Category Archives: Spirituality

Don’t Ignore the TRUTH

Spirituality

 

Don’t Ignore the TRUTH

As emotional beings, our choices and decisions are mostly based on our feelings. However, Our thoughts, words, and deeds are thereby influenced. We live in the information age. The information on the internet, social media, TV, podcasts, and the entertainment industry along with our environment have significant influences on what we believe and what we do. But our God-given sovereignty gives us the choice of what our life will be. It is so important to use our intelligence wisely. I love Chauncey Riddle’s classic book, THINK INDEPENDENTLY. And most importantly, “Don’t Ignore the TRUTH.” Christ is the way, the truth, and the life. (John 14:6)

We Live in the Information Age

Living in the information age, there is a tendency on the part of many to “Google” their questions, which are updated using AI to hopefully be the best information available. Artificial intelligence (AI) is an extremely powerful tool, but it has no soul. In 1965, I wrote my first computer program to characterize atomic clocks’ performances on an IBM 360 machine that NBS had acquired; it filled up a room. We used to have a joke about computer programming, “Garbage in, garbage out.” As we move into the digital era, one bit wrong can make a lot of difference. As you have noticed on your cell phone, pushing the wrong button may well take you where you don’t want to go. My personal  joke about the internet is, “There is a lot of information there, and some of it is true!”

Satan is the Great Deceiver

In the information age, there is massive propaganda deceit there because Satan uses it also to take as many as he can away from Christ. Satan is the great deceiver. He knows Christ is the way, the truth, and the life. (John 14:6) Christ is the LOGOS—the WORD. (John 1:1) Whosoever treasureth up the WORD, shall not be deceived. Ever since the fall of Adam and Eve, Satan has been deceiving the masses to take them away from Christ. So we see the great importance of treasuring the WORD. (JS-M 37) ” And whoso treasureth up my word, shall not be deceived, for the Son of Man shall come, and he shall send his angels before him with the great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together the remainder of his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”

Important Omissions from the Bible

The Bible is considered to be God’s word. It has done more good by far than any other book in bringing about good and bringing people to Christ. But we have to ask some important questions.
1) Is God’s word only in the Bible? The answer is a resounding, “No!”
2) And the really hard question is, “Has Satan had a massive influence as well on Bible translations?” Unfortunately, the answer is, “Yes,” and causing great deceit across the masses and over the ages.
3) Is Christ’s infinite atonement poorly understood—causing satanic deceit among the masses? Satan has brought about this great deceit. So, again, the answer is, “Yes.”

I hope to open up TRUTH and LIGHT regarding these very important questions. Many other significant questions could be asked, but let me just focus on these because of their great importance.

Many Inspired non-Biblical texts

Regarding the first question, in the last 200 years, a large number of non-Biblical texts have come forth and most of them have been translated into English. They give major insights outside of the Biblical text that denote God speaking to others in ancient times and in modern times. In 1830, the Lord gave the world 5,000 copies of the Book of Mormon in a miraculous manner. Both the translation and the printing were major miracles. God’s fingerprints are all over in this game-changing book. On a per-capita basis, the Book of Mormon has brought more people to Christ of those who have read it than any other book .

Jonah Barnes in his recent book, THE KEY TO THE KEYSTONE, sights that there are 20 mentions in the Bible itself of other sacred writings that are not in the Bible. In addition, he shows that the Book of Mormon prophets cite and often quote from some 40 other ancient prophetic texts outside the Bible canon, and their messages are most profound. Many of these are cited from the Brass Plates, which Lehi brought with them to America around 592 B.C. And much of the information in the Brass Plates is not in the Bible, which is sacred literature going back to the creation and the Garden of Eden. The Book of Mormon prophets shared the gospel by using the information on the Brass Plates, which tells of the creation, the Garden of Eden, and covers the infinite atonement. These prophets told of the Creation, the Fall, and the Atonement. Elder Bruce R. McConkie called the Creation, the Fall, and the Atonement the three pillars of eternity.

David Hocking just finished number seven of his annotated editions of sacred scriptures. They are awesome contributions to sacred literature. Nephi prophesied of “other books” to come forth in our day. I believe David’s last one is the best yet: THE REVELATIONS OF THE PROPHET JOSEPH SMITH, JR. David shares that the Book of Mormon quotes from the Book of Enoch and the Book of Jasher. Interestingly, the English translation of neither of these books existed at the time Joseph Translated the Book of Mormon, which he finished in 1829.

A very important realization is that God’s WORD can come to each of us by personal revelation. David Hocking shares two examples of my personal revelations on pages 315-317 of his last book. The Lord revealed to me that the first 5,000 copies of the Book of Mormon were printed in the Divine Ratio (7.5 inches/4.635 inches = 1.618). In addition, my research led me to a major printing miracle for the Book of Mormon. Gordon Weight shares in a pamphlet he wrote that it should have taken at least 17 1/2 months to print and bind 5,000 copies. In the Lord’s compressed time frame, it was done in 6 months for the book to be ready for the organization of His Church on the 6th of April in 1830. David’s new book now documents these major miracles that most have never heard about or have read about in the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Serious Omissions from the Bible

These ancient sacred writings that are not in the Bible expose two serious omissions in the Old Testament Bible codex. The third serious omission applies to the Bible as a whole. The “infinite atonement” is neither explained nor even mentioned. That confusion in the Bible has led to most Christians looking to the “cross” and to Jesus’ blood, as their path to heaven.

  • First is the omission of the importance of the role of Satan and his potential impact during our mortal journey.
  • In many of the non-Biblical texts, the prophecies of the anointed one, the Son of God, the Savior of all humankind, and that He would be crucified by the Jews were removed. You can imagine why. As these ancient scribes read these texts, they didn’t want the world to know that their descendants would be killing the Son of God.
  • The infinite atonement is beautifully explained in the Book of Mormon by several of the prophets as well as in other apocryphal writings. I also did a podcast with Rod Meldrum on this critically important subject, which is scripturally based. I share that the the infinite atonement is perfectly just and perfectly merciful in God’s infinite love.

These Omissions Cleared up with non-Biblical Texts

So, both the Book of Mormon, as well as the other non-Biblical texts, profoundly and thankfully supply the Lord’s revelations to others to overcome these serious omissions.

Let us not overlook or avoid the TRUTH. These texts provide great enlightenment and bring us closer to God. Well did Alma share: “For behold, the Lord doeth grant unto all nations, of their own nation and tongue, to teach his word, yea, in wisdom, all that he seeth fit that they should have; therefore we see that the Lord doth counsel in wisdom, according to that which is just and true.” (Alma 29:8)

The Infinite Atonement the Most Important Event in World History

The most important event in all of world history is the infinite atonement of our Lord and Savior. Because of its preeminence, President Nelson at the last General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints asked us to learn more about the atonement. In response, I wrote a special blog article: “The Importance of the Infinite Atonement.” I quote heavily from non-Biblical texts to give major insights that I feel the Lord has given me as I have pondered, studied, and prayed. I have also written several blog articles doing the best I can to help people understand this most important event in all of world history. I list the links for those here. There is a lot of repetition, but repetition brings conviction:
https://itsabouttimebook.com/the-importance-of-the-infinite-atonement/
https://itsabouttimebook.com/the-full-infinite-atonement/
https://itsabouttimebook.com/spiritual-science-seven-steps-in-atonement/
https://itsabouttimebook.com/the-infinite-atonement-of-jesus-christ/
https://itsabouttimebook.com/the-infinite-atonement-and-paradise/
https://itsabouttimebook.com/resurrection-capstone-of-the-atonement/
https://itsabouttimebook.com/the-perfect-infinite-atonement/
https://itsabouttimebook.com/the-resurrection-disproves-the-theory-of-organic-evolution/

Enormous Burst of Celestial Light

After the martyrdom of the early Apostles, world history documents the incomprehensible creeds, which prevent people from knowing  the TRUE GOD. (see the Nicene Creed) God overcame that serious problem. My late friend John Pratt deduced from Enoch’s calendar that an enormous burst of celestial light came forth on the 26th of March 1820. The true nature of the Father and the Son was revealed in the sacred grove to the young boy, Joseph Smith, Jr. Like the boy prophet, Samuel in the Bible, Joseph came to know God. And thus commenced the restoration of the fullness of the gospel beginning with the Book of Mormon.

As Jesus prayed, to know the Father and the Son is Eternal Life (John 17:3). The creeds had removed that knowing and made the Trinity a mystery. This vision was the most important event that had happened in world history since Jesus had finished His infinite atonement. Now we can know the true infinitely loving nature of Elohim, Who is ever reaching out to each of us wanting us to partake of Eterna Life (Matt. 7:7-8). Now I know Elohim through the Spirit of revelation and from all the sacred writings we now have available. The “other books” (read 1 Nephi 13:39) have helped me tremendously to come to KNOW ELOHIM.

David W. Allan (15th of December 2024)

Photo of the cover of the Annotated Edition of the Book of Enoch by David Hocking with David’s permission.

Ye Shall Know The Truth

Spirituality

To know the TRUTH amid all the falsehoods is extremely important today. This famous statement by our Savior gives us hope amidst the storms and challenges of life: “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:32) 

He promises, “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” (verse 36) In my search for TRUTH, I have three criteria:

1) If God says it, I know it; His WORD is either from His sacred writings or from personal revelation—it is the same. He is the WORD. (John 1:1)
2) We cannot prove a theory or hypothesis true; we don’t know enough. Only God knows enough. People often make the mistake that if something agrees with their paradigm then that provides validation. IT DOES NOT! Correlation does not provide validation.
3) But, if I have reliable data, I can prove a theory or hypothesis false. This is very powerful—allowing us to move away from what is false to what is true. The “null hypothesis” is very useful in this regard.
A simple definition of which is that if I cannot find anything false about a theory or hypothesis, then it may be true.
I find it fascinating that Moroni uses the null hypothesis in his closing chapter in the Book of Mormon. My good friend, Joseph Papenfuss, pointed this out to me.

