Memo #53 (Written October/November 2004)

Memo #53

October and November 2004

To: Those I love,

From: Grandpa Pratt

Re: Desolation

As well may a man in the mortal world object to the law of gravity or any of the other fixed laws of nature, as to object to the laws of the Celestial Kingdom. They have been tried, proved and are eternal. This being the fact there can be nothing but peace and joy in that kingdom. ~Joseph F. Smith ~

Isaiah is the most prolific writer of the Old Testament and lived in the eighth century B.C.

But I will just summarize him and give chapter and verse as pertaining to our day. I especially like his description of modern women of the world.  Ch. 3:16-26. Did he leave out anything?

In ch. 5:13 he has the Lord saying, My people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge. That’s why I am writing these memos, so that my people shall have knowledge and not be seduced into captivity by Satan.

“The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved...the earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard.” Note: as it did to bring on the flood so shall it shake again until the earth’s surface is restored to its paradisiacal glory. But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they ...shall run and not be weary; and walk and not faint.” 40:31 Great are the prophecies of Isaiah, read them, search them and watch them be fulfilled.

Now look at Jeremiah and his prophecies. They mostly are about the destruction of Jerusalem in 590 -83 B.C. but are a vivid example of the end times.

First notice his calling: “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 ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.” He was contemporary with Lehi and would have been one of the prophets warning Lehi to flee. Jer. 1:4-5

As Jerusalem was ripening for destruction the righteous were gathered out. Babylon became the world’s super power about 610 B.C. and the Jews became a puppet state with four different kings appointed over them by Nebuchadnezzar. Their names were Jehoahaz (lasted 3 months) his brother Jehoiakim (lasted 11 years) His son Jehoiackin (lasted 3 months 10 days) His uncle, and brother to the first two, Zedekiah lasted 13 years. He saw the total destruction of his people including the execution of his sons then he was blinded and taken as a slave to Babylon. At each change of these kings who disobeyed Babylonian orders, Nebuchadnezzar, of course had to send his troops to Jerusalem to restore order and install the new king. And each time he ordered the troops to bring back the best of the Jews. It’s amazing that after 2600 years we still have the number taken back to Babylon each time. Jehoahaz crowned 609 B.C. captives taken 3023; including Daniel and other righteous. They were given full Babylonian Citizenship and Daniel served as Prime Minister to three different kings. 

Jehoiakim was crowned 609 B.C. and captives taken numbered 832 persons including the Prophet Ezekiel. Zedekiah crowned 600 B.C. captives removed to Babylon 745 persons.

The rest of the Jews were slaughtered except for Jeremiah, who was given the choice of staying in Palestine with a smattering of very poor Jews who were to work the land and pay tribute. The Babylonians liked Jeremiah and invited him to move to Babylon where he would be set up in style. He chose to remain in Palestine.

Previously the Lord gave Jeremiah a very strange commandment. “Thou shalt not take a 

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wife, neither shalt thou have sons or daughters in this place. ...for they shall die grievous deaths;...they shall not be buried; but they shall be as dung upon the face of the earth; and they shall be consumed by the sword, and by famine; and their carcases shall be meat for the fowls of heaven, and for the beasts of the earth. 16:1-4

LEGEND has it that Jeremiah traveled to Egypt with two of Zedekiahs daughters and with others made their way to Britain and Zedekiah’s daughters began the royal line that has extended to the present time. (This can’t be proven)

Ezekiel was carried to Babylon and is next to Isaiah in his prophecies of our day and is easier to read. He also gives a rather detailed description of the resurrection ch. 37.

Chapter 38 heading reads: The battle of Gog and Magog against Israel shall usher in the second coming ~ The Lord will come amid war and pestilence, and all men shall shake at his presence. 

Chapter 39 continues; Gog and Magog (the worlds combined armies) will be destroyed by the coming of the Lord and the Jews will be seven months burying the dead.

One message from Ezekiel that is lacking in others I really enjoy: “If the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statues, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die. All his transgressions that he hath done, they shall not be mentioned unto him; in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live. Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? Saith the Lord God: and not that he should return from his ways, and live?” Ezekiel 18:21-23 

For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord God; wherefore turn yourselves, and live. 18:32

And Zechariah paints a very clear picture of events of today: “Behold, the day of the Lord cometh...For I will gather all nations   against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled and the women ravished;...then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations...and his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives...and the mount shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south...and ye shall flee to the valley... and the Lord my God shall come and all the saints with thee...and the Lord shall be king over all the earth; in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one. 14:4-9

“And this shall be the plague wherewith the Lord will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem: their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.

