The Best LDS Church Book? "Teachings of ...'

What is the best LDS Church book, outside of the Standard Works?
My choice is clear and firm -- "Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith."
This book, compiled by Joseph Fielding Smith, is a class ahead of every other church book.
On my mission, "Jesus the Christ," by James Talmage, was always reputed to be the best book.
However, I've found that book to be highly over-rated, plus Elder Talmage used a wordy writing style that makes it difficult to understand what he's attempting to convey.
No. "Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith" should be standard issue for every LDS missionary.
I'd wager that any church member will learn more doctrine from "Teachings" than any other church book outside of the scriptures themselves.
Relying primarily on Documentary History of the Church, this book is a gem of doctrine and clarity. It also uses other sermons and writings from the Prophet Joseph Smith, that were hard to find before.
Once a gospel student has studied "Teachings," the next step is Documentary History of the Church. It's seven volumes contain not only a wealth of doctrine, but also the original history of the restored church in its earliest years.
No one is a true gospel student or scholar, if they haven't read "Teachings" and the DHC.

NOTE: This article and all of the NighUntoKolob blog are NOT an official website of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They are the author's conclusions and opinions only.

When Lightning Doesn’t Strike, Thanks To Priesthood Power

             Above: Lynn Arave just below Kings Peak and on Kings Peak, August, 2000.

By Lynn Arave

It was late summer, some years ago (August 2000) and myself, a son, and several friends were hiking Kings Peak, the tallest point in Utah, at 13,528 feet above sea level, from our campsite in Henry’s Fork.

Utah’s Uinta Mountains are rugged and remote. It was about a 10-mile backpack in to our base camp near Dollar Lake. Then, it was about another nine miles, one-way to Kings Peak, in a hike on the second day.

The weather looked good that morning, but distant clouds were building as we scrambled  steeply up to Anderson Pass, part of the roof of Utah.

Kings Peak was reached and three of us decided to take the several mile trek over the neighboring South Kings Peak, the state’s second-highest point at 13,512 feet above sea level.

  Above: Lynn and Roger Arave on Kings Peak in August of 2000. Lynn ignored the dark skies -- in fact, he didn't consciously notice them -- he was 'peak bagging -- and proceeded to South Kings Peak despite the threatening weather and faced lightning danger about 45 minutes later.

As I would later readily notice in pictures I took, black, stormy clouds were headed our way, but I remained just focused on reaching the second summit at all costs and I had to be the first one there.

My son called it quits at the dip line, halfway between the two peaks. He said he’d wait for us there.

Running at times in my race to the top, even some sprinkles of rain didn’t faze my plans. (I did arrive there first, but barely.)

After a brief reflection on the glory of reaching Utah’s tallest two peaks in the same day -- and after snapping pictures -- we headed down and the rain gradually became a steady drizzle, as we met up with my son.

Looking for a way out to the east, my son and I pondered a route down to the Painter’s Basin below, in front of a steep rockslide area. I couldn’t see if a rocky chute at the bottom was passable or not, since its middle and bottom not visible.

As I pondered safety for such a retreat, my friend – with his two ski poles – suddenly went for it and raced downward into the chute and was quickly out of sight.

Then, it became a downpour of  heavy, cold rain. The rockslide started moving itself, as it became saturated with moisture. It was now no longer safe to walk down that steep slope.

Getting cold, I finally pulled out my raincoat and advised my son to do the same. But despite my instructions that morning to not forget such attire, my son neglected to do just that. He had his music player, but no raincoat.

So, I decided it wasn’t safe to climb back to Kings Peak, the way we had come. We needed to look for another way down to the south, where it was warmer  – and we needed to keep moving for warmth – as one of us lacked rain gear.

We began crossing a nearly mile-long field of loose rocks. There was no cover  to be found.

Soon, the rain nearly stopped as we were half-way across the seemingly void.

However, then thunder and lightning were moving in quickly behind us. You could smell burnt ozone in the air and our hair was beginning to stand on end. We were in immediate danger from lightning.

We were the tallest things around and prime targets for lightning. Even crouching  or lying down, we were still the tallest things around.

I immediately thought of letting my wife down in failing to protect her  son, in favor of “bagging two peaks.”

I prayed for help on what to do and in a split second, I had an answer. Three distinct words came into my head from a still small voice, “Use the Priesthood,” it said.

An ongoing conversation with a still, small voice, in my head continued. ”How will I know what to say?,” I asked.

“You’ll know” was the instant reply.

So, quickly telling my son I was going to use the priesthood to save us, I brought my right arm to the square and gave one of those unusual, for the particular circumstances kind of priesthood blessings.

I surprised myself by commanding in the name of Jesus Christ and by the Holy Melchizedek Priesthood, for the lightning and the storm to move away from us and stated that we would be safe now.

That wording did not come from me. My own response would have been to command the lightning to stop all together.

After that less that 30-second blessing on nature, both my son and I felt serene comfort and safety.

Sure enough, in the next few minutes we  noticed that the storm curved sharply to the west, away from us.

My son and I had to hike and scramble an extra six total miles out of our way, but I knew somewhere ahead of us was Trail Rider Pass and an alternate path back to our basecamp. (That’s because some 10 years earlier, a brother and I had been temporarily lost in that area, after we encountered a sign that was turned the wrong direction.)

Several hours after my two friends had arrived at camp, we came in. not the same people we had been before that trek. We recounted our tale and even my professed atheist friend seemed to perk up as I talked.

Now we not only had first-hand experience at the power of nature, but more so about the power of the priesthood.

There’s a reason why the Priesthood Blessing I used isn’t written down. It doesn’t need to be.

Revelation is given, as you need it, for the circumstances. That is, if you are in tune enough to hear that still, small voice of the Holy Ghost.

