Joseph Smith Revealed

I have recently published a book in an attempt to exonerate Joseph Smith from any connection with polygamy. It is titled Joseph Smith Revealed, A Faithful Telling: Exploring an Alternate Polygamy Narrative. Joseph Smith was one of the purest men to have ever walked this earth. I believe that because he was of such pure heart he was naive to the evil that exists in men's hearts. I do believe that Joseph was sealing women to himself, but I do not believe that it had anything to do with sexual promiscuity or polygamy. Rather, I believe that it had everything to do with linking together the family of God on this earth. The women sealed to Joseph were not his wives in any sense of the word. They were a necessary link to their fathers, husbands, and brothers so that Joseph could seal together a numerous extended posterity. This book lays out the truth behind the LDS Church's false history and explains who was truly responsible for introducing the practice of polygamy to the Church: Brigham Young and other apostles. This book also explains what it was the Joseph was really doing and why it is important, even vital, for us to understand the truths he was revealing for the salvation of all mankind.

You can find the book on either kindle, or paperback here

It is far past time for the LDS Church to admit the truth about polygamy and to end the practice of it once and for all.  The women of the Church have wept long enough.

The Mormon Church is a young Catholic Church

A new religion rarely appears in history. When one does, it presents a unique opportunity for us to study the process. Religions begin with an inspired leader, called a prophet, whose confident vision and direct connection to God opens new light and truth into the world. Prophets ask God questions and get direct and specific answers.  If there is no new vision, then the religion won’t survive. But an original, inspired leader is difficult to replicate. Within a short time, the founder’s work is overtaken by others. Doctrine once thought to be part of the foundation of the church is replaced with new doctrine based on changes in public opinion and pressures put upon the church by governing bodies.

                As a church struggles to survive in the absence of an authorized servant, church leaders gather in councils and deliberate about doctrine and current issues. Perhaps the most notable gathering of this kind was the Council of Nicaea, 325 years after the death of Christ. Many of the original texts were altered, rearranged or removed entirely to place all interpretation of scripture squarely in the hands of the leaders of the Roman Catholic Church. These councils established doctrine, which they called “proclamations” and “creeds” that were completely foreign to God’s true church.

                 Mormonism was founded in 1830 by Joseph Smith who claimed that he had been visited by God the Father and Jesus Christ. Joseph Smith claimed to have direct connection to heaven, that when he asked God a question, God answered him. Whether you believe Joseph Smith’s claims or not, he and his followers give us a unique opportunity to witness how founding a religion sets in motion a series of predictable events that happen every time a new religion begins. Perhaps the best way to decipher the transition of Christianity from the original Primitive Christianity to its replacement, Historic Christianity, is to study Mormonism. The Primitive Christian church passed away after the death of the apostles. Mormonism has passed away following the deaths of Joseph and Hyrum Smith.

                Mormons teach today that the introduction of church councils in Christianity is generally seen as a sure sign of Apostasy. In their Ensign magazine December 1995 it states: “All historical Christian churches agree that revelation for the direction of the church ceased with the last of the apostles”. History shows, in fact, that after the first century, church leaders, in order to decide important issues, did not appeal to heaven for authoritative direction. Instead they relied on men who gathered together in councils, letting their decisions rest on the collected wisdom of mortal beings.

Twelve years later, on 4 May 2007, the official Mormon Church website, LDS.org, stated: “With divine inspiration, the First Presidency (the prophet and his two counselors) and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (the second-highest governing body of the Church) counsel together to establish doctrine that is consistently proclaimed in official Church publications.”  The Mormon procedure is eerily similar to the one practiced by historical Christianity.

                No longer are statements by Mormon Church leaders considered doctrine, even if the Church leader happens to be the president of the Church. A new method has been substituted wherein doctrine is to be established not through revelation, but through a council that meets together and deliberates by weighing the scriptures, the teachings of Church leaders, past practices, and the current social climate, or in other words TRADITION.

