Tuesday, August 19, 2014

All Women are Ordained

The Introduction and the Summation:

It is my personal belief that every woman on this earth was ordained into the Matriarchal Order of the Priesthood and set apart to the Office of Mother while in the Celestial Kingdom or Heaven, long before she was ever born on this earth.

Therefore, every Daughter of God on this earth is born with an inherent and inborn right to all the privileges and blessings associated with the Matriarchal Order of the Priesthood, whether she is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or not.

God ordained and decreed that the path that women take back to His Presence is different and even holier than the path that the men have to take back to His Presence.

Women have no need to be ordained into the Patriarchal Order of the Priesthood, because the Daughters of God have already been ordained into the Matriarchal Order of the Priesthood.


The Fulness of the Priesthood


The Fulness of the Priesthood:

I found this particular discussion of the LDS Priesthood useful.

Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 1-4 vols., edited by Daniel H. Ludlow (New York: Macmillan, 1992),, p.1137-1138:

Exaltation and eternal life in the highest degree of the Celestial Kingdom are achieved only as the fulness of the priesthood is attained through building and achieving an eternal marriage (see Marriage: Eternal Marriage). The highest intellectual and spiritual development of both male and female is to become as God is. Both male and female are in the image of God (Gen. 1:27); godhood cannot be achieved by male or female alone. Everyone in the premortal life was begotten as a spirit child of Heavenly Parents before being born into mortality by earthly parents, and life on earth is part of the progression of men and women toward becoming like their Heavenly Parents. Only through the sealing ordinances of the holy priesthood, performed in the temples of the Lord, and through faithful, righteous living can male and female join in an eternal marriage unit wherein they may attain a fulness of the priesthood and exaltation together.

Fulness of the priesthood, which is the highest order of priesthood, is attained only through an eternal union of male and female, sanctified by the sealing ordinances in a temple of the Lord and ratified by the Holy Spirit of promise (D&C 132:18-19). Those so united, who honor their covenants with each other and the Lord, will in the Resurrection inherit exaltation and eternal life, consisting of an eternal union together and an eternal family, including eternal increase, spirit children, and the creation and possession of worlds and universes.

Thus, all blessings, benefits, and inheritances of the priesthood are equally shared and achieved by husband and wife alike if they carry out their respective responsibilities in faith, love, harmony, and cooperation in the Lord. The apostle Paul stated, "Neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord" (1 Cor. 11:11).

In the temples of the Lord, sacred priesthood ordinances (e.g., washings, anointings, clothings) are administered to men by men and to women by women who have received the endowments of the priesthood in the temple (TPJS, p. 337) and have been given that specific priesthood responsibility. Women thus may act in priesthood power when called, set apart, and authorized by those who hold the keys; however, women officiators are not ordained to the priesthood or to an office in the priesthood to do this work.

THE POWER OF GOD UNTO EXALTATION. Joseph Smith said: "I advise all to go on to perfection. A man can do nothing for himself unless God direct him in the right way; and the Priesthood is for that purpose" (TPJS, p. 364). Perfection is attained by obedience to the principles and ordinances of the gospel. Without priesthood authority, no ordinances-no matter how, when, where, or by whom performed-are valid, ratified by the Holy Ghost, or recorded in heaven (D&C 132:7). The sealing power, the power to bind on earth and in heaven (Matt. 16:19; 18:18; D&C 132:46), belongs solely to the priesthood of God; and proper baptism, the gift of the Holy Ghost, the holy Endowment, eternal marriage, and family sealings come only through the authorized servants of the Lord. Through these powers and authorities of the holy priesthood, the work of salvation proceeds as it was planned in the grand councils of heaven before the world was.

Under the direction and authority of the priesthood in this last dispensation, the Dispensation of the Fulness of Times, the work of the priesthood includes proclaiming the gospel, perfecting the Saints, and performing ordinances for the redemption of the dead. Priesthood bearers are charged to teach the gospel to all nations and peoples, to proclaim the knowledge of salvation. Doing this missionary work is a responsibility of all members of the Church, and a particular obligation for bearers of the priesthood. They are also charged to watch over the Saints everywhere, to labor to increase faith, understanding, and testimony, and to improve the spiritual Welfare and physical comfort of all who will receive them. Priesthood bearers are further charged to "redeem the dead" through the sealing power of the priesthood (D&C 128:14-18). Latter-day Saints are taught and encouraged to seek out the names and records of their dead progenitors, to actively engage in genealogical research, to turn their hearts to their ancestors, that every individual may be sealed by sacred temple ordinances in eternal families and ultimately in the family of Adam, which becomes the family of Jesus Christ (D&C 39:4-6; 42:52).

Sunday, July 13, 2014

Links to My Blogs

Callings and Elections:  http://callingsandelections.blogspot.com/

Women Ordained:  http://allwomenordained.blogspot.com/

Of God and Goddesses:  http://ofgodandgoddesses.blogspot.com/



I started this "Women Ordained" blog in the hope of giving the Ordain Women proponents another way of looking at the LDS Priesthood.

Thursday, July 10, 2014

The Callings and the Elections

The Callings and the Elections:

When it comes to the Callings and the Elections being made Sure, it is of paramount value to study the various Callings and the various Elections that we receive as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The ones I will discuss here are only available through the Church of Jesus Christ, in our case the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

When a boy or a man is baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he receives a Calling to one day be Ordained into the Patriarchal Order of the Priesthood of God the Father. At the point of a man's baptism into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the man receives a Calling to come to a complete fullness of the Melchizedek Priesthood or Patriarchal Order of the Priesthood at one day in his future. Later that boy or man is Elected or Ordained to the Patriarchal Order of the Priesthood of God the Father when he is given the Aaronic Priesthood.

When a girl or a woman is baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, she receives a Calling to one day be Ordained into the Matriarchal Order of the Priestess-hood of Goddess the Mather. At the point of a woman's baptism into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the woman receives a Calling to come to a complete fullness of the Matriarchal Order of the Priestess-hood at one day in her future, a Calling to become like Goddess the Mother in every way possible. Later that girl or woman is Elected or Ordained to the Matriarchal Order of the Priestess-hood of Goddess the Mather when she is ordained to the Priestess-hood in the LDS Temples.

Men receive their Calling to a fullness of the Priesthood when they are baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Women receive their Calling to a fullness of the Priestess-hood when they are baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

It's all very orderly, because God the Father and Goddess the Mother ordained it or set it in this order.

