Perilous Times of Peace and Safety

Citations from LDS President Hinckley assuring the flock that "all is well," contrary to Book of Mormon warnings against such coddling of a people in need of repentance.  A letter from a concerned mother in Zion.

Hinckley on "All is Well"

I did a little searching of past conference reports delivered by President Hinckley to see how they fit with the words of God to former prophets. I'm dismayed at what I found, as follows:
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President Hinckley, October 1999 General Conference, Sunday Morning session.

"Let the old year go. Let the new year come. Let another century pass. Let a new one take its place. Say good-bye to a millennium. Greet the beginning of another thousand years.  And so we shall go forward on a continuing path of growth and progress and enlargement, touching for good the lives of people everywhere for as long as the earth shall last. "

*He seems to be saying that time will just flow along, unruffled, into the next millennium and everything will be as today, only better. It seems to me I've read the warning in the Book of Mormon about those who say such words as being a deception. President Hinckley makes no mention of the need for repentance, nor of the many, many prophecies of former prophets about the  calamities decreed  upon the people because of their  sins.  "His words speak of "Zion prospereth, yea, All is well."

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April 2001, Sunday Morning Session

"In opening the conference I simply want to very briefly give a report on the Church. It is stronger than it has ever been. It is not only larger in numbers, but I believe there is greater faithfulness among the Saints generally. During the past six months we have had the opportunity of dedicating temples scattered over the earth, far and wide. We have heard testimony of the truth of this work spoken in various languages. We have seen the overwhelming faith of our people who have traveled long distances to get to these dedications. We have witnessed a marvelous increase in the growth of temple activity. We are experiencing slow but steady improvement in most of our fields of activity."

*More all is well. Being told the Church is stronger than ever does not cause members to pause and reflect that perhaps they are in need of repentance. He seems to equate righteousness as being the number of members joining the Church, and the  number of temples dotting the land. The people are not called to repentance but are told they are better than ever. All is swell.

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"I am so grateful that we live in an era of comparative peace. There are no great wars raging across the world. There is trouble here and there but not a great worldwide conflict. We are able to carry the gospel to so many nations of the earth and bless the lives of the people wherever it goes."

*"They cry peace, peace, when there is no peace."
"And when they cry peace, then sudden destruction cometh upon them." You are all in good stead because of your missionary efforts.

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"One of the bellwether marks of the growth and vitality of the Church is the construction of temples. I have spoken of this before, but I am so deeply grateful that since we last met in general conference we were able to reach our goal of 100 operating temples by the end of the year 2000; in fact, we exceeded it. We have just come from dedicating a temple in Uruguay, the 103rd working temple of the Church."

*But what of the Lord's admonition: "Trust ye not in lying words, saying, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord are these." ( Jeremiah 7:4)

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"At some stage in all of this onward rolling, Jesus Christ will appear to reign in splendor upon the earth. No one knows when that will be. Not even the angels in heaven will know of the time of His return. But it will be a welcome day. "

*But what of the admonition of the Lord to watch and be ready, and to notice when the tree begins to leaf, heralding the time of tribulation which had been prophesied to precede the coming of the Lord? We are told , in scripture,  that we may not know the day nor the hour, but we can know of the season of His approaching.  And that the children of the day will be watching and will not be deceived when the night of darkness comes.

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171st General conference April 2001, Opening session

"One of the bellwether marks of the growth and vitality of the Church is the construction of temples."

*No mention of personal righteousness, and the reason why we still haven't established Zion due to our corporate sins. The vitality of the Church should be the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of its members, not the trusting in temples made with hands.  According to Webster's New Collegiate dictionary, a bellwether is a leader of a flock, one that takes the lead or initiative, leader. Webster's 1828 dictionary says: A wether or sheep which leads the flock, with a bell on his neck."

Thusly temple building cannot be a bellwether. If temple building is the bell wether, it becomes a thing of pride. President Hinckley is the bellwether.  A wether sheep is a male which causes sheep to follow him by the sound of the bell tied around his neck. President Hinckley is the one who is causing people to follow him. A prophet, though, should lead one to Christ, and not stand between the people and their God, as one to be worshipped.

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Sunday closing session--

"I believe the Lord does not wish to see His people condemned to live in poverty. I believe He would have the faithful enjoy the good things of the earth. He would have us do these things to help them. And He will bless us as we do so. For the success of this undertaking I humbly pray, while soliciting your interest, your faith, your prayers, your concerns in its behalf. I do so in the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ, amen."

*Why then does the Church spend millions of dollars on its building programs instead of spending more in feeding the poor and hungry? The Lord expects his people to look after their poor and needy. That is the purpose of the tithe, not for building programs. If all of the people had changed hearts, by the new birth, there would be no poor among us, as we would esteem all as our brother and be looking out for their welfare.

