The Great LDS Test

by John P. Pratt
19 Aug 2021, 9 Dragon (SR), Dragon Heart (US)

©2021 by John P. Pratt. All rights reserved.

Index, Home

Contents

1. Laws of the Land 2. Social Conditioning 3. COVID Conditioning 4. No Borrowed Light 5. LDS Conditioning 6. Two Churches Only 7. Conclusion Notes

Heber C. Kimball prophesied an almost insurmountable LDS test. Are you ready?

Do you know His voice?

Heber C. Kimball, one of the original apostles of the restoration, gave several prophecies which continue to be quoted in the LDS general conferences in our day. One warns of a coming test which will be so difficult that no one will be able to pass it unless they are led by the light within them. They will not be able to depend on following anyone else, not even LDS Church leaders. Jesus said that His sheep know His voice, and it is only that voice which we must learn to follow if we are to survive what is coming in the great tribulation.

This article reviews the LDS teaching to obey the laws of the land, then considers the new statement of the LDS First Presidency concerning COVID mandates in the context of this prophecy. Various types of social and mental conditioning are reviewed, with the conclusion that it may indeed be time for each of us to have the courage to follow our inner promptings rather than anyone else. The prophesied test may have already begun.

Why is socialism called "socialism"? That sounds so much less evil than communism, and yet the principal difference between the two is that communism is attained by revolution, whereas socialism is achieved by gradually using social pressure to mold a society into one which will accept its principles of trading freedom for security, allowing a few top leaders to be tyrants who remove virtually all freedoms.[1] In the case of democratic socialism the people actually elect their slave masters. That process is now virtually complete in the United States, where many youth have been conditioned to want socialism, as taught in schools and universities.

Slowly raising temperature!

There are many techniques used to deceive citizens into accepting socialism, but one of the most recognized is the slow disappearance of freedoms until the prison door is slammed shut. It is said that one can capture certain wild animals by placing feed in a certain area and then gradually building a fence around it. Even when the fence is almost complete, the animals know where the gate is and can freely enter to leave and leave. Then one day the gate is slammed shut while they are eating and they are trapped. That is an excellent comparison to the gradual exchange of freedom for security offered by socialism. And indeed, those trapped animals are, in the end, secure!

The United States of America was founded to be a republic, meaning people only voted for local offices where they knew their leaders personally, and would trust those representatives to elect the higher leaders. Instead, throughout the Twentieth Century, the U.S. government has been changed into a democracy where the people elect their US senators and even the President.[2] Our Founding Fathers knew that a democracy can only last about 200 years, and such is proving to be the case.

Dear Brothers and Sisters:

We find ourselves fighting a war against the ravages of COVID-19 and its variants, an unrelenting pandemic. We want to do all we can to limit the spread of these viruses. We know that protection from the diseases they cause can only be achieved by immunizing a very high percentage of the population.

To limit exposure to these viruses, we urge the use of face masks in public meetings whenever social distancing is not possible. To provide personal protection from such severe infections, we urge individuals to be vaccinated. Available vaccines have proven to be both safe and effective.

We can win this war if everyone will follow the wise and thoughtful recommendations of medical experts and government leaders. Please know of our sincere love and great concern for all of God's children.

The First Presidency[3]

This statement is a landmark because it goes beyond keeping the laws of the land, which currently do not require masks, social distancing, nor receiving the so-called "vaccination". It urges members to do what is desired by the government even before it is mandated because government leaders are "wise and thoughtful".

Some comments by informed individuals responding to this statement, claim that most of what is declared to be true therein is actually a blatant lie! That is, many who have researched the matter believe that the vaccination is neither "safe" nor "effective", nor do they believe that those forcing the procedure on the world are "wise". They note the large numbers of deaths immediately after receiving the shot, and the surprising result that the spiked protein pathogen does not stay in the shoulder as expected but is quickly spread throughout the body, leading to many life-threatening conditions.

Social Distancing.

Note how different it would have been if the statement had said, "The goal of vaccinating the entire world with an unproven, unsafe, and ineffective procedure is part of an evil plot to spread fear instead of faith and condition citizens to submit to the government for salvation in difficult times. It is another step toward the coming reign of the Anti-Christ. Nevertheless, we suggest that you get the experimental injection and obey the evil government in order not to cause persecution, which would surely come otherwise."

The fact that the statement makes no attempt to tell what many consider to be the truth, but urges members to have blind faith in government mandates, indicates that the Church leadership is doing in the United States what is has done all over the world: encourage members to submit themselves to the government, even though it be evil. Thus, from one perspective, this is nothing new, but for some who have believed they still live in a free country, this statement has come as a shock, and a wake-up call.