1. Now I, Moroni, write somewhat as seemeth me good; and I write unto my brethren, the Lamanites; [The Lamanites had destroyed his nation, the Nephites, and were the enemies of righteousness. Moroni had been alone for thirty-six years since the Nephite nation was destroyed in that great battle at the Hill Cumorah.]
2.  And I seal up these records after I have spoken a few words by way of exhortation unto you.
3.  Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts. Moroni had read the Jaredite record, which tells the end from the beginning as was received by revelation by the Brother of Jared. Moroni is asking us to “remember” the massive effort to bring forth God’s word from Adam down to our time. Can you imagine the massive effort to make plates, to scribe on those plates, to protect them and preserve them over the millennia? Also, Moroni had labored alone to make a repository room for all of the records they had kept over the centuries. This repository was in the Hill Cumorah—indeed, a massive effort all by itself.
4 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; Here Moroni uses the null hypothesis profoundly.

In other words, if you cannot prove the Book of Mormon to be false, then you can move on to having the Holy Ghost witness to you that it is true. Many millions of people have received that sure witness and know that it is true. The Lord only asked, “In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.” (1 Corinthians 13:1) We have millions of witnesses that this promise from the Lord is true. The Book of Mormon was translated once by the “gift and power of God.” No other record—including the Bible–holds that claim. It has been with us for nearly two hundred years, and many a critic has gone after it, but the “null hypothesis” has shown them that it cannot be proven false. Some claim plagiarism, but Jonathan Neville in his book, Infinite Goodness, has proven that claim false.

Then Moroni goes on to share, “…and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.”
5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things. Once people come to know by the power of the Holy Ghost, then they know for sure. As Chief Midegah told us one time, for him the Book of Mormon is not about faith; it is fact. It is a major part of the history of his people—“of the great Peacemaker,” who walked the Americas as a resurrected being. As He told the Jews, “And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice, and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.” (John 10:16; 3 Nephi 15:13-17)

Bringing People To Christ

Per capita, the Book of Mormon has brought more people to Christ of those who have read it than any other book including the Bible. I share in this article several links that I have written giving both scientific validation of the Book of Mormon and of all our scriptures, as well as many other infallible evidences, spiritually, historically, and from glottology. Languages don’t lie; they are what they are within every culture.

For example, Mormon and Moroni wrote in “Reformed Egyptian,” that they lived nearly a thousand years after Lehi left Jerusalem in 600 B.C. At that time, as Brian Nettles shares, Nephi wrote in demonic and heretic Egyptian. This is illustrated by characters copied by John Whitmer, who was one of the scribes for Joseph Smith in Fayette, NY, where Joseph translated the small plates taken from the repository for the first part of the Book of Mormon (First Nephi through Omni). Brian has developed the gift of translating these ancient records. I have a picture of these characters that John Whitmer copied and translation insights that Brian has gained from them in the article: Ancient Hebrews in Ancient America.

The Hill Shim and Two sets of plates

Jonathan Neville also documents the two sets of plates for the Book of Mormon. The small plates were translated in Fayette, NY, and were the unabridged record from 600 B.C. to about 100 B.C. They weighed about 30 lbs and the eight witnesses handled them. The Large plates contained Mormon and Moroni’s abridged records of he Nephites and Jaredites and weighed about 60 lbs. The three witnesses were shown them by Moroni and they heard the voice of the Lord telling them that they had been translated by the “gift and power of God.”

After Joseph translated from the large plates, a messenger took them back to the repository in the Hill Cumorah. Then the small plates from that same repository were delivered to Joseph to translate in Fayette, NY.

Later, the Lord instructed Joseph to take all those records and put them in the nearby Hill Shim. Those trusted souls who helped him bear record of this and that no one is to know that location. They will come forth in the due time of the Lord.

Russell Burrows’ Unique Stones

Duane Erickson drove down to our place in Fountain Green from Evanston, WY, to let me borrow a stone that Russell Burrows had given him. Russell had found the stone in a cave in the heartland of America–depicting the Christ in North America. When he learned that I was going to St. Petersburg, Russia, in 2015, he wanted me to take it so that I might share with my colleagues there that the resurrected Christ had been in North America. I did and they were touched by the knowing.

I showed Brian this stone, and he was able to translate the characters on the right side of the image of Christ that I had wondered about for years. “He is risen to purify us.” I was so happy to get his translation. It made total sense. I was able to read the mystic symbol, (Jehovah and the five nails of the crucifixion) at the top and “Son of my Right Hand” at the bottom of the stone or Son of Righteousness. The phrase, “Son of Righteousness” is used uniquely three times in the Book of Mormon.

Voices From The Dust

Isaiah shares about voices from the dust in our day. (Isa. 29:4) I believe these stones are part of these prophesied manifestations along with the plates from which the Book of Mormon was translated. Russell Burrows gave a different stone to Wayne May that he had found in the same cave. Wayne sent me a picture and a copy of it. It depicts the Savior’s atonement in amazing detail. It shows the hole in the wrist. It denotes the three days in the tomb while the Savior’s spirit was three days in paradise. I did a blog article and a podcast with Brian Nettles and Michael Claridge about this amazing voice from the Dust Stone: Two Hundred Names for Jesus.

Glottology, the history or science of language, is a powerful tool in ascertaining truth. I share here the fascinating story of Professor Felix Mynhardt—who was a gifted linguist at Pretoria University. He knew over 60 languages. His father was the Reverend C. F. Mynhardt, who compiled the first concordance of the Afrikaans Bible. Professor Mynhardt was asked to translate the Book of Mormon into Afrikaans, and he declined, as a member of the Dutch Reformed Church. That evening when he was praying, the Spirit convicted him. He had been asking the Lord for an opportunity to use his special linguistic gifts. The Lord had given him the Book of Mormon to translate into Afrikaans, and he had declined. After a sleepless night, he called the mission President, Harlon Clark, and said he would do it.

As was his style, he went to the middle of the Book of Mormon, knowing that typically authors stabilize in their writing. He immediately recognized that it had been translated from another language. Over some months, he deduced that it had been translated from ancient Egyptian with Hebrew nouns added. His goal was to translate difficult passages back into the original language and then into Afrikaans to give more accuracy.

He shared his experience at a meeting in Johannesburg on May 14, 1972, when the Afrikaans Boek van Mormon was introduced to the South African Saints, it was a happy and, at the same time, an emotion-packed, spiritual experience for those in attendance. A missionary who attended the landmark event said that “to sit in that meeting and observe the rapt attention and subsequent tears in the eyes of the audience when the first few pages of Die Boek van Mormon were read aloud was one of the greatest spiritual experiences of my mission.”

Mynhardt stated, “Imagine my utter astonishment when… I came to verse two, where Nephi describes that he was writing in the language of the Egyptians, with the learning of the Jews!  I knew by the second verse, that this was no ordinary book, that it was not the writings of Joseph Smith, but that it was of ancient origin. I could have saved myself months of work if I had just begun at the beginning. Nobody but God, working through a prophet of God, in this case, Nephi, would have included a statement of the language he was writing in. Consider, how many documents are written in English, including the phrase, “I am writing in English!” It is unthinkable and absolute proof of the inspired origins of this book.

Mynhardt said that he was perhaps the only person, at that time in South Africa, who had the language skills necessary to make the Afrikaans translation, using as he did, ancient Egyptian, Hebrew, Afrikaans, and English. He had this to say about Joseph Smith:

“I do not know what Joseph Smith was before he translated this book, and I do not know what he was afterward, but while he translated this book, he was a prophet of God! I know he was a prophet! I testify to you that he was a prophet while he brought forth this book! He could have been nothing else! No person in 1827 could have done what he did. The science did not exist. The knowledge of ancient Egyptians did not exist. The knowledge of these ancient times and ancient Peoples did not exist. The Book of Mormon is scripture. I hope you realize this… I declare that the Book of Mormon is of ancient origin, and is scripture of the same caliber as the Old Testament, or for that matter, the New Testament”.

Book of Mormon validates the Bible

A recent survey showed that 93% of the leading American scientists disbelieve the Bible. Joseph in Egypt and Nephi both prophesied that this would happen. (2 Nephi 3:11; 1 Nephi 13:38-41) And they further stated that one of the reasons for the Book of Mormon coming forth to this Gentile nation was to validate the Bible.

Chapter 3 of my first book, It’s About Time, and this blog article help to provide that historical and glottology evidence. I am pleased that LDS Living picked up on this as well.

Looking Forward to The Brass Plates and Other Records

Now we are looking forward to the Brass Plates, which have a sacred history all the way back to the Garden of Eden, and which the prophets in the Book of Mormon quote from. We have the full record of the Jaredite nation over their nearly 1,700 years of history, which are in the sealed portion of the large plates. The unsealed portion was what Joseph used to translate with the Urim and Thummim the Book of Mosiah through Moroni in the last part of the Book of Mormon. Also in the sealed portion is the revelation that Nephi received that is equivalent to John the Beloved’s Book of Revelations. All of these are yet to be translated; and what an incredible blessing these records will be—revealing the end from the beginning and knowing how the earth was created in the first place.

But first, the Gentiles need to repent and receive the Book of Mormon and have faith like the Brother of Jared before these will be revealed. (Ether 4; and D&C 84:54-59) Let us pray for that great day and live our lives in preparation for ZION and to receive these records and the Lord at His Glorious Coming.

David W. Allan

THE TRUTH IS LIGHT

Spirituality, , ,

The Truth is Light is the title of my new three-volume set of books giving glory to God. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” (John 14:6) And “I am the light of the world…” (John 8:12) To the Jews he profoundly said, “Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

“If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” (John 8:32, 36) Rejecting these promises, they crucified Him. Thirty-six years later, Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans. The Jews were scattered across the globe. Ironically, this helped bring about the Lord’s promise to Father Abraham that his offspring would bless all nations. (Gen. 22:18) The Lord in our day declared, “And truth is knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come.” (D&C 93:24) I know He is the TRUTH and the LIGHT. As a praying physicist—in the search for TRUTH and LIGHT–I have written many blog articles. We have selected 258 of those and created a three-volume set of books to share what I have found to be true during my 88 years on this planet. I feel greatly blessed by the Lord. Apropos, the title of the three-volume set is “The TRUTH is LIGHT,” which is the Christ.

Discount Prices for New Books

Our son-in-law, Kevn Lambson, compiled the compilation, formatting, and artwork for all three volumes. We made the table of contents and the index to cover all three volumes, and for convenience, they are the same for all three. It makes them as if they were one book. My publisher, Boyd Tuttle is offering them for $60.00 for a 3-volume set.  BookofMormonEvidence.org sells the three-volume set for $50.  Both sites have a very nice and descriptive write-up of the books.  At Amazon, they are sold separately. They are $25 each—making it $75 for the set.  However, they are sold separately.