It is my ongoing personal claim that women receive all of their Fore-Ordinations and all of their future Ordinations or Elections into the Priestess-hood and the Matriarchal Order while in the Celestial Kingdom in Heaven.

Notice that Hugh Nibley repeatedly teaches us in his books that the LDS Temples are a little piece of Heaven here on earth. The LDS Temples are Heavenly Soil, or little pieces of the Celestial Kingdom here on this earth. Notice that baptized LDS Women receive their Ordinations or Elections into the Priestess-hood or the Matriarchal Order of the Priesthood there in the LDS Temple, there in the piece of the Celestial Kingdom that is here on this earth. The Ordinations or Elections of Women into the Priestess-hood or the Matriarchal Order of the Priesthood all take place out of the sight of the world where nobody is supposed to see them happening.

Notice the order or the logic of it, because God the Father and Heavenly Mother ordained it to be this way or elected for it to be this way.

The Ordinations or Elections of the women take place in private in the Celestial Kingdom. So, there is no direct readable revelation as to the terms of those Ordinations or Elections, but we can assume their their Ordinations or Elections mirror those that the men receive.

However, there is plenty of material revealed to us about the Ordinations or the Elections that the men receive into the Priesthood, including the terms of the contract and the associated blessings that are promised. To see it all and understand it all, you need to read and then re-read and then pray about the Oath and Covenant of the Priesthood as found in D&C 84.

Notice carefully that the D&C is accepted by Covenant and is made Binding upon us (male and female) during the Endowment of Power that takes place in the LDS Temples.

Now for the scripture. Read it, re-read it, study it, ponder it, and pray about it, because it is Revelation direct from God the Father. It discusses the Ordination or the Election of men to the Patriarchal Priesthood of God the Father.

D&C 84: 33-43:
33 For whoso is faithful unto the obtaining these two priesthoods of which I have spoken, and the magnifying their calling, are sanctified by the Spirit unto the renewing of their bodies.
34 They become the sons of Moses and of Aaron and the seed of Abraham, and the church and kingdom, and the elect of God.
35 And also all they who receive this priesthood receive me, saith the Lord;
36 For he that receiveth my servants receiveth me;
37 And he that receiveth me receiveth my Father;
38 And he that receiveth my Father receiveth my Father's kingdom; therefore all that my Father hath shall be given unto him.
39 And this is according to the oath and covenant which belongeth to the priesthood.
40 Therefore, all those who receive the priesthood, receive this oath and covenant of my Father, which he cannot break, neither can it be moved.
41 But whoso breaketh this covenant after he hath received it, and altogether turneth therefrom, shall not have forgiveness of sins in this world nor in the world to come.
42 And wo unto all those who come not unto this priesthood which ye have received, which I now confirm upon you who are present this day, by mine own voice out of the heavens; and even I have given the heavenly hosts and mine angels charge concerning you.
43 And I now give unto you a commandment to beware concerning yourselves, to give diligent heed to the words of eternal life.

What are the men Elected to when they receive the Priesthood or the Patriarchal Order of the Priesthood? They are Elected to God or given the right to become the Elect of God; they are Elected to Godhood; they are Elected to become one day like God the Father.

What are the men Promised when they receive the Priesthood or the Patriarchal Order? They are Promised all that the Father has and all that the Father IS. The men are Promised to become Gods or God the Father one day.

When is this particular Election made Sure? It is made Sure when a man becomes God the Father over his own Kingdom one day. That's as Sure as it gets.

Now, lets look at the mirror side of it all. I will base the mirror side of it or the complementary side of it off of the Oath and Covenant of the Priesthood that the men receive.

What are the women Elected to when they receive the Priestess-hood or the Matriarchal Order of the Priesthood? They are Elected to Goddess-hood or given the right to become the Elect of God; they are Elected to Priestess-hood; the women are Elected to become one day like Heavenly Mother.

What are the women Promised when they receive the Priestess-hood or the Matriarchal Order? The women are Promised or Elected to all that Heavenly Mother has and to all that Heavenly Mather IS. The women are Promised to become Queens or Goddesses or to become Heavenly Mother one day.

When is this particular Election made Sure? It is made Sure when a woman becomes Goddess the Mother and a Queen over her own Kingdom one day. That's as Sure as it gets.

It's all very orderly and logical, because God the Father and Heavenly Mother ordained it and fore-ordained it to be this way. God's House is a House of Order, a House of Ordinations and Ordinances. Ordinations are Elections. Ordinances are also Elections.

Notice that there are many different Callings and many different Elections that we can have made Sure. Who are the ones who make them Sure? God the Father and Heavenly Mother. How do we know that our Callings and our Elections have been made Sure? When the men become like God the Father and the women become like Heavenly Mother, when we step into their shoes and become them.

Notice that it is completely illogical and completely inappropriate for a man to be Ordained into the Matriarchal Order or the Priestess-hood. It is not appropriate for a man to be Ordained or Elected to become a Queen.

Likewise, it is completely illogical and completely inappropriate for a woman to be Ordained into the Patriarchal Order or the Priesthood. It is not appropriate for a woman to be Ordained or Elected to become a King or a Man of Holiness.

The Priestess-hood is for the women, and the Priesthood is for the men, because God the Father and Heavenly Mother ordained or elected for it to be that way.

Notice that all Ordinations and Ordinances in the LDS Church are Elections of some kind, the transferal of Heavenly Rights to the recipient. It's all designed to help the men to become exactly like God the Father; and, it's all designed to help the women to become exactly like Heavenly Mother. It all makes logical sense, because the Gods ordained or elected for it to be that way.



Thursday, July 3, 2014

Welcome to Women Ordained

All Ordinations of Women Take Place in Heaven:

A Speculative Proposal for Consideration:

Women receive all of their ORDINATIONS from God while they are in Heaven, so that their Ordinations cannot be tainted, corrupted, changed, destroyed, polluted, or even touched by anyone here on earth.

Women receive their Fore-Ordinations into Motherhood and the Matriarchal Order while in Heaven during their pre-mortal life. Motherhood is an office within the Matriarchal Order of the Priesthood. And, the women who pass the tests of mortality here on earth and enter the Kingdom of God will receive their Eternal Ordinations into Motherhood, into the Office of Queen, and into the Matriarchal Order of the Priesthood while in the Celestial Kingdom of Heaven during their afterlife.

