Mike Serovey On Religion

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2009-04-30T15:15:00.000-04:00

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Silly Christmas Songs

2007-12-17T18:08:00.000-05:00

Christmas is about a week from today. I thought that I would post the lyrics to some silly Christmas songs that I learned as a kid. You should already know the melodies but you may not have heard these lyrics before.

First we have Randolph the Bowlegged Cowboy.

Randolph the bowlegged Cowboy had a very shiny gun
and if you ever saw it you would turn around and run.
All of the other cowboys used to laugh and call him names.
They never let poor Randolph join in any poker games.
Then one foggy Christmas eve Sheriff came to say
Randolph with your gun so bright, won't you shoot my wife tonight?
Then how the cowboys loved it as they shouted out with glee
Randolf the bowlegged cowboy, you'll go down in the penitentiary!

We Three Kings of Orient Are

We three kings of orient are
trying to smoke a rubber cigar.
It was loaded and exploded.
Now we're on yonder star.
Oh star of wonder star of light
hope you see a ghost tonight.
It will haunt you and it will scare you
all the days of your life.

Hark the Herald Angels Shout

Hark the herald angels shout
three more days 'till we get out.
Three more days of misery
in this penitentiary.
So grab your balls and grab you chains
run for the nearest trains.
Hark the herald angels shout
three more days 'till we get out.

Are You Going to Heaven?

2007-09-09T16:05:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I watched a movie called Bridge To Terabithia. There was a scene in the movie where a girl named Leslie Burke goes to church with here neighbors. On the way back they have a discussion about Jesus and the Bible. Jess and his sister are telling Leslie that if they don't believe the Bible they will go to Hell. Leslie doubts this, but likes the story about Jesus' sacrifice anyway. Later in the story Leslie dies and there is some concern about here going to Hell because she didn't believe the Bible.

As I stated in a previous post, I believe that there is more than one heaven and there may be more than one hell. I do not believe that God will send someone to eternal torment because he or she doubted the Bible or joined the wrong religion. I believe that a just and merciful god would never do that! I do believe that getting into the highest heaven does require faith in all of the scriptures and obedience to all of God's commandments. Those who are lacking a little in faith and righteousness will go to a heaven, just not the best one. I believe that it is as hard to get into Hell as it is to get into the Celestial Kingdom. One has to work at both! Total rebellion against God may get you into Hell. Mass murder may do it.

The LDS church teaches that there are 5 steps to repentance and one of them is restitution. You must return or pay for what you stole or damaged. In the case of murder, you normally cannot bring someone back to life. So, the only way to make restitution is to forfeit you own life. In our Doctrine and Covenants it states that murderers must be destroyed in the flesh and then delivered unto Satan for buffeting. So, murderers do go to Hell, but after they have paid for their sins they get out and go to the lowest heaven.

Even if a man lived to be 120 years old, that is only a few hours of God's time. What sin could a man commit that would be terrible enough to deserve torment that lasts for millions of years? I can agree with some punishment for sins that are not repented of prior to letting someone into Heaven, but I am having a real problem with the idea of eternal torment!

Mark Twain and Brigham Young

2007-09-09T15:58:00.000-04:00

There is a story, supposedly true, about Mark Twain and Brigham Young. They were having a debate about plural marriage. Mark Twain was trying to prove from the Bible that a man should have only one wife at a time and Brigham Young was trying to prove from the Bible that it was OK to have two or more wives at the same time. At some point Mark Twain realized that he was losing the debate, so in desperation he quoted Matthew 6:24 "No man can serve two masters...".

I don't know if this story is really true, but it definitely could be!

Vampires and Demons

2007-08-25T16:06:00.000-04:00

As mentioned in a previous post I like watching old episodes of both Angel and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I find them both entertaining but disagree with the theology of the writers. According to the writers of these two shows vampires are demons that take over a human body. They have the memories of the former owners of the bodies, but no souls. The souls get lost somewhere. Angel is a vampire who was cursed by gypsies for killing one of them. His curse is that he does have a soul and remembers everyone that he killed while he was an evil vampire. Because he feels guilty about his evil life he tries to make up for this by helping humans and killing demons and other vampires. Part of his curse is that if he ever has a moment of true happiness he will lose his soul and become evil again. In the two shows Angel lost his soul twice and got it back twice. Vampires are supposed to be immortal but they can be killed by a wooden stake through the heart, decapitation, drinking holy water, and exposure to direct sun light. They can also be killed by fire.

What I disagree with is that a soul is not something that you have but something that you are! In Genesis Chapter 2, verse 7 It states, "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." Adam didn't have a soul, he became a soul after God put the breath of life into him! A living soul is a spirit housed in a mortal body and an immortal soul is a spirit housed in a resurrected body. All of the other definitions of souls that I have been given are totally wrong!

Update On Big Brother 8

2007-08-25T15:57:00.000-04:00

On Thursday, August 16, 2007 I turned on Big Brother 8 and got a pleasant surprise when Dustin was nominated for eviction. I was quite pleased when he was finally evicted from the Big Brother house. Dustin is one of two homosexuals that got into the house this season. Now that both queers are gone I can watch the show without my stomach turning! They both disgusted me with the things that they said and did on that show! Unfortunately, they both will be back for the final episode when they vote for a winner.

I have never applied to be on Big Brother and doubt that I ever will. I would like to, but being couped up in that house with a queer could be more than I can handle. If so, he would most likely be the first person that I would try to get evicted. For the record, I don't hate homosexuals but I find much of their behavior disgusting. I still believe that homosexuality is a sin and will never change my mind on that!

