#Amulek

[mindfulldsliving]

Lessons from Alma 35: Faith, Patience, and Unity in Turbulent Times

Understanding the context that leads to major events can give us deeper insights into their significance. Alma 35 sets the stage for the intense conflicts recorded in Alma 43. This chapter of the Book of Mormon describes a period of rising tensions

Image via churchofjesuschrist.org Alma 35: Understanding the Nephite-Lamanite Wars “Stirred up in Anger” The Nephite-Lamanite wars recorded in Alma 43-62 are some of the most intense and dramatic events in the Book of Mormon. In Alma 35, we see the seeds of conflict being sown. Anger and dissension among the Nephites lead to a series of brutal battles with the Lamanites. This period is marked…

[family-queer-evening]

I know I speak for our fellow mods here at family queer evening when I add to this sweet post: there is nothing wrong with being transgender.

You ought to have full fellowship in the church as the gender(s) that you feel and know to be true to you. You ought to have full fellowship in the church in all of your periods of questioning, of growth, of change. You ought to be yourself and be in full fellowship with the church.

This update to the handbook is wrong and is reflective of the fears and doubts of leaders facing a world wide cultural shift that they do not have the flexibility of mind and soul to follow without clawing at the world they knew to keep it within their grasp. This update to the handbook does not reflect the love that your friends, neighbours, families (birth and/or chosen) and, ward members have for you. This update to the handbook does not reflect the love our Heavenly Parents have for you.

If these persistent transphobic attitudes drive you away from the church. Away from attendance, away from faith, away from belief, away from God - and it will drive away many I am sure of that- please know that you are not alone and that you can forge your own path through grief towards peace and healing inside or outside of the church.

Regardless of anything and everything that anyone has to say about it, I will echo these sweet words from our sibling @snooty-tooty, There will always be room for you on our pew, exactly as you are.

Ok let me say this, trans members of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints I am praying for you. I hope you have peace, I hope you feel loved, and I hope you feel joy. I hope you know that God did not make a mistake with you, and that He and our heavenly mother love you dearly. There is a place for you in our church, now and always.

There’ll always be room for you on my pew.

[dovechariot]

Know ye not that I have power to deliver you up unto the flames? (Alma & Amulek's enemies)

Hearing God when the flames are over us are essential. Today I went over my page and read to hear God speak to me to find God speak back to me with words I collected. I deleted what I no longer needed. I felt God speak to me as I read the words and looked at pictures bringing me peace. God taught me to search for him and his voice of comfort became clear.

Last night I trained my eyes again. I saw with new lights a shimmering color. I saw God clearly in something new that my eyes were never able to see. When I sat down and felt the beauty, I could see more things around me that God was in. I saw a red earthy canteen and that spoke to me of a woman at the well lifting up water for Jesus to drink. I saw a clear big apple jar with a few Lifesavers in it. It reminded me of Adam and Eve at the garden and Jesus visiting them before they fell from the Garden of Eden. He was there to save them. I not only felt God, but he opened my eyes. He used my physical eyes to open my spiritual eyes.

I found God in pictures that reminded me of bad memories and he trained me to look again to find him in the story. A pink mansion was where a bad memory I had was stuck with me forever. I saw the pink mansion with somber eyes. I was challenged by the Spirit to look again to find Jesus.

My brother drowned in that mansion and I could not speak to save him. We were playing and asking him to get a ball, but he drowned. I watched him with terror. It felt like my voice was gone forever after that day.

I never felt safe enough around my parents to speak. My brother was saved, but I died that day.

God asked me to go back and look for him all throughout the story. There was a woman named Mrs Fox who lived in that big pink mansion. She was just like the story books I read of Grandma's giving cookies to all her kids she could find. She gave us gummy bears from her jar when my dad would stop by. She gave us Christmas presents too. She offered her spare pink guest house to my uncle's who were ministers and they loved to smoke. That's all I remember was cigarettes and ashes in a big pink mansion behind her tennis court. My dad gave her free electric work and she would pay us off in really big ways. She lived across the beach and she would invite us there. She had a really big kitchen with clear refrigerators you'd find at the store and she would share her expensive chocolates with us. She reminded me of Jesus. Everything my dad would give her she would multiply it back until we couldn't pay her back. She even came with my parents to fly in a test flight to their home island. She moved out of her mansion and bought a new house to be close to her children. I remember her saying how much she would miss her house. Maybe this is what God wants me to remember. I was afraid of my parents. So many terrible things kept happening wherever we lived, but God's warmth was around me with people like Mrs. Fox. She missed her pink house. I decided to redecorate her pink house in my mind and make it a home away from home. God saved me.

[family-queer-evening]

Very well said. The letter templates are perfect, they almost brought me to tears reading them.

Good morning, Queerstake! Thank you to everyone joining us for our community fast and letter writing campaign in response to the 2024 Church Handbook update with regards to transgender people. The policy update has shaken all of us. It is exclusionary and degrading. But we will find strength in each other as a community and courage in our efforts to effect change in this church that belongs not only to the General Authorities who authorized this policy update but also to all of us. Change in the Church happens from the ground up. Harmful policies have been issued and redacted before in our own lifetimes! We deserve to be treated with respect.

Today, we will fast together as a community that the Lord softens the hearts of the First Presidency. We will also write and send letters expressing our grief. Please don’t be quiet about your feelings today. Share your heartbreak with as many of your fellow ward and Queerstake members as you feel comfortable doing. Please post your feelings as well so we can inspire and uplift each other as we write our letters. It’s important that our grievances are heard.