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April 2001 Saturday Morning session

"Our membership has grown. I believe it has grown in faithfulness. We lose too many, but the faithful are so strong. Those who observe us say that we are moving into the mainstream of religion. We are not changing. The world's perception of us is changing. We teach the same doctrine. We have the same organization. We labor to perform the same good works. But the old hatred is disappearing, the old persecution is dying. People are better informed. They are coming to realize what we stand for and what we do."

*We are commanded to be a peculiar people and to have nothing to do with the mammon of this world. We shouldn't be worrying about our image and how we can fit with the world. We are NOT suppose to be the same as the mainstream beliefs of the other denominations or world religions. Christ did not speak of tolerance for opposing ideologies. We are to be separate which bear the vessels of the Lord, and not join with Babylon. Again, Pres. Hinckley's words about "the old hatred is disappearing", deceives the people into believing all is well. He causes people to become complacent and apathetic about our true plight.

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October 2001, Sunday closing session

"Now we are at war. Great forces have been mobilized and will continue to be. Political alliances are being forged. We do not know how long this conflict will last. We do not know what it will cost in lives and treasure. We do not know the manner in which it will be carried out. It could impact the work of the Church in various ways."

*These words coming from a supposed prophet should have alarmed all church members, seeing as how the Lord's mouthpiece should be very sure about the future. These words say he is very uncertain about coming calamities, just like any common man.

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"Those of us who are American citizens stand solidly with the president of our nation. The terrible forces of evil must be confronted and held accountable for their actions. This is not a matter of Christian against Muslim. I am pleased that food is being dropped to the hungry people of a targeted nation. We value our Muslim neighbors across the world and hope that those who live by the tenets of their faith will not suffer. I ask particularly that our own people do not become a party in any way to the persecution of the innocent. Rather, let us be friendly and helpful, protective and supportive. It is the terrorist organizations that must be ferreted out and brought down."

*These words tell us that the policy of our government is the Church's policy. Never mind that it is in collusion with Satan's plan of enslavement. All we have to do is love, love, love, and be tolerant and all will be well with us. NOT! Pres. Hinckley  does not define who it is that are terrorists and by whose definition--the Lord's or the government's?

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"No one knows how long it will last. No one knows precisely where it will be fought. No one knows what it may entail before it is over. We have launched an undertaking the size and nature of which we cannot see at this time."

*A lot of uncertainty coming from a man sustained as prophet, seer, and revelator.

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"As we have been continuously counseled for more than 60 years, let us have some food set aside that would sustain us for a time in case of need. But let us not panic nor go to extremes."

*By all means don't go to extremes. What is his definition of "extremes?"  One week, one month, one year, 7 years? Just enough to sustain us "for a time?"  His words cast doubt on storing "too much" food. Besides which the IRS guidelines frown on too much food storage, hence the reason for his words. After all, we have made a deal with the government to only speak that which is permitted.

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"I do not know what the future holds. I do not wish to sound negative, but I wish to remind you of the warnings of scripture and the teachings of the prophets which we have had constantly before us."

Again, some doubt here about worrying too much about the future. But at least he does mention there being  warnings of scriptures.

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"Now, I do not wish to be an alarmist. I do not wish to be a prophet of doom. I am optimistic. I do not believe the time is here when an all-consuming calamity will overtake us. I earnestly pray that it may not. There is so much of the Lord's work yet to be done. We, and our children after us, must do it."

* Again, trying to back pedal. A lot of uncertainty about the future and trying to be popular with the people by not speaking things which will alarm them. We must keep focused on missionary work and temple building, after all. This "prophet" is out of line with all former prophets of scripture which were indeed prophets of doom and warned the people, even at peril of sounding negative and being unpopular.

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"Now, brothers and sisters, we must do our duty, whatever that duty might be. Peace may be denied for a season. Some of our liberties may be curtailed. We may be inconvenienced. We may even be called on to suffer in one way or another. But God our Eternal Father will watch over this nation and all of the civilized world who look to Him. He has declared, "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord" (Ps. 33:12). Our safety lies in repentance. Our strength comes of obedience to the commandments of God."

*These are the comments that really riled me. Our liberties may be "curtailed for a time." These words are spoken as if we should give up our freedoms as if it is no big deal,  and implies that they will be given back later. What, pray tell, would lead anyone to believe that if they give up their liberties for a time, that they will be returned??? Who are we going to give them up to? And why? And I would hardly call it an  "inconvenience" to give up some of one's liberty, as he states. What makes him believe that God will be merciful to us if we neglect to maintain the liberty which men and women bled and died for that we might have it? We have been commanded to defend it at all costs.
Pres. Hinckley speaks one thing and then speaks another--truly our safety does lie in repentance and our strength comes from obedience to the commandments--but our liberty would not be taken if we were living so as to merit remaining a free people.

