Of all the many essays, studies, editorials, write-ups, books, letters I [Sterling
D. Allan] have written so far in my life, this ten-minute talk
I wrote back in 1989 is probably one of the most important, if not the most important document
I've ever produced. The premise set forth in this brief document addresses the ideal
relationship between church and state, and our obligations as citizens to be active participants
in both.
I wrote this after completing the book The Vision of
All: Our Past, Present, and Future as Foretold in Book of Mormon History, which presents
these same concepts at length. A friend of mine who was helping me put the final touches on
the book said she had a daylight vision of me giving a talk in LDS General Conference, so I
thought I had better prepare a talk for the occasion. Of course the Mormon Church is not in
the practice of receiving such talks, so the talk was never given in that venue.
Nevertheless, I found it interesting when that general conference ended exactly ten minutes early.
Three years later, I was publishing a bimonthly newsletter (Greater Things) with large chiasms
and parallels from the Old and New Testaments, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and
Covenants. Then I began discovering them in other inspired sources such as the Declaration
of Independence and in hymns.
My friends and I were discovering that patriarchal blessings were also arranged in these divine
poetic formats. Then a friend found a
chiasm in a general conference talk given by President Ezra Taft Benson.
About this time was when I thought to pull out that talk I had
written three years prior and see if maybe it wasn't arranged in some kind of chiasm, or parallel,
or a mixed combination of both. It turned out that the text is loaded with these unintended
poetic forms. Links to these are listed here
following the regular text of the talk. A 24-page reprint
is also available of the talk and its poetic structure as it was written up for the Greater
Things magazine in October.
This was the fall of 1992.
To, make a very long story short, based on various factors, I made the attempt to reach the
pulpit during the Sunday afternoon session of LDS General Conference so that I might give this
talk. Upon reaching the front of the tabernacle, I was escorted out by two security
guards. As would be expected, this episode weighed significantly in my excommunication
that next February.
I share this story not to gain sympathy for my tactics, but rather to illustrate the conviction
I hold in my heart of the importance of what is contained in this message. I hope you will
take a few minutes and read the talk in its entirety, then take
a look at the poetic forms of the talk which become a
tool for further elaborating upon its message.
March 28, 2001 Update:
LDS General Conference Dream - A
group of remnant outcasts is escorted to rostrum, a quiet panic fills the auditorium, we go off
the rostrum, I hug President Hinckley in the hall. Alphabetics scripture code on 312 (AM) provides
commentary on dream.
September 9, 2001 Update:
Concurrent Dream,
Corollary Witness - Jordan Smith recalls. {Jordan's
index}