                There is nothing wrong with a group of people who believe the same things issuing statements of belief. When well-meaning people come together with good intent (especially when they involve the Lord through prayer) they are entitled to inspiration from God for the benefit of those whom they serve. The problem comes when those statements of belief are substituted for the word of God and placed on the same level as scripture. Many of the Christian Creeds which the Lord called “abominable” prior to the restoration contained truth and light yet “lacked the power of godliness.”

Primitive Christianity as well as Mormonism set out to change the world. Over time their success diverted attention from saving souls to managing people and property. The apostle Paul stated: “the love of money is the root of all evil.”[1] The first believers are persecuted, they sacrifice their lives and property to follow what they believe to be God’s burden laid on them. Because of their sacrifices, they have faith and know they please God and are able to obtain the faith required for salvation.  Successors enjoy the fruit of the founders’ sacrifices.

Over time, the founding church gives way to popular approval. Churches are just as vulnerable to the “love of money” which leads to “all evil” as men are. People can have the gifts of the Spirit, or they can acquire riches in this world, but they cannot have both.

Catholicism grew wealthy from the offerings of its members and the original religion was lost. It became cold, corrupt, violent and cruel as it owned more and more of Europe and ruled over all people within the Roman Catholic boundaries. The transition from persecuted minority to tyrannical majority took three centuries.

History repeats itself; revealing patterns we can identify and learn from. Church councils of Mainline Christianity once decried by the LDS Church as a trademark of apostasy are now the accepted method of establishing doctrine in the modern Church. Official “declarations and proclamations” that are now issued from the LDS Church councils as well as other Christian faiths appear to closely resemble the old Christian creeds we used to condemn.  At the very inception of Mormonism, Jesus Christ told Joseph Smith that creeds were an “abomination” in his sight, and the professors of those creeds were “all corrupt”–that they have a form of godliness but deny the power thereof.

Mormonism has followed the same path as the primitive Christian Church, better known as the Catholics, and achieved the same end in less than half the time. If a Christian wants to know how Primitive Christianity was lost to apostasy, the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is where it can be found.  One author recently wrote….“The only difference between the LDS Church and the Catholic Church is 2,000 years.” As it turns out, the LDS Church may be ahead of the curve.

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[1] 1 Tim. 6:10

Joseph Smith was NOT a Polygamist

Most LDS women fear that if we are alive during the Millennium we will have to live a polygamous relationship with our husband and his plethora of wives.   Most LDS women fear dying and inheriting the Celestial Kingdom for the same reason, we all believe that polygamy is the “higher” or “celestial” law of marriage.  If we are naïve enough to bring these fears up with other LDS women we receive the good ol’ reply of, “just have faith, when the time comes you’ll be able to do it.”  Or better yet, “if you could see how polygamy is practiced in the celestial kingdom you’d rejoice to be allowed to practice it.”  The idea of practicing polygamy shows how spiritual, righteous and selfless you are and that you are, indeed, worthy of the Celestial Kingdom.

I love my husband.  I adore him.  He is my best friend.  He is my intimate friend.  I don’t want to share him with any other woman.  I know just how possessive I am of our relationship.  Since we were married almost 30 years ago I have lived in constant fear of the LDS church re-instating polygamy.  A few years ago I spent a week or more sobbing to the Lord and begging Him not to make me practice polygamy…ever!  Neither in this life nor in the next!

In the past I believed the LDS Church narrative in regards to polygamy.  That Joseph Smith Jr was asked by God to practice it and that included having sex with the women he was sealed to, even if they were married and even if they were young, very young girls.  I read some things about Joseph denying that he was a polygamist and saying, “I have only one wife” and pointing to Emma.  Joseph denied polygamy and fought against it until the day he died. I read about Emma stating, to her dying day, that her husband was not a polygamist.  But, I also  read the famous stories about Emma being angry about the revelation on polygamy and throwing it into the fire.  Or the story about Emma pushing Eliza R Snow down the stairs causing her to miscarry Joseph’s child.  I was confused.  How could all these conflicting stories be true? I finally came to the conclusion that Joseph Smith Jr was a liar at best and a “fallen” prophet at worse.