Lesbians In My Favorite TV Shows

2007-08-11T20:55:00.000-04:00

I have a membership with blockbuster online. I have been watching old episodes of the TV shows Angel and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I have enjoyed watching both shows but I do have a problem with some of the "theology" the writers have and the evolution of the character Willow Rosenberg. Willow starts out as a normal Jewish girl who has a crush on her best friend Alexander Harris. I think that it was in Season Two of Buffy that she met Oz and fell in love with him. Oz turns out to be a werewolf, but Willow stays with him anyway. In Season 4 of Buffy Oz kills a female werewolf to save Willow and that freaks him out a little. He ends up leaving Willow. She is heart broken and eventually meets Tara. By the end of Season 4 Willow is in a lesbian relationship with Tara. It is very unusual for a girl to change sexual orientation in her twenties and it was totally unnecessary for the character to make the switch! In the first 4 seasons of Buffy she is an only child. Sometime during Season 5 she gets a younger sister named Dawn. By Season 6 Dawn is 15 years old and thinks that it is OK for two lesbians to be living in the same house with her! Buffy exposes her younger sister to this sexual perversion as if there is nothing wrong with it and has it going on in her own house! I strongly object to that! It was totally unnecessary for the writers to put this garbage into the show!

They also had Willow make the switch from being Jewish to being a witch. She ends up being a good witch who helps people with her magic, but she has gotten into trouble using magic for selfish purposes. At least the writers put into the show that using magic has consequences that are sometimes hard to predict.

In both shows there is more than one Hell and more than one Heaven. Demons come from several different hell dimensions and have physical bodies. There are several different species of demons and some of them are good. I believe that there is more than one Heaven and I have no clue how many hell dimensions exist. I believe that there is only one kind of demon and those are the rebellious angels that got kicked out of Heaven. I agree with the writers that demons were on the earth long before mankind was. For some reason that I don't fully understand God allowed those fallen angels to come to Earth and to tempt mankind starting with Adam and Eve. Those demons still roam the Earth causing problems for us and they cannot be killed by a vampire slayer!

Even though I don't agree with some of what goes on in these shows, I like watching them.

More On Big Brother 8

2007-07-22T21:10:00.000-04:00

Last Thursday I missed Big Brother 8 because I was having a problem with my cable provider and could not get the channel that it was on. When I turned it on today I was pleasantly surprised to find that Danielle was taken off the block and was replaced by Joe. Joe was voted out 9 to 1. I am glad that Joe is gone because I like Danielle and want her to stay for a long time on the show. Also, Joe is gay and I wanted him gone because of that. Let me state for the recored that I do not hate gays. However, I am quite tired of seeing them on TV and find the flaming ones quite disgusting! Dustin and Joe both do things that get under my skin and I am very glad that one of them is gone. They caused a lot of drama in the beginning and now that will be over with one of them gone. I am also glad that Dick, aka Evil, gets to spend more time with his daughter, Danielle. I hope that by the time that one of them leaves the house that they have worked out all of their problems.

There are a couple of supposedly straight guys in the house that have made comments that suggest that they may swing both ways. So, I hope that Dustin, who is definitely gay, and Nick, who may be bi, both get voted out soon.

If I ever go into the Big Brother house I am not sure how long I would last. If they put me in the house with a gay guy he would be the first one I would target unless someone else got on my nerves even more.

Are Ghosts and Magic Real?

2007-07-22T16:36:00.000-04:00

Are Ghosts and Magic Real? I believe that the answer to both questions is yes. Let me tell you why. I have cable TV where I live and I get both A & E and the Sci Fi channel. On A & E is a show called Chris Angel, Mindfreak. I understand that a good illusionist or magician does not reveal how he does his tricks. Even so, Chris blurs the line between illusion and reality. It is hard to tell where one ends and the other begins. I have seen Chris walk through solid glass without breaking it, levitate, make other people and objects levitate, walk on water, and other strange things that I cannot explain. Chris insists that he is not using camera tricks or CGI to do his illusions and that what we see is what we get. He insists that he can really defy gravity by walking up and down a wall or crawling down the outside of a building without wires or a harness. He doesn't even use any kind of safety net or air bag in case he falls. I have also seen him dematerialize and teleport and move solid objects into and out of a painting. I do not believe that he is doing these things by the power of the Devil! However, some of his magic does seem to be real! This is why I believe that some magic is real.

I also believe that some faith healings are real because I have done them. I have given blessings to people who were sick or had some other physical problem and most of them got better faster than I would normally expect. I am well aware of the placebo effect but I doubt that this explains all cases of faith healing.

The reason that I believe that ghosts are real is because of stories that I have heard and read plus what I have seen on a TV show called Ghost Hunters on the Sci Fi Channel. These ghost hunters use all kinds of electronic equipment to get solid evidence of paranormal activity. They use night vision and infra red cameras to see in the dark, they use meters that measure the amount of electro magnetic energy in an area, and they use digital voice recorders to catch voices that the human ear may miss. They have captured with these devices voices that didn't come from a living human being. Sometimes they can tell if the voices are male or female and sometimes they can make out what the voices are trying to say. They call this EVP or Electronic Voice Phenomena. I have seen captured on film solid objects moving by themselves and I have seen a couple cases where people got knocked down by some unseen force. So, either ghosts are knocking these people down and moving these objects or we have an alien using some kind of cloaking device. I am more inclined to believe in the ghosts.

