Recently I was cast out from a Facebook group that dubbed itself, “Restoring Joseph Smith Teachings; The Unspoken Truth.” The most shocking thing about this—which I notified them after they demanded me withdraw from the group—was that I belong to a host of other alternative Facebook groups that have never done such a thing.

In all of these online social forums, I have no filter when it comes to speaking my mind.

When I criticize Denver Snuffer, his followers are voracious in rising to a defense, but they never go so far as to withdraw fellowship or entirely cease from having an association with me. When I admitted on another FB group that I conclude Mauricio’s scripture to not be of God, there was no quarrel or offense taken by those studying and believing the “Sealed Book of Mormon” to be an authentic translation of sealed records.

What made the individuals of “The Unspoken Truth” react the way they did? I presented myself as an ardent believer in the prophetic role of Joseph Smith and agreed with their assessment that polygamy is not of God.

I will not attempt to dissect the contradictory beliefs of those in this 200+ group of members—who are professing to restore the teachings of Joseph Smith—because all of their faulty thinking boils down to one thing: they don’t regard the revelations contained in the Doctrine of Covenants as the word of God. They claim they have been tampered with beyond repair; and that all changes made to them have discredited that book of scripture as a verifiable source of doctrine.

Although in times past I have made it a personal mission of mine to provide critiques on what I believe to be damnable heresies, I now begin to recognize the futility of such endeavours. In this article I want to pave another way for truth-seekers to approach those who have been deceived…by articulating the manner of false spirit that surrounds each unique religiosity.

The Spirit of Conspiracy; A Spirit of Superstition

“I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious.” (Acts 17:22)

When I reminded those rejecting the majority of Doctrine and Covenants in, “Restoring the Teachings of Joseph Smith; The Unspoken Truth,” that the Lord told us in Section 42 that the scriptures which were being given would be, “preserved in safety,” this made little to no difference.

Their rejection of the word of God is a result of a never-ending appeal to historical documents that indicate in their minds that Joseph Smith wasn’t able to publish the revelations as they were originally revealed to him.

Their worldview is steeped in conspiracy and superstition, ultimately painting the prophet as one who couldn’t do a single thing right for fifteen years. So the false spirit I perceive within the collective group-think of this Facebook forum is possession through a spirit of conspiracy.

They cannot make sense of Mormonism through the lens of prophecy, through the word of God, so they instead parse through historical records that will simplify their religious conviction that Joseph Smith was a true prophet and that any criticism toward him can be negated by whatever historical tidbit is found supporting their mythos.

The spirit of conspiracy entices them to reject truth and believe in a world that they imagine to exist. They are walking and believing in their own way, after the image of their own god. (D&C 1:16) Rather than believing God to have delivered the Saints over to Satan through the prophet Joseph Smith they instead believe the influence of Satan found in Mormonism is a result of an enormous conspiracy that goes beyond the bounds of reasonable logic.

“And it come to pass, when he heareth the words of this curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace, though I walk in the imagination of mine heart.” (Deuteronomy 29:19)

The peace they have made with Joseph Smith is through the imaginations of their heart; and the curse upon the disobedient people of the “restoration” movement is ignored through appealing to dubious historical information.

Although I do sometimes refer to documents relating to the history of Mormonism, a reliance upon these can quickly diminish the objective of scripture in speaking, “of things as they really are, and of things as they really will be.” (Jacob 4:13)

Here’s a relevant comment I made to someone on my blog: “Extensive research and study is only serving to reverse the effects of indoctrination.”

Extensive research—that goes outside of scripture—should not be used to find the truth, but to make the scriptures more digestible for those, “kept from the truth because they know not where to find it.” (D&C 123:12)

The truth is already before us. It doesn’t matter how many books you read or how many opinions you listen to; or how deeply you’ve studied the Joseph Smith Papers. We don’t need to outline conspiracies to make sense of Joseph Smith. We don’t need to be superstitious of everything and accept only what we wish might be true.

There is a way that seems right but that way does not lead to salvation. (Proverbs 14:12) We need to appeal to scripture and the conspiracies that God has warned us of occurring. The spirit of conspiracy is creating conspiracy where no conspiracy exists; and this results from being superstitious in all things. (Acts 17:22)

The Spirit of Parity; A Perverse Spirit

Joseph Smith said: “Spirits of all kinds have been manifested, in every age, and almost amongst all people. If we go among the pagans, they have their spirits; the Mohammedans, the Jews, the Christians, the Indians—all have their spirits, all have a supernatural agency, and all contend that their spirits are of God.”

Each tribe of people have their own unique spirit that is particular to its religious identity. I would also go so far as to suggest that there is a distinct spirit that attaches all ways of thinking and behaviour.

Homosexuality, for instance, is rooted in what I call…a spirit of parity.

Some men have been found to have a set of chromosomes determined as XXY—instead of the normative male genetic makeup which is mapped over sets of XY chromosomes—and this condition is known as Klinefilter syndrome.

It is the combination of both male and female sets of chromosomes that I suspect to have been the main instigator of the main-stream inception of homosexuality into the modern world—although I continue to concede sexual acts between the same sex were originally introduced as an occultist and Satanic ritual. (Moses 5:51)

Klinefilter syndrome is said to affect the lives of at least one in a thousand men, upward to one in five-hundred. Those carrying both sets of chromosomes for male and female are usually unaware of this. There are sometimes obvious symptoms to indicate the reality of the condition, but often these symptoms are minor and subtle enough that they will never be recognized. Those possessing DNA that can manifest itself through either sex will experience gender-dysphoria, creating a susceptible scenario in which they will drift in their interest to desire sex with women. They are often infertile with little-to-no biological drive to father children.

“The Lord hath mingled a perverse spirit in the midst thereof.” (Isaiah 19:14)

Today, men who claim to be homosexual are usually not suffering from a syndrome. The perverse spirit has seduced men through our modern depraved society—which no longer values the God-endowed characteristics of manhood—to engage in perverse behaviour.

The seemingly more relevant and useful feminine traits—within a modern and “safe” world—now regard masculinity as toxic. It is essentially deemed useless in the eyes of the world to be a chivalrous and brave man who can be relied upon for stability and protection. The spirit of parity has blurred the purpose of the two sexes who are to compliment one another in perfect harmony for the rearing of godly children.

When women rule over men (Isaiah 3:12) we read the narrative of these women: “[They] are haughty, and walk with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making and tinkling with their feet.” (verse 16)

This describes a modern worldly woman. They are haughty, as in they feel superior, an attribute further developed by the way they carry themselves with a stretched forth neck. Their wanton eyes indicate the disposition of a loose sexual morale—or at least, a craving to incite the sexual attention of others. It’s my guess that the noise they make—in these latter-days—as they mince in their walk, is a result of the high-heels commonly worn in most professional workplaces.

So while my heart goes out to those suffering from genetic conditions, I mention it only to showcase how these conditions can further an agenda that seeks to separate the lawful commandment for man and woman to be one flesh.

The spirit of parity—equalizing both sexes so far as to suggest gender is irrelevant—is associated with the spirit of lust…or the spirit of whoredoms, which I will return to. As women depend less on man to provide for them, the more likely is she to instead solely depend on man for sexual gratification; and the more successful a woman becomes in generating money in Babylon, the unlikelihood of her deciding to raise children becomes higher.