Please send physical letters to:

The Office of the First Presidency

47 East South Temple Street

Salt Lake City, UT 84150

If you are unable to send a paper letter to Salt Lake, because I was not able to find an appropriate email, please instead email your letters to me at QUEERSTAKEONTUMBLR@GMAIL.COM. I’ll print and mail them myself.

Edit: @nerdygaymormon found an email address! Please feel free to send email to lgbt@churchofjesuschrist.org. However, you are still more than welcome to send them to me to print. In fact, why not do both!

A quick word of caution: Of course, no one can guarantee the type of responses we might receive for these letters. In fact, I urge you to consider using a pseudonym in order to avoid potential church discipline. Please take care to note what legal name or return address might be associated with your membership records. I don’t want to scare anyone, especially because we’re doing nothing wrong, but it’s always good to be very aware of what might make it back to your bishop.

Thank you again to everyone for joining. I’ve always felt so supported and uplifted by Queerstake. I know that our Heavenly Parents love us just as we are and that they don’t want us excluded and humiliated in our wards. We have unique and valuable testimonies to share. We don’t go unheard by our Heavenly Parents.

I’ve included a few sample letters and templates below the cut for people who might need a shortcut for one reason or another. You are welcome to send them verbatim or modify them.

#1

Dear First Presidency,

I'm writing to express my grief and concern over the 2024 handbook policy update on transgender people.

I believe that Christ invites all to come unto him and that as Christ's church, we have a responsibility to embrace people from all walks of life. No other demographic within the church is being treated with such severity as our transgender siblings under this new policy. I fear our transgender siblings in Christ will feel excluded and degraded, and we will lose many great members.

I believe it's of the utmost importance that we express Christlike love and charity even to people we don't understand. There is no excuse for asking transgender youth to leave activities with their peers as though they are a danger. There is no excuse for not allowing transgender people to work with children or humiliating them in our bathrooms. This is a demographic of people who have suffered in our society and Christ would want us to reach out to them with open arms. I humbly and respectfully ask that you reconsider these policy changes with regards to the doctrine of unconditional love that the church espouses. I beg you to consider the church experience of our transgender siblings in Christ and to prioritize their feelings over the feelings of people that wish to hurt them.

Thank you for your time.

#2

Dear First Presidency,

I feel deeply grieved by the Handbook update on transgender people. As a transgender member myself, I am doing everything I can to remain in the church and exclusionary policies like these make me feel deeply unwanted and deeply unloved.

I understand very well the church's position on gender, but I hope that despite that position that I might still be able to feel Christ's love at church. Our Heavenly Parents put me on this or Earth as a transgender person. I am not a danger to children and I am not a predator in bathrooms. I am your sibling in Christ. I want to serve in church. I want to serve in teaching positions. I want to serve the youth. I believe that we attend church with the purpose of uplifting each other and studying our religion together as a ward family. I want to be edified and I want to edify.

President Hinckley said every member needs a calling, a friend, and the word of God, and if I'm treated this way at church, I'm not receiving any of those things. If I can't have a real role to play within my ward, then I have no responsibility. If I am treated as an outsider and an enemy and a predator by policy and by my fellow church members, then I don't have a friend. If I can't also receive Christ's gospel through the love of the people around me, then I'm not receiving the real word of the Lord.

I seriously urge you to reconsider this policy update. I beg you on behalf of myself and my transgender siblings in the church to not hate us and to not exclude us.

Thank you for your time.

#3

Dear First Presidency,

I felt ______ when I heard about the new policy update to the handbook about transgender individuals. I believe we should treat our transgender members with the love and respect they deserve as our siblings in Christ.

I urge you to reconsider this policy update because ______

Thank you for your time.

[ahoonterisahoonter]

People of Ammonihah: You only have one witness, why should we believe you?

Alma, about to turn it over to Amulek:

[bookoformon]

Ether 12: 6-37. "The American Faith."

Following is one of the major conclusions the Book of Mormon draws about the symbiosis between the Torah and the Gospels and the role of Jesus Christ and Christianity in the affairs of modern man.

Recall the book was written by persons called Seekers, who do not believe we have successfully understood the plights of mankind and Christ as one Spirit. This is based on the evidence provided by a bloodthirsty, wicked, and ruthless population.

Christianity is an innovation on Judaism. It is based on the Torah, Jesus even says so. Saul of Tarsus never revisits the Torah or Shabbat, or even discusses the mysteries of Holy Communion so he is bunk to me. A real convert would discuss these things, the Parables and the Sermon on the Mount and beatitude but he does not. He did not know what either Christianity or Judaism were. So I do not ever include Saul's work within my own.

There is a well known passage in Matthew 16 that sets the expectation all Christians must learn the Torah from ace bonafide Jews:

29 “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’ 30 “‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’ 31 “He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”

Jesus did not emphasize the Commandments except in passing, He did not explain Kosher, or talk about the Dream of Israel, He spoke almost exclusively about ways mankind should perform in order to achieve Shabbat, "peace on earth and goodwill towards men."

This is how God the God of Israel says wants our faith to end. Yet man has not done these things. So the Seekers want to know, can this faith in Christ work or not? They said yes, and then they freed the slaves.

They said everyone must be committed to the end of slavery and oppression and do what Jesus said on the Mountain. God told Moses to free the slaves on Sinai, Jesus told mankind how to govern free men on Olivet. He articulated it very well, in fact:

7 For it was by faith that Christ showed himself unto our fathers, after he had risen from the dead; and he showed not himself unto them until after they had faith in him; wherefore, it must needs be that some had faith in him, for he showed himself not unto the world.