Believe what you want, but if you watch several episodes of both Ghost Hunters and Chris Angel, Mindfreak, you might be convinced that ghosts and magic are real too!

Big Brother 8

2007-07-08T21:30:00.000-04:00

I have watched the first two episodes of Big Brother 8. Normally, I like watching the show. However, I have gotten tired of seeing queers and weirdos on TV! This season, they have a weirdo named Dick. His nickname is Evil. He is in bad need of a hair cut and he has an ear ring in each ear and in his left eye brow. He has tattoos all over both of his arms. In the house with him is his daughter, Danielle. She is a hot looking blond who is just under 21. Danielle seems like a nice normal girl. However, she hasn't spoken to her dad in the two years prior to going on this show. She can't remember why she doesn't like her dad. I do hope that Dick and Danielle work out their problems because I do know what it is like to have a daughter that will not speak to me.

Dick I can deal with. The two people that I want off the show NOW are Dustin and Joe. They are both gay and one has accused the other of giving him gonorrhea, on national TV! I stated before that I am tired of seeing queers on TV and I meant it! I plan to stop watching Big Brother 8 until they get both of these queers off the show. That is unfortunate because there are some really pretty girls in the house right now and I would enjoy watching them. However, the bickering between the two queers is just getting on my nerves and they just plain disgust me!

The Devil Made Me Do It!

2007-07-01T16:06:00.000-04:00

A long time ago there were people who would say, "The Devil made me do it!" whenever they got caught doing something that was wrong. I have believed for many years that the Devil got far too much credit for what happens here on Earth. The Devil may tempt people, but he can't make them do anything that they don't want to do! To illustrate my point I will give you an extreme example. Let's say that I point a loaded gun to your head and tell you that if you don't do exactly what I tell you to do, when I tell you to do it I will pull the trigger and blow your brains out. Even then I cannot make you do anything. You can still refuse and let me kill you. However, most people will do what they are told because they don't want to die.

Many years ago I knew some people who were Jesus freaks. They knew the Bible but not much else! And, their understandings of the Bible was quite flawed! Anyway, they would explain anything that looked supernatural as being done by the power of the Devil. They condemned things like hypnosis and Reiki healing as being evil. They would condemn anything that they didn't understand as being done by the power of the Devil! I think that this is utter nonsense! What these ignoramuses failed to understand is that we have supernatural powers because we are the children of God. We are literally the spirit children of God and not just his favorite pets. As His children we have inherited several abilities that seem supernatural. Mind over matter is not done by the power of the Devil as one minister claimed and therefore is not evil. Our spirits have amazing abilities that most of us simply don't know how to use. For those who do know how to use these abilities they can control matter.

All physicists know that matter and energy are the same things. All matter is made up of very tiny particles that are bound together by energy fields. When the energy fields at the nucleus of an atom are broken the result is a very powerful explosion. Our thoughts are also energy and can be measured with an EEG. It doesn't take supernatural power to get the energy of our thoughts to control the energy that makes up matter. It just takes a firm belief in a very powerful mind.

One last thing has to do with responsibility. Our laws state that insane people are not responsible for the crimes that they commit because they don't know right from wrong. The same applies to very small children. Maybe, but most of us are responsible for the choices that we make and should accept responsibility for our actions whenever we get caught doing something that is wrong. Take charge of your own lives and accept the consequences of your actions! Quit blaming things on the Devil!

PECANS IN THE CEMETERY

2007-07-01T16:01:00.000-04:00

Here is a funny story that my son sent to me. I think that you will like it.

On the outskirts of a small town, there was a big, old pecan tree just inside the cemetery fence. One day, two boys filled up a bucketful of nuts and sat down by the tree, out of sight, and began
dividing the nuts.

"One for you, one for me. One for you, one for me," said one boy. Several dropped and rolled down to ward the fence.

Another boy came riding along the road on his bicycle. As he passed, he thought he heard voices from inside the cemetery. He slowed down to investigate. Sure enough, he heard, "One for you,
one for me. One for you, one for me."

He just knew what it was. He jumped back on his bike and rode off. Just around the bend he met an old man with a cane, hobbling along.

"Come here quick," said the boy, "you won't believe what I heard! Satan and the Lord are down at the cemetery dividing up the souls."

The man said, "Beat it kid, can't you see it's hard for me to walk." When the boy insisted though, the man hobbled slowly to the cemetery.

Standing by the fence they heard, "One for you, one for me. One for you, one for me."

The old man whispered, "Boy, you've been telling me the truth. Let's see if we can see the Lord."

Shaking with fear, they peered through the fence, yet were still unable to see anything. The old man and the boy gripped the wrought iron bars of the fence tighter and tighter as they tried to get a glimpse of the Lord.

At last they heard, "One for you, one for me. That's all. Now let's go get those nuts by the fence and we'll be done."

They say the old man made it back to town a full 5 minutes ahead of the kid on the bike.

Why Do They Call Her "The Virgin Mary"?

2007-06-18T20:29:00.000-04:00

The original meaning of "virgin" was a young woman who had never been married. At age 14 Mary fit this definition of "virgin". Many Bible scholars believe that Mary had Jesus at age 15. Although the Bible is silent on how many children Mary and Joseph had, we do know that Jesus had brothers and sisters. Mark 6:3 reads, "Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us?" (KJV) I have a book in my personal library that is all about James the Just, the brother of Jesus. I have yet to actually read the book, though. The fact that someone could write an entire book about James would suggest that there are other sources of information about him outside of the Bible.