As women usually have a stronger skill-set to become more successful than men, the need to have a husband becomes secondary. Yet ungodly men have no qualms with this, for it creates a society of increasingly common sexual promiscuity, and the spirit of parity and lust has made abortion socially acceptable. Men can with regularity engage in sex with multiple partners, with no strings attached; and if they, by accident, impregnate a sexual partner…a worldly woman will no doubt get an abortion—which can be nothing short of murder in the eyes of those who love and fear God.

The spirit of parity doesn’t just breed a widespread practice of homosexuality; it creates a culture of depraved sexual impropriety. It also contributes to the breakdown of the family unit. When women choose to get pregnant without the support of the father—or divorce them due to the man’s comparative inadequacy—the boys who grow up having not experienced a healthy connection to a father will then develop in puberty with a deep longing to bond with males. This blurs their emerging sexuality with a need to fill that gap of development with homosexual feelings and desire.

In closing, I won’t neglect to mention the obvious fact that the issues facing families are not one-sided. Wicked men are as much—if not more—to blame for the problems we have today with the scarcity of functional family units. The men that abuse daughters can be the cause of females having an unhealthy aversion to males. This leads to an inherent lack of trust towards men, and a higher likelihood for them to then embrace same-sex attraction.

Remember that we are not to judge those living abnormal and sinful lifestyles; that parents who teach not their children the gospel, “the sin [will] be upon the heads of the parents.” (D&C 68:25) And if there is one side to these issues, the Lord has in another place specifically singled out the men. “Great things are required at the hand of [the] fathers.” (D&C 29:48)

The Spirit of Illumination; A Spirit of Oaths and Secrecy

I myself have certainly experienced the powers of being illuminated in my thoughts and study. It’s a powerful feeling to know something that only a handful of others are aware of. I have always sought to uncover the mysteries of God, which should be harmless; however, when someone begins to understand a mystery, that feeling can become addictive. It becomes easy to get carried away and begin accepting whatever “mystery” pops into mind.

This spirit can also lead to a sense of pride. Those who study and ponder more deeply than the sheeple of their religious tradition will consider themselves more enlightened and less prone to making mistakes. Religious hypocrites, for instance, are usually the ones who have poured endlessly over the Bible, quick to quote it in sticky situations. Yet their “knowledge” is only fashioned to justify their bad behaviour, which is done effortlessly by taking scriptures out of their original context.

To have a knowledge of something that is not in the common arena of thought will solidify in the mind of that individual that they are “elect” by believing this knowledge to have been given unto them by the power of the Holy Ghost.

There was a time—some six years ago—that I was experiencing visions and writing prophecies in the format of scripture. Yet eventually, I came to the sobering truth that the ordinances of the gospel are what manifests the power of godliness (D&C 84:20) and I had not received the correct ordinance to be having such marvelous experiences.

“This greater priesthood adminstereth the gospel and holdeth the key of the mysteries of the kingdom, even the key of the knowledge of God.” (84:19)

Without the fulness of the priesthood—which was obviously not restored in Nauvoo after being taken away—the keys to the mysteries are not available. The only mysteries we can receive today are the ones already found in scripture, which are hidden nonetheless but can be seen through eyes that are unclouded by a religious bias.

So what to make of my visions? Although it’s just as likely that they were inspired by the devil, I mostly accept them to be a form of self-induced psychosis—but at the time, I literally believed the heavens opened up to me and I saw the nature of eternity. I learned specific details about particular things that had not yet been revealed by true prophets.

When I shared the vision—that I wrote down on paper—with others, they believed it to be an authentic revelation from God. Did they care to measure up my revelations against scripture? Hardly. They were thrilled to get the inside scoop. People want to be illuminated. They want secret knowledge—just as I did when I “parted the heavens” to understand godliness in a way that no one else could.

It is these experiences of being “illuminated”—which come not by way of the Holy Ghost—that make people susceptible to false prophets.

From a previous article of mine, I wrote:

Those that accept a false prophet are a group of individuals who are ready-made, groomed by a distinct worldview that a false spirit has intoxicated them into adopting. The false prophet who encapsulates that particular false spirit will formulate the basis upon which adherents to it can finally live out their dream-religion.

So when people begin to walk after their own way, collecting their own unique set of religious beliefs, the moment someone claims to be a prophet and teaches a similar viewpoint, the heretic has no other conclusion to make than to accept the false prophet as a true messenger. They’re teaching the exact same stuff their god has already been illuminating them with. It vindicates them. When their church, friends, and family told them they were crazy, the false prophet finally proves to them that they’ve been right the whole time…

The false prophet brings them into an inner-circle, into a group of like-minded believers who share the same outlook. This inner-circle leads to secrecy, because they will eventually accept the masses to not yet be ready to hear their truths. Nobody will “get it” even if they do try and share their beliefs.

Secrecy leads to oaths, to secret combinations.

I will not attempt to make sense of the Illuminati-associated organizations of history. It’s mostly a waste of time, because there is no substantial material that is reliable to be drawn on for accurate information. Regardless, secret societies that term themselves as Illuminati do so because the word indicates a claim that they possess a special enlightenment.

Those intoxicated by a spirit of illumination will embrace false doctrine and see no problem in making oaths of secrecy. If you tell a Mormon that making oaths goes against what Jesus warns of in both the New Testament (Matt 5:34) and Book of Mormon (3 Nephi 12:34) they will dismiss it. They are the enlightened ones; their temple is a special case, they’ll say—either out loud or in their minds.

This Illumanti-mindset of Mormonism comes from a sense of superiority over the Christian world. They’re the chosen ones; they can believe whatever they want. When a Christian points out their flawed beliefs by pointing out Biblical passages, they are scoffed at. You don’t know what we know, they grin on the inside.

Another church I ascribe this spirit to would be the Seventh-Day Adventist movement. They believe their higher truth of a Saturday-Sabbath is what determines the true believers of God. And just as Mormonism had Warren Jeffs; the Adventists had Dave Koresh. These “enlightened” traditions are breeding grounds for the easy creations of cult-activity to arise.

And although you might not suspect the Adventists to be doing secret combinations as of yet, once you’ve learned a little about their worldview—and their fanatic conviction that the Catholic church is taking over the world (which is only a small part of the picture)—I wouldn’t be surprised if we sometime soon discover them introducing a massive combination in certain places to enforce laws that mandate Saturday as an official day of no business and work, indoctrinating other churches to go along with it out of practicality.

Ultimately, the spirit of illumination results in pride, believing oneself to always be right; to never consider another opinion or re-think their own. False endowments of “higher truths” seduce the recipient to believe they are doing exactly what God wants. When someone experiences what they perceive to be a divine encounter with God or angels, they will be content in their sinful lifestyles—because they wouldn’t be having these spiritual experiences if God had a problem with them.

This false spirit is extremely dangerous. Although I’ve only mentioned two churches here, I could name countless. Every single cult is rooted within a false sense of illumination. All of the religious hypocrites, and dangerous fanatics, become such because they believe God is speaking something special to them when God is not.

The Spirit of Mourning; A Spirit of Heaviness

On my mission, I met and eventually baptized someone who was raised in the Jehovah’s Witnesses movement. Through maturity, he quickly became disillusioned by the organization, and ultimately religion as a whole.

Without the binding constraints of organized religion, he was able to progress spiritually in ways that regular church-attendees are unable to. One thing he told me—that really caught my attention—was his saying that whenever he stood foot in any church, he could sense a unique spirit attached to the service.