8 But because of the faith of men he has shown himself unto the world, and glorified the name of the Father, and prepared a way that thereby others might be partakers of the heavenly gift, that they might hope for those things which they have not seen.

9 Wherefore, ye may also have hope, and be partakers of the gift, if ye will but have faith.

10 Behold it was by faith that they of old were called after the holy order of God.

11 Wherefore, by faith was the law of Moses given. But in the gift of his Son hath God prepared a more excellent way; and it is by faith that it hath been fulfilled.

12 For if there be no faith among the children of men God can do no miracle among them; wherefore, he showed not himself until after their faith.

13 Behold, it was the faith of Alma and Amulek that caused the prison to tumble to the earth.

14 Behold, it was the faith of Nephi and Lehi that wrought the change upon the Lamanites, that they were baptized with fire and with the Holy Ghost.

15 Behold, it was the faith of Ammon and his brethren which wrought so great a miracle among the Lamanites.

16 Yea, and even all they who wrought miracles wrought them by faith, even those who were before Christ and also those who were after.

17 And it was by faith that the three disciples obtained a promise that they should not taste of death; and they obtained not the promise until after their faith.

18 And neither at any time hath any wrought miracles until after their faith; wherefore they first believed in the Son of God.

19 And there were many whose faith was so exceedingly strong, even before Christ came, who could not be kept from within the veil, but truly saw with their eyes the things which they had beheld with an eye of faith, and they were glad.

20 And behold, we have seen in this record that one of these was the brother of Jared; for so great was his faith in God, that when God put forth his finger he could not hide it from the sight of the brother of Jared, because of his word which he had spoken unto him, which word he had obtained by faith.

21 And after the brother of Jared had beheld the finger of the Lord, because of the promise which the brother of Jared had obtained by faith, the Lord could not withhold anything from his sight; wherefore he showed him all things, for he could no longer be kept without the veil.

22 And it is by faith that my fathers have obtained the promise that these things should come unto their brethren through the Gentiles; therefore the Lord hath commanded me, yea, even Jesus Christ.

23 And I said unto him: Lord, the Gentiles will mock at these things, because of our weakness in writing; for Lord thou hast made us mighty in word by faith, but thou hast not made us mighty in writing; for thou hast made all this people that they could speak much, because of the Holy Ghost which thou hast given them;

24 And thou hast made us that we could write but little, because of the awkwardness of our hands. Behold, thou hast not made us mighty in writing like unto the brother of Jared, for thou madest him that the things which he wrote were mighty even as thou art, unto the overpowering of man to read them.

25 Thou hast also made our words powerful and great, even that we cannot write them; wherefore, when we write we behold our weakness, and stumble because of the placing of our words; and I fear lest the Gentiles shall mock at our words.

26 And when I had said this, the Lord spake unto me, saying: Fools mock, but they shall mourn; and my grace is sufficient for the meek, that they shall take no advantage of your weakness;

27 And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.

28 Behold, I will show unto the Gentiles their weakness, and I will show unto them that faith, hope and charity bringeth unto me—the fountain of all righteousness.

29 And I, Moroni, having heard these words, was comforted, and said: O Lord, thy righteous will be done, for I know that thou workest unto the children of men according to their faith;

30 For the brother of Jared said unto the mountain Zerin, Remove—and it was removed. And if he had not had faith it would not have moved; wherefore thou workest after men have faith.

31 For thus didst thou manifest thyself unto thy disciples; for after they had faith, and did speak in thy name, thou didst show thyself unto them in great power.

32 And I also remember that thou hast said that thou hast prepared a house for man, yea, even among the mansions of thy Father, in which man might have a more excellent hope; wherefore man must hope, or he cannot receive an inheritance in the place which thou hast prepared.

33 And again, I remember that thou hast said that thou hast loved the world, even unto the laying down of thy life for the world, that thou mightest take it again to prepare a place for the children of men.

34 And now I know that this love which thou hast had for the children of men is charity; wherefore, except men shall have charity they cannot inherit that place which thou hast prepared in the mansions of thy Father.

35 Wherefore, I know by this thing which thou hast said, that if the Gentiles have not charity, because of our weakness, that thou wilt prove them, and take away their talent, yea, even that which they have received, and give unto them who shall have more abundantly.

36 And it came to pass that I prayed unto the Lord that he would give unto the Gentiles grace, that they might have charity.

37 And it came to pass that the Lord said unto me: If they have not charity it mattereth not unto thee, thou hast been faithful; wherefore, thy garments shall be made clean. And because thou hast seen thy weakness thou shalt be made strong, even unto the sitting down in the place which I have prepared in the mansions of my Father.

The Talmud says God is like a giant honeycomb with cells in it, and within reside the consciousnesses of the men He creates. He will not populate cells in heaven with assholes who cannot show mankind affection and grace, who refuse to lend other men their freedom and dignity.

The Republicans fucked up with me when they cheated Donald Trump into the White House in 2016, but when they turned their backs on Ukraine and watched those people suffer without a care and attacked Israel, and we started losing people because of this abortion shit, I knew I wanted to press the White House to kill them all for what they have done. They are in the way. They are corrupt, they have not goodness nor wisdom and they have all broken laws that give us permission to kill them and that is what we should do.

Our garments, our guilty consciences will never be clean so long as we do not shed their blood. As the tract above says, thinning the herd will leave people who are truly good behind and then things will get better.

