To: My Beloved family and friends
From: Dad, Grandpa etc. Richard Pratt
Re: Our Personal life in a distressed world (continued)
You see, the righteous are protected until they have finished their allotted time on the earth. President Spencer W. Kimball said; that we all have an allotted time to live in this mortal life and that the obedient may not lengthen theirs much while the disobedient shorten theirs a great deal.
This is certainly true in my own life. So many times my life has been on the line and it has been preserved by a miracle. While all the male friends of my youth (we were the only LDS) have been dead for fifty years or more, mostly from defiling their bodies with the poisons of the mortal world. Two or three women still survive and we exchange letters two or three times a year. The young ladies of those early days did not smoke or drink so they have lasted longer.
Now I’m going to start with the aftermath of Noah’s flood and describe some of the events in which the Lord protected and saved individuals, groups of people, and whole armies. For as the scriptures say, “not even a sparrow falls to the ground that God is not aware of it. And if you are privileged to have God speak to you or an angel, they will always call you by your first name. I know, I have heard it. In his description of the First Vision the prophet says, “and I saw two men standing in the light above my head, and one pointing to the other, and calling me by name said, “Joseph” this is my beloved Son hear him.”
As the time of the flood approached the allotted animals came and entered the ark and Noah, 600 years old, Japheth 150 years old, Shem 142 years old and Ham 100 years old and their wives, a total of eight entered the Ark. Here is an interesting note, “and they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded them: “AND THE LORD SHUT HIM IN.”
WHY DID THE Lord shut them in? Where did those non-believes outside of the ark suddenly become BELIEVERS? Where did they immediately run to?
Some of these now-believers would have headed for the only safe place, you guessed it. THE ARK. Some would have been family.
As they beat on the side of the ark and cried, let us in, let us in. The parental and friendly love of those inside would be to open the door and let them in. But God closed the door and it took nearly a year before Noah and sons figured out the combination and finally opened the door.
By this time the ark had sailed half way round the world and finally came aground on the top of Mt Ararat. Genesis 8:4 Altitude over 16,000 feet. (Kings Peak the highest in Utah is 13,568 feet. Piolets start putting the oxygen at 13,000 feet.
Mt. Ararat is on the Turkish, Russian border between the Black and Caspian Sea at the headwaters of the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers. Naturally as the occupants, man and beast evacuated the Ark they would have gone down stream to a warmer clime, the Mesopotamia Valley which means the land between two rivers. There we find the remains of mans earliest settlements. And it is assumed that if there was a garden of Eden it would have been in that area. Of course they deny that the flood ever happened. The destructive power of water is unbelievable and all signs of the civilization existing before the flood was washed away and or buried.
There is much more I could write about this perhaps I’ll come back to it in a later memo.
The four families exited the Ark and being the only occupants of the cleansed earth they no doubt stayed together in peace and love, and harmony. Until the babies started coming. The first recorded birth is Arpharad born two years after the flood. He was probably not the first. Genesis chapter 10 gives the names of the male babies born to the three sons or at least part of them and we learn that Japheth was the father of the Gentiles (means all people who are not part of Israel) Ham, whose wife was black of course became the head of the Negroids, Shem named one of his sons Eber from which comes the Hebrews and us. And by these were the nations begun after the flood. “And the whole earth was of one language and one speech.” Genesis 11:1
all was serene, peace and happiness. Yes? No! About the third or fourth generation came a man named Nimrod a grandson of Ham and therefore black. In the Bible he is called a “mighty hunter.” but from other sources such as Josephus we learn that Noah lived to see his descendants reestablish the wicked abominations of the pre-flood period. No doubt Noah labored against these degenerate trends with the last vestige of vigor left in his aging body. Perhaps that is why Nimrod and many of the people journeyed from the East (the Tigris River) and came over to the Euphrates River Valley called Shinar, Where they would not have to listen to Noah and his sons preaching to them. The wicked always prefer working in the dark.
