September 1, 2010 (written Feb. 2009)
To: My Beloved Family & Friends
From: Dad, Grandpa etc. Richard M Pratt
Re: The Creation
The first great errors made by these researchers is in relation to the age of the earth. Evolution demands great periods of time for its purpose and in the imagination of their hearts have chosen a time far beyond the knowledge and power of research to fathom.
The ancient ancestors of the African savage...in the third generation from Adam, were musicians, and made harps and organs and were workers in brass and iron.
“Jubal was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ...and Tubal-Cain was an instructor of every artifice in brass and iron.” Genesis 4:21-22.
(These men, descendants of Cain and therefore black were only three generations removed from Adam who would have been their great-grandfather) We discover, thus, that men were intelligent from the beginning.
“And as one earth shall pass away, and the heavens thereof even so shall another come; and there is no end to my works neither to my words. For behold, this is my work and my glory to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.” Moses 1:38-39
But there is another thing to be considered, are the wicked to receive this earth as an inheritance? Not; for Jesus did not say, blessed are the wicked for they shall inherit the earth; this promise was made only to the meek. Who are the meek: None but those who receive the same ordinances the earth has received, and be baptized with fire and the Holy Ghost, as this earth will be when Jesus comes to reign upon it a thousand years; and be clothed upon with the glory of God, as the earth will be; and after they have died as the earth will die, they will have to be resurrected, as the earth will be resurrected, and then receive their inheritance upon it.”
Orson Pratt, J. Of D. 1:293
it is your right under these conditions to know the truth which makes us free. You cannot be a true member of the Church and reject Jesus Christ. You cannot be a faithful member and reject the scriptures ~ Bible, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants and Pearl of Great Price
for these are the standards of our faith. If you accept them you cannot accept organic evolution for they are diametrically opposed to each other.
1. Worlds without number have been created.
2. They have been created as habitations for the children of God.
3. The great work and glory of our Father in Heaven is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.
4. Inhabitants of other worlds are begotten sons and daughters of God.
5. When one earth passes away to its exaltation another comes.
6. The making of earths is a glorious work which has been carried on eternally.
The above being true then does it not appear to you that it is a foolish and ridiculous notion that when God created this earth he had to begin with a speck of protoplasm, and take millions if not billions of years to bring conditions to pass by which his sons and daughters might obtain bodies made in his image? Why not the shorter route and transplant them from another earth as we are taught in the scriptures.
Also be it remembered, and all who accept the Gospel should remember it, every creature is eternal. Evolutionists do not believe in the existence of spirit, for man or animal, but we, as
members of the church do. The Lord has revealed it.
Another thing I wish to say. A man cannot serve God and mammon. Organic evolution is destructive of faith in God. It is rebellion against him. Those who accept this pernicious doctrine cannot consistently believe in the fall of Adam. If they do not believe in the fall of Adam they cannot believe in Jesus Christ, for if Adam had not transgressed the law under which he was placed on this earth, there would have been no occasion for a redemption. How could Adam be redeemed from something that never happened.
Their theories are not compatible with faith in the God of the scriptures. They consistently have to reject the Son ship of Jesus Christ. They deny the resurrection of man and even of Jesus Christ. Many of them say they honor him as a teacher, a wonderful advocate of truth, but they cannot receive him as the Messiah, the Savior of the world. Therefore, I appeal to all people everywhere, turn away from these destructive teachings, for if you tamper with them they will eventually destroy your soul.
The bible reveals in several passages the pre-existence of man in the spirit. “And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew. For I, the Lord God, created all things, before they were naturally upon the face of the earth...and I, the Lord God, had created ALL the children of men; and not yet a man to till the ground; for in heaven created I them; and there was not yet flesh upon the earth, neither in the water, neither in the air.” Moses 3: 5 The spirit is not created at birth, but is eternal. “These evolutionists; these mighty men of renown, like those mentioned in the days before the flood, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown, had one great defect, their wickedness was great, and the imagination of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually.” Any man, no matter how renowned he becomes who endeavors to destroy faith in God, in Jesus Christ as the Redeemer of the world and the Savior of mankind, the only Begotten Son of God is a wicked man. I care not how well he may be received and honored by his fellow men, if he takes a course of that kind, which will tend to lead admiring persons away from the worship of the true God, Elohim and his Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, and will ridicule the sacred writings of the scriptures is a wicked man. I repeat the greatest crime of all is to destroy faith in God and in the living, unchangeable saving principles of the Gospel.” page 317
Interestingly, allowing five generations to each one hundred years which is a generation every twenty years we, today are only three hundred generations from Adam and Eve or they are about our 300 great grandparents. Doesn’t seem so long ago does it? The Book of Mormon is a second witness that Adam and Eve existed and testifies with the Bible as does the Pearl of Great Price that they were the beginning of man on this planet some 6,000 years ago and were the first flesh on the earth.