Jews and Christians who want to know God must reflect seriously upon this. The Book of Mormon says the religion is easy to follow and makes us all strong. Our American ancestors proved this. We must now make our own proof of it, and revive our most basic principals.

We cannot, therefore, back down or away from scum like Donald Trump and his Republican Party or America and its allies will continue to suffer horrific consequences:

the Lord spake unto me, saying: Fools mock, but they shall mourn; and my grace is sufficient for the meek, that they shall take no advantage of your weakness;

Please join me in encouraging President Biden to stop debating and start enforcing the laws that will turn the tide of Godliness in America before more people are hurt or lose their ways.

The Book of Mormon says no faith can survive without works of great justice and piety. Ours will manifest when we put Donald Trump, his sons and all the filth at last on death row. This man's presence on yet another presidential election ballot mars the Presidency and deligitimizes the entire US Government.

Remember this? That man, Officer Yetter... who was a decorated US Veteran, whom Napp Nazworth and those Mormons are taunting? They raped and crippled him after this video ends. Donald Trump and the Republican Party are the ones that caused this to happen:

Continually discussing them as a fait accompli is a ridiculous thing and Joe Biden needs to put a stop to it.

Grace awaits...there is no reason to hesitate.

[the-hem]

"Filled." Ether 7. From the Book of Mormon.

In chapter 6, two men are considered for kingship, one is "dubious" one is Orihah, "filled with light." God tells the people to use their minds and souls to contain the Light of the Stones.

Now, Ether says, it is time to get hot and draw our swords.

CHAPTER 7

Orihah reigns in righteousness—Amid usurpation and strife, the rival kingdoms of Shule "synagogue" and Cohor "Koh"= here, "Or" = is the light, are set up—Prophets condemn the wickedness and idolatry of the people, who then repent.

1 And it came to pass that Orihah did execute judgment upon the land in righteousness all his days, whose days were exceedingly many.

2 And he begat sons and daughters; yea, he begat thirty and one, among whom were twenty and three sons.

3 And it came to pass that he also begat aKib "to bury" in his bold age. And it came to pass that Kib reigned in his stead; and Kib begat Corihor "called to the light."

4 And when Corihor was thirty and two years old he rebelled against his father, and went over and dwelt in the land of Nehor "scorched"; and he begat sons and daughters, and they became exceedingly fair; wherefore Corihor drew away many people after him.

5 And when he had gathered together an army he came up unto the land of aMoron "like God" where the king dwelt, and took him captive, which bbrought to pass the saying of the brother of Jared that they would be brought into captivity.

6 Now the aland of Moron, where the king dwelt, was near the land which is called Desolation by the Nephites.

-> Desolation is the death of all ignorance, all insubstantial aspects of the self. One cannot exist near a Moron, the likeness of God and be a true prophet or saint while the insubstantial, not to be confused with the subtle or transparent are in conflict with each other.

7 And it came to pass that Kib dwelt in acaptivity, and his people under Corihor his son, until he became exceedingly old; nevertheless Kib begat Shule in his old age, while he was yet in captivity.

-> Kib, what is hidden or buried must be the captive of the Sojourner, Corey the Whore who is called to the Spirit; and yes, from such a man will eventually come ultimate truth to the Synagogue.

8 And it came to pass that Shule was angry with his brother; and Shule waxed strong, and became mighty as to the strength of a man; and he was also mighty in judgment.

9 Wherefore, he came to the hill Ephraim "the fruits of the actions", and he did molten out of the hill, and made swords out of asteel for those whom he had drawn away with him; and after he had armed them with swords he returned to the city Nehor, and gave battle unto his brother Corihor, by which means he obtained the kingdom and restored it unto his father Kib.

-> Steel is an alloy and the use of swords, which separate ignorant thoughts from ignorant acts, very important are definitely the product of a sojourn that leads to the top of hill, where "scorching" or Nehor takes place. Without a good scorching or wringing, called Amulek, "purification through instruction" there can be no such thing as the Synagogue, but in its presence, great kingdoms are born:

10 And now because of the thing which Shule had done, his father bestowed upon him the kingdom; therefore he began to reign in the stead of his father.

11 And it came to pass that he did execute judgment in righteousness; and he did spread his kingdom upon all the face of the land, for the people had become exceedingly numerous.

12 And it came to pass that Shule also begat many sons and daughters.

13 And Corihor repented of the many evils which he had done; wherefore Shule gave him power in his kingdom.

14 And it came to pass that Corihor had many sons and daughters. And among the sons of Corihor there was one whose name was Noah. "Respite"/

15 And it came to pass that Noah rebelled against Shule, the king, and also his father Corihor, and drew away Cohor his brother, and also all his brethren and many of the people.

16 And he gave battle unto Shule, the king, in which he did obtain the land of their afirst inheritance; and he became a king over that part of the land.

17 And it came to pass that he gave battle again unto Shule, the king; and he took Shule, the king, and carried him away captive into Moron.

-> the Synagogue is always the servant of the people and also the king, and it is also the "Captive" of the Moron, a peculiar term from Hebrew which means "reflection of God."

18 And it came to pass as he was about to put him to death, the sons of Shule crept into the house of Noah by night and slew him, and broke down the door of the prison and brought out their father, and placed him upon his throne in his own kingdom.

19 Wherefore, the son of Noah did build up his kingdom in his stead; nevertheless they did not gain power any more over Shule the king, and the people who were under the reign of Shule the king did prosper exceedingly and wax great.