And, Truth is knowledge of things as they are, as they were, and as they are to come. (D&C 93:24)

The cover on the first volume denotes truth is knowledge of, “Things as they are.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The cover for the second volume denotes truth is knowledge of, “things as they were.”

The cover of the third volume denotes truth is knowledge of, “Things as they are to come.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A summary of the Contents of the Three-volume Set is as follows:

Honor and Glory To God

The 258 blog articles bring honor and glory to God as a praying physicist; truth and light flow as we come to Him. A sample of the contents is as follows:

  • Everything from how GPS (Global Positioning System) works in simple terms to
  • Understanding how prayer works from Unified Field Theory (UFT).
  • How to be healthy body, mind, and spirit
  • Growing the brain
  • Dealing with the craziness in the world
  • Validating the scriptures scientifically and major insights therein
  • Helping to bring about ZION.
  • Angels around us and answer to prayers in all that we do
  • God is good; soooooo good.
  • The 1339 pages in these three volumes cover a large number of research topics.
  • Proving that we can always trust in Him
  • Great additions from apocryphal literature on the FULL INFINITE ATONEMENT
  • BookofMormonHeartland.com amazing contributions; “Voices from the dust.”
  • I highly recommend you listen to the Book of Mormon and Ojibwe Outreach Conference that was held on 20-21 Sept.’24.

The Book “The Light After Death”

I recently learned of an amazing book describing—as it were—the bringing back of a person from the dead like the Lord did for Lazarus. It happened in Orem, Utah. Vinney Tolman died on the 18th of January 2003. While dead and when his spirit went across the veil, his great-great-grandfather taught him ten celestial principles:

  • 1. Be authentic.
  • 2. Understand the purpose of life.
  • 3. Love everyone.
  • 4. Listen to your inner voice. (Moroni 7:29-31)
  • 5. Use technology responsibly.
  • 6. Release prejudice.
  • 7. Exercise the power of creation.
  • 8. Avoid negative influences.
  • 9. Understand the purpose of evil.
  • 10. Know that we are all one.

Many believe that life is a test. Vinney learned “Life is not a test!” Our intelligence wants to learn following the “Son of Righteousness.” (D&C 130:19).

My Truth Journey

Our grand opportunity in life is to learn the TRUTHs of God. My three-volume set is my journey in doing so. The bottom line for me is to be Christ-centered. I have learned that He is the Master Physicist and the master of everything good. The Lord has blessed me to know some wonderful truths, which I share in part in these 258 blog articles. It is my hope to share this three-volume set to help as many as I can to come to know the author of all truth. To know the Father and the Son. They bring you to Eternal Life—the greatest of all the gifts of God. (John 17:3; D&C 14:7) Let us learn together the TRUTHs of ETERNAL LIFE.

The Infinite Atonement and Podcast

Perhaps my most important contribution to these selected blog articles is the understanding the Lord has given me about the infinite atonement. This is the most important event in all of world history, as well as the best-documented miracle.

I did a podcast with Rod Meldrum around Section 88 of the Doctrine and Covenants explaining with a balance how mercy and justice are perfectly satisfied. You can see it on YouTube. The infinite atonement is perfect and brought perfection to Heavenly Father’s Plan of Happiness.

The Lord’s Spirit whispered to me the seven steps of His infinite atonement. These steps took Him from the deepest of incomprehensible suffering to the heights of the greatest ecstasy and incomprehensible joy. Seven is the number of perfection or completeness in the Lord’s arithmetic. That fullness of joy is offered to all who receive Him and the fullness of His gospel. They truly come unto Him with broken hearts and contrite spirits. They repent of all their sins, exercise faith in our Beloved Messiah, and receive His mercy and grace.

His infinite atonement totally overcame the effects of the fall of Adam and Eve—both the spiritual and physical deaths brought about by the fall. As the Book of Mormon clearly shares, the infinite atonement includes His glorious resurrection. And because of His resurrection, all will be resurrected and brought back into the presence of God. Then the Book of Mormon teaches so beautifully the following:

  • And the Messiah cometh in the fulness of time, that he may redeem the children of men from the fall. And because they are redeemed from the fall they have become free forever, knowing good from evil; to act for themselves and not to be acted upon, save it be by the punishment of the law at the great and last day, according to the commandments which God hath given.
  • Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself. (2 Nephi 2:26-27)

The Savior’s Three Days in Paradise are a Major Part of Infinite Atonement

Essentially all Christians and most members of my church miss the great importance of Christ’s three-day visit to paradise and its monumental importance as part of the infinite atonement.

Blog Articles Giving More Detail about the Infinite Atonement

Here are the blog articles I have written about the infinite atonement. Again, this is the most important event in all of world history. The first blog article is not in the three-volume set, as it was written after the printing. It is in response to President Nelson’s request in his talk in the October 2024 General Conference. He asked us to learn all we can about the atonement. The General Conference is a semi-annual event for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The rest of these blog articles are in the three-volume set.

The Importance of the Infinite Atonement
The Infinite Atonement of Jesus Christ
Seven Steps of the Atonement
The Infinite Atonement and Paradise
Resurrection – Capstone of the Atonement
The Perfect Infinite Atonement
The Full Infinite Atonement
Atonement – Timekeeping Algorithm – Zion Parallels

All are Greatly Blessed because of the Infinite Atonement

All of Father’s children are greatly blessed by the infinite atonement, as is the earth on which we live. After the cleansing of the Earth by its baptism with Noah’s flood, it will be cleansed by fire. The infinite atonement makes that cleansing of the Earth possible. Then it moves the Earth into a “new heaven and a new earth” in the Earth’s glorious millennial epoch. Then, amazingly, the infinite atonement moves the Earth again into another “new heaven and new earth” at the end of the millennium. That is when the Savior presents His Kingdom to the Father and into the celestial realms of glory. Again, that celestial process is powered by the Savior’s infinite atonement. We cannot say enough in praise, honor, and in deepest gratitude for all He has done, is doing, and will do to bring us back to the Father.

The TRUTHs and LIGHT of God are beyond our comprehension, but what we can come to understand is glorious. We cannot imagine a better plan. THANK YOU, LORD, for Your infinite love in providing this Perfect Plan of Happiness—perfected by our Savior’s perfect and infinite atonement. In honor of God, I share the TRUTHs and LIGHT He has taught me.

David W. Allan (9 November 2024)

PS The keystone over the entry to our home is “Truth is Light.” (D&C 84:45)

Photo: David W. Allan

What is Eternal Life?

Spirituality, , ,

FreepikEternal Life is the greatest of all the gifts of God. Jesus in prayer, “As thou hast given [Me] power over all flesh, that [I] should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given [Me].  And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” (John 17:2, 3)

But how do we comprehend the incomprehensible? Thanks to the beautiful truths of the restoration of the fullness of the gospel, we gain great and inspiring understandings of Eternal Life. In this scripture, the Apostle John gives us a beautiful definition of “Eternal Life.” It is to know God and His Beloved Son. The implications of that knowledge are enormous. Jesus has asked us to be perfect like He and the Father are perfect. (3 Nephi 12:48) We learn from the restoration that Eternal Life is not only life with God but growing into perfection to be like God. We have the great promise: “He that keepeth his commandments receiveth truth and light until he is glorified in truth and knoweth all things” (D&C 93:28)

Why Are We Here?

When Vinney Tolman passed the veil of death, he was taught the “Purpose of Life” by his great-great-grandfather Drake. He asked Vinney, “Why are we here?” referring to our mortal journey. Vinney shared his perspective, “I was taught Christian values and principles I should live by— that life was a test to see what kind of soul we have.” Drake responded, “Your mortal existence is not a test.” He explained that a test implies pass or fail. God created a “system where everyone succeeds, but only at the speed that they are able to grow.” Vinney questioned, “So, we can continue progressing after we die?” And Drake said, “We do indeed… the life you have on earth is a reflection of the life you can have afterward… [God] wants to give us more love, more responsibilities, and more opportunities to create and grow and love in ways you have never imagined. But you have to be ready for it… Whatever progress you can make while alive will help you that much more after you move on.” Life is a grand opportunity to grow in LIGHT and TRUTH. Jesus is the way and the truth and the life.  (John 14:6)

Learning in This Life

The Prophet Joseph Smith taught: “…if a person gains more knowledge and intelligence in this life through his diligence and obedience than another, he will have so much the advantage in the world to come.” (D&C 130:18-19)

The cornerstone scripture for the Protestant world is John 3:16; “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” But “everlasting life” is not the same as Eternal Life. The Apostle Paul shares that there are three degrees of glory. (1 Corinthians 15:40-42). The revelation given to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery in Section 76 of the Doctrine and Covenants greatly amplifies that. And Section 88 gives us even more glorious detail.

Paul describes the three degrees of glory like the sun, the moon, and the stars. And as one star differs from another “in glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead…” Those coming to Christ and receiving the fullness of the gospel are promised celestial glory—like unto the sun. Those who accept Christ from the Bible gospel will make it into the Millennium, where they will have the opportunity to receive the fullness of the gospel.  If they accept, they will enter into celestial realms of glory at the end of the millennium. Otherwise, they will enter a glory like unto the moon. Those rejecting Christ in this life will suffer for their sins during the epoch of the millennium. And if they accept Christ, they will have glory like unto the stars (Telestial Kingdom).

In the perfection of our infinitely loving God the “glory of the telestial… surpasses all understanding.” (D&C 76:89) We learn from Section 88 that the Lord rewards us according to the desires of our hearts. The Lord shares this profound counsel: “…that which they are willing to receive because they were not willing to enjoy that which they might have received. For what doth it profit a man if a gift is bestowed upon him, and he receives not the gift? Behold, he rejoices not in that which is given unto him, neither rejoices in him who is the giver of the gift. (D&C 88:32-33). The beautiful and glorious thing about Their Perfect Plan of Happiness is that we can grow in learning (Light and Truth) until we know what They know. Then we have a fullness of joy as we become like Them.

To Know Them is Eternal Life

I believe the most important thing we can do is help people come to know our infinitely loving Elohim. To know them is ETERNAL LIFE, (John 17:3) the greatest gift of all the gifts of God. (D&C 14:7) And the most important unit in time and in eternity is FAMILY.  Eternal Life is to know and live with our Heavenly Parents and Their Beloved Son, and to be like them—knowing “all things.” What an incredible promise and hope that gives us in the core of our beings and in the deepest reaches of our souls.