And, there’s nothing like a disaster to humble you and make you far more sensitive to the Spirit.

(-This experience was partially and briefly recounted in the LDS Church News, Sept. 16, 2000, p. 18.)

-In further retrospect, I feel extra blessed, because I know a young couple who died after lightning struck them on Lone Peak, Salt Lake County, a few years later. They apparently had no warning.

NOTE: The above 3 photos are of myself, on, or just below Kings Peak, on various hiking trips there,

NOTE: This article and all of the NighUntoKolob blog are NOT an official website of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They are the author's conclusions and opinions only.

Find Your Answers In The Scriptures

There’s seems to be a widening gap in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

It involves speculation and ignorance on questions and discussions that could be answered from the church’s standard works.

Too many members of the church have not read or studied ALL of the standard works and thus do not know what answers these scriptures have for often-asked questions.

Also, ever since President Gordon B. Hinckley challenged church members to read the Book of Mormon in 2005-2006, for too many church members that is all they seem to do – read the Book of Mormon over and over again.

They neglect other modern revelations, like the Doctrine and Covenants and say they aren’t up to the challenge of reading the symbolic and often hard-to-grasp Old Testament.

The Book of Mormon is the “keystone” to the gospel, but it is but one of the four standard works of the church.

The newest church members need the Book of Mormon most for their diet of milk. But, soon, they need meat and that’s where the other scriptures come in.

Also, reading the other standard works of the church will affirm to members the validity and consistency of the Book of Mormon, as well as boost testimonies.

In the past few months, I've met church members who speculated about such things as if this was the wickedest earth and what Kolob is. The answers to these questions are in the scriptures (but not in the Book of Mormon).

President Harold B. Lee said it best when he gave this counsel in the December 1972 Ensign Magazine (and it has not been repeated nearly enough over the decades):

“I say that we need to teach our people to find their answers in the scriptures. If only each of us would be wise enough to say that we aren’t able to answer any question unless we can find a doctrinal answer in the scriptures! And if we hear someone teaching something that is contrary to what is in the scriptures, each of us may know whether the things spoken are false—it is as simple as that. But the unfortunate thing is that so many of us are not reading the scriptures. We do not know what is in them, and therefore we speculate about the things that we ought to have found in the scriptures themselves. I think that therein is one of our biggest dangers of today.

“When I meet with our missionaries and they ask questions about things pertaining to the temple, I say to them, as I close the discussion, “I don’t dare answer any of your questions unless I can find an answer in the standard works or in the authentic declarations of presidents of the Church.”

“The Lord has given us in the standard works the means by which we should measure truth and untruth. May we all heed his word: “Thou shalt take the things which thou hast received, which have been given unto thee in my scriptures for a law, to be my law to govern my church.” (D&C 42:59.)”

NOTE: This article and all of the NighUntoKolob blog are NOT an official website of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They are the author's conclusions and opinions only.

Why Church Members Go Inactive ...

Why do some members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints go inactive?
It boils down to a lack of testimony and conviction, but often the spark to stop going to church is some negative experience -- usually with a church leader.
A bishop offended or embarrassed the member somehow.
In the case of one of my grandfathers, he traded his two prize plow horses to a friend, who was also his bishop, for a tractor. The machine broke down almost immediately and was no good. So, he took offense and stopped attending church. This continued for decades and he sadly passed away, being inactive.
In the case of one teenager, his bishop stopped him from attending his seminary graduation for a minor sell-confessed moral problem. He took offense that he missed a once-in-a-lifetime event. He was also upset that the prior year, two older boys in the ward did graduate from seminary, even though they stole yearbooks from the local high school and were prevented from attending their own high school graduation. He stopped going to church. His circle of friends even switched to less active members or even non-members.
In another case, a man in his mid-30s went inactive in the late 1970s for something his bishop did. It seemed like the man could not even recall exactly what the bishop did, but he was still mad about it and hadn't been to church since then. That former bishop has long since passed away and about a dozen bishops have served in the ward since then.
For still another case, a man in his late 50s, a smoker and inactive for many years, tried to come to church regularly five years ago. However, he could not stop smoking and said felt like an outcast at church, because of his smoking habit and within a few months he stopped coming again.
These tales are sad.
I'm not saying things that what church leaders do is the only cause of inactivity, but it is certainly one of the key causes. I'm also certain no church leaders plan to drive any members inactive, it just happens with human failings. Yet, I'm also certain church leaders probably work on missionary opportunities a lot and probably mostly ignore the negative -- that things they do could drive someone way from the church.
Obviously in many cases, members are perhaps looking for things to take offense at.
Someone once said that Sampson killed a thousand men with the jawbone of an ass. Sadly, the testimony of some members today is killed the same way.
Once a person stops attending church and doing what they should, their testimony decreases.
Still, this illustrates the grave consequences -- good or bad -- that church leaders can have on members' lives.
Church leaders could strive to be more sensitive to avoid doing things that members could take offense at. There is no way to avoid all such offenses, as some are silly and overblown, but bishops who are too strict and on a letter of the law crusade -- may do some serious damage -- especially to young adults.
I feel that some people, who are inactive, may not be forthcoming and also don't want to seem so shallow by revealing their true reason for going inactive -- that someone offended them.
So, they hide behind some so-called church history inconsistency, or similar things as their stated reasons.
They want to appear intellectual, but in reality are nothing of the sort ...
In 30 years of meeting inactive members in my stake, when I get people to really open up, the spark or cause of their inactivity can more often than ANY OTHER reason be traced to taking offense at what some leader or member did or said.
That's a sad reason for a substantial amount of inactivity, but still true.