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"O Father, look with mercy upon this, our own nation, and its friends in this time of need. Spare us and help us to walk with faith ever in Thee and ever in Thy Beloved Son, on whose mercy we count and to whom we look as our Savior and our Lord. Bless the cause of peace and bring it quickly to us again, we humbly plead with Thee, asking that Thou wilt forgive our arrogance, pass by our sins, be kind and gracious to us, and cause our hearts to turn with love toward Thee. We humbly pray in the name of Him who loves us all, even the Lord Jesus Christ, our Redeemer and our Savior, amen."

Truly a beautiful prayer.  But why would the Lord look upon this nation-- that has condoned abortion, homosexuality, idolatry and has basically turned its back on Him--why would he look on it with mercy? And what is his definition of "the cause of peace?" If it as the world defines it, we are lost, for peace without liberty is false security and leads to slavery.

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April 2002, Sunday afternoon session

"May the Spirit of our Lord accompany us and remain with us. We know not what lies ahead of us. We know not what the coming days will bring. We live in a world of uncertainty."

* Again, strange words coming from a man sustained and believed to be a prophet of God who is suppose to be the Lord's mouthpiece and is suppose to  know of a surety about the future. It is not true that we do not know what lies ahead of us. For the scriptures very clearly outline what lies in store for those who fall away from His precepts and go after other gods.

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October 2002 Sunday Morning

"Can anyone doubt that the age in which we live is the most wonderful in the history of the world? There has been a marvelous flowering of science, of medicine, of communication, of transportation, unequaled in all the chronicles of mankind. Is it reasonable to submit that there should also be a flowering of spiritual knowledge as a part of this incomparable renaissance of light and understanding?"

*He just got through stating that we live in an age of uncertainty, and that we may be required to give up some of our liberties for a time, and that we don't know what lies ahead for us,  then he says here that we live in the most wonderful age in the history of the world.  No mention is ever made about our need to stand fast in the liberty wherewith we are made free, and to hold up the banner of liberty and not trade it off for peace and safety of the world.

The scriptures tell us that the end times will be the most tumultuous in the history of the world, because of wickedness of His people, and because of calamities of nature,  and judgments of God.  President Hinckley is leading the flock to believe that they are all in good stead. All is well.  It brings to mind the scripture in Revelation 3: 15-17 that tells us: "I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.  So then, because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with good, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of they nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eye salve, that thou mayest see."

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Sunday Afternoon session, opening

"I believe with all my heart that the Latter-day Saints, generally speaking, are good people. If we live by the principles of the gospel, we must be good people, for we will be generous and kind, thoughtful and tolerant, helpful and outreaching to those in distress. We can either subdue the divine nature and hide it so that it finds no expression in our lives, or we can bring it to the front and let it shine through all that we do."

*These words have a ring of truth, and they soothe us into believing we are in good stead. How many times do our leaders tell us how faithful and wonderful we are?  They do not call to our attention the need for repentance, nor the fact that we live in perilous times, and that we are really less than the dust of the earth, as King Benjamin states. Being told one is wonderful all the time does not cause them to reflect on their need for salvation and cleansing from sin.

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Saturday morning, 2003 April

"And so I might go on. Suffice it to say, the Church is in good condition. I believe its affairs are prudently handled. Our people are growing in faith, in love for the Lord, and in adherence to His teachings. These are difficult times. The economy is struggling. There is conflict in the world. But the Almighty is keeping His promise that He will bless those who walk in faith and righteousness before Him."

* More 'trust in me, all is well, Zion prospereth.'  What about the words of President Benson which said that the church was under condemnation? When was that condemnation lifted? He refers to the struggling economy as being our cause of difficult times, not our unfaithfulness to God.

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October 2003 Sunday morning session

"First, let it be understood that we have no quarrel with the Muslim people or with those of any other faith. We recognize and teach that all the people of the earth are of the family of God. And as He is our Father, so are we brothers and sisters with family obligations one to another. But as citizens we are all under the direction of our respective national leaders. They have access to greater political and military intelligence than do the people generally. Those in the armed services are under obligation to their respective governments to execute the will of the sovereign. When they joined the military service, they entered into a contract by which they are presently bound and to which they have dutifully responded.
One of our Articles of Faith, which represent an expression of our doctrine, states, "We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law" (Articles of Faith 1:12).
But modern revelation states that we are to "renounce war and proclaim peace" (D&C 98:16).
In a democracy we can renounce war and proclaim peace. There is opportunity for dissent. Many have been speaking out and doing so emphatically. That is their privilege. That is their right, so long as they do so legally. However, we all must also be mindful of another overriding responsibility, which I may add, governs my personal feelings and dictates my personal loyalties in the present situation."