Elohim is plural and includes Heavenly Mother. I have come to know of her infinite love as well and of her magnificent role in the Godhead.

Learn the Truths of God

At a meeting in Paris, a good friend and colleague of mine came up to me and said, “I want you to give me a one-sentence summary of your religion!” I went into a deep internal prayer mode, and then shared with him, “We search for Truth with a capital T.” I believe the greatest opportunity in our mortal journey is to learn the TRUTHS of GOD, and then apply them in our lives. I have found the greatest joy in doing so. I believe that path leads us to Eternal Life and a fullness of joy Ironies, when you lose your life for Him, you find it.

Aquarian Gospel of Jesus Christ

In the Aquarian Gospel of Jesus Christ, by Levi, we read: “While he, with Peter, James and John went to Gethsemane to pray. They sat beneath an olive tree, and Jesus opened up the mysteries of life to Peter, James, and John. 

He said, ‘The Spirit of eternity is One unmanifest; and this is God the Father, God the Mother, God the Son in One. In the life of manifests the One became the Three, and God the Father is the God of might, and God the Mother is omniscient God, and God the Son is Love. And God the Father is the power of heaven and earth; and God the Mother is the Holy Breath, the thought of heaven and earth; and God the Son, the only son, is Christ, and Christ is love. I came as a man to manifest this love to men.” (163:29-34) This gospel also shares, “Behold, this Comforter of God, the Holy Breath, is one with God, but she is one that the world cannot receive because it sees her not; it knows her not. But you know her because she will abide within your soul.” (161:36-37)

Eternal Life – The Fullness of Joy

The Gospel of Thomas shares that Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother are “EQUALLY-SACRED.” “THEY ARE THE GREAT-POWERS OF ALMIGHTY/EL-SHADDAI… THE ONE IS NOT [without] THE OTHER IN THE ONE GREAT… YHV.” (117:B) I believe that Heavenly Mother as the “Holy Breath” perfectly orchestrates the angels in the Kingdom of Heaven to have angels speak the words of Her Beloved Son to witness Him across time and in eternity. (2 Nephi 32:2-5) And also to bear witness of Heavenly Father and His infinite love. Heavenly Father has protected Her name from being profaned. She is the best means now for us to know our true ELOHIM and to enjoy Eternal Life and a fullness of joy.

David W. Allan

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The Importance of the Infinite Atonement

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The importance of the Infinite Atonement was emphasized by President Nelson during the October 2024 General Conference. He said that we should learn everything we can about the Atonement. I was delighted to hear this challenge from our Prophet.

While I was serving as Stake President in Boulder, Colorado, I prepared a special talk about the Infinite Atonement and had the High Counselors share this message in all the wards in our Stake. For me, President Nelson’s challenge and my takeaway is, to help as many as I can with what I have learned regarding this most important subject. The Infinite Atonement is the centerpiece of all of world history; it is the most important event ever.

While we were serving our mission in West Africa, Cote d’Ivoire, I wrote a special article for the people there and then put it on our original website: THE FALL OF ADAM and THE ATONEMENT OF JESUS CHRIST are CENTRAL TO CREATION’S DESIGN.

Importance of the Infinite Atonement

The Atonement brought perfection to Heavenly Father’s “Plan of Happiness, and all of Heavenly Father’s children are the recipients. Everyone will be or has been resurrected. Everyone can be forgiven their sins if they repent and receive Christ into their lives. The Infinite Atonement promises the greatest of all the gifts of God, Eternal Life. The more we gain an understanding of the Infinite Atonement, the closer we come to our Savior and enjoy and feel His love in our lives.

The earth and all the hosts of heaven responded to this most important three-day event. The Earth knew its Creator, and during those three hours He was excruciatingly suffering on the cross, “the God of nature suffers.” And rocks were broken up all across the earth and many cities of the wicked were destroyed.

We gain great insights from apocryphal literature:  the prophet Zenos reports, “And the rocks of the earth must rend; and because of the groanings of the earth, many of the kings of the isles of the sea shall be wrought upon by the Spirit of God, to exclaim: “The God of nature suffers.” (1 Nephi 19:12) Then, with His glorious resurrection, the Earth rocked back and forth in rapture, as her Creator commenced by being the first glorious fruits of the resurrection of us all.

The Witness of Jewish Soldiers

When it happened that early Sunday morning, it was witnessed by the hundred Jewish soldiers standing guard as a brilliant light came down from the heavens, and over the night they heard three times: “Adon Mashich Cumi,” which means, “Lord Christ arise.”
The last time was just before sunrise, “the heavens blazed with light… And then the white-robed form tramped on the Roman seal, and then he tore it into shreds; he took the mighty stone in hand as though it were a pebble from the brook, and cast it to the side. And Jesus opened his eyes and said, ‘All hail the rising sun! the coming of the day of righteousness!’

“They saw the body of the Nazarene transmute. They saw it change from a mortal to an immortal form and then disappear. The soldiers heard a voice from somewhere; yea, from everywhere. It said,” Peace, peace on earth; good will to men.”(Chapter 172:26-41 of the Aquarian Gospel of Jesus Christ by Levi)

The Pontius Pilot Account

In Pontius Pilot’s account, he sent his trusted secretary, MALCUS to witness and report. “He said that at about the beginning of the fourth watch, “They Saw A Soft And a Beautiful-Lyght Up Above the Sepulcher.” The Entire Place was lit up and there seemed to be A Crowd Of The Dead Walking around in their grave clothes. Each Of Them Seemed To Be Shouting And Filled With Ecstasy while All Around And Above, was Heard, The Most Beautiful Music he had ever experienced: And The Whole Sky Seemed To Be Full Of Voices Praising: YHV: Yahll’Vol’Hay/God. At This Time there seemed to be a reeling and rocking back-and-forth of The Entire Earth…” (The Crucifixion Report of Pontus Pilot to : Tiberius Caesar, pgs 147-151)
It seems the whole Earth was rejoicing with her Creator’s resurrection.

Gospel of Joseph of Arimathea

We read in the gospel of Joseph of Arimathea transliterated from Old English by Dezert-Owl; fortunately, I have become friends with him. This gospel describes Jesus’ mother Mary’s anguish: “SHE STOOD OUT-SIDE [of the tomb], CRYING BITTERLY (25:74).” Thinking Him dead, she didn’t recognize Him, as He appeared before her, “DRESSED in A BRYGHT-WHITE ROBE Ov LYGHT (25:110).” He asked her, “Why Are YOU BURSTING-OUT In TEARZ Ov A-Fection [over an] “Empty-Tomb (25:112).” “I [have] RELEASED All Ov Thoze Who Were [in the Spirit-world] Who ARE WORTHY [all the way back to Adam and Eve] (25:158).” “THEN SHE ROZE-UP, AN SHE GAVE HYM A GREAT EMBRACE (25:163).” “Then THE VIRGIN-MOTHER Looked Be-Hind HYM, An She Saw The GREAT-NUMBERZ THAT HE HAD TAKEN-UP, Out-From The Grave, ALL DRESSED-UP, IN THEIR PURE-WHITE ROBEZ (25:167).” He told her, “I Am Now PRESENTING Them Az THE GREAT-OFFERING BeFore… Father Az I DELIVER Them To PARADISE (25:166).” Mary’s heart was overwhelmed with joy when she realized what her Son had accomplished. Yet, she saw only a touch of His infinite atonement.

Mary Magdalene, His wife, saw Him immediately after. She went from the depts of despair to the heights of ecstasy when He called her name, “Mary (John 20:16).” In some translations, she also embraced the Lord.

Misunderstandings

Over the centuries, there have crept in a lot of misunderstandings in Christianity about the Atonement and some in our church, as well. The Book of Mormon gives us the clearest understanding of the resurrection as part of Infinite Atonement.  And, the records of early Christianity help us a great deal also.

Good Friday – A False Tradition

Good Friday is a false tradition of great significance. The Savior was crucified on Thursday and not on Friday. He needed those three days to organize missionary work in Paradise, where he went with the thief on the cross (John 23:42-43).

The Book of Mormon and the Bible are clear about the three days, as well as with other ancient American records. We read in the vision of Samuel the Lamanite of the Savior’s Atonement. “But behold, as I said unto you concerning another sign, a sign of his death, behold, in that day that he shall suffer death the sun shall be darkened and refuse to give his light unto you; and also the moon and the stars; and there shall be no light upon the face of this land, even from the time that he shall suffer death, for the space of three days, to the time that he shall rise again from the dead… darkness should cover the face of the whole earth for the space of three days.” (Helaman 14:20, 27)

Jesus gave the Jews a sign that as “Jonas” spent three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, so would He spend three days and three nights in the “heart of the earth.” (Matt. 12:38-40) I did a podcast with Brian Nettles and Michael Claridge explaining a stone found by Russell Burrows in the Heartland and given to Wayne May.  It beautifully displays the Atonement, as taught in the Book of Mormon. The stone clearly depicts the three days. The Lord orchestrated in the Hebrew calendar two Sabbaths in a row for His Infinite Atonement. He had Jonah in the whale’s belly symbolically as well. I share the link for that podcast below.


The Validity of Three Days

We also learn a lot from apocryphal literature on the validity of the three days. Ferrar Fenton’s Bible translated from the original Greek shares the two Sabbaths over the three days of the infinite atonement (John 19:20, and see the footnote to this scripture). Joseph of Arimathea took a gospel of Jesus Christ with him to Britain written before the four  gospels. He also took the family of Christ and other dear disciples. The trans-Literation of this gospel by Dezert-Owl mentions the two Sabbaths in a row as well, in conjunction with the Infinite Atonement. (Chapter 25:58)

Seven Steps to The Infinite Atonement

As we study the Infinite Atonement, we find there are seven significant steps that occurred over those three sacred days. Those seven steps changed the world forever. The seven steps are: 1) Gethsemane; 2) Rejected by the Jews; 3) Rejected by the Gentiles (Romans); 4) His crucifixion; 5) He voluntarily gave His life for us, “No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself…” (John 10:18); 6) He spent three days in Paradise organizing missionary work and opening the “prison doors”; and 7) His glorious resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:20-22; 2 Nephi 9:6-8; Alma 42:23).

