April 1, 2012 (written April
4, 2008)
To:
My beloved family & friends share
at: http://www.prattmemos.blogspot.com
From: Dad, Grandpa etc. Richard Marden Pratt
Re: Prophetic warnings continued
The ideal society is pictured
in 4th Nephi. At the crucifixion of Jesus in Jerusalem a terrible
destruction took place in the Americas and most of the people were destroyed.
Followed by three days and nights of abysmal darkness. During this darkness a
voice spoke from heaven saying: “O all ye that are spared because ye were more
righteous than they, will ye not now return unto me and repent of your sins,
and be converted, that I may heal you? Yea, verily I say unto you, if ye will
come unto me ye shall have eternal life. Behold, mine arm of mercy is extended
towards you, whosoever will come, him will I receive; and blessed are those who
come unto me. Behold I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
3rd Nephi 9:13-15
The survivors did repent and began
to live the gospel plan. “Love one another and love me your Savior.” and the
results were phenomenal!
“There were no envyings, nor
strifes, nor tumults, nor whoredoms, nor lyings, nor murders, nor any manner of
lasciviousness; and surely there could not be a happier people among all
the people who had been created by the hand of God. Yea they were blessed and
prospered....”
4th Nephi 16-18
Yet in less than two hundred years
they had sunk back into their old cess-pool of living and in less than another
two hundred years all were destroyed and the Nephite nation ceased to exist.
Now let us go back to the Bible and
see the prophecies uttered by the prophets and the Savior, himself, concerning
our day. “For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall
deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that ye be not
troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For
nation shall rise against nation. And kingdom against kingdom; and there shall
be famines, and pestilences and earthquakes in divers places. And these are the
beginning of sorrows. And many false prophets shall rise and shall deceive
many. But he that endures unto the end, the same shall be saved.
And this gospel of the kingdom
shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then
shall the end come...For there shall arise false christs, and false
prophets and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that if it were
possible, they shall deceive the very elect... immediately after the
tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not
give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the
heavens shall be shaken.....and they shall see the son of many coming in the
clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with
a great sound of a trumpet and they shall gather together his elect from the
four winds, from one end of the heaven to the other.....verily I say unto
you, this generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.....
Therefore be ye also ready; for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man
cometh.
Matthew 24:5-44
Note: The prophecies of modern
prophets agree completely with the Saviors of two thousand years ago. Now let
us check back two thousand years before Christ.
Moses touches lightly upon the end
days of Israel who had given him so much trouble about 1500 B.C. “Then the Lord
thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return
and gather thee from all the nations, whither the Lord thy God hath scattered
thee. If any of thine be driven, out unto the outmost parts of heaven, from
thence will the Lord thy God ~ 2 ~
gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee. And the
Lord thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and
thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy
fathers...for the Lord will again rejoice over thee for good, as he rejoiced
over thy fathers. Deuteronomy 29:2-9
Note: Each succeeding prophet
became more explicit on the future of Israel. And we can’t touch them all in
such a few pages but suffice it to say that the chastisements that follow the
erring ones and the blessings for the righteous are always the same.
Disobedience brings punishment as needed to save them and salvation is the
inheritance of the faithful. Or as the psalmist sang: “The fear of the Lord
is the beginning of wisdom; a good understanding have all they that do his
commandments; his praise endureth forever.”
Psalms 111:10
I love the closing verses of
Ecclesiastes: “and further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many
books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh.”
“Let us hear the conclusion
of the whole matter; Fear God, and keep his commandments; for this is the whole
duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgement, with every
secret thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil.”
Ecclesiastes 12:12-14
Isaiah goes into great detail on
the scattering and gathering of Israel but I’ll just call your attention to two
verses: “and the Lord will create upon every dwelling place of
mount Zion and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and
the shining of a flaming fire by night; for upon all the glory shall be a
defense. And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the
daytime from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from storm
and from rain. Isaiah 4:5-6
Notice: That in the scary final
days there will be safety in three places: #1, the homes of the faithful and
#2, the assemblies or churches will be protected by day with a cloud and smoke
and by night by a pillar of fire. #3, a tabernacle or temple will also be a
place of refuge. This is referring back to Moses and Israel as they were thus
protected from their enemies.
I can’t resist a few more verses ~
I love Isaiah!
“Behold the day of the Lord cometh,
cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate; and he shall
destroy the sinners thereof out of it.
