LDS Freedom Forum

Delivered in the 20 th ward meeting house printed in Deseret News vol. 8 No. 265 Oct. 2 1875. Now I am going to prophesy a little. the time is coming, when we will not be fettered by unjust laws that are imposed upon us. Why? Because the lord intends, by his judgement, by wars among the nations that will not serve him, by famines, and pestilence and by various judgments that will be sent forth, to waste away the nations of the earth that will not repent. this is what the Lord has decreed.God has sent forth his warning message in the midst of this nation, but they have rejected it and treated his servants with contempt. The Lord has gathered out his people from their midst, and has planted them here in the mountains; and he will speedily fulfill the prophecy in relation to the overthrow of this nation and their destruction. We shall be obliged to have a government to preserve ourselves in unity and peace; for they, through being wasted away, will not have power to govern; for state will be divided against state, city against city, town against town, and the whole country will be in terror and confusion; mobocracy will prevail and there will be no security through this great Republic, for the lives or property of the people. When the time shall arrive, we shall necessarily want to carry out the principles of out great constitution and, as the people of God, we shall want to see those pronciples magnified, according to the order of union and oneness which prevails among the people of God. We can magnify it , and all be united without having democrats or republicans and all kinds of religions. When the time shallcome that the Lord shall waste away this nation, he will give commandment to this people to return .... to Missouri....and when we do we shall begin to carry out, in all its fullness, the celestial law in regard to consecration. Then this people will be united and then will be fulfilled that prayer "Thy will be done an earth as it is in heaven.'That will be the beginningof it, but there will be an approximation to it, here in these mountains. we will learn many pure principles to enable us to carry out the law as far as we possibly can. More latter. Dennis

That is a great prophesy, one that has been backed up by others.

But, I am curious as what it means to you (or anyone else) and what action you feel to take because of it?

Is this a prophesy of inaction, of just getting our food preparation, some guns and ammo and just wait it out?

OR

Is this a prophesy of action, of working to be an example of bringing people together of building up the kingdom (no, I am not talking about missionary work, though that is important too), of building communities that will lift up the Constitution as a Heavenly banner, etc?

From the Church Institute manual, section 78 of the Doctrine and Covenants http://institute.lds.org/manuals/doctri ... 071-78.asp
D&C 78:14 . How Will the Church “Stand Independent above All Other Creatures”?
The law of consecration was withdrawn by the Lord because the Saints showed that they would not abide by its laws (see D&C 105:2–6, 34 ). In 1936, under direction of the First Presidency, the welfare program was instituted, based on the same principles that governed the Saints in the united order, such as love, service, self-reliance, and consecration. The promise that the Church would stand independent above all other creatures (organizations, people, and so forth) will be partially fulfilled through the implementation of the welfare plan.

President Marion G. Romney said:

“I do not want to be a calamity howler. I don’t know in detail what’s going to happen in the future. I know what the prophets have predicted. But I tell you that the welfare program, organized to enable us to take care of our own needs, has not yet performed the function that it was set up to perform. We will see the day when we will live on what we produce.

“We’re living in the latter days. We’re living in the days the prophets have told about from the time of Enoch to the present day. We are living in the era just preceding the second advent of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are told to so prepare and live that we can be . . . independent of every other creature beneath the celestial kingdom. That is what we are to do.

“This welfare program was set up under inspiration in the days of President Grant. It was thoroughly analyzed and taught by his great counselor, J. Reuben Clark, Jr. It is in basic principle the same as the United Order. When we get so we can live it, we will be ready for the United Order. You brethren know that we will have to have a people ready for that order in order to receive the Savior when he comes.

“I know from my own experience and the witnesses by the thousands that I have received of the Spirit that this is the Lord’s work. It is to prepare us. If you’ll think of the most sacred place you ever have been, you’ll remember that the final thing that we are to do is to be able and willing to consecrate all that we have to the building up of the kingdom of God, to care for our fellow men. When we do this we’ll be ready for the coming of the Messiah.” (In Conference Report, Apr. 1975, pp. 165–66.)