It is the resurrection that brings us back into the “presence of God.” It is the resurrection for everyone as part of the Infinite Atonement that overcame the physical death brought about by Adam and Eve. With all the repenting we could ever do, we would be lost without the resurrection. Modern saints for the most part and most Christians miss this extremely important Book of Mormon message of the resurrection being part of the Infinite Atonement. President Nelson specifically mentioned the “infinite atonement.”

His glorious resurrection launched early Christianity. After His resurrection, He spent 40 days with the early saints instructing them on the fullness of the gospel—including the temple ceremony and that he was married to Mary Magdalene; see the blog article giving Hugh Nibley’s explanation of Acts 1:3.

Atoning Sacrifice

The Atoning Sacrifice” is a common phrase used in the LDS community.  Our gratitude goes to the core of our being for Christ’s Atoning Sacrifice. But, if one assumes that is the same as the Infinite Atonement, talked about in the Book of Mormon, this is a big omission. “Atoning sacrifice” covers our sins, but the phrase leaves out the last two critical steps in the infinite atonement. The phrase “Atoning Sacrifice” is only mentioned once in our scriptures. Joseph F. Smith introduces this phrase in Doctrine and Covenants 138 in the context of his vision of missionary work in the spirit world. In other words, after the Lord finished His “Atoning Sacrifice,” which includes steps 1) through 5) of the Infinite Atonement, He then completed step 6. Can you imagine how many souls benefitted from Him opening up missionary work in the spirit world?  Many billions have died having not the opportunity to hear the fullness of the gospel.

You see “Atoning Sacrifice” in the headings of several chapters in the LDS scriptures. It seems that modern saints have lost the vision of the great importance of the glorious resurrection, step 7, as the capstone to the Infinite Atonement. In step 7, Christ’s resurrection was the fire that ignited the flame for ancient Christianity. The same happened as the resurrected Lord visited in America. Chief Midegah (David Taylor) of the Ojibway Tribe told us that the Book of Mormon is not about faith because it is fact. It is their history also. They call Him the “Great Peacemaker.” For them, He is a reality.

Resurrection Morning

As mentioned, Christ’s resurrection is the capstone to the infinite atonement. The Bible barely mentions the resurrection of others: “And the graves were opened and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.” (Matt.27:53-53) Christ had to remind the Nephites of this extremely important event that had not been recorded. (3 Nephi 23:7-13)

Have you thought about how many people were resurrected that morning when Christ broke the bands of death? This first resurrection included all the righteous over the 4,000 years back to Adam and Eve. I surmise that over a million souls came forth from their graves across the globe that glorious Easter morning.

I think you will enjoy a podcast explaining a stone showing the atonement found by Russell Burrows and given to Wayne May: The Semena Santa Stone – David Allan Interview (youtube.com). It beautifully parallels the Book of Mormon story and augments the Bible account as well. It clearly indicates the three days in the grave and visiting the spirit world, and it is an authentic stone inscription. It has been proven to not be fraudulent.

The Infinite Atonement Massively Includes

1. Covers all the “worlds without number.”
2. Glorious resurrection for all of Father’s children according to their thoughts, words, and deeds.
3. Forgiveness of sins for all who repent and come unto His Beloved Son.
4. After the Earth’s baptism with water and fire, moves the Earth to a paradisiacal glory during the Savior’s millennial reign as King of kings and Lord of lords in a terrestrial location in our galaxy.
5. Then the Savior delivers the Earth and His Kingdom to the Father in Celestial realms of glory, at the end of the millennium. This is depicted in the earthworks near Newark, Ohio.
6. And with the perfect final judgment delivers all the terrestrial folks and Telestial folks to their place, and “the glory of the Telestial surpasses all understanding,” (D&C 76:89) which is the lowest kingdom. (1 Corinthians 15:40-43) How merciful is our God.
7. Then the “sons of perdition” have “no forgiveness in this world nor in the world to come…  Having denied the Holy Spirit after having received it, and having denied the Only Begotten, Son of the Father, having crucified him unto themselves and put him to an open shame.” They suffer a “second death.” (D&C 76:32-37)

The Infinite Atonement includes the “atoning sacrifice” and so much more.

As great as the “Atoning Sacrifice” is, the massive inclusiveness of the Infinite Atonement leaves us astounded—touching on the incomprehensible greatness and infinitely loving goodness of our God. I pray that we may all live our lives to be the full recipients of the incomprehensible great blessings of the Infinite Atonement.

Here are some complimentary blog articles for your study. It is my desire to help you to know that TRUTH IS LIGHT, and that LIGHT, HIS LIGHT, brings us ever closer to our Creator.
https://itsabouttimebook.com/spiritual-science-seven-steps-in-atonement/ 
https://itsabouttimebook.com/the-full-infinite-atonement/ 
https://itsabouttimebook.com/the-infinite-atonement-and-paradise/
https://itsabouttimebook.com/resurrection-capstone-of-the-atonement/
https://itsabouttimebook.com/the-perfect-infinite-atonement/
https://itsabouttimebook.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/New-The-Resurrection-Disproves-The-Theory-of-Evolution.pdf
https://itsabouttimebook.com/the-infinite-atonement-of-jesus-christ/

David W. Allan (10 October 2024)

Photo : Christ – Wikipedia

Zions Is Coming!

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Zion is coming. How exciting is that? In a world spiraling down in wickedness, in the grand irony of the Lord, He will “bring again Zion. (Isa. 52:8) With a voice together they shall sing the songs of redeeming love.

As we look at Jerusalem today, it is especially exciting to know that Jerusalem will become a ZION society—pure in heart and of one heart and one mind with no poor among them. The New Jerusalem spoken of in the scriptures will be built in Missouri and the City of Enoch will join it—with also a pure in heart people. And “with the voice together sing this new song.” (Rev. 3:12; Ether 13:1-12; D&C 84:98-100)

99 – The Lord hath brought again Zion;
The Lord hath redeemed his people, Israel,
According to the election of grace,
Which was brought to pass by the faith
And the covenant of their fathers.
100 -The Lord hath redeemed his people,
And Satan is bound and time is no longer.
The Lord hath gathered all things in one.
The Lord hath brought down Zion from above.
The Lord hath brought up Zion from beneath.


Gathering Israel in Preparation for ZION

President Russell M. Nelson has said that the most important thing we can do right now is to gather Israel on both sides of the veil. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only one doing that. We are the only church with temples to provide the ordinances by the living for those who have passed on. This is under the assumption that they have excepted the gospel in the spirit world. Peter so declared: “For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit (1 Peter 4:6).”

On the 20th and 21st of September 2024, a hallmark conference was held in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. The conference featured Chief Midegah, as an Ojibwa Outreach, to gather Israel from the indigenous Native Americans. He and other key Native American leaders have established a brotherhood bond with key rabbis in New York and in Jerusalem.

As part of the conference, Chief Midegah shared how this bond of brotherhood came about, and one of the rabbis spoke at the conference. These rabbis have connections with over 5,000 rabbis across the world. It is an amazing outreach beyond indigenous Native Americans and the Chief is right in the middle of it all.

Messianic Jews and Israel being gathered

The number of Messianic Jews is growing rapidly; there are now over 350,000. The converts per thousand members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have increased from 7.6 to 14.6 in the last three years. This is over 200% in only three years. Before that the convert rate had been decreasing for more than four decades.  Most of the converts are from outside of the United States– as Israel is being gathered from the four corners of the Earth, as prophesied.

Zion Media Podcast

I just viewed a fascinating YouTube podcast on Zion Media. The guest was Boyd Ricks, who was prompted by Heavenly Father to meet Chief Midegah at a “Land of Promise” conference in June held in Spanish Fork, Utah. He shared a picture of their meeting. On the YouTube podcast, Ricks indicated that Chief Midegah is a key player in helping gather Israel. Ricks is a devout follower of Jesus Christ and shared several relevant scriptures telling of the current gathering.          

An Ideal ZION Society Is Coming

The ideal ZION society is coming, motivated by the first law of heaven. From chapter 19 in my book “It’s About Time”, I share below extracts from that chapter and some of my thoughts: We live in exciting times as Israel is being gathered. And we see the signs associated with the “Lord bringing about Zion.”

What do Ideal Zion Societies Like?

In 1909 the Jews began their kibbutzim projects. They are collective communities in Israel working together around a common goal. They were first based on agriculture but later branched into other economic opportunities — including some high-tech ideas. We visited two of them when we were there in 1987. It was impressive to see their communal spirit, as they ate together and worked together. The early Christians — both in the old world and in the new world — had “all things in common.” (Acts 2:44; 4:32; 4 Nephi 1:3) Enoch and Melchizedek established ideal societies–called Zion–and were taken up into heaven. As part of the restoration of all things, they are coming back (Eph. 1:10; Moses 7:67-69; JST- Genesis 14:25-40). Prophetically we know that Jerusalem will become such a Zion society as will the New Jerusalem, and those taken up will join those here on Earth in preparation for the Second Coming of our Lord. (Revelations 21:2; Doctrine and Covenants 84:96-102) Indeed, we anticipate a very exciting time in this regard — greater than anything we have ever seen. As described in the Book of Moses 7:

62 And righteousness will I send down out of heaven; and truth will I send forth out of the earth, to bear testimony of mine Only Begotten; his resurrection from the dead; yea, and also the resurrection of all men; and righteousness and truth will I cause to sweep the earth as with a flood, to gather out mine elect from the four quarters of the earth, unto a place which I shall prepare, an Holy City, that my people may gird up their loins, and be looking forth for the time of my coming; for there shall be my tabernacle, and it shall be called Zion, a New Jerusalem

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

64 And there shall be mine abode, and it shall be Zion, which shall come forth out of all the creations which I have made; and for the space of a thousand years, the earth shall rest.


These societies learn how to internalize and live the first two great commandments in all that they do, and that makes all the difference; for it is on these two commandments that hang all the law and the prophets. (Matt. 22:36-40)

How Can Zion Come?

It is difficult for most to envision such a society as we grovel around in this fallen world, which often looks a lot like the survival of the fittest. Our lack of vision is because we have forgotten who we really are as literal spirit offspring of infinitely loving Heavenly Parents. Also, many don’t realize that our struggles here are a necessary part of our growth in reaching the goal our Savior gave to us. The Lord asked us to be perfect like our Father in heaven is perfect and learning to love as they love. (Matt. 5:48) Many miss the point. We cannot perfect ourselves, but Christ can and will as we come unto Him (Moroni 10:32-33).

