Overcoming Green Tea Addiction through the Atonement

At the age of 39 Sister Josephine Kennedy finally felt ready to go to through the temple. She had passed the interview with the Bishop and completed the temple preparation course.  She was hoping to be at her sister’s temple wedding two weeks from now.  Yet when I met with her the spirit warned me that something very serious was amiss.  In our discussion on the question of obeying the Lord's law of health I was horrified to learn that she regularly partook of Green Tea.  She claimed that just as members are now permitted to decide for themselves whether to drink Coca Cola she too, as a grown woman, should be able to decide for herself whether or not to drink green tea.  She also said that according to her research and her doctor it was in fact a very healthy habit.   

From this month’s *Ensign we learn that "Those who struggle with sin sometimes rationalize in an attempt to minimize the consequences of their behavior. But somewhere inside themselves, they are aware of what they have done and know they are in spiritual bondage. Almost everyone I have met struggling with addiction suffers from a terrible sense of shame and a belief that he or she is broken, defective, and beyond the love and grace of God.”

I assured Sister Kennedy that she could overcome this addiction and warned her that the leaves used to make green tea are the very same ones as in regular tea and thus carry the very same danger.

Sister Kennedy tried to tell me that it wasn't an addiction but a conscious health choice but I assured her that it takes faith, hope, and time to heal from the patterns of self-deception that accompany such addictions.

Sister Kennedy asked whether the Saviour would still consider her worthy to enter the Celestial Kingdom if she continued to drink green tea.  I told her that in most cases it will be the little things that keep people from the highest degree of glory.  Drinking green tea is in fact not little though, I explained, it renders one unclean and unworthy to enter into the holy temples where sacred covenants, essential to one’s salvation, are made with the Lord. 

Sister Kennedy, who was probably fearing that the Lord would cast her out for her disobedience, humbly accepted my offer of a priesthood blessing.  Through me, an authorized servant of the Lord, she was blessed with tenacity, courage, and a strong desire to be clean as she marched toward recovery.  She was counseled to press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope.  She was warned that she must not give up or decide that because temptations and cravings return, there is no hope; there is always hope in Christ and He is the hope of recovery.

After the blessing I encouraged her to report back to me in three months with regards to her progress, at which point I am hopeful that the Lord will consider her to be both clean and worthy to enter into His house and make sacred eternal covenants.   I also lovingly assured her that her sister would completely understand. 

I am thankful for the gospel and the way in which it helps each child of our heavenly father strive to become more like the Saviour, and I leave these thoughts with you in the sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen. 

*http://www.lds.org/ensign/2012/09/overcoming-addiction-through-the-atonement?lang=eng

A Warning to the Apostate Saints of Europe

As a Stake President nothing disappoints me more than to see those who have left the Church writing blogs and using other public forums to speak ill of the restored gospel and its anointed leaders.   

At my prompting Erich W. Kopische, Europe Area President sent a letter to Church leaders in which we included the solemn warning from the manual of instructions that “priesthood leaders may need to take disciplinary action with those members who persist in publicly opposing the Church and its leaders after they have been lovingly worked with and corrected by their bishop or higher authority”.

This message goes along perfectly with this month’s Ensign *article on restoring religious freedom by Church Apostle Quentin L. Cook.  In it he explains that “If we fail to diligently protect religious freedom, we risk diminishing other important freedoms that are important both to society and to us.”  

One person who needs to be lovingly corrected and severely disciplined is a British member named Christopher Ralph.  Brother Ralph not only posts the letter that was intended for those of us in anointed positions of authority but attempts to rip apart the very logic given in the letter.  As a baptized member of the Church brother Ralph ought to be ashamed of himself.  He is setting a very poor example of sustaining Church leaders to fellow ward members and more importantly to his posterity, which includes his very distraught daughter Sophia.  

In an effort to both follow the manual of instructions and protect the religious freedoms that Elder Cook is speaking of Brother Ralph and like minded individuals need to be silenced.   

To see the effect Satan can have over those who find fault with Church leaders feel free to click on the below link:  

http://mormonisminvestigated.co.uk/2012/08/28/an-open-letter-to-europe-area-presidency-by-chris-ralph/

With lovingly concern,

President Paternoster

*http://www.lds.org/ensign/2012/09/restoring-morality-and-religious-freedom?lang=eng

When Richard Dawkins is Baptized

I look forward to the day, which is nigh at hand, when Richard Dawkins (prophet of the atheist religion and promoter of false scientific theories) will pass on from his mortal probation to the world of spirits where he will learn that he has wasted his life preaching the vain and foolish doctrines of men. 

