Is it a Good Seed?

You can read the French translation here.

If you have some seeds and you want to plant them, and you have had them for awhile, how do you know if the seeds are good? 

The Internet provides some methods or tests to help you determine whether your seeds are good. One is the water test. Take your seeds and put them in a container of water. Let them sit for about 15 minutes. Then if the seeds sink, they are still viable. If they float, they likely will not sprout. According to the source, this is not the most reliable because you cannot see the seed germinate.

The more reliable test is the germination test. Take some of your seeds, preferably 10, and place them in a row on top of a damp paper towel. Fold over the paper towel and place in a zip-up plastic bag and seal it. This helps to keep the towel moist and protected. Then put it in a warm location, like a high shelf or on top of the refrigerator, and check the seeds often--once a day--to see if they have started to germinate and/or to check the moisture of the paper towel. If it needs more water, carefully mist the towel to where it is damp, but be careful not to apply too much water. Make sure the location you have chosen is away from exposure to direct sunlight. This can overheat your seeds.  

Your seeds should begin to germinate in several days or up to a couple of weeks, depending on the seed-type. A good rule of thumb is to wait roughly 10 days; however, if you want to give your seeds the best chance, research the germination time of your specific seeds. Once the allotted time has passed, check to see how many have germinated. If you placed 10 seeds on the paper towel, this will be pretty easy to calculate. If less than 5 seeds sprouted, your packet may not have much success when it comes to planting. If more than 5 sprouted, then your seeds still have a lot of vigor left in them.

I use these methods of testing 

the viability of a seed as an introduction to the most important experiment you will ever consider. It will change what you see and your life. 

It is a test to prove the viability of the word of God, by comparing it to a seed and planting it in your heart to see if it will germinate. As with both the water test and the germination test, there are some important instructions, which you need to follow. It does not matter that you may not believe in God.

Many people say they do not believe in God. But belief has no bearing on whether there is or is not a God. The question is not whether we believe or do not believe. 

The question is:  Is there a God? 

Not, do you believe or do you not believe there is a God? Don't make the mistake of thinking that something is not true just because you don't believe it. 

I cannot prove either the existence or non-existence of a God. But if there really is a God, God can certainly prove His own existence and much more about himself. How? By communicating with man. In other words if God spoke to men or sent messengers to speak for Him, then His words can prove His existence.

There is a story that will help to lay the foundation for this experiment. A man named Alma was speaking to some people upon a hill named Onidah when there came a great multitude unto him. A spokesperson for this multitude told Alma that because of their poverty, they were despised, especially by the leaders of the church to which they belonged. He told Alma that they had been cast out of their churches which they had labored to build, and that they had been cast out because they were poor.  

The spokesperson asked, what should we do?--for we are cast out of our synagogues and we cannot worship our God. Alma said that because they had asked him what they should do, he taught them concerning faith--that it was not a perfect knowledge. He taught them of God's word so they could distinguish truth from error.

He said that it is the same with the words he would speak to them.

They cannot know at first, if the words he would speak to them were true. He told these people that God had imparted his word by angels unto men and women also, and that the words were written and preserved for the benefit of all who would receive them, and any who desired could know for themselves.

Since these people desired to know what to do, Alma knew that the word of God would tell them what to do, so he gave them an experiment they could use to test whether the words of God were true. Alma told them that 

(1) they needed to awake and arouse their faculties--in other words, wake up or open their minds, their eyes, their ears and their feelings. 

Once they had done so, they could then begin the experiment.

(2) He told them they needed to exercise a particle of faith which, he explained, was just a desire to believe, and then 

(3) He told them to let that desire work in them, so that they could hear just a few of his words. 

(4) He next told them to compare the word to a seed, 

(5) He told them to then allow the seed (word) to be planted in your hearts, which means to make it a priority among the desires of your heart (I really want to know), and finally 

(6) He told them to not cast it out because of your unbelief. 

If they followed these instructions they would know whether or not the seed was good. 

If the seed is good:

(7) the seed or the word of God would begin to swell within their breasts, and 

(8) they would feel these swelling or growing motions. He then told them further that if the seed was good 

(9) it would begin to enlarge their souls (become more aware),

(10) it would begin to enlighten their understanding, and 

(11) it would begin to be delicious to them.

While this experiment, he told them, would increase their faith, it would still not yet be a perfect knowledge. 

However, because the seed germinated and sprouted and began to grow, they would have a perfect knowledge that the seed was a good seed.

He then explained to them that they could then be sure that the seed was good because it would begin to germinate. If the seed was not good it would not grow within them and they could cast it out. 