20 And the country was adivided; and there were two kingdoms, the kingdom of Shule, and the kingdom of Cohor, the son of Noah.

-> A competition between the Synagogue, "the shule" and the Cohor "the light" erupts. What happens?

21 And Cohor, the son of Noah, caused that his people should give battle unto Shule, in which Shule did beat them and did slay Cohor.

22 And now Cohor had a son who was called Nimrod "to rebel" ; and Nimrod gave up the kingdom of Cohor unto Shule, and he did gain favor in the eyes of Shule; wherefore Shule did bestow great favors upon him, and he did do in the kingdom of Shule according to his desires.

23 And also in the reign of Shule there came aprophets among the people, who were sent from the Lord, prophesying that the wickedness and bidolatry of the people was bringing a curse upon the land, and they should be destroyed if they did not repent.

24 And it came to pass that the people did arevile against the prophets, and did mock them. And it came to pass that king Shule did execute judgment against all those who did revile against the prophets.

25 And he did execute a law throughout all the land, which gave power unto the prophets that they should go whithersoever they would; and by this cause the people were brought unto repentance.

26 And because the people did repent of their iniquities and idolatries the Lord did spare them, and they began to prosper again in the land. And it came to pass that Shule abegat sons and daughters in his old age.

27 And there were no more wars in the days of Shule; and he remembered the great things that the Lord had done for his fathers in bringing them aacross the great deep into the promised land; wherefore he did execute judgment in righteousness all his days.

-> The Synagogue must absorb the Light of Knowledge and it must be used to conquer division in the land. The Light by itself will falter. Within the Synagogue it can be passed along and as the Book of Ether says, spread its essence throughout the land and restore peace and prosperity where once only war was known.

And now, it seems we have to find 31 key words, 23 of which are male in gender in order to figure out what should constitute the 16th Book.

Also notice how we have seamlessly and quite comfortably slipped into a Jesus Free Zone. We will learn more about this as the Book of Ether unfolds.

[demigodofhoolemere]

22 Now Alma said unto him: This is the thing which I was about to explain. Now we see that Adam did fall by the partaking of the forbidden fruit, according to the word of God; and thus we see, that by his fall, all mankind became a lost and fallen people. 23 And now behold, I say unto you that if it had been possible for Adam to have partaken of the fruit of the tree of life at that time, there would have been no death, and the word would have been void, making God a liar, for he said: If thou eat thou shalt surely die. 24 And we see that death comes upon mankind, yea, the death which has been spoken of by Amulek, which is the temporal death; nevertheless there was a space granted unto man in which he might repent; therefore this life became a probationary state; a time to prepare to meet God; a time to prepare for that endless state which has been spoken of by us, which is after the resurrection of the dead. 25 Now, if it had not been for the plan of redemption, which was laid from the foundation of the world, there could have been no resurrection of the dead; but there was a plan of redemption laid, which shall bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, of which has been spoken. 26 And now behold, if it were possible that our first parents could have gone forth and partaken of the tree of life they would have been forever miserable, having no preparatory state; and thus the plan of redemption would have been frustrated, and the word of God would have been void, taking none effect. 27 But behold, it was not so; but it was appointed unto men that they must die; and after death, they must come to judgment, even that same judgment of which we have spoken, which is the end.

Alma 12: 22-27

[plantedinchrist]

Alma 14:28

the Lord had granted unto them power, according to their faith which was in Christ.

[mindfulldsliving]

Faith in God's Word: Insights from Alma 32 and Hebrews 11

Faith in the word of God is a key principle taught in both Alma 32 and Hebrews 11. These scriptures illustrate the importance of believing in God's promises, even when we cannot see them.

Alma Preaching and Ministering to the Zoramites. Image generated – Timothy R. Berman © 2024 Exploring Faith in God’s Word: Insights from Alma 32 and Hebrews 11 Faith in God’s Word is a cornerstone of Latter-day Saint theology, beautifully explored in Alma 32 and Hebrews 11. These foundational texts highlight the significance of faith, especially in times of trial and uncertainty. Alma and his…

[goku20193]

#ChurchOfJesusChristOfLatterDaySaints #ChristianEbano #RichardRich #JaredFBrown #ChristianMedia #RichardRichStudios #LexDeAzevedo #Amulek #IvanCrossland #AlmaAndTheZoramites #TheWordIsASeed #Rameumpton #BenjaminIsaacson #Alma #BrianNissen #Antionum #LDSMedia #AlmaTheYounger #KingZoram #BookOfMormonHistory #ChristianAnimation #BookOfAlma #Lamanites #GregSnow #AnimatedStoriesFromTheBookOfMormon #LivingScriptures #Nephites https://www.instagram.com/p/Cc78u1mrGjDHWp2L1mBR4xG4TcAQzpetOk4QDE0/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[queerstake]

I wrote my own email to the First Presidency, at the email nerdygaymormon provided, and I wanted to share it here:

To the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints:

Your new policies on transgender adults and children run counter to the most fundamental principles of the Gospel and of God's teachings: to love God and to love thy neighbor. Christ's teachings were given not to religious leaders but to women, to publicans, to sinners, to the poor and the needy--in sum, to the marginalized, the outcasts, the forgotten and abused. Today Christ would teach and minister to the queer, the gay, the trans, the people of color, the poor, the sex workers, the ex- and post-Mormons. When Alma and Amulek go to teach the Zoramites, the ones who are ready to receive the word of God are those who have been cast out of the synagogues, much like how you tried to bully gay members away and how you are now trying to bully trans members away.