And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King the Lord of Hosts.

The concluding verses of the Old Testament: “Behold, I will reveal unto you the Priesthood, by the hand of Elijah the Prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he shall plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to the fathers, and the hearts of the children shall turn to their fathers. If it were not so the whole earth would be utterly wasted at his coming.” Mal. 4:5-6

Note: Why would there be no one to live on it in its Celestialized state? Because none would qualify.

Keep your eye on Jerusalem the finale of the wicked world will be played out 

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there. Even now the nations are gathering against her. I will go into considerable detail later.

The coming of Elijah was fulfilled April 3, 1836. It is recorded in D.&C. 110:1-16 Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery (two witnesses) were visited in the Kirtland temple by Jesus, Moses, Elias and Elijah. Each had keys to bestow.

And Elijah who was taken up into heaven without tasting death, stood before us and said: the time has fully come which was spoken of by the mouth of Malachi...and by this ye may know that the great and dreadful day of the Lord is near, even at the doors. D.&C. 110:13-16

It is an exciting time to live, learn and prepare. I love each one of you.

Love,  Dad, Grandpa Pratt etc

Memo #52 (Written September 1, 2004)

To those I love

From: Grandpa Pratt

Re: The Second Coming ~ The Cleansing of the Earth: Actually, destruction of filth; and man is the agent of all filth, for he of all the creations, alone, has been blessed with the power to think, to reason, to choose. Therefore we find it the major theme of the Old and New Testaments and the Book of Mormon. It starts in chapter 6 of Genesis and you can’t start any earlier than that.

“And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented Noah that the Lord had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping things, and the fowls of the air.” Genesis 6:5-7 This, of course would have been the flood, but the end cleansing by fire is similar.

The biblical account ends with John prophesying of the destruction of Babylon. (Note Babylon flourished about 600 B.C. and is used by the Lord as a symbol of the wickedness of the world as it was the most wicked city or country of all times.)

“And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, what city is like unto this great city! And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, alas, alas that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness for in one hour is she made DESOLATE.” Revelations 18: 16-18

Even the tiny Old Testament book of Joel is devoted to the subject and its only three short chapters. Joel was prophesying about 850 B.C. just after Isaiah.

“Alas for the day! For the day of the Lord is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come”. Joel 1:15 While I’m in Joel here are a few more of his prophecies. “Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand; (Note: he was not talking about it being close to his day, but he was seeing our day as if he were here and he could see the eminent coming.) “A day of darkness and of gloominess a day of clouds and of thick darkness as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it even to the years of many generations.”

A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea and nothing shall escape them.” (He is speaking of the one world army that is even now emerging as the nations are ceding more and more control to the U. N. (Note: I will elaborate when we get to John’s revelation nearly 1,000 years later.)

“And I will show wonders in the heavens. (Note: air planes, guided missiles, men on the moon and soon on Mars. as he saw this in vision he would surely have been startled in his primitive world, while we think nothing of them.) And in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord come.” (Possibly air pollution)

“and it shall come to pass. That whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered: for in mount Zion (America) and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant (obedient) whom the Lord shall call.”

(Note: I have coined a new phrase for all these calamities, get used to it, and watch it unfold. I call it “Selective destruction” for you will marvel at who is saved in impossible situations.)

Then Joel prophecies of the return of Judah to Jerusalem and Palestine today. And he is living 250 years before they were destroyed and scattered world wide shortly after Lehi left Jerusalem with his family in 600 B.C.

Here is a little more from Joel’s 5and1/2 pages. And this doesn’t begin to milk all the information of the last day recorded therein.

He has the Lord saying: “I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehosaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations and parted my land.” This valley in later times had been called Esdraelon, and Jezrael. I don’t know its current name. It stretches North and West from Jerusalem and is about 20 miles long, on the North Western end is the Mountain called Meggido. Add the prefix “army” to Meddedo and you have the battle of Armageddon which must shortly come to pass and will be terminated by the personal appearance of Jesus Christ.

(More about this later!) Many terrible battles have been fought in this valley over the last 4,000 years and Armageddon will be the finale as all nations gather to destroy the Jews. (Sounds like a U.N. Army.) 