When they knew that the seed was good, they would then know that their knowledge was perfect concerning the seed being a good seed. He said to them that they would know that the word had swelled their souls, that the word had sprouted, their understanding enlightened, and their minds expanded.

He then asked them "is not this real?" 

Yes, he says, because the word is light, and light is good because it can be discerned, and they can know that it is good. Just walk into a dark room and turn on the light to see how light is discerned. 

But because they had only exercised their faith to plant the seed in order to try the experiment to know if the seed was good, their knowledge was only perfect in that they knew that the word they planted was good. 

He further explained to them that if they nourished the word or continued to receive more of His words, a tree would begin to grow. He told them that when that happens they should nourish it with great care that it may get root and bring forth fruit unto them. He promised them that if they nourished it with great care, it would get root and bring forth fruit. 

If they neglected the tree, however, and took no thought for its nourishment, it would not get any root, and when the heat of the sun came and scorched it, because it had no root, it would wither and die. This was not because the seed was not good, neither was it because the fruit would not be desirable, but because their ground was barren. 

He explained that the tree is the word of God growing within them and by nourishing the word (which was a seed) and by feasting upon His words, His words would take root in them. He described to them that the fruit was most precious, white above all that is white and pure above all that is pure, and that if they feasted upon this fruit they would never hunger or thirst because it is the fruit of the tree of life.

Because this experiment is personal to those who try it, the fact that others have tried it and know that the seed is good, is not sufficient for someone who has not yet tried it. Even if thousands tell you that this experiment works and that the seed is good, and I am one who can tell you that I have tried the experiment and it does work, it is still not enough for you. 

You must try for yourself to know if the seed is good. You do not have to rely on what others say or what others believe, or what others may say you must believe. You can know for yourself. You do not have to believe anything that is not true! God is confirming His existence to you!

Let's try the experiment using these words spoken by God to Adam. These words are recorded in the Book of Moses. God, by His own voice, spoke to Adam and said: 

"I am God; I made the world" (Moses 6:51). 

Here are the instructions for conducting the experiment. Remember that this experiment is as scientific as any experiment can be, and as with any experiment, you must follow the instructions.

(1) arouse and awake your faculties--open your mind, your heart, your ears, your eyes, your feelings;

(2) exercise just a particle of faith which is just a desire to believe;

(3) let this desire work in you, so you can hear the words;

(4) Compare the words "I am God; I made the world" to a seed;

(5) Allow these words to be planted in your heart or make room in your heart for them; and

(6) Don't cast them out because you don't want to believe them.

Now wait for these results to see if the seed is a good seed and germinates:

(1) the seed or the words "I am God; I made the world" will begin to swell within your breast;

(2) you will feel these swelling or growing motions;

(3) these words will begin to enlarge your being and increase your awareness of this earth and the cosmos;

(4) these words will begin to enlighten your understanding; 

(5) these words will begin to be delicious to you.

(6) you will now know for yourself that these words are true, and that there is a God and that He made the world.

Now try the same experiment with these words recorded in a revelation given to Joseph Smith:

"The word of the Lord is truth." (D&C 84:45).

The more of His words you receive the more you will desire to know--your tree is starting to take root.

Does it appeal to you that you do not have to depend on others for this knowledge? 

Now you have some truth--He is God, and He made the world. And you know that His words are truth and light. The more of His words you receive, the more truth and light you will have. 

You can use the truth (His words) as the standard by which to compare everything you hear and read. Men's words become important so that we learn the difference between what men have written and what God has revealed, but you will begin to recognize when others communicate His words.

You now have a choice whether to try this experiment, and you will fall into one of these four (4) categories:

(1) You choose to ignore or dismiss this experiment for a variety of reasons, one of which is that you don't want to know. You think it is foolish and no matter how many of His words you hear, you will ignore them because your heart is not receptive, because it is so 'set' on things and activities of the world; 

(2) If you do try, you may hear the word and receive it, but others may ridicule you, and the seed will die because your soil is hard and the word/seed cannot take root; or

(3) you hear the word, but because of the cares of the world, the word will be choked and die. Imagine weeds choking the seed. 

Regardless of which these first three categories you find yourself in, the problem will not be because the seed is not good.

(4) But if you follow the instructions and complete the experiment by planting the seed in your heart--and it begins to grow! You know that the seed is good! 

Now you will want to nourish it by receiving more of His words. You will come to know that the fruit of the tree is desirable, and that all the important questions will be answered. 

There is so much more, however, and you will learn and know, worlds without end, eternity, eternal family, and on and on, forever living, loving and learning as we become more like God.