But I promise you this: you will not bully me away. You cannot bully me away. My very existence is a beacon to my fellow trans Mormons. My visage exposes your hypocrisy and callousness to everyone with eyes to see. You cannot hide the blood on your hands for much longer; in the face of God, your earthly power will not allow you to escape the consequences of your actions. For remember what Christ said: Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

- A Transgender Mormon.

And remember: God loves the outcast.

What a beautiful and passionate letter! Thank you so, so much for sharing. <33 You're right--we uplift each other. Regardless of the institutional church, queer Mormons have a community amongst ourselves and your presence in it edifies us all. <33 Thank you again for sharing.

[snowdragons3-blog]

Homework! Aminadi, and Amulek

This one is called Share It! from my religion class. Unlike Teach a Friend, this assignment involves me sharing an insight from our reading assignment for the week. I would love to hear your thoughts about it.

Alma 10:2,3   is so awesome. In truth, I don’t know enough of my stud ancestors to be able to introduce myself like that. Also, WHO IS AMINADI?? And what story are we missing about God writing on a wall, and Aminadi interpreting it?? *sigh* If you’ve read my blog, you might be able to figure out, I got a thing for a man like that. The super cool thing about this scripture -- the missing story.  It’s a reminder that we only have a portion of their history --But Amulek, and the people he was addressing, they knew the story. We’ll have to wait a little longer for that one.

Earlier in Alma 8:27, is a scripture that I really love, though it seems like it doesn’t say much. “ Alma tarried many days with Amulek”.  Knowing what will happen in Amulek’s city, to him and his family, this seems even more special. Can you imagine what it would be like to have the prophet tarry with you ? The conversations, the meals, the walks, the games with kids, maybe. Like the part in the movie where all the good stuff happens before the big battle: You discover how wonderful all the characters are. Relationships are formed and strengthened. Beautiful things happen. Light is golden, music is beautiful; identities  reinforced. 

Of course, the hard stuff happens (Alma 8-14). Long story short, they leave to preach, and are thrown in jail. It gets really bad.  People are martyred. Some believers are able to flee....are his wife and children with them? It doesn’t say. The ones that remain are burned at the stake along with their writings. Amulek is brought out of jail with Alma, and forced to watch. They walk out after the building collapses on their oppressors, “....and when they (the people) saw Alma and Amulek coming forth out of the prison, and the walls thereof had fallen to the earth, they were struck with great fear, and fled from the presence of Alma and Amulek even as a goat fleeth with her young from two lions...” Hard not to see this in slow motion with a huge explosion behind them (there was probably no explosion--lot’s of dust and debris though). Amulek’s pain isn’t over. The entire city is destroyed--every person in it, including his father and kindred. The story ends with Alma taking Amulek with him to Zarahemla, to his home, to administer to him in his tribulations, and strengthen him in the Lord. Besides this being a type of things to come (Moroni), it’s a story of incredible dimensions. Faith, trials, restoration, rejection, miracles. I love Amulek. My heart connects to him, hurts for him--even though this happened roughly 2,098 years ago. I often wonder how that is possible--how we can connect to someone who lived so long ago. I think it’s because  he lives, just on the other side of the veil.

[family-queer-evening]

Dear Siblings in Zion,

We have a statement about the happenings of these last few days (posted 24 August 2021).

Queer people are children of God and I have a testimony that He Loves Us and has Made Us exactly how we are Intended to be. Our queer lives and experiences are part of His Plan for us.

There is a place in His heart and His Plan for us. We will have our justice and our mercy one day, all wrongs will be righted and all hurt will be healed.

One day it will all be clear. Now it is time to put your faith in God and to use your agency and your faith to recognize your Divine worth and the plan that our Father has for you.

Set your feet on the path that inspiration and revelation had put you on and do not waver my fellows, we will return to our God and we will be welcome. This I beleive and testify of in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

[bookoformon]

Helaman Chapter 5, Part 5. "The Shine."

36 And it came to pass that he turned him about, and behold, he saw through the cloud of darkness the faces of Nephi and Lehi; and behold, they did shine exceedingly, even as the faces of angels. And he beheld that they did lift their eyes to heaven; and they were in the attitude as if talking or lifting their voices to some being whom they beheld.

37 And it came to pass that this man did cry unto the multitude, that they might turn and look. And behold, there was power given unto them that they did turn and look; and they did behold the faces of Nephi and Lehi.

38 And they said unto the man: Behold, what do all these things mean, and who is it with whom these men do converse?

39 Now the man’s name was Aminadab. And Aminadab said unto them: They do converse with the angels of God.

40 And it came to pass that the Lamanites said unto him: What shall we do, that this cloud of darkness may be removed from overshadowing us?

41 And Aminadab said unto them: You must repent, and cry unto the voice, even until ye shall have faith in Christ, who was taught unto you by Alma, and Amulek, and Zeezrom; and when ye shall do this, the cloud of darkness shall be removed from overshadowing you.‎

Aminadab means to "double extract the grief."

amin=The ubiquitous term ממנו (Genesis 2:17) or ממנה (Genesis 3:19) or ממני (Genesis 22:12), etcetera, regards a double extraction, which is not all that odd. The first extraction (מנו, or 'from him/it', or מנה, 'from her/it') would refer to, say, the general harvest of one apple tree: a basket full of apples. The second extraction (ממנו) would concern an apple taken from the basket taken from the tree. In general, it refers to a specific helping from a general produce.

adab=The verb אדב ('adab) means to grieve or cause to grieve. It occurs only once in the Bible, in 1 Samuel 2:33, where Eli's soul is foretold to grieve over the death of his family.