Can you imagine the shock he will have when he realizes that death is simply the separation of the body and his eternal spirit and that he is still alive! 

The anguish that will fill his soul when he realizes how many he has led astray will likely be immense and yet even though I have been called and chosen as one of the Lords’s anointed it is not my position to judge his fate.  In fact as members of the one true Church it is our responsibility to ensure that salvation is made available unto him.  In the spirit world he will have the opportunity to hear and accept the simple truths of the gospel and here on earth we will ensure that work is done in our holy temples for the salvation of his soul. 

From the Gospel Principles manual we learn that “For those who died without baptism or the temple ordinances, the Lord has provided a way for this to happen. He has asked us to perform ordinances for our ancestors in the temples.”  This practice of redeeming the dead is one of the three great missions and responsibilities of our Church. 

Thus one year from the day of his death (after Richard has had time to ponder and no doubt accept the joyful message of the gospel) I will personally work with his LDS relatives and see to it that a worthy Church member will stand as proxy in his behalf to be baptized and confirmed a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 

Brother Dawkins will be happy to learn (if he reads this blog) that loving members of the Church will then ordain him to the priesthood.  I’m sure that never in his wildest dreams did Richard imagine he would one day achieve the status of being a priest unto the most high God.  

I should pause here to point out that this work is done for all mankind without regard for race, religion or earthly deeds.  Thus some time after his ordination to the priesthood as has been done for millions before him (including prominent historical figures such as past Popes and Adolf Hitler), Dawkins will follow in their footsteps by being washed, anointed and blessed that through his faithfulness he may become clean from the blood and sins of this generation.

Dawkins will be clothed in the holy undergarments of the priesthood and will then go on to receive his endowment ceremony where with a physical relative standing in his place he will take upon himself sacred temple covenants to obey the law of the gospel. 

Brother Dawkins if you are reading this I want to assure you that in the temple you will (as per *lds.org) “receive all those ordinances in the house of the Lord which are necessary for you, after you have departed this life, to enable you to walk back to the presence of the Father, passing the angels who stand as sentinels, being enabled to give them the keywords, the signs and tokens, pertaining to the holy priesthood, and gain your eternal exaltation in spite of earth and hell.”

Similar work will be completed for Brother Dawkins’ current and ex wives and his work will culminate in a ceremony in which he will be sealed to each one of them for eternity such that together they may enjoy eternal bliss.

Satan fights against the work of the Lord and stirs people up to the point where there are certain individuals and groups who attempt to oppose and thwart the work of the Lord claiming that they and their ancestors should be exempt from being baptized as Mormons.  I applaud the efforts of the public relations arm of the Church in dealing with these groups and the general public.  As Church members though we know that we must press forward in our sacred cause of redeeming the dead.   Our current manuals which are available for all to see on the official website of the Church proudly quote Boyd K. Packer’s words from General Conference which state that **“we are obligated to provide these ordinances vicariously for our kindred dead, indeed for the whole human family.” Note that he did not say nor do we teach our members that we are obligated to provide these ordinances vicariously for the whole human family, except for those who do not understand the importance of the work being performed!

In order to accomplish this essential work for the dead we are building temples at an ever increasing rate in locations all over the world.  Will there be opposition to the work? Of Course! But as a Stake President I want to assure you that no unhallowed hand can stop this work from progressing; persecutions may rage, protesters may combine, calumny may defame, but baptisms for the dead will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done.

These thoughts I leave with you in the sacred and holy name of Him unto whom every knee shall bow and every tongue confess, even Jesus the Christ, amen.

* http://www.lds.org/general-conference/1992/04/come-to-the-house-of-the-lord?lang=eng

**http://www.lds.org/manual/duties-and-blessings-of-the-priesthood-basic-manual-for-priesthood-holders-part-b/lesson-8-our-temple-and-family-history-responsibilities?lang=eng

**http://www.lds.org/general-conference/1987/04/covenants?lang=eng

President Paternoster Reaches out to the Ex-Mormon

It recently came to my attention that one or two who have left the faith read and draw inspiration from my blog.  In an effort to leave the ninety and nine it is to these precious souls that I address my remarks today. 