My desire is that you plant this word in your hearts, and as it begins to swell even so nourish it by your faith by receiving more of His words. And if you do, it will become a tree, springing up in you unto everlasting life. What is the best book to start with?

Get your own digital copy of the Book of Mormon here and begin to search for more of the word of God.

Feasting On His Words

When I was called to be the Stake Sunday School President in our stake in Lehi, Utah, a calling I essentially asked for when our new stake president, whom I had sat by in high council for 5 years, asked if I was ok being released as a high counselor. I told him I was but asked if he would go to the Lord and ask if I could be called as the Stake Sunday School President. He did and about a month later I was called. For my counselors I selected the previous stake sunday school president, whom I will call Tim, as my first counselor and a man whose older brothers I had known well. I will call him Mike.

Believing the handbook about being the teaching specialists in the stake and by that time having spent many years treasuring up the words of life, I wanted to focus all our efforts on teaching and learning and so our weekly presidency meetings were only teaching and learning experiences. 

I put together a rather aggressive proposal to also include the Ward SS Presidents and even ward SS teachers whom we invited to attend a monthly meeting designed to teach and be taught the word of God, recognizing that if Christ only taught what His Father commanded Him to teach (John 12:46-50), then as teachers we should do the same. But in order to do so, as teachers, we needed to be armed with the word of God, otherwise we could not teach what the Savior taught.  

Unique to a Stake Sunday School Presidency, is that there is not a lot of 'business' that needs to be taken care of in a Presidency Meeting, and so we were free to spend more time on learning and teaching. My experience with many leadership meetings has been that a disproportionate amount of the time was spent on the 'business' and very little time teaching. So many opportunities, I thought, had been lost when leadership is gathered and no teaching of the word of God takes place or whatever teaching was done was shallow and most often done under the guise of a spiritual thought. But more on this later

In the very first presidency meeting I asked Tim to teach us without first warning him. He did and then Mike and I took a few minutes to teach each other. This became the pattern for our meetings. There were no subject matter assignments. The only criteria was to teach the word of God and to the extent possible follow the admonition in D&C 84:85 to treasure up His words and teach them as moved upon by the Holy Ghost. 

The pattern became that Mike would begin, then Tim and then I would finish up. We met in a classroom and taught by standing and using the board or other teaching objects as desired. We met every Wednesday evening at 7 pm and only for one hour, making sure that we never took more time. We also invited a ward Sunday School President, and on occasion ward SS teachers on a rotational basis to our weekly presidency meetings.

It didn't take long before I came to realize that these weekly meetings were becoming and would become my favorite meetings of all time. I came home one night and told my wife that it was like going to the candy store, not in the sense of what Elder Holland called a Spiritual Twinkie or that which does not edify and passes for teaching, but in the sense of being able to have so many choices of His words. 

I looked forward to these meetings and it didn't take long to experience the power of the word of God and how it not only edified and enlightened my understanding, but also how it nourished me.  Alma was right when he taught that the word of God edifies, tastes delicious, swells and sprouts within us and strengthens our faith in Jesus Christ as our minds expand with His words.

We were teaching each other to understand more perfectly His words, His gospel and His doctrines, and I began to understand and experience why the Lord commanded us to "teach one another the doctrines of the kingdom...that ye may be instructed more perfectly in theory, in principle, in doctrine, in the law of the gospel, in all things that pertain to the kingdom of God.." (D&C 88:77-78).  

Being in my seventies at the time, I had experienced so many meetings where I was not edified and nourished and had not been instructed more perfectly in theory, principle, doctrine and the law of the gospel. Most of the learning I had done on my own, and so to be able to learn from these two great teachers, more of the word of God, and its effect on our lives, was a testament that there is nothing so sweet, so broad, so deep, so nourishing, so edifying, so enlightening, as the word of God. We did experience the joy of hearing His words, planting them in our hearts, tasting them and exclaiming how delicious they are!

I also learned that by treasuring up His words and seeking first to obtain His words, our teaching was directed by the Holy Ghost, whose purpose it is to bring to remembrance the words of Christ. 

Each week I was nourished, not only from being taught but from having the opportunity to teach His words. The more I experienced His words and 'heard' them, the more they became part of me, and I began to understand and experience what Alma meant by His words being found in us. The clarity and the brilliance was felt and seen and the light communicated to my intellect from heaven began to change me.

I experienced an increase in faith in Jesus Christ and knew that what Paul said about faith coming by hearing, and hearing by the word of God was true. I understood how faith increased as ministering angels taught the words of God to Adam, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Moses and Joseph Smith, and then to us through the records that they kept. 