This ability to discern false spirits intrigued me and led me to wonder what kind of spirit he would sense if he entered into an LDS chapel. So when I revisited this individual, after he had attended church with us, I asked him which spirit he perceived within the LDS service.

“The spirit of mourning,” he told me.

Only years later did I recognize the profundity of such an assessment.

Once I understood the LDS members to be a latter-day form of Israel, it gave me reason to equate them as reflecting the same characteristics of the children of Israel who were led out of Egypt.

The spirit of mourning, I one day realized, is related to the practice of shaving oneself. And this practice is found in Israel, yet not by way of the Lord—except in the case of Levitcal priests.

It’s no secret that Mormons are seldom seen sporting facial hair. It’s an unspoken rule (or is it in the handbook?) within leadership positions and a written rule at LDS institutions such as BYU. Missionaries, for instance, are commanded by the church to shave every single day, and are encouraged to continue this habit of regularity when they return home.

In hindsight of Section 13, which might be describing the future LDS church as being the sons of Levi, observe the following: “Take the Levites from among the children of Israel, and cleanse them. And thus shalt thou do unto them, to cleanse them: Sprinkle water of purifying upon them, and let them shave all their flesh, and let them wash their clothes, and so make themselves clean.” (Num 8:5–7)

Are Mormons shaving their beads as did the Levites to make themselves (feel) clean?

Because Mormons in general do not rely wholly on the merits of Jesus Christ, their walk with God is similar to those of Israel who lived a law of carnal commandments with ordinances of no real sanctifying power. The “rule” to shave a beard is eerily similar to the Levite experience. So all of this takes on a whole new meaning when we have the record of the conferral of the Priesthood of Aaron wherein John the Baptist vaguely relates it to a latter-day people who compose the sons of Levi.

But how might this relate to the “spirit of mourning” that permeates the religious tradition we find its adherents crying at church on a weekly basis? A people who assimilate their crying with feeling the spirit?

If we look at ancient history, we can read of the pagan religions—which preceded the Exodus out of Egypt—that popularized the practice of shaving their face as a sign of mourning. These cultural norms pervaded Israel when they departed a paganistic society and were prevalent throughout the Old Testament.

In despair, not wanting to live, Job, “rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped. And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither.” (Job 1:20–21)

The act of renting ones clothes and shaving is a sign of despair; and in the case of Job, relates to suicidal thoughts. It is also interconnected with an unhealthy relationship to the dead.

When “testimonies” are given of Mormon experiences within the temples we often hear stories of being visited by departed family members and/or feeling the spirits of the dead attending those who perform the rituals in behalf of those dead ancestors.

I am open-minded to the possibility of such things (albeit not in the temple) but these cases represent in my mind a people who are not at peace with the promises of salvation and seek a relationship with their deceased loved ones.

This is why God told the children of Israel to not shave for the sake of the dead or cut themselves. (Deut 14:1)

Here is a scriptural example of all of these things taking place:

“There came certain from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria, even fourscore men, having their beards shaven, and their clothes rent, and having cut themselves, with offerings and incense in their hand, to bring them to the house of the Lord. And Ishmael the son of Nethaniah went forth from Mizpah to meet them, weeping all along as he went.” (Jer 41:5–6)

The spirit of mourning that attends an absence of facial hair and renting clothes also relates to the act of cutting oneself. This is why when God told Israel not to shave he also included for them to not cut themselves. These three characteristics come from a culture of paganism. It comes from a false spirit that may have very well been recorded in the gospel of Mark.

“[A man] was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones. But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him. And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not. For he said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit. And he asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many.” (Mark 5:5–9)

If my supposition—the shared supposition I have with a dear friend from my mission—is correct that a “spirit of mourning” attends the LDS-tradition, is it reasonable to surmise that Legion is the culprit in breeding it? Are the mood disorders of anxiety and manic depression the ultimate result of a spirit of mourning gone too far?

After Christ cast out Legion, the man was seen, “in his right mind.” (verse 15)

While this spirit will continue to affect the lives of those in and out of the church, it has especially polluted those raised within an LDS environment—for they will likely have been influenced by it for their entire lives. The spirit of mourning has now grown into something truly horrifying. Self-harm and suicide is becoming more and more prevalent. The statistics are rising.

Yet we are to have faith in knowing God will take care of this. The servants of God, be they who they may, are casting out these evil spirits which compose “Legion”—the name they titled themselves.

Lastly, I want to point out that the man in the tombs crying and cutting himself recognized that Jesus Christ was the Son of God. Even as he worshipped Jesus, he expected the Lord to torment him nonetheless.

He was a believer in God who probably believed that his pain and suffering was a judgment of God.

I believe Legion possesses those who have begun to believe in Christ, to then seduce them into believing God is continuously punishing them for their sins and that Jesus Christ will ultimately not forgive them. They will likely interpret Jeremiah 11:11 and Isaiah 66:4 to relate to them, even as they put forth all their efforts in serving God to the best of what light they have.

I imagine they are those who expect themselves to be resurrected to a lesser glory while their family receives “exaltation” in the celestial kingdom.

In short, they believe they will be judged for their sins and not be held guiltless for following Christ, which is the irrevocable promise that Jesus gave we are to put our trust in. (3 Nephi 27:16)

Legion exists among the Mormons because they incorrectly interpret 2^nd Nephi 25:23 to suggest the exact opposite of what Nephi was saying.

Although we need to feel sorrow for our sins (which is what repentance is) to continuously carry the spirit of mourning would indicate that the experience of redeeming love is not yet being experienced. And the lack of this may ultimately lead to one being possessed by Legion.

The crying that is often associated with feeling the spirit does not represent the fruits of the true Spirit of God. That said, I am not saying that we should never cry—for certainly we are to mourn with those that mourn—but I do worry that our tears may sometimes represent the opposite of hope and faith.

To LDS members, who I hope to read this, please share with all whom you can, the fruits of the Spirit we know to surround the ineffable endowments of love, joy, and peace. And if it is these emotions that bring tears down your eyes, then this is not the spirit of mourning I speak of.

Although I labelled this spirit as the spirit of mourning, the biblical term would actually be, “the spirit of heaviness.”

[From this point forward, this article will only speak of false spirits that are mentioned by name in scripture.]

In closing this segment, I’ll share two passages from Isaiah that pertain to those who fall under the category of this spirit of mourning and heaviness during the last days that precede the Second Coming.

“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.” (61:1–3)

“The Lord hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit. […] For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee.” (54:6-7)

It does appear from scripture that those who grieve and mourn in spirit are those that God will gather to Zion in the last days. And it appears that their spirit of heaviness may originate from the Lord forsaking them during this small moment—just as the Lord forsook the Jews during the hundred few years that preceded the coming of Christ in the New Testament.

My friend who termed the Mormons as a people “of mourning” never did say that this necessarily a spirit of the devil. I think we can look at the passages of Isaiah and the experience with Legion and see a vast difference between the two. Crying isn’t always a bad thing. Paul taught to serve the Lord with humility and with many tears; (Acts 20:19) and Nephi watered his pillow by night. (2 Nephi 33:3) However, if this tradition does not find faith and hope, their spirit of heaviness will overcome them, and they will remain forsaken.

The Spirit of Jealousy

This is an attribute that’s easy to spot, but this series wouldn’t be interesting unless I related it specifically to one of the churches of today’s world.

In what church is the spirit of jealousy the most prevalent?