An Ordination is something that is meant to be permanent, Eternal, and Everlasting. An Ordination is supposed to become an integral and essential part of who and what a person really is. Ordinations give us Eternal RIGHTS to the things that we have been Ordained unto. Therefore, every Ordination has to make logical sense, because God is a God of Order and Law. God is a God of Ordinances and Ordinations.

In contrast, being “set apart” to a Priesthood Role within the Patriarchal Order of the Priesthood of God is meant to be temporary, until death do you part, if you are not released from the Office or Position or Role before your death.

My personal belief is that since there is a Patriarchal Order of the Priesthood, then there must also be a Matriarchal Order of the Priesthood that we don't hear about nor have access to as mortals. God's House is a House of Order, so I assume that Heavenly Mother's House is also a House of Order. The LDS Church only has the Patriarchal Order of the Priesthood to give to its members. In the LDS Church and within the Patriarchal Order of the Priesthood women are NEVER ordained to anything. Not even God has the power or authorization to Ordain a woman into a permanent office of the Patriarchal Priesthood. If God did, He would cease to be God. God cannot ordain a woman into the Melchizedek Priesthood or the Aaronic Priesthood. If God did, He would cease to be God.

Ordinations are meant to become a permanent, Eternal, and Everlasting part of who and what we really are. Ordinations are a manifestation of Eternal Law. Therefore, Ordinations need to make logical sense. The LDS Priesthood is Patriarchal in nature. Therefore, it makes no logical sense to Ordain a woman into the Fatherhood Order or the Patriarchal Order of the Priesthood.

It is my personal belief that women here on earth are NEVER ordained to anything. Women receive all of their ORDINATIONS in Heaven. By limiting all Ordinations of Women to Heaven, God the Father has effectively put the Matriarchal Order, its Ordinations, and its Offices completely out of the reach of apostates, agitators, anti-Christs, the misguided, the covetous, the vindictive, and mortals of any kind. None of us here on this earth can get at it in any way, shape, or form.

Consequently, NOBODY on this planet is jockeying and competing for positions, ordinations, roles, or offices within the Matriarchal Order. There are NO “Ordain Men into the Matriarchal Order” movements on this planet, certainly none that I have ever heard of. There are NO Ordain Men Movements. Such a thing never even enters the minds of the apostates, the rebels, the agitators, and the discontent. God designed it to be so.

Do you see how smart God really is? God hides The Truth and the True Order of the Priesthood in plain sight where NOBODY will see it or understand it. God hides the evidence of Women's Fore-Ordinations in plain sight where NONE of the women or the men can see that the Women were Ordained into the Matriarchal Order long before they were born here into mortality. God makes it self-evident so that NONE of us will see it or even think about it. It's brilliant, don't you think?

If there is a Patriarchal Order of the Priesthood, then it logically follows that there is a Matriarchal Order of the Priesthood; but, the thought never even enters our minds. God has NONE of us thinking about the Matriarchal Order, the Heaven-based Ordination of Women into the Office of Motherhood or into the Office of Queen, or what any of that really means. Even the apostates and anti-Christs haven't been able to see it or want it. Why? Because they can't get at the Matriarchal Order or the Priestess-hood at all. They don't even think about it. They never look, and thus they never see it or want it; but, it's right there hidden in plain sight. And even if they were to want it, there is nothing they can do about it, because they can't get at it. Interesting, don't you think?

God the Father has all of our focus on the Patriarchal Order of the Priesthood within the LDS Church, and that's the thing we are trying to distort, pollute, corrupt, change, fight against, and destroy. Ordinations into the Patriarchal Order is the thing that the Ordain Women movements in every Christian church are focused upon attaining. They don't even think about the other Priesthood Order, the Matriarchal Order. Nobody even wants to be Ordained into the Matriarchal Order. NOBODY wants to be Ordained into the Office of Queen within the Matriarchal Order of the Priesthood. It doesn't even enter their minds, because it's something that they cannot achieve while they are here in mortality. Instead, they all covet to be ordained as Fathers into the Patriarchal Order of the Priesthood. Cool, don't you think?

One of the silliest things that I ever saw came when some of the Protestant Churches started ordaining women as Fathers within their churches. Talk about an oxymoron. For me, it served as a sure sign how far from The Truth some of the Protestant Churches had fallen.

The Catholics ordain men as Fathers and Priests in their church. I think in many respects that they still have a true sense of what it really means to be ordained into the Priesthood of God. I do not foresee the Catholics ever ordaining women as Fathers within their religion, because I believe that many of them can still see and understand how silly and absurd such an idea and practice really is.

So, for the LDS women, what are the initiatory work and their Temple Endowments in the LDS Temples all about? For the women, their Temple Work is a re-confirmation of their Fore-Ordination into Motherhood or the Matriarchal Order. Motherhood is an Office within the Matriarchal Order of the Priesthood.

Their LDS Temple Work is also in anticipation of the women one day being Ordained as Queens or Goddesses there in the Celestial Kingdom in Heaven, which will be a permanent, Eternal, and Everlasting Ordination for the women who make it to the Celestial Kingdom. Their Ordinations as Queens within the Matriarchal Order of the Priesthood will become a permanent and integral part of who and what they really are.

Women don't even have to be members of the LDS Church in order to retain and have a RIGHT unto Motherhood and their Fore-Ordination into the Matriarchal Order. Fascinating, huh? However, women do indeed have to be baptized members of the LDS Church and have to receive their LDS Temple Endowments if they want to have any hope of one day being Ordained as Queens and Goddesses within the Matriarchal Order there in Heaven in the afterlife.

I personally believe that once some of the Ordain Women promoters fully understand what it really means to be Ordained, that Ordinations are meant to be permanent, Eternal, and Everlasting, then I think that some of them will actually re-think their position on the subject. Ordinations are meant to be logical. Ordinations are meant to become an integral and everlasting part of an individual, a part of who we really are. We are to be Ordained unto things where we can logically stay for the rest of Eternity. Ordinations and Ordinances are meant to be Eternal. In contrast, being set apart to a Priesthood Role is meant to be temporary.

I personally believe that once some of the Ordain Women promoters fully realize and understand that they have already received their Ordinations unto the Matriarchal Order while they were still there in Heaven in the Pre-mortal Life, then I think that some of them will re-think their desire to be re-ordained here on the earth into the Patriarchal Order of the Priesthood. They will instead shift all of their focus towards achieving a permanent Ordination as Queens within the Matriarchal Order of the Priesthood when they get to the Celestial Kingdom of God. Being Ordained as a Queen within the Matriarchal Order of the Priesthood of God will become an essential and integral part of their Eternal Life.