Like Alma writing down all the words of Abinadi and teaching them to others, I could do the same and  experience the light of His words, not only in the enlightening of my understanding, but in seeing myself and the need for repentance. I further experienced my own lost and fallen state and my personal need for Christ and His atonement. I experienced His spirit in His words and understood that His words are His spirit. It soon became clear that we only teach by the spirit when we teach His words.

When I was set apart as the Stake Sunday School President, the Stake President admonished me to learn all that I could about how the Savior taught. I did and through that experience it became clear that it was more about 'what' the Savior taught, than about how He taught. He only taught what His Father commanded Him to teach, and therefore spoke and taught the word of God. 

But equally important was 'why' He taught the word of God, and why He sent the Holy Ghost to bring to remembrance the words which He taught, and why we have been commanded to teach the word of God. Through His words I learned that to repent means to turn to Him and rely wholly upon His merits and not our own. For in order to obtain His mercy we must repent. His words helped me see myself as I really am and awoke in me the desire to continually turn to Him and rely upon His merits. His words caused me to feel joy in His great plan and to share it with others.

While we may have been the ones standing and talking, we were actually being taught and being instructed by our Father and His words were becoming our words. Isaiah asks the questions "Whom shall he (the Lord) teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine?" (Isaiah 28:9). This was becoming my experience. 

The more I treasured up His words, the more instruction I received from Him, and since we were each treasuring up His words and sharing them with each other, He was teaching us knowledge and making us to understand His gospel and doctrine. Since a mystery was anything we did not know, He began to reveal His mysteries to us through His words. I cannot overstate the importance or experiencing His words as light, spirit and even His spirit.

I also experienced the Spirit of Revelation and the Spirit of Prophecy as He revealed the truthfulness of His words and the testimony of His Son Jesus. His words are always accompanied by the prophecies concerning Christ and His work in these last days. 

The Book of Mormon is a book of prophecy and helps us to see the events which are yet to take place as the Lord will soon take His gospel to the House of Israel--the Jews, the 10 Tribes and Lehi's descendants. My views of that which is to come became greater and clearer. 

It became clear why Book of Mormon prophet writers would exclaim the greatness of God and His plan--how they could shout for joy and sing the song of redeeming love.

I also experienced the following:

I was humbled because of the word (Alma 32).

I heard his voice in His words (D&C 18).

I was nourished and edified (Moroni 6:4).

I experienced light, truth, spirit, even spirit of Jesus Christ (D&C 84:45).

I treasured up his words (D&C 84:85) and never prepared a talk or lesson again.

His words became my words (Abinadi and Alma Sr)

I experienced planting His words in my heart, and experienced the word growing, tasting delicious to me and enlightening my understanding ( Alma 32).

I came to understand the Parable of the Sower and how it is the story of each of us in relation to either receiving or not receiving His words.

I experienced that by believing His words, I believed Christ and by believing Christ, I believed his words.

I experienced that His kingdom is hidden to us and that while we have heard of it, we must search it out through His words.

I experienced that in God and Christ are found all treasures.

I experienced more of His love in me and a desire, no, a fire to share His words with others so they too could know as I know and tasted as I tasted.

There are many other experiences, but one more I would like to mention is that by teaching each other the word of God, my love for Tim and Mike increased and they were in fact my brothers. I experienced His love for them and was filled with His love, and my desire to repent or turn to Him and rely on His merits alone, became what I really wanted, not only for me, but for Mike and Tim, and my desire to teach others of His goodness and mercy increased, as I received more of His words and love. I knew I would be redeemed because of His righteousness and certainly not my own. 

We Are The Wild Branches

Who are we In Jacob 5?

One of the most intriguing historical and prophetic writings describing the connective history of mankind is the account in Jacob 5 in the Book of Mormon where Jacob quotes Zenos relative to the allegory of the tame and wild olive trees. Included in this allegory is the history and prophecy concerning the House of Israel and the Gentiles. Nothing is so clear and yet, at least until you have the keys, so difficult to follow. One of the keys is understanding who the players are, and with whom we are identified.  

There are two main groups--the House of Israel and the Gentiles. And for purposes of our discussion, we must understand, both historically and prophetically, that we are identified with the Gentiles, not the House of Israel. It took me many years to understand this and until I did, the Allegory of the Olive Tree, while interesting and challenging, was just another part of the Book of Mormon. It was not until I understood the players that its meaning was revealed to me.