Instantly, I think of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. I have always believed they are a jealous people. The spirit of bondage is another I could apply to a Jehovah’s Witness, but that essence of being is interconnected to fear; and so I conclude the spirit of jealousy to be the most applicable—because those in bondage to the Watchtower Society do not possess fear. They are confident and proud that they are the chosen witnesses to a true god.

But do they enjoy being witnesses? No; it is a terrible burden for them to carry this identity. So they observe the happy demeanour of Christian churches with spite—and secretly (subconsciously or not) wish they could live a similar way, a life they could freely follow God on their own terms.

But because they have cornered themselves into believing a rigid ideology that leaves no room for change and growth, they are stuck inside of a Groundhog Day-like world…regurgitating the same material fed to them on a weekly and daily basis.

In their Sunday meetings at the Kingdom Hall, an elder will ask a question from a manual; and those in attendance answer the question according to the answer given directly from the (almost the) same manual to which they follow along with. They cannot deter from what the manual is telling them to say. After the question is asked, the members go silent, check the manual, then answer in the exact way that is expected by the elders. If any begin to offer their own opinion, or mention another scripture that is not cited in that particular passage of the manual, they will be shut down or rebuked. I have witnessed this first-hand.

When the sacrament is given—which is attended to only once a year—the entire congregation refrains from partaking. And let me state this to be a fact and not just something I read from an “anti-cult” website. I’ve attended two of their sacrament/“memorial” meetings; and each of these times, not a single individual partook of the bread and wine.

Each person from every row would take the tray, only to quickly hand it over to the next person, who then handed it to the next—and this manner continued forthright until both trays were passed around to every single person.

When the bread and wine is returned to the administrative elders, the bread and wine will remain untouched, even with—as I saw—100+ people in attendance. An elder will closely follow along and watch, ready to take note of any who dare partake.

Only the 144,000 are deemed worthy to receive; and seldom will any declare themselves as such. Worldwide, however, at least ten-thousand will partake of the bread and wine. It is true that the organization believes that only 144,000 will go to heaven, but those with an understanding of their theology are aware that not being members to this set of chosen believers does not negate an eternal happiness; for the earth will be as it originally was, and the witnesses will inherit the earth as a garden of Eden where death will once again be no more. The “144” rule with Christ in the heavens above.

Although the Watchtower has flip-flopped on the doctrines of resurrection, it is accepted that their god will revive the dead and give them bodies again within the paradisaical earth. They have an assurance they will eventually receive immortality, and this assurance keeps them doing all the dreadful things asked of them.

It is expected of all to witness for hours and hours out of each week, and then report details of each and every encounter they make: how many brochures did they hand out? how many books were given? how many lessons did they teach? did they make return visits?

The more you get to know these people, the more you realize how little joy is found throughout this way of existence. I’d have the spirit of jealousy, too—had I been raised in an environment with never-ending demands and no allowance in participating in anything that is deemed—in the Watchtower’s eyes—as worldly.

If their report of witnessing is not impressive, the elders will disapprove and reprimand them for not being valiant in their call to correctly teach the Bible. They believe they have the highest calling; they’re the only ones possessing the truth. Their miserable efforts to please their god is an impossible task.

Do they really want people to join? I suspect not. They enjoy being rejected. When they knock on a door and it’s opened by someone friendly—and the person standing at the door is happy and smiling—they recognize that a life outside their organization is a life that is seemingly much better than their own.

They are deeply jealous, but when these genuinely (for the most part) happy people have no interest in learning about the Bible, it cements the JW belief that one day the witnesses will get to be even happier. They sacrifice their well-being through their conviction that down the road they get to experience a permanent joy. In the meanwhile, they delude themselves into thinking they are the truly happy people of the earth. ‘Cause why wouldn’t they be? They think they’re following Jehovah! How could anybody really be happier than themselves?

So although they might envy a carefree lifestyle, they are resigned to continue their blind devotion to the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society. In their eyes, it has promised them something so much better. This does have an element of truth—the hope we are to have in an eternal salvation—but it’s missing the redeeming joy we can experience in mortality. (Alma 36:21)

My favourite teaching of the Watchtower is that Satan does in fact rule this world. They do have a few correct teachings that stick out from mainstream Christianity. I only wish it were possible for Jehovah’s Witnesses to know that it’s still possible to find peace here (D&C 59:21) even as the powers of evil still rule. There is a preparatory redemption that preludes the one that the Witnesses look forward to.

Every time the Lord has put a Jehovah’s Witness in my path, I have asked them to tell me their favourite scripture. In the 25+ individuals I have spoken to, they have only given me two different scriptures. Sometimes Isaiah 43:10; but if not, it will—without a doubt—be Revelation 21:4, the prophetic time of the Second Coming, where, “God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain.”

This surmises their belief that true joy—that they do not possess and disbelieve any other to be experiencing—cannot be experienced in a Satanic world; that their tears will not be wiped away until the last enemy (death) is defeated. They are resigned to live sad and lonely lives until this time in the future, which they continuously prophesy (always to be let down) to be of a near arrival.

After hearing so many of these individuals share that passage from the Book of Revelation with me, I conclude them to be a people that hold within themselves a deep pain and yet have no hope for their current state of living. I imagine they recognize perfectly well that if they were outside the constraints of their religion, they could live a much more fulfilling life. They are jealous of those who are not caught up in their religion’s fanaticism.

With that said, the real definition of jealousy is an apprehension that something you have will be taken from you. If their foundation was taken away, they would lose all sense of identity and fall to pieces. So the spirit of jealousy following them is rooted in this aspect. They have to scorn the appearance of happiness in others, to believe they’re not really happy, that a life outside of what Jehovah-God demands is superficial. To accept a non-JW to be genuinely happy would take away everything they’ve spent their entire lives devoted to.

But they have zero doubts—as far as they’d ever admit—about the validity of their beliefs. They are willing to carry the heavy burden that the Watchtower has borne upon them, just as the scribes and Pharisees once did upon the Jews. (Matt 23:3-4)

If you encounter a Jehovah’s Witness, I recommend sharing this passage:

“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matt 11:28–30)

I have a great love for those who have been strung into this messy organization. They sacrifice so much in the name of God. I know many of us can help them recognize that their burden is not the one Christ is offering.

When I speak to them, I do not share that I am LDS. (We need these individuals as far away from organized religion as possible.) I simply tell them I am a follower of Christ and I believe every word he said.

Share with them the joys of Christ and how sharing the gospel is the most incredible thing to do. Don’t forget to tell them how important it is to follow all the commandments; (John 14:15) but most of all, share the redeeming love and pure joy that comes from repenting and following the commandments.

“And of tenets thou shalt not talk, but thou shalt declare repentance and faith on the Savior, and remission of sins by baptism, and by fire, yea, even the Holy Ghost.” (D&C 19:31)

The Lord gave us the perfect admonition for sharing the gospel among the indoctrinated people of the world. Their tenets are irrelevant to a true conversion. Don’t bother bringing up their eyebrow-raising beliefs and peculiar practices. Don’t even mention the nature of the Father and the Son.

Declare the doctrine of the Savior. When they know the pure doctrine of Christ, they will come to know Jehovah on a deeper level. (Matt 11:27 KJV&JST)

Perhaps this approach will not incite their spirit of jealousy, but bring about the Spirit of truth—because there is only one Spirit strong enough to break someone free. (“Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.”) A humble follower of Christ, someone who truly believes in the Bible and really believes in following the commandments, is the example they need. They are searching for the true followers of the LORD—believing the Kingdom Hall to represent them—and cannot entertain any other religious organization. But they might, just might, be open to the idea that the elect have not yet been herded together by the Good Shepherd.