My dearly beloved Ex-Mormon Brother or Sister,

Nothing concerns me more than to see those who were once stalwart in the faith shrink in the face of adversity.  I want you to know that as a Stake President I understand your plight.  Your path to loneliness and confusion likely started out with something simple, like finding out that Joseph Smith owned a special stone.  This threw you into a whirlwind of doubt where Satan carefully brought you down to the gulf of despair and misery that you now endure.  As a lonely cynic you are now left with one option; to kick against the pricks, to persecute the saints, and fight against God.  You who thus struggle are in the throes of spiritual agony, drowning as it were in a sea of guilt and despair, seeking desperately for the safety of the gospel that had served as your anchor in the past. 

And yet from this month’s *Ensign we learn that “all members of the Church at some time in their lives face moments that test the sincerity and strength of their testimonies.  Braving these trials of our faith helps us stand firm in a world that is falling more and more into the depths of confusion.” 

In my vast experience as a leader in the Lord’s Kingdom I have seen and will now reveal to you the main difference between those who fail in their testimonies and those who hold tight to the iron rod.  It is that the Ex-Mormon had their hearts set so much upon the teachings and philosophies of this world that they did not understand this one principle; that you do not receive a witness until after the trial of your faith. 

Those of us who did not succumb to the fiery darts of the adversary when our faith was tested took the correct steps as given in the *Ensign, which are as follows: “when the righteous are troubled, their first reflex is to search the scriptures and the words of the living prophets.”  We learn from the article that the writings of the prophets “are beacons that (much like my blog) cannot deceive us.”

As an Ex Mormon you looked to other sources for answers.  In time you lost your faith. Eventually you stopped attending Church meetings.  You no longer prayed or pondered the scriptures daily.  You allowed your temple recommend to expire.  And sooner or later Satan whispered in your ear that there was no God, and you believed.  You now make fun of the Church, the people still in it and those things which you once held sacred. 

You can be seen drinking in the pubs, shopping on the Sabbath and without the guidance of the Holy Spirit you have likely lost your moral compass and are engaged in all manner of iniquities and lasciviousness.  Oh that cunning plan of Satan.  He seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself.

But I say unto you in that great day when you shall be brought to stand before the Lamb of God—then will you say that there is no God?  Then will you say that the Church which only tried to help you was cultish, controlling and manipulative?  Will you continue to complain before the Lamb of God that His Church, the one and only true Church upon the face of the earth, used its sacred funds to build a shopping mall?   Will you dare counsel the Lord saying “Lord we should have used those billions to feed the hungry and clothe the naked”?  Will you whine and complain that those who suffered from same sex attraction should have been treated with more respect and dignity in the Church; yea will you say this to the one who suffered and died for the very sins which they have committed?  Will you say “Lord, there was no evidence that the gospel was true”, after the many miracles He hath bestowed upon you?

Nay I say unto you that you will tremble before Him and would that you could vanish from His very presence.  And in that day you will know that you have not lived up to the covenants you made with him in the temple on that day, and you will be in Satan’s power.  And if in that day with fear and trembling you raise your eyes heavenward towards me, even President Paternoster, I want you to know that I did my best to warn and exhort you. 

Yet there is still time - there is still hope.  I invite you now to return and enjoy the blessing of becoming a faithful tithe payer once again.  I invite you to spend your Sabbaths away from the beach - joyfully attending the three hour block of meetings that have been prepared to uplift and edify your soul.  I invite you to confess your sins in all detail to loving priesthood leaders.  And I promise that in the due time of the Lord when you have sufficiently humbled yourselves before the priesthood of God you will once again be permitted to attend the temple where sisters will be reminded of their sacred duty to obey their husbands and all will be clothed in the holy garments of the priesthood,

Your humble servant even President Paternoster

 

*http://www.lds.org/ensign/2012/08/keeping-the-faith-in-a-world-of-confusion?lang=eng

The Principle of Bearing False Testimony of the Truth

Often I am asked how I gained my unfailing testimony of the truthfulness of the gospel.  I always give credit to my parents who from my earliest recollections would get me to say things such as "I know Joseph Smith was a prophet" and "I know the gospel is true" even though I was too young to really know these things. 