Let's look at the players.  In the Book of Mormon there are only three groups that make up the House of Israel. These groups are 1) the Jews, 2) the Lost Tribes and 3) Lehi's descendants. In the Allegory of the Olive Tree these are the 'natural branches' spoken of by Zenos (actually Lehi's descendants are part of the tender branches planted in the choice ground), while the House of Israel is the tame (as opposed to the wild) olive tree.

"For behold, thus saith the Lord, I will liken thee, O house of Israel, like unto a tame olive tree, which a man took and nourished in his vineyard; and it grew, and waxed old, and began to decay" (Jacob 5:3).

We, according to Joseph Smith, are identified with the Gentiles (D&C 109:60). Joseph tells us this as he is praying for the House of Israel to be gathered and redeemed (D&C 109:61-67). And of course one of the prophetic aspects of the Allegory is the gathering of the House of Israel.  

Because the tame tree began to decay the Lord of the vineyard said to His servant "take thou the branches of the wild olive tree, and graft them in, in the stead thereof" (Jacob 5:9).

Now some may ask if we are of Ephraim, why are we not identified with the House of Israel? Because Ephraim assimilated among the Gentiles as Jacob indicated when he blessed Ephraim that he would become a 'multitude of nations' (Genesis 48:19), or as the Book of Mormon uses the phrase, the 'fulness of the Gentiles' (3 Nephi 16:4). For purposes of the Allegory of the Olive Tree we members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are identified with the Gentiles, both historically and prophetically. 

Zenos uses other allegorical terms to describe the House of Israel and the Gentiles. Those that make up the House of Israel (Jews, Lost Tribes and Lehi's descendants) are the natural branches, and the Gentiles are the wild branches. So if we simply follow the allegorical terms we can see what happened to, and what will happen to, the natural branches and the wild branches, and why.

Both the natural branches and the wild branches are described by the fruits that they bear, again both historically and prophetically.

The key to the Allegory is the root, which is always described as good. It is the root that sustained the tree into which the wild branches were grafted and later into which the natural branches are grafted. Christ is the root and the source of all good, and it is only when the branches take strength unto themselves and "overrun" the root, that the vineyard becomes corrupted (Jacob 5:37-46). Christ described himself as the vine and us as the branches, and that the branches cannot bring forth good fruit of themselves (John 15:2-8).

The allegory is also about the fruit that the branches bear. Initially the House of Israel or the natural branches are described as growing old and decaying and no longer bringing forth good fruit. But later when they are grafted into the natural tree again they will bring forth good fruit. The Gentiles or wild branches on the other hand, for awhile, after being grafted into the natural tree, bring forth good fruit because of "the much strength of the root" (Jacob 5:18), but then later they bring forth wild fruit, none of it which is good, and eventually we are told the wild branches are cut off and cast into the fire. 

"They came to the tree whose natural branches had been broken off, and the wild branches had been grafted in; and behold all sorts of fruit did cumber the tree.

And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard did taste of the fruit, every sort according to its number. And the Lord of the vineyard said: Behold, this long time have we nourished this tree, and I have laid up unto myself against the season much fruit.

Note that it is the Lord of the vineyard who tasted the fruit, not the servant, and determined that none of it was (is) good.

But behold, this time it hath brought forth much fruit, and there is none of it which is good. And behold, there are all kinds of bad fruit; and it profiteth me nothing, notwithstanding all our labor; and now it grieveth me that I should lose this tree" (Jacob 5:30-32).

I have posted an article entitled "An Awful State of Blindness--Wild Fruit" which identifies many of the "all kinds of bad (wild) fruit" identified with Israel anciently and with the Ephraimite Gentiles today.

We are told that the tender natural branches which were taken from the decaying olive tree, were planted (hidden) for a time and the areas where they were hidden and planted are described as the "nethermost parts of the vineyard" that is either choice ground or very poor ground, but for purposes of this article the where is not important in understanding what is prophesied concerning us as Ephraimite Gentiles. These details do, however, validate the Allegory as being historically accurate concerning the House of Israel.

There was a reversal that took place when Paul was called to take the fulness of the gospel to the Gentiles (Acts 13:46). This is the beginning of the wild branches being grafted into the mother tree. But there will again be another reversal when the Gospel is taken from the Gentiles because they reject the fulness of the gospel, and it is given to the House of Israel (3 Nephi 16:10-11; D&C 14:10). Why? Because as the Allegory describes it, the wild branches bring forth wild fruit, NONE of it which is good. 