Additional material on the law of consecration is found in Enrichment L in the Appendix .

continuing. Now that order of things will continue and will spread forth from Jackson county east, west north, and south from the great central city and all the people will be required to execute the law in all their stewardships, and then there will be a oneness and union which will continue and will spread wider and become greater until the desolate cities of the Gentiles will be inhabited by the Saints. Then will be fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, "thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles and make the desolate cities to be inhabited', for God will visit them in judgment and there will be no owners left to occupy the country. Then the land will be filled up with Saints, those who will keep the celestial law....How important is it then, if the will of God is to be done here on earth as it is done in heaven, that we should begin to learn these lessons here in these mountains, so far as we possibly can!! How important it is that there should be a reformation among the people and that these foolish, false fashions, and these great extravagance which exist here, and this importation of millions of dollars worth of merchandise from abroad into this Territory, to be comsumed upon the lusts of this people, SHOULD CEASE!!! more later

Can't wait to read more.

Now for what I think is most important for us today..THE Time will come, when we shall find ourselves restricted, and when it will be very important indeed for us to patronize Home Productions, and cease sending our millions abroad for importations, for the gate Will be Shut down, and circumstances will be such that we cannot bring things from abroad; and hence the necessity of the exortation that we have received from time to time, to engage with all our hearts in the various branches of industry necessary to make us Self-sustaining, and to carry them out with all the tact and wisdom which God has given to us, that we may become FREE and INDEPENDENT in all these matters, free before the heavens and free from all the nations of the earth and their productions, so far as being dependent upon them is concerned. Then we will be a happy people, for we shall Have an ABUNDANCE of the good things of the earth, all that are necessary to eat and wear, all that are necessary to beautify and adorn our habitations, our cities and our public buildings.But not until that time shall come, for we are now taking a course that is calculated, in its very nature, to impoverish any people, for we are continually importing millions of dollars worth of foreign productions, while our exportations amount to but very little. ....Now my thoughts. I like the part about producing and manufaturing enough to be self-sustaining. Do we today as a group of people, say in the mountain west, produce what we need ?? or do we come up short? Do we produce the basics ..food , clothes, shelter, energy? IN what do we need to concentrate on the most to acheive this goal? I think this is a good question but have no idea how to collect the data to make a truthful answer. I have observed that members of this group usually can come up with some pretty interesting responses. Is there something else besides the basics that we need to increase our production of??? Could it be that I or we don't need to even concern ourselves with this concept because the church welfare system is already on top of it.??

I think that we have not begun to fulfill our purpose in this area. There is still a great deal imported in just food to sustain us here. I see more little shops closing rather than staying open and people shopping at the places that import from other nations. I have seen some local increases in farmers markets and roadside stands, but I think that if all transportation ceased, we are not yet to the point to be self-sustaining as a state, or as a city even.

Hit the nail on the head!!! This is the way to fight the conspiracy.....BECOME INDEPENDENT!

Do you have a year's supply (or more) of food to outlast the wicked?

Do you have a water supply?

Do you have a little cash saved up for a rainy day?

Are you out of debt?

Do you have a means of producing your own food?

Do you have a means of producing your own clothing?

Do you have a means of producing your own energy?

Etc....

dennis wrote:I like the part about producing and manufaturing enough to be self-sustaining. Do we today as a group of people, say in the mountain west, produce what we need ?? or do we come up short? Do we produce the basics ..food , clothes, shelter, energy? IN what do we need to concentrate on the most to acheive this goal? Is there something else besides the basics that we need to increase our production of??? Could it be that I or we don't need to even concern ourselves with this concept because the church welfare system is already on top of it.??

