If you are a native francophone (and hopefully read English as well) and are willing to review and help edit translations of several of books, with the goal of moving them from an American sounding translations to sounding French, please contact [email protected] and you will be put in touch with the American translator. The books are:
Lectures on Faith / Discours sur la foi
A Man Without Doubt / Un Homme sans doute
The Testimony of Jesus: Past, Present and Promise / Le Témoignage de Jésus : Passé, Présent et Promesse
Preserving the Restoration / Préserver la Restauration
The Second Comforter / Le Second Consolateur
Rescuing the Restoration / Secourir la Restauration

Si vous êtes francophone de naissance (et si possible que vous lisez aussi l’anglais) et que vous êtes prêt à revoir et à aider à éditer les traductions de plusieurs livres, avec le but de les faire passer d’une traduction à consonance américaine à une traduction à consonance française, veuillez contacter [email protected] serez mis en contact avec le traducteur americain.

Voici les livres:
Lectures on Faith / Discours sur la foi
A Man Without Doubt / Un Homme sans doute
The Testimony of Jesus: Past, Present and Promise / Le Témoignage de Jésus : Passé, Présent et Promesse
Preserving the Restoration / Préserver la Restauration
The Second Comforter / Le Second Consolateur
Rescuing the Restoration / Secourir la Restauration

Early, while it was still dark, on this Easter morning the Lord returned to life. He whose life was unjustly taken from Him as a willing sacrifice, reclaimed this day His life as a matter of eternal justice. The grave could not hold Him, because it had no just claim upon Him.

He brought about mercy, because of the price He paid that was not His to pay. He merited eternal life, and it was taken, in violation of the law of justice, from Him.

When He arose early that morning He became the True Son of the Morning. One who opened a new day for all who ever lived, and would die. He is the author of the resurrection, and our Great Benefactor. He has given us hope.

In Him is Life and Light.

I spoke at a conference in Kentucky, and the talk is linked here: Hear and Trust the Lord

My wife and I also spoke at an Easter Fireside for the Stand Independent Committee and that talk is linked here: Easter Fireside

I will be speaking in a Conference scheduled for September 23 to 25, and the website for that Conference is linked here: Stand Independent Conference

It would be wise to take steps to purchase food in advance of coming inflationary price increases and shortages. We will also be going through another government caused “stagflation” cycle. If you aren’t familiar with that term then you should look up how the era of President Jimmy Carter unfolded to explain how both a stagnant recessionary economy and inflation led to that term being adopted.

The bold, shameless advance of sexual abuse of children in the public schools, and unrelenting killing of the unborn are making this and many other countries ripen in iniquity. It will not go unnoticed by God, but will invoke the promised penalty: This is “the land of promise, which was choice above all other lands, which the Lord God had preserved for a righteous people. And he had sworn in his wrath unto the brother of Jared that whoso should possess this land of promise, from that time henceforth and for ever should serve him, the true and only God, or they should be swept off when the fullness of his wrath should come upon them.” RE Edition Ether 1:6

Instead of instilling honor, integrity, honesty, and courage in children, schools are sexualizing and confusing children with corrupt ideas that result in mental damage. It is perilous and wicked to engage in this foolishness. It mirrors the words of Isaiah: “The show of their countenance does witness against them, and does declare their sin to be even as Sodom; they cannot hide it. Woe unto their souls, for they have rewarded evil unto themselves.” RE Isa 1:8

Upon close inspection, the statistics about the number of vaccinated deaths from the United Kingdom I linked a few days ago are not particularly meaningful. To make a real comparison would require something other than total deaths in a population that is overwhelmingly vaccinated. Scotland is 93% vaccinated (at the highest) and Northern Ireland is 89% vaccinated (at the lowest) in the United Kingdom. Therefore, it is obvious that the overall death rate from Covid will likely be the largest among the vaccinated. But the question is what the death rate is internally among the unvaccinated, considered alone, in comparison with the death rate is for the vaccinated, considered alone.

I have known five people who have died of Covid. I know the majority of them were not vaccinated, and I believe all five were not vaccinated. I also know a number of people in various health conditions who have been vaccinated, and none of them have died. But my sample size is far too small to reach any scientific conclusion.

The decision to vaccinate or not is something no-one ought decide for another.