To remove the pillar of darkness and converse with the angels, the scriptures he says, one must repent. This means we must gather the fruits of the tree of knowledge, accumulate them and look at what has gone wrong, violated the Commandments and the Gospels and make them right. No society on earth has ever been willing to do this for too long.

The Gematria for this section follows:

v. 36: the Value in Gematria is 7425, ז‎דבה‎, zdaba, "the father of justice."

v. 37: the Value in Gematria is 1019-7, י‎אטז‎ ‎, slow down, yeatz, "Heed Ya's counsel."

v. 38: the Value in Gematria is 7493, זד‎‎טג‎‎, ztag, "that which ordains."

v. 39: the Value in Gematria is 6139, ו‎אג‎ט, and agt, "a gathering at the wine press."

v. 40: the Value in Gematria is 8631, hoga, "gather to say Hosanna!"

v. 41: =Aminadab, Alma, Amulek, Zeezrom, "What is hidden by God within the Nation, basic goodness, extracts the causes of darkness and makes the people shine."

The Value in Gematria is 1406-9: ידאֶפֶס‎ו‎ט, "It will be printed, the Yadapesot, the knowledge of the Passover Signs."

"What God has decreed must be printed, there must be crowns, there must be gatherings to press the wine which ensure the causes of civilization make progress. There must be justice."

[the-hem]

Alma Chapter 12. From the Book of Mormon.

In Chapter 11, we learn the currency of heaven is happiness. It is traded side to side, up and down, top to bottom. The overarching hypothesis of the Book of Mormon states this happiness is tied to the Goodness of God which is very mysterious due to the warped plainsong that the cunts and assholes pipe into the air all day long.

The Book of Alma explains how the noise is overwritten. There is a linear, carefully delineated course Missionaries must follow, a pattern called an "ezrom" in Hebrew.

More about this ezrom is revealed in Chapter 12.

*And before we begin, I need to retread my translation of Zeezrom from flowing abundance to unquenchable greed.

Notice we are stuck in Year Z Minus 82.

CHAPTER 12

Alma speaks to Zeezrom—The mysteries of God can be given only to the faithful—Men are judged by their thoughts, beliefs, words, and works—The wicked will suffer a spiritual death—This mortal life is a probationary state—The plan of redemption brings to pass the Resurrection and, through faith, a remission of sins—The repentant have a claim on mercy through the Only Begotten Son. About 82 B.C.

1 Now Alma, seeing that the words of Amulek had silenced Zeezrom, for he beheld that Amulek had caught him in his lying and deceiving to destroy him, and seeing that he began to tremble under a consciousness of his guilt, he opened his mouth and began to speak unto him, and to establish the words of Amulek, and to explain things beyond, or to unfold the scriptures beyond that which Amulek had done.

=Words of Amulek are those that squish and squeeze all doubt away.

2 Now the words that Alma spake unto Zeezrom were heard by the people round about; for the multitude was great, and he spake on this wise:

3 Now Zeezrom, seeing that thou hast been taken in thy lying and craftiness, for thou hast not lied unto men only but thou hast lied unto God; for behold, he knows all thy thoughts, and thou seest that thy thoughts are made known unto us by his Spirit;

4 And thou seest that we know that thy plan was a very subtle plan, as to the subtlety of the devil, for to lie and to deceive this people that thou mightest set them against us, to revile us and to cast us out—

5 Now this was a plan of thine adversary, and he hath exercised his power in thee. Now I would that ye should remember that what I say unto thee I say unto all.

6 And behold I say unto you all that this was a snare of the adversary, which he has laid to catch this people, that he might bring you into subjection unto him, that he might encircle you about with his chains, that he might chain you down to everlasting destruction, according to the power of his captivity.

-> recall in Chapter 11 we had the guyz all chained up in nets of gold and silver, now the Adversary is using snares.

7 Now when Alma had spoken these words, Zeezrom began to tremble more exceedingly, for he was convinced more and more of the power of God; and he was also convinced that Alma and Amulek had a knowledge of him, for he was convinced that they knew the thoughts and intents of his heart; for power was given unto them that they might know of these things according to the spirit of prophecy.

8 And Zeezrom began to inquire of them diligently, that he might know more concerning the kingdom of God. And he said unto Alma: What does this mean which Amulek hath spoken concerning the resurrection of the dead, that all shall rise from the dead, both the just and the unjust, and are brought to stand before God to be judged according to their works?

-> Me no understand!

9 And now Alma began to expound these things unto him, saying: It is given unto many to know the mysteries of God; nevertheless they are laid under a strict command that they shall not impart only according to the portion of his word which he doth grant unto the children of men, according to the heed and diligence which they give unto him.

10 And therefore, he that will harden his heart, the same receiveth the lesser portion of the word; and he that will not harden his heart, to him is given the greater portion of the word, until it is given unto him to know the mysteries of God until he know them in full.

11 And they that will harden their hearts, to them is given the lesser portion of the word until they know nothing concerning his mysteries; and then they are taken captive by the devil, and led by his will down to destruction. Now this is what is meant by the chains of hell.

-> from gold and silver nets we regress to snares now chains in hell. As is typical with the Prophet Alma, however he did not come to condemn people to fornicating with the devil in hell. He is The Man of Purpose and is trying to raise the dull and delusional up out of substandard participation in life to the Utmost:

12 And Amulek hath spoken plainly concerning death, and being raised from this mortality to a state of immortality, and being brought before the bar of God, to be judged according to our works.