So, this begs the question, did Joseph Smith, Jr mess up? Was he a "fallen" prophet?  Was Joseph a polygamist?  The answer is No, in this matter.  Joseph had his weaknesses and foibles, just like all men, but womanizing and polyandry were NOT one of them.  I've studied this matter extensively and I am convinced that while Joseph did “seal” many women, men and children to himself he did NOT have sex with them.  Joseph was an exalted man who had been given the sealing power from God and as such was sealing as many people as he was told to by God to himself in order to preserve a Family of God.  But, it was like sealing children to parents.  It was not sealing as in marriages.  There was no "funny" business on the side.  Joseph was true and faithful to Emma and to his marriage vows.

I am now satisfied that Joseph Smith Jr was telling the truth about himself.  He was not a polygamist!  He had only one wife, Emma!  Emma did not need to burn any documents nor push anyone down any stairs; she had a loving, devoted husband who was true and faithful to his marriage vows and to God’s laws.  If you are interested in some very well written papers on this topic you can go to the following links:

http://www.totheremnant.com/2015/11/joseph-smiths-monogamy.html

http://denversnuffer.com/papers/  (at this site click on the link under Audio Files titled “Plural Marriage Lecture” to listen to this talk or under PDF Downloads click on “Plural Marriage”)

http://puremormonism.blogspot.com/2010/06/why-im-abandoning-polygamy.html

I no longer believe that polygamy is practiced in the Celestial Kingdom, or that God expects my husband and I to ever be polygamists in order to have salvation.  In fact, I believe that God expects my husband to be true to his marriage vows and only have sexual relations with me.  God also desires for me to be chaste for He delights in the chastity of women!

The word Elohim (God's name) means male and female.  One male and One female.  When God put Adam in the Garden of Eden he gave him ONE wife, Eve.  If polygamy were necessary for salvation God would have started out this cycle of creation correctly. God said to Jehovah, "let us go down and create man in our image, male and female created he them".  One man and One woman is who the God’s created, therefore One man and One women is in God's image.

The scriptures then teach us that Adam and Eve’s children went two by two into the world.  One of the arguments LDS people make for polygamy is the scripture in Jacob 2 where the little caveat is given that polygamy is allowed when commanded by God to raise up seed unto him.  If there ever was a time that God needed seed raised up to Him, wouldn’t the very beginning of creation be it?  When He needed the empty world repopulated?   Yet, Adam’s children practiced monogamy.  In fact, the first time one of Adam’s descendants is labeled in the scriptures as evil he is linked to polygamy.

The problem with polygamy in the LDS Church came when Brigham Young, who, along with the other leaders of the Church, did not understand sealings (there is a dream Brigham had which he recorded wherein he saw Joseph, after Joseph had died, and he asked him to explain sealings to him, Joseph refused to do so in the dream and told Brigham to focus instead on gaining the Holy Ghost; in this dream Joseph was bathed in light while Brigham was in darkness).  Polygamy was being practiced in other religions at the time in several countries, including America and England.  Brigham had spent excessive time as a missionary living among the people back East who practiced polygamy.  Brigham most likely began to believe that if you sealed a woman to yourself then you were "married" to her and could thereby have sexual relations.  Thus, Brigham began the polygamy that was practiced in the LDS Church.

Since studying, pondering and praying about this matter, extensively, I have come to the conclusion that when the Lord told Joseph Smith Jr that his name would be had for good and evil that one of the sources of spreading evil in regards to Joseph Smith Jr is the LDS Church, the very Church that Joseph founded!  I have been so ashamed at the feelings and beliefs I used to hold in regards to Joseph.  I have prayed to God and asked for His forgiveness and that of Joseph’s.  I continue to be bothered by the false claims that the LDS Church continues to perpetuate.