My family has been fortunate. A daughter and son-in-law brought it home to Sunday dinner very early on. We all experienced mild symptoms, and minor annoyances, including loss of smell and taste for a while. But no one required any medical attention. It was like an ordinary cold or the flu.

Despite the family having natural immunity, some of our family have chosen to nevertheless be vaccinated and some have not. It is an individual decision, and everyone accepts the choice made.

Bill Gates remarked that the milder Omicron variant is a “natural vaccine.” Viruses generally get far more infectious and far less deadly as mutated strains develop. That is apparently what this Covid virus has been doing. Maybe the continuing variants will follow that normal pattern and we will soon pay no attention to this viral scare.

The political reaction has been decidedly poor and as much damage has been done by the various governments as by the virus itself.

A new report from The United Kingdom shows that 90% of the Covid deaths from January 24th to February 20th were of people who had been vaccinated, while only 10% were of those who were unvaccinated. The results of the report can be viewed here: Whilst you’ve been distracted by Russia’s Invasion, the UK Gov. released a Report confirming the Fully Vaccinated now account for 9 in every 10 Covid-19 Deaths in England

I’ve been asked about my last post and what it meant to get out of company with the LDS Church. I explained that I would recommend two things: First, it is ill-advised to give tithing and offering money to that organization. Second, there is no reason to hide a light under a bushel–so speaking up to declare truths when the opportunity presents itself to do so, in a kindly way trying to reclaim them from error, should be the primary motivation to associate. That is much better done in answering questions than in imposing, but declaring truth when it can be done in a kindly way should be the only motivation for attending their meetings any longer.

Last Saturday in Boise there was a conference addressing issues particularly relevant to Latter-day Saints. The recordings are now available and can be viewed at this site: Rescuing the Restoration

Although many people think the Restoration is entirely preserved and accessible exclusively through an organization, such as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, that is not at all the case. In many ways the institutions of the Restoration are so far separated from what Joseph Smith began that the first generation of believers would not recognize the modern church-daughters of that beginning.

These talks provide some valuable insights into the religion begun by Joseph Smith, and how to continue to believe in the Restoration. We can all own our faith. Indeed, we will all be judged by how we practice our religion, and cannot push responsibility onto the leaders of the various churches. Whether leaders say they cannot lead you astray, or that they are the “only true church” neither of those claims are true. Their churches have been led astray, and none of them are anything different than what the Lord condemned in the First Vision speaking to Joseph. When it comes to the Restoration churches, they are all wrong, and all their creeds are an abomination in the Lord’s sight. The proponents of them are all corrupt. They draw near to God with their lips, but their hearts are far from the Lord; they teach for doctrines the commandments of men, having a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof. They cannot be reformed back into God’s favor at this point, for He has begun something new to rescue the Restoration. You would be well advised to get out of their company.

There is a new book that does a side-by-side comparison of the KJV Gospel of John with the newly revealed Testimony of St. John. The book is available on Amazon and linked here: The Testimony of St. John: A newly revealed account of John the Beloved’s Testimony of Jesus the Messiah. Includes a side-by-side comparison with the King James Version for enhanced study.

I got an email asking this:

What is the temple for that you’re raising money for? Like the biblical temple was an assembly place and a place of liturgical repentance. The Kirtland temple seems to be an assembly hall mainly. The Nauvoo and latter temples of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day saints were, as you know, places of liturgical worship. Mainly ordinances for the dead and some living. Community of Christ’s temple seems to be similar to a cathedral. Daily worship. Contemplation. But they didn’t really know what to do with it. What would be the purpose of the temple and uses?

I gave this answer:

The Temple facility will be for the following:
Festivals and Conferences.
Ordinances and rites some for the living and some for the worthy dead (certainly not any deceased person whose name is learned).
Instructions and classes, and a library for collecting sacred works from all over the world.
A place for study and contemplation.
And singing/worship services.
Part of the facility will be limited in who will be allowed to enter or participate, and part will be open to the public.
The overall purpose will be to complete the restoration process and return sacred knowledge to the living so they can understand the original endowment of knowledge possessed by Adam and Enoch in the beginning, later restored through Abraham–but which has been lost to mankind because of apostasy. That restoration includes endowing those who are prepared to have knowledge that stretches into the heavens, and into the darkest abyss, from eternity to eternity, so that the purposes of the Almighty in this creation can be understood. This results in the exclamation that no one will need to say “know ye the Lord” because those who have learned God’s great purposes and plans will understand the Almighty. And the final accomplishment of it all is to redeem mankind from the Fall so that they can enter into His presence as a Member of the Household of God.
It will also conform to certain alignments which God intended for men to understand, but which have fallen into disuse and neglect.
It will require men to forsake foolish traditions and superstitions, and to replace them with knowledge of Heaven and earth, and the Creator who ordained it all.
In short, it will be a “University” in the sense that word actually conveys, and not in the sense that institutions in this world make use of it.

_______________________________________

There is an upcoming Conference in Kentucky on March 25-27 titled: Hear and Trust the Lord in the Storm. The Lexington Kentucky Conference Organizing Committee asked me to put this notice up:

There are only a few rooms available on site. The deadline to book a room or sign up for meals is March 4th. The website for the Kentucky Conference is www.trustthelordinthestorm.info.

Matt Lohmeier, Vern and Whitney Horning and Denver Snuffer speak Saturday. Denver’s Saturday talk title is Christianity is Alive and Well: Christ is Actively Preparing To Return. He and others will be speaking Sunday as well.

For more Conference details, please visit the Conference website linked above.

We hope to see many of you there.

Lexington Kentucky Conference committee

The youth have asked that this announcement be put up and I’m pleased to accommodate their request:

To those that fasted with the youth.

“Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled with the holy ghost.” 3 Nephi 5:15″

As the fast that everyone was invited to join comes to end, we, as the youth of the remnant, would like to thank those who joined, for their sacrifice. We hope that this was a good experience and helped you draw closer to the Lord and the people striving to be His. Doing this fast together as a people was a great way to start off 2022. To keep the Lord with us throughout the rest of the year we invite you to continue fasting, praying and studying on your own. There are many challenges that we will still face ahead, but with all of us joining together we can overcome them as one. We are excited for more opportunities for us to band together and see the fulfillment of the Lord’s work.

With Love from the youth of the movement.

Johns Hopkins University has completed a study of the effect lockdowns have had on the rate of COVID-19 deaths. The conclusion of their study is stated in the “Abstract” at the start of the article. Their summary is: “lockdowns have had little to no effect on COVID-19 mortality. More
specifically, stringency index studies find that lockdowns in Europe and the United States only
reduced COVID-19 mortality by 0.2% on average. SIPOs were also ineffective, only reducing
COVID-19 mortality by 2.9% on average. Specific NPI studies also find no broad-based evidence
of noticeable effects on COVID-19 mortality.
While this meta-analysis concludes that lockdowns have had little to no public health effects,
they have imposed enormous economic and social costs where they have been adopted. In
consequence, lockdown policies are ill-founded and should be rejected as a pandemic policy
instrument.” (Emphasis added.)

The study is linked here: A Literature Review and Meta-Analysis of the Effects of Lockdowns on COVID-19 Mortality

If lockdowns have proven ineffective for the purpose of lowering mortality rates, it is clear that they have proven very effective in subduing populations. Even nations regarded previously as having a vibrant democratic rule with a resilient independent-minded population have quietly accepted the forfeiture of civil rights.

You can expect the political lessons learned by autocrats from the lockdown will not be forgotten. If invoking “common good” and “public health” are enough to make every knee bow, then it is easy to anticipate they will become regular tools in the arsenal of the politically ambitious world leaders.

The political and business landscape has not just been changing: IT HAS CHANGED.

Think about the position taken by the US Government. A mandatory injection of mRNA drugs has been adopted for the military, and was being enforced on employers with 100 or more employees, until court orders limited that demand. Many states, counties and cities adopted similar mandatory injections. It is presently estimated that 64% of the US population has been injected. This is disappointing for some political leaders and is far less than many other nations. Portugal has 90.5%, Spain 81.9%, Japan 79.2%, New Zealand 76.6%, Germany 73.4%, and Brazil 70.1% (just to mention a few).