Then Joel continues: “Assemble yourselves, and come all ye heathen (notice what he is calling the world) and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down. O Lord. Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for  there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about.” (Part of the judgement will consist of destruction of the whole WORLDS armed forces.)

Joel ends on this word of hope for the Jews: Multitudes, mulitudes in the valley of decision: (another name for the valley of Jehoshaphat) “For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. (Again he is seeing and speaking of our day.)

“The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall with draw their shining. The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, (America) and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the Lord will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel (Which we are a part of. We are of the tribe of Joseph thru his son Ephraim for the most part.) In his closing words again we see selective destruction.

“Egypt shall be a desolation, and Edom (His word for world) shall be a desolate wilderness, for the violence against the children of Judah, because THEY HAVE SHED INNOCENT BLOOD IN THEIR LAND, But Judah shall dwell for ever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation. For I will cleanse their blood that I have not cleansed, for the Lord dwelleth in Zion (America). Now a few words from Daniel, a contemporary of Nephi, captured and taken to Babylon about the time Nephi’s family left for America and about 250 years after Joel.

“And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time (now) and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.” (Note: In the next memo or two the sequence of the resurrection will be tabulated and it is oh so close.)

“And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever. Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and more of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.”Daniel 12 (Notice Selective Destruction, the wise by being obedient shall not be destroyed.)      Be wise and know that I love you, 

                                                         Dad, Grandpa, uncle etc

Memo #50 (Written July 1, 2004)

To: Those I Love

From: Grandpa Pratt

Re: A Buffer between the past several memos and the next~

The last four or five memos have given some explanation from the scriptures concerning how the earths current geography has been arrived at. The next two memos are going to be so much more graphic, so much more violent, so filled with destruction, as the final battle of God vs Satan rages to an end, that perhaps you would rather not read them. If such is the case just drop them in the waste basket unopened until you receive memo #55. However, our Heavenly Father has given this information to the prophets and commanded them to write it down that it might be read that all who will receive the word will be prepared for the glorious millennium which has just started, the millennium, not the glory that comes with the Savior and soon.

To understand the events taking place currently on the earth and more horrific ones to come, climaxing with the appearance of Christ, we need to answer a few questions.

1. How many choices does every person have as to whom they will follow in this mortal life? Answer: Two and two only. Either follow Christ or by default one follows Satan. There are no other choices. Let me repeat, one MUST CHOOSE to follow Christ, otherwise he automatically follows the devil whose sole goal is to have us eternally miserable as he is.

The goal Jesus Christ has for us is to become like him and be eternally happy. He has paid a terrible price to make this possible and in order to guide  us he has given us a few commandments which he summed up in just one. 

“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, might, mind and strength and the second is like unto it, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” 

To love oneself, then, must be a reality in loving others. All love flows from God only hate comes from Lucifer.

(Note: to my single granddaughters, when you think you have found the “right one,” if his feelings toward God are indifferent, if he seems to be self centered, if he speaks disrespectfully of others and especially of his family, do not marry him for he has not the capacity to love. Paul’s instructions to husbands are: “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it.” Eph. 5:25 Such a man, and such a man only can give you the love you are looking for.)

God created this earth for one purpose: “To bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.”The earth is a living thing it too was created first as spirit and secondly as temporal. The temporal must end as all such of that order must do. It shall be cleansed and it will be a new earth and even the heavens will be new and it is at this time that the Saviors words will be fulfilled, “Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth,” to live on it eternally with him. In other words it will be the heaven that the spiritually sick and dead talk about, but for the most part don’t believe, and wont inherit. The meek will inherit all that the Father has to give. On this glorified world they will be as he is and will do as he does.

Those who have not obeyed the “love” commandment will spend eternity on some other globe, prepared, to provide them with all that they are willing to receive.

Our Father in Heaven loves each one of us and is determined to save each no matter how 

hard they resist his saving grace even if he has to remove them from this earth by violent means to get them out of Satan's grasp.

