The Greatest Scam Continued

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

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

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?

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

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

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?

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?

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!

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

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

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

Sipping Vodka

My sister, Cathy, sent me this joke that is a little off color but really funny. It is typical of jokes that I used to tell when I was younger.

A new priest at his first mass was so nervous he could hardly speak. After mass he asked the monsignor how he had done. The monsignor replied, " When I am worried about getting nervous on the pulpit, I put a glass of vodka next to the water glass. If I start to get nervous, I take a sip." So next Sunday he took the monsignor's advice.

At the beginning of the sermon, he got nervous and took a drink. He proceeded to talk up a storm. Upon his return to his office after the mass, he found the following note on the door:

1) Sip the vodka, don't gulp.
2) There are 10 commandments, not 12.
3) There are 12 disciples, not 10.
4) Jesus was consecrated, not constipated.
5) Jacob wagered his donkey, he did not bet his ass.
6) We do not refer to Jesus Christ as the late J.C.
7) The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are not referred to as Daddy, Junior and the spook.
8) David slew Goliath, he did not kick the sh*t out of him.
9) When David was hit by a rock and was knocked off his donkey, don't say he was stoned off his ass.
10) We do not refer to the cross as the "Big T."
11) When Jesus broke the bread at the last supper he said, "take this and eat it for it is my body." He did not say " Eat me".
12) The Virgin Mary is not called "Mary with the Cherry".
13) The recommended grace before a meal is not: Rub-A-Dub-Dub thanks for the grub, Yeah God.
14) Next Sunday there will be a taffy-pulling contest at St. Peter's not a peter-pulling contest at St. Taffy's.

I hope that this didn't offend too many people!

religious joke

Watch Your Language!

By Mike Serovey

When I first joined the LDS church back in 1978 I was told that I needed to clean up my language some. I was a private in the US Army at the time and was quite used to hearing sergeants saying all kinds of vulgar things. I picked up certain words that some people find offensive just from hearing them so often! The LDS church tells its members to avoid the appearance of evil. I have learned from my own experiences, as well as from the experiences of other people, that if it looks like I am doing something that is wrong then small minded people will assume that I actually am doing something wrong! So, I try not to offend other people or do anything that looks fishy. However, no one has ever accused me of being politically correct (pc)! I plan to do another post on being pc and Dale Carnegie Syndrome.

In The Book of Mormon you will find the following words: dumb ass (Mosiah 15:5 & 21:3); harlot (1 Nephi 13:7-8, 34, 14:16-17, Mosiah 11:14, 12:29, & Alma 39:3); and whore (1 Nephi, 2 Nephi, Jacob, Mosiah, Alma, Helaman, 3 Nephi, 4 Nephi, Ether and in D&C 29:21). Whoremonger is found in D&C 63:17 and 76:103. The word "dung" is found in Jacob 5:64 and Mormon 2:15. In the King James Version of the Bible you will find words like Hell, dung, filthy rags, damned, hell fire, bastard, and harlot. And people are telling me to watch my language!?!

In the Bible we have a story of an Israelite king who stole another man's wife and a profit who was told by God to marry a harlot in order to symbolize God's marriage to Israel! We also have a profit who ran around naked while preaching the Gospel! Yet, I'm supposed to avoid the appearance of evil!

I do NOT want people to think badly of me or my church so I will keep the rest of my blog entries here clean. In the words of J. Golden Kimball, "They will never excommunicate me because I repent too damned fast!".

The Bible and the Coal Basket

This is a story that my sister, Cathy, sent to me. I like it, so I'm posting it here.

The story is told of an old man who lived on a farm in the mountains of eastern Kentucky with his young grandson. Each morning, Grandpa was up early sitting at the kitchen table reading from his old worn-out Bible. His grandson who wanted to be just like him tried to imitate him in any way he could.


One day the grandson asked, "Papa, I try to read the Bible

just like you but I don't understand it, and what I do understand I forget as soon as I close the book. What good does reading the Bible do?" The Grandfather quietly turned from putting coal in the stove and said, "Take this coal basket down to the river and bring back a basket of water."

The boy did as he was told, even though all the water leaked out before he could get back to the house. The grandfather laughed and said, "You will have to move a little faster next time," and sent him back to the river with the basket to try again. This time the boy ran faster, but again the basket was empty before he returned home. Out of breath, he told his grandfather that it was "impossible to carry water in a basket," and he went to get a bucket instead. The old man said, "I don't want a bucket of water; I want a basket of water. You can do this. You're just not trying hard enough," and he went out the door to watch the boy try again.

At this point, the boy knew it was impossible, but he wanted to show his grandfather that even if he ran as fast as he could, the water would leak out before he got far at all. The boy scooped the water and ran hard, but when he reached his grandfather the basket was again empty. Out of breath, he said, "See Papa, it's useless!"

"So you think it is useless?" The old man said, "Look at the basket."

The boy looked at the basket and for the first time he realized that the basket looked different. Instead of a dirty old coal basket, it was clean.

"Son, that's what happens when you read the Bible. You might not understand or remember everything, but when you read it, it will change you from the inside out.

That is the work of God in our lives - to change us from the inside out and to slowly transform us into the image of His son.

Take time to read a portion of God's word each day

Thought for Today: God's Love is like the ocean, you can see its beginnings but not its end.