I personally believe that once some of the Ordain Women promoters fully realize that they are actually asking to be Ordained into the Patriarchal Order within the LDS Church and are actually asking to be Ordained as fathers into fatherhood, then some of them will have their eyes opened and will automatically see how silly and illogical their request really is; and then, they will just go and find something much better to do with their lives, like educating men in the LDS Church how to treat their wives, mothers, and sisters better and with more respect.

Nevertheless, there will indeed be some Ordain Women promoters who will fully understand what Ordination really means and will fully understand that they are indeed asking to be Ordained as Fathers unto Fatherhood into the Patriarchal Order within the LDS Church, and these women (and their male supporters) will still demand that they be given exactly what they want anyway. These individuals will be and probably should be excommunicated from the LDS Church, because they are simply wanting something that is NOT of God; and, they are demanding to have it anyway.

Beware concerning yourselves! Don't go trying to change the True Order of God.

D&C 84: 43-44:
43 And I now give unto you a commandment to beware concerning yourselves, to give diligent heed to the words of eternal life.
44 For you shall live by every word that proceedeth forth from the mouth of God.

This Scripture is directed at the sons of Moses and the sons of Aaron, and this Scripture is at the end of the Oath and Covenant of the Priesthood whereby God gives us a commandment and tells us not to mess with His Patriarchal Priesthood or Melchizedek Priesthood, and to leave things as they currently are and always were and always will be.

Trust and know that there are aspects and realities of the Holy Priesthood that are completely hidden from our view and totally out of our reach as mortal beings. It would take a Seer to be able to see them clearly. Where God's Priesthood is concerned, there's more than meets the eye; and, we can actually speculate about what that might be, as I have done here. With this speculative piece, I have tried to show you what some of these things might be, which are currently hidden from our sight. If there is indeed a Matriarchal Order of the Priesthood in Heaven, it certainly adds a whole new unforeseen dimension to the Ordain Women debate.

I went searching for information regarding the Matriarchal Order of the Priesthood within LDS Library 2009.
The only one who really talks about it is Hugh Nibley, and he talks about it in derogatory terms. Hugh Nibley describes it as an apostate system that the Queens of Egypt gave to themselves, a corruption and hijacking of the Patriarchal Order of the Priesthood. As Latter-day Saints know, if a man or a woman gives himself the Priesthood of God, then it really isn't the Priesthood of God. Nevertheless, the ancient Egyptians often caught onto things that the rest of us simply fail to see. What if in fact there really is a Matriarchal Order of the Priesthood? Then those ancient Egyptian Queens might not have been as apostate and far off-base as some of us think them to be. They might have in fact been onto something important.
I have an LDS friend who has described some of the miracles, visions, manifestations, revelations, and other things that he/she has experienced as a Latter-day Saint. This person keeps telling me that God always hides the Truth in plain sight where NONE of us can see it. So, I'm constantly getting the impression that when it comes to the Deeper Truths (what some call the Mysteries of Heaven or the Unknown), God actually hides these things in plain sight and makes them self-evident so that NONE of us will see them or understand them.
I sometimes wonder if the Matriarchal Order or the Motherhood Order of the Priesthood of Heaven might be one of these things.

Please don't let the fact, that God has given mortals ONLY the Patriarchal Priesthood or the fact that God will ONLY allow men to be Ordained into the Patriarchal Priesthood, drive you away from the LDS Church, the LDS Apostles, and our Lord Jesus Christ. Please don't let “what you don't know” or “what you don't have” drive you away from the True Church of God. Please repent, turn to God or return to God, and come to see things the way that God currently sees them and ordained them to be. Please choose to do things the way that God the Father wants them to be done. “Dear Father, thy will be done, not mine.”


The Take-Home Lesson:

Ordinations are meant to become a permanent, Eternal, and Everlasting part of who and what we are. Therefore, they need to make logical sense.
In the LDS Church and in the Patriarchal Order of the Priesthood women are NEVER ordained to anything. Not even God has the power or authorization to ordain a woman into a permanent office of the Patriarchal Priesthood. If God did, He would cease to be God.
So, what happens to the women in the LDS Church where the Priesthood is concerned? They are temporarily set apart to Priesthood Roles within the Church and the LDS Temples.
I was told that NONE of the female (and male) Ordinance Workers in the LDS Temples are ordained into the role. Instead, they are temporarily set apart to that role, but that role is "until death do they part" if they are not released from the Priesthood Role before their death.
In contrast, an Ordination is meant to be Eternal and Everlasting. Once a Bishop, then always a Bishop. Once an Apostle, then always an Apostle. LDS Bishops and LDS Apostles carry their Calling and Responsibility and Ordination with them into Eternity, where they will in fact be Judges in Israel at the Judgment Day. Their responsibility as Judges to the House of Israel continues long after they are dead.

Likewise, once a Goddess or a Queen in the Celestial Kingdom, then always a Goddess or Queen. Ordinations are meant to be permanent and are meant to become an integral part of who and what a person REALLY IS.
But, "once an Ordinance Worker in the LDS Temple, then always an Ordinance Worker?" NO! It doesn't work that way.
I have known of both male and female Ordinance Workers who are no longer Ordinance Workers, which means that they were temporarily set apart to that Priesthood Role. Therefore, it was NOT an Ordination that took place when they became Temple Workers. Instead, they were temporarily set apart to that Priesthood Role, until death do they part, if not before.

I know that it can be a subtle distinction at times, but it's a very important one, especially where the LDS Church is concerned.

T
he women in the Bible were temporarily set apart to Priesthood Roles; but, NO Ordinations took place because what the women were set apart to often did not become an Eternal and Everlasting part of who and what they really are. Their positions were temporary and not meant to last after their death. No Ordinations took place because it is illogical to permanently ordain women into the Patriarchal Order or the Fatherhood Order of the Priesthood. God would cease to be God if He did so.
Likewise, you are ORDAINED into the Aaronic or Melchizedek Priesthood; but then, you are temporarily SET APART into an office within the Priesthood.
See how God intended for that to work?
It's extremely important in the LDS Church to understand the distinction between Ordination and being Set Apart. They are NOT the same thing. One is Eternal, and the other is temporary. In the Protestant world, they are one and the same thing, but NOT in the LDS Church. Take special note of it next time you see someone being set apart or ordained. Learn to identify the difference between the two. It will help to make things a lot more clear.
This talk goes a long ways towards making the distinction between Ordination and being "Setting Apart" clear:
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/04/the-keys-and-authority-of-the-priesthood?lang=eng


Conclusions:

In D&C 84, D&C 107, D&C 20, and Abraham 1, God the Father and Jesus Christ make it abundantly clear that when it comes to God's Priesthood, the Patriarchal Priesthood within the LDS Church, God wants us to keep doing things the way that they always have been done. This means that God does NOT want any of us ordaining women into the Patriarchal Order or the Fatherhood Order of the Holy Priesthood. The Patriarchal Order of the Priesthood of God has always been for Men Only, and it always will be. That's the message that comes through loud and clear in the modern revelations listed above that we have received from God.