The Spirit of Bondage; The Spirit of Fear; A Spirit of Infirmity

Those in bondage are the non-believers, the agnostics of the world that go to church and yet lack any real kind of faith. Their religious lives are attended to by a never-ending stream of doubt after doubt.

They don’t know what to believe because they are unsure of anything, because they fear being wrong and they want to be right. They just don’t wanna get fooled. The consider themselves too smart for that to happen—and usually it’s true; they are very intelligent. But intellect will do no favours when its relied upon for building a foundation toward God. Their fear of being wrong will always keep them in bondage.

“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit.” (Romans 8:15) “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear.” (2 Tim 1:7)

The inclusion of the word “again” indicates that all of us will have—before a true conversion to Christ—at some point experienced the spirit of bondage and fear.

There’s a fear of the unknown; there are fears of death; and a fear that we are nothing but a worthless speck in an insignificant universe. These fears relate to the bondage of a fallen nature and having not yet found salvation.

But when we receive the true Spirit, when our trust is in Christ, we no longer posses a spirit of fear. The promises of God have have been planted in our hearts.

Another spirit that has always been around—and will be until the Second Coming—is the spirit of infirmity, which is a result of the Fall. We experience sickness and illness (all manner of afflictions) but this is not a result of wrong-doing; (John 9:3) it’s a product of mortality and an opportunity for us to see the works of God manifest in our lives. When we no longer fear our human condition and look forward to an eternity with God, we are comforted by knowing, “The Spirit also helpeth our infirmities.” (Romans 8:26)

The fulness of priesthood (the power of Jesus Christ) has the ability to heal the sick. Yet even without this priesthood, miracles will never cease so long as there are those with the faith to heal or be healed. And regardless to whether or not a divine recovery is experienced, Jesus Christ knows how to succor/help/support, “his people according to their infirmities.” (Alma 7:12)

Those with faith do not have the spirit of bondage and/or fear, and God supports the faithful in all their afflictions. That is the power of faith. The converted are given, “a spirit of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” (2 Tim 1:7)

Dieter F. Uchtdorf was mocked for recommending a mindset of doubting your doubts before you doubt your faith. I, myself, however, found this LDS-leader to be providing a wonderful piece of advice to a world lacking faith.

That might sound strange coming from the likes of me—because I’m obviously all for questioning. Everyday I’m willing to reconsider my beliefs and doubt things I’ve accepted to be true. Thing is: a lot of things just don’t matter. We are to grow and learn, avoid being prideful. Doubt ourselves. But never doubt the Lord. Some things do matter.

The crux of what Uchtdorf meant was that it’s okay for us to doubt—but only if these doubts do not affect our faith. Those who interpreted Uchtdorf to have meant we need to blindly believe everything do not yet understand faith the way it needs to be understood.

We can have faith in anything. We can believe whatever we want. But the faith that matters is the faith we have in the name of Jesus Christ. (Ether 4:19)

Related to this, I want to point out a fascinating piece of dialogue between Bill Reel and the high-council that canned him out of the church. For those unaware, Bill is an atheist—yet claims to believe in something, so he says—who wants the LDS church to suit his needs. He loved being in the spotlight as the church gave him what he deserved. Of course, he acted like they’d done something unthinkable to him.

I’ve said a lot of harsh things about the LDS church in the last three years of blogging and commenting; and by all means, I’m still not afraid to—but the excommunication of Bill Reel is a rare scenario where the priesthood leaders succeeded on every level.

The disciplinary council meeting was recorded by Bill (or perhaps his wife); and without a doubt, the priesthood leaders were unaware of the audio being recorded. I find it slimy for these two to have done so, but I love how—in my opinion—it backfired. The church was ultimately represented as kind, affectionate, and cordial during the entire procedure. They were not the monsters that ex-Mormons will always paint them as.

After laying out a hundred reasons why Bill hates the church, a member of the high-council brings the meeting to a close. His final words on the matter were:

I think this has been an opportunity to understand your point of view. I think that was the purpose of the Council, as was mentioned at the first […] Now your integrity is not in question at all. It isn’t. The purpose of this council is to look at protecting the integrity of the church. And you mentioned that as well. And uh, but I believe now, that pretty much as you outlined every step of your presentation, if you take all that, there is no integrity left in the church. And so that’s a problem. There are a lot of nuances there. You are a very intelligent man. You’ve looked at sources as you’ve said on both sides, all the information there. It leaves the church with zero integrity.

Notice how practical and concise the language is. There’s no reactive emotion. No guilt-tripping. This priesthood leader is not a power-hungry wolf who gets off on the idea he can take away someone’s salvation. He’s just pointing out the obvious fact that it makes no sense for Bill to belong to a church he publicly criticizes as having no credibility or divine influence.

To get to the point, this is how Bill concludes his thoughts, after being offered to make a final statement:

Sure, so why don’t I share my testimony? I don’t know that Jesus ascended on the third day, I’ve studied the historical Jesus, as well. That said, I’ve been deeply affected by his mercy and his grace, I’ve started another podcast called The Mythical Jesus, where I take the scriptures, and think and talk and speak about Jesus, ’cause I love him. So I can’t ascribe to knowing, I can’t ascribe to even probably believing, but I can say I hope. I have serious doubts that the Book of Mormon is a historical document, in terms of an ancient translation, but I have a deep, abiding testimony of it as scripture. Do our leaders talk to Jesus today? Not in the way they tell us they do. I think that is also demonstrable. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t think if the church is gonna make a change, it doesn’t come through an inspired thought through the top, and for me, that’s enough to hope in these men as prophets of some sort, even if they don’t act all the time with integrity. So is this the true church or not? I’ve not spoken on that at all, I just said it’s not what it claims to be. So I have a testimony on some level of Jesus, I’ve been affected by his grace and mercy, I have a testimony of the Book of Mormon, even if I don’t believe in a historic, ancient translation.

Bill Reel is the perfect example of the road one takes when they do not have faith. Just about every alternative Mormon blog and podcast—which get thousands (sometimes hundreds of thousands) of readers and listeners—muse endlessly…think in circles…and end up nowhere. All their efforts to “understand” their religion will inevitably leave them with even more doubts.

Vocally, or silently, these New-Age Mormons have accepted the Book of Mormon to be a lie that Joseph Smith invented. They agree with basically every premise that anti-Mormon literature has crafted over the last two-hundred years. They are double-minded, unable to make a stand. But for some random reason they don’t want to exit the church. They want to play victim and get cast out.

They are in the spirit of bondage. Why? The main reason: they fear that Jesus Christ is a myth. They have no foundation. No starting point to begin the proper course towards God.

My favourite part of the excommunication hearing was when Bill Reel compared Mormonism to Santa Claus. It’s not literally true, but it teaches something true, was his point. A member of the high-council said that he, himself, did not teach his kids about Santa and was genuinely shocked by Bill’s pronouncement that he’d want his kids taught Mormonism. The high-councilman clearly thought this was insane…that a person would purposefully choose to teach their children something the parent believed to be a lie.

Does Bill fear that he will be held accountable if by chance it does happen to all be true? No matter how you frame it, those without faith will always be possessed by a spirit of fear. Faith is the cure. It’s the most basic principle and yet it’s the one most commonly ignored.