If leaders scheme to expose the entire world’s population to something, and an injection does not accomplish the objective, the one thing that holds the potential for reaching everyone is the food supply. It makes the opening words of the Word of Wisdom seem more relevant today than when first recorded in February 1833: “In consequence of evils and designs which will exist in the hearts of conspiring men in the last days, I have warned you and forewarned you, by giving unto you this word of Wisdom by revelation.” T&C 89:2

The advice includes: “All wholesome herbs God has ordained for the constitution, and nature, and use of man: every herb in the season thereof and every fruit in the season thereof, all these to be used with prudence and thanksgiving.” Id, Paragraph 4. Fresh food that has not been processed, particularly if you grow it in your own garden, might be a far better plan for life than relying on increasingly authoritarian suppliers.

Consider how shocking it is (or should be) that ideas are now being suppressed and discussions prohibited. The public is accepting, even approving, the suppression of speech that is considered contrary to the powerful interests of society. Things are not just changing: IT HAS CHANGED.

The trends all point in but one direction. In the remaining democracies of the world the public seems bizzarely indifferent to the trends. Elections are opportunities to change courses, but take some effort to oppose the evils and designs that exist in the hearts of conspiring men today. At every level, from local to national, vote for upholding integrity, honesty and freedom: “I, the Lord your God, make you free; therefore, you are free indeed, and the law also makes you free. Nevertheless, when the wicked rule, the people mourn. Wherefore, honest men and wise men should be sought for diligently, and good men and wise men you should observe to uphold; otherwise, whatever is less than these comes of evil.” T&C 98:2

Power does not just corrupt men when they get a little authority over others, but power also always attracts the corrupt. If you believe in freedom and trust your fellow man to govern himself, then you might also want to consider running for office. Recent events have shown that pernicious efforts have been adopted by school boards. There is no place, from cities to states, to the nation, where good, honest and wise people cannot help to preserve freedom.

The most important and enduring things are ideas. They outlast empires. Attacks on the preservation of noble, uplifting, edifying ideas is therefore a greater threat to society than all the battles of Rome, the violence of World Wars I and II, and the persistent regional violence of all history. If ideals and truth can be suppressed, then there is no hope for freedom.

The pandemic has been used most alarmingly as a tool to suppress speech and thought. The results of governmental actions have not been effective in curtailing mortality from the illness. The Johns Hopkins study shows that. But the governmental response has been decidedly effective in curtailing both speech and thought. The willing adoption of an intolerant orthodoxy should be shocking to us all. The widespread opposite reaction of acceptance and defending the orthodoxy is the real lesson we should now take to heart. It should make us all realize we are led by conspiring men.

The only real tools available for a bearer of God’s priesthood are persuasion, long-suffering, gentleness and meekness, love unfeigned, kindness and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul. (See T&C 175:31) Which literally means no power or influence can or should be exerted because of claims to priestly authority or position. (Id.)

The most obvious result of these limitations is that some people will never give a fair hearing to the message. Without an accompanying claim to have authority, some people will dismiss it outright, no matter what the message contains. Even if it is expressed in kindness and unfeigned love, unless a person is willing to consider the message, it will not be received.

These limitations are inspired. Pure knowledge is not appealing to those who will not hear the Lord’s voice. Christ put it this way: “he that enters not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he that enters in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him, the porter opens and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. And when he puts forth his own sheep, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him, for they know not the voice of strangers.” NC John 6:24

The door is shut, and a “porter” guards the way. The shepherd is the one who enters by the door, and he tells the guardians to open the way for his sheep. The guardians open at the shepherd’s request, and then the shepherd calls his own sheep by name. This part of the Lord’s parable brings to mind the idea that He gives names to those who are His. They are not strangers. He brings them into His family by naming them.

The sheep belonging to the shepherd are twice identified: Once by having their names called out, and again by recognizing the voice of their shepherd, to whom they belong. Both the shepherd and the sheep are involved in the process. He leads, invites, persuades, and guides. His sheep respond, accept, recognize, and follow. Both the Lord and His servants can recognize each other.

Other sheep do not respond. No amount of persuasion can pry them away from petrified opinion. It is hard, very hard, to change your religion. I have done it twice. Both times required a great price to be paid. It was not easy to lose so many friends and associates, and to have those who once called me “brother” shun and disregard me because I heard a voice they could not hear themselves. But after paying the price twice now, I know that it is a very hard thing to ask others to do, and so few will be willing to do so.