There are two possibilities about these brothers and sisters of Jesus. One is that Joseph had a wife prior to Mary and that these are the children from his first marriage. However, the Bible is silent about this and it is easy to assume that Mary was the only wife of Joseph. There is no mention of any children traveling with Mary and Joseph when they made their famous trip to Bethlehem. So, the more reasonable conclusion is that Mary had some children after Jesus. That being the case, she is no longer a virgin! She had sex with Joseph in order to have these other children! Stop calling her a virgin when she obviously is not! I mean, even if all of these brothers and sisters all came from Joseph's prior wife, it is quite asinine to believe that Mary never had sex with Joseph even once after Jesus was born! I don't care how old Joseph was when he married Mary. There is no way he is going to pass up the chance to have sex with a teenage hottie! I am not being vulgar here, just honest. I am quite sick and tired of people calling a 2,000 year old woman who had children after Jesus a virgin! Get real folks and stop calling her a virgin!

Here Is a Story About Friendship

2007-05-22T16:12:00.000-04:00

Here is a story about friendship and how it helped one boy. I think that you will enjoy this story.

One day, when I was a freshman in high school, I saw a kid from my class walking home from school. His name was Kyle. It looked like he was carrying all of his books. I thought to myself, "Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday? He must really be a nerd." I had quite a weekend planned (parties and a football game with my friends tomorrow afternoon), so I shrugged my shoulders and went on. As I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him. They ran at him, knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping him so he landed in the dirt. His glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him. He looked up and I saw this terrible sadness in his eyes. My heart went out to him. I jogged over to him and as he crawled around looking for his glasses, and I saw a tear in his eyes.

As I handed him his glasses, I said, "Those guys are jerks." They really should get lives. "He looked at me and said, "Hey thanks!" There was a big smile on his face. It was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude. I helped him pick up his books, and asked him where he lived. As it turned out, he lived near me, so I asked him why I had never seen him before. He said he had gone to private school before now. I would have never hung out with a private school kid before. We talked all the way home, and I carried some of his books. He turned out to be a cool kid. I asked him if he wanted to play a little football with my friends, he said yes. We hung out all weekend and the more I got to know Kyle, the more I liked him, and my friends thought the same of him. Monday morning came, and there was Kyle with the huge stack of books again. I stopped him and said, "Boy, you are going to really build some serious muscles with this pile of books everyday! "He just laughed and handed me half the books. Over the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends. When we were seniors, we began to think about college. Kyle decided on Georgetown , and I was going to Duke. I knew that we would always be friends, that the miles would never be a problem. He was going to be a doctor, and I was going for business on a football scholarship. Kyle was valedictorian of our class. I teased him all the time about being a nerd. He had to prepare a speech for graduation. I was so glad it was not me having to get up there and speak. Graduation day, I saw Kyle. He looked great. He was one of those guys that really found him self during high school. He filled out and actually looked good in glasses. He had more dates than I had and all the girls loved him. Boy, sometimes I was jealous. Today was one of those days. I could see that he was nervous about his speech. I smacked him on the back and said, "Hey, big guy, you'll be great!" He looked at me with one of those looks (the really grateful one) and smiled. "Thanks," he said. As he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began "Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through those tough years. You thank your parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach...but mostly your friends.

I am here to tell all of you that being a friend to someone is the best gift you can give them. I am going to tell you a story." I just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told the story of the first day we met. He had planned to kill himself over the weekend. He talked of how he had cleaned out his locker so his Mom would not have to do it later and was carrying his stuff home.
He looked hard at me and gave me a little smile. "Thankfully, I was saved. My friend saved me from doing the unspeakable." I heard the gasp go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told us all about his weakest moment. I saw his Mom and dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful smile. Not until that moment did I realize its depth. Never underestimate the power of your actions. With one small gesture, you can change a person's life, for better or for worse. God puts us all in each others lives to impact one another in some way. Look for God in others. "Friends are angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly."

Yesterday is history.
Tomorrow is mystery.
Today is a gift.

The Greatest Scam Continued

2007-04-14T16:25:00.000-04:00

As I mentioned in a previous post, telling people that you are a god or a messenger of a god is a great scam! I cannot think of an easier way to get people to do what you tell them to do than to put the fear of a god into them! Starting your own religion is also a great scam. Most religions don't pay any federal income taxes! I'm not sure about state income taxes, but I believe the same to be true there too. A preacher can take a modest salary that he or she pays taxes on and live in a luxurious house that is owned by the church tax free. He or she can drive a car that is owned by the church and have several other benefits that are paid for by the church and not have to pay taxes on any of these!

Now, lets take a different look at starting your own religion. How many churches tell their members that they are the only ones going to Heaven and all of the rest are going to Hell? Quite a few! In fact, it seems that most do this! I heard on TV that the Amish tell their members that if they ever leave the Amish faith that they will not only be shunned by their communities but will go to Hell too! What a scam! There is nothing like the fear of going to Hell to keep people in line!

I have to ask this question. If God is a loving Father who created all of the spirits of all humans, and He loves all of us equally, why would He send the majority of his children to a place of eternal torment and horror? I cannot think of anything that I could do that would be so awful that I would deserve to go to a place of great anguish and torture for millions of years with no possibility for escape! Joining the wrong religion certainly does not merit such punishment! Failing to get baptized does not merit this kind of punishment! Nothing short of genocide would!

