First Dental Checkup

Last month Brooklyn had her first teeth cleaning, and her Dental Hygienist was....Holley. Big Surprise I know. She did better than I thought she would. She loved going up and down in the dental chair. She also really liked the suction. Every few seconds she would grab the suction and stick it in her mouth. It was very funny.

Awakening to a Sense of our Awful Situation

As members of the church, it is our responsibility to defend the freedoms we enjoy in this land so that the work of the Lord can continue to go fourth. This can only be done when we have our agency and are able to choose right from wrong. With this being said, there are some very sobering scriptures that we have been given in both the Book of Mormon and by modern day prophets concerning our liberty and freedom.

As we go through and read the Book of Mormon, we come to understand that one of the main lessons we are to learn from that scripture is about the pride cycle. We all should know what the pride cycle entails. As we are blessed, we begin to forget to keep the commandments and we begin to get arrogant and over time the Lord sends trials in our lives to humble us so that we will remember him and his commandments. One thing that seems to happen almost in every instance when the people get wicked, secret combinations begin to arise which seek to take away the freedoms of the majority for the benefit of the few. This is almost always the case in the Book of Mormon. When the people become wicked, you can count on secret combinations being introduced into the land. The Lord will usually use these combinations to try and humble the people so they can repent and be blessed of the Lord once again. If they do repent, and turn unto him, then he will destroy these works of darkness for the blessings of the people once again.

With this being said, as we read in Ether Chapter 8, we are given a very interesting statement in the highlight of the chapter. As we go down it states, “Secret Combinations are of the devil and result in the destruction of nations---Modern Gentiles are warned against the secret combination which shall seek to overthrow the freedom of all lands, nations, and countries. “ Now why is that so important to understand? If it were plural, it would be referring to secret combinations in general which is what most members generally think of when they read that verse. If you look carefully though, it is not plural, it is singular. As you read on in that chapter it states, (Ether 8:18-26) “ 18 And it came to pass that they formed a secret ^acombination, even as they of old; which combination is most abominable and wicked above all, in the sight of God;

19 For the Lord worketh not in secret combinations, neither doth he will that man should shed blood, but in all things hath forbidden it, from the beginning of man.

20 And now I, Moroni, do not write the manner of their oaths and combinations, for it hath been made known unto me that they are had ^aamong all people, and they are had among the Lamanites.

21 And they have caused the ^adestruction of this people of whom I am now speaking, and also the destruction of the people of Nephi.

22 And whatsoever ^anation shall uphold such secret combinations, to get power and gain, until they shall spread over the nation, behold, they shall be destroyed; for the Lord will not suffer that the ^bblood of his saints, which shall be shed by them, shall always cry unto him from the ground for ^cvengeance upon them and yet he avenge them not.

23 Wherefore, O ye Gentiles, it is wisdom in God that these things should be shown unto you, that thereby ye may repent of your sins, and suffer not that these murderous combinations shall get above you, which are built up to get ^apower and gain—and the work, yea, even the work of ^bdestruction come upon you, yea, even the sword of the justice of the Eternal God shall fall upon you, to your overthrow and destruction if ye shall suffer these things to be.

24 Wherefore, the Lord commandeth you, when ye shall see these things come among you that ye shall awake to a sense of your awful situation, because of this ^asecret combination which shall be among you; or wo be unto it, because of the blood of them who have been slain; for they cry from the dust for vengeance upon it, and also upon those who built it up.

25 For it cometh to pass that whoso buildeth it up seeketh to overthrow the ^afreedom of all lands, nations, and countries; and it bringeth to pass the destruction of all people, for it is built up by the devil, who is the father of all lies; even that same liar who ^bbeguiled our first parents, yea, even that same liar who hath caused man to commit murder from the beginning; who hath ^chardened the hearts of men that they have ^dmurdered the prophets, and stoned them, and cast them out from the beginning.

26 Wherefore, I, Moroni, am commanded to write these things that evil may be done away, and that the time may come that Satan may have ^ano power upon the hearts of the children of men, but that they may be ^bpersuaded to do good continually, that they may come unto the fountain of all ^crighteousness and be saved.” In verse 24, it states again the presence of a particular secret combination rather than secret combinations in general. It states, “When ye shall see these things come among you that ye shall awake to a sense of your awful situation, because of this secret combination which shall be among you…” With this you have to conclude that either the Book of Mormon has two errors, there is a major coincidence that it states twice to be aware a secret combination, or that there is one particular secret combination that we need to be especially and critically aware of. Verse 25 states that that secret combination “seeketh to overthrow the freedom of all lands, nations, and countries; and it bringeth to pass the destruction of all people, for it is built up by the devil, who is the father of all lies…”