The Jewish historians write that Nimrod began to be mighty in sin, a murder of innocent men and a rebel before the Lord. In another place they say: “He was mighty in hunting and in sin before God, for he was a hunter of the children of men.”
He built a mighty city with the Euphrates River running thru it. The city was fifteen miles square with an avenue every mile both directions the whole surrounded by a rock wall 300 feet high. It was considered invincible. One of the areas inside the city was devoted to building the Tower of Babel, a gigantic structure one quarter of a mile at the base and six hundred forty feet high. The city was later captured in one day and destroyed. But to this day “Babylon” stands as a sign of wickedness and we are constantly reminded to “Come out of Babylon.”
So with in two hundred years after the flood (Noah had 150 years yet to live) the cleansed earth was again drowning in the cess pool of its own making. Human sacrifices, heathen idolatry, imperialistic conquest and institutionalized immorality characterized civilization. Once again the race was corrupting its way upon the earth. It was as tho the majority of humanity had become like a lethal swamp filled with decay and stagnation.
But there were islands of righteousness throughout the people, as the Lord, thru the Priesthood provided areas of safety for the faithful.
Such was the ancient city of Salem later to become Jerusalem. Ruled over by a righteous king, a man named Melckizedek. Because of his influence all the subjects of h is kingdom accepted and lived the gospel. And the power of the Priesthood which is the power of God became known as the Melchizedek Priesthood. Previously it had been called “The Holy Priesthood after the order of the Son of God.” but out of respect or reverence to the name of the Supreme Being, to avoid the too frequent repetition of his name, the church in ancient days, called the priesthood after Melchizedek.
King David in the Bible spoke of the Savior as “A Priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek” Psalms 110:4
Abraham visited Salem and payed tithing to the church via Melchizedek.
But a few years later when he took his son, Isaac up on Mt. Salem to sacrifice him to the Lord there was only bare rocks at the site. The city and its people had been translated to join the city of Enoch that had enjoyed the same release from this wicked world.
And when we are inquiring about the origin of heathen religions. They did not originate or evolve as the teachers teach. THEY WERE PROMOTED by evil men who were trying to destroy God. Idolatrus practices did not come into existence until long after true religion had been revealed from heaven. Heathen worship was set up by defiant and rebellious men. Heathen philosophy was brewed up in the dark minds of men who had apostatized from the truth and had set about to destroy the gospel which was had from the beginning. So again the learned men have it backwards, even as they do on the origin of man. Stone age men are not on their way up, they are on the way down having apostatized from it. So religion did not evolve; but false religion has been and is still being promoted by the wicked.
So the Lord sent a new prophet to earth to try and save his children. Named Abram which the Lord later changed his name to Abraham, meaning the “Father of the Faithful.”
Abraham was born in the ancient city of “Ur” about 150 miles downstream from wicked Babylon in the year 2000 B.C. exactly half way between the Fall of Adam and the birth of Jesus Christ. It was also the death date of Noah even tho Abraham was ten generations later. The evil Nimrod had just died, wicked Babylon was flourishing. Mankind was doomed again or so it seemed to be hanging on one man, Abraham. And then that thread was about to be broken for his idolatress father Terah took his teenage son to the priest to be offered as a human sacrifice. Just prior three sisters had been murdered on the bloody alter because they would not surrender their virginity to the evil priests. Surprisingly only the innocent and the pure were qualified to be sacrifices. Babies were used and were placed in the red-hot arms of a stove shaped like a man with out stretched arms on which the screaming child would be placed and fortunately were roasted to a crisp instantly.
Older victims like the three sisters and Abraham were stripped, laid on their backs and stretched legs and arms secured. The priest then delivered some type of prayer raised the sacrificial knife, plunged it into the abdomen ripped the victim in half and reached in, grabbed the beating heart, ripped it out still beating, and held it aloft to the cheering of the congregation.
Now I’ve hesitated to write such a gruesome account but feel that you need to know how low people can descend and how rapidly.