The charge, to "graft in the branches; begin at the last that they may be first, and that the first may be last" (Jacob 5:63), is a description used to describe the House of Israel as the first and the last to receive the gospel. Only those Ephraimite Gentiles who repent will be numbered among the House of Israel (3 Nephi 16:13). So there is still hope for us, but only on the condition of repentance. 

"But if they will not turn unto me, and hearken unto my voice, I will suffer them, yea, I will suffer my people, O house of Israel, that they shall go through among them, and shall tread them down, and they shall be as salt that hath lost its savor, which is thenceforth good for nothing but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of my people, O house of Israel" (3 Nephi 16:15). "They" spoken of here are the Ephraimite Gentiles.

So there is no mistaking but that Jesus is talking about us, He further says: "when men are called unto mine everlasting gospel, and covenant with an everlasting covenant, they are accounted as the salt of the earth and the savor of men;

They are called to be the savor of men; therefore, if that salt of the earth lose its savor, behold, it is thenceforth good for nothing only to be cast out and trodden under the feet of men" (D&C 101:39-40).

Which is exactly what Jesus prophesied concerning us, the Ephraimite Gentiles, the salt of the earth that loses its savor, the wild branches. The Allegory describes it as wild fruit or not bringing forth fruit meet for repentance (Alma 12:15). When He says that none of the fruit is good, He is indicting us, but also prophecying concerning us. But do we even 'hear' Him? Are we so caught up in our goodness, our works, our duties that we can't see? We don't see because we don't 'hear' Him even though our Father commanded us: "Hear ye him."

"Wo be unto the Gentiles, saith the Lord God of Hosts! For notwithstanding I shall lengthen out mine arm unto them from day to day, they will deny me; nevertheless, I will be merciful unto them, saith the Lord God, if they will repent and come unto me; for mine arm is lengthened out all the day long, saith the Lord God of Hosts" (2 Nephi 28:32).

But He also gives us this promise:

"For they that are wise and have received the truth, and have taken the Holy Spirit for their guide, and have not been deceived—verily I say unto you, they shall not be hewn down and cast into the fire, but shall abide the day" (D&C 45:57). And how do we receive the truth? Through His words which are truth, light and the Spirit of Jesus Christ (D&C 84:45).

This is a brief but I believe a powerful analysis that when revealed to you personally will not only change your paradigm, but will cause you to focus on the word of God and the need to repent.

Heed this call to action from Jacob to insure your place at His side:

"And the day that he shall set his hand again the second time to recover his people, is the day, yea, even the last time, that the servants of the Lord shall go forth in his power, to nourish and prune his vineyard; and after that the end soon cometh.

And how blessed are they who have labored diligently in his vineyard; and how cursed are they who shall be cast out into their own place! And the world shall be burned with fire. Those who are saying nothing but repentance are laboring diligently in his vineyard.

And how merciful is our God unto us, for he remembereth the house of Israel, both roots and branches; and he stretches forth his hands unto them all the day long; and they are a stiffnecked and a gainsaying people; but as many as will not harden their hearts shall be saved in the kingdom of God.

Wherefore, my beloved brethren, I beseech of you in words of soberness that ye would repent, and come with full purpose of heart, and cleave unto God as he cleaveth unto you. And while his arm of mercy is extended towards you in the light of the day, harden not your hearts.

Yea, today, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts; for why will ye die?

For behold, after ye have been nourished by the good word of God all the day long, will ye bring forth evil fruit, that ye must be hewn down and cast into the fire? (Note the formula for not bringing forth evil fruit--being nourished by the word of God.)

Behold, will ye reject these words? Will ye reject the words of the prophets; and will ye reject all the words which have been spoken concerning Christ, after so many have spoken concerning him; and deny the good word of Christ, and the power of God, and the gift of the Holy Ghost, and quench the Holy Spirit, and make a mock of the great plan of redemption, which hath been laid for you?

Know ye not that if ye will do these things, that the power of the redemption and the resurrection, which is in Christ, will bring you to stand with shame and awful guilt before the bar of God?

And according to the power of justice, for justice cannot be denied, ye must go away into that lake of fire and brimstone, whose flames are unquenchable, and whose smoke ascendeth up forever and ever, which lake of fire and brimstone is endless torment.

O then, my beloved brethren, repent ye, and enter in at the strait gate, and continue in the way which is narrow, until ye shall obtain eternal life. (And we continue in the way by feasting upon the words of Christ. 2 Nephi 32:3)

O be wise; what can I say more?" 