Three yeas previous to the death of Adam, he called all his righteous descendants to the Valley of Adam-ondi-Ahman and there bestowed upon them his last blessing...and the Lord appeared unto them, and they rose up and blessed Adam, and called him Michael, the prince, the archangel. (Arch means first and Michael means who is like God.)
Michael is first mentioned in Daniel but not identified.
Then we read, “before man was placed on the earth, there was war in Heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels... and the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the devil and Satan which deceiveth the whole world; he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him...and they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb.” Revelations 12:7-11
Adam not only stands at the head ruling over his posterity as a prince unto them forever; but also he has been appointed to hold the keys of salvation for the benefit of the people of all the world who will truly repent and receive the gospel, and this great honor is bestowed upon him to act under the direction of Jesus Christ who is the only Begotten Son of God and the holy one of Israel...the day will come when we will have to face this first man who has been crowned with honor to stand next to Jesus Christ holding the keys of salvation; and you will not pass through the gates into that kingdom without his consent.
The Father of Jesus is our Father also, Jesus himself taught this truth, when he instructed his disciples how to pray: “Our Father which art in Heaven” Matthew 6:9
Jesus however is the Firstborn among all the sons of God ~ The first begotten in the Sprit, and the only Begotten in the flesh. He is our elder brother, and we, like him are in the image of God. Genesis 1:27 All men and women are in the similitude of the universal Father and Mother, and are literally the sons and daughters of Deity.
“God created man in his own image.” this is just as true of the spirit as it is of the body, which is only the clothing of the spirit, its compliment; the two together constitute the soul of man. The spirit of man is in the form of man, and the spirits of all creatures are in the likeness of their bodies.
Man, by searching, cannot find out God. Never unaided, will he discover the truth about the beginning of human life. The Lord must reveal himself, or remain unrevealed; and the same is true of the facts relating to the origin of Adams race, God alone can reveal them. Some of these facts, however, are already known, and what has been made known it is our duty to receive and retain.
God formed every plant that grows and every animal that breaths, each after its own kind, spiritually and temporally “that which is spiritual being in the likeness of that which is temporal and that which is temporal in ;the likeness of that which is spiritual.
Some members of the church who are readily disturbed by the philosophies and theories taught in the colleges and it is difficult for them to see that these doctrines are false. Many of the theories are proclaimed with such positive finality that those weak in the faith are confused or perhaps inclined to accept the deductions of these teachers and think that the revelations must be wrong. This is a step towards apostasy. As the Lord declared, we cannot serve two masters. We cannot accept the hypotheses of science which are in conflict with that which is here set forth in clearness at the same time, they are diametrically opposite to each other.
Therefore it seems part of wisdom to present more testimony than is obtainable in the direct word of the Lord, therefore I shall proceed to present some of the writings of others of the church who were schooled under the Prophet Joseph Smith. Here is a quote from Brigham Young: “It is a true saying of the Saviors...He came for the express purpose of dividing the righteous from the wicked. We see this principle verified from days of old. It was demonstrated in the very commencement of the peopling of the earth. How soon an opposition was introduced in the morning of creation. When righteousness was proclaimed, when truth was revealed, when the light and knowledge of eternity shone with lustrous beauty upon Adam and his children. Cain must rise up and slay his brother.”
How did Adam and Eve sin: did they come out in direct opposition to God? No. They transgressed a command of the Lord, and thru this transgression sin came into the world...then came the curse upon our mother earth, and it came upon the creeping things, upon the grain, the fish, and upon all things pertaining to this earth. Thank you, thank you, to our first parents, Thank you. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is true. The scriptures are true. Be true to these God given principles. I suggest reading the selections from Moses in the Pearl of Great Price this is a small book of only 27 pages. It details the creation beautifully.