NOTE: This article and all of the NighUntoKolob blog are NOT an official website of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They are the author's conclusions and opinions only.

World's Toughest Mission (For Converts)?

What is the toughest mission to serve in for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints?
A lot depends on how you define "tough."
However, if you define it as how many average converts a missionary baptizes during his/her mission, then I'd peg my mission, England-Bristol, as thee toughest, and at the least one of the toughest of all.
In fact, I'd put ALL of Europe in the toughest in the world category.
I'd estimate the average missionary in the U.K. or Europe only baptizes a few or a handful of converts in two years of service.
Furthermore, England Bristol doesn't even exist as a mission anymore.
Whereas in Central and South America in particular, missions have been divided and multiplied many times over the decades, there are actually LESS missions in the United Kingdom today than in the 1970s.
Missionaries were also "chewed out" in the early 1990s by a regional leader for their low baptism numbers. Eleven years later, in 2002, the mission was disbanded and merged with two adjoining missions.
(In addition to being tough for converts, this mission is also among the most expensive in all the world -- though costs missionaries pay are equalized world-wide, except for couples.)

--ALL of Europe is in a steep religious decline overall.
In fact, the England Bristol Mission ceased to exist on July 1, 2002, after some 40 years of existence. The England London mission gained part of the former Bristol mission and the England Birmingham mission received the rest.
Where else in the world are you going to find LESS missions in existence and likely less full-time missionaries serving, except in the United Kingdom and Europe?
The "why" this may be so is another story.

               (Above photograph is from Bradford, England, a circa year 1300 A.D.  building.)

NOTE: This article and all of the NighUntoKolob blog are NOT an official website of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They are the author's conclusions and opinions only.

God Does Intervene In Our Lives

This life isn't set in stone --- there is always hope.
Even though God the Father likely knew  if we would be faithful and return to his presence or not before we were born, I strongly believe that outcome isn't set in stone.
Here's why.
God can see the future as it will be and I've always wondered if he ever intervenes and allows the possibility of changing the original outcome.
I believe we have our free agency to choose, but at times God will inspire and/or humble us so that we have time to reflect and consider a difference course of action that could ultimately change what will happen.
If this wasn't true, then why come to mortality in the first place, if God knew already if we would only fail or succeed as he could see into the future?
Sure you might need to have a physical body, but otherwise there's no reason to come to Earth if there no chance for a different outcome.
But I think because God does intervene to some degree, stopping short of taking any of our personal free agency away, that the outcome can be changed at many different points in our lives.
Thus, this means there is a reason to live a mortal life. The outcome is not set or certain yet. We repent or change the course as we listen to the spirit.
This hope alone is worth God letting us live our lives to truly prove if we are worthy to return to him.
(Note that this a different look on the subject of a similar blog posting I did int the past.)

NOTE: This article and all of the NighUntoKolob blog are NOT an official website of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They are the author's conclusions and opinions only.

The Unknown Wild Card in Earth Sciences

Man thinks he knows a lot about science. At least as far as the basics go.
But, no he does not!
Man might have landed a small car size rover successfully on Mars, but he has no true concept of Earth science.
According to LDS doctrine, the entire planet earth is one huge, single living thing.
(D&C 88:25-26).
Factor that into today's science!
You can't because God isn't letting man understand that, but it is the wild card in earth science.
No matter how many natural disasters man can learn about as being possible, he doesn't generally understand that God is in control of the entire planet, through the Earth, a living thing itself, that does abide the law of a Celestial Kingdom.

NOTE: This article and all of the NighUntoKolob blog are NOT an official website of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They are the author's conclusions and opinions only.

Pre-Block Time Recollections

Block time" meeting schedules in the LDS Church began more than 32 years ago on March 2, 1980.
Many are too young to even recall that, or weren't even born then …. But this was one of the most significant changes ever in the LDS Church.
Consider this: By my recollection, you spent 4 1/2 to 5 hours in church meetings each Sunday BEFORE the block time schedule came along.
Priesthood was 8 a.m.-9:30 in many wards and Sunday School went from 10-11:30-ish.
(I recall you rushing home as a teenager to grab some breakfast and help get the rest of the family ready for Sunday School.)
Then, you came back at 6 p.m., or so, for a sacrament meeting the routinely went 90 minutes or more -- there was little direction on when the meeting should end.
Today you spend 3 hours only in regular meetings under the block time, or about 40 percent less.
--As I was researching block time I realized my wife's stake, Ogden East, was one of the pilot program stakes and so it actually began block time almost a year earlier in 1979.
--Two significant church milestones were November 1989, when the church discontinued its budget donations from members; and November 1990, when it equalized the costs of full-time missionary service for ALL missions (except senior missions).

(Note: The photo above shows the old wooden junior Sunday School pulpit (cira 1950) that existed in my home ward as I grew up in the pre-block time era. This pulpit has since been donated to a city museum.)

NOTE: This article and all of the NighUntoKolob blog are NOT an official website of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They are the author's conclusions and opinions only.

My Ward's Best Example

The then oldest member of my ward, Elizabeth Hess, died Jan. 3, 2010 at the age of 84.
"Beth" was always a great example — upbeat, faithful and always doing what she should.
When she died, she was praying and kneeling along the side of her bed. So, even in death, she set a great example.
The next time I'm too lazy to kneel and say my prayers, I need to recall Sister Hess, who never felt too tired to do so.

Fascinating Church Trivia

OK, let's get this straight -- this isn't a gripe session, or an anti-Mormon article on The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
It is simply a collection of some unusual trivia, if you will, of things I have discovered over the years about what has to rate from the most unusual church on the planet:
Fascinating Church trivia -- (some of it unique content to this article):

-The Church Office Building in downtown SLC, was originally proposed to have 38 floors, that number to honor Joseph Smith's total years of life. However, heating and design, plus cost, lowered the total floors to 28 only.

