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Volume 10 #4
July/August, 2004

Ephraim's Forum



Honor & Power

"How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!  How art
thou cut down to the ground, which did weaken the nations!  For thou hast
said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt
my throne above the stars of God: I will be like the most High.  Yet thou
shalt be brought down to hell." (Isaiah14:12-15)  Realistically Lucifer didn
't do anything that most people don't consider to be reasonable and right,
it is simply how this world works.

Lucifer was a man with a plan; figured it was good; wanted to implement it;
but first and foremost he wanted to ensure that the credit, the glory, and
any accompanying power went to him.  In one way he didn't do much more than
desire to take out a patent on a new product he had invented.  In yet
another way, that hopefully few of us aspire to, he wanted to rise above his
superior, and to, ultimately, take His position.

 "That Satan. came before me saying, -- Behold, here am  I, I will be thy
son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and
surely I will do it; wherefore give me thine honor." (Moses 4:1-2)  And also
Satan, "sought to destroy the agency of man."  (Moses 4:3)

Let's see, first he wanted honor and glory; secondly he wanted position and
power, and thirdly he was willing to obtain these things via an usurpation;
taking from others that which rightfully belonged to them.  Sounds like any
"honest" politician trying to get elected.

Think about the politics of Jesus when He told Pilate, "My kingdom is not of
this world: [The word world used in this instance was actually the Greek
word Kosmos, Cosmos to us, indicating the order of things.]... Thou sayest
that I am a king.  To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into
the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth." (John 18:36-37)

As I look at John Kerry and George Bush I hear no appeal for truth and
light, but a gangling din of accusations and arguments based on rhetoric
(the art of persuasion) and public appeal.  My conclusions about these men's
military service is: Kerry was a coward who injured himself and lied in
order to escape from Vietnam; Bush had a daddy who could pull strings for
him when he decided to play "hookey" from the army.  I consider them both to
be liars and frauds; if this is the best my country can offer me then my
vote amounts to nothing; what difference does it make if I vote for Pepsi in
a bottle or Pepsi in a can?

Once upon a time there were men who established a government, after the
order (Kosmos) of Jesus' kingdom; being that of truth.  They wrote a
declaration which stated; "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all
men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain
unalienable Rights."  It was because of these "truths" that the declaration
was written, and the entire basis of their declaration.

When the devil rebelled against God he said, "Give me thine honor, which is
my [Gods] power. ."  (D&C29:36)  The power wielded by these men was their
lives, their Fortunes, and their sacred "Honor."  And they had, "a firm
reliance on the protection of Divine Providence."  And why not, In Jonh
12:26 it states, "if any man serve me, him will my Father honor."  Perhaps
it should read, "if any man serve me, him will my Father empower."  I say
this as these men were empowered mentally and emotionally to take on the
mightiest power on earth; which at that time was Great Britain.  And they
were empowered in being capable of breaking free of the hold Great Britain
had on them.  These were the men God had chosen before the world was; whose
mission it was to give back to mankind that which Satan was intent on
taking, and is still intent on taking, the eternal rights, and with it, the
honor of man.

These men had a plan, and in that plan they could see that only through the
providence and power of God could they ever expect to attain to glory and
honor; the mightiest power on earth wanted them dead; and that
ignominiously.  Far from seeking power and position for themselves they were
intent on giving position and power to others as well as themselves, and
that on a basis of equality.  In order to accomplish these things many of
them made incredible sacrifices, some gave all they had.  These men were not
usurpers, but were desirous to give others their rights, whereby others
might obtain power, and honor, and glory; or via those rights, dash their
hopes forever by choosing to do evil rather than good.  These men did not
take, but gave, and in their doing so obtained everlasting honor.

I am afraid we have lost honor even to the understanding of its meaning.
Honor is both a noun and a verb.  As a noun; honor is that in which truth
and right exists, or resides.  Thus anyone has honor who is willing to stand
up for, be in league with, or more especially, be valiant in the defense of,
the principles of truth and right, has honor.  As a verb honor is to
respect, comply with, defer to, place oneself in obedience to, or to be
loyal to those persons or things that are honorable, i.e. to truth and
right.

            There is a cylindrical motion in honor that creates within the
parties involved an expansion, and or, a development of higher and higher
levels or degrees of honor.  This happens when that which chooses to honor
truth and right becomes imbued by that truth and right. This, in turn,
creates a higher degree of honor within that entity.  At every step in
progression choices exist to choose from.  In every choice there exists a
decision made of obedience or disobedience, of deference or obstinacy, of
valor or cowardice, of refraining or indulgence, etc. all of which bring to
us honor or dishonor, according to our choice.  Every one of us, every day,
makes these decisions every day that bring us closer to the Father of
lights, or move us further away from Him.