I had a dream a few months ago that I was visiting with a dear friend.  I knew there was an "elephant in the room" regarding my thoughts and feeling towards the LDS Church and what I believe.  What I believe today is so drastically different than what I believe even 3 years ago.  In this dream I began to try to explain to my friend what I now believe and she began laughing hysterically.  I realized that she was mocking me and would not listen so I asked her to leave my home.  As she was walking out the front door I said to her, "I refuse to associate with a Church that continues to besmirch the character of Joseph Smith!"

There is enough historical proof that Joseph Smith never practiced the kind of polygamy that was practiced by the LDS Church after his death.  Joseph, himself, claimed that he only had one wife and was innocent of the rumors of polygamy. I wish with all my heart that the Church would be honest and clear Joseph's name, that they would believe Joseph meant what he said.  Joseph Smith was one of the greatest prophets that has ever lived.  The truths he revealed are astounding.  I need to take more time to study them and learn from him.  Joseph not only gazed into heaven for 5 minutes; he gazed for hours and wanted so badly for us to rise up and understand the workings of God.  I am ashamed of how little I know about his teachings. 

I began studying Teaching of the Prophet Joseph Smith, but have stopped because I’ve learned that the First Presidency at the time of writing and publication altered, edited and changed so much of it that it’s difficult to know what is straight truth from Joseph and what has been altered to fit their agenda at the time.  I have found a book, out of print, written by Andrew F Ehat and Lydnon W Cook which is one of the best sources for learning Joseph’s teachings.  You can download a free pdf at this site:  https://archive.org/details/TheWordsOfJosephSmith

Joseph’s work was to restore lost gospel truth.  His work got off track when he was murdered.  It is time to rise up and preserve, renew and continue the work that Joseph began.  Joseph’s entire message can be summed up by James 1:5 “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him”.

Baptism, Rebaptism and the Doctrine of Christ

Baptism, rebaptism and the Doctrine of Christ

I was baptized at the age of 8 years old.  I don’t remember the actual ordinance, nor the blessing afterward where I was confirmed a member of the LDS Church and instructed to receive the Holy Ghost.  But, I do remember my aunt, who was the Primary President, giving me a gift, a 5x7 framed postcard picture of the Salt Lake Temple.  I remember feeling that it was a magical day.

Confession….after my baptism at 8 it was impossible to stay perfect.  I tried my utmost to do so, to the point I gave myself an ulcer at the tender age of 12.  I was a pretty obedient child and my sins were not evil or malignant, rather more common place and boring.  But, I did have sin, nonetheless which I knew I was in need of repentance.  In the LDS Church we are taught that taking the sacrament weekly “cleansed” us again and renewed our baptismal covenants. Even though we are taught that, I never felt that it was true.  I could not connect sacrament with being cleansed by the waters of baptism.  Over the years as I have attended convert baptisms I would find myself being jealous and wishing that I had not been baptized until I was older and cold be washed clean again.  At one such baptism I remember feeling that I should be grateful for my baptism at 8 as it had helped me to grow up with a small measure of the Holy Spirit which had kept me out of more serious sin and sorrow, yet I still longed for baptism.

A few years ago my husband and I began purchasing the books being produced by the Joseph Smith Papers project.  While studying those books we stumbled on some church history that we had previously been unaware of: rebaptism in the early days of the Church.  Historically, many members were rebaptized as an act of rededication and repentance. This was first practiced in Nauvoo and was continued in the Utah Territory. On some occasions, the Saints were rebaptized as they prepared for marriage or entrance into the temple. Early members were also rebaptized for their health, to cure some of the sick among them.  Practices of rebaptism were discontinued in 1897.