-Joseph Smith didn't go down without fighting at Carthage jail, despite what some movies or accounts depict. Clearly, he had a gun and shot some of his assailants before he died. Just read the footnotes to official church history for the complete story.

-There is ANOTHER Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The small, "Strangite" church, mainly in the Wisconsin area, is a breakoff from the original Church, but has legal rights to the title written in this paragraph. Note there is no dash in Latter Day in their title or a beginning "The."
I dare you to go to Google and search for "Strangite" and click on their Web Site to see that almost identical church title pop up.

-Check out the copyright on most printed materials or other media and you will see the name Intellectual Reserve Inc. To some, that name may be shades of Sunstone, but it is a name the church started using early in the 21st Century as a legal requirement and no, the church leaders didn't choose the name, some church attorneys did.

-Ensign Peak, located just north of downtown Salt Lake City, is probably the LDS Church's most sacred mountain, a Mormon version of Mount Sinai.

-Not one of the original and first group of Mormon Pioneers who entered the Salt Lake Valley on Juny 24, 1847, died en route.

-The Seagulls and the cricket event in Utah not only happened when Brigham Young had traveled east and was not around, but this happening was apparently not considered a miracle until weeks or months afterwards.

-There was no "lone tree" standing in the Salt Lake Valley when the Mormons arrived. There were many other trees standing along creek banks. However, there may have been a single cedar tree standing not far from the center of Salt Lake City. The lone cedar tree has a special monument to its honor, located at about 600 E. and 300 South in Salt Lake City.


-The Mormon Pioneers came through Emigration Canyon and into the Salt Lake Valley. Why that route? Because of Devil's Gate, a rugged and narrow geographical feature only a few miles east of the mouth of Weber Canyon. Advance scouts for the pioneers were considering coming through Weber Canyon, but Devil's Gate halted that idea and caused the detour to East Canyon and then Emigration. A wagon train had actually made it through Devil's Gate a year or so earlier, but was bogged down a lot.

-What are "Blue Cards"? They were reports that mission presidents completed on every LDS missionary until sometime in the late 1970s. They were a subjective report on the missionary's attitudes and work. They were accessed later, if the missionary applied for employment with the church, or the church needed to provide a reference on a particular former missionary. A former LDS Seventy told me the Blue Cards were discontinued, because they were too subjective. What he didn't tell me was if all the old cards were kept and are still referred to at all.

-Do you subscribe to the Salt Lake Tribune, or read it on-line? Back in the 1890s, just having a subscription to the Salt Lake Tribune was grounds to hold an excommunication hearing on a church member, as the newspaper was that anti-Mormon in its early years.

-The original plans for the Salt Lake Temple called for 2 Angel Moroni statues, one on each end. However, only the east Angel became a reality. In the "Brigham Young" room at Cove Fort is a drawing by Truman Angell that clearly shows angel statues on each end.

-If someone is excommunicated from the Church today, only the main ward and stake leaders usually know about it. In the 1940s and into the early 1950s, it was standard practice for the church to publish excommunication lists (and full names) in the Church News section of the Deseret News. So, it has gone from too public to perhaps a much too private knowledge policy today.

NOTE: This article and all of the NighUntoKolob blog are NOT an official website of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They are the author's conclusions and opinions only.

The Simple Truth About the Creation of Man

Sometimes man loves to complicate things.
Take the creation of the Earth for example. You've got all those evolution theories and even so-called scientific principles out there, claiming humans only came about after millions of years of natural evolution on this planet.
I say baloney. If you believe in God and the Gospel, why accept such ideas?
Science at one time wrongly believed the earth was flat and the center of the universe. One day, all mankind will see how simple it was that life came to be on earth….
(Now creating the planet and preparing the earth to receive life is another matter and a much more complicated process, I'm sure.)
I believe what Brigham Young (Deseret News April 30,1856, Journal of Discourses 3:319; 7:285) and Joseph Fielding Smith (Answers of Gospel Questions 5:170-171; "Man, His Origin and Destiny," Deseret Book, pages 276-277) ) said -- man (Adam) came to Earth directly out of Heavenly Father's presence.

The "dust of the earth" references are purely symbolic.
Thus, essentially mankind was transplanted, as was all life. No need for evolution. All creatures on earth already existed elsewhere.
Brigham Young once taught that God the Father created Adam and Eve by births in the pre-mortal realm. They were his direct off spring (Deseret News May 7, 1862; J.D. 11:122; 9:282).
At another time, President Young said God the Father has a dual capacity for procreation (Deseret News Sept. 4, 1872; J.D. 15:137, 9:283).
This means that God the Father can produce spirit children (like we were) when he desires and that seems to be mostly what he does.
However, when he wants to start a new earth, he creates a man that is more like him -- flesh and bone.
This means these children are not immortal or resurrected, but rather "unmortal," (as President J.F.S. said in the Church Section of the Deseret News on March 2, 1935). Adam and Eve would have lived forever, if they had not partaken of the forbidden fruit.
But they made themselves mortal and that's how we eventually came to be.
Simple isn't it?
We are literally God's children on two levels. The only "evolution" required was for Adam and Eve to choose to make themselves mortal.

NOTE: This article and all of the NighUntoKolob blog are NOT an official website of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They are the author's conclusions and opinions only.

Do UFOs Really Exist?

       "Aliens" and UFOs in Legoland California's "Miniland," almost hidden in a Las Vegas Representation.