Is the Church asking members to break a commandment of God? The answer to that question may depend on whether or not the reader receives answers to prayers and commandments from God directly or not. There is not, however, any commandment in the canon of scriptures which forbids getting a vaccination, wearing masks, nor social distancing. We have not yet been commanded by the government to worship an idol, but that will surely come. What will be the Church stance at that time?

Heber C. Kimball

Brigham Young, referring to his first counselor Heber C. Kimball, announced, "Heber is my prophet".[4] Heber indeed made some amazing predictions. Let's look at some of them, because the time of their fulfillment may be upon us now, or very soon. In May 1868, he stated:

... Gentiles will gather by the thousands to this place, and Salt Lake City will be classed among the wicked cities of the world. A spirit of speculation and extravagance will take possession of the Saints, and the results will be financial bondage.

Persecution comes next and all true Latter-day Saints will be tested to the limit. Many will apostatize and others will be still not knowing what to do. Darkness will cover the earth and gross darkness the minds of the people. The judgments of God will be poured out on the wicked to the extent that our Elders from far and near will be called home, or in other words the gospel will be taken from the Gentiles and later on carried to the Jews.

The western boundary of the State of Missouri will be swept so clean of its inhabitants that as President Young tells us, when you return to that place, there will not be left so much as a yellow dog to wag his tail.

Before that day comes, however, the Saints will be put to a test that will try the integrity of the best of them. The pressure will become so great that the more righteous among them will cry unto the Lord day and night until deliverance comes.

Yes, we think we are secure here in the chambers of these everlasting hills, where we can close the doors of the canyons against mobs and persecutors, the wicked and the vile, who have always beset us with violence and robbery, but I want to say to you, my brethren, that the time is coming when we will be mixed up in these now peaceful valleys to that extent that it will be difficult to tell the face of a Saint from the face of an enemy against the people of God.

Then is the time to look out for the great sieve, for there will be a great sifting time, and many will fall. For I say unto you there is a test, a Test, a TEST coming, and who will be able to stand?

... Remember these sayings: The time will come when no man or woman will be able to endure on borrowed light. Each will have to be guided by the light within themselves. If you do not have the knowledge that Jesus is the Christ, how can you stand? — Deseret News (23 May 1931), see also Conference Report (Oct 1930), p. 58-59, emphasis added. Also quoted in part by Ezra Taft Benson in Oct 1963 general conference and again by Gordon B. Hinckley in Oct 1974.[5]

Which voice to follow?

These prophecies have been quoted by several presidents of the Church as warnings to be aware of and to be watching for the Great Test which is to come. Now, think carefully about what was said! What kind of test would be so hard that many Church members will fail it? And this may be the key to understanding it: he stated that no one will be able to live on "borrowed light", but that "each will have to be guided by the light within themselves." If that is literally true, then it means that following any other man or group of men, even if they are Church leaders, is not good enough. We cannot follow any man! We must be guided by the light within, which is given to all mankind (John 1:9)!

What a great test it would be if the leaders of the LDS Church were either forced or decided to continue to implement their policy of supporting evil governments, so as to protect Church members from being executed as traitors or law-breakers. What if they are secretly hoping that their counsel will not be followed? What if there is such strong pressure from the government to make this recent statement that they felt they had no choice? What if they purposely said obvious lies, hoping members would recognize their words as a secret message given under duress?

In any case, the prophecy makes it clear that each person in these last days must follow the light from within, which may or may not tell them to get the experimental vaccination.

The Lord Himself has emphasized this point of the need for each to follow the Spirit in His modern explanation of the parable of the Ten Virgins. The five who were prepared by having oil in their lamps, were not those who "followed the prophet!" Instead, the five wise virgins were those who "have taken the Holy Spirit for their guide" (D&C 45:56-59).

Thus, it is proposed that the Great Test prophesied by Heber C. Kimball may well be that they must be able to recognize when their Church leaders are not telling the truth nor providing them with a revelation from God. Each member should learn to recognize the voice of the Lord speaking to their spirit, receive their own revelation, and follow the counsel of God and not of man!

Fourteen years ago an article about "Blindness Conditioning" was posted on my website,[6] responding to the need for a new name of a form of mind conditioning, which is more than "advertising" and less than "brain washing". It outlined six steps in the process: (1) desensitization by inundation, (2) gradualism, (3) deceptive definitions, (4) falsifying history, (5) stifling all opposition, and (6) false peer pressure. Examples were then given of socialism, evolution, and marketing evil.

This systematic procedure gradually blinds one to certain truths which were the targets of the conditioning. This new statement from the LDS Church suggests the question, "Does LDS blindness conditioning exist?"

Is he covenanting?