My husband and I had decided years ago that whenever the members of the Church lose a privilege or practice it is never a good thing.  We began studying the scriptures to see if there was any scriptural basis for rebaptism. What we discovered was that not only is there scriptural basis, but that it is an essential part of repentance.  In a nutshell, you cannot fully repent of anything without being baptized by immersion.  This is what is known in the scriptures as the Doctrine of Christ.

I want to speak to you about the doctrine of Christ and to sound a voice of warning and a voice of repentance.  I have been quiet for too long, more worried about losing the love and respect that some may still have for me instead of crying repentance.  Following the Savior has been a very difficult journey these past few years, I have lost much and I have suffered much and it has caused my natural shy tendencies to become more so.  I have pulled away from life and sheltered my battered soul. In some ways I have been acting as one ashamed of Christ.  I am trying to reverse that.  I have prayed and attempted several times to speak with others in this effort, but many have turned a blind eye or deaf ears to me, some with fear and others with pride. The time is now at hand to give you warning, for those who have been warned are required to warn their neighbors.

The Doctrine of Christ is simple, it is free and it is available to everyone.  Christ declared His Doctrine in 3 Nephi 11:32-40.  It came from His Father and is a commandment unto the entire world:

32 And this is my doctrine, and it is the doctrine which the Father hath given unto me; and I bear record of the Father, and the Father beareth record of me, and the Holy Ghost beareth record of the Father and me; and I bear record that the Father commandeth all men, everywhere, to repent and believe in me.

 33 And whoso believeth in me, and is baptized, the same shall be saved; and they are they who shall inherit the kingdom of God.

 34 And whoso believeth not in me, and is not baptized, shall be damned.

 35 Verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is my doctrine, and I bear record of it from the Father; and whoso believeth in me believeth in the Father also; and unto him will the Father bear record of me, for he will visit him with fire and with the Holy Ghost.

 36 And thus will the Father bear record of me, and the Holy Ghost will bear record unto him of the Father and me; for the Father, and I, and the Holy Ghost are one.

 37 And again I say unto you, ye must repent, and become as a little child, and be baptized in my name, or ye can in nowise receive these things.

 38 And again I say unto you, ye must repent, and be baptized in my name, and become as a little child, or ye can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God.

 39 Verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is my doctrine, and whoso buildeth upon this buildeth upon my rock, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against them.

 40 And whoso shall declare more or less than this, and establish it for my doctrine, the same cometh of evil, and is not built upon my rock; but he buildeth upon a sandy foundation, and the gates of hell stand open to receive such when the floods come and the winds beat upon them.

41 Therefore, go forth unto this people, and declare the words which I have spoken, unto the ends of the earth.

If a person believes the Doctrine of Christ, then they are required to be baptized and to then declare Christ’s Doctrine to others. If you believe the Doctrine of Christ, you are required to be baptized and then declare Christ’s Doctrine to others.

I believe in the Doctrine of Christ. After serious study of scriptures and serious prayer, I began to realize that what Christ offers us is a gift to be used whenever we feel the need to repent because He loves us!  Repentance means no more and no less than turning to face Christ. Some may argue Exodus 4:5 which states, “One Lord, One Faith, one Baptism”.  This scripture is true: One Lord…means quite literally that Christ is our Lord and that we have no other Lord.  One Faith…only our faith in Christ will save us.  And one baptism…there is only one mode or manner of baptism that Christ recognizes.  One baptism does not mean a one and done baptism.  It means that whenever we repent and are baptized to show fruit of that repentance it is to be done in the exact manner the Lord revealed in 3^rd Nephi 11.

After the scriptures were opened to me by the Holy Spirit I knew I had never been baptized unto repentance.  Therefore, I asked my husband to pray for authority from God and to baptize me according to the manner Christ taught the people in 3^rd Nephi 11, using the words Christ commanded us to use (3^rd Nephi 11: 24-25: And now behold, these are the words which ye shall say, calling them by name, saying: Having authority given me of Jesus Christ, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.), by one having authority from God, not man.  