UNIDENTIFIED Flying Objects ("UFOs") have received lots of notice in recent decades. Anything that's a mystery to man catches the fancy of many people.
For the atheists, the "God is an astronaut" approach fits the bill, with UFOs used to explain away deity.
For others, it may simply be a quest to try and find evidence of UFOs.
Aside from errant, high altitude weather balloons or top secret government aircraft (as the Stealth bomber certainly might have appeared as a UFO to many before it was publicly unveiled), can UFOs really exist?
There's something out there flying around that people keeping seeing — it's not all from their imagination.

 The  first "Enterprise" ship in Vulcan, Alberta, Canada, a small town themed after "Star Trek."

For the Latter-day Saints, what might a UFO be? There are some possible answers that fit into the gospel framework.
Scripturally, "there are no angels who minister to this earth but those who do belong or have belonged to it." (D&C 130:5)
This seems to me to totally preclude any "aliens" from being angels.
However, God has created other earths and all "inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God." (D&C 76:24).
Humans are his standard, made in his likeness (Genesis 1:17). So, non-human aliens as intelligent beings would NOT exist then, except in science fiction.
These worlds were also created by Jesus Christ and are saved by his same redeeming power. But, Christ died on this earth, the wickedest of all God's creations (Moses 7:36) and even many non-Christians accept that Christ was at least a historical figure in earth's history.
Yet, what about these other earths? Christ's atonement still redeems the people there and so what do they know of him? Their scriptures must at least mention another planet, our earth, where he died for the sins of all. They know of us.
Since ours is the wickedest earth and focused on weapons and warfare, we might have the best weapons, but what about other technology?
Could one of these other earths be very far advanced in say space travel, because they are more righteous and haven't wasted all their time and efforts on war?
If so, that would be the first possibility to UFOs. Are they resident humans of other earths come as a pilgrimage to see the wickedest earth, the one planet where Christ, who is also their Savior was born in mortality, died and was resurrected? Perhaps.
These people seem to simply be observers, who don't harm or threaten people. Crop circle markings and occasional, unexplained animal mutilations are among the only physical traces attributed to UFOs (and those evil twists could be more like Satan's power manifested than that of aliens).
Actual abductions of people are more likely fabricated tales, or the unreal experience of mentally ill people.
Another possibility of UFOs fitting into the gospel is if angels and exalted beings do travel in such vehicles and they are occasionally glimpsed.
Do celestial beings need vehicles to travel in?
There are references in the Old Testament to celestial "chariots" (Isaiah 66:15, Jeremiah 4:13).
In 2 Kings 2:11, "a chariot of fire and horses of fire" were used to take Elijah to heaven (translate him). Unless that is pure symbolism, it does imply a vehicle was used. How might a person in ancient times describe a flying vehicle? They knew chariots, but they did not know space vehicles.
When God the Father and Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph Smith, they didn't need a vehicle of any sorts, at least for short range travel. Neither did the Angel Moroni.
Another possibility for UFOs in the gospel sense is that they could be coming from the City of Enoch or the Lost 10 Tribes. Both these are to return to the earth in the last days. Would they have scout ships here first?
Neither of those two lost groups of people are likely on earth, at least not in this dimension. So, them being off planet, it does make some sense that they are scouting around.
If they physically live on another planet, they may have vehicles and those could be far advanced of anything the earth has.
Otherwise — without explaining UFOs away as "other earth" visitors, UFOs could be some sort of tool by Satan to lead us away.
Some people do spend much of their life seeking UFOs, a distraction from the gospel and serving others.
Is the rise of UFOs somehow related to the world's increasing wickedness and that Satan and his hosts can somehow grandstand some physical signs in the sky because of that?
The Scriptures do talk of signs and wonders in the heavens before Christ returns. (D&C 45:40).
Could UFOs be some part of that prophecy? Perhaps.
Of course if you believe in UFOs abducting people, then that's certainly a sinister side to UFOs, but why the Lord would allow Satan and his demons to do that kind of kidnapping is not logical.
So, unless UFOs are pure apparitions, there are humans piloting them and they could be connected with another earth, the lost 10 tribes, or City of Enoch.
And, it is only the unwise person who simply believes UFOs don't exist at all.

Eight Improper Things to Do in Sacrament Meetings

OK, some courtesies and guidelines of conduct for use in church meetings just aren't taught today, like they should be.

Here are 8 guidelines I have for Sacrament meeting conduct:
1. Don't let your children keep and play with the sacrament cups. Besides the noise, there's the principle of sacred usage.
2. If you walk out of the chapel during the sacrament services, don't return while it is still going on. Likewise, don't try to enter a chapel while the actual passing of the sacrament is underway. It is distracting to others and is simply common sense not to intrude on such a sacred rite.
3. Don't let the door slam, if you do leave the chapel. Help it slowly shut, quietly.
4. Don't go in and out multiple times in a sacrament meeting, or let your children do that. Again, it is distracting and disturbs reverence. Better to stay in the foyer, if you have to leave/return more than twice. (I counted one man and his child leave and come back in the chapel 11 different times during one recent sacrament meeting.)
5. Do not, I repeat do not, ask the congregation to turn to a scripture during your sacrament meeting talk! The brethren have often said not to do that and yet some must think they are an exception to that, despite that it is a noisy and disrupting practice.
6. Take care not to let your young children mangle the hymn books.
7. Strive to teach your children to take the sacrament with their right hand. Parents should be the ones to ideally teach that, not others.
8. Don't let children play with nor eat out of noisy paper or plastic wrapped containers -- and clean up after your kids after they eat in the chapel. (I've seen too many bishops in a ward, or the ward that meets afterward, who have to vacuum the chapel after a service, with a little hand vac...)

NOTE: This article and all of the NighUntoKolob blog are NOT an official website of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They are the author's conclusions and opinions only.

What Living By the Spirit Really Means ...