(Jacob 6:2-12)

Letter to my French Friends and Family

As you know I am married to Annie Martin, a friend to all of you, mother, grandmother, aunt and family member. Annie has always been and still is Mon Amour Toujours. When I first saw her at South High School in Salt Lake City, Utah in 1960 there was, as Plato said, "a falling in love or the mutual recognition on earth of two souls which had been singled out for one another in a previous and celestial existence." To meet Annie was to realize 'We had loved before we were born. And I fell in love with her all over again.

And when she left to go home to France in 1961, she left an 18 year old boy with very little hope of ever seeing her again. I dreamed of finding her, however, and even though it took 35 years, I did find and reach out to her. What I found was that a young boy's love was not just some romantic notion of being in love with a cute French girl, but was a love that was so deep and broad that I could not contain it. All I had were words, however, because she was 5000 miles away, but those words could and would not stop coming. And even more so after more than 28 years of marriage, my love for her is even deeper and stronger.

I am sorry, however, for taking her away from all of you for so many years. It was a sacrifice that was difficult for her, but we decided that together with love as the foundation of our story, we could get through all the problems and obstacles together. And we have.  

I am so grateful to have met all of you, and for each of you being so kind to me, and for now being my friends and family. You have welcomed me with open arms, and I am enriched for having met and known all of you. As you know, when Annie makes a friend, that friend becomes a friend for life and her friends are my friends. She has taught me so much about friendship, and I have seen how each of you has blessed her life.

How grateful I am that we had our small apartment in Verdun, and that we are able to spend long periods of time in France. I love France and especially love the people of France, those of you who have welcomed me into your homes, which I credit to your love for Annie. You should know that she is also loved in Utah and in Arizona, and that her many acts of kindness are recognized and welcomed. She has friends in Utah and Arizona who are French and she is particularly close to them, as she is with the many French speaking Americans she has met and in many cases taught. We are grateful to now be living in France to have more opportunities to be with you and to make new friends.

Perhaps some of you wonder how Annie could become a Mormon, or a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day saints. 

Mormons is a nickname for the church. Mormon is the name of a man who received generations of written records and abridged them, delivered them to his son Moroni, who buried them and made them known to Joseph Smith. 

You have all heard stories of Mormons, many of which are not entirely accurate. Maybe even some of you believe that she became a Mormon just because I wanted her to, and I have even heard the word 'brainwashed.' But those who really know her, will understand that this is just not true. She asked me and I told her it was not a condition of my marrying her, and in fact it was almost 5 years after we were married that she wanted to be baptized.  

One thing about Mormons is that we do not have to believe anything that is not true, and the only truth is the word of God, that which has been revealed by God and preserved in written records. It is within these written records that He teaches us somethings about Himself and His son, Jesus Christ. We only know what has been revealed. There is more to be revealed in other records that are still hidden, but that will be brought forth before Christ comes again.

There is no official creed or set of beliefs dictated to us by others. One mistake is for others to see us as just another religion. 

I have always felt and can understand that most French people do not trust religion. It has been a coercive influence in your history. Your history includes religious leaders and the monarchs colluding to gain power over the people. The fact there that is a church in almost every village attests to this fact.

What Annie learned is that she did not understand why we are here on this earth. Like a play, she did not know the plot of the play. She was born, as all of us are, in the middle of the play, and did not know the beginning or the end. 

And because religion had been so corrupted, she did not know that there was a plan and a reason for us being here. She learned that she existed before she came here and that her coming to earth had a purpose and that she could return someday to live with her Heavenly Parents, as well as her earthly family and friends. She came to know that we all chose to come to this earth. She learned that all of this was made possible by a loving Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother who set in motion the organizing of this earth for a testing place for Their spirit children. Annie learned why she was born.

Think about how this earth is quarantined or set apart in a cosmos so big that we are incapable of comprehending it. There are billions of earths like this one all organized for the same purpose. The fact that science can't discover them is a testament to the effectiveness of the quarantine. 

She came to know that in organizing this earth, God did not create it out of nothing. He took matter and using His knowledge,  organized it to form this earth, like He had done many times before.

So our Father in Heaven, who is the God of the universe, organized this earth and sent two people to inhabit it--Adam and Eve--and placed them in a Garden with everything provided for them. They were given two charges: do not partake of the forbidden fruit and multiply and have children. 

They soon recognized that they could not keep the second charge without breaking the first one, and that they could never know the difference between good and evil if they did not partake of the fruit. So Eve made a decision and did partake of the fruit and then convinced Adam to do the same. 

Because God told them that if they did partake of the fruit they would be cast out of the garden and would surely die, they were cast out and would be subject to death. But he did allow them a time of probation to learn how they could overcome the effects of the fall and return to Him someday.  

