Holidays, Holly Days or Holy Days?

Happy Holidays? Holly Days? It was once called "Saturnalia" and it was splendid. Before the "Holly Days" would be preparation to celebrate Saturnalia. In ancient Greece, Saturnalia was a festival surrounding the winter solstice time (est 17th or 18th and generally lasted a week and at times ending on the 25th of December.) One of the emblems that they would use was Holly Boughs to symbolize peace. Because it was a public holiday celebrated around December 25th, and done in the family home, it could have easily influenced what we understand Christmas to be which is a time of peace on earth and goodwill towards all. It was a time for feasting, goodwill, generosity to the poor, the exchange of gifts and the decoration of trees. Tradition shows that slaves were free to enjoy this day and were not required to serve their masters and it was also a time to 'forgive people of their debts' Saturnalia was not to be confused with Christmas but as in Christmas as well, one has the tradition of decking ones halls with the same "boughs of Holly" that they did in ancient Greece and Christians probably unknowingly did this in order to more fully celebrate one ULTIMATE version of a "freeing the captives" as well as an ultimate" forgiving of debts." It is clearly taught in all of Christianity how Christ would free those who were captive and that he paid for the debts of mankind in full. To me, its a small wonder that the early Christians had used some of this symbolism to carry on our own holiday traditions by borrowing aspects of Saturnalia to enhance its own. Saturnalia wasn't meant to be a Christmas precursor. This was Saturnalia related much to the pagan Roman winter solstice festival but it is lovely, virtuous and of good report as well as praiseworthy. So when we tell others "Happy Holidays" remember that we are also borrowing the days of Holly, ie Saturnalia. Is it also another clever way of saying Happy/Merry Christmas anyhow since it predates Christmas in some way? I'll let you make up your own minds on this one. Celebrate either the 12 days of Christmas or the ancient Greeks celebrated the 8 days of Saturnalia and one will probably have some of the same results when we all enjoy peace on earth and more goodwill one towards another. One of these celebrations could be considered as "Holy Days" if one maintains the spirit of Christ within during this time.

Saturnalia and the Story of Christmas

Not yet, not today

My life has been peppered with instances of nearly dying or being put into some serious possible harm. I don't know why I am so accident prone. I don't know why I have had to be rescued time and time again. Perhaps I have yet another thing or two more to do for the Lord, I always settle on, when it comes down to the why. I suppose we ALL have something more to do every day if we survive another night of sleep and have been permitted yet another new day to perform our labors.

There was once such experience which nearly befell me while I was a driver as my way to support my family and earn a living.

During my tenure as an Uber/Lyft driver driving in the Vancouver, Washington market, I recall the moment where I was driving down a familiar road. I was en route to pick up heading north on 164th Ave between Mill Plain and 18th and at a comfortable speed. I don't recall what speed I was driving but I was hustling to pick up the next passenger which lay about another mile North East of my location. Taking 164th Avenue seemed to be the most convenient route to get there, I should mention.

I remember moving along checking the GPS for an ETA when I had looked up to see there was a red light signal glowing the brightest of reds and it was staring me down. I could almost hear a pulsating "Halt" sound whispering to my mind and I had moments to decide what to do about it. I saw a car approaching on the right set to cross in front of me. I had moments to decide. My mind was thinking speed up to avoid a collision but another voice entered into my head that I should apply the break instead. Then everything began to slow down in my mind. Had I come to a complete stop, it would have been after the intersection about 50 feet at the rate I was stopping. All I could see was the other sedan moving slowly across my path. I did not see his eyes and neither did any of us honk. My car continued to move forward and even after I had been applying the breaks, I did not seek cause to actually stop but I kept moving forward. It felt as though I had been given an additional 2 seconds to slow down for some reason. Had I hit the gas, I might have caught the drivers-side corner bumper and then there would have been a very serious problem to encounter after then which was 1) How could I continue driving to support my family and 2) what if I had a serious injury to accompany 1?

I did not feel a hand over my chest holding me back but I felt as though my car was suspended and slowed up significantly and for the split second or two that our cars passed by one another harmlessly onto our destinations, neither one of us felt the need to stop and process what had happened by getting out of the car to catch our breath. I don't know what the other driver was doing but I was heavily panting and sweating by the time I had gotten to the next signal light.