The Gospel teaches man needs to ideally live by the spirit, but what does that mean?
To me, it means this:
"God said, 'Thou shalt not kill;' at another time he said 'Thou shalt utterly destroy.' This is the principle on which the government of heaven is conducted -- by revelation adapted to the circumstances in which the children of the kingdom are placed."
(Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, page 256.)
So, there are not as many absolutes of right and wrong that we might imagine there are.
It all depends on the circumstances. If we live by the spirit, few of the commandments may be absolutes ... we simply need continual revelation to know the exceptions when they come
And, Christ will likely judge us by the intent of our hearts, as well as the circumstances, more than by the absolute letter of the law.
But we can't take things too far and bend this "adapted to the circumstances" doctrine to try and vainly justify sin or vain ambition either.


NOTE: This article and all of the NighUntoKolob blog are NOT an official website of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They are the author's conclusions and opinions only.

14th Article of Faith: Long Meetings?

Do you like long church meetings?
"We believe in meetings — especially long meetings. If there is a meeting, we seek after it."
Is this the 14th Article of Faith in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints? It very well could be ...  unofficially.
I commonly envision that gatherings, like Stake General Priesthood meetings, should be approximately one hour (though some go 90-minutes or more).
The worst case of a long meeting I've even seen was in one of my Stake's Saturday stake conference sessions in the mid-1990s. It was a general authority there and he got me all excited about missionary work and inviting neighbors to the Sunday meetings the next day.
However, the problem was the meeting didn't end until 9:50 p.m., after a 7 p.m. start.
I had lost all my enthusiasm by 9:30 p.m. and will never forget how this leader just would not stop talking.
(I still think Saturday night Stake Conference meetings are the most over-rated of church meetings, as well as almost always the most poorly planned and executed of meetings.)
The root cause of long meetings is that too many leaders become overzealous -- don’t watch the clock (or ignore it) and feel a meeting has to be long to do any good.
Another cause is that leaders line up too many speakers for a meeting and these speakers have little clue how long their talk really is -- because they haven't timed them.
As a one-time stake executive secretary in my stake, a newly installed stake president first thought it a wise idea to have me stand up 5 minutes before each meeting we were in was supposed to end. I was to stay standing until the stake president acknowledged me.
That worked well for a few months and then I guess the reality of wanting to teach too much meant that practice went out the window and meetings simply got longer and not necessarily always better.
One stake also used to excel at half-day priesthood preparation seminars, if you were being ordained an elder or high priest. Although these 4 hour meetings had a half-time with some food and drink, they were simply too long. I maintain that 90 minutes of more concise, engaging meeting would do better than this 4 hour meeting ever would.
A recent stake relief society leadership meeting was advertised in an official flyer that it would last 90 minutes. Then, it ended up going more than 3 1/2 hours! (And, that was ALL lecture).
Another stake bishopric meeting went so long one Sunday morning that all 9 a.m. sacrament meetings in the stake started 5 minutes or more late, because of the too long leadership meeting.
Some stakes excel at having 90-100 minutes General Priesthood meetings -- that's far too long for a secondary meeting to be -- and having such at 7 a.m. on Sunday interferes with 9 a.m. block times, let alone it bores the Aaronic Priesthood holders severely.
It's not just long meetings either. Some meetings do not need to be held, or as often.
For example. one former bishop of mine didn’t always strictly follow the stake's advice to always hold priesthood executive meeting (PEC) every single week. On some holiday weekends, when many ward leaders were out of town, he'd say, it simply wasn't worth holding. "What are they going to do fire us?" he would say.
-The Relief Society is no better at times. A few years ago I saw a flyer for a Saturday morning relief society meeting in my stake. It stated lunch served after a 90 meeting meeting, that went from 10-11:30 a.m. -- or so the flyer stated.
In reality, my wife came home from the meeting at 2 p.m. and never even stayed for the lunch. Almost 4 hours was far too long of a meeting.

-A friend of mine, who hasn't been active for 40-plus years, believes ours is the church of meetings and he hates meetings. He's right to some degree, though would it not be better if we were more the church of service?
So, there you have it. Don't hold a side meeting (outside block time) unless there is a need and have a firm agenda.
And, keeping meetings short is always better than having longer ones.

The true mission should be better organized and more spiritual meetings, not just more or longer meetings.
Granted, you have to have some meetings, or chaos would rule. But too long of meetings can take away from family time and also lessen how much actual time is left to do service to others.
Less and shorter meetings and more service would be the worthy goal here.

NOTE: This article and all of the NighUntoKolob blog are NOT an official website of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They are the author's conclusions and opinions only.

The Celestial Sport is ...