From the “First Two Thousand Years” by W. Cleon Skousen. (A personal friend)
But the Lord had other plans for that evil Priest and for righteous Abraham. For as the knife was raised an angel appeared and the Priest was struck dead. Abraham was freed and went on his life long mission of establishing the truth or the True God in the World.
Illustrating the point that I am trying to make. “Have NO FEAR in the service of the TRUE GOD.” Those that he allows to be murdered such as the three sisters will stand as witnesses at the judgement day against that wicked generation and will secure their eternal place in the Celestial Kingdom of our God.
While Abram became known as the father of the faithful, and lived to one hundred seventy five - a ripe old age by then as the Lord shortened the longevity from near one thousand years until five hundred years after Abraham the life of man was shortened to three score (60) and ten or 70 years and to eighty it says if they were strong. With all of our modern medicine few live beyond that age.
The Lord said to Abraham, “I will bless thee above measure; “and Abraham was very rich in cattle, in silver and gold.
Third: “I will...make thy name great among all nations. Today Abraham is honored by all the Christian nations , all of the Muhammadans, and by the millions of Jews. Altogether about one-half of the earths population honors the name of Abraham. In time all the rest will honor him also.
(Ibid 278) But that is not all. He was promised that as many as receive the gospel shall be accounted thy seed. (Although half the world profess Abraham as their father, only a few have accepted the true gospel as taught by Abraham. But they all will before the Judgement day.
Abraham was further told. “I will bless them that bless thee and curse them that curse thee. The lord has always promised to bless those who aid his servants. As Jesus said: “He that receiveth you, receiveth me.”
Abraham was further promised. “I give unto thee a promise that this right (of the Priesthood) shall continue in thee.” Only the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints have the least idea what the “Melchizedek Priesthood is.” and many of them do not comprehend its full meaning or enjoy its full blessings. The next two or three memos will have some examples.
He was told, “In thy seed after thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed, even with the blessings of the Gospel.” the blessings of the Gospel, which are the blessings, even of life eternal.
Abraham continued to live in that area until he was sixty two years old. He had married his niece, his brothers daughter, Sarai,(NOTE: like Abram’s name was changed to Abraham, Sarai’s name was changed by the Lord to, Sarah. Try looking her up in the Bible Dictionary.) marrying close relatives was a common practice in those days. By this time he had become very wealthy and owned many thousands of cattle and sheep.
The Lord commanded him to move and that he would be led to a choice land that would be given to him and his righteous descendants forever. He left Haran going Northward up the river taking his possessions and family and “All the souls that he had won in Haran.” and we know from later information that his party and family numbered over one thousand souls.
We haven’t time nor is it my purpose to follow Abraham further. They must have traveled very slowly, perhaps only three or four miles a day as they grazed the livestock forward.
Watch for the next memo in which I hope to illustrate some of the miracles in the lives of our military and others who have OBEYED GOD.
My love always,
Dad, Grandpa etc. Richard Marden Pratt
I thought you might be interested in Dad’s Priesthood line of authority.
Richard M. Pratt was ordained an Elder by William R. Sloan who was ordained by Heber S. Allen who was ordained by Apostle Teasdale who was ordained by Brigham Young who was ordained by Joseph Smith who was ordained by Peter, James and John who were ordained by Jesus Christ.
As we set our goals for the new year let us center our homes and thoughts in Jesus Christ, We will be led to be kinder, more loving, more thoughtful. Indeed we will put on the whole armor of God, becoming as he is. The more we embrace these goals the more we will want to share what we have found. Just like our wonderful parents dedicated their lives to being Christ like. Wow they were well read and Wow did they ever live what they believed. They really set a great example for us to follow.
The gospel of Jesus Christ is JOY! It is PEACE! It is PURE! HE LIVES! We can let our spirits become prepared in every needful thing and when we are prepared the storms of life will not have power over us to weigh us down. Happy New Year. God bless us everyone!