In short, I believe that most religions are a scam! I do believe that some religions started off as sincere efforts to get closer to God, but then the preachers got greedy and turned these religions into great scams. So, if you are shopping for a religion to join, let the buyer beware!

Notice To CBS

2007-04-09T20:17:00.000-04:00

I have no idea how many people read this blog and seriously doubt that anyone from CBS ever will! Even so, this is my public notice to them. As a healthy, normal male I do not like seeing gays and weirdos on TV! I like watching The Amazing Race, Big Brother and Survivor, but I don't like some of the contestants that they have had on these shows! Richard Hatch is gay and has been on Survivor twice. There have been one or two other gay guys and I believe one lesbian on Survivor. There has also been this weirdo named Jessica, AKA Flicka, that had tattoos and piercings all over her body! I don't want to look at someone like her in a bikini! Big Brother has had Marcellus on twice, Bunky and a gay guy named Will. I don't want to see these queers on TV either! Big Brother has had a weirdo named Jennifer, AKA Nakomis on twice. I don't want to look at her ugly face and body either! Recently, on The Amazing Race All Stars there was Team Guido and they were a gay couple. This is their second appearance on The Amazing Race. They have had a lesbian and a supposedly straight team that acts gay. I get disgusted when I see people acting gay on TV!

Maybe CBS is worried that they will get sued if they don't put some gays and weirdos on TV. However, they risk losing normal people like I am if they do! This is my official notice that I plan to stop watching The Amazing Race, Big Brother and Survivor if they continue to put queers and weirdos on these shows!

The Greatest Scam Of All Time

2007-03-27T21:11:00.000-04:00

I once had a friend who stated that starting a religion was the greatest scam ever. I am somewhat inclined to agree with him. Think about it, what better way to get people to do what you want them to do or to give you what you want than to tell them that you are either a god or a messenger from a god? Somewhere in the Doctrine and Covenants (D&C) is a verse where the Lord is speaking and he says that whether it comes form God's mouth or from his servants the prophets it is the same. Wow! Disobeying the prophet is the same as disobeying God! All the prophet has to do is to threaten you with God's wrath, which could include eternal damnation, and you will do almost anything that he says! Who wants to have a god angry with him? Obviously, disobeying the true prophet of the true God would have some consequences which could be serious, but how do you tell the true prophets from the false ones?

I have met some Christians who claim that prophecy and revelations ceased when the last apostle died almost 2000 years ago. I don't believe that! I don't believe that Mohamed was a prophet either! There is no doubt in my mind that parts of the Bible are missing and that the Roman Catholic church went astray over a thousand years ago! It only makes sense that a true prophet would be needed to restore the true church to the Earth. The only question is this one, is Joseph Smith the true prophet of the restoration as the Mormons believe or are we still waiting for the true prophet and restoration? The majority of evidence available to me indicates that Joseph Smith was a flawed man, but still could have been a true prophet. I believe that the restoration has taken place and that is why we have an explosion of new knowledge and technology taking place now. I believe that this explosion started around 1830 when the LDS church was officially organized and will continue until the Second Coming of Jesus the Christ.

What is Heaven?

2007-02-03T18:28:00.000-05:00

This post continues the theme of "Where did we come from?" and adds a new question, Where are we going from here? Back in the 1970's Erich von Däniken wrote a book called Chariots of the Gods. In that book, and others like it, he proposed that the gods and angels of ancient literature, to included the old Testament, were astronauts from another planet or dimension. He stated that the flaming chariots were space ships and other conveyances described in ancient literature could have been helicopters or jet planes. He then set forth his evidence to back up these claims. I read these books when they first came out and wondered if he was not onto something. To this day I still can't help wondering if some advanced alien race came to Earth and found primates that resembled them. They then monkeyed around with the DNA of these primates and produced the first human beings. The Book of Genesis states that Eve was made from one of Adam's ribs. I believe that Eve was a female clone of Adam and basically had the same DNA as Adam and thus resembled him greatly. Adam couldn't help finding her attractive because she was nearly identical to him in appearance.

The Book of Genesis states that the sons of God found the daughters of men desirable and mated with them. The LDS church believes that fallen priesthood members mated with non believers and that is what that verse refers to. Some scholars believe that the sons of God were fallen angels or ancient astronauts. The fallen angels do not have physical bodies and therefore cannot mate with those of us who do. That is part of their curse for rebellion. Ancient astronauts, on the other hand, do have physical bodies and thus can mate with humans. The question them becomes one of whether or not the two kinds of DNA are compatible and thus can produce offspring.

The above addressed where we may have come from. Now I want to address where we are going from here. Most people that I talk to want to go to Heaven. It is supposed to be a place of peace and happiness where there is no disease, crime, war, poverty or anything else that could make us unhappy. I cannot help wondering if this Heaven is nothing more than the home planet for an ancient and highly advanced race that visited the Earth thousands of years ago. What will happen when we finally get there? The Bible makes it clear that some people in Heaven will be honored guests at a wedding feast while others will be servants. Others still will be shut out all together! Jesus mentioned that the first will be last and the last will be first. Those who serve well in this life will be the ones getting served in the next. My fear about this is a little on the scary side for me. What if everybody who makes it to Heaven ends up a slave to the master race that lives there? True, we will live forever in physically healthy bodies that don't need to eat or sleep and never get sick. That means that we never need any time off from work! There will be no physical handicaps or disabilities so the entire work force will be able bodied. Some people won't mind being slaves to the master race because their working and living conditions will be better than anything that they knew here on Earth. Even so, I cannot help but wondering if there won't be another rebellion when this home planet is over run with millions of humans.