Therefore, whenever I encounter the writings, requests, and demands of the various Ordain Women groups throughout the world, my heart rebels at their ideas because I know that God does not want such things happening where His Patriarchal Priesthood and His LDS Church are concerned. God does not want us ordaining women into the Patriarchal Priesthood or Melchizedek Priesthood. If God would have wanted such a thing, then God would have ordained Eve into the Melchizedek Priesthood right from the very beginning.

I personally believe that the LDS Church is basically the same Church that Enoch, Moses, and Jesus Christ had way back then. There were prophetesses then, so there should be prophetesses now. So, where are they? Obviously, everyone seems to latch upon female LDS Temple Workers or Ordinance Workers as one possible answer. But for me, I have come to see my ward's Relief Society President as a Prophetess in every sense of the word.

It is my personal belief that women here on earth are NEVER ordained to anything within the True Church of God. Women receive all of their ORDINATIONS in Heaven. It seems logical to me that if there is a Patriarchal Order of the Priesthood, then there must be some kind of Matriarchal Order of the Priesthood in Heaven that we don't hear much about.
The thing that I wish I were sure about is how it all works in Heaven. I do know that Ordinations are meant to be Eternal and Everlasting; and, I do know that being Set Apart is meant to be temporal or temporary. I do know that there is a Patriarchal Order of the Priesthood of God. I do know that it is illogical to ordain a woman into the Patriarchal Order of the Priesthood. But, the thing I don't know is whether there is a Matriarchal Order of the Priesthood or not. If there were one question that I would like the LDS Prophet to take to the Lord, it would be that one, along with a command from the Lord to the Prophet to come back and tell us all exactly what the Prophet learned.
I'm perfectly fine with people disagreeing with me. A lot of this is speculative anyway. The best I can do with speculative subjects is to tell people how I currently visualize things to be and why. And then, I either let them take the ball and run with it or I let them go on their merry way none the worse for wear.

Best Wishes to All,

Mark My Words


The Source Material that I Used for Inspiration and Knowledge regarding This Subject:

The Keys and Authority of the Priesthood, by Dallin H. Oaks:

D&C 84, D&C 107, D&C 20, and Abraham 1.

Elder Russell M. Nelson, Lessons from Eve, Ensign (CR), November 1987, p.86:

Adam held the priesthood. Eve served in matriarchal partnership with the patriarchal priesthood. So today, each wife may join with her husband as a partner unified in purpose. Scriptures state clearly, "Neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord" (1 Cor. 11:11). "They twain shall be one flesh" (Matt. 19:6; Mark 10:8; D&C 49:16). Marvelously, it takes a man and a woman to make a man or a woman. Without union of the sexes, neither can we exist, nor can we become perfect. Ordinary and imperfect people can build each other through their wholeness together. The complete contribution of one partner to the other is essential to exaltation. This is so "that the earth might answer the end of its creation" (D&C 49:16). So labor and love in partnership. Honor your companion. Any sense of competition for place or position is not appropriate for either partner, especially when enlightened by scriptural understanding.

As Adam bore responsibilities of fatherhood, so Eve bore the responsibilities of motherhood. She did not shirk them. So with welcome arms you may gratefully greet those children God may send, through your divine design as co-creator. With your husband, be obedient to the commandment to multiply and replenish the earth, as your opportunity, your spiritual guidance, your wisdom, and your health allow. You will gain joy and rejoicing in your posterity. That enrichment becomes more beautiful and precious with each passing year.

Russel M. Nelson


Hugh Nibley, Abraham in Egypt, p.134:

In the Book of Abraham as in many ancient versions of the Abraham story, the hero in his youth challenges a king's assertion of divine authority (Abraham 1:5-6), claiming to have the true authority himself (1:2-3). The king takes up the challenge and tries to make a ritual offering of Abraham as the well-known substitute King or tanist. (Abraham 1:8-14 and Fac. 1.) Abraham's miraculous delivery converts the King, who petitions Abraham for his priesthood and offers his own honors in exchange – such is the burden of many legends and of Facsimile No. 3; he also covets Abraham's wife in hopes of establishing a priestly line in the true succession. (233: Apr. 1970, 79ff.) Why was Pharaoh, "a righteous man,... blessed... with the blessings of wisdom" (Abraham 1:26), denied that priesthood which he "would fain claim from Noah, through Ham" (1:27)? Certainly not because of Ham, "a just man [who] walked with God" (Moses 8:27), but rather because he claimed it through the wrong line, "that lineage by which he could not have the right of Priesthood" (Abraham 1:27). What was wrong with it? Simply this: it was not the patriarchal but the matriarchal line he was following.

Even while "seeking earnestly to imitate that order established by the fathers in the first generations (what the Egyptians called the pa'at), in the days of the first patriarchal reign" (1:26), he nonetheless traced his descent and his throne to "a woman, who was the daughter of Ham, the daughter of Egyptus" (1:23); this woman "discovered the land" and "settled her sons in it" (1:24). Her eldest son became the first Pharaoh, ruling "after the manner" of the patriarchal order (1:25), which the King sought earnestly to "imitate." Thus the government of Egypt was carried on under the fiction of being patriarchal while the actual line was matriarchal, the Queen being "the Wife of the God and bearer of the royal lineage." (421:47.) But however noble it may be, a matriarchal line cannot claim patriarchal authority, even though all the parties concerned are sympathetically portrayed. In all of which there is no mention of race, though enemies of the Church have declared with shock and outrage that these passages are proof of Mormon discrimination against blacks.

Hugh Nibley


Hugh Nibley, Abraham in Egypt, p.220:

These few observations, kept to a minimum, should be enough to make it clear that there is no exclusive equation between Ham and Pharaoh, or between Ham and the Egyptians, or between the Egyptians and the blacks, or between any of the above and any particular curse. What was denied was recognition of patriarchal right to the priesthood made by a claim of matriarchal succession.