The world–drowning in atheism–has lost this vision.  Those who choose to follow the world will perish when the Lord brings about the end of worldliness.  It behooves us to repent and to encourage as many as we can to repent and come out of “Babylon the Great,” which shall fall, and to be pure in heart.

Despite Satan’s best efforts to take people away from God, the Lord will bring about Zion, and all who choose to obey the Law of Love can be part of it. Living this Law of Love brings us out of “Babylon.”  As mentioned, the events associated therewith will be more spectacular than anything the world has ever seen.

To be Part of ZION, We need to Be One with the Lord

Jesus prayed for us to be one (John 17). Jesus’ prayer was realized in part with the Nephites (3 Nephi 19:) “25 And it came to pass that Jesus blessed them as they did pray unto him, and his countenance did smile upon them, and the light of his countenance did shine upon them, and behold they were as white as the countenance and also the garments of Jesus; and behold the whiteness thereof did exceed all the whiteness, yea, even there could be nothing upon earth so white as the whiteness thereof… 28 Father, I thank thee that thou hast purified those whom I have chosen, because of their faith, and I pray for them, and also for them who shall believe on their words, that they may be purified in me, through faith on their words, even as they are purified in me. 29 Father, I pray not for the world, but for those whom thou hast given me out of the world, because of their faith, that they may be purified in me, that I may be in them as thou, Father, art in me, that we may be one, that I may be glorified in them.” And they became a ZION people. We read that “there could not be a happier people… they were in one the children of Christ, and heirs to the kingdom of God (4 Nephi 16-17).”

In our day the Savior profoundly states: “Behold, this I have given unto you as a parable, and it is even as I am. I say unto you, be one; and if ye are not one ye are not mine.” (D&C 38:27) In so doing we become pure in heart and of one mind and one heart with the Lord and learn to love like He loves. We have a ZION mentality. I am privileged to be a friend of Chief Midegah, and his goal is the same: to be ONE across the globe with all of God’s children. This is in preparation for ZION.

All things in Common

How will the Lord build up a Society with “all things in common” and of the Pure in Heart?

So much of life is about competition and not about loving cooperation–sharing and caring. The people of the world tend to worship things and sports and not the Lord. This is contrary to being one and of having all things in common.  Well did the Apostle Paul say:

We must not be conceited, challenging one another to rivalry, jealous of one another. If a man should do something wrong, my brothers, on a sudden impulse, you who are endowed with the Spirit must set him right again very gently. Look to yourself, each one of you: you may be tempted too. Help one another to carry these heavy loads, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. For if a man imagines himself to be somebody, when he is nothing, he is deluding himself. Each man should examine his own conduct for himself; then he can measure his achievement by comparing himself with himself and not with anyone else. For everyone has his own proper burden to bear. (Galatians 6:1-5 New English Bible)

Of ourselves, we are nothing. But with God, we are of infinite worth for He has designed His perfect plan of happiness so that — if we so choose — we can “be like Him.” (1 John 3:1-3; Philippians 3:21)

Let us pray “with all the energy of heart” to be filled with His love. (Moroni 7:48) That will make all the difference! The society of heaven and ZION are so designed. Let us anticipate having “all things in common” and work to be pure in heart and of one mind and one heart with the Lord.

For those desiring to be part of this great society and to help in its preparation, the Lord promises:

And blessed are they who shall seek to bring forth my Zion at that day, for they shall have the gift and the power of the Holy Ghost; and if they endure unto the end they shall be lifted up at the last day, and shall be saved in the everlasting kingdom of the Lamb; and whoso shall publish peace, yea, tidings of great joy, how beautiful upon the mountains shall they be. (1 Nephi 13:37)

Where Will Zion Be?

The spirit of Zion can be in your heart and in your home.  As one reads all the scriptures about Zion, one gets this wonderful feeling that the Lord’s primary goal is to bring about this ideal ZION society. And the joy that comes to Him and those who have truly inculcated His glorious gospel message is a celestial reward. (Moses 1:39) So, Zion is much more than a place; it is a celestial feeling of love.

In due process, the Lord will bring about the City of Zion in Jerusalem. Ironically, Jerusalem in Hebrew means city of peace.  Yet, it has been the most fought-over city in the world, but it will become as its name implies when He comes.  There will be a world purging before known as the Battle of Armageddon. When He comes to the Jews, the Lord will declare (Zechariah 12:10; D&C 45:51-53):

And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.

And then shall the Jews look upon me and say: What are these wounds in thine hands and in thy feet?  Then shall they know that I am the Lord; for I will say unto them: These wounds are the wounds with which I was wounded in the house of my friends. I am he who was lifted up. I am Jesus who was crucified. I am the Son of God. And then shall they weep because of their iniquities; then shall they lament because they persecuted their king.

Their sorrow will be turned into the greatest joy as they become a ZION people, as prophesied.

The scriptures also tell us of a New Jerusalem here in America.  A major purging will occur here as well before the one in Israel.  This one will be highly unique, where “highly” is a pun, as Enoch’s Zion City from on high joins the one here in America.  That will be,  literally an astronomical event!  The Lord has revealed the center of this transcendent earth-changing event as Independence, Missouri – the “place of the City of Zion.” (D&C 57:2) As shared above, those gathering there will sing a new song of Zion (D&C 84:96-102).

Moroni, in vision, describes both of these Jerusalem’s coming forth in our day (the new and the old; Ether 13: 1-12).  It is exciting to know that we are in the midst of these glorious events that are about to unfold.  The world purging will be worse than anything the world has ever seen because the wickedness now is greater than the world has ever been.  We may not know in detail what the future holds, but we know who holds the future. Our greatest opportunity is to be in step with Him.

Most don’t know of or speak of the infinite love of God, but I do. The third verse of the Christian hymn “The Love of God,” by F. H. Lehman deeply touched my soul in this regard. That verse is from a poem written in Germany in A.D. 1050 by a Jewish Rabbi poet, Meir Ben Isaac Nehorai. I share here the inspired translation:

Could we with ink the ocean fill—
And were the skies of parchment made,
Were ev-‘ry talk on earth a quill—
And ev-‘ry man a scribe by trade.
To write the love of God above—
Would drain the oceans dry.
Nor could the scroll contain the whole—
Though stretched from sky to sky.

There is an excellent movie by the same title that shares the story of how Leyman came to write the song with his eight-year-old son’s help and the Lord’s orchestration of it coming forth.

God’s love is the motivation behind all of creation and for the birthing of His spirit children—providing spirit bodies for all of the children of Adam and Eve. The above lyrics come the closest to any I know of capturing God’s infinite love for each of us. I feel the Lord gave me the following poem:

There is no limit to the good we can do,
If we but look to heaven to guide us through.
From our heavenly home, we learned of its creeds,
To bless God’s offspring with our thoughts, words, and deeds.

Consider the example of William Wilburforce (1759-1833). As a devout converted Christian, he was focused over several years on abolishing the slave trade in the UK and succeeded in 1807. Then three days before he died, slavery was abolished. This is 32 years before the US Thirteenth Amendment.

Let us fully come to Christ and live the two first great commandments and be pure in heart and be one with Him. In so doing, we can help the Lord bring about ZION! (Matt. 5:8) It will be the most exciting and joyful event the world has ever seen, and we can be part of it. I pray that we all will.

David W. Allan

P.S. September 22, 2024, is the first day of FALL, and we are all redeemed from the FALL of Adam and Eve, as all will be resurrected. THANK YOU, LORD! And we rejoice in Christ, who totally overcame all of our sins. We have that most important assurance of eternal life, as we come unto Him; 2 Nephi 31:20-21; John 3:16.)

Photo:  Elisha Vision

Ojibwe Native American Outreach Conference

Spirituality, , , ,

The Book of Mormon and Ojibwe Outreach Conference will be 20-21 September 2024 in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. Below, you can see the list of excellent speakers on Friday. On Saturday, Chief Midegah (David Taylor) has organized an excellent and exciting set of presentations. I believe this will be a groundbreaking conference, and it is available for free to the attendees and to the world. Streaming is available.

David Taylor has transferred his LDS membership to Ottawa and has an excellent relationship with his Bishop and Stake President. He has a temple recommend.
The Rabbi, who will be speaking at the conference, has helped David identify one of the Books of Moses in the Ojibwa birch bark scrolls. They will be sharing this and a lot more. David knows more about the Native American’s history in the Americas than anyone I have ever met or known.

The conference at the Wisconsin venue is full. However, the conference will be streamed from several locations.  YouTube also offers several opportunities to see the conference.  The following links are four podcast channels that will be covering the conference. They have a combined following of about 35,000 viewers.

Four YouTube Streaming Opportunities

ZionMedia

MLBPublishing2023

ComeFollowMeLatterDayMedia

Book of Mormon Heartland – For $20.00 it has excellent streaming.  The
conference recording of the conference will be available later as well.

Friday Conference Schedule (Central Standard Time)

09:00 – 9:50   Marty Braden – Coming forth of the Book of Mormon
10:00 – 10:50 David Hocking – Introducing the Book of Mormon (including 2 of 3 migrations)
11:00 – 12:00  Rabbi Yossi Schulman

Lunch break with entertainment by Shem Jessop at 12:40.

1:00 – 1:30 Isaiah in Book of Mormon – Kristen Mortensen
1:40 – 2:30  Gaining a Testimony of the Book of Mormon – David Douglas
2:35 – 3:00  The Sermon on the Mount –  Nancy James
3:10 – 3:30  Stories of Christ in America – Utahna
3:40 – 4:30  Cumorah – Hook Jones
Dinner Time – Fry Bread and Chili served at Entertainment by Shem Jessop at 5:10.
5:30 – 6:15  DNA and the Book of Mormon – David Read
6:20 – 7:00 The Michigan Artifacts – Wayne May
7:00 – 7:15  What Did We Miss? – Lance Morris

Saturday Conference Schedule

Chief Midegah – David Taylor
Gichi Nokomis Miscozikwe – Sherry Cardinal, Adik Doodem
Rabbi Yossi Schulman – Director of UnitetheWorld.org – Jewish outreach to gather Israel
Jair Peltier – Candidate for Turtle Mountain Chairman
Anishinaabek Elder Kevin Best
Ogimaa Ogigwanabik
High Priest Elder Solomon Wawatie “Face in the Rock”
Midew Assistant James O’leary

Who is Chief Midegah?