When the judgement is finished at the end of this millennium, our Father through his Son Jesus, will have saved every sole in some kind of heaven for it says every head will bow and every knee will bend to him who made it all possible, but even then a few will persist in their foolish, stubborn ways and will defect over to Satan thereby becoming Sons of Perdition. And will be cast out with him and his hosts to be miserable forever. Their place of residence eternally has such descriptive names as, “outer darkness” (remember God is the source of all light)  also called Hell and Hades. (None of you will meet this terrible fate.) Hell is likened to a lake of fire and brimstone. Those who end up there will weep, wail, and gnash their teeth. (Note: brimstone is sulphur, we used to buy it in drugstores to fumigate our houses. Strike a mathch to it and it burns readily with a bluish intense heat, difficult to extinguish. In the early days of orchards some 75 years ago we sparyed the fruit trees with lime and sulphur. We could only do it in early spring while the trees were still dormant for it would burn the foliage up and by the end of the day you were on fire even tho we liberally covered exposed skin with vaseline. And those who did not take proper percautions would often have the flesh eaten away so that the white bone showed.) So the comparison accurately portrays the eternal unhappiness of the dammed souls.

Alma cried out, and I feel the same way: “O that I were an angel, and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the trump of God, with a voice to shake the earth, and cry repentance unto every people. Yea, I would declare unto every soul, as with the voice of thunder, repentance and the plan of redemption, that they should repent and come unto our God that there might not be more sorrow upon all the face of the earth.” Alma 29:1-2

Yes the gospel of love is the only answer, for the highest heaven or Celestial will need no police, armies etc for each citizen there will be Self Governing ~ they will love their neighbor as their self and they will love God. They will dwell in family units and will expand eternally. 

The lower heavens of Terrestrial, and Telestial will be somewhat like a baby’s playpen and they will be confined to their areas by the element that their ressurrected body is adapted to live in and worlds without end they can not change it. They will have a degree of happiness and will progress and rejoice forever so a loving Father and Son will finally bring every soul safely home to some kind of eternal peace and joy. But one of their big regrets is they will have no companion, no children.

As I said in the beginning if you do not want to know of the terrible judgements that have already started and will reach a peak and that very soon just put the next 4 memos in the waste basket unopened. 

But I must say that they are some of the greatest signs we have of the closeness of his coming, and your faith to survive will increase as you watch the unfolding of the prophets in great detail concerning that which will cleanse all filth from the earth. You will literrally witness selective destruction as the wickend perish and the faithful survive. We live in exciting times.

Be prepared and not afraid. 

Love,

Dad, brother, Uncle, Grandpa Pratt

Memo #49 (Written June 1, 2004)

To: Those I love

From: Grandpa Pratt

Re: The Second Coming (Wickedness alters the earth)

The earth, beautiful and inhabitable from pole to pole as described in memo 47 was soon to start a change due to the sins of the people until it has reached its current stage of mostly wasteland and water. The first recorded change, that I can find, happened about 800 years after the fall of Adam. (He was still alive for he lived to be 930 years.)

In spite of Adam and Eve’s teachings, their children for the most part had cast God out of their lives. Their fourth great grandson, Enoch, was called and ordained by Adam to proclaim the gospel and to save all who would listen.“And so great was the faith of Enoch that he led the people of God, and their enemies came to battle against them; and he spake the word of the Lord, and the earth trembled and the mountains fled, even according to his command; and the rivers of water were turned out of their course and the roar of the lions was heard out of the wilderness; and all nations feared greatly, so powerful was the word of Enoch...there also came up a land out of the depth of the seas and so great was the fear of the enemies of the people of God, that they fled and went upon the land which came up out of the depth of the sea. Moses 7: 13-14

Enoch gathered the believers into a great city and its surround farms and villages and then about fire years before the birth of Enoch’s grandson, Noah, his city of holiness called Zion, was wrenched from this earth and taken to another to await the second coming of the Lord, then they will return to this earth. This was the second major change in the earth’s surface and was the step taken by God to save, all who would obey, from the flood that engulfed the whole earth 600 years later.

The world denies that there was a flood, saying that a loving God would not do such a thing to his children. But if they would read the scriptures they would find that the earth had to be baptized and cleansed of all the filth brought on by its inhabitants. Not one soul needed to drown! Not all the saints were taken up with Enoch. His son Methuselah, the oldest recorded living man and his son Lamek continued on as preachers for righteousness. They were joined by Lameck’s son Noah who was born five years after Zion fled. Methuselah lived 969 years and died the year of the flood. His son, Lameck lived 777 years and died five years before the flood. Noah was 600 years old when the flood occurred and lived 350 years after.

These men and others, such as Noah’s three sons, warned the wold of the impending flood. “ and the Lord ordained Noah...to declare his gospel, even as it was given unto Enoch...Noah continued his preaching...believe and repent of your sins and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, the son of God, even as our fathers, and ye shall receive the Holy Ghost...