Mark Twain once said: “Loyalty to petrified opinion never yet broke a chain or freed a human soul.” He was right. But the chains he spoke of were human slavery, and the greater chains to be broken are of darkness and ungodliness. We all let our opinions petrify. But the Good Shepherd often takes us through stages of understanding that become brighter and brighter until the perfect day. (See T&C 36:4) It is hard to imagine all the opinions that will need changing before we reach the end of that journey.

Religious traditions are very hard to set aside. Particularly when it was taught by your parents, affirmed by your grandparents, and shared across generations before. But traditions embedded in institutions are almost invariably corrupted by the cares of this world. As soon as men get a little power and authority over others, they begin to pursue self-interest and abuse the saints of God. (See T&C 93:9 also T&C 166)

If the Good Shepherd’s voice calls by offending a religious tradition, it is the tradition that must be abandoned, not the Good Shepherd. False traditions and the institutions that perpetuate them spread darkness, not light. As the Lord put it, the “wicked one comes and takes away light and truth, through disobedience, from the children of men, and because of the tradition of their fathers.” T&C 93:11

I have followed the Good Shepherd when He has called. It has required a great sacrifice of me repeatedly. But now both He and I know where my loyalty lies.

I cannot say it is easy to respond to the Lord’s call. But I can assure you that there is no better direction to follow than the one His voice beckons you to take. It may never be easy, but the Lord posed this question to Joseph in a Missouri prison: “if fierce winds become your enemy, if the heavens gather blackness and all the elements combine to hedge up the way, and above all, if the very jaws of hell shall gape open her mouth wide after you, know, my son, that all these things shall give you experience and shall be for your good. The Son of Man has descended below them all. Are you greater than he?” T&C 139:8

Good gets called “evil” and evil gets called “good.” Some people need to repent and abandon a sinful idea, but do not even understand they are defending evil and calling it good.

There is a correlation between hearts becoming hardened and unavoidable contention. When men become filled with arrogant pride, they assume they are right, even when they are very wrong. It is impossible for hardened society to have a give-and-take discussion because they refuse to consider other viewpoints. If a false idea is allowed to be set out, and then is denounced and the error exposed and explained patiently, it will not yield any result for the hardhearted.

We will not be able to persuade everyone. The number of humble searchers who are willing to hear a matter before judging it are decreasing.

As the Nephite society drifted toward constant internal and external conflict, the record explains: “And many more things did the people imagine up in their hearts which were foolish and vain; and they were much disturbed, for Satan did stir them up to do iniquity continually. Yea, he did go about spreading rumors and contentions upon all the face of the land, that he might harden the hearts of the people against that which was good and against that which should come.” NC Helaman 5:21

People are influenced by the perception that an opinion is widely held. There are studies that confirm that the great majority of people can be manipulated to adopt an answer, even when they know it is incorrect, if others in the study group agree. The study of human behavior in the social sciences has been used to help advance political agendas and get the public to accept political outcomes. Social media outlets are not ignorant of these studies. They base their agenda on them.

The “twiter-verse” and Instagram are dominated by a tiny number of activists who urge constantly for their causes. Despite their insignificant numbers, they are made to appear to be a great majority. This influences decisions by corporations, governments and even churches.

Facebook censors opinions to control topics. Ideas are not allowed to be considered, because they are not given the opportunity to be heard.

The “great chain” Enoch saw Satan had that veiled the whole face of the earth, was made of lies. Enoch reported that, “he beheld Satan, and he had a great chain in his hand, and he veiled the whole face of the earth with darkness; and he looked up and laughed, and his angels rejoiced.” NC Gen. 4:15

We should be able to recognize that same pattern today. Politicians and businessmen have learned that the ‘popular’ lie can overcome the truth. Even if the lie is unpopular, all that is needed is for it to seem to be overwhelmingly accepted. The media outlets know this, and dispense propaganda to make bad ideas seem to be the common view held by the great majority. Churches are being swept up in this same foolish and vain imaginings.

To guard against it there are a handful of things I try to do: Study the scriptures, particularly the New Covenant or Restoration Edition. Pray in private daily. Do something deliberate for God every day, to bless someone else–even if they do not appreciate it or recognize what motivates you.