I attend a YSA ward and the lesson in priesthood two weeks ago was surrounding an article the teacher held in high esteem. Guess where the article came from? “By Common Consent”

One of the quotes he shared from the (awful) article was, “faith is only possible through ignorance.” They literally think the only way to have faith is to be stupid. So for those of you that don’t attend, or haven’t in years, now you know….that’s the kind of stuff they talk about in priesthood. They are so “progressive” they refer to articles from worthless websites such as By Common Consent, which has the kind of material that is far more detrimental to faith than what is considered anti-Mormonism. (At least Evangelicals are concerned for our souls.)

The spirit of Bill Reel is spreading throughout all of Mormondom. Almost makes me wish we had the McConkie-Mormonism still kicking around.

The Spirit of Deep Sleep and Slumber; A Spirit of Blindness

When Jesus Christ came and ministered to the House of Israel in the meridian of time, only a portion of elect received him while, “the rest were blinded.” (Romans 11:7)

The Jews have continued the last two thousand years in this spirit of blindness. They have not obtained the Messiah, “they seeketh for,” even though he very clearly came among them. To deny this is to be blind. There’s no better word for it.

This blindness continues, “in part […] until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.” (Romans 11:25)

There are a few ways to interpret this scripture, and each interpretation would be correct. One way to understand it is that Israel’s blindness is lifted—in either a partial blindness, or in one portion (part) of Israel—when the fulness of the gospel is offered unto the Gentiles through the ministry of Joseph Smith.

It is this part of Israel who “begins” to (partially) believe in Christ after being “persuaded” when they receive a “knowledge” of the fulness. This portion of Israel remains blind, however, even if it is a partial blindness—so the Jews who receive a knowledge of the fulness of the gospel are not unlike the Jews who continue in full blindness.

Israel, as a whole, does not obtain salvation through their Messiah in the latter-days, except for an elect few—just as an elect few out of Israel obtained salvation in the meridian of time. [Nonetheless, it is understood that, “all Israel shall be saved,” and this will be accomplished in whatever way the Lord sees fit.]

In the last days, modern revelation informs us that believing-Israel is, “identified with the Gentiles.” (D&C 109:60)

Christ told us that Isaiah spoke concerning the house of Israel, but not only that: “It must needs be that he must speak also to the Gentiles. And all things [Isaiah] spake have been and shall be.” (3 Nephi 3:2-3)

The words of Isaiah were fulfilled (in a shadow aspect) at the meridian of time, and would be fulfilled again (in their literal fulfillment) during the times of the Gentiles.

The Gentiles and believing-Israel—who are among the Gentiles, identified with them—are told by Isaiah: “ For behold, all ye that doeth iniquity, stay yourselves and wonder, for ye shall cry out, and cry; yea, ye shall be drunken but not with wine, ye shall stagger but not with strong drink. For behold, the Lord hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep. For behold, ye have closed your eyes, and ye have rejected the prophets; and your rulers, and the seers hath he covered because of your iniquity.” (2 Nephi 27:4–5/Isaiah 29)

Just as this came to pass when revelation to the Jews ceased after Malachi, it came to pass when revelation to the Gentiles ceased in 1841 after Joseph Smith.

The Lord poured upon the LDS church a spirit of deep sleep. They were staggering and drunk, but not with wine or strong drink. This brought about the fulfillment of a passage from Micah: “If a man walking in the spirit and falsehood do lie, saying, I will prophesy unto thee of wine and of strong drink; he shall even be the prophet of this people.” (2:11)

The prophet of the Gentiles who accompanied the spirit of deep sleep—who epitomizes the drunkards of the Ephraimite-Gentiles—is Brigham Young.

He was not a seer; he did not receive revelation. But he was the prophet of the people. He would prophesy the things of wine and strong drink, the things that would keep latter-day Israel in their deep sleep.

Although the fulness of the gospel was offered unto the Gentiles, they rejected the fulness after it was received of them for three-and-a-half years. The rejection occurred in 1834 despite the Gentiles having the Book of Mormon and a true seer with the priesthood power to establish Zion.

During the time period of the fulness, the Book of Mormon was God’s, “word to the Gentiles [and] soon it may go to the Jew.” (D&C 19:27)

After the Gentiles rejected the fulness of the gospel, as Christ said they would, he prophesied that the house of Israel would thereafter, “come unto the knowledge of the fulness of my gospel.” (3 Nephi 16:12) This happens when Christ remembers his covenant (verse 11) and this covenant was put in force (remembered) when the dispensation of the gospel of Abraham was committed in 1836. (Section 110) This was the dispensation that missionaries were then called, “not only unto the Gentiles, but also unto the Jews.” (D&C 112:4)

The Gentiles who had rejected the fulness would splinter out of the LDS church as believing-Israel became more and more prominent. The ultimate recipients of the Book of Mormon in the last days are outlined in Mormon 5: “These things […] shall go unto the unbelieving of the Jews; and for this intent shall they go—that they may be persuaded that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God; that the Father may bring about, through his most Beloved, his great and eternal purpose, in restoring the Jews, or all the house of Israel, to the land of their inheritance, which the Lord their God hath given them, unto the fulfilling of his covenant.” (12-14)

When Brigham Young became the prophet, he was a prophet to the people who once again had the spirit of a deep sleep. Although the Book of Mormon persuaded them to believe in Christ, they would not embrace the true doctrines of the gospel contained in the book of scripture that perfectly explained what the fulness of the gospel entails.

They are the drunkards of Ephraim who make covenants in temples, believing this to be their protection against the desolating scourge which is to come in the preliminary time leading up to the Second Coming.

In regards to the LDS church, Nephi prophesied: “And it shall come to pass that the Jews which are scattered also shall begin to believe in Christ; and they shall begin to gather in upon the face of the land; and as many as shall believe in Christ shall also become a delightsome people.” (2 Nephi 30:7)

The Jews that begun to believe in Christ were gathered to America and then got dragged into a salt land not inhabited. (Jer 17:6) But the LDS who believe (not just begin to) will become a delightsome people.

When they shake off the spirit of deep sleep and blindness, and believe in the true gospel, they will be a delightsome people; for Nephi continues his prophecy by revealing that, “it shall come to pass [after the initial gathering of the Jews] that the Lord God shall commence his work among all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, to bring about the restoration of his people upon the earth.” (verse 8)

This is the marvelous work and a wonder.

The deep sleep poured upon the Jews made them blind to the Messiah; and the deep sleep poured upon the Gentiles will make them blind to the marvelous work.

Those who have shook off the drunkardness and blindness of their people will receive the fulness of the gospel to be restored from their lost and fallen state. (2 Nephi 25:17)

The Spirit of Whoredoms; Seducing Spirits

I’d love to take a break and not bring Mormonism into this list again; but prophetically, it is the Church of Jesus of Christ of Latter-Day Saints that the prophet Hosea and the prophet Sidney Rigdon directly attribute this spirit having had great influence within this religious tradition.

Sidney said, “What measures of Joseph is it desirable to carry out? We reply, those only which are according to godliness. If we have shewn that Joseph Smith departed from the living God, that like David and Solomon he contracted a whoring spirit, and that the Lord smote him for this thing — cut him off from the earth. — Who that is wise would approve of the carrying out of such measures?

Those man worshippers who contend for the measures of Joseph Smith, irrespective of the law of God, are in love with the “spiritual wife system.” ‘Tis such a great and glorious doctrine,’ to use their own language, as we have heard them express themselves, such a darling principle, so much in accordance with their feelings, so exactly suited to their nature, that they cannot give it up if it leads them to hell. No marvel then that God has sent them strong delusion that they should believe a lie, that they might be damned, because they believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. It is very apparent that Paul had his eye on these lustful characters, at this precise time, too, for he says it would take place in the gathering together of the saints, prior to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. — See Thess. 2d chap.”