*These words make me ill.  Prophets should not be concerned with speaking words of tolerance for ideologies which oppose God's laws, nor admonish people to believe they must obey the laws of man above the laws of God. There is a difference. He neglects to state the qualifying statement from the D&C concerning this article  of faith, wherein Joseph Smith states that we are to obey the laws  "which is the  constitutional law of the land.
Anything more or less than this cometh of evil." ( D&C 98:6,7)

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Sunday Morning session

"When all is said and done, we of this Church are people of peace. We are followers of our Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ, who was the Prince of Peace. But even He said, "Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword" (Matthew 10:34).
This places us in the position of those who long for peace, who teach peace, who work for peace, but who also are citizens of nations and are subject to the laws of our governments. Furthermore, we are a freedom-loving people, committed to the defense of liberty wherever it is in jeopardy. I believe that God will not hold men and women in uniform responsible as agents of their government in carrying forward that which they are legally obligated to do. It may even be that He will hold us responsible if we try to impede or hedge up the way of those who are involved in a contest with forces of evil and repression.
Now, there is much that we can and must do in these perilous times. We can give our opinions on the merits of the situation as we see it, but never let us become a party to words or works of evil concerning our brothers and sisters in various nations on one side or the other. Political differences never justify hatred or ill will. I hope that the Lord's people may be at peace one with another during times of trouble, regardless of what loyalties they may have to different governments or parties."

*These are wishy washy words of appeasement. Jesus said he did not come to bring peace, but a sword. His precepts are diabolically opposed to the peace of the world.  Pres. Hinckley speaks out of both sides of his mouth, telling us to defend liberty, yet only when  "legally obligated" to do so. Legal, according to which government and what if that government's "legalities"  seek to overthrow  freedom? Again, one must know whose definition is being used to describe "evil and repression," According to God's or man's laws?  He does not speak of the oppressive governments which are taking liberty from nations of the world, but he seeks to be their friend. I find this disheartening and double-minded.

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October 2003, opening Saturady session

"We recently were applauded in the public press for giving three million dollars to vaccinate children against measles in Africa. This money did not come from tithing. It came from contributions of the faithful to the humanitarian work of the Church. We have joined the American Red Cross, the United Nations Foundation, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the United Nations Children's Fund, the World Health Organization, and the Pan American Health Organization in an effort to immunize 200 million children and prevent 1.2 million deaths from measles over the next five years. Our contribution alone will provide vaccine for three million children.  What a marvelous and wonderful thing that is. And so it is with each of our humanitarian programs."

* Look how good we are. Pride and vanity, patting the Church on the back. What of Christ's admonition to not let the right hand know what the left hand doeth, and to give our alms in secret and not trumpet our good deeds before men? Shame.

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" The Church is in wonderful condition and can and will improve. It will grow and strengthen."

* I.E. "All is swell." No mention of apostasy or falling away from the truth, nor of coming judgments for backsliding, as the prophets of old prophesied would happen. God said ALL his words will be fulfilled. Does that say we will "grow and strengthen? The true prophets of God have all mentioned that the rise of the antichrist could not happen except his people fall away from the truth.

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"I believe and testify that it is the mission of this Church to stand as an ensign to the nations and a light to the world. We have had placed upon us a great, all-encompassing mandate from which we cannot shrink nor turn aside. We accept that mandate and are determined to fulfill it, and with the help of God we shall do it."

*Amen. We are to be a light and an Ensign to the world, of righteousness and liberty.  The ensign we are to hold up is not only the gospel of Jesus Christ, but the banner of liberty, that all men may have freedom to worship God according to the dictates of their own conscience. We have become as salt that has lost its savor and have let the Gadianton forces of evil rise above us, as the watchmen have neglected to build the wall and the watchtower that the enemy  would not come in and destroy us. Instead they have given their money to the exchangers and become interested in the filthy lucre of Babylon and the praise of men.

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at dedication of Nauvoo temple:

"The past is behind us and the future ahead never looked better than it does today," President Hinckley said. "This is the greatest season in the history of the Church and it will only get better."

* The past is behind us, yes, but we suppose to learn from our past and not repeat the same mistakes. Truly this is the ultimate all is well statement, and lures members deeper into slumber. "All is well, yea, Zion prospereth--all is well. And thus the devil cheateth their souls,  and leadeth  them CAREFULLY down to hell." he speaks contrary to former prophets which prophesied of a time of great trouble and tribulation upon the people of God.  Being led carefully down to hell implies it won't be done by means that are easily detected, except to those who are armed with the word of God. Temporal as well as spiritual hell is slavery.

Truly, unless God's people are armed with God's holy word, they will not be able to detect when they are being led in the wrong path by their leaders who preach pleasant words to tickle their ears.

"O my people, they who lead thee cause thee to err and destroy the way of thy paths." (2 Nephi 13:12)

See also

Page posted by SDA May 18, 2004