There were a few people who were not deceived in Enoch and Noah’s day. And some few will not be overcome by the growing multitude of lies we face daily. I hope to be one of them. There are still great things to be done by believing and faithful people. And therefore great things for us to look forward to, and rejoice.

There has been a global clinical trial underway and we are still awaiting results from those experimental trials. Although the trial is commonly called a “vaccine” it is actually a form of mRNA gene editing experimentation.

A team from MIT has prepared an article to explain the preliminary results uncovered thus far in the clinical trials. Their article appears in the International Journal of Vaccine Theory, Practice, and Research, and is titled (and linked) here: Worse Than the Disease? Reviewing Some Possible Unintended Consequences of the mRNA Vaccines Against Covid-19

They show just how unprecedented the administration of these gene therapies are, including these being the first time PEG (polyethylene glycol) has been injected into subjects. The first time to use mRNA vaccine to protect against an infectious agent. The first time health authorities tell those receiving the injection to expect an adverse reaction. The first vaccine to make no claims about reducing infections, transmission, or deaths from the underlying illness. The first injection of clinically modified polynucleotides in the general population. And it is the first vaccine against a coronavirus attempted in humans.

The article is very interesting and poses a number of questions that will only be answered over time and as we determine what long-term effects the mRNA therapy will have. They note some evidence now exists that the vaccines produce autoimmune disease reactions, and should be carefully studied to determine if this is a prevalent risk. They warn that there is a risk these injections “could prime the immune system toward development of both auto-inflammatory and autoimmune disease.” (International Journal of Vaccine Theory, May 10, 2021, p. 53)

Although the article is technical, you can learn a great deal by carefully reading it. When you encounter a word you do not understand, do a search for a definition on-line and it will let you understand what the authors are communicating.

The section of the article, “A Possible Link to Prion Diseases and Neurodegeneration” (id., beginning on page 59) is particularly worth reading and understanding. They raise the idea that neurodegeneration akin to Parkinson’s, ALS, and Alzheimer’s may be one of the long-term risks from the body producing its own spike-proteins.

They recommend a more comprehensive gathering of data from long term adverse effects be undertaken. And that we get more open discussion of the reports from adverse effects so that we can understand what the experiment now underway will show once we have open access to important information.

Right now the vaccine has become a political issue, not a public health issue. True enough the political discussion always insists it is about public health, but in truth there has been little honest discussion of the actual science. Bombast and emotional appeals about “safety” and “dangers” are not tied to discussion of actual numbers. Little effort has been made to distinguish between asymptomatic infections and symptomatic infections. Nor has there been an adequate consideration of hospitalizations with Covid-19 as opposed to hospitalizations due to Covid-19. So the arguments are waged with a great deal of emotion, and very little reliable information to allow the public to understand the actual risks.

Perhaps we ought to be more curious about the actual risks, not of Covid-19, but of the vaccines that modify mRNA to cause the human body to produce spike proteins.

There is a new documentary titled, “Who Killed Joseph Smith?” It was released this last weekend, and can now be viewed on-line at this website: whokilledjosephsmith.com

I was favorably impressed with this attempt to explain how first Hyrum, and then Joseph, were murdered in Carthage Jail. The story told by the Latter-day Saints does not match the physical proof and this documentary does a better job of explaining what happened than does the LDS church’s account. The Latter-day Saints have recognized their original explanation cannot be accurate, and fails to account for physical injuries to the bodies of the slain brothers, and so their explanation has been changed and continues to be modified. These official changes are explained in the new documentary.

The conclusion of the new film will be hard for Latter-day Saints to even consider. To reach a correct conclusion a person must be open to considering any plausible alternative, no matter how unpleasant it may be.

Of course there were outside political and religious people hostile to Joseph Smith. But they were not alone. There were insiders, followers and even accompanying leaders in the inner-circles of the Latter-day Saints who were also disaffected by Joseph Smith’s leadership.

