opposing views. But, sometimes I get absolutely frustrated, like I did with the guy named Chris from Vegas.

  30. Carborendum
    February 3, 2009 at 10:44 am #

    My in-laws recently went to a Church Emergency Preparedness class. They saw a video where Elder Packer said how Pres Hinkley told the 12 that we shall no longer talk about preparedness in General Conference. We’ve been preaching it for 150 years. It is now time for the Lord to preach His own sermon.

  31. Michael L. McKee
    February 3, 2009 at 12:12 pm #

    Having long been an avidly, perhaps even obsessively, prepared member, I have in the past few months come to the stark realization that temporal preparation must relinquish importance to spiritual preparation. I believe that is the reasoning behind what President Hinckley set forth to those in the First Presidency. Unfortunately there will be some who will misinterpret what he has proclaimed. We have reached a time when spiritual preparation will determine our ability to survive those evils which are rapidly coming upon us. It is time to declare our allegiance to Jesus Christ and His Gospel without wavering or seeking to explain or debate away that which should be obvious to those who seek after absolute truth. It is certainly not the time to be distracted by political rhetoric and polished oratory like that which emanates from the mouth of President Obama and his sycophants in the media. The secret combinations are handling him very effectively and many of our brothers and sisters have become mesmerized by his Messiah-like presence. Hopefully, they will open their eyes and unstop their ears and awaken from their fearful stupor in time to fill their lamps.

  32. Kelly W.
    February 4, 2009 at 11:16 am #

    Hey Carb, I’d be very interested to see a video by Packer which states preparedness won’t be talked about in GC anymore. Do you have any kind of reference to that?

    I heard a guy talk in a fireside last year (who was the author of a book about the Book of Revelation) and he said Packer was attending a Stake’s Priesthood Leadership session of a Stake Conference. He opened up the last few minutes to questions from the congregation. One of the questions allegedly was why the GAs don’t talk about food storage from the pulpit anymore. He supposedly responded that we are a world church now, and many members don’t even know where their next meal is coming from and to ask those members to store a year’s supply would be offensive to them.

    The point, I guess is, that our LOCAL leaders know more specifically what local congregations need to do about preparing, and won’t come as a blanket statement over the pulpit.

    But I do know the GAs are trying to prepare us spiritually. I personally think the time of physical preparation is dictated to us through the Spirit. We have not really heeded the past prophets when they talked about preparation and political things like studying the Constitution. Perhaps it is now too late to start mending the Constitution and storing food.

  33. Carborendum
    February 4, 2009 at 3:28 pm #

    Kelly,

    I stated that it was not me who had seen the video. My in-laws said they saw it. I asked my stake president about it. He said that he had just recently gotten information from the first presidency regarding emergency preparedness, so obviously, they’re still talking about it.

    I told my in-laws what my stake pres. said. They clarified and told me that they just won’t be talking about it in GC anymore. But they will still be working other routes.

    I did not see it myself. But my in-laws don’t just make things up. They do misunderstand things sometimes, so I thought it was just rumor when I first heard it. But then they declared that it was a video which was shown in their stake sponsored emergency prep class. They themselves saw the face of Elder Packer on the screen. They themeselves heard these words.

    Yes, I’m finding it difficult to know what to believe anymore regarding this issue.

Leave a Reply

Leave your opinion here. Please be nice. Your Email address will be kept private.