The Bible tells us that this Earth will be transformed into a sea of glass and then it will be inhabited by those people who have earned the right to live in the Celestial Kingdom. So, this Heaven that we are all trying to get to is right here on Earth. Those who have earned a lesser degree of glory will not end up here on Earth but somewhere else where they will be servants to those who have earned the Celestial Kingdom. The Doctrine and Covenants of the LDS church explain each of the three degrees of glory in detail. The lowest of these kingdoms is called the Tellestial Kingdom and it is supposed to be so beautiful that you would kill yourself to get there if you saw it in a vision. The middle kingdom is called the Terrestrial Kingdom and it is better than the Tellestial Kingdom, but not as good as the Celestial Kingdom. The best is the Celestial Kingdom. Within the Celestial Kingdom are three degrees of glory, but it appears that only the highest one has a name and it is called exaltation. You can be "saved" without being exalted.

I. personally, am striving to get into the Celestial Kingdom and then go on to exaltation because I want to be an honored guest and ruler in Heaven and not a servant, or worse, a slave. If you want to know how to become exalted in the Celestial Kingdom talk to a person who is an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormon).

For Sale, Ebooks On How To Pray

2006-10-28T19:56:00.000-04:00

Several months ago I bought some public doamin ebooks on how to paray. They came with resale rights. Because I am too lazy to write my own ebooks I am offering them to anyone who wants to buy them. For a measly $27.00 you can get several ebooks written by E. M. Bounds and T. M. Anderson. The books come with a webpage to sell them from and resale rights. For the price you cannot go wrong. IF you are interested you can get them by visiting the following webpage: How To Pray

I will make similar ebooks available to you all as I find them.

How To Pray

The first 14 Dominant Laws of the Subconscious Mind

2006-08-07T23:50:00.000-04:00

Many churches, including the LDS church, take a dim view of hypnosis for reasons that I don't understand. What I have noted is that many religions simply condemn whatever they don't understand and hypnosis is one of them. Entering altered states of consciousness is as natural as going to sleep. Highway hypnosis is an example of this. Have you ever been on a long road trip and suddenly realized that you missed your turn off the Interstate because you were in a light trance or on "automatic pilot" as some people call it? Have you ever just stared off into space and day dreamed? These are examples of self hypnosis! All that a trained hypnotist does is guide a patient into a natural state!

One of the dumbest excuses that I have heard for Christians not getting hypnotized is that evil spirits can just jump into your body while you are in an altered state of consciousness! If this is true, then why is it that people high on certain drugs, or drunk, don't become "possessed" while in an altered state? Why don't we become "possessed when we day dream or get highway hypnosis?

I have posted an article about how hypnosis can help people. Read it and learn something!

"The first 14 Dominant Laws of the Subconscious Mind"

by Emmanuel Segui
http://www.20daypersuasion.com/sme.html
(c) Emmanuel Segui All Rights reserved

The subconscious mind is fascinating and intriguing. Yet, it is
challenging to understand how it works so you can use its full
power solve our problems and enhance every aspect of your life.

Here are the difficult principles of the subconscious mind made
very easy so you can apply them in your life today and see
results tomorrow.

First Law:

All hypnosis is self-hypnosis and is any altered state of mind or
focus. It is a dreamlike imaginary state between the awake state
and the sleep state. Your eyes can be open or closed in each of
the states of hypnosis. A hypnotist guides you into a dreamlike
state, where the subconscious mind takes each suggestion as a
reality.

Second Law:
Everyone goes in and out of hypnosis 100 to 200 times per day. It
is said that each of us goes into the deep dream or REM (Rapid
Eye Movement) state from 7 to 8 times per day on our own.

Third Law:
The subconscious mind represents about 90% of your mind power,
the conscious mind, about 10%.

Fourth Law:
You are not your body. You are a perfect spirit child of God
living within this physical body.

Fifth Law:
You are but a memory. 100% of everything you have ever thought,
dreamed and experienced is stored in your bodies and minds as
memories.

Sixth Law:
The subconscious mind is fully developed at birth to: (1) keep
you alive - flight or fight, fear of loud noises, fear of
falling; (2) keep you happy - to get attention, recognition or
approval (positive or negative). These laws reverse immediately
after birth. Keeping you happy, in its interpretation, is
dominant and becomes more important than keeping you alive. Its
interpretation of “happy” means happy or miserable.

Seventh Law:
Events and trials are stored in your bodies as living chemical
memories at the moment they occurred. Each event is alive and
well and ready to manifest in you physically, mentally,
emotionally, and spiritually, from anything which can trigger
these stored events. The subconscious mind can access all
memories in the physical body as if they were it’s own.

Eighth Law:
Your major problems were programmed into your memories in your
first twelve years, like a series of dominoes. Any problems and
trials after age twelve are simply triggers or symptoms of the
first events.

Ninth Law:
All dominant thoughts become programs or habits. All habits are
from the subconscious mind, including everything you think, say
and do automatically from habit.

Tenth Law:
It takes 21 days to six weeks to consciously create a new habit
or program. The subconscious can accept a new habit program
instantly.