Joseph Smith was surrounded by ambitious and aspiring men. Joseph’s role in the Kirtland Anti-Banking Society failure, his continuing financial struggles, and pending bankruptcy at the time of his death are obvious proof that Joseph was not a successful businessman. There were many others who could manage money better, and who could figure out how to make the organization Joseph established profitable. Indeed, Brigham Young managed to monetize Mormonism as an institution and leaders have been chosen from business, banking, law and other professions for generations. The single individual who is the owner of the Corporation of the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is likely the “richest” man in the world today. I put “richest” in quotes because he clearly controls a vast financial empire, but presumably manages it with some degree of caution considering the claimed status as a religious leader. But the LDS Church is, by now, only a minor part of the wealth that office controls.

Joseph Smith never attempted to build a financial empire. He did attempt to establish a religious society, and hoped it could become independent of all other governments. But his impulse to provide for the needs of others, and particularly the poor converts streaming into his community caused many losses and set-backs.

Others who were close to Joseph knew he was an impediment to financial success. And, because of the lusts of the flesh, many later LDS leaders would admit that they got a “revelation” about plural wives while serving on missions in England, years before Joseph Smith purportedly began to teach it to them in complete secrecy. Joseph stood in the way of rolling out plural wives publicly, because he consistently condemned the practice publicly, brought church disciplinary proceedings against people he learned were practicing it, and made it impossible for it to become the standard practice for the society.

If other leaders thought they could do a much better job financially, and knew Joseph Smith would never publicly advocate what they knew God had “revealed” to them in England, then ‘it would be better that one man should die than an entire people be deprived of progress’–so to speak.

Before dismissing outright the possibilities raised in the new documentary, consider whether there were insiders, even in the highest ranks of Nauvoo society, who might benefit from the deaths of Hyrum and Joseph. If the wound in Hyrum’s neck was an entry wound, and from a pistol rather than a musket, and the injury to his face was an exit wound also from a pistol, then what? If the mob intended to hang, not shoot, the brothers, and inside the jail room they fell from pistol fire, what happened? Who could have been in the room armed with a pistol to fire upon the brothers?

The film is worth watching.

I got the following questions and provided the following answers:

1) What exactly is the relationship between Roger Williams, Alexander Campbell, Joseph Smith and Denver Snuffer?

Roger Williams saw the need for a restoration of Christianity, rather than just a reformation.
Alexander Campbell thought it possible to return to Primitive Christianity rather than just continuing the Protestant tradition.
Joseph Smith testified that Jesus Christ called upon him to renew Christianity through a restoration directed by Heaven with all the authority and gifts of the original established by Christ.
I claim to be working to reinvigorate the work Joseph Smith commenced, and to be continuing the process so it will reach a completion. It did not get finished by Joseph Smith, and what he left behind has lapsed into disrepair. It needs to be reinvigorated, and then to be completed. I am working on accomplishing both.

2) I don’t understand what is meant by the translations of the Bible by Joseph Smith etc. as part of the three volumes of covenants in a way that is different from the traditional Mormon scriptures. Is the retranslated Book of Mormon considered part of second covenant, and the new works of 2017-2019 some kind of new third covenant?

Joseph Smith was asked by Christ to revise the King James Version of the Bible to add clarifications and restore omissions. He did that and it was not published by the LDS organization as part of their scriptures. In a revised publication by the LDS church in 1980, some of the Joseph Smith revisions and additions were added as footnotes to their scriptures. We have published the entire Joseph Smith revision of the Bible as our scriptures.
The Book of Mormon is considered part of the new covenant. It is not changed other than to conform it to the original translation by Joseph Smith. The process used is described in the Forward to the Book of Mormon in the new scriptures. I link to it here: Forward

3) At what point was it prophesied or predicted that the initial teachings of Joseph Smith would be corrupted, and the corruption would spread to the entire movement? How was it known the way that the Restoration would be “restored” in 2017-2019? And what is the distinction between the newer translations and the original old ones, and what difference do they make?

The work being done by Joseph Smith was condemned in 1832. That is linked here: T&C 82:20
The people were ultimately rejected by the Lord. That is linked here: T&C 141:11
An inspired prayer was offered to the Lord, who directed what the contents of the prayer were to include. That prayer rehearses the history of the restoration and its failure. That prayer is linked here: T&C 156

4)Finally, how does your Restoration movement address the issue of the authenticity and origin of the Book of Mormon, with all the alleged anachronisms, mistakes, contradictions, etc. related to the book, the gold plates, the Book of Abraham etc.??

Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon into the language of his time, using his own vocabulary and background. Every word of the translation required some adaptation of the text to make it fit into modern word usages and vocabulary. As is apparent in the current effort to re-translated the text back into Biblical Hebrew, there are some passages that are difficult in English, but fit comfortably into Biblical Hebrew. Then there are others that are difficult to adapt into the older language. The Book of Mormon was composed by those who spoke the form of Hebrew that existed at 600 bc, but who wrote in a more compact form of language borrowed from Egyptian. Whenever there is a translation there are necessary accommodations to make the text understandable in the new language. We accept Joseph Smith’s divinely inspired translation as a reliable text, teaching authentic truths about God and the work of God among ancient people. The closer the teachings are examined and understood, the closer the person abiding the Book of Mormon’s teachings will grow to God.
As for the Book of Abraham, here is a talk I gave on the text: The Religion of the Fathers

Political rhetoric is far divorced from reality. Much of the language coming from political leaders is designed to distract the public rather than to inform us. The current state of things is so mired in deception and distraction that leaders are succeeding in substituting rhetorical nonsense for reality.

Marxism has never succeeded and yet its theories are used as the rhetorical basis to advance totalitarian ambitions. If the production and distribution of goods and services are controlled by any central authority, then nothing remains of freedom and free choice. People cannot survive without food. The planner who controls the distribution of food controls the population. The ambition of Marxists is not to make everyone equal and to distribute goods and services to benefit the public, but it is only to control the public.

There is an inexplicable madness in the desire of men to control others. I do not understand it because I do not share it. It is so difficult to live my own life worthily before God, recognizing that I am accountable to Him for my words, deeds and thoughts that I have no desire to control others. As King Benjamin put it: “But this much I can tell you, that if ye do not watch yourselves, and your thoughts, and your words, and your deeds, and observe to keep the commandments of God, and continue in the faith of what ye have heard concerning the coming of our Lord, even unto the end of your lives, ye must perish.” RE Mosiah 2:6

Why would anyone want to become accountable for controlling others? It is madness.

Yet the current political struggle in every nation is between those who seek freedom and self-determination, and the ambitions of business, banking, political, religious and military leaders who want to consolidate power and control over others. To the extent they succeed to the point that they feel free to impose their will, it will require the killing of the remaining opposition who resist their control.

The United States has leaders who want to govern against the will of the majority. But the leaders employ rhetoric to blind the eyes of the public to their plans. Isaiah described and condemned them and their ambitions: “Woe unto them that call evil good and good evil, that put darkness for light and light for darkness, that put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.” RE Isa. 1:17

Marxist “values” seem to have an appeal to equality and fairness. But those apparent values have nothing to do with the reality of the ambitions of those who use Marxist rhetoric. It is just a convenient vocabulary employed to deceive and mislead while power and control is being gained.

If your choices seem to be diminishing, that is because there are those seeking that result. If your freedom to make economic decisions seem to be diminishing, that is because leaders are working to accomplish that. If economic troubles motivate you to consider allowing a different, even radical economic approach to rescue you from the woes you experience, that is because conspirators are working hard to achieve that goal. If you think giving up freedom to travel, or shop, or speak will make you feel safer, that is because rhetoric of fear is working and therefore it will continue to be employed until it no longer is useful to the conspiracies of evil and designing men.

Those seeking power and authority gravitate to high office in governments. They have labored for generations to bring aboard the leaders in business, religions, banking, law and militaries. If there is a significant center of influence anywhere in the world, the conspirators work to bring them aboard. As Paul explained it, “we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” RE Eph. 1:25

The extent of spiritual wickedness in high places in this world has become so great, so widespread, and so confident of its success that the rhetoric is no longer able to deceive many people into accepting a false reality. The hosts of conspirators fear the public awakening to their awful situation, because that will be followed by arising to fight against the conspiracy.

Politics and the news media are filled with insincere people peddling false ideas, to blind and mislead you. When both sides of a political divide seek the same power to control you, then you should ask yourself if you still have a choice? Do you want Coke or Pepsi–because water is not on the menu.

If control is needed to make it “fair” and more “equal” then what you will wind up with is compulsion to force what those in power decide will be better. And their priorities will never include your freedom to choose. Nor will it allow you to opt out.