For the stars of heaven and the
constellations there of shall not give their light; the sun shall be darkened
in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine. And I will
punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will
cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of
the terrible.....
For the Lord will have mercy on
Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land; and the
strangers shall be joined (converts) with them, and they shall cleave to the
house of Jacob.” Isaiah 13:10 to 14:1
Isaiah is so full of information
but I’ll leave him now on a note of hope when he says:
“ He (Jesus) will swallow up death in victory; and the
Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces; and the rebuke of his
people shall he take away from off all the earth; for the Lord hath spoken it.
And it shall be said in that day,
Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will
save us; this is the Lord; we have waited for him, we will
be glad and rejoice in his salvation.” Isaiah 25:8-9 (written about 750 B.C.)
“But they that wait upon the
Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they
shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk and not faint.” Isaiah
40:31 “Fear not: for I am with thee....I, even I, am the Lord; and beside me
there is no saviour.” Isaiah 43:5-11
~ 3 ~ “There is
no God beside me; a just God and a Saviour, there is none beside me. Look
unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God and there is
none else.
If thou turn not away thy foot from
the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the Sabbath a
delight, the Holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing
thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words;
then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon
the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob, thy
father; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.”
Isaiah 58: 13-14
now listen to the words of Hosea:
“Hear the word of the Lord, ye children of Israel; for the Lord hath a
controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor
mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land. (NOW) by swearing, and lying, and
killing and stealing and committing adultery, they break out, and blood
toucheth blood.....My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge;
because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt
be no priest to me; seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also
forget thy children.” Hosea 3: 1-6
And Joel: “Awake, ye drunkards, and
weep; and howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the new wine.....for the
day of the Lord is at hand, and as a destruction from the almighty shall it
come.” Joel 1:5-15
Joel chapter 2 heading reads: “War
and desolation precede the Second Coming ~ the sun and the moon shall be
darkened. But then he assures us that; “upon the servants and upon the
handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit. And I will show wonders
in the heavens (like airplanes) and in
the earth, blood, and fire and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into
darkness and the moon into blood, (in appearance) before the great and terrible
day of the Lord come. (Great to the righteous, dreadful to all the rest.)
And it shall come to pass, that whosoever
shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered: for in mount
Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the
remnant whom the Lord shall call.” Joel 2: 29-32
Egypt shall be a desolation, and
Edom (Edom is the rest of the Arabs) shall be a desolate wilderness, for their
violence against the children of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood
in their land. But Judah shall dwell forever and Jerusalem from generation to
generation. For I will cleanse their blood that I have not cleansed; for the
Lord dwelleth in Zion.”
Ibid 3:14-17
Perhaps you have read and heard of
the looming water shortage in the U.S.A. it’s in the news all the time. Well
even this has been prophesied, listen or rather read: “and also I have
withholden the rain from you, when there were yet three months to the harvest,
and I caused it to rain upon one city, and caused it not to rain upon another
city; one piece was rained upon, and
the piece whereupon it rained not withered. So two or three
cities wandered unto one city, to drink water; but they were not satisfied; yet
have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord.”
Amos 3:7-8
And I will bring again the
captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities and
inhabit them and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; and
they also shall make gardens, and eat the fruit of them. And I will plant them
upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I
have given them, saith the Lord, thy God.
Amos 9;14-15 (Has and is happening right now in Israel)
all of the past five memos
may be summed up then in these few words. A kind and loving Father will not let
his disobedient children rush on to their total destruction, as a
~ 4 ~
small child running out into heavy traffic, but will
restrict and restrain them by every means necessary to save their eternal lives
even if it means cutting short their mortal lives.
And those who are obedient,
he blesses immediately and uses them to help in this great work of salvation.
In a sense we are baby sitters as we function in various church callings in
wards, stakes and missions. So stay valiant and be a Savior in your Father’s house!
Study and pray and stay close to your Father in Heaven.
I LOVE you with all of my heart,
Dad, Grandpa etc. Richard Marden
Pratt
As of April 1st grandpa has been gone 3 years. I
am so glad he left us with so much wisdom. I know what it means to be born of
“goodly parents who love the Lord!” The following activity is one that our
family shared with Grandpa for a few years. We hope you enjoy it too. Love,
Rose
A fun family activity. Take 12 plastic eggs and put the following in them.
Number the eggs. Take turns opening them as a family and talking about the TRUE
meaning of Easter. We enjoy this tradition.