Hugh Nibley


Hugh Nibley, Temple and Cosmos: Beyond This Ignorant Present, edited by Don E. Norton, p.64:

The oldest tradition common to many ancient people is that of the woman who got the secret name from the most high god. It is the Egyptian story of Re and the Son's Eye. Isis, wishing to found the Egyptian Dynasty along matriarchal lines by endowing her sons with the priesthood, begged Re, their father, to tell her his secret name. It is the story of Epimetheus, who loosed all evils upon mankind when he deferred to Pandora's request. Recently that story has turned up in the early Coptic Christian Third Apocryphon of John. Moreover, a two-volume work by Ludwig Laistner traces the Sphinx motif through ancient times. In the Bible it is Samson and Delilah. But the most significant telling of the story is in Moses 5:47-55, the story of Lamech, which reports how this pattern was spread throughout the entire world in the abominations of the ancients. This opens up a whole world of comparative studies telling us how it is that ceremonies resembling those of the temple are found throughout the ancient world.

Hugh Nibley


As usual, Hugh Nibley tended to see things somewhat differently than the rest of the Latter-day Saints see them. Hugh Nibley is the only one that I find who talks about the Matriarchal Lineage or the Matriarchal Order of the Priesthood, an Order of the Priesthood that God currently refuses to let mortals have access to. Of course, Hugh Nibley sees the whole thing somewhat differently than the way I tend to see it. What does this tell you? When it comes to the Matriarchal Order of the Priesthood, all that we currently know about it seems to reside in the realm of personal speculation. Revelation concerning the Matriarchal Order of the Priesthood is the thing that the Ordain Women groups should really be asking for, not Ordination into the Patriarchal or Fatherhood Order of the Priesthood.


The Disclaimer and the Declaration of Intent:

At the moment, this particular issue seems to be of interest to Latter-day Saints within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. My personal postings regarding the subject have mostly taken place at LDS Freedom Forum.


Everything I write about this subject is personal opinion, and none of it should be taken as the official position of the LDS Church. I have no authority, right, calling, or jurisdiction to represent the LDS Church in public.

This piece is personal speculation, an amalgamation of what has come to mind over weeks and even months of time. I'm perfectly fine with anyone disagreeing with me on this or any other topic, and then having them come online and tell me where they think I got it wrong and why. The next question and answer in this process has often come after someone has come forth and told me why they think that I am losing it.

These speculative theories developed over time as I read, studied, pondered, asked God to reveal to me what He wanted me to know about it, and then wrote the ideas and impressions that came to me throughout the day and throughout the night. Then I repeated the same process the next day, over and over again, until the revelations and insights stopped coming. It was a growth process and a learning process, line upon line and precept by precept.

I truly wish that an LDS Apostle would take it upon himself to go through the exact same process that I went through day after day writing the revelations, insights, and ideas that come to his mind and heart, and then when he is done go onto LDS.org and tell us all what impressions and ideas and visualizations came to his mind. Of course, it would be even better if an angel were to take Thomas S. Monson into Heaven, show him how it all really is, and then let President Monson come back and tell us all what he saw and how all of this really works there in Heaven.

Meanwhile, I know that the LDS Church ONLY has access to the Patriarchal Order of the Priesthood to give to its members.

The Patriarchal Order of the Priesthood from Adam to Moses was the Melchizedek Priesthood, and it always traveled from the fathers to the sons, as God ordained or decreed. (Abraham 1: 1-5). The Aaronic Priesthood is often described as being an appendage to the Melchizedek Priesthood; but, they are all the Priesthood of God, and they are all Patriarchal in nature, meant to travel from the fathers to the sons. Only the sons of Aaron had a legitimate right to the Aaronic Priesthood. NONE of Aaron's daughters had that right.
My personal belief is that since there is a Patriarchal Order of the Priesthood, then there must also be a Matriarchal Order of the Priesthood that we don't hear about nor have access to. But, that's just speculation or guesswork on my part.

Meanwhile, if you want to find the Truth of these controversial things, then I suggest that you turn to the writings and the teachings of the LDS Apostles for the confirmation that you are seeking. Study it all and pray about it, asking for the true interpretation and meaning of these things to be opened unto you. Ask God for your eyes to be opened so that you can truly see.

What is my hope? I hope and pray that no Latter-day Saint, male or female, will allow themselves to be excommunicated from the LDS Church over the controversial Ordain Women issue. If I can help to prevent one Latter-day Saint from apostatizing or being excommunicated over this issue, then I will have accomplished my goal and my heart's desire concerning the issue.

What is my desire? I desire to try to help the Latter-day Saints to come to see the LDS Apostles as inspired prophets of God, instead of as the silly and quaint individuals that many Latter-day Saints seem to see them as. I desire to introduce you to the idea of reading the messages of the LDS Apostles and LDS General Authorities while you are trying to determine how the things of Heaven REALLY ARE and really work, so that in fact we come to see things the way that God the Father sees them.

What is my goal? To try to find the Eternal Truth of all things, the way things REALLY ARE there in Heaven. I want to try to learn to see things the way that God sees them.

What is my mission? To convert you to the LDS Church and the teachings of the LDS Apostles, as I have been converted. Remember, conversion to God and His Church and Heaven is an ongoing and never-ending process. Even when we arrive in the Celestial Kingdom, there will still be new and interesting ways in which we can to come to see things the way that God the Father sees them.

Best of Luck to You All,

Mark My Words


23JUN2014 Version.


The Cult of the Firstborn

The Cult of the Firstborn:

While interacting online at LDS Freedom Forum, I slowly encountered a united group who are calling themselves the Church of the Firstborn. It was a strange, interesting, and surreal experience. I came to realize that they support, sustain, and back each other up. I wasn't aware of their existence until I started to disagree vigorously with some of their claims and doctrines; and then suddenly they came out of the woodwork as a united front against me. I also came to realize that they are looking for others to join their elite group; but, if you write anything potent that contradicts their religion or their beliefs, they will unite together and come down on you like a ton of bricks. Unitedly and collectively, they invited me to shut up and go away. That's how they handle dissent in their group and on the LDS Freedom Forum. I was in a sense excommunicated from their group, a concept that was familiar to me.