To those LDS Church members in the current process of awakening to truths which have hitherto been overlooked, the answer may well be, that yes, the LDS Church leaders have systematically conditioned members to overlook certain truths. Some of these are:

• Certain eternal ordinances have been changed neither by revelation nor by approval of the body of the Church. The prime example is that the sacrament now uses water instead of wine, in spite of the commandment: "your sacraments ... should be wine" (D&C 89:5-6). Now if a ward bishop decides to use wine as commanded in the D&C, he could face excommunication.
• Marriage is to be a public ceremony for family and friends to be able to attend as stated in the Doctrine and Covenants, in what was section 101, which was removed in the 1876 edition. Moreover, marriage is to be between one man and one woman, with a promise of total fidelity to each other. Marriages in the temple, rather than sealings after marriage, began as a way to shield illegal polygamous unions from the law. Moreover, the promise of marital fidelity is no longer in the ceremony, in order to allow polygamy.
• All references to the fact that the next prophet to follow Joseph Smith Jr, was to be his son, Joseph Smith III have been replaced with the teaching that it was all confusion at the martyrdom. The debate between Brigham Young and Sidney Rigdon was about who would be the "guardian of the Church" until the young boy grew up. Teaching about the lineal priesthood of succession for the presidency of the Church has been omitted because it has not been followed, which led to the founding of the Reorganized LDS Church, which has followed that principle.
• With no supporting revelation, the Word of Wisdom has been promoted to be a commandment required for baptism, rather than simply a word to the wise (D&C 89:2), and the law of tithing has been greatly increased from being 10% of one's "annual interest" (D&C 119:4) to 10% of one's total income.
• The mantra "Follow the Prophet" has been incorporated into nearly all teachings, even though it is found nowhere in scripture. It is taught that Lord will not allow the Church president ever to lead the Church astray, even though the Lord gave a revelation about how to excommunicate even the Church president (D&C 107:82-84).
• Perhaps most important, there has been no official revelation from the Lord intended for all LDS Church members since the days of the Prophet Joseph. The First Presidency and Quorum of Twelve may be inspired by the Holy Ghost, like all Church members, but there is little evidence that they are actually prophets, seers, or revelators, in the sense that their revelations are added to the D&C.

One example which woke me up to the blindness conditioning of the LDS members is the following experience. Our gospel doctrine teacher explained that the "baptism of fire" or being "born again of the spirit" was an imperceptibly slow process, which we had probably all received but never even noticed. He then had someone read the experience of Alma the Younger, who was unconscious for days, experienced the torments of hell, pleaded for Jesus to save him, and then awoke and testified that he had been "born of God" and "filled with the Holy Ghost" (Alma 36:23-24). He had become a new creature, entirely different from the evil person he had been, and a powerful missionary.

After that amazing experience was read, the teacher actually stated, "And thus we see that the process of being born again is a slow, inperceptable process"! I was shocked and looked around to see if someone would stand up and say, "Are you out of your mind? That was the exact opposite of 'slow' and imperceptible'! It was something that Alma could never forget, which changed him forever after!" Not only did no one even question or comment, but there was no change from the dull, insipid expressions on their faces. That was decades ago and one of the first times that it was clear to me that their minds had been conditioned to accept what had been taught to them repeatedly, rather than to be able to hear what was being said clearly in the scriptures.

Remember also that the Church of Christ can be a very personal relationship with the Lord, rather than membership in any institutional church. The Lord has said that "Behold, this is my doctrine — whosoever repenteth and cometh unto me, the same is my church" (D&C 10:67). Notice that being a member of His Church does not even require baptism, so that many Christians who merely answer an altar call may truly be members of the Church of Christ.[7] On the other hand, someone may be a baptized member of the true Church of Christ, and yet not have truly come unto Jesus, and hence not really be a member of His Church at all!

One goal of this article is to alert readers that if the LDS Church continues on the path of supporting a satanic government to the point of urging members to worship the Anti-Christ, then it will be known with certainty that such would be breaking a commandment, and hence members should definitely follow their light within!

Notes

1. Pratt, John P., "Blindness Conditioning" Meridian Magazine (19 Apr 2007), Section 3.1 Socialism.
2. The election of senators was changed by the 17th Amendment, and even though the President is still technically elected by the Electoral College, that process always agrees with the popular vote of each state.
3. Official First Presidency Message: "The First Presidency Urges Latter-day Saints to Wear Face Masks When Needed and Get Vaccinated Against COVID-19", LDS Church Newsroom (12 Aug 2021).
4. J. Golden Kimball, Conference Report "The Gift of Prophecy" (Oct 1930), p. 58. This general conference talk contains most of the prophecies quoted in this article.
5. "The Test Has Begun" (29 Jul 2012) also contains the quotes from the LDS general conferences. Those in 1930 are contained in full in the reference in note 4 above.
6. Pratt, John P., "Blindness Conditioning" Meridian Magazine (19 Apr 2007)
7. Pratt, John P., "Joining the Church of Christ" (23 May 2021).