All of this is recorded and was taught to Adam by God himself, and because Adam fell, we exist, and because of their fall, we die and are partakers of misery and woe. So that Adam, Eve and their posterity (all of us are of the family of Adam and Eve) could be enticed by the one (God/Good) or the other (Satan/Evil). Satan was allowed to come among us and try to entice us to follow him. And this became our test: would we choose good or would we choose evil?

But Adam was also told that there was a way to overcome the effects of his fall, and that was by turning to Jesus Christ. Yes, Adam and Eve were taught of Jesus Christ and were taught why it was necessary for them to repent, or to turn to Christ, be baptized and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, and to thereafter put their trust in this Jesus Christ. 

Adam was told that Jesus Christ paid the demands of God's justice for all of us and put in force a plan of redemption for all of us. The fall of Adam and Eve brought upon them the Justice of God. Christ's atonement brought about the Mercy of God--that if we repent, or turn to God, Christ would suffer the demands of Justice, and we would not be subject to the justice of God. 

He was also told that everyone would be resurrected and would live forever, according to their desires. Those who had received greater light and knowledge while on this earth would take that light and knowledge with them and be much further ahead than those who did not.

For those who accepted the Mercy of God, they would be found guiltless, and for those who did not accept His mercy would be subject to the Justice of God. But even God's punishment, or God's Justice would not last forever, but even they would emerge after having paid for their own sins and be raised to a place where they desired to go, and live forever.

Now you are going to ask, how do we know this? We know it because it was recorded and our history and the history of mankind begins with Adam. Adam, you see, was taught to write by God and kept records of all that God had revealed to him. We have this history, and by we, I mean it is available to all of us, including you. Some of it is found in the Old and New Testament, and many other ancient records that have been discovered, including the Book of Mormon. 

God did not leave us blind. He imposed certain conditions on all of us, and therefore thought it expedient that he tell us what those conditions are and how we can overcome them. But many of these treasures are hidden to us unless we have the desire to search them out and discover them for ourselves. His words have always existed among us. 

Whether one does or does not search them out, they exist nevertheless. There are countless who have searched them out and stand as witnesses that these treasures do exist and that they are true. 

Adam and Eve taught what they had been taught to their children, but most of them rejected God because of the cares of the world and the promise of riches. So for several generations after Adam, the majority of the people rejected God and chose to be subject to His Justice. Years later, however, a man named Enoch called upon God and was told to go out and call the people to repentance, which he did, and many repented, but again over time the majority rejected the teaching of Enoch.  

Again after several generations the majority of the people rejected God, and other prophets, i.e. Noah, Abraham and Moses, during different dispensations, called upon God and the gospel of Jesus Christ, with proper authority to perform ordinances was established. Then again it happened when Jesus Christ came to the earth as the mortal Jesus, and we can read what He did and what happened to Him in the New Testament, and how He also restored the truth for a time. 

After Christ was crucified the people again perverted His teachings and we move into the period of time after Christ. And this is where Joseph Smith comes in. He like, Adam, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Moses & Jesus Christ, ushered in this last dispensation when the same Gospel of Jesus Christ would be on the earth for the last time prior to Christ coming again as He promised He would.

And with this last dispensation other records have come forth adding additional evidence to all that I have said.

Annie, is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ (nicknamed Mormons because of a man named Mormon who abridged the plates kept by people in America from 600 BC to 400 AD--The Book of Mormon), because she knows that all of the above is true and that it was necessary for her to repent (turn to Christ) and be baptized so she too would receive the Holy Ghost to help her through the rest of her journey here on this earth.  

She came to know this because she read and continues to search the Book of Mormon and other scriptures. She prayed and received a witness from her Heavenly Father that it is true--a witness that anyone desiring to, can also receive. Annie came to know that it would not be by control or compulsion that the world would change, but rather by the principles of righteousness and love. 

Annie epitomizes this mighty power of love in her life and in the life of all. She knows that true love results from a process available to all:  faith, repentance, and baptism, followed by the visitation of the Holy Ghost, which fills us with hope and perfect love. This love is charity or the pure love of Christ and it remains and grows by praying to the Father with all energy of heart, and as a result our love for others is a result of feeling His love for them. This love wants everyone to partake of the same love.

And she prays for each of you to be protected, to be happy and for you to want to know what she now knows, and taste what she has tasted, for the knowledge she has is from God. 

I am happy we don't have to wait years to see you again. While I don't understand much of what you say, I can see how you enrich Annie's life, and how your lives are enriched because of her. Thank you for helping to make the Annie I love so much.

Gros Bisous,

Clark