With the exception of two different individuals, the rest of them seemed to ignore my posts and pretended that I wasn't even there. It was only after I started to contend with their spokesman that I became aware of their existence, while they employed various different means to end my messages while continuing to support his. It was like trying to fight with my hands tied behind my back. The deck was stacked against me. It was a strange, confusing, and weird feeling, especially at first when I wasn't fully aware of what was happening. Thankfully, a couple of different people had mercy on me and told me what was happening, and then suddenly it all made sense. These people are an organized cult or a religion, and they are defending their religion and backing each other up. Since they have yet to give themselves a name (other than the Church of the Firstborn) and are still hiding their existence, I chose to call them the Cult of the Firstborn to distinguish them from the real Church of the Firstborn.

When I finally figured out who they are and what they are all about, I suddenly lost all desire to be a part of them and had no desire to associate with them any more. So, whether I was excommunicated from their group or left of my own free will and choice, it doesn't really matter, because the net result is the same. Now, about the only obligation that I feel towards them is a desire to expose their existence, their secrets, and their secrecy to the world, because they thrive on not having anyone know that they exist. I want to warn others about them as I was warned. Obviously, I wasn't the first person to encounter difficulties with this cult or group.

Their combined Cult of the Firstborn message that I and others were starting to perceive and understand is that once I am a member of the Church of the Firstborn, then I will no longer need my LDS Ordinances, my LDS Temple Covenants, the LDS Church, or the LDS General Authorities. When I become a member of their club or group, a member of the Church of the Firstborn, Jesus Christ will give me special dispensation; and thereafter, I can say and do whatever I please, because I am going to be saved and exalted in the Celestial Kingdom no matter what I say or do. It's a comforting religion, but only if you are a member of it.

Since the other members of the Church of the Firstborn that I have met in person outside of the LDS Freedom Forum seem to be a completely different group of people than the club or group that I met online, I have taken to calling the online group The Cult of the Firstborn, in order to tell the difference between the two and to keep everything straight in my head. The Cult of the Firstborn proved to be a strange and interesting group of Gods and Goddesses. They are not large enough yet to build Zion on their own, but I get the feeling that they believe that one day they will be. One day there is going to be 144,000 of them. Some of the Cult of the Firstborn believe that they are Heavenly Angels or Divine Messengers or missionaries for the Church of the Firstborn.

The Cult of the Firstborn are a secretive group, and they will often deny their existence and are reluctant to discuss their purpose or their mission. They want you to judge their message and not the messenger. They were often telling us to just let the messenger disappear from our minds, and listen only to the message. This was confusing at first, until I realized that some of them had been excommunicated from the LDS Church and that some of them were afraid of disciplinary action from the LDS Church. Then it made sense why they wanted us to focus only on the message and completely ignore the messenger.

The Cult of the Firstborn haven't completely consolidated their message or platform; but, there were a few things that started to become clear to me and to some of the others I associated with in Private Messaging. Some of the moderators at LDS Freedom Forum are members of this Cult of the Firstborn, so we were not fully permitted to publicly disagree with them or point out where they are wrong, so we had to take our comments private if we wanted to talk about them and compare notes. Our public messages would sometimes disappear if we were challenging or disagreeing with the Cult of the Firstborn.

The Cult of the Firstborn believe that they have had their Calling and Election made Sure, which means that they believe that they are part of the Church of the Firstborn, part of the 144,000, True Messengers from the Father, and have a special apostolic relationship with Christ. Many of them claim to have received the Second Comforter or to have entertained the Angels of God. They are an exclusive or an elite group, but they seem to be recruiting followers there on LDS Freedom Forum. They are looking for like-minded people to join them, and there's a grooming process that's going on. When it comes to the Cult of the Firstborn, they used to be LDS or came from the LDS Church; however, now they are no longer members of the LDS Church but are instead members of the Church of the Firstborn.

The Cult of the Firstborn are either secretive about what they believe or use an anonymous name so that they can freely tell the world what they believe, because if they were to reveal to their LDS Bishop or LDS Stake President what they truly believe, then they would be excommunicated from the LDS Church, if they haven't already been excommunicated from the LDS Church. Their Doctrines and Teachings are not in harmony with Official LDS Church Doctrine, and they will freely admit in private (and sometimes in public) that they have no interest in converting anyone to the LDS Church.

In general, the Cult of the Firstborn preaches that the LDS General Authorities and LDS Apostles are fallen prophets, have been rejected by Christ, and have lost their way. They will say that there hasn't been a True Prophet of God in the LDS Church since Joseph Smith. When you ask them what their goal or purpose is, they say that it is to bring you to Christ or to convert you to Christ. They make it clear that it is a sin and it is wrong to rely upon the arm of flesh, meaning the LDS General Authorities. The Cult of the Firstborn wants you to go straight to Christ and receive a special dispensation from Him. If you can do that, then you are a candidate to join their group. They want you to ignore or go past the LDS Prophets and go straight on to Christ.

Most of the Cult of the Firstborn seem to see little value in or need for the LDS Ordinances, LDS Standards, Church Attendance, the LDS Doctrine, the LDS Temple Covenants, the LDS Church, the LDS Apostles, the LDS mission, the LDS teachings, the LDS people, or LDS church membership. Their message to us is that we will need none of these things after we have established a direct personal apostolic relationship with Jesus Christ and have become members of the Church of the Firstborn. I believe that the majority of the Cult of the Firstborn that I have encountered have been excommunicated from the LDS Church, or they are no longer really members of the LDS Church in their hearts and minds. Their message is that you will not need the LDS Church or the LDS Apostles after you have had your Calling and Election made Sure, have established a direct Second Comforter relationship with Christ, and have entered into the Church of the Firstborn.

When it comes to the Cult of the Firstborn, their message is logical and it is enticing to anyone who has become dissatisfied with the LDS Church for whatever reason. You can still have salvation and exaltation in the Celestial Kingdom, as long as you receive special dispensation from Jesus Christ. They have found another way to enter into the Kingdom of God, a backdoor of sorts. If you are a member of the Church of the Firstborn, then you don't need the LDS Church, the LDS Ordinances, or the LDS Temple in order to be saved and exalted in the Celestial Kingdom. It sounds wonderful, actually. You can just go straight to Christ for your salvation and exaltation, and completely skip the LDS Church. Now you know why I call the Cult of the Firstborn an interesting and fascinating group.