Interesting that you asked the question; I've been researching the answer to this for the last several months. What I have so far are quotes on what we are expected to do personally, as well as a church. It has to be both. I live on less land than I'd need to fully provide for my family, but we've had repeated assurances from the Lord that this is where we are to be right now. I've got my food storage and use it on a daily basis, have more than the 'minimum' water, keep fabric, thread, needles, clothes, and shoes for at least a year out, have a way to cook w/o power or gas, etc. BUT I know it's only enough for a temporary tide-over. The Church has production facilities and know-how, fields, machinery, training on how to use it all. It's a reassurance to me that when we have TEOTWAWKI, the Church's welfare program has the structure and facilities we need to help rebuild.
"I do not want to be a calamity howler. I don't know in detail what's going to happen in the future. I know what the prophets have predicted. But I tell you that the welfare program, organized to enable us to take care of our own needs, has not yet performed the function that it was set up to perform. We will see the day when we will live on what we produce. "We're living in the latter days. We're living in the days the prophets have told about from the time of Enoch to the present day. We are living in the era just preceding the second advent of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are told to so prepare and live that we can be, as was referred to or intimated by one of the speakers here today, independent of every other creature beneath the celestial kingdom. That is what we are to do" (Marion G. Romney, in Conference Report, Apr. 1975, 165).” –welfare session * "There is no person who knows the real purpose for which this welfare program is being instituted but hardly before sufficient preparation has been made the real purpose will be revealed and when that time comes it will challenge every resource of the church to meet it." Harold B. Lee
* "Relief Society stands for self-reliance. The best food storage is not in welfare grain elevators but in sealed cans and bottles in the homes of our people. What a gratifying thing it is to see cans of wheat and rice and beans under the beds or in the pantries of women who have taken welfare responsibility into their own hands." -Gordon B. Hinckley

Locally Available foods (let me know what I've missed- this is for the Wasatch Front)

Fruits: apples, apricots, blackberries, cantaloupes, cherries, currants, elderberries, grapes, nectarines, peaches, pears, plums, raspberries, strawberries. Figs if in a warm spot in your yard. Citrus only where it doesn’t freeze; indoors in winter.
Vegetables: artichoke, arugula, asparagus, beans (fresh pods, dry seeds) beets, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage including Bok Choy, carrots, cauliflower, celery, corn (fresh, dry, popcorn), cucumber, endive, garlic, kale, kohlrabi, leeks, lettuce, mache, melons, mustard (greens and seeds),onions (bulb and bunching), parsnips, peas, peppers (bell pepper, hot peppers), potatoes, pumpkin, radicchio, radish, rutabaga, shallots, spinach, summer squash(yellow crookneck, zucchini), winter squash (Hubbard, Acorn, Spaghetti, etc), sweet potatoes, Swiss chard, tomato, turnip, watercress
Protein: walnuts, pecans (iffy), hazelnuts, almonds (iffy?), eggs, poultry (chicken, turkey, duck, etc), beef, pork, lamb, elk, deer, moose, dairy products (milk, yogurt, cheese, cream, sour cream, butter, buttermilk)
Herbs/seasoning: Anise, basil (annual), celery seed, chives, garlic chives, cilantro/coriander (annual), cumin, dill (annual), fennel, horseradish, parsley, rosemary (Arp), thyme, lemon thyme, sage
Beekeeping?
In Church production: canned meats- beef chunks, beef stew, chili, pork and beans, turkey chunks, (all church produced except in shortages), chicken noodle soup, cream of chicken soup, vegetable soup, pasta plant, chicken farms, turkey farms, eggs, orchards- apples, apricots, peaches, pears, corn, green beans, peas, peanuts (PB, in Houston), grapes for raisins (California), tomato sauce, salsa, spaghetti sauce, tomato juice, ketchup, ground beef, hamburger patties, roasts, sausage, hot dogs, ham, pork roast, turkey roast, butter, cheese, cottage cheese, sour cream, milk, powdered milk, wheat, bread, lasagna, mac and cheese, spaghetti, macaroni, pancake flour, wheat/white flour, salad dressing. (Rick Long’s office, director of Bishop’ s Storehouse)


We also have natural deposits of salt, saleratus (precursor to baking soda), coal, oil, natural gas. If we are allowed to use what's already here.