They would even have me do this in sacrament meetings in front of large congregations.  I remember clearly thinking one day when I was 7 years old that I hadn’t even read The Book of Mormon.  It felt a little odd to be repeating the words my father dictated in my ear to the congregation, but as I ate my ice cream later that day I knew I had done the right thing.  As I grew up into manhood it became second nature to me to declare that I knew things that I did not yet know in order that I might know them in due time of the Lord.

I even used this method in secondary school one time when the teacher had us research whether the earth was round or flat.  My Dad said the earth was round so when the time came for my presentation in class I declared with certainty that I knew without a shadow of doubt that the world was round.  My Dad said that while the other kids provided arguments and evidence they lacked the conviction that accompanied my presentation.  

This principle of saying you know something when you don't or "Bearing False Testimony of the Truth" as I like to call it, is generally discouraged in the world but when done in the right context and under the right circumstances it is not only appropriate but acts as an essential element in gaining a solid testimony of the gospel.   Allow me to illustrate with a recent example:

A few weeks ago at a Stake meeting I met with the 16-17 year old priests and challenged each of them to bear their testimonies of the truthfulness of the gospel at the next Fast and Testimony meeting.  Each young man raised his hand to indicate that he would fulfill this challenge.  All names were taken and I told them that I would receive an update directly from their Quorum President (the Bishop) to ensure this was done.   

16 year old Johnny Smith did not fulfill the challenge as per his commitment.  In fact it came to my attention that he had confided in a friend that he thought the gospel was probably just made up.

When I visited his ward last Sunday I made a point of meeting with Johnny before sacrament meeting.  He seemed nervous and admitted that he was struggling with his testimony and had not completed the challenge.  He said he felt that his integrity would be compromised if he were to bear testimony of something that he was unsure of or didn't believe.  This is a common misconception and one that as a Stake President I work hard to overcome.

I asked him if he would like to know without any doubt that the gospel was true.  He looked at me in surprise and asked, “Is there a way?” “Of course”, I replied, and we turned to this month’s *New Era magazine to the section entitled “If I’m not sure I have a testimony, do I still try to share it?” in the article named "What Is Pure Testimony".

In it we read a wonderful quote given a long time ago but still applicable today from President Boyd K. Packer, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and next in line to become the prophet upon the earth.  Packer declared the following:

“It is not unusual to have a missionary say, ‘How can I bear testimony until I get one? How can I testify that God lives, that Jesus is the Christ, and that the gospel is true? If I do not have such a testimony, would that not be dishonest?’

Johnny's attention was riveted on me as he listened to Boyd K. Packer addressing the very question of integrity and honesty that was on his mind. I continued with the quote:

“Oh, if I could teach you this one principle: a testimony is to be found in the bearing of it!"

As Johnny bore his testimony in sacrament meeting that day the congregation was astonished at the conviction in his voice and no one doubted that Johnny knew that The Book of Mormon was a true historical account of the people of America, that Joseph Smith had done more for mankind than all others save Jesus only, and that President Paternoster is the anointed mouthpiece of the Lord in this area of Zion in these the latter-days.  

It is my prayer that all of our youth will learn of the miraculous spiritual effect that can be theirs as they maintain their integrity by following Johnny’s example in stating that they know gospel principles to be true even when they don’t.  These thoughts I leave with you in the sacred and holy name of our Lord and savior, even Jesus the Christ, amen.

*http://www.lds.org/new-era/2012/07/what-is-pure-testimony?lang=eng

The Proven Egyptian and Hebrew Origins of The Book of Mormon

Recently I met with Trevor, a 20 year old young man, to find out what the delay was in processing his mission papers.  After some probing he admitted that he doubted the authenticity of The Book of Mormon.  He had done some research online and had concluded that it was utterly ridiculous to believe that the ancient people of America spoke and wrote in Egyptian.  He pointed out an article on Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reformed_Egyptian) which states that "No archaeological, linguistic, or other evidence of the use of Egyptian writing in ancient America has been discovered.  No non-Mormon scholars acknowledge the existence of either a "reformed Egyptian" language or a "reformed Egyptian" script as it has been described in Mormon belief.”  

As a Stake President I knew just how to handle this concern.  I explained to Trevor that non Mormon scholars are at a huge disadvantage in that they do not know that Reformed Egyptian was in fact just as common a language as Hebrew amongst the native people of America. 