Throughout my life, I have gone to hell many different times. I am learning to recognize what it looks like, what it feels like, and what it is. The more I interacted with the Cult of the Firstborn on LDS Freedom Forum, the more I realized that I was back in hell again. All of the signs were there. It became a very unpleasant experience, especially compared to the interaction that I have with the ordinary Latter-day Saints at Church on Sunday and throughout the week.

Even the non-LDS people that I interact with at school and work, the ones that everyone says are going to the Terrestrial Kingdom, are infinitely kinder and a whole lot more fun to be around than the Cult of the Firstborn. I eventually realized that I would much rather go to the Terrestrial Kingdom or go to hell than to go to the place where the Cult of the Firstborn are going and have to associate with the Cult of the Firstborn for the rest of eternity. It was a very unpleasant bunch of people, for me at least. But, they seemed to be happy with their club or group. They had found each other and were soul mates, and together, they had created what I call The Cult of the Firstborn. It was a club of the super elite or the super elect, and they are looking for Latter-day Saints who are willing to join their cause. Eventually, I elected not to go where they are going.

In the next life, if there is a next life (and I have no direct personal proof that there is a next life), I want to go to the place where my LDS Grandmother, Hugh Nibley, and an LDS bishop friend of mine went when they died. Those are the people that I want to see and meet again in the next life; and, those are the people that I want to associate with in the next life for the rest of eternity, if they will have me. I have said many times that it would be a shame and a loss to the whole universe if these people ceased to exist when they died. These are the first people I know that I have found myself praying to God and hoping that they continued to exist after they died. They are the people that I want to go to and associate with in the next life, even if they all ended up going to hell. They are my kind of people, and I learned to love them while they were alive. I want to be with them after I am dead.

Before my LDS bishop friend died, he came up to me after Gospel Doctrine class and said to me, “You are a Treasure.” I have been called lots of things in my life, most of them bad, but I have never ever been called a Treasure. That was a first and only. So, if there is an afterlife, I want to go where this friend went, because there I know that I will be treasured. I miss this person, and I want to see him again.

In contrast, I don't really care if I ever see, meet, or encounter any of the Cult of the Firstborn ever again. I don't want to spend the rest of eternity with them. Plus, they unitedly told me to shut up and go away, so it is quite clear that they don't want to spend the rest of eternity with me either. They got together and voted me off the island, so they won't allow me to go where they are going in the next life anyway. It was an interesting and memorable experience. I'm not a member of the Cult of the Firstborn, and apparently, I never will be. I was no longer free to openly and honestly say what I believe to be true while participating on LDS Freedom Forum. I was back in hell again.

They say that when it comes to your enemies, the only way that they win is if you give up and go away. Yet, when it came to the Cult of the Firstborn, I eventually realized that I would win and win big if I simply gave up and went away. That bridge got burnt. It was a good thing for me to light that particular fuse and watch it burn, as it was for them. We were all in agreement concerning that one particular thing, that it would be best for all involved if I were to just go away.

The beautiful thing about the Gospel of Christ is that we can repent, do a complete 180 and go the other direction. The Cult of the Firstborn invited me to go some other direction with my life, and I came to believe that it was right for me to do so. I had delivered my message, so now it was time to move on to a different group and a different mission. I chose to go back to the Latter-day Saints and the LDS Church. There I periodically find comfort and peace. There I find my kind of people. The Latter-day Saints haven't voted me off the island yet. These Latter-day Saints who live around me might not all be members of the Church of the Firstborn, but at least they are not the Cult of the Firstborn.

--
--


Cult of the Firstborn Revisited:

Ever since Hirum Page started receiving revelations from Satan through the peep stone (D&C 28:11), there have been Cults of the Firstborn, or Secret Gnostic Groups, or Selective Clubs in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Each one of these groups makes the claim that they have Special Knowledge from God or Secret Knowledge from God that the Apostles of God do not have.

During the Primitive Church of Jesus Christ, the Apostles of God were driven out of Congregations of the Church by Gnostics claiming to have Secret Knowledge from God that the Apostles of God did not have. Gnosticism in a sense killed the Primitive Church of Jesus Christ; and, it could kill the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints if we are not aware of that particular Satanic Trap.

I coined the phrase, “The Cult of the Firstborn”, so that I and my LDS friends would have a term that we could use in person and during Private Messaging to describe the phenomenon.

There is nothing new about the Cult of the Firstborn. While talking with one of my LDS friends last weekend, he told me that a decade or two ago, one of his friends had been captured by one these Gnostic Groups, led away from the LDS Church, and destroyed. The results can be devastating. Lives and families can be destroyed if we choose to fall for one of these Gnostic Groups.

I realize now that anyone who considers themselves to be a member of the Cult of the Firstborn might be offended by the term. Being called a Gnostic Group sounds a lot cooler, I must admit. After all, the Gnostics know things that the rest of the Latter-day Saints and the LDS Apostles don't know and can't know. So, it sounds a lot cooler to be a Gnostic than to just be a member of the Cult of the Firstborn.

One of my spiritual gifts is the ability to notice patterns or trends. These things just kind of jump out at me. I can see throughout the whole of LDS Church history all of these different Gnostic Groups or Cults of the Firstborn that rise up, flourish, and then slowly die out. There are hundreds and even thousands of them.

God the Father lost one-third of the hosts of Heaven to a Gnostic Group. One-third of the hosts of Heaven refused to sustain the Brethren (Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost). They thought that they knew better or were smarter than God the Father. They thought that they knew something that God did not know. They thought that they could do it their own way.

Joseph Smith tells us that the Ten Virgins represent the Latter-day Saints. According to the parable of the Ten Virgins, half of the baptized Latter-day Saints during the whole history of the Latter-day Saints are going to apostatize from the LDS Church or walk away from the LDS Church.

I personally have predicted that one-third of the Latter-day Saints will be lost to a refusal to sustain or accept the LDS General Authorities or the Local Leaders in their wards and stakes. If I am correct, a huge number of Latter-day Saints throughout the history of the Latter-day Saints will be drawn away to various Gnostic Groups or Cults of the Firstborn, because these Groups will claim superior knowledge and superior revelations than the knowledge and revelations that the Apostles of God are receiving.

I can see the pattern, and I can see the trend. My purpose in writing about it is to warn the active Latter-day Saints about it. Those who have already fallen for one of the many hundreds of different Gnostic groups will not receive any benefit from my warning, and might even take exception to it. That's the nature of issuing a warning. The LDS Apostles get the same result whenever they issue a warning. The Gnostics are here to stay, and so is the Cult of the Firstborn.