Sidney Rigdon, being the prophet he was, knew exactly to whom Paul was referring. He knew that prophecy was coming to pass before his very eyes. Hosea 5:4 indicates that those with the spirit of whoredoms have not known the Lord, but Paul brings this into the equation: “Some shall depart from the faith, giving heed of seducing spirits.” (1 Timothy 4:1)

The Pratt brothers and Lyman Wight, to use examples, clearly knew the Lord. It was seducing spirits that departed them from the faith and enabled them to be possessed by a spirit of whoredom. In the formative years of the church, Parley P. Pratt was an incredible and brave man, but by the end of his life he married a total of ten women, fathering over twenty children through seven different women simultaneously.

Parley was murdered while serving a mission because he apparently decided to seal himself to an already married woman. His plan was to take his newly acquired plural-wife and her children back to Utah with him; but before he could, he was murdered by the husband of his convert-turned-wife, leaving Brigham Young to conclude, in very bad taste, “that Pratt had deserved his fate.” Wilford Woodruff wrote, “[Brigham] explained that ‘Bro. Parley’s blood was spilt, I glad of it for it paid the debt he owed, for he whored.’” (22 Jan. 1857)

Hosea prophesied: “The spirit of whoredoms hath caused them to err.” (Hosea 4:12)

Although this spirit is definitely not unique to the Mormon church—for I could easily write up a thesis of why this spirit is even more prevalent in Catholocism—I find it prudent to develop my thoughts about this spirit being prophetically spoken of by true prophets.

Sidney Rigdon used the phrase “whoring spirit” because he knew perfectly well that Hosea outlined a near-perfect prophecy of what was occurring among latter-day Israel. Notice, however, that Sidney wasn’t perfectly sure that Joseph really had contracted this spirit. He said, “if we have shewn Joseph Smith to have departed from the living God […]”

Rigdon knew the point of all of it was that whatever happened with Joseph had nothing to do with us following God. We are to only carry out the measures of Joseph that are according to godliness. The extra-curricular activities of Joseph either taught us the fallibility of man when they are given power and influence—or an even deeper doctrine that includes Joseph providing an intercessory offering—or it gives an opportunity, “to consume it on your lusts.” (Mormon 9:28)

“All may be benefited that seek or that ask of me, that ask and not for a sign that they may consume it upon their lusts.” (D&C 46:9)

That Joseph Smith was beginning a form of serial adultery was a sign…a signal for the go-ahead to commit whoredoms.

This was in accordance to Deuteronomy 13: “Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the Lord your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.”(Deut 13:3)

Those that did not allow the spirit of whoredoms to envelop them would disregard the developments of the church in Nauvoo and seek to reform back to the principles of the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants.

The Book of Mormon gives us the perfect definition for what a whoredom is. It is sexual relations outside the law of monogamy. That’s polygamy.

“Hearken to the word of the Lord: For there shall not any man among you have save it be one wife; and concubines he shall have none; for I, the Lord God, delight in the chastity of women. And whoredoms are an abomination before me; thus saith the Lord of Hosts.” (Jacob 2:27–28)

The question these verses pose is: Why does the man’s action of taking plural wives affect the chastity of women? Are the women not being chaste if they are devoted to the one man? I suppose, in a sense, that the answer is no. Their chastity is being taken away from them. The definition of chastity is, “fidelity to the marriage bed.”

When a man is no longer acting in fidelity, their wife is being deprived of the union of chastity. But the woman is not at fault.

God warns the wicked: “I will not punish your daughters when they commit whoredom, nor your spouses when they commit adultery.” (Hosea 4:14)

This verse also indicates that when a man divorces a woman and leaves the woman with the justifiable need to marry again (which is adultery according to the teachings of Jesus Christ) the divorcee will not be punished when they re-marry.

Those that deal treacherously against the wife of their youth, (Mal 2:14) or put away their wife, have been told, “The Lord will cut off the man that doeth this.” (Mal 2:12)

“There shall be a great work in the land, even among the Gentiles, for their folly and their abominations shall be made manifest in the eyes of all the people.” (D&C 35:7)

D&C 64:14-15 corroborates with this to suggest that the folly of the Gentiles—the sins of a crooked and perverse people—is connected with adultery.

Adultery comes in many forms, through seducing spirits that overcome the people with a spirit of whoredom. The folly of the Gentiles is going to manifest itself in the eyes of everyone. We only need the blindness taken from our eyes to see it.

The Spirit of Divination; Familiar Spirits

The spirit of divination attends those who believe and trust in horoscopes, fortune-tellers, and mediums.

I recently attended a church that had a quote from Emanuel Swedenborg on their website. The quote led me to believe the church would be Christian-based, yet open-minded to the spiritual realm that Emanuel sought to understand—he having claimed to have had many visions and revelations. My assumption was quickly proven an error.

After some “energy healing”—which actually didn’t really bother me; just seemed like a nice opportunity for everyone to take a breather and put aside the troubles of life for a moment—a woman stood up and claimed she was a medium. For those unaware, there is a surprisingly large movement of people who claim to speak to the deceased and give messages to their descendants who are present to the medium.

The whole thing was insane. She was off her rocker.

Yet there was one thing she said that could have only been revealed by an unseen force. I conclude that those who seek to converse with the dead will in fact receive familiar spirits to give a form of truth.

To understand the spirit of divination, the Lord provided an account of one possessed by it in Acts 16. This woman used her powers of divination and soothsaying (fortune-telling) for gain.

Do all mediums and psychics want money? I don’t think so. Do some really have the powers they claim to have? I think a handful of them really do.

The warning God gives in regards them: “And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead? To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” (Isa 8:19–20)

If they do not speak of the law (of the gospel) and the testimony (of the prophets who witness of Christ) there is no light in them.

I recently discovered a female astrologist who—with perfect accuracy—prophesied of two events that had happened to me in the previous month. I was reading her April reading for my astrological sign in the month of May and was blown away by what I read.

This is a powerful sign. And a perfect tool for Satan to use to control our lives. If I were to now put my trust—or even continue reading her material—I could subconsciously self-fulfill whatever she told me. This is why the Lord has made it perfectly clear that there is no light in whatever truth is provided by one who does not centre their speech directly on the gospel.

Those with some degree of spiritual ability should not be entertained until they receive the fulness of the gospel and use their spiritual gifts the way God has ordained. These are the most interesting kinds of people to speak to, but they can seriously mess with someone’s head, and should be witnessed to using a great deal of caution.

The Spirit of Antichrist; The Spirit of Lying

“Every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God; and this is that spirit of antichrist.” (1 John 4:3)

In the Book of Alma, when Korihor goes about preaching unto the people that there is no Christ, Alma says unto him: “Thou art possessed with a lying spirit, and ye have put off the Spirit of God that it may have no place in you.” (Alma 30:42)

When Korihor puts off the Spirit of God, he is no longer led by truth; and Jesus Christ is the Spirit of Truth. Anything that is not the truth, is a lie.

So the spirit of antichrist is to lie. Another name for it, really, is the spirit of anti-truth.