            Honor is the only principle upon which any type of love can be
based.  Anything other is not true but a perversion fashioned after the
pattern of Lucifer who sought for that which could not, nor ever can be,
his.  Honor can be the only guiding light.  It is the North Star that leads
us into the warmth of everlasting love and away from this world of darkness
and despair.



Never Been to Me
written by Ken Kirsch and Ronald Miller
sung by Charlene

Hey lady, you, lady, cursin' at your life
You're a discontented mother and a regimented wife
I've no doubt you dream about the things you never do
But I wish someone had a talk to me like I wanna talk to you
Ooh I've been to Georgia and California, oh, anywhere I could run
Took the hand of a preacherman and we made love in the sun
But I ran out of places and friendly faces because I had to be free
I've been to paradise, but I've never been to me

Please lady, please, lady, don't just walk away
'Cause I have this need to tell you why I'm all alone today
I can see so much of me still living in your eyes
Won't you share a part of a weary heart that has lived a million lies
Oh I've been to Nice and the isle of Greece
Where I sipped champagne on a yacht
I moved like Harlow in Monte Carlo and showed 'em what I've got
I've been undressed by kings and I've seen some things
That a woman ain't s'posed to see
I've been to paradise, but I've never been to me

(this part is spoken...) Hey, you know what paradise is? It's a lie.
A fantasy we create about people and places as we'd like them to be.
But you know what truth is?
It's that little baby you're holding, and it's that man you fought with this
morning,
the same one you're going to make love with tonight. That's truth, that's
love.

Sometimes I've been to cryin' for unborn children
That might have made me complete
But I, I took the sweet life and never knew I'd be bitter from the sweet
I spent my life exploring the subtle whoring that cost too much to be free
Hey lady, I've been to paradise, but I've never been to me
I've been to paradise - never been to me
(I've been to Georgia and California, and anywhere I could run)
I've been to paradise - never been to me
(I've been to Nice and the isle of Greece
While I sipped champagne on a yacht)
I've been to paradise - never been to me
(I've been to cryin' for unborn children...)
            This song was a hit in 1982.  I find it interesting that a song
with a message like this would have been such a big hit.  Perhaps I will
delve deeper into this area at some other time; in the meantime I feel the
lyrics are worth repeating.

Catholic Elementary School Test

This comes from a Catholic elementary school test. Kids were asked questions

about the Old and New Testaments. The following statements about the Bible
were

written by children. They have not been retouched or corrected (i.e.,

incorrect spelling has been left in).





1. In the first book of the bible, Guinessis, God got tired of creating the

world, so he took the Sabbath off.

2. Adam and Eve were created from an apple tree. Noah's wife was called Joan

of Ark. Noah built an ark, which the animals come on to in pears.

3. Lot's wife was a pillar of salt by day, but a ball of fire by night.

4. The Jews were a proud people and throughout history they had trouble with

the unsympathetic Genitals.

5. Samson was a strongman who let himself be led astray by a Jezebel like

Delilah.

6. Samson slayed the Philistines with the axe of the Apostles.

7. Moses led the Hebrews to the Red Sea, where they made unleavened bread

which is bread without any ingredients.

8. The Egyptians were all drowned in the dessert. Afterwards, Moses went up

on Mount Cyanide to get the ten amendments.

9. The first commandment was when Eve told Adam to eat the apple.

10. The seventh commandment is thou shalt not admit adultery.

11. Moses died before he ever reached Canada. Then Joshua led the Hebrews in

the battle of Geritol.

12. The greatest miracle in the Bible is when Joshua told his son to stand

still and he obeyed him.

13. David was a hebrew king skilled at playing the liar. He fought the

Finklesteins, a race of people who lived in Biblical times.

14. Solomon, one of David's sons, had 300 wives and 700 porcupines.

15. When Mary heard that she was the mother of Jesus, she sang the Magna

Carta.

16. When the three wise guys from the east side arrived, they found Jesus in

the manager.

17. Jesus was born because Mary had an immaculate contraption.

18. St. John the blacksmith dumped water on his head.

19. Jesus enunciated the Golden Rule, which says to do one to others before

they do one to you. He also explained, a man doth not live by sweat alone.

20. It was a miracle when Jesus rose from the dead and managed to get the

tombstone off the entrance.

21. The people who followed the lord were called the 12 decibels.

22. The epistles were the wives of the apostles.

23. One of the oppossums was St. Matthew who was also a taximan.

24. St. Paul cavorted to Christianity. He preached holy acrimony, which is

another name for marriage.

25. Christians have only one spouse. This is called monotony