13 Then if our hearts have been hardened, yea, if we have hardened our hearts against the word, insomuch that it has not been found in us, then will our state be awful, for then we shall be condemned.

14 For our words will condemn us, yea, all our works will condemn us; we shall not be found spotless; and our thoughts will also condemn us; and in this awful state we shall not dare to look up to our God; and we would fain be glad if we could command the rocks and the mountains to fall upon us to hide us from his presence.

15 But this cannot be; we must come forth and stand before him in his glory, and in his power, and in his might, majesty, and dominion, and acknowledge to our everlasting shame that all his judgments are just; that he is just in all his works, and that he is merciful unto the children of men, and that he has all power to save every man that believeth on his name and bringeth forth fruit meet for repentance.

16 And now behold, I say unto you then cometh a death, even a second death, which is a spiritual death; then is a time that whosoever dieth in his sins, as to a temporal death, shall also die a spiritual death; yea, he shall die as to things pertaining unto righteousness.

17 Then is the time when their torments shall be as a lake of fire and brimstone, whose flame ascendeth up forever and ever; and then is the time that they shall be chained down to an everlasting destruction, according to the power and captivity of Satan, he having subjected them according to his will.

18 Then, I say unto you, they shall be as though there had been no redemption made; for they cannot be redeemed according to God’s justice; and they cannot die, seeing there is no more corruption.

19 Now it came to pass that when Alma had made an end of speaking these words, the people began to be more astonished;

20 But there was one Antionah, [the place or release] who was a chief ruler among them, came forth and said unto him: What is this that thou hast said, that man should rise from the dead and be changed from this mortal to an immortal state, that the soul can never die?

21 What does the scripture mean, which saith that God placed cherubim and a flaming sword on the east of the garden of Eden, lest our first parents should enter and partake of the fruit of the tree of life, and live forever? And thus we see that there was no possible chance that they should live forever.

22 Now Alma said unto him: This is the thing which I was about to explain. Now we see that Adam did fall by the partaking of the forbidden fruit, according to the word of God; and thus we see, that by his fall, all mankind became a lost and fallen people.

23 And now behold, I say unto you that if it had been possible for Adam to have partaken of the fruit of the tree of life at that time, there would have been no death, and the word would have been void, making God a liar, for he said: If thou eat thou shalt surely die.

24 And we see that death comes upon mankind, yea, the death which has been spoken of by Amulek, which is the temporal death; nevertheless there was a space granted unto man in which he might repent; therefore this life became a probationary state; a time to prepare to meet God; a time to prepare for that endless state which has been spoken of by us, which is after the resurrection of the dead.

25 Now, if it had not been for the plan of redemption, which was laid from the foundation of the world, there could have been no resurrection of the dead; but there was a plan of redemption laid, which shall bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, of which has been spoken.

26 And now behold, if it were possible that our first parents could have gone forth and partaken of the tree of life they would have been forever miserable, having no preparatory state; and thus the plan of redemption would have been frustrated, and the word of God would have been void, taking none effect.

27 But behold, it was not so; but it was appointed unto men that they must die; and after death, they must come to judgment, even that same judgment of which we have spoken, which is the end.

28 And after God had appointed that these things should come unto man, behold, then he saw that it was expedient that man should know concerning the things whereof he had appointed unto them;

29 Therefore he sent angels to converse with them, who caused men to behold of his glory.

30 And they began from that time forth to call on his name; therefore God conversed with men, and made known unto them the plan of redemption, which had been prepared from the foundation of the world; and this he made known unto them according to their faith and repentance and their holy works.

31 Wherefore, he gave commandments unto men, they having first transgressed the first commandments as to things which were temporal, and becoming as gods, knowing good from evil, placing themselves in a state to act, or being placed in a state to act according to their wills and pleasures, whether to do evil or to do good—

32 Therefore God gave unto them commandments, after having made known unto them the plan of redemption, that they should not do evil, the penalty thereof being a second death, which was an everlasting death as to things pertaining unto righteousness; for on such the plan of redemption could have no power, for the works of justice could not be destroyed, according to the supreme goodness of God.

33 But God did call on men, in the name of his Son, (this being the plan of redemption which was laid) saying: If ye will repent, and harden not your hearts, then will I have mercy upon you, through mine Only Begotten Son;

34 Therefore, whosoever repenteth, and hardeneth not his heart, he shall have claim on mercy through mine Only Begotten Son, unto a remission of his sins; and these shall enter into my crest.

35 And whosoever will harden his heart and will do iniquity, behold, I swear in my wrath that he shall not enter into my rest.

36 And now, my brethren, behold I say unto you, that if ye will harden your hearts ye shall not enter into the rest of the Lord; therefore your iniquity provoketh him that he sendeth down his wrath upon you as in the first provocation, yea, according to his word in the last provocation as well as the first, to the everlasting destruction of your souls; therefore, according to his word, unto the last death, as well as the first.

37 And now, my brethren, seeing we know these things, and they are true, let us repent, and harden not our hearts, that we provoke not the Lord our God to pull down his wrath upon us in these his second commandments which he has given unto us; but let us enter into the rest of God, which is prepared according to his word.

-> A long winded way of saying the only way is forward and it must not disrupt the unity that was created around the Tree of Life in the beginning.

Let's call Chapter 11 For the Purposes of the Future.