I have been baptized in living water, in this manner.  Christ has declared today that the only way to be numbered as His, to find shelter from the coming storm is to repent and be baptized.   This is the sign He asks to demonstrate faith in Him.  Faith requires action or it dwindles away and is lost.  The importance to the Lord that we act on His Doctrine cannot be overstated.  Repentance and baptism are directly related to salvation and cannot be left undone.

 At this point you may be thinking that you have been baptized and therefore you are safe.  Unfortunately, the baptism that any church offers today does not fulfill this commandment of the Lord and will not have the power to save from the coming destruction.  Most religions have added to or taken away from the Doctrine of Christ. If you are LDS there are reasons your baptism at 8 years of age, or your convert baptism, does not have the power to save:

1.  The LDS Church has added to and taken away from the Doctrine of Christ mainly by giving a list of items that one needs to commit to or refrain from in order to be baptized; it does not follow the Doctrine of Christ which simply states that one must repent and be baptized in His name. That’s it!

 2. Baptism at 8 years of age fulfills the law found in Doctrine and Covenants 68:25, but does not fulfill baptism unto repentance.

3. Baptism was never meant to be a “one and done” type of baptism.  The scripture “One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism” refers to the mode and manner of baptism, not the number of times. Baptism is the fruits of repentance and is offered freely, by the Lord, whenever we feel a desire to turn from anything that is keeping us from the Lord and face Him.  Baptism is inexorably linked to repentance.  One cannot have repentance without baptism by immersion:

2 Nephi 31:13

13 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, I know that if ye shall follow the Son, with full purpose of heart, acting no hypocrisy and no deception before God, but with real intent, repenting of your sins, witnessing unto the Father that ye are willing to take upon you the name of Christ, by baptism—yea, by following your Lord and your Savior down into the water, according to his word, behold, then shall ye receive the Holy Ghost; yea, then cometh the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost; and then can ye speak with the tongue of angels, and shout praises unto the Holy One of Israel.

2 Nephi 31:14

14 But, behold, my beloved brethren, thus came the voice of the Son unto me, saying: After ye have repented of your sins, and witnessed unto the Father that ye are willing to keep my commandments, by the baptism of water, and have received the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost, and can speak with a new tongue, yea, even with the tongue of angels, and after this should deny me, it would have been better for you that ye had not known me.

2 Nephi 31:17

17 Wherefore, do the things which I have told you I have seen that your Lord and your Redeemer should do; for, for this cause have they been shown unto me, that ye might know the gate by which ye should enter. For the gate by which ye should enter is repentance and baptism by water; and then cometh a remission of your sins by fire and by the Holy Ghost.

Moroni 6:1

1 And now I speak concerning baptism. Behold, elders, priests, and teachers were baptized; and they were not baptized save they brought forth fruit meet that they were worthy of it. (This scripture also helps understand that baptism is meant to be done as often as you feel the need to repent, elders, priests and teachers would have previously been baptized before receiving a call to be elders, priests and teachers)

Moroni 6:4

4 And after they had been received unto baptism, and were wrought upon and cleansed by the power of the Holy Ghost, they were numbered among the people of the church of Christ; and their names were taken, that they might be remembered and nourished by the good word of God, to keep them in the right way, to keep them continually watchful unto prayer, relying alone upon the merits of Christ, who was the author and the finisher of their faith.

Moroni 8:10

10 Behold I say unto you that this thing shall ye teach—repentance and baptism unto those who are accountable and capable of committing sin; yea, teach parents that they must repent and be baptized, and humble themselves as their little children, and they shall all be saved with their little children.

Moroni 8:25

25 And the first fruits of repentance is baptism; and baptism cometh by faith unto the fulfilling the commandments; and the fulfilling the commandments bringeth remission of sins;

Doctrine and Covenants 19:31

31 And of tenets thou shalt not talk, but thou shalt declare repentance and faith on the Savior, and remission of sins by baptism, and by fire, yea, even the Holy Ghost.