I love you each and everyone
Dad, Grandpa etc
Richard Marden Pratt
The following was written to the great grandsons in 2008. I’m sure it applies to us all. Enjoy
To: all my great grandsons December 25, 2008
From: Your Great Grandfather, Richard Marden Pratt
You don’t think I know you. But I do. True, I’ve only seen you a few times in this life but we were intimately acquainted prior to this life when there was war in heaven and Michael (Adam) and his angels (us) fought against the dragon (Satan) and his angels. And we cast them out of heaven. And we overcame them by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of our testimony! (That’s us). We cast them here upon the earth that in the mortal flesh we might be tried and tested, for there must needs be opposition in all things.
And the devil was wroth with the church, and went to make war with its members, which keep the commandments of God, And have the testimony of Jesus Christ. Rev. 12
That war, started in our Heavenly Home, is now raging on earth to its final conclusion prior to the second coming of our Lord, Jesus Christ.
In that pre earth war it appears that we out numbered the devils by two to one. And if we look just at numbers that is true. But notice that those who were effective in casting out the Satanic hosts had two things going for them that the bulk of the two thirds did not have and so there participation in that eviction was minimal and not of much effect. Those two things were
1. The blood of the Lamb, meaning the Power of the Holy Priesthood to act in his name. And
2. Our Testimony. For with that Christ given power and our obedience we could overcome all things.
For in Alma we read that we “were called and prepared from the foundation of the earth, that we chose good over evil and because of our faith (in the Spirit world) being prepared from the foundation of the world we were called in the Spirit World, ordained High Priests and with this power were able to do all things that would bring to pass the great work of our Heavenly Father. Alma ch. 13
We are also told that we received the title of “Israel”. Deut: 32:7-8 ~ Acts 17: 24-27. “Israel” means a Prince or Princess of God the Eternal Father. And with that title, by obedience, we may become as God is. The same thing can be said of each of us as was said unto the prophet Jeremiah, “Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.” Mer. 1:4-5
Not only were we chosen “Israelites” before we were mortal but we are also of the leading tribe of the twelve tribes who is Joseph sold into slavery by his brothers. Joseph was given a double portion and from his twin sons came the two tribes Ephraim and Mannasah.
My Patriarchal blessing says, “Thou art a pure Ephraimite.” therefore you too are “Ephraim” and like Jeremiah you were chosen before you were born “to be a prophet unto the nations.”
As the oldest brother, then, we have certain privileges and rights and also a great responsibility. That responsibility consists of preparing our less active, less believing brothers and sisters for the second coming of our Lord and King even Jesus Christ.
“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout... and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain (and many of you will be) shall be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. And so shall we ever be with the Lord.
1 Thess. 4:16-18
The army of God needs each one of us desperately to save all of our brothers and sisters that will listen and we will do it by our testimony and thru the blood of Jesus Christ.
You have only a brief period of time from age 19 - 26 to enlist for two years. Two years of the hardest but most important work you may ever do. If you are in this age range please go down to the enlistment (Bishop’s) office and sign up now. You will be forever grateful that you did. We must have all our brothers and sisters, living and dead prepared. Most of them will not listen and their fate will be like that described in my Patriarchal Blessing, “Thou shalt go forth to meet the Savior at his coming, thou shalt witness the destruction of the wicked as they are consumed by fire. Thy heart shall cry out in lamentations over them.” but I will know that I did my best to warn and teach them.
I have filled four missions for a total of six years and two months at my own expense and wish I could go again and I soon will receive, with my wife, a fifth call when I step thru the veil called death. I hope to be able to call again on the same people who rejected us here until every soul, save the few sons of perdition, will be saved in some degree of glory.
And the Lord makes this promise unto all who follow him to victory. “He that receiveth me receiveth my Father, and he that receiveth my Father receiveth my Father’s kingdom, therefore all that my Father Hath shall be given unto him.” That means we become as he is, we become Gods. D&C 84: 33-45
And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world and then shall the end come. Matt. 24:14
Be sure not to cheat yourself out of this great experience. In my missions I’ve experienced nearly every kind of miracle promised those who believe, raising of the dead, casting out evil spirits, speaking in tongues, healing the sick.
But the one that stands out most in my mind is the need I had for 10,000 concrete blocks. My nearest source was three months away in Australia. The next morning, after asking in prayer, a large crate stood in front of our shack. It contained a cement block making machine, fresh from three months away Australia. Wow! You plus the Lord can do all things. See you at the enlistment office.
I love you my dear grandsons! Go forth to spread the gospel.
My love always,
your great grandfather Richard Marden Pratt
So here I sit this beautiful Christmas morning full of love for each of you. You are full of promise! Keep the faith!