Now let me give a quote that was given by President Ezra Taft Benson in General Conference October 2, 1988, “Secret combinations lusting for power, gain, and glory are flourishing. A secret combination that seeks to overthrow the freedom of all lands, nations, and countries is increasing its influence and control over America and the entire world.” He once again repeats the singular sense of a secret combination and adds a little more detail that it was increasing its influence over America and sought to overthrow the freedom of all lands, nations, and countries. I would like to add a little note to that. Out of all the prophets in our dispensation, no other prophet had more of a right to say those words from experience than did Pres. Benson. He served simultaneously as a member of the Quorum of the 12 while serving under President Dwight D. Eisenhower as Secretary of Agriculture for both terms, 8 years.

Moroni states in verse 21 that secret combinations had caused the destruction of the Jaredites and the Nephites, both entire civilizations that lived upon the Americas. He then states, “And whatsoever nation shall uphold such secret combinations, to get power and gain, until they shall spread over the nation, behold, they shall be destroyed.” He then gives a very very sobering reminder to us that must be placed as one of the most important lessons to be learned from the Book of Mormon for our time, “Wherefore, O ye Gentiles, it is wisdom in God that these things should be shown unto you, that thereby ye may repent of your sins, and suffer not that these murderous combinations shall get above you, which are built up to get power and gain, and the work, yea even the work of destruction come upon you, yea, even the sword of the justice of the Eternal God shall fall upon you, to your overthrow and destruction if ye shall suffer these things to be. (Verse 24) Wherefore, the Lord commandeth you, when ye shall see these things come among you that ye shall awake to a sense of your awful situation, because of this secret combination which shall be among you; or wo be unto it, because of the blood of them who have been slain; for they cry from the dust for vengeance upon it, and also upon those who built it up.”

To our detriment as members of the church and as citizens of this great nation which we live, that secret combination has gotten above our heads, and we are now seeing the work of destruction as is stated in verse 23. President Benson stated that it was increasing its influence over America in 1988 and it has progressed in leaps and bounds since then.

It is absolutely critical that we awake to a sense of our awful situation and do something about it. That work of destruction will continue at least until we as members of the church, and particularly priesthood holders, awake and remember the constitution that was given to us by the shedding of blood. In D & C 101:80, it states, “I established the Constitution of this land, by the hands of wise men whom I raised up unto this very purpose, and redeemed the land by the shedding of blood.”

The time has come for us to remember the words of Joseph Smith when he stated it would be the members of the church who would defend, uphold, maintain, and save the constitution if it is saved at all. We have no more time to waste. It is a commandment for us to get informed as to this secret combination that is mentioned in the scriptures and by modern day Prophets, and to do everything in our power to save the constitution. It stands in great jeopardy at this time as never before. As we become aware of this secret combination and seek the direction of the spirit, we will be directed by the spirit in our efforts to maintain our liberty and uphold the constitution. It is hard to be directed by the spirit when we are not even aware of what is going on around us.

It is my conviction that just as a loving Father in Heaven sent wise men to establish the Constitution of the United States, he also sent people such as Ezra Taft Benson and other wise men to preserve it. Stand tall. Read the constitution. Support it. Let the spirit guide you as the spirit guided our Founding Fathers. This is a vital work that has to be done and it will be done.

Without the Constitution and our freedom, we lose the gospel, our families, and we stand in jeopardy if we do nothing of losing our salvation both temporal and spiritual. The work of the Lord can only be brought about in a climate of liberty. The Lord has held many of this generation in reserve for the very purpose of defending our Constitution and freedoms so that the work of the Lord can continue. This is the work of the Lord in our day. Rise up and take your places ye Elders of Israel and through the Power of God and the Holy Priesthood which we hold, do that which we promised we would do in the pre-mortal existence. It will not be done without us, but with the Lord’s help, it will be done! The members of the church are as sleeping giants right now when it comes to things of the constitution, but as they are awakened, nothing in this world will be able to stop them from defending what is right and saving the Constitution. Many have been awakened and are already doing everything in their efforts to defend our freedom. God bless them for their efforts, for we owe them a world of thanks. God bless us in our efforts to maintain those liberties we have come to love and cherish and that are essential to the progression of the Gospel. He loves us and will not let us fail, if we do everything in our power to preserve that sacred document. This is the real war to which every faithful Latter Day Saint should be devoted. Lets work together to see that this happens.

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“Secret combinations lusting