I went to pick up my clients and thought nothing more. I certainly didn't want to divulge what had nearly happened either to the 2 passengers I had recently picked up just following this incident for at least the reason of instilling some confidence in them that they too wouldn't be getting into an accident with me that night but probably more so I would have had a difficult time attempting to explain the loss of about 2 seconds and how my car avoided danger. This was not my time to crash or die and it certainly wasn't the next lesson that God wanted me to learn. I had to support the family and it would have been catastrophic, to me, to ALL OF US, had I gotten into that accident.

What happened to me and why did I get those 2 more seconds? Why was I spared an accident there and not the accident which also could have snuffed out my life a few years back in April, 2009, now more than 10 years ago?

All I know is that through some special design or because of some divine providence, I am still around today to do something. I imagine myself being an instrument in the hands of God to do things both great and small. I endeavor to become trustworthy enough to be utilized for good and to accomplish some of the more important missions that God may have yet for me to do. Is this why I am being preserved and prepared?

Whatever the answer and to whatever end, I can only hope that my days will continue to be a high number... perhaps I may be of service ongoing and I will be around to usher in the return of my redeemer or perhaps be sent to rescue some soul or be someones transportation. To do all things both great and small.

Sign of the Times - Orson

"For you know when the Rothschilds and the great bankers among the Jewish nation shall return back to their own land to rebuild the city of Jerusalem, carrying their capital with them it will almost ruin some of the nations, and the latter will go up against Jerusalem to take a spoil." JoD "Zion " by Orson Pratt Volume 14: p. 352 This may be how the Jewish nation becomes the envy of Gog and Magog... Full page transcribed below: By and by some of them, perhaps, will get it into their hearts that there is no use in their going up. “What is the use of our taking this long journey to Jerusalem?” and they will begin to say within their hearts—“We can serve God here in our own land just as well as going up to Jerusalem.” Just as soon as they begin to apostatize in this way the Lord will send a plague, a famine, that is, withhold the rains of heaven, so that their lands will be parched up, and if the family of Egypt, that have no rain, refuse to go up, there will be a peculiar plague set apart for them, namely, the same kind of a plague that will come upon the various nations that gather up against Jerusalem to battle just before the Lord comes and stands his feet upon the Mount of Olives. It wil l be no judgment, no calamity whatever for no rain to be given to the land of Egypt, because they depend on the waters of the Nile, by irrigation they overflow the land, hence it is no particular consequence to the people of Lower Egypt to have no rain. I mention all these things in order that the Latter-day Saints may be re-refreshed in regard to the great events that must take place in the latter times, and that strangers who are in our midst may have a more full understanding of the views of the Latter-day Saints in regard to the ancient prophecies. You see we are looking for the building up of Zion on the earth, for the lifting up of the standard of the Lord, an ensign for the nations; or in other words, as I read at the commencement of my remarks: “For behold Zion shall go forth and become the joy of the whole earth, and the glory of God shall be upon her and the day shall come when the nations of the earth shall fear and tremble because of her, and shall fear because of her terrible ones.” Why? Because the Lord himself will be in the midst of Zion, before he comes on the Mount of Olives. Now here is the difference between Zion and old Jerusalem. The Jews, or many of them, will gather back to Jerusalem in a state of unbelief in the true Messiah, believing in the prophets but rejecting the New Testament, and looking for the Messiah to come, honest-hearted no doubt, many of them. And they will rebuild Jerusalem after the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. While in that state of unbelief Gog and Magog, the inhabitants of Russia and all those nations in northern Europe and northern Asia, a great multitude, will gather against the Jews before Jesus comes, and they will fill up the great valley of Armageddon, the great valley of Jehosaphat and all the surrounding valleys; they will be like a cloud covering the land. Horses and chariots and horsemen, a very great army, will gather up there to take a spoil. For you know when the Rothschilds and the great bankers among the Jewish nation shall return back to their own land to rebuild the city of Jerusalem, carrying their capital with them it will almost ruin some of the nations, and the latter will go up against Jerusalem to take a spoil. And they will succeed in taking half the city captive; and when they are in the act of destroying that city, behold the Lord will come with all his Saints, and he shall stand his feet on the Mount of Olives, “And in that day” says the Prophet Zechariah “shall the Lord go forth and fight against all those nations that have fought against Jerusalem, and their flesh shall consume away upon their bones, their eyes in their sockets. This great calamity comes upon the Jewish nation. Orson Pratt PS Elder Pratt continues, "This great calamity comes upon the Jewish nation in consequence of their unbelief in the true Messiah. "Not so with Zion, she will be built upon the great western hemisphere in North America, and become a righteous people long before the Jews will gather home. Zion will be built up by the gathering of the Saints from all the nations and kingdoms of the earth. Zion will be built up, her habitations will be reared, her Temple will be built and the glory of God will rest upon them (D&C 84:5) long before these great events in connection with the house of Israel will be fulfilled. Hence there is a difference between Zion and Jerusalem in the latter days." https://scriptures.byu.edu/#:t2230e:j14