#1 (sacrament cup) Luke 22:42 and 44 Jesus then went to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray. Here he took upon
himself the sins of the world. His suffering was so great that he bled from
every pore.
#2 (coins Mark 14:10-11
and 44-45) One of Jesus’ disciples, Judas Iscariot, led men who
were angry with Jesus to Him while he was praying. He did this because the
wicked men told him that they would give him 30 pieces of silver for doing so.
The wicked men wanted to kill Jesus. One of the disciples cut off one of the
soldiers ears but Jesus healed the guard’s ear and was led away.
#3 (soap Matthew 27:24) Jesus was
brought to the governor, Pontius Pilate, to stand trail. Pilate was a powerful
leader. It was the time of the Jewish Passover and Pilate would allow one
prisoner to go free. Pilate found no fault with Jesus and thought to set him
free but the people said no set Barabbas free. Barabbas was a thief and a
murderer. Pilate knew that Jesus was not guilty but that he was innocent! To
show he would not be responsible for the death of Jesus he washed his hands of
the mater. He still allowed the mocking and scourging of Jesus before he was
taken to be crucified.
#4 (ropes Matthew
27:29) Jesus was bound by ropes,
spit upon, severely beaten, whipped and mocked. One of Jesus’ disciples, Peter,
was so scared by how Jesus was being treated that he denied him three times. He
later repented for he loved Jesus.
#5 (thorns (rose thorns
work well) Matthew 27:28) Jesus
was mocked and dressed in a scarlet robe. The wicked men made a crown of thorns
and placed it upon Jesus’ head. He was beaten and whipped again.
#6 (cross (match sticks
make a good cross)Luke 23:33) The
wicked men decided to crucify Jesus. They made him carry a heavy cross to a
hill called Calvary where he was nailed to the cross between two thieves. A
sign was placed above his head which read, “King of the Jews”written in three
languages. While on the cross Jesus was offered vinegar to drink. Jesus did not
drink the vinegar. Jesus asked John, one of his disciples to take care of his
mother. Before he died he cried out, “My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken
me?” The soldiers mocked him and he said, “Father, forgive them for they know
not what they do”.
#7 (pair of dice Mark
15:24) While Jesus was dying on
the cross the soldiers gambled for his clothing.
#8 (small rocks Matthew
27:51 and 54) Jesus hung on the
cross many hours. Finally he said, “Father into thy hands I commend my spirit,”
and he died. As soon as this happened, darkness and storms arose showing the
tremendous grief Heavenly Father felt when he witnessed these things being done
to His Son. Some of The wicked people then realized that this must indeed be
the Son of God.
#9 (white linen cloth
John 19:40) Jesus was wrapped in linen cloth for burial.
#10 (spices (whole
cloves work well.)John 19:40) Joseph of Arimathaea, a disciples of Jesus, asked
Pilate if he could care for the body of Jesus after he had died. Pilate agreed
to let him do this. The body of Jesus was wrapped in linen with appropriate
spices. Spices were used to preserve bodies. Mary and Mary Magdalene wrapped
Christ’s body in the linen with spices the day Jesus died. (Friday) and then waited
until the first day of the week (Sunday) before they returned to do this
again---because Saturday was the Sabbath.
#11 (large rock Matthew
28:2) A large stone was rolled across the door to the tomb
in which Christ’s body lay. There was a guard set to watch so no one could come
and steal the body of Jesus. An angel of the Lord descended from heaven and
rolled back the stone and the men on watch started to shake and became, “as
dead men>” When the men told the Pharisees what had happened, the Pharisees
paid them to tell others that the stone had been rolled away while they were
asleep.
#12 (EMPTY Matthew 29:6; John 20: 15-16) When Mary and Mary Magdalene went to the sepulcher.
Their was an angel sitting there who told them to go and tell the disciples that
Christ had risen. Jesus first appeared to Mary Magdalene while she was in the
garden mourning his death. She thought he was the gardener when he asked,
“woman, why weepiest thou?” She asked Him what he had done with the body of
Jesus. Then he said to her, “Mary” she turned and recognized Him. Saying
“Rabboni” meaning master.
Jesus did rise on the third
day! He gives us the gift of Eternal life He has made it possible to be
forgiven of our sins through his atonement. He has made it possible for us to live
as a family with him and Heavenly Father in the highest part of the Celestial
Kingdom! This is the true meaning of Easter!
A fun fa