By Lynn Arave

WHAT is the celestial sport? If there is one, it would probably be basketball. Yes, hoops.
Why? Because almost every chapel in North America and even some outside contain basketball courts. There are some meetinghouse facilities with softball/baseball fields, but these are minimal, compared to basketball court numbers.
Go to any LDS Sacrament meeting where an overflow into the gymnasium area is being used, look up and you will likely see a retracted basketball hoop. They are standard and they are everywhere.
First-time visitors to ward chapels, who notice the hoops, might be somewhat bewildered.
According to the Encyclopedia of Mormonism. Basketball was originally a women's sport. In 1900 at Brigham Young Academy, the Y's women's team had won a championship and there was no men's team.
Perhaps men of that era thought basketball wasn't rugged enough. (Too bad they couldn't forsee how rough church basketball would become by the late 20th Century!)
Basketball as a men's sport in Utah didn't begin until 1906, when the Salt Lake 20th Ward formed two teams of young men, according to a Deseret News article on Oct. 4, 2008.
A city basketball league in S.L. began in 1908 and that's when all the Ensign Stake also fielded boys basketball teams. A 1908 article in the Improvement Era emphasized basketball participation and having ward facilities to do so.
However, a 1911 Church conference for activity leaders focused on volleyball, wrestling, fencing, swimming. Gymnastics, running, jumping, vaulting and baseball, — but no basketball.
From 1929 to 1971 an all-church basketball competition brought the best church-wide to a tournament. Church growth world-wide made it impractical to continue the tourney any longer.
Some regional church events continued and virtually all young men have a chance to play basketball in wards today.
Fred A. Baker, who was in charge of LDS Church Physical Facilities from the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s, said his recollections of church basketball were that it really took off in the mid-1930s, at least in the Ogden area, though facilities were still limited.
Gymnasiums were often built then in stand-alone buildings, next to chapels.
He said by the 1970s, such separate buildings had become too expensive and chapels began including gymnasiums — complete with basketball courts — at the rear of their chapels.
A few stand-alone gymnasiums still exist. There's at in the Ogden East Stake and also the Hooper Utah Stake, still in use.
Why did the church so completely adopt basketball? It was a good, compact indoor sport for the Mountain West, where winter and cool weather can preclude the regularity of many sports.
Basketball also wasn't as rough as football or rugby and was also a good spectator sport.
The sport of basketball is popular, in and outside the church.
There are a few perennial problems with church basketball.
First problem involves a lack of proper sportsmanship by some players.
For example, some years ago, one of my brothers suffered a broken wrist while playing basketball in a Clinton, Ut. Ward. He said he was karate chopped on purpose while taking a shot in a church game. When I asked if he had told his stake sports direction about the incident, he said it was he who broke his wrist.
Another problem: Some players are simply not in proper physical condition to play it all out, without a high risk of injury. I can't count how many times I've seem a man limping to church and been right in guessing it came from a church basketball game.
Next, is a lack of physical conditioning. You can't play the game all-out if you only play it once or twice a week. Men age 30-plus are particularly prone to such hoop injuries.
I can't count how many times I've seen a man limp to church and been correct in guessing he got injured in a church basketball game. You have to be in shape to play the game.
-If you are not a church member, the carpeted floor on some Ward gymnasiums must seem like a pretty strange surface to play a basketball game on ....

Lastly, young men still sneak into the chapel at times to play basketball without any adults or leaders around to supervise them.

In conclusion: Mormons don't worship basketball, but it certainly is their sport of choice.

(Note: the accompanying photo shows a typical basketball hoop in a typical Utah ward chapel cultural hall, in the retracted to the ceiling position.)

NOTE: This article and all of the NighUntoKolob blog are NOT an official website of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They are the author's conclusions and opinions only.

Best Book of Mormon License Plate?

Here's a photograph of the best Book of Mormon-oriented license plate I've ever seen.
Kind of puts all those BYU-ish license plates, a dime a dozen, to shame!
Noticed in the Jordan River Temple Parking Lot:

The Huge Danger of Living in Coastal Areas!

                      Some Southern California homes are mere feet above sea level.

THE world's greatest ever Earthquake is coming!
Are you prepared for the greatest earthquake of all time — a planet-wide shaking event?
The Bible predicts such a tremendous cataclysm. Revelation 16:18 states: "And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great."
Two verses later, Revelation 16:20, it reads: "And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found."
The recently Tsunami-hit Samoas highlights this great danger of living along a coastal area. Church members and even just Bible-believing people you would think might consider otherwise.
Earthquakes are bad enough inland, but you can have the delayed danger of tsunamis on coastlines, besides the initial shaking damage and dangers.

                         Just a cement wall protects some S. California homes.

Like anyone, I'm drawn to a coastline. I love the Oregon Coast, for example. but, knowing the Gospel and prophecy, I wouldn't consider living there.I feel I tread on thin safety just visiting there and staying overnight a single night there in a motel.
I've been aware of tsunami dangers since the late 1980s, when I first visited Crescent City, northern California, near the Oregon border.
You can visit Crescent city and see what the Alaskan Quake sof the early 1960s did there ...
Zechariah 14:4 also mentions changes in Jerusalem, probably because of quakes.
God has used earthquakes in the past to denote important events. Matthew 27:50-54 illustrates there were quakes during Christ's crucifixion. And a quake heralded Christ's resurrection (Matthew 28:2).
An earthquake also broke prison doors down for Paul and led to the conversion of the prison keeper (Acts 16:25-26).
For centuries, earthquakes have been hot topics.
The largest ever recorded was an 8.5 Richter scale event in Chile on May 12, 1960. Given the gigantic quakes prophesied in the Bible and knowing what tsunamis they could spawn would likely put those residents along coastlines or on small islands in double jeopardy.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believes that "the earth shall tremble and reel to and fro as a drunken man" (Doctrine and Covenants 88:87) in the last days.
"There are voices, thunders, lightnings and the greatest earthquake in earth's history; cities of nations fall; islands flee, and mountains are leveled; a great plague of hail," as stated in the Ensign, Oct. 1993, of the last days in a "Book of Revelation Overview" article.
Elder Bruce R. McConkie said in his Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, that he believed that the greatest ever earthquake is part of the earth's return to like it was before it was divided in the days of Peleg (Genesis 10:25). Meaning all the earth's land masses shall unite into one island.
In Mormon doctrine, Elder McConkie explained that by earthquakes God "delivers his servants from perils, destroys the wicked, and leaves a sign that his hand has been in transcendent events."
Brigham Young also stated that when the elders are called home, the Lord will teach his own sermons with fire and earthquakes (Journal of Discourses 8:123 and D&C 88:88-92).
So, church members can choose to live where they want, but knowing all the above, why would they remain along an ocean coastline? It is Gospel common sense not to!
"We need to make both temporal and spiritual preparation for the events prophesied at the time of the Second Coming," Elder Dallin H. Oaks said in a May 2004 Liahona address.
"And the preparation most likely to be neglected is the one less visible and more difficult — the spiritual. A 72-hour kit of temporal supplies may prove valuable for earthly challenges, but, as the foolish virgins learned to their sorrow, a 24-hour kit of spiritual preparation is of greater and more enduring value," he said.
In addition to dangers in coastal areas, a huge earthquake would also burst open many dams and so living in the flood plane of a large body of held back water would not be a wise place to live.
Also, living below a mountain side where it could rain boulders of landslides from a giant quake would not be a Biblically wise place to live either.