We turned to Mormon chapter 9 which explains:

32 And now, behold, we have written this record according to our knowledge, in the characters which are called among us the reformed Egyptian, being handed down and altered by us, according to our manner of speech.

33 And if our plates had been sufficiently large we should have written in Hebrew; but the Hebrew hath been altered by us also; and if we could have written in Hebrew, behold, ye would have had no imperfection in our record.

I further explained to Trevor that to those of us (such as myself) who are familiar with Hebrew and Egyptian it is plain to see that the English version of The Book of Mormon is a translation from those ancient tongues.    

At this point I could see that young Trevor was still a tiny bit skeptical so I pulled out a copy of this month’s Ensign.  I explained that with all the Anti Mormon persecution we are experiencing on websites such as Wikipedia these days’ leaders have found it helpful to occasionally educate members on the scientifically proven evidence of the gospel.  We turned and read from the article entitled "This Text Is Hebrew" (http://www.lds.org/ensign/2012/07/latter-day-saint-voices?lang=eng).

In it we learn of a member who was sitting next to an unnamed Jewish Rabbi and got him to read from the pages of The Book of Mormon.  After reading part of the book something very faith promoting happened; the Rabbi suddenly stopped and stated, “This text is Hebrew.” 

Needless to say Trevor completed his mission papers without delay and is very much looking forward to serving in the Peru Chiclayo mission.  I assured him that he will likely become familiar with some of the older native languages which would have evolved from the Hebrew and Egyptian tongues spoken by the descendants of Lehi.

President Paternoster Corrects the Prophet

There is a rumour going around my stake that I once corrected President Hinckley on a matter of Church doctrine.  At the request of the members I am now going to put that rumour to rest.  Those of you who read my blog posts will know that I am not one to boast.  The experience I will relate today is very sacred in nature and shows that even those who preside over the Lord’s Church and Kingdom upon the earth need to be taught and counseled by their fellow man. 

President Hinckley’s humility and willingness to learn, even from one as meek and lowly as I, showed the true character of the prophet and increased my testimony of his divine calling. 

 

In 1997 Church President Gordon B. Hinckley was asked the following question by a reporter (see this link http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/1997/04/13/SC36289.DTL&type=printable):

“There are some significant differences in your beliefs. For instance, don't Mormons believe that God was once a man?”

This question seemed to confuse the good President who answered:

“I wouldn't say that”.  He went on to say that this was deep theology that we (and by “we” he is really only referring to himself as you will see from the rest of my article) don’t know very much about.  President Hinckley was asked the same question in an interview for the Time magazine and said “I don't know that we teach it.”  Unlike President Hinckley I do know that we teach this (and the teaching is on our official website today). 

I was fortunate enough to meet President Hinckley later that year while serving as a bishop and invited him to my office to have a private word with him about that response.  I said “President, I felt prompted to invite you here today to share with you the great secret of the gospel.” 

“The great secret?” President Hinckley said, and anxiously encouraged me to go on.  I pulled an Ensign from my drawer and asked him to listen very carefully so that next time the question came up as to whether God was once a man he would be better equipped to respond (readers feel free to follow along at the current official church website, even lds.org at this link http://www.lds.org/ensign/1971/04/the-king-follett-sermon?lang=eng).  Quoting the prophet Joseph Smith this is what the article says:

“God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens! That is the great secret……We have imagined and supposed that God was God from all eternity. I will refute that idea…..He was once a man like us; yea, that God himself, the Father of us all, dwelt on an earth, the same as Jesus Christ Himself did; and I will show it from the Bible.”

Critics have accused the prophet of knowing the doctrine of the Church with regards to God’s humble beginnings but of downplaying it in order to make the Church look more appealing.  What they do not understand though is that this is akin to accusing the prophet of being ashamed of the gospel.  The Saviour clearly told us in the Bible that “whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the son of man be ashamed”.

No, in fact President Hinckley was astounded when I finished reading from the words of the prophet Joseph as published in the Ensign article.  Never before had he understood that this was indeed Church doctrine.  He admitted that he had heard of the couplet that goes "As man is, God once was....” but had always considered this to be more of a couplet than anything else.

I was very humbled to be able to give the great secret of the gospel as revealed to Joseph Smith and passed on to all members of the Church through the Church’s official magazine (and all the world now through the Church’s official website) to the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and I leave these thoughts with you in the sacred and holy name of Jesus Christ, amen.