“Because of the hardness of your heart,” Alma continues, “ye will still resist the spirit of truth.” (verse 46)

Who has the spirit of antichrist? It’s not just anybody that lies. It’s a title for those who know the truth and still choose to lie—because not everybody actually knows the truth. They have to know it and then resist it willingly.

Ultimately, before his death, Korihor reveals the frightening inception of what turned him into a false prophet:

“I always knew that there was a God. But behold, the devil hath deceived me; for he appeared unto me in the form of an angel, and said unto me: Go and reclaim this people, for they have all gone astray after an unknown God. And he said unto me: There is no God; yea, and he taught me that which I should say. And I have taught his words; and I taught them because they were pleasing unto the carnal mind; and I taught them, even until I had much success, insomuch that I verily believed that they were true; and for this cause I withstood the truth.” (Alma 30:52–53)

The spirit of antichrist are the Satanist’s—the ones that do his bidding.

This leads us to the spirits of devils working miracles. (Rev 16:14)

An example of this miracle-producing spirit is taking place in our day through the man, Mauricio Berger, who claims to have brought forth a second record from the golden plates that were once in possession of Joseph Smith when the Book of Mormon was translated.

Here’s a snippet from something I previously wrote in regards to him:

It is clear to me that we are not dealing with another Christopher Nemelka—or even a Denver Snuffer for that matter. This work which purports to be originating in Brazil is not the work of one man who simply had too much time on his hands. It had to have been orchestrated in secret chambers by the enemy. I wouldn’t doubt that the intent of this work is to distract the Mormon masses from paying attention to the true prophetic events that are most likely occurring behind the scenes right now.

Do I think Mauricio is the deceiver? For now I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt that he himself has been deceived. There’s always a chance that the enemy transformed itself into an angel of light (2 Cor 11:14) to provide Mauricio the impressive artifact he channelled through to reveal the now-available scripture. Through this semi-artificial prop, which was surely constructed by witchcraft and sorcery, Mauricio has very likely contracted false and evil spirits […]

The work of Mauricio Berger is easily the best thing to compete against the mainstream LDS church—although I can’t, at this time, tell for sure if it will gain as much traction as it sadly deserves.

Those unskilled in the word of God will have every reason to fall for it, for those that do not treasure up the word of God are prophesied to be deceived. (JST-Matt 1:37) I will attempt to steer people clear from this falsity by highlighting what things the Lord has provided us to save us from deceptions such as these. [https://themarvelouswork.com/2019/06/28/g-azelem-the-sealed-book-of-mormon/]

False prophets were said to one day show forth great signs and wonders; and we may be witnessing the birth of this.

The Spirit of Contention and Persecution (3 Nephi 11:29/JS-History 1:23/74)

In closing, I’ll quickly attribute these two spirits to the largest religions of the world: Christianity and Islam. They both have each of these spirits.

2^nd Nephi 26 and 28 give a perfect description of the religious climates that prelude Joseph Smith and precede his ministry.

I’ll provide here one of its very timely passages:

“For it shall come to pass in that day that the churches which are built up, and not unto the Lord, when the one shall say unto the other: Behold, I, I am the Lord’s; and the others shall say: I, I am the Lord’s; and thus shall every one say that hath built up churches, and not unto the Lord—

And they shall contend one with another; and their priests shall contend one with another, and they shall teach with their learning, and deny the Holy Ghost, which giveth utterance.

And they deny the power of God, the Holy One of Israel; and they say unto the people: Hearken unto us, and hear ye our precept; for behold there is no God today, for the Lord and the Redeemer hath done his work, and he hath given his power unto men;

Behold, hearken ye unto my precept; if they shall say there is a miracle wrought by the hand of the Lord, believe it not; for this day he is not a God of miracles; he hath done his work.” (28:3–6)

As Christians and Muslims contend within their religions, unable to understand either as they stand, they blindly accept their favoured creed to be the one and only correct. Rather than seeing all the different denominations to represent missing pieces of a puzzle, they conclude that one has to be right rather than they all be wrong—because they erroneously assume God has done his work.

The Bible was the final word of God; or Mohammad was the final prophet.

And of course, Mormons are no different. With all the differing branches of Mormonism, some with genuinely good claims and better understandings of doctrine, this should open up our eyes to the possibility that something has gone amok—or that the great work laid in store has not yet come to pass.

But no…

Religious people will continue to say their church is the Lord’s while others continue contesting their own.

When Joseph Smith provided his 1838 account of his first vision, the point of it was—among a couple of other things—to give us an example to follow. The world needs to do exactly what Joseph Smith did.

The experience of Joseph Smith needs to be your experience. The elect will have gone through exactly what Joseph had.

He wrote…

During this time of great excitement my mind was called up to serious reflection and great uneasiness; but though my feelings were deep and often poignant, still I kept myself aloof from all these parties, though I attended their several meetings as often as occasion would permit. In process of time my mind became somewhat partial to the Methodist sect, and I felt some desire to be united with them; but so great were the confusion and strife among the different denominations, that it was impossible for a person young as I was, and so unacquainted with men and things, to come to any certain conclusion who was right and who was wrong.

My mind at times was greatly excited, the cry and tumult were so great and incessant. The Presbyterians were most decided against the Baptists and Methodists, and used all the powers of both reason and sophistry to prove their errors, or, at least, to make the people think they were in error. On the other hand, the Baptists and Methodists in their turn were equally zealous in endeavoring to establish their own tenets and disprove all others.

In the midst of this war of words and tumult of opinions, I often said to myself: What is to be done? Who of all these parties are right; or, are they all wrong together? If any one of them be right, which is it, and how shall I know it?

While I was laboring under the extreme difficulties caused by the contests of these parties of religionists, I was one day reading the Epistle of James, first chapter and fifth verse, which reads: If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

Whether you are Christian, Mormon, are Muslim, you are no doubt surrounded by confusion and contention, which should concern you deeply. There can only be one truth.

It doesn’t matter if you are destitute, if you aren’t smart, if you don’t have the time to research the endless religious ideologies of each and every church that claims to possess the truth. Do as Joseph did: read whatever religious text the Lord has blessed you with.

I am halfway through reading the Qu’ran for the third time. Although in times past I have only noticed the off-putting things contained in it, I now know that there’s enough information in there to point a Muslim in the right direction. God put a blessing on Ishmael (Genesis 17:20) and I know that blessing was especially put in effect when God divinely intervened to arrange passages in the Qu’ran to indicate things unto the descendants of Ishmael that the Muslim world as a whole would never notice. Those truly seeking God will find the truth, no matter what false religion they grew up with.

After much study and contemplation, those truly seeking the Lord’s church will receive an answer from God that will state the very same thing told to Joseph…

My object in going to inquire of the Lord was to know which of all the sects was right, that I might know which to join […] [but] I was answered that I must join none of them, for they were all wrong; and the Personage who addressed me said that all their creeds were an abomination in his sight; that those professors were all corrupt; that: “they draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me, they teach for doctrines the commandments of men, having a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof.”

When we look around at all the contention, confusion, and persecution surrounding us, it is perfectly clear that the religion of today is corrupt, that all of them teach for doctrines the commandments of men.

No religion today has the true power of God.

We are to join none of them.

But what if we already belong to a church that is not true?

That is for you to decide.

Until the marvelous work and a wonder, we live in an interim period where it is nearly impossible to avoid contention. Persecution will follow. The only piece of advice I can give anyone is to point out the key for not being deceived: treasure up the word of God.

“Man shall not live by bread alone,” repeated Jesus Christ, “but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”

-G.azelem