Instrument in the Hands of the Lord - To Save A Life

About 1 year ago; It was mid-evening in the middle of Autumn. I was stopping at a fueling station as I normally do to end my night as a taxi driver when I noticed something was amiss. While I was fueling a man who was struggling to breathe, perhaps, had his hand across his heart. He was sitting in the passengers seat and the door haphazardly swung open so that I could see his upper body and he was quietly calling for help. I was given the sharp impression that I had to go over there and see what was the matter. With my White Stone in hand, I began to call local EMS and others to bring them onto the scene. I was dialing the phone when as I was looking around to determine our location for emergency personnel to locate us, I saw a police squad car about to leave, I walked towards him waving my White Stone at him. I said to the gentleman in law enforcement that there was a bother in trouble and we needed to check into him now. Emergency phone services were asking me questions and I was trying to relay to them what I had seen so they could determine who was to come as part of the team of life savers. All at once, the officer shouted that he needed my help and then I slammed the phone onto the ground after telling 911 that I had to go. This man was flat-lining and it was happening right before our very eyes. His children and wife were trying to assemble around us as worried as they were. Many of them were sobbing hoping that their father would be okay. Of his wife and children, he was a smaller man physically than his children but he was no small man. He must have weight 350 lbs and his children made him look tiny in comparison. We tried to pull him out of the seat together in a coordinated effort. His body hit the ground with a thud with both of our hands on him and the officer immediately began to administer CPR as per his EMS training and continued to work on his chest until his companions could arrive. His children and wife began to cry even with more worry and concern. I put my hand gently on their shoulders and would try to back them up gently so that the office had room to work as he was calling for this desired space constantly. It felt like an hour had gone by while the officer was pumping on his chest but it had probably only been 3 minutes. Thankfully the gentleman's wife had pulled over about 4 blocks from the fire station because help COULD arrive. I saw his rescuers arrive from nearby and from the direction I had supposed they would. I continued to feed EMS any additional information that I could so that this could be relayed to the officers and EMS personnel and then I began to facilitate information to the already forming crowd which grew to about 3x its original population just 10 minutes before. I saw men in white shirts hustling back and forth from the ambulance to the man still laying on the ground. They worked feverishly to revive the man who had passed out. I sat in the car with his teenage children to help calm their nerves and relay what information i could to them. In our discussions I discovered that this man had been suffering for some time during the car ride as well but their initial intent was to get to the store and purchase some Asprin. I believe that they knew what was going on and they feared he was about to have a heart attack. I believe that they were correct. I got out of their car to see this team of 8-10 gentlemen and ladies shouting out commands to each other and disclosing signs of success by mentioning when he was accepting their treatment and how they had to get him into the ambulance and that perhaps his wife could ride along with him and hold his hand on the trip to the hospital. I marveled at the sight. Without even a wink o a nod, the lady who was working at this particular ARCO station knew that we had all witnessed a miracle that day. We both knew that time was of the essence and all of the pieces were in place to bring him back to the land of the living. I played a role that day and I am satisfied knowing that God was able to place me in a position to help one soul. My thoughts dwelled on that family for some time afterwards. Did they get to spend another thanksgiving together? Did he get to go home by Christmas? Will he and his family make better choices on what sorts of foods they should eat together or did they revert back to the same lifestyle that put Dad in jeopardy? I don't know this. What I do know and will always know is that they got time. More time together. God is merciful and just. Our days will not be numbered any less. One can become and instrument in the hands of the Lord. I may have become an instrument in his hands simply by taking the time to write this account. One year afterwards, I have felt the impression to write this and other such stories. Hopefully more to come. Hopefully I too will live long upon the Land that the Lord God has given me and that I might continue to be an instrument in his hands to bring about peace in the lives of those whom God places before me. This I do so record and do so in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