If you are not aware of who Chief Midegah is, there are several of his YouTube videos available at Book of Mormon Heartland.  Scroll to the bottom of this page.

This will be a very significant historical conference. We are truly seeing the Lamanites blossom as a rose. Brian Nettles, who organized the conference just put out a flier on his facebook page with pictures: (20+) Facebook

David W. Allan (8 September 2024)

Photo:  David W. Allan

Zion – An Israel Experience

Spirituality, , ,

I testify that Jesus walked, taught, and worked the miracles described in the gospels. And He worked out the perfect and infinite atonement in Jerusalem (this holy and sacred place). In one of the many grand ironies of the Lord, Jerusalem means the city of peace.

Yet, it has been fought over more than almost any other city. But in His grand plan, it will become so. It will be a ZION society of the pure in heart, who are of one mind and one heart with the Lord. My wife and I have been to Israel four times, and here I share some of our ZION experiences.

Now, with all the conflict in Israel, it is hard to imagine a “pure in heart” people being of “one mind and one heart with God.” But we had a taste of it while there, and it surely shall come to pass.

President Spencer Kimball went to Israel during the energy crises. He was greatly impressed and when he wrote an article about his trip in the Church’s ENSIGN magazine, he said if you have a chance to go; do it. I thought this an unusual thing for him to share when travel was discouraged. I never thought I would have the chance. But in 1986, I was invited to give some lectures, and then later to help with Israel’s official atomic clock timekeeping system.

In 1986, I was then serving as Stake President of the Boulder Stake in Colorado. I knew I would be released the next year—after ten years of service, as President. In preparation for the trip the next year, I read the four gospels again and paid attention to where the miracles took place in detail as part of my preparations for what I thought would be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Dr. Avinoam Shinhar, the director of the National Physical Laboratory for Israel, asked me to spend our first week at NPLI in Jerusalem working with their chief scientist, Dr. Alex Lepek. My wife and I ended up going to Israel four times to help them over a five-year span. Our collaborative efforts were very successful, as we tied their timing system to Universal Time (UTC) the world time standard.

While I was helping at NPLI, they had a professor who prided himself in knowing all the significant historical places both for Hebrew and Christian. At the close of each day’s work, he kindly would take us to one of these sights.

Seeking Bethany

I asked him if he would take us to Bethany. I had him stumped; he didn’t know where Bethany was. I knew about where it was from the New Testament account. So, on Friday, he said, “Let’s go find Bethany.” We went to a monastery on the south end of the Mt. Olives, and he asked a nun for directions. She directed us on the Road to Jericho to the “Bethany Souvenir Shop,” which is all that remains of Bethany. The reason he did not know where Bethany was because the name had changed.

Lazarus – Come Forth

The Savior’s raising Lazarus from the grave changed the name of the town.  The name of the town went from Bethany to the Town of Lazarus.  In Arabic, it is called al-Azariya–meaning the place where Lazarus lived. I have a blog article about this insightful experience: SACRED BETHEL, BETHANY, & BETHLEHEM.  (itsabouttimebook.com). This reveals direct evidence of the Savior’s ministry to the world. Else, why would they change the name of the town to reflect the significance of the Savior raising Lazarus from the dead?

“Lazarus, Come forth!

BYU Israel Campus

The BYU-Israel campus in Jerusalem is unique. The chapel has glass windows on three sides: looking south to the Mt. of Olives, west to the Dome of the Rock, near where the temple was, and to the northwest to the place of crucifixion and the Garden tomb. After one of our trips to Israel, I was sitting in the chapel in our Stake Center. During the sacrament, I was envisioning in my mind’s eye this setting in Jerusalem. I started weeping in deep gratitude for the infinite atonement. I blew my nose so hard that I damaged the hearing in my left ear. Now I have a constant reminder of that experience for which I am deeply grateful.

BYU-Jerusalem Center is the multiple arched building to the upper left.

The Orson Hyde Memorial Park is directly south of BYU-JC. It has his dedicatory prayer inscribed and is the biggest park in Jerusalem. In the prayer he shared the prophesy that Jerusalem would become the Capitol City of Israel. President Trump helped make that happen during his term of office.

After the week in Jerusalem, I gave my lectures in Tel Aviv the next week. Then I had arranged with Dan Rona to go on his tour during our last week in Israel. Dan was born in Haifa and is a Jewish convert. He knows the Hebrew traditions and history and has the glorious restoration of the fullness of the gospel perspective. His scriptures were well-worn! And he used them extensively as we went to several places in Israel—all of great significance.

Dan took us to the tomb where the Savior’s body laid for three days before His glorious resurrection. We walked into and observed that the tomb was empty. During those three days, His Spirit was in Paradise, opening up missionary work for all those in the spirit world. (1 Peter 3:18-20; 4:6)

Sermon On the Mount

Dan took us to where he believes the Sermon on the Mount was delivered overlooking the Sea of Galilee. After reading from some of those chapters in the Book of Mathew, Dan gave us time to meditate about what he had shared and the feelings associated with this beautiful spot.

There was a boat out on the Sea of Galilee about a mile away, and we could hear them talking. There were some sheep on an adjacent hillside, and it was as if they were next to us. Evidence of an acoustic miracle witness that the Savior shared this paramount sermon so that all the masses gathered could clearly hear.

As I sat pondering and meditating—looking out over the Sea of Galilee, a beautiful Spirit of the Lord washed over my whole body testifying that all those miracles I had studied about in preparation for this trip happened here in Galilee as described in the gospels.

It was this sermon with important additions that brought the Nephites in North America to become a ZION people, as described in Third Nephi 12-19. Their ideal ZION society is described in Fourth Nephi. The Prophet Joseph Smith taught, “We ought to have the building up of Zion as our greatest object.” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith [2007], 186) Elder Jeffrey Holland profoundly testifies of the same in our last LDS General Conference.

My Favorite Place

Because I have traveled a lot with the atomic clock community, I am often asked, “What is your favorite place in the world?” I always answer, “ISRAEL!” We cannot comprehend the magnitude of the infinite good Christ accomplished there for all of Father’s children—perfecting Heavenly Father’s perfect plan of happiness. I am a witness. Now you know why this was our most favorite trip! My Sweetheart (my wife Edna) shares the same witness and feelings as I do. The wonderful thought now is that we can be part of the coming ideal ZION society, which is coming for sure here in America as well as in Israel. (See Isaiah 2:2-3) The goal is to be pure in heart and to be of one mind and one heart with the Lord (D&C 38:27). The ten heavenly principles shared in Vinney Tolman’s book, THE LIGHT AFTER DEATH, has helped me in my preparations for our coming ZION society. Like the scriptures, it is a life changing book.

David W. Allan (15 August 2024)

Photo: Carl Bloch, 1890 – Free Christ Images

 

Over Coming Excess Stress

Spirituality,

Excess stress is the major cause of most diseases. Excess stress releases excess cortisol, which can kill millions of neurons per day. There are many books and internet suggestions for dealing with this serious problem since modern society is a trigger for excess stress. At the end of this article, I share some blog articles that may help. In this article, I share a very enjoyable way to deal with stress: beautiful music and inspiring poetry.

In the movie, JOURNEY OF MY HEART, the guide, Eric, shares that “music is abstract math and poetry is verbal math.” Music is one of seven learning centers in the brain. Language, math & Logic are two of the other learning centers, and all seven complement each other. So, for me, beautiful music and inspired poetry are profound and touch and bring joy to my soul.

The rhythm and the messages of the King James Bible—76% of it is William Tyndale—have made that book the most popular book ever written. Handel’s Messiah, based on the King James Bible verses, is the most often sung musical ever. And the King of England stood up in reverence when the Hallelujah Chorus in Handel’s Messiah was shared. Everyone now does it by tradition. Only the STAR SPANGELED BANNER in America receives that reverence and honor.

How Great the Wisdom and the Love

One of my all-time favorite poems is the last verse of “How Great the Wisdom and the Love,” composed by Eliza R. Snow. The music is inspiring as well—composed by Thomas McIntyre.

How great, how glorious, ho complete
Redemption’s grand design
Where justice, love, and mercy meet
In harmony divine!

The quatrains of Alexander Pope are awesome; I share three here:

A little learning is a dangerous thing;
Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian Spring.
There shallow draughts intoxicate the brain,
But drinking largely sobers again.

This quatrain reminds me of the phrase, “The more we know, the more we realize what we don’t know.” Being a humble seeker of truth open up the heavens.

Vice is a monster of so frightful a mien;
As to be hated needs but to be seen.
But seen too oft’ familiar with her face,
First we endure, then pity, then embrace.

If we embrace the Lord’s Spirit, we will not go there!

Nature and Nature’s Laws,
Lay hid in night.
God said, Let Newton be!
And all was light.

The world knows that Sir Isaac Newton was the greatest scientist in the world. But most don’t know that Newton wrote three words regarding his religious beliefs for every word he wrote in science. These are hidden away in the Cambridge library. Thanks to our dear friends, Professor Steven Jones and his wife Lezlee and their daughter, who went there with pencil and paper, which is allowed, and copied many of Newton’s profound religious truths. These line up beautifully with the fullness of the gospel restored by the Lord through the Prophet Joseph Smith. Chapter 3 of my new book, Time & Eternity, the End-Times & Beyond Revealed, shares many of Newton’s most important religious insights.

As the most significant scientist in the history of the world, this chapter shares, as it were, Newton’s “Religious Principia.” As an example, quoting from page 79 of my 2023 book:

In a world going awry caused by a people turning from God with ever increasing pornographic “distortions,” Newton has an elegant simple solution: “The way to chastity is not to struggle directly with incontinent thoughts but to avert the thoughts by some employment, or by reading, or by meditating on other things, or by conversation.” This reminds me of some scripture verses: “Look to me in every thought; doubt not, fear not (D&C 6:36).” AND “Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon the house; and it fell not for (he) was founded upon a rock (Christ) (Matt. 7:24-25).” “And whosoever treasureth up my word, shall not be deceived, for the Son of Man shall come, and he shall send his angels before him with the great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together the remainder of his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other (JS-M 37).”