And if ye do not this, the floods will come in upon you; nevertheless they hearkened not.”

Moses 8:19-25. but there were some that believed. “ ”For angels descended out of heaven, bearing testimony of the Father and the Son, and the Holy Ghost fell on many, (those that had believed) and they were caught up by the powers of Heaven to join the people of Enoch,” 

Moses 7: 27 

Finally there were only eight believing souls left, Noah, three sons, and their wives. “And God said unto Noah: The end of all flesh is come before me. For the earth is filled with violence, and behold I will destroy all flesh from off the earth.” Moses 8:30 NO ONE NEEDED TO DIE IN THE FLOOD ~ NO ONE NEEDS TO DIE IN THE BURNING AT THE SECOND COMING! But most will because they have ears to hear but they won’t listen.

Don’t be one of them!

The whole earth would have been changed by the flood and geological changes that supposedly took millions of years could and did happen during the years the flood lasted and a few years after as the excess water sought the lowest level.

There are other changes mentioned in the scriptures but I only have room for one more. The full account is found in third Nephi chapters 1-11 and especially 8-10

Matthew briefly mentions: “The veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent.” Matt. 27:51

but in the Americas where they had the gospel and then turned God out of their lives the destruction and changing of the earth was horrific, and note   “If it were not for the righteous who are in this great city, behold, I would cause the fire should come down out of heaven and destroy it.” Hel. 13:13

Samuel prophesied of America, “There shall be thundering and lightings... the earth shall shake...the rocks which ye know at this time shall be rent in twain, and shall ever after be found in seams and cracks, and in broken fragments upon the face of the whole earth, yea, both above the earth and beneath...there shall be great tempests, many mountains shall be laid low like unto valley and there shall be many places which are now called valleys which shall become mountains, whose height is great.” Hel. 14:21-31. And all this happened in the Americas during the three hours of the crucifixion. But the world says it took millions if not billions of years.

Now Third Nephi: “Tempest, earthquakes, fires, whirlwinds and upheavals attest the crucifixion of Christ.”.....a great storm, such an one as never had been known in all the land...the whole earth did shake as if it was about to divide asunder...the city of Moroni did sink into the depths of the sea...earth covered the city of Moronihah, that in the place of the city there became a great mountain “Note: “tempest, miners in Mexico have discovered a city 2000 feet below the surface.) Many cities were sunk...many people were carried away in whirl winds etc. and all this did last for about the space of three hours... and it came to pass that there was thick darkness... ante there could be no light....and the devil laugheth and his angels rejoice. And a voice spoke saying, “Oh 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, tht I may heal you. Behold,, mine arm of mercy is extended towards you, and whosoever will come, him will I receive; and blessed are those who come unto me, behold I am Jesus Christ the Son of God.” 3 Nephi 9-15

Jesus Christ lives and he extended the same love to each one of us. I testify of him with all of my heart. Seek him and you will find HIM. Learn HIS ways and rejoice in the peace they bring into your life 

Love, 

Dad, Grandpa etc. Richard Marden Pratt

Memo #48 (written May 1, 2004)