Eleventh Law:
When you fight a habit it will always win. Think about a pink
elephant with green and black toenails. Then try to not think
about a pink elephant with green and black toenails.

Twelfth Law:
All habits can become addictions. The level of addictions is
equal to the level of low self-esteem in your first twelve years.

Thirteenth Law:
The subconscious mind knows no difference between reality and
imagination. Only your conscious mind can see, hear, smell, taste
and touch - your five senses. The subconscious mind can only use
imagination for programming and response. Use your imagination
and think about biting into a lemon or dill pickle, then notice
the twinge in your jaw and perhaps saliva in your mouth.

Fourteenth Law:
The subconscious mind is programmed like a computer. You program
your subconscious mind positively or negatively through self-
hypnosis by 1) visualization (clear picture), 2) affirmation, and
3) activation by dynamic emotions or experiences.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Emmanuel Segui and Lloyd Dison, Hypnotherapist, speaker and
trainer, have revealed the 24 laws of the subconscious mind and
made these principles very easy so you can apply them in your
life today and see results tomorrow.
Get this one and a half hour interview for free today. Thursday
will be too late. Go immediately to
http://www.20daypersuasion.com/sme.html
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Hypnosis
Subconscious Mind

Can You Walk On Water?

2006-08-06T22:34:00.000-04:00

There was a boat on a lake that had a Rabi, a priest and a Methodist minister in it. All three were fishing. After a while the minister got tired of fishing and got up out of the boat and walked on the water to the shore and lied down to rest. The Rabi was impressed by this but said nothing. About half an hour later the priest also gets up out of the boat and walks on the water to the shore. Now the Rabi is really impressed and says to himself, " I heard that Jesus walked on water when he was alive and now I have seen two Christians walk on water. I'm going to do it too and show them something". The Rabi gets up and steps into the water and plunges in over his head. The priest turns to the minister and asks, "Do you suppose that we should have told him about those stepping stones?"

This joke reminds me of an ebook title. I have the ebook but have yet to read it. Maybe tomorrow I will. The ebook is entitled When You Can Walk on Water, Take the Boat by John Harricharan. I saw a picture of John Harricharan and believe that he is from India or Pakistan. He looks a bit like Deepak Chopra.
Religious Joke

Where Did The Human Race Come From?

2006-07-30T17:34:00.000-04:00

For those of my readers who don't already know, I grew up watching science fiction shows like the original Start Trek, Lost In Space, and Space 1999. I also watched movies like 2001 A Space Odyssey and The Planet Of The Apes. I learned much of what I know about physics from watching science fiction shows. I have known for some time now that some scientists believe in alternate time lines and parallel universes. Most Christians will tell me that the universe is all that there is and that everything that God created exists in this one universe that we see through our telescopes. Quantum mechanics do not believe this.

I have also noticed that the writers for some science fiction shows are familiar with LDS doctrine because their shows touch upon some things that we teach in our church. One of these topics is, where did mankind come from? I remember watching the original Battlestar Gallactica. One of the characters in the series was the human fleet commander named Adama. That is very close to the name of the first human male. The 12 colonies are named after the 12 signs of the zodiac. They are at war with the cylons who are determined to destroy the human race. The cylons are robots built by man, but they turned on their creators just as Lucifer and a third of the angels in heaven turned on God. The difference here is the God won and kicked Lucifer out of heaven. In Battlestar Gallactica the humans lost to the cylons and are on the run from them. In the old series all cylons looked like robots. In the new series that is on the Sci-Fi channel, some cylons look and feel human. Some are even programmed to think that they are human! They have latent programs that are waiting to be activated at the time that the human looking cylon can cause the most damage to the human fleet.

In the new series the humans believe in multiple gods like Zeus and Athena while the cylons believe in one true God! The human gods are called the Lords of Kobol. The computer programming language is COBOL and stands for Common Business Oriented Language. The planet's name starts with a "K". On Kobol the human race once lived in peace with the gods. For some reason that was either not explained, or I missed, the humans left Kobol and formed 13 new colonies. The thirteenth colony is called Earth. The surviving humans are trying to find Earth without leading the cylons there.

So, according to the writers of Battlestar Gallactica the human race came from Kobol and once lived with the gods there. This parallels LDS doctrine in two ways. First is that Mormons believe that our spirits came from somewhere else and that life here on earth was brought here from another place. In The Book of Abraham, Chapter 3, versus 2-18, we can read what God told Abraham about the star named Kolob. Note that Kolob is an anagram of Kobol. The nearest and biggest of the stars that circle God's home is called Kolob. God reckons His time according to this star and our star is governed by this star. Thus, 1000 years of our time is one day to God. So the second parallel is that the human race came from Kobol or Kolob.

I spent some time figuring out our time versus God's time. Start with 24 hors of God's time equal 1,000 years of our time. Then we get 12 hours = 500 years. Then we get 6 hours = 250 years. So, 3 hours = 125.5 years. Most people who have lived on this planet have been here less than 3 hours of God's time. Yet, God is going to send someone to Hell because of something that he or she did, or failed to do like getting baptized, while here for 1 or 2 hours of his time?!? I find that really hard to believe! I plan on doing another post on Heaven and Hell later on.