One of my favorite poems is: “The Touch of the Master’s Hand”, also sometimes called The Old Violin, written in 1921 by Myra Brooks Welch. The poem tells of a battered old violin that is about to be sold as the last item at an auction for a pittance, until a master violinist steps out of the audience and plays the instrument, demonstrating its beauty and true value, and touching the audience to the core. The violin then sells for $3,000 instead of a mere $3. The poem profoundly ends by comparing this instrument touched by the hand of a master musician to the life of a sinner who is touched by the hand of God. The change that is wrought on a sinner’s soul, when the Savior touches his heart.

The Touch Of The Master’s Hand – original version has been put to music; BEAUTIFULLY DONE!

I pulled the lyrics from the scriptures for the composition that our son, Sterling, prepared for our missionary farewell. It is actually a millennial hymn. Edna gave it the title:

MESSAGE OF GLADNESS
Righteousness will I send down from heaven,
Truth will I send forth out of the Earth;
To bear testimony of mine only Begotten.
Looking forth for the time of my Coming.
In my name shall they do many wonderful works;
In my name they shall cast out devils;
In my name shall they heal the sick;
Open the eyes of the blind; Unstop the ears of the deaf;
And the tongue of the dumb shall speak, and sing Hallelujah!
My law I will write in their hearts;
I’ll be their God, and they my people.
They shall all know me—
From the least of them unto the greatest of them.
I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.
Praise the Lord, All-mighty! Declare His doings among the people.
Call upon His name; make mention His name is exalted.
Sing unto the Lord; for He has done excellent things.
Cry and shout thou inhabitants of Zion;
For great is the Holy One of Israel, in the midst of thee, Alelujah!
The Lord hath brought Zion down from above;
The Lord hath brought Zion up from beneath;
A message of gladness; rejoice all ye Earth!
I will trust and not be afraid;
I will trust in the Lord!
Chorus:
Endowed from on high; Truth from the Earth;
Hope in our hearts; Faith in the Father;
Redeemed by His Son.
Endowed from on high; Truth from the Earth;
Hope in our hearts; Light of our lives;
Perfected in Him; Perfected in Jesus Christ, the Lord, Amen.

It is available as a blog article on our website: The Message of Gladness | It’s About Time (itsabouttimebook.com).

While teaching institute for the Moroni Stake, I added and changed some words to some of our LDS hymns. The Lord gave me the last verse for his hymn:

I Hearken to Thy Voice sung to the hymn “We Love Thy House O God.”

For me, one of the most inspiring lyrics is the third verse of the Christian hymn tune “The Love of God,” by F. H. Lehman. When I first ran across it on the internet, it deeply touched my soul. That verse is from a poem written in Germany in A.D. 1050 by a Jewish Rabbi poet, Meir Ben Isaac Nehorai. I share here the inspired translation, which is verse three of the hymn:

Could we with ink the ocean fill—
And were the skies of parchment made,
Were ev-‘ry talk on earth a quill—
And ev-‘ry man a scribe by trade.
To write the love of God above—
Would drain the oceans dry.
Nor could the scroll contain the whole—
Though stretched from sky to sky.

There is an excellent movie by the same title that shares the story of how Leyman came to write the song with his eight-year-old son’s help and the Lord’s orchestration to help it come forth. I know that our infinitely loving God is in the details of our lives if we have but eyes to see and hearts to feel.

God’s love is the motivation behind all creation and for the birthing of His spirit children—providing spirit bodies for all of the children of Adam and Eve. We don’t talk of God’s infinite love, but I do. The above lyrics come the closest to any I know of capturing God’s infinite love for each of us.

Here are two of my recent poems; the first one inspired by 
IF WE ONLY UNDERSTOOD by an anonymous author:

There is need of kinder treatment to be given by us all,
There is need that we remember when someone may err and fall,
That within the hidden motive lies the ill or lies the good,
We would treat each other better if we only understood.

If we knew the cares of others–knew the trials and knew the strain,
Under which they may be living–knew their losses and bitter pain,
We would show a better spirit; I am sure that each one could,
We would always speak more kindly, if we only understood.

MY NEW POEM GIVEN RECENT EVENTS:

We may desire to know a man’s heart,
But only God knows his thoughts from the start.
Allowing every man’s sovereignty be,
For a loving God gave us liberty.

THIS POEM CAME TO ME IN HONOR OF OUR SON, NATHAN’S 48TH BIRTHDAY:

There is no limit to the good we can do
.
We but look to heaven to guide us through.
From our heavenly home, we learned of its creeds,
To bless God’s offspring with our thoughts, words, and deeds.

Indeed, beautiful music and inspired poetry will not only reduce harmful stress, but will bring love, joy, and peace to our souls. I conclude with the Savior’s promises:
Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid (John 14:27).

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).

David W. Allan (6 August 2024; Nate’s Birthday)

Here are some relevant blog articles to help deal with excess stress:
Body, Mind, and Spiritual Insights | It’s About Time (itsabouttimebook.com)
Help Stop Suicides | It’s About Time (itsabouttimebook.com)
Healing In His Wings | It’s About Time (itsabouttimebook.com)
Herbal Remedies and Priesthood Blessings | It’s About Time (itsabouttimebook.com)
Solutions for American Diet Disaster | It’s About Time (itsabouttimebook.com)

The stress response turns off healing in the body, while the relaxation response turns on healing. Beautiful music and inspired poetry help that happen: The Power of the Fifth Dimension and Meditation | It’s About Time (itsabouttimebook.com)

Revelation Needed to Thrive

Spirituality,

We are living in a time when personal revelation is more important than ever.  The way you hear His voice may be different than your neighbor’s.  Are you familiar enough with His voice to trust His message for you, even if His counsel or direction may be different than your family or neighbors?

President Russell M. Nelson’s critical counsel is, that you must know how to identify the Lord’s course of action for you.  (Excerpts from talks he has given)

“In coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost.”

“It has never been more imperative to know how the Spirit speaks to you than right now. Do whatever it takes to increase your spiritual capacity to receive personal revelation.”

“Refining our ability to recognize the whisperings of the Holy Ghost and increasing our capacity to receive revelation requires worthiness. Worthiness does not require perfection, but it requires that we strive for increased purity.”

“Pray in the name of Jesus Christ about your concerns, your fears, your weaknesses—yes, the very longings of your heart. And then listen! Write the thoughts that come to your mind. Record your feelings and follow through with actions that you are prompted to take. As you repeat this process day after day, month after month, year after year, you will “grow into the principle of revelation.”

“The Lord expects daily effort, daily improvement, daily repentance. Worthiness brings purity, and purity qualifies us for the Holy Ghost. As we take ‘the Holy Spirit for [our] guide’ (Doctrine and Covenants 45:57), we qualify for personal revelation.”

“We also hear Him more clearly as we refine our ability to recognize the whisperings of the Holy Ghost. It has never been more imperative to know how the Spirit speaks to you than right now. In the Godhead, the Holy Ghost is the messenger. He will bring thoughts to your mind which the Father and Son want you to receive. He is the Comforter. He will bring a feeling of peace to your heart. He testifies of truth and will confirm what is true as you hear and read the word of the Lord.”

“I renew my plea for you to do whatever it takes to increase your spiritual capacity to receive personal revelation.”

“If we are to have any hope of sifting through the myriad of voices and the philosophies of men that attack truth, we must learn to receive revelation.”

He told of experiences that helped him learn how to receive revelation. Whether it was when he, as a young boy, was drawn to the gospel while living in a home led by parents who were not active in the Church, as a young man in medical school marrying Dantzel White, as a father to their 10 children, or, after his wife passed away, marrying Wendy Watson, he said that “each of these blessings has come as a result of seeking and heeding the promptings of the Holy Ghost.”

“Brothers and sisters, how can we become the men and women—the Christlike servants—the Lord needs us to be?” he asked. “How can we find answers to questions that perplex us? If Joseph Smith’s transcendent experience in the Sacred Grove teaches us anything, it is that the heavens are open and that God speaks to His children.”

“All have the ability to receive personal revelation.”

“Follow the example of the Prophet Joseph,” he said. “Find a quiet place where you can regularly go. Humble yourself before God. Pour out your heart to your Heavenly Father. Turn to Him for answers and for comfort.”

President Nelson invited members of the conference congregation to pray about concerns, fears, weaknesses, and “the very longings of your heart.”

To those wondering if God wants to speak to them, President Nelson said, “Yes!”

“You don’t have to wonder about what is true,” he said. “You do not have to wonder whom you can safely trust. Through personal revelation, you can receive your own witness that the Book of Mormon is the word of God, that Joseph Smith is a prophet, and that this is the Lord’s Church. Regardless of what others may say or do, no one can ever take away a witness borne to your heart and mind about what is true.”

President Nelson invited listeners to stretch beyond their current spiritual abilities to receive personal revelation.

REVELATION NEEDED TO SURVIVE AND THRIVE

The Lord is bringing forth Zion, and we can be part of it: a people who are pure in heart and of one mind and one heart. Doing so will help us to thrive in a world going awry.

Develop our revelatory abilities to come to know our infinitely loving Heavenly Father and Mother and our Beloved Savior. Coming to know them is Eternal Life (John 17:3) and the path to a fullness of joy. (Read Christ’s great High Priest’s prayer just before He brought about the infinite atonement in John Chapter 17.)

I share what is hidden to most, a very important parable: “Behold, this I give unto you as a parable, and it is even as I am. I say unto you, be one; and if ye are not one ye are not mine (D&C 38:27).” The Savior’s great High Priest’s prayer was answered with the Nephites, as recorded in 3 Nephi 19, and they became one with Him. Thus, the Bride will be ready to meet the Bridegroom and greatly rejoice. Thus, we can THRIVE, as we become one with Elohim.

I pray that we may be one with Heavenly Father and Mother and their Beloved Son. And may we be numbered amongst those who are pure in heart—of one mind and heart. In ZION, the Savior will be dwelling in our midst as with the Nephites of old, as beautifully described in Third Nephi Chapter 19: “…and his countenance did smile upon them, and the light of his countenance did shine upon them, and behold they were as white as the countenance and also the garments of Jesus (verse 25).” Indeed, they were thriving in His light, as they were purified by Him. May we be full recipients of His FULL INFINITE ATONEMENT.

David W. Allan (30 July 2024)