To: Those I love
From: Grandpa Pratt
Re: The Second Coming

    “No man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.” 
Eccl. 3:11. Behold, great and marvelous are the works of the Lord. How unsearchable are the depths of the mysteries of him; and it is impossible that man should find out all his ways. And no man knoweth of his ways save it be revealed unto him; wherefore, brethren, despise not the revelations of God.
    For behold, by the power of his word man came upon the face of the earth, which earth was created by the power of his word. Wherefore, if God being able to speak and the world was, and to speak and man was created, o then, why not able to command the earth, or the workmanship of his hands upon the face of it, according to his will and pleasure?” Jacob 4: 8-9
    Now for a few things that we do know: Adam and Eve were the first people on the earth. (THERE WERE NO PRE ADAMITES.)  They were not yet mortals. For mortality is a serious and dangerous business. But it is the only way we can gain a body of flesh, which can reproduce itself, for spirit bodies cannot. So god gave Adam the choice of remaining in the Garden of Eden forever, which would have frustrated the whole plan or take into his body that which would trigger mortality and death. Note: physical death is separation of Spirit from the fleshly body.
    Eve had already eaten, whatever it was and would soon be cast out and die. Adam perceiving this CHOSE TO FOLLOW HER. That’s love! “Adam was not deceived, but the women being deceived was in the transgression 1 Tim. 2:14 and “Adam fell that men might be;
and men are that they might have joy. (men often refers to both men and women) 2 Ne. 2:25So, be grateful to them both, but more especially to Mother Eve. For had they not elected death and birth we would still be in the Spirit world begging our Heavenly Father to replace them with someone who would get the job done. Notice: they were married by God while still immortal and in as much as God does nothing save it be forever, their marriage was the first eternal one performed on this earth.
    Not only did they bring death and birth on themselves, but also on all life including the earth itself. And lowered the earth from a Terrestrial stage, or paradise, (where all things which were created must have remained in the same state in which they were after they were created. And they must have remained forever and had no end and they would have had no children; wherefore they would have remained in a state of innocence having no joy, for they knew no misery; doing no good, for they knew no sin. 2 Ne. 2:22-23) to a Telestial stage where Satan could tempt us, try us, and prove whom we would follow. Violence and evil became the lot of man and animal.
    Adam and Eve, of course, began to have a family, and their grown sons and daughters paired off and started families. A veil had been drawn over their minds so that they remembered little of their former life. The earth was also cursed for their sake. In other words the cursing was a blessing; now man would have to work and struggle which would produce growth and happiness and satisfaction in their achievements. How grateful I am for work!
    Because Cain and Abel are the first of their children named, we get the idea that they were the first of their family. BUT TIS NOT SO. A careful reading shows that Adam and Eve were 
over 100 years old when Cain was born, then Abel, and it specifically mentions that Adam was 130 when Seth, who replaced Abel as heir, was born. Note: Yes, before the flood they lived into the 10th century and would have had children for the first several hundred years of their life. Noah is mentioned as to age and he was 450 years old when Japheth was born, and 492 at the birth of Shem, and when he was 500 years old Ham was born, Moses 8:12, Gen. 5:32
    and Adam and Eve called upon the Lord, and they heard the voice of the Lord.....and he gave unto them commandments. And they were obedient...an angel appeared unto Adam and Eve and taught them of the Savior and his great redeeming sacrifice that thru obedience they could return home clothed with a resurrected body and blessed with an eternal companion. Adam was commanded “thou shalt do all that thou doest in THE NAME OF THE SON, and thou shalt repent and call upon God in the name of the Son forevermore. And the Holy Ghost fell upon Adam, which beareth record of the Father and the Son, saying: I am the only Begotten of the Father from the beginning, henceforth, and forever, that as thou hast fallen thou mayest be redeemed, and all mankind, even as many as will. 
    And in that day Adam blessed God and was filled, (with the Holy Ghost) and began to prophesy concerning all the families of the earth, saying: Blessed be the name of God, for because of my transgression my eyes are opened, and in this life I shall have joy, and again in the flesh I shall see God.
    And Eve, his wife, heard all these things and was glad, saying: were it not for our transgression we never should have had seed, and never should have known good and evil, and the joy of our redemption, and the Eternal life which God giveth unto all the obedient.
    They made all this wonderful news known to their then existing family and they refused to accept it. “And thus the Gospel began to be preached, from the beginning.” Moses ch. 5
    and Adam was baptized by the Spirit of the Lord and with the Holy Ghost and given the Priesthood whereby he would have baptized Eve and any believing children. Behold, thou art one in me, a son of God; and thus may all become my sons.” Moses 6:64-68
    the rest of the earth was corrupt before God, and it was filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted its way upon the earth.
    And God said unto Noah: the end of all flesh is come before me, for the earth is filled with violence, and behold I will destroy all flesh from off the earth.
    Doesn’t this sound familiar today? Isn’t the whole earth filled with violence? Look around and see the necessity of a loving Father stepping in to stop it all.

I plead with you and pray for you that you will find where you are in the plan of our Father in Heaven. Honor HIM by living it. ......continued next month

                        Love,
                        Dad, Grandpa, brother, friend
                        Richard M. Pratt

Poem by Dawn Alta Pratt Taylor written for Dad's 92nd birthday  (We just past what would be his 104th birthday!

Generation Stones

Faces from the past look out from frames and smile,

Album pages full of legacy worthwhile.

His jaw looks just like Daddy's her eyes are my eyes too.

There heritage and history wrapped up in me and you.

Work ethics from my Grandpa and humor from Grandma.

Singing from dear Auntie and values from Ma and Pa.

Lives' stories eked in sweat and tears pave a path for me ~

boosting, helping me to become all that I can be!