So, we have some science fiction writers stating that the human race came from another planet and we have the LDS leaders teaching that we came from a planet near a star named Kolob. When we die we don't go back to the place near Kolob but to Paradise or the spirit prison to await resurrection. I'll write more on that topic later. Eventually, this Earth that we are on now will be returned to its paradisaical glory and that time will be called the Millennium. After that, the Earth will be turned into a sea of glass and only those people worthy of Celestial glory will live on the Earth's surface. Hell will obviously removed from the center of the Earth and sent somewhere else. We believe that it will be sent to "outer darkness", whatever that means.
Battlestar Gallactica
origin of mankind

New Pledge of Allegiance!

2006-07-11T23:32:00.000-04:00

My sister sent this to me and I like it so I am posting it here. I think that this "pledge" addresses some serious problems in our public schools here in the USA!

Since the Pledge of Allegiance and The Lord's Prayer are not allowed in most public schools anymore Because the word "God" is mentioned....

A kid in Arizona wrote the NEW School prayer below. I liked it.

-----------------------------------------

Now I sit me down in school
Where praying is against the rule
For this great nation under God
Finds mention of Him very odd.

If Scripture now the class recites,
It violates the Bill of Rights.
And anytime my head I bow
Becomes a Federal matter now.

Our hair can be purple, orange or green,
That's no offense; it's a freedom scene.
The law is specific, the law is precise.
Prayers spoken aloud are a serious vice.

For praying in a public hall
Might offend someone with no faith at all.
In silence alone we must meditate,
God's name is prohibited by the state.

We're allowed to cuss and dress like freaks,
And pierce our noses, tongues and cheeks.
They've outlawed guns, but FIRST the Bible.
To quote the Good Book makes me liable.

We can elect a pregnant Senior Queen,
And the "unwed daddy", our Senior King.
It's "inappropriate" to teach right from wrong,
We're taught that such "judgments" do not belong.

We can get our condoms and birth controls,
Study witchcraft, vampires and totem poles.
But the Ten Commandments are not allowed,
No word of God must reach this crowd.

It's scary here I must confess,
When chaos reigns the school's a mess.
So, Lord, this silent plea I make:
Should I be shot; My soul please take!

Amen

If you aren't ashamed to do this, please pass this on.

Jesus said, "If you are ashamed of me, I will be ashamed of you before my Father."

Not ashamed. Pass this on. Prayer in school

Mint

2006-06-19T20:50:00.000-04:00

Recently, my mom got a small card with a mint attached to it. Here is what the card said.

I "mint" to call and thank you
But my time is in demand.
I "mint" to say "I love you",
But I knew you'd understand.
I "mint" to send you flowers-
But they cost so much you know.
I "mint" to pray for you this morning
But I had someplace to go.
I "mint" to say "Forgive me"
But that's so hard to do.
I heard my Lord say, "Bless You Child",
I hope He "mint" me, too!

I really like this and hope that it brightens your day!
Poems

On Being Politically Correct

2006-06-18T22:07:00.000-04:00

As promised earlier, here are my thoughts about being pc. I once had a neighbor and friend who believed the the pressure to be politically correct was inspired of the devil! At times I am inclined to agree with her! For example, the Old Testament makes it clear that homosexuality is a sin. For centuries, most religions around the world looked down on homosexuals and would even go as far as to excommunicate them. Now, it is considered an "alternative lifestyle"! About 2 years ago I heard somewhere that a preacher somewhere in Europe, I think Finland, was charged with a hate crime for saying from his pulpit that homosexuality is a sin! Since when is telling the truth a hate crime?!? If the preacher had said something like, "Let's go and stone these sinners" that would be a hate crime! But, just calling it a sin is not even close to being a hate crime! That was truly inspired of the devil!

While we are talking about "alternative lifestyles" let's take a look at some other things that the Bible condemns. Should we call having sex with close relatives (incest) an "alternative lifestyle"? How about having sex with the dead (necrophilia)? How about sex with animals (bestiality)? And, if all of these are "alternative lifestyles", then why not having sex with children (pedophilia)? I mean, we have to draw the line somewhere don't we? So, why is one sin a crime and a similar one just an "alternative lifestyle"? Can anyone truly answer my questions?

One thing that I have never been accused of is being politically correct! I see no reason to change that now!

While we are at it, let's call murdering people and robbing banks "alternative lifestyles"! Truthfully, all laws in the end are based on someone's moral codes. Most laws in the civilized world are based in part on the Ten Commandments. Laws in Islamic countries are based on the Koran. In all countries of the world, someone's moral code took on the force of law. Many of these laws have been challenged on the bases of constitutionality and so have some of the underlying moral codes. For example, it is no longer "cool" to be chaste or celibate. If a man has sex with multiple partners in his lifetime then he is a "stud". Otherwise, he is a "loser" who cannot get any women! Since when is someone who obeys a moral code a "loser"?!? Are Catholic priests losers who cannot get women? I once had a friend who stated to me that only those who cannot get women claim to have morals! Of course, this same guy claimed to have had sex with 500 different women in his lifetime and I believe him because I saw him in action! He called me a loser because I refused to have premarital sex. Oh, well!

In all honesty, I am glad that some old laws were taken off the books because customs and morals do change with time. Even so, God does not change and his laws are eternal. Something that was a sin in Old Testament times is still a sin today! Now, to answer some of your potential questions, yes, I do eat pork and shell fish on occasion. The laws against eating those foods applied only to the ancient Hebrews and I am not one of them. I am not Muslim and thus have no need to obey the Koran either! I try to obey the Ten Commandments but sometimes I fail. I try to obey the laws of whatever land I happen to live in, but I will admit that I have accidentally sped a few times. I am not perfect, just working on it!

politically correct