Doctrine and Covenants 33:11

11 Yea, repent and be baptized, every one of you, for a remission of your sins; yea, be baptized even by water, and then cometh the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost.

Doctrine and Covenants 39:6

6 And this is my gospel—repentance and baptism by water, and then cometh the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost, even the Comforter, which showeth all things, and teacheth the peaceable things of the kingdom.

Doctrine and Covenants 107:20

20 The power and authority of the lesser, or Aaronic Priesthood, is to hold the keys of the ministering of angels, and to administer in outward ordinances, the letter of the gospel, the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, agreeable to the covenants and commandments.

When Christ appeared unto the people of the Book of Mormon in 3^rd Nephi the first thing he taught them was the mode and manner of baptism, even though these people had been spared the destruction precisely because they had been baptized as seen in 3^rd Nephi 7:24 “there were none who were brought unto repentance who were not baptized with water”; that is how important baptism is to Christ! 

If we want to repent and be baptized in order to open the gate unto salvation, we must be baptized in the manner Christ revealed in 3 Nephi 11.  We cannot afford to deviate any longer.  The end of the gentiles has come.  The land we live upon is a covenantal land and if the gentiles living upon it fail to repent and turn to Christ destruction will come.  This is the entire message of the Book of Mormon! Repent and be baptized and serve God and God alone.

As the people in the Book of Mormon became more wicked, as the time for Christ’s 1^st coming drew near, Nephi and other men preached baptism and repentance in earnest:

3 Nephi 7:

24 Now I would have you to remember also, that there were none who were brought unto repentance who were not baptized with water.

 25 Therefore, there were ordained of Nephi, men unto this ministry, that all such as should come unto them should be baptized with water, and this as a witness and a testimony before God, and unto the people, that they had repented and received a remission of their sins.

 26 And there were many in the commencement of this year that were baptized unto repentance; and thus the more part of the year did pass away.

In 3 Nephi 8 the destruction comes, destruction so terrible that the entire face of the land was changed.  The people were left in darkness for 3 days and nights.  Many of the people were destroyed. Those who were spared the destruction heard a voice coming from heaven declaring Christ’s divinity and inviting men to come unto Him and be Saved.

In 3^rd Nephi 10 we learn that it was the more righteous part of the people who had been spared the destruction.  What qualifies a person as “more righteous”? REPENTANCE!  If this qualification was good enough to spare the people of the Book of Mormon is it good enough to spare us the coming destruction?  YES!

It is no more and no less than Jesus Christ, himself.  Christ is the rock that will shelter us from the coming destruction.  To begin to be numbered as His, we all need to repent, turn and face Christ and be baptized as a little child.

This mode of baptism is not becoming part of a new institution, nor does it demand that you leave whatever institution you currently are a member of.  It simply means that you accept nothing more and nothing less than the Doctrine of Christ. That you desire to repent from everything and anything that is keeping you from Him.  That you desire to repent of those things and turn and face Christ.

I testify that the Savior is real.  He has visited me.  He is teaching me and slowly I am beginning to understand Him and His strange acts.  The greatest commandment is to Love God with all your heart, and the second is like unto it, to love your neighbor as yourself.   We live in a time when men’s hearts have grown cold.  The prophecies in scripture are being fulfilled.  It is a great time and an awful time.  Persecution and suffering abound for those who love the Lord. Come unto Him and be baptized.

I know that you are probably filled with more questions than this post answers. If you are interested in this baptism that Christ offers I found a website that links you to people authorized by Christ to perform it. https://bornofwater.org  My heart is being filled with Christ and his love for all of his children; what I have done and am trying to continue to do is to repent, to serve Him and Him alone.  The Savior is the only means whereby man can be saved.  As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.