The sabbath is for you

The 12th Rib of Adam

I heard a while back there was a connection with the Book of Mormon peoples as it was compared to a rib on the rib cage of Adam. It intrigued me so much that I have not been able to stop thinking about it. Even symbolism from the creation of Adam and Eve has made its way into the purpose of the Book of Mormon. I would love to discuss more about this with everyone here but mostly I want to see what else anyone else has found on the matter and scripturally if there's more to it than just a nice Theory. What I've gathered so far... * the rib cage is designed with 12 ribs and in the symbolism, each rib could symbolize one of the tribes of Israel and 12 symbolizes much althroughout the scriptures. * God extracted one rib and moved it into the woman. Similar to a graft as often spoken of about the olive trees ie Adam's rib was grafted into the woman, Eve, our first mother. Similarly God took one of the branches of the House of Israel and removed it from the man (Adam) of the holy land from the main body of the church in Jerusalem / Israel and used it to create a righteous counterpart for the church in a distant land (Eve) his counterpart. * in scriptures, woman typically represents Church as spoken of in Revelation in the words of New Testament prophets and apostles. So as that rib is used to form a woman as in the story of the creation, the righteous branch of Israel was used to form another entity which had to also become one with the man Adam or rather, the original church. Paul suggests that 'until we all come to the unity of the faith' that we in Christianity are like the married couple still trying to become 'one flesh.' * just as Adam and Eve were to cleave unto one another and become one flesh, The Book of Mormon record contained in the woman would become one flesh once again with the man as Moroni suggest that the Jews will have the words of the Nephites the Nephites was also have the words of the Jews. They would become one in our hand. Thus helping to solidify Ezekiel chapter 37 where talks about the Stick of Joseph in the Stick of Judah becoming one in our hand just like Adam and Eve became one flesh and we're the stronger because of it. Second Article: I heard a while back there was a connection with the Book of Mormon peoples as it was compared to a rib on the rib cage of Adam. It intrigued me so much that I have not been able to stop thinking about it. Even symbolism from the creation of Adam and Eve has made its way into the purpose of the Book of Mormon. I would love to discuss more about this with everyone here but mostly I want to see what else anyone else has found on the matter and scripturally if there's more to it than just a nice Theory. What I've gathered so far... * the rib cage is designed with 12 ribs and in the symbolism, each rib could symbolize one of the tribes of Israel and 12 symbolizes much altheoughout the scriptures. * God extracted one rib and moved it into the woman. Similar to a graft as often spoken of about the olive trees, let's say a rib was grafted into woman. We LDS believe that God took one of the branches of the House of Israel and removed it from the man the holy land or the main body of the church in Jerusalem / Israel and used it to create a righteous counterpart for the church in a distant land much like God grafted a rib into eve to give her life. * in scriptures, woman dutifully represents Church as spoken of in Revelation in the words of New Testament prophets and apostles. So as that rib is used to form a woman as in the story of the creation, the righteous branch of Israel was used to form another Testament of God's love breathing life again into the church. * just as Adam and Eve were to cleave unto one another and become one flesh, The Book of Mormon record contained in the woman would become one flesh once again with the man as Moroni suggest that the Jews will have the words of the Nephites the Nephites was also have the words of the Jews... or that the church which was formed by God could eventually become one flesh with Adam, till all come to the unity of faith... the rest if Adam ... 11 ribs in all, the main body. Bonus They would become one in our hand. Thus helping to solidify Ezekiel chapter 37 where talks about the Stick of Joseph in the Stick of Judah becoming one in our hand just like Adam and Eve became one flesh and we're the stronger because of it. Post script: spoken of in Jewish wisdom and proverb, the coming together of a man and a woman and letting them become of one flesh no less than a miracle then Moses parting the Red Sea. Hence, it would certainly be miraculous to see the Book of Mormon in the Bible come together become one and it would be a miracle to see those group to get along just as a married couple should.