Dr. Laura's Bible

Several years ago someone sent a letter to Dr. Laura Schlessinger, the talk show host. That letter was quoted in Playboy and mentioned in a dialog on the TV show The West Wing. I find it humorous and something to consider when pondering New Testament versus Old Testament. Here is the letter:

Thank you for doing so much to deducate people regarding God's Law. I have learned a great deal from your show and I try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind them that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination. End of debate. I do need some advice, however, regarding some of the specific laws and how to follow them.
(1) When I burn a bull as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord (Lev. 1:9). The problem is, my neighbors claim the odor is not pleasing. Should I smite them?
(2)I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?
(3) I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of menstral uncleanliness (Lev. 15: 19-24). The problem is, how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense.
(4) Lev. 25:44 states that I may indeed posses slaves, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims this applies to Mexicans but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can't I own Canadians?
(5) I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obliged to kill him?
(6) A friend feels that even though eating shellfish is an abomination (Lev. 11:10), it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. Can you settle this?
(7) Lev. 21:20 states that I may not approach the alter of God if I have a defect in my sight. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there wiggle room?
(8) Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair around the temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev. 19:27. How should they die?
(9) I know from Lev. 11:7-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?
(10) My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev. 19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton-polyester blend). Is it necessary to get the whole town together to stone them (Lev. 24: 10-16)? Couldn't we just burn them to death at a private family affair like we do with people who sleep with their inlaws (Lev. 20:14)?
I know that you have studied this, so I am confident you can help. Thank you again for reminding us that God's word is eternal and unchanging.

My own take on this is that many of the Old Testament laws were fulfilled by Jesus the Christ when he suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane and then died on a cross. Also, many of the laws given in Leviticus and Exodus applied only to the Levites, who where the priests for the rest of Israel. Some Christians tell me that Jesus did away with the Old Testament to include the Ten Commandments. Others tell me that the Ten Commandments were given to us to show us that we are not perfect and need a savior.

Consider this, God doesn't change but man does. God gives us commandments and takes them away according to our abilities to obey them. God is not going to condemn us by giving us commandments that our civil governments will not allow us to obey. In Old Testament days the church was also the government. This is no longer true for most of the world. Thus, the church can no longer condemn someone to death for breaking some Biblical law. This is probably a good thing. Also, I have serious doubts about how many of these laws really came from God! I think that some of these laws were based more on tradition, or the personal preferences of the prophets, than on any divine revelation. I personally believe that the Bible contains the word of God, but I won't go as far as to say that it is the word of God! The Bible also contains the words of men, angels, Lucifer, and even a talking donkey!

That is my rant for today!

The 13 Articles of Faith of the LDS Church

Some people ask me what the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormons) actually believe. Others tell me what we believe and then try to prove that what they just told me is false. It is a game of "straw man". So, to set the record straight, I have decided to quote our 13 Articles of Faith.

1) We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.

2) We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam's transgression.

3) We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.

4) We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.

5) We believe that a man must be called of God, by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands by those who are in authority, to preach the Gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof.

6) We believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and so forth.

7) We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, healing, interpretation of tongues, and so forth.

8) We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God.

9) We believe all that God has revealed, all He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.

10) We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes; that Zion (the New Jerusalem) will be built upon the American continent; that Christ will reign personally upon the earth; and, that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisaical glory.

11) We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.

12) We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.

13) We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul--We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.

I hope that this sets the record straight on a few things. Yes, we do believe that the Book of Mormon is scripture equal in authority to the Bible, but it is not a replacement for the Bible. It is a companion and a supplement. The Book of Mormon tells the history of the New World just as the Bible tells the history of the Old World. God gave revelation to prophets on both continents. Each book contains a record of God's revelations. Eventually the lost Ten Tribes of the northern kingsom will be found and their records will be found along with them. When these records are found they will be added to the Bible. I personally believe that publication of these lost records will shake up many current Christian churches and doctrines.

My First Post to My New Blog On Religion

I was thinking about converting www.mikeserovey.us to a personal site and have some pages on religion, or registering the domain name of mikeseroveyonreligion.com. Then, I discovered that I can have a blog on religion hosted by blogger.com and save the costs of registering a domain name and hosting a website. That means that I can use www.mikeserovey.us for other purposes.

The reason that I wanted to write about religion is because I have gotten rather fed up with some of the garbage that is passing for religion these days. For example, you have Bible thumping "born again" Christians telling other people that Jehovah's Witnesses, Seventh Day Adventists and Later Day Saints (Mormons) aren't real Christians because they believe some concepts that the mainstream rejects. What these Nimrods fail to realize is that the original meaning of "Christian" is Christ like, and they are anything but Christ like! I believe that it was Nietche who said that there was only one Christian and he died on a cross long ago. I agree whole-heartedly with him!

Another thing that tics me off is religion being used as an excuse to hurt other people. Parents have disowned their own children for joining the "wrong" church! That is reprehensible! The ultimate in this lunacy is suicide bombers who kill themselves and as many others as they can just because the others have a different viewpoint on religion and politics. Religion is supposed to bring us closer to God and to each other, not be used as an excuse to kill each other! Get it right people!

I plan to post to this blog about once or twice a week at first. In time, I may post every day. Others, of course, are welcome to post their comments on this blog. I will set up the buttons that will allow you to get the RSS feeds to this blog so that you can read my posts on your RSS aggregator. This allows you to read these at your leisure and not have to deal with the problems of email getting past filters, etc.

Until Next Time

Mike Serovey
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Mike Serovey is an ordained elder in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormons) and has been since 1982. He is familiar with several religions and has a library that includes the Bible, Book of Mormon, the Cabala, the Koran, and books on the Masons and the Rosicrucians.