You obviously can't guard against all last day disasters, but the above three are perhaps the most obvious and avoidable ones of all.
UPDATE: Even without earthquakes and tidal waves, hurricanes, as Hurricane Sandy proved in 2012, can be another incredible danger along coastlines and even inland for many miles.

NOTE: This article and all of the NighUntoKolob blog are NOT an official website of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They are the author's conclusions and opinions only.

Clarifying Infinity and The Impossible

There are two myths commonly believed among LDS Church members regard infinity and impossible.
God can do anything and he has infinite creations, right?
Yes and no.
God's creations are infinite to us, but they are numbered to him!
God can do anything that's possible and right, but not just anything.
"For behold there are many worlds that has passed away by the word of my power. And there are many that now stand, and innumerable are they unto man; but all things are numbered unto me, for they are mine and I know them." (Moses 1:35).
This likely means that man could not count God's creations during a lifetime, they have a set number still and are not infinite in the true sense, though they will continue to expand forever.
God can do the impossible to us, heal, restore life, etc. However, despite what Mark 9:23 says about all things being possible to God, or he who believes, that verse was not translated correctly.
Joseph Smith's Inspired Version restored that verse in Mark to say that we can do anything God says we can do. Not that God or we can do anything and everything.
God doesn't and can't create something from nothing. He reorganizes existing material; works within his perfect understanding of natural law -- but can't break those laws himself.
God also won't force us to obey his laws or do anything contrary to the Gospel principles.
I don't want to bring God down to our level. He certainly can do things we consider impossible. He's light years advanced of man, but God himself was once a man like we are now and therein lies our hope of slowly advancing, precept by precept to be more like him.

Is It a Sin to Visit The Las Vegas Strip?

Is it OK for LDS church members to visit the Las Vegas Strip?
Preference is up to the individual, but I think it can be OK, as long as you do not gamble, go to risqué shows and don’t lose hold of church standards.
One of my children hates the Vegas Strip because of all the people trying to hand you pornographic cards. Me, I guess I am always so locked onto all the "eye candy" kind of buildings and attractions you can spot, I look past the porn.
But even he, now into architecture, has to admit Vegas is great for appreciation of the architectural parameter. …
Las Vegas had a real "family attraction" kind of accent in the late 1990s, but now it wants to shed that image.
So, kids can't just run loose in Vegas and be OK. The "Pirate Show" in now Rated R.
The Bellagio water fountain show is rated G. So is a ride up the Stratosphere, unless you are afraid of heights.
There are plenty of family friendly places here. There's a Temple in Vegas too.
Vegas is like the Internet. It has the best and worst the world has to offer.
Las Vegas has also become a hub for all kinds of outdoor opportunities in the area.
I'd reminded too that I took two different German foreign exchange students in two separate spring breaks on a whirlwind, three-day trip of the Great Southwest.
Both saw the Grand Canyon, Arches National Park, Monument Valley and more. What did both like seeing the most? Las Vegas.
Their opinions may be the worldly point of view, but Vegas is certainly a "must see," something to visit at least once before you decide or make judgments.

I've attended wards in Las Vegas over the years,including one just off the Strip, and the members living there seem to be rock solid and have a regular temple attending attitude that can put Wasatch Front members to shame.

NOTE: This article and all of the NighUntoKolob blog are NOT an official website of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They are the author's conclusions and opinions only.

When A Return Missionary Talk is Pointless ...

                               A missionary knocks on a door in Bath England, in 1973.

When is a sacrament meeting talk by a just returned missionary NOT a missionary speech?
When he never mentions the word mission or any missionary experiences whatsoever.
Twice in the past couple of years I have listened to two returned missionaries in their home wards giving their "homecoming talk" and neither elder never mentioned his mission in any way.
It was just all about the assigned subject and sadly boring too for the 20 minutes.
All I can say is the pendulum has swung too far the other way now.
Maybe before some policy changes, such talks were too "homecoming" oriented before, with family members even talking. Perhaps there were a few too many jokes made before about various cultures.
However, there was certainly not a young man in the audience of the two talks I am referring to who was any more excited about serving a mission after hearing these pointless talks than he was the day before!
I don't fault the missionaries.
I believe returned missionaries DO NOT need an assigned subject.
Why would they?
They just spent two years, 24/7 serving the Lord. If they can't be trusted, then who can be?
They can and should be talking ONLY about their mission - especially their most spiritual experiences.
All they need is a time limit.
If church leaders want more potential full-time missionaries, they need to get young men excited about missions and the current assigned subject policy for returned missionary talks isn't helping that to happen.
UPDATE: April 28, 2013: I hear another returned missionary talk. Again, he seems too concerned about his assigned subject and only mentions 2 missionary experiences in 15 minutes. I know he had more experiences to tell that that.
ANOTHER UPDATE: Oct. 18, 2015: Another returned missionary talk in my home ward. All about the assigned subject, nothing about his mission. Boring.

NOTE: This article and all of the NighUntoKolob blog are NOT an official website of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They are the author's conclusions and opinions only.